Just like I called it in July! Wish I'd put a £10 on it!
Mind you I was well wide of the mark concerning West Ham! Top 6. I wish.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The 2017-2018 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Mind you I was well wide of the mark concerning West Ham! Top 6. I wish.
United not nearly good enough. Could have been different with Bailly in defense and Pogba in the midfield, but they still don't have enough depth or quality to play decent football with a few players missing. They've spent so much money over the past couple of years, but still have a squad riddled with holes.
I also think that Mr Mourinho is no longer "the new kid on the bloc", the guy that everyone talks about, seeks to beat. Actually, he is a known quantity, and he hasn't really added to what we know he can do well.
Once again, Mourinho is involved in an ill-tempered post-match war of words that turned physical. Granted Man Utd had their "battle of the buffet" with Arsenal years ago, but this was a more unseemly affair and trademark Mourinho. Surely this is not the Manchester United Way I hear so much about? At least he didn't poke anyone in the eye this time...perhaps Mou's traditional Year 3 implosion is going to show itself a bit early.
Champions Last 16 League Draw:
Juventus v Tottenham
Basel v Manchester City
Porto v Liverpool
Sevilla v Manchester United
Real Madrid v Paris St-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Liverpool got lucky this time, as did Man Utd; they will face the two weakest sides left in the competition. Still not easy matches, but as easy as one could expect in the knockout stages.
Basel could turn out to be tricky opponents for Man City, but at the end of the day its a tie I absolutely expect them to win without too much drama.
Chelsea v Barca could be interesting - Chelsea are in a slump bit Barca are not invincible this season. Could be the upset of the round.
Juve-Spurs should be an interesting tie.
Champions Last 16 League Draw:
Juventus v Tottenham
Basel v Manchester City
Porto v Liverpool
Sevilla v Manchester United
Real Madrid v Paris St-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Liverpool got lucky this time, as did Man Utd; they will face the two weakest sides left in the competition. Still not easy matches, but as easy as one could expect in the knockout stages.
Basel could turn out to be tricky opponents for Man City, but at the end of the day its a tie I absolutely expect them to win without too much drama.
Chelsea v Barca could be interesting - Chelsea are in a slump bit Barca are not invincible this season. Could be the upset of the round.
Juve-Spurs should be an interesting tie.
Last edited:
Agree re Mr Mourinho's disgraceful little brawl, and I have no doubt whatsoever that ill-tempered and graceless one provoked it and stoked it. A nasty bit of work.
The brouhaha in the tunnel was just embarrassing. Mou probably did start it as he took exception to City's raucous celebrations, and City did get into a similar fracas at Stamford Bridge last year, but it's all just tedious excuses. They won, they can celebrate like they won a cup final if they like. They do have one hand on the PL trophy already.
United is going to have to deal with being second best in Manchester and the rest of England for a while unless the Glazers show a bit more willingness to open their wallets, especially compared to how freely Guardiola's transfer policy has been backed by City. I'm not a Mou fan, but I'd rather not lose him to PSG and face having to start over yet again with another manager.
United is going to have to deal with being second best in Manchester and the rest of England for a while unless the Glazers show a bit more willingness to open their wallets, especially compared to how freely Guardiola's transfer policy has been backed by City. I'm not a Mou fan, but I'd rather not lose him to PSG and face having to start over yet again with another manager.
History suggests he will not hang around very long, even if he wins trophies.
The overall average managerial tenure from the period 1992-present is something like two and half seasons. The current average based on the last couple seasons is now little more than one season. If the trends continue, it may eventually become rare for a manager to complete a full season before being sacked.
With the Ferguson era long over now, I think average lengths of tenure at Man Utd will fall closer to those averages. The same goes for post-Wenger Arsenal, when that day comes.
Last edited:
Why am I not surprised by Mourinho's behavior, I will be happy to see him gone.
After the abysmal way Thomas Tuchel got sacked last year (the most successful ppg-manager Dortmund ever had - although a demanding personality) after he won them a cup after five years of nothing I'm quite pleased with the way Dortmund went downhill afterwards.
Poor Peter Bosz, who thought it a good idea to leave Ajax after only one year already, who just got sacked after 12-13 concecutive games without a single win. Now they just hired Peter Stöger who fortunately just got sacked himself after breaking the record of 'the worst start into a season ever' with ease (3p after 15 matches; last match Cologne even lost after leading 3:0..albeit he was already sacked the day before).
Karma.
Too bad Hertha Berlin is in shambles as well though.
Poor Peter Bosz, who thought it a good idea to leave Ajax after only one year already, who just got sacked after 12-13 concecutive games without a single win. Now they just hired Peter Stöger who fortunately just got sacked himself after breaking the record of 'the worst start into a season ever' with ease (3p after 15 matches; last match Cologne even lost after leading 3:0..albeit he was already sacked the day before).
Karma.
Too bad Hertha Berlin is in shambles as well though.
After the abysmal way Thomas Tuchel got sacked last year (the most successful ppg-manager Dortmund ever had - although a demanding personality) after he won them a cup after five years of nothing I'm quite pleased with the way Dortmund went downhill afterwards.
Poor Peter Bosz, who thought it a good idea to leave Ajax after only one year already, who just got sacked after 12-13 concecutive games without a single win. Now they just hired Peter Stöger who fortunately just got sacked himself after breaking the record of 'the worst start into a season ever' with ease (3p after 15 matches; last match Cologne even lost after leading 3:0..albeit he was already sacked the day before).
Karma.
Too bad Hertha Berlin is in shambles as well though.
It sounds as though Bayern and Dortmund are currently in a bit of a tug-of-war over Julian Nagelsmann.
As as outsider, it's hard to dislike Dortmund because they are a contender but not boringly dominant like Bayern, nor are they odiously nouveau-riche like RB Leipzig.
Plus, they play in the same colors as my own (endangered) Columbus Crew.
I don't think Bayern wants Nagelsmann now. Apparently he got a buy out clause for 2019 and Hoffenheim doesn't need the money to let him go before that. He's too inexperienced (international duties + hasn't got to deal with real 'stars' in his team) so I doubt it . Would make even more sense to let him go to Dortmund first, take the next step and then come to Munich once he's ready. Dortmund may not like that but they actually have little choices left as the market for outstanding managers is extremely small.
Rumours have it that Tuchel is likely going to Bayern next season..
And yes, Dortmund was extremely sympathetic..I was an avid follower as you may know. But the way they've treated Tuchel was just...infuriating. The team seems divided with the old Klopp players forming a powerful and influential posse - and the bosses seem to have been stuck in the Klopp era as well.
Anyway, of course there are lots of players I don't wish any bad, especially Pulisic and Guerreiro, but all in all I say they've asked for this.
I've been listening to some of the latest podcasts, and it seems the issue of whether Klopp is to blame for the draw against Everton remains a heated point for debate.
I'm still sticking to my original conclusion - Klopp was right to rest the players he did, even though they might have won the game for him. If there is something to blame Klopp for it could be perhaps the timing of the subs, but that is a minor issue. The team he put out should have won 2-1 or 3-1, even allowing for the penalty.
Everton were terrible (and even less ambitious than Mourinho against Man City) and got lucky with a penalty. Big Sam's hot air about "mastering" Liverpool just makes him look like an insecure fool. The match demonstrated why he will never land a job with a 'top' team - his football is simply too boring and defeatist. At least Mourinho usually attempts to engineer mistakes in his opponents that he can then punish...Big Sam doesn't even do that. He doesn't know how to use above-average footballers to anything resembling their potential.
It's just sickening to see Dortmund constantly being robbed of talent by Bayern. SO predictable, so lame. I wish the owners insisted on a "anywhere but Bayern" sell-on clause in all their contracts.
Klopp has a lot of charisma, so I can see how his leaving a team would leave behind a major "Klopp hangover". Tuchel was a good manager and the way he was let go did not reflect well on Dortmund.
Anyway, of course there are lots of players I don't wish any bad, especially Pulisic and Guerreiro, but all in all I say they've asked for this.[/QUOTE]
Pulisic is literally the ONLY hope for US Soccer now (and thus we probably have no hope, because nobody can do it all by themselves). I hope he keeps playing well and stays healthy.
I'm still sticking to my original conclusion - Klopp was right to rest the players he did, even though they might have won the game for him. If there is something to blame Klopp for it could be perhaps the timing of the subs, but that is a minor issue. The team he put out should have won 2-1 or 3-1, even allowing for the penalty.
Everton were terrible (and even less ambitious than Mourinho against Man City) and got lucky with a penalty. Big Sam's hot air about "mastering" Liverpool just makes him look like an insecure fool. The match demonstrated why he will never land a job with a 'top' team - his football is simply too boring and defeatist. At least Mourinho usually attempts to engineer mistakes in his opponents that he can then punish...Big Sam doesn't even do that. He doesn't know how to use above-average footballers to anything resembling their potential.
It's just sickening to see Dortmund constantly being robbed of talent by Bayern. SO predictable, so lame. I wish the owners insisted on a "anywhere but Bayern" sell-on clause in all their contracts.
Klopp has a lot of charisma, so I can see how his leaving a team would leave behind a major "Klopp hangover". Tuchel was a good manager and the way he was let go did not reflect well on Dortmund.
Anyway, of course there are lots of players I don't wish any bad, especially Pulisic and Guerreiro, but all in all I say they've asked for this.[/QUOTE]
Pulisic is literally the ONLY hope for US Soccer now (and thus we probably have no hope, because nobody can do it all by themselves). I hope he keeps playing well and stays healthy.
Oh, yes, agreed.
As long as Mr Mourinho manages United, I devoutly hope they lose every fixture. He is a toxic and utterly repellant human being.
Burnley win today and move to fourth in the Premier League table. Yes, FOURTH.
All square at West Ham so far, although Arsenal have had a lot more possession.
A goal disallowed for us seems the right decision.
Come on you Irons!
A goal disallowed for us seems the right decision.
Come on you Irons!
My local team growing up although I’ve always been a Liverpool fan. Made for an interesting childhood.
Great for them though and I just hope they keep hold of Dyche. He’s a genius with that team
I hate to sound like a broken record, but Liverpool were again unlucky not to win today. A disappointing result after a solid but unexceptional performance against a very defensive team.
Down to fifth and out of the CL spots.
Down to fifth and out of the CL spots.
Well we need the point more than you. Hope we can build some momentum from these last couple of results.
The bottom of the table is incredibly tight. One win separates 13-19th. Stoke next for us. Should be winnable.
Well yes. But we are playing for our lives. You are playing for a Europa League spot!
An hours delay at Stoke due to a power outage.
Just kicked off. Come on you Irons!
We need the win.
[doublepost=1513443008][/doublepost]1-0 to us then as we approach half time (Noble-Pen). Feel sure Arnautovic will get something against his old club though as he's gone close a couple of times.
With Palace winning, we need the result. Still very tight down there.
Just kicked off. Come on you Irons!
We need the win.
[doublepost=1513443008][/doublepost]1-0 to us then as we approach half time (Noble-Pen). Feel sure Arnautovic will get something against his old club though as he's gone close a couple of times.
With Palace winning, we need the result. Still very tight down there.
- Status