Football in the UK and Ireland season 2021/22

Discussion in 'Women's International' started by sbahnhof, Jun 26, 2021.

  1. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Manchester City is by now considered so hopeless that a 0-2 loss to West Ham isn't even worth a comment here? o_O

    From supposed Champions' League contenders last season (although Barcelona actually exposed them quite early) to supposed cannon fodder these days: letting go of the US internationals can be a reason enough to justify this crash? Or is there anything else behind it?

    It's maybe worth noticing that Real Madrid, who eliminated Manchester City from the Champions' League last month, have subsequently lost 4 games out of 5 in the Spanish League so far, just to even better put things in perspective. :coffee:
     
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  2. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    City are a disaster this season. They made a catalogue of errors:
    played no pre-season games before going into the Champions League qualification and ended up eliminated.
    Mis-managed their Olympics player and so many of them are now out injured.
    Shit performance with one win and three defeats in four games. Gareth Taylor is in trouble but we don't know if people in Abu Dhabi will want to sack him...
     
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  3. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    #103 Ethan Frank, Oct 5, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2021
    Certainly not anything to do with the Americans leaving in my opinion. City had their best run of form last season without Mewis in the team, and unlike what quite a few USWNT fans think, Taylor didn’t misuse Lavelle when it came to minutes.

    Injuries and poor finishing jump out at me. So many players have been out injured to start the season, and after significantly outperforming their xG vs Everton, City have not finished well at all. I didn’t watch City vs West Ham, but that Hemp 1 on 1 sums them up right now. Hemp coming back was the reason City was able to push for the title last season, and who could ever forget about that assist vs Reading? That effort vs Arnold didn’t remotely look like it came from the same player.

    Edit: Also, major defensive miscues. I don’t know where they’ve come from. Maybe they would have lost twice anyways, but Kennedy vs Arsenal and Stokes vs West Ham were both shocking plays.
     
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  4. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    United rant

    It seems like to me a contingent of fans just automatically look at midfielders as scapegoats for draws/losses. I get it to an extent, and I'm not a fan of a couple of United midfielders. However, are those fans trying to be too fancy/analytical a lot of the times? Is the midfield that bad when the match could have easily been a win with better execution from defenders and forwards in just a couple moments? Galton's breakaway miss and the defending on either City goal are prime examples. Better execution on any one of those three plays would have likely given United the win, but instead of talking more about misplays from forwards and defenders, I've largely just seen criticism of Zelem (understandable but still) and Groenen (to a lesser degree but prominent from Ladd/Boe Risa "stans"). (I've seen minimal criticism of Batlle's performance vs Hemp from United fans; Hemp's end product was a bit off, but she ran Batlle ragged.) Ladd and Boe Risa have been and will be played through plenty of times despite what some think; when that happens, your team's defenders have to be better than what they've shown vs Chelsea and City.

    Honestly, I think I'd go with Ladd, Boe Risa, and Groenen as my first choice midfield right now. Toone's overall play still frustrates me often enough wherever she plays, but she keeps contributing with goals, assists, and GCAs. Those contributions also don't seem too dependent so far on where she plays either in my opinion. So, I'd go with Russo up top, Toone on one flank, and Galton/Hanson on the other flank. I've been critical of the defense and Earps often enough, but there are really no other current options back there.
     
  5. Disapproving Hippo

    Manchester United
    United States
    Jan 17, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think United just needs that one formidable leader, like Tobin Heath last year, to rally the squad. Zelem?:rolleyes::thumbsdown: Preferably an imposing number 10 in between Toone and Galton and Russo as number 9. The main problem is the backline unfortunately and as you've mentioned, no other options right now.
     
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  6. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    Well, I think Boe Risa and Groenen would work well as dual 8s, and they both direct/communicate well; there wouldn't be a 10 in the system I proposed. If we go with a 10, I'd say Toone with Groenen and Ladd/Boe Risa behind her. (Honestly, I thought Toone at 9 and Groenen at 10 looked very good in the last 20 minutes vs Birmingham, but that won't look as good often enough with both out of optimal position.)
     
  7. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    Is Russo a good enough center forward to keep ManU competitive with the big three? I really haven't seen her enough to rate her. I know she's quality--but that's a spot that requires star quality.
     
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  8. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    I believe she can. She's a big strong player with some pace and technical skills. Just not much experience except from U.S. college and few games with Man United from last season before being injured and out for the rest of last season.
     
  9. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Record tv viewers with more than 1M on BBC for the Manchester derby



    Last week-end results



    and table



    City are now more or less officially finished for the title. They will never get 11 points back unless something unusual happens. They dropped two more points at the week-end against United.

    Stanway was sent off and moaned about being abused on social media



    She should not get abused, but she is deflecting the attention from the fact that she is quite a dirty player. She got away with it previously but that referee did not take any bullshit.
     
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  10. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    Man City is done. With all the injuries it would take a miracle just being in CL qualifiers.
     
  11. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    Stanway IS a dirty player. I've seen her commit a lot of bad fouls in recent years. She's someone who's not been carded nearly enough.
     
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  12. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    She’s showing whose the boss like VDD when in Arsenal.
     
  13. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    Her overall game isn't as good as that of Harder, Kirby, Kerr, Miedema, etc., but she's got great movement, can be pretty creative, works hard, and is capable of finishes like the one vs City and vs Brighton at LSV last season. The issue is that United's defense (including the fullbacks, who get less criticism overall given their play offensively) in their current form won't keep the team competitive with the big three (assuming City rights the ship).
     
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  14. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    I think United also messed up their Summer window. Not enough quality new signings to add depth to the squad.
     
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  15. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    #115 Ethan Frank, Oct 14, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2021
    Definitely needed more quality defender depth. That being said, a lot of fans got their preferred midfield pivot, and I honestly don't think either Ladd or Boe Risa had a particularly good match. Ladd's play for Toone's goal was one of her few standout plays on the day, and that had more to do with Toone's quality and poor keeping (assuming the shot wasn't deflected). (Still good play, but it's one of those plays where an assist being credited feels generous.) Boe Risa had one pass at the death that was poorly cleared into Russo's path, but she somehow missed the net with her shot. I thought United's defending from dead ball situations was actually good vs City; that was not the case today.

    I don't know what's up with Groenen and cup competitions. First season - completely sat out Leicester and Brighton; second season - not even in the squad vs Leicester in the FA Cup; this season - not even in the squad vs Durham. Has she been requesting these matches off? Some were saying it was smart to rest her. Well, she's now going into the Cyprus match with two weeks of no competitive action, and she'll have almost a two week break from competitive action between the Belarus match and Tottenham. Plus, Russo's just gone two full 90s in less than a week following a long-term injury while we're worried about resting a player known for having impressive fitness levels. It's just a bit peculiar to me.
     
  16. Disapproving Hippo

    Manchester United
    United States
    Jan 17, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Out of the 3 ManU forwards, Russo is currently the best and she can be as effective as what the big three have IF only united have a good consistent playmakers. Galton and Hanson are the only decent ones. Groenen is more of a defensive midfielder. Ladd and Staniforth are both blah. Boe Risa is too early to judge. Toone is very selfish. Zelem sucks.
     
  17. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    Yeah, I definitely get too invested in listening to different opinions on United Women. (Of course, that won't stop me from continuing to do so.) I've heard someone gush about Ladd vs Durham, someone praise Zelem as calmer on the ball than Groenen, and someone criticize Blundell for not handling Hemp well in the Manchester Derby. I must have been watching a different match regarding Ladd because I actually don't think she was much of a defensive presence outside of a couple of plays, and her passing just wasn't particularly clean/tidy in my opinion. I kind of get the thought behind that comment on Groenen vs Zelem because Groenen can get very hectic in her pressing and overall playing style (but does show calmness regularly as well like in the buildup on Galton's goal vs Birmingham and Russo's goal vs City), but Zelem's not really any calmer on the ball. She's just less dynamic and has a playing style less dependent on high energy/fitness. The Blundell remark is just peculiar; a United fullback did struggle immensely vs Hemp last Saturday, but it wasn't Blundell.

    Regarding something less United related, what's up with Everton Women? 4-0 loss vs City in the league and 5-1 loss vs City in the Conti Cup, 4-0 loss vs Chelsea in the league, and 3-0 loss vs Arsenal in the league. I personally don't think it's much of a "too many new players" issue; I just think a lot of people overrated Everton and the quality of their new signings going into the season. I won't rule out being proven wrong though. The match vs United on 11/14 will be huge; if Everton lose that, then they won't have improved on last season at all where they lost all eight games to the big 3 and United. If they win that match, maybe it'll give them confidence going into matches vs the big 3 in the second half of the season.
     
  18. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Willie Kirk sacked by Everton. Performance related of course.
     
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  19. Lechus7

    Lechus7 Member+

    Aug 31, 2011
    Wroclaw
    There is talk about J-L Vasseur to replace him...any thoughts on that?
     
  20. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    He is not good. He ended the Lyon sequence of 14 league success in a row.
     
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  21. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    No Ada.
     
  22. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    Toone is getting hyped up for playing a pass that should have been claimed or booted out of the box by the Northern Ireland keeper (Mead's third goal). I get it; she's been putting up great goal and assist numbers for a lot of games now. However, I don't think she's been as good as so many claim she has been for significant portions of her matches; I know passes that aren't completed can still be good/useful, but that was a tad overhit and should have been dealt with.

    Mead was the obvious difference maker for England today; it seems like Hemp was easily the best starter for England.
     
  23. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    So, Toone and Kirby were good/pretty good today. I just expected a bit more creativity from both of them vs Northern Ireland. A bit of hyperbole, but Hemp is going to want Kelly to come back firing for the sake of her back. Against top opposition, I think England should go with Walsh and Williamson in midfield with one of Kirby or Toone (or maybe Stanway/Nobbs) in front of them.

    Edit: In the future, Mead as potentially the starting 9 with Hemp and Kelly flanking her?
     
  24. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    City are seriously missing Roebuck. Each Chelsea goal was preventable. (Fleming’s cross could have been claimed/punched in my opinion.)

    Also, some United fans are complaining about United not being able to do more versus City’s defense in the recent 2-2 match. I mean I get that, but then, you also have some fans thinking United’s backline and Earps have been their best players so far this season. Seriously? Chelsea’s defense not making mistakes like Mannion and Blundell did was every bit as critical to the win as any perceived better offense. Of course, there was also some luck. Berger made a wonder save on Park onto the post, but the ball didn’t go off Berger’s back and drop to a City player this time around.
     
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  25. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Arsenal v Chelsea in the FA CUP final 05 December. I was amazed to see Benameur being made the scapegoat for City's defeat as if she was the sole responsible for conceding. I mean if the defender defend properly, there is no shot on goal.

    Chelsea 3-0 win at City confirms that Gareth Taylor is in trouble because all his targets are getting missed time and time again: eliminated of the Champions League and FA Cup, out of the title race. He has tow more competitions to save his bacon. The Fa Cup 2021/22 and the League Cup.

    Four games are played this week in the Conti Cup with City at home to Durham.

     
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