Football 2011-2012

[Gnomicide]

Liverpool have won 4 league games this year againt norwich, blackburn, wolves and everton....yep heart and soul there...Long live king kenny.

[thetime]

but surely that has more to do with WBA actually winning some matches?

[eFestivals]

Holt is a lump of a player and will be found out next season.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but lots of people said he'd be found this season - and he hasn't been. So I'm less certain than you are that he'll slump next season.

That aside, he's still a man with a good eye for goal and on-form with it. Part of England's problem over the years has been to overlook on-form players in place of the tried and tested no matter how off-form they are or whether they've ever put in a decent shift for England.

I'm not saying I'd pick Holt for the Euros, but I wouldn't rule him out by default. I'd properly consider him alongside the other possibilities. Without having checked the stats for him or the alternatives, there might be good reason to include him.

[thetime]

And amongst others, Manchester City, Manchester Utd and Everton in the cups.

[strummer77]

Work just outside the black country and work with mostly wba and wolves fans, and they have never criticised his style of football. The only team to criticise really is liverpool fans who just wanted king kenny....yeah good move that!

Edited April 30, 2012 by strummer77

[thetime]

I wouldn't have minded seeing them going for Pardew personally. At least he'd got some momentum behind him which would have got some motivation out of the players. I don't think you necessarily have to be a top class organiser to win internationally, I just think you have to be able to motivate players and inspire them. Harry, although vastly overrated, probably had that for some reason. Not sure Roy does.

Edited April 30, 2012 by thetime

[eFestivals]

Yeah I agree with you that the formula isnt working but come on get real for a second.

Adkins has not had any experience with top players, big egos, no experience at european level, no experience of top level football and different styles.

Let his learn his trade and comeback in 10 years!

The top clubs in the champions league need to give these managers a chance first. How many english managers have taken teams into the champions league in the last 10 years? Harry? anyone else? Thats because english managers are not given the chance and I cant see city, chelsea, arsenal or united going that way either. Im saying managers need european experience but these managers are not given a chance to manage at the very top level.

While I'm easily able to see that 'real' means no Adkins, the sort of orthodoxy you're preaching hasn't got us anywhere - and perhaps the reasons for that are flattering the big egos, an orthodox 'european' approach, and too much top-level football to be prepared to do what needs to be done. I certainly think these things are just as much of a problem than they are any benefit.

You say that English managers aren't given the chance and I agree. Perhaps the sorts of chances they need is precisely this one. Until we do it, will we ever know?

[strummer77]

saturday will decide if its been a good season for you lot or not, carling cup and 8th place no.

[thetime]

But your backing Roy and mocking Kenny! Roy was twelfth and out of the Carling Cup to Northampton! And there was very little bad luck that season.

I like your posts mate, but you've got this situation dead wrong.

[strummer77]

But roy never spent about 120m quid!

Edited April 30, 2012 by strummer77

[pink_triangle]

They managed France, Italy, Spain and Brazil...top teams. The only one of any difference is Greece.

Edited April 30, 2012 by pink_triangle

[Alcatraz]

Elsewhere, Podolski has signed for Arse

Thoughts?

[strummer77]

Elsewhere, Podolski has signed for Arse

Thoughts?

[The Nal]

I've been assuming that they're meaning "you're a liar" rather than "you're a black c**t".

But perhaps I'm thinking the best of them. Chelsea were just about top of the racists league when I was a kid and such things were normal, and perhaps things haven't changed as much as I'm crediting.

Edited April 30, 2012 by The Nal

[strummer77]

Could be true if Ferdinand reported it. He didnt. The reason theres a trial is that it was reported by a member of the public. Anton hasnt said a word for him to be called a liar!

[Steve P]

Worth the gamble. Didn't do well at Bayern but worth another go at his age. Wonder whether he'll ever play with RVP though...

[strummer77]

Saw this. Balanced and sums it up nicely:

"Hodgson, to give him his due, has demonstrated he is an accomplished manager. He is popular within the game and there is certainly no appetite here to dismiss him before he has even been fitted for his FA blazer. Equally, however, the fact remains that when he got his chance at a big English club, Liverpool, it ended after 191 days.

One has to be clear about this point because over recent months Hodgson has attracted a lot of sympathy about what happened at Anfield. Some of it has been legitimate, too, because it is true, for example, that Kenny Dalglish's record has strayed dangerously close to being just as undistinguished at times, without a fraction of the complaints from the Anfield crowd. Yet there is also a certain amount of revisionism here, too.

Liverpool, under Hodgson's guidance, were hovering just above the relegation places at one point and suffered the ignominy of going out of the Carling Cup to Northampton Town. In the process Hodgson became increasingly erratic. The style of football was poor and, for such an intelligent man, he struggled to immerse himself into the culture and essence of the club. However it is dressed up, he blew it. The FA appears willing to airbrush this from his CV."

http://www.guardian....hodgson-england

When you look at our current back-ups for RVP, Podolski isn't a gamble at all!

Edited April 30, 2012 by strummer77

[The Nal]

Yep, there's no logic behind calling Anton a liar. Anton didn't report it and there's video evidence and John Terry admits saying those words, even if he claims it was in a non-racist way...

Mental.

[strummer77]

Maybe when they sing: "Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are" they just mean that hes a very average footballer?

I've no issue with that if thats the case..

[kaosmark2]

but surely that has more to do with WBA actually winning some matches?

Give it a few years for those fans to forget their yo-yo days and I'm sure they'd be saying something different.

[strummer77]

Since then, they've been a pretty attacking team. Mowbray brought in some midfield playmakers, Di Matteo has been far more defensive and organised with Chelsea than he was with WBA. They play a passing game, they play football steadily and with a focus on possession.

[thetime]

Saw this. Balanced and sums it up nicely:

"Hodgson, to give him his due, has demonstrated he is an accomplished manager. He is popular within the game and there is certainly no appetite here to dismiss him before he has even been fitted for his FA blazer. Equally, however, the fact remains that when he got his chance at a big English club, Liverpool, it ended after 191 days.

One has to be clear about this point because over recent months Hodgson has attracted a lot of sympathy about what happened at Anfield. Some of it has been legitimate, too, because it is true, for example, that Kenny Dalglish's record has strayed dangerously close to being just as undistinguished at times, without a fraction of the complaints from the Anfield crowd. Yet there is also a certain amount of revisionism here, too.

Liverpool, under Hodgson's guidance, were hovering just above the relegation places at one point and suffered the ignominy of going out of the Carling Cup to Northampton Town. In the process Hodgson became increasingly erratic. The style of football was poor and, for such an intelligent man, he struggled to immerse himself into the culture and essence of the club. However it is dressed up, he blew it. The FA appears willing to airbrush this from his CV."

Edited April 30, 2012 by thetime

[The Nal]

And here he is..........

[strummer77]

He was given 6 months thats is it! Dont you think he should of been given alot longer? take fergies first 5 full seasons at united 11th,2nd,11th,13th, 6th and they were not earth shattering. How you can judge a manager after 6 months is beyond me especially when the players had daglish in the wings.

[kaosmark2]

I like Di Matteo's West Brom. i think he'd have kept them up when push came to shove. He built a very nice squad there.