The Beautiful Game thread, season 2017/18

[GB_Simo]

It starts tomorrow, unless you're a fan of Sunderland or Derby County, in which case it started 7 hours ago.

Today, I read up on Neymar's move to PSG for £200million. Tomorrow, Hartlepool United vs Dover Athletic, 96 unbroken years as a Football League club having finally been brought to an end by a chancer of a chairman saddling the club with £1.2 million of debt to finance a doomed property development. Three winding-up orders and one relegation later, it's time for our first season of non-league football, brought to our knees by a debt 167 times smaller than one Brazilian forward's buy-out clause.

A pro tip for any budding businessmen out there: nobody, but nobody, wants to live in a luxury apartment overlooking Hartlepool United's ground. In part, this is because there are desirable apartments in the Marina area of town and you can walk there from the ground in 10 minutes without breaking sweat. In greater part, it's because the ground is flanked by two supermarkets, a skate park, a leisure centre and a train line:



The Mill House Masterplan, they called it. For me, a greater Masterplan would have been to spend a couple of quid on giving the seats in the Mill House stand a wipe and maybe installing a lightbulb in the gents toilets.

What's odd about it is that I almost don't mind being relegated. We had a spell of relative success at the turn of the century - Squiddy will remember vividly that we were 8 minutes away from the Championship in 2004/05 - but recent years have been about celebrating improbable escapes from relegation. This time around, needing to beat table-topping Doncaster Rovers on the final day and have Newport County fail to win, we came from a goal behind to lead in the 83rd minute thanks to 2 strikes from a previously-unheralded, barely-used 18 year old striker. In the 89th minute, Newport's right-back scored his first ever professional goal, an absolute stunner to boot, to send us down. I don't recall ever being happier than I was for the 6 glorious minutes separating those events, but when the dust settled, I came to think that there's a limit to how often you can reasonably enjoy being the third-worst team in the Football League.

The more optimistic supporters think we'll blitz the Vanarama National League and earn immediate promotion. I think I'll be happy enough if I can make it to November with a tiny bit of hope left in my heart.

Enjoy, fellas.

[wco81]

So much for FFP.

[fsquid]

Up the Owls!

[10spro]

Ronaldo should get the book and more for showing his displeasure with the ref during the Super Clasico game vs Barcelona. Having said that, the ref had a brutal night too conceiving a penalty to the other G. Louganis aka as Luis Suarez as Ronaldo tried to buy the same tactic later in the game. But Why? He had a brilliant goal after coming from the bench, you're a top player some may even argue that he had a better season than Messi last year, and you act like a kid again at 32.

For what it's worth, Real's transition game was superb they kept waiting for the perfect moment for their counterattack and Asensio's goal was equally brilliant.

[dbdynsty25]

ManU sure looked good yesterday. All the hype around the new addition Lukaku, but to me the best guy on the field was Rashford easily. Dude was everywhere, starting breaks, had the perfect pass for the first goal and just overall seemed to control the game. I was very impressed w/ him.

[pk500]

Jonjo Shelvey -- once a tempermental, childish imbecile, always a tempermental, childish imbecile.

I cannot believe Rafa named him captain. He must lose the armband after his latest on-field idiocy against Spurs.

[10spro]

Jonjo Shelvey -- once a tempermental, childish imbecile, always a tempermental, childish imbecile.

I cannot believe Rafa named him captain. He must lose the armband after his latest on-field idiocy against Spurs.

That was brutal, how idiotic right in front of the ref too.

[GB_Simo]

I'm not convinced Shelvey has two brain cells to rub together, frankly. Not that having them would make him immune to acts of moronic self sabotage, eh, Cesc?

Meanwhile, in the National League:

Hartlepool United 0-1 Dover Athletic
Macclesfield Town 1-1 Hartlepool United
Maidenhead 2-1 Hartlepool United

Oh, this is grim.

[Jimmydeicide]

ManU sure looked good yesterday. All the hype around the new addition Lukaku, but to me the best guy on the field was Rashford easily. Dude was everywhere, starting breaks, had the perfect pass for the first goal and just overall seemed to control the game. I was very impressed w/ him.

Matic all the way.

[RobVarak]

Matic all the way.

I don't understand anything about that transfer. It's bizarre that Chelsea sold him and doubly-bizarre that they'd sell him to United.

[Jimmydeicide]

Yep and to make it tripley -bizarre it frees up Pogba of his defensive duties and now look at him go.

[10spro]

Five games for Ronaldo, a total joke. Plus a fine just under 5K which is about a dollar and 60 cents for him compared to the average worker. You can never touch a ref, never mind shove him aside, he got away easy, a 10 game suspension would have been more likely to fit the crime.

[RobVarak]

Premier League is finally going to remedy one of most ridiculous things in all of world sports by closing the transfer window before the start of the league season. This is only about a quarter-century overdue, but better late than never.

[pk500]

Five games for Ronaldo, a total joke. Plus a fine just under 5K which is about a dollar and 60 cents for him compared to the average worker. You can never touch a ref, never mind shove him aside, he got away easy, a 10 game suspension would have been more likely to fit the crime.

The Jordan Rules also exist in global football. Losing Ronaldo is bad for business.

I still insist to this day Jordan's foray into minor-league baseball was an orchestrated exile by NBA Commissioner David Stern, who knew that Jordan's gambling habit would expose something tawdry, such as betting on Bulls' games. So Stern kindly asked MJ to disappear for a bit while the stain surrounding his gambling was washed.

[fletcher21]

This isn't from this year, but I saw a gif of this goal posted on Reddit the other day. I've never seen a cooler looking shot than this. Is this guy a decent player, or was this a fluke goal?

https://youtu.be/dzBqNHCT60w

[Jimmydeicide]

Hes an OK Player. Milner is better.

[RobVarak]

Hes an OK Player. Milner is better.

[XXXIV]

Liverpool were beautiful today. Sweet play almost all day.

Arsenal not so much. So lazy.

[RobVarak]

Best team in the world in August-September. Fatigued, injured and jaded in December and January again if we don't add depth.

[XXXIV]

Best team in the world in August-September. Fatigued, injured and jaded in December and January again if we don't add depth.

I agree with yours and Jimmy's Xbox Live assessment on the state of the club but thats not according to the goofs doing the game.

Sounded like they were talking about an embarrassment of riches.

[pk500]

Liverpool were beautiful today. Sweet play almost all day.

Arsenal not so much. So lazy.

Kyle Martino excoriated Ramsey for his lazy play on one of the Liverpool goals during Goal Zone recap on NBCSN, as he should have. Ramsey is one of the most overrated players in the Premier League, a perfect match for Arsenal.

[RobVarak]

Best team in the world in August-September. Fatigued, injured and jaded in December and January again if we don't add depth.

I agree with yours and Jimmy's Xbox Live assessment on the state of the club but thats not according to the goofs doing the game.

Sounded like they were talking about an embarrassment of riches.

To use a timely analogy, LFC are a punch-crazy fighter right now. Looks great in the early rounds, but we'll lose our legs halfway through.

[Jimmydeicide]

Yep Couthino is going to leave, nothing done to replace him, no one will come to Anfield if hes nor there why would they, Klopp will get fired and replaced with Gerrard , who will plummet us to an nice 8th place finish.

Yes W ANFA.

So pissed

I'm the 3 eyed Raven.

[Jimmydeicide]

Stage 1 complete, winter is coming.

[RobVarak]

Hard to imagine the US looking worse than they did against Costa Rica, but they proved more than up to the task in the first half at Honduras.

I would very much favor them failing to qualify for the WC if that meant the systemic changes in player development and structural reorganization that US soccer needs. I know, however, that it wouldn't make a lick of difference, so I'm stuck rooting for this steaming pile of $hit.

PS Arena owes me for the emotional distress he's causing me by watching Beasley flail around out there. Watching a once brilliantly-gifted athlete reduced to spectating as wingers blow by him is too sad for words.