Football (Soccer) Thread

[Sheilbh]

To be completely honest, I've come around on the super league. I want it to work out.

I'm tired of UEFA and FIFA. I'm tired of nation-states buying success. I'm tired of the English FA and PGMOL. We have a chance now to remake the world anew and I'm here for it.

I get a lot of this but in a weird way it makes me like the competitions that are least like a Super League more. I've really enjoyed the Europa League and European Conference League precisely because they seem like a good mix of teams, there's different styles and fun days out for fans. It seems to me like that's where what European football "should be" to me is happening.

A Super League is just more of what's already happening in the Champion's League. Barca v Real v PSG v City v Bayern v Juventus stamping on the human face forever.

It's why I wish Kobenhavn and PSV all the very best.

It's also why my proposed solution to European football isn't a super-league but conferences - probably on North-South lines (not sure what to do with France) or East-West. So on one side you have the English and German teams but also the Baltics, Nordics, Benelux, Poland, Czechia etc; on the other Spanish and Italians but also Portuguese, Balkan etc. Chances are you'd still get an English/German v Spanish/Italian (and French wherever they fall) final - but there'd be the potential for more fun routes there and more of a possibility that a club from outside those leagues does a run. Plus multiple "finals" which should please UEFA.

In the US you either make it or you don't. Sure there's minor leagues, but nothing like the purgatory of hope that soccer has. Think it makes the life of a tradable commodity more equitable.

Yeah and then you do get the odd story like Jamie Vardy from League 2 to Premier League champion or Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu at Luton who's gone with the same club from non-league to Premier League, which is extraordinary. Football is very good at hope (that will not be fulfilled)

[HVC]

The comparable likelihood for the nhl is being pulled from the fan seats to play goalie for a game when both goalies on the team get injured. Which does happen very very rarely and fans love. Unless your team loses to the beer league guy. Stupid leafs

*edit* but that guys not being pulled along by hope of making it big. I don't even know if he gets paid to attend games, but he's there just in case

[Sheilbh]

The comparable likelihood for the nhl is being pulled from the fan seats to play goalie for a game when both goalies on the team get injured. Which does happen very very rarely and fans love. Unless your team loses to the beer league guy. Stupid leafs

This is like when a team has made all their substitutes and their goalie has to come off (red card or injury) and one of the outfield players has to put on the gloves. And I love it

I think Giroud had to do it recently in a Milan game and actually acquitted himself pretty well - https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/oct/09/giroud-goes-in-goal-shuts-eyes-saves-day-milan-serie-a.

[FunkMonk]

They need a rule where in random games, a random fan from the stands is picked to be the center ref. 

[HVC]

The comparable likelihood for the nhl is being pulled from the fan seats to play goalie for a game when both goalies on the team get injured. Which does happen very very rarely and fans love. Unless your team loses to the beer league guy. Stupid leafs

This is like when a team has made all their substitutes and their goalie has to come off (red card or injury) and one of the outfield players has to put on the gloves. And I love it

I think Giroud had to do it recently in a Milan game and actually acquitted himself pretty well - https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/oct/09/giroud-goes-in-goal-shuts-eyes-saves-day-milan-serie-a.

Just want to say this guys a good sports writer. You can feel his excitement.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah part of a team of some very good writers the Guardian has for some European leagues. I love Sid Lowe on Spain and her on Italy - two of my favourite sports writers. Not sure who they've got for Germany

On the podcast it's normally her, Sid, Archie Rhind-Tutt on Germany and Philippe Auclair on France and they're very good.

Edit: Eg Sid Lowe being great too - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/dec/21/antoine-griezmann-makes-atletico-history-to-complete-redemption-story-la-liga

[HVC]

Oopsie. she's a good sports writer.

[Jacob]

To be completely honest, I've come around on the super league. I want it to work out.

I'm tired of UEFA and FIFA. I'm tired of nation-states buying success. I'm tired of the English FA and PGMOL. We have a chance now to remake the world anew and I'm here for it.

I agree with you about "nation-states buying success", but how is a hypothetical super league going to change that? It'll only mean that the whatever oil-sheikhdom buys a super league club will have their investments better protected because they don't have to worry about making the CL.

[Syt]

To be completely honest, I've come around on the super league. I want it to work out.

I'm tired of UEFA and FIFA. I'm tired of nation-states buying success. I'm tired of the English FA and PGMOL. We have a chance now to remake the world anew and I'm here for it.

I agree with you about "nation-states buying success", but how is a hypothetical super league going to change that? It'll only mean that the whatever oil-sheikhdom buys a super league club will have their investments better protected because they don't have to worry about making the CL.

... which means they can put more money into it, because there's less risk involved, meaning they might be able to drain the "legacy leagues" of talent.

[FunkMonk]

To be completely honest, I've come around on the super league. I want it to work out.

I'm tired of UEFA and FIFA. I'm tired of nation-states buying success. I'm tired of the English FA and PGMOL. We have a chance now to remake the world anew and I'm here for it.

I agree with you about "nation-states buying success", but how is a hypothetical super league going to change that? It'll only mean that the whatever oil-sheikhdom buys a super league club will have their investments better protected because they don't have to worry about making the CL.

Honestly I don't know and what you say makes complete sense so I must rethink my support 

But I think where most of my frustration lies is with how little UEFA/FIFA/the English PL seems to care about protecting the game and its players. Their rhetoric about protecting traditional football league structure is laughable considering who they are and what they've done.

At the end of the day I just want what's best for the game (and for Arsenal Football Club  )

[Syt]

To me it seems primarily a fight about who gets to control and get the major share of revenue streams like in most other businesses. That it happens to be football is coincidental.

[Duque de Bragança]

Question for euro hockey, is it set up like in NA with main teams and farm teams, or like soccer with different leagues and relegation. I know a lot of players who can't make it here go to Europe, so got curious.

If you are looking for that, then the KHL would have been your thing. Problem is, it was mostly Russian and that's a problem since 2022.

Otherwise, it's mostly like football with some teams playing in another country, such as a South Tyrol/Upper Adige team  playing in Austria's EBEL    , along with a Slovenian and a Hungarian club. 

[FunkMonk]

To bring this thread properly back to Arsenal, yesterday was the four year anniversary of Mikel Arteta's appointment as manager of our esteemed club.

Below was my prophetic response from back then:

Arsenal have appointed Mikel Arteta's immaculate hair as their head coach and I'm chuffed.

How did I know he was the man to take Arsenal back to its proper place as one of the favorites to win the league? I don't know but I guess you can consider me a footballing Nostradamus.

Also please ignore the several times I called for his sacking here in this very thread. Obviously I was being overly emotional, as all football fans tend to be.

[Sheilbh]

Arsenal fans emotional and knee-jerky

Edit: That also means it's about 4 years since we appointed Ancelotti and shortly afterwards in the covid season had James Rodriguez join and play fabulously, which I still can only really understand as some sort of fever dream (helped by the fact that most of it was played behind closed doors). Followed by Rafa Benitez Followed by Frank Lampard

[FunkMonk]

I remember thinking that maybe we might go for Ancelotti after Emery flamed out, just to have someone with real experience come to right the ship. I think Arteta was my second choice iirc.