The non-Watford football thread

France win the Nations league cup. Another pointless competition in my opinion, just a money raking exercise. I didn't watch it.

 

With an potentially offside goal given by VAR officials which included Mr S Atwell !

 

Cynic. Are you suggesting the footballing authorities are in it just for the money?

 

No - just the brown paper bags...

I must admit I don't understand the need for the Nation's League cup - nor the new club version which started recently, the name of which escapes me. I wonder what would happen if clubs/countries just said no to entering them?

 

The Europe Conference league which Spurs are in ?

It’s meant to give more teams a chance to play in Europe apparently but no doubt it to make more money from TV revenues etc .

The games in the Nation league are meant to be more competitive than friendlies but again probably down to getting more cash in.

Mind you they will all be under threat if Mr Wenger gets his way and we have a 48 team World Cup every 2 years !

 

I feel the Conference Cup League whatever can only further dilute the seriousness with which European competition is held.

 

It's not the number of competitions which is the problem Andy but the number of teams entering them. In the old days when only Champions entered the old European Cup (apart from the holders that is), and cup winners went for the cup winners cup - with a further couple entering the eufa cup things worked well, and all these competitions had status. The Champions League destroyed European football when it opened up to allow 4 teams from the big leagues to qualify for it, whereas the champions of eg. Belgium and the Netherlands had to go through the qualifying rounds. So a couple of years ago Ajax were having to play PAOK Saloniki (Greek Champions) in the first qualifying round whereas Atalanta Bergamo (4th in Italy) were going through automatically to the group phase. The other mistake is allowing teams to transfer from the Champions League to the Europa League (after finishing 3rd in their group) which gives the impression that the Europa League is the competition for losers. The old system was much better - but the world of money didn't like seeing clubs like Red Star Belgrade and Steua Bucharest getting through to the finals so they eventually turned it into a closed shop.

 

I think the nations league has actually done a good job of making more international matches relevant and competitive. Those games have replaced friendlies, which had lost their status and become entirely meaningless. The Nations League also ensures teams of similar quality play more often, giving something for everyone to play for, whether you're France or San Marino. It's one of the few UEFA innovations I like! Having said that, the structure of it has become rather confusing, in part because of the delay of the Euros because of COVID.

 

I was never a lover of international friendlies either...

Maybe I'm just the odd one out - I really only like club competitions, and only when Watford are playing in them...

 

Unfortunately the addition of a new competition and the additional news that Fifa want to hold the World Cup every two years leads to the conclusion that they are only interested in money and not the welfare of players. It appears that at any given time there will always be an international competition just around the corner - the next World Cup is planned for November 2022 which means that league seasons will continue until June the following year. Clubs with smaller squads will have problems with this. A club like Man City or PSG can afford to rest players after international duty and still put out a Champions League side, smaller clubs can't do this.

 

It may well be that I pray for relegation - or even change club allegiance. To be honest, I get more enjoyment out of watching National League games on BT Sport - or from attending Highland League matches - than from watching EPL games. The latter may not be for the 'purists', but they do at least still provide end-to-end entertainment virtually throughout the game. The only problem is with ground facilities for spectators - they're still very much in the 19th century at most grounds.

 

Not the odd one out at all, BB. Perhaps for me it's old age but I don't think so. Just can't raise much enthusiasm for EPL and definitely not friendly internationals. Completed the Guardian crossword and two ultimate killer sudokus during the England/Andorra game!

 

This appears to be a general trend Theo. I have no interest in the EPL other than the fact that Watford are there, and whilst it's natural to want your club playing at the highest level possible I'd swap everything to go back to how things were in the 80s (minus the hooliganism). I take a great interest in Belgian and Dutch football (my second club is Ajax) because the leagues there are more 'normal' (but then is it really normal to be perpetual feeder leagues for others ?) and because they are geographically close to me. Also German football is more like English football used to be. When it comes to England I could well imagine sticking to lower league football.

 

Please let it happen!!
If there is one club I dislike more than Luton, it's Rangers - their fans are insufferable.


https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/.../barry-ferguson-makes-steven-gerrard-21828832

 

Must admit that I suffer almost as much tension on a Friday night watching Chateaurous in the third tier of French football as I do watching Watford. Another small town club that struggles to get numbers through the gates as Watford did when they were in the lower leagues, yet it has ambition to do better. Most of the players are coming up through the youth teams, some look talented, while others are not even quite up to this level. But they are all putting their all into playing, and the best do get sold on to balance the books. Maybe I feel as I do about them is simply that I remember all those days in the fourth division, and how just as things seemed to be on the up, the best had to be sold. By the way they sacked their manager today.

 

Actually you got me thinking there BB - are there any clubs I dislike more than Luton ? Actually there are and I think the Huns are one of them ! Amongst the rest are Chelsea (really play in Fulham but thought fit to borrow a posher name) because of their fan base of old (and now), Man City for trying to buy the World with Arab money, PSG for the same reason, MK Dons for not being a real club, and Lazio for being followed by so many Fascist twats (the Huns belong in that catagory as well !) Luton are at least poor deluded fools who follow their home town club (even if they are mostly demented). I also have a slight dislike of Ado den Haag fans for burning down the Ajax clubhouse and a liking for Anderlecht fans who paid to rebuild it !

 

Wolves. For so many reasons.

 

Super post, and I tend to agree, although locally there are a couple of racist Luton fans whom I’ve been unfortunate enough to meet.
I would definitely add BB’s Rangers (I bet he’ll hate me referring to them like that - I mean BB’s choice, Rangers, obviously) for the same reason. Vile lot who revel in this right-wing racist sh1t. Funnily enough, the local Luton idiots I referred to, have Rangers as their “second team”.
Millwall for their attack on our family section a few years ago, and cheering of said attack when they saw their thrown seat had smashed the face of a very young kid, leaving it all blooded. Big men.
Tottenham, because my wife and her family are Arsenal, and I’ve seen some horrible stuff over the years that Spuds’ fans have done.
Wolves, yes, currently. Much as Bournemouth were a bit of a current one. But there are stronger reasons with Wolves.

 

This should be a thread on its own.
It seems necessary , in order to be a true football supporter to harbour grievances. Neverton have managed to rack up quite few. 1984 , Chris powell ( although that ewas the ref's fault) and the number of ties e have nearly beaten them - 2-0 up at least twice, only to lose.
But the club I really really dislike the most are Leeds. After Revie tried to destroy football on his own, with the worst attitude to the game I've ever seen , they managed to find Ridsdale - and the completely cr**ked Ken Bates. Isn't Basini Italian for Bates ?

 

There is also a connection between the ultras of Chelsea and Glasgow Rangers Andy, further linked to Linfield and to Rangers buddies Hamburg SV. There are also regular visits between Luton fan groups and those of Beerschot in Belgium. Beerschot are the club most influenced by Vlaamse Bock (Flemish nationalism) politics in Belgium and so they are a good fit for Luton with their EDL connections. Football clubs are the 'face' of a city or community and so at Beerschot, Lierse or FC Bruges you will see many Flemish Lions (Vlaamse Leeuw) on display (the symbol of Vlaamse Bock) - symbolic of far right wing politics, together with anti Communist symbols and Celtic crosses. At Standard Liege or Genk you are just as likely to see flags depicting Che Guevarra on display - Liege is a historically far left leaning city and so it's natural that this would come to expression on the football terraces. Standard Liege have fan friendships with Glasgow Celtic, St Pauli and with Calcio Livorno - all based on political affiliation. .