**Official** English Football Season 2023/24

[sledger]

By the early 2000s they had the whole '5 trophies' season as well.

Of course United have actually won trophies in this era but they now seem to exist purely for people on podcasts to talk about how not to run a football club.

Haha yes it's great how them being bad is no longer the meme, it's people complaining about them that's the meme. Roy Keane and Gary Neville in particular just seem to exist purely to give "I didn't think it could get any worse, but it has" type comments on an almost weekly basis.

 

[sledger]

The constant moaning about Martial another favourite of mine actually. It's not even that the criticism is necessarily unwarranted, it's just really funny to see the same people get bent out of shape about him again and again, and for him to keep reappearing every now and again only for the same people to get more and more upset. It's almost like the situation has become a pastiche of itself.

 

[duffer]

Arsenal fans at Anfield during the Houllier era chanting "Liverpool hooooofff the ball, Arsenal paaaasssss the ball" was pretty hilarious to hear through my TV whilst on the other side of the world.

 

[Molehill]

By the early 2000s they had the whole '5 trophies' season as well.

Of course United have actually won trophies in this era but they now seem to exist purely for people on podcasts to talk about how not to run a football club.

They've got some pretty big competition on this front from Chelsea at the moment.

I think they're worse than Liverpool 90's. Liverpool never paid huge transfer fees on poor players. Yes, they bought some duds, but not on this scale.

What I find funny is how the plastic Scousers who started supporting them in the 80's have found their voices again. Those Plastic Mancs from the 90's will have to bare it for a while (****ing hate them all).

 

[Pothas]

The constant moaning about Martial another favourite of mine actually. It's not even that the criticism is necessarily unwarranted, it's just really funny to see the same people get bent out of shape about him again and again, and for him to keep reappearing every now and again only for the same people to get more and more upset. It's almost like the situation has become a pastiche of itself.

There have been so many like this as well. Fred the other classic.

The endless debate about Fernandes and his attitude has nicely filled the Pogba void as well.

 

[Uppercut]

I also feel like Liverpool were never this bad. They were more competitive in one off games, but they also had some seasons where they finished in mid table. Maybe they were about as shambolic and the nature of the game has changed. Top teams are more dominant and rich teams rarely fall below 6th.

 

[Pothas]

I still can't quite believe they finished 6th in the Rangnick season.

 

[Molehill]

I also feel like Liverpool were never this bad. They were more competitive in one off games, but they also had some seasons where they finished in mid table. Maybe they were about as shambolic and the nature of the game has changed. Top teams are more dominant and rich teams rarely fall below 6th.

Another key aspect is being able to stick with one manager for a long period. The 90's/00's had Fergie/Wenger, now we have Pep/Klopp. I suspect Arsenal are starting to get there with Arteta and must stick with him. If you continuously change managers, it's impossible to build a period of sustained dominance. Chelsea kind of got away with it, but the budget and Mourinho were well suited, they're finding out about the truth now.

 

[GIMH]

Another key aspect is being able to stick with one manager for a long period. The 90's/00's had Fergie/Wenger, now we have Pep/Klopp. I suspect Arsenal are starting to get there with Arteta and must stick with him. If you continuously change managers, it's impossible to build a period of sustained dominance. Chelsea kind of got away with it, but the budget and Mourinho were well suited, they're finding out about the truth now.

Liverpool's golden era was under three managers tbf

 

[Molehill]

Liverpool's golden era was under three managers tbf

Yeah, but there was no real change to the system. Each successor was promoted from within....and Shankley/Paisley covers about a 25 year period anyway.

 

[sledger]

Yeah I mean consistency in managers is obviously preferable, but consistency for the sake of it/for the sake of maintaining the status quo isn't any better than chopping and changing imo.

 

[Uppercut]

It's extremely rare for clubs to wrongly sack a manager IMO. I can think of a few examples like Spurs sacking Poch. But most sackings should have happened months or years earlier.

 

[sledger]

Yeah I think this is it. Whilst a merry-go-round of managers isn't exactly desirable, I don't think anyone could say any of the managerial sackings at Utd post-Fergie were the wrong call. The wrong appointment(s) sure, but essentially all of the appointments made over the last ten years have been objective failures. Sticking with any of them would have been extremely dubious to say the least.

 

[Molehill]

It's extremely rare for clubs to wrongly sack a manager IMO. I can think of a few examples like Spurs sacking Poch. But most sackings should have happened months or years earlier.

Worth remembering that Fergie would undoubtedly have been sacked with the way the current merry go rounds work.

 

[Uppercut]

Worth remembering that Fergie would undoubtedly have been sacked with the way the current merry go rounds work.

Yeah but the fact that you’ve had to go back 33 years for an example proves my point.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah there are plenty that have had poor starts that turn out to be excellent but not many that have prolonged periods of being bad that turn it around.

Arteta might be seen as one? I can't remember how close he was to being sacked.

 

[Pothas]

There were loads of terrible sackings last year but most of them were related to who the replacement was.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah there are plenty that have had poor starts that turn out to be excellent but not many that have prolonged periods of being bad that turn it around.

Arteta might be seem as one? I can't remember if he actually how close he was to being sacked.

A lot of online Arsenal fans wanted Arteta out at a couple of particularly low points, but I never got the impression the club were considering it, or that the dressing room had turned against him. The results were poor but the usual ‘this really isn’t working’ warning signs weren’t there.

Leeds firing Bielsa is another good example. I didn’t think they should’ve fired Marsch either but that’s more controversial.

 

[sledger]

Yeah the online vitriol was certainly there for Arteta, but I don't think this was every seriously on the cards, and I don't actually remember any serious person actually advocating for him to get the boot. It was a rough period but that's what happens when you inherit a squad full of regressing and/or crap players I guess. It's telling that more or less none of the players who started in the 2020 FA cup final were still at the club at the start of this season.

 

[Socerer 01]

It's extremely rare for clubs to wrongly sack a manager IMO. I can think of a few examples like Spurs sacking Poch. But most sackings should have happened months or years earlier.

nah Spurs were justified in sacking Poch, their league form was dire for that entire year and was masked by the champions league final they ****ed up by trying to chase gloryhound managers instead of sticking with what worked for them for so long

Chelsea under Roman like Real Madrid had competent people in important roles throughout the club and a strong squad filled with character that helped them get through the managerial merry go round, Chelsea still could have been so much better if they just stuck with Ancelotti imo