Everything Soccer

[Cackalacky2.0]

Thought I would enjoy Liverpool fading into mid-table mediocrity. I miss hating them. Hope they turn it around next year.

I quit watching after 20 minutes. So terrible. Just nothing good with the team right now. Bajcetic might just be the best player on the pitch at the moment.

 

[NDRock]

Its very bizarre. Second most talented roster in the league can't seem to do anything right

From the outside it seems like it's a combination of a lot. Injuries, poor replacement of players, older squad, owners who want to sell and probably aren't investing enough. EPL is a tough league and a little drop in form can see you tumble down the table. As long as Klopp stays and they invest well in the team they should be back to competing soon.

 

[INLaw]

And wolves above the relegation line for another week

 

[NorthDakota]

From the outside it seems like it's a combination of a lot. Injuries, poor replacement of players, older squad, owners who want to sell and probably aren't investing enough. EPL is a tough league and a little drop in form can see you tumble down the table. As long as Klopp stays and they invest well in the team they should be back to competing soon.

Klopp isn't gonna stay much longer. I blame it on the old squad. Jurgen builds hungry young teams super well. We got a bunch of dudes around my age (30+).

Not cut out for his system anymore.

 

[nsisk157]

Klopp isn't gonna stay much longer. I blame it on the old squad. Jurgen builds hungry young teams super well. We got a bunch of dudes around my age (30+).

Not cut out for his system anymore.

7th year Klopp curse...

 

[Old Man Mike]

Anyone rooting for the Liverpool collapse isn't much of a fan of dynamic soccer in my opinion. Klopp created something unique. The intensity of his midfield attack scheme made no minutes boring. When Henderson and Wynaldum and Firmino and Mane were all there and healthy enough, the werewolves were out and hunting. I LOVED that style of play. Sure the De Bruyne style perfection was/is beautiful, but the werewolves were more exciting to me. Fabinho was also a perfect defensive mid, slightly dirty and a natural werewolf himself. Andy Robertson also could help out. So even with defensive losers like Salah and the defense-optional right back TAA, the wolves could carry their deficiencies to gain their offense.

It's no mystery at all what happened. Henderson and Milner and maybe Firmino can't go all game anymore. Mane and Wynaldum traded.

Klopp felt he needed more normal play offense, and dropped one werewolf in midfield, plus Firmino, and finally let Mane get away.

Maybe he saw that the irreplaceable Henderson could not keep this up longer and tried to transition. Couldn't do it. The Werewolf Gang ran both everyone else AND itself to Death. ... a very sad end to the era for me. ... and I hardly watch anymore.

 

[phillyirish]

I see your arguments for a Liverpool rebound, but here’s one strong counterpoint to that:

Fuck Liverpool.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Anyone rooting for the Liverpool collapse isn't much of a fan of dynamic soccer in my opinion. Klopp created something unique. The intensity of his midfield attack scheme made no minutes boring. When Henderson and Wynaldum and Firmino and Mane were all there and healthy enough, the werewolves were out and hunting. I LOVED that style of play. Sure the De Bruyne style perfection was/is beautiful, but the werewolves were more exciting to me. Fabinho was also a perfect defensive mid, slightly dirty and a natural werewolf himself. Andy Robertson also could help out. So even with defensive losers like Salah and the defense-optional right back TAA, the wolves could carry their deficiencies to gain their offense.

It's no mystery at all what happened. Henderson and Milner and maybe Firmino can't go all game anymore. Mane and Wynaldum traded.

Klopp felt he needed more normal play offense, and dropped one werewolf in midfield, plus Firmino, and finally let Mane get away.

Maybe he saw that the irreplaceable Henderson could not keep this up longer and tried to transition. Couldn't do it. The Werewolf Gang ran both everyone else AND itself to Death. ... a very sad end to the era for me. ... and I hardly watch anymore.

Any stats or metrics to back this? In a limited sample size of matches I've seen, that guy has backtracked and run down the ball multiple times, especially pre World Cup this season because their midfield and defense has more leaks than the Iraqi Navy.

I don't know if calling Salah a "defensive loser" is inaccurate, but it's certainly harsh.

Whatever their problem is, I would suspect a supposed "Moneyball" team would go out and find midfielders like Caicedo, Palhinha and Nunes in the summer transfer window for low fees and cost efficient wages rather than let Brighton, Fulham and Wolves do that. They went all in on that one kid last summer and he went to Real. There was no plan B. Not to mention that knowing the modern footballer mentality, their putting all of their hopes and dreams on signing Jude Bellingham seems like a really stupid risk. If that kid is anywhere other than Real or City come August I would be stunned.

That's not Moneyball, and if you listen any English soccer podcast and hear them try to explain it, they don't really grasp it. Brighton seems more like a Moneyball team. Selling a guy like Cucarella to Chelsea and then watching Cucarella defend is the definition of what a heist looks like.

That Community Shield match between Liverpool and City back in July seems like years ago. It was months.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Any stats or metrics to back this? In a limited sample size of matches I've seen, that guy has backtracked and run down the ball multiple times, especially pre World Cup this season because their midfield and defense has more leaks than the Iraqi Navy.

I don't know if calling Salah a "defensive loser" is inaccurate, but it's certainly harsh.

Whatever their problem is, I would suspect a supposed "Moneyball" team would go out and find midfielders like Caicedo, Palhinha and Nunes in the summer transfer window for low fees and cost efficient wages rather than let Brighton, Fulham and Wolves do that. They went all in on that one kid last summer and he went to Real. There was no plan B. Not to mention that knowing the modern footballer mentality, their putting all of their hopes and dreams on signing Jude Bellingham seems like a really stupid risk. If that kid is anywhere other than Real or City come August I would be stunned.

That's not Moneyball, and if you listen any English soccer podcast and hear them try to explain it, they don't really grasp it. Brighton seems more like a Moneyball team. Selling a guy like Cucarella to Chelsea and then watching Cucarella defend is the definition of what a heist looks like.

That Community Shield match between Liverpool and City back in July seems like years ago. It was months.

Eh I’m feeling like OMM hit the head on the nail. Liverpools defense starts at the front 3 pressing which allows the high line and Trent to play in the front of the middle third. It also allows VVD to play high and keep an eye on their strikers trying to make runs from midfield. This setup was the key to their play and success the last five years.

They simply have been unable to generate a press up front since Mane left and add to that the injuries to Diaz, Jota, Firmino, and Nunez and Gakpo and Salah not pressing, midfield not being able to initiate the press and getting moved out of position, which forces Trent to actually have to play defense and getting beat, and no VVD on the pitch forcing Gomez and and Matip to have to play defense ….. I could go on but it’s shit and it starts from Liverpool effectively not being able to press up front which puts strain on the midfield who gets pulled apart and the stresses the back four and pulls them apart leading to leaking goals and jo ability to score themselves.

7 goals since the World Cup have been scores and two were own goals by the other team.

It’s quite a terrible state of affairs. I’d like to think the team we had in the CS would be doing better but we are no where near the team we were at that point in time. It’s crazy how quickly it’s fallen to shit with the B-/C team on the pitch.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Yeh, I understand the stupid fandom emotionalism, which blots out the actual love of the game.
I was fortunate to have missed all whatever that was that makes people hate each other in this sport.
By the time I discovered soccer, there was this already old guy named Milner who busted his ass every minute on the pitch.
I began just watching him play as the ultimate fighting machine, despite limited talent --- my kind of player.
His team wasn't that hot, but he epitomized the perfect role-player productive team member.
Along came Klopp and he built a team like Milner --- even as Milner himself gradually went to the bench.
THAT's the Ball I came to enjoy --- Hell with what the name was; I haven't been a hateful fan of any of them.
... but I'd be stunned if IE was not fully engaged with hate regardless of the topic so no surprise there.

So, who shall we hate today for something in the dead past? How about ALL of them? Surely they all are The Worst to someone.

 

[ND03]

All you Reds are welcome over to what Thomas Frank is building in West London.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I think Liverpool and City have been excellent for so long that it's caught up to them both this season, to varying degrees obviously and for varying reasons. City is within reach of another title. Liverpool are falling out of the top half.

 

[nsisk157]

Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

 

[dublinirish]

Lol they won’t face shit in the end


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[Cackalacky2.0]

Liverpool about to become 4 time PL winners and Gerard gets his trophy haha

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

😵‍💫

 

[NDohio]

😵‍💫

USMNT!!

 

[notredomer23]

6 point reduction incoming after they can't win the league and will still qualify for the UCL.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

This shit again? Whatever. How many times can you make a club lawyer up and nothing happens in the end?

Liverpool signing Kante seems like a very dumb move. They should be getting rid of deadlegged 30 something midfielders not bringing in more. Where do these rumors come from? Mason Mount makes a lot more sense. 24, English, darling of the British Football media. That's the stuff you need.

There is now a chance that both Klopp and Pep are gone after this year. Didn't see that coming back in August 2022.

 

[dublinirish]

 

[NDRock]

That sucks. Tough result yesterday, thought they deserved more.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I hope when he lands on his feet again it's in Europe.

 

[CTIDANDREW]

Two things that don't add up in my mind after 24 hours of thinking and reading about this non-stop.

1. PL is mostly charging Manchester City with similar if not the same infractions that UEFA charged them with...which has already been litigated by CAS. Of course, the legal point of "time barred evidence" is on the PL side for their case against Manchester City as it wasn't for UEFA and their rules. It will be interesting how one independent governing body will rule against Manchester City when the largest sporting court in the world (CAS) already exonerated them when faced with the same evidence. Disclaimer *This point only makes sense, if the PL is charging Manchester City with the same evidence as UEFA, as it is my belief that if they had further evidence they would have leaked it by now which has not happened to my knowledge.

2. If it is true that Manchester City paid managerial staff and playing staff "off the books" why hasn't anyone ever come out and said anything. I could (100%) be naïve to this...but City has had plenty of relationships end terribly over the past 15 years. Mancini on the managerial side, and Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, and Samir Nasri on the players side are the ones that stick out most to me.
I just find it hard to believe that these individuals or their agents wouldn't have said something to the Press or the PL about this to damage City and their ownership / board that fired them. It is possible someone on the inside, or previously was on the inside is cooperating with the PL investigation / charges and that is their smoking gun.

Regardless, even if Manchester City is exonerated for the second time on these charges...the damage is already done. Rival fans and media will forever call them cheaters even if they're able to clear their name. Headlines create narratives not long drawn out court cases and legal technicalities.

Dark times for the club, and I'm of the belief that if they're found guilty they should be punished severely.
I just have a hard time believing some of the best business minds in the world would cheat the rules so brazenly, but I'm very biased in my opinion on the matter so hard to have a clear head on all this.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I'll be stunned if there is even a slap on the wrist let alone anything that would be considered serious punishment.

 

[DCDomer]

Qatari ownership coming to Man United. Ten Hag with unlimited funds will look like FIFA Career Mode

 

[CTIDANDREW]

I'll be stunned if there is even a slap on the wrist let alone anything that would be considered serious punishment.

The biggest punishment they may face is how this effects their ability to recruit players for the future, and ability to keep their current players if this case continues in the court system for years to come.

It is no secret that City is way below their normal standard this year, and this black cloud hanging over the club cannot be looked at as anything but a big negative when they go to Jude Bellingham and / or Josko Gvaridol agent this summer and try to convince them to have their player join the club.

A few bad transfer windows in a row can set back any club for multiple years, just look at Manchester United before this current season to see the proof of that.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Qatari ownership coming to Man United. Ten Hag with unlimited funds will look like FIFA Career Mode

So their domestic supporters won't be protesting anymore. Far out.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

The biggest punishment they may face is how this effects their ability to recruit players for the future, and ability to keep their current players if this case continues in the court system for years to come.

It is no secret that City is way below their normal standard this year, and this black cloud hanging over the club cannot be looked at as anything but a big negative when they go to Jude Bellingham and / or Josko Gvaridol agent this summer and try to convince them to have their player join the club.

A few bad transfer windows in a row can set back any club for multiple years, just look at Manchester United before this current season to see the proof of that.

That's not really a punishment. It's an indirect potential consequence.