The new footy thread

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Meanwhile, it seems Barca is imploding from within right now. Zubizarreta is out as sporting director, apparently Puyol was to take his place and then Puyol quit. And Catalan radio stations are apparently reporting that Messi doesn't rate Enrique at all and is furious with the board/Bartomeu for defending him while performances get worse and worse, and with the transfer ban in place until next winter they're stuck with the players they've got, or worse if those players want out. FWIW, Messi sat out practice today with "a stomach bug".

IMO, yesterday was the most confusing thing I've seen a team do all year. Real loses, Barca plays afterward and can go first and Enrique sits Messi, Neymar and Dani Alves?! Gives them "a rest" after the holiday? Da fuq?

If Messi has a legit stomach bug I can see leaving him out. Never know if Neymar and Alves might have been dealing with something similar.

Especially at the less-than-halfway part of the season with Sociedad (coming into the game) sitting barely above the relegation level.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Losing that goal-scoring production can be cataclysmic for a team. It's been 8 years and Arsenal is still trying to figure out how to replace Henry. Chelsea was headed down the same road before they scooped up Costa. Immobile is young and decent enough, but 3 of him wouldn't compare to 1 Lewandowski.

Like you say, though, I doubt they finish off anywhere near bottom. Even ignoring the small point difference at the bottom half of the table, it would be a fucking disaster for German soccer. Dortmund is likely the second-most popular German team abroad now. If they go down, it could signal the start of a slide back to afterthought status for the league, especially with Serie A finally starting to invest in infrastructure and the bigger teams beginning to turn the tide after struggling for years with FFP. All 4 German CL teams made the R16 this year and besides Bayern, Dortmund are the only ones with a chance in hell of progressing. The Bundesliga need them to not just survive, but do well.

Yeah, that's a great point. Bayern will continue to be a top club on the international scene regardless of what happens to the league as a whole, but having at least one other club that can compete is definitely important.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Yeah, that's a great point. Bayern will continue to be a top club on the international scene regardless of what happens to the league as a whole, but having at least one other club that can compete is definitely important.

A one-club hegemony does no league any good. One of the thing that made the Bundesliga so likeable in recent years was that despite Bayern's financial might, it seemed any club had a chance of winning the tournament every year - Since 2007, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Dortmund have all won titles, while Schalke and Bremen have also kept things interesting. That seems to be a thing of the past now.

Should note that the French league is also growing in popularity, although they have a lot of ground to make up to challenge for the fourth CL spot Germany currently holds (France is still behind Portugal in UEFA coefficient rankings).

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

If Messi has a legit stomach bug I can see leaving him out. Never know if Neymar and Alves might have been dealing with something similar.

Especially at the less-than-halfway part of the season with Sociedad (coming into the game) sitting barely above the relegation level.

Could be. Could be he's fed up with the coaching carousel since Pep left and the god-awful transfer policy. Just saw a stat that Barca had won 91% of their games this season without Suarez, and only 59% with him in the lineup. This while their midfield is still wonky, the bench short and plugged their need for a CB with Mathieu and the mystical creature known as Vermaelen.

Messi apparently started following Chelsea on Instagram today, too...

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Messi apparently started following Chelsea on Instagram today, too...

 

[dash]

Mooger can't be happy, Spurs up 1-nil early in the 2nd half only to drop a 2-1 decision to Crystal Palace...

 

[mooger_35]

Mooger can't be happy, Spurs up 1-nil early in the 2nd half only to drop a 2-1 decision to Crystal Palace...

No, Mooger is not happy. Coming off a win over Chelsea and we shit the bed against Crystal Palace? !?!

 

[dash]

Southampton 1 ManU nil - Tadic with the winner.

woot!

/Saints leapfrog ManU into 3rd place in the table.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Why on God's green earth would LVG leave Falcao, who is healthy and is one of the world's best strikers, out of the lineup against the league's best defence? And then put Di Maria at striker and eventually FELLAINI???

What the fuck is going on at OT?!

 

[Nasty_Magician]

BBC Sport - Wilfried Bony: Swansea agree £28m deal with Man City

Much needed at the moment.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

BBC Sport - Wilfried Bony: Swansea agree £28m deal with Man City

Much needed at the moment.

This is a terrible transfer. Bony is decent, but is not $50 million decent. 9 goals in 20 games for $50 million?! And when two of those goals came against Leicester and another 3 against QPR, CP and Stoke? They seriously couldn't find another striker that wasn't UEFA cup-tied for cheaper? I hope he's fucking Emannuel Adebayor x 10 in terms of uselessness and shit-disturbing. Fucking disgusting.

 

[dash]

I'm not sure, but I think BBB has a Bony to pick with the news above...

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I'm not sure, but I think BBB has a Bony to pick with the news above...

Boney M was never my favourite band. Just sayin.

 

[dash]

Abby is a lot like taxes, she just doesn't know when to stop.

ZURICH - Top female players have taken a protest against artificial turf at the World Cup in Canada to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, though with little hope of success.

United States forward Abby Wambach and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler met a FIFA delegation Monday ahead of contesting the women's player award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Wambach said at the players' official FIFA news conference that they talked "openly, candidly" with Valcke, but did not expect natural grass pitches to be approved ahead of the June 6 kickoff.


https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/wa...world-cup-artificial-turf-152555550--sow.html

 

[dash]

I hope the Saints can hold onto Schneiderlin at least until the end of the season.

Southampton are in the hunt for the Champions League and know if they sell him this month, that will be an unlikely goal to achieve. Expect that stance to be tested with multiple offers in the next couple of weeks. Chelsea and Man City are in a different league, but he could start regularly for anyone else. He would be a great addition for Liverpool and is exactly what Arsenal need, bringing much needed presence and power to a team that has been exposed in this area against big teams for far too long. He is also more than worth the amount Man Utd wasted on Marouane Fellaini.

Scouting Schneiderlin in Southampton's win at Man Utd - Article - TSN

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I hope the Saints can hold onto Schneiderlin at least until the end of the season.

Southampton are in the hunt for the Champions League and know if they sell him this month, that will be an unlikely goal to achieve. Expect that stance to be tested with multiple offers in the next couple of weeks. Chelsea and Man City are in a different league, but he could start regularly for anyone else. He would be a great addition for Liverpool and is exactly what Arsenal need, bringing much needed presence and power to a team that has been exposed in this area against big teams for far too long. He is also more than worth the amount Man Utd wasted on Marouane Fellaini.

Scouting Schneiderlin in Southampton's win at Man Utd - Article - TSN

I think Arsenal is leaning more toward William Carvalho, and it looks like Liverpool might actually be serious about getting Barkley from Everton, which would only be the 3rd time in the past 50 years someone has crossed Stanley Park. So you might be okay for the rest of this year.

Still, Schneiderlin is having a great season. I'm rather surprised Koeman hasn't fucked everything up there yet.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I think Arsenal is leaning more toward William Carvalho, and it looks like Liverpool might actually be serious about getting Barkley from Everton, which would only be the 3rd time in the past 50 years someone has crossed Stanley Park. So you might be okay for the rest of this year.

Still, Schneiderlin is having a great season. I'm rather surprised Koeman hasn't fucked everything up there yet.

Southhampton need to bring Pablo Osvaldo back ... real character dude ... dash will love him (if he didnt before)

DO IT KRUEGER!!!!

 

[jstewismybastardson]

icymi

 

[dash]

Southhampton need to bring Pablo Osvaldo back ... real character dude ... dash will love him (if he didnt before)

DO IT KRUEGER!!!!

jstew, as you stated a while back, that dude is nutso.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

jstew, as you stated a while back, that dude is nutso.

Beyond nutso. He was certifiable at Roma and he just got worse after leaving.