Football (Soccer) Thread

[FunkMonk]

Arsenal about to lose at home to mighty Brighton in what is Arsenal's worst run of form since the 1970s.

Le sigh

[Josquius]

It's weird. At this stage with Silva I feel sad and kind of sorry for him - which is new.

Moyes seems most likely which I'd be okay with - if he's the interim manager until the summer. But I honestly would have expected him to be appointed by now if he was coming in. The fact that Dunc's in charge for Chelsea and the statement talks about appointing a "permanent manager" makes me wonder if it's someone else - or if there's been big contract issues with him?

Moyes?
Expect everton to be relegated

[FunkMonk]

Or, you could just pick a team and follow them through the trials and tribulations of being a sports fan.

I can see how fans can do this by making an outing of going to the match or a pub with a bunch of buds and getting blootered, but I don't see how it works as well for a guy watching Barclay's extended highlights on a computer.

The one organizing principle I do have is a bet with a bartender on whether Pulasic will score 10 goals the season.

If you have no attachment to any club then there isn't much else to note, unless you make bets on outcomes, like you mention, or just have an admiration for the sport itself.

Honestly, like any other sport, it's more fun (and infuriating, and sad, and depressing) if you become emotionally attached to a team.

[Duque de Bragança]

Le sigh

*soupir* 

[dps]

Honestly, like any other sport, it's more fun (and infuriating, and sad, and depressing) if you become emotionally attached to a team.

That's one of my problems with MLS.  The teams have no real identity or history, so without a local team, I don't really have a rooting interest. 

[Syt]

Even if the championship is decided, teams will still compete for the runner up positions which will get them into the lucrative international competitions the following season.

And the bottom of the table will compete against being relegated down.

So there's still a  lot of relevant jockeying for where a team ends up at the end of the season.

[Josephus]

What Syt said.

Look, some teams now right at the outset they're not going to win the league. So it becomes a matter of trying to make top 6, or avoiding relegation or whatever. There's plenty of reasons to continue playing and supporting long into the season.

[Josquius]

It is weird though how much fans have bought into the commercial sides push to finish a space higher in the league rather than win a tournament

[Grey Fox]

What tournament isn't just a cash grab anyway?

[Sheilbh]

Even if the championship is decided, teams will still compete for the runner up positions which will get them into the lucrative international competitions the following season.

And the bottom of the table will compete against being relegated down.

So there's still a  lot of relevant jockeying for where a team ends up at the end of the season.

Yeah. I think there's a point where it shifts though.

So there's the historic big clubs - Rory Smith did a piece on this today - across Europe who are maybe doomed miserable because of the weight of their history and their fanbase, but who missed out on the chance to be a superclub in the 2000s. So Everton, Marseille, Kaiserslautern, maybe Lazio.

And there are clubs that get into the top league, get safe and then get bored. I have a friend who's a Saints fan (and I think Stoke went through this) and part of him wants to get relegated because the Championship is more fun - they win games - and being in the Premier League, without their rival or any hope of breaking into Europe gets boring after the first few seasons.

But aside from that you're either a club fighting for survival, aspiring for Europe or on a project - so Burnley and Bournemouth still fall into this category I think where they've been on a journey up the leagues and are wanting to settle. At some point they'll probably slip into the Saints/Stoke category.

It is weird though how much fans have bought into the commercial sides push to finish a space higher in the league rather than win a tournament

Yeah. I feel like the richer super-clubs are taking the cups more seriously than they used to though. Possibly because they now have the resources to basically have two very good teams.

[FunkMonk]

It's interesting to see how all the money being pumped into the Premier League is making the competition fiercer than it was, say, 20 years ago.

At the same time, the league isn't even really "English" anymore. Most of its players are foreigners, the owners of the biggest clubs are foreigners, and the TV audience is mainly foreigners.

As an American I'm pretty happy with having so much more coverage of the league.

[Agelastus]

It is weird though how much fans have bought into the commercial sides push to finish a space higher in the league rather than win a tournament

That's just normal hope though; "if we finish even one place higher we'll have the money to buy that one special player, or hire that one manager, that will lift our team from mediocrity to glory". Despite being a team sport football is also one of the last places where "the great man of history" theory holds sway.

Even if only due to the self-promotion of those involved - for example Jose "the special one" Mourinho.

[Syt]

Rivalries also play a role. "At least we finished ahead of ...!"

[Sheilbh]

I didn't think Everton fans could love Duncan Ferguson any more

[Agelastus]

I didn't think Everton fans could love Duncan Ferguson any more

Yes, well done. Nice to see Chelsea drop a little further off of the leading group, and I really don't want to see Everton relegated.