Football 18/19

[pink_triangle]

13 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

Will any England players make team of the tournament? Trippier deserves it most of the team but Pavard has probably been more effective, then Henderson was good throughout but Modric, Pogba, Kante, De Bruyne all way better... I guess Kane will make it for his goal tally.

I would go for Vrsaljko (probably spelt that wrong) for right back. I also don't think Henderson should be in contention. You could make a case for Pickford, but Im not sure if he would beat the Croatia or French keepers.  I personally wouldn't put Kane in because 5 of the 6 goals came against Tunisia and Panama.

[jump]

9 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

It hasn't been a fantastic tournament for keepers but Pickford would be in with a shout.

I think he's in with a shout but Subasic has been saving a lot of penalties in the shoot outs and a good showing in the final could see it for him.    

[dentalplan]

10 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

I would go for Vrsaljko (probably spelt that wrong) for right back. I also don't think Henderson should be in contention. You could make a case for Pickford, but Im not sure if he would beat the Croatia or French keepers.  I personally wouldn't put Kane in because 5 of the 6 goals came against Tunisia and Panama.

I just meant Hendo was a standout for us (imo), but like I said there's those four - and more - in his position that were better.

Vrsaljko trumps Trippier too I guess, but I think him against Pavard might be decided in the final.

I agree about Subasic and Lloris and was just about to reply to @Hugh Jass suggesting they (and Courtois) had been better. Pickford was good by England standards but didn't look assured all the time. He'd basically be in there for the one game he got MOTM and his only clean sheet.

Kane and Lukaku have had remarkably similar tournaments. Mostly the same teams scored against and missing for the majority of the knockout rounds. Cavani has probably been the best centre forward - just a shame he succumbed to injury.

Edited July 13, 2018 by dentalplan

[pink_triangle]

Looking at just the knockouts Mandzukic has scored 2 very important goals. I don't think there has been a standout player in this tournament, Mbappe will probably win best player because he is the next big thing.

[Hugh Jass]

                         Subasic

              Godin Varane Misa

Trippier                                          ??

            Pogba Modric Kante

                  Cavani Mbappe

Edited July 13, 2018 by Hugh Jass

[kaosmark2]

Lloris has made great saves for France in low-scoring games. Keeper probably goes to the tournament winner.

[pink_triangle]

I think you could just pick from France and Croatia and not go far wrong.

[pink_triangle]

5 hours ago, Hugh Jass said:

                         Subasic

              Godin Varane Misa

Trippier                                          ??

            Pogba Modric Kante

                  Cavani Mbappe

I struggle with the left as well. I feel England or Belgium should have one player in my 11, but they aren’t having the left back!

[dentalplan]

1 hour ago, pink_triangle said:

I struggle with the left as well. I feel England or Belgium should have one player in my 11, but they aren’t having the left back!

Lucas Hernandez, surely? Aside from the Australia game where they were all pretty bad for different reasons, the France lads at the back have been pretty top draw. Looking at the other LB's/LWB's who made the quarters, it's him or Strinic.

Right now I'd go for Subasic; Pavard, Varane, Godin, Hernandez; Kante, Pogba, Modric; Mbappe, Cavani, Hazard.

Of course, there are six or seven playing on Sunday that are a good game away from being included. The Golden Ball will be decided on the pitch too - got a feeling Griezmann could gonna jump out of Mbappe's shadow and make it his.

[dentalplan]

Shaqiri for Liverpool then. I think the competition for the spot he wants will bring out a better side to him. And the fee is small enough that if he just gets fat and rots in the reserves before heading to China, it barely matters.

[pink_triangle]

9 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

Shaqiri for Liverpool then. I think the competition for the spot he wants will bring out a better side to him. And the fee is small enough that if he just gets fat and rots in the reserves before heading to China, it barely matters.

Don’t get it, to me he is the type Liverpool don’t need.

[kaosmark2]

4 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

Don’t get it, to me he is the type Liverpool don’t need.

In terms of attacking mids, Liverpool need quantity more than quality. It'll be hard to find an upgrade on Salah/Mane/Firminho going forward, but when they're tiring/injured they need someone else as an option.

[pink_triangle]

2 minutes ago, kaosmark2 said:

In terms of attacking mids, Liverpool need quantity more than quality. It'll be hard to find an upgrade on Salah/Mane/Firminho going forward, but when they're tiring/injured they need someone else as an option.

I meant attitude and work ethic rather than position or ability. 

[kaosmark2]

35 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

I meant attitude and work ethic rather than position or ability. 

Oh right. Fair enough.

[Dan R]

1 hour ago, pink_triangle said:

I meant attitude and work ethic rather than position or ability. 

He's obviously keen to play in Klopps system and will be aware he's not an automatic starter, so he obviously feels like he can improve. He's got a bit of a fighting edge as well which I think Liverpool lack at times. Also tough to get someone with genuine quality to sign as a squad player.

Think it's s really good deal, will probably be able to sell him at a profit even if he has a torrid spell. 

[eFestivals]

10 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

Don’t get it, to me he is the type Liverpool don’t need.

Me too ... apart from Liverpool needing to fatten their squad with some better-quality backups. For someone who isn't going to be first choice he probably ends up as a very decent option at a very decent price.

He might end up as too disruptive because he's not getting enough games, in which case I can see Klopp freezing him out quite quickly, and the price is low enough that it wouldn't matter much.

But if he knuckles down it gives Liverpool a better-fit alternative front option than they had last season - and that's something they desperately need.

[jyoung]

And so it begins. Happy with the Jorginho signing after last year missing top targets and suggestions we couldn't pull the top players anymore. With only three weeks til the Community Shield and four weeks til our first league game, it's going to be tough to hit the ground running. Not to mention Hazard and Courtois' futures in the air and them still being at the World Cup with Cahill, RLC, Giroud and Kante. So yeah, plenty to think and worry about but it's hard not to be excited by this. 

[pink_triangle]

So what channel will people watch the final on tomorrow? For the first time I’m switching to ITV, dont think those 3-4 minutes of adverts are any worse than listening to Shearer.

[lost]

Is Bilic doing ITV? I know he was pissed with them and missed the England game. If he's back i'll probably go with ITV.

[pink_triangle]

1 minute ago, lost said:

Is Bilic doing ITV? I know he was pissed with them and missed the England game. If he's back i'll probably go with ITV.

He was pitchside at the England game with Giggs from memory.

[dentalplan]

13 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

So what channel will people watch the final on tomorrow? For the first time I’m switching to ITV, dont think those 3-4 minutes of adverts are any worse than listening to Shearer.

Yep same. Been much preferable this tournament.

This game has been the worst game of the tournament, by the way. England are all knackered, boring subs, Kane is being taught to finish by Dier. Could’ve been a fun couple of hours but Southgate’s gone and made it boring.

[eFestivals]

same as it ever was

[pink_triangle]

45 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

Yep same. Been much preferable this tournament.

This game has been the worst game of the tournament, by the way. England are all knackered, boring subs, Kane is being taught to finish by Dier. Could’ve been a fun couple of hours but Southgate’s gone and made it boring.

Worse than France v Denmark?

I know he doesn’t really discuss (not that anyone else really does) tactics, but I quite enjoy how. Keane just tells it like it is. His put down of Rose and Jones was hilarious, but still very fair.

[dentalplan]

43 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

Worse than France v Denmark?

I know he doesn’t really discuss (not that anyone else really does) tactics, but I quite enjoy how. Keane just tells it like it is. His put down of Rose and Jones was hilarious, but still very fair.

Keano, Neville and Wrighty are just an excellent clash of characters. Lee Dixon is obviously there to provide a reminder of the torturous studio he escaped from. I can enjoy myself watching that lot but I just feel a sense of dread on BBC as they go back and forth between Shearer's attacking analysis and Rio's defence review.

I didn't watch the France-Denmark game with the Aussies having a chance to steal it on the other side, but I guess this game did actually offer more from what I've heard about it. For an England fan it must be the worst viewing of all.

Trippier, Pickford, Alli and Lingard being involved at all is daft - not even 72 hours ago Trippier was carried off the pitch and replaced with no one so why not give TAA a run? And Rashford's continued presence is just fast-tracking him to his status as the new Walcott, when they could give Welbeck a go for being a good sport, he could've easily come on when Lukaku went off and Kane's prize was secure. I think Cahill could've had a decent sendoff (probably Welbeck too) in this game but yeah, Phil Jones!

edit: also it's like you said about the tactical subs... Southgate isn't interested in changing the shape - you see Alli standing at the touchline and you know who's coming off. 

Edited July 14, 2018 by dentalplan

[pink_triangle]

In fairness I thought Kane was being pretty humble when asked what the golden boot meant he said it meant they scored a lot of goals in the group which I felt was a realistic judgement on his hIt and miss campaign.