The Official 2017/18 Football/Soccer Thread

[blue_london]

Neymar set to join psg for 198m

 

[northside7]

Neymar set to join psg for 198m

Let's hope.

 

[northside7]

SkySports has neymar missing training as breaking news on their site. Fucking hilarious lol.

 

[blue_london]

SkySports has neymar missing training as breaking news on their site. Fucking hilarious lol.

Neymar: Barcelona forward given permission to leave for PSG -http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40800757

 

[lazypakman]

Tim Vickerys article on the move

Romario won it in 1994. It was the turn of Ronaldo in 1996 and 1997, and again in 2002. Rivaldo was chosen in 1999, Ronaldinho in 2004 and 2005, and Kaka in 2007.

In a 13-year spell, five Brazilians won the Fifa World Player of the Year award on eight separate occasions, which set the bar for subsequent generations of their compatriots.

The career of Neymar will be seen - by himself and other Brazilians - as falling short of potential if he does not get his hands on the award.

And so if you want to know why the 25-year-old forward wants to leave Barcelona for Paris St-Germain then it is crucial to understand that how he will be remembered back home in Brazil is paramount.

But beyond that, there is also the issue of why PSG might be the next logical step for Neymar to take if he is to finally win an award that has so far eluded

How failures have shaped Neymar's career

Like all success stories, failure plays a part in what has happened to Neymar.

There was his astonishing flop at the 2009 Under-17 Championship in Nigeria, when Brazil were one of eight teams to fail to make it out of the group stage.

A frontline of Neymar and Philippe Coutinho could not come up with goals when it mattered. Making little impression, Neymar was hauled off when Brazil were losing 1-0 to both Mexico and Switzerland.

He was already a budding star at senior level for Santos in the Brazilian first division.

The lesson was clear: global football was hard, and he needed to be ready before making the move across the Atlantic.

Chelsea thought they had secured him at one stage, but he stayed put at Santos until 2013, avoiding the pitfalls of the premature move.

The other relative failure was that of the man Neymar grew up idolising - Robinho, a former Santos star. When Robinho moved to Real Madrid in 2005 it was automatically assumed in Brazil that the forward would cruise to the World Player award.

One media pundit, former Brazil striker Casagrande, felt Robinho would be better than anyone who had ever played the game, with the exception of Pele.

History tells us otherwise, and Robinho's career has never completely recovered from the discovery that Real were prepared to use him as a makeweight to get their hands on Cristiano Ronaldo - a decision which in hindsight looks like a masterstroke.

Neymar, then, was well aware that his bid for world domination would have to be made step by step, which made Barcelona such an enticing prospect.

Stepping out of Messi's shadow

The Barcelona Neymar joined in 2013 was Lionel Messi's team.

The pressure would be off.

Former Brazil winger Denilson, for example, became the world's record signing two decades ago and was immediately supposed to carry a mediocre Real Betis side. Neymar would not have this problem. He could ease his way into European club football in the shadow of Messi.

But, in this step-by-step strategy, he would not want to be in the shadow of Messi forever. How could he win the World Player award if he was not even the most outstanding member of his own team?

So either Messi would move on, Neymar would replace him as the focal point of the attack, or Neymar would move on. Messi has just signed a new contract. He looks set to remain the lead violinist for the foreseeable future - leaving option three.

Though Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu said Neymar would not be leaving the club, reports continued to say Paris St-Germain had offered Neymar the opportunity to lead the pack. And there would be an added bonus.

This season ends with the World Cup, when Neymar should be in peak condition - he will be 26 next June.

In the French league he will be able to coast a little, pacing himself to ensure there is enough gas in the tank for a top campaign in Russia.

A move to Paris, then, makes plenty of cold, hard sense. Its attractions are clear in the eyes of some of those around Neymar - and it is wise to remember that the structure around him means clubs are dealing with a limited company as much as a man.

His father, agents and advisers all have a strategy and an opinion, but none has the joy that he experiences lining up alongside Messi and Luis Suarez in the Barcelona forward line. What is best for the brand may not necessarily be what is best for the player.

 

[DNB1]

Wow, this Neymar deal is happening.

Read he was also mad that Messi got all the praise after the 5:1 beating of PSG when it was down to him.

 

[DNB1]

Sanchez to PSG must be off now.

Barca don't want him.

Can only be City who want him now.

 

[water ur seeds]

Sounds to me like Neymar's camp want him to move more then him... I guess they think/told him aslong as Messi is at Barca (just signed a new contract) he wont get the ballon d'or... But PSG with Monaco falling apart makes Ligue 1 pretty much one horse race now isnt it??? Kinda sad to lose such a great player to a wack league when you compare it to the other top leagues, even Italy is more competitive...

 

[yung$]

A simple I'm not leaving will stop all this so for that I think he is gone. Psg is best place after Barcelona outside of real Madrid. Bayern as well that's because you run the league and only step up for champions league.

With that said and being a Madrid fan I don't want him to leave, he is heir apparent, Ronaldinho passed torch to Messi give it time and he will get the torch. Messi is slowing down he is 30 this time next year it will be neymars team

 

[CeLLaR-DooR]

I hear it's confirmed

 

[Figo]

I don't think it was difficult for him to switch to PSG. Lumpsome of money offered by psg plus several Brazilian national team mates there.

Team just got stronger on paper

 

[Mseries_]

Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham have trouble signing squad players

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mauricio Pochettino has dismissed the suggestion that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is restricting the club's spending and explained the difficulty of signing players, claiming several transfer targets, including Chelsea's Alvaro Morata, have been reluctant to compete for a first-team place.

Levy questioned the "totally unsustainable" spending of Spurs' Premier League rivals last week, and it is often perceived that he prevents his managers from spending.

Pochettino's predecessors Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas complained that Levy did not back them in the transfer market but the tables seem to have turned, and club sources have told ESPN FC that Pochettino rejected the deals for Porto's Ricardo Pereira and Juan Foyth of Estudiantes because he felt they were too expensive.

Spurs are the only Premier League club yet to make a summer signing but when told that many outsiders blame Levy, but ahead of the friendly with Juventus at Wembley on Saturday, Pochettino said: "That is a very wrong perception.

"In three years, my experience with Daniel is that he's always been trying to find a player to improve us. I think Daniel is very keen for signings every season, in my experience.

We have a lot of meetings, spontaneous meetings, talking every day on the training ground. I think we are all involved in the process.

"Of course, the last decision is between Daniel and me if we sign the player. But we are all involved in the process to try to find the right player for us."

For Pochettino, the biggest problem is finding top players who are willing to challenge for a spot in a team that won 12 of the final 13 games of last season, and finished the campaign with the best attack and defence in the top flight.

Among the targets unenthusiastic about fighting for a place was Morata, who joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in a deal worth up to £65 million last month -- only for Blues manager Antonio Conte to say a week later that if he could buy one striker, it would be Tottenham's Harry Kane.

Pochettino admitted that he spoke to Morata about signing from Juventus in 2015, only for the Spaniard to question why he would want to compete with two-time Golden Boot-winner Kane.

"When you play in the Premier League and Champions League, you need quality and numbers," Pochettino said. "To create a winning team and try to win trophies, you need to feel the pressure.

"It is like the chicken or the egg. We understand that Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, [Eric] Dier, [Toby] Alderweireld are really good players. They want to win, like us. But they need to feel the pressure to improve in every season.

"If I'm Harry Kane, Dele Alli or Eriksen, if there's no competition behind, it's normal to drop your motivation, it's normal to drop everything that you do. If some players arrive with different energy then it's, 'OK, come on, we need to push, we need to run, we need to do the same.'

"These type of player we are talking about are not easy to find. Morata talked about myself in the media he said, 'Mauricio called me.' That was from the beginning, two years ago. He said to me, 'Why do you want me if you have Harry Kane?'

"You know, if you go to try to sign a striker, they will say, 'Eh, gaffer, you want me for what? To be on the bench? Because I can't compete with Harry Kane.' It's the same with Hugo Lloris or different players. Then it's so difficult to convince good players to come and then be on the bench."

Pochettino's idea has already worked at full-back, where Ben Davies provides competition for Danny Rose at left-back, and Kieran Trippier's rise persuaded the club to sell homesick Kyle Walker to Manchester City for £50m last month.

The Spurs manager insisted he had no issues with Walker and dismissed the suggested he did not trust the 27-year-old to play three times in a week.

"A lot of rumour happened in that period. Our relationship was good," Pochettino said. That is so strange because I never told you that he could not play three times in a week. There were rumours in the media that I wasn't happy with him because he could not play, I never said that. Like we had some problem or fight? Never. Never. I can show you the messages when he left."

Pochettino added: "When we arrived, we bought Ben Davies to push Danny Rose, Trippier to push Kyle Walker That is the best example [of competition for places].

"We need quality and players with the facility to fight with our number one, and to try to help them push their level. That is the key. If we're capable of doing this, it's sure we will have success.

"Last season, Kieran and Kyle started to share one game each. If you watch again the last 14 games, Kyle was here, and Kieran was here. And when you play Trippier -- 4-0 against Watford. When Kyle played against West Brom or Swansea -- 4-0! When we played the [postseason] game in Hong Kong, our two right-backs were in the national team squad. That gave us justification of how we worked, and that the possibility to play both was the best way."

Pochettino added that every new signing would be given the opportunity to follow the lead set by Trippier and Alli, who joined the club from League One MK Dons in summer 2015 and has won two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards.

"Always we told the players we will give the possibility to fight and, if you show me that you have the same level you, will have the possibility to play and you will have your chance. If you are better you will play. That competition they know.

"Dele Alli arrived from League One and after a few months started to play. So when a player comes in and for instance thinks he should play because he's played in the Champions League it's not about that. You need to deserve to play.

"Dele Alli came in and was better. Sometimes people complain -- not all the players but a player says, 'I am big!' But OK, go and show that every day in every single game that you deserve to play instead of another. That is all."
http://www.espnfc.us/story/3170037/mauricio-pochettino-tottenham-have-trouble-signing-squad-players

Why are you reading and posting articles about SPURS?

Do you honestly think lacassette is gonna help Arsenal record a no.1 spot finish?

What do you like most about SPURS that's got you posting about a team that has been silent in the transfer market?

 

[CeLLaR-DooR]

Spurs man gassed coz of their startin' 11 which finished 2nd twice in a row but Poch knows without some major signings shit gonna he tough

 

[water ur seeds]

LOL yo MSeries, SPURS are gonna struggle for top 4 at this rate, SPURS sold Walker got 50mil in the bank and Daniel Levi still wont sign anyone, he is tighter than a ducks ass fam dude is refusing to sign anyone, he needs to open his wallet so SPURS can sign 1 or 2 big players or I cant see them making top 4...

 

[water ur seeds]

SkySports reporting that Neymar is traveling on a flight to London, @Mseries_ Daniel Levi might of seen my post, Neymar might be going to SPURS...

 

[dontdiedontkillanyon]

SkySports reporting that Neymar is traveling on a flight to London, @Mseries_ Daniel Levi might of seen my post, Neymar might be going to SPURS...

He's going to Arsenal, bredrin.

 

[infamous114]

It's official. Barca has announced it
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXSt62SFYWj/

 

[CeLLaR-DooR]

650k a week. No tax

 

[infamous114]

https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/892690518886449152

 

[water ur seeds]

650k a week. No tax

£200mil transfer with 650k week no tax??? This is the day when football officially went crazy...