Football 2025-26

[kaosmark2]

3 hours ago, charlierc said:

The Championship sub is more fun imo. Though the Other 14 does have its moments.

We are where we are with it. Frankly I'm surprised that every club hasn't resorted to doing something like this.

 

The Chelsea situation I think is different, partly given its about historical allegations rather than some of the financial loopholes they've been doing since the takeover and partly because they were the ones that voluntarily disclosed what Roman's Blues were doing with off the books payments. I'm sympathetic to Everton and Forest asking questions of whether the penalty Chelsea got was lenient in comparison to the ones they were saddled with though.

 

Something seems up there anyway. The fans seem to dislike the owners, Rosenior seems like he's in the wrong job, several of their best players seem to be openly talking about leaving (Enzo Fernandez and Cucurella have essentially issued come and get me pleas to La Liga's finest, while Cole Palmer is being strongly linked with a summer transfer) and it all seems a bit of a mess even with all the levers and financial chicanery going down there.

I did say "about the Prem" precisely because of that.

 

And yeah there's so many bits of nonsense around Chelsea. But I'm a lot more sympathetic to Everton/Forest. I'm really hoping both them and Liverpool's implosions make them miss out on CL. I'm not naive enough to think we're going to win 6 games and nick 5th, but Brentford/Everton doing it would be very funny.

[charlierc]

10 hours ago, thetime said:

 

Can't think of any other big nation, not qualify for that long. England was 12 years, cant think of another long absence. 

I think this must be a record for that. Certainly, given FIFA have gone out their way to seemingly make it harder not to qualify, it's quite impressive they did it again. In retrospect perhaps the surprise was Italy having it all together to win the Euros.

 

The last World Cup in America had a curious make up in retrospect tbf. No England, France or Spain but yes to Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania. But that's what qualifying should be - something with decent surprise potential and not just a formality for the big fish. 

[charlierc]

10 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

I did say "about the Prem" precisely because of that.

 

And yeah there's so many bits of nonsense around Chelsea. But I'm a lot more sympathetic to Everton/Forest. I'm really hoping both them and Liverpool's implosions make them miss out on CL. I'm not naive enough to think we're going to win 6 games and nick 5th, but Brentford/Everton doing it would be very funny.

At this point I'm hoping we do just enough to take 7th or 8th. That may be easier said than done though. It'll be interesting to see how this influences things - I believe the CEO guy said that Howe's position will be reviewed at the end of the season. Which, tbf, I think is the healthier attitude in comparison to the myriad fans who felt losing the last game was just cause to tell him to go away. 

 

I get tbf why Forest and Everton got the penalties they did, though given Everton's main thing that took them over the PSR limit was interest on loans relating to their new stadium and losing Russian sponsorship deals after their invasion of Ukraine, I do think they could've got a little more leniency. Chelsea is an interesting case given it was their new owners who dobbed in the old ones but it says something they'd budgeted for bigger fines. And this at a time when key players seem to be angling for an exit, hinting that the vibe there isn't great. 

[lost]

23 minutes ago, charlierc said:

The last World Cup in America had a curious make up in retrospect tbf. No England, France or Spain but yes to Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania. But that's what qualifying should be - something with decent surprise potential and not just a formality for the big fish. 

 

I was there bizarrely. All the Brazilians spilled out onto International Drive in Orlando and stopped the traffic and even though they were hosts most of the Americans didn't have a clue why it was happening.

 

The Irish stuff was great, infact it maybe an impression I get from hollywood but Irish and Italian Americans appear most connected to the countries they came from so both teams going out this week feels like a loss for the tournament.

[charlierc]

11 hours ago, lost said:

 

I was there bizarrely. All the Brazilians spilled out onto International Drive in Orlando and stopped the traffic and even though they were hosts most of the Americans didn't have a clue why it was happening.

 

The Irish stuff was great, infact it maybe an impression I get from hollywood but Irish and Italian Americans appear most connected to the countries they came from so both teams going out this week feels like a loss for the tournament.

Think I heard it said from people who were there in 1994 that Italy v Ireland in the group stage was a real hot ticket, both from actual Irish and Italian people and indeed many from the US diaspora who act like they're still a part of those countries despite never actually going. I also recall reading the diaries of a member of Depeche Mode, who were touring the US during that World Cup, of being in a box so high up at the stadium for the Ireland-Italy game that the flags all just looked the same.

 

As a note, apparently Italy are the first team to win a World Cup to then miss 3 World Cups in a row. Which is an accolade of sorts.

 

The anecdote of Brazilians partying in Florida feels like a more innocent age tbh.

[Comfy Bean]

Very impressed with Everton’s new stadium. Stands are apparently as steep as planning allows which makes for great views of the game.

No queues for beer and food which was surprisingly well priced. £5.95 for a pint of San Miguel, and no daft deposit charges for the thick plastic cup. 

 

[lost]

11 hours ago, Comfy Bean said:

Very impressed with Everton’s new stadium. Stands are apparently as steep as planning allows which makes for great views of the game.

No queues for beer and food which was surprisingly well priced. £5.95 for a pint of San Miguel, and no daft deposit charges for the thick plastic cup. 

 

 

Did you try this?

 

 

[Comfy Bean]

3 hours ago, lost said:

 

Did you try this?

 

 

😂 I decided against. Chicken strips and chips in a spicy mayo which was again relatively “cheap”. 

[charlierc]

3 hours ago, lost said:

 

Did you try this?

 

 

Happy Easter.

[charlierc]

13 minutes ago, Comfy Bean said:

😂 I decided against. Chicken strips and chips in a spicy mayo which was again relatively “cheap”. 

Tbf I saw £15 for a half-pizza at the O2 Arena in London when I was there for Wolf Alice a few weeks before Christmas. Sign of the times that under roughly £12.50 would be good value if you got that much.

[charlierc]

Looked away a little while ago and it was 0-0 between Man City & Liverpool. Check back and Haaland has a hat-trick while City have 4

 

... Oucho.

[Skip997]

3 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Looked away a little while ago and it was 0-0 between Man City & Liverpool. Check back and Haaland has a hat-trick while City have 4

 

... Oucho.

Surely that’s enough to get him sacked 

[charlierc]

2 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Surely that’s enough to get him sacked 

I thought the consensus was he'd get to the end of the season, or at least that was the case in an article on the subject of Slot's future in the Guardian this morning.

 

Though I can imagine losing the FA Cup chance and the possibility of a thumping by PSG aren't exactly going to be plus points in his favour.

[lost]

The drop off in Salah and Van Dijk this season has been crazy. Always the risk tying up £40m in wages on two players in their mid-30's.

 

In other news Millwall in the automatic promotion spots. When Comentators say "these are scenes nobody wants to see" If Millwall are coming up I think we all want to see West Ham to stay up.

[Skip997]

12 minutes ago, lost said:

The drop off in Salah and Van Dijk this season has been crazy. Always the risk tying up £40m in wages on two players in their mid-30's.

 

In other news Millwall in the automatic promotion spots. When Comentators say "these are scenes nobody wants to see" If Millwall are coming up I think we all want to see West Ham to stay up.

You say that, but…

 

[charlierc]

Considering how much Southampton stunk up the Premier League last season, that's a sensational display and result by them to dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

 

Probably not going to help Arsenal from accusations of being bottlers, mind.

[charlierc]

3 hours ago, lost said:

The drop off in Salah and Van Dijk this season has been crazy. Always the risk tying up £40m in wages on two players in their mid-30's.

 

In other news Millwall in the automatic promotion spots. When Comentators say "these are scenes nobody wants to see" If Millwall are coming up I think we all want to see West Ham to stay up.

There's that fine line to question tbf of how much is it the players declining, how much is it that Liverpool botched last summer's transfer window and how much is it that the tactical shift deployed this season hasn't gone to plan.

 

van Dijk conceding more penalties this season than in his first 8 at Liverpool is quite the wild stat tbf.

 

Coventry look basically up in the Champo, which for a uni friend who was there for the year in exile in Northampton and their speed-run from League 2 back to the PL is pretty good. Millwall feel vulnerable to Ipswich imo given they've got 2 games in hand and the on-paper strongest squad in the division, but given Ipswich have been vulnerable to dropping points in games they shouldn't, why not open the door for Millwall? 

[thetime]

14 minutes ago, charlierc said:

There's that fine line to question tbf of how much is it the players declining, how much is it that Liverpool botched last summer's transfer window and how much is it that the tactical shift deployed this season hasn't gone to plan.

 

van Dijk conceding more penalties this season than in his first 8 at Liverpool is quite the wild stat tbf.

 

Coventry look basically up in the Champo, which for a uni friend who was there for the year in exile in Northampton and their speed-run from League 2 back to the PL is pretty good. Millwall feel vulnerable to Ipswich imo given they've got 2 games in hand and the on-paper strongest squad in the division, but given Ipswich have been vulnerable to dropping points in games they shouldn't, why not open the door for Millwall? 

 

Would love Milwall to go up if West Ham stay up. That would be a cracking Derby game, not for the weak hearted. 

[charlierc]

4 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Would love Milwall to go up if West Ham stay up. That would be a cracking Derby game, not for the weak hearted. 

Maybe it'll be the first PL game to kick off at 9am on police advice.

[Neil]

On 31/03/2026 at 20:43, charlierc said:

The Championship sub is more fun imo. Though the Other 14 does have its moments.

We are where we are with it. Frankly I'm surprised that every club hasn't resorted to doing something like this.

 

The Chelsea situation I think is different, partly given its about historical allegations rather than some of the financial loopholes they've been doing since the takeover and partly because they were the ones that voluntarily disclosed what Roman's Blues were doing with off the books payments. I'm sympathetic to Everton and Forest asking questions of whether the penalty Chelsea got was lenient in comparison to the ones they were saddled with though.

 

Something seems up there anyway. The fans seem to dislike the owners, Rosenior seems like he's in the wrong job, several of their best players seem to be openly talking about leaving (Enzo Fernandez and Cucurella have essentially issued come and get me pleas to La Liga's finest, while Cole Palmer is being strongly linked with a summer transfer) and it all seems a bit of a mess even with all the levers and financial chicanery going down there.

Chelsea have been financially dodgy as f**k since before Roman.

[pink_triangle]

12 hours ago, charlierc said:

Considering how much Southampton stunk up the Premier League last season, that's a sensational display and result by them to dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

 

Probably not going to help Arsenal from accusations of being bottlers, mind.

As a Wrexham supporter I was desperate for that game to go into extra time with us playing them on Tuesday, but it wasn’t to be! 
 

I just thought Arsenal were way too casual and probably underestimated Southampton who are probably not much worse than the teams at the bottom of thr premiership. The first Southampton goal came from a backheel by Odegard that im not convinced he would have done I. A premiership match and there were several random flicks that to me screamed of complacency.

[charlierc]

4 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

As a Wrexham supporter I was desperate for that game to go into extra time with us playing them on Tuesday, but it wasn’t to be! 
 

I just thought Arsenal were way too casual and probably underestimated Southampton who are probably not much worse than the teams at the bottom of thr premiership. The first Southampton goal came from a backheel by Odegard that im not convinced he would have done I. A premiership match and there were several random flicks that to me screamed of complacency.

They might be still tired from the euphoria of that upset tbf. Though I'm aware its a very big game in the squabble to swipe a play-off place.

 

I agree the Odegaard backheel was pretty bizarre and kinda arrogant, although even then, it wouldn't necessarily be expected to be punished so rapidly. But I agree - Southampton certainly looked more together than the mess that went down last season and on quality level are probably at least on par with Wolves & Burnley. The former of whom Arsenal dropped points against semi-recently as well.

[kaosmark2]

12 hours ago, charlierc said:

Considering how much Southampton stunk up the Premier League last season, that's a sensational display and result by them to dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

 

Probably not going to help Arsenal from accusations of being bottlers, mind.

I actually thought Southampton just looked a lot better than Leicester did on the eye test. Point total was awful for a long time but they looked like they might be capable of building on it to come back up and be competitive, while Leicester were just awful.

[pink_triangle]

Southampton basically screwed up in appointing Wil Still as manager at the start. I think even a middle of the road championship manager would have got them automatic with Coventry.

[Skip997]

15 hours ago, charlierc said:

18 hours ago, lost said:

There's that fine line to question tbf of how much is it the players declining, how much is it that Liverpool botched last summer's transfer window and how much is it that the tactical shift deployed this season hasn't gone to plan.

The reasons/excuses for Liverpool’s shocking “performances” this season are hilarious. I saw it late last season, before the transfers. The team is getting worse by the game and it’s totally down to Slot. Tactically inflexible, undertrained players leading to lack of match fitness, excessive holidays during the season (him and the squad), no connection to the City, club, players or fans (doesn’t work for a Liverpool manager), no passion or charisma etc