Men's Soccer (Football) Thread [ARCHIVED] Soccer • Page 104

I have zero emotions about this USMNT match. It's been a weird two years.

 

missing the World Cup has been absolutely calamitous for national team interest

 

It really baffles me when people freak out about Poch saying finishing top 4 is more important than the domestic cups. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about the cups or that he’ll purposely get the squad knocked out of the competition. He’s simply saying he thinks finishing in the top 4 is more valuable for the club. And I don’t know how you can say he’s wrong.

Every manager of the top teams values the league more than the domestic cups. It’s why you see weakened teams in these games. He’s just the only one to come out and say it publicly. Unfortunately for Spurs, our backups are now our starters because of injuries and when we get to these cup games we’re starting GNK, Llorente, Walker-Peters, and Skipp together.

Poch is getting trashed and it’s ridiculous. Is it his fault KWP gave up the worst penalty I’ve ever seen? Is it his fault GNK scoffed a wide open shot? Is it his fault Trippier completely missed the goal on a pen? He fielded a team and relayed tactics that put the team in position to win and the players blew it.

And in any other competition (or even just last year in this competition) we would’ve advanced against Chelsea. But that’s the rules now and we lost in pens. With a team missing it’s 3 best scoring threats and no bench.

Winning trophies is great, but fans have it embedded in their heads that’s its all that matters. How’d that work out for Jose at United? He won a handful of trophies in a short time and it didn’t help him keep his job or keep the players happy. How’d that work out for Wenger at the end of his run? He won some FA cups but failed in the league table and everyone called for his head.

 

Poch had a quote a couple weeks ago that was pretty close to “if winning a domestic cup was my priority for the club I’d be fired”. And he isn’t wrong.

If these players are really so mentally weak that statements like that effect them (I don’t think it really does) then I don’t know what to say. That’s sad.

 

What do people think about the use of VAR for some FA Cup games but not others? I think it showed how unfair that was this weekend (Millwall handball goal wrongly allowed despite them playing the replays on the screen because VAR was only used if the PL team was at home vs. Sheffield Wednesday's penalty rightly denied by VAR). It's good that they are trialling it but it seems odd having a knock out tournament where it's one rule in one stadium and a different rule in another (I understand that a League Two team (for example) aren't going to have the screens to implement this... but Millwall did have the ability to show the replay on a big screen!)

It's much more financially astute to finish in the top 4. With the finances of the Champions League, that has to be the aim. It's a shame for cup competitions, but it's the way it is at the moment. If an FA Cup win got you into the Champions League instead of the fourth place team then teams would be going for it (not saying that's what they should do, just saying that the Europa League entry means nothing to the big six teams).

The sad thing for Tottenham has been losing Kane, Alli and Son. I'm pretty certain you would have been in the League Cup final if those players played. Same for the Palace match - think they would have made a difference. I don't understand why he's been trashed. He's got a relatively small squad without backup in key areas - is it possible to do better? It's a shame because out of every team, Tottenham/Poch deserve something to show for it in terms of silverware, but at the end of the day, money talks.

 

Fans are fortunate enough to have the ability to form their opinions based on results. They aren’t the ones who have to actually manage the club. If Poch started Eriksen yesterday and he went down with a muscle injury or whatever everyone would raise hell. All the fans rave for KWP to get more time. He got a start yesterday and was terrible defensively.

 

I honestly didn’t know that’s how they were doing VAR this year. But that’s a very dumb rule haha

Almost as dumb as randomly deciding away goals don’t benefit you anymore

 

In transfer news...

That’d be a great move for them. I’m a big fan of the Maddison signing. This addition would give them another nice piece in the midfield.

 

Don't understand VAR being used sporadically in a competition. You either use it for every game or not at all in my eyes.

 

It all depends on the priorities/history/level of your club. I agree that for Tottenham, to finish in the top 4 at this stage is more important to the future successs of the club than an FA or Carling Cup. A lot of fans will never see it that way, and their does come a point where if you want to be seen as a big/successful club then you need to stack up honors. For Jose at United, he won Europa (a competition United don’t even want to be in) and a League Cup, not major honors for them. Wenger was hounded for years over top 4 v trophies cause the standard at arsenal, that he help set of course, was higher. Priorities/goals are all relative. I think for the most part Poch has received a ton of praise, almost all of it deserved, for the job he’s done. These questions on top 4 v trophies will come now that the stature of the club starts to rise, in some ways it’s a sign of respect

 

Trophies are far more important than a 4th placed finish imo. If Chelsea win the Europa League this season for example, it would be fantastic for me even if they miss out on the top 4 (which there is every chance that they might). Aiming to win every competition you are in should be the default mindset for any top club at the start of a season. What happens throughout is completely up to chance and there will be many factors that prevent a team from winning everything, but it is expected of teams like United and Chelsea that they give absolutely 100% to go as far as they can in every competition, no less.

Without trying to be disrespectful, teams like Liverpool and Tottenham have not won a major trophy for a long, long time so they do not remember what the feeling is like - whether it is the CL, EL, FA Cups, whatever, when your team wins a trophy it is a great feeling! It brings so much positivity both individually and collectively, increasing the prestige of the club and players, thus attracting a higher calibre of players/managers to keep building on the success, more money from prize winnings, advertising, more televised games etc. so you can offer top players higher wages and incentives. There is absolutely no downside to winning even the Carabao Cup - 3rd or 4th in the PL by itself is just not enough (fuck, even winning several FA Cups while coming 3rd/4th was not good enough for Arsenal!).

Spurs must win something soon or it will get more difficult to keep top players who desire to win trophies (like Bale, Modric, Walker etc.). The disrespect from Rabiot saying he'd rather go to Bayern/Barca and sit on the bench (he knows he is not 1st X1 level) rather than be a starter at Spurs says enough.

 

A couple things here, Chelsea are a far different club expectation wise and financially than Tottenham (and winning Europa gets you UCL). I respect the idealistic nature of aiming to win every competition but that is only realistic for a select few clubs. Arsenal are a different club expectation wise to Spurs, which is why it wasn't good enough for Arsene, United/City/Chelsea are even above Arsenal with expectations. I don't think Tottenham could ever keep players like Bale/Modric etc even with FA Cups, those kind of players are always going to want huge wages/league titles/chances to win UCL. For Spurs, for now, top 4 should be the goal, above winning League Cups or FA Cups I think. If they establish themselves as a fixture in the UCL for 5-6-7 seasons, then that will change.

 

So, as long as I can get tickets once they go on sale...I'll be attending the last Barcelona home game this season. And will hopefully convince @Platy to join me.

 

I think this is what Poch has been preaching when he talks about “the project“. And when you look at where we’re at after 5 years with him compared to before, it’s working. We are no longer a joke to other top clubs (outside of the usual banter). I think Levy deserves credit too, but Poch has obviously been the key.

 

just had this retweeted across my timeline,

 

this was my favorite tweet making fun of us that I came across

 

I like this one

 

Looks like Arsenal are signing Denis Suarez from Barca on loan with an option to buy, meh. I guess if he can recover his Villarreal form it won’t be awful

 

Poch: "First of all I don't know if the fans were happy or not happy because I don't follow social media. I think it's so important to clarify. I know now that talk about ego is a negative expression in England, maybe in other countries we talk about it being more superficial."

"It's because in the past I've been asked if winning a domestic cup will help the club to the next level. To win a Carabao Cup or FA Cup reach the next level, I cannot agree. Only I wanted to say how well we've progressed in recent years."

"I want to win cups. I'm not naive. It's tough for me because after 3/4 seasons we're always talking about the cups. I want to build my CV winning titles of course. I'm the first who wants to win. I think in the last five years we've played in four semi-finals and one final."

"If you ask me how to be in the next level it's improving our structure, the way we operate, the squad, the facilities. We tick almost all boxes. The fans that aren't happy, with perspective in the future they will appreciate everything everyone is doing for this football club."

This guy is amazing and our dumbass fans are gonna run him off.

 

a midfield three of Elneny-Guendouzi-Torreria at home against Cardiff. Emery is a disease

 

Gana's gone :(

 

Good signing for them?

 

Can someone tell me about this guy? I've seen conflicting things on Reddit. What position does he play?

 

He’s an attacking mid and can play wing. He’s pretty fast and was a very complete AM in MLS. Excited to see him in EPL.

 

Madness that Pereira walked back onto the pitch for the second half and there he goes and hands Burnley a goal. Been shocking.