"And can we put the Dele pedestal away for good now?"
by alleghenyirish (2018-12-20 08:59:44)

Just a little bit down the page.

Sorry wcnitz, I think that pedestal is going to be staying out for quite a while.


Let us know
by mitquinn  (2018-12-23 20:38:17)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

when he has more silverware than Yaya Sanogo...


Who? *
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-24 08:04:03)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Exactly. *
by mitquinn  (2018-12-24 10:38:12)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


After a Carabao Cup quarterfinal?
by HTownND  (2018-12-21 07:26:28)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

So so so Spursy


No, he's still a petulant child
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 09:13:01)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

He's never going to elevate his game beyond where he currently is. The problem is entirely within his head. He'll show up in some matches, always act like a baby in most matches, and will never grow up.

And Tottenham is still Tottenham. I like Kane. I think Eriksen is a terrific talent. But it's Tottenham. They are going to lose a fine manager because they just want to be Tottenham.

For the record, I don't give a crap about Arsenal. I do hope the guy who threw the bottle gets a lifetime ban and spends some time in jail.


You mad?
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 09:46:57)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I may be wrong, but it sounds like you are mad


Did Tottenham win something? *
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 09:51:04)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Who cares?
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 09:54:13)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

That's the only response you have. Means I'm not a plastic glory hunter, what are you?


An observer of the Premier League
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 10:00:18)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I have no real emotional investment in any particular club in the PL, I'm more just a fan of the league. My son is the Liverpool supporter.

You do realize I'm just giving you some shit, right? Banter's banter.


I'm like you on this
by Irishlawyer  (2018-12-21 11:00:37)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I love soccer. I tried to love the Chicago Fire but failed. I love the USMNT and USWNT. I love my son's club team (and respect but don't love my daughter's club team). As for the rest of the world, I'm like the Bobs in office space - I kind of like them all. I like the EPL the most and I float around from club to club depending on coach and personnel. I loved Drogba which drew me to Chelsea (and later to Phoenix AZ!) and that made me dislike Liverpool. Now, with Mo and the rest, I enjoy Liverpool quite a bit. I think its the best way for me to be a fan of the game. I have enough teams that I bleed for (ND, White Sox, etc.) and another one to give angst is just not worth it!


Lovely
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 10:04:25)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Puts you into the position of never being able to get called out whilst able to call out everyone else.

Also your take on Dele not getting to a next level is pathetic when he's scored 75 goals before the age of 23.


The Prem is the most interesting league in the world
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 14:18:57)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

And you don't need to support a particular club to believe that.

I also watch La Liga, a bit of Ligue 1 and some Serie A. MLS only when it's interesting. All of my emotional investment is in Bayern, though I have some attachment to individuals. I find Klopp fascinating, I enjoy watching Hazard every second he's on the pitch. I like laughing at David Luiz. The little things.


Incorrect!
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-20 14:46:42)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

La Liga is the most interesting and obviously the best league in the world. Anyone who says the contrary in obviously a communist. :-)


3 team league
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 14:52:47)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I mean, I find the Bundesliga play style entertaining as hell but it certainly isn't the most interesting league (though Dortmund is making it more interesting this year).


My other issue with La Liga is that basically every side has a player that I hate.


I feel it is tough to compare the leagues
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-20 15:12:55)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

everyone talks about the general strength of the EPL but really only Man City, ManU, and Chelsea have won consistently since 2000. Arsenal won twice in that time period (2001+2003) but so did Valencia in La Liga (Oddly, also in 2001+2003). In the EPL you had Leicester's odd year but in La Liga you had Atletico win just as recently.

When you look at the European club championships there is no contest who has performed better. England needed Chelsea and ManU to win their last Europa titles in 2013 and 2017 while Spain has won 8 Europa's with Sevilla (5) and Atletico (3) since 2005. Champions is the same story. Spain has done consistently better since 2005 and it has been more than Madrid and Barca. Just last year, Sevilla knocked out ManU.

I feel money has ruined all leagues, and my bias for Spain is obvious, but for me the more compelling teams are in Spain when you look at all competitions and even the league itself.

Disclaimer: I just love soccer. I am not saying this to upset anyone as I follow La Liga, EPL, and Bundesliga pretty closely.


I don't look at champs, but individual games for interesting
by spade  (2018-12-20 16:09:39)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

In the EPL, every team could beat the big dogs 80% of the time. They often don't win, but I feel there is often a chance, with few complete blowouts. I don't feel like Eibar or Huesca really will ever have that chance.

Since I do like Spurs but also like just watching any ole EPL game, the, for example, West Ham vs Leicester holds more interest for me in the EPL than for a similar middle-level game in any other Euro League (except maybe Bundesliga).


I understand your point but Eibar
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-20 16:48:45)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

was a poor example as they just beat Real Madrid 3-0. A complete thrashing. They are a tiny club but have had 2 very competitive years where they have beat many of the top clubs. Huesca is a team that was just promoted to La LIga who I would liken to Fulham or Huddersfield. They are hopeless.

Different strokes for different folks. I get the same pleasure that you do watching West Ham v Leicester from watching Athletic Bilbao (they are having a putrid year) play Villareal, Espanyol, or Betis. I find the style of play in La Liga more appealing with a higher premium on skill and ball movement.


Upside of La Liga
by wcnitz  (2018-12-21 08:12:52)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Lots of Ray Hudsonisms.

The neck's twisting like Linda Blair in the exorcist!

Slipperier than a greased eel in a boot!

MAGESTERIAL!


Hahaha...you and I have discussed previously
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-21 10:15:59)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Ray is the best. His best one this year...

Madrid was playing someone and Kroos gets in front of a rocket ball that hits him directly in the fruit stand.

Ray's comment:

"Ooomph...that will make your brown eyes blue Phil but that is Tony Kroos; sacrificing his body for the cause."


Cool, gotcha *
by spade  (2018-12-20 17:13:43)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Not sure that's at all accurate.
by Porpoiseboy  (2018-12-20 14:09:26)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

If he says he likes Bayern Munich, maybe he just likes a German side and doesn't care to have any strong interest in an English Club. That wouldn't seem at all like waffling to me.

If you gave me shit for calling out an Italian goalie for his clown actions, I reply I don't give a shit about any Italian teams, and you reply with something similar to the above, it's not going to make me go invest time in Italian soccer & pick a team.


That's fair *
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 15:40:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


We're building bridges! *
by Porpoiseboy  (2018-12-20 15:49:30)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Do you really think Pochettino will
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-20 09:46:46)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

head to ManU? Media accounts say the price to pry him away from Tottenham is $45M Euro. If that is true, I am surprised Madrid did not pay that last off-season. It does not seem like a sum that would be prohibitive for any elite team but that could just be how crazy the market has gotten for everything.


I think there is a chance
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 09:53:22)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Eriksen and Toby both have a big chance of leaving next year. So then we are replacing our top defender and top play-maker, and money is tight with the stadium. Poch has worked miracles already, replacing that would be his biggest challenge yet.

That being said United's squad is horrifying right now. They have no solid defenders and several players that haven't played up to their best ability in over a year. It would be another big project and I don't know if United's front office would let Poch do what he did at Spurs without getting involved.

Levy let Poch clear out as many players as he wanted and freeze people out of the team. Would Woodward let him do that to players like Pogba, Lindgard, Sanchez etc. and give him enough backing? I really don't know.


I heard United convinced Poch by assuring him he’d be able
by tex29  (2018-12-20 10:04:38)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

to buy at least one new player next summer, which was a bridge too far for Spurs.


I just don't think they are a single player away...
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-20 10:25:48)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

there is talent for sure. Pogba, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez and some solid role players like Matic, Valencia etc but they have glaring holes on the defense and in the midfield.


Worse than that, I think
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 10:35:11)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I think they're more like 7-8 players away. Sanchez appears to be a write-off at this point. The whole back line is bad and it may be generous to call it bottom table quality. Jose had that bus firmly parked and Cube found himself standing alone about 16 yards out twice. Liverpool just assaulted the goal. That's been par for the course this season.

I love Lukaku, but he's not looked right since the WC and he's NOT getting the service. Rashford is really inconsistent, as is Martial. Maybe some of that is due to Jose's management, but who knows? They dropped 50M on Fred. Pogba is another matter entirely. It will be interesting to see if this change enables him to seize the opportunity or just continue to be Pogba.

I have my popcorn ready to watch the soap opera now that the baby faced assassin is running things. And I did actually name my son after him.


No doubt. I was taking a shot at Spurs, who didn’t buy a
by tex29  (2018-12-20 10:34:02)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

single player to strengthen their squad over the summer. It’s one thing to be shit at buying players (like United). It’s another to be so cheap that you won’t even try to improve your squad to compete for trophies.


Based on where we are right now
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 10:53:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I'd say we aren't too bothered about it


I'm happy as well *
by spade  (2018-12-20 16:00:29)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Where you are right now?
by tex29  (2018-12-20 11:01:07)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

You mean trophyless for the past forever? Judging by where Poch is likely to be next season, and Spurs are likely to be at the end of this season, you should be bothered.


Why?
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 11:11:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

We've just beaten our rivals in their stadium, just got a result at Camp Nou to take us to the last 16 of the Champions League.

In what world should I be bothered?


That is the most Spurs answer ever.
by tex29  (2018-12-20 11:17:52)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

You should be bothered in a world where sports fans care more about winning championships than they do about getting a single result against a rival or advancing past the opening round of a tournament.

It would be one thing if you supported Burnley. Hell, it would be different if you, like me, were supporting City in the early 1990s. But Spurs has finished in the top 4 the past few years, largely because of Poch. If your team has the capability to challenge for trophies, your ambition should be to win trophies—not simply to line Daniel Levy’s pockets. And if Spurs fans don’t give Levy stick for this shit, you’ll get what you deserve—Poch will leave, along with your star players, and you can go back to hoping you make it to Europa every few seasons.


It’s a bit of Kelly/Swarbrick “in the conversation” answer *
by DakotaDomer  (2018-12-20 21:07:12)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


There is a difference though
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-21 08:49:54)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I think Spurs being in the conversation is pretty good considering they aren't funded by the wealth of an oil rich nation or a man that stole the mineral wealth of the Russian people.


Yeah
by HTownND  (2018-12-21 10:09:24)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

You have this guy


And this guy







You have billionaire backing too, and do you want to talk about Black Wednesday or not?


Get over yourself


And if they put in what Roman did
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-21 13:09:59)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

You'd have a point.

But they don't, so you don't.


Got it
by HTownND  (2018-12-21 13:55:00)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

So like Arsenal, your owner who benefited by destroying the Pound Sterling with Soros in the 90s, is being benevolent in his spending for the club.

OK


I'd expect so
by alleghenyirish  (2018-12-20 11:19:36)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I am a Spurs fan after all


I am surprised
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 09:50:24)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

That Madrid haven't already tapped him up. He's clearly worth it, IMO.

Now, United? No clue, because their management hasn't got a clue either. That club is a mess, top to bottom.


Same. His hate for Barca alone
by KnightlyRevue  (2018-12-20 10:22:24)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

makes him a nice fit at the Bernabeu. The problem is the amount of control Florentino demands and the fact that any slip or loss puts you under an electron microscope and a Niagra falls cascade of criticism.


2-3 good years in Madrid
by wcnitz  (2018-12-20 10:27:10)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

If you can survive that long under the stress, you can walk away and do whatever you want. Zizou was a genius - he got out at the perfect time when the club clearly needed to go into transition mode. Certainly appears that RM is going to be active this coming summer, so if Poch wants it now is the time.