Do you think Arsenal let Unai go too soon?Originally Posted by ryanb741
Have you seen Guillem Balague's tweet on that referring to the Gunners fans?
I’d like to see someone put their money where their mouth is if they think Liverpool will roll over Villarreal without a decent fight. This is the semi final and stranger things have happened.
I hope for a Liverpool v City final as that would be an explosive shoot out game over the one leg.
Everyone is assuming City are going to win tonight. Let’s see who wins first.
I presume they will ask them to move the final from Paris to the North West of England too?
Old Trafford? It’s a good few years since the CL trophy has been there!I presume they will ask them to move the final from Paris to the North West of England too?
I think Emery has learned alot from PSG and his failure at Arsenal. He was maybe the right manager with the wrong squad and the Board backed Ozil over Emery. Whatever he was trying to convey didn't work in the EPL, with the squad we had, along side that the no show for the Europa finalhe had lost the team- not sure many managers have recovered when they have lost the team. Note Villareal are 7th in La Liga...
Arteta appears to have the backing of the board in terms of staying, given the freedom to decimate the squad via loans and sales- I can't see who we would attract to replace him.
There are glimpses of good play but running on empty without any strikers will maybe get Europa Sunday League qualification. With at least another one starting 11 player (Lacazette) out of contract and Nketamine currently about as clinical as Mr Magoo out of contract too, those on loan and in contract next season not exactly pulling up trees (those that are aren't or don't want to come back) we will need big investment whilst competing for players against those with Champions league, Toon awash with money, and Man Utd with a rated manager who will pillage his current club.
I expect that rumours will flow around Martinelli and Saka leaving, Smith-Rowe I don't think would pass a medical and the rest are tied down for a bit - we are looking more like project youth or over priced rejects if the rumours such as Morata and Depay are even vaguely true.
I presume they will ask them to move the final from Paris to the North West of England too?Would it be cruel to host the final at Old Trafford for Citeh v Liverpool final?
This is a very depressing take!!I think Emery has learned alot from PSG and his failure at Arsenal. He was maybe the right manager with the wrong squad and the Board backed Ozil over Emery. Whatever he was trying to convey didn't work in the EPL, with the squad we had, along side that the no show for the Europa final
Arteta appears to have the backing of the board in terms of staying, given the freedom to decimate the squad via loans and sales- I can't see who we would attract to replace him.
There are glimpses of good play but running on empty without any strikers will maybe get Europa Sunday League qualification. With at least another one starting 11 player (Lacazette) out of contract and Nketamine currently about as clinical as Mr Magoo out of contract too, those on loan and in contract next season not exactly pulling up trees (those that are aren't or don't want to come back) we will need big investment whilst competing for players against those with Champions league, Toon awash with money, and Man Utd with a rated manager who will pillage his current club.
I expect that rumours will flow around Martinelli and Saka leaving, Smith-Rowe I don't think would pass a medical and the rest are tied down for a bit - we are looking more like project youth or over priced rejects if the rumours such as Morata and Depay are even vaguely true.
Arteta is building something good, it will take time, but the signs of progress are evident. Champions League spot was never an expectation pre-season and the team has definitely out-performed expectations to date with respect to league position. The key aspects of strategy from Arteta and Edu have been clearing out of the squad, with aged players on high salaries moved on, coupled with the move to a 'experienced youth' recruitment model i.e. early-20s but still played lots of games such as Ramsdale, Odegaard and Lokonga. Continuing in that direction will continue to see improvement in the players we have, good resale to reinvest in the team, and an evolving style of play as we move up league positions and into contention for trophies both domestically and in Europe.
Emery was not given anywhere near the same level of backing by the club, but he also didn't earn it. His communication to the players was poor, he played staid football, and worst of all he was incredibly indecisive. The captaincy decisions under his tenure really undermined his credibility with board, players, fans, and media. He's still a top coach as shown with Villarreal success, but was not the right man for Arsenal and they weren't the right club for him.
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It wasn't just Lukaku. I think the main reason Chelsea didn't progress was because of Mendy's howler in the first leg. If he hadn't have gifted Benzema the third goal, Chelsea would have progressed. I was there last night and RM are indeed very beatable. Came away very pleased with Chelsea's performance.
Ive always maintained the best team doesnt necessarily win the cups (Fa, CL, Euros, World Cups) its all about luck on the day and in a one off game anything can happen - Denmark/Greece in the Euros, Liverpool under Benitez, even my own team got battered by Munich in 99 and we robbed them it happens time and time again the only true barometer for me is the domestic league and the table doesnt lie at the end of the seasonand is a reflection on who is the best and deserves to win
As a neutral I thoroughly enjoyed the game Chelsea were excellent but didnt take chances and got punished, I didnt see the Munich result coming though I will admit but again it can happen nothing is guaranteed in footbal and at this stage of the elite competition every team has a chance I fully expect Atletico to set up exactly the same way as they always do and try hope for a smash n grab tonight, Liverpool who are immense in europe (Hurts me to admit it but Anfield carries massive weight on european nights) and I expect them to get through Id like to see an all English Final as for me they are the two stand out teams in the competition
Last edited by R0bertb00th; 13th April 2022 at 17:47.
Man City awful in 2nd half. Stonewall penalty not given to Atletico. What in earth are they playing at - humping long balls up to Foden and Sterling.
Our worst performance for some time but, boy, were Atletico guilty of some real shitty behaviour.
Agreed, absolute scumbag behaviour. You could see some of the Atletico players were embarrassed by the behaviour of their teammates - Oblak and Kondogbia in particular seemed to view it with distaste
By all accounts Savic went after Grealish in the tunnel and police rushed in and are now in each teams dressing room keeping both teams apart
No, they really weren’t .
They all sign up for that kind of behaviour .
Horrible, horrible club.
Nazi salutes by the fans, No taking the knee by the players , yet lauded by pundits everywhere .
They’ll get a £20,000 fine for failing to control their players and Manchester City end up with soft bookings (given when Athletivo got away with) and injuries which could define their season.
Doubtful Kondogbia is signing up to support Nazi saluting. I don't think all the Atletico players are like that but a sizeable number were. For me the worst offenders were Savic, Llorente (spiteful little twerp), Koke, Felipe (should have had 2 red cards!) and Lodi. And of course Simeone who somehow is the world's best paid manager but instead plays park the bus with a very talented squad (for example Griezmann and Joao Felix would walk into City's team and yet they had to basically feed off scraps)
BTW re the Savic behaviour, looking at the replays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTsKEZNqQjE you can see Foden rolls back onto the pitch after Felipe's 2nd yellow tackle in order to waste time and that's what riled Savic. Foden wasn't that injured and was playing the same game as the Atletico players - using the opportunity to make sure a red was given and also waste some time. Fair enough, play them at their own game and Foden was getting clattered all night with minimal referee protection. Doesn't excuse what Savic did at all but that was the reason - it wasn't that Savic 'had it in' for Foden. You also see Grealish tell Savic 'You're a c***!'. Which is entirely factual lol but maybe not the smartest thing to do when passions were inflamed.
Last edited by ryanb741; 14th April 2022 at 00:07.
Controversial view perhaps but thats what Simeone's management style is all about and there are those who admire that passion. He wants to win no matter the cost and will have his squad use any means possible. In addition he is not afraid to play extremely negative football to achieve that success.
Thats exactly why I questioned some United fans on here who stated that they would take Simeone in a heartbeat, I can not see how he and United would be a good fit.
Bet you wouldn't say that if someone had kicked you like that!
I think Emery has learned alot from PSG and his failure at Arsenal. He was maybe the right manager with the wrong squad and the Board backed Ozil over Emery. Whatever he was trying to convey didn't work in the EPL, with the squad we had, along side that the no show for the Europa final
Arteta appears to have the backing of the board in terms of staying, given the freedom to decimate the squad via loans and sales- I can't see who we would attract to replace him.
There are glimpses of good play but running on empty without any strikers will maybe get Europa Sunday League qualification. With at least another one starting 11 player (Lacazette) out of contract and Nketamine currently about as clinical as Mr Magoo out of contract too, those on loan and in contract next season not exactly pulling up trees (those that are aren't or don't want to come back) we will need big investment whilst competing for players against those with Champions league, Toon awash with money, and Man Utd with a rated manager who will pillage his current club.
I expect that rumours will flow around Martinelli and Saka leaving, Smith-Rowe I don't think would pass a medical and the rest are tied down for a bit - we are looking more like project youth or over priced rejects if the rumours such as Morata and Depay are even vaguely true.Interesting re communication Emery disputes that, he spoke in English and he even said he liked his "good Ebening" as it's a Spanish thing to hit those b's apparently, but as I said given the effort of Ozil (did you see recent Monreal comments?) it was not the squad for him.
Clearly we had dead wood but we seem to have burnt down the forest which makes this season feels like an accounting move to balance books, given Kroenke history, other than his favourite team winning the Superbowl, mid table is acceptable for financial balance. I'm intrigued at the level of investment this summer given it felt like a push as Kroenke was expecting the new Super League level moneys. Hopefully I'm wrong. I think to be attractive even to 'experienced youth' we will end up having to bump up the wages again to compensate to attract then to us over the others.
I guess I've seen us be 1 or 2 top players short in the squad too many times. Too many times we haven't kept the world class player(s) to build upon.
I look forward to the demanding of season ticket payment the second we know what level we are playing at next season...and not sure if we have picked up government distracting sponsorship to top up the Go Rowanda on our shirt too
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I think Emery has learned alot from PSG and his failure at Arsenal. He was maybe the right manager with the wrong squad and the Board backed Ozil over Emery. Whatever he was trying to convey didn't work in the EPL, with the squad we had, along side that the no show for the Europa final
Arteta appears to have the backing of the board in terms of staying, given the freedom to decimate the squad via loans and sales- I can't see who we would attract to replace him.
There are glimpses of good play but running on empty without any strikers will maybe get Europa Sunday League qualification. With at least another one starting 11 player (Lacazette) out of contract and Nketamine currently about as clinical as Mr Magoo out of contract too, those on loan and in contract next season not exactly pulling up trees (those that are aren't or don't want to come back) we will need big investment whilst competing for players against those with Champions league, Toon awash with money, and Man Utd with a rated manager who will pillage his current club.
I expect that rumours will flow around Martinelli and Saka leaving, Smith-Rowe I don't think would pass a medical and the rest are tied down for a bit - we are looking more like project youth or over priced rejects if the rumours such as Morata and Depay are even vaguely true.Interesting re communication Emery disputes that, he spoke in English and he even said he liked his "good Ebening" as it's a Spanish thing to hit those b's apparently, but as I said given the effort of Ozil (did you see recent Monreal comments?) it was not the squad for him.
Clearly we had dead wood but we seem to have burnt down the forest which makes this season feels like an accounting move to balance books, given Kroenke history, other than his favourite team winning the Superbowl, mid table is acceptable for financial balance. I'm intrigued at the level of investment this summer given it felt like a push as Kroenke was expecting the new Super League level moneys. Hopefully I'm wrong. I think to be attractive even to 'experienced youth' we will end up having to bump up the wages again to compensate to attract then to us over the others.
I guess I've seen us be 1 or 2 top players short in the squad too many times. Too many times we haven't kept the world class player(s) to build upon.
I look forward to the demanding of season ticket payment the second we know what level we are playing at next season...and not sure if we have picked up government distracting sponsorship to top up the Go Rowanda on our shirt too
Sure but he was uninjured enough to ensure he rolled back onto the pitch. Same as when Ederson went down after a non-existent Atletico foul
I'm not complaining - Atletico got played at their own game and there was quite the Schadenfreude in seeing Simeone upset with the very tactics that he employs. And had the referee been stronger and started booking players for crude fouls earlier it may not have gotten to that stage
Ederson went down because he came out and made a superb punch clearance and then collided into other players. Having seen the Foden incident again it sure looks like he deliberately rolled back in play to waste time. But that was no excuse for Savic to react the way he did.
I saw the first leg as well and Madrid employed the exact same tactics. There’s nothing to admire about it. It’s one thing being a defensive counter attacking team but resorting to dirty tricks and behaviour is unnecessary. The irony is that they completely outclassed City in the second half and have players like Jao Felix, Griessman and Suarez. So why resort to stupid game playing?
Not surprised by Madrids behaviour.
Was surprised they put Suarez on for 10 mins only
What a week of European footie. Chelsea were very unlucky but looks like all the others Brits are going through.
Ibrox absolutely bouncing by the look of it on TV!
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Absolutely! The referee should have pulled a red card for Felipe after the attack on Foden in the first half.
Though I'd cursed it!
Fantastic to see Rangers go through and to see Scottish footie on the up.
West Ham and Leicester both had great nights too.
Great for some of these clubs to get a bit of the limelight.
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Would be fantastic
Right wing neanderthals knocking lumps out of each other in the fine streets of Seville.
Best foot forwards and all that.
Guess you’re either Spurs or Celtic then ;-)
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Well done West Ham and David Moyes.
Well I didn't see that coming!Second leg this Thursday.
I'm starting to think that we might win it...
COYI
Well done to all the British teams BTW
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Dyche sacked by Burnley .
Didn’t see that claiming although that pretty much guarantees their relegation .
The new owners will be pleased . 🤔
Good luck to them getting someone in to do a better job with the resources at hand!
Wonderful result for WHU last night.
3-0 at their place!
Eintracht Frankfurt in the semis.
Cheers,
Neil.
No easy task there. Frankfurt were very good few years back at Stamford Bridge in the Europa League Semi Final second leg. Went to a penalty shoot out in the end.
They looked comfortable at the Camp Nou last night. Mind you there apparently around 30k of their fans in the ground so it was almost like a home game…
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Really don't understand the logic behind Burnley's decision to sack Dyche.
How teams believe that this will save them from relegation is beyond me.
Gobsmacked following Burnleys decision to sack Dyche, he’s worked miracles for them in the Premiership on a very limited budget. The wilderness could be looming for a good few years now for their fans. He’ll be snapped up before the new season starts and is more than capable of managing at the top flight.
Dyche has done a great job, but this season he's had only 4 wins - fewest in the league (with minor caveat of a game in hand on most of league, which is away to Hammers).
Burnley are 16th in the PL in terms of wage bill (double Leeds and Norwich, within £1m of Brighton). There are 8 teams who have a lower net spend over the last 5 years, with Southampton, Watford, Norwich, and Brentford among them. Dyche has offered diminishing returns in recent seasons, sometimes players need a new voice. After almost a decade at the club, I can understand why people may question the decision. However, stepping back, I can see why the owners may feel after the loss to Norwich that a new man may bring a better chance of survival over the remaining 8 games.
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I am not sure he will be snapped up that quickly. As I have alluded to previously British managers are often overlooked or considered not trendy enough for clubs in this day and age.
There’s only one man for the job, Big Sam.
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Yes thats the sense I get, I would say your point was certainly true a few years back where the Allardyces and Bruces of this world were walking into relegation threatened team management jobs with ease. I am not sure the same is the case now, which current team in the PL do you see snapping up Dyche as an alternative to what they already have, Everton?
Eddie Howe was out of a job for a good while and hell even good old Yorkshire Leeds FC opted for a foreign manager to replace a foreign manager. Do you think they would have been attracted by Dyche being available or would their fanbase have considered Dyche a good appointment following Bielsa's exit, I am not so sure?
Last edited by tango; 16th April 2022 at 10:39.
Hands up who had money on Brighton winning at Arsenal and Spurs in the space of a week!
Pep making a right hash of his tactics again in there FA Cup.
Can hardly blame injuries when blowing 100 million on one single substitute like Grealish
Or Southampton getting smashed 6-0 at home last Saturday and then beating Arsenal at home this Saturday. Which team were you supporting today? I guess it was 'win-win' in a Ryan Derby.
City are knackered to be fair. Tough game in Madrid vs Liverpool able to rotate and take it easy vs Benfica.
Wanted Arsenal to win as they needed fhe points more but support both and AFC Bournemouth too. Soft spot for Rangers and Arbroath in Scotland also
Only, he’s not actually a sub ……………never mind
Today he is not
But , he’s not , ever .
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