4117 réponses à ce sujet

[OBakaSama]

Seems like Wolves, after all that hullabaloo, promoted from within. And again it seems to be a temporary thing (until the end of the season). I do get the feeling that they limited their options by only wanting someone in until the end of the season rather than a proper replacement; pretty sure that put some off of the role. Interesting for Wolves to state that they never gave any details to the press regarding the prospective candidates, which is true, but there certainly was enough info coming out which made it look like no-one wanted the job on offer. As a result it makes this appointment seems desperate.

'Soulless' probably is the best way of describing it. Sort of reminds me of someone I knew who I would describe as having 'soulless eyes'; it's quite disturbing. Maybe it's the punters as well, but something is certainly missing when ITV cover football though.

We need Porto to come out with a statement about not wanting to make them angry....

At least someone has tried to do so. Goodness knows how many managers tried to accommodate both Gerrard and Lampard together and it never worked. Have them in the squad together by all means, but don't have them playing together though. They've always been either-or for me when they're at the top of their game. Ideally, drop them both and find a new midfield who will get to work together for years to come.

With Torres being dropped from the Spain national side; is it safe to say that that is pretty much it for him as a top player? (Not that he's played all that well over the last couple or so seasons.)

[MordinKrios]

Frazier Campell in the England squad?

Started two league games this year? What! Scored one decent volley? Oh dear oh dear.

But thankfully Micah Richards got called up, he deserved it, but no Joleon Lescott? Bit poor really.

Hope Pearce doesn't lead us to 2012.

[OBakaSama]

Whoever leads us into this year's tournament is destined to fail. Only question is who the media blames for the failure. To be fair to Pearce he does have some experience with the under-21s.

Interesting to see Zenit flexing their financial muscles as Samba and Arshavin go there.

EDIT: bad mistake on my part. Arshavin goes back to Zenit on loan, and Samba moves to Anzhi. Nice way of conflating two clubs together.....

Modifié par OBakaSama, 26 février 2012 - 01:31 .

[Kimosabe]

Druss99 wrote...
I remember back in the days of Klinsmann and the like, players used to say they were coming to England for the atmosphere. The Dutch fans tonight put the PL to shame as far as atmosphere is concerned. From what I've seen Germany and Holland seem to have taken over as the leaders in that regard.

Yea, I'm sorry you had to see that, the Ajax 'fans' are the worst fans in The Netherlands, only cheering when they win...
For real atmosphere come to NAC or, I hate to say it, Feyenoord.

As for the EC, I don't think Spain will take it. They have good players but I don't see them winning again, they got lucky.
We have great players and a good team IF they let the right people play and play as a team (i.e no Van Persie, no De Jong)
Germany has the best team in years but since I'm still Dutch we will beat them easily in the group stages

[OBakaSama]

Seems like some good action today in the Prem. With the talk of Arsenal's demise in recent times I wasn't expecting them to win with such a goal tally against Tottenham.

As for Norwich's home match against Man Utd at Carrow Road. Ooooo....got my hopes up for a draw near the end...before we conceded during extra time. So close. Also sounds like we were lucky with one decision as well. (It's my team so I'll take it; fan hypocrisy and all that.)

As for the Carling Cup...Cardiff one goal up at the time of writing. Hm....

[Druss99]

I'm not sure if Kimo is being clever or if my comment got lost in translation lol.

Spurs completely capitulated today, they didn't really look like scoring again after the second goal, then they just fell apart. I like how when Arsenal lose its all Wengers fault and he should be sacked, but when Spurs fall apart like that its not The Iron Gerbils fault that his players didn't do as they were told. This was claimed by both Gary Neville and F365 despite neither of them knowing what he told his players at half time.

Sounds like we got lucky at Carrow Road to get the result.

Now next year can be Liverpools year, following on from the grand tradition of Birmingham...wait...

I don't see a massive problem with picking Campbell for England, its Pearces first squad and he wants to reward a player he knows well from the under 21's. It's only a friendly and they are going to have to look at options anyway with Rooney suspended, I assume he wants to look at a 4th or 5th striker to take to the Euro's. Unless England are happy with Defoe/Crouch/Heskey/Carroll again. Even though we know it will most likely be one of those four on the plane.

[OBakaSama]

Atmosphere: I guess in some countries football is still a passion. Keane made that remark about the prawn sandwich brigade a long while back. My guess is that for some people who go to matches football is entertainment, and they don't hold any allegiance to a particular club; they just go to be entertained.

Late goals: yep, one of those things again. I think my fist is knackered from shaking.... Also interesting that it was Scholes and Giggs who scored as well. Giggs managed to pull away to get that goal, and boy...hearts were broken. For me it was 'it had to be Giggs'; can't really complain. Man Utd needed that experience in that match it seems. Apparently Norwich had more shots on goal as well. Shows you that Norwich can convert chances, and had de Gea not been on the top of his game (he made a few cracking saves) we may have got more from the game.

Arsenal-Tottenham: Arsenal ran riot (well...it felt that way) in the second half. It is unsurprising that The Iron Gerbil drew no criticism from the media after that heavy defeat. On MOTD it seemed to be a case of shifting the blame to the FA; just call him and have it done with otherwise it will affect the squad. Ready made excuses, please make sure they are hot before consumption.

Carling Cup: well....Liverpool managed it after Cardiff failed to get the ball on target during penalties. Shame, I wanted Liverpool not to win. Cardiff done well in that. The fans should be proud. Liverpool can be proud to have beaten a Championship side on penalties.... On the bright side they are guaranteed a European place now no matter where in the league they are. I'm sure they'll win the league next season with that performance.

Hawkeye: I wonder if that is one of the systems being trialed by FIFA for goal line technology. I'm somewhat sceptical that it would be used for players and their runs as it seems that it's only used to track the ball. There was a scientific explanation for poor offside calls, especially for minor decisions. No explanation for when players are yards offside though, with the exception of brown envelopes....

England squad: youth is good to have them get the experience. Long term it is better I think; just have a player with experience in the team for back up (as long as they don't whine about not being first choice and all that). Question though, modjo: how on earth are you going to get Gerrard and Lampard to work together? I'm thinking a tactical nuke but I'm open to suggestions as to how.

Looks like Inter****onale have a similar noteriety to S****horpe. Took me a while to figure out why S****horpe was discriminated against.... Look at the blanked out letters.....

[Druss99]

Alot of people seem to turn up to football matches with a sense of entitlement like "You owe me a 3-0 win and I demand it!" Rather than turning up to support the team.

I forgot about MotD2 so haven't even seen the goals or the match. But I understand it was a fairly poor performance from United and Norwich were unlucky not to win. Unsurprising our performance was poor, Nani and Young have been about as useful as a c*ck flavoured lollipop since they came back from injury. I can't even remember the last time Young played well. The sad part is most United fans I've seen seem to list Young and Nani as their prefered choice on the wings, ignoring that Valencia is by far our most productive and consistant winger, maybe even our most consistant player overall.

I still can't figure out the reason why they are so determined to get The Iron Gerbil into the job. Is it just a case of some of the media said it and the rest just jumped on the bandwagon? Alot of the time thats how it works but this is just...its like North Korea... I wonder if Arsenal will push on from here, seeing Chelsea not make the CL would be priceless.

This is it, the beginning, the first of many, they will push on from here, the league is next, then Europe, back where they belong, next year is their year. Ofcourse by December it will be calls for Dalglish' head. I only caught bits of the match so can't really comment on the performance.

I think I remember FIFA saying that they were only looking at something for goal lines and nothing else. I've never understood how linesmen can see the exact moment the ball is being played and exactly where the player is, its two opposite directions most of the time. I'm amazed they get it right so often.

I'm pretty sure I could get Gerrard and Lampard to work well together, though it wouldn't be as footballers. I'm thinking at a fish processing factory perhaps. Every part of the match I saw yesterday seemed to involve Gerrard ballooning the ball into the stands. I wouldn't pick him for England, I'd pick Parker and Wilshere maybe with Carrick.

[FutureBoy81]

[/quote]
werre baaaack ...

[OBakaSama]

Yep. I think that's why atmosphere is lacking now, and I am willing to go as far as suggesting that bigger clubs suffer from that more than smaller clubs. When big clubs play these customers expecting entertainment go along to see an A-list production.

The highlights seemed rather brief. I read one review that suggested that Norwich may have been lucky not to have been reduced to ten men, but the highlights didn't cover the incident; maybe they didn't think there was an incident. Sir Alex certainly gave a ringing endorsement of Norwich's display it would seem, but given how Man Utd were piling on the pressure near the end I don't really consider it luck that Giggs scored the winning goal. All that pressure paid off. Norwich's defence isn't exactly solid, so when they're under the kosh I do expect to concede. Still, I'm pleased with the performance as they managed to score after all which bodes well for the rest of the season.

Looking at different possibilities for the England job I do wonder who would be considered (ignoring the media). There aren't many English managers really who are 'successful'. The Iron Gerbil did win the FA Cup with Portsmouth. While it isn't exactly the most impressive in general it does seem to be at least something to look at on a CV that he doesn't know how to write. Before Capello I would have loved to have seen the crazy appointment of Sam Allardyce (actually it still would be fun to see him in charge). Who else is there? Alan Curbishley? Alan Pardew? Neil Warnock has now gone to Leeds. Stuart Pearce is a fair choice as he does have more international experience, albeit on a different level but still relevant experience; something The Iron Gerbil doesn't have. Roy Hodgson perhaps? Insofar as the criterion of 'success' is used it would seem that The Iron Gerbil is the 'only one for the job'. Now...if we were to consider other things then it would be different. I am of the opinion we should give the job to a roast potato.

Chelsea look as if they're in all sorts of trouble. I wonder just how much unrest there is at the club. Depending how Abramovich acts it could make or break the club.

I didn't bother watching the Carling Cup final either, though I did see the penalties. Though I guess we will have to question why Liverpool can't seem to win these things in 90 minutes. A win's a win, sure. And no disrespect to Cardiff but given league positions we would expect Liverpool to win (even though I was hoping Cardiff could pull it off), so why do they make it such hard work? Very odd mentality at play I think at the club.

As for offsides...I would put it down to experience. It is physically impossible for them to get it right as you point out, Druss.

Fish processing factory, huh? Perhaps we should send them over to Bob....

[OBakaSama]

So....Scott Parker as captain for tonight's game against the Nethelands. Interesting choice and probably the favoured one overall. I was expecting James Milner considering Pearce's earlier comments though.

[Druss99]

Saw some of the Norwich - United highlights last night and they didn't show any possible red card incident on ESPN, they just really showed the goals. Good finish by Holt but we had 3 defenders around him that could have done better, especially Ferdinand.

Redknapp does have something those other managers don't have though, he's been relegated a few times and left atleast one club in dire financial trouble. Thats exactly whats needed. Hodgson has had success in European leagues and relative success with managing other international teams I think. I've been impressed by Pearce so far, picking Gerrard but not making him captain was a nice move. I think Welbeck is starting up front tonight too.

Chelsea are becoming hilarious, Lampard, Terry and Cole seem to have lost the power to get a manager who won't bow to their demands fired and are constantly sniping now. It's shown the real problems at Chelsea and I assume England.

Indeed, if that was a league draw there would be calls for Kenny's head again. Seems to be alot of blinkered optimism. Someone said in the F365 mailbox the other day that Dalglish seems to treat anyone who isn't connected with LFC with utter disdain and I couldn't agree more, his attitude in interviews and press conferences is shocking.

I suppose, I know dealing with amature linesmen you had to accept that around 90% of the time they were just taking a calculated guess. I guess you're right that when they become pro eventually the training and experience helps them get more right that wrong. Its still bloody awkward though.

Good thinking, Bob has slipped under the radar a bit recently. Though I did hear he made some wild comment about selling Samba actually being a positive thing last week. Everything is positive when you're Bob: The happy butcher.

Edit: England team for tonight is apparently: Hart, Richards, Cahill, Smalling, Baines, Gerrard, Parker, Barry, A. Johnson, Young, Welbeck.

Not bad, looks like a 4-3-3 to me, with a fully fit squad I'd have Wilshere in for Gerrard and Rooney in for Young with Welbeck moving to the wing. Maybe Cole in for Baines if I could restrain myself from beating him in the face with his own boot.

Modifié par Druss99, 29 février 2012 - 05:37 .

[Seeker Sparrow]

A better performance by Norwich in their home game against United, and a very lucky 3 points for us is all I have to say. Agreed on not being too impressed with Young he hasn't 'shined' for us yet so could be a patience thing, Nani when he's not trying to emulate Ronaldo can be one of our better players on the pitch, i.e setting up goals. A shame Valencia is out at the moment.

If you tried telling a bunch of people to suggest another English manager for the job there will most likely be a look of confusion, then about 30 seconds thinking time to which they'll reply with "but why not Harry Redknapp?!" I think he's wanted for the job regardless of his past accomplishments other than his Spurs side is among the top four this season.

I doubt Chelsea will slip out of the top 4 the end of the season, as funny as it would be to see. As bad as Chelsea were looking, Arsenal were looking just as bad.

League Cup match annoyed me, not so much that Liverpool would win as I always suspected they would win but more on Cardiff's performance towards the end and at extra time. I remember just before the final whistle (before penalties) Cardiff looked on the brink of a last second counter-attack but didn't bother even running with the ball just waited for the ref to blow the whistle.

Also Liverpool completely fluffing their first two shots and again Cardiff failing to capitalize on their form also annoyed me. Seems Wembley just doesn't like the Welsh side as they usually lose there.

I can just picture Blackburn fans singing "Bob the Butcher, can he fix it, no he can't" at games, or at least think it'd be funny to hear during a match. We just need someone to explain the Bob acronym to them....

[OBakaSama]

Holt is quite the player really; he's been told he can't make it at any level (some say he's not good enough when we were in League One, then Championship, then the Premier League) while he's been at Norwich and yet he's put in some tremendous displays for us and banged in the goals. Certainly a player who has got that mental fortitude.

Didn't Young start well then sort of fade away? I remember commentators were purring that it looked like he had been part of the team for years the way he had slotted in.

The Iron Gerbil: 'at least one club'; I like that because it's so open ended we can just keep upping the numbers. I don't think Southampton were in a particularly good state after he left to go back to Portsmouth. As an outsider looking in I would fear for Tottenham as well because The Iron Gerbil's track record in recent years seems to be spending in excess to achieve success; and that reminds me of what happened to Leeds.

Chelsea: it does look like the players seem to wield too much power. It still seems to be crunch time as to what support AVB gets; even he seems to doubt that he will get the chance to see the restructuring project through it would seem.

Arsenal: they seem to be an infuriating club to support this season. Really silly capitulations and then they pull out a game like that against Tottenham. I'm sure the transfers out last season scuppered Wenger's ideal scenario for this season, and it remains to be seen what damage there is to the club this season regarding van Persie.

'Blinkered optimism': the sort of optimism a fan of a club who are supposed to be brilliant has. Now...which other clubs' fans have that? Hm....

You know, Seeker, once we explain the acronym of 'Bob' to them then Bob the butcher loses its lustre....

It looks like game over for Portsmouth (again). At this rate I do wonder whether they'd be liquidated some time in the future.

Twas an interesting game for England last night (missed most of it due to class). Was rather excited that England managed to level, but boy that deflection for Robben's second was a bit cruel.

[Druss99]

The ultimate underdog.

I think Young did well when the team were doing well but failed to really step up after that. He's been woeful for months. Nani is mind boggling, some games (i.e. his last few games) he is about as useful as condoms in a nunnery, other games he is world class and unplayable. He really just needs to find some consistancy, he can go up and down in the course of a game nevermind a week. Its all ok though, Michael Owen is back in training.

That one club was Southampton lol, I can't remember if he took Portsmouth down too, hence my vagueness. Saying that after him spending to excess and landing them in this mess he is now being talked up for the England job as they go out of business.

As for Chelsea, has anyone heard David Luiz' comments about Lampard today? It seems sides are being taken, he basically told Lampard to shut up and stop his moaning, in the press. It seems thats how they are conducting all their business now. Its got the potential to be hilarious.

I thought Arsenals comeback on Sunday had a whole lot to do with Spurs being a bit crap once Arsenal got settled. Once Arsenal got their foot in the door they were great, but personally I'd blame Spurs for capitualating. Be interesting to see if Arsenal can build from here, also Wenger should get credit for Walcott getting his confidence back in the second half. If it had been The Iron Gerbil or Mourinho...

United fans tend to have blinkered negativity from what I've experienced.

Theres a danger that no one will agree that Bob looks like a butcher and it could start riots between rival factions who think he looks more like a fish monger, a Scottish game keeper or anything really.

Port Vale aren't in good shape either. Bad times for the lower leagues. Portsmouth might not even be able to fulfil their fixtures for this season apparently. Wonder what the contingency for that is.

Missed most of the England game too, have to admit I did laugh at the equaliser. I caught the tail end and from the commentator going on about heroic comebacks and such things all his momentum was whipped out from under him.

[DeckardWasAReplicant]

Thank god. Finally we can talk about real football and not that soccer crap.

Joe Montana still better then ole Tommy Brady

[OBakaSama]

Hm...sounds like a wrestler name: Grant 'the Ultimate Underdog' Holt.

In that sense Young isn't quite there yet. As for Nani...he's been pretty inconsistent during his spell at Old Trafford, though his performances (and consistency) since Ronaldo left have seemingly improved. Wonder what coaches try to do in order to get players performing to a consistently high level. Almost forgot that Owen was still there. I did read a blurb somewhere that Berbatov is being offered another extension. Can't really see Berbatov accepting to be honest if it's true; though it depends how much he desires to play I guess.

I am of the opinion that The Iron Gerbil did take a club down as I can recall him saying staunchly that he'd never been relegated in his life, and he wasn't going to just leave the club like that.

Yeah, that does seem like it could be an interesting situation brewing at Chelsea. It has that feel where couples will only speak to each other through another person, you know, telling a mutual friend who is standing in the middle listening to a "Tell him that...." and "Tell her that..." exchanges.

Walcott seemed good in that second half. Wenger-bashing has been a favourite this season I think, taken over from Bob it would seem. I'm still not entirely convinced of The Iron Gerbil's tactical acumen. No doubt better than mine but he is supposed to be a professional after all. Come to think of it, you think there are any writing portions to obtaining a coaching badge? I have my doubts.

Is that just a certain brigade or in general?

My old man thinks he looks like a fishmonger as I've mentioned before, though I think Bob is versatile enough for either role. He's an MPV with cutting utensils. As for riots...given how things could go for him I don't think he needs further reasons for them.

Regarding Portsmouth I heard on the news today that it would mean that fixture, and all the points from it, would be wiped out; so the points tally would be decided from the other 46 matches. That would make sense. Finances are struggle all round really, so it's not too surprising.

I didn't pay attention to the commentary, but I can imagine they stumbled as Robben's winner crossed the line.

Had a thought regarding the England job after the mention last time: Steve McClaren. I feel that the word 'discuss' is all that is needed....

[OBakaSama]

Well...that was an interesting day during the weekend. Had hopes that Norwich could have got something out of the game against Stoke but alas it wasn't to be. Now looking over shoulder as teams below us now close the gap.

AVB being sacked seemed certain given how Abramovich operates, and unfortunately it seems he doesn't mind damaging the club to get what he thinks he wants. I think we can sit back and watch Chelsea continue to slide down to upper mid-table, probably consistently challenging for a Europa League place. After all, he seems to have no confidence in any manager in overhauling the squad. Chelsea will become a club that managers know they won't be there for long and will attempt to negotiate a big pay off in their contracts when they are inevitably sacked. Sort of like Newcastle a while back.

Oh, and Liverpool are back on the top of the world after their Carling Cup triumph it would seem. Do they have strikers in that squad of theirs?

[Druss99]

Don't let Young's two goals today fool you, he was shockingly bad up until the first one. That was an absolutely woeful United performance, we were spared by Spurs not really looking threatening very often. Not sure why Spurs decided to shunt their best midfielder onto the wing, isolating and negating him for most of the match. It was an odd decision when they had Krancjar and Rose on the bench.

The Iron Gerbil definately took Southampton down, not sure if he took Portsmouth down or not. United beat Southampton on the last day of the season to send them down.

In general it seems.

McClaren has had more success in less time than The Iron Gerbil, but ofcourse he ain't 'arf the manager is he guv?

Who would take the Chelsea job now? The squad clearly needs rebuilt but you either won't be given the time to rebuild it or you have to rebuild it around the very same aging players that you're trying to replace. Am I the only one noticing Lampards game hasn't changed despite him being 34? Suppose its easy when you do nothing but shoot, pass square and run forward.

I read somewhere Liverpool are closer to relegation than they are to winning the league. Its possible for Norwich to finish above them.

[OBakaSama]

I'm sure the editing team would have made him look very impressive. Such is their jobs. And missing out some of the questionable stuff at times. As for The Iron Gerbil making odd decisions with regards to players and tactics....I am not surprised.

Looks like The Iron Gerbil only took Southampton down.

I'm sure the press have prepared a case against him. With AVB now out of a job....scratch that....

I'm of the mind that no-one could really do the job that Abramovich wants. Given his record I think only Guus Hiddink would actually stand a chance in the hotseat. Abramovich obviously doesn't trust most of his managers to oversee such a rebuilding project. Seeing the names being touted at the moment though....who comes up with that stuff? Benitez? Guardiola?

Huh...looking at the points for the top of the league, bottom and Liverpool's that is true. 27 points off the top and 19 points from the bottom. With that logic, from fifth team down (Newcastle) every team are closer to bottom than the top; with Chelsea smack bang in the middle. See. Chelsea are mid-table already!

[MordinKrios]

Sessengon. After all we bigged him up. Gets sent off haha!

Man, me and friend were talking about Liverpool today (He supports'em). We said that Carroll, Downing and Henderson are three of the most overrated english players out there. Spearing does hendersons job as well if not better. Downing is decent, but not top 4 quality.

And as for Carroll, why didn't they just buy Fernando Llorente?

Anyway, poor result for my Bantams at the weekend. Lost to Dag and Red. Gutted

[Druss99]

I can't fathom why Spurs played Modric on the wing at all, he has never really been effective for them out there and was at fault for the second goal. If Valencia had been fit...Then again if Bale had been fit...

I still blame him for Portsmouth, the Titanic, the first two world wars, the fall of Rome, Street Fighter: The Movie, the gulf war, the time I broke my foot, AIDS, the Sessengon incident and Godzilla.

AVB for England!

Saw a guy on F365 claiming that Lampard's behaviour is as bad as Tevez' for unprofessionalism, while its not as extreme, he does have a point. Didn't Hiddink recently take a job in Russia or Turkey? Anzhi? Big Mick! Is there any point in hiring a manager? He will just be fired in a few months for a massive sum no matter what he does it seems. Why the hell was Ancelotti fired?

I thought Downing was good for Villa and Middlesboro but he seems to be a bit useless in reality. Henderson never looked that special and Carroll had half a good season in the PL, no way did he have enough time to look like a £35m player. Adam hasn't been stellar either, Suarez is more hassle than he's worth. Enrique is the only good signing Dalglish has made. Given all that, how can the owners trust him with any money? It wouldn't be so bad but how much did that lot cost? He paid well over the odds for them all. I think the problem with Llorente is he isn't English and Dalglish seems to have an awful eye for talent. If Hodgson had signed even one of those players...

[OBakaSama]

Liverpool: how much blame should the manager take regarding the signings they have made? Don't they have any decent scouts? After all this lack of ability to sign good talent seems to have been around for many a year now going back to at least Benitez. Dalglish probably wants an English spine in the team, which is understandable, though the signings so far have been questionable so far. Carroll's price was just bizarre really; and he just doesn't really fit the way the team plays (maybe as a last throw of the dice big boot up the field type of desperation tactic). Suarez's ability on the ball is admittedly impressive, the way he darts into space with the ball, but he just can't seem to hit the ball on target for all that talent; this is ignoring his other problems of course. The way subsequent Liverpool managers have squandered cash they are a good argument for having that European system of having a head coach and a director of football who handles transfers exclusively (not that the English have managed to replicate it well so far on previous attempts).

Liverpool fans treated Hodgson like senior Chelsea players treated AVB.....

Professionalism: Lampard's actions were bad without a doubt. In one sense one could actually argue that Lampard was worse than Tevez. While Tevez decided to sulk and just go AWOL, he wasn't there to affect the rest of the dressing room; Lampard stayed, looking professional, while continuing being a bad influence making things worse. That Luiz (?) went public with some comments shows how badly Lampard had been acting and how divisive he was making the dressing room (at least that's how I see it).

Ancelotti was fired as Abramovich decided that the shirt he was wearing was sexier than him.... But yeah, Hiddink is already in a job which rules him out. Still suspect he's the only person Abramovich will listen to though which would give Chelsea a chance of developing the way he actually wants. Wasn't there talk about bringing him in as a director of football or something a year or two back?

[Druss99]

I think Liverpools problem is partly to do with hiring a manager who's been out of the game for around a decade. They do have that set up, Damien Commolli is their director of football I believe. Benitez' squandering of cash came over a long period though, Dalglish blew over £100m in a year. Commolli is the same guy who when Martin Jol needed a defensive midfielder at Spurs went out and spent their entire transfer budget on Darren Bent and bought pretty much every young English player he saw.

Good comparison.

Indeed, how dare AVB not pick a 34 year old midfielder who doesn't do all that much. Lampard seems to be in the same media darling boat as The Iron Gerbil, he can do no wrong. Not surprising considering he's his nephew and has The Copper Rat bigging him up every chance he gets too. Ashley Cole's behaviour wasn't great either but thats like saying the sky is blue. Lampard knew what he was doing the way he kept saying in the media that they don't get along, the media going on about how dropping him was a tactical error is pretty hilarious too. He played in the defeat to West Brom that cost AVB his job.

Fired for not being sexy enough for his shirt? Thats a new low. Didn't Hiddink do the director of football role there for a while or am I confusing it with when he was manager?