… but who needs him when you have Mo Elneny back in the side banging in goals from 30 yards?
Two BIG pieces of news in football yesterday were:
Harry Maguire found guilty of assault and BRIBERY. I absolutely love all the ‘he’s a good honest boy’ pieces doing the rounds. I don’t even need to have been there to know how that scene played out.
‘Oi, speaken sie English mate? Look, let’s do a deal. Do you know who I am?’
You can imagine it… it was me when I was 19 years old, waving around 30 Euros because I’d heard the foreign police were open to it.
Shocking form from a man who really should have taken his mates to a private island. He earns £190k a week and he’s taking holidays like he’s earning £9 an hour in First Sport in Lakeside.
The second major piece of news is 33-year-old Lio Messi has told Ronald Koeman he wants out of Barca. I liked one of the Spanish papers takes on it.
‘The meeting wasn’t friendly and Koeman insisted he’d be inflexible‘
Can’t knock that sort of attitude.
I think it’s a great thing for Barca. Sell Messi for £150m to one of the petro-dollar clubs, get 60m off your wage bill, the rebuild with Matteo Guendouzi and Lacazette as your centrepieces.
Joking aside, who the fuck is going to pay a massive transfer fee and £70m a year? It feels like a weird threat to make of Barcelona, unless he can argue his contract is null and void because of covid… but even then, who is ponying up £70m a year? Crazy money. Let’s see if he’s truly going to stay, or he’s just kicking up a stink to show who is boss.
The third BIG piece of news is that THE Arsenal went all hype culture on us and dropped a fresh friendly with the MK DONS.
I was half in the game half out, but it was a fairly pre-seasonish performance. A lot of our big names were missing and we threw a lot of kids at the game. Odd that AMN started, not sure what that was all about. No Hector. We saw Willy Saliba in an Arsenal shirt and he looked comfortable on the ball and more than capable of dealing with the physical side of England. I think he’ll be a class act for us and suspect he’ll have a big role, though maybe not immediately.
Two early goals from Mo Elneney and Saka set nerves at ease. MK pulled one back from a stunning Rob Holding own goal. The second half saw some new faces and one of them scored. McGuiness with a bullet header into the top corner. Then Reiss finished the game off with a penalty at the end.
My guess is that Arteta is going to give the Community Shield secondary attention. The players just had an exhausting season and I would imagine Arteta understands that the most important thing he can deliver in September is a fast start. This team switches off if there’s nothing to play for, so keeping them in the mix is what he has to deliver.
Still, it must be hard. Players aren’t settled yet and there could be a lot of coming and going over the next few weeks. Far from ideal, I just hope the comings arrive earlier in the month. It’d be ideal to have our major problems solved for day one of the season… namely, a functioning midfield.
Short one today, have a good one!
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST👇👇👇
Mike Tyson is up there too surely?
Weagle
Straight swap and mates rates on big Partey would be stellar business imo. 50 mil Euro’s to 35 mil cheers lads and we’ll send some paint for the next season bus too.
Middy
As a brand I agree, doesn’t get bigger than MJ.
In terms of sporting legacy though I don’t know if anyone was as influential as Ali though. Guy was was a whirlwind of charisma, star power, cultural and political influence not to mention arguably the boxing GOAT.
Chelsea sign Chidwell – £50m
Lemar + 30 million for Lacazette imo is a fair deal
What price are you attributing to Lacazette? He’s worth 30-40 million max in this market
Interested to see where Morata ends up. Has a decent ish loan spell at Atleti and is still technically on the books at Chelsea.
No chance that they recoup even close to the 70 odd million that they dropped on him. Remember so many on here were massive Morata fans, always maintained that he was overrated and limited as a CF.
Am I the only one not overly impressed by Chilwell?
Looks a promising LB alright but not exactly outstanding in any particular attribute. Robin Gosens of Atalanta would have been a far better shout.
@WE –
I feel like we got twice the LB for half the price.
Eagle-
Yeah, Ali was definitely transformative beyond boxing.. Which is what I based my list on.. influence beyond their sport and globally. It’s definitely degrees of close between all of them. Wish I would have been able to witness Ali in all his glory, I was too young to remember him in his prime.. I might add Usain Bolt to my list too.. hmmm.
Jim
Love me some Tierney. Guy’s outrageously gifted at whipping in crosses/final passes to the forwards. Also a tenacious defender with top work-rate.
Between Tierney, Martinelli, Saka, Saliba, Gabriel we can look forward with some real optimism for a change. Need to add to that clearly but the bones of a good spine there already.
Still no news on Gabriel and Auba – why are we unable to close these deals?
“Am I the only one not overly impressed by Chilwell?“
Never a 50 mil player to save his life. He was made to look a mug in back to back games against City and Liverpool this season which is hardly the ringing endorsement for someone to make a step up.
Makes them better, but twice the fee for his talent imo. Still think there’s time for him to make his move to City though…….
I’d pass on Draxler Charlie.
Don’t know whether it’s injuries or not but he doesn’t look the same dynamic player that he was for Schalke/Wolfsburg. No longer has that burst to beat his marker one vs one and he’s rotted on that bench in Paris for so long now.
Weagle
His heads gone at PSG, happens when you’re not the guy people lean on to create or probe. Only way he was given inroads to the first XI was to ‘balance‘ the famed front three. Massive injustice to his ability. Would immediately be as threatening as Pepe here for me.
@WE –
“optimism”
What is this?? Never heard of it!!
Wilt chamberlain is the undisputed King
Im telling you for free!
Middy
Fair, the two are near interchangeable to be honest. MJ takes it just relating strictly to sport and Ali as a cultural icon in addition to his sporting greatness.
Gretzky and Brady for sure if we’re talking about the US but overseas, I don’t think either are in the conversation.
I’d say in no particular order MJ, Ali, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Pele, Usain Bolt.
Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Lance Armstrong just a tier below but worth mentions.
It’s going to be like a completely new squad over at Chelsea. Lamps did his job in getting CL football after they were handed a transfer ban. Dare I say it’s worked out pretty well for them, they’ve used the money they saved to add pieces that will improve them all over the pitch. Werner, Ziyech, Havertz, Chilwell is quite the haul for one window.
Hope their defense stays gash though, Chilwell not going to help much in that regard I don’t think. Their keepers are trash also.
Sid – King of Baby Daddies .. doesn’t count.
Charlie I’d rather Goncalo Guedes who has gone off the boil a little at Valencia but they are an absolute mess at the moment, Peter Lim has gone rogue and is selling off the entire squad now out of ego and pettiness and contempt for Valencia supporters and media members questioning his ownership. They’ve already gotten rid of their best player and captain in Parejo for FREE [literally paid to get rid of him to Villarreal], they’ve also sold Coquelin, Rodrigo Moreno to Leeds, Ferran Torres to City and released Garay. Guedes is capable of being a spectacular player, guy… Read more »
In terms of their overall impact on the world ,
Mohammad Ali stands on the top , no cap.
Jim
Was getting ahead of myself there, apologies.
Dangerous mindset that optimism.
Ali gave up his crown and went to jail for his religious and political beliefs.
MJ refused to give an endorsement to a black democrat running for Senate in his home state, against a white incumbent who was running on a platform of racial segregation, because “Republicans buy sneakers too”.
They made their marks in exactly the areas they had their focuses on.
Finances seem right on the chillwell deal…
Keeping in mind they bought danny drinkwater a couple yers ago for more than 30m
Last summer PSG wanted to get rid of Julian Draxler and made him available for £25~30 millions, but he fought against that thinking he could force his way back into the first team for enough game to be worth it. This summer he may be available at an even cheaper amount. Like CC said, rather than injuries it is confidence issue. It has been drained away from him. Whenever he plays, it is nearly never in his preferred position. Asking him to play a No8 is a shame because he is talented attacking player. I believed that he may be… Read more »
Nobody going after Grealish!
Can somebody tell me why the Arsenal Tweeter is yet to announce Auba and Gabriel??
Sucked the whole excitement out of the thing now
Luteo
Ali didn’t go to jail and didn’t Tyson get knocked our by a doorman
Presumably once the two week quarantine is over the magalhaes transfer will be announced?
Seems like Doherty to Spurs.
AMN to replace him?
Out of all the Chavs signings, only Ziyeuch stands out and looks to be an exciting prospect. He looks too physically weak though so have to see how he fares in England. Rest have been meh. And Lampard just doesn’t seem to have it in him to build a formidable side.
WE
Chelsea actually did extremely well in getting rid of Morata.
They paid €67 million for him in July 2017. His amortised value when he was sold in July 2017 would have been circa €53 million.
It’s reported that with the loan fee they were paid €58 million by AM.
Athletico Madrid are playing hardball over Partey. As far as I am concerned there is only one exchange deal which should be on the table if there is going to be a swap with that club and that is Lacazette for Partey. Currently Lacazette is rated the more valuable player as he is a striker so any adjustment should be in our favour. Compare valuations on transfermarkt. On a personal level I will be sorry to see Lacazette go. He is currently a better player and more prolific goalscorer than Nketiah. My personal view is that Martinelli will be his… Read more »
Carl Lewis, Jesse Owens and Ayorton Senna changed the landscape of sports like very few others.
Sold in July 2020 his amortised value was around€47 million
TR7
Lewis was a drugs cheat.
LONDON (Reuters) – If anti-doping regulations had been strictly enforced, Calvin Smith, a gifted American sprinter with a distinctive upright style, would have left the 1988 Seoul Games as the Olympic 100 meters champion and world-record holder. On the day that changed the face of the Olympics and his sport forever, Smith finished fourth behind Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and Linford Christie. Today he is the only man among the first five finishers in Seoul untouched by a drugs scandal. “I should have been the gold medalist,” Smith has said of a race that has been variously described as the… Read more »
Ali, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Billie Jean King, Navratilova for their political and cultural impact on top of their sport talent.
Tiger Wood, Pele, Maradona, Michael Jordan, Yao Ming for their cultural impact worldwide.
The other named here have impacted their sport and have been tremendous champions. Some have had some important cultural impact and have helped make their sport more mainstream, however they have had no major impact outside of sport fans.
TR7
Add to that Ali, Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods.
What about the Ladies?
Calypso
Good post.
What about the greatest drug cheats?
So many to choose from.
Lance Armstrong has to top the list, followed by Ben Johnson.
Marion Jones for the ladies.
WWE wrestler Paige, is queen
Correct, Carl Lewis was a drugs cheat.
Failed 3 drugs tests.
Linford also dabbled.
Maradona loved the drugs too. Colombian pearl, but still.
Obv Lance Armstrong for the biggest cheat in sporting history. Epic cunt.
Ronnie moves the needle in snooker like no other. Does snooker count as a sport?
Tirunesh Dibaba is a godess
Graham62
Florence Griffith Joyner
How anyone can talk about sporting greats and not mention Michael Johnson and Carl Lewis is beyond me.
Good shout on Guedes him and Gaya are fantastic
Most pathetic cheats.
Aussie cricketers.
Should have been banned for life.
Utter scumbags.
Michael Chang the GOAT. Case closed.
Just to reiterate, Carl Lewis was also a drugs cheat.
John Higgins snooker should have had a lifetime ban.
Billie Jean King has now faded from the national consciousness, but I do remember my grand mother who was not a sport fan at all talking the battle of the sexes years after it took place.
Whenever my grandfather said something misogynistic like “I could do that better than a woman player”, she was muttering Billie Jean King name. She was the first athlete who successfully challenge the male chauvinistic vision of the world in sport.
FMBLOG – There is no doubt that Lionel Messi is probably the 0most talented player in the history of the game, but without steroids, there wouldn’t be a Lionel Messi. Currently, the best player in the world, and arguably the best player that walked on the face of the Earth, can thank the injections of steroid, or more correctly the human growth hormones. Messi, born 30 years ago in a work class family was diagnosed with a growth hormone disorder or GHD. It is often called idiopathic short stature, but other health issues come with this illness as well, such… Read more »
Ali – Still The Greatest.
So Chelsea are spending £100m on Chilwell?
Makes the Tierney deal look like an absolute masterstroke.
Honestly I would rather loan out AMN and see what he can do instead of 15 mil. Either his transfer really helps is in the market or we should keep him. Accepting less than 20 to 25 mil would send out the message that anyone can fleece us. If he is going for that it means teams will bid 8 mil for the likes of chambers and holding and that is a big fat NO.
Jamie
50M.
We lost to PSG and PSG just eliminated by Leon.
Charlie
Draxler is a good tip. I think there is still a player in there. He isn’t flashy but he is very good on top form. He can Play LW/CAM too. I wouldn’t mind him at all. People were also turning their heads at Felipe Anderson, who I think can do great at an attacking team. If the fee isn’t outrageous I would take him too.
Chelsea sign Chilwell, Thiago Silva is agreed, Havertz is agreed, and now Malang Sarr is due to sign and get loaned out according to Romano.
Abramovich resumes interest in football again it seems.
CC
Chilwell for 50m and a 35 yo Thiago doesn’t really excite me.
Also, Sarr has terrible defensive stats. Needs a manager that will drill him defensively and I don’t think that’ll be lampard.
Danny
Less about excitement for me and more about them seemingly with the appetite to address areas of concern and start a new chapter.
Werner, Ziyech, Havertz is quality stuff, Thiago Silva is a bandaid effort but needed, Malang Sarr is good business, and Chilwell improves them irrespective of the laughable fee.
Much is that all in? 250mil?
Thiago Silva is still a quality CB, I actually rate that as a short-term signing from Chelsea. Invaluable experience and brings class and composure to the backline. Chilwell is a rip off but he’s a talented LB. Just like the Maguire signing for United, he’ll improve them. Havertz is a quality player but for my money he’s overrated. I wouldn’t shell out what Chelsea have for him, I’d want a game changer in Sancho for that kind of coin. Having said that, they’ll be contenders next season. Adding Werner, Ziyech, Chilwell, Havertz, Thiago Silva to the talent that they already… Read more »
City signing Messi will put them amongst the biggest clubs in the world. Champions League, Merchandise sales and an implicit collaboration with the Messi fanbase would skyrocket their own fanbase and status. Win win for all parties involved though Barcelona will have mixed feelings.
Be interesting to see if Messi would play up top for City, if Pep brought back the false 9. Jesus hasn’t been cutting the mustard in Europe and you’ll struggle to find a more clinical finisher than Messi when presented the opportunity. It’s been a long time since Messi has had the luxury of hanging high up the park in the final third with the ability to drive one vs one at defenders, since the Xavi-Iniesta days really on a consistent basis. Argentina NT and Barcelona of recent memory he’s always had to drop deep and act as creator. No… Read more »
Inter getting Arturo Vidal.
Fire sale at Barcelona, 4 years too late.
Now it’s on.
Milwaukee Bucks refuse to take the court. And the Orlando Magic are refusing to accept a victory due to forfeiture.
https://deadspin.com/bucks-boycott-playoff-game-over-jacob-blake-shooting-1844858871
For me there are only two sports personalities that lit the imagination of people around the world and became household names; those being Cassius Clay, later known as Mohamed Ali and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, in that order
You needed to have been alive during their time to fully appreciate them though. The only modern day sportsman to come close is Tiger Woods.
Lol, such a classic Conte signing.
Vidal really was elite in his pomp for Leverkusen, Juventus and Bayern. Was my favourite CM for years but he’s been finished for years now.
Inter really do have an average squad outside of a few players in Lukaku, De Vrij, Handanovic and Martinez. Conte has been getting more than the sum of their parts out of the squad but they aren’t going to be threatening Juventus with these type of signings.
alex
You reckon they leave the Bubble and the playoffs are cancelled or it’ll be more a one game postponement for the next series of games?
Good few of the players sound as if their heart isn’t in playing and they want to bail. Tonight could kickstart a chain reaction.
Weagle
Be very interested to see who Barcelona look to for sorting their burning house and setting them on a path to redemption.
Will piss my pants if Koeman gets transfer honours because his track record is laughable. Sure Klaassen can get another near 30 mil move somewhere, Dutch league will be giddy at the prospect of him pointing his finger.
Alex
Why do I get the impression that you’re gleefully enjoying this?
I highly doubt the NBA playoffs will be canceled. The NBA postponed the two other games scheduled for today and it sounds likely they may cancel tomorrow’s games as well, but I can’t see it as anything other than them buying time to figure out where all the player’s are at with it, give them time to cool off, and then resume business simultaneously as best they can. There may be individuals that want to leave the bubble after this but I’m not sure they’d be accomplishing anything by doing that. There would be literally zero point in having planned… Read more »
“You reckon they leave the Bubble and the playoffs are cancelled or it’ll be more a one game postponement for the next series of games?”
I honestly don’t know. I hope that behind the scenes they’re working with higher ups in terms of a long-term strategy. I am so proud of them, regardless of how this plays out.
LeBron’s tweet said it all .
https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1298721240748711936?s=20
Chelsea are adding some top talent but we’ll see how they do. If these players were joining Arsenal I’d be pretty excited. Though Chilwell isn’t better than Tierney and he’s twice as expensive?? Thing is they are adding players that aren’t EPL proven. Ziyech will do good imo. But one of Werner and Havertz might turn out a Kepa signing where they spend a truck of money for a young player that might never settle in the EPL and is now immovable and unusable.
“Alex
Why do I get the impression that you’re gleefully enjoying this?”
What kind of asshole wouldn’t be happy to see the beginning stages of the biggest and most important social and legal revolution in the history of the county?
Charlie If Messi left for free as is being feasibly mooted, Barca are absolutely shagged. Going to be a mass exodus with Suarez also leaving and a fair few more first teamers I’d be willing to bet. You look at their recruitment history since the summer they signed Ter Stegen, Luis Suarez, Rakitic, Bravo, Mathieu, Vermaelen and went on to win the treble and their signings include: -Arda Turan 35 million [squad player, gone within two years for fraction of fee] -Aleix Vidal 20 million [terrible squad player, barely played over four years] -Paco Alcacer 30 million [bit of success… Read more »
WE,
Blame it on Raul Sanllehi.
“What kind of asshole wouldn’t be happy to see the beginning stages of the biggest and most important social and legal revolution in the history of the county?”
It’s a strange moment when the most cynical poster of LG shows this kind of optimism.
I hope you’re right though.
Luteo I agree although I do think that there is a very real possibility that players opt to leave the bubble now. Was already players on the fence about it to start with and what’s transpired in Wisconsin could be enough to push many of them beyond their limit. The t-shirts, slogans and messages are great but they don’t send a powerful message like boycotting the playoffs would. That would have a massive financial and social impact on everyone connected to the game and further afield and could instigate real change. Would be a terrible shame as a big NBA… Read more »
“It’s a strange moment when the most cynical poster of LG shows this kind of optimism.” I’m not necessarily optimistic — the people with the power will literally stop at nothing to preserve it. But this is the most encouraged I’ve ever been that significant change is now possible, and that blacks are realizing that their power — which today lays mainly in “cultural” things like the arts and sports — is able to influence change in policy. Because, to be blunt, white people spend more money on sports (season tickets, suites, etc) as well as on black-produced culture (music).… Read more »
How you getting on alex? Sorry to hear about you going through Chemo, hang in tough dude.
ESPN had Vince Carter (future NBA hall of famer, known to all who follow sport) on this morning.
He told how he brings his ID and phone with him when he walks to his mailbox, so that if a cop approached him, he’d be able to prove he lived there.
How fucked up is this? Can you fucking believe having to live that that?
Are there any black posters here not from Africa?
This Doc Rivers (NBA coach) post-game presser is heart breaking. His dad was a cop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPIitgIck2o
Cutter Yeah I’m right there with you. Hopeful but not necessarily optimistic. That said, I’ve no doubt things will be drastically different in another 20-30 years. I’m a bit past it now to be so socially active but loads of people I know in their early 30s and younger, they are socially conscious in a way that I’ve not encountered before in my life. Granted I live in an extremely progressive and liberal area of the country, but it does give me some hope for the future. WE The players really had no choice but to do something, I saw… Read more »
“For me there are only two sports personalities that lit the imagination of people around the world and became household names; those being Cassius Clay, later known as Mohamed Ali and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, in that orderYou needed to have been alive during their time to fully appreciate them though. The only modern day sportsman to come close is Tiger Woods”
Michael Jordan
Messi
Ali
Pele
Ronaldo
CR7
LBJ
Money Mayweather
LeBron is definitely a name that transcends the sport, in a way that nobody else in the current day NBA comes close to.
Steph Curry only other one that would be known outside of Basketball fans.
Weagle See you rattle off that list and I just look with amazement that in fact they all happened. Some quality in there undoubtedly, but when you’re Barcelona and transfers are incredibly similar to a PlayStation game because every prick wants to join you and you’ve forever money to burn……HOW do you assemble such a poorly balanced group of footballers? I’m genuinely flummoxed by that. There’s a bit of a code over there about type of player, bit Atletic Bilbao with the Basque thing in that it’s dubious, like what lands you on half those players and how do average… Read more »
“How you getting on Alex?”
Thanks for asking. Wasn’t bringing it up for points — I discussed it with the group about a year ago.
I’m not comfortable going into any further detail as it would bum people out, even on an anonymous blog. It would be inappropriate and I would feel bad for someone to stumble on it not knowing the context.
Again, appreciate it.
“Steph Curry only other one that would be known outside of Basketball fans.”
He has been conspicuously quiet during all this, but I think he’ll step up at the right time.
Milwaukee’s baseball team has also decided to boycott their game tonight. There’s gonna be more now, you can feel it coming.
If it makes you feel any better alex I never thought of you as a ding dong or anything you usually have pretty pointed take downs towards people who honestly deserve it.
Agree about the Boys I thought season one was excellent and I’m looking forward to season two. I thought it’s approach to superheroes was far more enjoyable than any fluffy marvel shite disney farts out
Thanks Marko. I’ll be the first to admit that I am by far the least knowledgeable person here regarding soccer. I didn’t start following it until I saw RVP for the first time, developed a man-crush (I’ve watched his 100 goals DVD at least 500x) and looked into arsenal, and liked their philosophy, history and style. However, I grew up playing multiple sports, up until college. And my dad in his early days was a high school coach, and played sports at a D1 college. So, while I don’t know soccer as well as I should, I do know “sports”… Read more »
“Milwaukee’s baseball team has also decided to boycott their game tonight. ”
For non-americans, this is a bigger deal than basketball. Baseball is the “national pastime”, and one of the few sports where white fans have white players to root for.
One question that we may soon get an answer is whether the Barcelona academy is still producing good players. One arguments was that the player were overlooked and had to go elsewhere to play. Barcelona has still some outstanding game changing players, so they don’t need 11 outstanding academy players, but a good nucleus of decent players that can be used to fill their squad. If the academy is not up to par, then Barcelona has to find a way to recruit young, cheap talented players in numbers pretty quickly. With his good grasp of the Dutch Youth players, Ronald… Read more »
That’s cool Alex, respect that.
I uploaded a RVP 100 Goal DVD rip to YouTube the other day, and literally received individual copyright infringement notices for every goal shown in the video.
Homeland as a character is actually amazing like literally one of the best characters on TV the last number of years.
Charlie It’s funny, agree that the whole ‘Barca way’ prototype/profile of player is inherently snobbish and elitist not to mention wishful thinking on their part. They caught lightening in a bottle with the Xavi-Iniesta-Messi trident and it’s not representative of the recent history as a whole, they have some extremely mediocre teams and players up until the mid noughties. Having said that, looking through that list there’s nobody outside of Coutinho from the midfielders/forwards that I would have associated with compatible with Messi, Suarez, etc in terms of style of play and fit. The likes of Isco, Verratti, Bernardo Silva,… Read more »
RVP was a walking highlight reel.
Easily the most spectacular scorer of goals I’ve ever seen along with Henry in an Arsenal shirt.
Henry edged it for solo goals and RVP edged it for wonder-strikes.
“Homeland as a character is actually amazing like literally one of the best characters on TV the last number of years.”
Yes. I’m so excited that the new season is getting even better critical ratings than the first. Season 3 has already been ordered.
If you haven’t seen him in Banshee, you’re going to be very happy. Batshit crazy 3 season series where Anthony Starr plays the new sheriff in a Pennsylvania town run by the Amish mafia. Incredible.