Football The 2017/2018 Season Thread
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Shagrat
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they had a game from the late 70s on BT last night. you forget how fucking atrocious some of those pitches were, and this was a League One game. it looked like a partially plowed field!
bainteor
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Thank you for your reply @caLLous, I thought your post was informative and well-reasoned. My personal belief is that Arsenal have done well to maintain their consistency around the top of the division and play an entertaining brand of football for their fans. My impression is that people feel that the examples of Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Manchester United and Manchester City should be the norm whilst not understanding the subtleties to their success. In actual fact, it is normal for football clubs to experience times of prosperity and hardship: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Stade de Reims, St. Etienne, Torino, Inter Milan. I could name more. Football now finds itself in somewhat of an existential crisis, faced with unprecedented levels of financial inequality and lack of appreciation of what it means to be a football fan. Wenger is a proponent of football as a sport and a spectacle, not as a commodity. Sadly, in this current climate, this is not understood and as a result he is on the receiving end of vitriol and derision. It is a pity.
I am merely stating that the modern game lacks sincerity and that the 1990s was probably the last decade where players commonly played for their local clubs and that world-class talent was distributed quite evenly and not just concentrated across 4-5 teams. If you wish to refute my statement I would be happy to read and consider your points.
I am merely stating that the modern game lacks sincerity and that the 1990s was probably the last decade where players commonly played for their local clubs and that world-class talent was distributed quite evenly and not just concentrated across 4-5 teams. If you wish to refute my statement I would be happy to read and consider your points.
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The unprecedented levels of financial inequality have very much changed what it means to be a football fan.
What it means to be a football fan is, for the majority of people, to be a loser. Perpetual loser.
Statistical outliers like Leicester apart the amount of money you spend is directly correlated to your chances of winning - and Arsenal fans, who are used to winning, understand they've got loads of money in the bank but for some reason won't spend it.
So, yeah, whilst it's a little classless, Arsenal is a special case - they've got the money, but won't spend it - which means those fans are forced into being losers.
Billargh
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I don't think anyone here would inherently disagree with that, it was more a comment on your condescending post, as if you're the only one here who watched 90's football.
DaGaffer
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90s football? Pah, football for girls. I started out watching 70s football, which was like the fucking Somme with extra facial hair.
bainteor
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I apologise if it came across that way. I certainly did not intend it to. I assume you got that impression because I said that I was 'lucky' to have seen 90s football. Of course the majority of football fans have. I do, however, believe that the younger generation have missed out in this regard.
@Scouse this is the sort of attitude that I disagree with (I speak generally of course and not specifically about you). Certainly, if you say that every team who does not win a trophy is a 'perpetual loser' that will carry with it negative connotations. But not every team can win the Premier League, FA Cup or Champions League every year. Football does not bring us joy simply because our team is successful, otherwise 99% of clubs would not have any supporters. That may well yet come to pass if the collective expectations of football fans continues on its increasingly hysterical trajectory.
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I'm not saying football brings us joy because our team is succesful. But the possibility of success makes it much more interesting.
Since the advent of the premier league that's proven *much* more unlikely for the vast majority of teams - and the sport is much less rich for it.
Arsenal fans are in a special position - they're fans of a team that can win meaningful trophies. They're aware that money makes clubs succesful and they're aware that their club has money in the bank - that the club won't spend.
And as money is the primary arbiter of success then it must be doubly galling to watch your team go from a competitive position of strength to one of weakness when there are the means at the clubs disposal to at the very minimum halt the slide.
(I'm not saying the list of winners in the preceeding years was massively different - but results were more diverse and there was a lot more realistic competition...)
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I like the idea of trying to get the decisions right but this implementation needs a lot of work. To be fair the second half flowed perfectly normally, it's only when something contentious happens that things slow down and to be fair to be fair, they did get the decisions right in the end. It definitely needs improving though.
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That's what refs try to do.
Shame people are such whiny bitches that we now have three minute pauses in what was once a beautiful game.
Football is broken.
I think I've seen 2 matches with VAR so far and, for the first time, tonight I thought it was a bit crap. When West Brom's 3rd goal was cancelled (the first 3rd goal anyway 
) and then the penalty was awarded. Yes, they were both correct decisions but if the guy sat 100s of miles away can just say "right, it's a pen, stop fucking about" the decisions would take seconds. They're whining about how it's subjective and the ref needs to see it to decide. It was Andre Marriner reviewing footage tonight, who is also a ref, so he's perfectly qualified to make the call. Whatever they do, they need to improve it. Maybe show the footage live on the screens in the stadium as they're reviewing it so the fans have a clue as to what's going on.
I think maybe tonight it was because there were a lot of significant stoppages close together towards the end of the first half.
Unfortunately, the standard of refereeing has been piss poor recently (especially this season). Yes if everybody's getting fucked over then it evens itself out but I'm all for tools that enable them to definitively get the decisions right. They just really really need to streamline it.
) and then the penalty was awarded. Yes, they were both correct decisions but if the guy sat 100s of miles away can just say "right, it's a pen, stop fucking about" the decisions would take seconds. They're whining about how it's subjective and the ref needs to see it to decide. It was Andre Marriner reviewing footage tonight, who is also a ref, so he's perfectly qualified to make the call. Whatever they do, they need to improve it. Maybe show the footage live on the screens in the stadium as they're reviewing it so the fans have a clue as to what's going on. I think maybe tonight it was because there were a lot of significant stoppages close together towards the end of the first half.
Unfortunately, the standard of refereeing has been piss poor recently (especially this season). Yes if everybody's getting fucked over then it evens itself out but I'm all for tools that enable them to definitively get the decisions right. They just really really need to streamline it.
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Oh great. Big telly screens in the stadium.
It doesn't need it. We need to trust the refs. Football is losing its soul.
You're right about the fans tho. They sat around for three minutes bored out of their skulls. I know - my brother in law was there. It's taken the spontinaity out of football. It's just fucking awful on every level.
It doesn't need it. We need to trust the refs. Football is losing its soul.
You're right about the fans tho. They sat around for three minutes bored out of their skulls. I know - my brother in law was there. It's taken the spontinaity out of football. It's just fucking awful on every level.
Well most of the grounds already have big screens, it's just an idea to make the fans feel a bit engaged in the process. Like when they do challenges in tennis and they all go "ooohhhhhhh".
The ref's trying to have a conversation over the radio, he's got players shouting at him and, when he goes over to review it himself, managers shouting at him too. It's a mess and it shouldn't have been implemented until they'd ironed out some of the kinks and sat back and thought about how dull and confusing it would be for the fans. Also I've seen no end of players making the VAR gesture when they think they've been wronged, that's just got to stop.
The ref's trying to have a conversation over the radio, he's got players shouting at him and, when he goes over to review it himself, managers shouting at him too. It's a mess and it shouldn't have been implemented until they'd ironed out some of the kinks and sat back and thought about how dull and confusing it would be for the fans. Also I've seen no end of players making the VAR gesture when they think they've been wronged, that's just got to stop.
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That bit of your post makes sense.
It's not possible to implement it without losing a game's flow. Period. It's always going to take time. It's fucking awful.
Yeah, yeah, I know. But they're *going* to implement it, pundits and wronged teams have been calling for it for years in one form or another, they just need a better form than this. If the bloke in the warehouse outside Heathrow gets the video (as good as) instantly, I don't see why he can't just make a decision and tell the ref what to do, it shouldn't take more than 20 seconds. They're so worried about accountability and trying to not make it look like they're undermining the refs, they have to have a big tea party about it. When the linesman (sorry, assistant referee) sees something, it can often taken longer than that for the ref to jog over there and have a chat.
But they're *going* to implement it, pundits and wronged teams have been calling for it for years in one form or another, they just need a better form than this. If the bloke in the warehouse outside Heathrow gets the video (as good as) instantly, I don't see why he can't just make a decision and tell the ref what to do, it shouldn't take more than 20 seconds. They're so worried about accountability and trying to not make it look like they're undermining the refs, they have to have a big tea party about it. When the linesman (sorry, assistant referee) sees something, it can often taken longer than that for the ref to jog over there and have a chat.Happy with that. Also over the moon with signing Moura for £25m. He's only been pushed down the pecking order because they've signed the likes of Neymar and Mbappé. If Poch can get the best out of him he's going to be an absolute star in the Prem.
Also over the moon with signing Moura for £25m. He's only been pushed down the pecking order because they've signed the likes of Neymar and Mbappé. If Poch can get the best out of him he's going to be an absolute star in the Prem.
There's no 2 ways about it - Anfield away is a cunt of a match (for teams who enjoy actually playing football). I'm not expecting anything from it but we've started our nightmarish run (United, Liverpool, Newport, Arsenal, Juventus) well and we'll have Alderweireld back (hopefully) and maybe Moura on the bench so who knows...
Billargh
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I actually meant in response to your post, but shit, egg on face now or what.Speaking generally or as a Newcastle fan?
I'm actually amazed Newcastle managed to get a few loans; I still despair for where we'll end up at the end of the season. Game last night was fucking abysmal too, creating plenty but not having anyone to put them away, incredibly frustrating.