Alonso’s sacking shows that at Real Madrid, the opinion of only one man ultimately counts: the president. Perez has given up very quickly on new managers before — Rafael Benitez lasted six months during the 2015-16 campaign, and Julen Lopetegui got just 14 games before the axe fell in the autumn of 2018. Alonso has not improved his reputation during his short time as Madrid coach, failing to get the team playing the way he wants. His reserved personality and technocratic approach led to issues with both the dressing room and the boardroom. He may also have regrets about allowing himself to drift away from his own convictions over recent months. Ultimately, the past eight months have served as a reminder of just how unique Madrid is within world sport. Perhaps a ‘project’ manager like Alonso, who came in looking to impose his own ideas about the game, was always doomed to failure. Some around the Bernabeu say that Perez was never convinced about the idea of hiring him, which made ...
Yesterday’s FA Cup result at Old Trafford said something about the relative states of Brighton and Manchester United, one club on an upward trajectory, the other sinking into a Slough of Despind. Here are some extracts from the Swiss Ramble’s assessment of Brighton, much more in depth analysis on his Substack page. Tony Bloom outlined the club’s approach, “We want to be a sustainable football club. We will have seasons where we lose a lot of money, as well as some seasons where we make a lot of money. But over time, if we stay in the Premier League, we will be sustainable and we will be profitable.” However, the owner added, “Most of our rivals are not. So it’s really tough to compete with that.” Player sales model Brighton have now made a staggering £351m from player sales in the last four years, which is a dramatic change in approach, e.g. in the previous eight years their profits from this activity were only £29m In the three seasons up to 2023/24, only two clubs ...