Julen Numptegui Suicide Watch

Sacking someone this early into a season would make you a laughing stock though. Can't toy with a man's career like this. Stand by him until at least January IMO. Justice for Numptegui.

Make Numptegui step down from the NT where he was doing really fvcking good and sack him within 2 months of the season. That'd be pathetic but amazing & hilarious at the same time.

guest7 wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:So I read that he's still Real manager as the players stood behind him..? For now?

I also read that not Conte, but another in-house solution, either Guti or the 2nd team coach Solari, is preferred?

I also read that Mourinho is candidate no. 1?

I'm tending to believe the third option. I think Lopetegui will remai in place right until Man United fire Mourinho.
So, another few weeks at least.

Stop trolling Hans. None knows but Conte is the "available" one. Mou isn't so I doubt he is a candidate and he is also very hated in Spain in general.

ok diario wrote:Mourinho es el candidato nº 1 para sustituir a Lopetegui

https://okdiario.com/deportes/real-madrid/2018/10/21/mourinho-candidato-numero-uno-sustituir-lopetegui-roberto-martinez-numero-dos-3257980

I said I read Mourinho is considered candidate no 1 and this is where it was written. I'm rarely ever trolling.

let's put this thing about pressing into perspective. its hard to get players in their 30s to do that, even if they want to. its physically demanding, and football like many sports gives into force of habit. its not a video game, by the time the 15th minute comes on, players will just go back to doing what their instincts preach

and if there is no competition that can act as a threat to bench players, then you're screwed. i don't think motivation is the issue. nerves play a part, and its a combination of a multitude of other things. but changing the coach alone won't fix this; the team has core issues all around that need to be addressed. and the club cannot afford to keep papering the cracks

Real Madrid are expected to sack Julen Lopetegui after the Champions League match against Viktoria Plzen tonight. (Source: L'Equipe)

If we lose or draw, that's not a very difficult prediction It will be interesting to see if we win and play well.

It's Viktoria Plzen at home. Roma beat them 5-0. The win is pretty meaningless when the team you are hosting is that bad. Any other result is a catastrophe.

Exactly... but we can't score against the sisters of mercy right now without divine intervention.  So I'm taking nothing for granted.

Anything less than crushing them would be a setback.  That's what I meant in the context of "winning and playing well".

We are so bad at the moment that i'm happy even with a 1-0

Hapless_Hans wrote:

guest7 wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:So I read that he's still Real manager as the players stood behind him..? For now?

I also read that not Conte, but another in-house solution, either Guti or the 2nd team coach Solari, is preferred?

I also read that Mourinho is candidate no. 1?

I'm tending to believe the third option. I think Lopetegui will remai in place right until Man United fire Mourinho.
So, another few weeks at least.

Stop trolling Hans. None knows but Conte is the "available" one. Mou isn't so I doubt he is a candidate and he is also very hated in Spain in general.

ok diario wrote:Mourinho es el candidato nº 1 para sustituir a Lopetegui

https://okdiario.com/deportes/real-madrid/2018/10/21/mourinho-candidato-numero-uno-sustituir-lopetegui-roberto-martinez-numero-dos-3257980

I said I read Mourinho is considered candidate no 1 and this is where it was written. I'm rarely ever trolling.

you need to wash yourself after quoting okdiario, one of the worst piece of garbage media in spain. They blatantly lie about everything, their creator, Inda, goes to Chiringuito every week and lies. The man has been condemned in spanish court for lying and inventing stories yet he is somehow looked at as credible. absolute sham

The make Lucas vazquez cross tactic.

Lopetegui really sticking by his offensive principles

Freeza wrote:The make Lucas vazquez cross tactic.

Lopetegui really sticking by his offensive principles

Isn't that what captain hindsight would refer to as Zidane's penchant for sticking to what the players are most capable at?

Thimmy wrote:

Freeza wrote:The make Lucas vazquez cross tactic.

Lopetegui really sticking by his offensive principles

Isn't that what captain hindsight would refer to as Zidane's penchant for sticking to what the players are most capable at?

If you think Lucas is capable at it.

Freeza wrote:

Thimmy wrote:

Freeza wrote:The make Lucas vazquez cross tactic.

Lopetegui really sticking by his offensive principles

Isn't that what captain hindsight would refer to as Zidane's penchant for sticking to what the players are most capable at?

If you think Lucas is capable at it.

Clearly, the crossing tactic has always proved to be somewhat effective for us, even if only 1/15 connect with one of our players, and especially when nothing else seems to work. Lucas may not be exceptional at it, but he is relatively capable at shaking off his marker and making space for a cross - which allows him to make crosses often. Bale's a better crosser, but obviously you want him inside the box, which I assume is the plan. We had more options when CR was constantly in and around the box.

I'm not particularly fond of this tactic, but I was under the impression that some of the criticism towards Lopetegui was that he stubbornly stuck to his possession- based game, despite our players not showing compatibility with it in an offensive sense. Zidane received similar criticism for not changing his tactics, but supposedly he did the only right thing, in hindsight

Think we should send this article to Flo?

https://www.managingmadrid.com/platform/amp/2018/10/24/18015394/real-madrid-fire-julen-lopetegui

wrong thread though

but yeah Arthur is amazing

futbol_bill wrote:Think we should send this article to Flo?

https://www.managingmadrid.com/platform/amp/2018/10/24/18015394/real-madrid-fire-julen-lopetegui

The person who wrote it is deluded, throwing a bunch of meaningless and misleading stats to sugarcoat the fact that we suck.

On offense, they’ve created the second-most passes per action in their opponent’s half. They’ve completed the second-most passes within 20 yards of their opponent’s goal in the league. They’ve created the third-most non-penalty non-own expected goals (behind Barcelona and Sevilla). And their season-long xG is very close to Sevilla and Barcelona at the top.

Absolutely nonsensical! Making the most passes in the opponent's half doesn't in any way mean you're great offensively. In fact, it usually means your midfielders are having a hard time feeding the strikers and the entire attack is completely clueless and incapable of unlocking the opponent's defense.

The combination of Madrid’s statistically strong defense and their statistically strong offense should all else being equal leave them with the highest point total in the league.

Seriously who wrote this crap? Our version of Harmonica?

Here's the only passage that has some truth to it:

...their seeming inability to finish their chances, and their penchant for allowing incredibly stupid goals.

That and this:

Lopetegui has, for the most part, gotten it right: his team has, again, all else being equal, defended well and created the opportunities to score. He has put them, tactically, in the position to succeed—it’s just that the player’s aren’t doing that.

And again it has a lot of misleading information here. This guy claims the team is creating many chances and that Lopetegui shouldn't be blamed. I like Lopetegui, I think he has been dealt a rough hand, but no way in hell should he be blameless. Are you kidding me? We're not creating as many chances as before and we're very vulnerable to counter-attacks. The only reason I still haven't ripped him to shreds is because I think the personnel he has isn't good enough for him to execute his plan to perfection. But even then, he should be blamed for not adapting his tactics to match his squad's limitations.

The writer of that piece of garbage is only right about the terrible attack we have. Everything else was tailored to perfectly fit the empty rhetoric of those who claim that everything is fine and that the club knows what its doing.

That article could've been written in 3 lines and it would've made more sense:

1. Florentino is cheap.
2. We suck because we didn't bring in elite reinforcements.
3. The transfer policy Real Madrid has right now of going after kids is disastrous.

Really surprised ManagingMadrid would publish something like that.

I didn’t read what you proport it to say!

I read it to say, Flo and board are set to fire him, that maybe that isn’t the best move. That getting a new coach likely won’t fix things. That the front line, i.e. finishing, scoring goals, sucks. That there are chances being created, that’s what the numbers he presents are saying, it’s the lack of finishing that is the problem. He also says based on the numbers presented that the defense, ie i read team defense, is good, BUT´their penchant for allowing for allowing incredibly stupid goals’.

I know english isn’t my first language, but I just don’t understand this article the same as you. Basically he is saying a lot of the same things as you, although he is not harping on Flo’s issues as much as you do!

At the end of the day though, Flo won’t listen, so you can expect Lopetequi to be gone sometime before beginning of new year!

I don't think it's a good move either unless we're out of CL contention... which we won't know until the winter break.

Firing a new manager 3 months into a season is pretty ridiculous.

It's not ridiculous IMO. If it's best for the club to fire the manager and hire another one, it doesn't matter when it is.
For example, every week we keep Niko Kovac in the job we are delaying the inevitable.

Hapless_Hans wrote:It's not ridiculous IMO. If it's best for the club to fire the manager and hire another one, it doesn't matter when it is.
For example, every week we keep Niko Kovac in the job we are delaying the inevitable.

Have to agree, he has a fantastic group of players. He isn't getting much out of them. He is making 6 million euro a year with 3 years income guaranteed, that's why he left the national team, big mistake on his part.

Hapless_Hans wrote:It's not ridiculous IMO. If it's best for the club to fire the manager and hire another one, it doesn't matter when it is.
For example, every week we keep Niko Kovac in the job we are delaying the inevitable.

You fire the manager when you have a great squad and he isn't getting the best out of them. That's what happened with Rafa and the striking majority of Madrid fans supported the sack.

Lopetegui's case is different. His squad has many glaring issues and it's not really a guarantee that whoever takes over will magically turn them into a well-oiled, high-scoring machine.

Lopetegui is definitely to blame for not playing to his squad's strength, but the biggest chunck of the blame should fall into Florentino's lap.

Most Madrid fans don't want to hear this, but our current squad isn't good enough to win major trophies. You need to supply him with the players he needs to execute his plan to perfection. Then when he fails, fire his ass and everybody will support your decision. But don't give him that pathetic attack and ask him to meet your expectations. It's just wrong, unfair and cruel to a guy who threw a secure job where he was doing so well at it to join your cheap ass after everybody with a brain turned you down. Florentino is completely deluded and needs to either wake up or step down.

@Bill, do you know if there's a clause or some conditions that, if met, the socios can force the president to step down?

Our current squad is good enough not to lose vs CSKA or Levante, and definitely good enough to crush Vitoria plizen

yep with that mighty attack you have and the bunch of kids who still haven't hit puberty, I would imagine.

D.O.C what if someone like Conte comes and turns everything around almost immediately? would that be enough to convince you that hiring the worst manager in Porto history was probably Flo's biggest mistake?