May 27, 2023 19:05:02 GMT Leper Messiah said:

I got my wish, as Luton Town are going up to the Premier League. It'll be cool to see Kenilworth Road hosting Premier League games before it gets replaced with the new stadium in Luton.

On a side note, hopefully Lockyer is doing okay after the situation earlier. He was at least responsive before being taken to the hospital.

Only took a decade but they finally did the damn thing! COYH!!!

Sevilla and the Europa League is honestly one of the funniest things in sport.

Jun 1, 2023 0:10:58 GMT @admin said:

Sevilla and the Europa League is honestly one of the funniest things in sport.

😂

It’s absolutely bizarre. Any team winning the Europa League that many times should be too good to be in it.

What a hell of a first season to finally become a fan of the greatest sport on Earth.

In terms of strictly on the pitch: the greatest World Cup of all time.

Napoli winning Serie A is nuts; a shimmering light in a very dark Italian footy landscape. Not since the days of Maradona have they hoisted the scudetto, and no other southern Italian club has won it since Roma two decades prior. And they've done it with many players who most pundits wrote off as cripples, bastards and broken things. Phenomenal.

Man City and Bayern clinching the Prem and Bundesliga respectively (yet again) is certainly a shame but the Gunners weren't even supposed to be in the thick of it this year and at least gave some hope. With them, Newcastle, Man U and maybe even Brighton, we might actually get some parity in the Prem. Certainly City's dominance can't last forever, I really hope at least.

The Luton Town RTG. The rise of Wrexham. Sheff Wednesday pulling off the greatest playoff comeback probably ever against Peterborough, down 4-0 on agg, tied it 5-5 at home and then win 5-3 on pens. Sheer insanity. Also got to see Leeds do a Leeds, big oof.

Even Barca's back to relevance in Camp Spotify and Madrid gets to cry about it... Just beautiful. Also that moment when realizing that Europeans are just as culturally racist as your own country, Hala Espanol. Sadly the empty gestures, banners and lack of any actual progress is also the very same as this side of the pond.

It's the sport that ended a war... And sadly also started one. But the scope and power it has is truly amazing. Now if only Inter can somehow pull off an upset against City in the UCL Finals, that'd be one excellent cherry on top.

Jun 2, 2023 9:51:40 GMT rad said:

Napoli winning Serie A is nuts; a shimmering light in a very dark Italian footy landscape. Not since the days of Maradona have they hoisted the scudetto, and no other southern Italian club has won it since Roma two decades prior. And they've done it with many players who most pundits wrote off as cripples, bastards and broken things. Phenomenal.

I was in Naples for a few days just before they clinched the title and the atmosphere was absolutely incredible. They had streamers and banners on literally every single street, not just one or two. We had to get to the airport on the day of a game and it was absolute bedlam in the square outside the main station, we had to bundle into the back of a minivan of about the only taxi that could penetrate the crowd because it was driven by the Italian Vin Diesel.

Huge news for Inter Miami, and for as a whole, Major League Soccer.

They got Messi!

Inter better start moving their games to Hard Rock for a name like that. CF Montreal might have to open up Olympic Stadium just for their home games against Messi.

Jun 7, 2023 21:39:49 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Huge news for Inter Miami, and for as a whole, Major League Soccer.

They got Messi!

Inter better start moving their games to Hard Rock for a name like that. CF Montreal might have to open up Olympic Stadium just for their home games against Messi.

Fuck that's 1000x a bigger deal for the MLS than Becks ever was. Great news for US soccer footy in general. This coupled with the 2026 WC is a huge momentum shift.

And a win for most every fan. Outside of the Arabic world, who really wanted to see Messi pimped out by more oil money at Al Hilal anyways?

EDIT: I guess a Barca reunion would have been a bigger win for Europe, but did they (the club) even deserve the GOAT coming back to them after how he left? Plus they've got Lewandowski and some great prospects, they'll be alright.

Jun 7, 2023 21:39:49 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Huge news for Inter Miami, and for as a whole, Major League Soccer.

They got Messi!

Inter better start moving their games to Hard Rock for a name like that. CF Montreal might have to open up Olympic Stadium just for their home games against Messi.

It definitely makes the Fire moving to Soldier Field a few years back a good idea.

With as much as soccer's popularity has grown in the U.S., I wonder if there'd ever be the possibility of the MLS, be it by expansion, merger with the USL, or both, could get up to 72 teams, and have three 24 team divisions, with promotion and relegation?

I could see it being a logistics problem (travel isn't as lengthy in countries like England), but also money could get in the way of the idea. As much as it would be nice to see.

Jun 8, 2023 23:01:21 GMT Leper Messiah said:

Jun 7, 2023 21:39:49 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Huge news for Inter Miami, and for as a whole, Major League Soccer.

They got Messi!

Inter better start moving their games to Hard Rock for a name like that. CF Montreal might have to open up Olympic Stadium just for their home games against Messi.

It definitely makes the Fire moving to Soldier Field a few years back a good idea.

With as much as soccer's popularity has grown in the U.S., I wonder if there'd ever be the possibility of the MLS, be it by expansion, merger with the USL, or both, could get up to 72 teams, and have three 24 team divisions, with promotion and relegation?

I could see it being a logistics problem (travel isn't as lengthy in countries like England), but also money could get in the way of the idea. As much as it would be nice to see.

Unfortunately I think our closed league system is here to stay. But the alternative could be for the MLS to structure its own umbrella network of different leagues to eventually form their own variation on a pro-rel system, at least two tiers. That way they're still raking in at least a percentage of that revenue, if not all. I think they'll eventually either buy out the USL or start their own branded league (that isn't just a U17 feeder competition like MLS2 or "NextPro" or whatever they're calling it).

Then again, as the Brits are sadly finding out firsthand for the past decade or more, American owners are often very ignorant, so it's hard to really see them risking sides like the LA Galaxy or NY Red Bulls ever dropping down.

The more I think about the recent Messi move the more questions I have. Like, HardRock isn't even a good enough venue for the Dolphins, let alone IM. But that's where you're gonna have to go (at least till a soccer specific venue is built) cause a glorified high school stadium miles away in Fort Lauderdale won't cut it now. And how consistent will that attendance be once the honeymoon phase wears off? Outside of maybe the Heat, Miami is notorious for its fairweather fans.

They're one of the worst teams in the league right now with an absolute garbage defense. Signing someone like a Di Maria would be nice, but you need to be focused on your backline so that this doesn't become Zlatan 2.0 and you can actually do something come playoff time. Because if the mentally is "we have Messi and co., we're all good now" then this is going to be a huge bust.

Becks has also made some head scratching decisions leading up to this gem. Also the Apple influence also feels a little sus for some reason. I dunno, just got a weird feeling about it all. Hope I'm wrong.

Inter getting the Paramount+ shirt sponsor just for this UCL final is kind of humorous.

Really hoping City bottles this. It'd be absolutely glorious.

Fuck... Welp, they got the goddamn treble.

Inter put the blue in their shirts to work by blowing some great opportunities, but it was a hell of a fight they put up.

Two absolutely phenomenal keepers for both sides. It honestly could have gone either way but Ederson was a huge difference maker for City.

Messi makes his big MLS debut this week against Cruz Azul in the MLS/Liga MX Leagues Cup.

It's going to be interesting from there on out, as the MLS PRO officiating has been absolute dogshit for the majority of this campaign so far. I'm talking nearly on the level of South Korea '02 World Cup bad. For example:

1.) Forgetting you've given out two yellows already to a player and giving a red after having to be reminded

2.) Trying to eject a fan simply because he didn't toss an out of play ball back to an opposing team's player and chucked it to the side instead


3.) Rescinding a goal on incidental contact, then completely no calling a full on linebacker tackle

And that was just about 15% of the bullshit from last night's FCC match. It's been an epidemic league-wide and really makes the product look like more of a joke to international audiences.

Big fan of the guy, but I unfortunately expect Leo's going to be getting preferential treatment on such a level that even David Sammartino would probably blush. He might even put Tom Brady to shame.

Jul 17, 2023 4:52:08 GMT rad said:

1.) Forgetting you've given out two yellows already to a player and giving a red after having to be reminded

Trigger warning please!!

Jul 17, 2023 5:34:42 GMT @admin said:

Jul 17, 2023 4:52:08 GMT rad said:

1.) Forgetting you've given out two yellows already to a player and giving a red after having to be reminded

Trigger warning please!!

Since I had to suffer through it:



12 total cards. Shitshow is putting it lightly. Pretty sure I traumatized my cat in a beer-fueled rage.

Incoming tangent: It's so frustrating too because the momentum right now in the US (+ Canada) is pitch perfect, no pun intended. The sport just keeps getting more popular here, the league talent (especially homegrown) is better than 5-10 years ago and Messi//2026 WC are on the horizon.

Don't think it'll ever trump NFL/NBA, but that third spot is more than viable if baseball keeps fucking up, Bettman keeps Bettmanning and MLS gets it shit together and puts it all in a shit museum.

Blindy are you plugging into the WWC? I'm really looking forward to tonight, I went to the Matildas warm-up game against France on Friday and they played fantastically, they could have easily won by a lot more than the 1-0 scoreline. Hopefully playing on home soil will help them go a little bit further than they have managed in recent tournaments.

Pretty disappointing result for Canada. Sinclair had a shot for a penalty, but the Nigerian goalie saved it.  And it ended up 0-0.

They better do better against Ireland, or else this could be a national embarrassment.

Jul 21, 2023 4:32:10 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Pretty disappointing result for Canada. Sinclair had a shot for a penalty, but the Nigerian goalie saved it.  And it ended up 0-0.

They better do better against Ireland, or else this could be a national embarrassment.

Ireland put up a lot more resistance than I was expecting, they play the low block that the Matildas always struggle with and turned it into a really physical contest. Quite frankly they dominated the last half an hour after the goal and would probably feel unlucky not to have come away with at least a point. 

0-0 was a nice result for Australia who now have a clearer route to topping the group, but it seems like it's going to be a very competitive affair. This is already shaping up as a really unpredictable tournament as we see rapid growth across the world, former powerhouse countries not so far ahead of the pack anymore. 

Jul 19, 2023 23:37:09 GMT @admin said:

Blindy are you plugging into the WWC? I'm really looking forward to tonight, I went to the Matildas warm-up game against France on Friday and they played fantastically, they could have easily won by a lot more than the 1-0 scoreline. Hopefully playing on home soil will help them go a little bit further than they have managed in recent tournaments.

Not as into it this year as I was but US plays tonight vs Vietnam, US should do some work in this group stage but the Sweden's, Canada's, Japan's etc. should be as difficult as ever. AUS and BRA of course too. 

Probably will watch the game, it's on a very good time here for EST(Before 10PM!)

Messi just scored in his first MLS game with a 94th minute free kick to win the game for Miami FC 2-1.

You can't write this shit.

Jul 22, 2023 2:18:53 GMT RT said:

Messi just scored in his first MLS game with a 94th minute free kick to win the game for Miami FC 2-1.

You can't write this shit.

It definitely felt like a movie. Becks looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Such a great moment for the league and for the sport in US/Canada in general. And not only that, Leo looked incredibly ecstatic. The difference in body language to when I last watched him ride the bench in Paris was night and day.

Edit: Oh yeah and he even bent it like Beckham on that FK. Fucking wild.

Jul 22, 2023 15:30:24 GMT rad said:

Jul 22, 2023 2:18:53 GMT RT said:

Messi just scored in his first MLS game with a 94th minute free kick to win the game for Miami FC 2-1.

You can't write this shit.

It definitely felt like a movie. Becks looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Such a great moment for the league and for the sport in US/Canada in general. And not only that, Leo looked incredibly ecstatic. The difference in body language to when I last watched him ride the bench in Paris was night and day.

Edit: Oh yeah and he even bent it like Beckham on that FK. Fucking wild.

MLS is going to pass the NHL for market share in North America if they haven't already. I love it. Maybe Bettman will finally wake up.

Jul 22, 2023 16:48:17 GMT RT said:

Jul 22, 2023 15:30:24 GMT rad said:

It definitely felt like a movie. Becks looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Such a great moment for the league and for the sport in US/Canada in general. And not only that, Leo looked incredibly ecstatic. The difference in body language to when I last watched him ride the bench in Paris was night and day.

Edit: Oh yeah and he even bent it like Beckham on that FK. Fucking wild.

MLS is going to pass the NHL for market share in North America if they haven't already. I love it. Maybe Bettman will finally wake up.

I actually hate that hockey or baseball will have to suffer but it's only been 100 years in the making. Soccer was stifled into obscurity here in the 1920's by the USFA's incompetency and the Great Depression. NFL would have won regardless over time but soccer should have had that third spot locked down many decades ago, and it's not as simple as "foreign commie sport" as to why it didn't get over here.

But Bettman suffering I will always party to. And as much as I love the game - MLB made its own bed long ago, too. It's about 5-10 years too late on the "okay, okay, I guess we'll modernize if we have to" concessions.

I can breathe a sigh of relief today, since Canada defeated Ireland.

It didn't start too well, but they turned it on when needed, and it paid off.

Now bring on the Aussies!

USA outplayed the Dutch in the 2nd half where NED was on hang on mode but good result for NED to get a draw there. US were outplayed and romped in the midfield on that 1st half, I don't know if this US side is good enough to get deep, deep into the tourney. Remains to be seen. Japan and maybe Sweden would give this US side fits.

Nigeria have been the darlings of the tourney. How the hell did they beat the Matildas @admin?

Jul 27, 2023 12:57:33 GMT Blindy said:

Nigeria have been the darlings of the tourney. How the hell did they beat the Matildas @admin ?

Just a really poor performance but not entirely unexpected considering how they played in the first game against Ireland. They're fine transitioning the ball out from defence but in the attacking third it all falls apart, and that's only heightened without Kerr's individual brilliance to paper over the cracks. Lots of deserved blame for Gustavsson who no one was ever convinced by, he's being exposed as a very rudimentary coach relying on route one tactics and was laughably slow to try and change the game with substitutes. It's ironic that Stajcic who we sacked pulled off a huge upset with the Philippines. 

Nigeria were good value for it though, they have some incredible athletes (I lost count of the amount of times it looked like Australia were about to get in behind only for one of their defenders to cover) and took their chances efficiently.

Jul 27, 2023 12:57:33 GMT Blindy said:

USA outplayed the Dutch in the 2nd half where NED was on hang on mode but good result for NED to get a draw there. US were outplayed and romped in the midfield on that 1st half, I don't know if this US side is good enough to get deep, deep into the tourney. Remains to be seen. Japan and maybe Sweden would give this US side fits.

It's not like the Dutch are scrubs by any means. But I do feel like the rest of the world is starting to catch up with us. Which isn't cool, man -- this is supposed to be our one avenue of ManiFoot Destiny, dammit.

Outside of any former winning national sides, Australia and Spain in particular have really scary potential.

Damn good effort by your gals @admin. Didn't get to see the game but that has to be considered a semi upset.

CONCACAF is in pure shambles with how this group stage has happened. Canada going out in the group stage is a massive downer for the entire conference. Sucks if that is Sinclair's final World Cup shot.

No real threat from CONCACAF maybe outside of the Reggae Girlz with how the group stage has looked thus far.

:lol: :lol: :lol: 

Jul 31, 2023 13:17:06 GMT Blindy said:

Damn good effort by your gals @admin . Didn't get to see the game but that has to be considered a semi upset.

Talk about answering the bell, they were unbelievable last night. Looked like a completely different team to the first two games - fast, crisp and hungry - Canada didn't stand a chance. 

Gustavsson was under the pump but fair play to him, the move to put Foord out wide with Fowler through the middle worked beautifully with Caitlin and Steph Catley absolutely dominating down the left wing.

Like I said in my post after the Ireland game, something the Matildas have consistently struggled with is breaking down a team that plays with a low block, so in a lot of ways playing against "better" teams who like to possess the ball makes for a more advantageous matchup. As the tournament continues they'll face more of these teams rather than those who will sit back and counter attack which hopefully bodes well.