*Official* English Football Season 2016-17

[Cabinet96]

Dele Alli costing his team in Europe again just like last summer. Awful player.

 

[fredfertang]

Although what else can you expect from the club that poached that tubby little jock McGhee

 

[grecian]

Dele Alli costing his team in Europe against just like last summer. Awful player.

You're obviously being weird, but was a diabolical challenge.

 

[sledger]

They're still above the relegation places, they're still in the Champions League, nah this is silly. He's not done great this season, but he performed a miracle last year. Balance it up in the ledger, think it comes down on Claudio's side.

It is an utterly appalling, perhaps even disgraceful decision. Farcical.

Yeah but the thing is they have been declining alarmingly quickly, with no signs that the decline will be arrested any time soon. If there's something fundamental amiss (e.g. the dressing room has been lost) then pulling the trigger is understandable.

I'm not even saying I agree with the decision. I feel really bad about it because I love Ranieri, and I think the league on the whole will be poorer without him. But even though I don't necessarily agree with the decision, it's not one that strikes me as manifestly unreasonable. I guess time will tell if it's the right one.

 

[grecian]

Yeah but the thing is they have been declining alarmingly quickly, with no signs that the decline will be arrested any time soon. If there's something fundamental amiss (e.g. the dressing room has been lost) then pulling the trigger is understandable.

I'm not even saying I agree with the decision. I feel really bad about it because I love Ranieri, and I think the league on the whole will be poorer without him. But even though I don't necessarily agree with the decision, it's not one that strikes me as manifestly unreasonable. I guess time will tell if it's the right one.

Well, clearly I disagree, there's no transfers a new bloke can do, it's not that appealing a job either really. I mean some may say they're at their natural level, with an achievement behind them they're not likely to do again.

There's no logic behind this, just panic IMHO.

 

[sledger]

Well, clearly I disagree, there's no transfers a new bloke can do, it's not that appealing a job either really. I mean some may say they're at their natural level, with an achievement behind them they're not likely to do again.

There's no logic behind this, just panic IMHO.

Well, the logic would probably be that they have been really really bad. Last year was an over-achievement, one might say, but there's no way a team that did as well as them last year should be playing as horribly as they are this year.

 

[Niall]

Well, the logic would probably be that they have been really really bad. Last year was an over-achievement, one might say, but there's no way a team that did as well as them last year should be playing as horribly as they are this year.

The players have downed tools this season, I don't blame Claudio entirely for that, a Summer of expensive gifts and the media fawning over them lead to complacency, but the problem is in football when that happens the manager has to to take some responsibility for failing to motivate them. Its the nature of the beast, managers pay the price for players shortcoming sadly.

Cruel game.

 

[GIMH]

I'm with Grecian on this

 

[sledger]

The players have downed tools this season, I don't blame Claudio entirely for that, a Summer of expensive gifts and the media fawning over them lead to complacency, but the problem is in football when that happens the manager has to to take some responsibility for failing to motivate them. Its the nature of the beast, managers pay the price for players shortcoming sadly.

Cruel game.

Yeah, when things go belly up in the manner they have, the only real outs are either sack the manager or sack all of the players. Not really a realistic dichotomy for any Premiership team.

 

[Uppercut]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aapaYAbQnig

 

[sledger]

I'm with Grecian on this

A question for both of you then. How much is your disagreement with the decision down to a romantic image of football clubs, loyalty, and football in general which has arguably become completely disconnected from the practical realities of what the game has become?

To me, I think we are all kidding ourselves if we don't recognise that football clubs are basically just multi-million pound businesses. I guess they have almost always been to some extent, but this is now much more true than at any other point in history. How many multi-million businesses would keep on a senior figure who is responsible for some great unprecedented successes one year but totally tanks it the next? Some perhaps, but not many I would wager.

 

[sledger]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aapaYAbQnig

 

[Howe_zat]

Kind of thing tht winds even me up. Makes it look like sacking the manager is just a part of the football industry as much as anything else.

Leicester are in a similar or slightly better position than they were when Ranieri took over, except in the interim they, y'know, won the ****ing league.

 

[sledger]

Kind of thing tht winds even me up. Makes it look like sacking the manager is just a part of the football industry as much as anything else.

Leicester are in a similar or slightly better position than they were when Ranieri took over, except in the interim they, y'know, won the ****ing league.

But it is. I think that's kind of the point. Don't hate the players, hate the game etc.

 

[grecian]

A question for both of you then. How much is your disagreement with the decision down to a romantic image of football clubs, loyalty, and football in general which has arguably become completely disconnected from the practical realities of what the game has become?

To me, I think we are all kidding ourselves if we don't recognise that football clubs are basically just multi-million pound businesses. I guess they have almost always been to some extent, but this is now much more true than at any other point in history. How many multi-million businesses would keep on a senior figure who is responsible for some great unprecedented successes one year but totally tanks it the next? Some perhaps, but not many I would wager.

I've said I don't think it makes any sense, because I still feel they can get out of it. There are some teribad teams down there. Talking of being businesses, Ranieri helped make the club more millions then they could possibly have imagined. If you want to make a business comparison, it's like sacking a CO because ge's not having the best year, after making the company fifty times what was expected, in the year, before. I disagree and think most businesses would keep them on.

I just don't think the decision holds any water at all.

 

[GIMH]

A question for both of you then. How much is your disagreement with the decision down to a romantic image of football clubs, loyalty, and football in general which has arguably become completely disconnected from the practical realities of what the game has become?

To me, I think we are all kidding ourselves if we don't recognise that football clubs are basically just multi-million pound businesses. I guess they have almost always been to some extent, but this is now much more true than at any other point in history. How many multi-million businesses would keep on a senior figure who is responsible for some great unprecedented successes one year but totally tanks it the next? Some perhaps, but not many I would wager.

Of course it's worth a lot of money but the point of football clubs isn't (or shouldn't be) to make money. I mean I'm not talking economic theory here, not like grecian and I are aligned there. Simply, a football club is more than its balance sheet.

Take the romanticism away from it all, pretty sure Pearson had Leicester lower in the table than they are now two years ago without the axe falling. If Ranieri had finished 17th last season I imagine it would have been job done. Victim of his own success and that is nought but madness.

I can't speak for Leicester fans but as a supporter of a small club who has won the square root of **** all over the years. If we had a season like Leicester had last year I'm not sure I'd ever want that manager sacked, whatever happened. I mean when John King was sacked we were hurtling down the Div 1 table and I was still upset about it. But if it was the end of the season and they'd gone down young couldn't really argue. Instead it's February, they aren't in the relegation zone and they are still in the champions league.

But taking your initial business comparison. What we've seen with Leicester this season is basically just regression towards the mean. If sales spiked unexpectedly and then returned to normal, you would probably not expect to be fired for it, would you?

 

[sledger]

I've said I don't think it makes any sense, because I still feel they can get out of it. There are some teribad teams down there. Talking of being businesses, Ranieri helped make the club more millions then they could possibly have imagined. If you want to make a business comparison, it's like sacking a CO because ge's not having the best year, after making the company fifty times what was expected, in the year, before. I disagree and think most businesses would keep them on.

I just don't think the decision holds any water at all.

Yeah but I think the operative word here is "can". They're not showing any signs that they will. In fact all signs point towards the opposite.

And I think you're understating things when you suggest they're "not having the best year". They have been really poor.

 

[grecian]

Yeah but I think the operative word here is "can". They're not showing any signs that they will. In fact all signs point towards the opposite.

And I think you're understating things when you suggest they're "not having the best year". They have been really poor.

Not comparative to their history they're not, which is the crux of all this, they ain't Man U.

 

[sledger]

Of course it's worth a lot of money but the point of football clubs isn't (or shouldn't be) to make money. I mean I'm not talking economic theory here, not like grecian and I are aligned there. Simply, a football club is more than its balance sheet.

Take the romanticism away from it all, pretty sure Pearson had Leicester lower in the table than they are now two years ago without the axe falling. If Ranieri had finished 17th last season I imagine it would have been job done. Victim of his own success and that is nought but madness.

I can't speak for Leicester fans but as a supporter of a small club who has won the square root of **** all over the years. If we had a season like Leicester had last year I'm not sure I'd ever want that manager sacked, whatever happened. I mean when John King was sacked we were hurtling down the Div 1 table and I was still upset about it. But if it was the end of the season and they'd gone down young couldn't really argue. Instead it's February, they aren't in the relegation zone and they are still in the champions league.

But taking your initial business comparison. What we've seen with Leicester this season is basically just regression towards the mean. If sales spiked unexpectedly and then returned to normal, you would probably not expect to be fired for it, would you?

The thing is, to the people calling the shots, I'm not convinced that it is about more than the balance sheet. Everything is absolutely dripping in money these days. It really does seem to me that people are couching this issue in terms of a romantic vision which has just become totally outmoded. Football clubs at the top end of things are basically just brands. They might not be to the fans perhaps, but when you stop and think about the sheer volume of money involved in nearly everything they do I really find it hard to think otherwise.

Again, I see what you say about him being a victim of his own success, and perhaps you are right, had he finished 17th last season it would have been fine. Perhaps if he had looked like he would guide Leicester to 17th this season it would have been fine also. But at the moment it really doesn't look like that would have happened. They are in total free-fall.

In a similar vein, I'm not actually convinced this is a return to the mean. As I said earlier, there is no way a team that achieved so highly last season should have plummeted so drastically this time around. It looks like the wheels have come off rather than a blip.

 

[sledger]

Not comparative to their history they're not, which is the crux of all this, they ain't Man U.

Comparative to their recent history they have been poor. As I say, there is no way a team that is obviously so capable should have played so poorly. This last month or so they have been weak by any standard.