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FootballGAF 2021/2022 |OT| The battle to survive, rebuilding after disaster.

Dark Rider

Member
[UEFA] Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.



:pie_thinking:
 

Dark Rider

Member
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Draw 2021/22

RB Salzburg
vs.​
Bayern München
Sporting CP
vs.​
Manchester City
Benfica
vs.​
Ajax
Chelsea
vs.​
Lille
Atletico Madrid
vs.​
Manchester United
Villareal
vs.​
Juventus
Internazionale
vs.​
Liverpool
PSG
vs.​
Real Madrid
 

Dark Rider

Member
UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off draw

wlxji7xrya581.jpg
 

JLB

Banned
What a fucking joke is the UEFA. "software issue" lol, yeah sure.
We will eliminate PSG anyways, but these pranks could be a bit less obvious that are doing whatever possible to harm Madrid.
 

Dark Rider

Member
What a fucking joke is the UEFA. "software issue" lol, yeah sure.
We will eliminate PSG anyways, but these pranks could be a bit less obvious that are doing whatever possible to harm Madrid.

I think PSG will play out of their minds to prove a point to Mbappé, I don't think they can change his mind but they will be extra motivated.
 

Dark Rider

Member
[RMCSport | Loïc Tanzi] PSG want to extend Kylian Mbappé and offered him to become the biggest paid at the club. Kylian has always said he would not look at the financial side as a priority when making his choice. Like last summer, the attacker will rather listen to his feelings.


He actually told them he will leave at the start of the last transfer window, I understand trying to the last minute but it is weird they did not have his replacement ready when the transfer window opened and still don't today.
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
Pity that he has to retire so relatively young. Obviously he's no longer at his peak but last season he showed that he can still contribute at a high level at times.
 

Nitty_Grimes

Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
Some of the matches being called off this weekend. Can see a circuit breaker of all games at some point.

60,000 in at Emirates last night. Disaster waiting to happen for covid cases.
 

Dark Rider

Member
[Martyn Ziegler] FIFA to impose 10% cap on fixed fees paid to agents for transfers as well as standard commissions after PL submission. Bad news for the ‘super agents’. Due to start next season


I'm sure the agents are working on a way to get payed on the side.
 

Dark Rider

Member
[Rob Harris] Spurs deemed by UEFA to have forfeited Rennes game 3-0 so out of Europa Conference League without playing final game

 

Dark Rider

Member
[Carrusel Deportivo] FIFA are offering 16 million euros to every federation if the new biennial World Cup project is approved in March. If it's approved, the World Cup will be held every 2 years starting from 2026, with 48 teams involved, in 16 groups of 3.

 

Dark Rider

Member
[Matt_Law_DT] Real Madrid players expect Antonio Rudiger to join on free transfer from Chelsea at end of season



I don't want to pay his wadge demands to be honest.
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
[Matt_Law_DT] Real Madrid players expect Antonio Rudiger to join on free transfer from Chelsea at end of season



I don't want to pay his wadge demands to be honest.

The thing people say about Rudiger is he really thrives in a back three. But I'm guessing Real Madrid won't be playing that. So he may not be as good for them as he has been for Chelsea recently.
 

Dark Rider

Member
The thing people say about Rudiger is he really thrives in a back three. But I'm guessing Real Madrid won't be playing that. So he may not be as good for them as he has been for Chelsea recently.

Part of the reason why I don't want to pay his wadge demands. He can be a useful backup and sub but not for the amount of money he is asking so again I rather we don't sign him.
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
Part of the reason why I don't want to pay his wadge demands. He can be a useful backup and sub but not for the amount of money he is asking so again I rather we don't sign him.
If Real Madrid are signing Mbappe (and potentially Haaland if the latest talk is true) then it does seem like a strange use of a lot of money to get Rudiger, a player they don't seem to desperately need, when they're going to be spending a lot more in the summer.
 

Dark Rider

Member
If Real Madrid are signing Mbappe (and potentially Haaland if the latest talk is true) then it does seem like a strange use of a lot of money to get Rudiger, a player they don't seem to desperately need, when they're going to be spending a lot more in the summer.

You hope we get Haaland because you don't think Manchester United will sign him and rather him be with us than to land anywhere else in your league don't you? :messenger_beaming:

Our board learned the hard way from the first galáctico era that the defense line is as important as whoever they want up top so we always tried after that to maintain a strong defense, so us buying more defenders than we need just in case is expected but I don't think he deserve these wadges so I rather we looked elsewhere.
 

Dark Rider

Member
[Stone] Ralf Rangnick says Martial wants to leave: “He explained to me he has been manutd for seven years + feels is right time for a change + to go somewhere else. This is understandable. As far as I know, there has been no offer from other club. As long as this is case, he will stay.”

 
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DKehoe

Gold Member
You hope we get Haaland because you don't think Manchester United will sign him and rather him be with us than to land anywhere else in your league don't you? :messenger_beaming:

Our board learned the hard way from the first galáctico era that the defense line is as important as whoever they want up top so we always tried after that to maintain a strong defense, so us buying more defenders than we need just in case is expected but I don't think he deserve these wadges so I rather we looked elsewhere.
It'd be great to sign Haaland, but whoever is doing so is going to be paying out a lot of money (in wages and agents fees to Raiola and Haaland's father) and I think that's money United could use better elsewhere. Greenwood is an incredibly exciting prospect as a striker and I'd prefer they plan the future around him. But who knows, maybe the next manager could find a system that would work well with them both. Haaland is clearly an exceptional talent so having him at United would be exciting.

With how much he's going to cost I think you're realistically only talking about United, City, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid being able to afford him. Barcelona is having money issues and other clubs like Bayern don't spend that kind of money. I guess Newcastle could say fuck it and throw their new weight around to try and make a statement but it'll probably take a few years for them to reach the kind of level of competitiveness that Haaland will want to step into.

Chelsea recently spent big on a striker (Lukaku) so I don't see it being them. City would make a lot of sense. They're looking incredible right now and that's with them having an obvious gap in that they lack a proper striker. Slot a high-quality striker like Haaland in there and they could take an already elite team to another level and they're potentially sorted in that position for the next ten years. In terms of what would count against City, they do seem to want to maintain a structure with their pay and bringing in Haaland could blow that up. Also Guardiola and Raiola don't get on, although maybe Haaland's talent and City's money can smooth that over on both sides. PSG replacing Mbappe with Haaland would help them save face and clearly they have the money to pay whatever Raiola demands. But PSG are in kind of a weird spot where most people just don't pay attention to them except for their Champions League games and doing anything other than winning the Champions League is going to be seen as a failure. So if you're a young up-and-coming player looking to prove yourself, particularly if you aren't French, you're maybe going to look elsewhere. So that leaves Real Madrid. Having a front line of Vinícius, Haaland and Mbappe sounds pretty incredible so I can see that appealing to both sides. And like you say, if Real Madrid can keep him away from a non-United Premier League team that'd be good!
 

Dark Rider

Member
It'd be great to sign Haaland, but whoever is doing so is going to be paying out a lot of money (in wages and agents fees to Raiola and Haaland's father) and I think that's money United could use better elsewhere. Greenwood is an incredibly exciting prospect as a striker and I'd prefer they plan the future around him. But who knows, maybe the next manager could find a system that would work well with them both. Haaland is clearly an exceptional talent so having him at United would be exciting.

With how much he's going to cost I think you're realistically only talking about United, City, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid being able to afford him. Barcelona is having money issues and other clubs like Bayern don't spend that kind of money. I guess Newcastle could say fuck it and throw their new weight around to try and make a statement but it'll probably take a few years for them to reach the kind of level of competitiveness that Haaland will want to step into.

Chelsea recently spent big on a striker (Lukaku) so I don't see it being them. City would make a lot of sense. They're looking incredible right now and that's with them having an obvious gap in that they lack a proper striker. Slot a high-quality striker like Haaland in there and they could take an already elite team to another level and they're potentially sorted in that position for the next ten years. In terms of what would count against City, they do seem to want to maintain a structure with their pay and bringing in Haaland could blow that up. Also Guardiola and Raiola don't get on, although maybe Haaland's talent and City's money can smooth that over on both sides. PSG replacing Mbappe with Haaland would help them save face and clearly they have the money to pay whatever Raiola demands. But PSG are in kind of a weird spot where most people just don't pay attention to them except for their Champions League games and doing anything other than winning the Champions League is going to be seen as a failure. So if you're a young up-and-coming player looking to prove yourself, particularly if you aren't French, you're maybe going to look elsewhere. So that leaves Real Madrid. Having a front line of Vinícius, Haaland and Mbappe sounds pretty incredible so I can see that appealing to both sides. And like you say, if Real Madrid can keep him away from a non-United Premier League team that'd be good!

Having Haaland would be incredible but yes I don't really want him because of Raiola. Raiola being the agent of anyone in your club just mean he will take a knife and stab you repeatedly every single transfer window non stop, your club will be used by him for nothing but his personal interest and media soap operas. Again Haaland is incredible but Raiola is bad enough to counter balance that and turn me off the deal, and this is not going into the absolute joke of the money that Raiola will try to scam out for the deal.

I have a feeling that neither Chelsea nor Manchester City are actually going to go for him but all clubs will be in the media circus about this deal because Raiola will try his best to keep them all in this show, it's best for his scam that way.
 

Dark Rider

Member
“The (World Cup) is special because it is four years and if you play it every two years you'll make it feel more like an everyday experience, it's amazing, its an event you might only compete in once in a lifetime, if you want to give supporters something special you need to make them wait” -Mbappe


Robert Lewandowski: “If you want to give the fans something different, you need a break. We have to look into the future, if we want to play a World Cup every two years, the level will drop. It’s impossible for the body and the mind to perform at the same level.”


If both Europe and South America revolt and make their own FIFA will break down. Threads are not enough.
 
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Dark Rider

Member
Revealed: The obscure gambling firms with untraceable employees working with your football club


Serious action need to be done about gambling being involved in the sport on any level, the conflict of interest is huge and it is easier to exploit the lack of attention to the lower tiers.
 

Dark Rider

Member
Signed but still not enrolled in LaLiga. Such crazy times for Barcelona.

I'm more interested to see what happens if they fail to qualify for UCL. I think in the end they will qualify but if they don't their recovery will take much longer.
 

Dark Rider

Member
[Arancha Rodríguez] Vinicius, Courtois, Camavinga and Valverde have tested positive



I'm not surprised, holidays = gatherings = covid spread.
 

Labadal

Member
I think he need the rest of the team to play in a system that suite his strengths to shine, he will not get that at Chelsea and that of course is a big problem for hin.
You are 100% right, but he doubled his salary at Chelsea. He was at his peak at Inter, banging in the goals. He shouldn't air that publicly, but instead talk out out with his coach.
 

Dark Rider

Member
You are 100% right, but he doubled his salary at Chelsea. He was at his peak at Inter, banging in the goals. He shouldn't air that publicly, but instead talk out out with his coach.

He is vocal (especially when he is talking about a former club) so it was part of the package that Chelsea should have expected resigning him. I don't see it going well for him though.
 

Dark Rider

Member
[Cope] Yesterday was a very hard day for Joan Laporta. The feeling is that Dembélé has been ungrateful towards the club. Barcelona will not cross any economic red line they've established. If an offer comes in winter and there is a deal to be made, they will sell him.

 

DKehoe

Gold Member


Phil Jones is back!

Honestly, good for him. He's become a living meme but he's had incredibly bad luck with injuries and it's been clear he's been working really hard to try and return.

Also, a centre back pairing of Jones and Varane feels very FM 2012
 
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