So much news.... must discuss.
Obviously Saturday is the UCL Final and the final European game before the World Cup.
In a shock, Arsenal is said to be hiring former PSG coach Unai Emery, which should make for some fun ArsenalFanTV bits. Meanwhile, West Ham is hiring Manuel Pellegrini, and Dortumund is hiring Lucien Favre. Sari rumored to leave Napoli for Chelsea.
World Cup rosters are being announced, with Morata left out of Spain and Nainggolan left out of Belgium, as notables.
Then there is silly season, and all that entails on player movement. Bayern, in particular, will be undergoing some transition.
Have at it.
Also, excited to see if Sarri does move to Chelsea. He plays an excited brand of football and seeing him, Pep, and Klopp every week will be a treat for PL fans.
I just expect Madrid to find a way to win yet another title. With Liverpool's scoring ability, I wouldn't be floored if they found a way to win, but I'm not betting against Madrid.
oh wait...AWWWWW CRAP!
Very curious to see what happens with the Bayern roster. I really think they need to resign Ribery, who has been playing very well despite his age. I do think they have a starting backline all set so are building on a firm foundation.
Hoping big time for Reds' win, but don't see it; roster so thin, are they going to be gassed in 2H and be exposed in their own end?
BHE has a line on and best feel for these manager changes. Wenger was, of course, overdue to be put out to pasture but don't have a sense of the former PSG manager except he would be one in an august line of underperformers.
And Conte? I like his demeanor, the way his teams are disciplined yet aggressive. I think it's a mistake on part of Chelsea.
So, in the absence of USMNT (sorry, superspynyg (>: ) who are our favorites? The favorites or the dogs?
- This Saturday in Kiev will be interesting. Real Madrid is much stronger top to bottom but they can be vulnerable against a team as direct as Liverpool. There are two guys Liverpool should be targeting: Casemiro and Marcelo. Marcelo isn't interested in defending and Casemiro has too much Jermaine Jones in him...too many reckless runs forward that leave his defense completely exposed. These two guys (as well as an overreliance on Neymar) are also big reasons I think Brazil might disappoint in Russia.
Anyway, Real Madrid is still the smart bet. They just don't lose finals. 4-1, 4-2, something like that. But Liverpool will have a window, especially early on. They'd do well to try to emulate what Bayern did at the Bernabeu and start like a house on fire. They just need to finish better than Bayern did...
- Which brings me to Lewandowski. Bayern would do well do sell him this summer and bring in Timo Werner to replace him. Werner is younger, faster, and hungrier. They'd be helping themselves in the Champions League if they sell Lewandowski to Real Madrid; I don't think this guy shows up in big matches.
- Lopetegui did the right thing leaving Morata at home. I'm hopeful he goes with Iago Aspas (who has been on fire for a year) as the starting striker against Portugal. I think a hothead like Diego Costa could become a problem against Portugal, who tend to be more defensive and well drilled in the dark arts. Spain has looked sensational in the run up to the tournament, and word is they are completely locked in and hungry again. They don't need Costa's antics messing up the machine. Let Iniesta, Isco, Silva, et al do their work. There's no one better.
- In MLS RBNY is playing fantastic soccer. Pressing, high energy, movement off the ball is creating a lot of goals. They're great to watch. Word is Tyler Adams is heading to RB Leipzig either this summer or after the season. While I'd be sad to see him go it's indicative of the health of what RBNY is doing to develop talent. They're going to be a major driver of the 2022 USMNT World Cup push. Of all the teams I root for in sports, RBNY is by far the most well run. They've got a machine going.
- I can not believe we're not going to this World Cup. Horrific.
Still, I'm surprised to see Diego Costa chosen over him as he never really seemed to fit Spain well. Maybe the time off will do him well though. I'm hoping Chelsea don't cut ties, as long as he's willing to return. The talent was evident.
Definitely seems like Conte is moving on with Luis Enrique the favorite to replace him. Would love to see Chelsea finally establish some continuity but it's just not how this board does business. Interesting summer ahead, they need to spend to convince Hazard and Courtois to stay without Champions League next season.
Also "third season Mourinho" is without a doubt going to emerge next season. He's shown all the signs of it and he doesn't have the typical second season league title by this point to at least make up for some of the petulance. Things could really blow up at United next season.
Second, I encourage you to check out last week's Golazzo podcast, where James Horncastle interviews a Watford player about his year-long loan at Napoli and the differences btw Italian and English football (BPL and Championship). It's brief, but really reflective of why players should get as much varied experience in Europe as possible.
For the World Cup, I'd be pretty shocked if the winner wasn't Spain or Germany. Brazil maybe, but as Terps pointed about, the Achilles heel is defensively.
Mahrez looks destine for Man City - will be very hard to replace. Names being bandied about include Shaqiri, Elnoyoussi and Thorgen Hazard.
As for the WC, I'm having trouble seeing Germany not making another long run and likely winning it all. They are just so technically sound and consistent.
First on United: Mourinho is part of the problem, but the other part is that the talent is either overrated or doesn't fit the system. Before this season I said Mourinho needed another two years to rebuild the squad. The defense is bad - they need a LB, RB, and at least one elite CB. No idea why they got Alexis unless it was just to get rid of Mkhitaryan. Pogba needs to play like Frank Lampard, which means they need another winger and other midfielder behind him. AND a backup striker. That's a lot of needs.
You know, it's always the same bellyaching from Mourinho - he needs more money for more players to make him look good. When is Mourinho going to start developing players? When is Mourinho going to start developing an attack that is not like watching paint dry?
The guy is just a bad hire anymore. ManUnited really should cut ties and go in a different direction. If history is any indicator of the future, expect ManUnited to struggle this year because most teams do in Mourinho's third year...They just get tired of dealing with his act...
I also wasted an hour recently watching a meaningless late-season PSG matchup and was stunned to see that Kylian Mbappe was just invisible on the field, making no discernable impact. Mbappe's ball skills are preternatural but maybe he doesn't have the personality of a dominant player? I'm mentioning this because of a thread we had last spring where Terps was basically telling me "Mbappe is the next big thing? Yeah, they always say that - let's see him prove it." Point taken. I'm not writing off Mbappe but - way too early - but I want to see him show competitive fire.
Yeah, Neymar to Real has popped-up and there is some chatter ManUnited may have some interest because Neymar apparently likes ManUnited. He chose the wrong league to try to enhance his individual greatness without Messi. Ligue 1 is nice, but it ain't La Liga or, in my view, EPL.
I agree on Benzema. He's had a dreadful year. If Zidane stays, Benzema may be safe because Zidane appears to really like him.
But generally it's a good idea to remember that an 18 year old kid can be unpredictable and easily influenced if things come too fast too soon. I remember being excited when 17 or 18 year old Bojan Krkic elected to play for Spain. Here he is at 27 and he hasn't done anything significant for them, and Sid Lowe just published a great article about Bojan's struggles with anxiety.
France is going to be interesting next month. Even though they got to the Euro 2016 final it never felt like they knew what they wanted to be. It still feels that way...lots of talent, but the whole ends up less than the sum of the parts. Deschamps has not done a great job there.
- Mourinho is not a good manager for a top end club. His commitment to his style just isn't going to work for long in places where hundreds of millions of pounds are spent annually on transfers. He may be at the point of his career where it's time to consider a national team job. He's good at putting together an organized team...Portugal for example would be a handful in a short tournament with him running it.
- Real Madrid would be making a mistake getting involved with Neymar. They have a $600 million Euro debt...adding more for a player who probably isn't as good as advertised and who may not be worth the headache is absurd. Madrid already has the two guys on which the future should be built: Isco and Asensio. Isco is already as good or better than Neymar and Asensio is on his way to developing into the same. Neymar isn't worth it. They'd be better off looking for an upgrade over Casemiro.
I did. But what I saw was just the same pattern since October, especially when they get behind and get desperate. And believe me, one down is desperate for United. ;)
I'm not much of a Lukaku guy. He's good at what he does but I think he's limited. I liked the lineup up front Mourinho went with actually - Rashford, Lingard, and Sanchez. Lots of speed and quality and Sanchez can play with anyone.
But Rashford and Lingard have been beaten down by Mourinho, and have lost PT, so they don't look as confident as they should. So when they get these opportunities I think they press too much trying to do something positive.
And Pogma is now officially Paul Enigma. So getting him to run the midfield with any efficiency is now officially wishful thinking.
Apparently they have their sights on Griezman. If I'm him, Old Trafford is the last place I want to go with the Chosen One still there...
Would be a much better fit for The Griezmann.
As for the WC, I'm having trouble seeing Germany not making another long run and likely winning it all. They are just so technically sound and consistent.
This week's is actually the final one of the season. It's rumored they are going daily for the World Cup, which will be awesome.
Speaking of United and Italy, apparently Darmian is likely gone to Juve for 12M
Not surprised - no USA, no Italy, No Dutch. It's not in a great time zone. FS1 is labeling itself as an El Tri station. It'll be good, especially toward the end, but for the US casual fan there's not much to get excited about.
While polygamy is outlawed in Brazil, O Dia (h/t Dan Gartland of Sports Illustrated) reported civil unions between more than two persons is not uncommon. Ronaldinho, Priscilla Coelho and Beatriz Souza already live together.
EPL better than La Liga? - ( New Window )
John Henry. Please.
John Henry. Please.
Thought that might generate a comment or two from you... ;)
Totally agree on quality counter to Henry's idiocy. He should stick to baseball.
I do think, however, Pep is going to force a lot of teams to rethink their approach. He's going to make City a powerhouse...
Serie A, IMV, has more quality than the EPL.
But you do have to give the EPL credit. They are finding a lot of sources to generate revenue for the league. And it's a very smart partnership between them and NBC to distribute the product in the US.
Thank God for bein.
Quote:
The EPL is prettier and packaged much better, but it's not close as a league. La Liga develops a lot of talent both in terms of players and coaches; the EPL just seems to buy it up from elsewhere and develops little of its own - especially coaches. And head to head it's been no contest. Shit even Sevilla (who was lucky to finish 7th this year in Spain) went into Old Trafford and handed Man U (2nd in EPL) its ass in the Champions League.
John Henry. Please.
Thought that might generate a comment or two from you... ;)
Totally agree on quality counter to Henry's idiocy. He should stick to baseball.
I do think, however, Pep is going to force a lot of teams to rethink their approach. He's going to make City a powerhouse...
Serie A, IMV, has more quality than the EPL.
But you do have to give the EPL credit. They are finding a lot of sources to generate revenue for the league. And it's a very smart partnership between them and NBC to distribute the product in the US.
Thank God for bein.
Disagree on Serie A, even thought it was the most interesting season there in a while. The league itself had a lot of boring games, including those with the top teams, that benefited from fun finishes. That Inter is in the Champions League is proof - they were crap a lot this season.
La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A all suffer from having some really dreadful teams at the bottom of the table. The Bundesliga has Bayern pretty much cruise every year while the Gruener Furth's, Kaiserslauten and Fortuna Dusseldorf get relegated and rotate with the top 3 of Liga 2. And even this year that doesn't hold ans Kaiserslauten will drop to Liga 3 and Furth sucked.
In Serie A, once you get past Fiorentino, there's a lot of bad teams at the bottom.
Same with La Liga. Hell, Girona was mid-table this year.
Isco - love him.
Bale has been in good form lately. Yet, Zidane keeps dialing up Benzema’s number. He really trusts him. And this year, I really don’t know why...
I’m feeling at least five goals in this game..
- As to Marcelo, Roma supposedly was going to target him also (were he and Kimmich on same side?). He may be more interested in the attacking aspect of the game, but I think he is sound, physical, and talented enough that if Zidane tells him to mind his defensive flank, he's certainly capable. I think tactics determine his play.
- Lewandowski looked out of synch and isolated for much of the match.
- agree, Kyle, Chelsea leaned heavily on Morata early on and he responded, looked like a wunderkind, pity for him how the season has gone.
- cosmicj, I did watch most of the FC Final, a good, interesting, tactical match, as once CH took the lead Conte was content to sit back and counterpunch most of the rest of the way, not too dissimilar how CH parried Barça in UEFA SemiFinal years ago. You may be right about substitution questions, but ManU was carrying the play, and creating opportunities, so consistently that Mouriñho maybe didn't want to mess, until the futility and Chelsea's ability to weather the storm demanded change.
- bw, agree re. Kukaku, albeit I think his game has become more complete in the last two years than previously; Pogba looked out of synch and the team not in synch with him--it became all about the box and nothing but the box and his MF threat was not present.
- FMiC, sounds as if you're still taking a lot of the Bundesliga, traveling to League cities as well? Good stuff. Almost a given that Germany and Spain (and France) come out of Group Play: are they in opposing brackets assuming that's the case?
Who did young Del Piero replace from the previous season. Roberto Baggio.
Good for Fulham. Rebuilt the right way.
Imagine what that scum Pepe would have done...
Real downer to this contest...