Football (Soccer) Thread

[Norgy]

Short answer, no I can't. Nor would I want to. 

[Jacob]

It's kind of interesting how the "football as a capitalist endeavour" has come to the fore over the years. It's not how I remember it decades ago, though I guess the reality was probably still there under the surface even if it wasn't part of the public discourse around the clubs as much.

I guess it's clear that to stay competitive in the world of sports, you need to excel at the game of capitalism first and foremost.

[Sheilbh]

Although the lesson from football for capitalism is, perhaps, the best way to excel at that game is to be a state

[Jacob]

Although the lesson from football for capitalism is, perhaps, the best way to excel at that game is to be a state

Well, that seems to be the current direction of travel for capitalism - capitalist oligarchs seeking monopolist market capture through government, and anti-democratic politicians claiming large stakes in the capitalist order by wielding their political power. It's the Xi model, it's the Putin model, it's the Trumpist model - and of course Orban's model, and many others besides.

The lights are going out across Europe - across the world - and one of the many canaries in the coalmine was football; suborned to capital, which in turn is largely suborned to despots and wanna-be-despots.

[Norgy]

Maybe I can ask the PM to put some pressure on our sovereign wealth fund to buy Forest? 

[Zoupa]

Man United just lost to a League Two side lol. Are they sacking Amorim? Not sure how you can keep him now.

I hear a certain greek australian coach is available.

[Sheilbh]

Give it Giggsy till end of season day gets earlier every year.

I'm also convinced Amorim benefits from handsome privilege.

Edit: Also I know Grimsby's a fishing town but didn't quite know they were this into it, which makes it funnier (Edit: and, obviously, fantastic for Grimsby):

Grimsby Town F.C.
@officialgtfc
You've been slapped by the fish! 🐟

#GTFC

[Syt]

I thought about watching the match yesterday, but then I looked up what tier Grimsby is at these days and thought, "Eh, not worth it." Damn.

(Grimsby is a name that would come up in 80s football manager games, so I have some fondness for that name. According to wiki they were in Second League during much oft he 80s, which - confusingly - was the second tier at the time, unlike today ).

Bayern also had a cup match against a third tier team (which I likewise skipped). They avoided embarrassment. Bayern led 2-0, the hosts equalized 2-2, but Bayern scored the winning goal in stoppage time (90+4).

[Syt]

While poking around online yesterday evening I noticed that the Austrian FA seems to stream national cup games (I assume not the "big" matches) and women's league for free.

Likewise, there's free streaming of German Oberliga Nord (Tier 4), so it was interesting to browse through some of the (admittedly not so riveting) local matches, but some of my "old flames" are playing there these days, like VfB Lübeck, or Oldenburg.

There's probably plenty such offerings around the world for the low tiers, but didn't investigate much. I do know, however, that DAZN here has a package for streaming the EFL for like 120 p.a.

(Just to clarify, I'm aware that there are other ways to watch, but I'd rather not. )

[Josquius]

Quite a few giant killings lately.
I watched a large chunk of Sunderland's game. They lost to League 1 Huddersfield- you could clearly see Sunderland's team of largely fringe players didn't care and were walking through the game, treating it as a training exercise. The penalties were amazingly casual (until the guy who missed and tried too hard). Huddersfield on the other hand were gunning for it.
Luckily this was overshadowed by Sheffield Wednesday beating local rivals Leeds.

[Jacob]

What's your opinion on Unbiased Scottish Commentary?

[Josephus]

I'm liking the new Champions League format. Some interesting fixtures. Liverpool play both Madrids and Inter.

[Josquius]

Hoping for some superstars being sent north of the Arctic circle.

[bogh]

Yeah, the new format is interesting. We (as in FC Copenhagen) are playing Dortmund, Leverkusen, Tottenham, Barcelona, Napoli, Villareal, Quabarag and Kairat Almaty. Pretty mixed bag...

[Josephus]

Hamrun Spartans became the first Maltese team to ever qualify for the group stage of a UEFA competition. That's a 3 Million Euro payday for a semi-pro team.