3 Stacks

1 minute ago, No2 said:

I could envisage a situation where Virgil stands on the ball like Dunk does and nobody engages him at all. He's literally standing there breaking PL possession records.

See, thats a funny comment. 

11 minutes ago, Megadrive Man said:

 

De Zerbi tries to get Brighton playing like Man City that's all. He's hardly some great revolutionary. De Zerbi not winning anything is significant as it means that he's not an overachiever. To be fair to him Shakhtar Donetsk were top of the league when he left Ukraine so he could/should have a Ukrainian league to his name.

 

I'd still rather go for somebody like Slot over De Zerbi though. 

 

 

The bold parts are complete bollocks.

He does things tactically that no one else does. If you arent arsed about knowing what those are, dont even comment.

Secondly, the part about not overachieving, he has managed Brighton and Sassuolo, Those clubs havent won top flight trophies ever. 

Its just more reductionary shite about De Zerbi that people have spouted on here because they dont think he should manage Liverpool. Which, the part about not wanting him to be our manager is totally fine, but the reasons people have been giving have been absolutely awful. 

40 minutes ago, Megadrive Man said:

 

If there was a no risk option available then I'd agree.

 

What I don't understand is why you think De Zerbi is better? What's this based on?

 

You quite rightly say that most people haven't heard of Slot, but had you heard of De Zerbi before he became Brighton manger? Most people have only heard of De Zerbi because he now manages in England. 

 

It's not even like De Zerbi is doing particularly well at Brighton? They are 10th in the league. More or less where they were under Graham Potter.  If they were 4th this season I'd maybe understand it, but the reality is that Brighton are roughly where you'd expect them to be.

 

Personally I think Slot has achieved far more than De Zerbi. Unlike De Zerbi he knows how to win leagues and cups against teams that have bigger budgets, and that exactly what we need.  

The point with De Zerbi is he has his own football, which is very rare, and it is something that seems very suited to the high level. 

That is a trait that could make him a great manager, just like Slot winning at a worse club in Holland could make him a great manager. But the fact he won the Eredivisie and De Zerbi hasnt won anything means fuck all, lets be honest. 

2 hours ago, Megadrive Man said:

 

I think winning the league with Ajax or PSV is a piece of piss, but doing it with Feyenoord is a much bigger achievement. 

Giovanni van Bronckhorst won the league with Feyenoord. So does that mean it is a huge achievement if a patently average manager can do it, for me less so. That said, it is more of an unfancied club than Ajax and PSV, yeah. 

I think what Amorim is doing at Sporting is more impressive and difficult, but clearly there was a misalignment there. Slot seems like the second option to me, but targeting both of them makes sense. The idea is similar, which is that if you can win at clubs who arent the best and biggest in your league, you may have the traits to be an extraordinary manager who can do things against the odds, etc... 

So we are banking that Slot is an extraordinary manager and it s possible he is, but again, I dont think a single person can give you any certainties about being good in the Dutch League and what that means. It is an awful league. 

1 minute ago, TD_LFC said:

Or he was just one of many on a list given more importance in the media because the Portugese press are more talkative.

 

I don't think we're working down a list of preferences we're narrowing down our requirements.

To be fair, Slot and Amorim seem a bit cut from the same cloth in terms of their career path and achievements. I don't think that's a coincidence.

1 minute ago, Jairzinho said:

 

Whether that is true or not, he isn't actually good enough to be starting for a club who presumably have aspirations of qualifying for the UEFA Cup at the least. 

 

He had one decent season for Villarreal. That's it. 

 

He'd be Villarreal's third best striker now, and they're ninth. 

He definitely shouldn't be starting, but he's the type of forward you at least want in the squad because he's dangerous. And he didn't cost a fortune.

5 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

 

They spent 12 trillion quid and he starts upfront for them every week. It's fucking weird. 

 

0 in 13 for Senegal.

Him, Palmer and Gusto are their best signings. The only players that have offered a semblance of value for money.

1 hour ago, Moo said:

 

Diaz - not as far as I know, but there's time yet. In an ideal world neither Salah nor Nunez starts at the moment but we'll need one of them to make up the three, unless we take the plunge with Danns.

I think we still need one of Salah or Nunez to have a player that can create chances on their own. I wouldn't start them both, though.

27 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

For all the tedious mocking about spreadsheets etc will bring, huge personalities and supporter engagement are two factors that a spreadsheet can’t quantify.

 

Doing it data only, you end up with charismaless black holes like 7-Hag.  

The issue with Slot would be he's been doing it in the Dutch League. Can you take any of his success that seriously, is a legitimate question. But also, he might just be a great manager. Hard to say.

11 minutes ago, The Golden Eel said:

Never heard of this guy until yesterday but have been doing a bit reading around today.

 

One thing that really stands out is how much Feyenoord fans love him, he's got a Klopp-like status there. Seems to have transformed them, while also playing good football. Won things, reached a European final as well. Also had AZ in 2nd place during abandoned Covid season. 

 

Also seems clear he's very likeable and engaging, good with the media and keeps his players happy. Also a lot of talk of overperforming in the transfer market and getting the most out of players, bringing through youth. 

 

Sounds pretty good to me tbh. 

 

 

 

I think the fact that Amorim and Slot were most linked confirms we have been looking for Klopp Junior, if you will. Overachievers with something about them personality-wise.

We seem to prefer Slot now for whatever reason. Might be cheaper, more similar style to Klopp, more willing to work in our structure, maybe.

5 minutes ago, Code said:

Really?

 

Mourinho - the fans at his former clubs love him, opposition fans hate him, a bit like Klopp.

 

Tuchel - followed Klopp twice before, both at Mainz and Dortmund, at Mainz one year after his departure.

 

Conte - born winner, want everyone at the club to share his mentality, both players and board. I cant see anything wrong with a manager actually demanding this.

 

Zidane - won everything as player and manager, would be interesting and I think it would be a success.

 

Above all. none of these would think twice about the pressure following Klopp. Hey would love and rise to the challenge. 

Mou Mou and Conte wilted at Spurs, of all places.

15 minutes ago, Razoray said:

I didn’t mention top 4 and I don't have an opinion of him as a person (apart from his poor hairstyle choice). The title of the thread is "So who should be our next manager?"

That is the only level for which I am critiquing De Zerbi.

 

The most important thing I want to see from a manager is progression. Brighton have got worse under De Zerbi. He took over a team that had finished 9th the previous season, were (probably in a false position of) 4th when he took over, finished the season in 6th but his points total for his 31 games, was equal to 8th place Spurs and will finish 11th to 13th this season, while the form of the team is nosediving. 

He has also spoken out publicly about the club ownership.

He should be nowhere near any discussions about becoming the Liverpool manager.

It's like going around in circles with you. They got worse because they have basically made 150m in profit since he got there. If he would have improved on a 6th place finish, he'd literally be Jesus Christ.

12 minutes ago, Razoray said:

No, not for Brighton but for a team managed by a prospective Liverpool manager, then yes, pretty fucking horrific. 

The point is to get someone who could be a great manager. If it's just picking the person with the best achievements, it should be real easy.

De Zerbi is thought of as someone who could be a great manager. You don't like him, we get it. You don't have to pretend Brighton should have finished in the top 4 this season for him to be any good.

3 minutes ago, Razoray said:

They have 9 pts in their last 9 league games. Their form is getting worse, and they are sliding down the table. They will probably finish somewhere between 11th and 13th. 

Where did you think Brighton would finish at the start of the season?

Do you think that is worthy of getting the Liverpool job?

And the hair, fucking hell, the hair!

 

Oh no, Brighton finishing between 11th and 13th, the horror. 

3 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

Didn’t they lose the league to Ajax on PPG due to the curtailment of the season? 

Yeah, something like that. They had the same amount of points as Ajax 

12 minutes ago, Razoray said:

He isn’t exceeding expectationsHe is actually doing worse. 

For a manager to be successful at Liverpool currently, the coach will have to create a team performing better than the sum of its parts. De Zerbi isn't doing that. 

For the 8 months of last year, even with Sanchez, Caicedo, Mac Allister and a fit Mitoma, they got 49 points from 31 games. Good for Brighton, but worthy of the Liverpool job?

That's absolutely absurd to say he is doing worse than expected at Brighton.

There's a tenuous link there with Alkmaar being the club where Slot started and they are kind of a "data club". Billy Beane has a minority ownership there. 

If it happens it will very much be sold as a data driven thing.

7 minutes ago, Toxteth O'Grady said:

Slot has come from nowhere on Sunday to be 2/1 on Ladbrokes now.

Joyce just said we are targeting him.

7 minutes ago, Red74 said:

If it’s pretty much nothing then put him on the bench ffs. We’ve got 5 games to go and he’s giving our only live striker 2 weeks off. Klopp should be telling him to strap himself up and get out there. Luis Suarez must be spinning in his grave seeing these tarts who followed him. 

Agreed.

In the NHL playoffs, you need to be incapacitated to not play. 5 games left to go in the season when the title is possible is basically the equivalent. Tell the pussy he’s gotta be available.

8 minutes ago, El Rojo said:

His brittleness is pretty well acknowledged on here, with plenty suggesting we need to get rid of him because he can’t be relied on.
 

It’s a shame, as he’s world class in his limited fit spells.

 

Anyway, it’s a big blow for the rest of the season. 

World class? He's meant to be the best finisher of all time and he's never even been a 1 in 2 goal scorer.

8 minutes ago, joe_fishfish said:

Is that because he constantly whinges about transfers and then brings in players like Eric Dier when he gets his way?

To be fair, Eric Dier might be playing better than Upamecano and that Korean fraud.

The Portuguese Fowler will have missed about 75 games in 4 years and will still be everyone's favourite player somehow. Just bad luck with him, but everyone else is a made of glass pussy.

If we're looking at who is available and who has the best mix of having won stuff in multiple places while also not being that old, it's Tuchel. He is the most qualified candidate now. But he's one of those I can't picture being Liverpool manager.

10 minutes ago, Pidge said:

 

Yeah, the right person to have continuity from. As I said, I'm not advocating for the guy to be favourite for the job or anything. But also, not saying it's inconceivable to see there being a case for him being a candidate. 

 

40% win rate while being fucked by the refs at a club with no money to refresh the squad isn't a bad one (his first couple of seasons are better than Motta's in terms of results), he also never hides behind the players and is willing to speak his mind regarding the refs, haven't done any real thought about playstyles, although the personnel at Wolves obviously lend toward a fast counter and he seems to have gotten some patches of good form out of Hwang. I think there are plenty of meh to middling candidates out there.

I think bringing back Edwards is an example of continuity that makes sense. The guy was at the club during a successful period and we can use that experience. 

O'Neil seems well regarded, but what's the upside? The style of football isn't amazing, the results are ok, he's been at the club before. That just seems like a textbook middling candidate.

People like De Zerbi and Motta should be way above someone like O'Neil because they are the rare managers who have their own ideas. The upside is just higher with a manager like that.

1 hour ago, Pidge said:

Continuity is as relevant as It ever has been. I'm not presenting an argument for anyone. 

Continuity when you have the right person, like Klopp, not for the sake of it.