Victims of a Campaign- The Other Footy Teams Thread

It’s also worth sharing these two highlights from the last round of Int’l matches.

Starting with this double-meg from KT3

What's better than a @kierantierney1 nutmeg?

Two @kierantierney1 nutmegs.#MDASCO pic.twitter.com/v5L5noeLc7

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 14, 2021

Then this amazing goal by Mappe

Ce but de @KMbappe 😱🔥#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/ajgu5kk46H

— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) November 12, 2021

 

If not for the fact that it allows me to keep track of a friend of almost 60 years, I wouldn’t use it at all.

Since you quit Facebook, you can be forgiven for not realizing it’s now Meta. That said, not everything from social media is bad.

Some said an open-world experience this immersive wasn’t possible. But it’s already here. And you don’t even need silly VR headsets.

Introducing, ✨Icelandverse✨#icelandverse pic.twitter.com/b1cf1REKl9

— Inspired by Iceland (@iceland) November 11, 2021

 

After what happened when they sold Bale I'm not surprised they didn't pull the trigger. First, everyone's going to know they've got the money and will overprice their strikers/players you desire. Second, unless your scouting department is on point, you could be buying a total lemon of a striker (like a Joelinton) to replace Kane's production. Third, incorporating one or more new players without the benefit of pre-season training with a new HC/manager that's just adjusting to what he already has is awkward.

They were sort of between a rock and a hard place with Kane's request becoming public knowledge; so S***s where never going to get what they felt was a fair offer.

OTOH, when you hire the living cancer that is Jose Mourinho, what happened afterward was a likely outcome.

 

They haven't had it this good since, what, the mid-80s when, ironically enough, they were challenging Liverpool AND Everton for the league title?

Whoever thought Moyes after the debacle of United and Sociedad would right his reputation?

 

I think there's a difference between "making critical statements about" and "moralizing about."

"Making critical statements about" includes statements such as "Elneny isn't a good passer." That's perfectly fair.

What you're doing regarding McKennie is different: you're making assessments about another person's character, and you really don't have enough information to do so.

 

Took the day off of work. Had the double screen working with the Italy/Switz. matches. Good stuff.

Italy was completely lost for ideas against Norn. Looked us us playing against Sunderland back in the day.

 

I disagree. The info/evidence about McKennie’s behavior is there to see, just as is his technical contribution or acumen.

 

Well, in the absence of Eriksen then Højbjerg is the "brain" and key player in midfield for Denmark and no disrespect, but the Euro-20 results and World ranking right now unfortunately for Germany do not lie when it comes to Denmark. Since year 2000 Germany have only managed to beat Denmark once (in 2012) in 6 games, while they have been beaten twice and 3 draws. And according to Danish experts this Danish NT team is the best in the past 100 years. so forget about Laudrup and the 80's or the European champions of 92.

The Danish FA have had a specific plan to improve the talent development at club and youth NT level since 2005, and later in 2017 revealed an improved version of this plan, to help the top talent adapt to senior NT level, but obviously this has not happened overnight. It has been on the way and taken many years to become the success that we are seeing now, like with Denmark also having qualified for the past 4 European Under-21 Championships in a row. So Denmark has not yet peaked or reached it's destination, but has been on the way up since the WC-18 and the present NT coach expect that they will get better than now and add a level more in the years to come.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_...ship#Comprehensive_team_results_by_tournament

 

Ramsdale, ESR and Saka all started for England vs. San Marino yesterday. 3 Gunners on the pitch for England!?!? Seriously, when was the last time that happened?

 

Gündogan at 6 is better then both of them combined together

 

Looks like we had a number of players in the squad rotation back in our "English core" days. In Nov 2014, it appears we had 6 Arsenal players in the squad vs. Scotland. Ox, Wilshere and a recently signed Welbeck all started that game. Walcott, Gibbs and Chambers did not feature.

 

I'm with Jitty, international football is utter garbage mainly in UEFA because every 2 years there's another country created.

CAF and CONMEBOL are actually very competitive but there's a huge European bias so anything not in UEFA is not even taken seriously or further examined.


Portugal finished second in a group with Serbia, Ireland, Azerbaijan, and Luxembourg. I saw a stat about Cristiano's goals the opposition was laughable. Then you see Harry Kane scoring 4 against Gibraltar I mean what is this. It's absurd.

 

I know it goes against the idea of open competition or whatever, but there really needs to be a preliminary round in all UEFA qualifying. It's stupid to have England play San Marino or France play Kazakhstan. The bottom 20 teams in UEFA are all trash, cull the herd a bit.

Or, more radically, make qualifying structured more like the Nations League. Sure, top teams would miss out more often, but it would be a way more compelling watch. European qualifying is boring as hell 95% of the time.

 

Other continents have elimination rounds before main qualification begins. What are the reasons why Europe doesn't? Purely money-driven, I'm assuming,

 

Wait, you're comfortable making judgments about SOMEONE AS A PERSON because of what you saw during a soccer game, and see no need to give McKennie the benefit of the doubt?

Leaving aside what everyone else has said here (rivalry game, eye gouge, ref was wrong to give a yellow), have you considered the following possibilities that:

1. Team plan was to rotate and not play McKennie against Jamaica?
2. The team took into account the possibility of suspensions and told McKennie that getting a yellow was no big deal?
3. The referee had a complete brain malfunction and McKennie shouldn't have been booked?

And, of course, Weston McKennie is 23 years old.

I hope you're not in a situation where you'd want others to give you the benefit of the doubt, because you seem quite unwilling to give a stranger the benefit of the doubt based on fairly innocuous things that happened during a soccer game that you saw on TV.

 

When I was 23, I showed up hungover to the first day of a new job. I can't imagine the dumb shit I would have done on a Juventus salary.

 

I’m old and I show up to work hungover a few times a month.

 

gündogan is one of those non-arsenal players who i wish had better health through his career.

 

Mebe, you're being a little OTT aren't you?

Never did I say Weston was a bad or immoral person. I simply haven't rated him that much, and don't care for what I see as his disciplinary and attitudinal shortcomings.

We all have opinions on people, their personalities, and behaviors (perhaps even you?!) and we are entitled to them.

And that absolutely includes what one sees by watching players or what is reported about them. If you or anyone else doesn't think that the evidence I've cited above as basis for my opinion about him is legit, so be it. But I'm entitled. As are you.

Now, as to your suggestions that Berhalter basically approved of him earning another yellow to get suspended, and that he didn't want to have him in the squad for this match... well let's just say that's a bit far-fetched.

Also, quite a few prominent ex-player pundits do rate McKennie, including (tonight) Charlie Davies and Mo Edu. Both of whom said we missed him in our poor performance at JAM... implying we might've done better than a lackluster & lucky draw, had we had him.

I can't say I formed the same conclusion, but I listened because they are certainly more knowledgeable and astute about footy than me. But it still doesn't make me a fanboy for him, at least not at this time. And their comments don't seem to support your ideas that the coach didn't want/need him for JAM.

[Note: Another key piece of evidence I cited earlier -- his violations of team protocol, for club and country, which got him suspended... we are both leaving aside ATM, for different reasons]

I guess you're not going to agree with any or all of the above, but that's your prerogative.

 

Rick Reilly, everyone

 

Yes, sort of like what CONCACAF does.