Village Idiot

Two unnamed Atlético players down with Covid (rumor is that they are both key players). After defeating Liverpool that would be tragic.

Messi et al aren't the issue. It's just that the team has absolutely no shape and that's not something you can fix with a hot streak of form.

Under Valverde we were dull and unidimensional but at least the positioning was there. Setién has managed to give us the tactical nous of a sunday league team.

We're so wretched, how such a collection of actually talented players can play so badly never ceases to amaze me Ah well, Bayern will tear us a new one and that will be it.

Luque

The whole Deportivo - Fuenlabrada fracas is getting nastier. Now it is confirmed that Fuenlabrada traveled to La Coruña knowing the risk - one of their players tested positive before the trip, and they failed to isolate the rest of the squad as close contacts. The regional authorities now want Fuenlabrada to comply with anti-Covid regulations, which would force them to quarantine the entire squad for 2 weeks - they are supposed to be playing the promotion playoff next week - and take them to court for endangering public health.

Apparently the whole squad of their opponents has tested positive for Covid-19. That maybe a rough translation though, and it may just mean members of the squad rather than the whole squad. 7 players. Rumors are running rampant but apparently they partied wildly (breaking La Liga's rules to prevent contagion) after beating Elche the other day. Night parties are becoming one of the main vectors of contagion over here, because you get a bunch of people drunk and bunched together in a confined space, being careless. There's also suspicion Fuenlabrada traveled to La Coruña knowing they had at least one contagion.

They'll be gone this time next year. Their term expires next season and they are just a hair more popular than Covid right now.

Yep, that's the reason. We're also getting some cash on top of Pjanic (not a huge amount €10m according to Spanish sources). We were treading water financially (what with spending stupid amounts in bust after bust) and Covid has put us in a pretty bad spot. Arthur is technically brilliant, but I've become convinced that you can't build a midfield around him, nor does complement De Jong well. He's too timid, needs to get more involved in play and be more incisive. Maybe he will grow in Italy though. He has plenty of time.

Ronaldo-Messi arguments are so 2010s. We need new ones, pronto.

C'mon guys get this done. When Messi retires I want to latch onto you to prolong my 15 year streak of football bliss.

Yes please. Is he past it now? No, we just need the cash.

Rafa loves his workhorses. Not surprising.

Common story in all the teams he's managed in Spain. He's a "down to business" type manager who's never done much babysitting of players. It doesn't always work, mind. It didn't at Real Madrid where managing the dressing room is as important as the tactics.

Yes please.

Ah true! Should use name+first surname at all times. Not full names otherwise we should do the same with Spaniards/Argies/etc..... (Andrés Iniesta Luján, Lionel Messi Cutticcini...) Tim Howard Daniel Alves Sergio Ramos Stefan De Vrij Jordi Alba Alessandro Nesta Andrés Iniesta Alessandro Del Piero Ole Gunnar Solksjaer (meh) Romario De Souza Alfredo Di Stéfano Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld

Manuel Neuer Roberto Carlos Sergio Ramos Stefan De Vrij Jordi Alba Alessandro Nesta Andrés Iniesta Alessandro Del Piero Ole Gunnar Solksjaer (meh) Romario De Souza Alfredo Di Stéfano Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld

With a manager that can motivate him (not an easy task) Bale's still a monumental goalscorer. Could do worse as long as trophy signings go.

So La Liga wants to restart in June, play every 3 days, PCR-testing everybody (players, staff) 24 hours before the game (that's circa 1,000 tests per each set of games of the first and second divisions). That's not going to sit well with the public given how much tests are needed elsewhere... The Spanish FA has already scrapped the non-professional and women's football seasons, but La Liga is run by the clubs (very much like The Football League and the Premier League)

Media linking Coutinho if Pochettino gets appointed Tbf we're desperate to ship him off.

It looks like the Spanish FA will abandon the rest of the Women's Football season and declare Barça champion, with no relegations but with promotions (and adjusting league sizes with extra relegation slots next season). They have followed a similar formula for regional men's football. Men's professional leagues are not run by the FA (but by La Liga) so this may not be the case for the top men's 2 divisions.

Beautiful article from Sid Lowe on Michael Robinson https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/apr/28/michael-robinson-european-cup-winner-voice-spanish-tv-died-61 El Día Después was the best football programme ever made in Spain imho, my generation grew up loving the game watching it.

Christ.

Not so strange. They used a celebrity cast for the Spanish version of Shrek films, and Robinson was a celeb.

Damn, two from Villarreal, and Mazinho also player for Valencia. Should be fixed now. Kameni (Espanyol, Camerún) Dragutinovic (Sevilla, Serbia) Diego Godín (Atlético, Uruguay) Celso Ayala (Valencia, Paraguay) Lizarazu (Francia, Athletic) Marcos Senna (España, Villarreal) Rijkaard (Zaragoza, Netherlands) Ettien (Levante, Ivory Coast) Cronaldo (R. Madrid, Portugal) Bebeto (Depor, Brazil) Messi (Barcelona, Argentina) That front 3 should carry me most games.