could be an interesting off-season for PL management appointments. obviously the one we care about is Klopp - Slot, but also happening / potentials: West Ham: Moyes - Lopetegui Chelsea: noises from CFC say Poch's position is under review and he seems OK with it based on today's quotes MU: the usual manager merry-go-round likely to continue NU: will they ditch Howe at last and go for a bigger name eg Moaner or Tuchel?
The release of the Premier League fixtures for the 2024/25 season has been confirmed to take place at 09:00 BST on Tuesday 18 June. Dates for all 380 matches will be released at that time.
Liverpool set to benefit from huge Carabao Cup rule change due to Champions League - Liverpool.com Seeding due to fixture congestion
ha! seems like the Pl has been reading posts on here. I suggested using foreign refs for VAR a while back, now this might take it further ... (note: it's a typical Guardian article, where the writer makes sure his "aren't I clever!" writing takes prominence for a few paragraphs before getting to the damn point) Could opening the Premier League to foreign officials make a difference? Is it time for the English top flight to fling open the borders to overseas pea-blowers as it has for the world’s players, managers, and owner-billionaires? This question is now under real consideration at the highest levels: when the Premier League holds its annual general meeting next week, clubs won’t only vote on the proposal to scrap VAR, they’ll also debate whether to open the competition to foreign referees. https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...remier-league-should-refs-from-abroad-be-next
here we go again ... Red Bull has bought a minority stake in Leeds and will become their principal shirt sponsor next season. The soft drink company has added the Championship club to its large football portfolio joining the owner, 49ers Enterprises. Leeds become the sixth club Red Bull is involved with, joining RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, RB Bragantino and RB Brazil. edit: "at this stage" is doing a lot of work in this sentence. The Athletic reports at this stage, Red Bull will not be given a seat on the club's board and that changing the club's name, shirt colour or stadium name will not be open for discussion.
Not trying to derail the thread but it's wild to me how much money RedBull has made on that crap drink. I know I'm in the minority but I think it tastes horrible (like most "energy" drinks) and has never made me feel any different. Anyway, good luck to Red Bull Leeds.
careful FIFA, your cash cows are getting restless. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c2jjmn7ex4vo Football's world governing body Fifa has been warned players are willing to go on strike if they continue to be overworked. Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango believes players are now at breaking point. The PFA has been calling for action to alter the congested football calendar, especially with the expanded 32-team Club World Cup proposed for next summer. "I can tell you a situation not even 10 days ago where I went to a dressing room directly affected and I said: 'I’m happy to be here and bark a bit but ultimately it’s down to you. How far would you like to go?" said Molango, speaking at the PFA and world players' union Fifpro’s end-of-season review of player workload and recovery. "Some of them said: 'I’m not having it, we may as well strike.' Some said: 'what’s the point? Yes I’m a millionaire but I don’t even have time to spend the money'. "It’s not even the union who has said it, it has been Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. We have reached a point where we cannot discount any action." The PFA has threatened legal action and has been exploring options to do that over the growing number of games in the football calendar. ----------------------- A study focused on young players warned how much stress their bodies are under and highlighted the number of minutes Real Madrid and England’s Jude Bellingham has played before he is 21. The midfielder, still just 20, has played 18,486 minutes in his career, compared to the 3,929 David Beckham played and 6,987 minutes Frank Lampard played at the same age.
It was working just fine for the audience with 32 teams. Except no-one asked the audience. Fix and Break philosophy
Premier League clubs have voted by 19-1 in favour of keeping video assistant referees (VAR) next season. Wolves triggered a vote on the use of VAR in the 2024-25 season after formally submitting a resolution to the Premier League in May. It was reaffirmed at the meeting that semi-automated offsides will be introduced at some point in the autumn, while the Premier League confirmed in-game VAR announcements will be put in place.
Wolves probably should've liaised with other Prem clubs to get their verdicts first to avoid something like this happening. 19-1 lol. 17 of those clubs will continue to be screwed over by VAR until they reach boiling point.
They should have a vote every summer! If we want to constantly pile up 20-0 and 19-1 decisions, that is. At the very least this can be used to communicate to the louder, more delusional supporters -- VAR doesn't exist to serve "corrupt" PGMOL, the FA, or the league. The CLUBS want this (except Wolves). They don't want to be screwed by the kinds of mistakes which, according to the data, are largely prevented via the VAR safety net.
Just because they voted to keep it doesn't mean all or any of them are happy at the way VAR is being implemented. While VAR produces more accurate decision making, it was agreed that improvements should be made for the benefit of the game and supporters. Once again the technology isn't the issue but rather it's the people implementing it ie get better refs.
Of course not, no one is fully pleased with absolutely everything about VAR. But that has nothing to do with my point: anyone complaining about "scrap VAR"... your club that you're complaining on behalf of, they want VAR. Along with basically the rest of the league. That's the point. Frankly this should be at the forefront of any communication about VAR. Not that I'd expect any pundit to actually do a good job, but any VAR "controversy" should begin with "the clubs all want this -- this isn't about refs or the league".
excellent to see ... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c977plv56d9o Three Valencia fans have been sentenced to eight months in prison, the first conviction for racism at a football match in Spain as a direct result of a complaint filed by La Liga. The racist chants were aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr during a La Liga game at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium on 21 May 2023. The fans were found guilty of a "crime against moral integrity" with "aggravating circumstance of discrimination based on racist motives". An initial 12-month sentence was reduced by a third following an agreement reached at the preliminary investigation stage. The fans were also banned from entering any football stadium in which La Liga and/or Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) matches are played for a period of three years, later reduced to two. Brazil international Vinicius joined La Liga, Real Madrid and RFEF in bringing the case to court. The defendants read a letter of apology during the hearing. La Liga president Javier Tebas said:, external "This ruling is great news for the fight against racism in Spain, as it goes some way to redressing the disgraceful wrong suffered by Vinicius Jr and sends a clear message to those individuals who go to a football stadium to hurl abuse. "La Liga will identify them, report them, and there will be criminal consequences. “I understand that there may be some frustration at the length of time it takes for these sentences to be handed down, but this shows that Spain is a country that guarantees judicial integrity. "We at La Liga can only respect the pace of justice, but once again we demand that Spanish legislation evolve to give La Liga sanctioning powers that can speed up the fight against racism." Real Madrid said they "will continue to work to protect the values of our club and eradicate any racist behaviour in the world of football and sport".