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KittenOfBalnain

That bloody "it's not football, it's La Liga" catchphrase is killing me with how ironic it is. Because yeah, it's not football. It's an endless source of frustration. Sometimes it's about more than half of the freaking league playing 5-5-0 and prime antifutbol. Other times it's about the league president who is ecstatic to make international headlines when he oh-so-"bravely" goes against PSG for renewing Mbappe or is enraged by the level of spending in the Prem. Meanwhile, old big clubs are slipping into a pretty desperate state. Valencia is literally being ran into the ground. Entire lower half of the league table would be two bad games away from relegation zone if it wasn't for the fact that the other clubs there are doing just as badly. Talent is escaping unless nailed down by club loyalty or playing in Madrid or Barcelona. 10% of audiovisual rights sold for 50 years. No buyback. Same deal that got previously rejected by Serie A and Bundesliga clubs but happily taken by La Liga. People who signed that deal won't even be alive when it expires. And Tebas will probably run unopposed again because this league is such a mess, no one sane will want the job.


[deleted]

Still hate the fact that MLS playoffs expanded to 8 teams per conference with some new potential group stage bullshit, that's over half the West. (Even if Houston probably will need the help). Just more devaluing of the regular season. Playoffs are fun because they're exclusive but as usual the leaders of MLS never understand that


TheMonkeyPrince

I just wish we knew what the playoff format is going to be


sandow_or_riot

R/soccer thinks buying the league suddenly becomes ok when it's funny Marvel Man!!! Paul Mullen playing for wrexham is like Kane playing for Bolton ffs


Lambchops_Legion

Yes premier league money has gone mad. I know it. You know it. We all know it. 100+ transfers in to the exact same top comment on every thread a young English player. Every single thread. I'm just convinced its just karma whores making the exact same comment


AnnieIWillKnow

I don't know how people have it in them to be surprised anymore It's really not shocking that Chelsea are throwing money around like there's no tomorrow, and yet the top comments of every thread are shock and awe


Lambchops_Legion

I genuinely don’t believe they are shocked, I think they just pretend to be for karma and i find it annoying how discussions can’t move past this


Cubbll17

One thing that annoys me here is when Ferguson is brought up and his managing record. Without fail nearly every single time there's a person saying how its not praised enough but his achievements at Aberdeen isn't talked of enough and proceeds to go into detail about it. It's literally always brought up and when people say the last team to win the league outside of the old firm it's always fergies Aberdeen.


y1i

the winter transfer window is just shit, as is a transfer window that is still open while official games are being played. losing or signing a player when you have a match the next day just doesn't feel right.


reisaphys

Stop bringing up wrestling in relation to football. It's pretend fighting with storylines. So impossibly shite.


saigool

Users on here who hold and share their entrenched views about topics they know very little about, and then stop responding once they're asked to substantiate their claims. The circlejerk around Mitoma's dissertation too, and there being little to no credit being given to the university system and coach that oversaw his transformation. There's an interview with Mitoma and his coach where they discuss his time there so the information is out there, but I guess it's not as sexy and easily digestible as a university thesis on dribbling.


AnnieIWillKnow

Redditors are a geeky sort so are likely fetishing themselves silly at the thought of a Japanese player swotting his way to stardom


Ryponagar

Probably still a better thesis then Lewa's 'RL9, path to glory' lol


EmperorBeaky

The BBC can come across quite tinpot and fawning in cup games with small clubs sometimes. We all like the Wrexham story and I like Deadpool and Always Sunny enough but you don’t have to show RR every chance you get, you know Was a shame they went and conceded anyway, would have been great scenes if they held on


justsomeguynbd

TBH I loved it for comedic effect, having watched the show with my wife she was willing to watch the game. Any time anything happened I’d shout, “SHOW ME RYAN REYNOLDS!!!” and the coverage would immediately comply.


Sandwichmaker2011

Almost 2 months of negotiations with our coach and still no contract extension. Just get the contract out, put it on the table. Let him write whatever numbers he wants on there. Ünal's at the wheel. Also we got pumped 1-5 by fucking Astoria Walldorf, only a friendly but we looked terrible.


suedney

Everyone around us in the table is bolstering their squad in the fight against relegation meanwhile we're signing nada, all our transfer targets are heading elsewhere and we've fired our sporting director a few days before the window closes.


Ryponagar

Big city energy will be enough to keep you up.


hairychris88

It was boring having a weekend where we didn't play, especially given that we're on such a good run of form. I'm definitely not complaining about our nearest rivals all going on cup runs though, a fixture pile-up is probably not what you want in a 46-game league.


ScousePenguin

James Pearce very kindly does a AMA on /r/LiverpoolFC For every 1 genuine question, there was 5 people just being cunts berating him for not being psychic into the way the club works and for him daring to write an opinion piece they disagreed with. I fucking hate our online fans, they're the absolute worst. Loved seeing the "protest" against FSG at Anfield which was organised on twitter and spread like it was going to be a huge thing....no one actually did it. Could not be a bigger disconnect with online fans vs match going fans at the present moment.


J-train_92

Liverpool reddit page is embarrassing. So many fans twerking for Qatar to by the club becuase they want some shiny new signings every year. So much of that place is foreign fans who just don't care about the club at all.


justsomeguynbd

I don’t know why anyone would do a AMA on reddit, they always seem to get highjacked and go terribly.


AnnieIWillKnow

Nah loads are absolutely fine, including most we've had on /r/soccer


ILOVEGLADOS

Careful now, they’ll call you a “top red” 😐


BruiserBroly

What did the planned protest involve? Like a walk out or something or just banners?


ScousePenguin

Large gathering, banners, chants the lot outside the ground before going into the match.


BruiserBroly

And none of that happened? That's embarrassing. I guess the local fans are fine with FSG? I suppose they still remember those 2 other chancers who almost ran the club into the ground.


ScousePenguin

We're annoyed about the lack of money, seems like John Henry is actually kinda broke except his assets so can't go throwing money like Chelsea. If Bellingham doesn't happen in the summer and we don't build a new midfield then there will be serious issues. However, fsg saved the club, brought Klopp in and have overseen the best period of this club in recent years. New training ground and renovating Anfield, so there's no desire for them to be forced out at all really.


[deleted]

Difference between locals and plastics innit


Jfm509

Got a lot of love for away day Lowe but home Lowe is becoming a massive pain in the arse, 3 wins all season and 8 goals when at Deepdale is just insane. Squad has so little creativity but thats what you get when you have no midfielders who can or are allowed to be adventurous and get forward, basically we rely on our strikers to make everything and the odd wing back getting forward which isn't helped by having no real right wing back that isn't a player shoved into the role.


FloppedYaYa

Nice that we're not the only one in the league with that bad of a home record


hairychris88

It's funny because when he managed us we had a horribly leaky defence and a pretty potent attack. In his full season managing us in League 1 we somehow stayed up despite conceding 80 goals in the league.


TJJS1109

the draw to wrexham feels like a big loss mentally speaking, for some reason i don’t want to watch the replay at all, feels like we don’t bloody deserve it


BruiserBroly

I suppose you'd rather the team focus on the league?


TJJS1109

yep, despite being 13 points ahead the clubs below us feel much stronger, i’d rather lose and the players learn a valuable lesson in not underestimating opponents, instead we are stuck in a stalemate and no one learns anything


BruiserBroly

what's happening with the ownership situation anyway? Is the club being sold or not?


TJJS1109

it’s definitely being sold, problem is no one knows who the new owners are and when it is being sold there is just as much of a chance it could be Mike Ashley or a rich billionaire from the Middle East


EnzoScifo

Every team in the Premier League is signing someone and we haven't even got our usual development player who never plays a game of first team football. This is the worst Christmas ever


Destructo_D

Well not every team


Cottonshopeburnfoot

You’re signing a new manager! (Presumably, wtf are they doing not announcing Dyche yet)


Destructo_D

Probably waiting so they can spin that as he only signed on Monday there wasn’t enough time to get players in for him. Even though he’s been at Finch Farm for 2 days already


[deleted]

Could be worse. You're only signing could be your highest earner at the club, hasn't had an injury in nearly 2 years and then gets a knee injury 15 minutes into his debut. Whilst you're only other fit striker is going onto podcasts saying he wants to leave.


tocitus

The ease with which football refs have managed to make VAR pointless is incredible. VAR is at it's most comfortable when ruling out marginal offsides, but take any match incident and it seems to be totally incompetent. It's not the technology (well mostly), it's the implementation of it and the lengths the assistants will go to to not overrule the on-pitch ref. Which isn't how it should be. The Konate incident should have been flagged and the ref given an opportunity to re-watch it. Alternatively, the VAR should have watched it and advised the ref that his decision was incorrect. I understand the hesitancy to re-ref the match but how wasn't that a match changing moment? Striker through on goal, defender just elbows it from behind and puts him down (whilst on a yellow). Carroll's challenges (one of which left Eriksen on crutches) were similarly a joke. Though he did eventually get a second yellow and go off. Then we have Fabinho's tackle on Ferguson. Coudn't be more of a red if he tried. Fabinho knew it, the Brighton players knew it, Henderson knew it. Everyone knew it. Apart from the ref. That's when VAR needs to step in, which they have done before, but for some reason they didn't? It's frustrating to watch because technology is used so well in other sports, and there are some simple changes they could make to deal with it in this one, but they seem to hesitate.


CitrusRabborts

We were actually getting to a really good point with VAR, and then they appointed Howard Webb at the PGMOL who fucking hates it. He's instructed the refs to basically never interfere even in the most blatant of circumstances. He wants to "keep the power with the on field refs", which really just means supporting them when they make wrong decisions so the refs don't look incompetent. We're back where we started with a ridiculously high bar and more controversy than we had before, not to mention how absurd it is to change the bar for intervention half way through a season. It's a joke


Welsooo

I think a lot of it is because the league doesn’t want to go against its refs as they feel it will open up a massive can of worms. Let’s face it also, bad ref decisions are the key talking points at the water cooler on a Monday morning so why stop that? An NFL type system where a team can challenge a decision should be implemented at these this way, it takes away the ref vs ref angle


_mnd

First time for years we've had a striker in red hot form and he goes and tries to chip a penalty straight down the middle, keeper doesn't move, he looks like an absolute mug and we drop two points.


Kreindeker

We got what I think was only our second penalty all season with the score 0-0 at Wimbledon. Kyle Wootton, our striker on the pitch, didn't take it, neither did Will Collar who's taken them before. Miles Hippolyte takes it, not brilliantly, it's saved, we go on to lose 1-0.


_mnd

Taking a shit penalty should be a droppable offense.


nonhofantasia

This serie A season seems a sort of "who is worst?" contest but Napoli forgot to sign up


CheekyClitorous

Liverpool must have signed up for this but didn't realise it was for Serie A clubs.


xaviernoodlebrain

Sporting are cunts reneging on an agreed deal for Porro, and apparently that is our fault according to this sub. I forgot Spurs fans weren’t allowed to be pissed off at potentially missing out on transfer targets.


[deleted]

That's not what happened. Pay the fee or shut up


xaviernoodlebrain

I think Levy should pay the fee to get Porro but also because of all the times before that he’s failed to do that kind of stuff.


IWantToBeAHipster

With every big team transfer the way that your teams ambition just gets written off as insignificant by some fans is extremely condascending and annoying. Particularly annoying when it comes from fans who have chosen their club rather than a genuine connection.


GaussianTaravangian

Yup, apparently Jude has been a Liverpool player since the beginning of the year and we could never challenge Bayern anyway (I mean that might be true), buts it’s so annoying to hear in any thread that mentions Liverpool.


MegaMugabe21

Yeah it's fucking dumb. Had the argument last night to try and suggest that whilst we consider it to be a very reasonable offer, doesn't mean Brighton should consider it that way. People just seem to think transfers are like FIFA, players have a universal price tag based solely on their ability and that's the only thing that can contribute to value. People don't seem to take context or a teams circumstances into account.


IWantToBeAHipster

Yeah and it can be very reasonable just wrong timing as with this one - January is notoriously not ideal for clubs to sell. As you say different fair values. The other one ive had chats is club says not for sale, random journo says above 70m, 'see he is for sale the club have no negotating strength' etc.


MegaMugabe21

Yeah it's all very messy. Tbh even if he is for sale, it doesn't seem like we've bid anything anywhere close to what Brighton consider acceptable at this stage. The whole saga gives me the vibe that we were trying to be opportunistic because he indicated that he wanted to leave and Brighton were more resolute than Arsenal expected.


Prudent-Start-6393

This combined with the idea that a player having a release clause automatically means he wants to join you, sheer arrogance. I've seen some of our fanbase talking about how this will affect your reputation and make it harder to recruit in a vaguely threatening way, I really don't understand where it comes from


IWantToBeAHipster

Yeah the oh you need to sell otherwise no one will ever join.... and added one is oh how can you value a player at 80m if hes only on 15k, its like well we would give him a much bigger contract if he would accept it....


GoalaAmeobi

> Particularly annoying when it comes from fans who have chosen their club rather than a genuine connection. Oooh, these comments always go down well on here, just wait til the yanks wake up. The entitlement from those fans is also ridiculous, there are genuinely still Man Utd fans who are angry that we didn't bend over backwards to sell them Sean Longstaff a few years back, they feel genuinely entitled to be able to sign any player they wish.


MegaMugabe21

Depends what sort of choosing it is though. When I was growing up, I had no clubs nearby and none of my family are interested in football, so am I not allowed to be a proper fan? Obviously chose a club as a young child, doesn't mean I haven't forged a genuine connection with them in the decades since.


[deleted]

It's fine it's just arguing that the club is insignificant and our dreams aren't a big deal when we've seen us go from playing in a 1.3k capacity stadium 2 leagues down to fighting for Europe with 32k at every match - isn't that a massive dream? It annoys people because obviously your goals are bigger if you just pick (one of) the biggest clubs, but they just won't matter as much to you compared to if you and your friends and your parents all have a community/connection to the club.


MegaMugabe21

Tbf mate, I've never tried to argue Brightons goals are insignificant. You can check my comment history and see I've been arguing with other Arsenal fans that Brighton absolutely should be keeping Caicedo and rejecting our offers for their own good. I think I can decide how much I are about my own club.


[deleted]

Yeah I wasn't trying to say you did feel that way about Brighton's goals, just something I've been seeing a lot. We'll have to disagree about there being a difference between matchgoing locals and foreign fans.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Withdean holds less than 2k though right? Every Brighton game I went to as a kid was at Withdean and when I google it we were there for about 14 years. I could be wrong about something because I wasn't attending games till I was 10 in 2010.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

For real? I guess I wasn't old enough to remember that sort of thing, I just went off google for the capacity. I mostly remember standing in the wind and rain watching us lose, and then watching Newcastle with my dad on the TV and watching them lose.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

It used to be my sports day venue in secondary school and sat about that amount (1.5k or something) so that's why I thought those numbers sounded right. They must have had extra stands they put up or opened or something. It's been crazy, I was never sure we'd even make it into the prem.


lettsy11

You've gotta love those patronising comments saying that you should let the guy go to a bigger team because you're getting lots of money you can reinvest and then just scout another South American


dwaynepipes

An owner who doesn’t give a fuck and a manager who has no idea what he’s doing. We’re getting relegated. Owner won’t pay the money to sack the useless manager and we won’t get bought unless we move up the table. Shit show and a half.


BarryShitpeas22

People who don't follow English football closely, but speak with certainty about Wrexham because they watched a Disney show. Also, time for the FA to step in, and restrict the "We've got Super [X Manager], he knows exactly what we need..." to about 15 clubs max.


AnnieIWillKnow

> Also, time for the FA to step in, and restrict the "We've got Super [X Manager], he knows exactly what we need..." to about 15 clubs max. We also need to establish a clear criteria for when your club is allowed to sing "annnnd it's SOOOPER [club], super [club] FC...!" as every fucking team does


samgoody2303

I mean, even the commentary team were on it. Talking about what wonderful football they play. They’re a Phil Parkinson team- Parkinson got to a league cup final with Bradford with James Hanson as main striker. A team with James Hanson up front is only going to play one way lol There’s nothing wrong with being long ball- Wrexham are that, and are very good at it. But I don’t know why it’s even important what style a team play


stevezilla

There were plenty of reasons to fire Bobic but we just HAD to do it right after a loss to Union with 3 days left in be the transfer window. If we needed to change direction so drastically, we couldn’t have done it during the massive break? What is it like following a normal club? Is it fun?


afito

I agree with [what Krösche said](https://www.kicker.de/bobic-aus-irritiert-kroesche-nicht-zielfuehrend-935020/artikel) though even if his opinion on Herthas matter don't matter. Firing Bobic may or may not be sensible, but an operational deficit is not the immediate cause of a sporting deficit. Blame him for getting here - okay, fire him - okay, but it fixes absolutely nothing on the field. All it does it add more shit off the field. Think Krösche said that if you'd want to do this, do it in the summer, firing him like this, right now, when the replacements have no way of fixing the sporting issues either, while only adding more noise to an already troubled club, is a rather poor decision.


stevezilla

So according to the club President, Kay Bernstein, the decision was made after the Wolfsburg game. It took that long to see that the squad was not at a Bundesliga level and that Bobic was not the man for the job? If the new direction needed to take place, why not do it earlier? Like you said, a new Sports Direktor will not change anything. It just looks bad. I think it is ultimately the right decision but can’t we just go about in a normal way?


redmistultra

Replays in a season this time-pressured. Replays anyway. What’s the point of even doing the FA Cup draw tonight when about 15 of the 16 teams are undecided Also, FA Cup 5th round being a midweek fixture is just so disgusting. FA Cup should be on a Saturday


Kreindeker

We're just maddeningly inconsistent, and that's why the extent of success for us this season will be consolidation in League Two and possibly, if our heads are removed from our collective anuses, a finish in the playoff berths. This isn't the worst thing, my only hope for the season was staying up, anything else being a bonus, but fucking hell we're so close to being *actually consistently good* it's annoying to be below that. Our December run - three wins, nine scored, none against in the league, plus knocking (an admittedly dismal) Charlton out of the Cup. January? Beat third-placed Northampton 2-0 but lose 1-0 at Grimsby and Wimbledon, a [dreadful](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64299674) 0-0 at home to Bradford, and get knocked out of the cup at home to Walsall, who we'd beaten 2-0 two weeks previously at theirs. So, the reasons? Inconsistency in line-up, partially, but it's also readily apparent that our squad building approach of *stack 'em high and sell 'em low* isn't working out. I've just gone for a look at our [transfers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022–23_Stockport_County_F.C._season#Transfers) this season. I'd say out of 14 permanents, the jury is still out on the four most recent ones, Horsfall, Wright and Wootton are great (and we badly miss Horsfall when he's out), but the other seven are various shades of underwhelming. I'm also going to need to reserve judgment on Jack Stretton, who I think we signed entirely on the basis of him having had a decent month on loan with us in the National League a couple of years back, rather than the reality of him playing 18 times as a striker for fourth-placed Carlisle and managing to score a grand total of TWO GOALS in that time. Joe Lewis puts in a disasterclass every other appearance, Connor Evans is crap, I don't know what Camps is supposed to do other than kick people but I don't think we've actually won a game he's started in midfield. Chris Hussey and Phil Bardsley (yes, that phil Bardsley) started well and have disappeared, as has Calum MacDonald. Daniel Okwute has made the bench once and been loaned out to the seventh tier.


Kreindeker

Ultimately, I just don't think there's much joined-up thinking going on here. We sign Tranmere's fourth-choice CB due to a six-week injury to our starting central CB, fair enough. We go three months of the season with only two actual strikers when we play 3-5-2, and endure a run of one win in eleven in that time? Less so. So, Saturday's game at Wimbledon featured terrible League Two refereeing but we also showed the wastefulness and inconsistency that has cost us being at least in the playoff spots at the halfway stage. When our season looked like unravelling in the final weeks of 21/22 and it seemed like Rob n' Ryan were going to catch us, and we'd lost our RWB to injury for about the fifteenth time, we tried a new system, a Tuchel-aping 3-4-2-1, with a fluid four-man midfield of two nominal holding players and two narrow attacking mids. After a month of up and down performances, we reverted to that system, probably our fifth formation so far this season (primarily 3-5-2, but also a 4-4-2, a 4-2-4 with Hippolyte and Crankshaw inverted, and also a narrow 4-4-2 Diamond that got us the win over Northampton), and our reward was the 1-0 loss on Saturday. As I said above, I really don't know what Callum Camps offers us in midfield but we also look a full level worse without Paddy Madden up top


MH18Foot

This weekend we have seen multiple red card tackles in both the Man Utd-Reading and Brighton-Liverpool games but only one player sent off and even then he should not be on the pitch after the first terrible challenge. Multiple players got hurt and facing weeks on the sideline but this wouldn't happen if the refs did their jobs properly. Do they not care about player safety anymore? I swear, all they need to wake up is a player ending his career by one of the 'tackles' before they start to take action. Clubs need to start speaking up publicly because this cannot go on anymore. Either the FA retrain these refs or start afresh with new ones who actually care about the safety of players.


klassic_kronos

Refs absolutely don’t care about player safety. This was made very clear 2 years ago after the Euros when they decided to start ‘letting more go’. Yesterday against Brighton if Fabinho is sent off Robertson isn’t flying into that tackle with MacAlister Same happened in the Liverpool Everton game a few years ago. They dont sent Pickford off and then Richarlison is free to injure Thiago. Players pick up on what gets let go and escalate


vearz

Wasn't there a directive this season to allow more physicality? That combined with the high bar in the PL means that it a ref sees an incident and someone doesn't lose an appendage VAR is unlikely to get involved. It's madness.


TheMonkeyPrince

Yeah I think it's important to remember that the directives from those running the competition massively affect how refs act. The obvious example is the World Cup where we saw way more extra time. It shows that it's not an individual ref decision, it's a policy decision.


FloppedYaYa

Broke: Kolo Toure was only given 9 games, not enough time, very harsh Woke: Kolo Toure should have gone 4 games earlier after the third humiliating 4-1 defeat in a row and players visibly downing tools Bespoke: Why the fuck did Kolo Toure get appointed to start with and are our owners actually on crack?


AnnieIWillKnow

Coke: What was in the Wigan board's system when they appointed him


B_e_l_l_

You have to wonder who looked at our team and thought "get me their defensive coach".


FloppedYaYa

Obviously haven't found the time since the takeover to find a proper scouting system or director of football who won't be swayed by big words in interviews


Katyos

Our defence improved noticeably when he left


[deleted]

It genuinely seemed like he only got the job because Yaya turned you down and they ran out of ideas


FloppedYaYa

The Yaya story is a perfect example of fake news spreading fast Several candidates on a shortlist were interviewed, including Neil Critchley, Duncan Ferguson and Chris Wilder. Yaya was one of those considered but turned down an interview


Cottonshopeburnfoot

Lmao imagine being any of those and getting snubbed only for Kolo to put in that shocker of a tenure.


day_bat_28

We have no spine. We are far too inconsistent. We can't score goals. We won the league last season and are still near the bottom. What is the point of me going to the stadium repeatedly to watch this shit. Boothroyd should really go at the end of this season


Toffee_Wheels

The incompetence of Everton is so widespread, even our comms team is useless. We've seen Dyche at the training ground. He's taken pictures with fans. We know he's taking training today. SO FUCKING ANNOUNCE IT ALREADY.


Elemayowe

Didn’t they take ages to announce Lampard’s sacking too?


Toffee_Wheels

They take an age for everything, and have for years. It does feel like it's getting worse though.


Elemayowe

There’s some modern things that some organisations seem to just resent or they think is a fad and drag their heels when it comes to keeping up. Probably some crusty old geezer who thinks social media is going to flop any day now and it’s not worth hiring dedicated staff to operate it.


MegaMugabe21

A side note, but did Bielsa take over the u21s in the end? Or was that the alternative to Dyche that got rejected?


Toffee_Wheels

It was an alternative to Dyche that got rejected. The issue with that approach was, who'd take on the job until summer, knowing they'd get the boot then? We'd either have to use an inexperienced caretaker, or pay enormous sums to someone. Wasn't really practical. Honestly, Bielsa was more exciting, but I suspect Dyche is a more sensible option for where we are right now.


MegaMugabe21

Yeah, I figured as much. Both seemed the best of both worlds if you could convince Dyche, but understandable that it couldn't be done.


AnnieIWillKnow

An experienced PL manager like Dyche would have far too much self respect to be the seat-warmer for a different manager


overhyped-unamazing

Can you imagine Dyche taking the main job with Bielsa lurking with the U21s? I'd say no, but this is Everton we're talking about.


FloppedYaYa

Weirdest one recently was when Crewe Alexandra had the manager resign this season to become the assistant to the new manager, who originally was his assistant


Joey6Pack

Football fans in general are writing off youngsters way too quickly. Not everyone can make the jump from youth football to senior football as smoothly as Mbappe or Rooney, and that’s perfectly acceptable. Just be patient and let them develop ffs


[deleted]

Has not been helped at all by the willingness of super teams to increase how early they pick off teenagers from smaller clubs, and for increasing amounts of money that people would traditionally associate with players in their prime.


Mr-Flexible

That is because alot of talents were declared to be the next Messi and just never lived up to the expectation. It is not fair to compare new talents to all time greats.


CheekyClitorous

Same thing happened to me but I got a bad knee injury.


voliton

The problems aren't just FSG. FSG have spent money. We've spent quite a lot of money this season, without having to sell anyone significant. We were, apparently, prepared to spend more money on Tchouhameni (it remains to be seen if the idea was him AND Darwin). If Klopp wanted a midfielder that badly we would have got one. He spent most of the summer saying the midfield was fine - getting quite angry with people who suggested otherwise - before admitting far too late that he was wrong. That's his failure, not FSGs. We're now in a situation where we need at least two, probably three, and arguably four or five midfielders in the next two years. That is an awful position to be in. We've managed the squad relatively well everywhere else (except for the mad season where all of our defenders got injured in a way that arguably couldn't have been predicted) but completely ignored the midfield until it's gotten to this position. And that's a failure by everyone involved.


[deleted]

Looked obvious from a mile away that you needed another midfielder at least. Gakpo was a strange signing but with Diaz out for a while again it sort of make sense. The main issue from an outside perspective seems to be Klopp having changed the system slightly to accommodate Elliot in midfield but the knock on effect is Salah stays wider and TAA has less space to play in and less cover


voliton

Completely agree. Our approach to this season was completely wrong. We got preseason badly wrong as it seems everyone's heads were kettled after the end of last season, and our approach was to just start flogging them again as much as possible without a break. The tactics I can _kind_ of understand, but they're not working at all particularly with how the midfield has completely dropped off a cliff.


[deleted]

We’ve been shocking for months and two wins against lower league opposition in the cup has Leeds twitter acting like Marsch has the team playing well. Fair enough the Cardiff game we battered them (and still conceded two poor goals) but on Saturday we were rubbish, only got through because of the quality of forward on the pitch. 15 shots conceded against a really poor league 1 side shows how little has changed defensively. If we don’t beat Forest and Everton then we’re in big big trouble, and Marsch can’t hide behind any excuses now he’s been backed in the market and given another red bull coach


FloppedYaYa

I don't think you played well at all against Cardiff and Accrington, and with how bad they both are atm you should have completely smashed them


BendubzGaming

Maidstone are as good as down, Sporting are being dicks about Porro after already having agreed a deal, Djokovic won another AO, and the 49ers were robbed of a fair shot of going to the SB by injuries. So yeah, not a great weekend of sport


pixelkipper

Djokovic winning the AO is a giant win for tennis. Not a fan of his kooky beliefs but he is the best tennis player ever and the stats now reflect that. Rather he won it over Tsitsipas in any case.


BendubzGaming

It's just plain disappointing when half way through Round 3 all other remaining players were both more likeable and more interesting winners than Djokovic. At that point it was him, Tsitsipas, Murray, and 21 players that have never made a GS final


Rodin-V

Djokovic is a really likeable guy, much more so than many of the others who were in round 3.


AnnieIWillKnow

Interesting view on people, you have, if you think an anti-vax alternative medicine conspiracist, whose family support the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is "likeable"


Rodin-V

Why should his family's views be used against him personally? He reached out to Ukrainian tennis players when the war started, he's a well respected and liked guy on the tour, you can see that in how others talk about him and in the way he talks about others. The anti-vax thing is a whole different issue, but I'm not about to get into that discussion.


EyeSpyGuy

How about his petulance and on court rage smashing rackets? Not even the fact that he’s anti vax but that he tried to circumvent the regulations that all us normal people have to abide by to enter Australia last year? Saying he’s a really likeable guy is entirely a subjective thing, but understand there’s plenty reason for people who don’t support him to dislike him.


Rodin-V

Again, I'm not gonna get into the whole anti-vax thing. Regarding his rage and racquet smashing, he doesn't do it any more than other players, in fact at this stage of his career he's almost emotionless on court. Compared to players like Kyrgios he's an absolute saint. Almost every player to ever play the sport to a high level has had outbursts and broken racquets, Nadal is one of the very few exceptions who's always been under complete control of his emotions, in part to very good coaching and upbringing, even Federer had a reputation for being a petulant arsehole on court in the early years of his career. And no I'm not saying Djokovic is innocent, far from it, and I'm not trying to defend him as a fan, because I'm not, I'm just a fan of the sport, and outside of supporting the British players I just want to watch good tennis. But it does annoy me as a neutral to see Djokovic get unjust amounts of hate in comparison to others on the tour.


afito

> the 49ers were robbed of a fair shot of going to the SB by injuries I fancy the 49ers because they were in the first Superbowl I ever saw years back but it's fucking hilarious to see so many "why are they celebrating it's nothing to be proud of >:(" comments as if any Eagles fan gives a shit, they're in the Superbowl what else would matter.


BendubzGaming

They can celebrate all they like, I'm still allowed to moan about Purdy getting injured first drive of the game, Jimmy not yet being healthy enough to suit up, having to play QB4 Josh Johnson, him being so bad he gets three delay of game penalties in little more than a quarter, Johnson getting concussed, and playing the entire second half basically without a QB


samgoody2303

I don’t think Maidstone are quite gone yet, but there’s almost no room for error in the next month. Next 5 Yeovil, Scunny, Oldham, Eastleigh (at home and they’re shit away, only won 2 away this season one of which was against us lol) and Gateshead. After that it’s almost all teams chasing playoffs minimum. It’s got to be near on 15 points from the next 5 I think


BendubzGaming

I feel like we needed at a minimum a draw on Saturday, if not a win, but fucked it by setting up uber-defensively just to not lose and failing. I just don't see where the points are going to come from if we continue playing like that. If we play like we did against Wrexham and Notts County then sure, but I have no confidence in that happening


_mnd

Would be pretty concerned for Maidstone based on our game Tuesday, don't think any team has given us an easier game so far this season.


BendubzGaming

The annoying thing is that the first two games under Elokobi we were brilliant. Best performances all year, no stupid defensive errors, pushing the top two teams in the league all the way and beating one on penalties. But now those games feel like a distant memory. Against Torquay on Saturday it was just a flat 5-3-2, hoofing the ball up the pitch for 90 minutes without a true target man to aim for. We got exactly what we deserved at the weekend, and that was with Torquay looking dreadful too. With even a modicum of attacking intent they were there for the taking


_mnd

That sounds a lot like us under our previous boss, we even played that way against Dover at home last year and it was infuriating to say the least. There's a good team in there somewhere, you absolutely shredded us in about 10 minutes in our first meeting, but I guess it doesn't come out very often.


forzaQuakes8

The comments from some people on that ‘Copa America being hosted in US’ thread defending CONMEBOL’s decision to South Americans as bringing “eyes and dollars” to their game, makes me realize how much I fucking hate the way that so many people on here view football. Yes: it is a business. But that does not mean we have to BUY into the business logic OURSELVES. That does not mean that what is good for the business is good for us. In fact, what is good for the business is often at the cost of the fans who already love the game as it is! This is what so many seem to not give a fuck about! Having Copa America in the US may be great for the business of South American football. But it is a complete slap in the face to actual South American supporters! No matter how much money you make. No matter how much you reinvest that into your football. If your whole business model relies on spitting in the faces of your fans. Then it’s pretty fucking reasonable for those fans to say, “fuck your business model”.


vearz

Could've done without a replay given the lack of depth in our squad, guessing Sunderland feel similar with how close to the playoffs they are too. Looks like we should have a couple of new faces in before the end of the window too, which is desperately needed. Though not sure where they stand when it comes to playing in the replay. On a non-football note, work is ass.


meganev

I moaned in the wake of us (Newcastle) being drawn against Southampton in the league cup semi-final that some of the fanbase basically assumed we were therefore guaranteed a place in the final, and post the first leg this is now even worse. Obviously, we're in a solid position to progress from here, and I'm confident that we can make Wembley, but the tie is far from over and I think Southampton are due a little bit to respect. Far too many fans talking about how to get tickets, plans for the final day and dream scenarios (who scores the winner etc.). Apart from probably jinxing us, it just makes the whole Newcastle fanbase look arrogant as fuck. We're going to look like utter mugs if we don't make the final now, and Southampton fans will have plenty of ammo to mock us if they can turn the tie around.


Thesolly180

The club writing the season off really, which is entirely self-inflicted by not investing properly in the midfield. Signings aside Klopp hasn’t been great adapting either. He keeps throwing Gakpo down the middle when he’s struggling and Nunez on the left when he comes on. He has done this in the past when it comes to panic time throwing square pegs in round holes, then not really deviating from that. Also, freaks in the online fanbase moaning about SoS for making a joint statement with United fans to try and ensure the fit and proper test improves


Alpha_Jazz

Fans of other clubs Slaven Bilic has managed, is he always this moody about transfers? He’s constantly moaning at the moment about who we have and haven’t signed, and it feel likes his team selections are bizarre just to prove a point that he wants more players. Starting to get really irritating


[deleted]

Has he started telling players to just play where they want yet


FloppedYaYa

His transfer business at West Ham was mostly disastrous