Anyone watching Real v Spurs? Mad game!

I watched it and was just stunned. Spurs were as brilliant as real were terrible. The defence were pretty much note perfect. Tbh, they all were. I can't think of anyone who had a poor game.

As for real, fuck me they look like a shadow of themselves. God knows what's happening there.

Wouldn't be surprised if Pochettino, Kane and Dele Alli are all at Real by next season.

No way. The amount that'd cost them it'd be impossible. Think about it, you'd be looking at £150 million for Kane alone in today's monopoly money era. Daniel Levy is a shrewd guy and he wouldn't let any of them go cheap. I will say though that he'd be a total moron to let any of them go of they were pushed. Bale, Modric etc. fine but none of those. Especially as they seem to be on the cusp of something really good.

At the other end of the spectrum, it's another day and another shit result for Everton. Hooray -_-

No, you're obviously right, but still. It will be a feat for Levy to keep that team intact in the summer. We know Real are looking at Poch but Kane, Alli and Eriksen must be on all the mega-clubs' radar now.

As for Everton, I keep hearing Sean Dyche's name and that he could be appointed as soon as next week. Would you be happy with him?

Agreed. It's gonna take them to break their wage structure and in a big way. Gonna be interesting to see what happens. Watch this, they'll beat Real Madrid but then struggle to be Palace this weekend.


Yeah, I think I would. Problem is he's being dealt a fucking shit hand if he does go. To the point I'm not optimistic of anything at the moment. First problem is trying to sort out the defence. I swear Williams is drowning his sorrows with pies and Guinness. He's got a belly on him at the moment.

Now I know how it feels to be a Sunderland fan.

Edit:this is the difference between West Ham and Everton. West Ham can go two goals down and still have some fight n them. Everton go 2-0 down and you're more likely to see Rooney sit down with a bottle of vodka than them pulling back two goals.

Another nail in Bilic's coffin yesterday. They did put up some fight, and the score probably flattered Liverpool, but even with their current injury crisis, there's no excuse for their total incompetence in defence. And for a team so focused on attack they're just not converting enough chances.

My biggest fear (if we escape relegation - a big if) is losing what few real quality players we have (namely Cresswell, Lanzini and Antonio) next summer. My only hope is the owners selling to someone who isn't just about bigging themselves up in the media and making empty promises to the fans.

EDIT: Looks like Moyes might be named today as his replacement. Hmm, not sure what I think about that. I'd say Moyes is a better manager than Bilic but I'm not sure he's the right guy to turn our season around. Not sure there's anyone better though, who's a) available, or b) actually willing to come here.

So that's Bilic gone. I mean, Moyes isn't the WORST choice out there (and tbf, you've already had some of those). There's a squad in there that should at the very least be higher than they are, so I reckon Moyes can get that sorted.

He had no chance at Sunderland, so I think anyone using that as a comparison to now is wrong.

I agree about Moyes. I've always liked him, even post-Everton. I'm a fan. I just wonder if he's the right man for a team that needs such a radical overhaul. But I'm certainly backing him all thr way. And you're right, we have had worse. Speaking of which, how are you feeling about Allardyce now being favourite for the Everton job?

Hmm, he did it at Everton more than enough times. Purely because of that I've a soft spot for him. Has too much time passed since he showed he could do it? Maybe.

As for the Sam rumours it's enough to make me run for the hills. We're in a state but not THAT bad of a state...aren't we?

Funnily enough I saw a page on the sky sports news bit yesterday. It was saying that Moshiri has a list of five candidates. One of them being Simeone but doesn't think he'll leave Madrid halfway through the season. Now I'm trying to be optimistic, but fuck me the idea Simeone will go to Everton is a tad much.

Can things ever be bad enough to justify big Sam? Probably, but I don't think Everton are there yet. Where do they turn though? Now is a bad time to look for a real quality manager as they all seem to be either in work or on sabbatical. Ancelotti's ruled himself out, Simeone will almost certainly expect CL football (Chelsea next season?). There's Tuchel, I suppose, or even Enrique but not many.

it’s weird to read all this and feel so detached of games and results but the coach talk is hard to resist

tuchel??? mehhhhh....

it’s weird to see such a small pool mentioned. there are many great coaches out there. just need to be scouted, same as players.

then again i realize the prem is such an intense business environment not everyone is prepared to handle it but... i’m sure there are people working in spain or italy or france who could probably handle things better than the eternal washouts you guys love to hate. no?

I wouldn't exactly call Allardyce a washout. He's successful in his way. Hence why he demands such high salaries. To be fair, if Everton only want him for the rest of this season, when he can stabilise things, sort out any discipline issues, and certainly improve their defence, then look for a proper replacement in the summer, then it's not such a bad appointment. The football will be horrible, but there will be occasions when it isn't that bad, either, to be honest. And he loves taking scalps off bigger teams. The worst situation was the one West Ham had, when he wasn't brought in to save them but to rebuild them. I personally think Everton are good enough to survive without him, but if it does come to it, they can probably survive 6 months of him, too.

oh, i see. i always hear names like “moyes” and “big sam” spoken with dread. then that man with the nice rumpled suit who coached england some years ago (old and redfaced, nice man, i forget his name). it’s always the same musical chairs it seems.

and how is pep doing?

btw, dortmund poached the ajax coach and they’re okay on paper—3rd, tied with schalke

i haven’t seen them play though, i’m sad to say

(on the other hand, with the free time away from the game, business is going well— but for what?? ha ha ha)

It is EXACTLY that. There's some managers who jsut go round and round doing just ok and then onto the next job. Pardew, Allardyce (although tbf he did great at Bolton), Redknapp, and now Moyes has joined the rest of the gang.


Honestly, he's killing it with City. It's gonna be interesting to see if he can keep them playing as well as they are. De Bruyne has kicked it up to another level, and in my eyes is outright the best player in the league.


How you finding not having another distraction?

Everything H8kurdt said. DeBruyne's in Ballon D'or form. I can't see anything stopping them. Man U will trundle along but fall further behind, Spurs and Chelsea are too up and down and Liverpool's defence is now just pure comedy value.

the “not having another distraction” has been great actually, it’s allowed me to focus and reorganize things for the best-best-best.

plus i’m saving a ton of money— besides the $140/yr for the service itself (or $240 if you go month-to month)i’d have to pay $600 for the isp to upgrade my connection plus and extra $40/mo for the new speeds/caps on a 2-year contract. do the math, in my head it adds up to nearly $2K in 2 years. that’s above the $100/mo i already pay on internet. fuc dat.

additionally, consider that euro-football is not scheduled at recreational times for me— bundesliga is on saturday mornings when a grown-ass man would be fixing the house or truck or doing errands, champions games are smack dab in the middle of the workday (3 hour lunchtimes are so aristocratic), and so they tend to skew my work schedules and hurt productivity a bit.

all would be worth it for sure if i was in a different situation, i.e., good internet by default and my life already in order, but for this transitional period—no. so i’m getting a big productivity payoff that would not be fun forever but works on a temporary basis. like having an extra part-time job all of the sudden. working long hours all week plus saturdays and i’m seeing the payoff.

There was a pas he did to Sane a couple of weeks back that still makes my eyes glisten when I think of it. Just the absolute perfect flowing pass along the grass. The right amount of curve to end nail on to Sane's feet.

Not sure if you remember which one I mean, but god...

Edit:found it

It's the sun I know, but I couldn't find it on youtube

and yes those were the other names! pardew, redknapp— yes.

i’m glad to see debruyne is doing well, i was a big fan of his during his bundesliga years, while you guys only had bad memories of his chelsea days

im not glad for pep, he’s more interesting when he suffers— but i read this morning (old news) that the man city payroll had gone up 25% under him. so— it’d better work.

not suprised that liverpool’s defence is floundering— it’s kloppo after all! same trajectory as in dortmund. o well. it’s nietzsche’s eternal return.

Well at least you know that football is always there (for better or worse). All those stresses and joys will be back soon enough!

By the way, sorry to be nosy but what is it you do?

nosy! so nosy! ha ha ha

i write and produce media— mostly video & animations these days though i used to do other stuff (web, print, etc)

and im a freelancer so i have... freedom! and... more freedom i guess! not a lot of money or security in tha tha ha ha. but i do enjoy slacking at will. slack is important for me.

so don’t make a lot of dough— but i manage it well (personal finance used to be a side gig of mine, then i got bored with it once i learned what i wanted)

past couple of years (or 4?) i’ve been doing it part-time with only select clients, while experimenting with farming/ranching/permaculture and other nonsense. which has been educational and all kinds of fun.

but lately things have changed in a way that clarifies some things— so i’m looking into a return to full-time production work and other related ventures. and we might move back to an urban area.

still freelancer and still trying to maximize slack— but the setting up of such systems takes time and effort. then set-it-and-forget-it, sorta, maybe. hmmmm...

but yeah.. that’s what i “do”.

I don't really have any memories of DeBruyne at Chelsea as he hardly played. I never followed him in Germany either so, tbh, my real introduction to him was at Man City. Either way he's on fire there now and Pep seems to have found a system where him and other key players can now really shine. That clip H8kurdt linked is what they're doing to teams time and time again this season. Plus Pep seems to have tightened things up at the back too.

As for Klopp, talk at the moment is about how (shock horror) he appears to have made a tactical change (!!!) - from a possession based 4-3-3 to what's being described as a more counterattacking 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 hybrid. We've yet to see how successful it is (especially in terms of bolstering the defence) or if he even sticks with it, but it does at least show he's not completely stuck in his ways.

In other news, Hope Solo has accused Sep Blatter of squeezing her bum at some award ceremony. It's being described as a sexual assault. I'm not sure about that but it does look like the fallout post-Weinstein is just gonna build and build.

blatter! lol i would expect no less from the sleazebag but is he still a presence? wasn’t he already confined to oblivion?

holy ass i just heard news that italy is out of the next world cup? what the fuck?

and here the obligatory retro-emojis to go with it:

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

ps this ancient forum software limits to “4 images in your message” lol (i had 5)

Indeed. First time since 1958. LOOOO-SAHS!

ETA: Go New Zealand! :D

¡mira cómo eres roteque vendido y envidioso!

qué vergüenza...

Ah, just soupin', man, just soupin'. It's clear that in terms of enjoyable fútbol, it's better to have the Peruvian team in Russia than the New Zealanders. And fuck Chile anyways — they became arrogant drunken douchebags and any team that arrives at the very last game of the qualifiers with the necessity to BEAT BRAZIL IN BRAZIL (!) doesn't deserve a World Cup spot. :mad: :(

i think *any* south american team deserves a spot over any oceania or asia team for the most part.

the way confederations get spots and fifa has sorted this does not reward whoever plays best.

okay maybe bolivia isn’t better than every team from oceania but even ecuador or paraguay (ok i havent seen paraguay in a while...) should be there before whatever nonsense other continents are fielding.

conmebol is the toughest damn qualifier on the planet. and i’m of the school that whoever beats me best be champion. we gotta cheer for brazil now, hell yeah. or whoever has the best chance at beating europa.

sad for italy though— a legend— what the fuck happened?

i mean, look at this man.

it’s like the death of achilles for fuck’s sake



fucking heartbreaking

ribéry on buffon

https://mobile.twitter.com/FranckRib...02030001524738

Never mind Buffon, it's gonna be hard imagining a WC without Italy.

i mean his words for gigi. to me respect is greater when given by an adversary than by an ally.

and it’s supersad to see him go like this. still not diminished in my eyes.

but yeah, wtf world cup will this be?

im curious about how this happened.

No Holland either, but Italy are the big shock. I never watched their qualifiers but reports are saying Ventura kept playing people out of position, as well as issues with basic team selection and changes in formation mid campaign. The usual stuff really. Also, they're probably really missing Pirlo. What team wouldn't? Either way, for me Brazil, Germany and Italy are the great World Cup teams, so one of them not being there will certainly feel weird.

yes. funny thing argentina almost lost it too. they may not have brazil’s record but they’re the other south american powerhouse and always a contender for the title. and they only qualified i believe in the final date.

speaking of south america, peru beat new zealand 2-0 on aggregate and so it will be the 5th team from those parts.

another anomaly as you know is the usa is out. not a great team by any means but people here were so accustomed to going in recent times it’s been a humbling lesson.

great article on the structural problems of us sokkarr

https://www.economist.com/blogs/game...-united-states

Jeez, Moyes has one game and already the fans are on his back. I actually don't get the ridiculously over the top comments from people saying he's a terrible manager. You could have got any manager in that Sunderland said and it would have gotten relegated. The rot had long been festering in that team.
I dunno, maybe I'm biased as an Everton fan. But I don't forget the amount of times he managed to eek out a decent squad from pretty much nothing.

Maybe some idiots on social media are taking swipes at Moyes but I can guarantee the vast majority yesterday were aiming their anger at the owners (Sullivan and Brady in particular) and players like Andy Carroll. But it's mainly the board. You really have to know what they've done to the club since taking over to appreciate the level of hatred towards them. At worst, Moyes is getting some flack just because he represents our owners' doing their usual thing of talking big ideas in public then going for the cheapest option they can manage. Moyes was willing to take the job at £10k a week, a fraction of what all the other candidates wanted. Surprise-surprise we get Moyes.

You look into the dealings of West Ham's owners and you really are looking into a football-shaped abyss.

Yeah, I understand that. I remember there was a bbc documentary about them last year, or was it the year before?! Just highlighting how many morons are running West Ham. Problem is if you've wanna-be del boys running a club shit's gonna hit the fan. But hey, t least you don't have the Oyston family running your team. I hate Blackpool and all the six fingered wankers from it, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone

Reckon you'll scrape relegation?

It's in the balance. Right now I'd say only Swansea look worse than us. I'm trying to be positive though. If Moyes can get some belief and organisation back, and sort out the fitness issues, our starting XI does look decent, but he needs to work fast.

What do you think are your chances of getting Silva? He looks quality.

Hmm, I dunno. I don't see him coming to Everton tbh. The owners of Watford will look totally ineffectual if they let him go after, what is it? three months? The new odds favourite is LVG which would bring a tear to my eye. From one cold ass, moody dutchman to another.

However, if he does join then he's a lot of work to do. As Moyes does at West Ham.

Anyway, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NIGHT! Going for the Liverpool game I think. Although the Dortmund/Spurs game could be another good one.