Football Season 2018/19

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've not done Fantasy Football in years, as I usually get very into it at the start and then drift away towards the end. Tempted to stick with it this time around. Would be great to get the crowd from here into it!

[Kav]

I’ve joined the league, team name being F.C. Kavehlona (Kaveh is pronounced like cava - yes, the drink, haha).

[Fierce_LiNk]

8 minutes ago, Kav said:

I’ve joined the league, team name being F.C. Kavehlona (Kaveh is pronounced like cava - yes, the drink, haha).

Tempted to choose "you're the Juan for me" as a tribute to Juan Mata.

Mo' Mane, Mo Problems. Get a bit of Notorious B.I.G. in there.

Pique Blinders!

Could go self-deprecating with Pathetico Madrid. Hmm. 

[Nicktendo]

On 30.07.2018 at 7:04 PM, Space said:

Love the high press.

By the way, have set up an N-Europe fantasy football league should anyone want to join! The code is:

1151543-375779

If one already has been renewed from previous years please let me know the details.

Joined, thanks.

[Space]

Great, there's 4 teams in the fantasy league now. There's some decent prizes this year, although I will settle for not finishing last. 

Looking forward to the charity shield tomorrow.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'll sign up to it tomorrow. Need to get thinking about the squad! 

Edit: Just checked, Charity/Community Shield is on BT Sport. I miss the days when it was on the BBC. Another reason why the "tv tax" sucks.

[Mandalore]

I was reading this BBC article about Premier League title defences earlier, adds to a pretty exciting season. City haven't spent anywhere near as much as their rivals, I wonder if Guardiola can keep them motivated. 60m for their record signing also sounds very little by modern standards, I would've thought at least a few of their star players set them back more than that.

My not very sensible predictions:

Top 4

1. Liverpool

2. Manchester City

3. Tottenham

4. Arsenal

 

Bottom 3

18. Fulham

19. Southampton

20. Watford

 

FA Cup: Liverpool

League Cup: Wolves

Champions League: Tottenham

[Kav]

City were a good couple levels above us yesterday. So many of our players looking lethargic and not wanting to press or track back.

Why we played Fabregas when he was half-injured I don’t know.

Morata doesn’t look like he’ll ever score again at the moment - might as well play with 10 men.

Alonso doesn’t suit a back 4 at all... especially one with Luiz in it, as he doesn’t suit a back 4 either - as we all know!

The one positive was Hudson-Odoi still looking good. He was the only player of ours that took the game to City.

 

I wonder how Sarri’s “talks” will go today with both Hazard & Courtois. I’m expecting Hazard to stay but Courtois to go.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Apparently Courtois has gone AWOL to try and force through a move to Madrid.  

[Emerald Emblem]

3 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Apparently Courtois has gone AWOL to try and force through a move to Madrid.  

And if he does go, then Jack Butland is Chelsea's top replacement.

[Kav]

3 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Apparently Courtois has gone AWOL to try and force through a move to Madrid.  

At this point I’d say don’t sell him but don’t play him at all.

Let him go without football for a year and then let him go free.

It’s one thing wanting to go but completely another to not even turn up!

[Hero-of-Time]

Amazing impression of Rafa.  

Speaking of the Toon...

Quote

Newcastle United players are refusing to co-operate with the media in a dispute with the club over bonuses.

Players did not make themselves available to rights holders on Monday for 'walk-up shots' which are used by TV companies when showing starting line-ups before matches.

And the Magpies squad refused to carry out post-match interviews after two recent pre-season friendly defeats.

Newcastle start their Premier League campaign at home to Spurs on Saturday.

Players declined to speak after last Saturday's 1-0 home loss to FC Augsburg and the 4-0 hammering at Braga on Wednesday.

It is understood they have failed to reach agreement with club owner Mike Ashley over performance-related bonuses.

After the Braga defeat, Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez said the club's fans "need to be concerned".

"Things are not going well off the pitch and you can see a reflection of that on the pitch," he said.

Players have indicated the dispute is with the club and is "nothing personal" towards the media.

I can see them struggling this season. They've pretty much done zero business in the window, they've looked rough in pre-season and there seems to be unrest in the club and with the supporters. That's before the season has even kicked off!  I wouldn't be surprised to see Rafa walk by January if things don't sort themselves out.

[Julius]

10 hours ago, Emerald Emblem said:

And if he does go, then Jack Butland is Chelsea's top replacement.

Rumours with similar levels of credibility state that we’re also after Oblak, Pickford and Arrizabalaga, so it would seem that we’ve got our hands in a lot of different pots right now in an attempt to resolve this.

Courtois’ manner is completely unprofessional, but is it really that surprising, given his history? He went AWOL to force a move through to Chelsea in the first place (which included his consequent loan to Atlético), and forced Čech out of the squad by delivering an ultimatum for first team football. Also read earlier about Willian’s falling out with Conte, which, according to his words, had nothing to do with Conte being a bit of a, uh, “character”; it had to do with Willian not understanding why he would be substituted in games in Conte’s second season, which shouldn’t be surprising given how shallow our team was last season. Why he didn’t just ask Conte about this I don’t know...Willian’s coming off as a bit of a petulant child in light of this. 

Like I said in the build-up to last season: WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY ZERO DEPTH. Sarri’s style of play is just as intense as Conte’s (at least in his first season with us), and, besides Jorginho, we haven’t added any players that both suit the system of play that we’re now going for and could slot into the first team. All for youth giving us depth, but our starting XI is a bit of a hot mess right now.

I’m in agreement with @Kav about certain players of ours not suiting a back four, and with Sarri taking a backseat on our transfer business (officially being our “head coach” as opposed to a typical “first team manager”), it seems that our transfers team hasn’t taken the initiative to even go about trying to sign players that would actually be more suited to a back four. 

I’m somewhat perturbed going into the last few days of the transfer window at how little business we’ve done this summer, and I’m very pessimistic about our chances of obtaining silverware by the end of the season (heck, I’m not even confident about our ability to secure a Champions League place) because of our lack of squad depth. I just hope that in the event that we end up with no trophies that Sarri is given time and patience by the board, in a similar fashion to how Guardiola was treated but City after his first trophyless season there. 

[Fierce_LiNk]

10 hours ago, Emerald Emblem said:

And if he does go, then Jack Butland is Chelsea's top replacement.

He would do a great job at Chelsea, imo. He really should be playing Premier League football, but it would be harsh on Stoke due to the imminent closure of the transfer window. They must have anticipated that this would happen, though.

 

10 hours ago, Kav said:

At this point I’d say don’t sell him but don’t play him at all.

Let him go without football for a year and then let him go free.

It’s one thing wanting to go but completely another to not even turn up!

Ooooh, the cold shoulder treatment.  

Chelsea won't do that because it doesn't make good business sense. They gain nothing from it because they will lose money due to the player going for free and would also be deprived of his services if he was still at the club but snubbed. Also, it wouldn't be great for team morale and would just put an unpleasant cloud above the dressing room. If it were a lesser or more replaceable outfield player, then I think they'd do that. But, a goalkeeper, such a specialised position. 

 

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Amazing impression of Rafa.  

Speaking of the Toon...

I can see them struggling this season. They've pretty much done zero business in the window, they've looked rough in pre-season and there seems to be unrest in the club and with the supporters. That's before the season has even kicked off!  I wouldn't be surprised to see Rafa walk by January if things don't sort themselves out.

The bit about his wages got me. Brilliant. 

I always find it a bit nuts when a manager reveals that things are a bit shit behind the scenes. It's uncomfortable to listen to and I sometimes wonder if certain things are better kept behind closed doors. But, if the problem is down to the ownership of the club and funds, then what can you do? This has been a problem for so many years. Mike Ashley will only move on when a buyer approaches him with what he deems as a "reasonable offer" or if the club suddenly start haemorrhaging money. Rafa will move on at some point this season and there will be no shortage of clubs who will come in for him. Not sure he'd get a job at a Top 6 club these days, but definitely a Premier League or La Liga option. 

[Julius]

Kovacic going to be loaned out for a year to Chelsea, according to Marca. Not the most reliable of sources, but Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic would be an excellent three-man midfield. 

UPDATE: a more reliable source is saying that a Kovacic deal is close, and we’re also in for Fekir at around £50m. Seems like we’ve only just realised that the transfer window is still open...

Edited August 10, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[bob]

That Fantasy website is trash. The search function for finding players is terrible. You can't search through first names, only surnames. You can't sort them alphabetically for some reason. And Rob Green doesn't appear to be in it?

 

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

Courtois didn't turn up for training, again! What a knob! 

It also looks like Chelsea have lined up his replacement, but it's not going to be Butland. They're apparently in advanced talks with Athletic Bilbao's Kepa Arrizabalaga, for £71.6m. Crazy money! 

[Mandalore]

Not bothering to turn up to a ridiculously well paid job, to get a transfer to an even more ridiculously well paid job. And he's probably earning more from one day of skiving than I'd earn in a few years of hard work. Sometimes I really despise football.

[Emerald Emblem]

So Kepa has bought himself out of his contract, with Chelsea providing him the money to do so. So he will join as a free agent but Chelsea still paid for it. Very weird and I wonder why this is better than just meeting his release clause.

[Fierce_LiNk]

16 hours ago, Mandalore said:

Not bothering to turn up to a ridiculously well paid job, to get a transfer to an even more ridiculously well paid job. And he's probably earning more from one day of skiving than I'd earn in a few years of hard work. Sometimes I really despise football.

It just outlines the differences between our world and theirs. I do respect that footballers have feelings and desires (just like any other human being), especially if there's family involved in another country. But, I think any criticism towards Courtois in this case is completely warranted. It's just not the decent thing to do. I can't remember who it was exactly, but I read this thought-provoking article once about the things that footballers would do to secure a move out of the club. E.g. they'd start fights with team-mates on purpose in the hope that the manager would then want to move them on, that kinda thing. Not turning up to training was one of the things mentioned and I wonder just how often this sort of thing happens in this industry. 

24 minutes ago, Emerald Emblem said:

So Kepa has bought himself out of his contract, with Chelsea providing him the money to do so. So he will join as a free agent but Chelsea still paid for it. Very weird and I wonder why this is better than just meeting his release clause.

Maybe it speeds things along in some sort of way? I'm trying to find some logic in that and I'm sure that there will be a reason there...somewhere.

Hey, I guess all of this means that David De Gea will stop being linked to Real Madrid now. Yaaaay. Result!  

 

EDIT: @Emerald Emblem, just copied this from the BBC website:

Quote

In Spain a player must buy himself out of his contract.

This is usually done by depositing the amount of the buyout clause with La Liga - Spain's equivalent of the Premier League - to release the player from his contract. The league then passes the money to the selling club.

 

[Julius]

34 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

EDIT: @Emerald Emblem, just copied this from the BBC website:

Worth mentioning that this is how Neymar forced through his move to PSG last summer.

Kepa is going to be an excellent signing for us. Sarri has apparently spent the last month or so studying replacements for Courtois, and has just spent the last ten days alone watching footage of Kepa, apparently even describing him as the “perfect modern goalkeeper”. It’s very important to remember that a very specific type of goalkeeper is needed for the type of game that he and Pep go for. Apparently Pepe Reina put in a good word for Kepa to move to the Premier League with Chelsea and Sarri too, putting one final shift in for his former manager. 

Elsewhere for us, there are still talks of us wanting Fekir, and Kovacic’s loan move - despite recent rumours suggesting otherwise - will include a buyout clause, and the deal is reportedly on the verge of completion. I still feel that our squad requires much more depth, but hopefully this is enough for now to help Sarri to qualify for the Champions League next season, which I assume would push us to add that much-needed depth to the squad. 

Modric still wants to leave Madrid for Inter - who wouldn’t after both the manager and star player have left? - so I have to wonder what Madrid will do in the event that both of their Croatian midfield maestros leave the club. Bayern’s Jeremy Boateng has notably turned down Mourinho’s advances. 

And, last but not least, Pogba and Raiola are reportedly attempting to force a move through to Barça, but United’s stance remains the same at this point. 

Not much time for PL clubs left now. Should be a fun 24 hours or so  

Edited August 8, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[Fierce_LiNk]

4 hours ago, Julius Caesar said:

Worth mentioning that this is how Neymar forced through his move to PSG last summer.

Kepa is going to be an excellent signing for us. Sarri has apparently spent the last month or so studying replacements for Courtois, and has just spent the last ten days alone watching footage of Kepa, apparently even describing him as the “perfect modern goalkeeper”. It’s very important to remember that a very specific type of goalkeeper is needed for the type of game that he and Pep go for. Apparently Pepe Reina put in a good word for Kepa to move to the Premier League with Chelsea and Sarri too, putting one final shift in for his former manager. 

Elsewhere for us, there are still talks of us wanting Fekir, and Kovacic’s loan move - despite recent rumours suggesting otherwise - will include a buyout clause, and the deal is reportedly on the verge of completion. I still feel that our squad requires much more depth, but hopefully this is enough for now to help Sarri to qualify for the Champions League next season, which I assume would push us to add that much-needed depth to the squad. 

Modric still wants to leave Madrid for Inter - who wouldn’t after both the manager and star player have left? - so I have to wonder what Madrid will do in the event that both of their Croatian midfield maestros leave the club. Bayern’s Jeremy Boateng has notably turned down Mourinho’s advances. 

And, last but not least, Pogba and Raiola are reportedly attempting to force a move through to Barça, but United’s stance remains the same at this point. 

Not much time for PL clubs left now. Should be a fun 24 hours or so  

Yeah, I didn't realise that this was how all Spanish transfers were conducted. (Unless I did already know in the past, but have forgotten) 

Raiola is an absolute shitbag and the Barcelona offer was a piss-take. No way were we ever going to accept THAT deal. 

[Julius]

27 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Raiola is an absolute shitbag and the Barcelona offer was a piss-take. No way were we ever going to accept THAT deal. 

He really is, but it’s becoming clear after how he was being shopped around in January, and now this transfer window, that Pogba isn’t at all interested in sticking around at United. Raiola at the end of the day is Pogba’s agent, and he needs Pogba a lot more than Pogba needs him, so I very much doubt that he was shopping Pogba around without his permission. 

From what I’ve read there was little credibility to Barça’s offer, but even if there was some truth to it, I would just think that they’re trying to stay in-line with FFP and get rid of the deadweight in their team, as opposed to pulling an Arsenal-Suarez type of thing. 

Kovacic having his medical now. I think we’ll be saving our other business (probably another look at our defence and striking options) next summer. Still a bit light on numbers considering how many games we might just end up playing this year, and options are always needed when trying to implement a new, high-intensity system of play. But otherwise, happy with our business this summer if Jorginho, Kepa and Kovacic is to be it, even if we did leave it to the last second. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[Fierce_LiNk]

9 minutes ago, Julius Caesar said:

He really is, but it’s becoming clear after how he was being shopped around in January, and now this transfer window, that Pogba isn’t at all interested in sticking around at United. Raiola at the end of the day is Pogba’s agent, and he needs Pogba a lot more than Pogba needs him, so I very much doubt that he was shopping Pogba around without his permission. 

From what I’ve read there was little credibility to Barça’s offer, but even if there was, I think they’re trying to stay in-line with FFP as opposed to pulling an Arsenal-Suarez offer. 

Pogba hasn't really endeared himself to many United fans, but I think he's being given a lot of leeway because Mourinho is taking a lot of the criticism. E.g. that Mourinho is hampering Pogba's game. 

Imo, both are at fault. I think Pogba is a fantastic player, but it's not always shown on the pitch. Too often he can drift in and out of games and he can be such a liability defensively. The issue as well is that Mourinho's teams focus on being defensively solid, so we're instantly playing to Pogba's weakness and not his strength. I think under Sir Alex, we'd be seeing a completely different and better player at the club, probably happier, too. (I know that he was the one to let him go, but that's down to his first team opportunities being limited due to who we had at the time) Unfortunately, I think Pogba would be playing a lot better at City than he is at our club, which is a tough one to accept. Just down to the way that they play and the quality that they have in midfield and in attack, as well as a manager that allows them to play attacking football.

In short, play attacking football, and everyone is happy. There's a strong argument now that the reason we haven't bought many players this Summer is due to the club accepting that, either at some point this season or next Summer, Mourinho will be off. So, we'll no doubt be rebuilding again. 

[Happenstance]

Speaking of Mourinho, what have you thought of his attitude this summer @Fierce_LiNk?