Erik ten Hag to Liverpool? Mikel Arteta ‘cock up will cost Arsenal dear’ and ‘admirable’ Man Utd

Erik ten Hag would be in contention for the Liverpool job if timings had lined up differently. Plus Mikel Arteta’s ‘cock up’ at Arsenal, points deductions, Cole Palmer, Man Utd and more…
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Erik ten Hag and Liverpool
Dear Ed,
Reading the mails about ETH on a lazy school holiday morning (I’m a teacher, not a child) got me thinking that, given his record at Ajax, if the timings were lined up differently he’d almost certainly have been in contention for the Liverpool job this summer.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s a cautionary tale for our own recruitment this summer, in the case of Amiron, or more a reflection on the state of United at the moment. Say Ten Haag inherited this Liverpool side from Klopp: off field structure more established and certainly more of a coherent plan moving forward; a decent group of Dutch players; a decent mix of youth and experience, would he have made a bigger impact on the league or stagnated in the way he appears to be now?
He obviously wouldn’t make the switch now, but it would have been am interesting test of his abilities as opposed to the dumpster fire he took over.
Thanks,
Dan
If we don’t win the league, here’s the three reasons
We start games terribly badly. Which is why we’ve had to come from behind so much this year. It will eventually cost us.
We can’t finish/kill teams off for shit.
We can’t beat the top 4/5/6.
We’ve been riding luck all year long. Not bad given we had a rebuild last summer, but it’s still just not quite, is it?
Maybe the luck will keep going, but it’s unlikely.
PS: Bayern have mugged us with Gravenberch. Lazy. Likes a nice stroll.
Scott, LFC, Toronto
Conclusions from a Man Utd perspective.
I don’t think anybody expected anything less than chaos in this game, and it duly delivered. An exciting end-to-end game finished with Chelsea taking all three points. I will say they were extremely fortunate to do so. Two soft penalties, one deflected goal and one deflected cross landing kindly were the biggest threats Chelsea had to offer over the course of 111 minutes – which was almost the full 120 you would get in an extra time cup tie.
Yes, Disasi had a headed chance go over, and Gallagher hit the post, but despite the many efforts Utd gave them, they were not all that threatening. It seems teams should be judged on how many shots they concede, unless of course you are Man Utd, in which case having more shots than Chelsea means you lost the first half according to the 16 conclusions.
Chelsea needed a cluster of mistakes to seal victory. From Dalot being way out of position for the first goal, to Antony’s soft challenge on Cucarella, to Dalot falling over for another soft penalty almost 2 hours in, and then lastly – foolishly – giving the one of two Chelsea player who can score, room to shoot, which was then deflected in. You make your own luck of course, but my word was that fortunate.
Man Utd for their part, after a sleepy start, were quite admirable in my view. They never surrendered and came back from 2 down to come in at 2-2 for half time. Garnacho capitalized on a Chelsea mistake to score, and Bruno finished excellently with his head following a superb cross field pass from Antony, and sumptuous cross from Dalot. A captain stepping up to drag his team back in it? Shhh..Can’t have that, we can only talk about him waving arms.
The second half started with Chelsea pressing for a goal, with Onana making two reasonable saves. They then counter with Antony making a potential pass of the season to set up a brave header from Garnacho. 3-2. What a turn around in my books. For all the talk of Ten Hag having no discernable style of play, they tend to repeat these moments quite often.
This was in my eyes, Antony’s best game. He has said he is doing private training, working on his physique and skills, and it really showed. The media and fans like to beat him – and many times with justification – but a part of his game that is world class, that gets little credit, is his defensive contributions. That’s not logically what you want to hear out of a 85M attacker, but in the modern game, he is well suited if he can contribute as he did yesterday. The stats back this up too: 2 Key passes, 1 assist, 3 shots, 85% pass completion, 9 duels won, 2 tackles and Cucerella rinsed 4 times. All rounder, and ETH must be given credit if that continues.
Injuries are often mentioned, but also often pushed to one side, as if it matters but not that much. Utd were missing half of their starting back 4 due to injury, lost their 1st choice Cb to be replaced by their 5th choice, who then 20 minutes later was replaced by their 6th choice cb. Dalot, for all his struggles, most likely would have come off had there been an option. Utd tend to have more control when Martinez and Shaw are playing with a fit Cas. But with none of that available, you see clearly that is not possible with who is available.
I think ETH got his team right, but his substitutions wrong. Rashford is a good player, but not someone you put on when leading 3-2 trying to shore up the game. I would have put McT upfront and Mount slightly deeper, and kept Garncho on as he seemed hungry for his own hattrick, while also keeping Chelsea conscious of his breaks. LFC is on Sunday, and I suspect that was the reasoning there.
That said, it took 2 goals in the final two minutes for Chelsea to win. I agree Dalot should have fouled Madueke, and was unfortunate to fall, but I have seen much worse challenges go unpunished. The last goal was simply ridiculous in terms of conceding, but tired minds do tired things.
I was also curious about the added time. 8 minutes were added on, and Chelsea got their penalty in the 9th, scoring in the 10th and getting the winner in the 11th, with no additional time added thereafter. Not crying about it but I am curious how that all went as it did.
I am also amused by the “Chelsea connected with their fans” as if half of them hadn’t cleared out by the time they had equalized. It is Man Utd you are against, who lead by a single goal and they still left. Another fan aspect I noticed was how the crowd screamed for penalties every opportunity even minorly presentable. It was then not surprising to hear the commentary say no team has had more penalties this year. Fair play to Palmer on scoring them both, but it was a curious point to note.
I do not think this game showed us anything new, or saved/ruined either manager’s chances of staying this summer. Most Man Utd fans can see how unfortunate things have been this season, and have also witnessed how much more composed they are when everyone is fit and available. I would probably be more concerned with Poch than I would with ETH at this point though. ETH was 3 minutes from 6 points this week, and ended it with 1.
Fine Margins has been their two words of the season. With the CL now an almost certainty to miss out on, the only two upsides to hope for are the FA Cup, and denting LFC’s title hopes this weekend. Here’s to Hoping for both.
Calvino
Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd reaction
Honestly still cannot believe what happened in those final moments at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night, the huge pendulum swing of emotion from one moment being in complete despair how yet again we bottled a 2-0 lead to the euphoria of winning 4-3 in the dying seconds, that was as you would say “classic Barclays”.
Reflecting on such a chaotic 100 minutes of action, it’s evident that Cole Palmer is our game-changing player, a player of the calibre we’ve sorely missed since Eden Hazard’s departure. Cole Palmer has such immense potential his ceiling knows no limits, Palmer’s trajectory if it continues suggests he could etch his name among the club and country’s all-time greats.
Such chaotic encounters like this are what i believe football fans cherish— it is a thrilling spectacle akin to an NBA basketball game, brimming with end-to-end action and adrenaline. While some may prefer tactical stalemates, like the recent 0-0 draw between Manchester City and Arsenal, for me, the sheer excitement, chaotic end to end action that Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd gave us reigns supreme.
The Admin @ At The Bridge Pod
Point deductions are no good either
I agree with John Matrix AFC, that the idea of a luxury tax is completely against why we had financial rules in the first place. It would allow petrol state funded clubs the ability to spend what they like and only have a small fine to pay.
The problem however, is that points deductions are not a good punishment either, because their impact swings dramatically depending on the current position of the club. Take the Premier League table as it is. If things finish as they stand, then Everton and Nottingham Forrest’s punishment would be…nothing. They would have suffered absolutely no consequences for their breach. I’m not going to argue about the rights and wrongs of the rules but if there are punishments they surely should have some impact, and not depend on how good the team is?
It’s just very random. E.g. Let’s say (if the table finished as it stands) Liverpool were given a ten point deduction. It would be devastating, and they would miss out on the title. If it happened to Arsenal, the impact would basically be zero. It’s the same at the other end of the table. A 10 point deduction for Palace in 14th leads to relegation and financial catastrophe. The same deduction for Fulham in 13th…absolutely no impact on the club at all.
I’m not saying fines are better but we need a system where the impact on the club is consistent and doesn’t depend on how good a season you have.
Mike,LFC, Dubai
Two points…
Dear 365,
Two points of note.
1. ManYoo and ETH. Sorry but is ETH actually Arsene Wenger in an elaborate Ten Hag disguise? I honestly cannot remember the last time I witnessed a PL manager so thoroughly addicted to borderline unprofessional performances, with the kind of “defending” you wouldn’t see on a Hackney Marshes Sunday morning tear-up. I vaguely remember once seeing Wenger’s Arsenal score a 100th minute “winner” at home to Liverpool (RVP scored it). They didn’t win that match! And of course there was Adebayor scoring an 89th minute equaliser at Anfield in the CL, to send Arsenal through to the semis. Wenger again though, managed to lose that match by more than a goal lol. Hilarious. Basically, I honestly can’t believe ETH first did the Brentford madness, followed up by *that*. It was the best possible Dross Tribute to legendary bottlers such as Senderos, Flamini, Chamakh, Coquelin and Kallstrom – with a dose of managerial incompetence and delusion. Beautiful Wenger Performance Art, complete with post-game excuses. 😂
2. Flipside to that is Arteta I read, this season, is top of the “mini league” of the Big Three clubs. It’s undeniable that Arsenal are way more competitive in big matches now. Professional at Anfield, didn’t concede at Citeh, beat both at home. It’s a far cry from the unflushable turd-burger of the Wenger thrashings. It’s been pretty hilarious watching the Damascene conversion of Arsenal fans (only after almost two decades of farcical ineptitude), effectively justify a dry 0-0 by pointing to excellent defending, and that ultimately, the game being about results. Arsenal fans who have said this are absolutely right of course: Arsenal were pragmatic and sensible. They defended excellently (as Saliba-Gabriel have all season), and were compact and came away with a point. Of course, there’s no need to point out the rank hypocrisy of Gooners who spent years criticising Mourinho, Benitez, Moyes, Mark Hughes etc for “negative football”, and routinely legislated for humiliating failure by claiming some laughable moral high ground about “playing the right way” (Mourinho was still “negative” after thrashing their beloved Wenger 6-0 in his 1000th match apparently hah!)
Let’s be realistic here though. As things stand, there is a rather high likelihood Liverpool will win the PL, especially if they get injured players back quickly. Citeh naturally are never dead, but as I said months back: if Citeh conspire to not win the PL, then it’s clear to me that Liverpool will. If Liverpool DO go on and win the PL, I would put it that this season would be an even greater Arteta-Arsenal failure than the one before. Reason? For years we’ve heard Arsenal fans make three main excuses for their lack of success: “Injuries” (if Saliba had been fit last season blabla), “financial resources” (£200m spent in summer) and of course “nobody can compete with Citeh” (except Klopp already did once).
So this summer, Arteta with a squad that really ought to have won the PL prior and choked, was given huge backing, has had a lesser injury crisis than Liverpool (far kinder) and has witnessed Citeh “dip” (by their ludicrous standard tbf) after a Treble.
With all that in mind, what would the excuse for this season then be, if Liverpool won the PL? 🤔 I truly think it would be the utter shredding of every conceivable excuse if that happens.
To be clear: Arteta is an excellent manager (not a world class one yet but not far). Saliba and Gabriel are possibly the best CB pairing in the PL. Rice was a super signing. No question. Yet it looks to me that despite all that, Arsenal have virtually zero chance of winning the PL. It will absolutely be one of Citeh or Liverpool. Arsenal’s only hope to my eyes is the CL and let’s face it, if it takes pens to beat Porto, how on earth is anyone expecting them to negotiate first Bayern, then Madrid or Citeh over two legs? 🤔
The Arteta cock-up is staring everyone in the face, and it’s the £65m millstone. I noted with interest that we heard nothing at all about Havertz after the Citeh match? Weird. Just like post Liverpool, and post any match against a top 7 side actually. We usually only hear the Havertz praise if it’s Brentford at home or Palace/Burnley/Sheffield. Arsenal went to St James and defended impeccably, still lost. Couldn’t score or create. They went to Anfield and the back 4 were tremendous, couldn’t get a win. They went to Villa and dominated the match for huge spells, couldn’t score and lost. Away at Citeh, tough fixture but without Kyle Walker and Stones, Citeh were absolutely more vulnerable. Saliba and Gabriel muzzled Ivan Drago but Arsenal did absolutely nothing on the counter. Zero quality at centre forward. These small differences are vital, because if it was e.g Salah playing up top in those games (as opposed to Brazil’s X Factor competition winner Jesus), Arsenal are absolutely 5-6 points better off. The catalogue of sitters missed at home to West Ham, away at Fulham etc. Similar to the choked West Ham and Southampton fixtures from the previous season. Matches that are gimmes! Arteta surely would have seen this profligacy last season but chose to stick with Brazilian Fake Steve Bull and N’Ketiah. These are, respectfully, Championship striker options who’ve provided next to nothing all season. If it isn’t injuries, it’s scuffed sitters (Jesus one on one at home to Spurs, 5 yards out, doesn’t hit the target. At 1-0. Arsenal didn’t win in the end)
Ultimately, Arteta has done excellently this season but conversely, his cock-up in the transfer market will cost Arsenal dear this season. Arsenal had a unique chance last season and choked. This season they were given another, and let’s face it, they’re likely not going to win the league with that run-in.
I’m sure their fans are delighted they’re no longer just getting humped in every big match anymore (a low bar?) but at some point, they’re going to have to actually *win* a title. And if not now, when? It’s going to look absolutely ludicrous if Arsenal manage to finish behind a Liverpool team that didn’t have Arsenal’s transfer summer spend, or bill of health, or form.
Stewie Griffin (CL seems more doable than the PL for Arsenal. Then again, date with Beyoncé seems more feasible than one with Rihanna sooo)
Cole Palmer
What a baller – really sad Arsenal didn’t go for him. Seen him play from under 19’s upwards and he is dynamite – saw him at the England U21 last tournament and his was stand out – funniest thing he did when scoring a winning goal was run past the opposing bench just looking at them – it all kicked off hahaha – he is a player for sure.
He must go with England to the Euro’s – he is that wild card – been schooled in a great academy with great coaches and is I reckon easily on Gaza’s level but with much more discipline. He is also a wind up merchant which suits international football to a tee.
It’s a real shame he went to Chelsea as they likely have a few years of rebuilding to get back to where they were – but wow how lucky are you to have Mr Palmer in your team. Only worry is Gareth the bore didn’t play him in either friendly when he would have killed it in the Brazil game for sure.
Cole Palmer on the plane – no chance, it’s Gareth – SIGH!
Micky – AFC – celebrating like it’s 1989 until we can’t win the title – then will celebrate anyhow as it’s f**king excellent the season we had no matter what!!
FFP/PSR
As no one responded to Lee’s letter on letting clubs go bankrupt I thought I better.
I have written previously about my dislike of FFP/PSR, its structural unfairness and the false morality and hyperbole regarding any breaches of it.
Lee’s essay is typical of the reductive binary view used to defend FFP/PSR, where bad owners place debt on clubs and they go bust without FFP/PSR’s help. However there is a third way, where tighter regulation at football clubs is in place and owners can only invest via equity and not via debt. Thus, all these arguments where clubs will go bust because of bad owner investment are moot.
And City won’t go bust if fossil fuels are outlawed. That’s laughable.
FFP/PSR is a barrier to entry to get into and stay in the CL places. But with any barrier to entry, it helps as well as hinders different parties. As City are now an established Champions League club they get the benefit of FFP /PSR (115 charges notwithstanding) now. But as a City fan who didn’t like FFP when it was proposed in 2009, I’m not changing my tune, as it helps my club now. I want Newcastle, Villa, Everton etc to be able to sensibly invest in their team and challenge the status quo at the top. It’s just a shame most PL clubs didn’t see the inevitable outcome of FFP/PSR, as Newcastle fans can talk about this season.
There’s a discussion to be had as to how much owners could invest, creating a common total wage cap, introducing luxury taxes etc to create a more level playing field. But without FFP reform the only meaningful competition to the established Big 6’s dominance in the PL will be from their choice of poor managers and their owners’ poor actions.
Andy D. Manchester. MCFC
Refereeing
I’m sure Chelsea v United was a great game for the neutrals last night. As a United fan it was a sickening gut punch. Anyway, enough of that, let’s get on to complaining about the ref.
2 penalties last night. They were marginally the right decisions, although the 2nd one was very soft. Let’s cast out minds back though shall we? To United’s game against Arsenal back in September. The 87th minute to be precise, with the score at 1 – 1. Hojlund tries to burst past Gabriel, who manages to bring him down with the help of an arm around his waist to drag him back. Incredibly it wasn’t even reviewed at the time. And now we arrive at the point – if Dalot’s tiny drag back was a penalty last night, how in the hell did United not get a penalty v Arsenal?
Kevin, Dublin
Soul food
Whilst composed victories for City and Arsenal are better for their collective hearts (and bode well for their title chances) a filthy 3-1 against Sheff U including a MACH10 rocket is better for the soul.
Aidan, Lfc (thanks Alex for the MACH10 reference)