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Author Topic: Soccer 15/16 thread (aka let's talk about Leicester)  (Read 58615 times)
Amarr HM
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Reply #35 on: April 27, 2016, 08:12:22 AM

My main bone of contention is the regular omission of Herrera and Schneiderlin. Schneiderlin is quietly effective in a Mascherano way.

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HaemishM
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Reply #36 on: April 27, 2016, 08:36:36 AM

He doesn't seem to know what he wants to do with players like Schneiderlin, and for some reason prefers to have Fellaini out there in a holding role - something at which the fucker is terrible. Herrera is kind of the same way as Mata. Every time the kid does something great that isn't within a confined role, he gets benched again.

As for Depay, I think the kid has bags of talent but he has to start regularly and he has to have quality around him to get the space he needs and most importantly, he has to have the freedom to move around. That's great if he's your only playmaker but when he's on the field with Martial or Mata or Rooney AND he's being held in check by rigid adherence to 'the philosophy' he looks terrible. I liken him to Raheem Sterling. He will melt someone's face off with pace then sky a shot to row zed instead of making a simple pass or cross. The only way that gets better is first-team football. Van Gaal has not been in a position for anyone to learn at the Premier League level like Sterling did at Liverpool the last 2 seasons. Rashford's only managed to stay in because he scores.

Van Gaal makes some really fucking idiotic moves sometimes. Like pulling off Rashford and making Ashley Young play as the top striker while leaving Martial on the wing. Or whatever the fuck he's constantly doing with Fellaini.

Amarr HM
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Reply #37 on: April 27, 2016, 01:20:26 PM

I agree with you for the most part,  but I wouldn't let Depay anywhere near the front 3 right now. I can see he's talented,  but he makes terrible decisions in every part of the pitch. Martial is a few years younger and already a more refined player with a great attitude. Lindgaard is not as talented but he has that winning mentality which is something that Fergie saw in similar less talented players, Ji Sung Park, Richardson.

Mata is the epitomy of a luxury player, I love him to bits but from what I have seen recently I think he finds it difficult to link up with the exuberant front 3.  If LVG insists on playing Rooney then it has to be in the number 10 which excludes Mata.

Now the part I don't agree with. Rashford is much much more than a goal machine, his link up play is astonishing for an 18 year old.  His movement is superb,  his confidence reminds me of Giggs and he loves to run in behind with or without the ball. I rate him, highly.

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lamaros
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Reply #38 on: April 27, 2016, 03:20:28 PM

Nit-pick, Veron was pretty good for Utd. It was just the tension between playing him and Beckham , as their styles didn't match, that saw him off IMO.
Amarr HM
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Reply #39 on: April 27, 2016, 05:13:24 PM

Wasn't really what I was getting at though, he's written recently about how he struggled to settle in Manchester and how he found it hard to cope with the pace of the Premier league. Something akin to what I think Di Maria experienced, to boot the refereeing culture would come as a bit of a shock; Premiership refs are less likely to blow up for niggly fouls on 'continental types' as they would probably put it, saw Di Maria get frustrated by this in a lot of games.

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Amarr HM
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Reply #40 on: April 27, 2016, 05:16:12 PM

All the same, I thought Veron was universally accepted as a flop, though I do remember him having a few great games.

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Reply #41 on: May 02, 2016, 02:01:42 PM

SPOILER ALERT:

Holy shit, Leicester are champs.

Fuck yeah.

Shannow
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Reply #42 on: May 02, 2016, 02:21:49 PM

Fuck yeah indeed.

Name me a bigger upset/underdog story in the last 30? years of sports.


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Amarr HM
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Reply #43 on: May 02, 2016, 02:47:50 PM

« Last Edit: May 02, 2016, 04:41:32 PM by Amarr HM »

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Mac
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Reply #44 on: May 02, 2016, 03:04:48 PM

Football is still alive !!!  Well, for a bit in the EPL at least.

I hope they now don't lose all their top talent to big money clubs. Because if they can't beat em, they can always buy em.
Amarr HM
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Reply #45 on: May 02, 2016, 04:48:08 PM

Mahrez will go, but the rest are a mixture of having just signed or too old to make a big money move (Drinkwater?).

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Amarr HM
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Reply #46 on: May 02, 2016, 04:50:43 PM

I wonder will any of the big teams sign up Steve Walsh, the scout who found Vardy, Mahrez and Kante. He would be as big a blow as any.

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Reply #47 on: May 02, 2016, 06:31:31 PM

I think they could lose Mahrez and be ok. If they lose Kante, all bets are off. He may not get the goals, but he has been absolutely invaluable.

Amarr HM
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Reply #48 on: May 03, 2016, 03:37:30 AM

Yeh Kante was definitely the heartbeat of that team, especially for the first half of the season.

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Gimfain
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Reply #49 on: May 03, 2016, 05:58:17 AM

What leicester showed is what you can do with a team that only focuses on one competition while barely suffering injuries so that you can field your best team every single week. I can't say that I watched many leicester games but the few times I saw them it seemed like all players knew exactly what they would do and what the people surrounding them did and that's what you get when you shift very few players.


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HaemishM
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Reply #50 on: May 03, 2016, 07:17:50 AM

That had a LOT to do with it, and it started with the coaching, IMO. Every single one of those players not only bought into the system, they all executed it very well because it was simple football. Be tight defensively, break up attacks and when you win back possession, go on the counter-attack directly with pace. Fuck possession and nattering about, just fucking go right down the opponent's throat when they are vulnerable. I'm all for beautiful, possession-based tiki taka, but it's not the only way to play and win, and you really have to have a team full of exceptional players to pull it off. And even with those exceptional players, sometimes you just can't break a team down if they park the bus. Most teams, especially in the Prem, would do well to at least try to emulate some of the counter-attacking football Ranieri installed.

Of course, it didn't hurt that they only had the Prem to worry about nor that Mahrez looks to be a one-of-a-kind creative player. Or that Vardy is just incredibly quick and got on a run of good form. However, if you look at the performances of players like Kante, Huth, West Morgan, you'll see they really had that team thing down. Okazaki was another unsung hero. Yeah, he was a striker who didn't score many goals, but what he did do for 60 minutes every game was work his ass off and when his team won back possession, he was an outlet who held the ball upfield long enough to get it to Vardy or Mahrez or someone else instead of watching the ball bounce right back off the opposing defense.

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Reply #51 on: May 03, 2016, 09:41:04 AM

Let's not forget that they had defensive midfielders and central defender like Huth who would kick lumps out of attacking players who tried any fancy stuff round the box.  I say that by way of praise: by way of comparison Arsenal faltered, at least in part, because of yet another season without that solid foundation at the back (I'm intentionally not mentioning the V word).

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HaemishM
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Reply #52 on: May 03, 2016, 11:01:31 AM

Arsenal not buying any outfield players in the summer despite selling off a few was just all kinds of  swamp poop

I mean, Coquelin did a good job solidifying their midfield but what happened when Arsene bought the kid no cover? He got hurt. Of course, that doesn't explain their slump since February what with Elneny being in that position but still. Arsenal is just good enough to give their fans hope and just thin enough to dash that hope every time.

They will still finish higher than Liverpool though.  cry

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Reply #53 on: May 03, 2016, 12:28:56 PM

I found it funny one of my favorite goalkeepers of my youth, Peter Schmeichel, had his kid play on Leicester as the keeper.

I saw him out there and I was like, WAIT PETER IS STILL PLAYING??? Then I saw it was his son, and I felt old.

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Mac
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Reply #54 on: May 03, 2016, 02:07:28 PM

Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final, another team of hardworking lads.

They will just lose to Real Madrid of course. It is known.
Shannow
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Reply #55 on: May 03, 2016, 06:05:01 PM

Yeah but Bayern gets denied. Suck it Munich.

It'd be hilarious if Man City won the whole thing the year before Pep takes over.

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HaemishM
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Reply #56 on: May 04, 2016, 08:08:02 AM

Two things - Real Madrid is by no means a lock to win either their game against Man City, nor against Athletico. Benzema is out of the game against Man City and Ronaldo has been hurt. Not that I think Man City has a chance to beat them but still. Athletico's defense is REALLY good and if Ronaldo isn't 100% by then (though he probably will be) and Benzema isn't back, they could very well win 1-0 on a Griezman goal. And by the way, that little Frenchie fucker is the business.

Mac
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Reply #57 on: May 04, 2016, 11:20:38 AM

Two things - Real Madrid is by no means a lock to win either their game against Man City, nor against Athletico. Benzema is out of the game against Man City and Ronaldo has been hurt. Not that I think Man City has a chance to beat them but still. Athletico's defense is REALLY good and if Ronaldo isn't 100% by then (though he probably will be) and Benzema isn't back, they could very well win 1-0 on a Griezman goal. And by the way, that little Frenchie fucker is the business.

Pellegrini was treated badly by Real Madrid when they dumped him for Mourinho after one season. For his sake I hope they win, but they probably won't.
HaemishM
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Reply #58 on: May 04, 2016, 12:11:14 PM

Pellegrini seems to get shit on wherever he goes, despite being a decent manager. Hell he won the Premier League with Man City two years ago and is being ousted for the new hotness despite having kept City in the Champion's League AND finally gotten them to the semis in the CL.

Mac
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Reply #59 on: May 05, 2016, 11:06:04 AM

Pellegrini seems to get shit on wherever he goes, despite being a decent manager. Hell he won the Premier League with Man City two years ago and is being ousted for the new hotness despite having kept City in the Champion's League AND finally gotten them to the semis in the CL.
Manchester City extended Pellegrini's contract to 2017 last year, so they were happy with him. I guess he is unlucky that Beguiristain and Soriano are already at Manchester City, people who both worked with Guardiola at FC Barcelona.

Pellegrini will go to a smaller club and hopefully do what he did at Malaga F.C. after being fired at Real Madrid: get them into the Champions League, where they almost made it to the semis.

lamaros
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Reply #60 on: May 05, 2016, 04:56:52 PM

With the money they've spent I don't think it's unreasonable for Man City to move him on. You don't pump that much in to still be at risk of not making champions league. He's had enough time there.
Amarr HM
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Reply #61 on: May 06, 2016, 12:28:51 AM

Except they severed ties with him in January long before the Champions league spot was under threat. In fact they were 3 points off first place.

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lamaros
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Reply #62 on: May 06, 2016, 06:35:50 AM

True. I guess my implication was that they would be expecting to win the title consistently, not just getting the champs positions - but I didn't really say that.
Amarr HM
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Reply #63 on: May 06, 2016, 06:59:56 AM

Sure the expectations are high, and they are within their right to get a shinier new manager. But you got to wonder if they didn't release Pellegrini, could they have won the League this year? I thought they were a shoe in to win it until they made the announcement.

But hey Pep was available and Man City presents his first real challenge for him. Premier League a much tougher league to win, probably not the same calibre of youth product as he is used to. A lot of dead weight to shift, Toure, Bony, Kolarov etc. Be interesting to see where Sterling will fit in, he's no Lionel Messi that's for sure.

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croaker69
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Reply #64 on: May 06, 2016, 08:03:55 AM

Their defense was bad without Kompany and he's missed most of the season. Things just unravel from the back forward when he's out. Then there's Yaya.

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HaemishM
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Reply #65 on: May 06, 2016, 08:53:12 AM

There's no reason that Otamendi and Mangala should be as bad as they've been. I get that Yaya has no interest in defending whatsoever but they have both Fernando and Fernandino but neither seemed to have been able to help those 2 CB's when they've unraveled. Otamendi was really damn solid at Valencia but seems to gone Lovren when he got to City.

Which is funny because Dejan Lovren has been Liverpool's best, non-steroidal center back in 2016.

Amarr HM
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Reply #66 on: May 06, 2016, 09:12:28 AM

I actually think Otamendi has been one of their best players this season along with De Bruyne, who turned in a shocking performance against Real. Skrtel/Lovren was a bad partnership, Lovren was unfortunate to be put in with a waning defender for his bedding in period. Then you have a player like Moreno to your left and you're completely screwed. I think Sakho adds that solidity in there that Skrtel had lost, if he ever indeed did have it.

I'm going to escape, come back, wipe this place off the face of the Earth, obliterate it and you with it.
HaemishM
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Reply #67 on: May 06, 2016, 11:32:18 AM

Man, Skrtel was never the most elegant defender but holy fuck has he looked goddamn awful since coming back from injury. And I hadn't considered how much Moreno's deficiencies in defense could have contributed to Lovren's torrid time last year. Lovren/Sakho and even Lovren/Toure have looked so much more solid this year.

Amarr HM
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Reply #68 on: May 06, 2016, 12:05:54 PM

Moreno's positional sense is woeful and his tackling is unbelievably bad. I reckon he'd be sent off a lot more if he wasn't so crap at it, I've never seen a full back miss the ball with a tackle that much. At times his speed allows him to make a good recovery after a lapse or a missed tackle so it kind of balances out a bit. But I'd hate to have him in my defense, wouldn't know what to do.

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Reply #69 on: May 06, 2016, 04:35:51 PM

I haven't watched EPL at all this year. But I watched both legs of the Citeh vs Real matchup. Otamendi might have been their best player in leg two, def should be credited with preventing at least one goal. Not sure if that was out of character but I was impressed with him.

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