August football: This was nearly called "Ballgust"

[Ian]

With the Lionesses having conclusively brought football home once and for all I was hoping we might not feel the need to have a load of dickheads continue to play it every week but alas, Manchester United elbowing their way back into my life is s crushing inevitability.

But still, there is plenty to look forward to if that's your sort of thing. Champions League qualifiers, the ongoing failure of United, Haaland on #fraudwatch, all that stuff.

And even more football to watch too now we're all die-hard womens football fans. What a time to be alive.

[Don]

Going up to Preston-Hull on Sat which gets in the way of my enjoyment of the proper stuff but the break has had the desired effect, I'm fucking raring to go and it promises to be a top top season

[Lewis]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/footb...p-taking-knee/

It has been said that most of the league's skippers have agreed that the gesture has 'lost its gravitas' at a meeting last week. Though the news outlet has stated that it is not yet known how and when Premier League teams will show their support for the movement. But it is believed that the gesture will be performed during primetime TV matches and local derbies.

Unfortunate for it to lose its 'gravitas' only a few months before the World Cup in Qatar.

[Yevrah]

I for one am staggered that it didn’t stop racism, or and let’s be frank, actually achieve anything.

[Baz]

Props to Zaha for fucking it off almost immediately.

[Pepe]

It's because they did not put enough resources into it. Had they taken two knees instead of one, racism would be no more.

[Baz]

Everyone join the TTH Fantasy Premier League league: https://fantasy.premierleague.com/le...to-join/8iql75

[Lofty]

By the logic of the football's home lot, the next time a pundit says Arsenal have never won the Champions League they should immediately be corrected as the ladies apparently won it in 2007.

Obviously, that's not the same but here we are. Still think the increased kudos and hype they are getting will result in some average journeymen suddenly having a gender crisis (a convenient one where they never actually have their cock and balls off) so they can have a crack at the world cup.

[Baz]

Do they lump them together in other sports? I feel like not. Like if a stat is shown about Serena Williams it will be comparing her alongside the likes of Navratilova and other good-at-tennis women, rather than the drug cheaty men.

[Giggles]

The BBC are just about the stage where the womens game is 'football' and the mens game is 'mens football'.

[Jimmy Floyd]

There's plenty of work still to do. I want 'Men' specified after every team name in every context. Port Vale Men. The FIFA Men's World Cup. The UEFA Men's Champions League. EFL Men's League One.

[John Arne]

Ballon d'or pour les hommes

[randomlegend]

Do they lump them together in other sports? I feel like not. Like if a stat is shown about Serena Williams it will be comparing her alongside the likes of Navratilova and other good-at-tennis women, rather than the drug cheaty men.

Someone asked Andy Murray how it felt to be the first person to win 2 gold medals in Olympic tennis and he responded "I think Venus and Serena have got about 5 each", but I appreciate that's slightly different given women probably should be included under the banner of "people".

I've heard a lot of people saying the women's World Cup/England team were "a lot better to watch than anything the men have served up recently", but having given the final a go once the United friendly finished the standard really is still pretty awful.

[niko_cee]

Women's football has become a handy vehicle for people who don't really like football, which probably won't serve 'the cause' all that well in the long run.

That isn't to denigrate what is an overwhelmingly positive thing, it's just what the fallout [for want of a better term] surrounding the whole thing feels like.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The whole 'the standard is much lower than the men's game' takes I find really strange. Of course the standard is lower than the men's game, for the same reasons that the men's 100m world record is 9.58 and the women's is 10.49. Doesn't make the women's race any less watchable.

It being used as a tedious weapon by one side of the culture war is quite grating, and is what caused me not to watch it. EDIT: in fact, by both sides.

[Baz]

Nah nobody cares about the womens 100m

[randomlegend]

Of course the standard is lower than the men's game, for the same reasons that the men's 100m world record is 9.58 and the women's is 10.49. Doesn't make the women's race any less watchable.

That's not really the same. The women in their 100m are probably technically just as good as the men and the sport is just as developed, they are just slower because of biology.

Women's football is miles behind men's football for a whole myriad of reasons and I just didn't find it that entertaining to watch when it's so...bad. That doesn't mean I don't think other people can or should enjoy it; loads of people love watching lower league football for example.

[Manc]

As international tournaments go it was underwhelming. No upsets and very little drama. Even the winning goal was meh.

[Pepe]

Female cycling is ok in that someone riding at 20 mph and someone riding at 24 mph look identical on TV.

[Lewis]

How does the standard being lower not make it less watchable?

[Pepe]

As long as the PASSION levels are the same amirite.

[Jimmy Floyd]

How does the standard being lower not make it less watchable?

Because football is a competition between two teams. If you only like to watch the best of the best, then what's the point.

[Lewis]

I watch what interests me, which means either 1) backing a particular team; or 2) watching for the Quality/occasion (to cover otherwise crap games in the World Cup etc.). I might as well watch myself doing a crossbar challenge if I just want to watch 'sport'.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I mean, I stand on my balcony and watch the Sunday league in the park below. You get down to a certain standard where winning a throw-in is actually a disadvantage, because no one has a first touch good enough to keep the ball afterwards. I still find it fun to watch them go at it.

Then I absolutely turn my nose up at all the people currently obsessing over pre-season friendlies of the Big Clubs, so who knows what my logic is. Maybe it's the stakes for those involved.

[Ian]

Stakes and a decent, invested crowd more than make up for Quality, personally.

I enjoyed the Euros knockouts more than 95% of Premier League games I watched last year. Which is admittedly swayed at least a little by most of the ones I saw featuring Manchester United.

[-james-]

Streaking down Paisley Road West if Tony Bloom's blue and yellow army can get the job done against Rangers tonight.

[niko_cee]

Radio 5 just refereed to Dean Henderson as "England Mens' Goalkeeper" in the context of his lol comments about United, which seems wrong on a number of levels.

[Boydy]

Someone asked Andy Murray how it felt to be the first person to win 2 gold medals in Olympic tennis and he responded "I think Venus and Serena have got about 5 each", but I appreciate that's slightly different given women probably should be included under the banner of "people".

I've heard a lot of people saying the women's World Cup/England team were "a lot better to watch than anything the men have served up recently", but having given the final a go once the United friendly finished the standard really is still pretty awful.

There might be another one about the Olympics but the one I've seen is he gets asked about someone being the first player to do something and he corrects the reporter to say "male player".

https://youtu.be/wOH-dCrV_XA

[randomlegend]

There might be another one about the Olympics but the one I've seen is he gets asked about someone being the first player to do something and he corrects the reporter to say "male player".

https://youtu.be/wOH-dCrV_XA

It is a different one.

[Yevrah]

Radio 5 just refereed to Dean Henderson as "England Mens' Goalkeeper" in the context of his lol comments about United, which seems wrong on a number of levels.

Given the lines of what a woman and man actually are have never been more blurred, this is all bubbling up nicely to come to a glorious head.

[Yevrah]

And talking of bubbling up nicely, this Ten Hag stint could be absolutely lol tastic.

[randomlegend]

He's not going to suddenly win the league this season or anything, but I genuinely believe Ten Hag will do well. He could obviously do with something more out of this transfer window to help him out though.

[Kikó]

My bar is pretty low for what I'd consider a successful season. Team playing like they've only just met will be a significant improvement to last season. Challenging the top four is probably the best we can do with that squad

[Don]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62404611

Long live the "dedicated No Room for Racism match rounds"

[Browning]

Southend have named a stand after Rose West.

[Ben]

That's fantastic.

[Lewis]

He's not going to suddenly win the league this season or anything, but I genuinely believe Ten Hag will do well. He could obviously do with something more out of this transfer window to help him out though.

They could get a lot better and still finish sixth again, so it should be interesting. I'm not worried about Arsenal, and Chelsea look poised for one of their MELTDOWN seasons, so fourth is doable.

[randomlegend]

If we finish 6th but there's a recognisable (and decent) style of play, and the dressing room hasn't imploded come the end of the season, I would be pretty happy to be honest.

[niko_cee]

Problem is would Ten Hag survive that sort of season?

[randomlegend]

Yes. If United can be accused of anything, it's keeping managers too long, not the opposite.

[Lewis]

If we finish 6th but there's a recognisable (and decent) style of play, and the dressing room hasn't imploded come the end of the season, I would be pretty happy to be honest.

That sounds about right, although I get the feeling that the club are at the point where they would back him over any Dressing Room implosion, so I think he gets two years at the very least.

[Shindig]

I don't think settling on a manager is a bad thing. Arsenal took that plunge and it hasn't turned out that bad.

[-james-]

https://www.theguardian.com/football...P=share_btn_tw

The Everton one.

[Baz]

Brighton.

[Ian]

Squires is the best.

[niko_cee]

Anthony 'like a new signing' Martial out of the Brighton game injured.

[Waffdon]

Be great if AZ Alkmaar don’t twat us tonight so I can have some false hope for next week

[Giggles]

What way is the EPL working around the World Cup? This is normal start time so are they cramming more games in either side of the break or playing longer into next summer?

[Baz]

Imagine a mix so starting a week earlier, and therell be 1 or 2 more midweek games you'd assume and then finishing a week later than normal.

[Giggles]

That’s a great result for Pats.