Liverpool banter 6

07 Jul 2026 03:06:34
So many ITKs with different opinions!
Robbo, Carra and TF are the ones I’m listening to on here.
Liverpool need just 4 players in this window. We will not sign a left winger, or a CB in my opinion.
RB will be someone versatile. Don’t be surprised if we look at Gertruida again or the Spanish lad at Betis.
RW is the highest priority, and I really hope we move for Rayan over Diamonde.


Midfielder needs to be an all action type, Sadiki is way better than the vast majority we are linked with and has Prem experience. Hope that happens too.
Finally, I think we will go all out on Bouaddi, the club have liked him for a while and he is getting better too. Would be a decent window that for me, but who knows what will happen ???

07 Jul 2026 04:21:44
I'm curious as to why so many people are keen on Rayan over Diomande? He may turn out to be a world beater, but I'm assuming not many of them watched him at Vasco da Gama, so is it based on 15 Premier League games? Because I've seen the likes of Michael Ricketts, Amir Zaki and Adnan Januzaj play 15 good Premier League games.

07 Jul 2026 07:00:36
We already signed a left winger (Munoz) and a centre back (Jacquet).

07 Jul 2026 07:02:43
Same can be said about Diomande, he's had 1 good season in the German league and how many watched Leganes games.

07 Jul 2026 10:49:06
I have seen virtually nothing of Rayan at Bournemouth, but he started 3 of Brazil's games, and to say he was invisible is a compliment. The guy had 2 good moments in 3 and a half games. Not good enough yet imo and should stay where he is to develop further.

07 Jul 2026 11:01:41
Won't buy a lw even though we already signed one, and the player we've been most linked with after Diomande is Barcola...

Rayans scored 1 goal per month since he arrived, currently, that's nowhere near as impressive as 26 G/A in the Bundesliga, but I have to admit I've lost my appetite for the Diomande deal because I don't like being used as leverage.

07 Jul 2026 16:26:50
Don't know whether we should be splashing major cash on Rayan. If he is Brazil's best RW, then that once great country really is in a mess.

07 Jul 2026 17:16:47
Olise left the Premier League, and none of the big clubs went in for him. He was lazy and average. One good season in the Bundesliga, and he's worth £188m.

Jayden Sancho was let go by Man City and ripped it up in the Bundesliga.

Man U signed him for £90m, and he was a total flop.

Let's not compare stats in the Bundesliga with stats in the Premier League. The Bundesliga is a farmers' league when it comes to defending.

07 Jul 2026 01:29:45
If Belgium have more goals than US of A at the end of the match I expect Trump will be asking Infantino for a re-count?

07 Jul 2026 04:22:34
Rumours Trump had said Belgium are close to developing a nuclear weapon.

07 Jul 2026 08:16:43
I'd be willing to bet that if you gave Donny a map of the world he couldn't find Belgium.

{Ed078's Note - I can't think of a more despicable politician in my lifetime, and I lived through the Thatcher years. At least she had principles and a sense of service, this abomination is the most narcissistic, vainglorious, uncompassionate, self-serving, uneducated wanker I've ever had the displeasure of observing.
And, his actions affect us all, wtf?

07 Jul 2026 10:44:47
Great result. ? Trump about to cancel the rest of the World Cup, I reckon. ?

07 Jul 2026 09:57:35
I totally disagreed with everything she ever did or said and she wasn't averse to finding a small nation (in global terms) that she wasn't averse to starting a 'conflict' (not a war of course) to get herself re-elected. She was a horrible, evil creature but a brilliant politician,

Trump is just an idiot who is out of his depth who should be facing war trials at The Hague. He's in some sort of Donald Trump centric post reality show in which he is the best at everything that has ever been invented. If only he realised it's not the person who holds the office it is the office of President that he is diminishing. From a political perspective America is just a farce. A dangerous farce but a farce nonetheless the less.

In my opinion Thatcher would have had him for breakfast.

07 Jul 2026 11:12:45
Thatcher had principals. ?

07 Jul 2026 11:51:56
Starmer. Boris. Theresa May. Cameron. That other idiot that came in for a week.Liz Truss. In short anyone that gets pushed to be PM are usually very untrustworthy puppets with an agenda and graveyards in their closet. (And a few ukranian call boys) and from everything I know of Burnham, he's exactly the same.

Contracts to his wife's company, big advocate of CPO's..anyway, sorry, its a footy site. I'll head over to the "Corrupt government minister rumours" page to vent.

07 Jul 2026 12:00:59
Blair, Thatcher, that other div that got the egg thrown at him. We really don't have a good track record. Trump is special though, that's a child that's never been told "no".

07 Jul 2026 09:17:31
Ed78, a former Dump biographer had said about him in 2015 during the campaign and I quote, "Donald is ais a desperate pit of need that even the most powerful office on earth cannot fill".

I'll just leave that there.

07 Jul 2026 09:37:01
Ed078, you think he is worse than Thatcher, she had no principles what so ever.shocking statement

{Ed078's Note - not true. I vehemently disagree with all of her politics, but she had political standards. Half of the conservative politicians the past 14 years would have been shown the door for what they've done. Telling the truth is a principal, parliamentary standards are a principal. I can dislike the woman intently and throw a party when she died, but she's nothing like Trump.

08 Jul 2026 05:10:17
Could that biographer not speak or write in English?

08 Jul 2026 04:07:12
Thatcher was born in the middle of the Great Depression and the times of the Jarrow March and she was a teenager at the time of WW2.

She was born in Lincolnshire, which isn't the most attractive holiday destination on the planet and her dad owned a corner shop. Her upbringing was austere and would have encouraged the growth of her belief in self help and the idea that God helps those who help themselves.

She was undoubtedly academically exceptional with an MA in Chemistry from Oxford and passed the law bar exam making her able to practice as a barrister with he specialisation being tax law. Going to Oxford in the 40's and 50's as an (alleged) female she would have been looked down upon by the male dominated, elitist upper class with their assumed entitlement, which would have served to increase her 'self help' attitude. She kept at it though and made it to the portfolio of Minister of Education and she started her education of people's need to adopt self help by getting rid of school milk for children. The one thing that she was fortunate in was being the outside of 3 when they were picking a Tory Leader to replace Heath. Basically there were two factions for the leadership - both being male - and everyone's compromise being Thatcher as they all individually thought nobody else would vote for her.

From there she went on to dismantle British industry and to destroy the spirit and fight of the trade unions.

Our lads could do no better than practice self help when we play Norway, in memory of Attila the Hen.

She was a horrible human being who lacked any form of empathy and regarded everything she did was automatically right, even referring to herself as 'we' which I always found worrying.

As I say, I totally disagreed with everything she did and stood for but I can see why she did it and what she thought based on her life experiences. There are similarities between her and Trump but Trump couldn't hold a candle to her, compared to her he's just some sort of ins3ct 5hat she would have crushed.

06 Jul 2026 23:19:03
General football question rather than specifically a Liverpool question. How many games / hours do people spend watching football?

From my perspective I watch our league games and our cup games and I occasionally watch games that I think might be entertaining. So on average I’d say I watch 3 or 4 games a week, during the English season.

06 Jul 2026 23:37:48
Usually only watch us and Ireland international matches.

If they're on a TV station I have access to, I'd also watch the League of Ireland teams in Europe.

So, 2 a week usually.

06 Jul 2026 23:42:12
During the season, anywhere between 5-10 games per week.

06 Jul 2026 23:47:20
Liverpool + attend 1 match per season.
Dundalk every other home game.
Rep of Ireland only on TV.

No other games interest me.

07 Jul 2026 00:32:03
Watch all LFC games and a few EPL and UEFA games involving other teams.

I tried watching La Liga. I found it a hard watch. Oddly enough I watched a few games in the Belgian League and quite enjoyed it.

07 Jul 2026 01:03:35
I'd watch 95% of LFC matches during the season. Would watch between 1-3 prem games per week that LFC not involved in.
Probably, 3-4 games weeks per week on average as well.

07 Jul 2026 02:37:49
I watch chess boxing and Robot Wars.

07 Jul 2026 03:50:53
I watch Liverpool in any game where the time zone allows (usually just PL and daytime FA Cup matches).
That said, I find elite football to be obnoxious, corporatized and deeply disconnected from the fans, hence, I'll only watch other teams if I want to watch a specific player.

07 Jul 2026 06:26:19
I don't watch any. Even when I go to the game, I just sit in the bogs, slagging them all off on Live-Chat.

07 Jul 2026 06:32:18
I'm waiting for the first poster to admit that they watch every Leipzig and Diomande game, any match Bournemouth have ever played that Iraola managed. Leverkusen during the Alonso years & Slot's Feyenoord & AZ Alkmaar games twice over, and games that involve at least one Scottish player.

I know who my money is on.

07 Jul 2026 09:30:23
Good man Bazza!! Keep the lillywhite flag flying high!!!! ????

07 Jul 2026 09:57:50
I'll watch most Liverpool games.
I'll usually watch at least one or two other teams' games in the week as well. Usually Everton or whatever team is playing entertaining football at the time.
I'll watch the Champions League if it's on.
And I watch the Euros, African Cup, and World Cup, most games when on as well.


I quite like watching international football in the tournaments. I just find it quite entertaining. I'll never watch international friendlies though, it's just dreadful to watch.
I never watch football from other leagues though, although no real reason for that. I suppose I just don't have the time to get invested in other leagues.

07 Jul 2026 10:07:47
As it was my job, 15-20 games a week. Now, about half that, mainly EPL and La Liga, some Italian and Dutch.

07 Jul 2026 13:27:28
During the league season, I only make time to watch our live Premier and CL games. I'd only watch League Cup or FA Cup if I've got time, as it tends to be a reserve team. So, probably only a couple of hours each week. Get to a couple of matches a season, that's all, despite living in the city.



I don't even watch the Cup Final these days, I'm sorry to admit. I watch a bit of tournament football if it's on, but not really England focused. I enjoy watching the African teams and France. Most of the other stuff is a bit boring.

07 Jul 2026 13:48:34
Used to watch every Liverpool game exclusively. Started watching a few other teams on the Sunday we'd play during the 24/25 season, stopped that last season as most games were bad to watch and even gave up on watching us regularly around October last year, due to the combination of us being bad and boring. Only time since 1999/2000 (when I got Sky) I'd actively not bothered with watching football (used to listen to us play on Radio 5 before then).



Watched a few WC games, but barring Cape Verde and France and the England/Mexico game, the setup of the game with the extra breaks has made things borderline unwatchable.

Hoping Iraola reignites me enjoying watching us play again.

07 Jul 2026 13:51:30
Lots, season ticket, watch away on TV, cups, Europe, then any good "derby" in any of the top leagues. Usually the Fri night game, be it Prem, champ, Lower divs. FA Cup early rounds and big ties. Started going the odd Marine game, when I can....

Does my lads l under 10s league count, because I watch them home and away? Usually a game on in the background if I'm doing something. Premier League classics on Sky Sports... Oh, and "The Big Match Revisited" on a Saturday morning.

06 Jul 2026 19:14:50
Shout out to our ex captain. Got booked and injured without even playing a minute. That's some doing.

In all seriousness I do feel bad for Jordan. He is a great leader.

06 Jul 2026 20:32:39
He did look a bit of a dick though...

06 Jul 2026 20:35:51
This will be talked about like Linekar soiling himself, he will forever be remembered for it.

{Ed025's Note - what a prat he was..

06 Jul 2026 21:07:12
Looked like a really bad break.

06 Jul 2026 21:34:58
Would anyone care to comment regards FIFA being corrupt? Case in point, Trump getting a red card overturned, not fair on Belgium. The referee in the France v Paraguay game, how he never booked any of the Paraguay players, is beyond me. He came from that hot bed of football, Uzbekistan. He was the referee that turned down 2 Scotland penalty shouts v Morocco and failed to send off one of their players.

Being Scottish, I couldn't care less who wins, but the most annoying point is no matter what channel is showing a game, no matter who the pundits are, they always manage to turn the subject around to England. Why do they have to do that? Worst pundit so far, Shearer.

06 Jul 2026 21:44:45
Yeah, but Trump said it's been 4 times better than all the other World Cups.
No idea how you quantify it (other than how it's lined executives' pockets), but he's said it and therefore it is fact.

06 Jul 2026 22:09:22
I can't stand Shearer as a pundit. He just says the obvious but loud and aggressive. ?

06 Jul 2026 22:14:47
Because it's British TV, I live in Spain and they turn everything to the Spanish side, same the world over.

06 Jul 2026 23:35:09
@Hunter, Havelange, Blatter and Infantino have and continue to destroy football as a game. The three of them have basically been in charge of the world game since 1974. Over 50 years dedicated to the pursuit of self aggrandisement and acquiring wealth to the detriment of the actual core of football - the game itself, the actual 90 minutes when players are out on the pitch.

07 Jul 2026 00:34:48
Hunter, FIFA have been corrupt for a long time. The FBI exposed it about 10 years ago with an investigation spanning many years.

07 Jul 2026 06:41:54
Can't see England winning it now without Hendo's leadership.

{Ed025's Note - and its the worst possible injury JK...his hand, he built his career on using them hands to point and tell people where they should be and was more a traffic cop than a footballer mate, if it had been one of his legs then it would not really have effected him...its a disaster.. :)

07 Jul 2026 08:11:56
At least he should now be able to keep his sight @25. ?

07 Jul 2026 13:42:35
Harsh Ed025!

{Ed025's Note - yet truthful KNG..

06 Jul 2026 12:57:11
Ed025 I said the other day I don't see the big thing with Bellingham but watched the game this morning and that's the best I've ever seen him play.
And for all the stick Pickford gets on this page I would say he had an outstanding game.
Don't understand how Quansah got in the squad and to play him right back is a very strange decision.

{Ed025's Note - i agree with all of that Grino..

06 Jul 2026 13:19:07
Bar the sending off, Quansah was having a good game, he was just rash. If he didn't make that tackle, the Mexico player had all the space in the world.

Jude gets a lot of hate for no reason, I actually had the pleasure of meeting him a couple times at some brand events, he comes across as a nice guy, and the more interviews you watch of him you can see he is so passionate about England.

I did find it amusing, everyone was talking up the nonsense of him and Rogers, not realizing they're like best mates.

Pickford is the best English keeper in the last 30-40 years.

06 Jul 2026 13:43:44
Bellingham, like myself, is from the Black Country, so is the salt of the earth! As is Morgan Rogers. It's a British trait to put someone on a pedestal, then take great delight in kicking them off it. Bellingham is a world class player who I wished we could've signed.

06 Jul 2026 14:55:09
Always rated Bellingham highly and felt his critics were the type who only watch him on the international stage.

{Ed025's Note - hes a bit of a big head for me Chewy, but last night he had a lot to be big headed about mate..

06 Jul 2026 14:59:43
Not a Pickford fan, but give him his dues, he was excellent this morning. I also thought Gordon was very good in defence and attack. Think Haaland will cause the defense issues, as Konsa was poor first half, before having a strong second half, but felt it was easier second half as England just parked the bus and put 10 men behind the ball (no criticism for this).

06 Jul 2026 15:24:15
I don't doubt Bellingham's talent like I don't doubt Trent's, but I think both have a chip on their shoulders. You see it when Bellingham is playing for Madrid, and in a lot of games I've seen him he walks around, falling over, complaining.
But that is not the player I see playing for England.

??????? So I will say he has shown more desire in the England games than I've seen from him before. In the Brazil game I also saw more from Vinicius Junior. So maybe it's just the toxicity of Madrid, but all these players keep choosing it.

06 Jul 2026 15:30:09
@ Kloppers, I'll go tell Seaman, eh.

06 Jul 2026 15:41:48
In fairness Grino, Tuchel did read the riot act to Bellingham, I think he made it clear that he wouldn't tolerate histrionics and acting like a knob, dropping him clearly did work.

06 Jul 2026 16:00:58
Scouse Seaman was terrible in an England shirt.

Jude gets the reputation for having a chip on his shoulder because he plays on the pitch with an ego and an arrogance that people can't understand, because it's not usual to see from an English player. People think it's him off the pitch, it's not.

06 Jul 2026 16:29:31
Pickford is a mid table to relegation team keeper. No big club has had any interest in him and England will win nothing whilst he's in goals.

{Ed025's Note - "pint of Bitter" for WD40 me thinks.. :)

06 Jul 2026 16:56:50
Let's be honest, Bellingham was a great teenager, but he hasn't really kicked on to be the player we all thought he could be.

He had a good game last night, and ran himself into the ground for the cause, which just goes to show it's in there if he can be bothered.

He's gone through a spell that most generationally talented young players go through, and a lot never come back from it. He's believed his own hype. The ones that go on to have great careers are the ones that realise it and knuckle down, doing the things that got them there in the first place.



I think he's suffered by moving around from Birmingham to Dortmund and on to the ego factory that is Madrid. He hasn't had a settled mentor to see him through that period and keep him grounded.

Rooney was someone who could've gone the same way, but he had Moyes and Ferguson to remind him he's nothing without the graft that got him there in the first place, and those 2 won't pull punches.

I think Jude does have the ambition and mentality to be one of the ones who makes it though. It feels like he has turned a corner.

06 Jul 2026 17:50:41
I agree with Ibiza, I'm not little arms' biggest fan, but he played well and didn't put a foot wrong in the game. The country needs something to pull everyone in the same direction, maybe 26 lads (well 25 now Hendo crocked himself!) can be the ones to do it.

{Ed025's Note - hes the best we have WYred...its as simple as that mate..

06 Jul 2026 17:55:52
Bellingham has played well in some matches against pretty substandard opposition. His effort is top drawer. Is he world class? His last two seasons in a Real Madrid shirt and the big matches? Absolutely not.


Let's see how he fares under Mourinho. He's a very good player at best. The World Cup overrates a lot of players and throws others who play well all season to the gallows.

06 Jul 2026 17:59:24
Grino, you said Trent has a chip on his shoulder. What makes you say that?

06 Jul 2026 18:20:39
I'm very vocal about not rating Pickford, but I'll tip my hat when it's due. He did very well this morning.

{Ed025's Note - how magnanimous of you Westwood.. :)

06 Jul 2026 17:41:44
Of course he is Ed, but so would any of us if we signed for Real at 19 years old!

{Ed025's Note - i cant argue with that Chewy, but its not very endearing mate..

06 Jul 2026 19:24:45
Cracking player Bellingham. Big, strong, athletic, quick across the pitch, not afraid to put the boot in and scores all types of goals. What's not to like? I swear some posters have no idea what they are watching sometimes. Posters would have been salivating if he had signed for Liverpool and not Madrid.

06 Jul 2026 20:09:23
Bitter for speaking facts? It's not hard to be the best English keeper in the last 30 years, because like Pickford they've all been crap.

{Ed025's Note - he played great last night WD40 and if you cant see that you really should take up snooker or something, his records speak for themselves so really i should not have said Bitter..i should have said bitter and twisted mate..

06 Jul 2026 21:11:54
Biggest issue with Bellingham for me is since going to Madrid, he's picked up all the horrible traits that team breeds.

07 Jul 2026 00:54:47
Pickford was incredible last night, commanded the penalty area well, made some amazing saves and swept up quickly and aggressively a few times. Hats off to him. Won the game for the English.

07 Jul 2026 01:02:52
@kloppers, Shilts was in goal til 1990 so I'd take him over JP.

07 Jul 2026 04:27:51
As I've said many a time, I see Pickford as a generational talent in the goalkeeping role... No, sorry I can't keep it up. Pickford is an average player at the top level but I reckon he had an excellent game yesterday.

It helped that he had work to do and was kept on his toes rather than his usual rodeo clown antics. Perhaps there's a d3cent keeper in the lad after all.

07 Jul 2026 06:47:00
Bellingham's first season in Spain saw him get 36 goals and assists and his second 30 goals and assists.

Hardly like he peaked in his teenage years and now he's ready for the Saudi or Scottish league.

Perhaps if he ran around more like a headless chicken causing chaos he'd be appreciated.

06 Jul 2026 12:05:59
Trump getting involved getting Balogun's red card overturned.... Wonder if Starmer should give FIFA a bell to let Quansah play the next game. ?

{Ed025's Note - lets hope not, how the hell you got money for him is amazing Robby, he would not make the bench for Southport imo mate..

06 Jul 2026 13:58:05
The King of Norway is on the phone as we speak.

06 Jul 2026 14:13:56
Ironically his brother actually plays for Southport.

06 Jul 2026 15:13:35
Make Southport Great Again.

{Ed025's Note - im all for that Chewy, a few of my mates have played for them and my good friend Neil Danns is the manager, i used to visit Haig Avenue quite a bit mate..

06 Jul 2026 13:08:34
Agreed Ed,
Quansah is a liability. Always has been and still is. I don't understand anyone saying we should buy him back for the buy back clause, which I believe is over £50m. Defensively he is not great and as an offensive outlet he is awful. I noticed that Konsa was turning back inside rather than trust him with the ball.

{Ed025's Note - im with you KR, i never understood the hype myself mate..

06 Jul 2026 13:09:04
Agree ed25, he's garbage, really can't believe people would pay 50 million to have him back

{Ed025's Note - i think they meant 50p FW.. :)

06 Jul 2026 13:33:38
Woah come on ed, bit harsh on southport

{Ed025's Note - fair point Max.. :)

06 Jul 2026 15:43:48
Quansah can be far too casual & far too prone to brain farts, which are not qualities you want in a top class footballer.

06 Jul 2026 17:05:34
In other words, he's not improved since we sold him.

06 Jul 2026 17:45:11
Quansah's had a very good season in Germany, but we know far too well that Bundesliga performances don't always translate. £50m to have him back? You must be having a laugh. I wouldn't give them 50 jaffa cakes.

06 Jul 2026 18:27:17
Haigh Avenue, the only ground in the world with a small hill in the six yard box. Belting place.

06 Jul 2026 21:31:26
Quansah saw Konate committing brain fart after fart and still playing every game so thought it was acceptable.

06 Jul 2026 10:17:46
Just regards Balogun's red card -

FIFA has not overturned Folarin Balogun's red card.

FIFA had previously indicated there was no appeal available against the automatic one-match suspension that follows.

Instead, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee used Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code to suspend enforcement of the ban, placing Balogun on a one-year probationary period.



The red card remains on his record, but the sanction has been suspended, allowing him to play against Belgium.

Article 27 contains no published conditions, criteria, or test that must be met before a sanction can be suspended.

It simply gives FIFA's judicial bodies the discretion to do so.

So put two and two together and you get with what most people are landing on - corruption.

06 Jul 2026 10:43:13
Infantino gets off on doing this so directly.

06 Jul 2026 11:14:01
The fact that Trump supposedly called Infantino about it is what makes this diabolical.

Put any other world leader into this scenario, and the media would be spitting feathers. Imagine if Putin pulled a trick like this in the Russia World Cup?

Yes, it may seem a small thing, but you just know who will score tonight.

So they have indirectly affected the game.

Can't wait for them to be knocked out, only for some rule to appear to reinstate them. Honestly, as football fans we shouldn't let this lie. This is simply money and brown envelopes, and the power has well and truly gone to Infantino's head!

06 Jul 2026 11:13:14
Faith, the fact that Infantina actually took the call from Dump, only tealls the world about how deep Infantino is in his (Dump's) pocket.

We all knew Infantino was currupt and imbedded in Dump's worldview. We did not know he was in this deep. That to me, is the breaking news here.

06 Jul 2026 11:42:35
From what I know of FIFA's discretion, it tends to work better if the request is followed by a couple of holdalls stuffed with used non sequential £50 notes.

06 Jul 2026 11:31:45
Jesus the pearl clutching on here is wild! Just enjoy the world cup man.

Trump is far too busy with crypto scams, insider trading and endorsing a genocide in the middle east, I doubt he has time to ring some guy at FIFA to get a player he's never heard of to play in the next game.

06 Jul 2026 11:36:58
Trump just has to ruin everything

06 Jul 2026 12:52:48
Trump or any world leader can say what they want, but FIFA should have the balls to say "stay in your lane, this is our party".

I'm angry at FIFA for this.

06 Jul 2026 13:04:03
FIFA is one of the dodgiest organisations in the world, seen the documentary on called FIFA Uncovered on Netflix. Blatter, Bruce Buck and Jack Warner, to name just 3 of the dodgy squad... corruption right through the organisation. Shows you how France gave the vote to Qatar, you then bought millions worth of planes n oh yeah bought PSG also.

06 Jul 2026 13:17:33
It didn't start there. It started decades earlier with Havelange. And he was president for 24 years, 6 World Cups. The culture of corruption is firmly ingrained. It's not going anywhere.

06 Jul 2026 13:17:56
I just posted this info after reading various comments about the legitimacy of the red card. Which wasn't at the heart of this decision by FIFA.

06 Jul 2026 14:01:08
Stromsgodset, PSG's acquisition by the Qatari government was signed off by the Sarkozy administration, who was in charge at the time.

So anyone saying they don't want politics meddling with football or sports in general should essentially stop watching these sports entirely and keep it moving and find other means of entertainment. I propose the WWE.

06 Jul 2026 14:24:02
The last four World Cups were in Qatar, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa, and somehow this one is by far the most corrupt one of them all.

06 Jul 2026 14:28:35
AAR91, We are all capable of enjoying the WC while being rightfully outraged about the absolute ship show in front of us with the relentlessly corrupt version of FIFA org. and in the WH.

Secondly, you are clearly and severely uninformed about the Dumpster fire in the WH if you think for one second that this is his first rodeo when it comes this specific MO when it comes to his corruption.

Just so you know, Dump did the exact same thing multiple times in his bid to steal the 20/20 elections by calling elected officials in the states he lost to Biden to "see what can be done about making Biden's victory go away". Just saying.

06 Jul 2026 15:27:16
Oh dear Oli the TDS sure has a hold of you, lighten up buddy.

I'm sure Trump has much bigger things to worry about, like the upcoming midterms and a humiliating escapade in Iran. I doubt he knows who Mr Balogun is. Anyway let's get back to football.

{Ed001's Note - well he knew who he was enough to tweet about him and how he had got his red card suspended.}

06 Jul 2026 15:45:33
Is it within the rules to suspend the implementation of a punishment? Yes.

Is it within ethics to do that in the middle of a knockout stage for an instance of red card which nobody has disagreed with? Absolutely not.

FIFA now has to suspend everyone's red cards for 1 year, no reason why they shouldnt. It's always been a corrupt organisation but it at least tried to be corrupt in the shadows before. Most corrupt world cup ever in the most corrupt version of the USA ever headed by the most corrupt president ever.

What's worse is if USA win the world cup now (unlikely but still) then absolutely nobody will accept it as a valid win and everyone will assume it was bought and paid for.

06 Jul 2026 15:46:14
If America get to the final and it goes to a shootout Trump will probably ask if they can use AR15's.

06 Jul 2026 16:17:28
The game, at the highest levels, is corrupt. It's that simple.

Part of me is pleased that Balogun can play. I'd like to see the Americans play the best team they have when they get beaten, and Trump and Rubio and the FIFA lapdog, Infantino, won't have any pathetic excuse for losing.

06 Jul 2026 16:36:06
Did anyone hear Trump? He said 'I know Sports really well. Really, really well. I was a great athlete' ?? When?? ? He's so full of sh!t that guy honestly.

He would be great for comedy value if his decisions didn't have such far reaching, serious, disastrous consequences for so many people. The lunatics have definitely taken over the asylum.

Then he goes on to say how it's unfair to ban a player for a game that hasn't happened yet.

It's the rules! It has been the rules for decades yet Trump comes in having never even watched a football match until 2 weeks ago and says it's unfair and FIFA bend over backwards to accommodate him?

He even admitted he had no idea what a red card meant yet this is the guy FIFA want to listen to? It really does beggar belief.

It must be embarrassing to be an American right now with a man like that representing your country. I feel sorry for all of you.

06 Jul 2026 17:13:18
He is a first class ? end, of that there is no doubt but hey millions of Americans voted for him ?‍♂️

06 Jul 2026 17:15:33
Why all the hate for Trump on here, a British football website? , a record number of Americans voted for him, let's look closer to home eh, we have the most odious man ever to be PM, we can't fly a flag in our own country without being called everything under the sun, bfr that we had the Tories all lining their own pockets, but let's call a man 5000 miles away

06 Jul 2026 17:21:01
"Oh dear Oli the TDS sure has a hold of you, lighten up buddy."

TDS is not a thing, mate. You just outed yourself as a MAGA mark, buddy.

Sucks to be you.

06 Jul 2026 17:32:58
Aaar91 you are applying logic to Donald Trump. Should he have bigger things to worry about? Yes. Should he be contacting the fifa president about a decision? 100% no. But did he do it, absolutely.

It might seem negligible in the grand scheme of things but that's what's got the world in this state. Allowing these morons to do as they please, as it's only 'Donald trump' and he will eventually go away. By not calling it out you basically allow it and there should be no room for corruption in our sport which unfortunately is all I can label this.

06 Jul 2026 18:08:16
Infantino is a servile character. He gave Trump a conveniently created "peace award" for stopping eight wars. He is just a spineless, arse licking lackey.

06 Jul 2026 18:07:43
WYred, I propose you enjoy the WC and have a hell of a time during your summer holiday rather than try to apply logic to a guy who repeats Maga talking points.

06 Jul 2026 18:38:42
"Why all the hate for Trump on here, a British football website? "

Firstly, Trump is a colossal bell end. If you can't see that, no matter where you on the political spectrum, it's your problem.

The fact many Americans would happily vote for that only shows how far America has fallen. Trump is the ultimate "ends justify the means" and is a sad state of western society generally, which is going the same here. It doesn't matter how "our side wins" so long as "our side wins". How many Brits are still going to happily vote for Farage, despite him being a lying dangerous grifter who if he got any further away from the common man he may as live on the moon.

As for the hate specifically now - Trump has essentially just stood there and bragged how he completely ran through sporting integrity and left in the bin to get the decision he wants to give his country the best sporting chance. If that doesn't bother you on any level then there's not much I can say.

This whole situation is a disgrace.

06 Jul 2026 18:59:10
Wassa, I'm sure he is gutted that you think that way. The Americans know more about their country than you or all the other.

{Ed001's Note - Americans know little about anything in the main. If they knew anything about anything, Trump would never have won the first time, let alone a second time as well.}

06 Jul 2026 19:37:35
By the way, if the USA team had any morals whatsoever, then they wouldn't play Balogun and show some common decency to the WC and the game in general. I doubt that'll happen tho, win at any cost and fek everyone else!

{Ed025's Note - if he does play Irish Infantino has to go mate..

06 Jul 2026 19:32:05
Strom
You don't need to be an American mate to listen to what Trump says or how he treats other countries and statesmen. Greenland for one example. The guy is a tosser mate

06 Jul 2026 16:04:43
Well I stand corrected Ed1, I guess Trump is a soccer fan after all, what a crazy world we live in. Its all set up for Balogun to get the winner tonight then.

{Ed001's Note - hardly crazy, he spent a lot of time in Scotland and it is well known he loves sports.}

06 Jul 2026 18:59:04
AAR91 said: "Trump is far too busy with crypto scams, insider trading and endorsing a genocide in the middle east, I doubt he has time to ring some guy at FIFA to get a player he's never heard of to play in the next game."

Have you seen his social media rubbish? He involves himself in everything because it's all about him and looking good for his people.

There's a part of me thinks Mexico got knocked out last night because he hates Mexicans.
There's part of me thinks it's being orchestrated the England meet the US in the final, as it's there 250th celebrations, and the money buys them a win.

I need to stay away from conspiracy sites.

06 Jul 2026 20:10:21
To be honest Stroms as inconsequential as I may be - given he's proven time and again he is a narcissist with an ego so fragile a mouse fart could shatter it, I think he would be pretty unhappy to be called a colossal bell end.

06 Jul 2026 21:58:23
I am American and hate the orange turd with every fiber of my being. By not means do most of us if the know like how the red was "delayed" but it was bad call to begin with. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but we all saw Messi's hack job on game one without any repercussion. We've seen a handful of dirty plays from a few particular South American teams and some blatant racism acts, by players, on the pitch. And nothing. We saw Olise get a yellow for absolutely no reason other than a complete acting job by the paraguayan dirtbag. You English got to see the grace of Mexican players and fans. So maybe I'm on a rant here, but the bottom line is they should have some mechanism to review and rescind cards.

As Liverpool fans, let's think back 2 years ago when we got a handful of ridiculous reds (I'm thinking Diogos phantom 2nd yellow, cujos foot over the ball, etc). And just for the record, probably a significant majority of people in the USA that watch this beautiful game are not the people who vote conservative We love the game! We love the international flavor, we respect cultural differences, we hate infantino, we hate how the iranians were treated at the this WC, etc. We have a pretty likable team and a good fan base (albeit our chants are embarrassing). By no means do you have to cheer for us but I hope we're not judged by the orange turd and all the other crap going on in our country

06 Jul 2026 23:03:40
ED001, you forgot about the time when they fiddled the votes in, so Slow Joe Biden got instead of Trump for his 2nd term.now i agree that the know nothing if they let, well let's face it a man who got told what to do n say n could barely remember it

{Ed001's Note - they didn't fiddle the votes. You are embarrassing yourself.}

07 Jul 2026 00:03:22
Anyway, the FA have asked FIFA to review Quansah's red card.

Precedent set.

07 Jul 2026 02:34:39
I'm an American, and the delay of the suspension is a really bad look. I guess the "Peace Prize" carried certain privileges?

06 Jul 2026 23:48:00
@Strom, President Trump, is the leader of one of the one of the most powerful nations on earth. Do you not find it incredible should take time out of his daily calendar of events to phone his mate at FIFA to strong arm him into invoke a clause that hasn't been used in living memory? Shouldn't he be trying to extricate himself from the mess he's got himself into in the Middle East where he ha his friend from Israel are indiscriminately killing people - mostly innocent people by the way. Politics and, in this case, a rank amateur, self absorbed multiple faced, narcissistic bully, and sport are separate and the fact the the cretin actually went to press to say he'd spoken to Infantino was just a sad publicity stunt to convince the incredibly, incredibly, incredibly dumb that he is making America great.

Sorry, time for another tablet, but words fail me.

07 Jul 2026 07:19:20
America need Starmer. Now there's a man a nation can be proud of

06 Jul 2026 04:28:26
Just want to give a shout out to the nice guys in sport. I once had a chat with the head of "personal relationships" at Spurs. He wasn't famous then, but she said Harry Kane was one of the nicest people you could meet.

Just in case you think I was being fed pr, the view of the guy who went on to be England's left back for a while was not described in a similar way.

Kane, in my view, is so similar to Keegan. A superstar, who played way above his limits.

06 Jul 2026 06:37:25
Well done England . Fantastic win, despite the Mexican Dark Arts and Quansah red card
It's Coming Home!

06 Jul 2026 08:58:59
Was it a season or so ago there was paper talk about Kane being available and a possibility. As small as a possibility as that was, I wish we had got him at that time.

06 Jul 2026 10:01:35
I know a guy who coached Kane all through Spurs' youth academy, and he said Kane was never the best player of his age group, but he was always the one who would do extra training, turn up early and leave late.

He also said the fact that he wasn't the most talented, and had to graft, made him a really humble and respectful person.



I don't like his diving at times, but you have to admire what he's done in the game, considering he went on loan to numerous Championship sides and never did very well. He just got his head down and worked harder.

Fair play.

06 Jul 2026 11:25:54
Diving and dangerously backing into players mid-jump aside...

06 Jul 2026 11:28:08
@Rio, that is the thing. Those with talent who rely on it alone could get far. But those with limited talent, but with the work ethic of a possessed demon, will get even further. This is the case for all sports, if not, walks of life.

For the near 2 decades Tom Brady played QB with the Patriots, he never ceased to say how big of a chip on his shoulder he had when he finally got his chance when the starter, Drew Bledsoe, was injured.

Brady said he always believed, from his college playing days till his retirement, that he was better than all the quarterbacks who were picked/played ahead of him.

And he never let that chip fall off his shoulder, and he kept working hard throughout his career to prove it, all those Super Bowl trophies be damned.

I think Kane plays with a huge chip on his shoulder, remembers all those who doubted him, and has never stopped trying to prove them wrong till this day. Hats off to him, cs he is a WC striker, without question.

06 Jul 2026 15:47:47
I think a lot of people underestimate Kane.

He's got an excellent passing range, reads play intelligently. Has excellent finishing and was competing with Salah for golden boots.... At Spurs. If we swapped Kane and Salah, I don't think Salah is winning golden boots at Spurs but I do think Kane would have done it at Liverpool.

06 Jul 2026 17:23:06
Navada, your last statement comparing both Kane and Salah just proves how great Kane actually is.

And anyone underestimating his ability seriously does not watch him play at all on a substantive level.

06 Jul 2026 17:51:12
Does having a chip on your shoulder mean something else now?

06 Jul 2026 03:08:42
I love all our itks, but why is their info different?

06 Jul 2026 06:41:58
RD, a couple of reasons, one being they have different sources and therefore different information. Also, it is possible that two things can be true. The club will always look at multiple options, as transfers can be tricky, and so just because they are progressing one transfer, it doesn't mean they are not exploring other options in case things fall through.