Up the Saints! If they're going to win the league that means they're also going to hammer Man Utd at OT in a few weeks, and then pummel Everton the week after. Can't wait.
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The 2021-2022 Football Thread
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Palace continue to be a bogeyman team for Liverpool, who came out flying and snatched two early goals (thank goodness, given how the match went afterwards). Pool's energy levels dropped notably in the second half and the match opened up. Liverpool looked like they were moving at 7/8ths speed, which in this league equates to 'too slow.' Palace grew into the match in terms of aggressiveness, and scored a very good goal. By the 70th minute I thought we looked positively leggy, and Palace brought in Benteke and Ayew to to try and crack it. Matip looked tentative in his touches and make a few mistakes though he settled in the second half.
Alisson had to make half a dozen heart-stopping saves to keep Liverpool in the match - Palace got behind Liverpool repeatedly and would almost certainly have had more 2-3 goals if not for Alisson's heroics. Liverpool's offside trap worked well in the first half, but less well in the second until Benteke came on and found himself offside a few times (he was always good for an offside or two when a Liverpool player). Palace kept Jota pretty quiet prior to the PK incident, and Minamino had another quiet substitute appearance just when we needed more energy to dampen Palace's response...he's been good in flashes but I think Klopp will want more.
VAR took too long over the Jota penalty call and I don't think it was a penalty; I thought Jota moved into the contact and sold it. I'm not sure what Kevin Friend saw there. Viera was fuming, and I don't blame him.
At the end of the day the early goals were enough, with (ex-Saint) Ox's strike the winner, and the PK was just gravy. I'll take an away win at Palace any day of the week, however ugly. I really like the job Viera is doing at Palace though, he has made them very tough opponents and his tactical adjustments change matches.
And now a couple weeks' badly needed rest.
Alisson had to make half a dozen heart-stopping saves to keep Liverpool in the match - Palace got behind Liverpool repeatedly and would almost certainly have had more 2-3 goals if not for Alisson's heroics. Liverpool's offside trap worked well in the first half, but less well in the second until Benteke came on and found himself offside a few times (he was always good for an offside or two when a Liverpool player
). Palace kept Jota pretty quiet prior to the PK incident, and Minamino had another quiet substitute appearance just when we needed more energy to dampen Palace's response...he's been good in flashes but I think Klopp will want more.VAR took too long over the Jota penalty call and I don't think it was a penalty; I thought Jota moved into the contact and sold it. I'm not sure what Kevin Friend saw there. Viera was fuming, and I don't blame him.
At the end of the day the early goals were enough, with (ex-Saint) Ox's strike the winner, and the PK was just gravy. I'll take an away win at Palace any day of the week, however ugly. I really like the job Viera is doing at Palace though, he has made them very tough opponents and his tactical adjustments change matches.
And now a couple weeks' badly needed rest.
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Agree Viera is doing a good job with limited resources. Certainly much tougher to beat than they once were.Palace continue to be a bogeyman team for Liverpool, who came out flying and snatched two early goals (thank goodness, given how the match went afterwards). Pool's energy levels dropped notably in the second half and the match opened up. Liverpool looked like they were moving at 7/8ths speed, which in this league equates to 'too slow.' Palace grew into the match in terms of aggressiveness, and scored a very good goal. By the 70th minute I thought we looked positively leggy, and Palace brought in Benteke and Ayew to to try and crack it. Matip looked tentative in his touches and make a few mistakes though he settled in the second half.
Alisson had to make half a dozen heart-stopping saves to keep Liverpool in the match - Palace got behind Liverpool repeatedly and would almost certainly have had more 2-3 goals if not for Alisson's heroics. Liverpool's offside trap worked well in the first half, but less well in the second until Benteke came on and found himself offside a few times (he was always good for an offside or two when a Liverpool player
VAR took too long over the Jota penalty call and I don't think it was a penalty; I thought Jota moved into the contact and sold it. I'm not sure what Kevin Friend saw there. Viera was fuming, and I don't blame him.
At the end of the day the early goals were enough and the PK was just gravy. I'll take an away win at Palace any day of the week, however ugly. I really like the job Viera is doing at Palace though, he has made them very tough opponents and his tactical adjustments change matches.
In AFCON news Comoros, thanks to a dozen positive COVID tests, head into their knockout match against Cameroon with just 12 fit outfield players and no goalkeeper. So they'll have an outfield player between the sticks and just one sub.
It's a real shame Comoros' wonderful debut tournament has to end this way, surely they'll be torn to shreds?
It's a real shame Comoros' wonderful debut tournament has to end this way, surely they'll be torn to shreds?
I think Palace are looking really good under the new gaffer.Palace continue to be a bogeyman team for Liverpool, who came out flying and snatched two early goals (thank goodness, given how the match went afterwards). Pool's energy levels dropped notably in the second half and the match opened up. Liverpool looked like they were moving at 7/8ths speed, which in this league equates to 'too slow.' Palace grew into the match in terms of aggressiveness, and scored a very good goal. By the 70th minute I thought we looked positively leggy, and Palace brought in Benteke and Ayew to to try and crack it. Matip looked tentative in his touches and make a few mistakes though he settled in the second half.
Alisson had to make half a dozen heart-stopping saves to keep Liverpool in the match - Palace got behind Liverpool repeatedly and would almost certainly have had more 2-3 goals if not for Alisson's heroics. Liverpool's offside trap worked well in the first half, but less well in the second until Benteke came on and found himself offside a few times (he was always good for an offside or two when a Liverpool player
VAR took too long over the Jota penalty call and I don't think it was a penalty; I thought Jota moved into the contact and sold it. I'm not sure what Kevin Friend saw there. Viera was fuming, and I don't blame him.
At the end of the day the early goals were enough, with (ex-Saint) Ox's strike the winner, and the PK was just gravy. I'll take an away win at Palace any day of the week, however ugly. I really like the job Viera is doing at Palace though, he has made them very tough opponents and his tactical adjustments change matches.
And now a couple weeks' badly needed rest.
Viera seems to understand how to get the most out of what he has at his disposal and is proving to be a good tactician too.
I used to live in the CP area (Upper Norwood) and have a bit of a soft spot for them, but they really do look pretty solid at the moment and a dangerous side to take lightly.
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There are criticisms over their set piece defending, but overall Viera celarly has a plan and has a clear idea how to implement it. One major challenge for them is that they need a lot of chances to score because their finishing is not very good when Wilf Zaha is not on the pitch.
The Gambia knock Guinea out of the AFCON in yet another significant upset result. Keita's coming home!
Meanwhile, Conte is complaining that Spurs's squad is thin and needs investment. We saw this spat coming a million miles away...Sorry Antonio, but have you actually looked into how Spurs is run? This ought to be fun.
I do hope they bring in a real firefighter who saves them from the drop, as that will make it that much harder for Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Conte is complaining that Spurs's squad is thin and needs investment. We saw this spat coming a million miles away...Sorry Antonio, but have you actually looked into how Spurs is run? This ought to be fun.
Ranieri won the league with Leicester, so even if he never presides over another win in his career he'll have earned his bronze statue.
I do hope they bring in a real firefighter who saves them from the drop, as that will make it that much harder for Newcastle.
I’d not be too unhappy if they survived the drop as well. Especially at the expensive of Newcastle.
Tragic news at the Cameroon - Comoros AFCON match as a crush outside the stadium has claimed at least six lives and left dozens injured. Terrible to see these kinds of disasters still happening.
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How does this even happen a FIFA tournament? Or any tournament these days?
Ravel Morrison is perhaps the single most egregious example of wasted talent I have ever seen. I was able to watch the United youth teams more regularly back in those days, and he was different gravy, even playing in a loaded team featuring a similarly youthful Paul Pogba. He should have been a top, top player.
How did James Garner look for Forest?
Stadia all around the world are crumbling, even in bigger European countries like Italy. Old design + deferred maintenance + inadequate steward / security presence = risk of these sorts of accidents.
Someone should ring up Infantino in his new hyper-luxury digs in Doha and let him know. I'm sure he'll get right on it.
Pretty solid if I recall correctly. I didn't realize he was born in Birkenhead...tsk tsk, what's he doing in Manchester?
. As for Morrison, he's like Mario Balotelli - his professionalism has never been what it needed to be to fully realize his talent potential. I'd forgotten he was even still playing.
Well, well, well...Woy to Watford.
I don't see this as a step up from Mr Ranieri, personally.
I don't see this as a step up from Mr Ranieri, personally.
Strange appointment. Will see if it gets them a new manager boost.
Hard to tell what a 'strange' appointment is anymore. Hodgson is a massively experienced manager and they could have done much worse. Though why they settled on bringing him out of retirement rather than another candidate is open to debate.
They're re in bad shape. It would be a huge achievement for Hodgson, or ANY manager, to steer them away from the iceberg of relegation. Credit to him for being willing to take on the challenge.
They're re in bad shape. It would be a huge achievement for Hodgson, or ANY manager, to steer them away from the iceberg of relegation. Credit to him for being willing to take on the challenge.
I’m sure Big Sam would agree with you. ? he’s already offered his (unsolicited) services to Everton.
Just as it is depressing to still see tragic crushes at football stadia, football continues to have a concussion problem. Sadio Mane appears to have been momentarily knocked unconscious during a collision in Senegal's match with Cape Verde. Getting knocked out automatically means concussion. Yet Mane stayed on the pitch for ten more minutes (and scored) before going off with pain and dizziness.
He should have been taken off (and taken to the hospital) immediately after the collision. It is clearly going to take professional sport a very long time to truly recognize the serious long-term health risks associated with traumatic brain injury, but eventually they will have to face some hard truths.
He should have been taken off (and taken to the hospital) immediately after the collision. It is clearly going to take professional sport a very long time to truly recognize the serious long-term health risks associated with traumatic brain injury, but eventually they will have to face some hard truths.
There needs to be better protection for players around concussion and the ability to substitute players in under a concussion rule.
Pretty wild match in Quito last night. Both Ecuador and Brazil played most of the match with 10 men after two early red cards. VAR saved Alisson from being sent off not once, but twice — and denied a last minute penalty for Ecuador. In the end the hosts had to settle for a point, but any point is critical in the brutal world of CONMEBOL qualification, if you're not Brazil or Argentina.
Totally wild match. From what I saw the VAR calls on Alisson were tight but correct. Could have easily gone the other way though.
Meanwhile, USA battled for a narrow win over a desperate El Salvador in their World Cup Qualifier match. Not a vintage performance, and Pulisic's form is suffering notably under Tuchel. However a win is a win and IF we can beat Canada in the next match (still a fairly big if), USA will be in a good position.
That take aged poorly and fast, as Mason Greenwood is the new “champion” in this category, having been arrested for raping and brutally assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
Judging by the awful photos that were leaked, he deserves a good, long term in prison, and obviously an abrupt end to his career.
Rumors about this crime leaked out around 5 months ago and then got buried again. I want to know what the club knew and when. I know they were trying to keep Greenwood on the straight and narrow after his Iceland troubles, but if they tried to protect him from this over the past few months, there has to be hell to pay.
I have no tolerance for the behavior of Greenwood if this is true or anyone else. The wheels of justice move slowly, hopefully the police will release their investigation in a timely manner.