Man Utd ‘vibe killer’ would have ‘thrived under Klopp’ at Liverpool; why Xavi to Chelsea makes sense

A Mailboxer reckons Marcus Rashford would have ‘thrived’ in a Jurgen Klopp team at Liverpool. Plus, why Xavi to Chelsea makes sense, Pep Guardiola, Klopp for PM and much more.

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Why does Xavi to Chelsea make so much sense? 
Is it just me or does Xavi to Chelsea just make too much sense? I wasn’t convinced by him before managing Barca, but to be fair to him he did good. He won a league title and got them back actually playing well in the champions league all the while the most chaotic lunacy was going on in the background of the club.

He does well with young players he helped progress the careers of player like Pedri, Gavi and Lamine Yamal. I don’t see why he couldn’t do the same with Palmer, Enzo, and Caicedo, all extremely talented players.

He seems to tick a lot of boxes. He’s young, plays progressive football, he is one of the most well respected players of his generation which I really think is important to command the respect of the dressing room, which at the biggest clubs in the world is not easy.

And he has shown he can win trophies using young players playing good football. And best of all he’s free so no adding more ridiculous expenses to the already crazy expensive managers list the new ownership has rattled through. It just makes too much sense but somehow I don’t think our sporting directors Laurel and Hardy have the sense about them to see it
Aaron CFC Ireland.

Marcus Rashford
Rashford, as I think everyone knows, has the capacity to be an extremely good footballer. Perhaps not quite elite level, but that’s a semantic rabbit hole, but certainly good enough, when firing on all cylinders, to play for any top level team.

Half of his game is in his head, though. Once that drops, his game goes. He needs to be handled properly and carefully. You might argue that for the money he is on, he shouldn’t need indulging like this, and I would  struggle to disagree with you, but the obvious fact is that to get the best out of him, he needs this level of indulgement.

He would have thrived under Klopp, for example.

Ten Hag isn’t a great man-manager, I think that’s clear, so it is no surprise that Rashford is struggling under him, and will continue to struggle under him, should the board be ridiculous enough to keep him on after they get humiliated in the cup final at the weekend.

I’m not defending Rashford here, it is just crystal clear that a happy Marcus is a good footballer, so if any team is to exploit his obvious skills, he needs a manager who can keep him happy.
Mat (City to go two up quickly and then sit back, luckily for United)

I know Ashwin was only joking but from a Liverpool perspective, let me assure you, we don’t want Marcus Rashford.

We wouldn’t want him if he was a free transfer, would play for free and even if he agreed to get a big Liver bird tattoo on his forehead, although it would be quite amusing.

There is more chance of this happening than something really unbelievable like man walking on the sun or even more unlikely; United beating City tomorrow.

We don’t want any of your players cos they’re nearly all shite and even the good ones such as Bruno have such a terrible attitude they would merely kill the vibe around Anfield.

if you’re looking for badly run clubs with loads of money, try the Yanks in West London.

Cheerio.
ANON

Pep Guardiola can only win with money or Lionel Messi?
Jayraj asked, “Can Pep Guardiola win anything if he isn’t managing the richest club in the league or Lionel Messi? He’s never done it before“.

Well Pep took over Barcelona B in 2007 after they has just been relegated to the 4th tier of Spanish football. Pep scouted the La Masia academy and promoted Busquets to the B team and coached him and pretty much the same team that were relegated to promotion to the 3rd Tier, after finishing top. And Messi did not play for Barcelona B that season.

Now I know what you’re going to say, ‘oh but Barcelona, money etc etc’. The vast majority of the B team were academy graduates, mostly born between 1987 (20 years old) and 1991 (16 years old).

‘Oh but Pep has Busquets playing, one of the greatest DMs ever’! Yeah, he became great due to Pep’s coaching and faith in the skinny kid who wasn’t in the B team the previous season.

I find the whole ‘could Pep do it as a lower league side’ arguments forced and contrary. They ignore when Pep did do it, and ignore what Maresca and Kompany did in the Championship with Leicester and Burnley. Two teams transformed playing Pep’s brand of press and possession. Do you really think that two managerial novices can do it, but Guardiola with all his experience couldn’t do the same or better?

Guardiola is and always has been an exceptional manager, so he had a different path to managing a big club than his contemporaries. All it took was one season managing in the fourth tier for a big club to realise how good he is. And then he won the treble.

I really wish these tired, contrary arguments can be put to bed, and instead recognise that we have one of the very best managers ever, managing in the Premier League right now.
Andy D. Manchester. MCFC

Kloppo for PM
Hi there,

I read with interest Nostra Damn Us’ letter this morning, where he suggested Jurgen Klopp for Prime Minister. Regrettably, since by convention the Prime Minister must command the support of the commons, he must be eligible to be a Member of Parliament, which means that he must be a citizen of the United Kingdom, a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland (under the provisions of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act.) Jurgen does not fulfil any of these criteria.

Should Nostra wish to expand his search, the highest-placed Premier League manager to fulfil these criteria by birth is Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu. HOWEVER, Mikel Arteta, by virtue of his continuous residence in the United Kingdom since 2005, became a UK citizen in 2010 in the hope of playing international football for England. He could also potentially stand for Parliament, and, therefore, become Prime Minister. And I wish him well, for the country has tough times ahead.
Dara O’Reilly, London

Scottish Cup final > FA Cup final
Dear TV companies,

Can we have the Scottish Cup Final instead of the English one this year?

I genuinely don’t know which Glasgow team will win that one and it will be infinitely more entertaining than the inevitable City cakewalk.

Come on the Bhoys!
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

​Billy Boy Dublin 
Re Billy Boy, Dublin and Ireland being the moral savours of the world, if we had anything the UAE wanted we would sell it to them, just like every other country.
Mel – Dublin, Berlin, Athlone Town

Hello to Billy Boy, Dublin. Thanks for responding to my email and keeping the sportswashing conversation alive. Looking over the the data you provide I think it is essentially irrelevant. What influence can I have as a resident of the UK on their trade with petrostates? errr basically zero. I couldn’t even vote on that basis other than looking for countries that think “energy security” matters. I am one of about 70 million there.

What influence could I have if I was a city fan? Maybe some. You might be on in fifty thousand match going fans. Laugh at Man U all you want but their green and yellow scarves made a visual impact at least. City fans certainly could engage in a nuanced conversation I’ve never seen that (internet ones at least never met a real one).

I think the original word patsy was wrong, someone said that in the comments. Patsy implies they are unaware and end up paying the price later. In this case it is more wilfully turning a blind eye and letting your biases lead you.
Jimbo