I watched it last Summer (Italy & Spain matches) in the build up to the Euros and couldn't believe just how blatantly obvious it was. I'd always knew they'd had some dodgy decisions but when watching it again it was incredible to see how brazen they were with it. Wouldn't be surprised to see Qatar get similar treatment this year. In a not particularly strong group too so could well mean they qualify.
Not only Qatar, but also Saudi Arabia and possibly Iran. Not totally sure how the Sunni - Shia thing would play out.
Seb Haller apparently had a testicular tumor removed. How awful, hopefully benign but must be a scary time. Fingers crossed for a quick recovery.
Apologies if already posted: It is not every week that teams win 91-1 and 95-0 https://archive.ph/h6blT
Did Oriol turn out for Elgin City at the weekend? A wayward shot hits a spectator in Elgin's equivalent of the Chapple. Bad luck especially when there were only 566 fans there. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-62290818 Mind you, that tea looks a bit orangey so it might not have been such a bad thing.
And in a f*cking pre-season friendly! https://www.sportsjoe.ie/amp/football/neymar-dive-gamba-osaka-268394
They are clearly the most desperate of the breakaway clubs. Their inability to read the room feels like it will inevitably end in their downfall.
They appear confident that the case against uefa will go in their favour. I’m not sure when that is actually taking place
Even so they are also assuming that all of the ESL escapees will return, because I can’t see there being a great deal of money in a Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus tri-series.
Just watched Toon play Benfica and Joelinton tried to deliberately break a player's leg a few seconds after being booked for dissent. He should get a lengthy ban for that especially as it was supposed to be a friendly, he's a total disgrace.
Interesting chat on the Tifo Podcast this week about target forwards. With the current meta being so focused on CBs playing good passes and less about them being big, strong bois who can handle themselves physically, they believe that the old school number 9 is due a comeback. I think I’m with them actually. I look at United getting a player like Martinez to play CB at >6ft and can only think that we’re approaching peak ball playing CB time and that soon it may be appropriate for teams to have at least one “agricultural” option at forward to counteract this. Especially if you’re a lower half club because you can have one up top, press wide and pack the centre areas with three-man midfields or defences.
Great day for the League of Ireland in Europe today...Sligo comfortably defeating Motherwell and St Pats dispatching Mura who defeated Spurs last season.
It's an interesting thought. My reflexive answer is no, in part because we've seen some big, strong-in-the-air strikers come and go in recent years without making much of a mark (Haller at West Ham in particular comes to mind). But I suppose that the argument could be made that the teams who have had big, strong strikers haven't gone Full Pulis, either; they have just tried to shoehorn tall dudes into 'modern' tactics and that perhaps limited the efficacy. A team with a hulking brute at striker and 3 CBs that played for set pieces could potentially do okay against lithe modern defenders, though it's worth noting that the best defense in the history of the (defensively oriented) Serie A during a more agricultural era of football regularly started a 5'9" ball-player at CB, and he did okay.
