The English Football Thread

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

1 minute ago, chippy said:

When his head is right he's a top, top quality player

I actually think he is just above average bc of the lack of intensity and consistency in his games. He is capable of sublime moments once in a while but those are the exception. He is also already 28 and still plays like the promsiing youngster he was 10 years ago. 

[Vesper 30,226]

2020-21 English Premier League

Sheffield United            
Arsenal                           

http://www.sportnews.to/mysports/2021/premier-league-sheffield-united-vs-arsenal-s1/

https://www.totalsportek.com/page-6/

[Vesper 30,226]

16 minutes ago, chippy said:

 

Four way race for 2 spots now.

 

 

 

technically 6 teams

 

with spuds on the ropes IF Everton beat them

 

[Vesper 30,226]

Mou will get the sack if they miss out on EL

[Atomiswave 6,118]

20 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

I actually think he is just above average bc of the lack of intensity and consistency in his games. He is capable of sublime moments once in a while but those are the exception. He is also already 28 and still plays like the promsiing youngster he was 10 years ago. 

Spurs gave him plenty of space, I still cant see this super duper world class player the media will have us know. Already 28 as you said. If Pogba is WC then what is Kova and Kante?

8 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Mou will get the sack if they miss out on EL

He is a goner either way I feel

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

30 minutes ago, chippy said:

When his head is right he's a top, top quality player

Doesnt happen often enough though and thats what separates world class players from the potential world class players. 

No doubt winning a world cup etc plus trophies at Juventus and United, Pogba has achieved good things in his career but has never truly reached the heights he should have and thats on him more than anything.

If he played like he did today, he would get in any team on the continent probably, but he will probably be average for 3/4 weeks now and churn out one other performance like this before the season ends. Then United fans will go why did we finish so far behind City and think that its purely down the OGS and not buying more top class players (which counts obviously for some of it) when guys like De Gea, Pogba, Martial, Maguire (yes hes overrated but clearly can play better than he has at times this season) have been so inconsistent costing them big points/lack of points from not being at it.

Edited April 11, 2021 by OneMoSalah

[Jype 6,398]

Looking at Reguilon for Spurs, is anyone still unhappy Chilwell was signed instead?

[Laylabelle 9,536]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

technically 6 teams

 

with spuds on the ropes IF Everton beat them

 

Least apart from Everton we've all played the same now..until the weekend anyway

[Atomiswave 6,118]

You seen the new forbes list of most valuable clubs? How in the fuck is stinking cheaters like City almost worth 1B more than us? Its a mockery. And even pool is ahead thanks to their recent spells. Udt have gone way down on that list too. Fuck Forbs and their list.

[Vesper 30,226]

Best clubs for young players: global rankings   Issue number 333 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the percentage of domestic league minutes by footballers who had not yet turned 21 at the time of the matches played this season for 999 clubs from 71 top divisions that are currently running worldwide. The highest percentages were recorded for the Danish side FC Nordsjælland (48.9%) among the 30 major European competitions and the Singaporean team Young Lions (47.1%) for the clubs surveyed outside of Europe. At big-5 league level, the highest figures were measured for Borussia Dortmund (28.5%), followed by three French Ligue 1 teams: OGC Nice (24.3%), AS Monaco (24.1%) and Stade Rennais (20.7%). The greatest proportion of minutes in the other major championships were registered for Wolverhampton (16.2%), FC Barcelona (15.0%) and Hellas Verona (11.7%). At the opposite end, eight teams did not field any U21 player, among which Tottenham and Inter. The highest percentage overall was observed for FK Metta (88.0%), the team of the Riga’s University of Latvia. U21 footballers played a majority of minutes in two other Latvian top division teams: Valmiera FC and BFC Daugavpils. Ecuador’s club Independiente del Valle (34.3%) and Alger-based Paradou AC (27.8%) lead the table for America and Africa respectively. The average age on the pitch for clubs in the 31 main European leagues are available in the CIES Football Observatory Demographic Atlas.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

The very least WBA could do is be this good against Leicester next week.

[Vesper 30,226]

2020-21 English Premier League

Brighton & Hove Albion             
Everton                                         

http://www.sportnews.to/mysports/2021/premier-league-brighton-hove-albion-vs-everton-s1/

https://www.totalsportek.com/everton-epl-match/

Edited April 12, 2021 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,226]

West Brom just tore apart SOTON

last 2 games

both wins (arfff, we were one of them)

8 2 aggregate

[Vesper 30,226]

They have a real shot at catching NUFC, who have crazy hard last 7 games

if SU somehow beats NUFC, Newcastle might lose the next 7

Edited April 12, 2021 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,226]

I will do a fucking dance if West Brom beats Leicester next, and they also play West Ham and Pool, so they can do us HUGE solids

wish to hell NUFC had lost to Burnley, as the pressure would really be on then

[Atomiswave 6,118]

27 minutes ago, Vesper said:

West Brom just tore apart SOTON

last 2 games

both wins (arfff, we were one of them)

8 2 aggregate

Another team where we resurrected their season, they best do us a few favours.

[Vesper 30,226]

    

Five goals, 37 shots, 16 corners and 472 little Fiver moans Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!  It’s Big Cup, baby. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Rob Smyth PARIS IS LEARNING The Fiver feels unclean. Admittedly this is not an unprecedented state of affairs, literally or figuratively, but we’ve got to write about something so that’ll do. You see, we feel guilty about our relationship with Big Cup. On the one hand, we loathe everything it represents, and are 110% disgusted by the Even More Greed Is Even Better proposals to make elite football even less jeapordous. But then we watch a game like Bayern 2-3 PSG, making funny little moaning noises throughout, and it makes us feel so darn euphoric. Deriving such visceral pleasure from something we essentially detest is the closest the Fiver has come to having one of those lovebuddies we keep reading about it in Granny Fiver’s lifestyle magazines. Fran Kirby to NLD derby: the best five moments from first 10 years of WSL | Suzanne Wrack Read more There’s another layer of guilt to our pleasure. Because although the first leg of the quarter-final between Bayern and PSG produced five goals, 37 shots, 16 corners and 472 little Fiver moans, deep down we know some of the gegenpressing and Big Chance Conversion left a fair bit to be desired, and that makes us feel sad. In the pursuit of emotional clarity, and because The Man has ordered us to do so, we plan to sit down for tonight’s second leg and leer at our big screen with a slightly gormless expression. The match, a repeat of last year’s final in case you’ve been at a digital retreat on the Kerguelen Islands for the last nine months, is impossible to call, even though PSG have three away goals. PSG’s home form this season has been ropey, and in the previous round they flirted with blowing a 4-1 lead against Barcelona. They will also know that with a bit more luck last week – and a lot more Lewandowski – Bayern could be 48-3 ahead on aggregate. But there will be no Lewandowski tonight either. Both teams have fairly grotesque injury lists, which adds to the thrilling feeling of unpredictability that makes us feel so guilty. PSG’s biggest loss is their captain, Marquinhos, but they do have the trump card of world football: Kylian Mmmbappé, who roasted Bayern on the counter-attack in the first leg and should have ample opportunities to do the same tonight. If he scores a hat-trick, PSG might just sneak through. Tonight’s other game should be a formality: Chelsea have a 2-0 lead over Porto from the away leg, although both matches are being played in Seville. But Thomas Tuchel will be slightly wary, having lost a similar lead against Manchester United two years ago when he was PSG manager. If it happens again he’ll be filthy. We know how he feels. LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE! In case you didn’t notice above, there’s Big Cup action on tonight, both starting at 8pm BST. Rob Smyth will be MBMing PSG 2-4 Bayern (5-6 agg), while Barry Glendenning is on Chelsea 3-1 Porto (5-1 agg). QUOTE OF THE DAY “I always get fed, I can assure you of that” – Noah Solskjær might as well have said ‘my captors are treating me well’, even if his statement to Norwegian media was meant to dampen the little war of words between his father, Ole, and José Mourinho, after Manchester United’s weekend win over Spurs.  Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær poses with his sons Noah (left) and Elijah. Photograph: Ntb Scanpix/Reuters FIVER LETTERS ““You just had to do it, didn’t you? Barely as I’ve just about got over the 16 years of bitterness at Pedro Mendes’s shot from the halfway line at Old Trafford being disallowed and Spurs being denied a certain last-minute winner, you went and published a picture of Roy Carroll (yesterday’s Quote Of The Day) at about the same position inside the goal from which he made his heroic ‘save’. With presumably the same smug grin on his face. Thanks a lot, Fiver” – Tim Clarke. “Re: Justin Kavanagh and Antoine Griezmann’s exceptionally accurate child creation (yesterday’s letters). I’ve done the maths so no-one else has to – these are the major events approximately nine months prior to the birth of each child: 11 July 2020 - “thigh injury” against Real Valladolid which ends his season. 15 July 2018 - wins the World Cup Final. 28 July 2015 - scores for first time in the season against Real Oviedo. I guess 2020 was hard for everyone” – Luke Justus. “I hate agreeing with Mourinho. I mean, I really, really hate it. But he ain’t wrong. Bread IS bread. And, most of the time, cheese usually is cheese. But he’s still gonna get fired in a few weeks, isn’t he?” – Mike Wilner. “Re: recent stories on refereeing. Many moons ago I was playing in goals in an amateur league match deep down in the west of Ireland. The referee that day was huge, the kind of fella who was probably sinking 10 pints a day during the week and gallons of porter at the weekend. Needless to say he couldn’t keep up with play. Our opponents took a corner and managed to get a shot away towards my near post. The referee who had taken up a position near the post out of sheer laziness, managed to deflect their shot from going wide with his beer gut back into play from which they scored. To add insult to injury he gave me a yellow card for pointing out his fat belly had provided the assist” – Eoin Balfe. Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Luke Justus.       NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Forest Green are pondering appointing the Football League’s first woman manager, having booted Mark Cooper through the door marked Do One. Manchester City are poised to swoop for Fluminense’s teenage sensation Kayky, who has been billed as the ‘new Neymar’. No pressure then. Talking of which, Jadon Sancho will not face City for Dortmund tomorrow due to ongoing thigh-gah. Which might have given Pep Guardiola some confidence. A 49-year-old man has been charged with racially abusing West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers online. The decision to bar clinically extremely vulnerable supporters from the League/Fizzy Cup final is “direct discrimination”, according to a group of disabled Tottenham fans. It was Big Sam’s turn to be in a right funk over VAR, as it meant a 4-0 win over Southampton ended up being only 3-0. Asked whether the technology was making football a laughing stock, he chuntered: “I’m afraid so.” In other unsurprising Premier League news, Brighton created a load of chances and didn’t score from any of them. As per. Lucy Bronze is a doubt for England’s friendly against Canada this evening with groin knack. And Florentino Pérez has been re-elected Real Madrid president for a sixth term in an election contested by … *checks notes* … no one else. STILL WANT MORE? Tuesday marks 10 years to the day since the Women’s Super League as created, so Suzy Wrack listed the five biggest moments so far.  Moments! Composite: - Meanwhile, Suzy also sat down for a chin-way with Kelly Simmons, the head of the professional women’s game, to see what’s next for female football in the UK. Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! STOP IT!

    

[Vesper 30,226]

David Squires on … how a streaker tried to end the great Alexander-Arnold Wars

Our resident cartoonist on the right-back debate between Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville and one hero that is willing to risk it all

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2021/apr/13/david-squires-streaker-tried-great-trent-alexander-arnold-wars-england

[Vesper 30,226]

Wednesday April 14 2021 Matt Law's Chelsea briefing

Do spooky similarities with 2012 mean anything for Chelsea's current Champions League campaign? By Matt Law, Football News Correspondent It will not be lost on Chelsea supporters that the last time they beat Portuguese opposition in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, they went on to rule Europe. In fact, there is a growing theme among fans on social media that the stars are aligning and pointing to another Champions League success, nine years since the thrilling penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich. Head coach Thomas Tuchel will not be counting on superstition as he attempts to plot a path to the final, but some of the similarities between this and Chelsea’s 2012 campaign are stark. Those who follow Twitter accounts such as @CFCDUBois, @TheScore01 and @SonOfChelsea will have seen the numerous messages and retweets of good omens for Chelsea’s Champions League hopes. Some, such as the fact Chelsea’s rivals Tottenham Hotspur conceded five goals in an FA Cup game in 2012 and did so again this season, border on the ridiculous. But there is undeniably a likeness between where Chelsea find themselves now and where they were at the same stage of the competition all those years ago. Here, purely for a bit of fun (yes, that still is allowed in football), this column goes through some of the better similarities and rates the strength of each omen out of five. A MANAGERIAL CHANGE This season, it was Frank Lampard who got sacked and in 2012 it was another young coach Andre Villas-Boas who was replaced before the end of the season. Chelsea had already qualified from the group stages of the Champions League and drawn Atletico Madrid when Lampard was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, but interim manager Roberto Di Matteo faced an altogether tougher task when he succeeded Villas-Boas. Chelsea were 3-1 down to Napoli in the Champions League and were staring elimination in the face, before Di Matteo’s team beat the Italians 4-1 after extra-time in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. The rest, as they say, is history. Omen rating: 2 out of 5. Chelsea change their managers so frequently that it would be more eye-catching if they had not sacked Villas-Boas or Lampard as they progressed through the Champions League in 2012 and this season. AN FA CUP RUN Chelsea completed a double by winning the Champions League nine years ago, having already lifted the FA Cup a couple of weeks earlier. And next in the fixture list this weekend is an FA Cup semi-final date against Manchester City at Wembley. Progress to the final to face either Leicester City or Southampton, a game in which Chelsea would be favourites, will only further convince superstitious supporters that another European and domestic double is on the cards. No doubt the Twitter accounts linking every possible likeness to this season and the Champions League-winning campaign will have already noted that Chelsea beat Leicester City on their FA Cup run in 2012 — so if Tuchel’s team can somehow get past Manchester City, then some might be praying for the midlands team in the final. Omen rating: 3 out of 5. The FA Cup and Champions League 2012 successes more than made up for what had been a disappointing Premier League season and, once again, some of Chelsea’s best performances this season have some in the domestic and European cup competitions. THE GERMAN CONNECTION Last season Thomas Tuchel was one step from winning the Champions League with Paris-Saint Germain, as the French club were beaten by Bayern Munich in the final. The last time a German manager, Jurgen Klopp, lost a Champions League final, he went on to win it in the following season with Liverpool, who were beaten by Real Madrid in 2017/18 before overcoming Tottenham Hotspur in 2018/19. Unlike Klopp, Tuchel has changed clubs since losing in the final, but Chelsea will be hoping that he shares the same drive Klopp displayed to respond in the best possible way to such a big disappointment. Omen rating: 4 out of 5. The fact it was a German who last won the Champions League after losing a final is not particularly significant. But one of the attractions of appointing Tuchel for Chelsea was his pedigree in the competition last season and that experience appears to be serving him well. THE NUMBERS GAME Just as Tottenham supporters used to look out for a year that ended in one, Chelsea fans will not have needed a degree in mathematics to realise that the numbers of 2012 can also be rearranged to make 2021. But if that is not enough to convince you that this must be the club's year to become two-time European Champions, then consider this: Didier Drogba top-scored for the in the competition nine years ago with six goals - the same amount of goals Olivier Giroud has so far netted up to the semi-finals. Drogba was 34 by the time Chelsea won in Munich and how old is Giroud? You guessed it, 34. The number 29 could also be of interest to superstitious supporters, as it is the day of the month that both Roberto Di Matteo (May 29) and Thomas Tuchel (August 29) were born. Omen rating: 2 out of 5. The numbers do appear to add up for Chelsea this season, although Giroud will only need to score one more Champions League goal to beat Drogba’s 2012 tally. The amateur mathematicians should not be getting too excited just yet. Got a question on Chelsea? Get in touch on Twitter @Matt_Law_DT or by emailing [email protected]

Edited April 14, 2021 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,226]

Replacing Poch with tactics to make George Graham look like Ossie Ardiles    Mauricio Pochettino: one trophy in the bag, Big Cup in his sights. Photograph: Dave Winter/REX/Shutterstock Scott Murray POCH ON When Daniel Levy took over at Tottenham Hotspur in 2001, it felt like the club were in a state of suspended animation. One of the grandest institutions in the country, all they’d won in the previous nine years was a solitary League Cup. Things had to change. And just look at them now! Two glory-strewn decades down the line, not only have they won another League Cup, they’ve also come third in a two-horse race in the Premier League, behind a 5,000-1 shot and Arsenal, and forgotten to turn up for a Big Cup final, though they did qualify for it. Well done, Daniel, it’s been one hell of a blast. But in the interests of balance, it’s only fair to point out that nobody is perfect. Some critics have been questioning Levy’s 2019 decision to defenestrate Mauricio Pochettino and replace him with a man whose tactics make George Graham look like Ossie Ardiles and whose results make Ossie Ardiles look like Bill Nick. And while Spurs faff about, Pochettino has sauntered off, hand in pocket, whistling, to PSG where he’s already won one trophy and is looking good to land Big Cup having last night dispatched holders Bayern Munich in another of those matches the hipster cognoscenti won’t have enjoyed because tactics went out the window and it was fun. Down the line, Manchester City may have something to say about this. So may Chelsea. So, in theory, may ersatz 2019 Liverpool tribute act Liverpool, who will at least give another of those famous comebacks a go tonight, bless them. But with PSG three matches away from the Boys Own fairytale of becoming the first sovereign state to win Europe’s top club championship, things are looking very promising indeed for the former Spurs boss right now. Especially as favourites City will almost certainly find yet another wild and wonderful way to blow it in Europe, if not tonight in Dortmund then in the semi in Paris, we can feel it in our bones. Hey, who knows, maybe they’ll freeze in the League Cup final too, in which case chalk one more success up for Big Dan. LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE! Join Scott Murray for Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid (3-3 agg), and Barry Glendenning for Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Manchester City (2-5 agg). QUOTE OF THE DAY “You’ll see a change now – see the banners around the club [stadium] are not red any more. We’ve looked into this. Some of the players mentioned that in the split-second decision you have to look over your shoulder to see if your teammate is there or not then the red shirt is on a red background with red seats” – Ole Gunnar Solskjær brings back memories of those grey shirts at the Dell, almost exactly 25 years on.  The Manchester United squad in action at Old Trafford. Photograph: Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images RECOMMENDED LISTENING It’s Football Weekly! FIVER LETTERS “Fiver is guilty of just eating the shooting stats in Brighton vs Everton match. Expected goals reveals just very boring game 1.16 vs 0.31 so it should have been 1-0 ish which it was … ish” – Tim Lynch. “Did Paul Lindauer feel like a bully? [Monday’s Fiver letters] I did in a similar situation. There was a kid’s game about to start in the park and no ref; hi, I’m qualified, I’ll do it. Well thank you. While some of the kids were checking out the dandelions, one bigger kid was bustling his way through everyone, and not in accordance with the laws. After awarding a few free-kicks against him, I decided he needed some guidance; I wagged my finger at him as I told him that he couldn’t just push others out of his way. His response was to burst into tears and run over to his mother (not so tough, now, eh?) Oh dear, what a brute, dark looks from other parents. Sigh. So much for being a nice guy. (Didn’t bother about leaving the field without permission ...) – Allan Clark. Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Allan Clark. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela has been handed a 10-match Uefa ban for ‘racist behaviour’ at Rangers. Mikel Arteta says he refuses to imagine a first Arsenal season without Europe since 1995-96 next year. “I don’t want to put it in my mind or transmit it to any of the players or anybody at the club,” he cheered. Neymar’s contract extension talks seem set to go smoothly. “I don’t think this is even a topic any more; I obviously feel very comfortable, at home at PSG,” he purred. STILL WANT MORE? Has a player played more games in a league season than their team? The Knowledge has the answer Big interview: Sid Lowe talks to Fede Valverde: ‘You take a corner and there’s an animal next to you’  Federico Valverde in action against Liverpool. Photograph: Helios de la Rubia/Real Madrid/Getty Images Marcus Christenson on the Swedish fans trying to create an atmosphere … despite only eight being allowed in a ground. ‘Hostile takeover’ and smashed glass: John Duerden reports on the turmoil in Pakistan’s football Brighton’s Aileen Whelan gets her chat on with Louise Taylor: ‘I’ll concentrate on child psychology after retiring’ Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! ‘THANKS EVERYONE!’

Edited April 14, 2021 by Vesper