rgk_lfc

Kane looks injured and not fit. Scotland's defenders are easily able to keep him quiet. Sterling also looks off his game. Difficult to comment on or criticize the formation when two main attackers are not offering anything. There is no movement upfront for Mount and Foden to exploit. Credit to Scotland also. They came with a plan and have executed it well. The press from the front has been quite good at times and put England on the defensive.

I have been fascinated with Mueller for ages. Read so many articles about trying to understand his game. If you look at his physical skillset and ability on the ball, it is not that great. There is this great line about him in a guardian article "Müller can’t beat you with his close ball control, he can’t beat you with his pace, and he can’t beat you with his dribbling skills. He just beats you." Two really good articles about him if you are interested: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/feb/23/thomas-muller-modest-assassin-bayern-munich-germany#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20M%C3%BCller%20can,a%20legendary%20namesake%2C%20Gerd%20M%C3%BCller. https://thesefootballtimes.co/2017/03/31/thomas-muller-the-first-and-possible-last-ramdeuter/

You don't need to be a great tactician at the international level. Santos (Portugal), Low didn't exactly cover themselves with glory at the club level. Simple tactics, implemented well, create a team spirit - all of those are more important. Cannot argue with his results until now.

I had not thought of the factions and splinters aspect. Agree with you on that.

But did England really learn anything from the two friendlies. - England have solid technical players in most positions who are capable of playing at a high level. - There is no semblance of plan or tactics which will elevate this group to playing beyond the sum of their parts. - The quality is good enough to get past teams like Austria etc. - The lack of tactics and coherent plan and the lack of an elite attacking player like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Messi to overcome tactical deficiency means England will be in trouble when they face the first decent team with attacking threats. I have watched England for 20 years and you could say the same about any team in that period. Not quite sure what these "trying" out players for the national team really does. Players who play amazing for the club suddenly look bad for the national team because of the shirt? Luis Aragones dropped the captain Raul from the Spain squad because he did not fit into his vision of football which set the tone for their domination starting in 2008.

Klopp has been unsuccessfully trying for an attacking midfielder who can provide assists and goals from midfield for ages. Ox, Keita were bought with that idea in mind but have not lived up to their billing. Thiago has been decent for his first season but he is more of a controller and doesn't rack up a lot of assists or goals. Grealish would elevate our midfield to a whole new level. He would start every meaningful game for us. Same with City. Pep does rotate his players quite a bit but he would be among the players with the largest amount of minutes. Pep would love his adaptability. He would be pure dynamite for City. Until Pep decides to play him at left back in a CL semi-final.

Of course, I think any footballer would be like that. I maybe wrong here, but I don't think Grealish is that desperate to move to a trophy guaranteeing club, right now. He only signed a contract extension in September 2020. If he was desperate to move, why sign a new contract extension. Villa would be far more likely to listen to offers for him if he had not signed the new contract.

His contract is till 2025. Villa don't need the money. I don't think Grealish is the type to down tools and kick up a fuss at his home club. Unless City come up with Coutinho level (140 million pounds) bid, just don't see the need for Villa to consider selling.

100% agreed. But he might be running out of options soon. He is far too volatile and demanding of his players to be accepted at Madrid, Barca, Bayern. Rumours that Madrid players went to Perez when they were linked to Conte. He is way too demanding of the board to be hired at Liverpool, Dortmund, Arsenal, Spurs. I cannot see him working with FSG and transfer committee. I can see him do very well at United or City post Ole and Pep. But there might be a big gap before these jobs become available. Also even with United, I can see him falling out when they fail to close the transfers he wants. I agree with @Froggy, I don't think he will take any international job other than Italy. But if he runs of options and is open to it, I think he can work wonders with this England squad. The players are there, the quality is there. He is able to tactically whip them into shape in a short period of time. If he can win the PL with Alonso and Moses at fullbacks, he can do some serious damage at the international level with Walker, James, TAA, Trippier, Shaw, Chilwell and all the attacking talent England have.

The FA should approach Conte to take over the national team after the Euros. His Italy team were very good in Euro 2016. They lost to Germany in penalties. Given the current English talent particularly in fullbacks, I think Conte can help them reach a whole new level.

Maybe there is a little bit of the other way around. Players want to play for Barca Real because of the prestige and for the insane salaries they pay. Griezmann salary reports, if true, are frightening.

TAA doesnt deserve to start based on his form and the Reece James, Walker display during the weekend. But offensively he is a next level threat compared to all right fullback options for England. These are from premierleague.com. TAA 33 assists in 129 appearances Kieran Trippier 18 assists in 107 appearances Walker 30 assists in 316 appearances James 4 assists in 56 appearances Not having him as an option is weird. An out of form TAA still can ping threatening crosses from the deep aimed at Kane and DCL if England are chasing a game. Also, not taking England's two best set piece threats - Ward Prowse and TAA is also not that smart.

Zidane's open letter to Madrid fans https://en.as.com/en/2021/05/31/football/1622417445_986023.html Dear Real Madrid fans, For more than 20 years, from the first day I arrived in Madrid and wore the white shirt, you’ve shown me your love. I’ve always felt that there was something special between us. I’ve had the enormous honour of being a player and the coach of the greatest club ever, but above all I’m just another Madrid fan. For all these reasons I wanted to write this letter, to say goodbye to you and explain my decision to leave the coaching job. When, in March 2019, I accepted the offer to return to Real Madrid after a break of eight months it was, of course, because President Florentino Pérez asked me, but also because all of you asked me every day to do so. When I met any of you in the street I felt your support and the desire to see me with the team again. Because I share the values of Real Madrid; this club belongs to its members, its fans and the entire world. I’ve tried to follow these values in everything I have done, and I’ve tried to be an example. Being at Madrid for 20 years is the most beautiful thing that’s happened to me in my life and I know I owe that entirely to the fact Florentino Pérez backed me in 2001, he fought to get me, to bring me here when some people were against it. I say it from the heart when I say that I will always be grateful to the ‘presi’ for that. Always. I have now decided to leave and I want to properly explain the reasons. I’m going, but I’m not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching. In May 2018 I left because after two and a half years, with so many victories and so many trophies, I felt the team needed a new approach to stay at the very highest level. Right now, things are different. I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term. I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don’t win, you have to leave. But with this a very important thing has been forgotten, everything I built day-to-day has been forgotten, what I brought to my relationships with the players, with the 150 people who work with and around the team. I’m a natural-born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings, life itself and I have the sensation these things have not been taken into account, that there has been a failure to understand that these things also keep the dynamics of a great club going. To some extent I have even been rebuked for it. I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches. I wasn’t asking for privileges, of course not, just a little more recollection. These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons, little more. For it to last longer the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than everything. They need to be nurtured. That’s why it hurt me so much when I read in the press, after a defeat, that I would be sacked if I didn’t win the next game. It hurt me and the whole team because these deliberately leaked messages to the media negatively influenced the squad, they created doubts and misunderstandings. Luckily I had these amazing lads who were with me to the death. When things turned ugly they saved me with magnificent victories. Because they believed in me and knew I believed in them. Of course I’m not the best coach in the world, but I’m able to give everyone, whether it’s a player, a member of the coaching staff or any employee, the strength and confidence they need in their job. I know perfectly well what a team needs. Over these 20 years at Madrid I’ve learnt that you, the fans, want to win, of course, but above all you want us to give our all: the coach, the staff, the employees and of course the players. And I can assure you we’ve given 100% of ourselves to this club. I’d like to take this opportunity to send a message to the journalists. I’ve given hundreds of press conferences and unfortunately we have spoken very little of football, though I know that you love football, this sport that brings us together. However, and without any desire to criticise or lecture, I would have liked the questions not to have always been about controversy, that we might have talked more often about the game and above all the players, who are and always will be the most important thing in this sport. Let’s not forget about football, let’s care for it. Dear Madrid fans, I will always be one of you. Hala Madrid! Zinedine Zidane

I think they will compete for the league. But if Kane goes to City, it might end the league competition for a few years. Pep might blow it in the CL, but he sure knows how to dominate the league.

Chelsea are building up quite a pedigree in Europe. Two CL wins and two UEFA cup wins in the last 10-11 years. While regularly picking up premier league titles. They seem to have gotten their transfers in order also, with the exception of Kepa. Targeting younger players. Top quality youth prospects coming through. Their success in Europe, especially the manner of the win yesterday, will give them confidence in the future.

I was in awe of his performance yesterday. I also agree 100% on the Makelele comment. Maybe it is recency bias, but referring to Kante to as playing the Makelele role, is a disservice to Kante. Kante is way more influential than Makelele ever was. One of the main reasons, Sarri and Lampard are out of jobs is that they did not know how to properly use him.

After watching that CL final, still think England dont need someone protecting the defense

Omar Richards, Reading left back has signed for Bayern on a free transfer. Anyone know more about him? I was just curious to see Bayern make a signing from the Championship. https://bayernstrikes.com/2021/05/28/bayern-munich-three-things-to-know-about-omar-richards/

Here, people evaluate and label managers on outcomes rather than looking at the context. Poch and Rodgers = bottler. Klopp = bottler till May 2019, No longer a bottler post May 2019. Nobody (pundits, media, fans, owners) wants to dig deeper and understand the conditions under which certain things were achieved and then rate a manager. For example, Rafa. Dismissed from Real Valladolid after a run of 2 wins in 23 games. Dismissed from Osasuna after 1 win in 9 games in second division. Extramudara, got them promoted to La liga but got relegated in first year. Got Tenerife promoted to La Liga. Then he was offered the Valencia job who had just lost the CL final. In the first press conference, he told "You come from the Champions League final and I come from Segunda División, but humbly I think I have tools to make you improve" and that was widely applauded in Spain. In England, he would not have been offered a job in the championship based on his Real Valladolid performance. He would have been laughed out by the pundits here - Gray, Keys, Neville, Carragher - for making that statement. "Hahaha, gets fired from multiple jobs in the second division and he thinks he can teach Ayala to be a better defender". There are many reasons why Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Netherland seem to produce quality managers at a regular frequency. I think one of the reason is that the public, pundits, owners are able to identify a quality coaching job when they see one without looking at the results and back them. Regarding Howe, I think he is a quality coach with a style of play which fits very well the ethos of a progressive club. I like his Bournemouth style more than early Rodgers (and I really rate Rodgers). I felt that Rodgers Swansea and early LFC teams, sometimes passed for the sake of passing, so that he can gloat about passing statistics in the press conference. I feel Howe's team pass with more purpose. And maybe his transfers were not good. But it is not like players were queuing up to play for Bournemouth. Even if he has not got an eye for a player, I don't think it will be a problem. Lot of clubs - LFC, Brentford, Leicester, Wolves- have moved onto a DOF model where the manager focuses on coaching and tactics only. I am confident more will adopt that model. He will excel in that model where he can just focus on coaching and player improvement. Even if he fails elsewhere (I don't think that's likely), I would rather take a chance on someone like Howe, rather than keep giving PFMs jobs constantly. And that still will not diminish his achievements at Bournemouth as one of English football's greatest ever achievements by an inch.

Klopp has Fabinho. Pep has Rodri, Fernandinho. France started Kante and Matuidi in the world cup final. You need someone of that defensive mindset patrolling the midfield and providing protection against attacks. I am not saying bring Chopper Harris out of retirement and play him. Henderson cannot play that role effectively. I haven't watched enough of Rice but maybe he can. And both of them are not cloggers. Bellingham is a box to box midfielder. His strength is in bursting forward and joining the attack. You will not be using him properly if you ask him to patrol in front of the defense. Even in defense, Walker, Stones, and Shaw are not exactly "though shall not pass" type of defenders. They need some form of protection ahead of them. If England plays that line up, they will get beat, not just by the first decent side, but by the first side who knows how to counterattack effectively.

Croatia, Portugal, France will counterattack that lineup successfully. The front 6 offers no protection to the defense. Unless Southgate coaches some Barca Pep 70-80% style possession football into that lineup. Even then if you loose the ball, it will be very easy for top quality international sides to overwhelm that defense in seconds.

Klopp was the holder of "cannot win a trophy" or "bottler" tag when he lost 5 or 6 finals in a row. Then he went out and spent 130 million on Van Dijk and Alisson (thank you Barcelona) and he started winning stuff. Now Poch and to a certain extent Rodgers holds that tag because he failed to qualify for top 4 at the last hurdle. If Poch had access to Van Dijk and Alisson, maybe he would be a legendary CL winning manager and Klopp would still be the bottler? Not everyone can be Rafa and win the lot (UEFA cup, Champions League, La Liga) by the time they turned 45. When it comes to the business end of the season Rodgers and Poch and Klopp pretty much had squeezed everything out of the squad. Often when they face hurdles, they don't have the bodies to counter tactically and fall short. They run out of options. Poch and Rodgers should be praised for getting their teams to the final hurdle while playing attractive football. When we were challenging for the title under Rodgers, opposition fans like to point out the slip and Crystanbul. Yes, those events mattered (and was funny for opposition fans), not denying that. But we had started to run out of gas way beyond that, Suarez had 3 goals and 1 assist in the final 8 games of that title challenge. He had 28 goals and 16 assists in the previous 25 games. He was "pressed" out and we could see that in every player. And we could not rest Suarez, or Sturridge, or Gerrard or Coutinho due to lack of options. I am sure Spurs fans can come up with similar statistics for some of the Poch seasons when they finished second. Can a team playing counter pressing football consistently win trophies? That is an interesting football question worthy of discussion rather than labeling managers by just looking at outcomes. The only person who has been consistently successful with pressing football is Pep, who always had a top quality squad. Klopp when he won with both Dortmund and Liverpool, had assembled a very good squad and was lucky with injuries during the time he won. Bielsa is another manager who's teams have the reputation of starting on fire and then his teams peter out during the business end of the season. In fact, when we defeated Spurs in the CL final, we played more like a Rafa (or an early Mourinho) team than a Klopp team. Got the early goal and then let them have the ball, defended in numbers, cutoff the attacking channels, and counterattacked when we had the chance. Even Rodgers Leicester played pragmatic football in the FA cup final against Chelsea. There could potentially be an upper limit to what you can achieve with counterpressing football for most clubs. Personally think that Poch is a quality coach. Of course, if he fails to win the league with PSG next season, he will deserve the tags which will come along with it.

Very good point on Vardy. They do have a very good scouting network but it is not easy to replace a talismanic player.

I am not from UK. So cannot comment on their ceiling there. They do have a lot of potential to expand their foreign fanbase. I remember an interview by John Henry 6-7 years ago on why their choices to replace Dalglish was Klopp (who declined to even interview at that time), Rodgers, and Martinez. According to Henry, the key to expanding the foreign deals is to make sure that you are the club that a lot of folks including neutrals want to watch. I think the term he used was capturing eyeballs. The way do it was consistently win big prizes or play attractive football or do both. If you play attractive football, your viewership grows in Asia, USA etc which you can leverage to sign better commercial deals. While Rodgers did not win any trophies for us, the football we played under him was instrumental in improving the commercial side of things. TV stations particularly in Asia regularly showed our games. Leicester appears to be on a similar track.

Leicester's new training ground is impressive. They are making all the right moves and progressing every aspect of their club year after year. Expect them to be at a level to compete regularly for top prizes in the near future.