After two good refs last night, we have the bald **** Taylor on PSG v Barca...
3 points for a win in the League no longer relevant ?The away goals rule should have been removed the minute the back-pass rule was proven to be a complete success (about one season after it was introduced). In my opinion, the risk of boring matches through gamesmanship and cheating was greatly reduced from that point onwards. People complain of time wasting now, but in those days it was on another level. I'll never forget Uruguay 0-0 Scotland in 1986 where Uruguay needed a point, had a man sent off early on, and spent the entire game passing the ball back to their keeper. It was shocking.
Anyway as such, the away goals rule is no longer relevant and arguably you could say the same about 3 points for a win in the league.
He's an insane talent ATM. He'll no doubt be ruined by Barcelona, by being played into the ground as a child.Surprised how much better Barca look than PSG. Long way to go though. Yamal is an insane talent.
Always knew you were Palace reallyI watched tonight’s match just outside of Barcelona as we’re on our holibobs. A great experience. I was with Rune Jnr and we’d bonded with another family whom the kids had been playing with. It was at this point (at the bar) that the man of the household informed me (having seen my Ansu Fati Brighton shirt), rather sheepishly, that they were Palace……
It won’t surprise most on this site that the family in question were salt-of-the-earth kind of people. Myself and the chap exchanged views on almost every other team in the league and guess what? Our opinions were near identical. We shared the same frustrations, joys and expectations and he was genuinely, an exceptionally nice guy. He was astonishingly complementary about De Zerbi and our recruitment and I returned the favour in praising the likes of Olise etc.
This isn’t the first time I’ve met a Palace fan and they’ve turned my stereotypes upside down! Infact, it tends to happen each time I bond with one!
Anyway, I’m fast becoming one of those Brighton fans who’s blood boils at thought of everything to do with Chelsea but our traditional rivalry is starting to leave me cold. When we beat Palace earlier this season, sure I was happy, but was it the one thing we needed to do this season to make it a decent one? No. That ship has sailed.
I suspect I’ll be close to losing my voice come the 15th May against the entitled. They represent everything that is wrong about football to me.
But, as for Palace, I love to win against them but if I’m completely honest about it, they are just the same as us aren’t they? What struck me was how kind and friendly this guy was (with his encyclopaedic Palace knowledge) despite us smashing them earlier this season. The best thing was how Rune Jnr (who I have spent year poisoning against Palace) declared that their fans are ‘alright when you meet them’. A useful lesson for him and a timely reminder for me that there are much, much worse villains in the football world than our local rivals (black hooded mob excluded).