2018/19 Premier League & General Football Discussion

  • Thread starter Liquid
  • 1,298 comments
  • 38,140 views

Does football need video referees?

  • Yes - VAR is a success

  • Yes - The principle is needed but VAR has been badly handled

  • No - VAR was horrible and should not be continued

  • No - Mistakes are part of football

  • Undecided

  • Other (please state)

Results are only viewable after voting.
@Liquid Tim Wigmore has written a couple of articles for the I about the legality of the ESL. Firstly about how the 5 PL clubs will have it tough to leave in the first place.
Then about how UEFA could block it thanks to EU law.
I'm not entirely sure what these clubs want to achieve from the whole thing (other than the obvious quick cash grab). As you say, interest will naturally come down quickly and most of the clubs will lose a chance at a trophy. If it were to happen every now and then I could understand, but a 20 year deal seems bizarre to me.
 
adamp93
@Liquid Tim Wigmore has written a couple of articles for the I about the legality of the ESL. Firstly about how the 5 PL clubs will have it tough to leave in the first place.
Then about how UEFA could block it thanks to EU law.
I'm not entirely sure what these clubs want to achieve from the whole thing (other than the obvious quick cash grab). As you say, interest will naturally come down quickly and most of the clubs will lose a chance at a trophy.
Click to expand...
That doesn't stop the Browns from showing up in NFL. :rolleyes:
 
Liquid
Catch up time:

3rd October - Steve Bruce (Aston Villa, sacked) Championship
8th October - Mark Yates (Macclesfield Town, sacked) League Two
10th October - Dean Smith (Brentford, leaves for Aston Villa) Championship
25th October - Paul Hurst (Ipswich Town, sacked) Championship

Sacked - 8
Approaches - 2
Resigned - 1

Total - 11

Interestingly, there was a conveyor belt amongst three clubs pre-season; Ipswich appointed Shrewsbury's Paul Hurst. In turn, Shrewsbury appointed Macclesfield's John Askey and Mark Yates was appointed in his place.

Hurst has been sacked.
Yates has been sacked.
Askey is also under the cosh and might not last much longer.

How unusual is it for clubs who have traded/approached each other's managers to all suffer a terrible start and dismiss them?

Oh, and special mention to Julen Loputegui (Real Madrid, sacked) La Liga. No-one outside of Spain had even heard of the man before June and now he's been sacked from two top jobs inside four months. Congratulations once again to Real Madrid for :censored:ing over the entire country on the eve of the World Cup by appointing a manager behind the Spanish FA's back in a way that he breached his own contract. At least it was totally worth it with the dynasty he's gone on to establish there. :rolleyes:
---

European Super League

Anyone heard about this? The long-rumoured breakaway continental division again gained more traction after leaked eMails according to Der Spiegel. It is worth pointing out that Der Spiegel is Germany's equivalent of The Sun despite the name ironically meaning The Mirror. Point being, a 16 team division is touted as having been arranged with 11 permanent teams guaranteed a place for 20 years complemented by 5 'guest' teams who may or may not face relegation or exchange with other invited teams. The 11 teams rumoured to be involved are:

Arsenal
Manchester United
Manchester City
Chelsea
Liverpool
Juventus
AC Milan
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Bayern München
Paris SG

Roma, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille are the initial 5 'guest' teams.

Some thoughts:

a) How incentivising is it to have 11 teams immune from relegation, exchange or expulsion? That would render games pretty meaningless very quickly. Plus you're getting the same games every season. Extremely uninteresting. It's a closed shop within a closed shop. How very American sports league of you.

b) On the same subject, have none of the people involved ever heard of the law of diminishing returns? How many times can you watch Man United vs AC Milan or Paris vs Chelsea in a season or every before getting bored? Not only would games be meaningless with teams not motiviated to succeed due to being guaranteed a place in the division but the games would become boring pretty quickly too due to repetitive fixtures.
Precedence: Celtic vs Rangers. They play each other as much as six times a season due to the two Scottish cups.

c) This goes behind the backs of each club's respective national associations as well as the ECA and UEFA, although I'm sure UEFA and the ECA wouldn't be too displeased to see this happen. In fact, I'm sure they privately support it.

d) It's a slap in the face to other "big teams" who didn't make it; teams with more history and relevance to continental competitions. Yes, it's trivial but no Portuguese or Dutch teams who have a bit more 'tradition' in these competitions. Manchester City get a guaranteed 20 year place in the league despite having been extremely underwhelming in the Champions League every season since they became a relevant team 7 years ago? Rubbish.

e) A friend of mine who disagrees with the SL but agrees that the CL needs revamping said "Yeah but who wants to watch Man United vs Basel? Nobody." That is so patronising and narrow-minded. Basel fans. Basel fans want to see that game. What do these 'small' teams offer? They offer a lot to their own fans and their town. If they're good enough to have qualified for the division or competition then you can't complain. Same goes for "What do Huddersfield offer to the Premier League?" Well, absolutely everything to their fans and a lot of other people not even football related in West Yorkshire.

I hate that Look Down view of big teams' fans. Unbridled arrogance.

Summary

Let them do it. Football is already behind a paywall so put this behind a double level 2 super paywall and have sparse attendances for the same games over and over. It might leave national competitions in the hands of those who might actually give a damn about it.

I hate the idea of a Super League but if these teams sod off and I can stop hearing about them so much because they'll be on channels or packages I don't watch, then good.

At the same time, it is a logical progession and I am simply recalcitrant to what has been an otherwise accurate geographical scope; local teams form regional leagues (The Football League), then those leagues go national (inclusion of southern teams); you play-off against other national leagues' teams once in a while (Wolves vs Honved, Wolves vs Celtic, Wolves vs Spartak Moscow) and expand to having regular, supplementary competitions (European Cup, Champions League) and this will ultimately lead to a continental division like in rugby (Pro14) and ice hockey (KHL).

I suppose the reason I'm resistant to it is because the idea that it's being done for footballing reasons is so transparent. It's an obvious cash-grab with no thought to the quality of the game or the progression of the sport. That and there is way too much continental football already; these competitions need to contract, not expand, but try telling that to UEFA.

For the English system, you can directly trace this all to Manchester United not competing in the 1999/00 FA Cup. That was the beginning of the end for national competitions being relevant.
Click to expand...
They're not taking into account that many domestic clubs may refuse to play against them. As a napoli fan I can tell you I will not take kindly to being excluded at the hands of Inter, Milan and Roma. To the two Milan clubs have over a billion worth if debt between them. Roma also have debts. Napoli have been in profit each year for the last 14 years. Whilst finishing ahead of both Milan clubs each year for the last 5 years and ahead of Roma 3 of the last 5 years. Napoli could blitz these teams if they also decided to rack up 500 million worth if debt.

These clubs should not gain financial reward and exposure that will lead to bigger sponsor contracts that will see them eventually become financially more powerful through no merit of their own.

The champions league format was created to avoid a European super league break away. The champs league has ruined European football, a super league will be just more of the same but a less interesting a party for greedy clubs.
 
Last edited:
Gianni Infantino has said that any players taking part in the proposed/rumoured European Super League will be banned from playing international Football!
 
MUSC4EVER
Gianni Infantino has said that any players taking part in the proposed/rumoured European Super League will be banned from playing international Football!
Click to expand...
That would create quite the issue if the league did go ahead without the club asking the players. Would you have players refusing to play for their club team to be able to play for the national team but risk not being picked because they haven't played in months
 
Could you have any kind of decent away fanbase for this Super League thing? How many people could afford to do that kind of travel half of the year?
 
He was effectively head of recruitement wasn't he? recent signings at the Saints have been good.

Congrats to Callum Wilson of Bournemouth on winning his first England call up, well deserved.
 
Games this weekend, Sunday is pretty big.

Saturday
Cardiff v Brighton (12.30 Sky)
Crystal Palace v Tottenham (5.30 BT)
Huddersfield v West Ham
Leicester v Burnley
Newcastle v Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford

Sunday
Liverpool v Fulham (12pm BT)
Chelsea v Everton (2.15 Sky)
Arsenal v Wolves (4.30)
Man City v Man United (4.30 Sky)

Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday is also on Sky tonight.

Its Leicester's first home game since the horrible helicopter crash, they have announced today that they will be building a statue of Vichai outside the ground.
 
Liverpool beat Fulham 2-0 earlier and its just finished Chelsea 0-0 Everton.

COME ON UNITED!!!!!!!!!!!
 
MUSC4EVER
COME ON UNITED!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Jose-Mourinho.jpg
 
Not quite today, we were well beaten by City although the penalty gave me hope we could snatch a point. Losing Pogba really hampered us, and playing any midlfied with Fellainin in it is never going to match up to Bernardo, Silva and Fernandinho.
 
MUSC4EVER
We got hammered and the gulf in class was sometimes embarrassing.
Click to expand...
It was a chasm today. Looked like two teams playing different sports at times. Still don't think Mourinho is the answer.

In better news as a Newcastle fan we had back to back wins! It was nice to finally feel some positivity in the ground. Was bouncing in the Gallowgate where I sit.
 
The gulf in quality between the two Manchester clubs is quite something.

I was astonished to see that Manchester United now have a negative goal difference. The question is always "Where would United be without David de Gea?" but right now they have him and still have a minus GD.
 
Liquid
I was astonished to see that Manchester United now have a negative goal difference.
Click to expand...
It's been negative for a while, but this is the first time in 41 years it's been negative after 12 games.

Or the first time EVER, since football didn't start until 1992 apparently.
 
Famine
Or the first time EVER, since football didn't start until 1992 apparently.
Click to expand...

Or 1986 to some United fans. My dad is a Man United fan so I've had fun passing on his anecdotes about the Sexton and Atkinson eras to my astonished friends who can't understand Man United not being top 3 every year.

"We're not a sacking club."

Yeah, McGuinness, O'Farrell, Docherty, Sexton and Atkinson say otherwise.
 
Liquid
Or 1986 to some United fans. My dad is a Man United fan so I've had fun passing on his anecdotes about the Sexton and Atkinson eras to my astonished friends who can't understand Man United not being top 3 every year.

"We're not a sacking club."

Yeah, McGuinness, O'Farrell, Docherty, Sexton and Atkinson say otherwise.
Click to expand...
Every club is a sacking club, the only reason Manchester United got a reputation for not being one is because we had an exceptionally good manager for the best part of 30 years. You'd be silly to think we'd have kept fergie if we had a relegation battle every other season.
 
m8h3r
Every club is a sacking club, the only reason Manchester United got a reputation for not being one is because we had an exceptionally good manager for the best part of 30 years. You'd be silly to think we'd have kept fergie if we had a relegation battle every other season.
Click to expand...

It's just one of those things. A lot of United fans under the age of 35 just can't get used to a club playing badly and having to wonder whether to stick or twist.
 
Looks like Santi Scolari will get the Real Madrid job permanently after four wins from four as interim coach.

Thierry Henry's Monaco got hammered 0-4 at home to PSG last night, which followed a 0-4 defeat at home to Club Brugge in the CL last week, Henry's record is played six won zero drawn two and lost four, management can be brutal!

Another international break is on now, the league section of the Nations League comes to a close, I have set up a Nations League thread if you could check that out. 👍
 
It's going to be a rather boring weekend here in the US except for the NFL. No Premier League, no F1 race. Time to catch up on some races I've missed, Petit Le Mans, WEC Fuji, etc.
 
Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge has been charged by the FA for allegedly breaching betting rules, which he categorically denies.
 
Liquid
Hurst has been sacked.
Yates has been sacked.
Askey is also under the cosh and might not last much longer.
Click to expand...

Aaaand he's gone. So this summer the managerial merry-go-round went Macclesfield > Shrewsbury > Ipswich and all three teams have already dismissed their new managers.

Phil Brown has been dismissed by Swindon Town with Richie Wellens already pencilled in for the job.

Also gone is Wimbledon's Neal Ardley. Ardley is a harsh one; he played over 200 games between 1991-2002 for the club and led them into the third tier for the "first time" after saving them from the League Two drop on the final day of the 2012/13 season. He was the third longest-serving manager having been there since 2012.

11th November - Phil Brown (Swindon Town, sacked) League Two
12th November - Neil Ardley (Wimbledon, sacked) League One
12th November - John Askey (Shrewsbury Town, sacked) League One

Sacked - 11
Approaches - 2
Resigned - 1

Total - 14
 
Jimlaad43
Our first Prem manger is gone.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46205801

Jokanovic has gone, and Ranieri takes over at Fulham
Click to expand...

Indeed. Good to see Claudio back but I hope it doesn't end in tears. It's going to take a Herculean effort to keep Fulham up.

Also gone is Harry Kewell, who only took over at Notts County on 1st September! Notts County being the first team this season to dismiss more than one manager and it's not even Christmas.

13th November - Harry Kewell (Notts County, sacked) League Two
14th November - Slaviša Jokanović (Fulham, sacked) Premier League

Sacked - 13
Approaches - 2
Resigned - 1

Total - 16
 

Latest Posts

Back