The 2020-2021 Football Thread

[Silencio]

Great result in Paris tonight. Tuchel may not have had a full deck of cards to play, but he should have had enough to do the job at home. Credit to Solskjaer for getting the XI and tactics right and to all the players for executing near flawlessly.

Axel Tuanzebe is a baller. Really hope he can stay fit for a more extended period and show what he can do.

 

[pachyderm]

Great result in Paris tonight. Tuchel may not have had a full deck of cards to play, but he should have had enough to do the job at home. Credit to Solskjaer for getting the XI and tactics right and to all the players for executing near flawlessly.

Axel Tuanzebe is a baller. Really hope he can stay fit for a more extended period and show what he can do.

But the real loser was football itself for those Man U uniforms...

 

[Silencio]

But the real loser was football itself for those Man U uniforms...

UP THE ZEBRAS!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

But the real loser was football itself for those Man U uniforms...

They were something between downright bizarre and outright hideous, weren't they?

 

[circatee]

My, my, Ozil using his social media platform, and firing back.
This is a little ugly, all in public and all that. To add, I believe he trained with the team today...

 

[Apple fanboy]

My, my, Ozil using his social media platform, and firing back.
This is a little ugly, all in public and all that. To add, I believe he trained with the team today...

Trained? They asked him to collect the cones!

 

[circatee]

Ohhh, that's cold...

Trained? They asked him to collect the cones!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Ohhh, that's cold...

Maybe he can give out the oranges at half time? Clean the boots maybe?

Or perhaps do some of the duties the redundant staff used to carry out?

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

Nice try.

With Big Virgil down for the season, you could argue that NONE of the title contenders have a defensive unit that is up to snuff. So the winner might be whoever can outscore the opposition the most often.

In which case the answer is simple. Man City will win the title.

Ahem...Danny Ings and Che Adams...ahem

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Well, a 1-0 win on an OG against Ajax is not spectacular. Then again, it's the same three points that every other CL winner collected. And it's a far better outcome than drawing 2-2, having several ludicrous calls go against you and losing your best player for 8 months.

My, my, Ozil using his social media platform, and firing back.
This is a little ugly, all in public and all that. To add, I believe he trained with the team today...

Arteta has publicly shouldered the blame, which is magnanimous of him but obviously not accurate. Everyone deserves some blame.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Well, a 1-0 win on an OG against Ajax is not spectacular. Then again, it's the same three points that every other CL winner collected. And it's a far better outcome than drawing 2-2, having several ludicrous calls go against you and losing your best player for 8 months.


Arteta has publicly shouldered the blame, which is magnanimous of him but obviously not accurate. Everyone deserves some blame.

But think of all those teams that lose best players all the time that don’t have a string of other internationals to call on. They just get on with it. It’s an old article but quite interesting.

Ranking PL clubs by the no. of games injured players have missed in 19-20 - Planet Football

Chelsea have been one of the most injury-hit Premier League clubs this season, while Liverpool are one of the least.

www.planetfootball.com

I wonder how things could have turned out differently if things had gone down differently.

Isn’t Salah your best player by the way?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The fallout at Barcelona continues, with some players being asked to take pay cuts while others have signed secret new contract deals. The house is on fire and everyone is standing around pointing fingers.

But think of all those teams that lose best players all the time that don’t have a string of other internationals to call on. They just get on with it.

They do get on with it (and Klopp & Co will get on with it) but how many win something afterwards? Trophies are usually won by fine margins, and Virgil is worth more than a few points per season. I know, I've got no right to complain, Liverpool just won a title...Wait...I do have a (self-declared) right to complain. Because complaining the most important part of being a fan.

By the way, this shouldn't even be an issue in a civilized society, but I find it disgusting that people have sent threats to Pickford. Liverpool fans have every right to be aggrieved, even furious, over the game. But that is the limit.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My, my, Ozil using his social media platform, and firing back.
This is a little ugly, all in public and all that. To add, I believe he trained with the team today...

Ozil is not just using his social media platform - if you recall, last week, he offered to pay the salary of Gunnersaurus, which, while the right thing to do (and, to my mind, Arsenal should not have laid off either Gunnersaurus, or the 55 staff who were laid off earlier) - does prompt questions as to his bona fides.

In other words, (given that Ozil had refused to take a salary cut in March), I seriously doubt his bona fides, and suspect that he has offered to pay the wages of Gunnersaurus in order to embarrass the club.

Maybe he can give out the oranges at half time? Clean the boots maybe?

Or perhaps do some of the duties the redundant staff used to carry out?

On £350,000 a week?

Somehow, I don't see Ozil stooping to that; he doesn't strike me as the sort who helps out, or exerts himself on behalf of others, Marcus Rashford, he is not.

Well, a 1-0 win on an OG against Ajax is not spectacular. Then again, it's the same three points that every other CL winner collected. And it's a far better outcome than drawing 2-2, having several ludicrous calls go against you and losing your best player for 8 months.


Arteta has publicly shouldered the blame, which is magnanimous of him but obviously not accurate. Everyone deserves some blame.

Agreed.

On both counts.

But think of all those teams that lose best players all the time that don’t have a string of other internationals to call on. They just get on with it. It’s an old article but quite interesting.

Ranking PL clubs by the no. of games injured players have missed in 19-20 - Planet Football

Chelsea have been one of the most injury-hit Premier League clubs this season, while Liverpool are one of the least.

www.planetfootball.com

I wonder how things could have turned out differently if things had gone down differently.

Isn’t Salah your best player by the way?

Actually, I'd have classed van Dijk as more important for the team (if not, necessarily better).

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Actually, I'd have classed van Dijk as more important for the team (if not, necessarily better).

It's impossible to truly quantify an individual players' contribution to a team's points total at the end of a season (it's a team sport after all). With that being said, Salah scores a lot of goals but in my opinion Virgil gains the team more points over a season.

Strikers are the most glamorous and typically the most expensive players, but defending wins trophies.

 

[Apple fanboy]

It's impossible to truly quantify an individual players' contribution to a team's points total at the end of a season (it's a team sport after all). With that being said, Salah scores a lot of goals but in my opinion Virgil gains the team more points over a season.

Strikers are the most glamorous and typically the most expensive players, but defending wins trophies.

I see them in equal measure. You need to defend yes, but if you don’t score you’ll never win!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It's impossible to truly quantify an individual players' contribution to a team's points total at the end of a season (it's a team sport after all). With that being said, Salah scores a lot of goals but in my opinion Virgil gains the team more points over a season.

Strikers are the most glamorous and typically the most expensive players, but defending wins trophies.

That is why I mentioned van Dijk; while Salah is a brilliant player and a superb goal-scorer, if I had to name one player who has made an enormous - significant - difference to Liverpool since he joined the club, I would name van Dijk.

Strikers always get the glamorous headlines and much media attention, but no great team has ever succeeded without a world class keeper and one or two outstanding players in defence and midfield.

 

[Apple fanboy]

A good evening for the English clubs tonight in the Europa league.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I see them in equal measure. You need to defend yes, but if you don’t score you’ll never win!

Obviously both matter. But if you look at all the successful teams over the years, most were a good balance of ability in attack and defense; some of them were only just above average in attack but defensively very solid; very few had a weak defense and simply outscored the opposition. That last approach is by far the most difficult way to win a trophy.

This idea is even more important in a knockout tournament. You can win a whole tournament without winning a single game in regular time or, in in theory, without even having a single shot on target. Set pieces, own goals, penalties can provide all the goals you need to win. The longer you go without conceding, the more desperate your opponent may become - and they will take chances and make mistakes you can exploit. Sometimes you can lose matches and still progress, depending on the tournament format. As long as you know your team is very unlikely to concede, you're still in it.

That approach makes for a grim spectacle, but it is effective and every coach in a knockout tournament knows that. Mourinho is, or at least was, a past master at this sort of thing. Italia '90 is a classic example of teams playing with this mindset.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Obviously both matter. But if you look at all the successful teams over the years, most were a good balance of ability in attack and defense; some of them were only just above average in attack but defensively very solid; very few had a weak defense and simply outscored the opposition. That last approach is by far the most difficult way to win a trophy.

This idea is even more important in a knockout tournament. You can win a whole tournament without winning a single game in regular time or, in in theory, without even having a single shot on target. Set pieces, own goals, penalties can provide all the goals you need to win. The longer you go without conceding, the more desperate your opponent may become - and they will take chances and make mistakes you can exploit. Sometimes you can lose matches and still progress, depending on the tournament format. As long as you know your team is very unlikely to concede, you're still in it.

That approach makes for a grim spectacle, but it is effective and every coach in a knockout tournament knows that. Mourinho is, or at least was, a past master at this sort of thing. Italia '90 is a classic example of teams playing with this mindset.

The absolute worst type of football was the golden goal extra time. Two teams too afraid to leave their own half!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The absolute worst type of football was the golden goal extra time. Two teams too afraid to leave their own half!

Agreed.

I, too, loathe the "golden goal" rule; if you must have the concept of extra time, play it as the first ninety minutes were played, - where the time to be played is stipulated and is set, in advance, - rather than abruptly ended by the scoring of a sudden death goal, - which is fairer to both sides.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Whatever you think of Manchester United (and my football heart lies elsewhere), Marcus Rashford just rocks; what a fantastic and formidable guy, a decent, dignified, ethical, modest and wholly impressive human being, and - yes - an outstanding footballer, too.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The absolute worst type of football was the golden goal extra time. Two teams too afraid to leave their own half!

I don't think you'll get much argument from anyone there...

In terms of what we still have put up with - I hate extra time...penalties are a flawed way to end a match but extra time is completely pointless. Just as with a golden goal, teams are afraid to do anything, and while tense it's not exciting or pleasant to watch. Better to just take it straight to penalties and be done with it. OR do a replay, if you want to get old-school.

 

[JamesMike]

Watching the Aston Villa vs Leeds match.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Watching the Aston Villa vs Leeds match.

Give Bamford a nudge. I need the points!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Wow @JamesMike that nudge did the trick! Hat trick!