The Judgment-Free Soccer Questions Thread

HowBoutDemSox

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Jimy Hendrix

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Related question: As it seems like the transfer window is basically "trading" a player for cash (Charlie O Finley would have loved this!), are there ever any player-for-player trades in international club football?
I believe they're technically separate transactions when it happens, but clubs do sometimes make two transactions that add up to a "player plus cash" deal. I think you rarely if ever see a pure player for player deal, the added "there's a cash value here" element means that would so rarely line up as a thing to make sense to do.
 

dirtynine

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The Japanese posting system for baseball players is basically the same thing. When the Sox paid $51m for the right to sign DiceK, that essentially operated like a soccer transfer.
 

trekfan55

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The Japanese posting system for baseball players is basically the same thing. When the Sox paid $51m for the right to sign DiceK, that essentially operated like a soccer transfer.
Yes, but in this case they paid the Japanese team, but if DiceK failed to sign the Sox get their money back.

In Football the player goes (with hos contract) to the new team.

Related questions, how do "loans" work?
 

DJnVa

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Related questions, how do "loans" work?
Small fee, and they send a guy out so he can play more--you don't want someone stagnating on your bench. Generally, they don't play against their former team if they happen to meet. They can negotiate as to which team pays the wages.
 

Shelterdog

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Sorry if it was covered above but any favorite soccer podcasts-in particular fairly fun ones where the hosts are knowledgeable?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Sorry if it was covered above but any favorite soccer podcasts-in particular fairly fun ones where the hosts are knowledgeable?
It's not heavy on analysis, but I love Men In Blazers. Some people will hate them and it's heavy on schtick and some of the stupid little catch phrases and stuff go back a long way, but there was a time ten years ago where they were close to the only game in town on sirius xm and so it may be nostalgia more than anything that I'm after.
 

InstaFace

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Yeah Scuffed is the most thoughtful and accessible US Soccer podcast, I've tried 'em all. The Total Soccer Show is decent if you just need an additional fix, but Belz and Greg and the gang on Scuffed just make you feel good about listening every time, and strike the right balance between rah-rah and skepticism. Listening to their post-game call-in show (for Patreons only) after the Iran game, the whole time was filled with just so much joy and celebration and witty commentary, it felt like years of emotional investment was paying off for the dozens upon dozens of loyal listeners who piped up. You'd have thought their child just got married.

Their Discord is also - and I don't say this lightly - the SoSH of soccer discussion. The small-ish barrier of limiting access to those who sponsor the podcast through Patreon (minimum $2 / month) means that everyone who's there cares about the place and there is basically no shitposting and a lot of people who are motivated and caring about the community. It's really a delightful way to immerse yourself into something the way SoSH did for us all at one point or another, and so if you want to try that out for following the USMNT, USWNT, and all related developments (particularly what's up with all the players in our pool - I couldn't stay abreast of it without them), there's nothing better. It's the best-value couple bucks I spend every month.

I promised myself I wouldn't be plugging them left and right on here during this World Cup, but since there was a direct question about podcasts, I figure just this one plug is fine.
 
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Shelterdog

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Yeah Scuffed is the most thoughtful and accessible US Soccer podcast, I've tried 'em all. The Total Soccer Show is decent if you just need an additional fix, but Belz and Greg and the gang on Scuffed just make you feel good about listening every time, and strike the right balance between rah-rah and skepticism. Listening to their post-game call-in show (for Patreons only) after the Iran game, the whole time was filled with just so much joy and celebration and witty commentary, it felt like years of emotional investment was paying off for the dozens upon dozens of loyal listeners who piped up. You'd have thought their child just got married.

Their Discord is also - and I don't say this lightly - the SoSH of soccer discussion. The small-ish barrier of limiting access to those who sponsor the podcast through Patreon (minimum $2 / month) means that everyone who's there cares about the place and there is basically no shitposting and a lot of people who are motivated and caring about the community. It's really a delightful way to immerse yourself into something the way SoSH did for us all at one point or another, and so if you want to try that out for following the USMNT, USWNT, and all related developments (particularly what's up with all the players in our pool - I couldn't stay abreast of it without them), there's nothing better. It's the best-value couple bucks I spend every month.

I promised myself I wouldn't be plugging them left and right on here during this World Cup, but since there was a direct question about podcasts, I figure just this one plug is fine.
[/QUOTE
Thanks. Any thoughts on the stadio guys? They seemed to be smart and knowledgeable in their low key way but so hard to assess when you don’t know the sport
 

OCST

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The Guardian Football Weekly is enjoyable. Maybe 2/3 PL but also lower English tiers, the women’s game, international competition, noteworthy happenings from Europe, and misc. they’re also doing a daily from the WC. Quite witt and informative. The coverage on the Guardian website is also very good.
 

OCST

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Related question: As it seems like the transfer window is basically "trading" a player for cash (Charlie O Finley would have loved this!), are there ever any player-for-player trades in international club football?
It’s rumored much more often than it actually happens. It makes the transaction much more complicated, not less.

here is one such rumor:

View: https://twitter.com/EvertonNewsFeed/status/1597315935597400064?s=20&t=VAmQsQslTfLCUNnLu4GSbA


this has so many moving parts it’s vanishingly unlikely.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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No idea how people can see these players crying exhausted and not get how fucking important International competition is to the players. Club football is great, but International football means so fucking much.
 

SoxFanInCali

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No idea how people can see these players crying exhausted and not get how fucking important International competition is to the players. Club football is great, but International football means so fucking much.
Where are people not getting that?

I'm a huge Liverpool fan and can appreciate Luis Suarez's talent and passion, but I certainly understand why many, many people enjoy it when he fails. I also really liked seeing the stunned looks on the 2004 Yankees faces and the crying of their fans after the Sox beat them. It's fandom.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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Where are people not getting that?

I'm a huge Liverpool fan and can appreciate Luis Suarez's talent and passion, but I certainly understand why many, many people enjoy it when he fails. I also really liked seeing the stunned looks on the 2004 Yankees faces and the crying of their fans after the Sox beat them. It's fandom.
You never saw anyone complain about players going to international competitions? That they could get hurt and it's too detrimental to the clubs?
 

SoxFanInCali

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You never saw anyone complain about players going to international competitions? That they could get hurt and it's too detrimental to the clubs?
What does that have to do with the point you were making in the game thread?

And yes, I could be upset that Fernando Torres seemed to come back to Liverpool from every single international break with Spain with an injury, even though I knew playing for his country was important to him. Again...fandom.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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What does that have to do with the point you were making in the game thread?

And yes, I could be upset that Fernando Torres seemed to come back to Liverpool from every single international break with Spain with an injury, even though I knew playing for his country was important to him. Again...fandom.
The only point I'm making is that international competition is awesome.
 

Dave Stapleton

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Wasn’t sure where to put this and I didn’t want to start a new thread. This WC has made me decide I really would like to begin to watch premier league. I have done so casually but really want to pick a team and become more invested.

How do you hardcore fans (Zomp looking at you) suggest I begin this journey. I don’t want one of the big 5 and was thinking Leeds might be a place to start given familiarity with some of the players.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Wasn’t sure where to put this and I didn’t want to start a new thread. This WC has made me decide I really would like to begin to watch premier league. I have done so casually but really want to pick a team and become more invested.

How do you hardcore fans (Zomp looking at you) suggest I begin this journey. I don’t want one of the big 5 and was thinking Leeds might be a place to start given familiarity with some of the players.
This was me after the 2014 World Cup. Start watching matches that seem interesting, also follow some players you like. I came to Spurs sorta for DeAndre Yedlin which didn’t work out, but this kid named Harry Kane came out of nowhere with a compelling narrative that hooked me that season after a brief flirtation with Crystal Palace.

Leeds is a great choice right now. They’ve got those players you know, and they have been almost guaranteed entertainment this season. High intensity pressing and attacking, comically awful defending, able to beat the best teams and lose to the worst teams. Avoid if you have any heart conditions, but a perfect watch otherwise.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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Just know that if you pick a team outside of the top 6, you will spend your life cheering for small improvements. The Leeds and Brentfords won't win a title in the next decade, at the least.
 

dirtynine

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Just know that if you pick a team outside of the top 6, you will spend your life cheering for small improvements. The Leeds and Brentfords won't win a title in the next decade, at the least.
Relegation battles can be just as interesting / stressful - and surviving can feel like winning a championship. Or you get relegated and fight to win the right to come back to the EPL (the Championship is an awesome and balanced league to follow, as an aside). Throw in multiple competitions and even the mid-table clubs have a lot to root for that can “feel” like winning it all. Even taking three points off a couple of big clubs can make a season feel successful.
 

graffam198

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How do subs work in extra time? Do you get another set of 5? Can you bring players in that were subbed out at half?
 

Preacher

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Pretty random questions:

Any reason why the GK wears the color they wear? Seems mostly a solid color. Do you want to be bright to maybe draw the eye of the person trying to score? Do you want to blend so they have a hard time picking up your location?

Any reason for numbers? I've noticed 9 and 10 seem popular with the better players but other players have higher ones. I really don't follow soccer all that closely so I'm not sure what numbers players are wearing with their club teams.
 

swiftaw

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How do subs work in extra time? Do you get another set of 5? Can you bring players in that were subbed out at half?
Teams get one extra sub of it goes to extra time (so 6 in total). Removed players cannot re-enter.
 

SocrManiac

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Pretty random questions:

Any reason why the GK wears the color they wear? Seems mostly a solid color. Do you want to be bright to maybe draw the eye of the person trying to score? Do you want to blend so they have a hard time picking up your location?

Any reason for numbers? I've noticed 9 and 10 seem popular with the better players but other players have higher ones. I really don't follow soccer all that closely so I'm not sure what numbers players are wearing with their club teams.
Goalkeeper jerseys are a fashion thing. In the past keepers even designed their own.

Numbers are explained unthread.
 

graffam198

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How do yellow's work at this stage? if you get a yellow this game, and then another yellow, do you sit the following game? Or is it an automatic soft red for yellow in the second game? Sorry if that isn't clear.
 

InstaFace

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How do yellow's work at this stage? if you get a yellow this game, and then another yellow, do you sit the following game? Or is it an automatic soft red for yellow in the second game? Sorry if that isn't clear.
The following apply to yellow cards within the tournament:

- If you accumulate two yellows in different games, you are suspended for the following game
- However, an accumulated yellow card is wiped clean after the quarterfinals
- This means a second yellow in the R16 means you're suspended for the QF, and a second yellow in the QF means you're suspended for the SF
- However, it does mean that the only way you'd be suspended for the final is if you're red-carded in the semifinal, which is what the purpose of that is

It's a bit silly, but it's not clear to me there's an obvious, better way to do things. Getting 3 yellows in 5 tournament games is pretty darn unlikely. And taking tactical, cynical yellows in a short tournament where that one counterattack you stopped might've sent you packing is already highly incentivized, so any disincentive there is probably worth it.

Worth noting that in a lot of the top leagues, it takes 5 yellow cards to be suspended for the next league match. In a 38-match season, you'll have guys who end up getting suspended 2, even 3 times in a season, but they'd have likely needed a breather anyway so it's not that big a deal to them.
 

InstaFace

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Any of the current 11 can take PKs? Any remaining subs can sub in for them?
Any of the current 11 can take PKs, and in fact if the shootout remains tied as you go through the roster of players on the field, eventually the goalies will take a shot. This happened in a recent tournament - I think the Euros last year.

If you have subs remaining, you can make them before the start of the shootout. Sometimes teams will substitute their backup goalkeeper if they like his skillset for saving penalties better. Chelsea famously did this in their run to the Champions League title, I believe.
 

swiftaw

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The following apply to yellow cards within the tournament:

- If you accumulate two yellows in different games, you are suspended for the following game
- However, an accumulated yellow card is wiped clean after the quarterfinals
- This means a second yellow in the R16 means you're suspended for the QF, and a second yellow in the QF means you're suspended for the SF
- However, it does mean that the only way you'd be suspended for the final is if you're red-carded in the semifinal, which is what the purpose of that is

It's a bit silly, but it's not clear to me there's an obvious, better way to do things. Getting 3 yellows in 5 tournament games is pretty darn unlikely. And taking tactical, cynical yellows in a short tournament where that one counterattack you stopped might've sent you packing is already highly incentivized, so any disincentive there is probably worth it.

Worth noting that in a lot of the top leagues, it takes 5 yellow cards to be suspended for the next league match. In a 38-match season, you'll have guys who end up getting suspended 2, even 3 times in a season, but they'd have likely needed a breather anyway so it's not that big a deal to them.
Yep, this is the Gazza rule. In Italia 90, there wasn't a reset after the QF, and Gazza picked up his second yellow in the semi final, meaning he would've missed the final if England advanced (they didn't).
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Any of the current 11 can take PKs, and in fact if the shootout remains tied as you go through the roster of players on the field, eventually the goalies will take a shot. This happened in a recent tournament - I think the Euros last year.

If you have subs remaining, you can make them before the start of the shootout. Sometimes teams will substitute their backup goalkeeper if they like his skillset for saving penalties better. Chelsea famously did this in their run to the Champions League title, I believe.
Tuchel did that multiple times, subbing in Kepa for Mendy in both the Supercup (winning that one) and then in the EFL final against Liverpool, where the first ten takers for each side hit theirs and then Liverpool won because Kelleher hit his but Kepa didn’t.
 

graffam198

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Tuchel did that multiple times, subbing in Kepa for Mendy in both the Supercup (winning that one) and then in the EFL final against Liverpool, where the first ten takers for each side hit theirs and then Liverpool won because Kelleher hit his but Kepa didn’t.
Doesn't the field "lock" at the end of ET? Like, once PKs are needed it's too late to sub? At the youth level that's the rule...

Also, Keeper can shoot right? They can be part of your top 5, it's just not usual to go there?

Once you go through the five, does it just go 1 by 1? I.e. you don't get another 5 on the board, it basically becomes sudden death?

Thanks!
 

DJnVa

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Doesn't the field "lock" at the end of ET? Like, once PKs are needed it's too late to sub? At the youth level that's the rule...

Also, Keeper can shoot right? They can be part of your top 5, it's just not usual to go there?

Once you go through the five, does it just go 1 by 1? I.e. you don't get another 5 on the board, it basically becomes sudden death?

Thanks!
I *think* you're correct on it locking once the ET is up.

Keeper can shoot at any time.

Yes, after first 5 it's 1 at a time.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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Doesn't the field "lock" at the end of ET? Like, once PKs are needed it's too late to sub? At the youth level that's the rule...

Also, Keeper can shoot right? They can be part of your top 5, it's just not usual to go there?

Once you go through the five, does it just go 1 by 1? I.e. you don't get another 5 on the board, it basically becomes sudden death?

Thanks!
Yes, the keeper is treated like just any other player during PKs, he can shoot in any spot of the lineup.

Also yes, after the first 5 it's sudden death and they keep shooting PKs until there is a winner.

Fun fact: If Team A has a player sent off, Team B chooses a player to not be a part of the PKs. You can't choose the GK, because he wouldn't be allowed to defend.
 

singaporesoxfan

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Doesn't the field "lock" at the end of ET? Like, once PKs are needed it's too late to sub? At the youth level that's the rule...

Also, Keeper can shoot right? They can be part of your top 5, it's just not usual to go there?

Once you go through the five, does it just go 1 by 1? I.e. you don't get another 5 on the board, it basically becomes sudden death?

Thanks!
Yes, you can't make any subs just for PKs. It's probably not a good idea to get in subs who haven't warmed up that much yet anyway - I thought Southgate made a mistake at the last Euros final by trying to be too cute and getting in his striker subs in the 119th minute
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Doesn't the field "lock" at the end of ET? Like, once PKs are needed it's too late to sub? At the youth level that's the rule...

Also, Keeper can shoot right? They can be part of your top 5, it's just not usual to go there?

Once you go through the five, does it just go 1 by 1? I.e. you don't get another 5 on the board, it basically becomes sudden death?

Thanks!
Right, the keeper sub would have to be before the end of extra time.

And the keeper can shoot anytime, Bayern had Neuer shoot third in the 2012 UCL final (he converted, too), for example.
 

graffam198

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Yes, you can't make any subs just for PKs. It's probably not a good idea to get in subs who haven't warmed up that much yet anyway - I thought Southgate made a mistake at the last Euros final by trying to be too cute and getting in his striker subs in the 119th minute
I realize I mis-read @InstaFace above post about subbing BEFORE PKs. I.e. yes, during ET, but not at the end of ET but BEFORE PKs.