Topic: General Manchester City thread

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Aldridge is right, and I said similar in a post above regarding mentality / psychology.

Guardiola has absolutely lost the plot over our relentless challenge. He is rattled, and its filtered all the way down throughout their club and fanbase. The level of focus needed is immense, but Guardiola's paranoia and tendency to blame external factors rather than himself has seen their focus fall away.

The psychology of the two clubs is very different. The psychology of the whole set-up at the Emptyhad is undermining their own efforts this season. They are more focused on Liverpool than they are their own actions. The constant blaming of outside factors ( VAR, conspiracy etc) is a losers mentality. Witness the endless malaise at Goodison for a classic example of where that mentality gets you.

that combined with how intense pep is (the wankfest over the sterling thing in the cup final would just piss players off a lot) also leads to them basically regressing to a similar level to his first season there

[Ghost Town]

The right psychology is absolutely crucial, particularly when the margins between success and failure are wafer thin. The right mindset can get you through against really high odds. I learned this in a most harrowing way actually. Through reading books by Primo Levi and Viktor Frankl. Both survived Auschwitz. Frankl noticed that of those who escaped the selection process, those who survived tended to stay positive and focused on what they would do once they got out. Those who mentally gave up seemed to succumb to sickness and death soon afterwards. It seemed that even against unimaginable odds and in the face of unbearable horror, mindset still made a difference.

I still have my battered Faber copy of Primo Levi's poems, which I nicked from a provincial library as a teenager because of the power and depth and strength I found in there. I moved onto If This Is A Man and The Periodic Table quickly after. Think I learned a fair bit about facing and getting through horror and trauma from him, and later from other poets.

Not sure what I'm saying here, really, except agreeing with you about mindset and psychological strength.

[ScottScott]

This Liverpool team is better than any Man City team under Pep, it's better than any team Pep has ever managed. Klopp is a better coach/manager than Pep. They're facts

[DangerScouse]

This Liverpool team is better than any Man City team under Pep, it's better than any team Pep has ever managed. Klopp is a better coach/manager than Pep. They're facts

Pep's Barca team was fucking unreal. Until we pick up a few more trophies, we can't say we are at that level.

[exiledintheUSA]

Pep's Barca team was fucking unreal. Until we pick up a few more trophies, we can't say we are at that level.

If we win the League and European Cup double this season I think all bets are off.

[Son of Spion]

I still have my battered Faber copy of Primo Levi's poems, which I nicked from a provincial library as a teenager because of the power and depth and strength I found in there. I moved onto If This Is A Man and The Periodic Table quickly after. Think I learned a fair bit about facing and getting through horror and trauma from him, and later from other poets.

Not sure what I'm saying here, really, except agreeing with you about mindset and psychological strength.

Yep, both Levi's 'If This Is A Man' and Frankl's 'Man's Search For Meaning' are harrowing, yet inspiring reading.

The lessons a person can learn from them might sound far removed from the relative trivialities of football, but I think they can apply to anything in life. Whatever we are doing, our mindset can determine if we succeed or not. The right mindset at least gives you the best chance. The wrong one can scupper you every time.

Resilience is also crucial. Football-wise, Liverpool could have folded psychologically after Sevilla and Madrid. We could have felt sorry for ourselves, but we (as a club) licked our wounds and prepared to come back harder and harder until we cracked it.

Without those tough times, near misses and failures, we wouldn't have learned the lessons and built the mentality we currently have. A lot of the time, it's not what happens to you that matters most, but how you react to what happens to you.

[Red Beret]

John Aldridge:

Manchester City have a phobia of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp and it comes from Pep Guardiola

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-manchester-city-guardiola-phobia-17683573

[Red Beret]

I get what you're saying and there's sense to it but, and I don't want to belabour the point, the essence of my response is that we can't prove that Klopp's gargantuan achievements these last two seasons were/are a direct response to Guardiola upping the ante; it's possible, but we can't know because we can't rerun the seasons having abstracted Pep first. So given that we can't demonstrate it, and given what we know about Klopp and his team and the players, I'd rather give the credit to our coach, coaching team and players and err on the side of saying they would have achieved those levels anyway.

Put it another way, Guardiola came into the PL and had an indifferent first season and then his team exploded to reach levels never before seen. Yet no-one is putting that down to him reacting against Klopp or Mourinho or Leicester's title win etc. For better (his coaching ability) or for worse (City's financial doping) the causal factors are adjudged to be City themselves. If we can do that for Pep and City, why not for Klopp and Liverpool?

Anyway, it's all cool. Just a robust discussion.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here but we can't DISprove it either.  The circumstantial evidence supports the opinion that we had to aspire towards 100 points to be within striking distance of the title.  As I said earlier, I think Jurgen would much have preferred a more sedate pace, but nobody could have predicted how City would collapse.  Now that we're in the groove and producing incredible results regardless of City's demise nobody really ought to care.

[reddebs]

I reckon they thought they'd broken us last season, that them winning the title after the fight we gave them would be the end of us. 

Look at the pathetic video of their players singing about us.

They thought they'd seen the back of us, as did virtually everybody else.  How many other fans did you hear saying it was a fluke, that we got lucky, that we had help, that we wouldn't do it again this season.  That it was unsustainable.

Well we have, so it wasnt and now they're having to make up other excuses.

They never expected us to come back even stronger, that's what's broken them.





Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[Mighty_Red]

If we win the League and European Cup double this season I think all bets are off.

Win the title again next year (or year after) and we're in the conversation.

Regardless of what happens from now on in, I hope Pep stays for next season, I think he has a huge job to get his team mentally right let alone start the rebuilding task. It's probable he will get it wrong and it'll be a car crash writing off yet another season.

[Red Beret]

I reckon they thought they'd broken us last season, that them winning the title after the fight we gave them would be the end of us. 

Look at the pathetic video of their players singing about us.

They thought they'd seen the back of us, as did virtually everybody else.  How many other fans did you hear saying it was a fluke, that we got lucky, that we had help, that we wouldn't do it again this season.  That it was unsustainable.

Well we have, so it wasnt and now they're having to make up other excuses.

They never expected us to come back even stronger, that's what's broken them.

I think that's based on our history of the past 30 years, where we have never mounted back-to-back title challenges.  After they saw us off last year I don't think they - or anybody else in the league for that matter - expected us to come back even stronger.  We had our Champions League trophy to keep us happy for another 5-10 years was probably their thinking.

but yes now they are all freaking out because they fear our return; consistent success, winning or challenging for trophies year in, year out.  It's probably tied to why they are all suddenly insisting you have to win multiple titles to be considered "great".

[didi shamone]

It’s also perplexing how City and other clubs fans are missing the most obvious thing when talking about why exactly have we steamrolled everyone this season. One word - Kiev.

Want to understand how Liverpool propelled themselves into a relentless point collecting machine? We got our hearts properly broken and used it as fuel. What’s that? Where’s the evidence? Kiev. That’s where it all started. Both off and on the pitch, our resolve, ruthlessnes and grit went to another level after Kiev. We knew we can go high and we also knew how bloody perfect we need to be.

Was just about to post something similar. Our need for a world class goalkeeper was highlighted. Better cover up front and upgrades in midfield. Klopp did all the above and created this machine.
His response to losing out by a point to city was different than any other manager. He did nothing in the transfer which looked like a mistake to most. What city did last year had no effect on him. He just continued on the same path.

[rebel23]

Pep never built that Barce team. Klopp has built us slowly but surely. Pep inherited good players just like he did at City...

[mersey_paradiso]

I saw first hand who pathetic they are when my youngest was at Citys academy. He trained at the Campus, in the main building, on the first teams indoor pitch. All around the rest of the complex are full sized pitches the youth teams train and play on. In May 2018 they names a pitch after Yaya Toure



A month later, Toure was in the papers criticising Cardiola and Citys response was to cover up the mural with a large piece of cloth, remove the name plate and then rename the pitch.

Fucking class.

What a club

[rushyman]

Remember when City were ok

Got on with them, supported them V United. He really wanted them to do well in fact to spite United

The damage success brings to the starved ...

The fucking rats they are now. Coming out with over the line shit that united fans who’ve been bigger for longer mostly have too much about them to come out with

This behaviour is why they will always be the 2nd club in that city. They sound like the 16 year old lad out with his uncles for his first drink who’s already pissed and starting fights

[Floydy]

Pep never built that Barce team. Klopp has built us slowly but surely. Pep inherited good players just like he did at City...

Im all up for bashing Pip and Manchester City but lets not be as pathetic as them lot, Pep did a very innovative forward thinking job at Barca and had lots do when he first came in. His first job was to build a culture and part of that task was weeding out very strong personalities and influences in the dressing room Ronaldinho & Ibrahimovic to name a couple.    To be fair to the man, he did do lots of good work there that tends to get unnoticed as its Barca with Messi & co, and expected to win.  Personally I really enjoyed his Barca team and the way they played, all over the pitch they were fluid and such a dynamic force despite them being quite predictable at times.

[kesey]

Aldridge is right, and I said similar in a post above regarding mentality / psychology.

Guardiola has absolutely lost the plot over our relentless challenge. He is rattled, and its filtered all the way down throughout their club and fanbase. The level of focus needed is immense, but Guardiola's paranoia and tendency to blame external factors rather than himself has seen their focus fall away.

The psychology of the two clubs is very different. The psychology of the whole set-up at the Emptyhad is undermining their own efforts this season. They are more focused on Liverpool than they are their own actions. The constant blaming of outside factors ( VAR, conspiracy etc) is a losers mentality. Witness the endless malaise at Goodison for a classic example of where that mentality gets you.

Great writing again .

Their arse has gone then .

 

[kesey]

Someone posted the highlights of Liverpool v Ipswich 1972 in another thread. Those of us around then will remember the heartache of losing the cup final to a double winning Arsenal, and that forged a stronger team belief. That 72 season we went on a phenomenal run onwards the end of the season and missed out on the league by a whisker, coming up fast on the rails. (Watch the clip and listen to the stats at the end) We were let down by some dubious refereeing at our last two games, both away. Pat Partridge disallowed a goal which would have won it for us away at Arsenal in the final game, calling a Toshack goal offside, (which IIRC the linesman didn’t flag?). Instead of bleating on about it, the team rolled up its sleeves and crushed the league the next year, winning the UEFA cup as well. The fans knew we were on a roll and the team was young enough, yet with a steel core of experience to start domination. Cally, Lawler and Smith were the old heads of Shanks’ first great side. Heighway Keegan Hughes and Clemence were world class youngsters with many years ahead of them.
I strongly recommend anyone under 50 watches that footage. Heighway repeatedly making England full back Mick Mills look like a traffic cone. Keegan battling grocks of centre-halves, refusing to be bullied, Hughes and Smith steaming in to let the grocks know we were a team who didn’t want to lose.  Counter pressing and harrying and lightning counters. The shirts are red and the style is reminiscent of what we are seeing today.

I was a few months old but I've heard me parents speak out that game. The other part of your post is great. We as a club , community and City have always had this spirit , belief , attitude , cockyness or whatever you want to call it .

In my own simplistic way of writing.

Fuck youse . We are Liverpool .

[gerrardsarmy]

As one of the posters who openly stated my 'wish list' for where to win the title, I'll take this.

I said I wanted us to win it at Anfield first and foremost; but if that was not possible then at Goodison; and if that is not possible then at the Empty. And if not then at any other ground while we are playing. And only if all those fail, then, and only then, to win it in between games.

The reason I cited the Empty third has nothing to with any obsession with City; it barely has anything to do with City at all. It is just happenstance that they happen to be our closest challengers and that they happen to be the team that pipped us to the title last year. Those are the two reasons why I'd like to win it there if Anfield and Goodison cannot be. I'd have put Old Trafford third if it were possible, for historic rivalry reasons. And if it proves to be Leicester who is closest behind us then I'll opt for the KP instead, or if Norwich or Burnley had pipped us to the title last season I'd have put their grounds.

I can't speak for any other Liverpool fans, but for me City are still a nothing team; I have no interest in them nor any feeling of rivalry, except that they happen to be vying with us for the same goals, temporarily. If that continues for a long time then a genuine feeling of rivalry may develop, but I doubt it could ever eclipse Everton or Utd.

I think I heard it on the Wrap or something:

"City are our competitors for the title, not rivals."

[Brian Blessed]

They’re our bitches, no shame in that.

But they’ve also become Tottenham’s bitches. Probably not what they hoped for when they became financially doped.

[Max_powers]

Guardiola has absolutely lost the plot over our relentless challenge. He is rattled, and its filtered all the way down throughout their club and fanbase. The level of focus needed is immense, but Guardiola's paranoia and tendency to blame external factors rather than himself has seen their focus fall away.

The psychology of the two clubs is very different. The psychology of the whole set-up at the Emptyhad is undermining their own efforts this season. They are more focused on Liverpool than they are their own actions. The constant blaming of outside factors ( VAR, conspiracy etc) is a losers mentality. Witness the endless malaise at Goodison for a classic example of where that mentality gets you.

That sort of thinking can breed siege mentality for a short period of time. That is what Mourinho is good at. However, after a season or two players just start believing all that non-sense and start feeling sorry for themselves. Why actually try till the last whistle when the game is rigged against you? That is why almost always Mourinho's teams crumble after a few seasons.

I felt that as soon as Pep and their players started spouting all this conspiracy stuff last season, that their time at the top was not gonna last. This season too you can see that when they are on top they are really good. But when there is any adversity, they cry and moan and end up losing. The league game at Anfield was a perfect example. After going down, Sterling spent all that time throwing tantrums rather than trying to lead the team with his performance, then he attacks Gomez during national duty. This is how angry and obsessed Pep has made them.

Us and them are two teams built in their manager's image. We lost the EL final didn't sulk and just made it to the CL Final the next year. We lost that and won the CL the next season while narrowly missing the league.  The players didn't sulk and are just having the greatest league season any team ever has had. Totally different to their trajectory.

[Darren G]

The fact that Anfield is sold out for a match against Shrewsbury with the kids playing, whilst they have to practically beg their supporters to show up for a Champions League game against Madrid says everything about the two clubs and their respective fan bases.

[vblfc]

Yep, both Levi's 'If This Is A Man' and Frankl's 'Man's Search For Meaning' are harrowing, yet inspiring reading.

The lessons a person can learn from them might sound far removed from the relative trivialities of football, but I think they can apply to anything in life. Whatever we are doing, our mindset can determine if we succeed or not. The right mindset at least gives you the best chance. The wrong one can scupper you every time.

Resilience is also crucial. Football-wise, Liverpool could have folded psychologically after Sevilla and Madrid. We could have felt sorry for ourselves, but we (as a club) licked our wounds and prepared to come back harder and harder until we cracked it.

Without those tough times, near misses and failures, we wouldn't have learned the lessons and built the mentality we currently have. A lot of the time, it's not what happens to you that matters most, but how you react to what happens to you.

Like this discussion. I have Frankl’s amazing little book on a shelf and go back to it every now and then to relearn and refocus on purpose in adversity. Can read the whole thing in one or two goes and puts a whole world of things into perspective. Thanks for reminder there SoP. 

And yes, as Kesey says “their arse has gone” 😃

[harleydanger]

Aldridge is right, and I said similar in a post above regarding mentality / psychology.

Guardiola has absolutely lost the plot over our relentless challenge. He is rattled, and its filtered all the way down throughout their club and fanbase. The level of focus needed is immense, but Guardiola's paranoia and tendency to blame external factors rather than himself has seen their focus fall away.

The psychology of the two clubs is very different. The psychology of the whole set-up at the Emptyhad is undermining their own efforts this season. They are more focused on Liverpool than they are their own actions. The constant blaming of outside factors ( VAR, conspiracy etc) is a losers mentality. Witness the endless malaise at Goodison for a classic example of where that mentality gets you.

Probably comes down to their “best in class” philosophy, where they structured the club to have the best of everything. When you’ve got the best of everything, and you’re not winning everything, what’s wrong?

Basically I’m saying it’s Rocky IV and they’re Ivan Drago. United is Apollo Creed and we’re Rocky.

[Johns_Barn]

Eh, it's all fun and games laughing at someone phoning innto a radio show but following his Twitter account and spamming the posts with derision is where I think it crosses the line into bullying.

I guess it was LFC that forced him to sign up to social media and call an internationally syndicated station and yell about LFC? It was LFC that forced him to make his twitter handle open to the public also?

[Romford_Red]

Bot coin?
Seriously though, you can pay for bot farms to propagate your ideas. The Tories and their mates in the UKIP groupings spent a fortune on bots and bot farms in the run up to the elections. Most of the UKIP social media presence was composed of fake tweets and Facebook posts.
It would not surprise me if AD don’t actually own the odd bot farm or two, given the propaganda war in the Middle East.

Interesting. The more you know!

For me they can do what they like. watching them scramble to artificially create the support and scenes we generate naturally is like watching David Brent trying to be the cool boss to the cameras.

[12C]

That sort of thinking can breed siege mentality for a short period of time. That is what Mourinho is good at. However, after a season or two players just start believing all that non-sense and start feeling sorry for themselves. Why actually try till the last whistle when the game is rigged against you? That is why almost always Mourinho's teams crumble after a few seasons.

I felt that as soon as Pep and their players started spouting all this conspiracy stuff last season, that their time at the top was not gonna last. This season too you can see that when they are on top they are really good. But when there is any adversity, they cry and moan and end up losing. The league game at Anfield was a perfect example. After going down, Sterling spent all that time throwing tantrums rather than trying to lead the team with his performance, then he attacks Gomez during national duty. This is how angry and obsessed Pep has made them.

Us and them are two teams built in their manager's image. We lost the EL final didn't sulk and just made it to the CL Final the next year. We lost that and won the CL the next season while narrowly missing the league.  The players didn't sulk and are just having the greatest league season any team ever has had. Totally different to their trajectory.

Siege mentality has been used by various managers over the years. Ferguson was the main one. Jose, Pep, even Moyes have made use of it as a bonding element in focusing team effort.
I have always thought it counter productive. It ends up with players psychologically drained because it is so negative.
When we were winning things in my youth, it was fun. We the fans, and the players together seemed to just enjoy being so bloody good. It was a bloody party. Yes, we poked fun at the mancs, but also Chelsea, Ipswich, Spurs or whoever we played that week. The city was under seige politically and socially, so footy was the outlet for our worries. Shanks loved football, the eternal optimism and sheer enthusiasm for the game was our yardstick. Bob was less outgoing but his knowledge and love for he game was awesome. Joe and Kenny were similar in that they expected perfection, but all of us of a certain age will chuckle when we recall how the media had  Kenny described as a dour Scot, because we regularly saw his smiling face, arms aloft. Sheer bloody joy from football. Ged was another who enthusiastically talked about his love of football.  Rafa was another, a manwho loved our game deeply, and it endeared him to us.
We now have this guy Klopp, another lover of the game. His enthusiasm is infectious, his knowledge respected, and the fact that like our greats, he knows he has much in common.
Pep isn’t an enthusiast, he is a student of the game admittedly but he doesn’t make you happy. Jose is another one, their intensity sucks the energy out you and leaves you unable to enjoy winning.
I refer you to their “celebrations” singing a shit version of Allez. They don’t do “dreams and songs to sing”, no more than Chelsea did under Jose or indeed the Red Mancs under Ferguson. Their yardstick was/is to climb on our perch. It only gets you so far.

[12C]

Interesting. The more you know!

For me they can do what they like. watching them scramble to artificially create the support and scenes we generate naturally is like watching David Brent trying to be the cool boss to the cameras.

Thing is mate, we all dismiss this social media lark as bollocks and yet it is shaping how the world thinks. Along with Shite TV like “Dancing in the Jungle on Ice” with prick presenters, it’s telling the sheeple this is how it is.
I remember a teacher telling us in Junior school circa 1967, not to believe everything in the papers and that some people actually believed Coronation Street was real.
Now the reality for some people is a non entity Flouncing around doing a shit tango.

[ScottScott]

Im all up for bashing Pip and Manchester City but lets not be as pathetic as them lot, Pep did a very innovative forward thinking job at Barca and had lots do when he first came in. His first job was to build a culture and part of that task was weeding out very strong personalities and influences in the dressing room Ronaldinho & Ibrahimovic to name a couple.    To be fair to the man, he did do lots of good work there that tends to get unnoticed as its Barca with Messi & co, and expected to win.  Personally I really enjoyed his Barca team and the way they played, all over the pitch they were fluid and such a dynamic force despite them being quite predictable at times.

He signed Ibrahimovic 

He inherited a team that consisted of Valdes, Puyol, Abidal, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, Etoo, Henry. 9 players that made up the team. That summer they brought in Alves and Pique as the final 2 pieces and had the likes of Pedro coming through as well. They were absolutely stacked. He did weed out the ones who needed to go but he didn't build that team himself, it was ready for him. He's a great coach, can't deny that. But he's not the same level as Klopp

[Dave D]

I agree about some of the Barcelona comments. Guardiola and his good friend Dr.Ramon Cugat were unbelievable at Barcelona.

[PhilV]

This has been said 1000 times already I am sure, but the notion that it's Oil Money FC coming up with conspiracy theories as to why we are doing so well as a club when they are funded by dodgy deals and wage structures hidden away left right and centre just makes me smile.

Projection FC might be a better title for them.

[ToneLa]

This has been said 1000 times already I am sure, but the notion that it's Oil Money FC coming up with conspiracy theories as to why we are doing so well as a club when they are funded by dodgy deals and wage structures hidden away left right and centre just makes me smile.

Projection FC might be a better title for them.

I think of City as Stupid Bastards Fuck Right Off FC

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Considering how gracious Klopp was last season it's a shame to see Guardiola not repay it this year. Every month he has a new conspiracy/excuse. He's incapable of just admitting that we are simply better this year. Every time he praises us it's always through gritted teeth and accompanied by some moan about injuries (as if they're the only club who have suffered with them)/VAR/fixture congestion/their fans and now about something Scudmore said. No wonder the fanbase are so insecure and pathetic when their manager is spouting all this conspiracy theory crap all the time.

[MJD-L4]

This has been said 1000 times already I am sure, but the notion that it's Oil Money FC coming up with conspiracy theories as to why we are doing so well as a club when they are funded by dodgy deals and wage structures hidden away left right and centre just makes me smile.

Projection FC might be a better title for them.

It's incredible isn't it? The #TaintedTitle talk is what gets me laughing the most. If ours is tainted, what the fuck does that make theirs?

The self awareness is staggeringly low in their fan base.

They can throw objects directly at players trying to take corners, throw ins etc but still cry 2 years after a bottle of koppaberg hit their reinforced bus window.

They call us a cult, when they're the tin foil hat wearing, conspiracy spewing, brainwashed by their glorious leader crybabies.

I know which club looks more like a cult, and sure as shit ain't us!

[rebel23]

He signed Ibrahimovic 

He inherited a team that consisted of Valdes, Puyol, Abidal, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, Etoo, Henry. 9 players that made up the team. That summer they brought in Alves and Pique as the final 2 pieces and had the likes of Pedro coming through as well. They were absolutely stacked. He did weed out the ones who needed to go but he didn't build that team himself, it was ready for him. He's a great coach, can't deny that. But he's not the same level as Klopp

Spot on.  Pep has no idea how to build a team like Klopp.  His signings have been hit and miss and at City he has relied on Aguero, Fernandinho Kompany, De Bruyne etc. i.e players there before he got there. 

[FiSh77]

Thing is mate, we all dismiss this social media lark as bollocks and yet it is shaping how the world thinks. Along with Shite TV like “Dancing in the Jungle on Ice” with prick presenters, it’s telling the sheeple this is how it is.
I remember a teacher telling us in Junior school circa 1967, not to believe everything in the papers and that some people actually believed Coronation Street was real.
Now the reality for some people is a non entity Flouncing around doing a shit tango.

[royhendo]

To be fair, Pep did one of the great side rebuilds in recent times. The notion that he didn't is revisionist.

He inherited Rijkaard's European Cup winning team, dismantled much of its core, and propelled it to a new level with some pretty bold decision making.

Position by position in his first summer...

GK: kept Valdes
LB: Silvinho - kept on with him, sold Zambrotta
CB: declining Marquez, brought in Pique to play alongside...
CB: Puyol - doubled down on the big man
RB: brought in Alves (Abidal was ill)
MF: Iniesta
MF: Xavi
MF: Busquets gets promoted from youth ranks, bins off Deco, demotes Toure
FW: Bins Ronaldinho, promotes Messi, makes False 9 a thing
FW: brings in Samuel Eto'o from Majorca and makes him a superstar
FW: Henry/Bojan/Pedro promoted from the youth ranks

He tried to bring in David Silva in that first season too.

It's nonsensical to say he can't build a team. He's just never had to work within constraints since that time, and I think (like Mourinho) that stunts a manager's development and certain aspects of their ambition (for their side to grow and integrate, for example).

I think he's also a massive head banger so people just get worn down with him.

[Crosby Nick]

Think Roy has covered it pretty fairly there. Especially that last line!

[paulrazor]

the barcelona team he took over was european champions a mere two years earlier

but he definitely took it to another level,, they were an amazing team

[GreatEx]

Watched that BBC call-in show with Stats Man Gary or whatever he calls himself. Wow, you'd be hard pressed to script a character as cringeworthy as him.

I kept expecting Savage to ask him, "who invented the skip?"