How long do we give Zidane before the axe?

Red Warrior

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 8, 2017
Messages
2,903
Age
51
16 points behind Barca, 4th in league, just drawn away to Celts Vigo after being 2-1 up.

Real are notoriously ruthless with managers. Will Zidane see the end of the season?
 
La Liga has been done for them for a while. Suspect his CL performance will be the key, and they have PSG next having finished 2nd behind Spurs. And then there's the question of whether this squad is still hungry for success, is Ronaldo in decline? Benzema and Bale both had their injury problems and haven't been able to make up for the lack of contribution from Ronaldo and in Benzema's case, he's probably been in decline for a couple of seasons now too.

Zidane has no experience of re-building a squad and coupled with their results this season, it doesn't look good for him.
 
I'm guessing if they get dumped out by PSG he might fall on his sword but he's a big draw for players who might want to come to Madrid in the summer the thought of playing for a legendary player like Zidane will be a big attraction to some players especially those guys in their 20's who grew up watching him as a kid.

Seems to me like that squad has just hit a wall and needs a bit of a freshen up.
 
They definitely need a freshen up, I actually watched them last night because I had money on them (damn) and there was just something lacking. I was amazed at how poor Ronaldo looked, his finishing was incredibly erratic. Also some of Zidane’s decisions werent great, he introduced Vasquez ahead of Asensio and he took off Isco when he was one of their better players.

I kind of agree with Mr C that they could look at Spurs but I don’t think for Kane. I think they may look at Eriksen. Also guys like Dybala or Lewandowski may be targeted. They definitely need some new guys because they look stagnant and Barca have been a class above even after losing Neymar.
 
I think Mr C was probably referencing Pochetinno rather than the players but if they got him to come would he be able to get some of the players to follow?

Lloris, Alderwiereld, Eriksen & Kane probably being the ones they'd be most interested in right now.

It does feel like maybe having conquered the mountain last season winning the league for the first time in ages and going back to back in the Champions League that it's all gone a bit stale, it's probably premature to starting writing players off but it maybe needed freshening up. I've read a few things saying that Ramos is becoming a bit of a liability now as he's getting slower so his aggressive high line style is seeing him caught out quite a bit and he can't recover anymore but we've seen these things written about him in the past and he comes back strong.

The big name they're always linked with is Lewendowski and recently there's been strong links to Hazard.
 
Ah yeah now I see it! They definitely would be interested in Poch for sure.

Yeah those Hazard links never really go away. And also I’ve seen links to Courtois this morning. Those two moves would definitely improve them no end.

I can see that with Ramos, he is getting older now and to be honest Aspas was causing them all sorts of problems last night and the second Celta goal was due to amateurish defending. I don’t think they’ll sack Zidane easily but if they go out of the CL then he may go. Depends if they think with some new signings in the summer things will be rosy again.
 
Spurs did beat them in the CL so he'd probably be on the radar but is he a big enough name for that dressing room I like Poch but he hasn't won anything as a manger and there's a question of can he manage the big ego's in Madrid.
 
Spurs did beat them in the CL so he'd probably be on the radar but is he a big enough name for that dressing room I like Poch but he hasn't won anything as a manger and there's a question of can he manage the big ego's in Madrid.
Yeah that would be the worry about Poch but I do think he would definitely be up there on their list of replacements. It’s hard to name any other guys who may be under consideration as a lot of the big names are in big jobs and probably won’t be on the market.
 
He's won back to back Champions League titles. Surely he gets some leeway?
 
The Real job is a poisoned chalice. Anything other than cups and leagues and your gone in no time. There is no such thing as continuity there.
 
Yeah that would be the worry about Poch but I do think he would definitely be up there on their list of replacements. It’s hard to name any other guys who may be under consideration as a lot of the big names are in big jobs and probably won’t be on the market.

I don't follow Spanish football enough to know if there's anyone in that league making a big impression this season who they might be interested in.

The big names on the market right now are probably Ancelotti & Tuchel, they aren't going to go back to Ancelotti but I think Tuchel might interest them if they're looking to freshen it up but he's apparently difficult to work with. Conte is reported to be leaving Chelsea in the summer got a great reputation at winning leagues but got a poor record in European competition and his strength seems to be he's flexible tactically he doesn't have a "philosophy" he'll put the players in the system that he thinks best suits them but he's not known for free flowing attacking football.

Allegri would probably be the one I think they might target or even the Napoli manager who's name has slipped my mind but they're more likely to be end of season appointments.

I can't see Zidane being sacked now unless their league form dips so much that they're struggling to qualify for Champions League they'd probably just let him see out the season and re-build in the summer. I think they're probably hoping that he'd quit to save the politics that would come with sacking him and they might be able to move him back into the backroom setup if I recall correctly Perez had to basically beg him to take the manager position when he did as Zidane wasn't really interested.

Madrid as a club I think thrive on chaos and lack of planning really their motto is simple "buy the best,hire the best, be the best" there's no logic or code or plan to it basically if something breaks replace it don't try and fix it scrap it and buy a new one.
 
Ah yeah Sarri at Napoli could be on their radar as they play a bright attacking style of play. Like you I don’t watch a hell of a lot of La Liga but I guess one guy is forging a little reputation is Marcelino at Valencia, he’s made some astute signings and their team plays good football.

Not sure someone like Conte would excite the Madrid faithful. Anywhoo I think he’ll go back to Italy when he leaves Chelsea.

Yeah don’t think Zidane will go before the end of the season and even then like I said before I think he’ll be given a chance to spend some money in the summer and have another crack at La Liga.
 
Seem to have a very ageing squad now Madrid, Marcelo, Ramos, Modric, Ronaldo, Benzema, all getting to the end of their careers, Benzema that man is robbing a living, his record is shocking this season how he plays is beyond me, personally I love seeing Madrid struggle, can't stand them as a club, everything they stand for, big summer this year, the only real kid they have is Acensio, a lot of investment needed in that side, hopefully they have other areas to sort out rather than paying mental money for De Gea, hopefully!
 
They've still got a host of talent that are young

Carvejal, Varane, Toni Kroos - 28, Bale - 28, Casemiro, Theo Hernandez, Isco, Kovacic, Odegaard

They've got no excuses for being so poor this season.
 
Bale hardly plays, Kovacic they want rid off, think we have been linked, Odegaard looks like he was this wonderkid about 3 years ago but everything I have seen of him he looks bang average, for a Real Madrid squad that list is very very thin, long may it continue can't beat watching them arrogant ******* struggling
 
I think they'll probably just write it off as a bad season and move on this happens at Madrid and the way they play means if they're not on it they can be beaten as they've always been a team that give you chances. The attack seems to be the problem Ronaldo isn't scoring at his usual freak rate in the league, Benzema has never scored enough goals but he creates a lot of chances for Ronaldo but even by his standards he's having a poor season and Bale has missed loads of games with injury.

Odegaard just highlights why we shouldn't get so excited about kids at 16 everyone was wetting themselves over him but he made a stupid move probably cashing in early on this reputation he'd developed and it's stunted his development.

They weakened themselves in the summer letting James & Morata go but the idea was it would allow them to give the youngsters like Asensio and Vasquez a chance to step up but they're still kids and as a result are unreliable. I think they really thought they'd get Mbappe but when he turned them down for PSG they didn't really have a back up plan so just decided to crack on with what they had.
 
Real lost at home to Valencia at the weekend after a drawing in the cup 2-2 to mighty Numancia (even though they went through on aggregate).

The fat lady is singing....
 
It was Villareal not Valencia but that means Villareal are only 1 point behind them in 5th and they're 19 points off the top.
 
Knocked out by Leganes in the Copa Del Rey tonight. Lost at the Bernabeu too.

Zidane is hanging on right now I would say. They have PSG in the CL too which is tough. The season could unravel pretty quickly.
 
Knocked out by Leganes in the Copa Del Rey tonight. Lost at the Bernabeu too.

Zidane is hanging on right now I would say. They have PSG in the CL too which is tough. The season could unravel pretty quickly.

Would they sack him before that? As that game basically is the whole season now there's nothing else to play for and in the league they are even in a battle for the top 4.

If they got beat in the first leg could he get sacked before the 2nd leg which has happened to other managers. Think Ranieri was sacked between the 1st & 2nd leg with Sevilla last season.
 
who are they going to get though? bit like Chelsea, running out of options
 
Could you imagine if they didn't get CL football next season!! How many places do the the Spanish get, anybody know?
 
Could you imagine if they didn't get CL football next season!! How many places do the the Spanish get, anybody know?

They get 3 automatic spots plus 1 playoff spot same as England, Germany & Italy.

Despite their poor form I still make them favourites for the Champions League with all their players fit they could easily do 3 in a row, I think the issue this season for them is they've lost the strength in depth they had with Pepe, James & Morata all leaving and the younger players who've been promoted haven't supported the first team in the same way those 3 could.

As for alternatives to Zidane well they could potentially bring Ancelotti back in short term or maybe even promote someone else from within.

Some of the journalists/writers are suggesting one of Zidane's problems is he's not very tactically flexible and it's maybe something where his lack of experience is showing through they're just repeating the same pattern over and over again even though it clearly isn't working something needs to change. I don't think it's necessarily the system that has broken it's just some key players have really dropped in form. Ronaldo is having a stinker of a season in the league something like 6 goals I think by this point he'd normally be on about 20 odd and not having those goals makes a big points difference.
 
If there was one club in world football outside of our usual rivals that would have a major crisis its Madrid, can't stand everything about them, hope they beat PSG and I want them next round, we owe them big time and would fancy our chances of turning them over.
 
I don't get the fans, petulant, getting on the players backs over anything.
 
Horrible club mate, no time for them at all, never forget there being to many United fans for the quarter final game few years ago, we all got put in their end and segregated haha was superb their home fans had no idea what to do lol
 
I don't get the fans, petulant, getting on the players backs over anything.
Yeah I hate their fans in truth. Like you say they get on the players back for anything. I know we as fans can have some dismay at players performances but the Madrid fans have been on the back of Ronaldo and Bale even when they are playing well.

As for a replacement for Zidane, I think the prime candidate would be Pochettino because like has been said before there is a lack of available genuine quality managers about. Obviously Tuchel is out of work so he is an option. I think Zidane will potentially survive until the end of the season if they continue to thrive in the CL but if PSG beat them then it could be curtains.

I watched some of their match last night and they were so poor. Kovacic looked devoid of confidence, even Asensio who is a top prospect looked like he was lacking in energy and confidence. Benzema looks a shadow of his former self, although I’ve never really rated him. Like jsp said their squad players just haven’t been good enough which has resulted in this poor season.
 
If there was one club in world football outside of our usual rivals that would have a major crisis its Madrid, can't stand everything about them, hope they beat PSG and I want them next round, we owe them big time and would fancy our chances of turning them over.

They are annoying but unlike other clubs they don't pretend like they are the good guys which is what p*sses me off about other big clubs including us we all try and make it romantic. Madrid are honest about the fact that only the best is acceptable and I respect that more than the Barca more than a club bullsh*t they peddle.
 

Login or Register

Forgot your password?
or Log in using
Don't have an account? Register now
Back
Top