Sports The Football Discussion Thread!

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Yup, that's been our problem since 2014. I think I prefer it to the hammerings from top sides we received in 2013-14 though.

I really miss the days of the Champions League being on mainstream tv here, can't really justify going to the pub for Dortmund vs. Monaco when its exam season. I was torn on who to back before last week, but after the insensitivity of making Dortmund play less than 24 hours later than initially scheduled, I'm definitely backing them.

Apparently there was some controversy in Bayern's loss? Good. Their stranglehold on German football is worse than the Clasico in Spain, and at least in Italy it just seems like bad luck with injuries preventing Napoli from beating Juve and getting a 3rd title, despite them doing a Bayern when they bought Higuain.

 

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Yup, that's been our problem since 2014. I think I prefer it to the hammerings from top sides we received in 2013-14 though.

I really miss the days of the Champions League being on mainstream tv here, can't really justify going to the pub for Dortmund vs. Monaco when its exam season. I was torn on who to back before last week, but after the insensitivity of making Dortmund play less than 24 hours later than initially scheduled, I'm definitely backing them.

Apparently there was some controversy in Bayern's loss? Good. Their stranglehold on German football is worse than the Clasico in Spain, and at least in Italy it just seems like bad luck with injuries preventing Napoli from beating Juve and getting a 3rd title, despite them doing a Bayern when they bought Higuain.

 

[Frozocrone]

Monaco were phenomenal and fully deserved to progress.

Was a very entertaining game though between Monaco and Dortmund and I would love for Monaco to win. Dortmund tried to be cute with defence (343) and paid the price.

Certainly better than Barcelona vs Juventus. Barcelona players only have themselves to blame.

I think I would like to see Real Madrid vs Juventus and Atletico Madrid vs AS Monaco next.

 

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Monaco were phenomenal and fully deserved to progress.

Was a very entertaining game though between Monaco and Dortmund and I would love for Monaco to win. Dortmund tried to be cute with defence (343) and paid the price.

Certainly better than Barcelona vs Juventus. Barcelona players only have themselves to blame.

I think I would like to see Real Madrid vs Juventus and Atletico Madrid vs AS Monaco next.

Nooo...I can't handle another Madrid derby final, I feel like if Atletico drew Madrid in a two-legged tie they'd be less vulnerable to Sergio Ramos being his damn heroic self. Or they could draw Juventus and prove that it doesn't matter how many forwards you play, some defences can't be breached. I'm hoping for Atletico-Monaco in the final as that way I wouldn't care who won and it'd be a cracking game too.

I don't think Dortmund playing a 3-man defence was being cute, they've been doing it quite a bit recently, Tuchel's a bit like Guardiola in the way he's been experimenting.

Barca not being in the semis is great though, I hate how they voted out the president who promoted Guardiola and gave us one of the greatest club sides in history for a man who's turning them into Madrid in different colours. At least when they beat us in 2009 the amount of youth products in the squad made me begrudgingly admire them.

 

[Frozocrone]

Man Utd progress and are the sole competitors to improve England's co-efficient.

Hard fought win but Zlatan looks to have sustained an injury similar to Zouma's, looked very painful and looks like he'll be out the rest of the season and given his age, possibly the end of his career.

 

[Gandhi Savage]

Who's everybody's favourite for the Europa League? The more results United grind out the harder it is to see past them! Ajax into their first European semi-final in lord knows how long (I seen the stat but I can't remember atm), Lyon who play some scintillating stuff and it feels like this could be a last hurrah for Lacazette. Fekir, Ghezzal etc. before they inevitably move on and the Iago Aspas lead Celta Vigo.

 

[Frozocrone]

Who's everybody's favourite for the Europa League? The more results United grind out the harder it is to see past them! Ajax into their first European semi-final in lord knows how long (I seen the stat but I can't remember atm), Lyon who play some scintillating stuff and it feels like this could be a last hurrah for Lacazette. Fekir, Ghezzal etc. before they inevitably move on and the Iago Aspas lead Celta Vigo.

Will always support English teams in European competitions but I'd like an Ajax vs Man Utd final.

 

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Man Utd progress and are the sole competitors to improve England's co-efficient.

Hard fought win but Zlatan looks to have sustained an injury similar to Zouma's, looked very painful and looks like he'll be out the rest of the season and given his age, possibly the end of his career.

No chance. If it does take something off of him he'll just go to LAFC. To be honest this'll probably be better for our overall performances, although given Mourinho's feelings about Martial and Rooney I am concerned if we do manage the maximum 10 games we could still have remaining (Taking us up to 64!! thank god there's no international tournament this year) he'll run Rashford into the ground.

I'm far more concerned that if Rojo's injury is serious our centre-back options are basically Bailly partnered with one of Blind (too slow, cost us a goal today as well), Fosu-Mensah (probably a midfielder), Tuanzebe (no experience) or Fellaini (because he's big and Mourinho likes him, but his elbows in the box are a liability). Given how terrible our finishing is right now, that's an issue.

Who's everybody's favourite for the Europa League? The more results United grind out the harder it is to see past them! Ajax into their first European semi-final in lord knows how long (I seen the stat but I can't remember atm), Lyon who play some scintillating stuff and it feels like this could be a last hurrah for Lacazette. Fekir, Ghezzal etc. before they inevitably move on and the Iago Aspas lead Celta Vigo.

I can't see past Lyon as our main rivals - Ajax have yet another hot striker to replace Milik in Kasper Dolberg, but they haven't exactly faced the strongest opposition - but I agree with you that its most likely their last chance with this squad. Hopefully if they do reach the final (hopefully not at our expense) that can persuade the squad to stick together and try bring the title back to Lyon. They're one of the few clubs with a billionaire backer that I actually like. But they will no doubt have academy-made replacements - after all, the class of Lacazette, Fekir, Tolisso etc. is actually missing a member in Anthony Martial who came to United via FFP forcing them to sell him on the cheap to Monaco. If he'd stayed there they'd be unstoppable.

Celta are definitely the dark horses because their inconsistency has left them in 10th in a strong La Liga this year, but they do have a habit of destroying Barcelona.

I just noticed how much I've written - I guess United's involvement in the Europa League has made its charms more obvious - you actually get variety and unpredictability rather than the Champions League where Monaco are the only change from the usual suspects in the semis. Gutted its on a paid tv channel rather than Five.

 

[Frozocrone]

No chance. If it does take something off of him he'll just go to LAFC. To be honest this'll probably be better for our overall performances, although given Mourinho's feelings about Martial and Rooney I am concerned if we do manage the maximum 10 games we could still have remaining (Taking us up to 64!! thank god there's no international tournament this year) he'll run Rashford into the ground.

I'm far more concerned that if Rojo's injury is serious our centre-back options are basically Bailly partnered with one of Blind (too slow, cost us a goal today as well), Fosu-Mensah (probably a midfielder), Tuanzebe (no experience) or Fellaini (because he's big and Mourinho likes him, but his elbows in the box are a liability). Given how terrible our finishing is right now, that's an issue.

Maybe. I was impressed with Lingard and Rashford link up play and movement off the ball in the Chelsea.

I agree about Rojo. Man Utd full backs seem to bomb up the field to support the attack and Rojo is fast enough to cover players out of positions. He was also starting to understand Shaw well and that was evident when Anderlecht were able to find space between Blind and Shaw. Tottenham game looks scarier, but for Man Utd, just three more games to buckle down and win for Champion's League.

 

[Xherdan]

i think RM are gonna win again
it's extremely annoying for me because i think every football fan is tired of seeing them win over and over

ajax wrecked schalke in the last minute, amazing match
its good to see the greatest dutch team ever so close to the final of a continental competition

 

[Frozocrone]

i think RM are gonna win again
it's extremely annoying for me because i think every football fan is tired of seeing them win over and over

ajax wrecked schalke in the last minute, amazing match
its good to see the greatest dutch team ever so close to the final of a continental competition

I want Juventus or AS Monaco to win.

AS Monaco because they play great football (winning Ligue 1 at the minute) and are the true dark horse of the tournament (Leicester were always underdogs). Juventus, if only for Buffon (seriously, how has the guy not been a winner of the Champion's League yet?!). Juventus also have an amazing backline and defense wins titles.

 

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Anyone but Real.

It's weird for me because I like a lot of their players (Ronaldo, Ramos, Isco - glad to see he's finally getting a lot more game time, Marcelo - best full back on the planet, James) but I backed Atletico in last year's final because Madrid had finally got their Decima. Also because Atletico weren't being led by someone as hatable as Diego Costa. So Atletico winning would be a nice redemption, especially as most people reckon Simeone only has 1 more season in him before he walks off and waits for Inter to sack their manager. Juve - yeah, its for Buffon basically. Monaco meanwhile are simply the most exciting team in Europe right now, and there's no way they keep this team together even if Kylian Mbappé seems so grounded that they might be able to keep him for another year or two and then smash Pogba's record.

Back to the United game - the space between Blind and Shaw was probably more due to Blind being incredibly slow than any familiarity issues (Shaw has barely played alongside Rojo either). I was always impressed how well he could deal with big defenders last year, but pacey forwards are his kryptonite.

Given we've drawn Celta I'm really hoping Rojo comes back. Aspas is a nightmare to defend against, Sisto left Blind for dead repeatedly last year then proved it wasn't a fluke by destroying Barcelona, and Guidetti is showing why City bought him. Although tbh there was no easy draw in this tournament - the Europa League is now four (on paper, at least) top-heavy sides with forward lines of varying levels of experience but Ibra aside, a lot of pace.

 

[Frozocrone]

PFA Team of the Year

De Gea
Walker Cahill Luiz Rose
Hazard Alli Kante Sane
Kane Lukaku​

 

[Lipstick Vogue]

We won 2 - 0 last night without technically having a shot on target.

 

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PFA Team of the Year

De Gea
Walker Cahill Luiz Rose
Hazard Alli Kante Sane
Kane Lukaku​

That shows all of us who thought David Luiz was a terrible signing I guess...although stick him in a 2-man central defensive partnership and he'll prove us all right again. I feel like Azpilicueta might be more deserving than Cahill - his being moved out of the centre against us was a key reason for their frailty and his ability to adapt to a yet another new position is remarkable.

Glad to see Alli get some recognition too, appalling that he's not in the running for Player of The Year. Also - how good have centre-forwards been this year? Weird when you consider Liverpool are one of the top scoring teams without really using one, but in any other league bar La Liga, Zlatan's exploits would have him in that team. Can't argue he's been better than either Kane or Lukaku though.

 

[Frozocrone]

Team winning in City and Arsenal game is Man Utd because City play them midweek and ET will fatigue players

 

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We certainly need that with our injury luck. Nice to see Martial apparently coming back into form and Rooney managing to be useful, although I don't expect to see him in the derby despite his record in it, but Pogba is apparently injured and Bailly went off too, which could potentially lead us to starting with a central defensive partnership of Marouane Fellaini and one of Michael Carrick, Axel Tuanzebe or Timothy Fosu-Mensah - not exactly ideal given how City's 2nd choice striker is Sergio frickin' Agüero.

I feel weird about the outcome of the semi-final: whilst Arsenal having a chance to beat our F.A. Cup record would not be great, it'd also be really funny because I guarantee it means yet more Wenger and Arsenal fans in constant existential crisis.

 

[Frozocrone]

We certainly need that with our injury luck. Nice to see Martial apparently coming back into form and Rooney managing to be useful, although I don't expect to see him in the derby despite his record in it, but Pogba is apparently injured and Bailly went off too, which could potentially lead us to starting with a central defensive partnership of Marouane Fellaini and one of Michael Carrick, Axel Tuanzebe or Timothy Fosu-Mensah - not exactly ideal given how City's 2nd choice striker is Sergio frickin' Agüero.

I feel weird about the outcome of the semi-final: whilst Arsenal having a chance to beat our F.A. Cup record would not be great, it'd also be really funny because I guarantee it means yet more Wenger and Arsenal fans in constant existential crisis.

City taking one for the Premier League it seems.

I see Pep Guardiola ripping up the City team and starting again.

The game was...OK, boring first half, second half was entertaining. Pep taking off Aguero for Delph was the worst substitute IMO.

 

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City taking one for the Premier League it seems.

I see Pep Guardiola ripping up the City team and starting again.

The game was...OK, boring first half, second half was entertaining. Pep taking off Aguero for Delph was the worst substitute IMO.

wtf who taught him that now was the time to be pragmatic. After being so committed to his ideals he didn't even try to buy any full-backs to complement all his attacking signings and replaced a goalkeeper who couldn't kick with one who couldn't catch, he takes off one of the most prolific strikers England has ever seen for Fabian Delph?

God damnit. That's a Louis Van Gaal "you can never pass up the opportunity to switch your full-backs when your strikers are misfiring" tactical masterclass right there.

 

[Frozocrone]

wtf who taught him that now was the time to be pragmatic. After being so committed to his ideals he didn't even try to buy any full-backs to complement all his attacking signings and replaced a goalkeeper who couldn't kick with one who couldn't catch, he takes off one of the most prolific strikers England has ever seen for Fabian Delph?

God damnit. That's a Louis Van Gaal "you can never pass up the opportunity to switch your full-backs when your strikers are misfiring" tactical masterclass right there.

Yup. Really strange decision. Yeah, he was a sub down because Silva had an injury but he still had Iheanacho on the bench.

Can see Arsenal struggling even more next season...Chelsea look set for Champion's League so the Europa place from the FA cup will go to the runner up or winner (ie Arsenal).

Liverpool lost though, and suddenly Man Utd can overtake them in the league if both teams win all their games.