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Cornish Steve

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Everything posted by Cornish Steve

  1. Is it true that no Manchester United goalkeeper has made 25 saves this season?
  2. I wonder where Joel would fit in that chart...
  3. And I would say that McCarthy and Lukaku were brought in BECAUSE they fit in with the long-term strategy envisioned by the manager.
  4. I was thinking about this more. It makes no sense to build a team around any one player or even a spine of players. More important is the long-term strategy. Maybe I can explain in terms of music. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, etc. all wrote music in one of several standard forms: sonata form, rondo form, etc. Before writing a single note, they chose a form. If it was sonata form, then it was Exposition (theme1-tonic; theme2-dominant), Development, and Recapitulation (theme1-tonic; theme2-tonic). This form was well-established and had produced many of the world's greatest works. Now they could choose notes with confidence - coming up with themes, figuring out how notes and themes interact, and so on. The parallel is there with a football team. There are various strategies (passing/possession game, solid defence with fast counter, hoofball, whatever). Before anything else, the manager must select his strategy. Only then can he choose players with confidence - coming up with partnerships, drills, figuring out how players and drills interact, and so on. So, I would suggest that most important is the manager's strategy. Once that is in place, everything else comes together. It drives your youth program, your recruitment, your practice sessions, everything. It also means that we waste an awful lot of time coming up with the names of players who are currently all the rage or we happen to like personally when they would be totally inappropriate for our chosen style of play. It would be like telling a composer to use lots of Cs and Es, or quavers and crotchets, because you happen to like them. To compose a beautiful work, however, you need to look at things, and make decisions, in an entirely different way.
  5. "Fletcher with first Scotland hat-trick since 1969." Didn't realize he was that old.
  6. We should be doing this: Paying players based on their performance. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-seeing-benefits-of-8754322 . Plus, we should agree agent fees that are paid annually over the duration of a player's contract. For example, if a player signs a 4-year contract, the agent should receive 25% of his fee per year.
  7. For North Ferriby, "Jason St Juste, who opted to miss St Kitts and Nevis's 2018 World Cup qualifier against the Turks and Caicos Islands so he could feature at Wembley." That's fantastic. Really pleased for him.
  8. So pleased that Gibraltar scored their first competitive goal - with a policeman scoring against the Scots. Here's a comment from Radio 5 after 20 minute: "Gibraltar have been very, very good so far, and they've probably shaded it - even though Scotland have had more of the ball." All that's forgotten now, of course, with everyone calling for the small teams to be banned. Such hypocrisy.
  9. Would you not include Robles in that spine? He's only 24.
  10. I read one comment last night at the BBC site where they were mocking the Lithuanian substitute. Apparently, he plays for Nuneaton in one of the conference leagues. Well, quite frankly, good for him. And good for a team as small as Lithuania holding England to just 4 goals. Hardly the "thrashing" described by their headline. I have a lot of admiration for these small teams. They play for national pride. Long may they continue to compete in these competitions.
  11. Some scary things happened in Russia's game with Montenegro. The Russian goalkeeper was carried off after being hit by a flare, and players and coaches were involved in a brawl that ended the game. No matter what the reasons behind it, their behavior is disgraceful. I really hope UEFA act decisively. Maybe it's time for some teams to be thrown out of the tournament.
  12. Why's that? Did he just make another movie? He must be getting on a bit by now.
  13. And that, in a nutshell, is the best indictment there is on the FA's new policy about restricting foreign players. It won't improve English players (only more investment at the youth level will do that), but it will inflate prices for them. In effect, clubs will be forced to pay more than players are worth. Agents must be loving this.
  14. The danger in any [choose any one of: discussion/rant/argument/nuclear confrontation] is that positions soon become extreme. Mirallas is a talented player => is the best player on the team => is one of the best in the league => makes Messi look like Brenda etc. etc. Or Mirallas can be inconsistent => can't be arsed => is too full of himself => is creating a new Nazi party... Of course, none of these extremes are true. He's one of the top players on the team, probably not the best. He's frustrating because offside so much. He can run hot and cold, but so can many players. He wants to play for a CL team, and don't all players with the chance to do so. I don't see him as a villain or disruptive influence, myself. He's someone who is talented and frustrated, and that's what we see on the field.
  15. Wouldn't it be interesting if agents were paid for their players being happy enough to stay with a team and penalized if they were unhappy enough to leave before their contract ends. Doctors in China are paid for their patients being well because it means they've done their job well. Same principle.
  16. I don't get all these comments about Mirallas being the most talented on the team. He may be in the top 4 but it's not obvious at all to me that he's number one. And if he is number one, why is he not far and away at the top of the MOTM running total? He should be, right? But he's nowhere near the most valuable player this season. Because of that alone, he should not be an automatic starter. Whether it's due to lack of talent or lack of effort, he is clearly replaceable.
  17. Agreed. Gerard would need a few more seasons to match McCarthey's abilities.
  18. Yarmalenko on one wing, Konoplyanka on the other, and Wotaplonka is the middle. Recipe for success.
  19. Not a fan. His shows are about as real as televised wrestling.
  20. May I ask why you were taking it for a spin on the river in the first place?
  21. The beginning of the end of the Prem being the best. Central planning, versus the free market, has always failed and usually fails spectacularly.
  22. Four people predicted the correct score, but none of those five predicted Coleman as the first scorer. Nonetheless, congratulations to Droobie, markjazzbassist, MC11, TonkaRoost. Given the upcoming international break, this means that TonkaRoost in the champ for March. For the reason, Romey retains the lead and is closing back in on Deacs for points per prediction.
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