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

[TheSantader25]

Lamine who?

 

Harry is the GOAT

[smokeless6]

4 minutes ago, Eutyphro said:

 It was another truly epic Harry Maguire night of football.

 

Can never have enough of those

[Eutyphro]

Pele, Maradona, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Zidane, none of these are worthy of tying the shoelaces of Lord Maguire.

Edited May 2 by Eutyphro

[Eutyphro]

49 minutes ago, TheSantader25 said:

Lamine who?

 

Harry is the GOAT

 

[smokeless6]

Legend

[TonyRyodan]

Being someone who doesn't watch much Manchester United games I never know what are you all truly trying to say about Maguire LoL I only now about the memes, and that he made a good game those days

[Jason]

Maguire's had a lot of attention for a variety of reasons. He came with a high price tag, a record fee for a CB at the time IIRC, despite not being world class nor really having the potential to be, at his best he's an elite defender, just very slow and not suited to high lines - which most top teams play. For years he was a solid 7/10 every week for us, not world class but fine and always available, he was also made captain within like six months when Rooney left.

 

But around 2022 I think it was he had an absolutely monumental collapse in form and confidence for both club and country and that's where the memes really started. He got absolutely destroyed on social media to the point even people in football started taking the piss out of him. But in the past year or so he's regained form and been decent, scored some big goals, so now the same people on social media who sh*t all over him are now praising him.

[TheSantader25]

It's funny to see all CL semi finalists rest their entire squad for the second leg except Arteta. And yet he still loses the game.

[Jason]

Said it before but Arteta has likely taken that squad as far as he can.

 

Arsenal have a problem in the business end of the season where they wobble and ultimately lose their heads and fall off, and I think Arteta is part of that. 

[TheSantader25]

I have no idea wtf is going on in this match. This tie has made me realize i don't understand football. Gerard Martin has been awful defensively yet he's given 2 assists. Idk what's gonna happen.

Edited May 6 by TheSantader25

[Eutyphro]

Denzel Dumfries for ballon d'or.

[Jason]

One of the greatest two legged ties of all time.

[TheSantader25]

The thing is, even when we were two down i felt nothing. When we went 3-2 up i felt nothing. Even when we choked the 3-3 and 4-3, nothing. This competition has been so cruel to us in the past 10 years that I've become quite numb to it. I honestly don't know if we're ever gonna win it again in a long time. We're so cursed in this competition.

 

But I do know that with a full squad, we would have beaten Inter.

Edited May 6 by TheSantader25

[Eutyphro]

The group of players Barca has is overall quite young. What is important is to keep the group together, which will be a challenge especially financially. If they can manage it they are favorites for the next several years to win. I'm honestly disappointed that this Inter team managed to win this tie with the right luck, but to be 100% serious I do think Denzel Dumfries should win ballon d'or.

Edited May 6 by Eutyphro

[TheSantader25]

Dumfries would not be this effective up against a fast fullback like Balde. Essentially all of Inter's goals happened from that side. They knew Martin was a liability.

[Jason]

Yea this Barca squad has a ton of potential. They'll need a number 9 obviously, that'll be a tricky one to sort but there's a ton of quality in the squad overall. Yamal at 17 is elite and fast becoming world class, there's no one under 21 close to him, never mind under 18, if he doesn't win the Ballon d'Or at least once or twice it's either cause he gets ruined by injuries or someone finds a Messi regen in the next year or two.

 

If they don't blow up off the pitch they're gonna be a force in the CL for years to come.

[TheSantader25]

Well at least we'll have a new stadium next season. Good to finally have home advantage back so I'm excited for that. Now let's not bottle La liga.

Edited May 6 by TheSantader25

[bananaking13]

On 5/3/2025 at 8:54 PM, Jason said:

Said it before but Arteta has likely taken that squad as far as he can.

 

Arsenal have a problem in the business end of the season where they wobble and ultimately lose their heads and fall off, and I think Arteta is part of that. 

Don't get me wrong, but I think Arsenal just suck.

The problem is with the recruitment. By his 4th season, Klopp had maybe 5 world class players. Sheikh-era City had a handful. Meanwhile Arteta is playing a front 3 of Saka, Havertz and a very rotten version of Sterling.

It is his fault, but there's not much you can expect Arteta to do with this squad. The same way City's problem this year (and somewhat visible last year) is that their squad sucks. 

[Jason]

The reason Arsenal didn't buy a striker this season when the whole world knew they needed one was because Arteta didn't think they needed one.

 

Losing Havertz and especially Saka for long stretches was rough, and Odeegard earlier in the season but honestly Odegaard has been flat this season, no where near a world class player like he's hyped up to be.

[OliRow]

Some atmosphere in Paris.

[Ehrmantraut]

Not today Arsenal.

[TheSantader25]

I like Enrique but i will obviously be rooting for Inter in the final. People might have warmed up to this PSG side but what they've done here is the classic buy it till you make it strategy like City which non oil run clubs don't have the luxury of doing so. Obviously they've wisened up in their recruitment but even when they fail there are no consequences.

 

I've never seen people be so accepting of a PSG side like this ever. But f*ck em. I want Inter to win their 4th.

Edited May 7 by TheSantader25

[Jason]

PSG are an oil club so I'll be happy to see them lose, but it would be funny if PSG finally won a UCL after getting rid of all their superstars. Almost like there's a lesson somewhere in that.

 

As for Arsenal, it was the same story they've had for a few years. Nothing needs to be said on it except that if it's the same story next season then it's time to start asking the big questions about Arteta.

 

I also never want to see an Arsenal fan even try and suggest the idea that Odegaard is anywhere near the level of Bruno Fernandes ever again, lol.

[Jason]

Barcelona crying about the ref in the CL semi final I see. :^)

[TheSantader25]

19 minutes ago, Jason said:

Barcelona crying about the ref in the CL semi final I see. :^)

I don't think the ref made any major mistakes. However i knew we would have a difficult game when this ref was announced before the game. We have only won 1 game out of the 6 this ref has whistled for us in the CL. 4 losses some of which were brutal. There have been questionable decisions from him against us in the past.

 

I don't think he's in anybody's pocket but I do know that his style of refereeing does not favor us at all. He does not blow his whistle unless the contact kills somebody. That's why you see a lot of the barca fans and players cry about 50/50 decisions in the past 2 days. Because his style of refereeing favors teams like inter and a lot of calls will go against us this way due to our style. Maybe with another ref the result would be different but who knows.

 

Despite all this you probably won't see us post videos on our official channels about him the next time he is our referee and threaten not to play. But the truth is it's never a comfortable game for us when he's around. I would prefer to avoid him for a long time and warn the players to be more cautious in 50/50 challenges in the next seasons when he' the ref. You gotta adapt.

Edited May 8 by TheSantader25

[Jason]

Pedri calling for an investigation into the ref is straight up bringing the game into dispute and questioning the credibility of an official.

 

That's very bad.

[TheSantader25]

Having the right to express concerns and asking for clarification isn't bad. What's bad is threatening to remove refs or not play without evidence. I'm also not a fan of people asking for sanctions on managers and players who criticize refs. It gives them too much power without consequences and there has to be some kind of freedom of speech (f*ck i hate using this phrase in 2025 but i have to).

Edited May 8 by TheSantader25

[Jason]

Refereeing mistakes should have consequences, but it should be managed via the league and ref association. That's a big issue in English football right now. You can also say something is bad decision or that you disagree with it.

 

What you can't do is question the integrity of a referee without evidence. That is bringing the game into disrepute and has the potential to influence refereeing decisions going forward. In a match calling a ref corrupt or a player cheat is bringing the game into disrepute, and is technically a red card offence - I've seen one given in lower league for it lol. Doing it after the game doesn't make it better.

[Eutyphro]

13 hours ago, Jason said:

PSG are an oil club so I'll be happy to see them lose, but it would be funny if PSG finally won a UCL after getting rid of all their superstars. Almost like there's a lesson somewhere in that.

 

As for Arsenal, it was the same story they've had for a few years. Nothing needs to be said on it except that if it's the same story next season then it's time to start asking the big questions about Arteta.

 

I also never want to see an Arsenal fan even try and suggest the idea that Odegaard is anywhere near the level of Bruno Fernandes ever again, lol.

I'm not an Arsenal fan but I do think Odegaard a superior footballer to Bruno Fernandes really. I personally don't really understand the criticism of Odegaard at the moment. I think a lot of teams are jealous that Arsenal has such a player and their team doesn't. Honestly the problem at Arsenal seems to be Martinelli. He's not good enough, and yesterday Trossard was far superior.

 

It's easy to bash Arsenal in these moments, but Arteta has made them a consistent and good team in recent years. They just need a player like Isak to push then to the next level. I think they have a good squad and they play good football, but due to Martinelli not delivering, due to injuries, and due to them missing a top striker they end up not capable of winning the top prizes.

Edited May 8 by Eutyphro

[smokeless6]

Arteta has done a good job considering everything is against them, according to him. Officials, the ball, the pitch, injuries, humidity, the wind, gravity and everything else. If not for that, they would have won. The best team lost, he says. It all feels so unfair.