General Football Thread

[Lineker]

Never change South America.

[Gazz]

Most prestigious trophies in world football.

3. UEFA Champions League

2. FIFA World Cup

1.

[EddieG]

When did the Intertoto drop out of the top 3?

[Adam]

They've missed a trick not decorating the trophy itself in Caramel Wafer colours.

[Your Mom]

I'm sure you guys all already know this story but I just watched "Losers" on Netflix and it was the one about Tarquay United and them avoiding relegation by scoring in extra time which they got when one of their players was bitten by a police dog  That was wild. I love crazy stories like that

[FestiveJack]

9 minutes ago, The Chiksrara Special said:

I'm sure you guys all already know this story but I just watched "Losers" on Netflix and it was the one about Tarquay United and them avoiding relegation by scoring in extra time which they got when one of their players was bitten by a police dog  That was wild. I love crazy stories like that

They also once sacked a manager 10 minutes after appointing him.

[Lineker]

Quote

José Mourinho has turned down the chance to manage Guangzhou Evergrande for family reasons despite a lucrative offer from the Chinese Super League club.

The Portuguese has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United in mid-December. At Old Trafford he earned around £15m a year and his proposed salary at Guangzhou would have been far greater.

Following talks with representatives of the club, whose majority owners are the Evergrande Real Estate Group, Mourinho rejected the job because it is understood he did not wish to cause upheaval to his family by moving to China.

Mourinho is also not interested in international management, preferring a return to the club game when the right opportunity arises.

[MDK]

On 02/07/2019 at 17:05, The Chiksrara Special said:

I'm sure you guys all already know this story but I just watched "Losers" on Netflix and it was the one about Tarquay United and them avoiding relegation by scoring in extra time which they got when one of their players was bitten by a police dog  That was wild. I love crazy stories like that

Hold on to your hat because I have an even better one for you.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/74831-barbados-vs-grenada-in-94-the-most-bizarre-match-ever

Quote

You would think a basic winning tactic in football would be to kick the ball between the posts. Your opponent's posts, that is. The team that is best at this wins the match.

Most of the time that's true, but an infamous game between Barbados and Grenada in 1994 turned logic upside-down.

Going into the last group game in a Caribbean Cup tournament (the Shell Caribbean Cup), Barbados needed to beat Grenada by two goals in order to reach the final. A draw after 90 minutes would result in extra time whereas anything less than winning by two goals would see Grenada through to the final. The catch, however, was that the organisers had decided that in the case of extra time a golden goal would count as two goals.

Barbados took an early 2-0 lead, but Grenada made it 2-1 with seven minutes remaining. Barbados were heading out unless they scored a goal—any goal!

One Barbadian striker realised that his team were unlikely to score another goal against Grenada, with only a few minutes to go and Grenada playing an ultra-defensive tactic. Instead, he decided that their best chance of winning was to make the game go into extra time and score a golden goal, which would count as two goals.

So he promptly powered the ball past his own stunned goalkeeper to make it 2-2.

Now, Grenada needed to score a goal—at either end—to avoid extra time and to go through to the final. The Grenada players, initially stunned by the goal and suddenly realising what was going on, turned around and headed for their own net.

Now the comedy really starts as the Barbadians had anticipated this move and rushed to defend the Grenada goal—in addition to their own—until the whistle went for extra time. Now be honest, who could make up a story like this?

In the end, Barbadian ingenuity was rewarded as one of their strikers scored the winning goal four minutes into extra time, which sent Barbados to the final.

As was to be expected, the Grenadians were not amused. Grenada manager James Clarkson was furious. "I feel cheated, the person who came up with these rules must be a candidate for the madhouse.

"The game should never be played with so many players on the field confused. Our players did not even know which direction to attack; our goal or their goal. I have never seen this happen before. In football, you are supposed to score against your opponents in order to win, not for them."

Just in case you doubt this whole story and its authenticity, have a look at this videoclip.

 

[Your Mom]

That is amazing! What I weird sport. I love it!  

[MDK]

Just now, The Chiksrara Special said:

That is amazing! What I weird sport. I love it!   

If you want something that could bring a tear to a glass eye, check out Jimmy Glass

Orient are my first and only true love, but I will always suggest this as the best moment in all of sport.

[Lineker]

Beitar Jerusalem: Soccer club owner ready to sue 'racist' fans

[Lineker]

Quote

Police in Brazil investigating rape allegations against the footballer Neymar have closed the case due to a lack of evidence, the Sao Paulo attorney general’s office has said.

The police decision will be sent to prosecutors on Tuesday, which will have 15 days to evaluate the case, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office told AFP.

A final decision on the case will be made by a judge.

Paris Saint-Germain player Neymar has vehemently denied allegations he raped a Brazilian woman in a Paris hotel in May.

The affair, which has dominated headlines and conversations in the football-mad country for months, overshadowed Brazil’s preparations for the Copa América.

Hosts Brazil went on to win South America’s showcase tournament without their star player, who was injured in a friendly before the opening match.

[Lineker]

Sin bins are to be introduced across grassroots football this season. 

[Colly]

The poll is currently in favour of yes. The comments are full of idiots going "stop changing football", "non contact sport" blah blah blah. Apart from one ref who says it's working well. Twitter.

[Adam]

Are the sin bins just for dissent? I don't like the idea if they're replacing yellow cards for most or every bookable offence. I don't want to watch a game of football where every game you're gonna have to see teams at a numerical disadvantage.

If it's just for dissent/cheating then it could work.

EDIT: Read up on it now, so it's just for dissent. That for me could definitely work, the player in question will feel a clown for putting his team at a disadvantage over petulance or backchat. I just wouldn't want to see it extended to other areas of the game. Don't know if it being a yellow card and a point to the touchline is clear enough though, maybe at grassroots that's fine but in the professional level I think it'd be better if it was a different colour card or something.

[Colly]

Dunno, I'd imagine the player standing in a box for 10 minutes would probably make it pretty clear. It should be a shark cage.

[DFF]

I'd like it to be for all unsportsmanlike behaviour, and have that cover simulation too. 

[Adam]

13 hours ago, Colly said:

Dunno, I'd imagine the player standing in a box for 10 minutes would probably make it pretty clear. It should be a shark cage.

Suspended above the pitch? Perfect.

To be fair I was referring to when the player in question is carded (is it a normal yellow or a sin bin yellow?) and when he's walking off (is it a sin bin or a red?), might be a bit confusing to follow initially.

Maybe the shark cage is a good idea...

[Gazz]

It's a good idea, the adult team I coach last season got far more bookings for backchatting the referee than they did for fouls. We didn't have sin bins, but we will have for this season coming. Slightly curbed it last season when I doubled the fine for dissent bookings to £20. Best one was our captain got booked for calling the referee a 'sausage'.

[Lineker]

I can't remember if we have a women's football thread. If not, we probably should. Anyway: 

The Football Association is launching a streaming platform dedicated to women’s football from the start of the 2019-20 season.

The FA Player will provide live access to more than 150 domestic games throughout the campaign, including all Women’s Super League (WSL) matches and a fixture from each round of the Championship.

The platform, which will be free to use and available online and via an app, will also have selected England, FA Cup and Continental League Cup highlights, plus archive footage and features.

The FA also said in its announcement on Tuesday that BT Sport and the BBC will continue their regular coverage, with over 30 live games televised across the new season.

The FA’s director of the women’s professional game, Kelly Simmons, said: “This announcement is a pivotal and significant step in the FA’s journey to grow the women’s game and attract new audiences.

“We know people want to watch football in different ways, with content that’s quickly and easily accessible.

“This new live streaming service will give them unique access to over 150 live fixtures in all competitions, all available at the click of a button.

“This will help build on the fantastic coverage BBC and BT Sport give the women’s game on their channels so that fans can enjoy the best of women’s football when and how they wish.”

The platform will launch ahead of the WSL season, which starts on 7 September when Manchester City face Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

England’s 2-1 semi-final defeat against the United States at this summer’s Women’s World Cup in France was, according to the BBC, watched by a peak TV audience of 11.7 million – a UK record figure for women’s football.