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Forum nameOkay Sports
Topic subjectDecember futbol: Dennis the menace
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2752292
2752292, December futbol: Dennis the menace
Posted by benny, Sat Dec-04-21 12:47 PM
2752301, amazing weak foot finish from haaland today
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Sat Dec-04-21 01:57 PM
https://streamwo.com/file/61abb07fb259b

2752396, Wreck It Ralf off to a great start
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Sun Dec-05-21 10:54 AM
Dominant threatening possession. Structure. Palace barely had a look on goal.

Hope Ralf has some ideas on how to break teams down because we still look a bit clueless there.
2752481, Stevie G picking up with Rodgers right where he left off
Posted by magilla vanilla, Mon Dec-06-21 10:03 AM
Not even VAR could save them.
2752679, I know today was a long shot, but stil, Barca going out feels weird
Posted by benny, Wed Dec-08-21 05:07 PM
2752688, they looked horrible
Posted by will_5198, Wed Dec-08-21 07:25 PM
2752690, it's absolutely terrible
Posted by thejerseytornado, Wed Dec-08-21 09:14 PM
the team knows how bad it is. i'm sure there's some ugliness in the locker room too and dembele's contract issue isn't helping.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2752810, It’s not weird, Benny. The universe has simply corrected itself.
Posted by allStah, Sat Dec-11-21 02:14 PM
Your body is just being recalibrated.

Jersey should be feeling the same thing. Right, Jersey?


2752807, Soft, soft, soft penalty. Diving POS.
Posted by Buck, Sat Dec-11-21 02:00 PM
2752808, He grabbed Ronaldo around the neck and tackled him.
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Sat Dec-11-21 02:02 PM
That’s a pen all day
2752811, I gave it a 9.5.
Posted by allStah, Sat Dec-11-21 02:16 PM
I docked it half a point due to the obviousness of it all.

2752822, wasn’t as bad as Salah kicking Mings in the knee and then getting the pen
Posted by magilla vanilla, Sat Dec-11-21 11:05 PM
Or Alisson taking Ings out with his arms and getting no call.
2752827, LOL. that was a penalty all day.
Posted by PROMO, Sun Dec-12-21 01:36 AM
2752904, So that Cl draw this morning was nicely botched.
Posted by Buck, Mon Dec-13-21 12:53 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/13/manchester-united-psg-champions-league-last-16-draw

On the 2nd attempt:

Salzburg - Bayern
Sporting - MCFC
Benfica - Ajax
Chelsea - Lille
Atletico - MU
Villareal - Juventus
Inter - Liverpool
PSG - Madrid

Predicting:
Bayern
City
Ajax
Chelsea
Atletico
Juve
Liverpool
Madrid
2752957, Real are apparently fuming at the re-draw
Posted by benny, Tue Dec-14-21 11:13 AM
the RM state press calling it VergUEFA (basically a pun on shame+UEFA), I guess Benfica was much more to their liking.
I had texted a buddy after the initial draw that I wasn't looking forward to two months of Ronaldo v Messi stories, but I think that would have been a cinch compared to the Mbappe in Madrid madness. And obvs wouldn't have minded United as an opponent lol
2752963, I wouldn’t mind y’all either tbh
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Tue Dec-14-21 12:58 PM
Same with Atleti. We got time to get right for these matches and if we don’t then Ralf might not be the guy.

Also I figured Uncle Flo would looooove to play a big star team. Isn’t that why he wanted the ESL
2752969, agreed, Feb is a loooong time away
Posted by benny, Tue Dec-14-21 02:33 PM
2752987, The Stevie G steamroller rolls on
Posted by magilla vanilla, Tue Dec-14-21 07:35 PM
Professional win. Jacob Ramsey with a damn banger to open, and Carney Chukwuemeka making a chance out of nothing for Watkins to tap home. Never a note of trouble from Norwich. Sorry Deano.
2753001, Kun retires :(
Posted by thejerseytornado, Wed Dec-15-21 10:45 AM
sad to see him go out like this, he deserved to retire on the pitch, not because of a scary heart issue but glad he's healthy.

(extra frustrating because he is exactly what barca needs right now)

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2753003, You think City knew anything about it?
Posted by Buck, Wed Dec-15-21 12:03 PM
2753012, nah, he collapsed on the field. no one knew
Posted by thejerseytornado, Wed Dec-15-21 01:51 PM
not quite erikson scary, but it was not good and not the type of thing that necessarily shows up in a physical.

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2753014, 3 players collapsed with chest pain yesterday
Posted by The Mac, Wed Dec-15-21 02:35 PM
Is this a thing that will be talked about? What's the details on these injuries/scares?
2753140, don't know, but with small numbers, there's a decent chance its random
Posted by thejerseytornado, Thu Dec-16-21 12:13 PM
but with covid, there's also a plausible chance we're seeing long-term impacts of the combination of a novel disease + athletic competition and something about soccer may be particularly risky (the stop/start of the running, perhaps?)
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2753300, soccer has always been the craziest sport in terms of cardio
Posted by Rjcc, Sat Dec-18-21 04:20 PM
you just don't see soccer players out there looking soft and pudgy like you do in basketball or football

hockey might be second?

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at
2753294, So I'm watching Leeds/Arsenal...
Posted by Buck, Sat Dec-18-21 02:02 PM
...simply because it wasn't canceled.

Feeling pretty pessimistic that the PL is gonna be able to continue without a circuit breaker pause or something.
2753319, This match shouldn’t have taken place!
Posted by allStah, Sun Dec-19-21 11:57 AM
No Lukaku, Jorginho, Werner, Havertz, Odoi

They are all in Covid protocol. We had no striker to
field.

Our defense and IQ got us the draw, but we were unable
to score goals.

Injuries and Covid are doing a number on us.

In less than 2 weeks, we go from being up on City to being down
by 6 points. I have no idea as to who the fock will be available for
the next match.


2753376, Weirdly, I agree with you.
Posted by Buck, Mon Dec-20-21 12:05 PM
It does happen sometimes.

Think Klopp is right. Things are getting too out of control. But money talks, as usual.
2753377, Go take piss somewhere else.
Posted by allStah, Mon Dec-20-21 12:12 PM
2753382, Lol...damn.
Posted by Buck, Mon Dec-20-21 02:29 PM
Like, I was being serious. I don't think teams should be going out there with half their first teams in quarantine and shit.
2753383, he so sensitive.
Posted by PROMO, Mon Dec-20-21 02:37 PM
aww poor wittle Chelsea can't win a game. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!
2753384, My bad. I thought you’ve were trolling.
Posted by allStah, Mon Dec-20-21 02:40 PM
You’re a sneaky poster, so I figured you were throwing out some snark with
your “weirdly, I agree with you...it happens sometimes” comment.


2753711, ^ this guy thought someone was trolling LMFAO nm
Posted by vik, Mon Dec-27-21 08:10 PM
2753639, WHERE THE EXCUSES, STAH?????
Posted by magilla vanilla, Sun Dec-26-21 12:59 PM
2753640, ugh that’s what I get for gloating. That challenge from Cash was super poor
Posted by magilla vanilla, Sun Dec-26-21 01:16 PM
2753705, And I like it, I like it, I like it; Saka & Smith Rowe!
Posted by calminvasion, Mon Dec-27-21 05:08 PM
Things looking up all things considered. Need to squeeze Gabbie in there too. The youth movement is fun.

Just caught United/Newcastle - dang that team is lifeless
2753710, we barely eeek'd out a draw against the worst team in the league.
Posted by PROMO, Mon Dec-27-21 08:08 PM
smh.
2753744, Y'all need to clear out the dead weight.
Posted by Buck, Tue Dec-28-21 07:24 AM
I watched the first half and turned it off. That was bad football.
2753752, Ferran officail to barca, 2 years later than it shoulda been
Posted by thejerseytornado, Tue Dec-28-21 10:12 AM
but i'll take it. got a pretty impressive youth movement going with him now as well. pretty confident the under 23 barca players would absolutely crush the older team:

inaki pena/arnau coma
dest-garcia-araujo-minqueza (might get moved)
pedri-gavi-nico
ansu-ferran-ez

bench: puig,

vs.

MatS
alba-pique-lenglet-roberto
fdj-busi-alves/coutinho
memphis-braithwaite-dembele


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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2753755, How are they paying for it?
Posted by Buck, Tue Dec-28-21 10:56 AM
2753806, *shrug* not my problem
Posted by thejerseytornado, Wed Dec-29-21 11:00 AM
new year, new weird loopholes in FFP?

i think the issue for barca was always their salary cap and not having money for purchases (and iirc, they took out a loan late summer that should help with that too and torres' first payment isn't till summer 2022). Kun's salary is officially off the books with his retirement, so that opened up space. Demir's almost definitely gone (hasn't been practicing) and they'll either sell Umtiti for peanuts or rescind his contract to open salary space, i'd guess. as well as loan out Luuk and a few others

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2753827, yeah, it's 100% the salary cap
Posted by thejerseytornado, Wed Dec-29-21 07:01 PM
and now it looks quite likely that it'll cost barca dembele whose agent apparently walked out of the meeting today about a renewal...

to lose dembele on a free because of the salary cap. jfc.

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2753868, The only thing that sucks about losing Dembele is it being a free
Posted by Hitokiri, Thu Dec-30-21 09:25 PM
Dude has had more than enough chances with us. In 4 and a half years he's given us 18 goals. Injured long term every year. And each time he comes back, he's a good as he ever was... but no better. After 4 and a half years he is still making horrible decisions with the ball. Dangerous, absolutely. But I'm more than okay taking Ferran and losing Dembele.

Shitty that we can't get some of that stupid amount we spent on him back though.
2753905, dude reportedly wanted $42M a year lmao
Posted by cgonz00cc, Fri Dec-31-21 12:33 PM
2753807, goldman sachs
Posted by dillinjah, Wed Dec-29-21 11:25 AM
2753904, City agreed to defer payment until next fiscal year
Posted by cgonz00cc, Fri Dec-31-21 12:31 PM
2753906, lmao
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Fri Dec-31-21 01:20 PM
2753907, AND installments to boot
Posted by cgonz00cc, Fri Dec-31-21 01:26 PM
rather astonishing gesture of goodwill tbh
2754265, bruh
Posted by Hitokiri, Mon Jan-03-22 04:12 PM
I've been biting my tongue on this one for a year now.
You know his name is Mingueza, (with a G) and not Minqueza (with a Q), right?
It's not a big deal, ultimately, but you've been misspelling his name for a whole ass year! lol!

2753768, Magilla ethered himself.
Posted by allStah, Tue Dec-28-21 04:41 PM
Chelsea could field a a lineup full of academy players, and they would
still mop the deck with Villa.

hands to short to box with the gods.


2753803, I mean it was even till Big Rome came on but sure.
Posted by magilla vanilla, Tue Dec-28-21 11:25 PM
2753829, We have turned into Southampton with all these damn draws
Posted by allStah, Wed Dec-29-21 08:36 PM
Odoi blew a huge goal scoring opportunity.

Liverfool lost today, too. We could have went 3 points up.

We are behind City by 8 points now. Not cool. We can beat them, no problem,
but other teams can’t beat them, so we can’t get too far behind.

Buck, which team of yours played today? I’m curious.
2753847, shake the Man Utd 8-Ball, how will we play today?
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Dec-30-21 12:42 PM
answer: Cannot predict now

such an unpredictable team from minute to minute, half to half. sometimes they try. sometimes they dont. sometimes they play like a team. sometimes a couple folks *cough* rashford *cough* decide they'd rather work on their youtube mixtape

honestly think we need to just start from scratch and play w/ more Sancho/VDB and less Bruno/Rashford. we need some a few more team oriented folks out there.
2753864, was nice to see a non Bruno/Rash lineup tbh.
Posted by PROMO, Thu Dec-30-21 08:48 PM
Sancho was pretty good today.

would have liked to see Donny.

some of these "regulars" need people breathing down their neck.
2754047, Got fucked by these trash-ass EPL REFS again
Posted by calminvasion, Sat Jan-01-22 01:09 PM
Just unbelievable, new year, same BS. We were clearly the better team before the send off. Should have had a clear penalty in the first half.

Can't believe we're have moved past Granit still


This team is actually good. Like legit becoming good now. Just need to cut out the dumb shit - not sure we will this year though
2754125, Thomas Tuchel looks like a crazy person
Posted by cgonz00cc, Sun Jan-02-22 11:45 AM
2754126, how so
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Sun Jan-02-22 11:58 AM
you cant let Lukaku's comments go unpunished even if they are old. plus its not like Lukaku is any good vs the top teams anyway
2754127, no i mean he has literally has the face of a crazy person
Posted by cgonz00cc, Sun Jan-02-22 11:59 AM
eyes bulging out like the judge in Roger Rabbit
2754130, lmao i see
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Sun Jan-02-22 12:05 PM
2754128, and i agree btw the interview was totally beyond the pale lmao
Posted by cgonz00cc, Sun Jan-02-22 12:02 PM
lets hope thats a rd of 8 matchup
2754269, I'm just pissed it didn't come out a week earlier.
Posted by magilla vanilla, Mon Jan-03-22 07:27 PM
2754129, Mount pretty lucky to not get sent off for that.
Posted by Buck, Sun Jan-02-22 12:05 PM
Would have been harsh, but justifiable.
2754131, holy shit Kovacic
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Sun Jan-02-22 12:11 PM
how tf do you do that going backwards
2754270, 1st half of yesterday, & 2nd half of the game @ anfield were insane
Posted by dillinjah, Mon Jan-03-22 07:39 PM
agreed re: that goal. Salah's earlier yesterday was so good too
2754280, Alonso played it pretty meekly thk
Posted by cgonz00cc, Mon Jan-03-22 09:22 PM
how you gonna let him go around you to the outside AND still let him get it with his left foot?

seems like competent defending eliminates one of those options
2754135, And with that, City win.
Posted by Buck, Sun Jan-02-22 02:13 PM
Yuck.
2754259, So I'm half-watching this MU/Wolves at work right now.
Posted by Buck, Mon Jan-03-22 01:12 PM
And the impression I'm getting is that Wolves look...better.

Is this right, or am I not watching closely enough?
2754264, "We are not all together" - Luke Shaw
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Mon Jan-03-22 03:45 PM
gee you fucking think?
2754283, i look at our squad and i can't tell if there's any players that like...
Posted by PROMO, Mon Jan-03-22 10:56 PM
playing with each other, let alone even like each other.

the only person i ever see who seems at least happy to be on the pitch is Fred.

like, where's the fun? shit seems so serious and gloomy as fuck.

these guys need to go back to Lil' Kickers.
2754385, Coutinho coming to Villa? Weird
Posted by magilla vanilla, Wed Jan-05-22 11:44 AM
I mean even diminished he'd be an upgrade on most of the CAM/wingers we're playing now. But can he stay fit? Is being mates with Stevie enough to motivate him? Will we blow up our wage structure to buy him in the summer? Would trying this in the summer have been enough to keep Grealish?
2754588, Yeah, wonder what it accomplishes.
Posted by Buck, Fri Jan-07-22 08:37 AM
Gets AV from 13th to what—11th in the table? Saves Barca a tiny bit of cash?
2754590, .
Posted by Buck, Fri Jan-07-22 08:41 AM
.
2754593, Gerrard gets someone he knows/knows his style
Posted by thejerseytornado, Fri Jan-07-22 09:08 AM
and a reasonable low buy option IF coutinho regains his confidence/quality (I doubt it)

Barca need wages off their wage bill bad. AV is paying 65% of his wages, so with one more small move (likely yusuf demir), Barca can register Ferran Torres once Couts can travel and officially sign (he's currently covid+).
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2754605, Yeah, I get what Barca gets from it...
Posted by Buck, Fri Jan-07-22 11:59 AM
...just not sure how much it helps Villa, even at 2/3 wages.
2754629, If this works right, it's our Robinho signing
Posted by magilla vanilla, Fri Jan-07-22 06:52 PM
Edens and Sawiris aren't country rich, but they're quite rich. Coutinho as a talisman for the "type" of player Villa can attract could have huge knock-on effects. Word is now that we're looking at bringing in Bissouma - a player that might have seen a move to Villa as lateral before Coutinho came in. And yeah, we're sitting dead center of the table, but there's not a WHOLE lot of ground between 11th and the European places- if Coutinho can come CLOSE to his best form we could be in business. Coutinho slotting in as a twin ten allows us to keep depth in the midfield, as now Jacob Ramsey or Morgan Sanson won't be taking up one of those slots behind the striker (and yes, we still have to figure out where Bailey and Ings fit in, although the answer will probably be "as supersubs").

Plus, training with a world class player like Coutinho is going to improve the rest of the squad. Iron sharpening iron and all that.
2754630, a coach he likes and a young forward who loves a throughball in front of him
Posted by magilla vanilla, Fri Jan-07-22 07:03 PM
>and a reasonable low buy option IF coutinho regains his
>confidence/quality (I doubt it)

I'd say we have a chance.
2754633, You just going to let Buck sneak diss your squad like that?
Posted by allStah, Fri Jan-07-22 07:17 PM
You’re getting downy soft.
2754636, Buck isn’t an asshole though. See the difference?
Posted by magilla vanilla, Fri Jan-07-22 09:21 PM
2754836, Well, I mean, not ALL the time....
Posted by Buck, Mon Jan-10-22 08:18 AM
2754835, Asking specific questions about how a player fits into a squad...
Posted by Buck, Mon Jan-10-22 08:16 AM
...isn't a diss. It's information gathering. And now I have a better idea of what Villa are trying to accomplish, thanks to Magilla's thorough explanation.

And because I kinda like Villa, I hope it works out. They've been through some tough times recently, but who wouldn't like to see them make their way up to and around the European places?

Now, contrast that with...I don't know...Chelsea, who are one of those clubs that are so rich that they just buy whoever they want without regard to wage bill or whether a player is exactly right for the future of the squad. They can just throw money around, bring in whoever, and if he doesn't work out? So what? Plenty of room for expensive mistakes. Just loan him out and try again. Football Manager on easy mode. A child could run a club like that.

:-)
2754786, ANOTHER ONE. Lucas Digne coming in.
Posted by magilla vanilla, Sun Jan-09-22 08:41 PM
Think he’ll work a little better than Targett in Gerrard’s system. Just need a defensive midfielder to make up for Nakamba’s absence and we’re ready to move up to European places.
2754846, Umtiti extends with some funky clauses and Ferran is registered
Posted by thejerseytornado, Mon Jan-10-22 09:56 AM
competent management gets shit done.

Umtiti extended a year but total salary is the same, so it lowered wages for a year and he's got an option for a free transfer this summer, supposedly, so he can go where he wants easily and on wages more aligned with his form than his old wages (rumored to be highest paid per year after others resigned at lower wages).

still have a few more January moves (Dembele fiasco resolution, Araujo and Gavi and a few others need extensions), but at least the management of the team isn't trash and I can trust they'll do the right things.
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2754933, Four fucking minutes to find a reason to chalk off the Villa goal
Posted by magilla vanilla, Mon Jan-10-22 06:56 PM
Gotta do better with our other chances but still.
2754935, we might just need to go arsenal reset w/ it up front next season
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Mon Jan-10-22 07:05 PM
rashford is on my list of folks that need to go he is finished. no explosion anymore and he was never any good at making decisions out there. that's magnified x10 now.

bruno might need to go too if we cant go back to being a team player. they both give the ball away an absolutely embarrassing and severely detrimental amount.

build around elanga - greenwood - sancho or something. idk this is a mess. you can see why Fred and Scott play so much. if nothing else they actually give a fuck and can move. keep VDB. get another young forward, 2 more CMs. promote some young players. its a faulty foundation we need to tear some shit up.
2754937, Cavani would have given Emi something to think about on that chance
Posted by magilla vanilla, Mon Jan-10-22 07:16 PM
right after the sub.