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The Latest New Footie Thread

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why the despised VAR is coming to the Prem next year. As much as I hate it, its use would have had the proper result of The Arsenal winning 1-0. Sad that officiating in footie has deteriorated to the point that we have to rely on machines to get calls right.
 
I really want to try and like Orlando City, as it's the closest MLS team and I want to get into truly watching it, but man, that organization makes it really hard to root for them....

Game #1 of the MLS season, and all 3 DPs are starting on the bench (all 3 played in the preseason and none of them have an injury designation) and Will Johnson is starting. They're pretty much fielding a USL team right now. And playing extremely dirty in the process.

Please, MLS...pick the Rowdies for the next round of expansion!
 
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Orlando City are like the Gators of MLS, but without any pedigree. In Atlanta, we refer to it as The Rivalry That Really Isn't. OC fans are the most obnoxious groups of footie supporters I have EVER run into, and that includes Hotpants.
 
Orlando City are like the Gators of MLS, but without any pedigree. In Atlanta, we refer to it as The Rivalry That Really Isn't. OC fans are the most obnoxious groups of footie supporters I have EVER run into, and that includes Hotpants.

Yeah, seeing a US Open Cup match between Orlando and the Rowdies didn't help put their fans in the best of light...

And not shocking at all, as soon as Nani and Dwyer came on the field, they immediately started dominating the match. You can't tell me those 2 aren't fit enough by now for 90mins. Those 2 plus Higuain are far and away the best players on that team (I wish Dwyer would get more run with the USMNT up top, no idea why he doesn't) and yet the organization is doing all they can to hold those guys back for no known reason at all.

Oh well. There's a few rumblings about an even larger MLS expansion coming up soon, and with the Rowdies constantly in the previous talks, I can hold out hope that eventually happens, I guess...
 
First loss ever to a French team by the Gooners. Really not good.
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What a massive win for The Arsenal! Now just 1 point behind Spuds, and pulling away from Cheatski and Manure United. I was on the train headed downtown to the Atlanta United match watching the end on my phone, and many on my car erupted at the final whistle.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Tough lineup for the Goons today. I don't have a great feeling about this match. Not saying we could put out a better lineup...maybe we can, maybe we can't...but this MF pairing of Guendo (who I love) w/Elneny is a bit scary.
 
Tough loss for Arsenal today, and Maitland-Niles in particular was quite bad. But really, I think it was more about Everton being pretty good lately. They drew Liverpool 0-0 and beat Chelsea 2-0. They could be a much improved team next year if they could get a proper striker.
 
Pretty much, yes. I didn't expect The Arsenal to be this good in Emery's first year, so it wouldn't be that big a disappointment. But Spurs are like the Gators to me.
 
Unreal that spuds got through yesterday. That was the craziest CL match I've seen in recent memory.

We have GOTTA get through today. We need that early away goal and I'll feel much better.

COYG!
 
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Big loss by Arsenal. Brighton at home should be a win last match of the season, but on the road versus Burnley and Leicester will not be easy. Not a good sign when you let Benteke score on you.
 
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This was a massive loss for The Arsenal; I try to be optimistic, but this side simply has no real killer instincts on the pitch. They truly do play down (or up) to the level of their competition.
 
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And there it is--United loses, Hotpants lose, and CCCP London draws. It was all there for The Arsenal.
But nooooo.....they decide to crap the bed--at home--against Crystal Phallus.
Geez.
 
This is going to be a long post with some of my thoughts about the remainder of the campaign (will probably ramble on for a bit here and there) -> you've been forewarned. :)

Some really good races to finish the year this campaign.

We've all been inundated with the talk about Liverpool and City.

Relegation is pretty much down to Cardiff and Brighton & Hove

7th is a massive battle between Wolves, Watford, Everton and Leicester. So anyone playing those teams for the remainder of the schedule will get teams with a little extra bounce compared to a team in the middle of the table with nothing to play for eg. West Ham.

Wolves plays Watford this weekend -> might be the best game of the week (even ahead of United/Chelsea) followed by Fulham and Liverpool. We know the Liverpool game will mean something (unless one of City of Liverpool messes up badly in the next 2 weeks).

Watford has Wolves this weekend followed by Chelsea and West Ham (plus the FA Cup final on May 18th). If they control their destiny on the final weekend, they'll finish 7th as West Ham will be there in name only (IMO).

Everton have Palace, Burnley and Spurs. I think this is the easiest path of the 4 fighting for 7th. Palace is safe, and Burnley is essentially safe. I doubt that Spurs will be in danger of not finishing in the top 4 come matchday 38. Plus they will be either really high or really low coming off the conclusion of the 2nd leg of the UCL semis.

We're all immersed in the gargantuan struggle to try to drag our squads to top 4. Spurs are pretty much safe with the way Chelsea, Arsenal and United are playing. The remaining schedules are not easy for any of the 4 as we're all playing squads that have something to play for.

Chelsea have United this weekend, followed by Watford and Leicester which both follow Europa league semis. As mentioned above that means the last 2 weeks are playing squads with something to play for. I'm hoping that Leicester's out of the race for 7th by then, but with that game being in Leicester and with the death of their owner earlier this campaign they will likely not take a step back even if they have nothing to play for in the table that last week. This is especially true (IMO) since Brendan Rogers is still fairly new at the club and he'll want to continue to make assessments of who "his" guys are for next year and who they can move on from. Watford are no pushover, odds are they won't gift us 3 points they way they did Arsenal a couple of weeks ago. Will be a massive match as Watford will have just come off a game with Wolves (this weekend). Either way I expect the Hornets to play like a desperate team.

Arsenal have Leicester this weekend, followed by B&A and Burnley which (like Chelsea) both follow Europa league semis. B&A should be playing like they are playing for their lives. Burnley on the other hand will have nothing to play for as while not 100% safe right now they essentially are as they are 9 points up on Cardiff with a 17 GD advantage. That being said, Burnley rarely lays down and plays dead.

United have Chelsea this weekend, followed by Huddersfield and Cardiff. To me this is by far the easiest of the remaining schedules, as Huddersfield is already relegated and Cardiff very well could be that last matchday as well. If Cardiff still has a chance, United will have to play like they belong in the UCL to get the 3 points IMO.

I doubt Spurs gets dragged back into the race again, but if they do they've got West Ham this weekend (and other than it being a derby, I doubt they're a real handful) followed by Bournemouth and Everton both of which follow UCL semis. Everton game likely will be tough as they will be playing for their UEL lives as I think that last weekend will mean something for them.

The good thing about this year is that the top 7 places in the table all will get European football as City won the EFL cup and City plays Watford for the FA Cup both automatically qualify for UEL. i.e. no spot stealing this year. I guess we could still have a weird situation where Spurs finished 5th and won the UCL and one of Chelsea or Arsenal won the UEL and finished 6th there by knocking out whoever finished in 4th from the UCL to the UEL, but that seems improbable to me. I think I can speak for all the Chelsea and Arsenal fans on the board by saying that Spurs winning the UCL would be a nightmare that none of us want to experience.
 
Rumors of Arsenal trying to get Ryan Fraser. I think he would be a great signing, but I don’t see Arsenal spending the kind of money to get him. My guess is they will replace three or so below-par players with three or so different below-par players obtained on free transfer or plucked from obscurity in some bargain basement transfer agreement with a mid-table European club.
 
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Totteringham's in full choke mode...Down 1-0 to Ajax after their home leg of the CL semis.
 
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