Football (Played with Feet)

[James 1,658]

1 minute ago, Findmartin said:

Thanks to @LordBaguette for this. Last-16 draw in full

 

Paris St-Germain v Liverpool

Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid

Feyenoord v Inter Milan

Borussia Dortmund v Lille

Club Brugge v Aston Villa

PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal

Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen

Benfica v Barcelona

 

Good draw for Arsenal and Villa they'll be confident of making the quarters. The all German and Spain games will be interesting and tough to call. Fancy Liverpool, Inter Barcelona and Dortmund for the others. 

Looks quite clear cut, would like to see some upsets though.

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

Pivotal weekend of results - Arsenal were expected to go 5pts behind with a game in hand on Liverpool who were expected to lose today. Instead the gap is 11pts as Liverpool beat city and Arsenal lose to West Ham. You thought the tide was turning with Liverpool dropping 4pts on their travels and barely scraping past Wolves, but Arsenal's lack of recognised strikers and some severe out of form players like Saliba and Odegaard has put them way off the pace and you can see them dropping more points in the weeks to come. 

 

Villa managed to sign Rashford and Asensio which is exactly what Arsenal could've done with and they ended up with nothing despite being second in a title race. Could be one of the most fatal mistakes in Premier League history and it's not the first time they've failed to build in January. 

[IRaMPaGe 3,299]

What a strike. 

 

 

[Luseth 2,096]

Modric had all the time in the world to take that shot, if anything that just show's how poor some of the Spanish defending is!

 

Iwata's goal for us in the cup against Newcastle was better I think had someone closing him down at least and didn't have time to control the ball before the shot!

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

It could've been 2pts but now the gap is 13pts just 5 days later! Arsenal should put all their efforts into the Champions League now but their lack of firepower wont get them very far even against PSV. Not signing anyone in January was fatal and although they've been unlucky with injuries, they should've brought a couple in even on short term loans for the rest of the season. A weaker strike force is better than none. 

[IRaMPaGe 3,299]

23 hours ago, Luseth said:

Modric had all the time in the world to take that shot, if anything that just show's how poor some of the Spanish defending is!

 

Iwata's goal for us in the cup against Newcastle was better I think had someone closing him down at least and didn't have time to control the ball before the shot!

 

 

 

That was a rocket, and yeah under pressure as well very impressive. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

Brilliant performance from Newcastle today and a woeful week for Liverpool. Though Burn, Livramento and Joelinton were all exceptional and very happy for Newcastle to win something finally and deservedly so. Shocking display in all honesty from Liverpool - lethargic and never got going.

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

Beat league leaders Sheffield United this afternoon which I didn’t see coming!

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,166]

Not sure I want to talk about the obliteration of Blackburn Rovers right now. The most toxic environment we've ever had, worse than when we went down to League 1, 5-6 years ago. Ironically, I've spoken to a guy at the club who works in there, and confirms they are just sapping all the energy out of the place. Every bit of spare funds is being sent back to India - and there doesn't seem to be any sight that they want to actively sell the club.

 

Its hard these days, football. Its a sinking hole that is super expensive, so for us to survive next season we desperately need to find someone that wants to buy us or I seriously worry for the history of everything at the club.

[MrBiron 1,481]

Leeds United are back in the Premier League! 🥳

[phil bottle 9,957]

Such a strange season at Spurs.

 

Dominating every team we play but then letting in silly goals.

 

Had 70% possession against Forest, plus 20 shots to their 4, and still lost.

 

I'd say the manager is a dead man walking no matter what happens in Europe.

[phil bottle 9,957]

1 hour ago, MrBiron said:

Leeds United are back in the Premier League! 🥳

 

Leeds and Burnley both have a chance of staying up, just look at Forest. But I'd say whatever team wins the playoffs and joins you will be a relegation candidate from day one...

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

Cardiff away yesterday. Crap performance, epic equaliser, decent result overall and a solid 3,095 turnout. Train journey back was pure hell though!

 

[ChaosGladiator 821]

8 hours ago, phil bottle said:

Such a strange season at Spurs.

 

Dominating every team we play but then letting in silly goals.

 

Had 70% possession against Forest, plus 20 shots to their 4, and still lost.

 

I'd say the manager is a dead man walking no matter what happens in Europe.

Makes no sense to me how you lot aren’t winning football matches… Ange sadly wont last long even if you beat the "salmonfishers" from up north 😂 Lazio already got hammered by italian press just like Roma did. 

[phil bottle 9,957]

2 hours ago, ChaosGladiator said:

Makes no sense to me how you lot aren’t winning football matches… Ange sadly wont last long even if you beat the "salmonfishers" from up north 😂 Lazio already got hammered by italian press just like Roma did. 

 

Yeah it's been a strange year, I even found myself congratulating Arsenal fans after they beat the Real Madrid 🙈 

[ChaosGladiator 821]

1 minute ago, phil bottle said:

 

Yeah it's been a strange year, I even found myself congratulating Arsenal fans after they beat the Real Madrid 🙈 

Well, to be fair, Real are probably the biggest cunts in football 😂 I honestly did think Ange would get Spurs back into the fight for top 4 this season after how he did in his first, I know injuries have screwed you guys massively but holy fuck. It just seems like you can’t get any goals and then completely implode and lose over and over. Dunno if it’s a tactical issue, a player issue or if it’s all down to Ange but something does have to change. Just please don’t bring Mourinho back…

[MrBiron 1,481]

23 hours ago, phil bottle said:

 

Leeds and Burnley both have a chance of staying up, just look at Forest. But I'd say whatever team wins the playoffs and joins you will be a relegation candidate from day one...

 

We will have more money to spend than Burnley. I just hope the new owners fully back Farke and give him what he wants. Both time he got promoted with Norwich he wasn't given much money so I'd like to see how well he can do in the PL.

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

On 4/22/2025 at 10:02 AM, phil bottle said:

Such a strange season at Spurs.

 

Dominating every team we play but then letting in silly goals.

 

Had 70% possession against Forest, plus 20 shots to their 4, and still lost.

 

I'd say the manager is a dead man walking no matter what happens in Europe.

Ange plays needlessly high-risk football as if every game he's managing Celtic playing St Mirren. Teams just absorb pressure and then pounce on the gaping holes left behind. The strikeforce isn't clinical enough to and the defence is too shambolic to play such a high line all the time. I wanted Ange gone a while ago and aside from fortunate progress in the Europa, Spurs are in even worse shape that before. Any other season and this would be a relegation battle which is even worse than 20+ years ago. It would be ironic if he wins something as one of the worst managers but there is no way he can remain even with Champions League next year. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,166]

On 4/22/2025 at 10:05 AM, phil bottle said:

 

Leeds and Burnley both have a chance of staying up, just look at Forest. But I'd say whatever team wins the playoffs and joins you will be a relegation candidate from day one...

 

2 hours ago, MrBiron said:

 

We will have more money to spend than Burnley. I just hope the new owners fully back Farke and give him what he wants. Both time he got promoted with Norwich he wasn't given much money so I'd like to see how well he can do in the PL.

 

Unfortunately, I just don't see it now from any Championship club. Ideally you want some of the teams to come up to stay up so they can achieve more, get more competitive and make the game more healthy - but the last 2 seasons we've seen a sharp decline in promoted teams as well as the gap from existing Prem teams getting larger. Forest, for me clearly bought 25 players with some experience so unless any team is willing to do that, I see all 3 going back down.
 

Btw, its not a Burnley/Leeds thing this. Even Blackburn wouldn't be anywhere near the standard. I watched Burnley vs Sheff Utd and whilst they looked robust, you could see none of their players have Premiership quality. It just feels like you have to get promoted with one team, sack them, and then bring in some elite experienced players that have Prem experience.

 

You could argue rather than have a Super League, insert a League 1.5 between Prem and Championship and we'd see better football throughout as thats whats happened now.

[J4MES OX4D 10,188]

3 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Unfortunately, I just don't see it now from any Championship club. Ideally you want some of the teams to come up to stay up so they can achieve more, get more competitive and make the game more healthy - but the last 2 seasons we've seen a sharp decline in promoted teams as well as the gap from existing Prem teams getting larger. Forest, for me clearly bought 25 players with some experience so unless any team is willing to do that, I see all 3 going back down.
 

Btw, its not a Burnley/Leeds thing this. Even Blackburn wouldn't be anywhere near the standard. I watched Burnley vs Sheff Utd and whilst they looked robust, you could see none of their players have Premiership quality. It just feels like you have to get promoted with one team, sack them, and then bring in some elite experienced players that have Prem experience.

 

You could argue rather than have a Super League, insert a League 1.5 between Prem and Championship and we'd see better football throughout as thats whats happened now.

Agree. The gulf is absolutely insane now. Burnley have the best defence in EFL history yet they will likely ship a load next season and look very ordinary. The rest of the team will be fairly unknown but I just can't see them competing like they did for several years.

 

Leeds have had a great campaign particularly at home but they will need to replace both their keepers along with Bamford and Piroe and the likes of Bogle already have 50 PL appearances with 36 of them being defeats whilst shipping 3 goals a game. Rodon does not have enough experience and I can't see Joseph, Ampadu or Firpo performing consistently at that level. Solomon is a great signing and was a great replacement for Summerville but if you want to kick on in the Prem, you certainly have to make some sweeping changes as players some that are too good for the EFL are nowhere near PL standard. Summerville himself was outstanding for Leeds last season but has been utter dogshit for West Ham. Daniel Farke is also expected to be sacked which kinda outlines the ruthless approach needed to remain in the Prem. He could win the title and be gone the next day it is that crazy. 

 

In terms of the playoff contending teams, they are miles off even Leeds and Burnley. Sunderland are big but they just don't have the finances to build a sustainable team capable of maintaining a place in the Prem. Some exciting players in Bellingham, Rigg and Mayenda but the rest are rooted in ELF standard forever. Roberts, O'Nien and Mepham are prime examples and even Isidor has struggled immensely for months now.  We all know what Sheff Utd are like up there, plus Coventry and Bristol City may provide a refreshing change, it may be short lived once the glitz and glamour is over like Ipswich discovered. 

[MrBiron 1,481]

The main issue is that newly promoted get utterly fucked by FFP rules. We will go up but just won't be allowed to spend any where near the amount that we would realistically need to spend, even though the owners have a lot of money. I think newly promoted should have the FFP rules relaxed a bit for their first season to give them a chance.

[phil bottle 9,957]

On 4/22/2025 at 9:05 PM, ChaosGladiator said:

Well, to be fair, Real are probably the biggest cunts in football 😂 I honestly did think Ange would get Spurs back into the fight for top 4 this season after how he did in his first, I know injuries have screwed you guys massively but holy fuck. It just seems like you can’t get any goals and then completely implode and lose over and over. Dunno if it’s a tactical issue, a player issue or if it’s all down to Ange but something does have to change. Just please don’t bring Mourinho back…

 

I despise Mardrid. PSG much the same but they're more tolerable now that most of the big egos have left. Will be a very good couple of games I think.

[phil bottle 9,957]

23 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

 

Unfortunately, I just don't see it now from any Championship club. Ideally you want some of the teams to come up to stay up so they can achieve more, get more competitive and make the game more healthy - but the last 2 seasons we've seen a sharp decline in promoted teams as well as the gap from existing Prem teams getting larger. Forest, for me clearly bought 25 players with some experience so unless any team is willing to do that, I see all 3 going back down.
 

Btw, its not a Burnley/Leeds thing this. Even Blackburn wouldn't be anywhere near the standard. I watched Burnley vs Sheff Utd and whilst they looked robust, you could see none of their players have Premiership quality. It just feels like you have to get promoted with one team, sack them, and then bring in some elite experienced players that have Prem experience.

 

You could argue rather than have a Super League, insert a League 1.5 between Prem and Championship and we'd see better football throughout as thats whats happened now.

 

2 hours ago, MrBiron said:

The main issue is that newly promoted get utterly fucked by FFP rules. We will go up but just won't be allowed to spend any where near the amount that we would realistically need to spend, even though the owners have a lot of money. I think newly promoted should have the FFP rules relaxed a bit for their first season to give them a chance.

There definitely needs to be some sort of leveller to help newly promoted teams, it's completely unfair as it stands.

[GazzaGarratt 11,166]

Linked to what I mentioned above, it's been reported Leeds are thinking of replacing Daniel Farke as they are worried about his PL record already - don't be surprised if you see an experienced European manager come in before next season now...

[MrBiron 1,481]

4 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Linked to what I mentioned above, it's been reported Leeds are thinking of replacing Daniel Farke as they are worried about his PL record already - don't be surprised if you see an experienced European manager come in before next season now...

 

It's a load of bollocks. The rumour was started in an article in the Daily Mail. You'd have to be an idiot to belive anything they say. 

Farke just wasn't given the funds when he got Norwich promoted. With the right backing I think he'll do fine.