Cardiff_Fox

That Atalanta v PSG game is so intriguing. The format gives Atalanta a great chance of reaching the final.

Could have done that design and made it a nod to the 1992 Bukta shirt

This is one of the issues with the use of VAR. Football doesn’t work in slow motion. If you’ve played the game of football, you know these things happen (the occasional stray elbow when turning for example). The thing is you do actually glance because your brain know it’s going to happen but at a speed, it’s simply to quick to process. For example in slow motion, you could argue last night that Fernandes Penalty was a crude stamp on Konsa’s foot. It wasn’t but it can looked like

They were ready to do a land swap and had it agreed with the council. In the end, didn’t do anything more about it

I work with a Bournemouth fan and he says the relegation was always going to happen. He agrees they don’t need a large stadium but one of the stands is temporary and a lot of the improvements they made are of a similar nature. They had plans for a training ground which isn’t happening now. Their time in the top flight should have left a tangible legacy and as it stands, it’s not going to.

Certain media articles suggest 30% crowds in September with no away fans. Given the European competitions start in October, can’t see much of an increase unless some European countries situations are a lot better which would allow an away trip. It’s more likely the turn of the year when we’d have something of a return to some normality

Seen it’s released at 10.30am. Unsure on the time zone

Worth mentioning a journo with strong links to Man City claimed two days before the announcement of the ban that there was no punishment forthcoming. Could quite simple a case of the club releasing info to local journos, so their fans scream murder

Maddison has got it in his head he has to play deeper in order to get an England spot. Maddison’s best performances this season have came off the left wing or attacking midfield in differing formations. Let Youri do the 8 role and Maddison should be instructed to occupy the space in front of oppositions defences. Don’t plau Maddison to a centre midfield role which stifles his best qualities. In process it doesn’t allow Youri either the option of breaking the lines with passing (So we get sideways passing) and the space gets congested

I said post Calciopoli - so their return to Serie A after the Serie B season. I think Collina might have appointed as a lead of a task force on refereeing at the time. Ironically, One of the most interesting seasons in Italian football was 1984/85. Hellas Verona won it. The change which occurred that season? The appointment of referees was done by ballot. The 1983/84 was dogged with corruption. 😂

There was a study done in Italy post Calciopoli. It centred around Juventus and accusations of bias. It confirmed two things. 1) Juve did get more beneficial decisions. There’s almost natural determination that if a world class player is facing a lesser player and the better players falls to the ground. The referee is more likely to believe its foul. Because how can A.Donkey successfully nab the ball of a racing Cristiano Ronaldo? So our brain assumes at times (What doesn’t help in this regard is the PGMOL do literally have a debrief every Monday and discuss trends with certain players) 2) The law of average say if you attack the 18 yard box with more regularity, the more opportunity for a foul and more opportunity for a iffy decision.

He’s as bad as the Liverpool cult. We are seeing Man U go down the same path of ‘legend’ and ‘our way’

Always find the notion that the bigger clubs believe their dominance will gain a large international audience bewildering. Literally the two biggest leagues in the world with masses audiences - NFL and NBA - have a salary cap! The 2016 title made football go beyond the back pages. As along as the bigger clubs succeed, the PL stays on the back pages

That decision made by VAR can’t compensate what was literally some of the most spineless football played by us in a long time. Remember Burnley at home? When we were incredibly fortunate with the Wood goal? Or Tielemans against Bournemouth? Or the goal at Wolves?

I honestly think there is a natural bias, almost subconscious. However it can work in your favour as well. It did in 2016. It was at the start of the season.