EPTFootball (Soccer) Thread - Page 179
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Sermokala
United States14211 Posts
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
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sharkie
Austria18756 Posts
On August 14 2026 07:12 GTR wrote: Leicester City put up for sale for 200m GBP sad to see it end this way - after their chairman died in that helicopter crash and covid effectively killing the ownership's parent company (king power - duty free at airports) it was inevitable. so sad | ||
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
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Liquid`Drone
Norway28899 Posts
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FlaShFTW
United States10567 Posts
On August 16 2026 04:49 Liquid`Drone wrote: They're trying to get Barcola, whom would imo be a straight up upgrade over Gakpo. They also already signed Victor Muñoz but admittingly I have no real clue how good he is. Harvey Elliot and Wirtz can also play on the wing. Munoz has been ok so far, he is definitely explosive and we were sorely missing pace on the wings, coupled with our pacey and bomby fullbacks too. We were lacking that directness last season where Gakpo and Salah were both unable to really beat their man. If Barcola is on the way, then Gakpo is surely on the way out. Our wingers this season will be Barcola/Rio on the left and Munoz/Ndaye on the right. Isak/Chiesa through the middle though at this point, I think we'll likely see more time for Koumas and Will Wright than Chiesa as the backup striker. Chiesa has still looked totally off the pace especially in an aggressive setup from Iraola. Jacquet looks like an absolute beast though, I'm super excited for him. | ||
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
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GTR
51694 Posts
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WombaT
Northern Ireland27422 Posts
On August 19 2026 16:19 Bacillus wrote: Transfermarkt says Ektitike is scheduled to return at the end of the year. I'm not sure how reliable the recovery process is on his injury and all that, but he could bring some options in the middle to the latter half of the season. From what I’ve heard/read his injury is a particular fucker to recover properly for so he might never be the same player again. Hopefully not as that would be a real shame | ||
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sharkie
Austria18756 Posts
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
On August 19 2026 19:04 WombaT wrote: From what I’ve heard/read his injury is a particular fucker to recover properly for so he might never be the same player again. Hopefully not as that would be a real shame Yeah. Sports medicine has come a long way with these knee injuries, but I have no idea if any of that applies to achilles tendon injuries. As far as I can tell, the basic issue is just that it's a massive tendon with huge strain combined with low blood supply and that makes recovery difficult. | ||
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FlaShFTW
United States10567 Posts
On August 19 2026 23:21 Bacillus wrote: Yeah. Sports medicine has come a long way with these knee injuries, but I have no idea if any of that applies to achilles tendon injuries. As far as I can tell, the basic issue is just that it's a massive tendon with huge strain combined with low blood supply and that makes recovery difficult. Jayson Tatum came back from Achilles this year and played 16 games. His shooting percentage was down 5% but otherwise he looked roughly the same, with small drop overall for win share/48. We'll really see this next NBA season if he can come back strong. KD came off an achilles tear and sat out an entire season to recover, and he played well after returning, basically no changes in his stats though he was always less reliant on athleticism. Ekitike isn't a massively speedster, mostly relying on his technique rather than raw athleticism so I think his recovery will be decent but will definitely be missing a step in his runs in behind the lines. | ||
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
- Real has plenty to prove, Mbabbe wants his trophies and then there's Mou. - Iraiola tries to bring heavy metal-ish football back to Liverpool. - Barca has Rodri now - City moves to post-Guardiola era with Maresca. Also, no Rodri to bail them out. - United showed some promise last season, are they finally an actual top 6 team - How much bounce back Spurs have? - Alonso in Chelsea Italy and Germany seem a bit more mundane to me so far, but that's probably more about my lack of knowledge than anything else. | ||
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evilfatsh1t
Australia8928 Posts
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GTR
51694 Posts
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
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evilfatsh1t
Australia8928 Posts
the last 3 seasons we finished in top 4 all started with losses on opening mw. the last 3 seasons we didnt qualify for cl we won our opening match. top 4 confirmed | ||
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sharkie
Austria18756 Posts
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Bacillus
Finland2112 Posts
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FlaShFTW
United States10567 Posts
On August 25 2026 01:21 Bacillus wrote: Both Newcastle goals vs Liverpool would have been prevented with a more dedicated DM. Maybe it's just Gravenberch getting used to the system and maybe the risky stuff is what Iraiola wanted anyway, but the system surely looked pretty vulnerable to counters. Iraola contends that we don't need a proper DM, just that the midfielders need to be more coordinated in their movements when attacking. In the first goal, Gravenberch makes a careless side pass that should've really been a shot when he was in space. Szobo and Wirtz are both higher than him and Kerkez is 7 yards ahead of Elanga who just sprints by him. The two main errors were really the turnover where a shot likely prevents such a quick break, and also the fact that Szobo is ahead of Gravenberch when he's already in the box. Szobo should be deeper to help sprint back to recover in this situation instead. The second goal was another careless turnover from Gravy but there's really not a whole lot he can do there when its a loose ball at the edge. Maybe a pass back but he tried to link the play. The fault lies squarely on the defense there for not closing down the man or taking a yellow for a foul. We honestly had the entire half of the pitch to take a foul before the shot got off and it was basically a 3v6. A goal should never happen there, so I don't blame it on Gravy or think there's a need for a dedicated DM. Overall, I thought the attack looked really fluid actually, something is just missing to link that final pass and getting Isak the ball to get a clearer shot on target. But much better than boring, side to side Slot ball. I'm still going to be cautiously optimistic but also acknowledge that we have issues at our FB positions and need Munoz to start at RB over Rio, because Rio just does not look all that threatening on the right compared to the left. If the Barcola and Minteh transfers happen, I think it'll be nice to have Barcola/Rio on the left with Munoz/Minteh down the right. Koumas actually passed the eye test for me and could honestly be fine as a backup striker for Isak right now. He can pick up minutes in cup games too. He looked professional, didnt put a foot wrong, and was positive. | ||
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