So I was trying to look at the old 2016-17 premier league thread but it won't work anymore so I figured I'd start a new one never made a new one before so I apologize if I made an error!
Things are really heating up in the premier league and in the champions league now I feel the top 6 race for the top four spots in England is going to come down to the last day and being a man united fan it's almost too painful to watch sometimes. Mostly it's nice to wake up put euro football on on the weekends and eat breakfast and watch some team in last place take the scalp of a big fish! Curious what others think about the rest of the season and what you guys think will happen as we get closer to match day 38!
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Still cant believe Liverpool have tanked as hard as they have in the second half of the season, should be a really interesting top 4, I still think Chelsea run away with the league but I'd love to see City make it interesting
The lack of Europa/ Champions league play is HUGE for the race in the premiere league the last few years. None for Chelsea this year, Leicester last year. Between the prem., efl cup, fa cup, European cups, etc. the sheer amount of games played it's incredible. No coincidence when top teams can play they're studs every week results happen.
Yes I know Leicester was an outlier but I'm just sayin'... Definitely a race for 2nd 3rd and 4th right now.
It's been huge this year and last not having midweek action but next year will be different with Chelsea Man U and city all loading on players this summer
Arsenal will finish in the top 4 and ahead of Spurs. Though it seems unlikely, it's a reality that finds its way every season.
Chelsea is going to walk away with the league.
One Manchester team will make Champions League, though I'm not sure which one.
prediction for England:
1. Chelsea
2. Man City
3. Arsenal
4. Spurs
5. Man U
6. Liverpool
I think 2-6 will be within 4 pts of each other at season's end...it's going to be a crazy finish.
Arsenal will win FA Cup
in Spain, i think Barca will have a strong finish and win the La Liga/Copa Double
Real Madrid will win UCL...again
In Germany, the Leipzig story is fizzling, and not a lot of drama really, but it will be fun to see them in Europe, I guess.
MLS starts tomorrow, I think RFK will host one last MLS Cup final when DCU win the East!
I don't really follow other leagues.
I think man city has too many issues in defense to seriously go on a tear this year but give pep a summer to recruit more players as well and they'll be ready next year I think chelseas done with the title race all but mentally
As for arsenal and Liverpool we will see this weekend if arsenal are mentally out of it or they're gonna tough it out and go out and try to send arsene away with a little pride but I see this being a draw where nothing's learned really since we already know arsenal are frail at times and Liverpool just have no number 9 to lean on for goals and absolutely no defense at times
I think totenham are questionable they've been brilliant the flat awful plus with the Barca job opening is poch possibly on the move I think he could be a viable candidate
spurs will finish top 4, and i think it'll be 2nd maybe 3rd, admittedly i'm a spurs fan. their two best opponents (arsenal and man utd) they get at home. though burnley and leicester away could be tricky. i don't think poch will be seriously linked to barca given he played so much at espanyol as well as the style of play; the bigger issue would be if simeone leaves atletico i could see him leaving
i say spurs, arsenal and city round out the top 4 in some order, man utd finish 5th and liverpool 6th
every team has its flaws. thats part of the beauty of tjis season and what sets it apart from usual seasons
1. Chelsea
2. City
3. Spurs
4. United
5. Arsenal
6. Liverpool
I'm a Spurs fan so I'm biased, but there are a number of factors working in our favor. First of all, we have the easiest remaining schedule with our only top 6 games against Arsenal and United (both at home). Also, we, like Chelsea, have been unstoppable when we've been able to play 3 at the back. If Jan and Toby can stay healthy, there is absolutely no way we miss out on top 4.
A good friend of mine has been a life long Chelsea fan and I jumped on the train about a year ago. I have played Football Manager for around 4 years now, even before watching the EPL on a regular basis. I fell in love with the idea of 3 central defenders after turning Crewe into back-to-back EPL title holders with a 3-5-2 system featuring a sweeper... so having Conte come into my new favorite team and institute a back 3 has been amazing for me to watch.
I've read a ton on soccer strategy and tactics, basically anything I can get my hands on. If anyone knows of any good tactical film review for soccer, I'd love to hear about it!
holy cow a sweeper?! haha ancient soccer right here
It's a tricky formation that can be exposed with back post crosses etc every formation has its flaw but with just prem and far cup to play in he can play his stars that know exactly what they're doing so it's fine till you rotate for extra completions
Big Real Madrid fan (ready to catch shit for this) but they've been a rollercoaster lately. Playing a frustrating mix of brilliant and lackluster football. I think the fixture congestion is starting to wear on this team, but hoping for a strong finish. I would hate to finish second in La Liga again, especially when we've been in great position all season.
LOL at any Spanish club complaining about fixture congestion! You get 26 league weeks of sub par competition, a winter break, and no 2nd (meaningless) domestic cup!
well playing every 3-4 days is ass no matter how you spin it.
As a Man U fan that cup is meaningful!
As a Sevilla fan, I'm hoping that continues for both Real and Barcelona. I'm still amazed how well Sevilla has done with all the talent that left after last season, especially on the bench in Emery. Hopefully they finish off Leicester in Champions League (mainly so I can attend the next round) and have a strong finish.
Any of you lads play fantasy premier league? I'm in my second year of it. I honestly find it just as fun as fantasy NFL if not even more so because of how long it lasts and how much overall strategy it involves. My regular team is everton btw. Never contributed to one of these threads so I might as well finally start.
What service do you use to play I'd be interested
My buddies and I all use the site provided by the Premier league itself. They have a part of their website devoted to fantasy and the user interface is pretty intuitive and easy. It's much quicker to grasp than ESPN's NFL fantasy site.
I play in a fantasy premier league with ten teams. Except instead of the standard salary cap style we "americanized" it and had a draft. It's insanely fun. We've expanded the scoring to include other important stats (shots, tackles, interceptions, etc.) so it's not just the big names putting up all the points. Kante was actually a top 20 player last year because he would get so many tackles.
We use Fantrax and it's pretty solid. I would look into it for next season if you can find 8-10 people to do it.
That's the problem with my league. We usually start out with 10 players or so and by the end its only 3-4 really playing and updating their lineups and stuff.
Yeah the success of the league is all about the people in it. This is our third year and in past years, there were a bunch of people who checked out. However, even though I basically have the league wrapped up already, just about everyone still sets their lineups and looks for waivers. I think it's a combination of having a big enough buy-in ($100), having participants who genuinely love soccer, and having an active group me.
Dang that's a big buy in. In our league it was 5 dollars and we cut a side deal with a few of our friends that we'd buy them a case if they finished top 4 in the table or beat me or my other friend. It's kinda working..
Haaa whatever works for you. We're also like ~27 and no longer play fantasy football so throwing down $100 for this seems totally reasonable.
Sticking with my foxes! LCFC.
As a Werder Bremen supporter, I applaud being a fan of avoiding relegation! While my Green-Whites have a storied history, the past few years have been all about basic survival in the Bundesliga!
I actually picked them last year from a thread started on here last year. I liked the idea of a team that had worked its way up. If they can play as well as they against Liverpool they should finish in top 15. My concern is the LCFC of the first half of the season shows back up.
liverpool fan checking in. we have been really bothered by injuries and i think in january we had something like 11 games in 16 days and then because we dropped all cup competitions we had no games in 15 days after beating tottenham 2-0. In that span liverpool went to spain for some rest and recovery while LCFC kept rolling games (albeit losing) then they fire their manager. I think that is the second or third time this season a team has fired their manager before liverpool come into town and that always...always...spells disaster for us. The team has a breath of new life and comes out on fire whereas we are rusty and play terrible. I just hope that midseason rest pays off in the long run...
This season can be summed up by the phrase WTF? Brilliant against the top 6 but absolute crap against teams we should beat. It's been the Liverpool way for way too long. We'd have been champions three years ago if it wasn't for a last 10 minute collapse against Palace in the most ridiculous game I've ever had to watch (other than the Istanbul CL final, naturally). It's so hard to watch this team, you never know what you'll get. I still maintain we threw the title away this season after a commanding lead in the lead well into December.
The loss to Leicester is completely baffling. They were by far the most struggling side in the league, just played in Spain over the previous week whilst we spent 2+ weeks resting so this should have been an easy win. Then we lay a total egg. Is Hendo that important? Is Can that crap? Even with the manager situation, this should have been an easy day out in the midlands. No excuse for it. We'll probably pummel Arsenal this weekend and then do a Wolves in the next game. Shyte.
I think and yes I'm a Man U fan but I try not to be biased but I felt you guys were outdoing your squads ability the first half of the year and now the lack of depth in cb and mid areas are showing plus I think you guys desperately need a natural number 9 so mane can play on the wing a bit more naturally and wjinaldum can sit little further back to help protect your cbs
Liverpool has been baffling at times good at home as always but these last two months have been truly baffling to me but when you play Lucas as a cb against Leicester city when they're in there 4-4-2 counter scheme with vardy up top and you also play your fullbacks high up the pitch you're gonna have a really bad time if vardy has his shooting boots on just ask man city
Threw the title away? C'mon now. First of all, you were in good form at the beginning of the season. Everyone loves to say that you're playing poorly now, but the reality is that you were competing at your maximum ability at the beginning of the season. Now you've just regressed back to the norm. The other big issue is that teams have figured you out. The only good performances you've had in months have been against Spurs and City who played right into your hands. If Poch and Pep weren't so stubborn, they would have just sat back, countered, and gotten points just like the rest of the league.
Liverpool is miles away from being title contenders. You need a top striker, top keeper, a real left back, and defensive depth before you will even sniff a title. This team will continue to finish 6th/7th until that is addressed.
to say regressed to the norm is pretty rough on them. i mean theyve won i think 2 games in 2017, that is certainly well below par. As for their missing peices gk needs to be their top priority this offseason. firmino is a really good striker and has fit into the #9 role really well, albeit they do need some more depth. as for their fullbacks thats actually a really common misconception, james milner and clyne have had solid seasons
It's a slight exaggeration, but I think they've finished 6th or 7th every year (bar Saurez's last season) every season since 2010. Looking at the season as a whole, this is them regressing to the norm.
Firmino is pretty good, but his playing style doesn't work against the teams that pack it in. Maybe Origi can develop into a solid striker? Who knows. The bigger issue, though, is the system. It just does not work against an organized defense. And I'm not crapping on Milner; I know that he's been good this year. But he is not a "real" left back. Just like Lucas is not a real center back. They need someone who can bomb the flanks and provide width.
You'd have a point about the striker but we're the top scorers in the league, plus I recall Spain winning the Euros AND the world up with a false 9. We're rumored to be bringing some wingers over the summer as well as the fulham wonder kid (dembele) at left back plus a proper GK to deal with extra European commitments next season. We're close to scoring 50% as many goals as manUre while spending a fraction of their budget...so there's that.
If we finish above you lot it would've been a successful season in my book. Just need to sort out the teams who park the bus against us-like the red side of Manchester did against us late last year.
True about false nine but I just think you guys need a Suarez like character the way Diego costa, harry Kane, Messi, Ronaldo demand success and pull their teams along at times like when you guys play relegation zone teams that sit back and deep(something I hate on the inside but it's how it is)
Mingolet surprised me today with big saves but still he's not consistent enough I'm not sure who to sign honestly though?
I agree you guys are playing well compared to the other big spenders I really like klopps attitude and style as a Man U supporter I hated seeing him go to Merseyside but 'tis what it is give him time and he will get it right eventually
That park the bus crap is annoying and I wish teams didn't do it but when the opponent outclasses you who can blame the lesser team of doing it when it's your best chance to win? I can't stand seeing teams timewaste and park the bus instead of going for it but I'm no manager or player just a fan :/
I trust in kloppo...he did more at dortmund with a less talented team, it's only lately that borussia have the spending power of the big boys. Qualification for the CL will give him 100m+ can't wait for the silly season if that happens. I want Brandt...badly.
You have the most overrated manager that does less with more than anyone I can remember. Constantly whining he needs better players with an unlimited budget. Cry me a river, Mr special one. Clown.
Klopp never had a true 9 at BVB by the way.
I agree but mourinho is a quality manager it's true he's always had a lot of money and talent but he gets results out of players I didn't like him before he came to Man U at all but he's my manager now so I'll try and enjoy the ride
Didn't lewandowski play for klopp at Dortmund though while he was there I'm getting old and forgetful
Correct! Lewa was there looks like I'm the one whos old and forgetful...and yes he was world class at BVB...my bad...I've had a few to drink due to that wake debacle
Everyone is hating on Firmino as the false nine but I'm not so sure he will be in the end. Lewa was a similar case where Klopp persisted with him as a striker struggling for an entire season before he lit it up. Not saying Firmino will do the same world beater stuff Lewa does, but I wonder if Klopp sees Firmino as a striker.
The three issues I see are first we have three #10's on the field (cutinho, lallana, firmino). Luckily lallana has done awesome in CM and firmino is doing alright as a #9 but sometimes we lack width and side to side movement against the bus teams and I think it comes from that.
Second is the Hendo/Can issue. There is no question Lallana/Wijnaldum make our best midfield but if Can is that rough around the edges, hard tackling but technically gifted ball playing CDM then where does Hendo fit in? I think Can is a true CDM and hendo is just a stop gap solution. With him always likely to miss a couple of games due to his foot I wonder if maybe the captains band should move or maybe he should move on. I love hendo, and I certainly want him to stick around with the team and everyone can point to our win statistics with him on the field but some of the our worst losses came with him playing CDM this season. If Can can achieve his from from last year I don't see who Hendo can replace and improve upon.
Last is the left side of the defense. MIlner is not natural there and our LCB has been lucas or Klavan and I am certainly not convinced of Lovren either. Need to sign two more tall big guys back there to really shape up the line.
I'm not too fusses with GK as mignolet has played a lot better with Karius breathing down his neck and I think Karius will develop into a great GK. What I am worried about is our GK coach who has had several GKs to work with and none seem to improve.
I trust Klopp and I think this is definitely a top 5 side. Maybe top 2 is punching above their weight but with a starting LCB, LFB, and striker signed this summer while selling sturridge, I think that solves a lot of problems. Milner can go back to midfield depth, moreno and lovern are decent defensive depth to the new starters. Origi has show real promise but has not had a great season thus far and is good depth to a new striker combined with Firmino to change things up.
We aren't that far off or too many pieces away from having real decent depth.
spot on my friend
I still can't believe Ranieri was fired after winning the league last season. Based on Leicester's result against Liverpool they obviously needed a change but its still seems ridiculous to me.
In the modern game I can I feel so bad for Claudio but the players let him down in the end the Liverpool game reminded me so much of last years team
rumor has it the players literally forced him out and asked for him to leave. didnt like him anymore. when youre an owner and you have a mutiny on your hands theres not much you can do
I know it is pain in the ass to watch La Liga in the states, but did anyone see Bale get sent off against Las Palmas, he completely lost his cool.
Paging FifthFuller for his Pro-Welsh hot take.
On a scale of one to Luis Suarez how bad was it?
So Bale took a few foul-worthy swipes at the back of (I can't remember his name lets call him) small guy's legs (never got close to playing the ball). Eventually the ref calls the foul and small guy gives a one armed shove to Bale's shoulder. Bale reacts by taking a step to gain momentum and full on shoving small guy to the ground. It seemed like a result of pent up frustration than his frustration with that particular moment. Either way small guy took a very "I'm a little bitch" dive as he got shoved, but Bale deservedly got two yellows and was sent off.
A monkey's got Gareth Bale's head
Huh sounds bad not like dele Allis tackle last week but not what you want to see in the game especially the stupid flopping
It was mostly just like "wtf Bale, why?!?" It wasn't so bad, it was just soooooo unnecessary and the fact that it happened after the play was already over.
Yeah lost in the lunacy of the foul was the small guy grabbing his face despite being pushed in the shoulder. I know it's part of the game, but gosshhhhh does that bother me.
Edit: threads will get after ya
Hoping Reading can get promoted to the Premier League next season. They have a good shot at making the 4 team playoff for the final spot, just need them to play with a little more consistency. It will be nice to see Newcastle back in the Premier League, weird not having them around.
I haven't followed the promotion fight yet this year what teams are looking good so far?
i have been loosely following it: brighton and newcastle are locks for the top 2. fullham are 7th but seem to have a chance to make the final playoff spot, though everything i've read/heard says they're very inconsistent (which i understand tends to happen in the championship). leeds seem likely to make the playoff which would be interesting for them to move up
i too would like to see reading promoted just to have more american players in the premier league
Yeah I became a fan of Reading when Bobby Convey played for them and helped get them promoted. Would love to see Danny Williams do the same thing.
Not to mention it's always good seeing a Yank succeed overseas as Deandre Yedlin is having a very good campaign for Newcastle.
Newcastle and Brighton seem to have pretty clear paths to automatic promotion based on being 8 and 6 points clear of third. There are 4 teams that seem to be in the best position to go to the playoff (Huddersfield, Leeds, Reading and Sheffield) with Fulham having an outside shot. The last few weeks all of the top teams have played each other and the results were pretty much all over the place.
As a Fulham fan, I've actually come to appreciate the Championship more than the EPL. I just like it better. Some quality teams and the way they play is interesting at times. I actually think Brighton are gonna bottle it again. I think Huddersfield, and their American-German Klopp protege, sneak it out with Newcastle. Don't think Fulham are quite there yet. Would love to sneak into the playoffs, but think it comes down to Brighton and Wednesday for the promotion spot...think Wednesday sneaks it.
Don't think Leeds and Reading are that great honestly. Wouldn't surprise me if either fell out of the playoffs in favor of Fulham or Norwich.
Long suffering Magpie fan. Started rooting for them around 93-94 time. Actually have a few Shearer jerseys.
Respect...93-94 was before Shearer, Asprilla, Lee, etc...that said, 4-3, bro.
I've tried to get invested in European leagues, but being an ocean away from any team just doesn't get my juices flowing.
I'm excited for MLS though, which starts tonight. DC United starts their season tomorrow at RFK Stadium (one last year in the old gal) and I couldn't be more excited. DCU has a bunch of young, exciting talent and they scored goals in bunches in the second half of last season. They keep their core intact and added some depth, so it'll be fun to watch how this team progresses this year.
Easiest way to follow euro games is NBC network and fs1 for champs league it's on in the mornings so it's easy to watch over breakfast or doing taxes or whatever plus the games only last an hour n half due to no ads
it's awesome in the fall being able to watch epl in the morning, then switch over to college football right after
Oh, I've watched plenty of European league games on NBCSN and FS1. I just have zero attachment to any team and even though they might be some of the best players in the world, that's not what holds my interest when it comes to sports.
I'm invested in Virginia Tech sports because I spent 5 years of my life there. I love DC United because after falling for the beautiful game, they're the closest pro soccer team to watch in person. And because basketball was my first love and I grew up going to games in Richmond, I still root for UR and VCU. Now that I'm in NoVa, the Wizards are my team.
To me, sports fandom is about experiencing it firsthand, which is why I don't find myself interested in European soccer leagues. Not to diminish those who enjoy it, I just haven't been able to get into it after trying to do so.
I haven't been this hyped for a DC team in a long, long time. 33 goals in our last 13 games to finish last year. Captain BirdBomb and company and going to take us far.
Also, the depth that we have is insane. I really think we'll take the Open Cup this year.
That said, every team in MLS is getting better and better. Dallas is scary good and getting better. Seattle is so dominant with Lodeiro and now get Dempsey back. Even the Chicago Fire seem like they might be good (or they might 3peat the wooden spoon, of course).
I think 2017 will be the best MLS season yet.
Columbus is looking great. If we can stay healthy we're going to challenge this year.
And I'm just sitting here in Raleigh hoping we get our rose for 2020
I'd still be going to games, I hear they have great support as it is. If they get spot in the MLS, they'll be my '2nd team' of sorts, given the proximity.
Yeah the team formerly known as the Railhawks have a strong following here and the rec and development program in the area is second to none in size in the US. One other thing we have going for us is that Raleigh had the first official American Outlaws chapter in the country and still has a strong following sending fans to USNT games all over the country.
Hope it works out and we get the bid. A MLS team here would have a huge following with the number of college aged people.
Huh, and completely coincidental timing, this morning the North Carolina FC just announced an agreement with both CASL and Triangle FC to combine both youth programs and absorb them within the NCFC umbrella. This merging of some 12k youth players immediately created the single largest youth to pro development program in the US.
This is actually pretty huge news for Raleigh's MLS bid. That's a massive selling point and should be something that helps distance the organization from the pack.
Not gonna lie, I'm turning my attention pretty strongly towards MLS now that Arsenal has decided to lie down.
Might even see if I can go get to a NCFC game sometime this year. It's kinda surprising that the Roanoke area doesn't have any sort of team yet, as I recall they have a pretty robust youth league.
#VamosUnited. Gonna see a lot of changes in DC now that the new stadium is locked down. Open up some wallets and get this team in shape!
United has one other major thing going for it this year.....that being a Hokie on the roster of course. Patrick Nyarko is now in the midfield for United.
I need to start a FIFA 17 thread.
What console do you have?
PS4 - i can play well against the CPU on professional, but i don't have the skills to do all the moves to step my game up. Plus i'm having difficulty trying to do a few of the basic moves!
Always a Gooner, but it's hard to be excited about this season with the frailty the squad is showing. I still think we'll finish 3rd though.
1. Chelsea
2. City
3. Arsenal
4. Spuds
After today I see both united and arsenal missing the top 4 IF IF IF Liverpool sort out their jeckle and Hyde issuecof losing to bottom teams, arsenal just don't look to have the fight you expect from them they'll need wenger to be strong and finish the year strong, united have a schedule pile up nightmare with no real end in sight unless they lose to rovstov this round in Europa league they'll be gassed by may and due to that miss the top 4 and probably be 6th, 13 wins, 10 draws, and 3 losses is just not good enough 3 losses is nice but the draws will cost us a chance at top 4 even with games in hand on Liverpool
Did you know that under Wenger arsenal have never NOT qualified for the champions league? That's an amazing fact and I'm not exactly a gooner...they're also close to celebrating 100 years in the top flight and they're the most successful London club (by far)
Yes they're a storied club but this year and this team feel different, today's game they looked like they had given up even though today was bad they will probably get hot to end it for wenger but I just don't see the top 4 from them if Liverpool get going again
Wenger is a legend and will be remembered as such as he deserves but these last 10 years they've only won 2 trophies, in less than one year united have 2 trophies and they're in a quote on quote off period, not to mention 7 straight years of not advancing to round of 8 in champions league, yes it's been phenomenal what he's done for so long but as Ricky Bobby said if you ain't first you're last and in the end such limited success for 10 years isn't enough anymore honestly
Edit: not meaning to sound argumentative just my opinion honestly
Totally agreed...my brothers a lifelong gooner and he gave up on the season in november...he's grown numb to the pain (must be tough to watch your club in the CL every season /s). They've still won more trophies than the spuds during that time so it's not all bad...plus they didn't have to buy success. I respect arsenal and Wenger because they've built their club the right way, it's puzzling how they seem to nose dive every february- their Academy is probably the best in England (thanks to wenger) so they have a seemingly endless supply talent in the pipeline. Seems to me like they've peaked under wenger which is a shame but inevitable I guess.
Don't feel bad, many teams have looked like they've given up at anfield over the years. LFC are about to have the best record against the top 5 ever and could still not finish top 4. That's the stat that could break all the rules.
southhampton has something to say about the best academy in england
No doubt it's very good but at the Arsenal level. Everton and west ham used to own that title before the advent of the EPL. Most of England's world championship team came through east london.
The only soccer I really follow is the US Women's National Team. Those ladies are fun to watch, and this time of year - the SheBelieves Cup - is especially interesting because the newer/unproven players get their chance to earn a spot in the regular rotation. Anyone else a fan of the USWNT?
If they're on I watch they look sharp most games I'd like to think Carly loyd and Alex Morgan could play with men and be just fine
Yeah, they're ridiculous. Definitely fun to watch. Except when they lose to England on a goal in the 89th minute. That sucked.
There will always be an England!
West Ham fan here, guessing that I'm I the only one here. So far this season, we were embarrassed and crashed out of the Europa league to a Romanian team.....again. The new stadium appears to be a little underwhelming. In not so shocking news, Andy Carroll is awesome when on the field but unfortunately has spent more time being injured. Bilic went full Narduzzi on a microphone and yet somehow wasnt suspended. The RB spot has been a game of musical chairs kind of like LOLUVA QB's. With Payet we flirted with the relegation zone and without him we are now in the top half of the table. So pretty much a standard year for the Hammers.
Today was bizarre, united failed to leave their beloved 6th place yet AGAIN(sorry Man U fan and I'm starting to think we will never escape 6th place) both mings and zlatan deserve retrospective bans least 3 for both maybe 4 for mings stomp
Arsenal are the exact depiction of their manager they looked so bad until Sanchez came off the bench which begs the question of why he was on the bench but still Liverpool looked like they have in defense at times in 2017 but mingolet saved the day words I never thought I'd say
Leicester win again? What? Where? How? They looked far better today mahrez finally scored and vardy looks completely different
Where has west brom gone to they were and are doing well but today against crystal palace of all teams to lay an egg it caught me by surprise
Southampton bounced back from heartbreak mid week watford kept it interesting atleast
Burnley continue to be bad away from home as they tend to be this year while Swansea get a big win on their path away from relegation
Stoke went back to their roots playing direct and dirty as they have and got a good result while Middlesbrough look destined for the bottom three if things keep going that way
After watching the replay of the United/Bournemouth game, Zlatan was lucky that he wasn't sent off. He definitely got away with a very blatant elbow to the head and I'd be interested to know what the ref crew discussed (not that we'll ever know). Mings was also lucky to get away with stomping on Ibra's head, but it happened so fast my guess is the referee didn't even see it.
I feel the same way the refs are in a very very crappy position that we all have tools to make replays and see decisions they can't I think it's flat ignorant to not use video replay but I also hear the logical side to not let a game get stalled for a long replay session and that in the end most things even out but I'm not envious of prem refs they've got no time and one view to get it right
Atlanta just got an MLS team, and the season opener is tomorrow. Since construction on the new Georgia Dome is not yet complete, the first half of home games will played at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. The season open is a sell out. Pretty cool to see soccer game sell out (especially in Atlanta, not the best pro sports town). Also hilarious that an MLS game can sell out Bobby Dodd, but GT Football can't.
Atlanta United actually sold more season tickets so far (over 33,000) than Tottenham sold this season. The SE USA is a great market. I would love to see Charlotte or the Triangle in NC get an MLS club too. I live in ATL but have been a fan of the Galaxy for years.
How bout those Foxes! 2 wins in a row.
Surprised nobody mentioned this but FC Barcelona just overturned a 4-0 first leg deficit and needing to score 3 goals with less than 10 minutes left to advance in the UEFA Champions League 6-5 on aggregate to cap the greatest comeback in the competitions history. Truly incredible, this beats Liverpools comeback in the 2005 Final by a mile.
Did you actually watch the game? I didn't see it but I'm curious how the referee did. I see that 2 penalties were awarded (1 in stoppage) and then another goal in stoppage time - seems like the last goal happened just prior to the final whistle.
Frankly, it's getting obnoxious seeing the same teams advance every year.
Neymar and Suarez dove in the box literally, and I mean literally, dozens of times. First penalty was questionable, the second one was complete bullshit. The game was awful to watch.
Another reason it was an awful game, PSG played like total pussies for most of the game and refused to even attempt to possess the ball in the last 20 minutes. It was just Barca passing the ball around in PSG's half and eventually taking a shot before getting the ball right back as PSG refused to push anyone forward.
Also Barca got +5 at the end somehow which was absurd given there was not much stoppage of play, and they got +3 in the first half. I've never in my entire life truly questioned whether or not a sporting event was rigged until today.
Thanks for the summary. I read some comments on ESPN and it aligns with what you said. I really wish the leagues would start retroactively disciplining for dives. Refs are always too afraid to give the yellows, especially to the stars (although I think I've seen it in MLS quite a bit).
They even gave Suarez a yellow earlier for diving, and then to award him with a late penalty, on a play where most people, myself included, thought he was about to get ANOTHER yellow for diving. I couldn't believe it, and then when they announced +5 for a game that really didn't even have an injury in it, it was just like "of course, here we go" and then inevitably, Barca scores their winner in the final minute of their way too long extra time.
I agree the penalties were soft and I was disappointed in the refereeing in particular but just like the Super Bowl comeback one team has to lose belief and PSG played the equivalent of prevent defense in American football sense they were atrocious late not even trying to hold onto the hall and calm themselves down plus the gk allowed a FK goal that he easily should've saved and his positioning was terrible for the game winner
I agree the PSG came out of the damn gate playing the equivalent of prevent, the "playing not to lose" strategy in any sport is usually the worst one. That said, it was the whole game that left a bad taste in my mouth. The constant fouls, the penalties, PSG's complete lack of a pulse the last twenty or thirty minutes, the 8 minutes of total extra time in a game with almost no injuries or deliberate time wasting, the 5 minutes at the end was just absurd, and Suarez' petulant whining and screaming as he and Neymar flopped around the pitch like fish. It was just not a fun game to watch.
That's why I can't watch La Liga I can't stand the silliness and whining at the ref, only place I want to see a flopping fish is on the end of my line not on my tv screen during a football game
All good points...but it takes a hell of a lot of "help" to overturn a four goal aggregate deficit.
Teams parking the bus against Barca is common, somehow Chelski managed to get away with it over two legs a few years ago when they won the tournament (and so did Liverpool way back in 2001 when we knocked them off in the semis).
That Chelsea team were different from this garbage PSG team and they had the then master of parking the bus guiding them not Emery
Considering Barca was trying to buy penalties by diving I thought he did quite well. He seemed to favor Barca a bit but that's nitpicking. I still can't believe what I just watched. Pretty much the exact opposite of Arsenal's effort despite Arse actually scoring an away goal (sorry, Gooners).
My opinions the same this was the sheer difference a big club like Barca who expect to win everything, and a "big" club like arsenal who as Laurent kolschelny was quoted saying doesn't hate losing enough, even after PSG got the away goal Barca kept on didn't hang their heads and stop defending as arsenal did last night
Leicester City DID IT!!!!!
Champions League round of 8 here they come!!
I know you merely adopted Leicester City last year but I'm curious... what your thoughts are on the club sacking/firing Ranieri?
A joke, the players are frauds just like Jose mourinho and Chelsea the year before players lost interest in his ways so they got home sacked by playing poorly
its the coaches job to motivate players if they cant do it thats on them. part of the reason i think mourinho is overhyped. His strategy forces a mindset that has yet to be proven long-term
I get that but I feel the players have to hold some responsibility the manger is huge in sports but the players are the ones on the field look at Chelsea in mourinhos last season they were a joke and now literally the same team with same mentality, defend first then hit with sick counter attack but because it's not mourinho they're willing to do it
Now I'm not comparing mourinho to ranieri they're two completely different managers in style but you can't convince me ranieri didn't have to be an amazing manager to push and keep Leicester in front all last year to me the lack in something to compete for in the PL left them less motivated with the magical spark they had last year and now since he's gone they're magically back to same as last year same tactics and style same players, I'm not saying I don't get your point I do and trust me I'm a Man U fan I know what a bad manager can do(van gaal) I just think managers are an easy scapegoat to an underlying issue in lazy players who aren't motivated enough by personal pride etc
With any coach above college I'm fine with firing coaches/managers. They make alot of money to keep winning. If the players weren't giving their all then he needed to figure out how to get them to.
Ugly ugly result for arsenal today west brom looked the far more interested and motivated side and on top of that now Alexis got injured
LCFC are looking like a completely different team.
Soccer players have some questions about rules, strategy and unwritten rules.
1) why do players kick ball out of bounds thus giving other team ball for throw in or corner kick?
2) will the clock stop for ANYTHING? What if a player is dying on the pitch?
3) why sometimes does a team get awarded the ball and seem to give it to the other team almost like sympathy?
4) is there a limit to stalling or delaying?
1). They do it either for a break, to get a substitute on, an injury or allow for more of their team to get back and help defensively.
2) The clock can stop if they have to get an ambulance or put a player on a board on the field I am pretty sure.
3) Usually it is for an injury. If team 1 had the ball and then a player on team 2 got hurt, then team 1 may play the ball out of bounce or the ref will stop play and award a drop ball. 9/10 times team 2 will give the ball back to team 1.
4) A ref can give a yellow for a player stalling on a throw in, goal kick or free kick. It's discretionary as far as I know. And the ref will definitely count that stalled time into the injury time.
But I read injury added time is limited to how much a ref can give. What happens when like today multiple injuries and play stoppage took like 16 minutes off the clock. They just don't account for it?
ive seen a 30 minute stoppage before. Drogba broke his leg and needed an ambulance to get him off field. there were like 26 minutes of stoppage
Yup it's completely up to the referee and his assistants disgression and the state of the game like if it's close or not can influence it
Playing FIFA rules the clock never stops, it is always running. The game can be suspended for inclement weather/at the referees discretion, but otherwise the clock keeps running. Time will (er...should) be added on for any injuries that require medical attention on the field.
EDIT: FIreman, where did you read that? As far as I am aware, there is no limit to how much added time a referee can add. If there were a very lengthy injury that was going to take quite some time to take care of, the referee could suspend the match, thereby stopping the clock. But as far as I'm aware (and I've been refereeing for 8 years now), there is no limit to added time at the end of a game.
Also for 1) kicking the ball out allows for players to get back on defense because a throw in can be defended against sometimes more easily than a striker with the ball at his feet. If a defender can't cleanly turn up field, it's a lot better to kick it out and reset the D than risk losing the ball with no backup.
There are probably a lot more reasons that I can't think of off hand
Arsenal makes me sad.
But Columbus debuted a 3 man back line this weekend and beat DC at DC, so I'm relatively excited about that.
:( I was so excited going into this season as a DC fan. Now we're 3 games in with 1 point and no goals. Oof. There's still some potential out there, and I hope we get it turned around, but it hurts so far.
Also, you guys are much, much improved this year.
I still think you guys will be good this year, just need to find your stride. We're looking a lot better than I anticipated and it's largely due to some guys really stepping up in defense. I love it when homegrown guys show up to play.
The match between Man City and Liverpool today had the pace of a hockey game and the intensity of a Champions League final. 1-1 but exciting all 90 mins.
I caught the second half of that game and it was ridiculous. Lots of near goals, and unbelievable misses. Both of fan bases had to be on heart attack watch, but the pace was fun as hell to watch as a neutral.
As a united fan the result was as good as it gets but the neutral in me enjoyed the insane up and downs that game gave us so many huge misses it's hard to recall them all but that's what you get when you have two teams with awful defenses and top notch attack, minus the technical shooting boots today atleast
i went 90 minutes clinched in anguish waiting for city to do typical city things and blow it. couldve easily been 3-1 either way so ill take the draw
While the battles go on between Chelsea and Spurs for the title, and Liverpool, the Manchester Clubs and Arsenal for the final two places, next season's Premiership lineup is starting to shape up.
Sunderland were relegated to the Championship this afternoon. Middlesbrough are likely to join them in the next few weeks. Swansea, Hull and Burnley look to fight it out. Palace, should find two more points to get to the magical 40 point total to be safe.
Meanwhile in the second division, Brighton and Newcastle have booked their ticket in the top flight next season. Meanwhile, Reading, Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday have all booked their places in the playoff. Fulham are all but through the playoff door. They'll need to lose next week and Leeds make up 14 goals. Not happening.
Fulham and Wednesday are the inform teams at the moment. As a Fulham fan myself, hope we avoid Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs. Think we could play them off the park at the bigger pitch at Wembley.
the title race is over after today if everton can't at least force a draw and spurs don't win. my money is on swansea going down given burnley and hull's home form.
for me, it'd be nice to see either reading or fullham move up
fulham please!!!!
See Reading/Fulham and Huddersfield/Sheffield Wednesday as the fixtures for the playoffs, unless Burton can snatch a result off Reading.
For what it's worth there, aggregate this season are:
Fulham 5 - 1 Reading
Wednesday 3 - Huddersfield 0
Not only are Fulham and Wednesday favorites based on season games, they are at the top of the table if you look at the last few months form. Two very different teams. Fulham play really tidy, football and love to score. Wednesday, the more standard English, tough, physical strikers that would love nothing more than a 1-0.
Best time of the year for me. Championship playoffs.
Middlesborough came oh so close to a win against a lackluster city side I don't think it would have made them safe but could've been bigger all the while united fail to take advantage of the two teams in front of them dropping points the top four looks just about set as well
Would love to see Fulham or Wednesday back in the top flight. Sheffield deserves a team in PL, but part of me always enjoyed watching Fulham games at Craven Cottage.
I really want to believe Reading has a shot to get promoted but they have been all over the place the last few weeks. They have only lost twice in the last month but one of those games was a 7-1 thumping by Norwich and a 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest (who were in 20th at the time). Even their wins haven't looked great with most of them being come from behind wins after conceding an early goal.
With that said I'll still be tuning in, hoping we can pull it off and get back to the Premier League.
How bout them SPURS?! Surprised nobody has mentioned the lifelessness of Arsenal this season. Yes I know they have 22 years of utter dominance on us, and we need to win a trophy or the league to legitimise ourselves, and we're in the middle of building a stadium which may hinder it financials... But we are solid! Just keep Pochetino. Too little too late for the league this year unfortunately.
Liverpool have faded, Man U: can't spell mourinho without 0-0, and City see still meshing under pep. Hoping we continue this win streak and finish second but it'll be had with the away games.
Ted Lasso doing a phenomenal job coaching.
Hadn't seen an Arsenal game all season until today: utterly shocking display. No creativity. No heart. Lame duck manager. Seems like they've given up on him.
Yet they pulled out a victory against my foxes on an own goal!!
Just curious, a Leicester fan pre or post champion? If pre, what's the story?
Pre, but earlier that season. Based on thread on here where I asked EPL fans to tell me about league and teams.
Arsenal have been weak this year as have Liverpool at times will see if they can win today but city are painful to watch at times hard to believe they're really gonna sell aguero! United are starting to bore the hell out of me as a fan the lack of desire to win is very bothering as a fan i don't like the well not go at a team just to protect a point I feel that's a bit small team mentality and it's a bunch of BS but I can rant on that forever I wasn't a mourinho fan before he was hired and now I have to support him which ain't fun at times
Mourinho likes to counter and United just doesn't have the right mix of quality and players to execute. Promising youngsters like Rashford fit the bill for Mourinho's high pace counter attacks, but it feels like he's all alone pushing forward half the time. I'd still give it a year or two, having a solid defense is a good start to his regime. That defensive stability that is so boring and frustrating right now, could be potentially be the anchor to a PL winning side that can compete in CL if the pieces/strategy fall into place offensively.
wait...city are painful to watch and youre discussing united? city are a BLAST up front were so exciting right now with sane sterling aguero and jesus and defensively were horrendous with subpar goalkeeping. every game is a shootout and is thrilling. I said it before the season and ill say it again anyone who thought city was winning the title this year is kidding themselves there is a MASSIVE overhaul going on and a huge reliance on an aging, injury prone core. the team looks so much better than last year dont let media outlets fool you
sidenote awesome to see aleix garcia getting another start, youre never going to hear it from espn and their fatuation with united but city have been promoting a ton of youth and have one of the best academy teams in the world coming up shortly
No I'm just saying the other night like per say the derby their build up play was sooooooo slow if they had sped the tempo up a bit they would've found it easier to get in on united as good as united look defensively theyre a mistake prone team like against Swansea a simple free kick and they botched the whole deal and it cost us a shot at 3rd place which don't get me started on draws are a result I can't stand but mourinho ain't going anywhere I better fetch used to it. My personal theory put united defense
Valencia- kompany - bailout- shaw
Herrera- yaya you're- Pogba
Sane- aguero- rashford or David Silva
Throw that team out there and rip the prem league plus on the bench you'd have Jesus, martial, micki, de bruyne, sterling, Ibra etc both teams have their weak points
we cant speed up the tempo our fullbacks are atrocious and absolute liabilities we would've been caught on the break by martial and rashford, besides we got over 20 shots and several open chances. Poor finishing killed us, missing david silva made that game a lot harder and mou doing mou things made it really difficult to break manu down without our primary number 10.
We cant speed up the tempo because opponents will murder us on the break
also de bruyne should start over yaya or herrera and frankly sterling is a better wide player the only players from manus midfield id even consider are pogba and herrera your fullbacks are miles ahead of ours though. The fact that we have to play jesus navas out wide is absolutely sad
What fullbacks would you like to get this summer, and what fullbacks do you think y'all will actually get this summer?
It has to be addressed.
Mendy at LB weve been linked with him for ages, not sure about the RB yet. All the media is pushing the kyle walker narrative but i just dont see it. We'll get someone to ease maffeo through until he's ready to be a starter. also see us signing another cb prolly van djik, id love to see henrichs but I havent heard much noise on that front Also you're gonna see a ton of transfers out of city this year as pep tries to trim the squad down.
yaya is probably out, mangala, zaba, kolarov, joe hart, navas, sagna
couple more that might be out - iheancho, otamendi, fernando, nolito, bravo
I've seen Mendy, he'll probably have a handful of suitors this summer. Was curious who else you'd go after.
Sam Rogers might be for the right contract.
You have a good point there I just prefer seeing teams say screw it we're gonna go for it makes for a more entertaining game I get getting a result but at some point you gotta start trying to get 3 points instead of 1
Both clubs have had awful finishing haunt them I hate to think what united season would have been like without ibrahimovic and the leadership he has brought this year, forget pogba ibra was our Best Buy this season for what rashford and martial will have learned from him. That being said Pogba has been a lifeline for our midfield this season I hate how every time he's discussed the few is the first thing mentioned but what can you say I guess.
I do not understand mous hate for Shaw he's by far our best left back when fit but he seems to love darmian who isn't bad just doesn't offer much going forward like Shaw but we're talking about a guy who loves felliaini blindly it seems.
I think if you guys get a ball playing gk and cb plus full backs you guys will be miles better off next year I really don't agree with the whole get rid of aguero as much as I don't like him he's world class and I think it's folly to throw him out so fast for a young kid who has had a good start but he ain't aguero yet
oh totally agree with all of these points ibra has been phenomenal (i friggin called that!) his style of play suits the premier league perfectly.
i really respected manu under fergie, mou just makes it so hard he just does unexplicable things sometimes. like throwing the fans under the bus after the swansea game?! really?! awful awful thing to do, i know hes trying to deflect attention from the team but thats an awful way to do it. besides his lineups and tactics could be a fine way to draw attention away but he inexpeicably misplays pogba for the first half of the season, throws shaw under the bus, continually starts the walking calamity that is fellaini, and doesnt play martial...i just dont get it. on an unrelated note whats the scoop on the degea rumors? spectacular keeper
as for rhe aguero ordeal i agree, but man if madrid come calling with 150 mil or something stupid i dont blame them for listening and flipping him for aubameyang or a player that suits peps system a little better and have enough left over to buy our fullbacks. either way though aguero will always have a place in our hearts and i seriously doubt hes going anywhere anytime soon, just the english media trying to make a story
Maybe it's the murican in me but I hate hate hate the British attitude of the EPL is the best/toughest and how they think only brits can handle it and how they mock foreigners who struggle to adapt to it so I wanted ibra to come in at 35, yes 35 and kill it to shut the idiots who used to say he wasn't world class cause he couldn't do it in the PL, L O L
I'm a die hard fan and have been since Rooney came in and I've always hated how mou manages his personnel like how he refused to play micki or martial and Shaw I think he does it to deflect blame from himself but it's his style so I'm trying to get used to it
I dunno with de gea he seems to be happy I haven't seen any discontent so I feel like it's the press looking for clicks on their pages buttttt after a few years ago and the infamous fax mix up who knows I don't know if I'm ready for the transfer drama season after last year with the whole Pogba ordeal
I still feel aguero garuntees goals just like Ibra even if he's not perfect for your scheme you still need reliable guys and why sell a top notch guy unless you bring in exactly who you need and even if you do what if he doesn't stand up to his billing like I dunno Claudio bravo maybe? I'm not a huge fan of managers who imideately get rid of a star just to set a tone like pep does like with Ibra etc
I don't think Real Madrid (I'm a fan) will go after Aguero. I do like him though, and I think Gabriel Jesus has world class potential, but I think keeping both is a better for now if Pep can find a way to play both. That said, I also don't think y'all will land Aubaumeyang either.
Ya mind giving Fulham back Patrick Roberts? Won't see a touch of first team football in Manchester. Would be very nice to have if we go up. Cheers.
he will next year with navas out, gonna be a key cog in the rotatiob with sane. as for aguero and jesus, check the game last week we came out with a super experimental squad including a 17 year old starting in the midfield, got burned for it pretty hard in the first half before we made some substitutions and cleaned it up and definitely look a lot better. again theres going to be a mass exodus this year and a lot of it is to clear out some backups to make room for a bunch of youth products coming up that pep is pretty high on.
but yeah aguero jesus on the field at the same time would be deadly, but with as many games as a team competing in europe plays you need 2 striker options in a 1 striker system. i wouldnt expect to see them playing together often
welp apparently navas was resigned, eating my words there. He was told he'd be a rotational right back though so still an open space for a winger
I don't know if anyone watches Men in Blazers or listens to their podcast, but I love their take on Arsenal. A team that only competes against past versions of itself and full of protest play. I'm pretty interested to see how they proceed after this season.
They won't do anything because the owner is content as long as he's making his money. This is the guy who also owns the Rams, Avalanche, and Nuggets. I'll let you determine just how successful those franchises have been in recent times.
Honestly as a longtime Gooner I've just about reached my limit with them. I've invested a lot of money in merchandise, not to mention time, but I'm not going to be doing that anymore until I'm convinced they're going to change. And there's no indication they will.
I agree the change the club needs is management and ownership they do t quite have Mike Ashley from Newcastle but kroenke isn't much better and arsene wenger isn't going to revolutionize himself anymore
Must be really hard being a fan of a team that's qualified for the Champions League 22 years in a row. We've been there once in 10 years. Not trying to be a jerk, just trying to give some perspective...and we've won the league many more times than you.
I was fine with the stagnant state of the club when the new stadium was built and we couldn't compete financially. At that point, I'd have fully agreed with you, 22 years of UCL is a great thing to brag about. But when you're a fan and you continue to see that top 4 is literally 'good enough', you get frustrated.
You may recall the feeling the Hokie fanbase held after all those 10-win seasons and ACC championships, but never quite doing what it took to get over the next hump? It's kinda like that, except that VT has never been the top dog. Arsenal has, and should be, in contention for the top of the league.
Edit: Also, it's pretty evident that Liverpool has done more in the past few years to change their destiny than Arsenal. If I were in your shoes currently, I'd be a lot more optimistic than I am.
I agree with your edit, but Arsenal is a club to be admired as they do things the right way. They have a plan and stick to it, they haven't bought their trophies unlike a couple of clubs in blue. The main complaint from AFC fans that I know (including my brother who's a massive Arsenal fan) is that Wenger won't spend money to buy top players, but when he does (Ozil, Sanchez, etc) the results haven't been much better, to be honest. So, the man has a point.
As far as the 10 win season comparison. Outside of 1999, VT was never within sniffing distance of the title and it took a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Vick (and a hell of a lot of help from teams around us losing late in the season) for us to even get there. VT was definitely punching above their weight during 10 win season streak, and that's primarily attributed to the ACC being down as a whole for most of that time.
Arsenal is a consistent top team while spending a fraction of their competitors (LFC have significantly outspent them in the last 20 years despite having a much more limited availability to TV money from UCL money, and done much less with it). Arsenal is a tradition-rich club, the third most successful in England. Right now, most LFC fans would take top 4 considering the financial climate surrounding the other "big" teams (most think we're still at least two years away from truly having a shout for the title).
You should have seen Arsenal before Wenger and George Graham, they were a mid-table team for the most part and decidedly average (think West Brom). Trust me, Gooners have had it good since the advent of the Premier League (relatively speaking).
And finally, Arsenal's chairman is a certain Sir Chips Keswick...and that's awesome.
I mean, I get that we could have it much worse off. Don't get me wrong. And I'm not advocating that we spend our way to a title.
But we know Arsenal has more money available nowadays than it did after the new stadium was built. We've seen the odd 'big' signing (though both Ozil and Sanchez were almost bargains for their caliber), but we've seen the on-field product see-saw, and the larger trend is downwards. We're already looking at probably falling out of the UCL spots this year, and are having trouble getting our biggest names to re-sign.
Plus when we are so poor, Piers Morgan always gets in front of the cameras and makes all us Gooners look bad.
Sorry, HokieBone...but Emre Can just scored the goal of the season. Running bicycle kick from the edge of the box into the top corner. Magic.
Never been in sniffing distance? We finished #3 in the BCS in 2007 with 2 losses. If we didn't lose to Matt Ryan there is a 100% chance we play Ohio State for the NC in 2007. Other than that, I agree with your points on the PL.
now that I'm unemployed and homeless does anyone know where I can stream EPL for free?
Uhh I have an answer but Idk the guidelines on discussing illegal streams.
thx
Champions League Semi's update:
Real Madrid 1 - Atletico Mardid 0
Monaco vs Juventus (Game 1 today)
Thoughts:
Real had complete dominance over Atletico. Atletico just couldn't get any rhythm in their midfield, that Real just took advantage of. Atletico did get some good shots in, but very stingy goal keeping from Real and CR7.....just a god of a player. He is definitely putting a finishing touch to an insane season. I see Real winning this series pretty easily if Game 2 is anything like Game 1. Atletico needs to fall back to its streanght of strong, gritty defense, lock down midfield, and give Griezmann and Torresmore room to roam.
Prediction for Game 2: Real 2, Atletico 1
Haven't been following Juventus that much and know slim to none about Monaco. Should be an interesting series as both Juventus and Monaco beat some power house teams (Barca and Dortmund, respectively). Juventus's strength will definitely come from it's midfield. With players like Rincon and Khedira, backed by Dani Alves and the still-can't-believe-he's-still-playing Gianluigi Buffon, Monaco will definitely have trouble breaking past the back 9.
Prediction for Game 1: Juventus 3, Monaco 1
Real won 3 - 0 yesterday, with a Cristiano hattrick.
Yep. The "1-0" I had was the series score. (probably should have made that clear)
Speaking of, the second goal that Benzema set up for him >>>>
the volley was the best of the night looking like itll be very tough for atleti to come back in this even in the calderon
I was at Sevilla's last match of the season last night and ended up surrounded by UNC study abroad students, they didn't seem to get the joke when I said it's lucky for them it doesn't rain much in Spain. They were pretty much not irritating, as I initially worried they'd be though. Also nice to have people I could converse with en ingles during the game since I went solo. Sevilla won 5-0 by the way and will be in the Champions League playoff next year. It's been a pretty quiet end to the season around most of the European leagues aside from the battle for 3/4 in the Premiership.
I watched my boys win La Liga today :)
Hala Madrid
In their defense: it's not that it doesn't, it just lands mainly on the plains.
Hey, on the bright side at least my Gunners can't be drawn against Bayern in the round of 16 next season.
So when Bayern fall out of group stages and into Europa league and draw arsenal in the round of 32 how loud will you scream? Just kidding of course I'm a Man U fan so my seasons been just as wonderful starting to get nervous about Wednesday night
You're right. Lots of United fans thinking Wednesday is going to be a cakewalk. Not hardly. Thankfully Pogba got some minutes yesterday. He's going to be key.
I'm nervous but not because of our attack after watching the Lyon Ajax semi I feel better about getting through their defense it's our defense I'm worried about, no felliani and no bailly and no rojo or Shaw has me worried as blind is good but slow and that means he'd need Jones with pace by him which can scare me as he's either great or flat out awful, seeing Pogba put in a solid shift made me feel better as well but having next years season all swing on one 90 minute game has me a wee nervous in order to sign the top guys we NEED CL football without it this season will have been a slightly mitigated disaster in my opinion atleast
You know, that's probably the only course of events that makes sense given our recent history.
Sorry to all you Bayern fans, Arsenal has ensured your failure in UCL next season.
Hokiebone and others...how does Arsenal's summer play out?
- Any chance Kroenke sells to Usmanov?
- Wenger stays or goes?
- Is Alexis or Ozil sold this summer?
- Will they be able to buy any top players without CL?
Personally I think Kroenke is the biggest problem and I really hope he sells.
I agree with your last sentence, Kroenke is the problem. Look at every team he runs (Avalanche, Rapids, Rams, Nuggets I think) it's not inspiring.
- Unfortunately he seems to be content as long as he's making money, and that won't stop anytime soon so my bet is that he will not sell his shares.
- Wenger stays, I'm nearly sure of it.
- Because Wenger stays, I have almost no doubt Ozil stays. I don't really have a guess for Alexis. Obviously I hope he stays but if not, I hope we avoid selling him within the league.
- Yes. We gotta remember we're now in a position Liverpool/Spurs have been in recently, and while I wouldn't say they've purchased world-beaters, they've managed to bring in great players and improve their squads, and they've done it in a more or less responsible manner. Arsenal's squad really isn't in a bad place, I agree with Wenger that we really just need a couple improvements to personnel (provided we don't lose anyone big like Alexis). I think we need a new left wing back if we're going to stick with the new formation change (which I do love) and as always we need a new goal scorer. I love Giroud off the bench and against teams that park the bus, but I don't love Welbeck or Walcott as other scoring options. We also need a bit more depth in the middle. Overall, it's mentality and tactics that need some examination before next season.
I think Alexis could stay, but missing out on a year of CL football is as good a reason as any other for him to leave. I think you should feel a lot less certain now.
If Giroud, Alexis and Ozil are in an Arsenal shirt next season I will be shocked. If they lose out on Alexis and Ozil, they are in real danger. You cannot replace those two. World class players surrounded by shit squad players gets you fifth place. Take the 100+ million you'd get. Reinvest that and whatever you shed in dead weight (Wilshire, Jenkinson, Chambers, Cazorla) into 6 or 7 Champions League caliber players and have a proper go at winning the Europa League.
All this talk about being embarrassed about being in Europa is bunk. It's their best chance at making Champions League next season. Chelsea will get stronger, Liverpool will get strong, United will get stronger, Man City will get stronger. I don't see Tottenham losing Kane or Deli Alli, but could be wrong, but they'd invest wisely and have a fantastic manager.
I would bet Sanchez is gonzo. The English papers seem to indicate as much (Bayern are the primary suitors). Ozil is not world class (in my opinion) he seems to fade in a lot of matches, which is a shame, because he's fantastically talented...he just doesn't like arsed (pun intended) half the time. Bellerin might go. Giroud will probably stay. They're lucky they have an insanely strong academy, they should do fine next year just by promoting the youngsters to the first team, but losing Sanchez would be massive.
I think Spurs will struggle next year-their record at Wembley is unimpressive (to say the least) and they have to play there the next two seasons. They might have picked the wrong time to bulldoze White Hart Lane.
Not sure I would classify Arsenal with an insanely strong academy? History has not served Arsenal well in recent years. Gibbs, Bellerin, Iwobi are the three in the side this year. Not three names that are first on any team sheet by any means. And even Bellerin spent most of his time with Barcelona's much better academy.
Bellerin and Iwobi would be starters on the vast majority of team sheets... Not your Bayerns or Madrids or those types, but still.
Bellerin isn't leaving, I don't think.
Ozil is world class, but he needs players around him playing at a high level, which didn't happen consistently at all this season. He's a creator, not a dominator. Go look at his chances created this year. LOOOOOTS of opportunities squandered by his teammates.
I'm not sure where you're getting that statement from, Arsenal is more than 2 players. Oxlade-Chamberlain had a career year, Koscielny and Rob Holding can anchor a defense, and after the switch to a 3-man back, Granit Xhaka was massive.
I also disagree with the EL being our best chance to make it back to UCL. The last matchday determined places 3-5 this year. We missed it by 1 point. I think it's being overly dramatic to think we're leagues behind the current top 4 and/or ManU.
This is the problem with Arsenal. Ox, Koscielny and Holding simply aren't good enough for what Arsenal fans want them to be. Do you think Chelsea or Spurs fans would be excited about either of those three coming in to their team right now? I doubt it.
If you lose Ozil and Sanchez, you have zero chance at top four if you don't spend massively. Think where you would be without those two this season.
Have you even seen Ox or Koscielny play recently? Cause I think you're misguided somehow.
Yeah. I've seen them play recently. Ox is lost as a wingback. Koscielny is solid, but he doesn't even make the bench for Chelsea. That's the gap between where Arsenal fans want to be and where they are. All around, simply not good enough and it's been coming for years.
Ox is not lost at wingback... I'm honestly not sure where you're getting this. He's been one of the best in form players since he started playing there. But think what you want.
He's always been good going forward, but his defending has been suspect, hence why I saw lost. He can't defend and when you play teams that actually have attackers, he becomes a liability on the backfoot. It's the right role to throw him out there vs Southampton and Stoke and Sunderland and let him terrorize their backs, that's what he's good at, but if you think he's going to contain anyone on Chelsea this weekend, we'll that's a risk you might be willing to take but I'd say hard pass.
Seemed to work out just fine, thanks.
COYG!
Don't act like Ox was MOTM today. You're back three was excellent. Best Arsenal performance in a few years that I've seen to be honest. Well done.
It was a great performance but I don't think you've been watching too close based on what you've said. Regardless, we didn't have a bad performance on the pitch barring ospinas miss on the save, so don't act like Ox or anyone else was a slouch.
I literally said it was the best Arsenal performance I've seen in a few years. I thought they were class today. Regarding Ox, he had the type of game where you didn't really notice him unless you were watching for his play in particular. Didn't stand out or make a crucial mistake. Sometimes those are the performances you need in a cup final. Thought Mertsacker was excellent. Holding and Bellerin as well. Ozil class. Overall. Very good. Will admit, first goal should have been called back, but Arsenal were the better team on the day and deserved the win.
I think this year Man U has shown you don't want to run on the Europa league being your CL spot earner get it done in the league sure a euro campaign and or trophy is nice but it's not easy and wears on a thin squad especially with a squad with injury issues I think it's best for arsenal to focus solely on the league but to do that they have to retain kolschielny and sanchez I think ozil stays because of wenger but the other two I'm not too sure on
As a Liverpool fan, I can attest to this (erm, last year)
As a Sevilla fan, it's nice not to have to for once!
I disagree. Had they thrown the towel to the Europa League, they would have given it a proper go at the end of the league campaign. Mourinho did not care a single ounce about the last 5 or 6 league games. Knew his chances were better two win a two legged tie with Celta and then beat Ajax. Seems like an easier route than going on a winning streak like Arsenal and still missing out.
If you chase two rabbits you will lose them both.
Time for the silly season to begin after this weekend what are people's thoughts on the most viable/realistic transfers of this summer?
James Rodriguez to EPL, whether it be to United or Chelsea. Greizmann to United will happen if United win tomorrow (ugh). Expect some action with Ozil and Sanchez. Kylian Mbappe is going to be a commodity. This might be the summer Aubameyang leaves Dortmund.
Sanchez to Bayern and Ozil stays put. Arsenal picks up a forward somewhere else, I have a hard time seeing even this management being brash enough to lose Sanchez without bringing in someone big.
Mbappe might be that guy.
My best guess here (and we all know hoe much of a crap shoot transfer windows are) is that Mbappe goes to Madrid on an astronomical fee, and Morata comes to Arsenal.
I'm not so confident that we (Real Madrid) will spring for Mbappe, but I've seen tons of conflicting information. He's mentioned the importance of actually playing for the sake of his growth, and we can't promise him starting every game minutes right now. I think he'd be best to stay at Monaco another season at least if they can afford to turn down the bigger bids. I do think there is a good possibility Morata makes his way to the PL along with possibly James. I would love to keep them but I just don't see a spot for them immediately for the minutes they want, and in at least James' case, deserves.
Edit: Also guy above who said Auba might finally leave this summer, I think so too.
Auba is gone I feel it's either Madrid or to one of the London clubs
James and morata could both be PL bound I dunno if UTD will be in for either depending on griezmann saga
After last summer as a Man U fan I'm not super believing anything until after this Wednesday night but griezmann has been dropping some big bombs last two days in interviews and I'm starting to but there's a serious inquiry going as we speak
James is gone from Madrid where to I dunno but I'd guess England where from there who knows with all the mid talent chelsea have I dunno why they'd need another #10 but who knows arsenal liverpool and Tottenham aren't in for him and I dunno that pep wants him so maybe UTD but if they spend a fortune on griezmann idk if they'll wanna get James too
Arsenal must replace Sanchez with top notch forward like morata or auba or even lukaku I don't think mbappe leaves unless Madrid can offer full starting place but I think mbappe would be foolish to leave such a good situation in Monaco
Dunno who Tottenham go for it's unclear how much they'll have to spend
Liverpool need and out and out #9 if they let sturridge go and full backs and should keep sahko
Arsenal have lots to do will be interesting to see who they're linked to
If Arsenal somehow convinces Auba to go there, their front office will suddenly find some breathing room with the fanbase. I don't think it's got much of a chance of happening, but if he's at all interested they need to make that happen yesterday.
Thats the problem I think hes going to madrid if they can open space up on their roster I had thought possibly juve might be interested with higuain getting up there in age but arsenal need a proven top notch guy to drag them through tough games in the way sanchez has this season they need a top caliber pull but honestly dunno who itll be yet
Edit: not to mention that barca will be hunting for big time moves with how poor they were defensively and their midfield needs some work
Lacazette going to atleti is a blow for arsenal he could have been a good signing for them or for liverpool
Ive been trying to compile a list of players tottenham should go for with zero success aside from making sure they lose no one at all and add some strong depth, I thought sigurdson could be a solid pickup for under 30m but hes gone to everton it seems which is a good pickup for everton
Madrid offered 103m pounds sterling for Mbappe and rumor is he turned it down (not the club) due to concerns about not getting enough game time (which is a valid concern).
Liverpool is on the verge of signing Naby Keita from RB Leipzig (supposedly the new Ngolo Kante) and we're rumored to be mulling an actual offer for Mbappe (it was reported we bid 65m pounds last week but that was false). If not, Aubemyang could be coming as he has priors with Klopp.
Expect Arsenal to go after Morata if (when?) they lose Sanchez. I'm not sure how their failure to qualify for the Champions League will affect their recruitment as most of the Arse rumors I've heard were from last week.
Ross Barkley has yet to sign a new contract at Everton and Chelksi could make a double swoop for him and Lukaku (though Spuds and ManUre are hot on Barkley).
I wonder if PSG is still offering us 40m+ for Sturridge. Would be a great deal for both as the French league is not as rigorous as the EPL hence he might go a whole season without injury.
Don't rate Barkley at all. Another overhyped English young player.
couple of interesting transfer tidbits in the manchester city wheelhouse here
alex sandro might be leaving juventus to come to city (thats HUGE for us)
Ederson to city for 60 mil (ouch dont like this one when we have rulli on a buyback clause for 40 mil)
sanchez rumors to us to be coachex by pep again (depth cant hurt but sane sterling aguero jesus all are top notch and theres other places we need help)
gundogan will be healthy by july - for how long; we dunno
fabinho is apparently finalizing a deal for the sky blues and is going to be with the cityzens
and apparently were looking at van djik as another cb prospect. i love kompany but dont trust the guy to play games regularly which is a real shame
Had coffee with a Man City #sauce today. Nothing urgent to share on the transfer front. Can investigate more deep into the summer as things start to materialize after players return from their holidays. But did get some info on Jesus. Said he's a top bloke. City are thrilled with their business and think the world of him. Obviously, not that much of a secret, but they seem set and won't look to upgrade there. Buys at that position will be depth only. Does not rule out an Alexi buy if he is keen to come, obviously you don't turn that down and they have the cash, but there are other priorities and if they miss out on Alexis they won't see it as a miss.
i have a link to an insider?! yes please
I'll be seeing them again in July for the United/City friendly and then again in August for an MLS match. Will dig deep and do some Capital J work for you sir.
Dang it I need a Man U insider too no fair I can't do another summer following the silly papers we get linked with anything with a foot with a soccer clear on it
Chile "accidentally" listed Sanchez as a Bayern Munich player today when they released their squad for upcoming friendlies, they've since changed it to arsenal butttttttttt that is one hell of a coincidence after Vidals comments yesterday regarding sanchez
Meh. At the same time Bild says that Arsenal is offering up wages that Bayern refuses to match. It's called the silly season for a reason. I don't believe anything until it's posted on an official team's website.
The silly season isn't even fully here yet till this weekend I'm not looking forward to sifting through rumors but we shall see hardto tell if this was a genuine typo or not
All that matters to me is win this final tonight then focus on silly season
Big win for united tonight solid from everyone really can't pick out a single bad game Pogba did the job and now let the ridiculously silly crap begin
ANTO GREIZMANN COME ON DOWNNNNNNN
Dunno if I'm ready for that hype train that'll start tomorrow in the news feeds I hope this doesn't get dragged out and out
If he doesn't go to United now I will be shocked.
Good show Gunners. Fitting that a Chelsea player gets sent off on a simulation call.
Morata to Milan likely. Di Marzio usually knows their stuff. Don't really get why Real sold him, bought him back, and are now selling him again.
Probably more so Morata wanting to play every week.
To me Madrid have messed moratas growth up he should've stayed in Italy instead of going back he's been a nice squad player to have but he should be starting regularly
In two seasons at Juventus, he made 90ish odd appearances with 27 goals.
This season playing for Madrid he has 20 goals in 42 appearances. He was efficient and played, fittingly, as a super sub in important matches, and started in rotation against weaker sides for us. He just straight up wasn't good enough at 24 to be starting every match for us. He was too inconsistent and his link up play and passing isn't as good as Benzema (who had a terrible season from a finishing perspective).
We didn't mess up his growth, and staying in Italy wouldn't have been any better for him. He would still be the second choice striker behind Higuain now. Staying at Juventus he would have played CL football as a second choice striker which is exactly what he was getting here in Madrid.
I hope Morata is successful if/when he ends up in Milan, I wish we could hold on to him and watch him (hopefully) develop into a first choice, world class striker, but we don't have the time to wait. I agree he deserves consistent first team minutes somewhere, but somehow every player who isn't starting for Madrid "is getting their growth messed up" by playing with the best players in the world in big games? and training with those players almost every day? 1st team minutes are important, but if you're getting solid minutes you can still develop without starting every match.
Ozil isn't leaving. At least not this year. He already said he has 1 year left on contract and intends on playing it out. I don't think Arsenal loses anyone major rumored yet. I see Walcott being sold and maybe Ox. Arsene rides the FA Cup win into next season and with the the change to 3 on the backline Arsenal surprises everyone and finishes top 2 next year.
If Ozil doesn't sign a contract before the new year, prepare to lose him in January. If you are Arsenal, you cannont lose Ozil on a free. Absolutely cannot be done. If I'm the board and he doesn't sign a new contract this summer, you have to sell him.
I feel I've seen this too often the last few years. Now they've won the cup, they were the better team but let's not look at how poor chelsea were, if I was a Chelsea fan I'd be flat out embarrassed that my team could be bothered to try in a cup final against cross town rivals. But back to my point wenger will get his extension and they'll add a player or two this summer maybe 3-4 depending on the Sanchez saga life will be great a few weeks then the 3 at the back stops working etc and a rough finish and maybe another FA cup. I'm of the opinion arsenal need a big retooling like city almost to get to where they can challenge Tottenham and whoever else is top next season, I don't feel Chelsea are good enough to repeat and conte better get some serious fresh blood in the team and get out some of the mutineers that abandoned mourinho 2 years ago
i mean hes got kante, and i think david luiz is good in the locker room. conte is also much better at managing the locker room at this stage in their careers.
if im a chelsea fan im not worried at all, diego costa is gonna be out this year, and hazard will in the next few years imo
Ox is a starter and a contributor at 3 positions on the field for Arsenal, I have a hard time seeing them sell him now.
Gibbs, Wilshere, Debuchy, and maybe Walcott need to find new homes. Kills me to include Wilshere in that list because he's a Gunner down to his core, but he just hasn't had the fortune to make it work.
We already have Kolinasic (one of the Bundesliga's team of the year winners) in at LWB apparently. To me Arsenal needs depth at CM and a top level striker (as always) and I'd be feeling a lot better going into next season.
I don't want to lose Ox. Especially with his form the last few weeks but Wenger has a bad habit of selling if the money is right and there are clubs that will pay for him. I think Aresene signing a new 2 year has to with keeping Ozil there and happy. He is a big supporter for Wenger. Walcott played well when used in a wing midfield role earlier in the season. I want to see more from Iwobi and Elneny. And have Cazorla healthy for a whole season. Those 3 can play solid roles in the midfield starting or off the bench.
I'm not sure I agree with the statement about Wenger selling players. I can only think of him selling our good players when they are making noises to be sold themselves, and Ox isn't gonna do that.
Iwobi has a ways to go to be a first team shoe in and Elneny is nothing more than a squad player at best (and that's fine, we'll need those for Europa come fall). Cazorla is likely getting to that point too, at his age and injury history. EDIT: Just saw where Cazorla has had 8 surgeries since November including one recently which could see him out until December. Time to move on from the idea of Santi being a mainstay. Walcott scored a bunch of goals somehow but I don't think he really fits in the 3-4-3, which seems to be where the vast majority of our team performs best.
I do agree with the statement about Ozil, and I think it might even apply to Sanchez to a lesser degree. Both are on record saying that they came at least partially due to Wenger and they seemed to want him to stay.
Huddersfield go up after beating Reading on penalties. Must invest heavily to have any chance for me. Not sure how they've managed to get up to be honest. Negative goal differential throughout the season, but saw out some important 1 goal results and two penalty shootouts in the playoffs. It's a results business so fair play to them. My mighty Fulham beat them 9-1 on aggregate this season and looked nothing more than painfully average. Want them to do well because it's a former US international managing them, but with the current squad they have, they'll rival Derby's 10 points about a decade back for Premiere League low. Not to mention their three best players were on loan this season. Uphill climb.
Only see Newcastle staying up from the three. Brighton if they make an impact purchase at forward. Way too early predictions: Huddersfield, Brighton and Burnley crash out. Just for fun, I think Fulham, Villa and Leeds make the return next season. This is all pre-silly season mind you. If Fulham lose Cairney and Sessengon and don't replace them, could spell trouble. Same for Leeds and Chris Wood.
Arsenal just announced a 2 year contract extension with Arsene Wenger
Can only hope for that man's job security one day.
Out of nowhere Darren fletcher has left west brom for stoke on a 2 year deal
All kinds of contradicting reports on griezmann who the hell knows with that anymore
City signed ederson I haven't watched him so no comments other than hope he's not gonna bust like bravo, I've yet to see the fee was it really 65 mil?
Atleticos ban could influence a lot of deals with costa not going there and lacazette as well and it'll be interesting to see how it goes for them next year not being able to add to the squad my guess is it'll be more of the same for next season they'll be just a bit short of winning both champs league and la liga but we shall see
There's a lot of talk about Auba going to PSG right now and I'm not sure I really understand it.
I mean, clearly he's a good player, but Cavani just knocked in like 50 goals this year at the ST position and they'd be crazy to try to move him to the flanks again like they did when they had Ibra. Gotta think Auba would be better suited elsewhere.
Auba started his career on the wings, but yeah i agree it seems like surplus they dont need. Auba should go to La Liga I think his style would cause all sorts of problems for defenses there
Until this (potentially hogwash) PSG ruckus started I thought it was basically foregone that he was off to Madrid. There's a lot of quoted material out there from him and his family that makes it seem like that's the ultimate goal, and surely they'd want him.
170,000 Euros a week probably good reason.
That honestly doesn't seem very high. Ibra makes over twice that.
He isn't Zlatan. Zlatan at 35 is still more valuable for an individual season than Auba.
Agreed, but like... that number is what Ozil makes (allegedly). I love Ozil, but I feel like Auba can knock that number out of the park.
Ozil and Auba are on the same level, if Ozil not a little higher for me.
I think auba will go to the wings but I agree why go there instead of Madrid unless Madrid have 0 interest which is the only think I can see being why he's not there after all the talk
I don't think we are going to sign Auba. He's only a year younger than benz and his wage demands aren't worth a shorter time horizon investment on a pace based player.
ederson for 65 is the UK media doing stupid stuff again, its 40 plus performance based add-ons. Likewise ederson is a perfect Pep goalkeeper, distribution was superb and had the top save percentage on the iberian peninsula. Not concerned at all about him, Mendy has also signed for city giving us an upgrade at LB
That's a more reasonable fee considering the fee for de gea was similar but hoping madrid get lost looking for de gea this summer
Griezmann just tweeted out "now more than ever, atleti"
Dunno how much to read it but looks as if united willhave to look elsewhere for a forward
Since transfer ban won't be lifted, he is staying at Atleti as they would be unable to replace him.
Yup will be interesting to see who united chase now first names that come to mind are lukaku, morata, or lacazette with auba going to Paris. Why can't transfers be simple and quick
These fresh 'Arsenal bid some insane amount for Mbappe' rumors... so this is how we're gonna start the transfer window eh? Gonna be a long one.
On the other hand, if they're true... whew that'd be something.
I say at this point of I am Arlene I spend like crazy to either go out on top...or just spend a ton of Arsenals money and walk away.
Arsene loves the club more than anyone in the world, I think. He's not gonna make any decision that puts it in a hole like that. But, he's always said if he felt a player was worth it, he'd spend. If he REALLY loves Mbappe, and that could be I don't know, but it's not impossible.
It's just highly unlikely. Then again I've heard Alexis and Ozil are waiting to see what kind of moves we are making before they decide to sign extensions or not, and a move like that sure would prove ambition.
I seriously haven't heard of mbappe until the last couple weeks. Is he really going to be that good? Or is it high risk? Is lacazette the better option?
I've watched him he has scary natural ability BUT he's so young and raw it's always a gamble paying over 9 digits for a teenager or anyone at that but everyone seems to think he's the next big thing
My opinion is he's just a tad better than martial was when he was doing well at monaco before he came to united, I feel he stays at Monaco unless Madrid come calling I think he values the play time at Monaco with falcao but if Monaco loose too many guys from last year then who knows but he will go for a pretty penny if he does
oh hes legit, watched him shread us over 2 games. theres a reason some people were saying united got the wrong guy from monaco with martial (and thats no slight to martial hes a great player) but at 18 mbappe bent over most of europe and gave em the business.
great footwork, good passing, excellent positioning, pretty good finishing
I may be incorrect but mbappe wasn't as known when we bought martial that being said I had no clue who martial was until we bought him, youtubed him that night then felt way better about that deal but I think like martial has done if mbappe goes elsewhere it'll take time to adjust luckily he has a lot of good years ahead
While I think he will be a very good player, his goal scoring record in Ligue 1 isn't' through the roof, although he came off the bench quite a lot this season. 15 goals in any top flight league shouldn't be scoffed, but it's not that high quality of a League. Top to bottom I'd rate the Championship ahead of it if I'm honest, but it's still 15 goals. It's the old adage about doing it on a wet Tuesday at Stoke. Would probably be an upgrade to what they have, but how well will he adjust to the English game is a valid question. Think he would excel in Spain where it's somewhat of a softer, more technical league.
Spain isn't as physical as England by any means, but Atletico is as physical/dirty as any club in Europe, and Espanyol and Bilbao rarely play nice. But yes, the difference in football style is notable and I agree he would likely fit will in Spain.
I disagree that the Championship is higher quality than Ligue 1, though the Championship is light years ahead of any other second league and is much stronger than most of the smaller first leagues in Europe as well.
hes been on the radar for a ton of teams for a while
couple of accolades: youngest player to ever make an appearance for monaco
won the U19 tournament with france in 2016 by basically putting the team on his back in the semifinal against portugal
keep in mind the guy is 18 (!!!) and given todays market that someone like higuain can go for like 70 mil says it all. if he can keep improving he will be world class and worth more than 100
I'm not doubting that this guy won't be a world class player by 25, all I'm saying is that he gets a lot of comparisons to Martial, who I think he's a bit better than, but Martial hasn't exactly lit the EPL on fire. The English game is so different week in and week out. That's all I'm saying, how well would he adjust.
Most comparisons have been to Thierry Henry. He turned down a $120m move to Real Madrid...not the club. Interesting move, that. It was widely believed that he only wanted to go to Real. Curious to see how this plays out...LFC was rumored to have bid for him, which was later proven false. Still, I'd love to see him at Anfield, he looks a bit special, doesn't he? Admittedly, I don't watch the French League, but he looked great in the few UCL games I saw him in. Mouthwatering prospect.
I haven't seen a reliable source saying he actually turned us down or that we actually made that bid. That said, he would be wise to keep playing in Monaco for another season or so, we can't promise him first choice minutes. That said, he idolizes Ronaldo, and Real Madrid is the club he grew up supporting.
yeah but if im monaco and i can get 100 million out of him i sell now instead of risking a mahrez situation where his value drops dramatically
Yes, selling him now for 9 digits (if all the rumors are true) is best for Monaco. I was speaking from Mbappe's perspective, but I think he will do fine wherever he goes.
Mbappe seems like he has a pretty good head on his shoulders and has indicated he wants to be getting minutes.
Some of the stuff I've seen today makes me actually believe Arsenal did lodge a crazy bid (fully understanding that that means almost nothing, mind you) and one thing's certain, he'd be on the field in North London.
I concur with this view I think he stays unless real promise serious on field time which I think is best for him anyways leaving to a big club early isn't easy unless you're Messi of course
https://twitter.com/GurjitAFC/status/870759379313856512
This is a level of bluntness from Wenger that I haven't seen in a very long time. It's reassuring. I think he understands what he's got ahead of him.
Love it. I get the coach catches the blame for results but at this level the players impact the results.
Wenger is clueless to be honest. Does he want them to leave? Ozil and Alexis are also a huge reason why they were even in the CL chase on the final day and didn't finish 10th.
Whatever stigma the two of them had in the middle season slump is on them just like it is for the rest of the team. Arsene is not completely off the mark here. I watched every game and those two were definitely not world class in the middle of the season.
Of course. They went out of form at times, but in the end Alexis had 24 goals and both were top ten in the league in assists. I'm no Arsenal supporter, but Wenger is the biggest problem they have. He was a fantastic manager through the early and mid 2000s, but seemingly after going up 1-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League final, it's been mostly downhill. You can tout the FA Cups all you like, but at the end of the day it's a third choice trophy behind the league and the Champions League for a club like Arsenal. Four FA cups since their last league title, which was a cool 13 years ago is just not good enough for a big club. At any other major club in the world he would have been fired. At the end of the day, there's been 1 constant at Arsenal since that unbeaten league title: Arsene Wenger. Now, the coutner point to that is that, up until now, results had been top 4 and knockout stages of the Champions League, which isn't anything dismiss. And you can make a very valid claim that whoever would have replaced him wouldn't have done the same job: (see: Moyes, David at United).
The biggest problem at Arsenal is in fact not Arsene Wenger, but Stan Kroenke and the board. But I won't get into that right now. Wenger has left something to be desired, but he's dealing with a board that wants to run the team like a franchise, not a top flight club.
Kroenke is definitely an issue, I will not argue that.
CL Final today, a por la 12!
Hala Madrid y nada mas
Was busy fishing and missed the CL final but looks like it lived up to the billing and by the way what a freaking goal by juve and what a finish by mandzukic oh my word
You - Ronaldo's attempt at a bicycle kick.
The guy she told you not to worry about - Mandzukic attempt at a bicycle kick
"One chance, bang"
Resurrecting this thread so I can celebrate with fellow Gooners. Lacazette is a GREAT signing for us. I'm really happy with the deal. Can't remember the last time Arsenal brought in two clear starters by early July.
I've also seen that the odds of Alexis staying have raised. I'm still confident Ozil isn't going anywhere. I'm a little more worried about Ox and Giroud, but the latter has indicated his desire to stay at least.
Hoping the Lemar talk has some substance to it, but I don't expect any other major signings until the Alexis, Ozil, and Ox situations are ironed out for better or worse.
woop woop COYG.
Lacazette is a boss and I just wish the signing was in 2015 instead of 2017. I have to think that Giroud will move to West Ham given his stated desire to stay in London -- just don't think there's playing time enough to keep him satisfied in a world cup year, unless Theo leaves and Welbz plays more wing. Lucas Perez probably all but gone, but depth is gonna be huge with the stupid Europa league Thursdays. I'd very much like for contract status of Alexis and Ozil to be resolved ASAP. Ox too as that guy is a swiss army knife. Solid B player at 3 or 4 different positions. Retweet the early transfer business. Alexis and Ozil can't say there hasn't been at least a show of ambition to compete.
Obviously need Ox, Ozil, and Sanchez to stay. I want Giroud to stay and I think he will.
I watched video of Lemar for the first time the other day and I hope we can bring him in. Amazing how many young French players there are.
Perez, Wilshire, and Walcott should leave. I assume Ospina is gone. Not sure what will happen with Szczesny.
Lemar would be huge, and he's definitely my top target if I'm Wenger right now. Again it won't happen until the futures of Alexis and Ox are resolved.
I'm with you for 3/4 of the others you mentioned at the end there. I don't think Theo leaves now though. Several reasons for that. He scored 19 goals last season, so it's not like he's without use. In addition to this, his wages make him impossible for lower-tier teams (where he probably should be) to bring him onto their wage bill.
Lastly (and this goes for Szczesny and MAYBE Wilshere though I don't think it's enough for the latter) we need to keep an eye on our homegrown player numbers. The addition of Lacazette means we have 17 non-homegrown players on the roster, which is the most we can register with the EPL. Obviously Debuchy, Perez, Ospina, and Campbell should be on their way out so that will leave room for any other potential signings. But a productive (if not ideal) homegrown player like Walcott does have some value. If a team will take him and his wages, I'd gladly let him go, still.
Ox-Cham to the (true) Reds...sorry to burst your bubble but Laca is a good signing. Hope you pip the Spuds to the CL places next season.
Way too much gooner love on this page:
I see no evidence that Ox is going to pool. Just the usual media hot air.
His agent is a pot stirrer, you may remember him from the Sterling saga. But some Arsenal sources are saying they still doubt he moves.
Welp united pulled a chelsea on Chelsea to pip lukaku away count me shocked didn't think united stood a chance but then again it goes to show just how little rumors actually know
Good signing in no way gauruntees lots of goals but between him and morata I'm more comfortable with signing lukaku, between him and lindelof this summers going well
i find it hilarious that lukaku is playing for mou again. personally i prefer morata hes done it on the big stage numerous times with juventus and madrid, and has an insane gpm ratio. hes clinical, great in build-up, and has much better dribbling abilities than lukaku. Lukaku is much more physically sound though, hell be great against the minnows still dont see him being a monster against epl giants until he gets the first touch figured out
Statistically speaking, I believe he was top 5 last season in the league in the "goals scored against top 6" category.
scored 4, 2 against man citys atrocious defense last year. I still think hes a great purchase because United struggled to breakdown small squads last year (hence the low goals scored and number of draws). I think what they really need is a pacey winger that can carve open a defense and those are a pain in the rear to find. I thought martial was gonna be that player but he struggled this year. Rashford might be that guy but I think thatd be a waste of his striker potential (I like to think im partial, im a city fan but Rashford has TONS of potential)
He's also more versatile as he could play on the wing as well. Lukaku is a one trick Pony with a brick first touch. He'll bag you goals but thts about it. Morata is a skilled dribbler and can participate in build up, he is a much better fit for Mou's counter attack.
The tough part is Madrid wanted way too much money, all be it that money is virtually a non issue these days, for morata I'd have been okay with 60-70 maybe but Morata may have struggled in the PL But who knows lukaku was top 5 in the league for goals against the top 6 last year so with better talent around him I don't rate evertons midfield highly he should be better. Biggest priority here is and the above said we need a productive winger martial will be needed otherwise idk whose out there to buy honestly
a pacey playmaking winger should be priority 1 2 and 3 right now no question
Just saw Ivan perisic laying some interesting social media activity out dunno about him much as a player other than he's 28 never watched him aside from the last World Cup so I'm not really sure what to think about him
Sign me up then
As a Chelsea fan this offseason has been bullshit
I wouldn't worry honestly so much time left things will happen I'd assume it's still only the first week in July there will be cash flying like mad come august
Poor little chelsea.....
James to Bayern on a two year loan deal with an option to buy. Reunites with Carlo Ancelotti who got much more out of him at Real than Zidane did. He and Tolisso are two big gets for Bayern in midfield. Anything less than UCL final appearance with Bundesliga and DFB Pokal wins should be a disappointment with the squad they have.
Almost as soon as I posted that, Douglas Costa to Juventus was announced. He's good.
he hardly played last year, good buy from juventus but keep in mind the guy is also around 30 his pace isnt gonna last forever
Douglas Costa is 26. He's still got a few more years.
oh holy cow youre right, couldve sworn he was older. oh well he obviously wasnt in bayerns plan, great buy for juventus but i dont think it hurts bayern all that much
yeah Douglas Costa was a terror for Guardiola in his last year but never found his stride under Ancelotti -- 7 goals in 34 appearances though, but mainly due to injuries to Ancelotti's first choice wingers. If Robben and Ribery are healthy he doesn't see the pitch -- even though both of them are getting up there.
Not as sold on James yet because who does he replace? Plus not like Real Madrid relied on him last year except in the B-Team lineup, real are still top dogs by a good bit even after this move
james is a spectacular player he just didnt fit into zidanes team properly. ancelotti obviously likes him or he wouldnt have signed him twice now
Dani Alves to PSG is a shocker
Personally I find that one kinda funny, and now City is going to have to drop big bucks on plan B (Walker is the hot name) because any seller knows they're going to be desperate.
And if City has any semblance of a budget, this plus the James to Bayern transfer give me more confidence that Alexis stays in London at least another year. The saga will probably drag on until the end of the summer I'm sure.
Also, Ozil basically said he's staying today. It's not over until he actually signs the extension but nevertheless very good to hear that confirmation.
but then you read that PSG doubled City's wage offer and it's not that shocking after all.
No it's not surprising I just fogured he's reunite with pep but as a united fan I'm happy city got turned down but it does create a problem in that now everyone is gonna add to the price just cause city are desperate for defenders
eh only fullback, the cb situation is fine. Im not pleased but i also dont think alves is worth 250k a week. PSG is probably also giving up a rb with alves meunier and aurier on the roster, and desperately want mangala. if im city im using mangala as a bargaining chip for a rb you want from that roster
Looking like per some LFC journos we've "nabbed" Leipzig dynamo Naby Keita for an eye-watering amount of money (60m+) and are trying to use Mamadou Sakho in a part-trade for Virgil van Dijk (who would probably still cost in excess of 40m+ even after that). Get that Richardson boy from Hull at LB and Ox-Cham and that's the summer sorted. Job done.
You might want to sit down for this one: Multiple reports suggest Barca have sold Neymar to PSG for around $250m...that more than doubles the $120m ManUre overpaid for Pogba. Mad.
Something about this strikes me as typical silly season posturing. Reports I've seen indicate that PSG are "willing to pay his clause" and that Neymar has agreed wages, but nothing so far has indicated that the deal is actually imminent. It's been well known that Barca are after Marco Verratti and that PSG are not inclined to sell him. Just feels like a back-off warning from PSG.
Messi just got a new deal. I'm wondering if this is Neymar's way of posturing for one for himself. I'll believe this is actually happening when I see Neymar in a PSG shirt, this is just too far out there.
Also, PSG went through the same process last year, only for Neymar to get a new deal from Barca.
From what I gather, this is analogous to "restricted free agency" to provide a comparison to US sports.
Eh it's similar? It's more in the sense that transfers are three-party deals (buying club, selling club, and player). Unlike in US sports, which mainly deal in free agency contracts and then club-to-club trades, world soccer generally just deals with contracts. Buying club pays a fee to the selling club to release the player from his contract, who then signs with the buying club. Oftentimes the player agrees the wage deal first, then the two clubs agree a deal. It's all a leverage game where clubs are angling to pay the lowest fees while collecting the highest fees, while players are always angling to get a pay raise (which can just happen at any time).
It's the reason Tottenham got 50m pounds for Kyle Walker from Manchester City. He's a fine player but not worthy of being the most expensive defender ever... but Spuds were selling to a top-four rival and Walker was under contract until 2021, so they could command a higher fee as they were under no obligation to sell.
Good points. Tottenham also knew Man City was desperate for a starting RB, another reason they over paid for him.
Well explained. I was just trying to distill it into one sentence haha.
The process you've described above is also why MLS doesn't tend to be in the mix for bigger names from European leagues until they're past their prime years (i.e. once they're "out of contract" and no transfer fee is required). The transfer figure dollar amounts you'd have to shell out are just exorbitant for a league like MLS.
Now as far as wages go, a handful of MLS teams would be willing to shell out big bucks, they're just not going to spend $100 million for the right to pay Pogba $20 million.
Chelsea just announced they reached a deal to acquire Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid. I would assume that this means Diego Costa will leave.
Costa is in the middle of a weird situation with Atletico where they can't sign him until January, but it's pretty clear that's where he wants to land.
Additionally, on your first point, this was a great choice for Chelsea, albeit at quite a price (but every striker this window was going to move at a huge premium). I know most of y'all here are PL guys, but I think Morata is a much more versatile attacker with an overall higher ceiling than Lukaku. He has big game CL experience and has played in multiple leagues. Lukaku is a proven player in the PL, but you know exactly what he brings to the table, and he doesn't seem to have much room to improve other areas of his game.
Lukaku is a striker for Jose Mourinho, Morata is definitely not. He will be excellent for Conte, who I'm sure watched him a bunch while Morata was at Juventus and Conte was managing the Italian national side. All strikers are gonna be expensive to pry away from their teams. Lacazette for up to 60m euros looks like a steal compared to Lukaku for up to 90m pounds, especially given the exchange rate. Reported fee for Morata is 70m euros plus add ons, and that looks good compared to Lukaku as well. While Lukaku is a known quantity, he definitely could improve his first touch and dribbling. The dribbling isn't a big deal for someone in a Mourinho system, but the first touch will be a big part towards him becoming the New Drogba that he's been touted to be for years.
As the summer progresses I become more and more pleased with the Lacazette deal getting done relatively early.
They can loan him in can't they?
Yeah, that's what Atletico is doing with Vitolo essentially. It's apparently been cleared with all governing bodies as "okay", but it's definitely stretching the limits. It's a creative, clever, and albeit a tad shady way to get around the ban.
morata is a fantastic striker chelsea should be absolutely thrilled
Word is that Monaco is lodging a complaint against Man City and PSG for the tapping up of Mbappe. Curious if this will impact the Mendy negotiations (most recent bid was rejected anyhow).
The optimist in me hopes that this will improve Arsenal's chances at Lemar, given that it's confirmed that we're still trying to bring him in and he's interested.
Generally think that it indicates club officials directly contacting the player vs going through his agent? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me vs player-to-player contact, ie what the entire Spanish national team did to Cesc Fabregas for the two years preceding his move back to Barca.
I'm guessing it's the same thing that Southampton finally dinged Liverpool for earlier this summer. Teams know it's against the rules, just until this year they haven't been called out on it. Clubs have to give permission for another team to contact their players under contract. Hard to enforce, but some clubs have been incredibly cocky in the transfer window as of late.
not concerned, I saw what little happened when southhampton screamed about it about van djik with liverpool.
It made Liverpool back out of negotiations, so that's not inconsequential. They feared punishment. This is the self-imposed postseason ban of the transfer window.
Still don't understand why clubs do it when it's easy enough to call his agent instead while having your players "recruit" the player in question.
Calling the agent without the selling clubs permission is in violation of the rule if I understand it correctly. Having your players do it is as well but you could see how this would be much harder to provide proof of.
The rules state:
I learned something today :O
city dont need mbappe so to me frankly landing him would just be icing on the cake, frankly its kind of inconsequential to me. Much bigger deal if we were accused of doing the same to mendy. We absolutely need Mendy
My statement about this potentially affecting the Mendy deal is that presumably City are not in the good graces of the selling club right now, if they're upset about tapping up.
Also they saw City spend 50M on Walker and now they want more than that for the better player in Mendy.
except theres a ton of reasons walkers price got inflated, hes english, a homegrown, and a rival team. I see this as a negotiation tactic by monaco.
city have already bought 1 player from them this summer and it went very smoothly. I really dont think this is a huge deal more of a "backoff" to psg and everyone else on mbappe
if monaco inflate the price weve already been scouting bertrand a ton too so there are other options which also wasnt the case for walker
We'll still get VvD...still 4 weeks until the transfer window closes. The player has told the club (Southampton) he'll never play for them again.
Looks like Barcelona are gonna buy Coutinho so maybe call that a net negative
Maybe next year, but he isn't going anywhere
All sources close to the club say he isn't going anywhere this transfer window. Only sources reporting move are from people who aren't normally associated with LFC or Barca. I guess we'll see, but I think it will be next summer that he ends up going to Spain.
Correct...this looks like the Suarez saga all over again
Okay I'm finally starting to believe the neymar thing could actually happen. Crazy.
the fact that Neymar or Barca haven't come out and just squashed it dead, even after a few days, have me thinking it could happen too. Espeically when Barca say something to the extent of "it's the player's decision" and not "his release clause is 222m euros and we're not inclined to budge from that"
Barca has zero control though. His clause is in the contract, it can't be changed now. If PSG pays, the only person with a decision to make is Neymar. Barca can only offer him a bigger contract and hope he likes it.
Seeing all the stuff about Alexis and PSG too. Honestly if they offer a decent amount I'd take it, but I have no clue how legit those rumors are.
Well a lot of times the transfers go that the player agitates the leave and the buying team ends up not paying the full clause. Some Barca officials (Bartomeu) have said that "he's not for sale", but then other sources are quoted as saying "the choice is Neymar's". I guess you're right in that Neymar can choose to go, but Barca haven't even said only if PSG pay the full clause. I doubt Barca would authorize the sale for say 135m euros if his clause is 222m... but they haven't even taken that off the table entirely.
Bit of interesting news for the coalition bid for the 2026 WC bid.
180m Mbappe deal
Can't wait for this to happen so people can stop talking shit about Pogba's fee. He was worth every penny United paid for him.
hahaha that is some stupid money for a player. god i cannot wait for real madrid to collapse, theyre so far in debt its not even funny
We're actually paying down our debt and the club is in comparatively excellent financial shape to other big clubs. This statement is alarmingly incorrect. Barcelona would be an example of a club that is actually in some legitimate financial trouble.
Teams like ManU and Man City are blowing WAY more money and their net spend is unbelievably negative.
Also, we aren't going to pay 180m for Mbappe, this has already been denied by a local journalist that is a reliable source close to Monaco. Plus we've already made a ton of money in just this window in sales so it's not like we would be shelling out 180m out of thin air, which we won't be paying 180m anyway.
Here is a pretty well done breakdown on Barca/Real Madrid financials by somebody on reddit
I stand corrected, id last heard about madrids debt situation in 2014 where they were over 600 million in debt
www.goal.com/en/amp/news/1717/editorial/2014/11/21/5658431/debt-is-power...
however they seem to have cleaned up a ton
http://www.totalsportek.com/football/clubs-with-the-most-debt/
(sidenote lol qpr)
I do remember reading that article in 2014, though I do generally avoid goal.com. Florentino Perez, for all his detractors, is actually a pretty savvy businessman and has made some very wise financial decisions in the past few years.
edit: I'd be interested to read how QPR got themselves into that situation. It's not totally outlandish, the current English climate with all the TV revenue and the inflated prices has certainly sent a few clubs into strange financial territory.
The short of it is that their owners got too big for their britches and were unwisely ambitious and aggressive with transfer and personnel decisions. Rather than try to build sustainably, they "went for it" and ended up with a piecemeal squad of players who struggled to form a cohesive team.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/mar/06/qpr-debt-177m-report-pr...
Check out their Transfermarkt net from 11/12 through 14/15. https://www.transfermarkt.com/queens-park-rangers/alletransfers/verein/1039
The total net spend those years isn't eye watering (especially seeing that Manchester City just dropped about that amount on one fullback, twice, just this summer) -- but the wages were nuts. Chris Samba made just ten appearances for the club and was on massive wages at Anzhi (remember when they were the "move to China" of the transfer market?) A lot of their signings those years were for past-their-prime veteran players on free deals, and everyone knows that when you get a player on a free, you have less leverage in negotiating wages. Julio Cesar, Jose Bosingwa, Ryan Nelsen, Stephane Mbia, Ji-Sung Park, Esteban Granero, Loic Remy, Sandro, Rio Ferdinand all moved from bigger, more stable clubs for decent fees -- but bigger more stable clubs can better afford to pay bigger wages without having "don't be relegated" as a huge determining factor.
then of course they got relegated
And now in a legal battle over FFP rules. As a Fulham fan, I for one, would love to see them docked 20 points this season and go down to League One.
what an age we live in...QPR used to be First Division regulars when I lived there and Chelski was a second division outfit. Quite the change...erm, you don't want to know where Fulham were in the 80s....
Third tier...actually don't mind Fulham in the Championship. Feel like it's "our" level. Would rather be competing at the top of the table there than playing for 14th in the EPL any day, especially now that you can watch all the games.
Higher than I thought...I remember this League Cup result from 1986: Liverpool 10 - 0 Fulham . The program for the return leg actually said that Fulham need to score 11 to advance!
Were in the fourth tier for awhile before the climb to the Europa League final.
...and that got us Woy Hodgson. Revenge, of sorts.
Man City has spent more on players since Pep took over than the cost of Arsenal's (and I'd wager Liverpool's and Tottenham's) entire roster. Stupid money is becoming the norm. There is no reason that Kyle Walker and John Stones should cost 50M a piece, 'English tax' or no.
english tax + selling to your rival + teams knowing manchester will flood the market + homegrown = 50 mil
Just saying, a Man City fan shouldn't throw stones when it comes to ridiculous transfer bids. If you field a team of most expensive transfers in the EPL, Man City owns 5/11 of those and there was argument as to whether they would rightfully have a 6th.
easy tiger im not throwing stones here, Ill completely agree city have thrown vast amounts of money out there. I think everyone and their grandma can agree 180 million is ridiculous amount of money to spend. even if it were city itd make my stomach turn
...stones...i see what you did there!
Not sure I'm following the logic here. 180m for Mbappe doesn't mean that 105m for Pogba wasn't too much. or do you mean people will just stop talking about it?
The latter - people will debate whether he is worth it instead of Pogba. It's time folks realize astronomical fees are the norm now.
Marca is incredibly unreliable for Real news and Monaco has already denied this.
Marca is reliable when the stories benefit Real but their Real bias is a huge tell.
Marca can be reliable with their connections to Madrid but yes their biased a bit
Personally, 180m for an 18 year old is silly beyond belief if Madrid is smart they have talks this summer lining up a potential move next summer and tell him don't sign a new contract and next summer we will roll out the red carpet for you and all because next year with only one year on his contract they could get him for a better price and he'd have more experience
Dom Dwyer was just purchased by OCFC for $1.6 million in allocation money. SKC may have a big move lined up.
Any word on who it may be?
Fingers are pointing to Nemeth.
Processed that as "Neymar" for a second lolololol
And just like that for a wee 260 million dollars Neymar is a PSG player I never saw this coming till the reports broke last week
absolutely bonkers.
English Championship kicked off today. 1-1 between Sunderland and Derby. 1-0 Nottingham Forest over Millwall. Sunderland looked bang average. Could see them struggling in the midtable.
Overall, Boro has a heck of a squad on paper. Could be favorites like Newcastle were last season. Not impossible to beat, but will probably have that consistency in getting results to see them get an auto promotion. Fulham, Wednesday and Wolves all look prime contenders for the other spot. Teams like Brentford, Norwich and Leeds could make a bid through the playoffs. Not buying the Villa hype with their spending spree last season and giving Samba and Terry massive wage deals. Preston is my sleeper pick. Think Reading won't duplicate last season, and see this as the year Ipswich finally goes down to League One. Bolton and Burton will find a way to stay up while Barnsley and Millwall join Ipswich.
If you haven't heard. EFL games are now on ESPN3. Will have a 10am and 12:30 kickoff along with a Friday 2:45 each week. Great league to follow. Absolute dog fight for 46 matches with the riches of the Premier League waiting.
Good stuff, this. Did you know that until recently, Brentford used to have the only ground (Griffin Park) in England with a pub on every corner (I lived quite close to Brentford for a year)? Now that's what I call a pub culture...of course they were shyte then, too. Leeds should be in the EPL, same with Ipswich and Wednesday (based solely on history and not recent results). Going to a game at Millwall's old ground (The Den) was absolutely terrifying...their new ground is better, but it's still terrifying. Thanks for the mini-preview...I've not watched the championship since I lost my DirecTV package that had it...some games are more interesting than the EPL.
Millwall could go into the conference for all I care.
Fulham v Norwich tomorrow from Craven Cottage at 10. Fulham play some lovely football these days. Possession oriented. Lovely player Tom Cariney in the #10 role. 16 y/o English youngster Ryan Sessegnon, who has a lot of Gareth Bale in him.
Good game to wet the beak here for the TKP community if you're looking to watch the Championship this season.
love hearing about fulham but dont have the computer or tv package atm keep me posted
I'm glad we can watch more of the EFL this year (coincidentally NBCSN put their streams behind a paywall for the EPL this year so good timing). Will provide a non-committal support for the likes of Cardiff and Derby County for my part.
Hey, anyone know if Courtois's penalty has come back down yet?
Fair play to him, most keepers wouldn't have saved Xhaka's long range missile earlier, so he's the reason they made it to PKs anyways.
Thought the community shield was okay had some drama thought Pedro was an idiot and didn't see much from chelseas forwards during a game against more or less arsenals backup cbs but I think Chelsea are gonna need some business to keep rolling it's not end of the world yet but they lack any depth across the board
Personally I don't count the Shield for much, but I did like a lot of what I saw from Arsenal. We played very well despite missing 4 players from our first 11. Xhaka showed how he's continuing to grow into the lynch pin we've been missing in midfield for years, and Elneny made me feel a little better about our midfield depth behind Ramsey.
I agree its not a serious trophy its nice to win if you lose no biggie but usually for one of the teams its more of a need to win for momentum which was arsenal just like real madrid dont "need" to win the super cup today but united could reallllyyyyy use this win as a building block to get some good mo going into the new season even though its another worthless trophy it would help the attitude and get things going in the right way which is always a plus
Jose Mourinho begs to differ...he counts the shield as part of a treble...after first making fun of it. So, the usual with that nut.
DC United making moves!
They desperately needed to do something. Ahead of the 2018 season where they'll be moving into a new soccer-specific stadium, they had to get younger and more talented quickly.
Bringing in guys like Hungarian international Zoltan Stieber on the wing (for what is now reported as no transfer fee, wow), a project in Bolivian winger/forward Bruno Miranda, promising American defensive midfielder Russell Canouse were solid signings... but bagging Paul Arriola on the other wing is the cherry on top!
If this team can get healthy, DC United should have a really good core with Mullins up top, Zoltan, Acosta, Arriola higher up, Harkes as the box-to-box midfielder, and Canouse as the defensive anchor.
Exciting times for the Black & Red!
My #sauces indicate they almost secured the signing of a major international superstar (of years past of course because #MLS). Deal collapsed and they turned to Arriola, which in the long run, will be better for them.
So the Danny Rose stuff in the media today seems VERY familiar. So far, this new stadium is hitting Tottenham the exact same way as it did Arsenal a decade ago. It costs a lot to build a new stadium, and MOST teams can't afford to play in the market with the big boys while you're paying for it. And as you're seeing with Rose now, players see that other teams can pay them more and surround them with other big name players and want to leave eventually.
Tottenham would be stupid not to sell. Same with Walker, if someone is going to pay silly money for a player that isn't worth it, you take it. Especially, as you said, in the middle of stadium move. You can replace Rose pretty easily.
I highly doubt city are the ones after rose though. weve already got 3 fullbacks this offseason and as much as i like rose, i think mendy is better. Danilo already provides depth at LB, honestly what is the point? I think hes much more likely to go elsewhere, plenty of other teams need fullbacks if he is leaving
Levy will probably refuse to sell to Chelsea, and Utd is only marginally more possible. Those are who he's being linked to now. Arsenal and Pool don't need him. As you said City has already spent big money on fullbacks. For these reasons I'd say he's staying for this season. But he's created a mess for himself.
I get the stadium argument, but I think it's a lot of bs. When stadium funding was sorted out years back, Spurs weren't getting CL money, the TV contract with Sky hadn't been inked yet, and we had no idea what money would come from player sales. No way did they know (or even dream) that they would sell Bentaleb and Walker for a combined 70m. Some of this money has to get reinvested into the team whether it be salary increases or transfers.
I get that Levy is in a tough spot, but how he has handled the summer has been nothing short of lethargic and short sighted. Transfer dealings have obviously been a mess, but the move to Wembley has been even worse. He deceivingly withheld the good season tickets and lied to fans saying that seats were filling up. He has also ended our relationship with StubHub instead instituting a new resale system that a) doesn't work and b) can only be utilized if a game is sold out (which won't happen much in Wembley). As a fan, it's crushing that the best season we've had in decades is being followed by the worst summer I've experienced. The season desperately needs to start so we can start focusing on the actual games, which Spurs are sill well positioned to excel in.
It's not just the stadium/money situation. It's also the caliber of player in the starting XI vs the squad vs who is available. No striker wants to sign a big deal to go ride the bench behind Harry Kane, so it is hard to bring in quality strikers. No midfielder wants to sit behind Dele Alli, so it is hard to bring in someone. Unless it is a very young player who sees Spurs as a large step up from their current club, or a veteran you bring in as part of a squad overhaul with someone else going out, it will be hard to bring in players on the football/opportunity alone. It's the problem with being not-quite-the-big-fish in the pond. There are bigger clubs that have more money and more cachet or draw to compete and win many titles, and there are smaller clubs who have less money and ambition but offer playing time and development. Arsenal went through the same thing in 2010-2013.
GET IN YOU SEXY FRENCH BASTARD NA NA NA NAAAAAAA