There's a lot of sympathy for ManU going around talk radio at the moment. Apparently they need to buy a few more players in order to really challenge. The amount they've already spent and what they've achieved with it need not be mentioned. Another thing not mentioned is how much penalties and other positive results from officials/VAR have contributed to their improvement this season. Sure the number of penalties has often been mentioned, but though the sport is awash with stats, very little attention is given to how much bad decisions actually make a difference. It's almost as if the crap about "bad decisions even themselves out over a season" is actually believed. With Citeh they get all sorts of credit for their achievement with very little mention of the vast expenditure in order to achieve it (in fact the word "vast" seems an understatement). Credit is also heaped upon Guardiola for his apparently mystical management ability, when surely a number of managers could achieve the same with a similar budget. Comments are often along the lines of 'well done to Citeh for doing their business early' or 'they identified a problem in the team and rectified it'. Well no **** Sherlock, with the backing of an oil state most teams could do that. Do the pundits really think that other managers don't realise when they've got a weakness, or would like to buy players at the start of a window? Of course they do, they just have to live within the means of a real budget, not a mythical one which bears no relation to normal business practices. Surely with their budget and the best manager in the world etc, the fact that they didn't win the league and have never won the CL makes this season a failure?
I'm sure you've read it Diego and originally I left it for others to tell you the relevance but I thought maybe.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53815334 Just one day after a wasteful Manchester United exited the Europa League, their former striker Romelu Lukaku showed them exactly what they are missing.
I've been saying for a couple of weeks, next season's Narrative is going to be "Man Utd reclaim their rightful place" - and they'll get all the penalties they need to do it The refs have already been practising their roles in this story since May
I contend that in CL terms, Pep at Citeh has been an utter failure. For all the experience he had prior to then with Barca + Munich (SF x 8, final x2, winner x2) , IMHO there can be no excuses.
They pundits rarely stray from the status quo in their assessments. They are always blinded by money and talk as though these teams have always been at the top and should be and always will be. In a nutshell the pundits, by and large, are unimpressive commentators who in reality contribute very little to the debate around football. When you look at other sports they have fared much better look at McEnroe in tennis, or Arlott and Johnson and Benaud in cricket, Eddie Waring in rugby league, Bill McLaren in rugby union. All figures of authority that brought some inside knowledge to the game. In football Brian Moore, Clough, and Gordon Strachan spring to mind but only Moore was given much of a run. Now? Linekar is jovial enough but not really carrying any great authority or insight Jose is always worth listening too but he's not a pundit yet. Most of the rest of football pundits I'm not impressed with although given time Carragher as his English improves (and I am not trying to insult him) has some interesting things to say. I think he could develop into one of the great commentators of football. That last comment of mine should cause some healthy debate.
The emergence of Fan TVs has seen a real drop in the quality of punditry and even commentary and analysis IMO, because broadcasters have seen the popularity of purely partisan football commentary and content and incorporated that into their offerings. That’s why Carragher and Neville are Sky’s top pairing - people want to watch them for the novelty of their rivalry and ‘banter’. I’m sure they both have a lot of insight to deliver on the game but Sky don’t want that all the time. I wish the broadcasters would commit to balanced punditry panels and neutral co-commentators but it would appear that most viewers want to watch partisan opinion and banter rather than actually get insight into the football itself. As much as I hate all Fan TVs and matchday vloggers I can see the market for them, but there should also be a place for objective analysis. I understand that most pundits will have serious connections to one or more clubs and that’s fine but I think the direction comes from the broadcasters to be partisan a lot of the time, and they play on the rivalries so get more views.
Neville's a very good pundit, despite a drop in quality since he flopped at Valencia. His banter with Carragher is an obvious draw for their Monday Night stuff, but he actually has some insight outside of that. He makes good points and can explain them in a way that anyone can understand them. The rest of the Scouse/Manc punditry squall tends to be utter ****e, though. They're everywhere when those teams aren't involved and it's exclusively them when they are. You'd actually get less bias from the Fan TV ****bags, as they're aware when their teams are ****ing things up.
I have said here on more than 1 occasion, that neutral co-commentators are a must. I have no issue with pundits ‘in the studio’ being partisan, but if that’s the case you should have at least 1 for each side. As an example we should never have to suffer Alan Smith as co-comms on the NLD which we do regularly. But he can be used in the studio alongside a Spurs man (Redknapp and Souness don’t count). My final wish is that pundits should be able to string a coherent sentence together and not be as thick as pigshite. Yes that means no Coles (Joe or Ashley), No Scholes, and definitely no Paul Ince.
Weren't the managers of Sheff U and Wolves not considered "managers of the season" with their limited resources? If not....why not?
I can remember a Spurs v Pool game covered live by Sky, and their studio pundits were a line up of Pool partisans, Scouseknapp, Scouseness and Slipper Gerrard. I can`t remember if Carragher was co commentating, but he probably was.
The Sheffield United manager was certainly in the running, but when you win the league by the distance Liverpool did there is really only 1 winner. Chris Wilder did a fabulous job, as did Nuno though Wolves resources are hardly limited!
David Silva agreed to join Lazio, then moved to Real Sociedad and didn't tell them. They found out when the other club made their official announcement. I'd slag him off, but it's Lazio, so **** 'em.
Lazio's Director: "I have great respect for David Silva as a player but not as a man". As if he gives a ****
OOOHHH! Man City Ladies sign my 2nd favourite lady footballer Lavelle.Darn it, she could play in Spurs men's first team! My favourite is the American rebel...shus,you know who.....!
