Paid Members tiger_rick Posted July 14, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted July 14, 2021 Beautiful volley by Bobby Reid for Jamaica's second here Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted July 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted July 15, 2021 On 7/6/2021 at 1:59 PM, tiger_rick said: Hawking Umtiti and Pjanic for free and are willing to take around Ā£20m for Coutinho who cost them Ā£142m. The one big player they did shift off the books last summer, Luis Suarez, won Atletico the title. They're a complete shambles. Suggestion is that they're swapping GriezmannĀ for Saul Niguez just to get him off the wage bill. They paid 120m euro for him andĀ will now swap him for a player valued at less than a third of it. Atleti got Felix to replace him, added Suarez for nothing, will now get Griezmann back and have already signed Rodrigo di Paul. Meanwhile Barca are resigning a 34yo Messi on 50% of his wages, which is still 500-700k a week depending on who you believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted July 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted July 15, 2021 On a 5 year contract no less! He's clearly their greatest player of all time, and still their best player by some distance, but his contact expiring gave them a good chance to start afresh. That said, apparently he makes the club so much money that his reduced wages makes his new contract worthwhile. Laporta had the club in good shape when he was president before. With their shrewd free transfers, decent youngsters coming through and if they ship out some of the overpaidĀ players (which they will take a financial hit on initially), they could be back to being a force in no time. I've heard people claim they will be the 'next Milan' (ie will have a similar downfall)- I don't think there's any chance of that.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted July 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted July 15, 2021 5 minutes ago, PunkStep said: Laporta had the club in good shape when he was president before. With their shrewd free transfers, decent youngsters coming through and if they ship out some of the overpaidĀ players (which they will take a financial hit on initially), they could be back to being a force in no time. I've heard people claim they will be the 'next Milan' (ie will have a similar downfall)- I don't think there's any chance of that.Ā As long as Messi is as good as he is, they should be there or there abouts. I don't think a downfall is unquestionable. People forget now because we're so used to total domination by several clubs of the big leagues that it's not always been the case. The money is astronomically different now but when Barca were struggling (and struggling for them is finishing 6th, let's be clear) pre-Maradona and pre-Ronaldinho, they still had all the advantage in the world over clubs who were just doing things better than they were. There's no way they want to take a hit on Griezmann and give him to Atleti of all clubs but they have to because they just can't shift the likes of Umtiti, Coutinho, Roberto and Panjic quick enough. Seems at the moment no-one will pay what they earn at Barca and/or pay a fee on top. FWIW, I think they'll have a couple of years of not winning but qualifying for the CL to keep the money coming in and then clear all this shit slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 As soon as they get a bit of breathing space I imagine theyāll sack off Red Ronnie and bring Pep back who will somehow manage to work his magic (whilst spending Ā£500m on players). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted July 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted July 15, 2021 1 hour ago, tiger_rick said: As long as Messi is as good as he is, they should be there or there abouts. I don't think a downfall is unquestionable. People forget now because we're so used to total domination by several clubs of the big leagues that it's not always been the case. The money is astronomically different now but when Barca were struggling (and struggling for them is finishing 6th, let's be clear) pre-Maradona and pre-Ronaldinho, they still had all the advantage in the world over clubs who were just doing things better than they were. Yep and that is why I think they will be fine. Barca and Real - albeit riddled with debt - can spend. Atletico are in a healthy state financially however the rest of La Liga pretty much tread water and have to be very clever with how they deal with squad personnel etc. Barca are a huge global brand now (unlike pre-Maradona and to a lesser extentĀ pre-Ronaldinho), as proved by attracting those recent free transfers. All three of those could potentially have a huge impact at any other La Liga club outside the top 3. Even if Barca have to seriously tighten the cash straps for the next couple of years, they can easily continue to strengthen their squad because we are in the golden age of the Bosman. The free-spending in recent years was always going to result in a crash and the pandemic has caused that to happen sooner and/or on a larger scale. All kinds of players are running down their contracts (not just those in the twilight of their career) because theyĀ are simply unaffordable whilst under contract. The official best player of the Euros, aged only 22, moving on a free this summer is the perfect example. Just look at who will be available next summer as it stands: Mbappe Goretzka Varane (although he's probably going to United this summer) Pogba Camavinga Dybala Insigne Ronaldo Sabitzer Belotti Stones Sule Pedri Dembele Fati Ā Madness. Quite a few of those were stand-out players during the Euros. The likes of Barca, Real, Bayern, Juve and PSG will be able to hoover these players up. Bayern and Juve have been playing the Bosman game for years to terrific results (although Juve are starting to get burnt by the 'offer a huge contract to the free agent' tact, e.g. Ramsey). Barca are now starting to catch up, although due to necessity rather than out of choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted July 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted July 16, 2021 With the Euros done and dusted, with the World Cup on the horizon next year, I've been thinking about who will be the next generational teams- i.e. the next Belgium. Next year could be the the last hurrah for the Belgian group of players, apart from a couple of decent youngsters they don't appear to be replenishing the top talent they have. Norway seem an obvious choice from Europe to become a key side as they have a number of decent young players (Haaland, Odegaard, Berge, Hauge). I think the world needs to follow the USA (sorry, USMNT) very closely. They have an extremely talented group of young players plying their trade in Europe. Next year's World Cup will give the youngsters some great experience and put them in good stead for their home tournament 4 years later. If this talent continues to improve, I can genuinely see them challenging for the 2026 World Cup. At that World Cup, the Canadians (also a host nation) could actually get a result or two under the belt, with Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David already looking like they'll become the best players to ever represent them.Ā Any other sides (other than the usual big teams) stand out for youĀ for the coming years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Well, I did think Venezuela a while back, but they had a dreadful Copa and will certainly miss out on the WC. A shame as they have a generational talent in Soteldo, but the players around him don't seem all that. Cameroon (my boys) look strong after a few years being dodgy, and have a decent spine again. Proof will be seen in January in the AFCON though. Hosting should help them. Still annoyed at Le Coq Sportif taking over the kits though. Canada are really exciting. I read a fascinating piece recently on them and the development they've been through. Will rack my brains as to where that was for you and link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Just another normal night in the Copa Libertadores. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 22, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 22, 2021 Some cracking ties lined up for the Europa Conference League today. Aberdeen vs Hacken should be a genuinely good game, and a close one.Ā PogoÅ Szczecin vs Osijek might have some violence in it, and I reckon there will be a few goals in Apollon vsĀ Žilina. Molde vs Servette might also be a belter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 30, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 30, 2021 Happened across this on YouTube earlier. Not so much the game I'm interested in, that we all know about, but Jimmy Hill's pundtry afterwards, which is so ahead of its time about the failings of English football. Really interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said: Jimmy Hill's pundtry afterwards, which is so ahead of its time about the failings of English football. Really interesting. He was always an incredible football brain. Obviously thereās a Coventry bias at play but he was one of the revolutionary minds who changed football.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Jimmy Hill, like Graham Taylor, was another example of the tabloid press caricaturing someone until they become a figure of fun. That, and "chinny reckon/Jimmy reckon" meant that a whole generation never took him seriously. Both fantastically insightful men, who deserved a lot more respect. Just found out theres a young player in the Venezuelan league called Klinsmann Yendis. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 30, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 30, 2021 11 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: He was always an incredible football brain. Obviously thereās a Coventry bias at play but he was one of the revolutionary minds who changed football.Ā One of the few voices around that time who wasn't buying the English football superiority complex either. I always quite enjoyed Terry Venables doing this sort of thing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 9 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: English football superiority complex Donāt think Iāve mentioned it on here before but āThose Feetā by David Winner is a must read for this.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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