Live Match Discussion 2024/25

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Feeling was euphoric after the Germany win if I remember and felt a big deal. Again the “Germany were shit” stuff comes from rival fans more than anyone

 

[jd1981]

Im sorry mate, I just dont agree.

Yes, euphoria in the moment, but it didnt take long at all for fans to change the narrative even about those clearly good results.

I don’t remember that at all as most people were just moving onto the next game.

Southgate eliminated a few hoodoos around England.
Firstly realising losing penalty shootout’s wasn’t just bad look and was a bit more behind it. Look at penalties v Switzerland to realise that was a group of players highly focused.
Reaching Finals and latter stages of tournaments more than once.
Broke the hoodoo of never beating a top nation on foreign soil in a knockout game.
Didn’t get the ultimate prize but certainly moved the national team into a far healthier position with various baggage removed.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I don’t remember that at all as most people were just moving onto the next game.

Southgate eliminated a few hoodoos around England.
Firstly realising losing penalty shootout’s wasn’t just bad look and was a bit more behind it. Look at penalties v Switzerland to realise that was a group of players highly focused.
Reaching Finals and latter stages of tournaments more than once.
Broke the hoodoo of never beating a top nation on foreign soil in a knockout game.
Didn’t get the ultimate prize but certainly moved the national team into a far healthier position with various baggage removed.

You're preaching to the converted! Southgate is clearly our best manager since Ramsey, you could argue better than him over a more prolonged period too.


But the posts I pasted above and the post of yours I just liked from the Euro thread last year just on the 2nd page show how that Germany win has been minimised.

There are dozens of other examples in just that thread, and TWF is far more forgiving than the general England fan.

 

[jd1981]

View attachment 14067

I remember that post clearly and it was directed at fans of countries who don’t like us not at ourselves.
you need more than one post to prove a majority

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I remember that post clearly and it was directed at fans of countries who don’t like us not at ourselves.
you need more than one post to prove a majority

It was amongst a thread where English TWF members were minimising that win, the next post by TP?

 

[Squeak]

Yes, all of that is valid Alan.

If you had an eight team tournament, with Libertadores, Champions League, African Champions League, Asian Champions League, Concacaf Champion and Oceania champion joined by the champion team of the host country and one other by whatever merit system they set up (which would be unlikely to be Red Bull bloody Salzburg) then it is much more manageable in the schedule.

You have only one team affected by the problem I outlined so we can keep Boxing Day for everyone else bar them and the team they play. After Covid, teams were given late starts (bar us, fucking FA wankers) so there is precedent for making an exception to make the calendar work. Not that it should really be needed as an eight team tournament could be done and dusted in eight days. And you have the best of each continent battling it out, so there is some real interest.

The qualification criteria to flab out the field for this jamboree is an issue. Note that under my idea above, Auckland City would still be in as Champions of Oceania. They aren't the problem. The problem is six South American sides, and what feels like far too many UEFA sides.

There is apathy from the teams. There is apathy from the American public as a lot of the games have woeful attendances. There is apathy from a lot of world media (I can only speak about here at the moment, but it is last element mentioned on the sports bulletins, somewhat behind netball, which might change if an Australian team was present I suppose). There is apathy from the fans of the teams who seem to see it as a glorified and glutonously fattened pre-season friendly tourney.

It is wholly poorly-thought out. But it is Infantino's baby, so it will stay for the duration. Especially as his pockets will be getting massively lined,

Agree with a lot of what you say here but having now attended the two games in Orlando so far, I find my viewpoint changing somewhat.

Before the tournament I thought very much the same things as most folks on here. I thought it was a joke tournament, a money grab and poorly timed. Here's where I've changed.

The basic concept of a club World Cup is for the best teams in the world to come together and compete to see who plays the best winning football. As such the game overall will benefit from studying the way these teams play and it will increase its audience.

The players are most certainly buying into it as are the coaches. Yes, money talks, but the games I've seen live and on TV show the players want to win. It is competitive and these are not glorified friendlies.

The fans who attend are thoroughly enjoying themselves. In Orlando yesterday the crowd was announced at 6,730. Benfica probably had 90% of that and were well supported. The bigger games are attracting 60,000 people. The fact this is happening is growing the game in the USA and it is also showing the USA can support such a tournament with ease.

I hear the argument about playing in the heat but the players are coping well. The real World Cup is, with one exception, played in the Summer and the heat. It's a none argument now as the way players are managed in terms of health is way better than before.
I also remember a time when teams were crushed 9-0 at World Cups so the argument re: Auckland not being there doesn't hold water with me.

Players ... if they want to earn so much money, then they are going to accept that the clubs paying them will also want to earn more money. Tournaments like this are going to be the norm and players themselves are going to have to be the ones saying I need rest as per Ronaldo. It is going to have to be written into their contracts.

I will disagree with you in regards to apathy as I think that is something the media is trying to provoke. I will also disagree with you about it being ill thought out. The idea isn't IMO. The idea of bringing the best clubs in the world together is long overdue. What needs to be worked out is the scheduling of all these events taking into account the players welfare. You cannot ask the best players in the world to deliver top quality football all year round, year after year.

 

[Alan]

Wow. I didn’t expect to ever agree with you on this kind of thing.

 

[Squeak]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1936176884389494895

Can’t say I’ve seen a player give a manager this much disrespect before!

Spoke to some Benfica fans and it seems they don't like Lage much. Seems the players don't either.



It wasn't the only situation. Zhou, Auckland, was very clearly upset for many minutes in being told he would have to come off. Couple of photos:

 

[Alan]

Fucking shushed his own player holy shit

Cunt behavior.

 

[Squeak]

Fucking shushed his own player holy shit

Cunt behavior.

IMO he had a right to do so. The way the player ( Orkun Kökçü ) reacted to being subbed was astonishing. Can't see him playing for them again.

 

[jd1981]

It’s embarrassing that Lage is still employed at one of the most historic European clubs.
Still dining out an a half good season in 2021 and coming 10th in the PL playing insomniac fixing football.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Well done VAR - that would have been an incredibly harsh penalty. England need to wake up quickly.

 

[jd1981]

They have done 1-0 up to be fair they’ve taken control since the penalty call

 

[YoungWolf]

Playing some really nice stuff. Be interesting to see if they can maintain that even when Spain have a spell of dominance themselves

 

[Jack Regan]

No overturning that one.

 

[Alan]

I didn't realize Santi Cazorla was still around. Just scored a PK for Oviedo in leg 2 of what I think is the Liga Segundo promotion playoff. Mirantes going up (I think) as things stand, though.

 

[Jack Regan]

I didn't realize Santi Cazorla was still around. Just scored a PK for Oviedo in leg 2 of what I think is the Liga Segundo promotion playoff. Mirantes going up (I think) as things stand, though.

Yep being playing for Oviedo for a good while as they were his boyhood team. One of the few genuinely two footed footballers, can take corners, set pieces and penalties with either foot.

 

[Jack Regan]

League one first touch from Stansfield, if that's a Spanish player then that's its likely in the back of the net.

 

[Alan]

Oviedo have outstanding support. Atmosphere in the stadium is beyond electric.

Just gone ahead 2-1; tied 2-2 on aggregate. No idea if away goals count for anything. Based on the reactions to Oviedo's second, I'd guess not.