The Football Thread.

bertie · October 2022

well at least Forest didn't lose !!

axisus · October 2022

Yay! Luton up to 4th in the Championship!

thecolourbox · October 2022

We (West Brom) had something of a false dawn over the weekend, by actually scoring a goal (twice!!) and generally not playing like it was a pre-season knockabout with a Sunday League side. Not sure what they can really do about the situation really - we are in a relegation battle, so we aren't going to be very attractive to any potential new manager. A very average and old squad, for whom we'd get no money if we tried to sell them, and presumably very little interest in them either. High earners as well. Parachute money runs out at the end of of this season I believe, so it's only going to get worse next year. The owner is missing and likely just a front for who really owns the club, borrowing £5m at a time from the club and not paying it back; the CEO is proving to be incompetent and just as bad as the Reading fans told us he would be.

In the season our owner took over, we finished 10th in the Premier League. We had a squad including Ben Foster, Johnny Evans, Craig Dawson, Rondon, all of whom are still or have recently been Premier league players, players like Nacer Chadli and Berahino flattered to deceive but were undoubtedly talented. Chris Brunt and Darren Fletcher both well performing players in that league. Now we are struggling in a poor championship to stay out of the bottom 3, with no players that would be sellable to raise any capital to turn it around. Our "big" signing Daryl Dike got injured in his first game for 6 months, then got injured again after kicking a ball in training, still to return.

The owner bought us for £200m and he supposedly won't sell until he can recoup that - which obviously he won't unless we got promoted, which is not going to happen. It's a rotten chicken and putrid egg situation.

If we do get relegated, unless there are clauses in the contracts of a lot of the players that they get released, we will be in big trouble as the wage bill is big even for Championship, but in League 1 it would be catastrophic. We don't get high attendances as it is but it would fall off a cliff even more if we went down, so there's no way they could sustain it. The dissatisfaction of the fans is already there, there's no singing any more and the indifferent atmosphere at the start of matches very quickly gives way to toxic booing when the opposition scores first (which they always do).

I know there are clubs who've been through it much worse than we have, though I could see us ending up in a Portsmouth type situation. But to go from an established premier league side to this is a really disappointing series of events.

swiller · October 2022

Great performance by the toon tonight. Our midfield and defence is top notch now. Forget almirons finish, one of the best team goals you will ever see for the winner. A more convincing performance than LFC vs west ham this evening, with an identical scoreline.

menamestom · October 2022

Happy with the United result tonight, even happier as I didn’t know it was in Prime and got the notification 5 minutes before it started.

Probably our best performance, definitely some progress, although Spurs were not great.

A few good stats tonight, 28 shots, the most by any team this season and 9 chances created by Bruno, which is the most by any Premier League player for over a year. That’s good because he’s been below par lately and when he plays well we usually win.

Chelsea next week, another tough test but after beating Liverpool, Arsenal and now Spurs we at least have a reasonable chance of getting something from that game as well.

TeleMaster · October 2022

swiller said:

TeleMaster said:

swiller said:

Looking forward to it too. Exciting season for my toon. Think same as last year is acceptable to fans with a settling in period for the players. But think we surprise the league a bit.
Man City
Liverpool.
Chelsea.
Arsenal.
Newcastle.
Man U.

Nah.

Reality 9-10 games in... but still stand by the above..
Arsenal
Man City
spurs??
Chelsea
Man U
Newcastle

Not a lot to criticise of NUFC atm. Stat wise, stood up to all the big boys, home and away. Only a late minute controversial defeat to liverpool in their own yard, else unbeaten. Looking forward to Isak being fit and the aussie 18 yrs old pele (Garang Kuol) starting in jan 2023.

Haha been holding on to that have you

We'll see. We'll see.

Liverpool were very lucky tonight.

mudslide73 · October 2022

thecolourbox said:

We (West Brom) had something of a false dawn over the weekend, by actually scoring a goal (twice!!) and generally not playing like it was a pre-season knockabout with a Sunday League side. Not sure what they can really do about the situation really - we are in a relegation battle, so we aren't going to be very attractive to any potential new manager. A very average and old squad, for whom we'd get no money if we tried to sell them, and presumably very little interest in them either. High earners as well. Parachute money runs out at the end of of this season I believe, so it's only going to get worse next year. The owner is missing and likely just a front for who really owns the club, borrowing £5m at a time from the club and not paying it back; the CEO is proving to be incompetent and just as bad as the Reading fans told us he would be.

In the season our owner took over, we finished 10th in the Premier League. We had a squad including Ben Foster, Johnny Evans, Craig Dawson, Rondon, all of whom are still or have recently been Premier league players, players like Nacer Chadli and Berahino flattered to deceive but were undoubtedly talented. Chris Brunt and Darren Fletcher both well performing players in that league. Now we are struggling in a poor championship to stay out of the bottom 3, with no players that would be sellable to raise any capital to turn it around. Our "big" signing Daryl Dike got injured in his first game for 6 months, then got injured again after kicking a ball in training, still to return.

The owner bought us for £200m and he supposedly won't sell until he can recoup that - which obviously he won't unless we got promoted, which is not going to happen. It's a rotten chicken and putrid egg situation.

If we do get relegated, unless there are clauses in the contracts of a lot of the players that they get released, we will be in big trouble as the wage bill is big even for Championship, but in League 1 it would be catastrophic. We don't get high attendances as it is but it would fall off a cliff even more if we went down, so there's no way they could sustain it. The dissatisfaction of the fans is already there, there's no singing any more and the indifferent atmosphere at the start of matches very quickly gives way to toxic booing when the opposition scores first (which they always do).

I know there are clubs who've been through it much worse than we have, though I could see us ending up in a Portsmouth type situation. But to go from an established premier league side to this is a really disappointing series of events.

I made the mistake of going to the game last night. The only bright spot was getting out early so we got home at a reasonable hour. They just don't seem into it atm.. comedy defending and no shots on target against Bristol City has the big R written all over it. Whoever comes in is going to be right up against it. It's all salvageable but it's a massive job.

Poboy · October 2022

swiller said:

Great performance by the toon tonight. Our midfield and defence is top notch now. Forget almirons finish, one of the best team goals you will ever see for the winner. A more convincing performance than LFC vs west ham this evening, with an identical scoreline.

Preach it bredren

guitars4you · October 2022

Well, to all you Man U fans, when was the last time that you played that well - As a neutral, there was a few games I could have watched last night on Amazon Prime and choose Man U v Spurs - As a Leeds fan I was looking forward to a good entertaining game and a Spurs win - But that was an excellent Man U performance

And you did it with 10 men as well - As Sancho was ultra poor - How can you be that bad in a team that last night was on fire - Even Bruno was like the original Bruno who first wore a Man U shirt when he arrived - None/far less of the permanent gesticulating, moaning git that makes him so despised by many other fans - He was on fire last night and his goal was class

Spurs fans - what about that game - Where you that bad or Man U that good - You offered little and delivered less - I think this season, that despite the league position that at times you've flattered to deceive both in the PL and especially in the CL - Conti has tightened up the mid field /backline so it makes it harder to be beaten, but a few games this season you have either lost or barely got the right result - Flamboyant and at your best only briefly

Man U fans - was last night a rare event, or the start of a regular feature

Finally - Why does such a legend somehow ruin it for you and take the headlines away - Self before side - That is some ego - Ten Hag obviously does not need him long term - WC on the way - I'd put him in the reserves 'till then, including all training sessions - Of course he can be miffed about spending time on the pitch, but that was not throwing the teddy out the pram, it was launching it out the pram big time - Yes a great player and will always be a legend but what an egoistical C*NT

bloodandtears · October 2022

Spurs haven't clicked all season.. the team that pushed on for a CL position earlier in the year are still on the beach it would seem.

UTD's pressing game smothered us, made us nervy.. the first goal was a deflection but it seemed to cement the mindset of defeat amongst the ranks. Conte waits far too long to change things given the visible approach by the 11 on the pitch, lazy clumsy passing, unable to maintain possession..

I'm fuming tbh..

Hattigol · October 2022

guitars4you said:

Well, to all you Man U fans, when was the last time that you played that well - As a neutral, there was a few games I could have watched last night on Amazon Prime and choose Man U v Spurs - As a Leeds fan I was looking forward to a good entertaining game and a Spurs win - But that was an excellent Man U performance

And you did it with 10 men as well - As Sancho was ultra poor - How can you be that bad in a team that last night was on fire - Even Bruno was like the original Bruno who first wore a Man U shirt when he arrived - None/far less of the permanent gesticulating, moaning git that makes him so despised by many other fans - He was on fire last night and his goal was class

Spurs fans - what about that game - Where you that bad or Man U that good - You offered little and delivered less - I think this season, that despite the league position that at times you've flattered to decieve but in the PL and especially in the CL - Conti has tightened up the mid/backline so you are harder to be beaten, but a few games you have either lost or barely got the right result - Flamboyouant and at your best only briefly

Man U fans - was last night a rare event, or the start of a regular feature

Finally - Why does such a legend somehow ruin it for you and take the headlines away - Self before side - That is some ego - Ten Hag obviously does not need him long term - WC on the way - I'd put him in the reserves 'till then, including all training sessions - Of course he can be miffed about spending time on the pitch, but that was not throwing the teddy out the pram, it was launching it out the pram big time - Yes a great player and will always be a legend but what an egoistical C*NT

Agreed, we looked great last night. Big run of games for us in Newcastle, Spurs and Chelsea - all three around us in the League. Disappointing not to win against Newcastle and I thought we had to win last night. Great team performance. Sancho was patchy but everyone played well.

Really poor from CR7. He is in danger of losing his status in the eyes of United fans. I really hope he goes in January. And I hope that he gets dropped from the squad for Saturday and fined. Completely twattish behaviour - effectively saying a win is no good as HE wasn't playing. Pathetic.

Relegation dogfight for Leeds tonight!

guitars4you · October 2022

Hattigol said:

guitars4you said:

Finally - Why does such a legend somehow ruin it for you and take the headlines away - Self before side - That is some ego - Ten Hag obviously does not need him long term - WC on the way - I'd put him in the reserves 'till then, including all training sessions - Of course he can be miffed about spending time on the pitch, but that was not throwing the teddy out the pram, it was launching it out the pram big time - Yes a great player and will always be a legend but what an egoistical C*NT

Really poor from CR7. He is in danger of losing his status in the eyes of United fans. I really hope he goes in January. And I hope that he gets dropped from the squad for Saturday and fined. Completely twattish behaviour - effectively saying a win is no good as HE wasn't playing. Pathetic.

See bold text -that sums it up

I would not fine him - he can afford it and I think the fine can only be 2 weeks wages (so £4 mill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - No I'd put him with the reserves or even the juniors until the world cup - That will hurt him more - He wants to be in key form/fitness for the WC - His last swan song at international level, so belittle him and don't let him near 'his team mates' and don't involve him for the Chelsea game at the weekend

guitars4you · October 2022

Hattigol said

Relegation dogfight for Leeds tonight!

I dare say the first of many such matches for a host of clubs in the bottom 10 - If we play like we did against Arsenal then we won't be far wrong - 4 'winnable games' in the next 6 matches so 8 points will be nice

menamestom · October 2022

I honestly don’t care about Ronaldo, whether he walks off or not. What I like is we have a Manager who is not afraid to make big decisions, whether it be not playing Ronaldo or Maguire. For too many years the players ran the club. Now they don’t, everybody is running a bit harder and playing for the team. Not saying we are world beaters but there are encouraging signs that we are becoming a team, something we’ve not been for many years.

We do miss a more clinical striker and there will be times Ronaldo would have score but we really have to move on.
He will play here and there over the next 10 games or so, but after that it’s time to part ways in January.
My worry is we will try and hold onto him until the summer as the club don’t like to buy in January and we don't have enough strikers.

RaymondLin · October 2022

Ronaldo is tainting his own legacy all by himself. His arrogance is overshadowing his humility. I understand he is fustrated not being able to play but he needs to look at the mirror and see that he isn't 17 or 27 anymore. In 1 way it is nice to see that he cares that much but I am not sure that comes from a place where he wants to help the team by playing, rather than playing for himself.

bertie · October 2022

bloodandtears said:

I'm fuming tbh..

Image: https://external-preview.redd.it/LFDvhDa4zBWFkUEutidPq8GRf4DlWrIwVa67dW8HBcU.png?auto=webp&s=3d31c70d808eff10f43c6cbf292bf07584767725

axisus · October 2022

I can see where Ronaldo is coming from, I think for him it's all about his final stats when he hangs up his boots. I'm pretty sure that he is desperate to stay in front of Messi, they are two absolute giants of the game. Unfortunately he is no longer right for Man U. I'm with Alan Brazil to be honest, he said 'so what' about Ronaldo walking off early. He said he wouldn't care if a player did that if he was in the team. I think it's a lot of hot air over nothing personally.

With a revitalised Man U and Liverpool, and Arsenal still at the top, this is proving to be an incredibly entertaining season. My money is still on City when the dust settles, but boy is it competitive so far at the top end.

joneve · October 2022

bertie said:

well at least Forest didn't lose !!

Ugly football at the minute, but is what's needed to help steady the ship. Build a foundation defensively then work on what we can do going forward. Liverpool will be the first real test since changing our defensive game plan after the Leicester game....if we can stop them from scoring and either nick one or grind out another bore draw, I won't be upset. Aim now is to get to the World Cup with as few losses as possible, then they've got 3-4 weeks to figure shit out before Boxing Day against the Mancs.

joneve · October 2022

axisus said:

Yay! Luton up to 4th in the Championship!

How's Horvath getting on between the sticks? I felt really sorry for him when he lost his place back to Samba because his flight was delayed after the international break last year and he'd only arrived back in the UK on the day of our first game back.

TeleMaster · October 2022

guitars4you said:

I would not fine him - he can afford it and I think the fine can only be 2 weeks wages (so £4 mill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

He doesn't earn £2m a week surely?

axisus · October 2022

joneve said:

axisus said:

Yay! Luton up to 4th in the Championship!

How's Horvath getting on between the sticks? I felt really sorry for him when he lost his place back to Samba because his flight was delayed after the international break last year and he'd only arrived back in the UK on the day of our first game back.

Doing great, I hope we can get a permanent deal!

guitars4you · October 2022

TeleMaster said:

guitars4you said:

I would not fine him - he can afford it and I think the fine can only be 2 weeks wages (so £4 mill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

He doesn't earn £2m a week surely?

sorry - tongue in cheek - Around £400K I believe - But my point stands on no fine - They can afford it and laugh it off - Put him back in his place and humiliate him - Show him the same respect he did to his team mates last night who put on probably the best Man U performance in over a decade or more

joneve · October 2022

axisus said:

joneve said:

axisus said:

Yay! Luton up to 4th in the Championship!

How's Horvath getting on between the sticks? I felt really sorry for him when he lost his place back to Samba because his flight was delayed after the international break last year and he'd only arrived back in the UK on the day of our first game back.

Doing great, I hope we can get a permanent deal!

I'd happily have him back next season as our starting keeper if we don't stay up and Henderson's price tag is silly.

scrumhalf · October 2022

As a Spurs fan I have to say that we were terrible last night. We had free kicks in Utd's half and straight away the ball went backwards. A lack of ambition hampered ys and had it not been for Hugo we may well have conceded half a dozen.

We change the manager, the players, even the bloody stadium and still this mental block in big games rears its head and we arse things up.

guitars4you · October 2022

scrumhalf said:

As a Spurs fan I have to say that we were terrible last night. We had free kicks in Utd's half and straight away the ball went backwards. A lack of ambition hampered ys and had it not been for Hugo we may well have conceded half a dozen.

We change the manager, the players, even the bloody stadium and still this mental block in big games rears its head and we arse things up.

Yes Hugo was awesome last night - Might well have earned MOM last night - Not sure who got it but guess Bruno

RaymondLin · October 2022

I notice Conte plays hugely differently depending on the team he is up against, which is expected but i didn't think Spurs would be so negative last night against United, against City, sure but not United who are still in transition. They didn't try to play at all. Hardly had any possession, was just defending all game. They are better than that.

axisus · October 2022

RaymondLin said:

I notice Conte plays hugely differently depending on the team he is up against, which is expected but i didn't think Spurs would be so negative last night against United, against City, sure but not United who are still in transition. They didn't try to play at all. Hardly had any possession, was just defending all game. They are better than that.

That's the trouble with Conte, overall he gets results but the football can be boring. If I was a Spurs fan I'd want Potch back.

Hattigol · October 2022

guitars4you said:

scrumhalf said:

As a Spurs fan I have to say that we were terrible last night. We had free kicks in Utd's half and straight away the ball went backwards. A lack of ambition hampered ys and had it not been for Hugo we may well have conceded half a dozen.

We change the manager, the players, even the bloody stadium and still this mental block in big games rears its head and we arse things up.

Yes Hugo was awesome last night - Might well have earned MOM last night - Not sure who got it but guess Bruno

It's not thar difficult when you've got Rashford shooting at you. He doesn't seem to realise that you ideally need to hit it to the side of the keeper rather than straight at them.

Hattigol · October 2022

Ronaldo not in the squad for Chelsea game.

Great move. Needed doing.

TeleMaster · October 2022

guitars4you said:

TeleMaster said:

guitars4you said:

I would not fine him - he can afford it and I think the fine can only be 2 weeks wages (so £4 mill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

He doesn't earn £2m a week surely?

sorry - tongue in cheek - Around £400K I believe - But my point stands on no fine - They can afford it and laugh it off - Put him back in his place and humiliate him - Show him the same respect he did to his team mates last night who put on probably the best Man U performance in over a decade or more

Haha sorry missed that. Yes absolutely agree.

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