Football (Soccer)

[blueharvest]

 

[AverageMan]

Yes, agreed on Toney. Watkins has had a great PL season with Villa but it feels like Toney is closer to taking the step up to international (and one day CL) level. For a tournament being great at pens can't hurt either. I certainly wouldn't complain if Bowen got the nod after his form this season. I tried doing a 23 man squad the other day and he was one of those on the border with a couple of others of making it in. I'll be upset if Palmer doesn't get a chance, another I'd like to come off the bench, and Branthwaite will be a big player for the future if he doesn't make it this time.

Yes, my mate is a big Leeds fan and I've heard a lot about Archie Gray. I think we are going to be stronger at the World Cup than we are here with all these young players making another 2 year's progress.

That is a hot lineup!! Southgate will definitely have Saka in there somewhere. I'd love to be able to fit Trent in the starting midfield, and otherwise to come on as sub. I really hope Luke Shaw is fully fit by the tournament, not sure if likely. Chilwell looked a bit off the pace in these friendlies. Konsa did well and him and Gomez should at least keep some pressure on Maguire if he makes some early errors in the tournament.

If Guehi is fit in time, he should be a starter along side Stones. You wont win anything with Maguire there.
Eze has to go as well if fit.
He's going to take Rashford - even if he had one leg so no point in debating about him. Grealish misses out for me.

 

[Iceman]

If Guehi is fit in time, he should be a starter along side Stones. You wont win anything with Maguire there.
Eze has to go as well if fit.
He's going to take Rashford - even if he had one leg so no point in debating about him. Grealish misses out for me.

I think if Guehi is fit he’ll be there as one of the CBs. Doesn’t seem likely Southgate will drop one of his faves but at least we’ve seen Phillips not make the squad for the last couple of friendlies so maybe there’s a limit. I think most fans would believe Southgate had grown if he dropped Phillips from the Euros squad completely and Maguire and Henderson from the starting lineup. And I don’t mean replace Henderson with Gallagher, got to be someone a bit more exciting like Mainoo/Trent/Palmer.

We seem to have a ton of players injured right now but hopefully most of those are fully fit for June. Eze is another who has done enough to deserve his place. There is just so much competition for places in the wide forward roles, especially on the left with Saka nailing down the right hand side. I’ll have to find my list.

Yeah, doubt Southgate will drop Rashford. His club form has been horrendous and he’s been totally useless without the ball, but at least he seemed to be bettter for England than Utd. So frustrating that we can’t get that massively in form Rashford from the end of last season going into a major tournament. He might be good off the bench in knockout games and at least adds something tactically getting in behind when Kane drops deep.

Also a shame that after the treble season where I thought Grealish had finally made it, he seems to barely have played this season. He seemed to be useful off the bench to keep the ball and win fouls when we were ahead in games.

 

[Iceman]

Bruno is my favourite current player. It would be a huge blow to lose him but I can understand interest from clubs like City and Real and the will to move if those interests materialised. We’d be struggling to stay a top 10 club unless we reinforced very well with the money. I thought his release clause was £100m too.

 

[AverageMan]

Bruno is my favourite current player. It would be a huge blow to lose him but I can understand interest from clubs like City and Real and the will to move if those interests materialised. We’d be struggling to stay a top 10 club unless we reinforced very well with the money. I thought his release clause was £100m too.

Could get a good chunk of business done with a fee like that.

 

[Iceman]

Could get a good chunk of business done with a fee like that.

True. The fans love him though and if I were to get a new shirt, I’d get his name on it (not been many to choose from at Newcastle for many years ). I’d much rather he stayed over getting the reinvestment money, but guess we have to face realities.

 

[AverageMan]

True. The fans love him though and if I were to get a new shirt, I’d get his name on it (not been many to choose from at Newcastle for many years ). I’d much rather he stayed over getting the reinvestment money, but guess we have to face realities.

It's ridiculous that you can have billion pound investment from new owners & still be hamstrung by FFP or what ever it's called.

 

[Iceman]

More bad Toon news:

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali charged with breaking betting rules by FA

Newcastle Uniteds Sandro Tonali alleged to have bet on matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023; Italian is serving 10-month suspension from Italian authorities which began in October last year

www.skysports.com

 

[Iceman]

It's ridiculous that you can have billion pound investment from new owners & still be hamstrung by FFP or what ever it's called.

If FFP was applied properly to all clubs then I wouldn’t mind. I understand that some form of rules like that needs to exist to stop the distortion of fees and wages that can come with a mega investment at any one club.

I think our existing squad before it got ravaged by injuries could have put up a good fight, plus we’d have Tonali back next season. But losing the Crown Jewels during the development phase is hard to swallow, especially when it’s someone as loved as Bruno.

 

[B]

For a club that's had midfield greats like Robson, Scholes, Keane and Carrick we have neglected the engine room disgracefully. In Kobbie we have a brilliant young midfielder we can build around, we saw last night when playing with Rice, Bellingham and Foden how he can link up and help control a game. Rice outlines it in the below article, we have to get top technical midfielders in to play with him, not a cruncher DM who's legs have gone and a technically poor CM like Mctominay.

What Mainoo told Rice proves why he's so important to Man United

The Man United academy graduate made his first start for England on Tuesday evening and he did not fail to leave his calling card.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

I can remember we've spoke about this even as far back as the days of when Scholes was on his way out & then Carrick with no successor in sight for either. Then & we've had a few players come in & do short term jobs like Matic or Casemiro, but ultimately we've not done enough to bring in top young talent to the position.

I consider central midfield the most important position on the pitch, it's a position that can never be too strong & you can never have too much depth. Unfortunately in the last 10+ years, we've not been particularly strong nor had enough depth.. so much so that a player with as poor technical ability as McTominay somehow & depressingly has managed 250 games for us.

Mainoo looks so refreshing, for his age his composure on the ball is fantastic, if he can be brought along in the right way he could be a gem for both us & England. Surrounding him with the right balance of technical ability, experience & tackling ability will only benefit his development & ours.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Yes, agreed on Toney. Watkins has had a great PL season with Villa but it feels like Toney is closer to taking the step up to international (and one day CL) level. For a tournament being great at pens can't hurt either. I certainly wouldn't complain if Bowen got the nod after his form this season. I tried doing a 23 man squad the other day and he was one of those on the border with a couple of others of making it in. I'll be upset if Palmer doesn't get a chance, another I'd like to come off the bench, and Branthwaite will be a big player for the future if he doesn't make it this time.

Yes, my mate is a big Leeds fan and I've heard a lot about Archie Gray. I think we are going to be stronger at the World Cup than we are here with all these young players making another 2 year's progress.

That is a hot lineup!! Southgate will definitely have Saka in there somewhere. I'd love to be able to fit Trent in the starting midfield, and otherwise to come on as sub. I really hope Luke Shaw is fully fit by the tournament, not sure if likely. Chilwell looked a bit off the pace in these friendlies. Konsa did well and him and Gomez should at least keep some pressure on Maguire if he makes some early errors in the tournament.

That got me thinking, what will the 23 man squad be

Defenders - Stones/Gomez/Guéhi/Walker/Konsa/Maguire/Shaw/
Midfield - Rice/Bellingham/Mainoo/Trent/Palmer/Gallagher
Forwards - Kane/Saka/Gordon/Foden/Toney/Bowen

I put Gallagher in the midfield options simply because the other options are Phillips and Henderson haven't done anything this season to merit going, and in truth I think Rashford will get in ahead of either Bowen or Gordon.

Gray will be snapped up by one of the big Prem clubs for a big fee in the next couple of years Imo, he's actually really good at RB as well as a #6.

Saka would be more of an impact sub in that formation but in the one Southgate uses I agree he'll start and Trent would probably play in Mainoo's role in midfield if he's picked. I think Gomez will start the tournament at LB and they'll ease Shaw in with hopes of him being up to speed for the Knockout stages.

I see he scored twice. . Definitely a big talent for the future. Congrats to Todd Boehly on turning him down for Chelsea.

it's unlike Boehly to turn down the chance to buy somebody, must be why they are now interested in Estevão, to make up for it.

The lad looks amazing. Can’t believe he’s 16. Real and Barca seem to be stockpiling outstanding kids with this guy, Vitor Roque, Endrick and Arda Guler.

It's the smart move really, it's basically cutting out the middleman teams like Ajax, Dortmund, Benfica, Porto, Sporting etc....who buy loads of young talent in the hope one will develop into a player they can then sell for an extortionate amount to the big clubs. As you said Real and Barca have done a good job with this and City have followed suit with Alvarez and Echeverri from River Plate. The South American market is particularly ripe for this type of signing, next up is the aforementioned Estevão.

More bad Toon news:

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali charged with breaking betting rules by FA

Newcastle Uniteds Sandro Tonali alleged to have bet on matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023; Italian is serving 10-month suspension from Italian authorities which began in October last year

www.skysports.com

Really good player but he's either dumb or has an addiction problem, to make bets after already being banned for 10 months suggests the latter to me. With this news I think you have to keep hold of Bruno Guimeras, I know the collective has been greater than the sum of it's parts but longterm I think your owners will be looking to evolve the quality of the squad and I'd say only Guimeras, Isak, Gordon, Botman and Livramento are the only ones I think you can build around with obviously youngsters like Miley and Hall still developing.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I can remember we've spoke about this even as far back as the days of when Scholes was on his way out & then Carrick with no successor in sight for either. Then & we've had a few players come in & do short term jobs like Matic or Casemiro, but ultimately we've not done enough to bring in top young talent to the position.

I consider central midfield the most important position on the pitch, it's a position that can never be too strong & you can never have too much depth. Unfortunately in the last 10+ years, we've not been particularly strong nor had enough depth.. so much so that a player with as poor technical ability as McTominay somehow & depressingly has managed 250 games for us.

Mainoo looks so refreshing, for his age his composure on the ball is fantastic, if he can be brought along in the right way he could be a gem for both us & England. Surrounding him with the right balance of technical ability, experience & tackling ability will only benefit his development & ours.

Midfield is absolutely the most important area of the team, it's the hub that connects defense and attack, and I think more now than ever, with long ball football dying out, it's crucial that you're strong in that area. Look at the last 15 years of the Champions League, the 2 most successful clubs have been Barcelona and Real Madrid, yes they had great forwards like Ronaldo, Messi, Benzema, Villa etc....but those midfield trios of Busquets/Xavi/Iniesta and Casemiro/Modric/Kroos were the heartbeats of those teams.

We have to build around Mainoo without a doubt, for now Bruno and Mount are going to be in the mix but we need to get in players like Joao Neves and Archie Gray as well as someone like Palacios from Leverkusen or Varela from Porto.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[BlackFox]

Going to be a mad summer one way or another, Euros as well always leads to some crazy panic buys of the Poborsky type.

Cant wait.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Going to be a mad summer one way or another, Euros as well always leads to some crazy panic buys of the Poborsky type.

Cant wait.

No doubt, it's going to be unpredictable I think, I'm calling Danny Welbeck to United on a free and someone will go for this guy given he's free, first touch has a 20 yard radius at times but he's good in the air and very physical.

 

[Iceman]

Big blow for Liverpool fans. If he stays at Leverkusen then I hope he has a good season again to show it wasn't a complete freak. I think there will be many interested parties for Florian Wirtz, also very much looking forward to seeing him at the Euros.

 

[Iceman]

Midfield is absolutely the most important area of the team, it's the huh that connects defense and attack, and I think more now than ever, with long ball football dying out, it's crucial that you're strong in that area. Look at the last 15 years of the Champions League, the 2 most successful clubs have been Barcelona and Real Madrid, yes they had great forwards like Ronaldo, Messi, Benzema, Villa etc....but those midfield trios of Busquets/Xavi/Iniesta and Casemiro/Modric/Kroos were the heartbeats of those teams.

We have to build around Mainoo without a doubt, for now Bruno and Mount are going to be in the mix but we need to get in players like Joao Neves and Archie Gray as well as someone like Palacios from Leverkusen or Varela from Porto.

Totally agreed. This is also why IMO 4-4-2 got phased out. You can't have 2 strikers too often nowadays if that means you're up against a team where you're outnumbered in the central midfield battle which is the most important fight in dictating which team gets the upper hand and control of the match. Once you lose the CM battle you're going to spend more time without the ball meaning your strikers get isolated and can't contribute as much as the added midfielder for the opposition who is in the heart of the battle. Hopefully Mainoo can develop into a complete midfielder and be a key figure for Utd and England for the next 15 years.

 

[blue scholar]

Big blow for Liverpool fans. If he stays at Leverkusen then I hope he has a good season again to show it wasn't a complete freak. I think there will be many interested parties for Florian Wirtz, also very much looking forward to seeing him at the Euros.

I feel like Alonso, along with Wirtz, will leave after next season. They will probably see how far they can go in the CL before moving on.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Iceman]

Newcastle losing 3-1 at home to West Ham. The poor run continues.

 

[Iceman]

Oh wow, penalty from Isak and now Barnes gets an equaliser! Got some momentum now and actually pushing for a winner!

 

[Iceman]

Barnes again! 4-3 from 3-1 down!!

 

[Iceman]

Amazing to get 3 points out of that. Gordon got sent off in injury time but otherwise hopefully that's the boost we need to recover a bit this season.

 

[Iceman]

Chelsea merely drew 2-2 at home to Burnley having been 1-0 up while Burnley were down to 10 men! Good to see Palmer scoring 2, 1 from a pen. Feels like England could do with Palmer and Toney being there any time we get penalties as they both have a decent chance to score.

Sheff Utd Fulham looked an interesting game finishing 3-3.

Spurs came back from a goal down to beat Luton 2-1 while Villa got a good home result beating Wolves 2-0. Both of those look well clear to finish top 5 now.

Brentford vs Utd up now.

 

[Iceman]

Proper late smash and grab job there by Utd! 1-0 with Mount getting the winner after Brentford had had a lot of chances.

Edit: spoke too soon, still time for Brentford to get an equaliser!!