The Official European Football (Soccer) Thread

[UnkNuk]

2 hours ago, CBH1926 said:

While Ozil is trying to protect his g wagon, Sead is kicking some ass.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2019/jul/25/arsenal-sead-kolasinac-fights-off-armed-men-rob-mesut-ozil-car-video

Strange story.

 

Here's an article from The Mirror with a few more details:

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-sead-kolasinac-fights-knife-18778599

[AV.]

Pepe announced, Tierney next. Blimey

 

[UnkNuk]

3 hours ago, Alain Vigneault said:

Pepe announced, Tierney next. Blimey

 

72 million pounds of Blimey!

 

I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about the guy but if Arsenal is prepared to pay that much (a club record and fourth highest in PL history) I'm assuming he's pretty good.  Should have an exciting attacking offense this season.

[AV.]

2 hours ago, UnkNuk said:

72 million pounds of Blimey!

 

I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about the guy but if Arsenal is prepared to pay that much (a club record and fourth highest in PL history) I'm assuming he's pretty good.  Should have an exciting attacking offense this season.

He had an elite season with 22 G, 11 A on Lille and was a big part of them qualifying for the UCL.  He's still fairly young (24) so he *should* have 5-7 really good seasons in him.

 

His biggest contribution, however, is that he'll help stretch the pitch as a winger and won't force our fullbacks to do too much of the heavy lifting like they did last season.  It also means that natural central players like Iwobi and Mkhitaryan won't be relied on too much to operate out wide.

 

As he's just come back from late holiday due to the AFCON, I don't anticipate he'll start vs Newcastle (A) or Burnley (H) - he may come off the bench - but I think he'll be a definite starter for our trip to Anfield and the NLD the week after.

[UnkNuk]

"On Friday, CONMEBOL, the South American soccer governing body, announced that Lionel Messi will be suspended for three months from international soccer and will need to pay a $50,000 fine for comments he made during the Copa America."

 

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/lionel-messi-suspended-for-three-months-from-international-soccer-after-negative-comments-about-conmebol/

 

 

[GLASSJAW]

table predictions?

 

1. man city

2. liverpool

3. tottenham

4. manchester united

5. chelsea

6. l'arse

7. everton

 

 

perhaps a tad optimistic about United. Maguire signing is an improvement, but is it enough?

 

I just don't see Arsenal doing anything this year. They're one injury away from disaster, and that club can't go a week without a starter crumbling

 

Chelsea - youth-heavy, too many questions. can go either way

 

I like what Everton has been doing, even if they are just plucking up a lot of "decent-to-good" players - with some chemistry it could work. I could see them making a run for the top 5 if they land Zaha. 

 

bottom half: hope West Ham cracks top 10

curious to see if Villa stays up and Newcastle goes down

 

excited for the season 

 

[Lateralus91]

Our neighboring rival's fans are furious about this:

 

https://www.dw.com/en/schalke-chief-tönnies-to-temporarily-step-down-amid-racism-row/a-49923094

 

Quote

Schalke chief Tönnies to temporarily step down amid racism row

Clemens Tönnies, head of Schalke's supervisory board, will temporarily step down after he was found to have broken anti-discrimination rules. But a club committee said his controversial comments on Africa weren't racist.

 

A meeting of Schalke's honorary board on Tuesday deemed that Tönnies' comments, made in front of about 1,600 people in Paderborn last week, went against the club's anti-discrimination policy but "came to the conclusion that the allegation of racism is unfounded."

While discussing potential tax increases to fight climate change, Tönnies told the Paderborn event that it woud be better to finance 20 power plants a year in Africa.

"Then the Africans would stop cutting down trees, and they would stop making babies when it gets dark," he said.

Read more: Extremism expert: 'I was shocked by Tönnies' racist statement'

The comments were widely interpreted as racist and the 63-year-old later apologized both in a statement issued by Schalke and on Twitter, where he said: "I am for an open and diverse society. I am sorry for the comment on the large number of children in Africa.

"I am 1,000 percent behind our club values. This includes the fight against racism, discrimination and exclusion. On the basis of that I expressly wish to excuse myself. It was wrong, rash and thoughtless and in no way in line with our values. I am very sorry."

 

Tönnies is to relinquish his duties as Schalke's supervisory board chairman for a period of three months, after which he is expected to return, according to a statement put out by the club on Tuesday evening.

mp/se (dpa, SID)

 

 

[ReggieBush]

On 8/5/2019 at 3:15 PM, GLASSJAW said:

table predictions?

 

1. man city

2. liverpool

3. tottenham

4. manchester united

5. chelsea

6. l'arse

7. everton

 

 

perhaps a tad optimistic about United. Maguire signing is an improvement, but is it enough?

 

I just don't see Arsenal doing anything this year. They're one injury away from disaster, and that club can't go a week without a starter crumbling

 

Chelsea - youth-heavy, too many questions. can go either way

 

I like what Everton has been doing, even if they are just plucking up a lot of "decent-to-good" players - with some chemistry it could work. I could see them making a run for the top 5 if they land Zaha. 

 

bottom half: hope West Ham cracks top 10

curious to see if Villa stays up and Newcastle goes down

 

excited for the season 

 

City

Arsenal

Liverpool

Everton

Spurs

Watford

United

Chelsea

 

1. City is too deep not to win the league

2. Arsenal meshes under Emery in his second year. That attack is beyond ridiculous, and if they can get a new CB (Umpecano or Rugani) they will be fine imo.

3. Liverpool will have European hang over. I see the finishing in the top 4 due to incompetencies of other teams in the Prem

4. Everton looks nice. They have always been a good side, but recently have been missing a striker. Moise Kean has Ballon D'or potential, if he hits (And im very confident he will) Everton finishes high

5. Spurs are another team that will suffer from a european hangover. I think that defense is on the precipice of being over the hill

6. Watford are a very good side and kept their talent together, they will take the next step this season

7. United are a very meh side. Maguire is fine, but he is not going to solve their defensive issues. I don't think OGK is the answer

8. Chelsea lost their best player, and an absolutely fantastic manager. They replaced them with a talented but green american winger and manager that got the job based on his history with the club. 

[AV.]

Arsenal set to bring in Kieran Tierney and David Luiz, the latter for just 8M, which is both understandable (given his age) but kind of a steal (Chelsea can't replace him + he's moving directly to a rival club)

 

A lot to ask about David Luiz's ability to defend but his ball-playing ability is top notch.  A really good replacement for Koscielny.

 

Now, if we are able to move out some more surplus to requirements (looking at Elneny and Mustafi), things look swell.  A big move for a long-term CB is probably coming next summer, which will be good because Saliba will also be on the team at that point.

[GLASSJAW]

definitely re-considering my ranking with United doing absolutely f-ck all at the deadline. They'll surely be in the 5-7 range, but definitely not top 4

 

Arsenal moves up with their pickups, even if I think David Luiz is a garbage defender -- idk anything about Tierney, but a lot of people are saying good things. hats off to them for addressing their needs

Edited August 8, 2019 by GLASSJAW

[UnkNuk]

"Arsenal stars Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac will not travel to Newcastle after receiving terrifying threats in the wake of their car jacking incident."

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mesut-ozil-sead-kolasinac-left-18876936?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=EM_Mirror_Nletter_AFC_News_smallteaser_Text_Story6&utm_campaign=arsenal_fc_newsletter

[Lateralus91]

So, 14 year old Youssoufa Moukoko just made his debut in our under-19s squad, playing against players 4-5 years older than him. He scored 6 goals in a 9-2 win (albeit against a newly promoted side). Last year he played for our under-17s scoring 50 goals in 28 games. I hope he can translate that into the seniors in a couple of years. He could end up being the best player ever to come out of our youth system.

 

Here's a little clip from last season:

 

 

[GLASSJAW]

22 hours ago, Lateralus91 said:

So, 14 year old Youssoufa Moukoko just made his debut in our under-19s squad, playing against players 4-5 years older than him. He scored 6 goals in a 9-2 win (albeit against a newly promoted side). Last year he played for our under-17s scoring 50 goals in 28 games. I hope he can translate that into the seniors in a couple of years. He could end up being the best player ever to come out of our youth system.

 

Here's a little clip from last season

 

lol, riiiiiight

 

 

[GLASSJAW]

[spook007]

On 8/7/2019 at 4:37 PM, ReggieBush said:

City

Arsenal

Liverpool

Everton

Spurs

Watford

United

Chelsea

 

1. City is too deep not to win the league

2. Arsenal meshes under Emery in his second year. That attack is beyond ridiculous, and if they can get a new CB (Umpecano or Rugani) they will be fine imo.

3. Liverpool will have European hang over. I see the finishing in the top 4 due to incompetencies of other teams in the Prem

4. Everton looks nice. They have always been a good side, but recently have been missing a striker. Moise Kean has Ballon D'or potential, if he hits (And im very confident he will) Everton finishes high

5. Spurs are another team that will suffer from a european hangover. I think that defense is on the precipice of being over the hill

6. Watford are a very good side and kept their talent together, they will take the next step this season

7. United are a very meh side. Maguire is fine, but he is not going to solve their defensive issues. I don't think OGK is the answer

8. Chelsea lost their best player, and an absolutely fantastic manager. They replaced them with a talented but green american winger and manager that got the job based on his history with the club. 

After Sundays showing I'd argue he probably is... Maguire and AWB were really good against Chelsea.

Whether that is enough to make Utd a top 4 side remains to be seen, but the first target in rebuilding Utd was a proper CB and Maguire fits the bill... One can only wonder if Utd would have been playing CL football had Mourinho gotten his wish and signed Maguire last year...

Like the OGS is giving the youth the chance. Sink or swim time for the likes of Lingard, Rashford, Martial and Pereira... However still needs some beef in the middle of the park. Will be challenging for top 4...

[Lateralus91]

1 hour ago, GLASSJAW said:

lol, riiiiiight

 

 

Had those discussions time and time again. Watch the video. He's shorter than most of his teammates and opponents. If he was white, nobody would bat an eye.

[GLASSJAW]

10 hours ago, Lateralus91 said:

Had those discussions time and time again. Watch the video. He's shorter than most of his teammates and opponents. If he was white, nobody would bat an eye.

It's almost as if African nations have a long history of players lying about their age

 

10 hours ago, spook007 said:

After Sundays showing I'd argue he probably is... Maguire and AWB were really good against Chelsea.

Whether that is enough to make Utd a top 4 side remains to be seen, but the first target in rebuilding Utd was a proper CB and Maguire fits the bill... One can only wonder if Utd would have been playing CL football had Mourinho gotten his wish and signed Maguire last year...

Like the OGS is giving the youth the chance. Sink or swim time for the likes of Lingard, Rashford, Martial and Pereira... However still needs some beef in the middle of the park. Will be challenging for top 4...

I really liked AWB's performance on Sunday. first half was a bit spotty for the midfield though

[spook007]

8 hours ago, GLASSJAW said:

It's almost as if African nations have a long history of players lying about their age

 

I really liked AWB's performance on Sunday. first half was a bit spotty for the midfield though

Agree 100%. 

They struggled with Perreira and Pogba and only McTomeney as the anchor. 

But it was the first game. It will be very interesting to see if they learned their lesson, when they meet Wolves on Monday night. 

[UnkNuk]

Yep, Liverpool is a pretty good team, alright.   

[Lateralus91]

I was able to get tickets for the Barca game (Dortmund last played them in the 90s I think) on Tuesday and now Messi will probably miss that game.

 

Seems I will have to make that weekend trip to Barcelona some time soon.