2014/15 Association Football (Soccer) thread

[SpartanMalice]

Liverpool fan here. Rafa is a bit of a wildcard honestly. He did give us our iconic Istanbul moment, fair enough, but his playstyle well, can't really pin it. The 08-09 team played some superfluous football, but around the time he left the team was mediocre, and he made questionable signings as well (N'Gog, Aquilani, Krygiakos).

Carlo being sacked by Perez is not surprising, just disgusting. Makes you wonder, with all the offensive and "flavour of the season" players they signed this year - whether he had more control over the transfers or if it was entirely Perez. I mean Real went from a winning formula in midfield that had the perfect balance - ADM the engine, Xabi who's a pass master and good at defense, and Modric the No. 10 - to 4 number 10s who are essentially playing out of position.

Also notice that their midfield isn't exactly physical this year, and both the teams who countered them - Valencia and Juventus - overpower them in midfield.

 

[No Luck Involved]

Perez is an idiot, RM have more money than sense as usual and lol @ FIFA

Also WOOOO Arsenal 4-0 in the FA Cup!!!!

Wenger must have such an easy after match motivational speech; I can imagine it now: "You have won the FA Cup twice in a row and that is a great achievement, not many teams in history have accomplished that. The last team to do it went the whole next season unbeaten." <does the little smile...>

 

[Analytic]

COYG!

 

[Sapientia]

Liverpool fan here. Rafa is a bit of a wildcard honestly. He did give us our iconic Istanbul moment, fair enough, but his playstyle well, can't really pin it. The 08-09 team played some superfluous football, but around the time he left the team was mediocre, and he made questionable signings as well (N'Gog, Aquilani, Krygiakos).

Carlo being sacked by Perez is not surprising, just disgusting. Makes you wonder, with all the offensive and "flavour of the season" players they signed this year - whether he had more control over the transfers or if it was entirely Perez. I mean Real went from a winning formula in midfield that had the perfect balance - ADM the engine, Xabi who's a pass master and good at defense, and Modric the No. 10 - to 4 number 10s who are essentially playing out of position.

Also notice that their midfield isn't exactly physical this year, and both the teams who countered them - Valencia and Juventus - overpower them in midfield.

The midfield was not really that bad this year. Modric and Kroos worked pretty well, but they could not compensate Modric' injury. You have to blame Perez for not buying enough good back ups, so that you don't have to start Ramos in midfield in a CL semifinal, but that was also Carlo's fault for not giving Illarra and Khedira any chances. Even though their back-ups were not really good enough, no one forced Ancelotti to play the whole season with only 14 or 15 players.
Nonetheless it is stupid to sack a coach like Ancelotti (same goes for Guardiola, Mourinho or any other top tier coach), because there are not better alternatives on the market. I'm pretty sure that Ancelotti also refused some stupid signings Perez wants to do for his "ultimate team"

 

[SpartanMalice]

Oh the midfield was far from bad, it was great, hence why they plowed through teams trying to play defensively vs them with ease. To date, the only teams who've beat Real Madrid this season were the ones bold enough to actually attack them. And when that happens, regardless of talent, you have to consider, who whoever wins the midfield battle. It's like when Yaya Toure and Fernandinho were up against Coutinho and Joe Allen. I consider Coutinho to be a very good creative player, but against a powerhouse like Toure, that's not an even match up.

In Khedira's case I think he was injured for quite a while. I consider Illara and Khedira different players though. Khedira isn't really a DM, he's a b2b. Still would have filled a void left by Di Maria. Illara would have probably benefited longer if Xabi'd stayed, but he is a decent DM. Isco is a great player, but he is not meant to fill the void left by ADM/Xabi leaving and Modric being injured for a large period of time. He's a different kind of player.

IIRC Mourinho left RM because he wanted a go at Chelsea again, and I think they kind of had differences around the time he left (RM). I don't think anyone will ever oust Guardiola, despite everyone knowing how to counter tiki-taka these days.

Perez goes through sacking a lot of good managers anyway and he never bothers to listen to the masses so he'll kept doing it until he is satisfied. I reckon the same thing will happen to the Sheiks but in fairness Pellegrini didn't exactly do a fine job this season. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[No Luck Involved]

Transfer speculation time! I don't know the other leagues as well so I'll talk about the PL but please contribute for other leagues too so we can get some juicy rumours going.

Gonna look at the list of players out of contract this summer:

Brad Jones (Liverpool) - the perfect excuse to sign a Mignolet replacement?
Glen Johnson (Liverpool) - will they sign a new RB
Jon Flanagan (Liverpool) - surely he'll be given a new contract and possibly replace Glen Johnson
Kolo Toure (Liverpool) - what happened to Coates, Kelly, Wisdom and all the rest of them? Will they get a chance now or will Liverpool sign someone
Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa) - Utd rumours have died down but he still have a few years left in him
Micah Richards (Man City) - I always liked him, I'd take him at Arsenal but he'd be a great/versatile addition for any team imo.
Scott Sinclair (Man City) - they'll need to replace all these English players...
James Milner (Man City) - going to Liverpool? And who will City sign to replace him, I think Sterling
Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal) - if I was being ruthless I'd say sign a world class DM but I actually think Flamini is decent and wouldn't mind if we kept him as a squad player
Abou Diaby (Arsenal) - lol... rumours are he'll be kept on a pay as you play contract
Danny Ings (Burnley) - and is he going to Liverpool? They need to get rid of Borini, Balotelli and Lambert first; Origi is coming in anyway
Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - Chelsea looking for a new striker, maybe Falcao. 4-4-2 with Costa and you might mistake them for Atletico Madrid.
James Wilson (Man United) - will he get a new contract? With Falcao leaving they're definitely looking for a new striker too

 

[latinoheat]

De Gea to Madrid will be the biggest transfer of the window, that's about all i've got. Still think Yaya is going despite what he says as well.

Ings or Berahino will probably end up at Liverpool.

Jovetic to Inter shame really.

 

[SpartanMalice]

Kelly got sold iirc, Flanagan's been out for nearly a year sadly and he will out again for around 4-6 months I've heard. One of our best players last season. Johnson needs to go, no doubt about it. Was waiting for that contract to run out, he's grossly overpaid at this point (considering we sold Reina due to his wages). Wisdom should be back, but wasn't he an RB rather an a CB? Kolo may or may not stay depending on whether or not we sign any defenders at all, which we frankly NEED to do.

Ings strikes me as a no. 10 type more than a striker, but he's still a vast improvement over the quartet we have now esp since Sturridge's always injured. Origi isn't gonna do much. Same case as the others, young talent, but not geared up enough for the EPL.

The Dani Alves situation would be interesting, if we're talking about other leagues.

 

[Heliosan]

On the note of Real Madrid, the only things I can really criticize Ancelotti on are these things:

1) Being somewhat stubborn and not rotating. I am not sure if this is due to Galacticos politics or he just doesn't want to use a potentially weaker squad, but running Modric, Kroos, James, and Benzema to the ground is not a good idea.

2) Not being able to beat some of Real's main rivals (esp. Atletico) two years in a row which put Real Madrid out of consideration for La Liga.

Like, I can't really find any reason to not let Carlo have one more season to prove himself and if he falters again, maybe then consider it, but I don't know if Rafa is really much of an upgrade to Carlo (imo a downgrade).

I also really dislike that there is so many politics in that club. Like, if Carlo had free reign as to who he could field, I think he would without question field 4-4-2 with the midfield of Modric, Kroos, James, and Isco with Ronaldo and Benzema up front. But apparently he has to play BBC all the time if they are healthy. That 4-4-2 formation was the most threatening Real Madrid this year and that team beat Barcelona in the first El Clasico this year.

Anyways, that aside...

Kolo Toure (Liverpool) - what happened to Coates, Kelly, Wisdom and all the rest of them? Will they get a chance now or will Liverpool sign someone

Didn't Kolo Toure sign a new contract? http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/liverpool-...nsion-makes-sense-says-mark-lawrenson-1503741

 

[SpartanMalice]

The idea with the 4-4-2 was it could freely transition into a 4-3-3 and that was Madrid's preferred style this season, defend as a 4-4-2 and attack as a 4-3-3, but they needed the right personnel to do that and sadly, with injuries and burnout taking its toll, they couldn't carry on with it.

Indeed Ron and Benz synced well up front, but do you really blame Carlo for not choosing to bench the 100m player? Perez would have been fuming.

 

[manodelrey]

Would anyone really want to manage Real Madrid at this point? They splash hundreds of millions of dollars at players who if they play below perfection are wanted out, and you have to win everything all the time or you are instantly out. How does anyone top the past two coaches Real Madrid have had?

 

[Soul Fly]

^They don't. Which is indicative of a bad long term model.

 

[phalanx]

blatter has stepped down

 

[tml]

OK NLI I know that Arsenal are very very interesting in pushing deals for Schneiderlin and Cech, also interested in Fekir and have watched repeatedly a CB at saint-etienne whose name escapes me.

SpartanMalice Wisdom and Kolo have both signed new deals it was announced a few days ago. Ings is definitely not a no10, he is exactly the TYPE of player we need, Aguero type with the movement that Coutinho and Henderson look for, however he is perhaps not the immediate level of quality that we need to instantly improve the XI and also give the squad a lift. He is however a definite improvement on the three you listed and has a lot of potential; could potentially thrive with "better players" (jury is still out on that from last performances lol). But even with him and Origi, we would still need another Striker imo but I don't think it will happen so we have to hope Ings explodes into a great player. We are Interested in Benteke but personally I can't see us forking out the cash for him, he is a good player but just pointless unless we want to play long ball football. We have couted Sam Byram, Kieran Trippier, and also bid for Clyne so despite Wisdom new deal we are apparently pursuing another RB, not sure what it means for Manquillo. A very reliable source said quite a while a go that Milner is done too. Then there is Kovacic who is interested in Liverpool and we did make a bid, that Inter literally laughed away. I must admit I've seen him play only once so I don't know a thing about him maybe someone can fill me in. Then there is a player called Jamie Baez, also interested in us, we tried to sign him last two years but the price has never been agreed, his club have given us somewhat of an ultimatum telling us to come back with a specific offer as the guy really does want to play for us but it seems we are not taking it up. He will end up in Europe and from our track record of not singing players early (Aguero, Bony, most recently Vietto) he will probably turn out good. Finally Konoplyanka is interested in us still and we would probably go for him if we lose Sterling but he may just be signed up by then. Man City are the only club with serious interest in Sterling right now and personally I think they will not pay up the money we want. They want him mainly for their home grown quota so they may just go for a few guys with a lower profile just for that. In fact I cannot see anyone paying what we want.

Apart from where I say "personally" all that information comes from a site I read where the editors of said sight appear to have legitimate insight into the world of football and player transfers.

 

[manodelrey]

Blatter is gone so here you go, enjoy.

 

[No Luck Involved]

I personally doubt we will sign Cech because Wenger just bought Ospina last summer, he has invested too much in Szczesny to give up on him and Mourinho most definitely won't sell to us.

I think Schneiderlin is 50/50; he's a Wenger type of player who came up through the leagues and appreciates his opportunity and where his hard work has taken him. The only problem is we have Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Coquelin, Rosicky, Cazorla, Ox and maybe even Diaby (fingers crossed) all of whom Wenger likes to play in centre midfield. Not to mention Bielik who was signed last summer. I would like to sign Schneiderlin but I can understand if we don't sign anyone because we have enough numbers and Coquelin has proved so far that if he stays fit he's good enough.

Also Loic Perrin of St Etienne is dead in the water, we bought Paulista instead and Wenger has said he won't sign any defenders this summer. I think we're well stocked in wingers too especially with Gnabry and Zelalem itching to come through which rules out Sterling imo. I would really like to us sign a top striker to compete with Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck but I have my doubts because Wenger has Sanogo, Campbell, Wellington and Akpom waiting for gametime. I think Wenger might just sign a defensive mid because it's the only position we don't have youngsters lining up for it and Wenger usually stays faithful to his youngsters, just look at Bendtner...

On the topic of Liverpool: what happened to Coates and Ilori? I thought they were very promising defenders, and Wisdom is a central defender being played out wide iirc so you have a lot of defenders on your books! If I was Rodgers I'd go all out and get that top quality striker. An interesting option from left field is Lukaku, he's itching to get out of Everton and he's much better with the ball than Benteke but his finishing is slightly worse. I rate both of them and I think Lukaku would be more suited than Tekkers and more realistic than a Higuain or Benzema. If Sterling goes then maybe a winger too although you do have Ibe, Markovic and Lallana (I don't know why Rodgers doesn't trust him). And buy a goalie, maybe even Cech eh? Not too many changes imo, just target the most important areas, the squad isn't bad at all as long as Sturridge stays fit!

 

[tml]

Brendan doesn't know what a good defender is or how to set up a good defence. Ilori is a RCB and BR has a massive hard-on for Skrtel, Ilori does deserve a chance but sadly he wont get it. Brendan only uses youth as a last resort, Sterling got to play because we had no options, same with Flanno, Ibe was just a no brainer too but you can give Brendan that one he did decide to recall him and play him. But then we have Rossiter, Williams, and Texeira who were all given a go in the first team, made good not just decent accounts of themselves, and then they were never seen again. Ilori still is a promising youngster but he will almost certainly realise the excellent potential at a different club. Probably turns out great. Coates too is a decent player but really is not better than Kolo, Sakho, Skrtel, or Lovren, probably no better than Lloyd Jones of our academy either so he will leave.

I mean sure Lukaku too makes the runs that a Coutinho would like to find but you are just pulling names from thin air lol we have no interest at all. Of course we need top players, but top players are already playing at better teams than us we will struggle to attract them. Players like Origi and Ings suddenly taking a step up a level is Liverpool's only hope really.

 

[No Luck Involved]

Yeah I just put Lukaku out there not based on any rumours. But he's a big strong targetman who's also surprisingly fast and got above average link up play and got some tricks to beat a man too surprisingly and he's desperate to go to a bigger club and already lives in Liverpool. To me he seems like a really good fit, out of all the strikers out there. If I was at Liverpool I would make an inquiry for him. Of course he could go to a club challenging for the title in Italy or France or something.

 

[Imanalt]

The rumors of liverpool going after benteke, and your comments on lukaku... They don't make sense for liverpool at all. Liverpool doesn't really need a top of the line big physical striker... They have a top of the line striker who is a very different style in sturridge. They need a player who can either be a backup for sturridge in a 1 striker system or a player who can play alongside him with 2 up front. Regardless of which, from how liverpool have tended to play that should probably be somone much more similar to sturridge. Look at how Balotelli's lack of movement didn't fit in any systems they played. The entire team is still largely built around creating movement with pacey players who are hard to deal with without help to pull defenses apart on the counter, and Lukaku and Benteke aren't that. Ayoze perez is a player i like who would be a good option in this type of style, as well as affordable for liverpool in their semi-big club state right now. Fekir for lyon would be a much more expensive option, but is VERY good, and they might be able to get him as everyone hypes lacazette instead.

Regardless of who they go after though, Liverpool's problem isn't really at striker, especially if ings doesn't come in. Ings/sturridge gives them a solid top 2 strikers (i know im higher on ings than a lot of ppl), while they have much worse options at fullback and central midfield. Getting a good central midfielder and a proper right wingback so that players who should be playing higher up the pitch like sterling aren't getting stuck back at wingback.

 

[HBK]

Yup, Milner to Liverpool's official. Great value for a free, he would've been perfect for us, Mourinho has a well documented fetish for hard workers but I don't think we were ever serious about signing him and even if we tried, he wouldn't pick our bench over Liverpool.

 

[manodelrey]

Yup, Milner to Liverpool's official. Great value for a free, he would've been perfect for us, Mourinho has a well documented fetish for hard workers but I don't think we were ever serious about signing him and even if we tried, he wouldn't pick our bench over Liverpool.

the rumor was man city are freeing up a move for isco

 

[tml]

We definitely DO need another Striker on top of Ings, if Ings got injured we would once again be stuck. It will take a while for Sturridge to come back this time surely they will be even more careful/paranoid about him being injured again. He may even spend the whole of next season trying to get match fit potentially so we cannot have the only other options being: Ings, Origi, Lambert. I too am a big fan of Ings but he certainly is just a starlet right now, cannot reasonably expect a guy to come from modest Burnley to one of the most followed sporting teams in the world and be an instant success in such a crucial problem area for Liverpool. Signing a striker would have no bearing on our ability to sign a new Fullback or Midfilelder. Lucas, Milner, Can, Henderson, Allen is fine anyway. We need a right back though.

 

[manodelrey]

We definitely DO need another Striker on top of Ings, if Ings got injured we would once again be stuck. It will take a while for Sturridge to come back this time surely they will be even more careful/paranoid about him being injured again. He may even spend the whole of next season trying to get match fit potentially so we cannot have the only other options being: Ings, Origi, Lambert. I too am a big fan of Ings but he certainly is just a starlet right now, cannot reasonably expect a guy to come from modest Burnley to one of the most followed sporting teams in the world and be an instant success in such a crucial problem area for Liverpool. Signing a striker would have no bearing on our ability to sign a new Fullback or Midfilelder. Lucas, Milner, Can, Henderson, Allen is fine anyway. We need a right back though.

ings origi and sturridge up top should do fine. Sell balotelli get a new outside right back and sort the defense out and liverpool will do fine next season

 

[Imanalt]

Signing a striker would have no bearing on our ability to sign a new Fullback or Midfilelder.

This isn't real madrid or barcelona or united, signing one player will always hurt the resources you have to spend elsewhere. Also lucas and allen are roleplayers not particularly good, henderson is a better ryan mason but still not good, and can is good. Thats way worse than any top 4 midfield this year, and if you legitimately want to challenge higher, it needs to be addressed, although milner may be enough

 

[manodelrey]

This isn't real madrid or barcelona or united, signing one player will always hurt the resources you have to spend elsewhere. Also lucas and allen are roleplayers not particularly good, henderson is a better ryan mason but still not good, and can is good. Thats way worse than any top 4 midfield this year, and if you legitimately want to challenge higher, it needs to be addressed, although milner may be enough

Milner wont lift liverpool's midfield above manchester city, chelsea, or arsenal's midfield. The defense is the biggest concern and has been for a while