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The 2021-2022 Football Thread
- Thread starter Scepticalscribe
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Talk Klopp will see out his contact before taking a gap year from the sport. Perhaps he wants to try and put himself in the frame.
SPL is like speaking another language. Very different league. And the Old Firm exist in their own world...
The whole idea about Gerrard managing Liverpool is pure emotion, just like all the other 'Legendary' ex-player managers we see in the sport now. Heart, not head. Klopp is proven world-class managerial talent. Gerrard succeeding him could easily lead to tears.
He clearly knows how to manage a football team, but there is no evidence he can succeed at the Premier League Level. I want him to succeed, naturally, but I remain suspicious of 'Legendary' ex-player managers. They are getting jobs over more qualified 'non-legendary' candidates, of that I am sure.
The whole idea about Gerrard managing Liverpool is pure emotion, just like all the other 'Legendary' ex-player managers we see in the sport now. Heart, not head. Klopp is proven world-class managerial talent. Gerrard succeeding him could easily lead to tears.
He clearly knows how to manage a football team, but there is no evidence he can succeed at the Premier League Level. I want him to succeed, naturally, but I remain suspicious of 'Legendary' ex-player managers. They are getting jobs over more qualified 'non-legendary' candidates, of that I am sure.
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It’s unlikely Liverpool are going to get a like for like replacement when Klopp leaves as there’s so few available.
Look at united Fergie has been irreplaceable for going on a decade now.
Agreed.
In today's edition of the Guardian, Ewan Murray has a very good, thoughtful and thought-provoking piece entitled, "Gerrard did well at Rangers but has he really earned the Aston Villa job?" (the answer the article suggests is "no") which is well worth reading.
Very good point; and, to a considerable extent, this has also applied to Arsenal since Mr Wenger left the club, although the trajectory of the club's decline had set in well before then.
There is no bottling lighting. You can't replicate success in football except through financial doping, and even that is less than totally reliable.
It would be unwise to hope to find 'another Klopp'. And anyway Gerrard is not that, from a tactical perspective. The best Liverpool can hope from Klopp's future replacement is that they take the club in a different, but successful, direction.
Case in point: the Dutch. Their national team managers get roasted unless they play 4-3-3, regardless of any factors like the actual available player pool or the tactics of their opponents. They are permanently haunted by the ghosts of the past and it holds them back.
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To be fair, the only place I could see AlpenKlopp going is Liverpool - plays a similar high energy pressing game and is hard to beat.
With more resources, Herr Hassenhuttl could do wondrous things.
He is also capable of distrous things (9-0, anyone?), so what do I know.
Having great players is a good thing, but having great TEAM players is much better.
Agreed. Especially if paired with a great manager!
Well to be honest, I think some of us knew this already.
Another Dos a Cero for USA against Mexico. Very satisfying and USA now top qualifying on goal difference.
There are a lot of tough matches left to play in the octagonal round, including away trips to Mexico and Canada.
There are a lot of tough matches left to play in the octagonal round, including away trips to Mexico and Canada.
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How does that confederation work?
Is there a play-off after the initial (1-4?) teams are automatically qualified for the WC?
The octagonal round is the third round of qualifying. 8 teams, everyone plays everyone home and away. Top three teams go to the WC, fourth placed team goes to inter-federation playoffs.
I see Andy Carroll has picked another gig.
If I am honest, I thought he'd retired.
Playing for Reading on a short-term deal until January.
I think he's effectively injury-cover...good luck with that. He's unlikely to last more than a game or two before he gets the knack.
If I am honest, I thought he'd retired.
Playing for Reading on a short-term deal until January.
I think he's effectively injury-cover...good luck with that. He's unlikely to last more than a game or two before he gets the knack.
England just achieved one of their biggest - but also most meaningless - wins ever. Crazy scoreline against poor San Marino but games like this have absolutely nothing to do with whether England are actually any good at World Cups...though this match does underline the value of the Nations League as a way to avoid these sorts of matches.
When, after England get dumped out of the quarters in Qatar, people are shouting "...but Kane scored X goals during qualifying! Why was he so blunt today?" we'll have to remind ourselves that these goals came against the likes of San Marino, Albania, Andorra...
CONCACAF has an awful lot wrong with it, but USA rarely ever play even friendlies this lopsided and competitively pointless...
If it hadn't been for his trouble with injuries he would have perhaps carved out a solid career and decent goalscoring record with mid-table teams, and had a further smattering of England call-ups as an impact sub.
When, after England get dumped out of the quarters in Qatar, people are shouting "...but Kane scored X goals during qualifying! Why was he so blunt today?" we'll have to remind ourselves that these goals came against the likes of San Marino, Albania, Andorra...
CONCACAF has an awful lot wrong with it, but USA rarely ever play even friendlies this lopsided and competitively pointless...
He was overrated when he went to Liverpool (and to be fair many suspected that at the time - I do love the fact that Luis Suarez was second billing when he signed around the same time - for less money!).
If it hadn't been for his trouble with injuries he would have perhaps carved out a solid career and decent goalscoring record with mid-table teams, and had a further smattering of England call-ups as an impact sub.
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I think we scraped through that one 
Poor San Marino, not a nice feeling walking off the pitch after that.
Poor San Marino, not a nice feeling walking off the pitch after that.
Andy Robertson hurt on Scotland duty. Liverpool may be fielding a scratch side against Arsenal.
Whilst that's bad luck for Liverpool, I was pleased to see Stu Armstrong and Che McAdams linking up for the last goal.
Great momentum for the upcoming game against Norwich - Saints' second against Dean Smith in 2 games!
Andy Carroll. The money we paid him each week to sit in the treatment room. Hope he’s on a pay if you play deal.
Yes meaningless qualifiers are pretty pointless. I saw the teams line up and it looked like Men against boys.
There is no point to these matches. Neither team has the opportunity to learn anything, but there is the usual risk of injury. The match, as a spectacle, is a one-sided farce and thus the TV product is poor. Kane inflates his goals tally with asterisk-laden goals (not his fault, but I could probably score against San Marino, so....). There is nothing meaningful for pundits to 'analyze,' so they stumble around making stuff up or repeating old talking points.
Lopsided matchups sometime produce interesting upsets - Northern Ireland drawing with Italy, for example. But the gulf in class there is still notably less than England-San Marino.
It’s worse than when a top Prem side gets a non league side in the FA cup. The difference is so great. But what’s the answer? Pre qualifiers for lower ranked teams or something else?
The worst part about these games for me is the press talk up England so much based on these results, that when we do face a tough side they get on the teams back for not scoring 3+ goals a game.
I think that was what the tiered Nations League (or whatever it was called) was supposed to address, wasn't it?
Andorra vs Lichtenstein and Gibraltar vs Faroe Islands as opposed to giants against minnows.
Problem is, it's not used as the main entry point for the WC playoffs.
Oceania has the same issue, with NZ (despite it's current ranking outside the top 100) being the one side that can field a team of full professionals and having a Premier League striker and various European, US and AU based pros in the squad.
We then have to change gears after decimating the opposition in the qualifiers and winning Oceania, to play the fifth best team in either Sth America, Asia or another confederation - which is hard work, when the squad only plays teams ranked 120 or lower.
In the FA cup there's a year of qualifying before the really small teams get into the actual qualifying. I remember my cousin saying they'd made it to the 5th round of the FA Cup...I was blown away - then he explained what that meant. He was in the 5th round of pre-qualifying for the next year's cup qualifying...it's a weird system, but it does stop the completely amateur 9th tier teams from coming up against West Ham or Leeds or Liverpool unexpectedly. It takes a lot of games to get to that point and the big teams don't even join until the 3rd round, or so.
But I agree. Something needs to change. It can't be good for the soul to be beaten 10 nil and it can't be easy as a top pro, risking your season on a more-or-less meaningless game.
The nations league was the one good idea that’s been implemented in tournament formats in the last several decades. Prevent mismatches as much as possible so that teams are playing similar opponents.
Unfortunately the way UEFA’s qualifying system is set up you still get very lopsided ties here and there.
Sailing through a qualifying group is not a meaningless achievement but it doesn’t really mean much apart from booking a ticket to the finals…ask any MLS fan about this - you can have a pretty crap season but if you can just squeak into the playoffs and then get hot at the right time, you can win it all. OR you can have a great regular seaon, top the league, and then essentially lose the title in one playoff match due to injuries, bad luck, mistakes, or a tactical misstep.
Unfortunately the way UEFA’s qualifying system is set up you still get very lopsided ties here and there.
Sailing through a qualifying group is not a meaningless achievement but it doesn’t really mean much apart from booking a ticket to the finals…ask any MLS fan about this - you can have a pretty crap season but if you can just squeak into the playoffs and then get hot at the right time, you can win it all. OR you can have a great regular seaon, top the league, and then essentially lose the title in one playoff match due to injuries, bad luck, mistakes, or a tactical misstep.
