2015/16 International Football

[UnclearInitial]

4 hours ago, Crabcake47 said:

First the Caps. Now this crap. 

 

I'm never going to catch a break, am I? I guess I just seem to have a penchance for supporting cursed teams when it comes to big moments. 

 

 

Oh, come on. Liverpool's a team cursed in big moments now? 

[Crabcake]

26 minutes ago, anythinglogos said:

Oh, come on. Liverpool's a team cursed in big moments now? 

This season, yes. 

 

I was still really salty when I typed that, btw. I've got a clearer head now

[crashcarson15]

38 minutes ago, anythinglogos said:

Oh, come on. Liverpool's a team cursed in big moments now? 

The most absurd statement I’ve ever seen on these here forums.

 

Anyway, as if today wasn’t good enough, the club I’m a (small!) part-owner of is headed to Wembley for a play-off final. Come on you Dons!

[Nyk33]

12 hours ago, crashcarson15 said:

The most absurd statement I’ve ever seen on these here forums.

 

Anyway, as if today wasn’t good enough, the club I’m a (small!) part-owner of is headed to Wembley for a play-off final. Come on you Dons!

 

I really want Wimbledon to win so we can see them play a home game against MK Dons for the first time ever. 

[Jaffa]

Some big changes might be in line for the (English) Football League.

 

Clubs will be voting on setting up a new League Three below the current Championship and Leagues One and Two - each division will consist of 20 teams rather than the current 24. With the Premier League taken into account, that'll mean England will have 100 League clubs rather than the current 92.

 

The Football League says that the move will help tackle fixture congestion and help cut clubs' costs - mind, it'll also mean that each has four fewer home games per season to generate income from. There'll be a vote on the measures at the League's AGM next summer - 90% of the current clubs need to vote in its favour for the restructuring to go through for the 2019-20 season.

 

I note that the Football League's newly unveiled identity is based around the notion of 92 clubs and three divisions, so if the clubs vote in favour that'll be needing a revamp.

[-kj]

It make sense to go from 24 teams to 20 in each division.  A 46-game league season is pretty ridiculous.

[Crabcake]

17 hours ago, crashcarson15 said:

The most absurd statement I’ve ever seen on these here forums.

 

Anyway, as if today wasn’t good enough, the club I’m a (small!) part-owner of is headed to Wembley for a play-off final. Come on you Dons!

I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but yeah, typing that was just a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to the match on my part. 

 

Oh, and also it seems we've agreed to a deal in principle with Fiorentina for a Mario Balotelli-Josep Ilicic swap deal. 

 

 

(this is coming from the Daily Express, can someone please tell me whether they are reliable or not?)

[marble21]

1 hour ago, Crabcake47 said:

(this is coming from the Daily Express, can someone please tell me whether they are reliable or not?)

 

It's a British newspaper, so... no. To put it bluntly.

 

3 hours ago, Jaffa said:

Some big changes might be in line for the (English) Football League.

 

Sorry for the long post...

I am a season ticket holder at Tranmere Rovers who were relegated back to back from League One to League Two then out of the Football League in to the National League and have just finished their first season there just missing out on the playoffs. Seeing those leagues first hand I can tell you with absolute certainty that the top of the National League is a lot stronger than the bottom of League Two. Only two teams go up and down so the teams at the bottom of League Two are bottom dwellers who just do the bare minimum to try and stay up. The top of the National League has about 8 teams who are all genuinely trying to get promoted and because of this it is very competitive. Those teams would probably all do well in the Football League. Look at how Burton and Bristol Rovers have got on recently for example.

 

Anyway, this revamp of the league could solve some of these problems as there are definitely some clubs at the top of the National League who could make decent money if they made it to the Football League but the odds are so stacked against them in the current format that there is potentially a lot of lost revenue to them and the Football League itself.

[Sykotyk]

The one thing with pro/rel that bugs me is that the teams being relegated and teams being promoted don't get to play eachother for the right to be in the higher league.

 

For instance, let the very bottom team in a league drop and the very top team in the league be promoted. But, everyone else has to 'playoff' against 1v1 against their mirrored position in the other league (#19 plays #2, #18 plays #3, #17 plays #4, #16 plays #5) in a home-and-home aggregate goal matchup. Winner is in the higher league. Loser is in the lower league.

 

Sure, the Championship has the four team playoff for the final promotion spot, which can be exciting, but it'd be interesting to see the teams have to literally beat the team they're hoping to replace.

[JayMac]

I think the Bundesliga does a form of this. If I am correct, the #3 of the second tier plays the #18 of the top flight.

[Jaffa]

Scotland and the Netherlands are two other nations that spring to my mind.

[kroywen]

3 hours ago, jmac11281 said:

I think the Bundesliga does a form of this. If I am correct, the #3 of the second tier plays the #18 of the top flight.

I've always liked that set up. To me, the idea of one team trying to survive in the top flight, facing another trying to break through into the top flight, is even more compelling than two runners-up playing for a promotion.

[Crabcake]

Agreed. Would love to see the FA adopt this idea. 

[Berlin Wall]

Since Hertha dramatically lost the relegation playoffs against Düsseldorf 4 years ago I hate this system.

[Crabcake]

USMNT Copa Squad Announced

 

Some interesting decisions from Klinsmann as per the norm, most notably leaving Jordan Morris and Omar Gonzalez home. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 hours ago, Crabcake47 said:

USMNT Copa Squad Announced

 

Some interesting decisions from Klinsmann as per the norm, most notably leaving Jordan Morris and Omar Gonzalez home. 

 

I see that Klinsmann has given up already, what with the choice to start Brad Guzan.

[Still MIGHTY]

3 hours ago, Crabcake47 said:

USMNT Copa Squad Announced

 

Some interesting decisions from Klinsmann as per the norm, most notably leaving Jordan Morris and Omar Gonzalez home. 

 

He left Mix off too.

 

But really of all the exclusions from the team, the Jordan Morris one makes no sense. Are you trying to put together the best team to win? Or are you leaving off guys like Morris because you know what you have and trying to get others experience? Are you still displeased he joined MLS instead of going overseas? And if the last two are the case, why leave off Miazga as well?

 

I almost think he does this stuff to try and see if it will be covered in the media, or get some reaction, some "media pressure"

[crashcarson15]

11 hours ago, Still MIGHTY said:

 

He left Mix off too.

Mix really isn’t that great though.

 

Now, I’m of the belief that Nick Rimando is the best American goalkeeper — and has been for 18 months, or so — but the fact that Guzan is still our No. 1 is… pretty incredible, given how consistently strong the U.S. has been at goalie for so long.

 

Remember: Brad Guzan twice lost his starting position for the third-worst Premier League team in the competition’s 24-season history.

[Crabcake]

5 hours ago, crashcarson15 said:

Mix really isn’t that great though.

 

Now, I’m of the belief that Nick Rimando is the best American goalkeeper — and has been for 18 months, or so — but the fact that Guzan is still our No. 1 is… pretty incredible, given how consistently strong the U.S. has been at goalie for so long.

 

Remember: Brad Guzan twice lost his starting position for the third-worst Premier League team in the competition’s 24-season history.

Agreed. The fact that Guzan is No. 1 over both Tim Howard and Nick Rimando is quite ridiculous. 

 

Ive been a Klinsmann supporter in the past, but I think the patience is running a little thin. An especially poor showing at the Copa could be the end for him. 

[2001mark]

Mourinho