8-1 under Sven. Losing the Cup Final to Wigan

[Goater's Nipple]

Does it matter who the manager is?

When you're playing in the FA Cup final, it shouldn't matter if you think (or know) the manager is 'toast'.

 

[Stoned Rose]

It doesn't matter whether Pellegrini is here or not next season.

The fact is that at least 50% of blues went into that stadium today believing that it is probably. A huge percentage of the country believe it is possible. And a huge (and voluble) section of the press belive it is possible (or want it to be possible).

And no-one can deny that that performance today was identical to dozens of other performances put in by football teams over the years when they believe that their manager is toast and there is uncertainty at the club. Anyone who denies that last sentence (even if they don't believe that that was the reason, or the major reason, for that poor effort) is a liar.

Now, perhaps it is all bollocks but if that is the case it is incumbent on those in a position to do so to make sure that we don't have months of absolute shite being talked (if that is what it is) about their meetings and dealings with specific, named people.

Otherwise, you end up with the farcical and unique situation of today where the whole club is undermined by the manager being subject to crap all day on the day of the FA Cup final.

Any time over the last couple of months, or even this morning, they could have come out and said that the talk about Pellegrini is a load of nonsense and made it known that it is malicous shite. But they have let it rumble on. They could have even done it this morning, in the face of an unprecedented glut of destabilising stories on the day of a major final.

But they didn't.

So either it is shite that has been allowed to drastically affect the club and develop into something ridiculous on the day of a final.

Or either it is true and Garry Cook, for all his cock ups, could do a 100 times better job of keeping sensitive discussions, which have the potential for major destabilisation, under wraps.

Either situation is piss poor and at best shows a shocking understanding of the motivations of the gutter press and how to deal with them and such situations.

Well said. Seems like there's only me and you with the brains to see this mate. This whole saga has been 'handled' very poorly and Mancini has been hung out to dry by the club's lack of protection.

These two new fellas had better have a fucking brilliant replacement up their sleeves.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrrGKR8Xii4[/youtube]

 

[Revolver]

I don't necessarily want Mancini out, the fact that we are talking about such things when we've recently started winning things makes me uncomfortable.

However at the risk of contradicting myself I can't believe that the performance today was solely down to uncertainty about the managers position. Too often this season we have been one paced and predictable, hence us being so far behind Utd.

 

[Lucky Toma]

You've got to look at the bigger picture with this and ask yourself....how many managers actually resign these days? Not that many because they'll lose their pay-outs.

Mancini is wanting his cake and eating it here.

 

[kunaguero10]

Not having this. We've seen performances of this kind all season. Just happens that it occurred in the cup final too

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

That's what you get when you undermine the manager and let it be known that he is toast before the end of the season.

Yes, the players' effort was shocking. Yes, the manager's tactics were poor.

But a portion of the blame for that display lies in Spain. Absolutely fuckwittery to undermine the man in charge and be have every amigo and his dog talking about your meetings with people.

Garry Cook was an absolute buffoon, in my opinion, but at least he had the nous to keep the talks with Mancini under wraps. No-one knew a thing about it before Hughes went and we were only playing Sunderland at home that day.

Yet before the biggest showpiece game in the country the whole media agenda, unavoidable by the whole dressing room, is that Mancini is about to get a dagger in his back.

Tell me that doesn't affect teams (and yes, I agree it shouldn't but too many historical examples tell you it does). Shocking stuff from above.

Blame the fans on here, two threads prior to the game both 150+ pages long about Mancini leaving with no actual substance, one was locked, one wasn't. This was the only site talking about it, which the media fed from. Threads about that subject should have been banned in the run up to the game.

Now it doesn't matter discuss as much as you want, and in my opinion the sooner he leaves the better. I'd put Vinny in charge for the last two games as player manager!!

 

[jma]

Not having this. We've seen performances of this kind all season. Just happens that it occurred in the cup final too

There is definitely truth in the fact that it was a performance that replicated others this season.

But it is also true that it should have been the one match this season that required absolutely nothing in terms of motivating players.

And it is also true that, despite it requiring no extra motivation, it was a performance identical to many put in by teams whose dressing rooms have been unsettled by speculation about the manager's future (speculation which, most of the time, in other circumstances where you see this, is nowhere near the scale of 'Fucking Up The Story Of The Day Of The Cup Final' level that we saw over the past 48 hours).

You can't separate today's efforts from the rest of the season's trends.

But you also can't separate it from the unique destabilisation that the club have allowed to develop on the day of a Cup Final.<br /><br />-- Sat May 11, 2013 8:46 pm --<br /><br />

That's what you get when you undermine the manager and let it be known that he is toast before the end of the season.

Yes, the players' effort was shocking. Yes, the manager's tactics were poor.

But a portion of the blame for that display lies in Spain. Absolutely fuckwittery to undermine the man in charge and be have every amigo and his dog talking about your meetings with people.

Garry Cook was an absolute buffoon, in my opinion, but at least he had the nous to keep the talks with Mancini under wraps. No-one knew a thing about it before Hughes went and we were only playing Sunderland at home that day.

Yet before the biggest showpiece game in the country the whole media agenda, unavoidable by the whole dressing room, is that Mancini is about to get a dagger in his back.

Tell me that doesn't affect teams (and yes, I agree it shouldn't but too many historical examples tell you it does). Shocking stuff from above.

Blame the fans on here, two threads prior to the game both 150+ pages long about Mancini leaving with no actual substance, one was locked, one wasn't. This was the only site talking about it, which the media fed from. Threads about that subject should have been banned in the run up to the game.

Now it doesn't matter discuss as much as you want, and in my opinion the sooner he leaves the better. I'd put Vinny in charge for the last two games as player manager!!

I think you are giving too much importance to this site with those statements.

The rapid development of this story over the past 48 hours is mainly due to reports from Spain, reports from bookmakers and the total refusal of the club to do anything about these stories over the last few months or even in the last 48 hours when it has become obviously out of hand.

 

[cleavers]

Otherwise, you end up with the farcical and unique situation of today where the whole club is undermined by the manager being subject to crap all day on the day of the FA Cup final.

Any time over the last couple of months, or even this morning, they could have come out and said that the talk about Pellegrini is a load of nonsense and made it known that it is malicous shite. But they have let it rumble on. They could have even done it this morning, in the face of an unprecedented glut of destabilising stories on the day of a major final.

But they didn't.

So either it is shite that has been allowed to drastically affect the club and develop into something ridiculous on the day of a final.

Or either it is true and Garry Cook, for all his cock ups, could do a 100 times better job of keeping sensitive discussions, which have the potential for major destabilisation, under wraps.

Either situation is piss poor and at best shows a shocking understanding of the motivations of the gutter press and how to deal with them and such situations.

Totally agree. I've no idea if it affected the team performance or not, in fact I think the biggest factor was Martinez team selection and tactics, which were better than Mancini's, but the previous 24 hours have been a poor effort by the club for me whether Pellegrini has been agreed or not, and if he has, then Pellegrini is now in a difficult position when he turns up, because its obvious many fans are against him from what I heard in and out of the ground.

 

[BobKowalski]

Otherwise, you end up with the farcical and unique situation of today where the whole club is undermined by the manager being subject to crap all day on the day of the FA Cup final.

Any time over the last couple of months, or even this morning, they could have come out and said that the talk about Pellegrini is a load of nonsense and made it known that it is malicous shite. But they have let it rumble on. They could have even done it this morning, in the face of an unprecedented glut of destabilising stories on the day of a major final.

But they didn't.

So either it is shite that has been allowed to drastically affect the club and develop into something ridiculous on the day of a final.

Or either it is true and Garry Cook, for all his cock ups, could do a 100 times better job of keeping sensitive discussions, which have the potential for major destabilisation, under wraps.

Either situation is piss poor and at best shows a shocking understanding of the motivations of the gutter press and how to deal with them and such situations.

Totally agree. I've no idea if it affected the team performance or not, in fact I think the biggest factor was Martinez team selection and tactics, which were better than Mancini's, but the previous 24 hours have been a poor effort by the club for me whether Pellegrini has been agreed or not, and if he has, then Pellegrini is now in a difficult position when he turns up, because its obvious many fans are against him from what I heard in and out of the ground.

I don't disagree with any of these sentiments but I wouldn't blame Pellegrini for this any more then you could blame Mancini for the Hughes sacking debacle. The PR fiasco today was entirely down to the guys who pushed for his appointment and conducted the negotiations and thought it would be ideal Cup Final preparation to let the world and his fucking wife know what was going on and then stand around with their dicks hanging out while speculation spiralled out of control. Incompetent bastards.

 

[jma]

The more I think about this the more pissed off I get.

Don't get me wrong, I don't excuse the players or Mancini for today. There's plenty of blame to go around.

But to have the whole narrative of the day, dwarfing everything else, to be that you are about to sack your (relatively very successful) manager and for that to have grown from information that has been (in a very amateur manner) in the public domain for some time.......

Well, that is fucking shocking.

This is the short term emotion speaking, but I am now questioning just why there is so much trust in the Barcelona pair. Their reputations are built upon a short period of success at Barca. But that coincided with the arrival of a manager uniquely suited to that club, the very rare fruition of a youth policy years and years in the making and the development of a style of play that had been growing and being refined in the years before they got there.

Yes, they had their commercial successes. But this lauding of them as the best around? Well, based upon the complete silence, the lack of any sort of communication of philosophy (and I most certainly do not mean acting like Garry Cook did) and the total and utter fuckwittery that allowed a farce to undermine the club today in manner never seen before on the day of a cup final (A farce that could have been avoided or nipped in the bud at any time between February and this morning with just a bit of professionalism and nous)......

Well, that alone is enough to make me at least sceptical of the relevance of the reputation that they come with.

This feeling will pass, I'm sure. But the nagging seed of doubt that was always there, regarding whether they just happened to be at Barca at the right time and why they have communicated no philosophy whatsoever so far, has been watered ever so slightly today. Only the progress of the close season and next season can alter that now.