The 20-21 season football thread

Credit where its due, aside from Mullers miss, we dominated the 2nd half. Not great to watch and just look at the change when Grealish came on, had a hand in both goals with Shaw so must start next game.

Kane looked injured to me, hardly moving and aside from the goal, no contribution.

But, we do NOT need 2 holding mids v Ukraine on Sat.
 
I don't expect GS to deviate much from what is proving to be a successful formula, injuries permitting ?
 
cambsno said:
Kane looked injured to me, hardly moving and aside from the goal, no contribution.

But, we do NOT need 2 holding mids v Ukraine on Sat.
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Kate is not increasing his prospects of finding a new club a lot of good is he ? £100,000,000 spent on the young kid Bukayo Saka looks better value ?

P.S correction:- I mean Kane of course
 
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badlywornroy said:
Lets study this 'pearl of wisdom' a little more.

Roberto Martinez (manager of little Belgium) The World No ranked team since sept 2018. World cup semi-finalist in 2018 (like England)
Played 60 matches, Lost 4, win record 78%.

But Martinez " has won nothing as a manager of a senior team at club or national level " (your words in italics)

By your criteria I assume this makes Martinez a failure ?
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You forgot the FA Cup win managing Wigan when they beat Man City.
Just correcting your inaccurate musings and please give the attitude a rest now.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Southgate has won nothing as a manager of a senior team at club or national level, is that accurate enough for you.

One other thing don't get so f*****g stroppy, who do you think you are behaving like that?
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I dont think thats a problem - after all, Cappello had won loads and failed with us!

Southgates recor
tijuana taxi said:
You forgot the FA Cup win managing Wigan when they beat Man City.
Just correcting your inaccurate musings and please give the attitude a rest now.
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Butthen you have successful managers like Capello who were failures for England!
 
badlywornroy said:
Kate is not increasing his prospects of finding a new club a lot of good is he ? £100,000,000 spent on the young kid Bukayo Saka looks better value ?
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Saka has had a year, maybe two of playing well. Kane has been a proven goalscorer at all levels in the last 6 years - all strikers go through drops of form, if I was Man City I would not be too bothered. He will still get 25+ goals next season if playing for City!
 
So much for the Klinsman talk. Just been announced that Nuno Espirito Santo (ex Wolves ) is the new Spurs manager. This appointment won't be enough to keep Harry Kane there.
 
JohnC6 said:
So much for the Klinsman talk. Just been announced that Nuno Espirito Santo (ex Wolves ) is the new Spurs manager. This appointment won't be enough to keep Harry Kane there.
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Could be worse - you could have Arteta!
 
cambsno said:
Could be worse - you could have Arteta!
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I see Arsenal had the worst start to a season in 46 years last season with only 4 wins and one draw in the first 12 games and I see the fixtures at the start of the season haven't fallen favourably.
DateTimeMatch
14/08/202115:00Brentford v Arsenal
21/08/202115:00Arsenal v Chelsea
28/08/202115:00Manchester City v Arsenal
11/09/202115:00Arsenal v Norwich City
18/09/202115:00Burnley v Arsenal
25/09/202115:00Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur

I don't usually listen to talkSport because I reckon about 70% is taken up with adverts which I find extremely annoying especially at the speed many of them are delivered at of them but it's the income that keeps it going and one of them is Bet 365..The backing song to it just happens to be the one taken up by England fans. 'Sweet Caroline'. What a smart move. That song will be associated with the England team each timne the ad is featured. If England win the tournament then it will be doubly advatageous as it will be associated with succes.

I've tuned in a lot these past 24 hours because, fair play to the station, it spends a fair bit of time on the latest football news (it's all Wimbledon on Five Live) and I wanted to hear opinions of NE Santo. A Portuguese,I see, same as Mourinho. I see it's only a 2 year contract. Lessons learnt and all that, I assume ? The comments were, on the whole, positive quoting his initial success at Wolves which eventually floundered and good reasons given as to why that came about. One 'expert' said that Matt Doherty who played under Santo at Wolves is delighted . Doherty was there for 7 1/2 years and Santo turned him into one of the top Premiere League right wing backs which is why ,last August, he went to Spurs however, he lost that sparkle. for all but the whole of the season until the end after Mourinho had gone and 'came to life' with fans describing him on Twitter as 'class'. Doherty has said that NE Santo was the best coach he's played under and that he takes every training session. I read that back in March Wolves were interested in re-signing Doherty .I'm not as downbeat as I was intiallly.

Here's the opinion of the Sports Editor of the Express as to which players at Wolves NES would like to have at Spurs. He has until the end of August when the window closes. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/foo...ttenham-Hotspur-Nuno-Espirito-Santo-transfers
On Wolves possible transfers

www.birminghammail.co.uk

Wolves favourite to complete two deadline day transfers

Latest Wolverhampton Wanderers transfer news from BirminghamLive brings what deals bookmaker SkyBet think Bruno Lage's side will complete before the Tuesday deadline
www.birminghammail.co.uk www.birminghammail.co.uk

I think it's a given that Kane will be at Manchester City soon..to replace Aguero so that £100-115 million transfer fee should buy in a couple of decent players.
 
Jelster said:
Well, that was a good result. A pretty good performance I thought.
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It was dull and not exciting ;) - in fact stress levels were about zero!

Shaw has nailed that no.3 position - immense all tournament. I would replace Walker with Trippier for Weds, and personally swap Mount for Foden/Grealish.
 
cambsno said:
It was dull and not exciting ;) - in fact stress levels were about zero!

Shaw has nailed that no.3 position - immense all tournament. I would replace Walker with Trippier for Weds, and personally swap Mount for Foden/Grealish.
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I think he's saving Grealish, he will be an Italian/Spanish nightmare.
 
Never been a believer of Shaw, always thought he was overrated, but he has been outstanding in this tournament. Some of the players are really coming out of their shells, Maquire was also excellent yesterday, another player I always thought didn't live up to the hype.

Sometimes it's good to be wrong ;)
 
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Excellent result against a team that must have been absolutely knackered after their last game against Sweden. Really enjoying the fact we’re winning, even if it’s a little pragmatic - but I do worry about us against stronger competition going forward.
 
One game at a time.

The next one will definitely be tougher…
 
Jelster said:
Never been a believer of Shaw, always thought he was overrated, but he has outstanding in this tournament. Some of the players are really coming out of their shells, Maquire was also excellent yesterday, another player I always thought didn't live up to the hype.

Sometimes it's good to be wrong ;)
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What I like about Maguire is that he brings the ball out of defence.

Never seen us control games like this before. Its a very Italian way of doing it.
 
Lots of positives from that game. I think Pickford and Sterling have been my top England players so far. Sterling is everywhere on the pitch. Maguire and Henderson were excellent. My only criticism of England yesterday, was that we looked a little narrow at the back, which allowed Ukraine too much room on both wings.
 
andya700 said:
Lots of positives from that game. I think Pickford and Sterling have been my top England players so far. Sterling is everywhere on the pitch. Maguire and Henderson were excellent. My only criticism of England yesterday, was that we looked a little narrow at the back, which allowed Ukraine too much room on both wings.
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Whilst I agree that the formation did leave us a little exposed at times, Southgate had the confidence in central defenders to deal with it. A team that has a pacey attack would worry me though.

So far Southgate has proved himself a wise choice as manager, he's had the time to work with, and rebuild this team, some of who are still quite young, and the depth of talent has been beneficial. Was Vardy dropped or injured? I'm sure his very direct style would have come in handy, so far Rashford is the only one who has really failed to impress, but he's being played out wide, not through the middle.
 
Jelster said:
Whilst I agree that the formation did leave us a little exposed at times, Southgate had the confidence in central defenders to deal with it. A team that has a pacey attack would worry me though.

So far Southgate has proved himself a wise choice as manager, he's had the time to work with, and rebuild this team, some of who are still quite young, and the depth of talent has been beneficial. Was Vardy dropped or injured? I'm sure his very direct style would have come in handy, so far Rashford is the only one who has really failed to impress, but he's being played out wide, not through the middle.
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Apparently, after the 2018 World Cup where he was hardly used. he asked to be stood down from International football unless there was an injury crisis. I think he is one of the finest strikers we have had. I think Rashford is being played out of position, he should be more central.
 
Jelster said:
Never been a believer of Shaw, always thought he was overrated, but he has been outstanding in this tournament. Some of the players are really coming out of their shells, Maquire was also excellent yesterday, another player I always thought didn't live up to the hype.

Sometimes it's good to be wrong ;)
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Shaw was very good when he went to Utd, but has suffered for a few years with injuries. Last season, seemingly back to full fitness, got him into the squad, and he's proved it a wise choice. Maguire always seems to play good for England, but I have not been impressed with him at Utd, especially given the fee, but don't care as long as he does it for England. ;) I wouldn't have put him in the team. but as you, "it's good to be wrong". ;)

andya700 said:
Lots of positives from that game. I think Pickford and Sterling have been my top England players so far. Sterling is everywhere on the pitch. Maguire and Henderson were excellent. My only criticism of England yesterday, was that we looked a little narrow at the back, which allowed Ukraine too much room on both wings.
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Sterling had a good first half, but faded in the 2nd half a bit. Pickford has been very good too, but his kicking out from the back can be a bit questionable. Henderson came on and seemed to be looking forward to attack more than Rice, and Phillips seemed to move back a bit to compensate. Easier to do when you are already ahead. ;)

Jelster said:
So far Southgate has proved himself a wise choice as manager, he's had the time to work with, and rebuild this team, some of who are still quite young, and the depth of talent has been beneficial. Was Vardy dropped or injured? I'm sure his very direct style would have come in handy, so far Rashford is the only one who has really failed to impress, but he's being played out wide, not through the middle.
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I think Vardy semi retired from international football after the World Cup, and said he would play if there was an injury crisis. (andya700 beat me to it ;))

Rashford did not look happy yesterday, and there was one passage of play I noticed where he went for a ball, didn't get it and virtually stopped for a few seconds, shoulders hunched, before starting to jog around again. Almost like it were the final few minutes of an extra time game and he was knackered, not like someone who should have been chomping at the bit considering he only came on in the 65 minute. :oops: :$:thinking: The body language did not look good. Hopefully nothing in it. :) Rashford did not have form coming into the competition though, maybe stuff going on in the background.
 
redhed17 said:
Henderson came on and seemed to be looking forward to attack more than Rice, and Phillips seemed to move back a bit to compensate. Easier to do when you are already ahead. ;)
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I like the Henderson/Philips combination. I think Henderson is more creative than Rice and it enables Philips to play more as a defensive centre midfielder which I believe is his more natural role for Leeds.
 
wibbly said:
I like the Henderson/Philips combination. I think Henderson is more creative than Rice and it enables Philips to play more as a defensive centre midfielder which I believe is his more natural role for Leeds.
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To be fair, that's exactly why Rice is there, he spent the first part of his career at West Ham as a CB, only more recently coming into midfield. As mentioned, creativity was the only thing lacking in the first half. I wonder if that keeper's hands are still stinging from that Kane volley :LOL:
 
Whilst watching Jadon Sancho weave in an out of defenders the name that immediately came to mind was Lionel Messi. Could he be England's Messi ?

The 27 goals he scored in the Bundesliga before his 20th birthday makes him the highest scoring teenager in the league's history . He's a great buy for Manchester United . Players like him can win games..as Ronaldo did when he was there.

The other young player that impressed with similar skills was Bukayo Saka. Maybe we have two 'Messis' :)

The World Cup starts on November 18th next year and by that time I think the England team will be even better. Sancho is 21 years old. Saka even younger at 19. Phil Foden..21..Jude Bellingham 18.. Mason Mount..22.. Rashford. ..23 Declan Rice.. 22. Reece James..21 . Combine these with the older ones...maybe I should include Grealish ( he's like a fire-cracker.lol) at 25 Sterling at 26. .we have a formidable team going to Qatar.

How on Earth did they get it ? A clue .They paid an initial $400million then an additional $480 million was also offered by the Qatar government, three years after the initial offer, bringing the total amount to $880 million..The documents are now part of the bribery inquiry by Swiss Police. The FIFA President at the time was Sepp Blatter who was banned for any involvement with FIFA for, initially, 6 years then an additional 6 years so 12 years so when I ask how they got it I'd imagine Blatter had a bit more than 'something to do with it'.
 
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I would guess that there was another few million into his offshore account. A world cup in Qatar, in the summer? WTF were they thinking of?
 
JohnC6 said:
Whilst watching Jadon Sancho weave in an out of defenders the name that immediately came to mind was Lionel Messi. Could he be England's Messi ?

The 27 goals he scored in the Bundesliga before his 20th birthday makes him the highest scoring teenager in the league's history . He's a great buy for Manchester United . Players like him can win games..as Ronaldo did when he was there.

The other young player that impressed with similar skills was Bukayo Saka. Maybe we have two 'Messis' :)

The World Cup starts on November 18th next year and by that time I think the England team will be even better. Sancho is 21 years old. Saka even younger at 19. Phil Foden..21..Jude Bellingham 18.. Mason Mount..22.. Rashford. ..23 Declan Rice.. 22. Reece James..21 . Combine these with the older ones...maybe I should include Grealish ( he's like a fire-cracker.lol) at 25 Sterling at 26. .we have a formidable team going to Qatar.

How on Earth did they get it ? A clue .They paid an initial $400million then an additional $480 million was also offered by the Qatar government, three years after the initial offer, bringing the total amount to $880 million..The documents are now part of the bribery inquiry by Swiss Police. The FIFA President at the time was Sepp Blatter who was banned for any involvement with FIFA for, initially, 6 years then an additional 6 years so 12 years so when I ask how they got it I'd imagine Blatter had a bit more than 'something to do with it'.
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I think Southgates problem is we have so many great players - Foden, Grealish, Sancho would get into pretty much any team. Add in the potential of Bellingham and the current form of Kane and Sterling... not to mention Saka and Mount... then we have a CL league in Chillwell who is way behind Shaw now, plus TAA & James who are young, plus Trippier...
 
Jelster said:
I would guess that there was another few million into his offshore account. A world cup in Qatar, in the summer? WTF were they thinking of?
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They were thinking of air conditioned stadia, well, they do have the oil to power them :(:rolleyes:
 
JohnC6 said:
Whilst watching Jadon Sancho weave in an out of defenders the name that immediately came to mind was Lionel Messi. Could he be England's Messi ?

The other young player that impressed with similar skills was Bukayo Saka. Maybe we have two 'Messis'
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I know the post may have partly been in jest, but why put pressure on any player to be the new 'whomever'!

And when you are comparing to one of the greatest players to ever play the game, it is a high bar to reach. 672 goals (and counting) for Barcelona in 778 games are stats and a ratio of goals to games that few midfielders get close to, and certainly not over the time of Messi (and Ronaldo). Lewandowski's goal ratio is better than them both, but as an out and out striker, in the most dominant team in a league is a different type of player to Messi and Ronaldo. Sadly I think Sancho may be compared more to Ronaldo because of the Utd connection.

Having not seen much of Sancho, but aware of his stats for Dortmund and the rave reviews, it will be interesting to see how he is in the Premier League with Utd.

I've really liked Saka for Arsenal where he rally stood out, but he doesn't seem an automatic pick for the Gunners atm, and his goal ratio is nowhere near Sancho, never mind anyone else. A bright future ahead of him though, and he seems a nice lad with a good head on his shoulders for one so young.
 
redhed17 said:
I know the post may have partly been in jest, but why put pressure on any player to be the new 'whomever'!

And when you are comparing to one of the greatest players to ever play the game, it is a high bar to reach. 672 goals (and counting) for Barcelona in 778 games are stats and a ratio of goals to games that few midfielders get close to, and certainly not over the time of Messi (and Ronaldo). Lewandowski's goal ratio is better than them both, but as an out and out striker, in the most dominant team in a league is a different type of player to Messi and Ronaldo. Sadly I think Sancho may be compared more to Ronaldo because of the Utd connection.

Having not seen much of Sancho, but aware of his stats for Dortmund and the rave reviews, it will be interesting to see how he is in the Premier League with Utd.

I've really liked Saka for Arsenal where he rally stood out, but he doesn't seem an automatic pick for the Gunners atm, and his goal ratio is nowhere near Sancho, never mind anyone else. A bright future ahead of him though, and he seems a nice lad with a good head on his shoulders for one so young.
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I agree with you and what I omitted and should have said was..'In the making'. I didn't mean to compare Saka with Messi at this stage in Saka's career but it's what happens when outstanding talent shows in a youngster. I wondered if the Arsenal fans thought the same about Saka so I've just Googled it. Not just me,then and much earlier. :) Dated September 2019.

guardian.ng

Arsenal fans convinced Bukayo Saka is ‘next Lionel Messi’ after Frankfurt win | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News

Saka scored his first goal for Arsenal as they beat 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 in the first round of Europa League group matches yesterday, reports Reuters.
guardian.ng

I did the same for Jaden Sancho and came across this.

www.football365.com

If Mbappe is the new Ronaldo, who's the new Messi? Five candidates...

Football365 Mbappe destroyed Messi and Barcelona in the changing of the guard, but who will he fight for all the Ballon d'Ors?
www.football365.com www.football365.com

Mbappe 'the new Ronaldo. Must be depressing for Messi (34) and Ronaldo (36)..being written off :D
 
Saka has been on the lips of Gooners for a few years. He stood out in some of the youngsters games, and as soon as he got into the squad, he started to impress. We have a couple of excellent youngster in the side, Smith-Rowe is another but has been injured some of this last season.
 
A lovely gesture by the England team before kick-off on Wednesday's game with Denmark. They have an England shirt with Erikson's name on it signed by the players.
 
Jelster said:
Saka has been on the lips of Gooners for a few years. He stood out in some of the youngsters games, and as soon as he got into the squad, he started to impress. We have a couple of excellent youngster in the side, Smith-Rowe is another but has been injured some of this last season.
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I heard his head teacher (junior school) talking about him today on Radio 5 Live ..Adrian Chiles,this morning. A really decent lad by all accounts as well as a talent at that age.

I'll watch out for Smith-Rowe,then when the season starts.

I see Patrick Viereira is now manager at Crystal Palace. I wondered where he came from with that name. He's from Dakar,Senegal and Vieira, which is Portuguese, is the maiden name of his mother, who is from Cape Verde. His grandfather served in the French Army, making him eligible for French nationality from birth. His surname Vieira, which is Portuguese is the maiden name of his mother, who is from Cape Verde which was discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century.

Bit of a diversion from Arsena/Crystal Palace :D Sometimes,I wish I could just take things on face value :)
 
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JohnC6 said:
I heard his head teacher (junior school) talking about him today on Radio 5 Live ..Adrian Chiles,this morning. A really decent lad by all accounts as well as a talent at that age.

I'll watch out for Smith-Rowe,then when the season starts.

I see Patrick Viereira is now manager at Crystal Palace. I wondered where he came from with that name. He's from Dakar,Senegal and Vieira, which is Portuguese, is the maiden name of his mother, who is from Cape Verde. His grandfather served in the French Army, making him eligible for French nationality from birth. His surname Vieira, which is Portuguese is the maiden name of his mother, who is from Cape Verde which was discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century.

Bit of a diversion from Arsena/Crystal Palace :D Sometimes,I wish I could just take things on face value :)
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I didn't realise that PV4 had taken the job at Palace; that's great to see, and part of me is hoping that he'll end up at the Emirates in the future. Such an inspirational leader of men, in the true sense, not expecting anybody to do something he wouldn't do himself; but likewise, expecting his team mate to give their all for the cause. We started to lose our way after he left, Henry just covered over the issues.

I always remember an interview with Martin Keown "Our strategy was simple, we win the ball at the back, get the ball to Patrick, who makes sure it gets to Thiery, and we score" :LOL:
 
I think Smith-Rowe was possibly more eye catching and influential than Saka, and I was surprised Villa had been linked with him. And not surprised that Villa would want him btw, but that it shouldn't have been a story, because Arsenal should have a 'not for sale' sign on him and Saka.
 
redhed17 said:
I think Smith-Rowe was possibly more eye catching and influential than Saka, and I was surprised Villa had been linked with him. And not surprised that Villa would want him btw, but that it shouldn't have been a story, because Arsenal should have a 'not for sale' sign on him and Saka.
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I think Smith-Rowe has the potential to be better than Saka - another Grealish or similar. Trouble is playing in a poor team may not help him.
 
Italy now have a chance of the dream double, Eurovision and Euro 20/21

Something England will never be able to even dream of
 
Could have been a WBMT post, but did not get the commentators last night telling us what a 'great game' Italy Spain was.

It had a few chances yes, I have seen far worse, but generally the chances were not clear, and it was just possession football.

Think (if we get through tonight) Spain would have been the easier game, but Italy are no better than we are,
 
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