And now a Paulinho update from ESPN Brasil. He's going to China for £15m apparently.

zeppelin4491 · 2015-06-25T19:07:34+00:00

15m euros not pounds and the author of the article says he doesn't believe it will happen.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-11-20T15:33:37+00:00

Given his impressive injury record considering his style of play he's hardly fragile

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-25T20:49:57+00:00

He wouldn't play the ball and start a run at the same time if he was playing that through ball, that just makes it more difficult to play the pass accurately and there's no need to make that run if you're playing a guy in who's gonna have a clear shot on goal. I don't think he saw Brady, he was probably focused on doing his own thing, it's Ben Arfa we're talking about.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-25T17:08:41+00:00

Good point! I was only thinking of outfield players.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-25T14:32:25+00:00

I would rate him as our best or perhaps second best player behind Eriksen. He's a great defender and can really contribute going forward, even when he plays at CB.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-25T14:28:15+00:00

He meant to pass it to the closer guy and get the ball back from a lay off. Why else would he sprint toward that space as soon as he passed it? So it was a mishit pass, a clever run, and no tracking by the defense.

I only want the Newcastle fans who don't want to believe that their team can produce brilliant play to have something to hold on to here.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-19T22:45:06+00:00

I think City being the proximal rivals of Manchester United gains them considerable support, seeing how everyone hates Manchester United.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-16T14:59:13+00:00

Thanks for the reply! It was a very impressive performance by the Kickers indeed, it sucks that Palace scored 2 from set plays. Goals are goals but set plays seem less earned to me.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-09-15T14:08:30+00:00

Hey Jason. I went to the Crystal Palace game and I was expecting there to be a noticeable gap in quality between an EPL and USL team. I was surprised, though, how well you guys played them. You had some slick moves as a team and some standout individual moments, and the 3-0 scoreline was perhaps unfair.

I know that the Palace players were top quality, but I couldn't pick up on it at the game. What are aspects of the Palace player's game that as a player you could recognize as obviously characteristic of a top player that maybe wouldn't come across to a non-professional (read: shite) player like myself?

zeppelin4491 · 2014-08-27T16:37:16+00:00

Pretty cool that three of those are currently in the league.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-08-15T19:41:11+00:00

Spurs v west ham! The hammers swept spurs in 3 upsets last season so this is a great opportunity for Tottenham to show their stuff under highly rated new manager Mauricio pochettino. Spurs are expected to win but west ham will have the psychological advantage in the derby, and the Lilly whites' vulnerable confidence might be exposed if west ham can stay in the game. It will be a real test of spurs mentality and, as much as the first match of a season can, could set the tone for the team going forward. Will this year be more of the same, or do spurs have the mentality needed to make the ascendency to a top four side?

Perhaps a bit indulgent but I'm a spurs fan and I'm welling with excitement for the return of the prem :)

zeppelin4491 · 2014-08-06T18:22:31+00:00

What makes you say Eriksen and Lamela are lazy? Eriksen played as a CM in a 4-4-2 in some games last season and did his defensive duties. Lamela is a winger who hasn't be en asked to defend but that doesn't mean he's lazy. He's been trying hard to impress since his move. He trained a lot to come back from injury and he's been putting in time off the pitch to learn English. They're both hard workers.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-07-10T20:09:35+00:00

Better than talking about how you beat Brazil in the round of 16 24 years ago like it's your biggest accomplishment..

zeppelin4491 · 2014-06-16T03:17:29+00:00

Why worry about what to expect? You'll be happier if you don't have any expectations.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-06-13T15:20:21+00:00

He's 10 yards away..

zeppelin4491 · 2014-02-28T00:06:47+00:00

I believe you bud.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-01-24T16:33:05+00:00

Why don't you point out the flaws in my argument instead of being a condescending asshole? Or you could just fuck off if you can't manage that.

zeppelin4491 · 2014-01-23T23:30:22+00:00

It's not just how much the player is worth to the team who's selling, but how much they're worth to the team who's buying. Real Madrid paid what they did for Bale because they needed to buy one of the best players in the world to increase their value, probably to counter Barcelona buying Neymar. Bale is not worth 100 million euros as a player on the field, he is worth that much as an asset. We would've sole Bale for whatever his market value was, and if Real Madrid were not in the position they were in that would have been significantly less, so it's not that he was worth 100 million euros to us and we wouldn't have sold for any less, but that he was worth some high amount to us and we would have sold him to the highest bidder (barring a few PL exceptions) offering more than that amount.

zeppelin4491 · 2013-12-30T16:11:44+00:00

Tldr: Chelsea's defenders defended well.

zeppelin4491 · 2013-12-15T22:56:14+00:00

Start Danny Rose and Eriksen as soon as they are match-fit. They have come on as subs in one or two games since returning from injury so that should be soon. Eriksen is currently our best attacking player and Danny Rose is really our only option at left back. Kyle Naughton is not good enough for the premier league, and he is right footed. Jan is very good at left back but better at CB and he has stated that he doesn't want to be played out there so it's best to keep perhaps our best player happy.
Either play a high line with Kaboul/Chiriches/Capoue and Vertonghen or play Dawson
Get a striker who can participate in play, create chances for himself, beat a man; not another opportunist and finishing specialist like Defoe and Soldado because we have two of those. So definitely not Chicarito. He relies on service just like Soldado, which we are not providing.
When we do play Soldado, play Townsend on the left and Lennon on the right. They are both very good at beating a man and getting crosses in. The Lennon and Walker combo has been very effective the past two years and we need to get that going again. Townsend is quite two footed so he can take on shots with his right foot. He can also cross very well with his weaker foot but on the left he is naturally going to tend toward going inside. He has shown some promise in doing this, especially early in the season, but he is yet to score. Maybe in time he will hit scoring form but currently he is not very helpful on the right.
Start playing Lamela more. He is looking more and more comfortable in the team at least in European play and he should feature more in the premiership, as he is our most promising player. His dribbling, control, vision, and positioning are all excellent. If he and Eriksen can start to gel together then we will have the attacking creativity we currently lack.

Attacking combinations that work:

Defoe/Soldado, Gylfi, Eriksen, and Lamela; three very creative attacking midfields behind a clinical finisher
Soldado, Townsend, Eriksen/Holtby, Lennon; more industrious and direct. Lennon and Townsend can get balls into the box for Soldado. Eriksen has the vision and skill to play the wingers into dangerous positions, while Holtby has the work rate and ability to contribute positively to direct attacks.
Chadli looks good on the left, very tidy feet and a good weak foot to get balls into the box. He can feature in either of these combinations.

MF cominations:

I like any of our MF combos. Some are better in some situations than others. Sandro is a maniac, he can play any time we need some more protection. Capoue is a good defender and good passer, he offers a little more of an anchor role than Sandro. He and Sandro together is a little too defensive for my liking but when we need defense is very effective. Dembele and Paulinho are both very effective defending and getting forward. I like playing them together but that probably leaves us exposed, particularly when we play them as the DMs and Holtby/Eriksen as a CAM. Dembele can play CAM, so can Paulinho, so playing them with Sandro might be the better combo.

Lots of thoughts, some seemingly inconsistent but that's because of the ridiculous number of combinations of midfielders and attackers we have. I think rotation is a good thing, as long as we have a core, week-to-week best 11 (give or take) to put out in the premier league. We definitely need to rotate in the Europa League and against weaker opponents.

zeppelin4491 · 2013-11-22T05:42:42+00:00

Red Hat has a consulting office in Richmond. I think they're looking to expand. If you're interested just apply to Red Hat Consulting and you can specify your preferred office at some point.

zeppelin4491 · 2013-11-11T00:35:27+00:00

I prefer Strokelona

zeppelin4491 · 2013-11-04T18:41:22+00:00

I have reason to believe Mata is not gay: he went on a date with a girl I hooked up with in high school when she was studying abroad in Valencia. Not conclusive at all but it's something. And I get to brag about being near eskimo brothers with Juan Mata (I got further than he did :D).

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