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The 2020-2021 Football Thread

Today, Ederson (Manchester City's keeper) has called for - quite rightly, to my mind - the automatic and immediate substitution (what he termed "concussion substitutes") of players in the case of a head injury, or a nasty clash of heads, irrespective of how well a player thinks he feels, or how much his team would like for him to stay on the pitch.

An excellent idea; head injuries are serious, and can have catastrophic long term consequences.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Today, Ederson (Manchester City's keeper) has called for - quite rightly, to my mind - the automatic and immediate substitution (what he termed "concussion substitutes") of players in the case of a head injury, or a nasty clash of heads, irrespective of how well a player thinks he feels, or how much his team would like for him to stay on the pitch.

An excellent idea; head injuries are serious, and can have catastrophic long term consequences.
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The safety argument in favor of a concussion sub is overwhelming. We can't trust players, managers or clubs to make the right call during the heat of the match. There should be a very clear protocol allowing medical staff to identify a potential concussion incident after which a player is automatically subbed without it counting against the usual allowed substitutions.

A player needn't be visibly dazed or bleeding out of their ears to have suffered a potentially significant head injury. We need to follow the medical evidence on this.
 
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Another game, another penalty for Fulham....but what's this? They scored it? And won!? That's a pretty bad result for Leicester, but a desperately needed three points for Fulham.

All square at the London Stadium thanks to Grealish. you just never know what you'll get with Villa.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
The safety argument in favor of a concussion sub is overwhelming. We can't trust players, managers or clubs to make the right call during the heat of the match. There should be a very clear protocol allowing medical staff to identify a potential concussion incident after which a player is automatically subbed without it counting against the usual allowed substitutions.

A player needn't be visibly dazed or bleeding out of their ears to have suffered a potentially significant head injury. We need to follow the medical evidence on this.
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Completely agree, and I suspect that if the Premiership (and the other leagues, lower down the hierarchy) fail to agree upon, and to implement such protocols, they may be compelled to do so on health and safety grounds.
Apple fanboy said:
After a late scare ruled out by VAR, West Ham pick up the win and are now 5th in the league! Happy days.
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A very good win for West Ham.
 
Silencio said:
It's clear that Danny Ings is sorely missed — how long is he out for?
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Ralph (Hassenhuttl) said he should be back for Brighton, which is Monday. Really quick recovery.
He creates as many as he scores, as well as having a high-tempo game, so yes...he has been missed with his defence from the front.

Lord Blackadder said:
Meanwhile, the Premier League is dragging its feet over head injury substitutions - something rugby successfully introduced a while ago now. VAR is far more disruptive to the flow of the game than a temporary head injury substitution would be, and yet VAR is here and here to stay.
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Rugby have blood bin replacements, concussion test replacements and all manner of things that were originally unpopular, but they have done it well and it's clearly working.
Why football leagues haven't adopted this around the world I will never know.
 
Another day, another Liverpool injury headache. Between Columbus' COVID woes and Liverpool's injury list I've lost track of who's in and who is out. It's said Alisson will be out a fortnight, hopefully no more.

Nevertheless, this time Liverpool fashioned a narrow win against Ajax and wrapped up their group in the CL. I expect Klopp will send out a side composed of stewards, grounds crew, and random passers-by for the final group match.
 
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pachyderm said:
We need the Crew to get healthy!
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Indeed. I was disappointed to see Philly get knocked out so early, but that's MLS for you. Now that the Crew are two matches away from the title I'm all-in on the Black & Gold.

But the team are slowly being decimated by COVID. We are now up to eight confirmed infections with a ninth pending.
No word yet on who is positive, and that obviously matters ahead of our conference final on Sunday. I think the exposure event has been identified so hopefully no more positives.

New England definitely have the advantage here, but I'm hopeful.
 
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Well, Man Utd. always beat PSG - you could argue that OGS remains Man Utd manager largely on the strength of a couple key wins against them - so fans shouldn't be too nervous that they are a goal down at the moment. Fred should have been sent off for that "footballers' headbutt" (Nicolas Pepe is screaming at the TV right now) but mystifyingly got away with it. So perhaps luck is with them today.

PSG have yet to convince despite all the money spent. They are especially fragile in knockout football. Worst "elite"" team in Europe?
 
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Fred got a yellow for a headbutt (of sorts) that should have been a red (even if you ignore Paredes' silly theatrics) then a second yellow for a nothing tackle thats was barely a foul. Not the best reffing there.

I criticize PSG and then they only go and win...still not convinced by them but it's an important result from their perspective. Man Utd are still in it but the path out of the group stage is substntially tougher now.

Elsewhere it was the Olivier Giroud Show for Chelsea as he grabbed a haul against Sevilla. It takes a special player for me to still like them in a Chelsea shirt, and you can't but help like Giroud.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Well, Man Utd. always beat PSG - you could argue that OGS remains Man Utd manager largely on the strength of a couple key wins against them - so fans shouldn't be too nervous that they are a goal down at the moment. Fred should have been sent off for that "footballers' headbutt" (Nicolas Pepe is screaming at the TV right now) but mystifyingly got away with it. So perhaps luck is with them today.

PSG have yet to convince despite all the money spent. They are especially fragile in knockout football. Worst "elite"" team in Europe?
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But, not today.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
But, not today.
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Ole really bottled that one. He took a foolish risk keeping Fred on when it seemed totally obvious he would earn that second yellow sooner or later. Also failed to sub off an injured Rashford in time, and Tuchel took full advantage by bringing on a left wingback to attack Rashford's space.

Still, all would have probably been okay if Martial didn't fluff a couple of glorious changes, or Cavani's chip didn't clang off the crossbar.

All will still be okay if they get a result at Leipzig next week, but it shouldn't have come to that. The poor result at Istanbul is what really, really hurts. The inconsistency is maddening.
 
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Silencio said:
Ole really bottled that one. He took a foolish risk keeping Fred on when it seemed totally obvious he would earn that second yellow sooner or later. Also failed to sub off an injured Rashford in time, and Tuchel took full advantage by bringing on a left wingback to attack Rashford's space.

Still, all would have probably been okay if Martial didn't fluff a couple of glorious changes, or Cavani's chip didn't clang off the crossbar.

All will still be okay if they get a result at Leipzig next week, but it shouldn't have come to that. The poor result at Istanbul is what really, really hurts. The inconsistency is maddening.
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Well, keeping Fred on after the first yellow card (which should have been a red card by all accounts) was a calculated risk that didn't come off, not least as further cards were inevitable the longer the game continued; if not substituted immediately, Fred should have been replaced at half-time.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Well, keeping Fred on after the first yellow card (which should have been a red card by all accounts) was a calculated risk that didn't come off, not least as further cards were inevitable the longer the game continued; if not substituted immediately, Fred should have been replaced at half-time.
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Fred's only redeeming skill as a footballer is his ability to press defensively. He is quite good at disrupting the opponent's play and has decent quickness. He is, on the other hand, truly awful on the ball himself. Matic, on the other hand, can pick a good pass, but has the pace of a slug. McTominay is not a gifted passer himself and is more of a box-to-box midfielder. All told, United has to play two DMs to cover up for their individual weaknesses, which means one fewer attacker.

I have no idea why United hasn't prioritized signing a better DM. Perhaps they think James Garner will be ready to step in after a season on loan with Watford, but it's a glaring problem this season.
 
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Silencio said:
Fred's only redeeming skill as a footballer is his ability to press defensively. He is quite good at disrupting the opponent's play and has decent quickness. He is, on the other hand, truly awful on the ball himself. Matic, on the other hand, can pick a good pass, but has the pace of a slug. McTominay is not a gifted passer himself and is more of a box-to-box midfielder. All told, United has to play two DMs to cover up for their individual weaknesses, which means one fewer attacker.

I have no idea why United hasn't prioritized signing a better DM. Perhaps they think James Garner will be ready to step in after a season on loan with Watford, but it's a glaring problem this season.
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Didn’t they try and fail to sign Grealish?
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Yes, you need to put away your chances; after all, the last thing you need is an improbable Manchester United goal, scored in the 99th minute.
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Well a goal to the good. Hopefully we can start the second half as well as we played in the first.
Or we could just end the season now.....
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