35 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mbappe is overrated. Not saying he isn't a very good player, but people talk about him like he is one of the best of the past 20 years. His pace is better than his finishing.

Hi Scott 

I think his finishing must be up there with the best considering the amount of goals he has scored in World cups and for his club ?

I agree you can watch him sometimes and think he looks bang average, nothing special.

f**king hell , France just hang on, Kante was outstanding.

Mbappe was just as you described him !

Both Our £100m midfielders should be made to watch that Kante performance.

It was nice to see Kante put a performance like this, he deserves all the good.

Overall I expected more from France.

1 minute ago, The Rising Sun said:

Hi Scott 

I think his finishing must be up there with the best considering the amount of goals he has scored in World cups and for his club ?

I agree you can watch him sometimes and think he looks bang average, nothing special.

f**king hell , France just hang on, Kante was outstanding.

Mbappe was just as you described him !

Don't get me wrong, I think Mbappe is definitely one of the best players of his generation, but that's as far as it goes. I don't agree with anybody that puts him in the same group as Messi, Ronaldo (both of them) Ronaldinho, Zidane etc. It's like the Neymar hype when they tried to label him as one of the best ever, it's just not true.

40 minutes ago, WeatherMan said:

Fantastic recovery and tackle from the man again just then.

Man of the match.  I'd have him back in a heartbeat 

Mistake getting rid of Kante? He left on a free aswell right?

4 minutes ago, KonaKai Blue said:

Mistake getting rid of Kante? He left on a free aswell right?

Probably not because a) our medical side wouldn't have found a way past his injury issues and b) even if they did Poch would have somehow found a way to make him look rubbish.

9 minutes ago, KonaKai Blue said:

Mistake getting rid of Kante? He left on a free aswell right?

It's hard to say. He's not had any injury issues since leaving as far as I am aware, but is that because the demands on his body are so much lower now or is he genuinely over it? 

I'm concerned about the top level of English football to be honest. There are so many injuries that players don't seem to be able to recover from until they bugger off somewhere else to play their football. It's like the demands are just too much for some of the best players and they are either getting injured or they completely burn out.

Eufa and their VAR hate Chelsea.

It's the reason they chalked off Lukaku"s goals

20 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

It's hard to say. He's not had any injury issues since leaving as far as I am aware, but is that because the demands on his body are so much lower now or is he genuinely over it? 

I'm concerned about the top level of English football to be honest. There are so many injuries that players don't seem to be able to recover from until they bugger off somewhere else to play their football. It's like the demands are just too much for some of the best players and they are either getting injured or they completely burn out.

And on top of our PL games there's expanded European football , expanded world club tournaments, and full on pre season tournaments in America.

1 hour ago, The Rising Sun said:

Eufa and their VAR hate Chelsea.

It's the reason they chalked off Lukaku"s goals

Aye driving down his price to minus 12.

I was expecting more from France tbh. Kante is still class but I agree with you guys, the Premier league is just too much for him. But he's still up there when playing across the channel. He can do his magic every now and then in a game but not the whole game like before and definitely not for the amount of games that's played by an English top flight club.

Griezemann needs to stop changing his hair styles, didn't even recognise him!

Mbappe...I do like him. He has his off days but he fights for his team and isn't just "talent". I agree he isn't Messi or Ronaldo, etc...but he's up there. Real Madrid are going to be so dominant for the next few years. I was really impressed with Bellingham already, adding mbappe there too is insane.

I need to do some research when I get the chance but how can Real Madrid afford all their wages? Doesnt europe have tighter Ffp/psr (equivalent) rules than us?

Edited June 18, 20242 yr by Simplymo

11 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

They didn't show the offside pictures for his disallowed goal did they ?

 

 

I didnt get a chance to watch the belgium match, only caught the last 10-15mins properly. But it was on in the background.

 

I saw the pics and "heartbeat monitor" for the French disallowed goal 

VAR has been soo much quicker with those 2 add-ons...looking forward to see how it carries on during the tournament. I hope it gets really tested because so far imo it's been much better...so far!

Edited June 18, 20242 yr by Simplymo
Multitasking and mixing posts!

France should have besten Austria they had chances through Mbappe and Giroud to take the points yet failed.

Rangniks Austria fought to get back in the game yet lacked a cutting edge though if it comes to goal difference in their group they will remember this game.

France are so strong defensively, I noticed Kante popping up here and there and Kounde caught my eye too as we were once heavily linked with him, thought both had good games. 

Mbappe's injury was strange seems to me , he headed the shoulder of the Austrian after the ball has gone.......

 

16 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

3rd place finish at the World Cup in 2018 is alright. Courtois golden glove and Hazard silver ball. 

It's not like England 2004-2008. 

Very small beer over the years given the talent.

17 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Southgate is a clown. One of the main reasons he gave for playing him there was that he has a good range of passing. What about positional sense? knowing when to push forward and knowing when to stick? 

Also, isn't it a bit late to start tinkering with the team now?

The thing is TAA's 'passing' is pretty average, he can whip in crosses and hit diagonals as good as anyone but this is nullified playing in the middle. Southgate's a weirdo. 

13 hours ago, 2211 said:

Theo Hernandez - very good player.

Terrific going forward. His brother Lucas is a vastly more reliable defender at LB but, sadly, just about always crocked.

7 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

The thing is TAA's 'passing' is pretty average, he can whip in crosses and hit diagonals as good as anyone but this is nullified playing in the middle. Southgate's a weirdo. 

I think everyone in Europe knows about him meaning he will get no time on the ball and likely give away possession. 

What Southgate, England's Mr.Nice does though is anyone's guess, I think he starts  with Gallager..............

Edited June 18, 20242 yr by strider6004

15 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Makes you wonder just how much of an impact Pep's football has had on KDB. Just a different player with Belgium. 

Hazard basically was Belgium's golden generation. 

Ditto Foden and England. Pep's programming must be difficult to unlearn when pitched into a different environment. 

15 hours ago, ducavis said:

He stormed out of Belgian training over a row about the captaincy. He wanted the armband for an Euro 2024 qualifying match but Tedesco named Lukaku instead. He has not been called up by the manager since then.

There were two friendly matches. Tedesco told Courtois that Lukaku would wear the armband in the first, Courtois the second. Courtois wanted the armband in the first friendly to mark his first game following his 100th cap. Toys out of pram. End of.

15 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

Both Our £100m midfielders should be made to watch that Kante performance.

One of the greatest EVER. Still reads the game like he has a crystal ball.

All three Kantes on top form last night.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cmlljgmdevjo

On Kante, Barkley and others do they still train as much?

I remember Paul McGrath in an earlier generation saying he maybe trained once a week and played one a week due to not aggravating injuries. 

 

15 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

And on top of our PL games there's expanded European football , expanded world club tournaments, and full on pre season tournaments in America.

Yep. This is the main reason why I have been so vocal against the Club World Cup expansion. I like the idea of it, but the players are already pushed to their limit physically. Something has to give, and it seems like these people in charge are happy to sacrifice world class footballers for that extra money.

Essentially why Clearlake are being progressive about it and plan on having a large squad, IE 2/3 players for each position. 

Edited June 18, 20242 yr by Sconnie Blue

16 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Yep. This is the main reason why I have been so vocal against the Club World Cup expansion. I like the idea of it, but the players are already pushed to their limit physically. Something has to give, and it seems like these people in charge are happy to sacrifice world class footballers for that extra money.

FIFA are the problem. Their only significant income is from the World Cup. The income is huge but only every four years. They look at UEFA raking it in with the CL, Europa League and Conference League annually, on top of the Euros. Hence FIFA look to create more sources of income and the players suffer.