John Textor teams up with football financier in push to buy Sheffield Wednesday
John Textor has teamed up with the football financier Keith Harris in an attempt to buy Sheffield Wednesday
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The 2025-2026 Football Thread
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Where the hell you been?
Caught up in the daily grind, I'm afraid. Seems like little has changed though - Liverpool still struggle against Crystal Palace...though buying their best defender off them would be a fair trade for the Community Shield.
I'm a bit ambivalent about this...
On the plus side: Everton gets a very, very good player, who seems highly motivated to get back into the England squad.
On the minus side: He costs, a lot. And - if the rumored buy-out clause is true - we could pay way, way too much for a, then, close to 31 YO player...
www.theguardian.com
On the plus side: Everton gets a very, very good player, who seems highly motivated to get back into the England squad.
On the minus side: He costs, a lot. And - if the rumored buy-out clause is true - we could pay way, way too much for a, then, close to 31 YO player...
Jack Grealish joins Everton on loan and hopes to emulate Rooney and Gascoigne
Everton have completed the signing of the England midfielder Jack Grealish on a season-long loan from Manchester City
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This could either be an inspired bit of business, or a complete waste of money.I'm a bit ambivalent about this...
On the plus side: Everton gets a very, very good player, who seems highly motivated to get back into the England squad.
On the minus side: He costs, a lot. And - if the rumored buy-out clause is true - we could pay way, way too much for a, then, close to 31 YO player...
Jack Grealish joins Everton on loan and hopes to emulate Rooney and Gascoigne
Everton have completed the signing of the England midfielder Jack Grealish on a season-long loan from Manchester City
Time will tell.
Haven't heard about the rumoured buy-out clause, but, if he plays a prominent role in ensuring Everton's Premier League survival, a year's deal will have been an excellent investment.I'm a bit ambivalent about this...
On the plus side: Everton gets a very, very good player, who seems highly motivated to get back into the England squad.
On the minus side: He costs, a lot. And - if the rumored buy-out clause is true - we could pay way, way too much for a, then, close to 31 YO player...
Jack Grealish joins Everton on loan and hopes to emulate Rooney and Gascoigne
Everton have completed the signing of the England midfielder Jack Grealish on a season-long loan from Manchester City
According to Norwegian newspapers citing The Atlantic (which has a paywall), there's talk of a £50M clause. I just HOPE that's optional and not mandatory (based on certain metrics), and thus negotiable at the end of the season.
Oh yes, if this can bring some optimism, and Grealish can perform as well as he did for Villa (and the first season for City), and that helps us secure our survival (preferably sooner rather than later), then the £10-12M he costs this season is well, very well, worth it...
Now, let's get a right winger and a full back, and we have (the bare minimum of) a team...
Have been looking at some of the new kits for the new season and I could not help but notice how Arsenal and Man United's home kits are near identical in design just different collars, colors and logo's (pipping, stripes on the shoulders, positions of makers logo and team club crest in exactly the same position on the shirt and shorts, logos on the socks in identical position and the number of stripes on the socks). Even their long sleeve shirts are nearly identical. How both clubs have allowed this to happen is beyond me because I always thought they went for different kit designs even if they were being made by the same company.
Personally, I must say that I rather like Arsenal's team strip/kit for this season (unlike the past two seasons - their away kit, especially, was brutal, to my mind).
Actually, I like almost all of the strips/kits for the various teams for this season.
Yes, there are common features to many of the team kits, or strips - whether it is convenience, the fact that a few companies have many clients (and thus, specific styling elements unique to this season are ported, or carried, across kits) or simply the dictates of fashion, - I cannot say. Last season, for example, several teams' kits featured a contrasting colour diagonal line across the shorts, which I deeply disliked.
This season, several of the various team strips have the team badge centred, rather than above the left breast, while a further common feature of many of the team strips, or kits, is an additional underarm element, (you can catch a glimpse of it in the Manchester United kit that you have used to illustrate your argument) either a more intense shade of the main shade, or, something that offers a contrasting colour.
Just looked at Adidas website and they have done this too all the teams they make this seasons kit for. The piping on the front, the position of the makers logo and the teams club crest and the 3 stripes down the shoulder and the arm. It appears this is a core design and the teams just then request a different collar and add their colours to the kit. Real Madrid, Boca Juniors, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Ajax, Eintracht, FC Bayern, AS Roma, River Plate, Besikats and many more, all the same core design.
I checked out last seasons kit and the same was done, they all had the same core design but with a different choice of collar and their team colours. I wonder when Adidas started doing this, coming up with a core design which ever team uses because it never used to be like this.
Speaking as a longtime MLS follower, I'm used to seeing teams sporting a brand's 'template' kit. There are a handful of these available from each brand, with the only real variation being color and crest. That's been a feature of the league since day one.
Somewhat surprised to see it being used by the larger clubs in Europe, but this is by no means unheard of. I am sure that, these days especially, Adidas/Nike etc charge a lot of money to make a truly custom kit design. Or, putting it more cynically, Adidas (for example) offers a sponsorship deal with more cash if the team accepts a template kit. For a custom kit, the sponsorship cash amount will be less.
I've always favored the sash style (which is also one of the most the 'correct' designs for a USA kit IMO, after the 1950 kit). I'd love to see Columbus do a sash kit.
This season, I believe that Manchester City have favoured the 'sash style' in the sky blue colour (the 'sash' is white) of their home kit.
For those who are into this sort of thing, here's a link to join the MacRumors Fantasy Premier League league:
fantasy.premierleague.com
I mostly set it up and then forget about it, but maybe this season will be different. A Gyökeres hat-trick on the opening weekend would help things along nicely.
Fantasy Premier League, Official Fantasy Football Game of the Premier League
Official Fantasy Premier League 2025/26. Free to play fantasy football game, set up your fantasy football team at the Official Premier League site.
fantasy.premierleague.com
I mostly set it up and then forget about it, but maybe this season will be different. A Gyökeres hat-trick on the opening weekend would help things along nicely.
Back in the early 2000s Adidas did a 10-year (IIRC) kit sponsorship deal with MLS, and for years we all got a bunch of pretty samey-looking kits. Not all bad, and some colorways worked better than others, but the shirt designs visibly lacked variety across the league.
True about the third kits (though for most of the last decade that hasn't even been a thing in MLS). I have always liked a few of the Liverpool third kits from the Carlsberg sponsorship era, and probably should have picked one or two of them up. Especially the white shirt with the red piping and green Carlsberg logo, I think that did a style like that at least twice in the 2000s.
EDIT: Ah yes, this one:
Attachments
Not a Liverpool fan but this one from 1982 has always been one of my favourite kits.
Do you understand why I as an American, despite living in Europe including UK for 20 years, love the 1982 kit pic you sent?
No sponsor text in gigantic font on chest…low class. Never see that in for ex. NFL.
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I’d love to however I’ve learnt from previous experience: purchase team based on well known stars; get trounced in week 1; never look at team or table again. 😂For those who are into this sort of thing, here's a link to join the MacRumors Fantasy Premier League league:
Fantasy Premier League, Official Fantasy Football Game of the Premier League
Official Fantasy Premier League 2025/26. Free to play fantasy football game, set up your fantasy football team at the Official Premier League site.
I mostly set it up and then forget about it, but maybe this season will be different. A Gyökeres hat-trick on the opening weekend would help things along nicely.
I have the following years’ one. Pretty much the same but with Crown Paints sponsor added. It was also the first Liverpool top I ever owned (my brother got it for me, my parents wouldn’t buy such frivolous things)
Spurs need to learn how to see out a game. They were doing fantastically well against a vastly superior PSG in the European Super Cup , 2-0 up and then on the 85th minute it all goes wrong, PSG scoring a goal and then the equalizer in the 4 minute of extra time and then end up losing to penalties.
That is the Spurs way though...
THE MASSIVE won their first Cup match beating Bolton on PKs.
Famous Alan Hansen quote 'you win nothing with kids'. Wednesday played the kids (they had to due to many of the first team leaving) and they did the club proud. It will be an interesting game against premier league new boys Leeds in the next round. Hopefully the kids can stay injury free because they wont have a team to put out otherwise.
So, so happy for Gonçalo.
Btw, if anyone cares the ç is pronounced almost the same as the ß in German.
Well...after largely giving up on English football last year, I have greeted this season with relative optimism.
Will Still looks to be having a positive influence and unlike most possession-minded attacking-style managers, he seems to have a plan B and isn't afraid to mix things up.
As seen against Hollywood FC last weekend, Saints seem to have gotten over their inability to bounce back from a goal down and were able to complete a comeback (albeit in the 96th minute) and start the season with 3 points.
Closer to home, it'll be interesting to see if Auckland FC can go one better and not only win the league, but also the finals series this season (A-League has a strange ending to the season whereby the top 6 play in a "finals series" to determine the A-League winner, despite a team already winning the league and being A-League Premiers. AFC won the league, but lost the semifinal, so ultimately ended as Premiers, but not champions).
Wrexham will be an interesting story, as they have picked up a few new signings, but Phil Parkinson seems to be playing the same non-league style football in the Championship, which will not go well longer-term.
I have little to no interest in the Premiership this season and if Saints do well this season, I hope we fail to be promoted, as I am just not a fan of "richest six plus an anomaly get the spoils".
Will Still looks to be having a positive influence and unlike most possession-minded attacking-style managers, he seems to have a plan B and isn't afraid to mix things up.
As seen against Hollywood FC last weekend, Saints seem to have gotten over their inability to bounce back from a goal down and were able to complete a comeback (albeit in the 96th minute) and start the season with 3 points.
Closer to home, it'll be interesting to see if Auckland FC can go one better and not only win the league, but also the finals series this season (A-League has a strange ending to the season whereby the top 6 play in a "finals series" to determine the A-League winner, despite a team already winning the league and being A-League Premiers. AFC won the league, but lost the semifinal, so ultimately ended as Premiers, but not champions).
Wrexham will be an interesting story, as they have picked up a few new signings, but Phil Parkinson seems to be playing the same non-league style football in the Championship, which will not go well longer-term.
I have little to no interest in the Premiership this season and if Saints do well this season, I hope we fail to be promoted, as I am just not a fan of "richest six plus an anomaly get the spoils".
I have some cousins that live in Australia who came to visit many many years ago. We got talking about football and naturally I asked them about their football, how it worked, the leagues, what trophies they can win, stuff like that and when they spoke about the A-league final series I was a bit perplexed. I could not wrap my head around the fact the A-league can have a league winner and a league champion for the same league. The one question they could not answer or did not want to answer because it was too awkward is that which one does Australian soccer fans think is more important, being league winner or league champion. I thought it silly back then and I still think the A-league final series is silly idea.