Ultimate Football/Soccer Thread 2019-2020

by **Minoa** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 1:47 am

New thread, due to the previous one having no replies for more than two weeks.

A new edition of the Ultimate Football/Soccer Thread has been created to cover the 2019-2020 season, and covers all football activities from now until the Final of Euro 2020 on 12 July (provisional, depending on whether NSG wants a separate thread for that).

Schedules:

BBC Sport fixture pages are now divided into months for accessibility reasons, so if you find one page to be empty, just click on the later months until the next fixture appears.

Mention me by name when suggesting additional countries. I use the forum's search function to locate where my attention is needed.

Kick-off discussion:

I had to get this out to NSG, because the future of two football clubs that date from the middle to late Victorian era — Bolton Wanderers (1877) and Bury (1885) — will be decided by the English Football League on or before 17:00 in London (18:00 in Paris).

Sources: Bolton takeover collapse, Post-takeover collapse analysis and EFL decision build-up (all by the BBC)

The official website of Bolton Wanderers seems to paint a very grim picture. On Saturday, an offer by Football Ventures to take over the club stalled, and the Administrators said on Monday that they were in a position to put the club into liquidation on Wednesday.

The current situation is that the Administrators for Bolton Wanderers have less than seven or so hours to prove to the Board of the English Football League that the Football Ventures offer is still alive and well, otherwise they will be removed from the competition, and basically that would be the final straw according to the Administrators. I think it is a huge tragedy for Bolton’s football fans, because they were in Europe in the 2005/6 season, and they were also in the Premier League until 2012.

I do not know how the English Football League could grant any more extensions to Bury in particular: they have not played a single match so far (even against Bolton), and they are also 12 points in the red. I know Bury were promoted from League 2 in the last season, but it does not look like the EFL would care if Bury cannot secure a deal on or before 17:00 in London. It is pretty grim to think about the following, but one cannot keep a football club deep in debt forever.

Overall, it looks like the future of the two clubs will be decided by the final minutes. What do you think?

by **The Blaatschapen** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 4:08 am

Dutch eredivisie fixtures: https://nos.nl/sport/voetbal/uitslagen/ ... dstrijden/
Dutch eerste divisie fixtures: https://nos.nl/sport/voetbal/uitslagen/ ... dstrijden/

Please add them to the OP

On the Dutch side, many are concerned about getting Ajax into the CL, and PSV, AZ, Feyenoord into the Europa League. And given the budgets, Ajax is likely to end up #1 this season and PSV #2 in the domestic league.

The lower Dutch professional league has NAC Breda (my team <3) trying to get back to the Eredivisie, together with Excelsior, Cambuur, De Graafschap as major contenders. And Den Bosch has some severe issues with their kind of former owner whose purchase was declined by the KNVB (Dutch FA).

by **Minoa** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 5:58 am

The Blaatschapen wrote:Dutch eredivisie fixtures: https://nos.nl/sport/voetbal/uitslagen/ ... dstrijden/
Dutch eerste divisie fixtures: https://nos.nl/sport/voetbal/uitslagen/ ... dstrijden/

Please add them to the OP

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m on it, and I also add Euro 2020 via NOS. I totally understand the idea of having multiple countries for their 60th anniversary since the first finals: but even without politics, it is a huge challenge to move the players and the tournament staff between stadiums by air (and possibly by rail between some cities, such as London and Amsterdam)

by **Minoa** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 10:02 pm

Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49451896 and https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49491632

I have to tell you that the English Football League has decided to expel Bury F.C., but they have given Bolton another 14 days to find a buyer. It is a painful and tragic night for Bury F.C.’s fans, who had yesterday volunteered to prepare the stadium for the next match that will never come.

Just over an hour before the deadline, C&N Sporting Risk (the company who wanted to bail out Bury) decided that it could not proceed with the takeover bid. C&N Sporting Risk was seen as the last hope for a troubled club who had just been promoted from League Two in the previous season.

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:22 am

Is it weird for a Singaporean to cheer on BHA(Brighton and Hove Albion)?
For some reason I do and I'm happy with Graham Potter.
Anyways LAFC is taking the MLS by storm. And FC Cincinnati… lets not dwell on that.
Speaking of MLS, St Louis has been awarded the 28th(?) team in the expansion. I have a gut feeling Sacramento and Charlotte are next.
Minoa, Please add the following ~~for no reason~~:
La Liga(Spain)
Ligue 1(France)
Bundesliga(Germany)
Serie A(Italy)
MLS(USA)

by **Ayytaly** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:30 am

Last time Bolton was this relevant was when Muamba nearly died due to cardiac arrest in 2012. Grim.

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:39 am

Ayytaly wrote:Last time Bolton was this relevant was when Muamba nearly died due to cardiac arrest in 2012. Grim.

The pains of being a lower league team...

by **Bombadil** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 1:59 am

Cambridge United continue to freak out at any danger of breaking into the top 10 of the table in League Two, they were sat at the frankly vomit-inducing heights of 3rd before Sunday results fell their way and they're currently at 11th.

I think it's ridiculous the enormous cash that floats around the PL doesn't make it down the leagues and smaller clubs struggle to make it every season.

by **Minoa** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 11:21 am

The monetary advantage of the Premier League has been the subject of blame by many fans of Bury F.C., and a cartoonist from The Guardian linked it to general concerns about social inequality… but that is for the UK Politics Thread.

EDIT: Bolton has been bailed out.

by **The Blaatschapen** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 11:28 am

Minoa wrote:The monetary advantage of the Premier League has been the subject of blame by many fans of Bury F.C., and a cartoonist from The Guardian linked it to general concerns about social inequality… but that is for the UK Politics Thread.

EDIT: Bolton has been bailed out.

Well, there is a thing to be said about lower league player wages.

I earn more than the average player of Helmond sport. Yet they will beat 95% of all footballers(professional and amateur)

I am not in the 94th percent of all programmers.

Also, I turn 35, as a footballsr, I'll be retired or considering soon, unless my name is Buffon. But as a programmer I can go 20 years more. At least. (Buffon can go 30 more)

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Thu Aug 29, 2019 1:16 am

Bombadil wrote:I think it's ridiculous the enormous cash that floats around the PL doesn't make it down the leagues and smaller clubs struggle to make it every season.

I think its because the Premier League is what draws soccer fans around the world. Almost no one who's not an Englishman wants to watch Preston North End go against Millwall or something. People only know the big teams like Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea and so on. So they'll get that enormous sum of money.
But then I agree more money must be given to the smaller clubs, if that's what you're talking about.

Cambridge United continue to freak out at any danger of breaking into the top 10 of the table in League Two, they were sat at the frankly vomit-inducing heights of 3rd before Sunday results fell their way and they're currently at 11th.

Its either they lost heavily, or the other teams won with a big gap.

Okay I get why. It's the start of the season, so results will be very close, as well aa the points. Since they lost, they remain at 8 points. But those who won and have 9,10,11 points leapfrogged him. Then, we have goal difference...

by **Lillorainen** » Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:48 am

Abercontin-Jereaux wrote:
Bombadil wrote:I think it's ridiculous the enormous cash that floats around the PL doesn't make it down the leagues and smaller clubs struggle to make it every season.

I think its because the Premier League is what draws soccer fans around the world. Almost no one who's not an Englishman wants to watch Preston North End go against Millwall or something. People only know the big teams like Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea and so on. So they'll get that enormous sum of money.
But then I agree more money must be given to the smaller clubs, if that's what you're talking about.

Some people have even ended up knowing Leicester City some time ago. ^^

But yeah, smaller clubs are generally unlikely to gain international attention, thus less cash - that's not different in England than elsewhere. Ever heard of the SC Paderborn? If you're a German football fan, most certainly (they just managed it into Bundesliga for the second time within their history; first time was in 2014/2015). If you're from abroad, most certainly not - you'll be likely to know the FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, the Big Ones, and there is an increasing likelihood, that football fans from the UK have already seen them live in the stadium - and maybe not even in England, considering the differences in ticket prices between England and Germany ...

by **BOLGANO** » Thu Aug 29, 2019 5:00 am

Premier League: Liverpool
He has a good team and follows the same steps as Manchester City

Liga Santander (Spain) Atletico Madrid/Barcelona
In recent years the battle for the league was between Barcelona and Real Madrid but the latter after losing Cristiano changed to this team, while Atletico Madrid has a better team than Real, so this league will be the most exciting of all.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich/Borrusia Dortmund
Bayern Munich always wins it but Dortmund has a great team to try to defeat him this season

Serie A: Juventus
as always Juventus

Ligue 1: PSG
As Always PSG

Eredivisie: Ajax/PSV/Feyernod
The three logicians who can win but as last year Ajax will achieve it

Scotish Premier League: Celtic
As always Celtic

MLS: L.A Galaxy/Atlanta United
Both teams are doing their thing in their conferences and I hope they reach the final, although it will be difficult who will win this if it was the final I will support Atlanta since there is a Venezuelan and I am from Venezuela while the Galacticos with the Legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic will become difficult this match

UEFA Champions League: Liverpool/Barcelona/Bayern Munich
In Liverpool being current champions are already favorites for their team and their style of play those of Barcelona would have won the last 2 champions if they were not for those miraculous comebacks of Rome in 2017-18 and Liverpool 2018-19 but this year they can take revenge of those eliminations while the German team is another power of Europe and can win this if they play as in recent years or as in the epoch of Guardiola

Euro 2020: Germany/England/France/Belgium
Germany has a great team to fight in this competition something that they did not achieve in the World Cup while England with its performance in the last world cup and its young players can even win a World Cup in the future France for being the World Champion and some of the best teams in the world and Belgium with their Premier League stars alongside Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, their best players in Spain almost won the World Cup but failed against France.

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:53 am

Lillorainen wrote:Some people have even ended up knowing Leicester City some time ago.

Thanks to King Power! And don't forget Wolves.
IDK if a similar thing will happen though. It'll be interesting to see a Championship struggler or a League 1 high flyer make it.

by **Abercontin-Jereaux** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:55 am

BOLGANO wrote:MLS: L.A Galaxy/Atlanta United
Both teams are doing their thing in their conferences and I hope they reach the final, although it will be difficult who will win this if it was the final I will support Atlanta since there is a Venezuelan and I am from Venezuela while the Galacticos with the Legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic will become difficult this match

Nope. LAFC will win the Western Conference. LA Galaxy has Zlatan, but LAFC has Diego Rossi.

by **HUElavia** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 9:28 am

Here's my Personal Predictions for the top leagues for this season:

EPL- Liverpool (They're going to continue their work from last season and win their 1st title in 3 decades)

La Liga- Atletico Madrid (Possibly the team with the best depth in La Liga, they can definitely win the title)

Bundesliga- Bayern Munich (No surprise here, but Dortmund will put up a tough fight for the title)

Serie A- Juventus (Still will win by a big margin, but Inter Milan will start to look much like their team from the 2000s)

Ligue 1- PSG (No surprise from this farmers league, the Parisians should have enough depth to outplay their closest competitors for the title)

Liga Nos- Porto (With Benfica losing their wonderkid, I think Porto will capitalize and take the title and win it in honor of Casillas)

RPL- Krasnodar (An up-and-coming team that is doing decent so far should be the big upset this season)

Eredivisie- Ajax (Still have some solid players, can repeat the league title, but will have to suffer for it due to the exits of de Jong and de Beek)

Europa League- Sevilla/Porto/Arsenal (These three have strong enough teams to win it all, especially Sevilla who essentially runs this competition with the most titles)

Champions League- Real Madrid/Juventus (These two teams are hungry for the UCL title, Madrid wants to claim it back after last season's horrible exit, Juventus want their first title in almost 25 years with one of the GOATs of Football)

by **BOLGANO** » Sat Aug 31, 2019 4:32 am

HUElavia wrote:Here's my Personal Predictions for the top leagues for this season:

EPL- Liverpool (They're going to continue their work from last season and win their 1st title in 3 decades)

La Liga- Atletico Madrid (Possibly the team with the best depth in La Liga, they can definitely win the title)

Bundesliga- Bayern Munich (No surprise here, but Dortmund will put up a tough fight for the title)

Serie A- Juventus (Still will win by a big margin, but Inter Milan will start to look much like their team from the 2000s)

Ligue 1- PSG (No surprise from this farmers league, the Parisians should have enough depth to outplay their closest competitors for the title)

Liga Nos- Porto (With Benfica losing their wonderkid, I think Porto will capitalize and take the title and win it in honor of Casillas)

RPL- Krasnodar (An up-and-coming team that is doing decent so far should be the big upset this season)

Eredivisie- Ajax (Still have some solid players, can repeat the league title, but will have to suffer for it due to the exits of de Jong and de Beek)

Europa League- Sevilla/Porto/Arsenal (These three have strong enough teams to win it all, especially Sevilla who essentially runs this competition with the most titles)

Champions League- Real Madrid/Juventus (These two teams are hungry for the UCL title, Madrid wants to claim it back after last season's horrible exit, Juventus want their first title in almost 25 years with one of the GOATs of Football)

What do you think of Brasileirao?

by **BOLGANO** » Sat Aug 31, 2019 4:34 am

Abercontin-Jereaux wrote:
BOLGANO wrote:MLS: L.A Galaxy/Atlanta United
Both teams are doing their thing in their conferences and I hope they reach the final, although it will be difficult who will win this if it was the final I will support Atlanta since there is a Venezuelan and I am from Venezuela while the Galacticos with the Legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic will become difficult this match

Nope. LAFC will win the Western Conference. LA Galaxy has Zlatan, but LAFC has Diego Rossi.

That is very even, so anyone can win

by **Minoa** » Sun Sep 01, 2019 4:59 am

To be honest, Liverpool is doing pretty well although it is too soon to tell if the head-start will continue.

One also has to remember that going through a whole Premiere League season without losing a match only occurred once since 1992 (i.e. Arsenal, 2003–2004).

by **Minoa** » Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:16 pm

Qatar 2022 got a new logo yesterday: https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/fifa ... m-revealed

The t in Qatar is a bit too long, but the typography is not bad after correcting the extended t.

Other than that, it sort of reminds me of porcelain. I know Harrods is one place to find porcelain art, but mass produced porcelain items for home and garden is something that I am not an expert in.

by **Molonia** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:21 pm

Here's to hoping Finland can qualify for the Euros!

by **Fartsniffage** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:22 pm

Minoa wrote:Qatar 2022 got a new logo yesterday: https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/fifa ... m-revealed

The t in Qatar is a bit too long, but the typography is not bad after correcting the extended t.

Other than that, it sort of reminds me of porcelain. I know Harrods is one place to find porcelain art, but mass produced porcelain items for home and garden is something that I am not an expert in.

Surprisingly few dead slave workers in the logo. They should look at that.

by **Ayytaly** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:28 pm

HUElavia wrote:Champions League- Real Madrid/Juventus (These two teams are hungry for the UCL title, Madrid wants to claim it back after last season's horrible exit, Juventus want their first title in almost 25 years with one of the GOATs of Football)

Doubtful. CR7 is horrid and not a team player. And Madrid is a shadow of its own past.

Liverpool vs Ajax might be the most potential final in 2020.

by **An Alan Smithee Nation** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 3:24 am

It's amazing how quickly women footballers have started aping male footballers in the way they speak. The monotone and the cliches.

by **Communist Joshenia** » Sun Sep 08, 2019 3:28 am

An Alan Smithee Nation wrote:It's amazing how quickly women footballers have started aping male footballers in the way they speak. The monotone and the cliches.

Are you referring to Rapinoe and the other American women soccer players?

Ultimate Football/Soccer Thread 2019-2020

Ultimate Football/Soccer Thread 2019-2020

(

Who is online