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MoJames

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  1. 10 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

    to me he's like the Adrian Peterson of european football; essentially no weaknesses, while possessing every strength you could ever need to play his position: size, strength, power, speed, vision, and is extremely prolific at scoring. Halaand really is the entire package. i think he's going to tear shit up in the EPL, to the point where i expect him to do things like win the golden boot and eventually become the best player in the league. 

    Rule no 1 of Futbol board is not doing the comparison of players to American athletes in other sports. Get your shit together. Unless this was all a ruse then well done.

  2. Lots of movement on the Chelsea side.

    Signed

    Slonina from Chicago // Chukwuemeka from Arsenal

    Likely

    Kepa loan to Napoli // Emerson loan to Lazio // Sarr loan to Monaco // Cucurella from Brighton

    Unlikely

    Fofana from LCFC // Kyle Walker-Peters from Southampton // Dumfries from Inter // Gvardiol from RB Leipzig // Škriniar from Inter // Mukiele from PSG

    Click fodder

    Endrick from Palmeiras // de Jong from Lever FC

  3. Sark and coordinators for dark mode

    Quote

    The Texas Longhorns football program reports for preseason training camp on Tuesday, and head coach Steve Sarkisian will mark the beginning of the new season with a press conference at 12:30 p.m. CDT. Longhorn Network will carry Sarkisian’s press conference live, as will 104.9 The Horn FM in Austin.

    [Get a FREE 7-day trial of Inside Texas Plus!]

    In addition to Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, offensive coordinator Kyle Flood, and special teams coordinator Jeff Banks will be available. Their portions will not be aired on TV or radio.

    Updates below…

    Steve Sarkisian

    -Sarkisian: “It is always a great time of year. I love this. We’re building towards football season. Thirty-two days out, we’re right here at DKR for our home opener, so exciting times.”

    -Sarkisian: “Our guys have worked extremely hard through winter conditioning, through spring practice, through our summer conditioning program, and I think they put themselves in a really good position for fall camp.”

    -Sarkisian: “Should be a very competitive training camp. I think we’ve got a very competitive roster. We’re young, which a lot of you know. Fifty-seven of our 85 scholarship kids are freshman or sophomores, so we’ve got a lot of growing up to do and we need to grow up quickly. But we are talented and should be competitive camp like I said in all three phases.”

    -Sarkisian on quarterbacks, no starter named: “Clearly, there at different phases of their development.” Said Hudson Card needed to develop his comfort level in their system in year two. For Quinn Ewers, it was simply learning the system.

    -Sarkisian: “I’m excited for both these guys. Both great teammates, both really coachable, both highly competitive, highly driven young men that both would love the opportunity to take the field when the first team takes the field on September 3rd.”

    -Sarkisian: “From a cultural standpoint, from a team bonding standpoint, this is a great challenge for us with 35 new scholarship players, of how close and how tight-knit we can make this team.” — Said he needs to be better at making sure his staff and players are able to respond better to adversity late in games.

    -Sarkisian on RB and WR talent, balancing reps: “That’s always a challenge. Those are good problems to have.” — Said preparing everyone to play physically and mentally is one goal, and distributing the football in a way where guys stay hungry and remain committed to one another.

    -Sarkisian on defense: “Part of me wants to evaluate the scheme, and what players were in what spots. In a lot of these games, we went through stretches in these games where we played really good defense.” — Said he is looking to find how to create more of those stretches for longer periods of time.

    -Sarkisian met with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay during the summer: “What it did I think for me was reinforce a lot of the things that I believe in.”

    -Sarkisian: “I feel like my job when I wake up every morning is to put our players and our staff in the best position to be successful. With all these changes, whether they’re big picture things and things going on in college football, or things down at our level, what we’re doing every day in our facility. I’m constantly evaluating how do we put our players in the best position to be successful.”

    -Sarkisian says there isn’t anybody who won’t be able to practice on Wednesday.

    -Sarkisian asked if he needs Kelvin Banks to win the starting job: “Not a great question.” — “The reality of it is, we need all of our guys to play at a high level.”

    -Sarkisian on if he knows when he may name a starting quarterback: “I think I have an idea in my head, but I’m not going to tell you guys.”

    -Sarkisian on defense: “I think we do have a plan in place to improve our level of consistency and play a really cool brand of football from the defensive perspective.”

    -Sarkisian said he intentionally had his players run in the afternoons to have an idea of what the heat would be like on the field at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.

    -Sarkisian says he went to Aspen, Northern California, and Laguna Beach: “I didn’t take a whole lot of time off. Quite frankly, this summer, I tried to be in Austin.”

    -Sarkisian on Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey: “I love having Tuck in the program.” — Mentions he is a productive player, is good against the run, slippery versus blocks, and has good pass-rush and coverage ability.

    Kyle Flood

    -Flood: “The more reps, the more times they can hear the playcalls, the more times some how, some way to get the players to try to visualize what they’re doing from an assignment and technique standpoint, no doubt it’s an advantage.”

    -Flood said the three traits offensive linemen of any age need are to be tough, smart, and dependable.

    -Flood on who his backup center is: “That’s a great question. I’m not sure.”

    -Flood says they don’t sacrifice athletic ability for size. Says he needs to have a level of athleticism with the size that “makes them special and gives them an opportunity to progress within our system.”

    -Flood: “We’ve got to get production out of the room. Ultimately, will that mean some of the freshman will play? As I tell my players and I tell every recruit, the best five players are going to play, and ultimately where they play will be determined by who the best five players are.”

    -Flood: “You have to have the older players in your room step into a leadership role. I do believe Jake (Majors), Junior (Angilau), and Christian, I think those three guys, they do that.”

    -Flood said Andrej Karic and Christian Jones had good summers, but “when you’re talking about linemen, you don’t want to make decisions before the pads go on.”

    -Flood on some of the O-line breakdowns last year: “From a technique standpoint, we weren’t consistently good enough. There’s no doubt, and it’s been a focal point of the offseason, of being a better pass set team, being better with our hands, making sure that we have an understanding of where the quarterback is in the pocket and where his movements will be if he gets disrupted in the pocket.”

    Pete Kwiatkowski

    -Kwiatkowski says they were “very inconsistent playing team defense as a whole. We had stretches where we were really good, then for whatever reason, adversity, bad plays in the game, guys get injured, whatever, the wheels fell off.”

    -Kwiatkowski on wide zone issues: “Just executing the defenses. Whoever is the force player, whether it’s a secondary player, linebacker, or defensive lineman, doing a better job of getting the ball turned back in.” — Said at certain points, there were players who were not doing their jobs. He used the term “freelancing.” — “A lot of times last year, we would get into those stretches where the wheels were coming off and then guys started pressing and feeling like they had to do more than what they’re supposed to do, then they started guessing or trying to ad lib, and it wasn’t good.”

    -Kwiatkowski: “He’s a resource to me and all our coaches. He’s been in the conference for 20-something years. He has the lay of the land in the state of Texas, so there’s a lot of info. that he has brought to the table that’s been invaluable.”

    -Kwiatkowski on how to help players fight through the wall or adversity instead of cowering at it: “You make it hard on them. Whether it’s Coach Becton in the weight room or running, you stress the guys physically or mentally. They’ve got to learn how to fight through it, come together, support each other, learn from those mistakes or experiences in the past, and keep moving forward.”

     

    -Kwiatkowski: “Overshown is an impact player. He’s a guy that can do some things. Very explosive, fast guy. We’ve got some young guys we’re gonna see what they can do.”

    -Kwiatkowski: “I think one of the strengths of our defense is going to be our interior linemen.”

    -Kwiatkowski says his edge guys all are twitchy and quick: “They’re quick off the ball. They can change direction. They’re sudden. The good ones, they have power.”

    -Kwiatkowski says he feels “okay” about linebacker depth. “We’ve got D-Mo, we’ve got Jaylan Ford who has been awesome. He’s had a really good offseason mentally and physically. We’ve got David Gbenda. Jett Bush moved back to linebacker. We’ve got Tucker-Dorsey, the transfer. I think he’s going to be a welcome addition.”

    Jeff Banks

    -Banks on the kicking competition: “What we have to do is we have to evaluate the kicking and the punting position with these guys in the next 15-20 days.”

    -Banks: “Bert Auburn and Will Stone will be the two guys who will compete for the field goal and kickoff jobs. We have another player named Gabriel Lozano who transferred from Texas Tech who provides some really good stability there. I feel good. We have three legs that I have confidence in.”

    -Banks says snapper Zach Edwards had one of the best summers of any specialist he’s had.

    -Banks says he is excited about Isaac Pearson. Says he is looking to add a punter from the walk-on ranks.”

    -Banks on Morice Blackwell: “I’m fired up about Mo because Mo had a little taste on scout team of playing our offense last year with the talented players we had, and he played downhill and super physical.”

    -Banks said Keilan Robinson is 12 to 13 pounds heavier.

    -Banks said Brenen Thompson, Savion Red, Jaydon Blue and Tarique Milton could see opportunities at return.

    -Banks said they challenged Ja’Tavion Sanders to be more physical in the first 5 practices of spring ball, and they saw him excel in the next 10 practices: “He is a ‘see how I do it, follow me’ guy.”

    -Banks says analyst Jeff Crosby “will be a coordinator after this year.” Does depth charts, game plans, etc. — “I want guys who work for me and with me to give me ideas.”

     

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  4. Out of the blue we sign this guy from AV that Barca wanted.

    https://theathletic.com/3352190/2022/07/22/carney-chukwuemeka-aston-villa-ac-milan-barcelona/

    Quote
    The curious case of Carney Chukwuemeka is heading for an inevitable outcome.
    The 18-year-old talent — a product of Aston Villa’s blossoming Bodymoor Heath academy and winner of the European Under-19 Championship with England this summer — is being chased by Barcelona and AC Milan.
    Villa, who have tried to extend his contract since October after making it clear the attacking midfielder would play a big part in their future, want a substantial fee if he leaves before the close of the transfer window.
    This is where the complexities begin. Barcelona and Milan want Chukwuemeka but will not pay a significant fee — certainly not the £20million ($23.9m) that has been rumoured — for a player who is out of contract next summer and available to discuss a move away for the 2023-24 season as early as January 1. They are, however, confident of agreeing personal terms.
    If Chukwuemeka leaves when his deal expires, the fee would be only £400,000 in compensation.
    Everything points to the 18-year-old leaving.
    Other clubs in Italy and Germany are monitoring the situation and there is plenty of interest in England, too, especially as he made the team of the tournament at the Euros this month.
    But for a move to happen this summer, it would require a significant offer.
    Having nurtured the academy graduate from the age of 12, it is understandable why Villa are reluctant to let him leave for next to nothing next year.
     
     
     
    For nine months they have tried to extend his contract, setting various deadlines. It was decided in January to put talks on hold until the end of the season so Chukwuemeka could focus on his football.
    Those discussions started during May and June but an agreement could not be struck. His wage demands were deemed too high and Villa, who have a structured salary system and want to reward players for their performance and loyalty, refused to budge on what they believed was a competitive offer.
    Still, the hope was that a deal would be in place by the start of July. Villa wanted to get it done and hoped that by convincing a number of top international players like Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara to join that Chukwuemeka would follow.
    When it did not, a collective decision was made to leave the teenager out of the three-game pre-season tour to Australia. Chukwuemeka would have linked up late with the team anyway as he was given an extra week off following the Euros in Slovakia. Fellow Young Lions Aaron Ramsey and Tim Iroegbunam joined the tour late.
    Tim-Iroegbunam-Carney-Chukwuemeka-Aaron-Ramsey
     
    Villa trio Iroegbunam, Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey starred in England Under-19s’ Euros success in Slovakia (Photo: Christian Hofer – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
    Villa have made a habit of getting things done under the ownership of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, but they have acted cautiously and carefully along the way.
    It was not supposed to end up like this with Chukwuemeka.
    Other talented youngsters like Jacob and Aaron Ramsey, Iroegbunam, Kaine Kesler-Hayden and Cameron Archer have all signed up for the long term.
    Head coach Steven Gerrard wanted Chukwuemeka to sign on for the future and explained Villa need to start planning for the season with players who are committed, hence why Chukwuemeka was not included on the Australia trip.
    59084fa4c030758578a6c0fdd5bb148604a77013
     
    Gerrard was hoping Chukwuemeka would sign a new deal (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
    An awkward situation is unfolding for Villa as they wait to see whether an offer of value arrives, or if Chukwuemeka has a change of heart.
    Losing him would be a blow but it will not undo the good work of the academy.
    Villa, who named Chukwuemeka their academy player of the season in 2021 when they won the FA Youth Cup, can promote that they helped “create” the first British £100million player following Jack Grealish’s record-breaking move to Manchester City.
    Jacob Ramsey is rapidly climbing a steep upwards curve, having first joined the club as a six-year-old, and there are high hopes for Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam, and Ben Chrisene, among others.
    Villa feel like they showed Chukwuemeka a pathway to the first team last season. Money is not the only motivating factor here, game time is part of the issue.
    In 2021-22, Chukwuemeka made 12 Premier League appearances, which is not a bad return for a teenager in his breakthrough campaign.
    Out of a limited pool of players born in the year 2003, only Chukwuemeka and Norwich City’s Jonathan Rowe recorded double-digit appearances in the Premier League.
    Chukwuemeka was the youngest player in 2021-22 to start a Premier League game when he played in the 1-1 draw with Brentford in August.
    The question his inner circle appear to have been asking, though, is whether just two starts was enough for a player of his potential and if, alongside the right terms of a contract, that number would have increased next season.
    Perhaps the 2021 Youth Cup winner could have been given a little more game time, which may have strengthened his willingness to sign an extension.
    But there are not too many examples of players his age getting a regular run of starts in the Premier League. Southampton full-back Tino Livramento is 11 months older but made 25 starts after moving from Chelsea in search of regular minutes.
    It is on the continent where opportunities are handed out more regularly to emerging talent.
    The rise of Jude Bellingham cannot be ignored as he is the same age and, since moving to Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham City, has significantly kicked on to become an established England international. The difference, though, is that Bellingham had a Championship background at Birmingham and was outperforming senior players in training from the age of 15.
    Other examples in Germany include Florian Wirtz, 19, at Bayer Leverkusen. He made 24 appearances in the Bundesliga last season. The ex-Chelsea midfielder Jamal Musiala, 19, played 30 times for champions Bayern Munich.
    In Spain, Eduardo Camavinga, 19, made 26 appearances for Real Madrid and won the Champions League. Gavi, 17, played 34 times for Barcelona.
    Seeing Paul Pogba, to whom Chukwuemeka is often likened, and Jadon Sancho leave England for Italy and Germany respectively as teenagers and return as superstars will hold some appeal. But so, too, should the rise of Ramsey at Villa Park.
    jacob-ramsey
     
    Jacob Ramsey was Villa’s young player of the year (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
    He was Villa’s young player of the season, trained with the England first team and was rewarded with a new contract in March on the back of a successful season.
    Last season, Ramsey did not let the contract talks affect his training levels or performances when called upon, but his talent is rare and these early steps in his career are crucial.
    The most common route players of his age at Premier League clubs take is to sign a long deal and then go out on loan. Had an agreement been struck 12 months ago, that might have been a realistic option.
    Keeping hold of Carney, the younger of two Chukwuemeka brothers at Villa (Caleb, 22, had a disappointing loan spell at Scottish Premier League club Livingston last season), has never been that straightforward.
    When the academy was working to a much tighter budget before Sawiris and Edens took over, there were discussions over the cost of petrol money paid out to Chukwuemeka’s family as he travelled from Northampton. In short, Villa regularly questioned whether it was cost-effective. Academy staff fought hard to sort out the right arrangement and he stayed on board.
    His development since has been worth that investment and the club hoped to see much more of it on the pitch in the future.
    If he features more prominently in 2022-23, then perhaps he will be able to fully unlock his talent. Whether that is with Barcelona, the Spanish club looking to rebuild, AC Milan, the Serie A champions, another European club, or even Villa, only time will tell.
    The chain of events over the past few weeks, though, suggests it is only a matter of time before a move away is secured. The focus now is on which club wins the race for his signature.
    (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

     

  5. • It is understood Cucurella is open to joining Chelsea, despite having been keen on a switch to City, and that Brighton have already started looking at potential replacements.

     

     • Telegraph Sport understands that contracts were being exchanged and reviewed on Monday with a view to finalising a transfer.

     

     • It is also believed that Tuchel sees Cucurella as being able to play on the left side of his back three

     

     • Brighton could be tempted by a deal for Cucurella that includes highly rated Chelsea teenager Levi Colwill 

     

     • Interested in Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries.

     

     • Leicester City remain adamant they will not sell Chelsea target Wesley Fofana unless they receive a huge bid of £80 million or more. 

     

     • However, sources believe that Fofana would be interested in moving to Chelsea.

     

     • More talks are expected this week, amid some claims that Fofana believes he has a gentlemen’s agreement that Leicester will listen to “fair” bids for him.

     

     • Even if Chelsea sign Cucurella, Tuchel wants at least one more defender and could also look at adding another forward to his squad

     

     • The anticipated arrival of Cucurella could coincide with the departure of Malang Sarr

     

     • Billy Gilmour is likely to leave on another season-long loan before the transfer window shuts 

  6. 21 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

    Great news. I got aseptic meningitis as a nice side effect from my first IVIG transfusions.
     

    So, the first treatment (cellcept) wouldn’t work for me because of the side effects. This was plan B. Sounds like I’ll not be a candidate due to side effects. I wonder if there is a plan C in mind with any efficacy, now.

    Not uncommon. It's a headache that makes you feel like crap for a day. We generally pretreat with Solumedrol.

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