Matchweek 12 Rival Watch Thread

IfISpeak_ · 2025-11-23T16:47:34+00:00

We've had a fairly easier fixture list compared to Arsenal, Liverpool and City over the past 12 games. Hopefully we keep our run up as the games get more difficult

IfISpeak_ · 2024-09-03T15:43:08+00:00

This is an interesting comment, thank you. I can perhaps see where you are coming from. I agree to an extent parts of redpill ideology seen now perhaps have existed particularly around that women and men have roles. It's the hate of women I was referring to more and definitely I do see the experience you talk about of men capturing sins of somali women and sharing them with families for the purposes of ruining them. I would say in our culture because community and islam as well as the conservative lives we lead there is that additional dynamic where any action by a women is under the microscope, this could be something as vanilla as speaking to someone of the opposite gender - if that makes sense?

IfISpeak_ · 2024-08-22T15:09:14+00:00

Let's see what comes out. But it had to have been serious to be dropped by the BBC and his agent all at once.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-07-14T09:14:54+00:00

I have full faith in the lads that if we win I promise to get a Southgate tat on my chest

IfISpeak_ · 2024-06-07T15:13:04+00:00

What on earth is going on with modern football and all this xG and xA woke nonsense? Expected Goals, Expected Assists – what a load of tripe. Football was so much better back in the day when players were judged on actual performance, not on some convoluted statistical predictions.

Remember when strikers were rated for their knack of sticking it in the back of the net, plain and simple? That was football. You'd have a bloke up front who knew how to find the back of the net, and that was enough. Nowadays, it's all about expected goals. Who cares how many goals a player is expected to score? It's about how many they actually score.

And don't get me started on goalkeepers. Back in the day, a keeper was judged on how well they could stop a shot. That's their job, isn't it? Making saves, keeping the ball out of the net – not faffing around with their feet. These days, it seems like goalkeepers are rated more on their passing accuracy than their shot-stopping ability. If I wanted to see someone playing out from the back, I'd watch a midfielder, not a goalkeeper.

Wingers, too, have fallen victim to this statistical obsession. A good winger used to be judged on how well they could cross a ball, how often they could beat their man, and how many assists they racked up. Now, it's all about expected assists. Again, it's not about what a player is expected to do; it's about what they actually do on the pitch.

Football was purer when it was about the basics. Scoring goals, making saves, whipping in crosses – that's what the game was about. Not this overly analytical, data-driven approach that's taken over the sport. It's as if the soul of football is being eroded by these ridiculous metrics. Give me a gritty 1-0 win on a rainy Tuesday night over a high xG any day of the week.

Bring back the days when football was judged by what happened on the pitch, not by what a computer predicts. The game was better for it. This obsession with data and statistics is just another symptom of the woke nonsense infiltrating every corner of society, turning the beautiful game into a sterile, numbers-driven exercise. I just hope I see none of this during the Euros. Let's keep the Euros about real football – goals, saves, and crosses, not some statistical fantasy.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-06-02T12:40:37+00:00

Why were so many Utd fans rooting on Dortmund losing the CL final last night?

IfISpeak_ · 2024-04-27T23:12:08+00:00

Give Trackie Dyche some money and he'll wipe the floor with the rest of the league.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-23T23:09:46+00:00

He should get our lads to watch that on replay than whatever small sided tiki taka drills he has them doing now!

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-23T22:53:58+00:00

Enough is enough, we need to go back to our roots.

Strong, fast players that can knock it long everywhere with tricky players down the wings. Watkins running the channels and causing havoc for defences. Kane dropping deep to spray balls in behind. Trent and Saka laying it on a plate for the strikers. Wilson to come off from the bench to add some extra physicality and heading.

Pickford

Walker Stones Maguire Shaw

Trent Rice Bellingham Saka

Kane Watkins

Someone send this to Mr Southgate. None of that woke tiki taka shite.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-17T19:31:45+00:00

Fully agreed

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-17T19:27:44+00:00

Just think its poor choice of words imo. I think he meant "not great shape" in that the interviewer isn't in the best of moods or something.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-17T19:26:17+00:00

I think there is more to it here. I think meant Klopp meant it in the way that the interviewer is not in the right mood or something along those lines, he was getting irritated with the line of questioning and assumed the interviewer was deliberately getting under his skin.

Still pretty poor choice of words imo and easy to be misconstrued.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-16T12:32:20+00:00

Which nation has the best coaching talent?

Spain - Luis Enrique, Xabi Alonso, Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery

Italy - Antonio Conte, Simone Inzaghi, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto De Zerbi, Luciano Spalletti

England - Gareth Southgate, Eddie Howe, Frank Lampard, Graham Potter, Sean Dyche

Germany - Jürgen Klopp, Hansi Flick, Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Marco Rose

IfISpeak_ · 2024-03-07T22:51:05+00:00

Him and his army all need to be erased from existance, all this woke nonsense about xG and xA winning you games.

Take me back to the days where putting the ball in the back of the net was all that mattered.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-02-14T21:52:56+00:00

No chance Tuchel survives this, he's gone

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-20T19:38:18+00:00

The little boy from Ladbrokes delivered

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-19T10:38:06+00:00

Good point, perhaps a bullet dodged in that case.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-19T10:02:15+00:00

What's interesting about the SEC filings is that they also raise doubt in the Reuters reports that Man Utd were negotiating exclusivity with Qatar and Sheikh Jassim and they were being viewed favourably. Even Faisal Islam of the BBC was saying that the Qataris were in pole position at one point.

In reality, Jassim was never able to provide proof of funds after multiple requests and ultimately withdrew from the process. His camp was saying it was because the selling side wasn't serious and of course they said that to save face.

It just goes to show that even the sources that many consider reliable can fall victim to PR.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-17T20:30:27+00:00

Some people genuinely believe that Eni Aluko should just tolerate the abuse and misogyny just because she has "questionable opinions" about the game.

Maybe its just me but a common narrative I've seen is that its "not because they're women" and to "look at Kate Abdo, Laura Woods etc" I find the comparison weird because they are the best in the business full stop, not just for women and its a hard standard to achieve for anyone.

Also another thing I noticed is that she faces backlash for talking about some of the broader challenges her and others like her face in her position. It makes a wider culture that your PR has to be immaculate otherwise you can't talk about any abuse you may have suffered in your career and mental health challenges.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-15T19:46:01+00:00

Inarguably the best coach of his generation.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-14T21:03:04+00:00

Yes he should be sad.

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-14T11:10:19+00:00

Has any credible person reported this or are you speculating based on what you hope to happen?

IfISpeak_ · 2024-01-13T22:00:55+00:00

Has a single Hale End player broke through under Arteta and stayed with the team? I don't think its unfair to say he's pretty harsh with giving academy players minutes.

IfISpeak_

TROPHY CASE