Midfield_General

I had a quick look. They're running through The Five Stages Of Appointing Russell Martin in textbook fashion: 1 week ago - Denial: "Ah think we'll be aiming a bit higher than Russell Martin, don't ye?" ✅ 3 days ago - Anger: "If we appoint him ah'm burning mah season ticket!" ✅ 2 days ago - Bargaining: "Ah didn't want Davide Ancelotti, but ah'd take him if it's a straight choice between him ay Martin" ✅ Last night - Depression: "I cannae believe the board have done this. This is the worst day in my 50 years ay supporting this club" ✅ Today - Acceptance: "Just seen his first press conference - he talks so well, ah take it all back!" ✅

Domestically maybe, but they're in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. They'd need to be aiming a bit higher than that if they were serious about getting through. Can you imagine lining up against PSG with a wing-back who got destroyed by a Leicester substitute?

Oh I don't know, I reckon we could work something out

OK this made me laugh from the Rangers boards (sound on)

Absolutely this. The St Mary's crowd was unbelievably tolerant and supportive, considering the results. He had an incredibly easy ride in that respect. The vast majority of Rangers fans are horrified at this appointment and don't want him, so he's seriously on the back foot with the fanbase before they've even kicked a ball. He's then got up to three Champions League qualifiers as his first matches, with the first on 22nd July, which gives him 6 weeks to get his team together and get his ideas across and implemented before they get tested in a proper competitive fixture with very high stakes. If those qualifiers don't go well, and then they don't win the first Old Firm game, he's in big trouble straightaway. He desperately needs to get off to a strong start otherwise it could get very toxic, very quickly, and when the Ibrox crowd turns he will know about it. I wish him luck, because he is going to need it.

They are in the qualifiers but would need to get through three rounds of qualifying to reach the actual Champions' League stage. 1st round of qualifying - they'll need to beat either Panathinaikos (Greece), Servette (Switzerland) or Brann (Norway). If they get through that - they could play RB Salzburg, Fenerbache, Nice or Viktoria Plzen (Czechia). If they get through that - they could play Benfica or Club Brugge. Not easy, by any means.

That's a good move for him. He'll be able to look a lot better up there bullying pub teams every other week than he would have done starting on -12 in a tougher league at Leicester. He'll be able to say he's coached a team to runners-up in their country's top division, and managed in the Europa League, both of which represent another step forward for his own personal profile. He should be able to have a shot at a domestic cup final reasonably easily too. In terms of progressing his own CV, he's made a good choice.

I think what’s most likely with Bazunu is that the new manager will watch him, assess him and decide whether he wants to pick him or not. If he doesn’t want to pick him, he’ll probably brief the signing of a replacement who he thinks is better. Just a hunch though.

Full quote: “My last job was in the premier league…” ”…where they realised pretty much instantly they’d made a terrible, terrible mistake and sacked me after 8 games, forcing me to drop down two divisions because literally no-one else would employ me.”

If he walked out on Charlton, having finally found a fanbase that doesn't hate him and where he's actually started to deliver some success, to take the Cardiff job, back in the third tier and under a volatile owner, it would be the most Nathan Jones thing imaginable. Even more so if he then bollocksed it up and got sacked six months later.

I mean so do we, to be fair

Jesus. Hate to think how they’d have reacted if they’d lost. Detonated a small nuclear device over the arc de triomphe presumably

Yep, that was an absolute result at the time. Can imagine the high fives all round the St Mary’s boardroom when that call came in

I think managers just have to resign if they’re genuinely desperate to leave. Can’t remember the last time a manager resigned though (health reasons notwithstanding) because of the amount of money they miss out on. Keegan for England springs to mind. Klopp?

What, surely not Alan “When you’re the king you can do what you like” Pardew?

No way are they paying the compo for Rohl. They’ll get a free agent or stick with RVN. They’re skint.

Yep, or it’s the same ruse but to soften up their fans for the news that after careful consideration they’ve decided to keep van Nistelrooy, which wouldn’t surprise me, given their fans backlash against Martin.

Weird. Rosenior only signed a new 3 year contract at Strasbourg 6 weeks ago, so it would be very unlikely that he’d bail immediately after doing that, and even if he wanted to, by all accounts Leicester are in no financial position to be buying him out of that. Chansiri’s also playing hardball with anyone approaching Rohl, demanding a lot of compensation as he’s still under contract. That’s why Saints, Leipzig and Werder Bremen have all passed on him. Again, I’d be very surprised if Leicester were willing or able to pay what’s being demanded.

He stands at over six foot five Quarshie, Quarshie In a three he's bound to thrive Quarshie, Quarshie He gets the ball and takes the piss Runs as fast as John Regis* Joshua Quarshie Southampton's...errr... defending... machine (* One for the kids there)

Man Utd's open top bus parade in Malaysia is absolutely incredible - best with sound turned up to hear the guy videoing it pissing himself laughing

“… then shagged that Dani Behr like”

Werder Bremen reported to have pulled out of an approach for Danny Rohl: https://eflanalysis.com/news/werder-bremen-have-just-pulled-out-of-danny-rohl-pursuit-as-sheffield-wednesday-handed-major-problem/ If Leicester pass on him too in favour of Martin, then if reports are true that will be Saints, Leicester, Werder and Leipzig who've all been interested in him but decided against it. Sounds like Chansiri is being an absolute nightmare to deal with on it, basically as a fuck you to Rohl for trying to walk out when he's under contract. I've got nothing against the bloke but after he so spectacularly burned his bridges at his current club, it would be hilarious if he ended up still there for the new season because no-one else ended up taking him.

Yeah, or THB when we signed him. Capped at every international youth level by his country, but still got some development to do so has been getting some experience of playing regularly out on loan.

Yeah with Spors I was thinking it's more likely that he's still got good connections at the club as he worked there for 8 years. He obviously knows Lederer well from there, as he's just hired him. And Lederer will have recommended Quarshie as he's been overseeing youth development at Hoffenheim, where Quarshie has been a youth player. My point is that our new head scout will have had a very good 'proper' look at him and will have used the eye test to form an educated view of his strengths and the areas he needs to develop, rather than him being a 'spreadsheet' signing.

Sorry to come over all MLG (ew), but - Quarshie is being signed from Hoffenheim. Spors was an analyst, head scout and head of recruitment at Hoffenheim from 2007 - 2015. A week ago we announced that our new head scout was going to be Tim Lederer, who is/ was Hoffenheim's youth squad planner. I think it's fair to say that this is a player that our new scouting and recruitment team know pretty well, and that he will have been properly (e.g. traditionally) scouted and those people will have had eyes on him for some time. He's also been picked for Germany at under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 level (though he hasn't got into the side for the under-21s yet). So we may not have heard of him, but he's got a pretty decent pedigree for a young player in Germany.