Activate Another Lever and Still Lose to a Madrid Remontada - The Small Teams Thread

They'll be 2 points ahead assuming they win their game in hand. League is far from done despite what everyone is saying. One draw, which is entirely plausible, and it's Arsenal in the driving seat.

 

Pep never lost a league from this position. 2009-10, 2018-19, 2021-22 comes to mind. Arsenal lost to Villa at home. More chances of them dropping points compared to City. Could happen at Spurs on Sunday.

 

Indeed, of all the “superkids” that come out of Farca every week I actually believe that like Yamal now, and unlike Gavi, Fati was talented, injuries really curtailed him IMO

 

Barca handled Fati injury all wrong, basically put his career at risk because they need to win now rather than think longer term.

Institutionally, they are burning the walls of their house to stay warm on a cold winter night. Nevermind that tomorrow the weather could be worse and now they are missing a wall.

 

I have nothing against Fati, it’s criminal how Farca handled his injuries TBH.

it’s more of the media/delusional cooler mentality of the legendary La Masia that pumps out these wonderkids like widgets on a factory assembly line. It’s nauseating to hear how great Farca is when it comes to youth when they have spent all of their money signing players….

The flavor de jour is Yamal, who will be found out eventually and they move on to the next one, and then the next one…..

Pedri was on track to be a top top footballer but seems to have plateaued as of late. Apart from him, I don’t see any youth product worth keeping long term.

 

It is a bit of a joke the hype they get. Cubarsi plays a few games and gets called up to the national team - I know Barca might be struggling but is the national side that desperate they also have to rely on teenagers? We take a slightly more sensible approach of loaning out young players to get some experience and they seem basically ignored eg Rafa Marin.

 

What shitty job to be in that room.

This is a tricky one. I think that's not a penalty. This should be a red card but the contact came after he cleared the ball so no penalty for me there.

 

I don’t know why you insist both sidesing this. No one was hyping Fran, especially this forum. The media was essentially quiet about Fran.

we don’t claim to create wonder kids nor do we expect the media to take that narrative.

 

Interesting, but when you are literally measuring mm, just let it go

 

I think they’re switching to the automated offside system next season.

 

It's in the box. How can you have one without the other? An attacking player getting fouled in the box is a penalty, it's pretty simple.

That still involves the measurement of millimeters.

I don't care for lines, never have. For me, offside should be a pure eye test. If the VAR officials looking at the monitor can't discern anything "clear and obvious", then let it go. Whatever offside there might be is clearly not consequential enough to have made any real difference on the play.

As is so often the case when replay is introduced, the original intent is to have recourse for glaring mistakes, but always ends up being used more to scrutinize marginal, indiscernible actions because nobody thinks about those and they end up getting overlooked in the process.

 

Mbappe won’t track back

Mbappe doesn’t fight back for the ball after losing it

Mbappe won’t help defend

Kylian Mbappé preparándose para defender en el Real Madrid de Carlo Ancelotti 🍿😁 https://t.co/230Osg0jup

— SrNaninho (@SrNaninho) April 26, 2024

 

I'd be pissed as his teammate if he didn't track back after losing the ball in his own half

 

Arne Slot gets the Liverpool job

 

I’m not going back to loo so I’m happy to be proved wrong, but from memory a lot of people thought we should get Fran because 1. We have 0 back up to Mendy and we’re having to play Camavinga there, and 2. He could have been had because of a buy back (or something similar). It made sense. It wasn’t to do with over hyping a castilla player. It was to do with circumstance.

 

Honesty, the greatest player of our generación, crazy how some madridistas see More downsides than upsides with this one.

I say RM AND co. Humbles him and by 2026 he be putting up CR7 prime performances or at least numbers.

 

He has nothing to prove at this point really. It's only to his detriment if he joins a top side in La Liga or the Premier League.

At this stage of his career, he should focus on international trophies and maybe going back to Monaco. Bringing them back to glory would cement his status.

 

Calendar ‘getting to tipping point’ with bigger Club World Cup, Masters warns

• Premier League CEO unhappy with lack of Fifa consultation
• Manchester City’s 115 charges to be resolved ‘in near future’

Richard Masters has criticised Fifa for failing to consult domestic leagues over its plans for an expanded Club World Cup, whose inaugural edition in the United States is set to occupy a month of the 2025 summer break.

As the chief executive of the Premier League reiterated that Manchester City’s 115 charges will be resolved in “the near future”, with hearings set to take place in the autumn, league officials from across Europe came together to issue a warning over an ever-expanding club calendar, with Fifa’s new competition the main target.

“It is getting to a tipping point,” Masters said. “The feedback we have from players is that there is too much football being played and there is constant expansion. The Premier League is 38 rounds, 20 clubs, 180 games, it’s played between August and May, it hasn’t changed shape. What has changed … is the march of international and regional football competitions."

The Club World Cup, or Mundial de Clubs Fifa, will run from 15 June-13 July next summer and is seen by European football administrators as a new strike in an attempt to shake up the traditional forms of the game. Set to feature 32 teams, with Manchester City and Chelsea already confirmed as participants, Premier League officials are concerned over the impact a competitive tournament in the summer break will have over the subsequent season.

It is currently scheduled to take place every four years but there are concerns that the frequency of the tournament may also increase. The European Leagues have no formal relationship with Fifa, while the European Club Association (ECA) renewed its memorandum of understanding with the global governing body last year.

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...g-point-bigger-club-world-cup-richard-masters

 

🚨 BREAKING: Arne Slot will be new Liverpool head coach replacing Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season!

Agreement sealed on compensation between Feyenoord and #LFC, all set also on contract details for Slot.

Here we go. 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/Ud3QB6U20m

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 26, 2024

 

Apparently a good coach. We should see

 

Atleti v Bilbao today. If Bilbao win they'll surpass Atleti on head to head. Huge game