Premier League 2023/24

[Lineker]

11 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

If Spurs lose, then we hamper Arsenal's title bid, but also run the risk of finishing 7th.

I mean we play Sheffield Utd on the final day. Surely even we can't fuck that.... right? 

 

Anyway - pleased that I'm working a late shift tonight as that's forced me to sell my ticket. Would have been very weird in the stadium tonight.

[lanky316]

Spurs appear to be taking it seriously. Team sheet has leaked.

GK - Samuel Archer

DF - Yusuf Akhamrich

DF - Archie Baptiste

DF - Jun'ai Byfield

DF - Malachai Hardy

DM - Leo Black

DM - Han Wilhoft-King

LW - Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett

AM - Callum Latif Olusesi

RW - Miracle Adewole

ST - Damola Ajayi

 

Spurs really need to reorganise their website, it took too much effort to try and find their under 18s line up

[Lineker]

Quote

Richard Masters says the Premier League has been “very clear” with 777 Partners over the conditions it must meet to complete a takeover of Everton, and that observers can draw their “own conclusions” as to why the deal has yet to be approved.

Speaking to MPs as part of the process of the government’s football governance bill, the Premier League’s chief executive acknowledged that lengthy takeover deals create tension among supporters but said the Everton owner, Farhad Moshiri, still wanted to pursue a deal with the challenged investment company.

Moshiri has surprisingly extended his sale and purchase agreement with 777 until the end of the month, despite the firm being unable to meet the Premier League’s criteria for a takeover after eight months and facing allegations of fraud in New York. The agreement had been due to expire last week.

Masters was asked by Damian Collins why the league had not rejected the 777 offer outright, amid uncertainty over the group’s finances and problems at its other clubs, and said his scope was limited. He said the league could approve a deal or leave it unapproved but could not reject it and that it was up the seller or proposed buyer to take a deal off the table or meet the league’s demands.

“Let me be clear about the Premier League’s role as regulator: it is to perform this test,” he said. “It’s not to decide who the current owner wants to sell the club to. That’s his decision and at the moment he wants to continue to have discussions with 777 about it.

“The Premier League is very clear the conditions that have to be met by 777 if it wishes to become owner of Everton. At the moment, because the takeover has not been confirmed, I’ll leave it to the committee [of MPs] to make its own conclusions as to where we are with that.”

The Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test is a hurdle potential investors must clear before being approved by the league. It includes a number of demands, many around the presentation of “acquisition materials”, a list which includes “detailed information as to … the sources of funds to be invested in or otherwise made available to the club”. 777 has been reported as needing to raise funds to complete the deal and this month it was revealed that the company has been accused of multimillion-dollar fraud in the United States. 777 has not commented publicly on the case.

Masters said that takeover deals were becoming “more complex” and were an example of why football authorities should continue to play a role in approving any deals, describing a process he likened to that of The X Factor.

“I do accept that takeovers that carry on for a long time are not good for fan certainty,” he said, “and that’s why we have a very big team of people that do nothing else than this. All I would say is that over time, particularly in the Premier League, takeovers are becoming more complex and it is not a small undertaking by the regulator to take this particular burden on. That’s why we want to remain involved in it as well. It’s very complicated and we need to make sure all those things are correct even if it takes more time.

“I do think there are some benefits of the regulator working with football authorities on this topic. It’s a bit like The X Factor and you need two green ticks to get it.”

Masters was speaking alongside the chair of the EFL, Rick Parry, with the pair continuing their public sparring over the brief of the independent regulator. Of particular concern for both men are parachute payments and whether they should fall under the regulator’s scope. Masters believes they should not, arguing that “they are a competitive balance tool … and without parachute payments the Premier League would not be competitive at the bottom end”.

Parry disagreed, describing the current exclusion of parachute payments from the regulator’s brief of ensuring financial stability as “intellectually incoherent”.

“It is interesting that solidarity payments to Championship clubs are literally pegged to parachute payments,” he said. “Defined as 11% of parachute payments, they are intertwined.

“In 2021 five Championship clubs had £233m between them [in parachute payments], and 19 received £79m in solidarity. So what we are saying is that we can apply the [regulator] and all its might to the £79m but can’t touch the £233m. That seems to be the ultimate definition of fiddling while Rome burns.”

 

[METALMAN]

4 hours ago, Chris2K said:

Ange's "100% of Spurs fans want us to win the game"

Surely Ange has realised by now that if Spurs fans want something to happen it isn’t going to happen 

[The Lusophone]

4 hours ago, Lineker said:

I mean we play Sheffield Utd on the final day. Surely even we can't fuck that.... right? 

 

It would be very Spurs to beat Man City and lose to Sheffield United.

[Kaney]

I'm fairly sure Spurs are going to win tonight only for Everton to pump Arsenal 3-0 on Sunday so why everyone's making a fuss I don't know.

[Colly]

1 hour ago, lanky316 said:

Spurs appear to be taking it seriously. Team sheet has leaked.

GK - Samuel Archer

DF - Yusuf Akhamrich

DF - Archie Baptiste

DF - Jun'ai Byfield

DF - Malachai Hardy

DM - Leo Black

DM - Han Wilhoft-King

LW - Luca Jamie Williams-Barnett

AM - Callum Latif Olusesi

RW - Miracle Adewole

ST - Damola Ajayi

 

Spurs really need to reorganise their website, it took too much effort to try and find their under 18s line up

I'd have gone with the below and waited to see if anyone noticed.

GK - Ivanov

DF - Valeny

DF - Stremer

DF - Jaric

DF - Ruskin

MF - Iouga

MF - Dodo

LW - Ximelez

AM - Minanda

RW - Espimas

ST - Huylens

Edited May 14 by Colly

[Lineker]

 

[Kaney]

[Adam]

35 minutes ago, Lineker said:

 

No it's this

 

[Lineker]

Course!

[DavidMarrio]

Got Akanji 83rd minute screamer to win 1-0 written all over this

[gunnar hendershow]

So much for that 

[Chris2K]

Oh no. How unfortunate. I hope we get back in the game.

 

Utter insanity that Ederson didn't get taken off straight away, I wish I knew what it would take for concussions to be taken seriously, but I'm also worried about what that would be.

[Adam]

This is like when you're trying not to score on Fifa, but accidentally keep doing better than when you actually are trying to score.

[Lineker]

Oh bother!

[Szumi]

Ortega's been massive for City. He was excellent at Anfield when he came on, and has saved the title again tonight. That was excellent to deny Son on the breakaway.

21 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

Oh no. How unfortunate. I hope we get back in the game.

 

Utter insanity that Ederson didn't get taken off straight away, I wish I knew what it would take for concussions to be taken seriously, but I'm also worried about what that would be.

The crazy thing is that they didn't even say the substitution was because of a concussion! Although I now immediately wonder if City said that to not gift another sub to Spurs, as little difference it could've made given the Spurs bench.

[Cymbols]

Say less

 

[Chris2K]

Gosh darn it. There goes our Champions League chances, a competition that our current squad would have been woefully unprepared for.

I hope this result hasn't adversely affected any other clubs.

[DavidMarrio]

Its nice someone else gets to experience the pain of Pep's City in a title race. They're inevitable