Football

The situation at Barca sounds uniquely shambolic these days, perhaps even worse than Manchester United, whose fans must be thanking their lucky stars that they have Ed 'Disneyland' Woodward.

It's FIFA vs UEFA, quick everyone pick a side!

I felt sorry for Shakhtar when it looked like that Real Madrid goal might count. Big win for Shakhtar in a tough group.

No Isco, no club or party at which people dance to recorded pop music.

That scoreline was flattering for Madrid, honestly. It remains absolutely baffling that when Ramos is missing the team just loses so much character. I wouldn't dare bet on the Clasico this weekend.

11 hours ago, Michael* said:

No Isco, no club or party at which people dance to recorded pop music.

 

That scoreline was flattering for Madrid, honestly. It remains absolutely baffling that when Ramos is missing the team just loses so much character. I wouldn't dare bet on the Clasico this weekend.

I get that Madrid needed to clear the decks of a lumpy squad and save some wonga during these Strange & Uncertain Times, but if Militao is part of the remedy, then maybe I'll stick with the illness. Asensio, I just don't get it. I probably never will. Varane, wakey wakey, old bean. Jovic, does one choose to laugh or cry? They'll still probably win La Liga, such is the state of things, but I suggest we all get ourselves an Eden Hazard endorsed Cadbury bar and watch Sociedad instead.    

8 hours ago, Frederick said:

I get that Madrid needed to clear the decks of a lumpy squad and save some wonga during these Strange & Uncertain Times, but if Militao is part of the remedy, then maybe I'll stick with the illness. Asensio, I just don't get it. I probably never will. Varane, wakey wakey, old bean. Jovic, does one choose to laugh or cry? They'll still probably win La Liga, such is the state of things, but I suggest we all get ourselves an Eden Hazard endorsed Cadbury bar and watch Sociedad instead.    

It would have been fascinating to have seen Casemiro's heat map during the first half, from the way he was lolloping about the centre circle one could be forgiven for thinking he was out for an afternoon stroll.

Madrid are perhaps suffering from slightly less of an identity crisis than Barca these days, but the best players are certainly passing their prime and with new stars seemingly yet to emerge. Hazard, barring a magical turnaround and a truckload of important goals and assists, must be a candidate for the worst high-profile transfer in football history, and there's every chance that Gareth Bale will be back next season to wait out his contract like a pillock.

Ajax had no interest in being nice today.

15 hours ago, jkjk said:

Ajax had no interest in being nice today.

Clearly, it's all gone downhill for Venlo since Lee Cattermole left.

I myself would have liked a fourteenth to feel comfortable, but that may be just what supporting Sunderland does to your psyche.

7 hours ago, Michael* said:

I myself would have liked a fourteenth to feel comfortable, but that may be just what supporting Sunderland does to your psyche.

It could be worse, at least Sunderland still exists. (that sounds less positive than it did in my head) 

I predict promotion for Sunderland.  

On 10/25/2020 at 7:03 PM, jkjk said:

It could be worse, at least Sunderland still exists. (that sounds less positive than it did in my head) 

 

I predict promotion for Sunderland.  

Let's hope so, although deep down I think we all knew a result like the Portsmouth one was on the horizon. The expectation is that we should be stronger with a full season of a squad indoctrinated into old 'Jurassic' Parkinson's methods, I guess only time will tell if we have enough quality in the right areas to compensate for what promises to be a rather predictable style of play.

Bartomeu's figurative mic drop on his way out of Barca was amusingly done, although the fact that he supports the plan to join a European Premier League will be a virtual guarantee now that most Culés are against it.

The Tekkerz generation can't take a penalty without looking like an absolute spatula. 

There I was predicting that the Scots would blow it after that late equaliser. The image of David Marshall waiting for the ref to approve his penalty save before going mental will stay with me forever, I think. 

22 hours ago, Michael* said:

There I was predicting that the Scots would blow it after that late equaliser. The image of David Marshall waiting for the ref to approve his penalty save before going mental will stay with me forever, I think. 

Scotland almost have the makings of a half-decent team, compared to the absolute drivel the Irish served up at Wembley, you'd say Stevie C.'s got them playing liquid football. More importantly, is there any chance Del Amitri pen another cripplingly dour song to serenade the nation? 

7 hours ago, Frederick said:

Scotland almost have the makings of a half-decent team, compared to the absolute drivel the Irish served up at Wembley, you'd say Stevie C.'s got them playing liquid football. More importantly, is there any chance Del Amitri pen another cripplingly dour song to serenade the nation? 

Slow, plodding and miserable with an underlying emotion chiming perfectly with the Scotland fans, just a pity Arab Strap never had the chance to write one.

Hard to believe that the last time we had Scottish representation at a major tournament was 1998, though. The Brazilian corner where more or less everyone thought "I'll mark Ronaldo" and someone else scored is permanently imprinted on my brain.

What a pleasure it's been this evening to spend an hour or so on YouTube looking at Diego Maradona's finest moments. The rest of the Napoli players singing his song in the changing rooms after winning the Serie A title (it's in the Asif Kapadia documentary as well) is my favourite.

I am not a fan of best ever conversations, I prefer what I saw today which was simply celebrating the greatness of a great player. Some Spanish language and English language coverage I watched of the Champions League matches today included a lot of Maradona talk. His success with Argentina usually dominates his career highlights, but I enjoy hearing the Napoli stories (maybe even more).

I always think it feels vaguely childish to even try and compare, apart from anything else, the advantage of wall-to-wall television coverage means that no-one would have seen as much of, say, Brazil 1970 as the current generation has of today's teams.

Presumably Maradona's legend will only grow now, though. There's just something uniquely fascinating about him, precisely because his is such a compulsive blend of glory and controversy.

Taxi for Parky. Quite intriguing timing given the rumours of a takeover by young Kyril. Seemed things were going relatively well just a month ago then the goals dried up with the Griggs n' Graham axis looking particularly bereft. My impression was you weren't much of a fan of PP, so how are we feeling, @Michael*? Who do the fans want? 

On 11/29/2020 at 6:55 PM, Frederick said:

Taxi for Parky. Quite intriguing timing given the rumours of a takeover by young Kyril. Seemed things were going relatively well just a month ago then the goals dried up with the Griggs n' Graham axis looking particularly bereft. My impression was you weren't much of a fan of PP, so how are we feeling, @Michael*? Who do the fans want? 

I know for me apathy has replaced anger lately, and as much I'm not a fan of this seemingly endless cycle of sacking managers it did look like Parkinson's time was up. There are a lot of mitigating factors for the mess we've found ourselves in but the stodgy, conservative football, hopeful punts from deep to no-one, stubbornness from the sidelines and all-too ready acceptance of unacceptable results were starting to border on torturous.

Still, even with Parky now gone and the potential of a takeover progressing, that familiar sense of cautiousness and suspicion refuses to shift altogether. Some of the names linked sound like they could do a job, but I've a feeling that we might see a broader net cast this time and hopefully beyond the usual odds-on favourites. It's always fun though, despite having only presided over a handful of UAE Arabian Gulf League games since the mid 2000s, to see David O'Leary get a mention.