Everything Soccer

[ACamp1900]

Fun times in Glasgow.... lol

 

[NorthDakota]

Crazy how much better Pool play against teams who don't park the bus...also Mané is a treat to watch

 

[ACamp1900]

Joshua Gatt looks to be coming home... Minnesotas expansion team seems to be trying to lock him up...

 

[ACamp1900]

Aubameyang just nullified a Pulisic goal... our boy headed a ball towards goal... goalie out of the play, ball is bouncing in the net... PEA who is basically sitting in net, and offside, kicks the ball in goal before it's crossed the line thus making the play offside....


Smh.

 

[nlroma1o]

^BUMP^

Has anyone watched the CL matches this round? Barca was dismantled by Verratti and Rabiot last week, many think Enrique has lost favor with with his squad and he's one foot out the door at the moment.

The Man City v Monaco match Tuesday was ridiculous, 8 goals in all, zero defense.

Europa League looks like we might see a fixture between Roma and ManU. Both teams are finding their form this last month.

 

[ACamp1900]

I watched the Barca game on replay and the Dortmund game, super frustrating bc they completely dominated it but lost....

 

[Emcee77]

I watched the Barca game on replay and the Dortmund game, super frustrating bc they completely dominated it but lost....

Those misses by Aubameyang were unbelievable. What a nightmare for him.

 

[Cackalacky]

New Juventus logo on the right:

Someone needs to be fired.

No way. That is not good

 

[Emcee77]

That Sevilla/Leicester game was intriguing. Leicester have been absolutely horrendous lately but maybe that big Vardy away goal late will spark something. I hope it does, but not till after Monday's LFC game. Reds need to keep winning if they want to get back into the top 4.

 

[nlroma1o]

That Sevilla/Leicester game was intriguing. Leicester have been absolutely horrendous lately but maybe that big Vardy away goal late will spark something. I hope it does, but not till after Monday's LFC game. Reds need to keep winning if they want to get back into the top 4.

Ranieri was sacked yesterday. They made all the wrong moves last summer. They sold Kante, which is fine, but they made all the wrong purchases. The needed to revamp their defence and they didint. The last 2 months, Leicester's Defense has been embarrased over and over again. Morgan and Huth's combination in the back is the source of their failures and Ranieri was kicked to the curb because of it. I think its utterly ridiculous that they sacked him. Morgan and Huth were too old last year, and by some miracle they pulled it off. Neither of them should be on a top grade team this year. Ranieri didn't deserve this.... I hope they are relegated now.

 

[Emcee77]

Ranieri was sacked yesterday. They made all the wrong moves last summer. They sold Kante, which is fine, but they made all the wrong purchases. The needed to revamp their defence and they didint. The last 2 months, Leicester's Defense has been embarrased over and over again. Morgan and Huth's combination in the back is the source of their failures and Ranieri was kicked to the curb because of it. I think its utterly ridiculous that they sacked him. Morgan and Huth were too old last year, and by some miracle they pulled it off. Neither of them should be on a top grade team this year. Ranieri didn't deserve this.... I hope they are relegated now.

I saw that, and I mostly agree with you. It is so clear now to what extent Kante's amazing range and ability to break up play in front of Morgan and Huth protected them. Without him sweeping up everything in front of them, their lack of mobility is exposed.

Leicester's whole philosophy is to absorb pressure and counterattack. If Leicester still wants to play that way, they had to either keep Kante or use the money they got from selling him to upgrade their central defenders. They did neither; instead, they tried to replace an irreplaceable player with ... who? Daniel Amartey? No dice, and now Ranieri is paying the price.

I'll admit I didn't realize just how good Kante was either, though. Obviously he stood out, but I didn't realize he was the linchpin holding that team together, masking everyone else's inadequacies. He's now doing that again for Chelsea. Look at that back 3: Azpilicueta, a fullback; David Luiz, known throughout his career for being a wonderful footballer (that free kick against LFC was genius) but an indifferent defender; and Gary Cahill, an own-goal machine. I just have to believe that Kante is a key factor in that patchwork back line being so good this year.

 

[Rogue219]

I hope they get relegated now. He had enough equity to see it through. Last year is enough to allow him to stay. Shows how cynical European football really is.

Hope Palace and Sunderland go too. Hull can stay now and go down next year. Leicester City are despicable for this and so are these players who turned on Claudio. They all got rich thanks to him.

How much do Morgan and Huth miss Kante?

 

[nlroma1o]

I saw that, and I mostly agree with you. It is so clear now to what extent Kante's amazing range and ability to break up play in front of Morgan and Huth protected them. Without him sweeping up everything in front of them, their lack of mobility is exposed.

Leicester's whole philosophy is to absorb pressure and counterattack. If Leicester still wants to play that way, they had to either keep Kante or use the money they got from selling him to upgrade their central defenders. They did neither; instead, they tried to replace an irreplaceable player with ... who? Daniel Amartey? No dice, and now Ranieri is paying the price.

I'll admit I didn't realize just how good Kante was either, though. Obviously he stood out, but I didn't realize he was the linchpin holding that team together, masking everyone else's inadequacies. He's now doing that again for Chelsea. Look at that back 3: Azpilicueta, a fullback; David Luiz, known throughout his career for being a wonderful footballer (that free kick against LFC was genius) but an indifferent defender; and Gary Cahill, an own-goal machine. I just have to believe that Kante is a key factor in that patchwork back line being so good this year.

There's only a handfull of brilliant holding midfielders in Europe, and Kante might be the only one playing in England this season. He is absolutely amazing. Give me either Kante or Verratti, and I would be confident I could build a juggernaut around them. The work rate of those two is second to none.

 

[NorthDakota]

I hope they get relegated now. He had enough equity to see it through. Last year is enough to allow him to stay. Shows how cynical European football really is.

Hope Palace and Sunderland go too. Hull can stay now and go down next year. Leicester City are despicable for this and so are these players who turned on Claudio. They all got rich thanks to him.

How much do Morgan and Huth miss Kante?

Agreed. Leicester had a small part of my heart after last year, canning the man who orchestrated that.....embarrassing.

 

[ACamp1900]

Sunderland dropping and Newcastle looking to come back up? I may have to pay attention to the EPL next year...

 

[Emcee77]

There's only a handfull of brilliant holding midfielders in Europe, and Kante might be the only one playing in England this season. He is absolutely amazing. Give me either Kante or Verratti, and I would be confident I could build a juggernaut around them. The work rate of those two is second to none.

Right. There's just no replacing this:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kante summed up in 24 seconds. Unreal. This guy is not human. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KanteFacts?src=hash">#KanteFacts</a><br><br> <a href="https://t.co/NfS6DI3sRx">pic.twitter.com/NfS6DI3sRx</a></p>— Kante Facts (@KanteFacts_) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanteFacts_/status/835848911961096194">February 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It's so sad that LCFC blamed the drop-off on Ranieri. Asking him to spin straw into gold TWICE, without his best player the second time, is just too much.

Sunderland dropping and Newcastle looking to come back up? I may have to pay attention to the EPL next year...

Rafa has Newcastle flying. I am really excited to see them come back up next year, assuming they keep rolling.

 

[Old Man Mike]

This is just a total novice being curious, so ignore if ridiculous:

I've begun to really enjoy soccer (sorry guys, but I was drawn into this by the US girls.) I've enjoyed the EPL and the European powers of course. There is a player who sometimes seems to get a lot of props by the announcers and sometimes doesn't, but seems to naive-me to make as many aggressive jock plays to destroy opponents and set up interesting attacks as any I'm watching: Bayern's Vidal.

To my untutored eyes, he's a very high work-rate wrecking ball in the midfield. I know that Bayern is absolutely loaded (especially with that guy Robben now back to terrorize opponents on their right side with Lamm), but Vidal often seems to violently or intuitively or just with hustle bust something up which results in Bayern doing magic shortly thereafter.

You guys know the game. What am I missing? Why is he not talked about more when people are praising Bayern?

 

[Rogue219]

There's only a handfull of brilliant holding midfielders in Europe, and Kante might be the only one playing in England this season. He is absolutely amazing. Give me either Kante or Verratti, and I would be confident I could build a juggernaut around them. The work rate of those two is second to none.

Every match he plays, he usually does something that is absolutely amazing. Not a goal or assist, so it won't make a highlight reel for the casual football fan, but anyone that knows what they're supposed to be looking for will see the tremendous value he brings.

He leaves LCFC and they are toying with relegation. Joins Chelsea and they're at the top of the table after finishing 10th.

Kante made Huth and Morgan look far better than they are last year. He's doing it for Luiz and Cahill this year for Chelsea.

 

[Rogue219]

This is just a total novice being curious, so ignore if ridiculous:

I've begun to really enjoy soccer (sorry guys, but I was drawn into this by the US girls.) I've enjoyed the EPL and the European powers of course. There is a player who sometimes seems to get a lot of props by the announcers and sometimes doesn't, but seems to naive-me to make as many aggressive jock plays to destroy opponents and set up interesting attacks as any I'm watching: Bayern's Vidal.

To my untutored eyes, he's a very high work-rate wrecking ball in the midfield. I know that Bayern is absolutely loaded (especially with that guy Robben now back to terrorize opponents on their right side with Lamm), but Vidal often seems to violently or intuitively or just with hustle bust something up which results in Bayern doing magic shortly thereafter.

You guys know the game. What am I missing? Why is he not talked about more when people are praising Bayern?

Couple of reasons, in my opinion. He plays for Bayern and previously played for Juve. Both are loaded national teams and he's not in England.

Second, he is from Chile. If he were from Brazil or Argentina, I think that makes him a bit more mainstream.

 

[ACamp1900]

Nothing wrong with the US women... I think most of us watch, follow and enjoy...

On Vidal: few things... he is recognized as a world class mid fielder and you are right that his work rate is one of his defining traits...

You kind of/partly answered your own question tho, Bayern is loaded across the board so it becomes hard to spread the love there..

Vidal is also newer to the team (joined last season) and Bayern was already rolling when he got there.

He's had a history of being a borderline dirty player (a lot of high energy mids get this label in fairness to him) and there have actually been a number of rumors of him exiting Bayern soon.

 

[ACamp1900]

This Dembele thing is getting super interesting... I'm obviously hoping Celtic can keep him but if they are really going to get offers the size of 65 Million and higher then who can blame them... the dude has been so dominant it's crazy.

 

[fightingirish26]

Nothing wrong with the US women... I think most of us watch, follow and enjoy...

On Vidal: few things... he is recognized as a world class mid fielder and you are right that his work rate is one of his defining traits...

You kind of/partly answered your own question tho, Bayern is loaded across the board so it becomes hard to spread the love there..

Vidal is also newer to the team (joined last season) and Bayern was already rolling when he got there.

He's had a history of being a borderline dirty player (a lot of high energy mids get this label in fairness to him) and there have actually been a number of rumors of him exiting Bayern soon.

I think this is it for a lot of people, he is a bit of a dirty player which is not exactly an endearing quality in soccer for neutral fans

 

[ACamp1900]

On that note... why in the hell do Real and others who are rumored to be in for Dembele even need him?? Seriously.

 

[ACamp1900]

I think this is it for a lot of people, he is a bit of a dirty player which is not exactly an endearing quality in soccer for neutral fans

Honestly, I can't stand the guy... lol

 

[ACamp1900]

MLS starting back up this weekend... Minnesota and Atlanta making their debuts... I'm interested to see how Joshua Gatt does, if he can stay healthy, and restart his career here at home.

 

[fightingirish26]

MLS starting back up this weekend... Minnesota and Atlanta making their debuts... I'm interested to see how Joshua Gatt does, if he can stay healthy, and restart his career here at home.

I'm interested to see if my philly union can build off of last year's playoff appearance. When I look at our roster, I see glaring weaknesses at center back and striker, but hopefully rosenberry can continue to build his case for being a USMNT player and bedoya can be a reliable and consistently good performer. And let's see if andre blake can work his magic between the posts yet again.

 

[ACamp1900]

Galaxy are going to feel SO MUCH different this year too...

 

[Old Man Mike]

Thanks, gentlemen ... very informative.

When I played my sport, I was considered a borderline dirty player too. I viewed it as just hard physical play, and didn't injure people on purpose. As I watch Vidal, I admire his ferocious desire to have his team win (sometimes when some of his rolls-royce teammates seem dialing it down) and I admire that he seems all-team unselfish to me. My first impression of him was negative; now he's growing on me. I'd pick him in a street game for sure.

 

[Rogue219]

Thanks, gentlemen ... very informative.

When I played my sport, I was considered a borderline dirty player too. I viewed it as just hard physical play, and didn't injure people on purpose. As I watch Vidal, I admire his ferocious desire to have his team win (sometimes when some of his rolls-royce teammates seem dialing it down) and I admire that he seems all-team unselfish to me. My first impression of him was negative; now he's growing on me. I'd pick him in a street game for sure.

He's a complete midfielder. Very versatile. He'll be 30 in May. There are rumors of a move to Chelsea this summer, which will only endear him to Chelsea fans.

 

[Emcee77]

Thanks, gentlemen ... very informative.

When I played my sport, I was considered a borderline dirty player too. I viewed it as just hard physical play, and didn't injure people on purpose. As I watch Vidal, I admire his ferocious desire to have his team win (sometimes when some of his rolls-royce teammates seem dialing it down) and I admire that he seems all-team unselfish to me. My first impression of him was negative; now he's growing on me. I'd pick him in a street game for sure.

Oh yeah. He's awesome.

I agree with what others have said about how he stands out less because he has played for top clubs. I'll add that, on any club, the players who stand out most are the ones who score/create goals directly. The guys who do the dirty work rarely get the credit they deserve. Our earlier conversation about Ngolo Kante for Chelsea, formerly of Leicester, is Exhibit A. He got a lot of credit last year, but when it came to tying up stars vs. letting some leave, Leicester gave Vardy and Mahrez new contracts and sold Kante. Bad decision, in hind sight, but that is standard goal-scorer's bias.