Vesper

Bane has been the best player on the pitch, which tells you all you need to know

horrid game so far

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2020-21 English Premier League West Bromwich Albion Burnley http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-west-bromwich-albion-vs-burnley-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/burnley/

oh, fuck, now I see, grrr, I thought I was in the English football thread, ffs I am cooking dinner, I will fix it

if was just a one post add on them the first one (which was mostly about English football)

lol, Zlatan is bonkers Inter vs Milan – Highlights https://yfl.viditnow.com/player/html/iw9NmAsgd9YXU?popup=yes&autoplay=1

The Fiver | An excitable goalkeeper, red and blue lines and a Dutchman's knee MERSEY MAYHEM As if seeing their team diddled out of victory over Everton on the back of an offside call so tight it resembled The Fiver clambering out of a pub toilet window to avoid getting in a round, Liverpool fans were forced to endure further horror when it emerged Virgil van Dijk will be out for many months after it was confirmed he had “done” his ACL and will need surgery followed by rehab. In the interests of accuracy it should be pointed out that it was in fact Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford wot “done” big Virgil’s knee, knacking the joint in question with a reckless challenge that went completely unpunished because the video assistant referee, David Coote, was so focused on examining those red and blue dotted lines from the grass to the Dutchman’s knee he somehow missed the moment it exploded on impact with the excitable goalkeeper. Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk facing surgery and long absence with cruciate injury Read more The upshot? The man responsible for the injury will miss no games, the official who failed to spot it has been stood down for next weekend and the completely innocent victim may miss the rest of the season. While Jürgen Klopp has yet to comment publicly on the matter, The Fiver suspects the German’s reaction upon having his worst fears confirmed may not have been entirely dissimilar to that of you-know-who when he loses the plot in that scene from Downfall. In a Premier League weekend jam-packed with incident and Aston Villa’s win over Leicester, José Mourinho could have been forgiven for turning the air blue with loud effs and jeffs after seeing his team throw away a three-goal lead in the last eight minutes against West Ham. “For you, I prefer to say football happened and praise West Ham’s belief,” he told one post-match interrogator. And for his players? “At this point I say nothing,” he intoned, although afternoon reports of a giant mushroom cloud hovering over Tottenham’s training ground suggest he may finally have broken his silence. Among the weekend’s other headline-makers, Sergio Agüero prompted varying degrees of outrage for grabbing Sian Massey-Ellis by the shoulder, following a dispute over a throw-in. While the gesture has been analysed to within an inch of its life and led to various social media and radio phone-in seminars in which assorted blokes mansplain what women should and should not feel intimidated by, Pep Guardiola insisted there was Nothing To See Here, because: “Sergio is the nicest guy I have ever met in my life.” That may well be the case and nice-guy Sergio may have meant no harm, but like the results of a certain Dutchman’s scan it did not make for pleasant viewing. LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE Join Nick Ames for red-hot minute-by-minute coverage of Leeds 4-3 Wolves at 8pm BST. QUOTE OF THE DAY “Milano never had a king, but now they have a GOD” Zlatan stays humble after his two goals against Inter gave Milan their first derby win in four years. For more on the big man’s display in a wild weekend of Serie A football, read Nicky Bandini’s weekly blog.

Bane starts for the Baggies

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yes, I cocked it up was thinking about 2005 CL semi loss to the bidippers, (as we would beaten Milan in the final, I am convinced of that) and then just jumped to CL final in 2008 still a head scratcher why Mou left in September 2007

true, major error, I was thinking about that 2005 semi final versus Liverpool

no Mou was already a double CL winner (should have been fucking 3, fuck Moscow) when he came Ramos had ZERO CL's and had not even yet won the WC when Mou was appointed Ramos had 1 European championship with Spain and 2 league titles , zero Copa del Reys, zero CL's he was not some serial winner at that point (7 years into his topflight career) now, of course he did win the WC months after Mou was appointed, so that did blow up his ego, but he was hardly the key player on that team

Terry, Lampard, and Drogba all respected the hell out of Mou Ramos is a cunt ZZ hasn't won shit without CR7, other than a league trophy in a weak La Liga season ZZ only won 1 La Liga tile WITH CR7, and has never won the Copa del Rey as a player he only won 1 La Liga trophy, and only 3 league titles in his entire career (2 at Juve 1 at RM) only 1 CL and ZERO big domestic cups (which is just shocking, he failed very single year to win either the Copa Italia or the Copa del Rey, both as a player, then as a manager) same for Pep without Messi when it comes to Euro hardware ZZ as a manager is like the Brasil national team managers from 1958 to 1970, who were carried (other than 1966) by Pele and some other of the greatest players in football history

they were not remotely the 2 best available, especially Ake, who is so so overrated we failed to sell most all of our huge dregs (mainly do to COVID-19 tbf), but IF we had liquidated a tonne then ALL (not joking) of these could have been bought (not the whole lot all at once obviously, I mean each on an individual cases basis) of the following were within our grasp, IF we had so chosen to buy we especially could have worked swaps + cash deals money talks, especially in this window, look at what we did there are others I could list too, but they would have cost too much (and the first one, Gimenez, is maybe the case as well) José Giménez Kalidou Koulibaly <<< too old for the money, BUt he was so available, and he is vastly better than Dias or Ake, I am pretty shocked that Manure did not buy him David Alaba << deffo was available, it was his wage demands that were insane Stefan de Vrij << thsi was his last year, in 2021 he is too old for the cash they will want (he turns 30yo in 15 months) Milan Skriniar Alessio Romagnoli <<< I may stop listing him, as AC Milan looks headed towards being a top 10 global team, and he has zero reason to leave, we should have bought him 5 years ago, fucking board Ozan Kabak Marash Kumbulla <<< he was sold Felipe (could have been part of a 2-fer with Kante going to AM, and Partey+Felipe coming here) Evan N'Dicka Edmond Tapsoba next summer we need to buy two of the following Dayot Upamecano <<<< MUST Buy + José Giménez or if not Giménez (manly due to his cost), Matthias Ginter or Evan N'Dicka (left footed) or Edmond Tapsoba

the day we get £60m for Bakayoko we will personally offer Marina the weekend of her life (wifey gave the oki for me to post this!)

Lampard is bigger Chelsea problem than Kepa Kepa is just a convenient dummy target. So many individual mistakes points to a systemic fault. https://www.football365.com/news/opinion-lampard-bigger-chelsea-problem-kepa-system-southampton ‘Acres of space’ would not have done justice to the distance between the Chelsea players in the box and Theo Walcott lurking on the edge. With about as much defence as the air provides between a sword and a bare neck on a slab, the forward sliced down the deathblow in the final minutes of the game at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. It’s become a running theme. The West Brom match was similar only in scoreline; in this case, against a club who finished 11th last campaign, Chelsea were quite lucky not to lose. While the first half showed the disparity of talent in the players on the pitch, the second highlighted the same but with those on the touchline. This was another indication of how modern success in football rarely stems from signing big names for mammoth fees; it’s about identity and tactical implementation. It’s why, despite last season’s 9-0 mauling against Leicester (an overused example at this point, but still), Southampton have rightly been pegged as the dark horses of the league: there is a togetherness and unity which is fastened down by tactical impetus. And it’s slowly breeding success. “It’s about pressing, hunting, being hungry,” Ralph Hasenhuttl once said. “When you have the ball, find a quick decision, a quick transition to the front. It’s about being emotional, being full of passion. Also, keep the tempo on a high level and don’t slow down the game.” His footballing blueprint has kept Southampton on a slow upward trajectory. Even in the midst of turbulent form, there is clear reason to hold on; a common goal that is being made all the more visible and close with each passing week; a noticeable steady and sturdy elevation. Could as much be said of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, where individuality and only small pockets of brilliance seem to be the solitary positive attributes on show? All we can ascertain from the 62 games Lampard has presided over at Chelsea is that he prefers to press with his front line – given his attacking options and their gusto, big surprise – and that his defence is about as leaky as a sideways milk bottle in the fridge. Under Lampard, Chelsea have conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game in the Premier League. It’s the worst rate of any permanent Blues manager. Despite finishing fourth last season, Chelsea conceded the 11th most goals in the league. No team had ever conceded 54 goals and reached the top four in Premier League history before. The bizarre nature of having a transfer window to address such an issue but leaving it alone and opting to bolster the attack instead speaks of a manager who is either vastly confident he can get the best out of his current players at the back or so unsure of himself he feels only that getting a myriad of goal machines will stand him any chance of success. If it’s the former, Lampard would have been right in some way. Their defenders are no slouches, despite the narrative laid down recently. Along with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea started with a valuable defence against Southampton – and while Andreas Christensen could be improved upon (starting Fikayo Tomori would have surely amended that), there is little to complain about in terms of having adequate players to select; and that’s even if we dismiss the glaring factor that Chelsea’s defence has some of the league’s best holding midfielders protecting them. Reece James is looking to tip Trent Alexander-Arnold out of an England place, Kurt Zouma, though hardly exceptional, has his moments, and Ben Chilwell’s recent performances indicate Marcos Alonso will remain out of action. There is a theory that Chelsea’s mishaps are borne out of individual error. But given that 80% of their goals so far this season have been conceded in open play, it puts paid the idea that faults occur merely when the players nod off during vital set-pieces; it actually comes during the flow of a game. “We have to not give those goals away,” Lampard expertly noted. “We are making individual mistakes in games and it gives other teams chances at all times. It is something we need to get better at.” Chelsea have bought Edouard Mendy to account for the shocking displays of Arrizabalaga, whose games have somehow been increasingly woeful and ever more painful to witness. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, he’s there again lowering the bar with something almost beautiful in its absurdity. As a BEIN co-commentator quite insightfully commented as he fumbled the ball out: “He’s slightly lacking in confidence at the moment.” Following his mistake for Southampton’s second, the camera panned to Arrizabalaga’s face. His look was something beyond the semi-humorous blooper videos that came out in the late ’90s – it was far darker, a face bearing complete anguish and pain. It was a look that makes you want to start some sort of online relief fund to have him carted away from London and back to Spain, for his sake as well as ours. And yet his decline has reached such a nadir that it goes beyond Chelsea merely having overvalued his ability while he was at La Liga. Premier League scouts don’t pinpoint the next Garrincha and end up with someone who’d give the fourth-worst player in North Caledonian Football a run for their money. The difference is never that great. The season before Lampard joined, the Spaniard earned 23 clean sheets for Chelsea. Under Lampard last season it was just ten. The world’s most expensive goalkeeper at £71m, in the space of two seasons, is now worth a fraction of that. Such a horrendous drop points to more than just bad form, but the sad reality is that he is now a scapegoat for Lampard’s inability, an easy dummy target between the sticks. Indeed, the team is full of mistakes, as Lampard says. But this line almost detracts and even defends those in charge whose worth is supposed to be measured on how well they amend such calamities. These errors, or moments of madness, in isolated occurrences are just that. Yet when they’re so regular, when they become so typical of a team, it means there is a complete lack of direction, an utter systemic failure stemming from the manager. But like many clubs of today, Chelsea were seduced by sentiment and nostalgia. Having gone through so many managers in recent years you cannot blame them. There is a strange idealisation around sentimentality in football’s current climate – but it’s also a time when the most successful teams have realised progression and success is founded in tactical edges and finely-tuned systems. We are seeing it more often in the current game as we’re starting to grasp that big buys seldom change cultural failings. Tactical impetus rarely fails. It’s the immovable object in football’s rapidly moving landscape, now perhaps more than ever. Of course, there is room for emotion and heart, for sentimentalism and club legends, for kissing the badge and living out fairy-tales. But really, at its foundation, it’s the system which holds the key to joy and Chelsea desperately need a manager who possesses his own.

Why Chelsea gave up their lead so meekly https://theathletic.com/2144166/2020/10/18/chelsea-southampton-premier-league/ Long before it arrived in the 92nd minute, Southampton’s equaliser felt inevitable. Pinned back by a combination of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s high press and their own mistakes, Chelsea had conceded a steady stream of good chances prior to Jannik Vestergaard glancing Theo Walcott’s shot just inside Kepa Arrizabalaga’s far post. Nine of the visitors’ 13 shots came in the second half, six of them from inside the box, four of which found the target. This isn’t a new problem for Chelsea under Frank Lampard; 15 of the 54 Premier League goals they conceded last season hit the net between minutes 76 and 90, giving them the third-worst late-game defensive record in the division, behind only Aston Villa (18) and relegated Norwich City (17). There were eight matches in which they failed to win after scoring first, yielding six draws and two defeats. After the game, Lampard highlighted costly individual errors that made Southampton’s fightback possible, but there were also broader structural issues that set the stage for the visitors’ dominance in the second half at Stamford Bridge, and a failure of game management on the touchline as well as on the pitch. The Athletic went back through the footage to tell the story of another Chelsea masterclass in self-destruction. 53 minutes: Early in the second half it’s clear Southampton have set their stall out to try to dictate the direction of Chelsea’s play. Walcott and Nathan Redmond push up alongside Danny Ings and Che Adams to form a high wall of pressure in front of Jorginho, who has slotted in between Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen. Southampton are determined not to let their opponents build through the middle of the pitch, and any pass to N’Golo Kante is rendered far too risky. Jorginho ultimately plays it to Zouma and the ball finds Ben Chilwell by the touchline. Timo Werner drops deep to offer a passing option, but James Ward-Prowse easily intercepts the attempt to find the Germany international. Southampton are on the front foot, and Chelsea’s midfield has been taken out of the game. This will become a recurring theme during the second half. 54 minutes: Cesar Azpilicueta is forced to foul Redmond just inside his own half after passing the ball straight to him. Ryan Bertrand floats the subsequent free kick to the far post, where Kai Havertz competes well in the air against Vestergaard but can’t clear the danger. Neither can Zouma or Christian Pulisic, and the passage of play ends with Ings working a decent shooting chance just outside the box and firing wide. 56-57 minutes: Southampton work the ball around Chelsea’s own half-hearted press to the right touchline, where Kyle Walker-Peters shapes to play a pass inside towards Ward-Prowse. Jorginho recognises what is happening and moves to intercept… … but he can’t get there in time, and Ward-Prowse whips a first-time pass over the top of Chelsea’s defence: Zouma, under pressure from Adams, makes it clear from his body shape that he’s playing a pass back to Kepa. The ball is at an awkward height but provided he makes a solid contact, it shouldn’t matter. In the middle, Christensen has allowed Ings to drift a few yards in front of him, while Azpilicueta isn’t particularly worried: The pass is scuffed, forcing Kepa to dash and slide in to make sure he gets there ahead of Adams. If he clears or smothers it, the danger is gone. If he doesn’t, the position that Christensen has allowed Ings to drift into means there will be big trouble: Kepa somehow completely misses the ball. Christensen makes a brilliant recovery slide to prevent Adams from giving Ings a tap-in, but the ball is still live. Kepa flies back towards his own post but fails to clear again. Zouma has completely stopped, seemingly still hoping that one of his team-mates can redeem his initial mistake. Only when Adams is pulling his foot back to shoot does Zouma attempt to get involved again, and by then it’s too late. The shot beats Kepa and Azpilicueta on the line: 71 minutes: A nice team move finished by Havertz almost immediately restored Chelsea’s lead, but they aren’t managing it well. Here, six blue shirts are in the Southampton half, none applying any pressure to Vestergaard as he winds up a long diagonal pass that will take them all out of the game: Chilwell wins the header, but the result is a four-versus-four situation while Kante and Jorginho scramble to recover. With a one-goal lead, this type of situation simply shouldn’t be allowed to happen. 78 minutes: Lampard has made only one substitution, replacing Mount with Hakim Ziyech and sticking with 4-2-3-1, despite growing evidence that Jorginho and Kante are being overrun. Another header from Chilwell is brought down in the visiting midfield. Jorginho rushes forward to press Oriol Romeu but is easily sidestepped, opening an avenue to a relatively straightforward pass through to Walcott… … and once again, Chelsea’s entire midfield and attack are bypassed, leaving Walcott free to drive at Lampard’s defence in another four-versus-four situation. He finds Adams, who shoots wide from the angle. 81 minutes: Chilwell has the ball on the left touchline again and, with Kante and Jorginho in no position to present a passing option, he elects to go long towards Werner. It worked in the first half, when Chelsea were able to turn Southampton’s defenders and get Werner running through on goal… … but on this occasion there isn’t enough on the pass to get it over Vestergaard, and Werner has no chance of winning an aerial duel. Possession is cheaply lost and, seconds later, Jan Bednarek is allowed to advance into the Chelsea half. Walcott has taken up a great position between Chilwell, Kante and Pulisic: The ball finds him, he drives into the box and crosses low for Ings, who is able to force a save out of Kepa: 85 minutes: Southampton’s press is relentless and Chelsea’s passing is getting more passive. Having just received the ball from Jorginho, Christensen tries to go back to him with Ings and Adams in close attendance. He manages to scramble it clear — just: 87 minutes: Lampard has finally moved to shore things up, bringing on Reece James for Pulisic and shifting to 4-3-3, but Chelsea continue to gift Southampton the ball. Azpilicueta tries to free Werner with a first-time ball over the top via his weaker left foot, but it hangs in the air and Bednarek easily takes it away: 90+1 minutes: After a panicky head-tennis sequence in Chelsea’s defensive third, the ball rolls kindly out to Ziyech. He has a relatively simple pass to free fellow substitute Tammy Abraham and Havertz, who are primed for a counterattack. Instead he plays it straight to Ibrahima Diallo: Southampton almost immediately launch the ball towards Chelsea’s right-back position. James, eager to provide cover, dashes to deal with it but only succeeds in blocking off Bertrand. A free kick is given: 90+2 minutes: Havertz is once again stationed towards the back post, standing behind Walcott… … but when Bertrand swings in the cross, Walcott is able to find space simply by standing still. Havertz runs away from him, Zouma heads the ball to him, and Vestergaard glances his shot inside Kepa’s far post: “In the second half I wouldn’t blame the shape of the team, more that we didn’t deal with the fact that Southampton were really keen to put us under pressure in their own half,” Lampard said. “We wanted to miss out their press, we didn’t do enough and that meant we turned the ball over in our own half, which irrespective of shape is always a problem. “There is certainly a game management element of it. We want to have a lead and see it off. We turn over the ball that led to the free kick and then it is about the second balls. There are a lot of elements that led to it, you can recreate that in training and talk about it a lot but it is very disappointing when it happens.” Lampard is generally good at diagnosing the nature of Chelsea’s defensive problems after the fact, which makes the lack of improvement all the more puzzling. Last season yielded 54 goals conceded, the worst defensive record of the Roman Abramovich era. Five matches into 2020-21, they are on course to let in 68. Unless that trend changes markedly, it’s hard to see how this expensively-assembled team — or their manager — can possibly meet significantly raised expectations.

Play a clown in goal, expect a circus.

so harsh! I like Barkley and Mount, lolol. but yes, 20 goals and £60m sounds good (as long as Villa doesn't top us in the standings!, lololol)

yes, mental toughness is so key in sports look at Jordan in basketball zero chance ever he would crack even if he fucked u, he had the same 'I don't give a fuck, I will just crush you next time' attitude Neuer does Cech had it, Buffon did too,, Going further back, the ultimate 3 who had it for GKers were Peter Schmeichel, Oliver Kahn (who was basically Kepa size too, but seemed HUGE), and from ALL that I have read and watched, (and the greatest GK'er ever IMHO) Lev Yashin. Yashin was pure intimidation in every angle, including even how he dressed, all in black. He is the polar opposite of a Kepa. I am sure Gordon Banks, Dino Zoff and Sepp Maier had it too, and all 3 were short, especially Zoff.

Bulka was poor in both games I watched him play for PSG, one a pre-season friendly, and then he let in the game winning goal versus Lens via a massive howler of a pass see this video, go to 2 minutes in

It seems mental with Kepa. My wife is a damn good biathlete. One of her best friends (long before she met me) was even better than her, and despite the fact she was 2 years younger than wifey, she almost always beat her. at teen level. The girl was considered to be one of the two or three best chances to be the next Swedish superstar biathlete. One of those 3, Hanna Öberg, went on to win a an Olympic gold in 2018 in the 15km individual. But, 5, 6 or so years ago, the girl I am talking about all of suddenly lost her shooting accuracy, completely out of the blue. No physical reason, she just spiralled down. They think it was a mental block, but she has never recovered back to world class level, likely never will. Shit happens.

Hear hear!!!