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CTIDANDREW

CTIDANDREW

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Football is a cruel, cruel sport. Liverpool were the better team by a mile (just as City were in the semi vs Madrid…still bitter haha), but Courtois had the game of his career, and in my opinion cemented himself as now the greatest keeper in the world.
The only Liverpool player that I thought had a “bad” game was Trent.
He was lost on the goal, and his crossing was some of the worst I’ve ever seen from him. Great player, that played poorly on the big stage..it happens

Liverpool have a very interesting summer ahead, if they lose Mane to Bayern as reported they almost certainly need to spend big on a replacement. I find it hard to believe that Klopp would have resigned for another 3+ years without assurances from John Henry that he would continue to spend big on the squad. No idea who they bring in, but they have been solid at recruitment these past 4-5 years so I’m sure they have some targets in mind.

Bring on next season!
Haaland in the PL + World Cup Year
Can’t $ucking wait!!
 
Cackalacky2.0

Cackalacky2.0

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CTIDANDREW said:
Football is a cruel, cruel sport. Liverpool were the better team by a mile (just as City were in the semi vs Madrid…still bitter haha), but Courtois had the game of his career, and in my opinion cemented himself as now the greatest keeper in the world.
The only Liverpool player that I thought had a “bad” game was Trent.
He was lost on the goal, and his crossing was some of the worst I’ve ever seen from him. Great player, that played poorly on the big stage..it happens

Liverpool have a very interesting summer ahead, if they lose Mane to Bayern as reported they almost certainly need to spend big on a replacement. I find it hard to believe that Klopp would have resigned for another 3+ years without assurances from John Henry that he would continue to spend big on the squad. No idea who they bring in, but they have been solid at recruitment these past 4-5 years so I’m sure they have some targets in mind.

Bring on next season!
Haaland in the PL + World Cup Year
Can’t $ucking wait!!
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Agree with all this. Tc had the game of his life. Also TAA was totally slack on the goal. But that is the risk reward with Liverpools system
 
phillyirish

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Lewandowski wants out of Bayern. Rumored to prefer Barca? Things are getting interesting. Gonna be a fun transfer period.
 
IHateMarkMay

IHateMarkMay

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phillyirish said:
Lewandowski wants out of Bayern. Rumored to prefer Barca? Things are getting interesting. Gonna be a fun transfer period.
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Barca need to sell to get him though. That's why there are so many rumors about De Jong and United (I don't think it happens).
 
phillyirish

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IHateMarkMay said:
Barca need to sell to get him though. That's why there are so many rumors about De Jong and United (I don't think it happens).
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They would be dumb to give up a young, star midfielder for an aging Striker. But they do have a trio of star teenagers in Gavi, Pedri and Gonzalez, maybe they want to make room for them. Then again Im not sure how the finances work, i was under the impression Barca was dead in the water, but then they bring in Ferran Torres in the middle of the year. So we will see how it works.
 
IHateMarkMay

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phillyirish said:
They would be dumb to give up a young, star midfielder for an aging Striker. But they do have a trio of star teenagers in Gavi, Pedri and Gonzalez, maybe they want to make room for them. Then again Im not sure how the finances work, i was under the impression Barca was dead in the water, but then they bring in Ferran Torres in the middle of the year. So we will see how it works.
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Yeah, I have no clue how Barca or Madrid are handling their finances because they were horrible last summer. Madrid at least won a chunk of money.

I've heard Barca has a finance meeting today which could give some clarity on the FDJ situation. The only way he leaves is if Barca tell him he has to.
 
ThePiombino

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Azzurri getting completely outclassed by Argentina right now. Italy with virtually no attack and Argentina with attack for days.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
 
Old Man Mike

Old Man Mike

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If you have Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Aaronson, Musah, Reyna, Weah, and the various "nines" on this team, how do you get them on the field?

For me, Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, and Aaronson MUST be on the field. Musah probably too. The big new striker was very intriguing, being able to accept a middle third pass with his back to goal and control possession, allowing us to begin to crack Morocco's mid-field harassment.

... and at the other end, if the coach sticks with what he said about goalkeeping choice and benches Turner for not getting enough work at his professional team, he is nuts. Turner is REALLY good. Best intuition and athletic full stretch and intensity-until-the-play's-over of any keeper I've seen for us. Guy reminds me of a smaller Allison. (not as good with his feet, though.)
 
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stpeteirish

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Old Man Mike said:
If you have Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Aaronson, Musah, Reyna, Weah, and the various "nines" on this team, how do you get them on the field?

For me, Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, and Aaronson MUST be on the field. Musah probably too. The big new striker was very intriguing, being able to accept a middle third pass with his back to goal and control possession, allowing us to begin to crack Morocco's mid-field harassment.

... and at the other end, if the coach sticks with what he said about goalkeeping choice and benches Turner for not getting enough work at his professional team, he is nuts. Turner is REALLY good. Best intuition and athletic full stretch and intensity-until-the-play's-over of any keeper I've seen for us. Guy reminds me of a smaller Allison. (not as good with his feet, though.)
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Agree re Turner. Hard to understand how a competent coach would choose Steffen over Turner. Steffen has at least one WTF play every game.
 
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notredomer23

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Old Man Mike said:
If you have Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Aaronson, Musah, Reyna, Weah, and the various "nines" on this team, how do you get them on the field?

For me, Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, and Aaronson MUST be on the field. Musah probably too. The big new striker was very intriguing, being able to accept a middle third pass with his back to goal and control possession, allowing us to begin to crack Morocco's mid-field harassment.

... and at the other end, if the coach sticks with what he said about goalkeeping choice and benches Turner for not getting enough work at his professional team, he is nuts. Turner is REALLY good. Best intuition and athletic full stretch and intensity-until-the-play's-over of any keeper I've seen for us. Guy reminds me of a smaller Allison. (not as good with his feet, though.)
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Great post Mike. It's a great problem to have and at worst leads to some really strong offensive substitutions that the US hasn't previously had the luxury of having. I do think if Reyna is fully healthy, you have to go false 9 with either him or Pulisic to maximize output, especially if Pepi, Ferreira, Wright, Sargent etc don't firmly claim the ST role.

One battle I am interested in watching is LB. I really like Robinson but I am not convinced he's going to be the LB in Qatar after watching Joe Scally last night. Scally at one point tracked down Hakimi and won back the ball from him when he otherwise would have been in on goal. I understand Scally had fresh legs, but Hakimi is one of the fastest players in the world.
 
CTIDANDREW

CTIDANDREW

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Old Man Mike said:
If you have Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Aaronson, Musah, Reyna, Weah, and the various "nines" on this team, how do you get them on the field?

For me, Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, and Aaronson MUST be on the field. Musah probably too. The big new striker was very intriguing, being able to accept a middle third pass with his back to goal and control possession, allowing us to begin to crack Morocco's mid-field harassment.

... and at the other end, if the coach sticks with what he said about goalkeeping choice and benches Turner for not getting enough work at his professional team, he is nuts. Turner is REALLY good. Best intuition and athletic full stretch and intensity-until-the-play's-over of any keeper I've seen for us. Guy reminds me of a smaller Allison. (not as good with his feet, though.)
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My best guess on what Gregg will start vs Ukraine / Wales on NOV 21
Based on everything he has shown it is going to be some form of a 4-3-3 with one player playing CDM role, and one box - box mid, and attacking 10 role type player in midfield.

GK: Turner (He is the best keeper in the pool, and should play every minute in Qatar if healthy)

LB: Antonee "Jedi" Robinson (Joe Scally probably is the only realistic second option, but just got his first cap so probably Jedi's spot to lose.)
LCB: Aaron Long (In my opinion, very up for grabs but with Miles out long term Aaron is a big fav of Greggs and reliable.)
RCB: Walker Zimmerman (baring injury Walker is a shoe in to start in Qatar. Gregg has started him every meaningful minute over the past six months)
RB: Dest (I would say Reggie Cannon is probably most likely replacement in the event of injury.)

CDM: Adams (Likely replacement in event of injury would be Kellyn Acosta. He is a fav of Gregg's)

CM (box-box): McKennie (In my opinion, the best current player in the pool when healthy.) No true replacement if hurt during the cup.
CM (10 type): Brenden Aaronson (I think last night was the first taste of what's to come for Aaronson, and the role Gregg sees for him moving forward.)

LW: Pulisic (first name on team sheet when healthy....it may not be his best position but it is where Gregg usually plays him.)
ST: Ferreira ( Gregg seems to really rate him. Praying that someone takes this position by the balls over the next five months, but with limited nat'l team games, and club football it has to be Ferreira's job to lose at this point.)
RW: Reyna (This one may surprise people, but I think this is where Reyna will slot into the team if healthy, which is a big if with his injury record.) Weah has been great for the team over the past two years, but Reyna is just more talented and deserves to start when healthy. Weah is a great option off the bench.

A few notes:
1. Musah is a solid player, but he hardly starts for Valencia, and him being an impact sub during the world cup seems more likely when everyone is healthy in my opinion.
2. John Anthony Brooks could somehow mend his fence with Gregg over the next five months, but it looks incredibly unlikely at this point.
3. Ricardo Pepi has went from the savior we were promised, to not guaranteed a spot in Qatar based on recent form. Big five months ahead for him.
4. I think Sean Johnson is going to have a real chance to start if both Steffen and Turner aren't playing at club level. I wouldn't be a fan of it, but based on Greggs recent press conference quotes it wouldn't be shocking. He very much values consistent club level play, and Sean Johnson is the only one of the three that is guaranteed that come next November.

Should be an exciting five months trying to figure out this roster, Miles Robinson injury really hurt us, but hopefully someone better than Aaron Long will step up over the next five months and take that spot next to Zimmerman.
 
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notredomer23

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CTIDANDREW said:
4. I think Sean Johnson is going to have a real chance to start if both Steffen and Turner aren't playing at club level. I wouldn't be a fan of it, but based on Gregg's recent press conference quotes it wouldn't be shocking. He very much values consistent club level play, and Sean Johnson is the only one of the three that is guaranteed that come next November.

Should be an exciting five months trying to figure out this roster, Miles Robinson injury really hurt us, but hopefully someone better than Aaron Long will step up over the next five months and take that spot next to Zimmerman.
Click to expand...

This would crush the MLS purists narratives if the USMNT had 4 players playing or developed at NYCFC on it in Johnson, Scally, Sands, and Reyna.
 
Cackalacky2.0

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Chiellini is set to move to LAFC.

Lacazette back to Lyon

Pogba and Mata leaving ManU

Rudiger on a free to Madrid

Barca looks likely to HAVE to sell DeJong

Lots of transfer news to start of June
 
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notredomer23

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I trust Sean Johnson playing for NYCFC over Steffen not playing for Man City. His save against Uruguay earlier may have been the save of his career.

Biggest take away from the match was Aaronson. Absolute pain in the ass for opposing midfields and back lines.

Need Adams to stay healthy. He’s the clear captain and leader of this team.

Zimmerman should be playing in a top 5 league on a top half club. He’s been excellent and shut down some of Uruguay’s best.

Still no striker :(

Very chippy for a friendly. Honestly love it because that is what our young guys need.
 
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