3 minutes ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

Do you honestly think he'll still be manager next season?

He could have been fired 10 days ago. But still no activity.

15 minutes ago, zes said:

Meanwhile our rivals are busy completing their first or second signings of the summer already.... United bidding for Savic, Liverpool for Fekir......

I am no expert on the matter but god knows why paying a release clause and terminating Conte are taking so long. 

Completing them? By bidding? That's completing is it? 

5 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

He could have been fired 10 days ago. But still no activity.

Good point though perhaps RA's visa being delayed is a contributing factor.

7 minutes ago, zes said:

Meanwhile our rivals are busy completing their first or second signings of the summer already.... United bidding for Savic, Liverpool for Fekir......

I am no expert on the matter but god knows why paying a release clause and terminating Conte are taking so long. 

I read some posts on a Napoli forum using google translate, that when the clause expires (and Sarri resign?) Napoli have to accept Sarris resignation and they can deny it with the support of some Italian law. 
I dont know the truth in it i just read it so dont shoot the messenger.

I can see it coming though. We play with fire and haggling over 8 millions and wait for Sarri to resign and then end up in a law circus with ADL and no one still knows who will be our manager come early July. 

59 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Not the goals of Cristiano though he scored even in this season as a 34 year old more than 40 goals...

Cristiano takes all the penalties and still has a great leap (headed goals). That helps.

Anyway, he's a freak. I'm a nobody to comment on the goal-tally of someone who's in serious contention for football's GOAT.  CR7-aside, this discussion. 

Real Madrid still finished this campaign 17-18 points behind Barcelona. That is a huge gulf over the period of one season. There were so many matches where they were literally outplayed by smaller teams and had absolutely no clue how to unlock their defense.  They dropped points in a whopping 16 league games! A big part of that was down to their ageing players, who have lost pace and are now in the wrong side of their thirties. Pace, especially down the flanks, is the prerequisite for counter-attacking football to work (along with, strong central defenders).

They still have great technical players like Modric and Kroos and Isco in their midfield (and Marcelo and Ramos), which obviously helps in cup tournaments, but not over 40 games in the League. 

My logic is very simple.

Is our side a fast, pacey side? No. There are barely two or three players who can be considered 'fast'. Even young players like Alonso are so painfully slow. 

Our side will benefit from (slow) possession-based football in my opinion. The speed of passing and directness of play can always be altered depending on the kind of players we have at our disposal. If we have three Sadio Manes and three Leroy Sanes in our squad, our speed will improve dramatically; if we have three Marcos Alonsos and three Cesc Fabregases in our squad, our speed will drop.

Here, I'm trying to allude to the philosophy of playing, the philosophy of trying to create goals, and not necessarily its perfect execution, which depends largely on the types of players in the squad. 

We've never had the right manager in the last two decades or so to implement that philosophy. We were still winning big trophies and that covered up all the deficiencies. We were still spending big in the transfer market. We were blessed with some amazing players. And now! And this is where the prospect of Sarri excites me. It excites me now that we have one of the slowest teams in the Premier League top-six and that soaking the pressure and hitting on-the-break will not work over 38 league games !! Now that we have at least a dozen teams across Europe who can spend as big as we can, we need a change in our footballing philosophy. 

In Conte, we have the embodiment of a manager who keeps taking the punch and tries to hit big on the counter; he is NOT proactive. He epitomises  defensive mastery with very little creativity going forward. We scored 44 goals less than City this season, which is still okay with me given what a good attacking team they are, but only as many goals as silly Leicester could muster over 38 league games, which is certainly NOT okay with me. He is a good coach, and won the League for us. Respect. But I've had enough. 

There's a reason why Barcelona have been so successful for the last 15 years, and it is not just down to that another freak in La Liga. There's a reason why neutrals are so fascinated with Liverpool's style of play this season and even more gut-wrenchingly, bloody Tottenham's.

I need a change. I am ready to gamble. 

Edited May 28, 20188 yr by Lord

3 minutes ago, Lord said:

Cristiano takes all the penalties and still has a great leap (headed goals). That helps.

Anyway, he's a freak. I'm a nobody to comment on the goal-tally of someone who's in serious contention for football's GOAT.  CR7-aside, this discussion. 

Real Madrid still finished this campaign 17-18 points behind Barcelona. That is a huge gulf over the period of one season. There were so many matches where they were literally outplayed by smaller teams and had absolutely no clue how to unlock their defense.  They dropped points in a whopping 16 league games! A big part of that was down to their ageing players, who have lost pace and are now in the wrong side of their thirties. Pace, especially down the flanks, is the prerequisite for counter-attacking football to work (along with, strong central defenders).

They still have great technical players like Modric and Kroos and Isco in their midfield (and Marcelo and Ramos), which obviously helps in cup tournaments, but not over 40 games in the League. 

My logic is very simple.

Is our side a fast, pacey side? No. There are barely two or three players who can be considered 'fast'. Even young players like Alonso are so painfully slow. 

Our side will benefit from (slow) possession-based football in my opinion. The speed of passing and directness of play can always be altered depending on the kind of players we have at our disposal. If we have three Sadio Manes and three Leroy Sanes in our squad, our speed will improve dramatically; if we have three Marcos Alonsos and three Cesc Fabregases in our squad, our speed will drop.

Here, I'm trying to allude to the philosophy of playing, the philosophy of trying to create goals, and not necessarily its perfect execution, which depends largely on the types of players in the squad. 

We've never had the right manager in the last two decade or so to implement that philosophy. And this is where the prospect of Sarri excites me. It excites me now that we have one of the slowest teams in the Premier League top-six and that soaking the pressure and hitting on-the-break will not work over 38 league games !!

In Conte, we have the embodiment of a manager keep taking the punch and hit big on the counter; he is NOT proactive. He epitomises  defensive mastery with very little creativity going forward. We scored 44 goals less than City this season, which is still okay with me given what a good attacking team they are, but only as many goals as silly Leicester could muster over 38 league games, which is certainly NOT okay with me. He is a good coach, and won the League for us. Respect. But I've had enough. 

There's a reason why Barcelona have been so successful for the last 15 years, and it is not just down to that another freak in La Liga. There's a reason why neutrals are so fascinated with Liverpool's style of play this season and even more gut-wrenchingly, bloody Tottenham's.

I need a change. I am ready to gamble. 

I can get the plaudits for Liverpool's style but really not seeing it with Spurs, they are quite machine like for me.

I'll admit I'm a little fearful of us becoming more open and expansive, when I think of it I always think back to that 3-5 defeat to Arsenal at the Bridge.

Edited May 28, 20188 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

They have scored more goals than us, they have scored more points than us...and all that without having spent as much as we have over 5-10 years.

 

The core group of their young players will earn them lots of points even if they stopped buying anyone, I don't think that applies to us. 

The only argument against Mauricio Pochettino and bloody Tottenham is that they haven't won anything, but to be brutally honest, they're more likely to win something next season with one-two good buys than us with Conte still at the helm of things. 

I have great respect for Conte. But the ship has sailed. We need a change in footballing philosophy. The lack in noise at the Bridge this season must have been for a reason. 

6 minutes ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

I'll admit I'm a little fearful of us becoming more open and expansive, when I think of it I always think back to that 3-5 defeat to Arsenal at the Bridge.

How's that any worse than this season's 0-1 against lowly Swansea? 0-3 against lowly Newcastle? 2-3 against lowly Burnley ? 1-2 against lowly Crystal Palace ? 0-1 against lowly West Ham ? 0-3 against lowly Bournemouth for God's sake? and 1-4 against lowly Watford of all teams ???

And a few more results that I cannot think of right now. This season has been a disaster, not because we've finished 30 points off the winners of the division, but the nature of our performances against 'lesser' sides was appalling at times.  

We have been miserable  trying to break defenses, very little creativity. 

It was okay doing this in 1995 or 2001. But post-Roman era has stood for something else. 

14 minutes ago, Lord said:

They have scored more goals than us, they have scored more points than us...and all that without having spent as much as we have over 5-10 years.

 

The core group of their young players will earn them lots of points even if they stopped buying anyone, I don't think that applies to us. 

The only argument against Mauricio Pochettino and bloody Tottenham is that they haven't won anything, but to be brutally honest, they're more likely to win something next season with one-two good buys than us with Conte still at the helm of things. 

I have great respect for Conte. But the ship has sailed. We need a change in footballing philosophy. The lack in noise at the Bridge this season must have been for a reason. 

Comparing them to us this season just gone is hardly a good yardstick. In general the notion seems to be Tottenham's brand of football is close to if not on par with City and Liverpool, which just isn't the case. If i was going to give them a direct comparison playing style wise i'd say 2014 Atletico.

13 minutes ago, Lord said:

How's that any worse than this season's 0-1 against lowly Swansea? 0-3 against lowly Newcastle? 2-3 against lowly Burnley ? 1-2 against lowly Crystal Palace ? 0-1 against lowly West Ham ? 0-3 against lowly Bournemouth for God's sake? and 1-4 against lowly Watford of all teams ???

And a few more results that I cannot think of right now. This season has been a disaster, not because we've finished 30 points off the winners of the division, but the nature of our performances against 'lesser' sides was appalling at times.  

We have been miserable  trying to break defenses, very little creativity. 

It was okay doing this in 1995 or 2001. But post-Roman era has stood for something else. 

Its been s**** this season but we've done it perfectly in certain seasons.

I would like to see more expansive football but I don't want us been gung ho like Liverpool.

1 hour ago, dkw said:

Completing them? By bidding? That's completing is it? 

According to the BBC and Telegraph Liverpool have come to an agreement with Monaco for midfielder Fabinho. That's more than just a bid in this case. Almost a done deal and that will greatly improve Liverpool's midfield imo, their biggest weakness this season. We are missing out and not even in the race for these players. 

 

EDIT: we may not have been in for Fabinho in the first place but my point still stands: our rivals are getting their signings done efficiently and quicker than us. 

Edited May 28, 20188 yr by zes

3 minutes ago, zes said:

According to the BBC and Telegraph Liverpool have come to an agreement with Monaco for midfielder Fabinho. That's more than just a bid in this case. Almost a done deal and that will greatly improve Liverpool's midfield imo, their biggest weakness this season. We are missing out and not even in the race for these players. 

We are content with what we have. I mean come on you can see why our Club are happy with Kante, cesc and baka rather than Keita,  fabiniho and ox cause Kante can do the work of 3...

6 minutes ago, zes said:

According to the BBC and Telegraph Liverpool have come to an agreement with Monaco for midfielder Fabinho. That's more than just a bid in this case. Almost a done deal and that will greatly improve Liverpool's midfield imo, their biggest weakness this season. We are missing out and not even in the race for these players. 

 

EDIT: we may not have been in for Fabinho in the first place but my point still stands: our rivals are getting their signings done efficiently and quicker than us. 

Hilarious when you think about it. Our rivals are already on the highway steaming towards their targets while we still havent figured out who will manage us next season. We doesnt even have a bloody new DoF for about 6, soon to be 7 months. 

The club needs to end this one way or another. Either sack Conte or back him. The current situation is not good for the fans. 

3 minutes ago, Costa19 said:

Hilarious when you think about it. Our rivals are already on the highway steaming towards their targets while we still havent figured out who will manage us next season. We doesnt even have a bloody new DoF for about 6, soon to be 7 months. 

Just checked twitter. Liverpool have signed Fabinho. Done deal. Not too gutted but he will strengthen Liverpool in midfield. Dont want to derail the thread too much so I'll end it there. 

 

Fabinho to Pool is official now by the way. 

Well we will figure out who will manage us next season eventually. Probably in late July. Then start random bidding on Dzeko and Bonucci and end up with Crouch and Djilobapapa.

1 hour ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

Do you honestly think he'll still be manager next season?

Stranger things have happened. But no, I don't. 

There is no rush to get his replacement, it's still May after all. Whether it's Sarri, Ranieri or Arteta. 

People need to chill out. We'll hear something soon 

3 minutes ago, Costa19 said:

Fabinho to Pool is official now by the way. 

Well we will figure out who will manage us next season eventually. Probably in late July. Then start random bidding on Dzeko and Bonucci and end up with Crouch and Djilobapapa.

It's crazy to be honest. They were linked with him just earlier today a few hours ago. No news on this yesterday. Transfer completed within a day. I guess the journos were late to pick up on this because it happened so quickly so the negotiations were underway well before today I assume. 

Edited May 28, 20188 yr by zes

4 minutes ago, Blueblur said:

Stranger things have happened. But no, I don't. 

There is no rush to get his replacement, it's still May after all. Whether it's Sarri, Ranieri or Arteta. 

People need to chill out. We'll hear something soon 

I agree that we don't need to rush. 

4 minutes ago, Blueblur said:

Stranger things have happened. But no, I don't. 

There is no rush to get his replacement, it's still May after all. Whether it's Sarri, Ranieri or Arteta. 

People need to chill out. We'll hear something soon 

There is actually a rush on this decision.No player worth his salt will sign for us not knowing who he is going to be played under. We have to either back or sack Conte and move on quickly. Indecision at the highest level of the club is costing us, the transfer window is effectively shortened with the world cup and the decision to close it earlier than other leagues. 

Fabinho is a great player, and would've been ideal in a 2 with kante, if conte was to stick around. However if sarri does come, I don't think he is the right profile of midfielder we need anyway. 

Still hoping for jorginho, although I would sacrifice Batshuayi if we were to get weigl. 

Other than that there is fred who seems United bound, Seri would I like but is also a big gamble. 

8 minutes ago, charierre said:

There is actually a rush on this decision.No player worth his salt will sign for us not knowing who he is going to be played under. We have to either back or sack Conte and move on quickly. Indecision at the highest level of the club is costing us, the transfer window is effectively shortened with the world cup and the decision to close it earlier than other leagues. 

But it seems like we probably won't make many new signings and we haven't exactly rushed to sign players in recent seasons. Doesn't seem to me like that's gonna change.

 

1 hour ago, Lord said:

Cristiano takes all the penalties and still has a great leap (headed goals). That helps.

Anyway, he's a freak. I'm a nobody to comment on the goal-tally of someone who's in serious contention for football's GOAT.  CR7-aside, this discussion. 

Real Madrid still finished this campaign 17-18 points behind Barcelona. That is a huge gulf over the period of one season. There were so many matches where they were literally outplayed by smaller teams and had absolutely no clue how to unlock their defense.  They dropped points in a whopping 16 league games! A big part of that was down to their ageing players, who have lost pace and are now in the wrong side of their thirties. Pace, especially down the flanks, is the prerequisite for counter-attacking football to work (along with, strong central defenders).

They still have great technical players like Modric and Kroos and Isco in their midfield (and Marcelo and Ramos), which obviously helps in cup tournaments, but not over 40 games in the League. 

My logic is very simple.

Is our side a fast, pacey side? No. There are barely two or three players who can be considered 'fast'. Even young players like Alonso are so painfully slow. 

Our side will benefit from (slow) possession-based football in my opinion. The speed of passing and directness of play can always be altered depending on the kind of players we have at our disposal. If we have three Sadio Manes and three Leroy Sanes in our squad, our speed will improve dramatically; if we have three Marcos Alonsos and three Cesc Fabregases in our squad, our speed will drop.

Here, I'm trying to allude to the philosophy of playing, the philosophy of trying to create goals, and not necessarily its perfect execution, which depends largely on the types of players in the squad. 

We've never had the right manager in the last two decades or so to implement that philosophy. We were still winning big trophies and that covered up all the deficiencies. We were still spending big in the transfer market. We were blessed with some amazing players. And now! And this is where the prospect of Sarri excites me. It excites me now that we have one of the slowest teams in the Premier League top-six and that soaking the pressure and hitting on-the-break will not work over 38 league games !! Now that we have at least a dozen teams across Europe who can spend as big as we can, we need a change in our footballing philosophy. 

In Conte, we have the embodiment of a manager who keeps taking the punch and tries to hit big on the counter; he is NOT proactive. He epitomises  defensive mastery with very little creativity going forward. We scored 44 goals less than City this season, which is still okay with me given what a good attacking team they are, but only as many goals as silly Leicester could muster over 38 league games, which is certainly NOT okay with me. He is a good coach, and won the League for us. Respect. But I've had enough. 

There's a reason why Barcelona have been so successful for the last 15 years, and it is not just down to that another freak in La Liga. There's a reason why neutrals are so fascinated with Liverpool's style of play this season and even more gut-wrenchingly, bloody Tottenham's.

I need a change. I am ready to gamble. 

Regardless of Real Madrid's playstyle, they have been the top team in Europe for 3 years in a row now so we can't compare to them.

This year Barcelona played such a slow football I hope we never come to that point, even if they beat us easy it's still very boring to watch them play, no wonder they got knocked out in Europe as soon as another tactical slow team showed up which was Roma, and that was even with less quality players, their league win is mostly due to Real Madrid underperforming in the first few months.

If Liverpool can play fast with 1 Salah and Mane we should be able to play fast with Hazard + a new striker + new midfielder (hopefully Milinkovic-Savic), after all last season we won 30 games and we didn't play slow football.

I don't think we should try to play slow, we will never outdo Man City with Pep that has a superior squad depth and just better players for that kind of game, that would be playing his game and we would lose every time, Klopp didn't care to play his game and Liverpool even with such a poor defense and poor goalkeeper and at best average midfield players schooled Pep's Man City.

Sarri is a perfect balance where we would have possession but play fast and effective, we do have the players for that given a new striker and midfielder for the first 11.
 

 

 

2 hours ago, Gol15 said:

He could have been fired 10 days ago. But still no activity.

It's very possible his compensation has already been sorted between the club, Conte and his lawyers.  Conte isn't daft, he will have seen and read the stories that Sarri has more or less got his job.    I suspect once something is agreed with ADL, Conte's sacking will be confirmed