Soccer Thread 2014-15

[sovereignstar v2]

Fair play baby oh yeah!

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by law90026

I think Liverpool will fall behind because last season was, to some extent, an anomaly, with a Man Utd side in flux, an Arsenal side that had no money yet (apparently) and a Chelsea side that uncharacteristically collapsed. I'm not convinced Rodger's system is so good that it allows him to just buy a replacement forward to replace Suarez and I think that then puts pressure on the rest of the front 4 to compensate.

Going by his purchases I think Rodgers is moving away from being reliant on the importance of world class striker and more to a 4-5-1 with roaming midfielders ... thats my current 'gut instinct' and he might yet sign a new striker, but to me I think thats been the direction he'd prefer ultimately (Lambert I see as a rotation player, he'll be a good intelligent partner when Rodgers wants 2 up front and a great holding player up front when required - he'll also be content and patient if he has to sit on the bench instead of starting at times).

Its entirely possible that Liverpool will start this season SLOOWLY ... their initial fixture list is quite challenging - Southampton (home- good side, but should be beatable), Man City (away - VERY touch especially with new players bedding in), Spurs (away - tough, especially if City beat them).

However they then have a run of winnable matches until November when they meet Chelsea - so don't count them out even if they lose a few of their early matches .. people often underestimate the influence of the fixture list on table positions (especially pundits who basically ignore such things).

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Also all the people pessimistic on Liverpool's chances this year were dead on predicting they would nab 2nd last year.

[The Jackal]

@DT

At his unveiling on Wednesday, Juve’s sporting director Giuseppe Marotta took the opportunity to address a number of issues, including Vidal’s future and the ongoing transfer gossip.

He said: “He’s a Juve player. We have never put him up for sale.

“A number of important clubs have asked about him but we have never sat around the table for negotiations.

“He’s one of the main players in this team and we hope to keep him, even though I know that it is often the player that decides their future.

“He has repeatedly said he's happy to stay here and we hope to continue together.”

[ISiddiqui]

So, apparently Xavi is weighing offers from 3 MLS teams - RBNY, NYCFC, and Seattle Sounders. I like the designated player rule, but can we shy away from the old European league player thing? David Villa and Kaka are 32 but Xavi is 34 and I think 32 is the proper line for me for European players - they still have some good mileage left. Xavi seems like he's looking for a place to retire - and how embarrassing after a team from Qatar pulled their offer after Xavi's WC.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah - so they say. I suppose they really can't sell him now - there'd be a fucking riot in the streets.

Conte's interview he looked...absolutely devastated, so I wonder what the reason is when we finally find out. If it wasn't Vidal then I wonder what it could have been - missing out on Sanchez can't have been it, and for all that people are whipped-up over Morata and Iturbe I don't rate either of them that highly to cause Conte to leave.

Allegri is so blah. Doesn't inspire any passion for me. Especially if it's true he wants to ship out Ogbonna and bring in Astori and Abate. Astori is alright (I don't rate him as high as Ogbonna, but he's close), but Abate is not what this club needs. And trying to integrate new players and throw a new tactical scheme out there at this point is just chaotic.

The one thing I keep telling myself about Allegri is that he took an old Milan team deep into the CL. But then again, they had Ibra. So yeah. Excitement-level for the season just went way down.

He gets a little rope with which to hang himself, we'll see if he can wriggle out of it.

[path12]

Unless MLS starts MLS'ing and changes the DP rules Sounders are probably not in that running -- already 3 DP's in Dempsey, Martins and Alonzo.

Though I guess they could buy Alonzo down with the allocation money they'll be getting for Yedlin.

[ISiddiqui]

True, so their name was strange on the list.

I dunno, maybe they have an inside track as to negotiations with the Players Association on a new CBA . (FTR, I would rather NOT have a 4th DP spot - raise the salary cap to $5mil per team first, maybe $10mil).

[path12]

Couldn't agree more about there being a bigger need for increased cap room than additional DP's. Very hard to build decent depth in MLS because of that.

[ISiddiqui]

Though, I will hasten to add (I'm sure you'd agree too), that the low cap is more than understandable considering how low the previous TV deal was, in trying to avoid an NASL implosion.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Conte's gone on record before as saying he'd resign if they sold Vidal.

I'm presuming that his resignation is a prelude to a sale of Vidal, as I don't know what other "disagreements with management over policy" could rise to the level of causing him to resign.

sheesh. You don't even like Cointe. Every year, the second FM gets released, you fire the guy and take his job.

Strange that he left at this point in time. Seems like a good guy.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by TroyF

sheesh. You don't even like Cointe. Every year, the second FM gets released, you fire the guy and take his job.

Strange that he left at this point in time. Seems like a good guy.

LOL

It is strange - you look at his video message/interview thingy and it looks like he's absolutely gutted about leaving. So I don't know if it really was over "the future direction of the club" or whether he's leaving for the national team job, or whether he's got personal family issues or what.

[path12]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Though, I will hasten to add (I'm sure you'd agree too), that the low cap is more than understandable considering how low the previous TV deal was, in trying to avoid an NASL implosion.

Yeah, I remember the NASL. 50K in the Kingdome for a few years.

The cap made sense while the league found its footing. I worry a little bit about how fast they have expanded, but the new teams coming in seem to be on pretty solid ground financially, especially compared to some of the founding teams.

I would expect a nice bump in the TV contract negotiations, and that should give enough stability to support a higher salary cap. The league has made some nice strides in the five years I've been watching games, it has been fun to see.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, the nice bump you've expected has already come to pass, starting next year . $90mil per year ($75mil from ESPN/FOX, $15mil from Univision), up from $18mil per year (combined English/Spanish). Deal goes until 2022; includes a dedicated weekly TV schedule (even Friday night a game on Univision, a Sunday doubleheader between ESPN2 and FS1 every Sunday evening - 5pm and 8pm, IIRC). Also, Univision, in addition to the Friday night game, when it shows an MLS game, it is required to have English commentary on SAP.

Oh, and MLS Live is going away - all non-nationally aired games will be available through ESPN3.

The entire deal is exciting - over 4x's the money and much more airtime.

[flere-imsaho]

Adam Lallana, age 26, goes to Liverpool (before the WC) for 26M

Toni Kroos, age 24, goes to Real Madrid (after the WC) for 20M

The "English Tax" at work, people. I still don't understand why this happens.

Nothing against Lallana, btw....

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Look at the wages. Look at the price as a total transfer. Kroos will cost probably 3 times Lallana over five years.

[flere-imsaho]

Good points.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

You also have to realize Kroos was in the last year of his contract and could pick his landing spot. Liverpool would never have a chance at Kroos, or at least would have had to pay through the nose in wages to get him there (well beyond the 200k/week RM will give him).

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs3

Look at the wages. Look at the price as a total transfer. Kroos will cost probably 3 times Lallana over five years.

This in a nutshell - its one of the reasons I have to continually tell people playing FM to look into the reasons behind players moving clubs and other factors with regards to transfer values and suchlike.

(although even I have to admit sometimes real-life is ... well unrealistic, I mean Brazil losing so heavily in a World Cup semi-final ... )

[DaddyTorgo]

Report: Real Madrid agree $107 million deal for James Rodriguez | ProSoccerTalk

The report in AS suggests that Angel di Maria is being offloaded by Real to fund the deal as Paris Saint-Germain are willing to pay $80 million for the Argentine winger.

[flere-imsaho]

Oh Real Madrid, never change....

[Neuqua]

Slightly off-topic, but anyone know how expensive kits are in Europe? I'm vacationing in London and Paris in the first week of August and thought it'd be a cool idea to purchase a kit from a team from each city. I see they're about $90 here in the states.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Oh Real Madrid, never change....

Right?

"Oh he had one good tournament - he's worth $107m" (or even $27m if you factor in the net cost).

I mean look - I've liked him since I discovered a few years back on FM, but that's a ton to pay for a guy who had one good tournament and who is making a second massive leap-up in terms of quality of competition.

[flere-imsaho]

It would be tempting to say you're also paying for his potential (he's 23), but I can't remember the last time Real Madrid bought someone (at least in a mega-deal) with that purpose in mind.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

It would be tempting to say you're also paying for his potential (he's 23), but I can't remember the last time Real Madrid bought someone (at least in a mega-deal) with that purpose in mind.

You know what though - I mock them, but I've done the exact same thing in FM when I've had the means.

I paid $86m (plus I think a couple more clauses that don't show up on the history) for an 18 y/o striker in 2017 who had all of 2 games of Premier League experience.

Also paid $74m for a 22 y/o GK in 2022. He at least had 30 games under his belt in top-flight leagues (Premier League and Spanish League) though.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Slightly off-topic, but anyone know how expensive kits are in Europe? I'm vacationing in London and Paris in the first week of August and thought it'd be a cool idea to purchase a kit from a team from each city. I see they're about $90 here in the states.

New shirts have a retail price of about £50-£60 ($85-$100) in the UK, and you probably won't be paying any less than that if you go to a club store. If you try somewhere like Sports Direct (http://www.sportsdirect.com/ and you will find stores everywhere) you might find them as low as £40.

Not sure what the prices are like in Paris, but the PSG website is selling their new shirt for €85 ($114). Should you be interested, there are flagship Nike and Adidas stores on either side of the Champs Elysée between George V and Franklin D. Roosevelt Metro stations, but I suspect that they might be the most expensive places to look.

[ISiddiqui]

And let's be honest with James Rodriguez - it is tempting to say he's only had one good tournament, but he was named Portuguese Player of the Year at 21 after leading Porto to their third league title. AS Monaco bought him for 45mil Euros and he finished in the French Ligue 1 as the league's assist leader and was named to the League's Top 11... as a 22 year old. He turned 23 like a week ago.

Rodriguez has TONS of potential and has succeeded overwhelmingly in Portugal and France. And then won the Golden Boot in the World Cup as a 22 year old. I don't think this is THAT much of an overpay here.

[Neuqua]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

New shirts have a retail price of about £50-£60 ($85-$100) in the UK, and you probably won't be paying any less than that if you go to a club store. If you try somewhere like Sports Direct (http://www.sportsdirect.com/ and you will find stores everywhere) you might find them as low as £40.

Thanks Ryan, is authenticity a problem if I buy at one of the "other" stores?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

And let's be honest with James Rodriguez - it is tempting to say he's only had one good tournament, but he was named Portuguese Player of the Year at 21 after leading Porto to their third league title. AS Monaco bought him for 45mil Euros and he finished in the French Ligue 1 as the league's assist leader and was named to the League's Top 11... as a 22 year old. He turned 23 like a week ago.

Rodriguez has TONS of potential and has succeeded overwhelmingly in Portugal and France. And then won the Golden Boot in the World Cup as a 22 year old. I don't think this is THAT much of an overpay here.

$107m isn't an overpay?

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Thanks Ryan, is authenticity a problem if I buy at one of the "other" stores?

If you buy from a store you will be fine with authenticity. Sports Direct and JD Sports are the only two UK nationwide chains I can think of, but there are plenty of local sports stores and I am sure the same applies in France.

Decathlon is the only French sports chain I know, but their UK stores don't stock much in the way of kits. There is a store in Paris close to the Arc de Triomphe on Avenue de Wagram which might be worth a quick look.

The only places I would worry about authenticity would be at street markets.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

$107m isn't an overpay?

Not if you are paying for potential.

[cubboyroy1826]

Anyone else excited the Premier League starts up again tomorrow?

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Anyone else excited the Premier League starts up again tomorrow?

The Premier League season does not start until August 16th. Not sure when La Liga and Serie A return, but it's usually a week or so later.

[cubboyroy1826]

Yeah I was a bit premature. Just jonesing after the World Cup and MLS is just not giving me the fix I need.

[Sublime 2]

Spurs have literally done nothing since hiring Pochettino. A few rumors here and there, but other than that, *silence. I have no clue if that is good or bad, but I felt all last year that the talent on that team under-performed.

*Locking Lloris up for another 5 years was certainly big, shouldn't downplay that.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Not if you are paying for potential.

Disagree. Not saying they shouldn't have done it or that I don't understand, but to try to spin it as "not an overpay" is silly.

Plain and simple it's a "We're Real Madrid so we're going to swing our financial dick around however we like" move.

[DaddyTorgo]

Charlie Davies starting for the Revolution against Dallas tonight!!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

So happy to see Sporting KC resign Besler and Zusi. Lots of interest in those guys on the transfer market. Great to keep the quality players here in the States.

Big win for Sporting yesterday too. Really looking primed for another run at the Championship.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

So happy to see Sporting KC resign Besler and Zusi. Lots of interest in those guys on the transfer market. Great to keep the quality players here in the States.

Big win for Sporting yesterday too. Really looking primed for another run at the Championship.

Hate seeing American players continue to believe MLS is good enough to get our best players to raise their game in their prime years. The MLS is not a top league yet has more teams than any major league. How watered down must it be?

[Warhammer]

Agreed. I really want to see our top talent go overseas during their prime and come back at 32-34 to teach the next generation how the Europeans do it. Until we get our talent level up, we need to learn from the best rather than worry about supporting a 2nd or 3rd tier league.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Until we get our talent level up, we need to learn from the best rather than worry about supporting a 2nd or 3rd tier league.

Are you speaking to the players here or the fans?

[Warhammer]

Players.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by rowech

Hate seeing American players continue to believe MLS is good enough to get our best players to raise their game in their prime years. The MLS is not a top league yet has more teams than any major league. How watered down must it be?

I agree. I find the amount of Americans who have stayed in the MLS to be horrible. I want as many in Europe as possible. It's nice the guys can stay home and make money. It's nice the MLS gets some recognizable faces for the teams and their fans. That said, I want Bradley, Belser, and the other top Americans to be in Europe, not here.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Awesome.

Matt Besler's letter to Kansas City fans: I am right where I belong | The Kansas City Star

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Awesome.

Matt Besler's letter to Kansas City fans: I am right where I belong | The Kansas City Star

Not seeing much about becoming a better player, pushing myself to be a world class level player, etc. Just like staying here because it's comfortable. It's a great letter and if I was a KC fan I would be thrilled. I'm not though.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by rowech

Not seeing much about becoming a better player, pushing myself to be a world class level player, etc. Just like staying here because it's comfortable. It's a great letter and if I was a KC fan I would be thrilled. I'm not though.

Yeah. This is a really disappointing letter, not "awesome" at all. More callow than awesome.

USMNT players need to be playing overseas in order to improve their level of play and really push the national team to the next level.

The best players from other countries with second-rate domestic leagues don't play at home because it's "comfortable." They push themselves and go abroad to Europe.

[flere-imsaho]

I don't watch much of the MLS, but how would you compare the competition level? English Championship, League One?

[Butter]

At no point in the letter does he even use the word "comfortable".

I guess he should apologize to all of you for not being the player that YOU think he should be, never mind making his childhood dream of playing in front of the fans of his hometown come true.

As though going to Europe is going to wave some magic wand and all of a sudden make him 50% better. It really doesn't work that way. We've sent players to Europe, and frankly I haven't seen the improvement yet. Most just rot on the bench, while the ones that do play, play to about their level they were already around (Altidore, Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, Freidel, Keller all come to mind).

[Easy Mac]

Ehh, Beslar and Zusi are 27. They almost certainly won't be in the plans for 2018. Might as well be settled in a place they like and get regular playing time than 1-2 games a month at best in England. Being successful in MLS will do more for their immediate national team future than floundering in Europe will.

As butter said, what recent young US players have moved from MLS to Europe and been successful? Altidore and Bradley are the only ones under 30 who you could say are successful. Adu, bombed. Agudelo, bombed. Shea, bombing.

And the two MLS alums who are having some success, Tim Ream and Sacha Klejstan, didn't even make the world cup squad, so European success doesn't seem to be valued over MLS success to Klinnsmann.

[kingfc22]

I'm in the same camp as Butter and Easy Mac. Let's see what happens if our best players develop and thrive in MLS. Sending our top players in the past to Europe certainly hasn't been the best plan as our players have usually seen very intermittent action. One could argue that was still better than having them play in MLS where it used to be in terms of skill level, but I think the league is developing well. Our players may even develop better in a place where they get regular playing time and even get to play together on more of a regular basis.