soccer soccer soccer

[imb]

Lampard is doing the same thing to Tammy that he did to pulisic. Create competition for the spot, then bench him and test him to earn it back.

 

Plus he has a whole contract situation going on.

[wolf stansson]

Pulisic is a really special player, man. If he were a Croatian and I were a Chelsea die hard, I’d be screaming for him to start every match he’s healthy for. There’s a forced humility and expectations management thing going on because he’s American and we’ve been burned before, but it’s long past obvious that he’s already what we all thought Landon could become after the ‘02 cup. The national team’s slump has cost his reputation, but he’s absolutely capable of being a Robben/Figo/Sterling level global star winger if he stays healthy.

 

Go back and look at some of our posts when he started getting playing time. We were all hesitantly declaring him one of their best attacking options, and despite MANY setbacks (health & COVID), he’s only gotten better & more obviously influential on the games he plays. We have got to get our national team’s horsefeathers together because we’ve never had anything like him.

[wolf stansson]

We’re probably gonna have two American managers at massive, historic bundesliga clubs if the Marsch-Dortmund rumors are true.

 

What a time to be alive. World class American player. American managers at huge European clubs. A national team as weak as its been in 20 years. Truly bizarre.

 

God dammit.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don’t believe this 1000%, but I think you can make the case the national team is as good as it’s been since the peak of the Bradley era. The justifiable frustration at not qualifying and the people in charge of US Soccer, plus Berhalter not caring one bit about the scoreline in friendlies has obscured that they were pretty dominant in competitive play. You have 4 guys getting regular run for champions league teams(plus a half dozen others are regulars in EPL or Bundesliga) and the domestic league is as strong as it ever has been. The pool is insanely young too so you’re likely to get step change improvement instead of tiny marginal gains. Boy do they really need a number 9 to emerge and maintain their level for a bit though, ‘hold your breath and hope Jozy’s body holds up’ is not a great 2022 strategy.

[stitchface]

I don’t believe this 1000%, but I think you can make the case the national team is as good as it’s been since the peak of the Bradley era. The justifiable frustration at not qualifying and the people in charge of US Soccer, plus Berhalter not caring one bit about the scoreline in friendlies has obscured that they were pretty dominant in competitive play. You have 4 guys getting regular run for champions league teams(plus a half dozen others are regulars in EPL or Bundesliga) and the domestic league is as strong as it ever has been. The pool is insanely young too so you’re likely to get step change improvement instead of tiny marginal gains. Boy do they really need a number 9 to emerge and maintain their level for a bit though, ‘hold your breath and hope Jozy’s body holds up’ is not a great 2022 strategy.

 

I think the team probably has as much talent as ever but perhaps they aren't as strong as ever yet. Injuries are worrisome as a lot of the key players seem to be hurt a lot (Pulisic chief amongst them). Add Reyna and the kid at Barca B to the mix . . . very encouraging future.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Yeah, I’m a little worried about the repeat injury history for Pulisic, Adams, and Steffen.

[wolf stansson]

Pulisic healthy and starting today.

 

Hell yeah.

[imb]

Pulisic healthy and starting today.

 

Hell yeah.

 

and earns willian another goal

 

edit: this sponsor logo is capital B brutal

[imb]

Kovacic awful pass, rudiger concedes a corner, which chelsea cant defend, for no reason. Kepa runs into his own man. Azpilicueta just kinda sits there trying to box out a guy who might as well be shaq compared to him, and abraham sits on the post and tries a bicycle kick clearance into his own goal, misses, and the ball casually rolls in. you love to see it lol

[Transmogrified Tiger]

88 million dollars for Kepa, incredible

[wolf stansson]

Azpilicueta just kinda sits there trying to box out a guy who might as well be shaq compared to him

Lamps loves some zonal marking.

[soccer10k]

Well I’m done with VAR. Spurs just had a goal disallowed because, as he was falling down, a defender kicked the ball off Lucas Moura’s upper arm and it went to Kane, who scored. Moura was pretty much on the ground. Oh, and the only reason Moura was on the ground was because he was fouled and the ref played advantage.

 

Ticky tack horsefeathers like this is like the runners foot coming off the bad for 0.04 seconds or how, in basketball, if a guy gets hacked but the refs don’t call it and the ball goes off his hand, it’s the other team’s ball because it went off his hand.

 

This horsefeathers shouldn’t be so hard to figure out.

 

EDIT: I guess I shouldn’t say I’m done with VAR as much as I hate the way the handball rule causes horsefeathers like this to happen.

[stitchface]

Well I’m done with VAR. Spurs just had a goal disallowed because, as he was falling down, a defender kicked the ball off Lucas Moura’s upper arm and it went to Kane, who scored. Moura was pretty much on the ground. Oh, and the only reason Moura was on the ground was because he was fouled and the ref played advantage.

 

Ticky tack horsefeathers like this is like the runners foot coming off the bad for 0.04 seconds or how, in basketball, if a guy gets hacked but the refs don’t call it and the ball goes off his hand, it’s the other team’s ball because it went off his hand.

 

This horsefeathers shouldn’t be so hard to figure out.

 

EDIT: I guess I shouldn’t say I’m done with VAR as much as I hate the way the handball rule causes horsefeathers like this to happen.

 

VAR is great. So glad we have it. Should have called the foul though. The handball rule is dumb. In any case, anything that makes Mourinho suffer is a plus.

 

Got to catch the Werder relegation battle last night - they stayed up. Sargent started and looked like a boy against men in the first half. Came out much better in the second and should have scored after a great run. He could use to be on a better team - Werder is constantly playing long balls up and Sargent's strength does not seem to be in the air. Hopefully Werder reloads and fields a better team next season.

[imb]

the full chelsea experience today

beautiful pulisic goal

concede a stunner

concede a trash goal after 9 consecutive defensive miscues

run around like 4 year olds for the final 20 and almost give away a 3-1 lead

[Transmogrified Tiger]

MLS comes back tomorrow! It’s a fun league and if you’re in this thread you should watch it. I put a preview together for some Euro-based coworkers and thought I’d adapt it here in case others find it worthwhile.

 

If you haven’t followed MLS before, the competitive environment is a mix between the NFL’s parity and MLB’s correlation between money and winning. That means the teams that spend typically stay high up the standings, but the cap suppresses things enough that you don’t have to rebuild for years just to be competitive.

 

For this world cup-style tournament, FC Dallas has already been kicked out for having a bunch of Covid positive tests, which is a bummer(outside the obvious health concern) since they have a bunch of promising American youth players who we won’t see.

 

If you’re just in this out of desperation for sports or only normally watch the world cup:

 

Frontrunning teams: LAFC, NYCFC, Seattle, Toronto

Trendy sleeper teams: Columbus, Colorado,

Deep cut sleepers: Cincinnati, Chicago

 

Players who you’ll see on the US National Team: Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan in Seattle, Jackson Yueill in San Jose, Miles Robinson in Atlanta, Brendan Aaronson in Philadelphia, Aaron Long for New York Red Bulls, and probably a half dozen others I’m forgetting(Dallas would’ve had 4 names alone were they playing)

 

If you mostly watch European leagues, the best quality soccer is likely to come from teams like LAFC, NYCFC, and Seattle, though there isn’t a Juve v. the pack quality as mentioned above. Some foreign players you might see in those Euro leagues soon:

 

- Atlanta has the former South American player of the year(Pity Martinez) and an expensive young Argentinian(Ezequiel Barco) that they want to follow Almiron’s path of starring in Atlanta as attackers before being sold

- Christian Pavon is a regular for Argentina and if he can find form with LA Galaxy he’ll likely get sold on

- With Vela opting out of the tournament, LAFC will be relying more on their wingers Diego Rossi(heavily linked to Italy) and Brian Rodriguez to be stars

[soccer10k]

Well I’m done with VAR. Spurs just had a goal disallowed because, as he was falling down, a defender kicked the ball off Lucas Moura’s upper arm and it went to Kane, who scored. Moura was pretty much on the ground. Oh, and the only reason Moura was on the ground was because he was fouled and the ref played advantage.

 

Ticky tack horsefeathers like this is like the runners foot coming off the bad for 0.04 seconds or how, in basketball, if a guy gets hacked but the refs don’t call it and the ball goes off his hand, it’s the other team’s ball because it went off his hand.

 

This horsefeathers shouldn’t be so hard to figure out.

 

EDIT: I guess I shouldn’t say I’m done with VAR as much as I hate the way the handball rule causes horsefeathers like this to happen.

 

VAR is great. So glad we have it. Should have called the foul though. The handball rule is dumb. In any case, anything that makes Mourinho suffer is a plus.

 

Got to catch the Werder relegation battle last night - they stayed up. Sargent started and looked like a boy against men in the first half. Came out much better in the second and should have scored after a great run. He could use to be on a better team - Werder is constantly playing long balls up and Sargent's strength does not seem to be in the air. Hopefully Werder reloads and fields a better team next season.

 

Yeah, I probably should have just edited my entire post rather than just adding the note at the bottom. Just frustrated at the time.

 

VAR as a whole is good. As with all replay, I think there should be a time limit on it, but it’s much better on the whole than baseball or basketball. I still don’t think somebody should be offsides for being 2 mm past the defender just because I’m not sold they can time everything up correctly. But that falls under the quicker review thing. If it takes that long to tell, just let it be.

 

I hope they change the handball rule though.

 

Also, totally defensible position on Mourinho. I’d love it as much as you if he was managing any other team.

[stitchface]

the handball rule is ridiculous.

 

Pulisic looked good. Having another good threat out there will help him. Nice finish on his goal. I thought Mount looked better too and was wondering if that was because Kante wasn't out there. Could two unstructured players create dysfunction?

[wolf stansson]

MLS comes back tomorrow!

You know I love MLS, and for some reason, I have like zero anticipation for this bubble tournament.

[stitchface]

MLS comes back tomorrow! It’s a fun league and if you’re in this thread you should watch it. I put a preview together for some Euro-based coworkers and thought I’d adapt it here in case others find it worthwhile.

 

If you haven’t followed MLS before, the competitive environment is a mix between the NFL’s parity and MLB’s correlation between money and winning. That means the teams that spend typically stay high up the standings, but the cap suppresses things enough that you don’t have to rebuild for years just to be competitive.

 

For this world cup-style tournament, FC Dallas has already been kicked out for having a bunch of Covid positive tests, which is a bummer(outside the obvious health concern) since they have a bunch of promising American youth players who we won’t see.

 

If you’re just in this out of desperation for sports or only normally watch the world cup:

 

Frontrunning teams: LAFC, NYCFC, Seattle, Toronto

Trendy sleeper teams: Columbus, Colorado,

Deep cut sleepers: Cincinnati, Chicago

 

Players who you’ll see on the US National Team: Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan in Seattle, Jackson Yueill in San Jose, Miles Robinson in Atlanta, Brendan Aaronson in Philadelphia, Aaron Long for New York Red Bulls, and probably a half dozen others I’m forgetting(Dallas would’ve had 4 names alone were they playing)

 

If you mostly watch European leagues, the best quality soccer is likely to come from teams like LAFC, NYCFC, and Seattle, though there isn’t a Juve v. the pack quality as mentioned above. Some foreign players you might see in those Euro leagues soon:

 

- Atlanta has the former South American player of the year(Pity Martinez) and an expensive young Argentinian(Ezequiel Barco) that they want to follow Almiron’s path of starring in Atlanta as attackers before being sold

- Christian Pavon is a regular for Argentina and if he can find form with LA Galaxy he’ll likely get sold on

- With Vela opting out of the tournament, LAFC will be relying more on their wingers Diego Rossi(heavily linked to Italy) and Brian Rodriguez to be stars

 

 

go Republic (whenever they get to join)!

[wolf stansson]

I love Wes McKennie. I think his mean streak, his vocal leadership, and his all-in committed style of play make him a logical choice to be USMNT captain now and for a long time.

 

That said, some of the clubs he's being linked with have to be BS/agent floated.

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/weston-mckennie-expected-to-exit-schalke-clubs-in-england-spain-france-germany-monitoring-situation/

 

He is not a PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool, City-caliber player. Moving to a club like that at 21 will seriously stunt his growth. I would love to see him at Everton, Wolverhampton, or Leicester, where he could actually compete for a regular starting spot.

[stitchface]

I love Wes McKennie. I think his mean streak, his vocal leadership, and his all-in committed style of play make him a logical choice to be USMNT captain now and for a long time.

 

That said, some of the clubs he's being linked with have to be BS/agent floated.

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/weston-mckennie-expected-to-exit-schalke-clubs-in-england-spain-france-germany-monitoring-situation/

 

He is not a PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool, City-caliber player. Moving to a club like that at 21 will seriously stunt his growth. I would love to see him at Everton, Wolverhampton, or Leicester, where he could actually compete for a regular starting spot.

 

I agree those would be bad choices. I likewise cringe when I see Dest tied to the massive clubs. If you can make it there, that's great, but I believe many of those clubs just take any great athlete and try them out. The number of ex-Barca players out there is astounding.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

TSS thought that Southampton(who is going in on RB-esque pressing chaos) would be a particularly fun fit for McKennie. Going to a superclub would be worse than where he is, but pretty much anywhere else(like Hertha Berlin or Newcastle) that's more realistic would likely be better than whatever Schalke is trying to be.

 

I'm less worried about Dest because I think he's capable of that level in fairly short order. You want the right situation so he's not deputizing some 24 year old superstar for years but I don't have any name-brand fear about his future home.

[stitchface]

TSS thought that Southampton(who is going in on RB-esque pressing chaos) would be a particularly fun fit for McKennie. Going to a superclub would be worse than where he is, but pretty much anywhere else(like Hertha Berlin or Newcastle) that's more realistic would likely be better than whatever Schalke is trying to be.

 

I'm less worried about Dest because I think he's capable of that level in fairly short order. You want the right situation so he's not deputizing some 24 year old superstar for years but I don't have any name-brand fear about his future home.

 

speaking of deputizing . . . https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4132368/usmnt-goalkeeper-steffen-set-for-man-city-spot-sources

 

There is no room for growth at the super clubs - you have to produce immediately. That is really my concern with Dest. tbh though, I'm not in much of a position to evaluate how good these guys are.

[wolf stansson]

A lot of scouts are super high on Dest, but I've never seen it with the Nats. He was good at the youth level, but his U-20 team was really, really good at every position, so he didn't necessarily stand out. Not to mention that all Senior Team analysis comes with the great big Berhalter asterisk of how he really doesn't necessarily about putting players in the best position to succeed during friendlies. Also, and perhaps most significantly, I'm not a scout and don't know what I'm looking for 95% of the time.

 

What makes me nervous about Dest is Bayern wanting a loan rather than a buy and Barca being in such dire financial straights looking for long-term flyers that might help them survive a multi-year financial downturn. I feel like if he was as good as Alphonso Davies, they wouldn't be looking for a loan. Chris Richards is apparently doing really well there, so that's exciting. A lot of people really high on him at CB.

[stitchface]

the thing about Davies is he is fast among fast players. I don't think Dest has that kind of speed. From what I read, the question is whether he can defend or not. Going to a Barca or Bayern will allow him to get forward a lot but might not develop his defense as much. Playing for USA, he will be defending a lot more (against stronger opposition). Barca's finances might actually be a good thing if it allows him to play. Will be interesting to see if De La Fuente can break through at Barcelona.