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The 2015-2016 Football Thread

Cech played his part, but Arsenal controlled United's 'better' second half for the most part.

Rooney still off the pace.

Depay seems to come unstuck against the better teams.

United still have work to do in midfield.

Martial was their best player despite feeding off scraps

Plan B of route 1 to Fellaini won't always work. Even more so since teams are becoming aware of it.
 
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A shocking result, in that Arsenal managed to keep a clean sheet against another top four side for an entire half of football while protecting a lead. The Gunners do get up for the big games, and this was at the Emirates, but impressive nonetheless. For the first time in years they have a world-class keeper, that was a factor.

twietee said:
Meh. Bayer Dortmund 5-1 and it's not even over yet.
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Germany desperately needs at least one more perennial contender to break up the monotony.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Germany desperately needs at least one more perennial contender to break up the monotony.
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Money talks. This won't change anymore unless the complete ownership model changes (like in England), which I don't know what to think about anymore.

Regardless, Dortmund still is the best of the rest so will be in the CL next year (super important) and Hertha is playing extremely well so far, which is a bit suprising to me but I won't complain! :D Kalou found his form again too.
 
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Awesome game, shame they don't do that week in week out.

Feel some empathy for Brendan, but anyone could see the inevitable crash coming.

Klopp is probably the better fit since Fenway have already spent a lot of money and probably aren't keen to keep splurging. Plus Klopp has more to prove and is younger

Ancelotti would demand his own kitty and more control, and rightly so, given his record.
 
Rogers was given more time and money than is generally the case these days. On the other hand, the timing seems bad unless they have at least one or two good candidates ready to take the job. If Klopp or Ancelotti are FSG's targets they'd better get the deal done quickly (some rumors claim that Klopp has already agreed to take over). This is no time to be flailing about under an interim manager. I hope they bring someone in within the week.

The defense is ultimately what undid Rogers. I don't mind building play from the back, but at the end of the day Liverpool's defense has just been too unreliable. It cost the team a rare opportunity for a title, and it's the one thing Brendan was never able to sort out.

The transfer committee setup means he can't have been sacked based on a transfer policy that he clearly had only partial control over. He lost some big leaders - Carragher, Gerrard, Reina - and our top talent (Suarez, Sterling) and never got enough games out of Sturridge. None of that is his fault, so while he had his flaws he also faced some big challenges. Many pundits are already citing "his" transfer policy as a reason he was sacked, but they should know better.

Best of luck Brendan - I'm sure people will come calling soon. But whatever you do, don't take that Sunderland job. Maybe Chelsea??? ;)

twietee said:
Money talks. This won't change anymore unless the complete ownership model changes (like in England), which I don't know what to think about anymore.

Regardless, Dortmund still is the best of the rest so will be in the CL next year (super important) and Hertha is playing extremely well so far, which is a bit suprising to me but I won't complain! :D Kalou found his form again too.
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I hope the Bundesliga doesn't become more like the Premier League or La Liga in terms of finances. Maybe letting Bayern rule the roost forever is worth it if it keeps the league from becoming a red-blooded capitalist free-for-all.
 
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Management team handed it to Arsenal plus everything went right for them in the first 30 minutes; like the 8-2. Arsenal must've pissed themselves laughing when they saw the team sheet. On the players; Rooney and Memphis need to be dropped - no cover for the full back, Darmian needs to bulk up and stop charging towards players, and there was no fight in 45 minutes - Ozil and Cazorla came off smiling, they should be the first to go.

Januzaj experienced the German version; looking forward to Arsenal v Bayern .

Depressing news re Rodgers, it was fun while it lasted.

Cheers,
OW
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Rogers was given more time and money than is generally the case these days. On the other hand, the timing seems bad unless they have at least one or two good candidates ready to take the job. If Klopp or Ancelotti are FSG's targets they'd better get the deal done quickly (some rumors claim that Klopp has already agreed to take over). This is no time to be flailing about under an interim manager. I hope they bring someone in within the week.
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i heard Magath is also available. Perhaps sweating blood and crying in the shower would help the Liverpool players to motivate ;)
 
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Loge said:
Actually he spent very little money (net of sales). But he was given a reasonable amount of time.
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True, the net spend was not great, but the success of transfer policies are really about the product on the field - money only becomes a point of debate when teams are losing matches. The problem is, Liverpool are a selling club - and that has nothing to do with Rogers. If Liverpool still had Suarez and Sterling they'd be in the Champions League.

Not to mention if that deal for Willian hadn't been hijacked by Chelsea...
 
During the Vialli/Gullit years the Chelsea team had a certain Franco-Italian je ne sais quoi that even the stench of Denis Wise couldn't mask. A large part of their charm was that they never really threatened to win anything big.

As an institution, however, the club was, is, and always will be completely beyond the pale for any right-thinking person.
 
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Wow, Jurgen Klopp looks all but confirmed to take over the Liverpool job. As a United fan I think this is terrible news because Klopp is a great manager. I don't think his appointment will make too much difference this season (maybe they will get into top 4 in expense of Chelsea), but it is a long-term project and next season they will probably challenge for the title.
 
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Wayne_Rooney_2095902i.jpg
 
Rooney hasn't been any good for 2 seasons now. Yet he seems impervious to Managers. Also still mind boggling that he takes 300 grand home every week.

As for Klopp, it could go really well, or really bad. Depends on how much FSG support. I'd imagine 4 or 5 of Liverpool's first XI shouldn't be in there and he'd want to replace them.
 
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Klopp is a mixed bag, but one thing's for sure - Klopp will be able to attract better players than Rogers, assuming FSG is willing to pay for them. He's a league-winning manager and has taken a team to the champions league final. Hiring him would boost Liverpool's profile.

He has his faults but Liverpool has little to lose. He's also a better choice than Ancelotti in terms of being able to build a contender despite not being the richest club out there.

Speaking of Ancelotti, if Abramovic wants to get Chelsea back on track....
 
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Blatter, Platini and Valke all 'provisionally suspended' for 90 days.

Probably the best football news in years. Let's hope the whole rotten bunch get tossed out on their backsides. This also makes the FA look pretty incompetent/corrupt since they supported Platini.

Of course, the current acting president, Issa Hayatou, is as corrupt (if not more so) than the people he replaces. We are still a long way out from cleaning up FIFA. But maybe, just maybe, we have started down the right path.
 
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***World Cup Qualifiers***

chile 2-0 brazil
ecuador 2-0 argentina
Colombia 2-0 peru

What a crazy and shocking day for World cup Qualifiers.
chile beat brazil, then ecuador beat argentina in argentina
then Colombia did a rare double header goal to beat peru.
 
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pachyderm said:
have i mentioned, lately, how much i hate international breaks?
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It will all have been worth it if England qualify with a P10 W10 record before marching to victory in Stade de France on 10 July next year.



*sniggers*



Events in Belfast, Dublin, and Glasgow were all very exciting last night, in fairness.
 
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