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[ice city fc]

Thought some of you guys might find this interesting. Been spending a lot of time observing the youth academy of a professional club based here in the Gracia district of Barcelona called Club Esportiu Europa.  In the 1920's and 30's they were equals with FC Barcelona and there was an actual rivalry in terms of who was the top club in Catalonia.

They've since fallen to the fourth division but still have a fairly strong youth academy. Was watching their Juvenil A squad train tonight and took some video. Basically the club's top U19's, last stop before the reserves for the small handful who will progress to that level. 

After dynamic stretching and some strength and stability training they jumped straight into a small group transition exercise



Then a directional possession game



Finished with 7v7 half field game with an added neutral player

 

[Coupé It]

I'm not trying to hate because some of the United dudes in here are good peoples, but I hope Memphis doesn't go to United. The team doesn't have good leadership from a manager level or on the executive level either.

They are just buying names in the transfer market without regard to building a cohesive unit that could carry out the tactics/style of play of the manager.

There is no style & the players don't look like they've trained to carry out some sort of cohesive style of play/game plan. They're just running onto the pitch to kick around the ball a bit & see if they can bag more goals than the opposition.

Yea United is in shambles, I wouldn't want to be a young prodigy with that kind of pressure either.

It's actually amazing that they're in the position that they're in on the table. That's the only positive I see, but in terms of play, everybody is just waiting and waiting...

 

[noskey]

Memphis needs to just not go to the EPL.

/psk

 

[Kimchi Papi]

If he does go to the Prem, I'd like to see him go to a side like Southampton with Koeman, or Everton with Roberto, or Tottenham with Pochettino. Not sure if those teams need a winger like Memphis though.

Would be dope to see him fortify the attack for Atleti or see him in Germany playing for Klopp (or even another non Bayern German side like Schalke, Wolfsburg, or Leverkusen)...

United are kind of a mess & I think it would stunt Memphis' growth. The weight of the media & pressure might be too much also if the team doesn't play well or if LvG starts not playing him or playing him out of position.

United sitting in third (for right now) has more to due with the likes of Liverpool & Everton not playing well like they did last year. Also Arsenal was starting to make their late push for 4th at some point too.

 

[rook]

those teams cant afford memphis and quit honestly hes ready for a top club. i think he ends up at a psg or united tho.

want him in madrid tho

 

[tomdiginson]

those teams cant afford memphis and quit honestly hes ready for a top club. i think he ends up at a psg or united tho.

want him in madrid tho

I'd rather he go to PSG than United, but could see him at United considering Falcao will be gone after this season and RVP is aging.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Last I read in Dec, Memphis' transfer value was £20 million... Most of those teams should be able to afford that save for the Everton, possibly Schalke, Wolfsburg, or Leverkusen.

 

[noskey]

I was thinking somewhere in Italy. Maybe Juventus. I'd be fine with PSG as a destination. Plenty of Champs League action and a step up from the Eredivisie in league play.

Only EPL team I want to see him on is Arsenal (for obvious reasons). But he'd be injured half the time and we can't have that.

 

[rook]

he'd actually be great at arsenal.

i would love that move for him tbh

 

[flyeed]

Ancelotti turning Real's fortunes around against German opposition to a 180 since his tenure began

Dope to see both goals for Real coming from both full back's respective weak foot. Maybe Bale will learn to use his other foot too. And dude needs to be more brave. I really hope he can get settled and comfortable in time for the later stages of the competition.

 

[flyeed]

Marcelo goal was btw

And Arbeloa was lulz coming on a few mins after. Dude lied to Marcelo he was getting subbed out

 

[Sinner]

 

[jking0821]

Despite the 2-0 win i didn't think Real looked that good. They were so dependent on their outside backs. They really miss a center midfield creator/presence (Modric/James). So many long balls. All they had was the wings but even then they were not really taking on defenders and getting at the Schalke defense. The one time Carvajal actually singled up his defender he cut inside and played the ball in to CR who scored. Then what do you say about Marcelo's goal...good lord what a strike that was.

Isco has such exceptional footwork but he was wide for most of the game. Kroos is so important. His ability to always make the right pass amazes me. I wish CR wouldn't sulk so much after balls that weren't played to him. He makes bad passes and unnecessary turnovers too.

But i don't know how Real with this current squad wins the CL. They need to be better. But a win is a win

 

[8pm at msg]

I think the CL is Bayern's to lose.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

The odds of Madrid repeating as CL champion are stacked against them & I agree with 8PM, I think it's Bayern's to lose also.

The 0-0 result against Shakhtar wasn't surprising. The Ukrainian club took care of business at home intent on parking the bus & playing prison ball.

Poor finishing from Muller & a poor performance from ribery didn't help matters. I was a little surprised Pep didn't start Lewa.

Pep put out a weird formation too, a 3-3-3-1 with a lone center back...

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Cool Barca pics...

From left to right - Juan Carlos Busquets (Sergio Busquets’ father), Luis Enrique, Jose Mourinho, & Pep Guardiola.

View media item 1409534
Ronald Koeman & LvG during their Barca days.

View media item 1409536

 

[rolaholic]

Damn at some of the United trashing 

,gonna get out my red cape for this post 

.

For as bad as things have seemed at times,they're still in 3rd place and have only lost once in the last 19 matches... I don't want to hear about Liverpool and how they're worst than last year. That was expected from the beginning of the season since last year with Suarez was an outlier. There first CL appearance in about 5 years had much more to do with Suarez's insane year than anything else really. No comment in regards to Everton 

. All to say that the team's right back where they should be with much room to improve.

The whole reason I'm optimistic about maybe getting Memphis is because of all the Dutch ties he has at the club. Apparently he considers LVG as a father figure so if he were to make the inevitable move to a big club, why wouldn't he want to go to a situation where he'd get paid handsomely and be comfortable with some familiar faces? I'm 110% certain that Memphis would get consistent minutes if he were to join the Reds. The thought of him terrorizing PL full backs is beautiful but still premature,Woody needs to get on that.  

 

[Beans]

i think united is a good opportunity for him to develop.. what has LVG done to disprove this? Blacket, McNair, Adnan and wilson all getting fair share of playing time/development. The pressure to perform is high everywhere, united is no different.


BTW how did Silva do for Madrid last night? Was too busy to watch?

 

[rolaholic]

Exactly. One of the constants with him everywhere he goes is that he loves giving his youngsters a chance so why wouldn't he with one of the most talented ones on the planet? He already proved his confidence in him during the WC

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Do you see a future for LvG at United?

 

[rolaholic]

Barring a catastrophic end to the season,I see him staying for the duration of his 3 year contract. I doubt that management has any appetite for another change anytime soon and neither do I

. He say's it's most likely gonna be his last managing job so he's probably gonna retire after.  After that, who knows? Maybe Giggs takes over,maybe someone else. 

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I think the first nail in the coffin was responding to Big Sam's comments trying to define long passes that go forward & long passes that go sideways. That was a really really bad idea. It was a meltdown of sorts & someone at the club should've stopped him. United doesn't & shouldn't have to respond to comments made from West Ham. I mean really. It's West Ham.

LvG's United side doesn't look organized at all, theres no discernible style of play one can see, he's admittedly playing people out of position, he's not playing what should be important players like Anders, & worst of all he's too stubborn for his own good to recognize changes need to be made when things aren't working.

You can't develop young talent under those circumstances. It's stifling.

 

[Biggsy]

Do you see a future for LvG at United?

I do but the thing about it is that SAF was a one of a kind in the football world. For a manager to stay with one club for so long. When you saw United you saw him. With Moyes then LVG it is something that United is no accustomed to. I don't expect him to stay as long as Ferguson but I don feel as though he will stay long enough to when he does leave, he would've left his mark in a positive way. And when Wenger leaves Arsenal i would not be surprised if the same transition happens to them.

People don't realize when SAF left, he didn't leave much for David Moyes to work with. United did win the PL the previous year but they did not win it convincingly. What used to separate United from other teams and some may say top teams in general from lesser teams is that they did have to play well to win. Now they do and when they don't they still manage to get a point. After this summer then we can really assess the squad against Europe's best

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Thierry Henry has begun working on the coaching side of his post retirement career.

Smokey might come back for the Gunners vs Crystal Palace.

View media item 1409648

 

[rolaholic]

I hear ya psk in relation to his tactics/lineups. We've had the same complaints all season long about his hard headedness. The thing that keeps giving me hope is the fact that the team is still able to pick up points no matter if they perform poorly or well. Obviously I'd prefer some more consistency but things could be A LOT worse all things considered.

Here's an apparent leak of next year's new Adidas kits:

It's not much better than the last leak imo, if it's real they'll have to grow on me . It reminds me too much of Bayern's old shirts.

Henry

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Adidas paid all that money & that's what they came up with? Nah, I don't think those are real leaks.

They don't fit the aesthetics of the other Adidas leaks I've been seeing for other clubs & the Copa America kits.

That looks like a standard Adidas uniform template with the United crest & chevy logo slapped on.

That chevy logo is still butt. This campaign's kits are ruined with that nascar symbol synonymous with 30 million recalls...