Sampaoli for Marseille? "Out of the frying pan, into the fire" springs to mind, for all concerned.

On 11/10/2015 at 3:56 PM, Frederick said:

Moyes' next few jobs: Celtic, Scotland, West Brom, Indian Super League.

"No, my child, you misread the prophecy. I speak not of Moyes, but Lambert."

15 hours ago, Frederick said:

"No, my child, you misread the prophecy. I speak not of Moyes, but Lambert."

 

Couldn't have seen Lambert overseeing an Old Farm derby anytime soon unless the FA Cup draw were to oblige him, perhaps playing for goalless draws in Old Firm games will appeal instead.

 

Evidently, Old Royston squandered the last real money invested by Ipswich's ownership in the early 2010s, ever since then the club has been allowed to slowly go to seed. Micky Mac was the thin paper over the cracks that held things together for a while, but presumably there was only so much League One stodge the fans could take before patience snapped.

Death, taxes, #CW9.

Pizza Cups are obviously of secondary importance, but it's a lot nicer to win them than lose them and we know from experience that losing can never be a guarantee of getting heads cleared for a promotion push. Commiserations to Tranmere who I thought were perhaps the real winners as an overachieving side from League Two, we seem to have found a knack for not playing particularly well and getting results.

1 hour ago, Michael* said:

Pizza Cups are obviously of secondary importance, but it's a lot nicer to win them than lose them and we know from experience that losing can never be a guarantee of getting heads cleared for a promotion push. Commiserations to Tranmere who I thought were perhaps the real winners as an overachieving side from League Two, we seem to have found a knack for not playing particularly well and getting results.

Congratulations, Michael! Truly an oven ready performance from LJ's lads and hey, at least we can say we got battered by the eventual winners! 

On 3/15/2021 at 3:44 PM, Frederick said:

Congratulations, Michael! Truly an oven ready performance from LJ's lads and hey, at least we can say we got battered by the eventual winners! 

 

Much obliged, Fred. I thought the game itself was a bit like watching the Premier League at half the speed, particularly with Grant Leadbitter moving around the midfield more slowly than the statue of Bob Stokoe outside our ground, but equally the assist from McGeady was worthy of winning anything.

 

They do say though, that winning becomes a habit and I will admit to having more faith in the consistency of this side than in Jack Ross's. Admittedly that's putting a microscope on our last 10-15 games compared to a full season, but the hope is that we might have finally turned a corner.

My original plan was to come up with a few different conclusions for the weekend's football, but there's really only one that matters. Alisson's moustache is truly awe inspiring.

On 4/4/2021 at 12:13 PM, Michael* said:

My original plan was to come up with a few different conclusions for the weekend's football, but there's really only one that matters. Alisson's moustache is truly awe inspiring.

Looks like a pretty boy actor seeking credibility by playing a racist cop in a miserable little film that's a big hit at Sundance but which fails to gain Oscar traction (incidentally, such a film would be more entertaining than anything said or written about the iNjUsTiCe of dear wittle Trenty Boo not making the England squad).

Fair to say the lucky 'tache didn't have the desired effect in midweek. Heavy metal football was made to look more like stoner doom by Real Madrid, with even the much maligned Vinicius thrashing away like Sunset Strip in the eighties.

 

I wouldn't consider the tie to be over just yet, though. Despite their ropey form as of late, one can never quite count out Liverpool at Anfield.

On 3/20/2021 at 7:51 PM, Michael* said:

They do say though, that winning becomes a habit and I will admit to having more faith in the consistency of this side than in Jack Ross's.

 

Well, the less said about this one, the better. We have a few weeks to get over it, solve some issues and find some form to hopefully take into the play-offs.

Watching the same dozen or so teams play each other four times a year in a league where competition is negligible sounds like the sort of thing that would get very dull, very quickly. Spare a thought for Scottish football fans then, I suppose.

On 4/19/2021 at 8:08 PM, Michael* said:

 

Well, the less said about this one, the better. We have a few weeks to get over it, solve some issues and find some form to hopefully take into the play-offs.

Any particulars to explain the recent wobble? The defeat to Wigan in particular looked a real groaner. 

 

6 hours ago, Frederick said:

Any particulars to explain the recent wobble? The defeat to Wigan in particular looked a real groaner. 

 

After the home defeat to Charlton which was at least somewhat tolerable given the relative quality of the opposition, the Wigan game and the manner of the performance were especially disappointing, so much so that the Blackpool result felt like an inevitability afterwards.

 

I know for me, the constant chopping and changing of personnel has become an issue, with the starting eleven and with the regular quadruple substitutions which almost always give the impression that the panic button is being pressed. Presumably Johnson would point to a catalogue of injuries (losing Sanderson in particular was a bitter blow) as well as the fast turnover of games, but at times it's felt like rotation for rotation's sake.

Gonna tell my kids this is Crick and Watson.

21 hours ago, Frederick said:

Gonna tell my kids this is Crick and Watson.

 

How do you think it'll go with Terzic now, Fred? Despite the initial expectation that he would continue to work under Rose next season, one wonders if he'd be fine with going back to his old role, having led Dortmund back into Champions League contention. Or would a full-time gig elsewhere be too much too soon?

Fair play to Steve Bruce for winning April's Manager of the Month after taking Newcastle all the way from 17th place in the Premier League to 17th place in the Premier League.

23 minutes ago, Michael* said:

 

How do you think it'll go with Terzic now, Fred? Despite the initial expectation that he would continue to work under Rose next season, one wonders if he'd be fine with going back to his old role, having led Dortmund back into Champions League contention. Or would a full-time gig elsewhere be too much too soon?

No doubting he's been a galvanising supply teacher for a meek minded/supremely talented if underachieving squad but whether he'd make a good fist of it at, say, Bremen is an entirely different prospect. I won't begrudge him the right to move on but (from my admittedly partisan POV) I'd be more impressed if he stayed, at least for a time, and grew his tactical acumen. 

59 minutes ago, Michael* said:

Fair play to Steve Bruce for winning April's Manager of the Month after taking Newcastle all the way from 17th place in the Premier League to 17th place in the Premier League.

Without trying to diminish a Young English Manager, it was awfully decent of Fulham to resume their early season rubbishness just as there seemed a possibility of a decent relegation scrap. Hopefully the lads and lasses on the sofa can ensure Scotty gets 990 games to perfect his craft like Brucey. 

8 hours ago, Frederick said:

Without trying to diminish a Young English Manager, it was awfully decent of Fulham to resume their early season rubbishness just as there seemed a possibility of a decent relegation scrap. Hopefully the lads and lasses on the sofa can ensure Scotty gets 990 games to perfect his craft like Brucey. 

 

It was supposed to go down to the wire of course with a Fulham-Newcastle shootout on the last day, instead Fulham let Leeds cruise to a win at Craven Cottage, contrived to turn a seemingly competitive game at Villa Park into a crushingly daft defeat, and then were awful against a really-not-very-good Wolves side. Cue much relief from Ashley and Bruce, who can now concentrate on securing 17th place in May 2022.

 

Parker is like the Wile E. Coyote of the Premier League, the necessary qualities for a successful jump often look to be there but every time he's up in the air, gravity kicks in and he tumbles into an abyss.