The 22/23 Football Thread

I can't believe how well Arsenal are doing this year. We rarely win at Stamford Bridge, but glad of the 3 points today. Plus, Liverpool seem to be sorting Spuds out for us as well... Chelsea will be lucky to see European football next year.
 
Breaking News.

AFC Crewe, who play in the 14th tier in the English football pyramid, have offered Ronaldo a club record £35 per week, which would make him the highest paid player at the club.
 
I've just looked at the footy gossip on the BBC, and it says that Man City are looking to sell Jack Grealish to help fund a bid for Jude Bellingham. :oops: :$

Was there anyone else willing to spend £100m on Jack Grealish when they bought him? After a season and half, and 7 goals in 55 games, do you reckon they have any chance of A, selling him, and B, getting anywhere close to the £100m they bought him for! :thinking: :LOL:
 
Grealish has only had bit parts for City, why they don't play him more often I'll never understand. He is great at what he does, receive the ball and carry it forward. Whilst he has impressed for England, Bellingham is still very young and I guess they want to "own" him before any other of the big clubs.
 
Why they bought Grealish, from such a low return for Villa over the years for goals and assists was beyond me, paying £100m amazed me. 29 goals in 185 games over 9 year! :oops: :$ Who else was interested!

As far as not playing him enough, I think there takes some adjustment to Guardiola's playing style, but even so, I think if he suddenly started scoring goals when he did play, which was probably the expectation for some reason, then he may have played more. Mahrez seems to be able to come in occasionally, make a big impact, and score.
 
Grealish reminds me of Ross Barkley when he burst onto the scene. A talented player who ends up above his station in terms of ability & fades away over the years. A very good Premier league player but a little too one dimensional to be world class.

Bellingham on the other hand is world class already, imagine the clamour for him if he was Spanish/Dutch/Brazilian etc. Who wouldn’t want him?
 
I think Barkley was bigged up because of what happened to Wayne Rooney at Everton, and even more by what happened after he left. Hopes were for something close, but his career has fizzled out a bit. I thought the Chelsea move was a mistake, and I have been proved right. Still, with that move he's probably set for life.

I think Grealish was the star player at a smaller team, though offering excitement over goals or even too may assists, and particularly being a local lad. He's not scored more than 8 goals in a season, or more than 10 assists, and yet £100m. :oops: :$ :jawdrop:

And before any Villa fans get a bit miffed at being called a smaller team, they have a long history, a large fanbase, but over the last 10-20 years or so, they have been going through rough times. And when the star player was the aforementioned Grealish, rather than an out and out goal scorer or two, their expectations are pretty low.
 
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Grealish reminds me of Le Tiss without the sublime skill of the latter
Very laid back and not sure sometimes if he can be that bothered.
 
I've just watched the Spurs vs Chelsea game, and I can't believe how poor Chelsea are after all the money they have spent. They really do look like a mid table side, not one that has getting on for 30 international players in the squad.
 
Harry Kane needs one goal tonight against Italy to become Englands highest scorer.
He is currently on 53 goals along with Wayne Rooney.
Rooney played 120 times for his goals, Kane 80 times for his.
17 of Kane's goals are from penalties, he has missed 4.
Rooney took 7 penalties and scored them all.
Jimmy Greaves ( of the higher scorers) has the best strike rate 44 goals from 57 games and Greaves never took a penalty.
Garry Lineker 80 games with 48 goals, 4 of which were penalties. Took 5 missed 1

Kane goals vs games is impressive. However I have no doubt there are far more penalties given in modern day football than when Greaves or Lineker where playing.
 
Jelster said:
I've just watched the Spurs vs Chelsea game, and I can't believe how poor Chelsea are after all the money they have spent. They really do look like a mid table side, not one that has getting on for 30 international players in the squad.
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They have inbuilt mid-table mentality. This is inevitable because they have signed so many of Leicester's players. Kante, Drinkwater, Chilwell, Forfana
 
badlywornroy said:
They have inbuilt mid-table mentality. This is inevitable because they have signed so many of Leicester's players. Kante, Drinkwater, Chilwell, Forfana
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Most of whom won the league with Leicester. They really miss Kante, like Arsenal miss Partey when he's not playing.
 
Jelster said:
Most of whom won the league with Leicester. They really miss Kante, like Arsenal miss Partey when he's not playing.
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Just Kante and Drinkwater in Leicesters Premier League team.
 
Crazy - Naglesmann sacked by Bayern - 2nd in Bundesliga 1 point off top and in CL Semis after beating PSG 3-0 !!! Sort of thing Watford do!
 
cambsno said:
Crazy - Naglesmann sacked by Bayern - 2nd in Bundesliga 1 point off top and in CL Semis after beating PSG 3-0 !!! Sort of thing Watford do!
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He'll be at Chelsea next week if they lose again...
 
Jelster said:
Wasn't Chilwell there as well? Maybe not, I'm not up on Leicester....
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Chilwell was at Leicester since 12 years of age. He made his 1st team debut in 2015.
He did not feature in a league match in the title winning season and did not receive a winners medal.
This is what rich clubs do. as in Chilwells case, Leicester nurture him from an early age, teach him his trade and then the rich clubs swoop. Chelsea especially have long been 'harvesting' young talent. Some never even get a 1st team game and are loaned out and many are never heard of again. I really dislike Chelsea for these reasons above.
 
badlywornroy said:
Chilwell was at Leicester since 12 years of age. He made his 1st team debut in 2015.
He did not feature in a league match in the title winning season and did not receive a winners medal.
This is what rich clubs do. as in Chilwells case, Leicester nurture him from an early age, teach him his trade and then the rich clubs swoop. Chelsea especially have long been 'harvesting' young talent. Some never even get a 1st team game and are loaned out and many are never heard of again. I really dislike Chelsea for these reasons above.
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Chelsea are well known for it, they don't have fans in the stadium, it's all their squad players :LOL:

This is why youngsters will no longer go to Chelsea....
 
badlywornroy said:
Chilwell was at Leicester since 12 years of age. He made his 1st team debut in 2015.
He did not feature in a league match in the title winning season and did not receive a winners medal.
This is what rich clubs do. as in Chilwells case, Leicester nurture him from an early age, teach him his trade and then the rich clubs swoop. Chelsea especially have long been 'harvesting' young talent. Some never even get a 1st team game and are loaned out and many are never heard of again. I really dislike Chelsea for these reasons above.
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You make it sound like Leicester lose these players for nothing! Around £45m for someone who cost virtually nothing is not to be sneezed at. And of course, no one is forcing them to sell. ;)

And some teams set themselves up to nurture talent, and/or buy young foreign players as their business model. Brighton spring to mind.
 
redhed17 said:
You make it sound like Leicester lose these players for nothing! Around £45m for someone who cost virtually nothing is not to be sneezed at. And of course, no one is forcing them to sell. ;)

And some teams set themselves up to nurture talent, and/or buy young foreign players as their business model. Brighton spring to mind.
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You make it sound like I don't know all this. Is this supposed to stop me disliking Chelsea for continually raiding my club (and many others) FFS Chelsea are rich, Can't they develop their own youngsters ?
 
badlywornroy said:
You make it sound like I don't know all this. Is this supposed to stop me disliking Chelsea for continually raiding my club (and many others) FFS Chelsea are rich, Can't they develop their own youngsters ?
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There are many reasons to dislike Chelsea. ;)

To give then their due though, they do also develop their own youngsters, and that was part of their business plan, hoover up young players in London and the South, and when they get to a certain age, loan them out to get experience. If they don't break into the first team, they sell them. Arsenal and Liverpool have been doing something similar. Liverpool were also getting a lot of young foreign players, but that has been blocked by changes in the rules.

Because Chelsea are buying in a lot of expensive players from other clubs, few young players come through. But in their team now they have Mount, James playing regularly, and Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah, Gallagher and Chukwuemeka on the bench for most games. 4 of those are, or have been, full England internationals. That's quite impressive.
 
Well, Brendon Rogers has gone, too little too late for this Foxes supporter. He had 'lost' the dressing room towards the end of last season and they stuck with him, probably due to his 'pay off' cost ? That pay off cost may seem like 'beer money' now if they have left it to late to survive.
With 2 top 5 finishes plus a 1st ever FA Cup he has been great for Leicester. However I believe every manager (with rare exceptions) has a 'sell buy' date. The point where they can no longer motiivate players for many differing reasons. Maybe even Jurgen Klopp is approaching/reached his ? With 10 games to save their Premier league status can Leicester City get a new manager in quickly enough to get them playing to their potential ? Any suggestions for the next Boss ? please don't say Sam Allardyce.
 
Sa..., oh. ;) :LOL:

I didn't realise they were, where they are. :eek:

If you are even considering changing a manager at this point in the season, then before the internationals would have been better imho, to give the new person a bit of time to work with the squad without the pressure of a game in a couple of days. It will be interesting to see who the contenders will be. :thinking: :popcorn:

As for Liverpool, there is something deep down wrong there beyond injuries. Maybe it is too long with the same manager, maybe other things, but I would ship out a load of the players before changing Klopp. Enjoy him while we can, as he'll be off in a couple of years.

I know Klopp will be giving 100%, but the same can't be said of a lot of the players atm. And that is all I ask of any Liverpool player, give 100%. That and the quality of the player should be enough most of the time.
 
The annual manager merry-go-round has started early this season... Now is not the time to be getting rid of managers. and I think Palace wre unwise to let Viera go, almost all of their remaining games are against clubs below them. That's not really going to show them in a new light is it...

Gunners still 8 points clear, but I still reckon City for the title (and I'm Arsenal born & bred).
 
redhed17 said:
Sa..., oh. ;) :LOL:

I didn't realise they were, where they are. :eek:

If you are even considering changing a manager at this point in the season, then before the internationals would have been better imho, to give the new person a bit of time to work with the squad without the pressure of a game in a couple of days. It will be interesting to see who the contenders will be. :thinking: :popcorn:

As for Liverpool, there is something deep down wrong there beyond injuries. Maybe it is too long with the same manager, maybe other things, but I would ship out a load of the players before changing Klopp. Enjoy him while we can, as he'll be off in a couple of years.

I know Klopp will be giving 100%, but the same can't be said of a lot of the players atm. And that is all I ask of any Liverpool player, give 100%. That and the quality of the player should be enough most of the time.
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Does Klopp run his players into the ground with the heavy metal football?
Maybe that's why his success seems to wane after a certain amount of years.
Perhaps he needs to get replacements in then be ruthless and send the worn out ones to the knacker.

On a more personal note the O's are still top of League Two and will hopefully soon be promoted.
Been a long way back after the mad Italian nearly killed our club for good.
Then the sad death of our manager Justin Edinburgh after he got us back into the league.

Did you know when Liverpool last got promoted into the top division the O's went up with them as runners up.
Our fortunes have gone in rather different directions since then i'm sorry to say.
Ptn
Change from last Season
Second DivisionPldWDLFAWDLFAG AvePtsFA CupFL CupEuro
HomeAway
12Liverpool421830681995731242.30262Rd 5DNE
217Leyton Orient4211553417115535231.72554Rd 4Rd 1
 
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tijuana taxi said:
Does Klopp run his players into the ground with the heavy metal football?
Maybe that's why his success seems to wane after a certain amount of years.
Perhaps he needs to get replacements in then be ruthless and send the worn out ones to the knacker.

On a more personal note the O's are still top of League Two and will hopefully soon be promoted.
Been a long way back after the mad Italian nearly killed our club for good.
Then the sad death of our manager Justin Edinburgh after he got us back into the league.

Did you know when Liverpool last got promoted into the top division the O's went up with them as runners up.
Our fortunes have gone in rather different directions since then i'm sorry to say.
HomeAway
Ptn
Change from last Season
Second DivisionPldWDLFAWDLFAG AvePtsFA CupFL CupEuro
12Liverpool421830681995731242.30262Rd 5DNE
217Leyton Orient4211553417115535231.72554Rd 4Rd 1
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It all started for me at Brisbane Rd 50 years ago. It's looking like it will come full circle for next season!
 
Marc said:
It all started for me at Brisbane Rd 50 years ago. It's looking like it will come full circle for next season!
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I was there too, maybe Boxing Day again and the same result please (sorry)
2-0 I believe and Rodney Marsh had his penalty saved, crowd of about 20,000.
 
tijuana taxi said:
I was there too, maybe Boxing Day again and the same result please (sorry)
2-0 I believe and Rodney Marsh had his penalty saved, crowd of about 20,000.
Click to expand...
I was 8 years old and never really saw anything. Every time anything remotely interesting happening, everybody stood up, but I do remember the score being 2-0. Dad took me to the reverse fixture at Loftus road later that season and I think we won 3-1.
 
Marc said:
I was 8 years old and never really saw anything. Every time anything remotely interesting happening, everybody stood up, but I do remember the score being 2-0. Dad took me to the reverse fixture at Loftus road later that season and I think we won 3-1.
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I was 14 or 15 by then and had been going since 1966 when I first went with my dad.
Probably went to the return game, it was an easy journey to White City on the Central Line.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Does Klopp run his players into the ground with the heavy metal football?
Maybe that's why his success seems to wane after a certain amount of years.
Perhaps he needs to get replacements in then be ruthless and send the worn out ones to the knacker.
Click to expand...
I think he does ask lot with the style of play, but not as much has he used to. At one point Liverpool were running down every attempt of the opposition to come out of defense, and smothering them, now they pick and choose when to close down. Liverpool's style of play has changed a lot over the time Klopp has been there, and some of that will be to do with not tiring them out too much.
tijuana taxi said:
On a more personal note the O's are still top of League Two and will hopefully soon be promoted.
Been a long way back after the mad Italian nearly killed our club for good.
Then the sad death of our manager Justin Edinburgh after he got us back into the league.

Did you know when Liverpool last got promoted into the top division the O's went up with them as runners up.
Our fortunes have gone in rather different directions since then i'm sorry to say.
Ptn
Change from last Season
Second DivisionPldWDLFAWDLFAG AvePtsFA CupFL CupEuro
HomeAway
12Liverpool421830681995731242.30262Rd 5DNE
217Leyton Orient4211553417115535231.72554Rd 4Rd 1
Click to expand...
My how the fortunes have gone in different directions. :eek: A few sliding doors moments and things could be vastly different.
 
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cambsno said:
Congrats - sadly we may be heading in the opposite direction which is a shame as Orient is a good away trip and a local game. Still, we have a shout of staying up!
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I hope your lot stay up too, looks like a very close contest down there.
 
This weekend I will support Maidstone United on their 3G pitch before the big match and party at the Cae Ras at 6.30
 
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