March Football: The "I'm on a train" edition

[Lewis]

lol what is he doing?

[randomlegend]

What the fuck is Mitrovic thinking? :D

Still a decent chance the penalty is missed/saved and they'd be 1-0 with 15 minutes to go.

He should get a lengthy ban for that tbh.

[Yevrah]

What scenes.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Loooool

[Danny]

The response from Mitro and Silva is baffling. Like you said RL, this isnt over and you are still winning but thats a red and a penalty all day.

[Lewis]

What was Marco Silva seething at? It's the most blatant red card/penalty ever.

[niko_cee]

Not seen it but is touching an official a straight red now? Interesting that.

[randomlegend]

Not seen it but is touching an official a straight red now? Interesting that.

It was pretty aggressive. He also pushed him again even after he'd sent him off which is why I suspect he might be in even hotter water.

[Ben]

The FA are such flannels that he'll get about five games for that. He should have just chinned him and made it worthwhile.

[Waffdon]

Not seen it but is touching an official a straight red now? Interesting that.

Not if you’re named Fernandes.

[Boydy]

Not seen it but is touching an official a straight red now? Interesting that.

As it should be.

[Kikó]

Not if you’re named Fernandes.

Cry more.

[Lewis]

Proper special needs this lad.

[niko_cee]

Do Armani make Napoli's kit?

[Gray Fox]

Do Armani make Napoli's kit?

Emporio Armani specifically, but yes.

[Don]

A 1-0 defeat to Fulham at the theatre of dreams is good but a mullering by Brighton in a semi is far better. We move.

[niko_cee]

"March must score . . ."

[Spikey M]

Just seen the Fulham reds. FFS :D

[Shindig]

Yeah, that's wonderful. Everyone just blew their lids. :D

[Spikey M]

I can only assume the Mitrovic one will have some games added on too.

I remember Di Canio pushing a ref over, but it was a bit worse than this (because the ref fell over pathetically), but also during a completely different era when refs weren't as protected.

Just checked, and Di Canio got an 11 game ban. Will be interesting to see which way they go.

[Waffdon]

Bayern losing again today. Dortmund 1 point ahead now with them playing each other in the next game week. Dortmund will probably roll over for them but at least the league is close for once.

[Ben]

Bayern are poor. Nagelsmann bleating about a snitch in the dressing room. :D

[Don]

Real just been robbed by a silly VAR call :rasta:

[phonics]

Rob Holding going from bald to wearing an alice band is surely the greatest advert for hair plugs ever made.

[thommo]

Just back from Old Trafford. What a way to throw away a game. Absolute minute of chaos.

I don't blame Silva and Mitro too much though. Kavanagh is a fucking woeful referee who constantly makes mistakes against us and it was the same again today up to that point. So while it was a definite handball and red card, it was boiling point. Real shame as we'd been so dominant, probably our best performance of the season up to that point, Palhinha again magnificent.

[Boydy]

I've said it before, but my dad's mate would ask us who the ref was every single game, and regardless of who we said he'd say something along the lines of "FUCK SAKE HE FUCKING HATES THE ALBION". I genuinely don't think Steve Tanner does hate us, mate.

...

[thommo]

He's woefully incompetent and it shows in a lot of the games we play when he's the referee. And it was obvious again today - the push on Mitrovic inside the first 2 or 3 minutes was as blatant as they come and he's in a great position to see the foul.

Like I said, the penalty and red were obvious. Just think that's why Silva and Mitro were seething at that moment.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They're seething because the ref decided to not give the penalty until after VAR got involved?

[thommo]

They're seething because the ref decided to not give the penalty until after VAR got involved?

I think it's more at the general trend of decisions not going in our favour all game, and VAR only finally getting involved for a Utd penalty decision.

Silva must have said something too - he went straight to a red card when usually they just give the manager a yellow and tell them to sit down.

[Spikey M]

Just back from Old Trafford. What a way to throw away a game. Absolute minute of chaos.

I don't blame Silva and Mitro too much though. Kavanagh is a fucking woeful referee who constantly makes mistakes against us and it was the same again today up to that point. So while it was a definite handball and red card, it was boiling point. Real shame as we'd been so dominant, probably our best performance of the season up to that point, Palhinha again magnificent.

Lol wut. It was a clear red card for deliberately stopping a goal with his hand. Both red cards in response to it were retarded.


He's woefully incompetent and it shows in a lot of the games we play when he's the referee. And it was obvious again today - the push on Mitrovic inside the first 2 or 3 minutes was as blatant as they come and he's in a great position to see the foul.

Like I said, the penalty and red were obvious. Just think that's why Silva and Mitro were seething at that moment.

:harold:

[thommo]

Didn't I say in both of those posts that it was a clear red card?

[Spikey M]

Didn't I say in both of those posts that it was a clear red card?

Whilst trying to justify the insane response from players and manager as a reaction to an FA conspiracy against the mighty Fulham FC, yes.

[randomlegend]

I think it's more at the general trend of decisions not going in our favour all game, and VAR only finally getting involved for a Utd penalty decision.

Silva must have said something too - he went straight to a red card when usually they just give the manager a yellow and tell them to sit down.

Apparently Silva kicked/threw a water bottle and it hit the 4th official.

[thommo]

Whilst trying to justify the insane response from players and manager as a reaction to an FA conspiracy against the mighty Fulham FC, yes.

You can't justify it, I just completely understand why they've lost their rag. It's a cup quarter final at Old Trafford, you're bound to be wound up tight, and even moreso when a number of decisions haven't gone your way. And just because I'm pretty peeved at the officiating yesterday, it doesn't mean I believe there is some sort of conspiracy - we've been the beneficiaries of soft penalty decisions and red cards a few times this season as well.

[thommo]

Apparently Silva kicked/threw a water bottle and it hit the 4th official.

:facepalm:

Yeah that'll do it. Could have at least have aimed it at Kavanagh.

[Kikó]

I'm not sure what decisions were so bad prior to the goal. It was a nothing game in terms of free kicks.

[thommo]

The main one is the push from Shaw on Mitro very early on. Blatant foul and the ref is 10 yards away staring straight at it. Not sure about the other penalty shout (Martinez on Mitro), haven't seen a replay so couldn't tell you what happened from the other end of the ground.

Other than that, it's just the little inconsistencies that build up. Pereira getting booked for his first foul when stopping a counter, Martinez avoiding the yellow for a similar sort of foul. Antony kicking out at Robinson right by the linesman, not a word.

[Don]

It is 2 of the worst discplined teams going tbf. Honorable mention to Fulham's Portuguese booking machine but the collection of odious cretins with an attitude problem in red will consistently result in such shitshows.

[Raoul Duke]

Mitrovic also dived at one point and nothing was given, so guess it evens itself out a bit

[Spikey M]

I only saw the highlights but there was nothing particularly bad from the ref that I saw.

This stuff happens all the time. Barely a match goes by where either the Southend fans or the away fans don't start a "you don't know what you're doing" chant, off the back of a few decisions going against them. Even uf the decisions were correct. Which they usually are.

[Kikó]

Martinez on Mitrovic wasn't a penalty and can't really remember the other ones well enough to have an opinion.

[niko_cee]

Mitrovic also dived at one point and nothing was given, so guess it evens itself out a bit

:D

[Giggles]

Martinez on Mitrovic wasn't a penalty and can't really remember the other ones well enough to have an opinion.

Good man Arsene.

[Kikó]

If I speak then I am in trouble.

[Don]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Frl2kaxWwAE7wgK?format=jpg&name=medium

:drool:

[Raoul Duke]

Mr Brobbey

[randomlegend]

Mr Brobbey

Excellent :D

[-james-]

Palace :lol:

[Shindig]

It's not that daft an appointment in the short term. Although I still think Vieira would've kept them up regardless.

[-james-]

The fact that the odds for them to be relegated are shorter now than they were on Saturday, or a week ago, tells you all you need to know.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Parish appears to subscribe to the tired brain thinking of change the manager for the sake of it if results aren't good, whereas he should be subscribing to the new wired brain thinking pioneered by Todd Boehly: keep the manager forever and also force the squad to sign 8 year contracts.

[Don]

Vieira was riding that diversity wave hard, over a year there and his most notable mark was...? No style, no impact, no loss. All he had was just a quality bit of a recruitment behind him and a lack of the cluelessness of a Lampard.

[Gray Fox]

Barcelona have been told they need to cut yet another €200m in wages by La Liga.

They've also refused to accept the registration of the new contract Gavi signed earlier in the season, which means he reverts to his academy contract, which expires in the summer.

[Danny]

De Jong to United again all summer then :moop:

[Don]

Whoever gets Araujo is flying, one of the best defenders in the game and only 24.

[Lofty]

Farcelona.

[Manc]

They should be lolled out of the sport for this referee business.

[niko_cee]

Where's all this Barcelona news coming from?

[randomlegend]

It's all like 2 weeks old lol.

[niko_cee]

That's what was confusing me and had me wondering if there had been some sort of new appeal or verdict since then.

[phonics]

No, it's just as Spanish law normally works there's continuing leaks of what actually went on.

[Don]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/mar/21/gareth-southgate-last-dance-begins-to-the-soundtrack-of-england-fans-toxic-rage

2 toughish games for England so hopefully some meltdown scenes on the horizon.

Beside that, we've finally managed to land a top quality opposition for a friendly in Tehran on Thursday. Russia, baby. God bless the war.

Armenia vs Turkey in Yerevan on Saturday should hopefully lead to some scenes and I'll watch Evan Ferguson announce himself to the international scene but it seems like a brutally dull 2 week international break which is very welcome to switch off.

[Lewis]

Considering Spain won't play Gibraltar, Armenia vs Turkey seems like one of those fixtures that should be prohibited.

[Yevrah]

It's quite incredible how people are still defending him to that degree. There'll be a load of told you so's as well if the next appointment is markedly worse, which will be spectacularly missing the point.

[Kikó]

I'm going to the axis Derby on Friday between Germany u21s and Japan u21s. I'll report back on the future of the enemy.

[Shindig]

Ah, yes. That famous Berlin-Tokyo axis.

[phonics]

…

[Shindig]

Rome-Berlin Axis was a pact between Italy and Germany, signed in 1936, that linked the two fascist countries in a common foreign policy and military aggression.

It's how they got the name.

[Giggles]

I didn’t know there were any friendlies any more.

[Giggles]

Well we’re as shit as ever. Don’t know what Kelleher is at.

[phonics]

It's how they got the name.

...

[-james-]

Well we’re as shit as ever. Don’t know what Kelleher is at.

Cheer up bub. Evan Ferguson and Mikey Johnston are going to win you the lot.

[-james-]

Tough break with that qualifying draw though lol.

[niko_cee]

They should be lolled out of the sport for this referee business.

Auntie appears to have caught onto this now. (http://https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65051591)

Sounds not at all dodgy.

Not sure why that link doesn't work.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65051591

[Baz]

Not heard of the BBC referred to as Auntie since the early noughties.

[Danny]

Ben Foster has signed for Wrexham until the end of the season.

[Don]

Do they have an emergency need for a keeper or did he just fancy a cameo in the show? He seems to live for clicks.

[Spikey M]

Was it him that had that lol website?

[Gray Fox]

A quick flick at the table says Wrexham are 3 points clear with a game in hand, with Notts County still to play at home. Given there's only 1 auto spot in the league, they're likely just trying to make extra sure.

[niko_cee]

Was it him that had that lol website?

Think that was someone else, but it's annoying me that I can't think who.

[Ian]

https://www.davidstockdale13.co.uk/

[Spikey M]

That's the one. Still funny. :D

[Ben]

:lol:

[niko_cee]

:D

So much quality on that site.

Cigar, chessboard, globe, all a bit Fat Tony "I'm a legitimate businessman".

Lots of looking confused at object shots.

[Shindig]

It starts out, "I'm looking for singles in my area." before swinging into an Apprentice audition.

[Spikey M]

there is far more to him than just commanding presence and awesome shot-stopping, that's for sure.

[wullie]

"This is a man who has tasted the very top of the game but was not too proud to go on loan to League Two Stevenage"

Fuck you Stevenage

[thommo]

:lol:

David Stockdale had to have the thinnest skin out of any professional footballer. Don't think a week went by at Fulham without him biting on Twitter to criticism.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

"This is a man who has tasted the very top of the game but was not too proud to go on loan to League Two Stevenage"

Fuck you Stevenage

It's justified tbh, Stevenage is a shithole.

[Danny]

A quick flick at the table says Wrexham are 3 points clear with a game in hand, with Notts County still to play at home. Given there's only 1 auto spot in the league, they're likely just trying to make extra sure.

Pretty much that. Wrexham fan on Reddit (so you know it’s reliable) said previous first choice has just come back from a long term injury in Jan and gone down again. Replacement is solid but made silly mistakes so they have done the most logical thing and signed someone who had been retired for 9 month.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I was going to say that Rob Lainton needs putting down if he's suffered another bad injury but it seems he's been the backup this season.

[Danny]

Might want putting down.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/rob-lainton/leistungsdaten/spieler/65691

Back in the squad in November, gets back in the team in February and already gone again.

[Waffdon]

A midfield 3 of Bellingham, Phillips and Rice really is a bit depressing, isn’t it? Sideways passing and running for days at least. Kyle Walker in there as well to make sure they’re even more defensively solid.

[Ben]

Phillips starting is ridiculous.

[Ben]

Channel 4 wheeling out James Richardson and Golazzo. Better than anything on the pitch tonight.

[Giggles]

Have ye no alternative to Maguire?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He seems to do alright with England.

Would be nice it Tomori would get a shot but Southgate seems oblivious to football outside INGERLAND.

[Spikey M]

He's alright for England to be fair. Perfectly solid in an old fashioned role and pops up with a goal every now and then. He's only a problem for United because they actually ask him to play football.

[Yevrah]

Yep, as long as we're crabbing it sideways he does a job.

[Giggles]

What the fuck were those anthems.

[Yevrah]

Nevermind that, who the fuck is Retegui?

[Giggles]

Nevermind that, who the fuck is Retegui?

Some Argentinian that plays in Argentina but has a Sicilian grandparent they were saying pre match. I think it’s his debut they said too.

[Yevrah]

I've had a look and I think I'm right in saying he's scored the sum total of four goals in the Argentine top flight. Absolutely bizarre.

[Spikey M]

Presumably it's just one of those where they're securing him before Argentina do. Not a bad choice for the lad; World Champions or European Champions.

[Yevrah]

There's absolutely nothing in his career history to suggest Argentina would even want him.

[Yevrah]

In fairness to Southgate, we look quite good here. Quite offensively set up and dangerous with it. Be interesting to see if we put this team to bed as a result.

[Don]

Yev, revise your sources, he's tearing it up in Argentina. I appreciate it's odd to reward form like Balogun mind when you are harbouring the sort of old boys club that allows Kalvin Phillps to walk into a team. Bullingdon would be proud.

[Waffdon]

I've had a look and I think I'm right in saying he's scored the sum total of four goals in the Argentine top flight. Absolutely bizarre.

I don’t think his Wiki has been updated properly. He scored over 20 last season and 6 in 8 this season going by Transfermarket

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He was called up because Italy have fuck all strikers right now.

Moise Kean was dropped because he got a red card recently for Juventus so Mancini wanted to punish him, Scamacca is there but dogshit and Immobile is injured.

He's also called up a 17 year old who has barely played for Udinese (9 minutes total in 2 sub appearances this year and 22 minutes last year) and was thinking of calling up a 26 year old plying his trade in Romania.

[Don]

I mean they have one hell of a striker if they were willing to break gammon XI criteria.

[Lewis]

Gabagool XI.

[Spikey M]

Grealish :lol:

[Waffdon]

Tuchel to Bayern by the sounds of it. There goes any chance of Man City winning the CL again. Lolz.

[Yevrah]

What in the actual fuck was that?

[niko_cee]

Jesus Italy are fucking shite. Is this the midfield that ran rings around us in the Euro Final? What's happened?

That penalty decision, although inevitable in the modern age, is such bullshit. The whole concept of a penalty needs to be revisited.

Christ, what a miss.

[Waffdon]

Jesus Italy are fucking shite. Is this the midfield that ran rings around us in the Euro Final? What's happened?

That penalty decision, although inevitable in the modern age, is such bullshit. The whole concept of a penalty needs to be revisited.

Christ, what a miss.

Their average age outfield is 29 and the only player under 26 is this new bloke they have from Argentina. They must be an absolute mess. Commentators mentioned although 3 Italian teams left in Europe, they only have a combined 7 (I think) Italians.

[Lewis]

Tuchel to Bayern by the sounds of it. There goes any chance of Man City winning the CL again. Lolz.

The current wally was doomed there as soon as it became clear that he wasn't going to dress properly.

[Spikey M]

Yev in the mud.

[niko_cee]

Good job that spastic Maguire is reliable for England.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The Argie :cool:

[Spikey M]

Good job that spastic Maguire is reliable for England.

Yeah Mahow.

[Yevrah]

Yev in the mud.

Nice finish from the lad and in my defence I assumed someone starting for Italy would have reliable career statistics available.

If we fuck this...

[Waffdon]

Walker not already been booked?

[Yevrah]

Absolute dosghit second half performance this, with all the hallmarks of Southgate's tenure on display.

[Ben]

Yev justified. We've absolutely bottled this second half.

[Spikey M]

Foden? :D

Saka Shirley.

[Ben]

This is how Chelsea fans feel with Potter every week.

[Waffdon]

Watching Italy try and work their way throw a deep back line is fun viewing.

[niko_cee]

Shame the football authorities are hellbent on getting rid of the sort of professional shithousing/time-wasting that Waistcoat seems to have beaten into this team.

Can't argue with the result.

Italy looked poor.

[Yevrah]

Well, we held on so maybe that's progress.

[Manc]

Southgate's game management is laughable.

[Ian]

Didn't see the game but sounds like it's coming home once again. :drool:

[phonics]

Does Luke Shaw need hairplugs? I think if he got on the Rob Holding plan that red card doesn't happen.

[Manc]

I see Hojlund bagged a hat-trick for the Danes. Special talent.

[Lofty]

More alleged raping in North London I see.

[Spikey M]

It's Partey, isn't it? Worst kept secret going.

[Gray Fox]

Seems like Nagelsmann out and Tuchel in, in Munich.

Maybe even today actually.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Italy will struggle to qualify from this group. Presume there's a Nations League back door if they need it, but just not a good side at all.

[Luca]

It is indeed an absolutely rancid Italy side. Shame.

[Kikó]

Ah, yes. That famous Berlin-Tokyo axis.

Dude, Germany, Japan and Italy were the axis of EVIL.

[wullie]

I'm sure Dude was neutral at that time.

[-james-]

I missed Belgium hiring Tedesco. Odd job for him to take on as Belgium prepare to enter another 30 year sleep.

[Gray Fox]

I've been seeing some talk that Everton are in some FFP bother.

[niko_cee]

Just catching up on this Nagelsmann business:


Bayern paid 25m euros to RB Leipzig in 2021 to free Nagelsmann from his contract, and they might need to pay another 15m if they would intend to release him before the end of his contract in 2026. For now, Nagelsmann continues to receive his monthly wage until he finds a new club.

What the fuck? At 35 he can probably afford a few years on the beach/pistes.

[Don]

A Spurs appointment and he's well on the way to transcending the sport a la AVB.

[Waffdon]

Just catching up on this Nagelsmann business:



What the fuck? At 35 he can probably afford a few years on the beach/pistes.

Sign him up, Todd.

[phonics]

I would almost pay some of his wages to watch him manage Spurs to a 3-1 loss to Arsenal while he wore one of those ridiculous suits.

[Lewis]

I like the idea that him shouting instructions from the touchline made the players think he was a know-it-all. It's up there with Frank de Boer losing the Crystal Palace players because he was better than them in training.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I saw the highlights of Portugal 4-0 Liechtenstein on TV. Not sure whether the worst part was Roberto Martinez belting out the Portuguese anthem beforehand, or Cristiano Ronaldo going absolutely veins-out mental after scoring a penalty that burst through the Liechtenstein keeper's hands to make it 3-0.

[Baz]

What was his free kick like?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Just belted it from inside the D, iirc.

[Spikey M]

You will all be surprised to learn that Reece James is injured.

The lad spends half his wage on hospital car parking.

[John Arne]

A strong looking England U21s dicked an equally strong looking France 4-0 :drool:

[Don]

Curtis Jones' goal was tasty, I'm guessing his 29 year-old ass qualifies as one of x over-age players.

[niko_cee]

Is it 21 at the beginning of the qualifying period [or at the start of the year that it's in]? He's only just turned 22.

In other age group news, the [Alex Scott inspired] U20s turned over the Germans the other day as well.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Denmark losing 3-2 to Kazakhstan by conceding 3 in the final 17 minutes is a bit of a mental one.

[Don]

This hard-hitting Bear Grylls meets Zelenskiy documentary looks very hard-hitting and real.

[John Arne]

This seems like the perfect game to play any other defender ahead of Maguire.

[Waffdon]

England have ridiculously good depth and some of the best younger players in the world coming through and yet somehow gimps like Henderson are getting called up never mind starting games. Southgate is a dinosaur.

[Don]

Jacob Ramsey is the only other name I can think of to take Hendo's spot. Best younger players in the world? It's all just uninspiring non-elite BLMs.

[Ben]

Offside or not, that gap between Stones and Maguire is far too inviting.

[Don]

Ukraine looking good here, Zinchenko's Pep education :drool:

[Manc]

This is sending me to sleep.

[Yevrah]

It's proper bilge. Would love to know the tactical thinking behind two defensive midfielders at home against this shower of shit.

[Spikey M]

I see Ukraine Fans are allowed political banners. :harold:

[Yevrah]

We appear to have come alive, that was lovely.

[Waffdon]

England are really good at scoring a 2nd goal very quickly after their 1st against most teams. Makes it even more weird how negative they are as soon as they score against someone decent or in a big match.

[Manc]

Ukraine should be thrown out of the competition for that effort. Abysmal.

[Lewis]

Ukraine Twitter has it at 9-2.

[phonics]

Conte gone.

I'm absolutely shocked that didn't go well. /s

[randomlegend]

Lol at when everyone was shitting on United for not going for him.

[Waffdon]

Honestly thought he had already left earlier in the week.

[Manc]

Julia Roberts will be gutted.

[niko_cee]

All time great pic/headline juxtaposition by the BBC.

'Mutual consent'

:D

[Waffdon]

McTominay, a bit like McGinn, loves a goal for Scotland.

Lol at Pedro Porro

[Waffdon]

I’ll be shocked if a Spanish player doesn’t manage to get a Scotland player sent off here

[Waffdon]

What a plur :drool:

[Ian]

Scotland making hard work of not qualifying so far.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

McDONimay :cool:

[Jimmy Floyd]

Norway binning points in Georgia too (assuming the presence of Kvaratshkelia still doesn't require us to take Georgia seriously) means that Scotland's success is now assured.

In all seriousness though, this formation is the shit with the players they have. 2-3 good midfielders, good wing backs, maybe they could use a centre half and a goalscorer, but it's coming together.

[Waffdon]

Yeah, would be a bit of a fuck up to not qualify now. A grim draw away to Norway should seal it.

Still badly need to replace Hanley and get someone with pace and quality up front. Hopefully Ben Doak turns into dynamite rather quickly. Got Man City’s best Dev squad player too who scored on his Scotland U21 debut.

[John Arne]

Why are Argentina hosting Curacao? 5-0 at half time.

#MessiStatPadding

[Manc]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/29/chelsea-kai-havertz-interview-football

If you can look past him fucking donkeys, he comes across quite well.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I thought he comes across really well. Really hope we hang onto him, super player.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Hervé Renard leaves Saudi Arabia to join France Women. What could possibly go wrong.

[John Arne]

So, the Under 20 World Cup that was due to be played in Indonesia in May has just been taken off them by FIFA. This follows an announcement last week by the PSSI (Indonesian FA) that they would not accept being draw alongside Israel (officially they said the draw is delayed due to Bali refusing to host Israel games).

Rumours that Peru, Argentina or fucking Qatar to step in.

[Don]

Today, I feel Indonesian.

[niko_cee]

Rodri's seethe. :drool:

Hopefully he has more to come at the weekend.

[Waffdon]

I have no idea what he’s on about anyway. Spain were the ones feigning injury throughout. Pedro Porro got that worked up he got taken off at half time. Other than dominating in the air for the first 25 mins - before Scotland realised crossing to the big dud up front was the only way they were conceding - they done fuck all.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Having a massive seethe about losing to Scotland basically sums up the superiority complex that pervades everything in Spanish football, and also explains their laughable team selection.

It's hard to describe exactly, but over there they genuinely believe that Spain and Real Madrid deserve to win everything by default, and if they don't then they must have been robbed in some way. It's slightly different to the English superiority complex whereby we think our football culture is the best, but accept facts when it comes to our team losing or being shit.

[Don]

Their talent pool is well and truly done, it's an end of an era possibly marked by failure to qualify out of this group.

[Lofty]

Spain were wank before the tiki taka era, they have just reverted to the mean.

[Ben]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65128593

:sherlock:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

United free from the Qataris :drool:

[Giggles]

Load of spoof doing it now once they’re well embedded already.

[Spikey M]

It's a load of shit once you scratch beneath the surface. As bad as the human rights record may be in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, they wouldn't stop the likes of Apple buying Leicester and they're running sweatshops all over the third world. Billionaires with squeeky clean hands are rare beasts.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They won't let Liverpool or United fall to them lot. Newcastle and so on are by the by.

[Ian]

United free from the Qataris :drool:

"Luckily, the FA have determined that Sheikh Jassim was playing golf in Florida the day Qatar did all their human rights violations, and he's a-okay in their book."

[Yevrah]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65128593

:sherlock:

That sounds like a rewording of the infamous "fit and proper persons test", with the reality being that no one, let alone the Premier League can stop anyone from buying a business.

[phonics]

Just FYI neither Sautdi Arabia or any of the Qatar lot would fail this test.

I'm about half way through the list and so far people who can't own a football club are members of the Taliban, members of Al-Qaeda, members of ISIS, 3 people who are currently serving life sentences in The Hague for War-Crimes in Yugoslavia and people who used to work for Idi Amin.

[Yevrah]

And I bet they couldn’t even stop Al-Qaeda from buying a football club if they tried.

[phonics]

I finished the list.

Are you part of the North Korean military, the Iranian military, did you build a nuclear power plant in Iran or are you part of the FSB.

Unless you fall into this select group or have been charged with a specific crime in UK courts, which as a state actor you cannot because you have diplomatic immunity.

Go ahead.

[Baz]

Footballs back tomorrow. :drool:
Haaland out :drool:
0-0 here we go! :drool:

[Don]

Haaland out is a bit of a blow for us. I'm also hearing Diaz is back, just a shame about midfield.

[John Arne]

I went to Ho Chi Minh City FC v Ba Ria in the cup tonight. First domestic football for 5 weeks and a massive 250 people turned up. 12m people live in Ho Chi Minh City.

[Shindig]

Does Vietnam have a national sport?