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The 2020-2021 Football Thread

Scepticalscribe said:
Hm, perhaps.

But, how many bridges can he burn?

Or, rather, how many bridges can he burn and still remain employable?

Leaving aside character, is he still professional relevant at the top level, in terms of tactical innovation, or even in terms of keeping abreast of tactical innovation in the game, or is he approaching obsolescence, and running the risk of appearing to be "yesterday's man" in terms of how the game has evolved?

He has worked with Manchester United, Chelsea (twice), and now, Spurs, - and that is only in England - and, with the exception of his early days in Portugal, almost every job has ended in anguish and explosively and with considerable rancour.

My only question was when (not if) this predictable pattern of behaviour would begin to emerge with Spurs.
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Well when being sacked means a considerable payout, I’m sure he’s not losing too much sleep over it.

After all any club where he hasn’t been successful I’m sure in his head it’s the fault of the Chairman, Directors, Players or press. Definitely not him!
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
What an extraordinary ending to a game; PSG flatter to deceive and their dominance (although that may now be called increasingly into question) in the French domestic league has masked their inadequacies which are dramatically and starkly exposed in the latter stages of European competitions.
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PSG are pointing the way to a new 'normal' at the top of world football - a massively wealthy team that serves as part of a nation's propaganda campaign. Their owners want their team to be flashy and make an impact, a useful distraction from the owners' doings back at home.

To that end, they are ultimately not built with balance or sustainability in mind. They aren't even built to generate cash. In such a weird scenario, you end up with ludicrously expensive and talented yet unbalanced and unstable squads. They can beat anyone on a given day but they are still just a collection of expensive pieces parts and just as soulless as their owners.

Scepticalscribe said:
Indeed, I do wonder whether this is the beginning of the (almost inevitable) Mourinho pattern of the souring of the atmosphere and relations at Spurs, with the team and the staff.
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I think it may be even more than that. Up till now, we have expected Mourinho to be a winner who arrives, squeezes some silverware out of a club after some big signings, then detonates his managerial tenure and moves on. But, unless he turns things around quick, I think the new Mourinho is a man who arrives, does an awful lot of public complaining, plays boring football, puts on a sideshow on the touchline and in the presser...then wins nothing and THEN detonates his tenure and moves on. The winning Mourinho is ancient history.
 
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Getting ready to watch Sheffield/Wolves match. I'm hoping the young'un Silva gets some playing time.

Nice goal by the Wolves!

The Wolves are on a fast horse, another goal!
 
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Timo Werner is looking good; Lallana has gone off with what looks like a tweaked muscle, a bad sign.

Chelsea have spent huge in the transfer market. Will it be enough to finish ahead of, say, Arsenal and/or Man Utd? Will Frank steer his very wealthy side clear of OGS and Arteta?
 
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Apple fanboy said:
Well when being sacked means a considerable payout, I’m sure he’s not losing too much sleep over it.

After all any club where he hasn’t been successful I’m sure in his head it’s the fault of the Chairman, Directors, Players or press. Definitely not him!
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True.

Nevertheless, few managers leave a position - on a regular basis - trailing such a cloud of rancour and toxic negativity.

Moreover, Mourinho seems to strangle the creativity in his teams, and is awfully good at attaching blame to others; his teams don't seem to enjoy actually playing the game.

In truth, I am very sorry that Spurs didn't win any silverware under Pochettino; he was a excellent manager, they were a very fine team under him, and it would have been nice to have seen this rewarded in some tangible way.

Lord Blackadder said:
PSG are pointing the way to a new 'normal' at the top of world football - a massively wealthy team that serves as part of a nation's propaganda campaign. Their owners want their team to be flashy and make an impact, a useful distraction from the owners' doings back at home.

To that end, they are ultimately not built with balance or sustainability in mind. They aren't even built to generate cash. In such a weird scenario, you end up with ludicrously expensive and talented yet unbalanced and unstable squads. They can beat anyone on a given day but they are still just a collection of expensive pieces parts and just as soulless as their owners.



I think it may be even more than that. Up till now, we have expected Mourinho to be a winner who arrives, squeezes some silverware out of a club after some big signings, then detonates his managerial tenure and moves on. But, unless he turns things around quick, I think the new Mourinho is a man who arrives, does an awful lot of public complaining, plays boring football, puts on a sideshow on the touchline and in the presser...then wins nothing and THEN detonates his tenure and moves on. The winning Mourinho is ancient history.
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Excellent post, and salient points on both PSG and the most recent incarnation of Mourinho.
 
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HandsomeDanNZ said:
This is why Saints didn't want him back, despite there being signs that he might come back. He's injury prone and whilst undeniably a decent footballer, you'll get maybe a half season out of him if you look after him.
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I really rated him at Liverpool, and so did Klopp. However, he is injury prone - not Andy Carroll levels of fragile, but he isn't going to be playing a whole season without substantial spells out injured.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
I really rated him at Liverpool, and so did Klopp. However, he is injury prone - not Andy Carroll levels of fragile, but he isn't going to be playing a whole season without substantial spells out injured.
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Actually, while we are on the subject, I was really surprised to see Andy Carroll on the pitch in the weekend. I thought he would've sprained or ruptured something in the off-season.
 
HandsomeDanNZ said:
Actually, while we are on the subject, I was really surprised to see Andy Carroll on the pitch in the weekend. I thought he would've sprained or ruptured something in the off-season.
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I was almost hoping he would. After all, all those months of paying his salary but getting no game time out of him.
Plus that elbow at the start wasn’t very friendly.
 
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The excellent Swiss Ramble Twitter account put out a series of posts with some interesting data on Premier League finances. One eye-opening chart is owner financing. Many club owners finance their operation in part through substantial infusions of cash. One very glaring exception to that rule is Man Utd - the Glazers have taken nearly 90 million pounds out of the club in just the last five years.

Man Utd generate more revenue than everyone else, but their finances are healthy in spite of rather than because of the Glazers. They are only going to remain on top of the revenue pile as long as their alleged billion fans in Asia (or whatever they claim the number is) keep buying shirts and drinking sponsored beverages.

It's also worth noting that the other clubs whose owners are taking money out include clubs like Newcastle and West Ham...cubs where the owner-fan relationship is....less than ideal.

Eh20eHGWsAMc6a7
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
The excellent Swiss Ramble Twitter account put out a series of posts with some interesting data on Premier League finances. One eye-opening chart is owner financing. Many club owners finance their operation in part through substantial infusions of cash. One very glaring exception to that rule is Man Utd - the Glazers have taken nearly 90 million pounds out of the club in just the last five years.

Man Utd generate more revenue than everyone else, but their finances are healthy in spite of rather than because of the Glazers. They are only going to remain on top of the revenue pile as long as their alleged billion fans in Asia (or whatever they claim the number is) keep buying shirts and drinking sponsored beverages.

It's also worth noting that the other clubs whose owners are taking money out include clubs like Newcastle and West Ham...cubs where the owner-fan relationship is....less than ideal.

Eh20eHGWsAMc6a7
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Yes things at West Ham aren’t great. Too many poor signings over the last decade or so. Paying over the top wages for players that spend more time in the treatment room than the pitch.
At least we are 2-0 up in the cup!
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
The excellent Swiss Ramble Twitter account put out a series of posts with some interesting data on Premier League finances. One eye-opening chart is owner financing. Many club owners finance their operation in part through substantial infusions of cash. One very glaring exception to that rule is Man Utd - the Glazers have taken nearly 90 million pounds out of the club in just the last five years.

Man Utd generate more revenue than everyone else, but their finances are healthy in spite of rather than because of the Glazers. They are only going to remain on top of the revenue pile as long as their alleged billion fans in Asia (or whatever they claim the number is) keep buying shirts and drinking sponsored beverages.

It's also worth noting that the other clubs whose owners are taking money out include clubs like Newcastle and West Ham...cubs where the owner-fan relationship is....less than ideal.

Eh20eHGWsAMc6a7
Click to expand...

Fascinating - and a most instructive and interesting - chart, and thanks for sharing it.
 
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So Bale on loan to Spurs looks like a done deal. It will be interesting to see if he is a positive influence on the dressing room and the pitch.
But I suppose it’s a way out of his current nightmare.
 
Apple fanboy said:
So Bale on loan to Spurs looks like a done deal. It will be interesting to see if he is a positive influence on the dressing room and the pitch.
But I suppose it’s a way out of his current nightmare.
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Bale is an excellent player.

However, I am not so sure that the main issue, or problem, or challenge, faced by Spurs can be answered by th arrival of Bale; the departure of Mourinho may - in the long term - prove more positive.

I am genuinely sorry that Spurs never collected any silverware under Pochettino; it would have done their self-belief some good, and set a seal of "success" (measured in trophies) on the period when he was in charge. The contrast with Arteta - who already has one FA Cup - is instructive.

Mind you, I am of the opinion that the sacking of Pochettino was unfortunate, and the appointment of Mourinho even more unfortunate.

It is not just that in terms of tactics, and how the game can be imagined and played, he is yesterday's man, it is his toxic and negative character and temperament and personality that grates most on me.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Bale is an excellent player.

However, I am not so sure that the main issue, or problem, or challenge, faced by Spurs can be answered by th arrival of Bale; the departure of Mourinho may - in the long term - prove more positive.

I am genuinely sorry that Spurs never collected any silverware under Pochettino; it would have done their self-belief some good, and set a seal of "success" (measured in trophies) on the period when he was in charge. The contrast with Arteta - who already has one FA Cup - is instructive.

Mind you, I am of the opinion that the sacking of Pochettino was unfortunate, and the appointment of Mourinho even more unfortunate.

It is not just that in terms of tactics, and how the game can be imagined and played, he is yesterday's man, it is his toxic and negative character and temperament and personality that grates most on me.
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I love Pochettino.
 
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pachyderm said:
I love Pochettino.
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As do I.

Elsewhere, Martínez - an excellent goal-keeper who performed exceptionally well for Arsenal when he replaced the injured Leno - has left Arsenal for Aston Villa, permanently, his sale netting the club £20m.

With the return of Leno to fitness, the issue was that he would not have been guaranteed first team football, and he wished to move to a club where he is the first team choice.

Personally, I regret this, as he was excellent, and performed exceptionally well when he replaced Leno. In fact, I suspect that he may have been a better keeper than Leno, and would have preferred to have kept him, offering regular first team football, where he and Leno would both be used regularly.

However, with firm offers from both Villa and Brighton for him, - and Aubameyang's fresh contract to finance - it may have been difficult to resist cashing in on him.

Elsewhere, Aubameyang has (finally) signed a fresh three year contract with Arsenal.
 
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Apple fanboy said:
That’s got to be the best bit of need you’ve had all summer. Without him you are doomed.
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Very good news.

Doomed without him? No.

But suffering and struggling, and stumbling and staggering through the season, undoubtedly, yes.

Good news, but - to be perfectly candid - I would have also liked to have kept Martínez; he is excellent.

There are others on the team I would happily off-load, but not Martínez. I'm sorry we couldn't have kept him, and regularly played both keepers.
 
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