⚽️The Footy Thread: Lock Thread

[MetalMario]

strength of France, Germany, and Brasil can get to the finals based off skill and tradition. tactics will lead them up on the podium. Belgium isn't known for any of those. this is their golden era but I roberto martinez at the helm is shaky already

 

[Armada]

Jesus

Dudes can seriously field a top 3 XI in the world

Gonna be a shame to watch Roberto Martinez potentially hold this squad back at the world cup.

 

[flyeed]

Anyone using dark horse to describe Belgium in 2018 is a cornball

 

[Belgium]

I assume that any pundits talking about us being WC contenders must be watching our national team matches with blindfolds or only watch their club performances. Amazing on paper, great individual club performances, numerous world class players, ... but put them all on the same pitch together and you get performances that are just kind of average.
Unless Martinez turns into a magician I expect us to go out at the quarter finals or semi-finals at best.

 

[mastamind89]

 

[d3si]

It's good to see Chelsea winning lately. Still believe in them for taking the CL

Where you from bro?

Pakistan. First time visiting there since my family and I moved out of the country

 

[flyeed]

It's good to see Chelsea winning lately. Still believe in them for taking the CL



Pakistan. First time visiting there since my family and I moved out of the country

2 reps for visiting your home, minus 1 rep for thinking Chelsea is taking it = +1

 

[Beans]

I assume that any pundits talking about us being WC contenders must be watching our national team matches with blindfolds or only watch their club performances. Amazing on paper, great individual club performances, numerous world class players, ... but put them all on the same pitch together and you get performances that are just kind of average.
Unless Martinez turns into a magician I expect us to go out at the quarter finals or semi-finals at best.

you suffer from the same problem France does.. all talent but terrible managers.

 

[Beans]

Arsenal don't sign CB's

 

[Sinner]

Happy Chinese New Year to the FootyFam who celebrate it!

 

[flyeed]

It's been noted before but props to mastamind89 for consistently updating the thread title

I've been conditioned by previous OPs to never look out for it

 

[champcruthik]

It's good to see Chelsea winning lately. Still believe in them for taking the CL...

Long shot, but you never know what Conte has up his sleeve. Bit of a mad scientist with tactics at times when tinkering with Chelsea's lineup. The one potential advantage is hosting the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Barca honestly isn't in a great run of form. They were challenged by Valencia in the Copa del Rey semis more than the 3-0 aggregate would indicate. Then have gone out and drawn against the likes of Espanyol and Getafe. Dembele is creeping slowly back to full fitness. If Chelsea can manage to keep a clean sheet at the Bridge, that would do wonders for the squad's confidence. I think Andreas Christensen will be one of the most important players on the pitch. He's shown up defensively time and time again in his club's biggest domestic fixtures. Conte mentioned Alonso will be ready to participate Tuesday, while Bakayoko is almost certainly out. I like him as a player, but he's struggled to transition from Monaco to the Prem. Bakayoko had a shocker against Watford, even before the two yellows and getting sent off in the first half. Perhaps the Yaya Toure comparisons were too much for the Frenchman to handle at this current juncture, but half a campaign isn't enough time for me to give up on his ability to be a successful MF in the EPL.

 

[champcruthik]

...Unless Martinez turns into a magician I expect us to go out at the quarter finals or semi-finals at best.

But a semifinal appearance would not be a disappointment for Belgium, when you consider the field in Russia. Almost everybody has Brasil, France and Germany in some order as the top three. So if Belgium ends up the fourth best team at the World Cup, you have to say that's a positive result regardless of Martinez's managerial capabilities. I've been on De Rode Duivels wagon even prior to the 2014 WC in Brasil. As you know, '14 was the first time Belgium reached a WC quarterfinal. He has a side that is able to keep a clean sheet on any given night, with some combination of Vertonghen, Kompany, Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Meunier in front of Courtois, who will be one of the best keepers in the entire tournament. Offensively, Belgium probably advances as far as KdB can take them. He's obviously having a marvelous campaign for City and will be counted on to unlock Lukaku and Batshuayi. The latter is quickly enjoying his spell at Dortmund and heating up at the perfect time to factor internationally. I've posted enough how highly I rate Mousa Dembele. He's like a metronome, unafraid to attack defensive lines and find penetrating angles. I think two dark horse bench contributors could be Yannick Carrasco and Youri Tielemans. We can't say Carrasco is having the best campaign for Atleti and perhaps a move away from Simeone would further his career, but there are few better dribbling substitutes that can turn the tide of a match late in the second half. Tielemans hasn't transitioned from his youth club to Monaco completely smoothly, but keep in mind, the lad is only 20 years of age. Showed he was a bit green last year against United in Europa League. What I like most about the kid is his versatility. Tielemans can play in a deep-lying role but also showed comfort playing further forward when then-Anderlecht manager, Besnik Hasi, deployed him in a more attacking position. He garnered more European experience in CL this year, scoring an away goal against Leipzig in Monaco's first group-stage match.

 

[champcruthik]

speaking of kroos...he was clearly offsides on the corner before he dove

Sure, PSG could appeal that Kroos was in an offside position and he certainly embellished the foul, but that's a clear penalty. Lo Celso was either inexperienced or unwise to grab the German from the back by the shoulders in that manner. Most refs are going to award a pen for a visible foul of that nature in the box.

Let's be fair though, since you brought it up. CR7 probably fouled Kimpembe after he released the ball. Which the ref missed and ultimately led to RM's second goal. However, the larger point for Emery to focus on is how poorly PSG cleared the ball all match-long from their own defensive third. That coupled with Areola's inadequate distribution did not help matters for PSG. Especially in the first half of this current campaign, Areola was unheralded and didn't receive enough credit for largely helping keep clean sheets. Emery's preference for two attacking FB, in Alves and Kurzawa, often left PSG vulnerable to counters forcing Areola to stand tall in net. He's homegrown so I'm not sure why he doesn't receive more love from Parisians. Basically rendered Trapp useless. That being said, Areola did not perform well in the second half and could have done better on both the second and third goals for Madrid. Another keeper that isn't receiving enough recognition for his stellar play this campaign is ter Stegen. Messi is amazing and there's a lot of eyes on Coutinho's move as well as Dembele's recovery, but let's not forget how valuable ter Stegen and Umtiti truly are to Barca's overall success.

Lastly, perhaps the biggest grievance from PSG supporters should be the possible handball on Sergio Ramos. I think the referee ultimately made the right decision to not award a penalty. If reversed, say to Marquinhos, I wouldn't be upset with a no-call there. But it's still understandable for pen appeals. Even though Ramos played it off well, the ball did make some contact with his right arm. Can't say the arm was in a unnatural position though.

 

[champcruthik]

What's with all those people going on about Toby's contract though? His contract is valid until 2020, it's not like he's about to leave on a free in the summer, nor the next summer...

2019, brotha. Spurs hold an option to extend Alderweireld's contract another year, but that would trigger a 25.7M release clause (pounds). Tottenham obviously prefers not to do that when Alderweireld can be sold in the open market for double or nearly triple that price.

From the Belgian centre-back's perspective, he's on his original contract from Atleti and wants a significant raise in wages to around 150K weekly (pounds). The problem is that amount surpasses Harry Kane, Spurs' current and deserved top earner. We all know how rigid Levy and Tottenham can be about wage structure.

Supposedly Alderweireld will figure in Poch's plans tomorrow against Rochdale. My guess is that the relationship between manager and player has soured beyond repair. There's already evidence Pochettino is entrusting Dav Sanchez with more defensive responsibility (vs. LFC, Gunners, Juve). Plus the club is pretty high on Juan Foyth moving forward. If Spurs do sell Alderweireld, I think they'll end up missing Kyle Walker more from the previous summer window.

Looking forward to Lucas Moura's full debut tomorrow.

 

[Sinner]

Can’t play a bad game if you don’t get to play.

 

[Nike Jordan]

 

[champcruthik]

Related thought since United is playing Huddersfield in the FA Cup today:
Two weekends ago at Old Trafford, Stu Attwell (the ref), had an abysmal first half. First off, Billing's foul on McTominay in his own half was deserving of a yellow. Moments later, Billing clips Rojo and still doesn't receive a yellow card. Most egregiously, Kongolo crushed McTominay in the box. Clear and definitive penalty within the laws of the sport. That was a dangerous bit of play from Kongolo. Even some of van La Parra's play and actions were borderline. Attwell had little control over the match, at least regarding Huddersfield. The only thing he got right in the first half was not awarding Alexis a pen, wasn't enough there for me. I figure United supporters would have been up in arms had the result not ended 2-0 in their favor.

 

[champcruthik]

More thoughts related to Tottenham/Juve:
Spurs supporters have every reason to be gleeful. I've even highlighted their recent successes. Who could have predicted a undefeated run facing the likes of United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Juventus. With the FA Cup mixed in no less. I mean seven out of nine possible points against top-6 Prem opposition. My only caution is to be extremely wary of the CL return leg. Couldn't have been a worse start for Tottenham in Turin. Perhaps the magnitude of the moment swallowed the squad up entirely in the opening phases of the match. I think it was Dele who completely lost "Pipita" on the shocking opening goal. Then Davies blindly commits an utterly reckless challenge on Bernardeschi. Proceedings negatively compounded when Aurier needlessly fouled Douglas Costa in the box before halftime. I find that to be Pochettino's biggest challenge in the Wembley return leg. Some Spurs fans will be happy Aurier is suspended for March 7th, such a volatile and inconsistent defender that no manager has been able to successfully channel and control to this point. Trippier will naturally factor in from the right side of defense, and you'd imagine Poch is forced to swap in Danny Rose for Davies, who was just as bad if not worse than Aurier on Tuesday. Or maybe consider a back-three defense if Alderweireld's hammy and contract issues are resolved by then. With all that being said, Dembele saved the tie by fearlessly attacking Juve's lines and willing Tottenham forward despite the early 2-0 deficit. I remember Dembele nearly unlocked Dele once on an excellent ball, and Kane had numerous opportunities like the header you'd expect a forward of his caliber to do better with. Glanced it directly at Buffon.

Allegri was faced with an injury-depleted squad prior to Tuesday. Juve had to call up Simone Muratore out of desperation. Mandzukic didn't seem healthy since Friday before the match, but I get the impression Allegri preferred not to start Sturaro. In hindsight, maybe would have liked to see Bentancur get the start over Khedira, who didn't offer much against Spurs. De Sciglio filled in admirably for the injured Barzagli. The amount of injuries Juventus is dealing with simultaneously is astounding: Dybala, Barzagli, Matuidi, Cuadrado, etc. Thankfully Dybala will return tomorrow for the derby after sitting out six weeks. Allegri and Juve have experience on their side. Fully expecting Douglas Costa and Cuadrado (if he returns in time from groin surgery) to attack in wide areas in an attempt to exploit Spurs' FBs. Alex Sandro should look to get forward more often as well.

 

[champcruthik]

Cool finish by Suarez against the run of play, absolutely perfect ball from Messi. Unlucky for Eibar after putting Barca under serious pressure in the opening 15 minutes. **** tested Pique in the box once, and Umtiti had to intervene in another crucial sequence of play. Forgot who played the ball from the wide left into Orellana, but it barely knifed through.

 

[yankeesking92]

It's been noted before but props to mastamind89 for consistently updating the thread title

I've been conditioned by previous OPs to never look out for it

Shots fired at @Coupé It

 

[Sinner]

 

[imasoleman18]

that penalty that was given to bayern was embarrassing, ill try to find a gif but my word wolfsburg were just robbed blind

EDIT:
found one https://streamja.com/qkk

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Bravo champcruthik !!! You clearly had your coffee & breakfast this morning.

Good to see Barca score in the first half. Not sure that has been done in quite a while. Team is still solely dependent on hannibal & Messi...

Edit - Eibar’s speed to the ball has nullified Barca today. Barca look spent. Don’t feel good going to Stamford Bridge looking like this...

Phew another goal... Vidal to Messi to alba...

 

[Black Lotus]

Umtiti doing work again, as usual. Pique played good as well. Coutinho played nicely, on and off the ball, woulda been nice if Messi got that chip over the keeper