Opinion: Pochettino got no excuses [and he got to win trophies now]

There is no more jokes anymore or open questions about the possible talent in the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) squad. This club got to conquer the Ligue 1 and possibly win the Champions League. The recent additions to an already great squad should be all the reasons for a cake-walk of a season. Not talking about the salaries and the spending on these players, which is vastly different from the rest of the French League.

This year, Mauricio Pochettino got to achieve greatness now. He better become a victor and not prolong the agony with another second place in the league. The manager better have a victory run unknown to men. This because the move of Lionel Messi should say it all. That the PSG is getting Messi should ensure the season and trophies.

However, the PSG have already gotten a world class recruits ahead of the season. They have gotten AC Milan’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (free transfer), Real Madrid’s centre-back Sergio Ramos (free transfer) , Inter Milan’s Right-Back Achraf Hakimi and Liverpool’s Central Midfield Georginio Wijnaldum (free transfer). All of these players are winners and been vital players in their teams. They have all been victors and been successful. While Lionel Messi also on free transfer from Barcelona.

Not like the PSG got lack of talent before all of these players arrived to the French Capital. No, the team had already Goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Central Midfield Marco Verratti, Left Wing Neymar, Right Winger Ángel Di María, Centre Forward Kylian Mbappé and Mauro Icardi. This is just to mention a few and then leaving out Draxler and Gueye who is world-class as well.

Therefore, this team is packed and has a players who can change matches. The PSG should with all these player be superior in France and be able to challenge anyone in the Champions League. If they cannot do this with this squad. They never will succeed. Because, they have the stars, the experience and the possible goal-scorers to make a winning team.

The only question now with possibly Messi arriving in Paris. Will Pochettino be able to handle all this and the pressure put on him. He can skate away and linger on the lack of talent. It is not like he can complain that he doesn’t have a player or big enough squad to succeed. Because, this is the Football Manager or Champions Manager dream-team. It is the sort of trade-off and recruitment your dream of achieving in fantasy football. This is usually only happening in the virtual world. As the free transfers of PSG is so world-class. That you can wonder what happened to their teams and why they let these players go…

PSG has had the best transfer window any club can have. In a market and when other clubs are struggling financially. When European football is bleeding and lacking funds for salaries and transfers itself. At that time they are able to pick up stars for nothing and only paying additional sign-on fees and such. Which is something they would have if they had bought them as well. Therefore, the PSG has won this and now they got to win on the pitch too.

The Manager got to carry PSG and ensure the results are coming. He has a team to dream of and with such massive skills. That Pochettino has no excuses or say, if the results doesn’t goes his way. The Argentinian manager better show his tactical mind and use these player at full capacity. He has a defence, a magical midfield and strikers to end any opponent. Pochettino just got to execute and secure the win before the final whistle. Peace.

Opinion: Messi leaving FCB …. a legend is leaving the club!

Lionel Messi, the Argentinian footballer who has achieved everything possible in his career. A man who has been the centre of Futbol Club Barcelona (FCB) or Barça. He has been at the clubs since a youngster as the talent was picked up or bought from Newell’s in 2002. The rest is history.

Messi have been a key player, the MVP and the living legend at Camp Nou. Nobody is bigger or more well known right now. Except for Cristiano Ronaldo. The rest is not in the same league as him. It is hard to hate Messi, since he scores goal, win titles and excites every single time.

He has had a huge salary and other perks. The man has had advertisements centred around him just like managers has been picked by him or his team. The Barça formation and team has over the years been built around him too.

There is no wonder why, because in all competitions he has played 778 matches and scored 672 goals and 305 assists. He has several of La Liga titles, Champions League and other cup titles. Messi is an outstanding player and his stats says it all.

Lionel is now 34 years old, but still has more to give. It will be weird seeing him in another jersey than the ones for Barça. He is the embodiment of the club and has had his whole career here. Him playing for PSG or Juventus will not be same. Neither would it be to see him in Chelsea or anywhere else.

He just belongs to Barça. Anyone who has followed football and knows the sport knows this. Where does Messi play? Barça. We don’t need to ask and we just know this. We who follows knows that the economy and the financial situation of the club isn’t cracking. Even if it is one of the biggest earners and has a huge fan-base across the globe. Still, the financial constraints, the huge wage bill and cap-on this from La Liga is the reason for contractual trouble ahead. As Messi anticipates and has a “money-ball” vision, which isn’t fitting the current financial times. Since also other players on the rooster is making it hard to fit in with the wage cap the club has ahead of the season. Therefore, the contract has been the talk of town for a long time.

Now, today it is suddenly out of thin air that’s his leaving. We don’t know where… but where would he go? To a club who European Conference League? Well, I doubt that… even playing European League and not Champions League is out of bound. Secondly, the club has to pay him huge sums of wages, perks and additional fees. Because, his used to the finer things and getting paid as the superstar and extraordinary player he is.

It is just hard to imagine him wearing any other jersey than the ones his been wearing all his career. You know that FCB is broke when they are giving up having Messi. He is the club and been the front-runner all these years. Yes, the club has had other big stars and players which has been world class. It is a reason why they have been contender for the titles and Champions League. That is what is expected of this team.

Seeing a season without Messi in Barcelona is just weird. It is the end of an era. The Tiki-Taka is totally gone and the times of FIFA PlayStation Football is maybe over too. Because, who will carry his weight and his profile in the club? They have names and well known stars in club still. However, none of them can compare to Messi.

That’s why this is a shocker and it doesn’t really matter where he goes. He will forever be connected and be a legend in Barça. Peace.

Opinion: If Guardiola is a tactical mastermind, he should manage with 3 substitutes!

Now that the Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola is having his first real test as a professional manager, he wants to revamp the system. So that it can with ease fit his protocol and tactical, mastermind of tactics are struggling with “only” having 3 substitutes in the Premier League. Since he doesn’t have Arjen Robben or Lionel Messi; he has Sergio Agüero and Kevin De Bruyne. Seems, like they are not up-to his level or his standard of football, he is not winning with ease as Guardiola did in Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

With History in Mind:

“On 21 August 1965 Charlton’s Keith Peacock ensured his place in football history by coming on as substitute for injured goalkeeper Mike Rose at Bolton. The Football League had decided to allow substitutes from the start of the 1965-66 season, although only to replace an injured player. There had been many calls for such a change over the previous decade and the issue achieved prominence after a series of FA Cup finals had seen teams depleted by injury, often with decisive influence on the result” (Bateman, 2016).

What Guardiola was saying:

“’It’s not just English football, it’s all around the world. We’re going to kill the players,’ Guardiola said” (…) “‘For that reason we have to have huge squads, more money for the clubs to spend. Just three substitutions right now… why can’t you make four, five or six? ‘That [would] mean all the players are involved more than they were before. The coaches can use different tactics, where you can change four or five players’. ‘It’s [then] a more open game, not always the same. Less injuries. Everything would be better. I think UEFA and FIFA have another opinion about that.’” (Gaughan, 2016).

So to be able to change a forward, midfield and defence isn’t enough as he has loaned away Joe Hart to Torino, not thought much of many of the other former big-players under Roberto Manchini, Guardiola are now wanting to revolutionize the Substitutions system in the Premier League. This is the same kind of whining we heard similar fashion when Jose Mourinho started his first period in Chelsea. That there we’re to many matches in the Christmas and around New Years, as the Premier League and cup matches happens nearly every 3 day with no Christmas break as in other European leagues.

So now Guardiola, the tactical genius, the mastermind of football cannot manage to change 3 out 11 players on the pitch, as he cannot see this fitting the time schedule with Champions League and other cups. That sounds weak, as Alex Ferguson managed well for a decade with that in Manchester United. He has not been proclaimed the FOOTBALL mastermind and the one who could make water into wine.

The new-wine is to be able to substitute half of the team as the strength of modern players are lacking, the ease of heavy training make them more fragile as their salaries has surged and the level of tattoo’s are more common than on seamen back-in-the-day. That Guardiola has to and wants to change half his team says more about his lacking consideration and wish to have bigger squads. Because if they can substitute 6 players, the bench shouldn’t be 7 players with 6 players eligible to play on the field and one keeper! Than the number of substitutes should be 12 players and 11 eligible players to play on the field. That means that the squad of a team would be 23 players not the 18 players that it’s now. That together with the maximum squads registered into UEFA Champions League and Football Association (FA) for Premier League. Something that will make the richest and powerful teams grab more of the talent and more of skilled players without needing farmer-clubs to keep the level of world-class professional players elsewhere.

Guardiola just want it easy and make the changes as he sees certain players without form or without character on the field playing Burnley instead of intelligence of how to use those three to change the game. This isn’t what I expected of Guardiola, I thought he would cope with the Premier League and not bitches like this. The Arrogance of wanting to revamp an old system because he has a hard time isn’t wisdom. It’s the easy fix out. Just like I felt with Mourinho when he was nagging on the amounts of matches in the Christmas and New Year’s period!

Man-up Guardiola! You who are supposed to be a mastermind, a tactician use the system and hit it hard. You have a club with fortunes to spend; you got workmates from Barcelona to help you out in the corners of Football Academy and the scouting after talent on the continent. You Guardiola have a grand opportunity to prove your skills.

I feel the same way to ranting Mourinho who said this in 2013:

“We go into the Christmas period and the accumulation of matches is so high, we don’t do it as a normal thing, we do it as a special group with a special mentality, enjoying the situation, forgetting we don’t have a Christmas break like the Spanish, Italian and German players. We don’t have that” (…) “But we have the pleasure of playing a period that’s only for the braves. I like that very, very much.” (…) “”I enjoyed it when I was in England before and I missed it when I was in Spain and Italy. Now I’m back I want to enjoy it, I want the players to enjoy it, and we need a special mentality to cope with that situation” (…) “Nine matches and one of them is the match against Steaua. That’s our motivation for tomorrow, to try to kill the situation in the group phase and give us a little bit of space in December; instead of having nine real, competitive matches, we only have eight” (HGH Magic – ‘Mourinho: Christmas fixtures only for the braves!’ (26.11.2013) link: http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=538783#ixzz4SZILKQJi).

It’s time for Pep to cope with the Premier League, to play with the cards that are dealt and the cards on the table. He cannot think that his stature and his former accolades will give him way to fix the FA. Pep is not the first or last former successful manager trying himself in the Premier League. There aren’t many leagues with more substitutes over 3 + one extra if the goalkeeper is injured in the overtime. This is something that Pep should be able to fix it!

PEP, time to man-up eats the pupping-pop and figure out possible ways of using the players, the club and the league. Not complaining and wanting a revolution because you cannot handle the pressure. Time to think through your skill-set, talk with your fellow compatriots and club apparatus in Manchester City; they should help you and give you advice so you can manage 3 substitutes as it has been for decades. Peace.

Reference:

Bateman, Jason – ‘Fifty years of substitutions in football: from necessary novelties to tactical tools’ (18.09.2016) link: https://www.theguardian.com/football/when-saturday-comes-blog/2015/sep/18/fifty-years-substitutions-football-sport

Gaughan, Jack – ‘Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola urges football authorities to allow managers to use more than three subs’ (10.11.2016) Link:: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4018792/Manchester-City-boss-Pep-Guardiola-urges-football-authorities-allow-managers-use-three-subs.html#ixzz4SZ8BtdBN

Barcelona star Lionel Messi to stand trial for tax fraud (Youtube-Clip)