OT: Soccer/Football Thread

[Captain Dave Poulin]

x2

The Cube is life OMG that was glorious.

 

[trostol]

Liverpool back to the top!!!!!

 

[YEM]

f*** you scousers but f*** man utd even more, like with a chainsaw dipped in ebola

 

[OrangeAndBlackMetal]

 

[Jack Straw]

‘tis the season for firing coaches I guess. Mourinho has been sacked.

Manchester United sack José Mourinho after worst start in 28 years

 

[1865]

No surprise there. Players don't thrive for long in his toxic environment. It's 2 years and bust for him everywhere.

 

[1865]

You're a Villa fan?

 

[FlyerFaithful17]

No surprise there. Players don't thrive for long in his toxic environment. It's 2 years and bust for him everywhere.

And he’s long lost the luster of being “The Special One” now.

 

[Chinatown88]

Oh well I wonder who they can hire now. I never understood the hype of Mourinho and didn't really think much of the hire as a United fan.

 

[FlyerFaithful17]

Oh well I wonder who they can hire now. I never understood the hype of Mourinho and didn't really think much of the hire as a United fan.

Winning the treble at Inter got him the hype, but that was long ago now.

 

[Jack Straw]

Oh well I wonder who they can hire now. I never understood the hype of Mourinho and didn't really think much of the hire as a United fan.

Plenty of names being thrown out already: Zidane? Pochettino? Who will be Manchester United's new manager?

 

[Fire Tortorella]

LOL at Pochettino leaving Spurs for Man U.

 

[Jack Straw]

Pizza Hut with the burn

 

[Starat327]

I'll always have a special place for Jose due to what he did for my team. I'll also terribly miss his antics in weekly pressers from the PL.

But that dude is about as dated as they come. He needs to manage a national team where he has full control over who he does and doesnt want on the team (within nationality restraints, obviously), and doesnt spend enough time with them to ruin them.

 

[OrangeAndBlackMetal]

You're a Villa fan?

i am!

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Winning the treble at Inter got him the hype, but that was long ago now.

Winning the CL with Porto really got him the hype, and then jumping onto the mountain of gold at Chelsea and turning it into titles really cemented it.

Too bad for him that Luis Garcia is so ****ing awesome

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Oh well I wonder who they can hire now. I never understood the hype of Mourinho and didn't really think much of the hire as a United fan.

I read something today that only three managers at United have ever won titles, and one of those was before WWI. They are going to be chasing "The United Way" without a Ferguson, and that's going to be a tough thing to find - as much as I loathe him, he was a one-off great manager and the landscape is completely different now.

 

[1865]

i am!

That 5-5 of ours was something special eh?

 

[1865]

I read something today that only three managers at United have ever won titles, and one of those was before WWI. They are going to be chasing "The United Way" without a Ferguson, and that's going to be a tough thing to find - as much as I loathe him, he was a one-off great manager and the landscape is completely different now.

The landscape is now they're not the only team with money. Before they could almost blow anyone else in the league out of the water, but they're just one of a handful who can now. They'll be fine, they have talent but Mourinho poisoned the lake. A new manager will be a huge breath of fresh air i'm sure, but they're already too far behind.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

The landscape is now they're not the only team with money. Before they could almost blow anyone else in the league out of the water, but they're just one of a handful who can now. They'll be fine, they have talent but Mourinho poisoned the lake. A new manager will be a huge breath of fresh air i'm sure, but they're already too far behind.

It's not just that, though. They used to develop their own homegrown players - or at least especially did so to a massively successful degree with that "Class of '92" (or '96, whichever it was) - and also poached whoever they wanted, basically, from the other clubs around England - e.g. Wayne Rooney and tons of others. Generally speaking, there's not enough wiggle room in the table anymore to give those young homegrown players time to play through their growing pains and grow into starters on a league-winning side. This isn't a United problem, all of the top clubs have to deal with this, but that was one area where they had a huge advantage and found a lot of success. I'm not saying they can't adjust, but it is different from the way they built the club through a huge portion of Ferguson's reign - it's a huge piece of "The United Way" from the past that pundits and people talk about (though the bulk of that "Way" is playing attacking football).

 

[Jack Straw]

It's not just that, though. They used to develop their own homegrown players - or at least especially did so to a massively successful degree with that "Class of '92" (or '96, whichever it was) - and also poached whoever they wanted, basically, from the other clubs around England - e.g. Wayne Rooney and tons of others. Generally speaking, there's not enough wiggle room in the table anymore to give those young homegrown players time to play through their growing pains and grow into starters on a league-winning side. This isn't a United problem, all of the top clubs have to deal with this, but that was one area where they had a huge advantage and found a lot of success. I'm not saying they can't adjust, but it is different from the way they built the club through a huge portion of Ferguson's reign - it's a huge piece of "The United Way" from the past that pundits and people talk about (though the bulk of that "Way" is playing attacking football).

If the reports are to be believed, developing young players is one of the points of emphasis they want in the next manager (along with playing an attacking style).

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

If the reports are to be believed, developing young players is one of the points of emphasis they want in the next manager (along with playing an attacking style).

Yeah, but that's a point of emphasis for every team around. The rest of what I said is the point of that - they don't have time to do that with these young players in the system anymore because the table is too competitive. There's also a real dearth in homegrown (British) players coming through who are of the standard to make a title-winning side when virtual superteams are being created at the Etihad and elsewhere out of foreign players, particularly foreign youth players. They are in competition not just with Arsenal anymore, and not just with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and not just with all of those and Tottenham, but with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern, et al to fill their youth ranks with players of the requisite quality. And when they fail to make top four in the EPL and lose out on CL, it makes it harder to attract those young players abroad, even though they have as much money as nearly any club in the world - these players want to play in the CL and often don't have the desire or foresight to wait a season or two.

My point isn't that they can't do it, because with the right sporting director and manager they certainly could and probably will - it's just that this is different - not completely, but in some critical ways - from the way Ferguson built his sides. "The United Way" needs some tweaking. It doesn't help that ballbags like Gary Neville and Paul Scholes are constantly sticking their necks out, though I understand their frustration.

I can't tell you how hard it is to be civil and type all that without throwing heaping, flaming balls of hate on them, because on my enormous list of things which suck, they are all the way up at #3. I am trying, though lol.

 

[Jack Straw]

Yeah, but that's a point of emphasis for every team around. The rest of what I said is the point of that - they don't have time to do that with these young players in the system anymore because the table is too competitive. There's also a real dearth in homegrown (British) players coming through who are of the standard to make a title-winning side when virtual superteams are being created at the Etihad and elsewhere out of foreign players, particularly foreign youth players. They are in competition not just with Arsenal anymore, and not just with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and not just with all of those and Tottenham, but with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern, et al to fill their youth ranks with players of the requisite quality. And when they fail to make top four in the EPL and lose out on CL, it makes it harder to attract those young players abroad, even though they have as much money as nearly any club in the world - these players want to play in the CL and often don't have the desire or foresight to wait a season or two.

My point isn't that they can't do it, because with the right sporting director and manager they certainly could and probably will - it's just that this is different - not completely, but in some critical ways - from the way Ferguson built his sides. "The United Way" needs some tweaking. It doesn't help that ballbags like Gary Neville and Paul Scholes are constantly sticking their necks out, though I understand their frustration.

I can't tell you how hard it is to be civil and type all that without throwing heaping, flaming balls of hate on them, because on my enormous list of things which suck, they are all the way up at #3. I am trying, though lol.

I agree with the basic point that times have changed and the playing field is more level. One of my best friends is from Manchester and a huge fan so I do kind of like them but I don't take the hate directed at them personally. 'Cause you know, they're not my team. lol

 

[Starat327]

Yeah, but that's a point of emphasis for every team around. The rest of what I said is the point of that - they don't have time to do that with these young players in the system anymore because the table is too competitive. There's also a real dearth in homegrown (British) players coming through who are of the standard to make a title-winning side when virtual superteams are being created at the Etihad and elsewhere out of foreign players, particularly foreign youth players. They are in competition not just with Arsenal anymore, and not just with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and not just with all of those and Tottenham, but with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern, et al to fill their youth ranks with players of the requisite quality. And when they fail to make top four in the EPL and lose out on CL, it makes it harder to attract those young players abroad, even though they have as much money as nearly any club in the world - these players want to play in the CL and often don't have the desire or foresight to wait a season or two.

My point isn't that they can't do it, because with the right sporting director and manager they certainly could and probably will - it's just that this is different - not completely, but in some critical ways - from the way Ferguson built his sides. "The United Way" needs some tweaking. It doesn't help that ballbags like Gary Neville and Paul Scholes are constantly sticking their necks out, though I understand their frustration.

I can't tell you how hard it is to be civil and type all that without throwing heaping, flaming balls of hate on them, because on my enormous list of things which suck, they are all the way up at #3. I am trying, though lol.

...and united is at #1.

 

[BritainStix]

As a united fan, I was more tired of Woodward than Jose