But Only For His Own Sake
Absolutely pathetic.
Even for Scousers, the "Roy is not good enough to manage our great club - (we were great on the 70s and 80s, you know)" avalanche in this morning's mailbox was ridiculous. Couple that with the "Joe Cole is no longer the signing of the year, because he's suspended" comments, I literally couldn't feel any more contempt for a group of supporters.
Get out now, Roy, before it's too late.
Matt, Cheshire
...I can't believe the deluded Pool fans criticizing Woy already. Did they actually think their team, who finished 7th last season and is a selling club should be competitive away to a team that has been assembled with the express purpose of winning the title this year?
Ask yourselves, how many players in Pool's squad would even make Man City's bench, let alone their starting XI last night? How many, really? Gerrard, that's it. Do you think Mancini would have decided to start such an out of form striker as Torres with his other options available? He wouldn't even be on the bench! Where would Lucas fit into the Man City team? Haha! I just pi**ed myself laughing! Do you see what I'm getting at?
Roy wasn't brought into to challenge for the title this year, or even the top 4, you plonks! He's there because he is the best man to overachieve with an inferior squad, which Liverpool clearly is. 6th place would be a miracle this year! The man said so himself before the start of the season, Liverpool is nowhere near Chelsea/Man U/Arsenal/Man City etc. But I'm sure you all know better than a man who took Fulham from certain relegation to the Europa League Final in less than two years on a shoe string budget. Of course you do.
Justin, (going to dry off now) Fulham fan
Formation Excuses
I've tried hard not to make this sound like a massive rant, so I've kept it short and given just one example. I'm sure the haters will come back in the hundreds, but seriously what is this obsession with formations justifying a result?
Let's take 4-4-2. The 4 in the middle of the park can play a variety of ways; with wingers, wide men tucked in, with 1, 2 or no holding midfielders, diamond formation, etc, etc. Also the four could be Kaka, Ronaldo, Steve G and Fat Frank (why doesn't anyone call him that anymore? He's still not thin), or Dave, Rich, Minty and Gramps from my local. By simply saying that a team should not have played 4-4-2 against another team is scratching the surface. It's what I expect from Mr Gray or those Muppets from the BBC. Not from F365 readers.
Furthermore, as a game goes on things change as players move about. A starting 4-4-2 formation, constantly changes between 4-5-1, 4-4-1-1 and a hundred and one other permutations. We've all seen Rooney dropping deep to get the ball, Gerrard pushing forward, etc. I'm not pretending that Woy should have played 4-4-2 last night, but it's a meaningless statement without consider who was playing and what they did during the game.
A (FFS just stop it) W
...Esteemed MC,
Usually I read the whole mailbox, and then respond to any points that haven't been answered by subsequent mails. But Daniel Cohen has made me so angry that I've stopped reading and started writing this...
Apparently Hodgson "handed City the game by playing 4-4-2." I remember a game where Redknapp set up 4-4-2 away from home. Not the Young Boys game, where "Redknapp was castigated for his tactically naivety," but a game which cemented the race for 4th place. Against Man City. Which Spurs won. 1-0.
So, Daniel, I wouldn't say that "it just doesn't take any sense at all." Don't blame the system, just accept that you were the worse team...
Tony B (right, back to the mailbox we go...) THFC
Putting Liverpool Fans In Their Place
For years, they complain about Rafa Benitez's boring, defensive style. They complain about the arrogance, the silence, the no-risk policy. They complain about the draws, so many draws, that apparently cost them the title two seasons ago. They complain about playing one striker (admittedly a very good one) up front alone at home or away to 'lesser' teams.
Rafa gets sacked. Liverpool fans rejoice, no more boringness, here comes a bit of risk, a bit of verve, a bit of panache! You signed Joe Cole and a replacement for the Monster, and we're all ready to go!
1-1 against Arsenal playing with 10 men for half the game. Not a bad result, you say. The rest of the world thinks that Almunia is just a bit crap. Then they go to Moneybags City and get hammered 3-0 playing "adventurous" and "risky" (aka. 4-4-2) football. Cue a mailbox full of "I knew we should have kept Rafa", "Roy is obviously out of his depth", "Roy is no Liverpool manager", as if you have to be born of superior stock to join that elite class.
Seriously: get some bleedin' perspective. It's game two of a 38-game-long season, with a new manager to boot. You're comparing five years of ups and downs with TWO GAMES. You're not, never have been and never will be entitled to anything. You just came up against a team that spent over 300 million pounds in transfers over the past two seasons, while you signed some crocked Italian for £20m who has already been sent home (Thanks, Rafa), Poulsen and Joe Cole. City have a front six worth more (in their terms) than your entire squad. They have signed some great players, and when it does come together for them on the day, whoever is opposite, be it Chelsea, Arsenal, United or Liverpool, WILL leak goals.
So stop improvising yourselves as tactical masters (to borrow from Botham, how many 9th place Prem finishes do YOU have with a negative budget against United et al?), stop attempting to predict the future, stop being so bloody arrogant and you might find that you're enjoying the football being played once more. You have good days, and you have bad days.
Mat ("we can beat anyone in Europe!" - how did that go then?), Lyon
...To all you Liverpool fans out there.
All of a sudden you are going on about Rafa, how Roy Hodgson isn't the right man for the job and how you will be lucky to get even 7th this year. Surely you can see by now the manager is not the problem, you have no money and have spent very little this transfer window so far, compared to the other clubs around you (and by around you I do mean the mid table clubs.... were not still in the 80's). Unless the money becomes available to sign a left back, midfielder, winger and forward I can only see you struggling.
Seriously what did you expect this season? It's not all doom and gloom though you have only played two games against two potential league contenders and have 1 point. Let's not forget how much money Rafa wasted, before this transfer window Liverpool were the third highest spending club in the premier league since 1999.
Ross (Enjoying kicking Liverpool whilst they are down) Warnock, AFC
Why Gerrard And Torres Might Not Work Now
This worked really well when Alonso was in the team as he was creative enough to be able to feed Gerrard the ball. Last season mash and lucas in the centre of the park did nothing for us. Gerrard was often isolated and not in the game as there was no one good enough to feed him the ball. We need someone creative in the middle so Gerrard has to play there as at least he can create something. Lucas and Poulsen is the partnership form hell. We lack any real creative players.
We have two centre forwards playing out wide. Aquilani could have played off Torres with Joe Cole wide right/left and Gerrard coming from the centre with Poulsen holding. At least then you have 4 genuine attacking players. Or switch gerrard and Aquilani. Gerrard and Torres were lethal together but without a ball player to feed them they struggled as witnessed last season.
Sean Connor
How To Fix Liverpool
Having watched our team last night we have the same problem as previous years. Lack of depth. We need to act fast and efficient before the transfer window closes.
I have some suggestions :
Juventus reportedly want Sotos and are willing to give us Trezeguet. I say go for it. I like Sotos a lot but one of our main concerns is the attack. Trezeguet can score goals and it would cost almost nothing.
Barca want Mascherano. He is not going to play any more so I think he has to go. How about proposing an exchange with Barca with Ibrahimovic. Another big skillfull striker to use. Also played together with Trezeguet at Juventus.
After the above loan Ngog to a smaller team to gain experience.
Propose an exchange with Inter for Kuyt-Pandev. The guy is super fast and can play up front or on the wings. 15m is a lot of money to reject for Kuyt.
Make an offer to Roma to bring Riise back. I still do not know why he left (include Insua in the deal)
I know the above won't happen but we have to move fast. Nothing is lost after one defeat but we need the squad depth to cope for the whole year.
Christoforos Constantinou
We'll Pass It On
Dear Mr Andy Gray, overlord of all football knowledge with thy super computer,
Is Steven Gerrard's best position really central midfield based on the
last two premiership games or is the last three seasons evidence that
in fact behind the striker is in fact where is best?
Will
Sheikhy Logicþ
To Kev "Blue Moon is Rising" Ratcliffe:
I was interested to read 'Hopefully after seeing that performance the haters will realise what City can do this season.' and 'To all the City haters...Just imagine what we can do when "we have had time to gel"!!!'
If you honestly believe that people hate Man City because their performances won't be good this season, or because they've not gelled effectively, then I think you need to get out more. People hate them because they are the most obvious of many outward signs of the game that we love being destroyed by money as we look on helplessly (or in your case, basking in a short-sighted smug grin because you temporarily have the richest owner). I'm not sure why you think their hatred will diminish if the team gels and starts winning every game?
On an unrelated note - how come my tirade last week against fantasy football ruining my weekend was met with complete silence, whereas Matthew's effectively identical mail on Monday morning was greeted with a round of hearty agreement? Not bitter or anything...
Peter Frayn, bitter, AVFC
Closing Down The Season?
Whilst I appreciate the apparent horror with which 365 regards having a transfer window that is still open in the first few weeks of the season, I'm confused about why the argument is any more valid than one that argues we shouldn't have either a winter transfer window or allow clubs to sack managers during the season. Both things materially impact the course of a season and mean that the team that ends the season is different from the one that starts it.
Come to think of it, isn't allowing clubs to renegotiate contracts during a season, or sign pre-contract agreements with players from 1st Jan who may be with other clubs also a distorting factor. After all, they both affect motivation of players etc etc.
In other words, stop bleating on about it unless you are suggesting locking in a club's entire structure on 15th August each year.
Nick Smith
Some Drought
I suggest that in future, Gary Barbour (I'll not look for Van Persies record for Arsenal and Holland, but he hasn't scored since forever either) does take the little extra time to look up the records of players when passing judgement. If he had, he would have seen that Robin Van Persie scored for Arsenal on the last day of last season against Fulham, and the week before that against Blackburn and has, since then, played a grand total of 41 minutes in an Arsenal shirt. Oh, he also scored for Holland against Cameroon in the World Cup.
Goal drought indeed.
Goonersk, Norwich
Erm...
Good day,
I have noticed that there is not yet a specified prize for the winner of the Third Paragraph FF league this year. As such, I would like to put forward the following idea;
* The winner of the league has the right to be published by the lovely MC (Did I tell you that your hair looks great today, by the way? I didn't? Well it does...you gorgeous thing you) regardless of it's content. That would mean that every email sent to [email protected] by the Third Paragraph champion would be posted. This would last for a pre-determined period of time. Say, one month? They would be lord of the mailbox!
Those who have entered the league did so because they read/contribute to the F365 mailbox, so I feel that it would make sense to keep the reward relevant to us all. What say you?
Incidentally, this has nothing to do with my moving up 500+ places after this weekends action. None whatsoever.
LJS Lucas, Phoenix Down.
The 365 Name
Mailbox Compiler,
Could you exercise a little more quality control regarding correspondents' unilaterally made-up nicknames for football players? Dimiflop Berbaflop is no more catchy now than the first time Gregory Whitehead used it several hundred letters ago. But Robb (brackets suck) Sinn has plumbed even murkier depths with his frankly abysmal "Almissya" moniker. Only the context of the letter makes this even remotely recognisable as an allusion to Manuel Almunia.
Can't you draw up a list of football365-approved nicknames or something?
Thanks for listening.
Matt Pitt