The 2013-2014 Football Thread

[Lord Blackadder]

One problem with boycotts that's been identified is that if there isn't a massive uptake on this - not unreasonably, as many people still want to go and show their support for the team itself - Allam will claim it as evidence that most aren't bothered about the name change.

This is true. Fans want to see their team, even if they dislike the ownership. To my knowledge there has never been a successful boycott of a team in the top 3-4 tiers of the English football pyramid. The best alternative is to remain as vocal as possible and find ways to prove that large numbers of fans are indeed in opposition to Allam's plans. Allam has the better hand in the short term, but - as always - the fans will outlast him in the end. The question is, where will the team be when he goes?

By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this before but there is an online position and we're inviting fans of all clubs and nationalities to sign it. I normally don't place much truck in petitions - certainly, Allam is non-plussed - but we're going to have to show the FA the numbers opposed to this and a petition is a good way to do it. Anyway, here it is...

Petitiony-woo

Done. 6,000+ signers so far. I'm skeptical of petitions myself, but they don't hurt.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Done. 6,000+ signers so far. I'm skeptical of petitions myself, but they don't hurt.

Thanks, your Lordship. I'm normally cynical myself when it comes to the effectiveness of petitions and Allam clearly isn't going to be swayed by this, but in this instance - where he's claiming there's little opposition to his plans - this is one simple way we can try and prove otherwise.

I would expect it's also going to be presented to the FA as evidence of the opposition. From that point of view, it's great to have signatures from supporters overseas and those who follow other clubs - it shows that it's not just us who are concerned, but that it's an issue of concern to football fans in general. After all, it's us affected at the moment but if a precedent is set then it's not too hard to imagine there'll be other owners who will want to follow suit.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Their riffraff filter is on - browser loops - but good luck.

 

[pachyderm]

You know which team that film was about don't you?

You should be ashamed of yourself!

uh oh...

i mean the website not the movie... or is the website also run by pigs?

----------

Thanks, your Lordship. I'm normally cynical myself when it comes to the effectiveness of petitions and Allam clearly isn't going to be swayed by this, but in this instance - where he's claiming there's little opposition to his plans - this is one simple way we can try and prove otherwise.

I would expect it's also going to be presented to the FA as evidence of the opposition. From that point of view, it's great to have signatures from supporters overseas and those who follow other clubs - it shows that it's not just us who are concerned, but that it's an issue of concern to football fans in general. After all, it's us affected at the moment but if a precedent is set then it's not too hard to imagine there'll be other owners who will want to follow suit.

Done and dusted.

I also would find it hard to stay away from watching my team if i had season tickets.

 

[twietee]

What a game!

Should have been red though first half. Suarez = best player in the league imo.

 

[daneoni]

Liverpool got away with that one. A point just about right for both sides.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Liverpool got away with that one. A point just about right for both sides.

A proper derby. I'd say that Everton played a bit better than Liverpool - but should have had Mirallas sent off. Both teams missed some obvious chances. Since it was away for Liverpool I'll take the draw.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

A proper derby. I'd say that Everton played a bit better than Liverpool - but should have had Mirallas sent off. Both teams missed some obvious chances. Since it was away for Liverpool I'll take the draw.

EDIT: I was inclined to trade either Giroud or Lukaku out of my fantasy squad - and then they went and scored four goals between them today. Good thing I held my nerve and kept them.

Some hullabaloo at the Hull City match about taking down banners.

 

[daneoni]

We also got away with that one to be honest. Maybe tired legs from the international break. But thanks to Boruc and Fonte all the same.

On we go, bring on Marseille.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Some hullabaloo at the Hull City match about taking down banners.

Indeed, your Lordship - it happened just down from where we stand. There were ugly scenes and a scuffle as stewards moved swiftly to remove a banner that was unfurled, one can only assume that it was considered offensive.

Here's the banner - apologies to anyone offended by what it says, and if I'm breaking any MR rules on offensive content apologies to the Mods too...



You couldn't make it up.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Now I know that the stewards and powers that be can make up any one of a thousand silly pretexts for taking the banner down, but doesn't it just look petty and cowardly when they do stuff like this?

It is genuinely hard to imagine a less controversial banner. Unless, of course, you interpret the stewards' actions as a conscious response by Allam.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Now I know that the stewards and powers that be can make up any one of a thousand silly pretexts for taking the banner down, but doesn't it just look petty and cowardly when they do stuff like this?

Yes, it looks incredibly petty and cowardly because it is incredibly petty and cowardly - in essence it's simply a banner displaying the club's name.

Hopefully the incident gets the media attention it deserves - however, the BBC match report mentions a banner but makes no mention of its forced removal...



That's not it being unfurled - that actually shows stewards and supporters scuffling as the former try to take it off the latter.

 

[oscillatewildly]

448734[/ATTACH]

...

Lucky I didn't view it on my work computer.

Lord Blackadder; '... - but should have had Mirallas sent off...'. Suarez discount in the spirit of next Friday. The enjoyable game didn't make up for ditching Lukaku.

Cheers,
OW

 

[daneoni]

Palace sign up Pulis to take over their helm. Hmm...

EDIT On another note, poor Spurs

 

[Lord Blackadder]

What in blazes is going on with Spurs?

 

[daneoni]

Roasted Spuds.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

With Chelsea also strolling to victory, it seems that the Premier League hegemony is unlikely to be broken. More of the same. Once Liverpool starts facing Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd again we will plummet in the table and the usual suspects will be on top.

Only Arsenal seems poised to shake up the order a bit, and that only by one or two places in the table since they've been in the top four since Sky invented football.

 

[daneoni]

The January window will be big deal for United and Arsenal (albeit to a lesser degree but still important). If United don't strengthen their midfield (you only need watch the current Cardiff game to see what i'm talking about) and Arsenal their strike force, then nothing will be certain for either clubs.

Chelsea and City though have very little to worry about other than their own performances.

If Liverpool strengthen midfield too then you can't rule them out completely. After today's performance i'm less convinced about Spurs. They seem to need 1 or 2 more seasons to gel and find a productive system of play.

Problem is January window is a horrible window to shop in. Hence City and Chelsea have a better deck of cards in their hands going forward having done most of their work in the summer.

But still, City's defence is far from solid and the whole we'll outscore you thing won't always work. Also Chelsea's strike force is inferior to some of the others around the top of the table.

 

[Happybunny]

Eredivisie as of 24 November

1 Vitesse 27 pts
2 Ajax 25 pts
3 Twente 24 pts






Saturday

PSV are still on their slow slide down the table. They only managed a 1 all draw against Heerenveen at home, Heerenveen played for 70 minutes with a man less. They play like a team that’s more frightened of losing than a team that wants to win, it is collective failure.

AZ 67 were very lucky against Roda JC in the end it was a 2 all draw. This match had two players from AZ sent off early in the first half, the match ended with 9 against 10 on the pitch.

Ajax put 3 past Heracles Almerlo and topped the table for a day. It is not that Ajax were very good, it is more that Heracles were crap.

Sunday

In the battle of the brothers Erwin beat Ronald, RKC Waalwijk used their few chances better than Feyenoord used their many.

The duel of the North FC Groningen held PEC Zwolle in balance in a quite dull match

Go Ahead Eagles were well beaten by Vitesse, Vitesse are again top of the Eredivisie tonight. They are the team in form at this moment.

FC Twente win big against NAC they move up to third place.



What has returned is the bad attitudes on the pitch, 5 red cards out of 9 matches played over the weekend. I for one thought that the players were finally begining to get used to the strict rule enforcement, but I was wrong.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Problem is January window is a horrible window to shop in. Hence City and Chelsea have a better deck of cards in their hands going forward having done most of their work in the summer.

Liverpool have been pretty good at beating the teams below them - something they've struggled with in recent the past. Unfortunately, we have still failed to convince against sides near or above us in the table. The derby is kind of a one-off, and the United win didn't feature Roooonay and RvP. Until we convincingly beat one of City, Chelsea, or Arsenal we still have a lot too prove. Still, as long as the New SAS keep scoring, we will win games we'd otherwise draw or lose. We definitely need to do strengthen the defense next summer.

Chelsea and City seem to have the opposite problem - dropping points against teams they should brush aside. But their squads are so deep, as you pointed out…hard to imagine them finishing outside the top four.

What has returned is the bad attitudes on the pitch, 5 red cards out of 9 matches played over the weekend. I for one thought that the players were finally begining to get used to the strict rule enforcement, but I was wrong.

If they hand enough reds out, surely they will eventually figure it out...

 

[oscillatewildly]

The January window will be big deal for United and Arsenal (albeit to a lesser degree but still important). If United don't strengthen their midfield (you only need watch the current Cardiff game to see what i'm talking about)...

Cleverley has gone backward and Fellaini can't move. At the least, Manchester United have to buy a stopgap to tide them over to the summer.

---


The ref had a poor game:

Let Cardiff City use their tactic of wrestling opponents, including the Rooney incident; double failure - no free kick to Manchester United, game continues, lash out, no red for Rooney. How does this new review system work? Three match ban on the way? Medel? He also mixed up throw ins and corners for both teams.

Grafitti switch from the Spurs game; Lloris saves, but Jesus nets the rebound.

Cheers,
OW

 

[jsf8x]

No words for the Spurs game. Embarrassed to call myself a Spurs supporter. The lack of effort was the worst part, I can take a bad loss if we try but many of the players looked like they didn't care that they were being slaughtered. I'm team AVB all the way but something ought to be changed.

Just two more remarks:

Jan Vertonghen should be benched rather than play left back, he was the one most guilty of having a poor attitude toward the game today and was nonexistent. I understand his blubbering about not playing in his best position but he's not helping the team moral and Tottenham is a team desperate for some moral after not scoring a goal in three consecutive matches. I also understand that he's probably Tottenham's best player after Hugo Lloris but that doesn't matter right now. I'd rather see Chiriches playing fullback who has proven that he is a team player and pair Dawson/Kaboul with Vertonghen in the middle. Tottenham need to consider that they will get multiple offers for Vertonghen this upcoming summer having already received some last year from high profile teams (Barcelona was rumored). Vertonghen is incredibly skilled and not somebody that Spurs should let go. Thank god Danny Rose is soon to emerge from the black hole that is the Spurs medical room within the next couple weeks.


I think it was noteworthy that when our best player of the season so far, Hugo Lloris, has a poor game the defense becomes shambolic. Thats not to say that he was the reason we lost 6-0 because he definitely wasn't, but he's been both our best and most consistent player and I think it shows that the whole team was lack for confidence when our supposed strong suit (our defense) was not performing.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Let Cardiff City use their tactic of wrestling opponents, including the Rooney incident; double failure - no free kick to Manchester United, game continues, lash out, no red for Rooney. How does this new review system work? Three match ban on the way? Medel? He also mixed up throw ins and corners for both teams.

Funnily enough, both managers disagree with you on the Rooney incident. Mackay felt the ref made the right decision in being "calm" and keeping his cards in his pocket. Meanwhile Moyes took the extraordinary position that it was Jordan Mutch's fault for "[running] across Wayne's path". :roll eyes:

I understand the concept of lenient refereeing, but this wasn't a derby or a cup final. Nor, as you pointed out, was the ref's performance faultless in other phases of the match. Cardiff are basically Stoke from 2009.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Funnily enough, both managers disagree with you on the Rooney incident...

What do they know?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Managers have special vision….except for Arsene Wenger, who never sees anything...