The English Football Thread

[guddy6969 199]

On 05/07/2025 at 14:54, KEVINAA said:

Kurt0411 from Malta who supports Inter Milan just posted his analysis on how Chelsea will look in 2025/26

Just uploaded 18 minutes long

That's good.. Really interesting 

[ahmedou 188]

London teams tweets 😉

[Atomiswave 6,117]

On 15/07/2025 at 01:30, ahmedou said:

 

They cant stand us these cunts. If it was city or stinkking pool they would rave about it till judgement day comes.

[Vesper 30,080]

16 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

They cant stand us these cunts. If it was city or stinkking pool they would rave about it till judgement day comes.

or Manure

[Vesper 30,080]

Premier League beware – Gianni Infantino and the Club World Cup are coming for you

Fifa president realising global super league dream would sound death-knell for either domestic competitions or Champions League

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/07/14/premier-league-threat-gianni-infantino-club-world-cup/

As Enzo Maresca basked in the afterglow of victory on Sunday, the Chelsea manager declared unexpectedly that one day the Fifa Club World Cup would be bigger even than the Champions League, just one more bold statement in another bizarre 24 hours in Fifa world.

 

The Chelsea captain Reece James would say much the same later. Both parts of Chelsea’s American ownership consortium have long been committed to the Club World Cup and would have approved. It will have been just what Gianni Infantino wanted to hear. But what does it mean for football and the English game, which has the world’s most lucrative domestic league?

 

Infantino wants the Club World Cup to be the club game’s most prestigious trophy – overtaking the Champions League and its regional equivalents. Yet the Fifa president has not said where the next tournament is taking place or how soon it will come around again. Will it be 2029, or perhaps 2027 on a two-year cycle? Will Saudi Arabia again pay for it, as the state has done with the $1 billion stake in broadcaster DAZN in February via an investment that effectively financed this summer’s competition?

 

How many times must the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman place the resources of the state at the disposal of Infantino in return for the 2034 World Cup finals, already delivered to Saudi Arabia by decree of a Fifa Congress? It would be hard to argue that this summer’s Club World Cup has supercharged interest among broadcasters. Interest was so low originally that licensees were offering DAZN zero-pound contracts to show it.

 

The game is at a crossroads. Infantino must keep the Club World Cup alive long enough to establish it as the standard-bearer for his vision of a globalised elite. In Europe, Uefa’s prize is the Champions League which pays for everything and was expanded and recalibrated post 2024 to go head to head with Fifa’s offering. Meanwhile, the Premier League is among 39 domestic leagues, along with players’ union Fifpro which is taking legal action against Fifa. It believes that the calendar is at breaking point – and domestic football under serious threat.

 

Industry insiders say that only two of the three tiers – global, continental and then domestic competitions – will survive in their current state. It is not hard to see why the Premier League is so worried at the plans Infantino has to make sure his competition becomes pre-eminent.

 

The Club World Cup is the 2021 Super League in a different guise. It was notable that this morning, the only major football figure to issue the conventional public congratulations to Fifa and Infantino on completion of the tournament was Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. Real commended Fifa’s “brilliant organisation”. Pérez, of course, remains a Super League extremist, still committed to the idea and its associated corporate entities.

 

 

He remains at odds with Uefa president Aleksandar Ceferin and La Liga – which makes Pérez a very useful ally for Infantino. Nevertheless, at 78, the Real president will not go on forever. His successor will be courted by both sides.

 

There is another part of the game which has a major stake in this and has so far said little or nothing on the subject. That, of course, is the national associations affiliated to Fifa, and especially the English Football Association and its western European counterparts. In her role as a member of the Fifa Council, FA chair Debbie Hewitt was at the MetLife Stadium for Sunday’s final.

 

Yet the day after the conclusion of the most controversial and disruptive tournament ever launched by a Fifa president, none of them said anything. The FA’s official England account on Twitter/X posted congratulations to Chelsea’s England contingent, and that was it.

 

The FA is the only English football institution that has a vote at Fifa – worth not much when Infantino has so much of Africa and south and central America tied up. But at the very least it is the conduit by which Fifa communicates with English football on official terms. Yet the FA knows nothing as to when the next Club World Cup might be, how many teams might play in it and where – and most importantly – what its effect might be on the global calendar.

 

The FA did mention the Club World Cup very briefly in its annual report, published in April – although only as an example of the challenges new tournaments presented to the structure of the game. It touched on the welfare of players but there was no detailed reference to the tumultuous consequences a reordering of the game might have for domestic English football. The FA has designs on hosting the 2035 women’s World Cup and must weigh its words carefully.

 

The Premier League cannot speak directly to Fifa – certainly not officially. That is why it, along with others, has had to take the Swiss organisation to court. In the meantime, surrounded by powerful club owners, and even more powerful heads of state, Infantino seems to be auctioning off parts of Fifa to interested parties.

 

The 2034 World Cup finals have gone to Saudi. The United States got the Club World Cup, financed by Saudi Arabia. What comes next is not clear. But the silence from the national associations from the big European nations – England, Germany, France and the rest – is quite telling. They feel impotent in the face of these geopolitical negotiations done in their name.

 

 

Infantino has impeccable contacts in the ownership of English football clubs – Todd Boehly was by Infantino’s side at the trophy presentation and the Fifa president attended a game at Manchester City this season. When Infantino took power at Fifa in 2016 he was backed, rather incautiously, by an English FA that at the time was just delighted to see the back of Sepp Blatter.

 

But now the future looks ever more uncertain. Infantino has now had his moment with Donald Trump on the pitch in New Jersey on Sunday. The Saudis are on board, at least until 2034.

 

The Premier League and other domestic leagues are heading to court with Fifa and the whole calendar seems to be up for grabs. Let us not forget that Infantino has promised a women’s Club World Cup too, although what year that will be and where in the calendar it will appear is, as with many of these things, as yet unclear.

 

Will the Club World Cup be bigger than the Champions League eventually, as Maresca thinks may yet be the case? It certainly will need another generous backer to get it through its next iteration – whenever and wherever that might be – but Infantino is unlikely to let it fade away now. He has too much personal capital tied up in it for that. And no one in his own Fifa family is offering any discouragement.

[ahmedou 188]

Who won the game???

How is this a real graphic...

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

 

[Vesper 30,080]

4 hours ago, Fulham Broadway said:

 

Fact Check: Video does not show Man City boss snubbing Israeli representative

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/video-does-not-show-man-city-boss-snubbing-israeli-representative-2024-05-29/

A video of Manchester City Football Club’s manager Pep Guardiola walking by an English former soccer manager without shaking hands after a match is being falsely described online as Guardiola ignoring an Israeli representative.

Edited footage of Guardiola bypassing a man, who is circled and tagged with an image of the Israeli flag, before receiving a runner-up medal following City’s Football Association (FA) Community Shield defeat to Arsenal has been shared widely, opens new tab on social media.

 

One X post, now viewed 7.5 million times, captioned the video: “The famous Spanish coach Pep Guardiola refused to shake hands with the Israeli representative.”

Reuters Image

However, the person in the video whose hand Guardiola failed to shake after the August 2023 match was English former soccer manager Alan Smith, not an Israeli representative, Smith told Reuters.

Smith said via direct message that he was not and has never been an Israeli representative and that he attended the game, which took place at London’s Wembley Stadium on August 6, 2023, as a guest of the FA.

The ex-Crystal Palace boss added that Guardiola being distracted could have been a reason why they did not shake hands. Smith said that he maintains a positive relationship with Man City officials.

 

The incident, on which Guardiola has never publicly commented, was reported by, opens new tab media outlets, opens new tab at the time.

It also predates Israel’s retaliatory invasion of Gaza following Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack by almost two months.

Manchester City Football Club and its holding company City Football Group Limited did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

VERDICT

False. The video does not show Pep Guardiola refusing to shake hands with an Israeli representative.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

Fact Check: Video does not show Man City boss snubbing Israeli representative

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/video-does-not-show-man-city-boss-snubbing-israeli-representative-2024-05-29/

A video of Manchester City Football Club’s manager Pep Guardiola walking by an English former soccer manager without shaking hands after a match is being falsely described online as Guardiola ignoring an Israeli representative.

Edited footage of Guardiola bypassing a man, who is circled and tagged with an image of the Israeli flag, before receiving a runner-up medal following City’s Football Association (FA) Community Shield defeat to Arsenal has been shared widely, opens new tab on social media.

 

One X post, now viewed 7.5 million times, captioned the video: “The famous Spanish coach Pep Guardiola refused to shake hands with the Israeli representative.”

Reuters Image

However, the person in the video whose hand Guardiola failed to shake after the August 2023 match was English former soccer manager Alan Smith, not an Israeli representative, Smith told Reuters.

Smith said via direct message that he was not and has never been an Israeli representative and that he attended the game, which took place at London’s Wembley Stadium on August 6, 2023, as a guest of the FA.

The ex-Crystal Palace boss added that Guardiola being distracted could have been a reason why they did not shake hands. Smith said that he maintains a positive relationship with Man City officials.

 

The incident, on which Guardiola has never publicly commented, was reported by, opens new tab media outlets, opens new tab at the time.

It also predates Israel’s retaliatory invasion of Gaza following Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack by almost two months.

Manchester City Football Club and its holding company City Football Group Limited did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

VERDICT

False. The video does not show Pep Guardiola refusing to shake hands with an Israeli representative.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

He still thinks they're cunts though

Pep Guardiola speaks out on Gaza and 'refusing to be silent when it matters most'

Man City boss Pep Guardiola warned 'the next kids will be ours' as he spoke about the Israel-Gaza war

Guardiola spoke of 'boys and girls of four years old being killed' during his acceptance address at Whitworth Hall to the University of Manchester. He referenced his own three children as he told of seeing news about 'infants' in Gaza everyday.

He concluded: "In a world that often tell us we are too small to make a difference, that story reminds me the power of one is not about the scale. Is about choice. About showing up. About refusing to be silent or still when it matters most."

"Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed for the bomb or being killed at the hospital because it's not hospital anymore, it's not our business. Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business. But be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four, five year-old kids will be ours.

Manchester Evening News

[guddy6969 199]

16 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

He still thinks they're cunts though

Pep Guardiola speaks out on Gaza and 'refusing to be silent when it matters most'

Man City boss Pep Guardiola warned 'the next kids will be ours' as he spoke about the Israel-Gaza war

Guardiola spoke of 'boys and girls of four years old being killed' during his acceptance address at Whitworth Hall to the University of Manchester. He referenced his own three children as he told of seeing news about 'infants' in Gaza everyday.

He concluded: "In a world that often tell us we are too small to make a difference, that story reminds me the power of one is not about the scale. Is about choice. About showing up. About refusing to be silent or still when it matters most."

"Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed for the bomb or being killed at the hospital because it's not hospital anymore, it's not our business. Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business. But be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four, five year-old kids will be ours.

Manchester Evening News

Good.. I wish more people would speak up about the genoside 

[Vesper 30,080]

15 hours ago, ahmedou said:

Who won the game???

How is this a real graphic...

4 nil

means Celtic won 4 nil

which they did

[LAM09 7,043]

6 hours ago, guddy6969 said:

Good.. I wish more people would speak up about the genoside 

Those who do seem to get silenced. 

Anything Palestine related seems to get shutdown. Did you even know that only two players scored a hattrick at the most recent CWC & one of them was Palestinian? FIFA wouldn't even highlight the fact.  

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

18 hours ago, LAM09 said:

Those who do seem to get silenced. 

Anything Palestine related seems to get shutdown. Did you even know that only two players scored a hattrick at the most recent CWC & one of them was Palestinian? FIFA wouldn't even highlight the fact.  

Israel routinely kills Palestinian players 

July 4th 2025

Palestinian football star Fadl al-Lay died on Thursday after being wounded in an Israeli attack on his home this week. 

The attack took place on Monday at the Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza. Lay's death makes him the second football player to be killed this week in the besieged enclave. Lay was a player for the Al-Maghazi Services Club and the Palestinian national football team.

The Palestinian Football Association said in a statement that: "A drone fired a missile at Muhannad's room on the third floor of his home, causing him  a severe skull haemorrhage, which led to his death." 

The association noted that the footballer attempted to travel outside the blockaded strip to join his wife in Norway before the outbreak of the war, but he was prevented from leaving and was not able to see his family. 

[LAM09 7,043]

59 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Israel routinely kills Palestinian players 

July 4th 2025

Palestinian football star Fadl al-Lay died on Thursday after being wounded in an Israeli attack on his home this week. 

The attack took place on Monday at the Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza. Lay's death makes him the second football player to be killed this week in the besieged enclave. Lay was a player for the Al-Maghazi Services Club and the Palestinian national football team.

The Palestinian Football Association said in a statement that: "A drone fired a missile at Muhannad's room on the third floor of his home, causing him  a severe skull haemorrhage, which led to his death." 

The association noted that the footballer attempted to travel outside the blockaded strip to join his wife in Norway before the outbreak of the war, but he was prevented from leaving and was not able to see his family. 

It's heart-breaking seeing all the hurt they have inflicted on the country. Some sick individuals think what's happening now is nothing like what happened during Hitler's time. If anything, everything points to it being far worse. 

Evil on earth.

Edited July 21 by LAM09

[Vesper 30,080]

Which Premier League clubs do the most transfer deals between them?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6508081/2025/07/23/premier-league-transfer-deals-most-clubs/

As football supporters, we have probably all thought it, or even heard a fellow fan say it — “We’re signing another player from them?”

Generally speaking, Premier League teams are comprised of a broad spectrum of players; some from the United Kingdom, some from abroad. Some join from lower leagues, looking to climb the career ladder, others move from bigger sides on the way down and looking to find their natural level in the game. Some arrive for big fees and on big wages, others from the bargain end of the market.

But sometimes patterns emerge, such as Arsenal and Chelsea doing quite a lot of business, players moving regularly between Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, Chelsea seemingly having a hotline to Brighton & Hove Albion or a succession of transfers between Everton and Aston Villa.

So, if you are a supporter of a Premier League team wondering whether they do actually do a lot of business with that club you think they do a lot of business with, wonder no longer.

The Athletic, with the help of data website Transfermarkt, which logs all player movement, has been adding up the numbers to compile a table.

We tallied up every instance of a player moving between Premier League clubs since the summer of 2020, when football returned for ‘Project Restart’ after the three-month shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to the end of the most recent completed transfer window in February this year. The current summer trading period has not been included, but The Athletic will revisit the data after deadline day on September 1. Arsenal and Chelsea will already be rising up the ranking, given the deal last week that took Noni Madueke from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates Stadium.

 

Madueke has joined Arsenal from Chelsea (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

We have included every club that has played in the Premier League in the subsequent five seasons, plus Sunderland, who have won promotion back to the top flight for the forthcoming campaign. That takes the total number of teams to 28.

We counted all signings, including loans and free transfers, to paint a complete picture of how often players move between particular clubs.

While the graphic below highlights the teams that have done business with each other the most, in some cases, deals involving the other 27 are evenly spread. That means they have not cleared the bar — four — with any club for transfers back and forth. Brentford, for example, have not seen more than two players move in either direction between them and any one other Premier League side.

Three was the maximum number for Liverpool (with both Brighton and Fulham), and Wolves (with Manchester City), but for others, there is a well-trodden path between them and one or two of their rivals.

Take Villa and Everton, for example. Since the summer of 2020, six players have moved between them, with Lucas Digne, Amadou Onana and Lewis Dobbin going from Merseyside to the West Midlands and Anwar El Ghazi, Ashley Young and Tim Iroegbunam heading in the opposite direction.

There is no obvious link between the two clubs that would help explain such frequent movement. Young’s switch was on a free transfer, so club-to-club contact would have been minimal. But Irogbunam and Dobbin — young players with a high ‘book value’ — swapping one for the other on successive days last June helped both teams with their profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) compliance.

Only those who brokered the deals will know the motivations for certain, but it is clear that both achieving a high transfer fee for young players only on the fringes of their first team was excellent from an accounting point of view.

What You Should Read Next

How Premier League transfers really work in 2025 – and are rules being broken?

Confused by the way players' moves to new clubs happen these days? Steve Madeley explains what actually goes on...

Those six deals give Villa and Everton the joint-highest figure for moves between two clubs in the past five years.

They are matched by Leeds United and Bournemouth, who have racked up the same number of player transfers between them in the same period. Leif Davis, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra twice (once on loan, then permanently) have gone from Elland Road to the Vitality Stadium, with Jaidon Anthony and Joe Rothwell making the opposite switch.

The trend seems fairly random, although Bournemouth appear to have made the most of Leeds’ lower league position and relatively weak bargaining position when the Yorkshire club spent time outside of the top flight.

The five moves between Leeds and Tottenham Hotspur — the former’s next highest number — might owe something to then Elland Road CEO Angus Kinnear’s cordial relationship with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, which would have made negotiations potentially run more smoothly.

 

Leeds and Spurs have done a lot of business — like for Joe Rodon (George Wood/Getty Images)

There were also six moves between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest. Jack Colback, Jonjo Shelvey, Chris Wood (twice) and Elliot Anderson have headed south from Tyneside, with Odysseas Vlachodimos travelling north. The deals that took Anderson and Vlachodimos in opposite directions on the same day just over a year ago were widely seen as benefiting both clubs’ PSR positions, although the former has turned out to be an effective signing for Forest.

There were also five moves between Forest and Manchester United and between Chelsea and Brighton — a number that would rise to six if the ongoing window was included, with Joao Pedro going from the south coast to the capital.

The Brazilian forward followed Moises Caicedo, Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella in making big-money moves from the Amex Stadium to Stamford Bridge in the past five years. Levi Colwill — on loan — and Billy Gilmour went from west London to the seaside resort.

And there are those in the Brighton hierarchy who believe Chelsea’s repeated return visits, chequebook in hand, are a compliment to their highly-successful recruitment model. This ends up acting as a solid extra layer of due diligence for Chelsea’s big-money buys.

There is also the fact Paul Winstanley, one of Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, was previously head of scouting at Brighton. Few will have a better understanding of the players in the club’s current squad — or at least those Brighton signed in his time — than one of the key decision makers at Chelsea.

Who has your club done most deals with?

Arsenal	Chelsea, Fulham (4)
Aston Villa	Everton (6)
Bournemouth	Leeds (6)
Brentford	Arsenal, Burnley, Liverpool (2)
Brighton	Chelsea (5)
Burnley	Man City, Norwich (4)
Chelsea	Brighton (5)
C Palace	Chelsea (4)
Everton	Aston Villa (6)
Fulham	Arsenal, Chelsea (4)
Ipswich	Brighton, West Brom (4)
Leeds	Bournemouth (6)
Leicester	Chelsea, Sheff Utd (4)
Liverpool	Brighton, Fulham (3)
Luton	Aston Villa (5)
Man City	Burnley (4)
Man Utd	N Forest (5)
Newcastle	N Forest (6)
Norwich	Bournemouth, Burnley (4)
N Forest	Newcastle (6)
Sheff Utd	Leicester (4)
Southampton	Bournemouth, West Ham (4)
Sunderland	Leeds, Tottenham (3)
Tottenham	Leeds (5)
Watford	Brighton, Everton, N Forest, West Ham (3)
West Brom	Ipswich (4)
West Ham	Southampton (4)
Wolves	Man City (3)

It is worth noting there are a lot of pairs of clubs among our 28 who have not done any business with each other. Arsenal, for example, have engaged in zero transfers with Burnley, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Sunderland, Tottenham, Watford and Wolves.

This is repeated across the league.

But it’s clearly not the case between certain teams.

Whether both parties have found mutual PSR benefits by selling and signing players back and forth, or they have used existing relationships, there is often a reason why a club goes back again and again to sign players from the same team.

Expect that to continue — whether or not you wish your lot would go fishing for talent in a slightly different lake.

[Vesper 30,080]

England’s Lucy Bronze says she played in Euros with fractured leg: ‘It’s painful but I’m going to party’

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6518788/2025/07/27/england-women-euros-bronze-injury-leg/

England defender Lucy Bronze says that she played the entirety of the Women’s European Championship tournament with a fractured tibia in her left leg. 

The 33-year-old played in all six of England’s matches in a successful Euro campaign, including playing 105 minutes in the final against Spain, which England won via a penalty shootout.

However, the Chelsea defender, who was taken off at half-time of extra-time with a knee injury, revealed after the final whistle that she had entered the tournament with an injury.

What You Should Read Next

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Speaking to BBC Sport after the win, she said: “I’ve played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia, but nobody knew, and I’ve hurt my knee today on my other leg. 

“Which is why the girls gave me a lot of love after the Sweden game because I’ve been in a lot of pain. If that is what it takes to play for England, that is what I’ll do. It’s very painful, but I’m going to party.”

Bronze, who was playing in her seventh major tournament with England, had several key moments during Euro 2025, including a pivotal penalty during the shootout victory over Sweden on July 17.

The defender celebrated with her team-mates with a visible bandage on her right knee and was seen struggling to walk during post-match jubilation. The Euros victory was Bronze’s 26th career trophy.

“We never lost belief in ourselves,” she added. “There was a lot of noise on the outside, but we stuck together. To go to extra time back to back to back is incredible. We give each other energy and what we’ve done today is incredible.

“I don’t think we were thinking too much about the World Cup (final defeat). It always goes that they win, then we win, then they win, so it was our turn today.

“To win on penalties is an amazing feeling, but to lose on penalties is the worst feeling. They (Spain) are great players and they’ve achieved a lot. It wasn’t meant for them today, it was meant for England.”

[Special Juan 28,088]

Good on Trump for calling out that cunt Sadiq Khan in front of Starmer, proper got him told

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

Can you Fucking believe it.

Kier Starmer  received £8750 of free Arsenal tickets between November and April 2025.

These are tickets for the VIP Directors Lounge where some of the richest people are wined and dined overlooking that dismal pitch.

There were supposed to be 10 Free to air televised PL games this season, but 340 MPs voted against it .....because guess what....drumroll.....they get fucking free tickets paid by broadcasters that charge us ! 

In the VIP Lounge Starmer mixes with the biggest powerbrokers in the UK and the World. deals are done - and lots in favour of Arsenal FC.

Starmer says he needs security which is why he has to go in the VIP Lounge -this is utter bollocks Corbyn and Sunak used to mix with the fans.

Worse Starmer has appointed David Kogan as Independent Football Regulator after he has given Starmer 'donations'.

Corruption all the way