The General Football Thread

Not partnered with Maguire he can’t, I think.

 

So glad Aguero has got on the pitch.

 

That should surely be a red.

 

City in the final.

 

Absolutely flawless performance by City.

 

There was me thinking Maguire to be the ultimate centre back. Well at £90m he should be!!!

 

Perhaps it is just as well they are not in the FA Cup final as they at least having some breathing space between the conclusion of the domestic season and the CL final.

 

I wouldn’t pay £9m for him, totally overrated.

 

Leicester were happy to receive that money and look how well they reinvested.

 

Leicester are frustrating because they are what we could have been. It felt like we were on the road to doing a Leicester before Leicester did it (and I don't mean winning the league, I mean crashing the top 6 dinner party and fighting for those European/Champions League positions). They spend money sure they do, but they spend it wisely and often on the players that we were also looking at, young, exciting talent. Ultimately I'd rather Leicester finish top 4 then Liverpool or Spurs or whatever, but they are a constant reminder of what we could have been, and seeing them do so well is a bit like rubbing salt into the wound. A reminder of how close we were, but also how far and how quickly we've fallen, and maybe just as frustrating, how far away that feels now.

 

That was the wrong thread really but oh well.

Oh and I hope Man City win the final now. Would be the perfect end to Agueros Man City career.

 

It's unfortunate that it's them and not us, but it's proof positive that it can be done. A well-run club can break in to the upper echelon. They can win silverware, and they make repeat trips to Champions League.

It wasn't us before, but that doesn't mean that it cannot possibly be us in the future. The gap between the big teams and the rest has shrunk, and the more consistently clubs like Leicester (and West Ham, and ourselves previously) compete for the glory positions in the table, the easier it becomes for everyone else because the financial gap will continue to shrink.

We just need to overcome the first hurdle: finding ownership that gives a damn.

 

That game opitimised why I think Poch made a mistake going to PSG.

The ultimate hiding to nothing job.

 

Back in the Championship. If Rotherham win on Saturday, and Derby fail to get a victory, that is two big-sized clubs in League 1 next season. Pompey had better win on Sunday to at least get involved in the play-offs and a chance to win a tríp to Fulham next season.

 

The side seem to lack a core. When AC Milan were great they had 8 Italians in the team.to back up their Dutch súper stars. Real Madrid and Barca have always had a core of Spanish in their teams. It is odd that PSG have so few French players given the abundance of talent that country has produced in recent years.

 

It's a bit of an odd complaint in this instance. PSG has five French-born regulars in Mbappe, Kurzawa, Kimpembe, Diallo and Dagba, two of whom started here (and a third would have if healthy); the team they just lost to only has four English players of any standing, three of whom started. In the first leg of the other semi, Real Madrid fielded two Spaniards in their starting lineup, while Chelsea countered with the same number of Englishmen. I don't think that a lack of Frenchmen doomed them here; a lack of defensive solidity did, and their defense is the most French part of the squad.

 

He's the Van Dijk they didn't buy for reasons that are still beyond me,

 

Yet it very nearly was us, and then Gao happened...

 

Could turn out great for them in the long run. Van Dijk is 29, Dias is 23. In theory, Dias will continue to get better for several years before he reaches his peak. VVD is now at his (Everest height admittedly) peak.

 

The reason Leicester are Leicester is that they had Kante, Mahrez and Vardy on fire in a weird Prem season. Everything fell into place for them that year which laid the foundation (and the money) to go out and buy the team they have now. They have recruited very well that can’t be denied but even if we had broken into the top 4 one of the seasons we were good there is a good chance we wouldn’t have done it again like Leicester have due to our poor recruitment in the main.

It’s all ifs and buts however, and when we would’ve broken in (under Poch or Koeman for example) which would change the landscape a bit