Football Thread 2016 | May | http://bit.do/euroslaent

By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostThe Shanks' team of the season

Buffon
Barz-Bon-Acerbi
Florenzi-Pogba-Jorginho-Pjanic-Insigne
Higuain-Dybala

By Arnie Go To PostI bought it yesterday. It's just fun and mindless.

By flabber Go To Post(the early Tonelli signing announcement has me hoping we'll have a productive summer mercato)

It’s reported Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri spoke to Roma’s Miralem Pjanic to convince him to move to Turin.

It has been an honour to be the manager of Everton Football Club for the past three seasons. I am clearly disappointed that we won’t be able to finish what we started and I feel that the forthcoming transfer window would have been significantly important for many reasons.

Man United want €50m rated Morata

Marchisio out till November

By Meus Renaissance Go To PostSam Allardyce's thoughts on the lack of British managers in the Premier League struck a note with me. I think the Arsenal fans would take in any good British candidate with open arms to replace Wenger.

In spite of the attacks of the media – and not only the media, the legends and other kinds of people – I am here and I am fighting, I am an open book.

And I believe in myself, I believe in Manchester, I believe in the players. I hope that everybody is believing like me, then it is much more easier.

When you have expectations that Manchester United has to be champions, then you’re disappointed. But when we qualify ourselves or win a title, I am satisfied. But in the eyes of some fans, or many fans, that’s not enough because you have to win the title.

There was a moment we could have been first in the league when we drew at Leicester and after that we had 14 injuries. It is not easy or helpful in such a strong league.

I have the impression that I will still be here, otherwise I can’t say all the things that I have said.

Did you know, for instance, that one of Van Gaal’s mandates is for his strikers not to shoot first-time from balls coming across the penalty area? Instead they are under orders always to take a touch and, if they disobey those instructions, it is invariably highlighted in long, often tortuous “evaluation sessions” the following day (in Sir Alex Ferguson’s time, otherwise known as a day off).

By Meus Renaissance Go To PostSam Allardyce's thoughts on the lack of British managers in the Premier League struck a note with me. I think the Arsenal fans would take in any good British candidate with open arms to replace Wenger.

By rvy Go To PostCan you name me 5 good British managers managing today?

By rvy Go To PostCan you name me 5 good British managers managing today?

By Auto Go To PostBrendan Rodgers
Sam Allardyce
Garry Monk
Alan Pardew
Gary Neville

By rvy Go To Post

By Francis Go To Post

By Oddinho Go To PostI'm sure it's been posted here but it bears repeating if so.


This is hilarious. Almost makes you wonder this had something to do with RVP's exit. He was always a really good one-touch finisher.

By Fergie Go To PostLoads of unhappy midfielders to come for Wenger. Unless Wenger is accounting for injuries.

By Marston Go To PostArteta, Rosicky and Flamini are all leaving.

By Punished Go To PostMaybe I'm missing something but I just downloaded Google keyboard last week, and there is no noticeable difference between this and the Android keyboard, except with Android keyboard you could hold down letters to get symbols.

By Marston Go To PostThis is the France team that isn't going to Euro 2016

The inside story of Newcastle United's dismal relegation - and the lessons they have to learn

For his part, chief scout Carr – who had considered stepping down two summers before when Joe Kinnear’s appointment threatened his role – had grown frustrated by the inertia of the club’s transfer business. Newcastle frequently haggled over valuations for the players who came highly recommended – ending up having to scroll down to the third or fourth target. Warnings that Manu Riviere should only be signed as a back-up to a senior striker were not heeded – he ended up being the only forward signed 12 months before.

But the news was much better when they convened in the early part of the summer. Ashley told them to go and spend the money in the bank. Fees were mentioned: the green light was given to buy big that close season. Even without a manager – or head coach as it would be – Carr and Charnley left optimistic about what was to come.

The process of formalising Charnley’s favoured structure – in which power would be shared equally between him, the chief scout and the soon-to-be-appointed Steve McClaren – was under way. And from that point forward, the club’s direction was set. As it turned out, it was the road to ruin.

There was other interesting titbits. Asked about Cheick Tiote, he made a comment about needing to alter his “lifestyle”. And when asked directly about Charlie Austin he smiled and agreed that Newcastle would benefit from a “number nine”. A hasty phone call later asked if that could be struck from the record: Papiss Cisse might not be happy when he read about it.

McClaren walked into a job to find many of the things a head coach would decide had already been sorted out. The transfer plans were in place, pre-season was done and a budget was sketched out. So he got to work on things he could change, like the environment at the training ground. A keen proponent of Neuro-Linguistic programming, he made it his mission to have a one-to-one meeting with each of his players when they came back. He wanted to get an idea of the characters he was working with.

Newcastle moved to get Georginio Wijnaldum but there were nagging doubts even as they pursued Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba. Scouts had been unsure about Mitrovic’s suitability in particular – his tendency to gain weight and his lack of control at key moments. They liked his aggression but for the money, doubts were raised.

A scouting mission to Germany in December, when Mbemba and Mitrovic had excelled against Borussia Dortmund, eventually swung it in Mitrovic’s favour.

McClaren wanted Charlie Austin but made the mistake of mentioning a shoulder injury that hadn’t been widely known in a transfer meeting. Charnley never felt the striker was worth the value – another example of MD’s judgement over that of his head coach.

McClaren mentioned Michael Dawson, the centre-back. He had wanted Michael Carrick as a dressing room leader. Rickie Lambert was another he said would be a cheap, experienced head. Jonjo Shelvey and Andros Townsend – later to arrive – were also mentioned. Joey Barton even claimed this week that McClaren had spoken to him about returning. None transpired at the time.

A source close to McClaren said this was the squad Carr and Charnley had hand-picked. Much was made of the fact that he gave the targets the green light but McClaren’s influence was virtually nil. “And with the greatest respect, what does Lee Charnley know about playing Premier League football?”

Yet they had made two fatal errors. A tired, unmotivated Fabricio Coloccini – described by a former team-mate in May as one of those who was “past his sell-by date” – was handed a new contract after enquiries about a more senior defender fell down on price. And Florian Thauvin, a player McClaren believed was signed under duress and was virtually impossible to motivate, arrived to fill the role he had earmarked for Townsend.

Above all, this was turning into a failure of team building. Thauvin had gone missing – more concerned about flying back to France when he got the chance than turning around his woeful performances. Coloccini went backwards. Players were already starting to get their excuses in. Collectively they were grumbling about broken promises. Responsibility was difficult to pin on any individual.

McClaren admitted that what United needed were players able to respond to set-backs. He’d tried to re-sign Kevin Nolan by this point – only to be knocked back. Rafa Benitez later started virtually walking the players through games but McClaren didn’t have the credibility to do it. Plans worked on during the week went out of the window when they went one behind.

ACT 5: January trouble
The call came through: Lamine Kone was stopped from coming to the Sunderland training ground. The Black Cats were wavering over the big centre-back – Lorient were growing restless. He went back to the Hilton in Gateshead facing the prospect of returning to Ligue 1.

At that point, Newcastle were given the option. They didn’t take it. The Black Cats came back. Sunderland’s transfer business has long been questioned at St James’ Park. “Would you do any of the business they did?” a question posed when relative spends were compared.

Kone has turned out to be a very astute piece of business and another of the mistakes made by United. The club where a senior official said that they would be “doomed” if they started the season with Mike Williamson and Coloccini as the centre-back pairing were instead now turning to Coloccini and Steven Taylor.

Newcastle’s buys were decent enough but in retrospect, they were relying too much on existing players to step up to the plate. In Swansea, they couldn’t believe their luck at unloading Shelvey. A text from a Swansea source simply read “unbelievable” when he was handed the captaincy.

Newcastle hadn’t done enough. A panic loan signing of Seydou Doumbia papered over the cracks but he wasn’t fit enough to feature , as any club prepared to do due diligence would have worked out with one phone call.

On several occasions McClaren had clashed with players and tried to shake them out of their lethargy. Tiote and Cisse, who Newcastle had wanted to sell, were problematic. But it was when Georginio Wijnaldum reacted badly to being substituted at half-time that McClaren appeared to have lost the dressing room.

There are strong voices inside the dressing room but they are pulling in different directions. Jamaal Lascelles was caught on camera saying “No-one gives a f**k” after being sent off at Everton and he was right.

A response arrived. Benitez streamlined the changing room, focused minds, promoted Moussa Sissoko, dropped Shelvey. He meant business. Players started working harder. What ultimately eluded him was turning around that away form: the biggest problem that will face the team in the Championship.

He was dealing with others’ failures: a cultural failing that has seeped into the club’s DNA. Charnley made mistakes at every turn in the last 18 months – so many that it feels like death by a thousand cuts.

Charnley says there will be an end-of-season review. But no one at the club barring Benitez has the knowledge, wherewithal or experience to be trusted with the job.

By JesalR Go To PostThe new Google keyboard is great. All the house party gifs you could ever need

By Fergie Go To PostCan't see it on the store. Available in UK?

By GQman2121 Go To PostNo prediction for Chelsea/Leicester? :(

By JesalR Go To PostThe new Google keyboard is great. All the house party gifs you could ever need

By JesalR Go To PostNah, US only at the moment. I opened a US iTunes account though, so you just use that to purchase the app from iTunes and sync it across

By hixx Go To PostGot 4 #prospects playing today.

Pickford in goal, Tommy Robson left back, Rees Greenwood on the left wing, Watmore on the right. And Honeyman on the bench.

Then we've got pure SHIT like N'Doye and Rodwell playing between them -_-

By Francis Go To PostSchneiderlin isn't even on the damn bench.

Man, fuck LVG so hard.

By KP Go To PostB'mouth to win. Stoke/WHU to draw. Saints win
5th place finish.

Riot.

By Bungie Go To PostMight lump on Arsenal - Newcastle win just in case

We do not look good without Dembele

By Pennywise Go To PostDon't worry, it might be over soon.

That said, having his leads wildly scissor to the swelling tune of Hans Zimmer’s “Journey to the Line” (best known from Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line) is a pretty amazing touch