Association Football 2023/2024 Discussion Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Mikel Arteta needs to be sacked ASAP!

The issue is would any quality manager even want to replace Arteta?

Arsenal is definitely a poisoned chalice right now that no proven manager wants to touch.

What kind of top player would even want to join Arsenal other than to get a decent payday and live in London? They renewed Xhaka's contract after deciding to let him go, lol. And then he gets another stupid red card, which basically sums up the club. The squad is terrible and doesn't really belong in the top half.

Exactly

If it's to get some Championship level manager, may as well keep Arteta (who frankly I think has potential, it's just Arsenal are a poor side with a lot of off field issues)

I'm personally of the opinion that Stan Kroenke is the worst owner in the league, and if he doesn't sell, within 5 years Arsenal will get relegated

They might be able to get Sam Allardyce if they fire Arteta now, but I'm not sure that's upgrade...

Fat Sam coming into a club is an admission that the board thinks they are in relegation trouble.

The way Arsenal's playing, they will be in relegation trouble this season.

[Suburbia]

Liverpool vs Chelsea was one of the best games I've watched in a while

Love the intensity, the edge, the rage...

It was broadcast on NBC this morning, so I saw it....

Should be a high rated episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70YBRjBSjIE

[JGibson]

The Premier League table after 3 matchweeks: Sp*rs leading the table, while Arsenal are in last.  Depressing for Gunners fans.

https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1432052219499712512

[NewYorkExpress]

The Premier League table after 3 matchweeks: Sp*rs leading the table, while Arsenal are in last.  Depressing for Gunners fans.

https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1432052219499712512

Arsenal's not going to finish dead last, as I'm pretty certain they are better than Norwich City, but I'm pretty certain the Gunners are going to be relegated.

[Santander]

Arsenal's not going to finish dead last, as I'm pretty certain they are better than Norwich City, but I'm pretty certain the Gunners are going to be relegated.

lol.

[Lechasseur]

Arsenal's not going to finish dead last, as I'm pretty certain they are better than Norwich City, but I'm pretty certain the Gunners are going to be relegated.

lol.

Lmfao

[Santander]

Kabak signs for Norwich! €4m loan fee with €14m option to buy, which represents great value imo. He was unfortunate to get loaned into the dumpster fire that was the Liverpool defense last year (which, of course, was an upgrade from the dumpster fire that was Schalke), and now he'll get a new start under another German manager.

As he and Demiral mature, along with Soyuncu and Celik, Turkey is going to have a formidable back line for the next decade at least.

[Alcibiades]

Ilaix has gone to RB Leipzig for a mere €15 million. A real steal, and I can only assume that for whatever reason he was unhappy at Barcelona.

[NewYorkExpress]

Ilaix has gone to RB Leipzig for a mere €15 million. A real steal, and I can only assume that for whatever reason he was unhappy at Barcelona.

Barcelona's really running out of money, to the point where they might have to sell anyone who can get a transfer fee. Real Madrid's doing barely better.

All those years of spending huge sums on pretty much every Galactico that came available is coming back to bite both of them, big time.

[Santander]

Ilaix has gone to RB Leipzig for a mere €15 million. A real steal, and I can only assume that for whatever reason he was unhappy at Barcelona.

Crazy that the crown jewel of La Masia was let go for so little, but then again, he could go for free next summer. Leipzig and the Bundesliga should be great for his development.

[NewYorkExpress]

Great signing by Real Madrid, as they grab Rennes's Eduardo Camavinga for 30 million Euros.

Real Madrid are on the verge of signing 18-year old French prodigy Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes for €30 million, sources have told ESPN.

The midfielder, who only has one year left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club, will undergo his medical on Tuesday and sign his five-year contract, sources added. He is training with the France Under-21 team at Clairefontaine.

Camavinga's transfer is expected to be made official on Tuesday. Rennes didn't want to see the player leave as a free agent next summer and are said satisfied with the deal.

[Suburbia]

The Premier League table after 3 matchweeks: Sp*rs leading the table, while Arsenal are in last.  Depressing for Gunners fans.

https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1432052219499712512

Tottenham is still good with Kane.....can it last?

That's the question...

[Suburbia]

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson signs a 5-yr deal

He will be a Liverpool for Life....

He is a Icon for the Team

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/442265-jordan-henderson-signs-new-contract-with-liverpool-fc

[Santander]

The new Venezia kits are both amazing and hilarious. Like, wearing a football kit anywhere but a stadium or watch party is about the most uncool thing you could do, but you can definitely wear these and make a statement. This is literally how they're marketing them:



€90 kit for a bunch of randoms who have a high chance of going straight back down into Serie B are all sold out, LOL. I mean, Paris is sexy, but it's not Venice, and it's definitely not Venezia.
https://shop.veneziafc.it/products/home-shirt-21-22

This is probably going to be what the rest of their season looks like, but who cares when you're wearing that kit and even the Twitter looks like this:
https://twitter.com/VeneziaFC_EN/status/1431322768373686275?s=20

[JGibson]

The transfer window for Summer is closed in England and most other leagues.

[Santander]

Huge upset in Asian World Cup qualifying, with Oman beating Japan away. They were 20 to 1 underdogs. Over the course of a 10-match round-robin, Japan should still qualify in what is definitely the weaker of the two Asian qualifying groups, but this should make things a bit spicy to start off with.

The other Asian qualifying group should be a lot of fun. Iran and South Korea are clearly the best teams, but Iraq and Syria are surprisingly good considering the circumstances of those countries.

[NewYorkExpress]

Huge upset in Asian World Cup qualifying, with Oman beating Japan away. They were 20 to 1 underdogs. Over the course of a 10-match round-robin, Japan should still qualify in what is definitely the weaker of the two Asian qualifying groups, but this should make things a bit spicy to start off with.

The other Asian qualifying group should be a lot of fun. Iran and South Korea are clearly the best teams, but Iraq and Syria are surprisingly good considering the circumstances of those countries.

Meanwhile, France somehow couldn't beat Bosnia yesterday.

[Suburbia]

For the first time since July 11, England's men's national football team is trying to exorcise those demons.....

[NewYorkExpress]

Sweden leading Spain 2-1 with about ten minutes to go.

[Suburbia]

England players were racially harassed despite their WC qualifying win today

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58428699

[NewYorkExpress]

U.S National team fails to beat El Salvador.

Even without Christian Pulisic, we should have been able to beat El Salvador easily.

Big let down for us.

[NewYorkExpress]

U.S National Team really having trouble beating their fellow CONCACAF teams at the moment. Following the draw against El Salvador, the U.S can't beat Canada either, dropping points with a 1-1 draw.

[Donerail]

U.S National Team really having trouble beating their fellow CONCACAF teams at the moment. Following the draw against El Salvador, the U.S can't beat Canada either, dropping points with a 1-1 draw.

This is a planned commercial tie-in with Apple TV's hit series Ted Lasso. Nothing to be concerned about.

[Suburbia]

USMT should not waste Pulisic's prime.....if they can't make serious inroads by now and 2026, it would be a waste....

Maybe they should hire Alexi Lalas as their manager....

And Lalas, now a commentator for Fox Sports, made his feelings clear -- player by player -- on a live, televised tirade during Sunday night's broadcast of the Seattle Sounders-LA Galaxy game.

"It's dark days, indeed, but this is a time for leaders to step up," he began. "And so to the supposed leaders, I will say this....

"Tim Howard. Tim, the Belgium game ended three years ago. We need you to save the ball now. Geoff Cameron. Clean it up, or let's get someone who will.

"Clint Dempsey. Yeah, you're a national team legend; now we need you to be a national team leader.

"Michael Bradley. The U.S. does not need you to be zen, the U.S. needs you to play better. Jozy Altidore. Is this really as good as it gets? Because it's still not good enough."

Lalas also targeted U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who before the loss to Costa Rica enjoyed a 14-game unbeaten streak this year upon replacing Jurgen Klinsmann.

"Bruce Arena. Jurgen Klinsmann lost at home to Mexico. You lost at home to Costa Rica. This is now all on you, not Jurgen," he continued.

And he also took a shot at young star Christian Pulisic, adding: "And, oh, by the way, to all the guys that I didn't mention, it's because you don't even warrant a mention. That includes you too, Wonder Boy."

Lalas, who played for the United States at the 1994 World Cup, concluded by targeting the mindset of the current team and saying that they owed their supporters better performances.

"So, what are you guys going to do?" Lalas went on. "Are you going to continue to be a bunch of soft, underperforming, tattooed millionaires? You are a soccer generation that has been given everything; you are a soccer generation who's on the verge of squandering everything.

"So now it's time to pay it back. Make us believe again. You don't owe it to yourselves, you owe it to us."

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states/story/3201429/alexi-lalas-blasts-us-national-teams-soft-underperforming-tattooed-millionaires-in-tirade

[NewYorkExpress]

USMT should not waste Pulisic's prime.....if they can't make serious inroads by now and 2026, it would be a waste....

Maybe they should hire Alexi Lalas as their manager....

And Lalas, now a commentator for Fox Sports, made his feelings clear -- player by player -- on a live, televised tirade during Sunday night's broadcast of the Seattle Sounders-LA Galaxy game.

"It's dark days, indeed, but this is a time for leaders to step up," he began. "And so to the supposed leaders, I will say this....

"Tim Howard. Tim, the Belgium game ended three years ago. We need you to save the ball now. Geoff Cameron. Clean it up, or let's get someone who will.

"Clint Dempsey. Yeah, you're a national team legend; now we need you to be a national team leader.

"Michael Bradley. The U.S. does not need you to be zen, the U.S. needs you to play better. Jozy Altidore. Is this really as good as it gets? Because it's still not good enough."

Lalas also targeted U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who before the loss to Costa Rica enjoyed a 14-game unbeaten streak this year upon replacing Jurgen Klinsmann.

"Bruce Arena. Jurgen Klinsmann lost at home to Mexico. You lost at home to Costa Rica. This is now all on you, not Jurgen," he continued.

And he also took a shot at young star Christian Pulisic, adding: "And, oh, by the way, to all the guys that I didn't mention, it's because you don't even warrant a mention. That includes you too, Wonder Boy."

Lalas, who played for the United States at the 1994 World Cup, concluded by targeting the mindset of the current team and saying that they owed their supporters better performances.

"So, what are you guys going to do?" Lalas went on. "Are you going to continue to be a bunch of soft, underperforming, tattooed millionaires? You are a soccer generation that has been given everything; you are a soccer generation who's on the verge of squandering everything.

"So now it's time to pay it back. Make us believe again. You don't owe it to yourselves, you owe it to us."

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states/story/3201429/alexi-lalas-blasts-us-national-teams-soft-underperforming-tattooed-millionaires-in-tirade

Pep Guardiola's apparently going to leave Manchester City to coach a National team, after his contract runs out in 2023. If the U.S moves quickly they could snap Guardiola up to coach the National Team.