Xabi posted:

Wrong thread.

quote:

Is the balance of power shifting in London?
PUBLISHED: MONDAY, 01 NOVEMBER 2021
The noisy neighbours did it. It cost them trillions, but they did shift the balance of power in Manchester. It got me wondering last night if West Ham might be doing it in London?

They haven’t got the same resources as City. Few have. But what West Ham have got is priceless. They appear to have a team spirit and work ethic that is second to none. And I’m delighted for the man who’s making it happen - David Moyes.

Moyes has found a new home. Somewhere that he feels really comfortable. His players obviously love working with him and everybody in East London is enjoying the ride of their Premier League lives.

Unlike City - this is despite the owners - not because of them. How many times have Mssrs Sullivan and Gold got it wrong? And Ms Brady has made one bad call after another - hiding behind allegations of sexism every time I, or anyone else, pointed it out. No Karen - we’re all responsible for decisions we make - whatever gender we are.

In fairness - the three of them had the good sense to re-employ Moyes after their disastrous decision to replace him with Manuel Pelligrini. ‘He won the title - he must know what he’s doing’ they thought. Er - no. The only surprise is that they didn’t bring in Ranieri as his assistant.

Moyes is a good man. I’ve sat for hours with him here in Qatar discussing what happened at United. He was broken after that experience. Working in Spain was a good idea - but the practicalities were different to the reality.

He knew he’d taken a bad one at Sunderland. Day 1 he text me to say ‘you’re about to see the worst PL team of all time’. How right he was - but Norwich have since returned to the PL!

It took some balls and a lot of self belief for Moyes to give it another go. The Hammers are benefitting big time from his determination. It does make you wonder how much pain United could’ve saved themselves had Mr Ed had bigger balls and a bit more patience.

You could see how much fun Moyes Boys are having every time they scored at Villa. They celebrated together. They smiled together. They hugged together. They’re a unit and something to be reckoned with.

What’s happening in East London is in stark contrast to the turmoil the North London teams have been (and in Spurs’ case still are) experiencing. Nuno has gone. Driven out in double quick time by player power. Or maybe it was more simple than that - an H-bomb. Harry isn’t happy. He’s making that very clear. He’s wearing the jersey but doing little more than putting it on. He’s stinking the place out. Would Spurs have been better off taking City’s £75m in the summer? Right now I don’t think they’d get anything like that for him.

I’m not sure it matters too much who gets the managers job. Levy has tried everything. Perhaps like Mr Ed with Moyes- he’s thinking that he pulled the rug out on Mourinho a bit too quickly?

I’ve said before on this platform - there’s a whole lot of pain still to come for Spurs. They’ve got a wonderful stadium - but no team. Arsenal had a decade just like it after leaving Highbury.

There are signs that Arteta is making things happen. The win at Leicester was a good one. They played well. I hope it comes good. The PL needs a strong Arsenal, but The Hammers are better. Is there a gentle shift of power going on - or can Moyes make it permanent? It’s doing to be fun watching.

I notice that a lot of what’s happening at Arsenal is being credited to their specialist set-piece coach. Honestly. You couldn’t make this up. I mentioned it recently - a long throw or a set-piece at Burnley is old fashioned. When Big Sam or Tony Pulis pointed out the importance of set-pieces they were called dinosaurs. Arteta brings in Nicolas Jover, who used to work at City, and he’a being hailed as a genius.

‘It’s a crucial part of the game nowadays’ says Arteta. Nowadays? Please. It always has been. What he probably means is ‘it’s clever if you have a specialist’.

Apparently, last season, the total proportion of Arsenal’s expected goals generated from set-pieces was 0.14, the second lowest in the league. Now it’s double that at 0.28. Brilliant.

They’ve taken 19 in-swinging corners. 19 outswingers. And seven straight corners. Apparently this unpredictability makes them harder to defend against. Please. Stop it. My sides are aching.

For the record, Burnley have hit 46 inswingers from 47 corners. Brentford 25 out of 30. Liverpool 57 outswingers from 73. Is your head hurting yet?

It’s always been the same. Good delivery is step one. Then get someone on the end of it. It doesn’t need a specialist coach to work that out.

Oh. West Ham don’t have a specialist coach. They’ve got Moyes - and they scored 16 goals from corners last season - more than anyone else. Before Sunday four of their last five goals had come from set-pieces.

Well done Ole. He took the easy options leaving Rashford and Greenwood out - but his changes worked. As I said last week - he had to find a way to get Cavani in. Not that I think we can judge Solskjaer or United on what we saw at Spurs. They were dreadful. United’s next big test is against City. Will Solskjaer ‘park the bus’ - betraying United’s DNA? Hold on - haven’t we been here before? 😂.

Mickolution posted:

From the desk of Richard Keys...

I was going to pick out some highlights from this, but it's all gold.

Mickolution posted:

From the desk of Richard Keys...

I was going to pick out some highlights from this, but it's all gold.

Mickolution posted:

From the desk of Richard Keys...

I was going to pick out some highlights from this, but it's all gold.

Crazy Ted posted:

"They haven’t got the same resources as City. Few have. But what West Ham have got is priceless. They appear to have a team spirit and work ethic that is second to none. And I’m delighted for the man who’s making it happen - David Moyes."

jesus christ

quote:

Moyes is a good man. I’ve sat for hours with him here in Qatar discussing what happened at United

jesus WEP posted:

Also quick reminder that of the teams in the top 8 places, West Ham have only played Man Utd and they lost that game. So while we’re playing well we’re by no means the fourth best team in the league even on current form

the sex ghost posted:

Right thread but Chief O'Brien would definitely have been a plastic Liverpool fan. I haven't finished ds9 so nobody tell me if he wears a crown paints replica kit for the whole final season

c0burn posted:

Backdoor Delivery posted:

Isn't that one of Deadspin's lovely former writers? And whatever happened to Billy Haisley, he was a goldmine for this kind of thing.

Weaponized Cum posted:

gently caress sake

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/us-mens-soccer-world-cup-patriotism/620673/

Eau de MacGowan posted:

A take as hot as ‘if you want england to beat italy you are in fact championing colonialism (just dont talk qbout ethiopia)’

Crazy Ted posted:

If you can't at least laugh your rear end off at Christian Pulisic giving it back to David Ochoa for his "Mexico is the mirror in which the USMNT sees themselves" statement after Ochoa switched from the US to Mexico literally just months ago - he even dressed for the USA this year - there is something misfiring upstairs.

Shrapnig posted:

Sauce?

CyberPingu posted:

Crazy Ted

Shrapnig posted:

hosed up, there's a long standing no homegrown rule itt

quote:

It’s been a great week for British coaching. How good was it to see three of our brightest taking jobs in the PL?

Welcome back Steven. Although I wish you’d taken a bit more care about the manner in which you accepted the Villa job.

I said this on Twitter last week - and I stand by it. Leaving Rangers like a thief in the night was poor. Everybody at Ibrox deserved better - not least the players - who knew little or nothing about your intentions until they saw pictures of you holding up a Villa shirt - and yes - you looked happy! The ‘daft questions’ came later this time

Why leave like that? Why skulk off after being given your big break by Rangers? You later issued a statement saying ‘in time - I hope people understand’. Well they won’t. If you’d done things the right way I’m sure they might have done.

I don’t see Gerrard taking the job at Villa as a gamble for him. It’s Villa who’ve taken the gamble. Just because Steven played for Liverpool and England doesn’t make him a cast iron certainty to make a success of it. Frank Lampard played for Chelsea and England, but he came up short when he returned to The Bridge. I’m not suggesting Lampard won’t yet make a very good coach, but the jury is out. It’s the same with Gerrard. He’s taken on a massive club and he’s totally unproven in England.

There’s no doubting that the job he did at Rangers was first class. If nothing else - he stopped Celtic making it 10-in-a-row, but this is a step up. The last man to make a similar journey failed. It hurts me to say that because he’s a mate. I’m sorry Graeme.

So we wish Steven good luck, but it won’t be a walk in the Villa Park.

What a whirlwind week it was for his predecessor at Villa. Out of one door and in through another almost without breaking step. I’m delighted for Dean Smith. He’s a good man. He got shafted by Villa and deserved better. So he lost five on the bounce. Thomas Frank has lost four in a row, so if he gets beaten at Newcastle on Eddie Howe’s debut, does that mean he’ll be out of work Monday morning? If you follow Villa’s logic it does.

Norwich have finally woken from their long sleep. I still think it’s too late for them to avoid the drop - but it seems they want to have a go. I’m glad I had a go at them a fortnight ago - specifically Stuart Webster and Delia. I’m not suggesting I’m the reason they fired Danial Farke, but isn’t it funny how the sporting director and owners have a panic-up when they find themselves under pressure? 😂.

And that leads us onto Eddie Howe. It’s a warm welcome back Eddie as well. And I genuinely wish Howe good luck - he too is going to need it. It’s great to have another young Brit back in the PL. But, let’s keep it real.

On the plus side Howe is apparently already a much better manager than he was when he took Bournemouth down. Than he was when he didn’t take to managing in Burnley (Newcastle is a bit further north than Turf Moor) or when he didn’t fancy a crack at Celtic. Or the previous regime at Newcastle chose to ignore him time and again. So that’s all good news.

And I’m sorry - but as the face of the new Saudi ownership at Newcastle - Howe can’t duck questions about that regime as he did at his unveiling. It isn’t just ‘about football’ Eddie.

But I guess you’ll find that out when you try to sign players in January. Forget about the likes of Conor Coady and his England colleagues, who’ll be demanding the FA hold Qatar to task on the subject of human rights as soon as they’ve qualified for the WC finals.

Coady has announced that he and his colleagues will ‘use their platform’ to make a difference to the human rights issues in Qatar. Will you Conor? What exactly do you know about human rights in Qatar? Will you use your platform to highlight abuses in Saudi when Newcastle come calling in January - offering to fatten up your bank account? Have you been in touch with Jamal Khashoggi’s widow? No. I thought not.

You see - this is where it gets complicated when pop stars/footballers and the like start to want to get taken seriously - and they forget about the day job.

Marcus Rashford is also a good example of that. What he did to tackle child hunger was wonderful. But leave it there Marcus. Solskjaer was right - get back to you doing what you’re paid for. There’s a need for massive improvement there.

Rashford has made 183 appearances for United and scored 57 goals - one every 3.21 games. Making 46 appearances for England he’s scored 12 goals - one every 3.83 games. For a striker - is that enough?

His MBE was reward for his campaigning - but why was it hijacked by his management team to help ‘build brand’? There was a GQ article, paid for by Burberry, who designed and clothed him in an outfit so he could collect his gong. How does that sit with campaigning on child poverty?

Just pulling on a big shirt isn’t enough. Yes - where you can do good. Influence for better if possible, but never lose sight of your real job lads and in the case of Coady and his England colleagues - be careful you don’t cross the line into territory that you’ve no idea about.

One last thought on that subject - who does Coady think built the party playground of Dubai - and the 7star hotels he and his mates are on the first plane to enjoy whenever they can?

The one-eyed snipers can farke off.
PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2021
Until recently, did the name Josh Cavallo mean anything to you? No? I’m not surprised. Few people outside of Adelaide - where he plays his football - had heard of him, until he came out as gay a few days ago.

The first thing to say is good luck to him in every way. He was brave, courageous, selfless; and I’m not the only one who would wish him continued fortitude and every possible success – the prejudice he faces is sadly not over and across all four corners of the world. I hope his decision also leads to anybody and everybody else currently feeling that they have to hide or deny who they are making the same decision.

Sadly I don’t think a Premier League player will come out any time soon. Being gay isn’t a crime in many countries (many less than you’d think), but there’s still a stigma attached even in places where it is not criminalised. And even with today’s more relaxed - and generally supportive - attitudes, I think we all know that a PL player would get a pretty rough ride from a vocal minority of thuggish fans – perhaps the flare-in-backside and drug-taking yobs who ruined the EUROS in London, but who knows. Anyway, change takes time. For tribal football fans this one is still an issue.

Here’s another interesting question - did you know that being a practicing homosexual man in the U.K. was a crime the last time England hosted the World Cup? Amazing eh? The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 started a process whereby attitudes began to thaw, but research suggests that 15,000+ gay men were convicted in the decades that followed the 1967 liberalisation. Between 1885 and 2013 – yes, 2013 – 100,000+ men were arrested for same-sex acts in the U.K. Surely not? In Britain? Yep. In Britain. And let’s fast forward shall we, how about all those lovely holidays to Barbados, the Maldives, Sri Lanka; a safari in Namibia, or a sports tour to Singapore. Forget 2013 in England – being gay is a crime there today; in fact in nearly 70 of the 190 countries on the planet it is.

Thank goodness social norms are slightly ahead of legal laws, and we’re now at the stage where most people don’t care about two men or women enjoying each other’s company – unless, perhaps, it’s two Premier League or Women’s Super League footballers judging from the current statistics?

Why does any of this matter? Because that’s exactly how it is in the country that I now call home - Qatar - host of the 2022 World Cup. As was the case in England, Qatar will host a WC at a time when being gay is illegal. But do you know what? Few people care. In fact, in my experience, nobody cares. They really don’t. Which is why I found reading this opening paragraph from an article on Josh Cavallo today staggering: ‘The world’s only openly gay top-flight footballer says he would be ‘scared’ to play at the WC tournament in Qatar next year because of the emirate’s harsh ban on homosexuality and legal penalties ranging from flogging to lengthy prison terms and execution’.

What? All of the above is utterly hysterical nonsense – we might as well add eye-gouging and disembowelment to the floggings and executions. And it’s this kind of moronic and sensationalist hyperbole from media that actually denies a proper debate. Much like the “you’ll be banged up for booze at the Qatar WC” – booze will be fully available at WC (and look how booze went down at the EUROS in London – more of that coked-up stadium-storming for the kids to see please, just lovely). Or much like “temperatures will be 50C and players will collapse taking a peno at the Qatar WC Final” – try 25C in peak-day sun in Qatar in a few weeks; and funny how temps approached 40C at the Toyko Olympics but no-one batted an eye lid.

Qatar has already made it be fully and openly known that everybody will be welcome at next year’s WC and at any time - whatever their sexual orientation, colour or beliefs - but that’s an inconvenient fact that blurs the lines of sensational journalism and doesn’t allow for the (most typically) British press to continue to give Qatar a kicking. Often written from a holiday sunbed in Barbados or the Maldives – no comment on the legal systems there – funnily enough.

Nobody pretends life is perfect in Qatar. Where is that the case? How about Rochdale and Rotherham if you want close to home. Or let’s have a look at some of the things Trump incited for four years – leader of the free world, just not for the black community, women, Muslims, or anyone who thinks COVID is real and many who died as a result. There’s a lot of catching up to do in many areas in Qatar - but it’s happening and happening at comparatively lightning speed compared to the West. Change is a process. It can’t happen overnight - 1885-2013 remember for England. The spotlight that’s on Qatar now has brought about many changes and the process will continue. That’s not excusing the past – but let’s not be one-eyed, facts shouldn’t be unequal.

I can partially forgive those that simply regurgitate the same badly researched narrative for clickbait – trying to get a couple more impressions to work up the media ladder. Trump became President of the free world on that ticket, after all. But I do struggle with people like Gary Lineker, who should know better. His classically pious and hypocritical go at David Beckham - whilst promoting himself again - was poacher Lineker at his best. Mr “Squeaky Clean” (ahem) rhetorically asked himself: “Will I do stuff for Qatar in the World Cup? Absolutely not. Whatever they wanted to pay me the answer would be no.” Lineker worked for the Qatari’s for years. He deposited huge sums into his agents’ account at the Queen’s bank Coutts for years. And that’s not including the many promotional gigs that he did – flying Qatar Airways is nice after all.

In fact, had he not tripped himself up with an awful on-air gaff he might still be working with Qatar. This is an area in which I have some experience myself of course. My faux pas never went to air publicly – but one of my colleagues recorded it privately and leaked it to help get rid of another colleague – although that doesn’t make my comments any less crass, which I have the contrition to admit, unlike some. However, fully on-air (not privately) Lineker laughed at a Muslim footballer dropping to his knees and facing Mecca celebrating a goal – something that the likes of Mo Salah does all the time. How hilarious it was to ridicule the individual by suggesting he was “eating grass”. Hmmmmm. You didn’t know about this either? Again, some facts seem to be unequal, or maybe it’s just carefully SEO-managed reputations. Mr Squeaky Clean was told to record an apology - which he did. He was lucky that he had the chance to apologise swiftly - Sky stopped news of my apology becoming public for days, after which point their mission had already been accomplished. Anyway – Lineker’s contract wasn’t renewed.

Is that what motivates Lineker’s anger now? I don’t know – but the one-eyed sniping and hypocrisy just gets exhausting. Qatar won a WC, the English were farked off - as a result of a mixture of incompetence and complete arrogance by those presenting the bid - which was later found to have ‘compromised’ regulations. Another inconvenient truth. What did the Garcia report say about the English World Cup bid, Gary, or the Russia bid or the Australia bid – or let’s only focus on Qatar??

Anyway, none of us are untouchable. If we have opinions we should expect to be questioned – and Gary should be grateful he’s barely questioned, never mind abused online.

As an aside, I’m told the excellent Jake Humphrey is doing a terrific job back home. Good on him – of course he is, he’s a good pro. Curious to see if he’ll be commenting on Newcastle v Sunderland next year – I’ll leave that there for the one-eyed trolls……

Happy international break – take three.