A Horse Named Stranger Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 In other (German football) news. The anti-investor protests on matchday are not gonna end anytime soon. Fans are generally speaking not pleased with the football league's plan to get an investor in. That's what all those tennis balls, chocolate cins flooding the pitches in pretty much any given game is about. Including those 30 minutes midgame interruption. They will have to abandon a game before too long, or change course. I can see the rationale behind the league's move tbf. They wanted to raise money to imrpove the club's digital infrastructure and thus make the league more attractive (particularly cracking down on pirate streams). (pretty much their aims as given). On the other hand you have the organized fan scenes, who wouldn't want to have any of it and that this was crossing a line wrt to the commercialisaiton in modern football (yeah, that horse has bolted a while ago, and yes, cry your hearts out EPL fans). First club representatives have cautiously proposed to redo a vote on it. First vote they tried on it, there they failed to get the qualified majority of the clubs from the top two leagues to agree on getting an investor in. With lots of fist shaking and whining coming from Bayern and (to a somewhat lesser degree) Dortmund. Second vote they agreed on a more legally binding commitment on how the money was to be spend (check above), as to not allow Bayern, who have a very good digital infrastructure, just to splash the extra cash on their squad. That resulted in that second vote being succesful by the slimmest margin (with some clubs abstaining). And this is how we got here effectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spockydog Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spockydog Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Declan Rice’s superb performance turned boos into a standing ovation Quote During the opening five minutes of Arsenal’s 6-0 win at West Ham United on Sunday, Declan Rice touched the ball nine times and was booed on each occasion by the home fans. An hour later, he had assisted two goals, scored a brilliant one himself and was being applauded off the pitch by the same supporters who had been heckling him earlier. It was the first time the England international, who left West Ham for Arsenal last summer, had provided two assists in a Premier League game and also the first time he had been directly involved in three goals in a top-flight match. The 25-year-old’s ability to stay calm after such a hostile early reception and go on to power Arsenal to such an emphatic victory is exactly why the club spent £105million ($130.9m) on him. “I’m really happy with him,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “I know that it was an emotional day for him because he loves West Ham so much. But he had to focus and deliver.” Early on, Rice’s task was to help Arsenal silence the crowd. A key part of the team’s progress in recent years has been how they ‘live’ games. Arteta routinely uses this phrase and it refers to how his players take games in the direction they want, particularly in away matches. Rice was vital to that against West Ham as, alongside William Saliba, Gabriel and David Raya, he helped slow the game down and bend it in Arsenal’s favour. While Raya’s quick distribution has improved Arsenal’s attack lately, this more considered approach allowed Arsenal to take control of proceedings. Passes between goalkeeper Raya and his two centre-backs drew West Ham forward and left Rice in midfield where he acted as Arsenal’s safety valve — always available for a pass in space. This pattern unfolded so often that Rice ended the first half with more touches than any player on the pitch (59) and him giving Arsenal the chance to settle had a domino effect. From there, Arsenal’s attacking players could start moving into better pockets to progress the ball through West Ham’s press. Leandro Trossard, who scored the 8,000th league goal in Arsenal’s history when he put Arteta’s team 4-0 up, was the biggest beneficiary of this as he began dropping into midfield from his centre-forward position to receive the ball and spray passes in behind for both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. Saliba’s opener came from a corner shortly after, while Saka scored a penalty (that he had won) to make it 2-0. Rice delivered the corner for Saliba’s goal but he did not stop there. He also swung in the free kick Gabriel nodded in, meaning he has assisted three goals from set pieces in a matter of weeks — the other being Gabriel’s opener against Crystal Palace last month. “(Rice taking set pieces) is something that we knew and we could imagine,” Arteta said of his player’s excellent deliveries. “It depends on who plays in the team and the height, presence and physicality we have in the box, but he certainly has the delivery. It is another thing that we can add to his game. When we have certain players on the pitch, he is a better threat outside the box than inside.” Owning big moments, as he did at the London Stadium on Sunday, has been a major part of Rice’s first season at Arsenal. From his exceptional pressing and tracking back in the Community Shield win over Manchester City to big tackles energising the Emirates crowd against City again and then Liverpool last week, he has been a game-changer. Not to mention the last-minute winner he scored against Luton Town in December. He did it again against West Ham, delivering a sensational performance against his old club despite the early booing. The fact he received a standing ovation after that initial reception served to further highlight just how impressive his display was. Rice returned the favour at full time by applauding all four corners of the ground. Arteta said: “(I was) really pleased to see the crowd give (Rice) the reception he deserves. He has got an environment (around him) and a family that is (both) supportive and demanding of him and he has dealt with that in a great way. He is very demanding of himself and he wants to get better. He keeps developing and we have to support him on that.” Not forgetting how Rice became worth £105million is important and, as his career continues into its next chapter, giving him the chance to blossom even further is equally vital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Big blow for Villa. Kamara is out for the season after rupturing his ACL - third ACL injury this season for Villa after Mings and Buendia. There are also some rumours that Konsa's knee injury (picked up against Sheffield United) might be worse than initially thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Chelsea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 11 hours ago, polishgenius said: Chelsea You jinxed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacuna Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) RB Leipzig robbed by VAR two minutes in. In no way could that be offside. Edit: Not a free kick either. Edited February 13 by lacuna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 No way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 On 2/12/2024 at 12:42 PM, A Horse Named Stranger said: In other (German football) news. The anti-investor protests on matchday are not gonna end anytime soon. Fans are generally speaking not pleased with the football league's plan to get an investor in. That's what all those tennis balls, chocolate cins flooding the pitches in pretty much any given game is about. Including those 30 minutes midgame interruption. They will have to abandon a game before too long, or change course. I can see the rationale behind the league's move tbf. They wanted to raise money to imrpove the club's digital infrastructure and thus make the league more attractive (particularly cracking down on pirate streams). (pretty much their aims as given). On the other hand you have the organized fan scenes, who wouldn't want to have any of it and that this was crossing a line wrt to the commercialisaiton in modern football (yeah, that horse has bolted a while ago, and yes, cry your hearts out EPL fans). First club representatives have cautiously proposed to redo a vote on it. First vote they tried on it, there they failed to get the qualified majority of the clubs from the top two leagues to agree on getting an investor in. With lots of fist shaking and whining coming from Bayern and (to a somewhat lesser degree) Dortmund. Second vote they agreed on a more legally binding commitment on how the money was to be spend (check above), as to not allow Bayern, who have a very good digital infrastructure, just to splash the extra cash on their squad. That resulted in that second vote being succesful by the slimmest margin (with some clubs abstaining). And this is how we got here effectively. Update: Blackrock, who were interested in that investor gig have pulled out citing the fan protests as a reason. Good riddance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 10 hours ago, polishgenius said: No way it was clearly a cross, but still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 (edited) We have the first £500,000 transfer for a female player, shame they still make a pittance (I can't believe the minimum salary in American league is $36k Racheal Kundananji has become the most expensive women's footballer in history after joining Bay FC from Madrid CFF for $860,000 (£685,000). Edited February 14 by BigFatCoward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 (edited) 14 hours ago, lacuna said: RB Leipzig robbed by VAR two minutes in. In no way could that be offside. Edit: Not a free kick either. I've seen a few instances like this and its always been called offside. Henrichs obstructed the GK i.e. interfered with play from an offside position. Right call imo. Whether Lunin would have actually gotten to the ball is not relevant. ETA. also, VAR did not give this decision. The decision was made by the on field officials. The linesman put up his flag immediately and the VAR simply did not overrule the on field decision which was also the right call because this was not a clear and obvious error. Edited February 14 by Consigliere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacuna Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Damn, you're right; though Sesko was definitely onside when the shot-turned-pass was made, seeing it again now, Henrichs was probably sufficiently involved there, by blocking Lunin's movement. At the time, I felt he was just standing in the periphery. Guess it depends on what constitutes sufficient interference with play, but yeah... Perhaps it would help if the referee/VAR had the chance to communicate their reasoning. They might have done, for all I know, via TV commentators elsewhere. The Norwegian commentator did not, which definitely tracks. He's just a dude in a studio, after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 2 hours ago, lacuna said: Guess it depends on what constitutes sufficient interference with play, but yeah... If you make contact with the keeper it’s pretty much always going to interfering with play to be fair. A bit of a shame ‘cause Leipzig could definitely have won if they’d taken their chances. At least one of the ties could have threatened to be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teng Ai Hui Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Has anyone watched season 3 of Sunderland Til I Die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 2 hours ago, Teng Ai Hui said: Has anyone watched season 3 of Sunderland Til I Die? Nobody, literally nobody cares. Teng Ai Hui and A Horse Named Stranger 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 In other not giving a damn news. Bayern's calamities continue. Losing to Lazio was certainly not how this was supposed to go. It was just a 1-0 loss, so nothing is broken for them, but an exit against Lazio could mean exit for Tuchel before the end of the season, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 (edited) 26 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said: In other not giving a damn news. Bayern's calamities continue. Losing to Lazio was certainly not how this was supposed to go. It was just a 1-0 loss, so nothing is broken for them, but an exit against Lazio could mean exit for Tuchel before the end of the season, too. Dammit, wanted Bayern to win. If Tuchel gets sacked, high probability they will go for Alonso, which I don't want... obviously Edited February 15 by AncalagonTheBlack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartofice Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said: Nobody, literally nobody cares. I do, Sunderland till I die was far more entertaining that the endless train of All or Nothing propaganda videos. Sunderland managed to show a club that is run by clowns, making terrible decisions and falling apart. That’s something you don’t get to see in those other corporate presentations. I didn’t realise there was a season 3. Sunderland have done ok since the last one, but seem to continuously shoot themselves in the foot. Teng Ai Hui 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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