Football Season 2021-2022

[Tommy T]

Gotta give credit where credit is due

Can it be weekend already again please, need more football.

Incoming international break...

[Nerph-]

Incoming international break...

We do not think about international breaks! If we ignore them, they don't exist! Right?!

[jonnysensible]

Pacos de Ferreira beat spurs lol

[Marleycat]

Kinda agree about the hating on refs, I would not like to do that job at all. I feel players need to have more respect for the ref, like they do in Rugby for example.

I am not sure many are hating on the refs tbh, players or fans, the players sulk and the fans go mad when things dont go their way sure but I think the hate is reserved for the whats going on around the games laws, cant keep changing them especially week to week which seemed to happen a lot last season. All the fans and players want is consistency I think.

Its a thankless job when 90% of players are dishonest, and some of the fans are ok with that if their cheating wins. The FA said they would sanction cheaters after the fact but as far as I am aware have never done so, public shaming doent seem to stop the diving so really needs the FA to flex some muscle to get this out of the game. I would be ok for 3 game bans for even attempting to fool the referee by diving, feigning injury, etc

[Lollis]

For all the talk of "ex legends now managing teams" someone like Ole gets crap for not being a Man Utd legend

Wha?

He won us the 98/99 Champion's League and is known as 20LEgend.

[Nerph-]

I am not sure many are hating on the refs tbh, players or fans, the players sulk and the fans go mad when things dont go their way sure but I think the hate is reserved for the whats going on around the games laws, cant keep changing them especially week to week which seemed to happen a lot last season. All the fans and players want is consistency I think.

Its a thankless job when 90% of players are dishonest, and some of the fans are ok with that if their cheating wins. The FA said they would sanction cheaters after the fact but as far as I am aware have never done so, public shaming doent seem to stop the diving so really needs the FA to flex some muscle to get this out of the game. I would be ok for 3 game bans for even attempting to fool the referee by diving, feigning injury, etc

I guess by "hating on refs" I generally meant player's mentality towards the ref (and the difference there is between Football and Rugby as an example).

I definitely agree with your second paragraph, while it goes unpunished players will just keep doing it.

[Zantera]

Wha?

He won us the 98/99 Champion's League and is known as 20LEgend.

I've definitely seen him get a lot of flack from supporters from other clubs saying he was a glorified sub player and he's not a "Man Utd legend" because that's reserved to Giggs/Scholes/Cantona blabla. I don't really put too much focus on that because some of those same people will turn around and say Arteta was a great Arsenal captain.

[Jessicka]

Not sure I like this new ‘not refereeing at all’ approach. Liverpool kicked off the pitch yesterday, goal given against United after a clear foul earlier, and now Arsenal denied a pretty clear penalty.

I get the Premier League’s uniquely bad use of VAR last season was unpopular, but to go the other way and not show up at all is worse. The standards in European competition, Rugby, Cricket, are so much higher, yet for whatever reason the English FA are like “no, we have to find a worse way of doing it so we can be different”.

[RobertoCarlos]

Could be worse, could be arsenal

[Jessicka]

Could be worse, could be arsenal

Arsenal being Arsenal isn’t even funny anymore. There has to be some level of expectation that they’ll do something other than maybe get as far as a quarter final, then finish 10th.

[DingDongKing]

Wha?

He won us the 98/99 Champion's League and is known as 20LEgend.

Surely no one in their right mind actually calls him 20LEgend out loud. Because it sounds dumb AF.

[Northern Goblin]

Surely no one in their right mind actually calls him 20LEgend out loud. Because it sounds dumb AF.

Verbally, no. Written? Social media uses it a lot.

Ole is a legend, if only just for one goal (though he's rightly loved for far more than that) it's one of the most famous goals in the history of the entire club. "And Solskjaer has won it!" is a phrase that still brings joy to fans when they remember it.

[DingDongKing]

Verbally, no. Written? Social media uses it a lot.

Ole is a legend, if only just for one goal (though he's rightly loved for far more than that) it's one of the most famous goals in the history of the entire club. "And Solskjaer has won it!" is a phrase that still brings joy to fans when they remember it.

Haha, yeah I know. Was just pointing out how silly it sounds if someone was to say it out loud.

He's had a great career, even without that goal to be honest. He's not a tactical genius as a manager, but he's doing the job.

[Kallisto]

Not sure I like this new ‘not refereeing at all’ approach. Liverpool kicked off the pitch yesterday, goal given against United after a clear foul earlier, and now Arsenal denied a pretty clear penalty.

I get the Premier League’s uniquely bad use of VAR last season was unpopular, but to go the other way and not show up at all is worse. The standards in European competition, Rugby, Cricket, are so much higher, yet for whatever reason the English FA are like “no, we have to find a worse way of doing it so we can be different”.

The organisation never wanted VAR in the first place and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into implementing it. The reason they're trying to be different is that they're trying to prove any and all VAR systems are bad so that they can go back to "Let the ref get it wrong and just laugh" approach. The problem for them is that the premier league does not exist alone and fans can see the Euros, Rugby, European club football at will and know that it can work and does work.

In short the FA and premier league have always hated VAR, they want subjectivity with the refs for some reason and will sabotage VAR in the eyes of fans in any way they believe they can get away with.

[RobertoCarlos]

The organisation never wanted VAR in the first place and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into implementing it. The reason they're trying to be different is that they're trying to prove any and all VAR systems are bad so that they can go back to "Let the ref get it wrong and just laugh" approach. The problem for them is that the premier league does not exist alone and fans can see the Euros, Rugby, European club football at will and know that it can work and does work.

In short the FA and premier league have always hated VAR, they want subjectivity with the refs for some reason and will sabotage VAR in the eyes of fans in any way they believe they can get away with.

Yeah i'd believe it. FA seems like an old boys club. "Racism is bad but you dont expect us to actually do anything about it to stamp it out of the sport do you?"

[Jessicka]

Yeah i'd believe it. FA seems like an old boys club. "Racism is bad but you dont expect us to actually do anything about it to stamp it out of the sport do you?"

I think the actual quote was along the lines of “we’re not racist, we have -insert racist term- people in the organisation.”

[Jessicka]

So Arsenal found their level then against an understrength West Brom side?

[Sughs]

Any predictions for the groups later today?

[Marleycat]

Any predictions for the groups later today?

I dont know about predictions but pot 2 is way stronger than pot 1

[WarBringerPT]

Hoping it's a nice group for porto. And yeah, that pot 2 > pot 1