The Footie Thread

[HomerJSimpson]

I used to love going to away matches...even in a period when Newcastle were utter dross (pre-Keegan). Used to love the train into London (I lived in the East End in them days) crossing over London to whatver train station I needed, a few beers in the station bar before catching the train to onward destination.

The crack in the bars on a Saturday lunchtime was excellent, loads of proper football fans on their way to watch their team, loads of banter, rarely any trouble....the joy of Saturday 3pm kickoffs....something perhaps not experienced much these days by most Premier League fans.

Favourite away grounds in them days were Upton Park...not a long journey for me but always a great place under floodlights...and Leicester's Filbert Street....great old stadium with wooden floorboards....could make an absolute racket.

I used to think that you couldnt get a worse ground than Plough Lane but then a couple of mates and myself went to Prague for a weeks cultural visit and we went to watch Viktoria Zhizkov one Sunday morning.

Oxfords Manor Ground was nearly at the same level and if it had been a proper league ground then I'd also include Bath Citys Twerton Park ( when Bristol Rovers shared it) as a place not to visit again.

Random memories, some good, some not so....

Having a 90+ yo woman, scrubbing her doorstep like the ladies of old used to do, turning to look at me in my Toon shirt, spitting in my general direction and telling me to <infraction> off you Geordie <infraction>

The joy of baiting a particularly fat Bristol City fan in the main stand who stood out due to his bright lemon yellow tee shirt barely stretched over his belly for the entirety of the 2nd half (it was an utterly dire match won by a solitary goal by Junior Bent). Equally the joy of seeing dozens of mounted police and dogs charge into the City fans as they attempted to attack us from out of the local park and watching said lemon shirted fatty carted away.

Nearly getting arrested as Mickey Quinn buried a third goal at Brightons Goldstone Ground....they were top of the league with a Won 6, Drawn 0 Lost 0 home record with a goal difference of about 15-2. I was on my way for a wee when the attack mounted, paused on the stairwell and when the ball hit the net grabbed the nearest person to me hugged them and planted a kiss on their cheek....unfortunately the person I'd grabbed was a WPC who was about to try to get me off the stairwell. Luckily she and her colleagues (on a rare occasion) saw the funny side.

Boring police (humourless gits) breaking up a conga at Swindon (same day Australia beat England 12-11 in the Rugby World Cup final) which stretched from the main stand, around the corner to the end and behind the goal.

A Chelsea fan trying to pick a fight with me on the tube home from a midweek League Cup match....he had one leg in plaster and was struggling around on crutches but still wanted to fight!!

Finally, getting off the train at Leicester one Saturday afternoon...only two other Newcastl fans got off the same train, the police looked at us and said....only the three of you on this train....wait here. Two minutes later we were sat in the back of a Black Mariah being given a lift to the game!!!

Just a few memories, as I'm sure all of you who have regularly travelled to matches will have of your own.

Thanks for sharing. Having done 80+ grounds I've my own fair share but like you one of the biggest bits was meeting up with fans from other clubs on their way to their respective matches at various London terminus and then seeing the stragglers coming back as you finally got in from the likes of Sunderland, Scunthorpe or Carlisle at a stupid time and had that roulette of being in time for the last tube, in my case the Northern line back to Morden or missing it and having to scrabble around for a night bus with the jeopardy of not having enough cash left for that

 

[fundy]

Go to Germany they said, guaranteed trophies they said....

 

[Swango1980]

Go to Germany they said, guaranteed trophies they said....

Yeah, but I still think Dier made the right choice

 

[Pin-seeker]

The Champions league is so poor now.
What’s happened to all the big clubs??

 

[Tashyboy]

The Champions league is so poor now.
What’s happened to all the big clubs??

To be honest I find it refreshing that the ” Big clubs” are being challenged. Might not go down well with UEFA who probably like viewing figures to be higher

 

[Pin-seeker]

To be honest I find it refreshing that the ” Big clubs” are being challenged. Might not go down well with UEFA who probably like viewing figures to be higher

Yeah I preferred it when Barca,Milan,Juventus,Bayern…. We’re all good.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

On the day the Man Utd squad from last year was deemed the most expensive team in football history , it seems they have made an official approach for Dan Ashworth, Director of Football at Newcastle. Sensible move, he did a great job at Brighton and is doing a similarly good job at The Toon.

I am slightly surprised that he is looking to go. Toon will give him more freedom and time to get things done and they are clearly building something. Utd have been a mess for a while and he is going to have his work cut out. Saying that, FFP will not hinder him there so maybe that was a selling point for him.

 

[fundy]

On the day the Man Utd squad from last year was deemed the most expensive team in football history , it seems they have made an official approach for Dan Ashworth, Director of Football at Newcastle. Sensible move, he did a great job at Brighton and is doing a similarly good job at The Toon.

I am slightly surprised that he is looking to go. Toon will give him more freedom and time to get things done and they are clearly building something. Utd have been a mess for a while and he is going to have his work cut out. Saying that, FFP will not hinder him there so maybe that was a selling point for him.

thats only until they update the city data from 2022 isnt it lol

 

[Lord Tyrion]

thats only until they update the city data from 2022 isnt it lol

I'm not sure. It is just a piece running on the BBC sport website. I do know it didn't include Hojland, Onana and Mount, with few going the other way for any sort of return, so it is not likely to improve next year. Money well spent

 

[fundy]

I'm not sure. It is just a piece running on the BBC sport website. I do know it didn't include Hojland, Onana and Mount, with few going the other way for any sort of return, so it is not likely to improve next year. Money well spent

assuming its the same one i read theres a big asterisk next to Chelseas which is 2 years out of date!!!!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

assuming its the same one i read theres a big asterisk next to Chelseas which is 2 years out of date!!!!

Yes, they could well win the prize after last years frenzy.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

On the day the Man Utd squad from last year was deemed the most expensive team in football history , it seems they have made an official approach for Dan Ashworth, Director of Football at Newcastle. Sensible move, he did a great job at Brighton and is doing a similarly good job at The Toon.

I am slightly surprised that he is looking to go. Toon will give him more freedom and time to get things done and they are clearly building something. Utd have been a mess for a while and he is going to have his work cut out. Saying that, FFP will not hinder him there so maybe that was a selling point for him.

Dan Ashworth did well at Brighton , there are a number of signings they made that are being credited to him which he wasn’t involved in - the likes of MacAllister and Bruno etc

But his best signings are prob Mitoma and Caicedo , Botman and Isak are doing ok as well

Interesting to see how the reaction is because I’m not sure if the cheap and cheerful looking to develop type signings is something that appeases rhe clubs fans at Man Utd

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Palace about to sack Hodgson. I was hoping that would happen on Tuesday morning . When you listen to him speak at press conferences he really has not read the memo about what to say, how to say it etc. He just doesn't give fans much hope and that does not help his cause, along with not winning matches of course.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Palace about to sack Hodgson. I was hoping that would happen on Tuesday morning . When you listen to him speak at press conferences he really has not read the memo about what to say, how to say it etc. He just doesn't give fans much hope and that does not help his cause, along with not winning matches of course.

Crystal Palace have lined up Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner to take over if they decide to sack Roy Hodgson as pressure continues to grow on the 76-year-old. (Sky Sports). He has done a good job with Frankfurt so I think it would be a decent appointment if it is accurate

Have to say this seems a coincidence but hope he is ok https://www.skysports.com/football/...d-as-the-76-year-old-is-taken-ill-in-training

 

[nickjdavis]

On the day the Man Utd squad from last year was deemed the most expensive team in football history , it seems they have made an official approach for Dan Ashworth, Director of Football at Newcastle. Sensible move, he did a great job at Brighton and is doing a similarly good job at The Toon.

I am slightly surprised that he is looking to go. Toon will give him more freedom and time to get things done and they are clearly building something. Utd have been a mess for a while and he is going to have his work cut out. Saying that, FFP will not hinder him there so maybe that was a selling point for him.

Plus he's a mate of Dave Brailsford from the Ineos cycling team who are owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Lets hope the club negotiate a substantial fee for his release....even bigger if Man U want him to start work right away. Must be worth £20mil to Man U to have him in place for the summer window....otherwise lets hope he's got a very big garden to keep him busy.

In other Toon related news, opposition clubs can breathe easy over the next few weeks as the Magpies will take to the field without a recognised striker, after Callum Wilson underwent surgery on a Pectoral muscle injury that will keep him out for 12 weeks.

I tell you...if he was a horse he would have been shot a long time ago.

 

[nickjdavis]

So it seems that Microsoft co-Pilot (like a Chat GPT thing) has the ability to wind back time...

Alexander Isak, the talented forward for Newcastle United, has been dealing with a groin injury. Fortunately, there’s some positive news: he is on track to return soon. While he missed the recent match against Nottingham Forest due to the injury, there’s hope that he might be available for the upcoming Premier League game against Luton Town.

I have to disappoint the system and advise it that Isak missed the Luton Town match..... which was played 7 days before the Forest game.

 

[Billysboots]

Interesting to see how the reaction is because I’m not sure if the cheap and cheerful looking to develop type signings is something that appeases rhe clubs fans at Man Utd

I’m not sure any United signing will ever be cheap and cheerful. Other clubs have been bending us over for years because the manner in which we have conducted ourselves in the transfer market has meant that selling clubs repeatedly have our pants down.

The first thing I think most United fans will want to see is a structure allowing a professional approach to transfer dealings, which in turn will bring a stop to clubs holding us to ransom. We MUST stop paying ridiculously overinflated prices for players.

Once that structure is in place, I then hope that a planned approach is adopted. Decide how we want to play (I’m still not sure), then identify potential signings to fit into that style and try to recruit them. I’d rather they were young players who the club can develop, but they must be integrated with experienced players alongside them - either those players already there, or established players brought in from elsewhere.

But PLEASE, no more overpriced players towards the end of their careers commanding ludicrous salaries. Those days have to stop.

 

[paddyc]

If Brentford could shoot Liverpool would be 3 down by now.Shocking efforts.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Tricky away game at Brentford but some very clinical finishing and solid work ended up a comfortable win

Gutted for Jones and Jota - hopefully the injuries aren’t as a bad as they looked

Not sure what’s worse - the drivel that Joe Cole comes out or the drivel that Jenas comes out with

Great to see Mo back and scoring and assists - he imo is alongside the greats that have played in the Prem, certainly one of the best imports

 

[PJ87]

Think we know why Phillips never got a game for city

2 goals he's been responsible for in 4 games and now a red