The Ongoing Serie A, La Liga, All English Football, Champions League Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 52

[AverageMan]

Swansea turning things around! Bad news for us but good on them and congrats to Average Man.

Also Liverpool pulling out a result.

Cheers pal. Think we played them at the right time tbh. They're weak atm, commentary on the radio saying they're nowhere near the level of City, United, Liverpool & Chelsea.

Have to agree.

 

[Kaleb]

 

[Iceman]

Cheers pal. Think we played them at the right time tbh. They're weak atm, commentary on the radio saying they're nowhere near the level of City, United, Liverpool & Chelsea.

Have to agree.

I think you're right. Did you play well too though? Is there any sense that things might be getting better? Looked so hopeless just a few weeks ago but stringing a couple of results together down there at the moment makes a lot of difference given how tightly bunched everyone is.

 

[Kaleb]

What is happening

 

[Iceman]

I'd hope he already has it.

WOuld you be quite happy with getting Ozil? Would you want him starting every game? Could be very interesting in summer. No idea what's going to happen with him.

 

[DeadPresident]

Weeeeell with Ozil signing a contract extension he may not actually go now. I can't see anyone trying to pay whatever price Arsenal will want plus matching/increasing his wages for such a luxury player - not at his age.

IMO I think Ozil is way too lax to be of much value to United specifically, especially after signing Sanchez who's quite a work horse and doesn't mind doing the running. Ozil is a player that looks great when he's A) Playing against Slovenian backyard mechanics or B) In a team filled with absolute world class talent, he's not the guy that runs himself into the ground to grind out wins.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Interested to see how Aubameyang does in the PL, his attitude is questionable at best but he's a top class striker. Not surprised Ozil re-signed, I think it was either that or off to Juve on a free and he seems settled in London.


Giroud to Chelsea for €18M, a strange one this but certainly a better buy for them than Carroll or Crouch.





Apparently Swansea are close to buying Ayew from West Ham, didn't they sell him to them in the first place?

Poor saint Pep isn't going to get Mahrez, the panic £60M offer to replace a player who will be out about 6 weeks isn't enough to get it done, such a shame, have to make do with the £47M signing from the summer.

So those that covered the team and the players themselves are all wrong?

They did not play like the Dutch of the 70s or any Barca before. The revolution was indeed televised. And not Barca or any other team flew like that. And this is why he can make it happen at other places. He took what he learned and evolved it.

Oh I remember you saying. I think this calls for a bra and panties Money in the Bank cage match between the PL’s top managers.

Eww, we can skip the bra and panties part given the participants lol.

Looks like you are getting Slimani on loan from Leicester.

Weeeeell with Ozil signing a contract extension he may not actually go now. I can't see anyone trying to pay whatever price Arsenal will want plus matching/increasing his wages for such a luxury player - not at his age.

IMO I think Ozil is way too lax to be of much value to United specifically, especially after signing Sanchez who's quite a work horse and doesn't mind doing the running. Ozil is a player that looks great when he's A) Playing against Slovenian backyard mechanics or B) In a team filled with absolute world class talent, he's not the guy that runs himself into the ground to grind out wins.

On top of this we also should be playing 4-3-3 which means out big money in the summer needs to go on a top class #8 to complete the midfield, we don't have room for a specialist #10.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Dr Lee]

'Broke' City have ended interest in Mahrez....

 

[DeadPresident]

On top of this we also should be playing 4-3-3 which means out big money in the summer needs to go on a top class #8 to complete the midfield, we don't have room for a specialist #10.

Yeah, he's really not what we're in the market for. Pogba is capable of all the same fancy passing and nuanced attacking moves - we don't need a straggler that only performs against unknown European teams. And yeah, since Herrera seems to be floating out to the periphery we need midfielders to link up with Pogba and Matic, someone along the lines of Kovacic, as our next purchase. Considering our attack now boasts Lukaku, Mata, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez, and Lingard we don't need to focus there.

I think he's a good player - but he rests on his laurels and performs in irrelevant games too much to be worth serious money, he's not going to win you a game of his own accord like a Sanchez/Martial could.

 

[DeadPresident]

The Mahrez attempt seems very strange. Firstly, he isn't really worth that kind of money, secondly…Bernardo Silva is a player…and thirdly…They've already got the league in the bag.

Maybe they'd want him to give them some extra options in Europe, but it's still bizarre considering their mass of attacking talent.

 

[Dr Lee]

Spurs have Moura

 

[Iceman]

Weeeeell with Ozil signing a contract extension he may not actually go now. I can't see anyone trying to pay whatever price Arsenal will want plus matching/increasing his wages for such a luxury player - not at his age.

IMO I think Ozil is way too lax to be of much value to United specifically, especially after signing Sanchez who's quite a work horse and doesn't mind doing the running. Ozil is a player that looks great when he's A) Playing against Slovenian backyard mechanics or B) In a team filled with absolute world class talent, he's not the guy that runs himself into the ground to grind out wins.

I’ve never thought that much of him. He’ll give you wow moments here and there but consistency over multiple seasons isn’t happening unless he has the world’s best players playing with him as you say.

 

[Mandon Knight]

'Broke' City have ended interest in Mahrez....

To be fair, being asked to pay £95 million for him is a bit extreme....

 

[DeadPresident]

I’ve never thought that much of him. He’ll give you wow moments here and there but consistency over multiple seasons isn’t happening unless he has the world’s best players playing with him as you say.

Yeah, he's a talented player but I don't think he's world class. Arsenal will be the last 'big club' he's at before he moves on at 32 back to some random Bundesliga club in all likelihood.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Yeah, he's a talented player but I don't think he's world class. Arsenal will be the last 'big club' he's at before he moves on at 32 back to some random Bundesliga club in all likelihood.

I really don't think Arsenal will 'benefit' all that much from this, in terms of they have merely 'doubled up' on the same kind of striker and got rid of Giroud whose ability and variety in his play where sound options if they were ever in the s**t.

Of all in all this pantomime, Chelsea have done best out of this, for me. Got rid of Bats, who they were clearly not that keen on, have a striker now who will score goals for all occasions and they have not spent millions for a player who only seems to turn up when he feels like it, and he certainly won't win trophies regularly at Arsenal.

 

[Dr Lee]

DDG
Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Young
Sanchez, Matic, Pogba, Lingard
Martial, Lukaku​

 

[Iceman]

Yeah, he's a talented player but I don't think he's world class. Arsenal will be the last 'big club' he's at before he moves on at 32 back to some random Bundesliga club in all likelihood.

That does sound like the most likely scenario.

 

[DeadPresident]

I really don't think Arsenal will 'benefit' all that much from this, in terms of they have merely 'doubled up' on the same kind of striker and got rid of Giroud whose ability and variety in his play where sound options if they were ever in the s**t.

Of all in all this pantomime, Chelsea have done best out of this, for me. Got rid of Bats, who they were clearly not that keen on, have a striker now who will score goals for all occasions and they have not spent millions for a player who only seems to turn up when he feels like it, and he certainly won't win trophies regularly at Arsenal.

Good point - I was thinking about this yesterday and it struck me that Lacazette and Aubameyang are extremely similar, I'm not sure how Arsenal lines up with both of them and how they don't get in each other's way.

I'm not sure about Chelsea doing the best, I think their struggle for goals needs a little more than Giroud - but you might be right. When he's provided with quality passes he's as dangerous as any other top #9 - and he was an absolute bargain considering the heinous figures being quoted for any average player these days.

DDG
Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Young
Sanchez, Matic, Pogba, Lingard
Martial, Lukaku​

4-4-2? That's interesting…It'll probably end up closer to a 4-2-3-1 in reality I imagine, some floating combination of Lingard/Martial/Sanchez behind Lukaku.

Really keen to see Sanchez play though.

 

[Iceman]

What's your all time list Iceman? Like your top 10? t:

Missed this before.

I chose a team a while ago only of players of a more recent post Maradona era when I used to watch football a lot more and probably quite biased by the leagues that I watched most:

..........Schmeichel

Cafu Nesta Cannavaro Maldini

.......Vieira Keane

Ronaldo Zidane Messi

...........Ronaldo

Bring on Ronaldinho at half time to save Zidane's legs.


Zidane was my no.1 post Maradona but Ronaldo and Messi have been so consistent for so long that they could overtake him. Messi is looking likely to and could well finish at no.1 post Maradona. Could be a while before anyone has the impact on the international stage that Maradona did but I didn't see him as regularly at club level as I did with top players who came after him in the PL and Serie A, and later La Liga.

 

[Dr Lee]

4-4-2? That's interesting…It'll probably end up closer to a 4-2-3-1 in reality I imagine, some floating combination of Lingard/Martial/Sanchez behind Lukaku.

Really keen to see Sanchez play though.

Ignore the organizing of the players... For some reason i can't read the team lists in anything but 442...

 

[Dr Lee]

Mahrez is apparently pissed at Leicester... could see him refusing to play for them..

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Mahrez is apparently pissed at Leicester... could see him refusing to play for them..

Who forced him to sign his contract exactly?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Attack! Attack! Attack!

 

[Dr Lee]

Who forced him to sign his contract exactly?

I suspect he signed it expecting to be allowed to go when City next called... though i didn't know he'd signed an extension?