2019/20 Soccer Thread

I love Klopp, even if I'm scared of him.

When I shout, I look like a serial killer. It’s my face – I bite my teeth in a certain way. I look at babies with exactly the same face. Like, ‘You’re so cute.’ And very often the babies start howling.

Read more at https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/jur...

This is just depressing and has seriously lowered my opinion of Guardiola. It was an racist tweet no matter what spin Silva tried to put on it. He deserves punishment because otherwise it’s effectively condoning racist ‘bantz’ as acceptable.

If I'm sure of anything is that Bernardo is not racist. However, yes, he should've thought a bit better before deploying that joke to the public domain.

To all the clubs who can't even get to Europa League, here's UEFA Europa Conference League.

The UEFA Europa Conference League is a planned annual football club competition, starting in 2021, by UEFA for eligible European football clubs.[1] Clubs will qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It will be the third tier of European club football, after the Champions League and the Europa League, after which it takes its name.

The competition is scheduled to run from the 2021–22 season, and will serve as the bottom level of the existing UEFA Europa League competition, which is due to be reduced to 32 teams in the group stage. The competition will primarily be contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations.

Sorbicol wrote:

This is just depressing and has seriously lowered my opinion of Guardiola. It was an racist tweet no matter what spin Silva tried to put on it. He deserves punishment because otherwise it’s effectively condoning racist ‘bantz’ as acceptable.

The post was most certainly racist, but I'd argue that intent is important. It's clear that Silva and Mendy are friends, and Silva's intent was humor. He has no idea what he's done wrong.

A huge part of racism is ignorance. We defeat ignorance with education, not punishment. The connection Silva hasn't made yet is how racial stereotyping has a long and malicious history as a tool of political manipulation by white supremacists. Just slapping a ban on Silva would seem to me to be missing an opportunity to move the needle and help more people understand what racial stereotyping is and how it is harmful.

I'd be more in favor of a short one- or two-match ban, coupled with some sort of racial awareness training that gets at the root issue, based on the caveat that Silva would be open to exploring the issue.

You know it’s a good night in the Carabo cup when your team brings on players you’ve never heard of. I have no idea who Herbie Kane is, but apparently he plays for Liverpool.....

Store brand Harry Kane.

Report: Barcelona Ascend To A Higher Plane Of Pettiness, Will Appeal €300 Fine For Antoine Griezmann Transfer

The dumbest transfer saga of the summer just got even dumber. After Barcelona activated Antoine Griezmann’s €120 million release clause, the striker’s old club, Atlético Madrid, filed a complaint with the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF), claiming that the Catalan giants had negotiated with Griezmann before his release clause dropped from €200 million on July 1. Atléti were seeking to have Barcelona pay the difference, and they claimed to have emails proving that Griezmann had been in touch with his new club before July.

Well, Spain being Spain, this has come to the funniest possible near-conclusion: the RFEF fined Barcelona for “irregularities” in the transfer, to the tune of a whopping €300. That’s not a typo, they really fined one of the richest clubs the price of a new video game console.

There’s just one problem: Barcelona, for some reason, are reportedly appealing the damn fine, according to ESPN’s Alex Shaw.

this is petty and dumb as sh*t and frankly, I gotta respect it.

It's about the PRINCIPLE Pred!

Oh thank God. 2-0 over Wigan.

And because the Championship is ridiculous, we went from bottom-half of the table to suddenly 7th and three points off top, pending Saturday's games.

From what I saw Sheffield should of at least got a point from that game.

If Liverpool are going to eek out 3 points from games like that they are really in title form.

In laughable Arsenal news. Apparently Emery had the players vote for a captain. Result? Xhaka.

So they voted a guy who might not be a regular starter. Face Palm.

Hey! It's working in my FM game!

Also, I want to say that Raheem Sterling has been in insane form for the last 14-18 months or so, but I'm also realizing that's just a way of saying "He's playing really well right now and will come back to earth eventually" when, at this point I just need to say "he's really, really, really, really good".

LilCodger wrote:

It's about the PRINCIPLE Pred! :)

It might be to help them with any future lawsuits, appeals, etc. The ruling is clearly ridiculous - either they're innocent, or the tampering was worth way more than a 300 Euro fine.

Newcastle are on an express elevator to hell. Going down.

I mean, it's probably fair to say that that team, with that owner, without Rafa Benitez is relegation fodder, right?

Leeds United - 78% processions - lost one - nil - sign

Prederick wrote:

I mean, it's probably fair to say that that team, with that owner, without Rafa Benitez is relegation fodder, right?

Yup. With an average Premier League manager I think we would have had a decent shot at staying up, but Steve Bruce is below-average at best.

Think "transfer in a player facing Newcastle" might be a good FPL tactic.

Zidane could have lived on a beach and had his managerial legacy be "coached for consecutive European Cups in the only years he ever coached" but he decided to go back and manage a rebuilding Real Madrid.

Spurs are down two goals in the second half of a Champions League game and we somehow haven't subbed Lucas on yet.

Edit: There we are.

Well it was a good run for Spurs.

Bayern. Yeesh.

Oof.

Letting Gnarby get away still hurts. Arsenal didn't really cash in on him either.

Such a Spursy scoreline. xG for the match has Spurs about level (though of course single-match xG is actually bad and score effects need to be taken into account).

Prederick wrote:

Bayern. Yeesh.

Yikes. 7-2? That's a pasting.

They started pretty good, but the usual apathy from this season settled in nicely.
Bayern were just furiously cold. Reminded me of the Brazil x Germany game.

Liverpool 3-0 up against Salzburg. It's now 3-3 about 15 minutes in to the second half.

Liverpool need to break out the chequebook and just sign Minamino and take him home with them.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Liverpool need to break out the chequebook and just sign Minamino and take him home with them.

I wouldn’t disagree with that to be honest. Liverpool dodged a bullet there. Say what you like about Red Bull, they know how to find talent and nurture it.

Also, how did all of England get it so monumentally wrong with Serge Gnabry? Arsenal and West Brom couldn't figure out how to make him work.