Consigliere

Tbf, he did win the league with PSG in his first full season. Won the Coupe de France the season before but had only joined in January.

The PL has promised to fast track these cases and have it sorted out before the season ends.

They have been charged with breaching PSR for the accounting period ending June 2023 as well. That hearing is in April so they might be getting another points deduction (along with Forest).

The big advantage that Barca does have is that even if they are rubbish, they will still qualify for the CL so can reliably count on that revenue stream. Unlike in the PL where if one of the traditional big boys are rubbish, they promptly drop out of the top 4.

Caicedo should've gotten a straight red card for that challenge. Textbook serious foul play.

And the fixture list is about to become more congested with the expanded group phase in European competitions and the expanded club world cup.

Might have something to do with a crammed fixture list last season in order to accommodate a December WC. eta. preseasons becoming marketing campaigns involving extensive travel probably doesn't help either.

Hojlund out for 2–3 weeks with a muscle injury.

Reports that Mbappé will be on similar wages as Vinícius Jr and Bellingham but will also receive a signing bonus between €100m and €150m which will be paid over 5 years.

Season 4 premieres on June 13. https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/the-boys-season-4-premiere-date-1235919195/

Some good news on that front. There are reports saying that his injury is minor and he's expected to be back for the game against Genoa or Bologna at the latest. Just checked. The draw for the QFs and SFs will only take place on March 15.

Inter are looking good. They are playing some really good football but their finishing (in the CL anyway) has been diabolical. They fluff so many chances. They basically played Atleti off the park and should've won that game 3-0. If they can sort themselves out in the final third then I think there's a good chance we get a repeat of last year's final. eta. unless they are on the same side of the draw as City. Haven't checked.

Porto did a great job at slowing down the game, disrupting Arsenal and killing any kind of momentum. But, man, that was a terrible game to watch. Switched over to the Napoli/Barca game and that was also awful. Don't think I'll be watching the return legs. I also expect Porto will be dialing up the spoiler tactics to 11.

Yet he was still widely regarded as the best manager in world football at the time of joining City. So his reputation couldn't have suffered all that much.

It really didn't.

Reports that both Nunez and Salah will miss tonight's game against Luton.

Reports that Shaw could be out for the rest of the season and might miss the Euros as well.

Breakdown of the new CL format. https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0268-12157d69ce2d-9f011c70f6fa-1000--new-format-for-champions-league-post-2024-everything-you-ne/

Guardiola failing to win the CL with Bayern didn't do his reputation any damage. I think Bayern's fans and board value domestic trophies more than, say, PSG's does. It's not Champion's League or bust with them as it seemingly is with PSG.

I don't think Liverpool are a more attractive destination than Bayern. They've not been good this season by their standards but Bayern remains a top 3 most coveted manager job in football imo. I can see arguments for both clubs though. He'd have a more stable environment at Liverpool and would probably be given more time if things don't click immediately but he'd also face much stiffer competition domestically - Klopp has done a great job at Liverpool but since joining in October 2016 2015, its translated into 1 league title, 1 FA cup and 1 carabao cup (so far) domestically. He'd be under more pressure off the bat at Bayern and have to deal with 'Hollywood FC' but in some ways its a safer job with a better chance of bagging more trophies and elevating his reputation. He’d be inheriting the strongest squad in the league by a fair distance and have the biggest budget in the league by an even bigger distance.

Bayern and Tuchel have reached an agreement to terminate his contract at the end of the season. https://fcbayern.com/de/news/2024/02/fc-bayern-und-thomas-tuchel-beenden-zusammenarbeit-im-sommer

Premier League calls emergency club meeting in race to agree New Deal. https://news.sky.com/story/premier-league-calls-emergency-club-meeting-in-race-to-agree-new-deal-13076035

Palace confirm Glasner's appointment as manager. https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/announcement/oliver-glasner-appointed-crystal-palace-manager/