Thursday Night Lights: The 2014/15 Europa League thread

seems as if he could get rid some flaky players but the team will always somehow still be a bit flaky

this is what i believe. said it before on this board, there's a malaise at the club that is deeper than managers or maybe even personnel. i mean maybe that goes if you bring in a few leaders or big characters, but i'm not sure. the fevered anfield performances are as much a symptom of this as the limp capitulations, last-minute goals conceded, endless leads thrown away. it's not sustainable. and in the league they aren't necessarily like that at anfield.

I don't really believe in the innate characters of clubs - it's almost entirely about management and personnel at various levels. That's with the caveat that some Chairmen and some sets of fans make it harder for clubs to build sensibly, but Liverpool fans strike me as relatively patient compared to a lot of other clubs.

If anything reaching the final was an over-achievement and an amazing one. Player for player Liverpool aren't really that good and 8th in the league was about right. Klopp deserves a lot of credit for getting them this far. 99% of clubs are a bit flaky but very few are uniquely so.

yeah maybe - i mean i don't think it's a defining setback to lose last night, but the panic that set in after the seville goal has been a trait of this group for a disturbingly long time now.

whatever about the dull days of rafa/houllier, the team didn't shit itself in that manner. i guess the obvious cliche is "they need more leaders", it's probably true though.

clinging to the optimism of barney ronay's piece: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/18/sevilla-liverpool-europa-league-final-basel-party

GROUP A:

Manchester United

Fenerbahce

Feyenoord

Zorya Luhansk

GROUP K:

Inter Milan

Sparta Prague

Southampton

Hapoel Beer Sheva

Not particularly easy groups. United will be spared a trip to Lugansk given that it is currently a breakaway 'people's republic'.

Dundalk got Zenit

Zenit making friends and influencing people already:

https://twitter.com/zenit_spb/status/769141090809159680

lol it is a reply to some irish braggadocio tbf

Zenit were 3-0 down vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv with 13 minutes to go, currently 3-4 up.

Dundalk seem to have secured a point away in the Netherlands. Full-strength United team a minute away from failing to do the same.

Was posting in the PL thread already, ManU were woeful.

Can't see de Boer lasting more than a couple of weeks at this rate. Inter losing 2-0 to Hapoel Beer Sheva at home.

^ lol just came looking for this thread to say "christ but inter look desperate". this is the first time i've seen them play since last Autumn/Xmas when they were winning a ton of games and it seemed like they might've got their shit together at last. showing nothing tonight.

You can already see where Saints next batch of big money sales are gonna come from. Hojbjerg looks very dynamic

somehow Saints contriving to fuck this up

what a goal

https://www.balls.ie/football/watch-moussa-sow-goal-man-utd/350718

that's a peach

can't see this man u team scoring again this side of christmas at this rate, what the fuck is this constipated louisball they're playing at the moment

United are terrible. they havent even created one chance

Brilliant, isn't it?

yeah, we're done. Burn the club to the ground and start again in the Conference

Haven't you tried that one already

Banger from the lad rooney

Shit match, three pretty beautiful goals

Sheer managerial genius by Mourinho to leave the bag o' shite on the field till the 89th minute.

might have been a different story with valencia on instead of darmian, but that was such a shit performance

The overwhelming shitness of United is slightly baffling, theres some good players there. So bad in midfield tonight too. Mkhitaryan so bad too when he came on

Xp Darmian not one of them obv

I actually despise Darmian. A nothing player Bill

so many cowards in the team though

the mind reels at the thought of our midfield on the weekend with Pogba and Herrera out

There's always Carrick but I guess fellaini will be recalled from the circus. Pisser that pereira is out on loan cos I thought he was tremendous. Wonder if Mou will ever give Tim fm some games?

Memphis Depay still languishing there too

bt sport commentator in soton/inter just used the word 'fascia'

i'm impressed, that's all

Watched Ajax tonight because fml. They cruised to a comfy 3-0 and got embarrassingly close to being held to a draw in the end, 3-2 to Celta de Vigo.

Kasper Dolberg tho, he's the real deal. What a gifted player. Get yer scouts to Amsterdam to scoop that kid up asap.

He can stay there imo, sadly I don't think he'll ever turn the corner at united. Always so tense when he comes on, nothing ever really works for him going forwards and he's a bit lazy tbh when it comes to tracking back. Memph needs to be cut loose and set free

Xps re memphis

IVE BEEN DEPRESSED FOR YEARS IT DOESNT MATTER ANYMORE

https://www.balls.ie/football/watch-paul-scholes-depressed-man-utd-fenerbache/350733

This leaden paul

lol

Bravo! Some big scoring games tonite.

Memphis, Schneiderlin, Darmian, Fellaini, Rooney, all need to go

Zlatan was a mistake too

Yep

when he was signed I expected him to rotate with Rashford in the centre forward position. Which would have been fine, and offered some good attacking variation. Instead he's become the new undroppable and plays 90 minutes basially every game, and Rashford is shunted out wide even though we desperately need movement up front.

Made absolutely no sense to bring him on when Pogba got injured either, especially with Rooney also on the pitch. Spent most of the game strolling around the centre circle. I swear at one point Mata was playing as striker ffs

and it was zlatan's foul in defence that gave away the free kick for the second goal iirc

as if scholesy isn't loving this, deep down. if he could have been a pundit while he was still playing the hovis ad that is his subconscious would have found a way to criticise the latest version of himself.

when he was signed I expected him to rotate with Rashford in the centre forward position. Which would have been fine, and offered some good attacking variation. Instead he's become the new undroppable and plays 90 minutes basially every game, and Rashford is shunted out wide even though we desperately need movement up front.

Agreed.

That was some strike for the Rennes goal

sweet flick for the own goal too :D

cracking goal!

*weakly* it's a trapp

well that's one of the weirder penalty saves I've seen

Could tell from the run up he was not going to score.

It’s a shame. Frankfurt were the better team for most of the match. Some good last ditch defending from Chelsea though.

kepa redemption narrative or something

there was quite a collection of tics, stutters, etc, in that shootout