Official Football Thread

When I read that Erdogan was present at Turkey's home draw against Latvia I couldn't help think of a famous moment in Norwegian football history.

In the 1936 Olympics, Norway beat Germany 2-0 in the quarter-final, with Hitler and Goebbels among the spectators. The Führer left at half time :D
 
Good times for Steve Harris and other West Ham United fans:

West Ham is currently 4th(!) in the Premier League. Imagine West Ham to play Champions League. Awesome.

1. Manch. City ------31 23 5 3 74 66-21
2. Man United ------30 17 9 4 60 58-33
3. Leicester ---------30 17 5 8 56 53-34
4. West Ham Utd -30 15 7 8 52 48-37
5. Chelsea ----------30 14 9 7 51 46-30
6. Tottenham ------30 14 7 9 49 51-32
7. Liverpool --------30 14 7 9 49 51-36

If they maintain this position, it would be their highest finish in the post-1985-1986 era.
In 1986 they had their highest ever league finish with a 3rd place. The West Ham team from this season achieved their highest ever position in the Football League, third in the First Division. They were challenging for the title throughout the season which has been described as West Ham's greatest ever season. With one game remaining they were second in the league eventually finishing third behind champions, Liverpool and Everton. The season is often used as a comparison for more modern West Ham United teams.
 
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There is a theory being talked about that the ESL is just an extreme negotiation tactic. UEFA get £3.1bn for the CL. The 12 teams in ESL want a bigger share and the ESL will never actually happen. Also chat that the Spanish teams would have to put it to a fan vote if they were actually goin to break away.
 
Night Prowler said:
Mourinho sacked by Spurs!

Unconfirmed reports that he refused to take the training over Spurs' inclusion in ESL.

@Ariana, @Dr. Eddies Wingman: Is this whole ESL thing enough for you to stop supporting your clubs?

In my case it's not.
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I can say this much: I will not spend money to watch this Super League. And even if the opportunity arises, I will not go to Old Trafford again or spend money on anything United-related until this idea is stuffed, binned and burned. I will not, however, support another team in United's place.
 
Fair enough. I don't really have any club merch anyway and never really went to games as they are too expensive and far away.
 
I mean, what more is there to do? Burn the shirt I was given as a present when I was 15? I guess I could cancel my membership in the Man United Supporters Club, Scandinavian Branch - but they are already speaking out against the league-which-must-not-be-named.
 
Everything that UEFA/FIFA are now threatening to do to ESL clubs should be taken with a massive grain of salt; remember last year when Man City was banned from CL for 2 years? LOL
 
I heard they are threatening to ban Super League players from playing for the national teams. I really don't see how that will stop anybody.
The only way to stop this from happening is for sponsors to walk away, but the sad reality is it's going to have exactly the opposite effect and attract more money into it. Sad!
 
I've been thinking about this since the news broke. It's one of the biggest news in sports in a very, very long time. It seems to me that the owners of the ESL want to have a North American-style ownership & league model while maintaining the capacity to buy players via transfer windows that is symbolic of European sports leagues. IE, a stable position in the league while being able to monetize their position to scour other leagues for the best players.

I don't think this a bluff. I think they believe they can make more money than than god and that they will be in the position with the best players to dictate terms to UEFA and FIFA. And I think they're right. Are the fans of these teams going to stop watching the games?
 
Ariana said:
I heard they are threatening to ban Super League players from playing for the national teams.
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Night Prowler said:
remember last year when Man City was banned from CL for 2 years?
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I really doubt UEFA will go through with this unless they want, for example, England to start their first EURO game with Mark Noble in midfield and Ben Mee and James Tarkowski at the back.

Money will always prevail and a solution will be found that keeps everyone happy. There is no way any of these clubs get excluded from their national leagues, or their players from international tournaments.
 
Fans are overwhelmingly unhappy. First of all, because the decision has been taken in complete disregard of the supporters, and secondly - because it shits on things like performance, merit, and any other athletic qualities. And as an Arsenal fan said today - who wants to see their team play the same 10 teams over and over again, year after year? It's utter, utter bullshit.

Unfortunately, I feel that whatever these teams lose in terms of fan support, they will more than make up for with sponsor deals.
 
Night Prowler said:
I really doubt UEFA will go through with this unless they want, for example, England to start their first EURO game with Mark Noble in midfield and Ben Mee and James Tarkowski at the back.

Money will always prevail and a solution will be found that keeps everyone happy. There is no way any of these clubs get excluded from their national leagues, or their players from international tournaments.
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Well, the UEFA statement ends with "enough is enough", so they might be serious about this. I hope they are. After all, if this was to go ahead, UEFA will take the biggest loss in terms of funds.
 
Boris says he will endeavour to stop the English teams breakin away. Which probably means he will facilitate it.
Premier League have called a meeting tomorrow, the 6 splitters are not invited. Be interesting to see how strongly they come out. Points deduction? West Ham to win the league? City and Spurs removed from cup final on Sunday?
 
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