Football season 2020/2021

[jazen]

shouldn't this thread be called 'soccer season 2020/2021'?

[Jessicka]

I find the situation hard to rate because other teams around us have been dreadful. Arsenal look worse than ever, same with Spurs who are just coming out of a Mourinho dark age. Chelsea had their manager switch and could very well win PL next season considering how good they looked under Tuchel (but not very good before him). Liverpool are having an off season.

We are doing fairly solid but I think there's also some truth to Bruno really carrying us since his arrival. For me there's a bit of a feeling that we are standing still looking at last season vs this one, but I think a year from now it will be even easier to determine if that's the case or if i'm just being negative.

Chelsea under Tuchel are better, but they’re a very hard watch. That’s acceptable to Chelsea though.

Bruno was a massive boost, but I don’t think he’s been carrying the past couple of months in the way he did when he started. Variously Pogba, Cavani and Rashford have had to carry some of that weight. And Rashford is still playing while waiting for surgery.

We have a great first 11, and lack of depth has been an issue for a couple of seasons now, which isn’t on Ole, and as has been noted everyone has underperformed this season. Even City who could field 2-3 teams and take the top two spots with them had a rough start to it.

Long term success needs a long term plan. Pep had years of groundwork before he even went to City put into the squad. So I just don’t think replacing a manager with a big name is the same solution it was 10 years ago.

[Nerph-]

I find the situation hard to rate because other teams around us have been dreadful. Arsenal look worse than ever, same with Spurs who are just coming out of a Mourinho dark age. Chelsea had their manager switch and could very well win PL next season considering how good they looked under Tuchel (but not very good before him). Liverpool are having an off season.

We are doing fairly solid but I think there's also some truth to Bruno really carrying us since his arrival. For me there's a bit of a feeling that we are standing still looking at last season vs this one, but I think a year from now it will be even easier to determine if that's the case or if i'm just being negative.

Nah I don't think you're being negative. If I try to look at it from an outsider perspective, United do seem rather at a standstill where at the same time being (somewhat) carried by Bruno. I'd definitely rate Chelsea under Tuchel as a title contender for next season if they keep up their current form. And yeah, the fact United are second doesn't say much when basically every other big 6 team have had a rough patch this season.

[Zantera]

Nah I don't think you're being negative. If I try to look at it from an outsider perspective, United do seem rather at a standstill where at the same time being (somewhat) carried by Bruno. I'd definitely rate Chelsea under Tuchel as a title contender for next season if they keep up their current form. And yeah, the fact United are second doesn't say much when basically every other big 6 team have had a rough patch this season.

While we do still have EL we can win this season, I still think Ole needs to lift a trophy soon (either this EL or a trophy next season) or more people will start to turn as well. For all the talk about patience, if you're not winning anything and treating top4 as a trophy, that's still not really good enough.

I do fully agree on giving a manager time, my only question has been if Ole is the right guy for that or not. :P

[Northern Goblin]

Quiet reminder that it took Sir Alex four years to win his first trophy at United.

Ole hasn't had the financial backing that the likes of Mou and LVG had, the targets he's had in his sights simply haven't been bought and instead we've gone for cheaper deals on players who are good but outside of Fernandes (who was a bargain at the price we got him) and a Cavani free that won't last long it seems, they simply aren't game changers who will win you a title.

He's pushing youth through the ranks, playing a style of football that the fans want to see, showing progress season after season and is one push away from a league title. It's all down to the Glazers opening the purse strings now and letting him bring in that 30 goal a season poaching striker that our end product desperately needs.

[Xanjori]

Nothing better than PSG losing.

If we get an all English final this will be hilarious, both English teams are in good positions. Chelsea surprised me with how good they were last night and Man C despite playing 0 strikers have done well to come away with that win.

[Tommy T]

Never seen a more loathsome bunch of players on one team.
Neymar is the most overrated footballer.

[DingDongKing]

-Snip-

Don't respond to infracted posts on forbidden topics.

[Northern Goblin]

Nothing better than PSG losing.

If we get an all English final this will be hilarious, both English teams are in good positions. Chelsea surprised me with how good they were last night and Man C despite playing 0 strikers have done well to come away with that win.

Can get a second double all English final in both tournaments if United and Arsenal pull through.

[jonnysensible]

glad the thread is so small so that when its 2 all english finals (although arsenal are shit) i can dig through and flame that guy who was badmouthing english teams after man u's psg collapse.

[Xanjori]

If we get double all English finals again I will laugh so hard. EPL has been garbage this season.

[Northern Goblin]

If we get double all English finals again I will laugh so hard. EPL has been garbage this season.

Guess it's a reflection of how utterly shit everyone has been globally during the pandemic. It's messed up so much with training and schedules.

These Euros are England's best chance to win a trophy, partially because of exactly that reason.

[Zantera]

If only England had any other manager than Gareth Southgate lol.

[Jessicka]

Nothing better than PSG losing.

I'd rather have seen City lose, I really can't stand how our media wank themselves dry over City. Listening to Jenas commentating last night was nauseating.

They got two lucky goals and you'd think they'd enacted some kind of tactical masterclass that dominated the 90 minutes and won the whole tie 11-0.

[DingDongKing]

Guess it's a reflection of how utterly shit everyone has been globally during the pandemic. It's messed up so much with training and schedules.

These Euros are England's best chance to win a trophy, partially because of exactly that reason.

It's also a deep deep indictment of how utterly corrupt and at the same time inept UEFA is. Man City were 'banned' from UCL football for 2 years. Yet they're on the verge of a final, and will likely end up winning the entire thing. Not to mention they went ahead and blasted more money on players straight after the 'not guilty' verdict. Extend that to the fact that Chelsea were also able to bypass the pandemic's financial effects and voila. Circles back to how messed up the sport is. PSG obviously doing their part to remind people of that too. It's weird when Real Madrid are the club with the least financial muscle in a group of four teams, purely because their owner isn't an Oligarch. It'll be a miracle if this doesn't become the norm.

I'd rather have seen City lose, I really can't stand how our media wank themselves dry over City. Listening to Jenas commentating last night was nauseating.

They got two lucky goals and you'd think they'd enacted some kind of tactical masterclass that dominated the 90 minutes and won the whole tie 11-0.

City will be hailed as some masterclass team put together through hard work and an honest day's pay if they win the lot. But it's the same thing that happens every time Chelsea achieve something. The fact that they're a sugar daddy's toy gets a backseat to essentially selling drama. It's the same way that newspapers and by extension, fan websites, tried to whitewash the fact that City and Chelsea willingly joined the Super League. 'Oh, they didn't actually want to but feared being left behind'. Right...because these clubs are the bastions of good, honest competition. It's much easier if everyone just embraced the commoditisation of football as fact instead of trying to pretend like it's some hallowed institution.

[jonnysensible]

since we are still talking about the super league i liked this take : https://mailchi.mp/codastory.com/cod...archy-april-21

i still think this was the shock and awe and it will gradually go that way.

[crusadernero]

I'd rather have seen City lose, I really can't stand how our media wank themselves dry over City. Listening to Jenas commentating last night was nauseating.

They got two lucky goals and you'd think they'd enacted some kind of tactical masterclass that dominated the 90 minutes and won the whole tie 11-0.

Thats how the media operates these days. If City wins, its a masterpiece of a game. If they loose by some odd deflection, they are suddenly shit.

This goes for every team. Its a thin line between "utter shit" and "masterful, best team in the decade"

[DingDongKing]

Thats how the media operates these days. If City wins, its a masterpiece of a game. If they loose by some odd deflection, they are suddenly shit.

This goes for every team. Its a thin line between "utter shit" and "masterful, best team in the decade"

Twitter is the funniest for shit like this. It's the internet equivalent of herd mentality. 'PSG ARE AMAZING!' 'God, PSG are shit'.

[Henx]

Thats how the media operates these days. If City wins, its a masterpiece of a game. If they loose by some odd deflection, they are suddenly shit.

This goes for every team. Its a thin line between "utter shit" and "masterful, best team in the decade"

I can totally stand behind this mindset, we have almost the same among my study friends! If someone has worse grade than you, they are shit and if they have better they are tryhards!

[Tommy T]

Tasty game between Arse and Valencia.

The prospect of an all English final would be great, but I think Emery beating Arsenal would be even greater.