Village Idiot Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Just read this article, very informative for those who don't know about him like i certainly didn't. http://ilikefootballme.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/like-a-lepra-messiah/ Well, I like that a lot. We'll see if it works. I still can't forget that utterly unwatchable Paraguay side though (but they did get the job done). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Just read this article, very informative for those who don't know about him like i certainly didn't. http://ilikefootballme.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/like-a-lepra-messiah/ Good read that. Why dont they just get Bielsa? Or is he already taken? Don't think he did himself any favours last season otherwise he probably would've had a chance. Unless he's gone somewhere since leaving Athletic I think he is still without a job. Might end up going back to Newell's. Bielsa is far too unpredictable/unstable for long term planning at a club. Crazy genius that he is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole_Toonfan Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Just read this article, very informative for those who don't know about him like i certainly didn't. http://ilikefootballme.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/like-a-lepra-messiah/ Well, I like that a lot. We'll see if it works. I still can't forget that utterly unwatchable Paraguay side though (but they did get the job done). Apparently i read he adapted that team because of the players he had ( lord knows you are not dominating Spain with those players) Anyway more on him from Hunter's timeline.... Graham Hunter @BumperGraham 20m Okay, not got a lot of time to spare but people asking about Gerardo Martino. I suspect that over coming months he´ll remind us of Bielsa Graham Hunter @BumperGraham 19m Not just cos of nationality or Rosario but his teams like to play on the front foot, to be athletic but to press and defensively organized Graham Hunter @BumperGraham 19m When Xavi reviewed the most difficult game Spain had when winning the World Cup it was Paraguy he, and others, picked out. Graham Hunter @BumperGraham 18m He was stunned by how organised, smart and hard working they were. Tata M is going to want some elements of FCB 2008/9 to be restored Graham Hunter @BumperGraham 18m Whether everyone who is currently on board will be physically able for that remains to be seen. But all the players will endorse the idea Graham Hunter @BumperGraham 18m Friends tell me that this can be a fiery and confrontational man when needed but that he´s a real football lover, passionate about his work I'm actually interested to see how it works out, funny how both Madrid and Barca are going through significant changes this summer. Might make the Clasico's more fresh and different to see from a neutral. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Fair play to Barca for thinking outside of the box a little. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Really looking forward to La Liga this season. Mourinho going will be refreshing for the league, got really tedious in the last 6 months of him being there. Can't wait to see Neymar as well ofc, think he'll do brilliant. Just wish Las Palmas had got promoted Vitolo has signed for Sevilla from them, was excellent in the Adelante so hopefully he can become a regular in the Sevilla first team, will definitely be keeping an eye out for him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Martino confirmed - http://www.fcbarcelona.es/futbol/primer-equipo/detalle/noticia/gerardo-martino-nuevo-entrenador-del-fc-barcelona Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 VI are the Barcleona fans looking forward to seeing Sergi Roberto make the step up this season? As from what I've heard about him he's a bit different to your architectural La Masia graduate and is more about arriving late into the box and get onto the end of things type of midfielder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamunigeordie Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 VI are the Barcleona fans looking forward to seeing Sergi Roberto make the step up this season? As from what I've heard about him he's a bit different to your architectural La Masia graduate and is more about arriving late into the box and get onto the end of things type of midfielder. Ala Dan Gosling? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Well, he can't finish for crap to be frank But he's more dynamic and all-action than our usual lot of tippy-tappers. Might add something interesting to the side; I do look forward watching him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Depor have until tomorrow to reach an agreement with their players regarding owed wages, or will be relegated to Segunda B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/15/la-liga-season-preview-2013-2014?CMP=twt_gu - worth a read Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Decent appraisal that. I agree that Madrid have had the better window (although we've just signed Neymar), and more importantly, Mourinho leaving has brought a sense of calm to the place that will help them immensely. We've had a messy window with all that's happened, and face the new season with important holes in our squad and a new manager that's barely had time to work with the players. Still, really looking forward this weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 What are Sociedad's finances like? Pocketed 40 millions euros for Illarramendi, almost guarenteed the CL dosh now but have only spent €2M on Seferovic and loaned in Granero to replace Illarra. Surely they can afford to loosen the belt a little bit more? That being said I hope Seferovic comes good as I backed him to be top class after the U17 WC in 2009 and he did naff all in Italy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 What are Sociedad's finances like? Pocketed 40 millions euros for Illarramendi, almost guarenteed the CL dosh now but have only spent €2M on Seferovic and loaned in Granero to replace Illarra. Surely they can afford to loosen the belt a little bit more? That being said I hope Seferovic comes good as I backed him to be top class after the U17 WC in 2009 and he did naff all in Italy. They only pocketed 24 for Illarramendi; 6-7 went to their creditors and the rest was tax as they forced Real Madrid to activate the clause - which carries VAT - instead of agreeing a transfer of an equivalent amount (which is what's usually done between Spanish clubs). They were in the shit back when they got relegated and entered administration, but got amazingly good terms and they are in pretty good shape now. Dunno what their intentions are regarding the fee but I suspect they'll bank them to try to get better contracts to some of their key players next year. Xabi Alonso is on the last year of his contract and there's lots of talk he'll go there on a free next year. He's always been clear he wants to retire there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 After yesterdays Neymar very good cameo I'm looking forward to seeing Casemiro start for Real tonight. Have you seen anything form him VI? I never rated him as a player, but Brazilian newspapers are saying he's been playing well whenever given the chance by Ancelotti. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 He's done very well in preseason, according to my RM friends. But going off them they'll need to give 11 Ballon's D'or to their players after this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 He's done very well in preseason, according to my RM friends. But according to them every single footballer in their XI (bar Arbeloa) deserves a Ballon d'Or. Fair enough. Real fans man, know plenty of them. Can't believe there's actually people out there who believe CRonaldo is better than Messi. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/sep/18/barcelona-gerardo-martino-tiki-taka Why Barcelona's Gerardo Martino is no slave to tiki-taka The Barça coach's first foray in the Champions League against Ajax will display how far his adaptation of pass-and-move has developed. But this will still be a celebration of a way of playing. In 1872 a decision was taken that changed football forever, and that would have a major bearing on Wednesday's Champions League meeting between Barcelona and Ajax. The Scotland team, all of whom were drawn from the Queen's Park club, looked at the England side they were about to meet in the first ever football international and, realising their opponents were on average over a stone a man heavier than they were, resolved not to engage in the dribbling and charging game that had been prevalent until then, but to pass the ball and keep it away from the English. The tactic was a resounding success: Scotland had the better of a goalless draw and the possession game was born. Passing slowly spread, but Queen's Park remained its epicentre, its players schooled in pass-and-move. Then, in 1901, the forward RS McColl – or Toffee Bob as he was known because of the chain of newsagents he ran with his brother – took the philosophy to Newcastle United as he turned professional. Newcastle at the time were a direct side, but McColl soon persuaded them of the advantages of holding possession. One of the keenest converts was the wing-half Peter McWilliam who, in 1912, was appointed manager of Tottenham. He promoted the same passing principles there, not only among the first team but almost among the reserves and the youth sides, even buying the non-league side Northfleet Town to use as a nursery side. Although McWilliam left in 1927, when Middlesbrough made him the best-paid manager in the game, he returned in 1938 to reap the benefits of the philosophy he had instilled, inheriting a side that included Arthur Rowe, Bill Nicholson and Vic Buckingham. All three would become exceptional managers in their own right. Rowe led Spurs to promotion and then the title while Nicholson took them to the double. Buckingham remains West Brom's longest-serving manager, and had a profound influence on Bobby Robson there. He left the Hawthorns for Ajax, returned to England with Sheffield Wednesday and then went back to Ajax in 1964. There he found players eager to put his pass-and-move ideas into practice. He gave a debut to Johan Cruyff and prepared the ground for Rinus Michels before moving to Fulham. After a brief stint at Ethnikos, he took charge at Barcelona in 1970 and began to instil the ethos that Michels, succeeding him again, would bring to full fruition. It was Michels, of course, who inspired Cruyff, and Cruyff who plucked Pep Guardiola from the youth team. Guardiola may say that the biggest influence on his tactical thinking was Louis van Gaal, but he is another figure who links the clubs, having coached both – as well as helping to shape the modern Bayern Munich. It's true that Cruyff despises him and affects to hate his style of football, but they are like two elderly Marxist theorists squabbling over doctrinal minutiae: Cruyff, Van Gaal and Guardiola are all born of the same philosophical line. Gerardo Martino, who will return to Argentina for his father's funeral after the game, is still feeling his way as Barcelona coach, but he too is of the same school, albeit the South American branch established by Marcelo Bielsa, a huge admirer of Van Gaal, at Newell's Old Boys in the early nineties. He is not as idealistic as Bielsa, perhaps not even as idealistic as Guardiola and already, his more pragmatic nature has begun to emerge: he does not simply try to pass teams to death as his predecessors have; he is not, as Gerard Piqué put it in an interview in Gazzetta dello Sport last week, "a slave to tiki-taka". "The idea of football hasn't changed, we simply are trying to have more options now," said Piqué. "If we're being pressed, hitting a few long balls isn't being negative. It gives us oxygen, it gives us an out ball and forces the opponents to adjust." The occasional long ball prevents an opponent blindly packing the centre, makes them wary of pushing too high for fear of a ball played in behind them. Barça's use of Neymar, similarly, stretches the play, as he stays wide left, cutting infield only occasionally – something that has the added advantage of keeping him out of the way of Lionel Messi, who tends to drift right. Back-to-back 3-2 wins, over Valencia and Sevilla, have highlighted the defensive weaknesses that still exist, particularly from set plays and Martino – who, like Neymar, is approaching his first Champions League game – was critical of his team's thought processes on Saturday. "We try to get the players to make different decisions, to weigh up whether to attack more or less," he said on Monday. "We practise that in training sessions. The other day against Sevilla, in the last 15 minutes we shouldn't have put the match at risk. Everything needs a period of adaptation. We need to adapt now that this competition has started." Ajax lie only fourth after six games of the Eredivisie season and probably represent a lesser challenge this season than they would have done last season. The creative midfielder Christian Eriksen and the defender Toby Alderweireld have left, meaning increased responsibility for the 23-year-old South African Thulani Serero. There will be an expectation that Eriksen's compatriot Viktor Fischer, still only 19, takes on more of the creative burden, although he operates on the left rather than through the middle, while on the right Ajax have the former Barça prodigy Bojan Krkic, on loan from Roma. Frank de Boer, though, another who has played for both Barça and Ajax, remains as coach, ensuring continuity of philosophy. But in a sense, as much as a match, this is a celebration of a way of playing. It's the Buckingham derby, the clash of two avatars of the principles that began their journey across Europe when Toffee Bob McColl left Glasgow in 1901. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 FAO VI: I know you get asked loads about Barca tickets, but here's another question El Clasico tickets, is Viagogo the best place to get them? Also, when do you think it will sell out? Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 I have no idea about Viagogo, never used them. You won't get tickets through regular sources (they will sell out 30 seconds after they go on sale) so I suppose these sites are your only alternative. Just checked their prices and they are more than twice the official sale price, but that's to be expected. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Cheers for the info Might just go for "normal" match if it works out better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I have never been to a Clásico myself since I was a kid. It has gone completely out of hand... 300€ for shitty row z tickets on resale? I'm not that rich. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattypnufc Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Just ordered 'Fear And Loathing In La Liga' by Sid Lowe. Should be an interesting read. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 He mentioned he was pretty much done with the book recently, will get that ordered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Eventually ordered. Anyone had a read yet? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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