Champions League | Matchday 6

Unless I am mistaken, if Dortmund lose by two clear goals away to Sporting in MD5, Dortmund will not make the CL KO stages.

Don't think Poch would be good for UTD considering the talent he has at PSG & seems to be struggling in virtually every match they've played this season in all competitions, sure they've been winning games (just about) but even so...
It’s hard to manage a team where you are forced to play players. Poch should not be judged at all for his time at PSG.
 
Unless I am mistaken, if Dortmund lose by two clear goals away to Sporting in MD5, Dortmund will not make the CL KO stages.

Don't think Poch would be good for UTD considering the talent he has at PSG & seems to be struggling in virtually every match they've played this season in all competitions, sure they've been winning games (just about) but even so...

Yep. Then Sporting will be ahead of them by 3 points and better h2h.

Dortmund losing can be likely given their injury crises in attack and Hummels might be out of the next match. Their players will atleast get next midweek off so they can get a bit of respite.
 
It says a lot about a team when someone is listing its biggest cnuts and comes up with 3 other players before thinking of di Maria.
At least he scored for us (in between sulks).

Mbappe is a spoiled kid, Neymar is worse (still remember him in his pimp leather jacket crying on the touch lines when we won) and Herrera has always been a twat. He just used to be our twat and we let it go.

I like Donnarumma though.
 
It’s hard to manage a team where you are forced to play players. Poch should not be judged at all for his time at PSG.
You're right, but considering his record at Spurs he still looks like a bottler. Unlike his predecessor who most felt that he did the most he could with that squad, Poch was really underwhelming. I would definitely pass on him though.
 
I never thought he could have such a bad start, he's been with the company for basically all his career, he's been groomed to take over from Nagelsmann for years, the entire corporate philosophy and squad should be well in line with his own philosophy and he's even trained some of the current players before.
I would have expected some generic, uninspired, but somewhat stable pressing football as the bare minimum. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they are already readying Jaissle to take over in the winter break, hoping Marsch can make it until then.
Nagelsmann stepped away from the typical RB philosophy. He also was not part of that whole RB circus before Leipzig, and it showed. Signing Marsch as the successor to Nagelsmann was a clear step back in philosophy, while the squad had evolved to fit better with Nagelsmann (more about possession play, less focused on transitions). This is not a typical RB squad anymore, and it shows that Marsch has no idea how he should deal with that.
 
Yep. Then Sporting will be ahead of them by 3 points and better h2h.

Dortmund losing can be likely given their injury crises in attack and Hummels might be out of the next match. Their players will atleast get next midweek off so they can get a bit of respite.
???

Next two weeks is an international break!
 
Nagelsmann stepped away from the typical RB philosophy. He also was not part of that whole RB circus before Leipzig, and it showed. Signing Marsch as the successor to Nagelsmann was a clear step back in philosophy, while the squad had evolved to fit better with Nagelsmann (more about possession play, less focused on transitions). This is not a typical RB squad anymore, and it shows that Marsch has no idea how he should deal with that.

I'd say their recruitment was still on brand. And I wouldn't say that Nagelsmann stepped away from their corporate philosophy, it's more like he enhanced it. So obviously Marsch can't just copy paste the approach of his predecessor, but he shouldn't really have to do any ground work either.
 
It’s hard to manage a team where you are forced to play players. Poch should not be judged at all for his time at PSG.
Very strange take. He shouldnt be judged at all? Cause he has a team of stars. So whatever happens there should be brushed aside?
Very, very strange take.
 
It’s hard to manage a team where you are forced to play players. Poch should not be judged at all for his time at PSG.
Even if he wins the champions league he shouldn’t be judged? So essentially this is a waste of time and nothing can be extrapolated?
 
It’s hard to manage a team where you are forced to play players. Poch should not be judged at all for his time at PSG.
Ancelotti did and won. Zidane did and won. Luis Enrique did and won...

Poch should absolutely be judged for his time at PSG
 
So happy and proud of this young team.

They seem to be growing game by game and feeling comfortable in the big stage.

Pedro Gonçalves getting back his scoring touch is huge for us and Palhinha is one of the best Defensive Midfielders in the world. I’m telling you guys.

Sarabia seems to be adjusting much better now and Nunes is not scared of the big games.

We have a big change to go through at home vs Dortmund

What Amorim has done at the club is nothing short of remarkable.
 
I never thought he could have such a bad start, he's been with the company for basically all his career, he's been groomed to take over from Nagelsmann for years, the entire corporate philosophy and squad should be well in line with his own philosophy and he's even trained some of the current players before.
I would have expected some generic, uninspired, but somewhat stable pressing football as the bare minimum. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they are already readying Jaissle to take over in the winter break, hoping Marsch can make it until then.
Nagelsmann stepped away from the typical RB philosophy. He also was not part of that whole RB circus before Leipzig, and it showed. Signing Marsch as the successor to Nagelsmann was a clear step back in philosophy, while the squad had evolved to fit better with Nagelsmann (more about possession play, less focused on transitions). This is not a typical RB squad anymore, and it shows that Marsch has no idea how he should deal with that.
I say trainwreck, but I don't even mean this to hate on the guy, it's more the overall way this appontment is going. He's clearly able to get his teams to attack with power, combinative creativity, and intensity, but he just can't get the balance right. They seem overpowering, galloping ahead of themselves. He's to Nagelsmann what Bosz is to Ten Haag. Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim were similar in the CL though. And the performances against PSG surely weren't bad - but that's just it, isn't it. Always losing while getting good will points for 'spirited' performances :lol:

Then again, I've said it before, Marsch or no Marsch, RB Leipzig are done, we've finished them, you can thank us later. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see them back in the CL anytime soon.
 
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For me, his time at Spurs will give a closer and better idea of his managerial performances than at PSG.
Depends. Since this place seems to rate managers in a "how well would they do at united" way, i'd say his PSG stint would be the better metric...
 
Ancelotti did and won. Zidane did and won. Luis Enrique did and won...

Poch should absolutely be judged for his time at PSG
He will win the league this season. Will that make any difference ? It’s the equivalent of Rodgers wining the Title with Celtic.
 
I say trainwreck, but I don't even mean this to hate on the guy, it's more the overall way this appontment is going. He's clearly able to get his teams to attack with power, combinative creativity, and intensity, but he just can't get the balance right. They seem overpowering, galloping ahead of themselves. He's to Nagelsmann what Bosz is to Ten Haag. Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim were similar in the CL though. And the performances against PSG surely weren't bad - but that's just it, isn't it. Always losing while getting good will points for 'spirited' performances :lol:

Then again, I've said it before, Marsch or no Marsch, RB Leipzig are done, we've finished them, you can thank us later. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see them back in the CL anytime soon.

I don't know.. in a way he's had the perfect setup for (relative) success and instead he's setting negative records in both the CL and BL, going by the results a sacking would be reasonable. Sure, he still seems to motivate his team well and they are maybe a bit unlucky at times, but I don't really see a lot of factors that would mitigate the blame for him.

And bigger picture: while Nagelsmann's departure probably has pulled the plug on any kind of hopes of snatching a league title for the foreseeable future, I don't see how they are finished. At worst they are still Leverkusen on steroids. They can just keep spending top 3 money until they are back there and constantly replenish their squad and coaching bench with "bargains" from Salzburg.
 
So happy and proud of this young team.

They seem to be growing game by game and feeling comfortable in the big stage.

Pedro Gonçalves getting back his scoring touch is huge for us and Palhinha is one of the best Defensive Midfielders in the world. I’m telling you guys.

Sarabia seems to be adjusting much better now and Nunes is not scared of the big games.

We have a big change to go through at home vs Dortmund

What Amorim has done at the club is nothing short of remarkable.

3 questions
Is it too early for Amorim to take over a big club like United ?
How much would Palhinha cost ?
Is he better than Rice (if you have seen Rice play)
 
So happy and proud of this young team.

They seem to be growing game by game and feeling comfortable in the big stage.

Pedro Gonçalves getting back his scoring touch is huge for us and Palhinha is one of the best Defensive Midfielders in the world. I’m telling you guys.

Sarabia seems to be adjusting much better now and Nunes is not scared of the big games.

We have a big change to go through at home vs Dortmund

What Amorim has done at the club is nothing short of remarkable.

How do you rate your chances of becoming 2nd in the group?
 
3 questions
Is it too early for Amorim to take over a big club like United ?
How much would Palhinha cost ?
Is he better than Rice (if you have seen Rice play)
Amorim is still only 36 and should stay longer at Sporting and continue this project similar to what Eric Ten Hag did with Ajax.

He has a chance to do things in Sporting that have not been done in a long time.

However if he manages to win back to back titles interest will be very high. For me though where he builds his resume with the outside world is in Europe.

If he gets us to the KO rounds it’s an eye brow raiser for sure.

As for Palhinha anything less then 45M I would be tee peeing Federico Varandes house every day until I die.

I have seen Rice play and I think Rice is better going forward as Palhinha does not go up as much.

Defensively though I honestly would go with Palhinha. He cleans up everything and physically is a beast. Sharp on tackles quick at reading plays and clearing out danger.

Granted I am sure I could come off as Biased as these Guys do represent my club but just like Bruno in my eyes was a sure fire success the moment he left Sporting I feel the exact same way about Palhinha.

In Comparison to Pote or Matheus Nunes for example I can recognize that although they have the talent and ability for the next level sometimes they lack enough consistency.

Bruno was constantly our best performer ever week and Palhinha is the Same way. The man does not know how to play bad.
 
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How do you rate your chances of becoming 2nd in the group?
Dortmund don’t seem to be in good from and if Haaland is out and with us being at home I actually think it is 50\50.

Would be brilliant to have 2/3 of the most renowned academies get through the group.

Ruben Amorim was rather naive in his first CL game vs Ajax but he has quickly adjusted it seems and Sporting is corresponding.

I believe we will put on a better showing in Amsterdam if we can beat Dortmund first.
 
Grealish has been the Telles to Bernardos Luke Shaw this season, and that's the most I can say about the signing so far
 
He will win the league this season. Will that make any difference ? It’s the equivalent of Rodgers wining the Title with Celtic.
He has Messi, Neymar, Mbappé, Verratti, Marquinhos, Hakimi, Di Maria, Icardi, Navas, Donnarumma...

Those guys won the CL. If Poch doesn't, then that's a failure
 
I don't know.. in a way he's had the perfect setup for (relative) success and instead he's setting negative records in both the CL and BL, going by the results a sacking would be reasonable. Sure, he still seems to motivate his team well and they are maybe a bit unlucky at times, but I don't really see a lot of factors that would mitigate the blame for him.

And bigger picture: while Nagelsmann's departure probably has pulled the plug on any kind of hopes of snatching a league title for the foreseeable future, I don't see how they are finished. At worst they are still Leverkusen on steroids. They can just keep spending top 3 money until they are back there and constantly replenish their squad and coaching bench with "bargains" from Salzburg.

For me an additional problem for Leipzig is that they still do not have a "killer". Andre Silva is not. He is a player that goes with the flow. Yes, he had many goals last season - but, if you really look into it it seldom were the important winning goals. He usually scores when the opponent already opened up the game.

 
Dortmund don’t seem to be in good from and if Haaland is out and with us being at home I actually think it is 50\50.

Would be brilliant to have 2/3 of the most renowned academies get through the group.

Ruben Amorim was rather naive in his first CL game vs Ajax but he has quickly adjusted it seems and Sporting is corresponding.

I believe we will put on a better showing in Amsterdam if we can beat Dortmund first.

The Sporting Dortmund match will be a really interesting one to watch..

About the game in Amsterdam I'm really wondering if Ten Hag will give some other players chances.. The likes of Schuurs, Rensch, Tagliafico, Kudus, Taylor, Klaassen, Daramy and Neres are all good enough (at least) to start for Ajax but havent been given much gametime lately.. The remaining two CL games look like the perfect opportunity to also give them some gametime in matches with serious opponents.
 
Leonardo and Nasser are much more hands on in the football side of things than the structure at Spurs. I also believe he isn't big of profile to command respect of his players, whether it's the french ones (he doesn't speak french at all) or all the other stars.

If he is not a big enough profile to command the respect of players, what good will he be at Man United or any large PL club? If he leads players to CL trophies and league trophies, he will have the respect. Until he does, he is just another manager with potential. At some point if he does not start winning trophies consistently it will become wasted potential.
 
If he is not a big enough profile to command the respect of players, what good will he be at Man United or any large PL club? If he leads players to CL trophies and league trophies, he will have the respect. Until he does, he is just another manager with potential. At some point if he does not start winning trophies consistently it will become wasted potential.
I have no idea, I don't like Poch as a manager so I would never want him at Utd anyway
 
Hummels red card


I've discussed this at length with my Ajax supporting mates and they keep whinging about intent, but the more I watch it the more I think its not a foul. If Antony doesn't make the weird and futile jump forward Hummels doesn't even touch him. He actively jumps into an already started tackle. It's play on at most and a foul from Antony at worst. The 2nd angle makes it clear.

Blabla biased Blabla, I know.
 
Very nice words from Ronnie to Gasperini and from Ole to the city of Bergamo. Those vs United were two great games for Atalanta and their people. Oppo fans calling them bottlers because of their inability to keep results in stoppage time do really not know much about football, and how the vastly superior quality very often shows up in the end, when the legs are gone and emotions are high. Nevertheless, they can still go through winning both games remaining, so no complaint and just moving on.
 
I've discussed this at length with my Ajax supporting mates and they keep whinging about intent, but the more I watch it the more I think its not a foul. If Antony doesn't make the weird and futile jump forward Hummels doesn't even touch him. He actively jumps into an already started tackle. It's play on at most and a foul from Antony at worst. The 2nd angle makes it clear.

Blabla biased Blabla, I know.
The fact that you blaming the guy who has to avoid a tackle makes the biased comment very very true. Not saying that it was a red, but this was never ever a foul by Antony
 
I've discussed this at length with my Ajax supporting mates and they keep whinging about intent, but the more I watch it the more I think its not a foul. If Antony doesn't make the weird and futile jump forward Hummels doesn't even touch him. He actively jumps into an already started tackle. It's play on at most and a foul from Antony at worst. The 2nd angle makes it clear.

Blabla biased Blabla, I know.

Ajax fan here.. It was never ever a red.. It was a foul I think due to the speed of the tackle, which Hummels totally missed due to Antony's move. However there was no ill intent, his leg wasn't stretched, studs weren't up.. Because of the speed of the tackle and the fact that he missed the ball and challenged Antony it was definitely a foul from his side, but the speed also made is seem way worse than it is. I was with another Ajax friend and we both agreed it was never in a million years a red.

The penalty was very very light, but there was contact.. I dont think it was harsh enough for the VAR to get the ref to the screen, but since there was contact you can hardly make a case a penalty is a way off decision. It did look though as if the attacker - after he felt Mazraoui's touch - didnt make any attempt anymore to stay on his legs and just let himself fall to the ground..

It was sooner a penalty than a red card though. But I think both were too light.