I'm hoping (for our sake) that Pellegrini flops. Shame he's gone to Citeh, i like the guy, he's always been a good manager, his teams have always been competitive etc. His Villareal side (including one S. Cazorla) gave us real problems in the CL before.
And with Malaga he qualified for the CL and almost knocked out Dortmund. Incredible manager who clearly knows how to spend money when it's made available to him. I bet Mourinho says that at every club.
The superior Porto overhauling Real Madrid's Galactico's and English Champions Manchester United to win the CL You only need to look at what he did at Leiria, Porto and Inter to realise how good he is. Criticism is fair but to undermine his achievements is obtuse. - People said Porto were not good enough to win the CL. They were. - People said the Invincibles could not be overhauled. They were - People said Serie A was too weak a league to produce a CL winner. It did. - People said Barca could not be overhauled. They were, with records broken. See, there's a pattern developing here.... And lest we forget, but for UEFA screwing us over with refs we would most likely have won the CL in either 2005 or 2006 (possibly both). We were the best team in Europe those years
That second yellow for RVP has to be one of the most wayward refereeing decisions I have ever seen. United fans complain about the Nani tackle, but that RVP yellow was just shocking, given the game and the situation.
As a spurs fan it was hysterical but in all honesty I could not believe he was given a yellow for taking a shot less than a second after the ref blew for offside...one of the worst decisions I've seen in European football...apart from that German (I think Keeper) nearly killing the french guy in the 1982 world cup semi final and not conceding a penalty or even a yellow card! I was around 14 then and I can still remember how shocking it was to watch
didn't messi scored a legitimate goal ruled offside at the first game preventing them going 2-0 which give you the chance to stay in the game and come back with a 2-1 win? not debating rVP yellow bcz it is for me 50-50 .. he would never had shoot it wide and high instead of taking the ball forward if he didn't heard the whistle trying to be smart
looks like the u21s suffer the same thing as the regulars do. a lack of imagination and a whole lot of being ****. **** me how did jenkinson not get picked instead of clyne, why did ox play two unimportant friendlies and not in the tournament, (some goal though). I am without doubt a better manager than Pearce or Hodgson
Watched a bit of that England under 21's game, and it's the same old story. Pearce is one of the worst managers I have ever seen, so it's hardly surprise when his team put in a performance like that. Also, the lack of options upfront is so scary. I mean we had to play Sordell and Wickham, ffs. And even in the senior team, the options are not great. When I started watching football, England had the likes of Shearer,Wright,Fowler, Sheringham,Cole,Owen and Les Ferdinand upfront. The decline in that area is beyond belief.
Unfortunately, the emphasis on short passing and small-sided games in youth coaching these days is unlikely to produce a prolific 11-a-side striker. Kids have to be 15yo these days until they play on a pitch big enough to get through-balls, crosses and the like and start to learn how to play, even if they can find a team-mate capable of passing a ball accurately over more than 10 yards.
