The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

Enforcer · Post by **Enforcer** » 30 Mar 2014, 17:55

1 Liverpool 32 49 71
2 Chelsea 32 38 69
3 Man City 30 52 67
4 Arsenal 32 19 64

We'll have our perch back now, ta.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 01 Apr 2014, 09:19

Well, it has now been 6 months since our last league win at home, with just one FA Cup victory against minnows Bristol Rovers since then.

If the Football League had a ROTY for 2013/14, it would be us.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 01 Apr 2014, 15:41

Enforcer wrote:
1 Liverpool 32 49 71
2 Chelsea 32 38 69
3 Man City 30 52 67
4 Arsenal 32 19 64

We'll have our perch back now, ta.

Que?

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 02 Apr 2014, 11:52

We could be following in Watford's footsteps soon

Yes, if this takeover happens, we could in theory become Lazio's feeder club.

If this happened last season, we could have had Mauro Zarate back

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 02 Apr 2014, 12:59

FullMetalJack wrote:We could be following in Watford's footsteps soon

Yes, if this takeover happens, we could in theory become Lazio's feeder club.

If this happened last season, we could have had Mauro Zarate back

Double edged sword this. One the one hand, you'll get a team that's going to do very well in the Championship...but that's about it. The owners won't fund the club to become a good Premier League club. You'll be consigned to bouncing between the PL and the C'ship forever.

If they do buy the club and send you lot Keita Balde Diao on loan though, you're sorted. He'll run rings around everyone in the Championship. You might also end up with Felipe Anderson, who looks to have some talent. However, at the moment Lazio are overloaded with crappy defenders, you'll probably end up with the utterly hopeless Giuseppe Biava :lol:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 02 Apr 2014, 16:27

Biscione wrote:
FullMetalJack wrote:We could be following in Watford's footsteps soon

Yes, if this takeover happens, we could in theory become Lazio's feeder club.

If this happened last season, we could have had Mauro Zarate back

Double edged sword this. One the one hand, you'll get a team that's going to do very well in the Championship...but that's about it. The owners won't fund the club to become a good Premier League club. You'll be consigned to bouncing between the PL and the C'ship forever.

If they do buy the club and send you lot Keita Balde Diao on loan though, you're sorted. He'll run rings around everyone in the Championship. You might also end up with Felipe Anderson, who looks to have some talent. However, at the moment Lazio are overloaded with crappy defenders, you'll probably end up with the utterly hopeless Giuseppe Biava

The way we're going, i'm not even sure we'll be in the Championship next season. Charlton and Barnsley are starting to pick up wins, something we are not doing.

It'll be like the late 2000s all over again if we do keep moving between the Premier League and the Championship. Back when us and West Brom were England's yo-yo clubs

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 02 Apr 2014, 20:03

Barca just got shiprekd :shock:

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 02 Apr 2014, 21:32

Aerospeed wrote:Barca just got shiprekd

I can already see what's going to happen. Barca will appeal this, and for various legal reasons, said appeal will be continuously delayed until after the summer transfer window, by which stage they will have signed replacements for Puyol and Valdes, along with a bunch of 19 Spaniards nobody's ever heard of. It'll be business as usual at the Nou Camp next season, mark my words

watka · Post by **watka** » 02 Apr 2014, 22:53

takagi_for_the_win wrote:
Aerospeed wrote:Barca just got shiprekd

I can already see what's going to happen. Barca will appeal this, and for various legal reasons, said appeal will be continuously delayed until after the summer transfer window, by which stage they will have signed replacements for Puyol and Valdes, along with a bunch of 19 Spaniards nobody's ever heard of. It'll be business as usual at the Nou Camp next season, mark my words

Yep, Barca get to play by different rules to everyone else.

watka · Post by **watka** » 03 Apr 2014, 12:18

There is an ominous shadow looming over the footballing world. And that shadow is Red Bull.

I came across the latest Austrian League standings and just look at the domination by RB Salzburg. They make Celtic look like part-timers: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/bunde ... rb_A1.html

Even more ominous is that they have not just one, but two players average more than a goal a game in the league: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/stati ... asics.html

This is also the team that took apart Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam in the Europa League (let's conveniently ignore they lost 3-1 at home and then got knocked out by Basel in the next round

).

I'm telling you, THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE OVER THE BEAUTIFUL GAME.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 03 Apr 2014, 14:59

At least if Oberkommando Mateschitz ever creates "Red Bull Manchester United" it'll mean even more of an exodus to FC United of Manchester...

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 03 Apr 2014, 21:26

watka wrote:There is an ominous shadow looming over the footballing world. And that shadow is Red Bull.

I came across the latest Austrian League standings and just look at the domination by RB Salzburg. They make Celtic look like part-timers: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/bunde ... rb_A1.html

Even more ominous is that they have not just one, but two players average more than a goal a game in the league: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/stati ... asics.html

This is also the team that took apart Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam in the Europa League (let's conveniently ignore they lost 3-1 at home and then got knocked out by Basel in the next round ).

I'm telling you, THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE OVER THE BEAUTIFUL GAME.

On the plus side, it's only the Austrian league. Hell, Birmingham could probably do well in the Austrian Bundesliga if we're being brutally honest. No, if it's domination you want, look to Bavaria. Bayern have been scarily good this year, and with Pep now familiar with all his players, I can't see much domestic competition for them for several years; especially if they keep nabbing Dortmund's best players

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 03 Apr 2014, 22:45

takagi_for_the_win wrote:Hell, Birmingham could probably do well in the Austrian Bundesliga if we're being brutally honest.

No we couldn't. We've hit a new low this season, that was confirmed when we lost 2-0 at home to Yeovil, and despite not even being that good, the played us off the park. It's got to the point where watching us play at home as practically become a chore, but I go anyway as I need to stick by my team, and because i'm a season ticket holder, *Yes I know it was a questionable idea, I don't know why I bothered either* so I don't have to pay to see any game.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:No, if it's domination you want, look to Bavaria. Bayern have been scarily good this year, and with Pep now familiar with all his players, I can't see much domestic competition for them for several years; especially if they keep nabbing Dortmund's best players

This I can agree with. Bayern Munich are that dominant, they take *insert individual or team here*WINSLOL to a whole new level.

BAYERNWINSLOL makes Vettel's recent domination of F1 look so average. It's ridiculous

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 03 Apr 2014, 23:37

watka wrote:There is an ominous shadow looming over the footballing world. And that shadow is Red Bull.

I came across the latest Austrian League standings and just look at the domination by RB Salzburg. They make Celtic look like part-timers: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/bunde ... rb_A1.html

Even more ominous is that they have not just one, but two players average more than a goal a game in the league: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/stati ... asics.html

This is also the team that took apart Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam in the Europa League (let's conveniently ignore they lost 3-1 at home and then got knocked out by Basel in the next round ).

I ... I ... just don't have a slowpoke picture that is sufficient to convey the slowness. That is why I will respond to that post in exactly two years from this day on.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 07 Apr 2014, 08:47

FullMetalJack wrote:No we couldn't. We've hit a new low this season, that was confirmed when we lost 2-0 at home to Yeovil, and despite not even being that good, the played us off the park. It's got to the point where watching us play at home as practically become a chore, but I go anyway as I need to stick by my team, and because i'm a season ticket holder, *Yes I know it was a questionable idea, I don't know why I bothered either* so I don't have to pay to see any game.

Let's not forget, you're not just paying the financial cost, but the cost to your dignity must be huge as well

Meanwhile, last week's 2-2 draw against nobodies Livorno was followed up yesterday with...a 2-2 draw against nobodies Bologna. Just fantastic. I'm expecting Sampdoria to hammer us at the Marassi this Sunday. After all, our last three games were against teams placed 14th, 17th and 18th in the league, and we drew all of them - so 12th placed Sampdoria are bound to rip us to shreds. Now excuse me while I assume the foetal position and cry in a dark corner for a while...again...

watka · Post by **watka** » 08 Apr 2014, 23:17

Klon wrote:
watka wrote:There is an ominous shadow looming over the footballing world. And that shadow is Red Bull.

I came across the latest Austrian League standings and just look at the domination by RB Salzburg. They make Celtic look like part-timers: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/bunde ... rb_A1.html

Even more ominous is that they have not just one, but two players average more than a goal a game in the league: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/stati ... asics.html

This is also the team that took apart Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam in the Europa League (let's conveniently ignore they lost 3-1 at home and then got knocked out by Basel in the next round ).

I ... I ... just don't have a slowpoke picture that is sufficient to convey the slowness. That is why I will respond to that post in exactly two years from this day on.

Perhaps a few more smilies would have made it helpfully more obvious that I wasn't being serious. :lol:

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 13 Apr 2014, 14:40

Liverpool are the Forza Rossa of the Premier League. That was a great game against Manchester City. Everyone did their job as they should have. Except for the guy who got the red card at the 93 minute mark.

That was football at its best for me. Worth paying to see.

watka · Post by **watka** » 13 Apr 2014, 22:46

go_Rubens wrote:Liverpool are the Forza Rossa of the Premier League. That was a great game against Manchester City. Everyone did their job as they should have. Except for the guy who got the red card at the 93 minute mark.

That was football at its best for me. Worth paying to see.

Wow, Liverpool really are serious about winning the league. Liverpool beating Man City means that Man City don't have their destiny in their own hands any more (i.e. even if they win all their remaining games it wouldn't guarantee them the title). On the other end, Chelsea now do and they have to play Liverpool themselves, but right between 2 games against Atletico Madrid. Liverpool actually have no excuses for not winning the league... As a Chelsea fan (although my main team is AFC Wimbledon) I would say that though

As for the FA Cup it could very easily have been Wigan vs Sheffield United in the final. 2 very different matches but both displayed the [cliché alert] "magic of the cup". Naturally I hope the "specialist in failure" slip up and give Hull City their first ever cup. Something like this will do nicely (although Barry Ferguson needn't have been such an arse)

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 13 Apr 2014, 22:55

watka wrote:Something like this will do nicely

I love that man! I could watch that goal on repeat for the rest of my life and probably never get bored.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 14 Apr 2014, 16:24

One year on from the relevant post, I've been looking at my favourite rejects of the 2012-13 lower leagues again to see how they're doing this season.

dinizintheoven wrote:
Barbazza wrote:Haven't Hinckley been doing something similar in the Conference North?

They were certainly in line for the next nomination - with one game to go, it's P41 W2 D4 L35 F33 A141. That's a goal difference of -108 - not quite as hideous as Hucknall Town's, but almost - and of the 10 points they've won, three were deducted for failing to pay creditors, and another three were lost when they missed a fixture against Bishop's Stortford (which I used to live just a stone's throw from). Losing over half your points from off-the-field misdemeanours can be considered very rejectful, but Hinckley, like Hucknall, are on the very edge of survival - both clubs have been long since relegated but it's unknown if either of them will make it as far as next season.

They think it's all over... it is now. Hinckley United dropped one division to the Southern League Premier Division, but went to the wall on 7th October 2013. Their record after ten games was: won 1, drawn 3, lost 6. If a new club forms, it'll be right down in the pits against some pub teams.

In a further skewer through the face of clubs beginning with H, Henley Town of the Hellenic League Division One East haven't won a game all season. Their ship is sinking faster than a rowing boat at the Regatta that's been hit by a torpedo: one game to go and it's P27 W0 D4 L23 F30 A114. Four points, a goal difference of -84, and they're as much in trouble as the others I've mentioned - they played in the Hellenic Premier Leagure last season, finished out of the relegation places but were forced down a division for "not building a stand to fulfil league requirements". Presumably their ground is little more than a pitch with some rudimentary terraces and a lot of open space. They almost collapsed last season but opted to play this season in Division One East, and it's not gone well to say the least. However, their website does point out that the all-time rejects of the Hellenic League are Princes Risborough Town, who played in the league's first season in 1953-54 and lost every match!

It seems Henley brought out the bilge pump at the last minute in the 2012-13 season, winning one game between this post and the end of the season. They finished bottom of the Hellenic League Division One East, 18 points behind Milton United, but were reprieved from relegation via Thatcham Town Reserves' withdrawal from the league. This season, they've had a revival akin to Williams in 2012 - they've won 11 of their 25 games so far, and sit mid-table. Meanwhile, Milton United are in pole position for promotion to the Hellenic League Premier Division at this point...

Instead, it's Henley Town's reserves who have taken the reject mantle this season, sitting rock bottom of Division Two East, though they could still escape. Relegation will be to a league also akin to playing pub teams...

And on that note, here's the one I was looking for the other day; pole position for Football Rejects Of The Season are Woodford United, of the Southern League Division One Central. With 41 games played and only one to go... like Princes Risborough Town half a century ago, Woodford have lost all their games. They've hit the back of the net a mere 20 times, less than once every two games on average, have allowed 183 goals to spill past them, and it's hard to see how it could get any worse. However, in this division, the penalties for fielding an ineligible player are very harsh - Chalfont St. Peter did exactly that and were docked 15 points, which (strangely) has only cost them five places in the table - they weren't going to be promoted, nor were they ever in relegation trouble, but then... there's only one relegation place, and even Leighton Town, with their miserable record of W6 D5 L30 for all of 23 points, were long since safe due to Woodford's cataclysmically awful performance on the field. There's one game to go, at third in the table Godalming Town, and I suppose it's not a case of whether or not Woodford will lose, merely how much they will lose by.

The season's results read like an ever-increasing horror story. Having kept the scoreline of their opening day fixture away at North Greenford United to a respectable 1-0, they only managed to lose by a single goal four more times in the season - one 1-0 result, two 2-1s, and this gem: Reject Moment of the season could have been when they managed to score four times in a home match on 18th December... but allowed Leighton Town put five past them. The number of times they've shipped four or five goals in the season is more than I'm prepared to count, and higher scorelines aren't at all uncommon; once Beaconsfield SYCOB had put six past them on 27th October, the rot properly set in. Six times the goalie has been fishing seven balls out the net (courtesy of Chertsey Town, Burnham, Chalfont St. Peter, Rugby Town, Aylesbury, and Burnham again), Thatcham Town scored eight... but surely the worst sight for Woodford fans, if there are any left, was watching the two occasions in March when Biggleswade Town and Ashford Town racked up a double-figure score. Ten-nil both times, separated by only 11 days, and both of those results had just come after the 7-0 hammerings from Rugby and Aylesbury.

Here's an interesting article that goes some way to explaining how Woodford United have found themselves as the Southern League's punching bag this season. The article also mentions how Cornard United, of the Eastern Counties League Division One, had also lost all their matches up to that point - but since then, they've won one and drawn one and will most likely end the season on four points, as Henley Town will - it seems, though, that there is nowhere for Cornard to be relegated to and they may well end up facing the same trial again next season.

Formula One Rejects salutes this season's Football Rejects. They even play in colours that scream "Life Racing Engines!" louder than the emphysema-riddled W12 could ever manage. If anyone can find a better nomination than this team, go for it.

Woodford United's horror story hasn't stopped.

Utterly punch-drunk from the 2012-13 season, pointless and with a goal difference of -164, they were relegated two divisions when it became obvious that they wouldn't even survive in the United Counties League Premier Division. So, starting the season in UCL Division One, they continued their record of taking a battering - until, finally, it looked like they'd turned a corner; in November 2013, after a run of 65 straight defeats, Woodford beat Blackstones - away - 2-1. Blackstones currently sit one place above the relegation slots... Woodford, unfortunately, are firmly in it. That win is the only three points they've scored all season, and they've shipped even more goals this season than they did last year, two divisions above, and have a goal difference of -170. A measure of how badly it went wrong was in March. On the 17th, they visited Wellingborough Whitworths and were utterly annihilated... 16-0; five days later they visited Thrapston Town and "improved" to losing a mere 10-1.

We all know how badly Life failed in F1. We all know how it was said a Life F1 car would be beaten by a F3 car of the day. Well... imagine Life dropping down to F3 for the 1991 season and still getting hammered as hard as they did in 1990. Where do they go from there? Formula Ford? Karting? Downhill soapbox racing?

That's the reality facing Woodford Town next season, in the form of the Northamptonshire Combination. There's a Premier Division and three more below it... which one will they be put in?

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 14 Apr 2014, 18:52

I haven't posted a meanwhile in Belgium for a while, so what has happened since?

-Mons are now officially relegated to second division, and decided it's for their best to fire almost all of their technical staff and players.
-Standard are getting paranoid
-Club Brugge just fails to deliver when they have the chances
-Anderlecht still have the chance to win a title they don't diserve
-Zulte Waregem is actually a serious contenter
-Lokeren, the cup winner of 2014 is getting remarkably consistent the last years, and a few years ago they used to be the last team you'd associate with consistency.
-Genk and Gent are going from bad to worse
-Oostende somehow turned into a subtop team
-Cercle is back to being the rubbish team they used to be last year
-Somehow Waasland isnt rejectful anymore
-Somehow Charleroi became the most anonymous team in the whole league
-A lot of teams in second division failed to get a professional license, including STVV (whose fans are already talking about conspiracy theories), Antwerp and RWDM (quite the usuall stuff with these two teams), the other teams that failed were Tubize, Hoogstraten and Visé, but Visé didn't even request a license, and Hoogstraten didn't do much effort either.
-Only 5 teams from division 3 got a license to promote to second division, and only slightly more of them even asked for a license anyway, so it might just happen that a team ending in the midfield gets promoted.
-That means that Racing Mechelen is already certain of promotion to second division.
-The 'new' Beerschot easily won their group in 5th division (first provincial Antwerpen), and got a record for most attendants for a team at that level (12000, which is the maximum capacity of the Olympic stadium)
-When you think about hooliganism, the last thing that would come to your mind would be a game between Westerlo and Geel, well, they proved you wrong.
-Of all people who could make the official anthem for the national team, why does it had to be Stromae? I can't stand this guy!
-Second division team Boussu Dour were bought by Seraing (currently playing in provincial leagues), who on their part are co-owned by Metz. So Seraing is playing in second division next year, in quite the most unfair way of getting there.

watka · Post by **watka** » 17 Apr 2014, 23:22

This wrote:-Cercle is back to being the rubbish team they used to be last year

Huzzah, complete mediocrity for my team! At least we managed to beat Club in one of the derbies this season.

How good has Thorgan Hazard been this season?

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 17 Apr 2014, 23:43

watka wrote:
This wrote:-Cercle is back to being the rubbish team they used to be last year

Huzzah, complete mediocrity for my team! At least we managed to beat Club in one of the derbies this season.

How good has Thorgan Hazard been this season?

Been one of the best players of the league, until he won the golden shoe award. (but that's sort of tradition for golden shoe winners) Also because his transfer to Anderlecht didn't go trough (because Zulte Waregem stood up and simply said 'no' and Chelsea didn't quite care) and needed a bit time to get back on form, but now in the play-offs, he seems to be in good form again. And his team is actually currently ranked higher than Anderlecht, showing that such a transfer would have been useless.
Nothing heared about his brother Kyllian, who plays in second division for White Star, though, seems to be the least talented of the family.

Post by **tommykl** » 18 Apr 2014, 05:59

Meanwhile, Standard is finding new ways of choking away the championship. Again.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 18 Apr 2014, 18:17

tommykl wrote:Meanwhile, Standard is finding new ways of choking away the championship. Again.

Don't worry, Luzon has been repeatedly saying he looooooves this kind of pressure

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 19 Apr 2014, 18:29

Chelsea has had their 77 game winning streak at home, stretching back 10 years, ended.

And they just lost to Sunderland.

All I know is, this is going to make a great battle at the bottom of the ranks.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 19 Apr 2014, 21:24

We're gonna win the league after we kill Chelsea off next weekend

eytl · Post by **eytl** » 19 Apr 2014, 21:57

This wrote:I haven't posted a meanwhile in Belgium for a while, so what has happened since?

-Club Brugge just fails to deliver when they have the chances

How's Mat Ryan going in goal for them? Having come from my beloved A-League team the Central Coast Mariners and looking likely to be the Socceroos goalkeeper at the World Cup, what's his form like?

And did I read somewhere correctly that Michel Preud'homme is their head coach? It can only do Mat Ryan good to be coached by one of the greatest keepers the world has ever seen.

And can I just mention, RIP Dylan Tombides. Would've been a chance to lead the front line for the Socceroos in Brazil this year, certainly in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 (assuming we made it). A great talent lost just as the Australian team is struggling for quality strikers. A wonderful tribute to see West Ham retire his shirt number and dedicate a tribute to him at the start of the match against Crystal Palace. And, whilst Palace won 1-0, fitting that the winning penalty was scored by their captain Mile Jedinak, who may well be Socceroos captain at the World Cup.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 20 Apr 2014, 01:03

eytl wrote:
This wrote:I haven't posted a meanwhile in Belgium for a while, so what has happened since?

-Club Brugge just fails to deliver when they have the chances

How's Mat Ryan going in goal for them? Having come from my beloved A-League team the Central Coast Mariners and looking likely to be the Socceroos goalkeeper at the World Cup, what's his form like?

And did I read somewhere correctly that Michel Preud'homme is their head coach? It can only do Mat Ryan good to be coached by one of the greatest keepers the world has ever seen.

And can I just mention, RIP Dylan Tombides. Would've been a chance to lead the front line for the Socceroos in Brazil this year, certainly in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 (assuming we made it). A great talent lost just as the Australian team is struggling for quality strikers. A wonderful tribute to see West Ham retire his shirt number and dedicate a tribute to him at the start of the match against Crystal Palace. And, whilst Palace won 1-0, fitting that the winning penalty was scored by their captain Mile Jedinak, who may well be Socceroos captain at the World Cup.

Ryan quickly became one of the key players and has quickly became the undisputed #1 in the goal. Altough there wasn't much competition inside the club, he's by many considered as one of the better goalkeepers in the league. He became third in the Golden Shoe in the category goalkeepers (after Proto and Bossut i think). So considering his young age, that's a all very promising. Club Brugge isn't really known for producing or supporting good keepers, but having one of the best keepers from the late eighties/early nineties in Preud'Homme as a coach will not hurt him, that's for sure. He's also a very good coach who has had succes at every team he's been with, so Ryan seems to have landed at the right place, at the right time.
I'm quite curious how many JPL players will be present at the world cup.

That's a sad thing to read.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 20 Apr 2014, 17:14

Norwich City nearly had Liverpool. Nearly.

Everton simply had the measure over Manchester United today. Manchester United could do absolutely nothing and made way too many mistakes.

As a result, Manchester United miss the Champions League for the first time since 1995.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 20 Apr 2014, 17:35

eytl wrote:And can I just mention, RIP Dylan Tombides. Would've been a chance to lead the front line for the Socceroos in Brazil this year, certainly in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 (assuming we made it). A great talent lost just as the Australian team is struggling for quality strikers. A wonderful tribute to see West Ham retire his shirt number and dedicate a tribute to him at the start of the match against Crystal Palace. And, whilst Palace won 1-0, fitting that the winning penalty was scored by their captain Mile Jedinak, who may well be Socceroos captain at the World Cup.

Yesterday was the one time when I didn't care about the result. True Hammers fans really love the players who care and are loyal, regardless of talent. We didn't really see what Dylan had to offer but I was very upset when I read about his passing. It wasn't entirely unexpected (unlike Marc-Vivien Foe - my goodness, I can still remember reading about that at work and having to go to the Gents to discreetly cry my eyes out in utter shock) but still incredibly sad nonetheless. RIP.

Post by **Londoner** » 22 Apr 2014, 08:17

So, the news is confirmed. Moyes has been handed his P45 this morning.

I'm sorry, but that's a disgraceful decision. The bloke had less than a year in the job. People seem to forget that when the Hairdryer took charge in 1986, his first season was crap as well...

But I suppose that's the sad nature of football nowadays...

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 22 Apr 2014, 09:44

East Londoner wrote:So, the news is confirmed. Moyes has been handed his P45 this morning.

I'm sorry, but that's a disgraceful decision. The bloke had less than a year in the job. People seem to forget that when the Hairdryer took charge in 1986, his first season was crap as well...

But I suppose that's the sad nature of football nowadays...

Well, I guess it depends on the point of view. For those who dislike United, it might be a disgraceful decision, for the fans it is a good decision hands down.

I do think it makes sense from a logical point of view. First, yes, the football has changed since 1986. Money rules and Moyes certainly made his bosses to lose lots of it. Besides, there would be absolutely no guarantee that it would change in the near future and facing even more losses they had to cut somewhere. The weakest link in football is always the manager. Secondly, Manchester United is not in the same position it was back in 1986. The Hairdryer was hired with the job to rebuild and turn United into a serial winner. Sure it did not looked like it in Ferguson's first years but then it wasn't a club used to win. Fast forward to 2013 and everyone knew a second title with this team was near impossible but given proper funds the new manager would certainly start a rebuilding process. It is arguable if Moyes tried to do this. In my view, he tried to patch, badly, a championship winning team. He gave no sense of direction. All in all and as I said in the Football rejects thread, Moyes showed lack of ambition, no real tactical nous and poor man management. Sir Alex Ferguson proved you can win without one of these, but without all three? I don't think so. Besides, United faced (there is still danger) the prospect of losing its best players because they were refusing to keep working with Moyes, who already proved he could not bring top class players even with Champions League football available. Since January, it started to be clear that Moyes wasn't a man for this job and if the Glazers don't mess it up badly again, the next manager will prove this as Martinez proved there was life after Moyes in Everton.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 22 Apr 2014, 11:21

Point being - he took a top three team and dragged it down to 7th place. Add the miserable FA Cup, and the loss of confidence from the players, and you have enough evidence to sack any manager, never mind Moyes.

Also people keep forgetting Ferguson inherited a team that was already slumping to start the season. In fact, from what I've heard, that team was lucky to finish as high as they did.

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 22 Apr 2014, 12:33

East Londoner wrote:So, the news is confirmed. Moyes has been handed his P45 this morning.

I'm sorry, but that's a disgraceful decision. The bloke had less than a year in the job. People seem to forget that when the Hairdryer took charge in 1986, his first season was crap as well...

But I suppose that's the sad nature of football nowadays...

To be fair, when Fergie took over in 1986, the squad he had was terrible, and mid table was all that was expected. In contrast, Moyes inherited a squad that won the title by 11 points last season, which is a fairly considerable margin all told. Yes, a decline was to be expected, but to potentially miss out even on Europa League football is simply not good enough. Also, people keep bleating about how bad the United squad is, but it actually isn't bad at all. With the exception of Man City and Chelsea, every team in the league would kill for players like Rooney, van Persie, Kagawa, Mata, Valencia and de Gea. Put simply, Moyes has really massively underachieved. Unfortunately for United fans, I can't see who they can bring in to arrest the slump, and I can see a slip to their mid 80's standing in a few years.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 22 Apr 2014, 15:49

Well I think it's a very poor decision by the bigwigs to sack him. It's not even his team for gods sake!! But whatever, it was fun whilst it lasted.

In more important news, and which has already been addressed in this thread, I offer my condolences to the Australian quintet on this forum over the recent passing of Dylan Tombides from testicular cancer. Anyone on here with a passing-glance at my posts from late last year will know exactly how I feel about a 20 year-old succumbing to this disease. RIP Dylan.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 22 Apr 2014, 16:49

I think Manchester United did the wrong thing. 10 months ago. When they hired Moyes.

I get they owed a lot to SAF for their success in their last two decades, but not everything. They should have snubbed his recommendation and gone elsewhere to start with. Moyes was not going to be a manager to deliver them success, no matter what SAF seemed to think on the matter.

They had to cut their losses and run, because Moyes wasn't taking MU in a good direction. As much as I may dislike the team he manages...and him himself, a little bit, Antonio Conte is ten times the manager Moyes is. It's not just tactical nous he possesses, it's excellent man management. Almost at Mourinho level. He would be my first choice for a replacement.

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 22 Apr 2014, 19:43

In case you don't hear it, Giggs is the interim manager of United. :ugeek:

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 22 Apr 2014, 19:55

FMecha wrote:In case you don't hear it, Giggs is the interim manager of United.

I'm fairly certain anyone with a vague interest in football has already heard that about 18482859 times already today. I'm just waiting for Big Sam to be offered the job

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 22 Apr 2014, 20:20

This was a great choice by Machester United. Look at what Moyes did while at Everton. Mediocrity. He can keep a team afloat, but he is certainly no Mourinho, who is good enough to win titles with.