Other Games - 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup Edition (+ warm-up matches): Villa-watch

[Somniloquism]

Tuchel comes across as a twitchy, thin-skinned, stubborn, slightly unpleasant man. I know he's been a successful club manager, but God knows how he's managed to motivate any of the players he's coached. It's no surprise to me that he wouldn't accept any blame for the result.

It probably explains his lack of time at any job even when successful.

This quote from the end of Bayern resonates.

Tuchel was also criticised by media outlets for his tactical decisions, who said his style of play was "predicated on individualism" instead of representing a collective effort.

[Somniloquism]

[PaulWinch again]

The DNA stuff is nonsense in the sense that it’s just deflection. It’s not uncommon in high pressure games for teams to want to consolidate once they get the lead, especially in the latter stages of the World Cup. So I understand a brief period where they dropped back, but the key failure was at the hydration break, and with the subsequent changes, Tuchel doubled and tripled down on retreating into our box. He says we were too passive and didn’t want control - how does just chucking on defenders, including Dan Burn, help address that.

He fucked up, the players did poorly, but he really fucked up on this particular occasion. He should just front up and then get on with it. I don’t think he should go, and in reality I highly doubt if he were confronted with the same scenario again he’d ever make the same mistake. But it’s easier to get on board with that if he accepted it rather than pointing to some general culture nonsense to deflect.

Spain had a culture of perennial failure until they didn’t.

[LeeB]

I say give it up with high profile, highly expensive club managers. It's not the same job. Scaloni and De La Fuentes have absolutely fuck all club management experience between tham.

[TopDeck113]

Spain had a culture of perennial failure until they didn’t.

And Germany had a culture of perennial success until they didn't.

[TopDeck113]

I say give it up with high profile, highly expensive club managers. It's not the same job. Scaloni and De La Fuentes have absolutely fuck all club management experience between tham.

But then again, the "he only managed Middlesbrough" was often used as a stick with which to beat Southgate.

[Sexual Ealing]

I say give it up with high profile, highly expensive club managers. It's not the same job. Scaloni and De La Fuentes have absolutely fuck all club management experience between tham.

But then again, the "he only managed Middlesbrough" was often used as a stick with which to beat Southgate.

And he got exactly as far as the big shot Champions League winner.

[paul_e]

Players digging in a bit is pretty common, especially against a team containing the best player of all time but the managers job is to fix that, not compound it.

Even then he didn't do the fix in a sensible way because he switched us to, effectively, a 5 at the back but didn't change the forward line to one that was more suited to running into the corners and pressing like maniacs. Watkins on for Kane with an instruction to be an absolute pest, Mainoo on for Bellingham and told to not stop running and push Rogers more central and tell him to try to get on the ball and run at them, force free kicks and relieve pressure.

To play a 532/541 in those circumstances you need legs in the team and had none because Kane can't do it and Bellingham won't. He was just too scared of the shit he'd get for taking both of them off and ended up just meekly surrendering instead.

[TonyD]

Yep.  He bottled it. 

[Pete3206]

Tuchel's position is untenable for me. It was one of the biggest clusterfucks of all time for a match so deep into the tournament. When I see players like Guéhi calling out his tactics, it makes me wonder how the players can trust Tuchel going into the next Euros. 

[UK Redsox]

Air quality problems in NYC area

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/weather/weather-stories/air-quality-ny-nj-today-canada-wildfire-smoke-forecast/6526034/

[Small Rodent]

My friends flew out to Toronto Wednesday and had booked the fan park for the semi, but it was closed because of air quality.

[PeterWithesShin]

Officials in New York and New Jersey have issued an air quality health alert because of wildfire smoke just days before the World Cup final.

Haze caused by Canadian wildfires has blanketed the New York region, prompting officials to urge residents to reduce outdoor exertion and stay indoors if possible.

New York New Jersey Stadium - which is in East Rutherford, New Jersey - will host the final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday, 19 July (20:00 BST).

Conditions deteriorated just before Spain landed in New Jersey on Wednesday night, a day after their semi-final victory over France in Texas.

Spain spent Thursday training outdoors, looking unaffected by the air quality. They have not commented on whether they are concerned.

Argentina, meanwhile, stayed in Georgia after their semi-final win over England, but will begin training in New Jersey on Friday afternoon.

Contractor Dan Edgar said his daughter Kaitlynn was practising at New York New Jersey Stadium on Thursday, where she will be dancing and performing for the final.

"She's texting me that it's bad out there," he said. "It's hard to dance, she says you can feel the air, it's heavy."

The smoke-filled sky and extremely hot temperatures have already been experienced by some footballers. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) went ahead with a match between Gotham FC and Washington Spirit on Wednesday night in front of a record crowd at Citi Field in Queens despite the orange haze.

The air quality index meant players were mandated to take two breaks per half according to NWSL policy.

Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman said after the match that the air quality was rough, and in her opinion, they shouldn't have played.

Rodman said: "Not to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like, 'another break, another break, another break'."

New Yorkers are relieved conditions are not as intense as they were in June 2023, when the skies turned completely orange because of Canadian wildfires.

New York New Jersey Stadium is an open-air facility, but at the moment there is no suggestion the World Cup final, with more than 80,000 spectators and a star-studded half-time show, will be affected.

The air quality in the area is expected to improve on Friday while forecast rain on Saturday should further help disperse some of the smoke.

On Thursday, the Major League Soccer match between Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps was postponed because of poor air quality conditions in the Chicago area.

Former Bayern Munich and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski was set to make his debut for Chicago having joined as a free agent last month.

[ChicagoLion]

Tuchel's position is untenable for me. It was one of the biggest clusterfucks of all time for a match so deep into the tournament. When I see players like Guéhi calling out his tactics, it makes me wonder how the players can trust Tuchel going into the next Euros.

This is the point, the players will not trust him after that. Him then saying it was down to the players mentality just compounds the problem.
The FA would be nuts to try and force him on them after this.

[ChicagoLion]

I say give it up with high profile, highly expensive club managers. It's not the same job. Scaloni and De La Fuentes have absolutely fuck all club management experience between tham.

But then again, the "he only managed Middlesbrough" was often used as a stick with which to beat Southgate.

which is fair enough