soccer soccer soccer

[stitchface]

"19.10 BST: Wolves reportedly lead a long list of suitors for Schalke and United States midfielder Weston McKennie, according to a report from CBS.

 

The report says due to financial struggles at Schalke 04, the German club might be forced to sell the American to recoup funds. Valued at £20 million, McKennie, 21, is reportedly being monitored by Liverpool, Wolves, Newcastle, Everton and others, with the Wolverhampton club thought to be the favourites.

 

McKennie, who has scored six goal in 19 caps for the USMNT, reportedly favours a move to a club where he can be assure of playing time, which all but rules Liverpool out."

 

 

Wolves would be good I think as they are competitive right now and should be playing in Europe next year.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Wolves would be a very good situation for McKennie. The biggest downside is if they don't end up in Europe(right now it looks like they'll need Man City to lose their appeal), they typically play with a pretty tight 11 so playing time might be more sparse than we'd like.

[stitchface]

Wolves would be a very good situation for McKennie. The biggest downside is if they don't end up in Europe(right now it looks like they'll need Man City to lose their appeal), they typically play with a pretty tight 11 so playing time might be more sparse than we'd like.

 

They're in a Europa League spot right now. I was under the impression it was a tight 11 because they can't afford a deep bench. Is that not the case?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Wolves would be a very good situation for McKennie. The biggest downside is if they don't end up in Europe(right now it looks like they'll need Man City to lose their appeal), they typically play with a pretty tight 11 so playing time might be more sparse than we'd like.

 

They're in a Europa League spot right now. I was under the impression it was a tight 11 because they can't afford a deep bench. Is that not the case?

 

It looks like they have better odds than I thought, I forgot about the FA Cup granting a Europa League spot and since the finalists all have higher positions in the table it gives them more margin for error.

 

For Wolves' 11, its' a bit of both. They don't have as much depth as the big clubs for money reasons, but even relative to their peers they keep things tighter. There's 126 field players with 2000+ EPL minutes this year, Wolves have 10 of them and no other team has more than 8. And that's in a year where they're still alive in the Europa League too. They've done a lot of sports science investment to try to keep their core guys on the field more instead of rotating and risking results.

[stitchface]

caused me to look this up . . . good grief

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/47806720#:~:text=The%20top%20four%20teams%20in,go%20into%20the%20Europa%20League.

[stitchface]

so, any spurs fans want to complain about handball and VAR today? Haha - I know you aren't like that. I seriously think Spurs fans should root for whatever gets Mourinho fired the fastest . . .

[imb]

Freaking greenwood. Fernandez, pogba and Greenwood are a scary trio

[wolf stansson]

Wolves would be a very good situation for McKennie. The biggest downside is if they don't end up in Europe(right now it looks like they'll need Man City to lose their appeal), they typically play with a pretty tight 11 so playing time might be more sparse than we'd like.

You're right, but man, he'd be a good fit for their style. I think he'd break in. Especially based on the kind of money they'll have to spend to get him. For a club like wolves, something around $25m is a huge, significant investment.

[soccer10k]

so, any spurs fans want to complain about handball and VAR today? Haha - I know you aren't like that. I seriously think Spurs fans should root for whatever gets Mourinho fired the fastest . . .

 

I can complain about how Kane was shoved over from behind and should have had a PK 5 minutes in but the main official and VAR ref didn’t give it.

 

I’m more okay with that one being called since the ball went in directly off the arm. It certainly appeared to be on target before it hit the arm and no Spurs player would have kept it out had it not hit the arm so I think that should stand. If the ball wasn’t going in and took the same deflection and then went in, that shouldn’t count since it would have only gone in because of the hand ball.

 

As for Jose, with how much money they’re paying him and how tight Levy is with money, he won’t be going anywhere soon unfortunately. Just one hell of a fall. To go from being a talented young team that finished 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and went R16 (16 points in a group with Real and Dortmund), finalist, R16 in the UCL to might not even finish in a Europa spot is amazing. All because horsefeathering Levy wouldn’t spend a bit on players to refresh the squad so he exiled the best coach they’ve had in 60 years.

[stitchface]

Champions League Draw this AM - going to be a few weeks of awesomeness come August.

 

Barca/Napoli winner gets Bayern/Chelsea winner

then winner of

Juve/Lyon winner versus City/RM winner

 

PSG on the easy track with Atalanta and then winner of Athletico/Leipzig - not that beating Athletico is ever easy (right Klopp?)

[stitchface]

so, any spurs fans want to complain about handball and VAR today? Haha - I know you aren't like that. I seriously think Spurs fans should root for whatever gets Mourinho fired the fastest . . .

 

I can complain about how Kane was shoved over from behind and should have had a PK 5 minutes in but the main official and VAR ref didn’t give it.

 

I’m more okay with that one being called since the ball went in directly off the arm. It certainly appeared to be on target before it hit the arm and no Spurs player would have kept it out had it not hit the arm so I think that should stand. If the ball wasn’t going in and took the same deflection and then went in, that shouldn’t count since it would have only gone in because of the hand ball.

 

As for Jose, with how much money they’re paying him and how tight Levy is with money, he won’t be going anywhere soon unfortunately. Just one hell of a fall. To go from being a talented young team that finished 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and went R16 (16 points in a group with Real and Dortmund), finalist, R16 in the UCL to might not even finish in a Europa spot is amazing. All because horsefeathering Levy wouldn’t spend a bit on players to refresh the squad so he exiled the best coach they’ve had in 60 years.

 

 

well, no need to complain since the PL admitted it was a mistake . . .

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I would flip that and say Atalanta has a surprisingly great shot at making the final. They're in excellent form and have enough upcoming games to be sharp but also a short break to be rested for UCL. PSG is always a bit of an unknown in Europe and they haven't played a game in 4 months. Add in that it's just 1 game and there's no home field/crowd benefit, it wouldn't shock me at all to see Atalanta win convincingly like Ajax did over Madrid and Juve last year.

[stitchface]

I would flip that and say Atalanta has a surprisingly great shot at making the final. They're in excellent form and have enough upcoming games to be sharp but also a short break to be rested for UCL. PSG is always a bit of an unknown in Europe and they haven't played a game in 4 months. Add in that it's just 1 game and there's no home field/crowd benefit, it wouldn't shock me at all to see Atalanta win convincingly like Ajax did over Madrid and Juve last year.

 

Regardless of PSG's penchant for choking, that side of the bracket appears substantially softer. Would love to see Atalanta go to the final . . .

[soccer10k]

I would flip that and say Atalanta has a surprisingly great shot at making the final. They're in excellent form and have enough upcoming games to be sharp but also a short break to be rested for UCL. PSG is always a bit of an unknown in Europe and they haven't played a game in 4 months. Add in that it's just 1 game and there's no home field/crowd benefit, it wouldn't shock me at all to see Atalanta win convincingly like Ajax did over Madrid and Juve last year.

 

I had the same thought on PSG. Instinct is to pick them from that side but no games for 4 months will affect them somewhat.

[stitchface]

City ban overturned. I don't know the details on this, but it sure seems like the FFP is just too confusing and arbitrary. This significantly changes the landscape of european football.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Frontrunning teams: LAFC, NYCFC, Seattle, Toronto

Trendy sleeper teams: Columbus, Colorado

Deep cut sleepers: Cincinnati, Chicago

 

Some great examples of how dumb I am/weird MLS is already here. Toronto was up 2 goals and a man at halftime and ended up drawing, Seattle played a boring 0-0 draw, Colorado got smacked by their rivals 2-0, Cincinnati got smacked even worse by theirs(Columbus), NYCFC still hasn't scored a goal this year, and Chicago hasn't played yet since they got moved into a new group after the tourney already started.

[imb]

The SKC game was hilarious. Dominate the ball and go up 1-0 (should have been more.) Late in the second half Melia picks up a red tripping a player outside the box with like 15 minutes left even though he had one and possibly two defenders behind him and the goal would have merely been an equalizer. SKC goes down a man and puts a guy in goal who looked like Adam Goldberg's character from Friends. They quickly concede twice and lose 2-1.

 

i really do enjoy MLS, seems like something bizarre happens every other match

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The SKC game was hilarious. Dominate the ball and go up 1-0 (should have been more.) Late in the second half Melia picks up a red tripping a player outside the box with like 15 minutes left even though he had one and possibly two defenders behind him and the goal would have merely been an equalizer. SKC goes down a man and puts a guy in goal who looked like Adam Goldberg's character from Friends. They quickly concede twice and lose 2-1.

 

i really do enjoy MLS, seems like something bizarre happens every other match

 

And that wasn't even the most inexplicable thing that happened in that game! Sporting had the lead because Tyler Miller got so excited to cut off a centered pass that he ran away from the ball and goal

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[imb]

I think the announcers said something like "well .... that's curious goaltending."

[wolf stansson]

Chris Richards is apparently doing really well there, so that's exciting. A lot of people really high on him at CB.

https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2020/7/9/21318042/chris-richards-transfer-news-rumors-loan-bayern-munich-bundesliga-chelsea-arsenal-valencia-belgium

 

Lots of big time interest in Richards, but Bayern have him in their long-term plans and only want a loan within the Bundesliga to keep him close.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

My favorite(if it's not gauche to call it a favorite) recent soccer story is of Wigan Athletic in the Championship. They have changed owners twice in the last couple years, and despite having very little debt relative to their peers, they were strangely put into administration less than a month after being sold in June. There are numerous theories on why, my favorite which is semi-plausible is the owners are trying to ensure they get relegated(administration carries a 12 point penalty) so a big bet from the Phillippines pays off:

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

However, Wigan the team is basically going full Major League amidst that backdrop, they currently lead Hull 7-0 at halftime, and with only 2 games after today they have a reasonable shot of avoiding relegation even after the points deduction.

[stitchface]

My favorite(if it's not gauche to call it a favorite) recent soccer story is of Wigan Athletic in the Championship. They have changed owners twice in the last couple years, and despite having very little debt relative to their peers, they were strangely put into administration less than a month after being sold in June. There are numerous theories on why, my favorite which is semi-plausible is the owners are trying to ensure they get relegated(administration carries a 12 point penalty) so a big bet from the Phillippines pays off:

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

However, Wigan the team is basically going full Major League amidst that backdrop, they currently lead Hull 7-0 at halftime, and with only 2 games after today they have a reasonable shot of avoiding relegation even after the points deduction.

 

That is bizarre . . . and sad if true.

 

Two more young americans to wolfburg - loving this americans to the bundesliga trend (I think its a trend but have to admit I just started paying attention recently).

 

I think I can get into MLS once Sacramento has a team. San Jose has a great stadium but its such a pain to get to that requires leaving before lunch to make kickoff.

[imb]

*the mls defender has logged on*

 

Zlatan's Serie A output this year is basically the same as his 2 years in MLS

[Transmogrified Tiger]

*the mls defender has logged on*

 

Zlatan's Serie A output this year is basically the same as his 2 years in MLS

 

And if he's playing anything like he did in MLS, he puts out no defensive effort and basically commands that the entire offensive structure be about giving him crosses. It's telling that in a team that had 2 Mexico regulars, Lletget, and Pavon(for half the year); that Zlatan outscored the rest of the team combined and they barely made the playoffs.

[stitchface]

*the mls defender has logged on*

 

Zlatan's Serie A output this year is basically the same as his 2 years in MLS

 

And if he's playing anything like he did in MLS, he puts out no defensive effort and basically commands that the entire offensive structure be about giving him crosses. It's telling that in a team that had 2 Mexico regulars, Lletget, and Pavon(for half the year); that Zlatan outscored the rest of the team combined and they barely made the playoffs.

 

Why does anybody care about Zlatan?