13 Sep 2023 15:22:27
International break every 4 weeks, that side of the game needs fixing. It could rival paint drying as a sport. But, we have more than enough to beat anyone this season. No game should worry us - time, place, team, weather or referee, we are equipped to overcome all.

1.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 18:01:24
On the contrary we will show that we're not equipped for many teams in the premier league.
It seems we're making a little progress so that's a bonus, but I wouldn't be surprised if we got a mid table finish.
Hopefully we can get plenty of points on the board and creep up the table for Top 5 finish.

{Ed025's Note - you really are one miserable sod mate, liverpool have got off to a great start and are playing some scintillating football imo, a centre half would have been nice but you still have a very good squad, you really want to try being an Evertonian my friend...then you would have something real to moan about..

2.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 18:06:00
I’d be intrigued to know which fans like these international breaks?
Isit lower league fans, or over seas fans? Because as far as I understand, there isn’t a single supporter of any club that I’ve ever spoken to Enjoys International Breaks through the season.

{Ed025's Note - the Cockneys love it LFC8 but i dread them myself mate..

3.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 18:27:28
I love watching the GAWA play. No expectations, so that helps at the minute ??.

4.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 18:47:52
I used to like them when Ireland had a few actual footballers.

5.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 19:15:08
I hate the international breaks. Such a poor standard and even though I’m a veteran, I’ve no passion for my nation at the best of times, let alone for a football national football team. I switch watching tennis most of the time.

6.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 19:39:22
Walter, you mention we’re progressing but you foresee a mid table finish, which would be regression?

7.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 19:45:43
I use to look forward to the internationals 20 years ago, seeing the cream of the crop play each other.

8.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 19:23:33
Fair play edd25. I recall last year when you was adamant your lot was going down.
I clearly want us to win everything we possibly can but I just don't see it.
I'd be more confident to say we will implode.
Loose a defender and we're basically knackered untill January.

{Ed025's Note - I think you are in a lot better place than you think you are mate..

9.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 20:06:14
For me it changed when they stopped the home international’s, used to like watching them.

10.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 20:09:51
Americans love international football “soccer”, to be fair it’s the only sport that they play with an audience at a broader world stage… basketball and baseball has some audience but they are not as big as football.

11.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 21:48:55
I find international football to be very strange these days with so there being so much money in the game. In what other industry would you repeatedly lend some one else (FIFA) assets worth tens of millions of pounds for comparatively little return.

Players are playing additional games, travelling more and could get injured so the real employer does not get the very best out of their asset whilst FIFA make a mint.

Surely the format has to change and at some stage the ‘rights’ of FIFA over players reviewed at some time given the value of players and strength of clubs.

{Ed002's Note - It is not the choice of FIFA who is selected for international games.}

12.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 21:57:39
Walter, please answer Easy's very, well, easy, question. You see us improving (or you hope we will) so do you foresee a 2nd or 1st finish?

That's quite positive for you, well done if that's the case :-)

13.) 13 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 22:53:53
As a boy I used to love the World Cup. Brazil’s team in 1970 are my favourite international team - they just played brilliant football.

The thing about the ‘old days’ was that you didn’t see players of that calibre except at the big tournaments. And you only really saw anybody outside of Europe at the World Cup.

Football - apart from the match you went to at the weekend - consisted of Match of the Day on a Saturday night and the show in the ITV on a Sunday afternoon. no video, no dvds, no laptops or iPads or ‘interweb’.

It was always interesting to watch because you saw different styles of play.

The most exotic ‘foreign’ signings were the lads from Scotland with their funny way of talking and strange customs ?.

Then some clown started selling computers, Ardiles and Villa signed for Spurs and some business man / woman decided to show every single football match on the media of your choice with permanent capability to watch things over and over again. The element of mystery has disappeared and football is no run for the sole purpose of making the rich people who run th3 game even richer.

God knows what this Nations Cup thing is supposed to be and the fact that exists dilutes both it’s and the European Championship’s appeal. Sadly, the World Cup is now just a joke - really Qatar in 40 degree heat in indoor stadia - what could possibly have been the motivation for that eh?

It also doesn’t help the our national team has a manager who would be nowhere near getting a job for a decent club team, or the southern based press collectively wetting themselves whenever we manage to beat bang average second tier teams.

14.) 14 Sep 2023
13 Sep 2023 23:46:00
The issue with some fans is that it's either "win the quadruple" or "we're sh*t"

15.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 00:38:07
Just play the qualifiers over the summer before the tournament and schedule every tournament for the summer time internationally. With the gaps left from the international breaks being gone the season can be shorter allowing for rest and make every league have to comply, and just have the teams play once instead of twice so you have around 8 qualifiers.

16.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 02:22:25
Great idea TopG, especially if you are playing in elite club football and for a strong international side.

Let’s say,

PL season Aug 24 / May 25 - 60+ club games
Summer 25 Euro Champs June / July - 8 group qualifiers and another 3 main comp. Group matches then QF, SF and final = 14 games. Grand total @80 games

PL season Aug 25 / May 26, World Cup qualifies and Comp, June - July 26. Grand total @80 games

PL season Aug 26 / May 27, Nations League qualifiers and comp, June - July 27
Grand total @80 games

August 24 - July 27 @ 240 games ???

I know you were having a joke (at least I hope you were) but players careers would last about 3 or 4 years. And just imagine - no time for transfer windows - the transfer window adrenaline junkies would need help.

17.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 05:14:01
@Oh2b, I just reread some of your opinions in this thread. Two that are just factually incorrect are that if we lose a defender we’ll implode. Two f our starting defenders - Konate and VVD - didn’t start in the last match that we won 3 - 0. The second was is that given ‘we’re not equipped for most teams in the Premier League’ (not that I actually understand what that means) we must have been lucky to start with the four teams we’ve played. As I said in another thread, we are 15 games unbeaten in the PL (10 wins, 5 draws), so I think we both don’t know what you’re talking about.

18.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 08:50:40
We're doomed I tells ye!
"Lose a defender and we're knackered" - we lost Van Dijk for a couple of games and barely skipped a beat.
Can't be any fun being miserable when the team keeps winning.

19.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 08:17:41
I was trying to say yes we have improved somewhat. That's great for us and the club. The only issue is it's not exactly the cream of the crop we have been beating.
Wait till we play an Arsenal or city then we will see how good we are.
I think our team has a few injury plauged players and if these injuries continue we're in big trouble. Even one big injury to a vvd or konuate and we're be tumbling down the table fast.
Add in some bogey teams such as Brentford taking points of us and it all points to a disastrous season for us.
The Thursday night football isn't great for the players the extra day or two lost in recovery will go against us
Let's keep our fingers crossed we continue this purple patch and take one of the top spots.

20.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 09:45:37
You can only beat what's in front of you, negative. And, even results aside, we played well in most of those games and were deserved winners. The teams we played against finished 12th, 15th, 4th, and 7th last season, with the team finishing 12th having spent a few hundred millions this past summer on their playing squad. Added to that, we finished two of those games with 10 men too. Our performance in the games so far was good and it augurs well for the rest of the season.

21.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 11:38:49
@Oh2b, so the “most teams in the Premier League” is basically City and Arsenal?

22.) 14 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023 19:35:49
@Oh2b, let it go, man. Your posts are becoming tedious and boring to read. Maybe that's how you do your thing being a contrarian but the things you say aren't even true for the most part to begin with.

Post your stuff, man but this "The Sky is falling" or this "We won't be able to compete with better teams" while we are compêting with better teams as we speak, is borring. At least give us some new material to work with rather than the old, repackaged sctick that is essentially false in reality.