Rival watch

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Completely agree.
Not all that keen on sticking around in a league where his team will face competition from more than just one rival, is he?

Why in the hell would you say something like that in a post match interview? Very very random.

It's also why The Premier League is the true barometer of how good a manager really is.
A manager can make all the difference in the PL, where it is far more tactical. You need look no further than Chelsea this season for proof of that, and the difference Conte has made with, largely, the same team that finished 10th last season.
If you are in La Liga or the Bundesliga, and are managing Barca and Bayern.........your advantage over EVERY other club (except Real in the case of Barca), is pretty much insurmountable for all the smaller clubs in your league.
Thats why, when a club like Valencia or Dortmund win those leagues, its an accomplishment. And its why Rafa and Klopp are decent managers.
Not like Fraudiola.

What in the lord's name is THAT, at the bottom of your posts ?
 
A couple of our youth coaches have headed to Swansea, with Nigel Gibbs becoming Clement's AssMan while Karl Halabi becomes their Head of Physical Performance (no jokes please...)

The money thing's only part of it, I believe.
They've got around the fan ownership rules, which allow them a lot more say in the run of their clubs than we have.
They changed the kit, the club crest and altered the name, again skirting around the rules on sponsorship.
A lot of it comes from the way Red Bull acted when they turned SV Austria Salzburg to Red Bull Salzburg, where the following happened:
* They immediately sacked the club's management and staff
* They have consistently acted as if the club did not exist before 2005, effectively erasing Austria Salzburg's history - a history which includes five league titles and a UEFA Cup final
* They changed the team's kit from purple and white to one that matched Red Bull's branding - and when faced with protests, began issuing purple & white tinted specs at home games
* Red Bull (the company, not the team) publicly slagged off those protesting the rebrand as "hooligans" and "complete idiots"
* As the most loyal fans deserted the team en masse in protest to becoming Taurine FC, the atmosphere suffered in two ways: there was less noise as the hardcore support had stopped going, while the raf-right element of the support remained and the lack of crowd noise to drown them out made the monkey chants aimed at the club's African players depressingly overt
* Given the amount of cash pumped in by Red Bull, the results for the rest of the league's hopes of competing for the title are entirely predictable

There's also the general shadiness between the various Red Bull franchise clubs
* When the rules were changed to stop teams having reserve teams in the lower leagues, Red Bull promptly invested disproportionate funds into first FC Pasching from the regional third division (funnily enough there was no talk of an FC Pasching Fairytale™ when they won the Austrian Cup in 2013...) then another load at FC Liefering in a different regional third division - and both teams just so happen to play at RB Salzburg's stadium, in the same kit, with several former RB Salzburg reserves in their starting line-ups
* There's definitely a degree of Salzburg and Leipzig swapping players among themselves, with Salzburg selling three players to Leipzig in the summer, while Leipzig loan players to Salzburg and New York Red Bulls
* Statute 3.01 of UEFA's rules for the Champions league state that "no club participating in a UEFA club competition may, either directly or indirectly, hold or deal in the securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition" - so if Salzburg and Leipzig both qualify for Europe this season, which is possible, it is breaking the rules...but since both Salzburg and Pasching played in the 2014-15 Europa league, it also exposes how UEFA don't enforce these rules
 
* They changed the team's kit from purple and white to one that matched Red Bull's branding - and when faced with protests, began issuing purple & white tinted specs at home games
Bloody hell. Imagine if they did that over here? They'd be in quick need of a new stadium.
 
that thought had crossed my mind but it was just a rando thought your honour <whistle>
i did think about mentioning this on the Swamsea noard but considering the shambles at their club not sure they would welcome visitors
They're alright over there, actually. Whenever I've popped over it's generally been well received.
I'm normally posting positively though, so take that with a pinch of salt.
 
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What is Xhaka thinking there? That's really dumb.
2-0! Wilson from the spot.

Lots of time for them to come back in this one though, unfortunately.
 
So Bournemouth are apparently vastly superior without our Lord and Saviour Jacob Wilshere in the side? Whoever would've thunk it.
 
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