The 2025-2026 Football Thread

[Bodhitree]

I’d put Liverpool’s inconsistency down to not having a big enough squad. The first team is pretty good, but they play too many matches, and the second team is players like Ngumoah and Curtis Jones.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I’d put Liverpool’s inconsistency down to not having a big enough squad. The first team is pretty good, but they play too many matches, and the second team is players like Ngumoah and Curtis Jones.

While there is truth in that, it also seems to me that they have not been able to replace players who have left (or, in the case of Diogo Jota, who died tragically) with players of an equal calibre, and that some of the players on whom they have heavily relied for the past few seasons (such as van Dijk, and Salah) are not performing (in any way consistently) to the levels that the club (and the fans) had become accustomed to.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Beginning to feel a bit... suspect... that they manage to punish anyone, often quite quickly, relatively speaking... except Manchester City....

Chelsea fined £10.75m and given suspended transfer ban over historical rule-breaking

Chelsea have been fined £10.75m by the Premier League and given a one-window transfer ban, suspended for two years, over historical breaches of regulations under the ownership of Roman Abramovich

www.theguardian.com

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Beginning to feel a bit... suspect... that they manage to punish anyone, often quite quickly, relatively speaking... except Manchester City....

It's also a laughable punishment for a club like Chelsea. They spend more than that on their press buffet.

Nothing short of relegation and/or or multiyear European bans would even begin to make them change their behavior....and the league & FA have shown zero appetite for punishments that actually hurt big clubs.

 

[daneoni]

I think the issue with relegating clubs as punishment is that the EFL isn't involved in the case and cannot be forced to take an extra club into their division

Therefore the EPL can only fine, dock points, and impose a transfer ban

Is that a convenient technicality, yes. But its likely the outcome awaiting City.

Unless the FA flex their muscle.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I think the issue with relegating clubs as punishment is that the EFL isn't involved in the case and cannot be forced to take an extra club into their division

Therefore the EPL can only fine, dock points, and impose a transfer ban

Is that a convenient technicality, yes. But its likely the outcome awaiting City.

Unless the FA flex their muscle.

I have plenty of faith in the ingenuity of the human mind....appropriate punishments exist or could be fashioned...but I am likewise wary of underestimating the power of greed and self-interest.

The Premier League is, in effect, a cartel that exists to make money and / or feed the vanity of the owners. In serious cases enforcing 'sporting integrity' hurts profits and prestige. So they won't. They also know that fans are, as a group, fickle, easily manipulated, and have short memories. Most will keep paying their subscriptions and buying merch no matter what.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have plenty of faith in the ingenuity of the human mind....appropriate punishments exist or could be fashioned...but I am likewise am wary of underestimating the power of greed and self-interest.

The Premier League is, in effect, a cartel that exists to make money and / or feed the vanity of the owners. In serious cases enforcing 'sporting integrity' hurts profits and prestige. So they won't. They also know that fans are, as a group, fickle, easily manipulated, and have short memories. Most will keep paying their subscriptions and buying merch no matter what.

This is all true, but - while fans may have short memories (memories that become even more conveniently porous if their own club is involved) examples of especially egregious and outrageous conduct on the part of clubs (particularly if this means a marked miscarriage of justice for others) will not be easily forgotten, forgiven or overlooked.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

This is all true, but - while fans may have short memories (memories that become even more conveniently porous if their own club is involved) examples of especially egregious and outrageous conduct on the part of clubs (particularly if this means a marked miscarriage of justice for others) will not be easily forgotten or overlooked.

I hate to sound cynical, because at the end of the day the fans have great power. If united, fans can chase owners out of town, pressure the league to enact fairer governance, and even pressure the UK government to look into things when the League and FA are too corrupt or incompetent to do so.

But the wealthy and powerful always have the handle. Small groups or individuals with vast resources can move quickly and have many tools at their disposal to divide, distract, and dissuade fans from organizing. And most fans are willing to put up with a lot of exploitation as long as the bread and circuses are provided.

 

[timber]

Awesome night in Lisbon.
The Champions League sensation, Bodø/Glimt, beat Sporting CP (Amorim former team and current Portuguese champion) in Norway by 3-0.
It seemed that everything was lost and rightly so because Bodø/Glimt played a wonderful game.
But today in Lisbon, Sporting won 5-0 and goes through.
Amazing.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Awesome night in Lisbon.
The Champions League sensation, Bodø/Glimt, beat Sporting CP (Amorim former team and current Portuguese champion) in Norway by 3-0.
It seemed that everything was lost and rightly so because Bodø/Glimt played a wonderful game.
But today in Lisbon, Sporting won 5-0 and goes through.
Amazing.

They were never going to make the final but I had hoped they’d get through here. Shame to see their run end now.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A clinical Arsenal victory in the Champions League; excellent.

 

[daneoni]

Sporting were merciless and suffocated Bodø. 38 shots, 14 on target, and 5 goals. All of them quality. Bodø unfortunately defeated by a determined and hungrier team. But credit to their run.

Even Arsenal won't find that Sporting tie easy if they play like they did today

Speaking of Arsenal, Eze's goal has to be goal of the tournament so far. Incredible shot.

Meanwhile City and Chelsea were...as predicted. Chelsea were embarassing tbh

 

[Alphazoid]

Difference this season is Eze and Gyokeres are contributing goals in the absence of Odegaard, Havertz, Jesus and an out of form Saka.

Happy to have Eze. If nothing else he backs himself to shoot outside the box which Odegaard rarely does. And he has a habit of coming alive in the latter stages of a season.

An incredible goal worthy of the #10 shirt.

Timber injured but White and Mosquera step in adequately. Saliba and Gabriel have been injured but we survived

Grateful for the squad depth it’s what’s keeping us ticking.

If this was last season our season might’ve been over by now.

But onwards we march.

Hopefully we lift the trophy on Sun. I know City will be incredibly motivated especially after today.

 

[Bodhitree]

Embarrassing for City that they didn’t manage to win the home leg of the tie. Vinicius could have had a hat-trick today…

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Senegal have been stripped of their AFCON title and a consequence of their walkoff during the final.

Morocco have been awarded a 3-0 win and the AFCON title.

In an extraordinarily disingenuous statement, the Moroccan FA said “The Federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely request the application of the competition's regulations.”

Uh huh. So nobody in Morocco will be celebrating as if they ‘won’ a title, right?

I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, walkoffs based on perceived reffing injustices are childish and Senegal’s coach deserves this outcome. On the other hand, Morocco being handed the title doesn’t sit well and it will cause resentment for years to come. Nobody comes out looking good, it would have been better not to award a title at all.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Senegal have been stripped of their AFCON title and a consequence of their walkoff during the final.

Morocco have been awarded a 3-0 win and the AFCON title.

In an extraordinarily disingenuous statement, the Moroccan FA said “The Federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely request the application of the competition's regulations.”

Uh huh. So nobody in Morocco will be celebrating as if they ‘won’ a title, right?

I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, walkoffs based on perceived reffing injustices are childish and Senegal’s coach deserves this outcome. On the other hand, Morocco being handed the title doesn’t sit well and it will cause resentment for years to come. Nobody comes out looking good, it would have been better not to award a title at all.

It would be like taking the titles off Man City for their financial infringements. The club that finished second (most likely Arsenal!) wouldn’t be Champions back dated.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

It would be like taking the titles off Man City for their financial infringements. The club that finished second (most likely Arsenal!) wouldn’t be Champions back dated.

Senegal are appealing to the CAS, so this story is not over.

I think the bigger problem is that the rules do appear to be clear about walkoffs being punishable by forfeit....but there seem to be many previous examples of this rule NOT being enforced by the CAF. So the whole thing stinks of corruption.

Morocco are co-hosting the 2030 World Cup, and are pumping investment into the sport in preparation. FIFA and the continental federations have always shown an inclination to change or bend rules and cosey up to regimes that invest in hosting major tournaments. It's NOT a coincidence that Morocco are being handed the trophy on a technicality in this circumstance. If the situation were reversed, with Morocco having walked off, I would not be surprised if CAF did rhetorical backflips to make sure the forfeit was not applied.

I would love to see someone compile a history of walkoffs in African tournaments, and see how the rules werer applied in all the previous cases...

 

[Bodhitree]

Well, if a national team were to do this in a Euros or World Cup final, punishment would be swift.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Well, if a national team were to do this in a Euros or World Cup final, punishment would be swift.

True. As I said, it's not so much this incident alone that's the issue, it's a broader problem with inconsistent (corrupt? incompetent?) governance.

And there will be discussion about the way the rules were applied in this instance.

 

[timber]

Senegal have been stripped of their AFCON title and a consequence of their walkoff during the final.

Morocco have been awarded a 3-0 win and the AFCON title.

In an extraordinarily disingenuous statement, the Moroccan FA said “The Federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely request the application of the competition's regulations.”

Uh huh. So nobody in Morocco will be celebrating as if they ‘won’ a title, right?

I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, walkoffs based on perceived reffing injustices are childish and Senegal’s coach deserves this outcome. On the other hand, Morocco being handed the title doesn’t sit well and it will cause resentment for years to come. Nobody comes out looking good, it would have been better not to award a title at all.

I don't disagree with any of your opinion but I can never forget who won on the pitch.

If Senegal must be punished no title should be awarded (no idea if this is possible).

 

[Bodhitree]

Well you don’t know if Brahim Diaz would have made such a panenka if there hadn’t been a ten minute stoppage of the game. Senegal’s actions interrupted the flow of the game, and it’s hard to say what would have happened.

 

[Bodhitree]

Newcastle are giving Barcelona a fair test, at least in the first half.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Newcastle are giving Barcelona a fair test,

Hmm.

at least in the first half.

Not in the second half when Barcelona simply blew them away.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Hmm.

Not in the second half when Barcelona simply blew them away.

Indeed. Barcelona really turned it on.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I don't disagree with any of your opinion but I can never forget who won on the pitch.

If Senegal must be punished no title should be awarded (no idea if this is possible).

I agree. But that's not how these organizations think - doing the right thing is far, far less important than saving face and stage-managing events to align with their own narrative and priorities.

Morocco spent a bunch of money and are hosting a future tournament - they have always been the chosen favorite in this saga.