English Football Thread 2012/2013

[puddleduck]

That would be hilarious. I think they should do it.

 

[Skater]

Only issue I have with Nodge winning the FA Youth Cup is that they're celebrating it like it's the bloody World Cup. If they have a parade I will probably die laughing.

We are keeping it real, but with good reason to be very excited about that group of players. Our academy has not produced anyone of note for years - maybe Craig Bellamy was the last one - and the performances they put in during the FA Youth Cup have been fantastic, and the future is bright.

Not to mention we haven't won it for 30 years. Back in 1983, part of the team was Jeremy Goss who scored that brilliant volley against Bayern Munich, probably the club's most famous goal.

Overall winning the Youth Cup has given us extra reason to celebrate in what has been an absolutely brilliant week for the club.

 

[Epic]

Seeing the support he got at the final, he is indeed a god to City fans. Not many managers have managed to get a trophy at City, and that did make Mancini a fan favourite.


And well, I'm with Lee on this issue. The man didn't do a great job, but well, he hardly did a bad job either. He won the title the previous year, and got City close to a trophy this season. And he receives all the stick the moment something goes wrong. Why not blame the players who played like they didn't care for the majority of the season? Or the board who placed pressure on him before the final?

Pellegrini isn't going to work wonders anyway. Wonder what'll happen to him when he has an average season at City.

I'm not too sure if sacking Mancini is the right thing, after thinking about it a bit. Man City have to realise that they're not going to win the league every single year, not with Man Utd, Chelsea and even Arsenal around. Now you have a new man coming in, so you start from scratch all over again instead of building on Mancini's progress.

So from a Utd fan's point of view it's a good thing. Continuity builds success - for that you need look no further than Old Trafford and Sir Alex.

Not at all, I for one as I've said many times before feel managers are over hyped when tesms do well,mand also get to much stick when things go bad where's players escape unscathed.

And I think Chelsea fans who moan about our managers all the time are ridiculous, I don't care if Rafa stays or goes, if it isn't him its only gonna be someone else for a year or 2 then the same old crap will occur

Mancini should have been given more time, simple as that

I think all three of you guys are missing the point in the sense that the new hierarchy were never on the same page with Mancini, and to be frank, they never liked him, much like the players who haven't said a damn thing on his departure, not even a "wish him luck on his future endeavors" from anyone. Compare that to how many players spoke out about Moyes' departure over at Everton and you're left with a damn good explanation as to why Mancini was sacked.

Again, I'm more than grateful for what Mancini has done for our club, he's left a very good squad behind(even though in a bit of turmoil) for whoever comes in and thus a very good platform for said guy to launch us from.

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Man City facing tough Champions League draw again - ESPN FC

Another failure to get beyond the group stages of the CL(which was basically a given with Mancini) and we might as well say good bye to meeting the FFP regulations, because that's big money that we can show for as revenue that won't be at our disposal.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

as someone that really doesn't like man city I am disappointed they got a new manager, as in, it's the right decision for them.

they can't win everything every season but they need to show signs they're improving, they won the league in injury time, by goal difference, along with european failures there has always been a lot of room for improvement under mancini, it's not like 2011-12 was some awesome all conquering season. they played mental attacking football, had some strikers in form while kompany ran the defense by himself.

under mancini everyone has gone backwards or plateaued. silva, toure and kompany were best in the world calibre, this season just pretty good. no one really went up a gear and they looked less inspired going forward. there is pretty much nothing they can take from this season, despite the FA cup final and finishing 2nd. they can't look at an expensive young player and think he's going to become amazing, they can't be sure kompany, silva and toure are going to return to being brilliant, they didn't play fluid amazing attacking football that requires a few tweaks to iron out inconsistencies or defensive laps. they were just less good than last year in every way and they weren't really all that good before.

chelsea and tottenham showed signs of moving forward. maybe arsenal to an extent. man u made a signing that elevated them up a bit from the year before. had things stayed the same city were looking the most likely to drop back, mancini wasn't doing a very good job.

 

[Lee1981]

mancini wasn't doing a very good job.

I agree with this to a certain extent, 1 bad season does not mean you deserve to go, Man utd have gone seasons without winning anything, and no one wanted Sir Alex out, apart from his first year or two

As always the players who are the ones playing crap and not performing well, get away unscathed while the manager who watches the match like us from the side gets the blame.

Crazy world of football.



On the bright side

" We know what we are, champions of Europe we know what we are "

 

[Epic]

But that's Sir Alex, Sir Alex the guy who built Manchester United from the ashes almost, and don't even bother arguing that Mancini built our club from the ashes, because he didn't, the Sheikh did.

And what exactly do you think the manager's job is? Put out what he conceives to be the best XI and make 3 very instinctive changes?

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Another thing, Mancini wasn't sacked on "1 bad season" alone, he had a terrible relationship with both the hierarchy and the players.

 

[Bevab]

But that's Sir Alex, Sir Alex the guy who built Manchester United from the ashes almost, and don't even bother arguing that Mancini built our club from the ashes, because he didn't, the Sheikh did.

And what exactly do you think the manager's job is? Put out what he conceives to be the best XI and make 3 very instinctive changes?

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Another thing, Mancini wasn't sacked on "1 bad season" alone, he had a terrible relationship with both the hierarchy and the players.

Sir Alex didn't build United from the ashes or anything, they were in the top division, he inherited a squad capable of mid-table/top half finishes.


A manager's job ain't selecting the best XI, it certainly wasn't in the past, but with the power swings now, it certainly seems to be. The thing is, nobody in the press or the society is accepting this.

 

[Epic]

Sir Alex didn't build United from the ashes or anything, they were in the top division, he inherited a squad capable of mid-table/top half finishes.

And where are they now? Fighting with the big sharks in Europe as the 3rd biggest club in the world(in terms of revenue).

A manager's job ain't selecting the best XI, it certainly wasn't in the past, but with the power swings now, it certainly seems to be. The thing is, nobody in the press or the society is accepting this.

If that truly was the case(which I don't think is), then too Mancini deserved the sack, because if all the manager's doing is selecting the XI then surely you'd want a guy that you like and more importantly, the players like.

 

[Bevab]

Yes, that's true.

I'm more against the media for blasting the man's achievements and the board who failed to support him during the crucial times and the players who played like they forgot he was the manager.

Part of it maybe was Mancini's fault there, but the players are entitled to their fair share of blame.

And Lee's opinion is the same I guess, he's against the media for treating managers as a powerful tool and making the players seem like minor characters, when in reality they are the ones who hold the power nowadays.

 

[Epic]

Ofc the players are equally to blame, but you can't expect the owner/board to sack the whole squad for 1 man, the manager, and this all ties into power and what not, because all the key figures together(Kompany, Zabaleta, Yaya and Tevez) are always going to out match the manager.

You saw it last year at Chelsea with AVB, you're seeing it now at City with Mancini and you will see it in a few weeks time at Real with Mourinho.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Sir Alex didn't build United from the ashes or anything, they were in the top division, he inherited a squad capable of mid-table/top half finishes.

Yes, but we hadn't won the league for 26 years before Sir Alex' first win. Incidentally, Aberdeen hadn't won the league for 25 years before Sir Alex turned up there, so the man clearly had previous with this sort of thing.

 

[Epic]

Ofc the players are equally to blame, but you can't expect the owner/board to sack the whole squad for 1 man, the manager, and this all ties into power and what not, because all the key figures together(Kompany, Zabaleta, Yaya and Tevez) are always going to out match the manager.

You saw it last year at Chelsea with AVB, you're seeing it now at City with Mancini and you will see it in a few weeks time at Real with Mourinho.

Quoting myself here... but that's where stability comes into it all, Sir Alex was "teh guy" at Manchester United because he had been there for so long and had achieved so much for so long, so the players automatically felt inferior to him and when a player did feel "bigger than the club", he sold them quick, Mancini didn't.

 

[Epic]

Man City's Samir Nasri 'sad' at Roberto Mancini departure - ESPN FC

At last a player who's sad for Mancini's departure, and ofc, it's Mancini's (ex-)punching bag Nasri.

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Manchester City 'plan stadium expansion' - ESPN FC

Does it really cost ?50m for some 6k stands?

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Man City's Samir Nasri 'sad' at Roberto Mancini departure - ESPN FC

At last a player who's sad for Mancini's departure, and ofc, it's Mancini's (ex-)punching bag Nasri.

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Manchester City 'plan stadium expansion' - ESPN FC

Does it really cost ?50m for some 6k stands?

And apparently it'll only increase the capacity to 55,000 or so - I thought the Etihad was easily a 60,000+ already?

 

[Bevab]

Lampard has signed a new contract, good the club realised the need to give him one.