Soccer Thread 2022-2023

[Solecismic]

The question, then, is it worth a red card to a scrub and a hard foul to take a key player out in the final three minutes?

I don't know how one judges simulation at game speed. Some players are good at it, and it's only obvious because they go down at the slightest touch.

It seems more endemic to the sport. I get why professional soccer players want every advantage, but it is cultural to the sport (note, that's not a slam on any country's culture or any ethnic group's culture). I don't think that's very compelling from a fan perspective.

What is the right balance between foul and penalty for foul? With scores as low as they are and no way to create an artificial test, it's hard to determine. Maybe two different penalty spots, one at the top of the circle outside the box? Maybe force the player who was fouled to take the kick? What about fouls in the back 2/3 of the pitch, where the penalty is only possession? Sometimes that seems too little if there's no card.

[sovereignstar v2]

Haaland has more Premier League goals than Chelsea.

[miami_fan]

Cristiano Ronaldo signs $75 million-per-year deal with Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr - CBSSports.com

At club level, Ronaldo's authority will be vast, with one source joking that Al Nassr would become "Cristiano FC". If the veteran striker wants a new coach then that is what he will have.

Is that source really joking?

[MIJB#19]

As much as I dislike Cristiano Ronaldo's attitude, and knowing he too is a whore for money, I did not expect him to go the oil money competition route into retirement. I really thought one of the prestigious oil money clubs (PSG or Manchester City) would have made room on their sky is the limit salary budget.

[sovereignstar v2]

Nice troll

3 out of 10

[kingfc22]

Headed to 7 points clear at the end of the year. Thanks Everton.

[HomerSimpson98]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Headed to 7 points clear at the end of the year. Thanks Everton.

Needed that point something fierce. Demari's strike was chef's kiss

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The question, then, is it worth a red card to a scrub and a hard foul to take a key player out in the final three minutes?

Give the referee discretion over its enforcement, then. It can easily be lumped under the current "Unsporting Behavior" rule.

It seems more endemic to the sport. I get why professional soccer players want every advantage, but it is cultural to the sport (note, that's not a slam on any country's culture or any ethnic group's culture). I don't think that's very compelling from a fan perspective.

Simulation provides no benefit for baseball or cricket. It doesn't work in American football or ice hockey because violence is part of the sport. You see it in basketbal, but with only 10 players on the court and cameras everywhere it's not as effective.

Nevertheless, football/soccer remains a globally popular sport despite this.

What is the right balance between foul and penalty for foul? With scores as low as they are and no way to create an artificial test, it's hard to determine. Maybe two different penalty spots, one at the top of the circle outside the box? Maybe force the player who was fouled to take the kick? What about fouls in the back 2/3 of the pitch, where the penalty is only possession? Sometimes that seems too little if there's no card.

I spent almost 40 hours driving over the holiday break and had the following idea:

If a defending player commits a foul in their penalty area that would normally result in a direct kick (and thus penalty kick, due to the location), then:

1. The fouled team may take a direct kick from anywhere outside of the penalty area, with all the normal distance rules. You could do a cutback from the byline, put it in the center with two takers and make the defenders defend the width of the goal, etc.... It's not as high xG as a PK, but it's still a good benefit without being an automatic goal.

2. The fouled team gets a "penalty point". At the end of regulation, one of two things happen:

2a. If this is a normal league game and the game ends in a draw, then instead of both teams getting one point, the team with more "penalty points" gets 2 league points while the other team gets one point. If both teams have an equal number of "penalty points" then they each get 1 point for a draw. Nothing different happens in a game that ends with one team having more goals than the other although you could use "penalty points" as a tiebreaker for final league positions or other benefits/drawbacks if you wanted to.

2b. If this is a knock-out game that ends drawn at regulation, then "penalty points" can either:

2b1. Award a win at the end of regulation to the team with more "penalty points"

or

2b2. Affect the penalty shootout (after regulation or after extra time). Specifically "penalty points" are used to "bank" successful penalty kicks as part of the shootout. For instance:

Argentina - France, best of 5 (typical PK shootout rules), Argentina kicks first:

Argentina PK 1 is good due to "penalty point" (penalty in 23rd minute)
France PK 1 is good due to "penalty point" (penalty in 80th minute)
Argentina PK 2 is scored by Messi
France PK 2 is good due to "penalty point" (penalty in 118th minute)
Argentina PK 3 is scored by Dybala
France PK 3 is scored by Mbappe
Argentina PK 4 is scored by Paredes
Frankce PK 4 is missed by Coman
Argentina PK 5 is scored by Montiel

Argentina wins shootout 5-3 (Tchouameni does not take a kick for France as PK5 since it's immaterial in a best-of-5 shootout).

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

As much as I dislike Cristiano Ronaldo's attitude, and knowing he too is a whore for money, I did not expect him to go the oil money competition route into retirement. I really thought one of the prestigious oil money clubs (PSG or Manchester City) would have made room on their sky is the limit salary budget.

Quoting myself from page 10 (after he was dropping from Portugal's staring lineup):

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Ronaldo's appeal to potential suitors in the January transfer window just cratered. I think he's looking at China or Saudi Arabia at this point. He's a net negative to any team not explicity set up to feed him the ball in high xG situations, and even then it appears he can no longer convert those at the rate he used to.

Reading in The Athletic, it sounds like he wasn't willing to temper either his wage demands or playing time demands. I think if he could have come down on either there might have been a team still in European competition who could have found him a place.

[MIJB#19]

Some may think I was joking, but I was dead serious. I thought there were only 2 clubs in the world with enough prestige and budget to haul in Cristiano Ronaldo. The days of European kids wearing Barcelona and Chelsea shirts are long gone, it's Manchester City and Paris SG nowadays. Especially Manchester City would have been the ultimate humiliation towards the red side of town.

With that apparently not an option, I still find it quite shocking that one of the two best of his generation has decided to play in a "league" that is way too low level for what he should still be capable of. Others preceded him and retired within a year. Half of his income is advertising based. Playing in Saudi Arabia should plummet his marketing value much harder than even settling for a mid-table club in London or Madrid.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

2a. If this is a normal league game and the game ends in a draw, then instead of both teams getting one point, the team with more "penalty points" gets 2 league points while the other team gets one point. If both teams have an equal number of "penalty points" then they each get 1 point for a draw. Nothing different happens in a game that ends with one team having more goals than the other although you could use "penalty points" as a tiebreaker for final league positions or other benefits/drawbacks if you wanted to.

One problem with this is Neymar jr will still be Neymar jr and dive in the penalty box with no opponent in striking distance in hope to earn that bonus point. Sometimes the referee will send Neymar jr off (like what this week happened), but sometimes he will get lucky.

[sovereignstar v2]

Why would Pep Guardiola and Manchester City want anything to do with a past-it diva?

[flere-imsaho]

I very much doubt Man City would have bothered. For one, Guardiola saw up close what Ronaldo was (or rather wasn't) capable of, and for two they have Haaland, who is currently better in every respect (and cheaper).

PSG, I guess, though their wage bill is already astronomical and maybe even they thought that accomodating another ego was too much.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

One problem with this is Neymar jr will still be Neymar jr and dive in the penalty box with no opponent in striking distance in hope to earn that bonus point. Sometimes the referee will send Neymar jr off (like what this week happened), but sometimes he will get lucky.

That's the same problem, though. Now, instead of a high-xG PK, they get something a little less ruinous.

[Ghost Econ]

Gio Reyna's family out here ethering his international career. This just seems like a family of spoiled, shitty people.

Danielle Reyna told U.S. Soccer about past Gregg Berhalter domestic violence incident

[BishopMVP]

I'm definitely not defending the parents but why would it have any effect on his international career unless Berhalter, Stewart, etc stay in their positions of power and hold petty grudges? (And if you think they'd do the latter why the hell would you want them anywhere near the USMNT?) I don't read the German newspapers but I can't recall any rumors of Reyna being a diva at Dortmund, and it seems like the poor effort in the scrimmage was addressed and moved past by the England game when he saw the field.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I'm definitely not defending the parents but why would it have any effect on his international career unless Berhalter, Stewart, etc stay in their positions of power and hold petty grudges? (And if you think they'd do the latter why the hell would you want them anywhere near the USMNT?) I don't read the German newspapers but I can't recall any rumors of Reyna being a diva at Dortmund, and it seems like the poor effort in the scrimmage was addressed and moved past by the England game when he saw the field.

I don't think it is a death knell for his international career but I also think it is nothing. This is Neymar's father type behavior. This is an attempt to flex the Reyna name in the USMNT set up. At the very least, this is a warning shot that Gio may need to be treated more favorably because of who his parents are than say Weston Mckennie. That is not the case at Dortmund.

[bhlloy]

It is most definitely not nothing. Somebody leaking a domestic violence incident to try to get you fired goes way beyond a petty grudge.

[SirFozzie]

"Soccer Mom tries to blackmail coach's superiors because she thinks they're not playing their kid enough" is something I expect out of a U12 team. Not a World Cup level Men's National Team. It is quintessentially Soccer Karen-Mom, however.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I don't think it is a death knell for his international career but I also think it is nothing. This is Neymar's father type behavior. This is an attempt to flex the Reyna name in the USMNT set up. At the very least, this is a warning shot that Gio may need to be treated more favorably because of who his parents are than say Weston Mckennie. That is not the case at Dortmund.

It's a terrible look for the parents, I just always try to treat the kid and the parents separately when I deal with helicopter parents. I'd hope the USMNT coach could stay professional even though I suspect there was preceding animosity between the Berhalter's & the Reyna's considering they've been teammates going back to high school and the wives were roommates in college and vindictive blackmail would be odd if they were family friends. But even if there isn't and this was just an extremely blurred line between professional responsibilities and friendship once you add in the personal relationships Reyna and Berhalter have with Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride it's a whole unnecessary soap opera.

The World Cup ended a month ago and there doesn't seem to be any urgency to decide if Gregg is coming back - if anything it seems like the old boy network is letting him see if he can get a mid-season Euro offer with the USMNT as a fallback. We have a camp coming up in a couple weeks and if we're moving on instead of the new coach getting a chance to see a lot of the depth/younger MLS guys and start imprinting any tactics we have Anthony Hudson coaching the team because sure why not.

Idk, the mom comes off looking the worst, Claudio is pretty bad though I am curious if he was "threatening to expose" this or genuinely just saying how upset he was Gio wasn't playing more to friends who happen to be the coach's boss, but none of this makes me feel confident in Gregg or the overall management team. I don't want him gone because of a potential rift with (another) one of the team's best players but add it down on the bottom of that 50 point list by now.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

It's a terrible look for the parents, I just always try to treat the kid and the parents separately when I deal with helicopter parents. I'd hope the USMNT coach could stay professional even though I suspect there was preceding animosity between the Berhalter's & the Reyna's considering they've been teammates going back to high school and the wives were roommates in college and vindictive blackmail would be odd if they were family friends. But even if there isn't and this was just an extremely blurred line between professional responsibilities and friendship once you add in the personal relationships Reyna and Berhalter have with Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride it's a whole unnecessary soap opera.

The World Cup ended a month ago and there doesn't seem to be any urgency to decide if Gregg is coming back - if anything it seems like the old boy network is letting him see if he can get a mid-season Euro offer with the USMNT as a fallback. We have a camp coming up in a couple weeks and if we're moving on instead of the new coach getting a chance to see a lot of the depth/younger MLS guys and start imprinting any tactics we have Anthony Hudson coaching the team because sure why not.

Idk, the mom comes off looking the worst, Claudio is pretty bad though I am curious if he was "threatening to expose" this or genuinely just saying how upset he was Gio wasn't playing more to friends who happen to be the coach's boss, but none of this makes me feel confident in Gregg or the overall management team. I don't want him gone because of a potential rift with (another) one of the team's best players but add it down on the bottom of that 50 point list by now.

The last two paragraphs are why it is at the very least a minor issue for me. If it is already decided that Berhalter is not coming back and she sent this information to ESPN or TMZ Sports, there is no real issue for USMNT as far as I am concerned other than whether or not they were aware of the incident when they hired him. The fact that a decision has not been made and she admittedly sent this info to USSF because of what Berhalter said after the World Cup is a problem. This is an move by the Reynas to stop Berhalter from continuing on in the job. Unless the Reynas are going to replace Earnie Stewart and Mcbride, I don't want them as part of the decision making process on who the manager should be.

I think Berhalter has done enough to keep his job mostly because I don't know of a U.S. manager with a greater tactical nous than Berhalter which I think is his greatest weakness. I am not saying there is not one, just that I don't know of one. If there is a better person for the job, bring that person in. I am not against Berhalter being relieved of his duties for his handling of the Gio situation after the World Cup was over. I believe he had a right to defend and explain himself but I understand those that think he did so in a very heavy handed and naive manner. I don't have an issue with relieving him of his duties because he is no longer good enough for where we are at with this squad and where we are in the cycle. I don't have an issue for him being relieved of his duties because of the domestic violence incident if the standard for the USMNT manager is to have no domestic violence incidents in their past and USSF are just finding out about it. I do have a problem with him being relieved of his duties the parents of one of players complained about their son's playing time and tried to sabotage him because of it. .

[RainMaker]

My issue with Berhalter isn't that he's necessarily bad, it's just that he's not that great. It depends on where you see US Soccer going and if you think there should be higher expectations.

Right now, they're the 3rd best team in CONCACAF despite probably having the most talent. Getting out of the group stage in the World Cup seems to be about the ceiling for the team right now. I get that that's probably fine but with a crop of intriguing young players, I don't have a problem shooting for more.

Personally, I'd look overseas for a national team manager with experience like Joachim Low or someone who has managed at a high club level. Most of the players will be playing at a level far higher than MLS and have been coached by people at a level far higher than MLS. Would you hire a Division 2 basketball coach to coach the US Men's Basketball team? Probably not.

[sovereignstar v2]

Worst non-offsides I've ever fucking seen. Complete joke

[SirFozzie]

Manchester's going to burn down, one half in celebration, other half rioting to get at the refs.

[Ksyrup]

The WC break completely destroyed the little bit of momentum Leicester had, and they are headed straight back to the relegation zone. At some point panic is going to set in and Rodgers is going to get sacked. They suck.

[flere-imsaho]

Even ETH said (or at least intimated), when interviewed after the game, that he was surprised they got that call (or non-call, as it were).

I hate to say it, but I think the referee went with the call that would be easier to defend when his bosses from PGMOL call him up later today or Monday. Everything about the call is technically correct, if you go by the letter of the rules:

• Rashford clearly doesn't touch the ball
• The defender trailing Rashford was not going to make up the distance, so obstruction doesn't come into play
• Fernandes & Rashford converge on the same point when the shot is taken, so it is not as if Rashford's positioning was affecting Ederson's positioning (arguably)
• Nothing Rashford does obstructs Fernandes' trailing defender

Having said that, the call absolutely, IMO, goes against the spirit/point of the offside rule. Make Rashford magically disappear just before the forward pass, and those two defenders react a little differently to the situation, and the shot from Fernandes is probably a bit more contested.

For one, Rashford's trailing defender hesitates before accelerating since it's so obvious that Rashford is offside. If Rashford isn't there, he's accelerating towards Fernandes and trying, with the other defender, to box him into a lower xG shot.

For two, I could see Fernandes' trailing defender (Walker, I think) being able to put a (legal) shoulder in without Rashford's involvement. Walker, too, hesitates a bit since it's so obvious that Rashford is offside, but more importantly he plays the space to the left of Fernandes, expecting a centering pass from Rashford or a rebound off of Ederson.

And lastly, it defies reality to believe that Rashford's positioning didn't have some sort of impact on Ederson's decision-making. Even though the two converge on exactly the same spot, Ederson has to position himself to be ready for both a potential shot from Rashford or a centering pass from Rashford in the time between the pass and the two attackers converging. Were it only Fernandes, Ederson could have done something different to narrow the angle further (possibly assuming the aforementioned shoulder challenge by Walker) or come storming out to attempt a clearance.

[kingfc22]

Most impactful Norwegian in the PL scores again

[SirFozzie]

Stay classy, Spurs fan.

(singular because I don't think many spurs fans would do this. Agree with it, maybe, but...)

https://twitter.com/worldsoccertalk/...92065538973703

[sovereignstar v2]

The 18-yo fullback starting over Cancelo and Walker. He is crazy good.

[flere-imsaho]

The Athletic has had some articles on him explaining how it's like Guardiola created him in a lab to work specifically as an Inverted Fullback/Wingback.

Which is fair. Those who have played FM know how hard it is to find and/or develop real IWBs.

[SirFozzie]

Juve docked 15 points for irregularities in the transfer market (accounting tricks)


Juventus deducted 15 points over transfer dealings

[sovereignstar v2]

Learn to keep your giant gob shut, Agnelli. You fucking hypocrite

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Learn to keep your giant gob shut, Agnelli. You fucking hypocrite

"If we had our own Super League, we could hide all the accounting tricks we use. We would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids.. er.. soccer courts"

[miami_fan]

Evidently the investigation began last year.
Board resigned in end of November.
Points deduction in mid January.

I gotta say, that is pretty swift when it comes administrative discipline in the world game.

[miami_fan]

Maybe I was wrong about the amount of coverage Ronaldo will get while he is in Saudi. I just pulled up the scores section on ESPN's website. Usually they prioritize U.S. national team matches, MLS, then the major European leagues, Liga MX and then smaller European leagues, the divisions within those leagues, cups etc. I am pretty sure that I have never seen a Middle Eastern league scores on there before. Now right underneath the French Coupe De France and above Liga MX, the English Championship, the Eredivisie, and Portuguese Liga is the Saudi Pro League. Now there are no badges, no actual match reports, no standings and well no league page at all.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

"If we had our own Super League, we could hide all the accounting tricks we use. We would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids.. er.. soccer courts"

These days it seems to really depend on which country the cheating clubs are based in and which foreign governments are sponsoring them.

[Ksyrup]

Another hat trick for Haaland. Ho hum.

[sovereignstar v2]

PL goals

Haaland 25
Wolves 12

Edit: Chelsea 22

[kingfc22]

Single loss avenged. 5 points clear plus a game in hand!

[Ksyrup]

That was an entertaining game.

[flere-imsaho]

Excellent game, even though my team (MUTD) lost.

MUTD remain a case study in how to squander transfer funds, however. Despite the enormous sums spent you had:

1. A #9 on loan from a Championship side because your normal #9 (who has never impressed anyway) is out with yet another injury and your only other solution is to move Rashford to #9.

2. Despite all the wingers & inside forwards purchased, you have no real Plan B when Antony has yet another poor game, and Sancho is still not even on the bench. That's ~150M right there in transfer fees.

3. Casemiro gets suspended and thus your plan to try and control the game at the end relies on McFred again.

4. Your ability to control midfield relies on two 30+ midfielders, one of whom isn't really that far removed from suffering from cardiac arrest. To be fair, both Casemiro & Eriksen have played well, but with the schedule and importance to the team, they might well be completely gassed by March, leading to a super late season collapse.

New ownership can't come fast enough.

[MIJB#19]

At what point will the Premier League step up and tell Chelsea "enough is enough"? Does anybody really believe there truly can be that much cash flow available through legitimate means?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

At what point will the Premier League step up and tell Chelsea "enough is enough"? Does anybody really believe there truly can be that much cash flow available through legitimate means?

Maybe?

If Transfermarkt is accurate, after spending over one hundred and twenty four million Euros, Chelsea made a profit of six million Euros last season. In the 19-20 season they made one hundred twelve Euros in profit. One thing Abramovich's Chelsea had always been able to do was sell players for good money to keep one step of FFP. The new UEFA Financial Sustainability and Club Licensing Regulations say that Chelsea can spend ninety percent of their revenue on transfers, agents’ fees and player wages in a calendar year. EPL regs allow for losses of a hundred and five million pounds every three seasons. All that plus amortization on all these long term contracts they are handing out and Chelsea could be fine.

It will all come down to how good the new ownership is at selling players. In conjunction with that, it will come down to how desperate other clubs (mostly EPL) are to get their hands on Chelsea castoffs. One thing to also keep in mind that the Saudi Pro League might become the new Chinese Super League. Remember when a team from China paid €60.00m for Oscar? I have no idea about what the financial rules are in Saudi but would it shock you if one of their teams paid Chelsea eighty million for Lukaku?

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Maybe?

If Transfermarkt is accurate, after spending over one hundred and twenty four million Euros, Chelsea made a profit of six million Euros last season. In the 19-20 season they made one hundred twelve Euros in profit. One thing Abramovich's Chelsea had always been able to do was sell players for good money to keep one step of FFP. The new UEFA Financial Sustainability and Club Licensing Regulations say that Chelsea can spend ninety percent of their revenue on transfers, agents’ fees and player wages in a calendar year. EPL regs allow for losses of a hundred and five million pounds every three seasons. All that plus amortization on all these long term contracts they are handing out and Chelsea could be fine.

It will all come down to how good the new ownership is at selling players. In conjunction with that, it will come down to how desperate other clubs (mostly EPL) are to get their hands on Chelsea castoffs. One thing to also keep in mind that the Saudi Pro League might become the new Chinese Super League. Remember when a team from China paid €60.00m for Oscar? I have no idea about what the financial rules are in Saudi but would it shock you if one of their teams paid Chelsea eighty million for Lukaku?

Do you believe that Chelsea is going to make up the -€400M balance they are at in transfers this season? They'll need to sell 6 players at €50M a piece and they'll still be at -€100M.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

At what point will the Premier League step up and tell Chelsea "enough is enough"? Does anybody really believe there truly can be that much cash flow available through legitimate means?

Are you saying the new ownership is using shady funding means?

I mean, clearly the old ownership was.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Do you believe that Chelsea is going to make up the -€400M balance they are at in transfers this season? They'll need to sell 6 players at €50M a piece and they'll still be at -€100M.

No, I don't but they don't have to make up -€400M this year.

Caveat: None of this is my own work. I got this info from the Price of Football podcast and the Swiss Ramble substack. The substack is free and a very good albeit nerdy read. Both guys are Brits so most of it is in pounds. The most recent public accounts for Chelsea are from the 20/21 season so that is the base. I am going to try and sum up the articles as briefly as possible

"The key point here is that when a player is purchased the cost is spread over a few years but any profit made from selling a player is booked to the accounts immediately."

I think this sums up why they could be okay. The cost of Chelsea's spending spree over the last two years (21/22 and 22/23) totaled about half a billion pounds on transfer fees so far including £61m for Christopher Nkunku. But FFP regs don't deal in totals that way. They deal in annual totals in the accounting books. When you count wages(est. £132m) and player amortization(£84m) that adds up to about £216M in additional annual cost from that 20/21 cost base. They also saved about £131m annually in wages and amortization on players who left the club during that time for a net increased cost of £85m per year. Over the last two years Chelsea made a profit of £192m in player sales and loan fees for an overall profit of £107m in player transfers.

Now let's get to the bottom line but let's look at some history first. From 2018/19 to 2020/21, the club lost £222m but because of COVID, the EPL combined 2019/20 and 2020/21 into one season basically which means they were judged on 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/21 "season". That change meant they only lost £94m during that three year period which is below the £105m threshold. HOWEVER, EPL clubs have allowable deductions for things like depreciation, non-play amortization, youth development, women's football and community. That deduction was £85m for Chelsea. There was a COVID adjustment of £35m. so Chelsea actually made a three year profit of £25m according to the EPL FFP during that timeframe.

Chelsea lost £143m in 2021-2022 but with the allowable deduction bumped up to £87m and the £35 COVID impact adjustment was still there, so they only lost £21m during the three year monitoring period. The estimate for this year are that the club will lose £166m this year for a three year total of £207m which would have them run afoul of the EPL FFP. But those allowable deductions are still there (no COVID money this time), so for 2019/21 to 22/23 the club is estimate to lose £84m. That is £21m below what they are allowed by the EPL. All of that does not include any player sells that may happen this transfer window. UEFA FFP will be a more of an issue where Chelsea might be like €6m to €10m over this year if nothing else happens. They can work around that though.

Chelsea should be fine. Because they are giving out 7 and 8 year contracts they are spreading things out thinner than most clubs. FIFA says that contracts should not be longer than five years with this exception.

“Contracts of any other length shall only be permitted if consistent with national laws,”

Guess what country does not have any laws governing the length of contract?

Now if Chelsea does not make the Champions League next year, things might not be that simple.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Are you saying the new ownership is using shady funding means?

I mean, clearly the old ownership was.

Honestly, I have no idea.

Chelsea is currently on one of the biggest spending sprees ever. Which in theory could be fine, but it makes absolutely no sense for any one club to be able or allowed to spend €460M in a single season on transfers when their highest annual revenue on record is €513M.

[Ksyrup]

Something happened today that never happens. Usually, the only time goals happen is when I leave the room. I mean, at least half of the goals scored during games I watch are when I walk out of the room. Today, I didn't watch any of the Tottenham game until the 44th minute - I flipped it on when I saw that it was on just to see the end of the half. I saw Kane score, turned it off, and didn't watch the second half because I had stuff to do. I just saw it was a 1-0 game. That will never happen again.

[BishopMVP]

Weird end to the statement by McBride - how dysfunctional is US Soccer if they don't even know what positions they want to have after the World Cup and entering the 4 year cycle? At least Earnie is out now as well, looking less likely Gregg comes back. https://twitter.com/usmntonly/status...38336167645184

[miami_fan]

In completely, completely unrelated news, Claudio Reyna left his job with Austin FC.