English Premier League thread

[Flipper the Priest]

I knew what that was going to be before even clicking the link. His David Brentness really doesn't help him.

He is good at getting the best out of attacking players certainly, not just Suarez at Liverpool but also the likes of Sturridge and Sterling. Vardy at 33 has just won the golden boot, the likes of Maddison have improved under him as well.

Do agree he's naive tactically. Going to be a big ask for him and Leicester next season, don't think 60ish points will be enough for a team to be in and around the top 4.

He is more Brent than Brent!

He took Forrest, McGregor and Tierney at Celtic from good to great (by Scottish Premiership standards) in a very short space of time and made Celtic untouchable. But then he'd go to Camp Nou and try to play them off the pitch like they would St Mirren, and they got battered. And he was unrepentant about the approach.

Quite surprised at the rise of Maddison. He was decent with us but looked very showy. I genuinely think he benefited from getting kicked about by caveman Scottish defenders.

It might end in sort of Superleague like NBA, but without salary cap and without the draftsystem (worst club has first pick). Football needs a David Stern.

Love the commissioner idea. It's been mooted in Scotland as a means of actually getting things done, in the interests of the league. Otherwise, as with football on a grander scale, decision making is riddled with self-interest and becomes a messy, inefficient and protracted ordeal.

 

[Stan]

About Rodgers' approach against Barcelona, well i see nothing wrong with that. A club like Celtic will always have a massive disadvantage against mega clubs like Barcelona. I know that it might be bad for the players' confidence, but a loss with 1-0 or one 11-0 is 0 points. Look at Southampton after they lost 9-0 to Leicester, they learned from it and ended the season very good.

I know most of you will not agree with me but i like my club to play good football even if the results are not there. As a Spurs fan i loved the football we played under Pocchetino even if we didn't win silverware, it was great to watch. Now we (supposedly) have a manager who wins silverware, but our football is piss poor (and a totally classless guy, Vertonghen didn't got is farewell minutes yesterday, a total disgrace). I doubt we will win something under Mourinho, but if we do, i will still prefer the Pocchetino years. Don't forget that football is supposed to be entertainment. That is why i sympathize with both LIverpool and Man City, they are entertaining people (even if City has an unfair advantage, but that is a totally different story).

Allow me to talk about Belgian football (i'm sorry). Usually Belgian clubs are piss poor in the CL. When Gent played the CL their coach at the time (Hein Van Haezebrouck imo, the best Belgian coach) decides to play attacking football because he was convinced that his player group had enough quality. They were second in their group and reached the knock-out stages...because they had no fear (usually Belgian teams start matches to avoid a serious beating and they end up being beaten seriously (best example is my favourite team KRC Genk).

 

[mattmid]

I think this Premier season was a little like the Leicester City winning season. All the other supposed big teams were very average (Man City losing 9 games for example) whilst instead of Leicester you had a good Liverpool team being supremely consistent (I think it was 15 wins or something by one goal?)

I know most of you will not agree with me but i like my club to play good football even if the results are not there. As a Spurs fan i loved the football we played under Pocchetino even if we didn't win silverware, it was great to watch. Now we (supposedly) have a manager who wins silverware, but our football is piss poor (and a totally classless guy, Vertonghen didn't got is farewell minutes yesterday, a total disgrace). I doubt we will win something under Mourinho, but if we do, i will still prefer the Pocchetino years. Don't forget that football is supposed to be entertainment. That is why i sympathize with both LIverpool and Man City, they are entertaining people (even if City has an unfair advantage, but that is a totally different story).

I agree completely with that. My team (Portsmouth) finished 5th this season and it was the worst season of football I've ever had the misfortune to watch them play. Boring, turgid, basic percentage football (get it wide. mostly with a long, often aimless, ball, cross it, rinse repeat) add to that sit back once ahead and play on the break, consequently giving up leads often. If ever there was football fit to be played behind closed doors then this was it. We finished 5th, were unbeaten at home in the 18 games we'd played before lockdown and not once did I go home thinking that was an enjoyable game today.

He is more Brent than Brent!

I do like his interviews though

 

[Flipper the Priest]

I agree completely with that. My team (Portsmouth) finished 5th this season and it was the worst season of football I've ever had the misfortune to watch them play. Boring, turgid, basic percentage football (get it wide. mostly with a long, often aimless, ball, cross it, rinse repeat) add to that sit back once ahead and play on the break, consequently giving up leads often. If ever there was football fit to be played behind closed doors then this was it. We finished 5th, were unbeaten at home in the 18 games we'd played before lockdown and not once did I go home thinking that was an enjoyable game today.

Horses for courses, I say. Aberdeen is quite possibly the ugliest team to watch in Scotland, especially given we're, arguably, the third best team in the country.

Playing at home to the lesser sides I want to see positivity, passing, pressure - dominating the opposition. But no. We're a Portsmouth too. It's an ugly, attritional grind built on long balls and set pieces. It's the aimlessness that gets you. I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with being direct if it's done with purpose, not just punting the ball blindly into the box or up the channels.

But if playing like that gets us a result in Glasgow against Celtic or Rangers or in a big cup game I couldn't give a shit! Obviously it'd be nice to school them but that's fantasy land.

Using Celtic and Rodgers to illustrate the point - Celtic beat Barcelona in Glasgow in 2012 under Neil Lennon. It was about 25 shots to five in Barcelona's favour, and they had about 80% possession. Celtic's goals were from a corner and a long kick straight from the keeper. Other than that they were defending with their lives for the whole game. A Rodgers team would've been pummelled by being more expansive and getting caught out.

 

[PRO_TOO]

i did not know, till today, that sky uk is the way to watch PL!


sorry I’m late to the party...

any way to watch sky uk in Germany? I’m a sky Germany subscriber if that may help.

 

[Nizpakes]

Anybody seen what patrice evra said on live tv about zaha having an affair with david moyes daughter 😂.
What a popeye lol.
Popeye = a s s h o l e

 

[Isslander]

Bit odd this postponing of matches in the first round, Man City find themselves 6 points behind Liverpool before even playing a match. I suppose it had to be done.



I prefer this ball to the one used in the Prem, as it looks like the good old classic ball from further away.

 

[Chris Davies]

Absolutely tons of talk this weekend about the new handball rules (new for the EPL anyway) being terrible, stupid, awful, evil.

This is after several this weekend which have resulted in penalties - one against Crystal Palace yesterday, and one against Tottenham today which has cost them two points.

Every pundit is screaming for the rules to be scrapped - and the pundits always win.


Genuine question. I think I'm missing something, here...

I get that it's natural to jump with your arms out, so it's not deliberately blocking the ball from continuing its journey through the box. This is what the anger is about.

But if that's no longer handball, isn't there a risk that every defender will take advantage of that and flail their arms around like a keeper every time they jump? How do you differentiate from "fair" arms outstretched and "unfair" arms outstretched? Are we going to start using VAR to measure the angles of the arms from the body?

As for the old rule, which is all about intent... Intent is impossible to know without mind-reading. That's why it's a terrible rule and why it had to go. How can you make a law based on something you cannot ever know?

(Which is exactly my point on the above - how can you tell the difference between "on purpose" arms outstretched and "accidental" arms outstretched? You can't... So... Either they all have to be handballs - or none of them... Surely?)

 

[Andy]

@Chris Davies I think the best way would be to give power back to the officials. The handball incident at palace was laughable to give a penalty, if i haven't got my games mixed up. It was the one where the ball hit his hand like a rocket and i think the ref may have given it after he looked at the monitor?
(i was pretty tired during last nights MOTD so forgive me)

What was wrong with "Ball to Hand" or "Hand to Ball" anyway ? and leaving that to the refs discretion.

That seemed a bit of a nonsense as well during one of the games when the line staff couldn't flag for a clear offside till VAR had looked at it.
Or have i missed something? in all this.

It seems like VAR is being treated has some kind of god, and when VAR summons the ref to the monitor they have to show alliegence to VAR and dare not stick to their original decision. or risk being struck down to the northern/southern premier league.

 

[PeterC10]

Just let the ref use common sense, not perfect as handball is very subjective, but will be a lot less controversial than the current handball rule. At the moment you can just lump the ball into the area and have a half defence shout of getting a cheap penalty.

I think handball should be harsher if it's blocking a shot, or stopping the ball go out of play for example. But the one's against Palace yesterday and Tottenham today were just madness.

 

[Andy]

Just wanted to add i am not for getting rid of it all together, but it needs to be used if the ref calls for it. In its current state its too sterile. and the game is less for it. But yeah common sense seems to be in short supply at the moment.

 

[gabe.paul.logan]

Um so if you throw your body at a defender its a penalty? Cant believe Leicester won 3 of them in one game.

 

[Stan]

I don't understand why VAR is blamed for the weekend fiasco. The handball rule is a big shambles. I watched both Brighton against Man UTd and Spurs against Newcastle. Every time a long ball was thrown in the box, there were appeals for handball.

The end of the Spurs match was the best illustration how bad rules are (and not only concerning hands but also concerning VAR).
Newcastle get a free kick for what? The Newcastle player threw himself at Hojberg and Hojberg did not went down. The ref considers this as a foul y Hojberg. This is never a foul, yet VAR can't interfere. The resulting freekick goes towards Caroll's head, who heads it down on Dier's hand who is facing the other way and can't possibly see what is happening. Is arm is deemed unnatural, so it's a handsball and a penalty. VAR was spot on here according to the rules and they did interfere.

Two things:

1 the rule is stupid, how can anyone consider Dier's arm being in an unnatural position while he is jumping? Try to jump with your arms behind your back. This is absurd.
2 What is even more absurd is that VAR can't interfere with the clear and obvious error about the foul who precedes the free kick and can interfere for something that might be seen as a marginal error (it's an interpretation that the ref thinks Dier's arm was unnatural or not, or either he simply did not see it).

The deliberation was also a bit of a farce.

VAR and the ref checked two things:

1.was it hands? And i agree that the hands was given (you already know what i think about the rule, but the the rule was applied).
2. was there off-side (yes there was off-side but the player did not interfere with the play).

Why didn't they checked if the foul was given correctly? Because they can't.

This said, by that time Spurs should have been 3-0 up...Newcastle's GK won them the point because he played a brilliant match. We were unlucky and things like that happen. But football as a spectacle suffers because of what happened at the weekend in Brighton, Palace, Spurs and also in the Leiceste-City match (one penalty was Vardy searching contact - Leicester deserved to win by the way, no harm done here imo).

 

[Stan]

I have a question concerning Man United - Spurs.
What do you guys think about the Martial red card and what Lamela did there?
I have a discussion on Twitter with other Spurs fan. I don't agree with what Lamela did and they are implying or writing that i'm not a true Spurs fan (wich frankly makes me laugh).
IMO what Lamela did was imo unfaithful behaviour. In Dutch we even have a word for it 'matennaaier' if you translate that literally it means something like 'somebody who fucks his mates'.
My fellow Spurs fan are arguing that Martial is not colleague, but an opponent. It's true that Martial is an opponent but also a colleague. I try to live by the principle that i don't do to other people what i would strongly dislike happening to myself...

Thoughts on this?

 

[Chris Davies]

I have a question concerning Man United - Spurs.
What do you guys think about the Martial red card and what Lamela did there?
I have a discussion on Twitter with other Spurs fan. I don't agree with what Lamela did and they are implying or writing that i'm not a true Spurs fan (wich frankly makes me laugh).
IMO what Lamela did was imo unfaithful behaviour. In Dutch we even have a word for it 'matennaaier' if you translate that literally it means something like 'somebody who fucks his mates'.
My fellow Spurs fan are arguing that Martial is not colleague, but an opponent. It's true that Martial is an opponent but also a colleague. I try to live by the principle that i don't do to other people what i would strongly dislike happening to myself...

Thoughts on this?

This was my stance, at the time it happened.


I would be embarrassed if I was a Tottenham fan. Truly.

But the fact of the matter is that Mourinho explicitly tells them to do this. In the All Or Nothing documentary, he continuously says they must "behave like c**ts", and then clarifies that they need to scream and fall over whenever they feel contact (and points out when opponents are on yellow cards, and tells his players to "get them sent off").

Then, he has the vulgarity to say this. "We deserve respect."

I have lost all respect for Mourinho, and when I say that, understand that up to the Eva Carneiro incident - where he dragged the team doctor through the mud, publicly, for daring to interrupt a time-wasting dive from one of his players (clearly he's been telling players to dive for a long time) - he was truly a hero of mine. I have 10+ books about the guy and his philosophies. Now, I think he represents the worst of football.

I used to have a soft spot for Tottenham. Within weeks of him arriving, you could see the nastiness he instilled in them. Even players like Son, who was always considered one of the nice guys of the game as far as I'm concerned. Now, frankly, I think their football is awful to watch, and I don't wish them well.

 

[Andy]

I have a discussion on Twitter with other Spurs fan. I don't agree with what Lamela did and they are implying or writing that i'm not a true Spurs fan (wich frankly makes me laugh).

TBH mate i cant comment too much, as atm i watch very little,. Without the crowd its not the full game, i am sick of watching games that seem like training matches. without the atmosphere & the crowd on their backs its not the same.

Any way the point of my post is, i would rather have a spurs fan that tells it how it is, than having one full of blind loyalty, You cant have a balanced footie discussion with someone who see's no wrong with their team.

 

[mattmid]

@Chris Davies Totally agree with all that. There's so much about modern football I cannot stand. Lamela's fall to the floor being a prime example. Did Martial deserve to go? I guess by the letter of the law because he 'hit' (made contact would be a better word) him in the face. However Lamela's reaction was pathetic and apparently delayed by about five seconds too. Also another thing on that, when it first happened I think the camera was on the corner taker and when they cut to the incident Lamela was laying in the goal! How the f**k did he get there from 'falling down' by the six yard line?

As you rightly say the pundits get up in arms about handballs but say nothing on that or diving. Sterling did it again a couple of matches ago, went down anticipating a challenge but it didn't touch him. The ref didn't give it, var didn't give it, so why on earth wasn't he booked?


One of the problems with VAR for me is on the one hand you have penalty area decisions only but at the same time it's supposed to be clear and obvious mistakes that could effect the outcome of the game. This is where the problem lies for me. What about a free kick outside the area, that on replay clearly wasn't one? It's not reviewed and the team score from the free kick. A corner that shouldn't have been one and a goal is scored from it. They are both big decisions that were wrong and caused a goal. I think it was the Utd v Spurs game where there was a handball given outside the box for a free kick. The replay showed that his hand was in front of his body. Now had that been in the box it would have been over ruled, as it was outside it wasn't looked at and they could (they didn't) have scored from it. A decision every bit as wrong as a wrongly awarded penalty but not looked at.

We don't want the game continually stopped but if the reasoning behind VAR is to get all these wrong decisions corrected that directly effect the outcome of the game then where is it fair to stop?

 

[Redhat]

I have a question concerning Man United - Spurs.
What do you guys think about the Martial red card and what Lamela did there?
I have a discussion on Twitter with other Spurs fan. I don't agree with what Lamela did and they are implying or writing that i'm not a true Spurs fan (wich frankly makes me laugh).
IMO what Lamela did was imo unfaithful behaviour. In Dutch we even have a word for it 'matennaaier' if you translate that literally it means something like 'somebody who fucks his mates'.
My fellow Spurs fan are arguing that Martial is not colleague, but an opponent. It's true that Martial is an opponent but also a colleague. I try to live by the principle that i don't do to other people what i would strongly dislike happening to myself...

Thoughts on this?

To me, the playacting bit is somewhat irrelevant. People keep fixating on that aspect instead of addressing the fact that Lamela forearm/elbowed Martial square in the chin. Martial then retaliated. If Martial goes, then Lamela has to walk too. You either send them both off, or neither of them. It's clear as day with VAR. Pure incompetence. With that said, I do agree his playacting was ridiculous and it's part of the reason why players will continue to dive, play act, and generally cheat. It's rarely punished even with video evidence! Again, what's the point of VAR if this sort of shit isn't stamped out? The ref should have looked at that deliberate attempt to get an opposing player sent off and punish him accordingly, but what happened? Sweet fuck all.

 

[Stan]

Thanks for the reactions.
It saddens me to read Chris Davies' reaction, but that is the reactions lots of people have towards Spurs now that Mourinho is there.
Under Pocch we were well and truly likened but harmless...
I understand Chris' reaction, but like i said, as a Spurs fan, it saddens me and all teams dive or playact.
But nonetheless, i don't agree with what Lamela did. But even then, you have to admit that Martial was pretty stupid...

 

[Chris Davies]

Delighted for West Ham, so happy for them. Goal of the season to equalise, and another one in the eye for Mourinho. No doubt he'll be in a mood for the rest of the night and will say they didn't deserve it - despite Bale missing the perfect opportunity and despite their only real performers being, as always, Son and Kane.

Kane was having a go at the ref at the end, too. What on earth for? Because he didn't give a foul for Kane falling over, or because the ref had to add time on for all the pushing and shoving in the box? Just scummy, classless behaviour. Mourinho's influence is just toxic.

EDIT: And the fans too...

 

[mattmid]

Delighted for West Ham, so happy for them. Goal of the season to equalise, and another one in the eye for Mourinho. No doubt he'll be in a mood for the rest of the night and will say they didn't deserve it - despite Bale missing the perfect opportunity and despite their only real performers being, as always, Son and Kane.

Kane was having a go at the ref at the end, too. What on earth for? Because he didn't give a foul for Kane falling over, or because the ref had to add time on for all the pushing and shoving in the box? Just scummy, classless behaviour. Mourinho's influence is just toxic.

Thoroughly enjoyed that last 15 minutes What a moment to hit a screamer like that. I do enjoy seeing the smug look wiped off Mourinho's face.

 

[Stan]

Much love for Spurs, here.
As a matter of fact Mourinho congratulated West Ham. He said they deserved the point because they kept belief.
Saying that Spurs good spell is only due to Kane and Son is terribly simplistic.

This was a freak result, the second (Newcastle was the first).

But our defense is terribly weak. Mourinho wants to gestion games once Spurs have what seems a comfortable advantage. This team can't do that. I remember his first match, also against West Ham. Spurs were also 3-0 up and in the end we were lucky to win 3-2. I'm pretty sure Moyes pointed that out at half time. And yes, Spurs were clinical in that first half and i had the impression that West Ham were already the better team in that first half.

Reguilon, Hojberg had very good games. Sissoko is not good enough for a team that aspires CL football. Aurier is a disaster waiting to happen, Sanchez makes mistakes and Toby is fading. Still not convinced by Ndombele.

I also miss Pocch, Jan, Moussa and Eriksen, but hey are gone and will not come back. When Pocch was our manager, everybody liked us, now we have Mourinho and we are the vilains of the EPL, almost overnight....people are over the moon when West Ham United gets a draw against us. West Ham United, a club that has Karen Brady as CEO and is owned by people called the Dildo Brothers... I could understand if we were a club that had won 7 consecutive titles, but we haven't won nothing since 2008. I could understand if this was against Leeds United (I 'm currently reading a book about Bielsa, a fantastic man) or Sheffield United, Fulham, Southampton...but West Ham United? They must be the most disgusting club in the EPL...

Yes that Lanzini goal was fantastic...

 

[Stan]

I thought i could add something to my previous post to try and put it in perspective.
Of course i'm a Spurs fan and so i'm very biased. I support Spurs since the '80's and the last years (under Pocch and with 4 Belgians) were perhaps the best i have known. I also liked the football. IMO it will never get better than in that last season at WHL. That season we scored most goals, we conceded least and lost only 1 point at home. Yet Chelsea were even stronger and we only ended second. We didn't win silverware but we played glorious good football and i enjoyed every minute of that season. Even then i had the feeling that it would never get better...

So that is about me.

And now something about England. Cultural differences (and there are plenty of them imo, but that is not a problem, it makes things interesting).

I read English papers's websites daily (The Guardian and The Independent) and listen to several English podcasts about football.
The first thing that amazed me is the fact that the 'manager' (we on the continent call them trainers) is seen as the most important person of a club. I even heard the excellent Michael Calvin saying this on his podcast. This still amazes me enormously. Most people in Belgium and other continental countries see the trainer/manager as some sort of passenger (literally i think somebody who spends a few years or months at a club and then is fired or leaves the club). To us the players are the most important persons at a club.

When Liverpool plays Manchester City, most English people see that as a contest between Klopp and Pep. We would see it as Liverpool's front three against he mediocre defense City have or a contest between KDB and the Liverpool midfield, but never as a contest between two managers/trainers.

Here on the continent trainers are not stars, some clubs have very distinct styles and the trainer has to adapt (Ajax and Barcelona are the best examples, but here in Belgium clubs like Club Brugge, Genk and Anderlecht also have very distinctive styles, same goes for clubs like Dortmund, Bayern, Lyon, Juventus and others). What happened at Arsenal is almost impossible over here. You had this Arsenal team that kept on winning 1-0 (we still call that result 'an Arsenal score') and then came Wenger and Arsenal became this free flowing, creative club that played football like Ajax. A real makeover because Wenger was seen as a pivotal figure. What he did with Arsenal would have been far more difficult at Juventus (hence for instance why Sarri left Juventus after one (or two?) seasons).

Now about José Mourinho. I think Mourinho loves the EPL for two reasons:

1. English clubs are the richest in the world
2 The manager is seen as the most important person at a club

Since day one Mourinho behaved as a star (the special one, the happy one, even the humble one when he started at Spurs). He is the archetypical pantomime vilain and the English press loves it. First they liked him and now he is loathed by many people and that even sells more papers. It transpires that English football fans are capable of loving or hating football clubs depending who their manager is. That is weird to us.

Are there clubs i hate? I want to believe that isn't the case. I really don't like (hate?) Real Madrid and Juventus because i perceive them as perennial cheaters (perhaps this is also a cultural difference, i'm more northener than i want to admit?). But otherwise i don't dislike clubs (that's not true i passionately don't want PSG> to win the CL because to me they are financial cheaters, i don't have that with Manchester City or Chelsea by the way).

I tend to get bored when a club wins the league for the 5th time (and this happens more and more in every competition) and i really like underdogs punching above their weight (recently clubs like Atalanta, Sevilla, Lille).

About Spurs, i also liked their football more under Pocchetino, but i think they can win silverware under Mourinho (a Cup, not the league, our defense is not good enough). And although the style of football is more important than silverware for me, every fan now and then wants to see his club win something. I'm pretty sure i will never see Spurs win the league (the last time they won it, i was a couple of months old and i wasn't into football at the time).

I hope this puts my previous somewhat frustrated post a litle bit in perspective...

 

[mattmid]

I've always liked Spurs, Glenn Hoddle was my football hero growing up. For me it's just Mourinho, I can't stand the way he acts, the way it's always about him (walking off before the end the other week for example). If his teams win it's because of him, if they lose it's because the players got his tactics wrong or made mistakes and just his general demeanour and behaviour. So yesterday that was why I enjoyed West Ham's comeback, not for any pleasure for West Ham or indeed because it cost Spurs the win. Also as a neutral it made for an exciting finish to the game.

To us the players are the most important persons at a club.

I don't know if I can speak for anyone else but for me, the club is the only real important thing, players, managers and owners come and go. Players rarely have any loyalty to the club these days. Fans are in it for life. Well, except for that odd breed of modern 'fan' who will jump ship to the latest successful team if their current one stop winning.

And although the style of football is more important than silverware for me, every fan now and then wants to see his club win something now and then

Totally agree with this. For me I want some enjoyment and to see my team give it's all. Success of course is the icing on the cake and all the sweeter for years of failure! Currently our football is nothing short of turgid under our current manager (although at least that softens the blow of not being able to go watch it at the moment!) and two play offs in a row or not, most would be happy to see him go. I'd honestly rather finish mid table enjoying end to end football than be bored to death making the play offs.

 

[Stan]

Yes of course the club is most important. But young people look at it different.
I have two kids who are both football crazy.
My daughter is 20 years old and she supports Chelsea with much passion.
My son is 17 years old and he follows players. His playing heroes are KDB, David Silva and Nainggolan.
So he will 'support' the clubs were his favourite player ply their trade. And most of his friends have the same attittude.

IMO this is not a good thing because most of them follow star players and those star players all end up with this mega clubs. This will result sooner or later in some sort of European version of the NBA, but less fair...

PS: matmid, wich club do you support?

 

[Andy]

TBH Guys love him or hate him, the game would be less without characters like mourinho.
Stan summed him up when he said he is likened to a pantomime villan. The media also do a good job of hyping up people & confrontations, as if we were about to enter a bloody battle, not watch a football match.

I bet if you met mourinho IRL, i would imagine he would be an ok person. Just like some bosses at work who you think at first are unapproachable, but then find they are nothing like you imagined.

 

[Stan]

TBH Guys love him or hate him, the game would be less without characters like mourinho.
Stan summed him up when he said he is likened to a pantomime villan. The media also do a good job of hyping up people & confrontations, as if we were about to enter a bloody battle, not watch a football match.

I bet if you met mourinho IRL, i would imagine he would be an ok person. Just like some bosses at work who you think at first are unapproachable, but then find they are nothing like you imagined.

I've said this long before Mourinho was at Spurs (and i didn't agree with his appointment): if i had the choice to go to a pub to have a chat and i had the choice between Klopp, Pep or José. I wouldn't hesitate, i would go for Mourinho. That is perhaps because i love outspoken people. Also heard that Mourinho was good as a pundit.

 

[Andy]

To have a pint and a chat with anyone of them would be fine. At the end of the day, if you take them away from the media circus, i think you would find most of them likeable, as after all, like us they are only human.

I have caught snippets on youtube of mourinho being a pundit, and that is one of the reasons i think about him like i do.
He seems quite chilled, and doesn't come across as a "know all" arrogant kind of guy.
I think our view of him has been blurred by the interview bust ups in the past, where i think the media knew he would "bite" and then he would be lambasted for it.

If i put myself in their world of expectation and high pressure, and was constantly being scrutinised, i think you would see me kick off with my emotions now and then.

 

[mattmid]

Yes of course the club is most important. But young people look at it different.
I have two kids who are both football crazy.
My daughter is 20 years old and she supports Chelsea with much passion.
My son is 17 years old and he follows players. His playing heroes are KDB, David Silva and Nainggolan.
So he will 'support' the clubs were his favourite player ply their trade. And most of his friends have the same attittude.

IMO this is not a good thing because most of them follow star players and those star players all end up with this mega clubs. This will result sooner or later in some sort of European version of the NBA, but less fair...

PS: matmid, wich club do you support?

Portsmouth. That's quite shocking to hear that about supporting players and thus supporting their current club and that it appears to be quite a common thing now. As you say, it'll end up being the same few clubs they support.

I understand it I guess in one sense because as I mentioned myself I liked Spurs as a kid because of Glenn Hoddle, but I didn't support them, I just enjoyed watching them and was pleased if they did well.

TBH Guys love him or hate him, the game would be less without characters like mourinho.
Stan summed him up when he said he is likened to a pantomime villan. The media also do a good job of hyping up people & confrontations, as if we were about to enter a bloody battle, not watch a football match.

I bet if you met mourinho IRL, i would imagine he would be an ok person. Just like some bosses at work who you think at first are unapproachable, but then find they are nothing like you imagined.

I have a feeling he is really like that but I get what you mean and the media do hype it all up.

 

[gabe.paul.logan]

Having a bad day? Just watch this.