Senegal result rattled me in a way I haven’t been in a LONG time, even by my own team.
Their whole tournament was a disgrace but yesterday encapsulated everything.
Went to sleep mad, woke up madder.
Senegal this has been a DISMAL tournament. There will be pressure on Pape Thiaw to resign after this. Terrible game management. No emotional regulation.
Within the last two years, Matheus Fernandes was available for £40m, Elliot Anderson £35m, Yan Diomande £20m, Morgan Rogers £8m & Eli Jr Kroupi £10m. Feels like “big” clubs are going to have to start taking a few more risks in the transfer market to try and get ahead of the game.
None of the World Cup winners from 2006 (Italy), 2010 (Spain) and 2014 (Germany) have won a knockout match since winning the competition. A combined 11 World Cups since for them.
Japan went all defensive too early. Had Brazil on the ropes and Paqueta was out there injured and they decided to only defend the one goal lead. You can’t be cowardly. The football gods will punish you.
I absolutely cannot stand how grief is considered content these days. Much like FIFA asking Andy Robertson to read a letter from Diogo Jota’s wife on camera a few weeks back, there can be no other aim here than to get the player crying because it makes for a shareable clip.
🇨🇮 If I’m Liverpool I’m going to be looking at facilitator wingers in the next few years to accommodate Isak and Ekitike.
One of the best and most underrated at doing this right now is Bazoumana Touré at Hoffenheim.
The 19-year-old is among just 17 players in Europe’s top five leagues to average 5 dribbles, 0.20xA, 0.20xG per 90 minutes and to have played at least 1500 minutes in the last calendar year.
Other players from the 17 include Desire Doue, Michael Olise, Keenan Yildiz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bukayo Saka, Vini jr, Kylian Mbappe and Yankuba Minteh.
This is the company he finds himself in, which is seriously impressive considering he plays for Hoffenheim and not one of the big clubs.
Touré’s biggest strength is he’s extremely fast. He clocked a top speed of 36km/h in the Bundesliga this season. He’s also made the most sprints (317).
He’s a very high intensity player who works great off the ball as well. Great for a counter pressing team. Touré anticipates passes really well and he closes down space brilliantly because of his speed.
Touré is an excellent facilitator. He makes 4.3 crosses into the box per 90 minutes, and these crosses are frequently dangerous.
He also averages 3.62 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes with close to 60% accuracy, which is a decent volume and decent accuracy. Especially when adjusted to the frequency of Hoffenheim’s attacks.
Dribbling wise he is difficult to stop. He completed 64% of his 5.5 dribbles per 90 minutes. With space in front of him he is deadly using his speed to leave defenders for dead. But he’s more than just speed. He is intelligent. His first touch is always proactive and he’s very good at receiving the ball front footed which immediately gives him an advantage over his opponents.
Physically he’s hard to knock off the ball without fouling him. He’s deceptively strong in his duels despite his frame.
He is not a volume shooter. Just 1.86 per 90 minutes. He’s also not quite got the accuracy down on his shots. He often rushes and is very left foot dominant which means he is sometimes limited by the angles from which he shoots. This is an area of his game he needs to work on.
But overall as a facilitator and as a winger to hold width he’s one of the most underrated options in Europe.
Liverpool once signed Firmino from Hoffenheim and I genuinely believe Touré could be the next gem.
I’ve missed a lot of things I wish I hadn’t in the last 15 months because of this injury but today is, by far, the one I wish I had been there for the most.
He has brought out the best in me as both an ally and a foe. That’s because he is THE best.
When you’re consistently that good for that long, you become undeniable.
Sami becoming WWE Champion was inevitable. He has deserved that moment for a very long time and I am so happy to see him finally get it.
Now enjoy these pictures of me annoying him at various stages of our careers. The last one is him putting on my sock in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere in Texas because I thought I had broken my back the night before and could not move. He had to help me put on my boxers too.
Look how happy he is…
Now tell me he doesn’t deserve to be champion! @SamiZayn
It rained every day for the first 4 months of the year. These pronouncements happen because of years of under investment in reservoirs by our privatised water industry. But at least it’s made a load of shareholders rich!
It's Nick Ferrari's enlightening LBC show that made me go and check, but during the summer of 1976, around 250 people died from the heat PER DAY. Guys... PER DAY.
That's exactly why you can't listen to that generation, they're fucking useless.