Featured: That was the Week that Was (Nov 13-17 2023)

[tlw content]

 

Monday Nov 13:

 

It’s been over a week now and there’s been no mention about any charges for Arteta after his outburst against refs. That was as strong as I can remember anybody going after them, and he did it in about four separate post match interviews so it wasn’t just one heat of the moment comment. His club then put a statement out backing everything he said, and absolutely fuck all has been done about it. He repeatedly used words like “disgrace” and “ashamed” yet nothing has happened yet. What are they waiting for?

 

I don’t even care if he had a point or not (he did) because loads of managers (and players for that matter) have had just cause to go after refs, but you still have to face consequences when you do. Except Arteta it seems. Let me just remind you that Van Dijk was suspended for one match and fined 100k for simply saying “that’s a fucking joke”. Nowhere near enough of a stink was made of that when I look back.

 

In other news, Ederson is out of the Brazil squad which means Alisson will play their two games in this break. If I’m Alisson I’d pull out too, because fuck that coach for not picking him. Alisson is a man of God though and probably prays for that coach rather than bear a grudge against him. The easy conclusion to draw here is that Ederson will be fine for the game with us and this is City pulling their usual shit, but I don’t think that’s it. He may well play against us but that doesn’t mean he isn’t legitimately injured now. Ederson probably never thought he’d be Brazil’s first choice and he won’t want to give that up lightly. If he’s out of the squad he’s definitely injured because he’s not going to miss two important qualifiers and allow Alisson back in just because Guardiola wants him to rest.

 

Hopefully it’s bad enough that he loses his foot, but failing that I’ll settle for him missing the game in a fortnight. Ok ok, I’m joking, I don’t really want him to lose his foot, that would be awful. The only City player I’d genuinely wish harm on is that cunt Bernardo Silva.

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[DaveT]

That Michael Owen programme is such a wasted opportunity. Instead of the Party Political braodcast on behalf of the PGMOL party, he should be sticking the boot in:

- Howard, it was a crock before you came along - how do you explain the fact that, unbelievably, it's far worse now?

- Why were Oliver, England and his mate allowed to do a foreigner, paid for by City's owners, when it's such a clear conflict of interest? Have they been rebuked in anyway, is there now a policy with regard to this? Does he think Michael Oliver was influenced, consciously or otherwise, when he gave awful decisions to City against Arsenal, and as VAR, against United?

- Why were yellow cards getting dished out left right and centre for a few games for waving imaginary cards and kicking the ball away..... and not so much since? 

- Why do refs routinely allow free kicks and throw-ins to be taken 10, even 15 yards from where they should be.......  but insist on corners being moved 1 cm if they're not touching the quadrant?

- how do you not see that a defender, and we all know the usual suspects, boxed in, is going to thow himself to the floor under minimal, or zero contact, when the whole stadium knows what's coming

- why do you always try to rationalise decisions as if there is always a pseudo-scientific rational, when so much of the rules are wholly subjective?

- why are you all such a bunch of cunts - is it part of the personality profile, or do you have to develop it?

 

Btw - the audio on that Newcastle penalty against Wolves was fucking horrendous - how they bent over backwards not to contradict Taylor when any idiot could see it wasn't a penalty on the first replay. Staggering.

[Bobby Hundreds]

I never thought about that draw in the runners up season against Everton we should sue the arse of the cheating bastards! Not only has their cheating cost teams their premier league status its cost us a title and probably a hundred other little influences along the way, their cheating beating butterfly wings have caused hurricanes of injustice across the football World. They need demoting, given a transfer ban and barred from Costco or some shit. 10 points not enough!

[Chris]

It's clear why Owen got that assignment too. He's the ex-player pundit most vocal about his support for VAR. He'll tow the line.

 

As for Trent, I thought the same thing about his comments on midfield. I'd take it a step farther and say it was a shot across the manager's bow too. Didn't like it at all. 

[Anubis]

Quote

We never spoke about referees this much before VAR though did we? Sure, we’d have the occasional moan about a decision here and there and we’d have refs who we were convinced had it in for us, but that was the same across the board. 

Have you never met Everton fans.

 

 

Quote

Everton were open and transparent, worked with the PL to try and get back within the acceptable limits but failed and were punished

But they weren’t open and transparent, and they deliberately flouted the agreement they’d come to with the PL about keeping their spending down. This despite being given some special dispensation to claim a £40m offset from the stadium they they probably shouldn’t have been given. They even kept trying to claim offsets they were told that they couldn’t. Didn’t their CEO and CFO cry-off going to the hearing to give evidence as well?

 

I’m sorry, but I’m sick of seeing Liverpool fans giving these bastards any sympathy. They cry about everything Red. They call us wall-pushers and murderers. They sing always the victims. A few, albeit a minority, have even started using the face against fence gestures to mock Hillsborough.

 

Fuck Everton. Sweep the leg.

[Paul]

3 hours ago, Chris said:

It's clear why Owen got that assignment too. He's the ex-player pundit most vocal about his support for VAR. He'll tow the line.

 

As for Trent, I thought the same thing about his comments on midfield. I'd take it a step farther and say it was a shot across the manager's bow too. Didn't like it at all. 

I haven’t heard the comments from Trent, but in terms of Dave’s point about washing his hands of playing right back, while it’s not necessarily a great look, I can understand it. He took an inordinate amount of shit in the seasons after the title win. It was a constant refrain in the media and certainly was a factor in him losing his international place. His head must’ve been battered at times and an emotive response is entirely understandable. 

[Paul]

On Quansah, I’m still taking my time in terms of my own view of him as it’s very early days and I don’t think he’s been tested very much, even though there are lots of positive signs. 
 

However, I do think he’s now shown he can be the Joel replacement in the squad beyond this season, offering us more options at right back as well as centre back. We then just need a left footed hybrid player for left back/Virgil’s understudy. 
 

 

[King Kenny 86]

Interesting that the Trent to Madrid story bubbled about then moans about not being in mid field. Just wait for the "nothing left to win at Livetpool, new challenge" reckon it wasn't trent tapping Bellingham up for us it was Bellingham saying come to Madrid when I get there....

[dave u]

On 19/11/2023 at 07:30, Anubis said:

Have you never met Everton fans.

 

The exception that proves the rule.

 

As for the rest of your post, I agree now, but at the time I wrote that I was under the impression they had co-operated fully and were open and transparent because that's what I was reading everywhere.

 

Turns out that was bullshit, like pretty much everything else coming from them about the whole thing. It's incredible they're kicking off like this. They got off lightly and should be grateful the 10 points is this season and not any other, when they'd have been fucked.

 

They broke the rules because they thought when a Russian crook bought them that they could spend whatever the fuck they wanted to get a leg up and then go more legit afterwards. But they wasted it on absolute shite, lost hundreds of millions as a result and then tried to blame it on literally everything else except their own awful mismanagement.

[DalyanPete]

On 19/11/2023 at 10:30, Anubis said:

I’m sorry, but I’m sick of seeing Liverpool fans giving these bastards any sympathy. They cry about everything Red. They call us wall-pushers and murderers. They sing always the victims. A few, albeit a minority, have even started using the face against fence gestures to mock Hillsborough.

 

Fuck Everton. Sweep the leg.

Nailed it in one.

[DalyanPete]

 I may end up siding with Everton over all this.

 

PLEASE DONT.

[Supremolad]

Another brilliant one, Dave. Great stuff. I dont think the Salah v Mane thing is as dramatic as intended though. When I hear retired top forwards talk on various podcasts or interviews, they often gripe about teammates not passing them the ball or not putting in the ball early. It's not an unusual thing at all. Top forwards generally want to score goals and often have a selfish streak.

 

And yeah, Salah and Mane were not best of mates but Firmino also said they still treated each other with professional respect. Also said Mane was always the more volatile one, so I'm not surprised he's the one who started catching feelings about being underappreciated. Even though Salah assisted more Mane goals than the other way round.

 

I think I also saw a stat that Nunez is already about to match the total number of assists Mane made to Salah in 5 years!!