Apologies for my absence the past two weeks. I was guest lecturing for English classes out of town at some of the public schools as a native language speaker. It’s a great program and has been a rewarding experience talking about such things as the National Park System, pulled pork, boiled crawfish, Johnny Cash, Langston Hughes, William Faulkner, John Coltrane and Bob Dylan, among other things.
So, another bad week for José Mourinho. Will he make it all season?
Even though they salvaged a tie, Real Madrid’s performance against Legia Warsaw. One would think they would do better given only their fans were in attendance – in Warsaw.
Anyone think Leo Messi is being treated gently by UEFA? Thoughts?
Yawn. Bayern Munichis in first place in the Bundesliga, but RB Leipzig is only three points behind?
Nacho Monreale is scheduled to return to Arsenal for tomorrow’s North London Derby against Tottenham. He’s one of the most underrated players on the team. Nothing flashy, just very reliable and a hard work.
Mesut Ozil’s goal against Ludogorets in the Champions’ League, was stunning, but this goal by Barbara LaTorre of Barça’s Women’s Team deserves your attention. Many male players would have stayed down when she was fouled. She deserves, if not the award itself, high consideration for it,
ThresherK (GPad)
I saw that laTorre goal. It was a tour de force of persistence and skill.
And I’m not just saying that as a Barca fan. (I have plenty of lesser teams I root for.)
The aqua Barca 2nd kit is a winning color.
Amir Khalid
Will Real Madrid or Barca swoop in for Fiirmino and/or Coutinho next summer, waving huge wodges of Euros in Liverpool’s face? That’s what scares me.
Will plain black football boots with white stripes ever come back in style? I hate the trend for them garish, neon-coloured boots.
Jose Mourinho is now underperforming as Man Utd manager compared to David freaking Moyes. I think it’s payback time for Jose after being the most dickish manager in football for so many years.
Thor Heyerdahl
Come on you Spurs! Go get the win against Woolwich.
Shalimar
Getting rid of Mourinho won’t solve Man U’s problems. I saw a list of all the expensive acquisitions from the last 3 years that are now outside the squad and on their way out in January. Overpaying for that many players who don’t work out is going to kill any manager they bring in.
But yes, Mourinho should be gone. His style of play was a poor choice for United in the first place and it was never going to work out.
Thoroughly Pizzled
I love Mourinho against my better judgment but I hate Manchester United like any decent human being. So I was conflicted to see him there. I hope he gets it together some day. Somewhere else.
burnspbesq
Shite. Chelsea were ridiculous today.
And if you care at all about rugby, find and watch a replay of Ireland’s win over New Zealand in Chicago today. Fantastic effort by the men in green to get their first win ever against the All Blacks after 111 years of trying.
raven
I get the trifecta, Illini,Hokies and Dawgs all win!!!
Omnes Omnibus
Jesus fuck. I just watched a loose head prop score a try in open field play.
PPCLI
@Thoroughly Pizzled: I had always had a soft spot for Mourinho, despite his manifest dickishness. But when he got the Chelsea team doctor fired for getting a player off the field to make sure he was OK, he lost me.
I am really mystified as to how he went from the magic touch to his current mojo-free state. Maybe his strength was always with few-superstar teams that would believe in his system and get rewarded by winning (Porto, Inter in the Champions League stretch, early Chelsea). The best years of the first stretch with Chelsea were with lots of core players that had started winning with him.
After he got hired by Real Madrid, he became a guy who was bossing superstars around, and they weren’t going to put up with that shit. Likewise on the return to Chelsea, and now at Man U. These are teams that are expecting to win, the players aren’t going to give him their loyalty for providing what they expect.
SRW1
Can I just say that for the sports director of RB Leipzig, Ralf Rangnick, this is a repeat performance. About a decade ago he took tiny Hoffenheim into the BL as their coach and had them lead the table at the midpoint of their first season there. Then he had a fallout with the club president, Dietmar Hopp, founder of software giant SAP, financier of the club and power that be and left. Hoffenheim ended up in midfield but has survived in the BL since then. After dramatically saving them from relegation last season, their under 30 year old coach has them nicely positioned in fourth place at the moment.
Just like Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig is hated by many fans in Germany for being a ‘plastic’ club without any tradition, but the people in charge at the club have a clear philosophy and know what they are doing. Don’t be surprised to see RB in the Champion’s League or at least the Europa League next season.
Liverpool or Arsenal to go top tomorrow. On paper I’d say it’s gonna be Liverpool. Klopp is doing nicely. Mourinho appears to already have his 3rd season blues. Losing to a club like Fenerbahce is not something that MU fans usually tolerate.
SRW1
@Shalimar:
ManU is a prime example for the fact that football is a sport in which you first and foremost have to make the team work.
Thoroughly Pizzled
@PPCLI: It’s pretty weird. I can’t think of many coaches in any sport that just completely collapsed after so much previous success.
Omnes Omnibus
Damn, are all the Rugby people in bed? Or rogering random, consenting strangers?
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Omnes Omnibus:
If the latter, then hopefully also the former?
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack (tablet): Sadly, it is probably in dirty alleys.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Omnes Omnibus:
Ah.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack (phone): I am just reporting out my experience as a player.
tofubo
waaay OT, evidently there wuz a coup a few days ago (and a counter coo to boot)
http://www.tdnewswire.com/breaking-watch-now-real-video-folks-fbi-quietly-releases-documents-via-julian-assange-wikileaks-counter-coup-clinton-attack-happening-now/
Steeplejack (phone)
@Omnes Omnibus:
Tracking.
WillinMuc
As a resident of Munich, I fully agree with the yawn assessment of the Bundesliga. I mean, really, why pay any attention at all.
A
COYS
SteveinSC
Jesus. And this is a soccer thread? Not a word about Christian Pulisic? Hinterwäldler
SRW1
@SteveinSC:
That’s a bit unfair to the young lad.
burnspbesq
I think Pulisic would likely have been ACC freshman of the year if he had honored the oral commitment to Duke he made as a 15-year-old.
SRW1
@burnspbesq:
I don’t know Pulisic’s salary at Dortmund, but my guess is it will ease his pain at that loss.
BillCinSD
@SRW1: but it will never ease burns pain that his beloved Dukies lost out.
Also, check out the goal by Gashi in the Colorado-Galaxy game. Wow
humboldtblue
I thought Chelsea’s performance yesterday was the benchmark for simple and overpowering football so far this season and a display of just how good and deep the PL is this year. Conte scares me and that team scares me and am I already scared of Costa just on principle. That’s the team that stands directly in the path to anything Liverpool want to accomplish.
Then I got up at 6 this morning and spent two glorious hours watching Herr Klopp’s Wild Boys cut Watford apart as if they were a stag on the butcher’s block. They had four clear-cut chances in the first 23 minutes and by the half hour the game was over after the relentless Reds tracked them down, took the ball away and then passed it was such deftness it was nearly musical.
Five players scored six goals and the tally could have reached double digits. The only thing that slows them down are Mane gone for a month for the ANC because even if they lose a key man to injury they have the depth to keep playing this style. This is Klopp’s version of Dutch Total Football and the interplay between the six midfielders is a joy to watch.
City, Chelsea, Arsenal and the Reds with Spurs a step back is going to make for some extraordinary football for the next six months.
Edward G. Talbot
@humboldtblue: I’m a Chelsea fan so I am biased but I agree with you on all counts, including Liverpool being really impressive today. If Spurs actually get the back 3 system working just half a notch better than today, they’re going to really be dangerous. Like Chelsea, they have the exact right personnel for it. The main risk for Chelsea is injury. I never thought I’d say this, but they don’t have anyone else who can play the role David Luiz is playing in that system. And there are at least four other players whose loss would have a significant impact on their title chances. Like you said, the rest of the season is going to be fascinating. And I still wouldn’t count United out if they can get it together. Mourinho’s going to have to let the ego go and be 100% behind his team, and while he has improved a bit over last year on that score I’m not sure whether he’s capable of it at this point. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Chelsea’s resurgence followed when Cahill had three absymal games in a row and Conte specifically said when a player is having a rough time is exactly when the team and manager needs to get behind him for the good of the team if nothing else. Hard to picture Mourinho saying that.
Humboldtblue
@Edward G. Talbot: I am hating this international break too, the 19th seems years away. You’re correct about Spurs but Chelsea and Liverpool have no Europe commits and that means they go into every league match as the better rested team. Spurs are already feeling the effects of CL, two league cups and the regular season and I think it’s weighing them down particularly on offense. Reds have 30 goals in 11 games,Spurs have 15.
Liverpool were also lucky to get Chelsea before the switch to the back three and give Conte credit, he knew where and how to use Luiz who is really a glorified defensive mid, and how to best use Victor Moses who could be in for a big year.
Edward G. Talbot
@Humboldtblue Yeah, the intl break sure came at the wrong time this year! Good point about the Spurs and Europe, that will indeed have an impact. And yeah, Conte gets a whole lot of credit for what he’s done. I think you’re right about Luiz, he’s just too good in the air and maybe slightly less mobile than a pure defensive mid. The center of a back three with wingbacks was made for him. As for the Reds, they are definitely fun to watch this year. While much was made the first three weeks of their defensive lapses, they’ve only allowed more than one goal in 1 of their last nine games in all competitions. Certainly any one of the current top four winning the title would be a surprise to no one.
Humboldtblue
Once this international break ends the real fun begins. Reds have six league games and a cup match against Leeds through Xmas and they will be heavy favorites in each one. That Southampton match on the 19th looms, though, because it comes after 14 players have left and then returned to training from int’l duty. That’s the kind of game, on the road against a very solid defensive squad, that can make life hell for the free-flowing offense.
Conte hasn’t just made a huge impression on the league (and give the man props, he spend 1.5 hours each day learning English and the improvement between him speaking in August and today is pretty remarkable) he’s also made a huge impression in the stands. They are rightly excited