"Back of the net!": The Football Thread

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  • edited July 2018 Posts: 17,759
    It's an interesting statement, to say the least. Regarding the Erdogan photo, he writes this:
    "In May, I met President Erdogan in London, during a charitable and educational event."

    “I am aware that the picture has aroused great interest in the German media. For me it had nothing to do with politics or elections – it was a question of respect for the highest office in my family’s country"
    I think that's a bit naive. He should of course have thought of the consequences; as should Lothar Matthäus (ambassador for the DFB) when he was recently photographed shaking hands with Putin during the WC…

    Regarding racism, he writes about a few incidents, like politician Bernd Holzhauer who called him a "goat-f***er" and Chief of German Theatre Werner Steer who wished for the footballer to "p*** back to Anatolia." Another example was after the game against Sweden - in which he writes:
    “…the German fan who told me after the game against Sweden: ‘Özil, f**k off you Turkish s**t, piss off you Turkish pig.’ I don’t want to even discuss the hate mail, threatening phone calls and comments on social media that my family and I have received."
    But the most telling bit, is the part in which he criticizes DFB president Reinhard Grindel:
    “Arguably the issue that has frustrated me the most over the past couple of months has been the mistreatment from the DFB and in particular the DFB president Reinhard Grindel. After my picture with President Erdogan I was asked by [coach] Joachim Lowe to cut short my holiday and give a joint statement to end all the talk and set the record straight.

    “Whilst I attempted to explain to Grindel my heritage, ancestry and therefore reasoning behind the photo, he was far more interested in speaking about his own political views and belittling my opinion. Whilst his actions were patronising, we came to agree that the best thing to do was concentrate on football and the upcoming World Cup.

    “During this time I also met with the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Unlike Grindel, President Steinmeier was professional and actually was interested in what I had to say about my family, my heritage and my decisions. I remember the meeting was only between myself, Ilkay, President Steinmeier, with Grindel being upset that he wasn’t allowed inside to boost his own political agenda."

    “Since the end of the World Cup Grindel has come under much pressure regarding his decisions before the tournament and rightly so. Recently he has publicly said I should once again explain my actions and puts me at fault for the poor team results in Russia, despite telling me it was over in Berlin."

    “I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his incompetence and inability to do his job properly."

    “In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters I am German when we win but I am an immigrant when we lose."
    The German football association looks to have some work to do, both on and off the pitch. There was also the incident with the two German team officials who mocked the the Swedish bench after Germany's late winner against Sweden during the WC. A heat of the moment thing perhaps, but it makes you wonder what shape their football association is in.

    Arsenal fans can only hope this doesn't affect the upcoming season for Özil. His best years may be behind him, as you write @jobo - but as far as club football go, he is a very important part of the team. One of the main criticisms I have of the Wenger era, is Arsène and his staff not managing to bring the best out of him (and others). It will be interesting to see what Unai Emery manages to do with Özil. He has stated that "I want to work with him with a new way and with an ambition to continue with this quality and help with this quality, getting better with the team."

    Wonder what that "new way" means, @barryt007? :-?
  • Posts: 19,339
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    @Torgeirtrap

    It is quite true that there was a very intense and partly nasty response in the German public after the Erdogan photos. Gundogan was completely booed during a friendly match before the WC. The quotes you mentioned are still extreme examples of people I have never heared about before. Bernd Holzhauer for instance is a polititian in a very small town in a middle of nowhere. He also apologized afterwards.

    Still I think that it is strange that Ozil says that there was racicm in the German Football association (DFB). He has never been discriminated because of his country of origin and has played regularly. The same applies to players like Gundogan, Can, Klose, Podolski, Gomez, Boateng, Khedira, Mustafi, Rudiger,...... There is hardly any national team in the world with so many players who have foreign roots and no one of them has ever accused the dfb for racism. I guess the communication, especiall after the disappointing WC, was not the best and the dfb and some other officials have not done the best job but racism is certainly the wrong word in this context.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    I also don't understand why Ozil did not make a statement (like Gundogan) directly after the photo with Erdogan. He could have explained that he faces an inner struggle but that he did not want to make advertisement for Erdogan. Something like that would have certainly smoothed the waves. T
  • Posts: 7,653
    Ozil is a bit of a dick and wants to save face after the debacle at the World Cup with the German team. The fact is he took a photograph with a known dictator and people did not take kindly to it. No racism but plain criticism on the person Ozil, and sadly he wants to name it racism instead of accepting that a player of Arsenal & the Mannschaft in public domain will be criticized when he does something find stupid. In this case a lot of people decided they did not like it. Live with it big baby.
  • Posts: 7,507
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.
  • Posts: 19,339
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.

    Ahh interesting...thanks for the heads up on that @jobo.

    So maybe Ozil will play in the centre of the 3 behind the 1 up front,or in the 3 up front probably a bit deeper than the others.

    I also hope he will get more out of the lazy,sulky bugger than Wenger did,or just sell him off in January if not.



  • edited July 2018 Posts: 7,507
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.

    Ahh interesting...thanks for the heads up on that @jobo.

    So maybe Ozil will play in the centre of the 3 behind the 1 up front,or in the 3 up front probably a bit deeper than the others.

    I also hope he will get more out of the lazy,sulky bugger than Wenger did,or just sell him off in January if not.


    It would make a lot of sense to use him there as he has never really been adept when playing in other positions, either on the flanks or deeper. But I don't see how that could be revolutionary as he played in the exact same role and formation during his first couple of seasons with Wenger. I don't know what Emery has in mind. Özil has never been the most versatile of players.
  • Posts: 19,339
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.

    Ahh interesting...thanks for the heads up on that @jobo.

    So maybe Ozil will play in the centre of the 3 behind the 1 up front,or in the 3 up front probably a bit deeper than the others.

    I also hope he will get more out of the lazy,sulky bugger than Wenger did,or just sell him off in January if not.


    It would make a lot of sense to use him there as he has never really been adept when playing in other positions, either on the flanks or deeper. But I don't see how that could be revolutionary as he played in the exact same role and formation during his first couple of seasons with Wenger. I don't know what Emery has in mind. Özil has never been the most versatile of players.

    No he hasn't,you are right.
    It will be interesting to see what happens when we see the set-up for the first time,maybe Emery is the one to get some positive consistency out of him,but I wont hold my breath and he is NOT in either my SKY or EPL Fantasy teams !!
  • Posts: 7,507
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.

    Ahh interesting...thanks for the heads up on that @jobo.

    So maybe Ozil will play in the centre of the 3 behind the 1 up front,or in the 3 up front probably a bit deeper than the others.

    I also hope he will get more out of the lazy,sulky bugger than Wenger did,or just sell him off in January if not.


    It would make a lot of sense to use him there as he has never really been adept when playing in other positions, either on the flanks or deeper. But I don't see how that could be revolutionary as he played in the exact same role and formation during his first couple of seasons with Wenger. I don't know what Emery has in mind. Özil has never been the most versatile of players.

    No he hasn't,you are right.
    It will be interesting to see what happens when we see the set-up for the first time,maybe Emery is the one to get some positive consistency out of him,but I wont hold my breath and he is NOT in either my SKY or EPL Fantasy teams !!


    Yes, consistency is the key word. He has always been brilliant at his best, but I cannot recall a single season where he hasn't had at least one or several lapses of bad form, and that is including his peak years in Real Madrid. And when Özil is bad he is really shite! And unfortunately those lapses of bad form usually seem to accure during the most important parts of the season and in key games. It is not too late to change that trend, but I wouldn't put put much faith in him if it was me...
  • Posts: 19,339
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.

    Ahh interesting...thanks for the heads up on that @jobo.

    So maybe Ozil will play in the centre of the 3 behind the 1 up front,or in the 3 up front probably a bit deeper than the others.

    I also hope he will get more out of the lazy,sulky bugger than Wenger did,or just sell him off in January if not.


    It would make a lot of sense to use him there as he has never really been adept when playing in other positions, either on the flanks or deeper. But I don't see how that could be revolutionary as he played in the exact same role and formation during his first couple of seasons with Wenger. I don't know what Emery has in mind. Özil has never been the most versatile of players.

    No he hasn't,you are right.
    It will be interesting to see what happens when we see the set-up for the first time,maybe Emery is the one to get some positive consistency out of him,but I wont hold my breath and he is NOT in either my SKY or EPL Fantasy teams !!


    Yes, consistency is the key word. He has always been brilliant at his best, but I cannot recall a single season where he hasn't had at least one or several lapses of bad form, and that is including his peak years in Real Madrid. And when Özil is bad he is really shite! And unfortunately those lapses of bad form usually seem to accure during the most important parts of the season and in key games. It is not too late to change that trend, but I wouldn't put put much faith in him if it was me...

    He is a hopeless cause for me to be honest,i would have cashed in on and re-invest in another player.
  • Posts: 17,759
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Possibly using him as a traditional #10 ,supporting the front two ,and laying the ball wide to the wingers/wing backs.

    All depends on what system he chooses to go with,no mention of anything yet.


    Emery has played either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 all his career. Don't think we will see much of a front two.

    Ahh interesting...thanks for the heads up on that @jobo.

    So maybe Ozil will play in the centre of the 3 behind the 1 up front,or in the 3 up front probably a bit deeper than the others.

    I also hope he will get more out of the lazy,sulky bugger than Wenger did,or just sell him off in January if not.


    It would make a lot of sense to use him there as he has never really been adept when playing in other positions, either on the flanks or deeper. But I don't see how that could be revolutionary as he played in the exact same role and formation during his first couple of seasons with Wenger. I don't know what Emery has in mind. Özil has never been the most versatile of players.

    No he hasn't,you are right.
    It will be interesting to see what happens when we see the set-up for the first time,maybe Emery is the one to get some positive consistency out of him,but I wont hold my breath and he is NOT in either my SKY or EPL Fantasy teams !!


    Yes, consistency is the key word. He has always been brilliant at his best, but I cannot recall a single season where he hasn't had at least one or several lapses of bad form, and that is including his peak years in Real Madrid. And when Özil is bad he is really shite! And unfortunately those lapses of bad form usually seem to accure during the most important parts of the season and in key games. It is not too late to change that trend, but I wouldn't put put much faith in him if it was me...

    He is a hopeless cause for me to be honest,i would have cashed in on and re-invest in another player.

    That was what I thought they would do when his contract was close to ending, but he signed a new and improved one instead.

    Regarding formation, I will not be surprised if he plays behind Lacazette, Aubemeyang and Mkhitaryan. In the first half against Boreham Wood Lacazette played as the central striker with Aubameyang on the left - although they alternated a little bit between themselves. Reiss Nelson played on the right. Mkhitaryan played in the second half.

    The midfield is the big question this season, and Ramsey have only a year left of his current contract. Haven't heard anything about him signing a new one, so we might sew him leave before the season starts if he doesn't. Can't have yet another Alexis situation.
    GBF wrote: »
    @Torgeirtrap

    It is quite true that there was a very intense and partly nasty response in the German public after the Erdogan photos. Gundogan was completely booed during a friendly match before the WC. The quotes you mentioned are still extreme examples of people I have never heared about before. Bernd Holzhauer for instance is a polititian in a very small town in a middle of nowhere. He also apologized afterwards.

    Still I think that it is strange that Ozil says that there was racicm in the German Football association (DFB). He has never been discriminated because of his country of origin and has played regularly. The same applies to players like Gundogan, Can, Klose, Podolski, Gomez, Boateng, Khedira, Mustafi, Rudiger,...... There is hardly any national team in the world with so many players who have foreign roots and no one of them has ever accused the dfb for racism. I guess the communication, especiall after the disappointing WC, was not the best and the dfb and some other officials have not done the best job but racism is certainly the wrong word in this context.

    We will probably never get to know what happened in detail between Özil and particularly Reinhard Grindel (as he mentioned in his lengthy post, he got nothing but support from Löw and Oliver Bierhoff for example) - but something has to have happened surely, if he goes as far as calling Grindel out in such an extent as he did?
  • Posts: 12,526
    Club football just around the corner already!!!!! Lol!
  • edited July 2018 Posts: 17,759
    RogueAgent wrote: »
    Club football just around the corner already!!!!! Lol!

    Really looking forward to the new season! We've seen some interesting transfer news and manager appointments already. Sarri to Chelsea, Ronaldo to Juventus, Pellegrini to West Ham and a more to come before the new season kicks off. The Championship will no doubt be as open as always!
  • Posts: 17,759
    Rosenborg played their first match under caretaker head coach Rini Coolen against Celtic in the CL qualification rounds tonight. Melling opened the scoresheet with a nice goal assisted by Bendtner, but after that it was all Celtic - with the game ending 3-1 at full-time. Given the current coaching situation the club has put themselves in, and the number of injuries, it wasn't really surprising. Rosenborg have a very important transfer window ahead of them, but the question is if they can manage to do much without a long-term plan on the coaching side.
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    edited July 2018 Posts: 4,151
  • Posts: 4,044

    Is that the new front three?
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    Posts: 4,151
    Bond the new replacement for Bobby Firmino.
  • Posts: 17,759
    Bond the new replacement for Bobby Firmino.

    Bond-y Firmino.
  • edited July 2018 Posts: 7,507
    Mane, mane, mane
    must be funneh
    in a richman's world
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,174
    One Hundred thousand plus turnout for the Man United v Liverpool in States pre season friendly. COME ON UNITED!!!
  • Posts: 17,759
    Watching that game now - or trying to, anyway. My internet connection decided to be sh*t just as the match started, so I'll be surprised if I can watch much of it.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,174
    Watching that game now - or trying to, anyway. My internet connection decided to be sh*t just as the match started, so I'll be surprised if I can watch much of it.

    Watching the game on MUTV, MUTV stream can be unreliable on occasion, Liverpool had two great chances they have started better.

    Still not picked a team for FF yet though ill try in next few days as off work till wednesday.
  • edited July 2018 Posts: 17,759
    Watching that game now - or trying to, anyway. My internet connection decided to be sh*t just as the match started, so I'll be surprised if I can watch much of it.

    Watching the game on MUTV, MUTV stream can be unreliable on occasion, Liverpool had two great chances they have started better.
    Watching the game on TV2's stream myself (which is just the MUTV broadcast with Norwegian commentary). Think I've watched 2 minutes of the game so far, haha! Might have sorted itself out a little bit now.
    Still not picked a team for FF yet though ill try in next few days as off work till wednesday.
    Great! Hope some more members will join before the gameweek 1 deadline. Will post a reminder a few days before, anyway :-)
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited July 2018 Posts: 25,174
    What a goal

    1 - 1

    Liverpool got a soft pen then Periera scored a worldy of a free kick
  • Posts: 17,759
    That was some free kick! Do you think he'll play much this season, or is a loan more likely?
  • edited July 2018 Posts: 17,759
    Looking like Liverpool got this.

    Ooooh! That Shaqiri goal!
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,174
    That was some free kick! Do you think he'll play much this season, or is a loan more likely?

    He should play a good amount of games, we have better depth in midfield this season.

    The United side put out tonight got battered by Liverpool in the end gr.
  • Posts: 17,759
    That was some free kick! Do you think he'll play much this season, or is a loan more likely?

    He should play a good amount of games, we have better depth in midfield this season.

    The United side put out tonight got battered by Liverpool in the end gr.

    Interesting! Mourinho isn't one to necessarily give youngsters a chance, though.
  • Posts: 17,759

    Any Liverpool fans who knows about this guy? Looks like an interesting signing for Rosenborg.
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