Football 18/19

[jyoung]

Neymar is a nightmare to watch.

[The Nal]

19 minutes ago, jyoung said:

Neymar is a nightmare to watch.

And play against I'd say. Brazil looked comfortable enough there. 

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Well that one fizzled once that first one went in.

Barely broke into a sweat in second half. 

Neymar is a complete and utter cnut mind

[pink_triangle]

4 hours ago, Hugh Jass said:

Yup, it could only be done if all of the host cities/grounds were close to each other.

Hypothetically if England were to host it then you could have a random draws for the knockouts if all matches were played in London - Wembley, Emirates, WHL, Stamford Bridge and the London Stadium, but then that would screw the rest of the country over.

Not just geography, at present the second round starts straight after the knockouts. Teams could end up with hardly any rest days.

[dentalplan]

[pink_triangle]

It’s hard to believe the generation of players Belgium have and know someone in their FA thought the best  solution to losing to Wales was to give Martinez the job.

[thetime]

9 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

It’s hard to believe the generation of players Belgium have and know someone in their FA thought the best  solution to losing to Wales was to give Martinez the job.

Patience dude. 

[pink_triangle]

1 minute ago, thetime said:

Patience dude. 

If Belgium win this game it will be due to better players than the manager. Belgium have all the talent, they need organisation and tactics.

[thetime]

4 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

If Belgium win this game it will be due to better players than the manager. Belgium have all the talent, they need organisation and tactics.

That’s a bit unfair and trying to fit your own agenda on Martinez. If they do win 4 wins out of 4 in the World Cup then it does have a little to do with the manager. 

[dentalplan]

They have been ridiculously exposed on the flanks by 4-4-2 and  the escape plan is to put it in the air for the big lads. You would hope with a bevy of world class players that there’d be something a bit more clever going on.

[lost]

From what I’ve seen they do look better than they did under Wilmots two years ago but for all the talent in the middle they need a couple of full backs.

[pink_triangle]

10 minutes ago, thetime said:

That’s a bit unfair and trying to fit your own agenda on Martinez. If they do win 4 wins out of 4 in the World Cup then it does have a little to do with the manager. 

France got to a World Cup final with domenech!

[thetime]

2 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

France got to a World Cup final with domenech!

You’re not going to give Martinez credit are you? 

[thetime]

5 minutes ago, lost said:

From what I’ve seen they do look better than they did under Wilmots two years ago but for all the talent in the middle they need a couple of full backs.

Transfer window?

[kaosmark2]

Martinez is generally able to get attacking players playing well, but his teams have little clue defensively even when they have good defenders, and they deteriorate as his manages them longer. Although as an international manager I wonder if he just selects that defense and trusts them to not fuck up there's fewer training drills that make the team worse.

[pink_triangle]

1 minute ago, thetime said:

You’re not going to give Martinez credit are you? 

I think Martinez is the weak link at Belgium, just as Domenech was with France. Time will tell if the quality of players will overcome that.

[Hugh Jass]

Another match to add to growing body of evidence for this World Cup...

[jyoung]

Japan ya bloody nutters, what on Earth were you thinking sticking that many men forward for a corner in the last minute?! Naive!

Strength of character from Belgium and like it or not, Martinez subs worked...

Brazil vs Belgium has the potential to be a corker. Looking forward to seeing Hazard get fouled constantly but get straight back up and let his football do the talking. Something Neymar seems to struggle with!

[thetime]

2 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

I think Martinez is the weak link at Belgium, just as Domenech was with France. Time will tell if the quality of players will overcome that.

I would say managers take all the flak when it goes wrong, quite rightly they should take credit when it goes right. 

4 wins out of four, you can’t argue with that.

[kaosmark2]

I'm not sure how much managers influence international teams. Obviously somewhat, but there's a lot less focus on coaching and a lot more on morale/squad unity and selection. I think the situation may well cover Martinez's weaknesses as a manager (defensive uncoaching).

[pink_triangle]

4 minutes ago, jyoung said:

Japan ya bloody nutters, what on Earth were you thinking sticking that many men forward for a corner in the last minute?! Naive!

Strength of character from Belgium and like it or not, Martinez subs worked...

Brazil vs Belgium has the potential to be a corker. Looking forward to seeing Hazard get fouled constantly but get straight back up and let his football do the talking. Something Neymar seems to struggle with!

I disagree, I think Japans best/only chance was to score at the end. Belgium would have taken them apart in extra time.

[pink_triangle]

1 minute ago, kaosmark2 said:

I'm not sure how much managers influence international teams. Obviously somewhat, but there's a lot less focus on coaching and a lot more on morale/squad unity and selection. I think the situation may well cover Martinez's weaknesses as a manager (defensive uncoaching).

I think with hindsight losing Lopetegui may have been huge for Spain.

[lost]

I always thought Martinez's problem at Everton was fitness. He was all ball work and no stamina in training apparently. That made me think he may make a good international coach as the players would obviously be at the fitness level of their appropriate clubs.The amount of times Everton completely collapsed in the last 10 minutes was probably his downfall.

Edited July 2, 2018 by lost

[jyoung]

1 minute ago, pink_triangle said:

I disagree, I think Japans best/only chance was to score at the end. Belgium would have taken them apart in extra time.

Japan were not scoring from a corner against the height of that Belgium defence, in my opinion. Some of them looked like young boys stood next to them.

[kaosmark2]

10 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

I think with hindsight losing Lopetegui may have been huge for Spain.

I agree, but I also think his position was untenable given the Madrid-Barca rivalry and the timing of the announcement.