Football Thread

[General Melchett]

Weren't Chelsea signing players on like 8-10 year contracts to get around it?

Quite possibly. Their American owner Todd Boehly has business links to Saudi and I read that Saudi clubs will be ready to buy some of their players for massive transfer fees in order to get Chelsea's net spend down when needed.

 

[Welsh Exile]

How glorious would it be if City and Chelsea were relegated. I won't hold my breath but if there's any justice they should be or, at the very least, they should be stripped of all their trophies and have a 20 plus point deduction but relegation would be much better.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Watching England play football.

 

[BrokenWing]

Well that's another 90 odd minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Who was the work experience kid at left back? He win a raffle or something?

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Good job it wasn't the whole of Macedonia.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Watching England play I was looking for a good performance and an indication that they have the nerve and ability to go onto to win next year at the Euros.

Sadly each time I do I just don't see it. Lots of sideways, backwards passing at the back without going anywhere and failing to pass between the lines and static movement up front and over reliance on set pieces to score against low block opposition who play England on the counterattack.

Inevitable for me that it'll be the same old story again next year or rely on the the draw opening up and being kind to them like at Euro 2020(1). But then England won't be playing 6/7 of their
Games at Wembley.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Harry Maguire’s struggles are stretching loyalty and could cost England | Jacob Steinberg

Defender continues to make errors and Gareth Southgate’s patience may run out with emergence of Marc Guéhi

www.theguardian.com

I thought he was really lucky to get away with the bundling into the Macedonian player and not getting a penalty against England. Another example of his careless passing and then his lack of mobility when one on one trying to recover the situation.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

England's pioneer who died with a tale untold

There was little fanfare when Frank Soo passed away in 1991, but his story as the first non-white England international has emerged from obscurity since.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Former England manager Venables dies

Terry Venables, who led England to the semi-finals of Euro 96, dies at the age of 80 after a long illness.

www.bbc.co.uk

RIP

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Handball? Penalty? VAR says so.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Rugby ref warns football of sin-bin 'culture shock'

Ex-international rugby referee Nigel Owens warns professional footballers face "a huge cultural change and shock" if sin-bin proposals succeed.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Euro 2024: Groups, fixture dates and who are favourites?

Who has the toughest group? Where will the games be played? And who are favourites to win the tournament?

www.bbc.co.uk

Nice draw for England. Scotland should relish Group A. If Wales qualify then they will be in France's group.
16/24 qualify for the knockouts.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Absolutely shocking and unfortunately I feel this is just the beginning of ref attacks. The way anti-social media has normalised hateful rhetoric and the dehumanising of people is quite worrying imo and I feel we could see more of this if it isn't dealt with in the most severe way. This should be a lifetime ban for all involved and criminal prosecution.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Blair was keen on Wimbledon FC relocating to Belfast

Ex-Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair was keen on an idea to relocate Wimbledon FC to Belfast in the late 1990s.

www.bbc.co.uk

@Kiwiwomble

 

[Bada-Bing!]

oh dear.

 

[Welsh Exile]

All these ex players like Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney just being handed top coaching jobs off the back of nothing other than they used to be good football players is a joke. Lampard and Gerrard especially as they had been given top jobs with no experience. They should've cut their teeth and learned their trade in lower leagues.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Pretty much. England don't produce many great managers, which is one of the main reasons why I think they haven't won anything since 1966 and had to resort to SGE and Capello before reverting back to English coaches.

Having said that at least Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard have taken a stab at management unlike the other top pros who prefer the comfortable life of sitting in the studio.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Pretty much. England don't produce many great managers, which is one of the main reasons why I think they haven't won anything since 1966 and had to resort to SGE and Capello before reverting back to English coaches.

Having said that at least Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard have taken a stab at management unlike the other top pros who prefer the comfortable life of sitting in the studio.

I guess it's just a matter of what you want post playing career. Can't really begrudge anyone wanting an easy, early retirement. It's a pretty stressful job being an elite athlete and it's no surprise the majority think, when their careers finish, you know what I'm going to play golf. The minority that do go into coaching are the ones who love the pressure and probably don't want to let go of the game.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I guess it's just a matter of what you want post playing career. Can't really begrudge anyone wanting an easy, early retirement. It's a pretty stressful job being an elite athlete and it's no surprise the majority think, when their careers finish, you know what I'm going to play golf. The minority that do go into coaching are the ones who love the pressure and probably don't want to let go of the game.

I'd agree; can't begrudge the individual ex footballer a cushty life post playing career. It was more a general observation really of English football and their propensity not to produce great managers who progress to the national team.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

German legend Beckenbauer dies aged 78

Former West Germany captain and manager Franz Beckenbauer, widely regarded as one of football's greatest players, dies aged 78.

www.bbc.co.uk

RIP Der Kaiser.