Messi leaves Barcelona and they slowly start to implode to the point where they are at now, far to many points off the top of the table and losing to teams in various competitions they would not normally lose against. Their financial issues have also hampered them a bit as well.
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The 2023-2024 Football Thread
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Messi would always leave someday either by actually leaving or just getting too old.
For some reason Barcelona falling to acknowledge this made them spend ridiculous amounts in just one player and at the same time forgetting about the rest of the team including having proper managers.
I say for some reason because neither is any player above a club but also players ending their careers is a simple fact of life.
They deluded themselves, were incompetent and now are reaping what they sowed.
For some reason Barcelona falling to acknowledge this made them spend ridiculous amounts in just one player and at the same time forgetting about the rest of the team including having proper managers.
I say for some reason because neither is any player above a club but also players ending their careers is a simple fact of life.
They deluded themselves, were incompetent and now are reaping what they sowed.
Very true in what you say. Barcelona put all their eggs in one basket (Messi and his wages) and they failed to come up with a viable solution for when he decided to leave. They did not seem to have a plan B (when Messi leaves) and they've struggled ever since.
Will make for an interesting game if Maidstone get Sheffield Wednesday in the cup 
It's odd that the same media outlets reporting these managers are resigning due to burnout are linking them with the high profile positions the other burned out managers will be leaving...If, for example, Xabi Alonso is burned out at Leverkusen, why on earth would he want to leap into managing Liverpool?
I have read Klopp's statement through and he explains his reasons pretty clearly. Last season was rough, and through herculean efforts he has managed to right the ship; the playing squad is in good shape, with plenty of players either just emerging or in the prime of their careers.
But when the time came to start planning the next cycle of training, signings, competitions, and whatnot, Klopp began to feel a little hesitation to leap back into it. He realized he didn't want to be used to lure in players or prepare training plans if he was beginning to think of an exit. Which precipitated his decision to call time now, while the next season is still well off and can be prepared for.
Whoever comes in next will NOT be getting a played-out squad at the end of its cycle, or an ownership group in turmoil, and they won't be coming in with no preseason. That is good stewardship, and I can't argue with his logic. If he's feeling like he might not have the energy for another cycle, this is the best time to act.
After watching Hendo's fall from grace it would be a nice change for Klopp to leave in a way that cements his positive legacy with the fans and the city.
Barcelona's ownership were (are) greedy and reckless, and they have made their bed; now they can sleep in it. I have zero sympathy for them. Messi is smart enough to keep his mouth shut most of the time and thus avoid trouble, but his people are grasping and acquisitive. He may be a decent fellow himself, I don't know, but his 'brand' is a financial juggernaut that helped bleed Barcelona white and is shilling for Saudi Arabia (though, cleverly, he is doing it without having to play in their silly league).
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As much as someone may like/love the job they are doing, sometimes people do get burnt out doing the job they enjoy/love to do and there is nothing wrong with calling a time out on their career. Many many students do it known as the 'gap year'. They are burnt out from all the studying and exams they have had to do thus they take a time out before starting their career. Top position managers and senior managers do it all the time. They feel like they are burnt out so want to take some time away from the job. Klopp as done the right thing. He feels like he is burnt out so want's to take some time out. He's also done it the right way because it's not as though he has let the team start to rot and then he walks away. No, far from it. He is leaving the team in good standing which is the best way to do when wanting to leave the club of his own accord.
As for the comment out the journalists and their remarks about the other managers being burnt out but yet being linked to the Liverpool job, trash journalism comes to mind.
Will make for an interesting game if Maidstone get Sheffield Wednesday in the cup
Is that your side?
Cool badge/crest!
Not my side, am just like most people, enjoyed such a team has made it to where it has in the FA Cup...?
Is that your side?
Cool badge/crest!
Completely (and utterly and totally) agree with both of you, @timber and @Lord Blackadder, about both Barcelona and Messi.
On this, I have absolutely so sympathy whatsoever with Barcelona, and they are entirely the author of the lamentable situation in which they find themselves.
An excellent and very pertinent question, and one that I haven't seen asked anywhere else.
You make a very good, and salient, point.
Absolutely agree.
Actually, firstly, given the massive massacre of managers that occurred last season in the Premiership - the majority of the clubs (the exact numbers - I seem to recall that it was around 14? - escape me) fired their manager, some, more than once, the contrast with this season, when, at just over half way through the season, it is striking how few (barely a handful) managers have been sacked, or invited to resign, is quite marked.
Thus, Klopp's announcement - and the fact that this is his decision, not at the behest of, or the diktat of, the club - is all the more shocking, not least because it is wholly unexpected (but not, given his subsequent explanation, altogether surprising).
Thus, Klopp's announcement - and the fact that this is his decision, not at the behest of, or the diktat of, the club - is all the more shocking, not least because it is wholly unexpected (but not, given his subsequent explanation, altogether surprising).
Yeah, we (Southampton) had and sacked most of those 14 managers I beleive.
I'd have to go through the complete list, but yes, I believe that you may have terminated the employment contracts of one or two of them.
One or two sounds generous...it felt like a whole squad at the time 🤣
Possibly the reason for less PL manager sackings is managers and their agents getting wise to the fact of how easy it can be for a club to sack the manager and thus during contract talks, managers and their agents are putting in clauses that would make if financially difficult to just fire the manager, it would have to be for very good legitimate reasons.
Curious if Rashford will be a Utd player at the end of summer.
Then again i'm not sure anyone else in world football will pay him £300k/week given how inconsistent and unprofessional he can be.
Then again i'm not sure anyone else in world football will pay him £300k/week given how inconsistent and unprofessional he can be.
Rashford behavior is the type of thing Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team will not tolerate. He stopped that sort of behavior in the cycling teams he and his team ran and thus I have no doubt he will not tolerate it at United. I mean come on, you know you have a training day on Friday so what does Rashford do, go out late Thursday evening/early morning to a nightclub and then claims to be 'ill' the next day. It does not take a mind reader to know what happened. He got drunk, got a terrible hangover the next morning and thus was not able to train so he tells the club coaches he is too ill to train.
The club were right to fine him but with the amount of money he earns, the fine is a drop in the ocean for him. He will be very lucky to be a United player at the end of the season if Ratcliffe has his way. Rashford's behavior will soon show the world just how much 'footballing' control the Glazers have given to Ratcliffe.
Thing is who would come in for Rashford? Newcastle maybe. Plenty of good bars in Newcastle!
This is a process that can take a few seasons to take effect.
Many (if not most) of these players were at the club before ETH arrived, and, while I don't usually invoke the legendary Sir Alex as an example, it took Ferguson several years to address the drinking and partying culture of the club, the dressing room, and among the stars he inherited when he was (first) appointed manager at Manchester United.
I have no allegiance to Man Utd of course, but the focus on Rashford right now is a red herring IMO. Just a story to sell papers.
Rashford has been at a mismanaged club for years. He seems like an intelligent (and talented) guy, so why is everyone coming at him about a few nights out without thinking "hmm, maybe playing at a club that's a total hot mess express for years has burned him out and he's tired of the endless merry-go-round of managers, random signings, and general miasma of bad press?"
He's responsible for his behavior re: club rules, and he's having a terrible season performance-wise, but in the context of the club he plays for it's understandable. Why should we expect players to buy in to the Man Utd 'project' when it's been little but chaos since Ferguson left? Sure, the players are paid handsomely but (despite what the football suits think) money isn't everything. Paying people well makes a difference but it doesn't completely immunize them from becoming demoralized or apathetic.
He's the type of player that could become re-energized if Ratcliffe's team can right the ship, so I see no point in scapegoating him right now. People are annoyed that he's not motivated? Why would anyone be truly motivated at this point by a Glazer-owned club managed by a dead man walking?
Rashford has been at a mismanaged club for years. He seems like an intelligent (and talented) guy, so why is everyone coming at him about a few nights out without thinking "hmm, maybe playing at a club that's a total hot mess express for years has burned him out and he's tired of the endless merry-go-round of managers, random signings, and general miasma of bad press?"
He's responsible for his behavior re: club rules, and he's having a terrible season performance-wise, but in the context of the club he plays for it's understandable. Why should we expect players to buy in to the Man Utd 'project' when it's been little but chaos since Ferguson left? Sure, the players are paid handsomely but (despite what the football suits think) money isn't everything. Paying people well makes a difference but it doesn't completely immunize them from becoming demoralized or apathetic.
He's the type of player that could become re-energized if Ratcliffe's team can right the ship, so I see no point in scapegoating him right now. People are annoyed that he's not motivated? Why would anyone be truly motivated at this point by a Glazer-owned club managed by a dead man walking?
I can understand that players as any workers feel the lack of momentum, results, motivation, everything but you have got to provide the minimum you signed on.
In this case showing up for practice on time, keeping a proper physical condition and son on.
In this case showing up for practice on time, keeping a proper physical condition and son on.
I dunno.
Even if you work in a toxic environment, you still need to remain professional and do the bare minimum. Two wrongs don't make a right.
If you're a Doctor, Lawyer, or Engineer and you work for a crappy firm or hospital, you still have to deliver for your client/patient. Because the responsibility and consequences are too high to faff around.
Sure Utd are in dire straits. But if you're being paid 300k, and are a local boy who supposedly cares for the club, maybe do your bit and lead by example.
I've worked in toxic departments where i utterly despised everyone. But i still showed up and did what i was contracted to do.
And i'm paid a fraction of what Rashford earns. I used to like him and Sancho but my enthusiasm has since cooled.
When things were going south at West Ham. You didn't see Declan Rice downing tools, he instead lead his team to safety and a European trophy.
Saka gives his all even when he is off form and overplayed.
Yes its fair to say ETH has lost a chunk of his dressing room. But the players have been a large part of that.
Like they were under Moyes, LVG, Mourinho, Oliie, and now ETH.
Also, i feel a lot of these young British players start to believe their own hype sometimes and forget how to conduct themselves and focus on their job
I suppose thats what happens when you pay uneducated men obscene amounts of money and put them on a pedestal for kicking a ball.
Even if you work in a toxic environment, you still need to remain professional and do the bare minimum. Two wrongs don't make a right.
If you're a Doctor, Lawyer, or Engineer and you work for a crappy firm or hospital, you still have to deliver for your client/patient. Because the responsibility and consequences are too high to faff around.
Sure Utd are in dire straits. But if you're being paid 300k, and are a local boy who supposedly cares for the club, maybe do your bit and lead by example.
I've worked in toxic departments where i utterly despised everyone. But i still showed up and did what i was contracted to do.
And i'm paid a fraction of what Rashford earns. I used to like him and Sancho but my enthusiasm has since cooled.
When things were going south at West Ham. You didn't see Declan Rice downing tools, he instead lead his team to safety and a European trophy.
Saka gives his all even when he is off form and overplayed.
Yes its fair to say ETH has lost a chunk of his dressing room. But the players have been a large part of that.
Like they were under Moyes, LVG, Mourinho, Oliie, and now ETH.
Also, i feel a lot of these young British players start to believe their own hype sometimes and forget how to conduct themselves and focus on their job
I suppose thats what happens when you pay uneducated men obscene amounts of money and put them on a pedestal for kicking a ball.
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