Live Match Discussion 2024/25

[Deutsch Wolf]

A big team no doubt. But Sid ‘still can’t get over myself that I speak Spanish and determined to write impenetrable long winded sentences like this one’ Lowe of the Guardian supports them. Enough to make me a Sporting man on the Asturian front. Gijon also a cracking place for a drink, with Oviedo aloof if beautiful.

One of my favourite lines in the paper was about some shite striker who played for Sporting.

'He puts the hee-haw into Gijon'

 

[Mel Evo]

Think Gijon also has the closest Parador to a football stadium in Spain. Perhaps the most middle class observation you could make. Making it even more of a mystery that the Guardian writer supports the wrong team.

 

[Jack Regan]

Another chance goes begging for Stansfield. Thankfully Spain seem to be favouring getting the ball wide and putting it in the middle, which is fairly meat and drink to our Centre halves.

 

[YoungWolf]

Think England have managed this half really well. Some good subs by Carsley too

 

[White Wolf]

Good performance by England overall, now 3-1. Carsley has mostly got the tactics very much correct, encouraging.

Stansfield is awful, how have Blues paid almost £20m for a striker who couldn't even manage 10 goals from open play in League One. And they think he's brilliant. You'd think England have a better option lurking around even in the Championship, and he's already 22.

 

[jd1981]

Have to agree, I’d call that a really intelligent second half from England and Lee Carsley who is definitely finding his niche at bringing through age group players.

 

[YoungWolf]

Good performance by England overall, now 3-1. Carsley has mostly got the tactics very much correct, encouraging.

Stansfield is awful, how have Blues paid almost £20m for a striker who couldn't even manage 10 goals from open play in League One. And they think he's brilliant. You'd think England have a better option lurking around even in the Championship, and he's already 22.

He absolutely stinks of being stuck in the Koumas zone for majority of his career.

Delap was meant to be at this tournament until Chelsea bought him. Carsley doesn’t really use out and out strikers that often either

 

[Alan]

Holy shit Oviedo have just scored an absolute belter to go up 3-2 in ET. Really a stunning swivel and half-volley, right into the top corner. Pure class.

 

[ROVERT47]

Is the commentator on the Germany v Italy game the James Fielden?

 

[ROVERT47]

Wow!

 

[pr0sl0]

Late to the party, but I just think a lot of the stuff about growing the game across the world rings hollow as long as there’s such an imbalance between the regional federations.

209 teams that take part in FIFA competitions, 6 federations, therefore each one should be ~35 teams. And then within each one you need a good mix of good and bad teams so that there’s some actual degree of competition at the top, and an incentive at the bottom to strive to be better. It also then means getting together various regional champions isn’t patronising or pointless in most of the match-ups.

Hell if I know how you make that happen in a way that also reflects geographic reality, and all the stuff that comes with that - most obviously, breaking up Europe, Asia, and Africa into smaller chunks. Can’t imagine, say, Egypt being happy about being broken off from Africa and into some new North African & Central/South Asian federation, for example.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

The difficult bit would be what you add to Conmebol to get that up to 35 teams. You can't combine them with Concacaf as they are going to be a bit short of 35 as well I suspect, so presumably you could add in all of Oceania as they only get one spot now, and a chunk of southern africa. Plus there would be a fair bit of jeopardy that one or both or Brazil and Argentina might miss out which FIFA would not want to happen.

And obviously UEFA has way more than 35 so there would need to be some split, potentially with the southern countries going into a new unit with North Africa maybe.

But it wouldn't just affect international football as the whole aegis around continental club football would change. Say we have the southern countries split then no Madrid teams, no Barcelona, probably no Italian sides in the Champions League. I don't think the broadcasters would vote for that at all.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

 

[Tredman]

Now do one titled 'Is the Club World Cup actually quite corrupt?'

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Now do one titled 'Is the Club World Cup actually quite corrupt?'

If you bothered to listen to it you might not be so obtuse.

 

[ROVERT47]

Been watching Atletico v Botofogo, my need to watch live football knows no bounds, it’s been shite.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

If you bothered to listen to it you might not be so obtuse.

Is it particularly different to the title?

Its 53 minutes long. i'm going to need something rather snappier and more revelatory to convince me it is anything other than a corrupt pile of shite that exists to line pockets and stroke egos

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

It's a discussion by journalists about the very thing we've been discussing on here for a few days, which is why I thought it may be of interest.

Please yourself.

 

[Alan]

Doesn’t it go without saying that all FIFA tournaments are corrupt?