The 2024-2025 Football Thread

[laptech]

Utd successfully appeal Bruno's red.

Greenwood is living his best life, partner forgave him, new kid with her. Signed for a european club and doing well and being paid handsomely. Barca knocking.

And Barca are a club desperate for good players to prevent Madrid completely dominating them.

After the Barca women 10-1, we get a Dortmund-Celtic 7-1 and Celtic continue to remind the world their level in the UCL.

Your post shocked me when I read it, the parts in bold. I was like 'what the hell' so I checked it out and yep the girlfriend who accused him of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behavior and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, provided the police and the courts with evidence of such and who left him and said she never wants anything to do with him is now actually back with him AND has given birth to their first child. I'm sorry but is that woman ill in the head? OR was it a twisted evil scheme to get him out of his contract at United because both of them wanted to get away from Manchester and the UK to experience life abroad in other countries.

apologies for the rant

I honestly did not know about the situation with his girlfriend (his accuser). It now makes sense why PSG, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are after him because the way his accuser has taken him back and even given birth to their child it would appear as it's a case of all sins are forgiven and thus there is no problem in having him as one of their players.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Not the forum for this but many (mostly) women take back or go back to abusing partners again and again. It’s a sad story that is far too common.
But well beyond the scope of this discussion to go into the many reasons for this.

 

[laptech]

Not the forum for this but many (mostly) women take back or go back to abusing partners again and again. It’s a sad story that is far too common.
But well beyond the scope of this discussion to go into the many reasons for this.

I do not want us lot to go into discussion about it but I did want people to recognize my disgust on the matter after reading a post about the player that I did not know about, that's all. It would not have been fair to the poster if I had put a negative reaction response because the posts contains other things as well that were not negative.

Anyway normal service to be resumed

 

[pachyderm]

OK, that make sense, as Zlatan is some kind of Senior Advisor in Milan these days.
Regardless of how a good footballer he was, he always felt suspicious to me 😂

I've always felt he was shady AF...

 

[laptech]

Zlatan is a trained martial artist also (or so I've heard). I wonder what would have happened if it was him that judo/karate kicked that football fan instead of Cantona lol

 

[Lioness~]

I've always felt he was shady AF...

He surely looks that way - I agree 100% - and he looks shadier as he grows older too, and I bet he like that.

But I think Zlatan is ok - his partner, Helena Seger, keep a real good check on him, and always have been. She's a known business woman and philanthropist, 9-10 yrs older then him.

He had a big ego on the field, nothing new abaout that, but he was also a good teamplayer. He have been ranked as the biggest football-player ever in Sweden - who also made most goals in the National Team, ever.
I watched the ceromony when he was given thanks for his service and for his 62 goals and 121 matches in the national team, and at that time I realiced what he really meant for Football in Sweden.
Honestly, it took a long time before I liked Zlatan myself, but I really respect him today.

If he have been involved in something shady in Milan that would surprise me, a lot.

 

[daneoni]

Emery delivers another masterclass as Vila beat Bayern and now Villa 6pts on the board from Milan and Bayern.

Bayern weren't great. Too much pass pass pass with very little incision. Got lucky with some decisions too. Kane should've been booked and Upmecano sent off

Meanwhile Real also lose against Lille, ending a 36-game unbeaten run. And Juventus beat Leipzig despite being down to 10 men

 

[Apple fanboy]

Emery delivers another masterclass as Vila beat Bayern and now Villa 6pts on the board from Milan and Bayern.

Bayern weren't great. Too much pass pass pass with very little incision. Got lucky with some decisions too. Kane should've been booked and Upmecano sent off

Meanwhile Real also lose against Lille, ending a 36-game unbeaten run. And Juventus beat Leipzig despite being down to 10 men

I think he's a great manager. He has really turned Villa into the best of the rest in the League behind the greedy six (well not always behind!).

 

[timber]

Emery delivers another masterclass as Vila beat Bayern and now Villa 6pts on the board from Milan and Bayern.

Bayern weren't great. Too much pass pass pass with very little incision. Got lucky with some decisions too. Kane should've been booked and Upmecano sent off

Meanwhile Real also lose against Lille, ending a 36-game unbeaten run. And Juventus beat Leipzig despite being down to 10 men

Despite the poor weather we also had quite a nice evening in Lisbon against Atlético Madrid.

 

[pachyderm]

oops

0 - 0

meh... I'll take it...

 

[timber]

Probably not well known in the UK but currently FCPorto is going through very serious financial problems.
The team is managed by the previous manager assistant.
They had to choose very carefully the few reinforcements that arrived and parts of the team are known to be at a subpar level, not by incompetence but plain lack of resources.
They are well coached but in several serious games this year their difficulties were there to see.
This is the team that faced Manchester United.
The waste and incompetence is out of this world.

 

[brucemr]

Probably not well known in the UK but currently FCPorto is going through very serious financial problems.
The team is managed by the previous manager assistant.
They had to choose very carefully the few reinforcements that arrived and parts of the team are known to be at a subpar level, not by incompetence but plain lack of resources.
They are well coached but in several serious games this year their difficulties were there to see.
This is the team that faced Manchester United.
The waste and incompetence is out of this world.

Thanks for the Porto story. Man. U. blew a 2-0 lead. And Bruno got his 2nd red card this week! Man U. lucky to equalize score in last minute.

looking forward to watching them play Aston Villa this weekend.

 

[laptech]

Probably not well known in the UK but currently FCPorto is going through very serious financial problems.
The team is managed by the previous manager assistant.
They had to choose very carefully the few reinforcements that arrived and parts of the team are known to be at a subpar level, not by incompetence but plain lack of resources.
They are well coached but in several serious games this year their difficulties were there to see.
This is the team that faced Manchester United.
The waste and incompetence is out of this world.

Is it really THAT bad at Porto? and their subpar team just showed United, a team that has spent millions in the transfer window just how pathetic they are when they can't hold a 2-0 lead against a team who is meant to be a lot worse that United.

 

[timber]

They aren't in danger of closing or anything like that but yes, budget is very tight.
They were also under Fair Play UEFA intervention until quite recently (those rules that are supposed to reign on predator petrodollar clubs)
The worst part is probably the defense which is smart because they aren't usually too pressured in the League but it shows in more important matches.

 

[pachyderm]

vs

 

[Apple fanboy]

My favourite Man Utd story this week. Ten Hag explaining he took Rashford off because he needs rest before their game with Vila. As Villa played earlier in the week than they did.

Well that’s because they are in Europes premium competition. Utd are just playing in the lower tier.

 

[laptech]

My favourite Man Utd story this week. Ten Hag explaining he took Rashford off because he needs rest before their game with Vila. As Villa played earlier in the week than they did.

Well that’s because they are in Europes premium competition. Utd are just playing in the lower tier.

aaawwww the old man Rashford, earning millions a year and is not able to play a full 90 mins of football because he needs his rest 🤣🤣

 

[Silencio]

Honestly hope United gets battered this weekend and ETH gets put out of our misery. The defensive tactics are absolutely horrendous, though I think a lot of the problem stems from having to play an inverted left back. An interim manager can't fix that — Shaw and/or Malacia need to get fit again. Knowing the tenuous fitness of those two, I have no idea why INEOS couldn't reinforce that position over the summer.

 

[laptech]

Honestly hope United gets battered this weekend and ETH gets put out of our misery. The defensive tactics are absolutely horrendous, though I think a lot of the problem stems from having to play an inverted left back. An interim manager can't fix that — Shaw and/or Malacia need to get fit again. Knowing the tenuous fitness of those two, I have no idea why INEOS couldn't reinforce that position over the summer.

They did have a perfect stand in, one of their academy players who has played for the under 23's, Alvaro Fernandez. He is a left back player but United got rid of him this summer who is now doing wonders at Benfica in the left back position.

Fury as Man Utd youngster 'sold for peanuts' gives Champions League masterclass

He is stealing the show in a position United are having major problems in.

metro.co.uk

It beggars belief why ETH let the guy go. The club is struggling badly in the left back position, they have a perfect stand in who is a left back player but they let him go!!!!. now he is doing very good at his new club Benfica.

 

[timber]

Even for our incomparable smaller budget 5 million is not much.
And finding good left backs is not easy.

 

[daneoni]

Honestly hope United gets battered this weekend and ETH gets put out of our misery. The defensive tactics are absolutely horrendous, though I think a lot of the problem stems from having to play an inverted left back. An interim manager can't fix that — Shaw and/or Malacia need to get fit again. Knowing the tenuous fitness of those two, I have no idea why INEOS couldn't reinforce that position over the summer.

I genuinely dont know why INEOS havent sacked him. Whats the point of holding off for 2 games. If he wins the two games then loses the next two what then.

He's already drawn against Porto, and i genuinely fear for Utd against Villa who just had a monumental result in Europe

Either stick with till the end of the season or get rid now and let RVN take over.

 

[laptech]

Personally I think United are trying to keep faith in ETH because they are worried if they sack him there will be calls as to why didn't the club sack him when it was rumoured they would after the FA Cup. As many many fans said, winning the FA Cup should not have allowed him to stay. United had ended the year with one of their worst league performances on record, ETH should have been sacked then. Do they honestly think this is going to be a case of Alex Ferguson version 2? because remember, Ferguson was going to be sacked by United after the FA Cup because the club had failed badly in the league but the team won the FA Cup and the rest is history. Does the club think the same will happen again? because the situations are virtually identical, both teams failing dismally in the league, both teams win the FA cup, both managers are not sacked after winning the FA Cup. Does the club really think ETH is going to do what Ferguson did after winning the FA cup?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I genuinely dont know why INEOS havent sacked him. Whats the point of holding off for 2 games. If he wins the two games then loses the next two what then.

He's already drawn against Porto, and i genuinely fear for Utd against Villa who just had a monumental result in Europe

Either stick with till the end of the season or get rid now and let RVN take over.

I suspect that the answer to your question (which is a good one) lies in the fact that the owners are (a lot) less concerned with success on the pitch than profit in the boardroom.

As far as the owners are concerned, the purpose of the club is to generate profit; success and trophies on the football pitch are an optional (if agreeable) extra, pleasant, but not necessary.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Maybe because they have lined up Gareth Southgate as a replacement, but he's not prepared to take over until he has had a break?

 

[laptech]

I suspect that the answer to your question (which is a good one) lies in the fact that the owners are (a lot) less concerned with success on the pitch than profit in the boardroom.

As far as the owners are concerned, the purpose of the club is to generate profit; success and trophies on the football pitch are an optional (if agreeable) extra, pleasant, but not necessary.

You couldn't be more true. The evidence is clear to see, the sponsors pay more money to sponsor them. Whilst broadcaster deals are limited because of the Premier league owning the rights to televised premier league games, the club is not limited to other games which they show on their own MUTV channel, other cup games, the women's games, reserve games, youth cup games, training videos, interviews and much more. This generates a huge income for the club. Last year it was reported that United's marketing and merchandising profits had increased. All this money coming in year after year whilst the club performs badly year after year. United must be one of the only clubs in the world who can pull in massive amounts of profits on other areas of the club whilst performing badly on the pitch.

It used to be a case of many many years ago that a team performing badly meant tickets sales were down, so was merchandising sales and sponsorship deals were down. United have bucked that trend completely which is why I agree with your post because the Glazers have seen that the commercial side of United is still very profitable if the club does good or bad, thus if they win trophies that's good because it means a bit more money. If they do badly, so what because the fans will still pay to watch them and will still purchase their merchandise.

Just look at the league attendances for the past number of years, United come top every year with attendances close to their stadiums maximum and this is for a club that has continued to perform poorly over the years but yet fans still fill out the stadium to watch them. How many years have fans heard about the dilatating state of Old Trafford? but yet fans still go to the ground even when they know how bad the ground is.

United fans are not punishing the club for their poor performances and that is a problem because they still buy tickets to the game and they still buy club merch. When a club has that much fan devotion it is no wonder the Glazers do not want to give up control of United because it brings the family far to much money.

I remember watching a fan youtube channel 2 years ago that went into financial details of the club and what was astonishing is that the Glazer family have not spent any of their own money on the club, not a penny. It has all come from loans and money created from the commercial side of the club. Such a disgrace in my opinion.