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The 2017-2018 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
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Wilshere signs for West Ham then in a three year deal.
Apparently he used to come to Upton Park as a lad. Who knew?
Anyway good player if (and it's a big if!) he can stay fit. Here's hoping it works out.
Apparently he used to come to Upton Park as a lad. Who knew?
Anyway good player if (and it's a big if!) he can stay fit. Here's hoping it works out.
Staying fit isn't the problem with Wilshere, staying free from injury is.
Still, if all goes well, a good signing.
The four teams left are all teams I like and have been rooting for the entire tournament, so here's where the mixed feelings come into play.
I'm going to watch Belgium / France as a true neutral. Maybe I'd prefer Belgium by a hair since their core players are older and this is probably their last window to accomplish something, whereas most of France's top players are still quite young.
In the other match, I will unabashedly be rooting for England. Croatia will be their toughest test so far, even with all the additional minutes they've had to log. I don't see England's defense packing it in and sitting back like Denmark and Russia did, nor will they be as sloppy and discombobulated as Argentina were. Neutralizing Modric and Rakitic will be a challenge, though much of Croatia's play has gone through the wings and Perisic has not had a great WC.
I'm going to watch Belgium / France as a true neutral. Maybe I'd prefer Belgium by a hair since their core players are older and this is probably their last window to accomplish something, whereas most of France's top players are still quite young.
In the other match, I will unabashedly be rooting for England. Croatia will be their toughest test so far, even with all the additional minutes they've had to log. I don't see England's defense packing it in and sitting back like Denmark and Russia did, nor will they be as sloppy and discombobulated as Argentina were. Neutralizing Modric and Rakitic will be a challenge, though much of Croatia's play has gone through the wings and Perisic has not had a great WC.
I'd prefer to see Belgium beat France and England to beat Croatia (obviously).
Of course I could say I'd rather France win as I'd see it as an easier final. But Belgium v England (without the Fringe players) sounds like a tasty game to me!
hmmm..
I just can't make a call.
BEL is one of the ones I've wanted to do well since the start.
ENG would be another team that I'd personally like to see win...
CRO is riding a sort of Cinderella story... and I have beer riding on it...
And I'm not a fan of the cheese eating surrender monkeys...
I just can't make a call.
BEL is one of the ones I've wanted to do well since the start.
ENG would be another team that I'd personally like to see win...
CRO is riding a sort of Cinderella story... and I have beer riding on it...
And I'm not a fan of the cheese eating surrender monkeys...
Any other Arsenal supporters in here?
Is Ramsey about to be our new Captain? Confused, wouldn't Koscielny automatically take over?
Ramsey seems to be touted as the next Captain, and they are waiting for him to sign a new contract. Not sure why he is stalling. Maybe, like Walcott and Wilshere, he sees himself elsewhere...
Is Ramsey about to be our new Captain? Confused, wouldn't Koscielny automatically take over?
Ramsey seems to be touted as the next Captain, and they are waiting for him to sign a new contract. Not sure why he is stalling. Maybe, like Walcott and Wilshere, he sees himself elsewhere...
I'm an Arsenal supporter, but for now, I am disengaged from the Premier League, - it will take up enough of my time later on, indeed, I try not to get too interested until late September, early October - and paying some small heed to the World Cup.
Re Arsenal, I am more intrigued by how Mr Emery manages to step into the shoes of the legendary Mr Wenger, - this is always going to be difficult to pull off - and I suspect that some of this stuff (a lot of which is hot air to generate interest and newspaper sales at a time of the year when interest in domestic soccer is limited) is - or may be - Emery seeking to impose and imprint his authority on the team, especially the senior players in the team, who will have been used to having been respected and consulted, and were part of "Team Wenger" with an ambiguous loyalty to a new man.
The competition is still wide open, which is exciting.
Having said that, my gut instinct is that the winner of today's semifinal will go all the way. France have not yet displayed their full potential, and Belgium have flaws in defense and can be streaky. But they just about look like the more likely contenders.
England have yet to play anyone who are really good - partially through their decision to not try and win the group, but Croatia are easily the best team they have faced so far. This will be a test. I think they have a couple more gears, so now is the time to shift.
As for the Croats, they looked physically shot at the end of the match against Russia, so they will have to dig deep and their flair players will have to produce special performances. If Croatia do get through, I fear they will be so worn out that they won't be able to really perform in the final.
Having said that, my gut instinct is that the winner of today's semifinal will go all the way. France have not yet displayed their full potential, and Belgium have flaws in defense and can be streaky. But they just about look like the more likely contenders.
England have yet to play anyone who are really good - partially through their decision to not try and win the group, but Croatia are easily the best team they have faced so far. This will be a test. I think they have a couple more gears, so now is the time to shift.
As for the Croats, they looked physically shot at the end of the match against Russia, so they will have to dig deep and their flair players will have to produce special performances. If Croatia do get through, I fear they will be so worn out that they won't be able to really perform in the final.
Croatia biggest problem is it's right wing back - Vrsaljko.
Excellent player, great technique, great dribbling skills, great at offence, great at defence. And really fast player as well.
We have no substitute for Vrsaljko. Literally none. Not even a bad one.
It seems as our DC player Vida will play on right wing, and Corluka will go in as DC. Vida is great as DC, but really bad as defensive winger. Corluka was a great DC/RB player, but he was injured for last 12 months, he is old, and he is slow.
Not looking good at back, and in front Mandzukic will soon run out of power. Or other CF player is already in Croatia, since he had a fight with our manager.
So, if they do manage to pull this off and go to final game, it would be a miracle.
Here's hoping for that miracle to happen
Excellent player, great technique, great dribbling skills, great at offence, great at defence. And really fast player as well.
We have no substitute for Vrsaljko. Literally none. Not even a bad one.
It seems as our DC player Vida will play on right wing, and Corluka will go in as DC. Vida is great as DC, but really bad as defensive winger. Corluka was a great DC/RB player, but he was injured for last 12 months, he is old, and he is slow.
Not looking good at back, and in front Mandzukic will soon run out of power. Or other CF player is already in Croatia, since he had a fight with our manager.
So, if they do manage to pull this off and go to final game, it would be a miracle.
Here's hoping for that miracle to happen
True, England's pace up top will be a major problem for Croatia's back line to deal with. Sterling will get behind them, the question is whether he'll make a good decision once he does so.
Obviously needed another pay day!
Good news for Gareth Bale.
[doublepost=1531246612][/doublepost]Enjoying the football tonight as I don't really care who wins.
Tomorrow I'll not be as neutral!
The first 15 minutes of this match have been played at 100 miles an hour. Let's hope that lasts! So far it looks like this could end up being a ten-goal thriller.
Sterling is not a natural finisher, but he is able to get behind defenses. I think he's a very important player for england - but on national duty he does not get the level of service / passing options available to him at Man City.
Juve are desperate to transfer their domestic dominance to the European stage. However, they do not have the resources that the big financial dopers Real, Barca, Man City and PSG have. They have to try to become a European power on the cheap, so to speak. It will be interesting to see how they can financially support this ambition and how they incorporate Ronaldo into their team from a tactical perspective.
If Ronaldo's presence was a factor in Julen Lopetegui bailing on the Spain job for Real, he's kicking himself now. What goes around comes around.
Sterling is not a natural finisher, but he is able to get behind defenses. I think he's a very important player for england - but on national duty he does not get the level of service / passing options available to him at Man City.
Juve are desperate to transfer their domestic dominance to the European stage. However, they do not have the resources that the big financial dopers Real, Barca, Man City and PSG have. They have to try to become a European power on the cheap, so to speak. It will be interesting to see how they can financially support this ambition and how they incorporate Ronaldo into their team from a tactical perspective.
If Ronaldo's presence was a factor in Julen Lopetegui bailing on the Spain job for Real, he's kicking himself now. What goes around comes around.
Even then, my money would have been on Asterix.
Anyway, going into the final ten minutes, France lead Belgium by a goal to nil.
Who knew Tintin was Keven De Bruyne all along!
France have looked pretty comfortable with the lead. Their midfield really doing the job defensively, with Pogba making most of his contributions there.
France have looked pretty comfortable with the lead. Their midfield really doing the job defensively, with Pogba making most of his contributions there.
Some great play by both sides, but France found yet another gear today and deserved to win, even though Belgium created some great chances, especially early on. Actually both sides suffered from poor finishing today. This game should have had more goals
France are surely looking across to the other side of the draw and licking their chops....Neither England nor Croatia look capable of matching the French for skill and daring.
Oh, and there is no doubt in my mind that Belgium would have stormed the other side of the draw had Januzaj not scored that goal against England.
France's midfield - Pogba, Kante, MBappé, and Griezmann won the midfield battle today, forcing Belgium to attack up the flanks or deploy the odd longball.
France are surely looking across to the other side of the draw and licking their chops....Neither England nor Croatia look capable of matching the French for skill and daring.
Oh, and there is no doubt in my mind that Belgium would have stormed the other side of the draw had Januzaj not scored that goal against England.
France's midfield - Pogba, Kante, MBappé, and Griezmann won the midfield battle today, forcing Belgium to attack up the flanks or deploy the odd longball.
No, but France found that extra smooth gear change when needed.
Both teams were good, - as one would expect at this level - but France was that bit better on the night.
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