You blocked me and refused to print criticism, so I’ll try again: ‘Either he’s a genius, or he’s starting the wrong teams’ wrote Martin Samuel after Tottenham’s win over Inter Milan. What a truly stupid thing to say. Mauricio Pochettino famously did not strengthen the squad in the summer, so is dealing with injuries, players back from national duty, tough fixtures and a nomadic life without a home ground. All of this and he beats Chelsea and Inter Milan in five days with Arsenal next. So he uses players sparingly. But in Martin Samuel’s limited awareness he sees a substitute come on and score and it’s either a genius tactical move or the player should have been on at the beginning. What an idiotic comment. Leave the football to Pochettino – who was trying to save Eriksen for Arsenal as he is carrying an injury – and you just concentrate on further discrediting your reputation with the next puerile comment. Can’t wait. Ivor Point, England.
Blocked you? Ah, bless. You think you’re that significant? You think I issue directives on who gets through? You think I can’t handle your weedy criticism? I often print nothing but, because it makes this column more entertaining, the back and forth. The ones I feel sorry for are those that agree with me. They rarely get a look in. Ivor, you’re quite a dim person hiding behind a third rate Viz comic alias. I’d have a greater battle of wits if I engaged with my office wastepaper basket. You may think you have a point, Ivor, but it’s usually achieved missing mine by a mile. Remember when you took me to task for talking about Tottenham’s Wembley curse, and it turned out I hadn’t written anything like that; or when you said you should manage England’s women’s team, so you could teach them how to play long ball – and it transpired they were playing it anyway; or when you got taken apart by that Wigan fan before I’d even had a chance. It was a joke, Ivor. The line about Pochettino’s genius. A joke. Not a big set-up and pay off gag, but a little aside, commenting on Pochettino’s substitutions turning the last two Champions League matches at Wembley. Only you appear to have taken it literally, as criticism. I blame the schools. Still you know the score by now: halfwits first, fine music next, five points after. There’s no link. We’re coming to the end. I’m really just working through my favourites now. Some of the ones I’ve missed.
Point one. Howe. So?
A lot of fans will agree that Eddie Howe is a great coach but the problem is, if he gets the opportunity to coach Manchester United after Jose Mourinho, will the same fans and media give him time to build a good team without judging him after 10 games, as they did David Moyes? Ucheya Clinton, Nigeria.
I don’t think Moyes was judged after 10 games. I can’t speak for the Manchester United fans, but I think most members of the media were surprised at the swiftness of his departure. I remember debating it with people on here and being adamant there was no way Moyes wouldn’t get the time to turn it around. I was amazed he wasn’t given until at least Christmas the following year to bed the club down after such a seismic event as Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure. As for being judged after 10 games, if you mean criticised – well, that comes with the territory. This is Manchester United, the most successful club of the Premier League era and with that comes enormous expectation. Equally, Moyes took over the champions. In those circumstances, any manager would be judged on performance. That doesn’t mean his dismissal was inevitable; or that Howe would get an easy ride. Once Manchester United’s resources are at your disposal, certain standards come with the territory.
Samuel is loving this. Of course he’d like to see Howe as United manager. It would pretty much cement them as a mid-table club. Howe is not the man to take control of one of the biggest and most prestigious clubs on the planet. Giving the job to Howe would turn them into Southampton; a solid English club from up north like Stoke City. Honest Truth, Christmas Island.
Loving it? That, like your residence in Christmas Island, is a lie. I’d love to see Howe as Manchester United manager because he’s an excellent young English coach and deserves a big break; not because it would make the club mediocre. Bournemouth certainly aren’t, so I don’t understand why he would turn United into Championship also rans Stoke or relegation-threatened Southampton. Indeed, as I write this – Wednesday afternoon – Bournemouth are actually ahead of United in the Premier League table. Maybe you should think more about performances and less about prestige and size, and what you erroneously think Manchester United merit.
Every time a top job might be available we get the same old story – the flavour of the month pushed forward. United tried Moyes, Liverpool tried Brendan Rodgers – neither worked out as they didn’t have enough clout with the big-name players. A Drunken Horse, United Kingdom.
Rodgers didn’t work out? He came closer to winning the league for Liverpool than Jurgen Klopp, Gerard Houllier or even the sainted Rafa Benitez. He just couldn’t follow it through without Luis Suarez.
I do not think there is a strong enough case for Howe, outside of giving him a chance because he’s English. Would this be the way managerial appointments are made in the boardrooms of other companies with revenues in the hundreds of millions? An elite club presents different challenges: handling the increased expectation, the big pressure, the big players. Bruce Rioch couldn’t do that at Arsenal, so much so that Ian Wright put in a transfer request. David Moyes couldn’t either, and at one time talked of a point at home being a good result for United. Howe gives the impression that he is very much in his comfort zone on the south coast and may well be a fish out of water elsewhere. Anthony, London.
Yes, but what of George Graham or Howard Kendall, who came from smaller clubs and won the league? Is Mourinho handling the big pressure and the big players at the moment, because from a distance it often appears Manchester United are in disarray. I think to presume that every manager without elite experience would suffer the fate of Rioch or Moyes is simplistic. If it counted for so much, what happened to Louis van Gaal?
Manchester United wouldn't take a chance on a manager at a mid-table club in Spain or Germany, either. It has nothing to do with Howe being English. McGammonhater, Oman.
Yes, but managers of mid table clubs in Germany and Spain would get the chance to step up in those leagues, Barcelona have appointed managers from Celta Vigo and Athletic Bilbao, while that path seems blocked in England now. What worries is that when any major Premier League job becomes available owners look for a European coach. The only way English coaches get a chance is either by winning promotion and trying to keep a lower ranked team in the division - which eventually means they fail because Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Cardiff and the like will all get relegated eventually - or a club gets in trouble and calls in an experienced coach like Roy Hodgson or Sam Allardyce. Riley D, Birmingham.
Completely agree, Riley. Klopp got his break at Borussia Dortmund having exceeded expectations at Mainz; Benitez impressed at a series of smaller clubs, and even went up and down with one, before being offered Valencia. It is not just young players that are denied a pathway in English football. And here appropriately is something from Bournemouth: via Manchester.
Moyes has a better record than Howe and look what happened there. No mention in the article that Howe went to another Premier club where he failed miserably. Don't see him as the perfect fit for adidas or DHL wanting a global figure to match the global standing of the club. More like Eddie Who? Easy article to write with little or no thought given to the practicalities. Mibalsarakin, Spain.
Indeed, and talking of writing without thought, exactly what Premier League club was is that Howe left Bournemouth for? Burnley were 10th in the Championship when Howe took over on January 16 2011, finished eighth that year, 13th the next season, and were 16th when he left in October the following campaign. So he arrived mid-table got higher mid-table and left lower mid-table, which isn’t miserable failure. It was also his decision, made for personal reasons. He wasn’t sacked and Burnley described an ‘unwanted approach’ from Bournemouth and expressed disappointment he was leaving so soon. Again, hardly failing miserably. So, one average performance at a Championship club six years ago, and that is held against him forever. Just as well we didn’t hold events at Real Valladolid and Osasuna in 1995 and 1996, or the relegation with Extremadura against Benitez; or is it only English coaches that are weighed down with historic baggage? As for letting DHL pick the manager, I think we’ll just place that in the Everything That’s Wrong With Football file and move on. I think it’s your brain that’s aching mate, not anything lower.
Point two: Conte for United – what could possibly go wrong?
Manchester United will seek a big-name appointment. I would not be surprised if they hire Antonio Conte or Zinedine Zidane. In all fairness, Conte is a very good manager who won the Premier League in his first season, but I think it’s a sideways step after Mourinho. His football is not that different from and would not excite the demanding fans, ex-players and pundits. Zidane would be interesting, but I am not sure if he would make it. He hasn’t got Sergio Ramos, he’s got Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku instead of Cristiano Ronaldo. Big difference. Swiss United, St. Gallen.
Conte’s style is very different to Mourinho. He likes a firm team shape of 3-5-2, hard work and a tight defence, but favours a sweeper figure and wing-backs, which is a system Mourinho uses sparingly. Also, at Chelsea, Conte alighted on his best XI quickly and stuck to it. Where the managers are alike is in their capacity to fall out with the players and those above. United need a life less fractious right now.
Point three: Mesut Ozil, £350,000 a week until 2021 and other top decisions.
Maybe the point about giving Ozil a new contract was firstly, there was the political necessity of not losing another big name after Alexis Sanchez’s departure, and secondly, this way he will command a proper resale value, even now. It would easily outweigh his salary raise. I’d say Arsenal are already looking in that direction with the politics now more or less resolved by Unai Emery's success so far. Manchester United could also recoup their investment in Sanchez, including his salary, with a quick sale even at a discounted off-form price. At today's inflated transfer rates, even in the event of a less than stellar performance, most big contract costs can be recouped with a sale. Victor, London.
No, they can’t because there are only a handful of clubs that can afford the money the Premier League pays for elite players and if they are not interested – and if Sanchez and Ozil were rated as Barcelona and Real Madrid players, they would still be there – the only option is a cut-price deal or a loan. Juventus spent big on Ronaldo, but that was a unique transfer. Sanchez is a player who has now failed to make the team at the two biggest clubs he has played for; Ozil has lost his place for club and country. I take your point about the politics, but the direction Arsenal were headed in post-Arsene Wenger, there was always a good chance Ozil would not fit. A deal of that nature was an expensive gamble, at best.
Point four: Jurgen Klopp’s on the pitch; he thinks it’s all over.
Oh please, you’re calling for Klopp to be banned for that? Dead ball, game over, pure joy. Get a life. Paul Banks, Tokyo.
I’ve got a life, thanks, Paul. That’s why you won’t find me posting half-baked sentences of dribble on the bottom of articles. For a start, I didn’t call for Klopp to be banned; I wrote that he shouldn’t be banned unless he reoffends. Here it is: ‘So the Football Association are right to lay a charge against Jurgen Klopp, even threaten a ban if he enters the field of play again. A firm reminder of his responsibilities should suffice, but the charge is justified.’ So, your whole premise is false. See, Paul, how can I put this: you’re not very smart. That’s why most of your posts amount to little more than the staccato squawk of the internet troll. I know your life in the east must be thrilling, which is why you are always mithering us here, but you haven’t even bothered to read or digest the sentiment before posting. Do us all a favour, Paul. Pipe down.
Klopp needs a minimum of a one-season touchline ban. He is a disgrace and could have started a riot. If a fan ran on the pitch like that he’d be banned for life. Amsterdam is ace, Amsterdam.
No, he wouldn’t. Not unless he attacked someone. He might lose his ticket for a bit, but an exuberant, harmless celebration would be looked upon more benignly than a sinister invasion with malicious intent. Anyway, if we are talking a pecking order of pitch invaders, managers are different to fans and have greater access to the playing area – before and after games, for instance. The Football Association charge was correct but so was the punishment. The point is made, so we move on.
Point five: and hello from Nigeria.
I do find the poster from Nigeria quite amusing to be honest. Yes Nigeria has over 180m people – but the writer takes for granted that everyone in Nigeria watches or loves football which is as far away from the truth. Yes, football is a global sport, but it doesn’t then mean the English don’t own the Premier League or the Spanish no longer own La Liga. What we have done wrong locally is to ignore our own league which is non-existent and has been on a break since before the World Cup in Russia. It is now struggling to restart, state-owned clubs aren’t paying player and coach wages, and teams that travel by road get attacked by hoodlums and arrive to find cattle fields as pitches. On the few occasions when the traditional clubs do meet the stadium is empty and this, coupled with an FA that goes all over Europe looking to poach youngsters that look or sound Nigerian, are to the detriment of our local growth. And I once watched El Clasico four times in two weeks. Boring. Brigante510, Lagos.
I am from Nigeria and that Nigerian guy is talking nonsense. I support my local team and go to games when I am in town. The local derbies in Nigeria are what we look forward to most – and the same in the European leagues. Take the derbies away by starting a European super league and the local support dies. The day the top six in the Premier League decide to join a super league, I will cancel my subscription. This weekend, I am most looking forward to Arsenal v Spurs and Liverpool v Everton. Ikenna, Lagos.
Obviously followers of Fulham and Chelsea – the west London derby also on last Sunday – are going to be a little miffed Ikenna, but maybe that one wasn’t showing in Lagos. Either way, these posts – in response to a gentleman from Nigeria in Five Points last week, endorsing the European Super League and saying it would be watched by millions if matches were played in his home country – are fascinating. Good to hear that some people would like their own league to be stronger and are not totally in thrall to foreign competitions watched on television. Please excuse my ignorance, Brigante, but I hadn’t noticed the Nigerian league had not reconvened since July, postponed indefinitely due to the leadership crisis in your domestic game. How does that happen in a country that produces so many great footballers? I hope the domestic football drought ends soon and definitely feel, as no doubt do you, that it is not helped by fans simply parachuting their affections onto clubs in Europe and not applying the pressure required to get these problems resolved. And at this stage I’d usually play out with something grand and Nigerian to end on a high. But here’s some exit music instead. Until next time.