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No one can say for sure at a particular club Ed, but I do think those stats are remarkable regarding managerial changes during a season with and without fans. Klopp had quite a bit of credit in the bank. Not sure Ole did, particularly with regard to the poor start at the beginning of the season.
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Ed, it’s not so much that I think the stadium fans will be on his back, more that the expectation that they will bring. And if Man Utd are struggling in a certain game, as many top teams can, it inevitably creates moans and groans around the stadium. It’s more that kind of pressure I mean, as opposed to calling for his head. And that inevitably unsettles you as a manager. It’s like the difference between doing a musical performance in an empty gallery with no feedback versus a concert in front of a packed audience.
In the last season, without fans, there were just 4 sackings/managerial changes during the season. This compares to 10, 11 & 15 changes in the previous 3 seasons with fans. Quite a difference.
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My thoughts
1 Man City
It feels like they’re becoming the Real Madrid of the premier league, albeit with a bit more thought and precision with regards to signings. Guardiola is a manager with a strong philosophy and identity, which will continue to sweep up the league as such football tends to win most of the games most of the time. I do think Kane would be important to them though, particularly now they’ve shown their hand and to the possible detriment of other players in the squad who may feel unwanted, and 4 players apparently do now want to move on (Grealish may also have impacted that). However, I do think their CL woes will continue, because tactically he does struggle here. And no amount of money tends to solve that.2 Liverpool
Van Dijk and co are now back. Could do with a few more signings in midfield and up top, but this side I think is starting to age now. And injuries are a big worry. Klopp still a very good coach and very good at creating a very together side. But I think a lot rests on players staying fit and ideally bringing some new faces. African Cup of Nations in the winter too! A lot would have to go right to push City.3 Chelsea
Tuchel a very tactically astute manager, with a good squad, and now Lukaku up top – that should see them win more games in the league. But I’m not sure they can mirror the same consistency as a Guardiola side can to win a domestic league. Also the expectation on Tuchel will now be big.4 Man Utd
Their signings now look more Klopp-esque with the team being more patient to sign the right players. Varane you would expect to be a good addition at the back, and Sancho a good addition up top. Then we come to Ole. I do think the absence of fans actually helped him last season when the league just felt less serious. Now the crowds will be back and the expectation too. So it all rests on what we see from Ole this season. Tactically I worry about him, which is why they have no cup yet imo. But in the league if he is brave and bold, he could still do well. But how will the pressure affect him?_____________________________
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This is interesting Sean. Barcelona are in a heck of a state.
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Quite so Banjo. The target now by a lot of these owners is to simply obliterate all the opposition and price everybody else out. That ain’t sport. The argument was that to break the stranglehold of more traditional teams like Man Utd in the 90s and 00s, there was simply no other way. But Arsene Wenger proved otherwise, and by changing a lot of the culture at the club, that was the main thing that made them able to compete with Man Utd. Indeed it was always a poignant moment for me when Wenger, who developed a lot of his players, saw them pay him back by demanding moves to bigger clubs whilst also believing that there was still such a thing as trust when looking to bring players in like Martial. Wenger had to leave basically because he was somebody from a bygone era where such things still existed but no longer did anymore. And he watched the money and the “me, me, me” generation take over.
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This is quite interesting from Balague on the City situation and why their transfer thinking possibly changed after the results improved after January and why it looks more likely Messi will end up at PSG now.
Lionel Messi to Manchester City? 👀@GuillemBalague has the latest…⤵️#bbcfootball #MCFC #Messi
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) August 5, 2021
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Pep Guardiola running to Sheikh Mansour asking him to cancel the Jack Grealish deal and bring in Lionel Messi instead pic.twitter.com/926zAl9PJZ
— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) August 5, 2021
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A lot of English players being bought this window for big money.
-Sancho £70 mill
-White £50 mill
-Grealish £100 mill
-Ings £30 mill
-Kane over £100 mill potentially.
-Maddison valued at £70 mill potentially to Arsenal.That’s at least £420 mill on just 6 players. Is this just a coincidence this summer or do teams feel you need that English presence in your side? Or is it that just there are quite a few good English players at the moment?
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Just the £2 million sell on fee for us apparently Sean. But I guess every penny counts…
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I’m sure that it just needed an interjection from Gabriel Agbonlahor to wake up Klopp & the recruitment team and we’ll now start making some signings.
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Brian, in times gone by football was a sport. But it’s now big business and taken extremely seriously and that filters down to the fans and a lot can obviously depend on players coming or going in a very competitive market. In some ways you look at it, with all the pressure it builds on the players and the seriousness of it from the media and the fans which unsurprisingly morphs into hate on the stands and on social media, not to mention the absurd sums of money now involved, and you think, is it all worth it? Particularly with seemingly increasing mental health issues coming out.
There was a recent story about Wijnaldum I believe in which apparently he bemoaned the online fans criticism of him over the season. Now I don’t exactly know how much of an impact this may have had on him leaving, but either way, he’s there often busting a gut on the pitch, and then he sees the moaning online. You can understand his frustration and him thinking, why do I bother?
Then there’s the recent story with Jack Grealish’s girlfriend saying she was receiving up to 200 death threats a day.
I think I’d have preferred the culture in the older days. The German league also looks more traditional and though Bayern obviously dominate a lot, the other clubs are still quite competitive, but it’s ultimately just fun for the fans, and win lose or draw, they seem to enjoy their day out, which is how it should be. Whereas even just one loss now, particularly at a big club, can almost lead to a public inquiry.
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But more first team football potentially on offer.
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Could Jesus not still save Kane?
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No worries Nine. Just to better back up what I thought, it was based on part of this statement on 1st June, by the Man City chairman who said the following:
“Having won the league, it is not the time to sit back and be content. That would be your biggest mistake.
“This is the time to send a strong message, that there’s no contentment, that you’re not satisfied with just winning the league.
I think City clearly want the CL, and you can obviously understand why in that it helps put them more on the map of Europe’s biggest clubs. Grealish may well help them do that, though I agree with Adlab in that a striker is probably needed more. But I think what is more important is that Pep needs to better adapt to the competition tactically. Philosophically, he is undoubtedly one of the best. But tactically, I think he has made the wrong calls in certain CL games, as we’ve discussed on here before.
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I merely expressed an opinion Nine, of which I may or may not be wrong. I haven’t confirmed the figures, but obviously Pep has spent a lot since he was appointed. Domestically it’s arguably paid off, and I don’t doubt Peps talent. However, he has clearly grappled more in the CL and I think if City are to win that, he needs to better adapt to it, as opposed to spending more money.
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What assertion is that?
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It’s an interesting thought Foxy. I think the problem for City is that they are reacting to another disappointment in failing to land the CL and are now desperate to find ways to win it by bringing in more stars. But not sure that’s the answer.
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Arsenal are effectively where Utd were in terms of readjusting after a very long serving manager has left. It does cause you a problem. They’re trying to make more sensible long term signings along with a former player in charge and put in a foundation. Better that than blowing money on big names, particularly if you don’t yet have a recruitment team that’s quite ready yet.
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I think unless Man Utd have a disaster, Ole is still pretty safe, even if he stays around the top 4, because there are still no obvious candidates to replace him & I suspect the board would want to avoid another rush of blood big name ‘Mourinho’ type appointment. In any case, it was the recruitment side of things where Man Utd have really damaged themselves over the last years but it now looks completely different and is clearly leaps and bounds above what it was. It’s taken nearly a decade after Fergie left to readjust, but they look like they’re finally there now.
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I’d actually be surprised if Chelsea don’t sign Haaland this summer. They are a club who know when to strike and given that they are the current European champions, that’s as good a time as any to make the most of that and further strengthen. And you also risk losing out on him next summer when they’ll be a greater bidding war.
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