Football 2023/24

[charlierc]

3 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Liverpool need a manager that "gets them", Alonso falls into that category.

In my lifetime only 3 Liverpool managers haven't been suitable, only one of them fell into the "gets them" bracket, not sure what went wrong with Souness (I was in Asia for most of his tenure). Rodgers and (particularly) Hodgson just didn't get it at all.

I never got that vibe from Brendan Rodgers. He seemed quite stoked to be there and had he won the league in 2013/14, he'd still be being lauded as a club hero for being the man to end what was at that point a 24 year wait to win the top flight. Even if much of that campaign was thanks to Luis Suarez crushing defences and this reliance on him was exposed when they made the comical decision to replace him with Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert.

Souness was dreadful at Newcastle and Liverpool fans of that era tell me it wasn't that much better, while Hodgson was pretty out of his depth at Liverpool.

Edited January 26 by charlierc

[Superscally]

32 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Liverpool need a manager that "gets them", Alonso falls into that category.

In my lifetime only 3 Liverpool managers haven't been suitable, only one of them fell into the "gets them" bracket, not sure what went wrong with Souness (I was in Asia for most of his tenure). Rodgers and (particularly) Hodgson just didn't get it at all.

Souness tried to change too much too quickly, then lost all goodwill by talking to the S*n. Only now is he being forgiven. 

[Neil]

Only silverware for spurs this year is Joe Lewis's handcuffs

[thetime]

54 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Liverpool need a manager that "gets them", Alonso falls into that category.

Rodgers and (particularly) Hodgson just didn't get it at all.

Its all fate, and I know how you Liverpool scousers love Klopp. But if |Gerrard never slipped, you would never have got Klopp in the 1st place. Very much like the 80s when utd won 10 straight games, if it was not for Robbo getting injured should of won the league in the mid 80s. If that happened, fergie would not have come in 86 and the rest that followed.

[charlierc]

6 minutes ago, thetime said:

Its all fate, and I know how you Liverpool scousers love Klopp. But if |Gerrard never slipped, you would never have got Klopp in the 1st place. Very much like the 80s when utd won 10 straight games, if it was not for Robbo getting injured should of won the league in the mid 80s. If that happened, fergie would not have come in 86 and the rest that followed.

The butterfly effect can be just that though. Ferguson said that if Craig Bellamy didn't get a season-ending injury in March 2002, Newcastle might well have won the league, to say nothing of a series of Schmiechel wonder-saves in 1996.

There's probably something out there chronicling all manner of "what ifs".

[charlierc]

4 hours ago, Neil said:

looks like he might get another before hes gone.

I presume that Liverpool might go for the "Win one more for Klopp" attitude rather than the "He's bailing? Down tools lads" attitude.

Granted I doubt it'll end up in a quadruple but that's because a quadruple is a bit hard to win. 

[Neil]

13 minutes ago, charlierc said:

The butterfly effect can be just that though. Ferguson said that if Craig Bellamy didn't get a season-ending injury in March 2002, Newcastle might well have won the league, to say nothing of a series of Schmiechel wonder-saves in 1996.

There's probably something out there chronicling all manner of "what ifs".

What if's. If spurs goalie can hold the ball then spurs would still be in the FA cup.

[Gnomicide]

7 hours ago, thetime said:

How you can count a covid title, when no one was interested is beyond me. Even ole looked a good manager in covid times. 

I know I shouldn't bite but... come on, you don't actually believe that deep down. You know the title was all but won at the time football was stopped. What did Liverpool need? 3 wins from 8 games? If we're truly talking about a covid title, it's the one that followed.

There is a huge amount of bollocks talked about football. Tribalism makes it almost impossible to have a decent chat about it with fans of other teams, particularly close rivals and especially online rather than in person.

Klopp has been incredible for Liverpool, you could argue incredible for the Premier League because without Liverpool pushing the financially doped City from down the motorway, the last 8 or 9 seasons would have been incredibly boring at the top. 

But I don't expect City, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal fans, any other fans really, to acknowledge that. Pointing at just one League title and saying "nothing special" without taking the circumstances into account seems baffling to me. But if it was a manager of another club, I'd probably be saying the same thing because that's how football seems to work these days. 

Since he's been there, Liverpool have won every trophy they could wish for. I wouldn't have swapped him or the ride we've been on for anyone. Even the seasons where we fell short have largely been incredible experiences. Some of those points totals reached without actually winning have been astonishing. Yes, I'm a Liverpool fan so obviously I'm biased, but I think he's been a truly exceptional manager and will always be remembered as such. 

[pink_triangle]

2 hours ago, Skip997 said:

Liverpool need a manager that "gets them", Alonso falls into that category.

In my lifetime only 3 Liverpool managers haven't been suitable, only one of them fell into the "gets them" bracket, not sure what went wrong with Souness (I was in Asia for most of his tenure). Rodgers and (particularly) Hodgson just didn't get it at all.

I get the impression they really tightened the purse strings with Hodgson. I remember him bringing in a load of mid table players.

[pink_triangle]

I think the argument about what he has won is a bit silly. Look at all the major leagues and it’s rare to see a club outside the top 2 spender’s dominating. He has been great for Liverpool, over however I have found him become more annoying as a neutral.

[Skip997]

8 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

I get the impression they really tightened the purse strings with Hodgson. I remember him bringing in a load of mid table players.

No

They were his choices, the guy really didn't have a clue.

[charlierc]

10 hours ago, Neil said:

What if's. If spurs goalie can hold the ball then spurs would still be in the FA cup.

In fairness I think he was put off by Ruben Dias being right in front of him and also challenging for the ball. Not a foul by the Man City man, but it didn't help Vicario reach it.

Though I will say he also could've saved the shot that lead to the offside goal in the first half.

[charlierc]

9 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

I get the impression they really tightened the purse strings with Hodgson. I remember him bringing in a load of mid table players.

They did but only because Liverpool's then-owners Hicks & Gillett didn't really have the money and were in the process of the quite protracted sale to their current mob.

Maybe if they'd sold Fernando Torres that summer rather than waiting for Chelsea to throw silly money at him in the January 2011 window, Hodgson might've had better options than signing an over-the-hill Joe Cole and Paul Konchesky.

[Gnomicide]

Hodgson was an appalling appointment for Liverpool. Clueless, ridiculous statements after games, zero respect from the fans. An abomination of a managers. 

[Neil]

4 hours ago, charlierc said:

In fairness I think he was put off by Ruben Dias being right in front of him and also challenging for the ball. Not a foul by the Man City man, but it didn't help Vicario reach it.

Though I will say he also could've saved the shot that lead to the offside goal in the first half.

if it was an arsenal goalie dropping that it would be a different noise coming from the spurs fans.

[pink_triangle]

Great win for Maidstone, these are the days you dream of as a lower league fan.

[Neil]

4 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

Great win for Maidstone, these are the days you dream of as a lower league fan.

i've got a soft spot for maidstone cos the old maidstone club was the previous club to die to the old  aldershot dying - good to see new clubs fighting their way back.

[charlierc]

Bloody hell, is this just a week of resignations?

[charlierc]

7 hours ago, Neil said:

if it was an arsenal goalie dropping that it would be a different noise coming from the spurs fans.

That's bias for ya.

[Neil]

xavi for liverpool...? mebbe!

[pink_triangle]

Sheffield wed or Coventry is not a great draw for Maidstone. If Wrexham can get past Blackburn (which I suspect they won’t) then Newcastle is a tasty draw.

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, pink_triangle said:

If Wrexham can get past Blackburn (which I suspect they won’t) then Newcastle is a tasty draw.

I was so sure we'd get Liverpool or Manchester City so on the surface, I'm ok with this. Even if I can't help but think this is exactly the kind of banana skin Newcastle have built their modern cup legend on. Already getting flashbacks for Stevenage in 2011 or Cambridge two years ago.

Saying that we beat Blackburn 5 years ago and looking at recent Championship form they're not in good shape, while in theory, League 2 v PL shouldn't be a contest.

... in theory, anyway.

1 hour ago, pink_triangle said:

Sheffield wed or Coventry is not a great draw for Maidstone

The last 4 balls in the pot were Sheffield Wed/Cov, Maidstone, Luton and Man City. I was so hoping they'd do Maidstone v Man City at Maidstone, but apparently not. Nevermind.

[charlierc]

With West Brom and Wolves fans having a mildly undignified afternoon, what would a safe disorder-free kick-off time have been? 8am?

[kaosmark2]

48 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Even if I can't help but think this is exactly the kind of banana skin Newcastle have built their modern cup legend on.

I went when we lost at Oxford.

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

I went when we lost at Oxford.

Yup, that's on there. 3-0 was quite the faceplant too, if somehow overshadowed because our Championship promotion rivals Brighton crashed at a then-National League Lincoln at the same time.

I guess Saint-Maximin's winner in a replay's extra-time 3 years later counts as revenge. If perhaps too exciting for that one fan who did a helicopter in celebration.