The General Football Thread

[Fulham Broadway 16,829]

More important than Chelseas demise, Ronaldo isnt gay, apparently.

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.though his boyfriend Badr Hasri is.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

You mean the 2nd highest goalscoring team.

err....no... no other team has scored 40 or more. many 0-0 in that league i guess must be a thriller

crazy how competitive that league is. 10 points between champion and relegation. you'd think that was an indicator of quality.

[Essien19 1,415]

What? Pastore a creative winger? Are you confusing him with someone else? He was a classic #10 at the time playing for Palermo.

The reason why I said he wasn't right for Chelsea is because he was the stereotypical flair player. Entire game revolved around his skill on the ball. No legs, no work rate, no defensive nous at all, poor movement. The type of player who starts playing when the ball is in his feet. More interested with entertainment than efficiency. Not a Chelsea player at all, didn't even suit the system. Not a player for any top side, rather a big fish in a small pond type of player.

It's nice Cantona's fan of Pastore and I knew about it. It's understandable as he possesses great flair and fantasy. That languid style with his long legs is eye-catching and he's a very skillful player. Even in an average game he can produce one or two great pieces of skill. But it took Pastore three seasons (!) to finally perform for PSG. That's a very, very long time. Before that he was considered a flop for his fee and the expectations surrounding his arrival, reduced to squad player status. Last season he finally worked on his weaknesses and improved his game off the ball. Not as fixated with attempting the spectacular either. But he wasn't fully won a place in the starting XI yet. Matuidi and Verratti are still preferred in the most important games. He's still nowhere near Silva, who is far more complete and quicker and more clever in his plays.

I'm an Argentina fan and Pastore never impressed for them either. Most of the time he wouldn't even make the team. Last summer's Copa was the first time he truly showcased his talent.

EDIT: Just realised this is the Teixeira thread. Apologies for the off topic.

I hope it's better suited in here, complain, if not. The Pastore thread is now closed, i checked it out.

You have shown time and time again that you posses great football knowledge. It's safe to claim that you watched Pastore more than i did.

I didn't follow him match by match, sometimes i watched him play, but that's it.

Let's get right into it.

I think the first season of Pastore, the boy just turned 21, he was the real deal. He was their center of the play and lived up to the hype, imo.

Scoring 13 goals, getting 6 assists in the league was great. Yes, sometimes he went underground, but he could cut it.

Therefore Paris fans wrote a song about him, Paris fell in love with him, imo.

The problem was Paris didn't win jack shit back then and after buying more big players he wasn't the center of attention anymore.

Until the end of 2014 his time wasn't that glorious anymore, Ancelotti's christmas wasn't good for him,

some labeled him a flop, he needed time to figure shit out.

He is 26 now so there is time left for him to rise. I think his transfer has already been worth the effort.

"The type of player who starts playing when the ball is in his feet"

I think you got a point here; at times one can get the impression that he is sometimes a bit lazy.

He is lightweight, so the approach to the game has to be adjusted for him.

Back in the day when the boy was just a 21 freshman, a tougher (more physical) league could have done some good to the boy.

The term "El Flaco" doesn't come out of thin air.

You have already said it, he has worked on his off the ball movements, but it could have happened earlier, lack of world class facilities and man-management are here to blame for, imo.

For me, bulking up and becoming a harder worker are things you can learn.

Masterful vision and great dribbling abilities not, at least not when you're older. That's a god-given gift, imo.

During a game the players interchange passes as wells as positions.

Mata and Pastore wouldn't have been riveted to one spot, they would have changed their positions more than once.

If i remember correctly, in the games against Chelsea Pastore often came from outside, put in some nice crossings and

his goal was pure gold.

For me he could have been a success a Chelsea, but the environment has to be right. At that time, it wasn't

[DYC. 7,542]

I hope it's better suited in here, complain, if not. The Pastore thread is now closed, i checked it out.

You have shown time and time again that you posses great football knowledge. It's safe to claim that you watched Pastore more than i did.

I didn't follow him match by match, sometimes i watched him play, but that's it.

Let's get right into it.

I think the first season of Pastore, the boy just turned 21, he was the real deal. He was their center of the play and lived up to the hype, imo.

Scoring 13 goals, getting 6 assists in the league was great. Yes, sometimes he went underground, but he could cut it.

Therefore Paris fans wrote a song about him, Paris fell in love with him, imo.

The problem was Paris didn't win jack shit back then and after buying more big players he wasn't the center of attention anymore.

Until the end of 2014 his time wasn't that glorious anymore, Ancelotti's christmas wasn't good for him,

some labeled him a flop, he needed time to figure shit out.

He is 26 now so there is time left for him to rise. I think his transfer has already been worth the effort.

I think you got a point here; at times one can get the impression that he is sometimes a bit lazy.

He is lightweight, so the approach to the game has to be adjusted for him.

Back in the day when the boy was just a 21 freshman, a tougher (more physical) league could have done some good to the boy.

The term "El Flaco" doesn't come out of thin air.

You have already said it, he has worked on his off the ball movements, but it could have happened earlier, lack of world class facilities and man-management are here to blame for, imo.

For me, bulking up and becoming a harder worker are things you can learn.

Masterful vision and great dribbling abilities not, at least not when you're older. That's a god-given gift, imo.

During a game the players interchange passes as wells as positions.

Mata and Pastore wouldn't have been riveted to one spot, they would have changed their positions more than once.

If i remember correctly, in the games against Chelsea Pastore often came from outside, put in some nice crossings and

his goal was pure gold.

For me he could have been a success a Chelsea, but the environment has to be right. At that time, it wasn't

Fair enough. We disagree a bit on Pastore. €40 mil in 2011 is the same as €60-80 mil today. It was a gigantic transfer. It had a strong effect on the market as well. He's had some strong runs of form but you expect more. When you look at his great talent - high level technique, chance creator, high dose of fantasy, capability to create something out of nothing, he should be one of the leading talents in world football. Instead he still divides opinions and isn't a key player for his team (important last year but overall he hasn't been). There currently isn't even a spot in the first XI for him. Had to play out wide in the big games because he wasn't trusted in midfield but now they Di Maria. That's another thing btw. Why buy Di Maria when you have Pastore? Because doubts remain over Pastore's ability to perform for a full season possibly?

I still don't think it would have worked out with Pastore. He reminds me of the flops/disappointments of the past. Don't think he would have been afforded the same time as PSG gave him either. Aguero is someone Chelsea dropped the ball on. Same goes for David Silva and Touré. They joined City when they were still under Chelsea.

I like him though. Great to watch when he's in form. I hope he moves to a new club if he's a back up again. Keeping a player like that on the bench is a crime against football.

[Essien19 1,415]

Fair enough. We disagree a bit on Pastore. €40 mil in 2011 is the same as €60-80 mil today. It was a gigantic transfer. It had a strong effect on the market as well. He's had some strong runs of form but you expect more. When you look at his great talent - high level technique, chance creator, high dose of fantasy, capability to create something out of nothing, he should be one of the leading talents in world football. Instead he still divides opinions and isn't a key player for his team (important last year but overall he hasn't been). There currently isn't even a spot in the first XI for him. Had to play out wide in the big games because he wasn't trusted in midfield but now they Di Maria. That's another thing btw. Why buy Di Maria when you have Pastore? Because doubts remain over Pastore's ability to perform for a full season possibly?

I still don't think it would have worked out with Pastore. He reminds me of the flops/disappointments of the past. Don't think he would have been afforded the same time as PSG gave him either. Aguero is someone Chelsea dropped the ball on. Same goes for David Silva and Touré. They joined City when they were still under Chelsea.

I like him though. Great to watch when he's in form. I hope he moves to a new club if he's a back up again. Keeping a player like that on the bench is a crime against football.

Pastore was a big purchase, but i think you're overestimating the impact Pastore's transfer had on the market.

There is always an effect, especially when we're talking about big money, that's crystal clear,

but i don't think he revolutionized the market the way Cristiano Ronaldo did back in the day.

I agree with you that Pastore couldn't live up to the expectations. Some scouts destined him to become the world's best player one day.

He has a lot of potential, but could have received better mentoring, imo. Ferguson made Ronaldo an all-time great. He never had that.

It's a bit worse, because he is still a bit of a luxuray player. Could have been better, i give you that.

I think Chelsea didn't think Pastore would be good enough, at least not worth the effort of putting 40 mios on the table.

Whether one think that they wrong or right comes down as a personal question; history shows that they weren't that far away from the truth, because some things would have been required to set in motion to make it work with Pastore, imo.

At that time City could offer a nice project; top salaries, experienced manager, very ambitious and an identity as a long-established club.

I totally agree with your point that we could have snapped up the likes of Silva, Toure and Aguero.

The executives of PSG are smart people, they are doing good stuff for quite some time, imo.

Ibrahimovic will part ways very soon, Lavezzi too, Lucas is injury prone and not reliable on, Cavani takes his rightful place upfront,

so who is going to play in the attacking unit?

Pastore could need a helping hand, don't you think?

For me, it's good to have some depth, you need some rotation, therefore in their current squad both Di Maria and Pastore comply with the requirements.

Maybe for one season it's a bit tight, but it won't be forever this way.

Having Pastore only for a backup role around would be a crime against football, i agree with you.

On some points we reached an agreement, on others not.

Overall, nice having a discussion with you.

[stroey 2,525]

Football is so strange nowadays, especially this year.
Within a year the biggest managers in football will have changed clubs:

Klopp: Dortmund>liverpool
Benitez: napoli>real madrid>sacked end of season?
Carlo:real>bayern
Pep: bayern>City*/United/Chelsea
Jose: chelsea>United/Madrid/other
Van Gaal: United>sacked end of the season to retire?
Simeone: Atletico>Chelsea?

So strange and if you count, all of them had spells of 3 years or shorter before the move, with exception of Klopp and Simeone at ''smaller'' clubs in Atletico and Dortmund. If it goes on like this, in 15 years time, every club will have managed every big club in Europe. Carlo for example had Chelsea, PSG, Real and now Bayern in 6 years.

[Special Juan 27,421]

Johann Cruyff has died aged 68

[AWorriedChelseaFan 151]

32 minutes ago, Special Juan said:

Johann Cruyff has died aged 68

RIP

 

Man, cancer's a bitch.

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Quote

 

One of African football's best-known figures, Stephen Keshi, has died at the age of 54, the Nigeria Football Association has said.

A former captain of the Nigeria national team, Keshi was one of only two men to win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.

He also managed Togo and Mali, and his playing career included a spell for Belgian club side Anderlecht.

He is thought to have suffered a heart attack, local media reported.

The former international football player and coach had lost his wife of 35 years, Kate, last year after a prolonged battle with cancer.

 “He was not ill at all, never showed any signs of illness, but we suspect he never got over the death of his wife,” a friend said.

 

This is so sad. He was some character.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

36 minutes ago, pHaRaOn said:

This is so sad. He was some character.

It's so painful, he's one of the best coaches we've had in Nigeria. I never knew why we didn't keep him, and now he lost his wife and dies few months later, life is tough.......

[Kieran. 6,317]

6 hours ago, kellzfresh said:

It's so painful, he's one of the best coaches we've had in Nigeria. I never knew why we didn't keep him, and now he lost his wife and dies few months later, life is tough.......

That is really sad, RIP to Stephen and condolences to his family & the Nigerian people

[Special Juan 27,421]

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2016/aug/18/david-squires-on-hope-solos-inglorious-exit-from-the-olympic-games

[Unionjack 7,531]

Theres been a few moans just lately about Diego wanting to move back to AM and he had tried last summer to get the move done.

Obviously this didn't happen. ?But he got his head down and has scored a few goals for us.

The moans are along the lines of Diego is a traitor, Diego is selfish, Diego can do one cause I only weant players here who want to be here etc etc,

But just imagine playing with some diva who comes out saying that he wants the club to get rid of6 of his own team mates for various reasons!

Now how would you think the dressing rooms atmosphere is like after those statements?

Would you keep him on or cut the poison out? Or is he bigger than the team and what he says goes?

Cristiano Ronaldo wants Real Madrid to sell these players: Man United and Chelsea on alert

CRISTIANO RONALDO reportedly wants Real Madrid to sell up to six players this summer.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/783651/Real-Madrid-News-Cristiano-Ronaldo-Karim-Benzema-Raphael-Varane-Man-Utd-Morata-Chelsea

[Special Juan 27,421]

Monaco have been excellent this season and deserve to win Ligue1 but fuck me what a disaster for PSG, right up there with failure on Man City and United scales.

[Special Juan 27,421]

Cheick Tiote has died after collapsing during training. Horrendous.

[Leif 6,006]

Both stress & genetic predisposition are the main causes of heart attacks. It's a myth that obesity, inactivity, etc, is as bad as they make out. Inactivity may increase your chances of heart attack by 40%, so athletes are safe from that, but stress can put your chances of 'something' to over 200% - it's just Russian Roulette which decides if you're lucky enough to have a breakdown only, or if you go further into heart attack, stroke, or whatever. 

None of us can escape predisposition though, that's 1 thing I wish more people took to heart. We can do everything in the world, but nature's nature, and we can't control it or our body's future - we can just line up our ducks carefully and hope it improves our chances at health.