#big day for centrebacks
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Charity
Hardersson x Daughter!Reader
Natalia Guijarro (OC) x Hardersson!Reader
Part of The Big Adventures Universe
Summary: You and Talia discuss your teams
You had always been smart.
You don't think either of your mothers had predicted just how smart you would become but it was a welcome surprise for all three of you.
You knew more languages than some people could dream off. You thrived at school. You had a degree from Cambridge. You'd just completed your coaching license.
Which is how you ended up in this situation.
You flick your pencil over at Talia. "Fuck you!" You laugh," I wanted her!"
You had no idea who had cooked up such a strange idea but they did.
A charity match.
Two teams of twenty-two players.
Eleven active players.
Eleven retired players.
With the list of people signed up in your hands, you don't know why you and Talia were chosen as the coaches but you were, so the two of you were trying to decide which players you wanted and which players you didn't.
Talia sticks her tongue out at you. "Isabella would prefer to be on my team."
"Fine," You declare, eyes skimming down your list of current players. If Talia could choose her national teammate then you would too. "I want Marika."
Talia's face goes cloudy and you know you've just pinched a player that she wanted.
"We could swap," You tease and she rolls her eyes, throwing back your pencil.
"No chance!"
It's easy enough to secure your eleven active players. Most of them you know personally, some national teammates, some club teammates and a few of the girls you used to play with on the Denmark youth team.
You're happy with your choices. You can make it work.
The harder part was choosing your eleven retired players.
One name sticks out to you.
"You can have her," You say, reaching onto the table to grab a strawberry lace from the pile.
You're both on opposite ends of the sofa, legs stretched out as you go through the lists.
Talia knows exactly who you're talking about.
"No," She says with a sweet smile that's incredibly fake," You can have her, really."
You click your tongue. "No, I insist. It's a bonding opportunity. Take her."
"No, really. I can't take this opportunity away from you. I-"
"It's fine. I'm taking Momma."
"We didn't discuss that!"
"I get Momma. You get Morsa. There. Discussion done."
Maybe it's a little bit of sabotage on your part, saddling Morsa and Talia on the same team but you never said you would go easy on her.
"She was a world class centreback," You tease and Talia sighs.
"You're right," She says," I'm sure she'll have no problems keeping Pernille quiet." Her finger goes down the list. "I want Aitana."
You grin. "You just don't want Alexia. What? Think you can't boss her around like she does you?"
"That woman is scary," Talia says," I can admit that. I don't need her judging my tactics."
You shiver a little. You hadn't thought of that.
"Do you want Zećira?"
You freeze. You hadn't realised Zećira was on the list until you'd gotten to the very bottom.
Zećira had been your idol for years. You'd just adored her. She was the reason you were a keeper in the first place.
When you were younger, all you wanted to do was grow up quick enough so you could play with her.
"No," You say," You can have her."
Talia frowns. "Are you sure?"
You nod. "Yes. You can have her."
Zećira is your idol and always will be.
When you were younger, you wanted to be just like her. Now, you want to be better than her.
You'll never play against Zećira yourself but this is the closest you'll ever get to going against her.
"Thanks," Talia says," You can have Patri, if you want."
"I'll take her."
The keys jingle as they're pressed into your front door and Prins comes barrelling in, leaping up onto the sofa to give you kisses.
Pernille and Magda slip in after him.
"Everything sorted out?" Pernille asks as she takes in the papers scattered around.
"Done," Talia confirms," Squads are announced in a few days and then a one week training camp before the match."
Pernille smiles. "I look forward to seeing who's coaching me."
"Us," Magda cuts in," Coaching us."
You and Talia exchange looks.
"You separated us?"
You shrug. "It's football, Morsa," You tease," I'm sure you understand."
Magda's mouth hangs open for a moment and Kung gets annoyed when he notices she's stopped stroking his ears.
He thumps his foot angrily on the floor, the only noise over Magda's obvious shock.
Her eyes dart between you and Talia.
"No," She says as you both laugh," You're kidding."
"It's a good bonding opportunity." You blow her a kiss. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to see what Talia's like as a coach?"
"I...She...You..."
"Close your mouth, Magda," Pernille laughs," You'll catch flies."
#woso x reader#hardersson x reader#pernille harder x reader#pernille harder#magdalena eriksson x reader#magdalena eriksson#woso community#woso imagine#woso fanfics#woso#the big adventures universe
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Dan's 2022-23 Arsenal Season Review
I'm very well aware it's almost been 3 weeks since the end of the season but in fairness, the full European season has only ended 5 days prior. Moving on, without further ado this is my Arsenal season review. I will be separating it into 4 categories, the board, the manager, the players, and finally how the season played out compared to prior expectations before the season started.
I have quite mixed feelings about the board after this season. I think summer wise we had a very decent transfer window with the likes of Jesus, Zinchenko, Vieira, Marquinhos, and Turner becoming gunners. I think Jesus and Zinchenko were absolutely vital to get where we got at the end of the season bringing a completely new dynamic into the team and the first half of the was pure enjoyment but I'll go more in-depth about what I think of each player in the player's category. Okay, summer is done, I think they did well backing Arteta and the first half of the season was near perfect. Now January was big, was starting to look like we could be in a real title race and we had to learn our lesson from the season prior to this one because no signings in January caused us to lose out on the top 4 with multiple players ( mainly Partey) picking up injuries. Now in the winter is where I get a bit skeptical. We lose out on Mudryk to our London rivals Chelsea when we were looking like CLEAR favorites and went on to get Trossard instead, I'm still happy about this decision to be quite honest so it wasn't terrible but still felt a bit odd. Then comes the pursuit of Caicedo, for me, I still believe we should've signed him instead of Jorginho although Jorginho did surpass my expectations when you look at all of the factors that Caicedo really did want to join the club and you can clearly see that after he expressed it on social media following the bid for Caicedo. Not only that, it would've been way better future wise and to avoid a transfer bid saga with Chelsea this upcoming summer window so this from the board and Edu makes me feel a little ill in the stomach. All in all, I give the board a 7.5/10 this season.
I was really close to giving Arteta a 10/10 this season but there are some minor details I do give him criticism for and I'll go more in-depth about that now. I think Arteta's system was so fun and beautiful to watch this season, it's been the best ever season I've seen since I started supporting this club. Implementing Zinchenko to be inverted and it just looks like he's all over the pitch as well as being vital for build-up, utilizing the dynamism from Jesus to help out Martinelli on the left and also dropping deep to link up and progress play, how he helped Saka elevate his game along with Martinelli, Odegaard, especially Granit Xhaka, Ben White being introduced to a new role and still playing so well so consistently, Magalhães, Saliba, and Ramsdale. And not to mention the non-regular starters like Trossard, Reiss, Kiwior, etc. I think his man management has been phenomenal this year. For me, my main criticism of Arteta is ruthlessness at times of the season and sadly it was mainly during crunch time. With the injuries of Saliba and Tomiyasu occurring, he decided to go with Holding to place hold that centreback spot, and for me, I was hoping he'd find a different solution. Following Saliba's injury, with Holding starting, we had 1 win and 3 draws. That was 6 possible points dropped during a crucial time in the title race and following those games where I felt the title was practically lost we decided to switch it up I guess better late than never but really it's a lack of ruthlessness that also dropped us these points, also not subbing off players when they're just off it, the first instance that comes to mind is Saka's performance against West Ham, I was baffled to see him play a full 90 minutes. So in the end I give Arteta a 9/10.
First up the 2 keepers, Aaron Ramsdale and Matt Turner. I give Aaron Ramsdale an 8,5/10 for this season, honestly, I genuinely don't have many bad things to say about him because I think he's been so so good this season and I'm honestly surprised how overhated and underrated he is not just in general but in the football community as a whole. Matt Turner gets a 6/10 for me, did his job when he was asked although you could see his struggles at playing from the back, seems like a very nice personality to have in the squad and just a decent guy who had a not-so-bad season. Up next is Kieran Tierney with a 5/10 mostly because I couldn't bring myself to put him any lower because I have the biggest soft spot for him. Didn't do terribly when called but it just wasn't good, most likely on his way out by the end of the summer although I'd love to see him stay. Oleksandr Zinchenko 7,5 or 8/10 completely changed the way we play football with his being added to the team but for me, I put him down a little bit solely based on injury problems (availability is the best ability) and also at times defensively weak, i.e TAA nutmeg and multiple plays of lack of awareness of runs, etc. Gabriel Magalhães 8,5/10 the 1 taken away mostly comes from a few "bozo" moments from him but man I love this guy so much, even after making a mistake during a game he'll still go on to make up for it. The first instant that comes to mind is the game against Fulham at the Emirates. William Saliba honestly gets a 10/10 for me because wow what an amazing first season, if only he hadn't got injured. We truly struck the lottery with Saliba, an all-timer in the making. In the upcoming season, I am going to appreciate this guy way more because I should've appreciated him more prior to his injury, truly immense. Jakub Kiwior 6,5/10 obviously only came through in January but when called up to do a job, did it great. The first game of his against Sporting was kinda iffy but we can see some great glimpses from him, his long ball ability is actually outstanding. Rob Holding... 1/10 I prefer not to speak genuinely. Ben White 8,5/10 my god he plays football like he's putting the ball to bed, fits perfectly in as a full-back but as a center back he is still so so good. Tomiyasu 6/10 can't judge him much since he was injured for most of the season but that performance against Liverpool as a lb kinda makes his rating go up a bit, POCKETED Salah. Thomas Partey 7,5/10 some amazing performances in all honesty but that shot attempt against Southampton replays in my head every night... Jorginho 7/10 did his job when asked to and that Aston Villa strike must not be forgotten. Xhaka 8/10 truly revitalised himself last season providing 16 goal contributions in every competition. Although, he was quite frustrating in terms of creating in the final third at times. Odegaard 10/10 may be some bias for this but he is a special special player, his technical ability, vision, and weight of pass are jaw-dropping. Fabio Vieira, an underwhelming 6/10 although I do think he does have lots of potential, this season was underwhelming in all honesty taking away his performance against Brentford which in all fairness he was amazing that game. Gabriel Martinelli 9/10 such an underrated season in all honesty, devastated to see him injured towards the end of the season seeing he was so close to breaking the highest goal scored by a Brazilian in a season record. Despite the dip in form in post world cup he started gaining form again and wow do I love him. Leandro Trossard 7/10 did his job with some very nice performances, the 3 assists in the first half against Fulham were beauties. Bukayo Saka 10/10 starboy. That's all I have to say. Reiss Nelson, I kinda wanna give him a 10/10 purely based on the moment he gave me with Bournemouth, AND IMMA DO THAT. Needs more game time next season, silky baller. Gabriel Jesus 8.5/10 pre-world cup Jesus was a monster. Eddie Nketiah 7/10 your defense is in trouble, underrated season.
Based on expectations for this season I'll give it a 9,5/10 if only we didn't. Losing out on the league it would be a 10 but because we crashed out of every competition as well 0,5 is taken away. (this review was a long time coming and personal problems got in the way but thank god I've finally finished this.
#arteta#arsenal#saka#nelson#ramsdale#football#premierleague#england#tierney#zinchenko#saliba#magalhaes#gabriel#white#benwhite#tomiyasu#xhaka#jorginho#partey#odegaard#martinelli#trossard#nketiah#jesus
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Look, I’m going to go on a rant, cause your one of the more reasonable Woso blogs on tumblr and social media in general.
Beth mead had one good tournament. Period
Agree or disagree?
She was left off the Great Britain roster for the Olympics for lacklustre performances for arsenal where she had plenty chances to prove herself being a starter for them. More so although she scores some for arsenal she does it against lower ranked teams and the one she got against a higher ranked team being Chelsea she was offside, but with the quality of refereeing in the WSL what do you expect.
I admit she makes a lot of good chances and that’s been proven, so I can’t argue with that but there’s not point unless someone can finish them and turn them into assists. What I also notice is she has a habit of diving (the English are dramatic, look at earps for example) and then complaining, as well getting into dangerous 50/50 tackles like in euro final with hegering (German centreback).
I will also admit she had a good performance at the euros, but she did not deserve best player that should gone to Walsh; because she held the English midfield together and played that defensive midfielder position to perfection or to Popp as she was the type of player to make her team better and scored goals against all the opponents she faced. Mead scored a lot of goals against lower ranked teams like Northern Ireland and Norway, but against Spain and Germany she ghosted and was unable to score against tougher opponents (this was due to her being shut down by the opposition). But if she was such an amazing player, as the English media tell us she is why didn’t she score against these teams?
More so, in terms of domestic performances she did alright, no trophies for arsenal (but what do you expect; banter club) and with the champions league she didn’t do much and she a good performance at the euros, furthered by the English media hyping her up.
But if I think this gets her a top five balon d’or rankings no, I do not, there are simply better players who have performed better for both country and club or have simply performed more consistory in general that should be ranked above her such as; Renard, bacha, bonmati etc. and I know two of these are defenders but they are simpler better and more consistent, however they simply don’t have the same hype, PR, or media attention that mead has for this.
Thoughts?
aw thanks. I do love a rant
oh I agree with you on pretty much everything here. Domestically in those big games, she did have chances besides that offside goal on the first day I could never understand how she got all the hype around her. id say for pretty much every arsenal player in the cl they didn't not perform well at all and when it came down to it they didn't step up when they needed to in those games they drew against chelsea and the manchester clubs and that fa cup sf against Chelsea they had plenty of chances in that 1st half but you saw the class of chelsea in that 2nd half which won it for them. Chelseas players but especially those top class forwards in general are consistent and you can always try one of them to step up in the big moments and i just never got that from looking at arsenal
tbh its been a weird fucking year for a lot of the top players so with that you have a lot of players where in other years you'd be saying 100% they wouldn't be in the conversation now bing in it.
and agree bacha, bonmati and walsh need to be taled about more
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I Want You | Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Word Count: 2,051
A/N: Yet another piece for @footballffbarbiex's On The Big Screen Challenge. Since I'm on the midseason finale of the episode of Grey's Anatomy that this is based off of, I figured I'd post this now. This is based off of Jackson and April, the scenes from the season 9 finale and season 10 episode 12, altered for the football world. I've had this sitting in my Docs since 1 January lmao. Enjoy xx
- - -
The gasp of the crowd of almost 40,000 at Goodison Park was simultaneous in the 38th minute when Dom was taken down by the opposition’s defense right as he was about to score. The tackle had been brutal and uncalled for, earning the centreback a straight red card from the referee while Dom stayed on the ground.
As if sensing catastrophe the medics and physio were on the pitch almost immediately. You held your breath, one hand clutching the fabric of the Everton jersey you wore while your other squeezed Lucas Digne’s hand. Your boyfriend tried to soothe you as best he could, but you were distraught. Dom was clearly in pain and clearly injured, and you couldn’t do a damn thing but watch him get carried off on a stretcher.
“I have to go to him,” you muttered, but Lucas stopped you.
“He’ll be fine, Chérie,” Lucas said, his voice low as his thumb rubbed circles over the back of your hand. “You know we’ve got the best medical team - they’re gonna take real good care of Dom, okay?”
“Mmhmm.” You nodded, biting down on your bottom lip to quell your unspoken fears.
Your mind was reeling as Richarlison took Dom’s place on the pitch, your stomach sick with nervousness for Dom. When you’d first started playing for the women’s team, Dominic had been your sidekick; he’d shown you around the stadium as well as the surrounding city. It hadn’t been long before you were falling for him, the two of you hooking up after an intense friendly between the men’s and women’s teams.
Over time, you’d started to fall for him, your friends-with-benefits relationship no longer enough for your heart. It had all gone wrong after a pregnancy scare - Dom telling you he was all in and saying he’d marry you and the two of you would raise the kid together. When you’d found out you weren’t pregnant and told him that he no longer had to worry about getting married, Dom had ended things then and there, both of you hurt for different reasons.
Soon after, he started “dating” (sleeping with) one of the physios. You hadn’t had any intention of getting involved with his teammate, but Lucas had come into your life as a friend while you’d been with Dom and things progressed after your break up. Now, you were engaged to Lucas, with a wedding coming up in less than six months - after an incredibly public proposal that you couldn’t say no to - but there was a part of your heart that still yearned for Dom.
The second Lucas let go of your hand, you were up out of your seat, flashing your pass as you raced through the tunnels at Goodison Park until you finally managed to locate Dom. The ambulance was silent while its lights flashed and you knew you didn’t have much time. Emergency personnel were loading him onto the ambulance and you were reacting within seconds.
“DOMINIC!” you shouted, panic racing through you. His name felt foreign on your tongue - you tried not to utter it if you could help it - but in that moment, it was all you had.
“Miss, you’re going to have to stand back,” one of the EMTs said, putting his hands on your shoulders.
The tears started to fall right then and you couldn’t stop them. “I...I need to see him. He’s my husband!” You stammered out the words in-between sobs, barely aware when the medic let you go and you rushed into the ambulance, the door slamming behind you as it lurched forward and started to race to the nearest hospital. You tried your best to stay out of the way while the medics worked, fighting back tears with every concerned look or sentence they shared with each other. Dom looked out of it and you hoped he’d been put on some painkillers, especially with the state of his arm. You hoped and prayed that his arm would be the worst of it, but you couldn’t be sure. You took his good hand in both of yours, pressing a kiss to the back of it as you whispered, “It’s okay, bubs. I’m here.”
***
People didn’t start arriving until almost two hours later, Dom’s girlfriend included. You didn’t know how many tears you’d cried in that timespan, your body physically exhausted from the day’s events. Lucas immediately found you in the waiting area, pulling you into a hug. “I was so worried about you, Chérie,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
“S-Sorry,” you stuttered, feeling a new wave of tears coming on. “I just...I panicked and managed to convince them to let me ride in the ambulance with Dom and I…”
“It’s okay,” Lucas said, taking your face in his hands. “I’m glad Dom had you by his side.” Of course Lucas knew about your history with Dom but you’d always reassured him that he was the one you wanted and not Dom. Now, you weren’t so sure.
You snuck into Dom’s room right before visiting hours were set to end for the night. Lucas was waiting for you in the car park, warming up the car. A part of you felt guilty for what you were about to do, but after today you couldn’t stay silent.
Relief flooded you when you saw him sitting upright on the hospital bed, shirtless, his arm in a sling. The relief quickly faded, however, and all the other emotions you’d bottled up for the last six hours came bubbling up.
“What the hell, Dom?!” You screamed, rushing toward him. Tears were falling hard and fast as you shoved him, the nurse in the room who was checking his vitals came rushing over to stand between the two of you. “You could’ve died!” Sure, it was a little over-dramatic, but you had honestly thought you were going to lose him in the moment when he’d been down for over five minutes on the pitch.
The nurse calmed you down, not wanting to cause a scene. You didn’t either, but your emotions were so heightened it was almost like you were back in the ambulance scared out of your mind. “I’m fine, I swear,” you said, reassuring her when your breathing had slowed and you were starting to think properly.
“Okay,” she said, nodding and making her way towards the door. She turned to Dom, saying, “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
Dom gave her a grateful smile, turning his attention to you. “Don’t,” he said, his voice weary. “Whatever it is that’s buggin’ you, just keep it to yourself, alright?”
You froze, staring at him. Your mind was racing again and you were so consumed with flashbacks of him lying motionless on the pitch that you couldn't speak for a few moments. Dom stared back, lost. He vaguely remembered your presence in the back of the ambulance but up until this moment, he had been so sure that he’d just dreamed you up, the painkillers playing tricks on his mind.
You took a deep breath, needing all the air you could get in order to say what you wanted to say. “I want you...Dominic.” His name was barely a whisper on your lips, but Dom heard you as if you’d screamed it from the rooftops. You ran a hand through your hair, your voice breaking as you repeated the phrase. “I want you.” Your voice wavered on the last word and Dom wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
He said your name, disbelief colouring his tone, but you cut him off.
“I haven’t been fair to you, I know,” you began, stepping towards him until you were standing at the end of his hospital bed, “And I’ve-I’ve really hurt you-”
“You’re getting married,” Dominic said slowly, unsure if he was trying to convince you or himself of the reality the two of you were facing.
It was like you hadn’t heard him. “When I saw you lying there on the pitch after that collision and I thought you were gone, I-”
“You’re getting married.” He said it again, this time with more conviction.
You dried your tears, your resolve returning. When you spoke next, your words shocked both of you. “Unless you can give me a reason not to.”
Dom stared at you, unable to say anything. He internally weighed his options. A few months ago, getting married to you was all he could think about - now, he wasn’t so sure. The two of you had been through unbelievable hurdles in your relationship, but you were engaged to another man who also happened to be one of Dom’s teammates and Dom knew he couldn’t stand by and fuck up the team dynamic or your relationship with Lucas.
***
Ultimately, he’d said nothing that night and the two of you hadn’t spoken about it since. You continued planning your wedding to Lucas while maintaining a stilted version of a friendship with Dom, which was how Dom had ended up in the congregation at your wedding.
“Give them the strength to commit their love to one another. Unshakeable through any storm; unbreakable in the face of any stress; a promise we simply refuse to break.” The pastor spoke, but Dominic barely heard any of it, except when he said, “And you, YN and Lucas’s closest friends and family, are here today to bear witness to their union. Will you promise to love and support their marriage in all the days to come? If so, please respond ‘we will’.”
Everyone responded, a chorus of “We will,” filling the quaint chapel.
Dominic didn't know what to do. He was acutely aware of his physio girlfriend by his side, but even more so aware of the fact that if he didn’t do something right now, he would lose you to his teammate forever. In that moment, nothing else mattered but his love for you and the love that he knew that you had for him.
The pastor continued to speak, but Dom heard nothing. He leaned in to his girlfriend, unsure what to say. “I, uh-” he started, pausing.
“What?” She asked, looking at him with curiosity that quickly turned into understanding.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m happy to be here today to be able to do this for you. I-” The pastor paused mid-sentence as Dominic stood up, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
You and Lucas were holding hands, your backs still to him. Finally, both of you turned to look at the commotion, shock written all over your face as your gaze connected with Dom’s. He flushed, giving the room a nervous smile before sitting back down.
The pastor chuckled nervously and for a brief moment, Dom wondered if he’d ever had anyone stop a wedding before. “YN and Lucas, I have known the two of you for quite some time and I’m happy to be here today-” he started again, and that’s when Dom knew he had to say something.
Dom took a deep breath, his mind made up.
“I love you,” he said, his voice deep and sure as he stood up for the second time. “I always have.”
You stared back at him, your eyes wide. If you were being honest, a part of you had dreamed about a moment like this - Dominic standing up and professing his love for you - but you hadn’t been prepared for it to actually happen.
Dom continued, “I love everything about you. Even the things I don’t like, I love.” You could feel Lucas fuming next to you. “And I want you with me.” Everyone was looking around in disbelief, but it was like nobody else existed but you and Dom in this moment. “I love you and I think that you love me, too.” He paused, his voice wavering. “Do you?”
You could feel Lucas’s eyes on you; your family’s, too, but there was only one person in the world you wanted right now and it wasn’t the man at the altar next to you.
“I do,” you said, your gaze fixed on Dom. “I do,” you repeated, stepping down off the altar and running towards the man who had been your whole world for longer than you cared to admit.
#my writing: dominic calvert lewin#dominic calvert lewin oneshot#dominic calvert lewin one shot#dominic calvert lewin imagine#dominic calvert lewin imagines#dominic calvert lewin x reader#dcl oneshot#dcl one shot#dcl imagine#dcl imagines#dcl x reader#amys2021challenge
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Hasta (Sick) | Çağlar Söyüncü
Word count: 3,350 [I was NOT expecting it to be this long but here we are] Rating: K/T Description: Cags is sick, and you take care of him
Enjoy xx
- - -
You read the text again, still confused, but deciding not to question it. It was Madders, after all.
Madders: Come over asap - bring ingredients for that soup you make me when I’m sick.
You stopped at the supermarket, picking up the ingredients for chicken noodle soup, so it was half past noon by the time you arrived at Madders’s flat.
“Thank god you’re here!” He exclaimed as you walked through the front door, setting the heavy bags on the counter.
“You’re lucky I saw your text when I did, mate,” You replied, unpacking the ingredients. “I was on my way home to do absolutely nothing, and I had some serious plans with a bottle of wine and Netflix.
Madders laughed, rolling his eyes as he looked in the cupboards for the biggest pot he could find. You started boiling water for the pasta, adding the required amount of salt to the pot. “You’re welcome. I’m glad for myself on that one because I’m still scarred from the last time you got into a bottle of wine and managed to text me no less than eighty times in an hour about that one film I hadn’t seen yet.”
“Hey, now! I didn’t give you any spoilers, did I?” When Madders grumbled and shook his head, you giggled and rolled your eyes. “No need to be such a diva then, eh?”
You got to work preparing the soup, pouring the broth into the pot on a low heat while you chopped up carrots and Madders did the celery.
“Why did you want soup tonight, Mads?” You asked after a silent few minutes, your curiosity finally getting the better of you.
“It’s not for me, it’s for Cags.”
You finished chopping the carrots, your heart hammering in your chest. “Why’re we making soup for Cags?” You asked, silently thanking the gods that your voice managed to remain calm and collected and not give away your feelings for the Turkish centreback.
Madders shrugged nonchalantly as you poured the carrots in the pot with the celery and stirred. “Cags is sick. Don’t know how it happened, but he showed up to training this morning and looked absolutely awful. Not sure how he made it through, but he did. I figured it’d be nice to bring him some soup, since you always do it for me whenever I’m not well.”
You were glad your back was to him as you strained the semi-cooked pasta - your nerves had taken over and your hands were starting to shake. “I agree, but you know you could’ve just asked me for the recipe and made it without my help, right?” You teased, trying to ease your nerves.
“I know, but I wanted to hang out with you. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out just us two and I figured we were overdue. Between my football and your job at the hospital, I feel like we’ve barely seen each other lately, and I miss my best non-football mate.”
You had to smile - you had missed Madders, too. “Right back at ya, Mads. It’s been so stressful lately, I haven’t made time for other people.”
“Except when you’re deep in a bottle of wine and watching Netflix?” He teased and you laughed.
“Guess that’s what I’m known for now, I suppose.” The semi-cooked noodles went into the big pot with the celery and carrots. You added the necessary spices, tasting the broth. When it had been deemed acceptable by James, you covered the pot and let it simmer for forty-five minutes.
You sat on the couch, trying to figure out how to get more details about Cags without seeming too interested. Your crush had started out innocently enough - you’d come to a team gathering as Mads’s plus-one, and, in typical fashion, you had seen him across the room and you couldn’t stop staring. One by one, Mads introduced you to everyone, but the moment Çağlar’s hand grasped yours and he said “Nice to meet you,” in heavily-accented English, you were gone.
A few days later, you watched him play and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him and how badly you wanted to be underneath that powerful body. Footballers hadn’t really ever held much appeal for you; growing up around Madders and football had kind of turned you off to it all. But Çağlar was different - you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was, but there was something about him that made him stand out from all the other footballers you had met in life.
“Are you sure Çağlar wants visitors right now?” You asked, unable to stand the thought of having Çağlar angry with you.
“Not sure, but even when I’m sick and don’t want to see anyone, you still come barging over with soup and force me to hang out with you, so I figured that’s what we would do with Cags.”
“Okay,” you replied hesitantly, “but if he’s mad at us, I’m throwing you under the bus.”
“That’s why I’m bringing you,” Madders winked at you, and the butterflies in your stomach took flight.
“What do you mean?” You asked, trying to keep the nerves out of your voice.“
He’s nicer when you’re around.” At your look of skepticism, James rolled his eyes. “C’mon, [Y/N]! If you’re there, he won’t kill me until he’s better.”You shrugged, trying to act like the news didn’t affect you the way it had. “Fine, but you so owe me for this.”
“I already know.”
You laughed and got up from your spot on the couch when the timer went off. Together, you and James poured the soup into a container to keep it warm and headed out to Çağlar’s flat.
The nerves were in full force as you waited next to James after he had knocked. The door opened after what felt like an eternity, and a very sick-looking Çağlar stood wrapped in a blanket.
He glared a Madders, but Çağlar’s gaze softened when he saw you were with him. The tiny voice in your head said ‘maybe James has a point’ as you handed Çağlar the soup, trying not to gasp at the light brush of Çağlar’s fingers on yours. “Thanks,” he mumbled in English, his heavy accent sending shivers down your spine.
You and James followed Çağlar into his flat wordlessly. You shut the door behind you, and immediately regretted it. Çağlar’s flat was an absolute mess - his coffee table was laden with tissues, and there were mugs of tea in various states from full to empty laying around. “Which one are you drinking?” You asked in Turkish, forgetting that nobody knew you were learning the language.
The look on Çağlar’s face was priceless, and the look of shock on James’s made you want to fall into a hole. “Şu,” Çağlar replied, pointing to one of the full ones that was warm to the touch when you picked it up and handed it to him. “Teşekkürler.” Thanks. Once again, your hands brushed as you handed him the cup, the smile he gave you made your studies worth it.
You made your way around the flat, picking up and dumping the mugs of tea that weren’t in use. You grabbed an empty paper bag and picked up the trash that was lying around. It was oddly reminiscent of all your years of friendship with Mads when he got sick.
“Where are your bowls?” You asked, still in Turkish.
Çağlar gestured to one of the cupboards and you grabbed a bowl and poured some of the soup into it for him. “Bunu ye,” you commanded, handing him the steaming bowl. Eat this.
He sat down on the couch and ate, mumbling in approval. James took the opportunity to lean over and whisper, “When the hell did you start learning Turkish, [Y/N]?”
“Couple months go. Got bored and wanted to pick up another language,” you kept the explanation short and sweet, even though there was more to it than that. I wanted it to be something only I had with Çağlar.
“Nice. It’ll be good for Cags to have someone to speak Turkish with.”
“Yeah. I’m still learning, though, so he’s gonna have to slow down sometimes so I know what he’s saying.” As if sensing that the two of you were talking about him, Çağlar looked up from his soup and locked eyes with you. You gave him a small smile, hoping James couldn’t see how absolutely smitten you were for the Turk.
James’s phone vibrated and he groaned. “Fuck! I have to go - I completely forgot that I promised Chilly I’d kick his arse in FIFA tonight.”
You waved him off. “Go. I’ll stay here for a bit, make sure Çağlar is okay, and then I’ll head out. I’ll text you later.”
“You sure?” James asked, glancing between you and Çağlar. You nodded, and he gave you a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. “See ya, [Y/N].” He nodded at Çağlar. “Cags.” Çağlar raised his bowl of soup in salute, and suddenly it was just the two of you.
You had never actually been alone with any of the guys before - James was usually by your side or within close range - so this was new. Çağlar set the bowl on the table and groaned as he sat back. “Iyi misin?” You asked, concern etched across your face. Are you okay?
“Evet.” Yes. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch as he said it, and you could clearly read the pain on his features.
“You’re lying,” you said in English, coming over and sitting next to him on the couch. He turned his head to the side, hitting you with a glare that didn’t faze you. In a moment of confidence, you placed a hand to his forehead, not surprised to find that he seemed to have a fever. “Have you taken any medicine?” You asked in English, as you hadn’t quite gotten to that lesson in your Turkish studies yet.
He shook his head and you sighed, annoyed. “You’re not going to get better if you don’t take care of yourself, Çağlar.” You dug around in your purse for the bottle of aspirin you always kept on hand. Taking out two, you handed them to him and he downed them with his tea. “Where do you keep your cups?” You asked in Turkish - the most recent lesson on cooking coming in handy, you realized.
Once you had procured a cup that you’d filled with water, you handed it to him and sat back down next to him. You turned on the tv, putting an old episode of Friends on mute in the background.
It didn’t take long until Çağlar was sleeping softly. You looked over at the sleeping man who looked more like a boy in this state, smiling to yourself. Your work here was almost done; you would get him to bed and then you would leave and make sure that James checked on him in the morning. You fired off a brief text to Madders, letting him know the current state of things and then proceeded to quietly wake the sleeping Turk.
“Çağlar, get up,” you nudged his shoulder. He stirred but didn’t open his eyes. “It’s time to go to bed.”He opened his eyes on the second shake, letting you pull him up from the couch and drag him to bed. He got under the covers, sighing softly. You made your way over to turn off the lights, and that’s when he spoke. “Kalmak, [Y/N]. Lütfen.” Stay. Please.
You hesitated for a brief moment, but relented. “Let me turn off the lights and lock up,” you said in English. Once you had locked the door to his flat and turned off the lights, you walked back over to his bedroom to check on him. His eyes were open, and he had left the side of the bed closest to the door open for you. You shut the door, turned off the lights, and made your way over to him. Your nerves were in overdrive as you took off your trainers and climbed into bed with him.
He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you into him. His breathing slowed and you knew he was asleep again. It took you a bit longer to fall asleep, but you slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep soon after.
***
You woke up the next morning in the same position you fell asleep - on your stomach, tucked into Çağlar - except this felt much more intimate. He shifted and his leg fell between yours as his arm brushed the side of your breast. You held your breath, waiting for him to wake up. “Günaydın, [Y/N],” he whispered, his warm breath on your neck sending goosebumps all over your body. Good morning.
“Günaydın, Çağlar.” You moved to grab your phone that you had placed on his bedside table before going to sleep. “Shit!” You exclaimed as you looked at your missed calls and texts, all from James. Five missed calls and about three times that in texts, all variations of ‘Have you made it home?!’ or ‘ARE YOU ALIVE? ANSWER ME PLEASE’. You wiggled your way out of Çağlar’s hold, feeling cold at the loss of contact, and you called Madders, who picked up on the second ring.
“Oh, thank God you’re alive! I was worried sick, [Y/N]!” James yelled before you could get a word in edgewise.
“Sorry, Mads. I fell asleep before I could tell you I was fine.” You rummaged around in the cupboards, filling another glass with water before grabbing two more aspirin from your purse.
“So you made it home safe?” He asked and you inwardly cringed.
“No, I slept at Çağlar’s,” You held your breath, waiting for him to freak out.
“Is he doing better?”
“Yeah.” You walked back into Çağlar’s bedroom and handed him the pills and water that he took without complaining. “I’ll probably be leaving soon. I think it was just a twenty-four-hour thing.”
“Good. We need him for the next weekend against Liverpool. We should be fine for the match against Wolverhampton in a couple days, but he needs to recover. Coach should be calling or coming over to talk to him and let him know he won’t be traveling with the team for the Wolverhampton match. Don’t tell him, he’ll be gutted, and I think Coach wants to tell him himself.”
“Okay,” you agreed, pulling on your trainers. “I’ll talk to you later, Mads.”
You hung up the phone and turned your attention back to Çağlar. “I’ve got to get going,” you said in English, hoping he understood.
He nodded and got up, groaning softly. His grunt of pain made you turn back to him. “What’s wrong?” You asked, moving back towards him, making him sit back down on the bed.
“Just…sore.” He replied, placing a hand to his shoulder.
You stepped in between his legs and reached for his shirt, gasping at the healing yellowish-brown bruise that ran up his torso. Tentatively, you placed a hand to it, your touch featherlight. “Olur?” You asked, your eyes meeting his. Okay?
He nodded, gesturing to his shoulder again. Taking your trainers back off, you knelt on the bed behind him, placing your hands on his shoulders and kneading the tight muscles. He groaned at your touch and you couldn’t help but get a little turned on. When you were done, you almost pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades, but somehow managed to restrain yourself. “Better?” You asked, your voice thick with arousal.
He nodded again, and you got off the bed, putting your trainers back on. “I think someone will be coming by later to check on you, but it won’t be me. There’s leftover soup on the counter that you can reheat, and you should be fine.” Your face was hot and you were certain you were blushing.
You made your way over to the door, but were stopped by Çağlar’s hand on your wrist. He tugged you into his arms for a hug, and you wound your arms around his neck. “Teşekkür ederim, [Y/N],” he whispered, his breath on your neck for the second time this morning.
“You’re welcome, Çağlar.”
You couldn’t stop thinking about your night with Çağlar for the next week, even while you were hanging out with Madders when you had time and grabbing a drink with some friends at the pub. Madders told you a couple days ago that Çağlar was back in full form, and you couldn’t help but feel elated at the news. You’d also gotten seats saved for the match against Liverpool, courtesy of Madders, and you couldn’t wait to see him play.
Saturday came, and the starting eleven announced on Leicester’s social media told you that Çağlar would be starting the match, along with Madders.
The match started, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of Çağlar. The man who was sick a week ago was not the man that was on the pitch, chasing down Liverpool’s attackers and delivering beautiful tackles.
While the match ended in a draw at 1, you stayed behind to congratulate Madders on a good game - he had the assist that Vardy shot into the net - promising that you’d stop by to celebrate later today.
***
You arrived home, texting Mads that you’d made it back safely.
You had poured yourself a glass of wine and put on a rerun of Friends when there was a knock at your door.
You got up and opened it, gasping when you saw Çağlar on the other side. “Come in,” you gestured, stepping back to let him in.
“I just came by to say thank you for last week,” He explained, as he sat down on the couch.
“You’re welcome. I do it for Madders all the time, so it’s no big deal.” You brushed off his gratitude with a wave of your hand.
He looked away, his jaw clenching, and you wondered if you had said something wrong. You couldn’t help but scoot closer to him, placing a hand on his arm. He turned his attention back to your hand on his arm, then looked back up at you. “Well, thank you either way.” He gave you a small smile, and your stomach flipped. He handed you a box you hadn’t even known he was holding. “It’s baklava,” he explained as you opened it. “You made me soup, so I wanted to repay the favour.”
“Thank you,” you whispered, setting the box on the coffee table and pulling him in for a hug. When he pulled away, you sat back awkwardly, clearing your throat. “Great match today, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“I couldn’t take my eyes off you,” you mumbled before you could stop the words from coming out.
“Ne?” He asked. What?
“The way you moved out there was…amazing. You had such power and grace out there.” Your eyes met his and you couldn’t breathe. You decided to go for it and just tell him. “I wanted to kiss you so badly.”
The heat in his gaze turned you on, but it was his words that put you over the edge. “Öp beni, [Y/N].” Kiss me.
Slowly, as if in a dream, you shifted positions so that you were straddling him. He waited patiently, his calloused hands sliding up your thighs. Your hands wound around his neck and you threaded your fingers through his soft hair. You kneeled over him, relishing the fact that this was the only time you’d be taller than him.
The moment your mouths connected, you moaned, loving the feel of his lips on yours. His hands slid under your shirt, his fingers digging into your hips, making you moan and grind against him.
“Çağlar,” you whispered, as he kissed his way down your neck.
“Daha yeni başlıyorum,” he muttered, lifting your shirt over your head. I’m just getting started.
It was going to be a long night, in the best possible way.
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EPL Transfer Deadline Day Spectacular (Refresh For Updates!)
-K.A.
Woo! It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but since we last spoke and touched upon the wonderful world of transfers...
-takes a deep breath-
Arsenal:
Brought in Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid to shore up their midfield, in hopes of getting classification to the Champions League.
Flirted with Wilfred Zaha and then ultimately ended up signing Nicholas Pepe for the same money, ~£80 million with incentives, essentially acting like the girl at the bar who dances with you all night then goes home with another guy.
-Signed Kiernan Tierney from Celtic from £25 milliom to fill their gap at Centreback. Also, they’ve somehow convinced David Luiz to leave Chelsea for £8 million, which is a steal. They’ve also let go of Koscileny to Bordeaux in Ligue 1 in France and signed William Saliba, another Centreback from St. Etienne also in Ligue 1 and sent him back on loan to the French club for a year for more seasoning.
-Let Aaron Ramsey go on a free transfer to Juventus, who sign players on free transfers like its their birthright.
Flirted with Phillipe Coutinho and then saw that deal fall through, because of course.
Have sold Alex Iwobi for ~ £40 million to Everton in the most awesome and desperate panic buy of the season. Great move there by Arsenal.
Chelsea:
Finally signed Mateo Kovacic permanently from Real Madrid to shore up their midfield.
Have brought in our lord and savior, Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund to be the American Wunderkind we all know he is capable of being.
Found the reanimated corpse of Ross Barkley and have made him look like prime Frank Lampard.
Sold Eden Hazard in a move that made that portion of London cry.
Sold Alvaro Morata to Atletico Madrid for a bag of balls.
Loaned Danny Drinkwater to Burnley on a season-long loan only a coupe of years after paying £35 million for him. Regretting that now, aren’t we?
Crystal Palace:
Flirted with everyone regarding Wilifred Zaha, overpriced him as if he were Lionel Messi then watched all the big clubs shrug their shoulders and go elsewhere to buy someone just as good, if not slightly less talented. Arsenal and Everton both inquired about the Ivory Coast star and Crystal Palace got greedy. Now Zaha is refusing to train with Crystal Palace. Good way of fucking up morale, that.
Everton:
Signed Moise Kean from Juvenuts, bringing in a super-talented Striker to lessen the burn of not getting Zaha. Arguably better than Zaha and more fit for their squad. Will pair beautifully with Richarlison. Watch this team flourish this year. Calling it now.
Tried to work in and sneak in a deal for Franck Kessie from AC Milan in Serie A, but the deal fell through.
Panicked after not getting Zaha or Kessie and bought an overrated Alex Iwobi from Arsenal for a ridiculous £40 million valuation. Are you kidding me?
Liverpool:
Have done absolutely nothing all transfer window to either the betterment or detriment of their team.
Manchester City:
-Signed Rodri from Atletico Madrid for an absurd amount of money to be the eventual replacement for Fernandinho, a Defensive Midfield ace that everyone wanted, sure to shore up the link play leading up to the attack and clean up the messes before the likes of Zinchenko, Otamendi, Stones, Walker and others have to deal with it. Great signing.
Swapped Danilo for Joao Cancelo from Juventus because...well, they were bored and it seemed like good business? This was a cash dump.
Bid farewell to longtime captain Vincent Kompany as he left to Anderlecht in the Belgian League to be a player-coach.
Have flirted for the better parts of three months with Bayern Munich over the sale of Leroy Sane only to see Sane butcher his knee and tears his ACL in a glorified friendly, blowing up the potential move and putting Sane on the shelf for 6-12 months.
Manchester United:
Ho boy. Signed Harry Maguire and made him the most expensive defender ever for a sum of £80 million, much of which probably isn’t deserved. Signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace to shore up Right Back in a great bit of business. Signed Daniel James to play Right Wing, hoping that he’s more than just pace and a hopeful nostalgia-bit in which Manchester United is hoping to duplicate the magic of Ryan Giggs.
Have sold Romelo Lukaku to Inter Milan of Serie A after Lukaku refused to train with the first team in search of a big money move.
Flirted with and failed to bring in Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon.
Flirted with Paulo Dybala, made flirty faces at each other, slid into each others DMs, then Dybala told Manchester United he was a call girl and likes to get paid before they get in bed together. Manchester United balked and Dybala went back to Juventus where he will inevitable be stifled once again under Cristiano Ronaldo. Great life for Dybala, let me tell you.
Tottenham:
Sold Kiernan Trippier, got rid of Champions League legend Fernando Llorente, and said goodbye to worthless piece of crap, Vincent Janssen.
-Signed Tanguy Ndombele in the move of the transfer window, bringing him from Lyon in Ligue 1 to the London giants, placing Ndombele right in the middle of the park as a defensive midfielder, a position Spurs were sorely lacking in and needed to reinforce since the departure of Moussa Dembele.
Signed Jack Clarke, a young starlet in a good bit of business from Leeds before loaning him back out to Leeds in an act of good faith.
Signed Giovanni Lo Celso from Real Betis to boss the middle of the park next to Ndombele for a fee of £65 million.
Have seen Christian Eriksen flirt with everyone and their mother and then watch Eriksen get told in no uncertain terms that he simply isn’t good enough for the likes of the bigger teams in the continent. Great news for Tottenham, soul crushing for Eriksen.
Also flirted with Dyabla, also got the Girlfriend Experience from the Argentine before he demanded a Brinks truck full of money and Daniel Levy told him to kick rocks. Seemingly the deal was all but agreed and finalized before he decided to demand a sensational amount of money.
Signed Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham. A dominant and young British defender, he will definitely fill the wingback position and push Danny Rose to the bench.
Tottenham is getting younger, adding skill and talent. I like it. Hell of a way to keep yourself at the top of the food chain. Ndombele, Lo Celso, Ndombele and Clarke is a hell of a transfer window.
Watford:
Signed Ismaila Sarr from Ligue 1 side, Stade Rennais for a club-record fee.
West Brom:
Hoping to get some goal-scoring punch, have secured the rights to Charlie Austin from Southampton on a 2-year deal with terms undisclosed.
Wolves:
Not done much, but were trying to work out a £26 million deal for the aforementioned Franck Kessie of Serie A giants, AC Milan, which fell through.
#EPL#premier league#deadline day#transfer window#transfer deadline#transfers#soccer#feel the excitement
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Top Confirmed and Speculated Football Transfers of the Summer
As the season has drawn to an end, we are moving forward and will be taking a look at potential bids for big players this summer. Starting off, we have Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva moving from Monaco to Manchester City for 43 million pound. Silva was instrumental this season in helping Monaco reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. He is expected to jump right into City’s starting eleven for next season. In terms of players out for Man City, they will be losing Argentine wing back Pablo Zabaleta, French wingback Gael Clichy, Spanish winger Jesus Navas, Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero, and French wing back Bacary Sagna, just to name a few of the starters and substitutes this past season.
Another big signing starting AFC Bournemouth out on the right foot involves Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic moving from Chelsea. Begovic is a proven shot stopper and will really help out defensively with an already surprisingly solid Cherries starting eleven for next season.
As far as other players going out, Chelsea sold Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado to Juventus for 17 million pound. They also lose Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu to Newcastle United and English striker Dominic Solanke to Liverpool.
Arsenal so far have acquired Bosnian left back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer from Schalke. They will also be looking to potentially offload French striker Olivier Giroud and some cash in exchange for French striker Kylian Mbappe Lottin. Wenger is also keen to sign French winger Thomas Lemar and French striker Alexandre Lacazette Arsenal could stand to lose Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez to Chelsea if the bid meets their satisfaction. Arsenal will also be losing Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina to Turkish club Fenerbahce, so they will need to hold onto Polish keeper Wojciech Szczęsny, coming back from a two-year loan at Roma.
Everton will be losing English midfielder Tom Cleverly to Watford, but have impressed everyone by signing English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Sunderland. He is everyone’s favorite to be England’s number one moving forward. Ronald Koeman has also expressed much interest in signing Dutch attacking midfielder Davy Klaassen, Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and English centreback Michael Keane this summer as well.
Manchester United have completed signing Swedish centreback Victor Lindelof from Benfica for around 35 million pound. This is an important signing for the Red Devils as they will be losing one of their regular starting centrebacks, Chris Smalling. Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic is speculated to be on his way to the MLS upon the recovery from his season-ending injury. He is joining LA Galaxy on a free transfer.
The summer transfer window has just begun and bigger signings will continue to be officially announced by clubs every day. It is anticipated that English clubs will not be afraid to splash cash on big players outside of the EPL. Stay tuned for updates about more transfer news in the coming months. We still have around two months of the summer transfer window so there is plenty of time to see some huge signings that everyone is hoping for.
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Breaking News: 5 potential replacements for Jose Mourinho if he leaves Manchester United
New Post has been published on https://www.thisdaynews.net/2018/08/21/breaking-news-5-potential-replacements-for-jose-mourinho-if-he-leaves-manchester-united/
Breaking News: 5 potential replacements for Jose Mourinho if he leaves Manchester United
The warning signs had been there since last season and now things are beginning to look ominous for the continued relationship between Manchester United and its manager; Jose Mourinho.
The coming of the “Special One” in the 2016/2017 season had been hailed by Red Devil fans following the atrophy and stagnation of the David Moyes and Louis van Gaal eras.
Mourinho was seen as the perfect man to help the team compete against city rival Manchester City who had previously announced the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
The first season had gone well with a League Cup and Europa League papering over the cracks of a disappointing league campaign where the team finished 6th.
Cracks began to appear last season as, despite a considerable outlay on transfers, United were blown away by Pep and his Cityzens who won the league with ease.
It was expected that United would reinforce in the just-concluded transfer window but the arrivals turned out to be too small for Mourinho’s liking.
All through the summer, he had sulked and moaned about the refusal of the board (read Ed Woodward) to get his targets. This rift between manager and administrator has been exacerbated by stories of unrest in the team, stories which Mourinho’s public moaning has made worse.
The shambolic loss to Brighton over the weekend has cranked up the level of noise surrounding both team and manager and it seems only a matter of time before the relationship reaches a rather premature end.
Here is a look at 5 tacticians that could be in the frame to replace Mourinho if he leaves Old Trafford or is fired:
#5 Leonardo Jardim
Jardim’s style would fit Man United well
Another Portuguese coach, Jardim has continued to win admiring glances across Europe due to his exploits with Sporting Club and AS Monaco. He will be a popular choice for Manchester United fans who have been starved of the fluid, attacking football the team was noted for during the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
One of his major strengths has been his ability to improve players he met at the clubs he has coached instead of demanding for new transfers. To be put into proper perspective, he has not coached at a club that has the resources that Man United can command.
However, his ability to improve players and make them better is one that would appeal to the powers-that-be at Old Trafford. This is because the seeming retrogression of certain players under Mourinho’s management (Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw amongst others0 is not one that has gone down well with certain members of the board.
An avid lover of the 4-4-2 formation, his love of offensive football (his Monaco side score for fun), ability to develop young players (Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho are just a few examples) as well as his willingness to work with a director of football make him the perfect replacement for the high-strung Mourinho.
#4 Laurent Blanc
Blanc represents an intriguing prospect
The suave, soft-spoken Frenchman had been linked to the United job during the last days of the Van Gaal era when it became clear that the Dutchman could not deliver what the United hierarchy wanted in terms of trophies and a pleasing style of play.
The former Bordeaux, PSG and France national team manager had a brief stint playing for United as a replacement for Dutch defender Jaap Stam. Given how it ended for him at the Parisian giants, the Red Devils will be getting a man who is desperate to prove himself on the big stages.
He has shown that given the right kind of support, he can get a team to play the vibrant, attacking style of play United fans are desperate to see returning to their storied club.
While he was let go by PSG following his perceived failure to win the UEFA Champions League, he was able to deliver 10 titles including 3 Ligue 1 trophies in his 3 years at the club. Already used to managing big egos, Blanc will be able to easily manage the United dressing room that currently seems to be rebelling against Mourinho.
His favoured 4-3-3 formation could help get the best out of players like Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial and like Jardim, he won’t have issues working with the proposed director of football which the club is said to be targeting.
#3 Marcelino Garcia Toral
Marcelino could be an unexpected boon for United
Taking over the basket case that is Valencia is a challenge that would have scared even the hardiest of coaches but it is a challenge that Marcelino embraced.
He joined the club at a time when Los Che was in utter shambles. Under his firm but fair leadership, the club has been reborn as the playing squad has been transformed the team into a rugged, cohesive unit that plays brilliant attacking football while remaining solid at the back.
His sterling work was also evident at Villarreal. Taking over a team that had been relegated and forced to sell its best assets, he led the team back to La Liga and three consecutive top-six finishes including a Europa League semi-final.
At each of his most recent jobs, he has clearly shown his ability to work wonders even with restrictions and his ability to blood academy players is one that fits in with United’s ethos.
While his attacking philosophy is apparent wherever he has gone, he is very meticulous with his team’s defensive work and is a coach who is always seeking to improve upon what he has and find solutions from within.
This would be a sea change from the mood-dampening football that the team has been playing under Mourinho. While he may not be the big name most fans would be hoping for, his penchant for improving youth players and playing attacking football is sure to win them over if he is signed.
#2 Antonio Conte
Conte would be the big name that United fans want
Another high-strung, high-maintenance coach, Conte’s availability following his sack by Chelsea and his pedigree make him an ideal candidate to take over the Manchester United job if Mourinho were to leave.
A serial winner of league and cup competitions, his intensity, passion, and desire for perfection could be the tonic to lift a team of players that have looked lost and bereft of ideas in recent times under the “Special One”.
Bringing in a manager like the former Juventus tactician would be beneficial to the team in its current iteration as he will be able to give the team’s underperforming centrebacks the security of playing with 3 men at the back.
In his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Manchester United could get better balance than in the current 4-3-2-1 that Jose favours. With this formation, Pogba would be free of his defensive duties and affect the game more in an attacking sense.
Having Conte who has had issues at two previous clubs; Juventus and Chelsea due to transfers would force the United hierarchy to back him extensively in getting the players he wants which would make the team stronger.
His unwillingness to play young players and his overtly passionate nature will count against him but if United were to go the way of getting another experienced, world-class manager, he could be a perfect choice.
#1 Zinedine Zidane
Zidane is the popular choice if Mourinho leaves
The number one choice among bookmakers and fans, there would be a great uplift in positivity if the French legend were to be appointed in Mourinho’s stead.
Zidane’s playing career was a storied one as the elegant playmaker won everything there was to win as a player while wow-ing fans with his dazzling skills.
This brilliance is one that has followed him into his managerial career. Appointed as Real Madrid’s manager in the aftermath of Rafa Benitez’s sack in the 2015-2016 season, nobody foresaw what was to follow.
The job of managing Real Madrid is perhaps the most demanding job in football as it involves dealing with some very demanding fans, a volatile president in Florentino Perez and some of the biggest egos in world football in the dressing room.
Zidane handled all that perfectly and won 9 trophies in his two and the half seasons at the club including a record-breaking three consecutive UCL titles.
The arrival of Zidane with his glittering array of titles as a player and manager as well as his larger-than-life reputation would command the instant respect of all the players. Coupled with his exceptional man management skills, he would restore harmony to the team and the club.
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Ranked! Who Won the Premier League Transfer Window?
Alosh K Jose And there it is! The shortened Prem transfer window has slammed shut. Premier League clubs can longer sign players. But with the European transfer window remaining open until the end of month. outgoings are still possible for the English top-flight clubs. With the Premier League due to start tomorrow, it is time to asses who had the best transfer window. And the worst. So straight to the rankings. 20. Tottenham hotspur
Mauricio Pochettino did not get a single signing and is stuck with players he did not want. This time Daniel Levy could not pull off any last minute surprises which meant the Spurs are the only team in the league not to have made a single signing. And they are not better off with it. Spurs had nine of thier players involve in the last four of the World Cup and will invariably suffer at the start due to these late arrivals. An injury crisis is all what Mauricio Pochettino's team to undo any progress achieved during the last three years. And he is also stuck with Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembéle and Danny Rose, none of whom he fancies. Yes, disastrous. 19. Watford
Troy Deeney and his co-strikers were an utter failure last season. They need to step up. What the Hornets desperately needed at the start of the window started was a striker. So it is all the more puzzling why they could not sign a top striker they needed at all costs. The fact that the three senior strikers in the Watford books have only managed to score a combined tally of 11 goals itself proves the what a kind of a season is they are up against. The permanent transfer of Gerard Deulofeu from Barcelona will help the club in the wings, but much more was needed. Nothing other than a desperate struggle against relegation is to be expected from Javi Garcia's men. 18. Cardiff City
As usual Neil Warnock has trusted hungry Championship players to deliver for him. Bobby Reid will the main man of the new signings. Neil Warnock did most his business early in the window, signing four Championship players desperate to prove that they belong at the top table. Among them, Bobby Reid must start scoring goals galore if the Welsh outfit is the survive the Premier League. Kenneth Zohore was their top scorer last season. But he has scored only nine goals and it is unrealistic to expect to stay in Premier League with such a paltry attack. The deadline day saw the arrivals of midfielders Victor Camarasa and Harry Arter, but the club remains woefully short of some Premier League experience and any real firepower upfront. 17. Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield needed quality strikers but didn't get any. It will be up to Jonas Lossl to save the team again. The Terriers were the last potent attack last season, finding the net only 28 times. Despite the signing of a whopping eight players, their apathetic attack does not seem to have improved. And among those eight, three signings – Terence Kongolo, Florent Hadergjonaj and goalkeeper Jonas Lössl – were loan transfers made permanent. German World Cup winner Erik Durm's arrival will ad depth in the left-back position. It is not healthy or realistic to hope that the young forward trio of Adama Diakhaby, Ramadan Sobhi and Isaac Mbenza will fire all the goals Steve Wagner's team needs to survive. With teams around them vastly more ambitious in the transfer market, Huddersfield is due for a punishing second season in the Premier League. 16. Newcastle United
WIth Mike Ashley unwilling to back Benitez up in the transfer window, it will up to the Spanish to find training ground solutions. Rafa Benítez wanted too strengthen the attack as they missed a centre striker so badly last season. Is Salomon Rondon the answer? Questions will remain. But the Magpies have signed Kenedy, Ki Sung-yueng and Fabian Schar has been signed earlier in the window. The Japanese striker Yoshinori Muto is an exciting addition although slightly less potent in front of goal than the Toon Army wanted. The deadline day signing of Swansea centre half Federico Fernande was offset by the long term injury to Florian Lejeune. As usual Newcastle ended the window showing a large profit on player transfers with the £22 million received via the sale of unwanted Alexander Mitrovic the biggest contributor. Newcastle may look stronger than last year on paper, but make no mistake, a relegation dogfight is looming in the St. James Park. 15. Manchester United
Jose Morinho has spent his entire summer whining for transfers, but did not get what he wanted. Ed Woodward doesn't seem to be a keen listener. Because virtually everybody in the world heard Jose Mourinho's summer long whining for a centreback. The Portuguese manager did not get Harry Maguire, Jerome Boeteng or the other numerous centrebacks he wanted. Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant are the only additions to the squad at Old Trafford. It is simply not enough for a sustained title challenge. Manchester United and Ed Woodward must be doing more. 14. Burnley
One time England No. 1 Joe Hart has washed up at Turf Moor. This season was always going to be tough one for Burnley and boss Sean Dyche as they have to juggle between the domestic and European competitions. Burnley does not have a large squad and had failed to significantly bolster it in the transfer window. But Dyche has has boosted his defence with the signing of Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough for a joint-club-record £15 million fee. Gibson will now be the designated backup for the centreback pair of James Tarkowsky and Ben Mee ahead of Kevin Long. Goalkeeper Nick Pope recently underwent surgery on a dislocated shoulder and Burnley has responded by signing Manchester City outcast Joe Hart. Due to this underwhelming transfer window, Burnley will have to prioritise either the Premier League survival or the European dream. It is virtually impossible to excel at both competitions with such a threadbare squad. At least it will be intriguing to see what Championship top scorer Matej Vydra is going to do in the Premier. 13. Brighton
New signing Alireza Jahanbakhsh was a force of nature in Eredivise. But most of the recent Dutch imports have failed in England. Brighton's club record signing of Iran winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh was the headline move from the coastal club. Jahanbakhsh was the top scorer in the Dutch Eredivise last season and he should be able to ease the goal-scoring burden on the 34 year old Glenn Murray. In that sense, the signing of Florin Andone from Deportivo la Coruna shoud also help. The Romanian has scored 18 goals from 66 appearances in the last two seasons in La Liga which is tally not to be sniffed at. Midfielder Yvves Bissouma is also a talented youngster with plenty of room to grow. The signings of Bernard and Martin Montoya will help the defence. Yet there is a sense that Brighton needed a bit more investment in order to play in the Premier League for a third straight season. 12. Bournemouth
Cherries Boss Eddie Howe has always trusted his veterans. It may be their undoing this time around. Eddie Howe has won the signatures left-back Diego Rico and promising young attacker David Brooks early in transfer window. The £25 million club-record, deadline day signing of Levante's Jefferson Lerma is also good news for the club as he remains a canny operator at the middle of the park. But where Bournemouth needed to shore up was the central defence as captain Simon Francis is now 33. They needed a faster and younger centreback but could not add one into the squad. Howe is known for his loyalty to the players who got him to the Premier League, but this could backfire this season. 11. Crystal Palace
Wilfried Zaha stays. *cue relieved sighs* The headline act at Selhurst Park is not any incoming transfer, but Wilfried Zaha's stay. Because without Zaha, Crystal Palace is a toothless giant bunny. The permanent signing of Cheikhou Kouyaté will add some power and bite in the midfield while Viceente Guaita will rival longtime No. 1 Wayne Hennesey for a starting spot while Andrew Ayew will add an alternative option to Christian Benteke who was poor last season. The most intriguing addition is Max Meyer. Once hailed as the future of German football, something has gone horribly wrong in Meyer's career which is why he is in Selhurst Park and not Allianz Arena. But he is still only 22 and has a point to prove. 10. Sothampton
Danny Ings is ready to get his career back on track. The South Coast club has improved themselves in the transfer market after being caught in a desperate relegation battle last term. The final day addition of Danny Ings will give the Southampton attack more verve and purpose. Ings will be hungry to prove his critics wrong after they wrote him off on the back of an injury ravaged tenure at Anfield. Having lost Virgin van Dijk in January, a decent centreback was always a requirement at St. Mary's and so they have signed Jannik Vestergaard. Angus Gunn, the young ex-Manchester City goalkeeper is extremely talented and will fit into the Saints philosophy of buying youngsters and improving them. The signings of Mohamed Elyounoussi and Stuart Armstrong are well timed as the club aims to inject fresh blood into what was a sated squad last season. 9. Everton
Both Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina failed to spark at Camp Nou. Goodison will be a new start for the duo. Until the deadline day, Everton hadn't done enough to have a place in our top half. But let's face it, Everton won big on the deadline day. Marco Silva's team added two high quality players from Barcelona in Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes. Both have not cut their teeth well enough for the Catalan giants. But Silva is an excellent training ground coach and will surely hope to resurrect the playing careers of the duo. The other deadline day arrival, Bernard will also add some much-needed wing play for Everton. With Richarlison already in the bag, Marco Silva will be confident he would not repeat ex-manager Ronald Koeman's miserable start last season. 8. Leicester City
Man-mountain Harry Maguire will continue to anchor the Leicester back-line. At least for now. The former Premier League champions were under intense pressure from Manchester United to sell centreback Harry Maguire even in the closing minutes of the transfer window. But Leicester held their ground and are better off with that. With Wes Morgan aging and Robert Huth departing, a partner for Maguire was always the priority at King Power. In Turkish centreback Caglar Soyuncu the Foxes’ defence looks healthy have their answer. Jonny Evans, signed earlier in the summer for just £3 million brings competition at central defence. Riyad Mahrez's £60 million departure was a blow, but not an unexpected one. The arrivals of Monaco winger Rachid Ghezzal and Norwich midfielder James Maddison are aimed at replacing at least some of Mahrez's creativity. So when Claude Puel says he is happy with the quality of his squad, there is no reason not to believe him. 7. Arsenal
The Gunners fans have waited more than a decade for Patrick Viera's replacement. Lucas Torreira seems to be the man. Unai Emery has began his era as the new Gunners manager by addressing the multiple weak points of the team which crippled Arsene Wenger towards the end of his 22 year reign at the Emirates. Most importantly Arsenal have signed the forceful defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira from Torino. Himself no lightweight, the Uruguayan is the player the Arsenal midfield was crying out for the last decade. Sokratis Papastathopoulos has been a dependable cenreback for Borussia Dortmund for long and will bring his experience to the Gunners back-line. But at 30, doubts persist about the Greek's long term future at the club. Bernd Leno will rival the aging Petr Cech for the No. 1 shirt and Stefan Lichtsteiner is a proven winner. But still, there is plenty of problems at Arsenal's defence. With Laurent Koscielny set to miss the half of the season, their back-line looks less than solid. But they have succeeded in shifting a lot of dead weight. 6. Manchester City
Riyad Mahrez has ended a drawn-out transfer saga by finally moving to Man City. The defending champions only added two names to the first team squad with the Algerian genius Riyad Mahrez arriving from Leicester City and Australian World Cup star Danielle Arzani from sister club Melbourne City. The latter will go to Celtic on loan. But it is not due to the lack of transfer market savvy City did not add more players. It was simply that they already had a perfect squad. Pep Guardiola could not get his hands on Jorginho as a tastier alternative to Fernandinho at deep midfield. Oh calamity! 5. Chelsea
Kepa is now the word's most expensive goalkeeper ever. No pressure, then. Chelsea’s summer began with the stalemate between club owner Roman Abramovich which cost the London club precious time both in the transfer window and in the training ground. When Maurizio Sarri finally arrived, he promptly added his Napoli ward Jorginho to the squad. The midfielder will be tasked with implementing Sarri’s philosophy on the pitch. Thibaut Courtois's yearly saga came to end as he secured a £35 million deal to Real Madrid. His replacement Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed at at world record deal for a goalkeeper at £72 million. The former Athletic man is not perfect, but he is the future of the Spanish back line the next decade. The Blues also kept Eden Hazard in which will be the key factor that decide the season. Real Madrid's Mateo Kovacic comes in and those who regularly watched the Croatian will tell you what a dynamic midfielder he is. Overall, despite the early problems, Chelsea did what they had to in the transfer market. 4. West Ham United
New head honcho Manuel Pellegrini has revolutionized West Ham's playing staff. With the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini, the Hammers have guaranteed themselves an entertaining brand of football. And their signings are testament for the added vigour. Most of the signings West Ham made were completed early in the window and hence relieving their fans of any deadline day nail-biting. They broke their transfer record to sign Felipe Anderson from Lazio. Once coveted by the biggest of European clubs, Anderson now has a stage to show he is as good as ever. The free transfer Jack Wilshere will add a bit of style to the West Ham football. Issa Diop and Andriy Yarmolenko will add quality in defence and midfield respectively. When the opportunity to sign Lucas Pérez from Arsenal and Carlos Sánchez from Fiorentina on the deadline day, the Hammers pounced. All in all, a happy summer at the London Stadium. 3. Fulham
Once targeted by the European elite, Jean-Micheal is an absolute steal for the Cottagers. The deadline was a very busy one at Craven Cottage as they submitted offers left, right and centre. But it seems there was a method to madness at Fulham as most of the incoming players are quality signings. They have secured Timothy Fosu-Mensah from Manchester United, goalkeeper Sergio Rico from Sevilla, young attacking left-back Joe Bryan from Bristol City on the deadline day. Star striker Alexabder Mitrovic's loan deal has been made permanent too. With the earlier signings of Alfie Mawson, World Cup winner Andre Schurrle and one-time Barcelona target Jean-Michel Seri, Fulham seems to have done what was needed to comfortably survive the drop. But just don't be fooled by Luciano Vietto's Atletco Madrid background, he was an absolute dud whenever he played for Atleti manager Diego Simeone. And they have signed £27 million club record signing André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Yes, me neither. 2. Wolves
The seemingly unlimited access to Jorge Medes' clientele had made the Wolves a formidable team under their Chinese owners. Armed with the Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes, Wolves have stunned their Prem rivals by pulling off incredible signings one by one. Thanks to Mendes, the new boys have signed Portuguese stalwarts Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho to go with Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore. The signing of Leander Dendoncker has not gone under the radar and the Belgian is capable to dictating play from the deep. Add the fact that they already houses the superb Ruben Neves, Wolves will be the dark horses this season. 1. Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp's maverick personalty has drawn top quality players to Liverpool this summer. Without any doubt, Liverpool had a superb summer window. With the signing of Allison, the Reds finally have a top class goalkeeper. He will be huge upgrade from the hapless Lorius Karius. Naby Keita will be Liverpool's N'golo Kante but with added goal scoring ability while Fabinho brings in more options to the midfield which was not really top notch last season. Xherdan Shaqiri is another good signing which will ease the burden of the magnificent trident of Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firminho. Liverpool has addressed each of the weaknesses that plagued their team last term. They failed in signing Nabil Fekir, but it is still has been brilliant window for them. Our No. 1. Read the full article
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Belgium are No1 in Europe but will they freeze once the croaking gets tough? | Paul Doyle
Marc Wilmots certainly has the players but going them to gel in the European Championship is the big challenge
The most peculiar occasion about Belgiums status as best available crew in the world, which is how Fifa classed them between October and April( when they were leapfrogged by Argentina ), is because they achieved it without pulsating anyone really strong in a competitive equal or even regularly looking like a team, at the least not one familiar with the notion of synergy. That is why they are not many families favourites to be crowned European champions even though Fifa still has them pegged as the continents top side.
Belgium could triumph but they could fail in the first round like an extremely knowledgable University Challenge team who cannot find the buzzer. A crew with undoubted endows remain a question. The lineup for their first match against Italy on Monday is hard to predict and their conduct degree even harder. Marc Wilmots and his musicians need to answer various questions swiftly if they are to avoid being chomped by a wicked gumption of what might have been.
The uncertainty is especially acute at the back and partly attributable to harms. Misfortune has stripped Wilmots of the center defensive partnership that featured in the qualifying safarus, Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Lombaerts, and too of one possible replacing, Dedryck Boyata. There is an obvious answer: pair up Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, who were nigh-on infallible in the heart of Tottenham Hotspurs defence last-place season just as they used to be for Ajax.
Wilmots eventually deployed the duo in the last warm-up tournament, a 3-2 winning against Norway, but hinted subsequentlies that Vertonghen would revert to fullback against Italy owing to doubts about the savviness of Jordan Lukaku, Ostendes left-back and Romelus 21 -year-old brother. He was terrific going forward but I have to wonder about the tactical improve he gets at his organization, Wilmots said.
Alderweireld is likely to start on the right if the Bruges defender Thomas Meunier does not regain full fitness, although there are Montreal Impacts Laurent Ciman, the only other specialist rightback in the force, came off the bench against Norway and capped a short but respectable execution with the triumphing purpose. It would be quite a turnaround if Ciman, a wholehearted but limited 30 -year-old, won over Wilmots who had resorted to Jason Denayer and even the midfielder Axel Witsel at right-back instead.
The managers concerns about his full-back options are justifiable, but in an effort to avoid vulnerabilities out wide he gambles fragilities right across the back four. Neither Alderweireld nor Vertonghen is as good on the side as in the centre. The alternative centrebacks Denayer and Thomas Vermaelen are not as good as them in the middle.
Jan Vertonghen .
Even if Vertonghen and Alderweireld start together in the middle, it is not enough just for them to demonstrate their understanding with one another: they have to communicate with their fullbacks, which they did not do well enough against Norway, when Belgiums offside trap was inaccurate and Denayer, at right-back, and Jordan Lukaku could have does so with better lead. The scarcity of leader at the back is the most serious significance of the loss of Kompany, though even he has his wayward times. Whatever permutation Wilmots opts, he needs it to mesh swiftly. That may be a tall order in a team that sees coherency elusive.
Doubts persist about how they are able to shape up between the defence forces and the centre-forward, as Romelu Lukaku has secured that role with sharp-worded is illustrated in the most recent friendlies, which were much needed by a participate who has not tallied a competitive point for our own countries since the World cup finals. Michy Batshuayi, Christian Benteke and Divock Origi all underperformed in those friendlies.
Behind Lukaku, Wilmots could opt for the solid midfield triangle to which he was once united( likely to be Witsel, Radja Nainggolan and Marouane Fellaini) but seems more likely to go for two deep-lying and three offensive mischief manufacturers, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and either Yannick Carrasco or Dreis Mertens. That trio will have freedom to wreak havoc where they delight so long as they do not get in each others route, as they occasionally did against Norway. Against strong areas it will be important they coordinate to make sure defensive offices are performed. Alone twice in the past two years have Belgium actually clicked as an offensive thrust, both occasions in friendlies( in Novembers 3-1 victory over Italy and last Junes 4-3 win over France in Paris ).
However, quibbling about assortments, shapings or Wilmotss expected lack of tactical acumen seems beside the point. It boils down to this: Belgium do not really have a personnel trouble, they have a personality problem. They froze against the first large-hearted crew they faced at the 2014 World Cup, Argentina, and went out meekly. They are more likely grown since then and in the qualifying campaign for this tournament is seeking to argue their advantage over everyone, but failed to even score against their strongest adversary, Wales.
Eden Hazard .
Sometimes they play too slowly, as if suffering from the delusion that their class will ultimately prevail by itself. Sometimes their inventive participates do not fizz although Hazard seems to have clambered out of the rut of last-place season. Plus, they give their prey possibilities, as none of their players is above lapsing into sloppiness. Nainggolan boobed in the runup to Waless winner in Cardiff, only days after the Roma player had stimulated the friendly prevail against France, when it seemed he would bring the murderer mentality the team paucity. He made an almost identical mistake against Norway. This teams flakiness is paradoxically stubborn.
Wilmots, nicknamed Warpig as a musician, has instilled bonhomie but not battle-hardness. Belgium be able to make overpowering anyone but adversaries at Euro 2016 will know that if they are unable prevent accords tight, Belgium are likely to crumble first.
The post Belgium are No1 in Europe but will they freeze once the croaking gets tough? | Paul Doyle appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.
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The Kids
Alexia's Daughters
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/r/Liverpoolfc's growing, dying, growing, dying again and then growing belief about signing Virgil van Dijk via /r/LiverpoolFC
/r/Liverpoolfc's growing, dying, growing, dying again and then growing belief about signing Virgil van Dijk
2016
December
6th: De Telegraaf claim Liverpool have scouted Virgil van Dijk at every match for 2 months. Rumoured to have a £25m release clause.
I'd be extremely surprised if there is a top team who hasn't "scouted" him. He's a great CB with some great potential and will no doubt be close to world class in the coming seasons.
/u/themysteriousshadow
There isn't a team in the league that wouldn't benefit from Van Dijk but I can't see us getting him. He'll have a massive price tag and we already have 3 CBs + Lucas. Although you're right, Van Dijk + Matip would be a fantastic partnership.
/u/cannaswiss
He will likely go to City or Utd for big big money.
/u/aeceus
13th: NBCSports confirm van Dijk does not have a release clause.
Yea, like that's going to stop us....lol
/u/youngtafari
Still don't get why we didn't sign him at Celtic... though I guess we weren't expecting all that Sakho drama to unfold.
/u/bigpenisdragonslayer
We're not going to sign him.
/u/oscarony
2017
January
22nd: Steven Gerrard: Liverpool should sign Virgil van Dijk
If we get CL and City don't I feel like we have a real shot of getting him. I wouldn't complain if he cost 50m
/u/sirgoldfish
The rest of the thread was people just giving shit to Stevie :(
March
28th: Southampton potentially interested in Sakho, while VVD could be off to Chelsea (Bascombe)
Strengthening Saints with Sakho, whilst VVD goes to Chelsea would be vintage Liverpool.
/u/rainfall7711
This is a classic Chelsea move. Bolster the (tied for) best defense in the league by buying someone that would be a big contributor to other top 6 teams. Cahill, David Luiz, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Ake and now Van Dijk for 3 spots in a 3-5-2. Total dickheads
/u/bstodds
April
13th: [Dom King] Liverpool join race to sign Virgil van Dijk with Jurgen Klopp keen to bolster his defence with the Southampton ace
£20-30m for Sakho, £40-50m on Van Dijk. Would not be opposed. At all. Pls.
/u/The_Backseatsman (hey I was right about the Sakho price)
Please for the love of God let this be true and we smash our transfer record to bring him in.
/u/vinpan2
If either one of Chelsea or City are seriously interested in Van Dijk, then we might miss out tbh. Especially if Chelsea are interested, I can see him going there if they win the league, which of course they will.
/u/youngmurf
13th: Barrett - Liverpool in for van Dijk and Naby Keita
VVD is going to be expensive but I'd say fuck it.
/u/PM_ME_PUSSIES_NOW
Pleased that Van Dijk is a target. Think it'll take a fucking miracle to pull him away if Chelsea or City are after him. Van Dijk, Matip, Lovren and Klavan as back up is a strong defensive unit
/u/sefilis
If Chelsea or Man City wanted him, seriously, we have zero chance. My advice is expect nothing. Especially not Van Dijk and Keita. The only saving grace we may have is Man City have spent heavily in recent years on cbs, and so have Chelsea, though Chelsea will definitely have a spot to fill after this season.
I also doubt we'd pay 50mil. All these articles popping up about a massive chest to spend on players, when we know it's going to depend on sales and that's the end of it.
/u/rainfall7711
May
3rd: Virgil van Dijk agrees to join Liverpool if they finish top 4
50 million still seems an awful lot. But him and matip with klavan, Lovren and Gomez would be a solid group of cbs for next season
/u/psychotic_bear
I know he's a top class centreback, but £50m is still a huge amount of money.
If we can get him in and the rest of our targets, happy days, but I would hate to lose out on someone like Keita because we wouldn't pay an extra 5 or 10m because of Van Dijk.
/u/boardsandbikes
bullshit
/u/jokerx29
9th: van Dijk is priority over Michael Keane
Let's just hope they get it done for once. Even if we overspend on Van Dijk at least we show some ambition and don't settle for the second best option again. We always have these 2-3 great players we are linked with (Keita, VVD this season) and we never get them.
The club did a half decent job in the last few years with transfers but it's still not good enough compared to teams like Napoli and Dortmund which are on a similar level and constantly do a better job during the transfer window.
/u/jokerx29
Don't [think] we'll get him specially as other top clubs are after him. We always tend to lose when going against City, United, Chelsea or Arsenal.
/u/supersayantyranitar
I'm happy the club are in for VVD - but tbh I'll be pleasantly surprised if we get him.
City and Chelsea are also after him and he'd start for them as well; all 3 clubs have world-class widely respected managers. But those two have won the league more recently; from his perspective, why choose us?
That's not to say we shouldn't try for him - let's see what happens. But I'm not going to start yelling "FSG out" if we don't get VVD. I just hope there's another potential target in mind between VVD and Keane.
/u/koptimism
17th: Southampton could turn down £60m for van Dijk claims chairman
Driving up the price of a player already? Thought these articles would at least wait till after the season had finished, any how, he will go for about £45mil, you wave that price in front of their chairman and he'll bite your hand off for it, just look at the price we got the other Southampton lads for
/u/andylamb06
It would be absolutely reckless for them to turn down such a windfall - nobody's buying it. Pretty amateur.
/u/bachelorpartydude
They could but they won't. £60M is a lot of money, almost the same amount we received for Suarez, there's no way they'd turn it down.
/u/themysteriousshadow
30th: Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and City locked in 4-way battle for Van Djik. Reds remain confident as Van Djik is attracted by the proposition of playing under Klopp
John Cross is a decent journo for Arsenal I believe, so the fact he is saying this despite not having any Liverpool affiliation is really positive. Also means that certain people can't claim this is an FSG "feel good" leak after losing out on Sessegnon.
/u/The_Backseatsman
Why would he choose us over Chelsea or City?
Not confident on this one.
/u/merge111
so it's a three horse race, sry can't take Arsenal seriously
/u/koassde
31st: The Times back page tomorrow says Man City hope to beat Liverpool and Chelsea to Van Dijk (Gary Jacob & Paul Joyce)
Fuck off City
/u/redditaccountplease
Jesus Christ. With the amount of money Pep is spending it'll be an actual disgrace if they don't get to the CL final at least, and honestly when you're spending that much money winning it becomes the minimum. Only little bit of sound news is that Southampton are holding out for £60m, which we are probably desperate enough to meet.
/u/The_Backseatsman
This is historically the point since FSG has taken over where we usually give up on a very ideal transfer and look a little lower on the list. I'm not saying that this is necessarily a good or bad thing as in the past it has meant we've missed out on Dempsey and kept Henderson or missed out on Gotze and got Mane BUT it would be nice to see us buck the trend once and just pull the trigger on our preferred target and compete for transfers like we actually are one of the big boys. Which we technically are. We are in the top 10 most wealthy teams in the world apparently.
Edit: Having second thoughts about this to be fair after I looked closer and saw the 180k/week figure. And also that I'm in apparent agreement with Mr. Dean Coombes. Whoops. A bit torn now... xD
/u/thecurls23
June
4th: Liverpool Echo: Liverpool prepared to match Manchester City and Chelsea wage offers in bid to sign Van Dijk
If we somehow convince VVD, it'll be a huge coup. It'll show everyone we can compete with the richest teams in the league and win, in the market as well as on the pitch.
If its true we're matching the wages, I like the ambition from FSG. I don't think they can do much more with regards to this transfer.
Hope it happens, obviously.
/u/podpool3
this is a first and very refreshing
/u/jlfc5
Somehow, I don't believe this
/u/djb447
5th: Jurgen Klopp remains confident that Virgil van Dijk could move to Merseyside. (Paul Joyce)
Not getting my hopes up on this one
/u/LallanasHair
He's going to Tranmere isn't he?
/u/Plastic_Mouldsman
If we match or get close to City's wages I'm certain he'll come. I just hope this doesn't drag too much for us, wether we get him or not I don't want this to be another transfer saga.
/u/Masipoten
5th: Virgil van Dijk has told Jurgen Klopp he wants to join Liverpool this summer (Anfi*ldHQ)
http://ift.tt/2DqUui8
/u/HUGE_HOG
If this goes through, this will feel like the first signing where the "Klopp factor" had a major impact. No way VVD turns down Pep and Conte without the prospect of a steady supply of hugs from Jurgen.
/u/blablaman
This is a major, major coup. Looks like we beat City and Chelsea to a top signing. Unbelievable. This is huge!
/u/nickyv23
6th: Southampton are to report Liverpool to the Premier League over an illegal approach for Virgil van Dijk
Ffs why is it never simple
/u/hr71
They aren't keeping him and they're desperate for any reason why he can't move, this is clutching at the biggest of straws this.
Also, extremely likely that they knew about us talking to Van Dijk and that it wasn't just "wow we read this in the Echo"
/u/themysteriousshadow
Southampton seem to be sick of us, which is fair enough, but realistically they have no case here I reckon. Everyone taps up, no one has cared about it since the Ashley Cole thing. They can't really use what (admittedly reliable) journalists say as evidence of an approach, because we could just say their sources are wrong surely.
Also, what this has done is just guaranteed that the transfer is going to be nasty. Fair chance this is our last deal with Southampton. Transfer request just became a whole lot more likely
/u/theodorelesley
7th: Liverpool issue apology over approach to Virgil van Dijk
A top player wants to come to us instead of City and Chelsea, and we manage to fuck it up. What the actual fuck.
/u/[deleted]
We are a fucking joke in the transfer market. For some reason this fact always gets downvoted on here.
Chelsea/ City will get him now.
/u/lord2fattositahorse
Lmao June 7th and we've already missed out on our top CB and LB targets with the likelihood of us missing out on Salah and being laughed off over Keita looms.
How have we fucked up this badly? Jesus fucking Christ, Liverpool.
E: fuck knows how legit our agreeing personal terms with Salah was too, if we can't fucking get this right.
/u/The_Backseatsman (I knew I'd be thrown under the bus by you lot if I didn't put myself in so I jumped in front instead)
7th: van Dijk removes all Southampton links from his Twitter profile
Fucking great, now we're gonna have a bunch of delusional fans and socalled ITK's who are gonna claim he might be joining us afterall.
It isn't fucking happening. If it does, I will literally eat my own shit.
He's gonna go to City or Chelsea now, because the people at our club responsible for transfers are actually mentally handicapped. When it comes to transfers, we are a joke. Yes, I have initiated Operation Meltdown - not because we didn't get the player, but because of the way it all happened.
/u/yesnoidktbh
8th: Southampton have told VvD and his reps he will not be leaving the club this summer
Lolol transfer request incoming..
/u/nosdnomde
Fat chance of that, the way VVD and his agent see this is that Southampton just snatched a huge payday from them. No way they stand for it.
/u/JOHNNYBAB00N
17th: van Dijk with a LFC fan
Well the kiddo asked him if hes joining and he said "lets see". Probably kust keeping him happy but anything can happen
/u/kye2000
24th: Simon Jones - Liverpool still in frame for Virgil van Dijk despite Chelsea preparing £60m offer for Southampton defender
Already said it but if we stump up enough cash, Southampton won't care about the tapping up and he'll be ours. It's just whether or not we'll actually do it.
/u/dj4y_94
I just can't picture him in a Chelsea kit, it just isn't right and I can't see it happening. Only kit I see him in next season is ours. I'm still confident we'll sign and I'm sure things will pick up again once VVD is back from holiday. The minute that transfer request is handed in is the minute they crumble to our offer. Watch this space.
/u/harveylj
30th: van Dijk followed Paul Joyce and Carra on Twitter
Joyce interviewed VVD back in December. Him following Joyce is hardly gonna make Saints sell him to us.
Calm down...nothing to see here
/u/fuck_manu
July
15th: After Southampton manager Pellegrino said Van Dijk is not yet ready to feature in today's friendly, Virgil posts on Instagram saying it's great to be fully fit...
http://ift.tt/2dE4YSI
/u/intrinsic
This is reaching
/u/hesitantrice
21st: Liverpool-target Virgil van Dijk training alone after telling Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino he wants to leave the club (From Daily Echo)
looks like it all hinged on the robertson deal for virgil
/u/firmmino
If we miss out on Keith, but end up with Van Dijk, Robertson, and Salah, while keeping hold of Coutinho that's still an absolute stellar summer.
/u/Hanomen
23rd: Liverpool will only move back in for Van Dijk this summer if Southampton make it clear they are willing to consider offers. (James Pearce)
It'll keep going till the deadline I reckon. Which will be painful
/u/kamkut1337
My feeling is we're getting van Dijk, but not Keita. Which is fine. I'd love Keita, but van Dijk is more important.
/u/syd_oc
24th: Virgil van Dijk left out of Southampton 25-man squad that will travel to France
Training alone as some sort of punishment is one thing, but leaving a top player out of a scheduled preseason tour or destination training camp is another situation altogether. This is reminiscent of what happened with Sakho right before he was sent into exile at Palace.
I really hope this means there will be some sort of resolution to this fucking saga soon.
/u/DoktorStrangelove
Honestly I respect that clubs want to keep their teams intact, just like I am against Liverpool selling Coutinho. But every club eventually loses its best players, it's just the nature of the game. If VVD has requested a move, I'd say for the fee quoted Saints should be happy. This deal should get done this week. Quote me on that..
/u/scouseandy
31st: Virgil van Dijk set for showdown talks at Southampton
Probably have an answer by this week tbh...
/u/thetchai
August
2nd: Liverpool’s interest in Southampton centre back Virgil van Dijk continues in the background with the player intent on doing all he can to force a move to Anfield. (Paul Joyce)
Klopp and Virgils love story is going to end beautifully
/u/vinpan2
Fuck Yeah! Time to track some planes!
/u/Saad_LFC
7th Virgil van Dijk submits transfer request
HOLY SHIT IT'S HAPPENING
/u/tagor99
I knew Klopp said that quote about our 5 defenders to make it look like we didn't need Van Dijk so that Van Dijk felt like he was the one who needed us. KLOPP IS THE DARK KNIGHT
/u/BadBoi117
God, he better not end up at Chelsea after all this.
/u/Poseidon94
8th: Southampton have responded to Van Dijk's transfer request by maintaining that the player is not for sale. (Paul Joyce)
Oh fuck them
/u/gimmetacos2
Don't see Arsenal getting him. It'll be between us and Chelsea imo.
/u/christopher199
World's shittiest Merry-go-round keeps spinning.
/u/friendly_edgar
10th: Van Dijk is the priority & it will go to the wire. Liverpool know they would pay a premium due to a deterioration in relations. (Paul Joyce)
Wait a minute ... we're interested in VVD?
/u/sifan69
the fact that there's an acceptance of the likelihood of a premium can only be a good thing, means we're happy enough to pay whatever it takes. think we'll get him tbh
/u/theodorelesley
26th: Mauricio Pellegrino, asked about Virgil Van Dijk's future. "I think on September 1st, Virgil will be here"
Saying I think doesn't sound too convincing tbh.
/u/ffsgeorge
28th: Club still looking to sign Virgil van Dijk before Thursday
We've been "looking to" sign him all summer. I wonder if those at the club see some new reason for optimism.
/u/redsoxfan2495
29th: VVD's Private Plane has left Bournemouth and is heading North.
imagine if Edwards actually completes deals for Lemar, VVD and Keita in the last week of the window. I would be beyond amazed.
/u/jokerx29
29th: Planes, Hype Trains and Automobiles - The Story So Far
No particular comments, just a fucking funny thread.
31st: All about Lemar & Van Dijk on deadline day. I'm told that further incomings for #LFC possible, not probable.- James Pearce
We're still being cautious little dudes, but I reckon we'll get them done
/u/theodorelesley
Setting ourselves up for a massive anticlimax :(
/u/NabyDecoKeita
31st: Van Dijk update: Zero contact between #saintsfc and Lpool and zero chance of a deal to Lpool or anywhere else #lfc
But yeah, let's not bother trying to find another CB just in case the club who said they aren't going to sell, don't sell...
Fucks sake.
/u/jmanvere
I am genuinely baffled as to why we ever thought we'd get him
And why there's been this much hype
With our own journalists saying we were interested? Fuck off. We sat at home and monitored him the whole summer.
/u/r0bski2
31st: Liverpool unlikely to land Thomas Lemar or Virgil Van Dijk before transfer deadline passes- Pearce
WHY HAVE WE NOT SIGNED A CB. We've had all summer and are a Joel Matip injury away from a crisis.
/u/CorneliusFudge10
£175Mill spending spree my ass
/u/ActiveBilal
31st: BREAKING: Virgil Van Dijk is definitely staying at Southampton this summer. (SkySports)
Oh fuck off
/u/KernelKarius
I am trying so fucking hard to be reasonable about this.. but just cannot!! Not bringing in a CB this summer is nothing short of a disgrace
/u/Kakabossi
September
11th: Virgil van Dijk move tipped to happen in January
don't
/u/nonamejackson
Can we save the wild speculation for uh... never? Or at least the transfer window.
/u/emre23
26th: Virgil van Dijk tips Liverpool to challenge for Champions League glory
"....after I join in January."
/u/HAAAAAAALP_
His answer was complete fluff and all he said was that us or City could go far.
/u/The_Backseatsman
October
3rd: Virgil van Dijk speaks out on failed Liverpool transfer - will consider move in January
1st of Jan: Liverpool are keeping tabs on the Van Dijk situation
1st of Feb : Van Dijk stays at Southampton after no formal bids were made
/u/ivc09
December
14th: Manchester City are ready to reignite their interest in Virgil van Dijk. Goal understands that Liverpool will also try to sign the 26-year-old during the January window, and it can now be revealed that City are seriously considering a rival offer.- Sam Lee (City's Reddy equivalent, very reliable)
Any other fucking team but City and I wouldn't be worried at all but he'll be pretty much guaranteed to start and also to win the league and maybe win the Champions league fucks sake.
/u/vaspap
Shit, If they are seriously in for him this time I don't think we'll be landing him. He has a chance to win big with city and be a part of one of the best teams in premier league history. Hopefully he still has the same desire to join us as he did in the summer though.
/u/vinpan2
Honestly, I wouldn't mind if we had to sign another decent CB instead. It's a kick in the nuts if he does go city, but not the end of the world.
Surely he isn't the only CB that could slot into our back four?
I think a world class CDM is a lot more crucial for us at the moment.
/u/mwsherlock
16th: Liverpool 'will not pay' Southampton's lavish asking price for Virgil van Dijk
Pathetic if true. We spent fuck all the summer despite all the noises out of the club being that we have learnt our lesson are we're prepared to pay top dollar for our top targets of which Van dijk is top of the list.
We went without any centre back reinforcements in the summer because this was the only one we wanted, and now we're gonna claim we can't afford him and just give up.
Hopefully this is just a negotiating position. It'll be devastating if City bid as much as us and he chooses them, but understandable, but if we accept defeat at this stage you really have to question if they are any idea what they're doing
/u/theodorelesley
I don't want to be the team that pays seventy for an above average cb
/u/kensal78
FSG in soften the blow mode
/u/CAFarmer
23rd: Virgil van Dijk is seemingly not playing for Southampton today. Local journalist unsure if it is because of a transfer or injury.
I don't wanna be sounding disappointing, but if it's transfer ,looking more and more likely to City.
None of our journos are even talking about Van Dijk and City ones indicating they already made contact with Southampton.
/u/Kaniyan_Poongunran
Yep my only hope is we haven't leaked anything because, well, that didn't really work out well last time. We managed to keep things quiet with Keita, hopefully we did the same again here.
/u/The_Backseatsman
He's going to city, not us. We fucked up in the summer, our chance came and gone.
/u/Rozencranz
23rd: Southampton are believed to have agreed the basis of a deal with a club for VVD - Kevin Palmer
This deal sounds way too efficient to be us, congratulations City.
/u/xd3n1sxuk
congrats man city
lets go all in on one particular target during january and then on deadline day be told we'll try and get them in the summer
/u/theodorelesley
Fucks sake please let it not be City. Would be horrendous to have him start against us at Anfield after all that
/u/hesitantrice
23rd: Liverpool finally make a breakthrough in their pursuit of Virgil van Dijk - Kevin Palmer
I think we'll get him. Remember when Baby Keith was dead and buried, then we signed him for next year? As frustrating as our transfers can be at times, FSG did better this year with some of the big names (Salah and Naby to be precise). They are learning, and Virgil drama aside - which could have been his agent lying about permission from soton as the club said - they seem to get shit done these days.
/u/scorgie
The source is the Sunday World (crappy Irish tabloid), put your Dijks away lads.
/u/YoullNeverMemeAlone
25th: Telegraph: Man City closing in on £60m deal for Virgil van Dijk
Christmas is supposed to be a day for GOOD news, shit
/u/WillDaThrilll13
hahahaendmysufferinghahahaha
/u/HeCalledMeSubaru
"Van Dijk would initially come in as third choice centre half behind Stones and Nicolas Otamendi should City pull off a deal. (@TelegraphDucker)"
WHY WOULD HE BE 3RD CHOICE THERE WHEN HE CAN BE 1ST CHOICE HERE
/u/vaspap
27th: Liverpool agree world-record £75m deal for Virgil van Dijk
GET THE VAN
/u/Mo_Salah
That is a fucking statement of intent. Klopp was not fucking around, he wanted VVD and it looks like he got him.
/u/Calmdownplease
27th: Liverpool announce the signing of Virgil van Dijk
what tier is liverpoolfc official website
/u/walkinm
http://ift.tt/2ChKxUI
/u/_cumblast_
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
/u/lfcfan123
What a fucking saga.
Submitted December 28, 2017 at 01:17PM by The_Backseatsman via reddit http://ift.tt/2DpMIVI
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Text
FIFA 18 Release Date, Cost, Consoles, Pre-order
That point that time on I prepared myself to be exposed to an interesting history of a people who transplanted themselves, and would become as much an integral part of their new homeland, as they were in their old homeland. Find out here how much is the Premier League Budgets for FIFA 18 Career Mode. However, there's a high chance that it will likely be the identical as the ones available to try out at events just like the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as well as the sport's beta. Of the opposite 14 players, four were named to their second Women’s World Cup Team, but 10 players shall be participating in a Women’s World Cup for the first time, the most first-timers ever for any U.S. Green Point is the only stadium on the planet with a roof fabricated from glass! Publisher: chaman goyal The craziness of cricket world cup could possibly be heard in larger part of world. Medical reasons were given for his exclusion from the team to participate on the France '98 world cup.
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FIFA 18 Release Date, Cost, Consoles, Pre-order
That point that point on I prepared myself to be exposed to an interesting history of a people who transplanted themselves, and would become as much an integral a part of their new homeland, as they were in their old homeland. Find out here how much is the Premier League Budgets for FIFA 18 Career Mode. However, there's a high chance that it will likely be the identical as the ones available to check out at events like the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in addition to the sport's beta. Of the other 14 players, four were named to their second Women’s World Cup Team, but 10 players shall be participating in a Women’s World Cup for the first time, essentially the most first-timers ever for any U. In case you have just about any issues relating to in which as well as tips on how to use fifa coins ps4, it is possible to e mail us from our own site. S. Green Point is the one stadium on the earth with a roof manufactured from glass! Publisher: chaman goyal The craziness of cricket world cup could possibly be heard in larger a part of world. Medical reasons were given for his exclusion from the team to participate at the France '98 world cup.
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The footage of this particular feature is all over Twitter and has social media buzzing over a possible inclusion of it in the upcoming FIFA 18 video game. With the likes of Sky Sports and the BBC dominating sports coverage online during the last decade, it’s no easy task to compete with the massive guns. It arrived as not surprising - the centreback regularly impressed across the south coast, memorably scoring a final-minute champion in a 4-3 win over Liverpool. According to EA, Ronaldo recently took part in a motion-capture session at their studio in Madrid to create the most accurate in-game likeness of the 32-year-old ever. FIFA 18 Demo Gameplay Part 2CAN WE SMASH 10,000 LIKES FOR PART 3? The game is fun and you can fight during gameplay. FIFA 18 might be pre-ordered now for £49.99 for the usual edition or £69.99 for the Ronaldo edition from GAME. This will allows workouts to be better measured and work within the proper zones needed for development.
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Text
The FIFA 18 Demo, Release Date And Features
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Despite his immense skills and breathtaking goals, his name could be conspicuously missing from Brazil's squads to participate in the 1998 and 2002 fifa 18 coins ps4 World Cup tournaments. How they got there: Paired in a tricky group that contained France, top-spot was always going to come back all the way down to the 2 clashes between Spain and the 1998 champions. The FIFA 18 demo can be released on September 15, a full two weeks before the game’s full release on September 29. This is the second FIFA game made with the Frostbite engine, with FIFA 17 being the primary. It will be easier to travel within and across cities, towns and villages, making it easier for the average person to do business in a much wider area than ever before. There has not been much indication it's a priority, though, and it's hard to see the core of how the game is played changing given the boom in competitive gaming. The actual-world football season could also be over, but FIFA's always there for us - and now it's time to say hello to your brand new cover star for FIFA 18, Cristiano Ronaldo. FIFA 18 is an upcoming association football simulation video game within the FIFA series of video games, developed and published by Electronic Arts.
The footage of this particular feature is throughout Twitter and has social media buzzing over a possible inclusion of it within the upcoming FIFA 18 video game. With the likes of Sky Sports and the BBC dominating sports coverage online during the last decade, it’s no easy task to compete with the massive guns. It arrived as not surprising - the centreback regularly impressed across the south coast, memorably scoring a final-minute champion in a 4-3 win over Liverpool. According to EA, Ronaldo recently took part in a motion-capture session at their studio in Madrid to create the most accurate in-game likeness of the 32-year-old ever. FIFA 18 Demo Gameplay Part 2CAN WE SMASH 10,000 LIKES FOR PART 3? The game is fun and you can fight during gameplay. FIFA 18 may be pre-ordered now for £49.99 for the usual edition or £69.99 for the Ronaldo edition from GAME. This can allows workouts to be better measured and work within the correct zones needed for development.
So, without further delay, let's take a look at the first batch of FIFA 18 top 100 players, starting from number 100 who's Manchester City's Bernardo Silva. With all the recent big money moves to China, it will make sense if EA incorporated the Chinese Super League into the 2018 incarnation of FIFA. Please ensure that you will have not less than 1.4GB of free space on your device. The FIFA 18 Beta has a permanent moving watermark showing your gamertag/account At all times. Right, we had an articles listing cheap players for ultimate team in fifa 17. We want to continue posting similar articles for fifa 18 as well. Fifa manager back within the day was decent, or total club manager before that. Thibaut Courtois has did not kick on as Chelsea probably expected him to after he established himself as a world-class ‘keeper at Atletico Madrid. Perhaps FIFA’s story would benefit from with the ability to toggle between rolls. Wow, these are great names in sports.
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