It's typical for journos nowadays - find a bandwagon, jump on it and try to look like you can explain it. They were all spouting the same crap about Conte and Costa, Fabregas and Hazard last season. Not to mention Pellegrini and Aguero, Dzeko and Toure in 2014. Now the same journos are queuing up to stick the knife into Conte for mismanaging the players and making them worse. Definitely agree about Mourinho, although I do think some of that is down to momentum and the psychological angle. We seen to have built a mental block around getting results in difficult games, and it's reflected in the amount of self sabotaging stupid mistakes. For all his pedigree, Mourinho has never been all that good at the mental side imo - he has one trick and that's telling his players they are the best in the world. When that doesn't work he's out of ideas. Great tactician, but a poor motivator, and we do need someone to motivate the players and get them believing in themselves right now (cue gav81 and another call for Keane!)
The spread all the ties out over four consecutive weeks so that there are two matches on every Tuesday and Wednesday. First leg for you lot this week, then first leg for us next week, then second leg for you the week after etc. Probably the third season they've done it.
"My job is to motivate players, to push people and try and get them to another level. That will never change. I have been like that since I was a young player.” ~Roy Keane
When Keane said if Liverpool were playing in his garden he wouldn't watch, it was because he was scared he'd see Gav in the bushes with his binoculars in one hand...
Liverpool and Chelsea were lucky to win the CL in 05 and 12 just like Greece were to win the Euros in 04, which is the biggest fluke of all-time in any sport.
There's an element of luck in any, what is in effect, knockout competition. Of course Utd have never had any good fortune in any of there successes.
Here's the difference. When United won the CL in '99 and '08, we also won the Premier League each season. We really were a team on top of our game that deserved the success. On the other hand, when Liverpool and Chelsea won the CL they finished 5th and 6th respectively. They weren't even the best teams in England, thus proving their CL wins to be a bit of a fluke.
