Bram Pijpers
@brammoker.bsky.social
Arsenal & the Indiana Pacers. A weird combo for a guy from Holland. Loves cats.
Reposted by Bram Pijpers
Sergio Busquets is old and slow. By next month he'll be retired. So how is he still so central to one of the best teams in MLS?
Wrote for The Guardian about trying to measure a famously invisible kind of greatness.
Wrote for The Guardian about trying to measure a famously invisible kind of greatness.
As his career ends in MLS, Sergio Busquets’ small decisions remain perfect
The Spaniard’s style of possession football is not easily defined by stats and data. We tried to do so anyway
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Sergio Busquets is old and slow. By next month he'll be retired. So how is he still so central to one of the best teams in MLS?
Wrote for The Guardian about trying to measure a famously invisible kind of greatness.
Wrote for The Guardian about trying to measure a famously invisible kind of greatness.
Great news! Now a different more viable sponsor than Emirates too in the future and I’m happy.
November 19, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Great news! Now a different more viable sponsor than Emirates too in the future and I’m happy.
In my opinion, Liverpool have been far more shit in this game than City have been good. So many gaps, everywhere.
November 9, 2025 at 5:57 PM
In my opinion, Liverpool have been far more shit in this game than City have been good. So many gaps, everywhere.
How did Gvardiol not get a yellow there?
November 9, 2025 at 5:54 PM
How did Gvardiol not get a yellow there?
It’s going to be a long title race with a few bounces, I think. We have to trust our depth. It could actually help us in the long run in a weird way that all those attackers are out.
November 9, 2025 at 5:44 PM
It’s going to be a long title race with a few bounces, I think. We have to trust our depth. It could actually help us in the long run in a weird way that all those attackers are out.
City are good. I really like O’Reilly as a player and he has solved some of their problems. They still have issues in midfield and the wings that can be exploited. That’s already shown to be the case. They have deservedly lost three times to mediocre sides (Brighton, Spurs, Villa) because of them.
November 9, 2025 at 5:37 PM
City are good. I really like O’Reilly as a player and he has solved some of their problems. They still have issues in midfield and the wings that can be exploited. That’s already shown to be the case. They have deservedly lost three times to mediocre sides (Brighton, Spurs, Villa) because of them.
No. It’s the exact same problems. The midfield is poor at controlling games without a magician at RB and the rest defense isn’t athletic enough or smart enough positionally to deal with it anymore. You can change the personnel, you won’t change the problems. That’s a squad wide issue for Liverpool.
City have been very good but this feels weirdly worse for Liverpool than the bad run (which this of course now revives). It feels less explainable, and like a new set of problems have just come up.
November 9, 2025 at 5:32 PM
No. It’s the exact same problems. The midfield is poor at controlling games without a magician at RB and the rest defense isn’t athletic enough or smart enough positionally to deal with it anymore. You can change the personnel, you won’t change the problems. That’s a squad wide issue for Liverpool.
It’s a very lucky goal to be fair. But it is a goal. With him? Probably not a coincidence. Deserved goal to. Liverpool have been shit.
November 9, 2025 at 5:01 PM
It’s a very lucky goal to be fair. But it is a goal. With him? Probably not a coincidence. Deserved goal to. Liverpool have been shit.
Correct decision. It’s light but it’s a clear foul. Don’t blame the goalkeeper for that at all, he did what he could. Konate made a mess of it.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Correct decision. It’s light but it’s a clear foul. Don’t blame the goalkeeper for that at all, he did what he could. Konate made a mess of it.
Igor Thiago is a goal getter. Not the most polished player on planet earth but he knows where to be and what to do with it. Which is important.
November 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Igor Thiago is a goal getter. Not the most polished player on planet earth but he knows where to be and what to do with it. Which is important.
Reposted by Bram Pijpers
Beyond Man City, other clubs which profit directly from emirati patronage should ask themselves some inconvenient questions; and if they do not of their own accord, we fans should be pressuring them into doing so. These other clubs very much include Arsenal FC.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Silence over Sudan: why do Manchester City’s owners get away with so much?
Two midweek matches in England had a backdrop of war and geopolitics, but only one drew large protests
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Beyond Man City, other clubs which profit directly from emirati patronage should ask themselves some inconvenient questions; and if they do not of their own accord, we fans should be pressuring them into doing so. These other clubs very much include Arsenal FC.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
This really sums up what I was talking about. Should have stayed away from our goal.
Average touch locations and passing networks broken out by quarter of the match.
Got a bit too deep late for my taste.
Got a bit too deep late for my taste.
November 9, 2025 at 12:18 PM
This really sums up what I was talking about. Should have stayed away from our goal.
Still think Mikel should have been more front footed with his subs now the emotion is gone. Would have made the likelihood of a goal against smaller (not that it couldn’t have happened anyway, there’s always a chance of a goal). Calafiori got roasted about three times in the last 20 minutes.
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Still think Mikel should have been more front footed with his subs now the emotion is gone. Would have made the likelihood of a goal against smaller (not that it couldn’t have happened anyway, there’s always a chance of a goal). Calafiori got roasted about three times in the last 20 minutes.
I’m really in a bad mood. But: I thought we played really well. So it will be fine.
November 8, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I’m really in a bad mood. But: I thought we played really well. So it will be fine.
I’m so mad at Mikel man. That is so stupid. We should have defended it better but that is just a rookie mistake. We controlled most of that and would have if he trusted his team to play like they always do. It was correct at Fulham. It was wrong here and obviously wrong too.
November 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I’m so mad at Mikel man. That is so stupid. We should have defended it better but that is just a rookie mistake. We controlled most of that and would have if he trusted his team to play like they always do. It was correct at Fulham. It was wrong here and obviously wrong too.
It should have been Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri and defend from the front. They couldn’t touch us. We step back and hey, danger.
November 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
It should have been Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri and defend from the front. They couldn’t touch us. We step back and hey, danger.
Arteta made the wrong subs in this game and we pay the price. It’s the correct call. Raya and Gabriel need to do better there.
November 8, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Arteta made the wrong subs in this game and we pay the price. It’s the correct call. Raya and Gabriel need to do better there.
Rice has been insane today again.
November 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Rice has been insane today again.
Raya doing what he gets paid for extremely well today.
November 8, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Raya doing what he gets paid for extremely well today.
Reposted by Bram Pijpers
You’ll never guess who was judged to have committed the foul here.
November 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
You’ll never guess who was judged to have committed the foul here.
How is that re-entry allowed by the referee? That is just blatant stupidity.
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
How is that re-entry allowed by the referee? That is just blatant stupidity.
Should be a yellow on Calafiori, that. Pawson is just terrible.
November 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Should be a yellow on Calafiori, that. Pawson is just terrible.
What an absolute rocket.
November 8, 2025 at 7:12 PM
What an absolute rocket.