Ferran Soriano & Txiki Begiristain

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

For me, the jury's still out. No doubt they've been terrific in this summer's transfer window (Negredo and Jovetic in particular). What concerns me is their nepotism; I'm very suspicious that they worked hard to undermine Mancini in order to get their mate Pellegrini in.

Firstly, there was last summers transfer window in which not only did we fail to get our main targets, but instead they gave Mancini Garcia (I think he could be a good player but wasn't what we needed), Sinclair (forget his excuse that he hardly got any games, he is mediocre at best), Rodwell (great talent but already crocked), Maicon (terrible), and Richard Wright (pointless). As for Nastasic, Mancini had been tracking him for some time so I'd imagine that he forced that one through.

I look at these signings, compare them to those we made this summer, and ask why such a difference in quality? Soriano and Begiristain wanted Mancini out, and their mate in.

Then, there's the sacking itself and the reasons given for it. It was made public that these guys were talking to Pellegrini whilst Mancini was still manager (and before the Cup Final, no less!). I don't know where to begin with this: lack of respect, stupidity, deceitfulness...take your pick. Then, after his sacking, we start to hear 'leaked' stories about what a tyrant Mancini was and how much everyone hated him - claims that have often been contradicted by the players themselves (Aguero has been the most recent to rubbish these accusations).

I've read that our chairman was very supportive of Mancini and didn't want to sack him, and that he only backed the decision of Soriano and Begiristain with the threat that if it backfires it will be on their heads.

Of course, I'll back them for now, they deserve time and support; I'm just a little concerned with what I've seen from them these past 12 months. I'm not a fan of Pellegrini's, I don't think he's the right man for the job. When we appointed him I said to my Dad that we'd be battling for fourth place; I hope I'm wrong, of course, but nothing yet has convinced me otherwise. And that will all be down to Soriano and Begiristain.

First of all Txiki and Ferran were above Mancini, if they wanted rid of him then they could have just done it. They would not have gone through all the hassle of undermining him in order to get rid. I think a far more likely scenario is that the Spanish boys came in and wanted to see how Mancini operated. It was quite clear that Mancini did not share their vision for the club so there was only ever going to be one outcome.

You can talk about a lack of respect they showed Mancini through the sacking. But don't forget they way Mancini took our job in the first place. He didn't shows Hughes any respect did he. Live by the sword, die by the sword is a phrase that springs to mind.

Also is it not good management from the board to have a manager already lined up before sacking the existing one?

Onto the point of the chairman being very supportive of Mancini. I'm sure I read that Khaldoon was also very supportive of Hughes and that it was a very difficult decision for him but was one he had to make. Khaldoon is still above Txiki and Sorriano and he would have to have agreed to any decision to remove Mancini.

It's also funny the way you give credit to Mancini for our good signings but blame the board for our poor ones.

Just like the cabal blamed Mancini for any defeats yet blame the players under Pellegrini...

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Also is it not good management from the board to have a manager already lined up before sacking the existing one?

If our Top Brass sacked a manager without having a new one lined up then they would need dismissing immediately.

Of course you make your plans long before the sacking or you are an imbecile.

 

[bernabias home shirt]

And if we get a good drubbing?? Then what?

I seriously think the club have fucked up big style.But I am not allowed to say that without Billy accusing certain posters of wanting Pellegrini to fail...Absolutely not,Iwant him to be a success but right now I am expecting a long hard season.

Yep I think its going to be a long hard season and fight for 4th is what we will do if we carry on as we are I truly hope I'm wrong

I would take 3rd right now. Wonder what the powers that be would think of that.....

I don't think they would be to happy tbh
And neither will I

Anything less than the title is a failure
Unless as I said earlier we are close to the eventual winners points wise.

 

[Bluemoon115]

For me, the jury's still out. No doubt they've been terrific in this summer's transfer window (Negredo and Jovetic in particular). What concerns me is their nepotism; I'm very suspicious that they worked hard to undermine Mancini in order to get their mate Pellegrini in.

Firstly, there was last summers transfer window in which not only did we fail to get our main targets, but instead they gave Mancini Garcia (I think he could be a good player but wasn't what we needed), Sinclair (forget his excuse that he hardly got any games, he is mediocre at best), Rodwell (great talent but already crocked), Maicon (terrible), and Richard Wright (pointless). As for Nastasic, Mancini had been tracking him for some time so I'd imagine that he forced that one through.

I look at these signings, compare them to those we made this summer, and ask why such a difference in quality? Soriano and Begiristain wanted Mancini out, and their mate in.

Then, there's the sacking itself and the reasons given for it. It was made public that these guys were talking to Pellegrini whilst Mancini was still manager (and before the Cup Final, no less!). I don't know where to begin with this: lack of respect, stupidity, deceitfulness...take your pick. Then, after his sacking, we start to hear 'leaked' stories about what a tyrant Mancini was and how much everyone hated him - claims that have often been contradicted by the players themselves (Aguero has been the most recent to rubbish these accusations).

I've read that our chairman was very supportive of Mancini and didn't want to sack him, and that he only backed the decision of Soriano and Begiristain with the threat that if it backfires it will be on their heads.

Of course, I'll back them for now, they deserve time and support; I'm just a little concerned with what I've seen from them these past 12 months. I'm not a fan of Pellegrini's, I don't think he's the right man for the job. When we appointed him I said to my Dad that we'd be battling for fourth place; I hope I'm wrong, of course, but nothing yet has convinced me otherwise. And that will all be down to Soriano and Begiristain.

First of all Txiki and Ferran were above Mancini, if they wanted rid of him then they could have just done it. They would not have gone through all the hassle of undermining him in order to get rid. I think a far more likely scenario is that the Spanish boys came in and wanted to see how Mancini operated. It was quite clear that Mancini did not share their vision for the club so there was only ever going to be one outcome.

You can talk about a lack of respect they showed Mancini through the sacking. But don't forget they way Mancini took our job in the first place. He didn't shows Hughes any respect did he. Live by the sword, die by the sword is a phrase that springs to mind.

Also is it not good management from the board to have a manager already lined up before sacking the existing one?

Onto the point of the chairman being very supportive of Mancini. I'm sure I read that Khaldoon was also very supportive of Hughes and that it was a very difficult decision for him but was one he had to make. Khaldoon is still above Txiki and Sorriano and he would have to have agreed to any decision to remove Mancini.

It's also funny the way you give credit to Mancini for our good signings but blame the board for our poor ones.

Just like the cabal blamed Mancini for any defeats yet blame the players under Pellegrini...

Just like the inverse for the cheerleaders.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

For me, the jury's still out. No doubt they've been terrific in this summer's transfer window (Negredo and Jovetic in particular). What concerns me is their nepotism; I'm very suspicious that they worked hard to undermine Mancini in order to get their mate Pellegrini in.

Firstly, there was last summers transfer window in which not only did we fail to get our main targets, but instead they gave Mancini Garcia (I think he could be a good player but wasn't what we needed), Sinclair (forget his excuse that he hardly got any games, he is mediocre at best), Rodwell (great talent but already crocked), Maicon (terrible), and Richard Wright (pointless). As for Nastasic, Mancini had been tracking him for some time so I'd imagine that he forced that one through.

I look at these signings, compare them to those we made this summer, and ask why such a difference in quality? Soriano and Begiristain wanted Mancini out, and their mate in.

Then, there's the sacking itself and the reasons given for it. It was made public that these guys were talking to Pellegrini whilst Mancini was still manager (and before the Cup Final, no less!). I don't know where to begin with this: lack of respect, stupidity, deceitfulness...take your pick. Then, after his sacking, we start to hear 'leaked' stories about what a tyrant Mancini was and how much everyone hated him - claims that have often been contradicted by the players themselves (Aguero has been the most recent to rubbish these accusations).

I've read that our chairman was very supportive of Mancini and didn't want to sack him, and that he only backed the decision of Soriano and Begiristain with the threat that if it backfires it will be on their heads.

Of course, I'll back them for now, they deserve time and support; I'm just a little concerned with what I've seen from them these past 12 months. I'm not a fan of Pellegrini's, I don't think he's the right man for the job. When we appointed him I said to my Dad that we'd be battling for fourth place; I hope I'm wrong, of course, but nothing yet has convinced me otherwise. And that will all be down to Soriano and Begiristain.

Firstly Txiki wasn't here last summer and marwood had the transfer role. Maicon was mancini's choice and the others felt like desperate compromises because mancini was reluctant to shift from plan a targets. So those comments about the spanish pair were misguided, especially as only stupid clubs don't speak to prospective new managers and players before making the necessary sackings/sales to facilitate official approaches, it's called gauging interest, scouting and vetting.

But you don't do it in broad daylight at a very popular restaurant whilst sat at a table by the window,
That would very stupid now wouldn't it?

God forbid spaniards would want to sit outside while they have dinner, I mean they NEVER do that...

People shouldn't be so nosy, at the end of the day if mancini hadn't had the transfer nous of moyes last summer and had treated key players with more respect and fairly then he could well have still been in the job. The CL failure killed him. The performances were telling from day 1 last season, pellegrini needs time. The first 6 months of mancini still didn't take us to top 4, however in the longer term the rewards were reaped. There is no point point scoring when your commitment has to be to the team, murmurs of discontent ruined our season and it cannot happen again.

 

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

Yep I think its going to be a long hard season and fight for 4th is what we will do if we carry on as we are I truly hope I'm wrong

I would take 3rd right now. Wonder what the powers that be would think of that.....

I don't think they would be to happy tbh
And neither will I

Anything less than the title is a failure
Unless as I said earlier we are close to the eventual winners points wise.

But then it would be written off as a "transitional season" pal...which in all honesty will not wash with 99% of blue IMHO...80million spent means we should be pushing for the title and nothing less

 

[bernabias home shirt]

Firstly Txiki wasn't here last summer and marwood had the transfer role. Maicon was mancini's choice and the others felt like desperate compromises because mancini was reluctant to shift from plan a targets. So those comments about the spanish pair were misguided, especially as only stupid clubs don't speak to prospective new managers and players before making the necessary sackings/sales to facilitate official approaches, it's called gauging interest, scouting and vetting.

But you don't do it in broad daylight at a very popular restaurant whilst sat at a table by the window,
That would very stupid now wouldn't it?

God forbid spaniards would want to sit outside while they have dinner, I mean they NEVER do that...

People shouldn't be so nosy, at the end of the day if mancini hadn't had the transfer nous of moyes last summer and had treated key players with more respect and fairly then he could well have still been in the job..

Good point that jmw
Bit of a twats trick Mancini telling £200'000 a week players what to do
Poor bastards didn't feel the love did they.

 

[che_don_john]

First of all Txiki and Ferran were above Mancini, if they wanted rid of him then they could have just done it. They would not have gone through all the hassle of undermining him in order to get rid.

Above Mancini, yes. But below Khaldoon Mubarak. He was a big fan of Mancini's, and would have taken a lot of convincing. They wouldn't have been able to just sack Mancini without his approval.

Firstly Txiki wasn't here last summer and marwood had the transfer role. Maicon was mancini's choice and the others felt like desperate compromises because mancini was reluctant to shift from plan a targets. So those comments about the spanish pair were misguided, especially as only stupid clubs don't speak to prospective new managers and players before making the necessary sackings/sales to facilitate official approaches, it's called gauging interest, scouting and vetting.

Fair point, although I think Soriano was there last summer, wasn't he? And I'm not saying they shouldn't have gauged Pellegrini's or any other potential managers interest, I just think they shouldn't have been so blatant about it, especially on the eve of a Cup Final!

Regardless, my main point still stands; they appointed Pellegrini, he is their man, and they'll be accountable for that decision come what may.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

But you don't do it in broad daylight at a very popular restaurant whilst sat at a table by the window,
That would very stupid now wouldn't it?

God forbid spaniards would want to sit outside while they have dinner, I mean they NEVER do that...

People shouldn't be so nosy, at the end of the day if mancini hadn't had the transfer nous of moyes last summer and had treated key players with more respect and fairly then he could well have still been in the job..

Good point that jmw
Bit of a twats trick Mancini telling £200'000 a week players what to do
Poor bastards didn't feel the love did they.

Why do people link job happiness with pay when it comes to footballers

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

But you don't do it in broad daylight at a very popular restaurant whilst sat at a table by the window,
That would very stupid now wouldn't it?

God forbid spaniards would want to sit outside while they have dinner, I mean they NEVER do that...

People shouldn't be so nosy, at the end of the day if mancini hadn't had the transfer nous of moyes last summer and had treated key players with more respect and fairly then he could well have still been in the job..

Good point that jmw
Bit of a twats trick Mancini telling £200'000 a week players what to do
Poor bastards didn't feel the love did they.

Quite childish that, none of our players are on 200k for a start.

You can tell people what to do as long as there is a constructive reasoning to it, once you start just criticising and undermining professional people in public they're going to get irritated pretty quickly, mancini paid for that.