Futbol 2021-22

[Wombatz]

Have the German press taken to calling Marsch "Ted Lasso"? I hope that stupid show doesnt undermine him however subtly.

this series is not a thing over here at all. haven't seen it, but judging from the usually awful us soccer commentary i'd suspect it would be a hard sell.

i have to say, though, that marsch does not look a natural on the sidelines, so it's hard to be very optimistic for that reason alone.

some interesting results and great matches lately (pool vs. city, obv).

[surfer]

That Salah goal was one of the best individual goals ive ever seen in the PL.

Spurs look a little better, maybe settling around Skipp / Hojbjerg, with Romero / Dier in central defense and Royal / Reguillon on the wings. Getting Kane to hang around and IN the box more is clearly helping. the CAMs remains an issue. I still think they should try a back three.

[surfer]

Well, Spurs played a decent 88 minutes of football bracketed by two woeful defensive lapses. but the 3 points takes them 5th, astonishingly. Newcastle are the talk of football, but their current squad is woeful, and the players have little motivation to play for lame duck Steve Bruce, or any other manager really. I for one hope they get relegated. I find the actions of Newcastle fans dressing in costume sheikh attire and waving Saudi flags and giving the owners a standing ovation are abhorrent, sorry.

Glimmer of light is that ManUnited appear to be in a downward trajectory, so the fourth CL spot seems up for grabs, and none of the contenders seem convincing. Leicester has huge problems, Arsenal were extremely lucky to grab a point today, Brighton and Brentford are punching way above their weight, and West Ham and others are regressing.

The only other match I watched was Brentford Chelsea, and Brentford were incredibly enterprising in the second half, had Chelsea completely under siege for most of the half. Mendy's performance, including the save on the bicycle kick at the end, was one of the great performances by a keeper I've ever seen in the PL. Lukaku was completely anonymous and had 18 touches in 76 minutes. And that back line does not impress: Chalobah Christensen Sarr Azpilicueta

[surfer]

wow go Rats, theyve looked quite incisive since after 10 minute mark. Theyve definitely had the better chances and have done a great job containing Messi and Mbappe

[Wombatz]

couldn't watch but again the soft belly. i guess a little charisma would help marsch right now. players are better than the results (not necessarily in the back, but still a little more clearness would go a long way there), so this is on the manager. the manager may also be better than the results, but it feels counterevolutionary that he wants to return to the style of play of three seasons ago. (also sadly we can't visit the return game as i have a rare gig that night.)

newcastle would be totally stupid not to get lucien favre for two years or so. fonseca has an edgelord haircut and no doubt the more glamorous instagram, but favre could keep them up and going with the available human resources.

even as a fanboy i'd be surprised if tüchel won more titles with this team, it doesn't seem to build into something ... apart from the basic imbalance, too many fair weather players and too many already overperforming?

[surfer]

Jose Mourinho and his Roma side travelled 3700 kilometers directly north to inside the Arctic Circle to play in 2 degree C and lose 6-1 while witnessing the world record largest ever sushi mosaic:

but again the soft belly.

more or less the same for Atalanta, although they were a bit fortunate in the first half to not have conceded, poor finishing plus Musso was pretty excellent all night. Atalanta were missing a few of their first and second choice center backs. But the Italians came up for it, and controlled midfield for most of the first half. Illicic was the conductor, but when he is off, and his waylaid pass led directly to the second united goal, he can have a whiff of blase Berbatov to him: walking around, complete lack of tracking back, no pace. Once United started to pin Atalanta back, they couldnt get a foothold until about the 60 min. Truth is, United's pace kind of caught up with them and Atalanta got a bit leggy chasing the ball in the second after the effort they gave in the first half. Shame, really.

[surfer]

keeping my eye on Rayo Vallecano,

What a season for Los Vallecanos, up to 5th, adios Ronald Koeman. Falcao grabbed the winner but Oscar Trejo was impressive!

[surfer]

So long to the sad wise dying Jedi. Apparently we're all in for The Godfather who apparently has a mental disease that wont allow him to be out of coaching for more than 3 months, the only explanation for why he would involve himself in this mess. At least we're not hiring another Portuguese.

[Wombatz]

it's not gonna happen, is it? (my son doesn't allow me to say that, he wants it very much.)

freiburg story in the guardian before their unbeaten run ends next weekend at bayern. the thinking person's footballers since volker finke and an all-around righteous club, green and socially aware before it was fashionable. four coaches in three decades (one of them a mistake of only a few months). they kind of were my team for all the years i didn't really follow any football and i'm glad they're doing so well! Without really selling many players with a profit, which seems to be the model other mid-table clubs depend on.

[surfer]

it's not gonna happen, is it? (my son doesn't allow me to say that, he wants it very much.)

Conte is the human reset button, isnt he? If there is one coach alive who could squeeze maximum effort out of this squad, it'd be him. Also the one coach alive who probably has the balls to bench Kane. I'd also like to see the transfer request list he's handed Paritici as part of this deal.

[surfer]

Goddamn I do not need these Atalanta collapses in my life right now. They played a brilliant match right up until the end. Ronaldo bailing Ole out time after time

[Wombatz]

international break, yawn. i've seen stretches of various games. first of all, rats beat dortmund, looking creative but totally immature, and yet for once completing their deserved win against a top (?, sans haaland) team might mean a real step forward. spurs were beyond sluggish, it's incredible, no idea if conte can change anything there but the sight of him at the sidelines sure doesn't seem to frighten the players. city are unfortunately still incredible and will win the league and in europe right now it's between them and bayern (except nagelsmann's weaknesses will come out when things get tight, so not even bayern.) newcastle should have gotten favre, man u should get rangnick, both as interim solutions guaranteed to give the team some shape and perspective (not that the teams deserve this, it's just strange how certain kinds of central european managers are totally underrated in england).

[surfer]

spurs were beyond sluggish, it's incredible, no idea if conte can change anything there but the sight of him at the sidelines sure doesn't seem to frighten the players. city are unfortunately still incredible and will win the league and in europe right now it's between them and bayern (except nagelsmann's weaknesses will come out when things get tight, so not even bayern.) newcastle should have gotten favre, man u should get rangnick, both as interim solutions guaranteed to give the team some shape and perspective (not that the teams deserve this, it's just strange how certain kinds of central european managers are totally underrated in england).

227 minutes without a shot on target (although Lo Celso hit the post against Everton in the 80th minute), but they are getting into positions where they could create a chance. I have no idea how long its been since they had a league goal from open play. The 3-4-3 doesnt work because unlike LIverpool, there isnt enough creativity amongst the front three: Kane isnt as creative as he thinks he is and his passing has been abysmal lately, and Moura and Son have their heads down most of the time, plus they are dribble-first type players. the central pairing of Skipp / Hojbjerg is too defensive and offers nothing. Again compared to Liverpool, our wing backs arent good enough: Reguillon is so inconsistent with his touches and crossing, and Royal is still a work in progress. I think the solution has to be a 3-5-2 and put some combination of Ndombele / Lo Celso / Gil in the middle alongside Hojbjerg.

Yeah Newcastle and Howe are an odd fit, I could easily seem them getting relegated. Howe is not know for shoring up defenses, and progressive attacking football is not what Newcastle needs right now. United are committed to Ole, I cannot see them firing him before the end of the season. If losing 0-5 to LIverpool isnt enough to get you canned, your position is secure.

[Wombatz]

hey, i expected to see some joy over the international break here.

conte celebrating like he had won the champions league was fun. so he is able to wake them up some, at least for a half. though picking a beef with ndombele doesn't seem too far removed from mourinho tactics. i'm still not sure this is at all serious.

jesse marsch seems done already.

i don't think ronaldo is really the problem.

[Wombatz]

haha, spurs continue to play without fear ... of their new blue-chip coach with the famous hot temper.

rangnick to man u is a bit baffling ... of all the projects he'd been on the radar for, this seems the worst fit. for him, ronaldo (and pogba etc.) might actually be a problem, he won't get instant respect from this kind of player. and that consultancy role afterward, how could that conceivably play out? i mean, i'm not sure it won't work, but the odds aren't great. we wish him the best (which would mean winning the cl since 4th spot in the pl is for spurs ), but the way it looks now, conte and him should just swap jobs.

[surfer]

This might now be a dialogue Lutz between you and I, with Antoine popping in now and again. Havent seen DA in a while and if Serbia's last minute winner to secure their place in Qatar isnt enough to get him to log in, then I dont know if he'll be back. The playoffs look exciting and I like that one of the last two European Champions will miss out on the WC. Probably Italy who seem to have lost their ability to put the ball in the net. I think Portugal are going through. The other two brackets I have no clue, they look extremely evenly balanced. Croatia got through on a 80th minute OG by a Russian defender in the pouring waterlogged barely playable pitch in Split. Croatia deserved the win but I'm not sure the match should have been played in the second half given the standing water and drainage of Pojud stadium.

There's not really been a noticeable difference in Spurs since Conte took over, occasional bursts of effort and pressing. Moura continues to be both their most effective and least effective player, often in the same possession. I dont think they have a great chance at Top 4, I think United will probably pip it with Arsenal 5th, West Ham 6th, and Spurs 7th. The title race will be fun, Liverpool looks back to gegenpressing glory, and Chelsea a bit inconsistent at boths ends but still pretty ruthless (Reece James has been a revelation lately), and City (who I think will win) the class of the league again. Norwich played out a 1-1 draw against Newcastle today (who are still winless) I think both get relegated. Two pretty bad teams, Newcastle seems particularly directionless.

I agree completely with you Lutz that Rangnick and Conte should swap jobs, everyone and both teams would be better off.

In Serie A, Atalanta beat Juve and Venezia over the past 4 days and are making a title push after Milan lost over the weekend. (They also played an absolute cranking match against Young Boys in the CL last week. Some pretty great CL matches last week.) This could be the most fun title race outside of England.

[surfer]

i don't think ronaldo is really the problem.

He may not be the only problem but

[surfer]

Missed the Rats match today. Is that it for our American friend Lutz? Three losses on the bounce, outscored 7-2, in 8th place and likely to drop even further down the standings pending the weekend results. This was always going to be a transition year but given the relative organizational stability, you'd expect better results and more consistency.

[Wombatz]

that's definitely been it. not just the results, but marsch has nothing, no ideas how to maybe gear the system to the players at hand, how to motivate players that need a kick in the ass. the problem of course is there's no replacement in sight who'd guarantee improvement. they might get the previous interim dortmund guy but nobody really knows what he can do.

[surfer]

Spurs goal of the year from Lucas. And Atalanta with an incredible comeback in Naples. 5 wins in a row, and now the top four are separated by only 4 points. Hajduk beat Dinamo in Zagreb for the first time in ages. Title race in Croatia looks like it might be interesting with four teams within four points of each other. Good weekend of results!