ponsaelius

I think England have often indulged in taking loads of out and out strikers for no reason. If you only play with one through the middle there's not really any point taking loads - better off taking players who are more flexible. Seem to remember in 2014 that Klose was literally the only proper CF they took - but they obviously had the likes of Podolski and Mueller who could have moved up front if push came to shove. Main weakness for me in that squad is the goalie and CB options which will probably be why we won't win it. But there's nobody who's been left out to remedy it.

Walker can play in a back 3, TAA can play in midfield. It's a 26 man squad so you can pretty much indulge a bit tbf. I think that squads pretty much fine. Other than being a bit shocked Lingard hasn't gone I don't think there's any ridiculous omissions.

Wouldn't say I completely agree with that. I think the very rare times Argentina showed any fluency in the last decade was usually when they connected on the pitch. It was the other constituent parts which never seemed to function.

Might be tempted by York as I've only been to their old ground. As ever a crying shame it's miles out of the city compared to Bootham Crescent which was easily walkable from the centre.

Aye. Was in my last trip pre-lockdown! I posted photos here - should still be on there. It's one of my all-time favourite grounds. It's at the very tip of Venice proper, which is interesting in itself as it is very residential and outside the tourist hubbub. I walked there then got the vaporetto back to Maestre station. Almost slightly disappointed they're probably gonna be back in Serie A, as I'll now wish I had waited. But will be great to see them back up if they do. Cittadella would also be interesting - especially since Padova are languishing in Serie C.

Yeah I think Suning have basically said your budget is zero. Possibly even a big sale somewhere to settle things. Conte clearly not interested in that. Bit weak though.

Conte leaving Inter. Spalletti to Napoli. Gattuso to Fiorentina. Proper merry-go-round.

I would definitely play it again like. Only tweak I'd make is perhaps shimmy the easy questions up to medium to make it more accessible and get some ridiculously easy ones for passbacks as I don't think anybody will reasonably do that. That will encourage and reward people who go for the more ambitious/harder questions. A timer too would perhaps be good although I get that it's just another thing to micromanage for you during the game. Maybe only bring that in towards the end to avoid timewasting.

I thought that was brilliant tbh Really clever and good questions.

What a strange (yet successful) career Renato Sanches has had so far.

It's shocking for Napoli to to finish 5th really with their squad. Very settled team. A big signing in the middle of the park and a proper manager has them pushing for the title.

Just realised we've got a game tomorrow and there's no match thread

To be fair, I'm absolutely astonished that Wyke has scored the goals he has this season. I remember seeing him years ago when he was on loan at Hartlepool and back then would have been amazed he even made a career in the Football League.

League titles for Eriksen and Trippier. No wonder Kane wants out

Real equalise. Could get interesting.

Atletico 1-0 doon.

Ramsey isn't on 400k a year. He's on 134k after tax. Ronaldo is on 600k after tax. Undoubtedly a terrible signing. But they probably thought if it didn't work out they'd just flog him back to a PL club at a 'profit' - like they did with Can to the Bundesliga. Free transfers like this one have been terrible for squad building, no doubt. Signing players because they're a 'market opportunity' rather than actually a good idea for the team is one of the major reasons for their decline.

That's just not true. Maybe in the long term, if it had led to CL success, more signings of the same ilk and eventually an established global brand you could quantify that it was ultimately and eventually worth the outlay. If they end up in the Europa league next season you can categorically say that hasn't and won't happen. It's a gamble that basically hasn't paid off. And it has fuelled their sheer desperation for a Super League.

Don't get me wrong it's certainly not anywhere near the only bad decision they've made. But on the defenders front. Bonucci they didn't actually buy for 35 million - it was a straight swap with Mattia Caldara who was ludicrously also valued at 35 million (with Higuain also farmed out on loan), and even that was less than they sold him to Milan for a year earlier. Cancelo they sold for more than they bought him for. De Ligt if they were to sell on the open market tomorrow they'd get their money back and possibly more - even taking into account Covid depreciation. That is the difference with the Ronaldo signing. It's a 250 million euros sunk cost that is never coming back. If this was PSG it wouldn't matter - but Juventus are not PSG. They have an economic reality to deal with. They're a big club but one that has always built teams by buying and selling. And the buying and selling aspect of that team building has had to shift for the worse in part because of what the Ronaldo signing did to their short-medium term finances.

In a lot of ways it has been the perfect signing if you're a fan of Italian football. It was good for the league's image while at the same time being an act of hubristic self-sabotage to the betterment of competitiveness

I don't see what that list of players does to refute anything that I've said. It is hardly a net spend as in the same time they've sold over 400 million euros worth of players. And the two years prior to signing Ronaldo they'd made a profit on transfers. In the economics of current Italian football dropping 250 million euros across 4 seasons on one player (who will ultimately leave on a free) is undoubtedly a poor allocation of resources and it has contributed significantly to making the team worse. Last summer they basically signed 3 players on loan (as you've included in your list) because they couldn't afford to stretch to buy them upfront. "He's the only thing keeping them alive at the minute". He's really not. His 1 goal from open play against the top 4 teams, and his two assists in the league this season, is that of a player who has simply scored goals against lots of poor sides. Lots of average players manage to score plenty of goals in Serie A so it would not have been difficult for Juventus to get somebody else to do the same, for far less money, and have them in exactly the same place in the league. Ronaldo was signed for them to do better in the CL - and that hasn't happened. And they've at the same time gone backwards domestically. I don't have a problem with him as a player at all - he's certainly still a very good player. He's just not at his current age worth anywhere near they've paid for him - particularly in terms of the wages. And I'm also absolutely delighted that they made the decision to completely hamstrung themselves with him because they're a hateful club, and it's great for the competitiveness of the league.

The people in this discussion who actually watch Serie A and Juventus regularly have been able to objectively make a reasonable assessment that Ronaldo has scored goals, but that the team has got worse, in a clear and marked decline over the last 3 years in all competitons. His best individual goalscoring season statistically this year has coincided with the teams worst season in terms of actual on pitch results. It's also in terms of actual performances been Ronaldo's worst season as he inevitably declines at this age (and nobody can blame him for that). As I have said previously, Juventus have not historically been a club that signed aging star players for big money. They never have been. They have bought players in their prime or brought through young players and made stars. They also never had problem selling star players for big money - be that Zidane or Pogba. Zidane went and Nedved came and the team was more successful. Pogba went and they made a CL final that season. They have also always had a core of Italian players that was the clubs consistent identity. The signing of a 33 year old which so fundamentally broke their existing wage structure, to a point to where it absolutely hamstrung their ability to spend properly on the squad - represented a fundamental shift in the clubs identity and transfer policy. This has clearly been to their detriment where it actually matters on the pitch - regardless of other failed signings and failed managerial appointments that followed. The above culture shift and resulting economic reality from can be perhaps most clearly summed up with the signing of Chiesa. This is the kind of player they would have signed previously for relatively big money, from another Italian club, but of a good age and on sensible wages. He has undoubtedly been their best performer this season in all the big games - CL, Serie A and in the Coppa Italia final yesterday. However in order to sign him they've had to fudge the books and basically delay most of the transfer fee by a season. This is a direct result of bad squad building and bad fiscal management in previous years - of which Ronaldo, for all his goals, is emblematic of. But anyway. This is a boring argument. Because with Ronaldo and Messi fanboys it is seemingly impossible to engage in rational discussion.