Football

[Iskra]

Talksport is simply brain rotting nonsense for the hard of thinking.

It’s just rage-baiting.

 

[DarloRich]

Absolutely. Sending the young intern to do something like that, then throwing him under the bus, is just the cherry on the cake.

not if he rats them all out!

Cundy is a decent pundit compared to some on other platforms.

no he is not. he is awful. He is the same bloke who just days ago was saying the whole "spygate" thing was nothing and Southampton should just ignore it.

Bit harsh that - as you don't know me at all.

I just assumed you were sharing a clip that I had seen several times on the socials this very morning.

 

[Tetchytyke]

A nice little earner for whoever scoops up all the booking fees for the 40,000 tickets that will be sold twice

That would be Ticketmaster.

It’s just rage-baiting.

Always has been. It was rage-baiting back in the James Whale and Danny Baker era and it’s just got worse with age. I didn’t mind it when it was entertaining but now it’s not even that.

 

[SuspectUsual]

It’s just rage-baiting.

They’re pretty much all as bad as each other - every pundit trying to make his way has to have something to be remembered by, so they tend to become ever more extreme to try and stand out.

When Sutton and Savage started doing 606 they seemed outrageous compared to what had gone before - the halfwit Savage talking nonsense and Sutton saying everything was either amazing or “a shaaaaaaaambles”. Now they’re the mainstream

You see it in other genres too. Contestants on the Apprentice have gradually gone from decent and bright to gobsh*tes in power clothes; the original Big Brother was a genuinely interesting social experiment and became the natural home of idiots wanting their 15 minutes of fame

 

[AlterEgo]

This is doing the rounds on LUFC Socials…

My team for West Ham:

Meslier

Me | Lucas the Kop Cat | Karen Brady | Mel B

Graham Smyth | Neville Longbottom | Elland Road McDonalds Manager | Ronnie the Rhino

Ray from the Undatables | Bin Laden crowdie from Covid

You'd still get reasonable odds on a score draw, though Meslier in goal is your weak link there.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2026 ==

It's been very amusing watching Liverpool implode this year. I'd hope Slot has the balls to exclude Salah from the squad and bar him from the ground for his latest outburst, but I wouldn't bet on it. And VVD has far too much to say, particularly when his own performances have been gash.

Slot is in a pinch himself. The big issue for him is Liverpool's squad is far too old and the mistakes of 1990 are coming back. Salah and VVD are two significant underperformers and both have been on a two-season long decline. VVD must also leave this summer in my view.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2026 ==

Always has been. It was rage-baiting back in the James Whale and Danny Baker era

Danny Baker was at least funny.

 

[MboroFC]

There's only one Stevie Gibson

 

[Drogba11CFC]

you dont mess with Gibbo! Derby found that..................

Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if he opposed refunds for Southampton fans for reasons of "integrity".

 

[Iskra]

You'd still get reasonable odds on a score draw, though Meslier in goal is your weak link there.

West Ham to beat Leeds, but still go down on Goal Difference is my prediction.

It’s a difficult one for Leeds, if we weaken our team we open ourselves to sanctions. I suggest instead we field a full strength team, but hold our players end of season do the evening before instead.

 

[REVUpminster]

If West Ham do go down they still hold the record for Premier League relegation with 42pts.

 

[Kite159]

..

West Ham to beat Leeds, but still go down on Goal Difference is my prediction.

It’s a difficult one for Leeds, if we weaken our team we open ourselves to sanctions. I suggest instead we field a full strength team, but hold our players end of season do the evening before instead.

I guess it also depends on how many players Leeds has who will feature in the World Cup, some of those players might want to sit out of effectively (to Leeds at least) a meaningless game.

 

[brad465]

All London taxpayers will be hoping West Ham stay up, simply because their tax bill increases with relegation (even if by a pittance on a per-person basis):

West Ham: London taxpayers could pay extra £2.5m if Hammers relegated

London taxpayers may have to pay an extra £2.5m if West Ham are relegated from the Premier League, because of the club's lease agreement for London Stadium.

www.bbc.co.uk

London taxpayers may have to pay an extra £2.5m if West Ham are relegated from the Premier League this season, because of the club's lease agreement for London Stadium.

The Hammers are 18th in the table with one match remaining, and will be as good as relegated to the Championship if Tottenham - two points above them with a game in hand and a much better goal difference - draw with Chelsea on Tuesday.

Under the 99-year lease agreement, West Ham would pay the Greater London Authority about half their current annual rent of £4.4m if they are relegated.

London taxpayers, who currently contribute to stadium operating costs such as stewarding, will have to make up the funding gap.

"If West Ham are relegated, we, the taxpayers, we City Hall, could lose up to £2.5m a year," said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

"So what I say to Londoners who don't support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham, because the taxpayer will lose out if West Ham go down."

Khan blamed predecessor Boris Johnson for agreeing "the worst deal imaginable" in 2012.

Commercial revenues from London Stadium are expected to fall if West Ham play in the Championship, while stewarding costs over 23 home games would be greater than 19 Premier League home matches.

 

[D1511]

Everyone loved watching Arsenal back in the 2010s when they played lovely football. It was also losing football, I think is why people liked it.

I much prefer winning football.

As a fan, obviously you would.
As an objective observer, I think they stink the place out.

 

[SuspectUsual]

As a fan, obviously you would.
As an objective observer, I think they stink the place out.

What might a hybrid invincibles (2003/04) / current season Arsenal team look like? How many of the current team would get in?

Based on appearance numbers, the invincible lineup was:

Lehmann

Lauren
Campbell
Toure
Cole

Ljungberg
Vieira
Silva
Pires

Bergkamp
Henry

The current team is, again based on appearances

Raya

Timber
Gabriel
Saliba
Calafiori

Rice
Zubimendi
Eze

Saka
Gyokeres
Trossard

I'd take the goalkeeper and both centre halves from this season's team, plus Rice ahead of Gilberto Silva and Saka over Ljungberg

So a 6/5 split, but it would mean playing with only two in central midfield so even though they're a better team they might not do so well at modern football

 

[AlterEgo]

What might a hybrid invincibles (2003/04) / current season Arsenal team look like? How many of the current team would get in?

Based on appearance numbers, the invincible lineup was:

Lehmann

Lauren
Campbell
Toure
Cole

Ljungberg
Vieira
Silva
Pires

Bergkamp
Henry

The current team is, again based on appearances

Raya

Timber
Gabriel
Saliba
Calafiori

Rice
Zubimendi
Eze

Saka
Gyokeres
Trossard

I'd take the goalkeeper and both centre halves from this season's team, plus Rice ahead of Gilberto Silva and Saka over Ljungberg

So a 6/5 split, but it would mean playing with only two in central midfield so even though they're a better team they might not do so well at modern football

Which one would you want to watch?

If Arsenal were playing at the bottom of my garden I'd draw the curtains, as Shankly once didn't quite say.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Which one would you want to watch?

If Arsenal were playing at the bottom of my garden I'd draw the curtains, as Shankly once didn't quite say.

Oh, I'd watch my hybrid team, obviously

(Or to be honest, any team with Henry and Pires in it. Pires never quite got the credit he deserved, he was a brilliant player)

 

[Iskra]

Oh, I'd watch my hybrid team, obviously

(Or to be honest, any team with Henry and Pires in it. Pires never quite got the credit he deserved, he was a brilliant player)

I remember Henry putting 4 past Leeds at Elland Road and almost enjoying it. He was applauded from all sides of the ground. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it since.

 

[Meole]

Or Villa to win tomorrow night then end up 5th as that would mean 6th would qualify for the Champions League

That is the only way, Villa have to lose and Liverpool win and overtake them.
Liverpool losing means 5 places not 6.

 

[AlterEgo]

Oh, I'd watch my hybrid team, obviously

(Or to be honest, any team with Henry and Pires in it. Pires never quite got the credit he deserved, he was a brilliant player)

Henry and Pires are players you'd pay to watch if they were turning up in the Sunday League. There is almost no modern footballer worth the admission price alone these days, the game has significantly diminished in terms of aesthetic appeal. Not just an Arsenal problem and they didn't start it either.

 

[Bantamzen]

All London taxpayers will be hoping West Ham stay up, simply because their tax bill increases with relegation (even if by a pittance on a per-person basis):

West Ham: London taxpayers could pay extra £2.5m if Hammers relegated

London taxpayers may have to pay an extra £2.5m if West Ham are relegated from the Premier League, because of the club's lease agreement for London Stadium.

www.bbc.co.uk

I'm going to guess there are a fair few Londoners in the north, west and south of the city that will more than happily pay the price! Especially one team's supporters who get a rather tasty derby match next season.......

 

[Tetchytyke]

What might a hybrid invincibles (2003/04) / current season Arsenal team look like? How many of the current team would get in?

Of the current team I'd take the goalkeeper and the back four, all of them are both individually and collectively better defenders than the Invincibles.

Other than that, Rice instead of Gilberto Silva and probably Saka instead of Ljungberg. Bergkamp, Henry, and Pires are all streets ahead of what Arsenal's attack is now.

As a fan, obviously you would.
As an objective observer, I think they stink the place out.

Obviously I'm biased.

But I do make a serious point. The neutrals hated the first Wenger era, Vieira and Petit and Keown and the papers always banging on about red cards.

All the neutrals then loved the tippy-tappy football of the late Wenger era, the likes of Hleb and Fabregas and Rosicky. And they were brilliant footballers. But that Arsenal side were perceived as "weak" and so two of Arsenal's best players at that time- Ramsey and Eduardo- had their legs deliberately* broken by opponents. Eduardo's injury probably cost Arsenal the title. The worst injury was the third, Abou Diaby, whose entire career was destroyed at 19 by some Mackem thug who was so talentless he couldn't even get a game at Gateshead two seasons later.

(* they didn't deliberately break their legs, but they really did deliberately set out to injure them/"rough them up")

The neutrals only ever seemed to like the Arsenal sides that lost.

Not just an Arsenal problem and they didn't start it either.

There's always been a bit of an ebb-and-flow between functional teams and aesthetic teams. The Invincibles were followed the year after by Mourinho's Chelsea, a side that makes the current Arsenal side look like 1970s Ajax.

But yeah, we are in an era where its more about physicality than about aesthetic football. Man City are the same: that fantastic 2017/18 side with Aguero and de Bruyne and David Silva replaced with a battering ram in Haaland.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2026 ==

I'm going to guess there are a fair few Londoners in the north, west and south of the city that will more than happily pay the price!

I'm honestly not sure many people in London like Spurs any more than West Ham.

I've made my peace with the fates deciding that it would be too greedy for Arsenal to win the league and for Spurs to get relegated. I do wish Aston Villa hadn't chucked that home game against Spurs though. I can't see either Spurs or West Ham winning on Sunday.

That would require an astonishing result at Anfield on Sunday as well as a win for Bournemouth at Forest.

Villa winning Europa, but losing their final league match to City, Liverpool winning and Bournemouth matching Brighton’s result would do it.

At least with the way the results have played out we're spared a situation where Brighton and/or Brentford would qualify for the Champions League if they lost their final match but wouldn't qualify if they won their final match. Before Villa beat Liverpool last week that was a very real possibility. The rules are absolutely idiotic.

As it stands, if Villa win tonight then England will only get a 6th Champions League spot if Villa lose and Liverpool win. That would put Liverpool 4th on goal difference. If Villa lose tonight, or if Villa get a point on Sunday, or if Liverpool fail to beat Brentford, then England will 'only' get five Champions League spots.

 

[JamesT]

There’s no free option for watching the European finals this year, but if you’re not resorting to the darks arts, HBO Max will have all three. Subscriptions start at £4.99 for a month.

 

[BAFRA77]

Reports that Southampton have lost their appeal and will not play in the Final

Southampton lose ‘Spygate’ appeal over Championship play-off final expulsion

Middlesbrough will play Saturday's final against Hull City, with a place in the Premier League on the line.

www.nytimes.com

 

[AlterEgo]

Reports that Southampton have lost their appeal and will not play in the Final

Southampton lose ‘Spygate’ appeal over Championship play-off final expulsion

Middlesbrough will play Saturday's final against Hull City, with a place in the Premier League on the line.

www.nytimes.com

Good. Better luck next season.

 

[D1511]

I'd imagine Herr Eckert will be packing up his stuff ......the buck stops with him.

 

[Darandio]

Result. Although I can't for the life of me figure out why the suggestion is that the play-off final now kicks off an hour earlier.

I'm going to assume it's travel related but they've never given a toss about that before.

 

[Ianigsy]

I'm going to guess there are a fair few Londoners in the north, west and south of the city that will more than happily pay the price! Especially one team's supporters who get a rather tasty derby match next season.......

The Millwall Supporters’ Club are probably having a whip round at this very moment.

 

[JamesT]

Aston Villa’s name is being engraved onto the Europa League trophy.

 

[D1511]

Every copper in E London will be praying the Hammers stay up......

 

[JD2168]

Reports that Southampton have lost their appeal and will not play in the Final

Southampton lose ‘Spygate’ appeal over Championship play-off final expulsion

Middlesbrough will play Saturday's final against Hull City, with a place in the Premier League on the line.

www.nytimes.com

Good decision. Southampton has been embarrassed by its staff & whoever authorised this rather bad idea. I can see someone being dismissed from the club, either Tonda Eckart or someone else. One of the more embarrassing parts is that the matches that they spied for, the immediate one after they didn’t win.

I feel sorry for Hull City as they have been preparing to play Southampton, then find out that it’s Middlesbrough instead & the time of the match has been brung forward.

Well done to Arsenal for winning the Premier League, it enables the focus of the final day to be on who goes down between Tottenham & West Ham.

Well done to Aston Villa for winning the Europa League, the first half was pretty tight until the opening goal but afterwards Aston Villa dominated the game

 

[Haywain]

One of the more embarrassing parts is that the matches that they spied for, the immediate one after they didn’t win.

The matches we know about. It’s difficult to believe that they only chose to do it for 3 matches.