[jon boy]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

It was a fantastic game. I really thought Arsenal would pull it off but they just seemed to run out of steam towards the end - although Van Persie nearly nicked it at the end.

Anyone watch the QPR documentrary on the BBC over the weekend? Genuinely depressing account of how money, and the people who chase it, are ruining English football. If you can, catch it on the iPlayer; easily the best documentary about the current game that I've seen.

And who will replace AVB in the summer? Supposedly there's a shortlist drawn up of the main candidates.

Jose Mourinho - Favourite with the bookies but the rumour is that he's burnt too many bridges there to ever go back.

Pep Guadiola - Can't see it. He'll stay at Barcelona for at least another season

Rafa Benitez - The most likely although I don't think the Chelsea fans want him.

Fabio Capello - A better choice than his England experience suggests. Brilliant club manager but would he put up with Abramovich's meddling?

David Moyes - He'd be a great move but again, would he put up with Abramovich and would the Chelsea board and the fans see him as too unambitious an apointment.

Gus Hiddink - Abramovich wants him but he's making too much money already in Russia.

Personally I think it'll be Benitez

i saw a bit of that qpr doc and ashamed as it made me feel, it actually made me think ken bates was not as bad. but then i realized he's just in it for the money too.

[SonicBebs]

It'll be Benitez or maybe Erikson.
There's no way the fans would want Benitez but i think he's more likely.

I'm supprised how good Juan Matta is. When he joine di thought he'd be a let down. Like a Malouda or even Reira when he went to Liverpool, but every time i've seen him he looks incredible. Very dangerous whenever he gets the ball.


I'm going for Redknap to England. Mourinhio or Gaurdiola to Spurs. Benitez to Chelsea.

although England may end up with Roy Hodgson

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by blunderbuss

More important to me is which players will get cleared out. First and foremost, and I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, we need to get shot of JT, his ego is seriously damaging to the club and he's going to be an obstacle to the success of any manager who comes in unless they're prepared to suck his dick each day before training. *

(Used the word and three times in one sentence, haven't done that since the age of 8, I'm sure)

And Lampard has been past his best for some years now - if someone is willing to pay megabucks for him, it's time to take the money and run.

I'm sure there are loads of others who I scratched my head when they were signed and they've not done anything to exceed my expectations, but Stamford Bridge is more soap opera than football club these days, and I've partly lost track of who a lot of the incidental characters are.




* I just read the previous page of the thread and saw that I'm basically repeating what Demonrail's already said. I can't beleive I'm agreeing with a West Ham fan on football matters!

I agree. There's a lot of pundits saying AVB was too quick in trying to get players out. I don't think that was the problem. He just seemed to go about it really badly. Whoever follows in the summer is only gonna face the same problem of what to do with Terry, Cole, Lampard and Drogba (and, albeit for very different reasons, Torres). The problem is that the relatively short term appointments after Mourinho have meant that nobody's been able to really rebuild the side. I do ultimately think that AVB was the wrong choice to begin with and can understand his sacking but any future appointment is gonna have to be assured that they'll be given the time and resources necessary to move the club on.

[SonicBebs]

barca were pretty good last night and Messi didn't even look like he was trying

but to be fair i think i could have scored 5 against that Leverkusen defense

[demonrail666]

It's maybe all just newspaper talk but Capello to Spurs in 'job swap' with Redknapp?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-Redknapp.html

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

It's maybe all just newspaper talk but Capello to Spurs in 'job swap' with Redknapp?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-Redknapp.html

I hope this happens, Redknapp is obviously gonna go so he's the best replacement out there bar Mourinho (Who would make us alot less fun to watch)

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by the ikara cult

Redknapp is obviously gonna go

It looks like it but I wish he and the FA would make some announcement. The fans want Redknapp as, by all accounts, do the England players and the FA. But he's now saying he's not sure that he wants the transition from club to international football, "When you have a club, you are looking for a striker and you take them. When you're coach, you must make do with the players you have in your country. If you do not have a good scorer, you have none. And you almost never see the players. Two days every two months: it is very difficult." A typical case of him playing the media, I'm sure, but all this uncertainty can't be doing Spurs any favours.

[jon boy]

redknapp says the england managers job is an older mans job.

 

[the ikara cult]

Chelsea Napoli tonight is gonna be dynamite. I reckon Englands Brave John Terry (tm) and co will come through, Napoli's defence looked so porous last time and they just didnt punish it.

[SonicBebs]

what a match! Well played Chelsea, who knew they had that kind of spirit?

[demonrail666]

Yeah, great match. I have to admit I was surprised Chelsea got through but it does suggest that either AVB was stifling any team spirit or the team itself was stifling it in order to get him out (or Di Matteo is a managerial genius - which I think we can safely say he isn't). The question now is whether this makes it harder to get rid of the old guard, given the big scorers were largely those destined for the exit door.

[the ikara cult]

A great win for the new manager, Roberto Di-Matteo is quoted as saying

[demonrail666]

Spurs v Bolton game abandoned after Muamba collapsed with what looks like a heart attack. Horrible.

[jon boy]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Spurs v Bolton game abandoned after Muamba collapsed with what looks like a heart attack. Horrible.

looks pretty bad, i hear it was a fit of some kind but time will tell.

[the ikara cult]

Yeah, the times things like that have happened before the people havent pulled through. Hate to say it, but it looks like we're just waiting to hear the inevitable. I was watching on the telly and he was down on his front, people were trying to turn him over, and pretty soon it was something v serious.

 

[the ikara cult]

Still dont know anything, listening to the radio hoping for good news for him. Im not just saying this because of whats happened, but i really do think he's a good player. One of those who doesnt neccessarily burst onto the scene straight away but was gradually growing to become a better player, 23 years old, and like most of the Bolton team was having a good game.

I think there was about a minute between his collapse and the medics administering CPR, and apparently a cardiologist in the crowd ran on as well. If he was ever going to survive what happened to him tonight, he's been given every chance by the doctors and staff, and i really hope its enough.

[the ikara cult]

Sky reporting that he's in a stable condition.

So, so, pleased that my post above appears to have been proved wrong as it stands.

Having one of these tonight for the medical staff of both teams, St Johns Ambulance, the Heart specialist, the NHS, and the match officials and players who were on it like a flash.

 

So glad that White Hart Lane hasnt become the site of a death tonight.

[the ikara cult]

BBC are reporting he is critically ill. The fact he made it to the hospital gives us hope at least. I know im posting alot about this but i was watching it live and it was very upsetting. Not much else to add i guess.

[demonrail666]

When he was described as 'stable' last night I thought he might pull through but as it stands, with him on the critical list, even if he survives, I think he may have sustained some brain damage due to oxygen being cut off from his brain for such a long time. So I think his career will be over even if he survives. A real tragedy.

[SonicBebs]

shocking stuff
hope he pulls through