Let's put all crazy quotes from the media here. ------------- I'll start: "Manchester United, and Chelsea to some extent, need to respond. The news marked a changing of the guard. United are no longer able to attract any manager, and that would have hit them like a juggernaut. They need to react; they cannot just sit back." Jamie Redknapp -http://www.skysports.com/football/news/18932/10156841/man-utd-and-chelsea-must-respond-to-pep-guardiola-appointment-says-jamie-redknapp I don't even know where to begin with that statement. I love the rationalization around United these days. It's either our youth system is dead or people are turning down opportunities to work at United because they want to go to City. All pointless conclusions in grand scheme of things. I am very sure 9 out of 10 managers would still jump at the opportunity to manage United.
Redknapp is a total balloon, what statement do United and Chelsea have to make just because City have changed managers again. All any of us need to do is play to our capability's and see what difference that makes.
lol I love how everyone thinks City appointing Pep is going to be the end for everyone else challenging, everyone is like "Oh well, **** it, we may aswell go home now, Pep has gone to City". This is utter bullshit. He has achieved nothing in this league, he won a lot with Barcelona, but he had the best team on the planet by a country mile, and its not like they utilised tactics to win any of their games, it was just through sheer quality. Besides, before a ball is even kicked Barca have a 40-50% of winning La Liga anyway, because of the TV deals, the teams outside of El Classico and maybe Atletico just cannot match anywhere near the sort of ridiculous wages on offer at the bigger clubs. The Premier League is a different animal, yes there are richer teams, but its a far more level playing field, more so than ever, with Skys new TV deals and FFP keeping everyone from going mental. Like the other week when City lost 3-0 to Stoke, that doesn't happen in La Liga, or Champions being down in the relegation zone the following season, thats doesn't happen in La Liga either. He, or more pertinently, the media and the fans, are in for a shock if they think this guy is going to turn City in to an all dominating force. I hope he falls flat on his arse.
I agree with most of that except for the bit in bold. You'll find greater examples of teams finishing top 3 to top 6 flirting (and enduring) relegation in la liga than in the prem. The mindset is slightly different to over here and it's just a part and parcel of football for them. I agree though, he's in danger of becoming very overrated.
But the teams who finish 6th in La Liga are ****, because all of them are ****, with the exception of El Classico and Atletico. 5th-20th, all ****, and interchangeable. Making up the numbers. Quite possible for a team that finishes 6th to then be midtable or lower the next season, but not any of the big teams. The top teams just dont lose in La Liga except when playing each other. So much so that Real are being written off for the title, despite only being 4 points behind Barca with 16 games left. In the PL the top teams lose to lower teams all the time, because its far more competitive.
You've only quoted 6th position. I'm saying teams that finish 3rd to 6th. Go back over the last 10-15 years and you'll see what you're saying just simply isnt true. Teams in that bracket have flirted with relegation while others in the same bracket have made it to semi-finals, finals of the UEFA Cup / Europa Cup and even won the damn thing. So they can't be just written off as ****. Some of these in the past have been clubs that have got promoted the season before. Also there are plenty of examples where newly promoted teams or those in the bottom half that have beaten the likes of Real Madrid. There's an element of stereotyping with La Liga bcos of the dominance of the top 2 but when you look at the facts much of it shows a lot of depth in la liga. It's only recently (over the last 4/5 years) that the prem has caught up.
I don't think there's much stereotype there, Treble. In Spain, Real and Barca are expected to win week in, week out. A draw is treated as a loss. Jose Mourinho actually said it best: "I always say that I need competition and I need competition every week and in Spain, I was at an amazing club but I had four matches a year: Barcelona v Real Madrid, Real Madrid v Barcelona and after that we'd win 4-0, 5-0, 4-1, 6-1." -http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/10157614/jose-mourinho-on-his-future-challenges-and-preferring-england-to-spain Same thing is happening in France, Germany and Italy. The only league that provides thorough competition is the Premier League. Premier League is quickly turning into NHL where any team can beat anyone but eventually, the best would come out on top. But not before season even starts. Side news, Barca just equalled 28 game record in all competition without losing.
"Paris St-Germain can become the first team to go through a Ligue 1 season unbeaten, says captain Thiago Silva. Les Parisiens are closing in on a fourth consecutive title after beating rivals Marseille 2-1 to go 24 points clear at the top. Laurent Blanc's side, who have not lost in 34 Ligue 1 games, are 13 matches away from an unbeaten league campaign." What is the point of that league?
But I'm not arguing against the dominance of the top 2. I completely agree with you there. But those from 3rd to 6th are capable of ending up in the relegation scrap the next season, OR conversely can end up being very successful the next season. Newly promoted clubs can also end up causing upsets as well. Just bcos La Liga looks like French Ligue or Scot Prem doesnt mean at all that the 18 other teams in Spain are the same quality as them. But I totally agree that if you manage Barca, on the whole you have an easy task. Who honestly rates Enrique as a manager despite winning the treble? Personally I dont, he's hardly being tested imo. And as Bod has said I kinda hope Pep has his trousers pulled down in the Prem.
It almost seems that La Liga starts from 3rd/4th place. We have to give full credit to Diego Simone though. He has lost tons of players from the league winning team, yet he has continued to perform the magic. As for Pep; I think the whole league is waiting to see what the messiah can really do with City. But I'm betting they would throw 300m Euros at the problem.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35522099 Ronaldo was speaking at an event to collect his Pichichi trophy, which he won for being last season's La Liga top scorer with 48. "This is the best league in the world, although I also played in the Premier League," he said. "It's fantastic, competitive, and with great players. It is a privilege to leave my mark on it." No it ain't!!!
I go along with this. The hysteria at his appointment is bizarre, particularly as his biggest fan boy is a Chelsea fan! I don't doubt he'll do well at City, their last two managers have won the league, but I don't think he'll dominate the league the way he has done at Barca and Bayern.
I love the story below. On a day that world shares sank to new 52 week low, ESPN has used United's 5th position as the reason behind the decline in share price. Even Apple is trading around 52 week low. http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-un...ster-united-stock-briefly-hits-three-year-low " Manchester United's share price briefly dipped to its lowest level in over three years on Monday after Louis van Gaal's team slipped further behind their rivals in the hunt for Champions League qualification. United dropped on the New York Stock Exchange from $14.50 (£10.05) $13.86 (£9.61) on Monday morning before rising in the afternoon and closing at $14.10, an overall loss of 2.9 percent. The morning low was the lowest price since December 2012. Not even during the darkest days of David Moyes' reign had United's shares been valued so lowly."
Nowt to do with us "only" being 12 points off top spot ofcourse. Probably round his broker's. The drop in shareprice has hit him hard.
Don't worry, if by some miracle we somehow stumble to 4th he'll be back to lecture us all on what a good season it's been and how LVG is a genius!
