The Evo-Web Football Thoughts Blog

rockstrongo said:
I'm can't get my head around what direction Newcastle will take after the take over.
I think most of us thought "massive spendings"?
But signing Eddie Howe?
Don't get me wrong ,good manager ,but top manager?
If Newcastle signs big stars ,is he the guy to deal with them.
I'm sceptical.

To me it looks like Newcastle will thread carefully with their signings ,getting Howe in signals that.
Which in all fairness is a good approach ,keeping it more local (but expensive)

I was expecting a Zidane type/level of manager.
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If they've any sense it'll be to walk before they can run, and I think Eddie Howe could help them hit that objective. Can't ever see him being an elite-level manager but he seems like one who can reenergise and rejuvenate. It'll be his job to help them become a team the top names want to join.

However, I think the biggest problem is one they can't overcome: it's Newcastle. Cracking place, cracking people, cracking club, and a highly enviable relationship between all three. But are their new riches enough to make star players turn down bigger and better-connected cities? Time will tell.

I think a lot of fans 'Champ Man' these situations too often. These guys will have partners, kids, (real) social networks to consider, too.
 
Flipper the Priest said:
If they've any sense it'll be to walk before they can run, and I think Eddie Howe could help them hit that objective. Can't ever see him being an elite-level manager but he seems like one who can reenergise and rejuvenate. It'll be his job to help them become a team the top names want to join.

However, I think the biggest problem is one they can't overcome: it's Newcastle. Cracking place, cracking people, cracking club, and a highly enviable relationship between all three. But are their new riches enough to make star players turn down bigger and better-connected cities? Time will tell.

I think a lot of fans 'Champ Man' these situations too often. These guys will have partners, kids, (real) social networks to consider, too.
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I think it's a good plan ,taking it step by step ,but I'm not sure it's what the Geordies expects though.
Everyone points out that they're the richest club in the world (however that is measured?)
How patience will they be with 17/11/9th place finishes?

The Barcelona of the north...
Could be tough to attract players ,I've always had a thing for that part of the country ,wouldn't mind it ,but footballers might see it diffently ,seeing it as a place at the end of the road?

Just hope they keep their heads on their shoulders (pun intended) in how they manage this club
 
rockstrongo said:
I'm can't get my head around what direction Newcastle will take after the take over.
I think most of us thought "massive spendings"?
But signing Eddie Howe?
Don't get me wrong ,good manager ,but top manager?
If Newcastle signs big stars ,is he the guy to deal with them.
I'm sceptical.

To me it looks like Newcastle will thread carefully with their signings ,getting Howe in signals that.
Which in all fairness is a good approach ,keeping it more local (but expensive)

I was expecting a Zidane type/level of manager.
Click to expand...

I like Eddie Howe, but if I was a Newcastle fan I'd be slightly concerned that his last 'achievement' was relegation from the Premier League with probably no worse a squad than the current Newcastle one. Will they be able to sign enough quality in January to stay up? Who's going to come? Will they have to sign players on loan or short contracts with a release clause if relegated?

I have always respected Newcastle fans. Very loyal and have put up with years of under achieving and being run with no ambition and they genuinely deserve at the very least to start challenging for honours but in regard to the new owners it would be fairly amusing if the world's wealthiest club are playing in the Championship next season!


Flipper the Priest said:
If they've any sense it'll be to walk before they can run, and I think Eddie Howe could help them hit that objective. Can't ever see him being an elite-level manager but he seems like one who can reenergise and rejuvenate. It'll be his job to help them become a team the top names want to join.

However, I think the biggest problem is one they can't overcome: it's Newcastle. Cracking place, cracking people, cracking club, and a highly enviable relationship between all three. But are their new riches enough to make star players turn down bigger and better-connected cities? Time will tell.

I think a lot of fans 'Champ Man' these situations too often. These guys will have partners, kids, (real) social networks to consider, too.
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I think the location is something that does factor in to things in different ways and something I'd never really considered until five or so years ago. Being in League 2 at the time and with an awful lot of clubs in the lower leagues being in Lancashire/Yorkshire we actually had quite a problem getting players to move down to the south coast because of house prices and the upheaval of moving the family so far. As an example, our captain for two seasons actually stayed down here on his own during the season while his family/home remained in the midlands. Of course this is the opposite scale being largely a financial issue and something that won't factor into Newcastle signings but it does show that location can be a factor that is perhaps not considered by us fans with respect to signing players.
 
Newcastle would be a good club for Eden Hazard to relance his career. If Eden would be good for Newcastle United, i'm not so sure. I've seen him against Estonia, it was a sad spectacle. A player i always loved...hope he comes back, but he should leave Real Madrid.
 
Playoffs for the World Cup will be very tough.... Thanks to Jorginho who should learn a new way to kick penalties or let others take them. Maybe not Insigne as I remember he also failed many pens in the past. But in both games against Switzerland Jorginho had the big chance and did not even score one of them.
Now it will be very hard against whoever in the new Playoffs. One bad day and it is all over. At least I would have a good excuse to ignore the Qatar WC then... but seriously it is a shame how Italy always adapts to the level of modest teams (no disrespect to the Northern Irish), also a 1-1 at home against Bulgaria I think is unacceptable. Just a few months passed after a magic Euro and it feels like this never happened and we are back in the days of depression. Luckily it is still 4 months time and hopefully there won't be as many injuries as right now. Maybe Kean, Scamacca or Raspadori develop well until March. And let us not forget Zaniolo, a big talent but in a very bad moment in his career after two serious injuries and trouble in personal life. Honestly even with all his madness, and he is not playing on the highest level anymore but I think Balotelli is still by far the most talented forward Italy has. Give him the mentality of Belotti who always works hard for the team and a professional attitude and he would be a world class player. Maybe one day Balo will realize what could have been possible for him. But probably like Cassano he won't...
 
@Flipper the Priest I can't stand Owen but I do agree to an extent that it could do with some kind of restructure for the likes of the Andorra's, San Marino's etc. Maybe the bottom 20 ranked teams should be drawn into four groups of 5. The four winners go into a play off with the two winners of that qualifying for the tournament? That would then make the other groups much more competitive to qualify from and exciting to watch.

From an England point of view, we are very much a flat track bully which has made recent qualifying a bit of a bore to watch. Then we get found out at some stage of the final tournaments.


Of course all the teams should be boycotting Qatar anyway but we know that's not going to happen
 
Nobody should watch those matches on television in Qatar, but if push comes to shovel, we all will (me included).
And yes Owen is right. I see on Twitter that some Spurs fans claim Kane has scored one goal more than Salah, their conclusion is that Kane is still better than Salah. I guess you all know i'm a Spurs fan myself, but that is completely ridiculous. Kane scored 7 goals against Mickey Mouse opponents.

IMO Salah must be among the very, very best players in the world right now (i even think he is the best at this moment).
 
I maintain it's not upon football fans to boycott Qatar. Even the teams/players. What lesson is there to learn for FIFA? They knew it was wrong, it was corrupt. That has - effectively - been proven. Maybe I'm shallow and lack integrity, but I'm fed up of the victims punishing themselves in order to punish the bad guy.

Surprised at the reaction to Owen given this thread's usual traditionalist nature. :LOL: To me it's the Super League: International Edition; more indulgence of the rich and powerful. I think if there's any excess it's in club football and exhibition football, club or international. I don't think there's much of a hardship in the bigger nations racking up a few goals and blooding young players for the sake of a couple of days away and giving the opposition memories to savour. I can almost guarantee not one San Marinese really gave a shit about the scoreline as they got to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in football.

The wee fanboys on Twitter can bicker over the stats. Those Spurs fans are on the wind up over Kane/Salah or, if not, they've got issues. I'd say Salah is easily the best player in the world right now. There's that school of thought that Messi/Pessi and Ronaldo/Penaldo (delete as applicable) are victims of circumstance at present but that's not how it works! If Messi was fit and playing for Liverpool he maybe would be performing better but as the saying goes: if yer ma [mother] had bas [testicles] she'd be yer da [father].
 
Football is a very, very complex team sport but most people who watch, play, coach, comment on it and write about it (even professionally) are rather shallow. Sad but true. One example is this obsession with goals as if they are not a product of the entire team's effort, and as if that's the only thing that exists in football. Comparing two players solely on goals stats and arguing that one is better than the other without mentioning the teammates, coaches, system, opponents, or the other things a player does on a field is an exercise that isn't worth anybody's time IMO. Americans take their sports much more seriously and with much more scrutiny (no wonder, as their athletes have a far better education than footballers or even football coaches) and that's the one thing I really envy them. For example, scientific analysis in football has been developed only very recently, and the teams are still learning the ropes about it. In NBA that has been used since time immemorial.
 
As for microstates, I think it would be fair to let them qualify for any tournament, if they can. I agree with @mattmid 's idea, pre-qualifiers are a great way to give everybody a chance (which I agree is important and in the spirit of the game) but also have more exciting groups and fewer matches. Best of both worlds. Football should be inclusive but being against tournament enlargements and too many matches is also a traditionalist standpoint. :)
 
Flipper the Priest said:
I maintain it's not upon football fans to boycott Qatar. Even the teams/players. What lesson is there to learn for FIFA? They knew it was wrong, it was corrupt. That has - effectively - been proven. Maybe I'm shallow and lack integrity, but I'm fed up of the victims punishing themselves in order to punish the bad guy.
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In one sense I agree but, and I know it's fanciful to believe it would ever happen, if every team boycotted it and no tv companies bid for rights that would leave FIFA with no tournament and no income from it either. That would be the ultimate punishment for them.
 
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After today's results, this is how CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying table looks, with 4 matches to go! (5 left for Brazil and Argentina, but they have already ensured qualification).

Amazingly, only 4 points separate #4 Colombia, and #9, Paraguay!

For those of you who might not know, in South America, the top 4 qualify automatically, and the 5th place team plays a playoff against a yet to be determined opponent from a different confederation.

Things are looking exciting! :TU: :BSCARF: :RSCARF: :COOL:
 
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Italy completely lacks verticality and it's certainly not a new thing. That's why, ding dong!, Immobile looks often bad and that's why unless you somehow clone prime Vieri, there simply isn't a solution unless something is changed. It's relatively simple to mask this when you have Jorginho, Barella, Chiesa and the centerbacks with a costant Pessish red arrow as it was last summer (and many others with an orange one), but the moment condition and lucidity gives way.. yeah, you end up doing a single goal between Switzerland and Northern Ireland and being rightly delegated to playoffs.
 
Flipper the Priest said:
Saw that earlier. 😄 In this age of kids/sad adults for eBay asking for shirts...


This was our incident yesterday. May be blocked if you're outside the UK but you'll easy find it anywhere I'm sure.

Crazy that this gets you a booking.
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Just saw it , shouldn't have been a booking , Dundee fan should have been ejected.
I think it's some old rule that has no flexibility in it all.
I've seen a player a few years back kicking/tripping a pitch invader heading for his team mate to to god knows what ,pitching guy arrested ,and player who stopped him sent off.
Absolutely bonkers
 
rockstrongo said:
Just saw it , shouldn't have been a booking , Dundee fan should have been ejected.
I think it's some old rule that has no flexibility in it all.
I've seen a player a few years back kicking/tripping a pitch invader heading for his team mate to to god knows what ,pitching guy arrested ,and player who stopped him sent off.
Absolutely bonkers
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I think it's an unwritten rule they put under 'shows a lack of respect for the game'. In that refereeing course I did I was told that refs in Scotland are instructed to 'read the room' when officiating, including the atmosphere. Basically: avoid starting a riot. I don't know whether the ref thought Ojo did more than step up to the fan, or whether he thought booking him and sending him off would help keep the peace, but instead all it did was incite the crowd even more.
 
Flipper the Priest said:
I think it's an unwritten rule they put under 'shows a lack of respect for the game'. In that refereeing course I did I was told that refs in Scotland are instructed to 'read the room' when officiating, including the atmosphere. Basically: avoid starting a riot. I don't know whether the ref thought Ojo did more than step up to the fan, or whether he thought booking him and sending him off would help keep the peace, but instead all it did was incite the crowd even more.
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Refs and reading the room is a rare thing:)
But they should
 
I just saw it, Ojo should never have been sending off. The fan should have been ejected. Totally agree.
I still think that even Cantona somehow had a right to react. Of course his reaction was over the top, but it is not true that fans can do or say whatever the want because they pay to watch a game. It is not true that fans are always right, imo they are usually wrong.
 
Watched Spurs-Leeds yesterday. The first half was lacklustre from a Spurs perspective. The second half was a litle bit better. But what was really fantastic, was the way Conte huggged his players after the match. I'm becoming slightly more optimist about Spurs.

But still we need better players in January. A CB, a creative midfielder, a good number 8 and a striker (yes, a striker).
 
The fan has been charged with assault. That to me seems a bit extreme but he has to face some sort of reprimand. In a sensible world, Ojo is taken away to cool off with no booking, the fan is thrown out and receives a stadium ban.

Of course, in a more sensible world, it just doesn't happen.
 
Me: Yeasterday sunday evening. "Lets watch some football. Look OL v OM are playing."

Ok launch dazn on my PC and yea. One of the OL supporter throwing a bottle to Payet's head at a corner in 3rd minute and the game was finished.
:CLOSED::SHAKE:


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gallardo.jpggallardo2.jpg​

Huge news in the South American football rumor mill:

Marcelo Gallardo, River Plate's shining and winningest manager in history,
2 Copa Libertadores
1 Copa Sudamericana
3 Recopas Sudamericanas
1 Suruga Bank Cup
1 Argentine Championship
3 Argentine Cups
2 Argentine Supercups

which gives him 13 titles in River Plate in 7 years
has been offered Uruguay's managerial role, after the Argentine Championship is over and here are some interesting points:

- Even though it is for less money than what he is being offered at River, it is a 4 year contract at least, extending to the 2026 World Cup.
- Molding Uruguay's talent to his needs, he would have complete control.
- Also be in charge of the entire Uruguay's youth system to mold the way he sees fit, and finding the next Suarez or Cavani.
- He would be the coordinator of all levels of the national team, much like Tabarez.

It'll be very interesting to see what happens!! Hehas just been crowned 2021 Argentine Champion, and for sure there will be tons of offers from Europe once the league is over. A definite saga worth following!
 
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