December football: bald men hold sway

[Jimmy Floyd]

Let's maintain some fucking discipline around here.

A great start to his Leicester reign for Ruud Nistelrooy of Hesselink, but Julen Lopetegui looks to be heading for a statement released through the LMA. Who will West Ham get in? Does it matter? Should the London Stadium be demolished and replaced by affordable housing?

As the month begins, Liverpool FC look set to continue steamrollering all comers, while it's been a good month for Chelsea, signs of recovery at Man U, but an ongoing mega-tank at Man Blue. Will Guardiola make it to the Feast of Stephen? Will Everton get sucked back into the relegation zone, or will all our dreams be crushed again? In the world of refereeing, it's been a disappointing month for David Coote, but can he bounce back in time for the festive fixtures?

Further afield, European leagues will all go on winter breaks because they are a bunch of pathetic continentals with no bottle.

This month's trivia teaser: if Luke Littler ate Luke Shaw, would either of their sporting performances be affected in any way? Answers next month.

[Magic]

Fullkrug ended up at the Shambles, how has that happened lol.

[Gray Fox]

West 'am are such a curious club. Seem to have ideas way beyond their station. In my lifetime at least I've seen them do the grand sum of fuck all for almost all of it. They got very close to a something once, but a Gerrard right foot put a stop to that.

Sat comfortably in mid-table for a while in the early 2010's. Started to wobble a little under Bilic and Moyesy came in to steady the ship. Then a man with a much fancier name became available so out with Moyes and in with him, only to realise that Moyes was better. He wins them their only achievement in my lifetime and they're still desperate to sack him and eventually a man with a much fancier name becomes available and we're back where we were before.

They seem to think they should be far above 9th, despite the teams above them and below them being about right in the final table. Maybe an argument for Brighton being better.

[John Arne]

Mitsubishi Cup starts this month, which is the ASEAN national tournament, formerly Tiger Cup, Suzuki Cup, AFF Cup.

It used to be THE tournament for southeast Asia nations, but now it's just a bit crap. Thailand have picked a slightly second team, Vietnam are just shit now and the mighty Indonesia are focused on actual World Cup Qualifying so haven't called up their 20 recently naturalised players.

Cambodia have decided to go all Qatar and have given 6 players a dodgy Cambodian passport, so we'll see Hikaru Mizuno, Takaki Ose, Yudai Ogawa, Nick Taylor, Mohammed Faeez Khan, Abdel Kader Coulibaly and Andres Nieto lining up alongside Soeuy Visal et al.

Closer to home, Vietnam not wanting to miss out on the dodgy foreigners quota have thrown a passport at Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes, now known as Nguyễn Xuân Son, who has spent 4 years in the country and will make his debut in the opening game against Laos.

The only English league based player is Marselino Ferdinan of Oxford and Indonesia.

My prediction, which is an absolute guess as all the teams are shite right now:
Semis
Thailand v Myanmar
Malaysia v Indonesia
Final
Thailand v Indonesia

[Kikó]

Surely they can't go back to Moyes again if it goes tits up? Have some conviction and stick with the preferred way of playing.

United v Arsenal and then City away this month plus an away game at Spurs in the league cup and starting next month with Liverpool and Arsenal again. Tough fixtures for sexy Reuben.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Great news, the Club World Cup seedings are out. Get your wallcharts out.

https://www.insideworldfootball.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-07.42.58.png

[SvN]

Genuinely excited by tonight. Not expecting a win, just want us to be competitive. Can't remember the last time I didn't dread a game against one of the big 6. Probably Spring 2023.

[niko_cee]

Supberd OP.

Ian in the mud, RIP etc.


it's been a disappointing month for David Coote

:D

[Davgooner]

That mook Rashford it definitely doing us in tonight. Shame.

[niko_cee]

And you won't even get to see these rainbow jackets that seem to be the centre of attention.

[Gray Fox]

Surely by outing the lad in the media, you've done the exact thing they didn't want in the first place?

[niko_cee]

So, if Guehi's essentially allowed his religious messaging, entirely contrary to the apparent rules, where else can we go with this? Jesus was a Jew? Can we go back to the simmering foundations of the post-merger board and get a lol Jesus armband? Free Palestine?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Wonder if a white Christian would have been spared.

[Gray Fox]

Another of the 'we play like shit here recently' games tonight. Hopefully no stupid VVD red card this time.

[Waffdon]

A front 4 of Madueke, Palmer, Nkunku and Felix may be the laziest front line you’ll ever see. Baldy has no respect for Southampton.

[niko_cee]

I see Eddie howe was being rather canny in his pre-match comments about Isak.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Hopefully this Jorgensen move is a proper one rather than just a midweek shuffle, though I doubt it.

[Kikó]

That mook Rashford it definitely doing us in tonight. Shame.

Doesn't look like he's starting.

[Waffdon]

Hopefully this Jorgensen move is a proper one rather than just a midweek shuffle, though I doubt it.

Definitely rotation as Sanchez had his best game for the club on Sunday. The guy is clearly talented but has that retard gene that comes out far too often to be considered a #1

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1864384196862726490

Amad and Zirkzee on the bench...

[niko_cee]

Prioritising winnable games.

[Waffdon]

Both Southampton and Chelsea ridiculously open. Could be 5/6 goals in this game easily

[Waffdon]

Southampton are all over Chelsea. Ridiculous line up from baldy

Never mind, Southampton are there to hand them a goal :lol:

[Gray Fox]

They think they're 2010 Barcelona.

[Waffdon]

3rd choice journeyman playing out like prime Valdes

[Jimmy Floyd]

The second Chelsea goal just makes me angry. This sort of guff is not professional sport. Put the laptops away.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Isak :drool:

What a hit.

[Gray Fox]

Newcastle doing quite well so far. They seem to be man marking across the midfield but sitting off the CBs. Very similar to what Notts Forest did. Gravenberch especially is not being allowed a second on the ball.

As I say this Isak smashes one into the top corner.

[Waffdon]

3 goals, bar and post hit and a few decent chances missed. Southampton are amazing

[Waffdon]

Southampton player doing a Romero but getting sent off for pulling Cucurella’s hair at a corner :lol:

Nowhere near as bad though

[niko_cee]

Is hair pulling actually a red card offence? Surprised some forward thinker hasn't gone full reverse-Passarella and mandated all players to have stupid hair if it is.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I know it's offside but Onana, awful.

[Manc]

Liverpool are miles off it.

[niko_cee]

That's the obligatory bad half out of the way, now for the good half . . .

[Gray Fox]

Awful Liverpool first half. Lucky to only be 1-0 down. From here I'd happily take a draw and get out of there.

Quansah at RB has not worked at all. I suspect Trent will appear before long. I thought we had possessioned out of the tough patch of the game, like we've done a lot lately, but Isak just too good on that strike. Really hope to see at least 1 change at the break.

[niko_cee]

Solid start from Man Dark Blue.

I don't mean this as a criticism, but Hojlund runs about the pitch with the look of a person with a turd turtling out of their arse.

[Magic]

Will Baaland ever score again.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Madueke :lol:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Gordon scoring against Liverpool is great.

[Gray Fox]

We've not been smacked in the mouth like this yet. Get the changes on and see what we've got.

[Waffdon]

No idea how Chelsea have only scored 3 goals. Madueke should have had 4 alone

[niko_cee]

Not watching it, but Craig Dawson must either want Gary O'Neil sacked or Christmas off.

[Manc]

Give him what he wants.

[Mike]

Forgot how stressful following a good team is!

[Gray Fox]

Pay him. Pay him. Pay him. Pay him. Pay him. Pay him. Pay him. Pay him. Pay him.

[Shindig]

I fucking hate Liverpool :moop:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Kelleher :lol:

[Shindig]

Love it!

[Magic]

:harold:

[Jimmy Floyd]

If we'd won 15-1 tonight it wouldn't have flattered us. Russell Martin should not be working in football.

[Waffdon]

Salah will probably still score again and win it

[Waffdon]

If we'd won 15-1 tonight it wouldn't have flattered us. Russell Martin should not be working in football.
Winning away games in December. It’s been a while

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Arsenal should be banned from corners.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ref has absolutely screwed Newcastle.

[Gray Fox]

Excellent game that. First one I think we have missed Alisson over Queefy.

[Dquincy]

What game that was between Liverpool v Newcastle. Although, Quansah and Gomez are a scarier duo than Fred and Rose West.

[Giggles]

Thankfully that’s the Kelleher myth put to bed.

[Bernanke]

I see Kylolian is at it again.

[Gray Fox]

Slot seems very good at getting things right during half times. Sign of either a great coach or a great motivator. For him I suspect the former.

I don't expect we see the Quansah at RB experiment at Goodison.

[Waffdon]

Corner FC. You have to respect it

[Danny]

Posh Stoke

[Waffdon]

The fact they’ve got a 6ft2 DM taking them as well is hilarious

[Gray Fox]

Paella Pulis must be studied.

[Lewis]

Why not just stand every defender on the line as if it were an indirect free-kick?

[randomlegend]

Why not just stand every defender on the line as if it were an indirect free-kick?

They just push the defenders out of the way, but for some reason everyone's decided it's not a foul.

[phonics]

It’s mad that something that has an average conversion rate of like 1 in 50 has people terrified.

[phonics]

My overall takeaway is that United fans should be very happy. Players were clearly set-up in a system the players understood, were able to force an outball, that worked to nullify the opposition. They just couldn't create anything after that. Set-up from that base and they'll be good going forward.

[Waffdon]

I’ve just seen the video of the referee blowing when Newcastle were on the counter. Blows on 95.12 with the ball at the half way line after someone scored in the 90th min. What a bam

[Gray Fox]

Chelsea with the most xG on record for an away team since they started tracking it.

[Lofty]

Amorim looks fed up already.

[phonics]

Salah looks amazing. it’s so hard to know where you get stuck with a Viduka/Aubameyang situation or it’s worth it.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Chelsea with the most xG on record for an away team since they started tracking it.

Genuine missed opportunity for an enormous total. Can't emphasise this enough. If everything had gone right we could have had perhaps as many as eighteen goals. Double figures should have been easy. The 5-1 is like 1-0. It's not due to us being good either. It's that Southampton are insultingly bad. Their manager might as well have been mooning at the family section.

[phonics]

When we played Southampton we won 3-1 andI couldn’t believe the result. That’s a genuinely abysmal team and I don’t even think it’s the players. The coaching sets them up to fail.

[John Arne]

Watching the highlights from last night... infuriating to see van Dijk and Gomez strolling around like Franco Baresi but playing like Titus fucking Bramble. They both need a good fucking rollocking.

[phonics]

Love that kind of analysis. Has Virgil Van Dijk sprinted more than 3 times a season in his entire Liverpool career?

[Baz]

Why did Jorgensen play?

[Ben]

Because Sanchez is a bomb scare?

[Waffdon]

Why did Jorgensen play?

Baldy is anti Pochettino and loves making changes for midweek games. Sanchez will be back in for Spurs sadly

[Waffdon]

It’s mad that something that has an average conversion rate of like 1 in 50 has people terrified.

29 set piece goals in 52 games.

No wonder you keep going through a sticky patch every season. Far too reliant on set pieces to open the game up

[Kikó]

My overall takeaway is that United fans should be very happy. Players were clearly set-up in a system the players understood, were able to force an outball, that worked to nullify the opposition. They just couldn't create anything after that. Set-up from that base and they'll be good going forward.

I think this is fair. Another night we might sneak one through the De Ligt header but generally we had a shape and the players looked like they had an idea. We're actually missing a good forward and I don't think Hojlund, Zirkzee, or Rashford are the answer. It's going to take a bit of time but I think we can have a good second half of the season if the players have the shape and commitment of yesterday. Early days but it's encouraging.

[Luke Emia]

They just push the defenders out of the way, but for some reason everyone's decided it's not a foul.

Fucking man to man marking is the answer. Zonal marking is fine for a conventional corner kick but when you have 6/7 players beyond the back post who then rush the 6 yard box your best players are going to get blocked from hearing the ball. It really isn’t that hard but football has become so data driven in that zonal marking makes corners harder to score from no one has cottoned on that Arsenal have basically broke it as a way to defend them.

[John Arne]

Love that kind of analysis. Has Virgil Van Dijk sprinted more than 3 times a season in his entire Liverpool career?

No, but he usually doesn't play like Titus Bramble. That was the kinda important part of the "analysis".

[Shindig]

Titus was fine when Johnny Woodgate was there to scare him into the right positions.

[niko_cee]

Verbruggen.

:face:

[Magic]

Can't believe Bulham and Shiteon is a top 6 battle.

[niko_cee]

Corners are completely fucked. Diop has literally pushed Dunk out of the line of heading that as he is going for it.

[niko_cee]

I'd rather that than the majority of fanbases who seem to want their manager out pretty much constantly.

Fear not, they're now fully on board booing the team and calling for Ange's head.

[Lofty]

Dont worry, PGMOL will be banning corner carnage soon. Two years ago they banned leaving your technical area because Arteta did it, this season they banned winding up the keeper because Ben White did it, screening corner runs will be illegal next season I guarantee it.

[Waffdon]

Dont worry, PGMOL will be banning corner carnage soon. Two years ago they banned leaving your technical area because Arteta did it, this season they banned winding up the keeper because Ben White did it, screening corner runs will be illegal next season I guarantee it.

Arsenal fans �� Liverpool fans at being victims

[niko_cee]

I doubt they will, but what sort of radical solutions could we have? No attackers in the 6 yard box when the corner is taken? There's such a massive risk/reward divergence between attackers and defenders in terms of being on the edge of the rules [ie risk to attacker is much lower as a penalty is a much higher sanction than a defensive freekick] that it feels it would be a very difficult thing to actually effectively and fairly police. At best there will be a few exemplary decisions taken, probably unfairly, before things just revert back to wherever they were. Teams just need to evolve their defensive strategies.

[Gray Fox]

I reckon you'll see teams start overcompensating soon. They'll openly block, pull and haul down the Arsenal players to see if the ref has the bottle to give a penalty for it.

[Lofty]

Porto got round it by all falling over like those goats you see on videos and the ref immediately blowing.

[Ben]

Porto got round it by all falling over like those goats you see on videos and the ref immediately blowing.

This is the way obviously. But then the referees will have two sets of cheats to sort out instead of just the one, so let's see who blinks first.

[randomlegend]

Dont worry, PGMOL will be banning corner carnage soon. Two years ago they banned leaving your technical area because Arteta did it, this season they banned winding up the keeper because Ben White did it, screening corner runs will be illegal next season I guarantee it.

It's not "screening", Hojlund got two hands fully in the back to shove him out the way for Arsenal's first goal the other night.

Arsenal were better and deserved to win but it was a blatant foul.

[Waffdon]

Just stick 2 or 3 folk on the halfway line and clear the box for your keeper

[Waffdon]

1864495337458594052


Madueke best start getting his bags packed. :drool:

[Lofty]

It's not "screening", Hojlund got two hands fully in the back to shove him out the way for Arsenal's first goal the other night.

Arsenal were better and deserved to win but it was a blatant foul.

I believe that is called being a weak soft shite, or at least it is when Arsenal concede them.

[Mike]

Everton vs Liverpool called off.

[Gray Fox]

Fucking storm. I love the derby as well.

[Shindig]

It's robbed us of a wind-assisted own goal from a goal kick.

[Danny]

City :lol: Walker is done.

[Gray Fox]

Why is Ederson on the bench? Another tiff with a star player?

[Baz]

Southampton are beyond a joke.

[niko_cee]

Antonio's been in a car crash and West Ham are sending thoughts and prayers. :|

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1865427528648671711

He's fucked.

[Shindig]

That looks like someone who was flooring it on a country lane.

[Giggles]

You're not coming out of that too well.

[randomlegend]

Jesus, the driver's side is obliterated. Hard to see how he even survived that to be airlifted to hospital.

[Waffdon]

That looks like someone who was flooring it on a country lane.

Cheers Geoff

[Waffdon]

He’s in a stable condition so either that wasn’t the car or he’s a machine

[Mike]

1865451254492578226

[randomlegend]

Stupid early goal given away is whatever, but in general we look so much better.

[Waffdon]

Onana is decent

[Magic]

Stupid early goal given away is whatever, but in general we look so much better.

:harold:

[niko_cee]

Results are going to be sketchy because some of the squad is absolute wank, but he's right.

Whether this is the start of the journey back to the promised land is harder to say. I'm not sure a process/system man is what you need for that.

[Waffdon]

Ten Haag would have beat Ipswich and won this game.

Probably will now, fuck sake

[Adramelch]

They are playing against a top 4 contender after all.

[Lofty]

Scamorim.

[niko_cee]

28% possession, 3 shots on target.

Robbing from the rich again, I guess.

[randomlegend]

Ten Haag would have beat Ipswich and won this game.

Probably will now, fuck sake

Maybe, but the performances were diabolical and it was going absolutely nowhere.

We gave away three ridiculous goals but played better than we did in probably any game under Ten Hag. The results will come.

[Ben]

Blind faith for six months before the full 180.

We’ve seen this one before.

[Gray Fox]

All set up nicely for Ru Benamorim to come in and impart HIS VISION and immediately bring on a losing streak.

Hmmm.

[John Arne]

#GetRuudIn

[AJ23]

I always find it interesting that managers do well with similar sized clubs but when they step up to clubs with higher expectation levels, it doesn't work.

Nuno Espirito Santo did so well at Wolves and now doing the same at Forest. Couldn't do much at Spurs but then again, who does?

Roy Hodgson did well at Fulham but couldn't do it at Liverpool.

Graham Potter at Brighton and couldn't do it at Chelsea.

Sam Allardyce at Bolton then flopped at Newcastle.

Moyes at Everton and Wet Sham, then Man United.

Stick to what you're good at. Creating an us against the world mentality as underdogs.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I think managing top, top, top players is quite different to managing merely good ones. The egos on these people, especially nowadays, is such that for Mbappe or Bellingham they genuinely think they are bigger than the team, which isn't necessarily the case for Chris Wood.

Ancelotti is the grand master of that kind of management. Mourinho is terrible at it which is partly why the elite game has rather left him behind.

[Kikó]

Bye bye football admin.
https://x.com/lauriewhitwell/status/1865682760477892715

[Jimmy Floyd]

The new Ratcliffe-led hierarchy, overseen by Sir Dave Brailsford, had placed Ashworth in overall charge of football performance, recruitment and operations, with Jason Wilcox, also a new arrival, reporting to him as technical director.

Ashworth himself reported into Berrada, who arrived in the summer from rivals Manchester City.

Jumpers for goalposts, marvellous.

[niko_cee]

:D

What?

Not that he hasn't always seemed an absolute chancer, but that's mad if true.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

6 months chasing him, 5 months for him to leave.

Stunning.

[randomlegend]

Bizarre.

Edit: apparently he's thrown his toys out the pram because of Berrada over-ruling him on decisions, including him wanting Southgate after Ten Hag. If that's true then fucking hell.

[niko_cee]

Some going from the new regime to out shitshow Woowar & Co, but the Sirs have managed it.

[Gray Fox]

Remember when it was all the Glazers fault? Simpler times.

[niko_cee]

Bizarre.

Edit: apparently he's thrown his toys out the pram because of Berrada over-ruling him on decisions, including him wanting Southgate after Ten Hag. If that's true then fucking hell.

Sad as it is that that appointment wasn't made, what is the point of whatever his job was if he isn't making decisions like who the manager is? Isn't having Berrada pick the manager just having Woodward making all the calls again? Or does sitting in Pep's wake for however many years make Omar a proper football man?

[Kikó]

It's been a good week. Look forward to the 5 year new deals for Shaw and Rashford.

[niko_cee]

With an option for a 6th. Always remember the optional extra year.

In other good news sounds like Mo is going to be getting his dough.

[Gray Fox]

I feel like his is/was most obvious to get done first. It goes very much against the grain of what FSG want, but it's good that exceptions can be made for special players. I suspect Van Dijk will be posting a new contract picture in front of a christmas tree before new year.

Trent however will point to whatever figure Salah just got and tell them he wants that or more, or he's off to best mate Jude.

[Waffdon]

Things have been going far too good results wise for Chelsea recently. Spurs always roll over for them and they’re also in a bit of a mess right now. Something bad must be brewing, hopefully it’s being saved for Everton in a couple weeks and Spurs get twatted.

[Adramelch]

I always find it interesting that managers do well with similar sized clubs but when they step up to clubs with higher expectation levels, it doesn't work.

Nuno Espirito Santo did so well at Wolves and now doing the same at Forest. Couldn't do much at Spurs but then again, who does?

Roy Hodgson did well at Fulham but couldn't do it at Liverpool.

Graham Potter at Brighton and couldn't do it at Chelsea.

Sam Allardyce at Bolton then flopped at Newcastle.

Moyes at Everton and Wet Sham, then Man United.

Stick to what you're good at. Creating an us against the world mentality as underdogs.

How would you know if you don't take a shot at a bigger club though? It's not unreasonable to have that ambition until you've seen you can't cut it.

[phonics]

Whats the good streaming sites these days? I've been having a nightmare with the old regulars for the 3:00 kick offs.

[Baz]

Whats the good streaming sites these days? I've been having a nightmare with the old regulars for the 3:00 kick offs.


soccer-100.com

(Never tried it myself cos IPTV)

[John Arne]

Streameast.app

I'm not sure you should be allowed to take throw-ins with those Adidas gloves... Surely they add more grip? Is that allowed?

[Danny]

Bizarre.

Edit: apparently he's thrown his toys out the pram because of Berrada over-ruling him on decisions, including him wanting Southgate after Ten Hag. If that's true then fucking hell.

If that’s true then good riddance. Fucking Southgate :nono:

[randomlegend]

If that’s true then good riddance. Fucking Southgate :nono:

Indeed. Build Berrada a statue.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Ashworth probably knew that Southgate would be far more successful in this kind of vipers' nest dressing room, but that kind of appointment doesn't justify the many big upstairs paycheques nor does it pacify the legions of customers/fans eager for their fourth straight flavour of the month disaster, so it was never going to happen.

[phonics]

Partey at right back has never and will never work.

[randomlegend]

Ashworth probably knew that Southgate would be far more successful in this kind of vipers' nest dressing room, but that kind of appointment doesn't justify the many big upstairs paycheques nor does it pacify the legions of customers/fans eager for their fourth straight flavour of the month disaster, so it was never going to happen.

Southgate is a shit manager and would have been catastrophic.

[Gray Fox]

He brought football home ffs.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Southgate is a shit manager and would have been catastrophic.

If he was called Ruben Amorim and had got Portugal into the same euro finals/semis playing the same football as Southgate has with England, you would all be gagging for him in the way you're gagging for the real Ruben Amorim who has taken Varzim to the cleaners and how. It's quite simply that familiar names and domestic appointments are deeply unfashionable.

[Gray Fox]

Oh look, here they go again.

[Waffdon]

I know they got a goal from it but Havertz is utterly dog shit

[randomlegend]

If he was called Ruben Amorim and had got Portugal into the same euro finals/semis playing the same football as Southgate has with England, you would all be gagging for him in the way you're gagging for the real Ruben Amorim who has taken Varzim to the cleaners and how. It's quite simply that familiar names and domestic appointments are deeply unfashionable.

Load of bollocks, as always. Your "you just wont a fashnuble forrin" is the more clichéd schtick at this point than actually just wanting the fashionable foreign manager would be.

Amorim is a popular choice because his teams have played good football, he's turned around clubs who were in the doldrums and he seems quite likeable.

Southgate is unpopular because he had a stacked England squad playing terrible football and underachieving whilst doing so.

Nobody would have any issue with an English manager who was actually good.

[Waffdon]

That Spurs team looks near enough full strength. Injury crisis I hear.

[Baz]

How is Saliba not offside for that goal?

[Ben]

That Spurs team looks near enough full strength. Injury crisis I hear.

The keeper and the racist. I’m stumped thinking of anyone else…

[Spikey M]

They were without both centre backs until today (maybe the last game).

But either way, the issue isn't so much injuries as a complete lack of depth. Beyond the starting 11 they have an absolute load of shite to choose from.

[Gray Fox]

Paella Pulis once more in the mud when he doesnt get all the set piece goals.

[Waffdon]

Chelsea go 11 clear of spurs and Newcastle with a win. Would basically wrap up CL football by Christmas

[Waffdon]

Terrific start. Two spurs chances (and goal) from defenders having a howler. Now the game sets up perfectly for spurs

[Waffdon]

The majority of the Chelsea team have a retard gene and it seems they’re all using it today. Two goals conceded from slipping ffs

[Ben]

Lmao

[Baz]

Chelsea go 11 clear of spurs and Newcastle with a win. Would basically wrap up CL football by Christmas:harold:

[Ben]

Cucurella, Cinderella.

Drury at his finest.

[Waffdon]

:harold:

Was always happening - things been going far too well the last month. Palmer Achilles injury inbound

[Manc]

I don't think you can say Southgate underachieved with England. You need a bit of luck to win trophies at an international level.

[Spikey M]

Tottenham are just unexplainable as a team.

[Waffdon]

This is always the best fixture of the year. Mental start to a game

[Yevrah]

I don't think you can say Southgate underachieved with England. You need a bit of luck to win trophies at an international level.

He got a bit of luck, absolute shit loads of it.

[Ben]

Good stuff this. Not a cool head in sight.

[Magic]

Good stuff this. Not a cool head in sight.

Definitely has a touch of Copa Libertadores about it.

[Waffdon]

Chelsea probably win this if he brings on a right sided centre half and right back at half time (assuming they don’t throw any other goals in before then)

[Ben]

Chelsea probably win this if he brings on a right sided centre half and right back at half time (assuming they don’t throw any other goals in before then)

Yeah I’m thinking Chelsea score 2 or 3 more comfortably. But the keeper and back line are a total bomb scare so fuck knows.

[Magic]

Carragher is such an irritating cunt.

[Gray Fox]

This has Chelsea scoring a late winner and giving it to the crowd vibes.

[Ben]

This has Chelsea scoring a late winner and giving it to the crowd vibes.

Jackson. :drool:

[Spoonsky]

This game is goofy. No way Spurs are making it out of here without conceding a few more.

[Waffdon]

Jackson. :drool:

Would be special but he is completely off it. His positioning has been poor all game, could have tapped a couple in this half alone

[Ben]

Chelsea should be a couple up already. This is mental. Nailed on for Son to counter and make it 3-1.

[Spikey M]

Fucking Werner :face:

[Spoonsky]

What an idiot. Rare that a pen is so blatant that the conceding player just puts their head in their hands rather than symbolically protesting to the ref.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Why does it take 3 hours for a penalty to be taken these days?

[Magic]

Would be special but he is completely off it. His positioning has been poor all game, could have tapped a couple in this half alone

To be fair so could Palmer.

[Waffdon]

Badiashile has given the ball away a ridiculous amount of times

[Waffdon]

If that went in would it have counted?

[Spoonsky]

Why does it take 3 hours for a penalty to be taken these days?

Players need time to decide the order of their celebrations.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If that went in would it have counted?

I think yes, which makes it a lot funnier that Son completely bottled the finish.

[Waffdon]

Badiashile has given the ball away a ridiculous amount of times

So fucking bad

[Jimmy Floyd]

Palmer is Zola. What a footballer. Peerless.

[Waffdon]

Enzo Fernandez left his wife and kids and has turned into a machine

[Gray Fox]

Maybe not so late winner.

[Spoonsky]

Palmer is Zola. What a footballer. Peerless.

Yeah. Feels like a very rare player these days.

Enzo must have one of the most slappable faces in the league. I think he's passed Foden, neck and neck with Bernardo Silva.

[Gray Fox]

Ange should just walk away from this lot. Cursed club.

[Ben]

Enzo Fernandez left his wife and kids and has turned into a machine

I headed over to his Wikipedia article to read up on this but got more enthralled by the fact he’s racked up 21 points on his driving licence in just a year, 12 of which were due to offences in Swansea. What the fuck is he doing there? :D

[niko_cee]

Two nil and you fucked it up . . .

:drool:

Vultures will be circling Ange towers before too long if things keep on like this.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Romance of the game, mate. Kids in parks, mate.

[Waffdon]

Oh my days he’s so good

[Magic]

Fucking hell. Absolute filth. That's what you get for the paper throwing. :harold:

[Ben]

Kicking myself for not having a bet on this outcome. It was coming a mile off even at 2-1.

Still can’t believe Man City let this lad leave. They should have changed everything to accommodate him.

[niko_cee]

Is the little horse now a stalking horse then?

[Gray Fox]

Kicking myself for not having a bet on this outcome. It was coming a mile off even at 2-1.

Still can’t believe Man City let this lad leave. They should have changed everything to accommodate him.

The WWE analogy of this is he got himself over without permission from the egomaniac boss. Can't be having that.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Is the little horse now a stalking horse then?

No, it's just a series of happy happenings, this one the happiest yet. No way we're a better team than Arsenal, for example.

[Spoonsky]

No, it's just a series of happy happenings, this one the happiest yet. No way we're a better team than Arsenal, for example.

You're better than them and not only that, much more fun to watch on a weekly basis. And led by an albino Caribbean Zola.

[niko_cee]

Yeah, Chelsea have the goals, and madcap excitement of early Klopp Liverpool. They just need to find their Alisson/Van Dijk combo to sort things going backwards. They could even, feasibly, buy/acquire Alisson and Van Dijk.

[Jimmy Floyd]

We're definitely fun but we're so bad at the back, that will catch up with us over the course of the season. Thinking top four is very much on now though.

[Waffdon]

They always find a way to win here. :drool:

2026/27 treble winners :drool:

[Gray Fox]

Yeah on that point they gave up 3/4 good chances at the end there to throw that one away.

[Jimmy Floyd]

And yeah, three point lane delivers again.

'Massive football result' says Merse. Love it.

[Waffdon]

And yeah, three point lane delivers again.

'Massive football result' says Merse. Love it.

Arsenal fans in the last few years realising he’s a massive Chelsea fan is always fun on Twitter

Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Ipswich, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Wolves the games until end of January. Proper bottle job if Chelsea are more than 7 points behind Liverpool by then tbh. No issues with fixture pile ups either.

[Shindig]

Ashworth's out. :D I'm sure that was all worth the time and money spent on that appointment.

[Lewis]

In hindsight Da Nashworth getting the Gary Neville seal of approval should have been a massive red flag flying high.

[igor_balis]

Dan Ashworth was one of the most important figures in recent-ish West Brom history - during the 5 years he was sporting/technical director, we signed the likes of Jonas Olsson (£1m), Graham Dorrans (£300k), Youssouf Mulumbu (£200k), Peter Odemwingie (£3m), Craig Dawson (£300k), Claudio Yacob (fuck all) and Ben Foster (£5m). There was some shite too, but it was an incredible hit rate, especially as most of the failures were like fifty grand from some Portuguese 2nd division side and similar.

AJ23 was pondering why successful managers at mediocre clubs can't #stepup, and I often find it pretty confusing. I have no fucking clue what Ashworth has really done since September 2012, but based on his track record for us, I'd say that it's a lot less confusing to work out why he couldn't replicate it at a massive club, lol. Soft skills be damned, there's fuck all that you'd learn from bolstering your promotion push by getting Billy Jones on a free from League One Preston that could be applicable to whatever the fuck Man Red are trying to do.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It could well be that he is a fraud chancer and was FOUND OUT by the magnificent all-knowing rest of the 'football structure', but then the question is why INEOS spent a year dragging themselves over hot coals to get him.

[Lofty]

I can't see it happening but if Arsenal want to actually win anything they need to bin off Jesus ASAP and use the resulting wage savings to bring in a proper number 9.

[Kikó]

It could well be that he is a fraud chancer and was FOUND OUT by the magnificent all-knowing rest of the 'football structure', but then the question is why INEOS spent a year dragging themselves over hot coals to get him.

It could just be they had different ideas and it didn't work out. It happens that executives/senior employees leave companies when they realize they aren't a great fit.

[niko_cee]

I can't see it happening but if Arsenal want to actually win anything they need to bin off Jesus ASAP and use the resulting wage savings to bring in a proper number 9.

Jesus is such an odd one. He seemed absolutely deadly in his early days, now he's largely useless. Maybe his career path is what it would have been for someone like Romario in the modern running age.

[randomlegend]

It could just be they had different ideas and it didn't work out. It happens that executives/senior employees leave companies when they realize they aren't a great fit.

Yeah the more that comes out the more this sounds very unexciting. Just didn't gel with the rest of the setup.

[Shindig]

I'd welcome him back, to be honest. I don't know how far his influence reached but we made the Champions League. Admittedly, we could spend then.

[John Arne]

Kota Takai. Remember the name.

[Lofty]

Jesus is such an odd one. He seemed absolutely deadly in his early days, now he's largely useless. Maybe his career path is what it would have been for someone like Romario in the modern running age.

Basically his knee imploded at the last world cup and he's not been right since.

[niko_cee]

David Coote has been sacked.

[AJ23]

Jesus couldn't score in a brothel right now. He looks like Ade Akinbiyi's long lost brother.

If Arsenal signed Isak, I think that would be the final piece of the jigsaw for them.

[SincereTheRebel]

With Arsenal, as they are still trophyless since lockdownball. They now have an issue in the summer about players wanting to leave. If they are still trophyless at the end

[SincereTheRebel]

Big pressure on O'Neil. He could be gone before the week is done.

[Ben]

As a Middlesbrough, I'm not a fan of O'Neil personally (he downed tools here as a player then threw everyone else under the bus) but he's really matured as a manager and he can only play the card he's been dealt. In the last two years Wolves have brought in upwards of £300m in player sales, bought Cunha for £44m plus a few stragglers, then where is the rest?

Hard to compete when this is the strategy.

[Shindig]

If Arsenal signed Isak, I think that would be the final piece of the jigsaw for them.

Only when he's fit.

[John Arne]

1866123924410638702

[Baz]

:lol:

[Spikey M]

Beautiful

[Luke Emia]

With Arsenal I don't think it's plug in a top striker and it makes the difference. Aside from corners they don't really create chances. That's not saying that scoring from corners isn't a legitimate way of scoring goals it's that aside from that they don't really create much and that is an issue which isn't going to be fixed by just bunging a decent striker in the team.

[Waffdon]

Slot going full strength seems utterly bizarre. Top 8 is basically confirmed as it is

[niko_cee]

Although he says otherwise I think the team might have been a bit different had they not had their game called off at the weekend. Might as well try to keep the ball rolling as it is, no need to throw in any half baked defeats. Win this and they can also completely sack off the remaining Champions League games, hopefully to fuck over some of the lower down big boys.

[Waffdon]

On the flip side, sounds like maresca is finally giving Chelsea academy players a chance in Europe. It’s currently -17 in Astana so I’m sure they’ll appreciate the run out

[Luke Emia]

I think it’s also an issue of options. 6/7 out of this game and most of them are the rotation options. Chiesa, Jota, Bradley, Tsimikas and Konate all being missing means much less choice for the rotations.

This Girona team is like a decent Premier League team five years ago.

[Luke Emia]

Plus win this one and you can pretty much completely sack off the two games in January and still finish top not just in the top 8.

[Waffdon]

It doesn’t matter where you finish in the top 8 does it? You’re seeded regardless I thought

[Luke Emia]

It doesn’t matter where you finish in the top 8 does it? You’re seeded regardless I thought

It does 1st plays 16th, then the winner of 8th versus 9th and all the way through.

[-james-]

It does 1st plays 16th, then the winner of 8th versus 9th and all the way through.

No, top 8 get a bye to the round of 16 and are all seeded and play the winners of the knockout round. 9th - 16th are seeded against 17th - 24th in the knockout round.

[Luke Emia]

That’s not a penalty.

[niko_cee]

VAR working its wonders again.

It's what we all wanted.

[Pepe]

Someone shoot the VAR CEO.

[Yevrah]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cm2edy8kxpno

For the love of God, please let's not go through all this again.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm not against holding it in Saudi Arabia. It's a country with what will by then be 40 years of World Cup history and several memorable moments (for good and ill), a large country with many host cities.

Holding it Qatar was pathetic geopoliticking by Platini and the French (Sarkozy) government of the day because they wanted a weapons deal or an airbase or something.

[Pepe]

Yes but what about the trans youth.

[Yevrah]

Quite. I'm all for the arguments about where it should be held in regards to footballing heritage or otherwise, I just cannot take another two years in the run up to it (10 if that article being posted now is anything to go by) of absolute melts virtue signalling all over the shop only to complete fold when the tournament actually gets here. I'm looking at you Gary "I've always said" Neville and whatever bullshit Team England will try (but not actually try) to do.

[Lofty]

With Arsenal I don't think it's plug in a top striker and it makes the difference. Aside from corners they don't really create chances. That's not saying that scoring from corners isn't a legitimate way of scoring goals it's that aside from that they don't really create much and that is an issue which isn't going to be fixed by just bunging a decent striker in the team.

Arsenal have scored 13 goals in the last 4 games and 5 of those were from corners.

[Luke Emia]

Arsenal have scored 13 goals in the last 4 games and 5 of those were from corners.

Yep, and in their last two games they have scored three goals all from corners. I didn’t watch all of the United game but from everything I’ve seen they didn’t make many chances outside of the corners and they didn’t make many chances in the Fulham game that I remember either.

[niko_cee]

The Red Bull formula being absolutely tragic in this current format is a welcome bonus.

Both basically goners already.

[Bernanke]

Brest are ace.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Brest are proper legends. Them having 13 points and Leipzig zero is mental.

[Waffdon]

They do look like a handful

[Lofty]

Yep, and in their last two games they have scored three goals all from corners. I didn’t watch all of the United game but from everything I’ve seen they didn’t make many chances outside of the corners and they didn’t make many chances in the Fulham game that I remember either.

There was that goal against Fulham that was ruled out by VAR for Martinelli being a midge's dick offside, that was open play. I can't find the table but prior to Chelsea battering Spurs it was said the open play goals table for the calendar year had Arsenal 2nd behind City. The last 2 games haven't been ideal and it will likely keep trending that way because despite buying a million attacking fullbacks they are all dead, Arsenal's system depends on fullbacks rampaging up the wing to support the wingers. When that isn't happening it is probably more favourable to win corners.