Football: Showdown Sunday

[AncalagonTheBlack]

To say that the final day's games are important for all 3 clubs would be a huge understatement. Damn,i'm really nervous now.Our whole season hinges on this last game.

Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal face play-off prospect for Champions League

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Premier League rules state: "If at the end of the season either the league champions or the clubs to be relegated or the question of qualification for other competitions cannot be determined because two or more clubs are equal on points, goal difference and goals scored, the clubs concerned shall play off one or more deciding league matches on neutral grounds, the format, venue and timing of which shall be determined by the board."

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Manchester City v Liverpool: A play-off for third place

This would require a high-scoring draw for City at Watford, while Liverpool give relegated Middlesbrough a thumping at Anfield.

For instance, a 3-3 draw for City and a 3-0 win for Liverpool would produce this scenario, with the teams tied for third place (and that Champions League group stage place):

The sides would also be locked together with identical records if City drew 4-4 and Liverpool won 4-1, and so on.

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Manchester City v Arsenal: Doomsday scenario for City?

By contrast, a heavy defeat for City raises the spectre of finishing level on points with Arsenal.

If City were to lose 4-0 at Vicarage Road, and Arsenal to sneak home 1-0 against Everton. The same permutation would be reached if City lost 5-1 and Arsenal won 2-1

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Arsenal v Liverpool: Champions League on the line

The final scenario would leave Liverpool and Arsenal fighting for fourth place on the most perilous of knife-edges since they battled for the title on the final day of the 1988-89 season.

If Arsenal draw 1-1 with Everton and Liverpool lose 2-0 to Middlesbrough, this is how they would finish tied for fourth

Other combinations of results which would leave the sides level would be a 2-2 Arsenal draw coupled with a 3-1 Liverpool defeat, or a 3-3 Arsenal draw if goal-shy Boro win 4-2 at Anfield, and so on.

The good news for Manchester City fans is that under this third scenario, they would finish third, whatever their result at Watford, and clinch that cherished Champions League group stage place.

 

[Calibandar]

For me the most interesting game is the UEFA cup final next week for United.

And also of interest are the rumours of a James Rodriquez signing.

[BigFatCoward]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39947732

best own goal ever?

[Rorshach]

2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39947732

best own goal ever?

I've never scored goals that fine in the right end..

[Consigliere]

I doubt it will come down to a playoff for fourth spot. Just looking at the scenarios required for a playoff to happen makes this extremely unlikely. City and Liverpool are in the driving seat with Liverpool, on paper, having the easiest fixture of the three sides involved. I don't think that Arsenal's late season good form will be enough to secure a top four finish this time although it might be enough for Wenger to be offered a new contract. Which would be good news for rival fans as we can then be safe in the knowledge that Arsenal will not challenge for the league next season either.

 

3 hours ago, Calibandar said:

And also of interest are the rumours of a James Rodriquez signing.

I'm quite underwhelmed by this. If rumours are true and Rodriguez is part of a deal to take DDG the other way, then I don't see why we aren't really testing Real's desire to sign DDG by asking for a player in a position we actually need i.e. CF or deep lying play-maker (Morata or Kroos).

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Real is not going to part with Kroos though, and besides I thought Pogba is supposed to play that role. Maybe they would part with one of their forwards (Benzema?), if they were to sign some flashy replacement (Aubameyang?).

7 hours ago, AncalagonTheBlack said:

To say that the final day's games are important for all 3 clubs would be a huge understatement. Damn,i'm really nervous now.Our whole season hinges on this last game.

Unlikely to happen though. I am fairly convincend City will win their final game against Watford. And if Liverpool can't finish off Boro at home they arguably do not deserve to play CL football next season. And again, Liverpool could have avoided that situation if Milner had not missed that penalty.

[polishgenius]

Yeah, I'm with Consigliere on this. I mean, I love Rodriguez as a player, but he's not what we need. You could play a midfield of Herrera-Pogba-James but under Jose at least that seems like a formation that would shackle Pogba- he could do the more traditional box-to-box, but if you want the best out of him, you give him the free role. And Jose isn't going to give two free roles in one team.


Not that I am especially convinced by Kroos or Morata (although I haven't paid him the attention I should this season). Griezmann, or someone like him, needs to be the priority.

[BigFatCoward]

Kuyt retiring after scoring hat trick that won title. That is going out in real style. Just wish he had sorted his hair at some point in his career. 

[Philokles]

Morata seems like a better makeweight in a De Gea transfer. He is apparently unhappy at not getting starts in the important matches, is probably a more realistic target than Griezmann and has a ridiculous minutes per goal record this season. I don't see why Kroos would want to move from being a first team fixture at Real Madrid, even if they were willing to get rid of him. Likewise James seems a poor fit for Man Utd and Man Utd a poor fit for him.

[Consigliere]

I also think that Morata would be a good fit for us and makes much more sense than Rodriguez given the needs of the team. Morata is the type of forward who could thrive under Mourinho. If DDG is indeed made part of the deal, we could get Morata + cash since apparently United have placed a £65m valuation on De Gea. I can't help but think that commercial reasons has trumped the needs of the team in going after Rodriguez.

 

2 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Yeah, I'm with Consigliere on this. I mean, I love Rodriguez as a player, but he's not what we need. You could play a midfield of Herrera-Pogba-James but under Jose at least that seems like a formation that would shackle Pogba- he could do the more traditional box-to-box, but if you want the best out of him, you give him the free role. And Jose isn't going to give two free roles in one team.

I'm quite sure that Mourinho would use Rodriguez as a #10 with Pogba and Herrera in a 4-2-3-1. I think we need another two central midfielders as well since we are thin in that department. Carrick is at the end of his career and Fellaini's all round game is just not good enough to be that high up in the pecking order - he can be useful as a squad player though. Plus we have players made of glass in our defense (Smalling, Jones and Shaw) so that area needs reinforcements too. So I think we will have just one big money signing up front. If we beat Ajax then I can see Griezmann joining since an 80+ million buyout is no problem for United. If we lose, then than transfer becomes much more difficult to complete.

[Iskaral Pust]

I'd be ok with James rolling up at United for their new Galactico policy to distract from perennial underachievement and turgid football with flashy acquisitions.  He's a very talented footballer but with Pogba, Mikhitaryan and Mata making the creative AM role arguably the strongest/deepest part of their squad already, and James potentially a luxury player like Ozil, it wouldn't worry me that much.  I'd be much more concerned if they hired Simeone. 

[polishgenius]

To be fair he'd almost certainly be a big upgrade on Mata, and Mkhitaryan hardly ever plays in that role anyway. We certainly can do with creativity- apart from Mkhitaryan and Rashford neither of whom have hit consistent form we don't really have anyway who can turn defensive lines just by dribbling and trickery, and James would help; it's just that a Griezmann would help more.

I mean, if we ended up somehow with Griezmann, Hamish and a CB, plus possibly some more cover in midfield, I wouldn't object, But that's a lot of spending.

[Philokles]

Huddersfield through to the playoff final. Like Brighton, they would be a breath of fresh air in the Premier League if they can beat Reading. David Wagner deserves lots of credit for assembling a side on a low budget that was expected to battle the drop and taking them so far. Especially with a high energy pressing system and many players used to a 34 game league season rather than 49.

[The BlackBear]

Retrospective diving reviews expected to be approved:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39962886

[Consigliere]

27 minutes ago, The BlackBear said:

Retrospective diving reviews expected to be approved:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39962886

About damn time. I hope the sanctions aren't just slaps on the wrist. They should include a match ban plus a fine as well. For example, 1st offense = 2 match ban + 1 weeks wages, 2nd offense = 3 matches + 2 weeks wages, 3rd offense = 5 matches + 3 weeks wages etc. I also hope they eventually use video technology to bring players who feign injury to book - you know, the guys who receive barely a touch but go down like they've been shot in an attempt to get their opponent yellow/red carded.

[BigFatCoward]

obviously fat sam is against it, prick!

[Mme Erzulie]

On 5/18/2017 at 1:27 PM, Consigliere said:

About damn time. I hope the sanctions aren't just slaps on the wrist. They should include a match ban plus a fine as well. For example, 1st offense = 2 match ban + 1 weeks wages, 2nd offense = 3 matches + 2 weeks wages, 3rd offense = 5 matches + 3 weeks wages etc. I also hope they eventually use video technology to bring players who feign injury to book - you know, the guys who receive barely a touch but go down like they've been shot in an attempt to get their opponent yellow/red carded.

Admirable that you're willing to see your own players take so many hits for the greater good.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

ANd that wraps up the Bundesliga. Mordor won their must win game and Wolfsburg has to play to relegation play off game. Probably against Braunschweig (tbd tomorrow). Braunschweig would mean it's one of those high risk derby with a lot of robocops (riot police). If Wolfsburg really manages to drop, it would there'd quite some talent on the move. Gomez, Viereinha, Rodriguez, Luiz Gustavo, and some youngers like Maximilian Arnold and Knoche. Still a weak consolation prize to see VW drop.

The other games were somewhat more entertaining.

Dortmund - Bremen 4 - 3 (Aubameyang and Reus scored doubles each), with Aubameyang beating Lewandowski for the goal scoring title (32 games 31 goals for Aubameyang, and 33 games and 30 goals for Lewandowski. And with Augsburg taking a point of Hoffenheim it means Dortmund will finish 3rd and Hoffenheim playing CL qualifiers.

Bayern finished off Freiburg quite easily, giving Xabi Alonso and Lahm a nice and easy bow out. Oh, and Boateng picked up another injury.

And Berlin received a proper drubbing against Leverkusen.2 - 6 the final score.

[Philokles]

Nothing quite like a last minute Hamburg great escape. Though that clock does annoy me, I'd rather see Wolfsburg go down - especially against a local rival in Braunschweig. Even if it is Hannover, it is still nearby. That said I think they are almost certain to win over two legs. Braunschweig monumentally blowing their automatic hopes at Bielefeld will take a lot of getting over and it has been a while since the 2.Bundesliga side won anyway. I'd like to see the playoffs stopped, in favour of three automatic pro/rel spots. HSV's continued mediocrity since their two let-offs shows that the lucky sides don't always make best use of their reprieve.

I'd rather have seen Hoffenheim get third, as with their coefficient and some of the other teams going into the qualifying round, I don't think they will get through. It would have been hard enough even if they had not lost two of their key players in Süle and Rudy to Bayern. Also, nice to see Köln reach Europe - they have been too long away for a club of their stature.

 

Millwall promoted to the Championship (urgh) and pulling their usual shit at Wembley.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

54 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said:

Nothing quite like a last minute Hamburg great escape.

Let's agree to disagree. For me this was more a reason for nausea.

54 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said:

Though that clock does annoy me,

No shit. I have kinda resigned to the bleak propsect of them being like the herpes of the Bundesliga. You just can't get rid of them. Last week Schalke were robbed of their game winning goal. And 2 years ago, Karlsruhe were properly cheated by the referee.

 

55 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said:

I'd rather see Wolfsburg go down - especially against a local rival in Braunschweig.

Both are shite. It's the choice between Volkswagen Football Inc. without a real fan scene, and the team with the relatively open xenophobic fan scene. And like I said, since it's a local derby, at least the "adventure oriented football fans" will have it their way. Robocops galore.

 

1 hour ago, Horse of Kent said:

Even if it is Hannover, it is still nearby. That said I think they are almost certain to win over two legs

Well, that team (Wolfsburg) was also almost certain to not get into that position in the first place. On paper that squad should be competing for CL spots. But that squad is rotten to the core. Just look at Kruse, who was the scapegoat for their miserable campaign last year. And now, he is back to his former self as the leading scorer for Bremen, while Wolfsburg...

Like I said, if they dropped, there'd be quite a bit of individual talent on the market.