Re the Potter v Benitez debate, I've enjoyed reading both sides of the argument but for me it boils down to asking the simple question: which manager's career is on the up, and which is heading downward? The same question should have been applied when we sacked Poch. We didn't ask it and so we ended up with entirely the wrong answer to our problems. Football is evolving at a rate of knots and unless a club has so much money/enjoys such domestic supremacy it doesn't matter who sits in the dugout, it is more crucial than ever to evolve with the times instead of expecting one last dressage from a long-beaten horse. I said at the time Maureen was appointed that in the year or so he was out of work, 7 of Europe's biggest clubs changed managers. None of them approached him. We were foolish enough to ignore the overwhelming evidence of his career from 2015-2018 which pointed in the direction of a falling star. The exact same thing can be said of Benitez. I agree with DH. The fact that Germany's two biggest clubs will go into next season with managers 19 and 23 years younger than the current incumbents shows that Bayern and Dortmund - two of the clubs who snubbed Jose (Bayern appointed Flick just 2 weeks before we hired him) - understand the importance of this question. For the same reason, the likes of Eddie Howe and Scott Parker should be avoided at all costs. Their careers are currently on a downward trajectory despite their nice haircuts and good brand of football. Howe got Bmouth relegated and showed zero awareness of how to stem their defensive problems. Not so long ago Fulham looked to be heading for safety but they have completely collapsed. Avoid both. And given a choice between someone with no PL experience who has forged a career more as a DoF than a manager, and a young PL experienced coach who by every measure would achieve more with a better group of players, it's all aboard the Hogwarts Express for me.
You must mean ....or my mate Gary P, as they were all but indistinguishable for the Ska years and a few years after.
The obvious thing about Rangnick is he has a track record of having youth coaches that he brings in graduate into managers, most obviously Julian Nagelsmann who he brought in as U17 manager at Hoffenheim, Thomas Tuchel who he brought in as U19 coach at Stuttgart, and Marco Rose who was brought in as U16 coach at G Fuel Vienna (prior to graduating to U18s and then first team coach) This is why, if we do bring him in (or find a way to not **** it up) the idea of him being coach for a couple of seasons before moving upstairs to either bring in somebody to continue his viision, or even the possibility of Ryan Mason coming through having learned from him, is the exact thing we need to be doing
I remember the 'in front of the camera' stuff. Somehow, getting him in to give direction to a bloke in a stupid bear costume is more bizarre....or I'm still drunk from last night? Either is possible, but imagining the agency meeting where someone in a stupid suit and orange braces says..."What this needs is Orson Wells to direct it...give it that touch of Citizen Kane" is too bizarre.
I remember the Sherry adverts , we used to get a new bottle in every Christmas for my nan to have a small glass before dinner then it would be put away till me and my brother would neck the bottle sometime about Easter when it had been forgot about , the stuff was so sweet the thought of it makes my teeth ache even now
Having trouble with haemorrhoids ?? Buy Sootheet cream. All the advertising lucre he could have earned just doing the Harry Lime smirk with The third man theme.
Review of Mason last night: Played a pretty decent XI that wanted to attack. Not gonna go over the top about tactics/ style as I do think Sheffield are terrible but ultimately you can only beat what’s in front of you and for those 90 mins we never really sat back even when 1-0 or 2-0 up. There seemed a bit more intent on playing a quicker passing game than usual, again, Sheffield made that easy for us but it’s a good sign to see the ball moving a lot more quicker rather than just hoping Kane makes something happen from a counter attack. Made two good subs. Bale’s work was done for the night and Bergwijn was in need of minutes, him getting an assist after coming on will also do his confidence a lot of good, still needs that elusive goal though. Lamela on for Dele was also a good call, contrary to some I don’t think Dele played that well, it wasn’t through a lack of trying as he did get about a lot but I felt he was just a bit of apassenger for the most part, can’t remember much of note of him actively impacting the game. Was unlucky not get a better connection with Toby’s long ball in the first half, that’s about it really. Disappointed that like Jose, he’s dropping Vinicius from the squad. Based on Kane’s performance there could’ve been an ideal opportunity for Vinicius to replace him and grab some minutes. I do also partly think he may not be solely in charge of picking the team. Not saying he’s a complete puppet but I do feel there’s a bit of influence from Levy with one or two selections in the team/ squad. Other than that, solid night for Mason and that’s still a 100% win record in the Prem for the youngest manager in the league
If he picks 8 or 9 of the right players and sets them up to attack more than defend, Ryan Mason can't fail to do better than Mourinho in the final 3 months of his 'reign'. Unfortunately, so **** had we become, it's really that easy. I'd rather not see Eric Dier in the team ahead of Joe Rodon, nor Dele ahead of a number of players, especially Lucas. However, compared to 'The Special One', it's all good, really. Fortunately, we're yet to see Doherty, so he's doing a pretty good job and it's becoming pretty clear that the club had no plan at all, beyond getting Mourinho out the door...That's fine, if unbelievably ****ing late, so long as we get the next appointment right - i.e. appoint someone who fits the club profile, not a big name with a history of success from years ago, or someone who can't speak English and has only ever been here on a city break with his Mrs. Personally, I'm bracing myself for another 'Levy Special' when we appoint the next chump.....I mean, manager. Levy doesn't have a good track record in appointing managers and no matter how bomb proof his position might seem, nobody can make a continual series of **** ups without it having an effect. So, he's likely to be wanting a manager who can put this mess right quickly. I'm afraid that, as we pay the last of our cash to Mourinho and his motley crew and only Chelsea and City can spend big, that's likely to lead to the problems getting bigger and deeper. Please surprise me Daniel!
