Keep your thoughts coming to theeditor@football365.com…
On the horrible news from South America
Devastating news to come out of South America overnight as a plane carrying Chapecoense crashed __with very few survivors. They were due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Colombian team Atletico Nacional on Wednesday.
Chapecoense are an extraordinary club. They were in the fourth tier 2009 and only made the top flight two years ago. These guys make Bournemouth and Leicester look lazy. Making the final of the second tier continental competition in South America is a hell of an achievement.
Kind of puts club rivalries into a bit of perspective. I thought I was going to write more but I am not a good enough writer. Hopefully someone else will.
Micki Attridge
Being charged for kicking a bottle really is a bit much
Even though I find it very funny, I’m beginning to think Mourinho’s charge and sending off is slightly unfair.
Player kicks ball away in anger: Yellow card
Manager kicks ball away in anger: Red card
Is this a double standard? Or are managers just expected to live up to a higher standard? Or would the new FA rules mean players would get sent off for this too?
Or does the FA have some reverence towards bottles that I am unaware of? Anyone help?
Mike, LFC, Dubai
Trying to be balanced on Jose
I realize I’m attempting to do the impossible, but here’s a shot at a balanced view of José Mourinho’s tenure at Manchester United so far.
At the moment the evidence suggests that Mourinho is no longer a great manager, meaning someone who can transform a side and lead it to championships. Although United have been nowhere near a disaster, they seem a long way from challenging for a title. Compare what Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte have done in a short time, and Jürgen Klopp in a bit longer. Despite their huge buying power and considerable expenditures in the summer, United aren’t in the race and don’t seem likely to get there.
But to some degree Mourinho’s current position is bad luck. In his early prime, when he first took over Chelsea, the situation was difficult but promising: there was a great manager in the league, but only one. Mourinho bested Ferguson the first two years, then couldn’t keep it up. But considering the high level of the opposition, he did very well. Then, when he came back to Chelsea, he was quite lucky: although he was in decline, there were no great managers to oppose him. Although he didn’t quite pull it off in the first year, he squeezed out a title in the second, even as the side faded in the stretch.
In the short time since he left Chelsea, however, things have changed dramatically. The league now has two undisputed world-class managers in Guardiola and Klopp, plus a manager who is looking very much world-class in Conte. There is simply no way he can compete __with them, backed as they are by huge money in two cases and decent money in the other. There’s also an excellent manager, Mauricio Pochettino, who now has had time and some money to build a side. Plus you can add the one holdover – and this is going to hurt the most – Arsène Wenger, who though not up to a title challenge will always be in the mix for the top four.
It’s also fair to say the side have been a bit unlucky on the pitch. I won’t bore you with xG and all that, but the stats are pretty clear that Manchester United are playing better than their results. You don’t need stats to see that Tom Heaton and Darren Randolph have played blinders at Old Trafford. Barring another implosion like Chelsea’s last year, they’re likely to close the gap on fourth place. They’re also starting to play some attractive football, which at least makes their position more palatable.
The bottom line? In this league, at this moment, I’d say Mourinho is a fourth-place manager, in a tough battle with Spurs and Arsenal for that spot. Things could change: he might rediscover some magic this year or next, and/or things could go seriously wrong at one of the contenders. But I’d be very surprised if he challenges for a title while at Manchester United.
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA
Some Liverpool League Cup thoughts
I was worried (what can I say I am an emotional man) that you wouldn’t get too much interest in the midweek games so a few thoughts on Liverpool’s likely team.
Hope Stewart starts. He is a neat and tidy player but maybe just short of the quality required to be a regular at Liverpool. Hope I am wrong and with increased game time he can prove to be an important cog in the squad.
Gomes should get some minutes. Delighted for him after suffering an awful injury. Bit more competition in the defensive third can’t do any harm.
Mignolet – now that he is categorically number 2 it will be interesting to see how he reacts. If I was him I would probably start putting myself in the shop window with some decent displays when he gets minutes as I can’t see him getting any Prem time now that Karius’ early season jitters have gone.
Woodburn/Ejaria – these 2 are really exciting. I would like to see them both start but think King Klopp may need to add a bit of experience to the front line probably at the expense of Woodburn. Anyways they will both get minutes tomorrow and if they can live up to their potential they are future Liverpool stars. Excited for them. The Kop needs to start preparing chants for their new heroes.
Trent AA – our future right back. Learn your trade from Klopp and Clyne and you will have 100s of appearances for the Reds oh and loves a Klopp hug!
H, (Leeds have got a few decent youngsters too but someone else can write about them!)
…Tonight’s quarterfinal may well live up to lively past encounters but I have my doubts. In the last round Klopp rang 11 changes and I can see something similar happening tonight – especially considering the faint whiff of squad thinness permeating out of Melwood since Coutinho joined Lallana on the treatment table. many fans will grumble if this wholesale rotation backfires but I fully support it.
Squad happiness is a highly valued commodity and without European football the cups are the only real opportunity for some fringe members to get a run out and keep them mentally onside. This is particularly true for Klopp’s Liverpool where he quite clearly has a favoured starting XI. It also keeps the players (relatively) match-fit and sharp for if/when they need to fill in. This is also an opportunity to further blood some youngsters from the Academy. A clear pathway from academy to first team is an essential tool in attracting and keeping the brightest talents in Liverpool.
With our lack of European football and teething problems at some of the other ‘big’ clubs this season’s primary aim has to be ensuring a top 4 finish and hopefully a run at the title. An injury in the League Cup for someone like Clyne or Henderson would be a disaster. As such I expect Liverpool to line up with a back 5 of Mignolet, Alexander-Arnold, Lucas, Klavan and Moreno.
Further forward Stewart, Ejaria and Grujic will probably all start in midfield while Ben
Woodburn will be hoping to start alongside Divock Origi further forward.
Despite my Liverpool allegiance, I’ve always had a soft spot for Leeds. This is mainly because of my compatriot, the legend that is Lucas Radebe, but also because of their young, talented (if morally flawed) side that was pushing for Champions League football when I first started watching the Premier League. Gary Monk seems like a nice, earnest chap and I hope Leeds get promotion this season. Perhaps Monk has his sights firmly set on this and is thus likely to rest large swathes of his team too? Hopefully a Leeds fan can fill us in on what to expect in the afternoon mailbox.
Here’s hoping my prediction of an average spectacle is unfounded!
Osric the Brave (personally wouldn’t take 4th now if offered), Cape Town
Somebody call the Pulis
I hadn’t seen this reported or discussed anywhere until seeing the result this morning, but Tony Pulis has been involved in a legal dispute with Crystal Palace over his leaving of the club prior to joining West Brom. The result has now been confirmed that Pulis has lost the case.
The dispute centres around a bonus payment that Pulis was due to receive at the end of August 2014. This bonus would have been for avoiding relegation, and staying in the job until the 31st of August. Instead of waiting to the 31st, Pulis lied about an urgent need for the money, so that Palace paid him early in the month – he then handed in his notice the next day.
At the time the Sam Allardyce was sacked as England manager I thought that he had been stupid and boastful, but never really thought he had actually done anything that bad – he obviously had to be sacked though since he had shown himself to be a liability that the FA couldn’t afford to keep on. This situation with Pulis by contrast, is disgraceful. The greed on display is staggering. For him to mislead Palace the way he did is a terrible abuse of power.
I have always had a respect for Pulis as someone who is very skilled at what they do, and I have never bought into the criticism of his football style (means to an end and all that). I have now lost all respect for the man and hope that this case highlights what an unpleasant character he is.
Ian Towns
…Can we all just take a step back and analyse the pure madness of what happened between self-confessed socialist and man-of-the-people Tony Pulis and Crystal Palace please? It’s beggars belief really:
‒ Pulis was supposed to get a bonus for keeping Palace up of £2m, on the proviso that he remained as manager at 31 August (i.e. for the new season)
‒ Pulis asked for an early payment for the bonus on account of buying “land” for his children
‒ Palace and Pulis are all very happy and say “sure thing, we see no reason to not pay you your bonus a few weeks early” (this is on 13 August)
‒ Pulis received said bonus of £2m and then the very next day decides that he’s had enough and decides to quit (!)
‒ Palace then try to claw back some of the money, and Pulis states that the reason for the change was a “Heated Player’s Meeting” (HPM ©) that coincidentally happened immediately after his receipt of said bonus
‒ The date he claims the meeting happened turns out to be a lie, despite getting 3 other players to back him up
‒ The Judge orders him to pay £3.7m (lol) back to Palace for “deceit”
Aside from the hilarity of a man getting his comeuppance, it leads to a few questions:
‒ Surely Pulis has been earning millions and millions of pounds for many years now as a top flight manager, can he really be that desperate to up his bank account?
‒ More than anything, how on earth did he ever think he’d get away with it?!
‒ [Please insert a gif of Cesc Fabregas shushing Tony Pulis here]
Sandeep (Please please please let HPM become a thing), London
And more on Palace’s immediate future
Reports are emerging today that one Premier League manager has been suffering from singed bum hairs, because Tony Pulis’s pants were on fire. He lost his appeal against a tribunal decision ordering him to pay Crystal Palace back the money he received as a bonus for keeping the club in the Premier League. Judge Sir Michael Burton described Pulis’s standards of conduct as “shown to be disgraceful”, after the original tribunal panel found he had made two fraudulent misrepresentations (over his commitment to the club, and his reasons for needing the payment brought forward). I have a few thoughts:
*As Crystal Palace fan, it’s been a while since we had any sort of victory, so this is excellent news.
*Now Pulis has been found to have acted in a fraudulent manner, will he be subject to FA or Premier League punishment?
*Conspiracy theory time: will it be a case of two birds with one stone, where Pulis’s money goes straight to Alan Pardew?
Dominic Fifield in the Guardian reported last night that Steve Parish would be speaking to Pardew today, with the chairman wanting evidence of a clear plan, and the timing cannot just be coincidental.
*The leading candidates to replace Pardew, according to Fifield, are Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and Roberto Mancini. Allardyce would appear to be the favourite, but I’m not sure whether it would be ironic or hypocritical to appoint a man who lost his last job over, shall we say, being a bit silly with money. If any club is ever going to break his “never been relegated” record, it will be Palace.
Hodgson, on the other hand, did get Fulham out of a Lawrie Sanchez-shaped hole some years ago, and had made good progress with WBA before he took the England job (I think he took them to 10th). He also fits in with Palace’s desire to employ people with connections to the club, as the ex-Malmo boss came through the Glaziers’ youth system (it was before 1973, that was their nickname).
The third candidate is something of a wildcard, although one of Mancini’s best friends and former assistant managers is Palace legend Attilio Lombardo (currently at Torino). He’s clearly the most glamourous option of the three, but this doesn’t automatically make him the best option.
Of course, they could just give it Giggsy ‘til the end of the season.
*Earlier this year (approximately 25 March), someone wrote a piece on the F365 Welcome Guest strand (that needs to come back, not for me though) about how Crystal Palace’s history of doing the right thing – that is, being principled and attempting to have morals – has ultimately hindered the club more than it has helped. Can’t help wondering if something similar will happen this time around too.
Ed Quoththeraven
BOOM
Regarding the Pulis court case:
You’d think he’d have a better defence…
Jay, NY
A message to Pardew
The list of teams that have scored more Premier League goals than Crystal Palace this season: Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal….. that is all.
League position 17. Five straight defeats.
Still think defending is not your style Alan? Wipe that cheese-eating grin off ya Milkybar Kid face, get the cones out and start doing some defensive drills. Ya schmuck.
Pedro, Cambridge
F365 guilty of reverse xenophobia
Is reverse xenophobia at all possible? Is it possible to be too desperate to be seen as open minded that you become close minded to people from your own culture? There are fewer things certain than F365 hammering a white working class English manager whilst defending a foreign one. The difference in Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde’s treatment springs to mind and the desperation to stick it to Pardew has been there for years.
The class thing in my opinion repeatedly shows itself on here. Ironically an example is John Nich’s (a working lass northerner) defence of Bob Bradley, a man who in fairness clearly does deserve a fair crack in the premier league after 20 successful years in football management.
Apparently part of the reason he’s deserving of a job is American football is more middle class and therefore more intelligent, this to me seems a rather snobby dismissal of working class people’s intellectual capacities in Britain.
Rob, Guangzhou
(MC – It’s not that we’re desperate to be seen as open-minded though, it’s that we’re open-minded. Honest. And we’re not ‘hammering a white working class manager’, we’re hammering managers falsely vaunted in certain circles and with big ideas of themselves).