Overreaction Monday ft English managers, Liverpool and Xavi vs Paul Pogba
Overthinking and over-reacting to situations is the human way but when it comes to football something clicks in a person that makes things comical, ludicrous and rarely sensible. That being said after a packed weekend of hysterical fans in England, there were bound to be a few hare-brained ideas.
English managers severely overhyped or overrated
Itâs been a month since football was brought to our televisions and the interweb has claimed that English managers are âseverely overhyped or overrated.â
SC Take: In a world where the most popular league is English, one would expect at least a few English managers to take their stance amongst the worldâs best. But while that has rarely been the case over the last couple of decades, because Scottish doesnât count, calling English managers âseverely overhyped or overratedâ is utter nonsense. Thatâs pushing things a bit too far and thatâs despite the fact that theyâve never won a Premier League title.
However, by limiting one's view-point to a major trophy that teams spend millions and billions trying to win and then grouping managers by that claim to support an argument, it reduces what hundreds of others have done over the years. Take Sol Campbell and his sensational effort to keep Macclesfield which he eventually managed to do. Then thereâs Eddie Howe, Chris Wilder, Graham Potter and even Frank Lampard transforming their clubs across the Premier League. There are countless other examples of English managers doing exceptionally well and that doesnât include those of the Scottish and Welsh persuasion.
Not winning a World Cup will eventually destroy Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldoâs legacies
Apparently the interweb believes that not winning a World Cup will eventually destroy both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messiâs legacies.
SC Take:Â No no no no no. Somehow it seems that the internet has idiots aboard it on the journey to absolutely everywhere. There has to be an absolute limit to stupidity and absolutely nonsensical claims to absolutely anything. Because if there are two people in the football world/history exempt from the utterly made-up rule that a âworld cup makes a legendâ itâs Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ignore the fact that combined they have 69 trophies (according to Transfermarkt).
Ignore the fact that combined they have more Ballon dâOrs than anyone else in history and more than anyone in the last twenty years or thirty years has ever managed. Ignore the fact that theyâve singlehandedly managed to create more news articles, get more views and divide a fanbase more than anyone else. But consider what theyâve done on the field. How theyâve changed football for the better. Still, think itâll destroy their legacy?
Xavi doesnât touch Paul Pogba in terms of pure ability/talent
A world without football certainly leads to a few ridiculous and hilarious debates with the latest one being that âXavi doesnât touch Paul Pogba in overall abilityâ.
SC Take:Â Thatâs not exactly true but it has some elements of truth to it. Paul Pogbaâs talent/potential is something that Xavi never had when he was developing as a player. The Spaniard was brilliant but Pogbaâs talent was so good that many would have simply handed him a Ballon dâOr if he ever reached his full potential. But he never did and thatâs what separates Xavi and Paul Pogba. Because Pogba's talent is world-class but he's a good player right now at his very best. There are cameos of world-class for Manchester United and whenever he plays for France.
But Xavi was never a world-class talent, especially as a complete player both offensively and defensively. But his consistency and intelligence made him the best and itâs what would make him the best even now. Pogbaâs lack of consistency and all the drama that surrounded him over the years has plagued the Frenchman and seen him struggle to impose himself at Manchester United. At Juventus, he was given the freedom and lacked the pressure to perform which is why he thrived. For Xavi, that never mattered.
Liverpool will struggle to transition out from this squad
With Liverpool dominating the Premier League like few have done before, it has seen many to wonder how the Reds will transition from this team to another.
SC Take:Â Jurgen Klopp isnât a Sir Alex Ferguson at the transition but the German is pretty great at doing it himself. The only reason he struggled at Dortmund, after winning the titles, was because Dortmund couldnât afford to transition from world-class to world-class. Instead, they had to do it all over again by creating world-class players from merely talented youngsters again and that hurt the club more than anything else. That and the fact that the club couldnât spend oodles of money on the right players to help change that which is why they struggled.
Liverpool doesn't have that problem and in Michael Edwards, they have a good football brain and a man capable enough to find Klopp exactly what he needs moving forward. But even then, with the core of their team in their mid-twenties and a decent chunk of their team still starting out, Liverpool are what many will call in transition heaven. But to say they will struggle and fail to live up to the expectations this team sets is an overreaction. Because the transition has already started.