Football – 2023/24 Season

I see PSV made the draw.

I hate the early international break just as the seasons kicked off

I hate all international breaks. I hate international football, full stop. A totally pointless waste of everyone’s time, where your best player inevitability does his hamstring that puts him out for the season while playing in a meaningless friendly against Belarus

Sterling looks better than he’s ever looked and he’s left out?

Don’t have an issue with this. He was awful last season. Has played well this season in two games and the competition in his position is fierce. Rashford, Foden, Grealish, Saka etc.

Maguire though. That’s silly. Got to be looking at younger players given if he’s not going to move he’s not going to play.

He seems to be suffering from terminal delusions as he’s now Uniteds sixth choice central defender behind 35 year old Jonny Evans, but he thinks he’s too big to play for West Ham

I can’t fathom why they’d actually want him anyway. He’s going to be despised at Old Trafford (he’s not far off already) if he turns down a move to spend the season sat on the bench picking up the thick end of 200 grand a week. He’s either thick or thick-skinned, possibly both. He’s apparently demanding a huge pay off to go. 6-15 million depending on who you believe

The worst signing in football history. Makes Pogba look like a bargain. Par for the course at United nowadays.

He shouldn’t even be on Southgates radar. He’s certainly not on anybody else’s

The worst signing in football history

nope, that would be Tomas Brolin, the Pilsbury Doughboy brought to life.

hate international football, full stop

You watch it and comment about it here. Why don’t you go for a bike ride instead?

I guess John Stones being injured makes things trickier for Southgate. Still, a ‘friendly’ against Scotland would seem to be a good opportunity to start putting together a formation that doesn’t include Maguire, who will not be available next year unless he suddenly relents and goes somewhere he can actually play.

I also dislike international football, I think the thing is, is that we’d all like to like international football but can’t in its current state. So there is interest is there but it’s all a big let down.

That pretty much sums up my feelings on it. I’ll watch big games in actual tournaments, though most matches are dull as dishwater, but I’d rather remove my own kidneys with a teaspoon than watch some meaningless Engerland friendly against Macadonia or Albania

Why don’t you go for a bike ride instead?

I often do. Imagine that? Mad, eh?

We often combine the two. Theres a pub near us with a big screen in the beer garden. Its at the bottom of a great descent so we’d go out and ride, then finish on that descent to the pub for the footy if theres a champions league match or something good on. Things don’t get much better than that, do they? 😀

That pretty much sums up my feelings on it. I’ll watch big games in actual tournaments, though most matches are dull as dishwater, but I’d rather remove my own kidneys with a teaspoon than watch some meaningless Engerland friendly against Macadonia or Albania

But you said you hate it, full stop! If we’re talking about the interminable qualifying, disrupting the season, then I agree with you.

If there was never another game of international football ever played again, would anyone miss it? I know I wouldn’t.

I have fond memories of watching Italia 90, Euro 96 etc, but nowadays tournaments, with their pointless extended formats, seem a pale shadow of that. These international breaks are a right royal PITA as they break up the momentum of ‘proper’ season and just serve as an opportunity for your players to pick up injuries

Just wait until the next World Cup, 48 teams.

It was bad with 32 but 48 will be absolute joke.

As for the Champions League, can’t see Newcastle getting very far this time.

I dunno, they’ll be a match for anyone at home. Hasn’t the Champions League expanded too, I guess to try and keep European super league plans at bay? Top 5 this season get in for next year.

I’d eradicate friendlies – from the the TV at least – if they want have a kickabout go to a park. And reduce the international games to Euros and WC. Take a month to qualify and pull those players away from their clubs as in cricket, so Reading for instance will have to do without all their internationals for a month.

We’d have to manage without Maguire?

‘fraid so.

The worst signing in football history
nope, that would be Tomas Brolin, the Pilsbury Doughboy brought to life.

Ali Dia says “Hi”

I’d rather watch international football than club football. At least there’s a small amount of honesty in international football, not just a case of which corrupt regime has the deepest pockets wins. I guess if your English it must be pretty tiresome watching your team rollover diddy teams in qualification but then run out of ideas and fail to live up to the hype against the first half decent team you meet. Having said all that I’m looking forward to Scotland giving a couple of diddy teams a doing in the next international break.

I’d rather watch international football than club football.

Then you must be mad! Most international matches are as dull as dishwater. The standard of football is invariably awful, particularly where Engerland are concerned.

Anyway… back in the real world, as the transfer deadline looms we’re still saddled with a squad full of overpaid donkeys we can’t get shut of and embaressingly scrabbling around trying to get players in on loan. All while the Glazers ‘sale’ (as predicted) seems to have just been a scam to leverage more debt and load it on to the club

This season looks like its going to be a scrap for the lower Europa League places (at best), or more likely bottom half of the table if our present form is anything to go by. Oh joy! How can we spend so much money and be this shite? I can see us being like Chelsea were last season

Saudi sports washers are in for Mo! Assume Liverpool will reject the offer, as he would be irreplaceable at this point with the transfer window closing? But £150m is £150m…..

Fati to Brighton is a bit of a shock. I thought he was Barcelona’s new Golden Child

The standard of football is invariably awful

That’s a bit rich coming from a Man U fan.

I know! See my above comments about our present ‘form’ 😉

I’d rather watch international football than club football.

Think I’d rather stick my head in a microwave than watch international football. Doesn’t help with my feeling of national pride being absolutely zero.

Are we watching the new invincibles?

Ha! 30 points to safety.

Mason Greenwood taking the expression ‘Get tae ****’ as literally as possible.

I suppose his behaviour is currently on-brand for Spanish football.

I suppose his behaviour is currently on-brand for Spanish football.

That occurred to me to. Maybe his brush with the law will make him rethink his attitude and behaviours, but the Spanish football world could push him either way.

The offside rule is a joke.

City gifted a goal.

Should n ever of stood.

Even as a city fan, I can’t understand why that wasn’t given as offside. I can understand how the ref might not see every movement in the box, but that is what var is for.  I would be furious if that goal was awarded against city.

It’s just another of the many nails in the coffin for me. I grew up 2 mins walk from anfield, my life was football, all day every day. I want to every home game for 20+ years, I have the crest of LFC on my arm

I no longer watch football, what it’s now become in the last 3-4 years, getting worse as each one progresses, means I have no interest in it.

Anyway, Ipswich came back from two goals down to win.

I no longer watch football, what it’s now become in the last 3-4 years, getting worse as each one progresses, means I have no interest in it.

This could be the wrong thread for then. But I do agree but still watch.

This could be the wrong thread for then

Arguably yes, but I was kinda making a point. Which you’d have gathered from the post really.

On a more serious note: anyone watching the Fantasy Film Music at the Proms?
There is a bloke in the wind section the dead spit of Pablo Zabaleta, it couldn’t or could it be?

Yes, weirdly I am.

Some excellent bits, some bits I’d like to see instead

Man City were lucky with their second, as others say, should never have stood, but you have to hand it to Haaland, he is a proper striker, he just hunts around that penalty box all game!

Good to see Brighton bounce back, they have some strength in-depth now, almost forgot about Lamptey after his injury last season, Newcastle looked a bit threadbare when bringing on subs to change the game, Wilson is good, but Longstaff and Anderson aren’t known for being game changers, they are building up slowly i guess, but after last season, will the fans accept 7th or 8th position?!

Not all is well at Newcastle. Tonali has disappeared off the face of the earth and the balance of the midfield has gone to pot in consequence. I know City, Liverpool and Brighton (A) are all difficult games but the manner of tonight’s performance was particularly poor.

Not time to panic (yet) and if they’d held on or scored again against Liverpool then all would look very difficult…… but now with 2 weeks break and then one game before a midweek trip to Milan! That’s a lot of time to have those last three halves of football festering.

At least one Albion won 🙄

daaad, this bird on love island says her dad played in the premier league, how good was he?

Evan Ferguson is only the fourth player to score a Premier League hat-trick aged 18 or younger, after Chris Bart-Williams, Robbie Fowler, and Michael Owen (4 times).