Football 2025-26

[thetime]

1 hour ago, rock_on said:

 

The BBC did their best to make it look naff. At least it's finally all over and we can focus on the domestic men's football for the next few years until everybody suddenly becomes a fan of women's football for the 2027 World Cup.

 

Thats just the same as the mens english team. People find international football an irritant, breaking up club football for a couple of weeks. Then it's tournament football, they are all over it and forget they have been criticising for 2 years. 

 

Personally always found international football odd. Why would I be cheering for Gerrard score a goal? Any other week id be hoping he falls flat on his face. 

 

Then again im not patriotic at all. 

[lost]

11 minutes ago, thetime said:

Personally always found international football odd. Why would I be cheering for Gerrard score a goal? Any other week id be hoping he falls flat on his face. 

 

 

I'm not sure that actually happens in other countries. Also I'm not supporting England because the manager picked x player and they should of gone with y from my club.

 

Thats before we get onto "scouse not English" Did catalonians celebrate Spain winning the Euro's?

[charlierc]

5 hours ago, Skip997 said:

Madness going on a Liverpool. Going after Isak when we’ve got plenty of attacking players. Desperately need central defenders 

Are we sure there's not a question of tapping up with Liverpool and Isak? Feels suspiciously timed given it came after other clubs who might want him committed to signing their own attackers. The fact he appears to be on strike doesn't exactly paint him in the best light. Plus the fact Liverpool signed our first choice Isak replacement in Ekiteke feels like another annoying move. Might as well just buy the entire team that beat Liverpool in the Carabao final while you're at it. 

 

Much as I'm aware there's probably a degree of this with transfers in general. Hell Brentford's Wissa appears to be going that to force a move to us, and where ironically Brentford have the same issue as us with finding replacements. Maybe moreso given they have had a terrible summer. 

 

Thinking about it, is the plan Liverpool are coming up with to put Robertson or Tsimikas at centre back in an emergency?  Although for attackers, with Diaz going and the Jota tragedy, I wondered if that puts a lot of pressure on Gakpo to stay fit otherwise it means the left wing option becomes someone out of position. 

[charlierc]

13 minutes ago, lost said:

 

I'm not sure that actually happens in other countries. Also I'm not supporting England because the manager picked x player and they should of gone with y from my club.

 

Thats before we get onto "scouse not English" Did catalonians celebrate Spain winning the Euro's?

Feel like with other team sports here like rugby or cricket that the international variant tends to be the more popular and men's football is the outlier where the club game is more popular. We're all aware of how enormous a phenomenon it is.

 

I think thetime's attitude was reflective of England players in the 00s/early 10s tbf given it's come out since that several of those players couldn't leave their club rivalries at the door during international duty. 

[rock_on]

23 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Thats just the same as the mens english team. People find international football an irritant, breaking up club football for a couple of weeks. Then it's tournament football, they are all over it and forget they have been criticising for 2 years. 

 

Personally always found international football odd. Why would I be cheering for Gerrard score a goal? Any other week id be hoping he falls flat on his face. 

 

Then again im not patriotic at all. 

 

Fair point. I think people are okay when international football is broken up for stuff like World Cup qualifying but having the glorified friendlies of the nations league or actual friendlies to watch is an irritant to many. Not me though. 

 

I've always preferred international football to club football to be honest - mainly driven by a love of tournament football but I enjoy the nations league and qualifiers too even if many don't. I love keeping an eye on which teams have qualified for the main tournaments and who hasn't even outside the home nations. With the international women's football remaining FTA I'll try and watch more of it after being impressed with the standard this Euros.

 

[thetime]

3 hours ago, rock_on said:

 

Fair point. I think people are okay when international football is broken up for stuff like World Cup qualifying but having the glorified friendlies of the nations league or actual friendlies to watch is an irritant to many. Not me though. 

 

I've always preferred international football to club football to be honest - mainly driven by a love of tournament football but I enjoy the nations league and qualifiers too even if many don't. I love keeping an eye on which teams have qualified for the main tournaments and who hasn't even outside the home nations. With the international women's football remaining FTA I'll try and watch more of it after being impressed with the standard this Euros.

 

 

Back in the day, around 1991-1998 I didn't miss a Wales home game and im not even Welsh. Last tournaments I watched religiously were world cup 1994 and euro 96. 

 

At that time I lived and breathed football, utd home and away. Never missed a game on the box. Was a bit peeved when Foo fighters and James got shortened sets at Glastonbury 1998, due to England being played on the main stage. 😳 

 

 

[Skip997]

4 hours ago, thetime said:

Personally always found international football odd. Why would I be cheering for Gerrard score a goal? Any other week id be hoping he falls flat on his face. 

 

Then again im not patriotic at all. 

Always been the same myself. No way I could support Rooney or Terry for example. 

[thetime]

Just now, Skip997 said:

Always been the same myself. No way I could support Rooney or Terry for example. 

 

Used to work with this mad utd fan. He had an England shirt with gerrard on the back.

 

What was that all about. 

[rock_on]

10 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Used to work with this mad utd fan. He had an England shirt with gerrard on the back.

 

What was that all about. 

 

Some of us aren't bogged down in the tribal nonsense of club football. 

[thetime]

13 minutes ago, rock_on said:

 

Some of us aren't bogged down in the tribal nonsense of club football. 

 

Nah dont get it. 

[Alvoram]

When they pull on that England shirt they're England above all else. They cease to be Liverpool, United, City or even Forest.... 

I hate this club before country attitude, it should always be country before club. And it starts at the bottom, with fans. 

[thetime]

4 hours ago, charlierc said:

Are we sure there's not a question of tapping up with Liverpool and Isak? Feels suspiciously timed given it came after other clubs who might want him committed to signing their own attackers. The fact he appears to be on strike doesn't exactly paint him in the best light. Plus the fact Liverpool signed our first choice Isak replacement in Ekiteke feels like another annoying move. Might as well just buy the entire team that beat Liverpool in the Carabao final while you're at it. 

 

 

 

Don't they all get tapped up? Personal terms agreed before an official bid? Agents sounded out on there interest of joining. 

 

Im sure Newcastle have been guilty of it also.

 

Saw an interesting article today about Newcastle and there hypocrisy. That they got new money, then moan when a player they signed who's outgrown them wants more money. 

 

Would Isak have joined without the Saudi money in the 1st place? 

[rock_on]

19 minutes ago, Alvoram said:

When they pull on that England shirt they're England above all else. They cease to be Liverpool, United, City or even Forest.... 

I hate this club before country attitude, it should always be country before club. And it starts at the bottom, with fans. 

 

This man gets it - Country first, club second. 

[charlierc]

49 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Don't they all get tapped up? Personal terms agreed before an official bid? Agents sounded out on there interest of joining. 

 

Im sure Newcastle have been guilty of it also.

 

Saw an interesting article today about Newcastle and there hypocrisy. That they got new money, then moan when a player they signed who's outgrown them wants more money. 

 

Would Isak have joined without the Saudi money in the 1st place? 

We're a few months on from Liverpool fans booing and bollocking Alexander-Arnold for deciding to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid. I'm aware fans of other clubs can be very irritable when a first team player wants out with action up to and including a strike to force their way. At the very least we'd be making a profit on the £60-odd million Newcastle brought Isak for.

 

Where I think the emotion comes from is feeling this has come backwards. I wouldn't have been surprised if Isak or one of our other more valuable players had left this time last year when we failed to qualify for any European football, yet they all stayed and helped us reach the Champions League & win a trophy. That felt like it should unlock some progression and instead all our transfer targets join other clubs and now Isak wants out. So it's a weirdness. 

 

Maybe word travels. To cite one example, building a new training ground is something that is PSR-exempt and kinda needed seeing quite a few parts of the facilities at Newcastle's training ground date back to when Bobby Robson was manager, but there seems to be a strangely cautious attempt to invest in that one despite lobbying by the players. Not getting a training kit sponsor like even some Championship clubs have that is also an odd move. But it is what it is.

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, Alvoram said:

When they pull on that England shirt they're England above all else. They cease to be Liverpool, United, City or even Forest.... 

I hate this club before country attitude, it should always be country before club. And it starts at the bottom, with fans. 

I think this is the legacy of the 2000s/early 2010s when a lot of people gave up on the national team, especially after the Euro 2008 non-qualification, and instead found the club narratives more compelling. It seems like there has been some recalibration of late where people will cheer on the team no matter whose in it, and indeed I would argue this current group of players is more popular than the supposed Golden Generation of Beckham, Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Ferdinand et all.

 

Well until they lose games then suddenly they're all sh*t again, apparently.

[thetime]

4 minutes ago, charlierc said:

We're a few months on from Liverpool fans booing and bollocking Alexander-Arnold for deciding to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid. I'm aware fans of other clubs can be very irritable when a first team player wants out with action up to and including a strike to force their way. At the very least we'd be making a profit on the £60-odd million Newcastle brought Isak for.

 

Where I think the emotion comes from is feeling this has come backwards. I wouldn't have been surprised if Isak or one of our other more valuable players had left this time last year when we failed to qualify for any European football, yet they all stayed and helped us reach the Champions League & win a trophy. That felt like it should unlock some progression and instead all our transfer targets join other clubs and now Isak wants out. So it's a weirdness. 

 

Maybe word travels. To cite one example, building a new training ground is something that is PSR-exempt and kinda needed seeing quite a few parts of the facilities at Newcastle's training ground date back to when Bobby Robson was manager, but there seems to be a strangely cautious attempt to invest in that one despite lobbying by the players. Not getting a training kit sponsor like even some Championship clubs have that is also an odd move. But it is what it is.

 

I just think it's a lot more simple. Isak wants to join a bigger club on bigger wages. If Newcastle offered him 300k, Liverpool offered him 280k he would want to join Liverpool. 

 

There's no comparison. 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2025 by thetime

[pink_triangle]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

I think this is the legacy of the 2000s/early 2010s when a lot of people gave up on the national team, especially after the Euro 2008 non-qualification, and instead found the club narratives more compelling. It seems like there has been some recalibration of late where people will cheer on the team no matter whose in it, and indeed I would argue this current group of players is more popular than the supposed Golden Generation of Beckham, Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Ferdinand et all.

 

Well until they lose games then suddenly they're all sh*t again, apparently.

I think that’s partly down to the fact that the players are a bit more spread out different clubs now, compared to the days of Man U and Liverpool cliques.

 

Moving to the women’s game I imagine a lot of casual fans (myself included) don’t even know what clubs the players play for.

[thetime]

12 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

 

 

Moving to the women’s game I imagine a lot of casual fans (myself included) don’t even know what clubs the players play for.

 

I wonder how many of the ladies games, people will watch in person. 

 

 

[pink_triangle]

12 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

I wonder how many of the ladies games, people will watch in person. 

 

 

I think the big issue is people trying to compare with the men’s game. I would instead compare with women’s game 10/20 years ago and it’s huge progress. However these things take time.

[charlierc]

8 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

I think the big issue is people trying to compare with the men’s game. I would instead compare with women’s game 10/20 years ago and it’s huge progress. However these things take time.

As I've been saying. There's been definite progress in the last decade, but still room to grow further. The national team being good enough to win two trophies and reach another final is unquestionably great for the overall attention of women's football as a sport here, and it now needs the right moves taken to capitalise. I'm not suggesting parity in attention or finance is imminent given the amount of resources men's football sucks up, but it's more about creating a stable platform for it to be it's own successful thing.

[charlierc]

10 hours ago, thetime said:

 

I just think it's a lot more simple. Isak wants to join a bigger club on bigger wages. If Newcastle offered him 300k, Liverpool offered him 280k he would want to join Liverpool. 

 

There's no comparison. 

 

 

And am I supposed to be happy for him that?

 

The destination is probably as much the irritant. I'd have been ok with him going to somebody like Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG because then I wouldn't have had two games or more a season with an opportunity for the predictable "He's scored against his old club!" moment or having the sheer quantity of former Liverpool players turned pundits raving about what a signing he's been. 

[thetime]

16 minutes ago, charlierc said:

And am I supposed to be happy for him that?

 

The destination is probably as much the irritant. I'd have been ok with him going to somebody like Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG because then I wouldn't have had two games or more a season with an opportunity for the predictable "He's scored against his old club!" moment or having the sheer quantity of former Liverpool players turned pundits raving about what a signing he's been. 

 

You would imagine Madrid is the dream, where he will end up if he succeeds at Liverpool. Not many go from Newcastle to Madrid.

 

It's football, its what happens. Im sure no fan is pleased, when a good player leaves for career progression. He's not a geordie, why would he stay there? 

Edited July 30, 2025 by thetime

[rock_on]

36 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

You would imagine Madrid is the dream, where he will end up if he succeeds at Liverpool. Not many go from Newcastle to Madrid.

 

It's football, its what happens. Im sure no fan is pleased, when a good player leaves for career progression. He's not a geordie, why would he stay there? 

 

Why would he leave apart from his own selfish reasons? He's adored (or was until this debacle) at the club in a way he simply won't understand until he leaves - he's not going to get that for Liverpool. 

[thetime]

12 minutes ago, rock_on said:

 

Why would he leave apart from his own selfish reasons? He's adored (or was until this debacle) at the club in a way he simply won't understand until he leaves - he's not going to get that for Liverpool. 

 

Win trophies.

More money/commercial opportunities.

Prestige club.

 

He's a player passing through your club, he doesn't care about Newcastle. Players don't generally, why would they?

 

Why did he leave Real Sociedad? More money? Or because he had a burning desire to play for Newcastle? 

Edited July 30, 2025 by thetime

[Skip997]

12 hours ago, rock_on said:

 

This man gets it - Country first, club second. 

Na, complete nonsense. The club have bought or developed the player. The club pays their salaries. The club continues to develop the player etc.