The Rolling Football Thread (season 2022/23)

[DuncinToffee]

A brand new season is here, join in to share the joy, the heartache and VAR frustration

As in previous years, footy fans please sign in with

Which team you support.

How you are getting your kids to follow
the 'correct' team.

A thought on this season (Premiership/Championship/All other UK Leagues/Champions’ League/FA Cup/Any leagues world wide)

@DuncinToffee Yep, greed all the way. Have you seen FIFA’s projected budget for the next few years? They’re raking it in as it is, thanks to tv money. They won’t be satisfied until they’ve milked this cash cow dry. 😡

I haven't seen it but none of it is a surprise

Do you have a link?

@DuncinToffee FIFA publishes its annual reports and projected budgets (eg the annual report for 2020 included their projected budget for 2022 which was almost $7bn thanks to it being a World Cup year - the 2021 annual report estimated a budget of under $1bn for 2023 as the Women’s World Cup isn’t as lucrative, but that’s still hardly small change.).

Infantino also announced yesterday that FIFA is going to distribute $9.7bn to its 211 member associations over the next four years (there is an article in The Athletic about this but it’s behind a paywall. The BBC Sport live reporting of Infantino’s speech also covered it all, but I’m not sure if there is still a link to that showing on the website). It’s great that they intend to plough money back into development activities - but at what cost is it being raised in the first place and to whom? Players and their clubs. The tv and ad revenues from all these additional tournaments are driving this and player welfare is being ignored.

Just to add that I know the view of a lot of fans is that the top level players are paid insane amounts and leading clubs are worth sums that FIFA could only dream of. I totally get that. But biology is what it is - no matter how much you pay someone, they are made of flesh and blood, and there is only so much physical strain that even the most well-conditioned bodies can take without damage occurring.

This then perpetuates the trend for the biggest clubs to hoard as many of the best players as they can in large squads, so that they can rotate players to service their swollen fixture lists. Yes, the richest clubs have always been able to cherry-pick the best players and have plenty in reserve, but never as much as they do now (esp with being able to name more subs). I’m a Liverpool fan so I get why this has become necessary - but is it really good for the game?

Thanks Burblish, I'll have a look at aome of those sources.

but is it really good for the game?
No, money first, fans last.

Merry Christmas to all that follow this thread.

Hope you have enjoyed the return to domestic football, I know some on this thread will be disappointed with the results (bottom of the table 😭 ) but kudos to both Arenal and Newcastle today.

Bloody love football on Prime, it is the little attention to detail, the country flags for all the players, the animation when a player scores, love it.

Thanks. Back again. Spurs against Brentford 1st half, so awful. Lucky to get the draw me thinks.

I think they were very lucky. I think WHU will give them a run for their money.

Phew! A bit nervous after that first half that the break had completely broken our momentum. But a great comeback in the second. Good to see Eddie getting a very well taken goal.

Still don't understand how Sp*rs can keep playing atrocious football but somehow get a result.

Anyway, ♫"Top of the league, we're havin' a laugh"♫

Good to be back on here, hope everyone had a good Christmas.

Disappointed with another lacklustre 1st half display from Spurs but will take the point after conceding 2 goals.

Leagues 1 and 2 continued throughout the WC although 2 of Gillinghams games were called off due to bad weather. Shame today's wasnt, another absolute shit show losing this time to Colchester in a 6 pointer. Gills have just been taken over by an American businessman who has promised to spend heavily in the transfer window so here's hoping we can get off the bottom and stay in the EFL. Hopefully see the back of Neil Harris too, fans deserve better than a clueless manager who doesn't give a fuck 😡

@YouOnlyCameToSeeEboue we’re coming for ya…

absolutely brilliant result for Eddie Howe’s Fucking class magpies yesterday. BIL came round to watch it and nipped to the shop just before kick off. By the time he came back we were 2-0 up 😂

@EddieHowesBlackandWhiteArmy Certainly been impressed with the Toon this season, and they're a great team to watch.

Wasn't sure at the start of the season how Eddie Howe would do, but he's certainly got them playing like prime Barcelona!

I suspect like you I’m just enjoying seeing where this season takes us! Can’t wait for us to take on Leeds on NYE at SJP, and then we’ll see you on the 3rd 😎

Now that should be an entertaining game for the neutral at least

we're still in our winter break so watching more PL than usual. Some nice goals in the ManU match yesterday.

RIP Pele

Indeed. A football icon.

Just found this thread.

Big Arsenal fan here. So I was cheering when the Man City game finally finished.

so Kevin de Bruyne has been voted best PL midfieldier of all time. What do we think of that?

I accept it’s not looking likely that Liverpool will win it this year (although I never give up hope!); so, I’ll be happy if either Arsenal or Newcastle manage it - anyone other than the Manc clubs! (And RIP Pele - one of the very greatest ever.)

I am a huge admirer of De Bruyne and I think he is definitely the best midfielder of this Premier League generation. Gerrard just inches it as my ultimate pick, though, because of his ability to almost single-handedly change games. I can completely see why De Bruyne would get the nod, though, and it’s hard to argue with it.

(On a related note, I completely disagree when people rate X over Y just because X won more than Y did, as that is down to the overall quality of the teams they played in rather than whether X or Y is objectively a better player. I’ve never understood it. It’s also the reason why so many players for “unfashionable” clubs don’t get the respect they should.)

I'm also a big admire of de Bruyne, I'm wondering if Frank Lampard might have edged him, but also agree that Gerrard would have been worthy of the title.

You are welcome Gunners

Happy New Year all!

Yep, you could validly argue for any one of Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes or De Bruyne. They are all so different as players, which makes it even harder to rank them against each other. I fully admit I may be biased as a Liverpool fan but, honestly, I think City, Chelsea and Man Utd would still have won plenty even if they hadn’t had De Bruyne, Lampard and Scholes respectively. Not as many trophies, perhaps (particularly City in the two seasons where they pipped Liverpool to the title by a single point), but those three players were surrounded by teammates who were also match-winners. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that of the trophies Liverpool with Gerrard, none would have been achieved without him.

@DuncinToffee Well done to the Toffees today - real fighting spirit!