The Official European Football (Soccer) Thread

[UnkNuk]

11 hours ago, UKNuck96 said:

Good day to be a Newcastle fan. Mike Ashley is gone 

Being a casual EPL fan, I didn't know much about Newcastle's situation or even who Mike Ashley was.  

 

Then I read this article in today's NYT:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/sports/soccer/newcastle-saudi-arabia-premier-league.html

 

It points out the duress Newcastle fans have been under.  But it also raises eithical questions about the fact the new owner is Saudi Arabia.

 

I'm not sure what to make of it - other than that politics and money seem to permeate everything nowadays.

[UKNuck96]

2 hours ago, UnkNuk said:

Being a casual EPL fan, I didn't know much about Newcastle's situation or even who Mike Ashley was.  

 

Then I read this article in today's NYT:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/sports/soccer/newcastle-saudi-arabia-premier-league.html

 

It points out the duress Newcastle fans have been under.  But it also raises eithical questions about the fact the new owner is Saudi Arabia.

 

I'm not sure what to make of it - other than that politics and money seem to permeate everything nowadays.

Mike Ashley is the Melynk of the premier league albeit with less desirable characters and runs his stores and warehouses like a modem day sweatshop.

 

there is issues with Saudi owners, however this takeover is 18months in the making and a big issue around it was due to some of the big 6 in the EPL not wanting another big player in the league.  It’s only the pending legal action and arbitration that have forced this through.

 

Also there seems not to be as much outcry of sport washing when we have a World Cup in Qatar, World Heavyweight boxing, now F1, chess, golf, horse racing in Saudi Arabia, yet when it’s Newcastle it causes uproar. 

[BoKnows]

Newcastle gonna be announcing Haaland, Davies, and Mbappe transfers during the next window 

 

Leicester Cities start to the season has been less than desirable, I was hoping that they'd challenge for a Champions league spot again. They bottled two 2-0 leads so far. I guess I shouldn't have had such high hopes considering their two best defenders (Evans, Fofana) are out with injury. To add salt into the wound Ndidi is expected to miss 4-5 weeks with a hamstring injury. Hopefully the Foxes can finish mid-table and win Europa league, but that may be too much to ask due to the injuries.

 

On a more positive note, Canada drew to Mexico last night 1-1. We're currently sitting at 3rd in the CONCACAF table to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The squad is heading to Kingston to play the last placed Jamaican team, where we should pick up three points. If Canada can continue with these results they may just qualify for the World Cup.

[UnkNuk]

12 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

Newcastle gonna be announcing Haaland, Davies, and Mbappe transfers during the next window 

 

 

I don't know about Davies.  But Haaland and Mbappe?  Why not?  They've got the money for it and it'd certainly be a way of making a big splash.

[BoKnows]

29 minutes ago, UnkNuk said:

I don't know about Davies.  But Haaland and Mbappe?  Why not?  They've got the money for it and it'd certainly be a way of making a big splash.

Wouldn’t that be quite the front 2

[UnkNuk]

1 hour ago, BoKnows said:

 

On a more positive note, Canada drew to Mexico last night 1-1. We're currently sitting at 3rd in the CONCACAF table to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The squad is heading to Kingston to play the last placed Jamaican team, where we should pick up three points. If Canada can continue with these results they may just qualify for the World Cup.

You and others may have noticed, like I have, that there is limited discussion about the Men's National Team and other soccer topics here at CDC.

 

If you don't already know about it, I came across this site a while ago that does have a robust discussion about the MNT:

 

https://www.canadiansoccernews.com/forums/forum/13-mens-national-teams/

 

It's the Canadian Soccer News site and it has a discussion format very similar to CDC but focuses on soccer topics.

[UKNuck96]

1 hour ago, UnkNuk said:

I don't know about Davies.  But Haaland and Mbappe?  Why not?  They've got the money for it and it'd certainly be a way of making a big splash.

I doubt it. Even with the money you need to be playing in Europe to get either big boys. Even if we get good players in, in January transfer window I doubt that’s achievable this year, so we are probably looking less at top tier players and more good players who are at top clubs but playing second fiddle to a star, and some younger players that are up and coming.

 

players like Max Aarons, or Samuel Umtiti are the kind of players I think we will see come in. Going to be at least 3 years before we make a big splash. Plus the training ground needs to be rebuilt as most of it was set up under Bobby robson and hasn’t changed since. 
 

Plus having lived up there it’s true that Newcastle struggles to retain talent as it’s a medium city and it’s no London, Birmingham or Manchester. 

[UnkNuk]

1 hour ago, UKNuck96 said:

I doubt it. Even with the money you need to be playing in Europe to get either big boys. Even if we get good players in, in January transfer window I doubt that’s achievable this year, so we are probably looking less at top tier players and more good players who are at top clubs but playing second fiddle to a star, and some younger players that are up and coming.

 

players like Max Aarons, or Samuel Umtiti are the kind of players I think we will see come in. Going to be at least 3 years before we make a big splash. Plus the training ground needs to be rebuilt as most of it was set up under Bobby robson and hasn’t changed since. 
 

Plus having lived up there it’s true that Newcastle struggles to retain talent as it’s a medium city and it’s no London, Birmingham or Manchester. 

Fair points.

 

But I wonder if the team waved a hefty enough contract under their noses whether top flight players might be willing to overlook the lack of European competition and the size of the city?

[UKNuck96]

22 minutes ago, UnkNuk said:

Fair points.

 

But I wonder if the team waved a hefty enough contract under their noses whether top flight players might be willing to overlook the lack of European competition and the size of the city?

Some would, but the top players wouldn’t.  You only have so many years at the top level you want to be competing for trophies every year.  If you go to a new money club to early you are replaceable and could have spent your prime on a team not in Europe and then end up at a second tier club. 
 

We might be able to persuade maybe one or two big name players but I doubt it would be the top echelon. We have been linked with Courtinio and I think that’s probably the best we could hope for at the moment. Summer would be where we could start to see some bigger names coming in, and if that succeds summer 23 is likely when the big name players start to arrive  

[BoKnows]

It’ll interesting to see what will happen with Newcastle if they go down. 

[UKNuck96]

4 hours ago, BoKnows said:

It’ll interesting to see what will happen with Newcastle if they go down. 

Not much, same as last to times will rebound. With PIF being the owners if they were worried about that they would have held off till summer 

[UKNuck96]

Footballers threaten legal action over 'data misuse'

By Nick Hartley
BBC Wales News

Published

6 hours ago

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IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption, The footballers say they want compensation and an annual fee for the use of their data

Hundreds of footballers have threatened legal action against the data collection industry, which could change how information is handled. 

Led by former Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and Yeovil Town manager Russell Slade, 850 players want compensation for the trading of their performance data over the past six years.

They also want an annual fee from the companies for any future use.

"Letters before action" have been sent to 17 big firms, alleging data misuse.

• Players prepare lawsuit over personal data
• How to back up your data and keep it safe
• How your data is being scraped from social media

If the group pursues legal action and is successful, it could lead to a radical change of a multi-billion pound industry behind professional sport that trades on players' information. 

Slade's legal team said the fact players receive no payment for the unlicensed use of their data contravenes General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules that were strengthened in 2018.

Under Article 4 of the GDPR, "personal data" refers to a range or identifiable information, such as physical attributes, location data or physiological information.

BBC News understands that an initial 17 major betting, entertainment and data collection firms have been targeted, but Slade's Global Sports Data and Technology Group has highlighted more than 150 targets it believes have misused data.

Consent issues

Image caption, Former Cardiff City manager Russell Slade is leading the group

While receiving a fee for the use of their data might not have much impact on the high earners of the Premier League, Slade feels strongly that those lower down the pyramid, in both the men's and women's game, would see tangible benefits.

"It's incredible where it's used," Slade said. "On one player, and I'm not talking about a Premier League player or even a Championship player, there was some 7,000 pieces of information on one individual player at a lower league football club.

"There are companies that are taking that data and processing that data without the individual consent of that player.

"A big part of our journey has been looking at that ecosystem and plotting out where that data starts, who's processing it, where it finishes and that's a real global thing.

"It's making football - and all sports - aware of the implications and what needs to change."

How widespread is data collection?

The use of data in sport is nothing new. Its collection, distribution and use has become a staple part of the modern sporting environment, be it by clubs to manage player performance, or by third party companies to base things like odds on.

If the move is successful, the implications could have far-reaching effects beyond football.

• TikTok sued for billions over children's data
• Welsh government breached data laws over 300 times
• Facebook sued for 'losing control' of users’ data

BBC News understand discussions are already underway within other professional sports to bring potential legal action regarding the trading of data.

Former Wales international Dave Edwards, one the players behind the move, said it was a chance for players to take more control of the way information about them is used.

Having seen how data has become a staple part of the modern game, he believes players rights to how information about them is used should be at the forefront of any future use.

"The more I've looked into it and you see how our data is used, the amount of channels its passed through, all the different organisations which use it, I feel as a player we should have a say on who is allowed to use it," he said.

"Anyone else in the world would have that say. Just because we're footballers and we're in the public domain that gets overlooked.

"If you were in another job, if you were a teacher of a lawyer and this sort of details was being passed around your field of work it wouldn't sit right with that person.

"I don't think we, as individuals really differ from that."

The lawyer behind Global Sports Data and Technology's action, Chris Farnell, believes it could be start of a sport-wide reshaping of how data is traded.

"This will be significant change if the precedent is set throughout football and how data is used throughout sport in general," he said.

"It will change significantly how that data is being used and how it's going to be rewarded."

[BoKnows]

A couple screamers scored in the ManU v Leicester match

[Wolfgang Durst]

On 10/9/2021 at 9:31 PM, UnkNuk said:

I don't know about Davies.  But Haaland and Mbappe?  Why not?  They've got the money for it and it'd certainly be a way of making a big splash.

Magpies have zero chance to add a player like Erling Haaland to their team. Haaland is by far the best striker in Europe and all the big teams like Real Madrid, FC Bayern München, Paris St. Germain are chasing him right now. Paris St. Germain offered him an annual salary in the range from 38 million euro to 42 million euro. Believe me,  Haaland wants to win championships (the european champions league or a national title) and Mapgies can't lure him to England only because of the money. All the mentioned big teams have the finanical resources to pay more than the Magpies.

 

Davies likes it in Munich. Last season was a real breakthrough year for him. The headcoach and the frontoffice really like him. There is really no reason for him to go elsewhere. He has just started his stint in Munich after he had to get used to the german style of play in his first season after Munich acquired him from the Vancouver Whitecaps. I expect him to stay at least a few more years in Munich before he sign with an even bigger team (like Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea).

[Scottish⑦Canuck]

The Newcastle situation annoys me as I hate the mega-rich buying clubs to be their play-thing. Especially given the owners and Saudi's record with regards to human rights. As with the Super League there's been a massive amount of hypocrisy from the bigger clubs though, all of whom are guilty of being funded from less than ethical sources. They see them as a threat to their own dominance.

I like Newcastle as a city and the Geordies are good craic, but I won't be rooting for them.

[UnkNuk]

9 hours ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

Magpies have zero chance to add a player like Erling Haaland to their team. Haaland is by far the best striker in Europe and all the big teams like Real Madrid, FC Bayern München, Paris St. Germain are chasing him right now. Paris St. Germain offered him an annual salary in the range from 38 million euro to 42 million euro. Believe me,  Haaland wants to win championships (the european champions league or a national title) and Mapgies can't lure him to England only because of the money. All the mentioned big teams have the finanical resources to pay more than the Magpies.

 

 

Do they, though?  Based on this article, maybe they don't:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/sports/soccer/newcastle-saudi-premier-league.html

 

A group led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment fund completed its purchase of the Premier League soccer team Newcastle United on Thursday, moving swiftly to overcome objections to its yearslong pursuit of a place as an owner in one of the world’s most prominent sporting competitions.

 

The sale instantly transformed Newcastle, an underachieving club whose home in the north of England is far from the power centers of European soccer, into theoretically one of the richest teams in the world, backed by the wealth of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a vehicle that controls assets worth $500 billion.

 

[UnkNuk]

1 hour ago, Scottish⑦Canuck said:

The Newcastle situation annoys me as I hate the mega-rich buying clubs to be their play-thing. Especially given the owners and Saudi's record with regards to human rights. As with the Super League there's been a massive amount of hypocrisy from the bigger clubs though, all of whom are guilty of being funded from less than ethical sources. They see them as a threat to their own dominance.

I like Newcastle as a city and the Geordies are good craic, but I won't be rooting for them.

I agree about the hypocrisy and self-interest of other teams.

 

But I wonder if this identification of Newcastle with the Saudis, who are in the world's spotlight,  might result in some sort of political protests at Newcastle games if Saudi Arabia again does something.....untoward.

Edited October 17, 2021 by UnkNuk

[UKNuck96]

5 hours ago, UnkNuk said:

I agree about the hypocrisy and self-interest of other teams.

 

But I wonder if this identification of Newcastle with the Saudis, who are in the world's spotlight,  might result in some sort of political protests at Newcastle games if Saudi Arabia again does something.....untoward.

Potentially. And if that is the case that’s a good thing. Like with the LGBTQ+ Newcastle group which have been some of the most active and vocal of English teams they have agreed to work with the Saudis.

 

will it cause a change here and now no. But boycotting won’t make a difference at least this way people work with them and also try to make ab active difference. 
 

As a Newcastle fan at least we can fill our stadium, even in the championship we packed at James park and hold the record attendances for the league. 
 

In regards to Haaland even if he is linked so will a lot of other players, it’s columnist filling in quotas on slow days.

 

Newcastle have the money to afford him and can spend around 180m in January and still be FFP compliant (before they get to the creative ways of increasing that with ‘sponsorships’) However until Newcastle can establish themselves in the top 6 they won’t be getting the world class players.

 

if you look at the Man City approach it’s a slow build of increasing the quality year after year. 
 

so I expect this year to be good players who are sitting on the bench at the top clubs, and big fish in small pond players who are very good but not good enough for tip tiers. That and finding good young players they can give playing time to.

 

James Ward Prowse, Max Aaron’s, if we splash some cash we might, just might be able to get someone like Billy Gilmour, but the question would be he is on loan from Chelsea and looks to be part of their next wave of players, why would he move from there to Newcastle? 
 

I doubt we will ever see Mbappe or Harland at NUFC. Possibly the generation after them we might stand a chance with, but clubs like Chelsea already have a great youth setup and horde good young players and use the loan system to get them to play. 
 

Man City’s academy is starting to get into swing as well. Just because the owners now have the cash from the Saudis and the Reuben brothers (which I had a job fall through working for because of covid)  doesn’t mean that players that want to win trophies will instantly come here 

[Lateralus91]

Don't see Haaland leaving for Newcastle. He loves playing Champions League. It's what he plays for. Clubs not playing in the UCL probably won't even be considered by him. Some reports even saying he's thinking about staying here for another year because he likes the speed at which he's developing here. But I don't know if that is much more than wishful thinking. He's a different breed and other than the UCL thing I find it hard to foresee what he will do next summer. It will also depend on club's needs. Haaland is still much more a player for the counter attack than Lewandowski for example. Lots of reports as well about him having a release clause or not with different amounts mentioned. Plus his agent Raiola is notorious for cashing in big for himself and his client. 30m € for Raiola alone for that transfer + a fixed amount for Haaland in the same realm at the time of the transfer + the money Dortmund will get (probably north of 75m €) + Haaland's salary (the amounts @Wolfgang Durst mentioned are pretty realistic). Not a lot of clubs can pay that. Don't think even Bayern can (or at least will want to) pay that.

[Mj2345]

Chelsea won 7-0 Today and BHA plays MNC 9:30am on NBC