themanupstairs

Joselu is decent in the link up, tall striker role. I guess it's an option that Benítez wants to have.

He looks like a nuisance factor type of forward from what I've seen of him.

So Benitez is using the friendly against Verona to put his team up against the ultimate test: a team managed by a former employee who will know exactly how ours will be set up and do his best to test our tactical shape. Rafa will hopefully learn a lot more about his players from this game than the rest of pre-season put together.

Staying at Barca to succeed Messi is a joke tbh.  Why would he do so?

 

TBH, he probably can't. Messi is 30 and still killing it. When would Neymar take over?

 

He would never take over precisely because Messi is ten times the player that petulant crybaby will ever be anyway.

 

No one is every going to take over from Messi unless he dies. Man is an alien. Exactly, why Neymar's move makes sense.

 

In order to enhance his legacy and standing as an all time footballer, hes joining a club where he's going to play a handful of meaningful games a season?

 

Not having that like.

 

If he was joining Madrid or Man City/Utd perhaps.

 

Sorry, but in the end in European football now, only winning the PL means something other than the Champions League. So yes, in order to enhance his legacy he wants to win the CL with PSG.

 

Also, winning either the CL with PSG or the World Cup is going to make him the best in the world, so he has basically 'doubled' his chance of winning it.

How exactly will that make him the best in the world, when Messi (and Ronaldo) are still tearing up both La Liga and the CL? Messi hasn't won the CL in a couple of seasons now and he's still the best in the world like.

anyway if Qatar weren't spending it on Neymar's salary they'd be spending on funding ISIS wahhabism so it's probably for the best

 

This is so true that it's almost not funny

Really though, anyone associating with that cretinous government deserves everything that's coming to them.

Staying at Barca to succeed Messi is a joke tbh.  Why would he do so?

 

TBH, he probably can't. Messi is 30 and still killing it. When would Neymar take over?

He would never take over precisely because Messi is ten times the player that petulant crybaby will ever be anyway.

The struggle   Fuck off.

Incredible play by Manquillo.

 

Yeah really good ball. He's looked OK so far tbh.

 

was Ritchie

 

No.

yes

 

Go to 67:30 (match clock) on the youtube stream. Manquillo is behind him in the back 4

True story.

Give footballers footballers' wages

 

Give agents footballers' wages

 

Give Neymar Sr, Neymar Jr's wages.

It happen

 

Some of Woodman's saves!

Jogback bumming Jelliott

Wish we'd just go and buy Lucas Perez for the 13m+/- and then try and bring in Lucas Vasquez and Angel Correra on loan (with view for perm. deal?).

Imagine the pace and precision in that front line 

Lucas Perez and Danny Ings in the s*** rag sun.  Probably nowt in it.  But would certainly be interested in Perez.  Thought he looked half decent for Arsenal and got a few goals for them, despite not playing much. 

 

Ings would be a bit of a gamble.  No idea what he'll be like after his injury, or whether he would consistently score goals at this level.

Scored 1 PL goal for Arsenal in about 2 matches worth.

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/6qjepn/to_comply_with_the_fpf_qatar_will_give_neymar_a/

 

Nothing dodgy going on here.

Fuck Qatar, FIFA and their dodgy world cup tbh. I hope it all ends in tears whether this is true or not.

He wasn't injured, though. There isn't a professional footballer, especially a wide player, on the planet who hasn't been shook up by a bad tackle at some point.

You're right then. He clearly used the incident to fleece the club out of a salary pretending to be a footballer and all that.

It was an injury. It just wasn't anywhere as serious as first feared.

It was his first Premier League start, he was a bairn still, had probably been told to expect a more physical game, then had some thug almost snap his leg. I could see why that would play on the mind like.

 

Think he came off the bench in that game but agree with your point.

It was relatively early in the first half was it not?

Play on his mind years later? Shut the f*** up, man. He's a professional athlete in a contact sport.

Not necessarily that specific incident. But it will have started a cascading effect to etch away at his confidence little by little and his game and fitness will have suffered as a result. You might want to think professional athletes are homogenous robots, but I work with them, especially athletes recovering from injury and you would be surprised at the impact some injuries can have on some personalities.

Him and hayden should give shelvey a bit of space. Reckon he could be a great buy. Aarons/murphy on one side a richie on the other. Left back and new striker and I think we have more than enough to stay in the league.

Sounds like he would do well in the role Anita had in the 433, except this guy is a serious physical specimen who can be more effective at the physical side of things than Anita ever was due to his small stature.

Meh I'd keep just because there's at least 10 c***s I'd rather shift first.

 

This. He has to stay in good shape though, and remain focused mentally. I wouldn't sell unless we got a ready and proven replacement.

 

If we need to sell to buy then we can't get a replacement until he's gone anyway.

Probably. But it doesn't stop us having an agreement in place of some sorts.

Dare I say that if an admittedly awful tackle at the JJB causing no physical injury ruined him mentally, there was f*** all to ruin in the first place. He has some ability but he's never in a billion years a PL defender. Another stupid Carr signing.

Agreed. The initial scare will have done enough damage unfortunately and he doesn't seem a good fit for this league.

Meh I'd keep just because there's at least 10 c***s I'd rather shift first.

This. He has to stay in good shape though, and remain focused mentally. I wouldn't sell unless we got a ready and proven replacement.

 

Yeah, I absolutely don't get people cheering on millionaires getting even richer

 

Fair enough you don't care about owners pocketing the money, but I give two f***s whether footballers can buy two private jets instead of just one.

 

A lot of footballers come from humble beginnings. If the sport is going to make billions off of their talent, them making lots of money is one of my least concerns. If not then the money would go to Adidas, Sky, Billionaire owners, shareholders etc.

 

If you think footballers making even more money isn't only because Adidas, Sky etc.. aren't making even MORE money, then you know nothing about football.

 

Erm.... that's kind of my point.

 

I'm not going to see Neymar making 500k a week and say the "oh the game's gone mad" when I know other parties are making x1000 more off his name and ability.

 

Now the game has gone mad but it's not because Neymar is making half a milli in a week.  Or at least that's probably the least unsavoury element of the whole thing.

You're saying you would rather the money went to the player than the big corporate sponsors, and I'm saying the only reason more money is going to the player is because more money is going to the corporate sponsors. They're getting more money, and not less.

Wasn't he running like 3 days after the tackle? To say that ruined him is absurd even by N-O standards.

Physically no. Mentally, I'm sure it had a massive impact, you could even see it in his body language going into every tackle since.

 

Yeah, I absolutely don't get people cheering on millionaires getting even richer

 

Fair enough you don't care about owners pocketing the money, but I give two f***s whether footballers can buy two private jets instead of just one.

 

A lot of footballers come from humble beginnings. If the sport is going to make billions off of their talent, them making lots of money is one of my least concerns. If not then the money would go to Adidas, Sky, Billionaire owners, shareholders etc.

If you think footballers making even more money isn't only because Adidas, Sky etc.. aren't making even MORE money, then you know nothing about football.

Gonna bet this lad gets called Merinho or Mourinho forever. Pundits, innit?

Yup. Same as Firminhyio.

Happy for Neymar if he goes, to be honest. Make the most of his career financially. Rather that than the owners making a profit. His deal will also set the benchmark for other players, pushing up wages for everyone else in the industry. This includes manager, coaches, scouts etc.

That's f***ing awful already

It might be good only in the way that it might get football to implode and crumble on itself.

An example of a poor signing by that fraud Rodgers.

It was a very good signing by a fraud of a manager. It's not like Coutinho was plucked out from obscurity ffs