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The 2016-2017 Football Thread
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But I think the reason that they are top is that they have attempted to evolve, (tactically and in other ways) and this is down to managers with a cerebral cast of mind and a sophisticated approach. They wouldn't be top otherwise.
What is even more interesting is that those managers have also come to realise that continental cosmopolitanism cannot simply be grafted onto the English game, that they must make further adaptations and adjustments which blend their tactical awareness and sophistication to the needs of winning games - in a more robust manner - against teams that are both more physical and either less sophisticated than they are - or are equally so.
Early defeats taught Chelsea that lesson, and at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has had to do some thinking of a sort he never had to do elsewhere - the sort of thinking that admits new parameters.
This battle is fascinating.
There has already been a media backlash against the Johnny Foreigner managers (especially Klopp and Guardiola) who apparently refuse to tell their squads to "hoof it into row Zed". This ignores the fact that Pochettino and (to a lesser extent) Conte have both managed to put up good defensive records - not to mention LVG & Ranieri last season and Koeman in fits and starts. I, for one, don't want to see a league dominated by the tactical thinking of Allardyce, Pulis, Pardew et al...
I agree that watching the newish managers adapt is fun, but Unless Chelsea have a big slump, they are going to run away with the title, and the league will be fairly boring this season. If this happens, and especially if Liverpool finish second, it raises the following points:
- There are now more "big" contender teams in the league than there are European qualification spots.
- The "Big" team or teams that finish outside the European spots have a big advantage the following season.
Very good post.
Forgot to mention Mr Pochettino; Mr Ranieri - whom I like did cross my mind, but he is not a new addition to the League.
Well, Chelsea have always had this potential.
Indeed, the events of last year - when the players more or less refused to perform for Mr Mourinho - meant that one of the major challenges for a new manager was not just mastery of, and amendment of, tactics, (and to his credit, he adapted very rapidly after the defeat to Arsenal), but people management, as well.
This was clearly necessary in order to win the loyalty and respect of the team, a prerequisite before they would ever produce their best, or want to produce their best, on the pitch, and a clear indictment of the toxic legacy and bleak shadow cast by Mr Mourinho's personality and character.
Other teams will simply have to adapt, too.
You of course assume that big clubs can attract and hold on to talent without the draw of Champions league football.
Now I'm not saying you're wrong, in fact I'm not sure how much any of that matters to most modern players who seem happy to pick up good wages.
A fairly dull Merseyside derby is settled very late and nets Liverpool a very precious 3 points. No fun to watch, but the result was uplifting for Reds fans.
Barkley should have been sent off for a horrific tackle on Henderson; it was only by sheer luck Hendo's leg was not broken. Compare that tackle to the one Vardy got sent off for...and thanks to one of the dumbest rules in football, Barkley will face zero punishment because the ref gave him a yellow for it.
Conte inherited one of the most expensive teams on the planet. Getting them to the top of the league is not as hard as say, winning the league with Leicester. But it reflects badly on Mourinho first and foremost, who made a sow's ear out of a silk purse through his toxic management. Part of Conte's recent success comes down simply to the fact that he is NOT Mourinho - though he has clearly shown himself to be a great manager, and if Chelsea win the league he will deservedly take credit.
Other teams need to adapt, it's true, but there are only two other teams in the league who can afford to spend like Chelsea does - both of them are in Manchester. Anything other than a Chelsea/Manchester top three finish will represent an upset.
As long as the golden fountain of TV money continues to pour forth, English teams outside the CL places will still be able to afford major talent. Not being in the CL is a handicap, to be sure, but smaller continental clubs will still lose players to English teams because those players can earn twice as much or more in England playing for a 10th-placed club.
Barkley should have been sent off for a horrific tackle on Henderson; it was only by sheer luck Hendo's leg was not broken. Compare that tackle to the one Vardy got sent off for...and thanks to one of the dumbest rules in football, Barkley will face zero punishment because the ref gave him a yellow for it.
Conte inherited one of the most expensive teams on the planet. Getting them to the top of the league is not as hard as say, winning the league with Leicester. But it reflects badly on Mourinho first and foremost, who made a sow's ear out of a silk purse through his toxic management. Part of Conte's recent success comes down simply to the fact that he is NOT Mourinho - though he has clearly shown himself to be a great manager, and if Chelsea win the league he will deservedly take credit.
Other teams need to adapt, it's true, but there are only two other teams in the league who can afford to spend like Chelsea does - both of them are in Manchester. Anything other than a Chelsea/Manchester top three finish will represent an upset.
As long as the golden fountain of TV money continues to pour forth, English teams outside the CL places will still be able to afford major talent. Not being in the CL is a handicap, to be sure, but smaller continental clubs will still lose players to English teams because those players can earn twice as much or more in England playing for a 10th-placed club.
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Ah, yes, well the topic of Big Sam had indeed been touched upon at the dinner table, now that you mention it.
Glad it's not my club! Greed cost him the England job. I have little sympathy for those who are paid well for not a lot of work, but then see how else they can line their pockets!
Greed, honesty in the wrong place, and his somewhat tarnished reputation which had suggested that this had been the way he had conducted himself previously.
Oddly enough, I do think he was set up, - on this occasion - but I also think that his prior reputation led to a situation where it was possible to set him up.
Mind you, - given precisely his prior reputation - in management terms, and in financial matters - the sum mentioned as the pay off when buying out his (abruptly terminated) contract was quite.........singularly striking.
Yes, one cannot deny that the use of the word "greed" is singularly apt in this regard.
Having said that, given that he was fired, and given what he was fired for (even if there was an element of having been set up), one wonders why the FA felt obliged to be so......prodigally generous in their payoff.
One wonders - idly - and perhaps unkindly - whether they feared what might happen - or what might emerge - in the event of a legal action.
Yes, one cannot deny that the use of the word "greed" is singularly apt in this regard.
Having said that, given that he was fired, and given what he was fired for (even if there was an element of having been set up), one wonders why the FA felt obliged to be so......prodigally generous in their payoff.
One wonders - idly - and perhaps unkindly - whether they feared what might happen - or what might emerge - in the event of a legal action.
Hm. Quite possibly.
Actually, I have just been reading some of the articles in The Guardian about him.
Terms such as how he comes with a 'history of suspicion' and has 'baggage' accompany references to his name, along with a recognition that no team he has ever managed in the top flight has been relegated and that he is an absolute master at salvaging the fate (and preserving the Premiership place) of struggling teams staring relegation in the face.
Funny. I much prefer domestic games to international. Unless it's an actual tournament. Qualifying is normally a forgone conclusion. Beat a couple of principalities and the press think we'll be world champions.
And what happens if one loses to a small, remote, er, icy country.........where fish has been the staple industry and diet for a thousand years?
I just downloaded a preview of the magazine will let you know in the near future what I think of it.
Not just 4-1 - which - in itself - is a source for considerable quiet satisfaction (and - perhaps - public expression s of joy), but second in the Premier League table, too.
definitely made for younger football fans with all the eye popping graphics and what not. but i still found the articles entertaining and informative.
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