4/30 Week Game Thread

candylandriots

candylandriots

unkempt
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 30, 2004
12,851
Berlin
I just saw the end of yesterday’s Palace game. What an ending. They have a better GD (+3) than Man U (+2), but somehow are 7 places behind them.

Union really screwed their chances at the UCL on Friday - totally outplayed by already-relegated Greuther Fürth (for the second time this season) and extremely lucky to come away with a point, after sub Sven Michel pressed his way into a GK mistake, that basically passed him the ball in front of an empty net. It was the kind of thing that would happen to me when I first started playing FUT haha.

With Freiburg winning last night, they’re going to need probably 6 from their last two matches (including away at Freiburg) and maybe some help from RB Leipzig dropping points or Leverkusen totally shitting the bed. Europa looks the more likely goal now, as Köln pulled into 6th. But with Freiburg and RB Leipzig basically locks for at least EL for next season, the spot from the Pokal will be available for 6th. So they just need to move ahead of Köln for that.

They pretty much have Conference League locked up (famous last words), 5 points ahead of 8th place Hoffenheim, with 2 to go (Hoffenheim playing Leverkusen and Gladbach, Union with Freiburg and Bochum).

Edit: Looking at the schedule again, their hopes really rest on defeating Freiburg away on Saturday. That would bring them a point behind Freiburg, who themselves play Leverkusen on the final Saturday.
 
Last edited:
HowBoutDemSox

HowBoutDemSox

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2009
10,926
By winning La Liga this year, Ancelotti becomes the first manager to win each of the five major European leagues: Serie A with Milan, the EPL with Chelsea, Ligue 1 with PSG, the Budesliga with Bayern, and now La Liga with Real Madrid. Obviously it helps when you get to coach the likes of Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Bayern, and Real, but still notable nonetheless.
 
Kliq

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
24,477
Kane comes through unmarked on a corner. 1-0 good guys.
 
OCST

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
25,757
The 718
Azpi (??) fumbles in the box at 46'. Richarlison picks his pocket and picks the lock. 1-0 Toffees. Goodison is rocking.
 
OCST

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
25,757
The 718
Well sm Pickford just made 2 of the best saves you will ever see and the second was full in the face and he’s hurt.
 
Kliq

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
24,477
Iheanacho scores literally while the PBP guy is saying "Another clean sheet for Hugo Lloris and Tottenham".
 
HowBoutDemSox

HowBoutDemSox

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2009
10,926
HowBoutDemSox said:
If Chelsea had top four clinched already, I’d joke that they should throw the match tomorrow as a favor to Frank, but they’ve dropped too many points and might wind up sweating out the end of the season to wrap up a UCL spot.
Click to expand...
Well Azpilicueta got the memo.
 
the1andonly3003

the1andonly3003

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,011
3/4 Chicago, 1/4 Boston
OCST

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
25,757
The 718
BernieRicoBoomer said:
That’s ludicrous.
Click to expand...
I'm an Everton homer and I didn't think so - I was watching with my daughter and I said, it's going to be six or seven minutes.

Richarlison was down for a few minutes - and yes, he falls down like he's been shot, he's well past the point of being the boy who cried wolf, so it's always sus when he's writhing around, but he really was hurt - he had a noticeable limp afterwards and was taken off a few minutes later. Come to think of it, if I were the ref and I thought he was bullshitting it, I would have erred on the high side in awarding the stoppage time.

And Pickford was hit flush in the face from less than ten feet away. He was down for a few minutes. I didn't think he would be able to continue. It's kind of appalling that they let players continue in that situation. They really do need an NFL-type concussion protocol. They would have to figure out how to handle it without burning one of your three subs on the one hand, and imposing a consequence if it were abused - maybe a yellow or even a red, I don't know, if Richarlison someone tried to fake a concussion as shithousery.

sm - I know a game where Pickford and Richarlison are the MOTM candidates was the exacta of players you hate, but can you at least give Pickford props for that sequence? Especially the save diving from one post to the other. I may have my Everton blue-colored glasses on, but I'm trying to think of a better save and I'm not coming up with one. That's even notwithstanding the context, although I think the consequences to the game, the season, the club was a motivating factor. I think Pickford is an adrenaline guy, which is why he has played better for England than for Everton. International football is lower on scheme, discipline etc. because the sides don't train together that much and there are so few games. It's not the week-in, week-out, cold Tuesday night in Stoke thing, where Pickford has lost focus and acted erratically in the past. Every game in the WC or Euros is by definition a big game, and he comes up big. Same here.

Amazing, it was. Youze probably saw the scenes outside Goodison and in the park. Liverpool police said more than 1M people came out to greet the team bus. The sky was so thick with blue smoke you couldn't see (yes, flares in the park = bad idea).

View: https://twitter.com/JDNalton/status/1520729477873082368?s=20&t=eZEvkk0lJtpV_cLYYYUBPA


And, bizarrely, a dog was carried through the crowd, like an icon in a religious procession or something. (In response to those who said this was cruel, others who were there and saw it said that the original idea was to keep the dog from getting crushed in the crowd):

View: https://twitter.com/antoniaellenw/status/1520732820351639558?s=20&t=eZEvkk0lJtpV_cLYYYUBPA

and

View: https://twitter.com/PhillipNuttall/status/1520779414379843584?s=20&t=eZEvkk0lJtpV_cLYYYUBPA


The dog and Peach Sweater Guy got MOTM votes in online forums and have gone straight into Everton lore:

View: https://twitter.com/EFCDog/status/1520870555771146240?s=20&t=eZEvkk0lJtpV_cLYYYUBPA

the fireworks were the night before, outside Chelsea's hotel. Tuchel admitted that they woke him up.

Gonna be a lot of new wallpapers on computers and phones today.
 
Last edited:
OCST

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
25,757
The 718
From an Everton board:

Tomorrow's headline in the [Liverpool Echo]:

Richarlson throws blue flame at toddler in Liverpool kit then goes down holding his shoulder
Click to expand...
 
SocrManiac

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
9,001
Somers, CT
OCST said:
I'm an Everton homer and I didn't think so - I was watching with my daughter and I said, it's going to be six or seven minutes.

Richarlison was down for a few minutes - and yes, he falls down like he's been shot, he's well past the point of being the boy who cried wolf, so it's always sus when he's writhing around, but he really was hurt - he had a noticeable limp afterwards and was taken off a few minutes later. Come to think of it, if I were the ref and I thought he was bullshitting it, I would have erred on the high side in awarding the stoppage time.
Click to expand...
I mean, this exact situation happened in the Liverpool game. Richarlison faked so many injuries in the first half (including a head injury on an uncontested header) that even his own teammates didn't believe him. That leads to your next point...

And Pickford was hit flush in the face from less than ten feet away. He was down for a few minutes. I didn't think he would be able to continue. It's kind of appalling that they let players continue in that situation. They really do need an NFL-type concussion protocol. They would have to figure out how to handle it without burning one of your three subs on the one hand, and imposing a consequence if it were abused - maybe a yellow or even a red, I don't know, if Richarlison someone tried to fake a concussion as shithousery.
Click to expand...
The protocol is in place and there's an additional substitution granted for concussions. I don't think the rule was written with like Richarlison in mind, who has already literally faked a head injury within the last week. He can't come back on the pitch after the sub, however, so I guess there's that, uh, "protection." Many managers are incredibly reluctant to bring on their backup goalkeeper, for whatever reason. I do think that, for goalkeepers, there should be a provision that they come off for evaluation (with a sub) and can go back on. They're too much at risk for spectacular knocks to the noggin and their managers do nothing to properly protect them.

sm - I know a game where Pickford and Richarlison are the MOTM candidates was the exacta of players you hate, but can you at least give Pickford props for that sequence? Especially the save diving from one post to the other. I may have my Everton blue-colored glasses on, but I'm trying to think of a better save and I'm not coming up with one. That's even notwithstanding the context, although I think the consequences to the game, the season, the club was a motivating factor. I think Pickford is an adrenaline guy, which is why he has played better for England than for Everton. International football is lower on scheme, discipline etc. because the sides don't train together that much and there are so few games. It's not the week-in, week-out, cold Tuesday night in Stoke thing, where Pickford has lost focus and acted erratically in the past. Every game in the WC or Euros is by definition a big game, and he comes up big. Same here.
Click to expand...
I really, really liked Pickford before he joined Everton and early in his career there. His shot stopping was incredible, especially for a guy with T-Rex arms. I think his "distribution" (AKA, kick it as hard as possible at every opportunity) should have disqualified him from England at this point. What really gets me about him is that he's an absolute asshole to his teammates. A good goalkeeper can motivate and organize his backline without berating them mercilessly, showing them up at every opportunity, and making childish displays.

He pulled a top class save out of his locker on that sequence- I don't think anybody would take that away from him. It required footwork, reaction, speed, and strength. It wasn't caused by poor positioning or a blunder on his part. It belongs in goalkeeper highlight reels.
 
OCST

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
25,757
The 718
Just clarifying - I was not saying that a concussion rule should apply to Richarlison, just talking about Pickford getting hit like that.

Everton fans also give Richarlison stick for his writhing act, fwiw.
 
SocrManiac

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
9,001
Somers, CT
singaporesoxfan said:
The funny thing about this is that the first person it made me think of was Peter Schmeichel
Click to expand...
Or Oliver Kahn.

Teams are far more integrated top to bottom than they were even ten years ago. You can’t play with the mindset of ten field guys and a keeper anymore or you’re down a man. I genuinely wonder if they would have been as successful today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom