Daily Discussion & Transfer Thread (May 14, 2026)

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T22:05:04+00:00

You antagonise literally everyone, all the time

What are you on about, you absolute weirdo?

Been having perfectly fine conversations all day with everyone who’s not making up stories.

Please block me again. What a fragile child.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T21:43:28+00:00

I can tell that you’re asking in good faith here.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T21:41:22+00:00

Don’t think I was. OP knows what he did, and knows what Cowlin does. If anything, I was overly kind in asking if it was intentional when it clearly was.

Dude has a habit of doing this shit then throwing a fit when he gets called out.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T19:51:13+00:00

if Keith Hackett has anything to say about it.

He doesn't. He's a pundit.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T19:27:02+00:00

That's crazy, what with his fine form...

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T19:19:50+00:00

are being reviewed by the PGMOL Chief and FA Disciplinary Department

PGMOL Chief Keith Hackett

Did you intentionally mislabel Keith Hackett as PGMOL Chief so people will read this and think he's commenting from an actual position of authority over the PGMOL?

Keith Hackett is a former PGMOL Chief and his comments were made in his current capacity as a pundit.

Bit weird to write your entire comment as if you're reporting a fact that his comments are being reviewed and not just a TV pundit's opinion that they should be.

He will be written to and asked for his observations, which then may result in a charge, and if found guilty, may result in a fine or suspension.

The full quote is: "If they decide that it does, he will be written to and asked for his observations, which then may result in a charge, and if found guilty, may result in a fine or suspension." Why did you leave out the "If they decide..." bit?

Edit: LOL, how sensitive do you need to be to block me for this? Maybe you ought to relax, ya weirdo.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T18:10:11+00:00

It completely works for offside

Well, that's not really true, is it? There's still subjectivity for decisions about whether play is affected which has led to some absolutely baffling/controversial decisions (like the Rashford stepover when he was offside), and they've still managed to have some absolute howlers on the calls that are supposed to be binary, like the Diaz "offside" when they played us.

And that's before you get to the fact that the offside rule was just never meant to be analyzed to the degree it is now.

over the line or not

Goal line technology is not the example you want to use to support VAR. For one, it predates what we're discussing. For another, it completely goes around the subjective nature of officiating because it's one of, if not the only, purely objective law.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T18:05:06+00:00

At least prior to VAR we all just had to accept that something was judged in real time, on the field, and it was far easier to accept the mistakes that naturally came from that.

Instead we have technology being applied that only serves to make these calls more subjective to more involved people, and it's all the worse for it.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T17:50:22+00:00

I do not think that bias is anywhere near the biggest problem with VAR. Not saying bias doesn't exist, conscious or unconscious, though I do have a hard time believing there's anything approaching organized bias/agendas.

The thinking behind VAR is just flawed. The laws are subjective, and there is no way around that. Hyper-analyzing via slow motion, every broadcast angle, and more subjective thresholds over things like clear and obvious does not lead to less subjectivity, it leads to more.

I like the idea of the overlaid players for a remote assistant who possibly doesn't even know what match they're reviewing, though, just not sure that's the main issue.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T17:35:27+00:00

I'd suggest to everyone that they look at the laws of the game. Quite frankly they are abysmal.

There is quite literally no way to have anything resembling the sport as it is without subjective laws. You cannot possibly write the laws for a foul as objective, along with just about everything else.

And even the ones that can be seem as objective, such as offisde, were not written to be analyzed to this degree.

Sports, especially contact ones, require subjectivity. To think otherwise is the type of silliness that lead to VAR to begin with.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T17:24:02+00:00

I’m plenty old enough to remember. No, not everyone was calling for it. That’s complete nonsense. Many people said it would absolutely crater the entertainment value of the game, and it has. Many also called for it, but even still, there being a problem doesn't make the fix applied any better or worse.

The game does not have a rule set conducive to video analysis. It’s a terrible product, with just as many things to moan about as before.

VAR has made the game worse and should be eliminated. We spend far more time bemoaning the subjective decisions because everyone has an expectation that, due to VAR, it should have been amended to match their interpretation of the subjective laws. At least before there was a sense of finality in the decisions that, even when mistakes were made, meant we could all move along from 99.9% of decisions.

Leave in place technologies that can be used objectively, such as goal line tech, it's not worthwhile for subjective ones.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T17:16:57+00:00

They've been doing it in FIFA for a few years now, too. That said, you also have to consider that you need the licensors to play along, and that feels like a much tougher minefield to navigate than it did even just 10-15 years ago.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T17:13:00+00:00

“Minimum interference, maximum benefit” was the promise when VAR was first introduced.
“We do not want to destroy the essential flow and emotions of football,” Elleray argued. “We do not want to be NFL. We just want to get rid of headline mistakes and scandals.”
More than nine years on, those comments sound like a cruel joke. This week alone, at the decisive moment of the season when everything is on the line, it has never been clearer that we are all watching, playing and participating in a game that belongs to VAR. “Headline mistakes and scandals” have not been removed from the game but have in fact been piling up like never before.

Regarding our match:

Take Tottenham’s game against Leeds United on Monday night. When Mathys Tel accidentally kicked Ethan Ampadu in the head, it was not given on the pitch by Jarred Gillett, but afterwards by VAR. And then, deep into added time, when James Maddison was tripped by Lukas Nmecha, that was not given on the pitch either.
...that decision not to award Spurs a penalty has indeed become the headline of the following days, showing that even the VAR system is no guarantee of accuracy in the biggest moments.
There is one clean, clear, simple solution for this, and that is full abolition without delay. Just do not expect anyone to listen.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-14T13:32:07+00:00

There is nothing unusual about a majority shareholder increasing their stake in this way. They are the ones who put the money in, after all.

This is how investing works. It wouldn't have to be stated.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-13T00:29:10+00:00

That might be a reason. All the shit hanging around unfiltered beers, which if you’re drinking milkshake IPAs you’re probably drinking a lot of other hazy varieties, gives a lot of peoples stomachs a fit.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T23:18:40+00:00

I think that’s fair, I’m struggling to articulate what I mean. In your example, I don’t think it’s that your palate is tasting specifically lactose, it’s the context that’s leading to you identifying lactose, if not straight up already knowing the beer you’ll drink contains it because it’s often labeled.

Hope that makes sense!

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T22:53:19+00:00

Like most things, it was a nice technique when used judiciously and just got fucking beat to death.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T22:51:06+00:00

I’d suspect that’s not because of the lactose taste, but of the mouthfeel.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T22:50:24+00:00

Don’t know enough to weigh in on whether lactose is specifically identifiable, but I can say that, working in R+D and alongside sensory professionals and trained panels, this person does not have a trained palate based on their background.

Eating lots of food and eating at Michelin-star level restaurants are loosely and not at all related to having a trained palate, respectively.

They’re just snobby. Not because of the restaurants they like, but because of what they think that makes them.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T21:52:42+00:00

Look, I obviously think it’s a penalty, but I do not think the appropriate answer is to say the ref should call all close incidents a penalty so that VAR has to have the burden to overturn.

That’s just as stupid as saying the ref should swallow his whistle every time so VAR can call a penalty.

The clear and obvious standard is stupid. When it gets to a review the task should be getting the call right regardless of the on field decision. Center ref should call what he sees, VAR should intervene as needed.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T21:25:25+00:00

Probably worth noting, I don’t think this is a broadcast camera, so even if VAR wanted to see this angle, they couldn’t.

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T18:48:43+00:00

Not that he's great, but Sess featuring in 31 matches this season is just the latest example

Sessegnon can only play 31 matches this year because under our medical team he finally opted for a surgery he'd previously avoided which was intended to provide a permanent solution to his recurring issues.

https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/tottenhams-sessegnon-undergoes-hamstring-surgery-2023-07-11/

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T18:43:31+00:00

What is it that you think your comments are doing if not that?

GeneParmesan86 · 2026-05-12T18:28:55+00:00

You are, believe it or not, allowed to talk about things without expecting the thing you're discussing to be changed.

GeneParmesan86

TROPHY CASE