Not sure what to make of the new format. It was better before. If it needed changed getting rid of seeding, scrapping the 3rd place into the EL, and no longer having four sides from the big leagues would have been a better idea. But UEFA want money and don't really care about anything else.
Premier League 24/25 Thread
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Thinking about it. I guess the new single group favours the big sides even more. Previously a 3rd ranked side had a hope of qualification if they beat the 4th ranked team H&A and beat one of the two top ranked sides.
Three wins from 6 games would give you a shot at qualification.
Now a third ranked side has no hope if they only beat the two sides below them and one above. They'll need to beat one of the other 3rd ranked sides and pick up a draw or two.
We'll see I guess.
Ps fair ***** to Larne for qualifying for the Conference Groups stage. First side from Norn Iron to make a group stage in any UEFA competition ever.
They will probably lose every game but sure.
Three wins from 6 games would give you a shot at qualification.
Now a third ranked side has no hope if they only beat the two sides below them and one above. They'll need to beat one of the other 3rd ranked sides and pick up a draw or two.
We'll see I guess.
Ps fair ***** to Larne for qualifying for the Conference Groups stage. First side from Norn Iron to make a group stage in any UEFA competition ever.
They will probably lose every game but sure.
lejackal
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Fair play indeed. Just a few games and that's probably them bankrolled for a couple of seasons, or fund training facilities etc
"Seasons"????
This is the Irish League (yes, the Norn Iron league is called that, dont ask or I have to go down the wormhole of illogical and nonsensical nonsense) they are set for decades.
Sterling to Arsenal, is a weird one. He's not the worst, but he's not the best and has been pish for two years.
Sancho to Chelsea makes even less sense. They have dozens of mediocre wide attacking players so why the **** do they need another? Given his apparent attitude to time keeping and training plus his 300kpw wages he seems a strange choice. I can only assume he went there to escape Utd. There are no other footballing reasons to go.
This is the Irish League (yes, the Norn Iron league is called that, dont ask or I have to go down the wormhole of illogical and nonsensical nonsense) they are set for decades.
Sterling to Arsenal, is a weird one. He's not the worst, but he's not the best and has been pish for two years.
Sancho to Chelsea makes even less sense. They have dozens of mediocre wide attacking players so why the **** do they need another? Given his apparent attitude to time keeping and training plus his 300kpw wages he seems a strange choice. I can only assume he went there to escape Utd. There are no other footballing reasons to go.
I wouldn't mind having Stirling on the bench, Richarlison is now injured as well so with Solanke lasting one whole game before getting injured, Spurs are down to zero strikers after two games, brilliant! Still, at least we only have Newcastle away and Arsenal for our next two games. 
lejackal
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Rice is suspended, Mikel Merino is injured, Jesus is injured. Not sure what our midfield will look like, maybe end up with Nwaneri in the left 8 seeing as we've shipped everyone else out that could play there (assuming Havertz plays 9)I wouldn't mind having Stirling on the bench, Richarlison is now injured as well so with Solanke lasting one whole game before getting injured, Spurs are down to zero strikers after two games, brilliant! Still, at least we only have Newcastle away and Arsenal for our next two games.
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So I've just watched the Rice second yellow, yes, he's tapped the ball away, but bugger me, does any fan want second yellows for that? Especially when in the first half one of their players hoofed it down the pitch to prevent a quick throw with no card shown?
By the letter of the law, right decision. Stupid of him to do that when on a yellow. Personally, I'm all for refs clamping down on ****-housery. However, as you say, the inconsistency is maddening- players get away with way worse on a regular basis e.g. Man City and their continual tactical fouling to stop the opposition breaking.
I honestly don't know what's worse - getting battered 10-1 aggregate in the last two visits to Newcastle, or completely and utterly outclassing them for the entire game today and STILL ******* losing. How can you miss that many chances!? And they score virtually the only two times they touch the ball! Unbelieveable. I can't decide what I hate more, fantasy football or football.
Looks like you played well. Newcastle certainly riding their luck this season- same happened vs Southampton.
I've seen the goals from the Spuds game and WTF is Romero doing? He goes awol for the first goal. I'm all for closing ppl down, and I can just about stretch to supporting a CB pressing the ball all the way to the half way line to put pressure on his opposing number. BUT when you don't get it you HAVE to sprint back into position. A wee casual jog is nice, but when the DCM has dropped in to cover you, the onus is on you to cover him not slowly dander back while offering to sign a few autographs for the crowd and grabbing a quick beer from the bar.
As for Rice, sigh. Where do you start? Yes, he kicks it away and thus should be booked and therefore sent off. But……I'm not even sure it was a foul to start with. It was from 10 yards behind where yer man took the free from. The ball was rolling. Veldman he is quite clearly trying to get Rice sent off and his follow through could well be a foul on Rice.
Possibly the best course of action would have been to order the free to be retaken from the correct spot and give Rice and Veldman a warning.
None of that excuses Rice's stupidity, when he had already been booked he should know better than to do something that daft and give the Ref a chance to send him off.
Apparently there was a Brighton player who booted the ball away in the first half and he wasn't booked, but I haven't seen the game so I'm going on here-say. If that's true, it's ANOTHER example of the inconsistency refs ehhh consistently display.
I have sympathy with Rice, but if you want stuff like time wasting and blocking quick frees stamped out, then you have to accept there will be high profile soft yellows like that. That Rice yellow/red will send more of a message than a random yellow in, say, Bournemouth Wolves.
Would I have been pissed off if a Pool player got sent off for that, dam right I would. But I'd be more pissed at him for being dumb enough to do it.
On the subject of Pool. Three games in and already you can kinda see what way Slot wants them to play. (I can think of a certain manager of the only side not to score at the weekend who still has no discernible style of play). Granted Slot's style is not a massive difference to Klopp, but for those of us who watch them regularly you can see the build up is slower and more structured. Klopp's football could be very frenetic. They also look a bit more solid at the back, but it's three games in so too early to pass judgement.
As for those who said Pool needed to sign a no. 6 in the summer, Casemiro was superb for Liverpool yesterday. ;-)
Different season, same old Utd…….and long may it continue lol
As for Rice, sigh. Where do you start? Yes, he kicks it away and thus should be booked and therefore sent off. But……I'm not even sure it was a foul to start with. It was from 10 yards behind where yer man took the free from. The ball was rolling. Veldman he is quite clearly trying to get Rice sent off and his follow through could well be a foul on Rice.
Possibly the best course of action would have been to order the free to be retaken from the correct spot and give Rice and Veldman a warning.
None of that excuses Rice's stupidity, when he had already been booked he should know better than to do something that daft and give the Ref a chance to send him off.
Apparently there was a Brighton player who booted the ball away in the first half and he wasn't booked, but I haven't seen the game so I'm going on here-say. If that's true, it's ANOTHER example of the inconsistency refs ehhh consistently display.
I have sympathy with Rice, but if you want stuff like time wasting and blocking quick frees stamped out, then you have to accept there will be high profile soft yellows like that. That Rice yellow/red will send more of a message than a random yellow in, say, Bournemouth Wolves.
Would I have been pissed off if a Pool player got sent off for that, dam right I would. But I'd be more pissed at him for being dumb enough to do it.
On the subject of Pool. Three games in and already you can kinda see what way Slot wants them to play. (I can think of a certain manager of the only side not to score at the weekend who still has no discernible style of play). Granted Slot's style is not a massive difference to Klopp, but for those of us who watch them regularly you can see the build up is slower and more structured. Klopp's football could be very frenetic. They also look a bit more solid at the back, but it's three games in so too early to pass judgement.
As for those who said Pool needed to sign a no. 6 in the summer, Casemiro was superb for Liverpool yesterday. ;-)
Different season, same old Utd…….and long may it continue lol
In his defence, it's quite subtly done and the ball only moves a few inches. You can see how the Ref missed it! 
Yellow card all day long. Him not getting a yellow for that is a worse decision than Rice getting a second yellow in my mind.
Yellow card all day long. Him not getting a yellow for that is a worse decision than Rice getting a second yellow in my mind.
TF the PL is back. International football is dull, and gets duller as I get older.
Does anyone give a **** about that stupid Nations League?
The big relegation six pointer up first on Saturday. The loser there must be odds on for relegation.
'mon Saints!!!! (That'll guarantee they lose now)
Does anyone give a **** about that stupid Nations League?
The big relegation six pointer up first on Saturday. The loser there must be odds on for relegation.
'mon Saints!!!! (That'll guarantee they lose now
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Great weekend of football! Liverpool need to be careful losing games like that at Anfield if they want to compete for top 4. Great win for Arsenal going to Spurs with some key players out and getting a clean sheet and 3 points. I was worried if Spurs had won and then City won next week the league would pretty much already be done and dusted, well it probably is anyway. Everton are every shade of crap, but at least they showed some grit.
I didnt see any of the CL games midweek, the new format seems to killed my interest in it. Good result for Arsenal though, Atalanta dismantled Liverpool out there last year. Surprised City couldnt beat Inter.
Apparently Spuds got lucky against Coventry but sometimes you need a result like that to get things going.
@Cazza what has happened to WH? There's no shame in losing to Chelsea, but it sounds like WH were lucky to get 'nil' at HT.
No doubt you'll turn into peak Brazil in time for your midweek trip to Anfield.
That Martinez tackle is bizarre. He JUMPS in and it's blatantly two footed. He doesnt make contact with the Palace defender, but I have no idea if that matters. They keep changing the rules on tackles so I lose track of what's what. But if the Ref had sent him off, and had the Palace boy squealed and rolled about like say Fernandez would have, a red card was a distinct possibly, then Martinez could have had no complaints and I don't think VAR would have over turned it.
But, the bit that has me scratching my head is the fact he did it on the edge of Palace's box and there wasn't even a break on. ******* daft.
Apparently Vicarrio handled the ball outside his box too. I assumed that was a straight red for a keeper, but maybe it's only a yellow. Surely between VAR and the ref/lino they can confirm if it's inside or not!?
Apparently Spuds got lucky against Coventry but sometimes you need a result like that to get things going.
@Cazza what has happened to WH? There's no shame in losing to Chelsea, but it sounds like WH were lucky to get 'nil' at HT.
No doubt you'll turn into peak Brazil in time for your midweek trip to Anfield.
That Martinez tackle is bizarre. He JUMPS in and it's blatantly two footed. He doesnt make contact with the Palace defender, but I have no idea if that matters. They keep changing the rules on tackles so I lose track of what's what. But if the Ref had sent him off, and had the Palace boy squealed and rolled about like say Fernandez would have, a red card was a distinct possibly, then Martinez could have had no complaints and I don't think VAR would have over turned it.
But, the bit that has me scratching my head is the fact he did it on the edge of Palace's box and there wasn't even a break on. ******* daft.
Apparently Vicarrio handled the ball outside his box too. I assumed that was a straight red for a keeper, but maybe it's only a yellow. Surely between VAR and the ref/lino they can confirm if it's inside or not!?
Tactics were terrible against Chelsea. Going forward we were OK, but all over the shop when out of possession. Mind you, how Summerville didn't get a pen for having his arm held is utterly baffling. How do these decisions keep happening? Down the other end, that would've 100% been a pen. There's absolutely no decision to make- it's a pen! 2-1 would've been interesting...
Yeah, just seen it in MOTD. I'm not quite as adamant it was a pen as the MOTD panel. For me it's a "seen them given" or "slightly soft" pen. He is holding his arm, no doubt, but I'm not sure if there is enough contact to deserve a pen. Daft defending. The Ref is looking right at it and 6 feet away.
As for Vicarrio, 100% outside the box, and VAR doesn't get involved as it's not a goal scoring opportunity or a red card (it would have been a yellow, so I was wrong earlier). But surely the free kick Brentford would have got right on the edge if Spurs box is a goal scoring opportunity? Seems daft but then…..VAR
As for Vicarrio, 100% outside the box, and VAR doesn't get involved as it's not a goal scoring opportunity or a red card (it would have been a yellow, so I was wrong earlier). But surely the free kick Brentford would have got right on the edge if Spurs box is a goal scoring opportunity? Seems daft but then…..VAR
Did amazingly well to hold out for that long. Point gained away at the best team in the World- not to be sniffed at, but I totally get why your gutted!
Weasel, we'll have to agree to disagree on the pen- stonewall for me, and can't see how you can hold someone's wrist for a good 3 seconds and it not be a pen.
Weasel, we'll have to agree to disagree on the pen- stonewall for me, and can't see how you can hold someone's wrist for a good 3 seconds and it not be a pen.
@Cazza, I don't doubt there is contact i'm just not sure there is enough to warrant a penalty. Not all contact is a foul. But you def see them given.
Weird game that City Arsenal one. I only saw chunks of the first half and all the second. Some goal by yer unpronounceable Italian. No idea what City were doing for Gabriel's header. It looked very soft. Seen a picture of twitter that makes it look like Arsenal blocked off Edersen (which would be unlike arsenal) but the CB's should still be dealing with it. Gabriel was about 2 yards out when he scored.
Doku should 100% have been booked for kicking the ball away. Anyone who has played, or watched, enough sport knows Doku knows EXACTLY what he is doing. Michael Oliver should know too.
I didnt see Trossard's first yellow, but he can have no complaints about being sent off. The shoulder barge on its own was a borderline yellow for me. I suspect had he not already got a booking he would have picked one up there. But to follow that up with a blatant booting away of the ball right in front of the ref is criminally stupid. If I was an Arsenal player I would be raging with him.
Fair ***** though, that second half was bloody impressive defensively. I didnt like the mass time wasting and the fact every single Arsenal player got cramp. Six times. That was pure Simeone/Jose. As was the flat back 5 with four holding midfielders sitting right in front.
Kinda like Newcastle when they did it an Anfield and Pool scored in stoppage time, it came back to bite Arsenal. Harsh on them.
I saw a stat that neither Haeverts nor Timber completed a single pass in 90 minutes. The first time a player (who plays 90mins) has managed that since they started keeping records in 03-04. They attempted 11 between them.
That's two professional footballers, probably on +100kpw who didnt manage to pass to a single team mate at any stage in a 90minute game. They also attempted less than one pass every ten minutes between them. I can do that! Can I have 100kpw and play for Arsenal?
There is a very strange coincidence between Michael Oliver refereeing their games and City getting the benefit of the doubt when they need it (Doku today, the non Pen for Pool in stoppage time last yr) and the other team NOT getting it when City need it (Trossard booked for something Doku had got away with, albeit Trossard's was more blatant). It's almost as if they pay him massive money to come and referee a few games a season. And this is not a new issue. It's becoming a running theme.
Weird game that City Arsenal one. I only saw chunks of the first half and all the second. Some goal by yer unpronounceable Italian. No idea what City were doing for Gabriel's header. It looked very soft. Seen a picture of twitter that makes it look like Arsenal blocked off Edersen (which would be unlike arsenal) but the CB's should still be dealing with it. Gabriel was about 2 yards out when he scored.
Doku should 100% have been booked for kicking the ball away. Anyone who has played, or watched, enough sport knows Doku knows EXACTLY what he is doing. Michael Oliver should know too.
I didnt see Trossard's first yellow, but he can have no complaints about being sent off. The shoulder barge on its own was a borderline yellow for me. I suspect had he not already got a booking he would have picked one up there. But to follow that up with a blatant booting away of the ball right in front of the ref is criminally stupid. If I was an Arsenal player I would be raging with him.
Fair ***** though, that second half was bloody impressive defensively. I didnt like the mass time wasting and the fact every single Arsenal player got cramp. Six times. That was pure Simeone/Jose. As was the flat back 5 with four holding midfielders sitting right in front.
Kinda like Newcastle when they did it an Anfield and Pool scored in stoppage time, it came back to bite Arsenal. Harsh on them.
I saw a stat that neither Haeverts nor Timber completed a single pass in 90 minutes. The first time a player (who plays 90mins) has managed that since they started keeping records in 03-04. They attempted 11 between them.
That's two professional footballers, probably on +100kpw who didnt manage to pass to a single team mate at any stage in a 90minute game. They also attempted less than one pass every ten minutes between them. I can do that! Can I have 100kpw and play for Arsenal?
There is a very strange coincidence between Michael Oliver refereeing their games and City getting the benefit of the doubt when they need it (Doku today, the non Pen for Pool in stoppage time last yr) and the other team NOT getting it when City need it (Trossard booked for something Doku had got away with, albeit Trossard's was more blatant). It's almost as if they pay him massive money to come and referee a few games a season. And this is not a new issue. It's becoming a running theme.
Rodri out for the season.
Massive loss for City……until January when they will go and spend 100m on a replacement. Probably Zubimendi who will turn out to be even better than Rodri as they cruise to another title having paid the 10k fine they got for being found guilty of all 130 charges.
Massive loss for City……until January when they will go and spend 100m on a replacement. Probably Zubimendi who will turn out to be even better than Rodri as they cruise to another title having paid the 10k fine they got for being found guilty of all 130 charges.
That's a huge loss, even for them.
