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bigreddog
Scottish, Scouse and French. It doesn’t make sense, but it works for me.
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I get that it’s lazy and reductive to say that this game against Scandinavian opposition was practically identical to the last game against Scandinavian opposition. And yet…? It was spookily similar. Loads of possession first half but with very little threat, Sweden looked dangerous when they could make chances, and yet ultimately France win comfortably without having to work too hard. It’s mad. I’ve spent the last 10 years enduring Deschamps’ unique brand of misery football, as befits one of the game’s great water carriers. He always had the ability to make his teams less than the sum of their parts, to squander the unbelievable riches granted him by Clairefontaine. I wanted him gone in 2018, but him winning the damn World Cup scuppered that. But now that’s he’s said he’s going? Now he cuts loose and lets his players play. Now he picks 4 strikers, starts scoring for fun and maintaining complete control at the back. Infuriating. But what a sight it is to see this team in full flow. The one touch passing, the flicks, tricks and wonder goals. It’s been a tough ride at times Didi, but it’s finally fun.
What a slog this was. As if a 2200 kickoff wasn’t bad enough when you’re chronically sleep deprived and exhausted, they go and throw a 2hr half time rain delay in. This is what happens when you try and hold sporting events on a continent that’s constantly trying to kill you. Between hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and life-threatening thunderstorms, Mother Nature is making her feelings about settling America very clear. And it seems like the more people ignore her, the more pissed off she’s getting. But anyway, despite that, France cruised to a 3-0 win. Routine, if not for the 0200 finish…
A battle for the soul of football. A team that wanted to play football against a team that wanted to stop any football being played. Trying to go toe to toe with the tournament favourites is never going to be a good plan, but Paraguay’s approach in this game was genuinely appalling. They used every dirty trick in the book, from diving, to accusing our players of diving, tackles off the ball, high tackles, time wasting… you name it. They tried everything and the ref bought it every time, like the sucker he was. Except when Doué was scythed down in the box and the ref actually gave the penalty. Amazing. And that was that. France the winners, football the winner, and that horrible gang of nihilists sent packing. Imagine watching them every game, that’d be fucking graft.
Popular reviews
More ›Liverpool1 - 1Brentford
The End. End of the season, thank God. But also the end of an era. Robbo and Mo weren’t the first to leave and won’t be the last, but this feels like the break - the next Liverpool team will be something new, not an evolution of the force of nature we’ve grown used to since 2015. This expensively, exquisitely assembled squad has been stripped of any identity or belief, reduced to playing for moments and not getting enough of them to go our way. No one’s having fun anymore, including the manager. The only plan seems to be to run less, which is good because not one of the players can be arsed to do it anymore. Slot’s going to be sacked. It’s inevitable on this evidence. The only questions are how long it takes and how much more damage he does to this club before he does. Mo and Robbo were standard bearers for this club’s identity. Heart, desire, talent. They had it all. They leave a club that doesn’t look like it has any of it anymore. The beginning? It is now - but of what?
Liverpool
Everton1 - 2LiverpoolNo brains, no bollocks. No idea how to control a game of football, just 11 strangers running around the place hoping for something to happen. I realised what it was I hate about watching the reds right now and it’s this: there’s no plan, nothing to get invested in. It’s just 90+ minutes in the laps of the gods. Some you win, some you lose. None you care about because there’s nothing there to care about either way. I didn’t even celebrate the winner. Proper Rudyard Kiplinged it, indifferent to the impostors of success or failures. But it is objectively funny that Salah scores seconds after they have one ruled out for offside, and then van Dijk is the one to break their hearts at the end. Have that Pickford, you horrible little bastard. For all your cheating, gamesmanship and occasional assaults, you still can’t - will never - win. We continue in purgatory. We still don’t look like we have a clue. But at least we beat THEM.
LiverpoolLiverpool1 - 1Chelsea
Why can’t I give this game zero stars? It’s literally impossible for both teams to lose a game but that’s what these deserved. It started so well, Rio made the space and Grav whacked it top corner And then it all fell apart. They got lazy and passive. Tried to sit deep in a shape but didn’t know how to be in a shape. When we had the ball, we couldn’t find someone to pass to. It was fucking abject. The loudest Anfield got was booing Slot for taking off the one player who was trying. This season has been awful but today felt like something changed. We’re sick of it. Sick of the utter lack of anything to get behind. Slot did the impossible last year and won the league at the first time of asking. What’s he’s done this year is even more impossible. He made going the game shit. Town flat, Anfield flat. I groaned when they said 7 minutes added on. Two games to go. Two more games of this zero star shite.
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