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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (8 Viewers)

Gator, It sure looks like Klopp has been building towards Firmino starting up top through the pre-season, but I don't think that's an indication of how things will start, I think that's a function of Sturridge and Origi arriving late.

I'm convinced that Origi/Sturridge will be the two main guys up top throughout the season.  

(On a side note, Sturridge is going to be tough to keep healthy.  He's too good to sell to a rival, and he wants to play. Tough juggling act for Klopp to keep him and Origi happy)

My opening day lineup is as follows

                       Origi

Coutinho         Firmino          Mane

           Can/Hendo    Wijnaldum

Moreno      Ragnar     Lovren       Clyne

                      Piggy

The biggest problem I think is that Klopp's dream lineup would be 

                         Origi

           Firmino             Mane

   Can            Wijnaldum        Lallana

But that would involve benching Coutinho.  Oddly enough, I think the "non-Coutinho" lineup could potentially perform much better than the Coutinho lineup.  But benching a guy that is perceived as the best player will be tough.

Ultimately, Klopp will make use of Coutinho and Sturridge this season, but I see them both as being off in 2017, CL or not.

I'm hoping to be wrong as I love both players, but the Firmino/Lallana/Mane type of attacker (high energy, pressing) is what he wants, not necessarily the fancy dribbling, long shooting of Coutinho.

Also, I'm on an island among the LIV fanbase, but I think Milner would make a fantastic LB.

 
I've seen the dances, the hashtags and the glitz and glamour of Pogba.  But let's talk about the player.

Where does he lineup?  I have to admit, I don't watch Serie A.  Juventus fans generally like him, and he's highly rated.  In the few CL and Euro games I watched, he seemed like any other midfielder, albeit one with more size and dribbling ability.

Is his playing style anything like that of Yaya Toure or will he play deeper?  At that deep role, aren't you taking away from his strengths?  

Large fee aside, there's no question he adds a lot of talent to their roster.  Just trying to figure out where he'll play.  He's sure to dominate in the 36 games he doesn't face Emre, I'm sure of that.

 
Steve Tasker said:
I believe so.  I just meant English tax in general, like, say 49 million GBP for Raheem Sterling or 35 million GBP for Andy Carroll.....
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I know what you meant.  I just think it's funny.  The market has gone crazy.  Meanwhile the most expensive GK transfer is STILL Gigi to Juventus.  Not enough is made of that when we talk about Buffon's resume. 

 
I do think Stones makes a lot of sense for City.  Much more sense than for Chelsea.  Stones' one premium skill is passing out of the back.  That's not a luxury on a Pep team.  It's a necessity.  Pep will live with some of the mistakes.   Looking forward to Stones' partnership with Fernadinho in the back.

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
I do think Stones makes a lot of sense for City.  Much more sense than for Chelsea.  Stones' one premium skill is passing out of the back.  That's not a luxury on a Pep team.  It's a necessity.  Pep will live with some of the mistakes.   Looking forward to Stones' partnership with Fernadinho in the back.
Click to expand...
I'm so pumped Pep is in the EPL.  The Pep/Klopp battles in the Bundesliga were great.  Now we get that, PLUS we get Mourinho and Conte.  

So much excitement for this season. 

 
shader said:
I'm so pumped Pep is in the EPL.  The Pep/Klopp battles in the Bundesliga were great.  Now we get that, PLUS we get Mourinho and Conte.  

So much excitement for this season. 
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pep and mourinho will be even better, city/united is on par with Barca/losblancos

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
I do think Stones makes a lot of sense for City.  Much more sense than for Chelsea.  Stones' one premium skill is passing out of the back.  That's not a luxury on a Pep team.  It's a necessity.  Pep will live with some of the mistakes.   Looking forward to Stones' partnership with Fernadinho in the back.
Click to expand...
didn't know that about Stones. just seemed like a standard-issue, decent in the air and tackle kind of guy when I've seen him.

 
Slapdash said:
El Floppo said:
lol.

am I off-base in remembering that Pep usually has a very active and deep-lying holding MF (ie: Xabi) to help clean things up back there as well as offer options playing the ball out of the back? who is that guy for City? Yaya? Fernadinho?
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:lol:
Click to expand...
:goodposting:

that's why I asked the question. I could see yaya retuning his game and playing deeper and maybe trying... or not giving a ####. one of those

 
Swansea has been busy bringing in 2 new strikers from Spain in Llornte and Borja Baston and resigning Gylfi.  They also sold Ayew to West Ham and Ashley Williams to Everton.  They lose a ton of leadership with Williams walking but overall I think Swansea once again did good business.  Bringing Ayew in on a free transfer and selling him for 20M and getting 12M for a 31 year old defender is shrewd and what the club needs to do to survive. 

I feel much better then I did a week ago and like how things are headed

                          Llorente

                        Sigurdson

Montero      Cork       Briton      Barrow

Taylor        Armat   Fernandez   Rangel

                       Fabianski

Z - any insight on Borja?  He scored 18 goals for Eibar last season so wondering why he didn't fit into Atletico's plans. 

 
El Floppo said:
:goodposting:

that's why I asked the question. I could see yaya retuning his game and playing deeper and maybe trying... or not giving a ####. one of those
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Gundogan did play deep at times with Dortmund, but that isn't his normal place.  Of course, Pep plays a different style than Dortmund.

 
Atlético Starting XI, slightly modified 4-4-2, new names in bold.

                   Gamiero

           Grizi

                                    Gaitán

Koke

             Sául       Gabi

Felipe    Savic   Godín     Juanfran

                 Oblak                  

Gamiero and Grizi can switch off at the point of the attack.  Koke, Saúl, and Gaitán can all move around the midfield as needed.  Carrasco can play in the attacking midfield, or can move up with Grizi and Gamiero into a 3 man front.  El Niño and Ángel Correa will also get runs at striker, giving Grizi some needed rest.  Decent depth in Hernández and Giménez at center back, Vrsaljko at right or left back, Tiago to spell Gabi.

Very solid team through the core.  Talent from top to bottom and youth to vet.  The only question is do they have the firepower to continue to challenge Barça and RM?  I see a slight shift towards the attack, especially against weaker opponents.

 
shader said:
I've seen the dances, the hashtags and the glitz and glamour of Pogba.  But let's talk about the player.

Where does he lineup?  I have to admit, I don't watch Serie A.  Juventus fans generally like him, and he's highly rated.  In the few CL and Euro games I watched, he seemed like any other midfielder, albeit one with more size and dribbling ability.

Is his playing style anything like that of Yaya Toure or will he play deeper?  At that deep role, aren't you taking away from his strengths?  

Large fee aside, there's no question he adds a lot of talent to their roster.  Just trying to figure out where he'll play.  He's sure to dominate in the 36 games he doesn't face Emre, I'm sure of that.
Click to expand...
At Euro '16, Deschamps tried Pogba at a deeper position than he was accustomed to at Juve, & it was a massive handicap to Pogba's strengths.  However, who doesn't play "deep" under Mourinho?  

 
I know, it was just a crass generalization...but he's Portuguese, & they're always fair game..

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Z Machine said:
Atlético Starting XI, slightly modified 4-4-2, new names in bold.

                   Gamiero

           Grizi

                                    Gaitán

Koke

             Sául       Gabi

Felipe    Savic   Godín     Juanfran

                 Oblak                  

Gamiero and Grizi can switch off at the point of the attack.  Koke, Saúl, and Gaitán can all move around the midfield as needed.  Carrasco can play in the attacking midfield, or can move up with Grizi and Gamiero into a 3 man front.  El Niño and Ángel Correa will also get runs at striker, giving Grizi some needed rest.  Decent depth in Hernández and Giménez at center back, Vrsaljko at right or left back, Tiago to spell Gabi.

Very solid team through the core.  Talent from top to bottom and youth to vet.  The only question is do they have the firepower to continue to challenge Barça and RM?  I see a slight shift towards the attack, especially against weaker opponents.
Click to expand...
that's a lot of G

 
Random thoughts while I stare at the clock waiting for the weekend:

My idea for a revamp of the Champions League:

What are the current problems?  Not enough money, competition feels stale, etc.  

I think there are a few reasons why the Champions League isn't NEARLY as good as it could be.  First of all, the games are played on Tuesday/Wednesday and are scrunched into long and exhausting league seasons.  Second, you're rewarding team's that did a great job LAST YEAR.  I know it's always been done this way, and maybe this is an American point of view, but this is the one part of the whole thing I don't like.  Leicester last year should have had a shot to take that team to Europe.  Now they are going to take a much different, and likely much worse team.

My fix:

Run leagues from Mid-August to Mid-April.  There will be no CL or Europa League to get in the way so they can focus on the league all the time.  I think this increases interest in league play and also chops off a bit of the marathon style.  Yeah there will be more double game-weeks, but not that many.  (for england, get rid of the stinking League Cup)

Run the Champions League from Mid-April to the end of May.  That's 6 weeks to get through 13 games (for two teams only).  The Champions League becomes the only thing anyone is talking about, and it is represented by the best teams of THAT SEASON.

This seems like a simple solution.  Perhaps too simple.  I'd dig it.

 
shader said:
Random thoughts while I stare at the clock waiting for the weekend:

My idea for a revamp of the Champions League:

What are the current problems?  Not enough money, competition feels stale, etc.  

I think there are a few reasons why the Champions League isn't NEARLY as good as it could be.  First of all, the games are played on Tuesday/Wednesday and are scrunched into long and exhausting league seasons.  Second, you're rewarding team's that did a great job LAST YEAR.  I know it's always been done this way, and maybe this is an American point of view, but this is the one part of the whole thing I don't like.  Leicester last year should have had a shot to take that team to Europe.  Now they are going to take a much different, and likely much worse team.

My fix:

Run leagues from Mid-August to Mid-April.  There will be no CL or Europa League to get in the way so they can focus on the league all the time.  I think this increases interest in league play and also chops off a bit of the marathon style.  Yeah there will be more double game-weeks, but not that many.  (for england, get rid of the stinking League Cup)

Run the Champions League from Mid-April to the end of May.  That's 6 weeks to get through 13 games (for two teams only).  The Champions League becomes the only thing anyone is talking about, and it is represented by the best teams of THAT SEASON.

This seems like a simple solution.  Perhaps too simple.  I'd dig it.
Click to expand...
damn, I want your weekend 

 
shader said:
Random thoughts while I stare at the clock waiting for the weekend:

My idea for a revamp of the Champions League:

What are the current problems?  Not enough money, competition feels stale, etc.  

I think there are a few reasons why the Champions League isn't NEARLY as good as it could be.  First of all, the games are played on Tuesday/Wednesday and are scrunched into long and exhausting league seasons.  Second, you're rewarding team's that did a great job LAST YEAR.  I know it's always been done this way, and maybe this is an American point of view, but this is the one part of the whole thing I don't like.  Leicester last year should have had a shot to take that team to Europe.  Now they are going to take a much different, and likely much worse team.

My fix:

Run leagues from Mid-August to Mid-April.  There will be no CL or Europa League to get in the way so they can focus on the league all the time.  I think this increases interest in league play and also chops off a bit of the marathon style.  Yeah there will be more double game-weeks, but not that many.  (for england, get rid of the stinking League Cup)

Run the Champions League from Mid-April to the end of May.  That's 6 weeks to get through 13 games (for two teams only).  The Champions League becomes the only thing anyone is talking about, and it is represented by the best teams of THAT SEASON.

This seems like a simple solution.  Perhaps too simple.  I'd dig it.
Click to expand...
my link

 
shader said:
Random thoughts while I stare at the clock waiting for the weekend:

My idea for a revamp of the Champions League:

What are the current problems?  Not enough money, competition feels stale, etc.  

I think there are a few reasons why the Champions League isn't NEARLY as good as it could be.  First of all, the games are played on Tuesday/Wednesday and are scrunched into long and exhausting league seasons.  Second, you're rewarding team's that did a great job LAST YEAR.  I know it's always been done this way, and maybe this is an American point of view, but this is the one part of the whole thing I don't like.  Leicester last year should have had a shot to take that team to Europe.  Now they are going to take a much different, and likely much worse team.

My fix:

Run leagues from Mid-August to Mid-April.  There will be no CL or Europa League to get in the way so they can focus on the league all the time.  I think this increases interest in league play and also chops off a bit of the marathon style.  Yeah there will be more double game-weeks, but not that many.  (for england, get rid of the stinking League Cup)

Run the Champions League from Mid-April to the end of May.  That's 6 weeks to get through 13 games (for two teams only).  The Champions League becomes the only thing anyone is talking about, and it is represented by the best teams of THAT SEASON.

This seems like a simple solution.  Perhaps too simple.  I'd dig it.
Click to expand...
wtf

yeah.. that was all terrible.

 
El Floppo said:
wtf

yeah.. that was all terrible.
Click to expand...
Dude, I thought it up on the way home from lunch so yeah it wasn't perfect.  And yeah, the CL is a bit broke.  They know it, everybody knows it.  The entire first part of the year is basically a snooze-fest and it's rare that anything substantial happens.  

It's like taking the group stages of the Euros (which wasn't the most exciting thing in history) and stretching them out over a period of 3 months.

I love the CL playoff rounds as they are.  But if they are looking to increase ratings and bring in more money for the CL (which they are), then they need to think outside the box, (which they are supposedly doing).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
@shader

The Champions League is reportedly set to be reformed from the 2018/19 season onwards, with changes to qualification rules for the top four leagues in Europe.

Under a proposed new qualification format, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga could all be guaranteed four clubs qualifying automatically every season.

However, one new feature of the rule is that while the top three teams in each domestic league would earn a place in the group stage, the fourth would be decided on something described as ‘historical merit’, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

It’s not yet clear what the specifics of this will mean, but the aim is to keep in giants of the game such as Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan, all of whom have been in and out of the competition in recent years due to poor showings in the league.

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/08/09/champions-league-rule-changes-could-see-automatic-qualification-for-four-premier-league-clubs-every-season-6057734/#ixzz4Gs91rCcr

If this passes - I blame Shader imo

 
Sinn Fein said:
@shader

The Champions League is reportedly set to be reformed from the 2018/19 season onwards, with changes to qualification rules for the top four leagues in Europe.

Under a proposed new qualification format, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga could all be guaranteed four clubs qualifying automatically every season.

However, one new feature of the rule is that while the top three teams in each domestic league would earn a place in the group stage, the fourth would be decided on something described as ‘historical merit’, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

It’s not yet clear what the specifics of this will mean, but the aim is to keep in giants of the game such as Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan, all of whom have been in and out of the competition in recent years due to poor showings in the league.

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/08/09/champions-league-rule-changes-could-see-automatic-qualification-for-four-premier-league-clubs-every-season-6057734/#ixzz4Gs91rCcr

If this passes - I blame Shader imo
Click to expand...
he's the worst.

 
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