# Managerial merry go round part II



## Halladay

Continue.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Inter sack Pioli

Advocaat is the new manager of the Dutch NT, he will leave Fenerbahce at the end of the season


----------



## Deficient Mode

HajdukSplit said:


> Advocaat is the new manager of the Dutch NT, he will leave Fenerbahce at the end of the season




lol.

Anyway, Dortmund will probably be spinning the carousel as well this summer. Sigh.


----------



## Evilo

Favre might leave Nice though because Nice have inquired about Ranieri...


----------



## Evilo

Infosport+ reports here that Dortmund and Favre are working on a contract and that Nice knows about his departure.


----------



## Deficient Mode

lol great


----------



## Deficient Mode

Valencia hires Marcelino


----------



## HajdukSplit

After saving Birmingham City from relegation, Redknapp will stay on for next season but with him you never know 

Bauza only weeks after getting the sack at Argentina is the new manager of the UAE national team


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## Savi

Deficient Mode said:


> Valencia hires Marcelino




That's a good hire.. but Valencia has so many problems they need to fix before any manager can be succesfull IMO


----------



## Live in the Now

Sounds like Barcelona has chosen Valverde.


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## Duchene2MacKinnon

Savi said:


> That's a good hire.. but Valencia has so many problems they need to fix before any manager can be succesfull IMO




I'm amazed he lasted this long. Was thinking maybe a long shot for barca...then of course this happens



Live in the Now said:


> Sounds like Barcelona has chosen Valverde.




Not extremely happy with this but if he brings in Laporte I'll be content.


----------



## les Habs

Live in the Now said:


> Sounds like Barcelona has chosen Valverde.




Not chuffed about that. Worried the team will be too defensive.



Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Not extremely happy with this but if he brings in Laporte I'll be content.




No. There is one player I'd be happy to have him bring along, but it isn't Laporte.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> No. There is one player I'd be happy to have him bring along, but it isn't Laporte.




I think he'd be a starter for barca and has the potential to be one of the best CB's... so why not?

Who are you thinking of Williams? Adruiz?


----------



## les Habs

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> I think he'd be a starter for barca and has the potential to be one of the best CB's... so why not?
> 
> Who are you thinking of Williams? Adruiz?




Too expensive and he wouldn't, or at least shouldn't start.

I won't get into it, but no and no.


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## Cassano




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## cgf

From Watzke to Arsenal...good god would that be cruel. Tuchel should take the NT job from Jogi until someone like Bayern has an opening.


----------



## jniklast

cgf said:


> From Watzke to Arsenal...good god would that be cruel. Tuchel should take the NT job from Jogi until someone like Bayern has an opening.




Has Tuchel really shown enough for a job at Bayern?
He has proven to be a good coach, but a great one? I'd rate his work at Dortmund as good but not great but even if they win the German Cup, his accomplishments simply do not compare to any Bayern coach in recent years - except Klinsmann, and we know how that ended.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> Has Tuchel really shown enough for a job at Bayern?
> He has proven to be a good coach, but a great one? I'd rate his work at Dortmund as good but not great but even if they win the German Cup, his accomplishments simply do not compare to any Bayern coach in recent years - except Klinsmann, and we know how that ended.




He has, yes - to anyone who judges his work on anything other than a couple of disappointing results. Suggesting a parallel to Klinsmann is very funny. Klinsmann coasted into prominent managerial gigs as a famous ex-player, and his only strength was motivational type material and off-pitch training. Tuchel was a nobody ex-player who nonetheless developed a vast understanding of tactics, which he generally deploys very well. If anything, Ancelotti is more like Klinsmann, coasting on his fame as a player and success in past gigs, and at the moment few fans and fewer journalists are willing to grapple with his shortcomings this year. Very typical of most fans to judge managers by what they've won rather than how they've qualifiably fostered the team's on-field performance and prepared them for future success.

Anyway, my money would be on Nagelsmann succeeding Ancelotti.


----------



## jniklast

Deficient Mode said:


> He has, yes - to anyone who judges his work on anything other than a couple of disappointing results. Suggesting a parallel to Klinsmann is very funny. Klinsmann coasted into prominent managerial gigs as a famous ex-player, and his only strength was motivational type material and off-pitch training. Tuchel was a nobody ex-player who nonetheless developed a vast understanding of tactics, which he generally deploys very well. If anything, Ancelotti is more like Klinsmann, coasting on his fame as a player and success in past gigs, and at the moment few fans and fewer journalists are willing to grapple with his shortcomings this year. Very typical of most fans to judge managers by what they've won rather than how they've qualifiably fostered the team's on-field performance and prepared them for future success.
> 
> Anyway, my money would be on Nagelsmann succeeding Ancelotti.




I am not doubting his tactical ability and coaching ability (although from both Mainz and now Dortmund there seem to be a few problems on a personal level) and would never even consider comparing that to Klinsmann, but merely that he is proven enough for Bayern. I just can't see Bayern hiring a coach whose biggest results are keeping Mainz in the league and Dortmund at 2nd/3rd place and maybe winning the German Cup once. Same goes for Nagelsmann - I simply don't think that qualifying for the CL once will be enough for the Bayern bosses. If you look at their last coaches (van Gaal, Heynckes, Guardiola and Ancelotti), Tuchel and Nagelsmann simply do not belong yet. Of course that takes noting away from the great work they have done.


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## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> I am not doubting his tactical ability and coaching ability (although from both Mainz and now Dortmund there seem to be a few problems on a personal level) and would never even consider comparing that to Klinsmann, but merely that he is proven enough for Bayern. I just can't see Bayern hiring a coach whose biggest results are keeping Mainz in the league and Dortmund at 2nd/3rd place and maybe winning the German Cup once. Same goes for Nagelsmann - I simply don't think that qualifying for the CL once will be enough for the Bayern bosses. If you look at their last coaches (van Gaal, Heynckes, Guardiola and Ancelotti), Tuchel and Nagelsmann simply do not belong yet. Of course that takes noting away from the great work they have done.




I think they will go for a tactical/teacher type coach this time rather than a player manager. Seems they alternate between the two styles. Tuchel and Nagelsmann are the two obvious choices. Maybe LÃ¶w or Klopp I suppose if they want to go the "proven winner" route.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Favre to Dortmund stories were in full swing again today.

The Rheinische Post reported that Tuchel has an offer standing from Leverkusen. lol. Funniest thing would be if he went to Schalke actually. If I had to guess, I'd say he'll take a year off again and wait for one of the big English jobs, Bayern, or the German national team to open up. I don't think that will happen this summer.


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## cgf

If Jogi has any decency he'll step down immediately.


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## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> If Jogi has any decency he'll step down immediately.




 It's certainly not going to happen. Only way a coaching change would come at this point would be if they were underperforming in qualifying, and they're not. Maybe Jogi will have had his fill of the national team after the WM.


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## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> It's certainly not going to happen. Only way a coaching change would come at this point would be if they were underperforming in qualifying, and they're not. Maybe Jogi will have had his fill of the national team after the WM.




I know


----------



## Bon Esprit

Deficient Mode said:


> Favre to Dortmund stories were in full swing again today.
> 
> The Rheinische Post reported that Tuchel has an offer standing from Leverkusen. lol. Funniest thing would be if he went to Schalke actually. If I had to guess, *I'd say he'll take a year off again and wait for one of the big English jobs, Bayern, or the German national team to open up. I don't think that will happen this summer.*




Very possible, Tuchel won't join a German club except Bayern. Possibly an EPL top club, but not this summer.

I read Nice is open for negotiation (Favre).

There must be more behind the BvB/Tuchel thing than we know. What happens to Tuchel is classless.


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## spintheblackcircle

Manager Walter Mazzarri is to leave Watford after Sunday's final game of the season at home to Manchester City.

The 55-year-old Italian was in charge of the Hornets, who are 16th in the Premier League, for less than a year.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39949621


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## HajdukSplit

Second season in a row they let a manager go the summer following safety in the Prem, also think the next manager will be the 7th since the Pozzo family took over? Mazzarri however did not seem overly popular with the players and especially the fans


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## Evilo

PSG apparently rejected signing Henrique (Porto sporting director) at the last minute and will sign Berta instead next week.
Berta has been Atletico's sporting director and this further fuels the idea PSG will give a blank check to Diego Simeone.


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## Live in the Now

Popcorn needed.


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## Deficient Mode

Too bad he didn't sign a one year deal. Then we could relive the same Arsenal fan disappointment next summer when he again renewed his contract.


----------



## Cassano

Great news! Wenger gets to construct his team with his bare hands since the stadium debt issue is no longer a burden. #WengerIn


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## HajdukSplit

Eduardo Berizzo will leave Celta Vigo in the summer and has been linked with the Sevilla job


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## HajdukSplit

Expect Marco Silva to be the next Watford manager


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## Duchene2MacKinnon

Bart saying barca will name their coach on the 29th of May. All roads leading to Valverde.


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## davemess

David Moyes has resigned as Sunderland manager.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mainz sack Martin Schmidt, no replacement named yet

Dortmund youth managers seem to be the rage in the English Championship now  Daniel Farke, Dortmund U23s, has been named new Norwich City manager


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## bluesfan94

davemess said:


> David Moyes has resigned as Sunderland manager.




I thought he went on about how committed he was


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## maclean

Probably not of big interest, but Sparta Prague goes for Italian coach Andrea Stramacionni, formerly of Inter and Udinese, most recently of Panathinaikos. Extremely rare here to bring in foreign coaches so I'm curious


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## HajdukSplit

Still seems to be living off that youth CL victory with Inter Milan, hasn't been successful really anywhere


----------



## Corto

Marco Silva seems to be the favorite to take on the Porto job, apparently in interviews today.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Some speculation that Sam Allardyce has resigned as Palace manager, Daily Mail reports it as fact


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## davemess

HajdukSplit said:


> Some speculation that Sam Allardyce has resigned as Palace manager, Daily Mail reports it as fact




Really wow?

Nothing on Sky Sports or BBC yet.

Unless the board have told him they are selling half the team and he gets no money to buy I don't get why he would quit.


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## Havre

Allardyce to Arsenal?


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## Deficient Mode

Bielsa is in at Lille


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## Live in the Now

davemess said:


> Unless the board have told him they are selling half the team and he gets no money to buy I don't get why he would quit.




A relegation savior can probably get a massive wedge in this current time.

He also did say before that his wife wants to live in the US at some point.


----------



## DatsyukOwns

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Bart saying barca will name their coach on the 29th of May. All roads leading to Valverde.




Is he a good choice in your opinion?


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## spintheblackcircle

Sam says he's done managing. 

http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/...out-crystal-palace-football-club-3724069.aspx

In some ways, this has been a very difficult decision to make, but in others it has been a simple one.

I will always be grateful to Crystal Palace and Steve Parish for giving me the opportunity to go out with my head held high having helped keep the club in the Premier League.

More than that, they gave me a chance of rebuilding my reputation after what happened with England. I felt I needed another shot at being a Premier League manager and showing that I still had the ability to achieve something significant. As I said last weekend, Palace gave me the chance of rehabilitation.

Thatâ€™s why itâ€™s hard walking away now. I think the club are heading in the right direction with a hugely supportive board of directors, a great squad of players and some of the most passionate fans Iâ€™ve ever met. Itâ€™s been a privilege to have worked here for the past five months.

But there comes a time when you have to take stock of what direction you want your life to take - and thatâ€™s been the simple part for me.

I want to be able to savour life while Iâ€™m still relatively young and when Iâ€™m still relatively healthy enough to do all the things I want to do, like travel, spend more time with my family and grandchildren without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager.

This is the right time for me. I have no ambitions to take another job, I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.

Steve Parish has been superb during our conversations today. I know it came as a shock to him that I would walk away but our discussions have been incredibly civilised with no recriminations and no fall-out.

This is not about transfer targets, finances or anything along those lines. This is me taking the decision I believe is right for my family and myself.

I would like to thank everybody for their messages of support since the news broke. Iâ€™ve no doubt I will miss management, but I certainly have no regrets at this decision.


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## Evilo

Apparently, PSG's new sporting director won't be Berta (Atletico), who rejected PSG's offer. PSG are coming back to Henrique.
Most likely no Simeone...


----------



## King 88

Anyone to Arsenal? Please ANYONE you dont ned to know **** about todays football.


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## Evilo

Antero Henrique (Porto) is officially the new PSG sporting director.


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## Duchene2MacKinnon

DatsyukOwns said:


> Is he a good choice in your opinion?




He's done well with Bilbao but he's wasn't my first or second choice. I have a disdain for former barca players turned coach... after Lucho.


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## HajdukSplit

Gary Monk resigns as Leeds manager, potential target for one of the vacant Prem jobs?


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## les Habs

-Unzue linked with the Celta post.

-Braida apparently said that Koeman was going to be the next BarÃ§a manager.


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## Cucumber

some friends were talking about wenger replacements. I mentioned Rodgers have some good pl sucess, can play nice football and probably learned quite a few things from lfc firing. just went undefeated in the spl. Some of his transfer have worked out well under klopp and has a decent history with younger players.

assuming the big name targets say no ofc.


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## les Habs

Assuming Wenger leaves, Arsenal should be able to do much better than Rodgers. They won't go for him anyway.


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## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> -Unzue linked with the Celta post.
> 
> -Braida apparently said that Koeman was going to be the next BarÃ§a manager.




Might as well change barca into the avs.



Cucumber said:


> some friends were talking about wenger replacements. I mentioned Rodgers have some good pl sucess, can play nice football and probably learned quite a few things from lfc firing. just went undefeated in the spl. Some of his transfer have worked out well under klopp and has a decent history with younger players.
> 
> assuming the big name targets say no ofc.




I hear Lucho is available.


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## Milos Krasic

Sport Express report that Rubin Kazan will re-hire Kurban Berdyev as manager.


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## davemess

HajdukSplit said:


> Gary Monk resigns as Leeds manager, potential target for one of the vacant Prem jobs?



Being linked with Boro from the rumours I have seen.


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## Evilo

So Portugese papers announce Jesus to PSG, who will pay 15M to get him.

So to sum up :
Fire Blanc, give him 20M€.
Fire Emery, give him something like 10M€.
Hire Jesus and pay 15M€.

Are we really witnessing a team paying 45M€ to downgrade every year at the coaching position???


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## Live in the Now

2018 PSG coach sarcasm Marco Silva has joined Watford.


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## Ceremony

Jorge Jesus going to PSG is a godsend. He's a lunatic and has potentially ruined Ryan Gauld's career, so I wish him nothing but failure.


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## Milos Krasic

Paulo Sousa will not be given a new contract at Fiorentina


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## les Habs

les Habs said:


> -Unzue linked with the Celta post.




Berrizo headed to Sevilla.


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## Evilo

El-Khelaifi has announced Emery will continue next season.
Of course he said the same one month before firing Blanc, but I believe it's true since they have no replacement in line (they had Simeone, but he'll stay one more year at least).

So what that means is that there's a HUGE question mark on the transfer period : some players will want to go (HBA, Aurier, Areola, Krychowiak, Jese, possibly Rabiot and Verratti), while I'm not sure PSG cna attract world class players anymore.
PSG wants to spend tons of money this offseason (they doubled their transfer budget), but who will want to come on a team where 14 players are involved and if you're not one of the 14, you don't play AT ALL?
Who will want to come to a team where there's aboslutely NO clear tactical approach?
Who will want to come to a team whose offense is Cavani and period?

They're after Sanchez (Draxler has fallen from the face of the earth after great debuts), Oblak (why? Goalie isn't a problem), and have to recruit two fullbacks (Maxwell retiring, Aurier moving), one CB (3 CBs so far), one midfielder (Motta likely retiring or moving), potentially plenty (Matuidi, Verratti and Rabiot all in transfer talks), two wingers (Lucas and HBA moving, Di Maria potentially) and a backup striker.
I'm not sure they get one single world class player from all those needs.


----------



## TheLeastOfTheBunch

les Habs said:


> -Unzue linked with the Celta post.
> 
> -Braida apparently said that Koeman was going to be the next BarÃ§a manager.




Unzue just confirmed as the new Celta coach


----------



## HajdukSplit

Former Liverpool defender/midfielder Igor Biscan is starting in the coaching ranks, he recently won promotion to the first division with tiny Zagreb neighborhood club Rudes but despite the promotion he will coach Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia next season


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## Cassano

Evilo said:


> El-Khelaifi has announced Emery will continue next season.
> Of course he said the same one month before firing Blanc, but I believe it's true since they have no replacement in line (they had Simeone, but he'll stay one more year at least).
> 
> So what that means is that there's a HUGE question mark on the transfer period : some players will want to go (HBA, Aurier, Areola, Krychowiak, Jese, possibly Rabiot and Verratti), while I'm not sure PSG cna attract world class players anymore.
> PSG wants to spend tons of money this offseason (they doubled their transfer budget), but who will want to come on a team where 14 players are involved and if you're not one of the 14, you don't play AT ALL?
> Who will want to come to a team where there's aboslutely NO clear tactical approach?
> Who will want to come to a team whose offense is Cavani and period?
> 
> They're after Sanchez (Draxler has fallen from the face of the earth after great debuts), Oblak (why? Goalie isn't a problem), and have to recruit two fullbacks (Maxwell retiring, Aurier moving), one CB (3 CBs so far), one midfielder (Motta likely retiring or moving), potentially plenty (Matuidi, Verratti and Rabiot all in transfer talks), two wingers (Lucas and HBA moving, Di Maria potentially) and a backup striker.
> I'm not sure they get one single world class player from all those needs.




PSG still have UCL which is supposed to attract world class players apparently.


----------



## Milos Krasic

Mircea Lucescu sacked by Zenit after one season. Mancini is rumored to go there.


----------



## Cassano




----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

DrRecchi said:


>





Meh.


----------



## Cassano

http://www.nicematin.com/football/o...-lentraineur-de-logc-nice-lucien-favre-141396

Says Favre will reject BvB to stay at Nice.


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## Deficient Mode

DrRecchi said:


> http://www.nicematin.com/football/o...-lentraineur-de-logc-nice-lucien-favre-141396
> 
> Says Favre will reject BvB to stay at Nice.




 And Kicker reported that Tuchel will leave today. I hope Watzke and Rauball are happy.


----------



## Evilo

DrRecchi said:


> http://www.nicematin.com/football/o...-lentraineur-de-logc-nice-lucien-favre-141396
> 
> Says Favre will reject BvB to stay at Nice.



Now that would be sweet !


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## cgf

DrRecchi said:


> http://www.nicematin.com/football/o...-lentraineur-de-logc-nice-lucien-favre-141396
> 
> Says Favre will reject BvB to stay at Nice.




Stepping into the mess Watzke is turning BVB into would be rough on the idiosyncratic Favre...though seeing what he could do with those attackers ahead of a Weigl-Dahoud midfield would be an absolute joy.


----------



## Cassano

cgf said:


> Stepping into the mess Watzke is turning BVB into would be rough on the idiosyncratic Favre...though seeing what he could do with those attackers ahead of a Weigl-Dahoud midfield would be an absolute joy.




they should hire Jurgen Klinsmann or Arsene Wenger imo.


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## Deficient Mode

DrRecchi said:


> they should hire Jurgen Klinsmann or Arsene Wenger imo.




That's enough


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## Halladay

DrRecchi said:


> they should hire Jurgen Klinsmann or Arsene Wenger imo.




Please happen.


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## Deficient Mode

BlameUtley said:


> Please happen.




Why do you hate me, Utley?


----------



## Halladay

Deficient Mode said:


> Why do you hate me, Utley?




How about Low?


----------



## Deficient Mode

BlameUtley said:


> How about Low?




He's a decent manager. Not for Dortmund. 

How about non-Wenger, non-national team managers? Shouldn't you want Wenger to stay at Arsenal?


----------



## cgf

As long as Tuchel replaces Low for the NT or Hecking for BMG...or Keller for Union...I'm cool.


----------



## Live in the Now

Roma has fired Spalletti.

http://www.asroma.com/en/news/2017/5/may-30-as-roma-has-parted-company-with-coach-luciano-spalletti


----------



## Cassano

Live in the Now said:


> Roma has fired Spalletti.
> 
> http://www.asroma.com/en/news/2017/5/may-30-as-roma-has-parted-company-with-coach-luciano-spalletti




Wow, this is big news. I think he goes to Inter if they can't woo Conte (which they won't).


----------



## Cassano




----------



## Incubajerks

Live in the Now said:


> Roma has fired Spalletti.
> 
> http://www.asroma.com/en/news/2017/5/may-30-as-roma-has-parted-company-with-coach-luciano-spalletti





He's not been fired. Contract is up and both parties won't continue together. I think Roma will bring Di Francesco, Spalletti will go to Inter and Pioli to Fiorentina.


----------



## Just Win

And Bild is reporting Tuchel has been fired:


VÃ¶ller is better the first one to call TT.


----------



## Evilo

He can come to Lyon.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Knew it was coming but I'm still upset.

Spalletti leaving Roma was also obvious for a while.


----------



## Rocko604

Despite Piers Morgan being a complete bellend, he's dead on that Arsene Wenger has been rewarded for 13 and 20 years of PL and CL failure, respectively. No supposed "big club" (which Arsenal claim they are) would do this. The FA Cups are great but they're not what makes the football world turn.

End of the day though, Arsenal have become a Cup team. No denying it, and me thinking we might have a chance at top 4 would just end in absolute frustration when we finish 6th or 7th. 

Europa League or bust!


----------



## Deficient Mode

Rocko604 said:


> Despite Piers Morgan being a complete bellend, he's dead on that Arsene Wenger has been rewarded for 13 and 20 years of PL and CL failure, respectively. No supposed "big club" (which Arsenal claim they are) would do this. The FA Cups are great but they're not what makes the football world turn.
> 
> End of the day though, Arsenal have become a Cup team. No denying it, and me thinking we might have a chance at top 4 would just end in absolute frustration when we finish 6th or 7th.
> 
> Europa League or bust!




Yes, but Piers Morgan being upset is very good.


----------



## Rocko604

Deficient Mode said:


> Yes, but Piers Morgan being upset is very good.




It truly is, even if we're upset about the same thing.


----------



## Havre

PL and CL failure? There are other powerful clubs in the World trying to win as well. You can do well without winning.

IÂ´m sure Arsenal will improve again. Could very well happen under Wenger.


----------



## Rocko604

Havre said:


> PL and CL failure? There are other powerful clubs in the World trying to win as well. You can do well without winning.
> 
> IÂ´m sure Arsenal will improve again. Could very well happen under Wenger.




When you're one of the highest revenue generators and have the most expensive tickets in the world, you should be more successful than not winning the title since 04 and never winning the Champions League. I'm not asking for a dynasty here. But the amount of bottling this club has done under Wenger has been extraordinary and should not have been rewarded with a contract likely in the neighbourhood of 10m per season. I look forward to the club crying poor over wages in the coming weeks. 

And if this supposed power struggle between Wenger and Gazidis was true, Wenger won. Which means he has autonomous power. He calls his own shots. Kroenke just wants revenue, not trophies if costs money to sign the players that will lead us there.


----------



## Edo

Rocko604 said:


> Despite Piers Morgan being a complete bellend, he's dead on that Arsene Wenger has been rewarded for 13 and 20 years of PL and CL failure, respectively. No supposed "big club" (which Arsenal claim they are) would do this. The FA Cups are great but they're not what makes the football world turn.
> 
> End of the day though, Arsenal have become a Cup team. No denying it, and me thinking we might have a chance at top 4 would just end in absolute frustration when we finish 6th or 7th.
> 
> Europa League or bust!




People have Wenger confused with the board. He doesn't have an infinite amount of money to spend on footballers and has done as good as anybody could with limited funds. 

That, there, is a fact. 

A different manager wouldn't make a difference if the club didn't start spending more $. Wenger is a top socceer guy.


----------



## cgf

Edo said:


> People have Wenger confused with the board. He doesn't have an infinite amount of money to spend on footballers and has done as good as anybody could with limited funds.
> 
> That, there, is a fact.
> 
> A different manager wouldn't make a difference if the club didn't start spending more $. Wenger is a top socceer guy.




Plenty of other clubs do a much better job in the transfer market with a lot less money to burn than Arsenal have. 

Wenger's just really good at finding excuses for continuing to be such a loser.


----------



## les Habs

To compound the dumping on Wenger, Tony Adams ripped him apart as well.


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

Wow Tuchel gone... not sure how I feel about this.


----------



## cgf

MrFunnyWobbl said:


> Wow Tuchel gone... not sure how I feel about this.




Mad. You feel mad.


----------



## Havre

Rocko604 said:


> When you're one of the highest revenue generators and have the most expensive tickets in the world, you should be more successful than not winning the title since 04 and never winning the Champions League. I'm not asking for a dynasty here. But the amount of bottling this club has done under Wenger has been extraordinary and should not have been rewarded with a contract likely in the neighbourhood of 10m per season. I look forward to the club crying poor over wages in the coming weeks.
> 
> And if this supposed power struggle between Wenger and Gazidis was true, Wenger won. Which means he has autonomous power. He calls his own shots. Kroenke just wants revenue, not trophies if costs money to sign the players that will lead us there.




Quite a lot of randomness involved in winning. You hit the jackpot with a Messi, Ronaldo, Bale etc. and you will be winning. Or Henry and Bergkamp for that matter.

As for resources they are always up against clubs that got more. So what should they say when Arsenal beat them?

Not saying Wenger couldn't have done better. But he is hardly a disaster even now. So easy to forget the amount of uselessness one have seen at even the best clubs when they have been looking for new managers like Moyes etc.

For me the strongest argument for getting rid of Wenger is the potential need for a bit of a rebuild. That could take longer than what Wenger realistically got. At the same time Monaco have shown it can turn quickly with a bit of luck and getting the right players.

Bottom line for me is that Wenger is a boring choice, but not necessarily a bad one.


----------



## Ceremony

les Habs said:


> To compound the dumping on Wenger, Tony Adams ripped him apart as well.




Managerial savant Tony Adams


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Watzke being selfish. Its going to make the team worse, but apparently that doesn't matter to him.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Ceremony said:


> Managerial savant Tony Adams




I think that criticism was a little unfair since Tony Adams was specifically talking about the on-the-training-pitch coaching (which is only a secondary thing and minor element for a manager) when he ripped Wenger. And he didn't say Wenger was a bad manager for not being good at it, he was annoyed that Wenger didn't shore up the defensive coaching staff.

Now I don't know how good a coach Tony Adams is but it would have very little to do with his *managerial* record. If I had to guess, I'd say Tony Adams is probably pretty good at it. And Tony Adams would probably be more qualified to judge Wenger's skills in this particular area than most of the pundits and observers mocking Adams for it (he played for Wenger, they didn't).


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Watzke being selfish. Its going to make the team worse, but apparently that doesn't matter to him.




If the club has to specifically point out in a press release that they didn't fire the manager because he didn't get along with club executives then they probably fired him because he didn't get along with club executives.

Watzke's letter more or less confirmed that. If Tuchel had done anything really wrong, you know the club would have already leaked it. To me it all looks like Watzke felt Tuchel didn't sufficiently cover for Watzke and Co.'s actions. Tuchel allowed the stories to circulate that some players were sold and some bought without his view given much consideration - Watzke inteprets it as Tuchel being disloyal. Tuchel criticized the Monaco re-scheduling, which everyone knew Watzke had to have agreed with, and Watzke's view of Tuchel as disloyal is further cemented. 

Watzke may think that a manager reliably going along with the internally agreed upon party line is a professional requirement of the job. So maybe he thinks it isn't personal. But the reality is that a manager who covers for mistakes by the club leadership is screwed in the end either way. He's always the scapegoat anyway, so you can see why Tuchel didn't play footsoldier for Watzke.


----------



## Edo

cgf said:


> Plenty of other clubs do a much better job in the transfer market with a lot less money to burn than Arsenal have.
> 
> Wenger's just really good at finding excuses for continuing to be such a loser.




So every German club besides Bayern Munich is a massive failure?


----------



## jniklast

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> If the club has to specifically point out in a press release that they didn't fire the manager because he didn't get along with club executives then they probably fired him because he didn't get along with club executives.
> 
> Watzke's letter more or less confirmed that. If Tuchel had done anything really wrong, you know the club would have already leaked it. To me it all looks like Watzke felt Tuchel didn't sufficiently cover for Watzke and Co.'s actions. Tuchel allowed the stories to circulate that some players were sold and some bought without his view given much consideration - Watzke inteprets it as Tuchel being disloyal. Tuchel criticized the Monaco re-scheduling, which everyone knew Watzke had to have agreed with, and Watzke's view of Tuchel as disloyal is further cemented.
> 
> Watzke may think that a manager reliably going along with the internally agreed upon party line is a professional requirement of the job. So maybe he thinks it isn't personal. But the reality is that a manager who covers for mistakes by the club leadership is screwed in the end either way. He's always the scapegoat anyway, so you can see why Tuchel didn't play footsoldier for Watzke.




It has become pretty obvious, that it is not just Watzke having problems with Tuchel but the latter having difficulties with many in the club. I mean he apparently hasn't talked to the chief scout for one and a half year, many of the players quite obviously don't like him and more such things.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> It has become pretty obvious, that it is not just Watzke having problems with Tuchel but the latter having difficulties with many in the club. I mean he apparently hasn't talked to the chief scout for one and a half year, many of the players quite obviously don't like him and more such things.




Didn't this happen at the end of Klopp's tenure? He allegedly lost the players? I think that the players all liking their manager is overrated. And it was very obvious that some key players - especially Dembele, probably the most important player to Dortmund's next season (or two) - liked Tuchel a lot. With Auba and Tuchel gone, I could easily imagine a drama-filled next year for Dembele that culminates in him leaving.

Watzke talks about trust and communication, but he breaks his public promise to Tuchel that Hummels, Mkhi, and GÃ¼ndogan would not all be sold. Tuchel seems like a difficult man, and he played his part in his own firing, but the players still liked and trusted him enough to follow his plans. Both of his years in Dortmund were a big success to me, and the team was more fun to watch than ever. It would be hilarious if he went to Leverkusen and they finished above Dortmund in the table too. And Kovac is apparently one of the main alternate candidates to Favre. Have the club's management lost their minds?


----------



## Live in the Now

If two managers lose the players, the manager is not the problem.

It's either the players or somebody upstairs planting thoughts in somebody's head.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Live in the Now said:


> If two managers lose the players, the manager is not the problem.
> 
> It's either the players or somebody upstairs planting thoughts in somebody's head.




To be fair, Tuchel had a somewhat acrimonious exit from Mainz as well. But if the gossip from insiders or so-called insiders that I've seen is accurate and the players would have quit on Tuchel or left the club if he weren't fired, it really makes me wonder about the players as well. What kind of manager would they be happy with? Because the average traditional German manager is probably more grouchy and difficult than Tuchel, and far less fun to play for and learn from. Still, there's a lot we don't know about what happened in the locker room, so it's hard to say.


----------



## jniklast

Klopp stayed for 7 years and I don't think his end is even remotely similar - despite his comments that either he had to go or half the team would have to change.

Of course to every conflict there are two parties and it's usually not just one to blame, but when Tuchel has problems with so many people in the club, then apparently he is a problem. I really don't get how you can think that he was fired simply because Watzke didn't like him.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> Klopp stayed for 7 years and I don't think his end is even remotely similar - despite his comments that either he had to go or half the team would have to change.
> 
> Of course to every conflict there are two parties and it's usually not just one to blame, but when Tuchel has problems with so many people in the club, then apparently he is a problem. I really don't get how you can think that he was fired simply because Watzke didn't like him.




Who is telling us that so many people in the club didn't like him? Is it Watzke talking to journalists? Most players haven't spoken out one way or the other, and probably never will. I'm very skeptical of claims that most of the players are unhappy with him. The scouting staff is very important to the club, but Tuchel had little influence on any transfers or scouting anyway. Klopp probably only had a small influence before him as well.


----------



## jniklast

Deficient Mode said:


> Who is telling us that so many people in the club didn't like him? Is it Watzke talking to journalists? Most players haven't spoken out one way or the other, and probably never will. I'm very skeptical of claims that most of the players are unhappy with him. The scouting staff is very important to the club, but Tuchel had little influence on any transfers or scouting anyway. Klopp probably only had a small influence before him as well.




Not just Watzke but pretty much any article (SZ, kicker, SpOn etc) about Tuchel in the last weeks mentions multiple internal conflicts with him.
I mean do you really think that Tuchel was just fired because Watzke didn't like him (due to his comments about the Monaco rescheduling or whatever) and all the other important person in the club (Zorc, Rauball, the supervisory board) just went along with no objection?


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> Not just Watzke but pretty much any article (SZ, kicker, SpOn etc) about Tuchel in the last weeks mentions multiple internal conflicts with him.
> I mean do you really think that Tuchel was just fired because Watzke didn't like him (due to his comments about the Monaco rescheduling or whatever) and all the other important person in the club (Zorc, Rauball, the supervisory board) just went along with no objection?




So, those are journalists who get their information from Watzke or had an anti-Tuchel agenda all along?

Zorc is quiet and never has much to say about any conflict. Rauball is even more removed from things that happen in the team than Watzke is. Ditto with the supervisory board. How tf are they supposed to know if he has lost the players? The strife with the scouting staff is real, but the story has been far too one-sided. Unfortunately with Tuchel out the damage has already been done and more details leaking will only mean more drama.


----------



## jniklast

Deficient Mode said:


> So, those are journalists who get their information from Watzke or had an anti-Tuchel agenda all along?
> 
> Zorc is quiet and never has much to say about any conflict. Rauball is even more removed from things that happen in the team than Watzke is. Ditto with the supervisory board. How tf are they supposed to know if he has lost the players? The strife with the scouting staff is real, but the story has been far too one-sided. Unfortunately with Tuchel out the damage has already been done and more details leaking will only mean more drama.




So Watzke has pretty much all journalists controlled?
Tuchel was undoubtedly successful, so I can't imagine nobody asking if Watzke suddenly wants to fire him. You can believe that they went along because they also think it's the only way to go - after all it's Zorc's job on the line in the end as well if the next manager flops. And of course there is a risk, Tuchel was good when considering the footballing aspect only.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> So Watzke has pretty much all journalists controlled?
> Tuchel was undoubtedly successful, so I can't imagine nobody asking if Watzke suddenly wants to fire him. You can believe that they went along because they also think it's the only way to go - after all it's Zorc's job on the line in the end as well if the next manager flops. And of course there is a risk, Tuchel was good when considering the footballing aspect only.




Well Tuchel certainly isn't talking to journalists. And for the most part the players don't, either. Kicker and SÃ¼ddeutsche Zeitung are the biggest Watzke mouthpieces, and both ran long anti-Tuchel campaigns that date back many months. Why would Zorc's job be on the line, exactly? He'd be the last guy I'd fire along with the scouting staff.


----------



## jniklast

Deficient Mode said:


> Well Tuchel certainly isn't talking to journalists. And for the most part the players don't, either. Kicker and SÃ¼ddeutsche Zeitung are the biggest Watzke mouthpieces, and both ran long anti-Tuchel campaigns that date back many months. Why would Zorc's job be on the line, exactly? He'd be the last guy I'd fire along with the scouting staff.




Well, if you are convinced that all that Tuchel did was not getting along with Watzke, nothing will change your opinion I guess.

And of course Zorc's job would be on the line, he was pretty close to getting fired right before Klopp came.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> Well, if you are convinced that all that Tuchel did was not getting along with Watzke, nothing will change your opinion I guess.




I never said that. Actually, I said the conflict with Mislintat was real. The difficulties with the players was probably real as well, but we'll never know how, because all these stories have been given an anti-Tuchel spin. 



jniklast said:


> And of course Zorc's job would be on the line, he was pretty close to getting fired right before Klopp came.




Before Klopp came? So 9 years ago?


----------



## jniklast

Deficient Mode said:


> I never said that. Actually, I said the conflict with Mislintat was real. The difficulties with the players was probably real as well, but we'll never know how, because all these stories have been given an anti-Tuchel spin.
> 
> 
> 
> Before Klopp came? So 9 years ago?




So there have been multiple documented conflicts with Tuchel and other persons in the club. That alone shows me that there were legitimate reasons to end it and I trust Watzke with that - after all he has done more than enough for the club since 2005.

Yes 9 years ago, because they did not have success. But what do you think happens if the new manager(s) miss the CL twice in a row? There will be a lot of questions asked.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> So there have been multiple documented conflicts with Tuchel and other persons in the club. That alone shows me that there were legitimate reasons to end it and I trust Watzke with that - after all he has done more than enough for the club since 2005.




Not to me. Those people can wait another year until Tuchel is out - especially the non-player personnel. Look at how Bayern - a club I never hoped would have less drama than BVB - handled Guardiola's conflict with the team doctor and allegedly with some players, or how they'll apparently handle the cases of Kimmich and other players who are unhappy with playing time under Ancelotti. They'll hold onto the players who will outlast the manager without undermining the manager in the short-term. They didn't force Guardiola out, and if they force Ancelotti out, it will probably be due to his failures on the field than off.



jniklast said:


> Yes 9 years ago, because they did not have success. But what do you think happens if the new manager(s) miss the CL twice in a row? There will be a lot of questions asked.




Asked of Zorc? Not as I see his role in the club.


----------



## jniklast

Deficient Mode said:


> Not to me. Those people can wait another year until Tuchel is out - especially the non-player personnel. Look at how Bayern - a club I never hoped would have less drama than BVB - handled Guardiola's conflict with the team doctor and allegedly with some players, or how they'll apparently handle the cases of Kimmich and other players who are unhappy with playing time under Ancelotti. They'll hold onto the players who will outlast the manager without undermining the manager in the short-term. They didn't force Guardiola out, and if they force Ancelotti out, it will probably be due to his failures on the field than off.
> 
> 
> 
> Asked of Zorc? Not as I see his role in the club.




I didn't read about many problems that Guardiola had apart from the conflict with the team doctor. Maybe they simply better managed to keep it quiet, but I don't think it compares to this situation.


----------



## Deficient Mode

jniklast said:


> I didn't read about many problems that Guardiola had apart from the conflict with the team doctor. Maybe they simply better managed to keep it quiet, but I don't think it compares to this situation.




Kicker had the same kind of reports of anonymous players being unhappy with him, as I recall. Not just over playing time either. Though that is probably a large factor in Dortmund player unrest, too.


----------



## Deficient Mode




----------



## PeteWorrell

To the surprise of no one.Must be sweet making 10 million a year not winning anything except for the FA Cup.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Kicker released an article in which they named Favre the main candidate as Tuchel's successor - no surprise there - and said that StÃ¶ger and Bosz are the alternatives. Bosz would be amazing; StÃ¶ger not so much. A decision won't be made until next week at the earliest. Tuchel and Klopp before him were super obvious choices; let's see if Dortmund's management are competent at all at choosing a coach when there isn't a super obvious candidate. The inclusion of names like StÃ¶ger and Kovac doesn't leave me optimistic.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

jniklast said:


> It has become pretty obvious, that it is not just Watzke having problems with Tuchel but the latter having difficulties with many in the club. I mean he apparently hasn't talked to the chief scout for one and a half year, many of the players quite obviously don't like him and more such things.




I don't think Tuchel is there to be friends with people. I don't know the exact specifics of what went on between Tuchel and others at the club, neither do you or the reporters who spread those rumors. People don't always get along, people have different views, different personalities. 

Do I think Tuchel is a likeable guy? Not from what I've seen. My first impression is that he's cold, brooding and not always straight forward. But for one, I could be wrong. Perhaps it's a question of getting to know him the right way, who knows. From my own life experience, I've noted that the type of people who aren't everyone's best friends at first sight might not get the opportunities they deserve - even though they might be able to do outstanding things for the team. In fact, there seems to be even more suspicion if they're quite clearly highly intelligent and competent.

Successful leadership includes engaging with such 'difficult' but high-achieving people and making use of their great talents. I'd rather deal with someone like that than some nice chap who's clueless and can't get the job done.

Many legendary managers were known to be 'difficult' and made plenty of enemies at all their clubs even though they were hugely successful. Louis Van Gaal is a well-known example, Jose Mourinho another one. Or going back further, Brian Clough. There's many more. Successful managers are extremely driven, confident people. They often are the smartest guy in a room full of people who instinctively dislike the smartest guy in the room - especially if he seems to know it. Only a truly mediocre manager is loved by all players and all club officials. Good managers aren't every player's mate or "Yesmen" for the club's executives. Even Klopp had players go against him - in spite of Klopp being a very enthusiastic and affable character. Why? Because Klopp had to make decisions that negatively affected the careers of some players. That's part of the gig.

What I see here is a failure of leadership on Watzke's part. Tuchel 'worked out' on the pitch - where it matters. But they chose the 'easy' way out by getting rid of a 'difficult, disliked character'. It's highly unlikely they will be able to replace him with a manager meeting all their requirements.


----------



## jniklast

That might all be true, but as in any job, it is of no help if the people working together do not get along well. It can work for a while (and it did), but I don't think it is a good strategy long-term. After all all those people have to work together to be successful. And if multiple persons in different positions in the club (chief scout, players, CEO) do not get along with someone, does it really make sense to go on and on?
Of course there is a risk, that his successor will be worse and as with any other decision it will be judged by the results, but from all accounts there were legitimate reasons to let Tuchel go.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Sandro Schwarz new manager of Mainz, he was the Mainz II manager who relegated to the regional leagues

Mario Been, ex-Feyenoord and current assistant to Advocaat at Fenerbahce takes over Cypriot champs APOEL

Nuno Espirito Santo is the new Wolves manager, another Mendes lacky at that club


----------



## Milos Krasic




----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Hearing from L'EQUIPE that Van Brockhorst may get the Dortmund job.


----------



## Bon Esprit

TopKex said:


> Hearing from L'EQUIPE that Van Brockhorst may get the Dortmund job.




Favre is out. Nice don't wanna talk.
Van Bronckhorst is one option. So are StÃ¶ger (Cologne, doubtful) and Bosz (Ajax).
Other names swirling around.


----------



## Bon Esprit

According to "Sportbild" former Bayern player Willy Sagnol will become co of Ancelotti at Bayern.


----------



## Just Win

Bon Esprit said:


> Favre is out. Nice don't wanna talk.
> Van Bronckhorst is one option. So are StÃ¶ger (Cologne, doubtful) and Bosz (Ajax).
> Other names swirling around.




Apparently Favre also turned down the BVB offer and wants to stay in Nice.

https://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/international/bundesliga/exklusiv-lucien-favre-gibt-dortmund-einen-korb-id6775028.html


----------



## Deficient Mode

Van Bronckhorst 

I don't know if he speaks German, however. Clearly BVB management have no idea what they're doing. As we were saying all along, the timing of firing Tuchel was unspeakably stupid with all the good candidates tied down at their current jobs. They should have tied down Favre or whomever a long time ago. I would be surprised if we've heard the last of the Favre saga though, despite today's news.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Just Win said:


> Apparently Favre also turned down the BVB offer and wants to stay in Nice.
> 
> https://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/international/bundesliga/exklusiv-lucien-favre-gibt-dortmund-einen-korb-id6775028.html




That's what Blick and Bild say. Other sources say Nice can't get a proper replacement immediatly so they demanded the moon for Favre. Whatever Favre will stay in France. I think it's the best for all. Favre, BvB management and BvB players don't fit.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Die Welt says Bosz is the #1 candidate now. They say he is about to reach an agreement with Dortmund. The only issue is - again - that he's under contract until 2019. 

Stylistically, he is certainly the best choice.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Deficient Mode said:


> Die Welt says Bosz is the #1 candidate now. They say he is about to reach an agreement with Dortmund. The only issue is - again - that he's under contract until 2019.
> 
> Stylistically, he is certainly the best choice.




Yes, StÃ¶ger is nonsense and Bosz (I don't follow Dutch football) speaks German fluently. 
But WTF? You fire a successful coach and have no replacement?


----------



## Evilo

Glad Favre stays in L1. Nice will play the CL and they need him.
With PSG, Monaco, OM, OL and Lille (and Bielsa!) are the rich teams next season, Nice will form a nice top 6.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> That's what Blick and Bild say. Other sources say Nice can't get a proper replacement immediatly so they demanded the moon for Favre. Whatever Favre will stay in France. I think it's the best for all. Favre, BvB management and BvB players don't fit.




Favre would hate working for Watzke in the mess BVB is quickly becoming...but what he could do with those BVB players would be an absolute joy to watch.


----------



## Bon Esprit

cgf said:


> Favre would hate working for Watzke in the mess BVB is quickly becoming...but what he could do with those BVB players would be an absolute joy to watch.




Football-wise maybe or probably. But wait and see how the locker room works next year.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

I think I'd prefer Bosz to Favre anyway. I would've preferred to keep Tuchel though.


----------



## Ajacied

Dortmund is offering Bosz a lot of money. I hope he stays at Ajax, he's made Ajax play the Ajax way we have missed for so many years. Yet, BvD is a very nice oppertunity for him.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> Football-wise maybe or probably. But wait and see how the locker room works next year.




People say things like this as though Favre didn't leave amicably after 4 years at the helm of BMG. Favre's issues would be with Watzke and the Ruhr media, not with the players.


----------



## Savi

Milos Krasic said:


>





I don't get this hire


----------



## Deficient Mode

Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf says that there is a 90% chance that Bosz leaves Ajax


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Deficient Mode said:


> Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf says that there is a 90% chance that Bosz leaves Ajax




Thoughts on the Bosz hire?


----------



## Deficient Mode

Tuchel's agent has said that he has declined Leverkusen's offer and will take time off.

Konoplyanka called Weinzierl today a coward as well. And I thought Schmelzer's comments about Tuchel were out of line. Schalke gonna Schalke though.



Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Thoughts on the Bosz hire?




Assuming it is him, it's making the most out of a bad situation. Stylistically his teams have a lot of general similarities to Tuchel's, with some minor but important differences. He turned Vitesse into a successful and fun team before Ajax. I think he has some minor aspects of his managerial style to work out, but hopefully at a bigger club with generally older players, some of that will come naturally.


----------



## cgf

TBF Weinzierl is a coward.

And Favre would be just beautiful for BVB; Bosz seems more likely to work out as a long term option, but I'd love to see what Favre could do before he needed to leave.


----------



## Ajacied

Bosz officially to Dortmund.

Screw him. ****er.


----------



## Yoshidas Island

Us Southampton fans are quietly optimistic about the chance of Tuchel coming overseas to the EPL...
Most of us are puzzled as to why he would want to come coach us but we aren't complaining 
There have been rumours that link Tuchel to Southampton (L'Ã©quippe I believe) and today there have been rumours out of Twitter that has said that the proceedings to buy out Puels contract have been started.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Ajacied said:


> Bosz officially to Dortmund.
> 
> Screw him. ****er.




Sounds like he was pushed out by other officials. You should blame them as well.


----------



## Live in the Now

Jardim to Beijing.


----------



## Evilo

Live in the Now said:


> Jardim to Beijing.



Not done yet, but I'm absolutely shocked.


----------



## Milos Krasic

Savi said:


> I don't get this hire




His transfer strategy is equally perplexing. Balotelli to Zenit...what could possibly go wrong.


----------



## Live in the Now

Evilo said:


> Not done yet, but I'm absolutely shocked.




Rumored 12m a season offered to him. Would be so hard to resist that. Whenever he wants to come back to Europe he'll have his choice of clubs, if it happens.


----------



## les Habs

Evilo said:


> Not done yet, but I'm absolutely shocked.






Live in the Now said:


> Rumored 12m a season offered to him. Would be so hard to resist that. Whenever he wants to come back to Europe he'll have his choice of clubs, if it happens.




Yeah, I was very surprised to read that, but I figured the wages must be up there. Factor in Monaco potentially being dismantled and it makes sense.


----------



## Evilo

It's an absolute joke of a choice. He is already loaded. And will get a raise next season with Monaco or a bigger team.

It's not always about bank accounts, or at least it shouldn't be when you're already rich.


----------



## Evilo

les Habs said:


> Yeah, I was very surprised to read that, but I figured the wages must be up there. Factor in Monaco potentially being dismantled and it makes sense.




Don't see much dismantling going on (though if the coach goes, it could). One player sold (Silva), one likely to go (Mendy), and maybe one midfielder gone.
In the mean time, they've bought Tielemans and have inquired about Renato Sanches.
Heck, MbappÃ© is staying.

There's absolutely no dismantling going on.


----------



## HajdukSplit

After failing to get Marco Silva, FC Porto set to hire Sergio Conceicao who did a good job in his short stint at Nantes past season


----------



## les Habs

Evilo said:


> It's an absolute joke of a choice. He is already loaded. And will get a raise next season with Monaco or a bigger team.
> 
> It's not always about bank accounts, or at least it shouldn't be when you're already rich.




Don't disagree with this.



Evilo said:


> Don't see much dismantling going on (though if the coach goes, it could). One player sold (Silva), one likely to go (Mendy), and maybe one midfielder gone.
> In the mean time, they've bought Tielemans and have inquired about Renato Sanches.
> Heck, MbappÃ© is staying.
> 
> There's absolutely no dismantling going on.




I said "potential". Anyway, if Mbappe' stays and only the three you mentioned leave then yes I agree. 

Thoughts on the Sanches inquiry? I feel like they could probably do as well for less considering the team they've built already.


----------



## Evilo

Yes they probably believe in his potential. But as of now, the midfield would have Fabinho, Bakayoko, Tielemans and Sanches. Except if they go back to 4-3-3 (a new coach could choose it), that's a lot of depth for two starting spots.


----------



## Evilo

Jardim signs an extension until 2020.
https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Act...jardim-prolonge-jusqu-en-2020-officiel/808423


----------



## PeteWorrell

Good.I want to see how far he can take that Monaco team.


----------



## Live in the Now

No numbers there, but I bet he got his salary raised to about 5m. I would say he deserves that.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivan Leko is the new Club Brugge manager

Kind of funny only 5-10 years ago nobody would touch Croatian managers, now there are about a handful in the top 10 Euros leagues (Bilic, Juric, Tudor, Prosinecki prior to his Azeri NT gig...)


----------



## Milos Krasic

In unsurprising news, Javi Gracia was sacked by Rubin Kazan after one season. His La Liga infusion only managed 9th place, worse than his last year in Spain with Malaga who finished 8th.


----------



## Bon Esprit

According to Bild Schalke will boot Weinzierl tomorrow. His successor will be Domenico Tedesco.

He prevented Erzgebirge Aue from relegation this year. In the second Bundesliga.

Schalke and their coaches. A neverending story. No club in Bundesliga history had more coaches than Schalke.

http://www.focus.de/sport/fussball/...edesco-soll-nachfolger-werden_id_7228988.html


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bon Esprit said:


> According to Bild Schalke will boot Weinzierl tomorrow. His successor will be Domenico Tedesco.
> 
> He prevented Erzgebirge Aue from relegation this year. In the second Bundesliga.
> 
> Schalke and their coaches. A neverending story. No club in Bundesliga history had more coaches than Schalke.
> 
> http://www.focus.de/sport/fussball/...edesco-soll-nachfolger-werden_id_7228988.html




Interesting choice. Better than going for a member of the old guard.


----------



## cgf

Schalke should promise Tuchel whatever he wants


----------



## The_Human_Atombomb

cgf said:


> Schalke should promise Tuchel whatever he wants




Hard to believe Tuchel will ever work with Heidel again.


----------



## Deficient Mode

If Tuchel said no to Leverkusen, why would he go to Schalke, a club with a worse squad on top of fans, players, and executives who are far, far less supportive of their manager? And yeah, Heidel is a big factor as well. EPL seems the most likely option. Doubt Bayern or Germany job will be open until next summer at the earliest.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Former player Heiko Herrlich will be the next coach of Bayer Leverkusen.

http://www.focus.de/sport/fussball/...-trainer-bei-bayer-leverkusen_id_7229975.html

I wish him good luck. He went to tough times a few years back.


----------



## Bon Esprit

It's interesting to see that established Bundesliga clubs seem to like lower league, young coaches these days. The two mentioned, Nuri at Bremen, Dardai at Berlin, Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim etc.


----------



## Evilo

Patrick Kluivert has left PSG.
Nobody had understood yet what his role was...


----------



## Evilo

Oscar Garcia has taken the St Etienne management job.


----------



## Milos Krasic




----------



## Deficient Mode

Beijing Sinobo Guoan have signed Roger Schmidt. Nice. Hope he's getting paid nicely.


----------



## Yoshidas Island

Deficient Mode said:


> Beijing Sinobo Guoan have signed Roger Schmidt. Nice. Hope he's getting paid nicely.




That's one of Southampton's "targets"... 

Leaving just Tuchel.


----------



## Milos Krasic

Leicester Mercury report that Claudio Ranieri has been offered the Nantes job, but he's holding out for Crystal Palace


----------



## Power Man

Tedesco is the new S04 coach


----------



## cgf

Power Man said:


> Tedesco is the new S04 coach




Didn't really follow his work with Aue, but here's to hoping that getting better grades than Nagelsmann (they were in the same class) helps finally make use of all that young talent schalke's academy produces.


----------



## cgf

On my phone, can someone send the PM


----------



## les Habs

cgf said:


> On my phone, can someone send the PM




Done.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Appointment out of left field...

Hull City hire former Russia NT and CSKA Moscow manager Leonid Slutsky. Pretty rare for a manager from Eastern Europe without any connection to England to get a job there, especially in the Championship. He has been residing in England since his departure form Russia/CSKA so he knows the language


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Job Centre probably made him apply.


----------



## gary69

If nothing else, his name is at least interesting for English speakers.


----------



## Milos Krasic

Fabio Capello named manager of Jiangsu Suning


----------



## HajdukSplit

Milos Krasic said:


> Fabio Capello named manager of Jiangsu Suning




I wonder if that means he will remain an analyst for Telemundo for the upcoming Confed Cup


----------



## Evilo

Ranieri has agreed with Nantes to a contract and will be their next coach.
Back to L1 for Claudio and another good coach (with his flaws) added to next year's season, which, IMO, will be the most exciting ever.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> Ranieri has agreed with Nantes to a contract and will be their next coach.
> *Back to L1 for Claudio and another good coach (with his flaws) added to next year's season, which, IMO, will be the most exciting ever.*




Ranieri is supposed to be a contributing factor to this excitement?


----------



## Evilo

Yes.
And the duo Campos/Bielsa.... most spectacular than any other in football.


----------



## Evilo

Campos created the Monaco squad and Bielsa has inspired basically every offensive coach.


----------



## Yoshidas Island

Can someone explain to me why this is a rule lmao


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Sounds ridiculous, a rule like that has to be against the EU law.


----------



## Milos Krasic




----------



## Deficient Mode

Red Bull Salzburg have promoted their Youth League-winning trainer Marco Rose and his staff as managers of their professional team. Nice.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Uli Stielike sack as South Korea manager after their World Cup qualifying struggles. The loss to Qatar was the last straw. Replacement is not yet known


----------



## davemess

Derek McInnes is staying at Aberdeen and not taking the Sunderland job, couldn't agree terms from reports.

Gotta be worrying if your a Sunderland fan that you didn't get this deal done.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Garry Monk goes to Middlesbrough while Leeds will hire Thomas Christiansen, a Danish born Spanish international (played in the Barca youth ranks and has Spanish mother, played for their NT). His coaching pedigree isn't that great, has only coached in Cyprus and won his first trophy this season with APOEL


----------



## Live in the Now

Pretty much every Italian media outlet is reporting that Conte is considering resigning from Chelsea over transfers.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Frank de Boer is set to be named Crystal Palace manager

Southampton the one Premier League club without a manager still, all signs point to Pellegrino. In the Championship, Sunderland are still without a manager, Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen coach turned them down about a week ago. The familiar English names are now being linked (Pearson, Pardew, Grayson etc..)


----------



## Ceremony

Quite the career trajectory for De Boer. Ajax, Inter Milan, Crystal Palace. Ouch.

As for Southampton, is that "Mauricio Pellegrino?" I saw that name the other day and thought a football manager regen was being appointed.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Paul Le Guen returns to club management with Bursaspor in Turkey. He's been coaching national teams since 2009, prior to that he managed PSG, Rangers and Lyon


----------



## Ceremony

I'll always have a soft spot for PLG. Anyone complicit in the death of Rangers deserves good fortune.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Pelligrino to Southhampton. Fantastic hire for them. 

He'll be a good replacement for Poch at Tottenham when Poch leaves for Barca.


----------



## HajdukSplit

In typical Dinamo Zagreb fashion, they sack their manager, Ivaylo Petev, two days before the season starts and months after giving him a contract extension.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Christian Panucci is the new Albania manager, replacing De Biasi who resigned. Panucci has never managed above Serie B but spent two years as Capello's assistant with Russia


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fatih Terim sacked as Turkey manager, Turkey are still very much alive at a shot at the World Cup but their next two fixtures are crucial and will determine if they have a realistic shot or none at all


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mircea Lucescu is the new Turkey manager, he managed in Turkey before and has NT experience albeit in the 80s


----------



## Milos Krasic

There was a lot of debate about whether Zenit should have fired Lucescu after just 1 season. I would think his age (72) is a factor, but hope he does well with Turkey.


----------



## Ceremony

Steve McClaren has popped up on the shortlist for the now vacant Hearts job: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40849646

I look forward to his attempt at parsing the Edinbronian accent


----------



## Live in the Now

de Boer under pressure already and they're considering giving him the boot during the break.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/27/frank-de-boer-crystal-palace-doubt-poor-start

No idea why they hired a manager to use attacking tactics with such a bad squad, and no idea why anyone would take that job once he goes.


----------



## HajdukSplit

news is a few days old by de Boer was sacked by Palace after four league matches, second club he's been sacked in less than a 100 days and surely his stock has fallen, however Palace don't look good in this either

Croatian manager Romeo Jozak is the new Legia Warsaw manager, its his first managerial job but he has been technical director for the Croatian youth teams and Dinamo Zagreb's academy, if you believe him he turned down jobs for the Irish FA and Arsenal academy in the past


----------



## HajdukSplit

Despite qualifying for the World Cup, Bert van Marwijk is no longer the manager of Saudi Arabia...the reasoning was disagreements over a new contract, the Saudi FA sacked members of his staff and the Saudi FA also wanted van Marwijk to spend more time in the country for the build up to the World Cup (the entire squad plays in Saudi Arabia)

The new manager is Edgardo Bauza, former Argentina boss who was in UAE recently


----------



## Stray Wasp

Good ole 'Arry Redknapp leaves Birmingham City having secured four points from eight games this season. 

A nation hoots with laughter.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Andries Jonker is the first manager sacked in the BL (Wolfsburg); replaced by Martin Schmidt who was sacked by Mainz in the summer

Anderlecht sack Rene Weiler


----------



## Evilo

Ancelotti rumored ot be fired.


----------



## Vipers31

Evilo said:


> Ancelotti rumored ot be fired.



Yeah, numerous sources both from Germany and Italy are reporting it. Seems done. Not so much about yesterday in my opinion, but not exactly unhappy about making the cut quickly. There just didn't seem to be any tactical approach.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Well Bayern hasn't looked good at all under him, especially this season. 

Who'd be his replacement though? Don't think Nagelsmann will leave Hoffenheim mid-season.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Tuchel 

Actually not Tuchel.


----------



## Vipers31

Luigi Habs said:


> Well Bayern hasn't looked good at all under him, especially this season.
> 
> Who'd be his replacement though? Don't think Nagelsmann will leave Hoffenheim mid-season.




Rumors say exactly what one would guess - Nagelsmann or Tuchel. Not sure Hoffenheim will let him walk at this time of the year, but they do have a history of not playing hardball with Bayern, and maybe they have some kind of agreement with Nagelsmann. I've always liked Tuchel as well, though.


----------



## Vipers31

Barely necessary, but: confirmed out by Bayern. Sagnol to coach Sunday as interim. 

International break will leave time to settle succession.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Vipers31 said:


> Rumors say exactly what one would guess - Nagelsmann or Tuchel. Not sure Hoffenheim will let him walk at this time of the year, but they do have a history of not playing hardball with Bayern, and maybe they have some kind of agreement with Nagelsmann. I've always liked Tuchel as well, though.




I hope Nagelsmann only leaves at the end of the year. Let Sagnol coach the rest of the season.

I thought Bayern wouldn't go for Tuchel after the endless narrative about his cancerous personality.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

I'd very much prefer that Nagelsmann stays in Hoffenheim for now.


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

Crisis at Bayern? 

Love it.


----------



## Evilo

Milan already contacting Carlo...


----------



## Evilo

Bayern should go after Blanc. Doubt they go foreigner however.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> Bayern should go after Blanc. Doubt they go foreigner however.




Well their last two managers were foreigners. It could just be that they don't rate Blanc as highly as you do.


----------



## Evilo

It could be they're stupid, no doubt.
But my point was EXACTLY why they wouldn't go for a foreigner. Last time they won it all, it was with a german coach, and there's a solid base of their fans who believe in a more "german" approach, including some of the players I'd say.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> It could be they're stupid, no doubt.
> But my point was EXACTLY why they wouldn't go for a foreigner. Last time they won it all, it was with a german coach, and there's a solid base of their fans who believe in a more "german" approach, including some of the players I'd say.




That was with Guardiola. Ancelotti didn't face nearly as much of that. In fact, I'd expect Tuchel or Nagelsmann to face criticism from the same circles for not playing traditional football.


----------



## cgf

Hopefully Bayern don't get Tuchel or Nagelsmann to finish out this year. I'm fine with Blanc, but one of those first two would have them running away with the league again.

E:
Before Evilo pounces on this, not because I don't rate blanc; as evidenced by our coaches polls. I just think he'd have a much harder time jumping in midseason since the other two know the language, the league & the country.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Rumors of Ancelotti coming to West Ham.

I would be psyched, as a Hammers fan. I like Bilic but come on now.


----------



## Cassano

Rumors say that Carlo 'Best Coach in the World' Ancelotti will only consider a move to Arsenal. 

Ideally, the board sacks Wenger ASAP to do this. But we know he's going to see out his contract. 

Still, maybe Ancelotti takes over the Italian NT for a bit and takes over when Wenger's contract runs out. That's the optimistic scenario.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

#WengerIN


----------



## Deficient Mode

BKIslandersFan said:


> Rumors of Ancelotti coming to West Ham.
> 
> I would be psyched, as a Hammers fan. I like Bilic but come on now.




First Tuchel, now this. You can't say West Ham aren't ambitious.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Deficient Mode said:


> First Tuchel, now this. You can't say West Ham aren't ambitious.




Chances are it's all BS rumor spread by the board though.

To sell season tickets.


----------



## Ceremony

A three time European Cup winner for a manager is classic West Ham delusions of relevance. Not a f***ing chance.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Ceremony said:


> A three time European Cup winner for a manager is classic West Ham delusions of relevance. Not a ****ing chance.




Rafa Benitez managed Newcastle in the Championship.

He’s not Anceotti but still.


----------



## Blender

BKIslandersFan said:


> Rafa Benitez managed Newcastle in the Championship.
> 
> He’s not Anceotti but still.



I doubt the Ancelotti thing is true, but even mid table EPL teams are rolling in money these days so I suspect they will be able to attract decent manager candidates.


----------



## Ceremony

BKIslandersFan said:


> Rafa Benitez managed Newcastle in the Championship.
> 
> He’s not Anceotti but still.



Speaking of delusions of relevance...


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Ceremony said:


> Speaking of delusions of relevance...



No I don’t believe Ancelotti will come to West Ham.


----------



## cgf

Ceremony said:


> Speaking of delusions of relevance...




Who brought up Arsenal?


----------



## Ceremony

cgf said:


> Who brought up Arsenal?



Arsenal have at least won trophies since the invention of colour television


----------



## cgf

Ceremony said:


> Arsenal have at least won trophies since the invention of colour television




Speaking of delusions of relevance...


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Ronald Koeman's seat has to be getting warm/


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> Arsenal have at least won trophies since the invention of colour television




Colour TV existed in 1969. Hang your head in your exceedingly wrong wrongness.

Of course I'm too kind to mention that while 1969 is a long time ago, it's still more recent than Scotland's last passage to the second phase of a World Cup final series.


----------



## Ceremony

Stray Wasp said:


> Colour TV existed in 1969. Hang your head in your exceedingly wrong wrongness.
> 
> Of course I'm too kind to mention that while 1969 is a long time ago, it's still more recent than Scotland's last passage to the second phase of a World Cup final series.



Was the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup broadcast in that first year?


----------



## Bon Esprit

It was brought up weeks ago by super Mario Basler that Carlo has a contract in place with an unknown Chinese club. As much I doubted itat first as much I think now it's could happen. West Ham is a non-starter IMO, Arsenal too since Wenger won't get fired and won't step down this year.


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> Was the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup broadcast in that first year?




There's footage of both legs, with commentary from David Coleman and Alan Weeks respectively, unless I'm mistaken. I suspect they weren't shown live but in highlight form. 

The pictures are black and white, admittedly. Whether or not British TV broadcast in colour at all back then I'm unsure. But it certainly existed in the USA, as witnessed by such series as the magnificent camp-fest Lost in Space.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Jeff Strasser, a manager from Luxembourg, is the new manager of Kaiserslautern. He does have history with the club as a former player which certainly helps. Amazingly, he is one of two managers from Luxembourg in the 2BL


----------



## Nalens Oga

I wonder if Kloppo comes to Bayern next year if he gets sacked at Liverpool this year. I would probably prefer him to Nagelsmann but then again, I'd find his need to always talk in media and his sideline thing to be annoying.


----------



## Live in the Now

He's not getting sacked, and he hates Bayern anyway. People need to stop with this. They would have to pay him off 25 or 30 million, which is a lot of money for Liverpool. Keita is only coming because Klopp is there. van Dijk only wants to go to Liverpool because Klopp is there. As soon as he goes, people wouldn't get the players they want so bad.

He needs to send the shit players where they belong. There's only two of them who are regulars in the team anyway. End of story. The only thing he has really done wrong is he hasn't been quick enough to get rid of the shit the last manager brought in.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Live in the Now said:


> He's not getting sacked, and he hates Bayern anyway. People need to stop with this. They would have to pay him off 25 or 30 million, which is a lot of money for Liverpool. Keita is only coming because Klopp is there. van Dijk only wants to go to Liverpool because Klopp is there. As soon as he goes, people wouldn't get the players they want so bad.
> 
> He needs to send the **** players where they belong. There's only two of them who are regulars in the team anyway. End of story. The only thing he has really done wrong is he hasn't been quick enough to get rid of the **** the last manager brought in.



It is ludicrous to even think about firing Klopp. As Liverpool have made great strides under him and there's no clear cut better option. However, he is not beyond criticism (not that's what you're suggesting) if pool don't make the top 4... he bears the brunt of the blame IMO.


----------



## Live in the Now

Yeah, it would be his fault, but in that case then you go again. Can't fire someone after two years where they achieved something they shouldn't have been able to achieve without spending hardly any money at all, then one weird year.

The owners are also screwing him because one of the players he wants to keep (Can) wants a release clause and the club refuses to have one put in any contracts.


----------



## Vipers31

Nalens Oga said:


> I wonder if Kloppo comes to Bayern next year if he gets sacked at Liverpool this year. I would probably prefer him to Nagelsmann but then again, I'd find his need to always talk in media and his sideline thing to be annoying.



Why would anyone but Bayern's opponents want Klopp to manage them? A coach who's biggest issue has been an inability to break down parked busses for a job that largely consists of breaking down parked busses. It's a terrible match. Tuchel is a vastly better fit, and he's actually available.


----------



## Evilo

Bild reports Bayern have inquired about Louis Van Gaal...

Please YES !! Can't stop laughing


----------



## Deficient Mode

Van Gaal did very well with Bayern the first time. They could do worse.


----------



## Evilo

LVG has lost it LOOOOONG ago.

But nice to see you downplay the Blanc possibility and defend the LVG


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> LVG has lost it LOOOOONG ago.
> 
> But nice to see you downplay the Blanc possibility and defend the LVG




Errr, I remember you playing up the importance of Blanc winning L1 with an underdog around the same time as LVG was reviving Bayern. Neither are great options and as a fan of a rival, I would be happy with either. Bayern do need a tactically-minded coach now, though, and LVG is more that kind of coach than Blanc. His tenure at United wasn't nearly as bad as you make it out to be, either.


----------



## Evilo

Incredible you put them in the same basket. Blanc has actually been great with PSG and Bordeaux. LVG hasn''t been great in a decade.
His tenure wasn't as bad? He had the same stats as his predecessor !!!

Bayern needs a coach that can break regrouped defenses. Guess what Blanc did every week with PSG?


----------



## East Coast Bias

Van Gaal is way past it. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy past it.

Enjoy the 1-1 draws and speeches about dominating "poshession"


----------



## Cassano

LvG would be about the worst possible coach for Bayern at the moment.

I hope it happens.


----------



## cgf

Bayern should bring in Hecking and leave Tuchel for BMG to replace him with


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> Incredible you put them in the same basket. Blanc has actually been great with PSG and Bordeaux. LVG hasn''t been great in a decade.
> His tenure wasn't as bad? He had the same stats as his predecessor !!!
> 
> Bayern needs a coach that can break regrouped defenses. Guess what Blanc did every week with PSG?




I'm not a big fan of Blanc's PSG tenure. The team was entertaining, but the quality seemed to come from the creativity of his players, and they were really disappointing in big matches. I don't think he would take Bayern to the next level. Of course, either coach could turn Bayern back into a team that dominates the Bundesliga.

Bayern atm needs far more work on their defensive coordination than on their offense. They haven't been struggling to score; but their defense has looked really shaky, and I don't think it's down to the players. Pep's team was a defensive stalwart with a similar group of defenders if not slightly worse.

It has certainly been less than a decade since LvG was unquestionably good, since he took over Bayern less than a decade ago. And as his teams have been more defensive lately, perhaps he would be a good fit.



DrRecchi said:


> LvG would be about the worst possible coach for Bayern at the moment.
> 
> I hope it happens.




Maybe the worst possible coach whom they'd seriously consider. But I don't know about that even.


----------



## Vipers31

There's a picture out there apparently from tomorrow's BILD that says Heynckes will take over at Bayern for this season. Not entirely positive it's real, but it looks like it, to me.


----------



## Vipers31

Hearing it's real, and saw another page. Heynckes back, Nagelsmann next summer.


----------



## Halladay

Vipers31 said:


> Hearing it's real, and saw another page. Heynckes back, Nagelsmann next summer.



I was wondering what Jupp was up to. He is very old for a manager though.


----------



## cgf

Vipers31 said:


> Hearing it's real, and saw another page. Heynckes back, Nagelsmann next summer.




If they had had Pep for another year, the Jupp to Nagelsmann plan would set Bayern up to dominate again. But I think Carlo has destroyed too much of the possession structure that Pep left behind. Jupp could settle the ship, but I wouldn't be surprised if he failed to win the league.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Heynckes is never too humiliated to take the Bayern job short term or when his successor is already in place. Feeling optimistic for this season.


----------



## Hadoop

Not a bad move by Bayern if true.


----------



## Ceremony

Regarding age, bottom of the league Falkirk had a 77 year old in charge at the weekend after sacking Peter Houston and they won, so an apparently senile van Gaal might not be so bad.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Vipers31 said:


> Hearing it's real, and saw another page. Heynckes back, Nagelsmann next summer.




As stated in the German football thread I actually think it's a good idea.


----------



## Vipers31

Bon Esprit said:


> As stated in the German football thread I actually think it's a good idea.




If that is what happens, I'm not against it, either. That said, since the Nagelsmann thing is unconfirmed, there's a bit of a question mark out there. If we're just delaying a decision because Tuchel seemed too demanding to Hoeneß, and we don't get JN in the summer, this is dreadful. I mean, there's been half-joking reports about Löw possibly joining after the WC, and then he ended up talking about wanting to become a club coach again right today... I'd die.


----------



## cgf

Watching him fail with Bayern, would settle all of the debates with Jogi apologists.


----------



## les Habs

Imagine having to manage Bayern now with Neuer out. That leaves you with Muller as captain.


----------



## Vipers31

les Habs said:


> Imagine having to manage Bayern now with Neuer out. That leaves you with Muller as captain.



Which is supposed to be some kind of problem?


----------



## Ceremony

Gordon Strachan out on his arse. The new Scotland manager will now be chosen by Malky Mackay, who you may remember from such texts as... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...scovered-by-Cardiff-chairman-Vincent-Tan.html


----------



## HajdukSplit

Other managers who have left after the final World Cup qualifying matches...

- Juan Antonio Pizzi (Chile)
- Srecko Katanec (Slovenia)
- Mehmed Bazdarevic (BiH)
- Lucas Alcaraz (Algeria)

Australia manager Ange Postecoglu also will step down after their November playoff vs. Honduras, regardless if they qualify

Robert Prosinecki is about to leave the Azerbaijan job as he is a candidate for the Slovenia and BiH job; he is the favorite for the Slovenia job


----------



## Albatros

Tuchel rumored to be going to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao in China, might be the right destination for him.


----------



## davemess

Craig Shakespeare sacked by Leicester City


----------



## HajdukSplit

Don't know how reliable Gazzetta is but on their front page they are reporting Ancelotti could coach Croatia *IF *they make the World Cup. Usually this nonsense you will see in a Croatian tabloid but Gazzetta seems pretty reputable

Wait until he see's the pay package, HNS refuses to pay coaches over 250K


----------



## East Coast Bias

Everton sack Koeman. 

He's a decent manger, but he's such a dic*k*head


----------



## Timeless Winter

Tuechel a candidate for the Toffees? Just curious.


----------



## Stray Wasp

Timeless Winter said:


> Tuechel a candidate for the Toffees? Just curious.




He should be, if they have any sense. However if the odds offered by various bookies are anything to go by Everton fans need to steel themselves for a British graduate of The School of Hard to Play Against.

The front runners in the betting are...

(at this point Toffees fans may want to lie down / grab a stiff drink / cry for mother depending on their preferred method for dealing with trauma)

...David Unsworth, Sir David Moyes, Sean Dyche and Sam Allardyce. The highest-ranked foreigners are Louis Van Gaal and Ancelotti.

Not the most inspiring list of names, if you ask me.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

R-Koe getting RKO'd.


----------



## Ceremony

Harry Redknapp says he'd be interested in being Scotland manager: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41714913


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Paulo Fonseca has been linked to the Everton job. Would be a coup.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Seems like Puel will be going to Leicester.


----------



## YNWA14

I wonder if there's any chance Koeman would consider taking on the NT. He's a good manager IMO; he certainly would do a better job than what we've had there of late.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> It is ludicrous to even think about firing Klopp. As Liverpool have made great strides under him and there's no clear cut better option. However, he is not beyond criticism (not that's what you're suggesting) if pool don't make the top 4... he bears the brunt of the blame IMO.




Have they though? They were closer to the league title under Rodgers in 2014 than they have been under Klopp so far (and they won't get that close this year either). Yes, they qualified for the CL last year but that isn't meant to be a one off, they intended for this year to be another step in the right direction, not a year of mediocrity.

I'm a big Klopp fan but aside from his numerous brilliant victories and the generally attractive style of play, the man has also overseen one of the more remarkable runs of futility by a major club in recent history. The half season that got him fired at Dortmund was basically a typical Liverpool loss under Klopp on a loop. How exactly did that happen? Maybe it's because when the defensive breakdowns start occurring frequently enough every team at almost every talent level can pull a number on a Klopp team.

This trouble could be seen brewing for a while and the transfer window over the off-season should have had alarm bells ringing among Liverpool fans. Liverpool simply do not have the personnel to play "Kloppball" with any sort of consistent success and the failure to shore it up over the summer all but guaranteed that this season would not be a step forward. I don't know who controls transfer dealings at Liverpool, but whoever it is basically has gotten the club into a pickle. 

If by January/February they're still where they're in the league right now, not only would Klopp be on the 'hot seat', I'd find it hard to believe he'd survive a season without European qualification.


----------



## les Habs

davemess said:


> Craig Shakespeare sacked by Leicester City




I don't follow Leicester nearly enough to say he didn't deserve to go and I'm not saying he's your guy long term, but I think he was sacked prematurely. They had a tough schedule to start off the campaign.


----------



## Havre

God knows what happened at Everton this summer. If Koeman really wanted that mishmash of players he definitely deserved to go. I do find that hard to believe though.


----------



## Havre

les Habs said:


> I don't follow Leicester nearly enough to say he didn't deserve to go and I'm not saying he's your guy long term, but I think he was sacked prematurely. They had a tough schedule to start off the campaign.




Would agree with this. Not convinced at all that CS is a good manager, but way too early to say. Poor decision to appoint someone in the first place if you don´t trust them more than this.


----------



## davemess

Havre said:


> God knows what happened at Everton this summer. If Koeman really wanted that mishmash of players he definitely deserved to go. I do find that hard to believe though.



I imagine both Klaassen & Sigurðsson were guys Koeman pushed for. I get maybe bringing in one of those two but not both.

Some of that money needed to be spent on a centre forward. The fact it wasn't doomed Koeman.


Heard a lot of good things about Underworth so think he is worth a look. Little worried he could just be our Shakespeare, the guy the players want but who ultimately isn't really ready for the job.


----------



## davemess

TopKex said:


> Seems like Puel will be going to Leicester.



That one is being reported as done now.

Don't get it.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Better than Pardew.


----------



## Havre

davemess said:


> I imagine both Klaassen & Sigurðsson were guys Koeman pushed for. I get maybe bringing in one of those two but not both.
> 
> Some of that money needed to be spent on a centre forward. The fact it wasn't doomed Koeman.
> 
> 
> Heard a lot of good things about Underworth so think he is worth a look. Little worried he could just be our Shakespeare, the guy the players want but who ultimately isn't really ready for the job.




Yeah. Without turning this thread into a big discussion into the structure of the Everton-squad I agree. I think Everton got a lot of good players, but you got so many players playing in the same style and the lack of pace among some of the better attacking players is quite shocking. 

As I said - I don't get how an experienced manager like Koeman could let something like that happen. I don't like Koeman as he has some of that strange "Dutch arrogance"* you see in LVG, but he has managed some good teams over the years. I expected him to make Everton a good if not very good side.

* I don't really know how to put it and I don't mean to insult the Dutch. I think all people can be arrogant - so it is not specific to the Dutch - just that it shows in different ways for different cultures.


----------



## Evilo

Little info I read the other day about Koeman and some dutch attitude.
After the Everton/Lyon game Koeman went to see the ref to complain, which was absolutely amazing when you consider what happenned during the previous 90 minutes.
The ref was asked about it in the dutch papers.
Not only did Koeman REALLY complain to the ref in dutch, he whined the ref didn't add enough stoppage time. That's already gross considering anyone who watched the game can tell you how the ref was epicly in favor of Everton.
But as if it wasn't enough, the ref answered : "I could have added 90 minutes, your team wouldn't have scored".

How a pro ref can answer that to a pro coach in euro competition is amazing to me.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Pedro Cauixina sacked by Rangers.

Think they should give Frank de Boer a shot.


----------



## davemess

Havre said:


> Yeah. Without turning this thread into a big discussion into the structure of the Everton-squad I agree. I think Everton got a lot of good players, but you got so many players playing in the same style and the lack of pace among some of the better attacking players is quite shocking.



Koeman said today that Oliver Giroud changed his mind at the last minute or he would have joined Everton over the summer. He thinks that deal not getting done killed his chances.


----------



## davemess

BKIslandersFan said:


> Pedro Cauixina sacked by Rangers.
> 
> Think they should give Frank de Boer a shot.



Derek McInnes was the name that jumped into my head first.

I could see Frank de Boer as well if the board are willing to give him the time to change the way the team plays to what he would want.


----------



## Evilo

davemess said:


> Koeman said today that Oliver Giroud changed his mind at the last minute or he would have joined Everton over the summer. He thinks that deal not getting done killed his chances.



And now he blames a player not even at his club.


----------



## Ceremony

Going by the descending length of Frank De Boer's managerial reigns if he gets the Rangers job he'll be sacked from it three weeks ago.

I think he'd be a disaster and an expensive one, so I'm all for it. Pedro's reign of hilarity will be hard to take over from.


----------



## Havre

davemess said:


> Koeman said today that Oliver Giroud changed his mind at the last minute or he would have joined Everton over the summer. He thinks that deal not getting done killed his chances.




I realize I’m just a random guy at an Internet message board (mainly related to hockey even), but yeah one more player without pace who likes to operate in front of the CDs. Bizarre if you ask me. And even if I don’t think Giroud is amazing I probably rate him higher than most.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Ceremony said:


> Going by the descending length of Frank De Boer's managerial reigns if he gets the Rangers job he'll be sacked from it three weeks ago.
> 
> I think he'd be a disaster and an expensive one, so I'm all for it. Pedro's reign of hilarity will be hard to take over from.




Aberdeen fan?


----------



## Ceremony

BKIslandersFan said:


> Aberdeen fan?



n/a, proud to be perpetually amused by the failings of Celtic and Rangers


----------



## YNWA14

Havre said:


> Yeah. Without turning this thread into a big discussion into the structure of the Everton-squad I agree. I think Everton got a lot of good players, but you got so many players playing in the same style and the lack of pace among some of the better attacking players is quite shocking.
> 
> As I said - I don't get how an experienced manager like Koeman could let something like that happen. I don't like Koeman as he has some of that strange "Dutch arrogance"* you see in LVG, but he has managed some good teams over the years. I expected him to make Everton a good if not very good side.
> 
> * I don't really know how to put it and I don't mean to insult the Dutch. I think all people can be arrogant - so it is not specific to the Dutch - just that it shows in different ways for different cultures.



Not really taken as an insult. I think even the Dutch recognize that they have that 'Dutch confidence' I'll call it. It's a bit of a blessing and a curse at the same time. I mean the Dutch revolutionized football (in more than one way) and we're seeing that now more and more. But we also have a long history of being stubborn, infighting, etc. It's why the KNVB is the mess that it is right now; Michels/Cruyff vs. van Gaal schools.


----------



## Evilo

What football has Cruyff revolutionized?


----------



## cgf

Evilo said:


> What football has Cruyff revolutionized?




You know, back when Michels copied the Mighty Magyars & Wunderteam to build his side around Cruyff the exact same way they had built their positionally fluid sides around Puskas & Sindelar 

It was so revolutionary that they lost in the WC final to a West German team based around the exact same kind of tactical interplay...


----------



## Evilo

And Barca's style was implemented by Laureano Ruiz anyway.


----------



## cgf

I can't speak to barca's history, but it's always tickled me when people go on & on about the the Dutch revolution. Our golden generation, which kept them trophy-less, was built on the exact same tactical foundation that we had built up from what we learned playing against the Mighty Magyars two decades prior...who themselves built their system off of what Meisl did with Sindelar & the Wunderteam two decades before them.


----------



## YNWA14

You don't have to discover or invent something to create a revolution. Ignorance is bliss though. There's a reason that the advent of 'Total Football' is associated with Michels/Cruyff and Barcelona's future was written with them. Academy systems everywhere studied Dutch training methods, etc. But hey, current managers, players and pundits don't know what they're talking about when crediting them either.


----------



## Evilo

Ignorance is bliss indeed.
Ruiz formed Cruyff to Barca's style.
Make some research before claiming stuff like that.


----------



## cgf

You say that as though those are the only teams that are studied lol Academy systems everywhere also study how the french built their system, how we rebuilt ours from the late 90s onwards, they study what about the SA system promotes skill development...thus the rise in futsal style drills & mini-tourneys at youth levels in europe...and they study how the Hungarians of the 50s operated.

Talk to some creative thinkers in this sport and no one team revolutionized their thinking. This sport has progressively evolved and each major step along on the way played a pivotal part.


----------



## Evilo

And mind you, Guardiola has said numerous times he learnt from Ruiz too. Just like many others.


----------



## Evilo

Isn't that fun that for years one ignorant fan tells us how wrong we are all the time because we don't know as much as he does (because WE are ignorant), even though he hits the wall repeatedly....


----------



## YNWA14

Evilo said:


> And mind you, Guardiola has said numerous times he learnt from Ruiz too. Just like many others.



..and?


> “He was unique, totally unique,” Pep Guardiola says of Johan Cruyff on a quiet Thursday afternoon in London. “Without him I wouldn’t be here. I know for sure this is why I am, right now, the manager of Manchester City and before that Bayern Munich and Barcelona.”
> 
> “I knew nothing about football before knowing Cruyff,” said the world's most sought-after coach.




I mean, I don't have to do this. You can think how you wish, but the footballing world knows.


----------



## Evilo

And just so yo uknow since you need to learn a little bit, the only thing Cruyff managed to do is implement Ruiz' system to the main team because he had the authority and the name to be hear. Ruiz revolutionized la Masia and then tried to implement it with the A team but was rejected because he was not a big name.
Cruyff became a fan and years later implemented Ruiz' system.


----------



## cgf

Let's just chalk this discussion up to typical Dutch-arrogance and move on.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Ceremony said:


> n/a, proud to be perpetually amused by the failings of Celtic and Rangers




Hearts Hearts Glorious Hearts!


----------



## Ceremony

BKIslandersFan said:


> Hearts Hearts Glorious Hearts!



You have successfully named two Scottish football clubs. Would you like to try for a third?


----------



## Deficient Mode

Love to win 1 out of 10 games with a decent team and ask for the world in severance pay.


----------



## Evilo

He'd be right IMO. There's no way Lille should sack him.
His team was the better team yesterday against OM for instance, but his team's very young and they make mistakes (like on the FK that resulted in the only goal by Sanson).
The team will get better, but he has to work with those youngsters and he's IMO the right fit. It'll take time for these kids to get confidence, but they will get on a roll at some point.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Despite qualifying for their first tournament since 2010, Serbia sack their manager Slavoljub Muslin. The main reasons seem to be Serbia's poor performances (very defensive) in the last few qualifiers + not calling up Milinkovic-Savic and integrating more of the U20 World Champions into the squad. Former Bundesliga defender Mladen Krstajic is the caretaker for the November friendlies. Serbia want to hire Dragan Stojkovic but he has a big contract in China, another candidate is Slovakian Vladimir Weiss who managed Slovakia in the 2010 World Cup and is currently with the Georgia NT. More realistic seems to be Ivan Jovanovic (the guy who took APOEL to the quarters of the CL)

Hungary have fired former Belgium manager Georges Leekens to replace Bernd Storck

Franco Foda is the new manager of Austria, becoming the first German to take that post. He will coach the friendly match against Uruguay in November before officially stepping down from Sturm Graz in the winter break. He has coached Sturm Graz from 2006-2012 and a 2nd stint 2014 to present


----------



## HajdukSplit

Bremen sack Alexander Nouri after a winless start in the Bundesliga and a 3:0 loss at home to Augsburg. Bremen U23 manager Florian Kohlfeldt is the interim manager and they will look for a permanent replacement during the international break


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

I f***ing love Bielsa he should coach coaches and not teams. Also a coach that Pep learned from.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Simon Grayson sacked at Sunderland after only four months, the team is in the relegation zone of the Championship with only 1 win from 15


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Should never have left Preston.


----------



## chasespace

HajdukSplit said:


> Simon Grayson sacked at Sunderland after only four months, the team is in the relegation zone of the Championship with only 1 win from 15




I'll legitimately never understand how a team goes from the Premier League to the bottom of the Championship in one season. I get players are gonna want to leave to stay in the Prem but you should still have a ton of money to reload your team with players wanting to make the jump that can't find a Premier team to take them and ride them back up.


----------



## Evilo

PSG are already looking at coaching options for next summer.
One of them leads to Pochettino according to Paris United.


----------



## Evilo

Or rather, Pochettino has a "PSG option" in his contract when he renewed.


----------



## Savant

Evilo said:


> Or rather, Pochettino has a "PSG option" in his contract when he renewed.




I think Pochettino ends up in Paris or Madrid sooner than later.


----------



## Evilo

According to Paris United, here's the whole short list :
1- Pochettino (PSG link, always said he'd go back one day, blah, blah, blah; but zero successful european campaign so far and this is PSG's goal).
2- Conte (meh, I think he's highly overrated and wants to go back to Italy anyway).
3- Mourinho (please no).
4- Ancelotti (ship has sailed).
5- Villas Boas (WTF?).
6- Gallardo (see #1, I'd prefer Poch).


----------



## Stray Wasp

HajdukSplit said:


> Simon Grayson sacked at Sunderland after only four months, the team is in the relegation zone of the Championship with only 1 win from 15




Only now are my tears beginning to abate. Is there no patience in football? How dare they treat an English manager so? A fellow who _knows the league_, after all?
I ask you, can any reasonable judge not look upon his CV and understand that Grayson deserved to be backed for a minimum of, say, twenty-four years?

But alas, the man who allowed Newcastle fans to coin the word, 'relegrayson', exits the Stadium of Unoccupied Pink Seats. (Twenty-six thousand was the alleged attendance the other night, but photographic evidence suggests that if we are to credit that figure, we must believe that the DNA of Wearsiders and Chameleons are above 99% the same).

sunderland have now gone 319 days without winning a home league game. Unless the new stooge can steer the ship away from the rocks quickly, in order to maintain the pretence of a crowd they'll need to borrow the tactics from the climax to the siege of Fort Zinderneuf.

So, to the cherished names of Howard Wilkinson, Mick McCarthy, Sir David Moyes and the greatest of all, Lawrie McMenemy, can be added Simon Grayson.

Last summer, on the internet could be found sunderland fans genuinely saying they'd rather have Grayson managing them than Rafael Benitez. As Rafa would say, 'Fact'.


----------



## Ceremony

Sunderland have been a disaster for years and you're giving them far too much credit (or at least not appreciating the sort of state a team that fights relegation every year is in) if you expected them to look even remotely competent, never mind be challenging to go straight back up again.


----------



## Stray Wasp

chasespace said:


> I'll legitimately never understand how a team goes from the Premier League to the bottom of the Championship in one season. I get players are gonna want to leave to stay in the Prem but you should still have a ton of money to reload your team with players wanting to make the jump that can't find a Premier team to take them and ride them back up.




sunderland's summer spend was £1.25 million.

This figure is not unrelated to the fact that they barely have a penny to rub together. Even before demotion last season they hadn't turned a profit in a decade. It's been years since wages didn't eat up at least two-thirds of their income. The debts were mounting. Even when real entities were going to games, their ticket prices meant it wasn't reflected by the receipts.

If you care to, a full account is here: http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/sunderland-all-cats-are-grey.html

Naturally, their fans didn't care about any of this as long as they beat Newcastle, because that is all they care about. And the media, which was variously uninterested, discreetly sympathetic or downright shameless in its towing of the club's official line, did next to nothing to lay bare the reality of the club's plight.

And when you have a shambolically run club whose fans will condone years worth of on-field bilge in exchange for winning two games a year against the team down the road, it's difficult to persuade players to care, or extend themselves. If winning is a habit, so is losing, even when you drop a division.

The Championship isn't a good league in terms of quality, but the season requires you to play eight more games than the EPL, and it feels as though the season lasts forever. Plenty of the clubs have respectable histories, and increasing numbers have money to burn. More foreign managers are arriving at that level, adding new ideas.

And virtually all of these clubs have more ambition than sunderland. Because now it isn't playing Newcastle twice a year, sunderland Association Football Club doesn't have a reason to exist.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

I just find it hard to see Poch getting along with an ego like Neymar's, for example.


----------



## sabremike

I know they are a local rival but seeing a fan of one of the biggest joke clubs in all of world football mocking the incompetence of another club is hilarious.


----------



## Stray Wasp

sabremike said:


> I know they are a local rival but seeing a fan of one of the biggest joke clubs in all of world football mocking the incompetence of another club is hilarious.




As Mr. Bennett said, "For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?"

And whenever Newcastle's failings make me sad, I can remind myself that had I been born a sunderland fan, I'd never have seen my club play in European football during my entire lifetime.

Indeed, I'd have suffered the ignominy of watching my club arrogantly reject an invitation to compete in the Intertoto Cup in order to concentrate on the Premier League, then watch our local rivals accept the offered place and qualify for the Champions League twelve months later, while my club finished seventeenth.

Had I been born a sunderland fan (I write 'born'- though 'hatched out of mud' would be a more accurate description- for reasons of brevity) I'd be revering Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips' strike partnership instead of Peter Beardsley and Andy Cole's.

In my lifetime I'd have seen my club enjoy three top ten finishes in the top flight, none of them higher than seventh.

I would have seen my club play in the third tier of the English game.

Instead of eulogising Alan Shearer as the local boy made good who came home, I'd be lauding Adam Johnson.

So, while in your mind Newcastle and sunderland's standing may be on a par, my practical experience tells me otherwise.


----------



## sabremike

Correct me if I am wrong, but haven't Newcastle literally won nothing in like 90 years?


----------



## cgf

SW might be my favorite poster on HF


----------



## Stray Wasp

sabremike said:


> Correct me if I am wrong, but haven't Newcastle literally won nothing in like 90 years?




That's slightly lazy of you. Why not research whether you're wrong off your own bat? You may find the experience of increasing your knowledge to be a pleasing novelty.

I hear rumours that if you wade deep enough through the pornography and political propaganda, the internet can be a source of information.

Though personally, I have an old-fashioned fondness for books.


----------



## Stray Wasp

cgf said:


> SW might be my favorite poster on HF




Thank you.


----------



## sabremike

Stray Wasp said:


> That's slightly lazy of you. Why not research whether you're wrong off your own bat? You may find the experience of increasing your knowledge to be a pleasing novelty.
> 
> I hear rumours that if you wade deep enough through the pornography and political propaganda, the internet can be a source of information.
> 
> Though personally, I have an old-fashioned fondness for books.



My apologies as your last major honor was the 1955 FA Cup, so only a 62 year drought. You last won the top flight 90 years ago, so that was the confusion.


----------



## sabremike

And since I decided to take your advice and do research, I looked up Sunderland. They last won the top flight in 1937, so 80 years of top flight failure for them. They last won a major honor in 1973 (FA Cup), so they are on a 44 year drought (same as my Knicks).


----------



## cgf

sabremike said:


> I know they are a local rival...[snip]




Proceeds to ignore what it means to be local rivals...


----------



## BKIslandersFan

sabremike said:


> I know they are a local rival but seeing a fan of one of the biggest joke clubs in all of world football mocking the incompetence of another club is hilarious.




Newcastle is biggest joke club? They have Rafa Benitez.


----------



## sabremike

The


BKIslandersFan said:


> Newcastle is biggest joke club? They have Rafa Benitez.



The 1999 MetroStars were coached by Bora Millotinovc but that didn't stop Bild from calling us the worst club in the world (and rightly so I may add).


----------



## BKIslandersFan

sabremike said:


> The
> 
> The 1999 MetroStars were coached by Bora Millotinovc but that didn't stop Bild from calling us the worst club in the world (and rightly so I may add).




I get Mike Ashley is an awful owner, but surely there are a lot of clubs worse off than Newcastle.


----------



## cgf

BKIslandersFan said:


> I get Mike Ashley is an awful owner, but surely there are a lot of clubs worse off than Newcastle.



Like Sunderland


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

West Ham consider replacing Bilic with Moyes. How inspiring.


----------



## Stray Wasp

sabremike said:


> My apologies as your last major honor was the 1955 FA Cup, so only a 62 year drought. You last won the top flight 90 years ago, so that was the confusion.




It's only right to point out that I didn't win the 1955 FA Cup, and I've never won the English top flight either. You see, while Stray Wasp isn't my real name, neither is Newcastle United Football Club, and I've never been employed by them in a footballing capacity. (The fact I wasn't alive in 1955 was a further hindrance to my involvement in proceedings).

Incidentally, I find myself wondering if your source of information was A History of Association Football by the United Kingdom Independence Party, or something.

Newcastle United has won a major European trophy, after all. And before you ask, my participation in that victory was also nil.


----------



## LemmyUlanov55

Big Kahuna said:


> West Ham consider replacing Bilic with Moyes. How inspiring.



Yeah, underwhelming. But honestly, who would be desperate enough to take over a club in West Ham's position with all the crazy & clueless board decisions on top of it? Probably Moyes, Allardyce (they approached him aswell) and a few others fans wouldn't be too excited about.


----------



## sabremike

Counting either the Intertoto Cup or even the Fairs-City cup as a major European trophy is a stretch to say the least.


----------



## Evilo

Fairs city Cup is a major trophy.


----------



## sabremike

Evilo said:


> Fairs city Cup is a major trophy.



Looked it up further and that comment is... fair. It is essentially the same as Jesse Ventura saying he was a Navy Seal when he was actually in the group that evolved into the Seals so it's a pedantic point. And Newcastle won it when the rules for qualifying were less ridiculous than they originaly were.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Bilic sacking now official


----------



## LemmyUlanov55

HajdukSplit said:


> Bilic sacking now official



Well, finally. His tactic & lineup decisions in the last 12 months have been shocking at times. Not keen on Moyes but I guess it doesn't really matter who's guiding the team down into the Championship.


----------



## Jersey Fresh

You knew it was going to be some British retread. You don't have a ton of options this time of year. The reality is the time to do it was really the summer, but I understand wanting to give him another crack at righting the ship. 

Still love Slaven, he's an entertaining guy. It wasn't working.


----------



## Savant




----------



## Jersey Fresh

Hardly the biggest fan, but he did well at Everton, while he would always be out of his depth at United. No one can do anything at Sunderland, it's a black hole.

We'll see what happens. Likely it'll be scrapping and clawing the rest of the campaign. 55/45 we stay up. SAD!

The squad on its face really should be mid-table-ish, though.


----------



## Burner Account

#MoyesIn


----------



## S E P H

Don't know if I like that if I was a West Ham fan. Yikes...

We can all guess that Moyes is going to be sacked at some time in the near future. Either a year from now or next summer.


----------



## Havre

Thread titel being quite perfect at the moment. Not that every young or at least still somewhat promising manager will work out, but if Hull can bring in Silva I´m pretty sure WH could do better than Moyes. Seems so pointless. At least a guy like Alardyce has a record of keeping average and/or small teams competitive.


----------



## LemmyUlanov55

Like having two Dave's in charge wasn't already bad enough.


----------



## maclean

Rennes coach Gourcoff is gone even though the team's won its last four matches. Apparently due to disagreements with new club president Létang


----------



## Evilo

Gourcuff was a big friend of Ruello, the former president. When Ruello got fired, Gourcuff lashed out, and when he learnt Letang was named 10 minutes after, he flamed him in the media. 
Was only a matter of time, Gourcuff is not a guy who makes U-turns.

Anyway, he has failed at Rennes, no matter how you slice it. The quality of play (which was incredible with Lorient) was dramatic. He didn't use Rennes' fantastic academy that well either.


----------



## Savant

Havre said:


> Thread titel being quite perfect at the moment. Not that every young or at least still somewhat promising manager will work out, but if Hull can bring in Silva I´m pretty sure WH could do better than Moyes. Seems so pointless. At least a guy like Alardyce has a record of keeping average and/or small teams competitive.



When Hull brought in Silva, no one knew who he was.


----------



## Ceremony

I will die of laughter if West Ham get relegated.


----------



## Havre

Savant said:


> When Hull brought in Silva, no one knew who he was.




No one? 

And even if the "average fan" doesn´t/didn´t I would expect people hiring managers to be aware of someone doing as well as Silva did in his 5 years before joining Hull. Kind of my point. It seems like the people hiring are as ignorant as fans - and not even fans that follow football that closely (or maybe only his/her favourite team/league), but the "average fan".


----------



## Savant

Havre said:


> No one?
> 
> And even if the "average fan" doesn´t/didn´t I would expect people hiring managers to be aware of someone doing as well as Silva did in his 5 years before joining Hull. Kind of my point. It seems like the people hiring are as ignorant as fans - and not even fans that follow football that closely (or maybe only his/her favourite team/league), but the "average fan".



Sure, but Silva was seen as anything but a sure thing at the time. He was not first choice for the Hull role either. They couldn’t give that job away. Not every team wants to take a chance on someone who is not proven, and even so it doesnt always work out. It seems like West Ham, in particular, have been trying to hire a big name manager for a while; they were trying very hard for Rafa Benitez for one. Moyes may have been the biggest name that they could have gotten. It does not seem that it was their strategy to roll the dice on a Silva type.


----------



## sabremike

Moyes isn't that bad for a club whose goal is mid table and topping out with a shot at the Europa League. He's not a guy for a top club but for a West Ham type club he is fine. His spell with United was just the perfect example of the Peter Principal in action.


----------



## Savant

Montreal Impact have hired Remi Garde as their new manager.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Apparently Pochettino told Balague (who wrote his biography) that he has already declined offers from two top ten clubs.


----------



## Edo

So Mourinho apparently wants to leave United because Manchester City is too good to beat.  That dude is such a fraud.


----------



## Havre

Big Kahuna said:


> Apparently Pochettino told Balague (who wrote the his biography) that he has already declined offers from two top ten clubs.




Top ten?

Depending on who you ask Spurs are a top 10-12 club these days - so yeah - obviously he wouldn't move to a team more or less at the same level / size.

We'll see when plastic fantastic PSG come knocking or maybe RM. Pochettino has stated several times that he is not leaving and/or being extremely happy being at Spurs for years and years, but you never know. I personally don't think he will move for many years, but one can never be 100% certain (even if it feels close to 99% this time).


----------



## Evilo

Plastic PSG? 
LOL.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Edo said:


> So Mourinho apparently wants to leave United because Manchester City is too good to beat.  That dude is such a fraud.




Yeah there are far too many of these stories coming out to be just press making things up - between criticizing the fans, complaining about money (he spent 300m FFS) and everything else, he’s clearly beginning the act to destroy it all. 

It was known. Wouldn’t be the end of the world if he goes to PSG after this season. Modern football and all. Who United hires scares me though.


----------



## Edo

Mourinho doesn't deserve Mbappe. It'll be a travesty. Just horrible.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Mourinho leaves United next summer. 

Tuchel replaces him. 

Mkhitaryan rediscovers his mojo.

Sounds good to me.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Mourinho leaves United next summer.
> 
> *Tuchel replaces him. *
> 
> Mkhitaryan rediscovers his mojo.
> 
> Sounds good to me.




Booooooooo


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Booooooooo




Did you mean to say Toooooooooochel?


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Did you mean to say Toooooooooochel?




TT already tried selling out once and it ended badly for him. It's time for him to accept his hipster-favorite fate and take over Union, Gladbach or Werder for the next 4-5 years.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> TT already tried selling out once and it ended badly for him. It's time for him to accept his hipster-favorite fate and take over Union, Gladbach or Werder for the next 4-5 years.




Only a locker room that has dealt with Mourinho for the past 2 years will be able to tolerate Tuchel's impossible personality


----------



## cgf

True enough...hopefully he hates Pogba for no reason, cause if TT turned Pogba into the player he was once hyped to become, that could really screw with our WC chances.


----------



## Ceremony

Ryan Giggs, he previously touted for (and "interested in" in the same sense thousands of wags with a Football Manager CV are) jobs such as Everton, Swansea and pretty much any Premier League vacancy of the past three years is going to head up a youth academy in, er, Vietnam: Ryan Giggs: Ex-Man Utd winger to sign deal with Vietnamese academy

A generation of hacks that grew up salivating over _Fergie_ will be just devastated.


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> Ryan Giggs, he previously touted for (and "interested in" in the same sense thousands of wags with a Football Manager CV are) jobs such as Everton, Swansea and pretty much any Premier League vacancy of the past three years is going to head up a youth academy in, er, Vietnam: Ryan Giggs: Ex-Man Utd winger to sign deal with Vietnamese academy
> 
> A generation of hacks that grew up salivating over _Fergie_ will be just devastated.




These patriotic journalists should highlight their solidarity with Giggs by a co-ordinated programme of self-immolations.

I propose Robbie Savage take the lead.


----------



## Ceremony

Stray Wasp said:


> These patriotic journalists should highlight their solidarity with Giggs by a co-ordinated programme of self-immolations.
> 
> I propose Robbie Savage take the lead.



Savage is currently the under-12s coach at some 9th tier vanity project that's having a few pounds flung at it: Jlloyd Samuel & Nathan Ellington: Ex-Premier League players line up for non-league Egerton FC


----------



## Peen

Not sure where else to put this but Chelsea are interested in bringing in Luis Campos as the new technical director.

Any thoughts @Evilo ?


----------



## Evilo

Yes I read that.
A few things :

- best scout in the business. By a wide margin I'd say. He built Monaco's golden year 4 years ago. Brought Lemar, Bakayoko, Silva, etc....
- rumor is that there is trouble between Bielsa and him, not so much between the two but between Bielsa and the guys Campos appointed.
- somehow doubt he signs with an unstable staff like Chelsea
- is extremely interested in building from scratch like Lille. I think he loves the Lille project.


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> Savage is currently the under-12s coach at some 9th tier vanity project that's having a few pounds flung at it: Jlloyd Samuel & Nathan Ellington: Ex-Premier League players line up for non-league Egerton FC




Interestingly, while I'd read about Samuel and Ellington playing non-league, the article in question made no mention of Savage. It appears tact is not dead after all.

Egerton FC will shortly possess a team of under-12s who can't play football, but know how to bob their heads like a mule while they run. Hopefully they will consider this a benefit.


----------



## gary69

Hmm..."Former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage is the club's under-12 coach."


----------



## Luigi Habs

Ventura sacked as expected.

He should refund all the salary he took.


----------



## Stray Wasp

gary69 said:


> Hmm..."Former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage is the club's under-12 coach."




I read this, and I wondered, 'what does this cryptic remark mean?'

Then I reread my own post, and I think I understand. A communication breakdown on my part.

When I wrote, 'the article in question', I was referring to the article I read about Samuel and Ellington, rather than the one Ceremony linked. But 'the article in question' isn't the right phrase to use the context I used it.

But in mitigation I ask, how can a fellow be expected to compose lucid phrases when Britain's finest footballing minds are being thwarted at every turn?

Even now, Sam Allardyce will be stomping around his house kicking his tasteless furniture because rather than give him a job Everton prefers publicly to stalk Marco Silva. Already, it's rumoured they've offered Watford £8.5 million compensation.

Imagine how much Silva will be worth once he's managed in the Premier League for a full twelve months.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Marc Wilmots out as Ivory Coast manager after failing to qualify for the World Cup, he lasted only 6 months, Ivory Coast will be on their 4th manager since the last World Cup


----------



## HajdukSplit

Coleman steps down from the Wales NT to take over Sunderland


----------



## sabremike

HajdukSplit said:


> Coleman steps down from the Wales NT to take over Sunderland




Better odds for 2022:

Wales in Qatar or Sunderland in the Premier League?


----------



## Ceremony

And within 24 hours, an objective lesson in the joy which can be brought from HFBoards now changing urls to the title of the page they lead to: Ryan Giggs: Wales assistant Osian Roberts tips Welshman as Chris Coleman successor

Erm, no.

"I would like to think Ryan would make a good Wales manager," Roberts said.

I feel that a country in Wales' position right now need someone with no managerial experience at all.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Left Wales for...Sunderland? Career suicide if you ask me.


----------



## Deficient Mode

How much is Wales paying? How much is Sunderland?



sabremike said:


> Better odds for 2022:
> 
> Wales in Qatar or Sunderland in the Premier League?




It's extremely likely that Coleman will have moved on for better or worse by 2022.



BKIslandersFan said:


> Left Wales for...Sunderland? Career suicide if you ask me.




I don't know. Expectations must be extremely low there. Merely saving them from further relegation probably would help his reputation.


----------



## HajdukSplit

According to finance football, Coleman's salary during the Euro 2016 cycle was 260,000 euros. Don't know if he got a raise after Euros and if he did it probably wasn't much

Best paid head coaches in Euro 2016


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Deficient Mode said:


> How much is Wales paying? How much is Sunderland?
> 
> 
> 
> It's extremely likely that Coleman will have moved on for better or worse by 2022.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know. Expectations must be extremely low there. Merely saving them from further relegation probably would help his reputation.



That in itself is a tall order.


----------



## gary69

He's now been the Algeria manager for a month or so, but Rabah Madjer sure has already picked a journalist he hates 

Is Madjer appointement considered wise in Algeria, seeing the last manager job he had was over a decade ago and he's been an analyst/TV-pundit since?


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Tony Pulis has been sacked. Not sure what West Brom management were thinking when they didn't sack him over the international break which would have given them plenty of time to find a replacement. Did they expect him to win against Chelsea?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Not sure if he will be interested in international management but surely one of the contenders for the Wales job now


----------



## Tuggy

Big Kahuna said:


> Tony Pulis has been sacked. Not sure what West Brom management were thinking when they didn't sack him over the international break which would have given them plenty of time to find a replacement. Did they expect him to win against Chelsea?




Finally.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ange Postecoglu resigns as Australia manager despite qualifying for the WC less than a week ago. He becomes the third manager to leave his post after qualifying for the WC (Muslin - Serbia & van Marwijk - Saudi Arabia)


----------



## HajdukSplit

Edgardo Bauza has been sacked as Saudi Arabia manager after only two months, winning 2 of his 5 friendly matches. Remember, Saudi Arabia sacked van Marwijk after qualifying for the World Cup  Though they have a reputation for doing this, I think they actually sacked a manager mid tournament back in 1998


----------



## HajdukSplit

Swedish manager Mikael Stahre set to take the San Jose Earthquakes job, won the Swedish league with AIK almost a decade ago and has since bounced around Sweden, Greece and China. Pretty outside the box hire for MLS standards who for a few years tended to stay within for their coaching hires


----------



## maclean

Reports are coming out here that Sparta Prague is going to try to reach out to Slaven Bilić


----------



## Stray Wasp

Reports in England, meanwhile, link Bilic to West Bromwich Albion. The plot thickens...


----------



## HajdukSplit

Read both reports, apparently he turned down the chance to talk with West Brom leading me to believe he won't take the Sparta job either. My guess he waits until summer to take a new job. He's also been linked to the Bosnia NT job, but I doubt he wants to go back to international management for now and BiH won't pay his salary demands


----------



## BKIslandersFan

HajdukSplit said:


> Swedish manager Mikael Stahre set to take the San Jose Earthquakes job, won the Swedish league with AIK almost a decade ago and has since bounced around Sweden, Greece and China. Pretty outside the box hire for MLS standards who for a few years tended to stay within for their coaching hires



Success of Martino and Vieira I imagine.


----------



## HajdukSplit

English manager Anthony Hudson who was most recently manager of the New Zealand national side will be named manager of the Colorado Rapids. He was actually born in the US (his dad played for the Sounders in the NASL days) and spent his early coaching career in the USL (Real Maryland Monarchs)


----------



## HajdukSplit

Montella sacked by Milan after their poor start and he is replaced by Gennaro Gattuso, promoted from the youth team. Gattuso has managed in the lower Italian leagues and Greece in the past but other than Pisa (Serie C), he never stayed at a club more than 6 months


----------



## maclean

HajdukSplit said:


> BiH won't pay his salary demands




I reaaally can't see Sparta being able to get anywhere near his last salary either, but I'm curious to see which way they go after spending record amounts to bring in the first foreign coach in a long time and having it be an absolute disaster.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

HajdukSplit said:


> ...other than Pisa (Serie C), he never stayed at a club more than 6 months




He's perfect for Milan.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Gattuso hahahaha


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Everton open up talks with Allardyce again.


----------



## Peen

Emenalo appointed in Monaco.. after club states he is leaving for family reasons

Guess he wanted freedom


----------



## Ceremony

Nothing says succession planning quite like waiting over a month to put Large Samuel in charge of your 150 million worth of summer transfers.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Everton seem to have narrowed down their choices to Allardyce and Fonseca.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Apparently Andre Villas-Boas has left Shanghai.


----------



## Savant

Big Kahuna said:


> Everton seem to have narrowed down their choices to Allardyce and Fonseca.



Heard Fonseca said no and now it’s Allardyce or bust. 

Allardyce is a really really bad fit for Everton in terms of personality but he will keep them up.


----------



## Tuggy




----------



## Ceremony

Big Kahuna said:


> Apparently Andre Villas-Boas has left Shanghai.



Yes, but why?

Andre Villas-Boas: Former Chelsea and Tottenham boss to contest 2018 Dakar Rally

Oh.


----------



## Deficient Mode




----------



## Timeless Winter

So fast forward 1 year from now....

Moyes is at Crystal Palace. 
Hodgson at West Ham
BigSam at West Bromwich 
Pulis or Pardew at Everton

Right?


----------



## Savant

Allardyce’s first game in charge is going to be the Derby, isn't it?


----------



## John Pedro

Seems like Jorge Almiron is the new Las Palmas manager. If everything goes right for him, he might be the next great Argentine coach. His Lanus plays beautiful football. Patient build-up (their GK touches the ball as much as their midfielders), deadly counter-attack... kinda similar to Sarri's Napoli. Hope they give him time, his concepts aren't easy to execute.


----------



## HajdukSplit

News is a few days old but I missed it until I saw the managers draw reaction interviews on FIFA's site...Saudi Arabia continue the trend of hiring recently let go South American managers, they have appointed Juan Antonio Pizzi who left the Chile post after failing to make the WC. For the Saudi's its their third manager since September

It also means, unless there are changes, Argentina will have the most managers at the World Cup with 5: Sampaoli (Argentina), Pekerman (Colombia), Gareca (Peru), Cuper (Egypt), Pizzi (Saudi Arabia)


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Hull City sacks Slutsky.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Davide Nicola resigns as Crotone manager after a 3:0 home loss to Udinese, however they are still above the relegation zone. Reason for the resignation was he was upset the club president entered the locker room at halftime to give the players a team talk. Early candidates for the job are De Biasi (ex-Albania manager, was at Alaves but sacked recently) and Alessandro Nesta who is in the NASL right now


----------



## PanniniClaus

HajdukSplit said:


> Davide Nicola resigns as Crotone manager after a 3:0 home loss to Udinese, however they are still above the relegation zone. Reason for the resignation was he was upset the club president entered the locker room at halftime to give the players a team talk. Early candidates for the job are De Biasi (ex-Albania manager, was at Alaves but sacked recently) and Alessandro Nesta who is in the NASL right now



Club President forgot his role. They will be knee deep in the relegation battle. Promoted Italian teams rarely do enough talent wise to stay up.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Nigel Adkins replaces Slutsky as Hull manager. Since his fantastic job at Southampton (back to back promotions) he hasn't done much worth noticing


----------



## Ceremony

Ryan Giggs confirms interest in vacant Wales manager role

See past the tedious, toadying headline for this hilarious* insert shortly afterwards:



> Former Manchester United and Wales winger Giggs joins ex-international team-mates John Hartson and Craig Bellamy, and Coleman's assistant Osian Roberts in putting his name forward.




*"hilarious" is actually Welsh for "terrifying"


----------



## Scouter

Dortmund have sacked Bosz.


----------



## Scouter

Walter Zenga replaces Nicola at Crotone.

Current fav's for vacant positions:

Club:

Murty, Rangers

Country:

Arnold, Australia
Ancelotti, Italy
Michael O'Neill, Scotland
Bellamy, Wales

Next PL manager to leave:

Clement.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

With Bosz gone, there is not a single Dutch manager in the top five leagues as of right now.


----------



## Scouter

Dortmund have hired Peter Stoger.


----------



## Scouter

Las Palmas have sacked Pako Ayestarán.


----------



## Scouter

Rangers say Murty will remain interim manager until at least the end of the year, not sure if it means January or the end of teh season, I guess Jan.


----------



## S E P H

Weird, after firing Klopp BVB have been a revolving door for managers. Not really the number, but the length.


----------



## les Habs

Scouter said:


> Dortmund have sacked Bosz.




Figured he'd be gone when I saw the weekend's result. WTF they were thinking getting rid of Tuchel and then bringing him in I'll never know.


----------



## cgf

les Habs said:


> Figured he'd be gone when I saw the weekend's result. WTF they were thinking getting rid of Tuchel and then bringing him in I'll never know.




Not only did Watzke drive Tuchel out of town, but he lost head scout Mislintat; whom he sided with over Tuchel in the early phases of the Tuchel-BVB relationship's implosion. BVB are lucky they're so rich and already have so much talent & youth in their pipeline so they should remain a european team for the time being; because Watzke has systematically gone about destroying the golden reputation he once had by taking what was one of the most promising futures in europe (outside of the super giants) and lighting it on fire.


----------



## Deficient Mode

les Habs said:


> Figured he'd be gone when I saw the weekend's result. WTF they were thinking getting rid of Tuchel and then bringing him in I'll never know.




Tuchel alienated most of the club management and many of the players. As a reward for the team's performance under Tuchel it was a horrible move, but it's hard to say that the club wouldn't have suffered more drama that would have perhaps eventually affected the on-field performance as well if Tuchel had stayed. From that perspective, it might have made sense to go for an easy-going coach who could unite the locker room. But right now Tuchel is definitely looking much better, and everyone else at BVB much worse.


----------



## chasespace

Have to think if Stoke can't get some points by the 23rd they'll sack Hughes


----------



## Scouter

Real Betis reportedly interested in switching Quique Setien for Juande Ramos.

Hughes is new new fav. for the sack in the PL.


----------



## chasespace

After getting shut out 2-0 to West Ham Hughes has to be done


----------



## BKIslandersFan

chasespace said:


> After getting shut out 2-0 to West Ham Hughes has to be done



3-0

Get it right


----------



## HajdukSplit

Tudor sacked at Galatasaray

After a slow start (early exit in Europe) they were topping the table for most of the season until this week when they lost to a relegation side. What cost him as well was he failed to get results against direct rivals


----------



## East Coast Bias

Looks like Blanc turned down the USMNT job. USSF is denying, of course. 

He's holding out for United after Mourinho walks for PSG. 

Blanc not interested in United States job


----------



## Evilo

Yeah Blanc said he would turn down any NT move because he didn't feel the national spirit aside from his own country (which is absolutely understandable when you lead your team to a WC win).
He also said he's only interested in major jobs for teams that can compete for a european trophy. And probably not during a season as an emergency signing.

He's damn right.


----------



## les Habs

East Coast Bias said:


> He's holding out for United after Mourinho walks for PSG.




Mourinho to PSG would be precious.


----------



## Scouter

HajdukSplit said:


> Tudor sacked at Galatasaray
> 
> After a slow start (early exit in Europe) they were topping the table for most of the season until this week when they lost to a relegation side. What cost him as well was he failed to get results against direct rivals




What, talk about ruthless.

Earlier in the season I thought Fener would sack theirs, but their form has improved, looks like Fener is kinder.


----------



## Evilo

Precious isn't what I would call it.
Desastrous however 

Or maybe precious in the sense of "expensive". Yeah, that'd be expensive


----------



## Evilo

Nah I think the next PSG coach is Simeone. He's probably leaving Atletico next summer and in a recent interview Simeone was clearly hinting he would be interested.

Other possibilities are Conte (he'll leave next summer) or Pocchetino (PSG history here).


----------



## HajdukSplit

Roughly two weeks after resigning as Australia manager, Ange Postecoglu has been named manager of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos (City Football Group has a minority share in the club)


----------



## les Habs

Evilo said:


> Precious isn't what I would call it.
> Desastrous however
> 
> Or maybe precious in the sense of "expensive". Yeah, that'd be expensive




I think it'd be precious to see PSG throw that sort of money at Mourinho on top of seeing Mr Competitive wax poetic about his great achievement that will be conquering France.



Evilo said:


> Nah I think the next PSG coach is Simeone. He's probably leaving Atletico next summer and in a recent interview Simeone was clearly hinting he would be interested.
> 
> Other possibilities are Conte (he'll leave next summer) or Pocchetino (PSG history here).




I agree, plenty of options. Simeone wouldn't spark a lot of confidence either mind you. At least he'd be cheaper than Mourinho. Money aside I don't see how anyone who actually truly supports their club would want Mourinho.


----------



## Evilo

Me neither. And I don't want his circus in our league.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Swansea continue their managerial roller coaster and sack Paul Clement...while probably the right decision, this club has made so many bad mistakes past few years after being quite a nice story when they were initially promoted

Line up all the available Welsh managers (Giggs, Pulis) currently out of work


----------



## John Pedro

Seedorf named Atletico Paranaense's manager. Keizer sacked, Bosz or Deboer back at Ajax?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fatih Terim returns to Galatasaray for the 4th time in his career


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

This means he'll be coaching Turkey at the 2020 Euros.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Some Christmas gift from the Sevilla board, they sack Edgardo Berizzo three days before Christmas and remember he was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a month ago. Results wise it hasn't been too bad, Sevilla made the R16 in the CL and they are currently 5th in La Liga, one concern is they are conceding a lot of goals however

Paco Jemez returns to La Liga after a short stint in Mexico, he takes over Las Palmas

Heiko Vogel takes over Strum Graz in Austria after Franco Foda takes over the Austrian national team full time. Vogel coached Basel and was most recently in the Bayern youth set up


----------



## John Pedro

Seems like Ajax next manager gonna be Ten Hag (Utrecht) and they also want Julian Nagelsmann's assistant (forgot his name) to be part of the coaching staff too


----------



## Deficient Mode

John Pedro said:


> Seems like Ajax next manager gonna be Ten Hag (Utrecht) and they also want Julian Nagelsmann's assistant (forgot his name) to be part of the coaching staff too




Schreuder. He's Dutch and was a leftover at Hoffenheim from the coach before Nagelsmann, so I guess he's not really Nagelsmann's guy and wouldn't necessarily be asked to come along to Bayern.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Garry Monk sacked by Middlesbrough hours after winning their match against Wednesday, currently 9th but only 3 points out of a playoff spot after spending a lot of money (for Championship standards)


----------



## Ceremony

He spent about fifty million pounds! I think that goes beyond Championship standards.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Spanish Papers say Tuchel to FC Sevilla. Nonsense!


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Pulis got the Middlesborough job.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Swansea appoint Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal, he was only recently let go by Sheffield Wednesday


----------



## HajdukSplit

Vincenzo Montella also quickly finds another job as he is going to Spain to take over Sevilla


----------



## Luigi Habs

HajdukSplit said:


> Vincenzo Montella also quickly finds another job as he is going to Spain to take over Sevilla




I don't see him lasting long there. In fact I question Sevilla's choice here.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mladen Krstajic has been named permanent manager of the Serbia National Team, he was the assistant under Muslin who was sacked despite qualifying for the tournament. This is his first coaching job


----------



## HajdukSplit

Championship sackings keep coming, Mark Warburton becomes the third manager let go during the Holiday period


----------



## Savant




----------



## Live in the Now

That's a problem of sorts seeing as he was the man overseeing development of players into the first team and it just so happens that his work was starting to bring those players in to actually play and succeed.

It's possible he may be back someday.


----------



## Chimaera

I mean, his role wasn't ever going to be here forever. He's a coach with a number of good stops in his resume, having worked with a decent number of quality managers. 

He's seen as an up and comer, and the job he's taking is a decent one. If he can get them into the top league there, (which should be probable) and make a bit of an improvement, he'll be on the road to managing another club. 

While many might want to see him stick around and be an assistant, at some point, talented guys are going to go get jobs elsewhere. It's also hard to complain too much when Klopp is here and Gerrard is on the staff getting groomed.


----------



## YNWA14

Savant said:


>




Huge blow, but it was bound to happen sooner than later. I think he'll end up at Ajax (though I wanted him for the NT) and hopefully one day he can come back to Liverpool. There were never enough superlatives to describe his style and intelligence while he was with Liverpool. Hopefully the foundations he laid were enough to continue off of.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Prosinecki is the new manager of Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is the first foreign manager of their national team


----------



## HajdukSplit

Torino sack Mihajlovic after Torino lost to Juve in the Coppa Italia, replaced by Walter Mazzarri


----------



## Evilo

Oscar Garcia to Olympiakos.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Jos Luhukay new manager at Sheffield Wednesday, he is from the Netherlands but has coached only in Germany with notable stints at Gladbach, Augsburg, Hertha and Stuttgart. He has experience taking Augsburg and Hertha up from the 2BL to BL


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Mark Hughes sacked. Shame.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fully expected...will be interesting who they hire, all the English retreads are taken unless they buyout O'Neill at ROI


----------



## HajdukSplit

Aitor Karanka appointed at Forest


----------



## HajdukSplit

Colombian Reinaldo Rueda is the new manager of the Chile national team; he was vast international experience (Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador) coaching at the 2010 World Cup (Honduras) and 2014 World Cup (Ecuador). He was most recently managing at the club level in Brazil


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Real Madrid are negotiating with Germany boss Joachim Low!

LOL please be true.


----------



## Evilo

Erh, Zidane has signed an extension today...


----------



## Ceremony

HajdukSplit said:


> Fully expected...will be interesting who they hire, all the English retreads are taken unless they buyout O'Neill at ROI



He's rejected them.

_Giggsy_ on the other hand is about to be named Wales manager after all, so it'll be nice to see them slip back outside the top 100 of the fifa rankings where they belong


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Paul Lambert appointed at Stoke. 

Giggsy for Wales is official.


----------



## Ceremony

v v v glad that Paul Lambert won't be the new Scotland manager


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> v v v glad that Paul Lambert won't be the new Scotland manager




I'm correspondingly glad that he's in charge at Stoke.

It strikes me as a club that has lost any clear identity appointing a coach who possesses no clear identity.


----------



## Ceremony

Phil Brown is out the door at Southend.


----------



## Extra Texture

Ceremony said:


> Phil Brown is out the door at Southend.




Off the bridge?


----------



## Evilo

Gourvennec has been fired.
Good coach, but bad situation, and not a single central striker on the roster...


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Watford fire Marco Silva. Everybody believes that he has had his head turned by Everton or another bigger club and not cared about Watford. They could've gotten compensation by letting him go to Everton but now they have to pay out his entire contract.


----------



## maclean

Wow, just yesterday he was saying he thinks he's safe despite the loss


----------



## davemess

Hard for Watford to credibly play the lack of loyalty card, considering they sack their manager at the end of each season no matter how well he has done.


----------



## Evilo

Bordeaux hired Poyet BTW.


----------



## davemess

Watford have named Javi Gracia as their new head coach, hours after the Premier League club sacked Marco Silva. 
Watford: Javi Gracia named head coach after sacking of Marco Silva


Well that didn't take long


----------



## YNWA14

davemess said:


> Watford have named Javi Gracia as their new head coach, hours after the Premier League club sacked Marco Silva.
> Watford: Javi Gracia named head coach after sacking of Marco Silva
> 
> 
> Well that didn't take long



Pretty wild given the start that they had to the season. Don't watch them consistently so I'd be interested to see where that went wrong.

Interesting article here though: Marco Silva sacked by Watford: This gifted coach is his own worst enemy


----------



## Ceremony

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jan/22/michael-oneill-turns-down-scotland-northern-Ireland

What an absolute bin of a country we are

If you think your country's FA is unfit for purpose, it's nowhere near as bad as Scotland's.


----------



## Savant

Ceremony said:


> https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jan/22/michael-oneill-turns-down-scotland-northern-Ireland
> 
> What an absolute bin of a country we are
> 
> If you think your country's FA is unfit for purpose, it's nowhere near as bad as Scotland's.



United States says hello.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

When a player has to pay the security guards and the players have to fund themselves for their "trips" let me know. Their aint a worse FA than Argentina.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Bert van Marwijk does manage to go to the World Cup, he's been appointed by Australia


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Mourinho extends until 2020. Mildly surprised.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Big Kahuna said:


> Mourinho extends until 2020. Mildly surprised.




Once he realized he wasn't getting PSG, he loves it here. LOVES it!


----------



## les Habs

Big Kahuna said:


> Mourinho extends until 2020. Mildly surprised.




LOL


----------



## BKIslandersFan

East Coast Bias said:


> Once he realized he wasn't getting PSG, he loves it here. LOVES it!



I am sure PSG would love to have him. But he won't go if Neymar isn't staying for long haul.


----------



## Evilo

No, PSG don't want him. That has been made extremely clear.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Stuttgart sack Hannes Wolf after a string of bad results


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

HajdukSplit said:


> Stuttgart sack Hannes Wolf after a string of bad results




Replaced by Tayfun Korkut.


----------



## Vipers31

Big Kahuna said:


> Replaced by Tayfun Korkut.



Seriously. The guy must have hypno-toad like qualities in interviews, because his resumee sure as hell isn't getting him employed. Not a great outlook for Stuttgart now.


----------



## Cassano

LMAO!


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

It is believed that Luis Enrique may replace Conte in the summer.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

All Might said:


> LMAO!







Big Kahuna said:


> It is believed that Luis Enrique may replace Conte in the summer.




Not sure what I find more hilarious.


----------



## cgf

All Might said:


> LMAO!





That would be so awesome. Shame the DFB would never have the balls to replace Jogi with Tuchel. That would be too awesome.


----------



## YNWA14

The scenes if Low replaces Wenger. Lol


----------



## HajdukSplit

Clarence Seedorf set to be named Deportivo la Coruna manager, big task for him as they are in a relegation fight, his only experience is an interim stint with Milan and a stint in the Chinese second division


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Even Matt Law now:


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri




----------



## Ceremony

Go on, look at his Wikipedia page to see what happened the last time he was Scotland manager and what he's done since.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Martin Schmidt resigns as Wolfsburg manager


----------



## Deficient Mode

HajdukSplit said:


> Martin Schmidt resigns as Wolfsburg manager




Labbadia the replacement. lol.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Thorsten Fink sacked by Austria Wien, they are currently 7th in the Austrian league and haven't won a league match since the restart of the season from their winter break


----------



## robertmac43

More reports of Arteta being a Wenger replacement. Don't know how I feel about that


----------



## Deficient Mode

robertmac43 said:


> More reports of Arteta being a Wenger replacement. Don't know how I feel about that




You feel good. You feel very good.


----------



## robertmac43

Deficient Mode said:


> You feel good. You feel very good.




Yeah youa re right it would mean Wenger is out of job....So i guess that is good..... :p


----------



## Cassano

1 year as Guardiolas lapdog doesnt make him qualified imo


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Vieira more qualified IMO and that’s not me endorsing Patty.


----------



## Ceremony

Replacing Arsene with someone who's not actually a manager is several degrees worse than anything I could think of Arsenal doing, so naturally I've never wanted a football club to do something as much in my life.


----------



## Cassano

European giants ready to save Arsene Wenger from Arsenal sack


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Emery would fit Arsenal. Experienced Europa League manager.


----------



## S E P H

Lol, new reports that Arsenal as a club want Joachim Low to replace Wenger as the next manager. What an awful mistake that would be, he's an extremely below-average manager who wouldn't be the upgrade that Arsenal needs IMO.


----------



## Live in the Now

According to L'Equipe, PSG is trying to replace Emery with Conte. I really have no idea how Neymar fits in a very structured system like that. Absolutely no creative freedom in Conte's plans.


----------



## Evilo

Conte... they've been after him for a while. Hopefully they go all in on Allegri.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Sparta Prague sack Andrea Stamaccioni. Replaced by Pavel Hapal, who was most recently the manager of the Slovakian U21s


----------



## cgf

S E P H said:


> Lol, new reports that Arsenal as a club want Joachim Low to replace Wenger as the next manager. What an awful mistake that would be, he's an extremely below-average manager who wouldn't be the upgrade that Arsenal needs IMO.




Jogi would be the perfect Wenger successor...he says already feeling his blood boil at the DFB for not even pursuing Tuchel...


----------



## S E P H

cgf said:


> Jogi would be the perfect Wenger successor...he says already feeling his blood boil at the DFB for not even pursuing Tuchel...



I know you lot would be stoked to see him take the Arsenal, which opens up the DFB position to someone more competent.


----------



## cgf

S E P H said:


> I know you lot would be stoked to see him take the Arsenal, which opens up the DFB position to someone more competent.



Eh, I would be if I trusted the DFB not to hire someone worse. Jogi is at least always ready to win the last war


----------



## HajdukSplit

Graham Arnold will return as the manager of the Australian national team after the World Cup when van Marwijk leaves


----------



## HajdukSplit

Swiss manager Bernard Challandes is the new Kosovo manager, obviously their first foreign manager. I guess it makes sense for them to hire a Swiss coach as that's probably where most of their players play/come from  However his previous international coaching stint resulted in a quick firing at Armenia (1 win in 9)


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Conte's agent to meet PSG this week.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Long time Slaven Bilic assistant, Nikola Jurcevic (was with him with Croatia, Lokomotiv, Besiktas and West Ham) is the new Dinamo Zagreb manager. Jurcevic managed Dinamo back in the 03-04 season and last managed in 2005


----------



## Cassano

Big Kahuna said:


> Conte's agent to meet PSG this week.




If they aim for European success, not sure why they are signing Conte.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Pellegrino is gone. Wonder if the damage hasn't already been done.


----------



## les Habs

Big Kahuna said:


> Pellegrino is gone. Wonder if the damage hasn't already been done.




Exactly. Took way too long.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Leonid Slutsky will manage Vitesse Arnhem starting next season, he of course has a connection with Abramovich which probably helped him get this job


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mark Hughes hired by Southampton on a short term deal (until the end of the season) with the main priority of safety.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Kicker, Dietmar Hamman, etc. report that Bayern are interested in Pochettino.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Nagelsmann escolhido para suceder a Jesus

Portuguese media thinks Nagelsmann will replace Jesus at Sporting CP. Find it kind of funny.


----------



## cgf

Big Kahuna said:


> Nagelsmann escolhido para suceder a Jesus
> 
> Portuguese media thinks Nagelsmann will replace Jesus at Sporting CP. Find it kind of funny.




lol everybody wants a piece of Nagelsmann


----------



## Deficient Mode

Reports in KSA that Favre will join Al-Nasr Riyadh. Interesteing.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Hear that Sarri is close to a new contract.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

[Info Paris U] Luis Enrique s’empare de la pôle position. – ParisUnited

Thoughts @Evilo? Apparently he was Neymar's request. Rumours of him and Neymar not getting along were false, it was Unzue instead.


----------



## Evilo

Enrique, Conte, Pocchetino, Ancelotti and Allegri are all rumored to be on the short list.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Evilo said:


> Enrique, Conte, Pocchetino, Ancelotti and Allegri are all rumored to be on the short list.



I'd laugh at anyone who takes Lucho.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Jaap Stam sacked by Reading, they were in promotion final last season but are in the bottom half this season


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Evilo said:


> Enrique, Conte, Pocchetino, Ancelotti and Allegri are all rumored to be on the short list.




I was more referring to the fact that a very reliable source said Lucho was in "pole position".


----------



## Evilo

Big Kahuna said:


> I was more referring to the fact that a very reliable source said Lucho was in "pole position".



Frankly, I have no idea. Except I'm willing to bet the coach is one of those.


----------



## Live in the Now

Poch is the best option to play good football and Allegri is the best option to win.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

[Info Paris U] Un invité surprise. – ParisUnited

Next candidate on the list, Sergio Conceicao.


----------



## Evilo

Interesting.


----------



## Evilo

Yahoo Sports reports Nasser wants Allegri :
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi veut Allegri pour remplacer Emery au PSG


----------



## Bon Esprit

No Tuchel for Bayern
Thomas Tuchel sagt FC Bayern ab und geht ins Ausland


----------



## Cassano

He'll get sacked within a season or two


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

All Might said:


> He'll get sacked within a season or two




Wow can't believe it's finally happening... wenger out


----------



## Deficient Mode

Sounds far more concrete the way that twitter account worded it than the way the German reporter from whom it's sourced worded it. Really just says Arsenal is a top candidate for Tuchel, and he wants to work abroad.

Nagelsmann is apparently no longer in the running at Bayern according to the same report, and they're after Favre, Kovac, and Hasenhüttl... basically the same as Dortmund. If neither of those teams take Nagelsmann this summer.... oh boy.


----------



## Cassano

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Wow can't believe it's finally happening... wenger out



I'll believe it when it happens. I think he gets to play out his contract.

I guess Tuchel is wayy better than Arsene. But I'd still prefer Jardim, Allegri or Blanc.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

All Might said:


> I'll believe it when it happens. I think he gets to play out his contract.
> 
> I guess Tuchel is wayy better than Arsene. But I'd still prefer Jardim, Allegri or Blanc.




It does seem likely he leaves this summer... as a more of stepping down and not being fired.


----------



## cgf

All Might said:


> I'll believe it when it happens. I think he gets to play out his contract.
> 
> I guess Tuchel is wayy better than Arsene. But I'd still prefer Jardim, Allegri or Blanc.




Only because Tuchel will eventually fall out with management...or drive the club into the ground if forced to also run the transfers.


----------



## Cassano

cgf said:


> Only because Tuchel will eventually fall out with management...or drive the club into the ground if forced to also run the transfers.



Exactly. There is no denying that he is a clever tactician, but he's not a good manager IMO.


----------



## cgf

Eh, he's not a great sporting director.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

So he's baby Pep?


----------



## Bon Esprit

According to kicker ThomasTuchel will become the next manager of Arsenal.

Bayern-Absage: Tuchel wechselt zum FC Arsenal


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

It's actually happening, damn.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Say what?

Kicker are reporting Tüchel to Arsenal whilst BILD are reporting Tüchel to PSG.

Edit: Kicker's sources were from England. Not sure if it were their own or not.

Edit 2: 

Another naysayer:


----------



## Bon Esprit

Wherever Tuchel ends up, it's not Bayern. That at least is for sure.

If Sportbuzzer is reliable I don't know. They belong to Hannover-based Madsack-group (HAZ and Neue Presse). Don't know if they have sources outside of Northern Germany.


----------



## Evilo

Some good sources here say Allegri is PSG's priority. Makes sense to me. But he's waiting to see his options (including the italian NT).


----------



## Albatros

Tuchel is already personal enemies with Arsenal's chief scout, that can only go well if it materializes.


----------



## cgf

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> So he's baby Pep?




Pretty much


----------



## cgf

Albatros said:


> Tuchel is already personal enemies with Arsenal's chief scout, that can only go well if it materializes.




If Tuchel n Mislintat end up working together again it’ll be time for us to throw our heads back & laugh at Watzke


----------



## Deficient Mode




----------



## HajdukSplit

Paul Clement new Reading manager


----------



## les Habs

Sounds like Rodgers won't be leaving Celtic for a while anyway. Still he wants to manage 1000 matches and at some point he knows he'll have to go.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


>




Tuchel should wait to see if he can get the NT job from Jogi before doing half a season with Union. It’s the only thing that makes sense


----------



## S E P H

I would gratefully accept Tuchel - perhaps Watzke is more of a determinant than we originally thought? He's not my first choice like Jardim and the transfer thing is a concern, however, not it's not like this would be a loss for the Arsenal in replacing him (Wenger).


----------



## Bon Esprit

FWIW Bild reports both, Bayern and Dortmund, are after Hasenhüttl.
Mega-Ablöse für Leipzig-Trainer? - Bayern und BVB kämpfen um Hasenhüttl


----------



## Luigi Habs

Evilo said:


> Some good sources here say Allegri is PSG's priority. Makes sense to me. But he's waiting to see his options (including the italian NT).




Not many Juve fans will be sad to see Allegri leave. I mean he was a very good manager for Juve but I think his time with the club is up. On a personal level he’s looking for a new motivation. He said after last year’s CL final he seriously considered to resign.


----------



## SJSharks72

Luigi Habs said:


> Not many Juve fans will be sad to see Allegri leave. I mean he was a very good manager for Juve but I think his time with the club is up. On a personal level he’s looking for a new motivation. He said after last year’s CL final he seriously considered to resign.



Well I mean last year’s CL final was awful for Juve. A lot of inner team drama.


----------



## Havre

Luigi Habs said:


> Not many Juve fans will be sad to see Allegri leave. I mean he was a very good manager for Juve but I think his time with the club is up. On a personal level he’s looking for a new motivation. He said after last year’s CL final he seriously considered to resign.




They should be sad losing a great manager, but I agree that the time might be right - you don't want to end up with another Wenger.

Also Juventus got an old team. Whoever manages them next season got to expect to be rebuilding for quite a few years before they are nearly as competitive as they have been the last years.


----------



## Bon Esprit

French media report (France Football) Lucien Favre is free to leave OGC this summer for 3m Euros.

German link

Trainer Lucien Favre ist frei für die Bundesliga-Vereine Bayern und Dortmund


----------



## Luigi Habs

Havre said:


> They should be sad losing a great manager, but I agree that the time might be right - you don't want to end up with another Wenger.
> 
> Also Juventus got an old team. Whoever manages them next season got to expect to be rebuilding for quite a few years before they are nearly as competitive as they have been the last years.




I don’t expect Juve to win the title every year but they’ll always be in the title contention. Barca and RM and Bayern don’t go through rebuilds. They stay competitive. Juve have some old players but they also have some good young players ready to step in. Caldara and Rugani are expected to lead Juve’s defense for a long time. Bernardeschi, Costa, Pjanic, Dybala are relatively young. Bentancur is growing and they’ll have the money to bring the players they need.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bon Esprit said:


> French media report (France Football) Lucien Favre is free to leave OGC this summer for 3m Euros.
> 
> German link
> 
> Trainer Lucien Favre ist frei für die Bundesliga-Vereine Bayern und Dortmund




Kicker says he's not really a candidate at Bayern now. I'd definitely prefer Nagelsmann but I figure Favre is the favorite for the Dortmund job.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Deficient Mode said:


> Kicker says he's not really a candidate at Bayern now. I'd definitely prefer Nagelsmann but I figure Favre is the favorite for the Dortmund job.



The report says Favre was an option until they signed Pep back then. I don't think he's an option today. Dortmund is a possibility today IMO.


----------



## Havre

Luigi Habs said:


> I don’t expect Juve to win the title every year but they’ll always be in the title contention. Barca and RM and Bayern don’t go through rebuilds. They stay competitive. Juve have some old players but they also have some good young players ready to step in. Caldara and Rugani are expected to lead Juve’s defense for a long time. Bernardeschi, Costa, Pjanic, Dybala are relatively young. Bentancur is growing and they’ll have the money to bring the players they need.




Sure, but the way the Italian league has developed being in contention for the title for a team like Juventus doesn't say that much.

Pjanic is 28 in a couple of days. Costa in half a year. And any team with Costa as part of the core will not be that good. We are now in the Liverpool, Spurs etc. territory - a significant step down from the Juventus we have seen the last years (arguably both Liverpool and Spurs got cores with players better than Costa already - I certainly think so). It is not criticism of Juventus it is just the way it works for most teams without unlimited amount of money.

Not saying it is impossible to turn things around quickly. Pick up a Salah or a new Dybala for that matter would make a huge difference, but realistically that is a team that would need to make huge changes to be a proper CL contender again. I can see why the timing isn't right both for the team and Allegri to continue the relationship.


----------



## YNWA14

Douglas Costa was one of the only players with Juventus consistently making Spurs look silly.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

I agree with Havre that Juventus are a team on the decline. Allergi leaving could make the decline even steeper. 



YNWA14 said:


> Douglas Costa was one of the only players with Juventus consistently making Spurs look silly.




That's more of a testament as to how shit our fullbacks were in both games.


----------



## Juve

It really makes me laugh how overrated Allegri is on these boards. I can't wait until he's gone. I am fed up of watching Juventus park the bus against the likes of Chievo, Genoa, Cagliari, etc.... It's despicable to watch a team like Juve to park the bus against teams like that or in general. Everyone witnessed it against Tottenham. Go up two goals within the first ten minutes and then park the bus.

As far as an aging team goes, yes we have to partially rebuild. We got some great young players that will return from loans, especially on defense. We need rebuild the midfield. The midfield is sickening other the Pjanic.
The biggest concern is keeping a hold of our star players. I am fed up being a feeder team to bigger clubs.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Parking the bus alone doesn't make someone a bad coach.


----------



## Juve

Deficient Mode said:


> Parking the bus alone doesn't make someone a bad coach.




You're a great coach parking the bus against regional teams? The Tottenham game nearly blew up in his face. Do you think a great coach plays a 37 year old Barzagli at Rb to defend Son?
His infatuation with Khedira, Barzagli Sturaro and Mandzukic is crazy. Khedira is finished, Barzagli still good at defending but cannot keep pace, Sturaro belongs in Serie B he's putrid and this point Mandzukic should be a bench player.

He's also been known to get into fights with players.


----------



## YNWA14

How Koeman & Dutch FA have sparked bitter money row with Everton

Fun.


----------



## Deficient Mode




----------



## Evilo

Yeah that will work out... Lol.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

PSG's upper management strikes me as a bunch of yes-men. I think it all depends on how he would get along with the players.


----------



## Evilo

That's a big problem with teams who want to rise (too?) fast. They begged the players to come and have begged them to stay (with huge salaries).
Club has to be bigger than the players.
I think they're starting to see the problem with the Verratti case (asks to leave last summer, stays but gets red carded in the biggest game of the year).
Tuchel is an upgrade over Emery IMO, but he won't stand for whiny players. And whiny players won't stand for a coach who has won a mere german cup.

This strikes me as a bad idea. Some of the rumored coaches have the needed authority, but all lacked something. We'll see how it pans out with Tuchel (though it isn't official yet).
At least it's better than the Villas Boas of the world. Also better than Pochettino most likely.


----------



## YNWA14

I think Tuchel might actually take PSG to the next level if they actually fall in line.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Yeah, it would be interesting how Tuchel's personality would mesh with the players. Tuchel is probably authoritative enough personality-wise, but would the players respect him enough?


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Yeah, it would be interesting how Tuchel's personality would mesh with the players. Tuchel is probably authoritative enough personality-wise, but would the players respect him enough?




It'll definitely be interesting to see if the players realize how brilliant his tactics are, and so fall in line because they know how competent he is; rather than because his resume demands deference.

Well now I guess I'm hoping Favre comes back to germany so I don't have to try to follow two french teams.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> It'll definitely be interesting to see if the players realize how brilliant his tactics are, and so fall in line because they know how competent he is; rather than because his resume demands deference.
> 
> Well now I guess I'm hoping Favre comes back to germany so I don't have to try to follow two french teams.




What's worse though: having to follow a whole two French teams, or having to watch Favre suffer under Watzke???


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> What's worse though: having to follow a whole two French teams, or having to watch Favre suffer under Watzke???




Who said I was rooting for Lucien to have to deal with Watzke if he came back to germany?


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Favre in Dortmund would not end well for either side.


----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> Favre in Dortmund would not end well for either side.




It'd be like a re-run of Tuchel, some beautiful football before the eventual falling out.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Who said I was rooting for Lucien to have to deal with Watzke if he came back to germany?




Certainly wasn't you who said so! But would you risk your dear Lucien possibly falling into Watzke's clutches if he went back to Germany?


----------



## John Pedro

Still not sold about Tuchel to PSG. In a perfect world, it's a great move for both sides. I just feel like he won't mesh with the roster there, he strikes me as a "respect my authoritha" kind guy. Didn't he humiliate Emre Mo cause he was doing things the wrong way in a training season?


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Certainly wasn't you who said so! But would you risk your dear Lucien possibly falling into Watzke's clutches if he went back to Germany?




That's why he should either go back to BMG, help RB take the next step, or just be super-boss and take over my eisern until he's ready to retire.


----------



## Stray Wasp

If you hear what sounds like a hyena laughing it is in fact the echoes of my reaction to West Bromwich throwing Alan Pardew head-first into a large heap of dung.

Of course, I am an Ungrateful Geordie, who doesn't appreciate The Great Things What Alan Pardew Dun for Noocarsell.

At least according to the London media, who happily now get the chance to put their money where their ignorant, lazy, stupid, bullshitting cockney mouths are, and tout this top, top, top manager for the Arsenal or Chelsea jobs.

But rather than hold my breath waiting for that eventuality, I prefer to enjoy this tribute to Pardew's reign from a West Midlands perspective. Comment - Alan Pardew destined to go down as one of West Brom's worst ever managers

Not in the article, but something I learned over the weekend, is that West Brom's technical director, the man responsible for Pardew's appointment, is Nicky Hammond. Pardew gave Hammond his first job in coaching. After that, Hammond spent just over three years running Reading's academy, before being the Royals' director of football for 13 or so years.

Yet again, the English old boys network works wonders.


----------



## Cassano

Rumor of Ancelotti replacing Allegri.


----------



## Deficient Mode

All Might said:


> Rumor of Ancelotti replacing Allegri.




That'd be interesting. Not sure what to think, but I can't help but feeling that they need to retool and rebuild a bit and he's not the man to do it. What happened to China?


----------



## Havre

Deficient Mode said:


> That'd be interesting. Not sure what to think, but I can't help but feeling that they need to retool and rebuild a bit and he's not the man to do it. What happened to China?




Fully agree.

I'm not expert on Juventus, but it feels like they think they are Detroit. Obviously football teams due to no cap can stay competitive more consistently as long as they got cash, but Juventus aren't RM. So they might go for Ancelotti thinking they will continue the same way as they have the last couple of years while they most likely need someone that can build for the next cycle.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Havre said:


> Fully agree.
> 
> I'm not expert on Juventus, but it feels like they think they are Detroit. Obviously football teams due to no cap can stay competitive more consistently as long as they got cash, but Juventus aren't RM. So they might go for Ancelotti thinking they will continue the same way as they have the last couple of years while they most likely need someone that can build for the next cycle.




I can't wait for the day when Juve will be as bad as Detroit are now.


----------



## Live in the Now

They won't ever be that bad but it seems inevitable they will take a step back. Their model is a few bad reinvestments away from a cliff and their academy needs to step it up.

Selling Lemina seems like a small strategic error to me in terms of keeping that model chugging along.


----------



## Havre

Live in the Now said:


> They won't ever be that bad but it seems inevitable they will take a step back. Their model is a few bad reinvestments away from a cliff and their academy needs to step it up.
> 
> Selling Lemina seems like a small strategic error to me.




Agree again, but it doesn't seem like they think so.

Lemina is OK, but hardly the kind of player Juventus should build around (knowing that some players take that final step later in their career). Even if he is in the right age group I can see why they sold him.


----------



## Cassano

They have some really promising prospects in their system. Wouldn't write them off too quickly.


----------



## Live in the Now

Havre said:


> Agree again, but it doesn't seem like they think so.
> 
> Lemina is OK, but hardly the kind of player Juventus should build around (knowing that some players take that final step later in their career). Even if he is in the right age group I can see why they sold him.




Shouldn't build around, but considering their midfield situation now, he could have played in these games and been sold for a lot more. Very likely would have impressed.

For a team that needs to sell for maximum amounts to keep the thing going, that was an error.


----------



## Deficient Mode

All Might said:


> They have some really promising prospects in their system. Wouldn't write them off too quickly.




Yeah I definitely wouldn't. We can joke about Detroit insofar as they're getting older but with no salary cap, a huge advantage in revenue over other Italian teams, and access to any Serie A player they want with how many players are on loan, it's hard to imagine them not rebuilding effectively on the fly.


----------



## Havre

Live in the Now said:


> Shouldn't build around, but considering their midfield situation now, he could have played in these games and been sold for a lot more. Very likely would have impressed.
> 
> For a team that needs to sell for maximum amounts to keep the thing going, that was an error.




Probably sold for the same reason as they hire of Ancelotti - thinking they can still be elite short term.

Not that Ancelotti is THAT old. If he is willing to spend some years to build then I can see the logic of hiring him.


----------



## Cassano

Ranieri will join OL apparently.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Havre said:


> Probably sold for the same reason as they hire of Ancelotti - thinking they can still be elite short term.
> 
> Not that Ancelotti is THAT old. If he is willing to spend some years to build then I can see the logic of hiring him.




Ancelotti just isn't a building coach imo. He's good when the pieces are already in place but he won't rejuvenate your club. Juve should look to hire Sarri.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

All Might said:


> Ranieri will join OL apparently.




If Wenger was leaving this summer I thought OL would have been perfect for him. Ranieri is cool though.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Big Kahuna said:


> If Wenger was leaving this summer I thought OL would have been perfect for him. Ranieri is cool though.




You reckon Wenger would still want to coach after Arsenal? He's approaching 70. Must be exhausting at that age.


----------



## KJS14

Deficient Mode said:


> You reckon Wenger would still want to coach after Arsenal? He's approaching 70. Must be exhausting at that age.




He has said he still wants to coach, whether its at Arsenal or somewhere else. But who knows really?


----------



## SJSharks72

Deficient Mode said:


> Ancelotti just isn't a building coach imo. He's good when the pieces are already in place but he won't rejuvenate your club. Juve should look to hire Sarri.



So what you’re saying is that Man United should hire Ancelotti and buy a new defense and watch the magic? Cause that’s what I read from your post


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Wenger should go to the NT level. Much easier for him at his age than the grind of week in/out.


----------



## Cassano

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Wenger should go to the NT level. Much easier for him at his age than the grind of week in/out.



I always felt he should coach the English NT.


----------



## Stray Wasp

All Might said:


> I always felt he should coach the English NT.




Wow. Your hostility to the fellow clearly knows no bounds.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mancini set to be named the new Italy manager once Zenit's season comes to an end in May


----------



## Cassano

HajdukSplit said:


> Mancini set to be named the new Italy manager once Zenit's season comes to an end in May



RIP to players not born in Italy wanting to play for the Azzuri.


----------



## Tony Romo

Did PSG never show interest in Carlo?


----------



## Deficient Mode

Tony Romo said:


> Did PSG never show interest in Carlo?




They did. He was rumored to be one of the candidates. It ended rather bitterly last time he was there though so IDK if there is still tension over that.


----------



## les Habs

All Might said:


> I always felt he should coach the English NT.




His appointment alone would be a shit storm which would get even worse after the first bad result.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

les Habs said:


> His appointment alone would be a **** storm which would get even worse after the first bad result.



So this needs to happen, is what you are saying.


----------



## Power Man

I'm reading that Japan might part ways with Vahid.

WTF if true


----------



## Bon Esprit

Tony Romo said:


> Did PSG never show interest in Carlo?




As per today's report PSG hire Tuchel for the 2 years.
I still can't believe that my local newpaper breaks the story. So I need a reliable source.

Anyway: Wechsel fix! Trainer Thomas Tuchel erhält Zweijahresvertrag bei PSG


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mick McCarthy resigns as Ipswich manager with four matches to go, he was set to step down at the end of the season but with the club safe from relegation and no longer in playoff contention he leaves earlier

Grasshopper Zurich sack Murat Yakin


----------



## Vipers31

So, apparently Niko Kovac is going to be Bayern's coach next season. F*** this. Should have never allowed Hoeneß back in a higher position. That's his typical old bs. No qualifications for the job, showed less versatility and nowhere near the ability to have a team actually play the dominant style of football he'll have to coach next year like an otherwise similarly inexperienced Nagelsmann, but he's a former Bayern player, so he's family. And he's easy to handle, unlike a (somewhat) more veteran Tuchel. So we end up with a worse coach, because why the f*** not. Hopefully I'm underestimating his progress big time, but this seems like complete crap, and a continuation of the clubs step away from the professionalism of the actual elite, just like with the Salihamidzic appointment for sporting director.


----------



## Evilo

That's pretty bad, wow.


----------



## Vipers31

Evilo said:


> That's pretty bad, wow.



It is. A couple years, and we went Hopfner => Hoeneß, Reschke => no one, Sammer => Salihamidzic, Pep => Kovac.

Back to being happy with just being the domestic elite, it seems. Thankfully, Ancelotti got us James at such a bargain, and we'll still profit from Kimmich and Coman thanks to Reschke for a while. But this club should be set up so vastly much better management-wise, it's unreal.


----------



## Albatros

Heynckes has been happy working with Brazzo, and has also been promoting the idea of hiring a younger generation German coach. Though about Kovač his opinion in an interview some weeks ago was that he'd need a season with Frankfurt in Europe before coming to Bayern where international experience is necessary or there might be problems with rotation and alike. But I imagine that the discussion within the club was mostly about which Bundesliga talent to hire, not so much about foreign options, and that it wasn't just Uli but general consensus.


----------



## cgf

Love you vipers but 

At least now someone else can win the BuLi!


----------



## Vipers31

Albatros said:


> Heynckes has been happy working with Brazzo, and has also been promoting the idea of hiring a younger generation German coach. Though about Kovač his opinion in an interview some weeks ago was that he'd need a season with Frankfurt in Europe before coming to Bayern where international experience is necessary or there might be problems with rotation and alike. But I imagine that the discussion within the club was mostly about which Bundesliga talent to hire, not so much about foreign options, and that it wasn't just Uli but general consensus.



What Kovac would need isn't international experience, it's a damn strategy that fits this level of club. His team has one of the worst passing percentages in the league (17th, if I'm not mistaken), and he and/or his players have admitted to being able to do a good job doing the little dirty things right, but haven't been able to dictate a game at home. He's on the record about not caring for tactics if the players play with determination, passion and respect. He's one of the worst options to coach Bayern in the entire league. But they know him, he's cheap, he's available, which seems to be good enough.


----------



## Vipers31

cgf said:


> Love you vipers but
> 
> At least now someone else can win the BuLi!



I'm honestly considering whether we're actively looking to get another team to win the league to help some sort of TV interest/commercial revenue/etc. Even dumb conspiracies like that make at least as much sense as whatever is reality.


----------



## cgf

I guess that's one way to force Heynkes to come back for 1 more year, when they have to fire Kovac a few weeks in...


----------



## cgf

Vipers31 said:


> I'm honestly considering whether we're actively looking to get another team to win the league to help some sort of TV interest/commercial revenue/etc. Even dumb conspiracies like that make at least as much sense as whatever is reality.




That would explain it. Though my bet is still on this being a gambit to force Jupp into saving them midseason 1 more time.


----------



## Vipers31

cgf said:


> I guess that's one way to force Heynkes to come back for 1 more year, when they have to fire Kovac a few weeks in...



Yeah, I've been saying that to my buds, too. I was optimistically giving it until November.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Vipers31 said:


> I'm honestly considering whether we're actively looking to get another team to win the league to help some sort of TV interest/commercial revenue/etc. Even dumb conspiracies like that make at least as much sense as whatever is reality.




This was my first thought as well. Well, a slightly different version: Bayern are looking for a new source of motivation so they can get back the fire they had in 2013. But they could have just kept Carlo around when he clearly wasn't working if they wanted to fail for a year. I don't think Kovac will be dysfunctional enough to cost them the league with the other top teams in their current state, but it's like, the exact opposite of what Bayern need. They've made a move away from smart footballing people and toward reactionaries who care less about tactics and development, and it's going to hurt them in the long run.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> This was my first thought as well. Well, a slightly different version: Bayern are looking for a new source of motivation so they can get back the fire they had in 2013. But they could have just kept Carlo around when he clearly wasn't working if they wanted to fail for a year. I don't think Kovac will be dysfunctional enough to cost them the league with the other top teams in their current state, but it's like, the exact opposite of what Bayern need. They've made a move away from smart footballing people and toward reactionaries who care less about tactics and development, and it's going to hurt them in the long run.




Depends on what RB does. If they can woo Tuchel or Nagelsmann and buy well again, then Timo could fire them to a title before moving on to Munich.

Maybe that's the deal? Bayern lets Timo win the league with Leipzig next season before leaving for Bavaria?


----------



## Vipers31

Deficient Mode said:


> This was my first thought as well. Well, a slightly different version: Bayern are looking for a new source of motivation so they can get back the fire they had in 2013. But they could have just kept Carlo around when he clearly wasn't working if they wanted to fail for a year. I don't think Kovac will be dysfunctional enough to cost them the league with the other top teams in their current state, but it's like, the exact opposite of what Bayern need. They've made a move away from smart footballing people and toward reactionaries who care less about tactics and development, and it's going to hurt them in the long run.




Well said.

Meanwhile, at the recently hope-inducing newly built youth academy: Sebastian Hoeneß is coaching the U19, and supposedly giving preferential treatment to players represented by Dieter Hoeneß. No overruling concepts in sight to disperse such rumors.


----------



## Albatros

Vipers31 said:


> haven't been able to dictate a game at home




I think Frankfurt is the only team in the league to have achieved over 50 % ball possession against Bayern this season, despite losing 0:1.


----------



## cgf

Let me apologize in advance for how much I am going to enjoy seeing Bayern implode.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Depends on what RB does. If they can woo Tuchel or Nagelsmann and buy well again, then Timo could fire them to a title before moving on to Munich.
> 
> Maybe that's the deal? Bayern lets Timo win the league with Leipzig next season before leaving for Bavaria?




I don't think Tuchel or Nagelsmann are good enough to make up a 26 point gap - and probably more by the end - or anywhere close to it. It would also take a huge amount of luck on the side of the title challenger to win. Maybe Leipzig would have the added advantage of not having European play if they drop further in the remaining 5 matches. Too much is likely to go wrong with them already losing Keita and possibly another one of their stars this summer, even if they buy well.


----------



## Vipers31

Albatros said:


> I think Frankfurt is the only team in the league to have achieved over 50 % ball possession against Bayern this season, despite losing 0:1.



Honestly, taking that bit of mostly anomalous data _because it came against Bayern_ would be the epitome of the old-school big-fish-in-small-pond Hoeneß type decision.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I don't think Tuchel or Nagelsmann are good enough to make up a 26 point gap - and probably more by the end - or anywhere close to it. It would also take a huge amount of luck on the side of the title challenger to win. Maybe Leipzig would have the added advantage of not having European play if they drop further in the remaining 5 matches. Too much is likely to go wrong with them already losing Keita and possibly another one of their stars this summer, even if they buy well.




A healthy season from Werner and not having first-half-of-the-season Keita sabotaging them would shrink that gap a lot as well as a coaching change. As would a few good buys, like an upgrade to Halstenburg at LB and a midfielder or two to join Kampl & Laimer. If they could steal Nagelsmann and get him to bring Geiger and Demirbay/Amiri to come with him that would do it.

Even if they need to buy a winger to replace Forsberg in the rotation with Sabitzer, Bruma and whatever youths they haven't chased off yet.


----------



## Theokritos

cgf said:


> At least now someone else can win the BuLi!




My thought as well. Kovač, really?


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> A healthy season from Werner and not having first-half-of-the-season Keita sabotaging them would shrink that gap a lot as well as a coaching change. As would a few good buys, like an upgrade to Halstenburg at LB and a midfielder or two to join Kampl & Laimer. If they could steal Nagelsmann and get him to bring Geiger and Demirbay/Amiri to come with him that would do it.
> 
> Even if they need to buy a winger to replace Forsberg in the rotation with Sabitzer, Bruma and whatever youths they haven't chased off yet.




I disagree. 26 points is a massive gap. Even a superstar player performing at his peak probably only adds 4-5 points over an average first league player, and we aren't even talking about replacing average players. It would take a huge collapse by Bayern to come down to the level where Leipzig were last year. And Leipzig has a ton of question marks with their own team just to get back to where they were last year. Leipzig maybe have a 1-2% chance of winning the title.


----------



## Theokritos

Deficient Mode said:


> Even a superstar player performing at his peak probably only adds 4-5 points over an average first league player, and we aren't even talking about replacing average players.




You think a superstar player at his peak would win less than two games for his team? E.g. turn one draw into a win and one or two defeats into draws? And that's the only difference he would make over an average first league player?


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I disagree. 26 points is a massive gap. Even a superstar player performing at his peak probably only adds 4-5 points over an average first league player, and we aren't even talking about replacing average players. It would take a huge collapse by Bayern to come down to the level where Leipzig were last year. And Leipzig has a ton of question marks with their own team just to get back to where they were last year. Leipzig maybe have a 1-2% chance of winning the title.




I think you under-estimate the difference full Werner & Kovac would have...if they also got a Nagelsmann & Geiger.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Theokritos said:


> You think a superstar player at his peak would win less than two games for his team? E.g. turn one draw into a win and one or two defeats into draws? And that's the only difference he would make over an average first league player?




I mean, it's just an approximation based on math. Bayern is on pace for 84 points. The 9th placed team - Stuttgart - is on pace for 44 points. 40 point gap divided by 11 players is 3.6 points per player on average between a team with almost entirely superstars and an average team. Even if you say, well, not all positions have the same value, or offensive superstars add more, or whatever, they probably don't vary enough by position to make a difference of much more than 5 points on average.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I mean, it's just an approximation based on math. Bayern is on pace for 84 points. The 9th placed team - Stuttgart - is on pace for 44 points. 40 point gap divided by 11 players is 3.6 points per player on average between a team with almost entirely superstars and an average team. Even if you say, well, not all positions have the same value, or offensive superstars add more, or whatever, they probably don't vary enough by position to make a difference of much more than 5 points on average.




Nonsense. Raffael.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Nonsense. Raffael.




Rest of Gladbach are relegation tier and he's pulling them up to respectability alone!

Oh wait...


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Rest of Gladbach are relegation tier and he's pulling them up to respectability alone!
> 
> Oh wait...




No, but with him in the lineup they're a top 4 team over the years, and with him out they have been firmly midtable. One player moves them 5+ places.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> No, but with him in the lineup they're a top 4 team over the years, and with him out they have been firmly midtable. One player moves them 5+ places.




Top 4 isn't much of an accomplishment with the current crop of challengers tbh


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Top 4 isn't much of an accomplishment with the current crop of challengers tbh




I'm just saying one player can have a much bigger impact than you're calculus suggests.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> I'm just saying one player can have a much bigger impact than you're calculus suggests.




It's hardly exhaustive proof. Other factors like which other players played which games and which games Raffael missed probably played a big part. A more precise way to measure is to look at goals scored with a player on and off the field and using an average value for how much one goal contributes to odds of win, calculate the points added based on that. I've seen one model that had the best player by adjusted on-field goal differential (Götze btw  ) add around 4.5 points to the second place team's expected points total in isolation. Obviously many other factors play a part, but putting Messi alone on an average team is highly unlikely to turn them into a contender.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Calling Bayern's first summer signing....Ante Rebic


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

So, jury here says bad decision for bayern?

Fantastic because we all know Dortmund needs all the help they can get.


----------



## Albatros

I think people have too high expectations, Heynckes is one of the best managers in the history of the game and replacing him 1:1 is impossible. So will you take another Ancelotti or give one of the best coaches in Germany the opportunity to take the next step? If Kovač won't make it then in a year it can be someone else, but with that material he should be able to have a strong performance in the league anyway. As for the kind of football he plays, that's just a matter of taste.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Kovac is the logical choice. Bayern messed up signing Tuchel, Nagelsmann is too inexperienced, Hasenhüttl wants to stay in Leipzig and Favre was a non-starter. They wanted a German speaking guy, so the pool to choose from is slim.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Albatros said:


> I think people have too high expectations, *Heynckes is one of the best managers in the history of the game *and replacing him 1:1 is impossible. So will you take another Ancelotti or give one of the best coaches in Germany the opportunity to take the next step? If Kovač won't make it then in a year it can be someone else, but with that material he should be able to have a strong performance in the league anyway. As for the kind of football he plays, that's just a matter of taste.




When did that happen? Heynckes is way better than Kovac, that's certain.

I wouldn't say Kovac is one of the best managers in Germany by results or by his tactical acumen. It's not just a matter of taste. His average points per match in the Bundesliga are right in the company of Dieter Hecking and f***ing Bruno Labbadia, guys who likewise have no business being anywhere close to the Bayern job.

As far as "giving one of the best coaches in Germany the opportunity to take the next step", they could have hired Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Hasenhüttl, Favre.... and they didn't.

I don't think it'll cost them the league but it's a terrible move.



Bon Esprit said:


> Kovac is the logical choice. Bayern messed up signing Tuchel, Nagelsmann is too inexperienced, Hasenhüttl wants to stay in Leipzig and Favre was a non-starter. They wanted a German speaking guy, so the pool to choose from is slim.




In what world is Nagelsmann too inexperienced but Kovac is the logical choice? Nagelsmann has managed 77 Bundesliga matches to Kovac's 72, and he has done far better in them with more limited resources. And Kovac's "experience" coaching Croatia was a total disaster and should in no way count in his favor.


----------



## cgf

Albatros said:


> I think people have too high expectations, Heynckes is one of the best managers in the history of the game and replacing him 1:1 is impossible. So will you take another Ancelotti *or give one of the best coaches in Germany the opportunity to take the next step? *If Kovač won't make it then in a year it can be someone else, but with that material he should be able to have a strong performance in the league anyway. As for the kind of football he plays, that's just a matter of taste.







Some of you guys clearly haven't watched Frankfurt under Kovac and are in for a rude awakening when you see what he does to Bayern


----------



## Evilo

Kovac one of the best coaches in Germany sounds weird indeed.
Besides there are better ones probably available.


----------



## cgf

Evilo said:


> Kovac one of the best coaches in Germany sounds weird indeed.
> Besides there are better ones probably available.




Hell there were better options even if they didn't want to listen to the hipsters and do the smart thing by signing Nagelsmann...as neither TT nor Favre would last long with Hoeneß back in charge.


----------



## Corto

Deficient Mode said:


> In what world is Nagelsmann too inexperienced but Kovac is the logical choice? Nagelsmann has managed 77 Bundesliga matches to Kovac's 72, and he has done far better in them with more limited resources. And Kovac's "experience" coaching Croatia was a total disaster and should in no way count in his favor.




Kovac in Croatia was a mess in latter stages - but mostly down to the fact he wasn't a Mamic "yes-man". He wouldn't favor Mamic's players, got under pressure, media turned on him (mostly Mamic media) and slowly it went to shit.
He was not put in a situation to succeed, despite the quality players available he was always under pressure to play a "Pivaric" etc. (something Cacic later had no issues doing, and subsequently almost cost us a WC spot).
The media turned on him completely when he didn't play Eduardo vs Brazil in the 2014 WC, and Eduardo made it known he took it as a personal slight. From that point onwards, he was a dead man - as far as managing Croatia was concerned.

What he has over Nagelsmann is basically what's been talked about for months now - professional experience, not just as a manager, but as a player as well.
Kovac is a leader, always captained his teams, played at Bayern, and will command respect from any player at Bayern - Ribery, Robben, Vidal, etc. He's a no-nonsense coach and people deciding on Bayern's new manager know him pretty good, they know what he's about and what he's like (he played with Salihamidzic, in the end).

My point is, I can easily see why Bayern would go for Kovac over Nagelsmann.
Tüchel chose PSG, Jardim, Conte etc. don't speak German (which is something that Hoeness and Co. are insisting on this time), so I dunno... Maybe just the case of running out of options and they know Kovac.

All that said, I agree that it's a risky move, a very hit or miss move. Kovac has never managed a team that's supposed to dominate a league, and he'll have to adjust his tactics.
Either the Bayern management will look brilliant if he does well, or he'll bow out mid-season with Bayern struggling.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Corto said:


> What he has over Nagelsmann is basically what's been talked about for months now - professional experience, not just as a manager, but as a player as well.
> Kovac is a leader, always captained his teams, played at Bayern, and will command respect from any player at Bayern - Ribery, Robben, Vidal, etc. He's a no-nonsense coach and people deciding on Bayern's new manager know him pretty good, they know what he's about and what he's like (he played with Salihamidzic, in the end).




Yes, it's exactly what we've talked about: former players, particularly stars, get the world's best jobs handed to them on a platter with no regard for their managerial merit. Sounds like the last coach you and I argued about.

What a relief that they got rid of that scrub ex-player and lightning rod of disrespect and embarrassment in Ancelotti. A man with such an obscure playing career to his name is simply incapable of commanding the full support of a team of superstars, and that doomed him at Bayern.


----------



## cgf

Corto said:


> Kovac in Croatia was a mess in latter stages - but mostly down to the fact he wasn't a Mamic "yes-man". He wouldn't favor Mamic's players, got under pressure, media turned on him (mostly Mamic media) and slowly it went to ****.
> He was not put in a situation to succeed, despite the quality players available he was always under pressure to play a "Pivaric" etc. (something Cacic later had no issues doing, and subsequently almost cost us a WC spot).
> The media turned on him completely when he didn't play Eduardo vs Brazil in the 2014 WC, and Eduardo made it known he took it as a personal slight. From that point onwards, he was a dead man - as far as managing Croatia was concerned.
> 
> What he has over Nagelsmann is basically what's been talked about for months now - professional experience, not just as a manager, but as a player as well.
> Kovac is a leader, always captained his teams, played at Bayern, and will command respect from any player at Bayern - Ribery, Robben, Vidal, etc. He's a no-nonsense coach and people deciding on Bayern's new manager know him pretty good, they know what he's about and what he's like (he played with Salihamidzic, in the end).
> 
> My point is, I can easily see why Bayern would go for Kovac over Nagelsmann.
> Tüchel chose PSG, Jardim, Conte etc. don't speak German (which is something that Hoeness and Co. are insisting on this time), so I dunno... Maybe just the case of running out of options and they know Kovac.
> 
> All that said, I agree that it's a risky move, a very hit or miss move. Kovac has never managed a team that's supposed to dominate a league, and he'll have to adjust his tactics.
> Either the Bayern management will look brilliant if he does well, or he'll bow out mid-season with Bayern struggling.




All those words and not one of them justifies hiring him for a job he’s so woefully prepared for ahead of more qualified candidates


----------



## Corto

Deficient Mode said:


> Yes, it's exactly what we've talked about: former players, particularly stars, get the world's best jobs handed to them on a platter with no regard for their managerial merit. Sounds like the last coach you and I argued about.
> 
> What a relief that they got rid of that scrub ex-player and lightning rod of disrespect and embarrassment in Ancelotti. A man with such an obscure playing career to his name is simply incapable of commanding the full support of a team of superstars, and that doomed him at Bayern.




I get what you're saying, but if you're hiring someone, and you know what kind of person they are, that will always play a role.
What Nagelsmann did with Hoffenheim isn't really any more impressive than what Kovac is doing with Frankfurt (with inferior players IMO), so all I'm saying is that I get their choice there.
(especially considering Kovac's history at Bayern)

It does seem they wanted Tüchel but were slow about it...

As for Ancelotti, I love the man, I think he's brilliant, but he did lose the lockerroom for whatever reason.
Not even getting into why, but he did - and there's no turning back from that.
(also, it didn't help his team selection in that PSG game was just bizarre)


----------



## Corto

cgf said:


> All those words and not one of them justifies hiring him for a job he’s so woefully prepared for ahead of more qualified candidates




What makes him so woefully unqualified compared to someone like Nagelsmann? Do tell.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Deficient Mode said:


> When did that happen? Heynckes is way better than Kovac, that's certain.
> 
> I wouldn't say Kovac is one of the best managers in Germany by results or by his tactical acumen. It's not just a matter of taste. His average points per match in the Bundesliga are right in the company of Dieter Hecking and ****ing Bruno Labbadia, guys who likewise have no business being anywhere close to the Bayern job.
> 
> As far as "giving one of the best coaches in Germany the opportunity to take the next step", they could have hired Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Hasenhüttl, Favre.... and they didn't.
> 
> I don't think it'll cost them the league but it's a terrible move.
> 
> 
> 
> In what world is Nagelsmann too inexperienced but Kovac is the logical choice? Nagelsmann has managed 77 Bundesliga matches to Kovac's 72, and he has done far better in them with more limited resources. And Kovac's "experience" coaching Croatia was a total disaster and should in no way count in his favor.




Kovac is 46yo has played for Berlin, Leverkusen, Hamburg and Bayern as a pro in zhe Buli. He coached RB Salzburg, Croatia NT (incl. WC 2016) and Frankfurt (cup finalist 2017). If you think Nagelsmann is more experieced, well, it's your choice. I don't think so.
Bayern handcuffed themselves by saying their want a German speaking coach. So as stated above Kovac is the logical choice. Didn't say it's a good choice.


----------



## Vipers31

It's official now, btw.


----------



## Bon Esprit

According to Frankfurter Rundschau Bayern tried to lure Klopp away from LFC last minute but failed.

Bayern-Hammer: Bosse scheiterten vor Kovac-Zusage auch bei Jürgen Klopp - Video

P.S. Fredi Bobic is not amused, call Bayern "unprofessional" Fee will be around 2m I read somewhere.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Corto said:


> *What makes him so woefully unqualified compared to someone like Nagelsmann?* Do tell.






Corto said:


> I get what you're saying, but if you're hiring someone, and you know what kind of person they are, that will always play a role.
> *What Nagelsmann did with Hoffenheim isn't really any more impressive than what Kovac is doing with Frankfurt (with inferior players IMO)*, so all I'm saying is that I get their choice there.
> (especially considering Kovac's history at Bayern)




This is bs. In Nagelsmann's tenure at Hoffenheim, they averaged 9 points more per 34 games than Frankfurt under Kovac. Absolutely massive gap. Hoffenheim were at the absolute bottom of the table when Nagelsmann took over. Hoffenheim are a complete minnow club, and most of those players had never performed anywhere near their eventual level before Nagelsmann took over. There is no way you can look at what Kovac has done and think it's anywhere close to what Nagelsmann has done.

I'll give Kovac this: he certainly improved tactically after he came into the league and Frankfurt at times played good football this season, but his achievements pale in comparison to a number of other German-speaking coaches. More on the level of a Weinzierl. 



Corto said:


> As for Ancelotti, I love the man, I think he's brilliant, but he did lose the lockerroom for whatever reason.
> Not even getting into why, but he did - and there's no turning back from that.




Yeah, that's the point: illustrious ex-players can lose the locker room too, but we can't point to their failure as stemming from "a lack of respect." Klinsmann at Bayern did the same thing; Kroos absolutely shat on him a couple years ago. It's such a reactionary talking point that is only pushed by ex-players so they can continue to monopolize all the good jobs, whether they deserve them or not. Young people who didn't play the game at a high level almost never make it to a club like Bayern. I'd be shocked if anyone had ever come as close as Nagelsmann did. So we can't really know how players would treat them.


----------



## Bon Esprit

DF, please name a better (available) coach.
As pointed out they even (according to FR) tried to get Klopp away from Liverpool and failed. What German speaking coach is available. Wenger? LOL


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bon Esprit said:


> DF, please name a better (available) coach.
> As pointed out they even (according to FR) tried to get Klopp away from Liverpool and failed. What German speaking coach is available. Wenger? LOL




Kovac was in a job until Bayern picked him out. They're f***ing Bayern. I think they can *make *a coach available.


----------



## Cassano

Barca and Real Madrid hired unqualified former players to manage their clubs and have been winning European cups. Maybe that is the Hoeneß strategy.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> DF, please name a better (available) coach.
> As pointed out they even (according to FR) tried to get Klopp away from Liverpool and failed. What German speaking coach is available. Wenger? LOL




Here's a tougher question, what available german speaking coaches are worse than Kovac? The dude is a poor man's Stoger & Hecking, only with even less of a clue about how to organize possession.

There's not many explanations that actually make sense. Either bayern is intentionally trying to tank next season, or they're hoping that they can sucker Jupp back the way they did this year. Other than that there aren't many explanations for hiring Kovac that actually make any sense.


----------



## Deficient Mode

All Might said:


> Barca and Real Madrid hired unqualified former players to manage their clubs and have been winning European cups. Maybe that is the Hoeneß strategy.




Pep did way more to distinguish himself with Barca B and wasn't just being groomed with a minor assignment, with his signing with the main club predetermined - like the other bald fraud. But yeah, even he was fast-tracked because he was a former prominent player.


----------



## cgf

Corto said:


> What makes him so woefully unqualified compared to someone like Nagelsmann? Do tell.




Easy, tactical incompetence and utterly cluelessness when it comes to possession. He can motivate his players to push the line and force refs to stop them from being so dirty, but that is literally his only asset as a coach.


----------



## Bon Esprit

cgf said:


> Here's a tougher question, what available german speaking coaches are worse than Kovac? The dude is a poor man's Stoger & Hecking, only with even less of a clue about how to organize possession.
> 
> There's not many explanations that actually make sense. Either bayern is intentionally trying to tank next season, or they're hoping that they can sucker Jupp back the way they did this year. Other than that there aren't many explanations for hiring Kovac that actually make any sense.




Again, Bayern were back to the wall. They said they want a German speaking coach. So they limited their options which is stupid. As a supporter of the Montreal Canadiens I know what I'm talking about.
Tuchel said no
Klopp (according to FR) said no
Hasenhüttl said no
Who's a better (fitting their demands) coach available. No, I don't think Kovac fits in well. But Hoeneß/Rummenigge created this mess.


----------



## cgf

Just about any other coach in the league would've been a better fit for Bayern. Including the obvious choice, Nagelsmann.


----------



## Corto

cgf said:


> Easy, tactical incompetence and utterly cluelessness when it comes to possession. He can motivate his players to push the line and force refs to stop them from being so dirty, but that is literally his only asset as a coach.




Dude, he got Eintracht out from what looked like an impossible situation to stay in the league.
Then he had a very respectable season to go with a Cup final. And this year they're fighting for CL spots and in the Cup semi-final, still alive.

I don't even understand the possession thing, he's slowly built his team from a group of defensive grinders into a transition team that, yes, play more and more possession football.
Let not the facts get in the way though... For example, last round Eintracht played Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim.
You want to guess which team had 63% possession? The one that also had 90% pass accuracy and 14 shots on goal - which shows they do, indeed, know what to do with the possession. 
And that was Kovac's team, not Nagelsmanns's, just in case you don't see where this is going.

Admittedly, I don't catch a lot of Bundesliga games - but the odd Eintracht game I do watch because of Rebic (same with Schalke now that Pjaca is over there).
A year ago they were purely defensive - this season, that football is likable and watchable.

Anyway, here's a post from a Frankfurt fan on another board:



> Let's say: two years ago Frankfurt fans were as skeptical as Bayern fans are now.
> He not only kept Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, which nobody believed he could do, he led them into the final of the DFB-Pokal. Eintracht is currently fifth in the Bundesliga with still a realistic chance to take part in the Champions League.
> He is also known to understand the players while leading with a firm hand. He very consciously built Frankfurt from a rudimentary but passionate defending-team towards a more versatile and modern style of football with pressing and posession-based movements in front of the goal.
> For Frankfurt this is a disaster.




Again, I'm not saying it's going to be the best or worst hiring in the world, I don't know - but to say he's woefully underqualified compared to other managers in Germany is ridiculous.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bon Esprit said:


> Again, Bayern were back to the wall. They said they want a German speaking coach. So they limited their options which is stupid. As a supporter of the Montreal Canadiens I know what I'm talking about.
> Tuchel said no
> Klopp (according to FR) said no
> Hasenhüttl said no
> Who's a better (fitting their demands) coach available. No, I don't think Kovac fits in well. But Hoeneß/Rummenigge created this mess.




Either way, they're deserving of criticism. This wasn't part of the criteria with the two coaches before Heynckes, and Hoeneß decided to make it mandatory again. 

Tuchel didn't say no in a vacuum. He said no presumably because he wanted more control than they were willing to give him. Not sure about Hasenhüttl but it may have been a similar story.


----------



## cgf

Frankfurt fans are some of the least knowledgeable fans in germany, so don't put too much weight in what they have to say about modern tactics.

As for raw possession #s, Kloppo's teams won the possession battle regularly without having any clue how to play in possession. That just shows that they're effective grinders against the ball. Which is Kovac's style.

Watch the way Frankfurt build up, other than longballs & physicality they have no ideas of what to do with the ball.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Corto said:


> Dude, he got Eintracht out from what looked like an impossible situation to stay in the league.
> Then he had a very respectable season to go with a Cup final. And this year they're fighting for CL spots and in the Cup semi-final, still alive.
> 
> I don't even understand the possession thing, he's slowly built his team from a group of defensive grinders into a transition team that, yes, play more and more possession football.




Guess what? Nagelsmann did all that and more. 9 point gap between them per 34 games. Starting with a team that had scored a pitiful 18 goals in 20 Bundesliga matches. 



Corto said:


> Let not the facts get in the way though... For example, last round Eintracht played Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim.
> You want to guess which team had 63% possession?




Nagelsmann has turned his team into a counter team in the second half of the season and their average possession has plummeted something like 10% on average... because he is a more flexible coach. Playing well when you have possession and the defense is completely settled is different than your mere time spent with the ball.


----------



## Albatros

Deficient Mode said:


> When did that happen?




Heynckes, Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Mourinho, Ferguson, Hiddink, Kovács, and Stein are the managers that have won the treble in Europe, arguably the most elite club there is. The only Bayern manager that somehow compares is Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won the domestic treble.



> I wouldn't say Kovac is one of the best managers in Germany by results or by his tactical acumen. It's not just a matter of taste. His average points per match in the Bundesliga are right in the company of Dieter Hecking and ****ing Bruno Labbadia, guys who likewise have no business being anywhere close to the Bayern job.




Hecking is a good manager, but not a talent with potential to improve. Labbadia's talent appears to be saving clubs from relegation, so if Kovač is as bad as some suggest, I'm sure Labbadia as a former Bayern player is the next person to call to. Seriously though, Kovač inherited a club that was fighting against relegation, and has in two seasons turned them into one of the best in the country. Tiki-taka or not, he's been successful.



> As far as "giving one of the best coaches in Germany the opportunity to take the next step", they could have hired Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Hasenhüttl, Favre.... and they didn't.




They could have, and didn't indeed. Nagelsmann is very young, Tuchel a ticking time bomb, Hasenhüttl has found his happy place already, and Favre seems to have reached his potential which is good but less than stellar. I think Nagelsmann will still coach Bayern one day if his development continues as anticipated, it just wasn't the time now.



> In what world is Nagelsmann too inexperienced but Kovac is the logical choice? Nagelsmann has managed 77 Bundesliga matches to Kovac's 72, and he has done far better in them with more limited resources. And Kovac's "experience" coaching Croatia was a total disaster and should in no way count in his favor.




Kovač also managed Croatia and Red Bull Salzburg, and has a long career at the highest level as a player. Nagelsmann is now gathering the experience he will need to manage FC Bayern one day, but he doesn't have a career as a player behind him and is over a year younger than Manuel Neuer. Does he have the authority and experience necessary to keep the room when the going gets tough? I won't be surprised if in 40 years he'll have the finer managerial career behind him, but he's just not ready yet.


----------



## cgf

A career as a player means nothing for a coaching career, so why do people still bring that up?

And lol at your Favre comment, he's a much better coach than Kovac ever has the potential to be.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Albatros said:


> Heynckes, Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Mourinho, Ferguson, Hiddink, Kovács, and Stein are the managers that have won the treble in Europe, arguably the most elite club there is. The only Bayern manager that somehow compares is Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won the domestic treble.




Yeah, that's a one year achievement, not a career achievement. And notice how 5 of those 8 did it in the last 20 years? Makes you think.


----------



## Albatros

I don't think that for example Hiddink's decline is away from what he already achieved. Winning a European treble with PSV Eindhoven was an amazing achievement and will always be. Of course if one wishes to argue that Rinus Michels was greater despite never winning a treble then that's fair, but the younger generation needs to achieve a lot first before they compare. What the older generations created is incorporated also in what they do.


----------



## Milos Krasic

MARCA says Eduardo Berizzo will be the new manager in Bilbao.


----------



## Evilo

Nagelsmann says he'll stay at Hoffenheim one more season.

BVB in tears.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> Nagelsmann says he'll stay at Hoffenheim one more season.
> 
> BVB in tears.




BVB fans here at least. I get the sense Watzke didn't view Nagelsmann as the overwhelming top candidate like we did. There seemed to be more rumors about Favre.


----------



## cgf

Evilo said:


> Nagelsmann says he'll stay at Hoffenheim one more season.
> 
> BVB in tears.




That probably hurts BVB fans less than if Nagelsmann did move and Watzke still didn’t sign him because Stoger is nice to Watzke while Nagelsmann is smart and so might be mean like Tuchel


----------



## Live in the Now

Just announced that Wenger is resigning at the end of the season.


----------



## PansCyans

Arsène Wenger to leave Arsenal at end of the season


----------



## Corto

Live in the Now said:


> Just announced that Wenger is resigning at the end of the season.




End of an era. 
Yeah, the ending wasn't pretty (though if they win Europa League it'd be a pretty good send off), but Wenger is an institution and him becoming Arsenal manager is one of the things that defined the Premier League for 20 years.

I imagine most Arsenal fans are happy he's leaving... But also quite sad to see him go.

Also, he's not retiring, just leaving Arsenal, will be quite interesting to see where he goes from here... French NT maybe? English NT? PSG at some point?


----------



## Evilo

Doubt he goes to PSG. 
NTs I don't think he wants that


----------



## Cassano

Holy f***!

I don't know how to feel ATM.


----------



## Cassano




----------



## booyakasha

stunned.
I wonder how many Arsenal fans here were fans before he came?
I still remember him coming in like it was yesterday.


----------



## Chimaera

#MoyesfortheArsenal


On a slightly serious note, I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a heavy Rodgers push the in English media


----------



## King 88

f*** yeah time to party. Great manager who stayed 10 years too long.


----------



## Made Dan

Arsene managing Arsenal...like an ice cream man named Cone.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

I was too young at the time to be able to remember Arsenal pre-Wenger. Will be interesting to seee what will happen.

If he isn't retiring I still think he should go to Lyon.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Next Arsenal manager: Brendan Rodgers, Patrick Vieira, Carlo Ancelotti early favourites


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Sad day for footy. He's last Fu to Arsenal fans is the recommendation of Veira ass successor lol.

I think the next manager is destined to fail regardless too many problems with Arsenal. Beyond what's on the field. If anyone thinks this will make them improve they are kidding themselves. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if they finished even lower without him.


----------



## Scandale du Jour

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Sad day for footy. He's last Fu to Arsenal fans is the recommendation of Veira ass successor lol.
> 
> *I think the next manager is destined to fail regardless too many problems with Arsenal. Beyond what's on the field. If anyone thinks this will make them improve they are kidding themselves. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if they finished even lower without him.*




Might be one of the only times we will agree on something. I think it was time for AW to go, but I do agree that the problems are deeper than him. I guess we'll see.


----------



## S E P H

Very rarely can you use this video, but a situation like this calls for it..


----------



## Cassano

Pretty sure he was voted top manager in the world this offseason here. Not that I agreed with it.


----------



## cgf

All Might said:


> Pretty sure he was voted top manager in the world this offseason here. Not that I agreed with it.





Those polls were hilarious


----------



## Ceremony

never fear lads


----------



## S E P H

Big Kahuna said:


> Next Arsenal manager: Brendan Rodgers, Patrick Vieira, Carlo Ancelotti early favourites










Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Sad day for footy. He's last Fu to Arsenal fans is the recommendation of Veira ass successor lol.
> 
> I think the next manager is destined to fail regardless too many problems with Arsenal. Beyond what's on the field. If anyone thinks this will make them improve they are kidding themselves. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if they finished even lower without him.



Problems which Wenger brought into conception might I add. Ancelotti and Vieria are not the answer, but both are a step in a direction where it simply isn't wenger. Don't buy that Rodgers click by any sort of the imagination.


----------



## Live in the Now

It's probably the worst summer to hire a manager for quite some time. Not much available besides Nagelsmann.


----------



## phisherman

Scandale du Jour said:


> Might be one of the only times we will agree on something. I think it was time for AW to go, but I do agree that the problems are deeper than him. I guess we'll see.




They have been preparing for this already by hiring Sven and Raul. Their priority is to strengthen the spine of the team (GK, CB, CM). They just need to make the right choice for the next manager.

The worse thing they can do is go for a safe route by hiring someone like Ancelotti. They need to be patient and hire someone young but giving him patience to build on the foundation already set.


----------



## YNWA14

Rodgers coaching without having to deal with the player buying side of management would actually be a great signing. Since they added Mislintat and Sanllehi I feel like it could be a great situation for him. With that said I doubt they would go that route anyway.


----------



## phisherman

Live in the Now said:


> It's probably the worst summer to hire a manager for quite some time. Not much available besides Nagelsmann.




Allegri already said he's going abroad.

Arsenal is a very attractive prospect for any manager.


----------



## Pouchkine

If they qualify for Champions League.


----------



## Live in the Now

phisherman said:


> Allegri already said he's going abroad.
> 
> Arsenal is a very attractive prospect for any manager.




He said when he left Juve it would be abroad. He didn't say he was leaving Juve this summer.

I agree with you on the latter, it's just a matter of what there is to choose from.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Live in the Now said:


> It's probably the worst summer to hire a manager for quite some time. Not much available besides Nagelsmann.




Nagelsmann has already said he's staying for next season.

And what about Tuchel and Ancelotti? Possibly Allegri and Löw too?


----------



## Cassano

Le PSG pourrait récupérer Arsène Wenger après son départ d'Arsenal


----------



## Evilo

Tuchel is supposed to have signed with PSG. Will be made official once the season is over.


----------



## Evilo

Emery's available though


----------



## Evilo

Blanc would be a great choice, but I'm pretty sure Arsenal won't sign a french manager known for nice football but zero european trophy.


----------



## Live in the Now

Big Kahuna said:


> Nagelsmann has already said he's staying for next season.
> 
> And what about Tuchel and Ancelotti? Possibly Allegri and Löw too?




Not a big fan of Ancelotti in the terms required for Arsenal, which is someone to completely rebuild the team over the course of the next few seasons. I think Nagelsmann could be tempted to leave and Allegri would obviously be a good choice.


----------



## Cassano

Evilo said:


> Tuchel is supposed to have signed with PSG. Will be made official once the season is over.



For Wenger, same source said he's joining PSG as a footballing director.

Which is hilarious considering his history of comments against FFP.


----------



## phisherman

Wenger and PSG makes sense as I think he's friends with the owners.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

phisherman said:


> Wenger and PSG makes sense as I think he's *friends with the owners.*



That would be disheartening


----------



## S E P H




----------



## Evilo

All Might said:


> For Wenger, same source said he's joining PSG as a footballing director.
> 
> Which is hilarious considering his history of comments against FFP.



Same source than what?
You'll find a dozen different sources about Tuchel and PSG being done.


----------



## Cassano

Evilo said:


> Same source than what?
> You'll find a dozen different sources about Tuchel and PSG being done.



I believe Paris United broke the Tuchel news.

This is there article on Wenger:

Wenger quitte Arsenal … pour Paris ? – ParisUnited


----------



## Evilo

No, Tuchel was in Bild I believe and also Le Parisien and Yahoo first.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Is Setien available? He could be a good choice after Nagelsmann if they wanted to gamble on a fun coach newer to the coaching world.

I genuinely don't know what Arsenal would look for in a manager, so it's hard to say which way they'd go. Allegri might be good for them.


----------



## les Habs

Wow. It finally/actually happened. Have to say that while it was time, Wenger did a lot for Arsenal. I think time will help Gooners to look kindly on him. 

Kind of weird actually hearing it on the BBC this morning as on a lot other days I'd simply have read it online.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

It's funny that after 20+ years, Wenger is pretty much leaving Arsenal as he found it...a club in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) region of the table that seems to have lost its ability to compete at the very top.

I think Wenger will be remembered as a great at Arsenal, but the sin of staying on for too long has likely tarnished his legacy overall. We have now seen a confused Wenger who seems to have lost it for a number of years. Meanwhile the years of him masterminding beautiful and successful football are now in the distant past.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

At least he didn’t get them relegated like Brian Clough. Although I suppose money being huge factor that was impossible.


----------



## Chimaera

They’re an attractive job, but I think a number of the young coaching prospects will stay away knowing that the first one in there will struggle.


----------



## Stray Wasp

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> It's funny that after 20+ years, Wenger is pretty much leaving Arsenal as he found it...a club in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) region of the table that seems to have lost its ability to compete at the very top.
> 
> I think Wenger will be remembered as a great at Arsenal, but the sin of staying on for too long has likely tarnished his legacy overall. We have now seen a confused Wenger who seems to have lost it for a number of years. Meanwhile the years of him masterminding beautiful and successful football are now in the distant past.




I can't disagree with anything you've said.

I'd add that one thing very much changed since 1996 is that Arsenal occupies a newer, larger stadium, and who knows how smoothly their move would have proceeded had they not benefitted from Wenger utterly reinventing the club's image. There's a generation of fans for whom Arsenal is synonymous with attractive football, whereas when I grew up they were notoriously drab- and the drabness didn't make them more successful than they were in Wenger's pomp.

Admittedly, they've gone from being a club that married gorgeous skill with winning leagues to being the all fur coat and no knickers outfit par excellence (ie. early 80s Spurs with a few extra millions on the accounts), but their home would likely be the 45,000 capacity "Larry's on Islington High Street Takeaway Pizza" Stadium had they stuck with the style of football they played in the latter years of George Graham.

At times Wenger had no peer for hypocrisy, but if nothing else his generous words about Newcastle as a football city and the fans leave me kindly disposed to him. At its best the style of his great teams was breathtaking, and while his recent years deserve a deal of criticism, his peak is too splendid to be completely overshadowed. Though by my estimate he stayed seven years too long, I'm loath to be too hard on a man for wanting to do the thing he loves as long as he's able- the real blame lies with the negligence of Arsenal's board. And as a reward for their cock-up, they get the chance to pick Wenger's successor. (Personally, I'm taking the Richard-Gere-at-the-Oscars tack and sending thoughts to the decision makers: 'Appoint Pardew, appoint Pardew, appoint Pardew...')

If nothing else, in comparison to Herbert Chapman and Graham's respective exits, Wenger's departure from Arsenal is a placid affair.


----------



## Stray Wasp

A worrying development when you press 'edit' and hit 'quote'.


----------



## les Habs

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> It's funny that after 20+ years, Wenger is pretty much leaving Arsenal as he found it...a club in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) region of the table that seems to have lost its ability to compete at the very top.
> 
> I think Wenger will be remembered as a great at Arsenal, but the sin of staying on for too long has likely tarnished his legacy overall. We have now seen a confused Wenger who seems to have lost it for a number of years. Meanwhile the years of him masterminding beautiful and successful football are now in the distant past.




I don't disagree that in terms of the club's level in footballing terms may be as he found it, but you should add the context of what they won under Wenger. Three league titles in 20 years may only seem so impressive, but that's half of the number they've won since the 1950s. Furthermore, not a lot of different clubs have won the league since Wenger became Arsenal manager. Only four in fact, with one them being Leicester City. Then you've got the FA Cups. Fans of the game don't seem to appreciate the tournament as much as they used to, but seven FA Cups in 20 years is nothing to sneeze at. Arsenal have the most FA Cup titles of any side in England and Wenger presided over more than half of them. None of that is to mention what @Stray Wasp said about the clubs current stature, infrastructure and reputation.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

There's no doubt that Wenger achieved a lot at Arsenal in terms of trophies and also helped Arsenal evolve as a club. The association of Arsenal with a particular brand of football certainly is almost entirely due to him. But, of course, it also needs to be remembered that Arsenal were one of England's biggest clubs and perhaps London's biggest one before he got there, too. 

While infrastructure and financial possibilities greatly improved during his tenure, the same can be said for quite a few English clubs in that time span. His tenure did after all cover the era of fairy tale TV money and then the influx of foreign investment in the Premier League. Arsenal fans can perhaps be grateful that thanks to Wenger the club didn't pull a Villa or Newcastle and stayed in the top tier of English clubs. However, Arsenal being a London glamour club rather than a provincial giant were likely always - i.e. with or without Wenger - going to attract considerable outside financial backing once that particular door was opened. So it's hard to say for sure that without Wenger they would not be a mega club now.

In relative terms, Arsenal, also today lags behind the financial possibilities of a number of other English clubs. Not necessarily because of anything Wenger did or didn't do, but because the investor in Arsenal is someone who's applying a for-profit business strategy rather than a 'spend lavishly to boost ego' one. And ironically that leaves them pretty much where they were in the 90s too - a big club with considerable means but not quite at the level of the clubs above them.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Ornstein:

Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal: What next after manager's departure?


----------



## Albatros

Lee Dixon:

Arsène Wenger changed the face of English football. It was all him | Lee Dixon


----------



## Stray Wasp

I broadly agree with your point that Arsenal's standing and the Premier League's reshaping of the landscape meant it was likely only a matter of time before they came to the fore- although the long gap between Bertie Mee's double and Graham's league titles reminds us such things can't be taken for granted.

What was crucial in Wenger's case is timing- the fact of his arrival occurring so early in Premier League history meant Arsenal stole a march on so many of their rivals: Manchester United excepted, they found themselves leading rather than following. Not least in the bold decision to appoint as manager a foreigner whose playing career had been without distinction- in contrast, while Chelsea also appointed a foreign coach in 1996, the chap in question was a playing great who'd spent Euro 96 charming the public from a BBC sofa. And Chelsea were a reckoned a showy lot anyway.

Wenger to Arsenal was revolutionary stuff- hinting as it did that tactics and coaching were more important than wandering into the dressing room, showing your medals to the bedazzled players, then toddling off to the chairman's office to demand half a dozen blank cheques. Dr Jozef Venglos' brief stint at Villa had proven to most people's satisfaction that foreigners couldn't possibly know how to manage a room full of English-speaking footballers. And doctors belonged in the NHS.

Lest we forget some of the names managing big clubs around then:

Arsenal began the season with Bruce Rioch in charge.
Aston Villa's Brian Little was being touted as a potential England manager on the back of two seasons in the top flight and a League Cup win.
Blackburn's boss was Ray Harford.
Everton was managed by Joe Royle (who was gone before the season's end. The Toffees reverted to their default setting for when their contacts book was devoid of exciting names- they simply employed Howard Kendall again).
Leeds still had 1992 title-winning Howard Wilkinson at the helm.
At Liverpool, Roy Evans was cheerfully planting 9 million tonnes of dynamite under the legend of the bootroom.
Spurs boasted a mullet that had the misfortune of Gerry Francis being on its end.

It'd be interesting to know whether Blackburn's first contact with Sven-Goran Eriksson preceeded Wenger's arrival in London, but it's hard to imagine it. But look at the above list and consider what happened when the incumbent left. Villa appointed John Gregory, Wilkinson gave way to George Graham. Spurs 'went foreign', but Christian Gross was written off before he'd so much as managed a game. (Indeed, as autumn turned to winter in 1997, and Manchester United built what at one point amounted to a thirteen point lead, there were national media geniuses who questioned whether Arsenal's employment of Wenger had been a smart move). Though Liverpool brought in Gerard Houllier, it was as one half of a pantomime horse-arrangement that required Evans lingering on as his fatally undermined partner.

In short, we're talking about a time when English football's attitudes to people who didn't talk and act as if the game was still some odd hybrid of 1953 and 1977 was even more embarrassingly misguided than it is now. To be fair, a vicious circle was in place- old guard mentalities hindered the league's economic and sporting development, which in turn gave coaches no particular reason to prefer England to Germany, Italy or Spain.

If I were to divide the Premier League's history into segments, I'd pinpoint the summer of 2006 as the moment the league really began to move towards it's present power- that was when the EU sniffing around the TV deal was threatening to open up the market. In anticipation of revenue consequently exploding (which it did), Villa, Portsmouth and West Ham upped the ante for fees and salaries paid by clubs outside the top handful. Meanwhile, a dodgy Thai bloke began casting his eyes around for a club to purchase. And in some southern shithole, a fat, empty tracksuit salesman was wondering what to do with his billion quid that might cheer him up now his marriage had failed...

By an unfortunate coincidence, Wenger's great team was by then in the throes of a regeneration that still isn't complete. He was a family builder clobbered by the big battalions on one side and cowboys on the other, while his own ability to judge the right raw materials had faded. In set the rot.


----------



## booyakasha

Arsenal transfer news: Arsene Wenger overruled by Gazidis & Mislintat over Alexis Sanchez swap | Metro News



"It has also been claimed that Gazidis, not Wenger, was responsible for signing Shkodran Mustafi in spite of numerous scouting reports that doubted his ability."


----------



## S E P H

Wonderful post @Stray Wasp, loved reading about football before I came into the sport.


Big Kahuna said:


> Ornstein:
> 
> Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal: What next after manager's departure?



Some good names in there mixed with some terrible names.

Good
Max Allegri
Julian Nagelsmann
Leonardo Jardim

Bad
Mikel Arteta
Patrick Vieira
Thierry Henry
Luis Enrique
Carlo Ancelotti

Wildcard
Thomas Tuchel: Unrealistic since Ornstein even mentions that he's going to PSG.

Sounds like Arsenal might be willing to go after a younger manager to fit in the overall restructure of the club. I think we will have to trust in Sven, but Ivan is still on the board and has some say in the decision process. Also how the hell does Ivan Gazidis have an effin job? Not that Mustafi sucks, he was always a work in progress type of player, but I would have gladly taken Chris Smallings over him in a nanosecond. It also makes sense why Mustafi apparently wants out, seems that the coaching staff really valued him compared to the front office. No wonder why Arsenal has been so dysfunctional, when you have so many people in power and want like 4 different plans to carry this team, all you get is a pile of garbage. It was also interesting to note that Wenger wanted Martial instead of Mkhi, not sure I agree with that.


----------



## SJSharks72

S E P H said:


> Wonderful post @Stray Wasp, loved reading about football before I came into the sport.
> 
> Some good names in there mixed with some terrible names.
> 
> Good
> Max Allegri
> Julian Nagelsmann
> Leonardo Jardim
> 
> Bad
> Mikel Arteta
> Patrick Vieira
> Thierry Henry
> Luis Enrique
> Carlo Ancelotti
> 
> Wildcard
> Thomas Tuchel: Unrealistic since Ornstein even mentions that he's going to PSG.
> 
> Sounds like Arsenal might be willing to go after a younger manager to fit in the overall restructure of the club. I think we will have to trust in Sven, but Ivan is still on the board and has some say in the decision process. Also how the hell does Ivan Gazidis have an effin job? Not that Mustafi sucks, he was always a work in progress type of player, but I would have gladly taken Chris Smallings over him in a nanosecond. It also makes sense why Mustafi apparently wants out, seems that the coaching staff really valued him compared to the front office. No wonder why Arsenal has been so dysfunctional, when you have so many people in power and want like 4 different plans to carry this team, all you get is a pile of garbage. It was also interesting to note that Wenger wanted Martial instead of Mkhi, not sure I agree with that.



Viera turned Arsenal down and Carlo wouldn’t be that bad.


----------



## S E P H

SJSharks39 said:


> Viera turned Arsenal down and Carlo wouldn’t be that bad.



I am really hesitant to hire a manager who got fired both from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and is on the wrong age of football. If you can't produce good results with either of those two squads, you know you're getting by with the talent of the club alone which is how Bayern still won the BuLi that year.


----------



## Evilo

Fired from Real with a CL to show for it.


----------



## Stray Wasp

S E P H said:


> Wonderful post @Stray Wasp, loved reading about football before I came into the sport.




Thank you.

It compensates for how old such retrospectives make me feel. And the astonishment when I ponder that things like Howard Wilkinson winning the league, or John Gregory being allowed anywhere near a club of standing, truly happened.


----------



## Cassano

S E P H said:


> Wonderful post @Stray Wasp, loved reading about football before I came into the sport.
> 
> Some good names in there mixed with some terrible names.
> 
> Good
> Max Allegri
> Julian Nagelsmann
> Leonardo Jardim
> 
> Bad
> Mikel Arteta
> Patrick Vieira
> Thierry Henry
> Luis Enrique
> Carlo Ancelotti
> 
> Wildcard
> Thomas Tuchel: Unrealistic since Ornstein even mentions that he's going to PSG.
> 
> Sounds like Arsenal might be willing to go after a younger manager to fit in the overall restructure of the club. I think we will have to trust in Sven, but Ivan is still on the board and has some say in the decision process. Also how the hell does Ivan Gazidis have an effin job? Not that Mustafi sucks, he was always a work in progress type of player, but I would have gladly taken Chris Smallings over him in a nanosecond. It also makes sense why Mustafi apparently wants out, seems that the coaching staff really valued him compared to the front office. No wonder why Arsenal has been so dysfunctional, when you have so many people in power and want like 4 different plans to carry this team, all you get is a pile of garbage. It was also interesting to note that Wenger wanted Martial instead of Mkhi, not sure I agree with that.



Good post, I agree with everything within it.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Arteta is an unknown for now, but I sort of suspect he would be a good manager.


----------



## Evilo

Deficient Mode said:


> Arteta is an unknown for now, but I sort of suspect he would be a good manager.



Me too. Smart player on the pitch.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Heard that he doesn't have too much influence on anything tactical. He's more of a diplomat for the players. Think he can become a good coach but not yet.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

It's gonna be Arteta.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Big Kahuna said:


> Heard that he doesn't have too much influence on anything tactical. He's more of a diplomat for the players. Think he can become a good coach but not yet.




Tactical matters are certainly a part of his role from what I've read, but regardless I'm sure part of the appeal of the role to him was to be able to observe Pep closely and learn from/discuss tactics with him.


----------



## Cassano

Arteta was not a good captain. That doesn't translate into being a bad manager of course, but he hasn't done anything besides being Pep's lapdog for 2 seasons.


----------



## S E P H

Evilo said:


> Fired from Real with a CL to show for it.



And others could have done with both of those squads. You put Wenger at Real and he wins multiple CL's.



All Might said:


> Good post, I agree with everything within it.



Sounds like that insider bloke on NBCSN mentioned that Allergi really wanted the job before Wenger got the two year extension. He's still very much interested in coaching Arsenal. Even though he's been quite average with Juventus (though he has gotten them back into 1st place), what he did with Milan cannot go unnoticed and shows that with more he might do some damage. Not sure if he would want to move from Juve to Arsenal, but it has been reported.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Wow. Wonder how this relationship would work.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Wow. Wonder how this relationship would work.





Yeah that scares me. I don’t really care about PSG but I love watching Tuchel-football so hope to enjoy a lot of it next year with all that talent he’ll have at his disposal.

...but he has already butted heads with everyone at a bigger club ice before, which ruined our opportunity to enjoy even more of the football he had you playing.

If Wenger does come on I really hope it’s to be Tuchel’s advocate to ownership, rather than an alternative voice for him to clash with :-/


----------



## Evilo

Even Tuchel alone is a question mark as far as relationships with PSG's stars.

I'm puzzled by this hiring, even though it clearly has potential.


----------



## cgf

Evilo said:


> Even Tuchel alone is a question mark as far as relationships with PSG's stars.
> 
> I'm puzzled by this hiring, even though it clearly has potential.




Tuchel got along really well with the stars in Dortmund, which is why Dembele was planning on staying another year until Tuchel got pushed out.

It was the has-beens like Sahin that he butted heads with on the roster. He's going to love Neymar, Cavani, Mbappe, Veratti & Rabiot, and he'll help them reach new levels that make them at the very least love playing in his system...even if they don't start to love his personality.

So I'm going to hope that Wenger is coming on to defend Tuchel to PSG's owners & management until reality proves things to be otherwise


----------



## les Habs

Berizzo wants almost double what Athletic Club are offering. 
Unai Emery linked with La Real. He supported them as a kid.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Roughly two months after getting the sack at Austria Wien, Thorsten Fink is named new manager of Swiss side Grasshopper Zurich. This is his second stint in the Swiss league as he has managed Basel as well


----------



## phisherman

Ancelotti on the verge of being Italian National Team manager.

Scratch him off of the potential Wenger replacement.

Thank god.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> Berizzo wants almost double what Athletic Club are offering.
> Unai Emery linked with La Real. He supported them as a kid.




I don't think he has a leg to stand on but I hope he goes to Bilbao.
That's interesting also one I would like to see.

Another manager I'm curious about is Gallardo. He's probably the best manager in Argentina right now. Wondering how long he lasts there without moving on up.


----------



## maclean

Massimo Oddo removed at Udinese, to be replaced by Croatian coach Igor Tudor (most recently of Galatasaray)


----------



## HajdukSplit

Tudor keeps getting respectable jobs despite having the Mourinho factor of his players totally turning against him by the end of his tenure


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> I don't think he has a leg to stand on but I hope he goes to Bilbao.
> That's interesting also one I would like to see.
> 
> Another manager I'm curious about is Gallardo. He's probably the best manager in Argentina right now. Wondering how long he lasts there without moving on up.




Looks Like Monaco is after him.


----------



## Cassano

His first signing will be Joe Cole probably.


----------



## les Habs

All Might said:


> His first signing will be Joe Cole probably.










Pfff. Just think of all of those poor clowns who think the English Premiership has the best managers after Gerrard takes over Rangers and big Chris takes over for Rodgers. One of these days I'll just let go of the trappings of any football that is not the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership.


----------



## les Habs

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> I don't think he has a leg to stand on but I hope he goes to Bilbao.
> That's interesting also one I would like to see.
> 
> Another manager I'm curious about is Gallardo. He's probably the best manager in Argentina right now. Wondering how long he lasts there without moving on up.




Well whatever direction either club takes, both need changes at the top. Eusebio Sacristan is of course already gone, but Ziganda has done even worse all things considered. 

Gallardo's been at River for some time now, no? I don't know how well he's done apart from winning a Copa Libertadores, though that alone is no mean feat.


----------



## Evilo

I know Lyon and Monaco have been interested in Gallardo in the past.


----------



## Ceremony

I have never wanted a club to appoint someone more than I want Gerrard at Rangers


----------



## YNWA14

Gerrard hasn't even managed a full season yet. He should stay at Liverpool and learn under Klopp.

Also never go to the Rangers.


----------



## SJSharks72

Apparently LVG is getting offers still. He claims he has one that he doesn’t think he can refuse. Hoping it’s Arsenal


----------



## Rocko604

SJSharks39 said:


> Apparently LVG is getting offers still. He claims he has one that he doesn’t think he can refuse. *Hoping it’s Arsenal *




Arsenal is probably just going to pluck someone, anyone, out of the J-League again and hope for the best. Worked last time.

There's already talk they're going to cheap out on the salary for a new manager, so I can't see it being LVG. Doubt he ever gets another PL offer again.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> Well whatever direction either club takes, both need changes at the top. Eusebio Sacristan is of course already gone, but Ziganda has done even worse all things considered.
> 
> Gallardo's been at River for some time now, no? I don't know how well he's done apart from winning a Copa Libertadores, though that alone is no mean feat.




He did also win the Uruguay league trophy prior to coaching Riverplate. He's pretty hyped right now in Argentina. He's been at River for like 4 years now. So, he's probably looking to move soon.


----------



## The Abusement Park

SJSharks39 said:


> Apparently LVG is getting offers still. He claims he has one that he doesn’t think he can refuse. Hoping it’s Arsenal




Oh LVG lol. I thought he actually did a somewhat good job of getting rid of a lot of deadweight at United and building a somewhat decent platform for the next manager to build off of. Now obviously the actual football that was played was horrific and I don’t think he’s a great manager, but he did a decent job of starting the overhaul of players at United. But then you know Mourinho has done a great job of building that up.


----------



## KJS14

I think I'd have to take a break from watching Arsenal if they hired LVG.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Allardyce says he is staying for next season


----------



## BKIslandersFan

YNWA14 said:


> Gerrard hasn't even managed a full season yet. He should stay at Liverpool and learn under Klopp.
> 
> Also never go to the Rangers.



Yea, Rangers are a mess, with no upside even if he does succeed. They can still spend far more than anyone else aside from Celtic, in Scotland so if he is successful Premier League clubs still won't look at him seriously.

Ok, maybe the bottom of the table clubs might.


----------



## Evilo

Ancelotti has rejected Italy.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Sevilla sack Vincezno Montella, second time he's been fired this season. The replacement is journeyman Joaquin Caparros on an interim basis


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Coleman gone from Sunderland, as expected. 

Seriously, was there a bigger career suicide?


----------



## les Habs

HajdukSplit said:


> Sevilla sack Vincezno Montella, second time he's been fired this season. The replacement is journeyman Joaquin Caparros on an interim basis




No surprise here. Sevilla are headed in the wrong direction and Monchi is long gone.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> No surprise here. Sevilla are headed in the wrong direction and Monchi is long gone.



It's in cycles. Valencia on their way back up while Sevilla trending down. Let's see how fast they can recover.


----------



## Burner Account

Jürgen Klopp loses Liverpool right-hand man Zeljko Buvac for rest of season


> Liverpool have suffered serious disruption ahead of their Champions League semi-final with Roma on Wednesday after Jürgen Klopp’s right-hand man, Zeljko Buvac, stepped aside for personal reasons.
> 
> Buvac, the assistant manager who Klopp has described as “the brain” behind his coaching set-up, is “spending some time away from the first team environment between now and the end of the season” according to Liverpool, who have declined to comment further on what they regard as a private matter.


----------



## Albatros

If the rumors are broadly true then Buvač likely isn't coming back.


----------



## phisherman

kyle evs48 said:


> Jürgen Klopp loses Liverpool right-hand man Zeljko Buvac for rest of season




Now the rumour is that Buvac is going to be the new Arsenal manager.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri




----------



## YNWA14

Unless it was a serious falling out with Klopp I just can't imagine Buvac leaving Liverpool to manage Arsenal.

Especially since rumours were that part of the reason they were holding out for Liverpool in the first place was that it was Buvac's childhood favourite team (lul).

Still, it would be a huge opportunity for Buvac and it would be pretty massive for Arsenal if true.


----------



## Power Man

Mancini to coach Italy?
Y tho


----------



## cgf

Power Man said:


> Mancini to coach Italy?
> Y tho




Because the Italian NT is pointless now that we’ve lifted the curse. So if they just avoid qualifying for majors they won’t have to keep losing to Germany at major tourneys


----------



## Live in the Now

phisherman said:


> Now the rumour is that Buvac is going to be the new Arsenal manager.




Funny if true, but it can't be. It has been stated that his relationship with the players is non-existent, and I don't know how someone like that could sell a club on his credentials to manage it. A tactical genius for sure, but probably not someone capable of taking a managerial post.


----------



## cgf

Live in the Now said:


> Funny if true, but it can't be. It has been stated that his relationship with the players is non-existent, and I don't know how someone like that could sell a club on his credentials to manage it. *A tactical genius *for sure, but probably not someone capable of taking a managerial post.




Que?


----------



## Deficient Mode

Live in the Now said:


> Funny if true, but it can't be. It has been stated that his relationship with the players is non-existent, and I don't know how someone like that could sell a club on his credentials to manage it. A tactical genius for sure, but probably not someone capable of taking a managerial post.




IDK about that. Hard to know his personality for certain but it's quite possible he'd be a good manager.


----------



## Deficient Mode

So apparently BVB are holding decisive negotiations with Favre this week. Marco Rose is their backup candidate.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> So apparently BVB are holding decisive negotiations with Favre this week. Marco Rose is their backup candidate.




I can't help but shake the Bosz vibes from Rose, even though I am much more impressed with his pressing structures than I was Bosz's.


----------



## S E P H

cgf said:


> Because the Italian NT is pointless now that we’ve lifted the curse. So if they just avoid qualifying for majors they won’t have to keep losing to Germany at major tourneys



A great way to keep this sustainability is hiring Mancini, so you're probably loving this. Can't wait until we see him and Low go after each other in the World Cup. It will be the battle of the mighty below-average managers.


----------



## Deficient Mode

OMG


----------



## Deficient Mode

Deficient Mode said:


> OMG





On the other hand


----------



## YNWA14

Sarri to Dortmund would be awesome for them.


----------



## cgf

Lodar


----------



## Theokritos

Deficient Mode said:


> On the other hand





"Hello Lothar, we just call you to let you know we don't have any job offer for you. Have a nice day!"

That's the only thing that makes sense.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Lothar basically applies to every Eastern European NT job these days, I swear he's always been linked with Croatia but its not even a realistic option


----------



## PansCyans

Steven Gerrard: Rangers name former Liverpool captain as manager on four-year deal



> The former Liverpool and England captain will join the club this summer on a four-year deal.
> 
> Steven Gerrard said: “I am honoured to become the next manager of Rangers. I have enormous respect for this football club, and its history and tradition.
> 
> “I can’t wait to start this new journey at Rangers as we look to build on the many successes that this Club has achieved.”
> 
> Details of the backroom staff who will join Gerrard at the Club will be announced in due course.
> 
> Chairman Dave King added: “We are delighted to confirm today that Steven Gerrard will become the next manager of Rangers.
> 
> “From the very beginning, talks have been extremely positive and we believe that Steven is the right man to drive Rangers forward.
> 
> “He was extremely impressive throughout our negotiations and we are convinced that he has the necessary knowledge and temperament to lead the Club to the success we all desire.
> 
> “This a special day for our Club, our fans and for Steven.”
> 
> Managing Director Stewart Robertson said: “We believe we have appointed the perfect man to manage our Club at this time.
> 
> “He is an exciting appointment for the Club and I believe that the Rangers support will back him as only they can.”
> 
> Director of Football Mark Allen: “From the moment we met with Steven to discuss this opportunity, we felt that his ambitions and desire to succeed equalled our own for the Club.
> 
> “Make no mistake, Steven fully understands the demands that come with managing a Club of this stature and we look forward to exciting times ahead.”


----------



## Live in the Now

He did a good job with the U18 so I'm bummed from that perspective. On the other hand if he ever was to get the big job here he has to start somewhere.

Make no mistake Rangers is a starter job. He does well he'll be out of there.


----------



## davemess

I get why Gerrard is taking the job despite the obvious issues, not a well run club and limited funds compared to Celtic.

The Premier League used to be split into 3 groups, your top 6 or so you middle 6 or so and the relegation fodder 8-10 teams. 

10+ years ago Gerrard would have probably been able to get one of those middle 6 jobs. Somebody would have gotten bored with their current manager or had their manager poached and been willing to give a new manager a chance despite lacking experience.

Now the Premier League is the top 6 and 14 other clubs that are either in a relegation battle or are 6 bad results at the start of the season from being in the battle. Owners are no longer willing to give inexperienced coaches those jobs, no matter their star power as players.

So what are Gerrards other options? Go and take a lucky dip on somebody in the Championship and try to get out of that nightmare of a league? Maybe but I think that route is more of a risk. He doesn't really have the Mark Hughes option of going and doing an International job first up.

So take the Rangers job. Nobody other than fanatic Rangers fans really expects you to be able to run down Celtic. To have success at Rangers you just have to get closer to challenge Celtic and firmly establish Rangers into the 2nd spot with some distance from 3rd/4th (and a cup would be nice). That doesn't seem like such a crazy difficult challenge, they might stumble into 2nd this year despite having had 2 Managers.

You mange that for two or three seasons and suddenly you are a consideration for one of those 14 Premier League jobs and if all goes well with that maybe the Liverpool job down the road.


----------



## Deficient Mode

koyvoo said:


> Steven Gerrard: Rangers name former Liverpool captain as manager on four-year deal




There it is @Ceremony 

Time to rejoice


----------



## ScottishCanuck

He'll be out of a job by the end of next season.


----------



## Ceremony

I am utterly tumescent just thinking about this fresh chapter of the Banter Years.


----------



## les Habs

Jordi Cruyff loosely implying that Guardiola could have been signed by United instead when they signed Moyes.
Sarri to Chelsea now?


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

As mentioned above..the Rangers job should be easy enough. Finish 2nd over a bunch of quasi semipro teams and then somehow beat Celtic once a year. That'd probably be enough to be considered a success.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Ancelotti linked with Napoli.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> As mentioned above..the Rangers job should be easy enough. Finish 2nd over a bunch of quasi semipro teams and then somehow beat Celtic once a year. That'd probably be enough to be considered a success.



Yup.

I mean, because their fan base is so huge, once they get their finance act together they should be able to beat Celtic for the title, eventually.


----------



## les Habs

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> As mentioned above..the Rangers job should be easy enough. Finish 2nd over a bunch of quasi semipro teams and then somehow beat Celtic once a year. That'd probably be enough to be considered a success.




Maybe in the short term that will be enough, but for even that to happen they'll probably need some investment.


----------



## Ceremony

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> As mentioned above..the Rangers job should be easy enough. Finish 2nd over a bunch of quasi semipro teams and then somehow beat Celtic once a year. That'd probably be enough to be considered a success.










BKIslandersFan said:


> Yup.
> 
> I mean, because their fan base is so huge, once they get their finance act together they should be able to beat Celtic for the title, eventually.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Ceremony said:


>



I mean, its law of mathematical odds, lol. Celtic can't keep winning forever.lmao


----------



## S E P H

Big Kahuna said:


> Ancelotti linked with Napoli.



Good news, as long as he's not rumoured to be in London I will be happy.


----------



## S E P H

Ornstein reporting that Arsenal will have a new manager before the World Cup, which starts June 14th.

Update on some names...

Are all not in the running
- Deigo Simeone
- Thomas Tuchel
- Joachim Low (thank God)
- Brendan Rodgers
- Rui Faria
- Patrick Vieria
- Luis Enrique

Still rumoured (by Ornstein)
- Max Allergi
- Mikel Arterta
- Leo Jardim
- Julian Nagelsmann


----------



## Bon Esprit

Lucien Favre to Dortmund apparently.


----------



## S E P H

Could somebody (@cgf) tell me more about Nagelsmann? Is he a tactician as good as Allergi? What formation does he like? Is he an offencive coach?


----------



## Deficient Mode

S E P H said:


> Could somebody (@cgf) tell me more about Nagelsmann? Is he a tactician as good as Allergi? What formation does he like? Is he an offencive coach?




His breadth of tactical and strategic work is probably better than Allegri's. A lot of players took leaps and bounds technically under him, and just became far more efficient with their touches and movements. He is a possession style coach who uses a wide variety of formations and makes good tactical adaptations from match to match, but he has the flexibility to play on the counter too - an adaptation which he made with great success in the second half of this season. Hoffenheim has been the third best team in Germany in the two and a half years since he took over a team that was in a relegation position. If you can't tell already, I regard him very highly. I don't think he'll wind up at Dortmund as his next move though.


----------



## davemess

Stoke owners just released a pretty long statement about whats going on at the club, what the issues have been and how they plan to fix things............ no mention of Lambert so that cant be great news for him.


----------



## S E P H

Deficient Mode said:


> His breadth of tactical and strategic work is probably better than Allegri's. A lot of players took leaps and bounds technically under him, and just became far more efficient with their touches and movements. He is a possession style coach who uses a wide variety of formations and makes good tactical adaptations from match to match, but he has the flexibility to play on the counter too - an adaptation which he made with great success in the second half of this season. Hoffenheim has been the third best team in Germany in the two and a half years since he took over a team that was in a relegation position. If you can't tell already, I regard him very highly. I don't think he'll wind up at Dortmund as his next move though.



****, Hoffenhiem is the team I like in the BuLi so I never put the two and two together - I had this stupid thought he was Schalke's manager. Another **** because you hyped him up big time to the point I want him more than any other manager now and there is a report which just came out by The Telegraphy, saying that Arsenal have spoken to Massimiliano Allegri. Again, I wouldn't be opposed to Allergi, but Nagelsmann is young and has had some insane results which he can be brought slowly with the club. Allergi on the other hand will be put right into the middle of the fire.


----------



## YNWA14

I really feel like Allegri and Arsenal is a bad mix.


----------



## Bon Esprit

S E P H said:


> ****, Hoffenhiem is the team I like in the BuLi so I never put the two and two together - I had this stupid thought he was Schalke's manager. Another **** because you hyped him up big time to the point I want him more than any other manager now and there is a report which just came out by The Telegraphy, saying that Arsenal have spoken to Massimiliano Allegri. Again, I wouldn't be opposed to Allergi, but Nagelsmann is young and has had some insane results which he can be brought slowly with the club. Allergi on the other hand will be put right into the middle of the fire.



I think Nagelsmann needs a year or two at Hoffenheim. Then he will move on. Next saturday will be important for him and the club. They play Dortmund and need a good result to qualify for CL. Leverkusen might beat Hannover.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> His breadth of tactical and strategic work is probably better than Allegri's. A lot of players took leaps and bounds technically under him, and just became far more efficient with their touches and movements. He is a possession style coach who uses a wide variety of formations and makes good tactical adaptations from match to match, but he has the flexibility to play on the counter too - an adaptation which he made with great success in the second half of this season. Hoffenheim has been the third best team in Germany in the two and a half years since he took over a team that was in a relegation position. If you can't tell already, I regard him very highly. I don't think he'll wind up at Dortmund as his next move though.




To add to this he has been particularly successful at structuring his side's possession so thoroughly, and doing such a good job as a teacher, that even young talents who had stalled & whose Football-IQ had always been questioned, were able to thrive for him. Demirbay is the primary example of a big talents who's mind had always been questioned and whose understanding of the game caused him to falter until he went down to BuLi2 to rebuild his confidence...which lead to the union with Nagelsmann that has people like me currently calling for Demirbay to start for the NT if Ilkay is injured & Jogi refuses to take Gotze, Dahoud or Kramer.

Nagelsmann's flexibility has really been amazing. Not just the dramatic strategic shifts he's pulled off, but the massive tactical variety that we've seen from him has been crazy as well. 2 or 3 in the midfield, 3 or 4 at the back, 1 lone striker or 3 forwards at once; his Hoffenheim have played just about every shape imaginable through his tenure & he's done a great job coaching them how & where to switch between different shapes in response to where the action is. They flow through more formations & with more precision, in each game than many teams do in a month.

I still can't comprehend how he didn't end up at Bayern for next season. The most logical thing I can come up with is that, for some reason, Bayern doesn't want to win next year and so was afraid that he'd make them too good. Which is the dumbest f***ing "logic" ever, but makes more sense than any other explanation for wtf happened with their coaching search.

Also we've seen with Rudy & Sule that...at least with smarter players...his lessons stayed with players after they left, and weren't just an illusion created by his ability to structure his side so as to hide weaknesses. Though I'm still very curious about how much long-term effect he has on players like Demirbay when their partnership ends...unlike Geiger, who is basically just a much more talented & creative version of Rudy. Similarly the likes of Volland & Uth were never known as dumb dumbs. So their ability to retain his teachings doesn't give us much insight on the long-term effects Nagelsmann has on idiots like Demirbay after they lose his structure, that does so much of the thinking for his players.



S E P H said:


> ****, Hoffenhiem is the team I like in the BuLi so I never put the two and two together - I had this stupid thought he was Schalke's manager. Another **** because you hyped him up big time to the point I want him more than any other manager now and there is a report which just came out by The Telegraphy, saying that Arsenal have spoken to Massimiliano Allegri. Again, I wouldn't be opposed to Allergi, but Nagelsmann is young and has had some insane results which he can be brought slowly with the club. Allergi on the other hand will be put right into the middle of the fire.




Schalke's manager went to University with Nagelsmann when they got their coaching degrees and Tedesco was the one person in their class who got even better grades than Nagelsmann. So they've often been linked in the media. Especially with Tedesco hitting the scene with the job that got him the Schalke job right as Nagelsmann was taking TSG to the CL qualifiers; having taken over when they were dead last in the standings, just a season & a half before.

I like Tedesco for finally giving all of that Schalke talent some structure, but I'm not enamoured with him the way I am Nagelsmann & Tuchel. Who I see as the true children of the Pep era in germany...though the Kloppo-lead pressing revolution also owes it's birth to Pep, even if it sprung from his Barca days. TT & Julian were the (first) ones in germany to take Pep-esque possession structures & add them back to the pressing-foundation that the Kloppo-revolution had laid. Anyways, I'm not sure Tedesco has that same brilliance with organizing possession as the other two do...although Schalke are sharp on the counter and very well organized against the ball.

...so maybe we haven't seen his possession brilliance because he has made a conscious effort to play more conservatively as a stepping stone to playing more like his team did in the 3rd league. Kinda like how Favre's BMG was just a really well-executed bunker & counter side at first; that then became the wonderful non-pressing possession side, like the great Arsenal teams of our youth, that they are remembered as now. So I remain cautiously optimistic, at least until I see what Heidel does after LeGo & Meyer leave in the summer.


BTW; do you understand german? Cause a) I'm sure Spielverlagerung has some good articles about his Hoffenheim; and b) I remember Konzeptfussball had a really great piece during his first year. That included a lot of clips showing how his team shifted in response to the actions of the opposing pressers & the reactions to that pressing from the ball carriers, to create new passing lanes & open up new combinations so that players weren't even asked to do anything incredible for the team to be able to flow throw all sorts of different defensive structures/strategies. Not things that are entirely unique to Nagelsmann's team, of course, but with his TSG they are just a lot more intricate/complex, responsive, & sharply-executed; in part because that increased complexity eases the actual thinking his deeper ball handlers are asked to do.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> I think Nagelsmann needs a year or two at Hoffenheim. Then he will move on. Next saturday will be important for him and the club. They play Dortmund and need a good result to qualify for CL. Leverkusen might beat Hannover.




We will just never agree on Nagelsmann 

btw am I misremembering, or didn't we used to clash about Tuchel as well? I really feel like I remember you saying that Tuchel needed to go to a club a step down from BVB after the way that ended, before he could get a job with one of the giants. Am I making that up?


----------



## Stray Wasp

davemess said:


> Stoke owners just released a pretty long statement about whats going on at the club, what the issues have been and how they plan to fix things............ no mention of Lambert so that cant be great news for him.




And the statement is distinguished by the observation, 'Our core focus is now on the future'.

A line like that deserves relegation in itself.


----------



## Bon Esprit

cgf said:


> We will just never agree on Nagelsmann
> 
> btw am I misremembering, or didn't we used to clash about Tuchel as well? I really feel like I remember you saying that Tuchel needed to go to a club a step down from BVB after the way that ended, before he could get a job with one of the giants. Am I making that up?



No, I said I don't think he'll get along with Bayern's leaders, I said I think he'll go the EPL, Arsenal or something.
Nagelsmann will have a great career IMO and he will leave for a bigger club after his contract is up next year.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> No, I said I don't think he'll get along with Bayern's leaders, I said I think he'll go the EPL, Arsenal or something.
> Nagelsmann will have a great career IMO and he will leave for a bigger club after his contract is up next year.




Yeah, I was thinking of the Schalke fan who just argued that AVB would be a better hire than Favre


----------



## S E P H

cgf said:


> Schalke's manager went to University with Nagelsmann when they got their coaching degrees and Tedesco was the one person in their class who got even better grades than Nagelsmann. So they've often been linked in the media. Especially with Tedesco hitting the scene with the job that got him the Schalke job right as Nagelsmann was taking TSG to the CL qualifiers; having taken over when they were dead last in the standings, just a season & a half before.
> 
> I like Tedesco for finally giving all of that Schalke talent some structure, but I'm not enamoured with him the way I am Nagelsmann & Tuchel. Who I see as the true children of the Pep era in germany...though the Kloppo-lead pressing revolution also owes it's birth to Pep, even if it sprung from his Barca days. TT & Julian were the (first) ones in germany to take Pep-esque possession structures & add them back to the pressing-foundation that the Kloppo-revolution had laid. Anyways, I'm not sure Tedesco has that same brilliance with organizing possession as the other two do...although Schalke are sharp on the counter and very well organized against the ball.
> 
> ...so maybe we haven't seen his possession brilliance because he has made a conscious effort to play more conservatively as a stepping stone to playing more like his team did in the 3rd league. Kinda like how Favre's BMG was just a really well-executed bunker & counter side at first; that then became the wonderful non-pressing possession side, like the great Arsenal teams of our youth, that they are remembered as now. So I remain cautiously optimistic, at least until I see what Heidel does after LeGo & Meyer leave in the summer.
> 
> 
> BTW; do you understand german? Cause a) I'm sure Spielverlagerung has some good articles about his Hoffenheim; and b) I remember Konzeptfussball had a really great piece during his first year. That included a lot of clips showing how his team shifted in response to the actions of the opposing pressers & the reactions to that pressing from the ball carriers, to create new passing lanes & open up new combinations so that players weren't even asked to do anything incredible for the team to be able to flow throw all sorts of different defensive structures/strategies. Not things that are entirely unique to Nagelsmann's team, of course, but with his TSG they are just a lot more intricate/complex, responsive, & sharply-executed; in part because that increased complexity eases the actual thinking his deeper ball handlers are asked to do.



Great post, cgf, you're making me angry though that Arsenal haven't considered him more of an actual option. I mean I like that his name is getting popped up in reports and rumours, but hard to see him get the job considering how close the ties are with Allergi. We have Sven though and I think I going to put my faith into him.

I do know basic German, enough where I could get by in a conversation if I am visiting the country, but definitely not enough if the German is specialized into a depth topic like football tactics or medical terminology. Then I would get lost because as we know, when go into specialized topics in any language the words get bigger and longer, especially in German where they got some 14 to 19 number words like Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft or Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften. If you want to post the article(s), I would definitely give it my best shot!


----------



## cgf

S E P H said:


> Great post, cgf, you're making me angry though that Arsenal haven't considered him more of an actual option. I mean I like that his name is getting popped up in reports and rumours, but hard to see him get the job considering how close the ties are with Allergi. We have Sven though and I think I going to put my faith into him.
> 
> I do know basic German, enough where I could get by in a conversation if I am visiting the country, but definitely not enough if the German is specialized into a depth topic like football tactics or medical terminology. Then I would get lost because as we know, when go into specialized topics in any language the words get bigger and longer, especially in German where they got some 14 to 19 number words like Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft or Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften. If you want to post the article(s), I would definitely give it my best shot!




Well there's a reason my plan, if the US had decided not to give me my greencard back, was to go back to germany and get my coaching license 

And I hear ya, my spanish used to be the same way when I actually got practice with it. I'd have to look through SV to see which of their hoffenheim articles to recommend; and I can't find the KF article I mentioned before, but apparently, they made an english language video about TSG as well that I haven't checked out yet:

Video analysis: Hoffenheim’s (offensive) game idea


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

The thing you don't like about Tedesco is that he shows there's a different approach than the Guardiola approach that also works. You're like the high priest of the Pep cult on here.


----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> The thing you don't like about Tedesco is that he shows there's a different approach than the Guardiola approach that also works. You're like the high priest of the Pep cult on here.




No the things I don't like about Tedesco's Schalke are that they can only score on the break or off set pieces; becoming utterly toothless if the opposing defence is at all organized. Which is an unsustainable way to find higher level success.

And your acting like it's weird for someone to criticize the best active coach less than I do antiquated dinosaurs like Hecking, Ancelloti & Stöger. I had issues with Pep during his Bayern days & I still have critiques of him now. There's just less to gripe about with Pep, Tuchel & Nagelsmann, because they do a lot more of the things that the decades have made me realize lead to reproducible success in this sport. Hell I used to be a straight-up Pep-hater. But after watching him take a treble-winning Bayern side and transform them into a club that would've left that treble-winning team in the dust in any league, that just became an untenable position that I couldn't justify maintaining without being intellectually dishonest or losing credibility.

I really don't understand this traditionalist backlash against him, as Pep is just the natural extension of an evolution that can be traced back through the Total Football that our Golden Generation came a penalty shootout away from winning back-to-back-to-back majors with, through the revolutionary Mighty Magyars, all of the way back to Austria's Wunderteam of the 30s.

The only unprecedented thing Pep has added to the mix was the birth of modern pressing schemes that were impossible to impliment before modern medicine & sports science gave players the fitness to survive them...and pressing is the aspect of the Pep-revolution that dinosaurs gripe about the least!

PS we actually got officially certified as a church this winter thank you very much! With millions of adherents across the globe, the High Church of Pep is now officially tax-exempt and happy to accept your donations!


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> PS we actually got officially certified as a church this winter thank you very much! With millions of adherents across the globe, the High Church of Pep is now officially tax-exempt and happy to accept your donations!




Great. Let's get to work on that 200 meter tall temple in the shape of a bald male head right away.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Tedesco is a very good coach, but if anything he is even more of a master of in-game and game-to-game adjustments than the other top German coaches, and doesn't transform his teams technically the way Nagelsmann or Tuchel did with Hoffenheim and Dortmund. I'm a bit skeptical of Schalke's chance generation this season. They often won pretty low-event matches 1-0 or 2-1 with just a random good moment.

It's pretty funny to see a traditionalist think of Tedesco as an alternative to the cult of Guardiola, though. His background and use of 3 player back lines and other, frequent tactical changes are usually precisely the things they gripe about with Tuchel or Guardiola. Maybe they really just don't think the game should be fun.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Tedesco is a very good coach, but if anything he is even more of a master of in-game and game-to-game adjustments than the other top German coaches, and doesn't transform his teams technically the way Nagelsmann or Tuchel did with Hoffenheim and Dortmund. I'm a bit skeptical of Schalke's chance generation this season. They often won pretty low-event matches 1-0 or 2-1 with just a random good moment.
> 
> It's pretty funny to see a traditionalist think of Tedesco as an alternative to the cult of Guardiola, though. His background and use of 3 player back lines and other, frequent tactical changes are usually precisely the things they gripe about with Tuchel or Guardiola. Maybe they really just don't think the game should be fun.




That’s pretty much exactly what makes me so conflicted with Tedesco and why he hasn’t been able to win me over as swiftly as Tuchel, Nagelsmann & Favre did. There’s so much I like about him, but that team has scraped by to too many low event wins decided by individual moments of brilliance, despite having more talent at their disposal than their opponents more often than not, for me to be all in.

Part of it might just be my natural impulse to roll my eyes at the 50 billions stories that came out about how he was the one person in their class to best Nagelsmann at University. 

But that urge is why I made a concerted effort to watch them. As I didn’t want to just assume he was nothing but media hype, especially since he did do a phenomenal job in the third division to get the job. And he clearly isn’t just all hype; even though I’m not as ready to annoint him as I was Nagelsmann half a season into his Hoffenheim tenure.


----------



## YNWA14

Have to say I'm obsessed with Nagelsmann. His implementation of the 3-3-2-2 is just beautiful. I prefer his style to Klopp's, I think it's more pragmatic and more flexible, but I know Klopp's here for the long term. I'm trying to convince my coach IRL to take a look into Nagelsmann's system/philosophies, but these are nice too:

Julian Nagelsmann – The Tactics Behind a Pioneer

Julian Nagelsmann's tactical philosophy


<3 Tifo

If you have more in depth articles I'd love to read them, though I've perused other stuff and watched more Hoffenheim these past two seasons than any other German team I've watched (RBL up there too because of Keita but there's nothing really special about that team outside of a couple players if that makes sense).


----------



## cgf

Unfortunately, most of the reading about Nagelsmann I did was early on, and that was a couple of laptops ago. So all of those old bookmarks are now gone. Meaning I'd have to literally scroll through Spielverlagerung to find their TSG-game analyses & skim them to find which ones google-translate cleanly enough to recommend. But if I can figure out the right keywords for google to find me what I'm vaguely remembering, will do.

Studying Nagelsmann has really been a delight. I'm happy for the competitiveness of the league that he won't be coaching Bayern next season...but I can't imagine anything better for the NT than to have Nagelsmann coaching half of them on a daily basis.


----------



## YNWA14

cgf said:


> Unfortunately, most of the reading about Nagelsmann I did was early on, and that was a couple of laptops ago. So all of those old bookmarks are now gone. Meaning I'd have to literally scroll through Spielverlagerung to find their TSG-game analyses & skim them to find which ones google-translate cleanly enough to recommend. But if I can figure out the right keywords for google to find me what I'm vaguely remembering, will do.
> 
> Studying Nagelsmann has really been a delight. I'm happy for the competitiveness of the league that he won't be coaching Bayern next season...but I can't imagine anything better for the NT than to have Nagelsmann coaching half of them on a daily basis.



The only thing I found disappointing was their showing in Europe. Not the Liverpool games, because they played pretty well in those, but I thought they'd be a legitimate threat in the Europa but they fizzled out. I'd like to see if Hoffenheim are planning on adding or changing up their players (assuming they make the CL) and who it is that Nagelsmann will be looking for (I don't know anything about their budget or targets).


----------



## cgf

YNWA14 said:


> The only thing I found disappointing was their showing in Europe. Not the Liverpool games, because they played pretty well in those, but I thought they'd be a legitimate threat in the Europa but they fizzled out. I'd like to see if Hoffenheim are planning on adding or changing up their players (assuming they make the CL) and who it is that Nagelsmann will be looking for (I don't know anything about their budget or targets).




Yeah, it woulda been interesting to see TSG take the EL seriously, but he was clearly focused on trying to stabilize them in the league at that time.

As for Hoffenheim's plans. Hopp said near the start of this decade something to the effect of 'now that he had brought the club up, built them a stadium, and they had stabilized themselves in the first division, he was no longer going to bankroll hefty losses & the club would have to become self-sufficient...which they've been most of this decade, only buying what their budget would allow & focusing their money on youth & cheap reclamation projects.

So unless Hopp decides he's going to open his wallet up to the club again, to try to capitalize on the world-class coach he has at the moment to get TSG on that CL money-train, I would expect them to continue investing bigly in their academy but being restricted to making shrewd buys at the senior level that are funded in large part by player sales.

atm the most interesting players they are being linked to are the 2000 born Italo-German Winger/Forward Roberto Massimo, the out of contract midfielder Max Meyer, and the available-at-a-good-price-because-his-club-is-getting-relegated winger Leonardo Bittencourt; for a reference on what kind of shopping to expect from them...although with Kramaric possible to follow Wagner & Uth out the door, they might be forced to spend on forward.


----------



## davemess

Carlos Carvalhal wont be sticking around at Swansea. Had a good start but its all fallen apart the last month or so.

Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal to leave at end of season


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Unfortunately, most of the reading about Nagelsmann I did was early on, and that was a couple of laptops ago. So all of those old bookmarks are now gone. Meaning I'd have to literally scroll through Spielverlagerung to find their TSG-game analyses & skim them to find which ones google-translate cleanly enough to recommend. But if I can figure out the right keywords for google to find me what I'm vaguely remembering, will do.
> 
> Studying Nagelsmann has really been a delight. I'm happy for the competitiveness of the league that he won't be coaching Bayern next season...but I can't imagine anything better for the NT than to have Nagelsmann coaching half of them on a daily basis.




He has only been coaching at the senior level for 2 and a half years. You must burn through laptops pretty quickly.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> He has only been coaching at the senior level for 2 and a half years. You must burn through laptops pretty quickly.




 Two of those iterations were lady-friend related...but this one has been holding strong for almost a full year now!


----------



## maclean

cgf said:


> Two of those iterations were lady-friend related...but this one has been holding strong for almost a full year now!




You date a lot of junkies??


----------



## cgf

maclean said:


> You date a lot of junkies??




No, though I have been slutting it up since me and my ex have been more off than on lately.

...that said, I did date an addict when I was younger, so I would appreciate it if you didn't use that word. It's dismissive of people who have serious problems and need our help, not our scorn & contempt.


----------



## maclean

I feel like if I used a more serious word it wouldn't have been as obvious I was joking, but maybe it wasn't anyhow


----------



## Ceremony

You see what happens when the Lady Advice Thread gets canned? cgf spreads shite like this all over the place.


----------



## les Habs

"Lady Advice Thread"? Really? Did SEPH post there too?


----------



## Deficient Mode

les Habs said:


> "Lady Advice Thread"? Really? Did SEPH post there too?




Nearly spit out my coffee reading this. I'm so happy that most regular posters from this forum never posted in the lounge.


----------



## cgf

maclean said:


> I feel like if I used a more serious word it wouldn't have been as obvious I was joking, but maybe it wasn't anyhow




I hear ya, though I thought the extra punctuation got that across clearly enough, and would've done the same if you had used addicts instead. I would've even preferred druggies, if addicts is too serious for the tone you were shooting for. I just hate the word junkies, we're a dumb animal when we're at all distracted, and we're now distracted all of the time, so our brains make a lot of dumb connections.

It's why I've been making an effort to use the term "blueliners" instead of defencemen on the hockey boards. As quite how mad some folks get at blueliners for taking risks now that more of them actually have the skills to pull risky things off, annoys me constantly 

And junkies is another word that irks me because of those dumb connections that it gets some folks to make. The way so many people view addicts is just sickeningly cruel, which is why there's no cultural or political will to actually change the way this country (fails to) deal(s) with its meth & opioid problem.

...says the stoner who's prescribed a different amphetamine for his ADD...


----------



## SJSharks72

Rui Faria is leaving United at the end of the season. I could easily see them having Carrick fill that role immediately.


----------



## Live in the Now

Allegri is staying at Juve unless fired.

Source: himself


----------



## PansCyans

Italy likely announces Mancini on Tuesday.


----------



## SJSharks72

Tuchel to PSG is official (might be a little late on this)


----------



## Rocko604

Live in the Now said:


> Allegri is staying at Juve unless fired.
> 
> Source: himself




Arsenal probably offered him a pay cut and no transfer funds, so I'm not surprised.


----------



## davemess

Sky Sports saying its unlikely West Ham retain David Moyes.

Guessing the board think the best way to get the fans back on side is to appoint a manager they will like.


----------



## Savant

davemess said:


> Sky Sports saying its unlikely West Ham retain David Moyes.
> 
> Guessing the board think the best way to get the fans back on side is to appoint a manager they will like.



West Ham feels like a great spot for Darren Moore, although I'm sure they will want a bigger name.


----------



## davemess

Savant said:


> West Ham feels like a great spot for Darren Moore, although I'm sure they will want a bigger name.



Yeah that board is going to want to try and get a big name.


----------



## davemess

Mancini officially gets the Italy job.

Leaves Carlo Ancelotti as an option for somebody. Wonder if he fancies going back to London? (Arsenal?, West Ham? Chelsea again?  )


----------



## Savant

davemess said:


> Mancini officially gets the Italy job.
> 
> Leaves Carlo Ancelotti as an option for somebody. Wonder if he fancies going back to London? (Arsenal?, West Ham? Chelsea again?  )



Supposedly Ancelotti is lined up for Napoli when Sarri leaves.


----------



## PansCyans




----------



## cgf

Savant said:


> Supposedly Ancelotti is lined up for Napoli when Sarri leaves.




Sarri should learn german and come to Gladbach


----------



## KJS14

Most recent links to Arsenal are Arteta and Nagelsmann. I'm not sure whether the reports are reliable at all, but have our German friends seen anything recently? I know Nagelsmann basically denied the rumors a few weeks ago.


----------



## cgf

I don't even know anymore. I had heard that Nagelsmann to Bayern was basically already a done deal back in February/March...he wasn't even taking calls from BVB or other teams that wanted him...and then Hoeneß went out & signed Kovac instead. At this point I have to wonder if Nagelsmann won't just stick around with Hoffenheim for another year before moving to Bayern when Heynkes retires again next summer; after he's done saving them from Kovac. They did get into third to secure CL football for next season, and they're not looking like they are going to lose anyone from their midfield or defence this summer...and they're one of the favourites for Meyer.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Arsenal is gonna go with Arteta. If Ancelotti comes back to Chelsea, I'll not be too pleased.


----------



## KJS14

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Arsenal is gonna go with Arteta. If Ancelotti comes back to Chelsea, I'll not be too pleased.




I'd be disappointed with Arteta even though I think he could be a good manager. I like him, but it's a pretty big gamble at this stage in his coaching career.


----------



## cgf

tbh if I couldn't get one of the 20 or so "proven" coaches that I really rate, I'd rather gamble on someone who could be in that tier and at least has the right things going for them.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

KJS14 said:


> I'd be disappointed with Arteta even though I think he could be a good manager. I like him, but it's a pretty big gamble at this stage in his coaching career.




That would be career suicide for him.


----------



## KJS14

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> That would be career suicide for him.




Idk about that. If he does well he gets a lot of the credit. If he does poorly everyone will probably blame Kroenke and the core players (mostly Ozil/Ramsey/flavor of the week), and maybe even Wenger still.


----------



## Live in the Now

First time managers very rarely do well. I am glad they won't be getting Allegri.


----------



## Venkman

Why doesn't Blanc get linked with any jobs? Could be good for Arsenal.


----------



## PansCyans

Low extends for another full cycle 

https://www.fotmob.com/news/world/1vt0du78a0k0d1anb0o2umxfcx-BREAKING NEWS: Low extends Germany contract to 2022


----------



## Savant

Venkman said:


> Why doesn't Blanc get linked with any jobs? Could be good for Arsenal.



I mean he can afford to wait for any job that he wants to. Honestly, following Wenger at Arsenal is a pretty terrible situation. Its hard to be the person who directly follows a legend. It is more likely than not that person is going to take the lumps, especially from the fans and media. Arsenal becomes more attractive for the person who follows that person, but as of now it's a risky job in a lot of ways.


----------



## KJS14

Venkman said:


> Why doesn't Blanc get linked with any jobs? Could be good for Arsenal.




I would welcome Blanc with open arms.



Savant said:


> I mean he can afford to wait for any job that he wants to. Honestly, following Wenger at Arsenal is a pretty terrible situation. Its hard to be the person who directly follows a legend. It is more likely than not that person is going to take the lumps, especially from the fans and media. Arsenal becomes more attractive for the person who follows that person, but as of now it's a risky job in a lot of ways.




I don't think this is exactly that situation. When SAF went out after winning the title the team had nowhere to go but down, but with Arsenal there's room to improve immediately with some core pieces already in place. Obviously this depends on the available budget and other factors too.

A lot of managers are arrogant enough that following Wenger shouldn't weigh on their mind. If any potential manager is holding out simply because they're afraid to follow him, then I wouldn't want that person as manager anyways.


----------



## Evilo

Savant said:


> I mean he can afford to wait for any job that he wants to. Honestly, following Wenger at Arsenal is a pretty terrible situation. Its hard to be the person who directly follows a legend. It is more likely than not that person is going to take the lumps, especially from the fans and media. Arsenal becomes more attractive for the person who follows that person, but as of now it's a risky job in a lot of ways.



Blanc has said he has refused several jobs. He also said he wasn't interested in NT for now.
My guess is that he'll sign somewhere this summer and play great football yet again.


----------



## YNWA14

As Savant mentioned the Arsenal job is not an overly appealing one for the best managers out there right now who want to win right away. They're going to need some transition time, and patience with a new coach who can start a new foundation there.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Abramovich thinks he can sign Pochettino


----------



## Evilo

Give Blanc United's roster and not only would United at least be as good in the W column, but they'd play nice football, which is a rarity for them.
I'd say Blanc in 6 months could turn around Arsenal too.
Remember this is a guy who made his Bordeaux team play exquisite football, win the league, reach the CL QF, all of that with Gourcuff and a bunch of nobodies, including Chamakh as the serial scorer.
He gets the best out of his players.
As for his stay with PSG, they were rolling over everyone, lost on AG against Barca and Chelsea (in two fairly evenly matched ties). The only bad showing was against City. That cost him his job.


----------



## Savant

Evilo said:


> Blanc has said he has refused several jobs. He also said he wasn't interested in NT for now.
> My guess is that he'll sign somewhere this summer and play great football yet again.



I mean its manager musical chairs. He can wait for an open seat. It wouldnt surprise me if he is waiting to see if Year 3 Mourinho strikes and Man Utd. There arent many openings worthy of Blanc this summer. His last two jobs were PSG and France. Not a whole lot of options to go up from there.


----------



## Evilo

I'm not so sure. I think he doesn't want to come in the middle of the year. He said he refused some great jobs because of it.
Arsenal is a possibility, but as I've said in the past, the french card might be something Arsenal will want to get away from.
Bayern would have been great. He played in Italy, Spain and England so he speaks those three languages.
Maybe Napoli or Juve?


----------



## KJS14

Arsenal not an appealing job? 

You Liverpool fans must have really short memories considering you pulled Klopp after finishing 6th and had a squad even worse than Arsenal's current situation.


----------



## cgf

koyvoo said:


> Low extends for another full cycle
> 
> https://www.fotmob.com/news/world/1vt0du78a0k0d1anb0o2umxfcx-BREAKING NEWS: Low extends Germany contract to 2022




Ugh, he better retire if we win the WM again.


----------



## Chimaera

It's appealing in that it's an EPL job, with a club that's at least traditionally, in the top 5-6 in England.

The trouble is as you look under the hood, it's a difficult job. You're replacing a legend, you have a roster he built that's more than a bit piece meal, you have an ownership group that hasn't shown they're willing to spend to compete with the juggernauts in the EPL (City, United, Chelsea), and two young, strong contenders around them who are further in the building process.

It's an attractive job, and they pay more than some would get in the Bundesliga, but if I'm a hot young prospect, I might want to be the second manager to take a go at Arsenal.

As for Klopp to Liverpool, yes, the stars did align for them to end up with him. He was coming off a break, many of the other clubs he would be interested in had managers, he wanted a building project, and it worked out. However, in many ways, Klopp was made for a job like Liverpool, just like he would be made for a job like Arsenal's. He doesn't want to go to the pinnacle, he wants to get in there and experience some of the struggle. However, Liverpool had some factors that I don't think Arsenal have. For one, Klopp wasn't replacing a legend (far from it). Secondly, Liverpool have given pretty clear assurances that they're going to spend the money needed to get into the top 4. Maybe not as much as City, but they're willing to back the manager. I also think the roster makeup for Liverpool was much more attractive to Klopp than people think. He also probably has an affinity for the supporters. I think Arsenal offers a lot for a hire, the problem is, I don't know if there's a Klopp out there.


----------



## Venkman

I'd definitely like Blanc at United. Played there under Fergie, won the league, knows the club. Plays an attractive style which would get the best out of Pogba and the other attackers. Martial and Rashford started the season well but gradually their form dipped, Jose signed Sanchez and now their confidence is gone.


----------



## SJSharks72

Venkman said:


> I'd definitely like Blanc at United. Played there under Fergie, won the league, knows the club. Plays an attractive style which would get the best out of Pogba and the other attackers. Martial and Rashford started the season well but gradually their form dipped, Jose signed Sanchez and now their confidence is gone.



I agree with everything you said


----------



## KJS14

I'm not saying its a perfect job, but I'm also not stupid enough to believe its not an appealing one. There's a difference between "the right manager isn't available this summer" and "Arsenal isn't an appealing job."

This upcoming year will probably be another one where they could finish 4th with the right buys in GK/CB/DM or finish 5th/6th again. While Arsenal won't offer a ridiculous amount of money to turn it around immediately this summer, there's no reason to believe they can't be back in contention after 2 summer windows. They've shown they are willing to spend on players like Ozil, Alexis, Xhaka, Mustafi, Lacazette, and Auba. However if you miss on a 35m signing like Mustafi/Xhaka, then you don't get to go buy his replacement for another 40m the next summer.


----------



## YNWA14

...and who said that Arsenal wasn't an appealing job? It would be to a lot of managers. They're not going to walk back into the top 4 though, and they're likely to struggle for at least another season or two (probably longer as long as they aren't willing to spend big). Keep in mind that Arsenal's best players are not exactly young, either, so if they're not competing in the next few years they're going to need to be going through an overhaul of that as well just as they're potentially gaining some stability.

City, Chelsea and United had the funds to just buy their way out of issues. They could hit the reset button every year until something stuck if they wanted to (Chelsea less so now it seems). Arsenal is much more likely to experience a Liverpool type slump than they are to bounce back in the near future -- especially with the top 5 being so competitive now in terms of coaching, buying power and current foundations.

Comparing Arsenal and Liverpool with the Klopp thing is also silly, but not worth getting into.


----------



## KJS14

YNWA14 said:


> ...and who said that Arsenal wasn't an appealing job? It would be to a lot of managers. They're not going to walk back into the top 4 though, and they're likely to struggle for at least another season or two (probably longer as long as they aren't willing to spend big). Keep in mind that Arsenal's best players are not exactly young, either, so if they're not competing in the next few years they're going to need to be going through an overhaul of that as well just as they're potentially gaining some stability.
> 
> City, Chelsea and United had the funds to just buy their way out of issues. They could hit the reset button every year until something stuck if they wanted to (Chelsea less so now it seems). Arsenal is much more likely to experience a Liverpool type slump than they are to bounce back in the near future -- especially with the top 5 being so competitive now in terms of coaching, buying power and current foundations.
> 
> Comparing Arsenal and Liverpool with the Klopp thing is also silly, but not worth getting into.




I think I misread/misinterpreted what you said before about it not being appealing, sorry. But I don't think there is as big a gap between Arsenal and the teams above them as you seem to believe. If Arsenal make the right buys at GK/CB/DM then they could be fighting for top 4 this coming year, and the right buys don't have to involve throwing 50m at players like United, City, and Chelsea have done until it sticks.

Also, not all of the teams above Arsenal will continue to just get better. Some will and some won't. Chelsea regressed after winning the title due to questionable transfers and players adapting. United could implode under Mourinho at any moment just like at Chelsea. Liverpool is bringing in Keita for sure, but we don't know who else at this point. And will Salah be able to repeat a 45 goal season? Spurs are going to be paying off their stadium debt (which we know how that affected Arsenal) and could very well lose Kane/Dele/Eriksen in the near future.


----------



## Chimaera

Here's the problem, who is a reasonable get for them at GK? Which two central defenders are they going to go with? What about their fullback issues?

Who solves their midfield problem? Who replaces some of the players who are going to want to go with the transition? 

I think their striking partners are fine, and I think they have some parts to work around. But I would want to see another central midfielder, probably an attacking winger (unless you're playing a ton of some of their mediocre parts). 

I think the trouble is, they're going to need 70-80 million plus of player (and maybe more if they really want to get back into the top 4). Is their fan base willing to wait if they don't go out and spend? If they're only in 6th or so next season? 


Personally, I think they're much further than you think, and that's if Liverpool and Spurs stand pat, or Chelsea doesn't sink a boat load of cash into their club to get back into the CL.


----------



## cgf

The question with the Arsenal job will be what a new manager can do on the transfer front. If the new guy & Mislintat had the freedom to really control things on that front; so they could seal the Soyuncu deal and invest the kind of money Wenger has been spending on FWs & AMs, on deeper midfielders & backs instead; that could be a very appealing gig. That team has had serious roster flaws since the Wembley remodel first started, but they've still underachieved of late and not been as dangerous as they should've with the firepower Arsene has been splurging on.

So for a brilliant coach like Sarri or Nagelsmann, they'd have the opportunity to swiftly surpass the past ~decade of Wenger's tenure with a better-focused transfer policy. Which can be appealing in & of itself to the bigger egos that it's not uncommon for the truly top tier coaches to have. Then there's London, their massive revenues, the tradition of attractive football, and some fun talent for a coach like that to work with. They'd be must-watch TV if Nagelsmann was sending them out with something like this when healthy:

Lacazette - Aubamayeng
Kola/*XXX*- Mesut - Mhkitaryan - Bellerin
*Meyer*
Kola/*XXX* - Kos - *Soyuncu*​


----------



## cgf

Chimaera said:


> Here's the problem, who is a reasonable get for them at GK? Which two central defenders are they going to go with? What about their fullback issues?
> 
> Who solves their midfield problem? Who replaces some of the players who are going to want to go with the transition?
> 
> I think their striking partners are fine, and I think they have some parts to work around. But I would want to see another central midfielder, probably an attacking winger (unless you're playing a ton of some of their mediocre parts).
> 
> I think the trouble is, they're going to need 70-80 million plus of player (and maybe more if they really want to get back into the top 4). Is their fan base willing to wait if they don't go out and spend? If they're only in 6th or so next season?
> 
> 
> Personally, I think they're much further than you think, and that's if Liverpool and Spurs stand pat, or Chelsea doesn't sink a boat load of cash into their club to get back into the CL.




Soyuncu is a stud that they are apparently very close to signing. Bellerin & Kolasinac are talented enough, they just have to both be on form next season to create a good starting back 4 with Caglar & Kos. Their midfield would be solved with a proper 6, like the out-of-contract Max Meyer, and better structure. And there's a number of younger keepers that they could bring in who would be capable.

If they get one of the great coaches around like Sarri or Nagelsmann; like PSG did with Tuchel or BVB with Favre; then a lot of their issues won't be as prominently highlighted as they were under Wenger. So for me, the biggest question is who is going to be that new coach, and who will be calling the shots on the transfer front.


----------



## KJS14

There looks like there could be a lot of shuffle among top GKs this summer, so I'm not sure on specific targets. Perhaps someone like Areola gets pushed out of PSG for Oblak or a different upgrade. If the Soyuncu rumors are true, then that's a good start, but they should try to bring in another more experienced CB.

We're by no means in an ideal position, and I'm not expecting top 4 next year. If they hit on 2 signings for the back 5, then I think its a possibility but not a guarantee obviously. Anything that Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, and United do isn't guaranteed to be a success either. Just look at Chelsea this year.


----------



## Evilo

Chimaera said:


> Here's the problem, who is a reasonable get for them at GK? Which two central defenders are they going to go with? What about their fullback issues?
> 
> Who solves their midfield problem? Who replaces some of the players who are going to want to go with the transition?
> 
> I think their striking partners are fine, and I think they have some parts to work around. But I would want to see another central midfielder, probably an attacking winger (unless you're playing a ton of some of their mediocre parts).
> 
> I think the trouble is, they're going to need 70-80 million plus of player (and maybe more if they really want to get back into the top 4). Is their fan base willing to wait if they don't go out and spend? If they're only in 6th or so next season?
> 
> 
> Personally, I think they're much further than you think, and that's if Liverpool and Spurs stand pat, or Chelsea doesn't sink a boat load of cash into their club to get back into the CL.



I'll offer up a french market on that question.
Lafont, though still young has lots of potential. If PSG buys a new keeper, Areola is a fine young goalie.
On defense, plenty of good up and coming defensemen. Zouma? Pavard? Diop? As for FB, the choice is thin, just like everywhere. Still Mendy? Corchia? Meunier? Kurzawa? Toure?
So many choices in midfield it's crazy : Malcom, Tousard, Nkunku, Ndombele (might be out of reach?), Lopez, Fabinho (if nobody makes a bloody move for him), etc....

Lafont won't cost more than 10-15. Areola probably more like 25. Zouma, 25? Pavard 20? Diop 15? Mendy 15? Corchia 5? Meunier 10? Kurzawa 25? Toure 10? Malcom 50? Tousard 30? Nkunku 15? Ndombele 50? Lopez 25? Fabinho 60?
I think they can spend 90M and be happy with it. Sell a couple and they'd be fine.
And this is only dipping in the french players' market (which is cheap and valuable).


----------



## cgf

Fabinho or Meyer, and the structure of someone like Sarri or Nagelsmann, would solve so many problems for that Arsenal midfield.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

The large majority of sources say Arteta will be the next Arsenal manager. Cazorla to possibly be involved somehow.


----------



## Savant

KJS14 said:


> Arsenal not an appealing job?
> 
> You Liverpool fans must have really short memories considering you pulled Klopp after finishing 6th and had a squad even worse than Arsenal's current situation.



Klopp had to succeed Brendan Rodgers, caretaker Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson. The next Arsenal manager has to succeed Arsene Wenger. That is a massive difference. I would not want to follow a club legend. It has nothing to do with Arsenal as a club, but the next manager is going to have unrealistic (at a minimum) expectations. I'm not taking that job. I'd love that job after that guy is fired, but I wouldn't want to go right after Wenger.


----------



## Spoiled Bratt

Big Kahuna said:


> The large majority of sources say Arteta will be the next Arsenal manager. Cazorla to possibly be involved somehow.




If Arteta is the bench boss, I'll have to boycott the team for a while.


----------



## KJS14

Savant said:


> Klopp had to succeed Brendan Rodgers, caretaker Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson. The next Arsenal manager has to succeed Arsene Wenger. That is a massive difference. I would not want to follow a club legend. It has nothing to do with Arsenal as a club, but the next manager is going to have unrealistic (at a minimum) expectations. I'm not taking that job. I'd love that job after that guy is fired, but I wouldn't want to go right after Wenger.




I still don't think that's accurate. They finished 6th this year, not 1st like when SAF left. There aren't going to be huge expectations next year except from truly delusional fans, which every club has. In fact, they are already at their lowest point in over 20 years.

I'll be the first to say that once Arteta is announced I'll switch my position from him being "disappointing" to "he's the next tactical genius and that bald fraud pep jackson was holding him back."


----------



## cgf

I like the ballsiness to pick Arteta. Definitely a much more positive sign, succeed or fail, than if they had recycled someone like Ancelotti instead. And fortunately for them, Arteta shouldn't have trouble getting the locker-room to listen to him...having so recently been a part of that locker-room...which is where many bright first-time managers that end up failing, fail.


----------



## Chimaera

Evilo said:


> I'll offer up a french market on that question.
> Lafont, though still young has lots of potential. If PSG buys a new keeper, Areola is a fine young goalie.
> On defense, plenty of good up and coming defensemen. Zouma? Pavard? Diop? As for FB, the choice is thin, just like everywhere. Still Mendy? Corchia? Meunier? Kurzawa? Toure?
> So many choices in midfield it's crazy : Malcom, Tousard, Nkunku, Ndombele (might be out of reach?), Lopez, Fabinho (if nobody makes a bloody move for him), etc....
> 
> Lafont won't cost more than 10-15. Areola probably more like 25. Zouma, 25? Pavard 20? Diop 15? Mendy 15? Corchia 5? Meunier 10? Kurzawa 25? Toure 10? Malcom 50? Tousard 30? Nkunku 15? Ndombele 50? Lopez 25? Fabinho 60?
> I think they can spend 90M and be happy with it. Sell a couple and they'd be fine.
> And this is only dipping in the french players' market (which is cheap and valuable).




I mean, I guess that’s possible, but I have to think some of them are going to be snapped up by other clubs. It just seems like a lot of turnover. 

I also think that while the French market might be a bit of a buyers value still, that’s not going to last as long as EPL clubs have buckets of cash to spend and only so many places to spend it. I think some of those prices are a bit short of what they’ll cost. 

Maybe they’re closer than I think, but I also don’t rate a lot of what is there (whether that’s due to how Wenger used them or what) but I think if it was me I’d clear out a whole lot of them.


----------



## phisherman

Let's ignore the fact that Arsenal had the 2nd best home record in the EPL this season and only finished 6 due to their horrible away record. But somehow Liverpool is supposed to be mega title challengers next year even though they barely finished 4th again!


----------



## PansCyans




----------



## Chimaera

Wait wait, Arsenal can’t win on the road, are 6th, no manager at all, no proof they’ll spend what it takes and Liverpool should be concerned?


Liverpool already have Keita on the board. They’re getting a full season of VVD.


----------



## phisherman

Chimaera said:


> Wait wait, Arsenal can’t win on the road, are 6th, no manager at all, no proof they’ll spend what it takes and Liverpool should be concerned?
> 
> 
> Liverpool already have Keita on the board. They’re getting a full season of VVD.




Are you dumb? You and your ilk are already proclaiming to be the only challengers to City next season while barely finishing 4th yet Arsenal is in midtable hell even though they had the 2nd best home record and only finished 6th due to an abysmal away record.

You have no proof they won't spend either.


----------



## PansCyans

This is interesting


----------



## Live in the Now

There was a story that Buvac could be returning.


----------



## Cassano

Arteta will be a garbage hire IMO.

Bad captain for Arsenal that never really stood up for the team.

Brought in by Pep solely to ration out the hair ratio for the coaching staff.

Zero managerial experience in his career.

Cheap hire by the board to get past the ensuing period of hell. (key players are getting too old and limited youth to replace them.)


----------



## Deficient Mode

All Might said:


> Arteta will be a garbage hire IMO.
> 
> Bad captain for Arsenal that never really stood up for the team.
> 
> *Brought in by Pep solely to ration out the hair ratio for the coaching staff.*
> 
> Zero managerial experience in his career.
> 
> Cheap hire by the board to get past the ensuing period of hell. (key players are getting too old and limited youth to replace them.)




Damn. Should have hired Puyol if that was a concern.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

You should be glad then. He'll make an easy scapegoat.


----------



## Savant

phisherman said:


> Are you dumb? You and your ilk are already proclaiming to be the only challengers to City next season while barely finishing 4th yet Arsenal is in midtable hell even though they had the 2nd best home record and only finished 6th due to an abysmal away record.
> 
> You have no proof they won't spend either.



I dont think I ever said "only challengers" 

I did say that LFC will have their best squad on paper since at least FSG tooo over unless they do something monumentally stupid. Also there is no way they are as unlucky as they were in the league this season. I think that counts for something, and yes I think LFC have just as good a chance, if not better than anyone else. I dont think there is anything criminal about that.

I think the London teams are going to be fighting for one spot again next year, and I think they are all pretty equal.


----------



## YNWA14

Chelsea and Spurs are both clearly a level above Arsenal at the moment.


----------



## Edo

Savant said:


> I dont think I ever said "only challengers"
> 
> I did say that LFC will have their best squad on paper since at least FSG tooo over unless they do something monumentally stupid. *Also there is no way they are as unlucky as they were in the league this season. *I think that counts for something, and yes I think LFC have just as good a chance, if not better than anyone else. I dont think there is anything criminal about that.
> 
> I think the London teams are going to be fighting for one spot again next year, and I think they are all pretty equal.




Liverpool fans. How in the shit were you guys unlucky this season?


----------



## Live in the Now

Edo said:


> Liverpool fans. How in the **** were you guys unlucky this season?




In the league? The part about only getting one penalty at Anfield when there were countless others deserving of a call. Watford game first weekend where the referee hands them an offside equalizer. West Brom player punching our players two times with no call. Sure it didn't hurt them that bad, they did finish with 75 points, but unlucky is a fair statement.


----------



## booyakasha

Big Kahuna said:


> The large majority of sources say Arteta will be the next Arsenal manager. Cazorla to possibly be involved somehow.



Cazorla to be a player/coach ala Michael Carrick role with Utd. IMO


----------



## booyakasha

Arteta in as Manager
Sokratis, and Soyoncu in on D
Seri to inject some life in midfield


----------



## Live in the Now

booyakasha said:


> Arteta in as Manager
> Sokratis, and Soyoncu in on D
> Seri to inject some life in midfield




I would also buy a new right back but can't see that happening. New GK too. Their bench isn't great either, which is also the case for Liverpool, but at least Liverpool doesn't need to buy a bunch of starters.


----------



## Savant

YNWA14 said:


> Chelsea and Spurs are both clearly a level above Arsenal at the moment.



I dont know if I agree with that. They all have their issues. It wouldnt shock me if Arsenal at least jumped Chelsea next season. But who knows what Arteta is going to bring to the table


----------



## HajdukSplit

koyvoo said:


> This is interesting





This was linked in the Croatian press the moment Kovac was announced by Bayern so there must have been contacts for a while. Bilic does speak German too


----------



## booyakasha

Savant said:


> I dont know if I agree with that. They all have their issues. It wouldnt shock me if Arsenal at least jumped Chelsea next season. *But who knows what Arteta is going to bring to the table[*/QUOTE]




'My dream was to play for Arsenal'

_"My philosophy will be clear. I will have everyone 120 per cent committed, that’s the first thing. If not, you don’t play for me. When it’s time to work it’s time to work, and when it’s time to have fun then I’m the first one to do it, but that commitment is vital. Then I want the football to be expressive, entertaining. I cannot have a concept of football where everything is based on the opposition. We have to dictate the game, we have to be the ones taking the initiative, and we have to entertain the people coming to watch us. I’m 100 per cent convinced of those things, and I think I could do it."_


----------



## Savant

booyakasha said:


> 'My dream was to play for Arsenal'
> 
> _"My philosophy will be clear. I will have everyone 120 per cent committed, that’s the first thing. If not, you don’t play for me. When it’s time to work it’s time to work, and when it’s time to have fun then I’m the first one to do it, but that commitment is vital. Then I want the football to be expressive, entertaining. I cannot have a concept of football where everything is based on the opposition. We have to dictate the game, we have to be the ones taking the initiative, and we have to entertain the people coming to watch us. I’m 100 per cent convinced of those things, and I think I could do it."_



I mean that's all fine and good, but we will have to see what happens on the field.


----------



## Live in the Now

I actually agree with Curt on this. Both teams have better players and have shown better cohesion, which bears out in how many points both teams got this season, even when Chelsea struggled. Maybe there are better new players all three teams will get, there is literally no way to know that right now. 

Arsenal finished 12 points worse than last season and only won 4 away matches. That's incredible on two levels because they won 15 games at home which is something not likely to happen again and neither is only winning 4 away matches. Not only that but big clubs shouldn't hire first time managers. I would have thought Seedorf and Neville would be good managers but they knew practically nothing.


----------



## booyakasha

Savant said:


> I mean that's all fine and good, but we will have to see what happens on the field.



Agreed.

I'll give him a chance for sure, and support him no matter.

I did whenWenger entered the picture, and also, if Guardiola, and Wenger back him, then who am I to doubt?


----------



## Savant

booyakasha said:


> Agreed.
> 
> I'll give him a chance for sure, and support him no matter.
> 
> I did whenWenger entered the picture, and also, if Guardiola, and Wenger back him, then who am I to doubt?



As you should. Nothing wrong with that.


----------



## Live in the Now

booyakasha said:


> Agreed.
> 
> I'll give him a chance for sure, and support him no matter.
> 
> I did whenWenger entered the picture, and also, if Guardiola, and Wenger back him, then who am I to doubt?




Understandable, but if Klopp and Benitez backed Gerrard to take the Liverpool job right now I would be super pissed. I would be expecting rivals to howl with laughter.

Of course they're going to back him though because what else are they going to do?


----------



## phisherman

Live in the Now said:


> Arsenal finished 12 points worse than last season and only won 4 away matches. That's incredible on two levels because they won 15 games at home which is something not likely to happen again and neither is only winning 4 away matches. Not only that but big clubs shouldn't hire first time managers. I would have thought Seedorf and Neville would be good managers but they knew practically nothing.




Arsenal placed top 4 in the home table in the past 4 years finishing ahead of Liverpool in all those years. If Arteta can fix their away record while just maintaining their home record, which is surprising considering the Emirates is either quiet or booing the team, then they have a very good shot of finishing top 4.


----------



## booyakasha

Live in the Now said:


> Understandable, but if Klopp and Benitez backed Gerrard to take the Liverpool job right now I would be super pissed. I would be expecting rivals to howl with laughter.
> 
> Of course they're going to back him though because *what else are they going to do?*




like someone already said, "boycott the club"


----------



## KJS14

Arteta + Cazorla = golden age of Arsenal.


----------



## phisherman

Also Arsenal has gotten rid of a lot of dead weight in the staffing department. Arteta is going to be able to bring in his own staff.


----------



## Cassano

phisherman said:


> Also Arsenal has gotten rid of a lot of dead weight in the staffing department. Arteta is going to be able to bring in his own staff.



Gazidis and Kroenke still pulling the strings. Next manager is a puppet for the board.


----------



## booyakasha

KJS14 said:


> Arteta + Cazorla = golden age of Arsenal.




...Arsenal director Raul Sanllehi, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, complete gutting of the back room....etc.

what Arsenal needs is to give the next man is patiance, and stability, and will only need to concentrate on the football, not the business.


----------



## KJS14

booyakasha said:


> ...Arsenal director Raul Sanllehi, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, complete gutting of the back room....etc.
> 
> what Arsenal needs is to give the next man is patiance, and stability, and will only need to concentrate on the football, not the business.




I'm still not confident in Arteta as a first time manager, but like cgf said, I'd rather take a chance on him than someone like Ancelotti.


----------



## Bon Esprit

RB Leipzig and Hasenhüttl part ways multiple sources say.


----------



## Savant

Moyes out at West Ham and Alladyce out at Everton. Looking forward to them switching jobs next season.


----------



## cgf

After how much shit I gave Eintracht for employing Kovac long enough for Hoeneß to lose his mind completely, I have to tip my cap to them for this hire. I really liked the way Young Boys played under Hütter and was curious to see him move to a bigger league...he was actually lowkey the guy I wanted BMG to replace Hecking with when I was forcing myself to be realistic, and I was disappointed that Werder couldn't lure him to germany a year ago.


----------



## Spoiled Bratt

How can you bring in an inexperience coach at a club like Arsenal is beyond me. This ain't time to start trying shit out with someone that was a brutal captain and a mediocre player for Arsenal.

To me, if this goes down, it's just another bonehead decision made by a board that has no vision and will do whatever they can to save a buck.

I was really happy that my team was heading in another direction, just like when my Devils moved on from Lou Lamoriello, but they went after someone with experience instead of a rookie ex player. I would've been pissed if they would've hired Brodeur, for example. 

Arsenal are turning into a joke is what it is.


----------



## Chimaera

I mean, you have to see how it plays out. 

But once again, do you really think a first year manager, with no clout is going to be able to say, "look, you better provide me funds or else", or "I need this player, and not that player".

Arteta is just happy to have the job. He's not going to be able to go and demand things. 

I'm sure he got a promise of some sort of backing, if that's the way they go, but I can't see this move as a good one. Odds and track record are certainly against it.


----------



## Chimaera

phisherman said:


> Are you dumb? You and your ilk are already proclaiming to be the only challengers to City next season while barely finishing 4th yet Arsenal is in midtable hell even though they had the 2nd best home record and only finished 6th due to an abysmal away record.
> 
> You have no proof they won't spend either.





They finished 6th because their roster is mediocre, they have a manager who has lost it years ago, and they can't compete with the clubs around them. Their record against the top 6 challengers is poor, and they don't have the squad to compete on all fronts anymore. 

As for your consistent insults/personal attacks, you basically just troll around these parts. You can feel what you want, and say what you want, but the slights aren't needed. I'm going to put you on ignore, and I would encourage you to do the same for me.


----------



## KJS14

I doubt Arteta will have much responsibility for the transfers anyways. Mislintat, Sanllehi, and Gazidis will likely have most of the say on the players coming in. Arteta will be more of a coach than a full-on manager to start, which according to Pep, Wenger, and others he seems to have some promise.


----------



## Spoiled Bratt

KJS14 said:


> I doubt Arteta will have much responsibility for the transfers anyways. Mislintat, Sanllehi, and Gazidis will likely have most of the say on the players coming in. Arteta will be more of a coach than a full-on manager to start, which according to Pep, Wenger, and others he seems to have some promise.




That's great and all but I don't understand how you can coach a team you didn't really put together yourself. If he does have a vision of what type of game his team should be playing, and he should, he should have his say in what type of players we sign.

He'll be the boards puppet and I can't see him ripping anyone in that lockeroom if things get heated. You need to earn your stripes in order to rip into your star players and that's basically the main reason why I think this will turn out real bad, real soon.

I can't see Arteta telling Ozil that he needs to give a better effort, on a more consistent basis. This is not a club where a coach get's to remove his training wheels, let alone get his first kick at the can.


----------



## cgf

Who cares that he’s inexperienced if he’s good? Nagelsmann is younger than Neuer, Khedira & Gomez, having just turned 30 last summer, and he’s been the best coach in Germany for two & a half seasons already 

I’m not an Arsenal fan, but in general I’s rather gamble on someone promising but unproven like Arteta, than recycle someone who’s proven to not be that good like Ancelotti.


----------



## cgf

Taylor Hall said:


> That's great and all but I don't understand how you can coach a team you didn't really put together yourself.




Coaches do that in literally every league except for the EPL...


----------



## Chimaera

He still will have some input in who to buy and who goes into his squad.

I agree that getting a promising manager is best, but it's not like they couldn't have gotten someone with some managerial experience.

Maybe Arteta is the guy. But my problem with that is I would rather have someone who has pulled something off as the man in charge somewhere, than someone who has been a fine number two. Arsenal is too big to be the laboratory for whether or not Arteta can cut it. It's also not like he's a 'club legend' or something.


----------



## Spoiled Bratt

cgf said:


> Who cares that he’s inexperienced if he’s good? Nagelsmann is younger than Neuer, Khedira & Gomez, having just turned 30 last summer, and he’s been the best coach in Germany for two & a half seasons already
> 
> I’m not an Arsenal fan, but in general I’s rather gamble on someone promising but unproven like Arteta, than recycle someone who’s proven to not be that good like Ancelotti.




But Arteta isn't proven and who knows if he's good... he never managed anything in his life.

Anyways, having a ex player on his first coaching stint, for a "major club" just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.


----------



## cgf

Who should they have gotten? They missed out on Tuchel, Nagelsmann is waiting for the Bayern job, Favre would never coach in London, and Sarri seems like he’s staying put as well.

They don’t have a great proven option, so they’re going to have to compromise on proveness or quality. And in that situation why would you ever compromise on quality instead of proveness? If not Arteta they’d be gambling on someone else or settling for some who’s worse than what they needed


----------



## cgf

Taylor Hall said:


> But Arteta isn't proven and who knows if he's good... he never managed anything in his life.
> 
> Anyways, having a ex player on his first coaching stint, for a "major club" just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.




Exactly, Arteta is not proven, so why wouldn’t you want him instead of someone who’s proven to not be good enough?

And plenty of excellent managers thrived in their first jobs, so that complaint doesn’t do much for me


----------



## Spoiled Bratt

cgf said:


> Exactly, Arteta is not proven, so why wouldn’t you want him instead of someone who’s proven to not be good enough?
> 
> And plenty of excellent managers thrived in their first jobs, so that complaint doesn’t do much for me




Arsenal isn't a club where you give an unproven manager his first gig ever.

I can understand if that unproven coach was a legend of the club and demanded the respect of everyone in that lockeroom the second he puts foot in the stadium but Arteta isn't that player and he was a mediocre captain when he was here.

Anyways, he might be the solution but I doubt it very much.


----------



## KJS14

A lot of players at the club have previously said they hold/held a lot of respect for Arteta, so I don't see an issue in him "not being able to rip someone in the locker room. " If they wanted someone to rip on Ozil for no reason (because his criticism is generally wrong and he's a scapegoat), they would have made a dumb hiring like Allardyce. I'm not 100% convinced by Arteta, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until we actually see his performance.

Not sure how he was ever a mediocre captain (which several of you have said) when many players have a lot of respect for him. You don't have to be a great player to be a good captain, or manager for that matter.


----------



## cgf

Yeah I don’t get that point. Yes, he’ll have to be a successful man manager to be a successful manager. Even a hyper tactician like Nagelsmann acknowledges that that’s 70% of coaching. So yes, Arteta will need to be able to get his players to buy in...just like any other coach...

And what is this “Arsenal isn’t a club who...” bullshit? Arsenal are a club who haven’t been contenders for the league in damn near a decade and who need to be bold if they’re to avoid falling further behind. Nothing would cement their position as the least of the big 6 faster than a tepid hire like Ancelotti


----------



## Chimaera

cgf said:


> Who should they have gotten? They missed out on Tuchel, Nagelsmann is waiting for the Bayern job, Favre would never coach in London, and Sarri seems like he’s staying put as well.
> 
> They don’t have a great proven option, so they’re going to have to compromise on proveness or quality. And in that situation why would you ever compromise on quality instead of proveness? If not Arteta they’d be gambling on someone else or settling for some who’s worse than what they needed





If those three were the best options, and none were willing to come to Arsenal at this point, maybe you appoint a guy who is a clear transitional figure. Get someone who can steward the team through their obvious rebuild needed, and then when your young upstart manager is available, you go get him. 

I just have to wonder how much they're actually offering to some of the young options that are out there. I have to wonder whether the job is really that attractive. 

I'm not up to date on who the flavor of the month is, or who particularly should be the manager of the day, but you have to think there's someone who they could have gotten if there were enough zeros on the page to hire them.


----------



## Chimaera

note, I concede the point that Arsenal are probably operating with the Sporting Director picking the players, and the manager operating more like a coach method, so Arteta might not screw things up that poorly, but I just wonder if taking a chance on him is the way to go. 

At least Viera would have been a club legend and has some experience doing the whole bit.


----------



## Savant

Chimaera said:


> note, I concede the point that Arsenal are probably operating with the Sporting Director picking the players, and the manager operating more like a coach method, so Arteta might not screw things up that poorly, but I just wonder if taking a chance on him is the way to go.
> 
> At least Viera would have been a club legend and has some experience doing the whole bit.



Arsenal called Vieira and Vieira said he thought they were putting him through the ringer. He didnt like that


----------



## cgf

Chimaera said:


> note, I concede the point that Arsenal are probably operating with the Sporting Director picking the players, and the manager operating more like a coach method, so Arteta might not screw things up that poorly, but I just wonder if taking a chance on him is the way to go.
> 
> *At least Viera would have been a club legend* and has some experience doing the whole bit.




Why do people bring that up as if it matters at all? If a coach has good management skills then his playing career could have ended as a youth. If he doesn't, then he could be a multiple BdO winner & still lose the room. Arteta seems to have players' respect, and he's getting as great a tactical education as any first-time coach could ask for. So where does this assumption that he'll struggle any more than a proven caretaker would, come from? Arsenal needs to turn things around quickly or fall far behind the other top teams. Putzing around for a few years before making any real strides doesn't serve them at all.


----------



## cgf

Savant said:


> Arsenal called Vieira and Vieira said he thought they were putting him through the ringer. He didnt like that




That's always a good sign for a novice coach, not liking anyone questioning you or making you work for an opportunity...

...sounds like they lucked out on that one.


----------



## Chimaera

I don't think his saying they put him through the ringer is a bad thing. He probably knows more than anyone else that he was just a token interview. Vieira being part of Arsenal's history does mean something. Sure, Arteta played for them, but he doesn't have the same respect or established credibility with supporters. If you're going to go for someone who is inexperienced (and they both are) then you're much better going with someone who might be able to get a bit more rope from the supporters before they're calling for their removal. There also is something to be said about the passion and knowing what the club means. Arteta knows a bit, and I think he'll treat it with some respect, but he doesn't have the same credibility.

If Klopp was to leave, I wouldn't want Steven Gerrard to be the manager of LFC. But at the same time, if it was Steven Gerrard or someone else who was inexperienced and basically had no management history, I would take Gerrard in a heartbeat. He knows what the club stands for, and while he might not be the best guy for the job, he also would do anything for this club. Being a legend, and knowing how close he's tied to it, I would at least be willing to give him a bit more of a chance.


And note, while I don't want to turn it into that debate, I do know there is still some stigma against some players ending up as managers. I don't think them not hiring him isn't completely related, but I do think it's something that the league needs to push for as they go forward. Obviously, the best manager option should get the job. But I do think there's a bit of a question on the fact that there's only Hughton in the EPL and barely any minority managers in the top 4 leagues in England and much of Europe in general. I do think there is some growth there that needs to occur at some point.


----------



## KJS14

Wenger was a crap player and look at all of his accomplishments.....


----------



## KJS14

Chimaera said:


> If Klopp was to leave, I wouldn't want Steven Gerrard to be the manager of LFC. But at the same time, *if it was Steven Gerrard or someone else who was inexperienced and basically had no management history, I would take Gerrard in a heartbeat.* He knows what the club stands for, and while he might not be the best guy for the job, he also would do anything for this club. Being a legend, and knowing how close he's tied to it, I would at least be willing to give him a bit more of a chance.




I'd rather interview both candidates and hear their plans for the club, their tactical beliefs, etc. Playing careers have almost zero bearing on how good of a manager someone will become.


----------



## Chimaera

What they feel, what they think, and how they actually perform, interview or not are completely different. 

God knows as a fan of the Washington NFL team, Jim freaking Zorn talked his way into a head coaching job, and that was a disaster. He got the job because he was an amazing interview. The number of people who can sell themselves and actually do the job are far between. 

Neither one has done anything on the pitch as a manager to make it an automatic appointment.


----------



## KJS14

Chimaera said:


> What they feel, what they think, and how they actually perform, interview or not are completely different.
> 
> God knows as a fan of the Washington NFL team, Jim freaking Zorn talked his way into a head coaching job, and that was a disaster. He got the job because he was an amazing interview. The number of people who can sell themselves and actually do the job are far between.
> 
> Neither one has done anything on the pitch as a manager to make it an automatic appointment.




Well yeah, but neither is a homerun hire. Vieira has some more managing experience, but not enough where I'm taking that into account more than each candidates respective plans for the club. None of us know how either of them would perform at this point, but half the Arsenal fans (and a few others) here are already writing him off.

Edit: to be clear, its a combination of factors, and in your hypothetical I'm not appointing Steven Gerrard over another inexperienced guy just because he's a better player.


----------



## davemess

Guessing Everton wont appoint a new coach for a while, don't think Marcel Brands starts as director of football until June 1.


----------



## cgf

Snyder being incompetent doesn't mean everyone else should assume that they to are incompetent.


----------



## Chimaera

cgf said:


> Snyder being incompetent doesn't mean everyone else should assume that they to are incompetent.



Is Arsenal's board competent? 

Heck, Uncle Woy talked his way into the Liverpool job (with a big assist from the English media). 

There's hundreds of managers who talked their way into jobs they shouldn't have gotten. It's not an experience that's limited to certain places or sports.


----------



## cgf

Chimaera said:


> Is Arsenal's board competent?
> 
> Heck, Uncle Woy talked his way into the Liverpool job (with a big assist from the English media).
> 
> There's hundreds of managers who talked their way into jobs they shouldn't have gotten. It's not an experience that's limited to certain places or sports.




They did bring in Mislintat


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Arteta is perfect for Arsenal. The gig is going to be difficult and more than likely the next guy would fail if they just did 'normal managing' or tried to squeeze results out of the veteran players at the club. 

Meanwhile, Arteta has a clear vision and seems eager to implement it. It's a low risk, high reward option. If he messes up and fails, you can get rid of him without much backlash and go for someone else.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Eintracht Frankfurt will hire Adi Hutter, who just won the Swiss title with Young Boys. He worked mostly with Red Bull Salzburg from their youth set up to the first team

RB Leipzig is also looking for a new manager after Hasenhuttl resigned


----------



## Stray Wasp

Strange that none of you are proposing the obvious dream team that is now available to settle in at the Emirates- Pardew as manager, Allardyce as director of football, Moyes as assistant.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Stray Wasp said:


> Strange that none of you are proposing the obvious dream team that is now available to settle in at the Emirates- Pardew as manager, Allardyce as director of football, Moyes as assistant.




That's more of a nightmare... I want all three managing full-time.


----------



## KJS14

Stray Wasp said:


> Strange that none of you are proposing the obvious dream team that is now available to settle in at the Emirates- Pardew as manager, Allardyce as director of football, Moyes as assistant.




Let's give the rest of the league a fighting chance, ok?


----------



## Chimaera

I mean, Moyes can always get the job back at United.


----------



## Savant

West Ham is trying to get Benitez out of Newcastle. 

Benitez wants to stay, BUT he wants some promises from ownership, especially backing in the transfer market.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Sarri might stay after all.


----------



## Chimaera

If I'm Rafa I don't want either job. But it is what it is.


----------



## Ceremony

I'd love to see Big Sam at Arsenal, purely because his unique brand of hoofball would bypass Jack Wilshere completely and his career would finally hurry up and disappear at the mid-to-lower-table nonentity it's destined to, and the English media could stop wondering why he isn't selected for tournaments.

Sorry, I've rather let my imagination get the better of me. If you think Big "Big" Sam, Pardiola or Moyes would be funnier than Arteta you're very wrong.


----------



## Chimaera

Come now, shouldn't they be banging the drum about how Uncle 'Woy needs a top 4 job again? 

Let him manage the Arsenal. Wouldn't even have to throw out the prune juice and digestive biscuits.


----------



## PansCyans

Pep extends two more years 

Guardiola signs two-year contract extension at Manchester City


----------



## les Habs

koyvoo said:


> Pep extends two more years
> 
> Guardiola signs two-year contract extension at Manchester City




I saw this earlier today. Big news for City and likely bad news for the rest of the league.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

koyvoo said:


> Pep extends two more years
> 
> Guardiola signs two-year contract extension at Manchester City



It will be interesting to see what his next move would be... if you follow his history the next destination is PSG or maybe Juve?

Then what I doubt he manages another team in the EPL...


----------



## cgf

PSG for sure.

I'm curious what happens after that, would he ever get bored with dominating & want to go somewhere like Leipzig to see if he could beat Bayern with them?


----------



## Cassano

cgf said:


> PSG for sure.
> 
> I'm curious what happens after that, would he ever get bored with dominating & want to go somewhere like Leipzig to see if he could beat Bayern with them?



He said previously he would like to coach the Spanish NT for a world cup.


----------



## Chimaera

I mean, while the two more years is trouble for the rest, it's kinda expected isn't it? He doesn't seem like he is done, and I think he wants to get the CL win to stamp his legacy. Plus, there are only so many more jobs he could do (PSG, National Team) after this one.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Doesn't sound like too much even though they have the highest ticket prices in the world.


----------



## Havre

I'm not completely up to date in this thread, but Blanc makes too much sense for Arsenal?

Not saying Arteta might not work, but that is a huge gamble. Not sure why it is necessary to take it when you got good alternatives available. And for Blanc why wouldn't he want it? I agree it is tricky to take over from managers that have been at a club for a long period of time, but as others have mentioned this is not Ferguson leaving with a PL title. If anything I expect Arsenal to bounce back a bit next season regardless of what they do in the summer and who they hire. Arsenal haven't got a fantastic squad, but right now I think it is underperforming. So if I were Blanc I wouldn't be too worried about taking over from Wenger.


----------



## Live in the Now

Big Kahuna said:


> Doesn't sound like too much even though they have the highest ticket prices in the world.





Yeah it's not. They probably can't spend more due to regulations either, and there are very few players they can get sale money for. Ramsey is the only one that really comes to mind. They also did just have a summer where they spent 80m and lost CL money for two years running.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Lambert leaves Stoke

Steve McClaren returns and takes over QPR


----------



## les Habs

Unzue leaving Celta by mutual decision. Missing out on Europe was disappointing for the club so I'm assuming he was essentially let go.


----------



## Blender

Big Kahuna said:


> Doesn't sound like too much even though they have the highest ticket prices in the world.




I think around £50m is the minimum they need to spend to even keep pace with their current spot.


----------



## Live in the Now

Blender said:


> I think around £50m is the minimum they need to spend to even keep pace with their current spot.




They'll not be surpassed for 6th even if they spent nothing.

To get in the top four I think they need to spend 100m net. The other teams have much better defenders than they do.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## SJSharks72

Live in the Now said:


> They'll not be surpassed for 6th even if they spent nothing.
> 
> To get in the top four I think they need to spend 100m net. The other teams have much better defenders than they do.



I don’t think United do...


----------



## Savant

SJSharks39 said:


> I don’t think United do...



United has De Gea though


----------



## KJS14

Soyuncu + GK + midfielder will be fine. Not ideal, but fine.


----------



## Evilo

Vieira is very close to Nice.


----------



## Chimaera

Live in the Now said:


> They'll not be surpassed for 6th even if they spent nothing.
> 
> To get in the top four I think they need to spend 100m net. The other teams have much better defenders than they do.



If Ramsey goes, and I think it's possible to raise funds, their midfield is also worse.


----------



## SJSharks72

Evilo said:


> Vieira is very close to Nice.



After all of his talk about loving NY and not wanting to leave yet because of “unfinished business”


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Wenger's successor has been announced:


----------



## Deficient Mode

Emery is a decent choice.


----------



## Cassano

Cut my life into pieces.


----------



## Live in the Now

All Might said:


> Cut my life into pieces.




Why? Arsenal isn't going to challenge for the league anytime soon, but Emery can get lots of good results and put them back in the CL.


----------



## cgf

Emery is a bad fit for that roster's strengths and basically concedes the top 4. While they probably could've done worse, this is a very unambitious hire and they could've done much better...or at least someone who might be a lot better.


----------



## maclean

Eeeeeewwww


----------



## booyakasha

KJS14 said:


> Soyuncu + GK + midfielder will be fine. Not ideal, but fine.



Sokaratis, Soyuncu, Bernd Leno, and Seri.


----------



## booyakasha

Bienvenido señor


----------



## Chimaera

Well, he’s more along the lines of what I said they might think about doing which was a transition guy to steady the ship, start a rebuild and get them back to closer where they want to be. Then get the prodigy. 

He isn’t the worst.


----------



## Cassano

Live in the Now said:


> Why? Arsenal isn't going to challenge for the league anytime soon, but Emery can get lots of good results and put them back in the CL.



He was very poor in his PSG tenure.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

booyakasha said:


> Sokaratis, Soyuncu, Bernd Leno, and Seri.




Good luck with that when you have a £50M budget.


----------



## Chimaera

Arsenal are much more like Sevilla than PSG than Fan TV would want to admit


----------



## booyakasha

Big Kahuna said:


> Good luck with that when you have a £50M budget.



Let me dream...it's atleast a reasonable dream.


----------



## Deficient Mode

booyakasha said:


> Sokaratis, Soyuncu, Bernd Leno, and Seri.




Shouldn't have let go of Szczesny lol

Leno doesn't deserve a starting spot at Arsenal


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

I think Arteta would've been a better pick. Long term investment, put the emphasis on stability going forward and slowly building back up. Emery seems to me to be more of a "we want results right this second" hire.


----------



## Stray Wasp

All Might said:


> He was very poor in his PSG tenure.




The question is what that tenure proves.

Maybe it proves Emery's star is on the wane full stop. Maybe it proves that although he's an accomplished manager, he's not cut out for a front runner's job working with stars as opposed to simply good players. In which case, Arsenal's current level may fit him to a tee. 

I'd endorse Chimaera's assessment of Emery, if I was competent at using multi-quote. Admittedly, labelling someone a 'transition guy' seems like damning with faint praise, but I don't expect Emery to bring about a collapse of Sir David Moyes proportions.

Had Arteta been appointed, I'd have been amazed. I don't expect to see a major EPL club risk an appointment of that sort for a long, long time. 

I can't see the name 'Emery' without thinking of Dick Emery, who will mean nothing to anybody under the age of forty. Nevertheless, I reckon that won't stop the English media making a trillion gags out of it.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Better hope Monchi comes with him........


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

East Coast Bias said:


> Better hope Monchi comes with him........




He's not leaving Roma any time soon.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> He's not leaving Roma any time soon.




Yeah I was joking.

I was just in Rome for a week and went to the match against Juve. My wife really isn't into soccer at all. Never played - no one in her family did - basketball/lacrosse family. Anyway, we went to the match last sunday. She loved it. Thought it was brilliant. Caught her on the phone telling my father in law how amazing the crowds were - the songs, the energy. That's my new 2nd favorite club. Roma did what I never could.


----------



## cgf

booyakasha said:


> Sokaratis, Soyuncu, Bernd Leno, and Seri.




A 50% success rate would be an improvement and all, but Mislintat should know better than wasting money on Sokratis & Leno.


----------



## Cassano

cgf said:


> A 50% success rate would be an improvement and all, but Mislintat should know better than wasting money on Sokratis & Leno.



Are we sure it was Mislintat pulling the strings on the Dortmund teams and not Klopp/Tuchel/others? 

He seems like a bit of a fraud with his vision for the team. I'm not convinced by him. The Aubameyang signing doesn't make sense and neither does Sokratis,


----------



## Deficient Mode

All Might said:


> Are we sure it was Mislintat pulling the strings on the Dortmund teams and not Klopp/Tuchel/others?
> 
> He seems like a bit of a fraud with his vision for the team. I'm not convinced by him. The Aubameyang signing doesn't make sense and neither does Sokratis,




Mislintat was head scout with Dortmund and had influence on unknown or young player signings for sure, but decisions were made collectively with sporting director. Tuchel and Klopp had a minor influence on transfers. Far less than they would have in EPL. 

I don't know Mislintat's role with Arsenal and if he has more influence on signing older players too.


----------



## Jersey Fresh

West Ham agree Manuel Pellegrini deal worth up to £7m a year


----------



## Jussi

It seems Mourinho's assistants next season will be Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and Stefano Rapetti. McKenna was the coach of United's U-18 team for the past two seasons, while Rapetti is more known as a physique coach and joins United from Udinese (was with Mourinho at Inter).


----------



## The Abusement Park

Jussi said:


> It seems Mourinho's assistants next season will be Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and Stefano Rapetti. McKenna was the coach of United's U-18 team for the past two seasons, while Rapetti is more known as a physique coach and joins United from Udinese (was with Mourinho at Inter).




Of course we need a physique coach. Clearly the biggest issue with the team this last season was our stamina and lack of physicality.


----------



## SJSharks72

The Abusement Park said:


> Of course we need a physique coach. Clearly the biggest issue with the team this last season was our stamina and lack of physicality.



It’s okay Carrick will learn from Mou and take over for him to end the season when we inexplicably crumble and then under the great Carrick we will win the league!


----------



## Jussi

The Abusement Park said:


> Of course we need a physique coach. Clearly the biggest issue with the team this last season was our stamina and lack of physicality.




Have you seen United's injury lists for the past few seasons? If he can help in anyway to improve on that, fine by me. Would also help if the squd's stamina improves so they can press longer.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Jussi said:


> Have you seen United's injury lists for the past few seasons? If he can help in anyway to improve on that, fine by me. Would also help if the squd's stamina improves so they can press longer.




Injuries is actually pretty valid.


----------



## Havre

I think Emery makes a lot of sense. But I guess for some reason he isn´t considered to be very sexy on here.


----------



## Live in the Now

Havre said:


> I think Emery makes a lot of sense. But I guess for some reason he isn´t considered to be very sexy on here.




He makes sense because:

A.) He has been successful.

B.) Isn't a first time manager. That idea was f***ing crazy.

C.) Knows how to win, can't handle giant ego players, but guess what? There are none there who should have a big ego. He has won more than all of them and can put them in their place.

D.) Won the Europa League. Probably Arsenal's most realistic way into the CL.

Now if there's a reason to be critical, he had Sevilla punching above their weight, but it's going to be a lot more difficult to do that in England. There are only three guaranteed good teams in Spain and a spot open for any other good team to fly into the top four. In England, there's spots open, but the standard for that fourth position team is extremely high.

I think the man after Wenger is bound to struggle, and it would be smart for Arsenal to save up for an actual warchest for the guy after Emery.


----------



## Live in the Now

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> I think Arteta would've been a better pick. Long term investment, put the emphasis on stability going forward and slowly building back up. Emery seems to me to be more of a "we want results right this second" hire.




Not to double post but I don't believe it's wise to try to put another long term manager in there when the club is basically hovering just over disaster mode.

Literally the first bad run of results will lead to endless doubt and criticism which will work to sabotage Emery's job. Someone you think should be manager for a while doesn't need that.


----------



## Havre

Live in the Now said:


> He makes sense because:
> 
> A.) He has been successful.
> 
> B.) Isn't a first time manager. That idea was ****ing crazy.
> 
> C.) Knows how to win, can't handle giant ego players, but guess what? There are none there who should have a big ego. He has won more than all of them and can put them in their place.
> 
> D.) Won the Europa League. Probably Arsenal's most realistic way into the CL.
> 
> Now if there's a reason to be critical, he had Sevilla punching above their weight, but it's going to be a lot more difficult to do that in England. There are only three guaranteed good teams in Spain and a spot open for any other good team to fly into the top four. In England, there's spots open, but the standard for that fourth position team is extremely high.
> 
> I think the man after Wenger is bound to struggle, and it would be smart for Arsenal to save up for an actual warchest for the guy after Emery.




Agree with most of that, but how can you be "critical" based on it being more difficult to punch above your weight in England? That isn't specific to Emery - that would be true for any manager.

Then we'll see if the fit is good. That isn't easy to predict. The two most successful managers Spurs had for ages before Pochettino were Jol and Redknapp. Among all the managers Spurs have had in the "modern era" those were probably the two fans expected the least from. 

I don't necessarily think a new manager will struggle. Arsenal is a bit of a sleeping giant. Get Özil back to his best and they are already a proper challenger for the top 4.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Favre to Dortmund is official


----------



## Chimaera

I think he's a good get for Arsenal, even if he's not something that excites everyone. He's a good manager who will maximize what probably will be a tight budget. He has enough experience that he can wade through a bit of the trouble they're going to face, while also getting rid of some of the leftovers who clearly do need to move. 

A first year manager was going to be a mistake.


----------



## PansCyans

Ya, he’ll manage the club. But who’s gonna do the 42 other things Wenger took into his portfolio of tasks and responsibilities there? Wenger controlled much more than most managers even want to.


----------



## Ceremony

Stray Wasp said:


> The question is what that tenure proves.
> 
> Maybe it proves Emery's star is on the wane full stop. Maybe it proves that although he's an accomplished manager, he's not cut out for a front runner's job working with stars as opposed to simply good players. In which case, Arsenal's current level may fit him to a tee.
> 
> I'd endorse Chimaera's assessment of Emery, if I was competent at using multi-quote. Admittedly, labelling someone a 'transition guy' seems like damning with faint praise, but I don't expect Emery to bring about a collapse of Sir David Moyes proportions.
> 
> Had Arteta been appointed, I'd have been amazed. I don't expect to see a major EPL club risk an appointment of that sort for a long, long time.
> 
> I can't see the name 'Emery' without thinking of Dick Emery, who will mean nothing to anybody under the age of forty. Nevertheless, I reckon that won't stop the English media making a trillion gags out of it.



^^^ awful


----------



## davemess

koyvoo said:


> Ya, he’ll manage the club. But who’s gonna do the 42 other things Wenger took into his portfolio of tasks and responsibilities there? Wenger controlled much more than most managers even want to.




Arsenal have been putting a team in place behind the scenes over the last 12 months to move the Manager into more of a Head Coach role

Raul Sanllehi - Head of football operations (from Barca)
Sven Mislintat - Head of recruitment (from Dortmund)
Huss Fahmy - Contact negotiator (no football background but a general sports one)
Darren Burgess - Head of high performance (AFL background)


----------



## Evilo

Emery's a decent choice. Not sure they had better candidates this summer. Unless Blanc was interested.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

West Ham really are Man City retirement home. 

Wanted Wagner or Emery but it is what it is I guess. Pellegrini, uninspiring.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Favre to Dortmund is official




Well i’ll enjoy however long he can stand working for Watzke


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> ^^^ awful




But you like it.

Badum tish.


----------



## Live in the Now

BKIslandersFan said:


> West Ham really are Man City retirement home.
> 
> Wanted Wagner or Emery but it is what it is I guess. Pellegrini, uninspiring.




Pellegrini is by far the best manager West Ham has had in modern times and better than both of those.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Antonio Mohamed is the new manager of Celta Vigo. He managed many teams in Liga MX winning titles with Club America and Monterrey


----------



## HajdukSplit

Gary Rowett leaves Derby County to take the Stoke job


----------



## Bon Esprit

Apparently Ancelotti to Napoli.


----------



## Corto

Live in the Now said:


> Pellegrini is by far the best manager West Ham has had in modern times and better than both of those.




I'd say he's the manager with the best pedigree, not necessarily the best one.

That said, I'm pumped, especially with Yaya Toure reportedly coming as well.

He may be old, but if he performs half as well as he used to, or half as well as Zabaleta has performed, he'll be by far the best midfielder WHU has had in a while (considering Payet and Lanzini mostly play up field).


----------



## Power Man

Apprently Ancelotti is the new Napoli coach


----------



## Chimaera

He's a clear upgrade for what they have, and with an EPL title to his name has more pedigree than a number of other managers.


----------



## Ceremony

Here's one Stray Wasp may enjoy: Sunderland: Jack Ross expected to be named manager on Wednesday



> Sunderland expect to confirm the appointment of St Mirren boss Jack Ross as their new manager on Wednesday.
> 
> Ross, 41, who guided the Paisley side to the Scottish Championship title this season, has also had talks with English second-tier club Ipswich Town.
> 
> New owner Stewart Donald confirmed Sunderland had "agreed terms and the contracts are with the lawyers".
> 
> However, St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott has said there has "been no contact from Sunderland".
> 
> He said: "Jack is on holiday. So unless there is some major skulduggery going on then it's nonsense.
> 
> "To hold talks with Jack, we would have to grant permission, but we've had no contact from Sunderland at all."




Dearie me.


----------



## booyakasha




----------



## Chimaera

All that work? 

What fun.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Screw De Laurentiis.


----------



## Stray Wasp

HajdukSplit said:


> Gary Rowett leaves Derby County to take the Stoke job




I wonder whether this means that Derby's owners are refusing to invest any more in their team.

We might expect that with their parachute payments, Stoke could be one of the stronger clubs in next season's Championship, yet parachute payments didn't help Hull or Middlesbrough bounce straight back. Indeed, the last relegated team to regain Premier League status at the first attempt brought in 12 players and increased their wage bill. (Oddly, they didn't make Nigel Pearson their manager, as lots of very wise people counselled they should have).

Admittedly relegated sunderland (who, in case you missed it, were relegated to the third tier after they lost 2-1 at home to Burton Albion) were able to leave the Championship at the first attempt. But not in a way Rowett would wish to emulate.


----------



## Stray Wasp

Ceremony said:


> Here's one Stray Wasp may enjoy: Sunderland: Jack Ross expected to be named manager on Wednesday
> 
> 
> 
> Dearie me.




I am indeed enjoying it. So much so, in fact, that I wonder whether some giant double bluff is occurring, what with the new owner's colourful personal life coming to light, and the fact that he appears to be carrying out a leveraged buyout.

Just read this, and revel in the classic line regarding potential investors:

"One of the guys is Spanish that I would look to...well, he's not Spanish, but he's got a Spanish connection, so I suppose that's where that comes from".

'International consortium'? Stewart Donald's 100% Sunderland stake


----------



## The Abusement Park

Where does Sarri go now that Napoli has let him go?


----------



## Deficient Mode

The Abusement Park said:


> Where does Sarri go now that Napoli has let him go?




Chelsea


----------



## PansCyans

Deficient Mode said:


> Chelsea




...so where does Conte go?...


----------



## The Abusement Park

Deficient Mode said:


> Chelsea




Ugh. I think that’d be a good fit.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Chelsea




It would be too funny if the guy Arsenal should’ve hired to make them London’s top team again...the way he turned Napoli back into a force to be reckoned with...went to the richer London team who has replaced Arsenal.


----------



## Live in the Now

Much more likely Sarri takes a year off and sees what's out there. Manchester United and Barcelona should be available by then. No reason to walk into a minefield.


----------



## Havre

What happened at Napoli? Leaving them for Chelsea would be odd.

Would be fantastic if he came to the PL though. Replacing Conte with Sarri would significantly increase the general entertainment level. Bielsa for Mourinho next


----------



## Bon Esprit

Ralf Rangnick to coach RB Leipzig next year.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## Deficient Mode

Bon Esprit said:


> Ralf Rangnick to coach RB Leipzig next year.




Interesting


----------



## Evilo

And Blanc's still out there...


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

spintheblackcircle said:


>





Sweet.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

spintheblackcircle said:


>







Little add-on


----------



## S E P H

Here are my thoughts, Emery is a decent choice and hire. Is he perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination...I think he eventually goes down the path to become Roberto Mancini 2.0. Does he have the potential of Nagelsmann? Clearly not. However, he fills a lot weaknesses that Arsenal had with Wenger where Emery will by a breathe of freshair. His man management will be superior in games, his tactician brain and creativity will make a huge difference when we face the top 5, and his constant video scouting will help get the best out of players such as Bellerin, Xhaka, and Iwobi who have all stagnated or have gotten worst. Sure he won't be as much of a player's coach as Wenger was, but these Arsenal players where quite complacent through his tenure. They're making 100K+ a week and their job is to play ****ing football, of course they deserve homework. I mean they're playing a kids game and getting enough funds to buy houses and Lambos in the UK...99.9% of us would kill to be in the same position as them, so getting some video scouts here and there should be the least of their concerns.

The hire doesn't give a lot of confidence when it comes to the swamp in the suits though. It sounds (based on everything I've read) is that Arteta was the main candidate for the position, but actually declined when he was told that he wasn't going to get power for transfers. That would have been a complete disaster of a hire. Now that doesn't mean Emery won't be able to get his say, especially when it comes positions and who he fancies, but it is still significant. It also seems that was one of the biggest issues for Allergi to come over and why he decided to decline Arsenal again. Not good news since I still considered him the perfect hire. As I've said Emery is far from perfect, but again some of his biggest strengths as a manager were some of Arsenal's biggest weaknesses the past nine years. I do have some optimism heading into next season even though I fully expect the Arsenal to completely botch the transfer window which is very important for us. 



Evilo said:


> Emery's a decent choice. Not sure they had better candidates this summer. Unless Blanc was interested.



Ehhhhhh, Blanc is not good and didn't even come close to the accolades that Emery accomplished with the same club. Sure Blanc didn't have Mbappe or Neymar, but Emery didn't have a prime *Ibrah*, Matuidi, nor Silva. Actually Blanc was stupid enough to play Cavani on the wing during his tenure there, at least Emery knew that wasn't going to work...considering how amazing Cavani is on this board. 



BKIslandersFan said:


> West Ham really are Man City retirement home.
> 
> Wanted Wagner or Emery but it is what it is I guess. Pellegrini, uninspiring.



Though I don't rate Pellegrini as much as others do, he is an amazing grab for West Ham. He's still a very good manager and should put West Ham back into the top 8-10 by his talent alone (and not even mentioning who can grab in the transfer market). 

And who can hate this lovable rascal? 







cgf said:


> It would be too funny if the guy Arsenal should’ve hired to make them London’s top team again...the way he turned Napoli back into a force to be reckoned with...went to the richer London team who has replaced Arsenal.



Meh, Sarri is still very much into the open in how good he really is. Napoli was his first true test and even though he did partially succeed, he also lost the title which was in his grasp for the entire season to Juve. His showing in Europe was also quite awful as well. 

At best, he's a very decent manager similar to Emery, but there are certain red flags in categories which prevents them from being up there with Pep, Simeone, Allegri, Ferguson, Wenger, and Lippi.


----------



## Evilo

S E P H said:


> Ehhhhhh, Blanc is not good and didn't even come close to the accolades that Emery accomplished with the same club. Sure Blanc didn't have Mbappe or Neymar, but Emery didn't have a prime *Ibrah*, Matuidi, nor Silva. Actually Blanc was stupid enough to play Cavani on the wing during his tenure there, at least Emery knew that wasn't going to work...considering how amazing Cavani is on this board.



That's quite awful. Blanc has never, in his career, failed to reach the CL QF. With any team. 
Emery has never reached it. With any team.

As for Cavani on the wing... sigh.


----------



## cgf

@S E P H

I tend not judge managers on what they’ve won unless they managed the favorites. What matters more to me is a manager’s relationship with his players, his ability to teach, & his tactics; and Sarri gets a glowing review in all of those areas. Plus his tactics would be a delight to see implimented with Arsenal’s firepower, and would make you a more attractive transfer destination.

He may not turn you into contenders without some massive investment behind the big 4, but he’d make a joy to watch again and would get a lot more out of that talent than Wenger did or Emery will.


----------



## S E P H

Evilo said:


> That's quite awful. Blanc has never, in his career, failed to reach the CL QF. With any team.
> Emery has never reached it. With any team.
> 
> As for Cavani on the wing... sigh.



How is it awful? Blanc got easier groups in Europe and were able to go farther with a superior defencive considering who he had in Verratti, Matuidi, and Silva all in their primes.

Emery never had this type of team at his disposal for one. PSG had defencive short comings all season and a big part is the squad he inherited from Blanc. Not only that, but he got Real in Champions League who's squad is more than half of Africa's GDP growth. Lastly, he was at Sevilla which we all know was a mid-table club at best in La Liga and took them to back-to-back-t0-back Europa titles. Not good enough for you? We know that Blanc would have never been able to replicate that success. Just face it, Blanc is the Bosz of French managers.

And why the sigh at the wing comment? We all know how much you complained in the past about how amazing Cavani is, but how he had to be played on the wing due to Ibrah. Is this wrong?



cgf said:


> @S E P H
> 
> I tend not judge managers on what they’ve won unless they managed the favorites. What matters more to me is a manager’s relationship with his players, his ability to teach, & his tactics; and Sarri gets a glowing review in all of those areas. Plus his tactics would be a delight to see implimented with Arsenal’s firepower, and would make you a more attractive transfer destination.
> 
> He may not turn you into contenders without some massive investment behind the big 4, but he’d make a joy to watch again and would get a lot more out of that talent than Wenger did or Emery will.



Don't get me wrong, we're probably going to see many different tactics under Emery at Arsenal. But Emery can setup football as beautiful as Wenger and Sarri can.


----------



## Evilo

PSG has got better and better every year on paper. Emery clearly had more to work with than Blanc, no question.
Yet he got worse results. 1 single champion title and two early CL KO.
Blanc won all domestic titles in every season and went further in the CL.
Blanc couldn't win EL titles you know because he was busy fighting with the big boys in the CL. Even with Bordeaux a team certainly weaker than Sevilla, he reached the CL QF (finished his CL group over Bayern and Juve) and won the french title. Chamakh was the leading scorer.
And even if results clearly show Blanc is much better, what's even more striking is the quality of player and the domination. PSG under Blanc was a machine.

As for the sigh, we told you why Cavani played on the wing already. And that gave PSG two scoring threats.


----------



## les Habs

at @Seph 's Cavani on the wing statement and comparison of managers.


----------



## cgf

S E P H said:


> But Emery can setup football as beautiful as Wenger and Sarri can.




Yes to the former, but no to the latter. Even his EL winning Sevilla teams were never even close to beautiful...much less the ugly clunky messes that Zenit & PSG were under him. Emery can organize a defense, but he can't encourage creativity or structure attacking play well at all. And with Mesut, Miki, Auba & Lacazette, you guys need to build your team around that quartet, which means a well-organized possession game that doesn't just rely on counters. Auba is deadly on the break, but he's a dangerous poacher in possession as well, so it matters less for him, but Mesut & Miki benefit massively from being a part of a well-organized attack & not the mess that the Mourinho's, Hecking's & Emery's of the world are content to call a possession structure.

Even if you guys signed Boateng, Soyuncu, Seri & Lafont (or some other high-end young keeper), I wouldn't bet on you to get back into the top 4 under Emery. Whereas if you had Sarri but no Boateng, I would be rather bullish on your chances.


----------



## YNWA14

If I were Arsenal I'd have definitely preferred Sarri or Blanc to Emery. Not just because both are better managers, but also because of the players that Arsenal has. I don't think Emery is going to get a ton of money to improve on what he has at his disposal, and I think the PSG 'experiment' has kind of shown that he doesn't really know how to get the best of the type of players that Arsenal does have.

He could have learned though, and could improve. He's not a bad hire. I think he'll have a tough time though.


----------



## PansCyans

Garitano in, Canales out at Real Sociedad


----------



## maclean

I definitely considered Emery a downgrade on Blanc at PSG, but I'm currently doing my best to change my mind about him and @cgf you're making it very difficult goddammit!


----------



## East Coast Bias

I want to fire Jose into the sun and take Blanc at United. Dream still alive.


----------



## Chimaera

That extension is big for Spurs. I'm interested to see how much money they give him to spend, but he must have had some promises.


----------



## PansCyans

Hughes signs three-year Southampton deal


----------



## Stray Wasp

koyvoo said:


> Hughes signs three-year Southampton deal




Oh, the humanity.


----------



## SJSharks72

Lampard taking over Derby County


----------



## Havre

Zidane available.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Havre said:


> Zidane available.



That's big. Wow!


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Shocking.

Talk about a historically successful coaching stint with more CL titles than seasons.


----------



## Corto

Yeah all the other stuff suddenly becomes unimportant.
RM manager spot opening after a CL treble.

As for Zidane, I'd bet money on him taking over France after the WC.

2.5 years, 3 CL trophies. Goes out on top.


----------



## Vasilevskiy

That is huge. Laurent Blanc to RM?


----------



## Havre

I think ZZ is underrated here (might be heavily influenced by one poster), but I also think that is a good decision. That team needs to be renewed. When was the last time anyone got time to "build" anything new step by step in Madrid? It basically doesn't happen. Even with ZZs resume people would start talking about him not being that good, he has special players etc. quite quickly.


----------



## Corto

Vasilevskiy said:


> That is huge. Laurent Blanc to RM?




I doubt it. But I honestly don't see a lot of options out there, maybe they just go for Guti or someone.


----------



## Power Man

WHAT THE HELL


----------



## Corto

Honestly, whoever takes over RM is pretty much f****d lol.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

This club is a real-life soap opera.


----------



## Fighter

Going out on top, perfect choice by Zidane.


----------



## Scandale du Jour

Zidane, CR7 (maybe) and Bale (likely) during the same summer, ouch.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Cool take Mourinho back. No comp necessary.


----------



## Power Man

Hello dark age


----------



## Scandale du Jour

East Coast Bias said:


> Cool take Mourinho back. No comp necessary.




Yeah... no.


----------



## Chimaera

I don't blame him. It can't be easy managing there. Even if he has won stuff.


----------



## Power Man

Chimaera said:


> I don't blame him. It can't be easy managing there. Even if he has won stuff.



Yup.
A lot of pressure


----------



## Halladay

Hire LvG.


----------



## PansCyans

Conte


----------



## Havre

Conte at RM would be funny. Is it possible to lose your hair after a transplant? I guess we will find out.


----------



## Chimaera

To be fair, I think he could actually do a job for them. He would drive the board mad and cause the players the revolt, but he would at least win matches.


----------



## PansCyans

Big Sam practicing his Spanish after hearing of Zidane’s departure


----------



## Chimaera

While it would never happen, I would love to see that. 

It would be hilarious. In his mind, he probably feels he should be there.

I mean, there's always Uncle Woy.


----------



## BahlDeep

I hope Benzema can still play at a high level in 4 years


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## KJS14

#WengerIn at Madrid.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Wenger at Madrid would be comical.


----------



## Hadoop

WOW Zizou. After leaving the WC on one of the dumbest moves ever this *might* be one of the smartest, although a lot depends on where he ends up.


----------



## Savant

It'll be Pochettino. No one else is a fit for that roster, except maybe Blanc, who isn't linked.

Madrid will use that shiny new extension as toilet paper if Pochettino is their Plan A.


----------



## The Abusement Park

They’re gonna bring Mou back. 




Jk that’s all I want though.


----------



## SJSharks72

What about Allegri?


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

I genuinely think Lampard will do a really solid job with Derby.


----------



## cgf

I just realized that Real have only won la liga once in the past 6 years. How the f*** does that happen?


----------



## S E P H

Sarri is probably the frontrunner at Madrid now, could have huge implications for Chelsea since now they have to challenge all the top end managers with RM (which any team will lose to).

Silva is a solid choice for Everton, he was always a decent manager who fell at some hard times at Watford and undeservedly got fired for it. 

Also, you guys clearly overrate Blanc. Laurent Blanc is the Edinson Cavani of managers.


----------



## The Abusement Park

How? Blanc has been a complete success everywhere he’s managed.


----------



## cgf

S E P H said:


> Sarri is probably the frontrunner at Madrid now, could have huge implications for Chelsea since now they have to challenge all the top end managers with RM (which any team will lose to).
> 
> Silva is a solid choice for Everton, he was always a decent manager who fell at some hard times at Watford and undeservedly got fired for it.
> 
> *Also, you guys clearly overrate Blanc. Laurent Blanc is the Edinson Cavani of managers.*




Nah, Cavani is more under-rated than Blanc ;-)


----------



## Evilo

Can't see a problem. Cavani is a top 5 striker.


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

This is good, means someone else will win the CL next year.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Savant said:


> It'll be Pochettino. No one else is a fit for that roster, except maybe Blanc, who isn't linked.
> 
> Madrid will use that shiny new extension as toilet paper if Pochettino is their Plan A.




In what way do you think Pochettino is a fit for Real Madrid?


----------



## Savant

Big Kahuna said:


> In what way do you think Pochettino is a fit for Real Madrid?



I mean he is reportedly on their short list, is a touted name and has Liga experience as player and manager. If Kane and/or Eriksen are targets, he can certainly facilitate that as well. Why would he not be?


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Savant said:


> I mean he is reportedly on their short list, is a touted name and has Liga experience as player and manager. If Kane and/or Eriksen are targets, he can certainly facilitate that as well. Why would he not be?




I don't see how any of those make him, as you described, one of the only fits to their roster.


----------



## Chimaera

I mean, at least Spurs with that new contract could get more compensation.


----------



## S E P H

The Abusement Park said:


> How? Blanc has been a complete success everywhere he’s managed.



I wouldn't describe his time at PSG as successful, especially considering how easy it is to win the title in Ligue 1. It's probably the least parity of the big five leagues. He's a very boring and mediocre manager who doesn't have big faults, but lacks some serious ambitious as well. Hell, there are behind the scenes sources telling the media that he was very lazy at PSG and Bordeaux having his assistant running the drills and practices'. 



Evilo said:


> Can't see a problem. Cavani is a top 5 striker.



Top 5 striker at what exactly? Being a product of the players around him?


----------



## The Abusement Park

S E P H said:


> Top 5 striker at what exactly? Being a product of the players around him?




So he was a product of the players around him when he was at Napoli as well?


----------



## S E P H

The Abusement Park said:


> So he was a product of the players around him when he was at Napoli as well?



You mean during the time that Serie A was in awful shape as well as team Italia and all the best players left to better leagues? When Cavani moved to Serie A, all it was, was a gateway league into Europe to showcase your talent and move to an actual "real man's" league and money. Now with that said, the head honchos of Serie A have done amazing work since then to establish the league as relevant again, but at that time you cannot tell me that it was a good league.


----------



## les Habs

Some interesting notes with Zidane leaving:


Not sure about his credibility, but at TV presenter for La Sexta has revealed Zidane's last conversation with Florentino Perez. Apparently it was at a meeting with Jose Angel Sanchez where it was expected that Zidane would want to talk about signings. Well that was not the case. “I will not continue”. The coach said “There is deterioration, I'm getting worn down with this squad. I think that things will get worse, the best thing to do is leave, that’s the best for you and for me.” Zidane apparently promised not to take charge of another team for the coming season, but that's to be expected either way. 
Zidane during his press conference said that his best moment with Madrid was... winning La Liga. @koyvoo 

Not shocking news he's gone if you think about it. It definitely sounds like a difficult dressing room to manage. Add to that 2.5 years at that level surely takes it's toll, but then you have to consider he came from managing the Castilla side for 2 years as well. So for me that's always a lot more than what people make it out to be. The timing is also perfect with the CL win. Still I'd say there's more to it than that. This latest campaign really wasn't that impressive. The CL run-in wasn't as good as previous seasons and the Final was dour. Then you have a poor Liga campaign and nothing in the Copa. You've also got an aging starting XI with players like Modric and Ronaldo clearly on the decline. Some of their younger players look good, but still a lot of question marks over many of them too. I always find it tough to rate Zidane. On the one hand I find him rather underrated here. On the other overrated at times. I suppose the truth is somewhere in the middle but leaning towards underrated. Either way his management of this Madrid side from rotations as @Corto is always banging on about, to the man-management side of the squad and to the subtle tactical changes (formation, the reinvention of Ronaldo) he deserves a good level of credit. And while I'm no Zidane fan, he deserves credit for the way this has gone down. He gave it some time after the Final to let the club and it's supporters celebrate, but then he also didn't let it drag on and you didn't see it coming. More importantly though, Madrid look at somewhat of a transitional point and his leaving now probably makes that easier. So full credit to him for how he handled, and I'm sure it takes some balls to tell a mafioso boss like Florentino Perez you're leaving on your own terms.

Very interesting to see what Madrid do now. Someone mentioned Pochettino, but didn't he just sign a new deal with Spurs? It's funny someone mentioned Wenger. Of course if you've been around enough Wenger was linked with both Madrid and Barça some years ago on somewhat regular basis. Still what's really interesting is I swear that last night I saw a blurb about Wenger wanting to manage a really big side. And note, this was before the Zidane news. Anyway, I think anyone's reasonable guess is a possibility at this stage, but I think Florentino Perez plays it safe. 



cgf said:


> I just realized that Real have only won la liga once in the past 6 years. How the **** does that happen?




It was a shock win for most who follow La Liga, but that's what happens when the refs give you at least 12 points as has been well documented.


----------



## PansCyans

@les Habs I just shared what Puyol and Xavi said. They should get a tag too.


----------



## The Abusement Park

S E P H said:


> You mean during the time that Serie A was in awful shape as well as team Italia and all the best players left to better leagues? When Cavani moved to Serie A, all it was, was a gateway league into Europe to showcase your talent and move to an actual "real man's" league and money. Now with that said, the head honchos of Serie A have done amazing work since then to establish the league as relevant again, but at that time you cannot tell me that it was a good league.




It was still a top 4 league at the time. I mean you don’t score 33 goals in your worst season because the league is that bad. 

I know what you’re going to do and your gonna say he sucked at PSG when he moved there, but he was also playing LW which is just a stupid waste of his talent and surprise surprise now that he’s playing striker again he’s scoring at basically a GPG pace.


----------



## cgf

les Habs said:


> It was a shock win for most who follow La Liga, but that's what happens when the refs give you at least 12 points as has been well documented.




It amuses me to no end how some folks are using this Real to prove that possession football is dead while ignoring their impotence in the league. Not so much on here, but on some other boards there are german fans who are dancing for joy over this result; Zidane & Ranieri are apparently who Jogi should really be studying...


----------



## Evilo

The Abusement Park said:


> It was still a top 4 league at the time. I mean you don’t score 33 goals in your worst season because the league is that bad.
> 
> I know what you’re going to do and your gonna say he sucked at PSG when he moved there, but he was also playing LW which is just a stupid waste of his talent and surprise surprise now that he’s playing striker again he’s scoring at basically a GPG pace.



Don't waste your time.


----------



## Savant

Big Kahuna said:


> I don't see how any of those make him, as you described, one of the only fits to their roster.



How about this then? From The Guardian 

Real Madrid target Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino to replace Zidane


----------



## davemess

Savant said:


> Real Madrid target Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino to replace Zidane



What is the record fee paid for a manager?

Because unless Poch has a release clause in that new deal then you can be sure Levy will be asking for the moon.


----------



## Savant

davemess said:


> What is the record fee paid for a manager?
> 
> Because unless Poch has a release clause in that new deal then you can be sure Levy will be asking for the moon.



And you think that will stop Real Madrid?


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Savant said:


> How about this then? From The Guardian
> 
> Real Madrid target Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino to replace Zidane




A clickbait title to a stupid article about something that has been claimed to be non-existant by all insiders.
That's sun-level journalism by The Guardian.

And you're deflecting my question. How does that make him a better fit?


----------



## davemess

Savant said:


> And you think that will stop Real Madrid?



Depends what Levy ends up asking for..... if its shy of £50mill I would be surprised.


----------



## les Habs

Saw that Pochettino has a 7 million release clause. Also saw that Allegri is Plan B.

A number of notable former La Liga players have completed the same management course. Xavi, Raul, Xabi Alonso, Victor Valdes, Marcos Senna, Julio Baptista, etc. Xabi Alonso will be coaching in Madrid's youth set up.


----------



## Savant

Big Kahuna said:


> A clickbait title to a stupid article about something that has been claimed to be non-existant by all insiders.
> That's -level journalism by The Guardian.
> 
> And you're deflecting my question. How does that make him a better fit?



Most of the papers including the Spanish ones are reporting this. Some say he has a release clause, some dont, but I'm not going to speculate on that. 
I dont think Zidane's Madrid teams have resembled the teams that the other linked coaches, namely Conte and Allegri have played. Madrid isnt going to sacrifice one of the midfielders or attackers to go three at the back like Conte wants to do. Allegri is closer but he says he isnt going anywhere but who knows. Wenger? Lol. Who else has been linked? All I'm saying is that if Madrid wants Pochettino they will find a way.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

cgf said:


> I just realized that Real have only won la liga once in the past 6 years. How the **** does that happen?




Messi duh


----------



## Power Man

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Messi duh



La Liga Messi


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Marca was the paper claiming Pochettino had the clause to begin with. However now they say he doesn't have any. 

So, yeah. Just your typical bullshit.


----------



## cgf

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Messi duh




So is Ronaldo not alpha enough to _keep it up_ for a whole season?


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

cgf said:


> So does Ronaldo not have enough alpha-ness to _keep it up_ for a whole season?



You can't compare mortals to a God... silly.


----------



## Scandale du Jour

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> You can't compare mortals to a God... silly.




HGH is the nektar of Gods?


----------



## BKIslandersFan

If Spurs let Pochettino go I hope they hire Wenger.

Never happening, I know. But imagine the hilarity.


----------



## Deficient Mode

@cgf


----------



## The Abusement Park

What does it say though lol


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> @cgf





That would be a better show than Watzke & Mourinho


----------



## Hadoop

les Habs said:


> Some interesting notes with Zidane leaving:
> 
> 
> Not sure about his credibility, but at TV presenter for La Sexta has revealed Zidane's last conversation with Florentino Perez. Apparently it was at a meeting with Jose Angel Sanchez where it was expected that Zidane would want to talk about signings. Well that was not the case. “I will not continue”. The coach said “There is deterioration, I'm getting worn down with this squad. I think that things will get worse, the best thing to do is leave, that’s the best for you and for me.” Zidane apparently promised not to take charge of another team for the coming season, but that's to be expected either way.
> Zidane during his press conference said that his best moment with Madrid was... winning La Liga. @koyvoo
> 
> Not shocking news he's gone if you think about it. It definitely sounds like a difficult dressing room to manage. Add to that 2.5 years at that level surely takes it's toll, but then you have to consider he came from managing the Castilla side for 2 years as well. So for me that's always a lot more than what people make it out to be. The timing is also perfect with the CL win. Still I'd say there's more to it than that. This latest campaign really wasn't that impressive. The CL run-in wasn't as good as previous seasons and the Final was dour. Then you have a poor Liga campaign and nothing in the Copa. You've also got an aging starting XI with players like Modric and Ronaldo clearly on the decline. Some of their younger players look good, but still a lot of question marks over many of them too. I always find it tough to rate Zidane. On the one hand I find him rather underrated here. On the other overrated at times. I suppose the truth is somewhere in the middle but leaning towards underrated. Either way his management of this Madrid side from rotations as @Corto is always banging on about, to the man-management side of the squad and to the subtle tactical changes (formation, the reinvention of Ronaldo) he deserves a good level of credit. And while I'm no Zidane fan, he deserves credit for the way this has gone down. He gave it some time after the Final to let the club and it's supporters celebrate, but then he also didn't let it drag on and you didn't see it coming. More importantly though, Madrid look at somewhat of a transitional point and his leaving now probably makes that easier. So full credit to him for how he handled, and I'm sure it takes some balls to tell a mafioso boss like Florentino Perez you're leaving on your own terms.
> 
> Very interesting to see what Madrid do now. Someone mentioned Pochettino, but didn't he just sign a new deal with Spurs? It's funny someone mentioned Wenger. Of course if you've been around enough Wenger was linked with both Madrid and Barça some years ago on somewhat regular basis. Still what's really interesting is I swear that last night I saw a blurb about Wenger wanting to manage a really big side. And note, this was before the Zidane news. Anyway, I think anyone's reasonable guess is a possibility at this stage, but I think Florentino Perez plays it safe.
> 
> 
> 
> It was a shock win for most who follow La Liga, but that's what happens when the refs give you at least 12 points as has been well documented.




Great post. An excellent summary and evaluation of Zidane's time at Real


----------



## Chimaera

“When Madrid call, you have to listen”.

Spurs better get ready to see him move.


----------



## Havre

You don't know Pochettino that well I guess?

That is the way he always communicates. "No-one knows what will happen tomorrow" blablabla. He says it about himself and about players. Always has.

Personally I find it a bit stupid, especially with someone like Eriksen with only two years left on his current deal, but I would not read too much into a comment like that (again - words can be interpreted in many ways).

Still believe there is about 0.00 something chance of Pochettino leaving Spurs this summer. It might have gone from 0.001 to 0.002.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Leeds lining up move to hire Bielsa - sources


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Chimaera said:


> “When Madrid call, you have to listen”.
> 
> Spurs better get ready to see him move.




What do you expect him to say?


----------



## PansCyans

The reality is, if Madrid actually really to want him, it’s more a question of who does he take with him, rather than if he’d go.


----------



## Havre

koyvoo said:


> The reality is, if Madrid actually really to want him, it’s more a question of who does he take with him, rather than if he’d go.




Right. The same way Wenger was hired twice by RM?


----------



## PansCyans

I question how much they really actually wanted him. Again, if it’s absolutely and immovably their number one focus, he’ll go win trophies.


----------



## Savant

Havre said:


> Right. The same way Wenger was hired twice by RM?



I'm sure you understand why this is a lousy comparison, but as long as it makes you feel better.


----------



## Havre

They approached him twice because he is just such a lovely fellow?

Some think RM get everything they want as if Juande Ramos and Benitez never managed the team.


----------



## Havre

Savant said:


> I'm sure you understand why this is a lousy comparison, but as long as it makes you feel better.




Please enlighten me.


----------



## Savant

Havre said:


> Please enlighten me.



Well we can start with the fact that Wenger spent 22 years at Arsenal and, basically was the entire club. There is a reason he never wanted to leave, he was in that clubs roots. 

Pochettino is going into year 3 (or year 4) and has already managed as many teams has Wenger has in his entire career. It's pretty naive to think that it's impossible he would consider leaving based on some platitudes. 

Also, at the time when Madrid wanted to get Wenger out of Arsenal, the Gunners had a MUCH higher profile than Tottenham have ever held.

So it's a dumb comparison.


----------



## Havre

Savant said:


> Well we can start with the fact that Wenger spent 22 years at Arsenal and, basically was the entire club. There is a reason he never wanted to leave, he was in that clubs roots.
> 
> Pochettino is going into year 3 (or year 4) and has already managed as many teams has Wenger has in his entire career. It's pretty naive to think that it's impossible he would consider leaving based on some platitudes.
> 
> Also, at the time when Madrid wanted to get Wenger out of Arsenal, the Gunners had a MUCH higher profile than Tottenham have ever held.
> 
> So it's a dumb comparison.




When was he approached? Do you know? He certainly hadn't been there for 22 years when he was asked. That is a dumb argument.

Pochettino has so far left one team. Getting sacked hardly counts. That is a dumb way of counting - not to mention the sample size.

Again - do you know when Wenger was asked?

I honestly don't care too much if Pochettino leaves or not. So "making me feel better" is a dumb assumption on your part. I support Spurs - not the manager. And as Klopp dwindled at Dortmund, Mourinho at Chelsea, Wenger at Arsenal etc. - almost all managers run their course at teams. I don't know when that is at Spurs for Pochettino, but it will happen. I hope he stays, but I'm not that emotionally invested.


----------



## Chimaera

I'm not sure I would bet my house on him staying. If Real want him, they're going to get him.


----------



## Havre

I don't think there is much doubt they want him.


----------



## Savant

Havre said:


> When was he approached? Do you know? He certainly hadn't been there for 22 years when he was asked. That is a dumb argument.
> 
> Pochettino has so far left one team. Getting sacked hardly counts. That is a dumb way of counting - not to mention the sample size
> 
> Again - do you know when Wenger was asked?
> 
> I honestly don't care too much if Pochettino leaves or not. So "making me feel better" is a dumb assumption on your part. I support Spurs - not the manager. And as Klopp dwindled at Dortmund, Mourinho at Chelsea, Wenger at Arsenal etc. - almost all managers run their course at teams. I don't know when that is at Spurs for Pochettino, but it will happen. I hope he stays, but I'm not that emotionally invested.



I don't have the exact dates of when Wenger was asked, but I'd bet the house it wasnt twice within the first 3 and a half years at the club


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Not only does he not have a release clause, he said this today at a book signing event in Barcelona:



Saying it would be disrespectful is probably one of the better things to say to indicate that you are not leaving yet. I consider him to be a man of good morals. However I could see him leaving for greener pastures as soon as next summer. He'd hopefully be remembered as a fantastic transitional manager, whilst we can get a better tactical manager to elevate us even more.

Edit:

Sky sports reporter: Are you ready for a challenge like Madrid?

Poch: Right now I am ready for lunch.

Fatboy confirmed @Duchene2MacKinnon


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## Vasilevskiy

This is RM we are talking about. Hope that he stays but expect that he signs with them


----------



## PansCyans

Tweeted by Tom Spur

Def sounds like an unbiased expert in the Spanish language.


----------



## PansCyans

Anyhow, he said the exact same things, almost to a letter before leaving the Saints.


----------



## PansCyans

> *Mauricio Pochettino says he is staying put as Southampton manager*
> 
> "The new situation is different. We are in the middle of our new project. Nicola knows of my decision to stay; I have spoken to him. I am fully committed to the staff, the players, the club and it would make no sense to leave in the middle of our path."


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Poch only left Southampton because Cortese left and the board refused to listen to him.


----------



## PansCyans

And maybe in the coming days someone at Spurs will conveniently “refuse to listen to him” with Madrid as an option. 

I’m just saying text when it comes to Madrid and Barca, we’ve seen many people change their tune when the official call comes. Contracts and promises be damned. Considering how often these teams poach everyone elese successfully, I just don’t think it should be ruled out.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Big Kahuna said:


> Not only does he not have a release clause, h*e said this today at a book signing event in Barcelona:*
> Fatboy confirmed @Duchene2MacKinnon




Little does he know that "book" signing is actually a contract with Barca. Muahaha.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

What I can say is that i think it would be a bad decision for him. He's still young and has a lot to learn. Plenty of time to win trophies before he retires, wherever he may want them. 

But I still don't think he is leaving Spurs yet. I'd be surprised that he would have sudden large disagreements with the board after signing a 5-year contract. However, I could see him being tempted with re-tooling Real Madrid in maybe two years when their older stars have regressed or been sold.


----------



## Chimaera

Why is it a bad decision?

He makes bank, wins a trophy or two (which he won't with Spurs, lets be honest), and even if he gets canned, he's still a marketable commodity. He could take the Real job for 2 or 3 seasons (if he lasts that long) and just as easily have the Spurs job back if he wanted. 

While Spurs probably promised him some funds to expand the squad, they're not enough to where Spurs are going to win the title or compete in the CL.


I hope he stays, honestly, but if Real wants him, I have to think he's at least a little interested, and they'll pay what it takes to get it done, Levy be damned.


----------



## Havre

Spurs will take him back leaving days after signing a new deal? Of course if Levy is gone who knows, but that is a bit of a stretch. Obviously no-one at Spurs would ever be able to trust him again.

RM are far behind Barcelona in the league. They got to replace quite a few players over the next years. In what world is RM just going to win some trophies in the next 2-3 years?

Not so many months ago people started to think ZZ might be gone as soon as RM is out of the CL. That is how fickle things are at RM. If Pochettino gets sacked 2 years into something at RM without winning anything it is not like team bigger than Spurs are falling over each other to hire him. Look at Blanc. Obviously I don’t know why he hasn’t got a job and maybe he has turned down Utd and BM for all I know, but I doubt it. His resume is stronger than Pochettino’s I would say (honestly wouldn’t be that bad for Spurs if they replaced Pochettino with Blanc - other than the uncertainty. Pochettino clearly works at Spurs - that is never a given when a manager moves).


----------



## Chimaera

Obviously, we're playing in hypothetical situations, but you really think if Spurs are looking for a manager in two or three seasons after he goes, and he wants the job, that they wouldn't have some interest? It's a good job, but it's not in the same realm as Real's job. 

There are two or three jobs tops that are the equivalent of managing Real. Even if it's bonkers with the players and the backroom, any manager worth anything has to think of it. Especially a guy who speaks Spanish, played in La Liga, and knows the history.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Let's break this down.



Chimaera said:


> He makes bank




I mean, Real didn't pay Zidane any vast amounts. Even though they doubled his salary in August, he still earned less than Pochettino's new deal. At least according to the info I found.



> wins a trophy or two (which he won't with Spurs, lets be honest)






> While Spurs probably promised him some funds to expand the squad, they're not enough to where Spurs are going to win the title or compete in the CL.




You're saying that the same year that Liverpool made the CL final.



> He could take the Real job for 2 or 3 seasons (if he lasts that long) and just as easily have the Spurs job back if he wanted.




No. The bridges with Tottenham would be burned if he left now.



> I hope he stays, honestly, but if Real wants him, I have to think he's at least a little interested, and they'll pay what it takes to get it done, Levy be damned.




Of course he is interested, but not to the point that he would leave Tottenham yet if you ask me.


----------



## Evilo

I'm not sure why Real are after him, he doesn't have a great track record. So I still doubt it.
If they are however, he'll deny he goes there until the contract is signed and that's logical.
Moreover, I think he does sign if the contract is there. Spure aren't looking like an EPL or CL winner until quite a while. With Real, he instatnyl becomes a favourite to win either CL or Liga.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

I love Poch and would hate to see him go. But if I'm RM, I mean...you have to win big trophies. As a Spur fan it's way too painfully obvious he hasn't proven he can do that. Can you take that chance after running Zidane out of town?


----------



## HajdukSplit

In some surreal news, it appears Bielsea is close to Leeds United


----------



## Stray Wasp

HajdukSplit said:


> In some surreal news, it appears Bielsea is close to Leeds United




That combination has to break some kind of EU quota on volatility.


----------



## maclean

Wow, totally shocked by ZZ. That guy must clean up at casinos


----------



## RoyIsALegend

spintheblackcircle said:


> I love Poch and would hate to see him go. But if I'm RM, I mean...you have to win big trophies. As a Spur fan it's way too painfully obvious he hasn't proven he can do that. Can you take that chance after running Zidane out of town?




...”running Zidane out of town?”


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

spintheblackcircle said:


> I love Poch and would hate to see him go. But if I'm RM, I mean...you have to win big trophies. As a Spur fan it's way too painfully obvious he hasn't proven he can do that. Can you take that chance after running Zidane out of town?




It's like saying a dude can't go to 120 mph driving a Porsche because you've only seen him drive a Ford Fiesta.


----------



## Live in the Now

What did Zidane win as a manager before getting that job? He couldn't get their B team promoted and everyone thought it was a joke appointment. It can be very difficult to know what a manager will do if they're given a Ferrari, but in the case of Pochettino there is a standard of improvement.

Espanyol, trash club. Hard to judge. 

At Southampton he keeps them in the top flight, the next season they finish 8th, having signed Lovren, Wanyama, and Osvaldo. Two players moved on to play for bigger clubs and one who was a psycho.

At Spurs I think it speaks for itself. They finished sixth and had a hopeless manager, as well as many players who simply didn't perform. They were shipped out, Spurs went up the table, the rest is history.

The issue with Real Madrid is two fold, their squad is getting older and someone is going to have to replace those players. Second is that they don't have the best league team. Even though there are issues with appointing Pochettino, it's not like there's any other clear choice. Ultimately nobody is going to live up to expectations anyway, the expectations are too high.


----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> It's like saying a dude can't go to 120 mph driving a Porsche because you've only seen him drive a Ford Fiesta.




...a Ford Fiesta ST is a fun little car; that can hit 120 much quicker than you think ;-)


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

cgf said:


> ...a Ford Fiesta ST is a fun little car; that can hit 120 much quicker than you think ;-)



Something about Fatboy in a fiesta makes me giggle.

Poch is a great manager who will succeed anywhere. Ffs ZZ stumbled on 3 trophies as did Mateo.


----------



## les Habs

Hadoop said:


> Great post. An excellent summary and evaluation of Zidane's time at Real




Thanks, that's pretty much how I see it based on what I know. If I'm Zidane I see two choices in front of me in the future: 


France
Juventus

If it's Juventus I wait a year, if it's France it's pending the World Cup. France would be ideal for him though because he'd have what really looks like a golden generation. Anyway, I think all of this talk of who replaces Zidane is valid, but where Zidane ends up could be as interesting when that day comes.


----------



## Evilo

les Habs said:


> Thanks, that's pretty much how I see it based on what I know. If I'm Zidane I see two choices in front of me in the future:
> 
> 
> France
> Juventus
> 
> If it's Juventus I wait a year, if it's France it's pending the World Cup. France would be ideal for him though because he'd have what really looks like a golden generation. Anyway, I think all of this talk of who replaces Zidane is valid, but where Zidane ends up could be as interesting when that day comes.



When he benches one of Mbappe or Griezmann to start Benzema....


----------



## Elliman

For fun! 

Who would be more of a shock for Madrid role? Keane or Moyes?

Who would you prefer if given only the choice of Moyes or Keane?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Mauricio Pellegrino new manager of Leganes


----------



## Stray Wasp

Elliman said:


> For fun!
> 
> Who would be more of a shock for Madrid role? Keane or Moyes?
> 
> Who would you prefer if given only the choice of Moyes or Keane?




I'd give Sir David Moyes the chance to earn himself another scalp.


----------



## Chimaera

I still hold out hope for Fat Sam.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Poch no longer an option for Madrid as they wanted someone who would push a move faster. 

Heard Klopp (lol) and Allegri are top candidates now. Klopp isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Even if they gave him the Bernabeu. Allegri is much more likely and would be hilarious considering how defensive he is. It would also mean they would be out of the running for Dybala IMO. So please make this happen.


----------



## Live in the Now

Klopp won't leave lol.


----------



## Havre

Well. As they say. If RM really want it there is nothing to stop it happening.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Havre said:


> Well. As they say. If RM really want it there is nothing to stop it happening.




People still believe this nonsense?


----------



## Havre

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> People still believe this nonsense?




Apparently. I felt like everyone were looking at me strangely when I argued Pochettino might not go to RM. We’ll see if the same logic applies for Klopp


----------



## Vasilevskiy

Live in the Now said:


> Klopp won't leave lol.




I agree that after the season they had it is very unlikely he would want to leave. He is loved there too.

Allegri ticks the boxes


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Havre said:


> Apparently. I felt like everyone were looking at me strangely when I argued Pochettino might not go to RM. We’ll see if the same logic applies for Klopp




Anyone who thought a guy like pouch would jump ship right after an extension is delusional. Same should be applied to kloppo.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Yeah, I don't see how Liverpool supporters can put forward much of a better argument that Klopp wouldn't leave for Real Madrid this summer compared to Pochettino.


----------



## PansCyans

They can’t. When it’s Madrid or Barca that are calling, there’s always a possibility, no matter how slight. Regardless of what contracts have been signed, or what shows of loyalty have been made.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Big Kahuna said:


> Yeah, I don't see how Liverpool supporters can put forward much of a better argument that Klopp wouldn't leave for Real Madrid this summer compared to Pochettino.




Klopp could have gone to a bigger club after his Dortmund tenure. He didn't.


----------



## Savant

Theres no doubt on my mind that Klopp is on Madrid's shortlist. He is a great manager.


----------



## Live in the Now

Big Kahuna said:


> Yeah, I don't see how Liverpool supporters can put forward much of a better argument that Klopp wouldn't leave for Real Madrid this summer compared to Pochettino.




I never said he would.

On top of that Klopp already signed 90m worth of player for next season and bidding for another 60m player.



koyvoo said:


> They can’t. When it’s Madrid or Barca that are calling, there’s always a possibility, no matter how slight. Regardless of what contracts have been signed, or what shows of loyalty have been made.




It's not the same for managers. Otherwise you can't explain why Valverde is managing Barcelona. Lastly and probably most importantly, Klopp is a a very left wing person who seems to care about the history of football. Not just conjecture but he is quoted as such in his biography. He also said he has no interest in learning a new language at any point in his life. There's practically zero chance in the world he'd manage that club ever.


----------



## Halladay

LvG is unemployed, please hire him Madrid .


----------



## PansCyans

Zidane won't coach France before 2020 – FFF president backs Deschamps


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

koyvoo said:


> Zidane won't coach France before 2020 – FFF president backs Deschamps



So, juve it is... will he just swap wth Allegri?


----------



## Havre

I don´t think Klopp will move to RM (probably about as likely as Pochettino in my head - which is very very close to 0), but those are some weak arguments if that is what separates Klopp from Pochettino. Might as well say that Klopp just lost his 2nd best player and probably knows he´ll lose Salah the same way (of course Liverpool fans will refer to an interview saying Salah is different than Kane, Eriksen etc.).

RM have hired ZZ, Ramos and Benitez. I don´t think it is obvious that they will hire whoever is most popular in the media right now (Klopp and Pochettino being high on that list).


----------



## Live in the Now

Havre said:


> I don´t think Klopp will move to RM (probably about as likely as Pochettino in my head - which is very very close to 0), but those are some weak arguments if that is what separates Klopp from Pochettino. Might as well say that Klopp just lost his 2nd best player and probably knows he´ll lose Salah the same way (of course Liverpool fans will refer to an interview saying Salah is different than Kane, Eriksen etc.)




That's he's already signing players for next season is a fantastic argument. Not sure how anyone could think otherwise, considering he met with all of these players to convince them to come. Klopp also strikes me as a person with integrity, and the idea that he would leave after signing the players he wants is a bit strange. For the record I thought the idea Poch would walk out after signing a contract was really f***ing dumb. However, I do understand the need some people have to troll on such subjects.

I'm pretty sure RM will promote Guti.


----------



## Havre

I actually don’t think we disagree much here. Both are highly unlikely. I just don’t find Klopp any more unlikely than Pochettino (he only needs 1% of Klopp’s integrity to at least honor his new contract for a year or two).


----------



## Live in the Now

Havre said:


> I actually don’t think we disagree much here. Both are highly unlikely. I just don’t find Klopp any more unlikely than Pochettino (he only needs 1% of Klopp’s integrity to at least honor his new contract for a year or two).




I think it's just the typical RM thing. Try to unsettle in the hopes that maybe someone will get agitated and want to leave, but as it relates to managers it's too rare to be realistic.


----------



## les Habs

Spurs rumored to be asking near 50 million for Pochettino.
Zidane linked with... Qatar. Would make 50 million a year.
Guti linked with... St. Mirren. Would love to Big Chris rip him a new one and get Craigan all hot and bothered about it.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> Spurs rumored to be asking near *50 million for Pochettino.*
> *Zidane linked with... Qatar. Would make 50 million a year.*
> Guti linked with... St. Mirren. Would love to Big Chris rip him a new one and get Craigan all hot and bothered about it.




Oh good he can pay for his replacement...

Honestly, he's the type to go to there...eww.


----------



## maclean

les Habs said:


> Spurs rumored to be asking near 50 million for Pochettino.




Well, guess we've found the first difference between the two situations (assuming there's any truth to this, which of course it may well be pure fabulation, personally I've only heard that RM got the message and is over him)


----------



## Chimaera

I mean, there's always a chance that anyone could go to Real. With Barca, it's one of the top 2 jobs in football. 

I just think Poch, speaking Spanish, having played in La Liga, and not really getting everything he wants at Spurs, might lead to him having a slightly higher chance of going. That and there was more internet rumblings from Spanish journos right after ZZ stepped down. 

We're talking like 2% to maybe 10%. 

I don't think either is that likely, but I could see a greater chance of one over the other, however slight.


----------



## les Habs

Whatever happens with Madrid's managerial vacancy, Florentino Perez apparently wants to get Raul (who as I noted just got his coaching license) on the same track Zidane was. Somewhat difficult to say how these guys will pan out (though I've always said I think Xavi would do well as a manager), but I would think Xabi Alonso might be a better candidate.


----------



## Chimaera

If we're being honest, it's more about what they're willing to spend to overhaul the roster. 

If they're willing to go out and plow in another 400-500 million, it won't matter who they have managing it, as long as they're of a decent quality, they'll win stuff (whether or not they can beat Barca is a debate), but it's more about their recruitment policy to me as they have to retool that roster.


----------



## Evilo

BeInSports reports Blanc is very close from signing with Chelsea.


----------



## Savant

Evilo said:


> BeInSports reports Blanc is very close from signing with Chelsea



That would he a major move, but cant picture Blanc staying there very long, (not that it matters) Chelsea are in a very weird situation right now with Abramovich and possible roster turnover.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Evilo said:


> BeInSports reports Blanc is very close from signing with Chelsea.





Ugh.


----------



## East Coast Bias

f***!!


----------



## Chimaera

Must mean they couldn’t get Sarri. Must be going to Real or not being let loose


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Chimaera said:


> Must mean they couldn’t get Sarri. Must be going to Real or not being let loose




They could have if they were willing to pay his release clause.


----------



## Chimaera

That’s more what I mean, they wouldn’t pay it


----------



## Live in the Now

Managers are disposable to a club like them, so it would be pretty foolish to pay more than 8 million. Those also have to be paid immediately unlike regular transfers which are structured by year or monthly.


----------



## cgf

Bild saying Real has concrete interest in Nagelsmann...would anything be as funny as Bayern screwing up Nagelsmann just because of Hoeness' ego?


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Chelsea's U-18 manager Jody Morris has gone to join Lampard at Derby. Super smart move by Derby, and that's a departure I'm very sad about - I was hoping we'd see him involved with the senior team soon.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Bild saying Real has concrete interest in Nagelsmann...would anything be as funny as Bayern screwing up Nagelsmann just because of Hoeness' ego?




IDK about Nagelsmann to Real. Egos even bigger there and players are unlikely to respect/know about what Nagelsmann has done in the Bundesliga as much as Bayern players would.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> IDK about Nagelsmann to Real. Egos even bigger there and players are unlikely to respect/know about what Nagelsmann has done in the Bundesliga as much as Bayern players would.




No arguments from me on that, I just think it would be hilarious for Nagelsmann to have turned down a bunch of jobs because he was waiting for Bayern...like when Watzke approached him about replacing Stöger...only for Hoeneß to f*** it up by putzing around with his old buddy.


----------



## Havre

And 1.5 years later Nagelsmann would be available for BM. Might be perfect timing.


----------



## cgf

Havre said:


> And 1.5 years later Nagelsmann would be available for BM. Might be perfect timing.




I was thinking Leipzig...but I like your way better


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Pretty sure I read he rejected them like 1/2 days ago.


----------



## les Habs

Saw something about Jorge Jesus being in the running for the Madrid post.


----------



## Live in the Now

Can't believe this but Bild says that Jesse Marsch really is in major consideration to take the RBL job.


----------



## cgf

I thought Ragnick had already announced that he would be coaching them this season? Presumably, because they were hoping to snag Nagelsmann next summer if Bayern denies him again.


----------



## SJSharks72

Live in the Now said:


> Can't believe this but Bild says that Jesse Marsch really is in major consideration to take the RBL job.



Marsch is brilliant. He should be in consideration. I think that he should go to a lower pressure situation first but I think he would do great there


----------



## Fro

Interesting

Real Madrid transfer news: STAGGERING Pochettino price demand revealed with Klopp eyed


----------



## les Habs

I can't see Klopp making that move. Not now anyway.


----------



## Live in the Now

That's also a horrendous source.


----------



## Fro

everything here is a horrendous source...


----------



## Savant

Fro said:


> everything here is a horrendous source...



That's not true. Some people just choose to post tabloid garbage. The Liverpool fans on here know who the good sources for their team are and tend to stick to them. You'll see us referencing the good sources by name usually. I'm using LFC as an example because I can speak on who their good beat writers are. I cant comment to compare with other teams.

Only YOU can prevent posting horrendous sources.


----------



## Power Man

And as expected, we have sacked Madjer

Great player, not a great coach


----------



## les Habs

Guardiola says he'll never manage Barça again and that the role of President isn't something he'd do either.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> Guardiola says he'll never manage Barça again and that the role of President isn't something he'd do either.




I still say he'lol be back someday. I mean he doesn't last that long at his clubs so, unless his plan is to coach in each in every team or retire early?

He might try his hand at a NT too. I can see that.


----------



## Ceremony

Chris Coleman is no longer out of work. He's pitched up in China. Chortle.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Graham Potter to Swansea.


----------



## Havre

That is cool. Potter might be a genius. Let’s see if it works in England (or Wales if you want).


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

I don't think Potter will do too well, however we shall see.


----------



## Havre

Based on?

What he did in Sweden was sensational. Beyond words good.

Not sure if he will be given time to built something like that step by step in the UK though.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Just a hunch.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

AVB?


----------



## cgf

How had I never heard this before


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Lopetegui to Real Madrid after the WC is official.


----------



## Power Man

Eh not bad


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Power Man said:


> Eh not bad




I expect Isco to be really happy. He has been incredible under Lopetegui. 

Chances are that he is just a stopgap.


----------



## Power Man

Big Kahuna said:


> I expect Isco to be really happy. He has been incredible under Lopetegui.
> 
> Chances are that he is just a stopgap.



Agreed on Isco


----------



## Deficient Mode

Lopetegui will have a terribly difficult job at Real Madrid. The best players in the squad are old and it'll be nearly impossible to build off of Zidane's CL house of cards.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Deficient Mode said:


> Lopetegui will have a terribly difficult job at Real Madrid. The best players in the squad are old and it'll be nearly impossible to build off of Zidane's CL house of cards.




He is a former scouting manager and RM Castilla manager. I think he is a great option to integrate younger players.


----------



## cgf

Big Kahuna said:


> He is a former scouting manager and RM Castilla manager. I think he is a great option *to integrate younger players*.




Will Real let him do that?


----------



## Power Man

cgf said:


> Will Real let him do that?



They have already allowed it


----------



## cgf

Power Man said:


> They have already allowed it




I'll wait to see what they do on the transfer front


----------



## Scandale du Jour

cgf said:


> I'll wait to see what they do on the transfer front




Last year, they only signed young players. I expect they will move some people out this year (Bale  ) and replace them with younger stars. But yeah, let's wait and see, you never know with Perez.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

cgf said:


> Will Real let him do that?




Don't think there will be too many coming from Castilla. I expect most to be brought in through transfers instead.


----------



## Live in the Now

Remember when people thought great, experienced managers would leave their teams the way whiny young players do? Good times.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Dude better keep his grubby Madrid hands off De Gea the next month.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Big Kahuna said:


> He is a former scouting manager and RM Castilla manager. I think he is a great option to integrate younger players.




And if there's the slightest turbulence or drop in play when going from one generation of players - many of whom were the best at their positions or among the best - he'll get sacked again.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> And if there's the slightest turbulence or drop in play when going from one generation of players - many of whom were the best at their positions or among the best - he'll get sacked again.



Here's to hoping!


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Here's to hoping!




I like Lopetegui and think it was a good choice but I highly doubt he'll last as long as Zidane did. I'm not looking forward to the arguments that Zidane was some sort of wizard if the squad underachieves after he leaves.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I like Lopetegui and think it was a good choice but I highly doubt he'll last as long as Zidane did. I'm not looking forward to the arguments that Zidane was some sort of wizard if the squad underachieves after he leaves.




I'd rather hear those arguments than see Lopetegui get a chance to really build Real back into a powerhouse that can actually win La Liga


----------



## The Abusement Park

Deficient Mode said:


> I like Lopetegui and think it was a good choice but I highly doubt he'll last as long as Zidane did. I'm not looking forward to the arguments that Zidane was some sort of wizard if the squad underachieves after he leaves.




I don’t think I’d call ZZ a tactical wizard. But I’d assume that he’s really good at dealing with egos. I think the tactical side of his managerial ability will come to fruition more at wherever his next job is.


----------



## cgf

The Abusement Park said:


> I don’t think I’d call ZZ a tactical wizard. But I’d assume that he’s really good at dealing with egos. I think the tactical side of his managerial ability will come to fruition more at wherever his next job is.




I think the best thing Zidane had going for him was that he was Zidane and Perez would've backed him no matter what...even over CR7 if it came down to it. That gave ZZ an authority in the room that the players had to respond to.

Though that doesn't mean he isn't also a deft man-manager. The dude became a captain in his latter playing days for a reason other than being his teams' star. So getting players to believe in the collective & motivating them to leave it all on the pitch, is something that we know is in his skillset, if he didn't lose the room...which his clout with Perez & within the club helped ensure he wouldn't.

I found Real tactically mediocre in the CL...I don't watch La Liga so can't judge them there...but that's only part of what makes a coach.


----------



## les Habs

Wow, great timing by Madrid, Florentino Perez and Lopetegui here. Preparing for the World Cup and this. I'm sure all the idiots who whistle Gerry will love it. In fact I'd say that all current Barça players in the NT should go home. Of course I now want to see them make the Final so that Lopetegui's job is even harder. It's already going to be a fun job considering he said Messi is the best player in history.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Rumours swirling around that Lopetegui is about to be sacked by the Spanish FA "for unsettling the World Cup preparations". Other reports say that the players are fighting it. The Spanish FA has already called an impromptu press conference for today, which they've since delayed...


----------



## PansCyans

Julen Lopetegui sacked as Spain manager after accepting Real Madrid job


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Knowing the polarized environment that is the Spanish national team, I think it was an absolute dick move by RM to announce his deal just days before the WC.


----------



## Savi

What a shit show


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Bakayoko Ono said:


> Knowing the polarized environment that is the Spanish national team, I think it was an absolute dick move by RM to announce his deal just days before the WC.




Most spanish players already knew about Lopetegui going to RM. They might as well have announced it.


----------



## les Habs

Big Kahuna said:


> Most spanish players already knew about Lopetegui going to RM. They might as well have announced it.




What are you talking about? Multiple reports say otherwise. Rubiales, Hierro and the players are all said not to have known. Rubiales said it multiple times in his press conference, that he and the federation were given 5 minutes notice before Madrid went public. The only one who knew was Sergio Ramos who played a big part in all of this from what it sounds like. And it's that same Sergio Ramos who tried to save Lopetegui's head. Apparently this comes after Lopetegui telling the players not to focus on their clubs and their respective futures multiple times but to focus on the NT, then he pulls that stunt. Also, imagine if he were going to Barça instead of Madrid and what sort of national disgrace that would be considered.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

That's quite a remarkable turn of events. Sounds like it was handled in a less than professional manner by just about every party involved.


----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> That's quite a remarkable turn of events. Sounds like it was handled in a less than professional manner by just about every party involved.




aka the Real Madrid Way


----------



## les Habs

So more interesting things regarding the Lopetegui affair:


Madrid are apparently planning to announce Lopetegui tomorrow, the day the World Cup starts. Surprised they didn't wait until the kickoff of Spain's first match on Friday.
Lopetegui had agreed a new deal with Spain only last month. Not sure if it was signed or not. That carried a 2 million release clause, but that isn't necessary now.
When Rubiales was trying to talk Lopetegui right after he was informed by Madrid, he couldn't get him on the line because Lopetegui was telling the players. So he didn't even notify Rubiales.
His agent is Mendes.


----------



## maclean

Fernando Hierro to replace Lopetegui as Spain manager. Whatever one thinks of him or his relative lack of experience, can't be a great thing having a new coach coming in the day before you start the WC


----------



## Blueblood9

Portuguese fan here and came to say I originally though spain would beat them 2 1 but now I do see a chance for victory

This whole situation was handled terribly from real to Lopetegui. 

notify the Spanish nt, wait to announce etc he would have been able to coach out the tournament.


----------



## les Habs

Laughable bullshit from Lopetegui and his new mafioso boss today. 

In a relate note, apparently Pique had to act as mediator between Ramos and Rubiales. To think Ramos is a captain of anything.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> Laughable bull**** from Lopetegui and his new mafioso boss today.
> 
> In a relate note, apparently Pique had to act as mediator between Ramos and Rubiales. To think Ramos is a captain of anything.



Mad at Pique for stepping in should made them go at it. Ramos gets exiled and Spain further deteriorates. Better for Catalunya and Messi.


----------



## PansCyans

Leeds United confirm Bielsa as new boss


----------



## maclean

koyvoo said:


> Leeds United confirm Bielsa as new boss




Not the most prestigious gig for the 'best coach in the world'


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Bielsa is a weirdo. He'll be gone before Christmas.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

maclean said:


> Not the most prestigious gig for the 'best coach in the world'




He's the best coach's coach in the world. Just too volatile for teams. Over stays his welcome pretty quick. If he had the temperament of a Pep or Babcock, he would be buried in trophies. Although, you can argue that his loconess is why he's such an innovator.



Bakayoko Ono said:


> Bielsa is a weirdo. He'll be gone before Christmas.




Bielsa is an Angel.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Nagelsmann confirms he is leaving next summer.

https://www.achtzehn99.de/aktuelles/ueberblick/nagelsmann-startet-in-seine-letzte-tsg-saison


----------



## cgf

Big Kahuna said:


> Nagelsmann confirms he is leaving next summer.
> 
> https://www.achtzehn99.de/aktuelles/ueberblick/nagelsmann-startet-in-seine-letzte-tsg-saison




God do I hope that Bayern f***s it up again and he goes to Leipzig instead. Rangnick announcing himself as interim manager for a year reeks of them positioning themselves to pounce if Hoeneß pulls a Hoeneß again.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

cgf said:


> God do I hope that Bayern ****s it up again and he goes to Leipzig instead. Rangnick announcing himself as interim manager for a year reeks of them positioning themselves to pounce if Hoeneß pulls a Hoeneß again.




Bild and Kicker are already reporting that he is going to Lepzig.


----------



## KJS14

He'll move to Leipzig only to lose Werner and Forsberg next summer (assuming they don't move now), and wish he had moved to the mighty Arsenal this year instead.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Big Kahuna said:


> Bild and Kicker are already reporting that he is going to Lepzig.




Unusual decision. A whole year as lame duck at Hoffenheim doesn't sound like it's in the interest of that club. I guess nobody there cares that much.


----------



## Havre

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> Unusual decision. A whole year as lame duck at Hoffenheim doesn't sound like it's in the interest of that club. I guess nobody there cares that much.




Just don’t see how it is going to work. Even Ferguson couldn’t retire and keep the team performing until the end of the season.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Confirmed.

Julian-Nagelsmann-ab-2019


----------



## LemmyUlanov55

Yeah, staying for another season and confirming your new club sounds like a disaster in the making..


----------



## cgf

KJS14 said:


> He'll move to Leipzig only to lose Werner and Forsberg next summer (assuming they don't move now), and wish he had moved to the mighty Arsenal this year instead.




Werner will be a blow even with the good work they’ve done...assuming Bayern don’t buy him this summer...but the talent in the extended RB family, and their resources, dwarf what Nagelsmann has been working with. Especially if he brings Geiger with him to anchor the midfield behind all of those 8s, wingers & shadow strikers that Leipzig has on the roster already.

I can’t wait to see what he can do there...just gotta make sure that they sell Upamecano & Konate to make space for Tah & Torunarigha to learn from Nagelsmann lol


----------



## cgf

LemmyUlanov55 said:


> Yeah, staying for another season and confirming your new club sounds like a disaster in the making..




Happens all the time in Germany with coaches & players. It only ever goes bad when it gets out publicly and there is a huge fan base/media presence to blow the story up, which doesn’t apply to Hopp’s village club.

Plus even when it goes public with a huge fanbase, it usually plays out like the Lewa transfer if the party in question is of high quality, like Nagelsmann


----------



## Bon Esprit

Havre said:


> Just don’t see how it is going to work. Even Ferguson couldn’t retire and keep the team performing until the end of the season.



Nagelsmann is speculating, if it doesn't work Hoffenheim will kick him out. In that case he would take over RB immediatley. Rangnick would step aside happily and concentrate on his real job IMO.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> Nagelsmann is speculating, if it doesn't work Hoffenheim will kick him out. In that case he would take over RB immediatley. Rangnick would step aside happily and concentrate on his real job IMO.




Yeah, if it does go sour at TSG I would have to imagine that they’d make the change early...though I can’t help but see them at least in the top half of the table through the winter.

Even with the loss of Uth & Gnabry they still have some nice firepower ahead of that absolutely loaded midfield. Especially if Otto can make more of an impact as a first year pro, since he’s more physically developed than someone like JoJo or Werner was.


----------



## Bon Esprit

cgf said:


> Yeah, if it does go sour at TSG I would have to imagine that they’d make the change early...though I can’t help but see them at least in the top half of the table through the winter.
> 
> Even with the loss of Uth & Gnabry they still have some nice firepower ahead of that absolutely loaded midfield. Especially if Otto can make more of an impact as a first year pro, since he’s more physically developed than someone like JoJo or Werner was.



We all knew from the start Rangnick as a coach was only a stop-gap. Wouldn't surprise we if we hear sometime Nagelsmann and Rangnick had this deal in place for months. I never bought the Nagelsmann-to-Bayern rumors. BvB, yes, but not Munich with Hoeneß still in charge. This will come later.


----------



## LemmyUlanov55

cgf said:


> Happens all the time in Germany with coaches & players. It only ever goes bad when it’s announced publicly and there is a huge fan base/media presence to blow the story up, neither of which applies to Hoffenheim.
> 
> Plus even when it goes public with a huge fanbase, it usually plays out like the Lewa transfer if the party in question is of high quality, like Nagelsmann



A coach announces his future club before the upcoming season even started? Well, I can't recall a notable case throughout the last years.

You're probably right about the fans not caring much, still Nagelsmann and the people involved could've solved this a tad smarter. Just wait 'til Hoffe stumbles into a losing streak because of CL extra games and players becoming mouthy about coaches decisions. 
I can see Nagelsmann leaving 1899 before next summer, whenever it's a firing or step down, depending on how the season goes.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> We all knew from the start Rangnick as a coach was only a stop-gap. Wouldn't surprise we if we hear sometime Nagelsmann and Rangnick had this deal in place for months. I never bought the Nagelsmann-to-Bayern rumors. BvB, yes, but not Munich with Hoeneß still in charge. This will come later.




My friends in the BVB press department heard last fall when the heat on Bosz was first building up, that they were supposed to talk down stories linking Nagelsmann to the job because him going to Bayern was all but official.

At least until sometime in the late-winter/spring when Hoeneß decided he didn’t need some know-it-all who never even played for Bayern, and that his old friend Kovac was doing a good enough job to get the job instead. (this paragraph is my own speculation)

Take it for what it’s worth, but they’re old friends who wouldn’t BS me & have tipped me off to some BVB transfers before any rumors had come out & what they told me about the whole Tuchel-Watzke clash made a lot more sense to me than any alternative story I’ve heard.


----------



## cgf

LemmyUlanov55 said:


> A coach announces his future club before the upcoming season even started? Well, I can't recall a notable case throughout the last years.
> 
> You're probably right about the fans not caring much, still Nagelsmann and the people involved could've solved this a tad smarter. Just wait 'til Hoffe stumbles into a losing streak because of CL extra games and players becoming mouthy about coaches decisions.
> I can see Nagelsmann leaving 1899 before next summer, whenever it's a firing or step down, depending on how the season goes.




I guess a coach announcing it before the season is a little different than a player, or a coach announcing it in season...but tbh I think the optics are better on a coach announcing it in the offseason than in-season; when he’s supposed to be focused on his team & not negotiating his next job.

Agreed though that if it any point it does turn sour, the plug will be pulled quickly & Nagelsmann will move east long before next summer.


----------



## Havre

Of course this deal is not a problem for Nagelsmann. And I guess Hoffenheim are so desperate to keep him that they are willing to accept such a crazy deal.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fenerbahce appoint PSV manager Phillip Cocu, in his place PSV will hire Mark van Bommel who is currently at the WC as an assistant manager for Australia


----------



## Bon Esprit

cgf said:


> My friends in the BVB press department heard last fall when the heat on Bosz was first building up, that they were supposed to talk down stories linking Nagelsmann to the job because him going to Bayern was all but official.
> 
> At least until sometime in the late-winter/spring when Hoeneß decided he didn’t need some know-it-all who never even played for Bayern, and that his old friend Kovac was doing a good enough job to get the job instead. (this paragraph is my own speculation)
> 
> Take it for what it’s worth, but they’re old friends who wouldn’t BS me & have tipped me off to some BVB transfers before any rumors had come out & what they told me about the whole Tuchel-Watzke clash made a lot more sense to me than any alternative story I’ve heard.




I have no reason to distrust you or your sources. Probably Hopp just said NO. 
Mega-Ablöse steht im Raum: So teuer würde Julian Nagelsmann für Borussia Dortmund werden
Basically says Nagelsmann has an out-clause for 2019. If he wants to leave before it will cost double digit (low millions).
Hopp can afford not to sell and neither Bayern nor Dortmund would spent 10 or 20m on a coach.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bon Esprit said:


> I have no reason to distrust you or your sources. Probably Hopp just said NO.
> Mega-Ablöse steht im Raum: So teuer würde Julian Nagelsmann für Borussia Dortmund werden
> Basically says Nagelsmann has an out-clause for 2019. If he wants to leave before it will cost double digit (low millions).
> Hopp can afford not to sell and neither Bayern nor Dortmund would spent 10 or 20m on a coach.




Bayern paid Guardiola 20M a year in salary. I think they could pay a 20M transfer fee for a manager.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Bayern paid Guardiola 20M a year in salary. I think they could pay a 20M transfer fee for a manager.




Bayern could spend that much to get a coach, but BE's not wrong to question whether they actually would given that Hoeneß backed out of doing so and opted for his old friend Nico instead


----------



## Bon Esprit

Deficient Mode said:


> Bayern paid Guardiola 20M a year in salary. I think they could pay a 20M transfer fee for a manager.



Paying Pep is another animal. as stupid as it is, but Bayern won't spend 20m on a rookie.
Here is another link to show how Hopp was thinking at that time. From april 2017
Nagelsmann kostet laut Hopp 400 Millionen Euro Ablöse - WELT
Nonsense, of course, just to backup my post.
Dietmar Hopp wasn't willing to let Nagelsmann go.
If I heard it right on skytv Nagelsmann's fee next year will be 5m (out clause)

found this
https://sportbild.bild.de/bundeslig...enheim-rb-leipzig-wechsel-56082370.sport.html


----------



## Luigi Habs

LemmyUlanov55 said:


> Yeah, staying for another season and confirming your new club sounds like a disaster in the making..




I don’t understand how Hoffenheim even allow this to happen.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Luigi Habs said:


> I don’t understand how Hoffenheim even allow this to happen.



Because their owner loves nagelsmann as a coach, but can't prevent him from leaving next year due to his contract. Since Nagelsmann took over in 16 only Bayern and BvB had a better record.


----------



## cgf

Bon Esprit said:


> Paying Pep is another animal. as stupid as it is, but Bayern won't spend 20m on a rookie.
> Here is another link to show how Hopp was thinking at that time. From april 2017
> Nagelsmann kostet laut Hopp 400 Millionen Euro Ablöse - WELT
> Nonsense, of course, just to backup my post.
> Dietmar Hopp wasn't willing to let Nagelsmann go.
> If I heard it right on skytv Nagelsmann's fee next year will be 5m (out clause)
> 
> found this
> https://sportbild.bild.de/bundeslig...enheim-rb-leipzig-wechsel-56082370.sport.html




You have to remember hopp was also posturing at that time to convince Nagelsmann of how valued he is by TSG, to convince Bayern they are better off seeking the cheaper option...and to ensure that bayern didn’t try and make it happen during the season, before they pulled jupp up back. As, even though Nagelsmann wanted Bayern & Bayern was (at least initially) ready to drop 10-20m on a transfer fee for him, nothing was official or sorted out between the clubs yet so there was still a lot of negotiating to go to make it all happen.

That’s what the four hundred million euro comments screamed to me, a) we love Nagelsmann so Julian, you should stay as long as you want, b) Bayern can’t have him mid season, and c) we’re going to want some serious cash if Bayern want him before his release clause kicks in.


----------



## cgf

Luigi Habs said:


> I don’t understand how Hoffenheim even allow this to happen.





Bon Esprit said:


> Because their owner loves nagelsmann as a coach, but can't prevent him from leaving next year due to his contract. Since Nagelsmann took over in 16 only Bayern and BvB had a better record.




Yup. Nagelsmann took over a team that was rock bottom in the standings, hadn't even come close to challenging for europe since Hopp made them be self-funding, and whose most successful coach prior to Nagelsmann was arguably Gisdol...who had that Firmino-Volland duo doing work.

I'll get pushback on this because he's "not proven enough" and because "we still need to see him at a bigger club" but Nagelsmann is one of the best & most flexible coaches in the sport already. I don't think there are even 5 active coaches who could've done with TSG what he has in his time there. So holding onto him for as long as possible is an absolute must for that team, even if they aren't big enough to keep him forever unless Hopp decided to let them operate at a loss again...and even then it would've probably only bought them another year or two of Nagelsmann.

Plus what's the downside? That the team suddenly starts to perform as poorly for him as they would for 99.9% of the coaches he could be replaced by? I love Vogt, Geiger, Grillitsch, Demirbay, Amiri & Kramaric, but on paper that isn't a team that deserves a CL spot, yet this is the second straight year they've finished in one. So why not take the chance that it'll continue to work to try and squeeze a third straight CL finish out of this squad?


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

So Sporting hired Sinisa Mihajlovic 9 days ago, then got rid of the club president behind the hiring and now they've fired Mihajlovic.

Sporting Lisbon: Sinisa Mihajlovic sacked after just nine days


----------



## cgf

REINHARD GRINDEL: Everyone who is part of the DFB delegation here in Russia is thoroughly disappointed. I feel sorry for the fans who have been looking forward to this World Cup so much. It’s not the job of the president to analyse what went wrong - that’s not my place. That’s what the management is for. It’s up to them to explain what happened and we will draw our consequences from that. *We always knew that there would be a rebuilding phase after this World Cup, regardless of how well it went. The presidential board and I have always felt that Joachim Löw is the right person to do that. That isn’t necessarily because of his success in 2014, but more because of what he did with a young team at the 2017 Confed Cup.* *That’s why we decided to extend his contract until 2022 before the tournament. I am still of that opinion and haven’t heard anything different from any other member of the presidential board.
*

Well at least we'll get two more years of the gripping drama that is: Jogi vs our NT's potential.​


----------



## Luigi Habs

If he's so good with young players why did he leave them out then?


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Grindel has little to no experience in football but plenty of experience sitting in parliament for the CDU. Explains it all.


----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> Grindel has little to no experience in football but plenty of experience sitting in parliament for the CDU. Explains it all.




If only we had a good AfD man in the job!


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

cgf said:


> If only we had a good AfD man in the job!




They would certainly be less averse to radical changes and less inclined to hang on to established personnel that's way past their sell-by date.


----------



## maclean

Havre said:


> Of course this deal is not a problem for Nagelsmann. And I guess Hoffenheim are so desperate to keep him that they are willing to accept such a crazy deal.




As far as I receall Nagelsmann himself looked forward to taking his team through CL football, so there's good grounds for him not losing interest


----------



## Suiteness

So if Jogi does resign, who are we looking at to take over? I read about Christian Daum the other day, is that really possible and if so, would that be considered a step forward?


----------



## Havre

maclean said:


> As far as I receall Nagelsmann himself looked forward to taking his team through CL football, so there's good grounds for him not losing interest




To me this is a bit like playing poker without real money. The game is in theory just as interesting as a pure intellectual exercise, but in reality it just doesn't work that way. Same if you are pretending to invest money on the stock exchange in a competition.

Not to mention how squad players will feel. When they know the manager will be gone anyway will they be able to work as hard in training etc. in theory yes ("they are professionals") in reality probably not.


----------



## maclean

Havre said:


> To me this is a bit like playing poker without real money. The game is in theory just as interesting as a pure intellectual exercise, but in reality it just doesn't work that way. Same if you are pretending to invest money on the stock exchange in a competition.
> 
> Not to mention how squad players will feel. When they know the manager will be gone anyway will they be able to work as hard in training etc. in theory yes ("they are professionals") in reality probably not.




Oh, I do agree in general. Still vivid in my memory is the Czech football team falling apart in the middle of the Euro when coach Pavel Vrba was making a coaching deal with Makhachkala in the middle of it. Still, I guess I can imagine a situation whereby, at least with the whole thing aboveboard, they can say, all right, when might we get a run at the Champions League again, let's put our all into this as a team.


----------



## cgf

May be my senses on this topic are off just because how often we see this with players in Germany and how rarely it leads them to act less professionally. But I don’t see the TSG players starting to tune Nagelsmann out. If anything I see them being extra motivated to win for him while they still can, like Bayern in their treble season.

Despite how much I gush about him as a tactician & teacher, his abilities as a motivator may be his strongest asset. As those guys will pass their way through a literal minefield for him...

Plus the guys they’ve brought in or promoted are still very much in the still-proving-themselves part of their careers...and they’ll have noticed the extra money that the likes of Wagner, Uth & Rudy earned thanks to Nagelsmann...Süle would’ve ended up at Bayern anyways but Wagner & Rudy? They would never have gotten Bayern money without him & Uth may never have made it to a bigger club like Schalke without him.

Nevermind that some will be advertising themselves to follow him to Leipzig...like I hope Geiger, Amiri & Otto do.


----------



## cgf

Suiteness said:


> So if Jogi does resign, who are we looking at to take over? I read about Christian Daum the other day, is that really possible and if so, would that be considered a step forward?




They’ll probably just promote someone unqualified from within again. And with how bad many of the youth team coaches are, almost any hire from within will be unqualified.

Our best hope is that Jupp’s savior complex can be manipulated into saving the NT until Klopp’s time in Liverpool comes to an end...since Klopp has expressed interest in the NT and has said he wouldn’t want to learn Spanish or coach in La Liga & can’t ever see him coaching Bayern or being excited by a team like PSG. Which leaves few “next challenge”s that make sense for a hipster like Kloppo other than the NT...

...or my Eiserne...


----------



## Luigi Habs

Low is not getting fired. They confirmed he's staying.


----------



## cgf

Luigi Habs said:


> Low is not getting fired. They confirmed he's staying.



This is fine...


----------



## PansCyans

Confirmed indeed

Low to stay on as Germany coach


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

I had started to come to terms with that outcome as it seemed naive to rely on Löw to resign without being prompted to do so. I guess Germans have form in clinging to failed leaders until the bitter end  .


----------



## Live in the Now




----------



## HajdukSplit

Nawalka (Poland) and Ramirez (Costa Rica) the latest World Cup managers to get the sack. They are joined by Cuper (Egypt) who was sacked about a week ago.

Big rumors out of Japan that Klinsmann will take over the NT

Peruvian FA trying to convince Gareca to stay but it appears Argentina are looking to lure him


----------



## N o o d l e s

I think Gareca would be a great move for Argentina.

Klinsmann and Japan are a really strange combination...


----------



## SJSharks72

N o o d l e s said:


> I think Gareca would be a great move for Argentina.
> 
> Klinsmann and Japan are a really strange combination...



No one is a great fit for Argentina unless their FA is out.


----------



## PansCyans

Kempes wants Argentina job


----------



## Suiteness

Maradona offers to coach Argentina for free


----------



## N o o d l e s

Suiteness said:


> Maradona offers to coach Argentina for free




Maybe he should offer to coach Colombia for free based on his recent comments


----------



## cgf

N o o d l e s said:


> Maybe he should offer to coach Colombia for free based on his recent comments




Don't put that evil on them! I like Colombia and my colombian "acquaintances"; so why would you wish such misery upon them?


----------



## sabremike

Jesse Marsch is headed to Leipzig in some capacity (speculation is as interim coach for this season). Dennis Hamlet was running our practice today so yeah, he's gone. Only question is does he have one last match Saturday as a farewell at the baseball stadium vs 914 United?


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Why is Nagelsmann taking over in 2019 and not immediately?



sabremike said:


> Jesse Marsch is headed to Leipzig in some capacity (speculation is as interim coach for this season). Dennis Hamlet was running our practice today so yeah, he's gone. Only question is does he have one last match Saturday as a farewell at the baseball stadium vs 914 United?



Apparently not


----------



## cgf

BKIslandersFan said:


> Why is Nagelsmann taking over in 2019 and not immediately?
> 
> 
> Apparently not




Because he promised Hoppenheim that he'd stay for another year after Bayern went full Pejorative Slur & signed Kovac instead.

Though Ragnick was announced as the interim manager, Masch is apparently getting that position instead.


----------



## sabremike

N o o d l e s said:


> Maybe he should offer to coach Colombia for free based on his recent comments



He'd take the job in exchange for all the yayo he can inhale.


----------



## cgf

Rangnick confirms he will be the manager with Marsch as his assistant.


----------



## Jussi

Luis Enrique takes over Spain. Probably should've done that before the tournament.


----------



## PansCyans

It’s a good move. They aren’t playing games any more.


----------



## Savant

cgf said:


> Rangnick confirms he will be the manager with Marsch as his assistant.



And they are both stepping aside for Naglesmann in a year?


----------



## cgf

Savant said:


> And they are both stepping aside for Naglesmann in a year?




There's no mention of what'll happen with Marsch or Klauß when Nagelsmann takes over in the article I saw; so I can't say if Marsch will be stepping aside or if Nagelsmann will be taking him onto his own staff.

I'd think that what happens with Rose in Salzburg could also be a factor...i.e. if Marsch impresses on Ragnick's staff & Salzburg lose Rose next summer, he could be more likely to take over that branch of the operation than stay on in Leipzig to learn from Nagelsmann...although that might be a job for Klauß, the Leipzig U19 coach who will also be Rangnick's co-trainer.

But that's just me thinking out loud

EDIT:
Here's the tweet btw


----------



## cgf

Savant said:


> And they are both stepping aside for Naglesmann in a year?




Jesse Marsch bleibt unter Nagelsmann: Die neuen Trainer bei RB Leipzig

So no clue about how credible this is but it seems to be quoting Rangnick and he talks about Marsch not speaking german or knowing the BuLi & it's players, and how that has made it harder for him to take over as the interim coach until Nagelsmann.

Which is why Rangnick will be the head coach this season & is bringing Klauß up from the U19s to be his co-trainer as well. They want Marsch to get to know the club, the league & the language; as their plan is for him to continue on as a part of Nagelsmann's staff...a plan that apparently has Nagelsmann's blessing, although the quotes are all from Rangnick...because they really rate his potential as a coach.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

My bet: Rangnick will find a way to ruin the whole thing.


----------



## SJSharks72

Honestly Marsch is a fantastic coach. He's one of the smartest in the MLS and they have some pretty good coaches. I'm surprised he's not going to Salzburg to prove himself a little bit but he will do well in a bigger league.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Sampa staying on for now as Argentina coach. He'll even manage the u20 in a tournament next month.


----------



## cgf

SJSharks39 said:


> Honestly Marsch is a fantastic coach. He's one of the smartest in the MLS and they have some pretty good coaches. I'm surprised he's not going to Salzburg to prove himself a little bit but he will do well in a bigger league.




Salzburg managed to hold onto Rose this year despite some bigger clubs pursuing him. So nothing against Marsch but they weren't going to push Rose out for some kid from the MLS who doesn't even speak german yet.


----------



## les Habs

Very interesting to see what Luis Enrique does with Spain. A lot of variables there and I see some rough waters ahead at the very least in terms of his relationship with the press and possibly the players.


----------



## Burner Account




----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

kyle evs48 said:


>





f***...


----------



## senators101

It's about time, we're so close to starting the season and we've done nothing in the transfer market. I'd have been fine with Conte staying as long as that decision was made firmly 8 weeks ago and he was able to dictate our summer spending.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Amazed it took this long for it to be official, but there it is. Looks like Sarri should be official soon enough. I'd have rathered Laurent Blanc, due to a personal distaste for Sarri, but that's the way it goes.


----------



## cgf

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Amazed it took this long for it to be official, but there it is. Looks like Sarri should be official soon enough. I'd have rathered Laurent Blanc, *due to a personal distaste for Sarri*, but that's the way it goes.




I didn't even know that such a thing was possible with how beautiful his football is


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

cgf said:


> I didn't even know that such a thing was possible with how beautiful his football is




His record of vocal homophobia leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and the last thing Chelsea needs is more unsavoury figures.


----------



## cgf

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> His record of vocal homophobia leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and the last thing Chelsea needs is more unsavoury figures.




I knew that part of me didn't want to know, because of how beautiful his football is, but yeah. f*** Sarri for that. No wonder he was such a great fit in Napoli.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> His record of vocal homophobia leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and the last thing Chelsea needs is more unsavoury figures.




At least he didn't kill anyone like the last unsavory Italian your lot brought in.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Deficient Mode said:


> At least he didn't kill anyone like the last unsavory Italian your lot brought in.




Genuinely unsure as to who you're referring to - I can think of an unsavoury Spaniard playing in Italy with blood on his hands, but no Italian.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Looks like Sampa might be let go on Monday after refusing to coach the u20s next month. Loool


----------



## cgf

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Looks like Sampa might be let go on Monday after refusing to coach the u20s next month. Loool




I wish our FA were competent enough for me to enjoy this...f***in Jogi man...


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

cgf said:


> I wish our FA were competent enough for me to enjoy this...****in Jogi man...



I'd switch FA any day of the f***ing week. 

Hell this isn't the right move automatically TBH.


----------



## Ceremony

I didn't realise supporting Chelsea and character references went together tbqhwy


----------



## les Habs

TF is going on at Chelsea? Way too late for that to happen. They'd better announce someone on Monday.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Genuinely unsure as to who you're referring to - I can think of an unsavoury Spaniard playing in Italy with blood on his hands, but no Italian.




Sorry, I was thinking Serie A player and said Italian.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

les Habs said:


> TF is going on at Chelsea? Way too late for that to happen. They'd better announce someone on Monday.




Sarri is as good as confirmed:

Sarri a Stamford Bridge! I primi scatti nella sua nuova "casa" | Alfredo Pedullà


----------



## bleedblue1223

les Habs said:


> TF is going on at Chelsea? Way too late for that to happen. They'd better announce someone on Monday.



This was always going to happen, but Sarri and Conte both had complicated contract situations where lawyers had to be involved to sort through.


----------



## Cassano

cgf said:


> I knew that part of me didn't want to know, because of how beautiful his football is, but yeah. **** Sarri for that. _No wonder he was such a great fit in Napol_i.



LMFAO


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Sarri is now fully confirmed.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Sampa looking like he'll leave Monday.


----------



## Savi

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Sampa looking like he'll leave Monday.




Just confirmed, he's gone.


----------



## maclean

Savi said:


> Just confirmed, he's gone.




Gets USD 2 mil in compensation (less than the 8.6 he was entitled to, but especially considering they already had to buy him out of his Sevilla contract to get him in the first place...)


----------



## PansCyans

Thierry Henry quits as Sky pundit to focus on ambition of being a manager


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

maclean said:


> Gets USD 2 mil in compensation (less than the 8.6 he was entitled to, but especially considering they already had to buy him out of his Sevilla contract to get him in the first place...)



He paid out of the contract IIRC. 

Honestly, he's been dragged through the mud and deserved better. While, he his record was abysmal. He left a good job and came to the aid of his NT while they were a complete mess and still are. I have to give him respect for that. More than Simeone and fatboy anyway.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Seeing Sarri joining Chelsea is killing me.


----------



## Havre

Big Kahuna said:


> Seeing Sarri joining Chelsea is killing me.




Why?

I love it. Now City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs will play decent football among the top teams (Arsenal we´ll see). Makes the PL much more entertaining. And if Silva can get Everton going this could end up being the best season ever in terms of entertainment and good football.


----------



## Paulie Gualtieri

Havre said:


> Why?
> 
> I love it. Now City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs will play decent football among the top teams (Arsenal we´ll see). Makes the PL much more entertaining. And if Silva can get Everton going this could end up being the best season ever in terms of entertainment and good football.




Well, I've been watching Napoli rather extensively because of him. I refuse to do the same with Chelsea.


----------



## Havre

Haha. Fair enough. I have become a bit PL centric on my older days (used to watch a lot more from Italy, Spain, France and Germany 10 years ago).


----------



## Luigi Habs

Anyone hearing rumblings that Zidane might replace Allegri at Juve?


----------



## Albatros

Diego Maradona takes over Dynamo Brest in Belarus, though his official title is that of a chairman.


----------



## cgf

Belarus is a good fit for Maradona...even though the coke sucks.


----------



## Corto

Luigi Habs said:


> Anyone hearing rumblings that Zidane might replace Allegri at Juve?




No, he's apparently to become their "sport management advisor".
Zinedine Zidane ficha por la Juventus

Juve also trying to get Marcelo and Kovacic and who knows who else from Real.
If you can't beat them... Bring half the Madrid squad over I guess.


----------



## Dr Pepper

Albatros said:


> Diego Maradona takes over Dynamo Brest in Belarus, though his official title is that of a chairman.




After the beating his public image took at the World Cup, no wonder it appears he's mock-hanging himself in that picture.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Corto said:


> No, he's apparently to become their "sport management advisor".
> Zinedine Zidane ficha por la Juventus
> 
> Juve also trying to get Marcelo and Kovacic and who knows who else from Real.
> If you can't beat them... Bring half the Madrid squad over I guess.




Ok. Not sure what this means. Maybe he didn’t like his role as a coach. I’d welcome him with open arms at Juve. My favorite player in the era between Maradona and Messi. 

I’d rather have SMS than Kovacic if we were to acquire a midfielder.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Dr Pepper said:


> After the beating his public image took at the World Cup, no wonder it appears he's mock-hanging himself in that picture.



The beating his public image he took? He's always been like this.


----------



## Dr Pepper

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> The beating his public image he took? He's always been like this.




Lol I suppose that's true. Still, it wasn't a pretty picture for him in Russia.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Thierry Henry set to be named Aston Villa manager


----------



## Ceremony

Dr Pepper said:


> Lol I suppose that's true. Still, it wasn't a pretty picture for him in Russia.



Yes it was.


----------



## Dr Pepper

Ceremony said:


> Yes it was.









....Are you sure?


----------



## Ivan13

Well let's put in in "context", at this WC he was playing the role of a village idiot whose antics have at least made us laugh, in the 2010 WC he was playing the role of an incompetent blowhard who ran a promising team into the ground after they managed to defy his incompetence by winning the first four games. So I guess this has actually been an improvement for him.


----------



## PansCyans

Brazil boss Tite re-signs until 2022 World Cup


----------



## Deficient Mode

His "war criminal" shirt only added a lot to his public image for me.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Tite is still the best coach they had since 2002 Scolari


----------



## Ceremony

Dr Pepper said:


> ....Are you sure?



I'm so glad someone went to the trouble of attempting to pixelate his fingers to save my delicate sensibilities.


----------



## robertmac43

Southgate being extended by England


----------



## HajdukSplit

Javier Aguirre is the new manager of Egypt, this is his third NT job (previous manager of Mexico and Japan)

Israel hire Andreas Herzog as their new manager, former Klinsmann assistant with the US


----------



## PansCyans

Argentina appoint Scaloni as caretaker boss


----------



## HajdukSplit

Clarence Seedorf is the new manager of Cameroon


----------



## HajdukSplit

Marcel Koller, who led Austria to Euro 2016, is the new manager of FC Basel who sacked their manager early in the season after a poor start to the league + elimination from CL qualifying


----------



## HajdukSplit

Iceland hire ex-Sweden manager Erik Hamren

Wonder how they will do going forward, they are still highly ranked which will help them in the upcoming Euro qualifying but they were one of the oldest squads at the World Cup and I'm not sure how many players they have coming through, their youth sides are still doing ok though


----------



## PansCyans

As expected 

Spalletti extends Inter contract


----------



## Scouter

koyvoo said:


> As expected
> 
> Spalletti extends Inter contract




Really, pretty interesting considering it looked like they might not want to keep him if Inter did not perform.


----------



## Milos Krasic

Bordeaux sack Poyet


----------



## Evilo

After his lates outburst, there was no other way.
Guy is completely nuts.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Milos Krasic said:


> Bordeaux sack Poyet



So...no Lee Cattermole?


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

With that outfit Sarri looks like a slightly creepy male nurse. (Meant for the PL gameday thread tbh)


----------



## JayKing

I really hope Henry ends up in Bordeaux. Vieira and Henry in Ligue 1


----------



## HajdukSplit

Henry officially named new manager of Bordeaux


----------



## maclean

HajdukSplit said:


> Henry officially named new manager of Bordeaux




Looks like talks ended up breaking down and he's not to be the new manager after all. Something about insufficient guarantees from the consortium GACP that's taking over a majority stake at the end of September


----------



## Scouter

How is Jose still Man U's manager after that match (Spurs) and presser, if anyone can explain.


----------



## SJSharks72

Scouter said:


> How is Jose still Man U's manager after that match (Spurs) and presser, if anyone can explain.



Because Manchester United dominated Spurs despite losing and just dominated Burnley. No one gives a shit about pressers except the media.


----------



## Scouter

SJSharks39 said:


> Because Manchester United dominated Spurs despite losing and just dominated Burnley. No one gives a **** about pressers except the media.



Some nice humor there, we all know ManU did not dominate that mach, of course people give a crap about pressers.


----------



## SJSharks72

Scouter said:


> Some nice humor there, we all know ManU did not dominate that mach, of course people give a crap about pressers.



Did you watch the match or are you just another person that loves to overreact to United? Because it definitely is looking like the second one. Also even if they didn’t dominate, it’s 4 games into the season. No one will let a manager go 4 games in.


----------



## Scouter

SJSharks39 said:


> Did you watch the match or are you just another person that loves to overreact to United? Because it definitely is looking like the second one. Also even if they didn’t dominate, it’s 4 games into the season. No one will let a manager go 4 games in.




Frank de Boer says hi.


----------



## SJSharks72

Scouter said:


> Frank de Boer says hi.



Perfect. De Boer lost every game. Mou has won 2 and lost 2.


----------



## PanniniClaus

SJSharks39 said:


> Because Manchester United dominated Spurs despite losing and just dominated Burnley. No one gives a **** about pressers except the media.



Man U dominated the first half but Lukaku's miss proved critical. Goals change games.


----------



## SJSharks72

PanniniClaus said:


> Man U dominated the first half but Lukaku's miss proved critical. Goals change games.



And? I don’t see your point here. Every team has missed chances.


----------



## PanniniClaus

SJSharks39 said:


> And? I don’t see your point here. Every team has missed chances.



Point being that Man U did not dominate the second half....Lukaku missed and Spurs had their way in the 2nd half. Certainly not a game of full domination.

I am not calling for Jose's head. The quick firing of managers around the world is ridiculous. No other sport does this.


----------



## Scouter

PanniniClaus said:


> Point being that Man U did not dominate the second half....Lukaku missed and Spurs had their way in the 2nd half. Certainly not a game of full domination.
> 
> I am not calling for Jose's head. *The quick firing of managers around the world is ridiculous. No other sport does this.*




Likely because they have less games to get results.


----------



## PanniniClaus

Scouter said:


> Likely because they have less games to get results.



The NFL have less games and you almost never see in season sackings.


----------



## robertmac43

PanniniClaus said:


> The NFL have less games and you almost never see in season sackings.




I think that is due to the immense amount of detail that goes in creating and prepping a playbook and both the O and D scheme. Its a lot to replace and realistically the less games mean there is not time to really come back from a start that is coach firing worthy.


----------



## PanniniClaus

robertmac43 said:


> I think that is due to the immense amount of detail that goes in creating and prepping a playbook and both the O and D scheme. Its a lot to replace and realistically the less games mean there is not time to really come back from a start that is coach firing worthy.




There is truth to this.

So is everyone good with firing managers at will in World football?

So much instability...how can players really commit? Manager can bring you in and be gone in 4 games.


----------



## KJS14

There's not all that many managers that are sacked that quickly. People have been calling for Jose to go for a while due to his antics and playstyle, so its not like this is some sudden overreaction.


----------



## maclean

PanniniClaus said:


> There is truth to this.
> 
> So is everyone good with firing managers at will in World football?
> 
> So much instability...how can players really commit? Manager can bring you in and be gone in 4 games.




There is instability in football in general. My local club, not having much money, goes through managers fairly quickly, but it goes through players even more so. Not having money means lots of players are just on loan, plus the players you bring in either don't work out so you don't want to extend them, or if they work out really well than a wealthier team snatches them up. So even if a manager manages to get some decent results and stick around, they ended up having to overhaul the squad and in some ways start again every year. For bigger teams the problem isn't as extreme, but it is very much the same. Look at a team like Monaco, that assembled an amazing squad, then had it picked apart. You are in a constant state of flux with successful players moving on while always trying to bring in new talent yourself, incorporate the youth, ship off the expired... The manager is just another aspect of that.


----------



## PanniniClaus

maclean said:


> There is instability in football in general. My local club, not having much money, goes through managers fairly quickly, but it goes through players even more so. Not having money means lots of players are just on loan, plus the players you bring in either don't work out so you don't want to extend them, or if they work out really well than a wealthier team snatches them up. So even if a manager manages to get some decent results and stick around, they ended up having to overhaul the squad and in some ways start again every year. For bigger teams the problem isn't as extreme, but it is very much the same. Look at a team like Monaco, that assembled an amazing squad, then had it picked apart. You are in a constant state of flux with successful players moving on while always trying to bring in new talent yourself, incorporate the youth, ship off the expired... The manager is just another aspect of that.



Yes , there are many clubs outside the big teams in Europe that have a lot of turnover. Monaco would be a fine example although they seem to like Jardim's work so there is stability there.

I guess I look at West Ham - calls for Pellegrini's head. They just spent 100 million ...there needs to be a chance to get comfortable and then get results. The pressure gets piled on quick though....


----------



## HajdukSplit

Czech Rep sack Karel Jarolim, they lost both of their September fixtures the last being a 5:1 hammering to Russia


----------



## HajdukSplit

Cardoso already out at Nantes, replaced by Vahid Halilhodzic who returns to France as a manager for the first time since 2005


----------



## HajdukSplit

Aston Villa sack Steve Bruce after a rough start to the season, they most recently blew a two goal lead at home to Preston (3 wins from 11 in the league)


----------



## Stray Wasp

HajdukSplit said:


> Aston Villa sack Steve Bruce after a rough start to the season, they most recently blew a two goal lead at home to Preston (3 wins from 11 in the league)




It also bears mentioning that during what proved to be Bruce's final game in charge a fan threw a cabbage at him. 

The throw was off-target. 

Although I presume the cabbage was brought into the stadium with the express aim of being used as a missile that point hasn't been confirmed or denied. Which lends the whole matter an air of enigma.


----------



## Evilo

Lopategui and Kovac on the hot seat.
3 French names have been given to take over Bayern : Zidane, Blanc and... Wenger.


----------



## Evilo

Henry's rumored to take over Arsenal.


----------



## bluesfan94

Evilo said:


> Henry's rumored to take over Arsenal.



I think you mean Aston Villa


----------



## sabremike

Stray Wasp said:


> It also bears mentioning that during what proved to be Bruce's final game in charge a fan threw a cabbage at him.
> 
> The throw was off-target.
> 
> Although I presume the cabbage was brought into the stadium with the express aim of being used as a missile that point hasn't been confirmed or denied. Which lends the whole matter an air of enigma.



Funny you mention this: the Islanders just released their promotional schedule and the 2/28 game vs Toronto is Rotten Produce Night.


----------



## Jussi

bluesfan94 said:


> I think you mean Aston Villa




With John Terry as his assistant.


----------



## Evilo

bluesfan94 said:


> I think you mean Aston Villa



Duh, yes, obviously 
Sorry.


----------



## Savant

Earthquakes Hire Matias Almeyda as Head Coach

Really great get for MLS. Especially a team as poor as San Jose


----------



## Evilo

WTF?????

Wild rumor has Jardim bring fired and Henry being hired by Monaco. 
Lots of teams will be interested in Jardim. Bayern?


----------



## Il Mediano

Yep , sure seems that way:



I mean.... I said this guy should be on United's short list a month or two ago... can the stars align any better?

Dump Mourinho and bring him in.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Evilo said:


> WTF?????
> 
> Wild rumor has Jardim bring fired and Henry being hired by Monaco.
> Lots of teams will be interested in Jardim. Bayern?




Only source I'm seeing claiming that is the Irish Sun, so I'd hang tight for a sec.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Il Mediano said:


> Yep , sure seems that way:
> 
> 
> 
> I mean.... I said this guy should be on United's short list a month or two ago... can the stars align any better?
> 
> Dump Mourinho and bring him in.





Yeah I’d take Jardim in a heartbeat. The stars could be aligning here.


----------



## Evilo

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Only source I'm seeing claiming that is the Irish Sun, so I'd hang tight for a sec.



Good friend of mine who knows Monaco from top to bottom says it's about to be done...

Reported by L'Equipe as more than probable now as well.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Evilo said:


> Good friend of mine who knows Monaco from top to bottom says it's about to be done...
> 
> Reported by L'Equipe as more than probable now as well.




Well, zoinks. Bad move from Monaco IMO.


----------



## S E P H

Thierry Henry will be announced as the new manager of AS Monaco says reports. What a stupid decision by Monaco, you sell a small legion of players who turned out to be all the best on your team and think you would be okay after that? Lol.


----------



## Evilo

S E P H said:


> Thierry Henry will be announced as the new manager of AS Monaco says reports. What a stupid decision by Monaco, you sell a small legion of players who turned out to be all the best on your team and think you would be okay after that? Lol.



They did before and Jardim made it work. Not this time. Still, the roster is talented and the team is clearly underachieving.
Jardim is surely partly at fault, but the player should play much better than they are. Subasic, Jemerson, Glik, were all part of the great Monaco team. Right now, they're weaknesses.


----------



## S E P H

Evilo said:


> They did before and Jardim made it work. Not this time. Still, the roster is talented and the team is clearly underachieving.
> Jardim is surely partly at fault, but the player should play much better than they are. Subasic, Jemerson, Glik, were all part of the great Monaco team. Right now, they're weaknesses.



I've seen majority of Monaco's game and the problem I see is there is no unity between the three areas of the pitch.

- The midfield is awful.
- There is nobody who can link the defencive line with the midfield.
- The defencive line is played below their ability, but Glik and Subasic are still solid players for me on the individual level.
- There is nobody who can link the midfield with the three forwards.
- Monaco's entire system rest on giving the ball to the wingers, running down the flank, and conducting crosses to Falcao (Jardim deserves some blame here).

I saw the same situation play with Soton in the EPL. They built a solid group of players, but it's very hard to reinvest that money again and again hoping for the same results of players. There is only one Mbappe, there are very few Lemar, and there are a handful of Fabinho type of players coming every couple years or so. There are some solid players and underrated talent on Monaco, but the team is as good as 5th place for me...very behind OM and Lyon who are clearly better teams easily. Then I really like what Bordeaux and St-Etienne are also building with a lot of talented youth.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Igor Biscan (of Liverpool fame I guess ) is the new manager of Rijeka after Matjaz Kek resigned. Biscan has had moderate success at smaller jobs such as Rudes and Olimpija Ljubljana, winning three trophies at those two clubs but this is a step up

Kind of hard to believe he is a manager, he always seemed miserable, but then again look at Mourinho


----------



## HajdukSplit

Costa Rica hire Uruguayan manager Gustavo Matosas are their new manager. He is a well traveled coach managing previously in: Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Saudi Arabia, with his biggest success in Mexico with Leon and America (CONCACAF CL). This is his first international job


----------



## Timeless Winter

So Monaco consistently sell their best players every transfer window, yet Jardim is still expected to win all the time? Makes zero sense.


----------



## Evilo

Jardim out is official now.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Dean Smith leaves Brentford to take over Aston Villa (John Terry will also join as an assistant).


----------



## Corto

Timeless Winter said:


> So Monaco consistently sell their best players every transfer window, yet Jardim is still expected to win all the time? Makes zero sense.




We don't know exactly what happened.

And they're not exactly just "not winning", they've got 1 win in 9 in Ligue 1 and are sitting in the relegation zone.

Who knows, maybe the board feel his heart isn't in it anyone, noone could blame him.

Either way, a top manager just hit the market, wonder who'll be first to ring his phone... 
I don't think either Madrid or Bayern will make a move before another couple of games, but if they continue to struggle, those teams don't suffer "patience" and sub-par results... And Jardim just makes the prospect more appealing.


----------



## les Habs

Il Mediano said:


> Yep , sure seems that way:
> 
> 
> 
> I mean.... I said this guy should be on United's short list a month or two ago... can the stars align any better?
> 
> Dump Mourinho and bring him in.





No, LOL. With the United supporters backing Mourinho the way they have, and in my experience it's not just on this forum, they deserve some special time with him for a while longer.


----------



## East Coast Bias

les Habs said:


> No, LOL. With the United supporters backing Mourinho the way they have, and in my experience it's not just on this forum, they deserve some special time with him for a while longer.




I said it when the "news" broke last weekend before the match that he was going to be fired depending on the game that it was 100% Mourinho leaking that. There's zero doubt in my mind.

He's like a goddamn politician.


----------



## les Habs

East Coast Bias said:


> I said it when the "news" broke last weekend before the match that he was going to be fired depending on the game that it was 100% Mourinho leaking that. There's zero doubt in my mind.
> 
> He's like a goddamn politician.




Just not a politician I'd vote for, but yeah, I agree.


----------



## Evilo

Henry to Monaco for 3 years is done.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Not sure where to post this but Wenger going off today... While I don't agree with most of what he said I understand where he's coming from. Still very interesting stuff I suggest y'all look at it.


----------



## les Habs

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Not sure where to post this but Wenger going off today... While I don't agree with most of what he said I understand where he's coming from. Still very interesting stuff I suggest y'all look at it.




I'm not seeing it. Just seeing his saying he'll be back January 1, that he has a lot of options and saying how good Ozil is.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Slovenia sack Tomaz Kavcic after less than one year in charge, he only won 1 game from his 7 and a side that qualified for a couple World Cups and a Euro are on the verge of relegation to League D. It also didn't help that he had a falling out with Jan Oblak

Heavy favorite for the job is Matjaz Kek who recently resigned from Rijeka (he managed them to the 2010 World Cup) but their FA president has stated they will possibly look abroad as well


----------



## bluesfan94

If we hadn't just hired Emery, I would be exceedingly interested in Jardim


----------



## les Habs

Curious to see what Henry does with Monaco. It doesn't look as though he's got the talent at his disposal that Jardim did, but he has played for some good managers and I'm guessing some of the players will look up to him and want to perform.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> I'm not seeing it. Just seeing his saying he'll be back January 1, that he has a lot of options and saying how good Ozil is.



Well I got snippets from twitter basically he talks about players not being loyal to their clubs and having too much power in the game. The old player used to fell bad when having an off game and asking how he can be better now it's about how the club can make it better for him if he has an off game.

Talked about plastic fans cheering for one player and following him around ala Ronaldo fans who are now fans of Juve. and how social media is taking over the sport claims that one day we will see the fans voting off their phones who will be subbed out. Very doom and gloom but I thought it was interesting. I agree with the plastic fans part and players not being loyal to an extent.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Not sure where to post this but Wenger going off today... While I don't agree with most of what he said I understand where he's coming from. Still very interesting stuff I suggest y'all look at it.



I am guessing he will probably end up managing some random Ligue 1 side. And he will probably do a decent job.


----------



## YNWA14

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Well I got snippets from twitter basically he talks about players not being loyal to their clubs and having too much power in the game. The old player used to fell bad when having an off game and asking how he can be better now it's about how the club can make it better for him if he has an off game.
> 
> Talked about plastic fans cheering for one player and following him around ala Ronaldo fans who are now fans of Juve. and how social media is taking over the sport claims that one day we will see the fans voting off their phones who will be subbed out. Very doom and gloom but I thought it was interesting. I agree with the plastic fans part and players not being loyal to an extent.



Pretty much agree with everything he said tbh.


----------



## JayKing




----------



## Evilo

Wonder who they go after.
Jardim? Blanc?
Who's out there?


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Evilo said:


> Wonder who they go after.
> Jardim? Blanc?
> Who's out there?



Zidane

I might have overrated L.


----------



## Evilo

Yeah Lopategui isn't much of a coach.
Zidane won't come back IMO. Could take over Bayern soon though.


----------



## JayKing

If I were Madrid, I would bring in Laurent Blanc. Best fit for the job imo currently.


----------



## Cassano

Evilo said:


> Wonder who they go after.
> Jardim? Blanc?
> Who's out there?


----------



## Evilo

Different sources state Jardim, Conte, Solari and Blanc are the top 4 candidates.


----------



## Vasilevskiy

Could see them going with Conte, they probably will.


----------



## JayKing




----------



## Evilo

If Solari is hired it's going to be a stop gap option.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Spartak Moscow sack Massimo Carrera after a home loss to Tula, Spartak are 7th, out of the title race pretty much but still in CL contention with about half the league


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Tata Martino is leaving Atlanta at the end of the season, curious to see where he ends up.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Turtleneck Plek said:


> Tata Martino is leaving Atlanta at the end of the season, curious to see where he ends up.



Mexico if you believe the reports..


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Mexico if you believe the reports..




That's... underwhelming? Thought he'd look at jobs in Europe.


----------



## SJSharks72

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Mexico if you believe the reports..





Turtleneck Plek said:


> That's... underwhelming? Thought he'd look at jobs in Europe.



Mexico national team


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

SJSharks39 said:


> Mexico national team




Ah that makes more sense then.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Tata aint that great anyway


----------



## SJSharks72

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Tata aint that great anyway



He’s a fantastic hire for any CONCACAF team. A major step in the right direction.


----------



## StevenF1919

There's a rumour going around that Donadoni will be Gattuso's replacement.


----------



## HajdukSplit

HSV hire Hannes Wolf, former Dortmund youth and Stuttgart manager


----------



## Il Mediano

StevenF1919 said:


> There's a rumour going around that Donadoni will be Gattuso's replacement.




I think you guys should keep Gattuso.


----------



## StevenF1919

Il Mediano said:


> I think you guys should keep Gattuso.



I think so too. Unless Conte is the replacement, I don't think we can do better.


----------



## Il Mediano

StevenF1919 said:


> I think so too. Unless Conte is the replacement, I don't think we can do better.




Yeah, at the beginning of the season I thought you guys should take a look at Conte , but Gattuso has grown on me, man. I thought he was just another short-term boost manager that you see all the time in football. But, you guys play some of the best stuff in Italy (which I didn't expect from Rino) , and it's pretty much a collection of young or new players. 

You play with balls too, which I like.


----------



## StevenF1919

Il Mediano said:


> Yeah, at the beginning of the season I thought you guys should take a look at Conte , but Gattuso has grown on me, man. I thought he was just another short-term boost manager that you see all the time in football. But, you guys play some of the best stuff in Italy (which I didn't expect from Rino) , and it's pretty much a collection of young or new players.
> 
> You play with balls too, which I like.



The team finally has an identity under Rino. It would be a shame to get rid of him for someone as mediocre as Donadoni.


----------



## YNWA14

How has Fiorentina looked this season?


----------



## S E P H

I still suggest that Conte is a good manager, but he seems like a terrible fit in how that team is built. I don't rate Blanc, but he should be their target looking at Real's strength and weaknesses. They put themselves in a pretty terrible situation though since all the top managers won't be moving until the season is done. Picture having someone like Nagelsmann available at the season's end, but can't grab him because you hired somebody else instead.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Sven-Goran Eriksson is surprisingly the new manager of the Philippines national team, however it appears to be only a short term deal where he just manages at the Asian Cup in January. The only connection is the technical director of their NT worked with Eriksson when he was with Leicester


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fenerbahce finally sack Cocu after a 3:1 home loss to Ankaragucu and the crowd completely turned against the team "Mexican fans at Azteca" style (watched the game on BeIN). Fener are barely above the relegation zone


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

Nearly pissed myself readings this list 

FourFourTwo's 50 Best Football Managers in the World 2018


----------



## East Coast Bias

Some Wenger to Milan chatter. Don’t know how valid it is.


----------



## StevenF1919

East Coast Bias said:


> Some Wenger to Milan chatter. Don’t know how valid it is.




No thanks.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Tata aint that great anyway



From what I hear he was vital to recruit young Latin American players to Atlanta.


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Jokanovic sacked, Rainieri back in Premier League.


----------



## davemess

BKIslandersFan said:


> Jokanovic sacked, Rainieri back in Premier League.



Feel sorry for Jokanovic. Kind of wish there was a rule that promoted managers cannot be sacked until they play at least 50% of the season.

Totally get why Fulham are doing this though, they spent a bunch this summer and the team are playing like none of the players have ever met each other.


----------



## maclean

The good thing about a Ranieri hire is either he'll do wonders with your team or you'll be rid of him within six months again


----------



## Venkman

Saw on Twitter that Jokanovic was Ranieri's first signing at Chelsea in 2000.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Martin O'Neill leaves the Republic of Ireland on a mutual agreement after their relegation from League B of the Nations League. Probably the best for both parties, Ireland was getting very stale under him but I felt too much was expected as well

Mick McCarthy is the early favorite amongst the bookies, some other candidates include: Stephen Kenny (Dundalk), Chris Hughton (Brighton; long shot), Neil Lennon (would they hire somebody from NIR?), Sam Allardyce


----------



## StevenF1919




----------



## East Coast Bias

HajdukSplit said:


> Martin O'Neill leaves the Republic of Ireland on a mutual agreement after their relegation from League B of the Nations League. Probably the best for both parties, Ireland was getting very stale under him but I felt too much was expected as well
> 
> Mick McCarthy is the early favorite amongst the bookies, some other candidates include: Stephen Kenny (Dundalk), Chris Hughton (Brighton; long shot), Neil Lennon (would they hire somebody from NIR?), Sam Allardyce




Martin O’Neill was from NI as well. Played for their national team in his days. Both he and Lennon played Gaelic sports growing up so they’d be fine. Ha. 

They’re in need of more than a manager. A whole overhaul is needed. It’s gotten dire for producing talent. Not that they were elite at it or anything but it’s gone downhill fast.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

StevenF1919 said:


>




Funny I wanted to revolutionize football by playing 11 strikers who all play as keeper.


----------



## StevenF1919

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Funny I wanted to revolutionize football by playing 11 strikers who all play as keeper.



It's reminiscent of my time at Rimini in Football Manager 2013 where I was sacked after 5 games after playing an asymmetrical 321211.


----------



## maclean

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Funny I wanted to revolutionize football by playing 11 strikers who all play as keeper.




Last man back, totally valid


----------



## maclean

Rennes coach Sabri Lamouchi relieved of duty, reserves coach Julien Stéphan to temporarily take over


----------



## Yoshidas Island

Southampton sacked Mark Hughes this morning, Ralph Hassenhuttl (Previously RB Leipzig) is believed to be the replacement, and will be announced before this Saturday's game vs Cardiff.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Yoshidas Island said:


> Southampton sacked Mark Hughes this morning, Ralph Hassenhuttl (Previously RB Leipzig) is believed to be the replacement, and will be announced before this Saturday's game vs Cardiff.



I know many Buli folks don't like Hasenhüttl, but I do. Don*t know if he fits EPL standards. Felix Austria!


----------



## les Habs

Athletic Club have sacked Berizzo after today's result. Can't say I'm surprised considering they only have one win all season and are in the relegation zone. They shouldn't be a relegation candidate though with the quality in that side.


----------



## Bon Esprit

LOL, Klopp translates Hasenhüttl to the English.Hase= Rabbit and Hüttl means nothing he says. I'd say Hüttl actually means cabin. So it's Rabbitcabin or Rabbitbarn or better hare stall.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

So'ton going through managers like Milan.


----------



## Yoshidas Island

Bakayoko Ono said:


> So'ton going through managers like Milan.



There was talks that Southampton was just going to let Hughes go at the end of the season, but re-thought their choice when there was pressure from the fans to keep him on. The Vice-Chairman who oversaw the manager hiring has now been removed from the club, so this should be a step forward for Southampton.

There's been also been discussion that that Paul Mitchell will re-link up with both Hassenhüttl and Southampton, but that remains to be seen as he's still under contract.
Hassenhüttl also promised that he'd stay with the Saints even if we get relegated, so hopefully that brings some structure back to the club.


----------



## Theokritos

Bon Esprit said:


> I'd say Hüttl actually means cabin.




You're right, in in Alpine-area German dialects it does.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Reading sack Paul Clement who hasn't really stuck around long anywhere since "leaving" Ancelotti


----------



## Yoshidas Island

Bon Esprit said:


> LOL, Klopp translates Hasenhüttl to the English.Hase= Rabbit and Hüttl means nothing he says. I'd say Hüttl actually means cabin. So it's Rabbitcabin or Rabbitbarn or better hare stall.



Hasenhüttl actually made fun of Klopp today during his first press conference. He said something along the lines of "Since Klopp's been in England for 3 years now I'm starting to think his English is better than his German, because hüttl actually means little hut"


----------



## StevenF1919

Genoa sacks Juric, who hasn't won a game since Ballardini was sacked. Prendelli is apparently his replacement.

Ballardini had the team in a very respectable position. That firing made no sense at the time and it looks even worse now.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Juric has been sacked 3 times by Genoa in less than 2 years...


----------



## StevenF1919

Also in case anyone has missed it, Zamparini has sold Palermo so this thread should be a lot less active from now on.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Yoshidas Island said:


> Hasenhüttl actually made fun of Klopp today during his first press conference. He said something along the lines of "Since Klopp's been in England for 3 years now I'm starting to think his English is better than his German, because hüttl actually means little hut"



Yeah, I heard that, too. Hasenhüttl is a cool guy and I wish him success in England. Hasenhüttl is where you put your rabbits in. Don't know the correct term. Hut might be correct.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Anderlecht sack Vanhaezebrouck after a poor first half of the season in both league and Europe


----------



## Savi

Mourinho sacked.


----------



## Evilo

Bout time.


----------



## maclean

Savi said:


> Mourinho sacked.




whooooaaaa, so strange that after all this time of waiting for it, I'm still somehow shocked


----------



## Evilo

Which team would be stupid enough to sign Mourinho now?
Everyone said it would be a disaster for United and it surely was.


----------



## maclean

I mean, I was surprised when Utd brought him in that there's a big team that still believes the myth. I'm sure he'll have no problem finding SOME gig, but only if his ego can take a massive downgrade.


----------



## kg458

Evilo said:


> Which team would be stupid enough to sign Mourinho now?
> Everyone said it would be a disaster for United and it surely was.



Wouldn't shock me to see him go back to Inter at some point.


----------



## maclean

kg458 said:


> Wouldn't shock me to see him go back to Inter at some point.




That would be sweet, I will cross my fingers


----------



## Jumptheshark

Savi said:


> Mourinho sacked.





No one is shocked by this


----------



## Chimaera

#MoyesIn 

#HireFatSam


----------



## Chimaera

We can’t discuss this without mentioning the Pogba post.

He and Jose didn’t get along, but he’s not going to look good in this one. The players quit, and he owns some blame


----------



## Venkman

It was on his twitter and instagram at the same time so probably scheduled by his management.

Sounds like it'll be an external caretaker until the end of the season then a DoF and new manager in the summer. I'm guessing they'll go for Zidane or Poch.


----------



## Chimaera

Pochettino has been seen with Woodward in the past according to some sketchy journos. 

I think he's crazy to take that job, but he would bring a lot of what they're looking for.


----------



## PansCyans

Would’ve been nice if Mou could’ve stuck around old trafford for another year or ten.


----------



## Jussi

Carrick we'll handle training for a couple of weeks and proper care taker selected later this week. If Blanc still doesn't show up, then he doesn't have real interest.

Anyway, if Pogba still keeps playing like crap, then he should be out by summer as well.


----------



## Juve

It sucks, I thought Mourinho was perfect for ManU.


----------



## WildNorway

Venkman said:


> I'm guessing they'll go for Zidane or Poch.




Poch would bring what united is looking for.

Zidane is unproven and therefore a gamble.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Jussi said:


> Carrick we'll handle training for a couple of weeks and proper care taker selected later this week. If Blanc still doesn't show up, then he doesn't have real interest.
> 
> Anyway, if Pogba still keeps playing like crap, then he should be out by summer as well.




It’s not that Blanc wouldn’t have interest, it’s that he may not want the job if it’s strictly a caretaker role. Wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## Luigi Habs

Crap. Now Pogba may start to play good again and end up staying.


----------



## Juve

Luigi Habs said:


> Crap. Now Pogba may start to play good again and end up staying.




I know, that was my first reaction.


----------



## ecemleafs

mourinho should just retire or wait for a national team spot. hes clearly doesnt like being a manager anymore and falls out with everyone, before sabotaging the club to get a huge buyout.


----------



## Power Man

I don’t understand how he can’t adapt to his personel tbh
It’s not Porto, he has some decent offensive players.
And maybe the reasons his CB suck because he has broken their confidence by parking thr bus


----------



## Power Man

Damn Pizza Hut is savage


----------



## Chimaera

He needs a season or two off before he comes back. His act is tired, he doesn't have the right club and funding to go out and just outspend teams, and he needs to adapt a bit to how the game is played.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Next Man Utd Manager Betting Odds | Oddschecker

Zinedine Zidane: 4/1
Laurent Blanc: 10/1
Michael Carrick: 14/1
Antonio Conte: 16/1
Leonardo Jardim: 16/1
Eddie Howe: 16/1
Jupp Heynckes: 20/1
Guus Hiddink: 20/1
Lucien Favre: 25/1
Mauricio Pochettino: 25/1
Nicky Butt: 25/1
Arsene Wenger: 25/1


----------



## BKIslandersFan

Chimaera said:


> #MoyesIn
> 
> #HireFatSam



Mark Hughes he’s one of their own!


----------



## East Coast Bias

Power Man said:


> I don’t understand how he can’t adapt to his personel tbh
> It’s not Porto, he has some decent offensive players.
> And maybe the reasons his CB suck because he has broken their confidence by parking thr bus




Bc he was found out years ago and refuses to change. The problem is his own. He’s too arrogant to change.


----------



## Venkman

Solskjaer rumoured for the caretaker role.


----------



## YNWA14

The Pizza Hut thing is kind of funny, until you realize Mourinho probably has enough money to buy Pizza Hut UK.

I hope they get Zidane.


----------



## Jussi

Luigi Habs said:


> Crap. Now Pogba may start to play good again and end up staying.









Perhaps not the best timing from his marketing people.

Piers Morgan already gave his opinion:



Already owned on the replies:



> *Matthew Keenan*‏ @matt8284 4 t4 tuntia sitten
> Lisää
> Vastauksena käyttäjälle @piersmorgan
> Yes but enough about you Piers, what about pogba?


----------



## Burner Account

Sad day for fans of 19 Premier League clubs.


----------



## The Abusement Park

I wouldn’t mind Zidane for the caretaker role. He seems to be good with players, getting the locker room fixed and the morale back up would be pretty ideal. Then going after whoever they want long term.


----------



## hatterson

Savi said:


> Mourinho sacked.




I've heard there was a secret chord,
That David played and it pleased the Lord,
But you don't really care for music, do ya?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift


----------



## hatterson

spintheblackcircle said:


> Next Man Utd Manager Betting Odds | Oddschecker
> 
> Zinedine Zidane: 4/1
> Laurent Blanc: 10/1
> Michael Carrick: 14/1
> Antonio Conte: 16/1
> Leonardo Jardim: 16/1
> Eddie Howe: 16/1
> Jupp Heynckes: 20/1
> Guus Hiddink: 20/1
> Lucien Favre: 25/1
> Mauricio Pochettino: 25/1
> Nicky Butt: 25/1
> Arsene Wenger: 25/1




I'd love Carrick as a caretaker while they're finalizing who the long term guy will be, but I don't think he should be the next permanent manager. He's obviously a club legend, and seems like he has a good managerial career ahead of him, but he's essentially only got a half year of experience under his belt. Throwing him into the tire fire that is United right now is not setting him up for success.


----------



## Evilo

The Abusement Park said:


> I wouldn’t mind Zidane for the caretaker role. He seems to be good with players, getting the locker room fixed and the morale back up would be pretty ideal. Then going after whoever they want long term.



Why would ZZ do it?


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

The Abusement Park said:


> I wouldn’t mind Zidane for the caretaker role. He seems to be good with players, getting the locker room fixed and the morale back up would be pretty ideal. Then going after whoever they want long term.




I find this post very funny because it rests on the assumption that Zidane would be willing to step in as an interim manager for 6 months with no intentions of being kept on after that, and that, rather than be thrilled at this absurd hypothetical, you just "wouldn't mind."


----------



## Jussi

hatterson said:


> *I'd love Carrick as a caretaker* while they're finalizing who the long term guy will be, but I don't think he should be the next permanent manager. He's obviously a club legend, and seems like he has a good managerial career ahead of him, but he's essentially only got a half year of experience under his belt. Throwing him into the tire fire that is United right now is not setting him up for success.




I wouldn't. He's completely inexperienced and throwing him out to the wolves might have permanent effects for his future career. It's not like Giggs was very good either after Moyes was sacked. OGS would be a better option since he's been coaching for several years now.


----------



## SJSharks72

Yessssssss I’m so happy right now! I’m actually thoroughly surprised United had the balls to do this.


----------



## Burner Account

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> I find this post very funny because it rests on the assumption that Zidane would be willing to step in as an interim manager for 6 months with no intentions of being kept on after that, and that, rather than be thrilled at this absurd hypothetical, you just "wouldn't mind."



This was my thought process when reading that post, but I didn't have the patience to articulate it.


----------



## hatterson

SJSharks39 said:


> Yessssssss I’m so happy right now! I’m actually thoroughly surprised United had the balls to do this.




I'm a bit surprised as well, but they did get completely embarrassed and played off the pitch in the second biggest game of the year (the only bigger one being the home fixture)


----------



## SJSharks72

hatterson said:


> I'm a bit surprised as well, but they did get completely embarrassed and played off the pitch in the second biggest game of the year (the only bigger one being the home fixture)



Yeah I mean I understand that but you’d think getting outplayed by the likes of Brighton, Young Boys (to an extent), and Southampton are worse. Also being out of the top 4 with little to no way to make up the ground.


----------



## Chimaera

Anyone who isn't getting promised a truck of cash waits till the summer. 

Might as well make Pogba manager.


----------



## Power Man

I don’t think ZZ will coach MU tbh

I think Laurent Blanc would be a good candidate.
And he knows the club


----------



## The Abusement Park

Evilo said:


> Why would ZZ do it?




Oh he definitely wouldn’t. I was basing this off something I saw that said United wanted ZZ as a caretaker manager. Should’ve prefaced it. Doesn’t matter as it looks likes they want Solskjaer to be the caretaker.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Power Man said:


> I think Laurent Blanc would be a good candidate.
> And he knows the club




Been saying that for like 2 years.


----------



## Jussi

Daily Telegraph are saying OGS would take over for the remainder of the season. It seems unlikely that he'd leave Molde for just that. Though I see the metaphor of Solskjaer coming in in the middle of the season and saving it.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Jussi said:


> Daily Telegraph are saying OGS would take over for the remainder of the season. It seems unlikely that he'd leave Molde for just that. Though I see the metaphor of Solskjaer coming in in the middle of the season and saving it.




Yeah I don’t get the OGS rumors.


----------



## SJSharks72

I want Blanc. This is your chance United. Don't f*** it up!


----------



## Jumptheshark

UK media is having fun with Jose sacking


----------



## Juve

I hope they put an Interim coach and then sign Allegri in the off season.


----------



## SJSharks72

United should just bring back all their old players. Evra, Neville, Giggs, Carrick, OGS, Scholes, Keane, all under Blanc. Get them playing the right style with Blanc and teach them what it means to be at United. No but really they should at least have a few ex players come in and kind of scare them straight in a way.


----------



## Evilo

Evra sucks.


----------



## East Coast Bias

SJSharks39 said:


> *United should just bring back all their old players. Evra, Neville, Giggs, Carrick, OGS, Scholes, Keane, all under Blanc.* Get them playing the right style with Blanc and teach them what it means to be at United. No but really they should at least have a few ex players come in and kind of scare them straight in a way.




Absolutely not. Good players don't equal good managers. None of those who entered coaching roles particularly excelled. Giggs tried to strong arm his way into the manager job. Neville got an opportunity based on a business partner. 

I'm getting really tired of ex players being the expert on everything United. Chris Smalling isn't Rio Ferdinand because he sucks, not because he doesn't know how to win. It's ridiculous.

They should get a functioning manager and technical director. Stop with the nostalgia.


----------



## YNWA14

Did I read that correctly? Moyes still has 6 months left on his original United contract? How many managers are United paying atm?


----------



## SJSharks72

East Coast Bias said:


> Absolutely not. Good players don't equal good managers. None of those who entered coaching roles particularly excelled. Giggs tried to strong arm his way into the manager job. Neville got an opportunity based on a business partner.
> 
> I'm getting really tired of ex players being the expert on everything United. Chris Smalling isn't Rio Ferdinand because he sucks, not because he doesn't know how to win. It's ridiculous.
> 
> They should get a functioning manager and technical director. Stop with the nostalgia.



It was more of a scaring straight sort of thing. Except Blanc. Blanc is for his system. The rest are to show what playing for United is about.


----------



## The Abusement Park

YNWA14 said:


> Did I read that correctly? Moyes still has 6 months left on his original United contract? How many managers are United paying atm?




I think just him and Mou. LVG got payed off last season I’m pretty sure.


----------



## Burner Account

Jurgen Klinsmann


----------



## les Habs

Of course Mourinho to Madrid speculation in the Barça papers. That would be precious.


----------



## Live in the Now

Poch is now openly stating he would like to return to Paris at some point.

I think he's taken Spurs as far as they're going to go, it wouldn't be a bad time to leave.


----------



## JeffreyLFC

Live in the Now said:


> Poch is now openly stating he would like to return to Paris at some point.
> 
> I think he's taken Spurs as far as they're going to go, it wouldn't be a bad time to leave.



I think it's now only a mater of time before he leaves. Last summer probably did not help convincing him with Levy not getting any new players. There are some big clubs with lot of money sniffing around (Manchester United, Real Madrid and possibly Bayern). I think even some Spurs players might feel it too (Eriksen, Vertonghen, Alderweireld)


----------



## Evilo

Live in the Now said:


> Poch is now openly stating he would like to return to Paris at some point.
> 
> I think he's taken Spurs as far as they're going to go, it wouldn't be a bad time to leave.



Doubt PSG is interested right now. They love Tuchel. Last summer was the good timing. Don't think PSG regrets so far. United is a possibility however.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Evilo said:


> Doubt PSG is interested right now. They love Tuchel. Last summer was the good timing. Don't think PSG regrets so far. United is a possibility however.




I’d love him at United but I can’t see him being interested unless he’s willing to build a team again. He’d have the money and backing of spending he never had at Tottenham though which is a plus.


----------



## Evilo

Totally. Poch wants a step up in terms of spending, that seems pretty clear.
Now maybe he also thinks about two things :
1- his image as Spurs coach would be troubled by him leaving for United.
2- he could have a chance to sign with Bayern or Real next summer, which is two huge opportunities that don't happen every year.


----------



## SJSharks72

Some random people on twitter speculating that SAF might come out of retirement to coach for the half season. Now I don’t believe this at all and I don’t expect/want anyone to believe it. I just want to dream.


----------



## Ceremony

SJSharks39 said:


> Some random people on twitter speculating that SAF might come out of retirement to coach for the half season. Now I don’t believe this at all and I don’t expect/want anyone to believe it. I just want to dream.



If only Manchester United's ownership and upper management didn't also wish this could happen, they might be able to get their act together.

Still, great entertainment for the rest of us.


----------



## The Abusement Park

SJSharks39 said:


> Some random people on twitter speculating that SAF might come out of retirement to coach for the half season. Now I don’t believe this at all and I don’t expect/want anyone to believe it. I just want to dream.




Part of me would love to see this. Part of me also doesn’t want to see this happen because it’d just be a tease and I couldn’t handle him leaving again


----------



## SJSharks72

United just posted an article on their website confirming OGS as new manager and then deleted it right after.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Mauricio Pochettino wants United job but would cost £34m


----------



## Venkman

SJSharks39 said:


> United just posted an article on their website confirming OGS as new manager and then deleted it right after.




And the Norwegian PM


----------



## maclean

Zidane seems the most appropriate person to take over United long0term, Blanc would also be a coup. Who they take on short-term to ride out the season seeems material only insofar as keeping the players they need to keep happy


----------



## The Abusement Park

spintheblackcircle said:


> Mauricio Pochettino wants United job but would cost £34m




Pls.


Or Blanc as well.


----------



## hersky77

Is it just me or does mou and the US mens team seem like a match in heaven. I know they just hired a new coach, but mou in the states would be an awesome spectacle to watch


----------



## Jussi

SJSharks39 said:


> United just posted an article on their website confirming OGS as new manager and then deleted it right after.




Yeah it seems like OGS and Mike Phelan as his assistant.


----------



## Jussi

hersky77 said:


> *Is it just me* or does mou and the US mens team seem like a match in heaven. I know they just hired a new coach, but mou in the states would be an awesome spectacle to watch




It's just you. Mourinho wouldn't touch something so terrible.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

spintheblackcircle said:


> Mauricio Pochettino wants United job but would cost £34m




f*** him if he takes that job! 



Jussi said:


> It's just you. Mourinho wouldn't touch something so terrible.




He just coached manu...


----------



## Jussi

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> He just coached manu...




At least United are actual footballers...


----------



## SJSharks72

hersky77 said:


> Is it just me or does mou and the US mens team seem like a match in heaven. I know they just hired a new coach, but mou in the states would be an awesome spectacle to watch



That sounds like an awful match. USMNT needs to play possession, not defend and hope for a draw.


----------



## les Habs

USMNT? Man, the World hates us more than I thought. Trump would approve though.


----------



## Evilo

I think Mou might target Portugal, but he'll have to wait.


----------



## Evilo

Mourinho, un líder para un sector del madridismo

Let's all laugh together !


----------



## maclean

Evilo said:


> Mourinho, un líder para un sector del madridismo
> 
> Let's all laugh together !




An even better prospect than returning to Inter!


----------



## Ceremony

Evilo said:


> Mourinho, un líder para un sector del madridismo
> 
> Let's all laugh together !



Bring back the good times imo


----------



## Timeless Winter

hersky77 said:


> Is it just me or does mou and the US mens team seem like a match in heaven. I know they just hired a new coach, but mou in the states would be an awesome spectacle to watch




It would be awful, I wouldn't even want him coaching the Columbus Crew.


----------



## Jussi

les Habs said:


> USMNT? Man, the World hates us more than I thought. Trump would approve though.




It's not hate, just the fact that you're now worse than us, says a lot.


----------



## Jussi

As it was accidentally reported yesterday, OGS and Mike Phelan take over for the remainder of the season.


----------



## The Abusement Park

Well see how OGS does I guess. Was pretty horrible at cardiff, but could be a different story with more talent at his disposal.


----------



## hatterson

The Abusement Park said:


> Well see how OGS does I guess. Was pretty horrible at cardiff, but could be a different story with more talent at his disposal.




The expectations for a caretaker coming into this tire fire are also pretty low.

Basically all he has to do is keep them ahead of Everton/Leicester/West Ham/whoever is in 7th. I don't think anyone realistically expects him to make a run in the CL or make a challenge for the top 4. They're 11 points back with 21 games to play. Realistically they'd have to earn something like 2.4 points a game the rest of the way (~90 point season pace) which just isn't remotely reasonable.


----------



## SJSharks72

The Abusement Park said:


> Well see how OGS does I guess. Was pretty horrible at cardiff, but could be a different story with more talent at his disposal.



This is a pretty much lost season already. Get in Europa and get the players enjoying life again. This is going to sound awful but I kind of wish we dropped to Europa so we had a chance at CL next year.


----------



## The Abusement Park

hatterson said:


> The expectations for a caretaker coming into this tire fire are also pretty low.
> 
> Basically all he has to do is keep them ahead of Everton/Leicester/West Ham/whoever is in 7th. I don't think anyone realistically expects him to make a run in the CL or make a challenge for the top 4. They're 11 points back with 21 games to play. Realistically they'd have to earn something like 2.4 points a game the rest of the way (~90 point season pace) which just isn't remotely reasonable.




No, I’m not expecting him to get any results such as get top 4 or anything. I’m just curious how well gets the team to play and see how much he can improve the team/develop some of the younger guys.


----------



## East Coast Bias

I think they'll see an immediate bounceback on results and style of play. The players will respond to the contrast, and not having that pants-shitting, whiny clown managing them.

How long it lasts, or what happens when tougher fixtures arrive, I don't know.


----------



## The Abusement Park

East Coast Bias said:


> I think they'll see an immediate bounceback on results and style of play. The players will respond to the contrast, and not having that pants-****ting, whiny clown managing them.
> 
> How long it lasts, or what happens when tougher fixtures arrive, I don't know.




I know OGS likes players to “express themselves” as he’s said in previous interviews. So I think there should be a positive style of play hopefully and should be good players like Pogba, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez etc. 

As long as they start actually trying to play and attack I’ll be happy.


----------



## Jussi

Kudos to Neville for squashing any hopes of him joining United with honesty. "I'm not qualified." "Maybe 10-15 years from now, but until then, they need the best person available."


----------



## hersky77

les Habs said:


> USMNT? Man, the World hates us more than I thought. Trump would approve though.




That’s why I thought of it. Trump and Jose is a match made in heaven, and the ups at the USMNT don’t seem like the sharpest tools in the shed


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Everyone on the NBC Soccer prematch says Poch is leaving for ManU.

Looking at the schedule, I think ManU is going to go on a string of victories and keep OGS.


----------



## East Coast Bias

spintheblackcircle said:


> Everyone on the NBC Soccer prematch says Poch is leaving for ManU.
> 
> Looking at the schedule, I think ManU is going to go on a string of victories and keep OGS.




They have no idea. I like most of the staff on NBC but none of them have any idea about the inner workings of Spurs or United.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

No they don't...but they've always said Poch wasn't leaving whenever his name came up in the past.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Leverkusen hire Peter Bosz (ex-Ajax/Dortmund)

Frank de Boer is named new Atlanta United manager


----------

