Other games (2024/25)

[leffe186]

1 hour ago, Cronky said:

 

I don't know. They've got some good players and there's a blend. It's easy to forget that at the time when Conte threw his tantrum last season, they were in the top four. And Postecoglou has the air of someone who can keep his own and his players' feet on the ground. And they don't have the distraction of Europe, which is a big advantage.

 

Maddison is the key. He's always been a class act, but now he's with a team that is usually better than the opposition and he has more time and space, he's creating havoc. If they can keep him fit, they have a chance.

 

I'm ABC - anyone but City. I just wish the Metropolitan media would tone down this love-in with Postecoglou. It's getting irritating.

 

 

Yeah, if it’s any consolation it’s irritating for us too. As The Fighting Cock podcast boys said, it’s like “fuck off, he’s ours, you can’t have him”. It’s faintly absurd because at its root it’s just because he’s a clever bloke who’s lived a  relatively normal life. That’s apparently revolutionary.

 

All joking aside, you can see the issues. The nice thing is that Ange was clearly pissed with how we played in the second half. He’s been lucky to pick up the reins of a squad that had just enough players with the characteristics to make his system work, plenty of youth and adaptability, a couple of genuinely top class players already there and a couple of genuinely top class players coming in. And a really nice fixture list, which makes a huge difference at this stage.

 

It’s exciting for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is the knowledge that it should get much better when he’s had a couple of transfer windows. We obviously need some luck - there’s half a dozen positions where there’s essentially no adequate replacements. It’s so early in his tenure.

 

But we know that. That’s why it’s funny watching other fans chiding us for thinking we’re in a title race, for being lucky, for having easy games, even for having fun FFS. Villa are a year ahead, you guys are two years ahead, Arsenal are *counts on fingers* four years ahead of us in transitioning to a new manager and set-up. And yet, here we are. 
 

It’s particularly hilarious seeing the copium from Arsenal fans. They were so excited about their rebuild, about finally stepping out of Wenger’s shadow, about finally throwing enough money at the wall that it stuck, and finally getting a world-class kid through the youth programme to build around. And finally finishing ahead of us after six years. And overnight…this.

 

It’s probably not gonna last - we’re still building the foundations. If the luck continues though and if we get January right, then we’re so well-placed for the CL. And when we’re good, we’re very very good, which is OK for now.

[Cronky]

7 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

Yeah, if it’s any consolation it’s irritating for us too. As The Fighting Cock podcast boys said, it’s like “fuck off, he’s ours, you can’t have him”. It’s faintly absurd because at its root it’s just because he’s a clever bloke who’s lived a  relatively normal life. That’s apparently revolutionary.

 

All joking aside, you can see the issues. The nice thing is that Ange was clearly pissed with how we played in the second half. He’s been lucky to pick up the reins of a squad that had just enough players with the characteristics to make his system work, plenty of youth and adaptability, a couple of genuinely top class players already there and a couple of genuinely top class players coming in. And a really nice fixture list, which makes a huge difference at this stage.

 

It’s exciting for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is the knowledge that it should get much better when he’s had a couple of transfer windows. We obviously need some luck - there’s half a dozen positions where there’s essentially no adequate replacements. It’s so early in his tenure.

 

But we know that. That’s why it’s funny watching other fans chiding us for thinking we’re in a title race, for being lucky, for having easy games, even for having fun FFS. Villa are a year ahead, you guys are two years ahead, Arsenal are *counts on fingers* four years ahead of us in transitioning to a new manager and set-up. And yet, here we are. 
 

It’s particularly hilarious seeing the copium from Arsenal fans. They were so excited about their rebuild, about finally stepping out of Wenger’s shadow, about finally throwing enough money at the wall that it stuck, and finally getting a world-class kid through the youth programme to build around. And finally finishing ahead of us after six years. And overnight…this.

 

It’s probably not gonna last - we’re still building the foundations. If the luck continues though and if we get January right, then we’re so well-placed for the CL. And when we’re good, we’re very very good, which is OK for now.

 

I won't wish you luck, because I'm a bit jealous, but you're top on merit. I won't deny that.

[Kanj]

As bad as Fulham were, they had 3-4 chances to get a goal and literally only one turned into a genuine shot on goal!

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

Its a toughie. I really don't want to deny leffe any joy because he's a top guy, but I really don't like Spurs 

[The College Dropout]

41 minutes ago, Smal said:

Spurs have had a fairly easy start, like. There’s only really Arsenal away where they picked up a point that I wouldn’t have expected them too. Potentially you can argue beating Liverpool at home was two points more than you’d expect too.

 

Got knocked out of the cup a the first opportunity too I think. 1 game a week helps massively.

That's 3 points up on what we managed this season on Liverpool and equalling what we did Away at Arsenal.

[The College Dropout]

38 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

Yeah, if it’s any consolation it’s irritating for us too. As The Fighting Cock podcast boys said, it’s like “fuck off, he’s ours, you can’t have him”. It’s faintly absurd because at its root it’s just because he’s a clever bloke who’s lived a  relatively normal life. That’s apparently revolutionary.

 

All joking aside, you can see the issues. The nice thing is that Ange was clearly pissed with how we played in the second half. He’s been lucky to pick up the reins of a squad that had just enough players with the characteristics to make his system work, plenty of youth and adaptability, a couple of genuinely top class players already there and a couple of genuinely top class players coming in. And a really nice fixture list, which makes a huge difference at this stage.

 

It’s exciting for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is the knowledge that it should get much better when he’s had a couple of transfer windows. We obviously need some luck - there’s half a dozen positions where there’s essentially no adequate replacements. It’s so early in his tenure.

 

But we know that. That’s why it’s funny watching other fans chiding us for thinking we’re in a title race, for being lucky, for having easy games, even for having fun FFS. Villa are a year ahead, you guys are two years ahead, Arsenal are *counts on fingers* four years ahead of us in transitioning to a new manager and set-up. And yet, here we are. 
 

It’s particularly hilarious seeing the copium from Arsenal fans. They were so excited about their rebuild, about finally stepping out of Wenger’s shadow, about finally throwing enough money at the wall that it stuck, and finally getting a world-class kid through the youth programme to build around. And finally finishing ahead of us after six years. And overnight…this.

 

It’s probably not gonna last - we’re still building the foundations. If the luck continues though and if we get January right, then we’re so well-placed for the CL. And when we’re good, we’re very very good, which is OK for now.

You're lightyears ahead of us regarding club setup, reputation and FFP bandwidth, which is huge.

[Monters]

36 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

Yeah, if it’s any consolation it’s irritating for us too. As The Fighting Cock podcast boys said, it’s like “fuck off, he’s ours, you can’t have him”. It’s faintly absurd because at its root it’s just because he’s a clever bloke who’s lived a  relatively normal life. That’s apparently revolutionary.

 

All joking aside, you can see the issues. The nice thing is that Ange was clearly pissed with how we played in the second half. He’s been lucky to pick up the reins of a squad that had just enough players with the characteristics to make his system work, plenty of youth and adaptability, a couple of genuinely top class players already there and a couple of genuinely top class players coming in. And a really nice fixture list, which makes a huge difference at this stage.

 

It’s exciting for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is the knowledge that it should get much better when he’s had a couple of transfer windows. We obviously need some luck - there’s half a dozen positions where there’s essentially no adequate replacements. It’s so early in his tenure.

 

But we know that. That’s why it’s funny watching other fans chiding us for thinking we’re in a title race, for being lucky, for having easy games, even for having fun FFS. Villa are a year ahead, you guys are two years ahead, Arsenal are *counts on fingers* four years ahead of us in transitioning to a new manager and set-up. And yet, here we are. 
 

It’s particularly hilarious seeing the copium from Arsenal fans. They were so excited about their rebuild, about finally stepping out of Wenger’s shadow, about finally throwing enough money at the wall that it stuck, and finally getting a world-class kid through the youth programme to build around. And finally finishing ahead of us after six years. And overnight…this.

 

It’s probably not gonna last - we’re still building the foundations. If the luck continues though and if we get January right, then we’re so well-placed for the CL. And when we’re good, we’re very very good, which is OK for now.

 I agree with the sentiment especially the having a bit of fun and enjoying watching your team bit - we were \ are hit with the same stick regularly but I did raise an eyebrow at the bold... Yes Eddie has been in place longer than Ange but us two years ahead of Spurs really? Relegation v Champions league final and we are ahead? 

[Lush Vlad]

41 minutes ago, Cronky said:

 

I won't wish you luck, because I'm a bit jealous, but you're top on merit. I won't deny that.

 

Really?  I mean they're playing nice stuff, albeit whilst also looking shaky at times.  Their manager seems like a top bloke and also a very good tactician.  They have a shiny new stadium and plenty of promising young players.  

 

But how you can sit here, watching what we are, with Howe at the helm, after years of shit and feel jealous of Spurs is beyond me.  What an incredibly weird emotion to have when we have over-achieved massively the last two years and it doesn't appear to be slowing down.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Lush Vlad

[Lush Vlad]

9 minutes ago, Monters said:

 I agree with the sentiment especially the having a bit of fun and enjoying watching your team bit - we were \ are hit with the same stick regularly but I did raise an eyebrow at the bold... Yes Eddie has been in place longer than Ange but us two years ahead of Spurs really? Relegation v Champions league final and we are ahead? 

 

I took more offence at the Villa comparison  They got money before us and have a deeper squad, I would say.  So not sure how we are a year ahead of them. 

 

Might just be getting the wrong end of the stick and Leffe is just basing it on being in Europe or something. 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Lush Vlad

[The College Dropout]

CL was a long time ago tbf but Spurs are way ahead of us as a club, which is why they could finish outside of European places and still sign the likes of James Maddison.

 

Agree with @Lush Vlad - Villa having more FFP wriggle room is massive and they've invested for a lot more time. It's not long ago they sold us their backup LB and he helped us stay in the division.

 

Our big advantage is that our potential money pit is endless. And we can get slightly inflated sponsors and invest crazily at youth level. But again, we suffer from being way behind Spurs on both atm and way behind Villa on youth development.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by The College Dropout

[Monters]

3 minutes ago, Lush Vlad said:

 

I took more offence at the Villa comparison  They got money before us and have a deeper squad, I would say.  So not sure how we are a year ahead of them. 

 

Might just be getting the wrong end of the stick and Leffe is just basing it on being in Europe or something. 

 

 

 

On re reading I am assuming it's seasons with the current manager in place but TCD summed it up nicely and no way other than length of service of current manager are we ahead of Spurs

[Lush Vlad]

Yeah.  Rumours about Maddison's wages for example would prove that (if true, of course).  Would have completely blown apart our wage structure and would have put him well ahead of Bruno and Trippier.  

 

They are light years ahead in terms of spending power, salary, global brand awareness, scouting, youth setup etc etc.  

 

Still, I'm not jealous of that.  We are where we are and it's the start of a journey.  They've been ahead of us for years, so hardly anything new.  Seemed like we weren't a million miles apart when I was growing up.  Then Ashley happened  

[Monters]

6 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

CL was a long time ago tbf but Spurs are way ahead of us as a club, which is why they could finish outside of European places and still sign the likes of James Maddison.

 

Agree with @Lush Vlad - Villa having more FFP wriggle room is massive and they've invested for a lot more time. It's not long ago they sold us their backup LB and he helped us stay in the division.

Champions League final was 2019, Spurs were in last season's champions league both fairly recent... we were relegated in 2016.  Not that is matters as we're both agreeing the same sentiment... 

 

It just irks me a little when other non NUFC fans forget just how badly Ashley hamstrung every single aspect of the club 

[Monters]

2 minutes ago, Lush Vlad said:

Yeah.  Rumours about Maddison's wages for example would prove that (if true, of course).  Would have completely blown apart our wage structure and would have put him well ahead of Bruno and Trippier.  

 

They are light years ahead in terms of spending power, salary, global brand awareness, scouting, youth setup etc etc.  

 

Still, I'm not jealous of that.  We are where we are and it's the start of a journey.  They've been ahead of us for years, so hardly anything new.  Seemed like we weren't a million miles apart when I was growing up.  Then Ashley happened  

Totally agree!

 

As a Newcastle supporter I'm not jealous of anyone

[leffe186]

1 hour ago, Monters said:

 I agree with the sentiment especially the having a bit of fun and enjoying watching your team bit - we were \ are hit with the same stick regularly but I did raise an eyebrow at the bold... Yes Eddie has been in place longer than Ange but us two years ahead of Spurs really? Relegation v Champions league final and we are ahead? 

Just meant Howe was two years ahead of Ange really. Like CD says, we have had the infrastructure in place for a while.

[leffe186]

1 hour ago, Lush Vlad said:

 

I took more offence at the Villa comparison  They got money before us and have a deeper squad, I would say.  So not sure how we are a year ahead of them. 

 

Might just be getting the wrong end of the stick and Leffe is just basing it on being in Europe or something. 

 

 

 

Yeah sorry, just meant the manager and the squad rebuild. Hence Emery and Arteta. Was really an excuse to make a dig at Arsenal, which should always be part of a football fan’s toolkit.

[leffe186]

52 minutes ago, Monters said:

Champions League final was 2019, Spurs were in last season's champions league both fairly recent... we were relegated in 2016.  Not that is matters as we're both agreeing the same sentiment... 

 

It just irks me a little when other non NUFC fans forget just how badly Ashley hamstrung every single aspect of the club 

Hope you don’t mean me here, because I’m woke as fuck

[Paullow]

34 minutes ago, Lush Vlad said:

Yeah.  Rumours about Maddison's wages for example would prove that (if true, of course).  Would have completely blown apart our wage structure and would have put him well ahead of Bruno and Trippier.  

 

They are light years ahead in terms of spending power, salary, global brand awareness, scouting, youth setup etc etc.  

 

Still, I'm not jealous of that.  We are where we are and it's the start of a journey.  They've been ahead of us for years, so hardly anything new.  Seemed like we weren't a million miles apart when I was growing up.  Then Ashley happened  

It was kind of the opposite when I was growing up in the mid 90s - we finished 3rd, 6th, 2nd, 2nd, 13th, 13th, 11th, 11th, 4th, 3rd, 5th so an average finish of 6.6 over that 11 year period, plus back to back FA Cup finals against the league champions of that year in two of the lower midtable years, which meant European qualification pretty much every season, 18 CL group matches, UEFA Cup SF, 7 top 6 finishes, breaking world transfer records, signing some of the best young players around, massive crowds, whereas in that same period, they finished 15th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 11th, 10th, 12th, 9th, 10th, 14th, an average position of 10.9. They did win the League Cup in that time which earned them a very rare season in Europe in that period, where they lost in R2 of the UEFA Cup, and they also exited the Intertoto Cup early after that 7th place finish, but it was generally an unhappy time for their fans, their managers including Gross and Santini.

 

I'd say we were generally similar in stature, but from like 8 years old to 18, growing up (and being less aware of previous years to 1993/4) I would have definitely considered us the bigger, higher profile club, but the past 20 years have been absolute night and day stuff, up until last year. Constantly in the top 4/6, Champions League regulars, new stadium, world class players, high profile managers, high media profile presence with the 'big 6', global brand, whereas we've had Ashley for 14 of them as you say, and they have massively differentiated themselves in terms of stature from the likes of us, Everton and Aston Villa, and any neutral under 30 would laugh if you compared the two, certainly before last season.

 

So basically we were pretty good from 1993 to 2004, they were pretty poor in that same period, but polar opposites after that, and we signed Stephen Carr from them in August 2004, who ironically had been at Spurs since 1993 - it's like the clubs respective fortunes dramatically shifted straight after that one signing .

[Cronky]

1 hour ago, Lush Vlad said:

 

Really?  I mean they're playing nice stuff, albeit whilst also looking shaky at times.  Their manager seems like a top bloke and also a very good tactician.  They have a shiny new stadium and plenty of promising young players.  

 

But how you can sit here, watching what we are, with Howe at the helm, after years of shit and feel jealous of Spurs is beyond me.  What an incredibly weird emotion to have when we have over-achieved massively the last two years and it doesn't appear to be slowing down.

 

 

 

 

I'm annoyed at the thought they might win the League before us. I wouldn't swap places with them though.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Cronky

[gbandit]

Sevilla - Arsenal for me tonight with an eye on Man U - Copenhagen in case Man U shit their pants again 

[Paullow]

Galatasaray vs Bayern at 5.45pm and then probably the CL Goals Show tonight. A few good games at 8pm, but not a particular one I would be heavily invested in (expecting Man U to win comfortably, so that puts me off that), so getting the best of both worlds. Benfica vs Sociedad looks interesting, fairly close at the bookies (6/5 vs 9/4) and pretty much must win for Benfica having lost their first 2 games, but probably not a match I would want to watch for 90 mins.

 

Leicester vs Sunderland is probably the match I'd be most invested in individually, and a match you'd think Sunderland would lose (which helps), but with it being our first time in the CL in 20 years, and with it being so competitive to get there again in coming seasons, I want to enjoy this campaign as much as I can, so I won't be following the Championship at all tonight.

[The College Dropout]

Man United with a comfortable victory?

[Ikon]

1 minute ago, The College Dropout said:

Man United with a comfortable victory?

2-1 loss I reckon. 

[Monters]

1 hour ago, leffe186 said:

Hope you don’t mean me here, because I’m woke as fuck

Not really - was genuinely puzzled at the two year ahead thing other than manager length of service 

[The College Dropout]

26 minutes ago, Ikon said:

2-1 loss I reckon. 

That's the spirit. Those lots are 90 minutes away from another crisis.

 

My thing is... I need them to be in Europe as long as possible for the co-efficient and to impact their league form. So I want them to finish 3rd in the group ideally.

 

1-0 win here. Heavy loss on the weekend in the derby me thinks.