OT We call it football over here

thetrim

Yea I had DeBruyne on my fantasy team.  Even with him, I finished dead last last week.  

CPFC1905

thetrim said:

Yea I had DeBruyne on my fantasy team.  Even with him, I finished dead last last week.  

My first season on Fantasy PL, got excited on Saturday when I was ahead of the curve - but then fell back dramatically after Sunday.  2 points above average overall, cold comfort.  
De Bruyne is out in Barcelona for treatment,  so too early to accurately predict recovery - but fair to say you need to transfer him asap. 

CPFC1905

All you need to read about football over the last week;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/16/the-fiver-la-liga-usa-usa-usa

thetrim

CPFC1905 said:

thetrim said:

Yea I had DeBruyne on my fantasy team.  Even with him, I finished dead last last week.  

My first season on Fantasy PL, got excited on Saturday when I was ahead of the curve - but then fell back dramatically after Sunday.  2 points above average overall, cold comfort.  
De Bruyne is out in Barcelona for treatment,  so too early to accurately predict recovery - but fair to say you need to transfer him asap. 

In my league, you get one transfer a week.  I used mine this week before the DeBruyne disaster.  He will have to wait one more week.

thetrim

The National Cups are a thing of beauty in Football around the world.  Here is a preview of one match in the first round of the DFB Pokal in Germany where the German giants FC Bayern visit a fourth tier team on the other side of the country.

https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2018/8/17/17704420/bayern-munich-2018-dfb-pokal-first-round-get-to-know-opponent-preview-fc-drochtersen-assel

Eoin

thetrim said:

The National Cups are a thing of beauty in Football around the world.  Here is a preview of one match in the first round of the DFB Pokal in Germany where the German giants FC Bayern visit a fourth tier team on the other side of the country.

https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2018/8/17/17704420/bayern-munich-2018-dfb-pokal-first-round-get-to-know-opponent-preview-fc-drochtersen-assel

Cup competitions with a random draw are great. 

CPFC1905

thetrim said:

CPFC1905 said:

thetrim said:

Yea I had DeBruyne on my fantasy team.  Even with him, I finished dead last last week.  

My first season on Fantasy PL, got excited on Saturday when I was ahead of the curve - but then fell back dramatically after Sunday.  2 points above average overall, cold comfort.  
De Bruyne is out in Barcelona for treatment,  so too early to accurately predict recovery - but fair to say you need to transfer him asap. 

In my league, you get one transfer a week.  I used mine this week before the DeBruyne disaster.  He will have to wait one more week.

So I went to make my single free transfer and hit the wrong button and needed up playing my once a season multiple changes card. Never mind live and learn. Made four upgrades on my cheaper playes with Luke Shaw especially good value.  

CPFC1905

Half-way through this weekend's fixtures.   
So far we have learnt;

• Arsenal and Chelsea are 'still finding their feet'.  Silky skills going forward, hapless defending and wayward finishing.
• Vardy shows his true colours as the nasty bit of work we all knew he was, while Wolves live up to expectations by losing in comfortable but stylish fashion.
• Cardiff will struggle. Newcastle have not rid themselves of their hapless streak. 
• West Ham are playing like a bunch of blokes who hardly know each other - for good reason & Bournemouth could be this year's Burnley.
• Fulham have found out the hard way that being good in the Championship means nothing in the PL.  Spurs are still Spurs.
• Southampton are stretching themselves to be mediocre, whereas Everton are probably that.

Elsewhere, well done to Stoke for doubling their points tally - everyone's favourite Windows Paperclip getting his 200th goal.   Would be lovely for Palace to do the same tomorrow night, but I doubt it will happen. 

Looking forward to seeing if Jose has drained every last vestige of confidence out of Man Utd.  I do hope not as they are playing at the debt-laden imposters this afternoon.  At least the ground will be full of their own fans,  with a couple of Brighton fans (so all of them) tucked out of sight with a flask of tea in the corner. 

Foghorn

Man City hitting on all cylinders. 

As are Brighton early on. 

YEMTrey

Brighton is putting on U!!

CPFC1905

Unbelievably I only managed 9pts for my Fantasy team from the Man City match.  
Less said about Man U the better.  I have to admit that Jose's stock has fallen in my eyes after letting the South Coast lightweights beat them is unforgivable.  Omnishambles. 

Foghorn

Brighton are tough at home. 

Still...

CPFC1905

Foghorn said:

Brighton are tough at home. 

Still...

Meh, not really their home - they sold their actual home to be a Toys R Us store several years ago.  Then they travelled through various miserable temporary venues before ending up in Falmer.   
I have respect for their owner, Tony Bloom, who is local and altruistic.  He made an absolute fortune out of the online gaming boom.  Also I think Chris Hughton is a terrific manager and a victim of the discreet racism at play in UK football management.  He is their biggest asset.  If a bigger club struggles early this season, he might be lured away. (I hope) 
But they are still Brighton and for that reason I can not even remotely condone their rather selfish display today.  Impudent upstarts. 

Foghorn

Rough day for CPFC

pgprescott

If the NFL continues down its current path this may be an option in the distant future. Ugh!

Acn

pgprescott said:

If the NFL continues down its current path this may be an option in the distant future. Ugh!

Come to the dark side 

CPFC1905

Foghorn said:

Rough day for CPFC

Liverpool will be handful for everyone I think.  Disappointed we did not score.   That was our problem last season too.   
We regard any points from games against the top 4 as a total bonus.  Most of our points will come from bottom half teams.  

Eoin

Crouchy, what a hero.

We do need a title race this season and Liverpool look best equipped to challenge City, so the Palace sacrafice this weekend might be a necessary evil.

Foghorn

Does anyone have stats on Crouch's goals per minute played vs other strikers of the last 10-12 years or so?  When used as a sub, he seems particularly likely to score - or head a ball to the opposite post for someone else to score - when playing for club and country.  For years I've thought that some mid-table team would buy him to be a 60th-70th minute sub for whatever attacking player seems most tired or has played the most games in a row.  But it seems that football managers don't think that way.

Eoin

Stoke have tended to use Crouch as an 'impact' sub, but with limited impact - 5 goals in 31 matches last season. Maybe he will do better in the Championship this season.

Foghorn

I always liked the contrast of him and Defoe up front. 

CPFC1905

Running through this weekend’s card, then;

Man City will be hoping for a business as usual cruise to victory over Wolves.  I will too, especially if Jesus and Fernandinho score lots and bail out my under-performing Fantasy team.

Arsenal and West Ham could contrive absolutely any result.  The home crowd will observe the traditional 90 minutes of silence, interspersed with a few 'Wenger In’ chants.   

Everton’s trip to the south coast will be illuminating.  They spent heavily in the summer but the jury is out manager Marco Silva.  Bournemouth, specifically Eddie Howe, remain the apple of the media’s eye - overlooking the ‘opaque’ financial position and somewhat hostile approach to the opposing players. 

Huddersfield play Cardiff in what I hope is a relegation battle, come the end of the season.  A nil nil would suit everyone else in the league as the sooner the relegation spots get occupied the better. 

Southampton host Vardy-less Leicester.  If you have seen a picture of Jamie Vardy, does it surprise you that he exists on a diet solely of Snus? He’s suspended and therefore so is most of Leicesters goal threat.   Southampton have not got going yet and so low scoring draw seem most likely.

Brighton, quaint seaside town merely 10 minutes form my own home, will welcome those loveable rogues from Liverpool.  My ideal outcome for this one is a mathematically impossible 100-0 to the Reds - all scored by Salah, the captain of my Fantasy team.   Plus Brighton left in such disarray that Chris Hughton leaves and the team voluntarily relegate themselves. 

On Sunday Palace journey to Watford.  They leave behind an ugly part of south London for an ugly town just north of London.  For reasons not fully fathomable by anyone,  Watford fans very much dislike Palace.  Watford have started well but the deity that is Wilf Zaha is likely to bring his A Game because the Watford fans always taunt him throughout the game - not realising that’s exactly what he likes.   There will be goals.

Fulham could well launch their season on Sunday.  Burnley travelled to Turkey last night for a torrid night in very hot conditions.  They have a thin squad and last year’s success leading them in to Europe will cause problems.  Most teams struggle after a mid-week match in Europe, I don’t see Burnley reversing that trend. 

Chelsea head to the cold far north and seem likely to upset the already incandescent Geordies.  The Newcastle owner (Mike Ashley) is on a one man mission to cause every one of their own fans to self-combust with rage.  He’s from London, so are Chelsea - that's more or less a declaration of war up there.  Chelsea will probably win.

On Monday fun-sponge Mourinho's baffled and expensive bunch of blokes play super-slick Spurs.  Jose could well play 9 in defence and one of his expensive offensive options about one yard further up the pitch.  He's done it before.  If Spurs score early they could rattle up a few and Jose will be spending his compensation before September. 

Elsewhere Stoke host Hull in the glamour tie of the EFL on Saturday. For any of you that have been to England, I can only apologise if you found yourself in either of these cities.    Stoke need to shake themselves up,  according to new signing Tom Ince - albeit in a more forthright manner in a recent interview.  @eoin is hoping for a big win.  Recent performances don’t suggest that, but finger crossed for the Potters. 

Eoin

CPFC1905 said:

Running through this weekend’s card, then;

Man City will be hoping for a business as usual cruise to victory over Wolves.  I will too, especially if Jesus and Fernandinho score lots and bail out my under-performing Fantasy team.

Arsenal and West Ham could contrive absolutely any result.  The home crowd will observe the traditional 90 minutes of silence, interspersed with a few 'Wenger In’ chants.   

Everton’s trip to the south coast will be illuminating.  They spent heavily in the summer but the jury is out manager Marco Silva.  Bournemouth, specifically Eddie Howe, remain the apple of the media’s eye - overlooking the ‘opaque’ financial position and somewhat hostile approach to the opposing players. 

Huddersfield play Cardiff in what I hope is a relegation battle, come the end of the season.  A nil nil would suit everyone else in the league as the sooner the relegation spots get occupied the better. 

Southampton host Vardy-less Leicester.  If you have seen a picture of Jamie Vardy, does it surprise you that he exists on a diet solely of Snus? He’s suspended and therefore so is most of Leicesters goal threat.   Southampton have not got going yet and so low scoring draw seem most likely.

Brighton, quaint seaside town merely 10 minutes form my own home, will welcome those loveable rogues from Liverpool.  My ideal outcome for this one is a mathematically impossible 100-0 to the Reds - all scored by Salah, the captain of my Fantasy team.   Plus Brighton left in such disarray that Chris Hughton leaves and the team voluntarily relegate themselves. 

On Sunday Palace journey to Watford.  They leave behind an ugly part of south London for an ugly town just north of London.  For reasons not fully fathomable by anyone,  Watford fans very much dislike Palace.  Watford have started well but the deity that is Wilf Zaha is likely to bring his A Game because the Watford fans always taunt him throughout the game - not realising that’s exactly what he likes.   There will be goals.

Fulham could well launch their season on Sunday.  Burnley travelled to Turkey last night for a torrid night in very hot conditions.  They have a thin squad and last year’s success leading them in to Europe will cause problems.  Most teams struggle after a mid-week match in Europe, I don’t see Burnley reversing that trend. 

Chelsea head to the cold far north and seem likely to upset the already incandescent Geordies.  The Newcastle owner (Mike Ashley) is on a one man mission to cause every one of their own fans to self-combust with rage.  He’s from London, so are Chelsea - that's more or less a declaration of war up there.  Chelsea will probably win.

On Monday fun-sponge Mourinho's baffled and expensive bunch of blokes play super-slick Spurs.  Jose could well play 9 in defence and one of his expensive offensive options about one yard further up the pitch.  He's done it before.  If Spurs score early they could rattle up a few and Jose will be spending his compensation before September. 

Elsewhere Stoke host Hull in the glamour tie of the EFL on Saturday. For any of you that have been to England, I can only apologise if you found yourself in either of these cities.    Stoke need to shake themselves up,  according to new signing Tom Ince - albeit in a more forthright manner in a recent interview.  @eoin is hoping for a big win.  Recent performances don’t suggest that, but finger crossed for the Potters. 

As you well know, Stoke is a much nicer place for the casual visitor now you can drive straight through on the A50 and A500 (the infamous D Road) without seeing anything apart from a couple of supermarkets and the Britannia Stadium. Hull is just a s***hole, apart from The Deep, which is actually quite good, apart from being massively overcrowded in the school holidays because there's nowhere else to take the kids in Hull.

Foghorn

Nice summary.  I'll argue that Leicester may surprise people without Vardy.  Teams tend to do that.  And I'm not as confident in Zaha as you are - for obvious reasons.  

Foghorn

Looks like City didn't follow the script.  

Eoin

Foghorn said:

Looks like City didn't follow the script.  

Keeping things interesting. Can Liverpool go top?

Stoke get their first win in the Championship as well.

CPFC1905

Bottle of Cava at Casa @Eoin tonight.  

Man City did my Fantasy team no favours at all!    

Everything is fine again at Arsenal -  until the nest time they meet a half decent team.  But the question is; will West Ham be the first to hit the big red Allardyce button? (I doubt it - but stranger things have happened).

Well done to @Foghorn Harry 'did that lad drive his own car to the Under 15's match' Maguire steps in to fill the Vardy Vacuum. 

Madness at Bournemouth,  seems you need a player sent off to get in to gear.  Everton will miss Richarlison - but if its straight red then it only one match out.   Regret putting Pickford in my Fantasy team even more now. 

No surprises about the nil all at Huddersfield.  I think they might have been found out after struggling towards the end of last season.  Might even have been relegated if Palace had not gifted them 3 points in game week 1, last season.

Foghorn

Leicester are not the champion team of a couple of years ago, but they are also not a one trick pony. 

It will be interesting to see if Arsenal can make the transition from “no single game is that important, it’s all about the long haul” to “this game REALLY matters (if only because my job is on the line)”.  

Eoin

If you have a 5 year deal paying £100k per week, your job isn't on the line. Some are self motivated, others not. Football management of these prima donnas must be a nightmare.

CPFC1905

Vardy is an interesting case.  Moving up through the leagues, achieving local hero status, big fish / small pond and no need to put himself under pressure by taking a move to a top team.    LCFC could go either way in the next year or two.  Strong cult of personality amongst the players there.

Building @Eoin point; I wonder what walking in a players shoes for a month would be like.   Of the top players, most are still quite young lads and are increasingly kept in a bubble away from how the other 99.9% live.  The salary things is a vexed issue for me.  

They are all employees and so pay their taxes on football salary, with a small component payable through their own company for rights issues which are part of their contract with the employer.  A comparison of career average earnings compared to a worker in any other industry would be interesting. Certainly the top players are light years ahead,  I suspect not too far down the pyramid it levels out.   But they get paid what the market offers and who would choose to earn less then someone not as good in the same job?

If we assume that most of their big decisions are made by 'advisors' perhaps its not surprise that when left to do it themselves - or finish playing, things can easily go a bit curly.

Putting in effort and not being an arrogant buffoon is hard to legislate for, again not unique to footballers.  

Being a manager is a very odd job indeed, required some very bullish characters.  The immediacy of reaction and success is the driver which causes this very peculiar environment, in my opinion.