Quote :

"West Ham fans were chanting "are you watching, Declan Rice?" at the Etihad"

5/20/2024 7:06:50 AM

I guess congrats, the lesser of two evils won. Arsenal fans are a delusional lot only rivaled by ManU.

However, Pep is probably gone after next season. Especially if the FA finally comes down on City. As a Chelsea supporter I am not looking forward to the punishments that will undoubtedly be handed down. Since both Everton and Forest got stiff penalties for less than what either Chelsea or City are accused of.

Pep is the greatest manager of this era. I think he goes for 5 and calls it quits. Arsenal will probably be up there again. I am sure some other teams might join the fray depending on what gets added or lost by other teams (Liverpool, Villa, Chelsea, Spurs, United)

5/20/2024 2:37:56 PM

I think the only thing seperating Liverpool and City/Arsenal was (1) finishing where folks are mostly young so hope we regress to the mean and (2) maybe defense where we could prob use a younger DCM and a healthier VVD partner. Obviously manager is a huge question mark and tactics could improve our D (less stretched/aggressive) but that would also likely reduce our offensive output.

Assuming no big transfers out, I'd like to see a young centerback to come in to grow behind our top 3 (konate injury prone, vvd past 30); either a project or upgrade or just get younger at DCM (Endo did ok but had injuries and is already past 30); understudy for Salah (don't really have any other right wingers and he is aging plus prob on his way out)

[Edited on May 20, 2024 at 3:11 PM. Reason : E]

5/20/2024 2:54:04 PM

Do you think iF Saudi comes back for Mo(say around 100-150mil) we take it and run right? Start the rebuild just like we did with Coutinho

[Edited on May 20, 2024 at 3:32 PM. Reason : f]

5/20/2024 3:32:00 PM

I think they'd have to listen vs giving him on a free next summer.

5/20/2024 4:13:24 PM

Quote :

"However, Pep is probably gone after next season. Especially if the FA finally comes down on City. As a Chelsea supporter I am not looking forward to the punishments that will undoubtedly be handed down. Since both Everton and Forest got stiff penalties for less than what either Chelsea or City are accused of. "

I wouldn't say "undoubtedly." City can afford a much better legal team than Everton and Forest.

5/20/2024 4:17:31 PM

^So you mean they have more money to offer the FA in bribes.

I mean Man City are facing 115 charges, while Everton were hit with 2 and Forest with 1. They are going to found guilty on at least one of the charges. Plus they have not cooperated to nearly the level that Everon and Forest did.

5/21/2024 10:09:22 AM

I mean that in legal or administrative cases, it's often not about which side is right and wrong but who has the best lawyers. City can afford the best lawyers that money can buy, whereas smaller clubs cannot.

5/21/2024 2:27:08 PM

Also, Poch is gone at Chelsea. Seems like the club is throwing everything at the wall and seeing what will stick.

5/21/2024 2:29:45 PM

Honestly I don't get what the ownership is doing . Apparently Poch wanted input into transfers and they told him no. This to me seems moronic as every manager has a different tactical vision and just buying players with no vision doesn't work. Injuries forced Poch into a change, he had to finally goto a 3-5-3 setup and that seemed to suit the players espcially Caicedo, Mudryk, and Madueke. This more than likely means Gallagher will be sold which I think is a KDB or Salah level mistake.

It also means another young coach is coming in that will not live up to pressure ala Graham Potter. The names I have heard are Kieran McKenna (Ipswich Town), Sebastian Hoeneß (VFB Stuttgart), Enzo Maresca (Leicester City) (Formerly a top assistant at City under Pep), Roberto de Zerbi (formerly Brighton), Ruben Amorim (Sporting Lisbon).

Possible dark horses would be Thomas Tuchel and Jose Mourinho neither of which fit the ownerships profile but are available and have ties.

Young unproven coaches are probably all you will be able to get since you replace managers every year and sometimes twice a year.

5/21/2024 4:05:46 PM

I've heard Jurgen Klopp is available


But really as far as manager input on players there is probably a wide spectrum and success is determined by how good each party is at their jobs. Front office should already have a clear idea of tactics the coach wants to use, if they're any good, and should be able to get the coach to buy into their evaluation strategy. Apparently at liverpool under Michael Edwards, Klopp was consulted but didn't drive the decisions, when Edwards left for a few years the type of player recruited seemed to change. On the flip side it seems like ETH has had a ton of influence at United resulting in him recruiting a bunch of players he used to coach that were too old or couldn't quite cut it at the top of the PL. No clue how if Poch had zero influence, final approval only, or some greater sway, just saying more coach control isn't always better.

That said Poch seems like a good coach and not even giving him a second year with all that young talent seems like a shortsighted choice.

[Edited on May 21, 2024 at 4:20 PM. Reason : E]

5/21/2024 4:20:07 PM

Emma Hayes might have been a good choice since she's done a stellar job with the Chelsea women. But the USWNT just hired her. It would have been a fun experiment at least. And we all know Boehly loves experiments.

This just in...

Quote :

"Manchester United and Bayern Munich are on high alert after Mauricio Pochettino's departure from Chelsea."

[Edited on May 21, 2024 at 6:37 PM. Reason : Wasn't United interested in Poch previously?]

5/21/2024 6:33:06 PM

I think they were interested but they decided to give Ten Hag another year.

Would think Kane would probably be pushing for Poch as he had his best seasons under Poch. That would probably mean Tuchel to ManU happens.

5/22/2024 9:25:59 AM

ETH out, per reports?

5/24/2024 12:40:30 PM

United fans are fuming that the club let news spread about interviews with McKenna while ETH is still in charge.

5/25/2024 6:06:54 AM

Total lack of focus from City today. Too much celebrating this week perhaps. A Champions League final on the horizon like last year might have made them sharper.

5/25/2024 1:34:19 PM

Looks like its Enzo Maresca as next Chelsea Manager 5 year deal which will be another expensive buy out if he does not work out.

5/28/2024 3:32:53 PM

The most bizarre news is Bayern pursuing Vincent Kompany as manager after his team was just relegated from the Premier League.

5/29/2024 11:39:43 AM

He speaks german tho

5/30/2024 1:35:47 PM

Sane's former teammate will be making him run laps. Awkward.

Mourinho's career path is on the same downward trajectory as Messi and Ronaldo's.

Quote :

"José Mourinho’s verbal agreement with Fenerbahçe is on two year contract valid until June 2026."

5/31/2024 8:43:43 AM

anyone got a stream for the european final

i dont normally watch soccer, but I wanna see this and got nothing to do rn

6/1/2024 2:21:28 PM

LOL It’s on CBS

6/1/2024 3:42:34 PM

Quote :

"comment about Group F didn't age well, rwoody"

Hey btw i agree this didn't age but I think it was more me being overconfident in Newcastle having the bodies to compete in Europe. More power to BD and PSG for advancing but BD finished 5th in the league after being 2nd last year and PSG got their fewest points since 2011. I think it's clear those teams are weaker than than they have been.

6/1/2024 4:42:04 PM

Mbappe to RM?

[Edited on June 2, 2024 at 11:58 AM. Reason : [old]? ]

6/2/2024 11:57:07 AM