Match Day Thread General matchday thread.

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Massive transfer fees have a quite low rate of success over the last 20 years or so and it’s a massive change in style of play as well as a step up in expectations plus he ****ed off pre-season having a strop so it’s both not that surprising and quite amusing.

Off to the big one tonight. Bilbao v Espanyol. What many are describing as the Spanish equivalent of Newcastle v Crystal Palace. Did the stadium tour yesterday and it looks cool and my seat is just above the ultras so should be fun. Cool city even if it has more Hamas flags than Tower Hamlets.
 
Missed opportunity to use this classic tbh

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Just being respectful bro not to nick your gifs.

Too many man passing off gifs on here like they own them when it's blatant copyright infringement
 
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I was on the beer yesterday afternoon so didn't get to see much of the football, but good to see Villa keeping the pressure on the top two,

BWood will be happy with his teams win against Carlisle, keeping the heat on Rochdale.

Hearts won, Rangers lost, Celtic won, keeps it interesting in Scotland.

Morocco predictably won the opening game of the AFCON.

Harry scores again for Bayern.

Girona lost and are dicing with relegation, which I'm disappointed about.

All **** games in Serie A yesterday, although the bottom team somehow managed to win 5-1, the only notable part of that league.

and tonight we got Fulham v Forest, seriously who at SKY thinks up this ****.

I know, I know, TDLR

Todays AFCON games...

14:00
Mali v Zambia
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 Group A
4sevenAll 4Channel 4 Sport YouTube

17:00
South Africa v Angola
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 Group B
4sevenAll 4Channel 4 Sport YouTube

20:00
Mo Salah v Zimbabwe
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 Group B
4sevenAll 4Channel 4 Sport YouTube
 
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Massive transfer fees have a quite low rate of success over the last 20 years or so and it’s a massive change in style of play as well as a step up in expectations plus he ****ed off pre-season having a strop so it’s both not that surprising and quite amusing.

Off to the big one tonight. Bilbao v Espanyol. What many are describing as the Spanish equivalent of Newcastle v Crystal Palace. Did the stadium tour yesterday and it looks cool and my seat is just above the ultras so should be fun. Cool city even if it has more Hamas flags than Tower Hamlets.

We've got links with Bilbao and are they reason they play in red and white stripes.

Useless fact of the day.
 
Massive transfer fees have a quite low rate of success over the last 20 years or so and it’s a massive change in style of play as well as a step up in expectations plus he ****ed off pre-season having a strop so it’s both not that surprising and quite amusing.

Off to the big one tonight. Bilbao v Espanyol. What many are describing as the Spanish equivalent of Newcastle v Crystal Palace. Did the stadium tour yesterday and it looks cool and my seat is just above the ultras so should be fun. Cool city even if it has more Hamas flags than Tower Hamlets.
I had a little read up to try and understand why Bilbao changed their name, interesting little story.

AI Overview



Athletic Bilbao changed its name to Atlético de Bilbao from 1941 to 1972
due to a decree by General Franco's dictatorship, which banned foreign words in club names, forcing the English-named "Athletic Club" to Spanishize it, but they reverted to "Athletic Club" after the ban was lifted to honor their British roots and Basque identity, notes this Instagram post.
Reasons for the change:
  • British Origins: Football arrived in Bilbao via British workers and students, leading to the original name "Athletic Club," a homage to English football.
  • Franco's Dictatorship: After the Spanish Civil War, Franco's regime enforced "Spanishization" of names, banning foreign terms.
  • Forced Name Change (1941-1972): This rule led to the club being officially known as Atlético de Bilbao, notes this Instagram post.
Reversion to Original Name:
  • Post-Franco Era: After Franco's death, the ban was lifted, and the club returned to its original "Athletic Club" name in 1972.
  • Cultural Identity: Keeping "Athletic Club" is a point of pride, preserving their unique history and Basque identity, unlike Atlético Madrid (which kept its Spanish name).
 
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Ended up asleep on a friends sofa after a few too many last night.

Feeling tender, but thank god it’s my last day.
 
We've got links with Bilbao and are they reason they play in red and white stripes.

Useless fact of the day.
Yeah something to do with Spanish students bringing kit back from England when they went home.

It’s a buzzy city and the ground is fairly central. Seems like every bar on the half hour walk from the hotel is packed. Having an Amstel Oro. €2.70 for a bit less than a pint. Up the Espanyol.
 
Might watch some AFCON later

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Reminds me of a scene in a film I can’t remember the name of where Nicolas Cage plays some sort of weapons dealer or something and the local warlord as a bit of a joke sends two banging birds to his room but he knows he can’t shag them because it’s a country riddled with HIV and there’s no condoms for miles.

Probably shouldn’t remind me of that but I’ve got time to kill.
 
Presumably they’ve got a tough path to get to the final but think I’ll have a few quid on Congo when I get back at around 33/1. Decent side on paper. I read historically the North African teams dominate the North African tournaments but you’d think that’ll become less of a thing over time.