...::[The Footy Desk]::... (Part 2)

[Crokey]

I'm gutted for KDB but I'm not that overly worried, if this was about 3/4 seasons ago, maybe, but now, nope.  We've got good cover in Davie and Bernie Silva, Mahrez and Big Phil Foden may get more chance and more minutes, plus if need be Gundogan can slip into that spot to give support to the more creative Silva's.  I think it's great that we've got a manager who's finally recognized that you can't have a team that relies heavily on one (or two) players and that you should be able to easily cope if one is out for whatever reason.

[Eutyphro]

tbh the amount of matches De Bruyne played last season was insane. He played almost everything all season long and also made it far in the World Cup. I'm actually surprised he managed for so long. It's probably better for everyone if he gets rested for two months.

[dante財閥]

Big year for Bernado Silva, even more so now I reckon. I'd really like to see Foden get more minutes.

[Jason]

4 hours ago, Eutyphro said:

Btw, pretty awesome supercup final. Great goals, and great football by Atletico. Real should splash out the money to bring in someone like Lewandowski because Benzema + Bale will not be able to score the amounts of goals Cristiano did.

Yea, even through they have some brilliant forwards I dunno, I just don't see top European teams being that scared of Madrid's forwards now. There was always that fear that if Madrid put one decent ball into the box then Ronaldo would score and there was nothing you could do about it, his movement and finishing is just that special. But Benzema and Bale who are obviously both still unbelievable players don't have the same impact for one reason or another, IMO. They shoulda (and maybe they did) went all out for Hazard, but it's far too late to buy from an English club and too late to buy another top player from Europe I'd imagine. I can see them dropping insane money on someone next summer.

[Tchuck]

Excellent supercup final. Both teams going forward, pushing for the goal, and trying it all out. Diego Costa's first goal was pretty awesome. No idea how that ball went through.

 

And yeah, without the threat of Ronaldo scoring from out of nowhere, they've lost a lot of their aggressive power. They need a big name in there, a proven striker that is clinical and ice cold. Lewandowski would be amazing, but I don't see it happening. They should have gone all out on a replacement, but oh well. Maybe this is why Zidane left. He saw that Ronaldo wasn't keen on staying, and that he was instrumental in Real's successes of recent years, and without him... 

[SeanAlgerian]

Anyone think of Riyad Mahrez transfer?

[dante財閥]

8 hours ago, Nuddle King said:

Anyone think of Riyad Mahrez transfer?

What do you mean? What did I think of it? Personally I saw it as a case of the rich getting richer. I'd of really liked Tottenham to go in for him but I doubt we could have paid his wages. I'm surprised City didn't have more competition for his signature.

[SeanAlgerian]

What I mean is, people still complain who the best, Mahrez or Salah, Salah is good at scoring which can make him Top Scorer, Mahrez is good at dribbling, and he focus, like he did to in 2016.

[dante財閥]

Who's the best African footballer you mean?

[SeanAlgerian]

Yes.

[dante財閥]

I think it's probably Salah currently but this season might swing it back in Riyad's favour. There is also Mane and Aubameyang to consider too.

[Crokey]

9 hours ago, dante財閥 said:

Who's the best African footballer you mean?

Roger Milla

[SeanAlgerian]

Who is Roger Milla?

[Tchuck]

1 hour ago, Nuddle King said:

Who is Roger Milla?

The best African footballer.

[SeanAlgerian]

I never see him in "Africa Ballon D'or"

[dante財閥]

Roger Milla is a Cameroon legend lol. 

[Tchuck]

5 hours ago, Nuddle King said:

I never see him in "Africa Ballon D'or"

You should look harder. 1976 and 1990. Dude was legendary. Carried Cameroon to the quarter finals in 1990, the first time an African team reached such a stage. And he was 38 years old at the time.

Seriously, you should look into him. He was arguably the best African player of all time.

[SeanAlgerian]

What about Madjer? He lead Algeria to the finals in Africa Cup Nations 4 times or more, and he scored the goal to win first Africa Cup Nations in 1990, he got best african players two times.

 

Also we talking about now, not about the past.

 

[SouthLand]

La Liga starts today

[SeanAlgerian]

The REAL La Liga start tommorow.

[Tchuck]

1 hour ago, Nuddle King said:

What about Madjer? He lead Algeria to the finals in Africa Cup Nations 4 times or more, and he scored the goal to win first Africa Cup Nations in 1990, he got best african players two times.

 

Also we talking about now, not about the past.

 

Vastly inferior to Roger Milla. No comparison at all, like, not even at the same level.

 

Speaking of now, Salah is very good, so is Mane. If that piece of sh*t Ramos hadn't injured him, Liverpool might have had a chance at the Champions League, and Egypt may have progressed to the next stage in the world cup. Great player. Not the greatest African yet.

[SeanAlgerian]

speaking of Ramos, Ramos did a mistake, I am Real Madrid Fan, without Salah Injury, Real Madrid will won again, trust me, Real Madrid is a big club than Liverpool, Liverpool only give trust on Mane and Salah, but Madrid they have Bale, Marcelo, Modric, Tony, Benzema, Isco and others.

[Tchuck]

Ramos is a cheat. Terrible character. Not the first time he tried something similar either.

 

And Liverpool with Salah, Mane, Firmino, upfront? Extremely deadly. They didn't even have a chance to try, and to lose one of your best player like that is a terrible blow for morale.

 

And for all their star players, Real got extremely lucky with two ridiculous mistakes by Karius.

[dante財閥]

I give Lopetegui until the winter break personally. Madrid didn't look that menacing without Ronaldo.

[Guest]

Ramos is probably the player I hate the most, his sportsmanship level is equal to 0.

Of course we don't know what would have happened in the UCL final with Salah on the pitch for the whole 90 minutes, but I'm quite sure we'd have seen a different result (probably Real still winning it, maybe a 3-2 could be possible).

Ramos is 100% a cheat for me... And as a proof, there's the red card of Cuadrado in 2016 UCL final at only 5 minutes from the end of the match when Real was leading 3-1.

 

Anyway after Ronaldo went to Juve I was expecting a big deal for Real Madrid, like Mbappé or Kane, and, at least for the moment, I don't see Bale as a consistent choice. I think Real Madrid will have some issues during this season, they've invested a lot in young players who could help in the next years. At the moment Real isn't in the top 4 for the UCL IMO, the Super Cup loss feel a lot like the end of an era.

[SouthLand]

1 hour ago, Nuddle King said:

The REAL La Liga start tommorow.

???

[Tchuck]

Yeah, Real failing to make a big signing to replace Ronaldo... Will definitely bite them in the ass. They will most certainly panic buy someone come the winter transfer window, because I predict they'll struggle a bit to adjust without Ronaldo and the fans, used to winning Champions League every year by now, will not be very patient.

[Guest]

In LaLiga I think the transfer market window is still open until the end of August, so they could buy someone if they want to... But now they'd have a lot of "restrictions" because the market window in the Premier League and in Serie A is closed and, in the remaining championships, teams won't never sell good players at this point. 

[dante財閥]

3-2 Chelsea.

 

Another good game from Guendouzi, was funny seeing a lot of his detractors from last week backtrack on my timeline. Chelsea look really slick on the ball but they are leaving so much space at the back. I reckon they will be thumped by City and 'Pool. 

[Eutyphro]

55 minutes ago, dante財閥 said:

Another good game from Guendouzi

Man, he's so much better than that donkey Xhaka and he's 19 in his second PL game.

Overall what Arsenal has been performing as a team has been very disappointing. 2-0 to City and 3-2 to Chelsea doesn't accurately depict how dreadful they've played at times.

Edited August 18, 2018 by Eutyphro