Activate Another Lever and Still Lose to a Madrid Remontada - The Small Teams Thread

Some players, a lot of them actually, can't brute force their way into a successful football career just by their skill alone. They need to be coached, nurtured and given the confidence. Otherwise their career can take a radically different direction.

Imagine if Hazard was even just a mediocre success here. Maybe Zidane stays on and Vinicius is not given much of a chance. When he does come on, he's nervous and screwing up opportunity after opportunity and ends up being sold. Can easily imagine a world where that happens.

Reinier had a shit time at Dortmund, possibly more due to a lack of opportunities than his actual skill level. Then joins a terrible Italian team who ends up getting regulated. A lot of the time, especially in the position he plays, it's hard to look decent when playing in a crap team.

 

Isak is the one I am surprised Dortmund couldn't develop. He developed while on loan in Dutch league and then at Real Sociedad. Dortmund didn't have a top striker talent then either. Haaland came after Isak had left.

 

I don't think I said Pep is a bad coach, to the contrary he's a very good. I think you can argue knowing what you need is next level stuff because United for example has spent almost as much as City and you'd hardly know it analyzing the results.

For me the spending City has done definitely belongs in the conversation just as JM getting Porto over the line has to mention the resources of the club he did it with.

 

Agreed, JM is well past it. I brought up Porto specifically because of the resources he had at his disposal at the time. And to be I don't think JM is the same level as Pep.

 

Like mbappe scoring 4 in a World Cup final?

 

Yes, but that's 1 other player in a competition he didn't even play in.

 

Ok

 

Not a fan of Moo or Pep and not disputing the quality of either coach, but we've had a look at Moo with and without huge resources, time to see what Pep can do without?, will it ever happen?

 

I don't think so. Pep will only go to a team that is the best in his league or is the richest one.

 

Enzo Maresca is expect to be Chelsea next coach.
i don't know what's more sad, Bayern taking Kompany as a coach or Chesla taking Enzo Maresca as a coach instead of Pochettino.

 

Another Graham Potter?

🔵🇮🇹 Understand Chelsea and Enzo Maresca are set to agree on contract terms.

Two year deal with option for further season or three year deal, this is final detail being clarified.

Maresca already said yes to Chelsea project, up to the clubs now to agree on compensation. pic.twitter.com/YXR5b2xj71

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 27, 2024

 

In related news I’m told that Kieran McKenna is now increasingly likely to remain at Ipswich. Brighton have been after McKenna but are now considering a return for … Graham Potter https://t.co/8bq9zeOE4z https://t.co/I9mZlUjnf1

— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) May 27, 2024

 

🚨 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆’𝘀 𝟭𝟭𝟱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀: 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆? 💣💥

𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦́ 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

I received many comments on my previous thread analysing the evidence used by Uefa in its 2020 prosecution of…

— Magic hat (@themagic_tophat) May 26, 2024

 

Your logic needs to be applied to pep then, who failed at Bayern and nearly failed at City where he bottled a final against a weak Chelsea with his tactics and nearly bottled the one last year which was a Lukaku open goal away from tying.

Pep is great when he’s got endless resources and doesn’t have to overcome any obstacles other than his own tactics in certain moments.

let’s also look the competition Mou faced early in his premiership days, SAF and United, Arsenal with Wenger and solid Liverpool teams with Rafa - all much better than what Pep has faced in the last 7 years as those were rebounding.

Could pep do what Xabi just did at a club like Leverkusen? Never. Could he do what Zidane did? Win 3 consecutive CLs with a great squad? Never.

 

He's above average, I don't think anybody disputes that.

Probably belongs in that third or fourt tier of all time great coaches, along with Mourinho.

Carlo of course now sitting at the pinnacle of succesfull club managers, up there with Del Bosque who literally won everything and did it with teams that absolutely left anyone watching in awe of the teams style and polished tactics.