The Football News Thread 2024/25

[Paddingtonwolf]

Fuck me Everton REALLY dodged a bullet there.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

This guy was always a prize dickhead

Stokes given jail sentence over Dublin cocaine seizure

Former Republic of Ireland footballer Anthony Stokes has been handed a 15-month jail sentence over a seizure of almost €4,000 worth of cocaine and a high-speed car chase in Dublin.

www.rte.ie

 

[Dublin Drummer Wolf]

This guy was always a prize dickhead

Stokes given jail sentence over Dublin cocaine seizure

Former Republic of Ireland footballer Anthony Stokes has been handed a 15-month jail sentence over a seizure of almost €4,000 worth of cocaine and a high-speed car chase in Dublin.

www.rte.ie

Yeah absolutely deserved a jail sentence.
Was given a chance to get clean by the sentencing date but failed another drug test for cocaine. He deserves everything he gets.

 

[Tredman]

Very good read this

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5812319/2024/10/09/chris-kirkland-england-goalkeeper-tramadol-addiction/

 

[1986]

This guy was always a prize dickhead

Stokes given jail sentence over Dublin cocaine seizure

Former Republic of Ireland footballer Anthony Stokes has been handed a 15-month jail sentence over a seizure of almost €4,000 worth of cocaine and a high-speed car chase in Dublin.

www.rte.ie

His father didn't help matters along the way - often up before the courts as well . Stokes saw all that from a young age .

 

[leedswolf]

"Talking with Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney, Graeme Souness says Arsene Wenger was lucky at Arsenal as he inherited the best defence in the world. This is leading people to believe he didn't watch Serie A in the 90s with the likes of Maldini and Baresi playing together or Thuram and Cannavaro.

Souness also suggests that there were an abundance of French world class talent available at the time which were easily accessible to Wenger to sign for Arsenal thus making his job a lot easier than his success illustrates. The response has been interesting given Souness was a manager himself in the Premier League in the 90s and 2000s and signed the like of Ali Dia..."

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Arsenal hadn't been anywhere near winning the league for years before Wenger arrived.

1991/92: 4th (10 points behind Leeds)
1992/93: 10th (28 points behind Man Utd)
1993/94: 4th (21 points behind Man Utd)
1994/95: 12th (38 points behind Blackburn)
1995/96: 5th (19 points behind Man Utd)

Immediately got them 3rd in 1996/97 (7 points behind Man Utd) which as you can see was the best they'd done since winning the league in 1991, and he didn't take over until mid-October.

He inherited some good players but equally, in 95/96 all of Glenn Helder, Andy Linighan, John Jensen, Chris Kiwomya and Scott Marshall played at least 10 PL games for Arsenal.

 

[Kenny]

He stated Wenger isn't a football man....based on 2 things

1) what he said on the touchline
2) He didn't have a drink with him after games

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

From a neutral point of view, peak Wenger Arsenal (let's say 2001-2004) are probably the best team I've ever seen in English football. Won the league two out of three times (should have been three out of three, they did bottle it a bit in 2002/03) and the standard of play was incredible. When they had a left side of Cole, Pires and Henry regularly pulling out onto that flank...how on earth do you stop that. Vieira was close to the perfect midfielder then as well.

I know City are a juggernaut now but I don't enjoy watching them anywhere near as much, and they are of course financially doped in a way that Arsenal never were.

 

[Tredman]

From a neutral point of view, peak Wenger Arsenal (let's say 2001-2004) are probably the best team I've ever seen in English football. Won the league two out of three times (should have been three out of three, they did bottle it a bit in 2002/03) and the standard of play was incredible. When they had a left side of Cole, Pires and Henry regularly pulling out onto that flank...how on earth do you stop that. Vieira was close to the perfect midfielder then as well.

I know City are a juggernaut now but I don't enjoy watching them anywhere near as much, and they are of course financially doped in a way that Arsenal never were.

Agree with all of that, for all the negatitive noise around Arsenal they were a phenomenal team. Loved watching them in that era.

Souness etc all seems to come across as some sort of inverted snobbery / xenophobia.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

They were BASTARDS, but I quite admired that. Played some amazing football but you variously had the likes of Adams, Dixon (up to 2002), Keown, Lauren, Vieira, Parlour and Bergkamp who had a real nasty edge to them if they needed to be. Crazy Jens Lehmann from 2003 too.

Post-2004 or so they lost that element a bit, became a touch too easy to rattle and they had nothing to fight back with.

 

[jd1981]

Arsenal were an excellent side in the late 90’s early 00’s and has a lot to do with Wenger.
The 1999 treble side of Man Utd were very good but Arsenal easily and probably should have taken 1 if not 2 of the trophies off them.
Wenger helped in the development of modern professionalism and how players prepare for games.
As @Deutsch Wolf says they were talented but had a real edge to them.
After that they became very wingey and self entitled and very sanctimonious towards sides that did the exact same as they use to.
He stayed probably 4-5 seasons longer then he should’ve.

 

[Alan]

They were BASTARDS, but I quite admired that. Played some amazing football but you variously had the likes of Adams, Dixon (up to 2002), Keown, Lauren, Vieira, Parlour and Bergkamp who had a real nasty edge to them if they needed to be. Crazy Jens Lehmann from 2003 too.

Post-2004 or so they lost that element a bit, became a touch too easy to rattle and they had nothing to fight back with.

Says a lot that the closest they ever came to that hard edge after the Invincibles was Alex Song probably. Bloody good on his day but not the same tier as those mentioned above (I also just can’t unsee his stupid red card for Cameroon at the ‘14 World Cup).

Felt like they tried a bunch to get a #6 with that mean streak but ended up either sacrificing skill (Flamini, Coquelin) or brains (Xhaka).

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Xhaka has been absolutely sensational for Leverkusen, which makes no sense other than confirming Xabi Alonso as a genius.

 

[Nando]

I absolutely loved the Arsenal - United hatred from 97 - 04ish, genuine proper hatred. The games were absolute theatre even if the quality wasn't the highest.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Roy Keane was unreal in this game

How unnecessary is that by Keown on Van der Gouw

 

[wanderer89]

This cannot be true, surely.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1844706152094793919

 

[Johnny75]

This cannot be true, surely.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1844706152094793919

I would think it is true. Part of the TV deal.

 

[wanderer89]

I would think it is true. Part of the TV deal.

It's so daft.

 

[Jack Regan]

And completely pointless, anyone who watches the NFL will tell you that it's just the same platitudes rolled out time and time again.

The managers already despise the pre match ones (which are banal as anything) so adding more is just gonna provide more of the same.