ALC Fox

Ornstein got there first. He's not quite as on it as he thinks, old Romano.

I'm fully on board. I'm really missing the season already and can't wait to see as many games as possible. England games will be difficult as I care but I love it all the same.

If we make the right managerial appointment and we can unite under a 'fvck PSR' mentality, I think it could be pretty tasty down the City next season. Big ifs, though.

First home game of the season: "we are staying up" echoing around the entire ground as the players take their positions before kick-off. Would set the tone for the entire season.

Exactly. He might not be getting Champions League football but it would be another chance to impress in the Premier League. If he does well, he may get himself a better move than to a Bologna side that, while it has done extremely well, doesn't want to pay the going rate for a top five Serie A full-back

Makes me really angry seeing stuff like this when you consider Fortuna Dusseldorf (recently failed to get promoted to the Bundesliga via the promotion/relegation playoff) are aiming to achieve a model where all tickets for every game are free - and have already managed it for three games this season.

Literally all the new clobber is pure sh!t. How they can get away with selling it, and at those prices is beyond me. They must have sales figures for previous similar merch drops and so they continue to do it, but who's buying it? Do these people have more money than sense or are they exploiting a select number of people who will literally collect anything the club releases? I know taste and style are subjective but I honestly can't fathom why anyone would buy any of that stuff. Incredible.

I like him, think he'll do well at Brighton if he ends up there. Could do a very reasonable job here too given the chance

I wonder whether the club would prefer to receive Enzo's compensation in the 23/24 season or the 24/25 season? If we're going to breach for 23/24 anyway and we can't bring in the amount of money to avoid that, do we sack 23/24 off and wait for 24/25 and start from scratch in that year, giving us the best chance to use that money wisely to help keep us up?

This is making me think it's Jose for some reason

Mads is clearly our standout number 1 for me. Shot stopping, passing, the lot. Stolarczyk is a very able keeper but his distribution isn't quite as good. If we were presented with him as our number 1 I would be confident he'd do a good job. But Mads is a level above and could save us crucial points defensively or help us gain more points with his ability to help the team keep the ball, more so than Jakub in my opinion.

Despite him being previously wrong about the length of contract, how likely is it that Romano is correct about €10m being the correct currency and for Maresca only (with compensation for the staff seemingly separate)?

Dominic Tedesco describes himself as a manager who likes his teams to win the ball back quickly and loves attacking, but with a structure that controls transitions. The trouble is he's the Belgium manager and has only been there since February 2023. He's been sacked by Schalke and Leipzig but his win percentage at both clubs is above 50%, he guided Schalke to second in the league and won the German Cup with Leipzig. Maybe worth considering as the one after the next if we're in a decent position.

I really liked some of the football we were able to play last season. When we clicked we really did dominate teams. But, there were some obvious downs and question marks over whether it was Enzo or not who dragged us over the line. It's way too early in his career to say definitively that losing him would be like losing a Pep or Klopp early in their careers. He has a lot to prove. I'll be sad to see him go but there are managers out there who will give us a good shot at staying up, whatever the playing style.

Chelsea are mental really. Two of their directors prefer Maresca for football reasons when Reece James and Malo Gusto are two of their best players.

Transfers are exciting but some of these journalists that specialise in them are as bad as tabloid celebrity gossip journos.

Away shirt and home shorts and socks in the first game, then home shirt and away shorts and socks in the second? Pretty strange.

Presumably Feyenoord haven't actually needed to do lots of defending and that's skewing the stats? Those in-possession stats are incredible though.

For me, the clear question mark about Enzo next season is can he build on his 'idea' the further he moves away from Pep's influence or will he stick rigidly to what his principles were when left Man City? For example, Pep had inverted full-backs a couple of years ago with Cancelo, then Stones with Rico Lewis as a backup. This season just gone Stones was injured half the time and Walker has been inspired as a conventional full-backs, with Lewis being used very sparingly. On the other side, Gvardiol has become a revelation as a converted left-back after a slow start but, again, it's more of a traditional role for him when the team is in possession, rather than the inverted role we've seen from Cancelo or Stones in the past and Ricardo or Choudhury for us this season. So it's almost as though Pep sets the bar for people to follow, then he subverts it and gets his team to play in ways that his opponents aren't expecting. Arteta was quick to convert to basically four CBs across the backline (with good athletes in the wide roles, admittedly) after it was clear that Zinchenko wasn't at his best. So, whether it's with us or Chelsea, can Enzo adapt his own methods to stay ahead of the curve à la Pep and Arteta? That's the question really, because it didn't look like Kompany was able to do so with his squad. I'd have liked Enzo to prove himself with us, but if circumstances convince him that Chelsea is the better option for him then good luck to him, but hopefully we'd give them a humbling next season under another progressive and innovative manager. If he stays here, I hope he continue his - and the club's - evolution.

This is why I wouldn't mind if we took a punt on Rosenior either. And Cifuentes and Rohl would fit the bill like you say. I totally agree with you regarding the Sacchi quote, which would make the prospect of managers like Cuesta such exciting prospects. So many good managers these days have either not played professionally or only had fleeting playing careers.

Appointing a manager nine years younger than our first-choice #9 would be remarkable but I like the idea.

Glad Lookman's having a good season for a good club, he was decent here I thought.

I don't want Enzo to go. But as a possible attainable and slightly left-field option, Eric Roy has done very well with Brest this season. They sound like a decent team to watch under his leadership too. https://breakingthelines.com/tactical-analysis/tactical-analysis-eric-roys-brest/

I do hope Enzo stays. The way he was able to get several wantaway players on board really quickly speaks volumes about his man management and his style.of football. Yes we had a blip but we came through it. The other two relegated teams (one with a side at least on par with ours) still have to duke it out at Wembley for the privilege of promotion. I do think the project is nowhere near complete for Enzo here. But the finances may have moved the goalposts for him. If he does go, I wouldn't be averse to the Rosenior shout. If points deduction(s) and financial restraints ultimately result in relegation, we'd hopefully keep him ready for another promotion push with a year under his belt to get his methods across. There are some exciting managers around across Europe as well though. Hopefully we have a succession plan in place.

From one legend to another, thanks for the reminder! This Friday will be my 10th anniversary as a FoxesTalker. I have more rep points than posts but have never won a day. Guess I'm definitely more tortoise than hare.