Soccer/football thread 2022

Jayv said:
Amazing transfer window. Too much talent is my only fear.

Man City get Donnarumma, United taking a gamble with their goalie signing, although anything is an upgrade on Banana.
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They need time to get these people settled in and playing as a team. Wirtz is only just starting to show what he can do. He's looked a bit nervous up to now. Kerkez is doing well. Ekitike seems like a class signing.
 
This was by far the craziest transfer window I can remember, and not just for Liverpool. Despite Liverpool breaking the British transfer record twice in the same window, Arsenal managed to spend nearly £40M more net because they had very few sales, but somehow Liverpool is the one buying the league.

There was the various striker deals that got insane in value (Woltemade for €80+M was topped by Munich somehow agreeing to buy Jackson from Chelsea for roughly the same), the various holdouts (Isak and, ironically, Wissa), David to Juventus for what turned out to be a song, Newcastle trying to buy Strand Larsen from Wolves mere months after Wolves bought him, ManU spending big for strikers but ignoring massive holes in midfield and defense, ManU selling players they only bought at year or two ago for pennies on the dollar (but keeping their biggest cancer, Fernandes), a goalie who can't handle the ball (Donnarumma) going to a side where the keeper is expected to handle the ball more than any other, the fact that keeper was instrumental in winning PSG the CL but what's then frozen out, and then all capped with the on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again Guehi deal.

As a Liverpool fan, I wanted the Guehi deal done more than Isak, as he would be an ideal fit for their long-term needs. I have to imagine there is anticipation to get him in January, and Palace have had a nightmare of a window. Turns out they got gazumped by West Ham (West Ham!) for a defender from hated Brighton (even though nobody really understands why Palace and Brighton hate each other), so Glasner had a fit and told the owners if they sold Guehi he would walk.

Ah well, hopefully the massive Italian kid Leoni (who tore up Serie A in the last half of last year) can step in if needed, as Konate and Gomez have both struggled to play a season without serious injury.

Now comes the fun bit where Slot shows us his plan to somehow incorporate Kerkez, Frimpong, Bradley, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Wirtz, Gakpo, Salah, Ekitike, and Isak into a coherent system. If the first three games are any indication, it'll be f**king exciting. Having watched Arsenal, I pity those fans who have to watch that anti-football every week. Liverpool might be frustrating as they develop whatever system Slot has in mind, but it'll never be boring!
 
Priller said:
for a defender from hated Brighton (even though nobody really understands why Palace and Brighton hate each other), so Glasner had a fit and told the owners if they sold Guehi he would walk.
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Closest team to Brighton is palace, i guess it's the closest thing to a derby match for them that they have. Also Palace play a 3-4-3 and Guehi is instrumental for that formation to work.
 
Priller said:
This was by far the craziest transfer window I can remember, and not just for Liverpool. Despite Liverpool breaking the British transfer record twice in the same window, Arsenal managed to spend nearly £40M more net because they had very few sales, but somehow Liverpool is the one buying the league.

There was the various striker deals that got insane in value (Woltemade for €80+M was topped by Munich somehow agreeing to buy Jackson from Chelsea for roughly the same), the various holdouts (Isak and, ironically, Wissa), David to Juventus for what turned out to be a song, Newcastle trying to buy Strand Larsen from Wolves mere months after Wolves bought him, ManU spending big for strikers but ignoring massive holes in midfield and defense, ManU selling players they only bought at year or two ago for pennies on the dollar (but keeping their biggest cancer, Fernandes), a goalie who can't handle the ball (Donnarumma) going to a side where the keeper is expected to handle the ball more than any other, the fact that keeper was instrumental in winning PSG the CL but what's then frozen out, and then all capped with the on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again Guehi deal.

As a Liverpool fan, I wanted the Guehi deal done more than Isak, as he would be an ideal fit for their long-term needs. I have to imagine there is anticipation to get him in January, and Palace have had a nightmare of a window. Turns out they got gazumped by West Ham (West Ham!) for a defender from hated Brighton (even though nobody really understands why Palace and Brighton hate each other), so Glasner had a fit and told the owners if they sold Guehi he would walk.

Ah well, hopefully the massive Italian kid Leoni (who tore up Serie A in the last half of last year) can step in if needed, as Konate and Gomez have both struggled to play a season without serious injury.

Now comes the fun bit where Slot shows us his plan to somehow incorporate Kerkez, Frimpong, Bradley, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Wirtz, Gakpo, Salah, Ekitike, and Isak into a coherent system. If the first three games are any indication, it'll be f**king exciting. Having watched Arsenal, I pity those fans who have to watch that anti-football every week. Liverpool might be frustrating as they develop whatever system Slot has in mind, but it'll never be boring!
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Leoni reminds me of Paulo Maldini. I hope that's who he grows into. You also forgot the 16 year old wonderkid that won the game against Newcastle.

If Liverpool can mould a team from these individuals they will be unstoppable.

Exciting indeed.
 
Jayv said:
Closest team to Brighton is palace, i guess it's the closest thing to a derby match for them that they have. Also Palace play a 3-4-3 and Guehi is instrumental for that formation to work.
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Haha, I've read about the history of the so-called A23 Derby, it still doesn't really make any sense. I think my favourite detail about the rivalry is that the Seagulls moniker for Brighton came about as a way to take the piss out of Palace calling themselves Eagles, but then stuck enough to make ita way onto their crest.

As for Guehi, I understand why Glasner wants to keep him, but there's two problems with that for Palace (and not Glasner): first, Guehi's either going to leave in January for less than half the agreed £35M or next summer for nothing, and second, I don't believe for a second that Glasner himself wouldn't be off like a shot if the right big club came calling for his services.

In other words, much as I like Glasner, it's actually a selfish move rather than one made for the good of the team. Palace wouldn't pay the player £35M plus their salary for a single season, that would be the equivalent of a £175M transfer if spread over five years. Granted, Palace have had ages to figure out a replacement and haven't, but that's not Guehi's fault. The only lesson Palace is giving other players is if you are a professional and don't force your way out like Isak, Wissa, and any number of players before, you can get screwed. Add the risk to Guehi that he could get seriously injured in the meantime and see any future earnings totally destroyed, and it takes on a much more sinister tone.

JC99 said:
Leoni reminds me of Paulo Maldini. I hope that's who he grows into. You also forgot the 16 year old wonderkid that won the game against Newcastle.

If Liverpool can mould a team from these individuals they will be unstoppable.

Exciting indeed.
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I watch a fair bit of Serie A, and Leoni was on my radar last year when he appeared seemingly out of nowhere to help Parma to dodge relegation. The way he absolutely crushed Lukaku was seriously impressive, and he has a bulk and strength that's unusual for a teenager. I knew he'd move somewhere this summer, but I never thought he'd leave Italy, let alone for Liverpool. Apparently his idol is van Dijk, and that was the motivation.

Still, between him and Ngumoha, I've seen enough wunderkids show what seems to be limitless potential between 16 and 18, only to fade from greatness as they get into their 20's. Only recently we've had Nyoni, Doak and Danns show huge potential without being able to take the next step. Bajcetic is another one who looked incredible but still has a lot to prove, though it sounds like they're keeping him with the first team this year in hopes he can move forward from more promise last year on loan.

Still, you can see how Liverpool are building the framework for the next generation from Klopp's group, and as it stands, only van Dijk doesn't have a clear successor. Guehi could be that (hopefully paired with someone taller like Leoni to help with clearances, though...)
 
These Liverpool games are making my nails too short from biting them. Scoring in the last two minutes against Burnley.

It's getting a bit tiring watching teams just try to smother Liverpool defensively. There's no creativity from opponents. I'm glad Burnley lost, maybe it will make other teams consider not playing negatively.
 
JC99 said:
These Liverpool games are making my nails too short from biting them. Scoring in the last two minutes against Burnley.

It's getting a bit tiring watching teams just try to smother Liverpool defensively. There's no creativity from opponents. I'm glad Burnley lost, maybe it will make other teams consider not playing negatively.
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To be fair to Burnley, expecting them to go toe-to-toe with a Liverpool side that has a single player that cost what their whole side did is probably a bit much. They didn't lose at home for all of last season and up to today, so it's one recipe for staying up in a brutal league. Still, it's agony to watch, and only needs one bad moment for it all to fall apart, which is exactly what happened. Ironically, Arsenal failed using a very similar formula.

I was really looking forward to seeing Wirtz against a low block side, as the first three games were super intense and not an ideal way to feel your way into a new system. He showed some moments after the changes made at the half, and still has some incredible ball control in close spaces, but couldn't put the pieces together. The ability is there, I think he'll come good, but it's taking longer than hoped.

More worrying is how poor Salah's touch has been all year. Sure he scored (and on a great smashed effort), but he was the point where attacks fell apart far too often, usually with a heavy touch or poor pass. Hopefully he can find his rhythm with the rest of the side. Next week against Everton will be very interesting, as Moyes has made them much more fluid this year. Ironically, that may play to Liverpool's strengths, so we could see another 5-4-1 setup next week.

Now here's to a demoralising draw in Manchester that leaves both sides unhappy. Or a ManU win that promises yet another false dawn and keeps Amorim in place for a few more months of agony.
 
Priller said:
To be fair to Burnley, expecting them to go toe-to-toe with a Liverpool side that has a single player that cost what their whole side did is probably a bit much. They didn't lose at home for all of last season and up to today, so it's one recipe for staying up in a brutal league. Still, it's agony to watch, and only needs one bad moment for it all to fall apart, which is exactly what happened. Ironically, Arsenal failed using a very similar formula.

I was really looking forward to seeing Wirtz against a low block side, as the first three games were super intense and not an ideal way to feel your way into a new system. He showed some moments after the changes made at the half, and still has some incredible ball control in close spaces, but couldn't put the pieces together. The ability is there, I think he'll come good, but it's taking longer than hoped.

More worrying is how poor Salah's touch has been all year. Sure he scored (and on a great smashed effort), but he was the point where attacks fell apart far too often, usually with a heavy touch or poor pass. Hopefully he can find his rhythm with the rest of the side. Next week against Everton will be very interesting, as Moyes has made them much more fluid this year. Ironically, that may play to Liverpool's strengths, so we could see another 5-4-1 setup next week.

Now here's to a demoralising draw in Manchester that leaves both sides unhappy. Or a ManU win that promises yet another false dawn and keeps Amorim in place for a few more months of agony.
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Salah is off. Don't know what it is but his touch isn’t there yet. Maybe it’s age, who knows. Wirtz has the ball velcroed to his feet at times. I can see why they paid so much for him. Once he's fully settled he'll be a nightmare for other teams to deal with.

Conor Bradley was great today. Lots of energy. Kerkez seems enthusiastically wild and Slot wisely took him off before he did something bad but he has a ton of energy too.

The silver lining for me is that the team is winning despite not being fully functional. Once they are firing on all cylinders I think no team will want to play them.
 
JC99 said:
The silver lining for me is that the team is winning despite not being fully functional. Once they are firing on all cylinders I think no team will want to play them.
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This is the key, haven't really played well but still top of the league.
 
Phew. Not sure what the commentator team were watching as they kept on about how close things were. I was watching a game where it was Liverpool's to lose. So many good chances from fabulous balls. Many by Salah. A huge deflection on a volley for Athletico's last goal that was called “an amazing strike” what rubbish, that was only going in from that deflection. Ally McPissed is demented.

Lots of good stuff here. Wirtz showing some magic in the box, Salah back on form, a not yet completely fit Isak showing promise. Ekitike is a monster, he moved aside two players to steal a half chance that he never should have had at the end from a bouncing ball.

Some downsides. Bradley seemed a bit nervous, not the energy of last game. Ngmoah seemed a bit nervous and quiet on the left.

Lots of promise here. Liverpool starting to come alive.

For the other games:

I don’t care how many goals Harry Kane scored tonight. He's still a donkey.

For PSG, I don’t care if your outfield players have an average age of 12.5 and an average speed of 100mph in sprints. You lost your freakishly long armed talisman Donarumbrella in goal and teams have your number this season. Meet up against good powerful defenders and you'll get muscled off the ball plus you all have to be home by 6 or Mum gets mad.
 
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JC99 said:
Phew. Not sure what the commentator team were watching as they kept on about how close things were. I was watching a game where it was Liverpool's to lose. So many good chances from fabulous balls. Many by Salah. A huge deflection on a volley for Athletico's last goal that was called “an amazing strike” what rubbish, that was only going in from that deflection. Ally McPissed is demented.

Lots of good stuff here. Wirtz showing some magic in the box, Salah back on form, a not yet completely fit Isak showing promise. Ekitike is a monster, he moved aside two players to steal a half chance that he never should have had at the end from a bouncing ball.

Some downsides. Bradley seemed a bit nervous, not the energy of last game. Ngmoah seemed a bit nervous and quiet on the left.

Lots of promise here. Liverpool starting to come alive.

For the other games:

I don’t care how many goals Harry Kane scored tonight. He's still a donkey.

For PSG, I don’t care if your outfield players have an average age of 12.5 and an average speed of 100mph in sprints. You lost your freakishly long armed talisman Donarumbrella in goal and teams have your number this season. Meet up against good powerful defenders and you'll get muscled off the ball plus you all have to be home by 6 or Mum gets mad.
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I couldn't watch because of work, but was glued to Bluesky and the Fotmob app in the office and have since seen the excellent highlights package DAZN puts together (Fubo's sucks by comparison).

Both the Atleti goals looked iffy to me, the first should have been called back for offside with Griezmann running interference on Alisson, and the second was a fluky deflection. Per my favourite Scouse football poet, Neil Atkinson of The Anfield Wrap, they looked like all the promise of this side was coming together in the first half, then lost a bit of their verve in the second half as the changes were made. Isak and Wirtz looked like they had a good understanding, Salah was back to his old game breaking form, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai bossed the midfield, and Robbo was running like it was 2017 all over again (bar some ball watching on the first goal.)

Slot promised fireworks this season after the first Bournemouth game, and he's delivered.

As for commentators, I've taken to muting some games if the crowd isn't loud. The pair who do seemingly all the Liverpool games were gushing about Burnley parking the bus for near 90' on Sunday, and were fuming when the handball was given as a pen. I suppose with success comes overdog status, and an underdog win is a more interesting story than the expected panning out.

For anyone saying it can't go on like this, here's the legend Mick McCarthy:
 
Chiesa is on fire. Leoni looks solid. Frimpong is a bit sloppy, Ngumoa is trying to get into top gear but seems a bit nervous still.

Not an inspiring first half from Liverpool but there's some good signs.
 
Couldn't watch, so only my usual workday mix of Bluesky, Reddit and Fotmob feeds. Have never seen Slot so cranky in a post-match presser, saying Ekitike was stupid and that a few other players didn't put enough effort in. Consensus seems to be Gomez, Endo and Frimpong were the source of his unhappiness.

Hoping this sparks more time for Chiesa, though I'm not sure Slot will ever trust him for anything important.

Sadly, looks like there's a good chance Leoni has a serious knee injury, possibly a torn ACL. Heartbreaking, he was possibly the signing I was most excited about this summer, despite the massive spend elsewhere. I love an imperious CB, with Hansen being my favourite red until VVD came along. I'm still hoping he'll grow to be the combination of Van Dijk and Maldini he showed hints of at Parma, but a major injury like that at his age could be catastrophic. Praying it's not too serious...
 
Priller said:
Couldn't watch, so only my usual workday mix of Bluesky, Reddit and Fotmob feeds. Have never seen Slot so cranky in a post-match presser, saying Ekitike was stupid and that a few other players didn't put enough effort in. Consensus seems to be Gomez, Endo and Frimpong were the source of his unhappiness.

Hoping this sparks more time for Chiesa, though I'm not sure Slot will ever trust him for anything important.

Sadly, looks like there's a good chance Leoni has a serious knee injury, possibly a torn ACL. Heartbreaking, he was possibly the signing I was most excited about this summer, despite the massive spend elsewhere. I love an imperious CB, with Hansen being my favourite red until VVD came along. I'm still hoping he'll grow to be the combination of Van Dijk and Maldini he showed hints of at Parma, but a major injury like that at his age could be catastrophic. Praying it's not too serious...
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That would be a travesty. Leoni looked solid and mature for his age. Chiesa brings so much energy to the team and it's infectious so even just for morale he's worth bringing on plus the guy has skills so it’s win win.

Both the goals for Liverpool looked easy against a team that was causing them some issues so that's a good sign.

Ekitike was an idiot. He got carried away. It may be the competition between him and Isak is what drives him so that's a good thing if they are trying to outcompete each other for goals this could be an interesting season.

The backup goalie looks pretty solid.

Every time Bradley plays he seems to get better and he's good. A playmaker as well as a defender.

I didn’t think Gomez had a bad night but Endo was off. Dumb header that gave Southampton their equalizer.

Ngumoa was ready to take everyone on every time he got the ball so that’s must terrify defensive players. Good to watch, just needs more game time.
 
Watching the Galatasaray game. End of first half. If that was a penalty I'm a Dutchman. Not sure what game the commentators are watching again, Liverpool have been clear on goal in that half and the Turks are diving more than a professional pearl farmer.
 
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Insanely bad reffing aside, this was the first no good, awful, very bad week as a Liverpool supporter in a long time.

Have heard a million theories as to why it's not working, from it all being Konate's fault, all being Wirtz's fault, Slot's fault for too much chopping and changing and never settling on a system and group, the wing backs not having the right balance and leaving the CB's exposed too often, an imbalanced midfield, too few attackers able to track back and defend, etc. etc.

They are, predictably, very short on defenders if Konate isn't performing well (saving £5M on Guehi seems borderline suicidal at the moment), and the transition play seems very slow and laboured. When Gravenberch gets crowded and can't find an outlet, there doesn't seem to be an option to take the pressure off of him. The last two games have also seen them misfiring on offense, which means the defensive propensity to brain farts leading to goals has become a much bigger problem.

Either way, I knew with a whole different system to install this season, as well as so many new players, it would take some time for it to gel. To me, before the season started, I would have been satisfied with a top four finish, signs of things settling in past Christmas, and a deep Champion's League run. The hot start has meant the expectations have raised, but they still need time to get this all ticking along smoothly. Hopefully the inevitable media noise around 'what's wrong with Liverpool?!' and 'Is Wirtz/Isak/Frimpong/Kerkez a bust?!' don't become too much of a distraction and they can steadily work to get things clicking smoothly again.

And hey, at least ManU is back to their old tricks. I hope they don't poach Glasner, partly because I think he's an incredible coach, and partly because I'm worried they'll ruin him...
 
Priller said:
Insanely bad reffing aside, this was the first no good, awful, very bad week as a Liverpool supporter in a long time.

Have heard a million theories as to why it's not working, from it all being Konate's fault, all being Wirtz's fault, Slot's fault for too much chopping and changing and never settling on a system and group, the wing backs not having the right balance and leaving the CB's exposed too often, an imbalanced midfield, too few attackers able to track back and defend, etc. etc.

They are, predictably, very short on defenders if Konate isn't performing well (saving £5M on Guehi seems borderline suicidal at the moment), and the transition play seems very slow and laboured. When Gravenberch gets crowded and can't find an outlet, there doesn't seem to be an option to take the pressure off of him. The last two games have also seen them misfiring on offense, which means the defensive propensity to brain farts leading to goals has become a much bigger problem.

Either way, I knew with a whole different system to install this season, as well as so many new players, it would take some time for it to gel. To me, before the season started, I would have been satisfied with a top four finish, signs of things settling in past Christmas, and a deep Champion's League run. The hot start has meant the expectations have raised, but they still need time to get this all ticking along smoothly. Hopefully the inevitable media noise around 'what's wrong with Liverpool?!' and 'Is Wirtz/Isak/Frimpong/Kerkez a bust?!' don't become too much of a distraction and they can steadily work to get things clicking smoothly again.

And hey, at least ManU is back to their old tricks. I hope they don't poach Glasner, partly because I think he's an incredible coach, and partly because I'm worried they'll ruin him...
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I still don’t think there's an emergency. There have been a lot of new signings and Slot is trying to get the team to hum as a machine and that takes time. Not starting Salah was a good move. I actually thought there were a fair few Liverpool chances. Yes, there were some howler mistakes too. Ekitike had some great attempts. I was really excited for 30 seconds when Ekitike and Isak and Salah were all on the pitch but they subbed off Ekitike shortly afterwards. That forward line should scare the crap out of any team playing Liverpool.

Wirtz had a shot on goal from a position that shouldn’t really have been possible. I still think he'll prove his worth and when he does other teams will **** their pants playing this team.

Biggest mistake…selling Diaz. Aside from that I'm not too worried. It would have been a lot better if Leoni wasn’t out. We need to get Konate signed in to another contract. He's badly distracted right now.

I have faith.
 
JC99 said:
I still don’t think there's an emergency. There have been a lot of new signings and Slot is trying to get the team to hum as a machine and that takes time. Not starting Salah was a good move. I actually thought there were a fair few Liverpool chances. Yes, there were some howler mistakes too. Ekitike had some great attempts. I was really excited for 30 seconds when Ekitike and Isak and Salah were all on the pitch but they subbed off Ekitike shortly afterwards. That forward line should scare the crap out of any team playing Liverpool.

Wirtz had a shot on goal from a position that shouldn’t really have been possible. I still think he'll prove his worth and when he does other teams will **** their pants playing this team.

Biggest mistake…selling Diaz. Aside from that I'm not too worried. It would have been a lot better if Leoni wasn’t out. We need to get Konate signed in to another contract. He's badly distracted right now.

I have faith.
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Agree with everything except re-signing Konate. He's been solid in flashes when the rest of the team is there to bail him out from his moments of distraction, but when they aren't at their best, he makes things much worse with his lack of consistency. He's come in for a lot of stick this year, but I agree with the lads on The Late Challenge podcast when they say he's always been like this. It's especially evident when he doesn't have van Dijk beside him. I have heard part of the reason he hasn't extended is the club have offered him a fairly low-ball number. The club desperately needs another lock-down CB to take the helm from when VVD steps back, and Konate ain't it, even if he thinks he is. I think his market will be a lot more limited than some expect, and even the Madrid connection might fade with his play this year.

Guehi would appear to be that guy, but they're playing with fire letting him go to the end of his deal at Palace. Especially as Saliba has extended at Arsenal, narrowing the field of available top class CB's significantly and opening the door to other big clubs even in January. Liverpool have apparently been adamant that they wouldn't buy him in January, but maybe if Glasner ends up heading to ManU, the expectations may change for all parties.

I personally think a top CB is the most important player on the pitch, and winning without one is impossible. Liverpool has been able to manage without even Salah at times, but has never been able to manage without big Virg.

(Oh, and another bit of bad news today is apparently both Ekitike and Alisson are out injured.)
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