2015/16 International Football

[IanC]

Another view

[marble21]

Glorious. Absolutely top drawer.

[Jaffa]

The best part of the news is Boris' declaration that "Londoners are going absolutely gangbusters for Gridiron".

Well quite, Boris. Quite.

[sportstar1212]

In other stadium news, AC Milan got approval to build their new stadium near their new headquarters, Casa Milan, which opened last year. It's supposed to open in 2018.

http://www.espnfc.com/ac-milan/story/2515877/ac-milan-awarded-right-to-build-new-urban-stadium

As a Milan fan, I love it. The San Siro is pretty old, and they obviously have difficulty filling it nowadays. Now hopefully I can go to a match there in the future.

[Crabcake]

Right now, my favorite team are hosting two players who are quickly becoming my least favorites in the world. Raheem Sterling missed training today because he "called in sick". Wow.

And, on top of that, Fabio Borini has rejected a move away from Liverpool for the SECOND time, despite getting next to no playing time last year. Is time, Liverpool tried to sell him to Lazio, but he blocked that because he wants to stay in the Premier League. Which is interesting, because last January, we tried to sell him to Sunderland AND QPR, but he wouldn't go.

I am tempted to by a Fabio Borini jersey just so I can burn it because the guy is really getting on my nerves. I actually almost want him gone more than Sterling. Almost.

[Berlin Wall]

This stadium looks... different. But kinda cool.

Kevin Trapp signed a five-year contract at Paris Saint-Germain. I'm excited about the fight for the goalkeeper spot between Sirigu and Trapp!

[marble21]

I am tempted to by a Fabio Borini jersey just so I can burn it.

...and with that you have now reached the full LFC fandom status.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Another view

So I was in London last week and for fun, I visited White Hart Lane. Boy is that current stadium UGLY. It has the type of charm old things do, but the outside looks more like a prison than a football stadium.

Also, locals will know this, but Tottenham is different than other neighborhoods in London, or at least the stereotypical idea of what London looks like. There are tons of little Ghanaian shops, everything looks just a little bit lived in, and I was surprised by how far away the nearest Tube station is (Seven Sisters, yeah? About a mile away?)

All that to say that while What Hart Lane is kind it shabby, it at least fits the neighborhood. This new enormous space station thing? It's going to look a little weird. (Though I suppose not much weirder than Emirates, which I also went to).

Here's a photo I took

[marble21]

All that to say that while What Hart Lane is kind it shabby, it at least fits the neighborhood. This new enormous space station thing? It's going to look a little weird.

You are absolutely right in everything that you have said. That is why I think it is important to note that it is a wider project to develop the area rather than just rebuild an old looking stadium.

I now live and work across the River Mersey from Liverpool. It was a heavily run down city for many years until it won the rights to European Capital of Culture 2008. This saw a lot of investment and construction of new buildings leading up to that year. In the years since 2008, more money has come into the city and the rest of the city and area has improved as a direct result. Hopefully this Northumberland Development Project can likewise be a catalyst for the Tottenham area.

Whilst this is not the first time a football club has been involved in a development project like this, I still think it is worth commending Tottenham Hotspur FC for their plans.

[2001mark]

Gold Cup is so far fairly interesting. Can I tell the world that being a Canadian men's soccer fan probably feels like being a Cleveland Browns or Chicago Cubs fan? Because it most certainly does.

I would rather see Canada get to the quarterfinals of a World Cup than a Maple Leafs Stanley Cup. There, I said it. It is absolutely absurd that we're ranked so bloody low, for a nation filled to the brim with youth soccer players. Hockey is pricing itself into a corner, is that what Canada soccer needs?!? fml

[Crabcake]

Sterling misses training again...

If need be, we might need to forcibly make Man City bid £50 million because the one thing I want right now is for us to wash our hands of him. He's an immature child who has shown he is very inconsistent. £50 million might seem like highway robbery a few years from now (as in he was worth about £20 million but we sold him for £50 million).

[mattb6]

My favorite thing about the new Spurs stadium is Arsenal fans saying it looks like a toilet bowl, just because it's bigger and nicer than Emirates.

Also- Striker Fernando Llorente seems poised to join Tottenham from Juventes.

[2001mark]

lols... some Spurs fan club rt'd my NFL story link (from si.com) about Tottenham's deal with the shield.

I feel like Twitter owes me money some days.

[Still MIGHTY]

New FIFA rankings are out. Despite losing in the Copa America final, Argentina is your new world No. 1. Reigning World Cup Champion Germany falls to No. 2. England, Romania (!?!?) and Wales (!) all move into the Top 10. USA falls 7 spots, Costa Rica and Mexico tumble 27 and 17 spots, respectively.

UEFA/South America were helped by playing "meaningful" matches in Euro qualifying/Copa America. CONCACAF was hurt by playing "just" friendlies as of late.

Whatever.

Here's your Top 20:

1. Argentina
2. Germany
3. Belgium
4. Colombia
5. Netherlands
6. Brazil
7. Portugal
8. Romania
9. England
10. Wales
11. Chile
12. Spain
13. Uruguay
14. Croatia
15. Slovakia
16. Austria
17. Italy
18. Switzerland
19. Algeria
20. Czech Republic

[-kj]

Competitive games (qualifiers, continental championships, World Cups) have always counted more than friendlies in the rankings. This isn't news; it's math.

[DS729]

Meh. The Rankings aren't a set-in-stone value of who's the best and worst team, but Argentina has no business being #1. They choked in the Copa America Final and failed to take advantage of Brazil choking even harder against Paraguay. Until Messi & Co. can win a major final as a national side, they have no business being #1.

The CONCACAF sides should have an opportunity to rebound with the Gold Cup though, and it is good to see Wales in the Top 10.

[-kj]

They won a number of competitive games to get to the final; that doesn't get discounted because they didn't win the title.

[IanC]

I also posted this in the North american soccer thread as it was being debated in that also.

The trouble with including friendlies in the rankings is that not all the top teams use their best team line ups and use these games to experiment with players who are on the fringe of making the national team. That means you might be beating a top nation by name but not beating the top team at full strength. Friendlies are called just that for a reason and to experiment.

In Europe soon less friendlies will be played due to the European nations league set up. It is divided into groups of the top teams and has divisions going down to the lesser nations giving a more competitive match up. This means you will see more matches between say England, Spain, Germany etc than them playing against Gibraltar, Faroe Islands etc. Those lesser nations will be playing more against their level. This cuts out the meaningless friendlies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018%E2%80%9319_UEFA_Nations_League

[Berlin Wall]

Seems like Bastian Schweinsteiger goes to Manchester United. That would be great! I hope does the Pirlo and gets even better in a new club.

[Jaffa]

News breaking that the FA Council have voted down the latest attempt to rename Hull City as 'Hull Tigers' - 70% voted against the proposal, apparently.

Splendid news for those of us of a black and amber persuasion.