For definite I'm being harsh, it's just that it's irritating watching people be so dismissive straight of the bat, for no other reason than to have a bit of a moan because their idyllic picture of their club doesn't work out in reality... I mean, you refer to Pardew's appointment. I don't remember ever posting about his appointment at the start, and I've reserved outright judgement, especially because I thought he'd done well at Charlton etc before he was sacked/moved on. Indeed my overriding concern was whether or not he'd be a puppet for Mike Ashley to essentially play champ manager, but I have and never will treat him or anyone else like Blackburn fans treat Kean. It's also annoying that two of the premier league's up-and comers are being rejected because they haven't managed anyone big yet... Just stupid really!
Bristol City in peace. You could spend millions on a "name" but as a previous poster stated "remember where Shanks came from". Martinez appears to be quite a manager from my viewpoint. He's played football, not hoofball, with a very poorly supported club in terms of numbers through the turnstiles. But he did very well to get Swansea in a position which allowed Rodgers to take them to the Prem. And his Chairman at Wigan, being an old pro, is also apparently no fool. You have to look deeper than his current club as we at Ashton Gate have found this season with Derek McInnes who came from St Johnstone - "who", "where do they play" and "it's only a mickey mouse league" were some of the kinder comments. But the manner in which he has conducted himself and having saved us from the drop, we now realise what a gem we have unearthed. It could be the same for you with Roberto Martinez. Remember it's all about man management and motivation! The climb back starts now for Liverpool.
The treatment of Kean by Blackburn fans has been appalling, however I don't think there is anything wrong with questioning the credentials of prospective managers. I think in the majority most posters are saying positive things about those managers on a personal level but wonder(quite rightly) if it is too big of a step up too quickly! I myself have said that I think all three of Martinez, AVB and Rodgers will all be great managers but I also believe that Martinez certainly and Rodgers to a less extent would benefit from a Villa position first, with AVB I also think he needs to rebuild his rep overseas first because wherever he goes the pressure will be massive on him. As for Pardew, I am suprised if you were not screaming from the top of your lungs, NO, NO, HELL NO, when he was appointed! I think all football fans(not just Newcastle fans) wondered what the hell was going on, especially has Houghton was doing a great job already, yes it worked out so you have a point, but at the same time this was an exception. Usually the fans fears are realised; whether this is BECAUSE of the opposition to the appointment which creates massive pressure and fans waiting for a sign that they were right or in-spite is another debate.
Another Bristol City fan here - I was one of those who actually took the time and trouble to read up on Derek McInnes and when he was in the running, there was no one else I wanted. As cider says, despite the fact that all of the players under his control at St Johnstone had nothing but praise for his manner and methods (reflected on the pitch), some of our more ignorant fans thought that he would be inexperienced and that the English Championside would be too much for him. One read of his CV and who he played with brands him as a winner and makes those comments laughable... My point is that without being disrespectful, Liverpool have hardly covered themselves in glory in recent years. First you had a manager in Benitez that got lucky in the Champions League which gave him licence to waste 10's of millions on pretty ordinary, quite clearly non Liverpool type players - he never had any interest in winning the league, Europe was all he was interested in. Then even Kenny couldn't turn it around and frankly, as a neutral observer, you have not played like Liverpool for a few years now - you only have to look at the faces of Hansen and Lawrenson to see what they think of what has happened to such a great club... Roberto Martinez...? - the curent Swansea team is HIS creation and, they look great. Imagine Liverpool with the players you have playing like them instead of the shapeless mish mash of recent seasons - I know I'd want that cos it would mean you would start winning things again...
Got lucky in 2005?. Did it occur to you that to win it we had to qualify through a top 4 league position,play in the qualifying rounds,the group stage,the knockout stage and beat quality opposition on the way,and then draw against the then best team in Europe and beat them fair and square on penalties? Yeah lad we were so lucky we reached the final again 2 yrs later. As for the league we finished 2nd under Rafa so theres another fail on your part. did you also take into account that a couple of years ago we were 1 week away from administration due to the debt H&G put us in?,from that perspective we've done great,no debt,new owners,a cup on the sideboard.
I just posted this on Bristol City's page; any comments? Even though I still think Martinez will do a great job for you, here's another option. "Well if Chelsea do not want Roberto di Matteo, and I was the owner of Liverpool, I would sign him up straight away. Chelsea were obviously not the most talented and attractive to watch team in the Champions league, but di Matteo's tactical nous has been second to none. He won Europe's biggest club trophy by saying to other teams "come and attack us but we'll defend en masse and we have a real sting when you give us any space to get in your box" I am not a Chelsea lover but he has proved himself a master tactician and man manager!"
You're missing the point; di Matteo did what was necessary with a group of mostly veteran players to win the Champions and the FA Cup. But his attitude at MK Dons and WBA was for entertaining football. He chose "unentertaining" as a short term necessity at Chelsea. So would Kenny Dalglish if it would have brought two cups this season and you would have loved him for it. Those of us who are lifelong football fans know that clubs like Liverpool demand that the game is played correctly. I can remember seeing the team of the 50's with Billy Liddell, Twentyman, Tommy Younger etc and through to the 90's Liverpool always did their level best to entertain while winning. But when you are not at the top of the pile, you need to get going by winning ugly at times to bring the confidence back. So you need a manager with a superb tactical brain to not only get you going but to keep you at the top.
Sorry, what? Master tactician? He gave in to the Chelsea egos, played them all in their familiar positions and cheered them on from the sidelines whilst parking the bus and hoping for a setpiece or for Drogba to pull something out his arse whilst relying massively on their opponants to miss chances. Di matteo has proven nothing so far.
