2022-23 Football Season: Title Races and Cups Heat Up!

[Mathuvan Union]

Yet another nullified argument for recognition of the claret and blue glory

Yet Burnley calls themselves the clarets interestingly.

Aston Villa is the claret and blue, West Ham has the hammers, Burnley doesn’t exist
And Aston Villa is one of the older clubs in the premier.

[Outer Sparta]

Yet Burnley calls themselves the clarets interestingly.

Aston Villa is the claret and blue, West Ham has the hammers, Burnley doesn’t exist
And Aston Villa is one of the older clubs in the premier.

Neighbors Birmingham City haven't done as much compared to Villa and nearby neighbors Wolverhampton only have been recently good due to their Portugal model.

[Mathuvan Union]

Aston Villa is the claret and blue, West Ham has the hammers, Burnley doesn’t exist
And Aston Villa is one of the older clubs in the premier.

Neighbors Birmingham City haven't done as much compared to Villa and nearby neighbors Wolverhampton only have been recently good due to their Portugal model.

Wolves were basically the Portuguese team until the regrettably sold Jota to Liverpool.
Birmingham City I don’t see playing in the premier league for a good decade—they’re shit let’s face it. Villa is a dominant team in West England, but that’s because they’re surrounded by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.
Cardiff and Wolves are our only real contenders if Cardiff. And the fact is, our team is chock full of stars, we’ve managed to get a transfer market genius, because Juventus are trying to by Douglas Luis.
And everyone can’t get enough of Jack Grealish

[Outer Sparta]

Neighbors Birmingham City haven't done as much compared to Villa and nearby neighbors Wolverhampton only have been recently good due to their Portugal model.

Wolves were basically the Portuguese team until the regrettably sold Jota to Liverpool.
Birmingham City I don’t see playing in the premier league for a good decade—they’re shit let’s face it. Villa is a dominant team in West England, but that’s because they’re surrounded by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.
Cardiff and Wolves are our only real contenders if Cardiff. And the fact is, our team is chock full of stars, we’ve managed to get a transfer market genius, because Juventus are trying to by Douglas Luis.
And everyone can’t get enough of Jack Grealish

It seems like the only recent successful Midlands team is Leicester and to a lesser extent, Wolverhampton.

[Mathuvan Union]

Wolves were basically the Portuguese team until the regrettably sold Jota to Liverpool.
Birmingham City I don’t see playing in the premier league for a good decade—they’re shit let’s face it. Villa is a dominant team in West England, but that’s because they’re surrounded by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.
Cardiff and Wolves are our only real contenders if Cardiff. And the fact is, our team is chock full of stars, we’ve managed to get a transfer market genius, because Juventus are trying to by Douglas Luis.
And everyone can’t get enough of Jack Grealish

It seems like the only recent successful Midlands team is Leicester and to a lesser extent, Wolverhampton.

Leicester’s never not been decent-good, since Lineker, anyway. Jaime Vardy is what’s really floating them, let’s face it.

[Outer Sparta]

It seems like the only recent successful Midlands team is Leicester and to a lesser extent, Wolverhampton.

Leicester’s never not been decent-good, since Lineker, anyway. Jaime Vardy is what’s really floating them, let’s face it.

After their unlikely Prem win, they got really cocky and sacked Ranieri. If they didn't win the Prem or even contended for the CL, Ranieri would still be there the following season.

[The Archregimancy]

I agree on the infrastructure. Almost all of the matches will be in Doha; only the matches in Al Khor (which will include the opening match, but no matches after the first round) will be outside of the immediate vicinity of Doha. Technically, the government is claiming that the matches in Al-Rayyan, Lusail, and Al-Wakrah are outside Doha, but while these are technically separate municipalities for local government purposes, they're just suburbs of Doha. Claiming that they're different places would be a bit like hosting a national sporting occasion in New York City, and then holding a small number of events in Yonkers just so the organisers can state that they're not all in New York City.

As to Qatar's footballing history... I agree that it has very little, but not quite as little as people may realise. Their first club was founded in the 1950s, and the league has been running since the early 1960s. In fact, I personally attended what was likely Qatar's finest footballing moment - a 2-2 draw with France in the 1984 Olympic football tournament, in a match held at the slightly odd location (not least because of the distance from the host city) of the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

One of the great shames, though, is that they're actively destroying some of their existing footballing heritage to prepare for the tournament. The Qataris decided to demolish their most distinctive and architecturally interesting stadium - Ash Shamal Stadium in the far north - and replace it with a dull modern stadium for the World Cup, and then decided not to hold matches in Ash Shamal anyway.

Ash Shamal is built in the form of a traditional Qatari fort, and is quite the local landmark for the few people who make it to far northwestern Qatar (a group which includes me):

You're also a little harsh on the composition of the current team. While Qatar have been guilty of some fairly sharp naturalisation practices in the past - once fielding three naturalised Brazilians - their most recent AFC qualification squad of 23 players contains 17 native Qataris (note that the current AFC tournament is double qualification for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 AFC championship - so Qatar are playing despite not needing to qualify for the former). The balance of the squad is made up of players born in Algeria (2), Sudan (2), Egypt (1), and Iraq (1). They might well be tempted to be a bit naughty about this again as we approach 2022, but the current squad at least is more or less innocent.


None of which changes the fact that Qatar is a moronic location for a World Cup.

Other concerns are regarding their treatment of migrant workers building the stadium and their policy on LGBTs such as their policy of executing LGBTs. In a fair world, Qatar would never get the nod for a World Cup based on many factors, but since the power of money and corruption is added to the equation, it tips it into Qatar's favor.

The treatment of migrant workers is definitely a problem. I worked on a project that used migrant labour, which was difficult moral issue for me.

However, while human rights for LGBT residents of Qatar are a serious issue, the country does not execute gay men and women; this is not government policy. Technically, the death penalty is on the books for male homosexuality in the sharia courts (which is admittedly bad enough), though not the ordinary criminal courts, but it's never enforced; there are no known cases of anyone being executed for homosexuality in Qatar. See here and scroll down to Qatar.

I absolutely agree that Qatar should never have been awarded the tournament, and of the c.50 countries I've been to, it's easily my least favourite. But writing as someone who's worked in the country, while there are serious concerns regarding the infrastructure, tourist offer, and human rights abuses, it's not always quite as bad as you seem to think it is. Bad enough, certainly; but not quite as bad as you seem to think it is.

[Outer Sparta]

Other concerns are regarding their treatment of migrant workers building the stadium and their policy on LGBTs such as their policy of executing LGBTs. In a fair world, Qatar would never get the nod for a World Cup based on many factors, but since the power of money and corruption is added to the equation, it tips it into Qatar's favor.

The treatment of migrant workers is definitely a problem. I worked on a project that used migrant labour, which was difficult moral issue for me.

However, while human rights for LGBT residents of Qatar are a serious issue, the country does not execute gay men and women; this is not government policy. Technically, the death penalty is on the books for male homosexuality in the sharia courts (which is admittedly bad enough), though not the ordinary criminal courts, but it's never enforced; there are no known cases of anyone being executed for homosexuality in Qatar. See here and scroll down to Qatar.

I absolutely agree that Qatar should never have been awarded the tournament, and of the c.50 countries I've been to, it's easily my least favourite. But writing as someone who's worked in the country, while there are serious concerns regarding the infrastructure, tourist offer, and human rights abuses, it's not always quite as bad as you seem to think it is. Bad enough, certainly; but not quite as bad as you seem to think it is.

The other countries bidding were Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the US. Australia would have been an interesting host given they never done it before. Hosting in the other Asian countries would be also interesting especially since Japan and South Korea cohosted in 2002. The US went on to host in 2026 with the other North American countries.

[The Champions League]

First Maradona, now Rossi. Italian legend Paolo Rossi has passed away. The player led Italy to their third World Cup in Spain 1982 becoming the one of the three players in history to lift the World Cup and be awarded the Golden Boot and Golden Ball all in the same edition. May he rest in peace.

www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2020/12/10/e-m ... 32023/amp/

[The Archregimancy]

The treatment of migrant workers is definitely a problem. I worked on a project that used migrant labour, which was difficult moral issue for me.

However, while human rights for LGBT residents of Qatar are a serious issue, the country does not execute gay men and women; this is not government policy. Technically, the death penalty is on the books for male homosexuality in the sharia courts (which is admittedly bad enough), though not the ordinary criminal courts, but it's never enforced; there are no known cases of anyone being executed for homosexuality in Qatar. See here and scroll down to Qatar.

I absolutely agree that Qatar should never have been awarded the tournament, and of the c.50 countries I've been to, it's easily my least favourite. But writing as someone who's worked in the country, while there are serious concerns regarding the infrastructure, tourist offer, and human rights abuses, it's not always quite as bad as you seem to think it is. Bad enough, certainly; but not quite as bad as you seem to think it is.

The other countries bidding were Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the US. Australia would have been an interesting host given they never done it before. Hosting in the other Asian countries would be also interesting especially since Japan and South Korea cohosted in 2002. The US went on to host in 2026 with the other North American countries.

You're not telling me anything I don't already know. And it's not just that there were other excellent potential hosts - if taking the tournament to new markets and expanding the sport's global appeal was the goal, Australia should have been near the top of the list - it's that Qatar seems to have actively engaged in naked bribery to secure the tournament.

But none of that's directly relevant to the point I was making; that, writing from the perspective of someone who's actually worked there, Qatar is a dismal country and will be an equally dismal host, but at the same time isn't quite as awful as you seem to think it is.

[Forsher]

Leicester’s never not been decent-good, since Lineker, anyway. Jaime Vardy is what’s really floating them, let’s face it.

They were in the Championship and nearly relegated the seasons before they won.

Leicester’s never not been decent-good, since Lineker, anyway. Jaime Vardy is what’s really floating them, let’s face it.

After their unlikely Prem win, they got really cocky and sacked Ranieri. If they didn't win the Prem or even contended for the CL, Ranieri would still be there the following season.

I don't think that's true. Ranieri doesn't have an overly successful managerial career. And look at the context of his sacking:

On 23 February 2017, Ranieri was dismissed by Leicester, with the club one point above the relegation zone with 13 matches remaining in the 2016–17 Premier League season.[98]

He took over a team that was on fire (7/1/1 to avoid relegation) and it kept going for a season where no-one else covered themselves in glory. Many people attribute Leicester's win less to Leicester and more to Olivier Giroud's goal drought, for instance.

When Ranieri was appointed, they were afraid he'd get the team relegated. When he was sacked, the team were dancing with relegation for the second time in three seasons. His departure from Leicester looks far more like the near miraculous circumstance of a freak outcome (winning the league with 81 points... only one other team has done comparably poorly this century) somehow not clouding judgement. You can call it disloyal, perhaps even disrespectful, but it's not cocky. I don't even know if the players fall in a Chelsea style "where were you when we were shite" deal.

[Outer Sparta]

Leicester’s never not been decent-good, since Lineker, anyway. Jaime Vardy is what’s really floating them, let’s face it.

They were in the Championship and nearly relegated the seasons before they won.

After their unlikely Prem win, they got really cocky and sacked Ranieri. If they didn't win the Prem or even contended for the CL, Ranieri would still be there the following season.

I don't think that's true. Ranieri doesn't have an overly successful managerial career. And look at the context of his sacking:

On 23 February 2017, Ranieri was dismissed by Leicester, with the club one point above the relegation zone with 13 matches remaining in the 2016–17 Premier League season.[98]

He took over a team that was on fire (7/1/1 to avoid relegation) and it kept going for a season where no-one else covered themselves in glory. Many people attribute Leicester's win less to Leicester and more to Olivier Giroud's goal drought, for instance.

When Ranieri was appointed, they were afraid he'd get the team relegated. When he was sacked, the team were dancing with relegation for the second time in three seasons. His departure from Leicester looks far more like the near miraculous circumstance of a freak outcome (winning the league with 81 points... only one other team has done comparably poorly this century) somehow not clouding judgement. You can call it disloyal, perhaps even disrespectful, but it's not cocky. I don't even know if the players fall in a Chelsea style "where were you when we were shite" deal.

All I'm saying is that Ranieri would have never gotten the sack had he not taste top six glory, let alone win the Prem with a middling Leicester squad. At least he wasn't with Chelsea where they sack managers every five seconds. A Chelsea-style sack would have been him getting the boot when they first lost.

[Outer Sparta]

The other countries bidding were Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the US. Australia would have been an interesting host given they never done it before. Hosting in the other Asian countries would be also interesting especially since Japan and South Korea cohosted in 2002. The US went on to host in 2026 with the other North American countries.

You're not telling me anything I don't already know. And it's not just that there were other excellent potential hosts - if taking the tournament to new markets and expanding the sport's global appeal was the goal, Australia should have been near the top of the list - it's that Qatar seems to have actively engaged in naked bribery to secure the tournament.

But none of that's directly relevant to the point I was making; that, writing from the perspective of someone who's actually worked there, Qatar is a dismal country and will be an equally dismal host, but at the same time isn't quite as awful as you seem to think it is.

It's interesting how you have worked in Qatar before. Haven't you lived in Egypt (or continue to live there) at one point and maybe have heard of teams like Al-Ahly and Pyramids FC?

[The Archregimancy]

You're not telling me anything I don't already know. And it's not just that there were other excellent potential hosts - if taking the tournament to new markets and expanding the sport's global appeal was the goal, Australia should have been near the top of the list - it's that Qatar seems to have actively engaged in naked bribery to secure the tournament.

But none of that's directly relevant to the point I was making; that, writing from the perspective of someone who's actually worked there, Qatar is a dismal country and will be an equally dismal host, but at the same time isn't quite as awful as you seem to think it is.

It's interesting how you have worked in Qatar before. Haven't you lived in Egypt (or continue to live there) at one point and maybe have heard of teams like Al-Ahly and Pyramids FC?

I was working in Egypt until very recently; that job was brought to an end by COVID in September.

I lived in Zamalek in central Cairo, and would often walk past the Al Ahly Club - that's the social club associated with the football team, and also the location of the team's main training ground. Zamalek, perhaps counterintuitively, have much less of a presence in Zamalek and Gezira Island these days than their great rivals Al Ahly.

The African Cup of Nations was also held in Egypt while I was living there, and several of the national teams used the sporting facilities on Gezira Island for training and PR during the tournament; it made the commute home even more fraught than usual.

[Mathuvan Union]

Aston Villa's building a new training ground.
It's time to spam out youth academy.

[Outer Sparta]

It's interesting how you have worked in Qatar before. Haven't you lived in Egypt (or continue to live there) at one point and maybe have heard of teams like Al-Ahly and Pyramids FC?

I was working in Egypt until very recently; that job was brought to an end by COVID in September.

I lived in Zamalek in central Cairo, and would often walk past the Al Ahly Club - that's the social club associated with the football team, and also the location of the team's main training ground. Zamalek, perhaps counterintuitively, have much less of a presence in Zamalek and Gezira Island these days than their great rivals Al Ahly.

The African Cup of Nations was also held in Egypt while I was living there, and several of the national teams used the sporting facilities on Gezira Island for training and PR during the tournament; it made the commute home even more fraught than usual.

I bet Egypt can definitely be an African powerhouse in the future. Salah is their current superstar but North African teams are interesting with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt all competing (Algeria of course won the 2019 African Cup of Nations).

[The Champions League]

I was working in Egypt until very recently; that job was brought to an end by COVID in September.

I lived in Zamalek in central Cairo, and would often walk past the Al Ahly Club - that's the social club associated with the football team, and also the location of the team's main training ground. Zamalek, perhaps counterintuitively, have much less of a presence in Zamalek and Gezira Island these days than their great rivals Al Ahly.

The African Cup of Nations was also held in Egypt while I was living there, and several of the national teams used the sporting facilities on Gezira Island for training and PR during the tournament; it made the commute home even more fraught than usual.

I bet Egypt can definitely be an African powerhouse in the future. Salah is their current superstar but North African teams are interesting with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt all competing (Algeria of course won the 2019 African Cup of Nations).

Egypt is a powerhouse in Africa already. They have the most number of titles in the AFCON with 7 and the have the most successful team not only in Africa but in the world in Al-Ahly with their CAF Champions League wins. Not because they have only qualified three times for a World Cup means they aren't an African powerhouse.

[Wopruthien]

Okay... so our (Wrexham) message boards are in meltdown at the possibility of Eddie Howe being our next manager. Rumour is growing but surely its too much a reach. Would be absolutely insane... but I'm not sure as insane as two Hollywood a listers buying our club or a ex Liverpool CEO getting involved and it is 2020!

Definitely need to get rid of the crap thats being served up by Dean Keates at the moment as its just god awful football.

[Mathuvan Union]

The sad thing is—Jack Grealish is basically guaranteed to go to a very. Good team—they’re Bren only ones who can dish out 100 million like that.
I want to see him playing for Barcelona as a wet dream

[Outer Sparta]

The sad thing is—Jack Grealish is basically guaranteed to go to a very. Good team—they’re Bren only ones who can dish out 100 million like that.
I want to see him playing for Barcelona as a wet dream

Ah yes, Barca indulging on expensive transfers once again. If they overpay for Grealish, then it's great for you guys.

[The Champions League]

After two months, the second finalist of the AFC Champions League is known. Ulsan Hyundai will face already qualified Persepolis on Saturday for the title. It could be the second title for the Koreans after the 2012 triumph or the first for the Iranians after losing two years ago against Kashima Antlers.

[Mathuvan Union]

The sad thing is—Jack Grealish is basically guaranteed to go to a very. Good team—they’re Bren only ones who can dish out 100 million like that.
I want to see him playing for Barcelona as a wet dream

Ah yes, Barca indulging on expensive transfers once again. If they overpay for Grealish, then it's great for you guys.

Yeah, but they're financially shot.
They don't have the wage budget required by LaLiga right now.
So if Barcelona buys Grealish, they're dead in the water.

After two months, the second finalist of the AFC Champions League is known. Ulsan Hyundai will face already qualified Persepolis on Saturday for the title. It could be the second title for the Koreans after the 2012 triumph or the first for the Iranians after losing two years ago against Kashima Antlers.

I will pray for the day an Australian team gets there.

[The Champions League]

Ah yes, Barca indulging on expensive transfers once again. If they overpay for Grealish, then it's great for you guys.

Yeah, but they're financially shot.
They don't have the wage budget required by LaLiga right now.
So if Barcelona buys Grealish, they're dead in the water.

After two months, the second finalist of the AFC Champions League is known. Ulsan Hyundai will face already qualified Persepolis on Saturday for the title. It could be the second title for the Koreans after the 2012 triumph or the first for the Iranians after losing two years ago against Kashima Antlers.

I will pray for the day an Australian team gets there.

Western Sydney Wanderers did it not that long ago in 2014 and won the whole thing

[Mathuvan Union]

Yeah, but they're financially shot.
They don't have the wage budget required by LaLiga right now.
So if Barcelona buys Grealish, they're dead in the water.

I will pray for the day an Australian team gets there.

Western Sydney Wanderers did it not that long ago in 2014 and won the whole thing

Yeah but they're not from Melbourne.

[The Champions League]

Western Sydney Wanderers did it not that long ago in 2014 and won the whole thing

Yeah but they're not from Melbourne.

Better than anything, though