[Football] Champions League 2024/25

[WhingForPresident]

9-2, not the best start for Dinamo..

 

[WhingForPresident]

Bobby Charlton scores for Real. Awful goalkeeping, Stuttgart didn't deserve to lose 3-1.

 

[Weststander]

Someone talk me through the AC Milan fan’s megaphone!? I tuned in end of the first half, wtf? Tinpot doesn’t seem remotely close enough to describe it.

Bloody awful wasn’t it. UEFA shouldn’t allow it during games.

 

[BN41Albion]

The Champions League: a new dawn, or just the richest winning in more lucrative ways?

Uefa’s new Champions League is less about jeopardy, than its growing desire to supplant sporting integrity with the confected thrills of the TV game show

www.theguardian.com

This sums up my thoughts on it all.

 

[Bob!]

Milan (particularly Morata) are a right bunch of diving, moaning pricks. Haven't seen the old school playground tactic of grabbing the ball as soon as you've been tackled in a while.

Joel did it on Saturday

 

[Han Solo]

Someone talk me through the AC Milan fan’s megaphone!? I tuned in end of the first half, wtf? Tinpot doesn’t seem remotely close enough to describe it.

He's a capo, which is basically the one leading the singing so that they all sing the same songs rather than different groups of the crowds singing different songs or not singing at all etc.

It is very common in countries where people sing throughout the games to support their teams.

I know it is considered tinpot in Britain to make noise if your team isn't playing well or scoring goals but the rest of Europe feel the same way (tinpot) about British supporter culture. Its just cultural differences.

 

[jimhigham]

I just looked for a champions League thread. Found yours languishing in the doldrums of the lower part of the front page of NSC. I didn't realise 8 games per club in the leagues. Ugh. It's rubbish. Clubs want a super League? UEFA give them loads of extra games. Yet managers moan they have too many games. These clubs want to have their cake and eat it. The competition is in danger of enshitification.

Excellent new word.

 

[BadFish]

The Champions League: a new dawn, or just the richest winning in more lucrative ways?

Uefa’s new Champions League is less about jeopardy, than its growing desire to supplant sporting integrity with the confected thrills of the TV game show

www.theguardian.com

This sums up my thoughts on it all.

Yeah me too.

The paragraph about the different leagues losing their competitive edge is just soul-destroying. One of the beautiful things about football is that theoretically a team can progress from the bottom to the top. This is surely now just theoretical?

What I struggle to believe is that this is what the fans want? I guess fans of the superclubs (and big clubs in each league) are happy with this arrangement but what about everyone else.

I have said it many time but I believe that a super league for all these clubs is a good idea, they can fill their league with mercenaries and money until their hearts burst. Maybe there is a market for this worldwide too, they could tour the bloody thing (I'd even go and watch if they came to Australia). Then that market is satisfied and they have their massive games week in week out.

My only proviso is that they are not under any circumstances allowed to play in both the superleague and their domestic league/European competitions. Domestic leagues/Eufa can then create competitions that are based on integrity and fairness. The market for people who value these things over flashy money-based football is then also satisfied.

Win/Win surely?

We may of course see many foreign owners leave the premier league but perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad thing.

 

[Van Cleef]

The megaphone in Milan is actually more bearable than hearing Mark Clattenburg…

I was a surprised to hear him say something about the ref getting the home fans on his back after a few decisions went against them, so he (clattenburg) would probably give a few cheap free kicks to them to quieten it all down. We kind of knew refs did a bit of this, but it was surprising to hear him admit it happens.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

He's a capo, which is basically the one leading the singing so that they all sing the same songs rather than different groups of the crowds singing different songs or not singing at all etc.

It is very common in countries where people sing throughout the games to support their teams.

I know it is considered tinpot in Britain to make noise if your team isn't playing well or scoring goals but the rest of Europe feel the same way (tinpot) about British supporter culture. Its just cultural differences.

I dislike it intensely, however if it is to work, surely most of the time other fans should be joining in? In his case, he bravely continued oblivious to the fact that most of the time he was ploughing a lone furrow before slinking away as it became apparent that Milan were not going to mount a late comeback.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I was a surprised to hear him say something about the ref getting the home fans on his back after a few decisions went against them, so he (clattenburg) would probably give a few cheap free kicks to them to quieten it all down. We kind of knew refs did a bit of this, but it was surprising to hear him admit it happens.

Disgraceful comment. Refs......

 

[amexer]

Far too many teams in early rounds just to make money. As usual will start watching all Euro competitions when last 16

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Far too many teams in early rounds just to make money. As usual will start watching all Euro competitions when last 16

144 games to eliminate just 12 teams. What a load of rubbish and there will be a lot of pretty meaningless games.

 

[Han Solo]

I dislike it intensely, however if it is to work, surely most of the time other fans should be joining in? In his case, he bravely continued oblivious to the fact that most of the time he was ploughing a lone furrow before slinking away as it became apparent that Milan were not going to mount a late comeback.

Normally it works and you barely notice the capo, right now the Milan fans are severly pissed off though and on the brink of exploding in anger.
I understand you dislike it intensly. Its a bit how I feel about a football culture where you ask the club for permission to pretty please bring a flag to the game saying hi to the new manager. Like I said... different cultures, different preferences.

 

[trueblue]

The group stage of the Champions League has been as dull as reading an instruction manual for years. At least this way, we get - in theory at least - more games worth watching rather than Man City pissing their group and sticking the reserves out for the last 2 games.

That said, Only 12 teams exiting after 8 games each seems too few especially when you've got teams like Celtic who will lose all 8 games.

I reckon "in theory at least" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. We'll see though, maybe it's genius. Tend to think that anything which hugely increases the number of matches with no real jeopardy is unlikely to be an improvement.

While straight knockout from the off would be far more exciting, we know the clubs' greed won't allow it. The old format was probably about as good as anyone could hope for. The boring bit was the same old teams competing year after year and the ever-growing imbalance in financial power between a dozen clubs and the rest. This doesn't appear to fix that at all. At least in a 6 game group, if Manchester City or one of their ilk suffered an 'upset' there was a little bit of tension. Now they've just got more opportunities to make it irrelevant.

 

[Hotchilidog]

144 games to eliminate just 12 teams. What a load of rubbish and there will be a lot of pretty meaningless games.

This is just ridiculous. UEFA now every bit as crap as FIFA in my view.

 

[rippleman]

And reported this morning that Rodri is threatening to go on strike because of the number of games players are having to play! You couldn't make it up.

 

[Han Solo]

And reported this morning that Rodri is threatening to go on strike because of the number of games players are having to play! You couldn't make it up.

Lets hope they do because it is certainly too much.

 

[Official Old Man]

We hate the Champions League. It's only for those big clubs to make more money. Too many games, players will get tired.

"And there we have it, victory at Spurs place Brighton & Hove Albion 4th in the league"

"We're all going on a European tour"

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I reckon "in theory at least" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. We'll see though, maybe it's genius. Tend to think that anything which hugely increases the number of matches with no real jeopardy is unlikely to be an improvement.

In theory - that word again - there should be a bit of jeopardy between 6-10 and 20 - 28. In practice it could be a load of dead rubbers.

We will see. Other than the Newcastle group last year very few have been entertaining. I agree that eliminating 12 teams after a shit load of games does seem too few though. A cynic would say it is a prelude to a European Super league. As if that would be part of the thinking.