The 2015-2016 Football Thread

[Lord Blackadder]

Liverpool got out-pressed to start the game, and then when West Ham sat back a bit Liverpool were toothless. I'm not going to place the blame solely on Benteke, but right now Liverpool can't score and opponents know it. They also know that Liverpool's defense can still buckle under pressure.

Having just one goalscorer would make a giant difference. Look at how many times Martial has saved Man Utd's bacon this season - and he looks set to do it agin today.

 

[Alphazoid]

Wished Fabianski's header had gone in just for the headlines.

As for LFC, Clop's doing what he can but reality is Rodgers's team is simply lacking quality, specifically a spine.

Meanwhile it seems Villa are all but gone.

Arsenal poor, but managed to steal the 3pts. Largely due to Cech.

 

[throwthedice]

It's more of a tactics thing with Liverpool too.. They simply don't look like having an answer when teams sit back.

Lucky win for United and LvG. Probably will keep him in the job till the end of the season

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Arsenal needed those 3 pts more than anyone except perhaps Leicester, who really blew a golden opportunity for a win today. Man Utd looked like the same old, same old - they looked about the same as they did against Chelsea, but no Courtios to make big saves. No reason to expect they are on the upswing, just as Liverpool's previous two wins didn't result in any momentum when they visited West Ham.

The season continues to be fundamentally unpredictable.

 

[Alphazoid]

City sucker punch Watford and are still firmly on course despite being unconvincing

 

[JamesMike]

Liverpool got out-pressed to start the game, and then when West Ham sat back a bit Liverpool were toothless. I'm not going to place the blame solely on Benteke, but right now Liverpool can't score and opponents know it. They also know that Liverpool's defense can still buckle under pressure.

Having just one goalscorer would make a giant difference. Look at how many times Martial has saved Man Utd's bacon this season - and he looks set to do it agin today.

Martial has been improving throughout the season, a very good find!

 

[Ironduke]

We are going to lose alot of money clearing out the lazy gutless cowards at anfield

 

[pachyderm]

for @Fizzoid

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Martial has been improving throughout the season, a very good find!

He's been up and down, and there is no guarantee he will be able to consistently play to his potential, but the talent is clearly there. But at the moment he has nobody of similar quality around him.

He'll cost Man Utd sixty million if he does pan out though.

lol it is not klopp's liverpool its rodgers team and it cant play klopps football

True - but the tipping point where people start holding Klopp responsible for results is fuzzy - I think most reasonable fans see this season as a bit of a write-off due to the change in managers, but that doesn't stop many people from getting impatient (not to mention the media's penchant for hysteria).

Our squad isn't that terrible, but we have substantial deficiencies with our defense and while on paper we have adequate resources up front, the reality is that we have permanently injury-prone players (Sturridge), young and slightly raw players who need more experience (Origi), players of the wrong type/style for Klopp (Benteke), and players (Ings) who picked up an unlucky long-term injury.

Klopp is in firm control of the dressing room and has struck the right note with most supporters. I hope the club realize they made a tactical error in giving Rogers money in the transfer market and then sacking him. Now they have to give Klopp a substantial war-chest to build a squad that fits his system.

 

[Ironduke]

thats because its frustrating as a half decent team can reach out and take top4.

 

[Fizzoid]

for @Fizzoid

Yeah, not a bad way to win a match

 

[Alphazoid]

Seems Perez has sacked Benitez

 

[Fizzoid]

Apparently it's because he hasn't won this season's champions league yet

 

[Centaurr]

Breaking news**

 

[throwthedice]

Real joke of a club if they sack someone (even if that someone is Rafa) this early in the season.

 

[throwthedice]

And I wonder how long Zidane is going to last there :\

I would say the end of the season tops.

 

[pachyderm]

and what kind of proof do they have that Zidane will succeed?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Hiring famous ex-players is a stupid idea borne of the need to provide bread and circuses for the fans/media. Some top players make good managers, but most don't. The function of Real Madrid's manager is purely that of a scapegoat these days.

They are the maddest club in the world.

 

[takao]

Hiring famous ex-players is a stupid idea borne of the need to provide bread and circuses for the fans/media. Some top players make good managers, but most don't. The function of Real Madrid's manager is purely that of a scapegoat these days.

i always like the german phrase usually made for such appointments: 'the candidate had the required "stable smell"' ("Stallgeruch")
and of course you are right: hiring an former player of your own club as a manager normally doesn't work.
For jobs in youth development, or in positions for handling the business side it can work out fine though. For the business side local networking and contacts still are essential, and for youth development it can lead to a big "we/us"feeling among youth players

They are the maddest club in the world.

i think that was already established 1998 at the latest: Jupp Heynckes was fired just after managing to win their first EuropeanCup/ChampionsLeague title after a 32 year draught. Because ... you know .. they didn't finished good enough in the league (5th or 6th) and didn't challenge for the league title.

 

[Centaurr]

real joke of a club? stupid idea? I DONT think so. actually its quite smart. Zidane is more than qualified for the position as coach at RM...former coach, former star player at real madrid, european player and football God and not to mention that he won 'Champions' and a 'World cup' under his belt

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Real Madrid are no 'joke', but they are crazy. Benitez was perhaps not the best fit for the club, but they are the only club I see regularly firing managers who win trophies. Generally winning a league/CL/Cup title guarantees some goodwill from the suits, but at Real there seems to be almost no correlation between winning trophies and the manager keeping his job.

As for Zidane, he did finally get his UEFA Pro license after briefly being banned for coaching without one, so he is technically qualified for the job. Being an elite player doesn't really make much a difference in whether a person makes a great manager - if you look at the top manager of today you see many that played at a high level, but many who did not and some who barely played at all. Most elite players do NOT go on to become elite managers. It does happen (c.f. Beckenbauer, Guardiola among others), but I wouldn't say it's the norm.

As with so many of Real's decisions, this is all about Florentino Perez showmanship and fan pressure. If Mourinho hadn't left under such bad circumstances I would have expected him to go back there.

 

[Alphazoid]

He might yet still. Apparently Mou is holding out for the United job and if it doesn't happen he'll return to Madrid.

Being a great player does not always translate to being a great Manager. Its a completely different ball game.

To me Ancelotti and SAF are/were the best managers in my time watching football thus far.

Guardiola is good but i'm not completely convinced until i see him manage an average team and take them to titles like the two i mentioned above. Guardiola has managed the best teams in two divisions. One could say it was almost impossible for him to fail.

I hope Zizou succeeds, but i have a strong suspicion he won't...and Perez and his toy of a club will be the main reason(s)

PS - Real are a joke club. Yes they have incredible history but their contemporary self is comical at best.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I hope Zizou succeeds, but i have a strong suspicion he won't...and Perez and his toy of a club will be the main reason(s)

He can be a prickly guy, so I'm not sure how he'll get along with all the prima donna players at Real.

PS - Real are a joke club. Yes they have incredible history but their contemporary self is comical at best.

Francisco Franco's favorite team....there's that dodgy 11-1 win over Barcelona in 1943.

 

[throwthedice]

He can be a prickly guy, so I'm not sure how he'll get along with all the prima donna players at Real.

He has some experience as the assistant manager while Carlo was around so I'm guessing he knows what to expect from the prima donnas there..how he handles them on his own is a big question (especially if things don't go alright for him).

However I do feel that Perez will give him a little more time if things go wrong for him.

 

[Ironduke]

Zidane is more than qualified for the position as coach at RM...former coach

lol no he isnt