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Football: Sheikh your Money Maker


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Liverpool did a beautiful number on Watford. They had several very good chances that really should have gone in before they scored 1-0. They are certainly the most enjoyable team to watch, though it would be nice if Chelsea ( of all teams!) would give them a run for their money in that regard.

 

 

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I just got to watch the Liverpool game.  For a match-up of 4th vs 7th, there was a huge gulf between the teams.  

Big positives: Lallana bounced back to his recent best, Danny looked great In his ~20 minutes, Karius was very solid and made some good saves.  But the best thing is the overall play by the collective, creating quality chances and limiting the opposition to very little. 

Minor negatives: Can a bit rusty still but improving, Milner was baited into a wrestling clinch with Amrabat that allowed them to score.  The biggest negative though was Andy Townsend in the commentary box, but harsh to blame the team for that. 

I know they won't all be days like this but I'll enjoy it while it's here. 

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Hey LooN, seems like ages since I saw you here.  I hope you're doing well. 

 

It's noticeable that the traditional big teams have bounced back strongly this season.  This time last year we had Leicester, Watford and West Ham near the the top.  But what stands out for me is that the bigger clubs have mostly leveled up by acquiring the best managerial talent rather than acquiring lots of players.  Apart from United, the big teams didn't buy that much during the season and it's managerial talent that's really setting them apart.  Hopefully it'll raise expectations of coaching and tactics throughout the English game. 

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16 hours ago, Lord Friendzone said:

Don't be grumpy because your team is second best in your own city and inferior. There'll be better days 

Man, this level of "banter" is acceptable only if you're in your early teens or younger.

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1 hour ago, mormont said:

I see Mourinho's wasting no time. He's done the bad results, now he's already moving on to losing the dressing room: next up, getting fired.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37891986

That piece just points to a really toxic nature and gross managerial incompetence.

In other words, classic Mourinho. No one wanted him at United, and now here he is, fucking it up, poisoning what good atmosphere was left.

 

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Typical Mourinho. This guy just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. I cringe every time he's being interviewed. It's okay to feel that certain players are lacking the commitment he expects but for God's sake keep that matter internal. It is not okay to go blabbing to the press, giving them more ammunition to use against the club and potentially creating a toxic atmosphere in the dressing room. You don't hear this sort of nonsense coming out of City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs or Liverpool.

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5 minutes ago, MercurialCannibal said:

Come now. that is hardly true. banter is always ok. ;)

Banter is ok, but it needs to be better.

There's no need to go for the low hanging fruit. Put some effort in it.

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4 hours ago, Consigliere said:

Typical Mourinho. This guy just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. I cringe every time he's being interviewed. It's okay to feel that certain players are lacking the commitment he expects but for God's sake keep that matter internal. It is not okay to go blabbing to the press, giving them more ammunition to use against the club and potentially creating a toxic atmosphere in the dressing room. You don't hear this sort of nonsense coming out of City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs or Liverpool.

In fairness, Klopp made some comments last year about Sturridge needing to recognize the difference between pain that is just pain, and pain that means you are injured and shouldn't play.  But I think it turned out pretty well because he followed it with positive action by putting Danny on an individual "pre-season" program to improve his fitness, didn't rush him back to play before he was fit, plus he silenced the media speculation on Danny and his injuries and showed the player that he needed to be held to the same high professional standards as everyone else.

Mourinho, on the other hand, just throws players under the bus to create an atmosphere of fear.

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15 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Mourinho, on the other hand, just throws players under the bus to create an atmosphere of fear.

Mourinho seems unable to grasp the possibility that he's the one to blame. Sure, there are players who play and even excel when playing at less than 100% but the ones who do that for managers that treats them the way Mourinho treats his players are very few.

I'm certain quite a few players played with light injuries for Ferguson without complaint, but Ferguson has treated his players differently. He was definitely not coddling his players, but I don't remember him ever talking such crap about any player to the press.

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Ferguson, at least from the outside, was a master at keeping matters internal. To the press, we'd hear about everything going wrong, from the referee, to the opposition, to the colour of the kit, and just about everything inbetween, but never (well, I can't really remember, but almost never) about any individual player. 

Internally, I guess the tone was different. Point being, obviously, that you create an "us versus them"-feeling - the team fights together. Sure, we'll have disagreements, but they are internal, and strengthens the "us", rather than make some of "us" a part of "them". 

Mourinho ... long may he reign!

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18 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

In fairness, Klopp made some comments last year about Sturridge needing to recognize the difference between pain that is just pain, and pain that means you are injured and shouldn't play.  But I think it turned out pretty well because he followed it with positive action by putting Danny on an individual "pre-season" program to improve his fitness, didn't rush him back to play before he was fit, plus he silenced the media speculation on Danny and his injuries and showed the player that he needed to be held to the same high professional standards as everyone else.

Mourinho, on the other hand, just throws players under the bus to create an atmosphere of fear.

I vaguely recall Klopp saying something like that but I guess it comes down to how it is said. I don't believe that Klopp unfavourably compared Sturridge to another player in the squad unlike what Mourinho has done here where the clear implication is that Blind is willing to put the team first despite not being 100% fit whereas Smalling and Shaw aren't, publicly calling their commitment into question.

Simply saying that Smalling and Shaw were not fit enough to play would have sufficed - there was absolutely no reason to even open the door. For such an experienced manager, Mourinho does not handle interviews well. I had hoped that he would have learned from his mistakes at Real and Chelsea but obviously he hasn't.

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2 hours ago, Rorshach said:

Internally, I guess the tone was different. Point being, obviously, that you create an "us versus them"-feeling - the team fights together. 

The funny  thing is that Mourinho used to be praised for being good at this very thing, no matter how controversial he got. It's one thing to have a war of words with Wenger and another with your players.

He sounds like some crotchety old man tbh. "Fighting through the pain" is not a good idea for multimillion pound investments with 50 fixtures a year (plus whatever you squeeze out of the Asian/American market when they should be resting). After the Caneiro thing he should really stop letting inconveniences get to him.

But I don't think he even realizes why this might come off badly to some people. He may legitimately see it as a matter-of-fact piece of advice. Which is a serious perceptual problem for him

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