Premier League 2020/21

[Colly]

Fucks sake.

[Meacon Keaton]

Well that was an answer.

[Lineker]

We are so fucked when Kane leaves/retires.

[Colly]

This isn't a question I'd normally ask when 2-1 down, but are Spurs usually this bad? We've had about double our usual possession and shots...

[Lineker]

Yes.

We don't have a defence which is fit for purpose.

[Szumi]

It's truly amazing that Spurs are currently in 4th in the live table, and doing it in spite of Jose being their manager. I think he gets away with everything, but Harry Kane is undoubtedly one of the world's best players right now. Spurs would be bottom half without him.

[Lineker]

So utterly predictable.

[Colly]

9 minutes ago, Lineker said:

So utterly predictable.

You say that, but I went for a Newcastle loss today in the predictor for what I believe is the first time ever. 

[Mad Jack]

If Newcastle played like that every match they'd be up around 12th.

[Lineker]

They should consider playing us every week then.

[Mad Jack]

Newcastle (4.07) 2-2 (2.30) Spurs
 

Jeez.

[Lineker]

Good to see everyone trying to out-shit each other this weekend.

[Baddar]

That'll do nicely. Would have taken a point after that first half.

[Hobo]

21 hours ago, Colly said:

I think finding it sad that a young footballer wants to make it into his or her national team a bit odd.

Maybe "sad" is too strong a word.

Personally, I'm just not that moved by the attachment to national identity. I don't think that representing a nation in sport should be seen as a completely benign thing to do.
I'm sure for some there's various reasons why players do play internationall football. Some must do it for national pride of various degrees. Then there's probably just people who want to play football and don't care who with or where or why. Then there's those who just do it because maybe it'll get them noticed by other clubs. Plus, I'm sure the players are friends with other players and they like hanging out with them. And I'm sure some just do it because the PR of not doing it would be a pain in the neck.

In some ways, it would seem more pragmatic for some elite level players to focus on their club career. Rather than playing a heap of extra games that are often pointless.

There's a sense (to me at least) that there's often no real choice in the matter. You are called up and if fit you must go because the press would hound you otherwise. Particularly with in the case of the English national team.

[METALMAN]

I get this, and the jingoism it whips up isn't always pleasant. But it's also a part of football that is motivated by something other than who is the highest bidder, so I still prefer it to club football at the highest level..

[Colly]

I think that's it for me. In club football, particularly these days, there's very little loyalty and fewer and fewer "one club men" for fans to form attachments to. If anyones any good they'll be sold on to benchwarm at a big side, before eventually going back to an average side at 29 to see out their career. Teams only progress based on the quality of their big money signings. At least at international level you'll have players who've made friends at junior level and can spend the time that they're good enough playing alongside them, and that would be motivation enough for me.

[Cymbols]

Yeah push come to shove, country over club. Like, don’t get me wrong, the Villa means a whole lot to me, but nothing comes close to the goosebumps I get when the National Anthem plays. And I doubt anything will come close to the Euro 2016 campaign. That was pure magic.

[Bobfoc]

Maybe my view is different because my favourite club is a long way from the Premier League. I prefer following Notts County to England, but England matches also hold a lot more appeal to me than Premier League games do. Seeing players from different clubs come together, sometimes against their own teammates, is interesting in and of itself and, as mentioned before, there's a sense of familiarity about it. In a game that sees players flit between clubs throughout their careers, the enforced loyalty feels increasingly novel.

[gunnar hendershow]

I really enjoy international football because I watch sports for the athletes playing them. A ton of international matches are pointless affairs, sure, but when you get to the major tournaments they are an absolute joy to watch. And a lot is because I get to see the very best players without the cloud of transfer rumors and, usually, dressing room drama.

There's a lot of problems, a lot is rooted in a certain type of person to whom international football is supposed to be a way to show national/racial superiority or some shit. But it's just an extension, to me, of how people form their identities around their clubs and create tribal lines against supporters of other clubs. Just with a national anthem and national flag to fall behind now. And politicians using it as a way to run cover for their own shady dealings in unsettling but kind of something I'm used to as just being an unfortunate reality.

[Naitch]

An important aspect of international football that hasn't been mentioned yet, from the players' perspective at least, is proving that you're the best player in your position. Becoming a regular starter in that position proves you're a/one of the best in your country, winning a tournament kind of proves that you're a/one of the best in the world/whichever area the tournament covers.

For some, that aspect certainly ties into proving yourself more valuable at a club level. For others, well, just look at how lost in the moment many France players were after the last World Cup Final, or San Marino players after they managed to draw two games in a row for the first time ever.