Philokles Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 That referee has had an absolute nightmare all game, topped off with ruling out Welbeck’s goal because De Gea jumped on him. Much more enjoyable than a friendly would have been, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davrum Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Yeah, that was bollocks chalking off the Welbz goal. Mostly a fun affair though, although I feel so bad for Shaw. It's like he walked under 17 ladders at some point and has been paying for it ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Clear foul on De Gea as far as I'm concerned. Welbeck makes no attempt to compete for the ball and backs into De Gea in the process. 10 out of 10 times a goalkeeper will get that decision in his favour so it's not like England were robbed. This is no different than when a striker makes no attempt to compete for a header but backs into the defender in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 It is a foul if you challenge the keeper when he is in control of the ball, not the other way round. He certainly does not back into De Gea either - he jumps towards the ball past Busquets, then pulls out the way when he sees the keeper coming. It is only because De Gea doesn’t bring the ball in correctly, that he veers way off course to land right on top of Wellbeck. Anyway, today showed why England need a controller in midfield instead of Lingard against the best sides. Though there is no outstanding candidate, hopefully Cook, Winks, Maddison or someone similar gets a go in the next three matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 16 minutes ago, Philokles said: hopefully Cook, Winks, Maddison or someone similar gets a go in the next three matches. Of those three, Maddison is imo by far the most talented but he isn't a controlling player either. He's a chance-maker, not a tempo-setter. The other two might be, but I don't think they do it well enough to make a difference against the best teams (and Winks especially is probably a bit defensive to be replacing a Lingard in the side. He's a rival to Henderson, not an AM). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercenaryChef Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 I'm gonna say it. england would benefit greatly from jonjo shelvey in midfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spockydog Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 1 minute ago, MercurialCannibal said: I'm gonna say it. england would benefit greatly from jonjo shelvey in midfield. Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 10 hours ago, Philokles said: He certainly does not back into De Gea either - he jumps towards the ball past Busquets, then pulls out the way when he sees the keeper coming. It is only because De Gea doesn’t bring the ball in correctly, that he veers way off course to land right on top of Wellbeck. Welbeck knew exactly what he was doing. He deliberately moves into De Gea's landing area. De Gea was in control of the ball until he landed on Welbeck who deliberately positioned himself under the keeper with no intention of challenging for the ball i.e. trying to look innocent. It's a blatant foul and one that any goalkeeper would get in his favour every single time. The ref got that particular call 100% correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemon the Leaner Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 48 minutes ago, Consigliere said: Welbeck knew exactly what he was doing. He deliberately moves into De Gea's landing area. De Gea was in control of the ball until he landed on Welbeck who deliberately positioned himself under the keeper with no intention of challenging for the ball i.e. trying to look innocent. It's a blatant foul and one that any goalkeeper would get in his favour every single time. The ref got that particular call 100% correct. Yup, and the cherry on the cake is that Welbeck still thought the funniest thing to do after robbing such an equaliser was to joyfully celebrate it. Not sure if the guy even has half a brain. Concerning England in general, I would like to point out: Where are the goddamn box-to-box in this team ? It's ironical because at some point, England managers were concerned because they could not play all of Scholes, Lampard, and Gerrard in their team. Despite all of them being world class, they simply could not play together. Now it looks like this kind of player has disappeared. A midfield of Henderson, Dele and Lingard looks well-balanced on paper, but, as @Philokles said, offer very little control /composure. Which brings me to ask: what are the likes of Barkley, Oxlade, Winks.. doing with themselves ? Don't you think they are the box-to-box midfielders that England definitely lack ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Germany/Peru has been a pretty good game. Watched some of the France/Netherlands game before switching over. The Dutch look absolutely clueless in attack. Also not sure why Koeman selected Blind for this game instead of Van Aanholt - Blind has no pace and going up against Mbappe that is a recipe for disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 Portugal are all over Italy but have been wasteful in the final third. If Ronaldo was playing, Portugal would probably be 2 or 3 goals up. The Italian defence has been very shaky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 UEFA set to introduce a third club competition in 2021/2022 pending approval from the executive committee. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/uefa-champions-league-europa-third-club-competition-andrea-agnelli-eca-a8532216.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Interesting article on Xhaka by Sky Sports, following the debate over his role in the Arsenal squad on here recently. It reiterates what both sides were saying: his defensive complacency is an issue for Arsenal, but his importance to Arsenal's build up play often goes under the radar. Since the start of 17/18, no Arsenal player has given away more fouls, received more bookings, been dribbled past more or lost more tackles than Xhaka. On the other hand, in the same time, no Arsenal outfield player has made more passes into the final third than Xhaka's 535. Ozil is far behind in second with 236, though he does occupy a more advanced role than Xhaka. Another interesting stat showed that only de Bruyne, Eriksen, Salah and Hazard have been involved in more open play passing sequences that led to a shot on goal than Xhaka, since the start of last season. I think Isk made the point about Xabi Alonso when he was at Liverpool, that to make up for what he lacked in defensive abilities, there needed to be a willing defensive midfielder around him. With these stats for Xhaka, it would suggest you nearly need two defensive runners around him. Or else one N'golo Kante. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 16 minutes ago, Consigliere said: UEFA set to introduce a third club competition in 2021/2022 pending approval from the executive committee. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/uefa-champions-league-europa-third-club-competition-andrea-agnelli-eca-a8532216.html I wonder if they will consider reviving something similar to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Tickets for Crvena Zvezda CL matches have already been sold out. Had no chance of getting them. Will still try to find a ticket for Liverpool match, but am not optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 4 hours ago, Jordan La Cabra said: Interesting article on Xhaka by Sky Sports, following the debate over his role in the Arsenal squad on here recently. It reiterates what both sides were saying: his defensive complacency is an issue for Arsenal, but his importance to Arsenal's build up play often goes under the radar. Since the start of 17/18, no Arsenal player has given away more fouls, received more bookings, been dribbled past more or lost more tackles than Xhaka. On the other hand, in the same time, no Arsenal outfield player has made more passes into the final third than Xhaka's 535. Ozil is far behind in second with 236, though he does occupy a more advanced role than Xhaka. Another interesting stat showed that only de Bruyne, Eriksen, Salah and Hazard have been involved in more open play passing sequences that led to a shot on goal than Xhaka, since the start of last season. I think Isk made the point about Xabi Alonso when he was at Liverpool, that to make up for what he lacked in defensive abilities, there needed to be a willing defensive midfielder around him. With these stats for Xhaka, it would suggest you nearly need two defensive runners around him. Or else one N'golo Kante. Makes sense. Arsenal doesn't play with a willing defensive midfielder next to him so while his offensive build up is useful, his defensive liabilities shines an even greater light on an already poor defensive back line. I'd rather be more defensively sound with a focus on counter-attacking than worry about building up from the back with defensively liable players who are prone to making mistakes when faced with pressure. But that's just me. We'll see what Emery does on Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I was just reading about this new UEFA Nations League that started, and I wonder how people feel about it. Considering that it was designed to take the place of friendly matches on the yearly calendar, and provide a more organized and competitive format, are we supposed to care a lot about it, or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 It would be nice if UEFA’s new competition was a revived and expanded Anglo-Italian cup. Not that it would ever happen. 13 minutes ago, Corvinus said: I was just reading about this new UEFA Nations League that started, and I wonder how people feel about it. Considering that it was designed to take the place of friendly matches on the yearly calendar, and provide a more organized and competitive format, are we supposed to care a lot about it, or not? Somewhat. It makes for more interesting football than friendlies, but the stakes are too low for it to be that engaging. League D is probably the most interesting part, to see which of the minnows are half decent. Luxembourg and Kosovo look like they are continuing their upwards trajectories at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Spain are destroying Croatia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacuna Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 23 minutes ago, Consigliere said: Spain are destroying Croatia. Six now. Croatia are letting Spain get away with murder outside the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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