Recent content by Baxquux

Emery plays a high-line but also quite a controlled game (except when he's playing a rabble like this United team, when they can just go for the throat, pressing incessantly, and counter-pressing when turned over etc etc). Villa got stung early on the counter after messing around trying to walk...

Well, Club's soul was sold to a bunch of American satanists, in all but name back in 2005. There's no point looking for off the field virtue in a monolith football club any more, short of a the kind of radical recalibration of our broader politics for which there's no hope any time immanently...

He's shot. It's Matic redux. He's not exactly the most consistent playmaker either so it's not like you're using him as DLP if you have ambitions to crack top 4 and beyond again. There are players in the French league available for what Casemiro would hypothetically fetch from Saudi, who would...

Weird, unless he really does anticipate an offer from United/England. Ajax isn't dead-cert for trophies it might have seemed a couple of years ago, but still an excellent chance to recover some of his 'sheen' - jury is out over how culpable he was for the Chelsea thing, considering the chaos...

Agreed. Can't believe certain people were suggesting he should be DM fill-in. He's better on the ball than Smalling was, but only slightly better than Varane, for whom passing is the weakest part of his game. IN addition he gets bullied aerially and even on the ground - his play reading is OK...

I think it was subsequently reported as a hoax/spoof, though the fact that it's so believable (despite the backing he's received from ETH) maybe indicates a few things...

That might be something to sell him on if the recruitment team have any kind of nous. Being in the doldrums at least allows you to present regular first team football as a more viable opportunity compared to a high-flying team with no obvious need to replace one of their defensive starters

TBF he was happy to allow both Maguire and McT to leave. They both rated themselves sufficiently highly to turn West Ham (who'd just come off winning a European trophy and had a manager who would have played them most weeks) down, and players have inordinate power these days to the point where...

I've only seen a few Getafe games on and off out of curiosity, but my sense is it's totally tactical. He can drop quite deep , but it's either to specifically link play when they're struggling to transition, or it's to keep width. He plays more as a winger than an orthodox forward 2/3 of the...

Doubt it (probably a few for the cameras and one a week for show). He's an insane trainer by all accounts - peak Ronaldo levels in terms of working after-hours on skills and maintaining fitness, if not so much the muscle sculpting gym work. No alcohol (except, again, for the cameras at...

This is true, though Chelsea are favourites for 'Messinho' - there was also a chance at one point that they could have acquired Neymar before Barca. Obviously the 'climate', aspects of the culture and even just reputation (though if United had been gifted City Group style funding or RA...

Stones was at Barnsley first, and went to a PL Everton

I've seen Lewandowski miss worse. And I love Lewa.

Clearly fancies a move here, hence showing he can acclimatise to our style of play quickly...

Bribery. Being subsidized by government whenever they hit financial issues (though to be fair, they've not had to do this ins a while). Black magic. Along with Barca, having a near-monopoly on the best Brazilians due to the money, weather and success (breeding further success).