***Official*** English Football Season 2018-19

[Furball]

He used to be able to put in a decent cross now and then thus he was always the less awful of the gruesome twosome with Valencia, but Damn he is bad right now.

Dalot and Shaw first choice full backs next season with experienced cover needed.

would you want Aaron Wan-Bissaka? Clearly gun, but would cost fortunes and need an elite centre half and a gun right winger. (please don't).

Surely if a gun player is available in a position you're weak then you go for him?

 

[andmark]

It has to be said, how many times do Chelsea fans have to be involved in racism scandals before we question the "small minority" narrative (see the Mo Salah song Chelsea fans have done for why I'm saying this)? Is there a wider problem within their fan base than Chelsea would like to be the case?

 

[Furball]

It has to be said, how many times do Chelsea fans have to be involved in racism scandals before we question the "small minority" narrative (see the Mo Salah song Chelsea fans have done for why I'm saying this)? Is there a wider problem within their fan base than Chelsea would like to be the case?

It's not a problem exclusive to Chelsea.

 

[andmark]

It's not a problem exclusive to Chelsea.

Oh no, of course not. Pretty much every club has its own racism problems. That said, Chelsea have been involved in a noticeable amount of incidents, which makes me wonder whether it is particularly bad with them.

 

[Furball]

That Ramsey goal was a thing of beauty.

 

[Uppercut]

Oh no, of course not. Pretty much every club has its own racism problems. That said, Chelsea have been involved in a noticeable amount of incidents, which makes me wonder whether it is particularly bad with them.

There's sort of a disconnect between what football fans all know and what it's prudent for the media to actually say.

Yes, some clubs have a particularly bad racism problem, one of them being Chelsea. It's been that way since the 70s at least.

GIMH would know a lot more about differences between fanbases. A lot of it is quite common knowledge but, strangely, I don't think I've ever seen it written down. Would be a good idea for a book imo.

 

[sledger]

I think Stamford Bridge is the only ground I've been to where I've felt a genuine sense of threat from a section of the fans.

 

[Uppercut]

It's just not the done thing for the media to single out particular clubs as being followed by scum.

Chelsea are pretty unloved anyway. But I remember moving to England and being really surprised to hear about what West Ham fans were like. The media representation of that club is light years away from most fan experiences of it.

 

[James90]

I watched Bristol v West Brom the other night because my subscriptions don't extend to the Champions League.

My conclusion is that Villa look like the only club with a serious chance of threatening Leeds or Sheffield United's promotion, depending on which has to battle through play-offs.

 

[Spark]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...nho-video-a8866581.html?utm_source=reddit.com

Mourinho is such a ****. But man, when you read this you can see why people wanted to play for him in such situations.

 

[vcs]

Mourinho is such a ****

Agreed

 

[sledger]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...nho-video-a8866581.html?utm_source=reddit.com

Mourinho is such a ****. But man, when you read this you can see why people wanted to play for him in such situations.

Good piece that.

Does well to highlight the inadequacy of Brendan Rodgers as much as the nous of Mourinho. A less likeable version of Kevin Keegan for the twenty-first century. All bluster and motivation, but tactically very one dimensional.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Mourinho is the kind of manager I would have died to defend if he coached my club at his peak.

 

[vcs]

If I was a supporter of some club and he turned up there, I'd have to renounce my support till he left.

 

[sledger]

If you were capable of renouncing your support for a club based on who manages it I'd question the commitment of your fandom tbh.

 

[andmark]

Depends what you're a fan of really. This might be an unpopular thing, but I'm a fan of football first and a fan of Liverpool second. On that basis, I could agree with VCS.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

There's no way you'd be doing that in 2004, which is the timeline that I implied. Nowadays sure, the dudes a hack and an asshole to boot.

 

[sledger]

Maybe, but I doubt you'd find anyone who considers themselves to be a genuine fan of any team who'd think you could just switch off your interest/care in the team you follow like switching off a light.

My interest in Arsenal is much lower than it once was (and sport in general to be honest), especially now that Wenger is gone, but I don't think I could ever totally not care about how they are doing. Even if I became totally disengaged, I find it hard to imagine a situation where, let's say, I overheard someone talking about them, or a match of theirs was being shown on a TV in a shop window, where I wouldn't at the very least hope they were doing well/hope they won.

edit: @andmark

 

[andmark]

Maybe, but I doubt you'd find anyone who considers themselves to be a genuine fan of any team who'd think you could just switch off your interest/care in the team you follow like switching off a light.

My interest in Arsenal is much lower than it once was (and sport in general to be honest), especially now that Wenger is gone, but I don't think I could ever totally not care about how they are doing. Even if I became totally disengaged, I find it hard to imagine a situation where, let's say, I overheard someone talking about them, or a match of theirs was being shown on a TV in a shop window, where I wouldn't at the very least hope they were doing well/hope they won.

edit: @andmark

Some of this is me thinking out loud (like all my posts tbh), but it might be a thing of I'd like to be a football fan first, team second because of the social things which come with a team. Like presumably most British fans of British clubs support their team because of the influence of family or friends. And then they probably live in an area where the team is popular and so they're being bombarded with reminders of their team to the point it even forms part of their identity to an extent. Given that stuff, it's hard to imagine such a person genuinely being a fan of the sport first. It's probably different for overseas fans of an English team because, unless they have family who were already fans, I assume they see the sport first and get into the game before choosing a team to support.

Edit: There's a slight chance I might be an exception to that given a worldview which emphasises the subjectivity of identity and attempting to avoid context influencing it too much. Most fans would almost certainly not choose to follow that path though.

 

[sledger]

I don't think these two states are mutually exclusive tbh. I expect most people who consider themselves to be a fan of both a specific team to be a fan of football itself in the broader sense.