Jordan La Cabra Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Manchester City: No new signings just yet, but certain to spend. Already have the best squad and manager, anyway. Manchester United: Fred in to bolster the midfield. A lesser known Portuguese RB, Dalot in, too. Tottenham: New deal for Poch, who looks to have turned down Real Madrid to stay. New deal for the best striker in the league, Harry Kane. New stadium to be finished for - or a few games into - the new season. Liverpool: Keita to arrive. Fabinho signed. Fekir on again / off again, but will likely arrive. Arsenal: Wenger out, Emery in. Experienced RB Lichsteiner signed to boost the squad. Linked with Sokratis. All the while, the tumbleweed rolls across Roman Abramovich’s empty office at Stamford Bridge. Abramovich can’t do business in the county. Conte in limbo. No clear front runner for the managerial position should Conte be sacked. No new signings (who would want to sign?). Potentially going to lose some of our best players. ‘Keep the blue flag flying high’, and all that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Really hope Fekir doesn’t fall through. The manner of the Fabinho transfer spoiled me. Wish all transfers could be like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Well now Lyon at saying the deal is off. Looking to be a lot more like the VVD saga than the Fabinho signing. Shame if we miss out on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 French media are saying that Liverpool wanted a lower price - even though Fekir passed his medical, the examination apparently raised some concerns over his knee problems. Lyon have ended negotiations so for now the deal is off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 With your history of having absolutely no sign of a sniff of a plan B in these situations normally, you'd better hope that a driving attacking midfielder has a great WC and you get to him first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 IIRC Mane was a plan b to Gotze and Salah was a plan b to Julian Brandt. Sure Klopp wouldn’t settle for any less than Van Dijk or Keita but I wouldn’t go as far saying we have a history of no plan b’s. If Liverpool do end their interest in Fekir I hope we go for Lemar again. Different type of player but would still fill the need of a creative attacker who could play in the midfield or front three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l2 0 5 5 Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 So who does everyone like for the WC? As I see it, there's four top tier contenders, and a couple second tier teams that could win it all. I like Germany the most considering their vets that helped them win the '14 cup are all still pretty young. Kroos, Muller and I think Ozil are under 30, and Hummels, Boateng, Khedira are early 30's. A healthy Reus will be nice to see up front. You then throw in the young talent coming off the bench and I think they have a deep and talented team filled with vets and young guys. France is another obvious choice with the attacking talent they have. Lloris can't let shit goals in like he did against the US though. I don't see any excuses for why they aren't equipped to win it. Brazil will be fun to watch as always but their defense is old. They're also one Neymar injury away from being a round of 16 team and that's it. I trust that he's healthy as he played in one of the recent friendlies and scored, but it's a foot injury so that's concerning. I think Spain has a good chance at it. Some long in the tooth midfielders but Iniesta and Silva (moreso the former) can still get it done at a high rate. If their attackers can get it done they'll be fine and stand as good a chance as anybody. Costa/Isco/Asesnsio will need to be brilliant. The only teams I'd consider not in the top tier are Argentina and Belgium, though I'm sure they're top 5 in odds to win it. This will be the last crack Argentina will have at it with the likes of Messi/Aguero/Higuain/Di Maria in their prime. If they couldn't do it 4 years ago I don't think 4 more years of miles on those legs will make anything different. Adding in Dybala is good for more youth and creativity but not sure how he works out on the field with Messi? It's hard not to like Belgium when you see their team on paper. Some serious PL studs leading the attack, and on the back line, and at GK, really. With no USA this who I'll root for, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 27 minutes ago, l2 0 5 5 said: Brazil will be fun to watch as always but their defense is old. They're also one Neymar injury away from being a round of 16 team and that's it. I trust that he's healthy as he played in one of the recent friendlies and scored, but it's a foot injury so that's concerning. Not really. Without him, Brazil has Coutinho, Willian, Jesus, Douglas Costa, Firmino. And unlike 2014, is actually a team, not an odd collection of players whose only move is pass the ball to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 3 minutes ago, Winterfell is Burning said: Without him, Brazil has Coutinho, Willian, Jesus, Douglas Costa, Firmino. Yeah, so they're about as good as Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 44 minutes ago, l2 0 5 5 said: Brazil will be fun to watch as always but their defense is old. They're also one Neymar injury away from being a round of 16 team and that's it. I trust that he's healthy as he played in one of the recent friendlies and scored, but it's a foot injury so that's concerning. [...] It's hard not to like Belgium when you see their team on paper. Some serious PL studs leading the attack, and on the back line, and at GK, really. With no USA this who I'll root for, I guess. Under Tite, Brazil have actually been rock solid defensively. Belgium's defence looks good on paper but I consider them to be more vulnerable at the back and in Martinez they have a manager who has shown himself to be wanting when it comes to defensive organisation. I'd include Portugal as dark horses. Under Santos, much like Brazil under Tite, Portugal actually play as team now rather than relying on individual brilliance and they are a solid defensive unit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 I think Germany, France, Spain or Brazil could win. Germany are a little older, qualified as defending champs (fewer competive games), and still lack a top striker. France obviously have a ton of talent but the weakest keeper at this level and not yet a ton of experience (Euro 2016 had a home advantage). Brazil look solid and much better balanced than last time. Spain has a ton of talent and serial winners at club level and, if Diego Costa is fit and firing, a better striker focal point than say Morata. Argentina in the next tier are always a possibility with Messi and a stacked attack. But most of the stars are four years older and the defense and GK aren’t top class. But I wouldn’t write them off. Belgium look good on paper and were rated as dark horses for the last Euros and WC. They need to deliver a bit more this time. I think the development in Lukaku and DeBruyne in the interim should make them better this time. Portugal are reigning Euros champions, but not very convincingly. They came third in their group, beat the Swiss and the Poles on penalties, and beat Wales in the semis. Their only statement victory was in the final itself, and even that was 1-0 in extra time. They peaked at the right time and were good at not getting beat — which is a good ability in tournaments — but narrow margins can easily go against you instead. With powerhouses like Netherlands and Italy absent, plus Uruguay have faded and Chile absent too, there’s more scope for an outsider to reach the quarters and surprise everyone. Wales and Iceland did that at the Euros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 2 hours ago, Consigliere said: Under Tite, Brazil have actually been rock solid defensively. In 21 games under him, Brazil scored 47 and conceded 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 14 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said: I think Germany, France, Spain or Brazil could win. Germany are a little older, qualified as defending champs (fewer competive games), and still lack a top striker. France obviously have a ton of talent but the weakest keeper at this level and not yet a ton of experience (Euro 2016 had a home advantage). Brazil look solid and much better balanced than last time. Spain has a ton of talent and serial winners at club level and, if Diego Costa is fit and firing, a better striker focal point than say Morata. That is plain wrong. The champion isn'T seeded anymore, they have to qualify like everyone else, well with the exception of the host. The last time the reigning champion automatically qualified was either in 1994 or in 1998 I think. I'd say, Germany arguably had played the most competitive games from all participants, if you include the Confederations Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 21 minutes ago, Notone said: That is plain wrong. The champion isn'T seeded anymore, they have to qualify like everyone else, well with the exception of the host. The last time the reigning champion automatically qualified was either in 1994 or in 1998 I think. I'd say, Germany arguably had played the most competitive games from all participants, if you include the Confederations Cup. The last champions that didn't face qualification to the next one was France. That said, there's other teams that played more games (teams in Concacaf and Conmebol make more games usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Nice have confirmed the appointment of Patrick Vieira as their new manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 5 hours ago, Notone said: That is plain wrong. The champion isn'T seeded anymore, they have to qualify like everyone else, well with the exception of the host. The last time the reigning champion automatically qualified was either in 1994 or in 1998 I think. I'd say, Germany arguably had played the most competitive games from all participants, if you include the Confederations Cup. You're right. How did I overlook that? I'm surprised champions no longer have an automatic right to defend their title. They seem more worthy of a spot than a host nation, especially Russia or Qatar. Even South Africa was marginal. I just checked their qualifying group and they had a 100% record in a relatively weak group, since the Czechs and Norwegians have fallen in quality lately. And they scored 43 goals in the process, joint highest with Belgium, and far ahead of France. I think that nudges them up the ladder alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell is Burning Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 5 hours ago, Iskaral Putsch said: You're right. How did I overlook that? I'm surprised champions no longer have an automatic right to defend their title. They seem more worthy of a spot than a host nation, especially Russia or Qatar. Even South Africa was marginal. The hosts are paying the huge costs demanded by FIFA, leave them out of the tournament altogether would just be cruel, and make any nation that doesn't have a virtually certain place question the point of the enterprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Any more guesses on who replaces zidane ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 33 minutes ago, Bern is Burning said: The hosts are paying the huge costs demanded by FIFA, leave them out of the tournament altogether would just be cruel, and make any nation that doesn't have a virtually certain place question the point of the enterprise. On the other hand the hosts get assigned the tournament based on bribes and corruption, so I have no real sympathy for protecting their financial interests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 14 minutes ago, Vin said: Any more guesses on who replaces zidane ? I’ve seen Guti being thrown around. Think he manages one of their youth teams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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