Topic: The Push Square Football (Soccer) Thread

@sorteddan I’d be chuffed for 5 minutes then realise I’ll have to sit watching us getting gubbed 12-0 by Belgium 😂

@sorteddan Yeah I've never really vibed with the Nations League either. I'm more interested in seeing who from Liverpool and my fantasy football team is injured afterwards! 😂

Not the greatest performance from England. Poor Kane got absolutely floored though. Got a bit fed up of the zooming in on Reece James after some dreadful cross/shot/pass which went over the bar every single time. The guy had his rocket boots on.

I haven’t watched England since the Euros but it seems that Southgate’s negative tactics are finally catching up with him; it’s fine to play every one behind the ball and slow football when you’re mocking goals from penalties and corners like in the WC and Euros but it suddenly feels very “emperor’s new clothes” once those goals dry up.

And remember, this WC was supposed to be the tournament the FA were aiming towards for the last 10 years!

Not sure what that means in the bigger picture, but haven't England already qualified for the World Cup? I remember when England beat Germany in Munich in a friendly, what was it 5-2? The media did their usual thing of going into overload, and I think Germany ended up winning the tournament that year! 😂

I think Southgate deserves a bit more credit than some people give him as England have gotten to a Semi-final and Final in the last two Tournaments, which is more than the guff managed to do before him in recent times. And Capello, Eriksen, Hodges had a vast amount of experience behind them.

@JohnnyShoulder Dead excited about Strictly being back. Tony Adams dad dancing is absolutely what I need to watch right now.

So Watford have sacked another manager, this time after only 11 games! Not sure what would make the owners not change the manager so much, as no matter what happens, the manager ends up getting dumped!

Jeez-us, that is about a one sided and dominate half of football we are gonna see against two big teams. Man City have been ruthless but Man U have not offered much in return.

@Kairu United did it to themselves. They were terrible for the first half. When they did bother to believe in themselves and show up (started by Antony) it was way too late.

Some of the stats around Haaland are just ridiculous; they shouldn’t be allowed to play him for more than 45 minutes!

• If he maintains this scoring rate, he’d have SIXTY SIX goals by the end of the season
• He’s only NINE goals off the tally for last years golden boot after EIGHT games
• He has as many PL hat tricks as Vardy, CR7, Lampard already
• The second quickest player to hit three hat tricks is Michael Owen, in 48 games

Monster.

@Thrillho @Kairu Yeah crazy stats. It is almost like a cheat code for Man City. I was reading a piece in the paper about him over the weekend, and Pep was saying that they think the medical people at the club have 'solved' his injury problems. That was one of the concerns going into this season, as he has been a bit injury prone over the years. With him also not going to World Cup, he has it all going for him this season.

@Kairu I think it is possible to stop Haaland. You just need to kill City's buildup and stop the ball from reaching their very creative players (Grealish, Foden, Cancelo, De Bruyne). Easier said than done, so yes it'll be near impossible. It is what they do to many teams, so if done to them, Haaland would have to drop deeper to be involved, reducing his lethality. There is a reason why he can stay up top and make 4 touches a game whilst scoring hattricks. Because City's midfield and creative players will find him in perfect positions.

For example, yesterday United's defence handled City's attack well in the opening minutes, but United's midfield and attackers wouldn't or simply forgot how to keep possession, making City overwhelm United's defence and midfield very easily. This led to chances upon chances being made for City as there was unsurmountable pressure by their creative players. United were pathetic, scared to hold the ball, scared to press. Bruno isn't good in games like this, he has been a shell of his former self for the past year now. Sancho isn't aggressive enough on the wing. Martinez, Fred, Antony and Anthony Martial were the only players that looked decent for United and they couldn't cover up the inadequacies of the rest of the team.

I don't think Arsenal can stop City because whilst they are amazing on the ball, they are still very naive and open. Look at the United game, very open. Even the Spurs game, if Son was on form that pass to Richarlison would have led to a definite goal.

Sorry for writing a whole essay

@Kairu Spurs will probably be alright this season, maybe 4th or 5th. Arsenal seem to be slightly ahead than you lot and United but there's not this gulf in class people are making it out to be. They will still get humbled and play into the hands of City, maybe Liverpool (if they decide to turn up) and maybe Chelsea.

This season just seems like another where a lot of teams are playing catch up or settling or are adapting and aren't that good as a result, so the teams that have sorted their shi* out (City and Arsenal) are thriving.

Rangers played off the park by Liverpool. Although really not convinced by Darwin, he’s just not clinical at all. You can’t get that many chances at the top level and not put one away.

@nessisonett (welcome back, hope you enjoyed your week) Rangers were dire. keeper apart. they were too defensive, and didnt test weak link trent.

agree on Nunez, lacking currently

I'd be more worried if Nunez weren't getting into those positions, but he defo should have scored at least one of them. Their keeper had a really good game though and the score line would have been a lot worse if it wasn't for him. Sweet free-kick by Trent too.

Then Sunday's visit to the Emirates Stadium, I have zero confidence with us getting a result, which is the first time in awhile I felt like this as games against Arsenal have usually been a good bet for Liverpool in recent times.

@JohnnyShoulder McGregor is still one of the best keepers in Scotland despite his age. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen him be the best player in that squad despite letting in a couple of goals. I’m no fan of theirs but it must be frustrating watching that defence consistently break down.

An… eventful first half in Leipzig. Half the team have had chunks taken out of them, with both captains going off injured. I was hoping the substituted goalie for Leipzig would make it a bit easier to score into but apparently not. Nkunku and Timo Werner are bloody scary as well, with Celtic missing both centre backs.