The Ongoing Serie A, La Liga, All English Football, Champions League Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 55

[Iceman]

West Ham pulled 1 back against Leicester so there’s at least some risk left there too.

 

[Iceman]

Another one that doesn’t matter, but Brentford beating City. Amazing season for them too.

 

[Iceman]

10 minutes of injury time for Everton to get through. Their fans did not want to see that.

 

[BlackFox]

Leeds down after getting crushed 4-1 at home by Spurs. Little fight from them today, fans not too happy at Elland Road not surprising given the rather weak attempt to stay up.

 

[BlackFox]

Everton survive, Leicester are down.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Boo. Wanted Everton to go down.

 

[Iceman]

Boo. Wanted Everton to go down.

At least it’s not good for the Vardys. Take comfort from that.

 

[B]

Was a pretty crap final day I thought, no real drama.. in fact the biggest drama came from the Liverpool game being 2-0 up to 4-2 down then back to 4-4.

If you go from Champions of England to relegated in 8 seasons, well the owners & board should take a good hard look at themselves as to how they've run the club & the decisions they've made because that shouldn't happen. Leeds deserved to go down because of the revolving door they've had at manager this season.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Same, there's very few I look at & I think he's a slam dunk, 25+ goals a season a striker.. with the exception of Kane. I'd take him in a heartbeat as a 2-3 short term fix if the price was right, which with Levy involved, it almost certainly won't be.. however he does only have 1 year left on his deal so you never know. If he could be signed in the £65m region, maybe with like £10m in add ons based on goals & team success, I think that would be fine. Realistically we are probably his only option as I don't think he'll want to leave England as he wants Shearer's record.

I saw that to, Kim Min-jae, I know nothing about him. Probably saw him the couple of times I watched Napoli in the CL & he didn't stick out.. which in many ways is an upgrade over Maguire because when he plays he sticks out like a sore thumb waiting for him to do something stupid.

It's always been an issue & particularly for me because, as I've said a million times to you as far back as the 35 year old+ Scholes days, CM is probably the most important position on the pitch, so it sickens me that we often are always missing something in that area. McTominay unquestionably should be done, simply isn't good enough at all. Works hard & has a good engine, but doesn't read the game well & he shys away from receiving the ball almost intentionally taking up bad positions so he can't get it, which infuriates me for a supposed CM to do.

There's a lot of good options that can improve quality & depth so we shouldn't be held to ransom or let it get into another one of these full window long sagas that drag on.

All in all, whoever we can or can't sign will be largely dependant on the supposed takeover which the Glazers are milking & prolonging as much as they can. We could end up with very little or late activity if it runs into the summer window.. if they even sell up at all.

I just have a bad feeling about Kane, these expensive, older big name signings have not worked out for us in the past, I just can't shake the feeling that it'll backfire. Of the one's we've been linked to I like the all round ability of Ramos, he's ideal for Ten Hag's system but obviously isn't prolifically proven yet. We're also linked to a forward from Inter but he's only scored about 6 or 7 goals I think, and Kudus from Ajax isn't really a #9, he's a talented player though.

Maguire has been a disaster, we just need to cut our losses this summer. Kim Min-jae seems like he'd be the kind of solid squad defender we need and will provide good cover with Lindelof for Varane and Martinez, although with the latter I think ETH will opt for Shaw at CB if Martinez is out as he likes that left footed balance.

Yep, i remember one of our first conversations was when Barca smoked us in the 2009 CL final, and both agreed we needed to improve the midfield, here we are 15 years on saying the same thing! Casemiro is undoubted the best CM we've had since the Keane and Scholes days, he has everything in his locker including a winners mentality. The problem is we have no cover for him and not top #8, McTominay is often like the invisible man, as you say he drifts out of games and avoids the ball, hopefully we can get £25M for him in the summer.

There are some pretty good midfielder options out there I agree, so I'm really hoping there's no truth in the Rice and Mount rumours, they sound more like Ole signings, expensive and unimaginative, Mount in particular is a player I've never rated, if we want another #10 type I'd prefer Gibbs-White.

Unfortunately you're right, it looks like the Glazers are going to make sure we have one more transfer window where it frustratingly drags on until deadline day because they won't just take their 30 pieces of silver and f*** off!

Love that dummy. Would have looked ridiculous if he got it wrong .

I think teams will eventually be able to compete with City’s first team if they get everything right, but outside of Madrid when they replace the old guard, not with their squad/second team. They were able to release the likes of Sterling and Zinchenko to rivals as they wouldn’t even get in to their second team.

Familiarity and I also think Utd has a bit more about them. City will also give everything in that CL match and it being the last game of the season with no international tournament, it's even worth a red card or injury to get the trophy. The FA Cup is great, but the CL is the biggest and the one they've never won. Winning it allows the huge haul of other trophies to get that much more credit too, as winning tons without the CL always feels like something missing. Also the other Euro teams won't always be at a relatively weak point so this is the time to get it over the line. Pep will be making that prioritisation clear I'm sure, no point any key players getting injured in the FA Cup final and then missing the CL final.

You need to be a hardcore student of the game now with many more strings to your bow and much more analytical ability than before.

Yeah, and also Dortmund (Ajax too) were already thereabouts anyway with a much stronger structure underneath all that activity. Brighton without this element could be a natural championship or lower team. It will be difficult but they are so far ahead in this area relative to most other teams that they could potentially make enough money to entrench longer term benefits.

I really wanted to secure the CL with a win in our last home game and also to help send Leicester and Vardy down, but we just couldn't score after so much possession and so many shots, and then actually looked vulnerable at the end! Everton absolutely have to win. Leeds look down already, yeah.

Haha.

Most pies sold is a valid metric mate.

Oh yeah, it was one of those that would have looked hilariously goofy if Pele hadn't got to the ball it's just a shame he didn't score.

City feel fairly unassailable at the moment, they already won a PL with no striker and now they've added the nuclear warhead equivalent of a striker! There's lots of work for United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea to do to topple them.

I hope you're right mate, I've gotta say I'm not exactly looking forward to next Saturday lol but these tests are a measuring test of where Ten Hag and his players are at, both tactically and mentally. We need Rashford to recapture his form and the back 4 and Casemiro will need to be virtually flawless if we're going to have a chance of winning the FA Cup.

I'd love to see Brighton sustain what they are building, with Dortmund they already had history and structure in place as you say, and of course outside of Bayern Munich there aren't any other mega rich clubs in the Bundesliga, so it's not as competitive. It'll be interesting to see how many of their star players they can hold onto this summer, and also who they bring in.

Well CL is in the bag now, congrats mate! Leicester bit the dust along with Leeds, it'll be interesting to see what players get picked up from Leicester in particular.

The Pukka Pies Champion!

 

[Kaleb]

Knock out round finally set


Tuesday
USA vs New Zealand
Uzbekistan vs Israel

Weds
Colombia vs Slovakia
Brasil vs Tunisia
Argentina vs Nigeria
England vs Italy

Thursday
Gambia vs Uruguay
Ecuador vs Korea Republic

 

[Iceman]

Officially confirmed now.

Mauricio Pochettino: Chelsea appoint ex-Tottenham boss as head coach

 

[Iceman]

Half time in the League One playoff final with Barnsley and Sheff Wed 0-0. Will it be as dramatic as the championship playoff final?

 

[Iceman]

Barnsley did well to survive since the 49th minute with a red card. Looks like it will be penalties again.

 

[Iceman]

Wow!! Sheff Wed score in the final minute of injury time. What a dramatic end!!

 

[Iceman]

 

[B]

I just have a bad feeling about Kane, these expensive, older big name signings have not worked out for us in the past, I just can't shake the feeling that it'll backfire. Of the one's we've been linked to I like the all round ability of Ramos, he's ideal for Ten Hag's system but obviously isn't prolifically proven yet. We're also linked to a forward from Inter but he's only scored about 6 or 7 goals I think, and Kudus from Ajax isn't really a #9, he's a talented player though.

Maguire has been a disaster, we just need to cut our losses this summer. Kim Min-jae seems like he'd be the kind of solid squad defender we need and will provide good cover with Lindelof for Varane and Martinez, although with the latter I think ETH will opt for Shaw at CB if Martinez is out as he likes that left footed balance.

Yep, i remember one of our first conversations was when Barca smoked us in the 2009 CL final, and both agreed we needed to improve the midfield, here we are 15 years on saying the same thing! Casemiro is undoubted the best CM we've had since the Keane and Scholes days, he has everything in his locker including a winners mentality. The problem is we have no cover for him and not top #8, McTominay is often like the invisible man, as you say he drifts out of games and avoids the ball, hopefully we can get £25M for him in the summer.

There are some pretty good midfielder options out there I agree, so I'm really hoping there's no truth in the Rice and Mount rumours, they sound more like Ole signings, expensive and unimaginative, Mount in particular is a player I've never rated, if we want another #10 type I'd prefer Gibbs-White.

Unfortunately you're right, it looks like the Glazers are going to make sure we have one more transfer window where it frustratingly drags on until deadline day because they won't just take their 30 pieces of silver and f*** off!

It is a risk, especially as he's always a player I've read about, even in the last 3 or 4 years, when admittedly he has played 40+ games, as constantly being 'questionable' or 'doubtful'. It would really all be dependant on the fee for me, he's going to be 30 come next season, I believe he has 1 year left on his contract & he does tend to always carry knocks, which tend to get worse with age, not better.. but he does seem to always guarantee you at least 20 goals a season. He would almost need to do what RvP did to force the move by making it clear he won't renew his contract & that might force Levy to be realistic with what he asks for. In an ideal world, we'd sign 2 strikers for depth reasons, but we won't.. we really need to hit a home run with whoever is signed as we need goals or we'll go nowhere.

Yeah I can't see Maguire staying, I'm amazed he's been called up for England given his sheer lack of playing time. Kim-Min Jae apparently has a release clause that will activate in June or July of €50m which seems reasonable nowadays for a first-team player. I'd try & see if Napoli would even take Maguire as part of a deal, he might find more success in Italy as some other English players have in recent years.

That's one of the biggest differences between pretty much every team other than City. When we have a key player injured or suspended in Casemiro's case, we're pretty screwed, but City have such squad depth in pretty much all positions that they barely skip a beat. We could really do with a couple of central midfielders to really try to minimise any drop off when someone is missing.. because at the minute it's far too big a drop to go from Casemiro to McTominay.

I agree, neither moves the needle for me & as far as Mount goes, I'd take him as depth if Chelsea were going to let him walk for very little, which they might considering their massive, expensive squad & no European football.. but I don't consider it a key area to unnecessarily waste funds. If Fernandes goes down I'm fine with Eriksen taking his spot, I even think Sancho is capable of playing through the middle &, assuming he's kept which I hope he is, Diallo I think can also play centrally if required based on what I've seen of him in a United shirt & on loan.

Honestly at this point, I just want them to sell completely & **** off. Maybe the next owner(s) will be just as bad or worse than the Glazers, but they've had their time & their ownership & lack of investment is part of the reason why we've gradually fallen off & allowed other clubs to surpass us on & off the field.

 

[Iceman]

Oh yeah, it was one of those that would have looked hilariously goofy if Pele hadn't got to the ball it's just a shame he didn't score.

City feel fairly unassailable at the moment, they already won a PL with no striker and now they've added the nuclear warhead equivalent of a striker! There's lots of work for United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea to do to topple them.

I hope you're right mate, I've gotta say I'm not exactly looking forward to next Saturday lol but these tests are a measuring test of where Ten Hag and his players are at, both tactically and mentally. We need Rashford to recapture his form and the back 4 and Casemiro will need to be virtually flawless if we're going to have a chance of winning the FA Cup.

I'd love to see Brighton sustain what they are building, with Dortmund they already had history and structure in place as you say, and of course outside of Bayern Munich there aren't any other mega rich clubs in the Bundesliga, so it's not as competitive. It'll be interesting to see how many of their star players they can hold onto this summer, and also who they bring in.

Well CL is in the bag now, congrats mate! Leicester bit the dust along with Leeds, it'll be interesting to see what players get picked up from Leicester in particular.

The Pukka Pies Champion!

For now City will be big favourites for all trophies until anyone manages to close the gap, or gets a great start like Arsenal this season. Will Haaland be off to Madrid at some point?

I’m hoping for a good match but there’s always the chance City overrun teams, especially if they score early and force the opposition to attack and leave gaps. I really hope Rashford can pick up from the start of next season where he left off and have a great injury-free season to really show what he can do on the world stage.

It’s a very important season for Brighton coming up with all the additional fixtures. Will be huge if they can finish top 7 again while dealing with all the extra games.

Yeah, very happy for both our teams, and also very happy to see Vardy go down. Yeah, treasure trove of players available from the relegated teams and they will be needing the money.

Only title that matters.

 

[Hunter Rider]

It is a risk, especially as he's always a player I've read about, even in the last 3 or 4 years, when admittedly he has played 40+ games, as constantly being 'questionable' or 'doubtful'. It would really all be dependant on the fee for me, he's going to be 30 come next season, I believe he has 1 year left on his contract & he does tend to always carry knocks, which tend to get worse with age, not better.. but he does seem to always guarantee you at least 20 goals a season. He would almost need to do what RvP did to force the move by making it clear he won't renew his contract & that might force Levy to be realistic with what he asks for. In an ideal world, we'd sign 2 strikers for depth reasons, but we won't.. we really need to hit a home run with whoever is signed as we need goals or we'll go nowhere.

Yeah I can't see Maguire staying, I'm amazed he's been called up for England given his sheer lack of playing time. Kim-Min Jae apparently has a release clause that will activate in June or July of €50m which seems reasonable nowadays for a first-team player. I'd try & see if Napoli would even take Maguire as part of a deal, he might find more success in Italy as some other English players have in recent years.

That's one of the biggest differences between pretty much every team other than City. When we have a key player injured or suspended in Casemiro's case, we're pretty screwed, but City have such squad depth in pretty much all positions that they barely skip a beat. We could really do with a couple of central midfielders to really try to minimise any drop off when someone is missing.. because at the minute it's far too big a drop to go from Casemiro to McTominay.

I agree, neither moves the needle for me & as far as Mount goes, I'd take him as depth if Chelsea were going to let him walk for very little, which they might considering their massive, expensive squad & no European football.. but I don't consider it a key area to unnecessarily waste funds. If Fernandes goes down I'm fine with Eriksen taking his spot, I even think Sancho is capable of playing through the middle &, assuming he's kept which I hope he is, Diallo I think can also play centrally if required based on what I've seen of him in a United shirt & on loan.

Honestly at this point, I just want them to sell completely & **** off. Maybe the next owner(s) will be just as bad or worse than the Glazers, but they've had their time & their ownership & lack of investment is part of the reason why we've gradually fallen off & allowed other clubs to surpass us on & off the field.

With Kane I'd want to have his replacement/cover bought at the same time, and £65-70M should be maximum we pay for him, if we could get him for that fee and also buy Ferguson from Brighton or Hojlund from Atalanta as his deputy, otherwise we're back to relying on Martial who can barely stay fit for 5 games in a row.

Somehow I can't see Maguire leaving the PL, he's a meat, twomveg and Yorkshire puddings type of guy, I could see Everton or maybe even Aston Villa going for him.

City's depth is on another level without a doubt and we absolutely need two midfielders, Ten Hag has wanted a ball carrying #8 since we failed to get De Jong so that is a priority this summer, and then we need to get real cover for Casemiro as like you say the McTominay farce can't continue. It looks like Mac Allister is going to Liverpool and I hope we don't spend another summer chasing De Jong, Bellingham would remain my prority followed by Barella, after that it starts to look a little bleaker.

Agreed, we have plenty of options for that #10 spot, which is kind of a hybrid #8/10 under Ten Hag, as you say we have 3 senior options in Bruno, Eriksen and Sancho, and like you I'd love to see Amad get a chance, although I think he'll probably be on the RW for now. I really don't want Mount in general but the price being talked about is £60M+ which would be throwing money away when so much needs doing.

Exactly, I just want them gone, it's been excruciating watching the incompetence at the club see us slide further away from the top, and I want to see Ten Hag with proper owners and a proper football structure above him to help.

 

[Iceman]

Ange Postecoglou: Celtic manager emerging as preferred candidate for Tottenham job

 

[Hunter Rider]

For now City will be big favourites for all trophies until anyone manages to close the gap, or gets a great start like Arsenal this season. Will Haaland be off to Madrid at some point?

I’m hoping for a good match but there’s always the chance City overrun teams, especially if they score early and force the opposition to attack and leave gaps. I really hope Rashford can pick up from the start of next season where he left off and have a great injury-free season to really show what he can do on the world stage.

It’s a very important season for Brighton coming up with all the additional fixtures. Will be huge if they can finish top 7 again while dealing with all the extra games.

Yeah, very happy for both our teams, and also very happy to see Vardy go down. Yeah, treasure trove of players available from the relegated teams and they will be needing the money.

Only title that matters.

Yeah City are a machine, the Borg of football. I think Haaland might move in a few seasons as he said he wanted to emulate Zlatan and play all over Europe, i guess it depends on how he racks the goals up in the PL, he might look for the record.

We definitely need to keep it tight in the first hour, since Martial is out yet again I'd like to see a midfield diamond with Casemiro/Fred/Bruno/Eriksen and Rashford/Sancho up top with Garnacho to come off the bench. Big season in the Champions League for Rashford next year.

Agreed, the European commitments will definitely be a big test of Brighton next season, they'll need added squad depth.

Lol! Hopefully both our teams can build on this season, I think Isak will be big for you next season, he's settled in now. I can see Ineacho and Soumare both moving on and I think Tielemans and Maddison are both out of contract.

Gotta fill the pukka pies trophy with gravy!

 

[BlackFox]

Europa League final tonight so of course Sevilla are playing, to potentially win the competition for 1000th time or can Jose's Roma go back to back and get a Euro trophy two years running.

 

[Iceman]

Yeah City are a machine, the Borg of football. I think Haaland might move in a few seasons as he said he wanted to emulate Zlatan and play all over Europe, i guess it depends on how he racks the goals up in the PL, he might look for the record.

We definitely need to keep it tight in the first hour, since Martial is out yet again I'd like to see a midfield diamond with Casemiro/Fred/Bruno/Eriksen and Rashford/Sancho up top with Garnacho to come off the bench. Big season in the Champions League for Rashford next year.

Agreed, the European commitments will definitely be a big test of Brighton next season, they'll need added squad depth.

Lol! Hopefully both our teams can build on this season, I think Isak will be big for you next season, he's settled in now. I can see Ineacho and Soumare both moving on and I think Tielemans and Maddison are both out of contract.

Gotta fill the pukka pies trophy with gravy!

I wonder how long their dominance will last. Real look to be making huge signings this summer.

Trying to get some control in midfield and giving nothing away could be the way to frustrate City - in a standard game of football they'll score eventually. 0-0 at 70 mins and then you have a chance and it's worth taking a gamble.

Could be great for Brighton fans as there can be some very big names of European football in the Europa in any given season. I hope they enjoy it while they can, as even though they are good enough to be there, it won't be easy to sufficiently expand their squad with equally talented players this summer, especially on contracts that would be expensive if they fail to qualify the year after. Chelsea and Spurs won't have Europe to worry about so it could be tough to finish above them again while also performing in Europe. A big new challenge for them.

Yeah, keeping top 4 will be harder if Liverpool are back next season, although I'm still trying to get confirmed if it will be top 5 next season for CL or if it's the season after.

I love Isak. Effective player but also very entertaining with his skills, while being chilled out and likeable. If he can avoid injury I think he'll build on his successful first season and push to the next level.

That Leicester team had a lot of talented players for a relegated team and I can see a whole bunch leaving. I wouldn't be surprised if we went back in for Maddison.

I need that to be the big trophy going forward for teams looking to complete the Quintuple, Hunter's Pukka Pies Cup! The winner not only has to win the final, but down a blended chicken & mushroom, steak & kidney and beef & onion pie mix, topped off to the brim with steaming hot gravy.

After all this talk I’m really craving a pukka pie or 2 myself lol.

 

[BlackFox]

Roma take the lead through Dybala 1-0

 

[Iceman]

Sevilla have won this enough times. Will be good to see Roma win. Mourinho seeing a new lease of life?

 

[Iceman]

Sevilla score. They're so hard to kill off in this competition. 1-1.