Maradonna - Great Player, Crap Manager

[coxhoedave]

As an England supporter with a long memory it's great to see Argentina struggling under the leadership of Diago "Hand of God" Maradonna. They are fourth in their qualifying group. With the top 4 going through and the fifth placed team going into a play off they should make it but we can always hope they don't. Last night's home defeat at the hands of Brazil certainly didn't help matters.

Here's one for all of you

[StevieH]

a world cup wouldn't be right without argentina. and maradona's not the first great player to not be cut out for management.

[Thongkorn]

Maybe Its the hand of God ,

[alant]

the ref should have noticed her studs were a bit on the sharp side

[mrbojangles]

a world cup wouldn't be right without argentina. and maradona's not the first great player to not be cut out for management.

Quite right Stevie. I would prefer to see them in the world cup.

[StevieH]

a world cup wouldn't be right without argentina. and maradona's not the first great player to not be cut out for management.

Quite right Stevie. I would prefer to see them in the world cup.

i don't understand any football fan who would want to see a world cup without messi, aguero, tevez, mascherano, riquelme and all the other top players argentina have. not to mention the potential grudge matches against brasil, england, etc.

[bkkjames]

a world cup wouldn't be right without argentina. and maradona's not the first great player to not be cut out for management.

Quite right Stevie. I would prefer to see them in the world cup.

i don't understand any football fan who would want to see a world cup without messi, aguero, tevez, mascherano, riquelme and all the other top players argentina have. not to mention the potential grudge matches against brasil, england, etc.

agreed, but the question remains, will the Argentine FA (or equivlent) do the neccessary before its too late?

[StevieH]

a world cup wouldn't be right without argentina. and maradona's not the first great player to not be cut out for management.

Quite right Stevie. I would prefer to see them in the world cup.

i don't understand any football fan who would want to see a world cup without messi, aguero, tevez, mascherano, riquelme and all the other top players argentina have. not to mention the potential grudge matches against brasil, england, etc.

agreed, but the question remains, will the Argentine FA (or equivlent) do the neccessary before its too late?

depends what happens on wednesday against paraguay i think. he does puzzle me though trying to fit messi, aguero and tevez into an attacking 3 when he's got a brilliant centre forward there in diego milito. play messi and aguero either side of a target man and you've got something. play two or three dwarves up front together and you've got no plan b at all.

[bkkjames]

very interesting line-up he put out the other day. No on-form Milito but did I see Veron's name? Somebody should tell him to not take Coco Cola before selecting his line-up.

[StevieH]

very interesting line-up he put out the other day. No on-form Milito but did I see Veron's name? Somebody should tell him to not take Coco Cola before selecting his line-up.

in fairness veron's been outstanding the past couple of seasons in argentina. but then the argentine league isn't really top class. argentina need to get away from this romatic ideal of playing a fulcrum playmaker (veron or riquelme) as well as small ball carriers up front. brasil have gone pragmatic and they're a much stronger team for it.

[EastSaxCol]

I agree that the World Cup will be depleted without seeing the likes of Messi, Rodriguez and Tevez , etc. And the Argentine team generally.

But it does seem that Maradonna joins the list of former great players who haven't been able to cut it at managerial level.

[Sunderland]

No Argentina in the World Cup?

Tough tits!

[spongeman]

Dont worry chaps hopefully Ireland can fill the void !

[Thongkorn]

Each team gets there on merit , This year Argentina may not be going the same as England last time, and Other good teams , but thats what it all about ,those who play well get there, those who do not. don't go thats the idea of the competition,

[StevieH]

Each team gets there on merit , This year Argentina may not be going the same as England last time, and Other good teams , but thats what it all about ,those who play well get there, those who do not. don't go thats the idea of the competition,

england were at the last world cup, knocked out by portugal on penalties.

[bkkjames]

Each team gets there on merit , This year Argentina may not be going the same as England last time, and Other good teams , but thats what it all about ,those who play well get there, those who do not. don't go thats the idea of the competition,

england were at the last world cup, knocked out by portugal on penalties.

Go easy stevie: for some people the Euro is the world cup

[spongeman]

Argies are knee deep in the didgerydoes now.

They will probably have to fire him.

[tso310]

Watched the game and couldn't believe what he has done with what should be a class team. I believe he's played some 62 players in 9 matches. Just look at the last 2 subs he brought on. The central defender thought is call up phone call was a hoax ! Looked like someone straight out of the Ryman league. However I think they'll scrape through via the play-off with the north/central american team. The last match against Uruguay in Montevideo could get very fruity.

[tso310]

very interesting line-up he put out the other day. No on-form Milito but did I see Veron's name? Somebody should tell him to not take Coco Cola before selecting his line-up.

and he was deservedly sent off in the second half for hacking down a Paraguayan forward. His booking in the first half was for a full set of studs into an unfortunate Paraguayan who now qualifies for the ladies team.

[rixalex]

i don't understand any football fan who would want to see a world cup without messi, aguero, tevez, mascherano, riquelme and all the other top players argentina have. not to mention the potential grudge matches against brasil, england, etc.

Where's all this sentimental <deleted> coming from Stevie?

If they don't qualify, they don't get in. And as an England fan, i couldn't care less - just as i'm sure none of the other European nations shed any tears about our failure to get into Euro 08.

I care about seeing my team playing well and winning - ok, it's a dream, but we all need them.

I know that supporting England isn't something you relate to so much, so let me put it this way - when Liverpool enter the Champions League, would you be worried if Manchester United hadn't qualified? Would you be posting on Thaivisa saying what a shame it was that you would be unable to watch the prestigious talents of Mr Rooney and co on the big stage, and that the competition just wouldn't be right without them?

Didn't think so.

[SweatySock]

Argentina can always play Scotland in the "Teams that didn't quite make it World Cup"

[StevieH]

Where's all this sentimental <deleted> coming from Stevie?

If they don't qualify, they don't get in. And as an England fan, i couldn't care less - just as i'm sure none of the other European nations shed any tears about our failure to get into Euro 08.

I care about seeing my team playing well and winning - ok, it's a dream, but we all need them.

I know that supporting England isn't something you relate to so much, so let me put it this way - when Liverpool enter the Champions League, would you be worried if Manchester United hadn't qualified? Would you be posting on Thaivisa saying what a shame it was that you would be unable to watch the prestigious talents of Mr Rooney and co on the big stage, and that the competition just wouldn't be right without them?

Didn't think so.

not remotely comparable rix. i'd be delighted if united weren't in the champions league because i have a vested interest there. i don't give a shit about the england national team, circus, hype, nationalism and all other crap that goes with it, but i do like a world cup. world cups are great if you're a fan of football and tournaments are actually more enjoyable when england don't qualify, since the papers are not full of the usual trumpet-blaring, drum-bashing patriotic <deleted> that you get force-fed for months on end pre-tournament.

a world cup should have all the best players possible on show and while i understand it will be entirely agentina's own fault if they don't get to south africa, it would be a shame not to see messi there. the world cup is a football festival, the champions league is a product designed to keep rich clubs rich. i'd be fuc_king made up not to see rooney in it.

[rixalex]

not remotely comparable rix. i'd be delighted if united weren't in the champions league because i have a vested interest there. i don't give a shit about the england national team

I understand it's not comparable for you Stevie.

For me it is. I do give a shit about the England national team - for my sins.

It hurts when we lose. It feels great when we win. It matters to me - and one day, when we win, it might matter to you too.

Whether i be supporting Man United in the Champions League or England in the World Cup, i care about one thing - my team winning. That's it.

[StevieH]

not remotely comparable rix. i'd be delighted if united weren't in the champions league because i have a vested interest there. i don't give a shit about the england national team

I understand it's not comparable for you Stevie.

For me it is. I do give a shit about the England national team - for my sins.

It hurts when we lose. It feels great when we win. It matters to me - and one day, when we win, it might matter to you too.

Whether i be supporting Man United in the Champions League or England in the World Cup, i care about one thing - my team winning. That's it.

that's the thing though, i'm a mongrel, half-irish and with some french, welsh, scottish and polish thrown in. i just happened to be born in england. i also think that patriotism is a bad thing, especially in the english. so a world cup for me is just a tournament that happens to be made up of national teams. it's a nice chance to watch football and not really care who wins or loses for a change. so it will genuinely never matter to me because i don't have a 'we'.

[rixalex]

i also think that patriotism is a bad thing,

What's bad about supporting the team from the country you were born? If you feel a connection with that place, with those people, with that culture, i would say it's a natural thing to do. Much in the same way that some people from Liverpool support Liverpool Football Club - they feel a connection to the place because it's part of who they are.

With National team supporters it's the same thing - just a much larger area of land that they have the connection with.

[Travel2003]

Watched the game and couldn't believe what he has done with what should be a class team. I believe he's played some 62 players in 9 matches. Just look at the last 2 subs he brought on. The central defender thought is call up phone call was a hoax ! Looked like someone straight out of the Ryman league. However I think they'll scrape through via the play-off with the north/central american team. The last match against Uruguay in Montevideo could get very fruity.

I read about the central defender.

He played last match for Argentina 9 years ago.

And if they scrape through, they probably go almost all the way, as Italy, Brazil, etc, normally do, after almost have been eliminated in the qualifiers.

[EastSaxCol]

With National team supporters it's the same thing - just a much larger area of land that they have the connection with.

I almost wholeheartedly agree with Stevie here. As I do your signature in essence. It sort of transcends boundaries of nation and lesser attachments if you think about it.

PS

International franchise's such as Liverpool, etc. Aren't the best examples of nurturing local support when considered as a whole.

[patklang]

No Argentina in the World Cup?

Tough tits!

Seems like he is very similar to that idiot you had,with no experience of management and was let loose with your team.Granted he did get you promotion but i bet not many supporters will remember Keane with affection.

FUNNILY,He is ruining Ipswich fc too.

[rixalex]

With National team supporters it's the same thing - just a much larger area of land that they have the connection with.

I almost wholeheartedly agree with Stevie here. As I do your signature in essence. It sort of transcends boundaries of nation and lesser attachments if you think about it.

You must be a few beers ahead of me cos i'm not getting any of that...

[EastSaxCol]

With National team supporters it's the same thing - just a much larger area of land that they have the connection with.

I almost wholeheartedly agree with Stevie here. As I do your signature in essence. It sort of transcends boundaries of nation and lesser attachments if you think about it.

You must be a few beers ahead of me cos i'm not getting any of that...

That's fair enough. I meant to refer to you location rather than signature : "From: Here, there, everywhere..."

Sounds more nomadic than having any sense of strong national identity.