Football 2025-26

[kaosmark2]

10 hours ago, charlierc said:

Ah I missed the first half as was busy and only got home at the start of the second half. But it did seem from reports like we had a few chances when it was 11 v 11. I think we'll get more of a measure with some of the other contests coming up if we were to try it.

 

I'm not sure Osula works as a focal point though. Imo I think he'd actually be a better winger than central striker. But I gather Wissa was rested due to a knock so guess we'll have to wait another time for the W&W partnership that we last tried in the Bournemouth cup tie.

Fair enough, I do agree if it keeps on we'll learn more about how it works. 

 

Osula is a strange one, he really drives at defenders in a slightly chaotic way that feels good as a wide forward with a false 9, so in theory should work kinda decently with Woltemade, but having noone central can be problematic in itself. Clearly tries hard and he's got something about him. I suspect if he hadn't got injured 2 games after Woltemade arriving he'd have rotated in a bit and played more in the autumn. Still young but I'd be hoping he'll kick on vaguely soon instead of just being a 10-minute impact sub.

[kaosmark2]

10 hours ago, charlierc said:

I guess the central question is that we've never really got over the disconnect. VAR was sold as this kind of silver bullet to eliminate mistakes and very much hasn't, but take it away for a sustained period of time and then there'd be a wish for it to return.

 

Somebody on Football365 described the performance yesterday by the Villa-Newcastle refs as like making someone who can't drive anywhere without the sat-nav do their own navigation, or like someone who uses ChatGPT for everything to do independent critical thinking. It's not far off tbh.

Yeah completely agree. Honestly, I was never really convinced about the idea of it given the flow of the game and feel inside the stadium and all that, but the way it's been has just made me dislike it more. Long stoppages only to still be wrong is ridiculous.

 

I do think the "refs have started to use VAR as a crutch and aren't calling things" is probably a valid criticism. One thing I will say, is that PSG games aside, I think the refereeing in Europe/CL is much better than the PL.

[balti-pie]

On 13/02/2026 at 16:26, lost said:

What percentage of Spurs revenue comes from the other stuff going on at the stadium, NFL and the like? They feel like they could be the first successful football club without needing a successful team.

 

Absolutely this! Spurs are fascinated by the NFL model. The NFL model of club ownership really controls how much can go out cos there's a salary cap, so the biggest financial outgoing is fixed to a specific amount every year for every club - everything the club make above and beyond this is whipped away by the owners. Even if the club are crap (Jets, the Browns, the Raiders etc) it doesnt matter at all, because they are an absolute licence to print money. The Raiders in particular, now they're in Vegas, are a tourist attraction for the fans of the eight clubs that play them in their home games - fly to Vegas! stay at a hotel! eat and drink! gamble! Probably see your team win cos the Raiders are absolutely dreadful! Win or lose, the Raiders sell out tickets and make a fortune, out of a shiny lovely stadium. 

 

the NFL is very obviously different to the Prem though cos of course there's no relegation 😄 and herein lies the problem. 

 

ENIC havnt considered there might be a day when Spurs go down, and it would be fascinating to see what happens if they do. But ENIC wouldnt sell up at that point cos theyd be flogging at the worst possible time and couldnt reap the £bns they might be able to reach . . . . so we're stuck with the pricks until they decide they want £3bn instead of a potential £4bn.

 

(Now is a good time to point out that they paid £47m for their current stake, and have barely ever put in as much as a brass razoo. They'll be making absolute bundles no matter what, the stadium debt is tied to the club and is very serviceable - as long as theyre in the prem) 

[pink_triangle]

That’s a great FA cup draw with all the non EPL teams drawing EPL teams. 

[kaosmark2]

2 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

That’s a great FA cup draw with all the non EPL teams drawing EPL teams. 

And we get Man City. Again.

 

Starting to think we're gonna do well in the CL just so we can get knocked out of 3 competitions by them in a single season.

[charlierc]

7 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

And we get Man City. Again.

 

Starting to think we're gonna do well in the CL just so we can get knocked out of 3 competitions by them in a single season.

11 meetings in 3 seasons. I'm so bloody bored of having to play them. 

[charlierc]

9 hours ago, pink_triangle said:

That’s a great FA cup draw with all the non EPL teams drawing EPL teams. 

I'm very annoyed with our draw (see last post) but there's some decent other ties, sure. Mansfield have clearly hit the jackpot and I have no doubt Wrexham will be pretty excited to get Chelsea. 

[thetime]

I am not a betting man, but I reckon Newcastle might be in the last 16. 😃

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, thetime said:

I am not a betting man, but I reckon Newcastle might be in the last 16. 😃

We're certainly in an optimal position to do that. Good for Gordon to get a four-ful as well.

 

Suspect Manchester City on Saturday night might be a bit more of a challenge.

[kaosmark2]

Can we take the piss out of Chelsea for drawing there?

[charlierc]

On 19/02/2026 at 13:05, kaosmark2 said:

Can we take the piss out of Chelsea for drawing there?

Yeah I'm puzzled as to how Chelsea did that. We can also take the piss out of Benfica for losing to them despite being 2-0 up as well. 

 

... Admittedly, Benfica's incredibly poorly judged response to the allegations regarding racist abuse of Vinicius on Tuesday night invites a very different and very unsympathetic response. 

[charlierc]

Well at least we don't have to play Man City again for, ooo, about 2 weeks.

 

Tbf we've had worse games against them than last night by the look of it.

[kaosmark2]

On 21/02/2026 at 07:49, charlierc said:

Yeah I'm puzzled as to how Chelsea did that. We can also take the piss out of Benfica for losing to them despite being 2-0 up as well. 

 

... Admittedly, Benfica's incredibly poorly judged response to the allegations regarding racist abuse of Vinicius on Tuesday night invites a very different and very unsympathetic response. 

I'm actually not tbh, I just like taking the piss out of Chelsea.

 

Chelsea are at their best when they're breaking down teams that sit back against them. They have the type of players that are good at unlocking low blocks, and making sure they score in almost any game. What they lack, is defensive composure when teams press them. Qarabag attack teams, they break with pace, and they'll take shots. All things that hurt Chelsea. By contrast, Qarabag's open aggressive style just doesn't have the quality to match against our pressing game, and by the time they'd retreated to a low-block (which we suck against) we already had a huge lead.

 

I mean, Chelsea still f**ked up. The quality should have told, but they also did make 8 changes or similar and I just think any team can get them when they rest Caicedo.

 

I'm completely with you on Benfica's response to Vini Jr being disgusting. How gross does a team have to be to make me cheer for Real Madrid???

[Skip997]

A win, but really not happy with that. Looked like no one wanted to be there. Slot got no motivational skills 

[thetime]

37 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

A win, but really not happy with that. Looked like no one wanted to be there. Slot got no motivational skills 

 

Liverpool have got some nice fixtures to grab some serious points. As well as today, it will be playing 4 of the bottom 5. 

 

Add that to Chelsea having a mad March, you should sit comfortably in the top 5 in a few weeks. 

[charlierc]

30 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Liverpool have got some nice fixtures to grab some serious points. As well as today, it will be playing 4 of the bottom 5. 

 

Add that to Chelsea having a mad March, you should sit comfortably in the top 5 in a few weeks. 

Well if nothing else, at least Liverpool still had the drive to go again after the disallowed goal. And tbf were people moaning that much when they needed a similarly late goal to win this fixture last season? Sometimes, take the W and move on.

 

The top 6 looks pretty locked in imo, just a case of the order given Villa seem to be going off the boil and Chelsea look pretty unreliable judging not just by yesterday but multiple similar games under Maresca.

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, kaosmark2 said:

I'm actually not tbh, I just like taking the piss out of Chelsea.

 

Chelsea are at their best when they're breaking down teams that sit back against them. They have the type of players that are good at unlocking low blocks, and making sure they score in almost any game. What they lack, is defensive composure when teams press them. Qarabag attack teams, they break with pace, and they'll take shots. All things that hurt Chelsea. By contrast, Qarabag's open aggressive style just doesn't have the quality to match against our pressing game, and by the time they'd retreated to a low-block (which we suck against) we already had a huge lead.

 

I mean, Chelsea still f**ked up. The quality should have told, but they also did make 8 changes or similar and I just think any team can get them when they rest Caicedo.

 

I'm completely with you on Benfica's response to Vini Jr being disgusting. How gross does a team have to be to make me cheer for Real Madrid???

Qarabag's manager said in the pre-game media sessions that he felt Newcastle would be more difficult for them to play thanks to our playing style, which - tick. 

 

Makes you ponder tbf what we should do for the second leg. If we're to try and maintain our change for a P7/8 finish that looks likely to qualify for Europa Conference at least, the bigger game is Everton next Saturday so could argue that given it's unlikely at best for an Azeri side to win 6-0 at SJP, maybe there's a chance to play the kids. At the very least, be nice to give Alex Murphy more game time. Also indeed there's an opportunity for Osula to get a go and see if we can get any closer to answering the question on whether he's any good.

 

And I know. Real Madrid were within their rights to be infuriated by it though because it happens way too often.

[charlierc]

I know this had been coming but many teams have as brutal a season to end in a historically relegation as Sheffield Wednesday? Felt like such an abysmal summer meant they were relegated pretty much as soon as the season started. Factor in the EFL being unhappy with the preferred bidders to buy the club and it feels like they need some kind of bright spark ASAP.

[Gnomicide]

Very funny ending to the Liverpool game, always a pleasure to beat Forest, especially when we were playing crap. 

[thetime]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

 

 

The top 6 looks pretty locked in imo, just a case of the order given Villa seem to be going off the boil and Chelsea look pretty unreliable judging not just by yesterday but multiple similar games under Maresca.

 

Yeah I agree about the top 6. Although what order, I am unsure. If Villa get it together next 2 games, they could be 12 points ahead of Chelsea with 9 to play. United could go back to type and implode and finish 13th. 

 

I still would have 4th/5th being utd, Liverpool or Chelsea. With 1 of them missing out and in Europa. 

 

 

Edited February 22 by thetime

[charlierc]

5 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Yeah I agree about the top 6. Although what order, I am unsure. If Villa get it together next 2 games, they could be 12 points ahead of Chelsea with 9 to play. United could go back to type and implode and finish 13th. 

 

I still would have 4th/5th being utd, Liverpool or Chelsea. With 1 of them missing out and in Europa. 

 

 

It feels now like we're heading towards two brackets at the top end, with Arsenal & City competing for the title then Villa, Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea in an order, 3 of whom in the CL. I'd still back Villa to finish in the top 5 but there's a question mark over some recent results and performances of theirs.

 

I did watch the North London Derby earlier. Spurs weren't as bad as some of their recent displays but says a lot about their current trouble that they can lose 4-1 and still be "not that bad". Or at least compared with the other 4-1 at the Emirates a few months ago when they were truly hopeless. Feels like their home game against Forest in a month or so is bloody massive for both.

[kaosmark2]

7 hours ago, charlierc said:

Qarabag's manager said in the pre-game media sessions that he felt Newcastle would be more difficult for them to play thanks to our playing style, which - tick. 

 

Makes you ponder tbf what we should do for the second leg. If we're to try and maintain our change for a P7/8 finish that looks likely to qualify for Europa Conference at least, the bigger game is Everton next Saturday so could argue that given it's unlikely at best for an Azeri side to win 6-0 at SJP, maybe there's a chance to play the kids. At the very least, be nice to give Alex Murphy more game time. Also indeed there's an opportunity for Osula to get a go and see if we can get any closer to answering the question on whether he's any good.

 

And I know. Real Madrid were within their rights to be infuriated by it though because it happens way too often.

I think at least 4 or 5 of our first 15/16 will start. Question is whether the others will be 2nd stringers or kids. I can also see a few of the more forward-thinking players pushing to start to get some goals. Gordon for records, and Wolte/Elanga/Ramsey for a better chance at a confidence-boosting goal. But I'm hoping the balance is struck.

 

Vinicius really does get a lot of it. And Mourinho's comments were just disgusting.

 

5 hours ago, charlierc said:

It feels now like we're heading towards two brackets at the top end, with Arsenal & City competing for the title then Villa, Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea in an order, 3 of whom in the CL. I'd still back Villa to finish in the top 5 but there's a question mark over some recent results and performances of theirs.

 

I did watch the North London Derby earlier. Spurs weren't as bad as some of their recent displays but says a lot about their current trouble that they can lose 4-1 and still be "not that bad". Or at least compared with the other 4-1 at the Emirates a few months ago when they were truly hopeless. Feels like their home game against Forest in a month or so is bloody massive for both.

What feels odd to me about Spurs is they've been very good in Europe. I don't just mean last season, but their results this year haven't been a fluke (even if they had the easier end of the draw), and they really did impress against Dortmund last month. They'd brought in a fitness coach from Brentford which seemed to me like they were going to stick with Frank (as presumably a hire from Brentford is to work with him), but then ditched Frank soon after. There's definitely problems that go beyond the managerial choices.

[Mr Nasty]

United to win the league. 100/1 yes sir!

[thetime]

They have to do something about corners, its just isn't football. Lump it in there and turn it into a wrestling match.

 

Everton would of scored 5 last night, if Onana was in goal. 

[kaosmark2]

Can't imagine anyone except @charlierc really cares, but I thought the line-up was reasonable. Conceding 2 a little silly but a good few players got a rest, others got minutes while coming back from injury, and Alex Murphy looked decent. Less sure on Osula, good movement and attempt for the first goal, but didn't do much apart from some pressing IMO. I think I'm starting to struggle to believe he's gonna make it as a good enough striker for us.

 

Woltemade I thought made some excellent through balls first half, but misplaced quite a lot second half. Not sure whether that's fatigue or concentration or something else. I definitely think there's something to be said for him playing a little further behind naturally, but he drifted a little too deep for my liking a lot today.

 

Do need some Prem wins though.