I'm surprised it's taken this long to be honest...
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The 2020-2021 Football Thread
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Barça is in really perilous territory. Bankruptcy looks like a real threat, though I assume the government will step in and help them like they always seem to do for the Spanish giants.
Also yet another reason to expect to see Messi in sky blue next season. Maybe he'll finally get to do it on a cold, rainy Tuesday night at Stoke.
(Did I mention that one time when I was visiting Barcelona, a walked by a nightclub called... Stoke? I thought that was too funny/ironic in light of that old quote.)
Also yet another reason to expect to see Messi in sky blue next season. Maybe he'll finally get to do it on a cold, rainy Tuesday night at Stoke.
(Did I mention that one time when I was visiting Barcelona, a walked by a nightclub called... Stoke? I thought that was too funny/ironic in light of that old quote.)
Aren't they part-owned (or possibly fully owned) by the Catalan Govt or Barcelona Council or some such?
Another good win for Citeh (Manchester City) this morning (NZT).
They really have hit their stride and don't look like being caught in the run to the title...the wheels would have to fall off a la Southampton for them to let it slip now, I believe.
They really have hit their stride and don't look like being caught in the run to the title...the wheels would have to fall off a la Southampton for them to let it slip now, I believe.
So it's been a good couple of weeks since i've commented about Ipswich's fortunes, but WOW what a week of change it has been!
After our 0-0 draw against Northampton (which truly was one of the worst performances from an Ipswich side in living memory), Paul Lambert said that there is a lot wrong with the club (which we already knew) and that something has to change because we shouldn't be slipping the way we have been.
It seemed to wake owner Marcus Evans up, and since (Until last night) we followed that up with 1 draw and 2 wins (2 wins against top 7 teams, we had only managed this once in the previous 2 years!). It had seemed like Lambert wasn't taking control of the team, as our first team coach & goalkeeping coach looked like they were taking a bigger role during games.
There has been rumours of a take-over for a while, but then credible reports from The Athletic (subsequently backed up by local reports) have said that we are close to being taken over by a consortium of American investors, who wanted Paul Cook to be the manager and really push us on to get back to the Championship, and then push on from there.
Then came the bombshell on Sunday evening about 9:30pm.... Paul Lambert had been sacked! It's been on the cards for a while but due to the big 5 year deal he was given last year (one of the most bonkers decisions in football), It was seemingly off the cards due to the potential big compensation we'd have to pay. But it seems owner Marcus Evans had finally had enough.
Fast forward to yesterday, Paul Cook was indeed hired as manager! And we win again last night! 3 in a row. It's given us great momentum to end the season strongly. A lot of the negativity has gone and the take-over seems to be gathering pace. We have 16 games left of the season, 14 of them are against sides currently below us, 2 points outside the play-offs and we have a game in hand. Hiring Cook is a bit of a coup really, a very enthusiastic and energetic manager who knows how to win at this level.
It's never dull being an Ipswich fan, but this has been the craziest of weeks, and there seems to be more to come!
COYB!
After our 0-0 draw against Northampton (which truly was one of the worst performances from an Ipswich side in living memory), Paul Lambert said that there is a lot wrong with the club (which we already knew) and that something has to change because we shouldn't be slipping the way we have been.
It seemed to wake owner Marcus Evans up, and since (Until last night) we followed that up with 1 draw and 2 wins (2 wins against top 7 teams, we had only managed this once in the previous 2 years!). It had seemed like Lambert wasn't taking control of the team, as our first team coach & goalkeeping coach looked like they were taking a bigger role during games.
There has been rumours of a take-over for a while, but then credible reports from The Athletic (subsequently backed up by local reports) have said that we are close to being taken over by a consortium of American investors, who wanted Paul Cook to be the manager and really push us on to get back to the Championship, and then push on from there.
Then came the bombshell on Sunday evening about 9:30pm.... Paul Lambert had been sacked! It's been on the cards for a while but due to the big 5 year deal he was given last year (one of the most bonkers decisions in football), It was seemingly off the cards due to the potential big compensation we'd have to pay. But it seems owner Marcus Evans had finally had enough.
Fast forward to yesterday, Paul Cook was indeed hired as manager! And we win again last night! 3 in a row. It's given us great momentum to end the season strongly. A lot of the negativity has gone and the take-over seems to be gathering pace. We have 16 games left of the season, 14 of them are against sides currently below us, 2 points outside the play-offs and we have a game in hand. Hiring Cook is a bit of a coup really, a very enthusiastic and energetic manager who knows how to win at this level.
It's never dull being an Ipswich fan, but this has been the craziest of weeks, and there seems to be more to come!
COYB!
So league one seems nice....
It's not 😂. It's an absolutely awful league, quality especially this season is poor.
Reckon Darren Moore has any chance of keeping you guys up?
Having endured following my beloved Saints in League One, I can categorically state it's not a nice place to be.So league one seems nice....
We were lucky as we had a couple of "bigger" sides with us in those years who'd also slipped down, so there was Norwich, Charlton (not a big side but had slipped from the Prem at the time) and Leeds amongst others.
But it meant that between the games against Dagenham and Hartlepool and Swindon, we had games against traditional rivals on Premier League quality pitches with decent crowds.
The football was pretty dire though in those days...has-beens, kids and never-quite-good-enough's made up the majority of those squads.
Watching your team in the lower divisions is never good, especially if you have been used to the Premier league. As a West Ham Ive been there and done that.
Of course this year we are at the opposite end of the table for a change. Sadly tonights results meant we have slipped from 4th to 6th.
Hopefully we can win our game in hand. But if you had offered me one place in front of Liverpool at this stage of the season, I''d have ripped your arm off!
Of course this year we are at the opposite end of the table for a change. Sadly tonights results meant we have slipped from 4th to 6th.
Hopefully we can win our game in hand. But if you had offered me one place in front of Liverpool at this stage of the season, I''d have ripped your arm off!
I'm not disagreeing with you, but it's funny to muse on what we, as fans, consider "good enough'. The fact is, if you are playing in League Two, you are, statistically speaking, quite an elite athlete. The most "crap" player in League Two is a hundred times more skillful and athletic than your average healthy adult. If we consider the Premier League - or even the Championship - as our baseline for "good football", that's a pretty high bar!!!!!!
Yeah that's fair. And to think that League one or two players are better than many top tier professional national league players overseas, is a sobering thought. I think of the A-League, etc and there's really only a handful that have ever made it in Europe and even then mostly in the lower leagues in Belgium, France, Lithuania etc.
I think the issue is that the third or fourth tier of the English League is seen as rubbish, because the benchmark is so high.
Europe still hosts the best leagues, though the global quality of play is increasing. MLS has gotten much better in the last decade - a good MLS match is certainly more entertaining than a mediocre or poor match in the Prem between midtable or lower table sides even though it's a "better " league. Even that is apples to oranges though, because the Prem demands players who are skillful AND big AND fast. In MLS you still see players who are skillfull but smaller, or slower, so they won't cut it in England's top league but their touch and vision are at an elite level. For those kinds of players MLS (or other league like the A-League) is a more attractive career option than grinding it out with a Championship side.
By mid table Premier League teams you mean Liverpool right?
Ozan Kabak, Liverpool’s injury-replacement center back, is injured.
Relegation fodder.By mid table Premier League teams you mean Liverpool right?
It could be worse. Imagine living in Liverpool. The Evertonians will be having a good laugh at Klopps flops.
This will be one of the more interesting Manchester derbies of recent times.
Both sides in good form and with plenty to play for...should be a good fixture
I’m not fancying your chances. Man City are on a roll.
Burnley handed the match to Arsenal and the Gunners, aided by another perplexing VAR call, handed it straight back.
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Der Klassiker was another match we are supposed to think was a titanic clash but Bayern won handily again so yawn. Haaland did strike twice though....he'll be in Bayern colors soon enough.
Hot take: the Bundesliga would unquestionably be the best league model on the planet - if it weren't for Bayern's tedious and total dominance.
Hot take: the Bundesliga would unquestionably be the best league model on the planet - if it weren't for Bayern's tedious and total dominance.
Swapped out Fernandez for KDB in my FF. but City play twice this week. But you never know.