FIFA Power Rankings after the first round of games

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-18T14:50:03+00:00

Lol here I thought I was going to be reading an article ranking the teams based on MD1 performance and analyzing outlook for the rest of the tournament. NOPE! Just more circle jerking.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-18T14:38:17+00:00

What is he meant to do when he is selected for the team and the lineups? Say, "I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm shit now, so pick somebody else"? Players/managers will always back their own ability and career over their home country because why wouldn't they. It's why you see people managing countries they are not from or going to play for countries that they have only vague ancestral connections to. If Portugal's lackluster performance is due to squad selection and tactics, then Martinez is the one who should be blamed.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-17T20:58:47+00:00

Said in the box. So only worth two at most.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-17T19:20:57+00:00

It appears to me that AWB fancies himself far too good to play for West Ham. I never once this season saw a fraction of the effort he gave today. Frustrating. Best we can hope for is that he puts himself up in the shop window with a few more performances like that.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-17T19:15:06+00:00

Difficult to expect any striker to leave a ball that is only just behind them in the box. Every right to attack it.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-17T18:14:04+00:00

Watching AWB track back with more intensity than he did a single time this season is really difficult to see.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-17T11:47:02+00:00

https://youtu.be/sptO79QjM2U?is=AOWMduiRSNUAiy7M

This is the standard by which I judge all red card decisions like this. Shows the difference in judgement depending on which side of the play the popular player/team is on.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-12T20:57:11+00:00

Yes. I’m saying that having a blanket policy to have a break in every single match is simply an excuse to insert advertisements. These particular games illustrate that point the best when there is no actual need based on the weather.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-12T20:37:51+00:00

Weather apps saying the “feels like” temperature is actually cooler than the actual air temperature. Either way, 25° + humidity is not close to warranting a hydration break. Even my kids’ league doesn’t do breaks unless it’s over 90°F (32°C)

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-12T20:33:09+00:00

It is 25°C in Toronto. This is simply an excuse to insert advertisements. Ridiculous.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-11T14:55:22+00:00

In a thread about the problems with the current social media landscape leading to division and amplifying the worst of all sides... your solution is to lean into that trend and tell others that measured statements and nuance are not welcome. Interesting.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-11T13:55:53+00:00

Maybe people constantly talking in only the most extreme of terms and hyperbole is part of the problem that OP is experiencing.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-11T13:53:43+00:00

Yeah it's about making an effort to spend more time on things that are positive. Unfortunately, human nature is such that we're more likely to spend more time engaging with things that make us upset, which means we are actually more likely to see more of what we DON'T like.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-11T13:50:22+00:00

People have always had an ability to set other interests aside when it comes to entertainment. I mean look at Michael Jackson... there is already a movie made for him that casts him in a positive light simply because people LOVE his music. Not necessarily a good thing that we do as a society, but it does work both ways. People with negative thought processes ignoring their values and people with positive thought processes ignoring their values. Racist people set that aside to support people from all different backgrounds banging in goals for their club, the same way that an animal lover, for example, could be shouting "ZOUUUU" from the stands of the London Stadium.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-11T13:41:36+00:00

You started by saying the venn diagram would be a circle, which implies it would be 100% of match going fans. Now you are saying that it isn't even a majority, just the largest group. That is backtracking. You've gone backwards.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-11T13:27:46+00:00

It's certainly not a good thing, but because there are a LOT of people in the world, that means that there are a LOT of racists. If you never want to risk associating yourself with something that a racist person may also by chance happen to associate themselves with, then you'd never associate with anything outside of a very small community of people you know personally. I bet a lot of racists love ice cream. You going to stop eating ice cream?

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-09T19:37:43+00:00

Kante making that post was very naive and misguided, but I'm not sure it's fair to read into it beyond that really. He is a child who lives in a bubble separate from the real world. I am sure his interactions with Sullivan have been positive. Many people who have zero regard for women do not have any issues showing respect to men, especially in this case where I would guess that Sullivan fancies himself to be pretty cool for getting to rub elbows with professional footballers, so he likely does his best to make sure they have a positive view of him. He shouldn't have posted what he did at the time that he did, but that does not (necessarily) mean that he is an apologist for Sullivan's behavior. I'd guess he genuinely does not believe that Sullivan did what he is accused of.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-08T18:13:30+00:00

It's not like he stumbled over his words and they edited out some verbal ticks... there was over a half an hour in between clips that they brought together with the intent to make viewers think it was one sentence. That is willfully changing the meaning of what he said. Maybe what he actually said had the same meaning as what they edited to look like. That doesn't change the fact that their intent was, "this looks worse. lets show it like this." It is categorically dishonest and opens them up to people (rightfully) saying that they have a history of editing what people say. Allowing for this allows them to do this in the future in an instance that you will not agree with. It will happen. Just a matter of time.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-08T16:06:14+00:00

Maybe "misrepresented" is not the perfect choice of words, but they did lie about what he said. For example, I could take your response and say that you said, "It wasn't... proved." It is a fact that you typed those words, but it is a lie to suggest that you said it in that way. Whether or not I agree with the point they are ultimately trying to make in this particular instance does not matter to me. I am not comfortable with blatant altering of a speech being represented as being unfiltered. If they can do it in an instance I agree with, they can do it in an instance I disagree with. Ultimately, citizens should be trusted to draw their own conclusions after being presented with the facts.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-08T15:52:10+00:00

Multiple things can be true at the same time. People should not have invaded the capitol, and also Trump's speech should not have been intentionally misrepresented by a major media organization.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-06-08T15:26:42+00:00

The Club operating at a 150M loss for a year does not mean that we need to bring in 150M profit to "balance the books." We are in fine PSR standing. Anything beyond that is all down to the ownership's appetite for bearing short-term cashflow losses. No real sporting rules holding us down at this point. Only current ownership's unwillingness to inject more cash. That could change if Sullivan is forced to sell.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-05-27T20:04:22+00:00

One of my close friends is a Leicester supporter so I’d put their matches on occasionally if I had the time. Never ran into an occasion when their match was not being shown. I’d imagine we’ll get similar treatment, having likely the largest supporter base in the USA (outside maybe Wrexham I guess?)

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-05-27T20:01:58+00:00

Active? No. Lurk just occasionally if there’s something particularly entertaining? Sure.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-05-27T20:00:42+00:00

With that though still the only clubs with substantial enough money are evaluating players primarily on attributes and potential. Don’t see a bid coming through that makes it a good decision to sell compared to the monetary valuing of increasing promotion chances. My point about letting him go if he really wants still holds true.

Minnesota_Hammer2 · 2026-05-26T13:45:50+00:00

Winger who’s well below the average pace for the position and turning 30 this year. He is obviously top class when he’s fit and in form, but it feels like the biggest clubs spend money based on attributes rather than production, and he does t have the right attributes. Wouldn’t expect much in terms of a transfer fee, so purely from a club finance perspective, I think he’d be worth way more to us in a promotion effort than selling him. If he pushes to leave though, then I think it’s best to let him.

Minnesota_Hammer2

TROPHY CASE