The TT Football Club
- Thread starter Ross K
- Start date
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s been a bit of a joke for a decade now. The only time I hear people talk about it is to mock what it’s become.
I saw Dani Olmo was close to the top 10. He was injured most of last season, scored 4 goals in 20 appearances all year.. and spent most of the Euro’s on the bench
I'll poast here what I told Slice - it will add context to why I was salty -
I just really like Vinicius. I think he is a great icon for non-white footballers. And I guess I just don't understand the criteria under which Rodri won. Surely if it's that criteria than Carvajal should have won it? Awk well. Then in the triple year he (Rodri) was 5th? I guess that's what happens when these awards are voted on by journalists. Just like me they have their own opinions.
Then you have people saying "Oh it's because of what he did for 2 seasons" - but the award is only for 1 season I thought? Plus that did not apply to Bobby in 2021.
Idk , I think Fedpo needs to just accept that award will rarely if ever go the way he prefers it to go. And that's okay. Not like I am the godfather of football. I am just disappointed.
optic yellow
Legend
Did Vini actually deserve it? Being an icon for non-white footballers is a weak argument because non-white footballers have been popularly accepted icons since the days of Pele. There are no special points for being a black Brazilian no matter how much angry **** you hear from economically oppressed Spanishmen.
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
That's up to everyone's individual opinion. I thought he did enough to warrant the award personally. Especially after seeing how toothless Brazil looked against Uruguay when he was out on card accumulation. Rodri did more in the year he finished fifth in voting than this past year. So I am a little flummoxed as to how he won it.
optic yellow
Legend
Well that is fair. I really have not seen either of them play enough to know who between them deserved to have won it.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Dr. Ten Hag.
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
I think the biggest surprise is it seemed like Vini Jr had it locked up and then suddenly kind of out of nowhere it flipped to Rodri. Like @Feña14 said it's not really worth worrying about. It is probably just residual salt from the 2020 cancellation and Lewy losing in 2021 as well.
I think everyone's best bet moving forward for the award is to assume a guy Fedpo backs won't win it.
The non-white comment was mostly just for myself and why I like him, not so much why I thought he should win the award. I thought his play spoke for itself in that regard.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Saeed's channel celebrating good times. HE'S GONE,.
optic yellow
Legend
Well on what basis had he locked it up? Was it a strong numerical case or more hype from the Champions League title?
Oh well this is obviously valid.
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
I think I weighed Champions League glory too heavily in thinking he had it locked up. Goal in the final. Hat trick in the Super Cup final (in a Clasico to boot). Team only lost 2 games last year and went undefeated the entirety of UCL (though other teammates took votes from him which didn't help) . His summer with Brazil definitely wasn't great, but as I had mentioned he did not play in the game against Uruguay.
If International play is weighed so heavily how did Carvajal not win it? Game winner in UCL final, and won the Euros.
On the flip side, Ancelotti got the nod over Xabi for what I can only imagine is they weighed UCL more heavily than anything Xabi did. Which is...strange. Just seems like there's no consistency.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
''The 28-year-old won the Best Player award from the tournament in Germany last summer despite being forced off at half-time in the final against England.
Remarkably, Rodri also went 74 games - and 475 days - without experiencing defeat for club and country during the past year, with the run coming to an end in the FA Cup final against Manchester United last May.
The last time Rodri lost a Premier League game was a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in February 2023. He becomes the first defensive midfielder to win the award, stretching back to 1956, while he is the first Spaniard to do so since Luis Suarez of Barcelona in 1960.''
Remarkably, Rodri also went 74 games - and 475 days - without experiencing defeat for club and country during the past year, with the run coming to an end in the FA Cup final against Manchester United last May.
The last time Rodri lost a Premier League game was a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in February 2023. He becomes the first defensive midfielder to win the award, stretching back to 1956, while he is the first Spaniard to do so since Luis Suarez of Barcelona in 1960.''
optic yellow
Legend
Yeah Ancelotti getting that was extremely questionable.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
optic yellow
Legend
damn that is elite meme image
Clearly any managerial appointment is a gamble, and the Portuguese league is insanely top heavy, and nowhere near as strong as the top tier European leagues. Most domestic fixtures are against clubs with average attendances of under 5,000 per home game and whose year by year TV revenue is paltry.
But I think that Amorim is an excellent choice for Man Utd. He is only 39 years old, but has quite a few seasons under his best now, and before he took charge, Sporting were clearly the weakest of the big 3 in Portugal (there were fears that it was becoming a big 2). Winning 2 league titles with them in 4 full seasons has been very good going.
I think that Man Utd’s squad, including the defenders, is well suited to his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
He likes his wing backs and push forward and attack, his likes his defensive midfielders to play quite deep, his attackers press high up the pitch, and he’s not obsessed with possession and is willing to switch to long balls and fast transitions when he deems it to be necessary.
And unlike Ten Hag he is a very charismatic guy. His press conferences at Sporting have been enjoyable to follow. That can be important in terms of building up good relationships within the club and outside it.
I was delighted that he didn’t leave Sporting for West Ham during the summer, as that would have been a step down for him and a potential ‘career-progression killing move’. I personally think the West Ham job is more difficult than the Man Utd job, as there are completely unrealistic expectations at West Ham in terms of what they can achieve and the style of play, and West Ham fans are far more likely to turn on their own manager and players.
There was talk about him joining Viana at City during next summer, and he was previously intending to leave Sporting at the end of the season. But there were also reports that he was deeply concerned about going to City as succeeding the Pep title winning machine could be brutally difficult, plus there is the cloud of those 115 charges. The ability to ‘rebuild’ Man Utd and make them contenders was more enticing to him.
But I think that Amorim is an excellent choice for Man Utd. He is only 39 years old, but has quite a few seasons under his best now, and before he took charge, Sporting were clearly the weakest of the big 3 in Portugal (there were fears that it was becoming a big 2). Winning 2 league titles with them in 4 full seasons has been very good going.
I think that Man Utd’s squad, including the defenders, is well suited to his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
He likes his wing backs and push forward and attack, his likes his defensive midfielders to play quite deep, his attackers press high up the pitch, and he’s not obsessed with possession and is willing to switch to long balls and fast transitions when he deems it to be necessary.
And unlike Ten Hag he is a very charismatic guy. His press conferences at Sporting have been enjoyable to follow. That can be important in terms of building up good relationships within the club and outside it.
I was delighted that he didn’t leave Sporting for West Ham during the summer, as that would have been a step down for him and a potential ‘career-progression killing move’. I personally think the West Ham job is more difficult than the Man Utd job, as there are completely unrealistic expectations at West Ham in terms of what they can achieve and the style of play, and West Ham fans are far more likely to turn on their own manager and players.
There was talk about him joining Viana at City during next summer, and he was previously intending to leave Sporting at the end of the season. But there were also reports that he was deeply concerned about going to City as succeeding the Pep title winning machine could be brutally difficult, plus there is the cloud of those 115 charges. The ability to ‘rebuild’ Man Utd and make them contenders was more enticing to him.
Last edited:
From Sporting’s perspective, many of their fans accepted that he was leaving at the end of the season, but are understandably frustrated at losing him (unless there is major U-turn and break down in negotiations) in October, after opening up with 9 wins out of 9 in the league and a very positive start in the Champions League.
That’s a general theme in football - I think many fans of clubs lower down the food chain are fine with successful managers and key players leaving at the end of seasons, but not during them.
Sporting have a very good opportunity to successfully defend the league title for the first time since 1953/1954 - both Benfica and Porto have 13 successful title defences apiece since then. Plus they were optimistic about a good Champions League run.
Apparently João Pereira, manager of the Sporting B team, is expected to succeed Amorim. He has pretty much the same tactical approach as Amorim and is said to be well liked within the club, so hopefully the transition will be as seamless as possible, and not disrupt a potentially very promising and successful season.
Understandably Benfica and Porto fans are delighted about this big news !
That’s a general theme in football - I think many fans of clubs lower down the food chain are fine with successful managers and key players leaving at the end of seasons, but not during them.
Sporting have a very good opportunity to successfully defend the league title for the first time since 1953/1954 - both Benfica and Porto have 13 successful title defences apiece since then. Plus they were optimistic about a good Champions League run.
Apparently João Pereira, manager of the Sporting B team, is expected to succeed Amorim. He has pretty much the same tactical approach as Amorim and is said to be well liked within the club, so hopefully the transition will be as seamless as possible, and not disrupt a potentially very promising and successful season.
Understandably Benfica and Porto fans are delighted about this big news !
Fabresque
Legend
Had this problem for years. Look at the state of the Italian national team. There’s no good players around and nobody coming up, it’s dead.
Owners are focused more on getting into European spots for more $$$, at least for the bigger clubs. Fastest way to do that is buy guaranteed talent. Nobody wants to develop a young academy boy anymore. When’s the last time Italy had a proper homegrown striker? Napoli dumped Osimhen and immediately went to Lukaku for a replacement.
It’s a great league and out of the 5 major leagues they’re the best one imo. Every year is a different winner. 2020 Juventus, 2021 Inter, 2022 Milan, 2023 Napoli, 2024 Inter, this year looks like Napoli. You look at everyone else and it’s the same teams over and over again.
It’s a shame on all levels how broken Italian football is and it will continue.
Fabresque
Legend
Take a look at this too:
Aha. I think they’ve been preparing for a while to bin Ten Hag. They signed more defenders in the summer and the links to Alphonso Davies have heated up big time, which seemed strange to me since Ten Hag did say before he didn’t think he was a very good footballer.
I reckon talks were had with Amorim or Tuchel for a while. Both prefer a 3ATB. United’s current squad is built on that idea more than any other formation or system. Tuchel was probably first choice but they were reluctant to sack Ten Hag, partly because they didn’t wanna admit they got it wrong, even though they were secretly planning to end up replacing him. They still were adamant he was a good enough coach to figure it out. Turns out he wasn’t. And when Tuchel went off the market it probably kicked in for them they needed to bring in Amorim before he was snapped up.
Makes sense to me. They backed Ten Hag because the fans really liked him, decent PR to keep him around, won a few trophies and maybe could figure it out. But they had a backup plan incase it went **** up. Smart
Fabresque
Legend
3ATB with two wingbacks also is probably the best formation for the club’s “star” player Rashford. He hasn’t been consistent at all and struggles in most systems unless he’s pampered. A 3 at the back, counter attacking system with people behind him doing most of the work is where he can flourish the most. United have been trying for years to make Rashford into a superstar, I don’t think INEOS are letting go of that ideology. This is going to be their next big attempt at that.
SempreSami
Hall of Fame
Not a great weekend for Real Madrid, pumped at home in el clasico and then the individual award they're so obsesssed with goes to a #6 when Vini has been by far the standout player this calendar year.
(on another note I was in Madrid this weekend and it was quite something seeing the reaction to the result as everyone spilled out of the bars in the city centre)
(on another note I was in Madrid this weekend and it was quite something seeing the reaction to the result as everyone spilled out of the bars in the city centre)
SempreSami
Hall of Fame
Spalletti has said as much that he hopes more young players move abroad if they find their path to the first team blocked at home - the fact that Calafiori went from a fringe player at Roma to the Arsenal first XI in two years would suggest that the talent is definitely there, but we may never have seen it if he hadn't opted to move to Switzerland for first team football.
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
Alright I'm starting to see why it's not worth getting upset about the Ballon d'Or voting process. The journalist from El Salvador did not even have Vini Jr in his top ten. This award is a complete meme in how it's decided.
optic yellow
Legend
earth astronaut gun astronaut, as the youth say
Fabresque
Legend
If I was voting for the Balon d’Or this would be my top 10:
1. @Feña14
2. @Federer and Del Potro
3. Cole Palmer
4. Mark Goldbridge
5. Carlos Alcaraz
6. Oli McBurnie
7. Denis Shapovalov
8. Connor McDavid
9. Vini Jr.
10. Roy Keane
Honorable mention: Ste Howson’s fat arse.
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
Just call me Rodri!
Unfortunately, there was nobody there to see me receive the award. They boycotted the event because they thought @Federer and Del Potro deserved it
Fabresque
Legend
He was fighting the systemic racism that the world inflicts onto two-tailed anthropomorphic foxes. Of course they were never giving him the title, he is doing social justice and they just want a goody two shoes like yourself to win.Just call me Rodri!
Unfortunately, there was nobody there to see me receive the award. They boycotted the event because they thought @Federer and Del Potro deserved it
Ok. I’ll stop, goodnight.
There has probably never been so much interest in a post-match press conference after a mundane Portuguese league cup match especially outside the ‘final 4 phase’, than there was after Sporting’s win yesterday. There were 2 more goals for Gyokeres.
It was clearly difficult for Amorim. Understandably he wanted to focus on the game and said that he’d talk about his future later, but the journalists kept asking him about the expected move to Man Utd over and over again, especially one called Pedro Neves de Sousa who is a well known ‘trouble stirrer’ and Benfica fan to boot.
There were accounts of Sporting fans crying in public when the news broke about Man Utd’s approach.
Clearly it would have been a far better situation had Man Utd sacked Ten Hag during the summer and made their move for Amorim then. Many Sporting fans would have been perfectly fine with that, and much more ‘accepting’ of Amorim’s departure, than in October / November after opening up with 9 wins in a row in the league, and a lot of excitement about a potential first title defence for more than 70 years which is an obsession at the club.
Also when he knew that he was staying during the summer, he did persuade a few players linked with transfers to stay more one year, so I can imagine they might be frustrated about him leaving at this stage in this season. And he talked about wanting to win the title for Nuno Santos who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
But of course players and managers never know when opportunities to move to giant clubs come along or whether they will come along again, and so they can’t be blamed for seizing them when they arise.
It was clearly difficult for Amorim. Understandably he wanted to focus on the game and said that he’d talk about his future later, but the journalists kept asking him about the expected move to Man Utd over and over again, especially one called Pedro Neves de Sousa who is a well known ‘trouble stirrer’ and Benfica fan to boot.
There were accounts of Sporting fans crying in public when the news broke about Man Utd’s approach.
Clearly it would have been a far better situation had Man Utd sacked Ten Hag during the summer and made their move for Amorim then. Many Sporting fans would have been perfectly fine with that, and much more ‘accepting’ of Amorim’s departure, than in October / November after opening up with 9 wins in a row in the league, and a lot of excitement about a potential first title defence for more than 70 years which is an obsession at the club.
Also when he knew that he was staying during the summer, he did persuade a few players linked with transfers to stay more one year, so I can imagine they might be frustrated about him leaving at this stage in this season. And he talked about wanting to win the title for Nuno Santos who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
But of course players and managers never know when opportunities to move to giant clubs come along or whether they will come along again, and so they can’t be blamed for seizing them when they arise.
Last edited:
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
This is what I want and need to hear.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
haha And you all thought I was a a clown when I said they were preparing for post Ten Hag life.
One thing to remember, ladies and gentlemen. I know what I'm talking about.
Sometimes
One thing to remember, ladies and gentlemen. I know what I'm talking about.
Sometimes
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I know you're not a fan of Goldbridge, he was saying, ''this isn't some league one managing traveler, Sporting are in the champions league. The fans are not going to applaud and wish him the best like they would if he were leaving Lincoln.''
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Meanwhile, on the subject of Balon dor
Loud cries of - ''this is the greatest robbery since David Beckham not getting the award in 1999.''
Loud cries of - ''this is the greatest robbery since David Beckham not getting the award in 1999.''
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
The five crap posts for an hour bonus but I did like this from Amorim when he was asked about United.
''The compensation has been agreed, so it is now your decision, I guess. '''
''Yes, this is what I said.''
''Will you be in the Manchester United dugout this Sunday?''
''I will be here.'' (Still in Portugal)
''Definitely?''
''I don't know.''
''The compensation has been agreed, so it is now your decision, I guess. '''
''Yes, this is what I said.''
''Will you be in the Manchester United dugout this Sunday?''
''I will be here.'' (Still in Portugal)
''Definitely?''
''I don't know.''
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
I think that is a little much from people. I think Uncle Erling and Bobby Lewandowski have better claims of 'robbery'. It's not so much that I think Vini was robbed as much as I really don't understand how the voting process works. Some journalists didn't even have Vini in their top ten. Stuff like that is inexplicable to me.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
It was mainly United supporters thinking ''our Becks'' didn't get enough credit for the champions league final performance.
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
I don’t know what to make of it!
Some things suggest they might’ve been, some of the signings. But then I remember back to the summer when it looked like ETH was going.
They were talking to Tuchel, Pochettino, McKenna and had interest in Maresca. Amorim was available in the summer. He spoke at length with Liverpool, Bayern, West Ham, Barcelona and Chelsea.
If he was the chosen one and they’d bought players for him, why didn’t they get him? And why did they give ETH a new contract knowing they’d have to spend loads more on a severance package a few months later?
Got Ruud in to help, which now seems to be holding things up as Amorim wants his own people etc..Someone like McTominay is the perfect midfield partner for Ugarte, but they sold him. Amorim needs mobile centre backs, they signed De Ligt. Flying wingbacks, they signed Mazraoui.. I like him but he’s more solid and steady than anything. Didn’t sign a LWB etc..
Either way, they’re doing the right thing now, which is what matters most.. but not sure what the level of planning has been.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
ETH was just given the +1 extension, anybody eligible for it seems to take it. I don't believe there were any new terms or anything. Just in case ETH suddenly became a world beater in season 3 or something, then we have him for another year. That seems to be the word around the camp fire. Once again, INEOS kind of had their hands tied with the FA Cup win and Ten Hag fans. Played their patient game and now the time has come. Thankfully, Amorim could play the patient game, still playing it now.I don’t know what to make of it!
Some things suggest they might’ve been, some of the signings. But then I remember back to the summer when it looked like ETH was going.
They were talking to Tuchel, Pochettino, McKenna and had interest in Maresca. Amorim was available in the summer. He spoke at length with Liverpool, Bayern, West Ham, Barcelona and Chelsea.
If he was the chosen one and they’d bought players for him, why didn’t they get him? And why did they give ETH a new contract knowing they’d have to spend loads more on a severance package a few months later?
Someone like McTominay is the perfect midfield partner for Ugarte, but they sold him. Amorim needs mobile centre backs, they signed De Ligt. Flying wingbacks, they signed Mazraoui.. I like him but he’s more solid and steady than anything. Didn’t sign a LWB etc..
Either way, they’re doing the right thing now, which is what matters most.. but not sure what the level of planning has been.
Or something like that. But yes, I guess all that matters is the here and now. We've all had to be patient , some can handle it better than others. lol
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Also, I had no idea about anything. Still fears about us searching forever until the Amorim news came out. Seemed like nobody on the outside had a clue since he wasn't in the top 10 odds for the job, before becoming undisputed number one hours later. The only real news I heard through the summer was how ETH wanted to keep McTominay and how Ugarte wasn't a Ten Hag signing.
Still fears about us searching forever until the Amorim news came out. Seemed like nobody on the outside had a clue since he wasn't in the top 10 odds for the job, before becoming undisputed number one hours later. The only real news I heard through the summer was how ETH wanted to keep McTominay and how Ugarte wasn't a Ten Hag signing.
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
ETH was just given the +1 extension, anybody eligible for it seems to take it. I don't believe there were any new terms or anything. Just in case ETH suddenly became a world beater in season 3 or something, then we have him for another year. That seems to be the word around the camp fire. Once again, INEOS kind of had their hands tied with the FA Cup win and Ten Hag fans. Played their patient game and now the time has come. Thankfully, Amorim could play the patient game, still playing it now.
Or something like that. But yes, I guess all that matters is the here and now. We've all had to be patient , some can handle it better than others. lol
Yeah! I think he’ll stabilise things, much more charismatic, will start climbing the table.
Not sure he’ll be able to challenge at the top in a league with the greatest managers. But that’s a problem for another day.
Plus you can be open to being surprised. There was so much analysis on Slot at Feyenoord. They were a bit wacky, but he’s come in and done something different. Maresca was mocked for only having one approach at Leicester, played it in every game and didn’t adapt.. but at Chelsea he’s done something totally different in each game.
No reason why Amorim can’t be the same. He’ll need to be. The whole poor man’s version of Tuchel’s Chelsea thing will get figured out pretty quickly.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Like I said before, ETH's way of speaking was quite charming in season 1, because we did make 2 cup finals and qualified for champions league again. This did feel like the word he said a lot ''progress.'' But then, we got knocked out of the champions league early and season 2 felt like anti progress again only turned up to the high levels.
Now I'm back to the hope and optimism stage, becoming a bit of a fanboy and saying winning the Portuguese league twice after going 20 years without a win is better than winning Ajax another Dutch league.
Oh, grow up. I can't help it. Please be the 1, Mr. Amorim.But again, I can understand the believe it when I see it noise, absolutely.
Some Fresh news, I think. I would not expect Amorim to be anywhere near the United dugout this weekend. Looks like they are not rushing him in, haha, I find that funny with all the patience talk. Plus, we do have Sporting to think about. The Portuguese source said, the next international break is when Amorim will make the switch. Not sure how reliable that source is or anything, it does make sense.
Fabresque
Legend
Conte’s about to win Serie A with a McTominay-Gilmour midfield behind Lakaka striker. This guys nuts.I don’t know what to make of it!
Some things suggest they might’ve been, some of the signings. But then I remember back to the summer when it looked like ETH was going.
They were talking to Tuchel, Pochettino, McKenna and had interest in Maresca. Amorim was available in the summer. He spoke at length with Liverpool, Bayern, West Ham, Barcelona and Chelsea.
If he was the chosen one and they’d bought players for him, why didn’t they get him? And why did they give ETH a new contract knowing they’d have to spend loads more on a severance package a few months later?
Someone like McTominay is the perfect midfield partner for Ugarte, but they sold him. Amorim needs mobile centre backs, they signed De Ligt. Flying wingbacks, they signed Mazraoui.. I like him but he’s more solid and steady than anything. Didn’t sign a LWB etc..
Either way, they’re doing the right thing now, which is what matters most.. but not sure what the level of planning has been.
Fabresque
Legend
That’s why I was so against Maresca in the first place is never deviating from his plan A but at Chelsea he’s done so many things different. The tactical flexibility has been great and I don’t recall a game where we were ever dominated other than maybe the first one against City.
Yeah I don’t know. I thought Liverpool were gonna be mince post-Klopp. I figured he left because all his stars were aging and he was jumping ship before he had to endure the inevitable disaster. Sort of like SAF in 2013. But Slot has completely reimagined the squad and extended its lifespan, they’re fighting for trophies this year. He’s got VVD playing like the best defender in the world again and has gotten the best of Gravenburch.
Worst case scenario they finish 3rd or 4th but the expectation from me and I think from you was that BOTH Liverpool and Chelsea were gonna be midtable, 7th-10th and so on. Both managers have been pleasant surprises.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Still waiting on them making it official before I make it official with the Ruben Amorim avatar.
Because, in this life, there is always that expectation of Fabrizio Romano saying - ''here we go'', following a contract extension.
Because, in this life, there is always that expectation of Fabrizio Romano saying - ''here we go'', following a contract extension.
Fabresque
Legend
Yah I just clocked this the other day when the Davies links came out again and Amorim situation was moving fast.
Ten Hag doesn’t like Davies so why was the club linked with him? The defenders being signed in the summer. United’s team this year was equipped for a 3 at the back. It was down to Tuchel or Amorim who both play that system. Tuchel was gone so they went for Amorim.
It begs the question why even keep Ten Hag. I feel like they kept him just to appease the fans. He’s probably the most popular manager post SAF (outside Ole obviously) for whatever reason so keeping him around, giving him a few of his coaches, one being a former club legend. To them it was starting off on the right foot with fans. Let’s see if he can figure it out, and if he can’t, well we’re already building the squad around a different philosophy anyways and we’ll sack him.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I think this sounds spot on. It felt quite astonishing the other day when I read that he still has his backers, fans of the club, not even the sarcastic supporters of other clubs hoping he gets a 10 year extension. My feeling was, do we have to get relegated before you stop believing in this guy? At least Marky accepted he was wrong. He did save it for the last minute, after West Ham.
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
There were a lot of Leicester fans pretty pleased that Maresca had gone. Tactically inflexible, the football was boring etc.. I was ok with it because after Pochettino’s complete lack of tactics, just one would’ve been an improvement
Now we’ve got Leicester fans having massive regrets, they didn’t realise what they had. It turns out it was Maresca who was limited, he did what he could with what he had. Give him better players who can do more things, and he’ll be working away like a mad genius to get them into all kinds of crazy setups.
It’s been a pleasant surprise, but one that was always a possibility. You heard about the interview he had being seriously impressive.
Slot on the other hand, his Feyenoord were incredibly bold and attacking. At Liverpool he’s kind of just reigned in Klopp’s style a bit. Made them more solid, but kept the magic Klopp and the players had built over the last 10 years. That’s great management. Many managers would want to rip things up and stamp their authority.
So yes, no reason why Amorim can’t be the same! If he plays like he did at Sporting, I think he’ll be easy fodder for top 6 coaches.. and many others. Even Tuchel struggled after his (more advanced) system got figured out.
It’s good that there are a new breed of managers coming through, and it’s good that they aren’t Pep clones, like we thought they would be a few years back. But it does mean that it’s incredibly competitive, if you’re not top of the top, you’re going to be found out. There’s no hiding place. Looking forward to seeing what Amorim has for us
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
Lukaku hasn’t looked that great. He’s scoring, but he’s nowhere near Inter level.
McTominay has been excellent. Full of running, power, strength.. would actually have been perfect for Amorim. His Hjulmand.
Gilmour has also been very good. He got a massive hug from Conte when he came off yesterday. I’m not surprised he’s done well. In a league that’s a bit slow and not the most physical, he can wander around and dictate till his hearts content! An absolute no brainer of a signing, fair play to Napoli.
As for Serie A, and Napoli. Dorgu was on fire yesterday. Scored and had 2 ruled out. After Lecce played Napoli a few weeks back, Conte was hugging him and had a conversation. We really need to make a move for him in January! If ADL gets him at Napoli, we’re never getting him.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
haha That's one of those weird ass situations. Scotty Dude being perfect for Amorim, and ETH being a fan of McTominay as well, he was gutted when he was sold, while United fans celebrating. Finally free of Fred and McTominay. Yay Yet we sign Fred again, I thought Ugarte was excellent last week so still have that good last impression in my mind.
Could have missed out on a golden age for Scotty in that United midfield. Finally making me celebrate him, yet, we just missed out. As I've said quite often, nothing is more important than timing.
Something not United related. wut. Yeah, it was just another aky article about how Arteta might have spent a lot of time working for Pep, but he's no longer the next Pep, he's more of the next Mourinho. I didn't listen to them when they were talking on sky. Honestly, I feel Arteta being the next Pep or Mourinho is still a insulting to both of them. Arteta in still has to get it done.
Could have missed out on a golden age for Scotty in that United midfield. Finally making me celebrate him, yet, we just missed out. As I've said quite often, nothing is more important than timing.
Something not United related. wut. Yeah, it was just another aky article about how Arteta might have spent a lot of time working for Pep, but he's no longer the next Pep, he's more of the next Mourinho. I didn't listen to them when they were talking on sky. Honestly, I feel Arteta being the next Pep or Mourinho is still a insulting to both of them. Arteta in still has to get it done.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Back to United again, I like how Ruben Amorim is a straight shooter. More of the Tommy Shelby type than the Alfie Solomons type, although I don't really like comparing ETH with Alfie Solomons. Would have loved Alfie to manage United.
After getting myself acquainted with Amorim, spelling his name right and listening to him talk. He's more likely to come out and say
''we're sh1t.''
Of course, United are more known for being rubbish these days, so nobody would be surprised if Ruben is singing from the ETH rap sheet after a few months of Man United.
I'd like to think he can adjust his tools for the top 6 and many other coaches. Didn't you once want him at Chelsea? @Feña14 Apology if I am misremembering something.
After getting myself acquainted with Amorim, spelling his name right and listening to him talk. He's more likely to come out and say
''we're sh1t.''
Of course, United are more known for being rubbish these days, so nobody would be surprised if Ruben is singing from the ETH rap sheet after a few months of Man United.
I'd like to think he can adjust his tools for the top 6 and many other coaches. Didn't you once want him at Chelsea? @Feña14 Apology if I am misremembering something.
Feña14
G.O.A.T.
haha That's one of those weird ass situations. Scotty Dude being perfect for Amorim, and ETH being a fan of McTominay as well, he was gutted when he was sold, while United fans celebrating. Finally free of Fred and McTominay. Yay Yet we sign Fred again, I thought Ugarte was excellent last week so still have that good last impression in my mind.
Could have missed out on a golden age for Scotty in that United midfield. Finally making me celebrate him, yet, we just missed out. As I've said quite often, nothing is more important than timing.
Something not United related. wut. Yeah, it was just another aky article about how Arteta might have spent a lot of time working for Pep, but he's no longer the next Pep, he's more of the next Mourinho. I didn't listen to them when they were talking on sky. Honestly, I feel Arteta being the next Pep or Mourinho is still a insulting to both of them. Arteta in still has to get it done.
Haha yeah, it is a funny one! Can’t be helped now though, but I’m guessing you’ll need to sign someone. What’s more interesting is what does it mean for Mainoo?
Ugarte and a McTominay/Hjulmand/Gallagher type is more Amorim.Guess it comes back to what I was saying about managers surprising you, because getting the best out of Mainoo should be one of the top priorities for the new manager. Right now it doesn’t look good, but maybe Amorim has some ideas we haven’t seen yet.
Yes! I think it was Carragher who said Arteta is like Mourinho, which is a bit of a lazy comparison imo. I mentioned last season that I was starting to wonder if it was actually Moyes who had a bigger impact on Arteta than Pep.
Obviously he was at Everton during the best years of his career, Moyes’ team was very organised and physical. It’s a Mourinho hallmark, but Moyes was the same. Interestingly I heard some City fans saying how the whole City 4 CB’s thing was an Arteta thing from his time there. Pep obviously put his twist on it with inverting them into midfield or attack, signed players with technical ability like Gvardiol, Akanji etc.. but the 4 CB’s, more height and physicality thing was an Arteta influence.. which I think he probably got from Moyes.
Amorim at Chelsea? It didn’t interest me much. The system isn’t one that I see being a title challenging one, and the midfield issue was a dealbreaker for me. They’re not really involved in build up, the team is quite direct etc.. under Poch the big issue was Enzo and Caicedo weren’t involved, their only job was to run around like headless chickens putting out fires and covering oceans of space. Which is a total waste of their ability and a non starter when you’ve spent £200m on them.
Just wasn’t a good fit for the squad and the way we want/need to play going forward.
