Premier League 2021/22

[Szumi]

It's absolute madness, but it doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

 

[gunnar hendershow]

So they added a handful of days on each end of the season to accommodate for the 6 weeks being lost due to the World Cup?

If there was ever a year you don't want your club to play in Europe next year sounds like it.

[Lineker]

 

[Adam]

I'll be interested to see the Player's Union response to this.

The suits at the top of the game are just absolutely intent on ruining it.

[DavidMarrio]

Can't wait for our u12s having a run in the FA Cup

[Colly]

In other news all 20 clubs have opposed the two year World Cup cycle.

[Lineker]

 

[Lineker]

Norwich have appointed Dean Smith.

[Lineker]

Quote

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been charged with two further counts of rape.

Mr Mendy, of Prestbury, has been summonsed to appear at Stockport Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old footballer, who remains in custody, is now facing six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The charges relate to four complainants over the age of 16 and are alleged to have taken place between October 2020 and August 2021.

The France international has played for last season's Premier League champions Manchester City since 2017, when he joined from Monaco for a reported £52m.

He was suspended by the club after being charged by police, pending an investigation.

Louis Saha Matturie was also previously charged with four counts of rape in relation to the alleged attacks.

The 40-year-old from Eccles has also been charged with two additional counts of rape and one of sexual assault and summonsed to appear at the court.

 

[Szumi]

 

 

[Lineker]

32 minutes ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

 

 

Out of the relegation zone! Get in there!

[Tigerstyle]

Oh man, yeah. 4 Premier League manager changes in the first stretch of the season

[Lineker]

Quote

The Premier League has confirmed that Gary Hoffman is to step down as its chair. The move stems from the controversy over the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United and Hoffman will leave at the end of January.

He has been in the job for only 18 months but was the subject of an unofficial vote of confidence by Premier League chairmen last week, with more than half calling for his removal.

“It has been a privilege to lead the Premier League through the last two seasons – when the spirit of English football has been more important than ever,” Hoffman said. “Now, I have decided the time is right for me to stand aside to allow new leadership to steer the league through its next exciting phase.”

Hoffman has become the focus of clubs’ fury over the way the Newcastle deal was approved. Clubs complained they had not been properly consulted over a decision to allow the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to buy the club, having been notified of the outcome by email and only after reports had been published in the media.

The 61-year-old wrote the emails and the messages were seen by clubs – particularly those outside the top six – to have been a “final straw” for their trust in the chair. A highly respected banker who ran Northern Rock after it was nationalised during the financial crisis, Hoffman’s role at the Premier League is in a non-executive capacity. However, his short tenure has not only coincided with Covid but with the aborted breakaway plans of Project Big Picture and the European Super League, plots which incensed many of the same clubs that eventually wanted him out.

While Richard Masters, the league’s chief executive, is still believed to hold the confidence of most club owners, Hoffman became the object of intense ire at an emergency Premier League board meeting last month and pressure was put on him to stand down. Last week club owners met again informally and held a vote of no confidence in Hoffman which the chair, unknown to him, failed.

The league thanked Hoffman for his service and said: “He has led the league during the most challenging period in its history and leaves it in a stronger position than ever. The process of appointing a new chair will begin immediately.”

The opposition to the Newcastle takeover was demonstrated in middle of last month when the clubs voted through temporary legislation designed to prevent the Saudis from striking lucrative sponsorship deals. Eighteen of the clubs supported the proposal to block related party transactions – commercial arrangements that involve pre-existing business relationships – with the fear being that Newcastle could conclude deals in the oil-rich kingdom which could give them an advantage. Manchester City abstained.

The moratorium expires at the end of the month but the clubs are to meet on 30 November to vote in a permanent rule change. It has been proposed after the discussions of a specially convened working party – which included Newcastle – that any major commercial deal will have to be pre-approved by the Premier League board, which will consider whether it involves a related party and, crucially, represents fair market value.

The board will be helped by independent assessors. The proposal was discussed at a meeting of all 20 clubs last Thursday and was supported in principal by the majority. It is being fine-tuned by lawyers and will need 14 votes to be carried, which is expected to happen.

 

[gunnar hendershow]

NBC has paid $2.7 billion to keep Premier League broadcast rights in the US until 2028. The amount roughly translates to the total losses English clubs have experienced due to the pandemic.

[Lineker]

9 hours ago, damshow said:

NBC has paid $2.7 billion to keep Premier League broadcast rights in the US until 2028. The amount roughly translates to the total losses English clubs have experienced due to the pandemic.

Quote

The American broadcaster NBC has renewed its television deal with the Premier League in a new six-year agreement worth £2bn. That is almost double what the company, the home of Premier League coverage in the United States since 2013, paid for their current contract in 2016.

The new deal, understood to be worth $2.7bn (£2bn), goes some way to offsetting the £2bn Premier League clubs have lost since the start of the pandemic. Over the next three years the Premier League will filter £1.6bn down the football pyramid, having on Thursday announced a further £25m of Covid impact funding to clubs in Leagues One and Two and the National League.

The Premier League has completed its international broadcast sales processes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa but there are deals in the rest of the Americas and Asia Pacific to be concluded and further increases in revenue would see solidarity payments to EFL clubs go up.

The agreement with NBC covers all 380 matches in a season and runs to 2028. Matches are averaging 609,000 viewers this season, the highest average to this point since 2015-16 and up 14% from last year.

NBC faced heavy competition in bidding from CBS and ESPN, who put in a joint offer during the second round of bidding. Fox, from which NBC first gained the rights, did not put in an individual bid during the second round but partnered with other groups.

“Interest in the Premier League is going from strength to strength and it is great to see the growing global demand to watch our matches and engage with the league,” said the league’s chief executive, Richard Masters. “Our international and domestic broadcast revenues over the next cycle will give stability and certainty to the game as a whole, which is particularly important as football recovers from Covid-19 losses.

“We are proud to provide more investment into our football pyramid than any other football league in the world.”

 

[Lineker]

Kevin de Bruyne has tested positive for Covid-19 on his return from international duty. He will isolate for 10 days, meaning he will miss Sunday's Premier League match at home to Everton and Wednesday's Champions League game against Paris St-Germain.

Quote

Eddie Howe has indicated he intends to rebuild Newcastle United around Jonjo Shelvey. The midfielder, undeniably gifted and blessed with a stellar passing range, has spent significant periods of his St James’ Park career on the sidelines after being dropped at times by Rafael Benítez and, more recently, Steve Bruce.

Howe though seems to have identified a player signed by Steve McClaren as integral to Newcastle’s philosophical transition from a defensive, counterattacking side to a much more front-foot, possession-based team.

“I knew how good Jonjo was, having played against him and watched him many times, but when you actually work with him you realise he’s an incredible technician,” said Howe, who on Saturday takes charge of his first game since succeeding Bruce when Brentford visit. “He’ll be someone very important for us as the season develops.

“Jonjo can play all sorts of passes, long and short. In terms of our philosophy and how we want to to play, he’s someone who’ll be very important to us.”

As Newcastle seek their first win of the season, Howe will also be hoping to “unlock” the ability the Brazilian forward Joelinton displayed at Hoffenheim before struggling horribly after a £40m move to Tyneside in the summer of 2019.

“Joelinton can be a huge player for us,” he said. “From what I’ve seen in training he’s got very, very good feet, he’s very good technically and he’s intelligent. Unlocking that talent and ability and playing him in the right position are things I’m assessing but he’s got a big part in our future here.”

Unlike certain St James’ Park predecessors, Howe did not shy away from using two P-words: philosophy and principles. He said his first 10 days of training had been about instilling his playing principles.

“We’re having to implement our philosophy in a gradual manner so the players aren’t overloaded but the basic fundamentals of how we want to play, of our core principles, I’d like to think you’ll see that against Brentford,” he said. “I would like to think you’ll see a Newcastle team playing in the way I want them to; a way that also befits what Newcastle supporters want to see as well.

“How quickly can we get there? We’ll see. But I’d like to think you’ll see a team doing the city proud.”

Howe, who admits the decision whether to recall the newly fit Martin Dubravka in goal at Karl Darlow’s expense represents a “tough call”, has been so immersed in coaching that, bar one pub lunch in Gosforth with his coaching staff, he is still to explore his new habitat.

“I’ve seen the training ground and my hotel,” he said. “I haven’t seen [central] Newcastle in the the light of day yet. Tomorrow will actually be the first time since becoming manager that I step into Newcastle when it’s daylight.”

 

[gunnar hendershow]

What the fuck

[Lineker]

 

[Naitch]

I only saw that the tweet above was from Newcastle Utd while reading the earlier piece about Eddie Howe wanting to build the team around Shelvey, and assumed that it was an "Eddie Howe has left the club by mutual consent" announcement.

[Colly]

1 hour ago, Naitch said:

I only saw that the tweet above was from Newcastle Utd while reading the earlier piece about Eddie Howe wanting to build the team around Shelvey, and assumed that it was an "Eddie Howe has left the club by mutual consent" announcement.

He should if he's actually wanting that...

Meanwhile: