Football Thread 2020/2021

[bradigor]

16 minutes ago, MikeBeaver said:

Leicester are almost guaranteed a win on Tuesday though, playing United reserves

 

Yep save your best XI for Thursday

[MikeBeaver]

2 minutes ago, bradigor said:

 

Yep save your best XI for Thursday

 

But of course, the Villa game is important, Leicester is important-ish, the scousers.. that's fucking war mate Still think Ole should bring himself on in the 78th minute tbh, he could do a job

[Shimmyhill]

Brentan overseeing his usual prem league collapse when it counts gig.

[Stopharage]

TBF to Rodgers, I’m amazed we’ve been up there at all this season with the amount of injuries to key players we’ve had. 
 

I’d take 8th if it meant we could finally win the FA Cup. 

[Adrock]

1 hour ago, Shimmyhill said:

Brentan overseeing his usual prem league collapse when it counts gig.

 

Oh the sweet irony of a Tottenham fan talking about others being somewhat Spursy 

 

 

Even better when the manager in question is being courted by Tottenham!

 

[Shimmyhill]

7 hours ago, Adrock said:

 

Oh the sweet irony of a Tottenham fan talking about others being somewhat Spursy 

 

 

Even better when the manager in question is being courted by Tottenham!

 

 

He isn’t being courted, that’s a papers nonsense thing much like all the managers we have allegedly approached - I’d rather Jose than Brentan!
 

[Gotters]

Good move Arsenal, 5% of what next season, nothing ?

[Ork1927]

Reports that Champions League final might be moved from Turkey as they are on the red list and, forgetting fans travelling, it would mean all the players would have to quarantine for ten days when they got back and potentially miss the start of training camps for the Euros.

 

They can't play it at Wembley if they move it here because of the play-offs.

 

Portugal is mentioned as that is allowed for holidays os players can go and all the fans.

 

What a mess.

 

 

[Mike1812]

It won't need to be a massive stadium though, as it won't be full capacity anyway. I think I read Villa offered their ground, which makes sense when you think of the teams locations. 

[Gotters]

Villa isn't a top rated UEFA stadium so can't host apparently (though doesn't seem that relevant this year), also most clubs planning to rip up their pitches as soon as season ends because didn't get chance last year.

 

 

[Stopharage]

As much as the COVID issues there’s the environmental cost too. 
 

In an ordinary year, you can’t really change the final venue because hotel bookings and flights will have been made. That will still be the case to a lesser extent but seems daft to have it in Istanbul in the most of a global pandemic when the country is in lockdown. There definitely needs to be a bit more flexibility in this area. 
 

Do think that football needs to start addressing climate change now. There was a decent environmental episode on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast recently and the owner of Forest Green was interviewed by Krishnan Guru-Murphy on his Way To Change The World podcast. Both were really interesting but show that FIFA and UEFA aren’t doing enough. 

[Dudley]

2 hours ago, Shimmyhill said:

 

He isn’t being courted, that’s a papers nonsense thing much like all the managers we have allegedly approached - I’d rather Jose than Brentan!
 

 

He's taken.

[Gotters]

oh dear, I can't see the proper football persons, who have barely got over their rage at something like xG coming into the game, liking the idea of AI being used.

 

be funny if it goes rogue like the Microsoft AI they gave a twitter account to (it started spewing out right wing tweets IIRC) and it comes to the conclusion that asthma inhalers and Salah falling over in the box are what Liverpool need more of. 

 

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-football-liverpool-ai?utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_brand=wired&mbid=social_twitter

[Mike1812]

Great performance from Leeds there. 50 points. Superb. 

[Waggo]

Yup wonderful Leeds performance & once again demonstrating just how big a joke the idea that some of these so called Superleague clubs are the biggest clubs in Europe actually is.

[neoELITE]

7 minutes ago, Mike1812 said:

Great performance from Leeds there. 50 points. Superb. 

 

50 points in most leagues is just above relegation. In the Premier League, if you average more than 1 point a game, that's a good season for a side not expected to be anywhere near the European places. Bielsa for me is manager of the season. There's no competition. Moyes, if West Ham somehow make the top four will win it but Bielsa's taken Championship strugglers to the zenith. 

[Shimmyhill]

7 minutes ago, Waggo said:

Yup wonderful Leeds performance & once again demonstrating just how big a joke the idea that some of these so called Superleague clubs are the biggest clubs in Europe actually is.

Good home win against a team with a shite defence and many problems, let’s not get carried away over the ESL stuff as every dog has its day - Norwich beat Man City last year  

 

Leeds have been ok, Sheffield Utd last season were better as a returning prem league club and have proven this season that second album is always harder!

 

Better side on the day won, no doubt about that tho.

[neoELITE]

12 minutes ago, Shimmyhill said:

 

Leeds have been ok, Sheffield Utd last season were better as a returning prem league club and have proven this season that second album is always harder!

 

 

 

Take a look at Leeds' last handful of games.

 

They've also got an exceptional board supporting them. 

 

Their pitch is shit though. They need a new one.

[Mike1812]

It's getting ripped up at the end of the season. We only need 4 points to match Sheff Utds total last season and we should do that comfortably. 

[Shimmyhill]

6 minutes ago, Mike1812 said:

It's getting ripped up at the end of the season. We only need 4 points to match Sheff Utds total last season and we should do that comfortably. 

Sheffield Utd fell off a cliff after Covid shutdown and clearly struggled due to lack of crowd - they also have had less investment and played with many older players and climbed the leagues more impressively than Leeds IMO - I think Leeds have done well but they are hardly this breath of fresh air fairytale story that’s often pointed out - they spent more than Spurs this season for a start…..

[Adrock]

Spending more than Tottenham definitely isn't any kind of yard stick, they're hamstrung by a massive mortgage and no income generated by that shiny stadium.

 

It's also disingenuous to compare them considering one team have been managed into decline whilst the other are trying to establish themselves in a new league.

 

Leeds have been fantastic this season. The fawning over Bielsa is boring, just like it was a season or two ago with Klopp, but that doesn't detract from the fact they've gone toe to toe with the best and have been competitive.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Wolves looked the bollocks when they came up too, before sleepwalking into the jaded outfit they are today (the Jimenez injury obviously didn't help).

 

If/when Brentford come up they will be the next team to be endlessly fawned over for 'playing football the right way'. Whatever that means. 

[Adrock]

It's far too simplistic to look at Wolves and just say they're jaded.

[Shimmyhill]

7 minutes ago, Adrock said:

Spending more than Tottenham definitely isn't any kind of yard stick, they're hamstrung by a massive mortgage and no income generated by that shiny stadium.

 

It's also disingenuous to compare them considering one team have been managed into decline whilst the other are trying to establish themselves in a new league.

 

Leeds have been fantastic this season. The fawning over Bielsa is boring, just like it was a season or two ago with Klopp, but that doesn't detract from the fact they've gone toe to toe with the best and have been competitive.

i didn’t want to do anything other than poke fun at my team, Leeds spent 100m in the summer, only Chelsea spent more - rags to riches my arse! They’ve bought success as much as any of the prem league clubs and what Sheffield Utd did last season was much more impressive on a shoe string was my real point of comparing them, it’s not just a Bielsa love in that’s farcical it’s the whole plucky Leeds nonsense! 

[Timmo]

 

My fuckin' heart, boys.

[skadupuk]

36 minutes ago, Yobo Ahoy said:

'playing football the right way'. Whatever that means. 

 

Palace have bored the shit out of me for the majority of their time in the EPL, but its effective for a team of (relatively) limited means to stay up by being a team that most of the time is incredibly hard to break down.

 

The problem is that most of the fan base want more, and not Charlton style "We should be challenging for Europe" before they got rid Curbishley, but just to be able to feel like we are going for a game.

 

Are the riches of the EPL worth the sacrifice of enjoying the game?

 

 

[Ork1927]

14 minutes ago, Timmo said:

 

My fuckin' heart, boys.

Wednesday going ahead twice, but never getting out the relegation zone.

 

Has any team done as little as Derby to stay up.  Lost the previous 6 and only got 6 points from the last 14 games!

 

 

 

 

[layten]

1 hour ago, Shimmyhill said:

they spent more than Spurs this season for a start

I out spent Spurs on my new car.

[Shimmyhill]

42 minutes ago, layten said:

I out spent Spurs on my new car.

I think you’ve been had, we spent 50 odd million in the summer  

[Plissken]

1 hour ago, skadupuk said:

 

Palace have bored the shit out of me for the majority of their time in the EPL, but its effective for a team of (relatively) limited means to stay up by being a team that most of the time is incredibly hard to break down.

 

The problem is that most of the fan base want more, and not Charlton style "We should be challenging for Europe" before they got rid Curbishley, but just to be able to feel like we are going for a game.

 

Are the riches of the EPL worth the sacrifice of enjoying the game?

 

There was an article in The Athletic asking fans of Palace, Norwich, Burnley and West Brom whether they would prefer "attractive football and relegation" to staying in the Premier.  There were plenty of fans saying "yes", to which I respond... bollocks.

 

The Championship is a much more competitive and entertaining league than the Premier League.  It's more entertaining because of its parity, not the quality of its football.  Derby vs Sheff Wed today was awful from a quality point of view and excellent from a tension and entertainment view.  (Probably not for their fans, mind.)  If the PL had that parity, then the question of "good football" - whatever the hell that is - wouldn't arise.