[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I expected them to finish mid-table (they still might, but I doubt it) but they have been terrible, even given the factors you mention. What won them the title last season (besides 'better' teams simply going missing) wasn't so much a system that could be worked out but individual talents and a real never-say-die attitude, both of which seem to have disappeared.

To have sacked Raniera after the 1st leg of a CL tie they could still conceivably win makes me think something's been going on behind the scenes. Most likely some kind of player rebellion.

the thing with the never-say-die attitude is that it requires a certain level of energy that's very hard to keep up

this is exactly what happened to dortmund under klopp.

dortmund at some point sank to the bottom of the table and was unexpectedly fighting relegation. i believe the reason his old tactics weren't working was simple exhaustion-- the 19 year olds he started with had grown older, picked up injuries, could not run as fast and relentlessly as before.

i think we talked about it here, back then.

not saying this is what happened at leicester, which i don't follow, but the never-say-die attitude needs 1) youth, and 2) rest. otherwise you can just pull it off one game, like, in a world cup, but then you have to go home & soak in a tub for a week.