Premier League 2025-26

[Sheedy]

Game was shite, Martinelli was well out of line - but owned it very quickly with an apology. A good point never the less.

Why is Moyes up in arms about Keane's red card? You can't go pulling a lads hair, this is not NFL.

people that think the Keane challenge is violent conduct and worthy of a 3 game ban are everything that's wrong with modern football.
Whatever it was it certainly wasn't 'violent' which is the offence he was sent off for.

[Puckoon]

Can understand that point, but surely there has to be a rule in place?

I think the ban could have been softened but the card wasn't wrong.

[seafoid]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/01/10/why-it-makes-no-difference-if-you-sack-the-manager/


transformative managers are rare. Barring the occasional exception like Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, clubs appointing a new manager in mid-season are fishing in a pool of the mediocre and the unemployed. Twenty First Group finds that just two per cent of coaches meaningfully improve a team's underlying performance over the long term.

In June, Tottenham paid Brentford £10m to recruit Thomas Frank as manager. Only six months later, Spurs are reportedly considering paying £20m to sack Frank. One explanation is that Frank has suddenly morphed from an outstanding coach into a mediocre one. Another one is more compelling: Frank's results largely reflect the quality of the structure around him.

Thomas Frank worked wonders at Brentford largely because of the quality of the structure around him, something he is lacking at Spurs Credit: Getty Images/Robin Jones

Frank's departure from Brentford after seven successful years prompted fears about how the club would fare under Keith Andrews, their former set-piece coach who had never been a head coach. Instead, Brentford now lie in fifth, nine places above Spurs. Predictions that Brighton and Hove Albion would struggle after Graham Potter and then Roberto De Zerbi left proved equally ill-founded.

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Whether in the success of Brentford and Brighton, or the continued underperformance of Tottenham and United, managers reflect the quality of the institutions around them. Twenty First Group shows that the correlation between how an individual head coach performs when he moves clubs is far weaker than the correlation between how one coach at a club performs and his successor. To gauge how well a coach will fare in his new job, the best predictor is how well his predecessor performed.

The urge to sack managers ignores an unpalatable truth: underperforming clubs' problems extend far beyond the manager alone. In the 13 years since Ferguson's departure, Manchester United fans have repeatedly learnt this bitter truth.

[Hoof Hearted]

What an absolute joke that is
Game is completely fucked

[gerrykeegan]

Certainly one of the stupidest decisions I've seen in a while.

[maldini]

As I said last Sunday about the Wirtz goal, they've picked and chosen when to use this 5cm rule
In fact it was actually unheard of before last Sunday
Did they just make it up to cover up a mistake?
Haaland was millimeters off if even after the VAR checks it with a magnifying glass for seven minutes

Why no 5cm rule here?

The games finished

[Blowitupref]

2-0 win for Man City away to Newcastle in the 1st leg of league cup semi final tonight.

Other semi final Arsenal v Chelsea tomorrow.

Any need for 2 leg semi-finals in that competition anymore?

[thewobbler]

As I said last Sunday about the Wirtz goal, they've picked and chosen when to use this 5cm rule
In fact it was actually unheard of before last Sunday
Did they just make it up to cover up a mistake?
Haaland was millimeters off if even after the VAR checks it with a magnifying glass for seven minutes

Why no 5cm rule here?

The games finished

As mentioned before, football's answer to the subjective interpretation of rules by a single referee, was to add a squad of subjective assessors on top.

Var is probably the worst thing ever to happen to the sport. Even moreso than the culture of equating tackling with murder.

[Captain Obvious]

Nothing like watching two oil states duke it out for an energy drink cup on a Tuesday night.

[johnnycool]

As I said last Sunday about the Wirtz goal, they've picked and chosen when to use this 5cm rule
In fact it was actually unheard of before last Sunday
Did they just make it up to cover up a mistake?
Haaland was millimeters off if even after the VAR checks it with a magnifying glass for seven minutes

Why no 5cm rule here?

The games finished

That's a valid question there.

The other part I keep hearing about VAR is that it's there if the referee made a "clear and obvious" error.

If they need 5 minutes, dozens of different angles, slow motion etc then it can't be clear and obvious!!!

For me that goal should have stood as the Newcastle defender was holding Haaland as much as Haaland holding him, so how could Haaland be onside when he's being held in an offside position?

As for Michael Keane pulling the pony tail, utter stupidity and Moyes should be fining him for it and Grealish maybe as well for the sarcastic clapping.

Yes, the referee was a tad inconsistent, but you can't be doing either of those things.

[GTP]

Why no 5cm rule here?
The offside line was from the back of goalkeeper Nick Pope. The defender was the last man in this instance so his position in relation to the defender was not relevant for the offside.

[laoislad]

Fulham manager doesn't mention it yet dag dog off tinternet is pure phewmimg 🤣🤣🤣

Read more on the BBC Sport website and app:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c0kezxl4z40o

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Fulham manager doesn't mention it yet dag dog off tinternet is pure phewmimg 🤣🤣🤣

Read more on the BBC Sport website and app:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c0kezxl4z40o

But but LiVARpool

[nrico2006]

As I said last Sunday about the Wirtz goal, they've picked and chosen when to use this 5cm rule
In fact it was actually unheard of before last Sunday
Did they just make it up to cover up a mistake?
Haaland was millimeters off if even after the VAR checks it with a magnifying glass for seven minutes

Why no 5cm rule here?

The games finished

Probably different rules, regarding the 5cm thing, for the PL and Cup.

[RedHand88]

Why no 5cm rule here?
The offside line was from the back of goalkeeper Nick Pope. The defender was the last man in this instance so his position in relation to the defender was not relevant for the offside.

Completely different competition with a completely different set of rules (and no VAR at this stage of the comp).