The Football Thread.

proggy

@TeleMaster ; Arsenal supporter here. Can you have a quiet word with your boys about going easy on us next Sunday to help us pip Spurs to that 4th spot.
Cheers.

TeleMaster

proggy said:

@TeleMaster ; Arsenal supporter here. Can you have a quiet word with your boys about going easy on us next Sunday to help us pip Spurs to that 4th spot.
Cheers.

I hope we absolutely smash you and get 6th  

DoctorX

I’m a Blackburn fan by family inheritance. I didn’t grow up near to Blackburn though so I’ve only been to 2 matches (and they lost both).

thecolourbox

Well I can honestly say that literally no actual football of any interest whatsoever occurred at the Hawthorns today, West Brom v Coventry. Biggest cheer of the game was when Coventry got a throw in late on in the match. Which I think says it all...

axisus

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

RobDavies

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

TeleMaster

RobDavies said:

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

Yea. It's been a hard slog having an unlimited overdraft that he doesn't have to pay back!  

Teetonetal

RobDavies said:

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

I think football is full of plenty of managers who have spent a lot and it's not worked out.

Howe has done a great job with the resources at his disposal.

axisus

RobDavies said:

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

Football is more that just the money spent. Look at the amount wasted by several Man U managers, Van Gaal & Mourinho with BIG reputations as well. 

TeleMaster

axisus said:

RobDavies said:

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

Football is more that just the money spent. Look at the amount wasted by several Man U managers, Van Gaal & Mourinho with BIG reputations as well. 

Didn't Ed Woodward deal with all of that? As far as I know Mourinho would give them a list of targets and they would work their way down the list. And Mourinho got 2nd in the Prem with a squad filled with players who were his 4th choice. Considering the absolute mess there that seems like it is one of his biggest achievements. 

UnclePsychosis

RobDavies said:

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

Its very easy to say that, but since people keep saying it and I'm a stats nerd I did some digging.

The £100m was spent on Trippier, Guimaraes, and Wood.

Trippier has been injured and has barely played. Guimaraes didn't start for over a month, and was getting five, six, seven mins as a sub. There were headlines in the press about his frustration at lack of game time. Wood is a signing that everyone mocked. 

Howe has done an absolutely remarkable job no matter how you cut it. Newcastle didnt win in their first ten games, but since January they've outperformed everyone in the league except Liverpool. Suddenly that £100m (and its caveats as above) to do better than City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs, etc. seems like a very small number indeed. 

TeleMaster

UnclePsychosis said:

RobDavies said:

axisus said:

You have to say hats off to Eddie Howe - In 2022 only Liverpool have won more points than the 32 picked up by Newcastle, who are now 9th. He's doing a great job there. I'm not a Newcastle fan, but if ever there was a set of fans that deserve a bit of success it's them.

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

Hats off to Eddie Howe for being able to spend £100m in the January transfer window.  

Its very easy to say that, but since people keep saying it and I'm a stats nerd I did some digging.

The £100m was spent on Trippier, Guimaraes, and Wood.

Trippier has been injured and has barely played. Guimaraes didn't start for over a month, and was getting five, six, seven mins as a sub. There were headlines in the press about his frustration at lack of game time. Wood is a signing that everyone mocked. 

Howe has done an absolutely remarkable job no matter how you cut it. Newcastle didnt win in their first ten games, but since January they've outperformed everyone in the league except Liverpool. Suddenly that £100m (and its caveats as above) to do better than City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs, etc. seems like a very small number indeed. 

If so, that's a fair point and a good analysis and you would have to take your hat off to him. 

mudslide73

thecolourbox said:

Well I can honestly say that literally no actual football of any interest whatsoever occurred at the Hawthorns today, West Brom v Coventry. Biggest cheer of the game was when Coventry got a throw in late on in the match. Which I think says it all...

I finally caved and didn't go. We've only missed 4 games this season but I'd had enough yesterday. I'm not sure old Cheesy Chips is the man tbh. 

UnclePsychosis

axisus said:

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

English football is going exactly the same way as Scottish football, you just haven't realised it yet. 

TBH all leagues are doing it. There's a small number of moneybags clubs hoovering up the trophies. 

thecolourbox

mudslide73 said:

thecolourbox said:

Well I can honestly say that literally no actual football of any interest whatsoever occurred at the Hawthorns today, West Brom v Coventry. Biggest cheer of the game was when Coventry got a throw in late on in the match. Which I think says it all...

I finally caved and didn't go. We've only missed 4 games this season but I'd had enough yesterday. I'm not sure old Cheesy Chips is the man tbh. 

I'm not going to the last match, I literally can think of any number of better things to do. I'm thinking a year or two off might help me appreciate it more if I do choose to go back, or indeed confirm to me it's pointless and to follow the sport instead of a team

TeleMaster

UnclePsychosis said:

axisus said:

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

English football is going exactly the same way as Scottish football, you just haven't realised it yet. 

TBH all leagues are doing it. There's a small number of moneybags clubs hoovering up the trophies. 

In the Prem, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea are the main contenders for the league, and Man Utd have been in the mix most seasons. Then you've got Arsenal and West Ham, Leicester and Spurs who have all got chances of making top 4 with a couple of them pushing for the title, with one even winning it.

So while I do agree that at the moment it really is between Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, I do think there's a lot of competition generally, and now Newcastle will be up there too. 

There's obviously issues with the likes of Chelsea, City, Newcastle and how they get their money, but I do think there's a lot of competitiveness in the EPL and teams have periods of dominance and those teams change regularly. 

mudslide73

thecolourbox said:

mudslide73 said:

thecolourbox said:

Well I can honestly say that literally no actual football of any interest whatsoever occurred at the Hawthorns today, West Brom v Coventry. Biggest cheer of the game was when Coventry got a throw in late on in the match. Which I think says it all...

I finally caved and didn't go. We've only missed 4 games this season but I'd had enough yesterday. I'm not sure old Cheesy Chips is the man tbh. 

I'm not going to the last match, I literally can think of any number of better things to do. I'm thinking a year or two off might help me appreciate it more if I do choose to go back, or indeed confirm to me it's pointless and to follow the sport instead of a team

The last game is the same weekend as the Bham Guitar show anyway - I'd arranged to go on the Sunday but may do Saturday now. I'm looking at a membership rather than an ST next time as there are so many week night matches. My boy has been coming down on the train as I work in Bham but live in Stafford - previously I'd been coming back for him. I'm similar to you in that they've really tested my loyalty with their can't be arsed-ness this last few years.

UnclePsychosis

TeleMaster said:

UnclePsychosis said:

axisus said:

Bundesliga - what a boring league. Bayern Munich just won for a 10th consecutive year. And I thought the Scottish league was dull!

English football is going exactly the same way as Scottish football, you just haven't realised it yet. 

TBH all leagues are doing it. There's a small number of moneybags clubs hoovering up the trophies. 

In the Prem, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea are the main contenders for the league, and Man Utd have been in the mix most seasons. Then you've got Arsenal and West Ham, Leicester and Spurs who have all got chances of making top 4 with a couple of them pushing for the title, with one even winning it.

So while I do agree that at the moment it really is between Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, I do think there's a lot of competition generally, and now Newcastle will be up there too. 

There's obviously issues with the likes of Chelsea, City, Newcastle and how they get their money, but I do think there's a lot of competitiveness in the EPL and teams have periods of dominance and those teams change regularly. 

Scottish football is really competitive outside the top two. But "hur hur, two horse race" is whats used to deride the Scottish game by people who seem to have failed to spot exactly the same thing happening in England. So England's closed shop at the top absolutely needs to be seen in the same light. The fact that finishing "top four" is a major goal for so many is a laughable indictment of how much English fans have drunk the Sky-supplied Kool Aid rather than a measure of an exciting setup. Remember when winning things was the aim? 

The only real difference between Aberdeen fans and Spurs fans is that Aberdeen fans have no delusions about their chances. Oh, and they don't have to pay £1500 for a season ticket to see their team win nothing. 

 Borrowed from elsewhere:

In the 80s there were thirteen different clubs in England who won major trophies. This included Wimbledon, Luton, Oxford, Coventry, Norwich, Wolves, Forest. The 90s saw 12 different winners, including the likes of Villa, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester. By the 2000s it's down to 9 winners, but you've still got Spurs, Portsmouth, Blackburn etc getting their hands on trophies.

In the last decade only four trophies in English football have been won by clubs outwith what we could call "England's Old Firm". Leicester have won two, Wigan, and Swansea.

That's four trophies out of the last thirty going to the same closed shop. They're fucked too. People laugh at Spurs, for example, for not winning anything. But they're up against a closed shop. Trophies now are basically only won by a tiny group of clubs and that's just the way it's going. 

In Scotland 9 of the last 30 trophies have been won by clubs outwith Celtic and Rangers, so you could argue that in a way a Hearts, Aberdeen, St Mirren, or Ross County fan is better off than an Everton or Aston Villa fan. We're all in the same boat in that our teams won't win the league, but we've got a better chance of maybe winning a cup.

Philly_Q

TeleMaster said:

In the Prem, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea are the main contenders for the league, and Man Utd have been in the mix most seasons. Then you've got Arsenal and West Ham, Leicester and Spurs who have all got chances of making top 4 with a couple of them pushing for the title, with one even winning it.

So while I do agree that at the moment it really is between Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, I do think there's a lot of competition generally, and now Newcastle will be up there too. 

There's obviously issues with the likes of Chelsea, City, Newcastle and how they get their money, but I do think there's a lot of competitiveness in the EPL and teams have periods of dominance and those teams change regularly. 

And Chelsea's future is very much up in the air.  Of course there'll be new owners but who knows how they'll want to run things.

TeleMaster

Philly_Q said:

TeleMaster said:

In the Prem, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea are the main contenders for the league, and Man Utd have been in the mix most seasons. Then you've got Arsenal and West Ham, Leicester and Spurs who have all got chances of making top 4 with a couple of them pushing for the title, with one even winning it.

So while I do agree that at the moment it really is between Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, I do think there's a lot of competition generally, and now Newcastle will be up there too. 

There's obviously issues with the likes of Chelsea, City, Newcastle and how they get their money, but I do think there's a lot of competitiveness in the EPL and teams have periods of dominance and those teams change regularly. 

And Chelsea's future is very much up in the air.  Of course there'll be new owners but who knows how they'll want to run things.

I imagine they'll want to carry on and give themselves a chance of getting their investment back by strengthening their squad to compete as they always have. No one is spending £3bn on a club to sit in mid table.

I reckon they'll try and sign Rice as a statement signing.