Football: “WHAT THE F*CK WAS THAT”?

[Jordan La Cabra]

Sky Italia claim Chelsea have made an approach for Roma left back Emerson.

I don't know much about him, but this kind of signing would please me. As good as Alex Sandro is, I wouldn't like to see us spend £60m+ on a left back. Alonso isn't the most dynamic of full backs, but very few full backs or wing backs can score the amount of goals he does. 12 goals in 52 league games is brilliant for a wing back. If we bring in an expensive left back like Alex Sandro, we will almost certainly lose a goal scoring threat. Considering we are struggling for goals this season, we need all our regular scorers playing. We do need someone as cover and to challenge him, though.

[Mme Erzulie]

On 1/16/2018 at 3:21 PM, JordanJH1993 said:

The redevelopment of our new stadium hasn't even started yet and we are already scraping the barrel. Are we becoming post-Emirates Arsenal?

Here's hoping 

[Mexal]

Walcott sold to Everton. I hope he finds immense success. Class act even if he lacks the ability to stay onside.

[l2 0 5 5]

Chelsea made a struggle out of Norwich. Championship team takes them to a replay and then shootout to decide the winner. We hardly did much to get out of our rut as we let up the equalizer 3 minutes into stoppage time. Morata's nightmare continues. Had a chance to score the winner in extra time and played it right to the keeper. He follows that up a couple minutes later with a dive in the 18, gets a yellow, argues with the ref and gets a second yellow. I'll take the win but god damn it was ugly. Gonna be a rough second half of the season I think.

[polishgenius]

In an apt summary of the craziness that has embraced PSG, Neymar has been booed by his own fans for scoring his fourth goal of their game tonight, in which he also grabbed two assists.

He refused to let Cavani take a penalty that would have made him club top scorer.

[l2 0 5 5]

@polishgenius That's bush league by Neymar. Wonder how long till Cavani is out of there. Would imagine this power struggle will result with someone leaving, and it won't be Neymar.

[polishgenius]

Well, for starters it'll be Unai Emery, who hasn't been able to control the situation at all.

But it might be Neymar, since the chatter is that he thinks he's moving to Madrid to replace Ronaldo. Whether Madrid know about this is another matter- I mean, if I was them I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole. The behaviour he's shown this season, he makes Ronaldo look normal.

[Jordan La Cabra]

Going by Arsene Wenger's comments it could be an interesting few days at Arsenal. He's confirmed that the Alexis / Mkhitarayan swap deal is on and that they are trying to bring in Aubameyang.

[Consigliere]

5 hours ago, polishgenius said:

But it might be Neymar, since the chatter is that he thinks he's moving to Madrid to replace Ronaldo.

Would be very surprised if this happened. Neymar Sr is as greedy as fuck and QSI can give him far more money than any non oil/natural gas funded club ever could - it was reported that during Neymar's time at Barca, Barca paid out more money to Neymar Sr than they did to Messi. Plus given Neymar's long term contract with no release clause, Real would probably have to pay a transfer fee that is at least 70% of their gross revenue. Emery could be sacked if he doesn't win the CL. Wouldn't be surprised if Conte ended up there. Cavani is more likely to be offloaded since Neymar is a far more valuable asset to both PSG and QSI than Cavani.

[Jordan La Cabra]

17 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

Cavani is more likely to be offloaded since Neymar is a far more valuable asset to both PSG and QSI than Cavani.

Wouldn't mind Cavani ending up at Chelsea; I don't even care that he's 30. Any player that is able to score goals would be welcomed with open arms right now.

[Jordan La Cabra]

Andy Carroll out injured for the next month, which surely ends Chelsea’s pursuit of him.

Speaking of injury prone English strikers, I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Chelsea go in for Daniel Sturridge. We already have an aerial threat type striker in Morata, what we need to go along with him is a sharp finisher. It’s not as if our attackers aren’t getting chances; they just aren’t putting them away. 

 

ETA: And right on cue, we are in for Peter Crouch. Tbh, he’s better than Andy Carroll.

[Philokles]

You should take a leaf out of Liverpool's book - Steven Caulker is available on a free.

[Consigliere]

57 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

ETA: And right on cue, we are in for Peter Crouch. Tbh, he’s better than Andy Carroll.

I read that Chelsea are considering going back in for Llorente.

Don't know how Chelsea can even consider players like Carroll and Crouch. I mean these guys can be decent but don't strike me as being suited to the style of play. It's not like your lot just go to the byline and hoof crosses to a target man; it's a more intricate style and these types of players would not help you any more than Batshuayi, probably less actually.

[Jordan La Cabra]

I’m really confused by our pursuit of a English target man. Morata’s best abilities are clearly that he’s strong in the air and is a powerful, accurate header of the ball. That is the exact same part of the game that Carroll and Crouch excel in.

Morata’s weakness is his finishing ability with his feet, therefore we need an alternative to him, not another powerful header of the ball. I’m not saying Morata is a target man like Carroll and Crouch, but late on in a game, he could certainly assume that role if we were chasing a goal. 

In a weird way it would be quite funny if Conte was actually behind the pursuit of Carroll and Crouch, and he was really just trolling the board because he knows he’s quitting in the summer.

 

[Jordan La Cabra]

1 minute ago, Consigliere said:

I read that Chelsea are considering going back in for Llorente.

Don't know how Chelsea can even consider players like Carroll and Crouch. I mean these guys can be decent but don't strike me as being suited to the style of play. It's not like your lot just go to the byline and hoof crosses to a target man; it's a more intricate style and these types of players would not help you anymore than Batshuayi, probably less actually.

I saw that we have played the most crosses into the box this season. I’d say a high percentage of those come from Azpilicueta when he steps into the role as the spare man in midfield.

I’d be pleased if we went in for Llorente, but I don’t see why we don’t go for Giroud. He would definitely get more game time at Chelsea than he is getting at Arsenal and ‘he wouldn’t have to leave London’.

[Consigliere]

7 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

I saw that we have played the most crosses into the box this season. I’d say a high percentage of those come from Azpilicueta when he steps into the role as the spare man in midfield.

I’d be pleased if we went in for Llorente, but I don’t see why we don’t go for Giroud. He would definitely get more game time at Chelsea than he is getting at Arsenal and ‘he wouldn’t have to leave London’.

Don't think you guys will get Giroud as Arsenal may want to use him in their attempts to sign Aubameyang. I expect Dortmund would want a replacement should he leave.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

On 15.1.2018 at 10:32 PM, Iskaral Pust said:

For their third goal, Lovren ran far out of position to track the initial runner, again because Milner was out of position, and then when Lovren rushed back into position he was bizarrely passive in not making a challenge while Gundogan chested down the ball to score.  And Karius didn’t rush out to block the shot in the couple of seconds between chest and foot.   

Nonsense. No keeper dead or alive gets their in time. If you think otherwise, then I am afraid you have unrealistic expectancies for a goalkeeper and you will be looking for a keeper that meets your requirement for quite some time.

 

On 16.1.2018 at 10:54 AM, Mark Antony said:

 Karius was a statue for all three goals but only the first really deserves any blame and more of it should go to Gomez. 

This.

 

On 16.1.2018 at 1:19 AM, Iskaral Pust said:

Ederson was worse than Karius yesterday.  His effort at saving the first goal was as poor as Karius first concession, and he directly caused what proved to be the winning goal.  At this point it’s a convenient story to harp on about Liverpool GKs. 

Look again. My first feeling was that the shot looked stoppable because the shot did not look particulary hard. But after 2 or 3 replays it becomes quite obvious that the Ox hit the ball quite well and it ended up too well placed. Maybe a very good keeper on a very good day somehow manages to get his fingertips to the ball and deflects wide/at the post. But it's not an average run of the mill save. Quite the opposite that would have been a rather outstanding save.

 

On 16.1.2018 at 8:46 PM, polishgenius said:

As great a player as he is, Hazard would be a weird replacement for Ronaldo.

It isn't just Hazard. The Marca pipedream for Real looks like this.

Real manages to offload C. Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale. They should then be replaced with the Galacticos 3.0. Neymar, Hazard and Lewandowski. Where they get the money they'd need for that is a bit beyond me. But that appears to be Perez vision for Real's near future.

[Daemon the Leaner]

38 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

Don't think you guys will get Giroud as Arsenal may want to use him in their attempts to sign Aubameyang. I expect Dortmund would want a replacement should he leave.

Should Arsenal manage to sell Giroud and sign Aubameyang, it would not be a winter market as bad as some Arsenal fans probably think. The Mkhi-Aubam pair was quality back in BVB.

Heck, I'd even rather have an in-form Mkhi-Aubam pair than a single Sanchez in my team. But of course I'm still happy with Sanchez joining us lol (especially considering he was a Pep target in the first place)

[polishgenius]

4 minutes ago, Notone said:

It isn't just Hazard. The Marca pipedream for Real looks like this.

Real manages to offload C. Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale. They should then be replaced with the Galacticos 3.0. Neymar, Hazard and Lewandowski. Where they get the money they'd need for that is a bit beyond me. But that appears to be Perez vision for Real's near future.

It's a fair point that it wouldn't be just Hazard. As I said though I don't think they should go near Neymar, he's clearly poison, and Lewandowski would be a strange one considering he's a year younger than Benzema and a year older than Bale. He's obviously better than Benzema right now, sure, and not a pace-reliant player or anything, but it seems a curious idea to replace aging galacticos with one in the exact same age bracket.

[Mexal]

2 hours ago, Sandokan I Ironborn said:

Should Arsenal manage to sell Giroud and sign Aubameyang, it would not be a winter market as bad as some Arsenal fans probably think. The Mkhi-Aubam pair was quality back in BVB.

Heck, I'd even rather have an in-form Mkhi-Aubam pair than a single Sanchez in my team. But of course I'm still happy with Sanchez joining us lol (especially considering he was a Pep target in the first place)

Ozil, Mkhi, Auba, Lacazette would be a pretty solid foursome. Still doesn't fix our defensive issues and unless Arsenal learns to play a whole lot faster, it won't really matter all that much. They are slow as molasses and with 85% of the teams sitting back, there isn't a ton of space for players like Auba/Laca to get behind. I still think they'll suck.