This Weekend's Fixtures & Midweek Fixtures (16/18/19/20)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Friday, 16th May 2025
Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur, 19:30 Sky Sports Premier League
Chelsea v Manchester United, 20:15 https://i.imgur.com/htwHZ0c.jpg

Sunday, 18th May 2025
Everton v Southampton, 12:00 https://i.imgur.com/tM2pRxb.png
West Ham United v Nottingham Forest, 14:15 https://i.imgur.com/htwHZ0c.jpg
Brentford v Fulham, 15:00
Leicester City v Ipswich Town, 15:00
Arsenal v Newcastle United, 16:30 https://i.imgur.com/htwHZ0c.jpg

Monday, 19th May 2025
Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool, 20:00 https://i.imgur.com/htwHZ0c.jpg

Tuesday, 20th May 2025
Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 20:00
Manchester City v Bournemouth, 20:00 https://i.imgur.com/htwHZ0c.jpg

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Son should do better than he did.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I forgot these games were on

Whilst I’m glad the fa cup final is not being played on a day when another game is being played

It should still be played at the end of the league season and be put back to 15:00

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd, Maguire!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ah he's offside, 0-0.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Poor touch from Odobert.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Damn James got hold of that one.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Villa 1-0 Spuds, Konasa.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Good save from Kinsky off Watkins!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Villa 2-0 Tottenham, Kamara.

[Marc Overmars]

21 league defeats. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Villa 2-0 Spuds, FT.

Spuds. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Hojlund had to get his Apple watch removed. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Dive from Evil Saka

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Dive from Diallo now, why do players do it?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd, Cucurella.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Citeh sixth. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

What a miss from Madueke. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd, FT.

All very tight for Champions League still.

[Mac76]

Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd, FT.

All very tight for Champions League still.

The league table will look pretty ugly for us if Newcastle win, or even draw, tomorrow, the Saints game will then be a must-win which, while they're obviously very bad, it would better to avoid absilutely having to beat them at their ground on the last day of the season

I hope now we've had a week to process the last few games it will see us just a bit fresher and better prepared

The officials will be crucial, if they buy into Gordon's diving and allow Guimeraes etc to assault our players it will be difficult

[HCZ_Reborn]

Spurs and Man United. The Europa league final is the ultimate papering over of the cracks

I know we’ve only won once in six games in the league because of Champions League priority, but those two are a whole other thing.

It simply can’t be dismissed as prioritising other competitions. They both just look utterly incapable.

I think United especially can think themselves grateful that the financial disparity codified by FSR between the premiership and championship that probably means that promoted clubs are going to go straight back down again exists or I think they’d find themselves in serious Leeds United circa 2004 style bother.

Spurs probably have the money to sack off Crocodile Greeky, buy some players to get them up the table, back to being a top six side that wins fuck all.

United? Ridiculous wage bill…ownership that wants to belt tighten even more. I don’t know where they go from here

[Marc Overmars]

39 defeats between them, as bad as you can get without being relegated. I was utterly fed up after those 8th place finishes with Arteta so god knows how I’d feel if we were that bad.

It is rather annoying that one of them will win a trophy and qualify for the CL, so this is truly a laugh at the loser game.

[Mac76]

I've been trying to work out how to deal with it if Spuds win.

I think it's a) feeling relief that we no longer have to hope their fruitless run continues (which while amusing does have a certain stress factor) and b) if they're going to do it, to do so in a year when they're so obviously shite must take something away from it, even for their own deluded fans

[HCZ_Reborn]

Everton 2-0 up against Southampton in the last match to be played at Goodison Park (by the men’s team anyhow)

Actually I have to admit I found it interesting that the ground will remain open for the women’s team.

In that whilst we couldn’t demolish Highbury because it was a grade 2 listed building, we did sell it off to become luxury flats (either that or becoming a supermarket seems to be the fate of the old football grounds).

But, Everton who have been in a bit of financial woe for some time, obviously think that they will generate more money from keeping the ground open for women’s football than they would selling it to property developers. This is not to say they are wrong of course…personally I think the ground is a toilet…I’ve been there twice and I genuinely believe there are better restroom facilities in places in the third world plus you have obstructing pillars everywhere.

Highbury at least we moved because of the ground capacity, the stadium itself was a thing of beauty.

[Mac76]

Well it's comparing a slagheap in Liverpool against prime real estate in North London

Also women's football wasn't anywhere nearly so much a thing when we moved

[Marc Overmars]

Been to Goodison Park once before and I definitely can’t remember a stadium worse than that. The Hawthorns is probably a close 2nd.

Something quite charming about these grounds from a bygone era though.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Well it's comparing a slagheap in Liverpool against prime real estate in North London

Also women's football wasn't anywhere nearly so much a thing when we moved

This is true (the bit about women’s football being bigger now than it was when we moved) and that’s kind of the point I was making, that actually as a revenue driver it appears that its seen as more profitable to keep the ground for women’s football than to sell it for real estate.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Been to Goodison Park once before and I definitely can’t remember a stadium worse than that. The Hawthorns is probably a close 2nd.

Something quite charming about these grounds from a bygone era though.

The Boleyn Ground got a facelift that Goodison Park never got before West Ham moved to Stratford. But I went there in the 1990s and the place was an utter shit hole…the stalls looked and smelt like Pony stables

One of my favourite old grounds was Layer Road (Colchester United), one of the stands resembled an actual Chicken Coop. I don’t remember if there was any seats in the ground but it was mainly all terracing.

[Mac76]

Been to Goodison Park once before and I definitely can’t remember a stadium worse than that. The Hawthorns is probably a close 2nd.

Something quite charming about these grounds from a bygone era though.

I think the worst I went to was the old Chelsea ground when they had the race track around it, you needed binoculars to see anything

That said I've also been downstairs at the new one and the roof above was so low it felt really claustrophobic

also went to the old Shite Hart Lane and it was so steep it gave me a mild form of vertigo - plus it was spuds ofc so that gets extra 'shite' points...

[Mac76]

This is true (the bit about women’s football being bigger now than it was when we moved) and that’s kind of the point I was making, that actually as a revenue driver it appears that its seen as more profitable to keep the ground for women’s football than to sell it for real estate.

but again it depends on where that real estate is, I'm willing to bet they still wouldn't do it with Arsenal now

[HCZ_Reborn]

Forest keep themselves just about in the hunt for champions league football with a goal at West Ham

Gibbs-White

[Letters]

Highbury at least we moved because of the ground capacity, the stadium itself was a thing of beauty.
The facades for the East and West stands looked nice but the facilities were awful and we also had the pillar issue.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Brentford 1-1 Fulham

Jiminez for Fulham before Mbeumo equalised

Vardy scores for Leicester at home to Ipswich

[McNamara That Ghost...]

West Ham 0-2 Forest, Milenkovic.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Brentford 2-1 Fulham Wissa, who might well have been sent off before scoring that goal

[Marc Overmars]

Forest v Chelsea on the final day should be spicy. Winner takes all.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

West Ham 1-2 Forest, Bowen.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

West Ham 1-2 Forest, FT. Went to the 116th minute.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brentford 2-2 Fulham, Cairney

Leicester 2-0 Ipswich, McAteer.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brentford 2-3 Fulham, Wilson!

Wow.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brighton: Verbruggen, Estupinan, Webster, Van Hecke, Wieffer, Ayari, Baleba, Minteh, Gruda, Adingra, Welbeck.
Subs: Rushworth, Julio, Hinshelwood, Dunk, Veltman, Gomez, Howell, O'Riley, Mitoma.

Liverpool: Alisson, Tsimikas, Quansah, Konate, Bradley, Elliott, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Chiesa, Gakpo, Salah.
Subs: Kelleher, Robertson, Gomez, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Endo, Jones, Nunez, Diaz

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

We, literally, couldn't have been more on the beach in the last week.

3-0 Brighton.

Unless they've got even less to play for than us.

Okay. 3-1.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brighton 0-1 Liverpool, Elliott.

From ten minutes ago if couldn't guess from above.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brighton 1-1 Liverpool, Ayari.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brighton 1-2 Liverpool, Szoboszlai.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Brighton 1-2 Liverpool, Szoboszlai.

Knickers

[HCZ_Reborn]

Brighton have dominated Liverpool home and away but likely to lose both games

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brighton 2-2 Liverpool, Mitoma!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

When was the last time Champions conceded 40 goals in a season?

2012/2013?

Just one away for that.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brighton 3-2 Liverpool, Hinshelwood! :lol:

[Mac76]

sounds like Liverpool went on holiday at HT

[Mac76]

Liverpool's last game is at home v Palace - wouldn't put it past Palace to win that too, if so at least it reduces their final lead by a few points

[McNamara That Ghost...]

And FT! Liverpool collapsing - just need a points deduction and the title is still on.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

We, literally, couldn't have been more on the beach in the last week.

3-0 Brighton.

Unless they've got even less to play for than us.

Okay. 3-1.

Okay. 3-2. :lol:

Come on Bournemouth :pray:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Manchester City: Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Silva, Gundogan, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Marmoush, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega, Ake, Grealish, Doku, Gonzalez, Rodri, Foden, Bobb, O’Reilly.

Bournemouth: Kepa, Araujo, Zabaryni, Huijsen, Kerkez, Cook, Adams, Tavernier, Semenyo, Kluivert, Evanilson.
Subs: Senesi, Brooks, Smith, Soler, Jebbison, Dennis, Silcott-Duberry, Akinmboni, Winterburn.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Yep I’d like to see Bournemouth cap City’s season by causing them to miss out on champions league next season

But alas, I see City giving them a revenge walloping

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

1-0 Marmoush

Ridiculous strike :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

What a miss from De Bruyne!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Palace 0-1 Wolves, Agbadou.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Edward equalises immediately

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 2-0 Bournemouth, Bernardo Silva.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Palace 2-1 Wolves, Nketiah with his second. :blink:

[HCZ_Reborn]

Chilwell adds third for Palace

Strand Larsen pulls one back

3-2

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Kovacic sent off! :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Cook sent off for Bournemouth, 10 v 10 now. Wow.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Rodri is back on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

3-0 Gonzalez.

Bournemouth. :doh:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Palace 4-2 Wolves, Eze. Damn he's in some form.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 3-1 Bournemouth, FT.

[Letters]

So...if City win 4-0 on the last day and we lose 4-0 to Southampton then City will finish above us on goals scored.

[Mac76]

So...if City win 4-0 on the last day and we lose 4-0 to Southampton then City will finish above us on goals scored.

Or more realistically we lose to Saints say 2-0 or 3-1 and Citeh win at Fulham by a margin of 6, which in previous seasons you wouldn't bet against

[Letters]

Or more realistically we lose to Saints say 2-0 or 3-1 and Citeh win at Fulham by a margin of 6, which in previous seasons you wouldn't bet against

In today’s edition of “things that aren’t going to happen”.

[Mac76]

careful, you're drifting into HCZ territory by saying 'aren't going' rather than 'very unlikely to happen' - which ofc it is and I absolutely don't expect it, hence my point about 'in previous seasons' - this year's Citeh can't pull off big wins like they used to though they did recently put 5 past Palace (though yes they were 2-0 down before they recovered)

I wouldn't rule out our failing to beat Saints though, we're clearly kanackered, our defence is decimated and now have (almost) nothing to play for

[Letters]

I wouldn't rule that out either but Southampton would have to beat us and I can't see that happening. I expect City to win but not by a margin which would cause us to worry even if we did happen to lose.

[Marc Overmars]

End of season dead rubbers can be unpredictable but even with us being on the beach, I highly doubt the second worst team the league has ever seen will be troubling us that much. Even if they do, who cares. There won’t be an 8 goal swing. City have the Club World Cup to prepare for and won’t be going all out against a decent Fulham team.

[HCZ_Reborn]

careful, you're drifting into HCZ territory by saying 'aren't going' rather than 'very unlikely to happen' - which ofc it is and I absolutely don't expect it, hence my point about 'in previous seasons' - this year's Citeh can't pull off big wins like they used to though they did recently put 5 past Palace (though yes they were 2-0 down before they recovered)

I wouldn't rule out our failing to beat Saints though, we're clearly kanackered, our defence is decimated and now have (almost) nothing to play for

I’ve got my own home, whilst it’s nice to let me live rent free in your head….its really unnecessary

And it’s also doubly inappropriate for a man who argues from binaries to accuse other people of speaking in absolutes

[Mac76]

I’ve got my own home, whilst it’s nice to let me live rent free in your head….its really unnecessary

And it’s also doubly inappropriate for a man who argues from binaries to accuse other people of speaking in absolutes

I'm actually one of the people to use nuance on here tbh, rather than the usual 'they're shit' / 'they're great' social media standard of football discussion

It's you that talks in absolutes and traps themselves in foolish unequivocal statements about players, likely results and so on

[HCZ_Reborn]

I'm actually one of the people to use nuance on here tbh, rather than the usual 'they're shit' / 'they're great' social media standard of football discussion

It's you that talks in absolutes and traps themselves in foolish unequivocal statements about players, likely results and so on

No you really don’t talk in nuance at all

To the point where you seemingly can’t tell the difference between opinion and assertion of fact

To the point where you make unequivocal “you’re wrong” statements about opinions I offer

Take Eze for example, it’s not exactly brimming with nuance to say “oh he has goals and assists so you’re wrong to question his footballing brain”

I’d actually say the way he played on Saturday would be evidence of him having more of a footballing brain than I’ve previously suggested, because it was a complete and clever performance. That’s far more than what I’d ever seen of him previously where he’s been little more than a quick and strong meathead

Then we go on to Gyokeres where you still can’t even admit that there’s no where, where I’ve unequivocally stated he couldn’t make it in the premier league, my argument is that I have profound doubts about it

I’m not the one who claims because Leicester city win the title ten years ago, it unequivocally pisses on the idea that in the main the club with the most money and the best players win things which as consequence makes it so that a manager/head coach isn’t quite as much the difference maker as we think (thus my argument that as long as the squad and the setup is good, who the coach is…isn’t as relevant..I’d argue that both Brighton and to a degree Liverpool are examples of this)

So in respect of your nuance, to paraphrase the Wendy’s advert that Walter Mondale ripped off “where’s the beef?”

[HCZ_Reborn]

Let’s be fair, you almost tried to start down the “you’re wrong” path because I said I didn’t feel at all worried that Spurs would win the Champions League. “How could you possibly know they wouldn’t” - I didn’t know they wouldn’t, I just dismissed the idea that they would and it turned out my nonchalance was merited, could have gone another way of course and in no way did I suggest other people were wrong to feel worried

But in the end, trying to continue a row about that was obviously too ridiculous even for you

[HCZ_Reborn]

Anyway turning this thread back to the topic at hand, a bit of uncharacteristic magnanimity from me

Kevin De Bruyne

I despise the club he plays for, to the point where I’d love nothing more than every league medal he’s ever won to be stripped from him. But as an individual player, I think he’s easily one of the best players ever to have played in the premier league.

The hilarity for me is that he started out for Chelsea, but Jose Felix didn’t rate him and it meant them having to watch as he tore things up for another team

No idea what kind of person he is and I care even less, but an incredible talent….in a way unlucky not to win something with Belgium. Him and Hazard in the World Cup in Russia were exceptional

[Marc Overmars]

Rolls Royce of a player. The amount of times he’s destroyed us I couldn’t help but feel a begrudging respect.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

He's an absolutely extraordinary player. And iirc a bit of a Liverpool fan (maybe not in the strictest sense) so I concur with HCZ in that I hope he is stripped of every honour but fuck me what a player. I also wonder how the hell we missed out on him when we had an actual part worship with Genk at the time he was coming through.

Bergkamp will probably always be my non-Liverpool favourite. But I recognise a lot of that will be based on nostalgia, there are many arguments to say he's the best PL player ever imo.

[Niall_Quinn]

De Brown was average, in the grand scheme of things. Obviously a great player by modern standards, but those standards are also extraordinarily low. He may have managed to get into a decent team in past season where the quality was important, but he certainly wouldn't have been replacing Keane at Utd, or Lampard at Chelsea, or Gerrard at Liverpool or Vieira at Arsenal - simply not in the same league.

[HCZ_Reborn]

De Brown was average, in the grand scheme of things. Obviously a great player by modern standards, but those standards are also extraordinarily low. He may have managed to get into a decent team in past season where the quality was important, but he certainly wouldn't have been replacing Keane at Utd, or Lampard at Chelsea, or Gerrard at Liverpool or Vieira at Arsenal - simply not in the same league.

You think Lampard is better than De Bruyne??

That explains a lot

[Niall_Quinn]

You think Lampard is better than De Bruyne??

That explains a lot

OMG - Lampard was one of the greatest ever to play the game. Are you even fucking serious?

[Niall_Quinn]

You have that stupid affliction where you think everything contemporary is automatically better because... no reason at all.

Not only did Lampard dominate the chavs period of success, but I think he's still in the top 10 of all time goalscorers in the PL. De Brown isn't fit to lace his boots, and anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't got the capacity to measure, they are afflicted. It's not a matter of personal opinion, it's one of those truths on which our agreement of the reality around us depends. Which, admittedly, is getting vague in the current space of "individual truth".

[HCZ_Reborn]

You have that stupid affliction where you think everything contemporary is automatically better because... no reason at all.

Not only did Lampard dominate the chavs period of success, but I think he's still in the top 10 of all time goalscorers in the PL. De Brown isn't fit to lace his boots, and anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't got the capacity to measure, they are afflicted. It's not a matter of personal opinion, it's one of those truths on which our agreement of the reality around us depends. Which, admittedly, is getting vague in the current space of "individual truth".


That my friend is projection because you do the inverse

No I don’t think everything contemporary is better than what happened in the past.

I think the greatest midfielder of my lifetime was Zinedine Zidane and to my recollection he retired almost 20 years ago

And asserting your personal opinion as objective truth doesn’t make it so, I’ve had to explain that to Mac76 enough