#Rui might have also had this in canary.

[ssruis]

Also interesting how much we get to see rui’s thoughts in Phoenix… I feel like for a lot of focus events the inner thoughts we see are just restricted to the focus character (nene pov for cg/o, rui pov for pandemonium, etc) but for Phoenix they actually chose to not do tsukasa pov for a lot of scenes & instead show what rui is thinking… im sure I’ll have more thoughts on it when i rewatch more wxs events and can note which do this but i think it’s neat. Director guy doing director things (observing his actor)

[junker-town]

A rift in the space-time continuum informed us City wins the Premier League again

Bad news, City wins the Premier League again.

We don’t know quite how it happened. As is traditional, there was a storm. Then lightning struck somewhere nearby. A power surge. A moment of darkness. And then, as the lights blinked back on and we all confirmed we were still alive, it appeared on our computer screens: “Premier League 2019-20 in review.”

The Race for the Title

Ultimately, a bit anticlimactic. A 5-0 thrashing of Spurs in August, victory at Anfield in November, title race settled. Manchester City’s 104 points is a Premier League record, but their season will probably be best remembered for the stunning stoppage time defeat to Leicester that kept them from finishing the season as invincibles. And of course, Shoegate.

The race to finish second was a bit more interesting. If you had asked a Tottenham supporter five years ago if they would take a season in which they finished second-place in every competition, they’d have said yes, but reality stings worse than anyone could have imagined. The League Cup defeat to Manchester United hardly registered as a disappointment, and City were always going to run away with the Premiership; keeping Liverpool at bay is basically a trophy, right?

That FA Cup collapse against United, though. Their capitulation in the Champions League final against PSG. Those games were the stuff that nightmares are made of. Hug a Tottenham fan today.

As for Liverpool, well: last season they finished second by one point; this season they finished third by eight. Last season they won the Champions League; this season they were knocked out in the semi-finals. You could call it failure if you wanted to. But in truth, the standards at the top of professional football are so ludicrous that, frankly, all “failure” really means here is “didn’t quite nail perfection, again.” Although losing to Manchester United in such carnivalesque fashion will presumably sting a little. Who knew Harry Maguire could do that? Well, Spurs did.

The Race for Europe

As with last season, the scrap for the remaining Champions League places was the really thrilling adventure, and we have just two words here: Brendan Rodgers. Brendan Rodgers. No man has ever so entirely got back on his bullshit. Forty goals for Jamie Vardy. At least one team talk delivered entirely nude. Twenty for Ayoze Perez. That photo shoot. That other photo shoot. Youri Tielemans, player of the season. Stealing Pep Guardiola’s shoes. Wearing Pep Guardiola’s shoes. A week in prison. A prison escape. And all the rest.

Leicester’s glory was Chelsea’s loss, though it was interesting to see how the fans coped with having a manager they couldn’t really boo. The more creative among them upgraded their A4 protest signs to A3, and even occasionally A2, the better to allow space for the various caveats their outrage required. On the pitch, meanwhile, things went roughly as might be expected: some of the kids were okay, Christian Pulisic looked excellent until his unfortunate injury, and Lampard’s getting another season regardless.

Everton hasn’t finished above Liverpool for a long time, but this season they did at least manage to outscore their dominant neighbours. The front three of Kean, Richarlison and Iwobi looked even better on the pitch than it did on paper, and Everton spent all season terrorising even the finest defences. And who knows, if they could find a half-decent one of their own, they might end up back in the argument proper.

We’re less optimistic about Arsenal, who were slick, pretty, occasionally thrilling, and had a spine made of candy floss and dreams and wishes. A cynic might suspect that we wrote this review of Arsenal’s season before they’d even kicked off, but we’d be safe, because how could you ever prove it?

The Race for the Middle of the Table

Set up for success by a stunningly competent summer, the Hammers finished a respectable eighth, their best finish in four years. Sebastian Haller and Pablo Fornals turned in outstanding campaigns, but the real story was Jack Wilshere, who defied the odds to start in all 38 matches.

This also marks the first time in Premier League history that West Ham have finished above Manchester United, though the Old Trafford faithful don’t seem too concerned. ”WE LOVE YOU SLABHEAD, WE DO,” echoed around the league all season, as the fans paid tribute to their captain Harry Maguire: rock in defense, set piece scoring maestro, and star of the League and FA Cup finals. His signing was a revelation, a true bargain at £80 million. This league finish is a mere bump in the road for the Red Devils; with Maguire and new manager Michael Carrick leading the side, United’s future is bright.

Despite being stretched thin by Europe, Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad turned in another solid Premier League campaign to finish tenth, but it’s unclear how sustainable the Wolves project is. With superagent Jorge Mendes’ shock announcement that he’s quitting the football business to live in a Tibetan monastery, and taking Rui Patrício with him, there are huge questions about the future makeup of the squad at Molineux.

No one was talking about Southampton before the season, but it turns out that a man who finished second in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig can coach. Ralph Hasenhüttl appears to be building a solid foundation for the future with Che Adams’ solid campaign and the debut of three new academy products. Also, Watford has a Premier League team. Each week, they fielded 11 professional footballers, and they played football well enough to not get sucked into a relegation battle. For that, they should be applauded.

Finally, you know that season Bournemouth have? The one where they start okay, then look like they might be in a bit of trouble, then win five on the bounce including a 4-0 over, idk, Chelsea, then end up in the lower mid-table? Yeah, that happened again.

The Race to Stay in the League

The best of the rest: Aston Villa, who finished in an ultimately comfortable 14th. Heaton & Mings may sound like the consequences of leaving a salmon behind a radiator, but it turns out they are also a decent basis for a solid Premier League defence. Nobody tell Everton.

They were joined in assured safety by Burnley, and while plenty predicted they’d survive again, nobody saw the method coming. Nobody predicted that Sean Dyche would, while on a mini-break in the Dordogne, consume a piece of cheese so strong that it induced a hallucinogenic episode; that the voice of God would speak to him as he writhed in psychedelic delirium; that God would tell him to start playing delicate attacking football and to reinvent James Tarkowski as a no. 10; and that all this would kind of work? Best of luck to Tarkowski at the Camp Nou.

Never has a team felt more “just there” than Sheffield United. Nondescript. Unfussy. Quietly scraped some 1-1 draws against top-half teams and finished on 41 points. Good for them! Crystal Palace’s survival was less assured: it turns out that selling your best defender and annoying your best attacker in the same window can put a club in a bit of a spot.

However, the vagaries of the season conspired to do Palace a massive favour: if the title race had been alive in the final week, Spurs might have picked a full-strength team, and Palace would have been in trouble. But the race was run, and those members of the Spurs squad that weren’t actually on holiday were certainly trying to remember where they’d left their passport. One Gary Cahill hat-trick later, and Palace were safe.

The Race to Get Back to the Championship

It’s sad that such a promising young Norwich side is about to be gutted. The Canaries finished one point from safety while playing ambitious attacking football, but they’ll be entering the Championship with a completely different squad. Offers are already pouring in for Max Aarons, Jamal Lewis, Ben Godfrey and Emi Buendia. How will Norwich rebuild with £100 million-plus in the bank?

Also looking to come straight back will be Brighton, and though the steady rise of Graham Potter has encountered its first serious stumble, in truth, neither he nor any of Brighton’s players need to take particular blame. Sometimes it seems that the Premier League itself gets tired of certain smaller teams, as though snobbery and elitism are embedded in the very bones of the competition. We can think of no other explanation for a side scoring sixteen own goals in consecutive games.

And finally, that Steve Bruce, he’s a proper football man. Don’t blame this on him. None of this is his fault. His 3-4-3 diamond with Miguel Almiron at the libero was genius. Imagine if Mike Ashley backed him in the transfer market and bought the players to fit his system? Newcastle would have been pushing for Europa League instead of finishing bottom by thirteen points.

We’ve doubled checked with SB Nation’s Experimental Quantum Physics department and they tell us that, as far as they can tell, it’s genuine. So there you go. The future. Or at least, one future. Maybe this one, maybe not. Maybe the very act of reading it is enough to destroy it. We don’t know for sure. The EQP’s emails tend to run on a bit.

[tipsoctopus]

"Been a monster", "Awesome" - These Wolves fans laud star who "Nuno has done some wonders for"

Wolves fans have taken to Twitter to pile the praise on Adama Traore, following the impressive 2-1 comeback win over Norwich at Carrow Road on Saturday.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side went 1-0 down after Todd Cantwell smashed a powerful effort past Rui Patricio in the 17th minute, although two second-half goals from Roman Saiss and Raul Jimenez helped Wolves take all three points – the Midlands-based side now have 27 points to their name after 18 games.

Despite not grabbing a goal or an assist, Adama was in excellent form and posed a real threat to the Canaries all afternoon in Norfolk.

The Barcelona academy graduate had three shots against Norwich – the third-most of anyone on the pitch behind Teemu Pukki and Jimenez – while he also recorded four key passes, second only to Emiliano Buendia’s nine.

Watch Wolves vs Man City Live and Free with Amazon Prime on December 27th

Additionally, the 23-year-old wide man completed a whopping eight dribbles, while also getting involved defensively with two successful tackles to his name.

The Spaniard has three goals and three assists to his name in the Premier League this term, and these Wolves fans on Twitter have sung his praises following the win over Norwich.

Its amazing how the player has come on, NUNO kept that faith when people lost it and now look at the bloke…. absoutle quality

— itsmebrody (@BrodyWilson88) December 22, 2019

This supporter said that it’s “amazing” how Traore has come on under Nuno, and branded the winger as “absolute quality”.

He’s such a stud. I imagine his transfer value has just shot through the roof this year

— Esteban Punzo (@EstebanPunzo) December 22, 2019

Elsewhere, this particular fan called the No.37 a “stud” and also stated that his transfer value has shot through the roof this year.

What a player. Nuno has done some wonders for his career. Baller ⚽️🐺

— Tyler crowson (@Tylercrowson2) December 22, 2019

He has been awesome this season ⚡

— Chris (@offhegoes1985) December 22, 2019

Meanwhile, the adoration for the rapid forward continued as one fan said “what a player” while also dubbing Traore as a “baller” – another said that he has been “awesome” this season.

I’m not one to overreact or to dramatise but I think Adama Traore might just be the best player in the world.

— Matt Cooper (@mcooperwrites) December 21, 2019

Furthermore, Traore received more praise from this supporter named Matt, who, despite stating that he isn’t one to overreact, thinks that Traore may just be the best player in the world!

Your shirt number isn’t far away from how many times your fouled per game!.

Keep it up, been a monster this season well done.🐺🐺🐺

— ΛDΛM ◣ ◢ (@Findingnuno) December 21, 2019

Lastly, this fan said that Adama’s shirt number – 37 – isn’t far off the amount of times he is fouled per game, before stating that the £18m attacker has been a “monster” this season.

In other news, this Wolves man put in an erratic display against Norwich despite picking up the three points…

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[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 2 Review

Two of the promoted teams impress, Manchester City and Tottenham play an early-season thriller and Manchester United and Wolves ended the week 2 of the Premier League with a tense match on Monday.

Manchester City and Tottenham love a bit of VAR controversy

VIdeo assisted refereeing is nothing new. It has been used in World Cups and Champions Leagues. Even though it has been brought into soccer to help referees make the correct calls, it can still be controversial. And recently, whenever Manchester City and Tottenham play with VAR, controversy follows.

The two clubs met three times within 11 days last season. Twice in the Champions League, and once in the Premier League. But it was the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on April 17 where things got interesting. Fernando Llorente may have handled the ball for Spurs’ crucial third goal and Raheem Sterling’s extra-time winner was overturned because of Sergio Agüero being offside in the build-up.

The match on Aug. 17 does not have the same weight as the second leg of a Champions League quarterfinal. However, what VAR’s influence on both matches shows is that even with replay there is still controversy. This time handball was given against Man City’s Aymeric Laporte after Gabriel Jesus had seemingly scored the winning goal.

VAR aside, the match is what everyone can hope for when two top-six teams meet. Kevin De Bruyne delivered the pass-of-the-weekend to Sterling to open the scoring. Sterling is now joint-top scorer in the Premier League with four goals in two games.

But Spurs fought back every time City went ahead. Eric Lamela cancelled Sterling’s first half goal, and Lucas Moura did the same to Agüero with his first touch of the game in the second half. 

This was the type of match that makes the Premier League great, ruthless finishing, non-stop pressure and an unlikely outcome. Man City donated the game, amassing 30 total shots. While Spurs were clinical, taking three shots, and scoring two. However, the talking point coming out of the game will be VAR, and that is a shame.  

Wolves love playing against the top-six  

Last season Wolverhampton Wanderers were the darling of the Premier League. The newly-promoted team finished seventh and earned a spot in the Europa League. Wolves managed this by playing the top-six teams extremely well. It was no different Monday night when Wolves drew with Manchester United 1-1.

Wolves had four wins and four draws in their 12 matches against teams that finished above them last season. For the 2019/20 campaign, manager Nuno Espirito Santo should feel confident that his squad can improve upon last season. Starting the season with only two points is not great, but it could have been worse considering Wolves have played Leicester City and Man United.  

Ruben Neves’ banger of a goal in the 55th minute brought Wolves on level terms and from there it was anyone’s game. In the end a draw was a fair result. Each team dominated a half of play. But this is a promising result for Wolves who have great ambitions for this season.

Dear Manchester United: have one penalty taker

As mentioned above, Man United and Wolves drew 1-1, but United had an opportunity to win the game. Paul Pogba was awarded a penalty in the 68th minute after a lovely run into the Wolves box. The Frenchman stepped up to take the penalty he won, and in a surprisingly stutter-stepless fashion had the penalty saved by Wolves’ Rui Patricio

Now congratulations Patricio, it was a good save. But Pogba, why are you taking the penalty? Especially when Marcus Rashford scored a penalty last week against Chelsea. Just let Rashford take penalties from now on. Pogba might have scored seven from the penalty spot last season, but he also missed three.

70% is not bad, but it is not good enough to propel United into the title conversation. After a golden opportunity to take the lead, Man United players and fans will see this draw as two dropped points, not one hard-earned.  

Norwich City update!

For those who do not care about who wins the Premier League and are here to have fun, allow me to point you towards Norwich City and their fantastic Finnish striker Teemu Pukki. Norwich had a less than ideal opening game against Liverpool, losing 4-1. However, the Canaries still threatened Liverpool when attacking.

This week Norwich had a more favorable match against Newcastle United. The Canaries blew past Newcastle 3-1, with Pukki scoring his first Premier League hattrick. Add that to his goal against Liverpool and Pukki is joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League.

Norwich might not have the talent to stop the better teams like Liverpool or Man City, but it certainly looks as if they will not have any problems against similar competition. And the way Daniel Farke’s men play, Norwich should be one of the most entertaining teams in the league. So please watch them.