Men's Soccer (Football) Thread Soccer • Page 318

Looking at the remaining I can’t help but feel most of them don’t deserve it lol I hope Switzerland or Turkey take this fr

 

I think the answer is obvious, but would you rather play shit footie and win the trophy or play exciting footie and do nothing? It’s a thought that comes to mind during these tournaments every time they cycle around.

And what made that 2008-2012 Spain team so damn incredible from a neutral perspective. 2014 Germany, too.

And what comes to mind a lot watching the USMNT. We try to play too “European” when the rest of our confederation/continents simply doesn’t. I feel like we’ve lost our identity a bit; not sure if that comes down to Gregg or just not having guys like Deuce, JJ, Timmy, etc. anymore. If we played a smidge uglier footie than we’re trying to and solidified ourselves a bit more with boring play, I’d gladly take it to see a step forward in results.

 

Think the issue is that playing ugly football doesn't then guarantee that you win the tournament or go any further than you would playing beautiful stuff. If it did, then the answer would be easy. The issue comes when you play ugly football and don't win, whether because of shit performances or just bad luck when it matters.

 

As someone who, at my core, doesn’t care who wins anything, I’d rather see them all play fun and then see how it shakes out

 

There is nothing more soul crushing than backing shit on a stick football and still losing. Hi Mourinho.

 

Yeah, it’s a bit of a hindsight thing for sure, which makes it a smidge harder to truly gauge.

 

Grim stuff for those involved

 

Every owner of every sports team in the world is, at their core, truly awful people.

 

You've suffered internationally, too, with the likes of Mick McCarthy, Keane, etc.

 

Keane never managed Ireland tbf. But yeah. Even the relatively successful Trapattoni was so fucking shit to watch I swore off going to Ireland games since.

 

Looks like Arsenal making the first real move for Calafiori

 

34+fees seems insanely low for him, but I'll take it

 

USMNT needs to get speed back in their play style. Gotta start recruiting athletes who aren't gonna make it in their original sport and see what they can do with the ball at their feet. But that would also require the dismantling of pay to play

Imagine having 30-year-old OBJ running down the wing at the 2022 WC. ( I only say him because he did win a soccer title at the high school state level)

 

The stuff Radcliffe is doing with the women’s team is also incredibly awful.

Seems like a typical billionaire prick.

 

Definitely, the women's team is getting treated like shit. Wouldn't be surprised if the team either folds or, more likely, is sold off to a third party (similar to what Chelsea have done, I believe). He has zero interest in it. Bang on about being a billionaire prick (as all billionaires are).

 

this is crazy low. Less than half of what we paid for him 2 years ago. The board has been nothing short of incompetent since sacking Nagelsmann. The only stroke of genius was Kane but it's not like they got a deal on him or anything.

 

Women’s team have been treated like shit since they were founded.

 

Grim but does seem like things need to change at every level of the organization.

 

Unless he's coming in to replace Gabriel, this reportedly £40-50m deal seems a lot to spend on a rotational CB

 

Just imagining a timeline where Southgate turns into a tactical genius from this point on.

 

Back three with Trent at RWB could work. The problem is who do you play at LWB? Saka maybe?

 

He played left back at Basel, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Arsenal wanted him for LB.

 

Some of them, as is the case with Jim Ratcliffe, receive knighthoods lol