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Post by peterman on Oct 5, 2024 4:33:53 GMT
While China does many things well, its national soccer team is a disgrace. Despite President Xi openly declaring his love for the game, his hope to build a competitive national team and his serious attempt to root out corruption, Chinese soccer continues to be mired in scandal while a half decent team is nowhere in sight. In the World Cup Asian qualifier game against Japan on September 5, the Chinese team outdid itself by losing 0 - 7.
I grew up playing soccer every day because my school in Hong Kong, La Salle College, was one of a few in the city which had its own soccer pitch. Although I never played seriously, mainly because I was stunted, bespectacled and couldn't run if my life depended on it, I love the game, and I still watch English Premier League highlights and the occasional FA Cup finals. I have always been a fan of Manchester United and, strangely, also of Leeds United, probably from my childhood. I try to focus on their games, less so with Leeds because it is currently trying to climb back from the second tier English Football League. Maybe I can share some of my thoughts here and hopefully come up with a suggestion for China.
The first thing is to stay hopeful, because building a good team is easier said than done, and failure is normal for the best of experts. Look at Manchester United, a magnificent club packed with expensive world class talents with a long tradition of winning, generating huge revenues from a global fan base, today sits precariously at number thirteen of the Premier League standings (out of twenty teams), wondering again what to do about a manager for whom the club has invested hundreds of millions and three years to take the club down to where they are. Will firing the manager change anything? What to do? Stay tuned.
I'll share a comment I posted on a Manchester United Fan Website:
I've always had this inkling the players don't like Ten Hag (the manager). Ronaldo is a universally loved icon. The way Ten Hag treated Ronaldo is shameful*. It's incredible to see Sancho refusing to play for Ten Hag and now contributes everyday to Chelsea. And Sancho was popular in the Manchester United dressing room. As a leader of men, Ten Hag is supposed to know the players' abilities and weaknesses. Instead he spent crazy money to get Anthony to sit on the bench. The way he got rid of de Gea is a disgrace. The fan favourite didn't even get a chance to bid farewell to the fans in a farewell match. For replacement, the genius paid big bucks to get a goalkeeper who lost many games for MU. Let's not talk about Mount. One can't help but notice how good players come to play under Ten Hag and in half a season turn into cripples who can't run, tackle or score. Ten Hag always has an answer in interviews. It's always the players' problems. But Ten Hag is a genius. He is making excuses great again. I can't see how great players like Rashford can suddenly forget how to outrun the defenders and score goals at will. I have a hunch these proven good players are not making the effort to gain the ball by reaching it 0.1 second quicker than the other guy. And after two and a half years playing by Ten Hag's system, they continue to run around like chickens with their heads cut off and repeatedly making the same mistakes.
After the FA Cup win, Dalot's interview was telling. He thanked everyone but refused to acknowledge Ten Hag's contribution to the win. He said the players rose to the occasion. The interviewer prompted Dalot several times, trying to give him an off ramp, but Dalot resolutely refused to say it. On the contrary, he said when the players played poorly, they would have to own up to it and not make excuses (unlike the someone who kept making excuses all year long).
Here is why Ten Hag's systems won't help him because he will not turn Manchester United around. He does not have the players' respect and trust, forget about love. It's similar to a general who does not have his soldiers' respect, trust and love. He will not win many battles. Ten Hag also has no vision and inspires no one with his empty promises and excuses. If Berrada and Ashworth have any sense, they should wipe the slate clean, and this time do it properly, make a five year plan and work toward the goal with resolve.
* culminating in Ronaldo refusing to play for Ten Hag and did a tell-all with Piers Morgan. It's a long story. Ronaldo walked away from the Manchester United contract, signed for a stint at a Saudi Arabia team for a couple hundred million Euros per year, and at thirty nine years of age last season, scored sixty goals and is now the highest goal scorer in history with a record unlikely to be broken. He wants to play for two more years and shoot for a thousand. No one will remember Ten Hag in a few months. China's solution will come later. Stay tuned.
Peter Man
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Post by jeff on Oct 5, 2024 10:54:44 GMT
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Post by peterman on Nov 2, 2024 3:13:06 GMT
It finally happened. Manchester United sacked Ten Hag. It was as inevitable as the sun setting in the west. It's a pity they didn't do it earlier. If I, by watching the occasional highlight clips, could tell long ago Ten Hag was not the person to turn Manchester United around, why couldn't decision-makers from INEOS (Sir Jim Ratcliffe's group investing in the club), who could see everything with their own eyes and talk to all the players one-on-one, come to the same conclusion. As such, they have wasted another half a year on the road to redemption and spent another two hundred million pounds on getting players for Ten Hag's aborted project, making the job doubly difficult for the new manager.
That said, INEOS is new in the game and may want to play it safe until they can find a satisfactory candidate for Ten Hag's replacement. Judging by how quickly they announced the new manager, Rúben Amorim, the decision to sack Ten Hag was made long ago, not by their recent loss to West Ham. Making Manchester United great again is a complicated undertaking; when INEOS gets the right man to replace Ten Hag, they can deal with the newly acquired players; it would not be a complete loss. Although the team is fourteenth in the Premier League standings, it is only seven points from the fifth position (to qualify for European competition). One shouldn't write off the season yet. Manchester United has so many exceptional talents they can beat any team any day. Two days after the sacking of Ten Hag, the team defeated Leicester 5-2 in a Carabao Cup match. They had scored only eleven goals in nine previous Premier League games. Casemiro, the midfielder everyone said was getting senile, scored a brace (two goals), the first goal being a rocket from thirty-five yards. You'd expect such a shot from Ronaldo. Team captain Bruno, who plays well for his national team Portugal but not for Manchester United, came alive and scored another brace. It appears no one needs Ten Hag.
As well-informed as Mark Goldbridge, the popular YouTuber who breathes, eats, sleeps and talks soccer, especially Manchester United, he did not understand why Ten Hag must go. He kept saying sacking managers wouldn't help. It happened before, and it did not help. But it's not about sacking managers. It's about sacking bad managers and supporting good managers. Mark assumed INEOS would keep Ten Hag until Christmas to give him more time to turn things around, but he didn't understand Ten Hag was hopeless. Winning a few games, even winning the FA Cup, would not change the fact he could not handle the job. Mark misses the mark with Ten Hag, and now he declaims that since INEOS seems to fire managers because they've lost a game, Amorim may not last the year. Mark's comment is misguided and shows how difficult it is to make good decisions regarding soccer. In my opinion, one cannot compare Ten Hag to Amorim. I don't know either gentleman and have not watched any of the games managed by Amorim, but I will explain why I support INEOS hiring Amorim for the job. Despite this mid-season change of guards, I'm getting a hint people at INEOS know what they're doing, and they've done a damn good job of it.
I will explain in the next post why I believe Amorim will work wonders for Manchester United.
Manchester vs West Ham
Manchester United vs Leicester
Manchester United confirms Ruben Amorim
Goldbridge on Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim
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Post by jeff on Nov 2, 2024 7:04:44 GMT
Peter, the first two videos were removed by their owner. May be able to watch them on YouTube.
FYI...
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Post by jeff on Nov 2, 2024 9:08:15 GMT
Peter,
I'm disgusted FIFA will not sanction Israel. Shameful.
Maybe FIFA President Gianni Infantino is being blackmailed or extorted.
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Post by peterman on Nov 7, 2024 22:35:19 GMT
While we're all celebrating Trump's election victory, not because we support Trump, but because of the utter destruction of the Democratic Party and the demise of their lying, hypocritical, genocidal warmongers, we can look forward to Trump's unintentional dismantling of NATO and America's Asian vassalages, as well as accelerating the Hegemon's financial meltdown.
Let us divert our attention from the circus of endless, futile American elections and return to something important--building a half-decent soccer team.
Everyone was shocked by the firing of Ten Hag, followed almost immediately by the news of INEOS signing Rúben Amorim, manager of Portuguese football club Sporting. Since the end of the last season, rumours have run riot about INEOS talking to a few big-name managers to take over the reins of Manchester United, demonstrating they have no faith in Ten Hag. Months went by without any of the talks coming to fruition. Consequently, INEOS signed with Ten Hag for the third-year extension of his contract. Amorim's name never came up.
Almost every pundit interpreted the event superficially. Evidence indicates INEOS knew Ten Hag didn't work out, but they couldn't find someone better. Besides, he did win the FA Cup and deserved another chance. But, with Manchester United's abysmal performance at the start of the season, the pressure was on again to fire Ten Hag. When they lost to an even worse-performing West Ham, it became a matter of time. Many pundits assumed it would happen after the "international break" or around Christmas, as INEOS would need time to find a decent replacement. The following Hitler rant describes the Ten Hag saga accurately. I'm in total agreement with it.
How did INEOS grab Sporting's manager in midseason, who started it with a perfect ten wins in ten games? Amorim had walked into Sporting four years ago as a thirty-five-year-old with only one year of first-division coaching experience in the Portuguese League. He immediately led Sporting to the League Championship, ending a nineteen-year drought. When he failed to win again the following year, mainly because Sporting couldn't keep its good players, he took the blame and offered to resign! That is the main difference between Amorim and Ten Hag. Amorim did not blame the club or the players. He shouldered all the blame. He was a true leader. Hence, the owners respected him and begged him to stay, promising they would try to keep the core players. The players loved Amorim and won the Championship again under his leadership the following year. Unlike Ten Hag, who was clueless about running his team and wouldn't know how to use his players, and when they performed miserably, he blamed the players and everything else while he was always blameless. Hitler's metaphor of Ten Hag as a bumbling general is rather fitting. Such a general can have the best soldiers but will not win anything. His sacking is inevitable.
Amorim is the opposite. He has demonstrated his tactical genius by walking into Braga and Sporting and turning average, underachieving players into cup winners and champions in the same year. Most importantly, INEOS wants him because of his communication skills, something completely lacking in Ten Hag. People who have worked with Amorim love him, while it is the opposite with Ten Hag.
The ongoing wisdom is that INEOS gave up on Ten Hag after the West Ham game and suddenly showed up at Amorim's door, giving him three days to think about the offer and forcing him to make an unpopular decision to leave Sporting midseason. I don't think so. It is the narrative presented to Amorim's fans and compatriots to make his departure less distasteful.
It is more likely INEOS has kept perfect secrecy of their talks with Sporting and Amorim. Unfortunately, Sporting had another year in their contract with Amorim and needed the time to find a replacement. INEOS could wait a year and save ten million Euros in transfer costs. Later, Amorim disclosed he had already agreed with Sporting to leave the club at the end of the season. Why would he say that? Under the circumstances and without a better alternative, INEOS signed Ten Hag for another year to keep their options open. INEOS must have established some understanding with Amorim for his future with Manchester United. After the team's dismal performance under Ten Hag at the start of the season, INEOS finally decides to dish out ten million Euros to force Amorim's hand, lest the team's situation worsens.
The next Amorim move is masterful. After the official announcement of his transfer to Manchester United, Amorim remained to coach a pivotal farewell game as manager of Sporting. The game, by coincidence, was against the inveterate enemy of Manchester United and, indisputably, the best team in Europe, Manchester City. The first half of the game was a Manchester City show. They scored a quick goal inside four minutes and controlled the ball for over 70% of the time. Sporting players were hanging on by their fingernails. However, Amorim tweaked his team's formation during halftime, moving a player from the front to midfield. The boys came out with their guns blazing, scoring a goal twenty seconds into the second half and another one a minute later, humiliating Manchester City with an incredible score of 4 to 1.
Thus, Amorim killed two birds with one stone. The fantastic win was a memorable farewell gift to Sporting and the fans, who gave him a rousing sendoff. Since every Manchester United fan watched the game, it was also a demonstration of Amorim's prowess as a football coach. All the naysayers immediately had to STFU. In the future, if Manchester United does not perform well, everyone will know it's the players' fault, even if Amorim takes the blame.
Having capable people to run the club's business and finding the right manager to run the team is essential for success. It is a game of managing humans, who are unpredictable. Anyone can have football skills, which one can learn, but not everyone has the talents and the determination to develop them. What makes a player great? How can you tell someone has talents? Can you tell a great coach from an ordinary one? Can China learn from this? More to come.
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Post by jeff on Nov 12, 2024 11:23:47 GMT
Wonderful analysis, Peter. Thanks!
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Post by jeff on Nov 15, 2024 4:29:53 GMT
Hey, good news!
PRC beat Bahrain 1-0 in an away match.
The strategy of their coach is spelled out in this article,
www.globaltimes.cn/page/202411/1323105.shtml
The Sino-side also seems to have several injured players, which is no excuse. Lock and load with what you got!
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Post by peterman on Nov 17, 2024 4:58:48 GMT
While I enjoy Mark Goldbridge's colourful language and passion for the game, Alice Abrahams cuts to the chase and understands the strategic strengths of the current management and the new coach. That's what you get from a Cambridge honour's list graduate. If you enjoy the cacophony of the fans, watch Mark. If you want to know the future of United, watch Alice. From now on, I will glue my eye (I'm the one-eyed man) on Alice. It's also a lot more pleasant.
Here is the confirmation of what I guessed happened with INEOS swooping up their dream coach from Sporting midseason. Quoting Amorim from his first interview as Manchester United's head coach: "When Man United talked to me, Omar Barrada (CEO with work experience in Barcelona and Manchester City) told me about their plans. You get excited. It's a real honour because I was the first choice to start that path." Yet, not a single rumourmonger, including Mark Goldbridge, even mentioned his name in passing while INEOS was said to be out hunting for Ten Hag's replacement in the summer. At least, not that I know of. INEOS's targeting of Amorim and the utter secrecy with which they set about recruiting him was executed with elan, demonstrating Manchester United now has a strong management team, the prerequisite for the club gaining success on the field.
How will Amorim transform the team? Quoting Amorim again: "A lot of people talk about 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 (Goldbridge and others) and all those things, but when I think about the team ... The most important thing for me is to create the principles, the identity and the character we had in the past." While people think about tactics for the next game, Amorim focuses on long-term strategic objectives, starting with how the players look at themselves as an integral part of the club. As Gil Scott-Heron said, "The first change that takes place is in your mind." Amorim has already made it clear. From now on, his team will play with INTENSITY.
How will Amorim manage a group of superstars with egos playing together in a team sport? Quoting him: "The team is the most important thing for me. If you work as a team, the individual talent will shine." In other words, Amorim will instill team spirit and teach all these great players of Manchester United to play and win as a team. In contrast, when the vainglorious Ten Hag came to manage, he started shooting off his mouth by warning Pep Guardiola, Manchester City's manager, and Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool's then-manager, that their days of easily beating Manchester United were over. His bluster was busted shortly after by a 6-3 drubbing in a Manchester derby, in which Manchester City broke several records, having practically won the game at half-time with a score of 4-0. It was in open view which side played as a team and which did not.
Later, Ten Hag would face Klopp in a last chance to show off each other's managerial prowess. Liverpool was under-performing in a transition year, knowing their beloved manager Klopp was leaving at the end of the season. At the same time, Ten Hag had been managing Manchester United for a year and a half, putting his signature firmly on the team. Liverpool would dismantle, destroy and mercilessly humiliate Manchester United with a score of 7-0. It leaves no doubt Ten Hag was clueless when pitched against great managers such as Pep and Klopp.
On the other hand, let's look at Amorim as a leader, making no excuses for himself or anyone, "I don't want to say we need time ... we have to start the first day without fear ... They will start from the first day with our ideas, whatever happens. That is the objective." I can almost imagine him as a revolutionary, giving a pep talk to his rebel soldiers before charging into a hail of bullets. Bravo!
And finally, speaking to the fans, "I will do everything for the team. I will defend the players, if necessary, all the time and against everyone ... and I will try to do everything in my power to put this club in the place it belongs. And I firmly believe that we will succeed."
Contrast this with Ten Hag, who blamed poor results on his players and a thousand other excuses. I don't understand how knowledgeable fans such as Goldbridge still compare Amorim with Ten Hag. I reiterate my prediction on Ten Hag. He will disappear from the narrative and our memories in a month or two.
Can China learn something from this? Stay tuned.
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