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Post Transfer Deadline Thread EPL

Just to be clear on Abramovich, he hasn’t personally been sanctioned by the US at the request of Israel and Ukraine. He had Israeli citizenship, but I’m not sure why Ukraine didn’t want him sanctioned.

In any case, he doesn’t own any significant assets in the US. He had two planes which were being refitted in the US and which reportedly are worth $400 Million, but he had them flown to Russia and Dubai either before or at the time the invasion began. One of them was flown to Israel and then Turkey and then Dubai. The US put a lien on the planes, but needless to say neither Russian nor Dubai have agreed to seize them. The US also supported Britain and the EU sanctioning him.

He clearly knew it was coming: He had his children named as the beneficiaries of $3.3 Billion in trusts two days before the invasion. The children haven’t been sanctioned.

He seems to know how to play both sides of the coin by getting Ukraine to request that he not be sanctioned. It really wouldn’t have mattered much in the US, but Canada sanctioned him despite the request and seized property worth millions. Of course, I’m not sure if losing property worth $20 or $30 Million means anything to him.

He supposedly now is persona non gratis at the Kremlin. Putin is paranoid and has a list of oligarchs he is worried might try to kill him and Abramovich now is on it. There were reports that Russia tried to poison him.

All of my info about him comes from a guy whose job is to follow the dealings of certain Russian oligarchs for a very large financial institution and he has been following Abramovich for more than 15 years. I 100% trust him and his information.

As an aside, he thinks Abramovich’s oldest daughter is hot.
 
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Brighton 1, MU 0. penalty in the 95th minute. LOVE TO SEE IT! I'm very confident Erik Ten Hag while cry and whine about how side deserved better, how there were questionable calls. Forget about the fact that Marcus Rashford tumbled over like someone kneecapped him in an attempt to get a penalty call.

Man U, Europa League's biggest club.
 
Allan McMurray said:
Brighton 1, MU 0. penalty in the 95th minute. LOVE TO SEE IT! I'm very confident Erik Ten Hag while cry and whine about how side deserved better, how there were questionable calls. Forget about the fact that Marcus Rashford tumbled over like someone kneecapped him in an attempt to get a penalty call.

Man U, Europa League's biggest club.
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What a fun season for Brighton. Unfortunately I think they're going to get picked apart this off season
 
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brdst11 said:
What a fun season for Brighton. Unfortunately I think they're going to get picked apart this off season
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One of XM’s regular contributors (grahame Bailey) was talking about next seasons top 4 race in The EPL. He talked about the Big 6 (not sure spurs and Chelsea can be considered in the discussion but whatever). But the talk was about how challenging the race for Europe will be because of teams like New Castle, Villa, and Brighton. He even mentioned Wolves having aspirations.

It’s looking like a battle between 10 teams for 4 spots.

Crazy.

He also hinted at New castle wanting to make a big splash this summer in the transfer market. Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo were mentioned but he wasn’t ready to say who yet. Good luck getting one of those guys to new castle. Nothing against the place. I have a soft spot for it, as my daughter went to grad school in northeast England. But there is no glamour for football royalty like Messi there.
 
Fk_Pitt said:
One of XM’s regular contributors (grahame Bailey) was talking about next seasons top 4 race in The EPL. He talked about the Big 6 (not sure spurs and Chelsea can be considered in the discussion but whatever). But the talk was about how challenging the race for Europe will be because of teams like New Castle, Villa, and Brighton. He even mentioned Wolves having aspirations.

It’s looking like a battle between 10 teams for 4 spots.

Crazy.

He also hinted at New castle wanting to make a big splash this summer in the transfer market. Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo were mentioned but he wasn’t ready to say who yet. Good luck getting one of those guys to new castle. Nothing against the place. I have a soft spot for it, as my daughter went to grad school in northeast England. But there is no glamour for football royalty like Messi there.
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Problem for those teams is that they're assuming Chelsea, Liverpool, and Spurs will struggle again next year. This was the year to make a run to the CL and New Castle took advantage as did Villa (once they changed coaches). This year reminds me a bit of 15-16 where a bunch of teams underachieved and Leicester took advantage.

CR or Messi to New Castle is all about money. For enough, they'll deal with the weather for a few months.
 
Anyone who would pay CR a lot of money right now deserves to be robbed blind.

I don’t think Messi cares that much about the money anymore. If Barca can work it out under the fair play rules, I think he will play there for 1/10th of what he could make elsewhere. Unlike CR he is very much a family man. I can’t imagine him playing in an Arab country for any amount of money. If he did, his wife and children would probably stay in Barcelona where he still has his home and I can’t see him being willing to be separated from them for long periods of time.

Where he lives in Casteldefels is absolutely beautiful. But, it’s not anywhere near the most prestigious area of Barcelona. Why did he buy a house there? It’s a 10 minute or less drive to the training center which meant less time away from his family.
 
Wow. Chelsea vs AFC Bournemouth. Fun game for a fan to watch. People can talk about Cruyff, Pep, Netherlands, Barcelona, Man City, etc. those guys, those teams were and are brilliant. Total football, total Futbol, the beautiful game…whatever. But sometimes a back and forth, both teams playing direct, counter after counter, is a much more exciting game. And that’s what this match was. And in the end, Chelsea supporters were chanting “we’re staying up”. Never thought I’d hear that one from them.
 
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It'll be exciting down the stretch, the back and forth between Arsenal and City. I'm rooting for Arsenal, they came in as massive underdogs this season to even make Top 4. Go Gunners!
 
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Allan McMurray said:
It'll be exciting down the stretch, the back and forth between Arsenal and City. I'm rooting for Arsenal, they came in as massive underdogs this season to even make Top 4. Go Gunners!
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It’s over. Isn’t City up 4points? They aren’t dropping 5 points, which is what it will take due to goal diff.
 
Fk_Pitt said:
It’s over. Isn’t City up 4points? They aren’t dropping 5 points, which is what it will take due to goal diff.
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I didn’t realize it was a 4 point gap, thought it was 1. First time really watching Newcastle. They don’t seem flashy or overpowering. They do create excellent opportunities though. Nick Pope and Ramsdale have been really good today, especially Pope after letting in that long distance one
 
Allan McMurray said:
I didn’t realize it was a 4 point gap, thought it was 1. First time really watching Newcastle. They don’t seem flashy or overpowering. They do create excellent opportunities though. Nick Pope and Ramsdale have been really good today, especially Pope after letting in that long distance one
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New castle really arrived early huh? Fighting relegation last year to top 4 this.
 
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Fk_Pitt said:
It’s over. Isn’t City up 4points? They aren’t dropping 5 points, which is what it will take due to goal diff.
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Right now City is something like a 95% betting favorite to win the championship (exact number depending on where you look of course).
 
Joe the Panther Fan said:
Right now City is something like a 95% betting favorite to win the championship (exact number depending on where you look of course).
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Arsenal/New Castle game is unreal. 1-0 at the half, but could easily be a 4-2 game. Great chances at both ends. This is where Americans fail to understand soccer. They see a 1-0 match and think it’s boring. But it’s anything but. Plenty of offense in this match. Edge of your seat action and I’m a neutral. Arsenal might think they are fighting for a championship but they aren’t. And new castle is trying to hold onto top 4.
 
Fk_Pitt said:
New castle really arrived early huh? Fighting relegation last year to top 4 this.
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it really goes to show you how good Eddie Howe is. I mean they added some pieces, but this guy is good. It's not like they went out and spent loads. They spent, but they spent tactically.
 
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I had that match at 7-4 and that doesn’t count any half chances. These are balls that hit woodwork, brilliant saves, goal saving tackles in the box, etc.

great match.
 
@Fk_Pitt ESPN FC reports that sources state Poch has accepted the Chelsea job. Tough final 3 to wrap the season up following up a disappointing performance today.
 
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Fk_Pitt said:
More sighs from good ol FK.

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@mike412 chelsea women with an fa cup win and will probably win the league too. However, I watched their champions league semifinal tie vs Barca, and Barca handled them pretty well. In the first match at Stamford bridge, 3 minutes into the match Barca scored an absolute cracker of a goal and that was the only goal over the two legs. Barca handled them rather easily in London and it could have easily been 3-0. I didn’t see the 2nd leg and it looked like Chelsea flipped it, at least statistically, but the 1-0 aggregate held up.
 
Exciting relegation battle! So happy that I don't have to worry this year. What might be as impressive as Man City doing their thing is all 3 promoted teams will be staying up next year. Massive home win by Forest. I took a look at preseason relegation odds and to a T, everyone had Fulham and Bournemouth going down. I think Bournemouth is really impressive to be honest. They spent next to no money, sacked that bum Scotty Parker and ended up fighting and clawing themselves to a very respectable 39 points. They must tidy up their defense though with a shocking -33 goal difference.

Would love to see Lil Luton come up and you'll have tiny lil Dean Court and Kenilworth Road with a combined seating of 21,500, less than every EPL team's full capacity except Brentford.

This really has been a fun season. Fulham shooting up the ladder and playing like they belong. Brentford just being brilliant, Unai Emery turning Villa into a probable Euro qualifier. Spurs being terrible and having the complete unknown of what Harry Kane will do.

Funny thing about Leicester, if they had any semblance of defense they'd be fine. They've banged in 49 goals which is very strong. Then how about West Ham, concentrating on the Euro Conference League and playing in the final. David Moye's really resurrected himself after that disaster at Old Trafford.

Just a fun overall season and wow, so many scintillating and amazing goals throughout the season.
 
Allan McMurray said:
Exciting relegation battle! So happy that I don't have to worry this year. What might be as impressive as Man City doing their thing is all 3 promoted teams will be staying up next year. Massive home win by Forest. I took a look at preseason relegation odds and to a T, everyone had Fulham and Bournemouth going down. I think Bournemouth is really impressive to be honest. They spent next to no money, sacked that bum Scotty Parker and ended up fighting and clawing themselves to a very respectable 39 points. They must tidy up their defense though with a shocking -33 goal difference.

Would love to see Lil Luton come up and you'll have tiny lil Dean Court and Kenilworth Road with a combined seating of 21,500, less than every EPL team's full capacity except Brentford.

This really has been a fun season. Fulham shooting up the ladder and playing like they belong. Brentford just being brilliant, Unai Emery turning Villa into a probable Euro qualifier. Spurs being terrible and having the complete unknown of what Harry Kane will do.

Funny thing about Leicester, if they had any semblance of defense they'd be fine. They've banged in 49 goals which is very strong. Then how about West Ham, concentrating on the Euro Conference League and playing in the final. David Moye's really resurrected himself after that disaster at Old Trafford.

Just a fun overall season and wow, so many scintillating and amazing goals throughout the season.
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Well it hasn’t been a fun season for me. Lol. This is the first time ever that I’ve watched, or better stated, not watched the top teams with interest because my team wasn’t in the top 4 race. It’s been weird.

That said, I’ll be interested in Leeds today. They are in real trouble unless they find a way to take 3points. And it couldn’t help make me wonder how great pro/rel would be in baseball. How many seasons are the pirates out of sight and out of mind on July 4? With pro/rel, we’d be watching the pirates the entire season with interest. And not only that, but every sports fan would be paying attention to AAA baseball to a certain extent too. I guess it would never work because of the whole affiliation thing. But drafting players and then loaning them out instead of having a minor league system would work better. It will never happen as there’s too much of an ecosystem that’s way too developed to overhaul. And even the collective bargaining agreement would have to change. So it will never ever ever happen. But pro/rel in baseball would be awesome.
 
Holy shit. Look at this McKennie assist!

1-0 Leeds! Imagine being on the verge of relegation and seeing your team do this.

 
how does leeds have absolutely no urgency. they've been impotent since about the 20 minute mark.
 
brdst11 said:
If you want drama watch the Bundesliga next week. Bayern may finally not win
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I'm hoping to see Schalke stay up. They're in a relegation battle with 2 other teams. Giant club like Hamburger SV that have struggled recently. Schalke is really interesting in that they were terrible in the 20-21 seasons....like 16 points terrible and that was after having been in champions league in 18-19
 
Fk_Pitt said:
Well it hasn’t been a fun season for me. Lol. This is the first time ever that I’ve watched, or better stated, not watched the top teams with interest because my team wasn’t in the top 4 race. It’s been weird.

That said, I’ll be interested in Leeds today. They are in real trouble unless they find a way to take 3points. And it couldn’t help make me wonder how great pro/rel would be in baseball. How many seasons are the pirates out of sight and out of mind on July 4? With pro/rel, we’d be watching the pirates the entire season with interest. And not only that, but every sports fan would be paying attention to AAA baseball to a certain extent too. I guess it would never work because of the whole affiliation thing. But drafting players and then loaning them out instead of having a minor league system would work better. It will never happen as there’s too much of an ecosystem that’s way too developed to overhaul. And even the collective bargaining agreement would have to change. So it will never ever ever happen. But pro/rel in baseball would be awesome.
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Chelsea is gonna be so interesting to watch this summer. If Boehly is serious, he will sell friendly with some guys that Poch will want to offload. If he tries to sell high, I can't see there being much turnover. There is a team there, it will up to Poch if he can find them and find the right combo.

Oddly enough, I can see Leicester of the 3 finding a way to stay up. They score, I think they put 2 good defensive games together and Everton go down along with Leeds and So'ton.
 
Allan McMurray said:
I'm hoping to see Schalke stay up. They're in a relegation battle with 2 other teams. Giant club like Hamburger SV that have struggled recently. Schalke is really interesting in that they were terrible in the 20-21 seasons....like 16 points terrible and that was after having been in champions league in 18-19
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Schalke is a big club and them staying up and being relevant would make the Bundesliga better. They were unbelievably bad the season they got relegated (outside that Matthew Hoppe hat trick game). I thought once they went down and came back they'd have things figured out but it hasn't happened.

A few years ago they were trying to establish a fan base in the US and sponsored events at the Teutonia club here in Pittsburgh. But it's hard to get a fan base going when you're struggling like they have.
 
I’ve often said here that I originally took a liking to Chelsea because they were the ascending club who was looking to overtake the big boy, who at the time was Man United. I also liked the uniform and colors and was drawn to a couple of the players at the time (Drogba and Lampard). For whatever reason I didn’t have a strong liking for John Terry.

Dortmund would absolutely be that team in the Bundesliga that fits that mold. The difference is that they have some euro championships in their history. But they’re always 2nd fiddle to Munich and they have a color scheme that we can all appreciate.
 
I was watching the Tottenham match, and every time they showed David Levy in the stands, his (presumably) wife was texting on her cell phone, paying absolutely no attention to what was happening in the pitch. Sort of like the Spurs’ midfield.

I wouldn’t call what David Moye has done this year at West Ham a “resurgence”. Last year they finished 7th; this year they are 14th. I think the focus on winning the Europa Conference league was necessitated by the realization that it was the only way they will be in European football next year. Besides, it’s nowhere near the success the Wonder Kid” Nathan Shelley has had with West Ham.

It still drives me crazy that (1)West Ham is in East London; (2)there also is an East Ham; and (3)anyone would name a team West Ham. I guess if it was good enough for Bobby Moore…

Leeds’ defense might be the worst I ever have seen. That first West Ham goal yesterday was typical of it: Leaving a player absolutely alone in the box, not on a fastbreak but on a play where the defense had all kinds of time to get into proper position. He didn’t one-time the ball either; he had time to tee it up. Additionally, I don’t ever recall seeing a team who so consistently has defenders playing on the wrong side of attackers on crosses.

Reports are that Chelsea has offered $80 Million for a Juventus striker. I know nothing about him other than he has scored 10 goals this year. So that is $8 Million per goal, which seems a bit high. Didn’t City pay $55 Million for Haaland, which is about $1 Million per goal?

The Barca women lost their first league match in two years yesterday, 2-1 to Real Madrid. The Womens’ game has come a long way but the officiating is way behind the talent. There were so many absolutely putrid calls or non-calls in that match that I needed two drinks at halftime to keep watching it — and I normally don’t drink.
 
Isn’t Schalke a supporter-owned team, like Bayern, Barca and Real Madrid, among others?

It hasn’t happened to the others, but I would assume that once a team gets relegated like Schalke did, it would be harder to become good again because you aren’t going to be able to get a quick infusion of cash from a wealthy owner.

The flip side is that you never have to be worried about new ownership threatening to move you to Las Vegas if they don’t get a new taxpayer funded stadium.
 
mike412 said:
Isn’t Schalke a supporter-owned team, like Bayern, Barca and Real Madrid, among others?

It hasn’t happened to the others, but I would assume that once a team gets relegated like Schalke did, it would be harder to become good again because you aren’t going to be able to get a quick infusion of cash from a wealthy owner.

The flip side is that you never have to be worried about new ownership threatening to move you to Las Vegas if they don’t get a new taxpayer funded stadium.
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My understanding is that they are. However due to Germany's 50 plus 1 rule most of their competitors are as well (notable exceptions are Leverkusen and Wolfsburg) so they're not really at a disadvantage
 
Schalke fun fact. Haji Wright and Weston McKennie started out there together. The bundesliga has had some nice American talent over the years
 
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