MLS/Soccer Thread

[Bobthe4th]

Noice. When is the transfer window for soccer this summer Mr. Bob?

 

It's meant to open in early June after the end of the season, but that won't happen now as the season probably won't end until late July (considering the Champion League hasn't been scheduled yet).

 

One big thing is going to be if next season (which should be starting in August) is going to be delayed/shortened, or if the transfer window will be extended to later in the year overlapping the first few months of the new season.

[jays4life19]

Bayern plays at 9.30am on Sportsnet if anyone needs to get their soccer fix in.

 

Watch the most exciting player in German soccer!: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/alphonso-davies-bayern-munich-full-back-most-exciting-young-talent-bundesliga-canada

[jays4life19]

Mr. Bob i'm going to need your thoughts on this list.

 

 

https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2019/wp299/en

[Bobthe4th]

Mr. Bob i'm going to need your thoughts on this list.

 

 

https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2019/wp299/en

 

I saw this the other day, it's nonsense! They've put far too much value on certain players, such as Robertson at a preposterous €94m, Mason Mount at over €100m, and Rashford at over €150m! A good example is they value Timo Werner at €90m and he's literally just signed for Chelsea for €50m.

 

In saying that, the order is fairly accurate, though with most defenders too high (you pay a premium for attackers) and a few weird decisions e.g. Neymar is far too low.

[Bobthe4th]

Tbf I think they may have got carried away with valuing the amount of time left on player's contracts. The top players at the top teams sign new deals nearly every year. The value of a young player like Alexander-Arnold or Davies in reality isn't significantly affected by whether his contract is 3 or 5 years long.

[Ex Player]

The 4 big Euro leagues are starting up again this month. And not a moment too soon.

I never understood why they couldnt just play in empty stadiums

[jays4life19]

Rumors are swirling that the Hex is going to be eliminated for 2022 world cup qualifying would would be a massive boost to our chances to qualify for the world cup.

 

Looks like Canada will be in a random group of 4 teams from the top 12 in CONCAFF and if we win our group we go straight to the World Cup and if we come 2nd we move onto a separate tournament for the final 1 spot in our region.

 

Canada has a real, legit chance to win a group if they are not put in with Mexico.

 

https://www.wakingthered.com/2020/6/11/21287089/proposed-concacaf-world-cup-qualifying-changes-would-be-huge-for-canada-2022-qatar

 

And for those of you who are skeptical still of our chances we will be lead by the 200 million doller man: https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/soccer/news/alphonso-davies-bayern-munich-most-valuable-players/guqc87r685ba1u0s7uodsjmn9

[Ex Player]

MLS will restart July 8th

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/10/874013381/sidelined-by-coronavirus-mls-will-return-in-july-with-league-wide-tournament

[Bobthe4th]

The BBC have been showing full Euro games from the past in lieu of Euro 2020.

 

Watched a few England games, including IMO our greatest ever performance - 4-1 vs Holland in 96. First time I’ve watched the whole game in nearly 25 years! 96 was such a good tournament.

[jays4life19]

The BBC have been showing full Euro games from the past in lieu of Euro 2020.

 

Watched a few England games, including IMO our greatest ever performance - 4-1 vs Holland in 96. First time I’ve watched the whole game in nearly 25 years! 96 was such a good tournament.

 

England should be pretty good for the 2022 World Cup. I could see them being the runner up to Canada in the finals.

[Bobthe4th]

England should be pretty good for the 2022 World Cup. I could see them being the runner up to Canada in the finals.

 

Although we’ll have an excellent team by then, the heat of Qatar will really harm our chances IMO.

 

Next year’s Euros however, we’re right in the mix - and of course we won’t have to face Davies!

[Ex Player]

The BBC have been showing full Euro games from the past in lieu of Euro 2020.

 

Watched a few England games, including IMO our greatest ever performance - 4-1 vs Holland in 96. First time I’ve watched the whole game in nearly 25 years! 96 was such a good tournament.

Aside from that game you guys have a poor record against us

[Ex Player]

Frenkie de Jong compilation. In Holland they calling him the next Pirlo already.

Maybe a little exaggerated, but I do see the same style of play

 

[Bobthe4th]

This is like comparing Austin Martin to Molitor.

 

Not really. de Jong is a guaranteed starter for Holland, plays in the majority of games for Barcelona and is one of the best young players in the world.

[Bobthe4th]

Their playing styles are in no way similar.

 

Disagree. At Ajax de Jong played the role of (late career) Pirlo - a deep siting midfield playmaker, something he'll probably do more of at Barca in the next few years.

[Bobthe4th]

Pirlo never had the characteristics for the coach to even think about playing him as box-to-box or even as a LM. I can't even imagine what he would look like there.

 

And he never burst forward with the ball. de Jong can slalom through multiple opponents. And de Jong doesn't have the one-touch capabilities (though his are still good) or pure long-passing.

 

They are both deep-lying playmakers, and in terms of overall impact, they might be the same but they play very differently IMO.

 

Latter career Pirlo was completely different to his early days - he was a forward until he joined AC Milan and they converted him to the Pirlo we know today. I remember once watching him struggle on his own up front while he was still at Inter!

 

By the time his legs had completely gone though, Pirlo had perfected the art of the deep sitting playmaker who gets others to run for him - his performance against England in Euro 2012 was majestic. By the way I think that's the kind of role Messi could play when his legs have gone in his mid/late 30's.

[Ex Player]

Their playing styles are in no way similar

Are you kidding me, their passing style is almost identical.

And some people say deJong has slightly better explosive speed.

What they also have in common is they both didnt score much (relatively speaking compared to other AMF'ers).

 

Even Pirlo thinks so: https://www.football-italia.net/144536/pirlo-de-jong-most-me

 

Disagree. At Ajax de Jong played the role of (late career) Pirlo - a deep siting midfield playmaker

Thats correct. He can also play holding midfielder in a pinch

[Ex Player]

And AMF is not even what position they play. Do you know it means attacking midfielder lol? Like Ozil, De Bruyne, etc

Attacking midfielder, creative midfielder.....whatever you wanna call it.

Its the midfielder who makes the forward plays happen

[Bobthe4th]

Verdict on the return of the Premier League:

 

Good

Home advantage now means nothing, results are a bit more unpredictable now.

All games are on tv.

Football is back!

 

Bad

No crowd is weird.

The fake crowd sounds also don’t really work.

Liverpool fans will be unbearable when they secure the title.

[saskjayfan]

Verdict on the return of the Premier League:

 

Good

Home advantage now means nothing, results are a bit more unpredictable now.

All games are on tv.

Football is back!

 

Bad

No crowd is weird.

The fake crowd sounds also don’t really work.

Liverpool fans will be unbearable when they secure the title.

 

Come on Liverpool haven't won the title in 30 years. The fans deserve it!

[EnglishJay]

Have to say Liverpool winning the title doesn't bother me that much. They've waited long enough, but Bob's right, some of their fans will be going well OTT.

 

The whole resumption thing seems terribly hollow though. It really does go to show, in any sport, without the fans there is really very little at all.

[EnglishJay]

The BBC have been showing full Euro games from the past in lieu of Euro 2020.

 

Watched a few England games, including IMO our greatest ever performance - 4-1 vs Holland in 96. First time I’ve watched the whole game in nearly 25 years! 96 was such a good tournament.

 

Loved it. I was 21...just finished Uni and waiting for my results. Spent a month watching football with nothing to else to do but spend the remains of my student grant in the pub 🍺. We should have won it!

[Bobthe4th]

Have to say Liverpool winning the title doesn't bother me that much. They've waited long enough, but Bob's right, some of their fans will be going well OTT.

 

The whole resumption thing seems terribly hollow though. It really does go to show, in any sport, without the fans there is really very little at all.

 

Yeah I think the FA Cup and Champions League final are going to be especially weird!

[Bobthe4th]

Loved it. I was 21...just finished Uni and waiting for my results. Spent a month watching football with nothing to else to do but spend the remains of my student grant in the pub 🍺. We should have won it!

 

Such a good tournament, and yeah we really should have won! If Gazza was a bit fitter he'd have scored in the semi from that cross that he stretched for and just missed!

[Bobthe4th]

Liverpool deserved champions and a lesson for teams like Man U in how to spend wisely. A few years ago they had a dodgy defence so spent £200m on Alisson, Van Dijk, Fabinho and Keita, and then have just added complimentary pieces.

 

Next year‘s title race will be really interesting, especially if Man City’s European ban is upheld.

[jays4life19]

Last day for the Bundesliga today; Bayern and Phonzie play at 9.30 am if anyone is interested. Phonzie was named rookie of the year beating out Erling Haaland.

 

In other Canada news it looks like the Jonathan David sweepstakes should be wrapping up soon. His agent has told Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona that he will be going to the Bundesliga. It looks like it's going to be either Gladbach or Leipzig with Gladbach recently making a 25M Euros offer to Gent but they are holding out for more.

 

https://bulinews.com/news/5468/report-gladbach-make-25-million-offer-for-gent-youngster-jonathan-david

[Ex Player]

Do you guys think games look better with fake CGI supporters, or worse??

I'm watching Milan-Roma right now and I'd have to say it looks a bit better with CGI

[EnglishJay]

Do you guys think games look better with fake CGI supporters, or worse??

I'm watching Milan-Roma right now and I'd have to say it looks a bit better with CGI

 

Maybe, but seeing the cutouts of Bin Laden and Harold Shipman in the stands at least brought a bit of mild amusement!

[Bobthe4th]

Wigan have gone into administration - they won't be the last.

 

My team are non-league and would go out of business in a month if they had to return to playing but without a crowd.

[saskjayfan]

Big day. Getting ready to watch my Baggies. Hopefully Bilic can get the boys across the finish line. Things are getting tight.

 

I'm pumped that concacaf is changing the qualifying. Yes, I truly believe Canada has a shot at 2022. Also hoping to see Davies and Bayern in the Champions league tourney.