One of the highlights of the Club World Cup was Lionel Messi blanking IShowSpeed in the tunnel before the opening game between Inter Miami and Al-Ahly.
Hope you are enjoying following the Under 21s. Pity that Scarlett is injured as I gather Carsley thinks he’s the real deal.
I have been trying to work out how English teams were selected for the Club World Championship. City is obvious, but was it Chelsea’s victory under Tuchel in Europe that made the difference? That was quite a while ago…
It would work in Europe. The issue is how the players’ union will react. Plus you only need one major injury to a big player related to the club World Cup for it to kick off complaint-wise
I agree. City and Chelsea will complain like mad in the early part of the season about fatigue etc. in most countries it won’t matter as there’s not much competition to win the league. In England we have seen how a small drop off has a major effect.
I can see it becoming an even larger competition with Europa League winners included and four teams from Europe as cup winners and then twelve more historics. Infantino’s goal must be to have Real Madrid, Barca, PSG, Bayern, Milan, Inter, 4-6 from England and to hold it every two years. Yes people will complain, but the money will mean clubs can have larger squads. Of course there will be dud fixtures, but people will always attend glamour fixtures.
Let’s face it the various FAs in Europe will make stadia available and I can see it being held in Europe every two years and then rotating around other countries. The Champions League will remain preeminent, as that keeps things ticking over during the normal season, but the Club World Cup will be made to work if the cash is there. Cannon fodder will be excluded and it will become a glamour competition. The squeeze will come on club specific tours, other than for those that don’t qualify. Careers will shorten and FIFA runs the risk of devaluing international football. Euros will perhaps suffer more, but it will take time. Ultimately there is a core of supporters that will watch live sport and so long as FIFA learns that tickets need to be cheap they will attend. All rather depressing
Excellent points on the Club World Cup and those stupid YouTubers like that IShowSpeed Character. Whoever he is. A person who thinks he is a star and is lost in his own little world of importance on social media. He hasn’t a clue about the real world or football for that matter yet certain people seem to think he is good to have involved. He makes them look worse and the coverage worse. Also why do I keep hearing the phrase ‘FIFA wanted to attract a new younger audience to the game’. I don’t get this. So have young people gone off watching football or something? Could have fooled me. Loads of young people attend games and if some people don’t want to watch football in its current state then so be it. Don’t force them. But football is definitely not struggling for fans or new fans as people are watching all the time. This is just odd on FIFA’s part. We want genuine fans not influencers. The level of punditry at this tournament by DAZN has been shocking to. The knockout stage will be much better but it’s a tournament to far and it may have an effect come the World Cup next summer with injuries and quality on show. An increase to a ridiculous 48 teams to. It’s non stop. A lot of players have just played International games to. All about the money of course and not the quality on offer. We as Fans do need a break from football sometimes. It makes us really look forward to it resuming again instead of the same all same all. The players are more motivated to. The top players need to mentally recharge and rest sometimes.
Agree on all this John. The thing about the young audience is that they want the match action. They’re the ones using fire sticks. Not seen the dazn stuff but hear its cheerleader
I think everyone wants the match action and less analysis but quality punditry and opinion is very much needed to. Football creates talking points and when analysed correctly and not for likes and clicks it brings so,thing to the coverage. We don’t need influencers to tell us this. DAZN is definitely a cheerleader from what I have seen.
Good point, Henry, about the time wasting by the other 20! The goalkeeper antics have bothered me for some time - a lot - especially what I call ‘The Goalie Flop’. I suspect the 8 second rule will be here to stay but, please, referees, for goodness sake apply it. My personal view is that there is no need to tinker. Just apply the rules we have. So, kicking the ball away, offending team member dashing up to stand over a free kick spot - they all fall into the same category: Delaying the restart - the words are in the rules (pretty much always have been). If anything annoys me more it’s referees who penalise delaying tactics in the closing, trying to save the game, minutes but not earlier. Last time I looked there is nothing in the rules with, say, ‘… this is only an offence when …’ Kick the ball away in the first minute - Yellow card. 89th minute - Yellow card. Same, same. An offender daft enough to kick the ball away - again - after 10 minutes - early bath. I would aver that in all these cases players would learn very quickly - just like the keepers (and, stress, their coaches) seem to have learned with the focus on ‘8 seconds’ in Slovakia.
As for YouTube influencers - I know nothing but are these people paying FIFA for access? A dreadful development.
FIFA loves them. Infantino all over them. Love the “goalie flop”. So true!! Sadly. Agree, rules were in place already. Some refs don’t mind time wasting as it gives them a breather, I’m told.
I just watched this clown ishowspeed bursting with mediocrity as Lionel Messi "aired" him , and recall now blocking his channel on my son's youtube some time back. Reminds me no more of the highly disruptive behaviour many of us encountered at inner London schools in the 70s and 80s. If it wasn't for social media this influencer would be handing out happy hour flyers for nightclubs. Like a lot of conservative Swiss and Italians outside of their environment , Infantino is culturally clueless and probably thought it progressive to showcase this idiocy. An embarrassment to football.
I hope Chelsea's Match v LAFC is more of a credible competitive affair. US Soccer has started to fascinate me and just wondering how much potential the MLS has.
I’d be annoyed if I was MLS at club World Cup overshadowing them. Agree on the influencers. Tbf media using them increasingly too. I’m all for expanding markets but respect the players.
Apparently Gianni Infantino is set to leverage the stage to launch his own Influencer career, going by the moniker IGrabCash.
Hi Henry
Hope you are enjoying following the Under 21s. Pity that Scarlett is injured as I gather Carsley thinks he’s the real deal.
I have been trying to work out how English teams were selected for the Club World Championship. City is obvious, but was it Chelsea’s victory under Tuchel in Europe that made the difference? That was quite a while ago…
It would work in Europe. The issue is how the players’ union will react. Plus you only need one major injury to a big player related to the club World Cup for it to kick off complaint-wise
I agree. I don’t like the competition but I can’t see Infantino letting go. And there are £100m good reasons why the clubs will sign up. A shame…
And players will struggle to argue over workload when it’s playing their wages. Still a tournament too many imo
I agree. City and Chelsea will complain like mad in the early part of the season about fatigue etc. in most countries it won’t matter as there’s not much competition to win the league. In England we have seen how a small drop off has a major effect.
Also concern over impact on World Cup
It would be ironic if Infantino’s vanity project devalued FIFA’s most valuable asset and it could be argued, its raison d’etre….
yes, I guess it's on a four-year cycle. Having seen the way they chose Inter Miami anything's possible
I can see it becoming an even larger competition with Europa League winners included and four teams from Europe as cup winners and then twelve more historics. Infantino’s goal must be to have Real Madrid, Barca, PSG, Bayern, Milan, Inter, 4-6 from England and to hold it every two years. Yes people will complain, but the money will mean clubs can have larger squads. Of course there will be dud fixtures, but people will always attend glamour fixtures.
Let’s face it the various FAs in Europe will make stadia available and I can see it being held in Europe every two years and then rotating around other countries. The Champions League will remain preeminent, as that keeps things ticking over during the normal season, but the Club World Cup will be made to work if the cash is there. Cannon fodder will be excluded and it will become a glamour competition. The squeeze will come on club specific tours, other than for those that don’t qualify. Careers will shorten and FIFA runs the risk of devaluing international football. Euros will perhaps suffer more, but it will take time. Ultimately there is a core of supporters that will watch live sport and so long as FIFA learns that tickets need to be cheap they will attend. All rather depressing
Excellent points on the Club World Cup and those stupid YouTubers like that IShowSpeed Character. Whoever he is. A person who thinks he is a star and is lost in his own little world of importance on social media. He hasn’t a clue about the real world or football for that matter yet certain people seem to think he is good to have involved. He makes them look worse and the coverage worse. Also why do I keep hearing the phrase ‘FIFA wanted to attract a new younger audience to the game’. I don’t get this. So have young people gone off watching football or something? Could have fooled me. Loads of young people attend games and if some people don’t want to watch football in its current state then so be it. Don’t force them. But football is definitely not struggling for fans or new fans as people are watching all the time. This is just odd on FIFA’s part. We want genuine fans not influencers. The level of punditry at this tournament by DAZN has been shocking to. The knockout stage will be much better but it’s a tournament to far and it may have an effect come the World Cup next summer with injuries and quality on show. An increase to a ridiculous 48 teams to. It’s non stop. A lot of players have just played International games to. All about the money of course and not the quality on offer. We as Fans do need a break from football sometimes. It makes us really look forward to it resuming again instead of the same all same all. The players are more motivated to. The top players need to mentally recharge and rest sometimes.
Agree on all this John. The thing about the young audience is that they want the match action. They’re the ones using fire sticks. Not seen the dazn stuff but hear its cheerleader
I think everyone wants the match action and less analysis but quality punditry and opinion is very much needed to. Football creates talking points and when analysed correctly and not for likes and clicks it brings so,thing to the coverage. We don’t need influencers to tell us this. DAZN is definitely a cheerleader from what I have seen.
DAZN and the Saudis have poured money into it, so inevitably going to talk it up. The thing is, John, as you know well, fans can see through it.
Good point, Henry, about the time wasting by the other 20! The goalkeeper antics have bothered me for some time - a lot - especially what I call ‘The Goalie Flop’. I suspect the 8 second rule will be here to stay but, please, referees, for goodness sake apply it. My personal view is that there is no need to tinker. Just apply the rules we have. So, kicking the ball away, offending team member dashing up to stand over a free kick spot - they all fall into the same category: Delaying the restart - the words are in the rules (pretty much always have been). If anything annoys me more it’s referees who penalise delaying tactics in the closing, trying to save the game, minutes but not earlier. Last time I looked there is nothing in the rules with, say, ‘… this is only an offence when …’ Kick the ball away in the first minute - Yellow card. 89th minute - Yellow card. Same, same. An offender daft enough to kick the ball away - again - after 10 minutes - early bath. I would aver that in all these cases players would learn very quickly - just like the keepers (and, stress, their coaches) seem to have learned with the focus on ‘8 seconds’ in Slovakia.
As for YouTube influencers - I know nothing but are these people paying FIFA for access? A dreadful development.
FIFA loves them. Infantino all over them. Love the “goalie flop”. So true!! Sadly. Agree, rules were in place already. Some refs don’t mind time wasting as it gives them a breather, I’m told.
I just watched this clown ishowspeed bursting with mediocrity as Lionel Messi "aired" him , and recall now blocking his channel on my son's youtube some time back. Reminds me no more of the highly disruptive behaviour many of us encountered at inner London schools in the 70s and 80s. If it wasn't for social media this influencer would be handing out happy hour flyers for nightclubs. Like a lot of conservative Swiss and Italians outside of their environment , Infantino is culturally clueless and probably thought it progressive to showcase this idiocy. An embarrassment to football.
I hope Chelsea's Match v LAFC is more of a credible competitive affair. US Soccer has started to fascinate me and just wondering how much potential the MLS has.
I’d be annoyed if I was MLS at club World Cup overshadowing them. Agree on the influencers. Tbf media using them increasingly too. I’m all for expanding markets but respect the players.