April 2014 Football Thread

[Pete]

Feel sorry for Moyes. By hitting the panic button after just one year they will have sunk to the level of every other club they were "better than" that pulls the same stunt.

[Raziel]

Moyes problem is less with the whole "Poisoned Chalice of succeding Sir Alex" thing and more with the "Turns out I was in way over my fucking head" thing.  Its not a panic button, its that Moyes can't run this team.  He lost the locker room, and made it worse by not asserting his authority early.  The locker room got pissed when he changed the entire backroom staff, then he wouldn't make selection choices until the last possible minute.  He froze out quality players for no reason, played quality players out of position for no good reason, held no players accountable for half-assed performance, showed no confidence in the team's, or his, performance.  He's made no adjustments on the pitch during games when the team is being outplayed, and he spent up until 3 weeks ago running out the same 4-4-1-1 that was getting shit over by the entire league.  He lost the back room, lost the fans, and now lost the board.   He set all the wrong records, only beat a top team once, had the worst home record in almost 40 years.  

 

And all this with pretty much the exact same squad as last season.  The one that won the league by 11 points.  

 

if this was a panic button move, I'd bitch it was a panic button move.  This is a case of Moyes is a real shitty Manager, as evidenced by Everton actually being a better team since he left.  He's not the one to rebuild the team, not in the way United needs to, and that the board/supporters/sponsors expect it to be.

[Cristobal]

aaaand Pete hooks one in.

[Raziel]

Pfffffft!

 

I stand alone, ALONE!!!

[SolidGoldBomb]

Fuck Man Utd's squad, Rio specifically has got some crazy fucking nerve speaking out about anyone with the way he has played this season.  Fuck him to the fullest extent, that old washed up piece of trash deserves to die in a hail of coins.

 

 

United's squad has played like shit all season and now with their collective sandbagging they have conned the powers that be into blaming it all on the manager, when ultimately the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of Rio, Rooney, Vidic, Evra, Van Persie, Carrick etc.  Rooney has held the team for ransom twice, and that's exactly the kind of attitude that has caused them to lose so much this season.  Each player is just trying to dodge blame this year while none of them have stepped up to play like a cohesive team.  Moyes only real fault is he should have talked trash about this side from the beginning and made it more public that this squad was old, uninspired and needed a complete overhaul, too bad he was too dumb to realize he got played by everyone this season as the scapegoat.

[Death From Above]

Sadly in the championship Blackpool are at the wrong end of the table. Currently in a relegation slot on goal difference. :-(

 

Come back crazy orange bastards that refuse to defend. We miss you.

[Cristobal]

[Death From Above]

One of the random historical pictures accounts I follow on twitter just put up this beauty. Gerald Ford and Pele, 1975.

[Cristobal]

Pele then kicked it through the legs of a member of the President's Secret Service detail. Pele to this day counts it as one of his goals.

[ReiseReise]

I wonder if Klopp will make the jump. He could go to Barcelona too, possibly. He's made some fairly terrible tactical decisions this year but injuries are the main excuse for Dortmund's fall from grace.

 

Not really a fall from grace imo. Good performances in the Champion´s League despite not repeating the result of 2013, quite likely runners up in the league plus a secured CL-spot and making it to the German cup final despite loads of injured key players sounds like a pretty decent season. Bayern ran away with it, but Dortmund didn´t perform much worse than last season in the league actually. Still can see Klopp going, he will loose Lewandowski to Bayern and there´s no forward who can replace that man, at least not one Dortmund can afford. Players like Mhkitaryan and Aubameyang aren´t consistant enough just yet.

That being said, Klopp is under contract until 2016 so Dortmund will probably be looking for a transfer fee. No real idea if he would be in over his head managing ManU or Barca, his first two years in Dortmund were decent but not sensational. He came in right after a catastrophic run of Borussia, who had spent some years as a lower midtable team, even battling relegation. Klopp´s first two seasons got them to do a slow turnaround, gradually improving the team while managing to take Euro-League spots while playing a young team. The first European campaigns with Klopp were major disappointments, the club failing to get results despite spirited performances. I don´t know if clubs and fans in Manchester or Barcelona would give the guy the same time he got in Dortmund.

Another difficulty is the - still existing - difference between managers in Germany and England, the Bundesliga employes mostly coaches, who are rarely almighty in doing the transfer deals. Those are often done by seperate managers, although the coaches like Klopp get a certain say in transfer deals and the like. The only Bundesliga manager who worked the way English managers seem to be doing was Felix Magath, who is in Fullham as of now. Aside from all that I´m not really sure if the playing style Klopp preferred so far in his managing/coaching career is what works with ManU or Barca. 

[Ultimo The Great]

Thankfully someone has woke up to the fact this is going nowhere. Moyes isn't a bad manager he's just not up to this job and i doubt giving him whatever cash is going to be spent (and i'd be gobsmacked if it was anywhere near £200m) and another season wouldn't change that. good luck to him.

It looks like it'll be Van Gaal (won't be able to be manager until after the world cup!), there's been rumours for awhile now including De Boer being number two and taking over in a few years. I'm not confident Van Gaal's the right guy but he's a better choice than Blanc. Klopp and Guardiola won't be moving according to most in germany, Conte won't leave Juve, Ancelotti will probably be sacked but can't see him at United. Bielsa would be the bonkers choice, i wanted Simeone last summer and that's not changed after the amazing season he's had.

No matter who's in charge it's going to the biggest summer we've ever had. With Moyes in charge Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Chicharito, Anderson, Zaha and Kagawa look to be going. Now it could be all up in the air again. Then there's the Rooney-Mata problem.

I can see Moyes at Spurs next season

[Death From Above]

I can't see Pep going anywhere but back to Barcelona and even that's more of a "Barcelona fan rumor" to me. I just don't see what he gains by risking a Godly reputation trying to rebuild admittedly a superclub when he already has a superclub, and would probably be welcomed back at the superclub he was at before.

 

I can see Moyes at Spurs next season

 

I feel dirty all over.

[sabremike]

According to the documentary "Once in a Lifetime", Henry Kissinger was one of the key players in the Brazilian government giving it's blessing to Pele's move to the Cosmos.

[Ultimo The Great]

 

I can see Moyes at Spurs next season

 

I feel dirty all over.

 

United and Spurs are on a roundabout together.

 

There was a strong rumour last year before Fergie retired that Spurs wanted Moyes, we got him.

 

There's been a strong rumour Van Gaal will be at Spurs after the World Cup, he'll probably be at United next season.

 

I'm very nervous that we're taking Levy's lead on managers. That's a long bad road

[Jiji]

I can't see Pep going anywhere but back to Barcelona and even that's more of a "Barcelona fan rumor" to me. I just don't see what he gains by risking a Godly reputation trying to rebuild admittedly a superclub when he already has a superclub, and would probably be welcomed back at the superclub he was at before.

Why would he leave Bayern? Because Franz Beckenbauer is Franz Beckenbauer.

[Zheroen]

It looks like it'll be Van Gaal (won't be able to be manager until after the world cup!), there's been rumours for awhile now including De Boer being number two and taking over in a few years. I'm not confident Van Gaal's the right guy but he's a better choice than Blanc. Klopp and Guardiola won't be moving according to most in germany, Conte won't leave Juve, Ancelotti will probably be sacked but can't see him at United. Bielsa would be the bonkers choice, i wanted Simeone last summer and that's not changed after the amazing season he's had.

 

I don't think that there is any chance that De Boer leaves his current Ajax setup (almost clinched their fourth straight Eredivisie title running since he took over the reins) to be someone's no.2 after firmly establishing himself as one of the most promising young managers in Europe.  Next season with Ajax he'll be starting a team almost entirely composed of players he brought up through the youth team ranks, unless he gets an offer from a top team to be the boss, I think he'll stay.

[piranesi]

One of the random historical pictures accounts I follow on twitter just put up this beauty. Gerald Ford and Pele, 1975.

 

My God it looks like Patrick McGoohan is in the background...waiting for his moment to strike.

[ReiseReise]

 

I can't see Pep going anywhere but back to Barcelona and even that's more of a "Barcelona fan rumor" to me. I just don't see what he gains by risking a Godly reputation trying to rebuild admittedly a superclub when he already has a superclub, and would probably be welcomed back at the superclub he was at before.

Why would he leave Bayern? Because Franz Beckenbauer is Franz Beckenbauer.

 

Beckenbauer is an amazing character. He was a good player in the great teams of the late 60s and the 70ies, at his best when others did the dirty work for him. Basically all the systems involving Franz where modified 3 - 4 - 3s with Beckenbauer as a "Libero" and a Center Defensive Midfielder like Schwarzenbeck covering and defending for him while the Kaiser went up the field to attack. He was a mediocre inspirational figure as a coach, managing to win titles the respective teams should have won without any coach at all with others doing the dirty work for him. E.g. the actual training and the tactical preperations, something Vogts did in 1990, or his UEFA Cup win in 1996, where the team won a semifinal against Barca and the club had the coach Otto Rehagel fired after a loss in the league for Beckenbauer to swoop in and add another title to his merit by playing a final as heavy favourites against Bordeaux. He allegedly got us the 2006 World Cup as a representative while, you guessed it, others did the dirty work like working out proper concepts and add campaigns (maybe bribing FIFA officials, haha).

Over the years the guy has been UNBEARABLE talking insufferable amounts of crap and being a pest to most people following football. He is probably a great guy talking football in the 70ies, but the way he talks about the game indicates he doesn´t understand modern concepts in footie. I know I´m coming off prickish here, but that guy really grinds my gears.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

So it is accomplished. 

 

Gaal is 7/4 at Bet365 but BetVictor have him at 3/1. Klopp is between 3/1 and 8/1. Giggs is between 6/1 and 8/1 with about 16/1 barr the field. So little is clear right now.

[Red is Dead]

Partially Moyes fault for being in over his head somewhat.

 

but the petulant attitude of some of their stars has just shown how much of a bunch of cunts these overpriced wankers are.

[Mr Harms]

This is a sad sad day. It's all too much, and that's all I can say right now.

[Pete]

 

Long may you ride, sweet funnyman.

[SirFozzie]

Klopp says "I'm not going anywhere."

 

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2014/04/22/jurgen-klopp-rules-himself-out-of-manchester-united-gig/

[Death From Above]

 

 

I can't see Pep going anywhere but back to Barcelona and even that's more of a "Barcelona fan rumor" to me. I just don't see what he gains by risking a Godly reputation trying to rebuild admittedly a superclub when he already has a superclub, and would probably be welcomed back at the superclub he was at before.

Why would he leave Bayern? Because Franz Beckenbauer is Franz Beckenbauer.

 

Beckenbauer is an amazing character. He was a good player in the great teams of the late 60s and the 70ies, at his best when others did the dirty work for him. Basically all the systems involving Franz where modified 3 - 4 - 3s with Beckenbauer as a "Libero" and a Center Defensive Midfielder like Schwarzenbeck covering and defending for him while the Kaiser went up the field to attack. He was a mediocre inspirational figure as a coach, managing to win titles the respective teams should have won without any coach at all with others doing the dirty work for him. E.g. the actual training and the tactical preperations, something Vogts did in 1990, or his UEFA Cup win in 1996, where the team won a semifinal against Barca and the club had the coach Otto Rehagel fired after a loss in the league for Beckenbauer to swoop in and add another title to his merit by playing a final as heavy favourites against Bordeaux. He allegedly got us the 2006 World Cup as a representative while, you guessed it, others did the dirty work like working out proper concepts and add campaigns (maybe bribing FIFA officials, haha).

Over the years the guy has been UNBEARABLE talking insufferable amounts of crap and being a pest to most people following football. He is probably a great guy talking football in the 70ies, but the way he talks about the game indicates he doesn´t understand modern concepts in footie. I know I´m coming off prickish here, but that guy really grinds my gears.

 

I will keep this in mind if I ever decide to run my "who actually talks more shit, Maradona or Pele" poll as a third classic option.

[Pete]