It's already happened, actually: Martino was also considered a Bielsa disciple, with first-hand knowledge of the guy (he was Bielsa's on-the-pitch lieutenant in Newell's).

If Man U fans brought up on Fergie can embrace Mourinho then anything can happen. Besides, if a manager brings success I think 99% of fans will stick with him, whatever style he plays.

but still no bielsa

and martino failed

bielsa going to... lille?

I'm slightly surprised there's still interest in Bielsa at club level. Wasn't he a bit of a nightmare at his last two clubs? He lasted just a few days at Lazio, right?

yes!

he's bananas.

his nickname "loco bielsa" is not for nothing.

he's pretty uncompromising as you can see: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...-lazio-8386033

his disciples are actually more practical.

and yet, he's jesus. the rest are st. peters.

best club stint he had in europe was at bilbao

gladbach leipzing paying right now if anyone cares

damn, i meant to post here yesterday saying i had missed the champions league games this week and asking for recommendations for something to catch on replay

then something happened and i must have closed that window

anyway here again is my question. any memorable CL games this past week? juve-porto? pep city? anyone?

The City game was just brilliant. It looked like they were gonna implode HARD. Didn't get to see any of last night's games so can't comment on them

In fact i'd be surprised if there's a much better champions league game this season. Maybe not from a defensive point of view, but for drama.

oh, thanks for that. i'll check it.

Yeah City was brilliant. As H8kurdt says more for drama than actual quality, but still. Epic.

So that's Ranieri gone. Pretty crazy, especially after managing to hold their own against Sevilla last night.

Holy SHIT! :eek: I knew I should have turned on the damn TV today.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...udio+r anieri

This is fucked up. Haven't read the details yet, but right now at least I find it...

I think the players had turned against him and when that happens there's only ever one outcome.

Motherfuckers.

it was expected that they would drop once:

1) everyone else figured out their schtick, which they did, and

2) they got additional commitments with the corresponding wear & tear, like the champions league

but it looks a bit tragic

I expected them to finish mid-table (they still might, but I doubt it) but they have been terrible, even given the factors you mention. What won them the title last season (besides 'better' teams simply going missing) wasn't so much a system that could be worked out but individual talents and a real never-say-die attitude, both of which seem to have disappeared.

To have sacked Raniera after the 1st leg of a CL tie they could still conceivably win makes me think something's been going on behind the scenes. Most likely some kind of player rebellion.

the thing with the never-say-die attitude is that it requires a certain level of energy that's very hard to keep up

this is exactly what happened to dortmund under klopp.

dortmund at some point sank to the bottom of the table and was unexpectedly fighting relegation. i believe the reason his old tactics weren't working was simple exhaustion-- the 19 year olds he started with had grown older, picked up injuries, could not run as fast and relentlessly as before.

i think we talked about it here, back then.

not saying this is what happened at leicester, which i don't follow, but the never-say-die attitude needs 1) youth, and 2) rest. otherwise you can just pull it off one game, like, in a world cup, but then you have to go home & soak in a tub for a week.

Vardy totally seems like the kind of person to do that. The one season cunt.

For me, one of the big things was not doing more in the transfer windows. The teams that are able to keep succeeding constantly work to improve the team and they didn't do that.

Plus you've got too many people who didn't have the same drive. If anything that highlights just how mental it is that people like Ronaldo, Messi, Federer, Tiger Woods are still able to have the same level of drive even after they've won everything twice over and then some.

Ah well, *scottish accent* "the dream is ovah"