Football 2011-2012

[thetime]

England job might be the perfect job for jose, no stumbling bloc when fergie retires.

[kaosmark2]

I know you're only fishing but Dalglish will always have respect as he helped a community through Hillsborough etc. Whatever your opinion over the Suarez affair, fundamentally he's one of the good guys. Cares too much perhaps.

Unlike this nob...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olelvRKSpG8

England manager? Really? Have a word

[eFestivals]

Just what I reckon, but I think Capello has jumped at the chance to leave on his terms and ride away on his high horse.

Yep - before he gets to get found out as hugely lacking again at another finals.

[eFestivals]

I wonder if Arry takes over if he will let his heart rule his head. Will we see fat frank back in the midfield, possibly a return of beckham?

Not only fat frank back in midfield, fat frank as captain for his uncle 'Arry.

Harry will be like a rabbit in the headlights. He'll never be able to handle having every player available to him, based on how he can't make up his mind when there's limits set on him by the cash available for players.

Despite all that, and despite it being 'Arry as manager, I reckon England's chances for the summer have just soared. Not because 'Arry will do anything spectacular, but simply by the fact of the change of manager - it's something that's not happened before as far as I can remember, and gives the chance of upsetting the average* that has existed thru every qualie & finals (where England have reached the finals) since '66.

(* that average is this: a good qualification means a poor finals; a poor qualification [while still qualifying] means a good [for England] finals).

[The Nal]

http://en.wikipedia....i/José_Mourinho

Bloody hell... Look at his win percentages!! Makes Fergie look shit

Edited February 9, 2012 by The Nal

[eFestivals]

I'm absolutely SHOCKED at the anti Capello buzz around. Capello had the highest win percentage of any England manager ever.

a win record he has only because he was in charge for just one big game - where England got their arse kicked to an embarressing extent.

But long before that he'd proven himself as clueless over how to get the best out of the players as Sven was.

The only people who were found out at the World Cup were the players and the fans who booed. Rooney, Gerrard, Lamps, Terry, Cole etc and they couldn't put in a shift?

One word. Heskey.

I liked Heskey a lot within the England squad. Unlike most England fans I could see exactly why he was there, because of what he brought to the team, to make it a team.

But Capello brought him on in one game (was it the germany game? I forget) about ten minutes from the end, and showed himself as clueless. Completely the wrong sub to make; Heskey could never be that impact player. Clueless.

Fact is the 3-4 world class players England have had in each team over the last 20 years have never played well together and theres obviously still a Manc/Scouse/London divide which needs to be overcome, just as Spain did with the Madrid/Catalan divide.

I don't have the stupid expectations of most England fans. I spent most of the last WC being called a traitor here for expressing a realistic view.

Even against my realistic view, Capello fucked it up because he was clueless.

Edited February 9, 2012 by eFestivals

[pink_triangle]

I don't think hodgson would be a bad choice, did a bad job at Liverpool but not sure there is any proven link between club management and international management. I think woy understands world football than arry. I personally think hoddle was a better international manager than mclaren, keegan or Taylor despite being a worse club manager.

[eFestivals]

I don't think hodgson would be a bad choice, did a bad job at Liverpool but not sure there is any proven link between club management and international management. I think woy understands world football than arry. I personally think hoddle was a better international manager than mclaren, keegan or Taylor despite being a worse club manager.

I agree that there's not necessarily a link between club management and national team management.

But Hodgson has managed many clubs - including big ones - and he's never been successful with any of them. The best it's got is that he's managed to equal expectations, but never exceed them. For many he's performed below expectations.

I'd have been more willing to give him a go if he'd not failed as badly as he did at Liverpool. For me that was his final chance to prove himself.

[jump]

Spurs have said they wont stand in 'arrys way if he wants to manage England.

[eFestivals]

Spurs have said they wont stand in 'arrys way if he wants to manage England.

sounds like they want their profits back.

I reckon it could well be that at board level 'Arry is considered more than a bit shit, if the rumours of him being quite happy to sell both Bale and Modric at points in the past are true.

Then again, if 'Arry has a similar contract to the one he had at pompey - which encouraged him to sell the best players - then it's hardly surprising that the man who claims to not be bothered about money would be dead keen to cash in.

[The Nal]

a win record he has only because he was in charge for just one big game - where England got their arse kicked to an embarressing extent.

But long before that he'd proven himself as clueless over how to get the best out of the players as Sven was.

[strummer77]

The only people who were found out at the World Cup were the players and the fans who booed. Rooney, Gerrard, Lamps, Terry, Cole etc and they couldn't put in a shift?

Anyway, 50% of Times readers want Hodgson! Bring on the Hodgacaust!!

[eFestivals]

What about the players? Should they need to coached so much in order to play together?

An alternative question is this: as they can't play together, why the fuck did he pick them to play together?

Christ yeah forgot about that! Says a lot about the current crop of English strikers though.

it says FAR more about Capello.

There were better strikers on that bench which would have given England FAR more chance of scoring than bringing Heskey on would have ever achieved.

As I say, I liked Heskey and felt he deserved his place in the squad. But he was a player to use for a whole match (or at least from the start, with a change later in the match if it wasn't working) to get the team playing together, not a player to bring on at the end with the hope of turning a game around. He's just not the player to cause that sort of impact.

Still, I'm shocked by the anti Capello, and frankly straight up xenophobic, articles this morning from the media.

"Oh he didn't learn English", "He didn't adapt to English culture", "he didn't eat sausages and eggs for breakfast and didn't drink pints of bitter", "how dare he drink espressos and eat cannoli" etc. Did people want him to stop being Italian?

Did you hear the South Koreans moaning about Hiddinks lack of Korean or the fact he refused to eat dog meat? Or us moaning about Trapattoni's English/Italian/Slurring hybrid language hes invented for himself? Sure we could barely understand Jack Charltons Newcastle English at first!

Oh, all that is worthless bollocks. All that mattered was what he was doing with the players, and with that he mostly failed.

To give him his due he seemed to recognise his mistake after the WC, and dumped many of the older crowd for the youngsters he should have been using to take to the WC. Unfortunately I can see 'Arry reversing that because he's dazzled by the big names.

I really wouldn't be surprised if 'Arry had Beckham back in the squad. I'm not saying I think it's hugely likely, but I still wouldn't be surprised.

[5co77ie]

• In the word of Tim burgess, "The most natural successor to Fabio would surely be Grooverider"

Edited February 9, 2012 by 5co77ie

[The Nal]

people are saying shit like that..?

[eFestivals]

Harry has given the standard "focused on Tottenham" answers...

the bit I just heard had him saying "I've not thought about it".

Which is of course true. He's too stupid to realise that he's the name on everyone's lips.

[swede]

Why cant they play together though? They're professional footballers. Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso can play together. People thought that was impossible. And some old racist who everybody hated cracked that dilemma!

[eFestivals]

Why cant they play together though? They're professional footballers. Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso can play together. People thought that was impossible. And some old racist who everybody hated cracked that dilemma!

If I were a pro footie manager perhaps I'd be able to tell you why they can't play together.

The rest of your words gets to show that lots of top-level managers have failed over the years to work out why particular players can't play together, but have still kept playing the same players who can't play together.

But as you also note, it can be cracked. For whatever reasons Sven and Capello and others have failed to crack it.

I don't believe that 'Arry will crack it either, but he might get lucky with a good run. In fact - as I've said already - I won't be surprised if he manages a good run this summer, I even think it's quite likely.

And if that does happen, I can see it being followed by the team bombing while he does nothing different with the team to give a clear explanation for why. After all, 'Arry is Kevin Keegan without the nervousness and instead east London bluster.

[The Nal]

I think there was a real important question regarding his language skills... He seemed to have a limited range to explain himself for interviews... So goodness knows what it would of been like during a match...

[eFestivals]

Again, most percentage wins of any England manager ever.

What part of the games he's been in charge for bringing that about are you missing?

I have no doubt that if he'd have remained in charge for this summer's Euros that that stat would be blown and he'd have end up with a stat very similar to Sven's.

It's a very shrewd move of his to back out now. He's able to walk away with a great record and his image as a top manager untarnished. Do you think that if he had half a belief that England might do well or win he'd have gone?

Those sorts of stats mean very little in the end. Scolari was 1st choice before Capello, and his record was also excellent. He fucked up at Chelsea and now he's a nobody. Postman Pat has seen that and decided he wants to keep his reputation which meant walking away - another finals like South Africa (which is what would have happened) and his repuation would have been similarly destroyed.

[pink_triangle]

Still, I'm shocked by the anti Capello, and frankly straight up xenophobic, articles this morning from the media.

[pink_triangle]

Sound like his silence has been paid for by cold hard cash, I thought him leaving without a pay off was unusual. Its obscene the money the Fa have wasted on overpiad managers and pay offs.

[The Nal]

What part of the games he's been in charge for bringing that about are you missing?

Edited February 9, 2012 by The Nal

[swede]

Well that press conference was a waste of time. Hold a press conference to skirt round questions and give nothing away, well worth the effort. Only interesting bit was when they asked if the next manager would be English and the response was "English..........or British" .

[eFestivals]

I understand 100% but if you look at the other managers they've all played similar teams.

sorry, but that's not true. Because Capello did two qualies but only one finals, the stats get skewed in his favour.

England really haven't beaten anyone decent in an important match in the last 20 years though, except maybe Argentina. And haven't even qualified for major tournaments with better squads than the current one.

and they've performed better in finals than they did in SA with much worse teams.

It all comes back to the qualies+finals average which is just about constant across all managers. Capello's stats look good because that average hasn't come into play for the 2nd finals. His stats up-to the end of the first finals are about the same as the other managers.

Nobody is more important than the manager.

the FA have just proved differently.

But the fact is he didn't get the job. Capello did. Someone with 9 leagues (including Serie A with Roma!) and a European Cup, someone whos managed at the very top for over 20 years, someone who has managed and brought on players like Baresi, Maldini, Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Hierro, Batistuta, Del Piero, Beckham, Cafu, Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos, Totti, Emerson, Higuain, Ronaldo, Robinho, Van Nistelrooy etc and was a winner with all those players and someone who has well over 60% as a total career win rate really should have been given more respect. And more time.

"brought on"? Get out of here. That's like saying that Dalglish "brought on" Gerrard by having managed him for the last year.

The players should be taking the blame. People have a tendency to overestimate the managers importance and underestimate the players importance.

The manager picks the players. What the players can do is set by that.

And Neil, regarding these Euros, England were shaping up very nicely. Unbeaten in the qualifiers etc.

I refer you to the constant average that England have. They'd have bombed again in the summer.

The change in manager has a very good chance of upsetting that average tho, so I don't necessarily think they'll bomb now. But it won't be a 'Arry effect if things go well, it'll be a changed-manager effect.