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Football Season 2019-20

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1 hour ago, Nicktendo said:

16 years. Half my life. Excuse the crying.

WE’RE BACK. 

Please tell me you're a Wycombe fan.

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Cool to see Leeds back in the Premier League.

Does anyone here watch any football related YouTube channels? I quite like the ESPN FC team and the analysis videos on Tifo Football. I'm sure there must be some other good channels out there, YouTube's recommendations aren't the best though.

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2 hours ago, Mandalore said:

Cool to see Leeds back in the Premier League.

Does anyone here watch any football related YouTube channels? I quite like the ESPN FC team and the analysis videos on Tifo Football. I'm sure there must be some other good channels out there, YouTube's recommendations aren't the best though.

Depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for general discussion on the talking points of the day then anything ESPN, BT or sky put out will fill that gap. But if you wanted substantial analysis then you have to go back to the podcasts, as everything on YouTube is a bit too sensationlist. 

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Feels really strange that Leeds are going to be back in the top flight, historically they're practically an ever present in the top division so the league should only be enhanced by their presence.

Last night's result was good news for Villa and Bournemouth although it looks very unlikely that both will be able to avoid the drop, West Ham and Brighton's goal difference is so much better that even if they clawed back the 6 point gap it would take a massive swing on  the goal difference to overtake them.

Given their last two matches are exceptionally difficult I think Watford will be very lucky to survive. Effectively Villa or Bournemouth could stay up by losing one and winning another, Watford's goal difference will surely take a hit against City midweek. I think Villa can get something against Arsenal on Tuesday, a win would be incredible but a point could be massive. Bournemouth will feel much more optimistic of their chances though, they can absolutely win both of their remaining games. It could all come down to goal difference though, I'm not sure my nerves will be able to take it being so close but at least we have a chance to stay up. I just hope we go into the West Ham game with something to play for.

 

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Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Watford have sacked Nigel Pearson with 2 games remaining. 

This relegation battle just got serious.

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Troy Deeney player manager? One can dream. 

Gutted for Bournemouth, that was hard to watch. One nil down and Ramsdale saves a penalty to prevent it being 2. Some youngster levels the game in the 3rd minute of injury time, they celebrate wildly but it's ruled out for offside after a torturous VAR review (I hate VAR). Then Southampton go up the other end and score a winner with the last kick of the game. I think they're gone now. Does Howe stay with them?

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Harsh on Bournemouth but a very lucky turn of events for Villa though. Any sort of a result against Arsenal could be massive now, we could even sneak out of the relegation zone before the final day with a win but it really could all come down to goal difference.

It's a very foreign feeling to be (potentially) going into the final day with survival in the balance. Despite flirting with relegation for a few years before we finally went down we were never really too deep into a relegation scrap - the closest was under McLiesh when we were in danger on points but our goal difference was far superior so had nothing to worry about. Having hope for survival only makes me more afraid for the possibility of relegation though, it'll feel like such a gut punch if we don't stay up.

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Manchester United played as bad as they have done for years today, everyone on the pitch was well below par - especially de Gea who could have done better with all three goals, especially the second. I hate to say it, since he has been so good for so long, but I wouldn't be too sad to see him moved on in the summer whilst we can still get a bit of money for him! The irony is that if we had stuck with our cup keeper then it might have been a different story - de Gea conceded three times as many today than Romero did for the previous four games of the cup run.

Also, whilst I don't want to use it as an excuse the fact that one team had 48 hours more rest/preparation time before such a vital game is outrageous and something that should never happen. It may not have made a difference as the manager picked the wrong system, but was that in part due to the lack of time between games? Either way every Chelsea player knew their role today and applied it without fault, they were by far the better team.

At least Spurs beat Leicester, shame they couldn't score a fourth though which would have seen United move up to fourth place without even playing :heh: Hopefully United don't dwell on this, two more wins in the league could even be good enough for third if Chelsea don't beat Liverpool.

Edited by Eddage
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You could definitely tell that one team had more time to rest than the other. We looked knackered in the last game against Palace and this was worse. Chelsea played better than us, for sure, but I do think we should have rotated a few more of our players. It's backfired because Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Pogba, Fernandes, Matic, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire and Lindelöf all ended up playing...and we still lost the game. So, we didn't get a result and we now have further tired players who didn't get a rest going into the next game.

Ole made a mess of it. I didn't mind the starting lineup too much, although playing Fernandes when he could barely stand after Palace was idiotic. The formation and tactics killed us, and Chelsea pressed us very high up and we couldn't deal with it. They deserve the win, although I think Arsenal will win the final.

De Gea shouldn't have played the game for many reasons. Romero has been the keeper for the FA Cup games, so he should've played. De Gea is also off form and has played lots of other matches, so he could have and should have been rested with Romero playing in this game. 

Football is a squad game these days and Ole needs to be better with using that squad more productively. Glad that James came in as he does need opportunities, but Ighalo for certain should have started yesterday. What's the point in having Mata if we're also not going to play him in one-off games like this, either? He got a few things right yesterday but tons of things wrong for me. Hated the formation and the change in tactics as we just gave too much of the midfield to Chelsea. But, the errors that we made were crap and avoidable. Every mistake that we made, Chelsea picked up on it and fully deserved their win. They have a good squad and Lampard has got them playing good football. Deserve to get to the final and totally outplayed us on this specific day.

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Massive result for Villa earlier, it got pretty nervy towards the end (I was pretty nervy throughout to be honest) but we managed to keep a clean sheet and we absolutely deserved to get the win. I had jokingly suggested to my brother's on Sunday that we could climb out of the relegation zone if we beat Arsenal and City got a handsome victory against Watford - I never actually expected it to pan out that way though. 

Still pretty nervous about Sunday, hopefully Arsenal turn up and do a number on Watford but at least it's pretty much in our hands now - we know that, short of a spectacular scoreline for Watford against Arsenal, a win against West Ham will be enough to keep us in the Premier League. 

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It was pretty tense at times today, especially when it was 0 - 0 and Bournemouth were winning, but we managed to get the point in the end. Staying up could be huge for Villa going forward, if we can push on next season and hold onto the likes of Grealish, Mings, McGinn and Luiz then I think we have the potential to do very well. We've certainly looked more solid defensively since the restart but could still do with tightening up, it definitely took some players time to bed in too and the squad seems more settled now which can only be a good thing.

Feel bad for Eddie Howe and Bournemouth though, hopefully they don't panic and sack him - he's more than capable of bringing them straight back up, he had no right keeping them a mid-table Premier League team for so long in the first place. This transfer window is going to be very interesting, clubs will be without match day income for a while so they're going to be much more picky about where they spend their transfer budgets - I can't imagine Villa spending another £100m this time around.

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On 08/08/2019 at 4:04 PM, Kav said:

With the Transfer Ban it’s a write-off season for us. Not expecting anything but still wouldn’t be surprised if we made top 4, neither would I be if we were just top 7.

Our First XI is definitely weaker than last season, but our Squad on the whole is probably better with some loanees returning.

Top 4 achieved and the FA Cup Final next week, could turn out to be an amazing job by Frank!

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We didn't play well, but got the result that we needed to get that top 4 position. Delighted with our run since the restart, even though our performances have got weaker and haven't been great for a few weeks now. We haven't rotated the squad as well as we should have, mostly down to there being a sketchy sort of quality beyond the first 11. Hope we get some decent additions in the Summer!

Overall, being in the Champions League next season is important, so I'm happy with how we have finished the season. Before Christmas, the performances weren't great and we didn't look anywhere near good enough to get into the top 4. Bringing in Fernandes has been a great move and I hope we can secure a few others in a similar mould to him.

I'm gutted for Bournemouth. I would have preferred Bournemouth and Villa to stay up, but it's a shame that it ultimately came down to the two of them plus Watford. They weren't far off survival, but ultimately the form has taken a nosedive and only picked up in recent weeks. They ran out of games. Sad for them, but I think they'll be able to reappear again in the Premier League after a season or two in the Championship. I hope that Eddie Howe sticks with the club and that they stick with him. They need to add more attacking threat to the side, as they've struggled for goals this season, although it's picked up in recent weeks. Harsh, because they play good football, but the goals dried up. Well done to Villa for surviving!

I don't feel bad for Watford at all. Stupid move sacking their manager and their recent results sucked them right into it. The end of season fixture list didn't help, but they were really the team that had survival in their own hands and then threw it away. 

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‪We were so flat today, other than the opening 20mins... the Ref today was awful, gave everything to Arsenal and nothing to us - Kovacic should never have been sent off... but saying all that, Arsenal did deserve the win.‬

‪Bring on next season!

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3 hours ago, Kav said:

‪We were so flat today, other than the opening 20mins... the Ref today was awful, gave everything to Arsenal and nothing to us - Kovacic should never have been sent off... but saying all that, Arsenal did deserve the win.‬

‪Bring on next season!

Yep, we gave a pretty average performance, and Arsenal deserved it. And after this season, it's really hard for me to be optimistic about our chances against Bayern.

It's just been such an inconsistent season for us, and even with the great signings we're making, the short gap between the end of this season and the start of the next (which feels rushed, but oh well) doesn't give us much time to iron out our weaknesses, but at the very least I hope we strengthen our defence a bit. 

Looking forward to the Champions League being back, at any rate. Fully expecting it to feel like a cross between the World Cup or Euro's - in that you only have to turn up for a couple of weeks to win it now, and basically it's anyone's guess as to who could win from the quarter finals - and a pre-season tournament. I'm fully expecting to see some bizarre scorelines, should be a good watch! 

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Completely forgot about Euro Leauge and Champions League starting again.
Only one German team left in the Euro League :(

Looking forward to watching some football tonight and of course tomorrow, when it's Bayern München's turn again :peace:

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6 hours ago, drahkon said:

Completely forgot about Euro Leauge and Champions League starting again.
Only one German team left in the Euro League :(

Looking forward to watching some football tonight and of course tomorrow, when it's Bayern München's turn again :peace:

Leverkusen actually have a decent chance don't they? Looking forward to seeing Havertz, want to know what all the fuss is about.

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5 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

Leverkusen actually have a decent chance don't they?

No idea, to be honest. I haven't really followed Euro League that much. But they do play some great football at times.

5 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

Looking forward to seeing Havertz, want to know what all the fuss is about.

Personally I think he's a little overrated right now. He's a great player, don't get me wrong, but he's not at that level, yet. Surely has the talent to become a world star, though. :)

Edited by drahkon
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Wow, what a ridiculous penalty for Juve.
The first one (the one for Lyon) was such a brilliant call but come on...how did VAR not interfere on the second penalty.

Well...gonna be an interesting second half for sure.

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Solid result for City, Varane's mistakes cost Real big time, but I'm surprised City didn't capitalise more with how many chances Madrid were throwing their way. From watching the match I thought that Varane's errors felt less like nerves without Ramos around, and stem more from Militao's shakiness. They were hitting their stride going into half-time, but Madrid came out of the tunnel completely lacking that edge and desire, which was a real shame, especially when compared with their form going into this game. Can't fault Zidane since he's returned though, I think it's astounding that he managed to win La Liga with the weakest Real Madrid team in a long time. 

Something I can't go without mentioning are De Bruyne's two efforts from the corner flag. Clearly trying to unnerve Courtois and draw him in, but looking at how aggressive he was every single time the goal was in his sights, I think it's still safe to say he's not friends with the big guy. And I couldn't blame him. 

Pleasantly surprised by Lyon getting through, of course would have loved to see Ronaldo against this City team in the quarters, but there was a clearly more consistent team across those two legs. 

Really not looking forward to tomorrow for us. This return to Munich is lining up to be really bittersweet. And of course I would love to see Messi produce some magic against Napoli :bowdown:

Edited by Julius
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20 hours ago, Julius said:

, I think it's still safe to say he's not friends with the big guy. And I couldn't blame him. 

Why is that? What's the story here?

Great post btw

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30 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

Why is that? What's the story here?

Great post btw

Basically Courtois threatened the foundation of Belgium's golden generation by sleeping with Dr Bruyne's girlfriend at the time, this was back in 2013 or thereabouts. According to Dr Bruyne's autobiography, the national team manager Marc Wilmots actually asked De Bruyne if Courtois could stay on the team, I'm sure because he was probably aware that making the decision himself might have brought about some unwanted toxicity in the dressing room.

Quote

Although I still can not believe what Courtois has done, we continue to work together professionally. The coach asked me if he should leave the team. I do not think I had the right to say that he can not play for the national team anymore because he did something wrong. Of course he remains a good goalkeeper. So I said he could stay. 

They've been somewhat cold to one another since. I think it's really interesting watching their general body language towards one another when they share the pitch: last night De Bruyne looked a bit more aggressive in going for goal compared to how I usually feel he plays, and in the World Cup they generally kept their distance. Don't think I've seen them share many words on camera. 

I think De Bruyne's ex-girlfriend came out a year or so after and said he was actually cheating on her with her best friend at the time, which is why she cheated on him with Courtois? Which I guess is a very roundabout way of saying that she definitely cheated on him, and De Bruyne might have cheated on her - not taking sides here of course, but as they say, no better defence than a good offence, wouldn't be surprised if it's just a lot of mindless finger pointing. Definitely wish the situation wasn't as public as it was because I think it was handled very immaturely, but guess you can say that for half of the news stories popping up these days ::shrug:

Personally not the biggest fan of Courtois in any case, though that's less to do with this and more to do with his attitude as time went on after he returned to Chelsea from Atlético. Felt he deserved his poor first season form at Real, but I'm glad he's turned things around since. 

Anyways, looking forward to tonight! Still have little faith we can turn it around after our injuries and Bayern's recent form, but I hope we'll at least try to get a positive result out of this. 

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Well, this has started much worse than I could have predicted. 2-0 down 25 minutes in, and no sign that we've got anything to even try biting back. Don't get me wrong, Bayern are playing great, but we're so sloppy. 

Swapping over to the Barça game for a bit...

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