Magic Lamps

good performance overall. Game management and overall tactical and positional play improved throughout the tournament. Ppl may not like Enzoball, it is really not always pretty but you can’t deny the guy has a plan.
 
can’t see us beating real or psg save a miracle but we have played a great tournament overall, earned a ton of cash and hopefully gained a lot of following and fame in the US 

Agree but on the other hand Cole should have passed to the other wide open KDH when he had his shot blocked on the counter instead. Even though it did not matter the chance wasting today was again frustrating. Can’t have this in the final 

Agree but on the other hand Cole should have passed to the other wide open KDH when he had his shot blocked on the counter instead. Even though it did not matter the chance wasting today was again frustrating. Can’t have this in the final 

good performance overall. Game management and overall tactical and positional play improved throughout the tournament. Ppl may not like Enzoball, it is really not always pretty but you can’t deny the guy has a plan.
 
can’t see us beating real or psg save a miracle but we have played a great tournament overall, earned a ton of cash and hopefully gained a lot of following and fame in the US 

Can only beat what’s in front of us.
Maresca has tinkered and managed the oppressive heat fairly well all tournament. 

Exactly. They are somewhat similar players, roughly the same quality, both homegrown but Madueke is English INT so he should fetch around  10% more. But no doubt our Bord will get taken for a ride

Typical for our Board to be happy with comparatively small profits for decent players like Madueke and Petrovic while receiving cents on the dollar for those signings that everybody knew were pointless in the first place. It’s highly unsustainable to sign this many players and then sell most them again with huge discounts just a few windows  later when they are unable to turn huge profits on the few that actually delivered. No idea how this weird  transfer strategy  is ever gonna be profitable 

https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/club-world-cup/usa-2025/articles/yellow-red-cards-suspensions

Like many, I am fine with letting Jackson go now we secured Pedro. Not necessarily bc of all his misses, he has some redeeming qualities on the pitch but bc of his continued immaturity and unprofessional attitude. His ability to deal with pressure (e.g. CL qualification expectations, competition from Delap) has only gotten worse, impressively emphasised by two bonkers red cards in his last three games.
I am not there yet with Madueke. Granted, apart from his short purple patch last autumn he has been ineffective but his ability to wreak havoc and necessite 2on1 coverage in virtually every backline created space for others. I would say he has done just enough to earn another year of assessing his trajectory. Hence, I am also on the fence about kudus. He too is super quick, reliably invokes chaos in opposition defences but fails to tangibly capitalize far too often. It doesn’t make much sense to sign yet another left footed AM/Winger if we don’t sell Madueke - with a Neto likely being safe on current form. 
finally, as pointed out before, the squad needs some continuity. We can’t keep selling starters every summer, taking away this young squads ability to settle down a bit and internalise tactics and mentality. 

He really stepped into that role of being a senior figure and leader in the dressing room. When he gave that on-pitch team talk yesterday after the game went into extra time it clearly had a positive impact. Seems like a great character to have in the squad but ability-wise will never be a world class CB. Hopefully can continue to be such a reliable influence on the team for years to come regardless of playing time 

Most ppl will have seen plenty of Joao Pedro so I would say the overall fan reaction and sentiment is sound in this case. A good, versatile footballer but not a great goalscorer. The thing is we have plenty of these players already. So clearly the ambition by the Bord sis not to sign a ready made wc striker to compete for titles. The frustration over this is understandable but let’s now this is established let’s take a step back and see the signing in isolation.
 
For me has had always been one to watch since he came into the league spearheading an awful Watford side. back then his ability to hold onto the ball and link up play was already impressive even at age 20. he was usually the only player in the opposition half most of the time Often, after Watford had aimlessly launched the ball upfield he shielded it for a good 20 seconds till support arrived. None of our players quite has this ability; we produce a lot of turnovers whenever we get into the final third, I expect this to decrease with him. I would have preferred a proper, experienced goalscorer ofc but what Pedro brings to the table can be valuable too. 
Now from the economic side, 50m+ for a homegrown, PL proven Brazil international  sounds fair enough but remember he was already most of that when Brighton signed him for half in 2023 while the board wasted money on mudryk, Joao Felix, Kellyman etc who were nowhere near the same level 

Sorry I meant Sancho, typing from my phone

He really stepped into that role of being a senior figure and leader in the dressing room. When he gave that on-pitch team talk yesterday after the game went into extra time it clearly had a positive impact. Seems like a great character to have in the squad but ability-wise will never be a world class CB. Hopefully can continue to be such a reliable influence on the team for years to come regardless of playing time 

He really has stepped up and become a real quality and calming option in our squad

Just caicedo I think - the most important one 

Except if they have a blue shirt on. Then it’s capital punishment for a raised eyebrow 

Except if they have a blue shirt on. Then it’s capital punishment for a raised eyebrow 

Right stop the game for another two hours, theres a cloud up there

Nkunku did well there readjusting and turning super quickly 
Shame it didn’t work out for him here but the ability is there 

That was the moment palmer should have settled it 
he really is not up to it goalscoring wise anymore 

Classic. Now extra time with half the first team already out 
 

Those half time interviews of players are cruel. Cucu can hardly breathe and has to answer the most stupid questions 

Those half time interviews of players are cruel. Cucu can hardly breathe and has to answer the most stupid questions 

That looked almost like a snapped knee ligament there for caicedo. Lucky to come away walking 

Good thing their keeper decided now is a good time to do the  the mannequin challenge on both goals
buzzing for Delap to get that all important first goal for the club