2018 - 2019 Football Thread - Page 72

On November 20 2018 06:29 sneirac wrote:
Yes allowing them to score late, false hope to crush their spirit even harder

edit: thats not how that was supposed to work out

On November 20 2018 06:34 Rebs wrote:


gifs pleez!

On November 20 2018 16:38 aseq wrote:
Almost get the feeling Germany let that slip intentionally...they only needed the draw to make group leader, were relegated anyway, don't really want France to win another (useless) prize, and maybe the players aren't too happy in the national team either?

On November 20 2018 03:30 Pandemona wrote:

Wow hater

But i mean from a starting point in terms of what we need from our midfield 3. Need a ball winner and box to box player with defensive qualities like Henderson. We need a creative box to box player like Barkley who can find a good pass and keep the ball moving quickly. Then we need another runner to match that with either even better ball playing tendancies or even better defensive qualities. I was very impressed with how well Delph was playing the ball off and keeping things simple so maybe he is the missing piece, im not sure. I am very sure it is not fucking Eric Dier who is the biggest useless piece of useless in an England shirt, he just is awful. Maybe he just neebs to play centre back im not sure but he should not be near our midfield!

Also what on earth the top 4 for Nations league;

England - Portugal - Switzerland; with Netherlands or France joining them after tonights round of games. Quite crazy!

On November 21 2018 22:53 haitike wrote:
Finally. No more annoying international breaks until March.

A person with knowledge of the deal to keep Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew in that city says the price will be $150 million. This person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private and have yet to be finalized.

As reported last month, the new investors are primarily the Columbus Partnership along with a local investor group led by Pete Edwards Jr. and the owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, Dee and Jimmy Haslam. The new owners of the Crew have also agreed to pour at least $150 million into a new soccer-specific stadium that would cost around $250 million. The public would foot the other $100 million.

A spokesperson for MLS said that while the recent expansion fees for Nashville and Cincinnati were $150 million, the fee for Columbus has not been set yet. The topic will be discussed at the MLS Board of Governors meeting in NYC on Dec. 13.

The Crew are one of the founding MLS franchises and were recently valued at $160 million by Forbes, 22nd out of the league's 23 teams. According to Soccer Stadium Digest, the team ranked last in attendance this past season despite making the playoffs.

As part of the deal, current operator and chairman Anthony Precourt, who announced nearly a year ago that he intended to move the team to Austin, Texas, will get his wish. Although the new Crew owners are paying an "expansion fee" of $150 million, according to my source, they get the team in its current form. Precourt, who will not pay a fee, effectively gets an expansion team in that he needs to build a new franchise.

In August, the Austin City Council approved a deal for a soccer stadium in North Austin. But a group is seeking to get enough signatures to force a public vote on what it calls the largest public subsidy in the city's history.

Real Madrid have denied a claim that club captain Sergio Ramos failed a doping test after the 2017 Champions League final, and also that the proper procedures were not followed when the current Spain skipper was asked to take a test following a La Liga game against Malaga in April 2018.

The article published on Der Spiegel's website claimed that after the 2017 UCL final in Cardiff, Ramos gave a sample which contained traces of WADA-prohibited substance dexamethasone -- a steroid often used to treat inflammation -- but no disciplinary action was ever taken.

The La Liga giants on Friday quickly responded with a statement which said the case mentioned in the Der Spiegel story was "immediately closed" by the relevant authorities after "specific information" was provided, while also calling the reports "insubstantial."

"With regards to the reports published by Der Spiegel in relation to our captain, Sergio Ramos, the club wishes to express the following," the Madrid statement said. "1. Sergio Ramos has never breached anti-doping regulations. 2. UEFA requested specific information and immediately closed the case referred to, as is customary in such instances, following tests carried out by experts from the World Anti-Doping Association [WADA] and UEFA itself. 3. In terms of the rest of the content published by the aforementioned publication, the club will not be making any comment, given the clearly insubstantial nature of the reports."

The Der Spiegel report mentions further communication between Ramos, Madrid and UEFA in the days following the 2017 UCL final, in which Juventus were defeated 3-1, and claims that a team medical official named only as "Dr. A" took responsibility for allegedly forgetting to mention on the relevant form that the player had received two injections of dexamethasone before the match to deal with chronic issues in his shoulder and knee.

The report also mentions another incident after a La Liga game between Madrid and Malaga in April 2018, when an anti-doping officer reported that Ramos did not follow correct procedures by insisting on showering before taking a routine test after a game. Again, no further action was taken in this case.

Ramos' representatives did not immediately respond when asked by ESPN FC to comment on the Der Spiegel story.

UEFA drug testers regularly visit Madrid's Valdebebas training ground during the Champions League season, while players are also systematically tested after games in both UEFA competition and La Liga.

In July of 2017, controversial medical chief Jesus Olmo left the club by "mutual agreement" though no further explanation was given for his departure.

Olmo joined Madrid's staff as club doctor in the summer of 2013 and oversaw a medical department which was criticised at times over the intervening four years amid persistent injury issues suffered by players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.