Football 2024/25

[Comfy Bean]

14 hours ago, thetime said:

 

Only Busby and fergie have won titles at utd since 1910. 

I was already aware of this stat but it’s still bonkers to read it !

[Comfy Bean]

14 hours ago, thetime said:

 

How many on this forum support there home team? I doubt it's many.

🙋‍♂️

[thetime]

7 hours ago, Comfy Bean said:

I was already aware of this stat but it’s still bonkers to read it !

 

Even factoring in Busby and Fergies 52 years managing utd, that is still one hell of a gap. 

[pink_triangle]

On 12/03/2025 at 09:16, thetime said:

 

How many on this forum support there home team? I doubt it's many.

I do!

[balti-pie]

I can never decide how i feel about Real Madrid. On one hand they're financially supported to disgustingly corrupt levels, and have been for decades - and were the public face of fascism via General Franco - the original sportswashers for despotic regimes. They're a sickening bunch of arseholes. They've even got the Royal seal, which makes them even more dislikeable! 

 

But they just keep winning. They dont know how to lose. They always squeak through, whether by superior means or by absolute flukes - if there's a crumb of luck to be had, they're on it instantly. Despite hating them and their ubiquity i just cant help but respect their absolute durability. They're the cockroaches of european football, they will never die. You stamp and you stamp, and they just get up and win on penalties. Thats quite some pact they've made with the devil. 

[charlierc]

6 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

I can never decide how i feel about Real Madrid. On one hand they're financially supported to disgustingly corrupt levels, and have been for decades - and were the public face of fascism via General Franco - the original sportswashers for despotic regimes. They're a sickening bunch of arseholes. They've even got the Royal seal, which makes them even more dislikeable! 

 

But they just keep winning. They dont know how to lose. They always squeak through, whether by superior means or by absolute flukes - if there's a crumb of luck to be had, they're on it instantly. Despite hating them and their ubiquity i just cant help but respect their absolute durability. They're the cockroaches of european football, they will never die. You stamp and you stamp, and they just get up and win on penalties. Thats quite some pact they've made with the devil. 

I was London on the day of the Champions League final last year and they brought so so many fans with them. Like even more Real shirts than I've seen on two visits to Madrid itself.

 

That case last night with VAR disallowing Alvarez's penalty is unique. I know the rule - Fulham once had a spot-kick chalked off at Newcastle because Mitrovic inadvertently did that. But it's really quite something and not going to help with the "Boo refs help Madrid!" stuff.

 

It certainly makes things a challenge for Arsenal to try to beat that. And that even before the fact Arsenal presently don't have strikers.

[balti-pie]

Evil vs Evil. I'll not be watching even a single second of that 😄 i want nothing but an outbreak of snapped ACLs among the players. And the crowd. Kneecaps everywhere! 

[Crazyfool01]

still cant see the evidence of the 2 touches .... or the ball moving .... weird for me that 

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

I was London on the day of the Champions League final last year and they brought so so many fans with them. Like even more Real shirts than I've seen on two visits to Madrid itself.

 

That case last night with VAR disallowing Alvarez's penalty is unique. I know the rule - Fulham once had a spot-kick chalked off at Newcastle because Mitrovic inadvertently did that. But it's really quite something and not going to help with the "Boo refs help Madrid!" stuff.

 

It certainly makes things a challenge for Arsenal to try to beat that. And that even before the fact Arsenal presently don't have strikers.

To me it's bad VAR because it's not a "clear and obvious error". I can see how it's thought that happened but it wasn't clearly visible, at least from the angles I saw.

 

And I wonder if that happens if it were from the other Madrid...

Edited March 13, 2025 by kaosmark2

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, balti-pie said:

I can never decide how i feel about Real Madrid. On one hand they're financially supported to disgustingly corrupt levels, and have been for decades - and were the public face of fascism via General Franco - the original sportswashers for despotic regimes. They're a sickening bunch of arseholes. They've even got the Royal seal, which makes them even more dislikeable! 

 

But they just keep winning. They dont know how to lose. They always squeak through, whether by superior means or by absolute flukes - if there's a crumb of luck to be had, they're on it instantly. Despite hating them and their ubiquity i just cant help but respect their absolute durability. They're the cockroaches of european football, they will never die. You stamp and you stamp, and they just get up and win on penalties. Thats quite some pact they've made with the devil. 

My feelings are that I like Ancellotti, and I like the football, but because they're the original face of sportswashing, I thoroughly enjoy when they lose.

 

I basically always enjoy an upset, but I do prefer when winning teams play exciting and attacking football. I realise a lot of it comes from money (which always comes from dubious places), but I do think this current iteration of Real are quite watchable.

[charlierc]

6 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

To me it's bad VAR because it's not a "clear and obvious error". I can see how it's thought that happened but it wasn't clearly visible, at least from the angles I saw.

 

And I wonder if that happens if it were from the other Madrid...

I understand the rule - Mitrovic had one disallowed in a Newcastle v Fulham game two years ago because he slipped while taking it and hit it against the other foot from the one he kicked with. With this one, however, it's very subtle at best if Alvarez's left foot touches the ball before striking it with his right. Feels curious that Bellingham and Mbappe were saying straight away it was a definite double touch when they could barely see it.

 

If it had just gone over the bar, maybe that would've saved everyone the aggro.

[charlierc]

On 11/03/2025 at 20:40, charlierc said:

I'm aware Newcastle are in a position of having this discussion, given our overlords seemingly can't decide whether to renovate SJP or try to revive the old Shepherd/Hall idea of building a mega-stadium in the park round the back. It would be sad to move out of our strange lopsided ground, even if parts of it that date back to the 80s would probably need a spruce up before long anyway. Though I get the feeling some of our fans will just back whatever it is they decide to do, such is the blind faith some have.

 

Sure enough, the Daily Mail are claiming the Toon's overlords do want to bring back the idea of a mega-stadium in the park behind St James, even claiming of a "bubble wrap" outside similar to Bayern Munich's stadium.

 

Guess we'll see how obstinate local planning rules are with the idea.

 

Also, going from the currently 52k St James' to a new 65,000 stadium feels on the slight side from an upgraded new venue imo. Thought they might try 70k. Even if that would look quite sparse if we ever went back to a success-free period with a 35-40k maximum at best crowd.

Edited March 13, 2025 by charlierc

[thetimenew]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

 if we ever went back to a success-free period with a 35-40k maximum at best crowd.

 

Success free? Newcastle? Success? 

 

🤣

[charlierc]

1 minute ago, thetimenew said:

 

Success free? Newcastle? Success? 

 

🤣

... point taken. Pending Sunday ofc.

 

Was thinking more of the time when Newcastle regularly had sub-20k crowds while stranded in what's now the Championship in the late 80s.

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

I understand the rule - Mitrovic had one disallowed in a Newcastle v Fulham game two years ago because he slipped while taking it and hit it against the other foot from the one he kicked with. With this one, however, it's very subtle at best if Alvarez's left foot touches the ball before striking it with his right. Feels curious that Bellingham and Mbappe were saying straight away it was a definite double touch when they could barely see it.

 

If it had just gone over the bar, maybe that would've saved everyone the aggro.

Yeah, it's not the rule that I don't get, it's how they're 100% that it was a clear and obvious error. To me it's a hard-to-see and awkward maybe.

[charlierc]

Jordan Henderson is back in the England squad eh? What a time to be alive.

[Ben7amin_]

Just now, charlierc said:

Jordan Henderson is back in the England squad eh? What a time to be alive.

 

I think he tried to write Morgan Gibbs White or Connor Gallagher and forgot - what they were called and accidently wrote Henderson thats all I can think.

 

cant believe Braithwaite & Spence missed out -  hoping for a new era in England foorball - its not the start I was hoping for. 

[charlierc]

23 hours ago, Ben7amin_ said:

 

I think he tried to write Morgan Gibbs White or Connor Gallagher and forgot - what they were called and accidently wrote Henderson thats all I can think.

 

cant believe Braithwaite & Spence missed out -  hoping for a new era in England foorball - its not the start I was hoping for. 

Guess Henderson's much-vaulted leadership qualities, whatever they are, means he must be seen as a handy option, kinda almost like a player-coach option as much as anything else.

 

Spence has done pretty well tbf and I'm surprised Kyle Walker is getting a nod given how much his form fell apart before he left Man City in January.

[pink_triangle]

There are a lot of tiresome discussions in football, but whether the England manager sings the national anthem is near the top of the list for me.

[charlierc]

32 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

There are a lot of tiresome discussions in football, but whether the England manager sings the national anthem is near the top of the list for me.

I thought Tuchel's response to say he has to earn the right to sing it was quite a neat and measured take on it.

 

But yeah, it feels like a "serve the audience the outrage they know they want" move to go on about it.

[pink_triangle]

31 minutes ago, charlierc said:

I thought Tuchel's response to say he has to earn the right to sing it was quite a neat and measured take on it.

 

But yeah, it feels like a "serve the audience the outrage they know they want" move to go on about it.

I wonder if it goes on in other countries. As a Wales fan I couldn’t care less who sings the anthem.

[Blisterpack]

On 15/03/2025 at 11:22, pink_triangle said:

There are a lot of tiresome discussions in football, but whether the England manager sings the national anthem is near the top of the list for me.

Nearly as tedious as Kopites from down south booing it cos they are scouse not English or something. 

[Skip997]

Shocking keeping. I would have saved that 

[pink_triangle]

Newcastle miles better team first half.

[thetimenew]

Liverpool will no doubt get a pen to get them back in it.