#may have just made timo a tag | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years ago

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mistletoe & california snow - t. meier

Here’s the first of the things I’ll be putting out for the Christmas and holiday season! I’ve been working on this for the past few weeks, it’s pretty long - bear with me - but I am proud of it and how it’s turned out. As always, I read all the tags and love seeing and hearing people’s thoughts, so please let me know what you think!

word count: 7.6k+

warning: sexual content (light & brief, but no one under 18 please!)

Timo came into Noemi Silva’s life when she least expected it. It’s a cliché saying, one that had been around since time immemorial, but it was true. He wasn’t looking for anything serious, and she had just gotten out of a relationship a few months prior. But then she had gotten an internship with the Sharks social media team in winter of her senior year of college, and the more time she started spending around the players, the more he realized he wasn’t able to stay away from her. Not in a bad way, but in the kind of way where he simply noticed how radiant she was and wanted to do whatever he could to get to know her, to be around her, in whatever way she’d let him. So colleagues turned into friends, turned into him asking her out two weeks before playoffs started. She didn’t say yes right away, but it wasn’t because she didn’t know, and it wasn’t because she wanted to make him sweat it. She was worried about what people would think; an intern dating one of the team’s star forwards, worried that the office gossip would turn into arguments that she didn’t earn her job, or that she was trying to get people to go easier on her. After a long conversation with Alise, one of her best friends, then her older sister, then Timo, she finally agreed. Them being together wasn’t as big of an issue as she had thought, a few meetings with HR and some paperwork and they had the green light, as long as they kept things professional at work. And then she was offered a full-time job after her graduation, and now, almost three years after they had first met, she was days away from marrying the love of her life.

He had proposed at the very beginning of the year, on a weeklong trip to Switzerland courtesy of the Sharks’ bye week and a very well-timed nonstop flight to Zürich. Noemi wasn’t an overly sentimental person, she thought as she curled next to her fiancé on their living room couch, watching an episode of Gossip Girl. She never had been, but even she would admit without hesitation that there wasn’t a single thing she would have changed about their engagement.

---

Noemi’s parents were out of town on a weekend getaway to wine country, so they weren’t able to drive her and Timo to the airport for their bye week vacation to Switzerland. Everything had lined up perfectly that year, and Noemi almost couldn’t believe their luck. She had accompanied the Sharks’ delegation to the past two All-Star Weekends, one the year prior and the other only the weekend before. So they both had a full week off for the first time since the offseason. The Christmas break was great, but it wasn’t nearly enough time to travel anywhere, let alone somewhere outside of the country. They had both been worried about the flight time — for a while, the only option was nearly twenty hours with a seven-hour layover in London — but thankfully, a nonstop flight from San Francisco to Zürich had opened up that they had booked just before the holidays.

All leading to the current moment, with Noemi, Timo, and their bags in the backseat of Kevin Labanc’s SUV as he pulled up to the curb of Terminal G. “Hope you guys have fun in the Alps, getting snowed on and freezing your asses off while I relax on the beach, getting—”

Noemi cut him off, arching an eyebrow. “Freezing your ass off, Kevin. It may be California, but I think you’re vastly overestimating how warm Santa Cruz beaches get. Have fun, though,” she quipped.

The corner of his eyes crinkled as he laughed. “Meier, did you know that your girl can chirp better than half the team?”

“One of her many talents,” Timo said, shrugging as he hefted their bags out of the trunk. Noemi was the first one to hug his teammate goodbye, and then Kevin pulled Timo into an embrace.

“But seriously, guys. Have fun. Good luck,” he said, looking back at Timo.

“What did he say good luck for?” Noemi asked, her brows furrowed as they walked through the sliding doors to the check-in counter.

Timo made a noncommittal noise. “Not sure. Maybe he meant to say good flight?” And it was a good flight, they were both able to get a few hours of sleep in before breakfast was served just as they were flying over Scotland.

Noemi wrested her back from under the seat before slinging it onto her shoulder and flashing a grateful smile at the flight attendants as they disembarked. She shivered as the cold air hit her on the jet bridge — as soon as they made it out to the gate, she made Timo stop so she could grab a jacket out of her bag, zipping it up all the way to under her chin. Timo snorted; she glared at him. “We weren’t all born with snow in our veins, Timo.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”

She had been through the airport once before, but once was nothing compared to the she-didn’t-even-know-how-many flights Timo had taken. He gave her a kiss on the cheek as they reached passport control, moving towards the automated gates as Noemi stood in the line for non-Schengen nationals. “See you on the other side.”

Timo had already been waiting for ten minutes by the time Noemi got through. Though, all things considered — especially when compared to the hour-plus lines they were both used to trying to get back into the United States — it wasn’t bad at all. “You get through okay?” he asked, kissing Noemi as she came up to where he had settled by a coffee shop.

She nodded. “Yep, no issues. Asked me why I was here, I said I was visiting family with my Swiss citizen boyfriend, asked how long I’d be here for, I said a week. She told me welcome to Switzerland, stamped my passport, and said to have a good trip.” She tucked her passport into her purse, zipping it closed.

Timo bent down to kiss the top of her head as she leaned into him, her hands wrapping around his waist. “Let’s get going, then.”

---

The day before they were due to fly out of Zürich, they decided to go into the city. By they, it was really Timo’s decision; before they left San Jose, he had shown her pictures of Zürich in the winter and mentioned the zoo. It was an easy sell, she loved getting to see the lemurs. They had done the zoo in the morning and the national museum in the afternoon, before the sun set just after 5 PM.

The beer garden he took her to for dinner didn’t have any more indoor seating — something Noemi didn’t have a preference on, but Timo seemed concerned about — so the couple settled outside, warmed by a heating lamp and a well-placed fire pit off to the side of their table. “I feel like a lizard,” Noemi remarked, glancing up at the lamp. Timo laughed, holding her hand and absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over the top as he scanned the menu. “Now, it may come as a shock to you, but I happen to be less-than-fluent in Swiss German, so you’re going to have to help me out here,” she said as she read the menu. “Pictures are only getting me so far.”

He chuckled, leaning over the table “Do you want the raclette or the fondue?”

Noemi’s brow furrowed. “Raclette?”

Timo pulled out his phone, quickly navigating to Google. “The best way to describe it is like warmed, bubbly cheese that’s like scraped onto the food. Potatoes, meat, that kind of stuff. As opposed to fondue, which is obviously just fondue.”

She looked at him, bewildered. “How many ways do the Swiss have to eat cheese?”

“We’ve been perfecting it for 700 years, No.”

The raclette was incredible, as expected, and the saison their waitress had suggested paired perfectly. It was nearing eight by the time they had paid the check, and they had an hour long drive back to his hometown, but the night wasn’t over yet. Some of the Christmas lights were still up, and a short walk around downtown led them to a little art gallery that was still open, Timo purchasing a gorgeous oil painting of the city, the clock tower of St. Peter in the background.

“Belated Christmas present?” he asked, grinning at Noemi, as he arranged for it to be shipped back to California.

She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

“Merci vielmal,” Timo said to the curator. “Come on, there’s one more thing I want to show you before we leave.”

Noemi blew on her hands before she stuffed them back in the pockets of her down jacket, following him out the door. She had gotten it a few months after she had been hired by the team full-time; there were a few different people on the social media team, so she didn’t go on every road trip, but it had become an invaluable addition to her wardrobe. She had made the foolish assumption that a November in Calgary couldn’t be too cold, and had only brought a fleece and a raincoat on one of her first trips with the team. It had been one of the worst mistakes of her life, and she had ended up having to run out to a Canada Goose outlet during her lunch break just so she wouldn’t freeze to death.

Noemi wasn’t sure where they were going, but supposed that she wasn’t in a place to be very skeptical. It was only her second time in Switzerland — she had flown out the summer prior to visit with him and his family — and she certainly wasn’t an expert, so she followed her boyfriend down the street and around the corners of tiny stone-faced apartments and old churches, a light sprinkling of snow dusting itself on her beanie. They walked for a few minutes before coming to the banks of Lake Zürich, where icy water would normally be lapping at their toes, even in January. Noemi hadn’t taken much of a look at the lake on the drive in; if she had, she would have noticed that it was completely frozen over, with couples walking and children playing tag even at the comparatively late hour.

He squeezed her hand as he stepped onto the ice. “Come on, babe.”

Noemi bit her lip. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Timo nodded. “I called and asked a friend of mine the day before we left, it’s been frozen for almost a week and the weather hasn’t gotten any warmer. It should be at least nine, ten inches thick. Plenty safe.” So she let him take her hand, pulling her out to step gingerly on the ice, one foot in front of the other.

“Does it freeze often?”

Timo shook his head. “First time since ‘65. You’re getting something special here, No.” The snow gave their feet some purchase on the ice, and it was only a few minutes before they were standing where the middle of the lake should be, looking up at the jet-black night sky. “Can you see Cassiopeia?” Timo asked, looking up to the sky, his hands jamming in his jacket pocket, playing with what Noemi could only assume were his keys.

After their first date, dinner and a comedy show, they had driven to a stunning viewpoint on the outskirts of the city, bringing a blanket and laying outside stargazing and lazily kissing until they had to go to sleep sometime after midnight. “I could stay here for hours,” he had murmured as she lay against his chest. “Don’t think Boughner would take too kindly to you being late for morning skate,” Noemi had said. But she wasn’t arguing; she would have stayed there the rest of the night if they could. And Cassiopeia had always been her favorite constellation, the first one she pointed out to Timo that night, and one she loved just as much almost two years later.

It took her less than ten seconds to find it, the familiar “W” beckoning her just like it had a hundred times before. She looked back to where Timo had been just a moment before, mouth half-open, ready to show him the stars.

But he wasn’t there. Well, not standing, at least. He was kneeling on the ice, a blue jewelry box with a ring inside it balanced in his hand as the other reached out gently for hers. She gave it to him, of course she did. “Noemi Francisca Silva, you came into my life when I least expected it. I didn’t think I wanted a relationship, you weren’t sure either, but somehow after a few months of trying to be ‘just friends,’ we realized that just friends wasn’t going to work. And God, am I glad we figured that out. You’ve somehow fit in my life so perfectly that I have no clue how it ever worked before you were there. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, but even more than that, you’re so full of joy, you’ve always got a kind word to say about anyone, and you’re the best person anyone could ever ask for to have in their corner. I’m so glad you’re in mine.” He paused for a moment, looking back up at her with a half-smile on his face. “You asked what Kevin wished us good luck for back at the airport. Well,” he shrugged, “this is it. Noemi, it’s been the honor of my life to get to love you, and I can only hope you’ll let me do it for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”

For as worried as she had been about the ice not twenty minutes before, Noemi barely paid any mind as she crashed down next to him, their foreheads touching as his shaking hands slid the ring onto her wedding finger. It was the easiest answer she’d ever given in her life. “Yes.”

As Noemi straddled Timo in the driver’s seat of his SUV two days before their wedding, the bags of falafel having long since been abandoned in the back seat, she thought that she had never been so grateful for tinted windows and early sunsets. “The milkshakes are going to melt,” she gasped out as his fingers started to trail up her shirt, playing with the line of her bra.

“We’ll throw them in the freezer when we get home,” he said. Well, there’s not really any way I can argue against that, Noemi considered. So she let him pull her shirt off, undo the buttons on her shorts, and grab a condom from the center console — he had made damn sure to clean it out before filming a “what’s in my car” bit with the video team earlier that week — and slid into her as she tried desperately to keep her moans in check. “It’s okay, baby, let it out. I want to hear,” he said.

And she was in no place to argue. So she gasped and whimpered while he moaned underneath her, the seat tilted back just enough for him to hit her just right. And Timo knew almost everything about Noemi. You don’t get to be together with someone for over two and a half years without learning about them. He knew she liked waffles over pancakes and hated having to get up early and how she almost cried the first time she got sent to the principal’s office in third grade. He knew her body better than she did, how to send her crashing into an orgasm that left them both breathless with tired, goofy grins on their faces after.

But as Noemi steadied her breathing, looking out the window — the parking lot was still mercifully empty — she thought that maybe she’d leave out the fact that they had just fucked right across the street from her childhood church. At least we’re not trying to get married there, Noemi thought. I’d take up the whole damn time for Confession just for the past month.

---

Noemi stuck her head out of the door of her seventh-floor hotel room. The coast was clear. It was the end of February, ten months after they had gotten together, and the team was in the middle of their last big Midwest sweep of the season. Going through the Central Division — plus a stop in Toronto — was incredible and Noemi was shaking herself awake every morning, realizing that this really was her job, but it was also exhausting, and as much as it may have seemed counterintuitive, lonely at times. Well, lonely in a particular way. She had the rest of the social media team, and she was friendly with most of the athletic training staff, and she saw the players pretty much every day, and she was friends with most of them. But the team was a little more than halfway through the trip, and she’d barely gotten to spend any time with Timo. Sure, there were meals, and the few off hours they got had been amazing — when they played the Preds, it was her first time in Nashville, and walking around Music Row had been the highlight of her weekend — but it wasn’t the same as if they were back in San Jose.

Okay, if she was being totally honest, she missed the sex. It obviously wasn’t like she was finding it impossible to go without, she had dealt with it just fine when he was on a roadie and she was back home, but knowing that they were so close but couldn’t quite get there was a special kind of torture. Until now, when Timo had texted her just five minutes before. Kevin’s just gone out for a run, says he’s getting food after, some baked potato place or whatever. Idk. He’s weird. Anyways, coast should be clear for an hour or so 👀

Noemi had initially rolled her eyes at the message, not even sure if she’d text him back, but the more she thought about it, the more she was tempted. Fuck it, she thought, texting him that she’d be right over. Which is how she found herself trying to sneak the 50 feet over to Timo’s room without being seen. Everyone knew they were together — they had for months — but the last thing she wanted was to have to explain to Erik Karlsson that the reason she was out pushing curfew was that she just really, really wanted dick. The poor man didn’t need to know.

So she barely had to tap her fingers on Timo’s door before he swung it open, walking her back towards the bed while holding her around the waist. His knees hit the edge of the bed. Thank God there were two; she wanted him, sure, but even she wasn’t about to cross the line that was having sex in her friend’s bed an hour before he was set to sleep in it. She fell on top of him, sighing as his hands wandered under the hem of her oversized Santa Clara t-shirt, a mainstay from her college years. “Gotta get this off of you,” he mumbled.

Noemi let out a breathy laugh. “Good things come to those who wait.” She barely had time to let out a gasp before he flipped her over. “It’s only been, what, a week?” Noemi asked, giggling.

“Too long,” Timo replied, his lips trailing down the column of her neck. Her shirt was quickly forgotten on the floor, his following after a few minutes. She had gotten so worked up over the past week that he barely had to spend two minutes between her legs before she was pulling his mouth back up to hers, her hands fumbling with his belt buckle before finally getting it undone. “Fuck, one second,” he breathed, half-falling off the bed as he stumbled over towards his suitcase, zipping open the inner pocket before pulling out a condom. “You ready, babe?” he asked as he rolled it on.

She nodded quickly. “Get over here.” He had just pressed into her when the door opened.

“Brought back some fries to share, thought it would be nice since you didn’t get a chance to—” Kevin hollered as he walked into the room, while Noemi tried frantically to grab anything she could to cover herself. “Oh God. Jesus. Were you two just fucking?”

“In a manner of speaking?” Noemi said, pulling Timo’s dress shirt tightly around her.

“God, why would you two? I’m not even going to ask. I don’t want to know. You two are gross,” he said, though he had the tiniest of smiles on his face when he finally brought his hand away from his eyes. “I’m going to, I don’t know. Go down to the lobby, and...Watch CNN or something. Be done when I get back.”

He was gone just as quickly as he had walked in, and Noemi fell back on the bed, her face buried into the nearest pillow. “We’re never going to be able to live that one down, will we?” she asked hopelessly, already knowing the answer.

“Nope.”

---

A month or so after he proposed, when the post-engagement glow had begun to fade and the equal parts excitement and apprehension about planning a wedding began to set in, they had to figure out how they actually wanted everything to work. Where and when and how and how many, things neither Timo nor Noemi had ever even considered went into planning a wedding. Things like figuring out if their vendor provided linens or if they had to rent their own, things like what to do with the flowers after the reception was over and how to reserve a block of hotel rooms. Enter Mohana. Noemi had been an art minor in college, focusing on watercolor and digital design, so she sent over bits and pieces, links to Pinterest boards and concept art, and then handed off the responsibility.

It was important to Timo that the wedding be during a time of year where the team would be able to make it; sure, summers were free, but everyone had vacations to go on and family to visit and he really didn’t want them to have to go to the expense of flying back to California just for a weekend. Even though he knew without a doubt that they would. And neither he nor Noemi thought it was a good idea to do it in spring — spring meant the playoff push and their schedules being filled even more than usual, and they didn’t want it to turn into just one more thing to worry about. Which meant fall or winter, but fall could be hectic with the season starting and most of the weekend dates for their venue had already been booked up. Which took them to December. Her own parents hadn’t really cared, but Noemi’s grandparents hadn’t been exactly thrilled when she told them she wasn’t having a church wedding. They got over it pretty quickly, though a lengthy call from her mom might have had something to do with that.

Noemi wasn’t initially a huge fan of having a Christmas wedding. Though, really, it wasn’t even a Christmas wedding — it was on the 22nd — she was worried that people would have already settled in with their families, that she’d be disrupting plans and dynamics and traditions, that everyone’s toes would freeze off during the ceremony and suddenly their plans would be waylaid by having to take half the bridal party to the hospital to be treated for frostbite. She might have been exaggerating on the last one a little bit; even Bay Area Decembers rarely dipped much below 50º in the afternoon. But the winery they had chosen as their venue was available, and Mohana loved planning winter weddings, and Timo’s family had already been planning to fly over to spend the holidays with them. And red was her favorite color. So, all things considered, it was an easy sell.

Planning the wedding itself turned out to me more difficult than either of them had anticipated. The Sharks’ season ended abruptly in the Cup finals that year, so they both got what planning they could out of the way before leaving for Switzerland. Cake tasting was done two days before leaving, and she had ordered her dress in March. Facetime meetings with Mohana were usually done in the California morning, which meant that more than once, she had been explaining vendor costs and asking if they preferred peonies or poppies as they were cooking dinner in his parents’ house. Noemi headed back to California in late August — she would have stayed longer, but was limited to a ninety day stay in a six month period without a visa and didn’t feel the need to go through the trouble when Timo was following a few weeks after. It wasn’t ideal, and she missed him more than she wanted to let on at times, but a month came and went and they were reunited.

---

A soft knock came on the door of the bridal suite. “Everyone decent?” the voice asked.

“We’re good!” Emily called back. It was a no-brainer for Noemi to pick her sister as her maid of honor, who had nearly cried when she asked her early in the summer.

Patrick stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind him. “Can’t have him see you before,” he said jokingly.

“Wouldn’t want that,” Noemi said, smiling softly. Patrick had stuck around after his retirement, working with the player development staff during the season. Everyone was the better for it, and they were all so grateful to have him still be a part of the family. Even apart from his consistency and dedication on the ice, he had always been a natural leader of any locker room he was in, mentoring younger players without being asked and always being there for anyone who needed him. “It’s what the team dad does,” he always said.

So it was only natural that Timo and Noemi had wanted to find a place for him in their wedding. He had been all too happy to step up and help them with last-minute preparations the morning of, checking in with their wedding planner Mohana and helping to get all of the organizational details squared away — he had even driven back to the hotel the guests were staying at to pick up one of the groomsmen’s shoes when he had realized he had brought the wrong pair. “You feeling good, kid?”

Noemi looked at the clock on the wall: half an hour until the ceremony started. She gave him a nervous smile. “Definitely got some butterflies, but they’re good ones. I’m excited.”

The corner of his eyes crinkled. “Good, I’m glad. I remember when Christina and I got married, I was nervous, sure, but I knew. Knew she was the one, knew she was it for me. I’m glad you and Timo found each other, Noemi. A piece of advice?” She nodded. “Don’t get so caught up in the nerves and feeling like you need everything to be perfect that you forget what the day’s about. It’s about celebrating you, and him, and this marriage that you’re going to be building together. The photos will turn out great, nobody’s going to get food poisoning, and you won’t trip walking down the aisle. So don’t overthink it.”

“Patrick, I just put my makeup on,” Noemi said, dabbing under her eyes with a napkin. “You can’t just say things like that and not expect me to cry.”

He bent down, kissing her on the cheek. “You look beautiful, Noemi. This is your day. Enjoy it.”

Patrick opened the door to the guy’s room just as Timo finished fastening his cufflinks. He looked up. “Were you just with No?”

Patrick nodded. “She looks amazing, Timo.”

“Course she did,” he said, like it was the easiest answer in the world. ”How was she?”

“Good. Nervous, but good. She’s with the girls, they were all drinking mimosas or something while they did their makeup,” Patrick said, sitting on the arm of the couch.

Timo’s eyebrows lifted. “Was she in her dress?”

“No,” Patrick said, rolling his eyes. Well-meaning though he was, he knew that Timo had been pestering Noemi to show him at least a glimpse of her dress, to no avail. She had ended up keeping it at her parents’ house when his bothering got to be too much. She loved it though. “You’ll see her soon.” Not soon enough, Timo thought.

“You here to impart some sage wisdom, Patty?” Kevin asked, poking his head out of the bathroom as he straightened his tie. Red for the groomsmen, a subtle plaid for Timo.

“As a matter of fact,” Patrick said, “I did have some things I thought about if you’d like to hear them.”

Timo nodded quickly. “Of course.” It wasn’t just that he respected him for his role on the team and his former place in the locker room, it was his dedication to his family and healthy marriage that made him immediately tune in to whatever he had to say.

“I know you’ve probably already figured this out already, having been together for as long as you have and living together now, but in case you haven’t. When you’re in a relationship, a marriage especially, you’re on the same team. You’re going after the same goal. Happiness and comfort and strength. Remember that. You’ll have disagreements, you might fight, but don’t let that overshadow the fact that whatever issue you two are facing, you’re meant to go at it together. Two,” he ticked off on his finger, “you’re going to have to compromise, probably more than you realize. Whether it’s what kind of take-out you’re going to get or where you’re going for vacation or what you’re going to do when you hang up the skates, listen to what she says, think about your priorities as a couple, and talk it out. And sometimes you’re going to have to learn when to let it go and let her win, regardless of if you think you’re right or not.”

“I’m learning that one,” Timo said as he finished tying his dress shoes.

Patrick smiled. “Good. Last, and probably the most important one, this is your priority now. Your marriage is your priority, she’s your priority. You said you guys talked about kids, yeah?” Timo nodded. “When you have kids, then, your family comes first. Your kids come first. I know it’s sometimes hard for people in our positions to wrap their brains around, when your whole life has been nothing but going to the rink and going to the gym, but there’s things that you’re going to need to prioritize over that, and that’s okay. The team understands it, everyone understands it. If you miss an optional skate to drop your kids off at school, or take off the gym for a week in the summer to go on vacation. If you’ve got to miss a game because your wife’s having a baby, or you take a call in a meeting when you shouldn’t because it’s Noemi and she needs you, that’s okay. Balance doesn’t come naturally to hockey players, hardly ever, but it’s something you’re going to need to learn, even better than you might think you know now. You do that, and you’ll be alright.”

There were less than ten minutes until Noemi had to leave, and Emily had just finished fastening the last button on her dress. Noemi took a deep breath, smoothing over the lace at her hips and straightening the edges of the three-quarter sleeves. “God, it’s really about to happen, isn’t it?” she asked in awe.

Her mom squeezed her shoulder. “It is.”

“You need me to drive the getaway car?” Alise, her best friend from college asked, eyebrows raised, one hand playing with the skirt of her crimson bridesmaid’s dress. “I like Timo, I really do, but I love you more.”

Noemi let out a snort. “Thanks, Alise, but I think I’m going to have to pass on this one. We put down a fat deposit on this place and I wouldn’t want to lose it.”

“Pity, I just got the tank filled.”

One of her other bridesmaids brought over the veil, gently tucking the comb in right above Noemi’s low bun. Noemi brushed her fingers over the comb’s pearls and clay flowers, remembering when Timo presented it to her as an early wedding present. “I was thinking it could be your something new.” Her late grandma’s pearl earrings were her something old, a ribbon from her mother’s wedding dress was wrapped around her bouquet, and a blue-edged handkerchief was pinned on the inside of her dress. Needless to say, it was gorgeous, and as Noemi slipped on her heels, she couldn’t help but think that it had all worked out better than she could have imagined.

Mohana poked her head in, pushing back her dark hair as she smiled at the room. “Everyone ready?”

“Bridesmaids are good,” Emily said, looking around. “No?”

Noemi nodded, taking yet another deep breath. “Good to go.”

“Bouquets are outside, I was just with the guys and everything’s perfect, ties are all tied, boutonnières are all in. The second shooter got a few really sweet pictures of Timo’s mom putting his in.”

“God, I almost forgot about the pictures,” Noemi said, even though the photographer had been in the room while everyone was getting ready.

“Alright, let’s go get my bride married!” Mohana beamed. She handed everyone’s bouquets to them as they exited, ending with Noemi. She had designed the bouquets herself, white poppies and red roses and eucalyptus branches all tied together with her mother’s ribbon, but the florist had really outdone herself. A perk of working with the business end of the team was that it took her almost no time at all to get the vendor contacts that the team used for all of their formal events, and a perk of being a WAG was that it took her one text in a group chat to get the number of one of the South Bay’s best wedding planners. And Mohana Kaur had been nothing short of a lifesaver. She had taken Noemi’s vague sketches and fabric samples that she had picked up at Michael’s and turned it into what could only be described as a winter paradise.

The flower girl, Noemi’s niece Elle, grabbed her basket of petals, looking back at her with delight. “Flowers, Auntie No!”

Noemi nodded, beaming back at the little girl. “Very pretty flowers, El-bear. You remember what to do with them?”

“I go after Tobias,” Tomas’ son was their ring bearer, and had honestly occupied most of the attention at the rehearsal, not like she minded, “who goes after Mommy, who goes after Auntie Emily. And then I throw the flowers while I’m walking.”

“Perfect, sweet girl,” Noemi said, bending down — as much as she could in her heels — and gathering up the youngest Silva in a hug. She loved her four-year-old niece more than just about anyone, and it was moments like this that made her that much more excited to have children of her own someday. Mohana had silently gotten all of the bridesmaids in order, looking at Noemi as soon as she stood up. “Showtime?” Noemi asked.

Mohana gave her a wide smile. “You know it.” After giving her attendants one last cursory look, she laid a gentle hand on the space between Noemi’s shoulders, left bare from her open-backed dress. “You look gorgeous, Noemi, and the wedding’s going to be incredible.” With a nod of her head, she led the wedding party down the halls of the winery, stopping at the oaken set of double doors that stood as the only barrier between Noemi and the rest of her life. She could hear noise behind the doors, the chattering of the people most important to her in her life.

Emily turned back towards her sister, squeezing Noemi’s hand. “I love you, No. You picked a good one.” She stepped off to the side as the doors opened, and one by one her bridesmaids walked out, then Tobias, then Elle, until it was only Mohana left. She gave Noemi’s veil a final adjustment, and then the music changed. A gorgeous acoustic version of Coldplay’s Yellow, one of Noemi’s favorite songs and one that had become something of a theme in her and Timo’s relationship. It was playing in his car the night of their first date, she was wearing a yellow dress when he told her he loved her for the first time, they had gone to a Coldplay concert at Levi’s Stadium the summer before the wedding, just after he had flown back from Switzerland.

Noemi took a deep breath, looked down at her ring, and stepped out the door. Some of her friends had been surprised when she told them she’d be walking down alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her dad, or wasn’t close to him — the opposite was true. She just felt that there wasn’t a need to feel like someone was “giving her away.” Nobody but herself had the power to do that, so nobody but herself needed to be a part of that element of the ceremony. It was the same reason she had chosen to hyphenate her name instead of just taking Timo’s. She had always loved the idea of a family having the same name, of everyone being easily identifiable as being connected to one another in that sort of way, and she didn’t like the seeming disjointeness that would happen when they had kids, even if if wouldn’t matter to anyone but her. But she also loved her name, loved how it sounded and what it meant and the connection it gave to her ancestors. So Silva-Meier it was.

Her veil trailed behind her as she made her way down the aisle, past the rows filled with 200 of their friends and family who had proven invaluable resources and support over the nearly-three years of their relationship. She risked a look at the end of the aisle, just off to the side of the eucalyptus-and-rose edged wedding arch. Where her fiancé was, the last time she could really call him her fiancé. Timo wasn’t necessarily more stoic than most of the other men she knew, and he was actually a fantastic communicator, but he wasn’t always one to show his heart on his sleeve. No such uncertainty today. The corners of his eyes were glassy with unshed tears, a few of which threatened to escape down his cheek. Kevin tapped him on the shoulder, handing him a handkerchief. I hope the photographer got that, Noemi thought distractedly.

It sometimes was hard for Timo to outwardly show his feelings, especially at the beginning of their relationship; Noemi loved Timo wildly, and there was no doubt in her mind that he felt the same, but Switzerland was never known as a particularly warm-and-fuzzy country, he was still an NHL player with all of the expectations and influences of hypermasculinity that came along with that. There were three times in their relationship where Noemi could remember seeing him cry. Eight months into their relationship, when her mom, Katherine, had had a stroke, he sat with her in the chapel of O’Connor Hospital as she sobbed harder than she ever had in her entire life, and he cried with her. The second time was when he proposed, and when she said yes. The third time was the May before, when the Sharks had gotten within one game of finally hoisting the Stanley Cup but fell to the Capitals in Game 6. At home. She had seen him lose games, seen him lose playoff series’, but that had been a whole new kind of hurt that she had never seen from him, and one that she never wanted to see again.

This was the fourth, and as she reached the end of the aisle, Noemi couldn’t help but think that if she reached up to her eyes, they’d be wet too. Noemi handed her bouquet off to Emily, and reached over for Timo. “Your hands are shaking, No,” he murmured as the crowd settled back down, their officiant extending a welcome to the crowd that the two barely paid attention to. The introduction, the invocation, all went by in the blink of an eye. “Timo, would you like to go first?” the officiant asked. Noemi had been so caught up in the surrealism of the day that she barely realized it was time for the vows.

“Of course,” he said, giving Noemi’s hands one last squeeze before beginning. “I always thought it was cliché when people say that love comes into your life when you least expect it, or when you’re not looking for it. A 23-year-old in the NHL usually isn’t looking to settle down and get married anytime soon.” Noemi gave a watery laugh. “But with you, I quickly discovered how right that was. Noemi Francisca Silva, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted and, somehow, you fill parts of myself I didn’t even realize were missing until you came along. I could go on for hours about how much I love you, everything about you. I love how whenever Hozier comes on the radio, you turn the volume in the car up so loud I can’t hear anything else, even when you’re singing along. I love how you never wrap a present without curling the ribbons yourself, no matter how many times I tell you we can buy bows. I love how you don’t even have to ask me what kind of pizza I want when we order anymore, because you already know. But most of all, I love how you’re my partner, my best friend, the person I love the most in this world. And in a few minutes, you’ll be my wife. I love you, No.”

“You had an unfair advantage,” Noemi said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m calling a foul.” She took a deep breath. “When I look back on our relationship, from the first time we met, to our vacations, to our anniversaries, to the day you proposed, there’s one theme that I keep coming back to. It’s the first thing I thought of when I sat down to write these weeks ago. It’s how you never fail to make me feel so unbelievably loved. It doesn’t matter where we are, or who we’re with. We could be at one of the fundraisers, where you’re meant to be schmoozing with Silicon Valley tech execs, or at a party with our friends. You hear me, you see me, and when I’m with you, I feel like we’re the only two people in the room. The biggest piece of relationship I ever got, from my vovó, was to marry someone who makes you want to be a better person. I’ve never met anyone who does that as well as you do, Timo, and you don’t even have to do anything. I’m a better version of myself, the best version of myself, just from being around you.” She paused, going over the words that she had been rehearsing in her head for two weeks straight whenever her fiancé was out of earshot one last time. “Du bosch mine Schatz, und Ich lieb di Bis dass de Tod eus scheidet.”

Timo’s breath caught in his throat at her words. He knew that Noemi had been trying to pick up bits and pieces of Swiss German, but he wasn’t always there to help and it was a notoriously tricky language to pick up. That she had done it on her own made it all the more meaningful. “Timo, do you take Noemi to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?” He spoke without hesitation. “I do.”

“And do you, Noemi, take Timo to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others for so long as you both shall live?” Giving her answer was as easy as breathing. “I do.”

Her nervous hands slid Timo’s wedding band onto his left ring finger, and he moved hers into place above her engagement ring. “Now that Timo and Noemi have given themselves to each other with vows, the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Noemi had had a lot of kisses in her life, more than she could count. There was her first boyfriend, and senior prom, and college parties, and everything in between. But when Timo’s lips met hers, underneath the sprig of mistletoe that hung from their wedding arch, as he became her husband, she knew without a doubt that this was her favorite one.

#hockey imagines #timo meier #hockey smut #hockey writing #hockey imagine #hockey #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl smut #nhl writing #nhl

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fplbash · 4 years ago

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New Signings & FPL Considerations

With the January transfer window quickly approaching, I thought it's a good chance to review some of the high profile summer signings from a FPL perspective to see if we can take any insights to better inform our decisions on any upcoming January signings. I’m also a big Liverpool fan so I included some references to our team. I reviewed 21 summer signings that I would argue were signed to play in the First 11 or at least challenge to break into the First 11. Data is taken after GW 12 & after the Tuesday games between Chelsea/Wolves & Man City/West Brom in GW13.

I reviewed mostly the minutes of each signing, number of starts, general form, stats & most importantly, FPL points. Here are some of my key takeaways. 1) Limited minutes for new signings can make new FPL assets a big risk.

You could argue that minutes played is the most important metric when choosing our FPL assets. If your players are not on the pitch, they simply cannot score FPL points.

When you start the season or Wildcard, I would build a team around some key players who have a history of guaranteed minutes in FPL. I believe availability is one of the most key attributes for a player which is why Gini is my favourite Liverpool player & Matip/Keita frustrate the hell out of me. It is an unnecessary risk to start the season with multiple new summers signings or using a second wildcard in January to bring in any new January signings.

After reviewing the 21 players, there is a worrying trend with regard to their minutes played over the first 12 GWs of this season. This could be a result of multiple factors including injuries, tactics, form, sharpness, covid etc.

However, the 21 players played just over half the available minutes in the first twelve GWs with 11,725 minutes from an available 20,880. There have been some summer signings who have been integral to their teams already & some signings who barely made it onto the pitch. I’ve highlighted these below:

2) Previous Premier League Experience Can Be The Difference

Out of the 21 players that I reviewed, 4 players were signed directly from a Premier League club (Wilson, Jota, Doherty & Chilwell)

This gives us an obvious advantage as we can review previous FPL history. However, previous stats from his former club does not guarantee that he will post similar numbers at his new club but it definitely arms us with more information before making a decision on whether or not to include these new signings in our FPL team.

Chilwell & Wilson are the two highest point scorers in FPL from the 21 summer signings with 65 & 68 points respectively. In terms of FPL points, 3 of the top 6 summer signings have previous premier league experience.

Chilwell is the second highest scoring defender in the game whilst Wilson is the fifth highest scoring forward. Doherty is the only significant under-performer who just can’t seem to nail down that RB position at Spurs.

Jota has had a great start to his Liverpool career. While it took some games to break into the starting 11, typical of most Klopp signings, Jota has scored 5 goals & 47 points up until his recent injury. I was so excited when we were linked with Timo Werner and felt a little underwhelmed by the signing of Jota. I guess I should never doubt Klopp or Michael Edwards ever again :)

I think Werner is an interesting signing to compare with Jota. While Werner has played the most minutes (1,113) of all signings, Jota has only 12 less points in less than half the minutes (499). I think Jota’s previous premier league experience has helped him settle into his new role at Liverpool. It can be difficult and it can take time to adjust to the Premier League. I think this is further highlighted by the form of Havertz, Cavani, Van de Beek, Brewster & Rodrigo.

3) Build team around proven FPL assets.

This may seem very obvious but as someone who started with Werner, transferred out Werner in GW2 & bought again in my GW8 Wildcard, I think I will avoid any big January signings that come with an expensive price tag in FPL.

Yes, it’s exciting to have a new player in your team which could explode onto the scene (I’m looking at you here Bruno) but I prefer to wait. It could be a good chance to climb the ranks but it’s very risky. I prefer to wait, gather more data on the player & then bring him in if it makes sense. I would like to see that player getting starts, posting good stats & get a general feeling that he has settled in well to his new club, especially if he is coming from a different league. I also don’t think FPL is a game where you have to jump on the differentials right away, especially so early in the season.

I think it’s a much better strategy to start with Salah, KDB, Bruno, Son, Kane or Vardy as your premium picks. They have a proven track record in delivering those sweet captain hauls. If you want to take a risk with new January signings, I would focus on cheaper players with proven premier league experience, highlighted by Callum Wilson. I have a short comparison below on Werner vs. Kane/Vardy & compared xG, xA, goals, assists, FPL points with data taken from Fantasy Football Hub (https://fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/) from GW1-12. I choose these players because I consider them to be the three premium forward picks this year & Werner was in over 2.8 million teams in GW1, including mine!

All three premium players are clearly key players for their respective teams based on their minutes player. Kane & Vardy have both outscored Werner in FPL, posting better goals, assists, xG & Big Chances. Kane outscores Werner in every statistic while Werner marginally outscores Vardy in xA, shots & shots in box.

Once Werner settles into the Chelsea team tactically and improves his confidence in front of goal, I think he will be more than able to keep up with Vardy and Kane. However, it usually takes time to settle in so I believe there is no need to jump on new January signings right away. I’ll be keeping my eye out for any signings with a lower FPL price tag & previous premier league experience!

This is my first time ever writing an article online. I’ve enjoyed it and if you would like to give me feedback, please feel free to do so. I plan to write a few more articles like this and even contemplated factoring in more in depth statistics but for now, I thought it made sense to keep it simple and take feedback. Let me know what you think. Good luck for the rest of the season!

Thanks,

FPL_Bash https://twitter.com/FPL_Bash

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sportsleague365 · 4 years ago

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The transfer window is now open following the finale of the Premier League season. Certain clubs have their work cut out ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, which does not start until September due to the coronavirus pandemic. Timo Werner was at Chelsea’s final game of the seasonGetty Images - GettyChelsea have already been busy getting the deals for Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech over the line long before the window opened. It remains to be seen what the financial impact will be like for clubs caused by COVID-19. Some teams may be restricted to tighter budgets but there is sure to be plenty of activity ahead of the next season. Here at talkSPORT.com, we’ve taken a look at 10 transfers that could happen this summer before the window closes on Monday, October 5. KAI HAVERTZ TO CHELSEA Chelsea have already made a statement of intent with the signings of Werner and Ziyech. Last summer, Frank Lampard was unable to make any signings and also lost star player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. The Blues look like they are making up for lost time ahead of the 2020/21 campaign and could be a real force next season. One player who looks likely to be heading to Stamford Bridge is Bayer Leverkusen star Havertz. Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims Havertz has already agreed personal terms with Chelsea and the two clubs will now thrash out a deal. A £73million price tag, including add-ons, and the Blues are likely to want to get this one done as soon as possible. Kai Havertz looks likely to join Chelsea this summergettyJONATHAN DAVID TO LEEDS The newly-promoted side will want a striker heading into the Premier League season with serious doubts about Patrick Bamford. Bamford scored 16 goals but his conversion rate was poor with 143 total shots in 45 Championship appearances. There has been interest in Gent striker David, who has also been linked with Liverpool, Man United, and Arsenal. The 20-year-old has netted 37 goals in the previous two seasons and is quite the talented prospect. Lille have already seen a £23m bid rejected and Leeds have also made a proposal. Ivan de Witte, the Gent president, recently said: “The contacts stopped this week but other clubs are still interested with better proposals, including Leeds. But I once again explained to Jonathan we want him to play for us.” Jonathan David is wanted by Leeds this summerGetty ImagesLATEST FOOTBALL NEWS GOSSIP Lallana completes Brighton move, Liverpool exit confirmed, Aubameyang latestAUBA AND OUT? Aubameyang's dad posts cryptic message amid rumours of Arsenal exitLATEST Chelsea news live: Kai Havertz transfer close, Jan Oblak eyed, Willian twistGOSS Man United news live: Red Devils urged to 'get Kane', £90million Jadon Sancho bid madeGOSS Cryptic message by Aubameyang's dad, Upamecano to be offered contract, Coutinho updateROAD TO WEMBLEY Cardiff v Fulham commentary: Championship play-off clash confirmed teamsUPDATE Mbappe race to be fit for Champions League as PSG star receives injury diagnosisFRIEND! McGregor and Ramos' bromance blossoms as fighter is invited to Real Madrid trainingTHOMAS PARTEY TO ARSENAL The Ghana ace is reportedly Mikel Arteta’s top target heading into the summer transfer window. Arsenal are in need of reinforcements in midfield and Arteta wants a box-to-box player, with the Atletico Madrid man the ideal fit. Goal report that the £44m release clause could be an issue as the Gunners do not have the funds unless they sell players or negotiate a lower price. A swap deal could also be of interest for Atletico with Alexandre Lacazette, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira mentioned as possible players who could head in the opposite direction. Partey has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier LeagueGetty Images - GettyCALLUM WILSON TO TOTTENHAM The vultures will be circling on Bournemouth to pick up their best players now the Cherries have been relegated to the Championship. Eddie Howe’s side suffered final day heartbreak as they went down despite beating Everton. The Sun say Wilson, who has scored just eight goals this season, is a £10m target for Tottenham. The England striker’s form has dropped off this term after scoring 14 goals and registering nine assists last season. Wilson was valued at around £50m when he signed a new long-term contract last summer, worth a reported £110,000-a-week. And the Cherries would be willing to offload those wages by selling the former Coventry hitman in the summer transfer window. Callum Wilson still has three years left on his contractGetty ImagesANDRE ONANA TO CHELSEA The Blues need a new goalkeeper this summer and it is likely Kepa Arrizabalaga will exit Stamford Bridge. Signed for a world-record fee, the goalkeeper has failed to live up to expectations in his two seasons with the club. Frank Lampard even dropped him for a few games earlier this season in favour of veteran Willy Caballero. Ajax goalkeeper Onana has long been touted as a potential replacement for Kepa. Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana is attracting interest from ChelseaGetty Images - GettyThey face competition from Bayer Leverkusen, though, who have recently seen an £18m bid rejected. Onana could certainly be a more cost effective replacement than the likes of £90m-rated Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid. The Cameroon international is also thought to be open to the idea of a move away from Ajax. SAID BENRAHMA TO WEST HAM The Algerian has enjoyed a magnificent season with Brentford in the Championship, even if it stuttered towards the end. The Bees lost their final two games of the season when a win in either would have guaranteed automatic promotion. They also have their work cut out in the play-offs as they look to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to Swansea. If Brentford don’t go up then 17-goal Benrahma could be heading for the exit. Said Benrahma could leave Brentford this summer if they don’t get promoted to the Premier LeagueGetty Images - GettyArsenal and Chelsea have been linked but both have bigger priorities than signing the forward, especially if funds would be limited. West Ham are likely to target Benrahma, according to the Mirror, if Brentford fail to go up as David Moyes looks to rebuild his squad after they avoided relegation. JADON SANCHO TO MANCHESTER UNITED Sancho to Man United is likely to be the transfer story that will rumble on throughout the whole summer. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have been strongly linked with the Borussia Dortmund forward who has lit up the Bundesliga this season. He scored 17 goals and added 16 assists as Dortmund finished second in the table. Bild report that United’s opening bid of £89m has been turned down but they are set to return with a new improved offer. Dortmund are said to be holding out for around £109m. Borussia Dortmund reportedly want £109million for Jadon SanchoGetty Images - GettyNATHAN AKE TO MAN CITY Central defence is an area of the pitch that caused Pep Guardiola plenty of problems this season. Vincent Kompany left for Anderlecht last summer and was not replaced and Aymeric Laporte suffered a knee injury and missed a large part of the season. The position will likely be a priority and with Bournemouth being relegated it could offer a prime opportunity to pick up Ake. Eddie Howe offered no comment on transfer speculation on the 25-year-old but he is likely to be chased by plenty of clubs. Nathan Ake signed for Bournemouth in 2017 from ChelseaGetty Images - GettyPIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG TO EVERTON Everton look set to fend off competition from Tottenham and win the race for Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, talkSPORT understands. Tottenham have made a late offer for the Denmark international, but the Toffees are favourites to finally land their man after two failed bids. According to talkSPORT sources, Hojbjerg favours a move to Spurs, but Daniel Levy is unwilling to meet Southampton’s asking price. Hojbjerg is on the verge of signing for EvertonGetty ImagestalkSPORT also understands that the 24-year-old has been to Everton’s Finch Farm training ground and has agreed personal terms with them, making a move to Carlo Ancelotti’s side increasingly likely. He is set to become Everton’s second signing ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, after the Merseysiders agreed a deal for ex-Marseille defender and free agent Niels Nkounkou. JACK GREALISH TO MANCHESTER UNITED He got the job done for Aston Villa and kept his boyhood club in the Premier League with a goal in the final game against West Ham. The club captain has taken Villa as far as they can go and the 24-year-old will be forgiven for wanting a move. Manchester United is the likely destination and their third place finish, meaning Champions League football will be returning to Old Trafford, could help their pursuit. Villa boss Dean Smith is keen for Grealish to stay and joked about getting him to sign a new contract while drunk. Jack Grealish kept Aston Villa in the Premier League with a final day goal against West Ham“I gave him a few shots last night and got him to sign a new five-year contract,” he joked on thetalkSPORT Breakfast. “It’s not been done yet… it was written in Sambuca, I’m not sure if it was mine or his! “It was a heavy night, I’m not sure what time I got to bed, but I slept in my office back at the training ground. I did an Eddie Jones and slipped off so the lads didn’t see me go! “But no, seriously, that’s a chat for another day. “Jack’s a wonderful lad and I’ve got all the time in the world for him and I’m so pleased that he scored the goal that kept us in the Premier League yesterday.” #SaidBenrahma #PremierLeague #KaiHavertz

#SaidBenrahma #PremierLeague #KaiHavertz

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footballghana · 4 years ago

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Thomas Partey among 20 stars who could be on the move this summer

The transfer window is open and there are A-list players in demand and whose futures are uncertain. We take a look at some of the big names who will be the centre of attention during the transfer window...

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: The value of a goalscorer

They say first-class strikers are hard to find but Arsenal certainly have one in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He has hit the 20-goal mark in each of his two full seasons in the Premier League and his record of 54 goals in 84 top-flight games in England is a remarkable return, especially given Arsenal's struggles over that time.

So why the delay over handing him a new deal? Aubameyang's current contract is up in 11 months and after watching the striker fire Arsenal into the FA Cup final, boss Mikel Arteta implored the Arsenal board to extend his deal.

At 31, the hierarchy may have reservations about tying themselves into an expensive contract for a player who may be beyond his absolute peak. Mesut Ozil, anyone? Meanwhile, a transfer fee from one of the many major clubs reportedly interested in signing him would be a financial boost in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

But putting a price on Aubameyang's goals surely weighs in favour of keeping him at the club. Success on the pitch will drive Arsenal's recovery off it and ensuring Arteta - who has made an impressive, encouraging start to his project - has the firepower to get Arsenal back to where they want to be must be the priority during this transfer window.

Arsenal can still qualify for Europe if they win next week's FA Cup final. How important might that result be in determining the player's future?

Peter Smith

Jack Grealish: Decision time looming

Jack Grealish has admitted he is "not too sure" about his Aston Villa future - and that is little surprise with the hype surrounding him. Only Kevin De Bruyne made more chances across the entire Premier League season, and the Villa captain made almost a quarter of the club's scoring opportunities on his own. That sort of creativity is difficult to teach, which is something clearly not lost on long-term suitors Manchester United, who appear to be leading the chase for his signature.

Although he has spent the season largely cutting in from the Villa left flank, it appears there could be a Grealish-shaped hole on the right of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's front three; after a bright start, summer recruit Dan James' form has faded, while Mason Greenwood's future could be more central.

But United's end-of-season surge has reportedly cooled their interest and a question mark may lie in Grealish's price tag. United chief Ed Woodward has admitted the club has not been exempt from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and with Villa now safe from relegation, Grealish's age and the often-inflated price tag on English players, his signature could make a significant dent in their transfer kitty.

Ron Walker

Jadon Sancho: Can Man Utd match Dortmund's valuation?

Few players are generating as much interest and intrigue as Jadon Sancho ahead of the transfer window. The 20-year-old, who turned his back on Manchester City to join Borussia Dortmund in 2017, has produced another stellar season in the Bundesliga, with City's rivals Manchester United now believed to be at the front of the queue for his signature.

In league games alone this season, Sancho scored 17 goals and provided 16 assists. It is an extraordinary return for any player, let alone one who only waved goodbye to his teens in March. Across Europe's major leagues, there are only five players who have had a hand in more goals in 2019/20. That list includes Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It places Sancho in esteemed company and it explains why he is in demand. Dortmund had previously placed a £100m asking price on his head, but Manchester United hope to pay considerably less in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, with Sky Sports News reporting they will seek to do a deal at around £50m. It would be a steal if they can pull it off.

Nick Wright

Mesut Ozil: What's the exit plan?

How do you solve a problem like Mesut Ozil? It is a long running saga that never seems to end, with Arsenal's highest earner appearing happy to see out his £350,000-a-week contract in north London.

Gunners head coach Mikel Arteta has appeared to draw a line under the saga. Ozil, who has a year left on his Arsenal contract, does not look to be part of the Spaniard's plans. The stark fact of the matter is that Ozil didn't play a minute of football after the Premier League restarted and wasn't even on the bench for their final two matches.

It is no secret Arsenal would love to get Ozil's mammoth wages off their wage book but will Arteta's strong management be enough to convince the German it is time to leave the Emirates Stadium? Are there even any clubs interested in signing him and paying his mammoth wages after the financial strain of the coronavirus pandemic? Will Arsenal even pay some of his wages to finally get the World Cup winner away from the club?

These are the questions the Gunners will finally hope to have answers to as they look to solve their Ozil conundrum.

Oliver Yew

Wilfried Zaha: Time up at Palace?

It was no secret that Wilfried Zaha wanted to leave Crystal Palace last summer, but the move didn't happen and despite his initial disappointment he managed to get his head right and focus on doing his best for Palace. But a year on, and Zaha finds himself in the same situation.

Palace haven't matched his on-field ambitions, he's changed agents and he recently said he wanted to win trophies. Palace held firm on their £80m valuation last summer but that sort of asking price will be unlikely with the current Covid-19 pandemic expected to affect spending. Arsenal were interested last season - as were Everton.

Crystal Palace signed off with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham but manager Roy Hodgson admits he faces another battle to keep hold of Zaha.

"It's a dilemma for the club and for him if he is so set on leaving," he said.

"We still like him very much, we can't make him like us. It's obviously affected him because his form in the last few weeks has been quite poor considering what he is capable of doing. I don't have an answer."

Another summer of speculation awaits.

Lewis Jones

Kai Havertz: Germany's young star on his way to the Premier League?

There is considerable hype surrounding Germany's hottest prospects, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Chelsea have already snapped up the former from RB Leipzig and they are eager to prise the latter away from Bayer Leverkusen as well.

But at just 21 years old, Havertz will cost a premium price - reportedly in the region of £70-90m. Why so much? The versatile forward set a Bundesliga record for most goals by a teenager with 17 last season and became the youngest player to reach 100 league appearance in the German top-flight this season.

What will Frank Lampard be getting? According to Statsbomb, Havertz is strikingly similar to fellow youngster Christian Pulisic - who began to look capable of filling Eden Hazard's boots as the season progressed this season. Chelsea appear to be in the hunt for even more youthful flair - as if they needed any more.

Adam Smith

Gareth Bale: Will he settle for fringe role at Real?

Gareth Bale's spell at Real Madrid has descended into a soap opera. During their recent charge towards La Liga glory, he was most commonly seen joking around in the stands, an unused substitute with little prospect of winning back his place in the team. When the squad threw Zinedine Zidane into the air in celebration after the 2-1 win over Villarreal that sealed the title, Bale watched quietly from the fringes.

His relationship with Zidane has been fractured since the 2018 Champions League final win over Liverpool, when he was left out of the starting line-up only to come off the bench and score the decisive goals, and recent evidence suggests it is now broken beyond repair. Bale has only started five games since the turn of the year and one since the restart.

The problem for Real Madrid, of course, is that Bale has a contract - and an extraordinarily lucrative one at that - until 2022. The Welshman was close to sealing a move to China last summer, but the deal fell through and his agent, Jonathan Barnett, now insists he has no plans to leave. It remains to be seen whether any Premier League sides could try to change his mind.

Nick Wright

Lionel Messi: The beginning of the end of his time at Barca?

There is no chance of Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona this summer. The Argentina star has vowed to stay at least until the end of his current contract in 2021. But this window could mark the beginning of a lot of speculation over his future after a tumultuous campaign at the Nou Camp.

Messi is unsettled and frustrated at Barca and - for the first time - is seriously thinking of leaving next year, having broken off from new contract talks. He is fed up of conflict with the board, and of widespread rumours that he is the one that calls the shots at the club.

Inevitable links will be made with Manchester City for as long as Pep Guardiola, whom he considers to be the best coach he has worked with, is still the manager, while Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte has labelled their link with Messi as "fake news". Regardless, there is a lot of time still to pass before his contract expires, so a lot of time to either work things out or widen the rift even further.

Lyall Thomas

Harry Kane: Sticking with Spurs?

Remember the stir created during lockdown when Harry Kane told Sky Sports he would be prepared to leave Tottenham if he felt the club wasn't progressing?

"I love Spurs, I'll always love Spurs. But it's one of those things - I've always said if I don't feel we're progressing as a team or going in the right direction, then I'm not someone to just stay there for the sake of it," said Kane. "It all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team. So it's not a definite I'm going to stay there forever - but it's not a no either."

His talent up front needs no debate. He is an outstanding striker and would certainly bring goals to any team he plays for with Golden Boots from the Premier League (twice) and World Cup as proof. Any forward who performs well will be loved by the fans, but there would be the same relationship between player and another club that Kane currently has with Tottenham?

This will likely be on his list of considerations but so will trophies and a player of his calibre deserves to be lifting them. Mourinho is often described as a serial winner but with Tottenham being that 'almost, but not quite' club, can he instil a winning mentality that will convince Kane to stay with his boyhood side? And would he have a better chance of winning silverware with the likes of Manchester United? Or should he be aiming right for the top where trophies are a requirement - not an aim - such as Real Madrid, who have been linked with Kane in the past.

This season has been the antithesis of progress for Tottenham with a dramatic change of manager and a first finish outside the top four since the 2014/15 season. Kane has once again had his injury problems and may want to wait a little longer to see if Mourinho can inspire an improvement at Spurs. But there would certainly be plenty of suitors willing to meet his demands...

Charlotte Marsh

Declan Rice: West Ham star would not be cheap

Declan Rice's future at West Ham depended a great deal on what division the club would find themselves playing in next season. With the Hammers' Premier League status now assured they have at least guaranteed Rice will not be leaving on the cheap. That is if he even moves at all.

Despite interest from Chelsea - the club that released Rice at the age of 14 - West Ham have been clear they have no desire to sell the England international. "He's under contract...he's not going anywhere unless you get one of those steel vans that have the cash in it," Hammers boss David Moyes said after the final day of the Premier League season.

Moyes is keen to build his team around young players such as Rice and, with the likes of Ben Johnson and Grady Diangana also at the club, the Scot's plan for a new, youthful and vibrant West Ham could begin to take shape quite quickly.

If Chelsea do decide to follow up their interest this summer, there is no doubt they will need deep pockets - West Ham value Rice at around £80m. In previous years, West Ham have experienced the likes of Dimitri Payet and Marko Arnautovic trying to force through moves away from the club. They were successful in doing so. However, Rice is unlikely to deploy such tactics.

History tells us that there will come a time when West Ham will eventually part ways with their very best talent - but, for now at least, they can demand the utmost amount for their star man.

Nick Lustig

Ben Chilwell: Can Chelsea or City convince Leicester to sell?

Could Chelsea's summer spending spree continue with a move for Leicester's Ben Chilwell? Frank Lampard is known to be a keen admirer of the left-back, who has impressed for the Foxes for the last three seasons and become a regular starter for England in the process.

Chelsea are unlikely to be the only side who register an interest, however, with Sky Sports News reporting that Manchester City are also eager to secure his services. Pep Guardiola even went out of his way to compliment the 23-year-old at the Etihad Stadium on the pitch following City's win over Leicester last season. "He just said he thought I was a really talented player," revealed Chilwell afterwards.

Leicester, however, are unlikely to allow him to leave cheaply. Chilwell was ruled out of the season finale due to a foot injury, but manager Brendan Rodgers insists he has not played his last game for the club and says he is confident of keeping him. "There's no intention to sell Ben Chilwell and absolutely no need to sell," he said recently. "The message is: He's not for sale."

Nick Wright

Paul Pogba: Will Frenchman put pen to paper?

Paul Pogba's timely return to form and the Manchester United first team coincided with the club's post-lockdown resurgence that secured Champions League qualification on the final day of the Premier League season.

But for those thinking Pogba's revival finally puts an end to speculation surrounding the Frenchman's future, well, things are not as simple as that.

For all the talk that Pogba's recent form will be rewarded with a lengthy new contract at Old Trafford, speculation over potential moves to Real Madrid or Juventus will rumble until his future is secured.

It is a situation agent Mino Raiola will look to take advantage of as he seeks the best deal for his client, and whether Pogba signs an extension or leaves United, you can almost guarantee he will be at the centre of a transfer saga that could define this window.

Jack Wilkinson

Adama Traore: The Plan B everyone wants?

After a quiet first campaign at Wolves in which he made only eight league starts, Adama Traore enjoyed a stunning second season, not only wowing Wolves fans but emerging as the neutrals' favourite. He is the Premier League's most explosive player.

Traore saved some of his best work for the biggest occasions - scoring at home and away in wins over Manchester City - but he has been a consistent performer too. As well as topping the dribbling charts, his nine Premier League assists ended all talk of a lack of end product.

Who should be interested? Just about every team in the world. Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool is an admirer. Part of the attraction is that coaches need not have a ready-made role for him in their line-up - he is a one-man plan B. An option from the bench capable of changing any game.

If there is a problem it could be the price. At 24, and under contract until 2023, Wolves are well aware of his value. One fee floated is as high as £135m. It might not take anywhere near that much to prise him away from Molineux, but expect big numbers involved.

Adam Bate

Nathan Ake: Could the Dutchman solve City's defensive problems?

Manchester City are reportedly in the hunt to snap up Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake this summer.

Of the current Premier League defenders aged 25 or under, only Hector Bellerin and Luke Shaw have racked up more top-flight appearances. Ake's positional development - from defensive midfielder to left-back, to centre-back - also provides a versatility which would appeal to the likes of Pep Guardiola.

Since his permanent switch in 2017, the Cherries' win percentage jumps 17 per cent with him in the team and they concede fewer goals. That blend of youth, experience, versatility and effectiveness bodes well for any suitor...and there will inevitably be a thought that the Cherries are ripe for picking following their relegation.

Adam Smith

Philippe Coutinho: Back to the Premier League?

Another summer, another guessing game of where Philippe Coutinho will end up playing next as his season-long loan spell with Bayern Munich draws to a close.

The Bundesliga champions have the option to sign the Brazil international from Barcelona for €120m this summer but are thought unlikely to take that up after an underwhelming campaign in Bavaria that has often seen Coutinho left out of the club's key fixtures.

With the 28-year-old having spent five hugely successful years with Liverpool, though, do not be surprised to see him back in the Premier League next season, with the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and even his former club reportedly weighing up moves for the playmaker.

Richard Morgan

James Rodriguez: Who will take the risk?

The name James Rodriguez epitomises a long-running transfer saga. For five years and counting, his future at Real Madrid has been up for much debate, coming in and out of the transfer headlines when he has been linked with a handful of Premier League clubs, with a two-year loan at Bayern Munich wedged in.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and even Everton, Newcastle and Wolves: they have all been linked with the Colombian at some point over the past half a decade as James found himself on the periphery of Zinedine Zidane's plans. With his contract up next summer, now might be the time for a permanent move and for James to feel loved by his employers. At Real, he simply has not been.

At 28, he still has plenty to offer - he scored 15 and made 20 assists in 67 games at Bayern - but his wages will be a problem for many, reported to be around £160,000-a-week. Even if James leaves for a cut-price deal, let's say £20m, he represents a risk for many Premier League sides. It will be intriguing to see where he finally goes, and whether a change of scenery can prompt him to recreate the form that saw him one of the world's most-wanted players at the 2014 World Cup.

Gerard Brand

Kalidou Koulibaly: Finally on his way to the Premier League?

False peaks have long been found on the path to signing Napoli's man-mountain Kalidou Koulibaly, dubbed 'K2', but the stubborn Italian club are set to make the world's most sought-after defender available if they finalise a big-money deal for Lille forward Victor Osimhen.

Liverpool's strict transfer policy prohibits them spending more than £60m on a 29-year-old. But Manchester City, equipped financially and untethered from a Champions League ban, could ditch their usual age-profile and begin an ascent.

Nathan Ake would be cheaper, but the authority, speed and experience of Senegal captain Koulibaly makes him an ideal partner to Aymeric Laporte, and Pep Guardiola's long-awaited replacement for Vincent Kompany.

James Dale

Allan Saint-Maximin: Will Newcastle hold onto prize asset?

Transfer plans at St James' Park remain in torturous limbo as takeover silence continues to exhaust and deflate but, whatever the eventual outcome, Newcastle fans will be desperate to see Allan Saint-Maximin dancing through defences in the black and white again next term.

Tyneside has a new great entertainer - only Adama Traore and Wilfried Zaha completed more dribbles in the Premier League season - but more of those edge-of-seat slaloms are starting to yield end product: the Frenchman has added four assists to his three goals and has created more big chances than any other team-mate.

Steve Bruce might have served him a string of fines for "earrings, headbands and all sorts" but he reckons the £17m arrival from Nice last summer is the "best pound for pound signing in the Premier League" and has warned suitors - PSG, Napoli and Arsenal have been linked with a move - that "there is no chance" of him leaving. Bullish talk, but this is Newcastle, where anything can happen.

Kate Burlaga

Thiago Alcantara: In search of a new adventure]

It appears as though Thiago Alcantara's time in Germany is at an end after Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Bild: "Alcantara wants to leave. It looks like he may want to do something new at the end of his career."

What that new adventure will be is still to be decided, but the Spain international will not be short of suitors after seven trophy-laden years at the Allianz Arena and a knocked-down transfer fee with his Bayern contract expiring next year.

It was Man City boss Pep Guardiola who took the Barcelona youth product with him when swapping Catalonia for Bavaria in 2013, shortly after his hat-trick saw Spain crowned European U21 champions, so do not rule out the pair being reunited at the Etihad next season.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are also reportedly interested in signing the 29-year-old - whose father is Brazil World Cup winner Mazinho - in order to add some flair to the champions' workmanlike midfield.

Richard Morgan

Thomas Partey: Finances could see Atletico ace depart

Arsenal are reportedly ramping up their summer pursuit of Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey, and it is clear to see why he is a player in such high demand. Partey's intentions and his reachable £45m-buyout clause make him one of Europe's most sought-after players.

Atletico are willing to offer Partey double his current £65,000-a-week wages and are keen to insert a new £91m-buyout clause in his contract to fend off interest from elsewhere. But Arsenal are not the only European club to have been linked with the player plucked from Ghanaian club Odometah FC in 2012. Juventus and Manchester United are also said to be paying close attention to developments.

Atletico accrued £178m in debt with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's company Inbursa in order to facilitate their move to the Wanda Metropolitano - and that is not due to be paid off in full until 2028. Diego Simeone is the world's highest-paid manager, and while he has taken a 70 per cent pay cut from his £36.2m salary, Atletico will be feeling the financial strain of the pandemic more than most clubs - less than a year after Joao Felix's arrival for a club-record £113m from Benfica.

The emergence of Marcos Llorente as Partey's potential successor in the Atletico midfield looks like softening the blow of any sale this summer.

Ben Grounds

Source: skysports.com

source: https://footballghana.com/

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grapsandclaps · 6 years ago

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GRAPS AND CLAPS REVIEWS - PROGRESS WRESTLING CHAPTER 78 '24 HOUR PROGRESS PEOPLE'

Hello and welcome everyone to another edition of Graps and Claps, this time taking me on a short journey to Manchester for PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 78 '24 Hour Progress People' from the Ritz in the first time since a banging show in February at the same venue and the first time since the big Victoria Warehouse show in May so for the people in attendance the anticipation of seeing something that they hadn't seen live for a few months was high.

Having spent the last days at Southside Wrestling which if you want to check anything out from there weekend of 3 shows make sure you check out the all-womens show on the Friday night which nearly everyone stood out on the evening especially Kris Wolf, Millie McKenzie, Kanji and Shanna with the latter winning the Queen of the Ring title and duly defended it the next evening against former NXT wrestler Kimber Lee on the Saturday evening show.

There were also a couple of killer Mike Bailey matches on the Saturday shows vs Senza Volto in the afternoon and in the evening as part of a mixed tag team match where he teamed with his real life partner Veda Scott taking on another couple in the form of Xia Brookside & Sean Kustom that exceeded expectations by far, plus there was the continuation of my long running feud with Nottingham's No.1 Soy Boy Gabriel Kidd who offered me out to the car park for a word or two which never materialised. Truthfully though the Southside Sheffield Double Header's are usually great fun but tiring on the legs and your liver if you are drinking many £3 cans of Hooch!

With that said, let's get into my trip to PROGRESS on Sunday which started at 11am from Rochdale Train Station arriving into the first meeting spot of the Brewdog next to the Albert Hall concert venue due to Oxford Road being very busy due to the Manchester Derby between Manchester City and Manchester United and also the Remembrance Sunday commemorations. Only the one drink in here for me which was a Mad Hatter Brewery Choco Choc Choc (£4.80 2/3rds) that had a burnt orange after taste to it but it was spot on as a palate cleanser to commence the drinking for the day.

After a phone call from Athers of his whereabouts, we moved on to The Courtyard which is located not too far away from the Ritz and is widely known as more of a student drinking den with prices as low as £2.85 for pints of Pravha of which I had 3 pints of, take into account as well the half price 10 inch pizzas on a Sunday (£4) and you have a relatively cheap afternoon out before the graps. The only downfall about this place are the urine stained piss gutters and as Athers found out - no locks of note on the disabled toilet doors, meaning me and our Geoff had to play guardsmen to make sure the door was shut whilst Athers was doing his business.

Arriving at the Ritz for 230pm, we were supposed to be sat in 4th row seating but due to the sheer amount of people I know standing up for the afternoon we took our position in front of the merch desk which provided an excellent view for the afternoon's action, so without further ado let's get into what went down!

After the usual pleasantries from compere Jim, we got into the first match with Eddie Dennis receiving quite the ovation from the Manchester audience but was soon turned to jeers once the match got going against his opponent, the aforementioned 'Speedball' Mike Bailey who was looking to continue his blinding form from the weekend into this match. Early stages and Eddie used his considerable height advantage on Bailey as he he hit a sweet Cravat Neckbreaker for a two count, Bailey fired back though with a boot to the face following up with a twirling Shooting Star Press for a two count. It has to be noted that Bailey is very accustomed to using his body as a dangerous weapon using many variations of double knee stomps and splashes to wound his opponents, but on one occasion during this match, Bailey tried to his the double knees to Eddie on the Apron but missed leaving him with very sore shins - OUCH!

Back in the ring, Eddie hit a big powerbomb for 2 count but Bailey came back once again to hit a tornado roundhouse kick to Dennis whilst he was in the ring corner to floor Eddie, leaving Bailey to hit the Moonsault double knees from the top rope for a close two fall. Bailey though once again tried for the Moonsault knees but he missed leading to Eddie hitting a Next Stop Driver which got an amazing 2 count that brought a huge reaction from the crowd in attendance. Sadly though Eddie didn't rest on his laurels and duly put Bailey away with a Super Style Next Stop Driver for the win to end an amazing opener that set the tone for what would be one of the best PROGRESS show certainly in the last couple of years. Both lads deserved the round of applause from the Manchester faithful - fan-dabbie-dozzie!!!

Next up brought the usual Women being on 2nd spot, but this one brought the debut of local favourite Lana Austin who has been touted for ages for a spot on a PROGRESS chapter show as she has consistently been one of the most improved wrestler on the circuit and without one of the best women wrestlers out there in the UK and Europe. Knowing Lana very well through the North West over the years brought a sense of happiness seeing someone who has worked hard to get to this spot be very satisfying. Lana's opponent for the afternoon was Isla Dawn who had a fine match against Millie McKenzie at the last Camden show till The Spice Girls & All Saints came in and interfered,

The early feeling out process in this match was very much a 50/50 split from an offence side of things, but from a crowd side of things it was 99% in Lana's favour. Lana managed to stun Isla with the 'Peach Punch' arse smash to get a two count but it was when Lana missed a dive from the top rope that she was duly punished by Dawn who had Lana up in the electric chair position to be transitioned into a bridging suplex pin to get the unpopular 3 count in a fairly decent contest - better luck next time Lana!

Third up, it was like looking at a mirror image as 'Smashmouth' Chris Ridgeway took on the 'Killer Import' Jordan Devlin in what looked on paper to be a hard hitting contest and one that turned out to be just that. Devlin who has been tearing up the Irish scene by store had the upper hand as he hit a Spanish Fly at one stage to get a two count on Ridgeway. Devlin followed up with hard boots and then a brainbuster which was then reversed by Ridgeway into a choke to send Devlin sprawling for the ropes. Devlin though shook this off when reversing another choke into a Piper/Hart pin for a 2 count, Devlin once again went up top trying to hit a Moonsault but was caught once again by Ridgeway who locked in a triangle choke.

With both wrestlers at a standing base though, Devlin headbutted Ridgeway in a duel of two rutting stags to get a two count to elicit a standing ovation from those in attendance. Ridgeway fought back from this and hit a Cradle Piledriver not seen since the days of Jerry Lynn in ECW but Devlin managed somehow to roll through from this and hit a huge Package Piledriver to get the 3 count to win an excellent battle - this show ruled! One thing I didn't quite get was the appearance of Paul Robinson who challenged the defeated Chris Ridgeway saying 'Your supposed to be Hard as Fuck, but I am Harder than you' setting up a match possibly for the next Manchester show in December - surely the bloke who is Hard as Fuck shouldn't have been the one who was just defeated? Probably this was one of two minor gripes on this afternoon.

Your half time main event next with David Starr who has had a beard trim taking on Ilja Draganov who thankfully didn't come out to them Wembley jungle drums this time. To follow up what had already been an amazing first half, this delivered despite as we would find out a bit of a duff finish in one sense (I'm a clean finish man). This match had lariat battles galore between both me with sweat and souls escaping both wrestlers bodies eventually flooring both men on a couple of occasions, dives by both Starr and Ilja were hit to leave people running from there seats to move out of the way.

Back in the ring with the match ready to go off the scale, Ilja hit a huge Torpedo Moscow headbutt to Starr to leave him laying but as he was ready to win the match out came 'The Kiwi Buzzsaw' Travis Banks wearing some newly acquired threads to attack both Ilja and Starr to cause the No Contest much to the disgust of the crowd and firmly positioning Banks in the position of bad guy for the future as he possibly goes into two mouth watering clashes against both Ilja and Dave which makes sense as we close out 2018, but just the clean finish man in me though they could have left this as an after match angle but hey ho - it is what it is!

Back from half time now with the crowd firmly settled from a scorching first half we returned with Tag Team title action as Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) made the second defence of their titles against #CTK (Timothy Thatcher & Chris Brookes). The CTK tag team dominated early one with both Thatcher and Brookes getting the better of the Aussies but Davis and Fletcher came back with for instance Fletcher hitting a dive to the outside on both Timo and Brookes.

Back in the ring Brookes tried many variations of trying to roll up the Aussies and got multiple 2 counts from Referee Joel, but it Brookes who got a taste of his own medicine as Kyle Fletcher used a roll up of his own to pin Brookes in around 15 minutes to end a really good back and forth match.

Inspired but failed chant credit goes to my mate Davey who tried to get me to chant 'Brooksey & Tim' to the tune of 90s Children's TV show Rosie & Jim - sadly it fell flat on its arse but I enjoyed it.

Second to last match now with the Atlas Open Challenge with the Champion Trent Seven facing a mystery opponent with many names mentioned around the RItz on the afternoon but ending up with a great option in the form of Liverpool's No.1 Zack Gibson accompanied with his tag partner James Drake for whom he had a few miscommunication's with in the last few weeks. What followed was to be one of the most funniest mic battles with some reet cutting barbs against each other - the one about Trent Seven being the cheap option if Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate weren't available left me in stitches and literally leaving Trent lying on the floor.

It was one comment though that would come back to bite Gibson on the arse as he said that all Trent was famous for was getting beat in 6 seconds by Matt Riddle at SSS16 two years ago. As the bell sounded though as per Gibson's request he was caught unawares by Trent who rolled up the Scouse Mouth in 5 seconds to send the crowd in rapture and roars of laughter as Gibson's expense - this was great booking and just what was needed after all the action before it (Thumbs up and a ten from Len)! After the match, disgusted at his defeat Gibson had a pushing match with Drake who he left alone in the ring as it looks like the Grizzled Young Veterans will be searching out divorce proceedings as a tag team.

Now is the time for the Main Event with No.1 Contender Mark Haskins trying to do the impossible as he looked to beat the unstoppable Austrian Monster WALTER. Now I admit and like a few others didn't have high expectations that Haskins would pull off the victory on this evening in Manchester but as we would find out the impossible nearly came possible! In this match Haskins played the underdog in peril perfectly here getting the Manchester crowd who had once booed him against Zack Gibson in his first title run, fully behind the man from Malvern.

With Walter looking dominant early on, Haskins managed to at least get in some offence as he floored the Austrian to hit a double stomp for a two count, Haskins followed up with the bounce back dive to the outside, back in the ring Haskins managed of all things to wrap Walter in a Sharpshooter to get him close to tapping, but Walter reached around with his huge arms (it has to be said that Walter is looking more and more in solid shape to add to his menacing demeanor) to reverse the submission into a choke of his own which Haskins managed to get out of.

Haskins on a couple of occasions tried to roll through to lift Walter but on the second time of trying he was caught in a choke sleeper but rolled through over Walter to get a 2 count. Walter did hit a powerbomb which has put away opponents in the past for a 2 count, but when at a standing base Walter put away a valiant Haskins with the Steiner Screwdriver for the 3 count to end a breathless main event and what a fitting end to an almost perfect 3 and half hour show and for me made me believe in Mark Haskins as a threat once again for the future despite losing.

Show finished, it was time for the debrief and a bit of a tea in Wetherspoons to chat with the usual folks about what a great evening of action it was. By the time 8pm, I left to catch my train thinking of what a great day and weekend I have had at the wrestling with some top people and in no way feeling burn out from it, but glad of the rest now until Sunday 18th November and Tidal Wrestling in Leeds.

In closing though, I fully recommend you check out this show on PROGRESS On Demand when it arrives as it could easily be in my top 10 shows of the year and touching the top 5 from a live experience side of things. So I hope you have enjoyed reading this review, please leave any feeback give it a share, like or retweet and I will see you next time for Tidal Wrestling at the weekend.

#grapsandclaps

@oggypart3

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thrashermaxey · 7 years ago

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Ramblings: Post-Trade Deadline Debuts, A Wild Night in the Central Division (Feb 28)

Post-Trade Deadline Debuts, A Wild Night in the Central Division, plus more…

Rick Nash scored his first goal as a Bruin on Tuesday, skating on the line he was projected to be on with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. You can find out more about how the Nash move affects fantasy teams in my Fantasy Take from Sunday. The goal was Nash’s first as a Bruin, but so far he has taken a combined ten shots on goal over the two games. The one category where Nash will help your team the most is shots on goal, where he is currently a top-20 option. But overall, I like the move for his fantasy value.

Note: When looking at the boxscore, don’t confuse Rick Nash with Riley Nash. Both may be listed as R. Nash. But Riley wears #20, while Rick wears his usual #61.

From many accounts Tommy Wingels had a strong Bruins’ debut, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Wingels wasn’t on the checking line as you might expect, instead lining up with Danton Heinen and David Backes. Wingels was at one time during his Sharks days a target in deep leagues that count hits, but should this line arrangement continue he might even make for a sneaky pickup.

The official Taylor Hall point streak is now at 15 games, while the unofficial streak has now reached 22 games. Over the long stretch he is now at 32 points (15g-17a). Since January 1 only Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby have more points than Hall (three other players are tied with him).

Speaking of Crosby, he scored a goal on seven shots on goal on Tuesday. Stating the obvious here, but start him at home (or maybe pick him in your daily league lineup). Crosby has 21 points in his last 12 home games.

After experiencing some immigration issues, Derick Brassard made his Penguins’ debut on Tuesday. He was held without a point but dished four hits while playing on a line with Phil Kessel. To no one’s surprise, Kessel did not deliver a hit in this game. View our breakdown of the Brassard trade here.

With Brassard out of Ottawa, Jean-Gabriel Pageau takes Brassard’s place on Mark Stone’s line. Meanwhile, Magnus Paajarvi (remember him?) is skating with Mike Hoffman and Matt Duchene. That hasn’t helped Paajarvi, who is without a point in his last five games.

This edition of the Ramblings won’t just be about familiar faces in new places. There were some amazing offensive exploits on Tuesday, in particular from the Central Division.

If you own one or more of Eric Staal, Jason Zucker, or Mikael Granlund, today was a good day. Staal had a hat trick with two assists, Zucker had a goal and four assists, while Granlund scored two goals and added two assists. In fact, during the last three games this line hasn’t been playing Minnesota nice to its opponents, combining for 26 points over that span.

Thought to be on the outs fantasy-wise after his days in Carolina were reaching an end, Staal has enjoyed a renaissance in Minnesota. With the five-point performance, he is now officially scoring at over a point per game (64 points in 63 games), pushed by a white-hot tally of 13 goals and 21 points in just 13 games this month. That torrid goal-scoring pace has also vaulted him to a tie for third in NHL goal scoring with 33 goals. Needless to say, he has provided exceptional value from where he was drafted (Yahoo ADP: 135).

Remember when Granlund was one of last season’s breakout performers? He’s at it again. The two-goal, two-assist performance was his second in three games. He’s also a plus-7 with 17 shots on goal over that span.

Zucker is as streaky a player as they come, so not surprisingly he’s hot while he’s a part of this line. Over his last six games he has 11 points (4g-7a).

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Ryan Suter as well, since my head-to-head opponent in one of my leagues has him (along with Staal). With three assists on Tuesday, Suter now has seven assists over his past five games.

Quote on the message board in one of my leagues:

Subject line: “Jake Allen is ruining me”

Body: “I'd like to thank Jake Allen for single-handedly tanking my team from 3rd to like 8th….”

Entering Tuesday’s game, Allen had lost four games in a row. On Tuesday, he didn’t even stick around long enough to be tagged with the L, allowing three goals on eight shots. Yeah, I’d say keep him glued to your bench. But the Blues are still going to be trotting him out there, as Carter Hutton hasn’t been a whole lot better this month (6 GP, 3.21 GAA, .866 SV%). At this point you’d have to consider the Blues to be a real question mark for making the playoffs.

On a side note, the two teams listed next are considered the two top teams in the Central. But with five wins in a row, the Wild are now sitting in third place in this division, just four points behind the second-place Jets with the same number of games played. Even though they kept quiet at the trade deadline, the Wild might be a sneaky Central pick come playoff time.

Predators – Jets. Wouldn’t that be a mouthwatering Central Division final? The two teams met on Wednesday and did their fantasy owners many favors (except for the goalies), combining for 11 goals.

Of the six goals that the Preds scored in their victory, Roman Josi assisted on five of them. This ties him with Mathew Barzal (twice) and Artemi Panarin for the highest assist total, and it also ties him with numerous other players for the highest point total of the season. Josi has also piled up 11 assists (along with one goal) over his past five games.

In his Predators’ debut, Ryan Hartman scored the game-winning goal while logging 13:29 of icetime. View our breakdown of the Hartman trade here. As projected, he didn’t crack the top six, instead playing on a line with Colton Sissons and Austin Watson.

Craig Smith also scored two goals for the Preds. He’s quietly amassed an eight-game point streak with one point in each of his last seven games. He’s back on a line with Kevin Fiala and Kyle Turris, who all formed some instant chemistry when Turris was first acquired from Ottawa.

In his Jets’ debut, Paul Stastny scored a goal and picked up an assist. And as first projected, he centered Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. I read somewhere that this is the Jets’ third line. Third line? For what, the All-Star team?

So in case you’re wondering, here’s the Jets’ top nine:

26.07% EV CONNOR,KYLE – SCHEIFELE,MARK – WHEELER,BLAKE

20% EV EHLERS,NIKOLAJ – LAINE,PATRIK – STASTNY,PAUL

19.29% EV LITTLE,BRYAN – PERREAULT,MATHIEU – ROSLOVIC,JACK

Not a bad line in the bunch, although the Perreault line would seem more like a third line to me. Someone asked me if Perreault’s fantasy value would suffer as a result of the Jets acquiring Stastny. I would say maybe a little, although the Jets have plenty of scoring to go around now. Plus lines get reshuffled all the time.

See the Stastny trade breakdown here. Man, Dobber sure did an amazing amount of work on Monday.

Shutout shoutout to Ben Bishop, who stopped 38 shots against the Flames. That was also his first win in four games.

Evander Kane had a successful Sharks’ debut, recording two assists with a plus-2 and four hits. There was some worry that Kane would lose value moving away from Jack Eichel, but Peter DeBoer placed Kane on Joe Pavelski’s line. The combination seemed to work for both players, as Pavelski scored a goal and added three assists. View Dobber’s breakdown of the Kane trade here.

Timo Meier also scored for the Sharks while firing nine shots on goal. Meier’s shot totals are very up and down, but at 16 goals now Meier has a real shot at scoring 20 goals in his first full season.

I just realized that not only has Milan Lucic not scored a goal since Christmas, he hasn't had a primary assist, either. Just five second assists in his last 26 games.

— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) February 27, 2018

Not the greatest endorsement of Milan Lucic. But entering Tuesday’s action Lucic was still third in the NHL with 195 hits. So whether you should still own him boils down to whether your league counts hits. In spite of that glaring lack of production, Lucic is still receiving first-unit power-play minutes. But with similar power forward winger Patrick Maroon now in Jersey, expect Lucic to keep receiving that power-play time, even though he hasn't had a power-play point since… you guessed it, Christmas.

In his first game as an Oiler, Pontus Aberg recorded an assist on Jesse Puljujarvi’s goal. The speedy Aberg’s new line also includes Ryan Strome, who has been playing better of late with five goals and seven points over his last six games. We even have a breakdown of the trade that sent Aberg to Edmonton here.

Yes, that was Jack Campbell tending net for the Kings in a 4-1 win over Vegas, stopping 41 of 42 shots he faced to earn his first-ever NHL win at the age of 26. With Darcy Kuemper traded to Arizona, Campbell moves into the backup role and received the start with the Kings playing their second of back-to-backs against the Golden Knights. Is Campbell this month’s version of Jeff Glass? It didn’t seem that long ago that Campbell was one of the league’s top goaltending prospects. But that’s probably just me getting old.

For more fantasy hockey information, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-post-trade-deadline-debuts-a-wild-night-in-the-central-division-feb-28/

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irepostblr-blog · 7 years ago

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GRAV - a modern flat-file cms (PHP Scripts)

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Give your creativity wings and Grav will set you free! saveourplanet.jpg SEE saveourplanet.orgVIEW MOREnewtquest.png NEWTQUEST GAMES newtquestgames.comVIEW MOREolafbrickarp.jpg OLAF BRICKARP yay.seVIEW MOREoblique.jpg OBLIQUE oblique.spaceVIEW MOREtimovolz.jpg TIMO VOLZ FOTODESIGN timovolz.deVIEW MOREcremonte.png CREMONTE www.cremonte.meVIEW MOREdrayton.jpg DRAYTON PARTNERS draytonpartners.comVIEW MOREwondrous.jpg WONDROUS DIGITAL AGENCY wearewondrous.comVIEW MOREgantry.png GANTRY FRAMEWORK gantry.orgVIEW MOREpaulmassendari.jpg PAUL MASSENDARI paulmassendari.comVIEW MOREmilkriveroutfitters.jpg MILK RIVER OUTFITTERS milkriveroutfitters.comVIEW MOREklavierduo.jpg KLAVIERDUO ECKERLE http://klavierduo-eckerle.deVIEW MORErebuy.jpg REBUY tech.rebuy.comVIEW MOREslidecraft.jpg SLIDECRAFT slidecraft.comVIEW MOREcsumb.jpg CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY mba.csumb.edu/VIEW MOREsequencebreak.jpg SEQUENCE BREAK sqncbrk.comVIEW MOREpresciense.jpg PRESCIENSE presciense.comVIEW MOREhagstrom.jpg HAGSTROM BUILDER hagstrombuilder.comVIEW MOREsaveourplanet.jpg SEE saveourplanet.orgVIEW MOREnewtquest.png NEWTQUEST GAMES newtquestgames.comVIEW MOREolafbrickarp.jpg OLAF BRICKARP yay.seVIEW MOREoblique.jpg OBLIQUE oblique.spaceVIEW MORE  WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING Still need convincing? 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I look forward to using grav on many, many projects! Vitor Costa @vmcosta I’ve just found the best flat file CMS, finally… @getgrav amazing work guys, nicely done, and yes I hate databases too Ryan Little @ryantereu Only just began using @getgrav as a cms, but their documentation alone is swoon-worthy: friendly, thorough, well-designed. Denis Duvauchelle @desduvauchelle Loving @getgrav over wordpress. If you are developer, you’re probably going to fall for it. If your not, you’ll probably like it as well. FOLLOW @GETGRAV DOWNLOAD GRAV Never miss a thing, sign up to the Grav mailing list email address Grav was with by RocketTheme SUBSCRIBE CDN provided by MaxCDN Designed by Eduardo Santos Contact the Grav Team About Grav Grav Media Information Grav News Feed Crazy Fast VPS Hosting Sponsored by Linode – managed by ServerPilot – monitoring by Pingometer Copyright @2017 – Grav CMS – All rights reserved – Grav is released under the MIT license

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sportsleague365 · 6 years ago

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Most of these players aren’t household names yet, but they could be after the tournament Current Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez is the perfect example: a major team, in this case Real Madrid, signs a player based on his performance at a World Cup — namely, World Cup 2014. Fast-forward to World Cup 2018 and perhaps another superstar is born. What follows below is a list, organized by group, of some of the players that Bayern will be watching in Russia to see if they are worthy of a potential transfer. Some of the names on this list may be more recognizable than others. This list is also just that: a list. It does not take into account Bayern’s current roster; rather, it aims to showcase certain players that Bayern may like — and perhaps you will too! GROUP A Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images Aleksandr Golovin (r)Aleksandr Golovin - Recent rumors claim that the 22-year-old midfielder from CSKA Moscow has been scouted by Manchester United. Golovin has also been linked to Arsenal, Chelsea, and Juventus. He was the the youngest player on the Russian team at Euro 2016 and his place looks secure in the starting eleven for the World Cup on his home soil. Rodrigo Bentancur - Bentancur has recently been dubbed the “Uruguayan Pogba.” Juventus has secured the Uruguayan’s right of first refusal from Boca Juniors as part of the Carlos Teves deal. It may be difficult to pry away the 20-year-old midfielder, since Real Madrid has also shown interest. Lucas Torreira - The 22 year-old Sampdoria midfielder is expected to start for Uruguay at the upcoming World Cup and has a very affordable €25 million release clause. Arsenal are already deep into negotiations with Torreira. GROUP B Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images Rúben DiasRúben Dias - The Portuguese center-back may not get many minutes at the World Cup, since several veterans, including Pepe, play at his position. The opposing view, however, is that Dias would bring some much needed speed to the central defense, and it would be wise to start him over several of the other aging stars. The Benfica player, who recently turned 21, has been loosely linked with Arsenal, Liverpool, and Monaco. André Silva - AC Milan bought Silva from Porto just last year for €38 million, but the striker was somewhat of a disappointment. Milan may be looking to move on from the 22-year-old. He was thought of very highly before last season and may see his stock rise if he scores a few goals at the World Cup. Álvaro Odriozola - Somewhat of a surprise selection to the Spain squad, Odriozola edged out Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin. The 22-year-old Real Sociedad man had a splendid season, and although he currently sits behind Danny Carvajal on the depth chart, he still warrants attention. Amine Harit - Aged only 20, the attacking midfielder in well known to Bayern fans as he plies his trade at Bundesliga side Schalke. What you may not know is that Harit won the U-19 European Championship with France before switching his allegiance to Morocco, since his parents were both born in Casablanca. GROUP C Benjamin Pavard - France international defender Pavard (age 22) started all 34 Bundesliga games for Stuttgart last season. His price tag will be steep but not too much for Bayern. Bayern has indeed been linked with Pavard, but nothing concrete has emerged yet. Kasper Dolberg - The striker had an injury plagued 2017-18 season but is still only 20 years old. The lanky Dane oozes potential and, as Ajax is known as a selling club, if the price is right, a bigger club may swoop in. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images Pione SistoPione Sisto - The lightning fast winger, aged 23, has started every game for Denmark since October, 2016. The Celta Vigo man is primed for a breakout World Cup performance. GROUP D Cristian Pavón - It is only a matter of time before the 22-year-old Boca Juniors attacker makes his way to Europe. Previously linked as a possible replacement for Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal, Pavón (who reportedly has a €37 million release clause) will find it tough cracking a star-studded Argentina attacking group, but if he gets on the field keep an eye out for him. Ante Rebic - New Bayern Munich head coach Niko Kovac knows all about Rebic (aged 24) from his time at Eintracht Frankfurt and the Croatian national team. Bayern fans know him well too after his two goal performance in DFB Pokal Cup Final. This transfer is a real possibility. Marko Pjaca - The Croatian is owned by Juventus and was loaned to Schalke for the second half of last season. He has loads of talent, as well as some injury history. He has found himself on the bench behind quality players, but make no mistake: Pjaca can play. Still only 23, perhaps he needs only to make the right move. Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty ImagesFrancis Uzoho - The least known player on this list, Uzoho played primarily in Spain’s Segunda B last season, but the goalkeeper made a couple of surprise starts for La Liga’s Deportivo La Coruna. Since the pecking order of Nigeria’s keepers is far from set, the 19 year old may get a chance to shine. GROUP E Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images Denis ZakariaDenis Zakaria - Another Bundesliga player, Zakaria had an impressive first season with Borussia Mönchengladbach. The central midfielder has an impressive engine and, at only 21 years old, is developing into an excellent player. Andrija Zivkovic - He played more of a central attacking role this season at Benfica as opposed to previous years at winger. Although only 21 years old, he seems to have been around forever. Finally finding his game, Zivkovic is another player that needs to find his niche, and a bigger club may come calling soon. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - The 23 year-old Lazio midfielder looks as if he’s already priced himself out of a Bayern move with Real Madrid and Manchester United circling. Nonetheless, he will be fun to watch and key to Serbia’s success at the tournament. Luca Jovic - Another of Niko Kovac’s former players at Eintracht Frankfurt, although the Serbian is owned by Benfica. The 20-year-old attacker played well in the Bundesliga last season and is growing into his game. Follow this one closely. GROUP F Timo Werner - The most obvious player on this list, Werner is the best young German striker there is. Period. In case you forgot, he plays for RB Leipzig and is 22 years old. Hirving Lozano - “Chucky” had a breakout season at PSV Eindhoven after coming over from Pachuca. The 22 year old is Mexico’s best young attacker and may have outgrown the Eredivisie, although one more year in Holland may be wise. Victor Lindelöf - It didn’t go according to plan for the 23-year-old Swede last season at Manchester United. Minutes were hard to come by and his play was harshly critiqued. Will it be one-and-done with the Red Devil’s? If United can recoup the €31.5 million transfer fee they paid for him, you can count on it. Hwang Hee-chan - The 22 year-old striker may get a big-money transfer from Red Bull Salzburg if he performs well at the World Cup. Rumor has it that he’s being scouted by Tottenham and Liverpool. GROUP G Koen Casteels - Standing at 6’5” the Belgian won’t see the field during the World Cup barring injury to the other keepers on the squad yet still had a tremendous season at Wolfsburg. At 25 years-old he should be entering a long prime of his career. Youri Tielemans - The 21 year old is the youngest member of the golden generation of Belgian players at the World Cup. Already on the radar of Manchester City, Tielemans signed with Monaco before last season. He may not get big minutes at the tournament in a stacked group of midfielders, but at some point in the near future expect Tielemans to move to a bigger club. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images Michy BatshuayiMichy Batshuayi - Back at Chelsea after a brief but productive loan spell at Dortmund, the future is up in the air for Michy, aged 24. His situation at Chelsea is murky at best, and if the right bid comes in the Belgian could be on the move again, this time permanently. Bayern seems to enjoy beating their Bundesliga rivals to the punch for players, and you can expect the unexpected with Batshuayi. GROUP H Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images Piotr ZielinskiPiotr Zielinski - Poland’s playmaker has been tipped by his former Napoli coach, Maurizio Sarri, as “the next Kevin De Bruyne.” Poland is expected to do well in the tournament with Zielinski, aged 24, helping to lead the charge with Bayern’s own Robert Lewandowski. That could lead major clubs to consider signing him. Regardless, expect a transfer fee of at least €50 million. Arkadiusz Milik - Another 24 year-old Pole who plays for Napoli, Milik has had his share of injuries and had an underwhelming 2017/18 season, but don’t count him out. He should form a dangerous strike tandem with Lewandowski in Russia. Ismaila Sarr - The Senegalese winger has previously turned down a move to Barcelona so that he could get more playing time, signing with Rennes instead. Senegal has a plethora of attacking options, including what appears to be guaranteed minutes for Sadio Mane. Getting on the field may be difficult for the 20 year old, but watch out if it happens. Yerry Mina - The 23-year-old center-back plays for Barcelona but faces an uphill battle for playing time. He’s still a little raw but has plenty of size. Don’t be surprised if Mina’s not at Barcelona for long. Do you have any players that Bayern may be interested in acquiring that are playing at the World Cup that I may have missed? Who are they, and why might Bayern come calling? I didn’t cover everyone on my list by far— in fact, I had to cut it short by about 40 players! There are many more exciting players at the World Cup to talk about. Let us know! #BayernMunich #TheWorldCup #WorldCup

#BayernMunich #TheWorldCup #WorldCup

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