The Ongoing Serie A, La Liga, All English Football, Champions League Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 55

[DarthSkywalker]

Fair play to West Ham, 3-1 now.

Good week for City. But you didn't lose too much ground with Chelsea's draw.

 

[Iceman]

Fair play to West Ham, 3-1 now.

Can’t believe I gave my tickets to a mate for today’s match.

 

[Iceman]

Oh Origi gets one back. 3-2 and 7 mins of regular time left.

 

[Iceman]

3-2 final score, what a result! West Ham above Liverpool in the table now and level with City on points!

 

[BlackFox]

West Ham are really on it this season fair play, Moyes really has got them together as a team it seems. Wonder how long West Ham can keep this up, good result for City and Chelsea as well, nobody able to get away it seems at the moment in the league.

 

[Iceman]

West Ham are really on it this season fair play, Moyes really has got them together as a team it seems. Wonder how long West Ham can keep this up, good result for City and Chelsea as well, nobody able to get away it seems at the moment in the league.

Good. Let’s finally have a proper title race with more than 2 teams involved. West Ham can hopefully challenge for 4th and if not a Euro place is already looking likely.

 

[Zantera]

I haven't cared for much of Owen as a pundit but he's pretty spot on here IMO. We keep changing the formation to cover for our weaker players instead of weeding them out and sticking to a system until it starts working for us.

 

[BlackFox]

Yeah I have to say thats the first thing Owen as ever said that makes any sense as a pundit, especially about United, to most people, other than Ole's mates, the problems are clear as day and there are no excuses this season for what the manager has produced. The thing in Ole's favour though is those in charge of him are even more incompetent and have been for even longer than he has so we just carry on flogging a dead horse.

 

[Iceman]

I didn’t see this but Barca blew a 3 goal lead against Celta Vigo yesterday. Still 9th haha.

 

[HammerDown]

So apparently they are trying to get Brendan Rogers for the MU job.

 

[Iceman]

Better analysis than G Nev or Rio

 

[Iceman]

So apparently they are trying to get Brendan Rogers for the MU job.

Well, would be a big step up from Ole at any rate.

 

[Iceman]

Wonder where Utd would be if Moyes had been there all this time since Fergie.

 

[HammerDown]

Well, would be a big step up from Ole at any rate.

Yeh i guess it would. That's not saying much though.

I'm just a bit puzzled by him being the choice MU goes with. But if he manages to use a system and a tactic that gives the team identity, purpose and results, i'm all for it. The club/team need fresh blood at this point there's no doubt about that.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Better analysis than G Nev or Rio

Fury v Maguire - it's ON !

 

[Zantera]

My biggest concern with Rodgers is that while he is a good team builder and tactically sound, the fact he is known as a bit of a bottler and his past with Liverpool does make his potential appointment a bit awkward. I can just imagine how many other fans would mock us when things go bad under him (like losing to Liverpool for example). He would still be an upgrade though.

There's many exciting names out there who I feel would all do a better job with this team whether it's Ten Haag, Gallardo, Valverde, Potter, Hasenhüttl, Rangnick, Pochettino or Zidane to name a few, but I think the problem is some of them aren't even on the radar of the Glazers.

Ten Haag - The closest to an ideal candidate for me but he is currently working in Ajax who unlike us is a well oiled machine. The structure and how that club is set up is a joy for any manager and taking him here into our structure would make his life a lot harder. No PL experience but our current manager's best achievement was winning the norwegian league so moving forward I honestly don't care about the 'no PL managerial experience' that much.

Gallardo - very promising and could very much be the next Klopp/Pep. What he has done with River Plate is really exciting, but English teams seem to have that reserved "you need to have done it on a rainy night against Stoke" mentality where it's more likely that we go for Steve Bruce than give it to some south american guy who looks like Benicio Del Toro.

Potter/Hasenhüttl - Lumping these together because they are both personal favorites who have made worse teams play better football than us with less money. Both set up their teams to play exciting attacking football and they seem to get the best out of what they have. Both have PL experience but it would be a big leap from their clubs to Man Utd and a lot more pressure. If the Glazers do not want to go the route of a big name manager and instead get someone happier to work on a smaller scale, I'd be happy with either of them honestly.

Valverde - Haven't seen that much of him personally but he's won some big titles (2 back-to-back La Liga trophies with Barcelona), played apparently a similar system to what we've been doing mostly 4-3-3 and is apparently very good with the big characters and how to handle them. Maybe not the sexiest name on the list but could very well be a sound choice.

Pochettino - We all saw what he did with Spurs when he was there. A team builder for sure. Questionmarks about whether or not he's actually good enough to win the big trophies, and also I personally don't like how he treats the cup titles as throwaway (they can be nice to win as well) but he does have the PL experience and the credentials are there.

Zidane - Putting him last mostly because I don't think he has any actual interest in coming here. One of the greatest players of his generation but never played in England and I don't think he would command the same 'aura' here that worked so well for him at Madrid. Feels like he's waiting for the PSG or France job. Would rather have him than Ole though.

Rangnick/Blanc - Putting these 2 together mostly because I would think of both as interim choices until the summer. Rangnick as a manager now to slip into a DoF-role in the summer could be very exciting - though I doubt the Glazers would actually do that. Blanc is someone with a Man Utd connection who unlike Ole actually seems decent as a manager? Not sure I'd be happy with him on a 3-4 year deal, but until the summer - why not?

 

[Iceman]

Rumours today of Gerrard being interested in the Villa job and Lampard in the Norwich job.

 

[Zantera]

I heard Lampard is in the mix for the Newcastle job again cause Howe apparently fell through?

 

[B]

I haven't cared for much of Owen as a pundit but he's pretty spot on here IMO. We keep changing the formation to cover for our weaker players instead of weeding them out and sticking to a system until it starts working for us.

It's not the formation change(s) that bother me because you do need to be able to play at least 2-3 of them to counteract certain problems other teams might pose both offensively & defensively with their setup.. or when you're just overwhelmed with injuries/suspensions in key positions.

It's the general system & playstyle. While you do need to be capable of playing a few different ways to a decent standard so you have a plan B & C if A isn't working, we don't have a definitive system or playstyle. Which is quite damning really because OGS is about to cross the 3 year mark, he's been afforded more consistency in terms of recruitment than Moyes, LvG & Jose had, all of which had to basically deal with the squad imbalances & problems of their predecessor as well as being given players they largely didn't ask for. So this is very much his team & to still not really have a consistent playstyle is an indictment of the calibre of manager we currently have.

Look at Klopp & Guardiola because they're probably the best 2 examples, literally doesn't matter what formation they play or mostly which players (other than terms of effectiveness for both), their playstyle is almost always the same, with a firm philosophy & goal for what is expected of whoever plays with the only variation being individual instruction. Tactical consistency.

 

[B]

So apparently they are trying to get Brendan Rogers for the MU job.

Would legitimately just keep OGS if he's the best choice. Needs to do more & achieve more with Leicester before he should get another "top" job, he's won an FA Cup, but Leicester have also bottled 2 top 4 finishes from favourable positions towards the end of the last few seasons + he also bottled the league with Liverpool, again from a favourable position.

 

[B]

My biggest concern with Rodgers is that while he is a good team builder and tactically sound, the fact he is known as a bit of a bottler and his past with Liverpool does make his potential appointment a bit awkward. I can just imagine how many other fans would mock us when things go bad under him (like losing to Liverpool for example). He would still be an upgrade though.

There's many exciting names out there who I feel would all do a better job with this team whether it's Ten Haag, Gallardo, Valverde, Potter, Hasenhüttl, Rangnick, Pochettino or Zidane to name a few, but I think the problem is some of them aren't even on the radar of the Glazers.

Ten Haag - The closest to an ideal candidate for me but he is currently working in Ajax who unlike us is a well oiled machine. The structure and how that club is set up is a joy for any manager and taking him here into our structure would make his life a lot harder. No PL experience but our current manager's best achievement was winning the norwegian league so moving forward I honestly don't care about the 'no PL managerial experience' that much.

Gallardo - very promising and could very much be the next Klopp/Pep. What he has done with River Plate is really exciting, but English teams seem to have that reserved "you need to have done it on a rainy night against Stoke" mentality where it's more likely that we go for Steve Bruce than give it to some south american guy who looks like Benicio Del Toro.

Potter/Hasenhüttl - Lumping these together because they are both personal favorites who have made worse teams play better football than us with less money. Both set up their teams to play exciting attacking football and they seem to get the best out of what they have. Both have PL experience but it would be a big leap from their clubs to Man Utd and a lot more pressure. If the Glazers do not want to go the route of a big name manager and instead get someone happier to work on a smaller scale, I'd be happy with either of them honestly.

Valverde - Haven't seen that much of him personally but he's won some big titles (2 back-to-back La Liga trophies with Barcelona), played apparently a similar system to what we've been doing mostly 4-3-3 and is apparently very good with the big characters and how to handle them. Maybe not the sexiest name on the list but could very well be a sound choice.

Pochettino - We all saw what he did with Spurs when he was there. A team builder for sure. Questionmarks about whether or not he's actually good enough to win the big trophies, and also I personally don't like how he treats the cup titles as throwaway (they can be nice to win as well) but he does have the PL experience and the credentials are there.

Zidane - Putting him last mostly because I don't think he has any actual interest in coming here. One of the greatest players of his generation but never played in England and I don't think he would command the same 'aura' here that worked so well for him at Madrid. Feels like he's waiting for the PSG or France job. Would rather have him than Ole though.

Rangnick/Blanc - Putting these 2 together mostly because I would think of both as interim choices until the summer. Rangnick as a manager now to slip into a DoF-role in the summer could be very exciting - though I doubt the Glazers would actually do that. Blanc is someone with a Man Utd connection who unlike Ole actually seems decent as a manager? Not sure I'd be happy with him on a 3-4 year deal, but until the summer - why not?

Should OGS leave, ten Hag would probably be my preferred choice to replace him currently because he's a young, upcoming, positive thinking coach who has helped elevate Ajax to another level. It's only a matter of time before he gets a call from another 'top' European club if he continues to make a name for himself.

 

[B]

Xavi at unveiling as Barcelona head coach: I come prepared - we have to win everything

I actually quite like this appointment, in an ideal world he'd probably have had a few years managing elsewhere & particularly getting a job in Europe before taking the Barca job. But the influence he seemed to have over his Al Saad side was very noticeable from the clips I've seen of them playing some good stuff for the level at which their league is.

Will be interesting to see if he can have a good effect on this Barcelona side.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Howe, finally in place at Newcastle Utd....

Eddie Howe: Newcastle United appoint former Bournemouth boss as new head coach - BBC Sport

 

[Iceman]

It's not the formation change(s) that bother me because you do need to be able to play at least 2-3 of them to counteract certain problems other teams might pose both offensively & defensively with their setup.. or when you're just overwhelmed with injuries/suspensions in key positions.

It's the general system & playstyle. While you do need to be capable of playing a few different ways to a decent standard so you have a plan B & C if A isn't working, we don't have a definitive system or playstyle. Which is quite damning really because OGS is about to cross the 3 year mark, he's been afforded more consistency in terms of recruitment than Moyes, LvG & Jose had, all of which had to basically deal with the squad imbalances & problems of their predecessor as well as being given players they largely didn't ask for. So this is very much his team & to still not really have a consistent playstyle is an indictment of the calibre of manager we currently have.

Look at Klopp & Guardiola because they're probably the best 2 examples, literally doesn't matter what formation they play or mostly which players (other than terms of effectiveness for both), their playstyle is almost always the same, with a firm philosophy & goal for what is expected of whoever plays with the only variation being individual instruction. Tactical consistency.

Yep, Ole has no long term vision beyond buying a bunch of good footballers and telling them to try their best. He's an ex-layer who has no business in management. Should be cutting ribbons to open supermarkets in Norway.

 

[Iceman]

Howe, finally in place at Newcastle Utd....

Eddie Howe: Newcastle United appoint former Bournemouth boss as new head coach - BBC Sport

Good to have someone confirmed. Good luck to him. Mission accomplished as long as we stay up and look in better shape by the Jan transfer window so we can attract players who won't have to worry immediately about the threat of relegation.