Actually, that pretty much was us for most of the second leg v Eintracht. And we weren't all that bad at it.
It is rubbish football. But when you get results, no complaints. It's playing shit footy and not getting results where the problem lies.
I heard plenty of complaining under Conte, regardless of the result - and now he is on the verge of winning Serie A...again.
Everyone was all smiles when Mourinho had us at the top of the table, and that's not a presumption - commentators were constantly asking the question (does style matter), and everyone was loving that success was just around the corner. Except it wasn't. If you say you heard complaints about Conte while we were winning, I won't say you didn't, but I sure didn't. The bitching with Conte started with Conte. By the time he was bringing on Ben Davies in the 80th when we were down a goal to Milan ... yeah his tactics weren't endearing. So ok, he's on the verge of winning in Italy. But he sure as he'll didn't win here. And if you think Ange blames everyone but himself ...
Utd bang in four. Like us they're playing better in the EL than the PL. We're unbeaten in the last 6 against them which counts for nothing. Ange trophy in his second season? Fingers crossed for Spurs.
Are we going to see an amazing coincidence here? Are the football gods working for us? Kane leaves and in his second season wins his first trophy. Kane leaves and Spurs win a trophy in their second season without him. Or will Utd spoil the party? Fingers and legs crossed.
The footie gods are in charge here. In the first semi we won by 2 goals and Utd by 3. In the second semi we won by 2 goals again and Utd won by 3. I'm trying to work out the result of the final. In the first match their goal was a lucky deflection and our second was a flukey cross which went in.
This also means that there will be an unprecedented 6 PL teams in the CL next season - the top 5 plus the winner of the Europa League final.
The addition of extra teams to the CL and the Swiss style group phase have watered down the Europa League. Extra teams from Italy, Germany and/or Spain to the CL have lessened the level of the Europa. When we had the 4-team groups, you were almost guaranteed 2 games against a tough opponent plus you had to finish at least second in the group to go through. And then the teams were seeded for the knockout draw plus country protection, so if you finsihed second, you could easily get a difficult draw in the first knockout round. Of course, nobody expected us and Man U to be so bad this season.
All true. Additionally, the fact that 'near miss' first stage finishers in the CL no longer drop into the Europa elimination stages further dilutes the 'glamour' prospects in the latter. Lots of folks are pleased, feeling that participation in one shouldn't be a compensation for failure in the other. I get that, and don't necessarily disagree. But it was a big factor in keeping the 'big club lustre' in the Europa's latter stages. Bottom line: too many teams are getting into the CL. UEFA's efforts to squeeze every dollar out of the CL has meant a corresponding loss in moneys (and interest) in the Europa. Presumably their moneymen have crunched the numbers and concluded that it's worth it. I don't like it, but then, HMS WhatILike has long since sailed.
It's interesting, I hear a lot of folks make that comment about the CL 3rd-placed teams dropping down. So I did a bit of research as I like to do and here is what I discovered. Teams dropping down from the CL to the Uefa Cup/Europa League have gone on to win the competition 8 times, but the last team to do it was Atletico Madrid in the 2017-18 season. So those teams have not been a factor for several seasons now. We will need to see how this plays out over the next few seasons, because there were some dangerous teams who dropped out earlier than expected, like Roma, Lazio, Olympiakos, and Galatasary.
Yeah. I remember lots of those dropping down would go out quickly, presumably down to the deprioritizing a 'lesser' competition. And to be fair, when you go out of the CL, it does feel a bit 'meh'. But you'll still get bigger crowds and excitement from a unmotivated Inter or Dortmund than from most of what's left from the Europa groups. I do get why folks don't like it, though.
Our fanbase is very odd - if Conte had set us up like Ange did against Frankfurt and Bodo, he would have got pelters from the support and the media. When Ange does it, he's suddenly a tactical masterclass.
Conte would've only caught heat if he set us up that way and we lost. And I'd say that whatever praise Ange is getting is more attributable to the fact that he actually did what a rational gaffer should as opposed to anything of particular insight. Hell, it was Bodo/Glimpt with a two-goal lead. That's hardly a masterclass. It's closer to Football 101. But it's Ange Postecoglu, and he did it! Amazement is in order, even if it's hardly impressive. In fact, I think it's perfectly fair to say that implicit in any praise of Ange's tactics in the last two Europs ties is an inherent criticism for his unwillingness to do so in any of this season's twenty-or-so losses. It's all about context, isn't it?
I hope Ange doesn't make the same mistake Poch made in the 2019 CL final. Kane didn't play in the quarters and the semis because of injury and it was Moura who banged them in against Ajax. Poch brought an unfit Kane in who'd always let us down on the big occasion and didn't deserve to play in it. I think it was his presence in the side that lost it for us. Now, Son hasn't played well all season, is recovering from injury and doesn't deserve to play in the final of the EL. Should he play? I'm not sure.
I was a bit hesitant of Napoli hiring Conte. I knew what kind of football he wanted and although I have no necessary aversion to the 3-5-2 he was known to favor, I felt it didn't suit Napoli after all the wonderful work Spalletti had done. Thankfully, Conte was pragmatic. His 3-5-2 simply didn't work and he adjusted, first to Spalletti's high energy 4-2-3-1 and then to a much better system, a 4-3-3 with two free 8s. Under Spalletti, Napoli were chaotic, but a joy to watch. Smashing Liverpool, Ajax and Juventus to absolute bits. But it came with a hangover by March of that season and it cost Napoli in the UCL and meant the title had to wait before it finally got wrapped up in May. As for this new 4-3-3 with two free 8s, the chaos is gone. There's organization and discipline. High energy, still, but the players are fitter and it's managed at better levels. To state it differently, there's purpose. Could Napoli score 4 or 5 goals in a game, sure, but Napoli now settle for 2 or 3 and look to close out the game. Why overextend yourself? I'd seen ten Hag try to play this system at United, but no avail. The structure was near non-existent, even though Scotty was playing effectively the same role there as he does now for Napoli. Ironically, ten Hag wanted to sell Scott to West Ham, but it was Scott's goals that likely kept ten Hag in the job for a couple of months when United looked really shaky. That's not say Scott was all that great at United. I wouldn't be surprised if most of us here are about as good as he is on the ball. Without the ball, he was a chicken with it's head cut off. At Napoli, he has structure and it's clear he's finally understanding things tactically he was never taught before. That is a massive credit to Conte. The results are extraordinary because Scott, who never really looked good enough for the EPL, is going to be crowned Serie A's best player this season should Napoli (and Napoli should) win the title. There was a blip in form starting in February, but this owed in large part to the departure of Kvara and injuries, and honestly a bit of burnout. Conte has asked for a deeper squad and talent to match Kvara. He didn't get it last summer and this past January, but he will this summer from the looks of things and that's why it seems he's staying on. Already there is very serious talk of de Bruyne signing. But the owner, de Laurentiis, is a lot like Levy, maybe worse. Much too involved in the minutiae, spend thrift. Sometimes he makes decisions I think to prove a point only for the egg to splatter on his face. He's a character to say the least, but it seems in Conte he has finally learned some of his hard lessons from the past and is willing to back a proven manager. The next few years are shaping up to be very good for Napoli.