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villa4europe

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6 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Shevchenko steps down as Ukraine manager, while Dick Advocaat (remember him?) is Iraq's new manager.

Any reason why for Shevchenko? 

I thought they were doing really well in the context of what he has to work with 

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2 hours ago, maqroll said:

USA wins the Gold Cup with a 118th minute open header from a free kick vs Mexico. Home game but Mexico fans outnumbered Yanks by about 10:1.

I don't know any of our own players 😚

Majority MLS players, most of the "names" played in the Nations League a month or so back. Miles Robinson player of the Gold Cup for me. I'd hate to lose him at Atlanta, but I think he needs to make the step up to a better league, as he's got ample pace and strength, just needs to improve technically, which is tough to do here.

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4 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Any reason why for Shevchenko? 

I thought they were doing really well in the context of what he has to work with 

Yeah, I agree, he seemed to be doing well really. His statement is a bit waffly, but it basically makes it seem like he wants to try a different challenge.

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11 hours ago, the_eristic said:

Majority MLS players, most of the "names" played in the Nations League a month or so back. Miles Robinson player of the Gold Cup for me. I'd hate to lose him at Atlanta, but I think he needs to make the step up to a better league, as he's got ample pace and strength, just needs to improve technically, which is tough to do here.

I think there were several players who really helped their case over the tournament. Miles Robinson, as far as I'm concerned, should be in contention for the starting centerback spot next to John Brooks. I hope he moves to Europe sooner and not later. Matt Turner seems to be the best shot stopper we have at our disposal. It'll be interesting to see how things shape up for us at goalkeeper, with Ethan Horvath playing the hero in the Nations League final and Turner standing on his head during the Gold Cup. James Sands is raw still but looked a revelation in a back three moving into the midfield in possession. We have a couple/few players who work well in a back three (e.g. Chris Richards), but I can see him getting some looks in qualifying to see if he can make the next step up. Kellyn Acosta staked a solid claim to be the backup to Tyler Adams at No. 6 and a stopgap just about anywhere you need one. Gianluca Busio will have a year in Serie A to iron out some of the rough spots and hone his strengths, which are unique in the player pool. American Pirlo? That would be nice. And Matthew Hoppe is a battler. He's direct. He's got intangibles. He drops into midfield and finds the ball. A move to Arsenal or Everton, as has been mooted, could really put him in a position to break through. I wish Villa were in for him as well. He seems to have the kind of rough edges that made a player like Clint Dempsey better, not worse. Like when he let Gregg Berhalter know he wasn't happy about being subbed against Qatar. I'm usually not a fan of that, but with him, you can tell he just wasn't ready to stop fighting.

But most importantly, I think what we saw during the Gold Cup was the definitive return (in combination with the Nations League triumph) of the American identity. We lost that under Klinsmann and Arena 2.0 and Berhalter, whatever his weaknesses are, has instilled that back into the group, several layers deep. These kids fought for each other and you could see it in their interactions and body language. They referred to it as the "next man up" mentality. Gyasi Zardes even referred to it after his game-winner against Qatar, basically that "I want to thank all of the guys who tired them out for me. I just took advantage of the tired legs." So yeah, hopefully we can keep that mentality and dynamic of togetherness moving forward while taking advantage of the top talent we have breaking through all over Europe. I see no reason there might not be another player who breaks through before Qatar 2022. Hoppe? Daryl Dike (who looked good until he got injured, and then looked very not good)? Ricardo Pepi? Better days may be on the horizon.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So In a couple of weeks, 48 hours after the transfer window closes... England have 

Hungary away, 2nd Sept

Andorra at home, 5th

Poland away, 8th

Assuming that Kane has been transferred by then, likely toward the end of the window closing, I'll say this.

I am an England fan and I do not want this guy spearheading our attack. His stock has fallen. His complete lack of respect for Spurs with the clear lies he has spun through the media, are a disgrace to his employers and his profession. Yet he maintains he has done nothing wrong, spat his dummy out in public and it has spectacularly backfired, trying to put the blame on them with that ridiculous social media post as if it was written by a certain Duke and Duchess, laying all the blame one sidedly at Spurs door.

He is a fantastic talent, true. But... F F SAKE GARETH, as things stand, DON'T pick this guy for these three games. He is, if some rumours are to be belived, training in isolation, and being kept away from matchday setups, hasn't flown out for their European game either. Likely not match fit, and not mentally in the right place to be a captain for Spurs never mind England. 

Gareth said ages ago about not having favourites, etc, he better be true to that, because if Kane's starting for England in those games that's utter bullshit to me because someone else deserves a chance. People that turn up for work, people who give a shit. Pick one of those instead. I don't care if he gets signed by City and is all over their training and everything is A-ok in his world again. Just pick someone else. Sure, he can come back into the fold over time but just not this time. I'll be livid, if an unfit Kane is starting that Hungary match after all this, that'll really show some hypocrisy from Southgate too. Let someone else step up, and if they take that chance then so be it.   

Obv he could sign for them overnight if they really wanted and him bang in a hat trick on his debut but I doubt it, Levy looks to be playing the waiting game. I have zero sympathy for Kane in all of this. Whatever price Levy set, that's the price. No need to be such a bell end about it. And blimey, how he must have been gutted when they went for Grealish INSTEAD of him. As the kids say, "awks".

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Broadly agree with the above, but for the simpler reason that he can't be fully fit and we shouldn't need him for those games. The Hungary and Poland games are 'awkward' ties, but with a full-strength side but no Kane, they are certainly winnable matches. Andorra shouldn't be anything close to a full-strength side under any circumstances, it's a good opportunity to see what other players can do.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Amazing Ronaldo! So now he's scored more international goals than anyone in the world ever! Wow. Apparently he's just stolen the record from some Iranian fella.

(And I think Ronaldo's scored late dramatic goals quite a lot of times now too if I remember rightly!)

As for Stephen Kenny, I think that's now played 12, won 0! :s

Edited by robby b
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12 minutes ago, robby b said:

Amazing Ronaldo! So now he's scored more international goals than anyone in the world ever! Wow. Apparently he's just stolen the record from some Iranian fella.

(And I think Ronaldo's scored late dramatic goals quite a lot of times now too if I remember rightly!)

As for Stephen Kenny, I think that's now played 12, won 0! :s

Mm no he won one game

Ronaldo should have been sent off but you know Var 

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13 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Mm no he won one game

Ronaldo should have been sent off but you know Var 

Sorry for my mistake, I was just looking at ROI's results and I missed that one. Andorra 1 Republic of Ireland 4 in June. 

Edited by robby b
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