World Cup and European leagues

Started by Jim Matson, June 11, 2006, 12:00:45 AM

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Ejay

Toronto will have "no problem" vs Mexican-side Chivas and become the first Major League Soccer team to win the Concacaf Champions League. - Alexi Lalas 4/17/18. ;D ;D ;D

https://www.facebook.com/foxsports/videos/10155813100732946/

jknezek

How Lalas has stuck around, in as many roles as he's stuck around, this long will forever be a mystery to me.

Mr.Right

From Deadspin:

This is a complete disaster. Comcast gutting BE-IN Sport, Fox lost all Champions and Europa league games to Turner who will make these games pay per view, etc....The fat cats get obese on this one but I think Turner will be sorry...

https://deadspin.com/soccer-on-american-tv-is-going-straight-to-a-fiery-pay-1828176306

Gray Fox

Quote from: Mr.Right on August 08, 2018, 12:27:25 PM
From Deadspin:

This is a complete disaster. Comcast gutting BE-IN Sport, Fox lost all Champions and Europa league games to Turner who will make these games pay per view, etc....The fat cats get obese on this one but I think Turner will be sorry...

https://deadspin.com/soccer-on-american-tv-is-going-straight-to-a-fiery-pay-1828176306

Not a good move for the casual fan like me.
Fierce When Roused

jknezek

Anyone else starting to scratch their heads about the U.S. National Team Head Coach situation? I get why we waited through the USSF elections, I get why we waited out the World Cup. But we are fully into the rebuilding cycle with the next set of friendlies and it seems like there is no urgency. Getting a new coach to lead this cycle, grow these younger players, implement a system at all levels, it seems like we have reached the point where this has become important. Yet there aren't even any rumors. It seems very odd.

Goldenrj

I agree, now is the time to hire. After the WC most coaches are available. It has almost been a year, let's get started!

Mr.Right

If you ask folks at Cornell they will tell you that the US already have the best man for the job in Dave Sarachan.

In more of the ridiculous apparently this guy is starting his own rumors about the job...

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-david-moyes-could-become-122251855.html


I'll tell you the USSF have really turned this whole show around as we all predicted.


jknezek

Quote from: Mr.Right on August 19, 2018, 06:35:31 PM
If you ask folks at Cornell they will tell you that the US already have the best man for the job in Dave Sarachan.

In more of the ridiculous apparently this guy is starting his own rumors about the job...

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-david-moyes-could-become-122251855.html


I'll tell you the USSF have really turned this whole show around as we all predicted.

Good grief...

1970s NESCAC Player

Quote from: jknezek on August 19, 2018, 12:13:49 PM
Anyone else starting to scratch their heads about the U.S. National Team Head Coach situation? I get why we waited through the USSF elections, I get why we waited out the World Cup. But we are fully into the rebuilding cycle with the next set of friendlies and it seems like there is no urgency. Getting a new coach to lead this cycle, grow these younger players, implement a system at all levels, it seems like we have reached the point where this has become important. Yet there aren't even any rumors. It seems very odd.

It may not be quite so odd, if there is sentiment to hire a MLS coach like Tata Martino, as that season still has several more months to play out.

blooter442

With LFC's good start to the season further enhanced by Monday night's 2-0 win at Crystal Palace — never an easy ground to go to, particularly on a weeknight (I was there last year when Palace destroyed Arsenal 3-0 on a Monday night) — I am hoping that Gomez can keep his place at center back alongside van Dijk. Virgil played like a colossus and was deservedly Man of the Match, but I thought Gomez was excellent as well. He is only 21, and occasionally makes mistakes, but — unlike Lovren — he is young and still has time to improve that part of his game, whereas Lovren is in the prime of his career and still suffers from not-so-inconsistent brain farts. As for Gomez, I think he's got loads of potential — good pace, tackling, and strength — and, much like the rest of the LFC defense, looks quite comfortable playing in a defense led by Virgil. And I found an interview where Gomez describes him as a "big brother," providing further example that team bonding and kinship between younger and older players exists even at the professional level.

Of course, Lovren and Matip will both return at some point, and the former will look to regain his starting position alongside VVD, but Klopp showed with Robertson last year that once a player gets into the team and performs well that it's his spot to lose. I thought Moreno had started the season well and suffered an unfortunate injury which kept him out for a month, but I am still glad that Robertson took his place in the team, as I still feel Moreno has the rash side to his game. The Sevilla game was no doubt a special case, as, in addition to it being his former club, he had the mental scars of the 2016 UEL Final and was no doubt targeted by them, but I still feel that Robertson is less prone to rash challenges and getting caught out of position, and I'm thrilled to see he's picked up where he left off last year.

There will no doubt be need for rotation, but I am hopeful that Gomez can nail down that No. 2 CB spot as his own. Hopefully he can put in a good performance tomorrow so I don't look silly for writing this diatribe.

truenorth

Blooter, I am a huge Liverpool fan as you may recall.  Both of my sons, who are Man United fans, dragged me into the EPL and told me I needed to get with the program.  I initially adopted Liverpool because I'm a Red Sox fan and they have Fenway Sports Group as their owner in common.

Boy, did I make a great choice!  In the approximately seven years I've been following Liverpool I've never been more excited as a fan than I am now!  And I think your assessment of their defensive players is astute.  Spending 75M pounds on a center back seemed absurd this past January, but in today's inflationary world Van Dyke has proven to be worth every penny (or pence).  He is an absolute stud, as both an athlete and a leader.  Gomez is going to grow under Van Dyke's mentorship and they make a better pairing than Van Dyke and Lovren.

Regarding the left back position, Robertson is clearly better and more reliable than Moreno.  I like Moreno's personality, but his M.O. is to bomb down the field, then get caught out and flail with his body when there's a counter attack.  Robertson is a cool customer and very good defending as well as in the attack.

And while I'm gushing, let's not ignore Alisson.  He is a world class keeper with a complete game.  He is a light year ahead of both Mignolet and Karius.  It will be fun to see if Liverpool can mount a legitimate challenge to an outstanding Man City side as the season unfolds.  I'm betting they can and will...

1970s NESCAC Player

Quote from: truenorth on August 24, 2018, 12:51:14 PM
It will be fun to see if Liverpool can mount a legitimate challenge to an outstanding Man City side as the season unfolds.  I'm betting they can and will...

Looks like we will find out on October 7 how LFC and MCFC compare . . .  Definitely looking forward to that one.

blooter442

Quote from: truenorth on August 24, 2018, 12:51:14 PM
Blooter, I am a huge Liverpool fan as you may recall.  Both of my sons, who are Man United fans, dragged me into the EPL and told me I needed to get with the program.  I initially adopted Liverpool because I'm a Red Sox fan and they have Fenway Sports Group as their owner in common.
I do remember you saying that. On the one hand, it's tempting to call them bandwagoners, but on the other hand, MU were really at the forefront of the commercial expansion of the EPL into the USA in the 90s, and were likely the team on TV during the late 90s and early 2000s. They were certainly the first team I knew of, and I was far from a soccer fan at that point. When I first learned of Liverpool back in 2004 (and that was only when I went across the pond to visit relatives) I remember feeling like a soccer hipster: I came back to middle school wearing the LFC home jersey I'd been given — I thought nobody back in the states would know who my family's local team was — and quickly found out that I was mistaken.

And who knows? But for my father's second cousin in Lancashire taking us to Anfield when I was there, I may well have had other allegiances when coming around to soccer. (Incidentally, another one of my relatives in the same village is a United fan, but I don't know him as well.)

Quote from: truenorth on August 24, 2018, 12:51:14 PM
Boy, did I make a great choice!  In the approximately seven years I've been following Liverpool I've never been more excited as a fan than I am now!  And I think your assessment of their defensive players is astute.  Spending 75M pounds on a center back seemed absurd this past January, but in today's inflationary world Van Dyke has proven to be worth every penny (or pence).  He is an absolute stud, as both an athlete and a leader.  Gomez is going to grow under Van Dyke's mentorship and they make a better pairing than Van Dyke and Lovren.
You must have come in right around the club's nadir, when it almost went bankrupt in 2010. Of course, I was barely 18 when that happened — old enough to understand LFC was up s**t's creek, but not engaged enough to understand the potential consequences — and that really was a watershed moment.

It's interesting to think back on FSG's time in charge. They've only won one trophy in seven years, but I think all told have had a net positive effect that looks to keep growing. They came in and tried to run the club like an MLB club, using moneyball and identifying up-and-coming talent, and while they got it right on a few occasions they most certainly got it wrong on a number of others. The investment of £35 million in Andy Carroll and choosing to spend the Suarez money on five decent players rather than two standouts stand out (no pun intended) in particular. Recently, though, they've gotten it fantastically right, and that £75 million on van Dijk (no doubt inflated) has certainly been proved money well spent. The biggest differences are, I think: 1. They've come to understand it's better to buy a couple star players rather than six decent players (LFC's previous execs of David Moores/Rick Parry were also guilty of the latter) and 2. Klopp's pull — and having Champions League football — is certainly bigger than Rodgers' was. If Klopp wants a player, they'll move mountains to make it happen, because they trust his eye for talent and that said player wants to come rather than having to have Gerrard send texts to potential (long-shot) targets as Rodgers did.

There has certainly been less silverware than we'd all like, but I feel like the club is the most "stable" its been in that time — both in terms of the team's results, the first 11, and the subs' bench: Even when LFC was in the 13-14 title race, they were defensively a shambles and almost seemed to be barreling out of control like a runaway train — they could win 4-3 or lose 4-3. Moreover, getting and keeping players who were UCL caliber was far from the given that it appears to be today, as that team definitely overachieved, largely in part to Suarez, who left that summer. Salah's signing of a new contract gave the club at least one more year of his services, and I think it's commendable (and telling) that he felt good enough about being at LFC to sign a new deal even when Real came calling.

Last week, when Mane scored the second against West Ham right before half I remember having an odd feeling — that we would be able to see out a 2-0 lead! Amazing what £75 million does.

Quote from: truenorth on August 24, 2018, 12:51:14 PM
Regarding the left back position, Robertson is clearly better and more reliable than Moreno.  I like Moreno's personality, but his M.O. is to bomb down the field, then get caught out and flail with his body when there's a counter attack.  Robertson is a cool customer and very good defending as well as in the attack.
When Robertson made his debut against Palace (at home) last fall, he was very much second-choice, but I remember being intrigued to see him even before the match. I felt like he was more composed even if not quite the same going forward. He had a fantastic game that day, and — not only is he defensively superior to Moreno — he's been equally threatening going forward. The combinations he creates with Mane are almost telepathic at times — and he has a great attitude.

Quote from: truenorth on August 24, 2018, 12:51:14 PM
And while I'm gushing, let's not ignore Alisson.  He is a world class keeper with a complete game.  He is a light year ahead of both Mignolet and Karius.  It will be fun to see if Liverpool can mount a legitimate challenge to an outstanding Man City side as the season unfolds.  I'm betting they can and will...
Yes. When they signed him I finally felt like the squad was "complete" and could actually talk about a title challenge versus yet another top 4 finish. VVD has shored things up defensively a ton since January, but a goalkeeper like that instills confidence in the back line. Of course, no 'keeper is perfect, but, unlike was the case with Mignolet and Karius, I don't get the heebie-jeebies every time another team gets a ball in our half with Alisson in net.

Quote from: 1970s NESCAC Player on August 24, 2018, 01:04:04 PM
Looks like we will find out on October 7 how LFC and MCFC compare . . .  Definitely looking forward to that one.
I still feel like City has more depth beyond the first 11, and would still consider them to be favorites, but LFC is certainly right there. Klopp has won the last 3 head-to-head against Guardiola, so I think he has their number head-to-head. Then again, City thumped Liverpool 5-0 at the Etihad last year, so they are certainly capable of getting results. The question is sustaining a solid level of production over the course of a full season. Again, I would still consider City favorites, but if LFC can get some luck with injuries, who knows? Regardless, it should be a fun season to watch.

truenorth

Good insights Blooter.  I should also mention that my very same sons who are Man U fans were guests in the sky box at Anfield last season.for Liverpool's heart thumping 4-3 win over Man City.  They have a buddy (Yarmouth, ME boy) who works in the promotions department of Etihad and gets preferential tickets to any Man City game.  I was so damn jealous my boys were sitting there in person...eating and drinking catered food and beer...while I had to watch the match on TV...

blooter442

Quote from: truenorth on August 24, 2018, 04:37:17 PM
Good insights Blooter.  I should also mention that my very same sons who are Man U fans were guests in the sky box at Anfield last season.for Liverpool's heart thumping 4-3 win over Man City.  They have a buddy (Yarmouth, ME boy) who works in the promotions department of Etihad and gets preferential tickets to any Man City game.  I was so damn jealous my boys were sitting there in person...eating and drinking catered food and beer...while I had to watch the match on TV...

Wow! The second time I went to Anfield — after being a fan for 7 years — we had tickets to one of the Premier Lounges, the Shanky Lounge, inside the stadium for beers before the game and during halftime, while our seats were in the Centenary Stand (now known as the Kenny Dalglish Stand). That's as close to high society as I'll ever get — being in a box is another level!