The English Football Thread

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[NikkiCFC 8,300]

So what's left for Frank? Tbh I never expected any PL team to approach him. 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

9 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

So what's left for Frank? Tbh I never expected any PL team to approach him. 

He should be back managing in championship.

[chippy 342]

It terms of him ever getting a top job again, it's a long road back for Frank now.  His dealing with Rudi, shows he's got a fair bit to learn on the man management side of things.

JT is going about learning his trade in the right way and this should stand him in good stead for when he steps into management.

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Milan 17,955]

I am eagerly awaiting Paul Merson and Phil Thompson's rant over the new Wolves coach.

cc @Jas

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Vesper 30,119]

1 hour ago, Blues Forever said:

 

that sucks, I was hoping he would get hog tied up at Palace, a wreck of a club

[Blues Forever 1,232]

Nuno dodged a bullet there.

[OneMoSalah 8,885]

David Wagner steals another job somehow. West Brom fans better be excited to see them run a lot trying to gegenpress and play piss poor with the ball just like his team did at Huddersfield. 

Whoever takes the Palace job is effectively doomed regardless. Bar Eze, Zaha, Guita, Milivojevic, and a handful of others there isnt a great deal to work with.

[Vesper 30,119]

The managerial merry-go-round is spinning so hard and fast right now    ‘Look at this tea-timely email, they think my name is pronounced Lager. Still, I guess it’s better than Hatchet Man (the column that goes in hardest).’ Photograph: Jack Thomas/Wolves/Getty Images Scott Murray LAGE TOP The managerial succession at Wolverhampton Wanderers was dealt with in a very calm and measured fashion. Nuno Espírito Santo serenely announced his decision to move on. A backroom administrator gently scratched the nib of a fountain pen across a sheet of quality bond paper, carefully folding the request for a work permit for Bruno Lage then sealing it with wax. The request was delivered by hand to Her Majesty’s Government who issued the required permit, and now Mr Lage has been announced as the new manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers. The entire process was soundtracked by an instrumental version of The Girl From Ipanema, quietly piped through the Molineux PA system at volume setting three. Bruno Lage wants to do ‘great things’ at Wolves after being appointed manager Read more Compare and contrast to Goodison Park, where Napalm Death is screaming out of the speakers, which have all been turned up to 11. The chair in the manager’s office is spinning and all the curtains are flapping, a result of Carlo Ancelotti doing one at great speed the other week. Wow, look at that slightly out-of-condition $exagenarian go! Goodison is a study in tumult, everyone racing around pretending to know what’s going on and that there’s a coherent plan. Antonio Conte and Rafa Benítez having been briefly considered, the new favourite for the vacant managerial position is none other than Nuno Espírito Santo, who has just ended talks with Crystal Palace, and, well, he’s on the market so why not, it’s not as if we know what’s going on or there’s a coherent plan. Speaking of coherent plans, Tottenham Hotspur are still looking for someone to build on the promise of the Keith Burkinshaw era. That 37-year search may come to an end after the Euros, with news that former Everton boss Bobby M is now in the frame. He’d certainly be a good spiritual fit, on account of his commitment to progressive football, and the fact Belgium are The Fiver’s favourites to spectacularly underachieve this summer. Let’s hope Spurs, and indeed Everton, turn these rumours into hard fact soon, because quite frankly the desperation is unedifying. Also, the managerial merry-go-round is spinning so hard and so fast right now, we can barely, as this article amply illustrates, hear ourselves think. QUOTE OF THE DAY “So if you want me to be proactive now you can ask me: ‘How many trophies have you won in your career?’ And I’ll tell you 25 and a half. The half is the final that I didn’t play with Tottenham” – renowned winner of trophies José Mourinho redraws the lines of what constitutes success.  José Mourinho: riding his way to half-glories. Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images RECOMMENDED LISTENING Football Weekly’s Euro Not 2020 preview special is still here. RECOMMENDED BOOKING Speaking of which, a few tickets are still available for Football Weekly Live’s EN 2020 preview special on 10 June. FIVER LETTERS “I was listening to a bit on TalkSport about something or other to do with Luton Town. As always, the gushing advocate talked about the fantastic, amazing set of fans. Are there any other kind? Every club is apparently blessed with these fantastic, amazing fans. Just once I’d like to hear about a fairly crappy set of indifferent fans, who blow hot and cold dependent of the direction of a variable wind. Anyone know of any?” – Marten Allen. “To add to Phil Smith’s tenuous stretching of the new Euro pot (Fiver letters passim), may I venture to wonder if the competing teams will be drawn in ‘pots’? In other words, Tintin Tin-Pot pot pots?” – Rod de Lisle. “Surely new commercial partners will be sought for the competition – providing opportunities for companies so far underrepresented in football sponsorship eg dog food, and perhaps a well-known UK meal substitute (possible the same company), which would give us the Rin Tin Tin Tintin Tin-pot Pot-Noodle Pot” – Steve Malone. “It seems the only culture The Fiver knows is to be found in yoghurts at Big Website’s canteen. Contrarily to the assertion contained in Phil’s missive, Tintin is not a detective but a journalist! Shame on you!” – Roland Dehousse (and no other disgruntled Belgians). Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Steve Malone. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS The six naughty €nglish $uper £eague rebels have agreed a settlement with the Premier League that will see them pay an expected £20m between them to grassroots causes. That’s really going to sting, eh? Uefa’s ticketing app triumphantly appears to let fans resell tickets on multiple occasions, opening the door to touting and possible crowd problems at Euro Not 2020. Harry Maguire’s ankle is still too knacked for him to take part in England training sessions. Meanwhile, fans attending the opening game against Croatia will be able to use a “vaccine passport” for the first time, Uefa suits have confirmed. Team GB will face Zambia in a Big Sports Day warm-up match in Stoke that 7,000 fans will be allowed to attend. “I’m delighted that we have secured a match on home soil which allows fans to watch us play before we depart for Tokyo,” cheered manager Hege Riise.  Team GB pose in front of a Japanese-style pagoda in, um, Birmingham. Photograph: Naomi Baker/Getty Images for British Olympic Association Joey Barton’s trial over accusations he assaulted Daniel Stendel has been put back to November after video-link translation shenanigans. And Lazio have all but confirmed the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as their new boss by posting a ciggie emoji on Social Media Disgrace Twitter. Won’t somebody think of the children! STILL WANT MORE? Speaking of which … we’ve got a competition for younger readers of The Fiver. Barney Ronay offers his Euro Not 2020 scene-setter, at which football can still save the game from itself amid the greed and corporate circus Steve Clarke gets his exclusive chat on with Ewan Murray about his hopes for the Euros, escapades watching Scotland as a boy and shutting out the noise of the England rivalry.  Strong background. Photograph: Gonzalo Arroyo/Uefa/Getty Images Get yer latest EN 2020 team guides: today, Spain and Sweden. Get yer latest EN 2020 player profiles: today, Rodri and Kristoffer Olsson. Fans from all 24 EN 2020 teams preview the tournament. Andy Brassell on how Portugal became a European superpower. This week’s Knowledge runs the rule over teams bouncing back from relegation to win Big Cups and Vases, quickfire red cards and more. Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! THE KIND OF DIVING WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND

[OneMoSalah 8,885]

Paulo Fonseca in advanced talks with Spurs. Jesus he must of been what their 5th choice… Likes of Naglesmann, ten Hag, Pochettino and Conte all wanted/approached before him.

Hope their managerial search keeps going for a few weeks yet. And the longer it does go on, the even more likely that Kane will leave them I think. Conte or Pochettino were probably the only 2 managers on that list who could encourage him to stay or at least have a higher chance. 

Even that big lump Mido that used to play for Spurs in 2004-7 is tweeting criticising Daniel Levy questioning him and saying he’s more interested in making money than bringing Spurs on another level. 🤣

 

[Jase 43,479]

17 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

Paulo Fonseca in advanced talks with Spurs. Jesus he must of been what their 5th choice… Likes of Naglesmann, ten Hag, Pochettino and Conte all wanted/approached before him.

Hope their managerial search keeps going for a few weeks yet. And the longer it does go on, the even more likely that Kane will leave them I think. Conte or Pochettino were probably the only 2 managers on that list who could encourage him to stay or at least have a higher chance. 

Even that big lump Mido that used to play for Spurs in 2004-7 is tweeting criticising Daniel Levy questioning him and saying he’s more interested in making money than bringing Spurs on another level. 🤣

Apparently Fonseca is the main choice of their new DoF Paratici.

But overall, Levy has been one confused man in all of this. He said last month that he wanted a manager that plays attacking/entertaining football and uses players from the academy but then suddenly tried to get Conte, even though we all knew that it will never happen for obvious reasons. At least the other names sort of fit into that bill but whoever takes that job is gonna have a tough job on their hands.