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

[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