Football 2024/25

[charlierc]

8 hours ago, thetime said:

 

It's really interesting with the league at the minute. Let's be honest it's klopp's side, proof in the pudding will be how Slot can develop the side next season. 

 

Liverpool have the same issue as City for me, the big players in the 30-33 category. 

 

Chelsea have the youngest squad in the league, so are set up for success. Especially if Liverpool and City don't get it right, in the next summer or 2. I'm sure City will come up with a dodgy sponsorship deal or 2 to generate funds. 

 

Not impressed with Arsenal at all, when a poor utd side can make you look average. 

I think I'd be more confident about Chelsea if they had a more reliable keeper than Sanchez, who I've found unconvincing since his Brighton days. Going forward, they've fused together really nicely and have a real array of depth to play with. It helps ofc that they have form in comparison to Man City's burnout or Arsenal's odd creativity issues, where they seem to have real issues with an over reliance of Odegaard, Saka and corners, and when none of those worked against Everton, they ran out of ideas.

 

Liverpool may have a lot of players now over 30 but until now they've still looked like they have a bit of verve about them. They could still have beaten Fulham at the weekend despite playing most of the game with a player down. The gap is decreasing but win the game in hand and they can still pull the gap back out again. But it was likely somebody might begin to reel them in if they didn't go on a crazy winning run like Klopp's 2019/20 side did.

[thetime]

6 minutes ago, charlierc said:

 

 

Liverpool may have a lot of players now over 30 but until now they've still looked like they have a bit of verve about them. They could still have beaten Fulham at the weekend despite playing most of the game with a player down. The gap is decreasing but win the game in hand and they can still pull the gap back out again. But it was likely somebody might begin to reel them in if they didn't go on a crazy winning run like Klopp's 2019/20 side did.

 

The time is right for Liverpool to win the title, rebuild after this season. 

[thetime]

Rashford gone 😄

[Neil]

On 12/16/2024 at 5:26 PM, thetime said:

 

The time is right for Liverpool to win the title, rebuild after this season. 

selling solanke is starting to look like a bad mistake. Jota is decent but hes not salah.they need to find another breakthru striker (that they can develop) like solanke was (in theory) when signed.

[Neil]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

Rashford gone 😄

cant keeep treating him like sh*t

On 12/16/2024 at 5:26 PM, thetime said:

 

The time is right for Liverpool to win the title, rebuild after this season. 

selling solanke is starting to look like a bad mistake. Jota is decent but hes not salah.they need to find another breakthru striker (that they can develop) like solanke was (in theory) when signed.

[Gnomicide]

10 hours ago, Neil said:

selling solanke is starting to look like a bad mistake. Jota is decent but hes not salah.they need to find another breakthru striker (that they can develop) like solanke was (in theory) when signed.

 

Solanke was cutting it when he was at the club, looked more like he'd turn into another Origi more than a reliable striker. 

 

Jota is probably the best striker at the club, given that Salah is a winger. Best option for a Salah replacement at the moment is Ben Doak, who seems to be doing really well on his loan spell and with Scotland.

 

Besides, I reckon Salah will sign for a couple more years.

[thetime]

1 minute ago, Gnomicide said:

 

Besides, I reckon Salah will sign for a couple more years.

Aguero has already released that  information, done deal. 

[Gnomicide]

36 minutes ago, thetime said:

Aguero has already released that  information, done deal. 

 

Not someone I expected new to come from.

[lost]

Half of the prem now owned by Americans. If Wolves, Leicester, Saints go down with Sheff Utd, Burnley and Leeds come up it could be 13 teams next year.

[thetime]

43 minutes ago, lost said:

Half of the prem now owned by Americans. If Wolves, Leicester, Saints go down with Sheff Utd, Burnley and Leeds come up it could be 13 teams next year.

 

More to the point. How many British owned? 4

 

Championship not much better with 8. 

Edited Thursday at 05:06 PM by thetime

[charlierc]

Bold of Everton's departing owner to say he's leaving the club in a better place given how difficult a time they've had since lockdown with points deductions, PSR, fan v board warfare, going through managers and all the rest.

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, thetime said:

 

More to the point. How many British owned? 4

 

Championship not much better with 8. 

Says a lot you have to throw in minority shareholders like INEOS at Man U or the Reubens at Newcastle to pretend we're plumping up the numbers.

 

Feels like this has been coming for a while though, given the nature of English football as almost a de facto Super League by itself also sees a real snootiness to the idea of English coaches and some of the English rich deciding other sports or no sports are what to do with their gains.

[thetime]

9 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Says a lot you have to throw in minority shareholders like INEOS at Man U or the Reubens at Newcastle to pretend we're plumping up the numbers.

 

Feels like this has been coming for a while though, given the nature of English football as almost a de facto Super League by itself also sees a real snootiness to the idea of English coaches and some of the English rich deciding other sports or no sports are what to do with their gains.

 

I just feel English football has lost its identity completely, it's not just about the ownership. 3 English managers out of the 20. 

 

Even utd,  who've had a youth in the match day squad since 1937. Couple of weeks ago only the returning Mainoo on the bench, kept that proud record going. 

 

Tonight for utd, no English player starting. 

 

Look at wolves new manager? I'm sure an English manager was a more qualified choice. 

[charlierc]

On 12/17/2024 at 10:29 PM, thetime said:

Rashford gone 😄

Someone on a football site I use was suggesting Rashford to Newcastle.

 

So a transfer that would shred our FFP points to be able to afford the wages for a player who wants to play as a left-winger when we already have Gordon and can win games playing Barnes or Joelinton there... pass.

 

It is a curio as to where he might go, mind. Or indeed who can afford him.

[thetime]

11 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Someone on a football site I use was suggesting Rashford to Newcastle.

 

So a transfer that would shred our FFP points to be able to afford the wages for a player who wants to play as a left-winger when we already have Gordon and can win games playing Barnes or Joelinton there... pass.

 

It is a curio as to where he might go, mind. Or indeed who can afford him.

 

Saudi hopefully, big fee to reinvest. 

[pink_triangle]

Love the calamity goalkeeping in this game today.

[thetime]

32 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

Love the calamity goalkeeping in this game today.

 

How sh*t are these 2 teams. 

[Skip997]

14 hours ago, thetime said:

3 English managers out of the 20. 

 

When was the last time an English manager won the league. Memory not too good, but I’m thinking Bob Paisley 

[thetime]

11 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

When was the last time an English manager won the league. Memory not too good, but I’m thinking Bob Paisley 

 

Howard Wilkinson at Leeds. 

 

Kendal and Fagan, after Paisley. 

Edited 13 hours ago by thetime

[Skip997]

2 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Howard Wilkinson at Leeds. 

 

Kendal and Fagan, after Paisley. 

Cheers 

[charlierc]

On 12/19/2024 at 8:01 PM, thetime said:

 

Saudi hopefully, big fee to reinvest. 

Think that's just part of the problem a few clubs have where they're paying the players they want to discard too much for most clubs to wanna take them off their hands.

 

There's talk of a loan, which might work as an interim but I suspect if the bridge is burned that much that Man U might just want the cash.

[charlierc]

On 12/19/2024 at 7:48 PM, thetime said:

 

I just feel English football has lost its identity completely, it's not just about the ownership. 3 English managers out of the 20. 

 

Even utd,  who've had a youth in the match day squad since 1937. Couple of weeks ago only the returning Mainoo on the bench, kept that proud record going. 

 

Tonight for utd, no English player starting. 

 

Look at wolves new manager? I'm sure an English manager was a more qualified choice. 

Feels like a fairly appropriate metaphor tbf that Southampton and Wolves' non-UK owners brought in European managers as their new picks after British managers they had couldn't hack it. I'm not sure it'll strictly work, mind, given Southampton are on course for a Derby 07/08 season and Wolves seem to be at the end of an era with their ownership's unpopularity.

 

It's not for nothing that I've heard the Premier League described as a de facto European super league.

[Skip997]

Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Hire the best person for the job regardless of nationality 

[thetime]

12 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Hire the best person for the job regardless of nationality 

 

Yeah I get that, top managers at top clubs. Is Southampton's new manager, the best person for the job? He lasted 2 months at Roma. I'm sure there are others in the game from Britain, more suitable for the position.