Official Football/Soccer/Futbol Thread 2014/2015...errr 2015/2016...I mean 2016/2017

[SupahBlah 424]

It's a 5-2 win but 2 daft goals conceded at the end just make it feel like a loss it's weird.

[Worm_Buffet 560]

On 4/11/2018 at 11:08 PM, Worm_Buffet said:

I don’t understand football. Real Madrid are so bad but they keep winning the Champions League.

 

[Izzy 388]

Efficiency counts.

[Worm_Buffet 560]

Not like Arsenal to mess it up like that. The players must really be upset about Wenger leaving.

[godhand 153]

Madrid is going to win the CL right? 

 

[Batong 253]

7 hours ago, godhand said:

Madrid is going to win the CL right? 

 

 

Don't worry, Liverpool Roma to the rescue.

 

But once again, we will be standing together watching RM in a CL final. I hope to be a better omen this time around..

[godhand 153]

I can only hope. It is going to be nuts. 

[Izzy 388]

 

[SupahBlah 424]

Hope he does well.

 

Prem game on tonight don't forget United and Brighton.

[Izzy 388]

Oh, I can't wait...

 

 

Should be a feisty game, especially since Brighton are fighting relegation.

[SupahBlah 424]

And so ends another Prem season.

 

City end it with 100 points, I never thought someone would hit 100 points City are just incredible from Ederson, through to the sublime Kevin de Bruyne who no matter the position defensive, central or further forward was always incredible, Raheem Sterling proving he's just a pure talent and only going to get better. United its like they finished second but you're still underwhelmed by them? It's weird like pure Mourinho the team felt much better until the Liverpool game when they went anti-football they should have just went for it but it's like Mourinho reverted to form Pogba was great but fell off towards the end of the season hopefully he gets back to his best next season. Spurs ended 3rd but pretty much tried to Spurs there way to the end finishing 5-4 against Leicester at home Alli wasn't as good as last season but its hard considering how good he was last season but Erikson stepped up considerably. Liverpool frankly should have finished higher but Champions League towards the end of the season ultimately distracted them Liverpool and Spurs both have a wonderful first eleven but a garbage bench and that's why I feel Liverpool/Spurs won't be anything more than 3rd/4th for Liverpool too many draws and pretty much because their attack is so terrifying that you just stick everyone behind the ball, without space Liverpool can't do anything Salah, Firmino and Mane were an absolute joy to watch this season looking forward to Keita and how he fits in the Premier League.

 

Chelsea just fell apart, I am unsure the reasons why whether Conte was too much a dictator for players that have more power than at any other club or whether he didn't get the players he needed, Morata started really well but then struggled in the Prem now whether its because he was injured and they were hiding I don't know, Giroud came in January but I feel Chelsea just didn't push on and was just a disappointing surrender of their title.

 

Arsenal were just typical Arsenal really, signings in summer weren't good enough and I still don't know what Xhaka actually does but the January ones were better. It's sad Arsene was pushed but he should have went out on a high a couple of years ago. It will be interesting who comes in and also who handles the pressure, the fans I don't think want anything other than to compete but its still a big task.

 

Was some shite in the Prem this season from Pardew's adventures at West Brom, Stoke and Swansea but others too 44 points got you in the top half. Everton ended up in 8th! Whenever I watched them it was just pure dire, hopefully Allardyce fucks off.

 

All in all the Prem this season had some fantastic highs, some outstanding teams, great games and some absolute dross.

 

World Cup in the summer and the transfer window opens again and we all go back at it. 

 

I don't see anyone stopping City but we'll all have fun trying. 

[godhand 153]

That was hard to watch. 

[SupahBlah 424]

Roma just added £20m to Alisson's transfer fee.

[Izzy 388]

What's that, 6 finals on the trot for Klopp? 

[SupahBlah 424]

Zidane like fuck this shit I am out.

 

ZIZOU THE GREATEST. 

[Izzy 388]

I thought it was the perfect move, he finished it like a boss.

[Worm_Buffet 560]

He'll be immortalised like all the other great european cup winning coaches at Real Madrid that we always hear so much about.

[kelley 492]

Hey guys. I’m back from the dead. AKA opening up six new locations in 60 days. Ouch. 

[SupahBlah 424]

Are you sure that you didn't die and it's not hell?

[SupahBlah 424]

Spain. 

[SupahBlah 424]

Really enjoying this world cup.

[Worm_Buffet 560]

Lol España. 

 

How did they not win though? They passed the ball sideways so many times 

[dogbert 945]

Retaining possession is only useful if you're winning. Ridiculous game. 

[SupahBlah 424]

I refer back to my lol Spain post.

 

But it's hard playing host nations unless you just destroy them.

[SupahBlah 424]

“It’s tiki-taka. But nothing is happening.”

 

That’s not a quote from Mick McCarthy, Neil Warnock or your grandfather watching the game in the pub, but Cesc Fabregas. That’s Cesc Fabregas, La Masia graduate. That’s Cesc Fabregas, who played extensively for Barcelona and Arsenal, two of the most famously possession-heavy teams in recent history. That’s Cesc Fabregas, who has won three major trophies with Spain playing this style. If anyone knows tiki-taka, it is him.

 

“I loathe all that passing for the sake of it, all that tiki-taka,” as Pep Guardiola said in 2017. “It’s so much rubbish and has no purpose. You have to pass the ball with a clear intention, with the aim of making it into the opposition’s goal. It’s not about passing for the sake of it.” He is the manager most famously associated with the style, denouncing it.

 

But tiki-taka, at its best, is not passing for its own sake. It is quick, accurate passing and movement, drawing defenders out of position and exploiting the space that creates. Fabregas and Guardiola are describing a supermarket own-brand version of the genuine product. Done badly, and tiki-taka ends in the sterile domination that allows weaker opposition to gain a foothold. It also erodes goodwill amongst your own supporters.

 

Spain, humiliated at the last World Cup, will feel little better in 2018. They have been eliminated by the lowest-ranked in the tournament, the hosts reaching their first quarter-final since 1970. This defeat, to a team who barely bothered to attack them but still held Spain at arm’s length, will have repercussions that go beyond one performance. An inspection of Spanish football’s modern identity may soon take place.