Football

The footie thread, the gold standard for objectivity on lufuguss. 🙄

Ten Hag deserves it for giving us all some good laughs.

The point he made, that City have spent less in the past five years than Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal*, is a statement of fact.

It’s not just about 5 year spending, though. It’s about paying astronomical wages to keep players on the bench who would be first choice in most other top 4 teams (as has been pointed out) and about 10+ year spending. From 2012-2022 they spend more (gross) than any team in world football. It’s about the foundation of stability that brings you, especially when the PSR rules will now hobble any team who get bought by a nation state and wish to do likewise.

Pep is clearly a very good coach (his late 2000s Barca were something else) but he’s not winning the bundesliga with leverkusen or the premier league with Leicester. He works with the top players at the best resourced teams, always.

Facts ^

Controversial opinion :
Who fucking cares ? Just show me goals and bantz

U R Tim Lovejoy, I claim my five pounds.

On the grounds that manager of the season is based on the season just gone, having improved Villa from 7th to 4th, whilst admirable, doesn't feel particularly award-worthy to me. In the absence of any particularly standout candidates it probably should be Pep.

"Pep, you won this because the rest of the managers are bland"

Jesus, i'm not sure I deserved that.

What Pep conveniently fails to mention is how much they spent prior to his arrival. Since he’s been there they’ve always had players that they were able to sell-on, why they’re no longer top of the net spend pile.

He probably is a genius, but those that point out he’s only ever managed elite clubs, do have a valid point.

and if they're still not fiddling the books somehow i'll eat my hat.

Is it still the case that on paper they appear to have a shed load less staff than other leading clubs?

Maybe he only manages elite clubs because he's actually an elite coach?

The labyrinthine financial and staffing arrangements of a modern day slavery football club are probably similar across the different clubs of everywhere.
Everywhere is looking for talent to hothouse and develop in their system/sell to another system/provide bodies for the superstardevelopment talent to train with.

Maybe he only manages elite clubs because he's actually an elite coach?

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

"Theatre of Streams" + Gunnersaurus trying to wash away the Spurs; it's a good week for DS

https://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2024/may/14/david-squires-on-tottenham-new-fans-and-other-premier-league-surprises

Which kind of proves my point. Elite club uses loads of money to fund elite manager (and players).

It’s fair to ask if another manager would have delivered as much success as Pep at City, but it’s fundamentally about money.

It’s fair to ask if another manager would have delivered as much success as Pep at City, but it’s fundamentally about money.

They had Mancini and Pellegrini, two elite level managers at the time they were appointed, neither of whom got close to the level of success or quality of football of Peps City.

That’s not true though is it, football is littered with examples where a club has splurged cash on players (and elite managers) and not won major trophies.

Guardiola got lucky only in the sense that Barcelona took a risk and appointed him, but since then he’s repeated the success he had there in two other leagues. There’s not many managers who’ve achieved that. Of course the money helps, but he’s an era defining coach who has changed how the game is played at the highest level.

He’s also a cunt too, obviously @Ben689908

So could Pep have achieved what he’s done if Man City had West Ham’s budget for the last 10 years?

Clearly teams spend fortunes stupidly but it doesn’t change the fact that City have spent one successfully. Take Sheikh Mansour out of the equation and Pep doesn’t touch Man City with a barge pole.

Explains my love of him.

It’s the worst argument ever

“Could X Do it here”

He’s too good so we will never know. He’s in that place for a reason, see Neuers words on him.

Thanks for the @

It’s all bent to hell. LFGSS watch experts - I think - will confirm that the timepiece he’s often seen wearing is a Richard Mille worth about £1m.

No one is telling me he bought that with pocket money.

They came in soon after the new owners and City still made some iffy acquisitions back then, that rarely happens today.

(That might get picked apart)

Easy to spend less in the last 5 years when you spent the 10 years before that distorting the league and buying up players like toure, de bruyne, ederson Bernardo, stones