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Football 2024-25. P...
 

Football 2024-25. Pep’s last season?

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Looks like City might be about to take another record from United....

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 3:24 pm
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I won £6 with my £1 stake for Ipswich to score first so it's not a complete loss

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 4:01 pm
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Depressingly normal service has been resumed, tonked by Deadpool.

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 5:37 pm
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Depressingly normal service has been resumed, tonked by Deadpool

Had to sell my ticket as mrs S has brought me into Liverpool for my birthday. Very happy with 7 points out of 9, especially with Mullin out through injury for all 3 games. Hopefully he’ll be back before Birmingham away.

edit - Mullin came on after 74 minutes

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 5:48 pm
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What’s going on with Arsenal kit? Are they sponsored by Lynx Africa this season?

575DD4AE-A9BD-49DB-9966-8EE9FB38827A

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 6:04 pm
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Good start for the Albion, 2 away wins and a point at home against Leeds last week.

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 6:15 pm
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4-1 away to Man City no embarrassment. We got our (brief) party in the away end scoring the first!

I'd moan about not being given the pen, but all too typical and unsurprising.

Need a few of our signings to settle in, and I think we have a good chance of survival.

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 6:50 pm
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Got to work VAR out a bit, Man City got a pretty soft penalty there, Savinho was down before the tip of the guys foot touched him and VAR were referring the ref, then up the other end the Man City player clatters the Ipswich player and it's not brought back for VAR, nothing against City, they look like they're starting up again, Haaland is on fire and they could still bring in other decent players to have an even better squad!

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 6:52 pm

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Yep, 4-1, not too disappointed with that, think I'm still in "happy to be here" mood. If that carriers on like that all season it might be a bit depressing but I'm hoping there's some points in there somewhere

 
Posted : 24/08/2024 11:04 pm
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Not sure how much Ipswich paid for Music but when we had him at Forest it wasn't a great loan, came with suitable pedigree from City though so expected a bit better for a champ team back then, was young though.

Def have one eye on Ipswich as I think Forest will have another season flirting with renovation, you've kept a good rep rather than take the our approach first year up akin to a kid in a sweetshop on the first day of school, we did need those players though, we'd not have stayed up without those signings. It's such a step up though, and ever widening.

Think Southampton will be down there if they continue the possession experiment, they'll just get held at arms length and picked apart at the higher level.

We need a striker, looking like Nketiah currently, think he'd link up well with some of our forward players, just hoping we have no further outgoings, although expect it's Morillo's last season before bigger things/Chelsea.

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 8:07 am
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No sign of MerescaBall being dull so far.  Looks to me like Chelsea are going to have to score a bundle because the defence is so leaky.

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 5:16 pm
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Brentford’s away kit is a bit…… different ?

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 5:34 pm
binners reacted
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We’ve got the first ludicrous VAR decision of the season with the disallowed Bournemouth goal. Bonkers!

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 5:36 pm
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Carragher described the first Liverpool goal as being Klopp like. Might make a good opening intro which Arne Slot might appreciate in the after match interview.

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 5:43 pm
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why? Clearly went in off his arm, which is defined in the laws as the bit below the armpit. Put an elastic band or your hand around your arm and move it up to the bottom of your armpit, that'll show you.

The mistake you are making is listening to pundits who don't know WTF the laws are of the game they're being paid large sums to comment about. Again. If you went with their 'below a sleeve' definition then you'd have a case, but it's only in their heads where that is a law. Unless in their head everyone is wearing cap sleeved shirts.

https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/law-12---fouls-and-misconduct

It is an offence if a player:

scores in the opponents' goal:

directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper

immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental

By that definition, it isn't even interpretation. It hit his arm and went in the goal, so was disallowed - simple as.

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 5:51 pm
timidwheeler reacted
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Looked harsh, and the commentators were on about it being harsh, but the thing i think that made it more of a handball was the fact he had his arm around the defender, so if it hadn't hit his arm, he wouldn't have got it, if it had been one of the mistimed headers that hits him like that, you'd be thinking it should stand, but having his arm over the defender gave him an unfair advantage to get the ball with a part of his body he's not allowed to use.

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 7:00 pm

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The ref gave it and no players complained about a potential handball. I thought this season the idea was to keep VAR out of it as much as possible and go with the onfield decision?

They didn’t get VAR involved when Jolinton then clotheslined the keeper which was as clear a straight red as you’ll ever see

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 7:18 pm
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VAR reviewed and decided it was not violent conduct. I think it looked worse than it was, a classic 'seatbelt' tackle from the other game, but if Schar was sent off last week I'm amazed that wasn't as well.

The handball was a factual decision, not opinion, hence what the ref and other players thought is of no consequence.

Did it touch his arm below the armpit?

Did it go into the goal, or lead immediately to a goal?

Simple as.

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 7:45 pm
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but if Schar was sent off last week I’m amazed that wasn’t as well

I think that’s the main issue. The lack of consistency. If Schars was a red then so was Jolintons and if Jolintons wasn’t a red then neither was Schars. I did think Schars was harsh, whereas I was amazed Jolinton wasn’t sent off for that today

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 8:28 pm
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Did it touch his arm below the armpit?

I didn't think so. Did I miss something?

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 11:23 pm
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yes, came off his outer arm about halfway between shoulder and elbow, and probably the defender's shoulder as well. Which by a different law wouldn't be handball, because the defender's shoulder isn't in an unnatural position

It's one of those (daft) laws that doesn't include intent, or whether there was any power in it, just did it touch the arm and if it does then it has to be disallowed. From my earlier link

immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental

The only thought in the VAR room is if it did. No point blaming the officials for applying the law as written, there's no 'but a slight brush is OK' and certainly no sleeve length shite that the pundits are still going on about.

And the cartoons in the LOAF are crap too, look at a real human and see where the armpit is. Any touch on the bicep or tricep is arm, not shoulder

 
Posted : 25/08/2024 11:59 pm
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yes, came off his outer arm about halfway between shoulder and elbow, and

That wasn't obvious to me. I only saw it on MoTD2 though.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 7:52 am
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So have I and also stills from that film and it's pretty clear for me. Hits about the badge on the sleeve. I've got it on catch up now.

I'm not arguing that the law has delivered the 'morally wrong' outcome this time, but that's the issue with laws being strictly interpreted, which is what we want - because the alternative of 'use your judgement' then has the officials being blasted for inconsistency.

Next highlights, Man U. Zirkzee's offside goal. Totally accidental, unintentional, ball was going in anyway..... surely we can ignore the touch there as well then?

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 8:20 am
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Going by this graphic it was handball.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 9:42 am

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If offside didn't exist as a rule, Zirkzee would have been credited with a goal, so he "scored" it.  Unfortunately for him he was  in an offside position, so the goal does't stand.  Actually, he wasn't unfortunate, just stupid.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 9:49 am
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Not the heady heights of the PL, but this is a cracker of a goal from Torquay, the scorer was in my son’s class at school. Lirak Hasani. Video is cued up so you don’t need to watch the whole highlights.

https://youtu.be/9I_ai8lZd6o?t=221

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 11:03 am
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Sven RIP

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 12:38 pm
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I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but the Sven documentary on Amazon Prime is well worth a viewing. RIP to someone who seemed like a thoroughly lovely and incredibly philosophical human being

GV5_Py7WoAABZDa

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 1:11 pm
chambord, J-R, pondo and 3 people reacted
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He did have a bit of a habit of putting things where he shouldn't though.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 1:45 pm
binners reacted
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Sven was indirectly responsible for me falling in love with my career as a structural engineer.  His appointment as England manager came with the provisio that a central training facility should be built for the elite teams at what is now known as St George's Park.  Whilst the project I was on was ill fated, the financial disaster of Wembley put pay to it, I got to immerse myself in timber gridshell design and a host of other interesting topics.

It also coincided with my love of the national team and that 5-1 result against Germany.

Sven, thanks for the memories, there are a couple of colleges in the north west that benefited from that timber design experience 😉

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 1:49 pm
anorak and binners reacted
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RIP Sven - could teach many a lesson in stoicism. Classy man.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 2:00 pm
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He did have a bit of a habit of putting things where he shouldn’t though.

As the documentary shows, the lad was punching! Fair play! 😀

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 2:00 pm

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Looks like I need to watch it tonight then.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 2:05 pm
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While we’re on the subject of things to watch… The Damned United is on BBC1 at 11 tonight, so worth recording as it’s bloody brilliant! I suppose that means it’ll be on iplayer

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 8:54 pm
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This was the team labelled Dirty Leeds which has hung about a bit since. But the reality was Revie was looking at how continental teams at the time played (ie Juventus) and modelled Leeds on that. Not dirty but cynical.

Funny that Clough's later Forest team were also pretty cynical.

That Leeds team were brilliant. My earliest football memory was them being robbed by Bayern in 1975.

 
Posted : 26/08/2024 11:33 pm
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Oh yes, the 1970 FA Cup replay at Old Trafford was full of ‘cynicism’. (smiley face winking emoji)

 
Posted : 27/08/2024 6:58 am
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I know it’s a cheap shot at a goal a mile wide but this did make me laugh..

27404EE0-8DB5-4CD9-A4A1-9B93E3C2376C

 
Posted : 28/08/2024 11:05 pm
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Topic starter
 

The draw for the Champions League is just mind-boggling.

 
Posted : 29/08/2024 5:51 pm
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Designed to have more big name clashes early on whilst ensuring the big names get through.  I think.  I'll just take in the fixtures as they come

 
Posted : 29/08/2024 5:55 pm
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Was meant to let smaller teams have a chance to do more than be whipping boys as well, as a supporter of Celtic it'll be nice to have a couple of games we have a chance with, instead of just a pot 1 and pot 2 team who will roll us over.

 
Posted : 29/08/2024 6:30 pm

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The best thing any sport can do with it's tournaments is make them super confusing so that the casual viewer has no idea what's going on.

 
Posted : 29/08/2024 7:06 pm
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My team Wrexham are spending pretty big in EFL1 terms but Birmingham are taking it to another level.  They've just bid £10m for Fulham's Jay Stanfield on top of the £16m already spent although they did get £5m for Jordan James this summer.  The whole of the EFL seems to be morphing into a bunch of extremely rich owners but at the moment  you are either with the haves or the have nots, I guess a bit like the UK in general.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 11:06 am
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As a Shrewsbury town fan, may I say that while I applaud Wrexham's revival and am quite enjoying the documentary, they'd better not get into the PL, or I'll cry.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 11:11 am
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lol at doris5000.  Playing you guys in 8 days and managed to snag a ticket and it's nice to renew the rivalry I remember from a good many years ago when you were at the old ground in town next to the river.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 11:16 am
 MSP
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Real lack of activity at City, I wonder if they are building a war chest in the expectation of a big (200 million +) fine.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 11:30 am
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or it could be that they've already got a very talented squad and don't need the extra players

Remember the last few years where they sold Sterling, Zinchenko, Jesus, Laporte, Mahrez, Brahim Diaz, Torres, Gundogan etc. etc, and nothing really changed.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 11:47 am
 MSP
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No proper left back, no proper cover for Rodri, Harland the only proper striker. City are not a complete team, they have the best 1st team in most some important positions IMO, but I think that the gooners are probably going into the season with a better strength squad.

City have shown in the past that they want the right deal, and will walk away if they don't feel they are getting the right value, but this feels different, there aren't even any strong rumours of deals that they couldn't get done or fell apart.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 12:17 pm
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lol at doris5000. Playing you guys in 8 days and managed to snag a ticket and it’s nice to renew the rivalry I remember from a good many years ago when you were at the old ground in town next to the river.

I loved that old ground! Even though it was a complete shed, and despite the fact that every visiting team found it hilarious that it was called 'the Gay Meadow'.  All the stuff with the bloke retrieving balls from the river in a coracle just exemplified the endearing crapness of lower league footy that makes it what it is.

I (really) hate to say it, but i think you're gonna give us a pasting.  We haven't won a league match since March, and we're plum last. It's going to be a long old season...

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 12:20 pm

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My team Wrexham are spending pretty big in EFL1 terms but Birmingham are taking it to another level.  They’ve just bid £10m for Fulham’s Jay Stanfield on top of the £16m already spent although they did get £5m for Jordan James this summer.  

It's insane what Knighthead have done/are doing at Birmingham - never in the history of football has a fan base been less bothered about relegation. If we get Stanno back it'll be massive.

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 12:23 pm
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I see Toney looks like he might be taking early retirement in the Saudi league

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 1:51 pm
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That's really disappointing. Probably means he's not too fussed about getting picked for England, either...

 
Posted : 30/08/2024 2:40 pm
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