really hoping i can catch liverpool wolves tomorrow. not because i give a damn about the fa cup but because they’re my 2 favorite english teams right now.

If you're rationing your football intake, the FA Cup is something you can avoid altogether. Most of the teams you're interested in will be fielding weakened XIs at least until the quarters, as they prioritise other trophies. The sad fact is the FA Cup is now seen as a distraction by those clubs and has therefore lost a lot of its prestige. It still provides an opportunity for lower league teams to get one over on the big boys but if you're only really focusing on the Prem, the FA Cup is at best a subplot.

hahaha.

Andy Carroll: the closest football gets to LARPing

ha ha ha ha

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anyway not rationing, just doesnt get transmitted here on the same channel as the prem. but my time does get rationed yeah....

will try to catch a bit of liverpool wolves today after lunch nevertheless (starts 1245 my time) if i can find a teevee for it. if i miss it no big drama though,

Y'know what? People are saying "oh yeah, I can see why Liverpool aren't that bothered about the fact cup and want to focus on the premier League"

Fuck that. How many teams have been able to win both? Their squad isn't so bereft of depth that they shouldn't be able to push to do both. The contempt shown by Klopp to the fa cup is astounding.

so what happened? i clearly missed the game. fucking monday, larded up with paperworks, phone calls, bullshits-- ugh!

saw earlier that mignolet was gonna be gk. did it go well?

what's the big prize in the FA anyway?

it's not just the prem-- it's the champions league! he almost won with dortmund remember? beaten by bayern. and then, again, with liverpool, when the sinister sergio ramos took out his best man.

well?

go ahead vent your rage i wanna know.

seems to me his priorities are correct though-- regardless of what happened today, which i don't know.

oh, wolves won! fucking fantastic!

if they go all the way i'll be really happy for them

would mean tons for that little team

They lost 2-1.

Ah yes, nearly won it. The story of klopps career in knock out competitions right there.

See the problem is that over here the FA Cup is, rightly, a sporting institution and it's the oldest cup in football, bit too often certain managers seem to treat it like a distraction. Doesn't help that the cunts at sky did their best to ruin it a few years back. It's always been the last game of the season. The big crescendo to a long season. Sky decided to have the final played before the season had finished. That was a bollocks move.

Maybe you don't get it and you might never will but the fa cup for me is something different.

yeah but institution aside, or whatever it is sky did, isn't it a distraction now?

for liverpool i mean. who want big things this year.

just read that klopp put 3 teenagers on the pitch. but the 3rd one was cuz lovren got injured. does liverpool need lovren injured? i say hell no, and more teenagers por favor.

but yeah i get your frustration with the ruination of a great tradition. it's when you make it about klopp that i get confused. yes yes, everton hates liverpool and cain hates abel, and i killed my twin in the womb apparently.

I didn't watch the game, but how did the 16yr old do?

Klopp hasn't done anything that other managers in his position have done. Even Wolves fielded a relatively weakened side, and it looks like they only have the FA Cup to play for this season.

Nah nah, you misunderstood. I take issue with the whole thing. I'm just not a fan of people saying "yeah, I understand why he wanted to get kicked out of the fa cup. Now he can focus on the premier League.". Ok sure, but if at the end of it they don't win the league and come away another season without a trophy then he's gonna look like a right pillock.

You only have to look at City. They could have easily thrown a load of kids out but didn't. They wanted to win it as much as the next trophy. Same with Chelsea for that matter. Squad rotation is different to putting out a deliberately weakened team.

As opposed to any other year?

as opposed to 1952 or 1844 or whatever :D

(i only started watching them under brendan rogers and no way they were like this btw)

Nice summary of the fa cup by David Squires

David Squires on … the timeless magic of the FA Cup


If that link doesn't work then find your bloody self.

"Fabregas seemingly played his last game in England until West Ham sign him in 2024"

They would as well.:eek:

Klopp was at worst guilty of arrogance, but more for disrespecting Wolves, by underestimating them with his team selection, than a trophy which looks like its being held up almost entirely by sentiment and pure good will at this point.

I thought you geezers may appreciate some insightful sporting historical facts, given the fact that this is the sporty thread.

Kim Jong il:
'The first time he picked up a golf club, in 1994, Kim reportedly shot a 38-under par round on North Korea's only golf course, including 11 holes-in-one. He then decided to retire from the sport for ever.'

Obviously after shooting the greatest ever round of golf in the history of man he decided to give up as it was just fat too easy for him.

lmao ok

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so looks like i’ll be missing saturday’s prem’s games barring something like a winter storm to strand me at home. best wishes demoño vs arsenal. this is one you can win.

as for other dates man u v. spurs look promising and man city v.wolves should have style to appreciate.

and as usual with wolves i mean the team as a whole [something man city has as well) not individual glory (where they lag behind city but are not shameful. rui patricio, joao moutinho, neves often put on a good show, plus others whose names i have not yet learned)

Here we go again ...

https://www.theguardian.com/football...-asks-to-leave

just read

my thoughts:

he doesnt wanna “challenge for titles” (what fucking titles?)

he just wants to make bank before he’s finished by his injuries

which is why west ham should let him go while they still can

may at the latest

Doesn't even look like her there. Too many clothes clearly.

I dunno. It's not as easy as that when the player is your joint top scorer.

It feels like he's hustling for a new contract which by all accounts the owners aren't interested in renegotiating. I take the owners' side on this but it's still bad news for the club, simply because I think it ultimately means he will leave - either now or more likely in the summer - and then it's back to the lottery of finding a replacement and hoping they click, knowing that more often than not, they don't.

but doesnt he play angry and get hurt a lot?

people like that don’t last as long. see: holger badstuber

he needs to make bank now so he doesn’t end up like batistuta begging the surgeon to amputate his legs

I'm not sure what playing 'angry' is. I suppose I'd equate it with players who too easily lose their cool. In that sense I'd say Arnie's a physical player but not really an 'angry' one. He has an ongoing issue with his legs which means he's essentially always carrying an injury.

well let’s not worry for a minute what i mean by playing angry, which at this point is not relevant and would be a distraction.

what you’re saying about his legs confirms my main point. if he’s got limited shelf life he needs to cash out soon—for the sake of his future, his family, etc.

either way he can’t stay with you reliably for many years. either china or permanent injury will take him.

sell while you still can sell high, then find a replacement with that money. wh should just ask for more money.

nice first half eh

I agree about cashing in on him but I'd say his max value is between 40-50m, and it's very hard for WH to attract players in that bracket that aren't already on the radar of bigger clubs.

The broader issue is with players who are happy to sign a contract when it suits them and then effectively ignore it when a better offer comes along. Until FIFA finds a way of actually making contracts stand for something, this will just keep happening.

nice goal by that kid but nasri is DA MAN

and fuck arnie, the one you should worry about keeping long term is pellegrini

incidentally first time i see auba this game is protesting that foul call

bit of a mistake for me to take out nasri so early. now missing his finesse in those goal attempts with the ball flopping about

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well deserved win but should have been 2-0

GREAT win! WH's performance of the season so far, imo. Excellent team performance but I thought Anderson, Nasri and Rice were brilliant.

Nasri's still getting his fitness up and Pellegrini said he'd only play for about an hour.

aaaah

well, he was fantastic while up there

looks like my schedule changed a bit lol so i’ll have more games today

anyway congrats! and stadium looked great

nice kick mo

didnt have full eyes on first half but sounded a bit dull?

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why wont liverpool secure the game with more goals already

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good defense, but why so constipated on the attack? too close for comfort

Brighton aren't great but their defence at home is pretty tight. They're a bit like Wolves actually. No real stand-out individuals but a well organised unit.

ahhh... that explains why they’re resilient but not exciting

what do you know of newcastle? i like chelsea but unsure about matchup quality and if i should make time for it. insert rubbing chin emoji.

holy shit i just tuned in to see newcastle core

wat the wat

why cant willian do this shit for brazil at world cups

Watching Everton v Bournemouth. Really good open game. End to end stuff.

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Bournemouth starting to get on top. Pickford looking v. shaky.

Fucking Pickford has been a liability recently. Just been listening to it on the way home from work and it's sounds like Everton managed to build into the game. Really hoping Lookman can get a run of games after this.