Who next after Brendan?

[Happy Fox]

Brendan’s 3/1 odds on for the Barca job 

[Ric Flair]

2 hours ago, filbertway said:

We have never had a better squad and he was actively encouraged to go and win a trophy, which I think has probably only been the case the past 2 seasons. 

The Man U performance was the best of the lot. Southampton and Brighton were awful games where our quality edged it. We made easy work of a couple of championship teams due to playing a strong team in both games. The final was daylight robbery, I'd love the opportunity to see how extra time would have gone if Chilly's goal had been allowed

 

It's astounding how Kel and Youri dragged us to that final. Then Youri and Kasper did the business on the big day.

 

I honestly believe that plenty of managers given a similar opportunity would have managed to deliver similar.

 

It'll be interesting to see over the next 5-10 years if we have similar runs, my thoughts are if the board deem it important, then we'll play strong teams. Then it's just a case of winning games where your team is the favourites, which we must have been for every games aside from the Chelsea match.

 

@Ric Flair help me out here, because I don't want to seem like I'm downplaying the achievement, but is there anything that you disagree with that I've said there. I don't know if I'm missing something, but logically (not emotionally) to me, last season, the combination of draws, squad and desire for a trophy, represented our best ever chance of winning an FA Cup in my life time.

You may well be right but it's very rare for football teams to spawn major trophies, plenty fall at the final hurdle or just before that and many are left to think " if only ". That's why I can't downplay Rodgers achievements, the quarter final win took great mentality and belief and I think that gave the players the final push to go and try and win it. I genuinely don't think this club really believed they could until then, especially after the semi final upset the season before.

 

See I don't think it was a lucky win in the final except for the final 10 minutes, prior to that we navigated the game vs a horrible team to play against. They had more chances than us without question but not so many that it made the triumph a surprise. The final minutes were horrible though and our substitutions were a potential disgrace.

 

To a man that day we were magnificent, the performances from Fofana and Soyuncu after seeing their leader go off injured, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas and Vardy were sensational and obviously Schmeichel, had the game of his life for us but not because he made the most saves he's ever had to but he delivered when we needed him. 

 

Rodgers led us to that, now he needs to do us again.

[UpTheLeagueFox]

We win the biggest English domestic knockout trophy for the first time in our history and some want to find ways to discredit it.

[volpeazzurro]

2 hours ago, filbertway said:

We have never had a better squad and he was actively encouraged to go and win a trophy, which I think has probably only been the case the past 2 seasons. 

The Man U performance was the best of the lot. Southampton and Brighton were awful games where our quality edged it. We made easy work of a couple of championship teams due to playing a strong team in both games. The final was daylight robbery, I'd love the opportunity to see how extra time would have gone if Chilly's goal had been allowed

 

It's astounding how Kel and Youri dragged us to that final. Then Youri and Kasper did the business on the big day.

 

I honestly believe that plenty of managers given a similar opportunity would have managed to deliver similar.

 

It'll be interesting to see over the next 5-10 years if we have similar runs, my thoughts are if the board deem it important, then we'll play strong teams. Then it's just a case of winning games where your team is the favourites, which we must have been for every games aside from the Chelsea match.

 

@Ric Flair help me out here, because I don't want to seem like I'm downplaying the achievement, but is there anything that you disagree with that I've said there. I don't know if I'm missing something, but logically (not emotionally) to me, last season, the combination of draws, squad and desire for a trophy, represented our best ever chance of winning an FA Cup in my life time.

I think you've been very fair and I read it the same way personally. 

[filbertway]

34 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

You may well be right but it's very rare for football teams to spawn major trophies, plenty fall at the final hurdle or just before that and many are left to think " if only ". That's why I can't downplay Rodgers achievements, the quarter final win took great mentality and belief and I think that gave the players the final push to go and try and win it. I genuinely don't think this club really believed they could until then, especially after the semi final upset the season before.

 

See I don't think it was a lucky win in the final except for the final 10 minutes, prior to that we navigated the game vs a horrible team to play against. They had more chances than us without question but not so many that it made the triumph a surprise. The final minutes were horrible though and our substitutions were a potential disgrace.

 

To a man that day we were magnificent, the performances from Fofana and Soyuncu after seeing their leader go off injured, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas and Vardy were sensational and obviously Schmeichel, had the game of his life for us but not because he made the most saves he's ever had to but he delivered when we needed him. 

 

Rodgers led us to that, now he needs to do us again.

The thing that impressed me about the quarters was that we took advantage of their slightly weakened team and then when Cavani and  Fernandes came on, we responded well and didn't give them much of a chance to get into the game. Genuinely the best performance I recall from us this year by a country mile. Sheff utd and WBA rolled over for us, it was more a case of our quality taking them to peices. So much so that Rodgers was livid half time againt WBA when we went in 3-0 up

 

The final was a great team effort, won by a couple of players going above and beyond. I still don't know how Werner took the ball off Azpi's head when he had an open goal to put it into haha. It was then that I was convinced we'd win this, it almost felt inevitable.

 

It probably worked well for us that by the time we did reach the final, we were massive underdogs, so the pressure was well off. Fair point on the semi final as well, although I wasn't upset with them performances. We battered Villa and had a lot of good chances, that result was unfortunate. I think the only criticism that could have been aimed at Rodgers then was probably that the collective mentality of the players was weak.

 

Something that I hadn't considered, but that's a fair point that we definitely showed a stronger mentality to win in the FA cup run.

[CosbehFox]

45 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

You may well be right but it's very rare for football teams to spawn major trophies, plenty fall at the final hurdle or just before that and many are left to think " if only ". That's why I can't downplay Rodgers achievements, the quarter final win took great mentality and belief and I think that gave the players the final push to go and try and win it. I genuinely don't think this club really believed they could until then, especially after the semi final upset the season before.

 

See I don't think it was a lucky win in the final except for the final 10 minutes, prior to that we navigated the game vs a horrible team to play against. They had more chances than us without question but not so many that it made the triumph a surprise. The final minutes were horrible though and our substitutions were a potential disgrace.

 

To a man that day we were magnificent, the performances from Fofana and Soyuncu after seeing their leader go off injured, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas and Vardy were sensational and obviously Schmeichel, had the game of his life for us but not because he made the most saves he's ever had to but he delivered when we needed him. 

 

Rodgers led us to that, now he needs to do us again.

It wasn’t daylight robbery in the final, that’s just absurd bollocks 

[Ric Flair]

1 minute ago, filbertway said:

The thing that impressed me about the quarters was that we took advantage of their slightly weakened team and then when Cavani and  Fernandes came on, we responded well and didn't give them much of a chance to get into the game. Genuinely the best performance I recall from us this year by a country mile. Sheff utd and WBA rolled over for us, it was more a case of our quality taking them to peices. So much so that Rodgers was livid half time againt WBA when we went in 3-0 up

 

The final was a great team effort, won by a couple of players going above and beyond. I still don't know how Werner took the ball off Azpi's head when he had an open goal to put it into haha. It was then that I was convinced we'd win this, it almost felt inevitable.

 

It probably worked well for us that by the time we did reach the final, we were massive underdogs, so the pressure was well off. Fair point on the semi final as well, although I wasn't upset with them performances. We battered Villa and had a lot of good chances, that result was unfortunate. I think the only criticism that could have been aimed at Rodgers then was probably that the collective mentality of the players was weak.

 

Something that I hadn't considered, but that's a fair point that we definitely showed a stronger mentality to win in the FA cup run.

It makes this seasons shit show and the capitulation vs Spurs on the last day of the season difficult to stomach though as its completely at odds with that in the face of adversity.

 

I don't think enough is spoken about that Spurs game, it was the worst of all collapses and I think it's effe ting us still now. Even putting to one side the end of 2019/20 and then the rough run up to the cup final where we got humiliated vs Newcastle at home it's staggering we went from taking back control of the top 4 with 20-30 mins to go and then just shutting down. How is that possible after what we did in the cup final? I know we lost Fofana and already had Evans missing, it's what we're facing now come to think of it but it hurts.

[Ric Flair]

Just now, Cardiff_Fox said:

It wasn’t daylight robbery in the final, that’s just absurd bollocks 

Agreed, we played well bar the uncomfortable last 10. Prior to that we'd handled them brilliantly.

[volpeazzurro]

16 minutes ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

We win the biggest English domestic knockout trophy for the first time in our history and some want to find ways to discredit it.

I don't think anyone is trying to discredit it at all. I personally take my hat off to Rodgers for fielding strong sides all the way through and let's be honest, that hasn't always been the case with previous managers. However, different people may read the actual final itself differently. Personally, without my Leicester blue tinted glasses on, I thought that we were a little fortunate. They had little over double the shots we had, Schmeichel saved us and the Chilwell incident was very close however, it's only the shots that go in that count, we got one, they didn't. Also, it doesn't matter whether a player is offside by 6mm or 6 foot, offside is offside. 

 

All teams sometimes get the rub of the green, that day was our turn at last. Sometimes you make your own luck.

[filbertway]

1 minute ago, Ric Flair said:

It makes this seasons shit show and the capitulation vs Spurs on the last day of the season difficult to stomach though as its completely at odds with that in the face of adversity.

 

I don't think enough is spoken about that Spurs game, it was the worst of all collapses and I think it's effe ting us still now. Even putting to one side the end of 2019/20 and then the rough run up to the cup final where we got humiliated vs Newcastle at home it's staggering we went from taking back control of the top 4 with 20-30 mins to go and then just shutting down. How is that possible after what we did in the cup final? I know we lost Fofana and already had Evans missing, it's what we're facing now come to think of it but it hurts.

That spurs game was awful, a team that looked poor and had nothing to play for and we just folded like a pack of cards. The weird thing was, we weren't even under any pressure. It was a case of seeing the game out, if anyone was going to score again it should have been us, then we just completed folded in on ourselves. It was reminiscent of Palace 3-3 Liverpool for me. In absolutely no danger yet the team just seemed to fold.

[Ric Flair]

Just now, filbertway said:

That spurs game was awful, a team that looked poor and had nothing to play for and we just folded like a pack of cards. The weird thing was, we weren't even under any pressure. It was a case of seeing the game out, if anyone was going to score again it should have been us, then we just completed folded in on ourselves. It was reminiscent of Palace 3-3 Liverpool for me. In absolutely no danger yet the team just seemed to fold.

Iheanacho missed a great chance not long after we went 2-1 up and it still bothers me now. 

[filbertway]

6 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Agreed, we played well bar the uncomfortable last 10. Prior to that we'd handled them brilliantly.

I think it's the fact they had 4 (3 minus the Chillwell offside) incredibly good chances and we didn't really have any. We just smashed in a 25 yarder out of nothing. We were playing a much better team coached by a genuinely world class manager though, so there's no shame in winning that way. The rest of the game we kept them fairly at arms length.

 

I just watched the highlights back and I still expect Mounts shot to find the net haha, Schmeichel must have titanium wrists.

[filbertway]

3 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Iheanacho missed a great chance not long after we went 2-1 up and it still bothers me now. 

I don't remember this one and can't see it on any highlights, I must have blanked it out of my mind

 

[CosbehFox]

15 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Agreed, we played well bar the uncomfortable last 10. Prior to that we'd handled them brilliantly.

Chelsea had and still do have an Achilles heel when it comes to the deep block. Part of the reasoning getting Lukaku in. 

 

Using statistics such as they having more shots is incorrect as it will always been lob-sided to the team which were losing at a point of the game. Vardy twice had chances in the first half where he headed wide and Rudiger blocked it. 

 

Hardly daylight robbery - I believe the xG scores were something like 1.8 to 1 in Chelsea's favour. Obviously what xG and statistics fail to do is given the context of when those moments occur. It's easier for teams to score high in xG, passes, shots when they are behind 

Edited 7 October 2021 by Cardiff_Fox

[Ric Flair]

49 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Chelsea had and still do have an Achilles heel when it comes to the deep block. Part of the reasoning getting Lukaku in. 

 

Using statistics such as they having more shots is incorrect as it will always been lob-sided to the team which were losing at a point of the game. Vardy twice had chances in the first half where he headed wide and Rudiger blocked it. 

 

Hardly daylight robbery - I believe the xG scores were something like 1.8 to 1 in Chelsea's favour. Obviously what xG and statistics fail to do is given the context of when those moments occur. It's easier for teams to score high in xG, passes, shots when they are behind 

Wish we could relive the day again, unbelievable.

[CosbehFox]

1 minute ago, Ric Flair said:

Wish we could relive the day again, unbelievable.

Same boss but then again I wish I was in Warsaw now at the exact time from last week. I think I could hear the army chopper whipping up around about now 

[Hollyfox]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

It makes this seasons shit show and the capitulation vs Spurs on the last day of the season difficult to stomach though as its completely at odds with that in the face of adversity.

 

I don't think enough is spoken about that Spurs game, it was the worst of all collapses and I think it's effe ting us still now. Even putting to one side the end of 2019/20 and then the rough run up to the cup final where we got humiliated vs Newcastle at home it's staggering we went from taking back control of the top 4 with 20-30 mins to go and then just shutting down. How is that possible after what we did in the cup final? I know we lost Fofana and already had Evans missing, it's what we're facing now come to think of it but it hurts.

There were so many things that went against us in that run in tbh

 

The list would be pretty long, although quite a few were of our own doing. 

 

Wilfred going in defence v Spurs is probably the one I'm still most pi&£Ed off about 

[turlo]

1 hour ago, filbertway said:

That spurs game was awful, a team that looked poor and had nothing to play for and we just folded like a pack of cards. The weird thing was, we weren't even under any pressure. It was a case of seeing the game out, if anyone was going to score again it should have been us, then we just completed folded in on ourselves. It was reminiscent of Palace 3-3 Liverpool for me. In absolutely no danger yet the team just seemed to fold.

The warning signs were there  25 mins onwards when Brendan put Mendy in a midfield 2 with Youri after Fofana got injured. They were cutting through our midfield with ease from that point but were toothless in the final third until they brought Bale & Moura on with 20 to go. While we had injuries that one was definitely on Brendan with some w**k substitutions in that game, basically giving up midfield control to Spurs for 75% of the game. 

[Clever Fox]

19 hours ago, deep blue said:

"Then with players returning we should be ok".

 

But there's no guarantee that JJ will be back up to speed before Xmas, nor Little Wes before the end of the season, nor any certainty about Evans' fitness at all.  So how long do we have to wait for this magical moment before performances begin to pick up?

They may lack match sharpness but these are good players who will make mostly the right decisions. I'd be confident that things will pick up quickly when we get a few back .

Unfortunately we are where we are, so we dig in and turn things around, hopefully quickly.

 

[Nalis]

Would Newcastle come in for Brendan? Guess they might set their sights higher which I'd be OK with

[oxtonfox]

Strange that we win the league for the first time and sack the manager in the following season; then we win the FA Cup for the first time and we’re contemplating getting rid of the manager in the next season. 

Let’s at least give the guy a season of below expectations provided we’re not getting relegated. 

[CosbehFox]

Looks we might get our answer sooner rather than later according to a well informed Newcastle journalist who writes for the Mail 

[Happy Fox]

5 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Looks we might get our answer sooner rather than later according to a well informed Newcastle journalist who writes for the Mail 

What have they said? 

[CosbehFox]

1 minute ago, Happy Fox said:

What have they said? 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10070427/Newcastle-Amanda-Staveley-outlines-bold-vision-Tyneside-club-following-305m-takeover.html
 

Named target for the new owners. Appears Bruce is pretty much straight out 

[Happy Fox]

1 minute ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10070427/Newcastle-Amanda-Staveley-outlines-bold-vision-Tyneside-club-following-305m-takeover.html
 

Named target for the new owners. Appears Bruce is pretty much straight out 

8m to pay off Bruce and 30 plus million to bring in Rodgers plus his salary that’s quite a lot of money but obviously they have money. You would think that Conte would be there number one choice.

 

For us it’s the not the best timing.