General Chat 2021/22

the other thing to note that is B is now worth more than A

Actually looking forward to Kane and Big Rom coming into play now....everyone seems to have the same template atm

Be interesting to see what FIFA say about that, if country calls up players and Liverpool refuse to let them leave. Can they be stopped from playing with their club?

I know FIFA gave exemption last year but does it still apply this year?

But so far it's only Liverpool who have come out and said it. They stopped Salah going to the Olympics, while their neighbors Everton let Ricky go play Copa America and the Olympics. If you think about that - should Liverpool have had the power to do that - when another team/player shows that it's possible to do it? Ricky has come back and played the first two games.

I'm sure there were other players in the PL who played at the Olympics as well.

You mean so far it's only a journalist with links to Liverpool who has come out and said it so far. Going by the Athletic article, every single ECA club have the same stance as Liverpool on the current International break quarantine issue. so that's basically every European side bar Juventus, Real & Barca.

And, yes they should IMO. Liverpool pay his wages. And anyways, they are already losing Salah to one mid-season tournament as it is so him leaving for a second mid-season tournament is too much. The Olympics is an u23 tournament, with 3 overage players allowed. From a quick glance at the squads, there were 4 players who would fall into this category - Eric Bailly, Winston Reid, Chris Wood & Richarlison. One is a reserve who came back injured, another reserve, one important player coming back off of a free summer with no mid-season tournament and Richarlison who is going to need a 2 or 3 week break eventually during the season because of his summer. I think Liverpool made the right call. There were other clubs who refused players to play in the Olympics too. Arsenal, Chelsea and were just some of the clubs to do so, and that was for players who ended up leaving the club on loan, let alone star players.

If all the teams in England (and Europe) stick together and refuse to release the players who will need to play in red list countries there is very little that can be done about it.

Maybe games can take place in neutral venues in a non red list country?

What’s peoples advice on Harvey Barnes? Dropping tonite, It’ll take a -4 to shift him. Alli the most likely replacement but he has Norwich up next

Might have to leave him if Ben White looks like dropping. Whatever about losing money on Barnes I’d be disgusted to lose 0.1 on White

Yep agree. Do I waste 2 transfers taking him out and in again to save .1 or .2... that seems a poor short-term thinking when he will surely rise back up to 4.5 again.

Think ill dump 4m pool def instead and bank the .1 gain

Any worries that Dier might lose his place to Romero?

Not sure myself but wouldn't rate Doer or Sanchez highly so I imagine Romero will come in for one of them

Meant to be rumours of Juventus offering Ronaldo to Man City & that they are about to sign Lewandowski from Bayern.

Time will tell....

No more Saturday 12.30 kickoffs for teams who play Wednesday in Champions League.

I wonder what the players themselves feel about it. In Salah's case there were rumors that he wanted to go to the Olympics but Pool said no - stuff like that doesn't help if trying to tie someone down to new contract. I believe that Messi wanted it stated that he could be released for international games when he joined PSG.

If Brazil missed the WC in Qatar because they failed to qualify cause players weren't being released, there would be uproar etc. I get that the clubs pay the wages, but what if say they get an exemption and Salah goes to Egypt and picks up Covid, and comes back and it spreads through the team - then what? do they just play on regardless - like Arsenal had to, or do you think there would be pressure of games been postponed?

Someone said that UEFA/FIFA couldn't really do anything - in theory they could force walk-overs in CL if clubs didn't travel to a red listed country - unlike last season where they moved games to accommodate teams.

If an exemption isn't given, it will be a mess, but if it is given it will look like double standards the millionaire footballers can do what they want, whereas other sports people - like the lions team, have to quarantine, yet alone the millions of Brits that can't just travel to a red listed country.

When the euros where on everyone was in their bubble - now it's lads going home to their families, nights out etc - different setting.

There was an article recently that state that a large number of footballers haven't been vaccinated either - so a player arriving back from a red listed country and going back into the environment could bring other issues-imagine the uproar that could cause if a new Omega variant from south america was discovered in players from Liverpool. It sounds ridiculous, but then this is the Covid world.