Football 2024/25

[thetime]

1 hour ago, kaosmark2 said:

Absolutely it'd be a bad choice. Think of how often you talk about the problems at Man U and how there's short-term signings with no long-term vision. Mourinho would bring all of that, and I don't think he's any likelier to bring a trophy.

 

I was thinking more in the line of exposure it would bring. 

 

Also the level of trophies Jose is still doing well at, is perhaps what Newcastle should be aiming at. Won the Conference and a final in the Europa with Roma, also winning the Europa at United. 

 

Winning the Carabao with utd, getting to the final with spurs(sacked few days before). 

 

 

[charlierc]

4 hours ago, thetime said:

 

I was thinking more in the line of exposure it would bring. 

 

Also the level of trophies Jose is still doing well at, is perhaps what Newcastle should be aiming at. Won the Conference and a final in the Europa with Roma, also winning the Europa at United. 

 

Winning the Carabao with utd, getting to the final with spurs(sacked few days before). 

 

 

I'm not sure the exposure is really what we need tbh. I mean, we're a Premier League side so by default are competing in the most watched league in world football and it's richest, with one of the noisiest and most permanently online fanbases in English football. Plus Mourinho's abrasive personality and increasingly out-of-it tactics don't seem like we we want. I know he won stuff at Roma, but they clearly didn't see that as enough to counterbalance two P6 finishes in Serie A for a team that was among it's biggest spenders.

 

To this point...

 

8 hours ago, thetime said:

At the minute Newcastle are in the batch of teams that could finish 5th or 10th. Which isn't a million miles away from Ashley midtable finishes under bruce and rafa, with spending no money.  

... It's not quite the same. Between Ashley taking over in 2007 and leaving in 2021, we managed just three top half finishes in the PL, and none in back-to-back seasons. Even just getting a third top half finish in a row, as bad as it sounds, is still progress.

 

But even then, I think we are still capable of fighting at the top level in the PL. At the risk of reducing it all to week-by-week stuff, we've won games this season against teams we're competing for the European places with and were only a few missed opportunities away from beating Brighton, Man City and Everton. Beat Forest tomorrow and we'd only be a point off a team that has admittedly made a remarkable start (come on Manager of the Month curse).

 

I think we're handicapped a little by recruitment choices and an odd attempt earlier this season to play slower, but the gloom has lifted a little after a sense of ennui a few weeks back. So I don't think we're necessarily out of the count yet. I know the Champions League season was right place right time, but you could argue it also was for Aston Villa last season and they still seem happy to be on an upwards trajectory.

[thetime]

22 minutes ago, charlierc said:

I'm not sure the exposure is really what we need tbh. I mean, we're a Premier League side so by default are competing in the most watched league in world football and it's richest, with one of the noisiest and most permanently online fanbases in English football. Plus Mourinho's abrasive personality and increasingly out-of-it tactics don't seem like we we want. I know he won stuff at Roma, but they clearly didn't see that as enough to counterbalance two P6 finishes in Serie A for a team that was among it's biggest spenders.

 

 

 

I don't think having a noisy and online presence will attract the required level of player to be honest. 

 

That will take a big name manager with a big reputation, like keegan in the 90s. Newcastle will always struggle to attract the players, compared to a London and Manchester. 

 

The good ones will also be picked off, like Isak and Bruno for example. Will they take the odd European adventure, when they can go to teams that can compete. 

 

Whenever Howe is sacked, I don't think it's imminent. Like you say a win or 2 more you will be in top 6 or 7. Likewise couple of defeats it will be the bottom 6 or 7. 

 

Very tight around 3rd and 12th. 

[thetime]

Here I am on the graveyard shift at work, looking at villa stats.

 

They seem to have fallen off pretty quickly. Only 1 league win since September and 4 straight defeats in all competitions. 

[charlierc]

11 hours ago, thetime said:

That will take a big name manager with a big reputation, like keegan in the 90s. Newcastle will always struggle to attract the players, compared to a London and Manchester. 

The Keegan case was different - that was his first job as a manager, coming 8 years (I think?) after he retired as a player, ironically after a final 2 years playing for Newcastle. But it unquestionably had its perks if he could assemble the team that should've won the 95/96 title and then helped persuade Shearer to pick Newcastle over a good 5/6 other offers.

6 hours ago, thetime said:

Here I am on the graveyard shift at work, looking at villa stats.

 

They seem to have fallen off pretty quickly. Only 1 league win since September and 4 straight defeats in all competitions. 

It is helping me see parallels tbf. Last season, what happened with Newcastle is the Champions League added to our workload to create a player selection crisis, both in terms of injuries and people having to play more games than ideal due to the alternatives all being unavailable. We seemed to have 10+ players injured for most of the way after about late October/early November, and to nearly get a top 6 finish was still ok despite the sense a fitter squad could've done better.

 

But squads that aren't ready for Europe tend to have their problems. There's been lots of teams qualify for Europe, underestimate the physical exertions of all the extra games (something exacerbated this season with the Champions and Europa Leagues having more games) and struggle. Villa had started well enough but it is starting to seize up, even with the bizarre penalty that saw them lost in the Champions League.

 

Indeed, we're seeing it elsewhere - injuries have gummed up Arsenal's momentum and judging by 4 straight defeats, Manchester City's isn't going much better.

[kaosmark2]

14 hours ago, thetime said:

 

I don't think having a noisy and online presence will attract the required level of player to be honest. 

 

That will take a big name manager with a big reputation, like keegan in the 90s. Newcastle will always struggle to attract the players, compared to a London and Manchester. 

 

The good ones will also be picked off, like Isak and Bruno for example. Will they take the odd European adventure, when they can go to teams that can compete. 

 

Whenever Howe is sacked, I don't think it's imminent. Like you say a win or 2 more you will be in top 6 or 7. Likewise couple of defeats it will be the bottom 6 or 7. 

 

Very tight around 3rd and 12th. 

I mean, they haven't been picked off yet, what's needed is a good scouting network to keep trying to find good players like them. It's part of why I'm so salty about selling Minteh and spending all summer fruitlessly chasing Guehi.

[charlierc]

48 minutes ago, kaosmark2 said:

I mean, they haven't been picked off yet, what's needed is a good scouting network to keep trying to find good players like them. It's part of why I'm so salty about selling Minteh and spending all summer fruitlessly chasing Guehi.

Not sure if he'd be worth another go now given Guehi has looked off it with Crystal Palace's iffy start.

 

Though it makes me think Joachim Andersen might've been worth a go given Palace sold him for less than half what they wanted for Guehi and he's looked pretty good so far this season at Fulham.

Edited November 10, 2024 by charlierc

[kaosmark2]

50 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Not sure if he'd be worth another go now given Guehi has looked off it with Crystal Palace's iffy start.

 

Though it makes me think Joachim Andersen might've been worth a go given Palace sold him for less than half what they wanted for Guehi and he's looked pretty good so far this season at Fulham.

Depends how much his price has dropped with Palace's poor form and his contract running down.

[charlierc]

Well, all the talk of Newcastle and us dominating the chat, so let's carry on. Good win today at Forest, particularly with a good second half and not getting too down about being behind at the break.

[thetime]

21 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Well, all the talk of Newcastle and us dominating the chat, so let's carry on. Good win today at Forest, particularly with a good second half and not getting too down about being behind at the break.

 

Crazy league this season, how on earth utd are 4 points of 3rd is a bit crazy. 

[charlierc]

19 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Crazy league this season, how on earth utd are 4 points of 3rd is a bit crazy. 

Everyone's taking points off of one another. Does make you think a European place will very much be up for grabs for anyone that can get a half-decent run together.

[thetime]

9 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Everyone's taking points off of one another. Does make you think a European place will very much be up for grabs for anyone that can get a half-decent run together.

 

Yeah it's like we discussed yesterday, couple of wins/defeats you could be in top 6 or 12th/13th.

 

 

[kaosmark2]

The Christmas run will be big. I think a lot of the teams that are up there but aren't in Europe will struggle in that, it's a period where 2-3 injuries can chain into the whole squad getting tired.

[pink_triangle]

3 hours ago, thetime said:

 

Crazy league this season, how on earth utd are 4 points of 3rd is a bit crazy. 

It’s amazing Liverpool are top with a buffer, having changed manager and using the same squad as last season. They haven’t been spectacular, but they are getting the job done.

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, kaosmark2 said:

The Christmas run will be big. I think a lot of the teams that are up there but aren't in Europe will struggle in that, it's a period where 2-3 injuries can chain into the whole squad getting tired.

Feels like we could be in a cycle going forward where extra European games wears out anyone who has to play the extra games.

 

Unless you're Chelsea and have so many players you can create a league team and cup team and make 11 changes for each game, apparently.

[pink_triangle]

34 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Feels like we could be in a cycle going forward where extra European games wears out anyone who has to play the extra games.

 

Unless you're Chelsea and have so many players you can create a league team and cup team and make 11 changes for each game, apparently.

Looking at the teams in the conference league, Chelsea would really have to mess up to not win that this season.

[Gnomicide]

David Coote has a few interesting days ahead of him.

[charlierc]

21 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

Looking at the teams in the conference league, Chelsea would really have to mess up to not win that this season.

Tbf no English club has won it yet despite them being at the top end of names you'd expect to challenge for it. Spurs I think really should've done better when they competing in it a few years back.

 

But yeah with the budget and player quality, they've absolutely done something wrong if they don't win it.

[charlierc]

4 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

David Coote has a few interesting days ahead of him.

What's particularly something was that apparently there's a second video where he said not to publish the first one and somebody goes “He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not ruin a bloke’s career. We’re not that bad.”

 

And yet here we are with Coote suspended and a lot of people who insist PL refs are biased getting the early Christmas present.

[Gnomicide]

22 minutes ago, charlierc said:

What's particularly something was that apparently there's a second video where he said not to publish the first one and somebody goes “He’s a Premier League referee, let’s not ruin a bloke’s career. We’re not that bad.”

 

And yet here we are with Coote suspended and a lot of people who insist PL refs are biased getting the early Christmas present.

 

2nd one on this 👆

 

[charlierc]

Gary Lineker: BBC Match of the Day host to leave at end of season - BBC News

 

So according to the BBC themselves, Lineker would leave Match of the Day's usual highlights show at the end of the season but stay on as an FA Cup presenter for 25/26 and the 2026 World Cup, then leave.

 

For all that I know a few will bring his outspoken politics into this, by the end of that World Cup he'll be 65 having been a BBC broadcaster for nearly 30 years. If there's a mutual agreement now is the time for retirement, think he's earned it tbh.

[Crazyfool01]

4 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Gary Lineker: BBC Match of the Day host to leave at end of season - BBC News

 

So according to the BBC themselves, Lineker would leave Match of the Day's usual highlights show at the end of the season but stay on as an FA Cup presenter for 25/26 and the 2026 World Cup, then leave.

 

For all that I know a few will bring his outspoken politics into this, by the end of that World Cup he'll be 65 having been a BBC broadcaster for nearly 30 years. If there's a mutual agreement now is the time for retirement, think he's earned it tbh.

Really like the fella … got his autograph once when he played cricket for Somerset as a guest … or maybe he was against them … anyway sad times I hope he wasn’t driven out because of his left leaning politics appears not but who knows with a board stacked with tories . Anyway he can voice stuff freely now without the dickheads attaching his job to bbc 

[pink_triangle]

I put it in the general news thread, while I think Lineker is good at his job, I think his salary is too high considering it is a public broadcaster. Nobody stops watching big football matches because of a change of presenter. I personally think ITV coverage is now better than bbc.

[#1SzigetFan]

6 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

David Coote has a few interesting days ahead of him.

 

I'm pretty damn sure this wouldn't have been overturned for a foul & red card if Nunez didn't score.

 

[Crazyfool01]

29 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

I put it in the general news thread, while I think Lineker is good at his job, I think his salary is too high considering it is a public broadcaster. Nobody stops watching big football matches because of a change of presenter. I personally think ITV coverage is now better than bbc.

Don’t think there’s a presenter that’s anything like as good as him … loads of dross about . Match of the day will lose viewers in my opinion … will see how it pans out … bbc is losing quality generally … few sport programmes , natural history and Glastonbury are the things they still do well . But having gibb and co on the board losing quality and impartiality is just what they want so they can run it into the ground