OT We call it football over here

Eoin

Well, looms like Raheem has found his scoring boots. Hope he looks after them.

CPFC1905

When will those plunky Spaniards learn?  First 1588 and now this.   This will become tiring if we have to keep defeating them, once every 430 years. 

Eoin

The Nation's League has certainly spiced up the friendlies and given us competitive games. Short, sharp competition as well, which encourages adventurous play.

CPFC1905

Route 1 beats tiki taka.  Spirit of the Crazy Gang lives on.

Eoin

Tiki Taka is dead.

Foghorn

Tiki taka requires Xavi and Iniesta in their prime to succeed. 

CPFC1905

Sports fans,  a question for you all;
Can you support a player, rather than a team?  

I will confine to team games, I think F1 etc is too easy to say yes.

Foghorn

CPFC1905 said:

Sports fans,  a question for you all;
Can you support a player, rather than a team?  

I will confine to team games, I think F1 etc is too easy to say yes.

Not in a sport/league you have known since childhood.  I'm able to do it to some extent in European football because I initially had no allegiance to any team.

Much harder for me to do in American sports.  

Eoin

It's quite easy to follow particular players in cricket in England. It's the internationals that matter most, so they rarely change sides, and although they do change county, most people don't care.

CPFC1905

I am certain that the opposite is true, in that when your team's player moves to another - you can 'dislike' them.  (I am sure all sport-stars are lovely people, by the way, and would make delightful house guests. 

What about having a favourite player, albeit they are not - nor have been, part of your team.   I always liked Graeme Souness, but have never warmed to our Red Scousey friends.  Similarly Joel Garner - albeit I have a soft spot for all Caribbeans in sport.  

Eoin

CPFC1905 said:

I am certain that the opposite is true, in that when your team's player moves to another - you can 'dislike' them.  (I am sure all sport-stars are lovely people, by the way, and would make delightful house guests. 

What about having a favourite player, albeit they are not - nor have been, part of your team.   I always liked Graeme Souness, but have never warmed to our Red Scousey friends.  Similarly Joel Garner - albeit I have a soft spot for all Caribbeans in sport.  

Arnautovic is a prime example for me.

Windies is our house second favourite cricket team. The boys love Chris Gayle in the IPL, for me it's the Blackwash team with Marshall, Garner, Holding and Walsh. 

CPFC1905

I thought that international break would never end - a whole weekend without heartache and misery!

Off to a hum-dinger,  albeit at lunchtime with The Gloomy One going ‘home' to Chelsea.  Three points for Sarri’s bunch of jolly fellows I think.  I’ll go 2-1.  And the 'will they won’t they' sack him narrative rolls on another week.  Meh actually 3-1, Hazard will make one, score one and some other chap will pop up to smash in a worldy. 

A South Coast derby should see Southampton come away pointless, and probably goalless, from media darlings and heavy tackle enthusiasts Bournemouth.  That outcome will potentially see members of the Saints' boardroom inching towards the trap-door lever for Sparky.  How ironic that the most boring manager in the PL was genuinely once known as that. 

Cardiff welcome Fulham for a promoted’s face-off.  Warnock’s lads would give anything, everything and their grandmothers for something out of this game.  As variable as Fulham have been I think they will be a shade better than the doom destined Bluebirds.  2-1 to Fulham.

Man City will win 3-0 at Burnley. The MC goalie will be my FF captain.  The blues have a game every third day or so for the next few weeks.  Expect rotation, expect no change in outcome.  De Bruyne is close to a come-back, too.

Ooh, interesting one next : The Toon and their furious fans host no-good wastrels and Premier League pretenders, Brighton.  (A grudge is for life, not just for Christmas).  Newcastle sacked Chris Hughton a few years ago for having the temerity of being quite good.  That's just not the Toon way - haphazard berserkery is.  Now, please all hold hands and lend me your emotional support,  but  (and I hate myself) 2-0 to Brighton.   I have fought myself away from the 1-1 I initially went for, on the basis that total mayhem is always the more exciting option.  

Spurs trundle east for an away-away match with West Ham, as opposed to playing away at home by virtue of their ground still be a builders merchant showroom.   While the Hammers have firmed up recently, Spurs have more quality.  Arnoutovic is key for the home team, he can score goals against Spurs - easily, but can their defence withstand the visitors artistry going forward?  Spurs are hampered by injuries - they need Eriksen back and firing (as do I for my FF team) and have plenty of matches coming up in the CL.  A win here is vital to sustain their momentum and I think they can do it; 2-1.   Perhaps in a couple of weeks it would have been a different story.

Wolves welcome the cloggers and odd-balls from Watford.  I hope they stuff ‘em too.  Watford’s bubble has burst and Wolves’ start is rising.  Convert those cliche’s into a bruising 2-0 home win.  And there will be cards - ten is not out of the question.

Stoke welcome Birmingham and are surging up the table.  I think a win is highly likley then lo and behold they’re just outside the play-offs.  No-one really knows the value of Stoke in the EFL this season - but its certainly top half and probably top 6.  Investment will be needed in January - and prices are high now in the EFL. Gamble the parachute payment I say. 

Last up is the Klopp / Wagner love fest.  They are splendid chums and that led to some tepid matches last season. Liverpool will field a re-shaped team due to injuries picked up on international duty.  Given the awfulness of Huddersfield I think Jurgen the German will give Saleh and others a weekend off.  I hope Sturridge bangs in a couple more.  A cruised 2-0 for the Reds. 

Sunday 

Palace go to Everton and will lose.  I am keeping Sigurdsson in my FF team as compensation for the dagger to the heart that phrase brings.  We Eagles greet each other in the street with ’Typical Palace’.  Whatever the outcome of any situation - from the euphoric to the desolate - ‘typical Palace’ is the succour we share.  This year there is realistically only one relegation spot up for grabs.  Statistically the hardest ever year to go down (and bare in mind we went down with 49 points once) means that we are more or less a shoo-in.   Having bumbled through an ‘easy’ set of games with virtually nothing to show for it, we have 6 hellish games on the bounce.

Two nil down in the first half and a late consolation to make it 2-1.   (I will pretend that Lewis’ potential championship winning race is all that matters on the day) 

Monday

Arsenal will beat Leicester under the lights on Monday.  I really need to buy more Arsenal players for my FF team. probably not the defenders though as they are still a bit leaky.   Leicester will continue the season accruing about 1.25 points per game and finish about 12th. 

Right, Autumn has arrived so i’m off to rake up leaves in the garden.  (I forgot, ‘Fall’ isn’t it over there.)

TN_Egger

The NFL returns to Wembley today.  What's the local take on American football?  NFL execs have been pushing for some time to establish a franchise in London.  I think we'll see one in the next 5 years.

Eoin

NFL is a niche sport here, although the matches that are staged do sell out. The problem with a London franchise is that it will still be all US players, produced through your system. None of us grow up playing American Football at school, or have any connection with the sport or its participants. 

What do you think the aim of hosting games here / maybe having a London franchise is? Just to widen the audience and tap a new market for advertising, or to actually transplant the game into the UK. The latter is a big job, which should start with a youth system, local league structure and a route for players to enter the NFL system.

CPFC1905

TN_Egger said:

The NFL returns to Wembley today.  What's the local take on American football?  NFL execs have been pushing for some time to establish a franchise in London.  I think we'll see one in the next 5 years.

General awareness or knowledge about the game is low.  In fact because I watch Ballers, I consider myself streets ahead of the nearly all other Brits.
There is a small & dedicated following - but it's rarely on TV or in the media. 
I only know one person who has played the game to any level here. (and he was of Canadian descent & a massive steroids fan).

The matches at Wembley are popular enough and considered part of the sports landscape.  With the rise of US ownership in football, then it seems the logical next step.  This week's aborted Wembley sell-off says more about hapless football administration here than appetite for grid-iron.   Plus Spurs' new ground has been designed with NFL matches in the business plan. 

CPFC1905

A question - who fits the bill?   Is the lost ticket sales revenue for the 'home' team a factor?   

CPFC1905

Game 3 of that tough phase for the top teams balancing the PL, Europe and domestic leagues.  In a month’s time  we will know who’s squad is the deepest

Six games on Saturday.

Brighton start proceedings hosting Wolves. This will be a good game that each side considers ‘winnable’.  Wolves will want amends for losing last week to Watford.  Brighton are settling in to this season better than last.  

It won’t be a cagey draw, but Brighton will be blunted if the octogenarian Glenn Murray’s whack on the bonce last week keeps him out.  I am going 2-1 to Brighton, thereby invoking the perverse logic rule so they lose 2-1. 

Fulham have Bournemouth coming upon to that there posh London.  I think Bournemouth can win this,  the pundits say the opposite.  I suspect those pundits are romanticising about Fulham and its a game like this which will expose their weaknesses.  1-2 with the South Coast bruisers scoring late to win it. 

Liverpool Cardiff : home win.  Last week’s result in Cardiff is to be ignored.  I want Salah and Van Dijk to score lots to bail out my FF team.

The weekend's ‘all eyes on this’ match is Newcastle’s long trip south to Southampton.  A more unglamorous tie is hard to consider right now, but The Toon and their livid followers are in perpetual crisis while Southampton are in a state of slow awful painful decline (and shocking football).   Some say Rafa will spark Newcastle in to life.  Some say there is no life left in Newcastle. I have pulled Ryan Bertrand from the bench in my FF team as I think Southampton will win with a clean sheet. 1-0.  Cue maelstrom of ire and invective (again).

Plucky Terriers head to Watford and will be beaten.  It will be an awful match that lives-on only in the statisticians notebooks. 2-0 to the Hornets.  Move on.

Stoke travel to Bristol City - who play in Bristol.  Unlike Bristol Rovers who play in Bath.  With that cleared up,  what must it be like to be a Stoke fan? @eoin ??  Slightly better than being a Palace fan - accepted, but winning last weekend - followed up with that draw mid-week, would see them bothering the top 6.  But they lost last week and are therefore 17th.  WTF - as kids say.  The trajectory is up, but this will be a tough test against another team with promotion aspirations off the back of two wins.   I can see this being a well-fought 2-2.

The odd-bods of Leicester welcome the Cockneys (none of them are) from West Ham.  The Leicester Workers Collective (the players) have convened a meeting and voted to win this match.  They have concluded that a) they can and b) it will mock Claude Puel because he will think it was all his idea.   West Ham are not convincing yet, Arnoutovic is very convincing and might smash a hat-trick in the first 20 minutes.  But that is far less likely than a 2-1 home win. 

Sunday 

Lunchtime is ruined by Burnley watching Chelsea dance all around them and conjure goals of infinite mystery and beauty.   Hazard might not play as he has a knock - but either way Chelsea are full of pomp and joie de vivre at the moment.  3-0 Chelsea.  But Burnley will expect that and life goes on. 

My Sunday lunch and the rest of the day will be ruined by Palace losing to Arsenal at home.  Lets be honest, Palace are in a total funk right now.   Oddly, several pundits here think the 11 straight game winning Gunners will totally lose their minds when faced by the zero-goal threat of Palace.  I suspect not.  Arsenal will jink through for as many goals as they want and I will start planning my road trip to all manner of places next season that host Championship football. 

The evening game of Man U / Everton could be fun.  I feel that the hi-jinks and japery at Man U have blown themselves out and they will return to familiar form.  They’ll beat Everton and gradually climb the table.  2-0 To United.  But 2-1 is better for me if Sigurdsson scores.

Monday

The weekend concludes with Man City and Spurs both playing away from home.  Man City are properly away and Spurs don’t have a home, as you know.   Should be a good game.  Man City will start to rotate their squad to absolutely no detrimental effect.  Spurs are not in that position and despite ‘doing a Spurs’ against PSV, they have been consistent this season.  City, of course will win but only by one goal. 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3 your call.

Thats your lot.  It's getting dark earlier each week and the clocks change back to GMT this weekend too.  Hello gloom & good-bye distant dreams of Summer. 

And well done Lewis on F1 Number 5.

Eoin

Hope Lewis can make it this weekend. It's just a shame that F1 is still possibly the most boring spectator sport in the history of spectator sports, apart from rugby league.

Eoin

Stoke are on the up, I'm convinced of it. They have the squad, apart from a shaky defence that concedes soft goals. Seems like every team can beat every other team in the championship, and there are a lot of games to play as well. Definitely more interesting than the premier league, I do not miss the weekends where it's 'not got a prayer against City / Utd / Spurs / The Arse / Chelsea / Liverpool'.

At least you can look forward to a trip to the Potteries on your travels next year. I'll point you in the right direction for some decent oatcakes.

CPFC1905

Eoin said:

Stoke are on the up, I'm convinced of it. They have the squad, apart from a shaky defence that concedes soft goals. Seems like every team can beat every other team in the championship, and there are a lot of games to play as well. Definitely more interesting than the premier league, I do not miss the weekends where it's 'not got a prayer against City / Utd / Spurs / The Arse / Chelsea / Liverpool'.

At least you can look forward to a trip to the Potteries on your travels next year. I'll point you in the right direction for some decent oatcakes.

Indeed - and I will tie in a trip to Neil Morrisey's pub.

Eoin

Good result away today. One fun fact you forgot to mention is the Cockney rhyming slang use of Bristol City, which should entertain anyone interested enough to look it up.

CPFC1905

Eoin said:

Good result away today. One fun fact you forgot to mention is the Cockney rhyming slang use of Bristol City, which should entertain anyone interested enough to look it up.

That's a thread we should start next time I'm up in the flatlands!  

Eoin

Happy with the point yesterday @CPFC1905 ? I left the room for a few minutes after half time and it had gone from 1-0 to 1-2, so it looked bad for a while.

Well done to Lewis on Number 5.

CPFC1905

An absolute bonus.  Prompts the traditional 'why don't they just play like that every week?'.   

Lewis just does not grab the public attention.  I accept yesterdays headlines were dominated by other things, rightly so - but he has got to be the most consistent British sports star over the last ten or more years. 

Eoin

CPFC1905 said:

An absolute bonus.  Prompts the traditional 'why don't they just play like that every week?'.   

Lewis just does not grab the public attention.  I accept yesterdays headlines were dominated by other things, rightly so - but he has got to be the most consistent British sports star over the last ten or more years. 

British F1 fans love Lewis, but not that many people love F1 any more because it's got too dull. I watched 2 or three qualifying sessions and no races from start to finish, some not at all. Never used to miss a race. The deciding factors are qualifying, the first corner and the (usually 1) pit stop (with the lottery win element of getting lucky with a safety car). Like the premier league, only 6 of the 20 have a chance of a win and are so superior that a top 6 finish is guaranteed if starting at the back of the grid. They badly need a revamp.

Foghorn

Why is the cup now named after reindeer?

CPFC1905

Foghorn said:

Why is the cup now named after reindeer?

Easy, it was originally the League Cup, then it became the Milk Cup, then it became the Littlewoods Challenge Cup, then it became the Rumbelows Cup, then it became the Coca-Cola Cup, then it became the Worthington Cup, then it became the Carling Cup, then it became the Capital One Cup, then it became the EFL cup and now it is the Carabao Cup.

Sponsorship my dear old thing; in order, the Milk marketing board - a national organisation that told us to drink milk a lot (*see below), then a gambling company (football pools to be accurate - you'll need to Google that), then an electoral goods retailer, then a small novelty drink firm - what happened to them?, then beer, then beer, then credit cards, then the Football League (no one wanted to sponsor it) and now Carabao.

Carabao is a bonkers Thai energy drink invented by a Thai pop star.  Think Mountain Dew with extra caffeine.  No-one's heard of it here, either.   Mountain Dew is ace though,  especially as a slushy.

Hope that helps?  

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCNW-Rqc80A   this will fry your brains.  UK Tv of the 70's.  Legendary stuff and kept me and @eoin behind the sofa after school.

Eoin

To be fair, nobody had heard of Carabao before they sponsored the league cup and as it probably only costs a fiver a season, it must be good value.

YEMTrey

Maybe we could pull some money together and name it ourselves next year, lol!

Eoin

YEMTrey said:

Maybe we could pull some money together and name it ourselves next year, lol!

@CPFC1905 will give them a call in the morning and see how much we have to rustle up to make it the Egghead Cup.