S*it on a stick!

[Michael]

I love this quote from

“Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion – and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a s*** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it’s a work of art. It’s not: it’s a s*** hanging from a stick,”

Jorge Valdano



Funny & Very True!

[AFII]

Liverpool, Chelsea like "s*** on a stick"
tribalfooball.com - May 07, 2007

Former Real Madrid boss and Argentine World Cup winner Jorge Valdano has slaughtered the managers of Liverpool and Chelsea - Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho respectively - after their Champions League semifinal meeting.

In a column for Marca, a scathing Valdano penned: "Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion - and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a s*** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art. It's not: it's a s*** hanging from a stick.

"Chelsea and Liverpool are the clearest, most exaggerated example of the way football is going: very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct," he added. "But, a short pass? Noooo. A feint? Noooo. A change of pace? Noooo. A one-two? A nutmeg? A backheel? Don't be ridiculous. None of that. The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semi-final neutralised any creative licence, any moments of exquisite skill.

"If Didier Drogba was the best player in the first match it was purely because he was the one who ran the fastest, jumped the highest and crashed into people the hardest. Such extreme intensity wipes away talent, even leaving a player of Joe Cole's class disoriented. If football is going the way Chelsea and Liverpool are taking it, we had better be ready to wave goodbye to any expression of the cleverness and talent we have enjoyed for a century."

Valdano explained why Benitez and Mourinho were to blame for the demise of flair and creativity. "The lives of Mourinho and Benitez have crossed in a world that is ever more scrutinised and exposed by the media, which is why they look at each other with such distrust," he wrote, "but they have two things in common: a previously denied, hitherto unsatisfied hunger for glory, and a desire to have everything under control.

"Both of those things stem from one key factor: neither Mourinho nor Benitez made it as a player. That has made them channel all their vanity into coaching. Those who did not have the talent to make it as players do not believe in the talent of players, they do not believe in the ability to improvise in order to win football matches. In short, Benitez and Mourinho are exactly the kind of coaches that Benitez and Mourinho would have needed to have made it as players."

[Michael]

Interesting!

"Those who did not have the talent to make it as players do not believe in the talent of players, they do not believe in the ability to improvise in order to win football matches. In short, Benitez and Mourinho are exactly the kind of coaches that Benitez and Mourinho would have needed to have made it as players.”

sounds about right.

[blacky]

Can't really disagree with any of the article

[Reece]

I couldn't give a ****. We are in the CL final. End of.

[Reece]

Oh, and like it or not, Benitez and Mourinho have been two of the most successful managers in Europe over the last 4 years.

[Guest]

Yes, but I prefer we win it in style, like the halcyon days of John Barnes, Beardsley ... That was a team, the best ever.

[Resu]

I think some of it are right, bot not all.
Like the part about improvising, the players that are good enough to improvise on this level are few, and they cost more money than Rafa got. IMO we have two players capable of doing it at this level, Garcia and a fit Kewell.
There is hardly any teams that have more than two players that are given the freedom to play like that.

[Reece]

Yes, but I prefer we win it in style, like the halcyon days of John Barnes, Beardsley ... That was a team, the best ever.

Of course, everyone would. But winning is the most important thing. Style has to be secondary to that. I'm sure all Arsenal fans would swap positions with us right now.

[Guest]

Of course, everyone would. But winning is the most important thing. Style has to be secondary to that. I'm sure all Arsenal fans would swap positions with us right now.

I wouldn't class us as being a ****e team to watch anyway, as I do feel we play some decent football at times, and we certainly can play a high tempo passing game, as I've seen us do that a number of times, most notably last year, where we played Arsenal off the park at Highbury (but we lost).

[Reece]

I wouldn't class us as being a ****e team to watch anyway, as I do feel we play some decent football at times, and we certainly can play a high tempo passing game, as I've seen us do that a number of times, most notably last year, where we played Arsenal off the park at Highbury (but we lost).

Our games against the chavs are generally dire to watch I agree. But we can play some good stuff at times

[red g]

Bit harsh on benitez. Maureen has had 200 million to create his dream team. Give benitez a chance with money and i think we see a better style of football.

[badpiggy]

Bit harsh on benitez. Maureen has had 200 million to create his dream team. Give benitez a chance with money and i think we see a better style of football.

i seriously doubt that - i think we'll just see superior players playing rafa's style. mourinho's chelsea are just porto with an unlimited budget and i think the article is right about rafa and jose having basically the same philosophy (defend first) and managers don't change their philosophy - otherwise they would doubt themselves and that's one thing top managers don't do.

[Rashid]

I agree with every word from Valdano - the match last week didn't match the crowd but it was a tense 2nd leg. However, most of our football is static and pragmatic and we always use the long ball just like Chelsea.

It does grate a little because as Heighway said, this is not what Liverpool is about. The thing is Benitez will heat about this as he does all things Madrid and it might make him think a bit...

Valdano is an absolute legend at Madrid and probably a hero of Rafa.

NB: If managers who weren't good players do this then how does that explain Wenger and Ferguson?

[dww]

I actually think that the philosophy is closer to keep the ball and control the game first. Rafas Valencia played sublime football at times (notably against us). I think it is about getting players who are intelligent enough to know when to use their skills.

I would point out that one of Rafa first signings was Garcia - hardly a defensive automaton. He knows that clever skills and an eye for the unexpected are needed to succeed at the highest level on a consistant basis. I don't however ever expect him to put out four attacking midfielders and two forwards in the style of Fergie this season. It would be an evolution of style rather than a revolution.