Went to Wrexham match with the triweasel yesterday, as his buddy had extra tickets. Thanks again for hooking me up, and the local burrito (not Del Taco) was awesome!
Warm in the sun, not sure it even hit 80, but the players and referees needed a water break during each half. It was a good 30 minutes line for water, as we saw people around us go and not come back for quite a while. Saw not-Ryan, who was there.
Norway league having discussions about VAR.
Look, if your league isnât important enough to have VAR, then donât have VAR. And especially if youâre not using it as directed. No one will fault you for not having enough money to have enough cameras or properly trained referees and VARs. It is not required by IFAB, but if you DO have them, there are plenty of pages in the LOTG that refer to it.
Sweden has already decided that its league wasnât important enough.
Not sure why FIFA is involved, since most of the new congestion is from UEFA, with its two extra matches for the new Euro League structure>
Teams need to get deeper, so they can rest their stars. In Europe, Home fans donât get upset when the Away player doesnât suit up because of their shitty plastic turf or the 3000-mile trip.
Also, what this should do is make teams decide, âSophieâs Choiceâ-style, which competitions they should simply abandon by playing a team of reserves for the first several rounds. Obviously it would be the Domestic Cups for those in Euro Cup competitions. Treble and quad ambitions will be no longer be discussed.
Vini Jr. contemplating going to the Saudiâs. Yeah, not racist over there.
Fun fact:
Real Madrid would expect to receive VinĂciusâ buyout clause, which stands at âŹ1 billion. The forwardâs contract at the BernabĂ©u runs until June 2027.
The source, close to the player, told ESPN that Real Madrid would need to accept a transfer fee below the value of the release clause for the deal to go through.
How much less would RM take? Would any lesser amount be considered an insult by the ultra-sensitive Vini Jr?
Even a 20% discount could buy a shitload of players.
Meanwhile, the EFL Cup is starting up on Tuesday. No EPL teams yet, but Wrexham is playing at SHU.
More about the extra-long club season about to start (for some it has already) for 12 Euro Clubs:
Wondering if any clubs will get players out of international duty by pulling them off of the last game prior to the breaks? âSorry, heâs injured and he is rehabbing at the club.â Or will they try honestly to have a conversation with the national team for them not play one of the two matches or, if they are friendlies, not at all, or as a 60th minute substitute.
I mean, CAN, MEX and USA wonât be playing any meaningful matches until the WC2026. So why should they play during International Breaks, fly thousands of miles and get even more tired?
Checking rosters for USMNT⊠JUV has Weah and McKennie. Dortmund has Reyna. Yeah, these guys shouldnât go playing friendlies half a world away. Just let them rest.
OK, I need some replies to this, as, TIL, maximum number of replies in a row by the same poster is 8.
This is non-EPL, so:
Real issue is that Club owners and executives are becoming quite comfortable with the current no-consequences status.
However, a total of 22 players were surveyed. Not all that credible (IMO, as an actuary).
Also, Dortmund fans protesting the team because of sponsor.
Oh, and WTF is the point of writing this article:
Next up on ESPN: âWe flipped a coin ten times to find out just how the NYJ will win the Super BowlâŠâ
Just let them figure out this extremely complicated drawing process. THEN we can see the schedule.
And the draw is out! We have reactions to the draw, which looks nothing like our mock draw!
Uh.
Analysis is shitty as usual. the first one on the list MCI:
Analysis: Man City have become Champions League experts under Pep Guardiola, but while their league phase draw could have been worse, it also could have been kinder. They avoided Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in Pot 1, but a trip to Paris Saint-Germain â where they lost in the group stage in 2021 â represents a tough test, even though manager Luis Enrique can no longer call upon Kylian Mbappe.
Wow, could have been worse, could have been kinder. Thanks for that.
Um, 2021 means absolutely nothing today. Heck, even last year doesnât matter today. PSG might be a force, but they are not 2021 PSG and MCI today is not 2021 MCI. Historical anomalies are not data (imo).
Not going to bother with the rest.
My analysis: top 8 get two fewer matches. Bottom 8 get zero more matches (no more dropping to Europa). Middle 16 need to play additional games. So, what do teams need to ensure a top 8 finish?
8 games: gonna guess 20 points. Six wins and two draws. Maybe down to 18 points: five wins, three draws (equally: six wins, two losses).
Once you come to an agreement on the points required, which teams will earn them?
For team #24? 10 points. (two wins, two ties, four losses)
Iâve not done too much thinking about this, so forgive me.
Also, will someone please post so I donât have to keep adding to this one post?
9/16/2026:
Alright, it is Champions League Groups Stage Week.
Note that the Europa leagues play next week.
Oh, and EFL Cup Third Round this week and next. Draw had to be restricted so that CL teams didnât play against EL and ELC teams.
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Very high scoring matches today.
Bayern, Liverpool, and Real Madrid got wins as predicted.
Bayern just steamrolled over Dinamo 9-2
Kane with 4 goals including three on oenalties. His stay with Bayern will really pad his career goal stats.
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Thinking more about the point needs for top 8:
Pot #1 teams should get six wins and two draws. The coefficient (which determines Pot Number) is based on five years of Euro play, so it might or not be an accurate predictor of todayâs teams.
Issue is that there are nine teams in Pot #1, so in a perfect world, there are nine teams at 20 points. Tiebreakers go back to traditional order: Goal Difference, then goals scored, then away goals scored.
So, for the first round so far, âunexpectedâ results, out of 12 matches:
AV (Pot 4) over Young Boys (Pot 3)
S CP (Pot 3) over Lille (Pot 3)
Sparta (Pot 3) over RB Salz (Pot 3)
Bologna (pot 4) draw Shaktar (Pot 2)
And should have had a major unexpected result with a tie in pot 4 Girona vs pot 1 PSG but for a horrendous own goal in the 90th minute
And since goal difference is probably going to determine the 8th place team, Pot #1 teams should be running up the score on Pot #4 teams. Girona might be a surprise team and sneak in to top 24. PSG this year might not be Pot #1 material that their coefficient of the past 5 years indicates.
Regarding playersâ striking: which team would they strike against? The one that pays them generously, or their National team?
I think a playerâs club team and national team need to agree not to play the healthy player one match each, as a start, the club between each international break, and the national team during it.
But neither will agree to that.
Might be easier for FIFA to get club seasons shorter by having a cap on number of Tier 1 teams. Make it 18 across the board instead of 20. Bunde is already there. That cuts 4 matches for 20-team leagues.
And which leaguesâ teams will agree to that?
Iâm surprised more club teams donât have more âinjuriesâ right before the international breaks. I guess that would be a hard secret to keep.
EFL Cup is available on CBSSN or Paramount+.
MCI on P+, while Wycomb Wanderers host AVL on CBSSN.
Set Pieces. These are important, it seems.
What is missing is the defending of said set pieces. Where is the specialist for that?
Atletico fans go all Wife abuser: âLook at what Courtois made us do to him!â
Some jackass on ESPN thinks itâs Impossible for me to figure it out"
Watch video titled:
âITâS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FIGURE OUT!â
Or not. Here is the breakdown for those who cannot figure it out:
In the past, each Group had one team from each of four pots.
Now, each team plays two other teams from each pot. The main thing this does is forces teams in the top pot to play against each other. This makes for more interesting matches, it is hoped.
The fun part of this is that AVL, a top four team in the top league in the world, is in Pot 4. Whoever play them have one more tough game than expected. Like, say, BAY away today.
And I have no idea about Brest, a Pot 4 team that has won their two matches (Pot 4 and a Pot 3), ahead of expectations, might reach #24.
UEFA Coefficients donât really determine current strength of a team.
Pot 1 be the top two of the Top Four leagues plus the top one from the fifth best league.
Pot 2 should be the next two of the Top 4 plus the second best of the 5th League in Pot 2.
Pots 3 and 4 in some similar manner, using country coefficients and not team coefficients.
ETA:
And, oh, my!
Benfica with an ass whoopin of Atletico. 4-0 is a drubbing not usually seen against them.
Portuguese clubs are tough and talented. Prefer when Liverpool play German clubs.