Premier League Thread 2015-16

And the award for least surprising sacking of the season goes to...

(And to think, they destroyed us at St Marys at the start of the season)

 

.....Steve McClaren.

 

Not for me. Seemed a strange time to sack him. They should have done it much earlier in my opinion, if they were going to. I'm not saying he didn't deserve to be sacked, but to only give Rafa 10 games (and no transfer window) was always going to be difficult. I didn't see his final defeat making the sacking any more inevitable than any of the previous defeats. Afterall, they'd continued with him that long already. And they'd given him money in the window. And he was vey much 'their man'.

Whereas for Martinez, yesterday really did feel like the end of the line. The final straw. No need to go through the toxic atmosphere of one final game before making the chop anyway.

 

Sam Allardyce .

Why does he get the flack he does ?

I remember reading a while ago he was one of the first to get into the Science of football .

this interview when he mentions the % increase in the team performance & the taking care of the players away from the stadium etc , I find it very interesting & he & his staff deserve far more credit than HOOF BALL .

He IMHO Is one smart Man .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36272342

And he is bang on about the costs of players and fans expectations !!!

 

I'm reading his autobiography at the moment. He's certainly smart and got himself ahead of the game with ProZone etc.

 

He gets flack these days for his pragmatic approach to football. For example, he plays football the way he believes it is necessary to get results. His priorities are to win [or not lose] first and entertain if there's room for it. Back during the time when technology was coming into football, he embraced it. The criticisms he received were from people who will criticise anything new of which they do not understand. Good manager. My respect for him these days is probably the highest it has been. I'd like to see what he could do with some genuinely great players. My guess is that he wouldn't disgrace himself. But his image is now set as a rescuer of clubs and he'll probably be typecast forever as one. Bolton Wanderers was a long time ago.

 

You're absolutely right Jasper. People may not like his somewhat more agricultural blend of football, but he's incredibly good at what he does. And unless I've missed something, he's not an arsehole either.

 

Always liked Allardyce - a normal British bloke who is a damn good manager. I really don't even think he plays that bad football anyway. Certainly not like Pulis.

I'm delighted that he is getting some love from fans of a club - hasn't had it really since his Bolton days (though he was well liked by some fans at Blackburn).

 

And can you believe that Blackburn sacked him when they were 13th in December, after he had led them to a 10th place finish. Then, of course, they appointed Karl Pilkington.

 

I disagree. I couldn't pay to watch his brand of football every week. I got to the point where I nearly didn't bother turning up to watch the West Ham games at St Mary's. It was that bad.

He's also a bully.

 

I've heard some stuff that certainly portrays him as an arsehole and a bully.

Really don't like him.

 

Ah fair enough.

As long as he's not Pardew levels...

 

On the other hand, if you're facing relegation............

 

Danny Simpson to miss Leicester's title parade because of his curfew. I've only got one response to this:

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Er no! Real Madrid, yes!!! They make Manchester United look puny by comparison.

 

Worked it out the other night. It was 4 points from a possible 24. Bloody shame. Just imagine what another 4-8 points would have done to our season. Lost at home to Stoke, drew with Villa. There's 5 points extra already from two home games against teams we should beat. Tbf, eventually, Koeman pulled a tactical master stroke and played three at the back. Gave us back our solidity and brought back the confidence.

 

The turn around in 2016 has been superb...to be in with a vague chance of 5th after that run is amazing.

 

One of the reasons I feel Ronald should signs new contract, is how the club stuck by him through that awful period. We showed faith in him, surely he can do the same?

 

Shame some in here didn't

*points at "Should Ron Go?" thread*

 

He is always moaning and complaining, his face is typically dour and his accent is unpalatable to my southern ears. He constantly chews gum because it was probably cool when he was a teenager. His teams play ****e football and he's been involved in corruption.

I applaud his achievements and career as a manager, but for all his vision in management off the field, he seems virtually blind on the pitch.