Football

[The Hallucinating Goose]

1 hour ago, HawkMan said:

We can answer that in a number of ways. For the really big clubs, Liverpool,  Manchester  City etc, probably not really bothered by the FA Cup. However as Manchester United proved it is vitally important if you've screwed up your league campaign. United desperately needed to win on Saturday to get into Europe. Fans of big clubs probably feel the same, rather get top four, but FA Cup is a safety net, and it's a trophy,  so not to be sneezed at.

Fans of lower league clubs and clubs themselves feel very different. The uproar regarding scrapping of replays shows how important the FA Cup is to smaller teams. Take an average championship club, Middlesbrough for example,  a match at home to Bristol City in the league would get a 20,000 crowd more or less, but only half that for a cup meeting. However Middlesbrough v a mid Premier team in the FA Cup , say Crystal Palace,  would be above average attendance, and against a Liverpool or Arsenal,  full house, no question.

So the FA Cup is still important and has a place in fans hearts, different reasons for different fans depending on the status of their club. It still has global appeal of course with over 100 countries taking coverage of this year's final.

 

The FA Cup will always have a place in my heart. Before Hull City got to the final about 10 years ago, I hadn't talked to my brother, one word at all, since we were about 11 and 13 years old respectively (my brother the older). We'd fallen out at that age and not spent one second in each others company after that.

However, when Hull City got to the final, my mother organised a family get together, 3 generations of the Goose family, to watch the final at her place and the whole family went round for a bit of a party and as the game was going on and we were all enjoying ourselves me and my brother exchanged a few words and had a bit of a laugh, and we've talked ever since. These days my brother is undoubtedly my best friend in the world. We even got together to watch the FA Cup final this year.

[RayCee]

10 hours ago, Sidi Fidi Gold said:

I think you've done Leeds out of 4 points in Europe.

European Cup - Runners up - 1975 - 4pts                                                                                                                                               Semi final  - 1970 - 2pts                                                                                                                                             Semi final - 2001 - 2 pts                                                                                                              Cup winners cup Runners up - 1973 - 2pts                                                                                                               UEFA                   Winners    - 1968 - 6pts                                                                                                                                             Winners   -  1971 - 6pts                                                                                                                                               Runners up - 1967 - 3pts                                                                                                                                           Semi finals - 1966 - 1pt                                                                                                                                               Semi finals - 2000 - 1pt

                             Total    27 points

Sorry to be pedantic but Leeds need all the help they can get after Saturday.

I appreciate the research you did. It's a huge task putting large amounts of data onto spreadsheets and I'd be fooling myself if I though there were zero omissions. Hopefully Leeds Utd was the only one. And no, I have nothing against that club. In fact their team of the 1965-75 era was outstanding. I always thought they were unfortunate in their European Cup final against BM. 

I've corrected my spreadsheet and will alter the website accordingly which is a bit fiddly but necessary. Thanks again.

[Sidi Fidi Gold]

30 minutes ago, RayCee said:

I appreciate the research you did. It's a huge task putting large amounts of data onto spreadsheets and I'd be fooling myself if I though there were zero omissions. Hopefully Leeds Utd was the only one. And no, I have nothing against that club. In fact their team of the 1965-75 era was outstanding. I always thought they were unfortunate in their European Cup final against BM. 

I've corrected my spreadsheet and will alter the website accordingly which is a bit fiddly but necessary. Thanks again.

I wasn't having a dig or anything and I appreciate how time consuming it is, it must be very easy to make a mistake. I was 6 years old in 1975 so I remember nothing about that era but I have a fairly good grasp of Leeds history, when I saw their European score, I did a quick calculation in my head, then a quick look up to see if it was correct.

Talking about that Leeds side, before Revie took them into Division 1, all Leeds had to show from their previous 40 years was one 5th place finish and one FA cup quarter final. In Revies 10 season in Division 1, he won the league twice, runners up 4 times and finished no lower than 4th, he won the FA cup once, runners up 3 times, semi finalists once and quarter finalist once, he won the League cup, Fairs cup twice and were twice runners up once, beaten semi finalist once, cup winners cup finalist, European cup semi finalist once,

Klopp and Guardiola complain about fixture congestion but that run-in Leeds had in the 1969-70 season was brutal, going for the league, FA cup and European cup and ending up with nothing.

[RayCee]

1 hour ago, Sidi Fidi Gold said:

I wasn't having a dig or anything and I appreciate how time consuming it is, it must be very easy to make a mistake. I was 6 years old in 1975 so I remember nothing about that era but I have a fairly good grasp of Leeds history, when I saw their European score, I did a quick calculation in my head, then a quick look up to see if it was correct.

Talking about that Leeds side, before Revie took them into Division 1, all Leeds had to show from their previous 40 years was one 5th place finish and one FA cup quarter final. In Revies 10 season in Division 1, he won the league twice, runners up 4 times and finished no lower than 4th, he won the FA cup once, runners up 3 times, semi finalists once and quarter finalist once, he won the League cup, Fairs cup twice and were twice runners up once, beaten semi finalist once, cup winners cup finalist, European cup semi finalist once,

Klopp and Guardiola complain about fixture congestion but that run-in Leeds had in the 1969-70 season was brutal, going for the league, FA cup and European cup and ending up with nothing.

No offence, quite the opposite and the blog article has been amended. 

[SouthBedfordshireFan]

List of this Summer's Competitive International Football: 

Euro 2024, Copa America 2024 and OFC Nations Cup timetable:

14th June:
[  ] Germany - Scotland 20:00 (ITV)

15th June:
[  ] New Zealand - New Caledonia 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Solomon Islands - Vanuatu 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Hungary - Switzerland 14:00 (ITV)
[  ] Spain - Croatia 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Italy -Albania 20:00 (BBC)

16th June:
[  ] Tahiti - Samoa 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Papua New Guinea - Fiji 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Poland - Holland 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Slovenia - Denmark 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Serbia - England 20:00 (BBC)

17th June:
[  ] Romania - Ukraine 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Belgium - Slovakia 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Austria - France 20:00 (ITV)

18th June:
[  ] New Zealand - Solomon Islands 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Vanuatu - New Caledonia 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Turkey - Georgia 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Portugal - Czechia 20:00 (BBC)

19th June:
[  ] Papua New Guinea - Tahiti 05:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Samoa - Fiji 08:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Croatia - Albania 14:00 (ITV)
[  ] Germany - Hungary 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Scotland - Switzerland 20:00 (BBC)

20th June:
[  ] Slovenia - Serbia 14:00 (ITV)
[  ] England - Denmark 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Spain - Italy 20:00 (ITV)

21st June:
[  ] Argentina - Canada 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] New Caledonia - Solomon Islands 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] New Zealand - Vanuatu 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Slovakia - Ukraine 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Poland - Austria 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] France - Holland 20:00 (BBC)

22nd June:
[  ] Peru - Chile 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Samoa - Papua New Guinea 05:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Fiji - Tahiti 08:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Georgia - Czechia 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Turkey - Portugal 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Belgium - Romania 20:00 (ITV)

[  ] Ecuador - Venezuela 23:00 (Premier Sports)

23rd June:
[  ] Mexico - Jamaica 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Scotland - Hungary 20:00 (BBC)
[  ] Germany - Switzerland 20:00 (BBC)

[  ] USA - Bolivia 23:00 (Premier Sports)

24th June:
[  ] Uruguay - Panama 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Albania - Spain 20:00 (BBC)
[  ] Italy - Croatia 20:00 (BBC)

[  ] Colombia - Uruguay 23:00 (Premier Sports)

25th June:
[  ] Brazil - Costa Rica 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] France - Poland 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Holland - Austria 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Denmark - Serbia 20:00 (ITV)
[  ] England - Slovenia 20:00 (ITV)

[  ] Peru - Canada 23:00 (Premier Sports)

26th June:
[  ] Chile - Argentina 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Slovakia - Romania 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Belgium - Ukraine 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Czechia - Turkey 20:00 (ITV)
[  ] Georgia - Portugal 20:00 (ITV)

[  ] Ecuador - Jamaica 23:00 (Premier Sports)

27th June:
[  ] OFC 7th Place match: 01:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] OFC SF1: 01:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Venezuela - Mexico 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] OFC SF2: 05:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] OFC 5th Place match: 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] USA - Panama 23:00 (Premier Sports)

28th June:
[  ] Uruguay - Bolivia 02:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Colombia - Costa Rica 23:00 (Premier Sports)

29th June:
[  ] Paraguay - Brazil 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] RO16 Match 1: Runner up Group A - Runner up - Group B 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 2: Winner Group A - Runner up Group C 20:00 (TBC)

30th June:
[  ] Argentina - Peru 01:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Chile - Canada 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] OFC 3rd Place match: 01:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] OFC Men's Nations Cup Final 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] RO16 Match 3 Winner Group C - 3rd Place [d/e/f] 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 4 Winner Group B - 3rd Place [a/d/e/f] 20:00 (TBC)

1st July:
[  ] Mexico - Ecuador 01:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Jamaica - Venezuela 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] RO16 Match 5 Runner up Group D - Runner up Group E 17:00 ( TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 6 Winner Group F - 3rd Place [a/b/c] 20:00 (TBC)

2nd July:
[  ] Bolivia - Panama 02:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] USA - Uruguay 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] RO16 Match 7 Winner Group E - 3rd Place [a/b/c/d] 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 8 Winner Group D - Runner up Group F 20:00 (TBC)

3rd July:
[  ] Brazil - Colombia 02:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Costa Rica - Paraguay 02:00 (Premier Sports)

5th July:
[  ] QF1: Winner Group A - Runner up Group B 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] QF1: Winner Match 2 - Winner Match 4 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] QF2: Winner Match 5 - Winner Match 6 20:00 (TBC)

6th July:
[  ] QF2: Winner Group B - Runner up Group A 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] QF3: Winner Match 1 - Winner Match 3 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] QF4: Winner Match 7 - Winner Match 8 20:00 (TBC)

[  ] QF3: Winner Group C - Runner up Group D 23:00 (Premier Sports)

7th July:
QF4: Winner Group D - Runner Group C 02:00 (TBC)

9th July:
[  ] SF1: Winner QF1 - Winner QF2 20:00 (TBC)

10th July:
[  ] SF1: Winner QF1 - Winner QF2 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] SF2: Winner QF3 - Winner QF4 20:00 (TBC)

11th July:
[  ] SF2: Winner QF3 - Winner QF4 02:00 (Premier Sports)

14th July:
[  ] Euro 2024 Final 20:00 (BBC/ITV)

15th July
[  ] Copa America 2024 Final 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[RayCee]

5 hours ago, SouthBedfordshireFan said:

List of this Summer's Competitive International Football: 

Euro 2024, Copa America 2024 and OFC Nations Cup timetable:

14th June:
[  ] Germany - Scotland 20:00 (ITV)

15th June:
[  ] New Zealand - New Caledonia 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Solomon Islands - Vanuatu 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Hungary - Switzerland 14:00 (ITV)
[  ] Spain - Croatia 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Italy -Albania 20:00 (BBC)

16th June:
[  ] Tahiti - Samoa 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Papua New Guinea - Fiji 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Poland - Holland 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Slovenia - Denmark 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Serbia - England 20:00 (BBC)

17th June:
[  ] Romania - Ukraine 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Belgium - Slovakia 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Austria - France 20:00 (ITV)

18th June:
[  ] New Zealand - Solomon Islands 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Vanuatu - New Caledonia 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Turkey - Georgia 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Portugal - Czechia 20:00 (BBC)

19th June:
[  ] Papua New Guinea - Tahiti 05:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Samoa - Fiji 08:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Croatia - Albania 14:00 (ITV)
[  ] Germany - Hungary 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Scotland - Switzerland 20:00 (BBC)

20th June:
[  ] Slovenia - Serbia 14:00 (ITV)
[  ] England - Denmark 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Spain - Italy 20:00 (ITV)

21st June:
[  ] Argentina - Canada 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] New Caledonia - Solomon Islands 02:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] New Zealand - Vanuatu 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Slovakia - Ukraine 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Poland - Austria 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] France - Holland 20:00 (BBC)

22nd June:
[  ] Peru - Chile 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Samoa - Papua New Guinea 05:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] Fiji - Tahiti 08:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Georgia - Czechia 14:00 (BBC)
[  ] Turkey - Portugal 17:00 (ITV)
[  ] Belgium - Romania 20:00 (ITV)

[  ] Ecuador - Venezuela 23:00 (Premier Sports)

23rd June:
[  ] Mexico - Jamaica 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Scotland - Hungary 20:00 (BBC)
[  ] Germany - Switzerland 20:00 (BBC)

[  ] USA - Bolivia 23:00 (Premier Sports)

24th June:
[  ] Uruguay - Panama 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Albania - Spain 20:00 (BBC)
[  ] Italy - Croatia 20:00 (BBC)

[  ] Colombia - Uruguay 23:00 (Premier Sports)

25th June:
[  ] Brazil - Costa Rica 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] France - Poland 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Holland - Austria 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Denmark - Serbia 20:00 (ITV)
[  ] England - Slovenia 20:00 (ITV)

[  ] Peru - Canada 23:00 (Premier Sports)

26th June:
[  ] Chile - Argentina 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] Slovakia - Romania 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Belgium - Ukraine 17:00 (BBC)
[  ] Czechia - Turkey 20:00 (ITV)
[  ] Georgia - Portugal 20:00 (ITV)

[  ] Ecuador - Jamaica 23:00 (Premier Sports)

27th June:
[  ] OFC 7th Place match: 01:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] OFC SF1: 01:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] Venezuela - Mexico 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] OFC SF2: 05:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] OFC 5th Place match: 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] USA - Panama 23:00 (Premier Sports)

28th June:
[  ] Uruguay - Bolivia 02:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Colombia - Costa Rica 23:00 (Premier Sports)

29th June:
[  ] Paraguay - Brazil 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] RO16 Match 1: Runner up Group A - Runner up - Group B 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 2: Winner Group A - Runner up Group C 20:00 (TBC)

30th June:
[  ] Argentina - Peru 01:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Chile - Canada 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] OFC 3rd Place match: 01:00 (FIFA+)
[  ] OFC Men's Nations Cup Final 05:00 (FIFA+)

[  ] RO16 Match 3 Winner Group C - 3rd Place [d/e/f] 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 4 Winner Group B - 3rd Place [a/d/e/f] 20:00 (TBC)

1st July:
[  ] Mexico - Ecuador 01:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Jamaica - Venezuela 01:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] RO16 Match 5 Runner up Group D - Runner up Group E 17:00 ( TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 6 Winner Group F - 3rd Place [a/b/c] 20:00 (TBC)

2nd July:
[  ] Bolivia - Panama 02:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] USA - Uruguay 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] RO16 Match 7 Winner Group E - 3rd Place [a/b/c/d] 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] RO16 Match 8 Winner Group D - Runner up Group F 20:00 (TBC)

3rd July:
[  ] Brazil - Colombia 02:00 (Premier Sports)
[  ] Costa Rica - Paraguay 02:00 (Premier Sports)

5th July:
[  ] QF1: Winner Group A - Runner up Group B 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] QF1: Winner Match 2 - Winner Match 4 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] QF2: Winner Match 5 - Winner Match 6 20:00 (TBC)

6th July:
[  ] QF2: Winner Group B - Runner up Group A 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] QF3: Winner Match 1 - Winner Match 3 17:00 (TBC)
[  ] QF4: Winner Match 7 - Winner Match 8 20:00 (TBC)

[  ] QF3: Winner Group C - Runner up Group D 23:00 (Premier Sports)

7th July:
QF4: Winner Group D - Runner Group C 02:00 (TBC)

9th July:
[  ] SF1: Winner QF1 - Winner QF2 20:00 (TBC)

10th July:
[  ] SF1: Winner QF1 - Winner QF2 02:00 (Premier Sports)

[  ] SF2: Winner QF3 - Winner QF4 20:00 (TBC)

11th July:
[  ] SF2: Winner QF3 - Winner QF4 02:00 (Premier Sports)

14th July:
[  ] Euro 2024 Final 20:00 (BBC/ITV)

15th July
[  ] Copa America 2024 Final 01:00 (Premier Sports)

Wow, are they trying to outdo RL's international calendar?

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Europa Conference League final about to kick off and can be watched for free on discovery+

[SouthBedfordshireFan]

43 minutes ago, RayCee said:

Wow, are they trying to outdo RL's international calendar?

It looks like an attempt but is woefully short.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Olympiacos have beaten Fiorentina 1-0 in extra-time to win a pretty hectic and shambolic final and become the first Greek club in history to lift a major European title.

[17 stone giant]

Very good first half by Dortmund, but will be disappointed not to have scored. Their speedster guy has done well to get in behind a couple of times, but didn't make the most of either opportunity.

Real Madrid have looked very ordinary so far. Surely they will improve in the second half.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

44 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

Very good first half by Dortmund, but will be disappointed not to have scored. Their speedster guy has done well to get in behind a couple of times, but didn't make the most of either opportunity.

Real Madrid have looked very ordinary so far. Surely they will improve in the second half.

A classic game of two halves. Dortmund dominated that first half (though should have scored a couple of times) and Real Madrid ran rings around them in the second half. Still, it was closer in the end than I thought it was gonna be. 

[17 stone giant]

Dortmund will be kicking themselves. They should have taken the lead and Madrid didn't have to do that much in the end to win. The second goal was a gift. Madrid have an incredible record in CL/European Cup Finals. They've won their last 9 finals.

[RayCee]

Football coaches are on the move. Barcelona gave theirs the flick. Burnley and their coach parted company. Liverpool were quick to slot in a new coach. 

[HawkMan]

5 hours ago, RayCee said:

Football coaches are on the move. Barcelona gave theirs the flick. Burnley and their coach parted company. Liverpool were quick to slot in a new coach. 

Looks like Leeds haven't told their coach to farke off. 

[gingerjon]

The club with 115 charges pending are hurling their toys out of the pram.

You love to see it.

[17 stone giant]

Excellent win for the Lionesses tonight, beating France 2-1 in St Etienne.

Although there is still work to be done, it puts them in a strong position to finish in the top two and qualify for the Euros.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

How bad do you have to be to draw with Gibraltar?

[Sidi Fidi Gold]

11 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

How bad do you have to be to draw with Gibraltar?

I suppose its like a top end championship club drawing with Pontefract Collieries.

[gingerjon]

15 minutes ago, Sidi Fidi Gold said:

I suppose its like a top end championship club drawing with Pontefract Collieries.

It's like the USA beating Pakistan at cricket.

[Maximus Decimus]

Or like Iceland beating England at Wembley.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

That was possibly the dreariest England performance I have ever seen. I know its only a friendly and players are being careful, not wanting to get injured just before the euros. And I know because the team has already been selected that they didn't need to perform to impress but even so, surely you'd just want to put in a good performance because you like playing football.

[Sidi Fidi Gold]

2 hours ago, Sidi Fidi Gold said:

I suppose its like a top end championship club drawing with Pontefract Collieries.

Or England losing to Iceland is like a Premier League Team chasing a Europa conference league place, losing to MK Dons.

[gingerjon]

6 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

That was possibly the dreariest England performance I have ever seen. I know its only a friendly and players are being careful, not wanting to get injured just before the euros. And I know because the team has already been selected that they didn't need to perform to impress but even so, surely you'd just want to put in a good performance because you like playing football.

International friendlies are always terrible. 

[HawkMan]

Staggering; EFL Championship now second watched league in Europe ahead of La Liga, Series A and Bundesliga. League 1 and League 2 both in top 15 of watched leagues according to Sky Sports News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c2ll8jdknzeo

[Sidi Fidi Gold]

5 hours ago, HawkMan said:

Staggering; EFL Championship now second watched league in Europe ahead of La Liga, Series A and Bundesliga. League 1 and League 2 both in top 15 of watched leagues according to Sky Sports News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c2ll8jdknzeo

This is impressive but slightly misleading, teams in the Championship play 46 games while most European leagues play far fewer, for example, the German Bundesliga 2 play 34 games, with an average of 29000, 6000 more than the Championship, though barring the Bundesliga, the Championship dwarfs ever other 2nd tier in Europe.