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The 2021-2022 Football Thread
- Thread starter Scepticalscribe
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So...what do we think collectively of the off-season transfers, thus far?
Also - how do we feel about Mr Rooney taking the helm at DC?
I think a few clubs still have some buying to do and the preseason will see them weeding out the players they don't think will fit the systems.
I see also that Ten Hag has said that Maguire is an "experienced captain and remains captain at this point" (or words to that effect). Thoughts? Personally, I'd move him on, if anyone was willing to pay for him.
Also - how do we feel about Mr Rooney taking the helm at DC?
I think a few clubs still have some buying to do and the preseason will see them weeding out the players they don't think will fit the systems.
I see also that Ten Hag has said that Maguire is an "experienced captain and remains captain at this point" (or words to that effect). Thoughts? Personally, I'd move him on, if anyone was willing to pay for him.
DC United is an interesting move for Rooney. It could be good for him, allowing him to gain more experience outside the blinding glare of the English media and fandom. Maybe he looked at Frank Lampard's career trajectory after he left Derby himself and didn't want to bite off too much, too soon.
Looks like United will be buying defender Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. Now that is a vastly different type of defender from Maguire, one who is comfortable playing higher up the pitch and is really good on the ball. If you want to play a high defensive line, he's the type of defender you want. If Varane can stay fit they'd be an interesting pairing.
Looks like United will be buying defender Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. Now that is a vastly different type of defender from Maguire, one who is comfortable playing higher up the pitch and is really good on the ball. If you want to play a high defensive line, he's the type of defender you want. If Varane can stay fit they'd be an interesting pairing.
Columbus had to settle for a 2-2 draw away at DC United last night after some pitiful late-game defending (Caleb Porter could be heard on the sideline roaring "KEEP THE BALL!" to no avail). We should have won it but a road draw is still a good result.
On the upside, Cucho Hernandez has now played 2 halves of football for Columbus and scored three goals. Three different ones too...a chip, a raking strike across goal from the edge of the box, and a diving header.
If he keeps scoring at this rate he's going to light up the league.
Transfers...Liverpool have strengthened, Man City have strengthened
(), so barring unforeseen events it will be difficult for the other 'big' teams to muscle into the top two. But there is room for churn underneath that. Chelsea are hard to predict as new owners take over and they sign some big names. Spurs will implode at some point surely...Levy and Conte? Not a recipe for stability.
Rooney at DC...he seemed to do OK at Derby under very unusual circumstances so it is hard to judge him. MLS is a competitive league and the relative talent parity means managers can make a big difference for good or ill.
Maguire is a Premier League-level defender but not the world-class star his transfer fee implied (not his fault, it must be said). I know ten Hag and Southgate defend him but I can't believe the club have no plans to strengthen further in his position.
On the upside, Cucho Hernandez has now played 2 halves of football for Columbus and scored three goals. Three different ones too...a chip, a raking strike across goal from the edge of the box, and a diving header.
If he keeps scoring at this rate he's going to light up the league.
Transfers...Liverpool have strengthened, Man City have strengthened
(), so barring unforeseen events it will be difficult for the other 'big' teams to muscle into the top two. But there is room for churn underneath that. Chelsea are hard to predict as new owners take over and they sign some big names. Spurs will implode at some point surely...Levy and Conte? Not a recipe for stability.Rooney at DC...he seemed to do OK at Derby under very unusual circumstances so it is hard to judge him. MLS is a competitive league and the relative talent parity means managers can make a big difference for good or ill.
Maguire is a Premier League-level defender but not the world-class star his transfer fee implied (not his fault, it must be said). I know ten Hag and Southgate defend him but I can't believe the club have no plans to strengthen further in his position.
Zack Steffen is getting loaned to Middlesbrough, to try and play his way back into the USMNT squad for Qatar. Hope I never have to see him in a Man City shirt again.
Barcelona‘a transfer business of late indicate that they have learned nothing from their recent financial meltdown.
33 degrees out there. Maybe I should go have a kick about so I know what the World Cup will feel like.
I've lost all respect for Barca over the past few seasons, and especially this summer. One of the biggest and greatest clubs in football history is being run like a total clown show, and their treatment of Frenkie de Jong should be a case study for any young footballer to think twice about following their dream to play at the Nou Camp.
Speaking of Frenkie, I have no idea when the deal will get done for him to come to United, but it's clearly in all parties' best interests for it to happen, so I still expect it will happen.
Couldn't agree more. What happened to UNICEF? One of the most uplifting shirt 'sponsor' deals, it made Barcelona truly feel like 'more than a club.' Now they just look like a failed pyramid scheme.
It's getting harder and harder to beat back the cynical feeling that everything about the sport is fake and greed-based, especially at the elite level. The only thing left is the talent, which nobody has (yet) discovered how to manufacture. But they've managed to monetize the hell out of it.
To be
There's greed and nepotism and cronyism at every level, but especially at the competitive level, in every country.
It's no longer the very best players at the top. It's the very best players that are well connected, have the money to travel and trial and pay to play at the best academies etc. Meanwhile, talent GOES WASTED And big clubs get richer and agents make more and more and more money, while wielding more and more and more power.
To be honest, I have felt that way about the great game for a while.
There's greed and nepotism and cronyism at every level, but especially at the competitive level, in every country.
It's no longer the very best players at the top. It's the very best players that are well connected, have the money to travel and trial and pay to play at the best academies etc. Meanwhile, talent GOES WASTED And big clubs get richer and agents make more and more and more money, while wielding more and more and more power.
For me, the biggest problems are 1) corrupt governance, 2) Uncontrolled monetization of the sport. The two go hand-in-hand and lead to exploitation of both footballers and fans, an increasingly artificial yet expensive experience, and the appropriation of the sport in the service of all kinds of unsavory purposes - from money laundering to sportswashing, militant nationalism, and beyond.
I do however agree that that there is an economic barrier to going pro for many players. The US is actually a great example - since the explosion of interest following the '94 World Cup, the professional game has come on by leaps and bounds. BUT there has been a lingering criticism that the best youth development academies are skewed heavily towards white, middle class kids. This demographic/racial disparity in pro development is still an issue, though as the pro game continues to grow we are seeing an increasing number of paths to professionalism. Still a long way to go to reach the kinds of working class communities that, elsewhere in the world, produce much of the best talent.
If you saw our(NSC) game there was a kid who ran on the field at the end of the game to get a selfie with Gareth Bale.
He's a family friend. My kids played soccer with him.
He received a 2 year ban from MLS matches and a $10,000 fine.
He's a family friend. My kids played soccer with him.
He received a 2 year ban from MLS matches and a $10,000 fine.
They need to have those kinds of penalties available for pitch invaders up to no good (plenty of examples of that recently), but in this case it sounds pretty darn harsh. Sigh. It's the world we live in.
Ya know, I love him and his family. They are good people. He and his older brother play in our adult league now. I hate it for him but as a parent, and an elementary educator, I appreciate the hard line/consistency they are taking. I'll keep you posted as to how it all plays out as best I can.
The video is on his insta:
@deens.nimajneb
www.instagram.com
Not sure if that link will work.
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This is a situation where I can see both sides of the situation, but I am in agreement with @Lord Blackadder.
Was there any other way in which he could have acquired a selfie with Gareth Bale other than by running onto the pitch, or, in other words, invading the pitch?
Could he have waited outside, after the players had changed, before they boarded the coach, and requested the selfie then?
I'd say maybe? I've no idea how, or where, you could do that but I bet there is a spot.
He didn't really think this through.
There is such a spot - certainly, in the UK.
For my part, I've waited (granted, this was years, okay, even decades, ago) outside the stadium, in the section - not quite cordoned off but there are stewards and police present - where the players (showered, scrubbed, changed) walk from their rooms in the stadium to their waiting coach; very often, they will sign autographs if you ask them (politely).
Of course, this will be well after the match has ended, perhaps more than an hour or so later, and you will have been standing in the cold and the dark, waiting around, (patience and tenacity are required) and a good many others - obviously - will also be there, seeking autographs, - and, these days, also selfies - and are there, present, simply to meet, press the flesh, of one's footballing heroes.
However, that means planning and patience, and a degree of tenacity, not qualities found in abundance in teenaged males.
No, he clearly didn't think this through, and I'm surprised that his family hadn't made it clear that this - invading the pitch - was Not A Good Idea.
I mean, when we were kids, my dad took us to matches; but, even for local matches, there was never a question of running onto the pitch afterwards, not even if you wished to meet the players; this is not just a question of potential violence from fans, (which is an all too serious threat) but basic etiquette, basic manners means that you leave the pitch to players and match officials - referees, linesmen/women/ medical staff, etc.
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Ya know, I love him and his family. They are good people. He and his older brother play in our adult league now. I hate it for him but as a parent, and an elementary educator, I appreciate the hard line/consistency they are taking. I'll keep you posted as to how it all plays out as best I can.
The video is on his insta:
@deens.nimajneb
Not sure if that link will work.
Look, if they are academy kids, then, they are more than fans, they have grown up in, been immersed in, the world of football since childhood.
They know its rules, and are expected to have internalised this knowledge and to be able to follow it.
Such behaviour is impetuous, impulsive, irresponsible, thoughtless - and could, if seen as a security breach - have had potentially catastrophic consequences for the kid in question.
As a coach, coaching a team of youngsters, this is exactly the sort of behaviour and conduct - impulsive, impetuous, thoughtless, irresponsible - that you want to see kids grow out of, because it could cost your team on the pitch.
Moreover, it is the sort of behaviour that cannot be seen to be rewarded.
I'm sorry for the kids, but somewhere and somehow, they have to learn to think before they act, and need to understand that actions can have - or can come with - consequences.
It wouldn't really be an issue - and for many decades it was not - but there have been too many instances of pitch invaders in recent years who attacked players and staff or otherwise created a serious security/safety issue. That cannot be tolerated and if we have rules in place for this they will have to apply to all pitch invaders.
From a players' perspective, when a man is sprinting towards you from the stands you have no idea what their intentions are - are they going to ask you for an autograph or sock you on the jaw? I sympathize with their desire for better security. It's never been more difficult to be a public figure and balance access with fans against security and privacy needs. Most fans are decent folk but that's not a guarantee of safety. It only takes one genuine knucklehead to cause trouble.
The last thing I would want to be these days is famous.
From a players' perspective, when a man is sprinting towards you from the stands you have no idea what their intentions are - are they going to ask you for an autograph or sock you on the jaw? I sympathize with their desire for better security. It's never been more difficult to be a public figure and balance access with fans against security and privacy needs. Most fans are decent folk but that's not a guarantee of safety. It only takes one genuine knucklehead to cause trouble.
The last thing I would want to be these days is famous.
I ran on to the pitch as a boy to get Bobby Moore’s autograph. It was a charity match after he had retired. But I remember it fondly.