Football 2025-26

[pink_triangle]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

Real Madrid sacking Xabi Alonso after 8 months after he fell out with Vini Jr and several other players... it's felt like it was coming but it does kind of paint the RM dressing room like divas. And I say that thinking that 4 points off Barca isn't that bad. But then it's Real and I'm aware the expectation is that they should have a 100% record in everything they do.

It feels like only Ancelotti and Zidane can manage that club!

[kaosmark2]

3 hours ago, charlierc said:

Tbf I had forgotten it was Trippier's first appearance in a while so makes sense he's not pristine. But yeah, I think we'll need defensive reinforcements this month, and I'm not exactly sure if that is just recalling Targett from Middlesbrough, given he'd barely played for us, but it's a cost-effective solution if we're still treading carefully with our old buddy PSR.

 

Certainly, I think we'll need to invest in that area in the summer given Trippier, Schar, Lascelles and Burn's age, to say nothing of the possibility some might get released, or indeed the fading talents of Krafth.

 

If someone else gets injured in the Man City game tomorrow, that'll probably make getting a panic signing more likely.

My thought is we need 3 defensive reinforcements over the next 3 windows (including this one), and probably 2 now which could include recalling Targett. Hard to know who though.

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

It feels like only Ancelotti and Zidane can manage that club!

The strange thing is that Ancelotti apparently told Alonso when arriving that some of the players had attitude problems. Clearly.

 

I think Alonso will turn up somewhere else and do well tbf, given his track record at Leverkusen hints at some good fundamentals. But I guess there's that question of where do you go from Real given the sheer amount of noise and hype they generated as a self-appointed biggest club in the world.

[pink_triangle]

Interesting this third round weekend how many pundits and fans of EPL teams have preferred a VAR free game!

[charlierc]

11 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

My thought is we need 3 defensive reinforcements over the next 3 windows (including this one), and probably 2 now which could include recalling Targett. Hard to know who though.

I wonder if getting Villa away in the FA Cup adds to the need for reinforcements. Our fixture list to the end of February is brutal. 

[thetime]

Watched the state funded derby last night, pretty good watch. Semenyo playing like he has been at city years. 

 

That VAR incident though. 🤨

 

Newcastle player are going to be shattered by end of February, up to 17 games (cl play offs) Jan/Feb. That is not sustainable, good news for those fighting for league positions though. 

[charlierc]

3 hours ago, thetime said:

Watched the state funded derby last night, pretty good watch. Semenyo playing like he has been at city years. 

 

That VAR incident though. 🤨

 

Newcastle player are going to be shattered by end of February, up to 17 games (cl play offs) Jan/Feb. That is not sustainable, good news for those fighting for league positions though. 

I'm a little annoyed about the rule change that eligibility rules are relaxed so you now can play for two teams in the same competition. Mainly because we could've used these 3 years ago when we couldn't field a suspended Pope or ineligible Dubravka in the Carabao final so had to go with Karius, although tbf Karius actually didn't play badly.

 

The VAR call did puzzle me - I get the logic that an offside Haaland was blocking Thiaw's ability to stop Semenyo's shot, but did it need a 6 minute delay to reach that choice? And then the irony that Man City score at the end of an injury time that was only so long because of the VAR delay too.

 

With this tie, I think it's over - we have won at Man City only once since they moved into the Etihad in 2003. But hey. Getting to the last 4 for a third time in four years was still decent go of it. But I'm aware we're going to be asked to play a lot of football - not just the quantity but also opposition quality, as we have to play Man City and Villa twice, plus Liverpool, Spurs, Brentford and a CL trip to Paris. Which is a lot to ask of a defence where we look thin on bodies and one of those is Botman, who has become injury prone since we mismanaged his ACL.

Edited January 14 by charlierc

[thetime]

49 minutes ago, charlierc said:

I'm a little annoyed about the rule change that eligibility rules are relaxed so you now can play for two teams in the same competition. Mainly because we could've used these 3 years ago when we couldn't field a suspended Pope or ineligible Dubravka in the Carabao final so had to go with Karius, although tbf Karius actually didn't play badly.

 

 

 

Wasn't that the reason they changed the rule? 

[charlierc]

Wonder if the 94th minute goal they conceded to lose to second tier strugglers in the Copa Del Rey might lead to some at Real Madrid to ponder if they were perhaps too hasty in sacking Alonso.

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, thetime said:

 

Wasn't that the reason they changed the rule? 

It seems to have been done more quietly than it could or should've been, given Chelsea weren't 100% sure about it when it came up for a tie earlier this season: Chelsea: Marc Guiu eligible for EFL Cup after mix-up - BBC Sport

 

I'm aware it's also a thing in the FA Cup, given it was mentioned in a Third Round tie that League One Burton field a player who'd played for Gateshead in earlier rounds.

 

I don't necessarily know if a reason why was published, but I assume various clubs lobbied for the relaxation. Either that or they saw it had been relaxed in the Champions League and decided to be in sync with that.

[kaosmark2]

8 hours ago, thetime said:

Watched the state funded derby last night, pretty good watch. Semenyo playing like he has been at city years. 

 

That VAR incident though. 🤨

 

Newcastle player are going to be shattered by end of February, up to 17 games (cl play offs) Jan/Feb. That is not sustainable, good news for those fighting for league positions though. 

Semenyo's got an annoying habit of scoring at SJP.

 

Completely agree on that VAR incident btw. Stupid offside rule and took far too long. It went for us but honestly wish decisions didn't work like that.

 

And we had 8 in December as well. We've got a few more bodies than previous years but the defensive crisis and that so many of these games are away is going to be brutal (for travel alone, not just atmosphere/win chance). I'm really hoping we do manage to get 2 bodies through (even if one is recalling Targett) just to help with this.

[charlierc]

14 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

Semenyo's got an annoying habit of scoring at SJP.

 

Completely agree on that VAR incident btw. Stupid offside rule and took far too long. It went for us but honestly wish decisions didn't work like that.

 

And we had 8 in December as well. We've got a few more bodies than previous years but the defensive crisis and that so many of these games are away is going to be brutal (for travel alone, not just atmosphere/win chance). I'm really hoping we do manage to get 2 bodies through (even if one is recalling Targett) just to help with this.

Maybe that's why we wanted to sign Semenyo last summer. Shame Bournemouth were less amiable to a sale at that time. Or maybe it looks worse given Elanga isn't working out. 

 

I think an extra defender might have to be essential if the early rumour is that Schar could be out until Easter at the earliest and Lascelles is allowed to leave as was rumoured. 

[kaosmark2]

2 hours ago, charlierc said:

Maybe that's why we wanted to sign Semenyo last summer. Shame Bournemouth were less amiable to a sale at that time. Or maybe it looks worse given Elanga isn't working out. 

 

I think an extra defender might have to be essential if the early rumour is that Schar could be out until Easter at the earliest and Lascelles is allowed to leave as was rumoured. 

I honestly still think Elanga will come good, but it might well take nearly a year. It's not like Gordon/Barnes were any good in their first 6 months at the club.

 

I do think a defender seems fairly necessary now. It's not like we don't need another long-term option as well.

[charlierc]

38 minutes ago, kaosmark2 said:

I honestly still think Elanga will come good, but it might well take nearly a year. It's not like Gordon/Barnes were any good in their first 6 months at the club.

 

I do think a defender seems fairly necessary now. It's not like we don't need another long-term option as well.

Were Gordon or Barnes this bad at first though? There's a definite argument Elanga doesn't suit our system due to being better in a counter attacking style as he had at Forest last season, but some of his performances have really been lacking. We'll need him to step up though if Murphy is having injury bother. And yeah I agree for reinforcements at the back, potentially both now and the summer. 

[kaosmark2]

18 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Were Gordon or Barnes this bad at first though? There's a definite argument Elanga doesn't suit our system due to being better in a counter attacking style as he had at Forest last season, but some of his performances have really been lacking. We'll need him to step up though if Murphy is having injury bother. And yeah I agree for reinforcements at the back, potentially both now and the summer. 

Gordon was pretty awful in the March/April after he signed in January and I think is a pretty fair comparison. Barnes wasn't as bad as Elanga's been but still couldn't really hold down a place around his injuries. Elanga had a few decent games earlier in the season and then had a knock, and played through a knock while having a new born. I do think a pre-season where Howe does drills with him and our new strikers who he'll actually be playing with will do a lot for all of them.

 

But yeah, with Murphy having injury problems we're going to need something from him in the next few weeks. Doesn't need to be perfect peak Forest level given everything but positive contributions again.

[lost]

City getting Semenyo and Guehi. So many other teams seem to struggle with the January transfer window and it always seems so effortless for them. If they push on and win the league this year this will be a big reason why.

[Skip997]

1 hour ago, lost said:

City getting Semenyo and Guehi. So many other teams seem to struggle with the January transfer window and it always seems so effortless for them. If they push on and win the league this year this will be a big reason why.

Wages. They aren’t paying more in transfer fees than Liverpool would have paid. 

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, Skip997 said:

Wages. They aren’t paying more in transfer fees than Liverpool would have paid. 

Tbf I reckon Liverpool have a few players here and there with Man City level wages. Difference being Man City can afford a higher average.

 

I think here though Man City wanted to go now and Palace were prepared to accept as it meant getting a fee, something that wasn't gonna happen as Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich allegedly wanted to wait for the summer. Liverpool kinda made an own goal for themselves by leaving Guehi to the last minute, which wasn't of interest to Palace as they couldn't get in a reinforcement.

 

Something feels like its up at Palace though. The humiliation at Macclesfield last weekend was one thing, but confirmation today that Glasner will be leaving at the end of the season (although he said he's been planning this since October), Guehi is all-but gone and the club being open to bids for Mateta? Ooft.

[charlierc]

22 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

Gordon was pretty awful in the March/April after he signed in January and I think is a pretty fair comparison. Barnes wasn't as bad as Elanga's been but still couldn't really hold down a place around his injuries. Elanga had a few decent games earlier in the season and then had a knock, and played through a knock while having a new born. I do think a pre-season where Howe does drills with him and our new strikers who he'll actually be playing with will do a lot for all of them.

 

But yeah, with Murphy having injury problems we're going to need something from him in the next few weeks. Doesn't need to be perfect peak Forest level given everything but positive contributions again.

Tbf it's plausible I forgot Gordon took a while to get going, and it wasn't until 23/24 that he really begun to look good. But it is what it is. I think Barnes was held back by an injury that he took ages to recover from.

 

I guess it's the nature of the beast that Elanga felt like a public third choice, given Mbuemo went to Man Utd and we were one of many teams that wanted Semenyo but he signed a new contract instead (albeit one that, in retrospect, guaranteed a "come and get me" move in January. I remember he had a Champions League game where he was man of the match, but it felt like a bit of a slippery downhill slope until his genuinely awful performance in the derby.

 

Maybe it's a confidence thing and one goal or assist will help him unlock something.

[kaosmark2]

50 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Tbf it's plausible I forgot Gordon took a while to get going, and it wasn't until 23/24 that he really begun to look good. But it is what it is. I think Barnes was held back by an injury that he took ages to recover from.

 

I guess it's the nature of the beast that Elanga felt like a public third choice, given Mbuemo went to Man Utd and we were one of many teams that wanted Semenyo but he signed a new contract instead (albeit one that, in retrospect, guaranteed a "come and get me" move in January. I remember he had a Champions League game where he was man of the match, but it felt like a bit of a slippery downhill slope until his genuinely awful performance in the derby.

 

Maybe it's a confidence thing and one goal or assist will help him unlock something.

Yeah Gordon was signed in January and didn't really do anything until October/November. When we signed Barnes the following summer fans were talking about how Gordon had been a failed signing and we were getting another winger to move him on. It wasn't until Barnes and Wilson got injured and he had a run in the team playing with the same striker when he clicked and started performing vaguely consistently.

 

He was truly awful in the derby, but then, who wasn't?

[charlierc]

On 16/01/2026 at 15:31, lost said:

City getting Semenyo and Guehi. So many other teams seem to struggle with the January transfer window and it always seems so effortless for them. If they push on and win the league this year this will be a big reason why.

I watched the Manchester Derby and they really did not provide the kind of performance that hints a change to the title is imminent. I still back them to win something this season but their performance today was surprisingly poor. Great chance for Arsenal to go 9 clear tonight. 

 

I'm aware tbf part of that is that Manchester United were just very good. Probably the best performance they've delivered for a very long time. 

[Skip997]

Very strange season. As things stand Liverpool are only 5 points off 2nd. With their current PPG average they should be mid table at best

[charlierc]

21 hours ago, Skip997 said:

Very strange season. As things stand Liverpool are only 5 points off 2nd. With their current PPG average they should be mid table at best

I'm guessing this was written before Burnley equalised. But that case if anything adds to the sense as to how this season is a bit of a much of a muchness, where anyone in the PL can beat anyone else and the quality gap between the teams are minimal at best despite the huge sums of cash players now trade for. Arsenal seem to be the only one that are really ahead of everyone else, though even then, their 0-0 at Forest last night hints they don't really have it sussed either.

[SPW]

On 17/01/2026 at 15:50, charlierc said:

I watched the Manchester Derby and they really did not provide the kind of performance that hints a change to the title is imminent. I still back them to win something this season but their performance today was surprisingly poor. Great chance for Arsenal to go 9 clear tonight. 

 

I'm aware tbf part of that is that Manchester United were just very good. Probably the best performance they've delivered for a very long time. 

Have a sore head today after over doing the celebrations after the game. Fair to say the mood in the pubs around Deansgate was v.good😃

[thetime]

3 hours ago, charlierc said:

I'm guessing this was written before Burnley equalised. But that case if anything adds to the sense as to how this season is a bit of a much of a muchness, where anyone in the PL can beat anyone else and the quality gap between the teams are minimal at best despite the huge sums of cash players now trade for. Arsenal seem to be the only one that are really ahead of everyone else, though even then, their 0-0 at Forest last night hints they don't really have it sussed either.

 

Wolves have picked it up last month or so, not anywhere soon enough to save them.

 

But draws against Utd, Newcastle and Everton, win v West Ham. Plus 1 goal defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal. 

 

I thought you might win there today, but maybe only by a goal. You got a tough run in all comps with Villa, PSG, Liverpool and City to come. Certainly did those above you a favour today. 😃