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Give me more Champions League
Nice leading question, John Nicholson, using ‘bloated’… way to imply there is a ‘correct’ answer, which is, of course, the one you yourself are pushing. Let’s have a closer look, shall we?
– the proposed larger Champion’s league (by 4 games) would be offset by having less games (and therefore less teams) in national top flights.
– JN himself often rails against the Premier League for being a closed club focused mostly on money. A smaller Premier League (and La Liga, Serie A etc) would be of benefit to these leagues – more interesting games, more jeopardy, less dead rubbers.
– Incidentally, top flights looking for a model of equilibrium and excitement could do worse than take a look at the old Serie A in the heady Platini/Maradona days – 16 teams with 4 relegations, competitive all the way through guaranteed.
– Granted that less top-flight teams in each country might mean less money globally, but proportional to the number of games played / number of teams, should be about the same. So a couple of teams can lose out (hence why mid-table Premier League teams are opposed to the idea), but overall it will lead to more competitive top flights.
– Now, what of the Champion’s League ‘Swiss system’ group stage? Quite true that the best teams would have qualification fairly secure after 7-8 games, but there’s always at least one (and usually more) big clubs that have to sweat it out.
– What about the mid-table? The beauty of the ‘Swiss system’ table is that when you aren’t competing in a small, closed, group, simple statistics dictate that there will be a large number of clubs contesting a congested mid-table where ‘top-half’ means qualification. That’s a guarantee of exciting and meaningful matches up until the end.
– Crap or not-so good teams fluking their way to the knockout stage on the back of a lucky draw or a couple of fluke results will be a thing of the past. But good teams will still make it through. I’m pretty sure that a team like Atalanta, or the de Jong/de Ligt Ajax, or Mbappe’s Monaco, would still comfortably get through the new group stage, because they are actually good teams. Sure, it won’t be at the expense of Barcelona or Bayern or PSG, but it’s actually a better guarantee that the best of the “mid-table” teams will get through to the knockouts, rather than those who had a lucky group stage draw.
– Generally speaking, less games between teams from the same country and more ‘international’ club games – what’s not to like?
So, actually, yes, I DO want a bigger Champions League. Call it bloated if you want, it won’t make it any less fun.
James, Switzerland
Johnny Nic: Do you want a more bloated Champions League?
Man Utd, the media darlings
As we get closer to the end of this season one thing I’ve learned in greater detail than before is how much crap football pundits and the media talk. Pundits for shock value and journalists about whoever is paying them.
Take a look at Utd. Knocked out of the FA cup a couple of days ago, treading water in the league as they were never in a race for the title etc, barrelled out of the champions league at the earliest point possible and are on struggle street in the ropey league. But utd are on the up and Solskjaer is the man. Oh how perspective changes everything. If you have read anything in the last 6 months you would think utd are a team going places but this is just a narrative being crammed down your throats. United play Jose counter attack football plain and simple with no structure whatsoever going forward. They play with a back four with two holding midfielders shielding their terrible centre backs who when out of possession fall back to their 6 yard box and look for blocks.
Their midfield has a midfielder in Bruno that is a good player but NOWHERE near the player people are claiming. For example Alan shearer scored more goals than anyone for the toon, not because he was the best player in the world but because he was the only player in Newcastle. Nobody else at United is contributing. Rashford another media darling. Was running about with Jesse lingard in his early career. Jesse posted some outlandish stuff at times leaving him and Marcus in slightly hot water with the Utd support. What did the United media do, distance Marcus from Jesse, treat Jesse like crap and help Marcus get an OBE or MBE. Fantastic cause in which it was brilliant result getting children more meals but I’d hazard a guess it was by design to make rashford look good because Marcus didn’t strike me as a social justice warrior before that. After all utd already were paying him more money than some of the best strikers in the world. Jesse eventually shipped off.
I apologise for slating Marcus it seems overly harsh but in my eyes he is the most overrated player I’ve seen in a long long time, not his fault more Utds hype train. If you really look at his game, what part of it is consistently good?? His ceiling can be high but his floor is super super low. That’s not a world class player. He will inevitably play for England on the left wing because let’s face it England’s team is media fc. A bunch of young hip guys who can push the clicks through the roof no doubt but winning football matches when it matters not a chance. For instance Luke shaw, been playing great football for half a season? Now the Best lb in the world and England’s lock in lb. Trent best rb in world football for three years, dropped. Tell me this Gareth, what has Luke shaw or Rashford or Maguire for that matter ever achieved in their careers except playing for the worst Man Utd sides about ? I personally would be picking players that have contributed to winning trophies and titles for a start. What gives these players the Devine right to start for their country? Media pressure that’s what.
In a season where referees have had no back up by fans and getting intimidated by the 22 millionaires on the pitch and bench into making decisions that are simply not right, Man Utd played it like a fiddle and the unsuspecting utd casuals lapped it up. Let’s see how good they are next year when Bruno’s tears and rolling about will be met with ‘get up you gurny tw@t’ from the stands allowing referees to ref the match with confidence again, because yes fans get on the refs back but they also work as a shield from the players, with a lot more correct decisions being made. So enough with utd are going places routine it’s getting embarrassing. It wouldn’t be that bad but as football fans every other article is how good utd are or what world class player they are buying ( which they’re definitely not). It would be a great change of pace to read some insightful articles next year.
JB
Do Man Utd need a trophy? Of course they sodding do…
Ole’s apples and Tuchel’s oranges
Seeing the emails knocking Ole for not being a ‘knockout’ manager is a bit weird. Clearly Utd are flagging at the moment. They had been reasonably consistent mid season but lately have wobbled a bit.
But this season we have seen that for nearly every team. Even City, who are now in full flow, started a little jittery. Outside of City, most teams have had periods when they have played well and then gone on runs of poor form.
It seems the compressed season with the small gap between seasons has impacted teams in different ways.Teams with fewer overall injuries or larger, high quality squads have fared better but it still isn’t a given where any but City will finish this year in the league and, the cups are cups – they have always thrown up surprises – but really, you couldn’t call Leicester – the team one point behind in the league.
Besides, while Utd were winning their round of 16 in the Europa League, Leicester had already gone out to a weak Slavia team in the round of 32. So Leicester had the advantage in also having a team who had played 2 games less recently and 3 further games less given Leicester went out in the first round they played in the Carabao Cup while Utd got to the Semis.
But oh, Ole is being compared to one manager, who has not managed a Carabao Cup game yet, and won a 6th round against Sheffield United. Sheffield bloody United. A manager who, outside of City, has the largest squad of top players.
What Aayush has done, effectively, has discounted Ole’s new manager bounce run when he first took over Utd, to Tuchel’s new manager bounce run at Chelsea. In reality, Ole is paying for a smaller squad who have played a lot of games and now look pretty tired. They can still get it together and win games but not with the regularity of a few weeks back.
Paul McDevitt
Crap Chelsea duos
I know football only started in 1992 but you can still have worse pairings for Chelsea within the premiership era.
How about Paul Furlong and Mark Stein? Little and large and I am sure Paul Furlong had the most cultured buttocks in football (see his goal against QPR in the infamous Tangerine and Graphite kit). Well his buttocks seemed to score better goals than either of his feet.
Or you can have Robert Fleck and anyone he played with. (Mick Harford, Steve Livingstone, Neil Shipperley, John Spencer (I actually have a soft spot for Spencer mainly for the corker he scored in Vienna and that time Julian Dicks stamped on his head) or Tony Cascarino). The story goes (probably not true) that Ken Bates was going to sign either Sherringham from Forest or Fleck from Norwich and they went for Fleck. Remind me again what Teddy won?
It is to my eternal shame that every time I think about where Abramovich got his money I remember what life was like before Gullit, Vialli and Zola and my conscience gets drowned out by the clanging of silverware.
As a Chelsea fan born in the seventies, I grew up watching Dixon, Speedie and Nevin and have also enjoyed Hasselbaink, Gudjonson, Drogba etc in more modern times, but in between all that Chelsea really have had some terrible strikers.
Simon, Woking
Kane and penalties
In answer to Mark C, London’s question. As a Spurs fan I though both were probably technically pen’s but that the rule in general is so rubbish that I wish neither had been given. The only difference was that Lacazette had completely lost any chance of scoring a goal when the challenge came in whereas Kane could have possibly kept the ball in play. But neither were a goal scoring chance so I don’t see why they then get a chance of a penalty. If it were me in charge of the rules I would only award pens if a goal scoring chance was denied by a foul, otherwise it’s an freekick where the offence took place.
The reward so outweighs the offence. The villa defender was just looking to block a shot, he wasn’t attempting a tackle.
The pen rule really infuriates me, clean through on goal and you get a free kick where the keeper organises a wall to make it incredibly difficult to score, whereas 2 players running away from goal and the ball brushes an arm gets a direct chance to score a goal.
Rant over
Steve (THFC)
One more thing…
I need to get something off my chest. I know it’s probably funny, makes you feel superior in some ways but the bastardisation of the ‘Proper Football Man’ term into a PFM quote that seems to accuse the receiver of being a xenophobic, racist, neanderthal, bantersaurus idiot and it makes me wince every time I see it written.
For me it was a term that was bestowed as a compliment to people such as Bobby Robson, David Pleat, SAF, Arsene Wenger, Brian Clough, Graham Taylor etc. It was a term that described these people of absolute lovers of the game, those who would spend their free time watching and talking about the game, being knowledgeable and educated about what it meant. They were supporters living the dream for their whole lives who were fortunate to work in an industry where they had an absolute passion for.
I doubt it will stop anyone from using it and it is just a pointless term but it saddens me when I see it used as an insult.
There, done.
Steve (THFC again)
Jose’s self-awareness
Jose Mourinho calls for an end to selfishness at Spurs? To paraphrase Brian Clough, I’m not saying that’s the most hypocritical thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s in the top 1.
John, Chicago
Think of the children
I was just playing football with my 5 year old and he thought (erroneously, of course) that I’d fouled him.
What does he do? Go and check a VAR screen to see if the ref made the right decision.
Genuinely one of the saddest moments of my life. This is the future, and it’s rubbish.
Kevin, ITFC, Vancouver.
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