The Rolling Football Thread: Season 2025/26 - thread 2

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/sports/5383976-the-rolling-football-thread-season-202526?page=40&reply=147893728

Well, I'm really pleased that the Israeli fans aren't coming here after this:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/20/sport/soccer-tel-aviv-derby-police-riots-intl

Villarreal Barcelona in Miami has been cancelled/postponed

it is clear though it very much was la liga trying to take on the premier league stronghold in the US

oooh interesting. did they give a reason?

what PL stronghold?? 😂

”current uncertainty in Spain”
”insufficient time”
”irresponsible to sell tickets”

La Liga wanted to to compete against the Premier League and UEFA Champions League - the Premier Lesgue is definitely ahead in the US

fan groups are basically saying fan pressure won out

Barcelona wanted the money and the expansion opportunity

Well, I've already seen someone on Bluesky tonight complaining that 90% of US "soccer" fans support Arsenal! And obviously it will only get worse better with the next mayor of New York.

Also Arsenal are v popular in the states one of the most if you were going to really do a game Arsenal is who you would send against either Chelsea or City

would Arsenal fans really want to lose an advantage?

Is New York's next mayor an arsenal fan?

and no to playing a big PL/CL game against anyone in USA

I def think there are pockets of Arsenal fans in america-we were in boston to watch DC row and watched arsenal chelsea 2023 (I think) in a packed boston gooners pub.

But even if there is one in every state surely it is a few thousand?
They don't really buy in to soccer-although david beckham trying
Happy to be proved wrong

Yep

exactly it just isn’t worth the risk of playing it abroad

Champions League I can kind of see slightly more as that is more in line with US sports and the margins for losing are a lot less - being first hardly helped Liverpool so I can kind of see that one and being 16 didn’t hinder PSG but UEFA hate the idea!

Soccer as a hold, possibly challenging Hockey for 4th but way behind the big 3.

Within that Premier League is definitely far more awareness than the other European Leagues (which is whst I meant not that it has a stronghold overall)

I hate the idea of a game abroad!

Great night for Newcastle, Pope with an absolutely filthy assist 🤣

Ted Lasso and Coach Beard enjoying it and the Emirates this evening!

Mamdani is a big Arsenal fan!

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6733357/2025/10/21/zohran-mamdani-world-cup-premier-league/

And Arsenal has had a good following in the US for quite a while. 7amKickoff has been going on for quite a good many years.

it's clear Arsenal is one of the few soccer clubs (!) in the US that has any recognition: partly because any TV show or film Vinnie Jones (or any other "cockney geezer" type character) appears he moans that whatever the thing is that someone wants him to do interferes with him "watchin' the Arsenal"

(even when it is clearly not Arsenal on the TV behind him)

Starting the Wednesday / Boro trash talk early with the Boro-fan-DH today. As in i am saying "yeah, you're going to give us a right tanking" 😁

I'm not sure that is a positive. He has some very extreme views. It's like Piers Morgan supporting us.

Exactly. Think Fidel Castro was also a Gooner.

I'll stick with Anne Hathaway... 😂

And Reese Witherspoon. I love her.

And Osama bin Laden, obviously...

Yeah I never got that chant!

Keir Starmer really does as does Jay Z and just waiting for that one to fall

Glad to read that the La Liga game abroad will now not take place. Quite valid to object to it if not on principle, on the grounds it changes a competition mid-season and not the same as having to go to an away ground with the usual home support to contend with (different atmosphere).

At least in the Premier League there are 19 teams who all have to experience the prawn sandwich brigade or tourists at the place with no tea ladies.

gosh. Sky over here are showing the Wednesday - Boro match. (we're losing 0-1 at the moment.)

But i am so sad to see how few people are in the stadium.

to be clear: I support the boycott, but i am still sad to see the lads playing to so few (and they're scabs, IMO, i wonder why there are people sitting there in the Anti-Chansiri black and gold scarves??)

@Brefugee I know I can google but wondering if you would give me the idiots summary of what is going on?

It wasn’t a win, and no points, but it wasn’t as bad as maybe people thought it would be, especially as they got the goal so early on. (Sorry, Cov fan here, we also wanted you to beat Middlesbrough!)

the owner (Depjohn Chansiri) is running the club into the ground, he bought it with the hope of getting into the PL but mismanagement and so on and so on has led to non-payment of wages (players and all other staff) and there are also overdue taxes. Word is that HMRC are about to issue a winding up order.

The Supporters Trust asked everyone to boycott the match last night which was fairly successful, they have asked that if people do go to the matches they don't buy anything from the concessions (last i heard most of them don't open now anyway) but to gather in the pubs around the ground to watch the match and support those places. The supporters trust are also selling black and gold scarves and merch to raise funds for the non-playing staff who are suffering.

In short it is a massive shit-show.