IdleRich

IdleRich
Ex-FC Barcelona star Neymar is "already a problem in Saudi Arabia" where he has clashed with manager Jorge Jesus and left new club Al-Hilal "not happy" with his performances according to El Nacional.

After his showing in a 1-1 draw in the Asians Champions League against Navbahor, however, Al-Hilal's owners have reportedly been left disappointed by Neymar...

Neymar is being questioned for looking much "slower, clumsier and more predictable than usual" according to El Nacional.

I guess if you spend a billion pounds on a player then you're entitled to expect a certain return and fairly quickly too, but if they are really on his case after two games, in one of which he set up two goals... probably just newspaper gossip... hopefully.
 

versh

Well-known member
'The UK government has admitted its embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office in London have discussed the charges levelled at Manchester City by the Premier League, but are refusing to disclose the correspondence because it could risk the UK’s relationship with the UAE.'
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Anyone seen those memes about Van Basten that are going around everywhere at the moment? What a great player he was, how many goals he scored and how he won (almost) everything (except a world cup which some might consider quite important) and he did all of these in a career that lasted only no e years!

An amazing statistic which, combined with the number of goals he banged in, sounds almost impossible... too good to be true.

So I looked it up


He started playing pro in 1981, and injury forced him to stop after his last game in 1993.

So, yeah, he did retire at 28 and have a short career of only about 12 years... but it's nine year stat is suddenly everywhere at the moment. I guess someone said it and everyone repeated it without checking. Loads of videos with Americans confidently narrating are floating around and won't flush...

In fact there's a wider point there, have you noticed how many vids there are with Americans talking about football? It's a weird phenomenon with random idiots explaining how we underrated Romario or whoever, I feel like I understand mansplaining now...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Always back your players...

Seems Bellingham and Kane are both doing well. I think Kane had the best ever goal-scoring start for Bayern after six games or something - now it's a slightly cherry-picked cos one might have the record after five and another after seven or whatever, but however you slice it, the list of strikers they've had is ridiculous, and I don't think this is one of their strongest sides... is he still banging em in?

And Bellingham is just amazing by all accounts. Could be the best English player of my lifetime.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Anyone watch England v Italy tonight? Sounds like a good win... but Italy are the champions and might not qualify which seems a bit strange to me. I preferred it when the host and champions qualified automatically, it seems a fair reward for winning and it makes the atmosphere in the tournament better.
 

jenks

thread death
Anyone watch England v Italy tonight? Sounds like a good win... but Italy are the champions and might not qualify which seems a bit strange to me. I preferred it when the host and champions qualified automatically, it seems a fair reward for winning and it makes the atmosphere in the tournament better.
First half was drab - Italy certainly missing two key players due to betting investigation. Bellingham was the class act. Second half England knocked it up a gear - Bellingham, Foden and Kane all combining well. Stones looks good in possession but Rice still has work to do to convince.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Italy so many scandals like that. I remember my friend saying "it's a bit annoying that in a year when Italian football is shown to be riddled with cheating, they walk off with the World Cup and the Champions League". What year was that now, 2006 maybe? With the Zidane headbutt in the final.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Ronaldo banged in a couple more in what the headlines called the Champions League, both great goals



One thing I find really weird is Messi and Ronaldo fans whose constant bickering about who is best seems to have grown now they're in semi-retirement. Any football video I see that has comments quickly descends into pathetic arguments. Football you're supposed to support teams not players, and if your favourite transfers to the enemy you make up a chant about how you want them to die that's how it's supposed to work.

Anyway do these count as top class goals? I know that Pele's goal total depends on whether you count his goals for the army team, but it ought to be more clear cut now - are goals in MLS or SA really first class goals? What about Championship (say) goals, do they count as first class? Maybe it is always going to be a stat that needs qualification. Has a headline ever before referred to a match featuring a Saudi side as simply a Champions League fixture?

Anyway, pleased to see Bellingham bagged yet another in the other champions league...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
When you think about it, career goals is a mad statistic considering it's made up of club goals and international goals.

Club goals you have those in the league and one or possibly two domestic cups (if City draw a team in the fourth tier and Haaland scores seventeen are they first class goals? They count the same as the winner in the World Cup final?), you've got European cups too - and then friendlies, which I think probably don't count, but what about in-between things such as Community Shield? And then what if you move to the top tier of a weaker league?

Then you have international games, the World Cup and your continent's cup too. And then friendlies which I think - in a weird inconsistency - do count.

To tot all those up over a career is kinda crazy, I guess the idea is that if you maintain a high enough level long enough it will somehow even out... though obviously it won't.
 

mixed_biscuits

_________________________
When you think about it, career goals is a mad statistic considering it's made up of club goals and international goals.

Club goals you have those in the league and one or possibly two domestic cups (if City draw a team in the fourth tier and Haaland scores seventeen are they first class goals? They count the same as the winner in the World Cup final?), you've got European cups too - and then friendlies, which I think probably don't count, but what about in-between things such as Community Shield? And then what if you move to the top tier of a weaker league?

Then you have international games, the World Cup and your continent's cup too. And then friendlies which I think - in a weird inconsistency - do count.

To tot all those up over a career is kinda crazy, I guess the idea is that if you maintain a high enough level long enough it will somehow even out... though obviously it won't.
Pens shouldn't count. Tap ins shouldn't count. Open goals shouldn't count. Deflections shouldn't count. Goals against outfield players having to play in goal shouldn't count. Goals against lower division keepers shouldn't count. Now let's see who's best.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Dunno if this goes here or what... but apparently some K-Pop band were playing a gig in Texas and they wanted to pay homage to local rounders team Texas Rangers who had just won something. Here they are in the Rangers uniform as I believe they call it in the US.

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IdleRich

IdleRich
Have you guys seen this guy Endrick? He's seventeen I believe and from what I've read already taking the piss out of defences in the Brazilian top flight. I'm sure that there is some exaggeration involved but if you watch this video he does seem to go round players with frightening ease.




About fifty something seconds into that compilation is the goal that The Guardian (and others fair enough) were wanking themselves dry over yesterday - the ball drops nicely for him and you think he's gonna twat it - certainly the defence did - but instead he dummies the volley and then controls it super quick by using his shin (I think) to stun it back into the ground. I dunno that I've ever seen that before, but it's totally the right thing to do here. He kinda leans over the ball and just kills it before it can rise which means he has it right where he wants it and can bang it into the net unchallenged while the defenders are still desperately throwing their bodies into the way of the shot that never happened.

Cunt is moving to Real Madrid next season; without any hyperbole whatsoever I can say it looks to be a foregone conclusion that annoyingly quickly he'll form a completely unstoppable partnership with Bellingham and between them they'll completely annihilate all kinds of scoring and assisting records while the fascists waltz effortlessly to yet another fucking treble the fucking bastards!
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Speaking of Bellingham, he scored two at the weekend as Real came from behind to beat Barcelona. Go to 1.22 to see the first strike which was from about 25 yards, check out how hard he hit it, it seemed to get faster as it went!

 
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