Well, i certainly hope Dani Carvajal will be ready because Danilo will be a mess against Juventus.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Football Thread 2016/17 |OT| Mou Money Mo Pogba
- Thread starter Lunar FC
- Start date
Well, i certainly hope Dani Carvajal will be ready because Danilo will be a mess against Juventus.
I think Ozil will stay. Sanchez probably gone to Bayern or PSG.
Hmmm. Whats wrong with Danilo there? Isnt he good i remember?
I am more afraid of RM midfield player. That is Juventus more soft part of the team.
I see Juventus having great backline and forward but softer midfield while RM had great Forward and midfield player while suspect backline.
If RM is able to keep upping the pace of the game, it will Juventus defeat. The most important thing for Juventus is to make sure the pace is decided by them rather than RM which is why i wanted Marchisio to play in final as his football intelligence is something i believe will be deciding for the final.
Not sure why some player still want to go to PSG after that disgrace game against Barca though. Money i guess?
Dani and Bale have been injured. I really don't think Bale will be 100% match fit, and I hope he starts on the bench. Dani will highly likely be ready, but haven't played for a few weeks.
I think the midfield will play an important part in the Champions League final. ZIzou will probably start with Casemiro, and so Isco will either have to go to the bench or start on the right or left side. The three front players will switch a lot with Cristiano often going in centrally, and Benz and Isco roaming around outside the box.
And you'll probably line up Marchisio and Pjanic? What formation will you line up with? I can see Manzu, Pipita and Dybala up front.
Congratulations Real.
Very happy with fourth place, I thought we blew it two weeks ago against Southampton but we managed to pull it back.
We're seeded in the Champions League qualifiers now and if we qualify we'll be in pot 3 as well.
I look forward to the group of death next year of:
Real
PSG
Liverpool
Celtic
Very happy with fourth place, I thought we blew it two weeks ago against Southampton but we managed to pull it back.
We're seeded in the Champions League qualifiers now and if we qualify we'll be in pot 3 as well.
I look forward to the group of death next year of:
Real
PSG
Liverpool
Celtic
Carl2291
Member
Why I will never like Barca, or any Barca player. Scum.
I am actually quite confused on what our mad max can use lol.
We have been using 4-2-3-1 to great success this whole season.
Using a double pivot of Pjanic and Khedira while Dybala as our main creativity. But i feel, this mid is going to be too offensive for my own like and it will render Alves potential.
Our recent 3-4-3 with marchisio and pjanic holding the mid while alves pushing forward had also been super successful against Monaco so i am literally confused on what formation to use against u guys there.
The disgrace in that game was the dodgy referee. He was either bought or too incompetent to identify blatant Barca cheating.
It is the combination of those 2 if u ask me. If only PSG did much better than that abysmal second leg performance, they will be survive that game there.
There is a reason why some said that u play with ur strength which in psg case going forward rather trying to defend when they had zero skills on that part.
I am not saying the ref is not wrong here but surely, psg could do better there.
Dagobert Duck
Member
Why is this thread full of Madrid and yet not a single mention of 1.FC Köln...
https://www.facebook.com/BleacherReportFootball/videos/1497545986974532/
https://www.facebook.com/BleacherReportFootball/videos/1497545986974532/
Tainted
Member
There's also the EFL Championship play-off Final, granted not as big as all these listed....but I always enjoy watching the spectacle of it, winner of course gets promotion to the PL
Tainted
Member
Correct
RocknRola
Member
Roger that. Was seeing some random news already counting them in, got confused.
Playing Barca at their place is hard enough, doing so with a ref who will give penalties for 2 obvious dives is an impossible task. Football players aren't robots, their heads are going to drop in the face of such adversity and defensive decision making is affected when you know that the other team will take a dive or tumble to get you sent off or to get a penalty and that the referee is too crap to see through such obvious cheating.
GoldenCrow
Member
Great post. What are other peoples thoughts on their clubs season?
--
Manchester City
Before the beginning of the season the main criticism was that Pep would struggle with the players he had at his disposal, the bloated squad size would make signings harder, contracts would make it hard to get rid of certain players, and the defence was shit. That is pretty much what happened. The technical level of football improved dramatically as did playing to a high intensity the majority of a game, the latter being a big problem the last few seasons with most of the players switching off. A team culture has started to come back after Pellegrini let that go by the wayside even though at times it feels a bit forced.
No trophies, finished 3rd, spent silly amounts of money and have three very clear problems that need fixing but for some reason I feel much better about this season than the prior season. In the vast majority of games when loosing or drawing City played the better football and if any one of the three problems can get patched then we become a much better side. The football when in full flow was a joy to watch though could be frustrating at times due to the lack of quality end product.
Sané was the standout new signing of the season even though he had a slow start his quality started to show in the end and he is going to become one hell of a player. Jesus had a decent season but after getting injured he lost a bit of hunger and aggression he had in his first few games, needs to work on his positioning as he is almost always offside but he is going to be ridiculously good. Stones and Gündoğan were disappointing one being injured most of the season and the other just too inexperienced to hold his own in the system required from him. Bravo was pure dross. Sterling improved dramatically and Fernandinho played everywhere but it was really Silva, de Bruyne and Touré that made the team tick. Sad to see Zabaleta go but after he got injured last season he wasn't the same.
The three main problems are the keeper, defence and end product. City have spent a lot over the years on trying to sort the defence out so I have little hope in that getting sorted by next season but I do think it will be improved just getting some quality fullbacks will help a lot in that regard. A keeper that provides mental security would be great but they are in rare supply so will see where that goes. The end product really needs to improve. Looking at the stats less than half of the shots are on target and the conversion rate is around 17%, that needs to be much better so over half the shots are on target and the conversion rate is over 20%, this seems to be what Pep is most focused on improving so look forward to seeing how he goes about that.
I expect a lot of players to go over the summer and about seven intended for first team signings to come in. City need new full backs, an experienced CM in the style required that can command the backline, a defensive midfielder, a striker that can also play on the left wing and a keeper.
R_thanatos
Member
Not even surprised , when barca plays , the refs suddenly do not do their job properly.
( Yes i'm still salty )
Audioboxer
Member
Ashley Young level of diving. You never go Ashley Young diving.
It's probably even worse tbh
Martinski43
Member
Rashford's dive against Swansea also comes to mind. The GK even tries to get his arms back and he starts diving before he even is at his arm length.
https://streamable.com/ma8z6
immortal-joe
Member
Real Madrid player(?) name drops Pique during celebrations. Or at least that's what the video claims.
https://youtu.be/vvlyHgUshHk
https://youtu.be/vvlyHgUshHk
nothing out of the ordinary, this is a tradition that Barca and Madrid do when they win a trophy. usually they say Barca or Madrid when doing the chant, but this year it was Pique because he was extra cunty all season long. Barca did the same with Pepe a couple of years ago
immortal-joe
Member
So just a regular season for him.
WAR recon zero
Banned
2 pks
Well, i see where u are coming there. But i still stand that PSG player and the coach should do better there. Even mental strength is part of the football there. Thats why many smaller team collapse vs bigger team here. I see that match is the combination of bad referring and PSG mental barrier where they just collapse.
I mean, Juventus show that even when we are seen as the underdog, we are able to play really well in Camp Nou. Of course, good Referee is part of them but the fact that Juventus player remain calm till the game is over is part of why Juventus win the game there.^^
Don Draper's Hat
Member
Apparently some bookies paid out thousands of pounds on this bet.
Everyone involved should get the same treatment as Joey Barton. But they won't.
Also, deduct 10 points off Chelsea.
cartoon_soldier
Member
Of course, it's JT. All he's ever done is fuck his best friend's wife.
They won't get in any trouble.
They got 2 penalties and a red card for the defender.
McMoneyman
Member
The squad Liverpool take with them to Sydney for a end of season friendly on Wednesday. Imagine having prime Gerrard, Macca, Agger and Carra with this squad, would be deadly!
He is the worst.
WAR recon zero
Banned
It's now a tradition that Eto'o started.
Copa Libertadores is going strong.
McMoneyman
Member
Kolo absolutely. Joe, I still like him, but some of the stuff he's said about Liverpool after he left makes him come off as bitter.
Unreal Champ
Banned
What did he say?
McMoneyman
Member
Shit I got him mixed up with Jordon Ibe, who said that Liverpool and Bournemouth are on the same level because neither had Europe this season.
WhateverItTakes
Banned
Where's this statement on NOS Barkley then? Might as well get one summer saga started quick.
This would have been painful if we finished fifth, but finishing fourth makes it beautiful B)
privitsan02
Member
I hope Liverpool get some form of silverware next season. These guys really do deserve it, especially Coutinho.
McMoneyman
Member
Wijnaldum posted on Instagram yesterday that the aim next season is the title. ¯\_(ツ
_/¯United broke him. Sacked twice and resigned within a 4 year period. He must regret leaving the comfort of Everton
Have to agree with all that. Bravo was a joke this year so that didn't help, and Stone was getting so much pressure put on him with some noob errors not helping either.
Sane has good great whenever I've seen you play. Though that tat he got is shameful lol.
As for Manchester United, I think most of the fans expected us to do more than 6th in the PL this year, I sure did. Our final league position isn't good enough which is entirely down to too many draws, caused solely because we can't score goals despite creating a dozen chances. This is probably the thing Mou needs to fix most urgently next season, alongside scoring goals at home. With a goal in some of those draws, we are suddenly much better off, and it's not like we didn't have the shots at goal.
That said however, we won a trophy already which is good for the players and we might yet win another which is great for them and gets us into CL groups which means no pesky qualifying games. Mou has bleated a bit too much for my liking about the amount of games, that comes with doing well and he chose to deplete his squad by letting players go and not using enough of the younger players the team has that could have helped out from time to time.
Summer business is going to be big numbers I'm sure so I'm excited to see what happens. Just as important though is going to be what happens with De Gea (hope if he does go its for bonkers money even though we don't need it), as well as Rooney. Januzaj will probably be let go after a poor year in a poor team, but Andreas Pereira has had a great loan at Grenada so I really hope he gets a shot next year or gets a PL loan.
I think the 4 players that came in have all done well to varying degrees. Pogba being the headline megabucks transfer always meant he was going to be under intense scrutiny and get more criticism than had he been £40m, even though a player doesn't set the fee. There have been flashes of brilliance from him this season, and a little more luck with the woodwork and his and the teams fortunes would look much better. He's also been hampered at times I think with Mou trying to find his formation and team and so hasn't regularly had the same kind of position that he largely played with Juve, later in the season with a Carrick, Herrera, Pogba midfield he and the team looked better. With all that said however, a little more than I'd like he's seemed ghosted out of a game, and will give the ball away far too easily on 5-10 yard passes, but yet will then hold off 3 players and play a worldie assist. Next season could be huge for him.
Zlatan is Zlatan, scored a lot of goals and at important times so a shame to see him injured and his off pitch persona has been as important as his on pitch, however, his conversion rate compared to Kane and Lukaku has been poor. He spurned far more chances than I expected and still scored a good amount, played a LOT and rarely looked like he was flagging. Trying to get him and Rooney on the pitch was difficult though and Zlatan being #1 on the team sheet meant Rashford and Martial have had to juggle the left wing between them a lot. Hoping he comes through his injury and sticks around, though wouldn't be surprised if he goes elsewhere to play every week.
Miki has a rough start and then finally go going and looked great. It's clear he has the ability, flagged a little toward the end of the season, but that could be a conditioning thing, or Jose constantly changing the lineup or who knows. Looking forward to seeing him next year.
The top of the 4 signings has to be Bailly though, most including me had never heard of the guy, hes only 23 and Jose drops him in to a back 4 that's not looked that impressive for a few years and he shone. Fast, powerful, good with the ball, exactly what we needed. A real shame he won't be in the final on Wendesday.
If we win on Wednesday then I'll be mildly satisfied, for the first season since Moyes I've been excited to watch us every week, hoping that eventually they'll work out where the net is and hammer someone as it's all there ready to go.
If we don't win on Wednesday against a young, cheap, inexperienced side after all Joses bleating and resting players for the last 2 weeks, I'll be really quite annoyed. I still edge toward agreeing with his decision to back the EL over the PL with 4 games to go though.
Many words lol.
DP but worth it. Silly season has begun!
The Interview
https://twitter.com/Qofficiel/statu...-10-chances-i-will-sign-are-a-6.429239/page-3
(his brother)
The Interview
https://twitter.com/Qofficiel/statu...-10-chances-i-will-sign-are-a-6.429239/page-3
(his brother)
Tainted
Member
The squad Liverpool take with them to Sydney for a end of season friendly on Wednesday. Imagine having prime Gerrard, Macca, Agger and Carra with this squad, would be deadly!
Can't wait...got my tickets all booked in and days off from work organised !