2019/20 Soccer Thread

A pity Inter lost. Here's a nice play from them.

Prederick wrote:

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.

Not sure.

Maybe later bloomer + he maybe wanted to be in Germany?

Not like he ended at a terrible club.

He might still have a soft spot for Arsenal also

slazev wrote:

A pity Inter lost. Here's a nice play from them.

Wow. That play at the back is a sure sign of confidence.

Attentive readers may remember me mentioning Forward Madison FC here before.

This weekend brings the USL League One season to a close, with us just barely hanging on to a playoff spot. As long as we match (or better) the result of Chattanooga Red Wolves, we'll be in the playoffs in our first season of existence.

Sadly, since USL League One playoffs are single-leg, with the higher seed hosting, we probably won't get another home game (I think we could host the final, if we overturn a six-goal deficit on the final day, and both underdogs win the semis, but that seems pretty unlikely).

So, if you find yourself looking for something to do on Saturday, the game will be on ESPN+, though if you listen carefully you might hear me cheering from wherever you are.

Gnarby this Gnarby that, Arsenal are fools.

Ooooh who's this Martinelli chap. Early days still and I'll wait until he starts actually doing it in the league but... The goals he is scoring are very tasty indeed.

Wow. Doozy of a stat from Football Weekly:

Among teams to have played in the Premier League in 2019, only Brighton has lost as many matches as Tottenham in all competitions.

That includes last season, right? Makes sense. After a great first half season, Spurs went downhill. They also only had a couple of draws and yet still more wins than Chelsea (again, great first half).

Will anyone be left at Spurs next summer?

Jeez. Suffering a goal is bad enough, but also breaking an arm. Ouch.

Prederick wrote:

Wow. Doozy of a stat from Football Weekly:

Among teams to have played in the Premier League in 2019, only Brighton has lost as many matches as Tottenham in all competitions.

Timely!

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Will anyone be left at Spurs next summer?

Daniel Levy.

Leicester probably deserved a draw. Looking like a charmed season for Liverpool.

Good news for Poch. The Everton job is about ten minutes away from being open.

Two undefeated sides left in England - Ipswich Town and some backwoods provincial lot from the north west called Liverpool.

slazev wrote:

Jeez. Suffering a goal is bad enough, but also breaking an arm. Ouch.

Dislocated Elbow apparently. He's going to be out for some time you'd imagine.

Liverpool lazy in possession today. To be honest they should have been 3-0 up when Maddison got the equaliser, Liverpool spent the majority of the game in Leicester's half. Dodged a bullet. Again.

EDIT: Just seen the Lloris injury on MotD - he bent his arm backwards. that's gonna have really hurt.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Good news for Poch. The Everton job is about ten minutes away from being open.

Much as I feel it's important that we slow down our managerial churn, I wouldn't be surprised to see Silva go, if we find a manager who might get our offense going (bonus points if they can organize defense on set pieces).

For all that Liverpool have been lucky (and they absolutely have), I will say they've managed the lot without Alisson whose presence would have made some of these matches (this Leicester one for one imo) less shaky than they have been.

juv3nal wrote:

For all that Liverpool have been lucky (and they absolutely have), I will say they've managed the lot without Alisson whose presence would have made some of these matches (this Leicester one for one imo) less shaky than they have been.

Leicester had one shot on target in the 80th minute, that they scored from because Adrian was a little slack getting his body between the ball and the goal. That's not "luck" (it's slightly suspect goalkeeping). Liverpool certainly haven't played great lately but like I said, Milner and Salah could - should - easily have added a few more inthe first half and Leicester didn't get a look in until Liverpool slacked off a little towards the end. Still, Choudary was lucky to be on the pitch at the end and the penalty, while maybe a little soft, happened because Morrison forced the ref to make a decision. Definite contact, enough to argue he impeded Mane and that was that. In a cricket game that sort of this is an "umpires call", it's hard to tell and it goes with the umpire's decision. I thought it was fair enough, even if I am bias!

Sorbicol wrote:
juv3nal wrote:

For all that Liverpool have been lucky (and they absolutely have), I will say they've managed the lot without Alisson whose presence would have made some of these matches (this Leicester one for one imo) less shaky than they have been.

Leicester had one shot on target in the 80th minute, that they scored from because Adrian was a little slack getting his body between the ball and the goal. That's not "luck" (it's slightly suspect goalkeeping). Liverpool certainly haven't played great lately but like I said, Milner and Salah could - should - easily have added a few more inthe first half and Leicester didn't get a look in until Liverpool slacked off a little towards the end. Still, Choudary was lucky to be on the pitch at the end and the penalty, while maybe a little soft, happened because Morrison forced the ref to make a decision. Definite contact, enough to argue he impeded Mane and that was that. In a cricket game that sort of this is an "umpires call", it's hard to tell and it goes with the umpire's decision. I thought it was fair enough, even if I am bias!

I think you misunderstand me. The pen was entirely the right call, I'm saying they were lucky that Albrighton made that challenge after they'd been wasteful with their chances earlier. If he puts it out of play without fouling Mane, there's not enough time for anything else to happen = dropped points.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Two undefeated sides left in England - Ipswich Town and some backwoods provincial lot from the north west called Liverpool.

This coming from the Tractor Boys, no less.

76% possession and 18-7 in shots and... lost 2-0. Maybe Football Manager isn't so wrong after all.

Solid week for Wolves, with three wins - Watford, Besiktas, Man City.

Edit: And now ManU. This is turning into my favourite season.

8 points clear, Everton in the relegation zone and Man U only 2 points above it.

God is a Liverpool fan. At least for today!

THE LONGSTAFFS!

Apparently Steve Bruce's first win against Manchester United as a manager in 22 attempts.

Roke wrote:

THE LONGSTAFFS!

Apparently Steve Bruce's first win against Manchester United as a manager in 22 attempts.

Over 23 years

An all-around terrible day for sports in Manchester, then.

Meanwhile, Jermaine Defoe is still banging them in in Scotland, although that's obviously partially about the sheer gulf in class between Rangers/Celtic and literally everyone else.

Barring some sort of pivotal turnaround, I can't see how Solskjaer makes it much longer. Ominously, they've got...

Liverpool at home, then three matches on the road:
Norwich
Chelsea
Bournemouth

Realistically, you'd expect a loss to Liverpool, then a win against Norwich, then a loss/draw against Chelsea, and who knows what against Bournemouth. So 4-7 points over their next four matches.

The next three matches in particular are crucial. If they botch up the Norwich game, even just a draw, they could be 11 matches into the season with 10 points. That's 34.5-point season relegation battle pace. I can't see a Manchester United manager surviving that.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

The next three matches in particular are crucial. If they botch up the Norwich game, even just a draw, they could be 11 matches into the season with 10 points. That's 34.5-point season relegation battle pace. I can't see a Manchester United manager surviving that.

Yeah, I was going to say that the media is being hyperbolic, but you're right, that is relegation pace.

I think it's eminently clear that, while Ole was a necessary breath of fresh air after everyone had gotten fed up with Mourinho, he's not up to this. They haven't won away since that comeback at PSG. Frankly, if they get trounced by Liverpool next, I'd just cut bait.

Also, is it too early to ask if we're nearing Pep's sell-by date? Don't get me wrong, he is an amazing manager, but it seems fairly clear that his particular style of management has a 3-4 year expiration date (one could say the same about Mou) and February will mark the beginning of Year #4.

We’re only 8 games into the season. There is a long way to go yet Nd despite what Pep thinks about the champions league, his employers sure as hell employed him to win it.

The thing is both Man City’s A & B teams are ‘top 6’ - although the way this this season is going I’d say it City and Liverpool, then everybody else (although Lampard does seem to be getting Chelsea to click a little more) City’s depth is the critical factor. And Liverpool will be playing the Club World Cup in the run up to Christmas. They have a lot of games to play yet.

Prederick wrote:
Godzilla Blitz wrote:

The next three matches in particular are crucial. If they botch up the Norwich game, even just a draw, they could be 11 matches into the season with 10 points. That's 34.5-point season relegation battle pace. I can't see a Manchester United manager surviving that.

Yeah, I was going to say that the media is being hyperbolic, but you're right, that is relegation pace.

I think it's eminently clear that, while Ole was a necessary breath of fresh air after everyone had gotten fed up with Mourinho, he's not up to this. They haven't won away since that comeback at PSG. Frankly, if they get trounced by Liverpool next, I'd just cut bait.

I agree. The conversation bounces back and forth between players/tactics, but after watching the match today it seemed that Man United hasn't got a tactical clue what they are supposed to be doing, and they don't adjust during the match. Sure, they've got injuries and the talent of the team was lower today, but they just looked lost out there. No purpose, no direction. Newcastle gave them opportunity to win the match, but Man U had no idea how to do so.

Sorbicol wrote:

We’re only 8 games into the season. There is a long way to go yet Nd despite what Pep thinks about the champions league, his employers sure as hell employed him to win it.

That's the thing though, that was his remit at Bayern as well, and that marriage only lasted 3 seasons. Again, not because he's not good, but because, from what I understand, the intensity his management/play style requires burns teams out on him.

I wouldn't count him out of any competitions yet, but I think it's fair to point out that, like I said, even at Barca he only lasted four seasons.