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Didn’t think it got cold in that part of the world? Anyway, let’s discuss properly after the season’s over before we assert our conclusions.
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If money was the sole dictator of success, you’d expect Man City would be leading Liverpool by a lot more than just 1 point at this stage of the season. And we’ve also got further in the CL than City have. Money is but one of many ingredients you need but it’s not the sole dictator of success. In big moments this season, the pressure has got to both Guardiola and Klopp and no amount of money can legislate for that. That’s not to say money still hasn’t had a detrimental effect on the overall game, but it can never truly destroy the essence of the game – i.e. that it’s still ultimately about 11 human beings against 11 other human beings. And nobody is infallible.
Interesting that Gary Neville said last night that Man Utd’s target next season should first and foremost be to field 11 players that actually want to play for the club, not how much money they spend. And I agree.
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Not a bad punt by the super computer back in February after all?
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It’s not over yet, not with it still being so close. The strain of going into a game knowing you *have* to win has been demonstrated over recent weeks with both sides. And the high scoring City have scored an average of just 1.25 goals per game in the last four games.
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If truth be told Ed, if there’s still trouble ahead for Solksjaer, it won’t really be his fault. When you make a pig’s ear of the last few strategies/appointments, it’ll take years for that legacy to be purged from the club. Solksjaer’s job really is an attempt to pick up the pieces from the mess. It’s the strategy the board need to now prioritise, then decide on the manager later on when a suitable candidate becomes available. Indeed it might be that Solksjaer proves a useful shield to clear some of the mess away from a future more long term appointment (look at the mess Emery is having to deal with at Arsenal which is now putting him under pressure). The key thing for the board is now to try and not become too clever like FSG did early on at Liverpool with things like transfer committees. Clear up the mess and plan a sensible long term way forward.
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Interesting tweet. Was a while ago in 2011 admittedly, but still quite telling nonetheless.
2011 when i asked Solskjær what he would do if he got offered the United job: – I would never say no if i was offered the job. Never. I couldnt say no. Even if i knew i wasnt ready for the job.
— Dag Langerød (@DagLangerod) December 18, 2018
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He seems to be a man for the big occasion does Origi.
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Great great comeback that, particularly after midweek. Hope Salah’s ok.
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This is going to be a long 10 minutes.
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Origi steps forward.
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If anyone wants to be a hero, now’s the time.
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Got to hand it to Rafa. He’s had very little budget to work with. But he’s found a pretty effective formula up at Newcastle.
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The shambolic race for top 4 continues.
Think Son’s push was purely a heat of the moment thing that anyone could do. I know the rules say it’s an automatic red card now, but I think a sin bin would be more apt punishment for something like that.
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“You would be surprised how many agents have been telling us that their clients would love to be a part of Manchester United in the future.”
Probably because of the wages they offer. Indeed that will be a big problem for Solksjaer – knowing whether the player is there for the right reasons. And coming out with lines like this wouldn’t give me a huge amount of confidence.
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Unpopular opinion: Jose Mourinho remains a top top manager, and actually did a pretty good job at Man Utd (who could have done better than him with those players last season?) May not be everyone’s cup of tea and he obviously has a short shelf life but I don’t buy this idea he’s outdated. At the end of the day players ultimately like being part of group in which they have no doubt about what they stand for and know exactly what their job is, no matter what the type of football being played is. Tactically very strong, great motivator, he’s a serial winner who delivers on the biggest occasions. Had Man Utd appointed him straight after Ferguson (what I expected in the years before) and given him the players he really wanted, they’d have won the league not long after again.
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Liverpool’s challenge this season has many similarities with Man Utd under Ferguson – they play exciting attacking football, which is extremely effective, the players work very hard, but they also know how to grind out results. This is why this season is mirroring the 2012 season when both teams finished level pegging. Klopp has replaced Ferguson in that mould of manager. Aguero was literally and ultimately the difference in 2012, and *probably* will be again.
But this also got me thinking about the factors that determine success. Yes obviously managers and quality of players gets you competing at the top. But the real decisive factor that gets you over the line seems to be ruthless players. Gerrard in 2005 really *wanted* that CL win from the Olympiakos group game that season. Messi said he really wanted a CL win this season from last summer. Aguero really wants success. It’s not just the talent that these players have, it’s their absolute desires to win and *influence* to *carry* those around them to glory. Players that constantly deliver in big games. Drogba at Chelsea was just another example. Suarez too. Ronaldo. These players may not always be the most liked or popular but they are *serial* winners that are the ultimate dictator of success. If Liverpool are to stand any chance this season of winning something, someone needs to now step forward and show similar ruthlessness. If not they need to find such a player in the summer. And to do that you need to look at a player’s personality as much as their stats.
And just to respond to Banjo’s thoughts on Gerrard on the other thread – yes he did play a lot of Hollywood balls, probably was quite wasteful in possession at times, probably did have quite a few shots off target. But he always delivered in the big games and was a serial winner. Not surprising that Liverpool haven’t yet won a trophy since he left – even though they now have a better overall team!
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Threeps, if that’s where the bar is to win the big prizes, that’s where the bar is (though such high points totals have to be put in context of a weak Premier league this season). Of course one can take the view we’ve still been very good this season. And we have been. But if there’s no prizes won come the end of the season, then by definition, we lack something our competitors have, however harsh that might be.
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Threeps, more goals from midfield for a start. And whilst Salah & Mane have bagged a lot of goals this season, in the big big games, we’ve come up short this season. Which tells me we’re missing something.
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How many times this season have Liverpool just not been clinical enough? Vs Arsenal away, vs Chelsea away, vs Man Utd away, vs Everton away. In many of the CL group games. There’s a problem there. It needs addressing in the summer.
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