The English Football Thread

[Trollheart]

I know advertising isn't allowed but I've been to your game site and I would be interested in seeing this. I used to play a board game called HYPE and it was excellent. Can you email me some details about the game? You'll get my address from my profile, or I guess you could PM me. Thanks.

[Mojo]

Big day tomorrow.

Up early, quick shower, don the colours, hit the pub for around 10am for the first pint of the day.

Oh and of course, some breakfast...



HA'WAY THE LADS!

[Goofle]

Paolo Di Canio will eventually fail as a manager I think.

[Mojo]

Potentially. Most managers do. I'm not as sold on him as a long term appointment, although his contract with us is not really a very long one. Not by usual standards.

Currently I only care about one thing, and that is that he reinvigorates a very demotivated squad. He's training them hard, he's full of confidence, he's very positive and I think he's what we need. Even if we go down, my opinion that he is the best man for the job may not change. The timing of the appointment was shocking and he's got a hell of a task to keep this squad in the Prem. I just want to see more of an effort, more positivity and more fight in our remaining games. Regardless of what happens.

He has already said his managerial style may upset some people and a lot of people won't like it but you know what, I've spent a lot of money to go and watch lazy performances this season. To go and watch Adam Johnson jog back as opposition teams hit us fast on the break and as the ball comes into our box, or ends up in the back of the net, he's barely crossed the half-way line. If he kicks AJ up the arse I, for one, will applaud him.

[Cuthbert]

Originally Posted by Goofle11

Paolo Di Canio will eventually fail as a manager I think.

I think so too. The way he handled that goalkeeper wasn't really professional. He's too much of a loose cannon.

Today was disappointing, a mate couldn't make it so had the season ticket. Once Delph scored the own goal you could sense the nerves in the stadium.

Not a disaster but not ideal, we're gonna need something from United or Chelsea I think. Really hope it doesn't go to the last game (Wigan away)

[Mojo]

I actually thought of the way he handled his keeper at Swindon, when he brought him off after 20 minutes and berated him afterwards. I thought of that and hoped, as I still do, that he does that here to be honest.

I could see how, in the long term especially, it could have a negative effect on your players but I wanna see some fire. I wanna see our current squad scared to give anything less than what they got.

Not that we have to worry about that with our keeper but Johnson, Sessegnon, Bramble, O'Shea and Seb Larsson could all use a swift kick up the arse at times.

[Cuthbert]

Originally Posted by mojopinuk

I actually thought of the way he handled his keeper at Swindon, when he brought him off after 20 minutes and berated him afterwards. I thought of that and hoped, as I still do, that he does that here to be honest.

I could see how, in the long term especially, it could have a negative effect on your players but I wanna see some fire. I wanna see our current squad scared to give anything less than what they got.

Not that we have to worry about that with our keeper but Johnson, Sessegnon, Bramble, O'Shea and Seb Larsson could all use a swift kick up the arse at times.

I don't think a manager should publicly criticise their players like that tbh. I read Keane's book and he said how Ferguson would always back them in public but behind closed doors he'd lay into them good and proper. I think the only time I've ever heard Ferguson publicly criticise one of his players was when Nani gave the ball away in the league cup which led to the Chelsea equaliser this season. Even then he didn't go nuts like Paolo did.

Doing it publicly is just humiliating, can't see how any good would come of that.

Berate them in the dressing room yeah, but the way he spoke about the Swindon keeper and how he was going to boot him out was basically "he is shit, he's lucky I'm playing him" and he did it to the cameras.

[Goofle]

He's a truly poor mans Mourinho.

[Mojo]

Originally Posted by Fluffy Kittens

I don't think a manager should publicly criticise their players like that tbh. I read Keane's book and he said how Ferguson would always back them in public but behind closed doors he'd lay into them good and proper. I think the only time I've ever heard Ferguson publicly criticise one of his players was when Nani gave the ball away in the league cup which led to the Chelsea equaliser this season. Even then he didn't go nuts like Paolo did.

Doing it publicly is just humiliating, can't see how any good would come of that.

Berate them in the dressing room yeah, but the way he spoke about the Swindon keeper and how he was going to boot him out was basically "he is shit, he's lucky I'm playing him" and he did it to the cameras.

As I said, I acknowledge that that kind of an attitude could have had a negative effect on our squad long term but at this point, I'm not looking at the long term.

Di Canio has done here what he did at Swindon. He has doubled the training sessions, refused to give them their usual day off (I think I read that he's said they might get it off if they win their game but not if they lose) and he has publically stated he expects each one of them to give their all. If any of the players I mentioned earlier don't increase their work rate, don't give more for him, and don't improve under him in our last six games of the season and he gives any of them that same treatment then as I said, I'm all for it.

They have all shown, on several occasions this season, if not consistently, that they arent motivated, they aren't giving 100% and they have all given half arsed performances that have really hurt us. If the change of manager and the urgency of the situation we are in doesn't bring out some kind of response in any one of them and Di Canio decides to give them the hook early in a game and shares his feelings with a TV camera and their response is anything other than to work harder as a result, then I really wouldn't care if they spend the rest of the season on the bench and lots of people question his professionalism.

[Trollheart]

Sick at the og today, and what a pity Delph couldn't maintain his composure: would have been a perfect end to atone for the goal. Bad result really; we had very little in the way of opposition. Berbatov seemed to want to just complain to all his team and the spirit seemed very low in Fulham so had it not been for that error I think we would have won it easily, and could consider ourselves a step closer to safety.

Think we may struggle now. Even Benteke couldn't turn on the magic.

As an aside, weird to see Moyes in the MOTD studio and then onscreen at the game --- clones! Clones! Nah it just looked weird. I thought Everton maybe had not been playing today, but there they were...