The English Football Thread

[DDA 9,924]

They are going to be really up for it next week with the home crowd on their side. 
 

Stinks of a defeat tbh. Can’t see our lade coping with it.

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

CHO will think he has something to prove. But if we have the right attitude that Cucu has, grit and fight, we can do them

[Milan 17,955]

On 17/05/2025 at 19:58, Milan said:

Such a weird year. Kane winning a trophy, Palace winning a trophy, Spurs in an European final with a chance to win a trophy. 

If Spurs actually manage to win the trophy, then it is almost certain that Forest wil get the Champions League football 😀 that’s how weird this season is.

[Milan 17,955]

Anyway, incredible how close the table is when it comes to the CL spots. 5 teams fighting fot 3 spots. Please please Chels just be one of those 3

[Mário César 1,232]

maybe nottm implude with the pressure

 

[NikkiCFC 8,285]

1 hour ago, Mário César said:

maybe nottm implude with the pressure

 

Yes, this is our biggest advantage. They will attack us early on and it's important to survive that early wave. We also probably need to win but let's not panic. Let's them implode and destroy them on counters. 

[Mário César 1,232]

15 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Yes, this is our biggest advantage. They will attack us early on and it's important to survive that early wave. We also probably need to win but let's not panic. Let's them implode and destroy them on counters. 

even a draw is enough if villa dont beat united 

lets see but sometimes its worst play with pressure than play without pressure

[Strike 7,474]

5 minutes ago, Mário César said:

even a draw is enough if villa dont beat united 

lets see but sometimes its worst play with pressure than play without pressure

Can't be hanging on results elsewhere. As long as we don't concede early, the mistakes will come I feel 

[Mário César 1,232]

8 minutes ago, Strike said:

Can't be hanging on results elsewhere. As long as we don't concede early, the mistakes will come I feel 

nottm cant won the last 3 games at home

Will be a tough game. We all agree, but I dont share the same pessimism that some people have 

our last away games are awful but the games were very hard - newcaste, brighton, villa, arsenal... - all tough games

[Special Juan 28,095]

The City Ground will be fucking bouncing, and I keep banging on about us and big atmospheres 

Only one outcome for me

[NikkiCFC 8,285]

 

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

The wait to break the Premier League's goal involvement record goes on for Mohamed Salah.

But on his 400th Liverpool appearance, he really should have been celebrating equalling the tally.

Quite how the Egyptian side-footed Cody Gakpo's low cross wide of an empty net from just yards out in Monday's defeat at Brighton, no-one really knows. His own wry smile suggested his own disbelief.

Two months ago, he looked set to destroy Premier League records and produce the greatest attacking individual season in the competition's history.

Salah's double against Southampton on 8 March took him to 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 matches, just three goal involvements short of the Premier League record of 47, held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.

He also looked certain to beat the record of 20 Premier League assists in a season, jointly held by Arsenal's Thierry Henry and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.

Since then, has recorded just one goal and one assist in eight matches, leaving him still one short of the goal involvement record and two short of the assist record.

[Vesper 30,085]

[Vesper 30,085]

Scouting Martín Zubimendi

A massive profile on Arsenal's likely midfield signing: his fit, function, defensive game, physical profile, press resistance, passing range, untapped skills, and potential to transform Arsenal

https://billycarpenter.substack.com/p/scouting-martin-zubimendi

“No, there’s nothin’ you can send me, my own true love
There’s nothin’ I wish to be ownin’
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled
From across that lonesome ocean.”
— Bob Dylan

---

In Thief (1981), James Caan’s character, Frank, is seen breaking into high-end vaults during a spate of nighttime heists. These scenes are not edited for pace or drama, and there’s little dialogue. Everything looks disarmingly practical. Michael Mann lets it play out slowly, clinically, as we hear the grind of the machinery and the hums of the power drills.

Our man Frank isn’t improvising. And Caan isn’t using movie props, but actual tools: a magnetic drill press, an industrial torch, and a custom-built thermal lance. The camera lingers as he locks the press into place, adjusts the angle, and begins boring into the safe’s reinforced steel. Sparks fly, and there are no dramatic cutaways or bouts with cheap tension. Just a man doing his job.

Screenwriters have a phrase for this kind of scene: “competence porn.” It’s meant to describe the appeal of watching people who are good at what they do, especially when it’s complicated, and especially when they do it with precision and calm.

It’s part of why we’re willing to watch Matt Damon read manuals, rig parts together, and shovel shit in The Martian. It’s part of why Hidden Figures and Arrival resonate, or why we watch Sherlock Holmes solve problems we don’t fully understand. The satisfaction is from the stakes, sure, but also … we like watching capable hands. We like watching systems being worked, problems being solved, little mechanics of confusing jobs being revealed by people who make them look easy.

It’s also why people like watching Martín Zubimendi.

snip

[Laylabelle 9,534]

14 hours ago, Fulham Broadway said:

The wait to break the Premier League's goal involvement record goes on for Mohamed Salah.

But on his 400th Liverpool appearance, he really should have been celebrating equalling the tally.

Quite how the Egyptian side-footed Cody Gakpo's low cross wide of an empty net from just yards out in Monday's defeat at Brighton, no-one really knows. His own wry smile suggested his own disbelief.

Two months ago, he looked set to destroy Premier League records and produce the greatest attacking individual season in the competition's history.

Salah's double against Southampton on 8 March took him to 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 matches, just three goal involvements short of the Premier League record of 47, held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.

He also looked certain to beat the record of 20 Premier League assists in a season, jointly held by Arsenal's Thierry Henry and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.

Since then, has recorded just one goal and one assist in eight matches, leaving him still one short of the goal involvement record and two short of the assist record.

Still bloody ridiculous