Football Season 2017-18

[killthenet]

2 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Nerves probably got the better of them. It's a huuuuge game. Although, I have to say that the Netherlands have looked pretty good throughout the tournament and looked the better team tonight. Just a bit more control to their game.

Thing is this is an experienced England side, most of the squad were part of the team that finished 3rd at the World Cup two years ago and 9 members of the squad were runners up in the Euro's in 2009, nerves shouldn't be an issue. I think they just set up wrong from the outset, Sampson is good at motivating his players but showed at the World Cup he is tactically inept. He has improved since then but still clearly has a long way to go. With Jill Scott suspended Jordan Nobbs should have played in the middle and Duggan of Christiansen come in on the right, England looked far more in control when Nobbs moved into the centre but by that time they were already 2-0 down.

[Fierce_LiNk]

13 minutes ago, killthenet said:

Thing is this is an experienced England side, most of the squad were part of the team that finished 3rd at the World Cup two years ago and 9 members of the squad were runners up in the Euro's in 2009, nerves shouldn't be an issue. I think they just set up wrong from the outset, Sampson is good at motivating his players but showed at the World Cup he is tactically inept. He has improved since then but still clearly has a long way to go. With Jill Scott suspended Jordan Nobbs should have played in the middle and Duggan of Christiansen come in on the right, England looked far more in control when Nobbs moved into the centre but by that time they were already 2-0 down.

Nerves shouldn't be an issue, but they looked nervous tonight. I think the Netherlands being at home also helped massively. The second goal just put things beyond them and the Dutch were able to sit back and soak up the pressure.

Think they'll win it now. A shame that this tournament is almost over, could easily watch it all again.

[drahkon]

And it's official. Neymar to PSG...

[Hero-of-Time]

13 hours ago, killthenet said:

England have been appalling tonight. No consistency to their play, too many errors, too little possession. And it's some of their most experienced players who are costing them the game. Chamberlain looks very nervy in goal, Ellen White has made a number of mistakes and Fara Williams gifted the Dutch the 2nd goal Would be an absolute miracle is they could overcome this.

Yup. While watching the game it was if I was watching the mens England team. No control, no get up and go, just very flat football. They completely bottled it and crumbled under the pressure, just like the mens team have done many a time.  

[killthenet]

The Championship kicks off tonight, the start of the season has come around so quickly. Villa get underway against Hull in the late game tomorrow, we've made some really solid but unexciting signings so I do expect us to do much better this time round. Many of the players we've signed have won multiple promotions to the Premier League and with the experience of John Terry we have a pretty strong base to build from. I think the league is really wide open this year, with Middlesborough being the only other team I expect to be up there, unlike last season when there were 4 or 5 teams that were clearly stronger than the rest. The relegated teams specifically don't look as strong, particularly Sunderland who seem to be in complete disarray.

[Hero-of-Time]

I'll be watching the Sunderland match tonight on Sky. I'm interested to see if they have any fight left in them. Apparently their pre-season has been a right mess.

[Fierce_LiNk]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'll be watching the Sunderland match tonight on Sky. I'm interested to see if they have any fight left in them. Apparently their pre-season has been a right mess.

I fear for Sunderland because I don't see any fight or anything inspiring about them at all. The club lacks any character or personality. There will be a lot riding on them coming straight back up to the Premier League, but I can see them being in the wilderness for a few seasons. There's no willingness for the team to pull together and there's no real talent there that will pull them through a tough league. I can see them going down at the end of the season. It might even do them good.

[Hero-of-Time]

8 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I fear for Sunderland because I don't see any fight or anything inspiring about them at all. The club lacks any character or personality. There will be a lot riding on them coming straight back up to the Premier League, but I can see them being in the wilderness for a few seasons. There's no willingness for the team to pull together and there's no real talent there that will pull them through a tough league. I can see them going down at the end of the season. It might even do them good.

My mate at work has a season ticket and has said that most fans are being realistic and think that they won't be back up in the Premier League for a while. There's too much that has gone wrong in recent years. Too many managers, awful signings and not much money being pumped back into the club.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Just now, Hero-of-Time said:

My mate at work has a season ticket and has said that most fans are being realistic and think that they won't be back up in the Premier League for a while. There's too much that has gone wrong in recent years. Too many managers, awful signings and not much money being pumped back into the club.

I know it was inevitable, but Jordan Pickford is going to be a big miss. One of the only players of real quality in the squad.

The season should be spent on rebuilding the club. Forget about promotion, just focus on rebuilding. 

[Hero-of-Time]

9 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I know it was inevitable, but Jordan Pickford is going to be a big miss. One of the only players of real quality in the squad.

The season should be spent on rebuilding the club. Forget about promotion, just focus on rebuilding. 

Agreed on both points.

They've lacked stability for too long. They need to stop swapping managers and stabilize the squad.

[Hero-of-Time]

Anyone else watching the Womens Euro final? It's been a cracking match so far. Real end to end football being played.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Yeah, it's been outstanding. I'm rooting for the Netherlands to win!

[Kav]

Community Shield loss on pens... not fussed really.

Pedro with a red though... d'oh!

Edited August 6, 2017 by Kav

[Fierce_LiNk]

Well done to the Netherlands! Definitely the best team throughout the competition, imo.

Denmark played really well and the game was even throughout. Just didn't quite have enough up front to get a third goal. Excellent game and competition. Sad that it's finished!

 

[Sméagol]

Yay!

 

[killthenet]

It was a great final to cap off a really entertaining tournament. I didn't get to watch it properly as my family were round but Netherlands definitely deserved to win the tournament, they were fantastic hosts and were clearly buoyed by the great support they received.

[Julius]

9 hours ago, Kav said:

Community Shield loss on pens... not fussed really.

I'm absolutely fussed, and deeply concerned, by what I saw yesterday from the club. We're aiming to go far in each and every competition, with the additional European matches until at least December in the CL, and yet our squad list is still ridiculously shorter than Arsenal's.

We need a full-back or two, a central midfielder or two, another playmaker, a winger, and at least one more striker at a bare minimum, in my opinion. 

Remy should be on the way out, Costa is on his way out, etc., and it's crazy to me that Matic was allowed to leave for United to join up with Mourinho (who, as my own personal conspiracy goes, only really came back to Chelsea to make us crumble, despite the PL triumph).

The way I see it, we still haven't got around to replacing Lampard with a similar box-to-box midfielder, despite it being a few seasons since he left, who can both play deep and serve us creatively, and Morata is more of a playmaking striker with stylised play than he is a poacher - which we're sorely going to need if we want to be pushing for trophies this year. He doesn't suit our current formation at all, and won't score bags of goals unless the formation is changed accordingly to a 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or a 4-2-3-1. 

I think we should be after Isco and Mario Gomez to fulfil those two roles, personally, and we're already chasing the right names at full-backs (Alex Sandro). I really hope Conte figures out now that his tactics from last season aren't going to work as well this season - whether that be the formation or using practically the same team every game - and gets everyone in that he wants to; I don't want to feel that the board is, once again, to blame for the club's poor performance in a transfer window.

We've still got three and a half weeks to go, but this is probably the most concerned I've been about the state - and size - of the squad since I started supporting Chelsea some 15 years or more ago. 

 

As for Neymar...WOW, I did not see that coming. I don't think anyone did until it was far too late, to be honest, Barça included. People may complain, but the game has been revolving around the El Clasico duo's performance in the Champions League for far too long now, so I welcome the move, no matter how ridiculous that amount of money is. I just hope Barça make the right move in filling the massive gap he's left in their squad in time, and I think Dembele or Dybala would be their best options (even if it means Messi has to move to a more central position).

[Kav]

I agree our squad is short and that we shouldn't have sold Matic... but we've a raft of talented youth we should be using to buff up the squad, these lads are better than plenty of what's on the market but they're just not given the chance.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'm both delighted and amazed that Chelsea have sold Matic to us. We really needed someone whose sole job it was to just sit in front of the back four and do the messy jobs in midfield. A midfield of Matic, Herrera and Pogba looks fantastic to me. We've needed a player like this for years. 

Conte seems to be going for a smaller squad, for sure. It works if your best 11-15 players stay fit for the entire season. I'm not sure if Morata is going to work or not in his system. You could almost argue that both United and Chelsea have got their opposite club's ideal strikers. 

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

So...Liverpool have just rejected a £90million offer for Coutinho. Don't blame them, tbh. If they do accept it, other clubs will just fleece them by demanding stupid offers for their players. Kinda like what's happening to Barcelona now. 

[Hero-of-Time]

My mate just showed me the footage of Lukaku's throw in from the other night. Hilarious stuff.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Apparently Coutinho has handed in a transfer request. Traitor!

[Fierce_LiNk]

Hmm, not sure what to make of that. It would be a major loss for Liverpool and for the Premier League. Obscene amount of money, yet again. The values are fucked.

Hope Liverpool dig their heels in and keep him. Realistically, they'll just get shafted by other clubs when they attempt to sign a replacement for Coutinho. What would have cost £30million a week ago will suddenly cost £50 or even more. Are they going to be able to purchase a better player? Are there better players available in his position?

The United fan in me wouldn't mind Liverpool losing Coutinho one bit. He's essential. The football fan in me hopes that Liverpool hold two fingers up to Barcelona and tell them to go elsewhere. 

[Hero-of-Time]

The issue is that if we do dig our heels in and keep him then there's the possibility that he won't play well because he doesn't want to be at the club.

If we do sell him then we better make it quick. I don't want it left to the last minute and then we restort to a panic buy for a replacement.

Honestly, I hate what this sport has become. The guy just signed a 5 year contract with us at the start of the year and now he wants to leave because some other team is flashing the cash. There's very little loyalty at clubs now and most players are simply mercenaries.

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The issue is that if we do dig our heels in and keep him then there's the possibility that he won't play well because he doesn't want to be at the club.

If we do sell him then we better make it quick. I don't want it left to the last minute and then we restort to a panic buy for a replacement.

Honestly, I hate what this sport has become. The guy just signed a 5 year contract with us at the start of the year and now he wants to leave because some other team is flashing the cash. There's very little loyalty at clubs now and most players are simply mercenaries.

 

If Liverpool/Klopp manage the situation, they can still keep Coutinho and he can still have a positive influence on the team. They would no doubt have to pander to him and the club would have to bring in other top players to show him that Liverpool can succeed and potentially win things. 

If Liverpool do want to move him on, they can make a killing out of him if they hold out for a bit longer. 

This does demonstrate the importance of bringing players into the club early on in the window. Salah is a good signing but Liverpool need more. They need to be attracting bigger names or start challenging for honours if they want to keep their best players. We've managed to fend off Real Madrid's pursuit of De Gea for a while now because the club has been able to bring in big players.