To pick up a few points here since my last post. Yes, I know Howe was never a possibility. But most of the discussions here centre around the question of who we would like, rather than who is likely. So I always put forward his name. I have no worries about Ranieri’s desire/motivation. He’s not been away on a three year sabbatical or anything. Or come to us from managing (badly) in the lower leagues of Belgium or a short stint in Georgia or China. He worked last season to positive reviews in Serie A. He may see us as one final swansong and be highly motivated to bow out achieving something good. I guess the nearest thing we’ve had to him under the Pozzo era in terms of closeness to our owners was Mazzari. Our first Italian in charge since then too. Nobody will ever know but I’m with most people in suspecting we might well have gone down under Xisco. My point really was it’s still too early in the season to get a totally confident over-view about where we are and where we might end up. I just want to see us give ourselves the best chance of staying up and this feels like a positive move in that direction. But if Ranieri starts slowly, that’s not terminal for our hopes either. Xisco was sadly found wanting but at least he left us with 7 points in the bank. We all hoped for more, but nonetheless that’s a base for Ranieri to build on. All the money we spend on paying off our Head Coaches yet little in the budget for a decent centre half uff.
Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano · 3m Claudio Ranieri has signed his contract as new Watford FC manager, confirmed. Two years deal. After being approached by many Italian clubs, Ranieri joins Watford. #WatfordFC
Esteban is signing as a free agent. Utter class as a midfielder and hugely underrated as a player by many.
It's just an opinion. Time will tell. If it comes off another masterstroke. If it doesn't egg on the face.
Exactly. He could be brilliant for us, or he could be a disaster. Nobody knows at this point, and either is possible.
This theory that Ranieri wasn't instrumental in bringing the Premier League title to Leicester is possibly the dumbest theory I've eve heard. They even gave the job to Shakespeare and guess what? He was sacked with Leicester in the relegation zone.
Yup. Another case of history getting rewritten (although I do rate Simon Jordan highly and he’s usually very good with his opinions). Leicester won an amazing title but the manager played little part in it. Xisco got us promoted but deserves little credit as we were so strong that even our grandmothers could have got us up and mine have both been dead for years. And so it goes on.
No one seems to take him seriously, remember all the crap that Mourinho used to spout about him? That was until Claudio had the last laugh and hammered the final nail into his coffin at Chelsea
Simon Jordan is odd. On the few occasions I have listened to him in the last year he sounds more and more like Ade Edmondson as the restaurant critic in 'Absolutely Fabulous'. He makes strange noises with his mouth on the rare occasions he is pausing for breath and reminds me of a spiv version of Patrick Campbell on 'Call My Bluff'.
I'd love to be known as a man who was the cause of such a historic victory, despite barely staying up with Vardy, Chilwell, Mahrez etc., not managing a single minute during what must have been an incredibly challenging and stressful year, and then doing absolutely **** all since.
He also took Chelsea to that all-important 4th place which made Roman Abramovich pick them to purchase. After the purchase, Ranieri finished 2nd and got to the CL semis. (He was beaten by........yep, Mourinho's Porto.) Glad he had the last laugh.
Neither me nor my mate are alphas. But we have both lived a lot. I respect what you are saying about meaningful long term relationships and monogamy. Im also big on monogamy. Having a fulfilling meaningful long term relationship is something to really celebrate. I guess I'm lucky that I also find meaning and fulfillment in other types of relationships, sometimes rather brief! My favourite part of a relationship is the honeymoon phase during the first 3-12 months. When I look back on my life so far the length of relationships doesnt seem that relevant. It's the intensity, quality and diversity of experiences that does it for me. But for those who have found happiness and fulfillment in a committed long term relationship, I salute you. I'm not saying my way is better, I'm just saying it works for me. Horses for courses.
There’s a sea of difference between someone coming in and taking a squad that should get promoted to actually getting promoted - and someone taking over a team that could reasonably be expected to battle against relegation yet end up winning the PL title. A poor coach with the right mentality could pull the former off - as Xisco proved. I highly doubt a poor coach could do the latter though.
