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The year is about to end, December is ticking away and the season so far has been very exciting, with this being the time that managers take stock of their seasons so far, and look to see what they can do to improve their team for the rest of the season. We can finally discuss, at length, without being labelled shortsighted, the fortunes of major teams across Europe. There is also the small matter of it being Christmas, and this festive period is a very important time in club football. If used well, this time can be a deciding factor in a team's fortunes over the course of the remainder of the season. Here's a list of managers and an attempt at figuring out the gifts that they would want for Christmas this year.
#1 Jurgen Klopp
All he wants for Christmas is points. Any points at this stage, really. This famous proponent of rock and roll football will now probably be ready to even accept rubbish football for a rise up the table, such has been his team's fall from grace.
Everyone's darling team Dortmund have struggled badly so far this season and are currently sitting in the relegation zone, having accrued only 15 points from their 17 games. It is like a hex has been placed on them. Injuries have wreaked havoc and they haven’t had any respite so far. Their players too have been out of form so far this season.
The likes of Immobile, Grosskreutz, Kagawa, Sahin, Ramos and Weidenfeller have failed to live up to their reputations. It's like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. But all is not lost, Dortmund can still salvage something from the season, namely their dignity.
It is not a cause of players being of lesser quality. Dortmund have arguably the second best squad in the league. There is no pressing need to invest heavily in the January window. The injuries have also started to abate. They need to get their heads together and work towards climbing up the table again. A good helping of belief in their stockings will go a long way to helping them get themselves back on track again.
#2 Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique won't be feeling very festive at all. His first season as Barcelona manager has coincided with the most dominant Madrid team in recent memory. As you read this, Enrique is probably penning a long letter to Santa, describing in morbid detail how he would like for Real Madrid to disappear overnight. It has been that kind of season.
Enrique's Barcelona have been subjected to great scrutiny from all quarters. His team has been taken apart with a fine tooth comb after every game, every training session and every media appearance. There has been no escape. The constant comparison with Guardiola's Barcelona has only added to the weight of expectations on his shoulders.
In reality, there hasn't been much that he's done wrong. Sure the team isn't as fluid as it once was, but it is to be expected with the introduction of a new manager and new faces in the dressing room. He has also brought about plenty of noticeable changes. He has managed to fix the Blaugrana's very leaky defense. He is slowly phasing out the older players in the team and Suarez hasn't bitten anyone yet. Now, he just has to find out a way to integrate all these changes with Barcelona's famous tiki-taka, something which will not happen overnight.
#3 Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger probably hasn't been a very good boy since 2005, or else he wouldn't have to wish for the same things every Christmas. A center back and a defensive midfielder, over and over again, and hopefully Santa listens to his request this time.
This is the strongest Arsenal line up in some time, but injuries and their luck has now caught up with them. The team's balance looks intermittently skewed and, at times, has been magnified by the absence of Laurent Koscielny and Mikel Arteta.
17 games into the season, Arsenal sit in 6th position, four points away from the top 4, a scenario not too new for Wenger and his charges, but the lack of stability in defense and constant injury problems might just be too big an obstacle for them to overcome should the team not be suitably augmented in January.
#4 Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers had everything he could ask for in the summer, but now, approaching the new year, he needs motivation, time, renewed faith, and most importantly a refund - for the money he spent on the likes of Lovren and Balotelli.
He is probably regretting the money spent on his new recruits. Dejan Lovren, Mario Balotelli, Ricky Lambert, Moreno, Emre Can, Markovic et all have proved to be either a waste of money, or not yet ready to step up to the challenges of representing a club like Liverpool.
Positives have been hard to come by and it is the worst possible follow-up he could have had after a season like the last one. Rodgers has a massive task on his hand, and it will begin with correcting the mistakes he made in the summer. Sturridge's return would also be a massive bonus.
#5 Manuel Pellegrini
On the surface, Pellegrini doesn't really suffer for the want for much. City have been on a good run of form. All his senior players are performing well and the gap to Chelsea, at the top, has been reduced to a more manageable deficit. But within his veneer of nonchalance burns with rage his anxiety over the fitness of his strikers.
City, for the first time in a long time, have found themselves short of strikers, a scenario previously thought impossible. All three of City's strikers have found themselves in the physio room at the same time for varying lengths of time. Not that it has shown in their performances, but Pellegrini will be hoping to have them back before it is too late. He can deploy Milner as a striker only for so much time.
#6 Ronald Koeman
Koeman's Southampton is like the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz. They were beaten by the bigger teams, despite having played either better than them.
Southampton have had a brilliant season so far, and it would have been better had it not been for the cold feet against the bigger teams. After having occupied the second position in the table for so long, it didn't take them long to slip to their current position of fifth after four defeats on the trot.
Southampton have the disposition and nous to stand and be counted among the best teams in the league, but this constant habit of falling prey to the bigger teams will cost them dearly if they do nothing to rectify. They have another run of grueling fixtures to look forward to after Christmas (Chelsea, Arsenal, United) and Koeman will be hoping for a gift of courage from Santa over the next few days.
#7 Harry Redknapp
English football's darling, Harry Redknapp has probably had his Christmas wish list prepared a year in advance after all, not much thought goes into it. The man wants only one thing and one thing alone, a transfer war chest.
Redknapp, in his reign as QPR manager, has spent enough to take a small team to Champions league qualification and yet he finds himself in the midst of a relegation battle. Charlie Austin's heroics have kept his side away from the relegation zone, heading into Christmas, but the situation could soon change as witnessed two years back when he led the R's to relegation.
After having spent £28 million on Sandro, Leroy Fer, Jordan Mutch and Caulker, not to mention the outrageous amounts paid in wages to Vargas, Ferdinand and Kranjcar, it would be mad to let him near so much as a penny, but knowing Redknapp, he'll end up having his way and spending a £100 million on the likes of Dawson, Crouch and Aaron Lennon.
#8 Louis Van Gaal
Manchester United have put behind them their early season woes to sit third in the table heading into the new year, despite having one of the worst starts to a season in almost three decades.
United are picking points from tough matches, scraping their way out of tough situations and finally have a firm, fastidious manager at the helm, something they lacked so badly last year. To the outsider, it is an almost perfect situation, but the perfectionist that he is, Van Gaal would want a private audience with Santa if he could just so he could iron out a few things.
The highest priority in his list would be to have a clean bill of health. United have suffered an astounding 50 injuries this season and have had to use academy players at regular junctions to prevent a shortfall of players. The consternation of having to deal with those injuries has probably added years to Van Gaal's age and he would like to get rid of them as soon as possible. A late title challenge might even become plausible with all his players fit.
#9 Laurent Blanc
PSG's Laurent Blanc isn't having as rosy a season as last year. It is actually proving to be a more competitive affair than was suggested before the season and he doesn't seem to be coping well with it.
Blanc is currently the manager of the best team in Ligue 1. With the stars available to him, he should be well out of sight of his nearest rivals and yet he finds himself locked in a battle with Marseille and Lyon.
Marcelo Bielsa's addition to Marseille has been nothing short of inspired and it looks like there is going to be an actual battle for the title in France this year and this has caused Blanc a multitude of problems. Firstly, he doesn't seem to be getting along well with a few of his players, especially Edinson Cavani. There have been rumors that Cavani will be pushing for a move away from PSG if things don't improve. The owners are not going to be very happy if one of their biggest signings feels a move away from the club is the best course of action.
Most importantly, Blanc seems to lack the guile to motivate his players and inspire them to fight for the team. His hubris has caused them to fall behind even Lyon who have managed to wriggle ahead of PSG before the winter break.
If Blanc has his way with Santa, he's going to want to for a lot of things to just go away rather than wanting for something shiny and new.
#10 Jose Mourinho
Mourinho is probably going to wish for a little bit of everything that the other managers will be getting to ensure his team remains ahead of the curve.
Chelsea have been, hands down, the best team in the league, and with all going to plan will be the champions come May. Mourinho will want to ensure that nothing much changes between then and now. He'll probably even go as far as denouncing Santa and his merry gifts for the sake of his club.
Actually, he might have already started preaching about how Santa is a fallacy and how he's not bringing gifts, bringing everyone down to the real world where his team are still the best.
