Roberto Martinez is ‘appallingly bad manager’ to pander to Ronaldo | OneFootball

Both Roberto Martinez and Cristiano Ronaldo get a kicking in the Mailbox after Portugal lost to a pretty poor Spain side.

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The best of World Cup days

Trump. Infantino. Ronaldo. Dreams shattered. All sad. Likeable Gunners contribute to said sadness. Oof. What a time to be alive, guys. Niallo, Gooner, Uibh Fháilí

Roberto Martinez has cost Portugal

If I were a Portugal fan, I’d be fuming. We’ve all known Cristiano has been old for the better part of a decade. The previous Portugal manager started to drop him four years ago, when at 37 it was already clear he wasn’t fit for top‑level international football and there were better options at number 9. Sure, even in this tournament he was still sharp in the box, dispatched a high‑pressure penalty with ease (something Messi or Brazil couldn’t do), and could score a couple of goals against one of the lowest‑ranked countries.

However, by making it all about Cristiano again, Martínez failed to get the most out of a supremely talented set of Portuguese players, players who will likely be past their best by the next tournament. The likes of Rúben Dias, João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Rúben Neves will all be on the decline, and yet this was a golden chance to be successful. Instead, Martínez ruined it.

Player for player, Portugal were better than Spain. With the exception of Yamal, you could make a case that Portugal had stronger players in almost every position. Yes, I’d take Rodri/Cubarsí over João Neves/Veiga, but probably not over Vitinha/Dias. Make no mistake, this is Portugal’s greatest squad of players, far superior to the 2016 team that relied on good but not great players like Cédric, José Fonte, Guerreiro and Adrien Silva in the starting XI.

The shocking thing is that we all knew Martínez would do this, because he did exactly the same with Belgium’s greatest-ever generation.

Just look at Belgium last night. The manager dropped the ageing Lukaku and the generational great De Bruyne in favour of a younger, more energetic lineup to face the athletic USA/Team Trump, and they got through with ease. You just know that if Martínez were still Belgium’s manager, he would have started Lukaku and De Bruyne in the same way he always tried to shoehorn Hazard into the team.

The hope now is that Portugal appoint a proper manager who leaves Cristiano to the history books, where he rightfully belongs as one of football’s greats, and instead focuses on giving Portugal a real chance at success in the next Euros, when most of the squad will still be in their prime.

And now that Cristiano’s World Cup career has finished, we can acknowledge that for such a great player, he had an average World Cup record. He did well as a younger player in 2006, helping Portugal reach the semi‑finals, but after that he and Portugal largely underachieved. He had one standout game, the hat‑trick against Spain in the 2018 group stage but beyond that, it’s hard to recall many matches where he dominated in the way Messi routinely has for Argentina.

Cristanos’s longevity is second to none, outstanding, really, to play for so long and score across six different World Cups. But in the cold light of day, when we say the word “Ronaldo” in a World Cup context, we should be thinking of the great Ronaldo Nazário, who had a much shorter time at the top but whose peak was arguably higher than Cristiano’s. Paul K, London

…You have to hand it to Roberto Martinez. An appallingly bad manager who has managed to build a highly lucrative career off that FA Cup win. Big respect to the insanely talented Portugal squad too. The patience and skill required to play with 10 men and get as far as the round of 16 whilst simultaneously babysitting a bona fide narcissist is truly impressive.

When he finally gets the hint and f***s off, they’ll be proper contenders. All Martinez had to do was summon up some balls and tell Ronaldo he’s getting 10 mins off the bench tops. Or better still, not pick him at all. RHT/TS x

(I see the Arsenal are struggling to attract any attacking talent thus far, one can only wonder why…)

…I’m loathe to get all “just asking questions” but I do have a couple of questions.

The only game Ronaldo was substituted in was against Croatia after he scored a penalty. Is there a contractual obligation that Ronaldo stays on the pitch unless he’s scored a goal?

Is Roberto Martinez terminally online and was persuaded by all the Ronaldo fanboys that his 2 goals against the mighty Uzbekistan had silenced the majority of us who have seen with our eyes he’s been past it for 3 tournaments now?

Because the only other explanation is that he thought having setting-up to entirely service a guy who can barely move with that wealth of creative talent was the best strategy, despite it failing 2 years ago. Daniel, London

Some regret after US World Cup humiliation

Well, it was an absolute delight watching Belgium pull down the USA’s pants and humble them after the whole Balogun kerfuffle but now the dust has settled and the sense of justice being restored is fading, a little regret for the game is seeping in.

Firstly, I share the outrage and bewilderment at FIFA changing the rules for the USA, but no one in the US football set up comes out of this looking clean. No one in their set up seems to have taken the stance that it was wrong, that the integrity of football and the principal of every team playing to the same rules mattered more than the advantage that it posed that their player started.

I’ve lost a lot of respect for Pochettino for not leaving Balogun out of the squad or at least making him an unused substitute. I don’t think that Balogun should have been put in this position but ultimately he was and he also failed the integrity test – he could have withdrawn himself for the game, feigned an injury or whatever but he did not. And it’s embarrassing. Embarrassing as an adult man and as an athlete that the only reason they were in the game yesterday is because they ran to mummy, or in this case their **** who fixed it with Infantino.

For Balogun I wonder if it crossed his mind that the only reason he is eligible for the US men’s team is because of birthright citizenship, which Trump is currently trying to revoke – I’m sure he’ll be safe as “one of the good ones” but does he not find it humiliating that he’s relying on favours from someone who doesn’t see him as a person but a useful tool that will be discarded as soon as he is no longer able to play?

And herein lies the regret. Before this whole palaver, most people were neutral to the USA’s World Cup. They played some nice football against some middling opposition and came through and got to the last 16. Instead of that being the focus for football fans in America, all that will be remembered is how they cheated, cosying up to a convicted felon to do so, acted as though the cheating was some kind of virtuous cultural difference between the USA and Europe, and still got spanked by a faded Belgium team that didn’t even play De Bruyne or start Doku and Lukaku.

So regret is there that the whole memory of this tournament for millions will be jaded. That this might stop more Americans picking up or watching or otherwise getting involved with the game especially when this should have been a launchpad for football as USA 94 was. Daniel, Cambridge

Is it a given that the US get better?

I read MAW, LA Gooner’s post-script to his letter after the USA’s exit from the World Cup with a bit of interest. The insight they provided into football not beng given the same primacy as other US sports as grassroots level was useful context, but the assertion that it’s only a matter of time before that’s remedied and the US become “a truly formidable opponent on the world stage” took me aback somewhat.

I think it’s fair to say that on this side of the pond, we often look at the American condition with a mixture of envy and bemusement. On the one hand, most of us would love to be a bit more self-confident and assertive, as they seem to be. On the other, we’re very wary of having our mouths writing cheques that we have no hope of cashing.

The idea that the US will inevitably progress to be an elite (mens) footballing nation strikes me as closer to the latter scenario for the moment. Maybe MAW got a bit caught up in the fervour that erupted after a couple of group stage wins against mid-tier opposition. God knows you didn’t have to look far to find a news bulletin featuring a flag-draped American fan declaring that they were going to win the whole thing. Fair play to them for creating that sense of optimism, it’s always great to see a host country invested in their team.

But in the cold light of day, did anyone in Europe view them as a real threat to the status quo? Have we ever? Where do they realistically sit in terms of the pecking order of international football? Right now I’d think of them in the same bracket as the likes of Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, the second tier South Americans, and some of the more high profile African nations. Teams that you expect to see at a World Cup, who might spring a surprise result, but for whom a quarter or semi-final place would be cause for celebration..

And there’s no shame in that at all. As an Irishman, I’d bite your hand off for that sort of World Cup pedigree. My point is that I think that’s where the US are right now, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll graduate from that into the top tier, no matter how much they might invest in their structures. The only team I can think of that has conclusively stepped up in the last 25 years is Spain, a country which already had incredible football culture and resources before they harnessed them properly and forged a winning side largely transposed from their immensely successful club sides.

Anyway, all to say that maybe the “if you ain’t first, you’re last” maxim that drives America to success in a lot of individual and team sports on a regular basis might not be applicable at the top level in football. The competition is just too fierce for a country to eat at the top table while ceding priority to a variety of other national sports. A proper grassroots program can only prosper so far if the top young athletes continually gravitate towards more popular pursuits.

Americans will ultimately have to console themselves with their perpetual status as “world champs” in American football I suppose. Keith Reilly

Coming up for World Cup air in Ireland

My first thought is Czechia, what the hell?!

A limited Irish team might have done better, at least gone down fighting.

As for the Scots, respect to the fans regardless of the results, a lifetime of memories there. I understand the frustration not getting to the next round but they were in with Morocco and Brazil, even Haiti were not total rubbish.

Given the strong Kane links to the Emerald Isle and from my perspective, Arsenal players heavily involved, maybe England winning it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world would it? I’d much rather England over Morocco or the Argies.

In general, have enjoyed this WC immensely, bar a few dud matches.

My liver will get a well-earned break this Wednesday.

I think we’ve seen the best of America. Loved the stories of the towns/cities embracing the countries being based there, it’s been heartwarming.

Last but not least, the never ending footballing drama, long may it continue! James B, Dublin

Gloriously petty from Forest