Use this thread for general daily football discussion.
This thread can also be used to discuss Transfer rumours and to post Tier 4 sources.
I appreciate this community’s mettle. Reading the endless stream of doom comments in other Arsenal communities has its merits but it’s nice to have a place that isn’t talking about selling half the team.
Tbf we do need upgrades and backups, and do fans honestly think we have it at this moment in time to win CL? We made it this far after that many years out of it with a squad where most key players have no experience playing in this tournament. It’s a learning experience. Henry said in post match, it’s difficult for us if we have to play three games a week, he said even back then it was difficult. It’s difficult for any other team in the PL bar one because of 115 reasons. The standard being set is absolutely unsustainably high, that’s why people doom and gloom at the slightest slip up. Yesterday’s loss isn’t as frustrating to me as the Villa, Fulham loss…or even drawing the 💩 at home. We slayed some demons this season, but we cannot forget to win those games where we are the better squad. Overall, it hasn’t been a bad season on paper.
I think this team can win it, just needs a bit of time to learn. It was always a bit of a pipe dream to win on the first attempt tbh, especially when you consider the level of Arsenal teams that failed to win it.
I just think a good chunk of vocal fans have way too unrealistic expectations given the environment. Last season we were way ahead of schedule, which obviously comes with higher expectations. But reality is that we are still in transition, the team has new pieces to work with and older pieces to be moved or refine. I actually did not expect a repeat of last season, but to be in this tight of a race this late in the season, something is going right. I do hope the team addresses the problem of depth and fitness late in the season some time soon. I think next season or two is when we really should put Mikel’s tenure on watch.
I wholeheartedly agree. I don’t visit any other Arsenal communities for that reason. I think we have a good mix here. People get frustrated and vent, but I feel we’re all reasonable here and more positive than not.
This is probably the best community of Arsenal fans I’ve ever been part of.
It is so much better than Twitter, I can tell you that much. And better than what Reddit was when I left. Even bluesky can get a bit… waffle-y a bit sometimes.
I remember talking to someone in a bar recently and when I said I wasn’t on twitter, they said “oh you have to, it’s where all the best football banter happens.”
Needless to say I walked away very quickly
Some of it is good. Some of it is horrible. And then there’s the non-football content, which is somehow more braindead.
You really have to weed, filter, and block your way to getting the good discussion, I’ve found in my limited time on there. I was never very active on Twitter, to be fair.
Imma be real, Jonas should let City score as many as they want / need when we play them to beat Chelsea lol. Put McCabe in goal, play Katie Reid up front as the new Super Jen, try all the weird stuff he’s clearly been wanting to try. Just completely dash Hayes’s hopes — not like the game matters for us.
How are we on qualifying for CL next season though?
United are nine points behind with four games to go we can secure before the city game
As much as i hate CFG, their women’s team have a bunch of incredible players who deserve to win it.
I also think Jonas’ tenure should be on watch starting next season, Conti Cup is nice but it isn’t enough. That CL exit hurt a bit, but in hindsight with the squad in this state it’s probably for the best. He also has the same issue as Mikel in that he doesn’t trust his bench, I mean you have KCX and Codina on the bench ffs…
Also, I hate CFG but I hate Emma Hayes more than nearly anything in the women’s game ngl :p
i mean, KCX has started quite a few games tbf.
https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC/status/1780909387114066299
this is disgusting.
How is this even going to work?
they’re genuinely just ruining the oldest fucking competition in the world. if we had any spine we’d stand against it, but the board won’t because it benefits us.
NB: this reply really wasn’t meant to be this long. It’s predicated on some pretty bold assumptions, but boils down to - if the changes are only being made so the FA can make more money then I completely agree with you.
Removing first round replays eliminates so much fixture congestion for so many teams. Not just the teams that have to play the replay, but also their opponents in any league matches which are rescheduled.
If I’m reading correctly, it seems that getting rid of midweek fixtures will only increase the profile and viewership of the competition, which is great from a preservation standpoint and makes sense economically.
Moving the final to prior to the last day also means the teams in the final don’t lose a week from their offseason. The winner, then getting to play in the community shield, is effectively losing 2+ weeks of rest for players who are being asked to play more games than ever across all competitions.
I don’t think change should be made to such a historic competition for it’s own sake, but if the above is how they’ve landed on this decision I think it’s only positive. Put simply, I don’t think the FA can continue to allow the situation where any club in the top ten of the premier league is playing 3 games a week for 3 months of the season. The solutions that can be controlled from within England are pretty limited.
- you can’t control the international game, short of all clubs taking the extreme measure of not allowing players to travel for international friendlies, or games at all, which would guarantee the transfer market plummets in England
- You can’t control the decisions of UEFA around their various competitions, which do seem to be getting obnoxiously bloated. Maybe one day it’ll reach a tipping point where PL teams pull out but at the moment it is THE competition to win, even the conference league is incredibly meaningful for the clubs participating.
- Aside from sanctions, the FA can’t directly make changes to the premier league itself (or the EFL tiers for that matter, or the EFL cup). Potential solutions would include changes to the EFL cup, or at the extreme end reducing the number of teams in the premier league/all top 4 leagues by creating another tier. This would shorten the season significantly but I would argue it’s a worse outcome than changing the cup competitions.
- You’re left with changes to the FA cup, which I would argue if it has been done for the reasons I’ve assumed above, is a positive thing.
I think the lower league clubs lose out on some revenue and though in the proposal there’s more funds allocated for “development” of the sport, it’s not a guarantee for them. On one hand less congestion is good but on the other hand there needs to be more transparency on and actually having funds trickle down the pyramid. EPL actually should not even participate in the EFL cup anymore to be honest, allow lower league teams to win it.
Interesting point that EPL clubs shouldn’t be in the EFL cup. On one hand I agree, because it’s the EFL cup. But I think the EFL trophy is already serving that purpose. The EFL cup is more opportunities for the same revenue you and @Astrealix have called out as a benefit of the FA cup current format. Maybe the answer is reducing the unplanned impact (I all of a sudden have to play a replay) but making the lower rounds more robust, doing something to ensure that there are no EPL vs EPL matchups up to round X of both the EFL and FA Cup. I don’t know if that’s feasible or desirable, and the flipside is it probably entrenches the “better” teams because it eliminates the possibility of a smaller team getting to the QF or SF with a lucky draw.
The real solution is to dismantle the corporate system that demands unlimited growth of all of these entities so that UEFA doesn’t need to keep adding to the comp to make more money.
Given they didn’t even ask the EFL clubs, I’m not giving them the benefit of the doubt tbh. Personally I think you just do what France did and scrap the EFL cup. I think replays are such a historically English thing that’s so rare anywhere else (if it even exists tbh idk) that getting rid of them is a massive shame, and replays have gotten so much good stuff for clubs who earn them. The gate receipts from playing a club with a massive stadium can massively benefit a club, and has saved clubs from bankruptcy before.
Yeah I pretty much agree with you on principle. The FA can’t force the EFL to scrap the cup though. At the end of the day, an action needs to be taken. Agree with the other reply to my comment that it’d all be a moot point if there was transparency over where the “development money” goes.
Surely the FA could soft pressure the EFL into getting rid of the cup and giving a bunch of money down the leagues instead which would be much better for everyone involved.
I’d argue taking all of the EFL money away, rather than just taking replays out of the FA cup, is a much more drastic measures seeing as it impacts all eligible teams rather than just those unlucky enough to get a draw in certain rounfs
Like, if you’re getting rid of them, then you better give a lot more money to the lower leagues, at minimum. Especially considering the mess that is the Championship thanks to PL money.
so uh. has there been any news about lina hurtig? swear she’s just up and vanished for much longer than most injuries would’ve taken by now
