Same manager who used to rest players against Real Madrid in CL so they could play Real Madrid in CL again next year
Brendan Rodgers | Rejoins Celtic on 3 year deal
- Thread starter roonster09
- Start date
Something about him means they always have a major dip late on in the season.
Was coming to post similar. Not in exact terms, but I just wondered if Leicester's seasonal free fall has kicked off again
Won't be helped by Barnes' decent length spell out, and Maddison's injury sounds one that could drag on too.
They've done very well to stay up there with their mad lack of luck in defence too.
Still have a shout for being close to the biggest one man team in the Premier league though, not far behind Grealish, and arguably, us!
To be fair, Vardy has scored like 1 goal in 10 games? He's scored very few non-penalty goals this season. Think age and injuries finally catching up with him - he is 34 now.
In terms of the (most likely) downfall - as I've said before, it's injuries. Injuries and fatigue. Obviously this season has been mental anyway, but we've also been playing in Europe. Not only that, but a lot of our "rotational" players have been injured, meaning lots of other players not being able to rest. As well as all the injuries, a lot of our "fit" players having recently come back from injury - we're relying on Ricardo, N'didi, Castagne, Vardy, all who've been out recently with injuries.
We hit an injury crisis at the back end of last season too.
He just needs to double down on the red bull, caffeine tablets, tobacco, and all the stuff he does that isn't public, and he'll be golden
In more seriousness, your defensive woes have been ridiculous. It's mad you haven't actually really even had to decide who to leave out between Justin, Castagne and Perreira as they're never fit together!
It has happened once. ONCE. On the back of loads of injuries, and we've got even worse injuries now.
Odd comment when Maddison & Barnes have been ripping it up and got more from open play. He's not been right for months Vardy, definitely playing with an injury and I think it's not going to get much better from here on in with his age.
Vardy is still the key to your whole set up though.
When he goes you'll have a real mission to try and replace him.
I expect Rodgers will have his eyes on the Tottenham job by then though.
Now we’ve drawn
To put it bluntly, “theyre fecked”. Can’t see them making top four with no Justin, Maddison and Barnes. Not sure how long Maddison is out for but if it’s for anymore than 3/4 games that will be enough for others to catch up. Think Fofana is out too. It’s crazy that the same injury crisis is striking them at this point of the season again.
They’ve rotated the team well through the season too iirc.
To put it bluntly, “theyre fecked”. Can’t see them making top four with no Justin, Maddison and Barnes. Not sure how long Maddison is out for but if it’s for anymore than 3/4 games that will be enough for others to catch up. Think Fofana is out too. It’s crazy that the same injury crisis is striking them at this point of the season again.
They’ve rotated the team well through the season too iirc.
Injury crisis? Its ironic considering that Brendan was one of the 10 clubs/managers that voted against having 5 subs that were there precisely designed to help to prevent injuries.
Lets see if the other self-serving clubs suffer from the same issue: Aston Villa, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield United, West Ham and Wolves
Lets see if the other self-serving clubs suffer from the same issue: Aston Villa, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield United, West Ham and Wolves
What about the game against Slavia Prague? Even without Barnes and Maddison, you still have enough quality to beat Slavia Prague at home. This isn't the first time Brenda Rodgers has crumbled down under pressure.
actually he has openly said he wanted 5 subs but the club voted against it
How did he let that happen? He must know the consequences better than the club chairman.
Brendan’s squad lacks depth.
A bit like ours last season, as we barely hung on to top 4.
Our squad this year has more depth, but we lack a quality manager.
A bit like ours last season, as we barely hung on to top 4.
Our squad this year has more depth, but we lack a quality manager.
That's definitely one aspect - and maybe he could not have done anything about it.
But, I think he comes across as somewhat inapt with the Slavia saga and the outcome of yesterday's game.
He certainly could have played with a B-squad against Slavia, which would have actually rested a few more players.
Also if the issue is a thin squad why go for the FA Cup at all? He knows what happened last year.
Sigh... no it doesn't. We've coped with loads of injuries all season.
The issue is the sheer number of injuries we've had. We're at the point of the backup are mostly all out injured and the first-team squad are now dropping like flys or returning from injuries and it takes time to get up to speed.
You could look at yesterdays team and think it looks strong, but half the team is either playing with an issue, been overplayed as a backup for their position is out injured or only just come back from injury themselves.
Barnes, Maddison, Ricardo and Castagne. The two full backs were just as big a miss.
I'd put it down to a few things imo.
1). The quality of the back-up. We played Choudhury, Amartey, Luke Thomas and Under. Choudhury and Amartey are triers, but if I'm honest are championship level at best. Luke Thomas has potential, but still very young and not at the level yet. Under isn't rated by Rodgers - we have him on loan but it looks like we're not going to buy him.
2) Lack of creativity. A lot of creativity comes from our full backs, and we chose to play Amartey (basically a CB, can't pass at all, doesn't go past the half way line) and Luke Thomas (very young) instead of Ricardo and Castagne. In hindsight, you could argue Rodgers should have started Riccy P and Timmy C, but not only have they both only just come back from injury, but I'm pretty sure that they both came back first time and got injured nearly immediately, so I can understand why he's cautious with them. I actually think he made the right decision here - with Justin out with his ACL, we can't afford to either of them to get injured again. And then obviously changing Maddison (an excellent passer) for Choudhury (just kicks people) is going to affect your play.
3) Players not 'fit'. A lot of our "fit" players have just come back from injury so aren't 100%. Vardy, N'didi, Ricardo, Timmy (& even Soyuncu has only just strung a run of games together, but he's been back a while now so won't count him). None of them have really hit peak form since returning.
4). Vardy. I think this deserves a point on it's own. I think he's pretty much done as a player now. He's 34, his pace has gone and it looks like he's still playing injured (recently had groin surgery). Like playing with 10 men at the moment. However Iheanacho was suspended for this game and Perez was injured, so couldn't really leave him out even if we wanted to.
5). Our remaining fit players have been run into the ground. I'm sure Tielemans has played every game, as there's no-one to rotate him with now. He looks absolutely shattered - he's not the most naturally fit player, and he's playing every minute twice a week. I'm sure I also read that Evans has been playing through injuries, but with Fofana injured we can't take him out.
So yeah. Out of the 11 we played against Slavia, 4 of them were B/C squad, 2 coming back from injury and 2 knackered, having played pretty much every minute. I'd say only Kasper, Soyuncu and Albrighton were "match worthy" out of that starting XI.
I don't think Rodgers is blameless; I do also think we massively underestimated them. But having wanted to go far in Europe, I'm not upset that we've gone out - in hindsight it's probably a blessing. With Barnes now gone too, we're barely going to be able to manage the league, let alone any other competitions. Personally I hope we only play reserves in the FA cup too.
We couldn't have played much more of a B squad against Slavia!! We already played Choudhury, Amartey, Luke Thomas, and Under. The only other possible changes would be Mendy for N'didi, and maybe Fuchs to play in a back 5. That's 2 extra players we could have rested. Other than that, the only "back up" players would be players from the youth team that have never played in the first team before.
- Perez is injured
- Praet injured
- Iheanacho suspended
- James Justin injured
- Wes Morgan injured
- Fofana injured
- Maddison injured
- We sold Slimani and Gray, and didn't bring in any replacements
Morgan was replaced in the EL list by Amartey.
the main problem is all 3 main options to play the 10 being out at once, now with Barnes out I think we’ll change the system as none of our wingers are effective that’s why Ricardo is playing there now, I suspect we’ll go to a 532 at least until Maddison is back
the main problem is all 3 main options to play the 10 being out at once, now with Barnes out I think we’ll change the system as none of our wingers are effective that’s why Ricardo is playing there now, I suspect we’ll go to a 532 at least until Maddison is back
See Evans is also injured, it's a shame as they were doing really well, don't think Brendan can be blamed if they don't make top 4
Harvey Barnes would be a big miss, he came up with game winning moments many times when game was in balance and his pace was always a threat. Then they have players like Tielemans, James Justin, Evans, Perez who all are injured. I think Fofana is back now.
Shame all their injuries opens the door for Liverpool to slug their way into the top 4.
Tielemans isn't injured, Fofana started full training today
His and their demise was written too early. Thought the injuries would hurt them.
Three hugely impressive/performances in a row.
Massive credit to Brendan. Lost Barnes and Maddison and so decided to change the system to suit the players available to him.
They were like a peak Atletico today in terms of the shape and pressing .
Don’t begrudge them finishing top four and winning the cup. Proper manager backed by proper recruitment.
I’ve seen so many people say “United are comfortably the 2nd/3rd team in the league”. Not only is it bs but its disrespectful to Leicester.
Three hugely impressive/performances in a row.
Massive credit to Brendan. Lost Barnes and Maddison and so decided to change the system to suit the players available to him.
They were like a peak Atletico today in terms of the shape and pressing .
Don’t begrudge them finishing top four and winning the cup. Proper manager backed by proper recruitment.
I’ve seen so many people say “United are comfortably the 2nd/3rd team in the league”. Not only is it bs but its disrespectful to Leicester.
I'm sure he'll be Spurs number one target to replace Mourinho.
Never rule out Brendan c*cking it up against Soton.
Got it right today - they had the longer rest advantage and they used it, pressed us like mad and worked hard to keep us out at the back.
With a bit of luck the FA Cup will fatigue them a little so they drop points in the PL.
With a bit of luck the FA Cup will fatigue them a little so they drop points in the PL.
Are there people out there who still scoff at those of us who consider him a massive upgrade on Solskjaer? Surely they must be seeing what has been blindingly obvious for a long time now.
Leicester are so much better than us in most departments and Rodgers is largely responsible for that. I will be shocked if he’s not being seriously considered to become our next manager when the inevitable happens and our sentimental experiment is terminated. Surely we have intelligent people in the highest echelons of the decision-making process at our club to realise this sooner rather than later.
I will be so disappointed if the rumours of Solskjaer’s contract extension become reality. It’s painfully obvious we will never make the next step under his stewardship. Rodgers would work wonders with our current squad, IMO. I’d love to see it happen but it’s unlikely to given our myopic, short-sighted mentality that runs throughout the club.
Leicester are so much better than us in most departments and Rodgers is largely responsible for that. I will be shocked if he’s not being seriously considered to become our next manager when the inevitable happens and our sentimental experiment is terminated. Surely we have intelligent people in the highest echelons of the decision-making process at our club to realise this sooner rather than later.
I will be so disappointed if the rumours of Solskjaer’s contract extension become reality. It’s painfully obvious we will never make the next step under his stewardship. Rodgers would work wonders with our current squad, IMO. I’d love to see it happen but it’s unlikely to given our myopic, short-sighted mentality that runs throughout the club.
If Ole went I'd 100% have Rodgers, I think people on here might turn on him given his record in Europe though.
Rodgers isn’t good enough for Manchester United.
Winning the league was a one off season and then they dropped back down to mid table, this man has got them performing as a top 4/5 side for 2 seasons without the budget. Class manager
I'd take Rodgers here if Solskjaer is to be replaced but I don't think Ole has done enough to be sacked pending we drop out of the top four.
Because?
Why the rush? He has to earn a contract extension if he is to be given one surely. And the standards to be met for him to be given an extension has got to be really high considering the standing of our club. Top four spot wouldn’t cut it.
I'm not sure why people still shit on him as a manager, to be honest. He's not perfect, and he kinda fecked up the top four last season, but it looks like he's going to get in there this season while only narrowly missing out last. He came as close as anyone to winning the title with Liverpool by playing (and I HATE to say it) great football. Went to Celtic and obviously done terrific there. Tactically I think he's often very good and interesting, and he's seemingly very good at man-management. He's also learned and improved on past mistakes and failures, too.
This isn't me making a case for him as United manager or anything like that, I'm just speaking generally. But I don't get the people who apparently piss themselves laughing when people suggest it. I can only assume it has something to do with his personality, because he can come across as a bit of a tit, to be fair. Or he certainly did, anyway. Think he's toned that down a bit now.
This isn't me making a case for him as United manager or anything like that, I'm just speaking generally. But I don't get the people who apparently piss themselves laughing when people suggest it. I can only assume it has something to do with his personality, because he can come across as a bit of a tit, to be fair. Or he certainly did, anyway. Think he's toned that down a bit now.
Again, we should move for Rodgers. He will be very hot property when Spurs or Arsenal sack their managers. He is a perfect fit for United.
I have reservations about him and the way his teams crumble late on, but he's without doubt a massive upgrade on Ole if we were ever to have him. We'd play some magnificent football. With our squad and financial backing he could potentially have us competing on all fronts, providing it's not his doing in Leicesters capitulation at times. They were great today, especially with their injuries.
I think he is a massive upgrade on Ole but I would want us look for a better option. Not sure who that would be now as not many top managers are available at the moment.