Football- News, Rumours, Analysis, gossip and much more.....
Let's create a small community of football lovers out there. This thread intends to add value to our knowledge of the game and to hone our understanding about the game. Although football comes with banter, let us try to keep the discussion objective and civil to the maximum extent possible.
Both Messi and Ronaldo are the legends of the game. Period. So, please do not bring up this debate :)
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@KingSlayer23 I disagree on Arteta. Sure he isn’t a Guardiola, Klopp or Conte but he certainly isn’t in the league of OGS (can’t say much about Lampard, haven’t watched his teams enough)Arteta certainly has tactical nous and his style is distinctly visible in the team now. OGS wasn’t ever tactically excellent and he also lacked the requisite coaching competence (as corroborated by sources inside the club)Right now it’s more of if the club can support the manager with signings he wants because he’s the first manager in the last 5-6 years at Arsenal who’s atleast given a good competition to top clubs.
Look, OGS did a lot of good despite the shortcomings of the coaching staff, the team Mourinho left behind had become highly dysfunctional and the way he revived the team last season in Prem was commendable (especially after the abysmal start and that 1-6 hammering). Everyone is entitled to their opinion so I can't say you are wrong but I don't think one can reach the final of the Europa league or score 9 goals in one PL game or defeat Guardiola 3 times a season, etc, etc. without distinct tactical clarity. He had a playing style but he didn't have the cutting edge coaching ability to win trophies.
Personally, I would not mind if Arsenal continues with Arteta for several years :P
Mate I don’t think you got what I’m saying. I mean OGS isn’t tactically ‘excellent’. He definitely knows his stuff which helps in getting the results you’ve mentioned. But at the same time he also oversaw some pretty pathetic games. Sometimes it’s weird seeing so many United fans defend OGS despite him clearly not being enough. I’m not even talking about things from a results perspective. If you look at results, Arteta due to his 8th place finishes shouldn’t have a job. I tend to view things in context, so even if Emery had better or similar results compared to Arteta, with him the team wasn’t on any well defined path.
OGS always gave me some Wenger vibes. On days the players clicked, they produced some excellent free flowing football. However with how modern day football is, Wenger wasn’t able to replicate his earlier success and couldn’t sustain his brand of football since it requires the young hunger, innocence etc in the players. Idk if this makes any sense but in OGS and Wenger, I see an attitude of keeping football a ‘beautiful game’ instead of the tactical intricacy it has become nowadays.
United under Ole had a well established squad and I believe he should have delivered much better results. If I remember correctly, he did oversee that game against PSG. Compared to that game, in 2021 his squad didn’t have a visible identity, it was the same overall. As much as I hate United, they didn’t progress under OGS. With Arteta, despite what a lot of people think, there’s a stark change in how Arsenal played in the win against City (2020, FA cup) and the loss against City recently. Despite losing, they actually took the game to City and dominated for a lot of the game. Arsenal currently have the youngest squad in the league, there are serious depth and positional problems and despite this, he’s got the team playing some structured football again.
Ultimately football is a business and it’s the fine margins that will decide the future of managers so I’m not too attached. You may feel my opinion about OGS and Arteta is wrong but it’s not just my own belief. I trust the word of people who’ve been in this game for years when they say how tactically adept someone is. I watch almost all United and Arsenal games, even when exams are near :P plus I try to be as free from bias as I can be.
I’ll judge Arteta when he has a complete squad at his disposal which will definitely take another summer transfer window. On the same note, I hope Rangnick doesn’t move upstairs and continues his manager role at United :P
On a lighter note, I feel that the transfer window is the most entertaining period in football. For reference, someone spotted a Rolls Royce with a number plate reading ‘15 AAK’, which looks like IsaaK, so Arsenal fans are now convinced it’s Isak because the car was recently registered and his agent is apparently in London too. The fans managed to crash the vehicle registration website and are now scouring Instagram stories of his teammates to look for any transfer clues XD
It’s peak silly season and I absolutely love this!
@KingSlayer23 I disagree on Arteta. Sure he isn’t a Guardiola, Klopp or Conte but he certainly isn’t in the league of OGS (can’t say much about Lampard, haven’t watched his teams enough)Arteta certainly has tactical nous and his style is distinctly visible in the team now. OGS wasn’t ever tactically excellent and he also lacked the requisite coaching competence (as corroborated by sources inside the club)Right now it’s more of if the club can support the manager with signings he wants because he’s the first manager in the last 5-6 years at Arsenal who’s atleast given a good competition to top clubs.
Look, OGS did a lot of good despite the shortcomings of the coaching staff, the team Mourinho left behind had become highly dysfunctional and the way he revived the team last season in Prem was commendable (especially after the abysmal start and that 1-6 hammering). Everyone is entitled to their opinion so I can't say you are wrong but I don't think one can reach the final of the Europa league or score 9 goals in one PL game or defeat Guardiola 3 times a season, etc, etc. without distinct tactical clarity. He had a playing style but he didn't have the cutting edge coaching ability to win trophies.
Personally, I would not mind if Arsenal continues with Arteta for several years :P
Mate I don’t think you got what I’m saying. I mean OGS isn’t tactically ‘excellent’. He definitely knows his stuff which helps in getting the results you’ve mentioned. But at the same time he also oversaw some pretty pathetic games. Sometimes it’s weird seeing so many United fans defend OGS despite him clearly not being enough. I’m not even talking about things from a results perspective. If you look at results, Arteta due to his 8th place finishes shouldn’t have a job. I tend to view things in context, so even if Emery had better or similar results compared to Arteta, with him the team wasn’t on any well defined path.
OGS always gave me some Wenger vibes. On days the players clicked, they produced some excellent free flowing football. However with how modern day football is, Wenger wasn’t able to replicate his earlier success and couldn’t sustain his brand of football since it requires the young hunger, innocence etc in the players. Idk if this makes any sense but in OGS and Wenger, I see an attitude of keeping football a ‘beautiful game’ instead of the tactical intricacy it has become nowadays.
United under Ole had a well established squad and I believe he should have delivered much better results. If I remember correctly, he did oversee that game against PSG. Compared to that game, in 2021 his squad didn’t have a visible identity, it was the same overall. As much as I hate United, they didn’t progress under OGS. With Arteta, despite what a lot of people think, there’s a stark change in how Arsenal played in the win against City (2020, FA cup) and the loss against City recently. Despite losing, they actually took the game to City and dominated for a lot of the game. Arsenal currently have the youngest squad in the league, there are serious depth and positional problems and despite this, he’s got the team playing some structured football again.
Ultimately football is a business and it’s the fine margins that will decide the future of managers so I’m not too attached. You may feel my opinion about OGS and Arteta is wrong but it’s not just my own belief. I trust the word of people who’ve been in this game for years when they say how tactically adept someone is. I watch almost all United and Arsenal games, even when exams are near :P plus I try to be as free from bias as I can be.
I’ll judge Arteta when he has a complete squad at his disposal which will definitely take another summer transfer window. On the same note, I hope Rangnick doesn’t move upstairs and continues his manager role at United :P
Like I said in the last comment: if you all think that Arsenal is making incremental development under Arteta and are on a well defined path then yeah he must be doing the right thing.
i do not defend OGS, in my opinion he was never a United class manager ( I personally wanted either Enrique or Tuchel in 2019) but I give him credit where it is due. Mourinho left a dysfunctional squad with plenty of deadwood, OGS did some okay recruitment and some very good recruitment and managed to secure UCL consecutively.Now, It was clearly not enough because each season it was like beginning from scratch and trophies were not coming.
Lastly, I love how everyone is so enamoured with United not improving that they are all jumping at Rangnick not doing well in first 4-5 games 😂
I would have no issues with him continuing as manager next season and even in long run.
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Kulusevski + Bentacur wow
Fabio Patrici means business
Luis Diaz + (potentially) Fabio Carvalho to liverpool
top recruitment again
Jurgen_klopp,
AzadHindFauz,
Zidane: As a coach(Purely tactically) - Underrated or overrated?
I would say very underrated. There is a common perception among fans(especially Madrid fans) that Zidane was just a man manager whose main role was to keep the egos in Madrid at check. All the CL trophies were down to individual brilliance and superior squad depth . But this is far from truth.
It is true that Madrid under him did not have a distinctive style of play which you associate with great tacticians like Pep or Klopp. But his in-game adjustments and small tweaks and substitutions worked in Madrid's favour more often than not. In his second spell, he also showed his excellent defensive acumen. Won the league with almost the same team that had failed spectacularly in the previous season under Solari and Lopetegui.
KingSlayer23,Per Aspera
Ad Astra
Arsene,@Arsene ever since I made my last comments I made a case to watch every Arsenal game (given that everyone was so confident about growth under Arteta) and I can't disagree any longer that tactically he has done something really positive with this squad....transfers too now appear to be inch-perfect (read Ramsdale and Odegaard) so yeah barring injuries I feel Arsenal are set to take top 4 spot, they even have a well-spaced fixture to allow good recovery periods.United actually lost onto top 4 hopes after the Burnley draw only and then Watford draw and City loss have more or less sealed their chances...they squandered all the points in easier fixtures long before the testing ones began...there is no hope now
The growth is there but the oncoming fixtures aren’t kind. Arsenal enjoyed a good fixture list in the recent past but now in the crucial period of the season very difficult fixtures are piling up.
Though I’m hopeful, I’m still preparing for disappointment. Liverpool tonigh, Villa on Saturday. Also play Chelsea in a future midweek and then play United on the following Saturday. Still have the London derby to contend with :/
However, if Arsenal prevent a loss today, that would be a proper step up. That being said I’m still very happy with how squad is playing right now and also impressed by their mentality. This team looks like a proper professional no bullshit team. Might not have the best players, but have an amazing team which I’m very proud of :D
@Arsene ever since I made my last comments I made a case to watch every Arsenal game (given that everyone was so confident about growth under Arteta) and I can't disagree any longer that tactically he has done something really positive with this squad....transfers too now appear to be inch-perfect (read Ramsdale and Odegaard) so yeah barring injuries I feel Arsenal are set to take top 4 spot, they even have a well-spaced fixture to allow good recovery periods.United actually lost onto top 4 hopes after the Burnley draw only and then Watford draw and City loss have more or less sealed their chances...they squandered all the points in easier fixtures long before the testing ones began...there is no hope now
The growth is there but the oncoming fixtures aren’t kind. Arsenal enjoyed a good fixture list in the recent past but now in the crucial period of the season very difficult fixtures are piling up.
Though I’m hopeful, I’m still preparing for disappointment. Liverpool tonigh, Villa on Saturday. Also play Chelsea in a future midweek and then play United on the following Saturday. Still have the London derby to contend with :/
However, if Arsenal prevent a loss today, that would be a proper step up. That being said I’m still very happy with how squad is playing right now and also impressed by their mentality. This team looks like a proper professional no bullshit team. Might not have the best players, but have an amazing team which I’m very proud of :D
"Though I’m hopeful, I’m still preparing for disappointment" - this happens before every game even now.
They definitely have been more consistent but it could also be due to relatively easier fixtures. More importantly my love this game has only increased and became more eager to watch each passing game which was unlike the case until last year.
KingSlayer23,Per Aspera
Ad Astra
FIFA has launched its own streaming portal (FIFA+) to live stream international matches. Currently, there is no subscription cost and the content is available for free. Do check it out.
Just watched a documentary on the buck-toothed magician, Ronaldinho. Fantastic<3
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/watch/movie/Ny88zzqsVnxCBUJ6fZzPy?autoplay=true
MikeWozniak,brownianMotion
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