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Football: Mo Please!


AncalagonTheBlack

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26 minutes ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Jardim seems the best choice. Managed to win the league last year with a budget much smaller than PSG (and a much bigger difference between Arsenal and United/City/Chelsea) and take it to the CL semi-finals.

I'm sure he's on the short list. Lots of interesting options for Arsenal to go down. I just hope it's inspired. And from what Gavidis is saying, I think it will be.

1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Congratulations to Wenger on an incredible career with the Gunners.  He is arguably Arsenal’s version of Shankley.  I know Arsenal were big and successful beforehand, but Wenger remade them as an institution and a culture.  Stagnation made it feel like he overstayed, but he won three of the last four FA Cups and has a shot at the EL this year.  Stubbornness can be a positive and a negative in a great manager, and I think his extended stay reflects more on the board’s complacency and priorities.  As I’ve posted before, other than Istanbul, Liverpool fans would happily swap the last 22 years with Arsenal fans. 

It’s a big risk to change manager.  Look at Liverpool post-Dalglish, Utd post-Ferguson or Spurs pre-Pochettino.  Only Chelsea have made it work for them. 

As a squad, Arsenal have a large potential for a new manager bounce (similar to United now but unlike Utd as Moyes arrived), but it’s also a team that could conceivably require huge overhaul.  Cech, Mustafi, Kos, Mertesacker, Chambers, Xhaka, Cazorla all look irretrievably past their best or else far below the level they showed prior to Arsenal.  Bellerin is quality but has declined badly (like Ox had) but, if he stays, could rediscover his form.  Elneny, Wilshire, Holding and Iwobi look like squad players.  So that leaves, what, Auba, Ozil, Lacazette, Ramsey, Monreal, and Mkhitaryan as starters to build the team around, with Kolasinac and M-N as possible starters or squad level.  That’s not a small ask. 

Nope, not a small task but I think just the introduction of structure in the training will add a great deal to the squad in the first year. Szczesny was so surprised that Allegri had Juventus train all week on maintaining the shape for that given game and it really shows in the cohesiveness of their defense. On the flip side, Arsenal never did anything like that and mostly focused on being fit and one touch passing keep away.

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30 minutes ago, Mexal said:

Nope, not a small task but I think just the introduction of structure in the training will add a great deal to the squad in the first year. Szczesny was so surprised that Allegri had Juventus train all week on maintaining the shape for that given game and it really shows in the cohesiveness of their defense. On the flip side, Arsenal never did anything like that and mostly focused on being fit and one touch passing keep away.

That was a shock when former Arsenal players started reporting it.  There’s definitely a lot of room for a bounce under a new manager, from tactics, player motivation and player recruitment.  

As a Liverpool fan, I just have to hope that Arsenal balls it up and find their own version of Juande Ramos or Tim Sherwood.  I’ll be enjoying all the links to Henry, Vieira, Adams, Bould and Arteta for the role.  I think Tuchel is probably best to build on what they have already in talent and style, but it sounds like he and the DoF had a falling out at Dortmund.  Ancelotti will improve them but would be a short term appointment and leave them with the problem of changing manager every two years. 

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Tuchel's going to PSG anyway isn't he? I think Nagelsmann's staying with Hoffenheim next year too otherwise wouldn't he be going to Bayern?

Allegri would obviously be a good choice but Arsenal being in the Champions League next year might help with that, you wouldn't think Allegri would lack for options if he wants to leave Juve.

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17 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I thought PSG had denied those reports. 

Well Unai Emery hasn't officially left yet so they said they haven't 'signed' a deal with a new coach but it seems to be almost universally being reported that Tuchel's going to be the next PSG coach. It's hard to see Arsenal gazumping PSG.

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6 hours ago, Mexal said:

Nah. Maybe Rodgers (I still very much doubt this), but no chance it'll be Henry. 

I don’t think Rodgers would make much sense as one of his biggest issues at Liverpool was his inability to organize a defense. 

I agree Allegri would probably be the best choice but not sure he would leave Juve in the summer. Should make a cheeky offer to Conte when he parts ways with Chelsea in a month :D 

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5 hours ago, Mexal said:

Mislintat and Tuchel dislike each other. Don't see Tuchel coming. Mislintat does like Tedesco and Nagelsmann though.

True, but Mislintat also said he is an employee of Arsenal FC and will act professionally.

Tedesco and Nagelsmann won't be available.

Whoever it will be, I guess we no longer need to look for dog receipes for @Spockydog

:)

In other news. Is Mourinho really trying to offload Pogba this summer?

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36 minutes ago, Notone said:

In other news. Is Mourinho really trying to offload Pogba this summer?



Selling Pogba at this point would be grounds for a sacking. Mourinho can't handle him having a personality (however kitsch you might think that personality is) and is trying to crush it.

eta: though I do think chat that we've set our fee and all this is just clickbait from the papers.

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24 minutes ago, polishgenius said:



Selling Pogba at this point would be grounds for a sacking. Mourinho can't handle him having a personality (however kitsch you might think that personality is) and is trying to crush it.

eta: though I do think chat that we've set our fee and all this is just clickbait from the papers.

I thought Pep said they were offered Pogba in January?  That seems more tangible than the usual clickbait.

if Mourinho and Pogba both stay, I don’t see his situation improving.  The tactics and role in the team won’t suit him, and the gap in his form for Utd vs France and Juventus will continue to attract negative headlines that will make Mourinho even more bitter.  (Potential World Cup winner this summer?). United will be reluctant to sell their Galactico (although DDG is their only true star player) but would prefer to remove this constant source of negative attention.

Selling Pogba isn’t simple either.  It could be like DiMaria: they’ve destroyed some of his market value since they bought him. 

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25 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

if Mourinho and Pogba both stay, I don’t see his situation improving.



No.


That's one of the reasons Mourinho should leave. No player is bigger than the club, but no manager is either, and right now from where I'm looking it's Jose acting like a twat. Yes, there are things Pogba has to sort out himself too, but Mourinho's just not going about it the right way. Like I say, he can't stand a personality other than his own shining.

I mean, there are other reasons- Pogba is just a symptom of the general Mourinho malaise- but on no account should we be allowing Pogba to leave at this stage.

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Unfortunately, Mourinho will not be sacked unless he has his 3rd season meltdown. The board likely want a period of stability after Moyes and LVG. Mourinho has also been good in the transfer market and has strengthened our squad but thus far has failed to get the most out of the players at his disposal.

And, no, I don't think Pogba's market value has been eroded since joining United. Pogba is a bigger talent and a far, far more marketable figure than Di Maria ever was and while Woodward might not be a "proper football man" he knows his shit when it comes to the commercial side of things. Pogba is a very valuable asset to United both on and off the pitch so even in the unlikely event that we are prepared to sell, it will not be for less than what we paid.

Someone will probably need to fork over Coutinho money (or more) which severely limits the options (PSG or Real Madrid are probably the only two realistic candidates as I don't see us ever agreeing to sell to City) with PSG being the most realistic option since there were reports at one time saying that Fiorentino Perez refuses to do business with Raiola.

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5 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Jardim seems the best choice. Managed to win the league last year with a budget much smaller than PSG (and a much bigger difference between Arsenal and United/City/Chelsea) and take it to the CL semi-finals.

I agree with Jardim as the best candidate for the Arsenal job. 

Whoever takes on the Arsenal job won’t be taking on a team sitting pretty. They haven’t contested in the league in a long time, and are slipping further away from the league leaders each season. 

The manager who takes over will have to try close that gap without being able to spend the kind of money the Manchester are capable of spending - two teams that are already ahead of them. 

Despite the fact the gap between Monaco and PSG when Jardim took over wasn’t as big as the current gap between Arsenal and Man City, Jardim still has experience in beating an extremely wealthy rival, having won the French championship last season against PSG. 

Gazidis mentioned today the importance of a manager who will continue to give youth a chance. Jardim helped develop players like Mbappe, Lemar, Bakayoko, Mendy, Bernardo Silva. Granted, not all those players came through the youth system at Monaco, but they were all young when Monaco signed them. 

Arsenal are a club that talk a lot about their ‘philosophy’. Gazidis went on about it today, stating how Wenger won with ‘perfection’. He also said he will look for a manager ‘who will continue to play exciting, progressive football.’ 

This is what makes me doubt Allegri as a potential Arsenal manager. His Juventus team are extremely effective, but it would be a stretch to say they play the same brand of football Wenger’s Arsenal teams of old played, for example.

 

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As a neutral, Wenger in the pomp of his career gave me exciting sides to watch and encouraged wonderful talent to shine. Perhaps more importantly, pretty much every player he's managed speaks incredibly highly of him as a person. They talk about how he trusted them on the pitch, and for all that you can argue that trait (along with loyalty) turned bad and explains some of Arsenal's later struggles, I'd rather have a manager that trusted his players than one that stifles them and then throws them under a bus. But also, Wenger's players talk about how he mentored them, talked to them and gave them advice about their lives.

Even if his revolution turned a bit stale by the end, we should remember how exciting it was, and appreciate that he cared about his players as people. Trophies are the obvious token of success in a manager's career, but they're not the only one, and sometimes it's as important to be a good person as it is to rack up silverware.

1 hour ago, Consigliere said:

Pogba is a very valuable asset to United both on and off the pitch so even in the unlikely event that we are prepared to sell, it will not be for less than what we paid.

I am sceptical. I think the market for Pogba is a buyer's market, frankly.

1 hour ago, Consigliere said:

The board likely want a period of stability after Moyes and LVG.

If so, appointing a man who in his whole career has never lasted more than three seasons in any job was a strange move.

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10 hours ago, mormont said:

I am sceptical. I think the market for Pogba is a buyer's market, frankly.

It really isn't. 

10 hours ago, mormont said:

If so, appointing a man who in his whole career has never lasted more than three seasons in any job was a strange move.

Well 3-4 years would be a a period of stability especially if he builds a strong squad which he has done.

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25 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

It really isn't.

You said yourself that there are a limited number of potential buyers. Two, in fact. Neither of those teams is particularly strongly motivated to buy Pogba right at the moment. That's a classic example of a buyer's market: a limited number of buyers who are not well motivated to spend. If United want to sell, they'll have a hard time driving a good bargain.

25 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

Well 3-4 years would be a a period of stability especially if he builds a strong squad which he has done.

But we were discussing whether he'd be sacked next season, which will be his third year. You think he won't, unless he melts down, and cited the need for 'a period of stability'. If you're now saying 3 years is long enough to qualify as 'a period of stability', that argument falls down, surely?

Mind you, I'm not sure what even qualifies as 'stability' in modern managerial terms. The average is now something like two and a half years, which isn't really long enough to count IMO.

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1 hour ago, mormont said:

You said yourself that there are a limited number of potential buyers. Two, in fact. Neither of those teams is particularly strongly motivated to buy Pogba right at the moment. That's a classic example of a buyer's market: a limited number of buyers who are not well motivated to spend. If United want to sell, they'll have a hard time driving a good bargain.

That's why I also mentioned "in the unlikely event that United are prepared to sell" and "Pogba is a valuable asset both on and off the pitch". There is no evidence to suggest that United are prepared to sell and Pogba is not even 2 years into a 5 year contract plus an option the extend for a further year. We certainly will not be selling Pogba for less than what we paid especially in this post Neymar-Mbappe-Coutinho-Dembele transfer market. 

 

1 hour ago, mormont said:

But we were discussing whether he'd be sacked next season, which will be his third year. You think he won't, unless he melts down, and cited the need for 'a period of stability'. If you're now saying 3 years is long enough to qualify as 'a period of stability', that argument falls down, surely?

Mind you, I'm not sure what even qualifies as 'stability' in modern managerial terms. The average is now something like two and a half years, which isn't really long enough to count IMO.

I'd say that 3 years or more is managerial stability in the modern game especially at the big/wealthy clubs. 

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