Football: Attempting to stay ahead (in your) City.

[Consigliere]

Decent enough performance. We were fortunate with the penalty call and Everton did create some good chances but we also created enough good chances to have put the game out of reach. Thought we deserved to win this game. Pogba played well except for that bit that led to Everton's penalty which really sums up Pogba in a nutshell - he can be playing very well then out of the blue do something so utterly inexplicable that it leaves you wanting to pull your hair out. How ironic that the two players Mourinho has pissed off the most - Martial and Pogba - have been our best players and are keeping Mourinho in the job. 

Mourinho did the right thing by dropping Sanchez and Lukaku and bringing in Fred. Fred had his best game for us against Wolves only for Mourinho to bin him for no discernible reason - his off the ball movement, passing range and pressing ability made a difference today. Mata has also made a difference since coming back into the team - he's such a clever player and just knits everything together. It's a shame that he seems to have lost whatever pace he had and it sometimes looks like he's moving in slow motion.

Mourinho now needs to drop Matic. Herrera should come in if he wants more defensive cover or Pereira for better playmaking. Matic, Sanchez and Lukaku have been the biggest under performers this season and all three should be made to earn their place. 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

22 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I was thinking Arsenal might have earned a “magical Unaicorn” in the title, but perhaps that would have been a jinx. 

Yes, that would have been a good title. But like I said, nobody was bothered enough to open it, so you will eat what's on the table, eh in the title. :) And for as long as you post in my thread, yadda, yadda, yadda. :) (fill in platitude of your choice here)

1 hour ago, Disturber of Peace said:

Barca scored 5 against Real. 

That should be it for Lopetegui. If the scoreline had not been so bad he would have more of a chance.  

Yep.

Anyway, with regards to German football. It was a dark day, as I jinxed my own team (we are going full circle here with the thread title theme).

In the uninteresting top tier, it looks like the Leverkusen team has done enough to get Herrlich's head off the chopping block for now. Proper demolotion of Werder.

[Iskaral Pust]

1 hour ago, Consigliere said:

Mourinho now needs to drop Matic. Herrera should come in if he wants more defensive cover or Pereira for better playmaking. Matic, Sanchez and Lukaku have been the biggest under performers this season and all three should be made to earn their place. 

Is Matic in decline or is he just over-worked and rushed back from injury?

Last season Chelsea looked stupid to sell Matic and replace with Bakayoko, Drinkwater and Barkley.  And two of three are unlikely to ever come good for them.  But the main issue is Matic’ longevity.  If he declines sharply now then Chelsea were right; if he just needs a rest to regain his form and can sustain it for another couple of seasons, then they were wrong. 

[Iskaral Pust]

10 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

Matic was poor in Mourinho's last year at Chelsea, if I remember correctly. He bounced back well under Conte though.

Yes, he was a solid part of a title win under Conte and then immediately improved United’s MF last year.  He would not get a game under Sarri, but it was strange for Conte to sell him unless there were concerns about his age. 

[Consigliere]

1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Is Matic in decline or is he just over-worked and rushed back from injury?

I don't think Matic is in decline and age shouldn't be an issue either - the guy only turned 30 in August. I'd say that it's a combination of him being rushed back from injury and him needing a rest. Mourinho played Matic into the ground last season (he even played for about a month with a thigh injury because Mourinho asked him to), then it was the WC after which he underwent surgery and didn't take any part in preseason. He had only returned to training on the Wednesday before we played Spurs, played that entire game and has been playing ever since.

Edit.

Quote

but it was strange for Conte to sell him unless there were concerns about his age. 

IIRC, Conte didn't want to sell him and was upset over the decision.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 hour ago, Soylent Brown said:

Matic was poor in Mourinho's last year at Chelsea, if I remember correctly. He bounced back well under Conte though.

He was too young and inexperienced for Mourinho that year. Remember, Matic was what 26, back then. We all know, Mourinho prefers older more experienced players of no less than 29 years of age.

[kairparavel]

Leicester's owner confirmed dead along with the four other people on board. So awful.

 

[Iskaral Pust]

That is horrible.  I think we all feared the worst when the image of the fireball was broadcast. 

 

[baxus]

16 hours ago, Disturber of Peace said:

Even though Conte is the highest profile manager that is free atm and there are rumors Real already made some unofficial agreement with him I would not be surprised if today's events make Perez decide to make some sort of a big statement and make a huge bid for Poch.  

I remember reading somewhere that Conte is still under contract with Chelsea. If that is the case, I don't think he's free to even talk to other clubs, let alone make any deals, official or otherwise.

EDIT:

@A Horse Named Stranger

I have been to only one Belgrade derby in my life, when I was 10 or something like that. It's been a fun experience, but the flares created so much smoke that I missed huge chunks of the match. Still remember the score though (3-2 for Crvena Zvezda at home). While the football was worth watching, tickets were hard to come by (even before the stadia capacity was reduced by switching to seats instead of stands). When tickets became easier to get, the football went to shit.

At the moment, I don't see any reason to watch those matches so I don't even watch it on TV. If it weren't for some of my friends (Partizan supporters) and media trying to hype the event like it's a World Cup finals, I probably wouldn't know it's taking place.

I guess it's an interesting event for a foreigner, though.

[Consigliere]

1 hour ago, baxus said:

I remember reading somewhere that Conte is still under contract with Chelsea. If that is the case, I don't think he's free to even talk to other clubs, let alone make any deals, official or otherwise.

I think it will be like the situation with Sarri where his contract wasn't cancelled and the club were still paying him his monthly wages. If Real Madrid want Conte then they will have to pay compensation to Chelsea. All the reliable journos for Real Madrid are reporting that Conte is expected to take over sometime this week.

[Consigliere]

Looks like the situation at Real Madrid has changed. Jose Luis Sanchez now reporting that Conte is no longer an option and Santiago Solari is set to take over as interim manager. 

[Mme Erzulie]

17 hours ago, Consigliere said:

I don't think Matic is in decline and age shouldn't be an issue either - the guy only turned 30 in August. I'd say that it's a combination of him being rushed back from injury and him needing a rest. Mourinho played Matic into the ground last season (he even played for about a month with a thigh injury because Mourinho asked him to), then it was the WC after which he underwent surgery and didn't take any part in preseason. He had only returned to training on the Wednesday before we played Spurs, played that entire game and has been playing ever since.

Edit.

IIRC, Conte didn't want to sell him and was upset over the decision.

What a prick.

And Lopetegui has had a rough couple of months.

[Consigliere]

Just now, Mme Erzulie said:

What a prick.

I recall John Terry also saying that he played injured many times under Mourinho and used to just receive pain injections before the game. Mourinho loves players who do this and that's why he has so much faith in Matic. Mourinho had also criticised the mentality of Smalling and Jones last season because they would not agree to play injured - Smalling was still recovering from a knee injury and the protective knee brace was only removed a week before and Jones had a broken toe.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

18 hours ago, Consigliere said:

Mourinho played Matic into the ground last season (he even played for about a month with a thigh injury because Mourinho asked him to), then it was the WC after which he underwent surgery and didn't take any part in preseason.

 

1 hour ago, Mme Erzulie said:

What a prick. 

To be fair, or in Mourinho's defense (never thought I'd say that), but that's pretty much common practice in professional football. You can say, it's a shitty system, that operates that way, which is correct, but this one is clearly not down to Mourinho being a horrible human being.

Remember the story about Ivan Klasnic and his kidney transplants, I posted in the previous thread? That was also in part down to him playing with painkillers, because that's what expected. There was also some TV documenatry a good while ago (I only recall it, as I am writing this post), in which former team doctors were also pretty open to use off getting players thru matches with painkillers. They made a case, that they don't use them on muscular injuries iirc, as that is just not working. But for ligaments, bruises etc. it's pretty common practice. Ofc course this entire mechanism gets worse the more competitive games, with less time for recovery there is between games. Cue. Klopp's comment of attempting to press the last drops of juice out of that orange (I think that was the metaphor he used).

As for the managers (like Mourinho), they need results or they are out, and they are just more likely to get results with their best players being available. So there's also pressure on them to field their strongest players (unfit or not) week in week out. As for the players, if they are not willing to swallow their pills, the guy next to them will. And a Messi, Hazard, Salah, C. Ronaldo, Özil, Pogba (or Matic in this case), are simply not worth that much if they only played likesay 15-20 games a year, instead of over 40. And that's also reflected on their contracts.

If you want, you can do a small fun experiment. When you happen to run into a former player, just ask them in how many games they played without any pain whatsoever.

[ljkeane]

Eriksen, Son and Alli all on the bench for Spurs. Bit of a surprise. I’ll be interested to see how Spurs play today, I think pressing City’s the best way to beat them but it is high risk and it’s gone wrong for Spurs a couple of times.

Some fairly negative comments from Pochettino in the lead up to the game about the club’s ambition too.

[Disturber of Peace]

This NFL game looks weird. 

[Iskaral Pust]

1 hour ago, ljkeane said:

Eriksen, Son and Alli all on the bench for Spurs. Bit of a surprise. I’ll be interested to see how Spurs play today, I think pressing City’s the best way to beat them but it is high risk and it’s gone wrong for Spurs a couple of times.

Some fairly negative comments from Pochettino in the lead up to the game about the club’s ambition too.

His comments in the press briefing were pretty strange.  He has been parroting the company/Levy line for months and then he suddenly took a dark turn.  Just as the Madrid job comes available.

Very strange that Sissoko is playing ahead of Eriksen.  Perhaps he's not yet fit enough to press City for a full game.  Moura and Lamela have been in better form lately than Son and Alli.

[ljkeane]

You probably don’t want to hand City a soft early goal.

[Consigliere]

Lopetegui has been sacked. Solari will take charge as interim manager.

[Iskaral Pust]

1 hour ago, Consigliere said:

Lopetegui has been sacked. Solari will take charge as interim manager.

Sacked twice in five months and missed the WC he worked toward for two years.  I bet he's regretting ever taking that call from Perez.

Spurs still only behind by that soft early goal.  So frustrating for all of us who wanted a draw tonight.