Yep argee, Spurs missing a lot of players but they have an identity and a way of playing which the replacements can follow. United were a bit reminiscent of Ole’s side, sitting in and counter attacking, hoping something would happen.
And surely with the Ange-ball high line, Spurs are, you’d think, ideally suited to United counterattacking style* of play
* the word is used figuratively in this instance and does not suggest any level of plan, strategy, intent or competence
Werner had quite a good game, but showed ALL of the faults he displayed at Chelsea
Fixed. We laughed every time he went anywhere near the ball. Sorry Spuds fans, but he’s not the answer to your prayers. 😢
Unlike MSP I am not a fan of not flagging for offside as I would far rather have players fit and lose a couple of promising situations than have the likes of Stones and Ederson get injuries that will have a big impact for multiple matches. Re. allowing the ball to be walked in maybe if the team ever have a comfortable lead with five minutes left just to make a point.
The goal scored by Oscar Bobb was pretty special - excellent first touch then getting a shot off. I cannot think of many otherCity players who could have it scored it - Aguero probably and Spanish Dave possibly. There has been some angst about letting Palmer go to Chelsea and McAtee get loaned to the Blades but, as was the case with Foden, Sancho and Brahim Diaz a few years ago, City seem to have kept the best one of the three contenders.
Plaudits where due to Jordan Henderson who's decided to stay and honour his contract with Al-Ettifaq for the rest of the year - I suspect that'll please both fans.
I've the same questions about Werner that everyone has but I'm pleased we got him in. We have our star striker away at the Asian Cup and madders still a game or 3 away, richy has picked up greatly but isn't on fire and we needed options to keep in the chase. It's January, options are limited, and I'm very well aware players like kane and Son are extremely rare anyway. A loan for Werner says we are having a try and if he chips in a couple of goals and a couple of assists over the next month that might be very important come May/June.
The player I'm hoping starts scoring for fun is Johnson. I reckon he's got talent and is doing well, he just hasn't quite had the luck to find the net. Hoping he gets one and that his luck changes.
Bit of a rest then it's city in the cup. Fingers crossed we have a few more fit players for that.
Financial fair play rule breaches/charges announced today. What's going to happen?
Forest plan to use the big money sale of Johnson to spurs in their defence.
Feels harsh to punish Everton twice for the same period.
No news on city though.
Feels harsh to punish Everton twice for the same period.
Seems messed up, not had their appeal heard yet.
The whole FFP is a bit of a joke, teams like Chelsea just made them look stupid with their 7 and 8 year contracts, it keeps big clubs big, and slows progress of clubs who have the ability to be bigger and more competitive.
Personally i'd rather see teams being scrutinised for sustainability, to avoid fly by nights who aim high and then disappear when it fails.
As for the current charges, will be hard for Forest to get that defence past them about Johnson when Everton had a similar query regarding having to sell Richarlison for less than they could have got to make the FFP window. Not sure about Everton, but the way the EPL mess about, they'll probably reduce the 10 point reduction and then put it back on in the second charge, fully expect Dyche to properly lose it some time this season at them 😂
Mourinho sacked by Roma.
It actually took longer than usual this time, maybe he is turning his career around.
I wonder if Everton being hit twice for the same offence is sending a message out to certain other clubs (who may or may not have 150+ separate breaches of FFP against them) that there will penalties for each individual charge?
I wonder if Everton being hit twice for the same offence is sending a message out to certain other clubs (who may or may not have 150+ separate breaches of FFP against them) that there will penalties for each individual charge?
Why were none of these clubs picked up now ?
The whole FFP is a bit of a joke, teams like Chelsea just made them look stupid with their 7 and 8 year contracts, it keeps big clubs big, and slows progress of clubs who have the ability to be bigger and more competitive.
Personally i’d rather see teams being scrutinised for sustainability, to avoid fly by nights who aim high and then disappear when it fails.
My issue with this argument is that if City, Newcastle and maybe Chelsea had unlimited spending then every other club in the league would have 0 chance as they'd never be able to match them.
There are clubs in the league who are doing a good job of progressing and staying within FFP.
I'm not sure Chelsea have made anyone look stupid (other than themselves), they've spent a billion and are in 9th place and want to spend more money. Plus it looks like they will end up having to sell more of their former academy players to avoid penalties in the coming seasons.
Its going to be interesting to watch Chelsea's various carefully constructed ways around FFP unravel over the coming seasons. I can't see anything other than this massively biting them on the arse at some point
Yeah, I think Chelsea are going to come unstuck as well, especially if they fail to make champions league, like everton they have spent expecting to finish higher, so have the double whammy of not getting any increase in revenue.
One thing is now, I think that revenue has peaked anyway, I don't think they can expect to squeeze any more out of future TV deals, so anyone gambling and expecting the revenue bubble to keep inflating is going to regret it.
My issue with this argument is that if City, Newcastle and maybe Chelsea had unlimited spending then every other club in the league would have 0 chance as they’d never be able to match them.
I could be wrong here but have Man Utd not outspent City and Chelsea since FFP rules were introduced? Unlimited spending is only going to produce trophies if the money is spent well, there's no guarantee of success. Newcastle are often called the 'richest club in the world' these days but they aren't, they have the richest owners in football but Premier League rules have stopped them doing anything remotely close to what Chelsea and City did years ago
It’s about what you spend versus income pothead. United, as Binners will tell you, are still by far the biggest football themed toothpaste seller in Malaysia, so yes, while they have spent more than others, their income/revenue has remained high.
So although Newcastle are the richest club in the world they cannot spend with impunity as their revenue outwith the Saudis isn’t high enough.
FFP also allows losses to be made, but not over a number of seasons. Amortisation - which is what Chelsea have done to spread fees over many years is also changing. The system is far from perfect but it does restrict carte Blanche spending to an extent. I think a lot of City’s charges are due to alleged creative accounting.
United, as Binners will tell you, are still by far the biggest football themed toothpaste seller in Malaysia, so yes, while they have spent more than others, their income/revenue has remained high.
One thing the Glazers have been very good at is the 'partnerships'. Man Yoos Twitter feed is forever announcing a new donut partner in Idaho, a potato partner in Bratislava and other such nonsense. They're really good at bringing the money in, but they're absolutely awful at spending it (once they've paid themselves their own massive dividends, obvs).
There was an article in Sundays Observer sport cataloguing the whole woeful shambles of Uniteds transfer dealings over the last ten years. It makes for tragic reading. Its not just the enormously inflated transfer fees for donkeys like Antony or Pogba, but the bit part players (Van De Beek etc) who are sat on 5-7 year contracts on absolutely crazy sums of money. Phil Jones was given a new 5 year contract, never played for the entire duration of it, but was still picking up £120,000 a week. Martial is on £250,000 a week+. So is Maguire. Cassameiro and Varane are both on £340,000 a week. As part of the loan deal, Sancho (who cost us 75 million) is back at the club we bought him from and we're still paying half his wages 😳
Its absolute ****ing madness! I think they must get the players agents to draw their dream contract up, then just sign it off
The point is that we'll never be bothering the FFP rules as despite being their financial affairs being an utter disgrace, its an affordable utter disgrace, given the clubs revenues
I thought Chelsea always intended to use their academy to generate income. I thought I read that years back. The model, to be at the very highest level the best current players must be bought in. To fund that, in part, a large academy generating decent players that attract a fee from others.
Ffp could be better in sure, the rules over what is Income are quite restricted.... ticket sales, TV money, player sales, shirt sponsorship..... think that's it.
Donut partner seems a reasonable income to include doesn't it?
Regardless of how they got there, City are an incredibly well run club and with all the success over the last decade, are now easily capable of spending without breaching FFP. They are already the highest revenue generating club in the world and the longer they are successful, the more kids grow up around the world supporting them, increasing that even more.
It’s about what you spend versus income pothead.
The point I was trying to make is that unlimited spending on transfers is not a guarantee of success on the pitch, as Man Utd have proven since Ferguson retired. The current rules have helped the teams that already high commercial incomes to contine inflating transfer fees and wages, and therefore made it harder for others to compete
The current rules have helped the teams that already high commercial incomes to contine inflating transfer fees and wages, and therefore made it harder for others to compete
Indeed. The rules are designed to keep the top six at the top. Not sure you could design a system that was more favourable to the top clubs. The trouble is that it risks the collapse of the league as a sporting contest. So many clubs are going to be hit with this and where you are in the table or whether you get relegated is going to be more about financial managment and transfer/wages dealing than what happens on the pitch. I'm sure the PSR rules will be binned though as soon as one of the top six clubs falls foul of them and risks getting relegated.
Not that it changes anything now of course
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68001701
Referees' chief Howard Webb says Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal for a Martin Odegaard handball.
Mohamed Salah's flick-on hit Odegaard's hand in the penalty area in the first half at Anfield on 23 December.
Referee Chris Kavanagh did not award the hosts a penalty and the video assistant referee (VAR) reviewed the incident and confirmed the decision.
"The game expects a penalty in this situation. I would agree," said Webb.
When the incident happened, Kavanagh said: "No, his hand's on the floor. His hand's on the floor."
The incident is then checked and VAR David Coote says the ball "clearly hits his arm", then after looking at another angle says: "So he is falling down, he's moving his arms in towards him, so it's check complete for me." The assistant VAR Lee Betts then agrees.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up, a Premier League Productions programme which analyses VAR decisions from previous gameweeks, Webb says: "The referee on the field recognised that Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go towards the ground.
"This is not just Odegaard accidentally falling on to the ball. He does slip, his arm does go out, but he actually pulls his arm back in towards his body, which is when the ball makes contact with the arm.
"The VAR looked at that aspect. He felt it was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself actually smaller by bringing the arm back towards the body. That is the element that's important here.
"Whether it's instinctive or deliberate, he gets a huge advantage by bringing the arm back towards the ball. All the feedback we got afterwards was very clear.
"This is one that didn't reach the right outcome on that basis."
Not that it changes anything now of course
True, but it makes me feel like I'm not losing the plot when a decision like that is made about a really clear handball. That feeling of not understanding the modern game, and weighing up if it's worth it anymore, is reprieved for another month or two.
City are an incredibly well run club and with all the success over the last decade, are now easily capable of spending without breaching FFP. They are already the highest revenue generating club in the world
I always hear this claim, but am a bit mystified how City have a greater revenue than the established "big clubs" Madrid, Liverpool, United etc.. Tottenham are only just in the conversation despite the NFL games, Formula 1, Boxing events, multiple concerts per year, sold out season tickets with a 10 year waiting list - how are Man City achieving this despite not being able to fill their own ground during Champions League matches?
how are Man City achieving this despite not being able to fill their own ground during Champions League matches?
I suspect it’s a combination of winning multiple trophies and all the sponsorship/tv money off the back of it, not having owners who are fleecing them for millions and those attendance claims being nonsense
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/besucherzahlen/wettbewerb/GB1/saison_id/2022
Not to mention some made up sponsors
Enjoyed watching Forest fans celebrating scoring a 2nd half extra time goal last night against a league 1 side as if they'd won the FA Cup. Giving it the "who are ya?" etc. Tragic...
Enjoyed watching Forest fans celebrating scoring a 2nd half extra time goal last night against a league 1 side as if they’d won the FA Cup. Giving it the “who are ya?” etc. Tragic…
I work with one of them. The rarified atmosphere of the Premier League has inflated their sense of themselves. My Wolves supporting manager had to walk away when I unpicked his ridiculous sense of entitlement on Tuesday.
Ioswich were a great side at the same time Forest were - 40 years ago. Get over yourselves. Your just a small town near Derby...
Ol' Lauren James is one cool cookie!
Loving the Bournemouth fans singing “you’re just a shit Andy Caroll!” To Nunez 😂
It'll be hysterical for them in the second half when he sets one up and scores one
You were saying….
😂
Boom. Shit Andy Carroll my arse 😜
binners just beat me to it.
Must have a crystal ball!😀
I’m assuming it’s the Liverpool fans chanting it now? 😂
Liverpool are looking good, I wonder if they and city will stretch clear over the next month or so. What's with the kit though? Another new one?
Powerful second half, especially without Salah, Trent, Robertson (and his back up) and Szoboszlai. They’d probably all start in the strongest side, maybe Matip too. Really strong squad now, just missing a clogger at 6 to replace Fabinho, although Mac Allister was classy there today.
Klopp leaving. Noooooooooo!
Not sure there are many people I think are well placed to replace him, maybe Alonso?
All the backroom staff going too and he told the board in November, apparently. Makes me think there is someone lined up already - yeah, I’d have Alonso, but a gamble given relative inexperience. I’d actually be happy to see Eddie Howe get it, if he does get the boot.
He might be tired now but I can see him rocking up at Real Madrid in 18 months time after he's found retirement to be a little dull.
Just shy of 10 years by the end of the season. He'll be hugely missed.
Alonso is the obvious fit, assuming his availability.
