soccer soccer soccer

[bukie]

18 hours ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Mexico was so uninspiring in their Nations League group(two draws to Jamaica and only +5 in two matches against Suriname) that they're the worst of the group winners, which means that they're the USMNT's semifinal opponent in June.  The other semi will be Canada vs. Panama, unless Costa Rica get 2 goals in the next 10 mins in their match v. Panama.

At least this way they're guaranteed a Mexico game. Would have been slightly disappointing to get a Canada-Panama June slate.

[soccer10k]

LOL Chelsea fired Graham Potter.

[wvcbxl]

1 hour ago, soccer10k said:

LOL Chelsea fired Graham Potter.

And Leicester fire Brendan Rodgers.

Would a straight swap be possible?

[stitchface]

Perfect day for Leeds. Still need 7-10 points to stay up in all likelihood.

USMNT's best attacking player can't get on the pitch for a team that can't score. I wonder if Chelsea can find a coach who can build an actual attack?

Meanwhile, the Tuchel honeymoon ends dramatically . . . 

[UMFan83]

11 minutes ago, stitchface said:

Perfect day for Leeds. Still need 7-10 points to stay up in all likelihood.

USMNT's best attacking player can't get on the pitch for a team that can't score. I wonder if Chelsea can find a coach who can build an actual attack?

Meanwhile, the Tuchel honeymoon ends dramatically . . . 

Starting to think Everton might actually survive as well, though Leeds is in a considerably better position of course.  They've played much better with Dyche in charge (12 points in 9 games after 2 points in the last 9 games of Lampard's tenure), though they still can't score worth a damn.

Sad to say that I've been an Everton fan for quite awhile but I've become such a bigger fan the last 2 years with these relegation battles.  Being mid-table without much chance of breaking into the top 4 was ok, but feels like every match now is super meaningful as is scoreboard watching other teams.  Certainly don't *want* to be in a relegation battle, but its added some excitement.

[stitchface]

I think Everton will stay up personally. I haven't really looked at remaining schedule though as that's probably the biggest factor. Just seems like three of Southampton, Forest, Bournemouth and Leicester go down.

[stitchface]

for fun projections - a good number of 6 pointers in there . . . 

Leeds 36

Everton 34

Bournemouth 34

Forest 33

Leicester 33

Southampton 27

[Transmogrified Tiger]

5 minutes ago, stitchface said:

I think Everton will stay up personally. I haven't really looked at remaining schedule though as that's probably the biggest factor. Just seems like three of Southampton, Forest, Bournemouth and Leicester go down.

Everton's remaining schedule isn't too bad, but between the Big 6 matches(@ Man U, v. Newcastle, v. Man City), and a couple tougher road games(Palace, Brighton), my guess is they're in control of their fate but could throw it away in that finale v. Bournemouth.

[stitchface]

Quote

that finale v. Bournemouth.

that could be a survival battle . . . would be fun if winner stays up, loser goes down and tie both go down

[Transmogrified Tiger]

 

Imagine pitching the actions of Chelsea  as a fictional TV show, you'd get laughed out of the room for lack of realism

[stitchface]

My English Chelsea fan friend was pretty happy about this. He sees it as a lost season and this is buying time to get a better long-term selection. I, like you, think it's a bit ridiculous

 

[UMFan83]

On 4/5/2023 at 5:07 PM, stitchface said:

My English Chelsea fan friend was pretty happy about this. He sees it as a lost season and this is buying time to get a better long-term selection. I, like you, think it's a bit ridiculous

 

This logic is all fine and well if you ignore the part that they are currently in the Champions League QFs.

[Banghart]

On 4/4/2023 at 4:23 PM, UMFan83 said:

Sad to say that I've been an Everton fan for quite awhile but I've become such a bigger fan the last 2 years with these relegation battles.  Being mid-table without much chance of breaking into the top 4 was ok, but feels like every match now is super meaningful as is scoreboard watching other teams.  Certainly don't *want* to be in a relegation battle, but its added some excitement.

As a Newcastle fan since the days of Shearer, I can relate to this sentiment so hard. There is a drama with avoiding relegation that is hard to explain in the context of North American sports that makes it so meaningful to just stay in the league, and racing to get 40 points and safety did make for intriguing watches while a Scrooge owned the team.

Have to admit though watching blood money build a Champions League qualifier is a lot more fun though.

[UMFan83]

3 hours ago, Banghart said:

As a Newcastle fan since the days of Shearer, I can relate to this sentiment so hard. There is a drama with avoiding relegation that is hard to explain in the context of North American sports that makes it so meaningful to just stay in the league, and racing to get 40 points and safety did make for intriguing watches while a Scrooge owned the team.

Have to admit though watching blood money build a Champions League qualifier is a lot more fun though.

Everton tried spending blood money to build a Champions League qualifier and it got them into this relegation battle as well as being deep enough into debt that they might get a points deduction 😅

[Banghart]

39 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Everton tried spending blood money to build a Champions League qualifier and it got them into this relegation battle as well as being deep enough into debt that they might get a points deduction 😅

I am aware of the broad strokes of Everton's plight and it is why the way Newcastle has managed to do it so far has been so impressive. They actually haven't gone overboard and while there were big spends in the last few windows, it was always spread out on upgrading 3 to 4 spots versus buying names.

But Everton does seem like barring some major hiccups should manage to survive once again. And then another shot at getting it right finally.

 

[wvcbxl]

City is very impressive against Bayern - fascinating game.

[stitchface]

1 hour ago, wvcbxl said:

City is very impressive against Bayern - fascinating game.

Ruben Dias was so good. Unlike last year, City looked like they knew how to defend. Maybe changing coaches two weeks before the game wasn't such a great idea?

[wolf stansson]

Gio with another late, season-impacting goal. Absolute peak Gio terrible body language leading up to it, too. This is why we love him.

[stitchface]

7 hours ago, wolf stansson said:

Gio with another late, season-impacting goal. Absolute peak Gio terrible body language leading up to it, too. This is why we love him.

Dortmund contriving to drop points spotted a 2-0 lead and an extra player is just so . . . Dortmund. Gio seems to score every time he is out there yet he can barely get off the bench. Chance to get back even and they draw with a team in the relegation battle.

[UMFan83]

Crazy that Lampard couldn't keep Chelsea in the Champions League

[stitchface]

43 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Crazy that Lampard couldn't keep Chelsea in the Champions League

while the sarcasm is running, can't wait for the all-Milan semi!

[stitchface]

43 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Crazy that Lampard couldn't keep Chelsea in the Champions League

It's amazing to me that Chelsea for several years now has looked like they have never played together when they attack. Even coach changes don't seem to change anything. I have to conclude they just keep signing players who don't understand space, angles, and off the ball movement.

[wolf stansson]

10PM kickoff for a week night US Mexico friendly. Bro, I’m 37. I have work in the morning. I hate living in the eastern time zone.

[stitchface]

4 hours ago, wolf stansson said:

10PM kickoff for a week night US Mexico friendly. Bro, I’m 37. I have work in the morning. I hate living in the eastern time zone.

hard to be too interested in this game anyway, isn't it?

[wolf stansson]

4 minutes ago, stitchface said:

hard to be too interested in this game anyway, isn't it?

I’m a true sicko. I would rather watch this game than literally any premier league game.