Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted May 17 Paid Members Posted May 17 57 minutes ago, Rossman said: I use to think Sam Matterface was well regarded Only by himself. Quote
Paid Members hallicks Posted May 17 Paid Members Posted May 17 9 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Only by himself. He’s the Keir Starmer of football, surely. Everyone hates him. Quote
Mr_Danger Posted May 17 Posted May 17 6 minutes ago, hallicks said: He’s the Keir Starmer of football, surely. Everyone hates him. And Rupert Murdoch signs both their paycheques. Quote
Paid Members air_raid Posted May 18 Paid Members Posted May 18 Just had a look and… the FA Cup has gone crap if you don’t support certain clubs. You have to go back ten years to find a final without City or Chelsea in it, 2008 to find one without either of them, Man United or Arsenal in, and clubs outside those four have won the final only 4 times in those years inclusive. Add in Liverpool and you have to go back to 95 (Everton) for the next most recent winner outside those 5 clubs and 91 (Spurs vs Forest) for the last final before 2008 without them. An increasingly closed shop. Makes Leicester and Palace recent wins look even more startling. Quote
Paid Members gmoney Posted May 18 Paid Members Posted May 18 Seven different winners in nine years is not bad going though. Quote
Rossman Posted May 18 Posted May 18 On 5/17/2026 at 2:48 PM, Ralphy said: In terms of Chelsea, I'm sure way back when that Roberto Di Matteo got paid such a significant sum from Chelsea when he got, in my eyes, unfairly sacked, he pretty much retired from everything and now just chills out, he has the correct idea It's good what @SuperBaconposted, if I was a manger and had the prospect of doing a good job but staying five years,but still getting paid the same total for about a year of doing a shit one, well, consider me paying homage to Tony Soprano in quick time Di Matteo wasn't really the "manager." His job was to motivate the team and give them confidence. He was never a master tactician. Heard an interview with Didier Drogba who said the team man managed themselves at that point. When you've got leaders in the team like Drogba, Terry, Lampard, Essien, Cech, Cole. For a young inexperienced manager to come in against big characters and try to dominate. It would have gone completely wrong. Quote
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted May 18 Paid Members Posted May 18 5 hours ago, gmoney said: Seven different winners in nine years is not bad going though. Good point. I think the death of the FA Cup is a bit overstated. The loss of replays for the smaller teams is a real shame and perhaps an indicator that one day, we will sacrifice it completely but that aside, it's still a great competition. When people come up with suggestions like all lower ranked teams playing at home or seeding, I get that they mean well but, they're stupid suggestions that take away from the brilliance of it. It's an incredible competition that starts with almost 750 teams down to step 9 of non-league and is builts on the luck of the draw all the way through. For all the damage that's been done through the years, you do still get incredible moments like Macclesfield beating Palace this year. Macc, Mansfield, Exeter, Salford, Port Vale, Grimsby, Gateshead, Southampton and Gainsborough all had great moments or made great money this season. Even we got a Firday night game on proper telly with a full house v Chelsea. They even seem to have learned something this year and made sure the Final was the only domestic game of the Saturday. It was a shit game and felt a bit of a foregone conclusion but that's the fault of the other teams who were shit in various games. It's been 12 years and I still cannot believe we were in the FA Cup Final. One of the best days of my life. Experience that and then think it doesn't matter. Unless you're a particularly entitled fan of some oil club, I don't think anyone would. The League Cup, on the other hand, while still a competition worth winning, is something I do wish they'd just bin to take the pressure off the FA Cup. That really does seem inevitable. This year was a farce with all the dancing they had to do around expanded European comps. Quote
Daaaaaad! Posted May 18 Posted May 18 38 minutes ago, tiger_rick said: The League Cup, on the other hand, while still a competition worth winning, is something I do wish they'd just bin to take the pressure off the FA Cup. That really does seem inevitable. This year was a farce with all the dancing they had to do around expanded European comps. I think there'll be a day that comes where the Premier League clubs completely excuse themselves from the 'EFL Cup' and it essentially replaces the Johnstone's Paint Trophy but with Championship clubs. Quote
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted May 18 Paid Members Posted May 18 Just now, Daaaaaad! said: I think there'll be a day that comes where the Premier League clubs completely excuse themselves from the 'EFL Cup' and it essentially replaces the Johnstone's Paint Trophy but with Championship clubs. I think it would be interesting as a competition for all teams not in Europe if it kept the reward of European qualification. It would then become something that the bottom half of the PL and top half of the Championship would all fancy they could win and qualify for Europe while still giving the lower league teams a chance to play some big teams. I see no way that ever happens because they all want to have their cake and eat it. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted May 18 Paid Members Posted May 18 This country only just got rid of replays, it's going to be another 30 years before anyone's ready to have the discussion that having two cup competitions is stupid. Quote
Rossman Posted May 18 Posted May 18 Final game day in La Liga next weekend looks to be a spicy one. Anywhere from 13th to 19th could join Oviedo in Secunda Division next season. To give it extra kick, the current bottom 4 teams are playing each other. The Special One is back at Real Madrid next season. This year, he had an undefeated league season with Benfica but still finished 3rd in the league. Quote
Fog Dude Posted May 18 Posted May 18 1 hour ago, Rossman said: Final game day in La Liga next weekend looks to be a spicy one. Anywhere from 13th to 19th could join Oviedo in Secunda Division next season. To give it extra kick, the current bottom 4 teams are playing each other. Given that Girona and Elche can't both win since they're playing each other, what sequence of results could relegate Sevilla or Alavés? As for the League Cup: worth noting that teams in Europe have already been allowed to pull out of next season's Women's League Cup, and there's a lot less pressure on the calendar there than in the men's game where Palace had to play three matches in 122 hours this season in order to squeeze in a quarter-final. Quote
Paid Members gmoney Posted May 18 Paid Members Posted May 18 3 hours ago, Rossman said: Final game day in La Liga next weekend looks to be a spicy one. Anywhere from 13th to 19th could join Oviedo in Secunda Division next season. To give it extra kick, the current bottom 4 teams are playing each other. I'm desperate for Girona to stay up, simply because they've got a labrador mascot called Canya, and she'd absolutely adorable. https://www.instagram.com/canya_gironafc/ Quote
Paid Members Weezenal Posted May 19 Paid Members Posted May 19 He’ll probably have a break until Enrique leaves PSG. Quote
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