2023/2024 English Premier League Thread

[The Big Chill]

Is there a reason the refs are always English? They should source some talent from elsewhere like they do with players.

[The Big Chill]

I’d also be curious to know if there are any stakeholders that like the implementation of VAR. It was supposed to help refs, but do the refs even like it? I would think it causes them more issues then it solves.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

Is there a reason the refs are always English? They should source some talent from elsewhere like they do with players.

Oh yeah! Then the Brits would be up in arms over 'The Foreigners!'

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Slava

3. Transparency and openness in the VAR process. Just tell everyone what you're looking for and what you need help with. Have the VAR official and match officials have a quick conversation and move along. Stop reviewing every scoring play. Only have VAR intervene when the ref feels like they need the added eyes. Again, in rugby, the ref might ask for help in determining whether something is a penalty, or if a player touched the ball down. There's no reason that the ref couldn't ask for similar assistance.

By making things more transparent, and forcing respect of the officials, you could clean things up pretty fast.

I like the idea about var being an elective analysis tool but I think the way it's going right now these hotheads would just move on to criticizing them for not using var sometimes and using it others. I thin k you are dead on tnat the fines and penalties need to get real. Minor financial fines are meaningless, start hurting them with sending offs, suspensions and even point deductions for repeat offenders. When there's an absence of respect coupled with a sense of feeling entitled to win like some football clubs have its a toxic combo

The pros need to accept that these guys make mistakes and also that decisions go against you. the incident in turkey today with the ref being attacked in the super lig was just crazy but sadly is not surprising.

Personally I would never let my kids ref sports these days as I think it's even percolated down to youth sport where I see parents yelling at 12 and 13 year old kids for missing calls which has come directly from this kind of behaviour at the pro level normizing jt. Gonna take a while to change and I would guess reffing standards are gonna fall further because at the professional level it's become one of the worst jobs out there honestly don't know why anyone would do it

[Locke]

Not 'English' necessarily but I didnt want to put it in the International Thread on a CL matchday.

Welsh football side Pontypridd United face an historic 141 point deduction after fielding ineligible players and breaching players' contracts, an independent panel has found.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) investigated the Cymru Premier team and the panel found them guilty on all 18 charges, which include not paying players, breaching player contracts, failing to register players correctly with the FAW and fielding ineligible players.

Pontypridd United denied all charges.

The club have been deducted six points with immediate effect for the offences which took place across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. A further 135 point penalty is suspended but will be imposed if they field any ineligible players before the end of the 2024-25 season.

The panel also added a two-window transfer ban, meaning the club can't sign any players until January 2025.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/...oint-deduction

[Slava]

Well Spurs win, but it was costly again. Bissouma with a straight red so he misses 4 games and with AFCON we won’t see him again until March. Udogie with his 5th yellow so he’s out for the next one against Everton. Johnson left with a concussion and some blood, so he could be out? Hard to know.

Either way…3 points, but more players out heading into the busy holidays. Not particularly good timing.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well Spurs win, but it was costly again. Bissouma with a straight red so he misses 4 games and with AFCON we won’t see him again until March. Udogie with his 5th yellow so he’s out for the next one against Everton. Johnson left with a concussion and some blood, so he could be out? Hard to know.

Either way…3 points, but more players out heading into the busy holidays. Not particularly good timing.

Yeah, I saw some of it. 'Lackluster' would be a compliment.

Spurs were essentially never in danger, they didnt put on a glistening display or anything, but they did their job and got their result. It was very Professional and they didnt 'Spurs it up.'

The red card...I dont know what else to say, it was absolutely warranted. I dont know WTF he was thinking.

And you're right, you're in tough in the Christmas frenzy of fixtures. Thats going to be rough and Levy might have to suck it up and buy some players in the January window.

Liverpool may well be in the same boat...AFCON is a huge wrench in the works.

[Slava]

It wasn’t the most exciting, and after the red it was kind of as you expect. I wonder what happens for Cooper. Obviously they should’ve scored at least a goal today, but they didn’t look terrible.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Man City continue to keep things interesting, choke a 2-0 lead at home to Palace. Their defense has been quite poor this year.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Palace had no place in that match, so good to see.
City really choked away that match.

What happened to the Luton player?
I didn't see if it was a tackle, or other medical emergency. Hope he's ok.

Update: he's alert & responsive at the hospital; had collapsed on the field

[Matty81]

Yeah sounds like he has some major ongoing heart issues, he collapsed last year as well. Hope he's alright. Do they just replay the last 25 mins or will they have to redo the whole game?

I can't believe how sloppy City were in that game, they had so much of the ball but really didn't look all that threatening or make good use of it for the most part, nice finish by Grealish but the goal Lewis scored was just a piece of good luck the way the ball bounced around and right to him. They just passed it around just inside Palace's half for about 60 minutes it felt like. And their tackling was soo clumsy all game, Ederson was real close to a red for that challenge earlier in the game when Mateta pushed the ball past him too.

Palace barely even tried to get forward and didn't deserve anything from it, though with all their injuries to be fair they basically ended the game with 3 academy players on the field two of them are teenagers and showed a bit of courage in the last 10 finally after bunkering for 85, I almost thought they were gonna pinch it at the end City looked so tight.

Watching Burnley get put to the sword I also don't know if I've ever seen such a dire bottom 3 and such a pronounced gap at the bottom. Even as bad as Forest are playing it's hard to see them getting dragged into it.

[Spurs]

I can only imagine the crying from Arteta if it was Arsenal that had the clear foul ignored that led to the penalty.

Nice that it keeps the title race between City and Liverpool alive but at the end of the year probably just a small blip on another title for City.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Liverpool need to win all their games before AFCON, I could see them badly struggling without Salah. Build that cushion now so you can survive a slump.

[Barnet Flame]

It was cardiac arrest. Thankfully, Lockyer is stable, but undergoing further tests in hospital. He had surgery earlier this year, following an atrial flutter.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023...kyer-collapse/

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

It was cardiac arrest. Thankfully, Lockyer is stable, but undergoing further tests in hospital. He had surgery earlier this year, following an atrial flutter.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023...kyer-collapse/

I have seen too many players go down with heart issues in my lifetime. How are these not diagnosed for Professional Athletes?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Locke

I have seen too many players go down with heart issues in my lifetime. How are these not diagnosed for Professional Athletes?

Well his was diagnosed and they treated it (where he says it should never happen again!). That’s terrifying.

[Locke]

I think Paul Scholes is already drunk.

[devo22]

can't blame him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

can't blame him.

Looks like United are setup for rope-a-dope...that might work.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Szoboszlai is having a mare, can't complete simple passes.