If there's one thing that really does even itself out over the season, it's bloody kickoff times. Managers are even worse at whingeing about that than they are about refereeing.
If there's one thing that really does even itself out over the season, it's bloody kickoff times. Managers are even worse at whingeing about that than they are about refereeing.
Pep is such a twat
I could ask you the same thing since I have now stated three fucking times that NO ONE CARES!
I'm going to break a habit here. I'm not going to go around in circles repeating myself. It's not the same kicking off at a later time than everyone else in one of the heavyweight clashes of the season as those fine margins make a difference whether you believe it or not. Just look at Milner for example. He ran himself ragged against City and clearly died today. But again....the last time....NO ONE CARES.
Clear?
Just because you claim that no one cares doesn't suddenly make it so. I care, which is why I'm talking about it. Other people who are talking about it must care too.
If you don't care then stop posting about it.
Please.
Doesn't the festive schedule pre-date broadcasting money-grabs by about a million years?
Fuck that, I'm no mug. I'll remain an armchair fan until the end. I don't pay for these overpriced forms of 'entertainment' be it football, concerts, subscriptions to Netflix, Sky and the like.
It's arguably more of a hinderance to play in Liverpool's style on such a short turn around, but you could say that's their own fault. If they had had Chelsea's schedule I'd say the extra few days would have benefited Liverpool more than their opponent. Also, even though it is 'the same for everyone' Liverpool are the only team that has played three times in a week (Tuesday - Monday), so, if every day matters (????) then it isn't really the same. I suppose they should just be thankful they weren't put on the lunchtime tv slot.
Edit: Southampton actually got an even worse deal and look how well they have fared.
Many of the games over Christmas seem to have been a bit lacklustre/shit and I wonder how much of that is down to the quantity of games. Christmas sorts itself out next year (and then beyond) which should allow for games on the Saturday before Christmas (which, being empty this year has clearly botched things).
Sir Henry Winter this morning has written an article entitled: 'It's disgraceful Mark Clattenburg has been snubbed by the honours list'.
I fucking love Sir Henry.
By maybe 10p. I'm a cheap skate for a reason and I have no qualms in people knowing this. My sole outgoing lately is my rent and not a penny more.
I'd like to point out that Liverpool played on the 27th, 31st and the 2nd. Three games in five days with the City match being a late kick off and the Sunderland being a 3pm kick off.
Arsenal...26th then a five day break until the 1st then a late kick off tonight. So again, not quite the same but who cares. Take your rose tinted glasses off. It clearly played a part for us stuttering yesterday but that's all it was. We're still well on course for a top four finish.
Moving on from that obvious seethe, is Pep really going to retire early?
So much whinging going on here now. Why the fuck are you complaining about the X-mas fixtures? Who the hell cares, it's lots of football! It's glorious. I love the festive football fixtures. Last year there was at some point 6 consecutive days of Premier League football!
I love Premier League, I love watching football. I think Premier League is better and more fun than it has ever been before, when there were one - three teams fighting at the top.
5 years ago I wouldn't have bothered with watching West Ham - Stoke on a tuesday night, these days that could be a great game. Go on, complain about the mad transfers and the fact that money rules the game (when didn't it ever anyway? it's just even more of it at stake now) - but the truth is the TV money and it's distribution has made the PL into a league that stands way above the rest on the entertainment chart.
We literally don't care about other leagues or how exciting it is though, to us it's just the continuation of English football, and each of us has a club that we'd be supporting whether it was in the top flight or League Two.
If you watch the fans on here, most of them ultimately don't give a flying fuck about anything except their own team.
Also, for all we talk about the league, it's a 'product' that's based purely on soap opera regarding three clubs - Manchester United, Arsenal, and to a diminishing extent, Liverpool. The others only exist to be lolled at when they fail.
Well, isn't "English football" better than ever, in that the Premier League is better than ever, and to me seems far superior on it's overall level than other leagues?
(Yeah, I know, Barca & Real does well in CL but that's because they are pissing about in La Liga most of the season and don't have to play League Cups or whatever half the time).
I was always a Portsmouth supporter, and while I still care about them a bit I don't really bother with them since they got fucked by Harry and Co. I had a team here in Sweden as well, I even played football for that club for a while as a kid, which I hardly even know which division they play in anymore or how they are doing - because instead I can just follow Arsenal, and now Zlatan in United and marvel at the glory that is English Football. I'd say I support Arsenal more than anything else, and the more I watch the PL every year the more that tends to become true. That doesn't mean I don't bother with any other games and teams in the PL because it's just good football.
I don't understand how you can only care about your one team, if you like football.
Everything that goes on TV or in any way generated money is a "Product". There's nothing wrong with that. A team is a product, in that it's sustained by it's fans keeping interest in it - whether by going to the stadium or watching from a shoddy bar in Malaysia.
Professional Football, any sport for that matter, has always been a product.
It's the top division of football in this country, there's nothing more to it than that (from our point of view). The difference is that if all the money and fame disappeared we'd carry on watching it for that reason - or a lot of people would - whereas those who only consume it as a televised product, rather than as a piece of the cultural furniture, would disappear.
Do you watch the FA Cup? I do.
This is a bit of a turn around from not bothering to watch Chelsea for the first however many weeks of the season @Jimmy Floyd
In truth I never watch much until mid September due to being busy with cricket. The football season's too long for me, September to March at the same level of intensity would be grand. Then you could bollocks off the internationals and have them all in an April/May block.
Occasionally. Maybe the final or if Arsenal or Zlatan would play in it. More from a bit of fatigue than anything else.
Trust it from a guy who comes from a country where the main league is fucking terrible - if you were watching something like that, you would not keep watching your team with the same passion and fervour as it seems your are now. The Swedish league is probably about the equivalent of League 2 in English football, I'd say. I don't believe that most people here would keep following their teams as closely in League 2, to be honest. A few, yeah, but not many.
If you can make it through a Roy Hodgsons stint as manager than you'd probably enjoy a bit of League Two. Your argument is flawed Maz. Leeds United are a great example.
The Allsvenskan average attendance is about 9,000, our third tier average attendance is about 7,500, and that is for clubs 45-68 in the national pecking order. English fans don't view (by which I mean 'perceive', not literally view) English football in the same way that fans abroad view English football.
I would say we're more tribal in our support for our clubs. Almost like a family member, you can slate them and say what you want, a member of the Chelsea family says the same thing then that's it, shit gotta get real.
What are you on about? I'm not a football manager. And I'm not really making an argument, so I don't see how it can be flawed. I'm saying the Premier League is great and it's more enjoyable than ever. You can think what you want and walk around and be miserable about transfer fees if you so please.
You're kidding yourselves if you think England is unique in having passionate fans for clubs. That happens everywhere - Sweden is full of dickheads who support their teams and go and watch that shite week in and week out. The truth is that you're all spoiled with extremely high quality of football and you don't know how to appreciate it.
That's because we invented the game and have always had it.
All I'm saying is the Premier League for us is not some extra special thing to get excited about, it's football, that's what it is.
I mean some of you seemingly really hate football.
I can read just fine. Can you write? You wrote:
Indicating I'd ever make it through a stint as a manager. Presumably a football club manager - since that's what Roy Hodgson arguably is."If you can make it through a Roy Hodgsons stint as manager than you'd probably enjoy a bit of League Two."
What I said, as a reply to that, is that I'm in fact not a football manager, and would in fact not compete with Roy Hodgson or any other manager for any kind of professional position.
What you may have meant, is whether I can make it through a stint of having Roy Hodgson as manager for a team you support or follow. Which you did indeed not write, so don't lecture me on my ability to comprehend when you cannot express yourself clearly.
I cannot write no. I can however tell the difference between your and you're now.
I need to stop using the 'you' when replying to people because 'you' all actually seem to take it personally when 'you' in the above quote was me and Liverpool fans.
You've proper Sweded me head. Gerrit?
The first "you" could have been just generically aimed, but then when you added "[...] you'd probably enjoy a bit of League Two" - that means you were adressing me, personally, yeah? Unless you were making some very broad, general suppositions as to what people might enjoy.
Or correct me if I'm wrong?
You simpleton.
I've never claimed to be anything but tbf. I can't wait until I actually turn up on one of these meets, it will explain so much as I'll be understood better than I am on here.
Paul Clement has been made Swansea manager. I'd say it probably won't work out but when you're conceding 2.5 goals per game, the only way is up.
Or 3.5.
It's an absolutely stupid appointment though given he has as much experience as the last one. He failed at Derby too.
Pretty sure that 44 divided by 19 is 2.3, Smiff but if you've got a different calculator, feel free to chip in.
This is what I mean!
You said the only way was up, I meant they could start conceding more each game. Perhaps the course I need to go on is an English one afterall.
Paul Clement that was at Derby?
Even Hector "fastest fullback in the league" Bellerin couldn't cover that much ground.
and now a pen!
Could be a good game, this.
I'm a twit
Arsenal collapsing? I didn't see that coming...
If they now don't even have the mental FORTITUDE to win the fourth place trophy what happens next?
Wenger leaves and Simone comes in the summer.
The most un-Arsenal manager outside of Mourinho currently in the club game.
Tuchel or bust.
They give it Eddie Howe, sell Sanchez to Chelsea and finish 8th.
Arsenal will get 4th.