The TT Football Club

[Breaker]

I know most City supporters won't agree but I still think Hughes is a decent manager. Did well to get us to Europa League quarterfinal where we really dominated Hamburg and were unlucky not to advance, haven't seen a performance in Europe like that since. He needs to get rid of Bowen though if he wants to step up a level as a manager, Bowen's defensive organisation is unbelievably poor and disjointed.

Meanwhile Barton brings the comedy of the day, McClaren would be proud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LyyAMgfIOQ

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by NickC

So I come back from a vacation to find out that Chelsea have sacked Di Mateo and replaced him with Rafael Benitez?

What the hell? Who makes such decisions? Surely Roman isn't THAT stupid.

I don't think it's that he is stupid, he clearly is not but it appears he wants to be entertained and seems to want a say in what/how or who plays each week.Maybe not as bad as the guy who is in control at Hearts but rumours seem to be increasing.A friend of mine is a CFC and was excited when all the money first arrived but he is getting worried that they are just a toy no stability, what top manager really needs the hassle?Was his worry come the summer, valid point.

Originally Posted by Ross K

Talking of Harry, I'm a bit surprised he didn't wait until a bigger club than QPR was available or came in for him. Wonder if he'll do the same as when he quickly revived Tottenham and proceeded to take them ever upwards, or if it will be a repeat of his inglorious time at Southampton when he took them down a division?

As for Hughes, his reputation is now badly damaged. Maybe that's about it from him as any kind of force in the PL?

I think he might get another shot but his record is more average than his agent talking him up might have you believe,as for Redknapp managing the Ukraine, that just smacked of "QPR come get me".
Decent win on Sunday eh Ross!

[PED]

Glad to see Rafa has brought the excitement back to Chelsea

I won't complain about Arsene any more now.

Ross, Bale def looks up for it these days. He and Felliani are both a bit unplayable at times.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by PED

Glad to see Rafa has brought the excitement back to Chelsea

I won't complain about Arsene any more now.

Haha! Poor Phil Thompson covering it for Sky, he was asleep by half time it seemed. I watched a stream of it and we were dull as anything.

It doesn't really matter I suppose, third in the League was a good season at the start and that's still the goal.

[crosscourt]

Originally Posted by NickC

So I come back from a vacation to find out that Chelsea have sacked Di Mateo and replaced him with Rafael Benitez?

What the hell? Who makes such decisions? Surely Roman isn't THAT stupid.

It is his money that has given Chelsea everything it has achieved in the last decade. Do people really say that he can't hire and fire as he likes?

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by PED

Glad to see Rafa has brought the excitement back to Chelsea

I won't complain about Arsene any more now.

Ross, Bale def looks up for it these days. He and Felliani are both a bit unplayable at times.

Agree on that. TBH I've long been of the opinion that Bale could do even better at Real or Barca - he is that good. Brilliant to see us win two on the trot though, and hopefully this can really springboard us into some top form for the Xmas/New Year run in.

[NickC]

Wow, that was sad. Benitez's tactics were again horrid. That was dull to watch.

Originally Posted by Dave M

I don't think it's that he is stupid, he clearly is not but it appears he wants to be entertained and seems to want a say in what/how or who plays each week.Maybe not as bad as the guy who is in control at Hearts but rumours seem to be increasing.A friend of mine is a CFC and was excited when all the money first arrived but he is getting worried that they are just a toy no stability, what top manager really needs the hassle?Was his worry come the summer, valid point.

Yeah that's a good point, I'd take Roman and his billions any day over Romanov, now there's a bad dude.

[NickC]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Agree on that. TBH I've long been of the opinion that Bale could do even better at Real or Barca - he is that good. Brilliant to see us win two on the trot though, and hopefully this can really springboard us into some top form for the Xmas/New Year run in.

Bale had an OK match, I saw he had a part in the own goal but other than that looked good going forward. That was a wicked free kick though.

I don't think he'd fit at Real Madrid, they already have 2 attacking left backs, among a derth of awesome left sided players. He's not better than Ozil nor Di Maria, so he wouldn't play up top, he is too fast to sit in the midfield, and Marcelo is a better defender than him (which isn't saying much) as is Coentrao.

At Barcelona, would they start him over Jordi Alba? I don't think so, but they'd find room in their side for him.

Maybe he could head to Serie A instead, Juve or Inter would suit him nicely. He'd be awesome at Napoli in their system but that'd be a step sideways in his game and not a step forward.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by NickC

Bale had an OK match, I saw he had a part in the own goal but other than that looked good going forward. That was a wicked free kick though.

I don't think he'd fit at Real Madrid, they already have 2 attacking left backs, among a derth of awesome left sided players. He's not better than Ozil nor Di Maria, so he wouldn't play up top, he is too fast to sit in the midfield, and Marcelo is a better defender than him (which isn't saying much) as is Coentrao.

At Barcelona, would they start him over Jordi Alba? I don't think so, but they'd find room in their side for him.

Maybe he could head to Serie A instead, Juve or Inter would suit him nicely. He'd be awesome at Napoli in their system but that'd be a step sideways in his game and not a step forward.

I've never really been sure why Barcelona are linked with him every summer. He's a great player, but he wouldn't really fit in with what they do there I wouldn't of thought.

He would be good at left back I suppose, it would add a nice balance to Alves on the other side. I can't really imagine them paying £50 Million for a left back though especially when they already have Alba, as you say, who is plenty good enough.

Madrid may be an option, they would have to get rid of at least one of Coentrao and Marcelo to make room and raise funds. Mourinho likes him for sure, but it doesn't look like he will be there next season.

[rocketassist]

Originally Posted by Breaker

I know most City supporters won't agree but I still think Hughes is a decent manager. Did well to get us to Europa League quarterfinal where we really dominated Hamburg and were unlucky not to advance, haven't seen a performance in Europe like that since. He needs to get rid of Bowen though if he wants to step up a level as a manager, Bowen's defensive organisation is unbelievably poor and disjointed.

Meanwhile Barton brings the comedy of the day, McClaren would be proud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LyyAMgfIOQ

Hughes has always done better when he's had limited resources (Blackburn, Wales, Fulham) than when he's been given a chequebook.

[NickC]

Originally Posted by Feña14

I've never really been sure why Barcelona are linked with him every summer. He's a great player, but he wouldn't really fit in with what they do there I wouldn't of thought.

He would be good at left back I suppose, it would add a nice balance to Alves on the other side. I can't really imagine them paying £50 Million for a left back though especially when they already have Alba, as you say, who is plenty good enough.

Madrid may be an option, they would have to get rid of at least one of Coentrao and Marcelo to make room and raise funds. Mourinho likes him for sure, but it doesn't look like he will be there next season.

He'd fit in at Barcelona by playing the same role Coentrao plays normally - an all action deep midfielder who sits near a defensive midfielder and can get the ball forward quickly, has a good shot and can defend. And pass too, obviously. I think him playing alongside Masch would be cool he'd be like a deep lying player, being able to bring Alba and Alves into the fold if they're not there already. He's plenty fast too so he can provide support on the wings. I could see him there honestly.

But it won't happen, last time they paid stupid money for a player they didn't need was when they let Eto'o go for 30 million plus Zlatan. And how'd that turn out?

[Ross K]

Yes, agree with a lot of what you say Fena and Nick re Bale. Might make more of a dent in La Liga than Modric anyhow.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Yes, agree with a lot of what you say Fena and Nick re Bale. Might make more of a dent in La Liga than Modric anyhow.

It's looking like a great bit of business, selling Modric. Just a shame Dembele has been injured, when he's played he's been very good.

You could of got more for him last summer though

[PED]

I understand the desire of a great player to play in la liga or serie A but I think those leagues are much more biased to home grown players. One of the strengths of the pl over the years is the influx of foreign talent, the clubs are about winning, no matter what your country of origin is.

I think about some of the english exports who went overseas the last few years and never really were fully valued: Owen and Becks to name two. Capello claimed he would never play Becks again but he ended up relenting and they won the title. All Owen did when he played was score but never really got a look in.

If I'm Bale, I'd stay where I'm paid well and more importantly, valued highly.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by PED

I understand the desire of a great player to play in la liga or serie A but I think those leagues are much more biased to home grown players. One of the strengths of the pl over the years is the influx of foreign talent, the clubs are about winning, no matter what your country of origin is.

I think about some of the english exports who went overseas the last few years and never really were fully valued: Owen and Becks to name two. Capello claimed he would never play Becks again but he ended up relenting and they won the title. All Owen did when he played was score but never really got a look in.

If I'm Bale, I'd stay where I'm paid well and more importantly, valued highly.

Well he can keep his own house if he wants to be Cole's replacement next season maybe not.

I see Benitez is dropping Oscar tomorrow, he thinks the squad is too small in numbers to compete every game. I wonder if Abramovich will back him and fix that in January.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by Feña14

.

I see Benitez is dropping Oscar tomorrow, he thinks the squad is too small in numbers to compete every game. I wonder if Abramovich will back him and fix that in January.

I am rather hoping he decides not to contest todays game too!

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by Dave M

I am rather hoping he decides not to contest todays game too!

You never know!

2-0 West Ham is my prediction, i'm just hoping for a better game tough. The last two have been two of the most insipid performances you could ever wish to see.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by Feña14

You never know!

2-0 West Ham is my prediction, i'm just hoping for a better game tough. The last two have been two of the most insipid performances you could ever wish to see.

Well, I was nearly right!

I should of just said West Ham by 2.

[PureAlph4]

So 2-0 to Swansea at the Emirates. No complaints whatsoever about the score; they deserved it. They were in 1-on-1 three times before scoring (twice brilliantly saved by Szczesny, and once by a desperate lunge from Vermaelen), and looked the more dangerous team in attacking areas. We had more possession in the second half, but as ever with no cutting edge and no firepower. Why Wenger persists with starting the 3rd rate Gervinho up top alone is completely beyond me.

Arsenal now down to 10th after 15 games, having failed to beat Sunderland (H), Stoke, Norwich (H), Fulham (H), Villa, Everton and Swansea (H). We're in real, real trouble. I think it would be fair to say the only two victories this season that were comprehensive, deserved and not due to exceptional circumstances were those in early September against Liverpool and Southampton. The only bright spot is that 3rd place is only 5 points away, solely thanks to the lack of dominant teams at the top this year.

As I've said before, I will back Wenger for the rest of the season, but it has reached the point where no-one can deny that there's a valid argument for him going. He's purported to have £40m+ to spend in January (I assume this figure includes transfer fees and wages), so the possibility of bringing in a couple of £12m players (i.e usual price bracket, a la Giroud, Podolski, Gervinho), but I just don't know if we can bring in the real top quality that we need to make us competitive again for that money in the inflated January window. We have a good spine to the squad, but with constantly selling our world class players, and being unable to afford real top quality talent, we are marginally less competitive every single season.

At the moment Arsenal is an empire in managed decline.

[Peters]

I still think he's essentially a very decent manager, but they keep getting rid of his best players. There are too many squad members who simply wouldn't get into a Man Utd/Man City best 11.

They're just too lightweight these days. They have the occasional flourish, but they get bossed around far too easily.