Football: Heartening Developments

[Consigliere]

9 minutes ago, AncalagonTheBlack said:

Anyone know if he has a release clause?

He doesn't have a release clause according to some reports I read a while back.

[AncalagonTheBlack]

10 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

He doesn't have a release clause according to some reports I read a while back.

And now he scores too, he also had an assist earlier as well !

[The Sunland Lord]

@A Horse Named Stranger

Do you think that goal should stand? Looked foul to me.

And why are St. Pauli referred to as "Darmstadt" on the screen? 

Nvm they fixed it lol.

And the goal doesn't stand too! Yet the broadcasters let it stay 1-0 on the screen! I've rewinded to see the goal and the commentator mentioned it, otherwise I wouldn't know. Comical. 

Edit: They fixed that now too. 

[Wilbur]

18 hours ago, The Young Maester said:

In the uk alone younger fans are being priced out of football. Its just too expensive to even watch it on the tv. I know its the same for Europe as well (not sure if all of it).

I think we soon will see a decline of viewership (legal viewership) in Europe or just maybe the uk, within the next decade or maybe a bit later. Because most of my cousins or friends that are in their early 20s just dont bother watching matches even tho they like football.

From what I see its not just the season ticket holders and the expensive tickets. It is also the inflated prices for tv packages. Broadcasters and FAs seem to have forgotten that they need to have football as accessible as possible so that the next generation catch that football fever that people like me have for the sport.

If it keeps going on like this, within a couple decades they will feel the pinch of the damage theyve done.

This is all very true.  I see it in my friends' kids who live in towns with immense footballing heritage.  The kids have a multitude of other distractions that consume their energy other than the local teams.

I would also add that video games have replaced some of the energy and enthusiasm that young people might have put into playing or watching in past decades.  Instead of going down to the green to kick around a ball and argue about the local teams, kids today fire up the Wii or Playstation or whatever.  Seven hours later, they don't necessarily have the time or energy or money or desire to go sit/stand in the rain for an expensive, actual match.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

25 minutes ago, The Sunland Lord said:

@A Horse Named Stranger

Do you think that goal should stand? Looked foul to me.

And why are St. Pauli referred to as "Darmstadt" on the screen? 

Nvm they fixed it lol.

And the goal doesn't stand too! Yet the broadcasters let it stay 1-0 on the screen! I've rewinded to see the goal and the commentator mentioned it, otherwise I wouldn't know. Comical. 

Edit: They fixed that now too. 

I am biased. So never ask me about stuff, when my club is involved.

[Daemon the Leaner]

It's a bit confusing that Leipzig look like they are always winning but are only 4th in Bundesliga.

Re: United. It looks like the 18/19 season all over again. No ideas, no intensity in games, no top 4. 

[Iskaral Pust]

Good that Liverpool could grind out another win and keep their run going.  Playing the early game after an international break is difficult, and Watford are desperate for some points.

The positive spin on the recent run is that the team is grinding out victories without playing at high intensity, so perhaps they’re just managing their energy.  Because April has an unbelievable fixture list ahead.  But I really hope there is actually a higher gear available for matches against bigger teams because we haven’t shown anything for a while that would trouble City or Bayern.

Thiago was very good despite his midfield partners not playing great.  Gomez did well again at RB and has stepped in well while our irreplaceable player needed a rest.  I really hope Gomez regains his pre-injury form.  He and Konate could be our CB pairing for years together.  Salah has been really flat since AFCON.  It may be fatigue after so many games (and he played two full high-intensity games, including extra time this break too), and perhaps some disappointment or burnout from Egypt’s near misses.  Thankfully Jota has stepped up as a goal poacher, showing very good movement in the box (although general open play has been a bit rocky).  Henderson looks spent and that contract renewal will haunt us.  Trent, Fabinho, Diaz and Mane can all return to the team after today.  

The big question is who should play in MF alongside Thiago and Fabinho in the big games.  Probably Henderson still gets the nod but Keita has been pretty solid lately if he recovers from that knee injury.

[baxus]

I'd rather see any Liverpool midfielder other than Keita on the pitch. He's never lived up to expectations that came with his price tag. "Pretty solid" is not good enough for a place in the team that's won one trophy this season and is in the running for three more. Hopefully, he makes me eat my words soon.

[Spockydog]

About time someone was penalized for this.

I remember in the WC when they first introduced VAR. In the opening couple of games, players started with their usual penalty box sumo wrestling. Then there were a couple of penalties awarded. And it stopped. That was the last we saw of it at that World Cup. It was beautiful.

In the PL, however, VAR has never really tackled this issue. Every week, refs seem perfectly happy to allow players, nowhere near the ball, wrestling opponents to the ground. This Kucka cunt has been at it all season. I remember he did the exact same thing to Eric Dier, and VAR didn't even look at it.

Then, in the Chelsea game, Rudiger did it to someone and the ref wasn't interested. It was blatant, with Rudiger not interested in the ball, just pulling his man to the ground.

So frustrating.

 

[MercenaryChef]

on the subject of the pricing out of fans.

i went to my first mls game of the season last night.  I've been a pretty serious supporter of our club since i moved here. the boys and i have driven as far away as Montreal to support our team. up until 2020 i had season tickets. 

last night's ticket in the supporters end came to $40 w assorted bullshit fees. back at our old stadium a supporters ticket was $19. 

mls is doing it's best to price out supporters and sanitize the stadium and turn them into family fun zones. 5 of us drove to Cincinnati last month and saw the future of the league. thousands of families and the atmosphere of a high school basketball game. and there our tickets were $42.

our particular area has a large population from central and south america. they bring that style and energy to our end. half our songs are in spanish these days. these are not the supporters the team and league wants. we will keep seeing increased ticket prices, overzealous security in the section and fans given bans over the next few years until they get those smiling families with disposable income buying up the seats and dropping $100 in the team shop for a new jersey.

[Rorshach]

Ok.. 

Was a good effort for once. Defense not as suspect as previous away games, attack actually looking sharp-ish. If (major if!) we can keep that up, we'll do okay in the end.

[Spockydog]

One can't help but wonder if Lampard's complaints of a lack of bollocks is contributing to their recently appalling red card record.

 

[Spockydog]

Tee hee. 

[Spockydog]

Truth:

 

 

[The Sunland Lord]

Classic shithouse win in Turin, love it

[BigFatCoward]

Newcastle need to come back from the beach and realise we are still a couple of wins from safety. 

[mormont]

Despite my earlier conviction that you'd go down, I think Newcastle should be OK, if only because the teams at the bottom have left it a bit late for a run that could actually save them.

Norwich are cooked. Simply the worst team in the division. Fewest points, fewest goals scored, second most conceded, worst goal difference by a mile, second fewest wins, tied for most losses, seven points from safety with eight games left.

Burnley have two games in hand and will probably move up at least one spot as a result but they've won three games all season and will need to win at least three more in their last ten. In their favour, they still have to play pretty much all of their relegation rivals (Everton, Norwich, Watford) so the chance is there to gain ground.

Watford still have to go away to Man City and Chelsea. So that's not ideal. They do have Leeds and Burnley at home. They're not awful but I can't see them making up nine points on Newcastle.

Everton have the toughest run-in. They have to go away to Liverpool and Arsenal and have Man United and Chelsea at home to play too. They look like a team whose manager is harming rather than helping their chances, and they have players suspended for some of the run-in. They do have a three point head start and two games in hand, but they'll need that.

Likeliest scenario is that Burnley move up a place but the current bottom three all go down.

 

[Heartofice]

I'd be very worried if I was an Everton supporter, I suspect Woy will keep Watford up and Lamps will take Everton down. 

Just looking at form I think Woy has improved Watford, they haven't been too bad since he took over, whereas Everton just seem to collapse mentally when things go wrong. If avoiding relegation comes down to having a good defence then I'd put my money on Watford.

 

[Raja]

Hoping this man makes the arsenal first team soon. Would be amazing if he gets a call up for Mexico for the WC.

[ljkeane]

1 hour ago, mormont said:

Burnley have two games in hand and will probably move up at least one spot as a result but they've won three games all season and will need to win at least three more in their last ten. In their favour, they still have to play pretty much all of their relegation rivals (Everton, Norwich, Watford) so the chance is there to gain ground.

It's sort of ingrained at this point to expect that Burnley will fight their way out of the relegation zone but I think it is notable that they've been really poor this year. They're not the tough side to get a result against they usually are.

Watford are looking a little better but they've played two games more and their goal difference is terrible so they can't just be level with Everton or Burnley they need to be at least a point clear of them, so they need to get at least two more results than Everton. Not sure I see it.

Everton have been mostly rubbish under Frank but I think points on the board is a big advantage. The next game against Burnley looks key; get a win and I think they stay up, lose I think they go down. Unfortunately for them it's away.