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The Soccer/Football Thread

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Liverpool Vs Arsenal has to be the best match of the week so far. Very entertaining. Arsenal deserved to equalize but as usual came up with the too little to late to turn things around.
 
@The Red Viper @Damien O'Connel @spydy13 @CavsPT @brownindian @kookoo @Lionheart @kosis any of you fine gentlemen watching today?

I was surprised by the Leicester loss, but more than that, I am really intrigued by how many BPL teams are playing with three in the back. The past two years that never happened, because most clubs in England were playing with only one striker, making three in the back ineffective. But so far today both Watford and Everton are playing 3-4-3 with a roamer. Rumor is Chelsea will play with three in the back, too. It should be interesting.

I wasn't able to catch our game yesterday, but Everton playing three at the back isn't a permanent thing. Seamus Coleman got ruled out for a few weeks before the match and we have no real options to back him up, so three in the back was the solution for now.

We're supposed to have lots of reinforcements coming in the next couple weeks though, and who knows what happens if we sell Lukaku (I'm hoping there is some way we can hold on to him, but that 75 mil, if true, would be mighty nice).
 
My friend wrote this article about the back three and the premier league. Worth a read.

http://sportsbystats.com/2016/08/19/not-quite-three-of-a-kind-the-back-three-and-the-premier-league/

Unlike these two men, Walter Mazzarri is a dogmatic believer in a back three. When asked whether he would continue with 3-5-2 at Inter – where Massimo Moratti, the club’s then-president, had advocated for his managers to use a back four – Mazzarri pointed out, “Juventus have won two Scudetti with the 3-5-2.” And so it was no surprise that Watford lined up in a 3-5-2 this past weekend. In basic terms, the back three involves sticking a third center-back in defense and pushing the full-backs up to become wing-backs. The wing-backs take more attacking responsibility. Compare the heat-maps of Watford’s wing-backs against Southamption this past weekend and Watford’s full-backs in their last game of last season against Norwich...
 
How do you like Mourinhos style of play so far ?
My question was never about his style of play. Mourinho's willingness to defend, and the trust he places in his defenders, has always appealed to me. I fundamentally disagree with those in football who believe the best teams need to be all about possession and attacking. And moreover, I think Jose's success at Real and Chelsea, Simeone's success at Atletico, and other recent situations prove that correct.

Overall, you play the style that fits the team best. Manchester United have guys in De Gea, Shaw, Smalling, Bailey, and Valencia who are class defenders. In fact, DDG is arguably the third-best keeper in the world right now. So there is no point in not being willing to defend. I appreciate the Jose, at this point, seems willing to use our defense to get opponent's out of position. And while we have not actually scored off a counterattack yet, nevertheless, the defense is clearly putting our wings and CFs in a better position on offense; which, for a team starting Rooney at CAM, is incredibly useful.

My concern with Mourinho is and has always been that his personality (see how he is treating Bastian and, to a certain extent, Mata) and managerial decisions outside of games (effectively banishing youth, setting a decisive starting eleven and subs, etc.) is not sustainable over the long-term. This is why I think he's never really been successful more than three years. Regardless, though, it is impossible for me to complain about how quickly he has removed the negative qualities that built up at Old Trafford following SAF's departure.

Funnily enough, I think you guys have been mighty impressive. Conte is getting you guys to compete at a high level right out of the gate. It took you guys until about the 65' versus Watford, but since then, Chelsea has looked as impressive as City and United. How are you feeling about them so far?
 
My question was never about his style of play. Mourinho's willingness to defend, and the trust he places in his defenders, has always appealed to me. I fundamentally disagree with those in football who believe the best teams need to be all about possession and attacking. And moreover, I think Jose's success at Real and Chelsea, Simeone's success at Atletico, and other recent situations prove that correct.

Overall, you play the style that fits the team best. Manchester United have guys in De Gea, Shaw, Smalling, Bailey, and Valencia who are class defenders. In fact, DDG is arguably the third-best keeper in the world right now. So there is no point in not being willing to defend. I appreciate the Jose, at this point, seems willing to use our defense to get opponent's out of position. And while we have not actually scored off a counterattack yet, nevertheless, the defense is clearly putting our wings and CFs in a better position on offense; which, for a team starting Rooney at CAM, is incredibly useful.

My concern with Mourinho is and has always been that his personality (see how he is treating Bastian and, to a certain extent, Mata) and managerial decisions outside of games (effectively banishing youth, setting a decisive starting eleven and subs, etc.) is not sustainable over the long-term. This is why I think he's never really been successful more than three years. Regardless, though, it is impossible for me to complain about how quickly he has removed the negative qualities that built up at Old Trafford following SAF's departure.

Funnily enough, I think you guys have been mighty impressive. Conte is getting you guys to compete at a high level right out of the gate. It took you guys until about the 65' versus Watford, but since then, Chelsea has looked as impressive as City and United. How are you feeling about them so far?

The defense is still suspect. Ivanovich again is often caught - the only saving grace being Kante being there to mop things up. WE need defenders and bad. We had a relatively easier start, so it is not a reflection of our true strength (weakness ?). With a few defenders top 4 is on.
 
The defense is still suspect. Ivanovich again is often caught - the only saving grace being Kante being there to mop things up. WE need defenders and bad. We had a relatively easier start, so it is not a reflection of our true strength (weakness ?). With a few defenders top 4 is on.
West Ham and Watford are as good as any team Man City and/or ManU have played. I really don't think your starting schedule was any more difficult than either of the other two. I've been super impressed with how Hazard, Kante, and (I hate that I have to say this) Costa have looked. Your offense will be very formidable this season. Why doesn't Conte like playing Fabergas? He was outstanding against Watford.
 
West Ham and Watford are as good as any team Man City and/or ManU have played. I really don't think your starting schedule was any more difficult than either of the other two. I've been super impressed with how Hazard, Kante, and (I hate that I have to say this) Costa have looked. Your offense will be very formidable this season. Why doesn't Conte like playing Fabergas? He was outstanding against Watford.

Our defense is very suspect. We need a defense of Matic - Oscar - Kante to be there to protect our back 4. With this setup, Hazard , Willian / Pedro and Costa are free of their defensive roles largely and can concentrate on attack.

Fabergas offers a lot offensively but defensively, he lacks the pace, physicality and defensive intensity. Oscar as bland as he is offensively, offers more defensively, He can take the ball forward, track back and also annoy the opponennt when they have the ball (I said annoy/slow down not stop). You can expect to see more of Fabergas once we fix our defense problems.

Talking of defense , David Luiz is back and we have a new defender. Very interesting times. I feel a lot more confident of a top 4 finish now if things work well for us. Our bigest weakness now is our strikers. We only have 2 and Costa is bound to miss games with his yellow cards issue and his lingering hamstring trouble, leaving batshuayi as the one striker we have. On injury and we will be in trouble there.
 
Our defense is very suspect. We need a defense of Matic - Oscar - Kante to be there to protect our back 4. With this setup, Hazard , Willian / Pedro and Costa are free of their defensive roles largely and can concentrate on attack.

Fabergas offers a lot offensively but defensively, he lacks the pace, physicality and defensive intensity. Oscar as bland as he is offensively, offers more defensively, He can take the ball forward, track back and also annoy the opponennt when they have the ball (I said annoy/slow down not stop). You can expect to see more of Fabergas once we fix our defense problems.

Talking of defense , David Luiz is back and we have a new defender. Very interesting times. I feel a lot more confident of a top 4 finish now if things work well for us. Our bigest weakness now is our strikers. We only have 2 and Costa is bound to miss games with his yellow cards issue and his lingering hamstring trouble, leaving batshuayi as the one striker we have. On injury and we will be in trouble there.
Marcos Alonso is an underrated LB, very good crosser. takes corners for Fiorentina. You'll like him a lot.
 
Liverpool and Cavs are making it a fantastic start to 2017 for me. Cunts.
 
There is literally no way to describe the luck I have for being both a Cleveland Cavaliers and FC Barcelona fan over these last 12 months.

First the 3-1 comeback and now the 4-0 defecit that turned into 6-1 (6-5 overall) victory. Just phenomenal, extraordinary, fairytale ending stuff.
 
Jealous of you Chelsea fans on here. Your club is outstanding, and frankly, I think could compete with the Barcelonas and Reals of the world in the Champions League. Willian and Hazard are so creative on the wing, and while I hate him, Costa can straight up score.

I'm bummed we lost to you guys today, but congrats, FA Cup and Premier League should all be your's soon enough!
 
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