Jourdan

I am also keen on FM.

I got the new one on Monday night and started a season with Derby.

I got over £2 million by selling Jozefzoon.

I was able to sign Carles Aleñá (a young midfielder who made almost 30 apps for Barcelona last season) on a season long loan.

Cocu and Lampard really have put us on the map. ?

18 hours ago, TigerTedd said:

Southgate, for example, was groomed for the job. I think the FA have the same idea with Lampard. 

Is he better than the others? Well, currently he’s third in the league. Unless Howe and Wilder are first and second, then, yes, he is.

You can’t say he’s beating teams he’s expected to. At the start of this season, they weren’t expecting to beat anyone. They knew they were in trouble with the transfer ban, and probably thought they’d be lucky to get away with a season like United are having. They didn’t have faith in the kids to be performing this quickly. Their 3 star performers were championship players last season. Very good championship players, but still. He’s doing a remarkable job there really. 

No one’s suggesting he’ll be offered it tomorrow, but he’s definitely on the fast track. He’ll have a few season at Chelsea, and he’ll have to prove himself there. He’ll have to win some trophies. 

Even with a transfer ban and even without Hazard, Frank still has a squad at Chelsea that would be the envy of all of the division, with the exception of maybe three or four sides.

He certainly has a far greater competitive advantage than Howe, Wilder, Dyche, Rodgers or any other British manager in the top divisions, so let’s not pretend all things are equal.

If the season ended today, would Frank win Manager of The Year for having Chelsea in fourth place? I don’t think he would.

If you want to talk about a remarkable job, look at what Wilder is doing at Sheffield United. They have 16 points from 33. They are sixth in the table. They are already 40% of the way to the magic 40. They have picked up more points against the traditional top six (four v zero) than Lampard has for Chelsea. All this has been achieved after they signed some mid-level Championship players, and for some they were even in the conversation for breaking our points total record at the start of the season.

Chelsea weren’t expected to beat anyone...Chelsea were in trouble and were primed for a season only marginally better than United’s...Do you really believe that?

You are overstating the job that Frank faced at the start of the season. The only people predicting Chelsea to finish 10th or 11th were those who were bitter about Lampard’s departure from Derby, and those who were desperate to see Chelsea crash and burn.

It was hopeful, wishful thinking. In reality, they were always going to be 6th at worst, with the pool of talent they can call upon.

24 minutes ago, Pastinaak said:

I don't agree with that. Frank's in this position because he's devoted his life to the game. He's lived and breathed football and risen, on merit, to the very top. Regardless of who his dad or uncle are, he's in this position because of his own talent, hard work & professionalism. Yeah of course his family and connections gave him the best possible chance of success, but the levels he reached as a player could be achieved by very few.

But I am not talking about his achievements as a player.

His fantastic achievements as a player shouldn’t come into the discussion. They are standalone.

I am saying in his managerial career, he has been handed jobs on a silver platter.

If he is being suggested for the England job, he should be judged on what he does as a coach/manager - and personally I think it’s way too soon to put him in the conversation.

Lampard for England?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Admittedly, the pool is shallow, but Frank is 18 games into his Chelsea career.

18 games as a top flight manager and he is being suggested for the England job?

Madness, but not so surprising in this insta-cap era of the national team. Southgate is like Oprah. You get a cap, you get a cap, everyone gets a cap. Might as well extend it to the manager’s job.

Seriously though, it’s an insult to every manager slogging away for their big break, while Frank was given his on a silver platter.

Does Frank’s job so far at Chelsea surpass the work Eddie Howe has done at Bournemouth, or Sean Dyche’s work at Burnley, or Chris Wilder’s work at Sheffield United, for example?

After all - with the exception of Ajax - Chelsea have only really beaten teams that they’d ordinarily be expected to beat.

Now if he can get this team to overcome adversity and win a few games against the traditional top sides as well playing a more attractive style, then he deserves all the credit in the world.

But for me, there are still question marks over Frank. He still has so much to prove. Personally if I was on that FA panel, I’d be thinking ‘Do we really need another manager who bottles the big games?’

I will hold my hands up and say Lampard has done a reasonable job so far in the circumstances. To say anything else would be generous.

You look at the way Spurs, Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal have started the season and it probably makes Chelsea’s start look better than it actually is. 14 points from a possible 24 only looks impressive because a few other teams are in absolute freefall.

Looking at their fixtures, they have played four sides you would expect to finish in the bottom half, two top ten sides in Wolves and Leicester, and then United and Liverpool - so it’s been a challenging start, but not exactly impossible to negotiate, even for this current Chelsea side.

There’s plenty to be positive about, like how the young players have adapted. No-one could have imagined that Abraham, Mount and Tomori would take to Premier League football so quickly and só well. Lampard deserves credit for that - giving them the confidence and the belief to perform at this level.

I also think they can feel positive about the quality of football on show. They are scoring more goals and looking more dangerous as an attacking unit compared to last year, so again Lampard deserves credit for that too.

But at the same time, with Arsenal, Spurs, United and City all looking vulnerable, it must be disappointing that they have not capitalised and got more points on the board.

They have played well and still been comfortably beaten by United and Liverpool and they have also dropped points at home rather carelessly.

So I don’t yet see the wow factor about the job Lampard is doing. It’s not as if he has a squad that should be finishing 10th and he is overachieving, for example. 

I read an article quoting Ruiz and apparently the venue is not confirmed and nothing is signed and sealed.

A fight in Saudi Arabia might be lucrative but it’s the boxing equivalent of hosting a major final in Baku.

Surely if you were Joshua and Joshua’s camp, you’d want to go back to the US and banish those demons?

FT 4-0, how pleasing. ?

I honestly thought it was a draw. It was a really tight contest.

I don’t think either of them did enough to win conclusively.

Most rounds were even, where one of them would start the round well and the other would end the round well.

It was clear to see that these were two boxers that were very equally matched.

Golovkin showed flashes of how dangerous he can be, but not to the extent where Canelo was ever out of the fight. Canelo kept coming forward and at times gave as good as he got.

But generally Golovkin was tentative. He showed Canelo too much respect. I also thought his age showed, and it was only his heart and strength of character that got him through the later rounds.

Outside of a trilogy fight, he should probably retire. I don’t see what he has left to prove or gain.

27 minutes ago, Alpha said:

I don't think any fighter comes forward like Wlad does but comes forward with a defence.

That foot that he puts there. So to land you have to go over the top of it. If he catches you with your weight on the front foot with a counter punch...

Then that jab. Constantly poking at you. Moving you.

Then when you land something to move that foot back as soon as you step forward to capitalise then Wlad steps in and smothers your shots.

Nobody is such a complete fighter as that. 

That foot and jab got him through 10 years of opponents. 

Great analysis.

People forget that Klitschko was fighting professionally at the same time that Asanovic was lighting up the Baseball Ground.

To fight like he did tonight at the age of 41 shows remarkable longevity. It was a great display of technique, ring control, fitness, stamina and durability.

But with the power that Joshua possesses, it always keeps him in the fight and in the end, it proved too much.

What a gripping and entertaining fight.

Until the last round, I had Klitschko winning the fight. He showed his experience and outfoxed and outclassed Joshua for the majority of the fight.

What a chin Klitschko has. How he took some of the shots Joshua landed, I'll never know. That uppercut in the 11th was murderous! All in all, Joshua's power was the difference maker tonight.

Joshua showed great heart and determination to battle back. It really looked like he had cooked his goose with the shots that led to Klitschko going down in the 5th. Klitschko took over after that and how.

It was the acid test for Joshua, one he passed, but it's also fair to say Klitschko exposed some major holes in his game and made him look very beatable.

Fortunately for Joshua, he simply isn't going to face anyone of the same calibre from here on in.

As we've all said, this was a no-win situation for Golovkin.

Even with all that he has achieved, he is on a hiding to nothing if he tries to please everyone. When you get to the top, people only want to drag you down and find faults. So the criticisms and the questioning of him is inevitable, if a little unfair for me.

At the end of the day, Golovkin was making his UK debut against a British world champion and being watched by a partisan crowd rooting for the underdog in the biggest fight here in many years. It's no surprise the commentators, the judges, the pundits and some fans had a skewed view of the fight.

For me, I don't think Golovkin is the complete package. But what he does, he can do excellently and he stays true to himself. He is a very dangerous, aggressive and devastating fighter and his fights are very fan-friendly because he always comes to fight. 

I definitely think there are fighters out there who can beat him but we are probably looking at someone with a size and speed advantage and someone who is an elite boxer with superior technique. Andre Ward is the obvious candidate, but with him now fighting Kovalev at light-heavyweight, the stars seem unlikely to align on that one. I'd love to see the Canelo fight materialise but only because it promises to be a real brawl, not because I think Canelo has much of a shot at winning. 

Whatever you want to say about Golovkin though, give me him over the likes of Ward and Mayweather any day. A technical wizard he is not, but a fighter and an entertainer he most certainly is.

The hype surrounding Golovkin is so insane that people have almost mythical expectations of him. They look at his record and his highlight reel and expect jaw dropping performances each and every time no matter the opponent. But it is a lot to live up to and a level very few if any boxers can sustain, especially when you take a step up in competition, which tonight was.

To put it simply, it was a good test for Golovkin. One we expected, one everyone knew he needed but given the narrative of the fight, this was never going to enhance his stock.

It was a very smart move from Kell Brook's camp to throw in the towel and protect their fighter, who had obviously given his all in the earlier rounds. He was injured, he was beginning to fade and he would only go on to endure a lot more punishment.

As fans, of course we are bound to feel a little robbed of a more organic conclusion to what was an entertaining fight. But let's face it, 21 more minutes in the ring with Golovkin, who was still pressing the action, being the aggressor, hitting with power while taking everything Brook had to offer in his stride, it was an unenviable task. Why take the risk at that stage?

It was a brave and creditable performance by Brook. He had good spells in the fight and he was a stubborn customer for Golovkin to deal with. But Golovkin never looked in any danger whatsoever. He did not look his sharpest but part of me gets the feeling Golovkin had bought into his own hype a little too much and underestimated Kell.

It was always going to be a uphill task for Brook and he emerged with great credit as he fought with great heart, great intensity and without fear but to go blow-for-blow for 12 rounds with a puncher like Golovkin, he was on a hiding to nothing.

Golovkin v Brook is inescapable right now. I can't remember the last time Sky Sports promoted a fight so heavily.

Whatever happens, Kell Brook is the only winner here. I hope I am not doing him a disservice by saying this. He isn't a star. He isn't a household name. He isn't a needle mover. So the timing, the choice of opponent and the whole narrative all point to one thing - he has been blinded by the money and exposure on offer. This will be the biggest payday of his career, the biggest fight of his career and possibly a golden parachute into retirement.

I know Brook is a world champion, he is held in extremely high regard in boxing circles and he is anything but a sacrificial lamb. But despite all of Brook's talent, the more and more I think about it, the more and more I feel this is nothing but an opportunistic, shameless cash grab.

Brook says he is ready for this, he says he is in great shape, he says he wasn't fighting at his full potential at welterweight and that middleweight will be a better, more natural fit. If so, why would you put your body through such an agonising cut so often and for so long? It doesn't take 12 years and 36 fights to realise your skills would translate better at a higher weight class.

But even if we give him the benefit of the doubt, why would he then jump straight in with the middleweight world champion and arguably the most formidable and dangerous fighter on the planet? Knowing how dangerous Golovkin is and the mind-bending hype behind him, surely the smart thing to do would be to bide your time and build yourself up properly.

As it is, this fight sells because credible opponents are not exactly in a hurry to face Golovkin. But to me, it sells even more if Kell either clears out his current division or gets fights under his belt in the new weight class and appears a more credible and fearsome challenger. Taking the fight now, I get the feeling he is gearing up for retirement with one or two big money fights. With Mayweather off the table, there is only the Amir Khan fight that could come close to matching this and it's never looked close to coming together.

Right now, Brook comes across as a plucky underdog that can't be entirely discounted, in the same way we would if we were playing a cup tie against Manchester City at PP. 

This is a massive banana skin for Golovkin and almost certainly, a no-win situation. I think Brook will cause him some headaches but ultimately, I think Golovkin's power will prove too much in the end and he'll get the stoppage in the 8th round.