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Football - To Russia with Löw


Philokles

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3 hours ago, baxus said:

Yeah, I know about that smoking and drinking stuff.

Still, Martinez not fancying him doesn't mean that the next Belgium manager wouldn't fancy him.

If that happens, and the the guy that follows Martinez puts his name on the list, Nainggolan saying he retired won't mean anything just like it didn't for Matip.

If Martinez has a crap WC and ends up sacked, it wouldn't surprise me if Nainggolan then did a u turn and made himself available for selection again.

The Matip case was an unusual incident. Usually national federations just accept a player's decision to call it quits. At least, off the top of my head, I can't recall another case where a player announced international retirement but ended up being selected anyway. 

 

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I don't see not being fluent in english as a deal breaker. Poch wasn't fluent when he arrived at Southampton and I wouldn't say that Conte is fluent in english either. Both haven't done too badly. I think Emery is a better choice than Arteta for now. Arsenal need an experienced head to steady the ship. 

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47 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Wait, what?

When Maxi Lopez and Icardi were at Sampdoria together they were good friends. But after Lopez cheated on his wife, she left him for Icardi. Mauro then went off to Inter and effectively adopted his children. Maxi didn’t take it well and has refused to shake Icardi’s hand whenever they have played and turned all his friends - including Messi, who was at Barca with him, and a bunch of other senior Argentina players against Mauro. That is why he went about five years without an international call-up, as Messi vetoed it, until Sampaoli restored him briefly.

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2 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said:

But after Lopez cheated on his wife, she left him for Icardi.


I've never heard that it was Lopez who cheated. Everything I've ever read said it was Wanda and Icardi who were cheating together which is how come they got married immediately after the breakup, coz they were already planning it.

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6 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Argentina’s midfield looks well below average. Cant see them getting far. 

That was true last time and Mascherano carried them through to the final.  He was almost single-handedly the entire MF and defense while they waited for one of the forwards to score, especially in the early games when Messi was sitting on the bench until quite late.  I doubt Mascherano can do it all again, especially four years older, but he along with Banega and DiMaria would be a solid MF three, with Lanzini and Biglia as back-up, and possibly have Dybala and Messi playing as withdrawn forwards and Aguero up front in a 4-3-2-1, with Higuain as back-up and Icardi unfortunately omitted.  Or move to a 3-4-2-1 and push DiMaria and Dybala wide of Mascherano and Benega if they want another attacker (seems like an overload).  Or a 3-5-2 with Lanzini added to the middle for more possession.

That's a pretty decent line-up, albeit lacking depth if anyone gets hurt.  The bigger problem is the defense and GK where Otamendi is the best player, Rojo has hardly played all season, and Sergio Romero is still the first choice GK.

I have a soft spot for the Argies at the WC.  I know they used to be a dirty team but in the last 3-4 WCs they've played some very nice football.  I know they struggled badly in qualifying and I have very low expectations for them, but the team isn't much different from the one that reached the final last time, just that the main players are all four years older/slower/wiser.

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Emery seems like a very good choice for Arsenal, certainly with more pedigree than Arteta.  But questions remain whether his EL cup success at Sevilla can be translated elsewhere.  It's hard to judge his PSG success in a weak league after Monaco were gutted of their stars, and his league finishes with Sevilla were solid rather than spectacular (and below his league finishes with Valencia).  And it's hard to know how much credit should go to Emery versus Monchi at Sevilla.

Even so, his PSG and Sevilla teams both played very good football with good tactical shape and strategy, and he has plenty of experience against top teams and man-managing some very good players.  

The reported transfer budget of 50m looks like a challenge to over-haul that defense and possibly CMF, but they have great attacking options to work with.

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7 hours ago, mormont said:

Well, you have to understand that the priority is for Mourinho to win a trophy next season to help him get a new job. If that means wasting tens of millions of his employers' money, so be it. 

Yep. Since Mourinho's teams play shit football, he can't get hired by people that want spectacle or flair, much less people that want harmony in the club or improve it's brand by having a well-liked manager, so his only chance of getting the next big club is winning at all costs, so he can be hired by someone that hasn't won a CL or League in a while.

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1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Emery seems like a very good choice for Arsenal, certainly with more pedigree than Arteta.  But questions remain whether his EL cup success at Sevilla can be translated elsewhere.  It's hard to judge his PSG success in a weak league after Monaco were gutted of their stars, and his league finishes with Sevilla were solid rather than spectacular (and below his league finishes with Valencia).  And it's hard to know how much credit should go to Emery versus Monchi at Sevilla.

Even so, his PSG and Sevilla teams both played very good football with good tactical shape and strategy, and he has plenty of experience against top teams and man-managing some very good players.  

The reported transfer budget of 50m looks like a challenge to over-haul that defense and possibly CMF, but they have great attacking options to work with.

They'll have to sell some people. Lots of dead weight on the team.

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1 hour ago, Mexal said:

They'll have to sell some people. Lots of dead weight on the team.

Other than Bellerin, I don’t see big fees coming in for any of the players they might shed. Wilshire and Ramsey are both late in their contracts, plus injury prone.  I’d take Ramsey at Liverpool but the fee would have to reflect his situation — but he’s the one I expect Arsenal want to keep if he’ll sign a new contract.  Kos, Per, Chambers, Cech, Coq, Elneny, Cazorla (already released?) won’t bring in good fees and Mustafi has depreciated.  I assume they’ll stick with Xhaka.  That’s a lot of players to replace or upgrade on a small budget.  Realistically, I doubt you’ll see more than 3-4 of those actually depart, especially with a shorter transfer window and a WC.  At the same time, Utd will be in the market for CBs and MFs, Spurs will probably chase a new CB, Everton have new money for CBs and MFs, Liverpool may need a CB and will need a MF.  Only the GK market is relatively uncontested.  

All the spending went on Ozil, Lacazette, Mkhi and Auba.  And considering the departures of Sanchez and Giroud it wasn’t even that much of a net spend.  But now they’re pleading penury for the rest of the squad.  Perhaps it’s just a gambit to keep asking prices lower.

 

 

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I have to say I'm quite surprised by Emery as his name was not in the initial list of candidates. However, I suppose they did want someone to be appointed early and it would have been a drawn-out saga to get Allegri or many of the others. So from that point of view, it's good that (if the rumours are true) they've settled on a successor fairly quickly and painlessly. Low was never going to be available early enough with the World Cup coming up, Ancelotti would only be a caretaker choice, Allegri would have needed some persuading and it could have been a long drawn-out affair, and Jardim doesn't have big-time experience, Arteta even less. So on that I could see why they went for Emery.

I don't know much about Emery's footballing style, but at least he has some experience with managing star players and he has winning experience. The question mark is how much that winning experience translates to a much more competitive and crowded Premier League. I don't see the English language as too much of a problem. If anything that might help him keep the press away (like Poch) and concentrate on the football.

Emery will start with a lot of goodwill since he isn't Wenger, and it's an attractive job because I don't think the expectations are sky high. I think most Arsenal fans would be more than happy with a top 4 finish next season. The main thing we'll want to see is some progress with the defence and some signs of being able to win big games, preferably both at the same time...

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In the looming context of Mikel Arteta, I'm absolutely delighted with Emery's appointment.

Despite Ian Wright's bleating, the guy is a proper manager. Tactician, disciplinarian, winner. Just what we need.

Here's a good piece by Amy Lawrence.

Quote

 

Arsenal’s players will return to London Colney for the new season to find an environment with cranked-up demands and expectations.

Emery’s nature is to be meticulous, tactically smart, with a disciplinarian streak. He is minded to push his players. After a long time listening to the same manager, Arsenal’s squad will soon learn that there is no room for any complacency, for allowing themselves to go through any motions. They can also expect to be drilled into a more intense and resilient style. The force of an attitude shock, exactly what they need, will be felt.

 

 

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Emery also likes to play with a high press and on the counter which should suit Arsenal. Plus he likes to use ball winning CMs in his preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 so he might actually look to sign a CDM which Arsenal has been crying out for. The rumoured budget of 50 million + player sales might be a cause for concern but Emery is used to getting the best out of what he has with a limited budget. 

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12 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

The rumoured budget of 50 million + player sales might be a cause for concern but Emery is used to getting the best out of what he has with a limited budget.  

This might be where Emery's experience in working within a managerial structure comes in handy.

£50m + what they recoup on sales doesn't seem much in this market, but Sven Mislintat seems to have a keen eye for identifying talented players on affordable prices. Emery, having worked alongside Monchi at Sevilla, should be well prepared for working in an environment where recruitment isn't entirely up to him, either.

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