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Futebol
Gene Bootcut- A fanatic of the sketch genre
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- Post n°851
Re: Futebol
Hey speaking as someone who has spent almost his entire adult life in Bristol I just wanted to say
chrondog- Mystery Thread Deleter
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- Post n°852
Re: Futebol
i can't understand why plucky little Arsenal aren't getting credit for slaying the magical dragon that is DAVID MOYES' imperious West Ham
CARABAO!
CARABAO!
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- Post n°853
Re: Futebol
Soma wrote:Hey speaking as someone who has spent almost his entire adult life in Bristol I just wanted to say
in my mind you've been living in Brighton, even though upon examination that doesn't make sense since I knew you were not on the South Coast
Nick- anorexic Skeletor
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- Post n°854
Re: Futebol
I guess having the only NFL game on this afternoon being Bears vs Browns is the trade off for getting to watch Juve vs Roma & Man Utd vs Leicester yesterday simultaneously.
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- Post n°855
Re: Futebol
best part of the holiday football has been more comeuppance for that cunt Mourinho
eternal enemy of football
eternal enemy of football
Nick- anorexic Skeletor
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- Post n°856
Re: Futebol
Mitchell I just heard AC Jimbo read out your comment on the Totally Football Show!
chrondog- Mystery Thread Deleter
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- Post n°857
Re: Futebol
i listened this week and missed it, lol. was it on yesterday's show? timestamp?
Nick- anorexic Skeletor
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- Post n°858
Re: Futebol
Fun match at Anfield today!
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- Post n°859
Re: Futebol
This was so much fun! Sadio Mane is probably my favorite player in the league and his goal today was very, very rude. I loved it. Every Liverpool game against another opponent in the top six is must watch.Nick wrote:Fun match at Anfield today!
I just saw Chrono's post about Liverpool being the "new Arsenal." Really? Were Arsenal ever this entertaining to watch? I'm actually curious because I only really started following them at the beginning of last season other than catching the very odd match here and there. It is very dark days.... Probably time for an avatar change but I want Chrono to jump ship first.
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- Post n°860
Re: Futebol
Ҩ wrote:I just saw Chrono's post about Liverpool being the "new Arsenal." Really? Were Arsenal ever this entertaining to watch?
lol, my post had literally zero to do with how entertaining they are and everything to do with narrative. Liverpool are the new team that are likely to challenge for Top 4 every season and never challenge for a title because of a leaky defense.
Arsenal never played like this in this decade, but they were fun. and there was a time where they weren't so relentlessly mocked by neutrals: people respect City, United and Chelsea for winning, and Liverpool and Spurs for progressing. nobody likes Arsenal at all anymore except as a punching bag.
that being said, for all the shittalking that people do on Arsenal, Wengerball was responsible for most of the entertaining games over the holiday period because our defense was so ridiculous. for all the dumb media chat about how teams need to "have a go more" and how a lack of attacking flare is killing the league, Wenger is the only manager that consistently sets his teams up to play. i'm fairly morally neutral about the importance of "setting up to play" and think that coming to play is no excuse for terrible organization, but it is the truth. Arsenal have more entertaining games a season than any other team in the PL and are a huge boon to the league as a whole.
it's unfortunate to say that Liverpool have probably turned the corner at this point and Arsenal and are going to finish a comfortable sixth. Chambo's goal yesterday was very slick and simultaneously frustrating to watch. i hate Liverpool and all their players can get righteously fucked! they're a great team.
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- Post n°861
Re: Futebol
There is a growing consensus amongst fans that Wenger should step down. Right now things haven't just gotten stale but there is noticeable regression in the squad. What isn't clear to me is what supporters expect out of the future. Having grown up watching leagues where failure is a viable tactic and is often rewarded (the Spurs tanked a season when David Robinson got injured and they got Tim Duncan out of it and haven't missed the playoffs since, the Cubs under Theo Epstein, #TheProcess, etc.)
Since the same doesn't apply in football I don't know what a rebuild would actually look like. After a quarter of a century of one manager it is going to take more than just one hire to replace his presence. The addition of former Borussia Dortmund scout Sven Mislintat is one step in the inevitable process of seeing Wenger out the door. But what are the realistic aspirations of Arsenal fans when they talk about a rebuild? An interim coach that will hold the first teach accountable for their leaky backline? Big money transfers (which has been done with Alexis, Ozil, Lacazette, etc.) just to prove their ambition?
I just want someone to verbalize a plan in the coming year. It would be fun to get in on the ground floor of a longer term youth project, but that doesn't seem possible for a team like Arsenal to embark upon. Their market is too large and the fans are too reactive/impatient.
Since the same doesn't apply in football I don't know what a rebuild would actually look like. After a quarter of a century of one manager it is going to take more than just one hire to replace his presence. The addition of former Borussia Dortmund scout Sven Mislintat is one step in the inevitable process of seeing Wenger out the door. But what are the realistic aspirations of Arsenal fans when they talk about a rebuild? An interim coach that will hold the first teach accountable for their leaky backline? Big money transfers (which has been done with Alexis, Ozil, Lacazette, etc.) just to prove their ambition?
I just want someone to verbalize a plan in the coming year. It would be fun to get in on the ground floor of a longer term youth project, but that doesn't seem possible for a team like Arsenal to embark upon. Their market is too large and the fans are too reactive/impatient.
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- Post n°862
Re: Futebol
Ҩ wrote:There is a growing consensus amongst fans that Wenger should step down.
looooooooooooooooooool
where ya been buddy?
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- Post n°863
Re: Futebol
Arsenal should be targeting 30-50 million pound players with big upside, developing quality homegrown talent that can become squad players, and challenging for the Top 4 most years while playing a coherent yet exciting brand of football
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Re: Futebol
Where have you been? 30-40 million is nothing in the current market. Is Malcom the caliber of player that Arsenal should be pursuing the transfer market? Do you think Bordeaux would let him go for 30 million?chrondog wrote:Arsenal should be targeting 30-50 million pound players with big upside
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- Post n°865
Re: Futebol
Ҩ wrote:Where have you been? 30-40 million is nothing in the current market. Is Malcom the caliber of player that Arsenal should be pursuing the transfer market? Do you think Bordeaux would let him go for 30 million?chrondog wrote:Arsenal should be targeting 30-50 million pound players with big upside
i've been paying attention to the Arsenal like a fucking hound. equally, Arsenal aren't shit in the current market. we need better scouts and need to start winning transfers at the lower end of the market. Lacazette was an obvious buy for anyone and he came to Arsenal for superficial reasons (French, no one bigger wanted him). we need transfers that are not the Rob Holdings of the world, but the Johnny Evans. the only way for a team sandwiched in between the have-nots and the super rich like Arsenal is to strike gold on those mid-market transfers and sell them on to the elite teams. Arsenal need to be selling our players sooner and for better values. "pride" is not a reason that you avoid being a "selling club". Arsenal as a selling club is an economic reality. who is the last player that really developed into a star at the club though? player development is the primary issue currently.
Bordeaux won't let him go for 30 million because the oft-quoted price right now is 50 million euros. at that price i don't know that you'll be able to sell him on for huge profit. he's the kind of player we should've bought last year for 25 million. i like him as a prospect, but the transfer feels like its intention is to plug him right into the Alexis Sanchez sized hole in the team right away, which will be a total failure. Malcolm isn't ready for that.
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- Post n°866
Re: Futebol
Out of curiosity who are the other teams that you think fall into that category? Liverpool, Tottenham, and..... Everton?chrondog wrote:the only way for a team sandwiched in between the have-nots and the super rich like Arsenal is to strike gold on those mid-market transfers and sell them on to the elite teams.
I'm not disagreeing but Wenger and the current board essentially promised the fanbase that after RvP this wouldn't ever happen again. It was also their reasoning for moving the team out of Highbury. For fans in London (or even just the UK) these promises and decisions have more of an emotional pull than they would for you or I.chrondog wrote:
Arsenal need to be selling our players sooner and for better values. "pride" is not a reason that you avoid being a "selling club". Arsenal as a selling club is an economic reality.
I agree with this but it gets back to my last question because the problem is balancing current expectations with future investments. That isn't easy to do. What is obvious every transfer window now is that this team lacks much direction. You're right about Lacazette and Wenger should get some credit for Koasinac on a free, but it's been almost two years of the Ozil and Sanchez saga and they are now scrambling to sign Aubameyang precisely to fill the Sanchez sized hole.chrondog wrote:
who is the last player that really developed into a star at the club though? player development is the primary issue currently.
Bordeaux won't let him go for 30 million because the oft-quoted price right now is 50 million euros. at that price i don't know that you'll be able to sell him on for huge profit. he's the kind of player we should've bought last year for 25 million. i like him as a prospect, but the transfer feels like its intention is to plug him right into the Alexis Sanchez sized hole in the team right away, which will be a total failure. Malcolm isn't ready for that.
What is the roadmap for Arsenal's future development? Take on Chelsea's absurd transfer policy of loaning out hundreds of young players and hoping that a couple of them mature into potential first teamers? We already have players like Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, and Maitland-Niles that could be getting playing time but aren't.
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- Post n°867
Re: Futebol
Ҩ wrote:Out of curiosity who are the other teams that you think fall into that category? Liverpool, Tottenham, and..... Everton?
Liverpool, Tottenham, and Arsenal are at a similar level in terms of resources (though Tottenham is still below Liverpool/Arsenal) but in different places in their sporting project. Arsenal are at the end of almost 20 years of sustained success. Tottenham are on the ascendency with a very long-term project. Liverpool have been on a shorter team-building project. Chelsea have also begun showing restraint in terms of injecting cash into the club, but they're starting from a higher base because they have so many valuable players on the books bought in years past. still, even Chelsea has to sell players nowadays to make their model work. they sold their Player of the Season two years running in Juan Mata because the price was good. i would put Everton and Southhampton at a level below these teams.
chrondog wrote:I'm not disagreeing but Wenger and the current board essentially promised the fanbase that after RvP this wouldn't ever happen again. It was also their reasoning for moving the team out of Highbury. For fans in London (or even just the UK) these promises and decisions have more of an emotional pull than they would for you or I.
yeah and they're wrong. the model of relying on The Emirates to compete with United/City is already outdated because of their revenue and sugar daddy, respectively. Arsenal needs to continue improving its global marketing footprint to get on their level. Gazidis et al have lost the battle in terms of claiming that "the team challenges for the title every year". that's flat-out wrong and they are significantly responsible for inflating fan expectations about the team. they have let the spin run rampant on the sporting side to appease fans seeking past glory rather than getting real.
i understand there's a balance to maintain here, but they've misjudged the room and gotten in wrong, quite simply. fans know this team can't win the title and the cognitive dissonance between an absentee owner with no sporting vision (Kroenke) and the claims from Gazidis that Arsenal are the most overperforming club in England is mind-numbingly stupid.
chrondog wrote:I agree with this but it gets back to my last question because the problem is balancing current expectations with future investments. That isn't easy to do. What is obvious every transfer window now is that this team lacks much direction. You're right about Lacazette and Wenger should get some credit for Koasinac on a free, but it's been almost two years of the Ozil and Sanchez saga and they are now scrambling to sign Aubameyang precisely to fill the Sanchez sized hole.
Wenger got a bunch of credit for signing Kolasinac to huge wages, now he won't even play him! no doubt this is a difficult challenge, but it's what every club has to deal with.
chrondog wrote:What is the roadmap for Arsenal's future development? Take on Chelsea's absurd transfer policy of loaning out hundreds of young players and hoping that a couple of them mature into potential first teamers? We already have players like Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, and Maitland-Niles that could be getting playing time but aren't.
Arsenal don't have the cash injection to replicate Chelsea's loan model (which, while I find it bad for the game as a whole, I admire greatly for its efficiency), so that's out the window.
i've seen Arsenal's youth players trotted out over the years and haven't seen one thing to be impressed with in years. players like Nketiah, Nelson and Maitland-Niles aren't good enough, in my opinion. from what i've read, Arsenals youth scouts are second-rate compared to teams like Chelsea and Southhampton, which is why we pluck players like Nketiah off Chelsea's reject pile.
the players that have been promoted into the team over the past few years haven't made a lasting impact (Iwobi, Afobe, Akpom, Reine-Adelaide, Jenkinson, Hayden) and those coming up (Nelson, Nketiah, Willock, Bielik, Zelalem) haven't shown anything to suggest they can play in the Starting XI for a Top 6 side. i doubt any of them ever will because when i watch them they don't look very good. Reiss Nelson seems like the type of player who will be loaned a few times, then sold to a bottom half PL side as a squad player in four years.
since both the current crop of players AND the pipeline don't look up to snuff, Wenger's gotta pay the price. bring in a cheaper manager and use that money to invest in backroom staff.
that's probably the most dispiriting part when looking at the trajectory of the team. i haven't been impressed by a Wenger-developed young player since Nasri (and he had four years at Marseille under his belt already).
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- Post n°868
Re: Futebol
Ҩ wrote:Probably time for an avatar change but I want Chrono to jump ship first.
my avatar extended its contract until 2021, thanks.
also, the transfer window only sought to reinforce every single point in my post above. people can criticize Arsenal for the lack of joined-up thinking (which is very fair), but the reality is that all the clubs in the Arsenal tier (the 3-6 place teams in Europe's Top 5 leagues) basically serve to facilitate the transfer of players to City, United, Juventus, Bayern, PSG, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
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- Post n°869
Re: Futebol
40 minutes into the City vs Chelsea match and the announcers are talking about how technically sound the performance has been but it’s really been horribly boring.
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- Post n°870
Re: Futebol
it's been awhile since i had this light-hearted feeling that football can give you
Milan can get fucked!
Milan can get fucked!
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Re: Futebol
They were shockingly bad in that first half. I still wasn't very impressed with Arsenal and I would be really worried about how they'd matchup against Atletico (and probably Dortmund). Auba being Cup-tied and Lacazette rehabbing is going to make it difficult up front but they have no choice now. All of their eggs are in this basket so they better not fuck it up.chrondog wrote:Milan can get fucked!
The Astori news has been awful. The impact that he made both in Italy and abroad is remarkable. Buffon's comments were really touching and Sergio Ramos also commented in the aftermath. It doesn't make any sense that things like this can happen. He had an EKG only five days prior. It's scary to think about guys like Schick who have possible condition. He was pursued by the Milan clubs and Juve in the summer and had signed with the latter until their medical staff noticed a heart condition and annulled the deal but he ended up signing with Roma anyway... Roma were criticized in the Italian press for being irresponsible but the details of his medical with Juve weren't every full disclosed and it was all a big mystery.
Anyway, I just hope things like this don't ever happen.
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- Post n°872
Re: Futebol
Ҩ wrote:They were shockingly bad in that first half. I still wasn't very impressed with Arsenal and I would be really worried about how they'd matchup against Atletico (and probably Dortmund). Auba being Cup-tied and Lacazette rehabbing is going to make it difficult up front but they have no choice now. All of their eggs are in this basket so they better not fuck it up.
You can't bring me down, bro. People are always trying to tell Arsenal fans that our team is shit when we know it more than anyone. We slog through these awful games every week.
Milan's final ball was terrible all night long. It was hard to watch at times. If you're saying Arsenal suck then you must say Dortmund are even shittier. They're really bad right now. Atletico is the big challenge. If Laca can get back by the time we draw them that is the hope. I suppose one could say "all of their eggs are in this basket", but Arsenal's eggs aren't in any basket, really. There's malaise at every level of the club and we're unlikely to win this tournament or anything this year.
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- Post n°873
Re: Futebol
They still have enough individual quality on that team that they should do well in a knockout tournament like the Europa League. For example, compare the starting XI between Milan and Arsenal and other than Bonucci (who has only come into something resembling his past form in the second half of the season) it's difficult to argue picking any other Milan player. And that's a team that despite all of it's struggles this season did spend €220 million in the summer and have developed some exciting players through their youth systems (Cutrone and Calabria especially).
I would be surprised if Arsenal were beaten by anyone other than a healthy Atletico in the Europa league, but then...
I would be surprised if Arsenal were beaten by anyone other than a healthy Atletico in the Europa league, but then...
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- Post n°874
Re: Futebol
You pay for meanness in the end,” wrote Roberto Palomar in Marca. “And Manchester United is a walking monument to mean spiritedness. Poor, miserable, they had everything in their favour to go through … and it was Sevilla that went through.”
“The general opinion of this team that was once respectable and no longer is has plummeted. It’s an unattractive, fearful team, rich in resources but lamentable in its play,” he added. “Mourinho is starting to look like a washed-up rock star, one of those guys that goes around holiday hotels for pensioners playing old hits on an organ with the base and the percussion playing on a tape recorder.
two wins on the spin + this satisfying result + Abramovich under scrutiny for his criminal bullshit again?
great week for Wenger!!
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- Post n°875
Re: Futebol
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