General Football Thread

[Hobo]

Now I am just imagining peak Souness vs peak Keane.

And how Souness would have him for breakfast.

[TCO]

Ah now. Keane is a prick but he was one of the greatest midfielders ever. He had everything and there's really no modern equivalent as well rounded a midfielder as peak Keane.

Let's not under sell him. I don't think any player in history would eat peak Keane for breakfast!

I don't think Ward is lying but I think the story is definitely being blown up bigger than it is. Keane was 100% in the wrong but I imagine it's not as big as people are making it out to be.

[DavidMarrio]

1 hour ago, Hobo said:

Now I am just imagining peak Souness vs peak Keane.

And how Souness would have him for breakfast.

A master at shithousery

[Hobo]

And of course who can forget

Honestly though, Souness is not rated nearly as much as he should be as a player. A lot of that come from the fact he played a long time ago. The way people who saw him play talk about him is way above the kinda things people say about Roy Keane. Keane was a great player. 

Sounesses managerial career as well as his years of punditry has coloured him.

His tenure at Liverpool was bad. But he had a few successes in other jobs and he gave it a go. Certainly tops anything Keane did as a manager.

 

[TCO]

Keane peaked at Sunderland really. Did a fantastic job there and never really saw success again after walking.

Worst part of that was there was fucking Sunderland jerseys everywhere in Cork. Every 2nd person seemed to have one. That was a weird, bad time.

[The Lusophone]

Souness I'm sure was a great player. As a pundit, he's a moron and can go fuck himself.

[Malenko]

I didn't think much of him as a manager either. He was a good player though.

Not as good as he thought he was, if some stories I read are true, but good nevertheless

Edited September 18, 2018 by Malenko

[Gazz]

'The Argentine Dream' Dusty Maradona.

[TCO]

This just happened in the FAI Cup semi-final. 2-0 down and Bohs' centre back Ian Morris gets it and casually darts it in top corner from 40 yards.

 

 

[Lineker]

The Guardian's Next Generation 2018: 60 of the best young talents in world football

[MDK]

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/std-riddled-ladybirds-invade-northern-15266858

Quote

STD riddled ladybirds invade Northern Ireland player Jonny Evans' home

Swarms of the Harlequin ladybirds are flying across from Asia and North America and seeking hibernation in people's homes

Two Premier League footballers have called in pest control to exterminate a swarm of STD-riddled ladybirds invading their homes.

Northern Ireland international Jonny Evans and Manchester United defender Phil Jones have both encountered the bugs, which are known as Harlequin ladybirds.

They have spread rapidly up to the north of England after flying across from Asia and North America to find cosy hibernation in people's homes.

Experts say the foreign invaders actually pose a threat to the domestic species because they carry a sexually-transmitted disease called Laboulbeniales fungal disease.

Residents have reported large clusters of the bugs in their living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms this week.

That old chesnut, eh?

[Lineker]

So that's what flew up my nostril.

[MDK]

If that is the excuse you want to give the missus that is okay.

[Lineker]

Usain Bolt scored twice in his second trial match for the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners to boost his chances of realising his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

The world’s fastest man struck in a 20-minute second-half period as the Mariners eased to a 4-0 win over Macarthur South West United; the first was a coolly-taken individual effort while a defensive mix-up gifted him a second in the pre-season friendly in Campbelltown.

“I think I made some slight mistakes but I’m just happy to get the chance and I’m proud of myself,” Bolt told Fox Sports after his withdrawal on 75 minutes. “Scoring a goal in your first proper match is a big deal. It was a good feeling.”

Again sporting the No 95 shirt – a reference to his world record time over 100m – and playing up front, Bolt started a match for the first time, following on from his 20-minute cameo off the bench for the Mariners over a month ago.

Having worked hard on his fitness since that debut on the Central Coast, the 32-year-old was able to last the majority of the game, but there remains much room for improvement in his general play before he can contemplate winning an A-League contract.

He struggled to find his touch in the first half, but marginally improved in the second. His first goal, though, indicated some promise as he displayed strength to shrug off one defender before showing poise in front of goal to finish with a low left-footed shot. The second was a tap into an open goal after Macarthur’s goalkeeper and defender had taken each other out.

The decision to withdraw him with 15 minutes remaining – with the prospect of a hat-trick tantalisingly close – was met with predictable boos and he departed to a standing ovation.

“I think I’ve improved in every area,” Bolt said. “I think my touch is that little bit better; my vision needs to improve a little bit more. I think my running off the ball is where I’ve improved most.”

[Hobo]

He was one of my favourite commentators

[Baddar]

Heading out to the Barry Town match shortly. Gonna freeze my balls off, but I've got a couple of bets on so hopefully it'll be worth it. Also gonna grab a cuppa on the way to help me get warm!

[DavidMarrio]

14 hours ago, Baddar said:

Heading out to the Barry Town match shortly. Gonna freeze my balls off, but I've got a couple of bets on so hopefully it'll be worth it. Also gonna grab a cuppa on the way to help me get warm!

I wouldn't recommend using tea as a way of getting your balls warm. 

[Baddar]

5 minutes ago, DavidMarrio said:

I wouldn't recommend using tea as a way of getting your balls warm. 

Couldn't get a cuppa on the way.

But a 5-2 win!

[Lineker]

Quote

The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has submitted a potentially explosive proposal for a lucrative, revamped Club World Cup, featuring top Premier League and European clubs and to be played every season. Uefa is understood to be fiercely opposed to the proposals, which will be considered by Fifa’s council meeting in Rwanda on Wednesday. European football’s governing body will regard any plan for an annual club tournament as a direct challenge to the Champions League.

Uefa and the European Club Association were highly critical of Fifa’s proposals earlier this year to reconfigure the Club World Cup. Speaking at the time, Infantino said he had investors, who were never identified, willing to pay $12bn for four tournaments every four years from 2021. The Japanese finance house Softbank is widely reported to be representing the plan’s financial backers, whom Fifa has not named, although the world governing body has downplayed reports that a major portion of the money is coming from Saudi Arabia.

Infantino has met the king of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, four times in the past year, but Saudi involvement in any Fifa venture would be deeply controversial given the worldwide revulsion at the violent death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

Infantino is seeking reelection as Fifa president next year and has promised Fifa’s national member football associations that the world governing body will spend “more than $4bn” on football development globally by 2026. Fifa is pledging that significant income will be distributed to national associations from the revamped Club World Cup, and a new Nations League, for which the investors promised $13bn over 12 years – a total of $25bn for the two tournaments.

Individual clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as those from the Premier League, emerged from Fifa presentations supporting the idea of a new Club World Cup every four years, which promised an average of more than £100m to each participating club.

Infantino had pushed for a quick decision to be taken, saying that the investors had set a 60-day deadline, but after meeting strong opposition from Uefa and the ECA, the proposal was shelved, no vote was taken and Fifa promised to undertake further consultation.

This week, the 36 council members from Fifa’s six regional confederations will be presented again with the suggested revamp of the Club World Cup and a new World Nations League. The proposals are understood to include one option for a new club tournament with an increased number of teams (the options last time were 16 or 24) to take place every four years, instead of the current Confederations Cup, in June the year before every World Cup.

The second proposal, which will be seen as highly provocative by Uefa in particular, is for the new Club World Cup tournament to be held every season.

One option presented to the council is for an annual tournament to take place in July and August, while another is to hold it annually and agree a different time slot, presumably during the season.

The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, derided the Fifa plan in May, in a speech to EU sports ministers, saying: “I cannot accept that some people who are blinded by the pursuit of profit are considering to sell the soul of football tournaments to nebulous private funds. Money does not rule – and the European sports model must be respected. Football is not for sale. I will not let anyone sacrifice its structures on the altar of a highly cynical and ruthless mercantilism.”

The ECA and Juventus president Andrea Agnelli was also scathing about the proposal last time, describing the financial projections as “dodgy”. Agnelli stressed that the football tournament calendar is globally agreed until 2024 and his priority after that is to seek expansion of the Champions League format to include more matches – and therefore more revenues – for participating teams.

A Uefa source told the Guardian that its position has not changed since Infantino last presented the proposals, so Uefa’s nine members on the Fifa council, including Ceferin, are expected to state their pronounced opposition at the meeting.

[Gazz]

Excellent time to announce a potential tournament that is almost certainly backed by the Saudi royal family. Top work.