14 Jan 2026 11:21:20
Ed 01 you've said several times that Alonso was the first managerial choice. What did you think of what he did at his previous clubs and do you think he'd do well with the players we have. With others possible being available in the summer like the PSG manager and maybe the Barcelona manager do you think he's the best option for Liverpool?
{Ed001's Note - he rescued Neverkusen from relegation and turned them into an incredible machine that lost one match in a season. That is an incredible achievement. He could never live up to that with them, so it was always going to be an anticlimax after that. But he showed a serious lack of judgement taking the Madrid job. Ancelotti warned him, but he didn't listen and tried to make a bunch of superbrats work hard and show respect to others. It was never going to work out.
It is a tough one, it would really depend on if any of them see the job as a long term position or just a one contract and done thing. If they are just 3 seasons and gone, then you would have to choose the one with the best record, which is Enrique. But if it was for the longer term, then it would be a much closer choice between Enrique and Alonso, as neither have a track record over the long term with a single club.}
14 Jan 2026 12:10:37
What's your thoughts on Flick Ed? Always thought he was a decent coach.
{Ed001's Note - yeah he is decent, but he has been lucky to have the best teams in Bayern and Barca. The players might be better at Madrid, but there is no team there and the players at Barca are willing to listen. I prefer the look of Hoeness, if we were going for a German coach.}
14 Jan 2026 12:16:49
Thanks for your quick response. Have a great day.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome, take care mate.}
14 Jan 2026 12:19:14
Nice explanation, Ed. What Alonso achieved at Leverkusen is off the charts. I do not see Pep, Ancelotti or Jose achieving that with that club and in their first full seasons as managers at such a club who are essentially the equivalent of Spurs. Absolutely massive. However, he should never had taken the job this early in his career and this in addition to some of the mistakes on and off the pitch (I read somewhere) which would have worked at Leverkusen or at any other club that did not have the type of interference and taxic dressing room like RM do.
It is what it is. Now as I have said, Xabi is the one I would take cos he has a track record of winning esp. when he was not supposed to and cos he is a club legend who played and won here and will have the support of the fan base, something I think we will need should Slot go in the summer. For me, the whole "Enrique" stuff is a pipe dream and I often like to dream with my eyes open in these situations.
14 Jan 2026 13:04:44
Great information, Ed. Thanks as always.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome mate and thank you.}
14 Jan 2026 14:31:11
He's suffered from the same problem as Slot. Found out after one season and unable to adapt.
14 Jan 2026 16:54:21
The good thing really is that if Alonso did come in as coach you can almost certainly know he's not going to go back to Madrid to coach then you have to look round and think if he manages us he's never going to go to Manchester etc etc so the point I'm trying to make is as long as he's doing well with us (if he did come) is who in world football is going to turn his head.
?
14 Jan 2026 17:00:22
Did Alonso not have 3 superb seasons at Leverkusen?
14 Jan 2026 19:33:14
Not really Florian. He had a decent half season and kept them up. Then he had an amazing first full season. Then he had a decent second full season but not on the same level as the previous one. Then he went to Madrid and was sacked after half a season. The arrow is pointing downwards ?.
14 Jan 2026 20:57:22
Is the arrow really pointing down? I don't really see how getting sacked by player power and big egos when he could still have gone on to win the league and champions league quite easily? Taking a team from close to relegation to winning the league a cup and almost Europa league when they had no right to is pretty impressive in just over a season.
The year after Bayern has spent big to catch them up. Second place is still good finish.
15 Jan 2026 01:18:48
Tbh XA was never going to succeed at RM, and that is the only blot I see in his thinking. I do not even think JK if ever tempted to go there would be a success as he is not a yes man, has his own ideas and expects players to work. RM may have some of the best individual players on the planet, but there lis half the issue, they are mostly individuals, not team thinking players that rely on individual brilliant moments to win games, they will not work and earn a win, they think they are entitled to the 3 points just by walking on the pitch. To me they are an early retirement home for a lot of highly skilled players that just want the prestige of playing for arguably the biggest team on the planet without the work ethic behind it. Players like Modric buck that trend, but in general, most of them are entitled brats that think they deserve titles, world player of the year accolades etc just because they pull on that white jersey. I am personally unsure if XA would be great for us, but the romantic in me wants him to come and in time make us THE force to fear in world football. I was a massive fan of AS but the fact this season (and a lot of last season) he has refused to adapt to a style that works while giving those that can get to live games ( and us that can only watch on TV) great entertainment, I feel as though his time has come.
Big ty for our latest title but I don't think he will progress us as all I see is the same traits Amorim brought to the dreaded UTD, stubborness that his way is the right way even though events on the pitch clearly show otherwise. I think XA would be a good appointment, as majority of our remaining players from JK days understand the instructions of forward thinking playing style, although I think some adaption time would be needed. that's why I think that XA should be brought in ASAP so he can assess what we have and make a plan for next season. AS got the players to fit the system from last season, then changed how we want to play, idiocy of the highest order. let's just get XA in and see what he does as cannot be worse than AS even though unbeaten run is skewing the view people have, he is scraing through most games, and we need a clear direction and identity. Anyway, rant over, I support the team not any individuals, but I want XA in for the sake of our team ASAP.
15 Jan 2026 14:11:51
Are we still classing it as a Farmer's League? Being "superb" in a Farmer's League is a reasonably low bar I would have thought.