Football 2025-26

[kaosmark2]

On 02/01/2026 at 17:42, thetime said:

He is certainly an upgrade on Onana. 

IMO the worst keeper I've ever seen as a sustained 1st choice in the PL.

 

On 02/01/2026 at 17:50, Skip997 said:

Pickford is dreadful, and a complete loon. Although he does seem to have dealt with his anger issues somewhat. If he was as good as the media like to portray then surely a bigger team would be interested 

I think Pickford is a decent shot-stopper that has a habit of goading himself into mistakes. Definitely nowhere near a top keeper, but probably a better shot-stopper than most excluding the top 4 keepers and maybe Pope? I think he's way over-hyped but he's got better and the general standard of keeping has dropped so he also looks a bit better in comparison now.

 

On 02/01/2026 at 20:09, charlierc said:

These things ebb and flow imo. Sometimes, you'll see even a mediocre keeper do a 10/10, and tbf I can recall Allison and Martinez making the odd blunder here and there, although that's like saying that sometimes Haaland will miss an open goal - sh*t happens. Hell, I think we can find an upgrade on Pope and Ramsdale between the posts, given both have been fairly insecure final barriers this season (Ramsdale moreso during Pope's absence).

 

I guess it's magnified by Chelsea and Spurs having big budgets and reputations as to why Sanchez and Vicario have magnifying glasses on them. But I guess with Chelsea in particular, it's just part of the fact they operate in such a bewildering way. Seems like all they ever spend their vast resources on is wingers.

Oh yeah definitely. Honestly, Marseille gaffe aside, I think Pope's been mostly fine for us this season, it's just the distribution issue. But Sanchez and Vicario are highlighting to me how the likes of Bournemouth/Brighton don't.

 

There's also a thing of quite often a keeper in a relegation-threatened/bound team looks very good because they're making saves all game (and I would include Ramsale last season in that), but I've not really seen much of that this year.

[thetime]

Amorim sacked, no surprise after yesterday. 

[balti-pie]

Admittedly i only catch Man United in passing, i dont really watch very many of their games at all - but after 14 months and a fair few players signed i thought he'd turned it around a bit there - i suppose if you're wavering it makes sense to pull the plug now at the beginning of Jan, with an open window and a chance to change things around a bit - but wouldnt they be better off having someone lined up? Xavi, i presume, or someone interim before Glasner in the summer? 

[lost]

3 points off 4th yes I thought the same though I guess with the table being so congested, 14th is only 7 points off. Aside from Mainoo being frozen out when they are clearly crying out for central midfielders, I'm not sure he's done that much wrong, could be another Chelsea with his relationship breaking down with Jason Wilcox?

[thetime]

1 hour ago, lost said:

3 points off 4th yes I thought the same though I guess with the table being so congested, 14th is only 7 points off. Aside from Mainoo being frozen out when they are clearly crying out for central midfielders, I'm not sure he's done that much wrong, could be another Chelsea with his relationship breaking down with Jason Wilcox?

 

You can't go criticising your bosses so public, then not expect the sack. 

 

On the playing side it was going ok, to many draws though. Bad luck having Bruno out, same time as the AFCON guys being away. 2 defeats in 14 league games isnt going to get you sacked. 

 

 

[thetime]

1 hour ago, balti-pie said:

Admittedly i only catch Man United in passing, i dont really watch very many of their games at all - but after 14 months and a fair few players signed i thought he'd turned it around a bit there - i suppose if you're wavering it makes sense to pull the plug now at the beginning of Jan, with an open window and a chance to change things around a bit - but wouldnt they be better off having someone lined up? Xavi, i presume, or someone interim before Glasner in the summer? 

 

They won't go for Glasner. 

[charlierc]

50 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

You can't go criticising your bosses so public, then not expect the sack. 

 

On the playing side it was going ok, to many draws though. Bad luck having Bruno out, same time as the AFCON guys being away. 2 defeats in 14 league games isnt going to get you sacked. 

 

 

Obviously the tranches of insider articles have to be judged on their own terms. But like Maresca at Chelsea, it seems as though the fragile tension between manager/head coach and sporting director snapped and the sporting director won the battle. 

 

I don't think Man Utd's form recently has been that bad given the injuries and players in Africa, but Amorim just couldn't shut up with the weird comments. 

 

I have no idea what the next step is, mind. Club just come across as crazy, but there'll be someone who sees the cash and the idea of restoring this lumbering behemoth to glory and goes "I'm in"

[kaosmark2]

Honestly, and I give Amorim credit for this, that managerial position doesn't seem as poisoned a chalice as at Chelsea right now. Chelsea definitely have the better squad, but of the 2 big clubs who've just sacked a manager for a power struggle, I'd have thought the one with one sporting director and a head coach who didn't acknowledge his own title and was weirdly embedded to a system barely working would be more appealing than the club with 6 sporting directors and a massively interfering owner who's trying to badmouth all the former managers. Sure Sesko isn't firing but they are scoring again, and the worst egos have gone. 

[lost]

Everyones going to fighting over Southgate then in the summer if they want a company yes man 😄

[balti-pie]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

 

They won't go for Glasner. 

I think he's quite a canny operator, and will know his own style and limitations - Palace are a 35% possession counterattacking beast, which aint really a Man United thing. At Eintracht and Palace he's been at clubs punching above their weight, and that kind of style has been very successful. He's quite analagous to Emery i suppose, it works a treat at smaller clubs trying to bloody a few noses and they've both been very successful in different leagues, but the Emery thing didnt work at the goons, and i wouldnt imagine that Glasner would be able to win over the crowd at United with ignoring possession stats and trying to play on the break. 

[thetime]

58 minutes ago, charlierc said:

 

I have no idea what the next step is, mind. Club just come across as crazy, but there'll be someone who sees the cash and the idea of restoring this lumbering behemoth to glory and goes "I'm in"

 

Utd struggle to get the top level el coaches in. I would imagine it would be the step below or manager at a mmid pre side. 

[thetime]

1 minute ago, balti-pie said:

I think he's quite a canny operator, and will know his own style and limitations - Palace are a 35% possession counterattacking beast, which aint really a Man United thing. At Eintracht and Palace he's been at clubs punching above their weight, and that kind of style has been very successful. He's quite analagous to Emery i suppose, it works a treat at smaller clubs trying to bloody a few noses and they've both been very successful in different leagues, but the Emery thing didnt work at the goons, and i wouldnt imagine that Glasner would be able to win over the crowd at United with ignoring possession stats and trying to play on the break. 

 

Doesn't he play the same system as Amorim? 

[balti-pie]

25 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Doesn't he play the same system as Amorim? 

He does like a back three and some galloping fullbacks, 3-4-2-1 perhaps 

[charlierc]

27 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Doesn't he play the same system as Amorim? 

Yup. Though his looks more effective when he has Daniel Munoz, who is superb as a right wing back but is currently injured. They've been using Nathaniel Clyne, who played that role against us yesterday and is much more limited, which continued a winless run they're on. 

 

I like Glasner tbf but he's also somebody that will quarrel with those above him, as evidenced by repeatedly questioning Palace's transfer policy. Guess it's a challenge as to how he'd work with Jason Wilcox.

[thetime]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

Yup. Though his looks more effective when he has Daniel Munoz, who is superb as a right wing back but is currently injured. They've been using Nathaniel Clyne, who played that role against us yesterday and is much more limited, which continued a winless run they're on. 

 

I like Glasner tbf but he's also somebody that will quarrel with those above him, as evidenced by repeatedly questioning Palace's transfer policy. Guess it's a challenge as to how he'd work with Jason Wilcox.

 

1 hour ago, balti-pie said:

He does like a back three and some galloping fullbacks, 3-4-2-1 perhaps 

 

Can't see them going with a guy playing 3 centre backs again to be honest. 

[Skip997]

Ah the old Man Utd have to be an attacking team myth has appeared.

 

Anyway, outrageous sacking. Sitting in 6th with that squad is pretty damn good 

[thetime]

22 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

 

 

Anyway, outrageous sacking. Sitting in 6th with that squad is pretty damn good 

 

I was certainly in the Amorim in brigade. Utd need a slow build, rather than the 2 year cycle.

 

Slot next for the sack? 

[Skip997]

2 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

I was certainly in the Amorim in brigade. Utd need a slow build, rather than the 2 year cycle.

 

Slot next for the sack? 

Hopefully. It’s kind of the opposite to Amorim. Doing dreadfully with an excellent squad, no passion, no belief, poor attitude from many players, which IMO is solely due to the passion being coached out of them by Mr “safety first”.

 

Sure they’re in the CL places, but only because most of the other teams are poor. Look at the points total, it’s abysmal. With the league in the state it’s in, the Champions, having spent so much should be streets ahead 

[charlierc]

3 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

Honestly, and I give Amorim credit for this, that managerial position doesn't seem as poisoned a chalice as at Chelsea right now. Chelsea definitely have the better squad, but of the 2 big clubs who've just sacked a manager for a power struggle, I'd have thought the one with one sporting director and a head coach who didn't acknowledge his own title and was weirdly embedded to a system barely working would be more appealing than the club with 6 sporting directors and a massively interfering owner who's trying to badmouth all the former managers. Sure Sesko isn't firing but they are scoring again, and the worst egos have gone. 

I mean, the politics at both feel like a nightmare to navigate.

 

Chelsea do seem to be reaching for the "Strasbourg feeder club" option by promoting Rosenior to the top spot. I know Hull fans say he was great and that their owner made a bad decision in getting rid, but I'm not sure if that and getting to the Europa Conference League with Strasbourg is enough to navigate the hullabaloo that is Chelsea. To say nothing of 6 sporting directors as a structure feeling just unwieldly.

 

Seems like a day for changes tbf, given Celtic sacked a manager who wasn't even there for 35 days. Though I guess the expectation up there meant that losing 6 of your first 8 ending in a fairly insipid surrender to their blue mates from the other side of Glasgow wasn't going to fly. A friend of mine supports Celtic and he wanted Nancy gone a lot sooner.

[charlierc]

36 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Ah the old Man Utd have to be an attacking team myth has appeared.

 

Anyway, outrageous sacking. Sitting in 6th with that squad is pretty damn good 

There just seems to be a weird sense of permacrisis at Man Utd. But I guess ultimately they've been a bit of a basket case for a little while now.

 

Like, the last year and a half involved keeping on ten Hag when he probably should've gone, letting ten Hag throw £200mil at signings that didn't work, sacking ten Hag at great expense, hiring Amorim at yet more great expense when he wanted to wait until the summer, keeping Amorim after a hilariously poor second half of last season, spending another £200mil+ on new signings that arguably didn't strengthen the bits you really need to make a 3-4-3 work and now sacking him when he wasn't actually doing badly given their injuries/AFCON availability problems is just odd. 

 

I personally think he should've stuck around - yes, his whinging was a bit much, but name a manager who doesn't whine when things aren't going his way. But hey. Who knew INEOS were more inclined to back Jason Wilcox instead.

[pink_triangle]

3 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

Honestly, and I give Amorim credit for this, that managerial position doesn't seem as poisoned a chalice as at Chelsea right now. Chelsea definitely have the better squad, but of the 2 big clubs who've just sacked a manager for a power struggle, I'd have thought the one with one sporting director and a head coach who didn't acknowledge his own title and was weirdly embedded to a system barely working would be more appealing than the club with 6 sporting directors and a massively interfering owner who's trying to badmouth all the former managers. Sure Sesko isn't firing but they are scoring again, and the worst egos have gone. 

To me the Chelsea job seems a great gig. Maresca was completely unqualified for that job and leaves with his reputation enhanced. Rosenior is also completely unqualified, I dont see how he can lose.

[charlierc]

16 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

To me the Chelsea job seems a great gig. Maresca was completely unqualified for that job and leaves with his reputation enhanced. Rosenior is also completely unqualified, I dont see how he can lose.

Well he's just been announced. Six year contract as well. So I guess we'll see how well Rosenior can adapt to this task after all. 

[balti-pie]

not the trickiest of negotiations with Strasbourg, i imagine 😄 

[lost]

6 years, wonder what the bookies are offering for him not seeing it out? I can't imagine the odds are great.

 

Maresca is the 5th manager to be sacked in premier league history after winning 2 trophies the year before. The others are:

 

Jose Mourinho (Twice) - Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti  - Chelsea

Roberto de Matteo - Chelsea

 

[thetime]

Ole at the wheel. 😬😬😬😬