The soccerball thread

[jimmy jazz]

The PL was the world's biggest league without MC. They need the PL, not the other way round. They aren't Liverpool or MU, and the reason people were sympathetic to Forest and Everton was because all they did was miscalculate their spending and got dealt with before MC who have been allowed to win another PL with charges over their heads. They didn't try to drag it out or fail to comply like MC have done and they still got hit hard for a couple of charges.

I still maintain that, were this Villa and they were at the top, you would not be so quick to say justice should be done.

Even if this is true, which it isn't, it wouldn't make it right. Also, do you realise why we had to sell Douglas Luiz this summer?

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/aston-villa/2024/09/03/revealed-aston-villa-faced-major-premier-league-points-deduction-without-swift-summer-sales/

Villa obey the rules. MC think the rules shouldn't apply and that's why they have to be punished severely.

[Trollheart]

Christ almighty! Talk about only women bleed! Not only do we need to encourage women to get into traditionally male-dominated sports like football, we need to make sure they feel safe while playing. What is wrong with us as a gender??
Fulham protected players from Al Fayed

and we Irish are no better!
Garda probe into allegations from former female soccer players

What is it? Do we feel threatened by these women "muscling in" on our domain, or are we all just cunts who think every female body is ours to do with as we want? Makes me ashamed to be a man.     

Think we'll see Prem or EFL or League of Ireland players taking a knee to protest against this? As if.

[jimmy jazz]

What it is is that some people are cunts and will abuse their power. Been plenty of shit like this targeting young boys in the academies, the likes of Barry Bennell and of course the Celtic Boys Club...

[jimmy jazz]

Back in the European Cup and our first home game vs Bayern Munich, a repeat of the greatest night in the club's entire history.

Ozzy is ready:



I am sad that my mom won't be here to see this moment. She would be so excited. I will be thinking of her.

Up the Villa 🟣🔵

[Trollheart]

Absolutely magic goal by Duran, and a heroic defence by Martinez. Superb match and a stunning victory. Well done, lads! One of the very few times you wouldn't have been cheering Kane on, I bet!

Was your mum a Villa fan, JJ? If so I'm sure she was cheering them on from the best seat in the house. Karen was definitely not a fan, not of football at all, but I still miss not being able to go down and dance around her room, with her rolling her eyes and saying "You and your stupid grotball!" as she used to call footy.

[jimmy jazz]

Absolutely magic goal by Duran, and a heroic defence by Martinez. Superb match and a stunning victory. Well done, lads! One of the very few times you wouldn't have been cheering Kane on, I bet!

Was your mum a Villa fan, JJ? If so I'm sure she was cheering them on from the best seat in the house. Karen was definitely not a fan, not of football at all, but I still miss not being able to go down and dance around her room, with her rolling her eyes and saying "You and your stupid grotball!" as she used to call footy.

Yes mate. She was a massive Villa fan. She would go to the games as a child in the 60s with her brothers. I've got her scarf from when she used to go, she sewed 'Chico' into it as her favourite player was Ian 'Chico' Hamilton. Named after the jazz player.

Me, mom and dad would watch every match together. My mom was more of a fan than my dad tbf. I will cherish the memories forever, we had a lot of laughs.

And no I wasn't cheering Kane. Thought he was a prick when he threw himself to the ground to win a free kick. All forgiven now though 

How do you watch the games? Catch the highlights after?

[Trollheart]

Yeah it's great that MOTD now do a highlights show. Some fantastic games: Real beaten? Brest winning? Great stuff. I normally don't watch CL because we only get the full matches here, and most of the time I don't know they're on or don't want to sit through a full match. Highlights are perfect for me, and to have Chappers and the team doing it is so much better.

Your mums seems to have been a proper "Villain" then: I assume you took your love of the team from her? Well yes as I said I'm sure she was there with you in spirit. Nice to have such a connection. Neither of my parents were into footy, and neither was I till Italia 90, when the whole office had World Cup fever and I thought, better join in or as someone who didn't drink I'll be even more on the outside. Neither of my brothers were into it either - one half-heartedly supported Newcastle but the other didn't care, and my elder sister is consistently driven mad by her husband shouting "Sue! Sue! Did you see that? That was never offside!" etc, and then proceeding to explain to her in great detail how the goal was not offside, and what exactly the ref is for not seeing it. She just laughs at him. As I say, Karen just hated all sports, with the possible exception of ice skating. We were never a sporty family, and it's really weird that I, as the nerdiest of us all, ended up being the only one into footy at all.

[jimmy jazz]

Both parents grew up Villa and went to games regularly. My dad did all the aways as well, but he stopped in the 70s when he was drinking with the players because he didn't like the idea of how much money they earned and what he was paying to watch them. My granddad (dad's dad) came to England in the 1940s (from Belfast) and when he came to Birmingham he picked Villa.

I chose Villa because it's where I'm from, but obviously the family thing just makes sense. I feel closer to my family by supporting them.

Have you ever been to any football match Trolls?

[Trollheart]

I have a vague memory of being to one match, but I have a feeling it was either a) a dream or b) something to do with school. Never a real match, no. Like I say, I only got into footy properly at all in 1990, and I never support(ed) any Irish team, so there was really no chance to see any of the English ones. Then Karen got sick and that was the end of that. I chose Villa, perhaps oddly, due to the amount of players in it who were also in the Irish national team (Paul McGrath, Andy Townsend, Steve Staunton etc). Just seemed to me a good reason to support them. I didn't want to go for the big ones - Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal (and I had grown to hate United already anyway) so was looking for both a "mid-range" team and one with a reason to support them. Found that in Villa.

[jimmy jazz]

You know the next Euros are being hosted in The UK and Ireland? You could easily get a ticket for that.

Dunno if you would.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2028

I would if I were you. Dublin is a host city too.

You have four years to save up!

[Marie Monday]

One of the many things that annoy me about football commentators is their relentless obsession with bringing up inane statistics. Things like 'every time team X won their first away game of the season it was against team Y'. Why should I care? It doesn't mean anything. You might as well try to invoke astrology or that magical octopus or your mum's match prediction. You're a professional, do your job and try to give some colourful description of what's happening on the pitch.

[jimmy jazz]

One of the many things that annoy me about football commentators is their relentless obsession with bringing up inane statistics. Things like 'every time team X won their first away game of the season it was against team Y'. Why should I care? It doesn't mean anything. You might as well try to invoke astrology or that magical octopus or your mum's match prediction. You're a professional, do your job and try to give some colourful description of what's happening on the pitch.

Yes. 

They write pages of this stuff before each game and have them at hand during the match to draw from if they apply.

Stats nerds are completely ruining the understanding of the game as well. There is a generation of fans who only really judge and understand the game through stats.

People don't really watch the players with eyes any more. It's all through graphs, spreadsheets and Wikipedia stats.

Ally McCoist is my favourite commentator, he doesn't do shit like this. Just watches it like a fan and talks like a fan.

[Saulaac]

Yes, mon. Someone like Matt Le Tissier could be another good commentator.

[Marie Monday]

Yes or Jack van Gelder in Dutch, the one of the Dennis Bergkamp mania (I know him from the commentary on that 5-1 Holland Spain game which was just as hysterical)

[jimmy jazz]

DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP! DENNIS BERGKAMP!