Football. Sweden then (probably) France, a Waterloo double?

[Soylent Brown]

And surprise surprise Thiago is injured. Buy a fucking midfielder, you absolute clowns.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 hour ago, baxus said:

Not really Basque or GTFO, is it? It is restrictive, but it's not racist. It's "players of either Basque descent or players who were born/grew up in Basque country".

It is, however, the definition of Basque(ness) varied/changed a bit over the years. Thus Inaki Williams is perfectly fine playing for them. Would that have been the case in likesay the 1980s? I guess not. He is also just the second black player in Bilbao's history.

 

[Soylent Brown]

It's amazing the difference it makes, having a centre forward who isn't completely fucking shit on the pitch.

The Fulham defenders actually have something in the middle to worry about so Salah has fewer players marking him.

[Soylent Brown]

That's a dive.

[polishgenius]

Just now, Soylent Brown said:

That's a dive.

 

He missed with the stupid flick out but stepped on both his feet, before and after the failed attempt to foul. 

[Spockydog]

7 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

It's amazing the difference it makes, having a centre forward who isn't completely fucking shit on the pitch.

*nods in Gabriel Jesus*

[Soylent Brown]

Essentially, we've dropped points today because Klopp is a sentimental fool.

[ljkeane]

Yeah, that was rubbish. We were lucky to get the draw. 

Having said that ffs Soylent rein it in. Klopp’s arguably the best manager we’ve ever had and he’s probably the best manager we’re going to have the rest of any of our lifetimes. Perhaps don’t spend your entire time watching the team ranting about him.

[Soylent Brown]

In playing Firmino ahead of much better options, he's actively harming the team.

It doesn't matter how great a manager he is, and what he's achieved in the past, if he's making stupid decisions now.

If you're happy to sit there dumbly watching us play awfully and not making a peep about it, good for you.

[Mark Antony]

Nunez should definitely start. 

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Alright , i missed the match, cause of the early time.

Could someone briefly tell me how they scored ? I see a penalty as well.

Defensive lapses? I saw someone slating TTA for one of the goals. 

[ljkeane]

2 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

In playing Firmino ahead of much better options, he's actively harming the team.

It doesn't matter how great a manager he is, and what he's achieved in the past, if he's making stupid decisions now.

If you're happy to sit there dumbly watching us play awfully and not making a peep about it, good for you.

Firmino isn't quite the player he was in the past but he had 0.82 goals and assists per 90 last year, better than Mane and Jota, and his pressing is still very good. No he didn't have a good game today (neither did most of the starting team) but picking him while they're easing Nunez into the set up is hardly an outrageous decision.

You've always had a massive chip on your shoulder about Firmino but I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the world class football manager who's been closely watching all of Liverpool's preparation probably has a better grasp of the situation than you do. It doesn't mean he can't ever be wrong but, again, rein it in a bit ffs.

[MercenaryChef]

dc signing benteke is kind of wild. he is so physical he'll give defenses fits and really open things up for other attackers playing off him. 

 

21 hours ago, Consigliere said:

 

 

 

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, Soylent Brown said:

Essentially, we've dropped points today because Klopp is a sentimental fool.

Kyrgan Flopp. 

[polishgenius]

Newcastle really should be buying a striker of some sort this summer. Almiron and Wilson are not up to the standard they need as first-teamers.

They score as I type this, albeit from a worldie from Schar.

[MercenaryChef]

20 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Newcastle really should be buying a striker of some sort this summer. Almiron and Wilson are not up to the standard they need as first-teamers.

They score as I type this, albeit from a worldie from Schar.

Wilson would like to have a word.

[Consigliere]

Remember when Gerrard was being touted as a successor to Klopp? The debate between Gerrard and Lampard has gone from 'who's the better player' to 'who's the worse manager'.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

13 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Perhaps a better analogy in the US are the star athletes who accept below-market salaries in order to free up money for a stronger roster around them in pursuit of championships.  Tom Brady is a famous example but it happens in the NBA too.  Also players who are happy to re-sign where they are happy and settled without testing free agency for a bigger salary.  Sometimes players prioritize something other than money.

There aren’t any real alternate leagues for the four major American sports, so you can only see this pattern play out in choices by players of which team to play for and for how much, not which league/country to play in.

I wouldn't use Brady as any comparison point given the uniqueness of his career and that his wife makes a ton more annually than he does. The NBA comp is valid though, but it also comes with flexibility to move in a year or two like in Europe. 

[ljkeane]

Everton going all in on the Gordon wins a penalty strategy then.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

And I thought soilent had the claim to jump to conclusions.

Gerrard has done alright at Villa, thus far. Losing a game to a newly promoted side on the first day of the season doesn'T really make him a better or worse manager. Let's wait and see, how things look after 10 matches. Then things become a bit more indicative of where teams are headed.

Right now, I'd still pick Gerrard as manager over Lampard any given day. From the former English internationals that ventured into management Rooney's first steps at Derby looked interesting/promising. Moving a bit outside the scope of the British media to take his next steps at DC might turn out to be a shrewd career move, too. 

But like I said, too early to judge where their managerial career is going.