The on topic thread

[BlueBen]

I never said he deserves it. There are plenty of fantastic candidates out there, and I doubt he'll be the one with the best CV when the FA draw up their list. All I said was that I think that's what's going to happen.

In his defence, Liverpool have had 4 title challenges in the last 25 years, and he was at the helm for our closest run while playing the best football I've seen at Anfield since the days of Dalglish, Barnes & Beardsley.

His failings are obvious and well documented, but his successes can't be ignored when assessing his performance as Liverpool manager. Like I said the other day, if jumping from 7th and 30 pts off the pace to taking the title race to the final day within 12 months was such an easy feat to accomplish then Rodgers wouldn't have been the first to achieve it, and as has been discussed numerous times in here - Suarez was also playing great football when we were shite 12 months earlier so obviously it can't all be down to him. Rodgers wasn't a raging success as Liverpool manager, but he wasn't a total failure as many are making him out to be.

As I said, there are probably better credentialed options out there but I don't think Rodgers would be a bad choice by the FA, and my prediction is that rightly or wrongly he's the one they'll go with.

Rodgers when he got the Liverpool job did say to judge him after three years. Three years and over £250m later, were we really any better off? If he gets credit for the 2013/4 season then he deserves a fair portion of the blame for the rest of his tenure and so, overall. you would have to say that his reign at Liverpool was not successful.

The problem for Rodgers is that the one thing that he can't escape from is that he has never actually won anything in the game (excluding promotion with Swansea, which is not the sort of thing that is going to make or break his application when it comes to the jobs we are talking about here). Unless/until he does, there is going to be that credibility gap that follows him around. A title with Liverpool would obviously have changed that; even a League Cup along the way would have helped as it would show that he can take a team to glory and something tangible for him to hang his hat on.

Obvious jokes about England never winning anything anyway aside, can a nation with designs on winning tournaments appoint a manager who has no experience in winning things at the top level? It's why (and I posted exactly this at the time)I was amazed that Man United, a team so accustomed to winning trophies, would appoint David Moyes, whose greatest tangible achievement until that time was (and still is) achieving promotion into the Championship with Preston North End. It was never going to work, because, ultimately, who the hell was David Moyes?

Maybe it sounds harsh, or maybe it's just common sense, but a manager's CV has to come into it. That's not to say that, when appointing a manager, you necessarily pick the candidate who has won the most trophies, but a manager with a track-record of success has have an immediate advantage over someone who has yet to prove that he can win anything. So that means that you are going to have to be pretty bloody special and convincing in other areas to beat out candidates who seem on face value to be more suited to the position. Why would Wayne Rooney, for example, listen to Brendan Rodgers talking about what it takes to achieve success? Can players who have won multiple honours truly respect a coach who does not have a single trophy to his name?

He just hasn't done enough to be given another "top level" chance yet. I think he needs to go to Spain, or take over a Newcastle/Aston Villa, gain some wider experience in the game, hopefully win a trophy or two along the way and build his reputation to the point where he won't look out of place in vying for top jobs. The good thing for him is that he is still fairly young and that time is on his side. England will always be around. He needs to earn the opportunity.

 

[Cooldude]

No manager of British nationality is good enough to manage the England team, but they will turn to one of them coz they can't stand those foreign managers

It's awesome how much of a joke English football is

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

The french have raised the dutch in bizzare falling out stakes.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

The french have raised the dutch in bizzare falling out stakes.

From 15 year old pros to this. Never change France.

 

[moomba]

Being linked with England job.

By who?

 

[jd2010]

By who?

The UK press has been angling towards it for some time. Think the Telegraph ran a piece before he was sacked saying he is a perfect candidate, and so to has the Mirror since his sacking. Stevie G has endorsed him too. Hopefully for the national teams sake it's like all the talk of 'Arry getting it only for them to go elsewhere

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Good stuff by Jonas, club treated him disgracefully (and has a history of doing that), hope he gets every cent he can.

 

[Latro]

These extracts from Allardyces biography are really amusing.

 

[Magma]

porto could be in a bit of strife with the mangala transfer. apparently porto gave the doyen group the ability to negotiate their stake, which is illegal under fifa rules. porto apparently owned at least 56% of his rights, with the rest split between the doyen group and robi plus. mangala and city aren't being investigated, but porto could end up facing a large fine and/or transfer ban.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

Sam Allardyce launches outspoken attack on ‘deluded’ West Ham fans [Sun]
“I felt the West Ham way ought to be about wearing your heart on your sleeve, showing passion for the club and winning” Allardyce wrote in the Sun.
“But the fans were being brainwashed into thinking that, historically, the club had a particular style of play akin to Barcelona, which was potty. :lol:

“I once called the supporters deluded and I stand by that. I don’t know who invented the ‘West Ham way’ phrase, but it’s a millstone around the club’s neck.”

He is not exactly wrong imo

 

[Latro]

Sam Allardyce launches outspoken attack on ‘deluded’ West Ham fans [Sun]
“I felt the West Ham way ought to be about wearing your heart on your sleeve, showing passion for the club and winning” Allardyce wrote in the Sun.
“But the fans were being brainwashed into thinking that, historically, the club had a particular style of play akin to Barcelona, which was potty. :lol:

“I once called the supporters deluded and I stand by that. I don’t know who invented the ‘West Ham way’ phrase, but it’s a millstone around the club’s neck.”

He is not exactly wrong imo

He also thinks he has gotten the better of Wenger, Rafa and I think Mourihno.

 

[Cooldude]

“I am not suited to Bolton or Blackburn,” Sam said, in apparent seriousness. “I would be more suited to Inter Milan or Real Madrid.”

Such a move, he believes, would bring both him and the club involved unparalleled success. “It would not be a problem to me to go and manage those clubs because I would win the double or the league every time.”

"Give me Manchester United or Chelsea and I would do the same, it would not be a problem. [This] is not where I am suited to, it is just where I have been for most of the time.

“It is not a problem to take me into the higher reaches of the Champions League or Premier League. It would make my job a lot easier in winning it.”

 

[jod23]

Chelsea should sack Mourinho and give Sam a go. He'll win the league apparently.

 

[chef]

He also thinks he has gotten the better of Wenger, Rafa and I think Mourihno.

Sam Allardyce has confirmed one of football’s worst kept secrets: he cannot stand Arsène Wenger.



In his new autobiography, serialised in The Sun, Allardyce, who has just taken charge at Sunderland, describes his Arsenal counterpart as an “arrogant” coach and a bad loser. “I enjoyed beating Arsenal more than anyone when I was in charge at Bolton,” said Allardyce. “We’d really got to them and Arsène Wenger hated us.




“There was one time he wouldn’t shake hands with me at Highbury because we got a draw. I saw him ripping his tie off and throwing it on the floor in anger. He takes it all very personally and has an air of arrogance. He’s not one for inviting you into his office for a drink after the game.



“The more I wound him up, the more I liked it. He tried to influence refs through the media and create a perception that we were bullies committing all the fouls, while his team just wanted to play. It seemed he wanted a rule where they should be allowed to do what they wanted with the ball, without us being allowed to tackle them. It was a skill finding their weaknesses and how to exploit them. But when we succeeded the press were usually on about Arsenal having an off-day and the ref being soft"

 

[Latro]

Sam Allardyce has confirmed one of football’s worst kept secrets: he cannot stand Arsène Wenger.



In his new autobiography, serialised in The Sun, Allardyce, who has just taken charge at Sunderland, describes his Arsenal counterpart as an “arrogant” coach and a bad loser. “I enjoyed beating Arsenal more than anyone when I was in charge at Bolton,” said Allardyce. “We’d really got to them and Arsène Wenger hated us.




“There was one time he wouldn’t shake hands with me at Highbury because we got a draw. I saw him ripping his tie off and throwing it on the floor in anger. He takes it all very personally and has an air of arrogance. He’s not one for inviting you into his office for a drink after the game.



“The more I wound him up, the more I liked it. He tried to influence refs through the media and create a perception that we were bullies committing all the fouls, while his team just wanted to play. It seemed he wanted a rule where they should be allowed to do what they wanted with the ball, without us being allowed to tackle them. It was a skill finding their weaknesses and how to exploit them. But when we succeeded the press were usually on about Arsenal having an off-day and the ref being soft"

1 win in the last 15 games against Wenger.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

lmao Samwise probably just resents Wenger because people didn't swoon over his hoof ball style.

 

[Fryer Tuck]

The Price of Football has released their 2015 findings:
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34531731

Prices have either frozen or dropped.

Covers everything from Season Tickets, to Matchday Tickets, to Away Tickets (20 is plenty), to even the price of pie and tea, and also your home shirt.

If you want to know more about how your club fares in regards to the Premier League, other English clubs, or even those on the continent, here's the data table:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/14_10_15_price_of_football.pdf

 

[jd2010]

1 win in the last 15 games against Wenger.

Not a terrible record while at Bolton. But since then it's all been Wenger

 

[chef]

1 win in the last 15 games against Wenger.

Thats better than Wengers record against Mou

 

[FAITH]

didn't Sam manage a big club in Newcastle and failed?

 

[Latro]

Thats better than Wengers record against Mou

That is equal to Wengers record.

 

[chef]

That is equal to Wengers record.

I must have missed that win, we're not counting the shield are we?

 

[FAITH]

The coach has been slammed by the former Chelsea player for his behaviour towards Eva Carneiro earlier this season, and questioned how he can possibly be the best manager around
Ex-Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux has deplored Jose Mourinho's behaviour towards former club doctor Eva Carneiro as putting football in England "back 30 years".

Carneiro was publicly criticised by Mourinho for her actions in Chelsea's opening game of the season against Swansea and subsequently left her position as head doctor at Stamford Bridge after being frozen out of first-team affairs by Mourinho.

Football Association Inclusion Advisory Board member Le Saux thinks Mourinho - who was handed a suspended stadium ban and a £50,000 fine for criticism of referees by the FA on Wednesday - has done serious damage to women working in British football with his recent conduct.

"What concerns me the most, given the work I'm doing for the FA, is the impact Mourinho's behaviour may have throughout the whole game," Le Saux said in his column for The Times.

"We're trying to deal with some very sensitive issues and to change the culture of the game. Some good people at the FA have taken a kicking after concluding there was insufficient evidence to charge Mourinho, whilst the whole furore may also deter women from becoming involved in football, as well as discouraging clubs from employing them.

"A lot of people are working very hard to get the game in a better place, but after the last few weeks it feels as if we've gone back 30 years."

As Chelsea have struggled to get going in 2015-16 - they sit 16th in the Premier League table after eight games - Mourinho has boasted it would be folly to sack him as there is no one they can replace him with who is a better manager.

Le Saux has challenged Mourinho's insistence that he's the best in the world, though, as he does not think it is possible to ordain such a title on a coach who refuses to accept when he's in the wrong.

"If this had been handled differently, these negative issues would not have arisen," he added. "Mourinho doesn't seem to have reflected on the damage he's done to his own image, the reputation of Chelsea and - more importantly - the reputation of the entire game.

"Winning things and being the best are two different thing. I define the best as not only someone who's successful but who behaves and conforms to certain standards. Unless you show an acceptance of your mistakes and take responsibility for your actions, I question whether you are the best."

 

[Cruyff14]

Joe Gomez is out for the season.

 

[Zidane98]

Joe Gomez is out for the season.

Injured in the 80th minute of an England U 21 game vs Kazakhstan when 3-0 up.

We have a winner for the most unnecessary injury of all time.