FMS Community Thread Episode VIII: Disneyland

[git2thachoppa]

28 minutes ago, CFuller said:

That's not the one with Andy Townsend's Tactics Truck, is it? 

Yes, the one with the exitement of Townsend and Robbie Earle.

BBC needed the kick up the arse, instead the highlights came crawling back to them and they gave us Alan Shearer and Alan Hansen droning on for longer than the highlights themselves.

[Bagpuss]

5 hours ago, mark wilson27 said:

Guys remember Wednesday is the deadline for the Fantasy Football and also you have the predictions league.

@WLKRAS, @Balthazars, @Bagpuss, @Panpardus, @mistahc, @Moto Club dont want you guys missing out on the predictions league or the Fantasy league

I already in the fantasy footie and i rarely do predictions this far in advance, hell i wont even go to final team for fantasy league until friday afternoon probably maybe thursday evening once window shuts

[mark wilson27]

14 hours ago, Bagpuss said:

I already in the fantasy footie and i rarely do predictions this far in advance, hell i wont even go to final team for fantasy league until friday afternoon probably maybe thursday evening once window shuts

Just covering both bases mate with the regulars 

[CFuller]

@git2thachoppa We were talking about some horrible new kits a few weeks ago, weren't we? Well... I'm watching Salford vs Stevenage, and the visitors are playing in this beauty.

If there's one positive thing I can say about it... at least it's not the same old luminous green/yellow kit that everyone else in the PL and EFL seems to have.

[git2thachoppa]

Is it just this forum where YouTube and images are disabled or is that a site-wide issue?

2 hours ago, CFuller said:

@git2thachoppa We were talking about some horrible new kits a few weeks ago, weren't we? Well... I'm watching Salford vs Stevenage, and the visitors are playing in this beauty.

If there's one positive thing I can say about it... at least it's not the same old luminous green/yellow kit that everyone else in the PL and EFL seems to have.

I like those kinds of designs, but the logo ruins it.

Though it works for their other kit... because it makes them look like a box of french fries:

Edited August 3, 2019 by git2thachoppa

[mark wilson27]

1 hour ago, git2thachoppa said:

Is it just this forum where YouTube and images are disabled or is that a site-wide issue?

YouTube videos or images haven't been disabled from this part of the forum as far as I know. I know we dont allow them in stories but in the comminity thread we dont mind as you know

I'll see in the mods room to see if any issues have been reported regarding YouTube videos.

 

[Mandy42]

signed up for both the predictions and the fantasy league!

with regards to your comment that Man Utd kits didn't make you want to buy "sharp" products or Arsenal didn't want to make you sign for O2 or buy a Dreamcast, does the Stevenage kit make you want to go to Burger King?

On that note, I'd probably support a team sponsored by Five Guys, best burger I've ever eaten!

[BenArsenal]

I can vouch for flying Emirates though. They are brilliant. 

[CFuller]

What a horrible year this has been.

My grandmother on my father's side passed away this morning, aged 86. Nan was admitted to hospital yesterday and died in her sleep overnight, before Dad could say goodbye.

To be honest, she had been quite ill for much of the last 15 years since having a brain tumour. I take heart from the fact her suffering is now finally over.

Goodnight, Sylvia.

 

And as you probably know, this is the second grandparent I've lost this year, after my maternal grandad in February. That's two grandparents who will never get to see their great-grandchild, as my sister's first kid is due in December. It will be a very bittersweet end to 2019 for the Fuller clan. 

[Rien102]

Thoughts of me and my family are with you Chris.

Ben

[mark wilson27]

Sorry to hear that Chris, you know where I am if needed mate

[BenArsenal]

Sorry to hear that mate. My sympathies.

[BenArsenal]

So, the transfer window has slammed shut™. Happy with your club's business?

For me I thought Arsenal did alright, but could have done better.

- Koscielny is a big loss but he clearly did not want to be there any longer, so best we cut him loose. Such a shame about the way it all panned out though.
- I have high hopes for Pepe, slightly less so for Ceballos. But they fill important positions on the pitch so hopefully it all works out.
- Tierney will be a good option at the back. Hope he's worth the hype
- Iwobi was a bit of a surprise departure, but he was going to struggle for minutes this season, so all the best to him then. Everton are looking strong this season
- David Luiz, I'm not sure if he's an upgrade on Koscielny. I was hoping for someone a bit more, consistent. But still, a signing's a signing, and the added bonus of joining from an immediate rival too.

Overall rating, 6/10.

Edited August 9, 2019 by BenArsenal

[git2thachoppa]

Man Utd are a still an FM dream. I'd want to get in there and sell all the deadwood and bring in solid quality, or at least sell the crap and invest in youngsters. Although that was the same around FM14 time, with Smalling and Jones as England's centre-back pairing for the next decade and Welbeck an attacking force.

This has to be a transitional season where the worst might happen, but hopefully the youth explode with confidence and score from everywhere as they swap positions in and out.

As usual, I have no idea who Brighton signed.

Edited August 9, 2019 by git2thachoppa

[CFuller]

Thanks for all your messages from earlier in the week. They've really helped me through a difficult time. Anyway, the transfer window...

Arsenal have done some pretty good business for once, especially after losing Ramsey on a free. Koscielny won't be missed quite as much. He was a liability in his first couple of years, and a liability in his last couple of years... but he was pretty bloomin' solid in the five-or-so years in between, which is what we should remember most. Unfortunately, his acrimonious departure - which both sides could've handled better - leaves a sour taste.

I always like to see players come through the academy and become regular first-teamers, so I'm a little sad to see Iwobi go. He had a pretty decent if inconsistent career with us, but with better prospects like Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka coming through, I think it was the right time to let him go.

Signing-wise, Nicolas Pépé is very exciting, and he could cause havoc with our other Francophone attackers. Dani Ceballos is a bit of an odd loan signing, but at least he fills an important role and might actually play (unlike Denís Suárez). There's also striker Gabriel Martinelli, who doesn't have to do very much to become Arsenal's best ever Brazilian player named Gabriel.

I don't really know how good Kieran Tierney is outside FM (the SPFL just isn't interesting when Celtic have won it every year since 1852), but I'm hearing and reading great things about him. I wish I was more optimistic about David Luiz, who's brilliant at his best but Squillaci-esque at his worst. Mind you, I'd definitely take Sideshow Bob over Mustafi the Clown right now.

I'll get my season predictions in at some point this afternoon. If you're a Newcastle fan, I'd stay clear of that if I were you...

[CFuller]

37 minutes ago, git2thachoppa said:

As usual, I have no idea who Brighton signed.

A bunch of European imports, none of whom Garth Crooks has ever heard of. So just like every other transfer window.

They've also signed a Championship defender for £20million, and Aaron Mooy on loan from a relegated team. Still makes more sense than Manchester City signing Scott Carson on loan.

[salkster2102]

Mignolet, Moreno and Sturridge leaving was expected for us. Happy with Adrien signing and the two youngsters we have signed. Bit disappointed not signed cover for left back but seems Klopp is happy with using Milner and Gomez as cover. Could have done with a creative midfielder but seems like we didn't want to pay big fees. Expect we will be challenging for the title again. Here is my prediction for the league which will no doubt end up being completely wrong.

 

1st Liverpool - Going with my heart here but think we will have learned from last year and I think City will drop off just enough to give us the title.

2nd Man City - Will no doubt be strong again but I reckon the loss of Kompany in the dressing room will make a difference. Sané having an ACL injury is a big loss and there's a few like Fernandinho and David Silva getting on now. Will be a close title race.

3rd Spurs - Got a strong first 11 which puts them above the rest of the usual top 6. Eriksen will be a loss if he goes and Poch doesn't seem happy. Putting them third simply because I think United and Chelsea will struggle.

4th Arsenal - Had a very good transfer window and I rate the manager. The year they get back in the top 4.

5th Everton - An excellent transfer window and was showing form at the end of last season. Putting them 5th and to break the top 6 monopoly. 

6th Chelsea - First season for Lampard will be a test for him handling big egos for the first time. Not got much up front and losing Hazard will be massive.

7th Man United - Had a poor end to the season and getting rid of Lukaku leaves them short up front. Herrera will be a bigger loss than people realise and Pogba will eventually give up as usual. Olé to be gone by Christmas.

8th Wolves - Would have gone for them to break the top 6 monopoly but think Europa League will hinder them.

9th Leicester - Big blow to lose Maguire. Rodgers did well when he came in and will be solid again.

10th Watford - I like their manager and think they are due an impressive season.

11th Southampton - Again I like their manager and are due a good season.

12th  Bournemouth - Want them to well as I like Howe but always seem to drop off when injuries kick in.

13th West Ham - Look like they have bought well. Will be interesting to see if they can all gel.

14th Crystal Palace - Keeping Zaha is probably the only thing that keeps them up.

15th Burnley - Always seem to stop up thanks to Dyche having a good set up.

16th Aston Villa - Good to see them back in the prem and again I like the manager.

17th Norwich - Don't know much about them but the Championship winners tend to stay up the first season at least.

18th Newcastle - A circus again and don't rate Steve Bruce. 

19th Brighton - Will be a mistake to get rid of Hughton for me.

20th Sheffield United - Don't want to see my local premier team struggling but I can't see them doing much. Not much pace and next to no premier league experience in the squad barring Jagielka who is too old now. The style of play will catch a few teams out at first but the rest will soon catch on quick.

[CFuller]

My 2019/2020 Premier League predictions:

1. Manchester City - It's incredible that an elite team with very few weaknesses that picked up 198 points in two seasons is getting stronger still. The question is: can Pep juggle a Champions League tilt with going for a PL three-peat?

2. Liverpool - Expect the greatest runners-up in PL history to push the champions all the way again. Jürgen Klopp's gegenpressing and his front three are a match for anyone, but maybe a lack of squad depth will cost them again.

3. Tottenham Hotspur - Lads, it's Tottenham... only with a shiny new stadium and a top-quality French midfielder in Ndombele. Even if Christian Eriksen goes, Spurs look like the only team who could get even remotely close to the Big Two.

4. Arsenal - Emery needs to deliver CL football (and maybe a trophy) in his second season. I still have major doubts about a defence with Mustafi in it, but expect goals aplenty from Aubameyang, Lacazette and new boy Pépé.

5. Manchester United - Discontent is growing at Old Trafford, with many fans disgruntled about disinterested superstars and asset-stripping owners. The emergence of Solskjær's starlets could give them reason for hope.

6. Everton - This may come as a surprise after an erratic 2018/2019, but I think the Toffees might have cracked it this time. Some very shrewd signings (headed by Moise Kean) could yet fire them into the top six.

7. Chelsea - I expect the Blues to struggle, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were mid-table. With Eden Hazard gone, a rookie manager at the helm, and a transfer ban in place, this will likely be a transitional season.

8. Leicester City - The 2016 glory days are long gone, but young bucks Maddison, Tielemans and Söyüncü could build a lasting legacy. The Foxes just need to keep Brendan Rodgers in charge instead of binning him off in February.

9. Wolverhampton Wanderers - Phase 3 of the Jorge Mendes Project (aka the world's worst prog rock band) is about evolution, not revolution. Europe might disrupt Wolves' top-six charge this season, but watch out in 2021.

10. West Ham United - Expensive flops and West Ham go hand in hand, and I'm not convinced by £65million+ signings Haller and Fornals. Pretty much anything is possible at the London Stadium... except a party atmosphere.

11. Southampton - After running out of future Liverpool players to sell, the Saints needed a new saviour. If Redmond keeps firing and the goalkeeping conundrum is finally answered, the Ralphalution will continue... and it will be televised.

12. Burnley - Dwight McNeil provides some fresh attacking impetus, but Sir Sean Dyche is keeping things simple to keep Burnley up. While their football isn't pretty to watch, it is very effective for a club with such modest means.

13. Watford - D'you see what happens when you stick with a manager and don't change half the squad every summer, Gino Pozzo? Javi Gracia's Hornets are good for another solid campaign, but lack the firepower to really kick on.

14. AFC Bournemouth - It always amazes me how steady Eddie Howe can keep the Cherries at the top tier every year. The defence has more holes than a dusty colander, but the deadly duo of Wilson and Fraser will save their bacon again.

15. Aston Villa - So about 30 players have gone in or out, you've spent £130million on mostly Championship-quality recruits, and John Terry is the assistant manager. What could possibly go wrong at Villa Park?

16. Crystal Palace - Will VAR allow Luka Milivojevic to launch a sustained challenge for the Golden Boot? More importantly for Eagles fans, can Wilf Zaha put his latest transfer heartbreak aside and continue weaving his magic wand?

17. Norwich City - Daniel Farke has built a young and dynamic team that we can expect to both score and concede many goals. They'll probably start off slowly before doing just enough to keep top-flight football in Delia Smith country.

18. Sheffield United - Local heroes Wilder and Sharp can make the close-knit Blades the feel-good story of this PL season. Sadly, I fear the overlapping centre-backs will eventually be found out before meeting a grizzly end.

19. Newcastle United - Rafa's gone to China, but Ashley's still around, so the Geordie Army are already much worse off. If this 'takeover' turns out to be hokum, not even a fit Andy Carroll could save his boys from impending doom.

20. Brighton & Hove Albion - The Seagulls may regret ditching Chris Hughton so hastily. They barely survived last season, and new boss Graham Potter could soon run out of whatever substance is keeping Glenn Murray young.

[git2thachoppa]

8 hours ago, CFuller said:

A bunch of European imports, none of whom Garth Crooks has ever heard of. So just like every other transfer window.

They've also signed a Championship defender for £20million, and Aaron Mooy on loan from a relegated team. Still makes more sense than Manchester City signing Scott Carson on loan.

I mean I know who they signed, the problem is they're guys I've never heard of from either the lower divisions or elsewhere. And Mooy on loan.

Which isn't so much a problem (Gross and Ryan were great for Hughton) but I'm worrying when I see someone spend £40m on players from Bristol, Brentford and Portsmouth, mainly defenders, when we already have a top-class centre-back pairing.

Goals and a central striker was notoriously our problem (Murray is only getting older), yet we've signed two wingers and a centre-forward on a free also from Brentford.

My only guess is he (or Brighton, who decides transfers these days?) is keeping faith in all the attackers who didn't score much last season or two to come good, and they'll only make major movement in January if they still flop (but then who will buy them?).

[BenArsenal]

OK, here we go then. I will admit I haven't really followed many of the teams' summer activities outside of the top 6, so some of these are just random.

1. Man City - Unfortunately they will have the quality to do three on the bounce, but I don't think they'll run away with it as many have predicted. The other teams will want to do their hardest to stop them, most notably Liverpool.

2. Liverpool - No big changes, a fairly settled squad, and definitely enough quality to mount a challenge. They'll give City a hard time.

3. Arsenal - Optimistic perhaps, but if the front three comes good then we'll have one hell of an unstoppable attack. Sure our defence is still suspect even with the addition of Sideshow Bob, but hey, as long as we outscore our opponent, it's all good. 

4. Tottenham - Ugh. I want them to suck like they did back in the 90s, but they have too much quality to do so now. Some savvy buys means that they'll squeeze into the Champions League, again.

5. Chelsea - I don't think they'll be as bad as people make them out to be. Sure they've lost Hazard, but I think they'll still have enough quality to hold the fort. Fifth wouldn't be that much of a disaster with the transfer ban and an inexperienced manager at the helm.

6. Man United - Here's the thing: there's every possibility that Pogba could still leave at the end of the month. And with Lukaku also gone with no chance of replacing either of them, the Red Devils could live to regret their transfer strategy.

7. Leicester - They've bought well (Tielemans is class), and hopefully Brodge will make good use of the quality he has at his disposal to at least cause a few upsets and threaten the status quo.

8. Everton - Another team who've done great business, and if Marco Silva can get all his fantastic new signings to gel, they'll be the team to watch outside of the top six.

9. Wolves - Ordinarily, I love it when a non-big team does well in Europe, and Wolves have the capability to do that. But apparently Nuno is not a fan of rotation, and that could hurt them in the later part of the season.

10. West Ham - Done okay transfer-wise, but The Hammers don't quite have the same quality as the teams immediately above them. Pellegrini is shrewd though, and he'll find enough in the tank for a top half finish.

11.  Aston Villa - Of the promoted teams, VIlla is probably the one that have the nous to stay up and do well. They definitely belong in the top flight, and hopefully they stick around.

12. Watford - Not done much, so a season of mid-table consolidation for The Hornets then. That's reward enough I reckon.

13. Southampton - It seems that most of the lower rung teams haven't exactly brought in big changes to their squad this summer. Southampton will probably be safe from relegation, but nowhere near the top half either.

14. Burnley - Same with Burnley.

15. Bournemouth - And Bournemouth.

16. Newcastle - After an utter shambles of a summer, it's hard to see Newcastle do well this season. Perez and Rondon are big losses, and as such there'll be huge pressure on Joelinton and old boy Andy Carroll to deliver up front. Bruce is no Benitez too.

17. Crystal Palace - I don't think it has gone well for Palace. Zaha may have stayed, but he's thrown a strop and his commitment is now suspect (and there could even be an outside chance of a European club coming for him as well). Lacking quality all round.

18. Norwich - I reckon the final relegation spot will be very tight between the Canaries and the Eagles (bird fight?).  It really could go either way.

19. Brighton - Sadly, will follow Huddersfield as the next blue and white striped team through the trapdoor. They're a nice romantic team to have around, but they haven't improved, and their time is up.

20. Sheffield United - I think they're completely ill-equipped for the top flight. Back to the Championship you go.

[CFuller]

12 minutes ago, BenArsenal said:

11.  Aston Villa - Of the promoted teams, VIlla is probably the one that have the nous to stay up and do well. They definitely belong in the top flight, and hopefully they stick around.

In that case, I look forward to Villa losing their heads and getting relegated. Don't think I've forgotten that you predicted Fulham would finish 9th last year. 

14 minutes ago, BenArsenal said:

17. Crystal Palace - I don't think it has gone well for Palace. Zaha may have stayed, but he's thrown a strop and his commitment is now suspect (and there could even be an outside chance of a European club coming for him as well). Lacking quality all round.

18. Norwich - I reckon the final relegation spot will be very tight between the Canaries and the Eagles (bird fight?).  It really could go either way.

19. Brighton - Sadly, will follow Huddersfield as the next blue and white striped team through the trapdoor. They're a nice romantic team to have around, but they haven't improved, and their time is up.

Could be a triple bird fight, with the Seagulls as well.

[CFuller]

And the first goal of the Premier League season... is an own goal. Lovely. 

[BenArsenal]

8 hours ago, CFuller said:

In that case, I look forward to Villa losing their heads and getting relegated. Don't think I've forgotten that you predicted Fulham would finish 9th last year. 

Good golly, that really came back to bite me, hasn't it? 

[git2thachoppa]

I got most if not all of it wrong last season...

1 - Man City - Their depth is insane except maybe centre-back, but they only need defenders against the top tier, which is only Liverpool, who they usually lose to anyway.

2 - Liverpool - I think the gap will be bigger and it'll be similar to last season where Liverpool might look strong at first, but City have the much easier final run-in after they meet.

3 - Arsenal - Attack is the best form of defence.

4 - Spurs - I get the feeling they'll go backward a bit more. Arsenal were only 1 point below them. Things will just be a bit stale.

5 - Man Utd - United would've saved a lot of money putting faith in their youngsters way back in the LVG days when they ended up using them by the end (then getting rid of them next season anyway). So hopefully it'll pay off, but there are still too many bad eggs and bad management above Solskjaer.

6 - Chelsea - At least United have Rashford, and Lampard might struggle when the wily managers in the rest of the league figure out his gameplan.

7 to 15 - Everyone has solid teams and/or solid managers and will mingle in the midtable void.

16 - Newcastle - Don't know why the fans were disappointed with Bruce. They're not gonna get Simeone or Klopp, so at least they have someone emotionally invested and with a record of keeping joke teams up.

17 - West Ham - I'll go for a bold statement cause it'd be a laugh, but their team looks a bit Championship-y in places, the atmosphere is always toxic and self-defeating, and their home ground is probably the most welcoming away fixture in the league where points are expected, and they'll be lucky to have 3 worse teams in the league.

18 - Southampton - Look like a Championship team now

19 - Norwich

20 - Sheffield United - I don't really know anything about the promoted teams so I'm completely assuming.

Edited August 11, 2019 by git2thachoppa

[Drogba11CFC]

So it appears DT from AFTV manages an amateur/non-league side. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

[Mandy42]

1. Man City - Unfortunately they will have the quality to do three on the bounce, but I don't think they'll run away with it as many have predicted. The other teams will want to do their hardest to stop them, most notably Liverpool.

2. Liverpool - No big changes, a fairly settled squad, and definitely enough quality to mount a challenge. They'll give City a hard time.

3. Chelsea - Yes I'm a fan and this might be more hope than anything else but I think this season has the perfect chaotic recipe to be really good. We have a manager the club and fans can get behind, young players who have this year to prove they never deserve to go back out on loan again and the perfect storm of the transfer ban that removes any "what if we signed player X or Y" Hazard never had 2 fabulous seasons back to back anyway, the only difference is now we aren't looking at him to get it done. We are going to play some good football, we will either get burned alive or be amazing.

4. Man Utd - Their biggest problem last season was keeping clean sheets, Wan Bissaka, de Gea and Maguire is a potent defensive combination. Now Lukaku is gone they don't have the lumbering lump up front to get in the way. They can get back to their "Man Utd way" of using the pace of Rashford / Martial / Lingard, to counter on teams and cause them absolute havoc.

5. Arsenal - They are going to score a lot of goals, but they are going to concede a lot as well, they will be fun to watch, but not consistent.

6. Tottenham - Player unrest I don't see their "stars" seeing out the season, and if they start to loose those players then their manager won't be far behind.

7. Everton - Good signings and probably one of the more solid teams defensively outside the top 6, if Marco Silva can motivate them then they will be considerably better than previous seasons

8. Bournemouth - When they are good they are great, but they aren't consistent enough to challenge any higher

9. Wolves - Europe will hurt them, like it hurt Burnley last season, their counter attacking style of play is fantastic, but not when you have to play so many games and not rotate many players

10. Norwich - If Pukki stays fit they have a proven goal scorer. They are my ex wife's team which meant I went to watch them a lot last season, they have held onto all their players and they were playing Premier League standard football last season, they will shock a lot of people.

11.  Leicester - Typical Rogers team, he has some fantastic attacking talent but is defensively soft, he hasn't learnt anything in Scotland, Celtic made no progress in Europe under his tenure. The triple triple will have made him soft and used to getting everything his own way, not convinced he will be there long

12. Watford - Not done much

13. Southampton - Will be ok but won't set the world a light

14. Sheffield Utd - 2nd best team in the Championship and with more grit than Aston Villa, think they will do better than a lot of people think

15. Burnley - There's only so far 4-4-2 long ball football and hard work can get you, most teams have Burnley figured out now.

16. Aston Villa - Think they will do the worst out of the promoted teams, they scraped through the playoffs and they came up with a squad full of loan signings they haven't been able to keep hold of.

17. Crystal Palace - Not much quality, but enough to not go down

18. West Ham - This might be wishful thinking from a Chelsea fan but they just look awful, they have gone on poor runs of form before and think this season could be one where it doesn't improve

19. Brighton - Don't see them having the quality to stay up much longer

20. Newcastle - Big signings gone, and when you bring in a Championship manager you are going to end up in the Championship

[git2thachoppa]

Ok, so there's a new kit challenger...

This season, Beadle AFC are purposefully dressing up as bangers & mash, with the goalkeeper wearing an apron. But it's not as good as last season's...

==============

Only 2 weeks into the season and there are already 3 rule changes I want:

1) It's not a foul / penalty if the attacker kicks the ball out then coveniently trips over the goalkeeper already (saw that in week 1). Sick of this. He's not going to get to the ball anyway and the keeper isn't trying to hurt him.

2) Now we have VAR, bring back the 'daylight' idea that there has to be daylight between the attacker and defender for it to be offside. I don't care if someone's minimally offside. It's supposed to be a rule that stops goalhanging, not punishing players for beating the defence.

3) That wasn't a handball. Henry's against Ireland was, that wasn't.

4) Oh yeah, that reminds me, let's award the opposition a goal when they block a certain goal with their hand ala Suarez.

Edited August 19, 2019 by git2thachoppa

[tenthreeleader]

Skinning those kits for FM would be very interesting indeed. What kind of reaction is the club getting?

[git2thachoppa]

26 minutes ago, tenthreeleader said:

Skinning those kits for FM would be very interesting indeed. What kind of reaction is the club getting?

They're just a non-league team and it raises money for charity so it's probably not too bad.

[CFuller]

With regret, this will be my final post on the SI Community. It was nice knowing you, but certain disruptive users on General Discussion have pushed me over the edge. 

If you want to keep in touch with me in future, you can find me on Twitter.

[mark wilson27]

9 hours ago, CFuller said:

With regret, this will be my final post on the SI Community. It was nice knowing you, but certain disruptive users on General Discussion have pushed me over the edge. 

If you want to keep in touch with me in future, you can find me on Twitter.

Thats not good mate, dont let the few spoil it for you.

If you need to drop me a pm feel free to mate

[BenArsenal]

17 hours ago, CFuller said:

With regret, this will be my final post on the SI Community. It was nice knowing you, but certain disruptive users on General Discussion have pushed me over the edge. 

If you want to keep in touch with me in future, you can find me on Twitter.

Sorry to hear that mate. But you could just come here.

I know I do. I don't bother with the other parts of the forum any more.

[mark wilson27]

The voting thread for the FMS Awards 2019 have now been opened. The thread is at the top of the forum page

[BenArsenal]

So, Champions League group stage draw is done. No Arsenal this year again of course, but always an intriguing competition to watch.

Predictions:

Group A
Clash of two heavyweight moneybags in PSG and Real Madrid, and it'll be pretty interesting to see how they get on with each other. Club Brugge and Galatasaray to be the poor punching bags along for the ride.

1) Real Madrid
2) PSG
3) Galatasaray
4) Club Brugge

Group B

Bayern vs Spurs will be interesting, but otherwise again a fairly straightforward group. Olympiakos and Red Star Belgrade away may not be easy, but I think the favourites should have no problems emerging from this group

1) Bayern
2) Spurs
3) Olympiakos
4) Red Star Belgrade

Group C

Well, well, Man City have really lucked out here, haven't they? Shakhtar I'd argue are probably the weakest second seed team, Dinamo definitively the weakest third seed. Debutants Atalanta are a bit of an unknown quantity but I foresee few problems for City here.

1) Man City (by a mile)
2) Shakhtar Donetsk
3) Atalanta
4) Dinamo Zagreb

Group D

Could be worse really for Ronaldo's Juve. Atletico are a threat of course, and Leverkusen are a pretty decent team,  but Juve should have the quality to win this. They could even afford a small slip up away at Lokomotiv Moscow maybe.

1) Juventus
2) Atletico Madrid
3) Leverkusen
4) Lokomotiv Moscow

Group E

Like Man City, I think Liverpool got off easy here. Napoli again would be tricky maybe, but Salzburg and Genk? Pfft. OK maybe the Austrian Red Bull team want to put on a good show after finally making it to this stage, but I doubt they'll be much of a threat

1) Liverpool
2) Napoli
3) Red Bull Salzburg
4) Genk

Group F

Cor blimey, what a group. Barca, Dortmund and Inter all fighting it out. Barca are maybe slight favourites but it won't be that straightforward methinks between these three. Poor Slavia Prague

1) Barcelona
2) Dortmund
3) Inter Milan
4) Slavia Prague

Group G

On the other hand, here's the weakest group in my view. To be honest, all four teams are about equal quality, with maybe Lyon having a slight edge. Zenit, Benfica and Red Bull Leipzig have the capability to cancel each other out, so anything can happen really

1) Lyon
2) Benfica (just)
3) Red Bull Leipzig
4) Zenit

Group H

Another tough group, and Chelsea probably have the worst draw out of the English quartet IMO. They'll still progress, but Ajax, Valencia and Lille will give Lampard's men a very hard time.

1) Chelsea
2) Valencia
3) Ajax
4) Lille (this group will be very tight)

[Mandy42]

On ‎19‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 01:48, git2thachoppa said:

Only 2 weeks into the season and there are already 3 rule changes I want:

1) It's not a foul / penalty if the attacker kicks the ball out then coveniently trips over the goalkeeper already (saw that in week 1). Sick of this. He's not going to get to the ball anyway and the keeper isn't trying to hurt him.

2) Now we have VAR, bring back the 'daylight' idea that there has to be daylight between the attacker and defender for it to be offside. I don't care if someone's minimally offside. It's supposed to be a rule that stops goalhanging, not punishing players for beating the defence.

3) That wasn't a handball. Henry's against Ireland was, that wasn't.

4) Oh yeah, that reminds me, let's award the opposition a goal when they block a certain goal with their hand ala Suarez.

I agree with number 1 whole heartedly, too many times an attacker goes down looking for a penalty because the ball has gone, or they draw in contact by pushing the ball away, in such a way that they wouldn't have been able to score anyway, in these instances no penalty.

However a goalkeeper who makes a challenge on a player and doesn't win the ball, should automatically be a penalty. I remember Willian having to hurdle a goalkeeper (I can't remember against who) but flicked the ball past the keeper and hurdled him, by the time he had recovered a defender had been able to get back into position and cleared the ball, that in my opinion is a penalty.

2, I disagree, when I played "friendly" inter hospital games I used to play at centre back and I hated the fact we had no real referee and a "gentleman's offside" you always had one attacker who hung half on and half off, waiting for the ball to be played over the top. There literally is no defence for it, if you want clear daylight between an attacker and a defender for offside it means the attacker can be halfway past the defender facing goal, while  the defender has to be checking in front of him to make sure the ball isn't played short.

There's enough of a problem with offside as it is with the "interfering with play" rubbish, if your on the pitch you are interfering with play. Plus there is enough of a problem with using VAR to check goals for offside and therefore not calling offside through the linesman, because if it rules out a goal then that's all well and good, but what about a corner, or a free kick or any other point that gives the team whose player was in an offside position a scoring opportunity that they then score from. The offside wouldn't be taken into account then? So lets simplify it, if any attacking player has any part of their body that they can legally score from beyond the line of defence when the ball is played they are offside and get the damn flag up.

3. I think the word "intentional" needs to come out of the hand ball rule, we aren't mind readers so we've no idea what anyone is intending most of the time, just because the ball flies into the top corner for a worldy and everyone goes wild, it doesn't mean that's what the player intended to do. With VAR they could use the replay to determine if the arm was in an unnatural position. Unnatural could be defined by a fixed range of space away from the body (angle or distance or both) which the computer could measure with lines just like they measure with offside. Thus you get a binary answer, yes its unnatural or no it isn't. Secondly does the hand ball give an advantage to the team whose player handled the ball, I.E does it block an attempt on target, or stop the ball from directly finding a team mate, again both of these scenarios can be measured by the computer creating the flight of the ball up to the point the hand got in the way and determining a binary yes / no answer.

Thus if the ball strikes a hand that is in an unnatural position AND OR the handballing team gains an advantage from the handball, then it's handball, if neither of those things are true then it's not.

One rule I really want to see changed is obstruction. I HATE players that throw their bodies in the way and have the stupid shuffle to see a ball out of play or get a free kick as the opposition player attempts to win the ball back. The player shielding the ball is making no attempt to play it and thus is committing a foul. If they continue their movement at the same speed and in the same direction then it isn't obstruction, but none of them do! They sprint over, get in position and then stop / sumo squat and shuffle like idiots...

Football should be as much a territorial game as American Football or Rugby, if your opponent can put the ball by your corner flag you have a requirement to be able to deal with it, not be granted with a get out of jail free card by obstructing opposition players

Edited September 3, 2019 by Mandy42

[git2thachoppa]

Brighton score in every game this season except City and now at Newcastle, with 2 new strikers already opening their account, and a 3-0 walloping of Watford.

BBC: "Brighton toothless once again. Same old story for Brighton this season... they struggle in front of goal."

WTF?

Edited September 21, 2019 by git2thachoppa

[git2thachoppa]

FM 2007 Club Name of the Day: Pontlottyn Blast Furnace from Wales.

[BenArsenal]

Just to help Mark a little, please vote in the FMS Awards thread.

Every vote is important. 

[Mandy42]

On ‎26‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 16:12, BenArsenal said:

Sorry to hear that mate. But you could just come here.

I know I do. I don't bother with the other parts of the forum any more.

having dipped my toe into the general / off topic areas on the forum I think i'll be retreating once more to the tranquil safety of the stories and career forum

[git2thachoppa]

2 hours ago, Mandy42 said:

having dipped my toe into the general / off topic areas on the forum I think i'll be retreating once more to the tranquil safety of the stories and career forum

I'm yet another one. This seems a pretty widespread stance.

Maybe SI forums' reputation can't be saved, but I'm wondering by now what the point of the off-topic forums are. It's where the 'community', having liked each other's company, get to talk with each other about other things. But what if the 'community' created is or becomes toxic or one people avoid?

And how many people there with thousands of obnoxious soapbox statements of opinion under the guise of 'banter' even really post in the FM-related forums? Would they stay if SI got rid of all the off-topic forums and happily just talk FM and help people with problems, or protest loudly because they only log in every day or week to posture over politics or even real life football?

I think CFuller's experience came from an FM-related forum anyway, but it's like VAR - it wouldn't eliminate the problem, but greatly reduce it to the point it's acceptable and more within the realms of fairness and integrity of most other sports (forums).

Edited October 5, 2019 by git2thachoppa

[CFuller]

My big issue was with the growing number of... let's call them 'don't-know-betters' on General Discussion (the folks who'll cry, "We had 39 shots and lost 1-0 in the 90th minute, MY GAME IS BROKEN", "SI are as corrupt as EA," etc). I could think of other words, but I'd rather not risk an infraction. 

So yeah... I'm back. I was away for about a fortnight after my meltdown. Though I'm not staying away from GD completely, I'm trying to be a bit more cautious with how I interact with certain users over there from now on.

To be honest, I've not had the best two months of my life. Since losing my nan, I've had a stomach infection, possible glandular fever, four panic attacks, and I'm due to have scans on my liver on Thursday. Oh yes, and I found out that my 13-year-old cat has heart disease and probably only has 2-3 months to live.

Sorry if I'm coming across a bit "Oh woe is me", but everything that could've gone wrong this year HAS gone wrong, so please forgive me if I snap at you from time to time. Honestly... I can't wait until my niece/nephew arrives in December to end 2019 on something resembling a happy note.

[BenArsenal]

It's OK mate. Everybody has tough times. Just do what you need to do. Take care of yourself.

[mark wilson27]

Like Ben said, we all have tough times and if needed mate feel free to PM or email me if you need to Rant/ vent or just need a chat

And to be honest that counts for everyone

[git2thachoppa]

This guy's parents didn't love him...

[mark wilson27]

And thats why people divorce there parents

[mark wilson27]

Now that the voting has done, lets have some fun title names for the awards ceremony.

Plus if someone wants to set uo a betting thread feel free.

[Diego Imposta]

Live from Killa Fame’s Isuzu Trooper? He’s the guy who ‘found’ Sturridges dog and lives in his car apparently  

[Mandy42]

House rule, keep your acceptance speeches shorter than a Mexican announcers goal commentary

[mark wilson27]

3 hours ago, Mandy42 said:

House rule, keep your acceptance speeches shorter than a Mexican announcers goal commentary

Thats a given, otherwise this Mod and host extraordinaire might infraction you hahaha 

[BenArsenal]

Bringing up a topic of discussion:

Bulgaria vs England. What do you think should be done? Clearly, current measures to tackle racism of these sort are manifestly inadequate, and it's just going to keep happening again and again.

I'd say, chuck the entire team out of the competition, and ban them for the next two or three tournaments as well. That means Bulgaria will have no competitive football for the next three to four years. That is gonna hurt them badly, and will send a huge message that such behaviour will be extremely severely punished. 

But of course, FIFA and UEFA will be too gutless to impose such a drastic measure.