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Chitchat The Official TCSS Thread

Like many great players who are reaching the end of their careers, he is being carried along on reputation and not on performance.
At least Mourinho has the foresight to recognise this and benched him.
 
Like many great players who are reaching the end of their careers, he is being carried along on reputation and not on performance.
At least Mourinho has the foresight to recognise this and benched him.

Gareth should find Wayne a nice comfy spot on the England bench. :D
 
In Europe, I find these WC qualifiers ultimately pointless.

There really should be a play-off round of games where the minnows have to win before they even get at shot at the big boys.
A waste of time seeing European heavyweights playing Bulgaria, Faroe Islands, Andorra, Gibraltar and Belarus and giving them a good thrashing.

Having said that, I hope Malta can pull off a shock result against England. :D

Macedonia nearly pulled off a shock result against Italy. :D

Final Score: Macedonia 2 Italy 3.
 
World Cup Qualifiers:

Latest Result: Netherlands 0 France 1

Latest News: Rooney dropped from England's starting lineup for match against Slovenia. :D
 
Christian Benteke nets fastest international goal in 8.1 seconds

from espnfc.com

Belgium's Christian Benteke set a new record for the fastest goal in the history of competitive international football when he scored after 8.1 seconds against Gibraltar in a World Cup qualifier on Monday.

FIFA has confirmed the goal broke the previous fastest mark of 8.3 seconds set by San Marino's Davide Gualtieri against England in another World Cup qualifier in 1993.

Benteke's feat was even more impressive because Gibraltar started with the ball in the centre circle.

The hosts, playing in Portugal because their stadium does not meet FIFA standards, played the ball backwards from the kickoff to Jamie Bosio, who then tried to pass across to a teammate.

But Benteke, the Crystal Palace striker, intercepted the pass and ran into the box before putting a shot past goalkeeper Deren Ibrahim.

"[Belgium's] goal was to hurry up for the first 20 minutes," Benteke told told RTBF. "The defender anticipates wrong, I passed him and I do not ask questions.

"I feel good in recent weeks. I want to keep moving forward."

FIFA only changed the rule allowing the kickoff to go backward earlier this year, beginning at the European Championship.

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Benteke added two more goals in the game as Belgium went on to win 6-0.

"It would have been a little different if I had scored a hat- rick against a big team," Benteke said. "But I will not spit in the soup. I'll take the hat trick. I'll try to prolong my current form and continue it with my club.

"I do not think I'm the hero of the game. The most important thing was to have fun."

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez said Benteke deserved to set the record after a lot of hard work.

"That goal really showed the concentration of the group," Martinez said of the opener. "It was our goal to score early and we were rewarded quickly with a world record.

"In football, it's good to make history. Christian has worked very hard, especially defensively. He had a complicated preseason with the change of clubs [from Liverpool to Crystal Palace], but now he finds his shape."
 
Pogba sets a new standard


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Paul Pogba produced a match-winning performance as France beat Netherlands. After a difficult start to life at Manchester United, such a scintillating display can only give him confidence to push on.
 
World Cup Qualifiers:

Latest Scores:

Germany 2 Northern Ireland 0

Slovenia 0 England 0

Latest News:

Rooney came on as substitute in England's bore draw with Slovenia. Didn't do much. :D
 
Germany dominant on the Road to Russia

Three rounds into UEFA World Cup qualifying, the holders are on course. Several major European nations are also well placed but others, like 2014 semifinalist Netherlands, have fallen behind.

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Games of the weekend:

BPL:

Chelsea vs Leicester City K.O. 7.30 pm 15 Oct SG time
Man City vs Everton K.O. 10pm 15 Oct SG time
Liverpool vs Man Utd K.O. 3am 18 Oct SG time

Serie A:

Napoli vs Roma K.O. 9pm 15 Oct SG time
 
Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp wins Premier League Manager of the Month award.

Tottenham's Son Heung-Min named September's Player of the Month.
 
Hahaha, Pep "playing mind games" with his buddy Ronald. :D

John Stones can be the next Ronald Koeman - Pep Guardiola

By Jonathan Smith, Man City correspondent
espnfc.com

MANCHESTER -- Pep Guardiola believes that John Stones has the potential to be as good as his former Barcelona teammate Ronald Koeman.

Guardiola will come up against his close friend Koeman on Saturday when his Manchester City side face Everton in the Premier League.

It will also see Stones face his former club for the first time since his £47.5m switch to the Etihad in the summer.

The 22-year-old has settled in quickly at his new club and Guardiola has been impressed by the composure and passing ability of the England defender.

He says Stones has room to improve but claims that he could be as good as former Netherlands captain Koeman, whom he describes as "one of the best central defenders I've ever met."

"It's quite similar in that they both like to play the ball," he told a news conference. "Normally a central defender is a big guy, good with their head, mark man-to-man -- and we need that, of course. You need central defenders for that. But now it's a plus if they've got the quality to play.

"John has similarities to Ronald. Especially in the mentality. John is a guy who always wants to play, be under pressure. Normally the players who like to play the ball handle the pressure better than the other ones. I cannot compare them still now, not yet, maybe in the future.

"The long balls of Ronald -- he was the best ever. But John is young enough, he can improve.

"He played with the national team very good. In the last European Championships he didn't play one minute and now he's playing all of the games. He's already he's an important player for the national team and I'm so happy for that."

The two managers remain close friends and have met up on several occasions since taking over at their new clubs, that are just 30 miles apart, in the summer.

They were together for five seasons at the Nou Camp in the 1990s and were roommates as part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team" that won four La Liga titles and a European Cup.

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And Guardiola says Stones couldn't have a better role model if he wants to become an even better player.

"I think he was one of the first central defenders with the quality not just to defend," the City boss said.

"Johann Cruyff bought Koeman to show us, to teach us why we need a central defender like Ronald.

"He was one of the few guys that I never saw fail in important games -- he always played well. I never saw him play a bad, bad game in the Champions League.

"His quality was the big build-up, amazing long balls, 40 metres, quick balls. By far one of the best central defenders I've ever met."
 
Woo Hoo! EPL is back tonight after the International break.

Man City vs Everton K.O. 10pm
Chelsea vs Leicester City K.O. 7.30pm
seems the pick of the bunch for me tonite. :D
 
halo ah pep indirect flee kick gung ah ro sng chow arm gung lang tio boh

[video=youtube;xUPbB0n8Y4U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUPbB0n8Y4U[/video]

Hahaha, Pep "playing mind games" with his buddy Ronald. :D

John Stones can be the next Ronald Koeman - Pep Guardiola
 
Woo Hoo! EPL is back tonight after the International break.

Man City vs Everton K.O. 10pm
Chelsea vs Leicester City K.O. 7.30pm
seems the pick of the bunch for me tonite. :D

Final Score: Chelsea 3 Leicester 0 :D

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Back to normal service for Leicester City. A mid table Premier League team at best.

Mahrez and Vardy probably mulling what might have been for them by playing at bigger clubs.
 
Back to normal service for Leicester City. A mid table Premier League team at best.

Mahrez and Vardy probably mulling what might have been for them by playing at bigger clubs.

On the other hand, both Conte and Kante will be pretty pleased. :D
 
Share of the points for the buddies Pep and Ronny :D
Final Score: Man City 1 Everton 1

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The Everton goalie Maarten Stekelenburg was Man of the Match IMHO.
Superb display between the sticks.
 
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