Is it Just Me or Is the UEFA Footie Quality Worse?

[Kabalega]

There was a significant dip in quality after the COVID lockdown and I don’t think teams have bounced back.

Looking at Real Madrid vs Man City, I was shocked at the piss poor quality. I had seen both teams in their respective domestic games but thought they would step it up as usual for the CL. They did step it up but the quality was still, not up to par with what I’m accustomed to.

It’s not just these teams. Across the board only Liverpool seem to be firing on all cylinders but still not as good as before.

The individual player’s are in better physical shape than before but the quality is lacking. Some teams have starting players who would not even sit on the bench a few years ago.

Now, there are a few really good players like, Vinny Jr., Pedri, Yamal, Mamoush, Rodri, Isak, Cole Palmer, e.t.c. However, they are few and far between.

Even the often reliable goalies like (Eddison, Manuel Neuer, e.t.c are off form.

[Coach]

What defines “quality” in this instance?

[Kabalega]

What defines “quality” in this instance?

This is a problem in almost every everything you can think of on the green grass.
The exception is the physical fitness. A team like AC Milan looks physically sharp but not good in all other aspects.

[Bigpokey24]

There was a significant dip in quality after the COVID lockdown and I don’t think teams have bounced back.

Looking at Real Madrid vs Man City, I was shocked at the piss poor quality. I had seen both teams in their respective domestic games but thought they would step it up as usual for the CL. They did step it up but the quality was still, not up to par with what I’m accustomed to.

It’s not just these teams. Across the board only Liverpool seem to be firing on all cylinders but still not as good as before.

The individual player’s are in better physical shape than before but the quality is lacking. Some teams have starting players who would not even sit on the bench a few years ago.

Now, there are a few really good players like, Vinny Jr., Pedri, Yamal, Mamoush, Rodri, Isak, Cole Palmer, e.t.c. However, they are few and far between.

Even the often reliable goalies like (Eddison, Manuel Neuer, e.t.c are off form.

it isn't just you. The quality in Europe has been really poor for about 2 to 3 seasons now. Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros

[Coach]

“…Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros”, in terms of entertainment or actual quality of the football?

@Kabalagala, teams have become more tactical, players have gotten fitter, games more pragmatic. Gone are the days of joga bonita and tiki-taka, kings of old and comprehensively smashed at the end of their eras.

[Kabalega]

There was a significant dip in quality after the COVID lockdown and I don’t think teams have bounced back.

Looking at Real Madrid vs Man City, I was shocked at the piss poor quality. I had seen both teams in their respective domestic games but thought they would step it up as usual for the CL. They did step it up but the quality was still, not up to par with what I’m accustomed to.

It’s not just these teams. Across the board only Liverpool seem to be firing on all cylinders but still not as good as before.

The individual player’s are in better physical shape than before but the quality is lacking. Some teams have starting players who would not even sit on the bench a few years ago.

Now, there are a few really good players like, Vinny Jr., Pedri, Yamal, Mamoush, Rodri, Isak, Cole Palmer, e.t.c. However, they are few and far between.

Even the often reliable goalies like (Eddison, Manuel Neuer, e.t.c are off form.

it isn't just you. The quality in Europe has been really poor for about 2 to 3 seasons now. Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros

KPOM!
I hope AFCON makes me whole again.

[Kabalega]

“…Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros”, in terms of entertainment or actual quality of the football?

@Kabalagala, teams have become more tactical, players have gotten fitter, games more pragmatic. Gone are the days of joga bonita and tiki-taka, kings of old and comprehensively smashed at the end of their eras.

Long term? Yes. But the tactics are now failing a lot of teams. Clearly the coaches are not as good and the players are definitely worse.

Many defenders cannot defend. The forwards are misfiring and missing easy goals. Many MFs are one trick ponies.

If I remember correctly, Pep recently gave an interview where he said tactics don’t matter as much as before.

Pragmatic? Well, teams are more vulnerable to direct, route one footie. I blame poor tactics and inept players.

[Coach]

Is this limited to UEFA? If not mistaken, in the various editions of the Workd Club cup, the very best of whoever else have been smashed. Indiscriminately.

[Kabalega]

Is this limited to UEFA? If not mistaken, in the various editions of the Workd Club cup, the very best of whoever else have been smashed. Indiscriminately.

The World Cup was fun and entertaining. The football not so much for obvious reasons.
Now that you mentioned it, more individual players were sharper at the WC than they are now. Forget the obvious Messi and Mbappe. Look at folks like Morocco’s Amrabat.
Is it fatigue?

[Coach]

Amrabat knew his role in the national team and the ensuing demands. The EPL was akin to a GCSE student sitting a MSc in Mathematics exam paper. Too demanding. Too much of what he didn’t know. Unready. Unprepared.

The game has become that more athletic such that time is even more at a premium. As Guardiola eluded to ask the end of the first-leg vs Real “now you do not get time to rest”, referring to the lilies spells of possession City would use for recovery.

The increased fitness demands are coinciding with an unprecedented pandemic of muscular tears and strains. Players are being pushed to and beyond the limits. In due course, the 4-4-2 and long ball football will return as both the evolution and the antidote.

[Coach]

^and when it does [return of the 4-4-2], so too its greatest exponent of all time. The Professional Professor of the Sciences.

[Damunk]

“…Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros”, in terms of entertainment or actual quality of the football?

@Kabalagala, teams have become more tactical, players have gotten fitter, games more pragmatic. Gone are the days of joga bonita and tiki-taka, kings of old and comprehensively smashed at the end of their eras.

Long term? Yes. But the tactics are now failing a lot of teams. Clearly the coaches are not as good and the players are definitely worse.

Many defenders cannot defend. The forwards are misfiring and missing easy goals. Many MFs are one trick ponies.

If I remember correctly, Pep recently gave an interview where he said tactics don’t matter as much as before.

Pragmatic? Well, teams are more vulnerable to direct, route one footie. I blame poor tactics and inept players.

I’m sure those companies that analyse big data like OPTA are keeping track.
Don’t be surprised if your observations are very subjective.

[Damunk]

“…Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros”, in terms of entertainment or actual quality of the football?

@Kabalagala, teams have become more tactical, players have gotten fitter, games more pragmatic. Gone are the days of joga bonita and tiki-taka, kings of old and comprehensively smashed at the end of their eras.

Good question.

[Coach]

^Much of the “entertainment” alluded to is a consequence of chaos. The wild swinging heavyweight throwing caution to the wind and heavy hands even further. As entertaining as it may be, its comprehensively dispatched when it comes up against anything that resembles order.

[Kabalega]

“…Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros”, in terms of entertainment or actual quality of the football?

@Kabalagala, teams have become more tactical, players have gotten fitter, games more pragmatic. Gone are the days of joga bonita and tiki-taka, kings of old and comprehensively smashed at the end of their eras.

Long term? Yes. But the tactics are now failing a lot of teams. Clearly the coaches are not as good and the players are definitely worse.

Many defenders cannot defend. The forwards are misfiring and missing easy goals. Many MFs are one trick ponies.

If I remember correctly, Pep recently gave an interview where he said tactics don’t matter as much as before.

Pragmatic? Well, teams are more vulnerable to direct, route one footie. I blame poor tactics and inept players.

I’m sure those companies that analyse big data like OPTA are keeping track.
Don’t be surprised if your observations are very subjective.

What good will it do them if they cannot find better players? Look at ManU’s predicament.

[Coach]

@Kabalagala, Man United show the perils of moving from dictatorship to democracy. In attempt to modernise their “managerial” structure, they embarked on one of the most misguided recruitment strategies. The plight of red Mancunia is by no means a blanket to be stretched across the entirety of the footballing continent. Kingdoms rise, kingdoms fall.

The athletic demands of today’s game cannot be overlooked. As Guardiola recently conceded, the days of “juego de posecion” are numbered in the lowest of digits. Nowadays, in a nod to the octave rich royal anthem of 90s Hip-Hop, it’s ‘Survival of the Fittest’.

“There’s a war going on outside, no one is safe …’ from the Citizens of Mesopotamia to the Bavarian Bullies, the Old Ladies of Turin and Men of Milan. Even the imperial Royal Madrid cut down by a full blooded, scything slide tackle reared on the council estates of Toxteth.

Blood. Thunder. Ligaments torn, sinews snapped. Whole armies vanquished by injury. Beauty has given way to the beast. And at the top of the pops, the Liverpudlians who, having consumed the most powerful portions of obeah, have repelled injury of any serious proportion. As the Einsteinian Albert Johnson chimed “Survival of the fit, only the strong survive”

[kalani JR]

There was a significant dip in quality after the COVID lockdown and I don’t think teams have bounced back.

Looking at Real Madrid vs Man City, I was shocked at the piss poor quality. I had seen both teams in their respective domestic games but thought they would step it up as usual for the CL. They did step it up but the quality was still, not up to par with what I’m accustomed to.

It’s not just these teams. Across the board only Liverpool seem to be firing on all cylinders but still not as good as before.

The individual player’s are in better physical shape than before but the quality is lacking. Some teams have starting players who would not even sit on the bench a few years ago.

Now, there are a few really good players like, Vinny Jr., Pedri, Yamal, Mamoush, Rodri, Isak, Cole Palmer, e.t.c. However, they are few and far between.

Even the often reliable goalies like (Eddison, Manuel Neuer, e.t.c are off form.

it isn't just you. The quality in Europe has been really poor for about 2 to 3 seasons now. Even the AFCON was miles ahead of the Euros

stop smoking crack