2019/20 Soccer Thread

Damn it. This is not going as hoped. Berhalter has probably got himself another 3 months of time if this result sticks.

I should have known better. Every time expectations get raised a little bit this happens.

Huh.

Well, to be fair, anything less than a Germany-Brazil result probably wouldn't have gotten Berhalter fired.

Prederick wrote:

Huh.

Well, to be fair, anything less than a Germany-Brazil result probably wouldn't have gotten Berhalter fired.

True dat.

Greg Berhalter
Job Security
Untouchable

To summarize, your brother feels you are doing an unbelievable job and you clearly are putting a smile on his face. Long may it last.

Prederick wrote:

Bless non-league football.

This guy was not going to be guilty of a slow rolling easy save.

Mauricio Pochettino is out at Spurs.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy: "We were extremely reluctant to make this change and it is not a decision the board has taken lightly, nor in haste.

“Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.

“It falls to the board to make the difficult decisions - this one made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with Mauricio and his coaching staff - but we do so in the club's best interests."

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Mauricio Pochettino is out at Spurs.

No way! Really? Wow! That's huge!

What a crazy year. At the beginning of the year, I would have put him in my top-5 most secure managers.

So, next question...

Where does he land? Man United was craving him, right? Would they consider dumping Solskaer to get him now? That'd be harsh to Ole, but if I were the Man Utd owner, I'd probably do so in a heartbeat.

Wow. If Spurs have a replacement lined up I understand getting rid of Poch; outside of the Champions League run the team has't been right for nearly a year now.

Did think he'd get some more time though, and that he'd be able to turn things around.

Mind blown.

I'll take him at Arsenal. We won't also just kick him to the curb like Spurs.

Hope it's Mourinho that lands there.

This could be one big game of Manager Dominos! Cool!

Loooks like they might well be lining up Mourhino as the replacement. I cannot see Spurs fans being happy with that. At All.

Sorbicol wrote:

Loooks like they might well be lining up Mourhino as the replacement. I cannot see Spurs fans being happy with that. At All.

Hahahaha. That's funny. Good one.

Wait, this is real too?

I need to lay off the Football Manager. Clearly I've woken up in some alternate Football Manager universe.

Sorbicol wrote:

Loooks like they might well be lining up Mourhino as the replacement. I cannot see Spurs fans being happy with that. At All.

As a not-Spurs-fan, I can't remember the last time I wanted something more than this.

2019-20: Tottenham plays unspectacularly but better under Mourhino, rising to a respectable top-6 finish.
2020-21: Tottenham bursts onto the scene, dancing around the top-4 and finishing 4th. Tottenham fans miss all this because they can't stay awake at matches.
2021-22: Tottenham collapses, Mourhino fired at midpoint.

I'd change 2020-21 to "Tottenham challenge for the title and have another fantastic European run", but otherwise spot-on.

You guys are very optimistic.

19-20 Mourinho spends rest season picking fights with Pep and Klopp. They ignore him.
Summer 2020 Ericksen walks.
Mourinho realizes Levy won't pony up £££ and he starts the digs in the media.
Armageddon for Spurs.
At least they have all those NFL games?

In all seriousness though I wonder how much they have damaged their own brand with future managers.

Unless you are desperate to get a job again (Mourinho) or you are an up and coming manager (Poch before he did so much good at Spurs). Don't you avoid Levy like the plague? Small club stuff.

From the Guardian:
His (Pochetino's) brief had been to build a team and then, when the move into the new stadium happened, push on to fight for a top-four finish. Instead, working on a shoestring budget, he delivered a Champions League finish in his second season and three more in succession after that. Before his arrival from Southampton Spurs had finished in the top four in two of their 22 Premier League campaigns.

That's remarkable what he accomplished there. I didn't realize that Tottenham's rise came with the arrival of Pochettino.

Can’t help thinking this is the end of Ali & Winks Spurs careers. Probably a fair few others too. Erickson to stay?

I wonder how Ole is feeling this morning?

Not happy. Not happy at all.
It's a fact that Spurs have been lousy for a year (last year's champions league was unbelievable, but a fluke).
Maybe Poch also wanted to leave.
Still, Mourinho?

Sorbicol wrote:

Can’t help thinking this is the end of Ali & Winks Spurs careers. Probably a fair few others too. Erickson to stay?

I wonder how Ole is feeling this morning?

I doubt Ali he's pretty established at this point.

Ericksen? He's gone. You don't run down your contract to have a change of heart and stay for Mourinho.

Asked if he would have considered Spurs, Mourinho added: "No, because I love Chelsea supporters too much."

Mourinho will have to contend with a documentary film crew following his every move, as Spurs are the latest subjects of Amazon's "All Or Nothing" series. Just last year, the Portuguese stated rather vehemently that allowing behind-the-scenes access at a football club was not to his liking.

*Gets his popcorn*

To be fair Arsenal are not in much better shape. Both clubs to finish outside top 4.

Levy looking at his small pile of goodwill and thinking "what if I set fire to that?"

My reaction to firing Poch was "I don't think that's a good idea, but I understand why you've done it." Hiring Mo is more "I don't think that's a good idea and I don't understand why you've done it.

I'm sure Ryan Sessegnon is thrilled to have such a proponent of young players coming in to guide his career.

On the one hand, they did have a replacement lined up, which is good.

On the other, I'd have given Poch another month before turning to Mourinho. But maybe Levy's desperate to get back into the top-4 to qualify for the Champions League?

If Mourinho's attitude is back to what it was before Real Madrid - player-focused, doing his antics to protect his players I think he can be good again. But I expect he'll be the same Mourinho-first outlook we've seen from his last few jobs where nothing is ever his fault and the players aren't good enough for him.

A Spurs fan friend is wondering which player Mourinho will choose for the Luke Shaw role, to denigrate and attempt to derail their career.

Sessegnon is a decent start, but Mo would have to actually pick him for an extended period first so he has something to smash to bits and I don't see him putting a 19 year old on the field for long enough to build him up.

Eriksen is the next obvious choice because he's nice and an attacking midfielder - a type Mo has had problems with before - but Eriksen is on the bus out come the summer, so there isn't time to properly skewer him as a target.

This also takes Danny Rose out of the crosshairs, even though he has a year and a half left on his deal.

Son has a long deal but feels too foreign to be proper sport for Mo, not like Shaw, Mata or Matic...

So it has to be Harry Winks.

Sorry Harry. At least you scored for England before your career was murdered.

I still can't believe this. What a glorious mess this promises to be.

That Amazon documentary might be pure GOLD.

One of the more interesting parts of this is the potential immediate clash in the January transfer window. Mourinho will want to spend money, I assume. Yet Levy is notoriously frugal. I wonder what promises were made during the negotiations about this, and how all that will play out. It's two men with opposite world views agreeing to work together. I just don't see how this has any sort of a happy ending.

From a neutral standpoint, though, Tottenham just became TOP INTERESTING.

It's like Tottenham is this train speeding along the tracks, and Levy just blew up a bridge that the train will get to at some indefinite point in the future, and replaced Pochettino with Mourinho as the engineer.

Or like watching the Titanic. You know how it's going to end, but the stories that get told along the way will be soooooo entertaining.

Or like eating magic mushrooms. You have no idea what's going to happen, but you know it'll be a wild trip and you'll likely be really sick at the end.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

I'm sure Ryan Sessegnon is thrilled to have such a proponent of young players coming in to guide his career.

Lord i'd forgotten about that. Anyone under the age of 23 at Tottenham should be scared right now, based on Mourinho's recent record of youth development.

Meanwhile, Gareth Bale is in full-blown "f**k it" mode. The reception he'll get at the Bernabeu should be...... interesting.

Prederick wrote:
Mr Bismarck wrote:

I'm sure Ryan Sessegnon is thrilled to have such a proponent of young players coming in to guide his career.

Lord i'd forgotten about that. Anyone under the age of 23 at Tottenham should be scared right now, based on Mourinho's recent record of youth development.

Meanwhile, Gareth Bale is in full-blown "f**k it" mode. The reception he'll get at the Bernabeu should be...... interesting.

Mourinho in for Bale? Lump in Eriksen early in a swap?

I'm enjoying this.

Prederick wrote:

Meanwhile, Gareth Bale is in full-blown "f**k it" mode. The reception he'll get at the Bernabeu should be...... interesting.

You know, they way they’ve treated him - Zidane especially - I think he’s kinda earned the right to tell Real he’s absolutely not interested any more.

Then why did he refuse to leave? He's asking for trouble.
A guy who didn't try to learn Spanish to better integrate with the team for how long? 5 years? He's got no sympathy from me.