No Irish, No Yanks, No Clogs - FIFA World Cup 2018

It'll be an "misses next match but "injured" anyway" red card so I'll accept. What I will not accept is ppl pissing on Fellaini. He's one of the last greats of our football times and history will FP you naysayers to 51.

and i'm tired and i don't wanna carry this on but it's just yes there is a place for large mobile targets to bounce balls off when you're desperate but cheaper large mobile targets are available

this dude Schöne

feel we are all downplaying the magnifying effect of his appearance

within a decade or so itll hopefully have done away with scummers who play with their elbows

will miss the punditing insight of Shearer

In any case Japan has provided a pretty useful blueprint to deal for future squad to deal with Belgium.

xxxp to NV idk these past 15 years I have plonked down good money to sit and watch Dion Dublin (post broken neck), John Carew, Emile Heskey, Marlon Harewood, Christian Benteke, Grant Holt and lately Lewis Grabban (and more besides, I have suppressed the memories), a guy with unbelievable chest control that kind-of-sort-of-almost knows his way around the midfield in a middling-standard game is worth more than them imo

and I stick to it that his record probably bears him out, i'm fucked if i'm gonna look up the numbers but today is not the first time that dude has come off the bench to do something useful in recent years

apols i can;t help myself, i do think it would be positive for the thread if we can move past the Fellaini thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG_TtQfKQ1U

this is a non-sarcastic vid

watching that Belgian winning goal again it's kinda messed up that Lukaku runs to embrace Meunier in a 'yeaah WE did that' way while Chadli has to then run to them both to join in

not the first time that dude has come off the bench to do something useful in recent years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92zbzuy1F08

strongest argument in favour of VAR is that within a decade or so itll hopefully have done away with scummers who play with their elbows

Let's not forget Gascoigne, who actually perfected the art of running with ball while jabbing his elbows in the faces of anyone who tried to tackle him.

Those are real skillz.

never thought Fellaini scoring a header against fucking Japan at a 2018 WC would be the 9/11 of ILF, but here we are, true colors are shown

look when you've got a kebab under each arm your elbows are gonna move funny

watching that Belgian winning goal again it's kinda messed up that Lukaku runs to embrace Meunier in a 'yeaah WE did that' way while Chadli has to then run to them both to join in

― shaqiri tip (nashwan), Monday, July 2, 2018 10:31 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

between this, the statement from hazard after the panama game when he said he needed to take rom aside to tell him to 'stop hiding', and the general preponderance of sour egoists in the team it seems like the belgium camp might be p toxic

A bit Dutch tbh.

maybe it's a language issue

anyway it's somewhere between France, Uruguay and Brazil now, let's not pretend tomorrow matters

genuinely think the hazard thing was badly translated tbh. at least pulled way out of proportion, like everything translated into english tbh.

france ftw

Russia are gonna win it and none of this will mean anything

"none of this will mean anything" otm. it's what makes wc's so beautiful.

i'm curious what the alternative translation is

"He'd been hiding out a bit up front. But once he got in there, involved in the game, like magic, he scored two.

"I hope he understands that now."

If picking up the ball and throwing it with your hands isn't your plan B

never thought Fellaini scoring a header against fucking Japan at a 2018 WC would be the 9/11 of ILF, but here we are, true colors are shown

― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 2 July 2018 22:37 (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

look when you've got a kebab under each arm your elbows are gonna move funny

― Meunier tear has to fall (Noodle Vague), Monday, 2 July 2018 22:37 (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lads

The entire tournament is ruined.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, June 20, 2018 9:24 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Glad the WC18 thread chose to descend into a big stupid chat about fucking Man Utd.

That was a tremendous game, well done Fellaini, well done Japan for massively exceeding expectations, well done Russia for your excellent WC

I'm amazed it wasn't about Spurs. I assume that's to come.

watched a replay of belgium japan on fox and at one point the blurred lukaku’s mouth when he was saying something. 1 was he speaking english? 2 what?!!?!

anyway japan my favorite team this tournament inue my favorite player. rip.

its actually been a discussion about a belgian player u Trotskyites

THANK YOU

a touchingly heartfelt debate on the place of inept, lumbering elbowmen in the lexicon of the game I thought.

Sweden-Sui is gonna suck innit

watching BELJPN replay, fuck i wish i could have watched live. awesome game

Alright let’s go colombia

not to beat this into the ground (too late for that eh?), but man united giving fellaini a new contract would be like the ministry of defence spunking away half their budget on siege towers and trebuchets

anyway, swedes v swiss should be p good I think

could go either way, it doesn't look very appealing but Serbia-Switzerland was a total cracker so here's hoping.

it won’t be beautiful but now the route to the final doesn’t look quite so daunting, i’m kind of hoping that some of the less fancied sides will be fighting it out like two men over a black friday flatscreen

Watch Lukaku's run. Drags the defender inside to create space for Meunier and then dummies it brilliantly for Chadli. Brilliant work. pic.twitter.com/RKseQLdX7q

— Jake. (@YedIin) July 2, 2018

seperate Fellaini: c or d thread imo

xp but for me clive he lacks intelligence clive

TBH it's pretty funny that the Belgian golden generation had to rely on fringe Premiership journeymen to bail them out.

not to beat this into the ground (too late for that eh?), but man united giving fellaini a new contract would be like the ministry of defence spunking away half their budget on siege towers and trebuchets

― I'd Rather Kecak (NickB), Tuesday, 3 July 2018 07:38

If siege towers and trebuchets had been demonstrated to be effective in achieving difficult-to-achieve objectives in the last 24 hours, this metaphor would hold.

Football's always had tension between different playing styles, there's not a uni-directional march of history towards a shining Pepball future.

Fellaini: c or d?

what's interesting is that there are shifts in overall trends over time and the most striking and consistent trend has been the rise of ultra defensive, deep football from lesser teams. as far as I'm aware the great sides of the 60s and 70s never had to deal with 11 players camped in their area just trying to suffocate space for the majority of the game

Well, there was catenaccio, which some of those great sides used to employ.

set a naccio to cat a naccio