Football 2025-26

[rock_on]

Looks like Ekitike is going to Liverpool and we're keeping Isak 

[pink_triangle]

Wow that England v Sweden is one of the worst penalty shoot outs I have ever seen. Fair play to England finding a way through.

[thetime]

21 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

Wow that England v Sweden is one of the worst penalty shoot outs I have ever seen. Fair play to England finding a way through.

 

It was a bit shocking. Enjoyed the game, although wasn't much quality going on. 

[charlierc]

9 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

Wow that England v Sweden is one of the worst penalty shoot outs I have ever seen. Fair play to England finding a way through.

I found the chaos pretty compelling ngl. Must be up there though with one of the great hard luck stories if the Swedish keeper is gonna save 4 penalties and still lose, even if she was also ironically one of the villains of the piece by missing her spot-kick.

 

Think the worst I've seen was Switzerland v Ukraine in the Germany World Cup nearly 20 years ago when the Swiss missed all 3 penalties and it was over pretty much as soon as it started.

[charlierc]

On 16/07/2025 at 19:22, Skip997 said:

I think you’ll end up being right. 

Sure enough, that now seems to be the way things are headed.

 

Can guess as Liverpool might need to strengthen other positions as well as striker that the £130-150m price tag for Isak was too much this time. I suspect we might get this cavalcade of noise again this time next year if Isak doesn't sign a new contract.

On 17/07/2025 at 08:10, lost said:

Do Liverpool need to shift Nunez? From reading the press Napoli have pulled out and the only clubs willing to pay what Liverpool want are owned by the same guy who owns Newcastle. You'd think Saudi clubs now moving for Nunez would be silly.

Given PIF-owned Saudi clubs routinely buy players from other Premier League clubs, I think we're used to this weird dissonance by now. 

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

Given PIF-owned Saudi clubs routinely buy players from other Premier League clubs, I think we're used to this weird dissonance by now. 

 

I think people often forget that Newcastle isn't actually PIF/Saudi's pet project, it's one project within hundreds. 

[thetime]

1 hour ago, kaosmark2 said:

 

I think people often forget that Newcastle isn't actually PIF/Saudi's pet project, it's one project within hundreds. 

 

Modern British football. 

 

Premier clubs down to 3 majority british owned. Would be interesting how this compared to the other top leagues in Europe. 

 

Is Germany still 51% fan owned? 

[thetime]

Likewise with English managers, only 3 in the premier league. With only 32% English players.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2025 by thetime

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

Is Germany still 51% fan owned? 

Red Bull Salzburg isn't (it's owned by red bull), and I feel like there's one other club in their pyramid, but that club isn't usually in the Bundesliga.

[thetime]

30 minutes ago, kaosmark2 said:

Red Bull Salzburg isn't (it's owned by red bull), and I feel like there's one other club in their pyramid, but that club isn't usually in the Bundesliga.

 

I thought they were Austrian?

 

Although Leipzig is owned by Red Bull. 

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

 

I thought they were Austrian?

 

Although Leipzig is owned by Red Bull. 

You're right! It was Leipzig I meant.

[balti-pie]

7 hours ago, charlierc said:

the worst I've seen was Switzerland v Ukraine in the Germany World Cup nearly 20 years ago when the Swiss missed all 3 penalties and it was over pretty much as soon as it started.

 

that may well be the worst two hours of my life ive ever lost to watching football - an absolutely pathetic 90 minutes, extra time reaping precisely zero entertainment, and then i seem to recall the penalty shoot out - which almost cant ever be bad entertainment, its basically a football cum shot compilation - even managed to be a dull and pathetic farce 😄 an inconsequential and pointless waste of time, i loved it, 10/10 would summer tournament again 

[rock_on]

Just 7.4m peak viewers during penalties for England v Sweden match coming during penalties.

Edited July 18, 2025 by rock_on

[charlierc]

4 hours ago, balti-pie said:

 

that may well be the worst two hours of my life ive ever lost to watching football - an absolutely pathetic 90 minutes, extra time reaping precisely zero entertainment, and then i seem to recall the penalty shoot out - which almost cant ever be bad entertainment, its basically a football cum shot compilation - even managed to be a dull and pathetic farce 😄 an inconsequential and pointless waste of time, i loved it, 10/10 would summer tournament again 

That's quite the metaphor indeed.

 

I was only a teenager and obviously not every memory is pristine 20-ish years down the line but the 2006 World Cup had a ton of brilliant games. That one was not one of them.

[charlierc]

6 hours ago, thetime said:

 

I thought they were Austrian?

 

Although Leipzig is owned by Red Bull. 

RB Leipzig are technically 50+1 compliant, albeit bend it given the members that supposedly have majority control are all Red Bull employees while the other 49% of the club is owned by Red Bull itself.

 

The technicality that allowed both Leipzig and Salzburg in Europe at the same time is that Red Bull spun off Salzburg in a holding company so in the eyes of UEFA they are technically only a sponsor.

[charlierc]

10 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

 

I think people often forget that Newcastle isn't actually PIF/Saudi's pet project, it's one project within hundreds. 

Certainly I believe we are but one element of Saudi's attempts to own football. If we were the priority, I suspect giving Chelsea £100million for winning the Club World Cup and said West London Blues duly buying Newcastle's transfer targets again wouldn't be the masterplan. Same also with Saudi PiF clubs buying unwanted players from the likes of Man Utd and Liverpool, as they have done before.

[thetime]

7 minutes ago, charlierc said:

RB Leipzig are technically 50+1 compliant, albeit bend it given the members that supposedly have majority control are all Red Bull employees while the other 49% of the club is owned by Red Bull itself.

 

The technicality that allowed both Leipzig and Salzburg in Europe at the same time is that Red Bull spun off Salzburg in a holding company so in the eyes of UEFA they are technically only a sponsor.

 

That sounds a bit complicated to me. 🤣

[charlierc]

20 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

That sounds a bit complicated to me. 🤣

To me it just looks like UEFA are trying to make it seem like they're doing something. 

 

I do ponder if FIFA throwing a Mexican club out of the Club World Cup due to being owned by the same company as the other Mexican representatives have lead to UEFA being told to do this more. They also excluded an Irish club from the Conference League due to them being owned by the same ownership regime as another club (Danish I think?) that had also qualified.

 

By the way its also kinda funny that for all the talk of Palace & Lyon having a multi-club ownership model, Lyon and Textor's other club Botafago have sold and brought lots of players with Forest, who are the team that protested Palace's Europa League place and have been promoted into it due to Palace's exile. And that's Forest whose owner also owns Olympiakos and a Portuguese side.

Edited July 18, 2025 by charlierc

[thetime]

23 minutes ago, charlierc said:

To me it just looks like UEFA are trying to make it seem like they're doing something. 

 

I do ponder if FIFA throwing a Mexican club out of the Club World Cup due to being owned by the same company as the other Mexican representatives have lead to UEFA being told to do this more. They also excluded an Irish club from the Conference League due to them being owned by the same ownership regime as another club (Danish I think?) that had also qualified.

 

By the way its also kinda funny that for all the talk of Palace & Lyon having a multi-club ownership model, Lyon and Textor's other club Botafago have sold and brought lots of players with Forest, who are the team that protested Palace's Europa League place and have been promoted into it due to Palace's exile. And that's Forest whose owner also owns Olympiakos and a Portuguese side.

 

These people should only be allowed to be involved in 1 club, no matter 1% or 100%.

 

Football is a dirty sport. 

[kaosmark2]

47 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

These people should only be allowed to be involved in 1 club, no matter 1% or 100%.

 

Football is a dirty sport. 

Agreed.

 

Also Palace getting screwed while Chelsea own (5?) clubs around the world is just typical.

[thetime]

5 minutes ago, kaosmark2 said:

 

Also Palace getting screwed while Chelsea own (5?) clubs around the world is just typical.

 

There is no way this would of happend to United, Liverpool, barca, Madrid etc etc. 

Edited July 18, 2025 by thetime

[charlierc]

17 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

Agreed.

 

Also Palace getting screwed while Chelsea own (5?) clubs around the world is just typical.

Far as I know, Chelsea's owners aren't as involved with the multi-club bollocks as others. Man City being the prime example.

[kaosmark2]

6 hours ago, charlierc said:

Far as I know, Chelsea's owners aren't as involved with the multi-club bollocks as others. Man City being the prime example.

Strasbourg are allowed in European competitions. And don't they have some deal with one of the south american clubs to have priority access or some BS? They definitely have moeny in a US team.

[thetime]

Liverpool spending some serious cash this summer, Isak next? 

[Skip997]

32 minutes ago, thetime said:

Liverpool spending some serious cash this summer, Isak next? 

Think/hope Guehi is next. We’re seriously short of centre backs, unless Slot has identified some serious talent in the youth squad