Next three months are going to seriously drag

gtb1943

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Post draft and pre Camp

the OTA's are just meh

The only truly dead time of the football year
 
JBS said:
Who is your pick to win and who do you want to win?
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I would like England to win it. I think this is likely the best squad England will have had in some time. I suppose for my actual pick, I might actually still say England. Harry Kane has been very good in the Bundesliga. I love the Tuchel appointment. I genuinely think England should be able to win it. The only concern I have with England is goalkeeper. So, if not England, then I'd say probably Spain.

I know a lot of people would likely pick France, but I'm not keen on them. I can't help but think they're going to have team chemistry issues similar to 2010. Not full 2010, but I think Mbappe is going to be a bit of a locker room issue, especially with how things went for him at Real Madrid. Brazil is rubbish. I don't think Argentina have reloaded properly and Messi is a bit older now. So yeah, I think my top 2 picks would be England and Spain.
 
ScotsCowboy said:
I’ll tell you what’s a laugh:

Waiting 28 years for your nation to qualify for a World Cup, just for the schedulers to put your first game on at 2am local time. :lmao:

The life of a Scottish sports fan…
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As an England supporter, I'm excited to watch Scotland in the WC. I think Scotland are going to do well. Like I said, I think Brazil might win your group (but flame our after that) but they'll probably win your group. I think Scotland will finish second in your group though. I think you've got quietly one of the more dangerous teams in the World Cup.
 
RustyBourneHorse said:
I would like England to win it. I think this is likely the best squad England will have had in some time. I suppose for my actual pick, I might actually still say England. Harry Kane has been very good in the Bundesliga. I love the Tuchel appointment. I genuinely think England should be able to win it. The only concern I have with England is goalkeeper. So, if not England, then I'd say probably Spain.

I know a lot of people would likely pick France, but I'm not keen on them. I can't help but think they're going to have team chemistry issues similar to 2010. Not full 2010, but I think Mbappe is going to be a bit of a locker room issue, especially with how things went for him at Real Madrid. Brazil is rubbish. I don't think Argentina have reloaded properly and Messi is a bit older now. So yeah, I think my top 2 picks would be England and Spain.
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The other side I'm intrigued by (party with Ronaldo involved) is Portugal. I think Portugal is quietly going to be good, and this will likely be Ronaldo's last WC. So, i think he will be extra motivated, and Portugal is a dangerous side.
 
RustyBourneHorse said:
The other side I'm intrigued by (party with Ronaldo involved) is Portugal. I think Portugal is quietly going to be good, and this will likely be Ronaldo's last WC. So, i think he will be extra motivated, and Portugal is a dangerous side.
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Portugal won’t be sneaking up on anyone. Outside of the top 3 (England, France, Spain) they’re probably as good or better than anyone else.

The key to France is chemistry. If they can play as one collective unit and work cohesively, I think they’re far superior to any other side. But that’s a major question mark , especially w Mbappe as you mentioned. I also don’t love the work rate of a lineup that includes both Mbappe and Cherki. But their depth , especially in attack , is unmatched. They do have question marks in midfield and defense. I also just don’t like Spain hahah.
 
JBS said:
Portugal won’t be sneaking up on anyone. Outside of the top 3 (England, France, Spain) they’re probably as good or better than anyone else.

The key to France is chemistry. If they can play as one collective unit and work cohesively, I think they’re far superior to any other side. But that’s a major question mark , especially w Mbappe as you mentioned. I also don’t love the work rate of a lineup that includes both Mbappe and Cherki. But their depth , especially in attack , is unmatched. They do have question marks in midfield and defense. I also just don’t like Spain hahah.
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I agree about Portugal not sneaking up, but they're also not a side that is considered the top 3 perse, but they are worth being on that level imo.

I should mention as an England supporter, I have additional reasons not to want France to win haha, for the same reason as you with Spain. I think England and Portugal are the most cohesive of the European sides.

The other side, outside of Europe, I'd watch out for is Japan. They've always been good in WC play, but they usually get to about the Group of 16. I think they're good enough this year to at least get to the quarter finals if not more.
 
RustyBourneHorse said:
I agree about Portugal not sneaking up, but they're also not a side that is considered the top 3 perse, but they are worth being on that level imo.

I should mention as an England supporter, I have additional reasons not to want France to win haha, for the same reason as you with Spain. I think England and Portugal are the most cohesive of the European sides.

The other side, outside of Europe, I'd watch out for is Japan. They've always been good in WC play, but they usually get to about the Group of 16. I think they're good enough this year to at least get to the quarter finals if not more.
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I wouldn’t mind if England won it at all. And they absolutely have the team to do it. I just feel like they’re too defensive oriented, maybe that changes now w Tuchel in charge as opposed to Southgate , but I don’t know. I’d still have them ranked behind France and Spain on paper. There is something missing in attack for me w this English side , I’m not sure what it is. Maybe LW, maybe Saka, I’m not sure. Can’t put my finger on it. Just needs a little more juice somewhere.
 
JBS said:
I wouldn’t mind if England won it at all. And they absolutely have the team to do it. I just feel like they’re too defensive oriented, maybe that changes now w Tuchel in charge as opposed to Southgate , but I don’t know. I’d still have them ranked behind France and Spain on paper. There is something missing in attack for me w this English side , I’m not sure what it is. Maybe LW, maybe Saka, I’m not sure. Can’t put my finger on it. Just needs a little more juice somewhere.
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Honestly, that might do England well in the knockout stages. When you're later into the WC, you have to be able to park the bus effectively. And I do think England has the firepower to attack when the opportunity is there. I think it'll be a lot of counter attacking football, which Tuchel's systems tend to do very well.

Also, I'm excited on a PL level because my club, AFC Bournemouth might be playing in the Champions League next year if all goes right.
 
RustyBourneHorse said:
Honestly, that might do England well in the knockout stages. When you're later into the WC, you have to be able to park the bus effectively. And I do think England has the firepower to attack when the opportunity is there. I think it'll be a lot of counter attacking football, which Tuchel's systems tend to do very well.

Also, I'm excited on a PL level because my club, AFC Bournemouth might be playing in the Champions League next year if all goes right.
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Who is going to replace Iraola ? Bournemouth are very entertaining under him
 
JBS said:
Who is going to replace Iraola ? Bournemouth are very entertaining under him
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Sounds like we've already appointed Marco Rose. However, I'm holding out hope that Iriola changes his mind. I think he was wanting to leave because 1. We were in 11th and it seemed that was as good as we were going to do and 2. I think he wanted one of the Spanish jobs (I think it was Bilbao he wanted). Since they appointed someone else and given where we are, i think he might change his mind.
 
RustyBourneHorse said:
Sounds like we've already appointed Marco Rose. However, I'm holding out hope that Iriola changes his mind. I think he was wanting to leave because 1. We were in 11th and it seemed that was as good as we were going to do and 2. I think he wanted one of the Spanish jobs (I think it was Bilbao he wanted). Since they appointed someone else and given where we are, i think he might change his mind.
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Surprises me he didn’t get the Bilbao job, given his success and association with the club.
 
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