Matchweek 4

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Where’s the match?

Oh, right. Peacock. Low bitrate, low framerate, and the feature set of my local cable company in 1997. Progress!
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
8,634
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My early impressions of Timo Werner are that he’s incredibly fast and he takes every possible opportunity to feign injury.
 

candylandriots

unkempt
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Mar 30, 2004
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Eze looks very fun, I bet he’s a joy in the games where Palace plays football.
Everyone is really excited about him joining, and I’ve been impressed so far too. Palace’s recruitment team finally got the sort of players the fans wanted them to get this year.

But this game has been putrid.
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
My early impressions of Timo Werner are that he’s incredibly fast and he takes every possible opportunity to feign injury.
Some impressions
- Palace were awful .. offered nothing in defence or offence.

- Chelsea much more cohesive defensively .. mind you, Palace contributed mightily to that.

- Liked Havertz better today - looks like he’s starting to settle.

- Werner, on the other hand looked much worse - four matches , no goals . He may becoming frustrated. And, as mentioned he really embellishes every little knock.

- Abraham looked like he was going to cry when not allowed to take the second pen. Of the all the Chelsea attacking players I think he’s under the most pressure to produce. When everyone is bedded does he even make the bench? Surely Giroud is better suited to a backup striker? He’s been doing it for years.
 
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Jimy Hendrix

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Jun 15, 2002
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Chelsea don’t seem to be able to get Werner in open space much with all their possession, and that’s where he’s maximally lethal.

I only saw him released like that once in the whole game, by Pulisic when he launched a counter. That was basically where he lived in Leipzig.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Still not sold on Lampard’s ability to make it work.

A 4-2-3-1 with Abraham at the 9, Havertz at 10, and bunch of dynamic wingers plus Chilwell bombing up the left - maybe not innovative tactic, but would win you plenty of matches.

Or is this a press-and-counter 4-3-3 side with Werner leading a fast and swarming front line supported by a few excellent midfield options with Kante at the base? That’s also a great set up.

but so far Frank seems to be mixing and matching players and styles. And still winning 4-0 on the day. So what do I know?
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Ancellotti has these guys playing very, very well. Everyone looks comfortable in their role and fluid in their roles.
 

teddykgb

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Jul 16, 2005
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Annoying that suddenly the handball rule isn’t strict but Leeds deserved their point and Citys unimpressive slide down continues
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
Unbelievable - Persepolis score 5 picture-perfect penalties in the penalty shootout against former Liverpool keeper Brad Jones, and advance to the AFC Champions League Finals defeating the (relatively) star-studded Al-Nassr FC - whose lineup included Maicon, Pity Martinez, and Abderrazak Hamdallah. This coming after advancing again Santi Cazorla's Al Sadd in the round of 16. Tough scene for those oil-drenched Saudi... never mind.

Tractor Sazi is my club, but an incredible achievement for Iranian club football given the goings-on of the past year especially. The win gives Persepolis and incredibly-needed $2m payout, but like the World Cup I wouldn't be surprised if the confederation witheld the money on account of American intimidation yet again.
 

nolasoxfan

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Jun 11, 2004
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Unbelievable - Persepolis score 5 picture-perfect penalties in the penalty shootout against former Liverpool keeper Brad Jones, and advance to the AFC Champions League Finals defeating the (relatively) star-studded Al-Nassr FC - whose lineup included Maicon, Pity Martinez, and Abderrazak Hamdallah. This coming after advancing again Santi Cazorla's Al Sadd in the round of 16. Tough scene for those oil-drenched Saudi... never mind.

Tractor Sazi is my club, but an incredible achievement for Iranian club football given the goings-on of the past year especially. The win gives Persepolis and incredibly-needed $2m payout, but like the World Cup I wouldn't be surprised if the confederation witheld the money on account of American intimidation yet again.
Tractor Sazi is a fantastic club name! Googling their kit right now...
 

Joe D Reid

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Burnley are finally going to be relegated, eh?
They are real bad. Newcastle clearly decided that after going up 1-0 all they had to do to win was stop anyone on the field from playing soccer. It didn't work, but the instant they started playing again they got 2 more without much effort. I can't quite see who Burnley can beat straight-up besides maybe the other relegation teams..
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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The 718
@OCST will be fun after that one.

Should we do a wellness check?
I was coaching my daughter's softball team who, like the Toffees, are off to a 4-0 start. I avoided social media all day and came home to watch the replay but Peacock didn't have it. Grrr. I found it on Youtube in Russian.

I cannot believe what I'm seeing from Everton, it's pure joy to watch this team. Except for Jordan F'n Pickford. He's a shambolic mess. We're not going to score 4 goals a game (although on current form it's hard to believe we won't) so at some point we'll need to defend, and he inspires no confidence.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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Shades of Origi‘s derby goal in that Pickford gaffe. For those in the know (paging @OCST ), is that a general weakness for him ?
Going up over his head, I guess you mean? Maybe. He's shorter than most keepers. Some supporters (away and home) mock him for his alligator arms.

His biggest problem is between the ears, though. He is a fantastic shot-stopper when situations arise suddenly but the more time you give him to think about something the likelihood of a fuckup increases exponentially.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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What a great game to watch the last thirty minutes .. complete end to end play.
The Guardian seemed to regard it as some sort of group hallucination or fugue state.

Was this ultimate order or ultimate chaos? On a night of greasy, lawless entertainment, the temptation was to err towards the latter. Bielsa and Pep Guardiola are frequently described as coaches whose teams like to dominate. Here, every fresh attempt to do so seemed to bury the game in fresh lashings of anarchy, from skittish start to frenetic finish. Guardiola admitted he needed “time to process” the game. Bielsa declared there were “no tactical aspects which were significant”.

Was Bielsa right? Was this simply one of those games that defied the chalkboard, that surfed along on a wave of high energy, high emotion and high caprice? Well, yes and no. Certainly as the chances began to pile up, as the ball began to slingshot from end to end, it became increasingly hard to tell what was choreographed and what was chaotic, what was adaptation and what was pure, brutal instinct.

And besides, is it really chaos if both teams have willed it so? It was a game that had been pegged in advance as a high-scoring fiesta of attacking football. Yet what transpired was something far more nuanced and interesting than a cartoon slugfest. It seemed to evolve and mutate at a supernatural rate, as if by machine learning: games within games, games around games, games spawning games.
 

bandito0

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Jul 16, 2005
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So West Ham are off to a fast start, leading Leicester 2-0 at half.

The much maligned Aaron Cresswell has the assist on both goals, the first on a beautiful cross to Antonio (who else), and the second on a sky ball clearance that was settled and finished beautifully by Pablo Fornals.

Also of note is the new RB Vladimir Coufal making his debut and has played pretty well.

Dare I say I actually like watching the Hammers right now?
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
So West Ham are off to a fast start, leading Leicester 2-0 at half.

The much maligned Aaron Cresswell has the assist on both goals, the first on a beautiful cross to Antonio (who else), and the second on a sky ball clearance that was settled and finished beautifully by Pablo Fornals.

Also of note is the new RB Vladimir Coufal making his debut and has played pretty well.

Dare I say I actually like watching the Hammers right now?
Can’t figure them out yet but on their day they do look good.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Love Southampton’s kits unconditionally. Red shirt, white sash, black shorts *chefs kiss*
 

Section30

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Leeds seem to have the ability to impose or entice other teams into their game style.. To get both Liverpool and Man C. to move towards run and gun instead of ball control and slow build up is a major plus for them. It is their strength and so far opposing teams can't help but fall into that type of game.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Leeds seem to have the ability to impose or entice other teams into their game style.. To get both Liverpool and Man C. to move towards run and gun instead of ball control and slow build up is a major plus for them. It is their strength and so far opposing teams can't help but fall into that type of game.
whenver they win the ball, Leeds players know exactly where to send it to spring the counter. It’s wonderful coaching. How many times have we already seen Leeds defenders take one touch and then send the ball up to a streaking Costa? They can do it in their sleep it seems.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Betancur expected to start over McKennie vs Napoli
Napoli didn’t make the trip, did they? It sounded like Juventus would be on the pitch ready, earn the forfeit, then work to play the match later.

I wish I could say I was surprised that Serie A would endanger the players, but I’m not.
 

The Gray Eagle

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Aug 1, 2001
16,722
Arsenal comfortably ahead 2-0 in the 84th minute.
Then McGoldrick scores, and Sheffield takes over and gets their only real sustained pressure of the game. McGoldrick gets another chance in the dying seconds, but it's just partially deflected and goes wide. Corner kick amounts to nothing, game over.
2-1 final.