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The 2022-2023 Football Thread

I no longer think it can be argued that TAA is now Liverpool's glaring weakness and teams have started to target him. A lot of Liverpool's goals conceded this season have been through the right hand side.

Although VVD is also having a shocker this season.
 
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...and the frown is back for Roy Keane.

Whilst i enjoy watching Haaland.

Its bittersweet how one-sided this EPL season is looking.

No one looks even close enough to challenging which is sad.
 
Ugh. Just ugh. In case you needed any reminder of the yawning gulf in quality between the two MCR clubs.

I guess the only good thing to come out of today is Anthony Martial coming back and carrying on his hot preseason form, not that city really cared by that point. If Varane is out for a while, it's going to be ugly.

Wolves really should be doing better than they are. They've been on terrible form for quite a while, so Lage getting sacked is not much surprise.
 
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Jonathan Wilson articulates the Man City dilemma perfectly - there are no arguments that they've built a beautiful footballing machine. But football is supposed to be a competition...and it really isn't much of one any more in England, and in Europe more broadly. Man City have won 4 of the last 5 titles and that was before they reached this new level of dominance (and pretty much all of their rivals have either regressed or stood still).

To that point, Qatar is the last World Cup that won't be ruined by expanding to 48 teams, 80 matches and 3-team group stages. Sigh. Of course, Qatar 2022 has already been ruined by being in Qatar in the winter, and there isn't much narrative to this one as far as I'm concerned. Pretty much all the big national teams are exhausted and playing poorly, so the winner will be more crapshoot than anything else (if I have to pick a favorite today the obvious choice is Argentina - the one big nation on a good run of form and Messi winning a WC would feel right). USA are in bad form too, so I expect nothing from them (please prove me wrong!).

I suppose the best thing (or worst, depending on your perspective) about Qatar 2022 is Norway isn't involved, so we get a break from Haaland-mania for a month. Of course, that means he'll be fresh after the WC break and ready to finish his 60-goal season for Man City.
 
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Forest are not long for the PL at this rate. There is little identity in common with the team that won promotion last season, with so much turnover of the squad.

Getting promoted to the top flight is hard. Building a team to stay up is very, very hard.
 
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Silencio said:
Forest are not long for the PL at this rate. There is little identity in common with the team that won promotion last season, with so much turnover of the squad.

Getting promoted to the top flight is hard. Building a team to stay up is very, very hard.
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It's incredible that with how many players they brought in, how poorly they are doing.
A spanking at the hands of a very ordinary (so far) Leicester side is quite poor indeed.

Bets on who gets the axe next? I think Mr Hassenhuttl may have done his dash at Saints. He'll probably be kept in charge for the Man City game, just in case he's able to pull a miracle from his proverbial buttocks, but the likelihood is that we'll get slaughtered by 9-37 goals and he'll be heaved over a cliff.

That begs the question - which good quality managers are out there looking for a fresh challenge and don't want or need PSG-style money to feel like they can compete?
 
Silencio said:
Getting promoted to the top flight is hard. Building a team to stay up is very, very hard.
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Either bet the farm on a raft of new signings coming good OR gamble that your existing team can make the transition from league bully in the Championship to scrappy survivor in the prem. Both paths carry long odds.

HandsomeDanNZ said:
Just 60?
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Well, assuming he doesn’t get injured or hit a slump he’s hitting an implausible 1.75 goals per game X 38 games = 66.5 goals.

Pretty grim.
 
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Injury is the only thing that can slow down Haaland. Personally, I can't believe there are people who doubted he would successfully make the transition to the PL or to city's side. He is one of the most complete strikers I've ever seen: physically dominant, highly skilled, uncannily intelligent, ruthlessly clinical, and playing up top for an already well-oiled juggernaut.
 
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Silencio said:
Injury is the only thing that can slow down Haaland. Personally, I can't believe there are people who doubted he would successfully make the transition to the PL or to city's side. He is one of the most complete strikers I've ever seen: physically dominant, highly skilled, uncannily intelligent, ruthlessly clinical, and playing up top for an already well-oiled juggernaut.
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To be fair, I can’t name a single serious footballing personality who questioned his ability to tear it up in England. Though there was, as always, plenty of negative noise on the internet about it.

Previously I had assumed he would get snapped up by Bayern, but I was being naive and now desperately wish that were true. I am simultaneously astounded at how good he is and utterly depressed at how strong he has made Man City.

It’s not hyperbole to suggest that Man City should be winning every single domestic trophy available as long as this squad and manager stays together. Moreover, they now have absolutely no excuse not to win the Champions League as well. They are unquestionably the best team in Europe.
 
Silencio said:
Injury is the only thing that can slow down Haaland. Personally, I can't believe there are people who doubted he would successfully make the transition to the PL or to city's side. He is one of the most complete strikers I've ever seen: physically dominant, highly skilled, uncannily intelligent, ruthlessly clinical, and playing up top for an already well-oiled juggernaut.
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Pretty sure he’d still get goals playing with an injury in his current form!
 
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