The (Un) Official Football thread

[houston4044]

Yeah. But it's virtually a forgone conclusion that they've got it. The only rival is Kuala Lumpur who haven't got the infrastructure in place at such short notice. But I'm not particularly bothered about athletics.

I'm just glad that Everton aren't getting a free stadium.

One of the L'pool fans at work was very celebratory over that fact, Man City wiped the smile off of their face

So then, who do we think will be the first Prem manager gone then? My money is on Bilic.

[Black Wizard]

Either Bilic or De Boer.

[houston4044]

Damn, gave Parish and co too much credit

Got to feel for De Boer, gets charged with changing the teams style of play, given little in terms of resources to achieve it and then is kicked out hastily. Although I did have a chuckle to myself when one of the BBC pundits mentioned Di Canio lasted longer at Sunderland, how bad must you be if Mr meltdown outlasts you?

[Skippy]

So far this season has been an absolute shambles. Stupidly over-inflated prices on average players, the top teams seemingly buying their way to the title (and it looking like it will finally work - noone looks close to the level of the Manchester teams so far), and now managers being sacked after only 4 games. I suppose its the direction football's been headed in for a long while, but its never seemed as boring as this. I sincerely hope FIFA finally pull their heads out of their arses and actually do something to fix the excesses of owners who think they can do whatever they want with football clubs.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

When Northern Ireland told Michael O'Neill he needed another 3 points we didn't mean on his driving license!

[Gandalf the Red]

Nah. He just wanted to support his mate Wayne.


It's something I've never understood. If you're a footballer going for a drink, then get a chauffeur.

Some of the clubs even provide them to drive you back home or to your hotel. They even have drivers that have little fold up motorbikes so they can get back. One of my mates used to do it and was getting paid to drive all these extremely expensive cars.

[houston4044]

Some of the clubs even provide them to drive you back home or to your hotel. They even have drivers that have little fold up motorbikes so they can get back. One of my mates used to do it and was getting paid to drive all these extremely expensive cars.

Given quite a few clubs/managers stipulate they want players to be on good behavior before matches, I imagine he wanted to try and get away with it without the club finding out (though he failed spectacularly). The story of Fergie dragging Giggs out of a party two nights before a big match springs to mind.

[Gandalf the Red]

Harry Redknapp sacked.

Rumours that he's going to be the next Crystal Palace manager unconfirmed.

[houston4044]

3 managers gone in one day, like buses.

Goes to show how normal it is now to dump a manager so soon into a new season.

[Tet]

Page 666 of this thread

On another note, I see that Everton have accumulated 4 points so far this season, while Wayne Rooney's drink driving has earned him 6 all on his own

[slayerslays]

I loathe football with a passion but I am grateful for the match at Wembley last night because it meant the tube strike was called off and i could get to camden to see Sidious!

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

What does everyone reckon will happen with La Liga and the Spanish national team if Catalan independence comes to fruition?

Technically UEFA have no problem with clubs playing in another association's league system (see Swansea and Cardiff City) and there's already an Andorran team in the lower divisions in Spain. La Liga won't be keen on allowing Barcelona to stay and continue to frequently win the top title if they decide they are no longer Spanish though, and although Espanyol haven't won anything in over a decade now they're still a team you can feasibly see winning the Copa del Rey again.

Barcelona leaving would cause a big hit to La Liga's coefficient ranking and maybe even cost them a Champion's League qualifying spot, but it would be potentially very bad for Barca in the long run too if the competition in a new Catalan league was so low that even winning that didn't guarantee automatic Champions League qualification. Aside from Barcelona, Espanyol and Girona in the top flight there are only two Catalan clubs in the Segunda Division and seven in the third tier (excluding the Barcelona and Espanyol reserves) which wouldn't exactly make for a very exciting or competitive league.

If Catalan independence sparks a subsequent break in the Basque Country though and Athletic Bilbao, Eibar, Alaves, Real Sociedad and Osasuna (who are actually from the partially Basque-speaking Navarre but could still be part of a future Basque state/Basque FA) all leave La Liga too then there could be something half decent there, though that would dilute the remaining Spanish league even further.

The other option I've heard touted is for Barcelona to join Ligue 1...

As for the national team it's pretty obvious where most of Barcelona's local heroes' loyalties would lie given nearly all of them have played friendies for the unofficial Catalonia XI but by the time a separation deal is formalised Pique, Busquets and Iniesta could all be past their international playing years (and although Xavi is still playing for Catalonia at 37 I doubt he could handle a return to competitive international duty.) I can't really see Gerard Deulofeu leading a Catalan team to qualifying for a major tournament pretty much on his own and who knows how long it could take for a new Catalan golden generation to appear. Whereas for the Spanish national team I doubt they'd be in too much trouble, but certainly their chances of winning tournaments would be seriously dented.

[Gandalf the Red]

Well Nicola Sturgeon did say she wanted Scotland out earlier today.

[Gandalf the Red]

What does everyone reckon will happen with La Liga and the Spanish national team if Catalan independence comes to fruition?

Technically UEFA have no problem with clubs playing in another association's league system (see Swansea and Cardiff City) and there's already an Andorran team in the lower divisions in Spain. La Liga won't be keen on allowing Barcelona to stay and continue to frequently win the top title if they decide they are no longer Spanish though, and although Espanyol haven't won anything in over a decade now they're still a team you can feasibly see winning the Copa del Rey again.

Wales is technically part of England though. That's why Welsh teams play in English leagues and vice versa. My local non league team won the Welsh FA Cup on a couple of occasions even though they were English.

Even in cricket they aren't an international team as it's officially England and Wales. Scotland and Ireland have their own teams.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

Fair enough. the point about the Andorran team in the La Liga system stands though. Derry City is another example and I think there's a team from San Marino in Serie C or Serie D as well.