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[Dark Rider]

It looks like a complete shit show to be fair. Supposed take over that hasn’t happened, Bowyer was complaining (with some merit) of only having 12 players for this campaign.

The club has an owner so I always expect whatever optimal for maximum profits for the owner is the secret plan, doesn't matter if that plan is actually cancer to the club and abuse to the fans.

 

[Dark Rider]

"Vlahovic is better than Haaland!"- Serbian FA president Nenad Bjekovic, makes bold claim about Juventus and Man City strikers

'Vlahovic is better than Haaland!' - Serbian FA president makes bold claim about Juventus and Man City strikers | Goal.com UK

Dusan Vlahovic is a better player than Erling Haaland, claims Serbian FA president Nenad Bjekovic, who believes the Juventus frontman is "more complete" than the Manchester City attacker.

www.goal.com

 

[Dark Rider]

Arsenal complete Gabriel Jesus signing

Arsenal complete Gabriel Jesus signing

The Brazilian international puts pen to paper on a long-term contract at Emirates Stadium

www.arsenal.com

 

[Dark Rider]

[Official] Manchester City sign Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United



[Official] LUFC is pleased to announce the arrival of midfielder Darko Gyabi, on a four-year-deal from Manchester City

Darko Gyabi completes Leeds United transfer

Young midfielder signs for the Whites.

www.leedsunited.com

 

[Dark Rider]

[FC Barcelona] Franck Kessie joins FC Barcelona



[FC Barcelona] signs Andreas Christensen

 

[DKehoe]

CHELSEA WANT RONALDO OMGGGG I'M GONNA COOOM

Fancy trading #7s?

 

[DonJorginho]

Fancy trading #7s?

Please do!

 

[DKehoe]

Funniest possible outcome

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Like I said, maybe it's not a smoking gun but it's enough to make me uncomfortable with the way he is held up. Particularly since a lot of people just don't seem to be aware of the details of the case. It feels like people are burying their heads in the sand over it. It's worth pointing out that when Der Spiegel initially reported that there was a non-disclosure agreement in place between Ronaldo and a woman (at that point she was anonymous) Ronaldo's team claimed that was totally made up. They then later had to admit that the agreement existed. Same goes for the tax fraud.

I already said I felt like their league position flattered them that season and things like Liverpool's injuries meant replicating 2nd would be incredibly unlikely. But you can compare United's 20/21 and 21/22 seasons using expected league points, going off of xG and xGA, and see that there's a significant drop off from one season to the other. So it wasn't just a case of fluking a few games because those wouldn't count towards that method. Am I saying Ronaldo is the sole or even the biggest problem with United? No, of course not. There's clearly all kinds of issues with the team. But there's this idea that he put the team on his back and things would be so much worse without him. Maybe that is true but there doesn't really seem to be evidence of it.

Where are the goals going to come from without Ronaldo? Greenwood is not playing ever again. Bruno turned to absolute shit last season. Rashford overperformed 2 seasons ago and now has found his true level. Cavani is gone. On top of that, I look at that defense and I can’t believe that we haven’t signed a centreback and starting full backs yet. So where will the goals come from?

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Like I said, maybe it's not a smoking gun but it's enough to make me uncomfortable with the way he is held up. Particularly since a lot of people just don't seem to be aware of the details of the case. It feels like people are burying their heads in the sand over it. It's worth pointing out that when Der Spiegel initially reported that there was a non-disclosure agreement in place between Ronaldo and a woman (at that point she was anonymous) Ronaldo's team claimed that was totally made up. They then later had to admit that the agreement existed. Same goes for the tax fraud.

I already said I felt like their league position flattered them that season and things like Liverpool's injuries meant replicating 2nd would be incredibly unlikely. But you can compare United's 20/21 and 21/22 seasons using expected league points, going off of xG and xGA, and see that there's a significant drop off from one season to the other. So it wasn't just a case of fluking a few games because those wouldn't count towards that method. Am I saying Ronaldo is the sole or even the biggest problem with United? No, of course not. There's clearly all kinds of issues with the team. But there's this idea that he put the team on his back and things would be so much worse without him. Maybe that is true but there doesn't really seem to be evidence of it.

I’m actually looking at the xG and xA from last season and the season before that. Our xA went up last season from 20/21. Our xG dropped from 49 to 45 by 4.83. However, we were awarded 11 penalties in the EPL in 20/21 compared to 5 last season which is equal to 4.56 in xG. So where did you get your stats from?

 

[JLB]

"Vlahovic is better than Haaland!"- Serbian FA president Nenad Bjekovic, makes bold claim about Juventus and Man City strikers

'Vlahovic is better than Haaland!' - Serbian FA president makes bold claim about Juventus and Man City strikers | Goal.com UK

Dusan Vlahovic is a better player than Erling Haaland, claims Serbian FA president Nenad Bjekovic, who believes the Juventus frontman is "more complete" than the Manchester City attacker.

www.goal.com

Vlahovic is an oustanding center forward for sure. As of now its definitely a better player than Haaland, but in the long term? Who knows, probably not?

 

[JLB]

Funniest possible outcome

That would be crazy for sure. I think it would be a terrible move for Cristiano. The best he can do is to stick with ManU. If not, it will make both ManU and Madrid fans very angry.

 

[DKehoe]

Where are the goals going to come from without Ronaldo? Greenwood is not playing ever again. Bruno turned to absolute shit last season. Rashford overperformed 2 seasons ago and now has found his true level. Cavani is gone. On top of that, I look at that defense and I can’t believe that we haven’t signed a centreback and starting full backs yet. So where will the goals come from?

United scored more goals without Ronaldo than they did after he came in. So the question shouldn't be where do the goals come from if he's gone but instead where did they go once he arrived? This season was the fewest goals the team has scored in the league for years. In the prior season there were three players who scored fifteen or more goals overall in the season. Last season that dropped to one. Channeling so much through him, which is what you have to do when you become a Ronaldo team, seems to be more of an overall negative than a positive for the team at large.

Ronaldo's game is no longer what it used to be but the one thing he's meant to be there to do is give you goals. But if your overall goal tally goes down when you bring him in then really what is he bringing to the team? Tactically what you should want from him s for him to stay in and around the box to make the most of his finishing and short-distance movement. Yet his lack of discipline and insistence on trying to take control of things means he's always dropping deep to collect the ball. So he's then trying to work in the same space as someone like Bruno and also no longer has the burst of pace he used to in order to get back up the pitch to work the ball back into the box.

If Ronaldo does leave then yeh I think you definitely want to bring in a striker to replace him. They already should do with Cavani gone and Greenwood presumably done too. But obviously it becomes more of a priority if Ronaldo is gone.

I’m actually looking at the xG and xA from last season and the season before that. Our xA went up last season from 20/21. Our xG dropped from 49 to 45 by 4.83. However, we were awarded 11 penalties in the EPL in 20/21 compared to 5 last season which is equal to 4.56 in xG. So where did you get your stats from?

The link I had posted in that message. You can see 20/21 here and 21/22 here. 20/21 United had an xPTS of 65.64 in the league and in 21/22 that drops to 54.52. The xG (since goals is what Ronaldo is meant to be bringing) for the league goes from 63.17 to 57.21.

 

[Prison Mike]

Vlahovic is an oustanding center forward for sure. As of now its definitely a better player than Haaland, but in the long term? Who knows, probably not?

Sure I mean compare the two players stats and I can see how you came to that conclusion.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

United scored more goals without Ronaldo than they did after he came in. So the question shouldn't be where do the goals come from if he's gone but instead where did they go once he arrived? This season was the fewest goals the team has scored in the league for years. In the prior season there were three players who scored fifteen or more goals overall in the season. Last season that dropped to one. Channeling so much through him, which is what you have to do when you become a Ronaldo team, seems to be more of an overall negative than a positive for the team at large.

Ronaldo's game is no longer what it used to be but the one thing he's meant to be there to do is give you goals. But if your overall goal tally goes down when you bring him in then really what is he bringing to the team? Tactically what you should want from him s for him to stay in and around the box to make the most of his finishing and short-distance movement. Yet his lack of discipline and insistence on trying to take control of things means he's always dropping deep to collect the ball. So he's then trying to work in the same space as someone like Bruno and also no longer has the burst of pace he used to in order to get back up the pitch to work the ball back into the box.

If Ronaldo does leave then yeh I think you definitely want to bring in a striker to replace him. They already should do with Cavani gone and Greenwood presumably done too. But obviously it becomes more of a priority if Ronaldo is gone.


The link I had posted in that message. You can see 20/21 here and 21/22 here. 20/21 United had an xPTS of 65.64 in the league and in 21/22 that drops to 54.52. The xG (since goals is what Ronaldo is meant to be bringing) for the league goes from 63.17 to 57.21.

I’m looking at understats as well - our non-penalty xG was 58.63 in 20/21 and 54.96 last season. I’m excluding the penalties because of the rules change which means we got less penalties last season - which, btw, Bruno missed 2 penalties in the league as well. Hardly the catastrophic drop you’re making it out to be. Especially when you factor Greenwood in the equation.

But I see that you failed to account for the disastrous rise in xGA. 41.49 non-penalty xGA in 20/21 vs 57.03 last season. I guess that’s Ronaldo’s fault as well.

To be honest, anyone who thinks Utd did well in that 20/21 season that they placed 2nd doesn’t know what they’re talking about and didn’t watch the games.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Vlahovic is an oustanding center forward for sure. As of now its definitely a better player than Haaland, but in the long term? Who knows, probably not?

I guess we’d never know since he plays in the weaker serie A.

 

[DKehoe]

I’m looking at understats as well - our non-penalty xG was 58.63 in 20/21 and 54.96 last season. I’m excluding the penalties because of the rules change which means we got less penalties last season - which, btw, Bruno missed 2 penalties in the league as well. Hardly the catastrophic drop you’re making it out to be. Especially when you factor Greenwood in the equation.

But I see that you failed to account for the disastrous rise in xGA. 41.49 non-penalty xGA in 20/21 vs 57.03 last season. I guess that’s Ronaldo’s fault as well.

To be honest, anyone who thinks Utd did well in that 20/21 season that they placed 2nd doesn’t know what they’re talking about and didn’t watch the games.

So no matter what way you cut it the goals went down after Ronaldo came in. So this idea that he's necessary for the team's goal output just doesn't seem to have any supporting evidence.

I didn't bring up xGA because Ronaldo's contribution isn't on defence. But his lack of defensive input, something that's becoming more and more sought after from strikers in the modern game, certainly doesn't help. Again, I'm not saying Ronaldo is the source of all of United's problems or even that he's the biggest issue. I just think him leaving might not be the worst thing. It'd mean another position they need to fill which could then be an issue with the other transfers currently required. But it might not be the disaster some seem to view it as.

Who said United did well in 20/21?

 

[JLB]

Sure I mean compare the two players stats and I can see how you came to that conclusion.

Im very suspicious of statistics in football. IE: Haaland scored 9 goals in a single game against Honduras. I watched that match, and I think I would have stopped more balls that Honduras GK.
Anyway not no diminish Haaland (you got a total world class crack, rest assured) but Vlahovic is a monster.

 

[DKehoe]

Im very suspicious of statistics in football. IE: Haaland scored 9 goals in a single game against Honduras. I watched that match, and I think I would have stopped more balls that Honduras GK.
Anyway not no diminish Haaland (you got a total world class crack, rest assured) but Vlahovic is a monster.

Just curious, why do you think Vlahovic is better?

 

[Prison Mike]

Just curious, why do you think Vlahovic is better?

International has nothing to do with the stats club stats erling wipes the floor

 

[JLB]

Just curious, why do you think Vlahovic is better?

i think vlaho is the best center forward on reduced spaces. It has a lot of clarity to find the spot to target and is god damn precise.

 

[JLB]

International has nothing to do with the stats club stats erling wipes the floor

i mean, italian league is way more competitive, and also borussia is much better team.
Its not an apple to apple. But anyways, this is subjective, haaland is awesome as well.

 

[Dark Rider]

Vlahovic is an oustanding center forward for sure. As of now its definitely a better player than Haaland, but in the long term? Who knows, probably not?

Both switched clubs and will have new teammates and new managers this season so it will be hard one.
Haaland however have better quality teammates and better manager so that can work in his favor.

I guess we’d never know since he plays in the weaker serie A.

You think Serie A is weaker than the Bundesliga?
Remember Haaland has been playing in the Bundesliga.

 

[Dark Rider]

[Fabrizio Romano] Luka Jović to Fiorentina, deal done. Full agreement on permanent deal, after long negotiations for a loan - Jović will sign until June 2024 with an option for two more years. Real Madrid will have sell-on clause around 50%.

 

[Dark Rider]

Barcelona journalist Gerard Romero bizarrely breaks into a dance mid interview with Luis Suarez because he got a new subscriber to his Twitch channel. A bemused Suarez asks Romero "Is this how you earn your living now?" to which Romero replies "For the moment, yes" as Suarez laughs

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

So no matter what way you cut it the goals went down after Ronaldo came in. So this idea that he's necessary for the team's goal output just doesn't seem to have any supporting evidence.

I didn't bring up xGA because Ronaldo's contribution isn't on defence. But his lack of defensive input, something that's becoming more and more sought after from strikers in the modern game, certainly doesn't help. Again, I'm not saying Ronaldo is the source of all of United's problems or even that he's the biggest issue. I just think him leaving might not be the worst thing. It'd mean another position they need to fill which could then be an issue with the other transfers currently required. But it might not be the disaster some seem to view it as.

Who said United did well in 20/21?

Wait, no matter how I cut it? So nothing to say about Greenwood, Bruno Cavani not contributing to goals anymore?

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Both switched clubs and will have new teammates and new managers this season so it will be hard one.
Haaland however have better quality teammates and better manager so that can work in his favor.



You think Serie A is weaker than the Bundesliga?
Remember Haaland has been playing in the Bundesliga.

I meant going forward. We’ll see it Haaland cuts it in the EPL but we won’t know about Vlahovic.

 

[Dark Rider]

[Gerard Romero] Ronaldo was not discussed at all in tonight’s meeting between Laporta & Mendes. The player that was discussed was Jules Koundé.



Chelsea will let this just happen after how many years claiming they will sign Koundé?

 

[Dark Rider]

[Real Betis Balompié] Real Betis sign Luiz Felipe until 2027

 

[Dark Rider]

[Official] Paris Saint-Germain confirm that Mauricio Pochettino has ended his role at the Club.

Communiqué du club

www.psg.fr

[Official] Paris Saint-Germain appoint Christophe Galtier as first team manager

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

So where’s Poch off to? It’s like a merry go round stop music and find a club.

 

[JLB]

[Fabrizio Romano] Luka Jović to Fiorentina, deal done. Full agreement on permanent deal, after long negotiations for a loan - Jović will sign until June 2024 with an option for two more years. Real Madrid will have sell-on clause around 50%.

Worst 60 million euros invested in Real Madrid history. What a let down.

 

[DKehoe]

Wait, no matter how I cut it? So nothing to say about Greenwood, Bruno Cavani not contributing to goals anymore?

Yeh, because Ronaldo has to dominate so much of the offensive output everyone else’s goals go down as a result. That’s kind of the point. Let's just agree to disagree on this. I just said I'm kinda fine with the idea of him leaving. So it's not even something I felt that strongly about. To me getting a DM is a much bigger issue than the striker situation.

So where’s Poch off to? It’s like a merry go round stop music and find a club.

A while back I thought Dortmund could be a good fit for him. But they've got a new manager now. So I don't know where he will end up. PSG seem to be a weird club to manage. We've seen managers like Tuchel and Emery struggle there but then do good work elsewhere afterwards. Seems like the club is a minefield of internal politics and you're also basically just judged on whether or not you win the Champions League since the assumption is you'll win the league. So I don't think Poch not doing great there is necessarily a reflection on him.

 

[DKehoe]

 

[Dark Rider]

So where’s Poch off to? It’s like a merry go round stop music and find a club.

I think he will stay out for one year because he was supposed to be couching PSG in his contract then either go back to England or Spain.

Worst 60 million euros invested in Real Madrid history. What a let down.

He was most definitely a flop, we lost big on this one.

A while back I thought Dortmund could be a good fit for him. But they've got a new manager now. So I don't know where he will end up. PSG seem to be a weird club to manage. We've seen managers like Tuchel and Emery struggle there but then do good work elsewhere afterwards. Seems like the club is a minefield of internal politics and you're also basically just judged on whether or not you win the Champions League since the assumption is you'll win the league. So I don't think Poch not doing great there is necessarily a reflection on him.

The players has more power than the manager at PSG.

 

[DKehoe]

Edit: posted twice

 

[Dark Rider]

[Jorge Nicola] Yago Pikachu near deal with Shimizu S-Pulse. Pikachu is going to Japan.

Yago Pikachu recebe proposta milionária de clube japonês e pode deixar o Fortaleza, diz jornalista - Jogada - Diário do Nordeste

Além dos desafios do campo, onde construiu uma campanha de lanterna na Série A e está vivo na

diariodonordeste.verdesmares.com.br

 

[Dark Rider]

Frenkie de Jong: Joan Laporta casts doubt on Man Utd's bid for midfielder

Man Utd target De Jong 'not for sale', say Barca

Barcelona claim Frenkie de Jong is not for sale - even though Manchester United have a broad agreement in place to sign the midfielder.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JLB]

[Jorge Nicola] Yago Pikachu near deal with Shimizu S-Pulse. Pikachu is going to Japan.

http://[URL]https://diariodonordest...e-deixar-o-fortaleza-diz-jornalista-1.3251863

[/URL]

 

[DKehoe]

Frenkie de Jong: Joan Laporta casts doubt on Man Utd's bid for midfielder

http://[URL][URL][URL]https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62068721

[/URL][/URL][/URL]

The stuff about Barcelona trying to avoid paying him the wages he's owed is so strange. It's not surprising that Bayern are apparently reluctant to take the Lewandowski transfer fee in payments.

 

[Dark Rider]

Pikachu is going home.

The stuff about Barcelona trying to avoid paying him the wages he's owed is so strange. It's not surprising that Bayern are apparently reluctant to take the Lewandowski transfer fee in payments.

This is his way to pretend he does not care for selling to apply pressure to Manchester United to pay up more for him.
The Bayern thing is more about Bayern not wanting to sell so they are making it as difficult for the buyer as possible than anything else related to worrying about actually getting the money in installments.

 

[DKehoe]

This is his way to pretend he does not care for selling to apply pressure to Manchester United to pay up more for him.
The Bayern thing is more about Bayern not wanting to sell so they are making it as difficult for the buyer as possible than anything else related to worrying about actually getting the money in installments.

Oh yeh they're clearly trying to leverage the negotiations in their favour. But they don't have a lot of room to work with.

With the Bayern thing I wouldn't be surprised if the installments comment was meant to embarrass Barcelona a bit. It seems like Bayern would rather not sell Lewandowski, who has arguably been the best player in the world over the past few years, and they don't appreciate how Barcelona have approached things. But also the de Jong situation has shown that when it comes to their finances it's perhaps not a guaranteed thing that you can expect them to stick to their word.

 

[Dark Rider]

Oh yeh they're clearly trying to leverage the negotiations in their favour. But they don't have a lot of room to work with.

With the Bayern thing I wouldn't be surprised if the installments comment was meant to embarrass Barcelona a bit. It seems like Bayern would rather not sell Lewandowski, who has arguably been the best player in the world over the past few years, and they don't appreciate how Barcelona have approached things. But also the de Jong situation has shown that when it comes to their finances it's perhaps not a guaranteed thing that you can expect them to stick to their word.

If Manchester United pay Barcelona whatever they ask for then they will sell you de Jong then use the money to buy Lewandowski which will prompt Bayern to maybe buy Cristiano which is precisely what you want since you want Cristiano sold

 

[DKehoe]

What a strange turn his career took

 

[JLB]

What a strange turn his career took

Sadly when injuries fuck you, injuries fuck you. A shame. At least was able to play for a few years.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Why is this a fucking restaurant layout?

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Yeh, because Ronaldo has to dominate so much of the offensive output everyone else’s goals go down as a result. That’s kind of the point. Let's just agree to disagree on this. I just said I'm kinda fine with the idea of him leaving. So it's not even something I felt that strongly about. To me getting a DM is a much bigger issue than the striker situation.

You don’t know what you’re talking about clearly. Have you see Rashford and Bruno play last season?

 

[DKehoe]

You don’t know what you’re talking about clearly. Have you see Rashford and Bruno play last season?

As I said, maybe we’re best off agreeing to disagree on this. But yeh, both Rashford and Bruno were out of form last season. Again, I’m not saying Ronaldo is the singular problem at United.

Also, in terms of me not knowing what I’m talking about. Perhaps I’m not an expert. I’m not claiming to be. But you’re the person who thought that in the Champions League final Liverpool “should have just sat back deep.” So you might want to be careful about throwing stones in that glass house of yours.

 

[DKehoe]

Why is this a fucking restaurant layout?

I wonder if we'll see more and more players move away from agents. When you look at something like how much Raiola's agency made in fees on the Haaland transfer then you have to wonder are they really bringing the player that much value? Even if an agent could negotiate for more money overall than you, if they're taking 8 figures in fees then is there not a decent chance that you could have negotiated a deal without them that would have meant you walking away with more money yourself overall?

I'm not saying this to pick on Haaland, he's just the latest example. He's obviously a great talent and he's going to be making a huge amount anyway so maybe it's just easier for him to have that side of things handled by someone else. But from an article I read in The Athletic the overall package to get Haaland (transfer fee, agents fees, wages bonuses etc.) was around £190 million. So if we take the reported £40 million in agents fees, if Haaland asked for just half of that to be paid to him as a signing on bonus then he walks away with way more money, City don't have to pay nearly as much and so everyone involved wins. The agent just seems like an unnecessary middle man.

 

[DKehoe]

Bale now speaking Spanish is pretty funny