Topic: The Push Square Football (Soccer) Thread

Haha @Tasuki overruling Sammy. There's a mutiny! Lol.

Great first game for the euros. Giroud and Poyet looked brilliant in that game.

LOL if koeman improves everton that much after the 4-0 drubbing at anfield last season. You may have a chance of finishing above liverpool. I doubt it though

This is not politcal discussion so please do not delete this post Mod.

The recent change in status of the UK will have large ramifcations on the Premeire league. It looks like clubs will no longer be able to sign players from the EU that are under 18 years old. Currently 300 players who are EU nationals would also not be allowed to play in the Premiere League because they would not meet the requirement which it is assumed would be the same as for non EU players. Several of these players include Payet of the Hammers and Martial from Manu. The positives less forgein players in the league and more opportunities for young english players to break through into the teams. There is now the possibility of a quota for English players within teams which again is a positive move for English players.

@dryrain: It also affects players like 'Bale' abroad too. If (or when) Bale would be a non-EU player and Real would be over their quota. Obviously that is an isolated case as we don't have many players playing abroad. It does affect their opportunities though. You could argue this is a good thing for British football with potentially more opportunities for them but on the other hand, they weren't 'good' enough to compete for a Squad place before and therefore could bring down our overall competitiveness in club competitions. The fight for places, the skills that that foreigners bring etc can only help the development - What about Managers too? Would the likes of Klopp, Mourinho, Pep etc be allowed to work in UK? What about all the backroom staff - the physios, the medics, the dieticians etc.

Talking of Medics, I wonder how Hospitals would cope? Doctors, Nurses, care staff, cleaners, porters etc...

Mhkitaryan may be the signing of the summer so far but City look like they're wrapping up a deal for Gabriel Jesus! Insanely good deal for City. Gotze back to BVB. The BVB squad is now stacked with sooo much potential. Mehdi Benatia going to Juve might be an indication that Juve are covering themselves in case Bonucci really does leave. He was a top class centre back before he left Roma. Some interesting stuff going on

Pogba what a deal, he leaves for nothing because Ferguson would not play him then looking to buy him back for £100 million plus add ons. Sound business deals these days. All this extra money in the permiere league just means transfers are costing a lot more than they did last season. Clubs outside the premiere league must be rubbing their hands with joy when they know someone wants one of their players. I can see the premiere league heading for a crash in the future. All these inflated wages, player transfers, agent fees. If the next premiere deal is lower then clubs are going to end up in trouble. I can see Untited winning the title next season. But I can also see a lot of the young players not being given a chance at united and they will end up leaving. Jose is hardly known for developing youth talent.

I used to play Football a.k.a. Soccer in school. I wasn't too bad since I was extremely quick on my feet and agile to boot. However I eventually had to stop playing because one of my medications requires me to avoid direct sunlight...

I enjoy watching football but have little interest in playing it plus i was never that good at it anyway so thats probably why.

@ShadowofSparta: Is Mhkitaryan really that good? I don't follow the Bundesliga. I hope he is, though.

@booshy89: The fact that he hasn't won any major trophies (he's only won League Two and the Irish League since becoming a manager) is a little worrying, but I think I've got faith in him. He pulled a miracle at Sunderland last season, and has been really good at keeping clubs up when threatened with relegation.

He's got a big task ahead of him though. Firstly, I think he needs to stop playing Rooney as much as Hodgson was. He's simply not as good as he used to be, and he needs to let go in order to bring in younger talented players. I also think he needs to decide on his best team and stick to it - Hodgson had a winning formula in the pre-Euro 2016 friendlies and then decided to completely ignore it. Big Sam's also got a lot more character than Hodgson, so probably won't be pushed around by the FA as much.

Whether he's any good or not, I've always liked Allardyce, and it'll be an interesting few years.

I like Big Sam, and let's face it, we can't get any worse.

@get2sammyb Van Gaal LoL

@WanderingBullet: I rate him. He was absolutely fantastic. I only missed 4 BVB games last season and I don't remember him having a bad game. His first season at BVB was disappointing because he missed A LOT of chances. He's not the best finisher but when it comes to creating, he's excellent. The reason I think he could be the signing of the summer is because there doesn't seem to be much hype. Not a lot of people in England watch the Bundesliga so I think he'll come as a surprise to most pundits (when he probably shouldn't be to them). That surprise factor usually sways those types of accolades

So happy BVB look good. I knew Dembele was special but Bartra and especially Mor look kind of outstanding. Unbelievable depth

I think they only appointed big sam because of the sucess of Coleman with wales. They tried so many different types of managers now its the turn of a hard working honest, say it as it is manager. Personally I would have preffered Steve Bruce to be the England manager. I do not think Englands problem is the manager its the players they perform consistantly well for the clubs then when it comes to any of competitions they fail.

@booshy89: I agree with the different league thing. Some players have difficulty adapting to a different league, culture, or country.

@ShadowofSparta I read that he scored a goal in their 4-1 loss against Dortmund. Unfortunately, I don't get to watch their China tour matches since its not being aired here.

Big Sam may not have 'won' a lot as a manager but when you consider the teams he has managed, a lot of them have 'over-achieved' considering their 'status'. He has often been the manager you turn to in times of crisis, fighting for survival. I know 'England' are not in that kind of 'Crisis' but if he can give the team that same 'fight', that same passion and desire, he could do very well. We know 'big Sam' is also a much better tactician than 'woy'. No way would he not play people in their strongest position - or at least in a position to exploit the weaknesses of the opposition. If something isn't working, he isn't afraid to change things - whether that's formation or players. He isn't afraid to step on peoples ego's, he won't settle for half-hearted performances, he won't be indecisive if things aren't going his teams way...

As a LFC fan, we knew 'woy' was useless, we knew that if things started going wrong, he had no idea...

Anyway - who's looking forward to the start of the Season? The EPL has some incredible talent in it this year and the big injection of money should help those in the mid table to close the gap up a bit. You would still think the big teams have to be favourites but if they aren't at 100%, the mid table (and below) clubs stand a better chance. I still think there maybe 1-2 'whipping' boys so to speak but I also think the table could be a bit tighter this year. Looking forward to watching the season in UHD...

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi: Even LVG would have improved England over what we saw at the Euros - no doubt about it.

In my opinion, David Moyes is a fantastic appointment for Southampton. Sure, his last two jobs didn't go well, but he proved how good he was when working within constraints when he managed Everton, and he's great at making smaller clubs punch above their weight. United fans will be happy too, since he'll probably take Fellaini off their hands

I feel bad for Moyes he took his dream job at United and they did not give him he cash or support to succeed. Look at how much Van and Mourihino have spent on the squad. Moyes will atleast give Sunderlad a chance of staying up but I think its a slim one unless he does his magic like he did for us at Everton.

The league will be an interesting one this year. I expect Manu to win the league. Think Arsenal will stuggle to get a top 4 finish they do not seem to be doing much business and desperatly need a world class striker. The league will be a lot closer this season some good players coming in will have to see how they adapt to the league. Will wait and see if Pep works his magic at City and if his style of play can work for 38 games. The EPL is a lot more competitive than any league he has managed in before so this is his biggest challenge so far.