The 2022-2023 Football Thread

[HandsomeDanNZ]

Gah. Two points dropped by Saints.
Should've won that game - especially with all our fellow cellar dwellers winning.
I fear we will have a tough time staying up (as I have said a few times).

Edit: as I watch the highlights, I have to say - Man U (Bruno in particular) should hang their heads in shame.
The constant whining, play acting, attempts to deceive and most heinous of all, the constant badgering of the officials: start sending them off. Start with BF. He’s a disgrace.

Oh and the red card was 100% justified. Any non-United fan could see it. Nice to finally see that they get it like everyone else.

 

[laptech]

I get the feeling that BBC's website football section is maintained by Liverpool supporters because when you click on the sites Football section main page there is not a single mention of Liverpool's lose to Bournemouth. You would have thought a team giving Man United a 7-0 mauling then losing their next game to Bournemouth would have been a talking point but nope, not on the BBC website.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I get the feeling that BBC's website football section is maintained by Liverpool supporters because when you click on the sites Football section main page there is not a single mention of Liverpool's lose to Bournemouth. You would have thought a team giving Man United a 7-0 mauling then losing their next game to Bournemouth would have been a talking point but nope, not on the BBC website.

I think that the BBC sports desk may have had other things on their mind this past week-end.

 

[laptech]

I think that the BBC sports desk may have had other things on their mind this past week-end.

Other things on their mind? what like supporting Gary Lineker? lol

 

[Apple fanboy]

I think that the BBC sports desk may have had other things on their mind this past week-end.

Indeed. Looks like they have found a way forward. Or to put it another way the BBC have realised they need to back down as they aren’t going to win this one!

 

[laptech]

Indeed. Looks like they have found a way forward. Or to put it another way the BBC have realised they need to back down as they aren’t going to win this one!

Back down they will do BUT one thing that will have interested them if some in the football media are to be believed and that is according to some is that the viewing figures were higher this weekend when their was no pundits and with weekends when their have been pundits.

Match of the Day viewing figures soar after Gary Lineker suspension

Show attracts 500,000 more viewers for Saturday night’s episode without commentary compared to the previous week

www.telegraph.co.uk

Saturday’s limited Match of the Day watched by 2.6 million viewers

The show was radically different as it aired for only 20 minutes and did not include presenters or even its famous theme tune

www.independent.co.uk

Match of the Day viewers up half a million amid Gary Lineker crisis

A cut-back version of MOTD, rebranded as Premier League Highlights, was viewed by 500,000 more people than last Saturday's show despite being just 20 minutes long.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It seems all of them are quoting the BBC's overnight figures and the figures clearly show more people watched the program with no presenters than the week previous when their was presenters. Gives food for thought to the BBC bigwigs.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Indeed. Looks like they have found a way forward. Or to put it another way the BBC have realised they need to back down as they aren’t going to win this one!

I think that they were surprised, and somewhat taken aback, by the widespread support - not least from sporting colleagues, and not just his fellow presenters, but also from the public - that Gary Lineker enjoyed.

Back down they will do BUT one thing that will have interested them if some in the football media are to be believed and that is according to some is that the viewing figures were higher this weekend when their was no pundits and with weekends when their have been pundits.

Match of the Day viewing figures soar after Gary Lineker suspension

Show attracts 500,000 more viewers for Saturday night’s episode without commentary compared to the previous week

www.telegraph.co.uk

Saturday’s limited Match of the Day watched by 2.6 million viewers

The show was radically different as it aired for only 20 minutes and did not include presenters or even its famous theme tune

www.independent.co.uk

Match of the Day viewers up half a million amid Gary Lineker crisis

A cut-back version of MOTD, rebranded as Premier League Highlights, was viewed by 500,000 more people than last Saturday's show despite being just 20 minutes long.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It seems all of them are quoting the BBC's overnight figures and the figures clearly show more people watched the program with no presenters than the week previous when their was presenters. Gives food for thought to the BBC bigwigs.

I suspect that quite a number of those viewers (though it is difficult to quantify such a thing) watched out of genuine curiosity just to see exactly how the BBC would handle this.

Whether such viewing indicated a marked preference for this format is another matter entirely, and not something that I think could be construed from those viewing statistics.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Back down they will do BUT one thing that will have interested them if some in the football media are to be believed and that is according to some is that the viewing figures were higher this weekend when their was no pundits and with weekends when their have been pundits.

Match of the Day viewing figures soar after Gary Lineker suspension

Show attracts 500,000 more viewers for Saturday night’s episode without commentary compared to the previous week

www.telegraph.co.uk

Saturday’s limited Match of the Day watched by 2.6 million viewers

The show was radically different as it aired for only 20 minutes and did not include presenters or even its famous theme tune

www.independent.co.uk

Match of the Day viewers up half a million amid Gary Lineker crisis

A cut-back version of MOTD, rebranded as Premier League Highlights, was viewed by 500,000 more people than last Saturday's show despite being just 20 minutes long.

www.dailymail.co.uk

It seems all of them are quoting the BBC's overnight figures and the figures clearly show more people watched the program with no presenters than the week previous when their was presenters. Gives food for thought to the BBC bigwigs.

No such thing as bad publicity as they say. But as @Scepticalscribe says, I think it’s difficult to look at the format this week and draw any conclusions. I expect the figures will be quite high this weekend as well.

Either way I watch every week and I prefer presenters to no presenters.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I might've haven wrong about Arsenal. They look the real deal, and have an aura about them.

If Man City keep mildly underperforming and Arsenal get lucky with squad health, they've got a good shot at the title. But they are also just a couple big injuries away from trouble. Personally I'm hoping they get it done.

Inconsistency is rife this season. Pretty much every league position from 3rd on down is up for grabs, and there are a lot of matches left to play.

Whether such viewing indicated a marked preference for this format is another matter entirely, and not something that I think could be construed from those viewing statistics.

I think it was just rubbernecking / 'hate-watching.'

Lineker is back but the bigger issues behind the whole affair remain more or less unresolved. But I do agree that the BBC was totally unprepared for the level of blowback over suspending Lineker. This strikes me as pretty silly, given the current state of things as laid out in a previous post.

 

[daneoni]

Some Fifa type BS going on tonight in the UCL re- City vs Leipzig

Haaland is now City's top all-time goalscorer *in a single season* with 39 goals in 36 games. In his first season.

 

[MBAir2010]

Some Fifa type BS going on tonight in the UCL re- City vs Leipzig

Haaland is now City's top all-time goalscorer with 39 goals in 36 games. In his first season.

he should promote chapstick™ or use some.
did Pepe play with WC_Messi when he scored 5?
anyways
DeBruyne was the real workhorse today, as always!

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Haaland is now City's top all-time goalscorer with 39 goals in 36 games. In his first season.

Single season record, of course. Aguerooooooooo scored 260 for Man City over his career.

And Haaland might not break that record if rumors of a future move are to be believed. If City keep failing in Europe I wouldn't be shocked to see him going to one of the usual villains like Real Madrid (a club he is probably more suited to anyway as they are not a 'systems' club).

 

[daneoni]

Single season record, of course. Aguerooooooooo scored 260 for Man City over his career.

And Haaland might not break that record if rumors of a future move are to be believed. If City keep failing in Europe I wouldn't be shocked to see him going to one of the usual villains like Real Madrid (a club he is probably more suited to anyway as they are not a 'systems' club).

Indeed.

Funny enough i still don't think they will win it. But who knows.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Single season record, of course. Aguerooooooooo scored 260 for Man City over his career.

And Haaland might not break that record if rumors of a future move are to be believed. If City keep failing in Europe I wouldn't be shocked to see him going to one of the usual villains like Real Madrid (a club he is probably more suited to anyway as they are not a 'systems' club).

That would be terrible. If City keep failing in Europe! 😀

 

[Apple fanboy]

he should promote chapstick™ or use some.
did Pepe play with WC_Messi when he scored 5?
anyways
DeBruyne was the real workhorse today, as always!

They will never replace KDB. He is the backbone of that team. When he leaves or retires they will be a lesser team. Same with Liverpool and Salah.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

They will never replace KDB. He is the backbone of that team. When he leaves or retires they will be a lesser team. Same with Liverpool and Salah.

The reality is most great players are irreplaceable. That’s what makes them great.

 

[Apple fanboy]

The reality is most great players are irreplaceable. That’s what makes them great.

Agreed. I should know. We’ve had plenty leave over the years!

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Gianni Infantino has just been 're-elected' president of FIFA until 2027. A delusional, crooked, greedy, craven, elitist liar....he has proven eminently qualified for the job. He even looks like a movie villain but, of course, in this movie the bad guy wins.

Quite appropriately, he ran unopposed.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Hm.

Penalties beckon.

 

[Silencio]

Arsenal out of Europa. Disappointing, but probably for the best.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well, well.

Sporting Lisbon defeat Arsenal on penalties, by 5 penalties scored to three; both games - this was a fixture over two legs - ended in a draw, and the score was still level at extra time (during which time Sporting had a man sent off).

 

[timber]

Grande Sporting, grande jogo. Nervos de aço.

Btw Sporting fans hate to be called Sporting Lisbon as Lisbon is nowhere in the club name. It's called Sporting Club de Portugal.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Arsenal out of Europa. Disappointing, but probably for the best.

If I'm entirely honest, I'm relieved, - for, European distractions will no longer bother us until next season - although, obviously, a victory would have been welcome.

Quite candidly, to my mind, the only European club competition that is of interest is the Champions League, and it is imperative for us to ensure that we qualify for this competition, which we can only achieve by securing a top four place -in the Premier League (something we haven't managed for a number of years).

So, for now, we should focus on the Premier League, and do our level best to win the title.

 

[daneoni]

Arsenal only have themselves to blame. Kept letting Sporting back into it instead of finishing them off and spurned some big chances.

But on the flip side they now have no more distractions and can launch their full assault.

Although they've possibly picked up two additional injuries today.

 

[Sal09]

Not upset about the defeat but more worried about the injuries to Saliba and Tomiyasu to be honest.