Premier League 2023/24

Clutch wrote:

Thimmy wrote:I don't know about the rest of you, but I firmly recall both GL and other places on the internet expressing doubts about Klopp before the club brought in Van Dijk, Salah and the rest of what would become the core of a rather dominant team. The story's the same for Arteta, although I personally think he has a few holes in his team compared to prime Liverpool under Klopp. Whether or not that's his fault is... it's always the manager, isn't it?

I think the big difference is that Klopp has been a Manager for much longer and was very successful with dortmund, so there was at least proof of success wheras arteta is a bigger risk with lack of proof

That's a very good point. I do generally feel like managers who've only had success with a single club before they become the manager of a top club in one of the 4 leagues, largely rely on some luck with transfers or the quality of the team they inherit in order to prolong their status as elite, though. If they get their transfers right, the only way is up.

Andre Villas Boas is an example of one who inherited a rather underwhelming, aging and under-performing team that somehow went on to win the Champions League under replacement manager, Di Matteo, who no one seems to rate despite how great a feat that was lol.

I haven't kept close track of what either of them have been doing since then, but Villas Boas seemed to have fallen off the radar after accepting offers where the odds were stacked against him, while Di Matteo similarly became the manager of a Schalke side that I remember was struggling in the league at the time. I have no clue what he's been doing since then, but as far as I can tell, they both made awful choices after their initial successes.

Regardless of whether it's blame or praise, Arteta and Klopp's fortunes both changed once they brought in players who presumably either allowed them to play more in the style that they wanted to play, or simply upped the quality of the squad. Some might say that's a coincidence, but I think that only goes to show that while managers can definitely make a difference through their management and organization of a team, I'm definitely not subscribed to the Rincon belief that a truly good manager can turn any kind of scrap into gold. A lot of Man United fans seem to share that belief, but unless Ratcliffe and his team manage to quickly overhaul the actual squad and approach to transfers, I won't be surprised if they have to wait a decade longer for the success and entertainment that they expect.

He is a brilliant player, but he’s been fit to play since december according to reports. They didn’t want to rush him back into action, which probably means that he’s both fit and well rested by now.

I’m happy to see Oscar Bobb play well also. I hadn’t even heard about him until he got his debut for them this season. He’s made good use of his time on the pitch.

Glory wrote:Yea and I am 100% sure that they will come for him. Them or Barcelona. Them too have a thing for headless pace merchants in recent years. The justification for buying him would be it is United ruining Rashford like United's been ruining players. He may even thrive at those clubs, I mean change of scenery, weaker league and all(in case of psg) but whatever happens, at United its more or less written now. It simply wont work out.  

I do think there's some logic to that thinking. I don't believe that Man United ruin players necessarily, but ever since Ferguson retired, you've held on to new signings for too long, and you've brought in players who aren't a fit for new tactical approaches brought on by new managers, so the managers have to adopt their system to the players, rather than the other way around. Recruitment hasn't been good enough to speed things up, and there's not enough patience to allow the team to be built for a certain philosophy. You'd think Mourinho would excel in that environment, since he just forces everyone to play defensively and then complains about the lack of transfers anyway. Rashford has played under a lot of different systems, and he pretty much does the same thing regardless of how they play I imagine Hojlund will likely benefit from his departure.

In other, Manchester news, Jim Ratcliffe is bringing in Omar Berrada from Manchester City. I’m not familiar with him, but it looks like he was involved in the sporting side of things and worked closely with Txiki Begiristain regarding transfers and contracts.

He will become the chief of administration at Man United - resonsible for commercial and sporting activities. I’m not sure exactly what that role entails, but it’s a great thing that Man United finally have someone who will at least take some responsibility for future transfers and contracts. It’s far too late for this to happen, but better late than never.