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The 2017-2018 Football Thread

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Apple fanboy said:
CL or PL trophies count.
FA cups or League cups don't tbh. Not for the big clubs.

It's hard to say what will happen next year. If Real Madrid or Barcelona come a calling for Pep who knows? Same for their star players.
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The FA Cup is a reasonable stopgap trophy for clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal or Spurs who haven't won the league in a long time. But for the clubs at the top of the financial pyramid (the Manchester duo and Chelsea) it's really not good enough.

I would be shocked if Pep ever went to Real. There is simply too much political baggage there. Real and their fans have said some pretty nasty things about Pep...and he is Catalan. Not going to happen.

I think Man City could put together a run of titles if they can keep the band together, and the Sheikh remains willing to spend.

Scepticalscribe said:
Besides, while he doesn't have insane resources at his disposal - (witness the fact that - despite their wealth - City weren't prepared to pay the astronomical sums demanded by Sanchez), he does have decent ones to call upon.
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Pep worked with Sanchez before, and the relationship was professional but not warm. I think the club would have backed Pep if he really wanted Sanchez, but at that price, and with Sanchez sulking badly, Pep may have decided it was a high-risk, low-reward buy. Let Mou take the risk...

At the moment Mourinho is bringing in some needed talent, but paying way over the odds for it, and the success rate with transfers is not terribly high. Even Man Utd can't afford to do that forever.
 
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I dunno...considering City conceded 3 goals to a lower division team means they’re not exactly invincible. Overwhelming favourites but cup finals are specialists in twists/turns
 
This is bigger news than some might think...it may be Wenger's last chance to end his tenure at Arsenal on a high note.

Though, does anyone really want to win a "Carabao Cup"?
 
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Wenger will see out his contract at the minimum...probably even extend it.

Carabao cup still goes in the record book no matter how flimsy. Mou certainly counted/touted it when he won.

In other news, Madrid are dumped out of the copa possibly signalling the end of Zizou's reign
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
This is bigger news than some might think...it may be Wenger's last chance to end his tenure at Arsenal on a high note.

Though, does anyone really want to win a "Carabao Cup"?
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Sounds like some sort of moose!
Personally I always refer to it as the league cup. Then it doesn't matter who this seasons sponsor is.

Winning the league cup? Well I think the FA cup might be more fitting as a trophy. But yes it could be last chance saloon for him.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
This is bigger news than some might think...it may be Wenger's last chance to end his tenure at Arsenal on a high note.

Though, does anyone really want to win a "Carabao Cup"?
Click to expand...

Alphazoid said:
Wenger will see out his contract at the minimum...probably even extend it.

Carabao cup still goes in the record book no matter how flimsy. Mou certainly counted/touted it when he won.

In other news, Madrid are dumped out of the copa possibly signalling the end of Zizou's reign
Click to expand...

Apple fanboy said:
Sounds like some sort of moose!
Personally I always refer to it as the league cup. Then it doesn't matter who this seasons sponsor is.

Winning the league cup? Well I think the FA cup might be more fitting as a trophy. But yes it could be last chance saloon for him.
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A cup is a cup is a cup; it goes into the record books.

And a win is a win is a win.

And, though I personally would still also prefer to hear it still described as "The League Cup", it is a trophy that has eluded Mr Wenger to date; I imagine that he would be more than pleased to win it.

And no, I don't think "it is last chance saloon" for him; I agree with @Alphazoid: I think Wenger will see out his contract at a minimum, perhaps even extend it.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
A cup is a cup is a cup; it goes into the record books.

And a win is a win is a win.

And, though I personally would still also prefer to hear it still described as "The League Cup", it is a trophy that has eluded Mr Wenger to date; I imagine that he would be more than pleased to win it.

And no, I don't think "it is last chance saloon" for him; I agree with @Alphazoid: I think Wenger will see out his contract at a minimum, perhaps even extend it.
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Some of your spittle-flecked friends on Arsenal FanTV seem rather less charitable. ;)
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
And indeed, Sanchez's choice - money and lifestyle - with United - rather than a footballing legacy (with City) - is telling.
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It's insane how the narrative has flipped over just a few short years. United are the money-grubbers and City are the football romanticists!? It's a Fox News-worthy spin job IMHO. With Jesus getting back to fitness sooner than expected, there were simply far fewer minutes available for Alexis at City than there are at United. City would rather splash the cash on another defender.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Some of your spittle-flecked friends on Arsenal FanTV seem rather less charitable. ;)
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Not my friends, not my friends. But yes, 'spittle-flecked' alas describes them all too accurately.

But, yes, that is the lamentable mindset of some, unfortunately. They will look back on the time Mr Wenger was in charge - much as United do (or will do) when considering Ferguson's legacy - as some sort of golden age.

As a child, reading about the history of Arsenal, (yes, as a child I endlessly read history - even about soccer clubs) I recall being amazed at their dominance in the 30s, under Herbert Chapman. Naturally, one wondered....whether such legendary glory days would ever make a semi-regular reappearance.

And later, much later - I was already a teacher by then - I remember reading Nick Hornby's book (Fever Pitch) with fascination. Not just about Arsenal, but about the precision of the condition he described, and the delicate horror with which he articulated the inchoate rage that informed - and defined - the lives of some supporters.

And yes, a few years later, as it happened, I met Hornby himself at a literary festival.
 
Silencio said:
It's insane how the narrative has flipped over just a few short years. United are the money-grubbers and City are the football romanticists!? It's a Fox News-worthy spin job IMHO. With Jesus getting back to fitness sooner than expected, there were simply far fewer minutes available for Alexis at City than there are at United. City would rather splash the cash on another defender.
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Actually, I would say that it is quite predictable...Ferguson was such a massive presence at the club that it provided an alternative the narrative that Man Utd were successful because they were rich. Man City were the "noisy neighbors" trying to spend their way into competitiveness.

Now the mask has slipped; with Ferguson gone, and Man Utd being managed by the most results-oriented man in the business, one who shuns development for the buying of ready-made talent, it is a lot harder to talk about success being down to a 'Manchester United Way" of doing things. Man Utd have no choice but to spend big until they catch back up.

Conversely, Man City are defined by Pep Guardiola and his total dedication to a 'system' that is also quite aesthetically pleasing. He also has a reputation for being able to develop players. This doesn't change the fact that their success flows directly from the oilfields of the Middle East, but it does provide an attractive covering narrative.
 
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@pachyderm just seen your name pop up whilst browsing Owlstalk - how funny.

Well done on getting to the next round, can only hope there's the silver lining of Stam being sacked a little more quickly. Turning into a turgid season for us, pretty galling considering how close we were to the PL last season. Relegation is becoming an increasingly realistic prospect.
 
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I see Man United just scraped through!

Apparently Wigan are favourites to beat us. If they do I'm working from home Monday!

Looks like we have signed Mario on loan for the rest of the season from Inter.
Hope he works out. We're a bit thin on the ground.
 
cambookpro said:
@pachyderm just seen your name pop up whilst browsing Owlstalk - how funny.

Well done on getting to the next round, can only hope there's the silver lining of Stam being sacked a little more quickly. Turning into a turgid season for us, pretty galling considering how close we were to the PL last season. Relegation is becoming an increasingly realistic prospect.
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Whaaa!?!?!? There is another fan of THE MASSIVE posting here? Sweet.
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cambookpro said:
@pachyderm just seen your name pop up whilst browsing Owlstalk - how funny.

Well done on getting to the next round, can only hope there's the silver lining of Stam being sacked a little more quickly. Turning into a turgid season for us, pretty galling considering how close we were to the PL last season. Relegation is becoming an increasingly realistic prospect.
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Spurs manage to force a replay but Liverpool dumped out by West Brom. Is that the last chance of silverware gone for another season.
 
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This last week has been pure pain for Liverpool fans.

Every armchair tactician has gleefully spent the week explaining how this pair of results was entirely predictable and, indeed, inevitable. It's as if every pundit has become Big Sam. Which is more or less my worst nightmare - even worse than actually losing to an Alan Pardew team. It's all just completely sickening and now I can't listen to my favorite podcasts for YET ANOTHER WEEK.

The only good news for me all week has been that Columbus Crew's duplicitous, greedy owner Anthony Precourt and his corporate entity Precourt Sports Ventures have hit some snags in their attempt to move the team to Austin (finding a site for a new stadium has proven difficult - hmm, turns out the people of Austin don't want their public urban parks turned into private stadiums!!!), and local business owners/investors in Columbus have begun talks with Precourt's suits, presumably to explore the possibility of buying him out. Few real details at the moment, but something is afoot.

MLS is not as bullish about the move as they have been, after having been pressed relentlessly by #SaveTheCrew (and publicly called out at the MLS Draft). There has been just the tiniest hint of a backpedal.

But what has been said will not be forgotten. Precourt and MLS claimed that Columbus was not and never will be viable as a soccer city when they thought they were about to skedaddle, and now they've run into roadblocks. I'm not getting my hopes up, but Columbus fans (and many other fans around the league) have made it clear that this behavior exposes ALL of MLS's talk about valuing "community" as pure BS.

Columbus has come out swinging and maybe, just maybe, we will pull this off. The challenge is that Precourt is now persona non grata in Columbus, so we not only have to scupper the move to Austin, we also have to find a viable new owner quick. Maybe we are seeing the first steps of the latter move now. Here's hoping.
 
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Seems Laporte to City is done pending medical which means City have now spent £190m on defenders. Aubameyang to Arsenal also done pending medical which means Arsenal have spent (or signed of on spending) £107m on forwards within 6months. Granted they've also brought in £90m from shipping out players.

Dortmund get Batshuayi and Chelsea potentially get Giroud.

Crazy market
 
But Laporte is moving to City for the romance and the history, not the money! :D

After suffering that horror tackle over the weekend, Leroy Sane is going to miss 6-7 weeks. I guess City could have used Alexis after all, but it sounds like they're turning their attention to Mahrez, a player who really deserves to level up.
 
Silencio said:
But Laporte is moving to City for the romance and the history, not the money! :D

After suffering that horror tackle over the weekend, Leroy Sane is going to miss 6-7 weeks. I guess City could have used Alexis after all, but it sounds like they're turning their attention to Mahrez, a player who really deserves to level up.
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The financial draw of "big" clubs is greater than their history or reputation anymore. Players like Laporte, Alexis, Aubameyang, and so on know nothing about the cities they are headed to and frankly don't care. With few exceptions, you could swap the squads of the two Manchester teams tomorrow and the players wouldn't be bothered as long as they got a pay raise.

Sure, players like Coutinho legitimately dream of playing for Barca, but would he take a pay cut to do it, at the peak of his career? I doubt it.
 
With 14 players out, I'm actually more concerned about any transfer business we can do today rather than our game against Palace.
That said three points would be the perfect response to our cup exit.
Come on you Irons!
 
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