English Premier League 2024-25

I don't. Maybe it's too soon for this but the obsession with keeping the media happy by always playing the big names and trying to force Gerrard and Lampard into a formation that wouldn't accommodate them and in so doing putting the best English CM of his generation, Scholes onto the left was dreadful and led to a lot of turgid performances (and Scholes's premature retirement from international football), as did the insistence on the CBs always staying back.

The CBs didn't always stacy back. Sol was renowned for running through midfield with the ball.

There has always been international breaks in Sept, Oct and Nov albeit with a few anomalies since at least the 60s.

I thought international breaks were a fairly new thing. Fairly sure back in the day international games took place in midweek with no break in weekend fixtures.

Incorrect

Correct.

For example (as this was an England game I was at, and is the first one I checked)

England 8 Turkey 0 was a midweek qualifier for Euro 88 played on Weds Oct 14th 1987
There was a full weekend of fixtures on Sat 10th and Sun 11th.
There was also a full weekend of fixtures on Sat 17th and Sun 18th.

International breaks have only been a thing since the PL started,
There's always been internation fixtures in those months, but not breaks.
Also, bear in mind before internatinal breaks were a thing, clubs played 42 matches in the top flight and only had 1 sub.

True.

Also bear in mind in those days players commonly had a steak and eggs for late breakfast before a game, probably to help mitigate some of the effects of the 10 pints they'd drunk the night before, and that compared to today's games football was played at a snail's pace.

Jesus. Just looked up the 1983/84 season.
Liverpool played 67 matches.
42 in the league - won the title
2 in the FA Cup - lost in the 4th Round
1 in the Charity Shield - Lost to Man Utd
9 in the European Cup - Won the title
13 in the League Cup - Won the trophy.

Why 13 matches in the League Cup?
Every round was over 2 legs and in one round, against Fulham, both matches ended 1-1 so it went to a third match.
The final was also and draw and went to a replay.
The did all this with 1 sub.(apart from in Europe where you could use 2)
Grobelaar, Hansen, Kennedy and Lee played all 67 games.
Rush, Souness, Neal and Lawro all played at least 61.
No international breaks.

They were lucky they were knocked out of the FA Cup early as there was no cap on the number of replays back then. In 1980, Liverpool v Arsenal had 4 replays. The record is 6.

You know your new shirt sponsor is a belter when the press release says supporters have the option to buy the new shirts with our without their logo on it. I'm still not sure whether it's the Japanese equivalent of dogecoin or some council estate Pokémon ripoff

Council estate?

These were real professionals.

Matt le Tissier turned up to training with a sausage and egg mcmuffin (or two) every single day

the 5M/year deal is worth it for this gem alone

ultra negative dogshit got what it deserved

Kaboom.
We were great after the first 15

Yep, you were clearly the better team. I just expected more reaction where we should have had motivation to do something, instead we lined up trying to get a point

I said before kickoff that there might be a Baldock surge.
Glad there was a good tribute

WILL SOMEBODY STOP THE DAMN MATCH

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

I was told there would be a lol Spurs

(Might live to regret this)

If Kudus doesn't go here, the game is gone

Hits half our players in the face after kicking someone on the ground

LOL at there being no red cards in this sequence

I guess this is why you take out your good, but poorly disciplined players when the game is basically over. Now he'll miss 3 games for being an idiot. Not the manager's fault obv, but could be avoided.

Lovely stuff.

I thought buying Maddison was supposed to be a game-changer?

lol man u

It is. When you sub him out you get a huge boost that changes the game.