i actually like arsenal's away. adidas did a good job on all 3 kits.

i saw a pic of the home jersey with the bruised banana themed name/numbers...not sure if legit or not.

They wore the yellow bruised banana at the weekend. The dark blue jersey is far better, though.

i like the yellow kit a lot, and it has a historical significance for the club. and im more worried about their inability to create from the midfield than a jersey.

what's the connection to Woolwich?

Fingers crossed that after a few league games, they'll be more creative, but yes, the pre-season and game 1 were not exactly confidence-inspiring. While other top teams came out blazing in game 1, the Gunners eked out a measly goal. Maybe the jersey will distract me?;):eek:

man, that LFC D looks rather porous... getting pulled out of shape by Chelsea's movement

edit: as if on queue, Chelsea scores (though from counter-attack, to be fair)

they look so much better with Kante beefing up their midfield. Also, first American assist in the Supercup

And LFC takes it on penalties, quite a bit past midnight in Instanbul

but the overall winner has to be...














Sheikty, of course, having seen two of its cohorts go 120 minutes in a mid-week match.

At least Chelsea gets an extra day. LFC needs to play again on Saturday morning, though granted, it's against a team that flirted with relegation last year. At least Firminho and TAA didn't have to play the whole 120...

and speaking of magical nights in Istanbul
 

an article on their club legend by the name of Xabi Alonso. He's apparently taken up a coaching role at Real Sociedad.

I started following soccer a bit late, so my first memories was him taking a kung-fu kick from de Jong.

Anyways, interesting perspectives from the man

https://www.theguardian.com/football...dad-management

I know it's bad form, but...
 

All that money spent on a new DM, and all that money spent on a new outside back, and Sheikty still can't defend at home.

Of course, VAR stars yet again, but then again, a) it is the right call according to the rules, and b) the stadium didn't get nearly as loud the whole game as when their fair weather, bandwagon jumping fans booed VAR at the end

The shot differential was incredible. Spurs made theirs count. And it was correct VAR call. Maybe MC luck is evening out some?

I heard that the most recent rule change was made so that the way Llorentes scored in the Quarterfinals against City would no longer count

Just so happens that they were on the receiving end of adverse decisions, under both set of rules

Otoh, I thought Tottenham got really lucky, and Lloris (and the woodworks) came up huge for them. Just like last week, they played really compact, with their attacking players all jamming up the middle. Lamela and Eriksen nominally played as wingers, but both normally operate better in and between the channels, and that's how they positioned themselves. Having Winks, Sissoko, and Ndembele playing in the middle just seemed a bit too congested.

If they do play the diamond midfield, they need at least someone like Son or Moura to play as the forward who could stretch defenses out wide.

I am for VAR regarding offsides as that is a black and white call - either you are on side or you are not. Goal line is the same - either the entire ball crossed the goal or it didnt.
Handball is still open to interpretation, even with VAR so I would leave that solely to the ref.

My club.

i disagree. What does it help if we know with 100% certainty that the ball crossed the line, but the ref didn't see the foul or handball that lead to the shot...

That's the game - the refs miss calls - fact of life.

Even with var calls are still subjective, with no certainty, as refs have the ultimate say even after review - still left to the discretion of the ref.

So for me, it takes away spontaneity and disrupts the momentum and movement of the game. But var is here and it's not going away, but I still don't like it.