Thank you! And welcome to the channel!

I haven’t deleted anything

Thank you! I think he’d be a great fit there as well.

It’s taking years to sort out in court and involves some fairly detailed forensic accounting, so yes I’d classify that as very complicated. If it was so black and white they’d be punished already.

@@pitchsidepubthere is not going to be forensic accounting and it shows you don’t have a clue. This isn’t a criminal investigation and the independent commissioner doesn’t have subpoena power to get this records. City refused to give financials to the CAS and they clearly would refuse again. The evidence is already there but you want to play dumb like there isn’t emails stating what they are doing and have done. They have it in writing and this is an internal, premier league, investigation being adjudicated by an independent third party.

@@pitchsidepubthere isn’t going to be forensic accounting, and if you paid attention you’d know city refused to hand over financials to the CAS. Why would you think they would this time? This is a civil matter in the hands of a third party independent commission at the request of the premier league. The emails were taken off the city servers and unlike in the states, it doesn’t matter how the information was acquired, if it shows something illegal, it will be examined and opined on. The City COO, CFO, and members of the ADUG leadership are in emails describing how to get around FFP rules by injecting funds directly into ADUG owned entities. Etihad, for example, only pays £8 million of their £60 million sponsorship from Etihad accounts. The other funds are directly injected into Etihad by ADUG and moved to City. They are documented saying this is how they will do it and documented saying this is what they have done in previous years.

@@pitchsidepubyou have deleted my comments twice now.

I haven’t deleted anything. This is the first I’m even seeing your responses

Oooo, so close to a good solid comment until you felt the need to throw an insult in at the end. Obviously we knew this question would be answered, but I don’t think your argument holds up that all of their first few choices “had other plans going on.” In what world, until this year, would a manager chosen to stay at Bayer Leverkusen when Bayern comes calling? That’s unheard of. Historically, Bayern is a job you drop what you’re doing, and who you’re coaching, to go take. That’s my argument. That’s what’s changed. Kompany may end up being a damn good manager. I happen to like him. But there’s no way to argue that he’s anything but Bayern’s 4th or 5th choice behind, at the very least, keeping Tuchel, Xabi Alonso, Ragnick, Nagelsmann and probably others. They already burnt the bridge with two of those for reasons I discuss in the video. Give my regards to ESPN FC though. It’s not a channel I spend a lot of time watching.

I would assuredly not be singing the praises of playing for a draw when they had a chance to win the league on the pitch. If you’ve watched any of my videos you’d know that’s the opposite of my entire mentality when it comes to coaching. Hearing a lot of placing blame in other places and not a lot of accountability for taking a timid approach when the title was within reach.

​@@pitchsidepubwhat you view as fear, pragmatists view as strategy. I explicitly stated that Arsenal themselves are accountable for their failure because of the Villa (A), West Ham (A) and Fulham (H) period plus Emery winning at the Emirates. Arsenal literally finished unbeaten against the Big Six this season, which includes a home win against City. Viewing a solid defensive performance against the undisputed favorites in enemy territory as a the primary cause of their failure is at best disingenuous and at worst delusively naive.

@yummyananas you’re right, it is a strategy. And it achieved their goal which was to take a point from that game. Credit where it’s due. But there’s nothing disingenuous or naive about what I’ve said here. It’s my opinion is that it was a bad strategy. To go back to what I said in the video, if you want to beat the champs and you have the opportunity to do so, you have to at least try to do it yourself. Yes the other dropped points after ultimately cost them, but their passive approach against City kept the margin for error at almost nothing. They had a chance to put the nail in the coffin or at least give them that buffer for dropped points down the road, but they didn’t even try to take it. Had they tried to run with City and lost I’d respect the hell out of them. But they played it safe and it burnt them and I don’t think they have anyone to blame there but themselves.

They didn’t try to win when it mattered most, that’s what I’m saying. Sure they won lots of games bc they have an incredibly talented team and Arteta is, overall, a very good coach. But when push came to shove, they played it safe when they had a chance to pull away, and it cost them. That’s my framing.

Sure, there may be some validity to that.

I’ll bet you’re fun at parties.

@@pitchsidepub I don't have a life long yearning to be accepted by a crowd due to a lifetime of endless social rejection like you so I do a pretty good job of blending into the vibe of the party and not anxiously sitting in the corner with a target star wars shirt on wondering what everyone is thinking about me. Anvil + 100ft fall + your noggin

Well I pegged it as such in part because Rodri pointed it out as a turning point in the season himself. That’s pretty damning coming from the opposing team. But it was evident during that game that they were taking an extremely passive approach to their biggest chance to really extend their lead in the table. Even looking back in hindsight it feels like the biggest missed opportunity more so than any other loss or draw, because it was more tactically based than just poor play. Just my analysis.

@@pitchsidepub same Rodri made similar comments after real madrid after UCL knockout, that man city "deserved" to go thru & that he "only saw one team" (city) So i wouldn't take what he says as damning, if city were good & more deserving they would have broken madrid down & proceeded to semis, or even just score all penalties. Anyway, Back to arsenal, yes passed up a chance to go 4 points up, but also same tactics ensured they dint go 2 points down, maintaining the status quo of the day was not a bad result at the time.

At least you didn’t call me an American

How so? Would you care to refute any of the points I made? I laid them out pretty clearly and back up the title of my video. Disagreeing with something doesn’t make it clickbait.

Nah look at the view count

@@tylerlewis2766 exaxtly! If it was click bait it didn’t work too well! 😂

Appreciate all the effort you put into spelling all this out for me, though I’m not sure why you went to all this trouble. I’m very aware of all the charges, but the whole point of the video is that, despite everything you’ve listed (most of which is true), Arsenal we’re still right there! They had the title in their grasps! All they had to do was actually try to win that game. I don’t even think they “bottled” it (a phrase I’m not nearly British enough to say). They were too scared to even make the effort. And by “they” I mean Arteta, though at the end of the day the players on the pitch still have some accountability for executing his plan. Despite all the advantages you list, Arsenal were still neck and neck, which is incredibly impressive and admirable. Right up until they took a scared approach to their biggest game in years. And if you look through the comments of this video, you won’t see any Arsenal fans attempting to justify their strategy, which is what I was hoping to see. Instead I’m getting “but the charges” and “this is clickbait” and “shut up, you’re American” which is usually how I know I’ve hit it right on the head. Rodri said it after they won last weekend, that’s when they knew it was over. That’s awfully tough to refute. So while the case is strong against City and I hope judgement comes soon one way or another, Arsenal still had them in their crosshairs and were too afraid to pull the trigger and that’s why they lost the title.

Pretty sure it was over the minute you said “mentally accepted being second best” because you’re absolutely right, that’s what happened and it came from the top.

Your effort in this comment is reflective of your team’s effort in that game. Very on brand, congrats.

Only two count towards the table, and in the one that mattered most, they played for a draw. I agree, it’s idiotic.

​@@pitchsidepubit was more important for arsenal not to lose that day than to win, they had the advantage going in, ANYTHING other than a loss would mean they would have the advantage coming out of that game. A loss would mean advantage to city AND they still would need someone to "do them a favor" so a draw was very acceptable at that point in time. Now if they would have not slipped up vs villa, they would not care if who beats city or not, just win till the end & win the league. That city draw only looks unfavourable after the villa game, hypothetically if that loss doesn't happen, then nobody would critisize arsenal for getting a draw at the etihad.

@@dreamphantltd so in theory I agree with you, except everyone, arsenal fans included, spent the last five months pointing out that once City turn it on in the second half, they never lose and don’t give the other teams in the race with them any margin for error. Which turned out to once again be true. So while mathematically you’re correct and I get what you’re saying, both can’t be true. So if everyone really believed that City wasn’t going to do Arsenal or Liverpool that “favor,” then the only real option for Arsenal was to go out and beat them themselves. You’re right it looks worse given they ended up dropping points later on as well, but the way I see it, they had the opportunity to put the nail in the coffin in their game against city and/or give themselves some margin for error to drop a point against Villa or anyone else later on. Bud rather than try to take it, they took a timid approach and it cost them.

@@pitchsidepubThe only real option for Arsenal was to win all their easier fixtures, not to risk a 3 point reversal in a game that they were already heavy underdogs for.

Mathematically I understand what you’re saying. But how’d that work out? That’s an awful lot of pressure to put on yourself because you’re too afraid to try and beat the team you’re trying to overtake. This is exactly what I’m talking about. I understand the strategy, it’s just soft. It’s not a winning mentality. It’s now how you defeat a team that’s going for four in a row and who edged you out last year - especially when you actually have a lead on them in the table at the time of facing them! I’m not saying what you’re wrong, I’m saying that was their opportunity and they didn’t take it. If you want to knock off the champs, go knock them off. But they didn’t. They didn’t even try. They settled for a point and put themselves in a position where they had to be perfect from there on out. And that’s tough to pull off. Sure, as underdogs they may have lost had they challenged city, but then they weren’t meant to be champions. Wouldn’t you rather go all in and actually try to beat the white whale you’ve been chasing for years then try to play it safe and hope strategy gets the job done for you? God I would.

I did and it’s correct. You’re not the first person to try to point this out and fail. www.howtopronounce.com/arne-slot

I agree. It’s not even the decisions that tend to be the problem. Maybe Roque isn’t what they thought. But man, it’s just always handled in the poorest way possible and that all goes back to the top.

Thanks! And welcome!

I could go either way but the opportunity to solve most of their financial problems with the sale of one player…I dunno it’s tempting.

I would too

And when you do I’ll make a video about you too!

Thank you! I try to take video commentary to another level.

Thank you, and welcome to the channel!

You completely missed the point of this video with a predetermined opinion. Yes a billion, but they’re young and inexperienced, learning to play together and learning the style of a new coach. That takes time, which was my entire point here. 7th may be slightly disappointing but I honestly don’t think the expectations should have been more than a spot or two higher. Development takes time.

@@pitchsidepub I got your point (by the way it’s a bit arrogant that you claim that I didn’t). The fact is that we have diverging opinions. For me what Pochettino has achieved is not enough. Chelsea should have fought for Top 5 this season. We spent the majority of the season around the 10th place so we have never been in contention. For me this youth excuse is not valid. It is too easy. I remember back then Arsenal had very youth teams every season and was still managing to get the top 4. Pochettino has mitigating factors, I agree with you on this but he has underachieved. Do I have to remember you the 5-0 defeat against Arsenal from a couple of days ago ? A lot of the Pochettino out fans probably feel the same way and from what I read online. Chelsea board is very divided on the subject as well.

@@vianneymixtur3616 mate we've had 3/4 of our squad missing throughout the season on injury, it's not a fair trial.

It’s not arrogant when your point is something I specifically mention in the video, but I know not everyone watches the whole thing so maybe you missed it. No biggie. We can disagree, that’s fine. I wholly disagree on the youth aspect. Development is never linear and with so many young players coming in at once, and then coupled with a new coach, it’s a truly unique scenario. I just don’t think much higher that 7th was ever a fair expectation, and then with the injuries on top of it, it’s actually somewhat impressive. Certainly acceptable.

@@pitchsidepub Again false arrogant assumption. I watched the video entirely… By the way you’re validating my first comment when you say what Pochettino has done is « somewhat impressive ». The board and most of the fans were expecting champions league football next year. But let me play your game…. Maybe you’re not a Chelsea fan

Yeah they do and that just makes it even worse. I hate the “everyone does it this way” excuse (not blaming you, you’re right). It just makes that many more people wrong. Wait a few more weeks and get your awards right.

You should be more positive,if you are negative before Slot begins.You know karma can works against you.Support Slot is suppord Liverpool

did he win any euro cup?...nothing.....

You’re right, and I did…prior to recording. www.howtopronounce.com/arne-slot

Yeah that’s what I mean. Even if it did motivate them to play harder, the news came with SO much of the season left that it’s impossible to use that as motivation for that long. I don’t know how many saw it as quitting on them, that’s for each individual player to react in their own way, but more of that feeling tends to come out when you start playing poorly, that’s for sure .

Fair question. We could start with United’s general decision making which has been bad for over a decade. But ten Hag had great success at Ajax and United is hardly the first club to put too much stock in on-field results and look past the fact that he won there more so because they were incredibly talented than necessarily his coaching. Slot is generally regarded as a great tactician and has a reputation for being loved by his players. I don’t believe the latter was true of ten Hag - it’s certainly not now - though I’m not as familiar with what his reputation was coming out of Ajax. Tactics matter, but I’ve argued that managing the media and the players is equally, if not more, important and ten Hag does not excel in those areas, in my opinion.

Im Dutch you can not compare Slot with ten hag , totally different personalities and style.