The Football Thread.

TTony · March 2023

Teetonetal said:

Conte gone,

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64168691

Can't imagine anyone is surprised.

Surprising that his assistant (Stellini) is staying on - I'd expected his whole team to be leaving too.

Looks like it's just Conte who's gone, with the rest staying, which obviously helps avoid complete chaos for the rest of the season - and removes the negativity of Conte.

Considerably improved the odds of a top4 finish.

axisus · March 2023

Tough decision for Kane going forward. Does he stick with his beloved club and maybe never win anything, or head elsewhere and have a better chance of glory. I hope he comes to Man U personally! (but I do like to see a player loyal to his club)

TTony · March 2023

axisus said:

Tough decision for Kane going forward. Does he stick with his beloved club and maybe never win anything, or head elsewhere and have a better chance of glory. I hope he comes to Man U personally! (but I do like to see a player loyal to his club)

In the last 5 years, Spurs have won, err, nothing. OK, fair enough.

Whereas, in the last 5 years, ManU have won, err, the League Cup.

Spurs have been closer to "glory" (PL placings and CL runners up) than ManU in that period. So, I'd not really see ManU as offering that better chance to fill HK's trophy cabinet.

tony99 · March 2023

Toffees could do with a striker,

guitars4you · March 2023

TTony said:

axisus said:

Tough decision for Kane going forward. Does he stick with his beloved club and maybe never win anything, or head elsewhere and have a better chance of glory. I hope he comes to Man U personally! (but I do like to see a player loyal to his club)

In the last 5 years, Spurs have won, err, nothing. OK, fair enough.

Whereas, in the last 5 years, ManU have won, err, the League Cup.

Spurs have been closer to "glory" (PL placings and CL runners up) than ManU in that period. So, I'd not really see ManU as offering that better chance to fill HK's trophy cabinet.

Would agree with the above - But where would you place your bet for the next 5 years - Take into account part of that period, for Spurs, under Poch' was their finest period, on the pitch, for many many years and yet still 'err nothing'

Both Spurs and Arsenal blew their best chance when they allowed Leicester (deservedly) to win the PL - Arsenal still had Wenger at the helm - If I recall all other contenders were under new management and maybe trying to re-build

TTony · March 2023

guitars4you said:

Would agree with the above - But where would you place your bet for the next 5 years

Way too much uncertainty for me to think about any bets, other than one based purely on blinkered fandom!

ManC - what happens if/when they fail to win the CL again and Pep moves on?
ManU - new owners incoming, maybe, or maybe Glazers won't move on. You could argue that ETH has made an impressive start, or you could say that he's just got the existing players performing to par given their individual costs/abilities.
Chelsea - surely they'll have to start firing sometime soon, unless owners spend another £500m on another random selection of superstars and hope the mix works better next time.
Arsenal - think they could be on the brink of another "era", pains me to say, but congrats for having the confidence in a young manager and a young squad. Shows what can happen if you build carefully rather than scattergun spend.
Liverpool - surely they have too many good players *not* to get back in the game, but with/without Klopp?
Newcastle - they've appeared out of nowhere and show what wise spending (hello Chelsea) can achieve.
Others? - Newcastle show what a takeover and bit of investment can achieve - another sleeping giant could do the same. Or there could be another Leicester.
Leeds - OK, that'd be stretching things a bit far

Point is, there is no one (or two) dominant club (s) as there are in other leagues who can be confidently predicted to win, year-in, year-out.

Teetonetal · March 2023

I think a lot of this depends on what you want how you want to be able to define your career when you retire.

If all that matters is trophies, then Kane should really look elsewhere, but I honestly don't know which club would fit him the best and also which team would be happy to modify enough to ensure they get the best out of him. Of all the teams, I think Man Utd might be the best fit... but they still have a lot of issues to solve.

I'd love for him to stay at Spurs and win something. Football in general needs these stories and players where the club means more than the money or trophies.

TTony · March 2023

Teetonetal said:

If all that matters is trophies, then Kane should really look elsewhere,

To be fair, I think he would (and should) have looked elsewhere a few years ago if that was his main priority.

My guess is that his focus now is the PL all-time scoring record. To do that, he needs to be playing regularly in a team that is designed around him. Neither would happen at any other club, with the possible exception of Newcastle.

He then retires with;

Club all-time record goalscorer
England all-time record goalscorer
PL all-time record goalscorer

Other players will retire with more annual trinkets, but who remembers who won this or that 5 years ago? Club fans may remember what their side won, when, but few will be able to name the squad who won any of them.

Kane's records will persist for years, decades. He may well be the only player ever who'll ever achieve the hat-trick.

guitars4you · March 2023

Teetonetal said:

I think a lot of this depends on what you want how you want to be able to define your career when you retire.

If all that matters is trophies, then Kane should really look elsewhere, but I honestly don't know which club would fit him the best and also which team would be happy to modify enough to ensure they get the best out of him. Of all the teams, I think Man Utd might be the best fit... but they still have a lot of issues to solve.

I'd love for him to stay at Spurs and win something. Football in general needs these stories and players where the club means more than the money or trophies.

Agree - He has hinted recently, after becoming the leading English goal scorer, that he wants to be the leading PL scorer - If so then he has few options - Stay at Spurs or move to Man U - Can't see him going to Arsenal or Chelsea - City have Harland (for now) - Agree that as of today, then Man U, with Ten Hag at the realm, would be a strong option - Easy to say he won't be allowed to go to Arsenal or Chelsea, but with little time left on his existing contract then Levy may well have no influence on this - But I don't see Harry feeling it would be the right move regarding loyalty/honour

Another chat for another day but why are so many clubs and countries struggling to find a goal scoring #9

Rocker · March 2023

guitars4you said:

Another chat for another day but why are so many clubs and countries struggling to find a goal scoring #9

I don’t think fans are all that concerned what number is on the goal scorers shirt as long as goals are being scored.

Philly_Q · March 2023

guitars4you said:
Agree - He has hinted recently, after becoming the leading English goal scorer, that he wants to be the leading PL scorer - If so then he has few options - Stay at Spurs or move to Man U - Can't see him going to Arsenal or Chelsea - City have Harland (for now) - Agree that as of today, then Man U, with Ten Hag at the realm, would be a strong option -

You can guarantee if he went to Chelsea he would never score a goal again, look at their track record of "killing" strikers - Shevchenko, Torres, Lukaku, Morata, Falcao... all scored shitloads of goals elsewhere, dropped off a cliff at Chelsea. I might have included Aubameyang, but he weas already shit before he went to Chelsea.

axisus · March 2023

TTony said:

axisus said:

Tough decision for Kane going forward. Does he stick with his beloved club and maybe never win anything, or head elsewhere and have a better chance of glory. I hope he comes to Man U personally! (but I do like to see a player loyal to his club)

In the last 5 years, Spurs have won, err, nothing. OK, fair enough.

Whereas, in the last 5 years, ManU have won, err, the League Cup.

Spurs have been closer to "glory" (PL placings and CL runners up) than ManU in that period. So, I'd not really see ManU as offering that better chance to fill HK's trophy cabinet.

Winning a trophy this year puts Man U streets ahead of Spurs I'm afraid! Plus they won the Europa league 6 years ago.

Man U have finally hit the right manager after 10 years in the wilderness, but they have still won 12 trophies since Spurs last one. I don't think that many neutrals would deny they would be a better bet for Kane to win stuff.

guitars4you · March 2023

Ref H Kane - I suppose it is how he feels and what he wants - But if he became the greatest PL goal scorer and remained at Spurs then that is an honour that is unique to him and he can walk tall and proud with that fact and that record - Yes it could be broken one day

TTony · March 2023

axisus said:

Winning a trophy this year puts Man U streets ahead of Spurs I'm afraid! Plus they won the Europa league 6 years ago.

Man U have finally hit the right manager after 10 years in the wilderness, but they have still won 12 trophies since Spurs last one. I don't think that many neutrals would deny they would be a better bet for Kane to win stuff.

TBH, I'd completely forgotten that ManU had won the Carabao Cup this year (what is a ""Carabao"?) !

But the fact that a ManU fan has to point to winning 2 second-rate competitions in 6 years as evidence of success highlights - to me - how far they've fallen in the last 5-10 years.

I used to think of ManU as serious PL/CL contenders every year. Maybe they'll get back there again, but seems like they've gone backwards when a lot of other clubs have reinvented themselves with their foreign money and gone a long way forwards.

Even the other Manchester club (no, not Salford) aren't guaranteed of success in a season, and they've probably reinvented themselves more than any other club in that period.

bloodandtears · March 2023

Carabao is the drink company from Asia that sponsors the trophy.

Kane will stay, he loves the place, King of his Castle, only place he can safely guarantee a starting place and a team to serve him alone.

Conte must be on garden leave, hence Stellini still around, thus no compensation being paid out.

axisus · March 2023

TTony said:

axisus said:

Winning a trophy this year puts Man U streets ahead of Spurs I'm afraid! Plus they won the Europa league 6 years ago.

Man U have finally hit the right manager after 10 years in the wilderness, but they have still won 12 trophies since Spurs last one. I don't think that many neutrals would deny they would be a better bet for Kane to win stuff.

TBH, I'd completely forgotten that ManU had won the Carabao Cup this year (what is a ""Carabao"?) !

But the fact that a ManU fan has to point to winning 2 second-rate competitions in 6 years as evidence of success highlights - to me - how far they've fallen in the last 5-10 years.

I used to think of ManU as serious PL/CL contenders every year. Maybe they'll get back there again, but seems like they've gone backwards when a lot of other clubs have reinvented themselves with their foreign money and gone a long way forwards.

Even the other Manchester club (no, not Salford) aren't guaranteed of success in a season, and they've probably reinvented themselves more than any other club in that period.

I can't deny a dismal decade, but the Man U star is definitely ascending at present. It will take time to see where they get to but they are on the move, unlike Spurs who have spent decades looking for that missing something.

CHRISB50 · March 2023

Image: https://i.insider.com/612902dd12b9cc0019632003?width=1136&format=jpeg

CHRISB50 · March 2023

Under the lights tonight.

Dorking v Southend. Can’t wait. Just hope it stops raining.

Won 3-1 v Maidenhead at the weekend. “We’re winning 3-1, you must be shit!” Lol.

TTony · March 2023

If the handbags were directed at me & Jon @ChrisB50 - I think you've read an argument where there isn't one

steamabacus · March 2023

I don't normally post in Off Topic but I just had to share this with the fellow Spurs fans on here ...

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/mar/28/antonio-conte-jose-mourinho-daniel-levy-tottenham

Actually had me properly 'laughing out loud'.

axisus · March 2023

TTony said:

If the handbags were directed at me & Jon @ChrisB50 - I think you've read an argument where there isn't one

Indeed, merely a perfectly genial chat.

TTony · March 2023

axisus said:

TTony said:

If the handbags were directed at me & Jon @ChrisB50 - I think you've read an argument where there isn't one

Indeed, merely a perfectly genial chat.

Don't you call be a "genial" ... that's fighting talk ...

CHRISB50 · March 2023

TTony said:

If the handbags were directed at me & Jon @ChrisB50 - I think you've read an argument where there isn't one

Joshing chief.

mikeyrob73 · March 2023

Wow some result for Scotland and some performance. Both full backs tremendous ,Scott MacT and McGinn excellent , Dykes did what he had to do.

Amazing.

ewal · March 2023

Yep. Having McTominay and Tierney fresh and rested seems to have played to our advantage in this round of matches. Great start and good to see squad depth increase.

UnclePsychosis · March 2023

ewal said:

Yep. Having McTominay and Tierney fresh and rested seems to have played to our advantage in this round of matches. Great start and good to see squad depth increase.

https://twitter.com/cfalconermedia/status/1640771054887903243

axisus · March 2023

Superb Scotland result! Quite amazing. I'd love to see them get into some kind of golden era.

guitars4you · March 2023

Tottenham's Managing Director, Paratici, enjoying the benefits of working for Juventus, FIFA just extended his ban to be worldwide, so that's his job at Tottenham down the swanny. I guess Daniel Levy is going to have to find a new Managing Director, as well as a new manager.

So now we can see what the problem is/was at Spurs - Conte wanted some Italian creativity - Levy found it in the boardroom, with a wizard of an accountant, but not in the heart of midfield

TTony · March 2023

The worldwide ban has been on the cards for a while, so it's no big surprise.

As Paratici was instrumental in appointing Nuno, and then Conte, as managers, I'm hoping that his ban now means we'll avoid a 3-in-a-row situation ....

He was also (supposedly) against the re-appointment of Poch, and was Conte's last supporter in the Boardroom. So I'm not too disappointed if he now exits, stage left.

guitars4you · March 2023

TTony said:

The worldwide ban has been on the cards for a while, so it's no big surprise.

As Paratici was instrumental in appointing Nuno, and then Conte, as managers, I'm hoping that his ban now means we'll avoid a 3-in-a-row situation ....

He was also (supposedly) against the re-appointment of Poch, and was Conte's last supporter in the Boardroom. So I'm not too disappointed if he now exits, stage left.

More interesting how they get their next job - Imagine the job interview

Who was your previous employer - Why did you leave and what happened there

Mind you, a bit of creative accountancy is nothing in Italian sport, let alone life - Look at the Calciopoli scandal - again involving Juventus, amongst others

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