The New Manager Thread

[The_weatherman]

Hey Guillem, here's one for you. Is Mourinho or Messi more of an advantage at a football club? Jack Butler (Manchester Utd fan)

GUILLEM SAYS: This is a great question Jack! I really like these questions!

By Messi you mean a player who has cost nothing, develops in the style of the club and becomes the best player in the world. No competition! If you get that you have a player who helps you win titles, like in the case of Messi, a player who improves your team, a player for whom, if you want to sell, you could bring 60m euro into the club and rebuild the side. So that's what gives him the advantage.

Mourinho is certainly a great manager. I know for a fact he would like to go to Liverpool but his priority this year is, if possible, to go to Real Madrid. But let's see what happens against Barcelona first. But he is one that prefers to be surrounded by experienced players. He hasn't been allowed anywhere to build up a younger side. It is always about winning titles straight away, partly because of his methods, partly because of the clubs he goes to who want instant impact. He guarantees success with players with experience of winning cups and battling for the league etc but every three years you have to rebuild the side and that costs money. I wonder if one day he feels like going to Atletico Madrid or maybe Aston Villa and try to make the side his own and be there for 10 years. But I don't think that's in him. He likes to move around. I don't think all of a sudden he will become an Arsene Wenger, I don't think that's in him.

Thought this was worth a mention. I think I'd take him but not yet, let's see if Rafa can do something next season, he is annoying at times but he is Rafa. Mourinho to Madrid and if things don't work out for Rafa we'll swap them! http://www.skysports.com/opinion/sto...118163,00.html

[hold51]

why go for a downgrade, stick with Rafa and thank god you dont support, Hull. Portsmouth and Burnley maybe!

[Mike]

why go for a downgrade, stick with Rafa and thank god you dont support, Hull. Portsmouth and Burnley maybe!

Mourinho is a downgrade?

[dww]

I would like to make a couple of points and then retire from this thread entirely.

I think people should remember what happened at the end of the Mourinho reign at Chelsea. He wasn't able to freshen the squad as he wanted and results were poor as a result. that is starting from a position of a league winning side and it was a squad that Grant guided to close to the top and a CL final. The squad remains more or less intact up to now. This would seem to be evidence that it is hard for even a top manager to get the results he wants when working with constraints. The sort of constraint that Rafa has had to put up with throughout his reign. Also worth noting the impact a strained relationship with the owner had.

Wenger has had similar seasons with Arsenal where they have performed poorly when he is trying to change parts of the team. Remember when Spurs failed to get in the top 4 because they contracted food poisoning before the last game of the season. I think we have been unlucky in the sense that our blip has coincided with more teams having comparatively strong squads/seasons.

It has been an undoubtedly poor season but I'm far from convinced that the evidence is compelling that Rafa is a worse choice than any of the alternatives mentioned. Added to the fact that those closest to fulfilling the ability criteria are the least likely for us to be able to prize away from their current employers.

[Exiled_red]

I would like to make a couple of points and then retire from this thread entirely.

I think people should remember what happened at the end of the Mourinho reign at Chelsea. He wasn't able to freshen the squad as he wanted and results were poor as a result. that is starting from a position of a league winning side and it was a squad that Grant guided to close to the top and a CL final. The squad remains more or less intact up to now. This would seem to be evidence that it is hard for even a top manager to get the results he wants when working with constraints. The sort of constraint that Rafa has had to put up with throughout his reign. Also worth noting the impact a strained relationship with the owner had.

Mourinho for me is a good short term manager, he goes in spends alot of money buys ready made players, stays for a few years and wins stuff. The core of his squad ages and he gets out and goes somewhere else. You can see his legacy at Chelsea with something like 8 players at 30+, in two years or so their squad will need completely overhauling. He isn't capable of building a club for long term success.

Wenger has had similar seasons with Arsenal where they have performed poorly when he is trying to change parts of the team. Remember when Spurs failed to get in the top 4 because they contracted food poisoning before the last game of the season. I think we have been unlucky in the sense that our blip has coincided with more teams having comparatively strong squads/seasons.

It has been an undoubtedly poor season but I'm far from convinced that the evidence is compelling that Rafa is a worse choice than any of the alternatives mentioned. Added to the fact that those closest to fulfilling the ability criteria are the least likely for us to be able to prize away from their current employers.

Good post

[Craig_H]

I would like to make a couple of points and then retire from this thread entirely.

I think people should remember what happened at the end of the Mourinho reign at Chelsea. He wasn't able to freshen the squad as he wanted and results were poor as a result. that is starting from a position of a league winning side and it was a squad that Grant guided to close to the top and a CL final. The squad remains more or less intact up to now. This would seem to be evidence that it is hard for even a top manager to get the results he wants when working with constraints. The sort of constraint that Rafa has had to put up with throughout his reign. Also worth noting the impact a strained relationship with the owner had.

Wenger has had similar seasons with Arsenal where they have performed poorly when he is trying to change parts of the team. Remember when Spurs failed to get in the top 4 because they contracted food poisoning before the last game of the season. I think we have been unlucky in the sense that our blip has coincided with more teams having comparatively strong squads/seasons.

It has been an undoubtedly poor season but I'm far from convinced that the evidence is compelling that Rafa is a worse choice than any of the alternatives mentioned. Added to the fact that those closest to fulfilling the ability criteria are the least likely for us to be able to prize away from their current employers.

I dont see that myself. The top 3 have all had poorer seasons and whilst City & Spurs are making genuine challenges for 4th place, whoever gets it will end up on around the same number of points that 4th place usually amasses.

This season has seen most of the top sides doing considerably worse than usual and in our case, it's been emphatically true.

[Guest]

How about those stats for a Mourihno attacking master class.


BARCELONA
INTER MILAN

Possession

* Barcelona 76%
* Inter Milan 24%

Attempts on target

* Barcelona 7
* Inter Milan 0

Attempts off target

* Barcelona 9
* Inter Milan 0

Corners

* Barcelona 9
* Inter Milan 2

Fouls

* Barcelona 14
* Inter Milan 12

[5europeancups]

How about those stats for a Mourihno attacking master class.


BARCELONA
INTER MILAN

Possession

* Barcelona 76%
* Inter Milan 24%

Attempts on target

* Barcelona 7
* Inter Milan 0

Attempts off target

* Barcelona 9
* Inter Milan 0

Corners

* Barcelona 9
* Inter Milan 2

Fouls

* Barcelona 14
* Inter Milan 12

Jeez talk about taking stats out of context.

you forgot to mention the stat about goals for and against across the two legs...

Anyway I thought it was rather revealing that Rafa was asked by a journo:

"Does that means your staying then?"

His reply

"We have to play against Athletico Madrdi"

That says to me he has decided he is leaving otherwise he would have said I still have 3 yrs on my contract to serve.

[dww]

Unless you read the whole interview when the context of his long term planning is clearly at odds with that conclusion.

[Pablo]

Anyway I thought it was rather revealing that Rafa was asked by a journo:

"Does that means your staying then?"

His reply

"We have to play against Athletico Madrdi"

That says to me he has decided he is leaving otherwise he would have said I still have 3 yrs on my contract to serve.

Yup, just heard this on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8650294.stm (right at the end).

The most obvious indication yet he is probably off in the summer.

[banditos]

Rafa's always been very cagey in interviews. Wouldn't read too much into that.

[Darkon]

Yup, just heard this on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8650294.stm (right at the end).

The most obvious indication yet he is probably off in the summer.

a bit of a weird answer for sure, but Rafa generally answers those type of questions cryptical. To bad they cut it off there!

[red g]

How about those stats for a Mourihno attacking master class.


BARCELONA
INTER MILAN

Possession

* Barcelona 76%
* Inter Milan 24%

Attempts on target

* Barcelona 7
* Inter Milan 0

Attempts off target

* Barcelona 9
* Inter Milan 0

Corners

* Barcelona 9
* Inter Milan 2

Fouls

* Barcelona 14
* Inter Milan 12

and you expected what? from a team down to ten men for an hour and leading by 2 goals?

FFS your post is bordering on pathetic!!

You cant bear to give the bloke any credit can you?

[Frenchie]

Being a constant and perpetual lurker I thought it appropriate to comment on all of this speculation following on from Inter's victory over 2 legs against Barca.

Had we beaten Barca 3-1 at Anfield then gone to Barca and cheated our way to a two leg victory I would be numb, probably content with reaching another CL final but numb at the way we would have gotten there.

The people on here who seem to want Rafa out and Maureen in I guess want to win at any cost.

I had a similar discussion with Craig H whom I met at the Fulham game recently as he was kind enough to get me 2 tickets in the KOP (forever grateful thanks again).

He asked me if I was pro Rafa to which I replied yes out of loyalty and the answer wasn't really thought through properly just a knee jerk reaction, he's on our side and I guess the tribal self protection kicked in.

The reality, which has been played out in these forums is that Rafa has been working under severe restrictions and scrutiny because of the owners, those 2 scum sucking leveraged buy out opportunists who will eventually leave with a large profit for recognising that the LFC brand /sport franchise was woefully undervalued and miss managed commercially that any professional management team could come in and instigate a change management program to recommercialise the club's revenues which they have done.

Begs the question why Moores and Parry didn't just do that themselves but that's another thread.

So now we look at the climax of the season and take stock.

A new manager hmmmm ? Any one coming in after Rafa will dismantle everything he has done in the background (a new 5 year plan) no thank you, We had Houllier's 5 year plan which took us away from the Souness debacle, we have had 5 years of Rafa now into the 6th or 7th i.e another 5 year plan which is almost there...would've been sooner had he been sufficiently backed.

OOOH you say he has spent x squillion quid on duffs.... well most of them were his 3rd choices because Parry was a cock and never managed to secure the 1st choices.

When Rafa did get 'control' last year there were no funds..real funds ..so he had to sell to buy...er monies dissapeared..so he had to barter like a mid table club...in his first year of total control.... so with that it's no surprise that he made some errors...

Back to who should be manager next season, well a lot of you...(Craig H etc ..sorry Craig) have been on the Maureen bandwagon well be careful what you wish for.

There is no way that he would take the job and retain the back room staff or methodologies that Rafa has put in place, all of the Rafa team would go and leave us in a void.. anothe 5 year rebuild with no guaranties of success.

A poor season this term sure... but is removing Rafa at this point the best solution.?

We will have hopefully new owners that can maintain the commercial success the current ****bags have put in place (any decent management consultancy could've done that) but would give Rafa in his second season of total control a decent budget to aim for his 3 or 4 lampshades at long last instead of 'doing a Redknapp' and dealing with the 3rd choices with barter.

Keeping Rafa would mean that the stability in the back office would continue..(we have been buying a lot of new kids for the youth development).

Why would we risk all of that on the back of an umlucky poor season?

Especially to bring in Maureen who clearly a winner yes I admit a winner who unfortunately wins at the expense of decency..

Do you want to follow an Inter/Chavski/Porto type team that fall like snipers and deliberately get opponents sent off, with him blabbering on to the hyena press about volcanos etc

Or do you want to see one touch pass and move football, technically superior to the rest of the prem, that we have only seen in glimpses because of poor form.

Do you not remember Valencia tearing us a new orriface?

C'mon most of us have jobs that get frustrating because of things that have happened in the senior management that cause us to be demotivated and in a general fug.

The ****e that Rafa has had to put up with behind the scenes is case in point..

I forgive him this poor season, I hope for the Europa cup victory, I want to beat Chelski, I want 4th place this term, I don't want Manc scum to win anything ever... but we are where we are.

New owners would not want a complete change they would want to shore up and capitalise on their investment and not break it all down for a new five year plan.

Ok Craig H you are going to talk about Rafa's stubborn streak at not making changes other than at 60 mins etc.. Reality is LFC is not a reality show, we don't know who is fit, carrying knocks, having a bad hair day at Melwood.. we just dont know..(made me think of the informer on craptalk..lol)

Long rant sorry...

Rafa for one more season with new owners and a decent budget..then we'll see..

[Neil Young]

I'm starting to believe Rafa would be mad to stay even one more season. There's no reason to think Broughton will succeed where Purslow has failed so, unless something is really happening behind the scenes right now that will quickly transform the situation at the club, then Rafa will go somewhere he can succeed, Mourinho won't come within a million miles of taking the job, we'll get someone ****e in, the two thieves will still be siphoning off the money and wrecking the club and we will continue on the long road down from the top with no realistic prospect of returning.

Also, Labour is doomed, the Tories will get in with a working majority and we're all going to die.