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The Rolling Football Thread: Season 2025/26

983 replies

DuncinToffee · 01/08/2025 10:48

"Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins."

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DuncinToffee · 29/09/2025 22:02

Disappointing, we are missing a proper striker

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Tarkan · 29/09/2025 22:14

I’m obviously a bit happier with that than you are Dunc. Definitely saw some better looking things in the team especially in the second half, things that have felt lacking so far this season and that’s after only a couple of days of Nuno and a bit of a line up shake around, so fingers crossed the team work on that more and we can get ourselves up the table a bit. Next game will be a tough one for us though.

Ended up missing our goal though as I was making myself something to eat as I rushed home from the theatre during halftime and was in and out the room for the start of the second half. 🤦🏻‍♀️

DuncinToffee · 30/09/2025 16:37

Dewsbury-Hall is calling out the PGMOL over his yellow cards and rightly so as the last 2 were a farce.

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Brefugee · 01/10/2025 09:58

Sheffield Wednesday's season going (very slightly) better than i expected so that is a tiny drop of consolation for me.

Gladbach's sport director resigned (after 35 years at the club, i feel sorry about that - he was totally out of his depth 2 seasons ago though so my sympathy is slightly limited by that). Interesting times. I'm currently knitting a new scarf, so hopefully it will be ready by our next match (on Sunday...)

MrsMitford3 · 01/10/2025 15:15

DuncinToffee · 30/09/2025 16:37

Dewsbury-Hall is calling out the PGMOL over his yellow cards and rightly so as the last 2 were a farce.

Sorry this is longer than I intended-

I think one of the problems with PGMOL is that they are a very closed shop and officials have admitted things in the past when on VAR for example that they didn't want their mate to get stick/don't want to spoil the game by sending off players etc.
And not to be a whiny Arsenal fan but Gillet is a known Liverpool fan and can not officiate Liverpool or Everton but has somehow officiated 4 of our first 6 games.

Howard Webb is a nightmare and you can chose whether corrupt or incompetent or both but there is no consequences on poor decisions that impact games. The old head of PGMOL has challenged hm for changing the narrative to fit his outcome.

No one is allowed to speak out against decisions and it is def bringing an added negativity to the PL.

I don't know what happened to Dewsbury Hall (although not to change the topic I love his name as feel like he is a stately home whenever his name is mentioned -I really hope he has a good song) but it seems that any challenge to decisions-no matter how ludicrous-is robustly defended and ppl called whiners and poor sports.
When the fact is that poor decisions are made.
And it changes games.
The best matches are the ones where you don't remember who officiated.

The problem in all of this is that the fans of that particular club are annoyed but are shouted down by everyone else.
The Clubs need to exert some leverage and work together.
There are times when apologies are given post match but the outcome remains the same so it just enrages the fans more.

I do think there should be a system where a club can challenge a yellow card or a 2 yellows red post match-maybe so many a season?
Because right now VAR-for clear and obvious errors- is not improving the game, nor is poor officiating and the whole PL is the poorer for it.

Sorry-editing to add we just need consistency with rules and decisions-not changing match by match

TheNewGaard · 01/10/2025 15:25

Hear hear!

Tiswa · 01/10/2025 16:45

I think when VAR didn’t exist accepting that decisions may be made that weren’t on review the right ones were part and parcel of the game and it was fine because let’s face it in the split second they have to make a decision it is easy to do.

the problem is now we almost want all the decisions to be correct which is next to impossible because
(a) some rules are judgment calls
(b) you cannot cover everything (the Fulham goal for example was an overreach)

for offsides and goal line stuff it is great where (for the most part I know that the Newcastle goal was contentious and quite how the Liverpool goal was disallowed) it is a yes or no answer it is fine. But for others….

and it does overall change the game - how many goals so far have been scored in injury time which isn’t injury time but VAR time! Pre VAR I don’t remember injury time over 5 minutes now we complain when it doesn’t. And frankly unless there is an injury or VAR decision it shouldn’t be

all VAR is is another person able to see an incident from a number of angles it is still a human and it is still going to lack consistency.

and all fans do is focus on what doesn’t go there way and it actually evens itself out - from memory on a previous thread very little actually changed in terms of positions with it

having VAR is only going to reduce errors not eradicate

also let’s be honest no referee is going to be biased when they know every decision they make it poured over and dissected over because @MrsMitford3 I agree with you apart from the fact that fans do speak out about decisions

look given the fact that Spurs v Liverpool wasn’t replayed means that nothing can ever be and we just need to accept that. Because no matter who you support miscommunication there meant a goal was given and no error can ever trump that

MrsMitford3 · 01/10/2025 16:50

@Tiswa good point about the added time-hadn't thought about that-

and I agree it is sport and not perfect or absolute but that's a bit of the fun I guess 😬

and a subjective sport is always going to cause controversy-

But I didn't mean about the fans speaking out-I mean players and managers speaking out in a way that has power to impact.

Officials decision making should be allowed scrutiny and challenges in the case of errors.

Tiswa · 01/10/2025 18:14

Yeah and I think it was less controversial when we accepted that human error was going to happen - I was reading about the strangest goal when Reading got given a goal around 2008 against Watford that the linesman thought was in and it was a goal kick!

those types of thing should be avoided but others. I think we expected to much from something that is still a human no matter what the name says!

I am not sure there is an answer

Hellohah · 01/10/2025 18:23

We all know VAR is shit and referee's are getting worse each week because there's absolutely no accountability on the pitch.

There was a vote of all the clubs re: VAR at the AGM in June. United sent a survey to season ticket holders about it.

I can't remember all the details because I've slept since then, but I do recall that changes were supposed to have been made but haven't been? I thought afterwards, what's the point sending a survey you're going to bloody ignore the responses of, but hey ho!

Brefugee · 01/10/2025 19:23

the added on time is only related to VAR insofar as they take stupidly long to determine if something happened or not, IIRC it comes from the States wanting there to be more net playing time (something i have sympathy with)

IMO: if you need a calibrated line to determine offside, it is not offside
If there is a decision to be made between goal/not goal and it takes too long, give in favour of the attacking side
No VAR decision to take longer than 2 minutes

But. I want it gone, it adds nothing to the game

JasonTindallsTan · 01/10/2025 19:51

Great result for Newcastle tonight and another goal for Woltemade. I’m so pleased he’s getting off to a good start particularly after the salty Bayern comments.

JasonTindallsTan · 01/10/2025 19:53

Mind one of the pens, if given against us I’d be fuming (and was when a just as ludicrous pen was given to PSG after a Tino ‘handball’ last time out in the UCL) but it does appear as though standards in European competition are different so I’ll take it for sure.

TheNewGaard · 01/10/2025 22:06

Harder than it felt it should have been, but Olympiakos are a tricky team. The 3 points is the main thing.

The best thing about tonight was the resurgence of Ødegaard, he was superb.

Tiswa · 01/10/2025 22:12

I find the whole champions league bit now fairly pointless given that PSG looked at one point when they were 2-0 down to City in January that they might go out and then they won it!

all 6 English sides should finish to at least get into the Feb knock out stages and clearly that is all you need to do. The jeopardy has gone.

and even though Spurs won it I still don’t know how I feel about no one dropping down in the cups!

Brefugee · 02/10/2025 07:13

Quick change of subject: Christian Eriksson has an ICD in case of further heart issues. He is playing at Wolfsburg, because the German FA (the DFB) allow it. Apparently he had to leave Italy because the Italian FA does not allow them. The FA would also allow it.

I'm not convinced, having read a few articles from cardiologists worrying about the issue, that it is a good thing. Where are you all on this?

Hellohah · 02/10/2025 08:43

To be honest, I knew Italy wouldn't allow him to play. I don't know why.

Is an ICD classed as performance enhancing technology?

I don't know much about the medical side, all I know is that the match was horrific, and I couldn't watch what was happening. Had to go in the kitchen. I can only imagine what it was like for him and everyone on the pitch.

It's not something I ever thought about when watching him play, just glad he survived and has been able to continue playing. He seems like an absolutely lovely fella.

Tiswa · 02/10/2025 10:25

It is a tricky one isn’t it - the Italian FA are stricter and have reduced the number of incidents yet a player wants to play.

I remember Fabrice Muamba and he had to retire and how traumatic it was (although he is now 37 I mean I was pregnant at the time and he is going to be 13 next week but I hadn’t realised how much time had passed)

it is a balance isn’t it between the needs and wants of a player to play and then what happens if an incident occurs and the impact on everyone around them

I can see both sides

Tiswa · 02/10/2025 10:39

Just seen 3 ex Man Utd players won MoM awards last night Hojlund Sabitzer abd Elanga

MrsMitford3 · 02/10/2025 11:35

Re the Christian Eriksson debate-

I wonder if there is some financial liability the leagues don't want who won't allow this? I guess it could loosely be performance enhancing? Even athletes with asthma need to be careful re staying in guidelines for inhaler usage.

My DC competed for Great Britain in a very physically gruelling sport as a U18 and they all had regular heart scans.
I think that they were both to protect the athlete and the team but am slightly cynical re liability in the football leagues.

And as they cross over in things like Champions League would he be eligible to play in Italy against an Italian team?

To be honest it seems tricky to be allowed to play in some leagues but not others. I remember when it happened too-was awful to see and he does seem like a nice guy but it def seems a grey area.

Tiswa · 02/10/2025 11:53

I think Italy has been hit hard by sudden cardio deaths (it seems disproportionately so actually) so they have gotten stringent on trying to reduce it - hence the issue here.

Brefugee · 02/10/2025 13:14

agree that there needs to be a country wide policy, but i had heard that about Italy too and so them going it pretty much alone on this is not surprising.

I am very surprised that in a hypochondriac nation like Germany that it is allowed at all.

Tiswa · 02/10/2025 13:41

i just looked up stats and my god football deaths are far more prevalent than I thought - 5 this year and 12 last year never thought there would be that many

which make me more inclined to think Italy may well have a point

Cuwins · 02/10/2025 14:30

Surely though because he has the ICD he is less likely to be at risk of sudden death than a player who doesn’t?
I feel like an independent medical expert should make the decision on a case by case basis