Good morning and welcome to 48 hours of bridging the gap between nothing happening and a game of football breaking out against Swansea City on Sunday at o’clock.
Terry Venables has obliged his old mate and engineered a, ‘where’s that letter from the FA?’ piece in The Sun.
“I don’t see any benefit in someone coming in at the last moment with a rah-rah-rah. He has to get to know those players.”
…said Tel whilst having being fitted for some oscelot lined slippers. Proof that this is a put up job if for an nanosecond it was thought otherwise. The whole point of Arry taking the post is that he knows the players already and he’s the greatest communicator known to man.
But today’s award for the tale that smells worse than an abandoned pet shop in high summer also goes to the old Current Bun and their, ‘City’s Sights On Modric’ article.Where Roberto Mancini is quoted as saying,
“Luka Modric is an outstanding footballer, a great player. He is definitely one of the best in the Premier League.
But it is by no means easy to get him because he plays for a big club, Tottenham. It is unlikely that they would let him leave.”
I’m struggling to see where any sights were being set there. Sounds more like he was asked about the player and gave a reasonable answer that’s been rather desperately twisted.
And so to the the link with Swansea supremo, Brendan Rodgers. I get that Arry is itching to quit and I get that Rodgers has done a cracking job at Swansea, but quiet how The Sun have ignored bookmaker prices and placed the 5th ranking man first is anyone’s guess.
Rodgers has had a terrific run with the Swans, but is he so short sighted as to bin all that and take a punt with a group of new players and moreover put his career beneath a constant microscope? I’ve only seen him a handful of times on telly, Goals on Sunday and such but he doesn’t come across as insane.
If you want a real tip, I say George Galloway has come from out of nowhere to being a plausible front runner to succeed Citizen Redschnapps. While it will be a tough act to replace Arry, Gorgeous George would certainly tick the voracious appetite for media relations box …and given the botch job he made of Bethnal Green he won’t be in office for long …but could he match the unsparing altruism of our Arry?
Regarding Rodgers, I’ve made this point before, but every almost every season some newcomer boss gets people excited because they play decently and get a few results. Some people get the notion this boss is a football mastermind and if he were to take over a “big club” he would be all conquering. You know, because he’s a genius; he just lacks resources.
Well, I don’t buy it. The expectations, the circumstances, the types of players you deal with, the fixture congestion, etc. at the so-called big clubs are so radically different from those at a promoted club that you cannot get a read on how he would do at a club like Spurs.
Just my opinion, but playing keep ball at Swansea doesn’t mean he should get the keys to Spurs. Rodgers may be the greatest manager in the world. Or maybe he has reached his level at Swansea. It’s too early to know.
Well, you may be right. It’s the way I tend to think.
However, I looked up Bill N’s record on Wiki (not my favourite source) and he had no first division or any really solid experience whatsoever, other than his coaching certificate and work with Spurs. Intense loyalty – would rather be sure to be fit to play for us than for England, Wiki says – and determination, no doubt. The team was near the bottom and in two years…
If I were Levy, I might factor that in to my assessment of Rodgers. Plus the fact that he’s just signed on at Swansea for 3 more years. Plus, and this may be the killer consideration which did not apply in the 1950s, he is an unknown to players in the European/Latin American leagues.
He fits my bill as someone young enough, (hence not too expensive salary wise) and talented enough to go a long way with us, past the new stadium, past even the league, cup, European treble. So does Moyes.
However, if I were levy I might also consider the fact that he’s just signed…
[One stumbles ahead of oneself, HH. Mea culpa.
No argument. Rodgers has done well and maybe he would be brilliant for us, but he hasn’t been a boss for long–four + years at Watford, Reading and Swansea. There is no doubt he tries to play the right way, but I just don’t know if that means he would be right for Spurs. I would want to see what he does next year at Swansea, after teams have maybe sussed him out a bit.
This is an important decision with huge implications and Levy has to get it right
Anyone over Benitez. Even George.
Grrrrrr
This again? Really? The same stories over and over until we end up practically copying and pasting comments from last week/month/year into new comment boxes.
The correct answer for any manager/coach when asked about another teams player would look something like this,
” I cannot comment on a player who is under contract at another club”
I mean it’s a pretty flipping stupid question to ask any follower of the beautiful game anyway.
“Do you like Modric/Messi/Silva?”
“DUH. Yer. He’s good int e?”
Why would anyone read The Sun anyway. Didn’t someone say “The Sun is to journalism what Goebells was t truth.
Its all Blair’s fault!
Paul Lambert for me,a proven winner all through his playing career and doing very well straight from the off in his managerial career.He’s very confident without bigging himself up,which would be a nice change and a Jock to boot.Grab him before Srallix retires.
Frontwheel,
“and doing very well straight from the off in his managerial career”
Is this what you mean, doing very well straight from the off?.
“Livingston
After studying for football coaching qualifications in 2005, Lambert landed his first managerial job with Livingston on 1 June 2005, assisted by Norrie McWhirter.[9] Although he had not intended to play for his new club Lambert registered as a player in late August 2005 to cover for any injury shortages.[10] His tenure ended the following February when he resigned after only winning two league games since starting the job“
Wikipedia’s great innit,(word for word.Plum)If you ask me it shows great spirit him trying to help out by registering as a player,hardly conducive to your first managerial post.No teams see Norwich as a given result,which imo is down to Lambert
Norrie McWhirter was young wasnt he?
I think the results obtained by a manager in his 1st year in the top flight are hard to measure. The rest of the league are not familiar with his style, so there is the surprise factor. There may also be a bit overlooking a promoted team. There is less pressure on a promoted team, so the better ones have a “no fear” attitude which can lead to upsets. But can the new boss keep doing it? There was a lot of buzz over Owen Coyle not so long ago because he had Bolton playing a more attractive game. Anyone think Coyle is a good choice now for a bigger job?
I’m not saying Lambert or Rodgers are poor managers. I’m saying they are unproven in big jobs and that should be a consideration. If they were getting excellent results after 3-4 seasons in the top flight this would be different.
Perfect sense from across the pond.
Rodgers was well regarded at Chelsea and has done very well these past two seasons but his lack of experience makes him a bit of a gamble and I don’t think Dan Levy feels the need to take risks especially with the new stadium on the horizon.
Mourinho earns 12 million a year currently and would expect to sign half a dozen 20 million plus players so I just don’t see why he would come to Spurs.
My understanding is that the board have previously approached Martin O’Neil and Mark Hughes who both declined whilst we had a Sporting Director in situ so that brings us back to a similar type to them Mr David Moyes. Everyone from Fergie to Wenger rates Moyes and heaven only knows what he might do with a properly funded club.
For me he looks the favourite right now