Shame there’s no home game this week. Still I’m not sure if tickets are readily available. Might do the stadium tour.
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The 2018-2019 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
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My dad did the stadium tour on one of his last foreign holidays, which my parents took in Barcelona.
I am not certain whether my mother accompanied him, and I am not in a position to confirm whether she did or not; anyway, I do recall that he was very impressed and recommended it highly.
Pity they are not playing; they weren't playing at home when my parents visited, either, otherwise, they might have attended a match.
A friend of mine - who grew up on the same road as I did - his parents had a travel agents business - and he was unusually openminded about travel and languages - lived in Barcelona for a while. His wife had studied Spanish and both spoke the language while they lived there; actually, while living in Barcelona, (which he loved) he held a season ticket.
I did watch a bit of a local game on my walk.
Not quite the talents of Barcelona though!
Columbus Crew (yes, they are STILL here!) opened their new season last night with a 1-1 home draw against New York Corporate Energy Drinks, the team who knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Columbus' squad is largely unchanged, and their biggest weakness - a lack of goals - is still a problem, though the team played well overall against an opponent who is tipped to win the conference again. The bigger question is, when star Columbus keeper and probable USA No 1 starter Steffen leaves in June to rot in the Man City reserves 
() with whom do we replace him? It's almost certainly going to be a downgrade.
As for Liverpool, Everton LOVE being spoilers and they were tough today. The title is now Man City's to lose. The one bright spot for Liverpool going forward is that they have an easy fixture list to finish out the season. If they win all the rest of their matches with a healthy goal difference, City will have to be perfect in order to retain the title. Which I expect they will, unfortunately. But Liverpool can at least make it hard for them.
() with whom do we replace him? It's almost certainly going to be a downgrade.As for Liverpool, Everton LOVE being spoilers and they were tough today. The title is now Man City's to lose. The one bright spot for Liverpool going forward is that they have an easy fixture list to finish out the season. If they win all the rest of their matches with a healthy goal difference, City will have to be perfect in order to retain the title. Which I expect they will, unfortunately. But Liverpool can at least make it hard for them.
Yes, Everton were always going to play a spoiler role in this match.
Only a few seasons ago, Everton were touted as a team that could challenge consistently for a top four place. That is not now going to happen, but they can mess with Liverpool's had, which is what they have managed to achieve here (not for the first time, it must be said).
Having said that, bear in mind that Manchester City have already been defeated four times this season, Liverpool only once.
Yes, City currently have the edge on Liverpool, but they must continue to play at peak performance - consistently - until the end of the season in order to retain the title. They are not the invincible machine of last year, and are quiet capable of tripping up and stumbling before the season draws to a close. The number of trophies they are still competing for are bot challenge and dangerous trap; inevitably, they will tire, and injuries may creep in. And all Liverpool need to do is maintain the pressure on them.
It is by no means over yet.
Kudos to Ajax for comprehensively knocking out Real Madrid at the Bernebau yesterday. Absolute masterclass from Dusan Tadic, and the entire team, really. That second goal in particular was an absolute delight.
The mood in Barcelona is particularly happy! Not much love for Real Madrid here.
I remember thinking of how astutely Zinedine Zidane timed his departure last year; it was as though he knows that things could not get any better, and wished to depart before some sort of deterioration in form and attitude became too evident.
Mourinho and RM: Yes, that would be a match made in the ninth circle of hell.
Yes, I'd imagine that they derived considerable pleasure from that result.
Anyone who calls that anything other than a very lucky penalty call is just bonkers. PSG have only themselves to blame but Man Utd, one of the last teams on the planet who need/deserve any luck, just jot a dump truck load of luck today.
Very soft penalty, but a penalty nonetheless. Call it karmic payback for Kimpembe who should have seen red at Old Trafford.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good — and all three of United's goals were down to mistakes by PSG — but they improved their overall level of play from the first leg sufficiently to be in a position to win the tie.
I already assume Ole has been given the full-time job behind the scenes, but surely this result cements it.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good — and all three of United's goals were down to mistakes by PSG — but they improved their overall level of play from the first leg sufficiently to be in a position to win the tie.
I already assume Ole has been given the full-time job behind the scenes, but surely this result cements it.
Agreed.
Manchester United were impossibly fortunate (in the sense of Napoleon's preference for "Luck" when selecting a general), but PSG have only themselves to blame for failing to put this beyond reach.
Its one of those "its a penalty in the UCL but nowhere else" But still, conceding 3 goals is inexcusable especially to a team that was severely weakened.
But the cycle will continue i suppose. Tuchel will lose his job and they'll try again with someone else and fail again. Manager isn't the problem. PSG players just dunno how to do anything besides winning Ligue 1.
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It's ALWAYS better to be lucky than good. And Man Utd were good, don't get me wrong. But PSG threw away a sure thing with some schoolboy errors, they had no business losing that match. As for OGS, he was certainly going to get the job before this match, but at this point the club really have no choice. The fans would surely burn OT to the ground if they went with anyone else.
Their squad is unbalanced and their league doesn't provide a challenge. I agree that Tuchel has the chops, but maybe the club is just too much of a project. Perhaps we'll see Mbappe rock up somewhere in England or Spain soon enough.
Last year, I had hoped to see Tuchel recruited by Arsenal once Mr Wenger was persuaded to depart.
Although Emery is doing a pretty good job, (in trying circumstances) a part of me wonders what Tuchel might have achieved with Arsenal.
However, while PSG shouldn't have lost that match, - and Tuchel is an excellent manager - they haven't been seriously challenged for far too long.
Agreed.
England? Perhaps Spain.
I'd be curious to see how Brexit affects the Premiership.
Well, "Lucky" old Manchester United hasn't really applied since Fergie-time.
However, in such circumstances, sometimes, you make your luck, and OGS certainly seems to be able to do that.
It seems the talk of Solskjaer becoming the Man U manager on a permanent basis is intensifying; I have no problem with him getting the job.
I couldn’t imagine you would! He’s Manchester United through and through. He’s turned the team around with the same group of players that the special one was ruining.
I’d be interested to see how far he can take them.
He would be the first manager to hold the position since the revered Sir Alex to instil a positive sense of identity, joy, vision and collective coherence in the team. And he seems able to do it without antagonising anybody.
They have long had a talented collection of individuals - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to be able to craft a common identity and team spirit from this group.
Actually, on his performance thus far, it is clear that he will make an excellent manager.
Moreover, if he is appointed to the position, it will be interesting to see what he does in the transfer window - both in terms of who he seeks to buy, and whom he chooses to discard or sell. Of greater importance, and here he has made a signifiant difference since he was appointed in an acting capacity, is how he choses to develop, encourage and nurture the talent already at his disposal, and here, he has clearly shone.
He sanctioned the sale of Fellaini already. And I'm not even a big Fellaini hater — it just goes to show what style he wants the team to play, so in my mind that's a huge point in Solskjaer's favor. They have also signed Smalling, Jones, and Young to new contracts, which I have more mixed feelings about, I guess.
All has gone quiet on the Director of Football front. I wonder if they'll even bother with one now.
Yes, it is telling that OGS has made it clear that he does not think that Fellaini has a future at the club.