Shame results last week or so went the way they have
There was a scenario, providing Villa win the Europa and finish exactly 5th, where Brentford could be playing Liverpool and would actually need to lose and finish 6th, so as to not overhaul Villa in 5th, so they could make the Champions League
That woulda been bloody interesting albeit farcical stuff haha
With Villa in 4th, the Prem wouldn’t get an extra slot into the competition, as the team in 5th would have the fifth slot. If Villa finish below 5th they’d get it by virtue of winning the Europa. But if they finish 5th there’s an extra slot for whoever finishes 6th
I think there was a scenario in the Dutch second division this year where a team had to lose to have a shot at promotion, or something to that effect. It might not actually have manifested but I read it was a hypothetical scenario.
On May 19 2026 02:16 Liquid`Drone wrote: I think there was a scenario in the Dutch second division this year where a team had to lose to have a shot at promotion, or something to that effect. It might not actually have manifested but I read it was a hypothetical scenario.
Wow, knowledgeable! Our second league has this silly format where 4 champs from 4 quarters of the season take part in a play-off promotion league. Is not that different from this European thing actually - because those have precedent over regular league spots, one team needed their last opponent to win to possibly become one and not count in the league. Never actually manifested because of other results, but indeed, this type of craziness is hard to avoid with all those systems in place.
Speaking of craziness, did you guys ever read about the Barbados - Grenada group deciding match, where Grenada had to score in EITHER goal to advance?
On May 18 2026 18:46 Jockmcplop wrote: That second United goal yesterday was a joke. VAR did their job great, but the pigheaded ref wouldn't accept he was wrong.
If there was anything on that game at all I'd be absolutely fuming about it but in the end it doesn't really matter for Forest and the main thing was it was a really fun match to watch.
i think the decision was consistent with how they deal with those handball situations now, where for some reason if an attacker miscontrols the ball and it hits their arm by accident, play is allowed to continue.
the rule itself is stupid though. why is the attacker given leeway for a miscontrol? much easier to just give the handball. also if mbuemo had scored that then they would have actually ruled the goal out. it wasnt ruled out because mbuemo didnt actually score and play continued. the handball rules are a shambles.
that said, bruno got his 20th assist from that goal so im not complaining one bit lol
On May 18 2026 18:46 Jockmcplop wrote: That second United goal yesterday was a joke. VAR did their job great, but the pigheaded ref wouldn't accept he was wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38OcvKwrAug If there was anything on that game at all I'd be absolutely fuming about it but in the end it doesn't really matter for Forest and the main thing was it was a really fun match to watch.
i think the decision was consistent with how they deal with those handball situations now, where for some reason if an attacker miscontrols the ball and it hits their arm by accident, play is allowed to continue.
the rule itself is stupid though. why is the attacker given leeway for a miscontrol? much easier to just give the handball. also if mbuemo had scored that then they would have actually ruled the goal out. it wasnt ruled out because mbuemo didnt actually score and play continued. the handball rules are a shambles.
that said, bruno got his 20th assist from that goal so im not complaining one bit lol
Yeah this explanation is the one that makes sense from a ref's point of view, but I don't think its necessarily consistent, its an extremely finickity interpretation of the rules, when all the ex-players, Howard Webb, all the ex refs etc. all say it should be handball. The issue, which was well explained on sky, is that the obvious way he controlled the ball with his arm should override whether or not it was deliberate.
Again though, there's nothing on the game so I don't really need to argue it, and it was a really fun match.
I think Pep takes a stab at managing the Spanish national team at some point, at the same time Jurgen takes over the German team. Just for one last bromance rivalry in European football.
Fair play, been a couple of decades and they’ve been knocking on the door for a couple of seasons now!
Wonder if it’ll make a difference them being able to focus 100% on the Champion’s League final, PSG are pretty scary, but they’ll have a better shot with this morale boost and the league not being in play on the final matchday to worry about
On May 20 2026 01:27 FlaShFTW wrote: I think Pep takes a stab at managing the Spanish national team at some point, at the same time Jurgen takes over the German team. Just for one last bromance rivalry in European football.
That would be awesome. Already tired of Nagelsmanns shenanigans at this point. Says one thing than does something completely different.
I was a fan of Nagelsmann at least some while ago but it is not cool how he manages certain things right now. What he did to Undav in that after game interview and all this Neuer stuff certainly damages his reputation and his credibility. Also I imagine how wild people can get if Neuer starts despite not playing for the national team for a long time and then a silly mistake happens (which he is prone to make even if he still is a great GK).
I think the Neuer thing is a real big deal. If he gets the WC invite he will obviously be No1. Which is essentially saying a lot of things.
A superstar does not have to bother with the qualification process and the team building and just can show up and everyone should be thankful. It also goes against the German tradition of having a lot of great goalkeepers since forever. Do we really not trust that our 2nd or 3rd best goalie is good enough for the job? If that is the case, we certainly have fallen from grace. Finally, it does not seem that there is any learning from the trends on the highest level. PSG did not win with Mbappé, Neymar and all of their superstars. They won when they finally became a real team. Real with Mbappé and Vini is not very good. Cristiano Ronaldo is basically dragging down Portugal since a few years as well. Currently is not the time where you stack absolute superstars and dominate.
All of this for a 40+ Goalkeeper that has been injured a lot recently. His best safes are still absolutely spectacular, but he had quiet a few mistakes this season as well.
I genuinely dislike this move, even if Neuer is still better than everybody else.
On May 20 2026 18:10 sharkie wrote: Nagelsmann credibility and likabilty went a steep downwards trajectory after the Euros. He was so different 2 years ago it's insane.
He is so blatantly dishonest, it's kind of shocking. At this point I am looking more forward to the drama and not the actual tournament that will most definitely come if 1. Neuer does a blooper 2. Germany can't score for shit since Undav isn't playing 3. Germanys defense sucks ass because of some weird rotations 4. Germany will exit in the Ro16 or ealier
In Neuers defense, this does not seem like it was his idea. He seems kinda just pressured into an impossible situation by Nagelsmann, Bayern management /honoraries and the media. And this will possibly tarnish his legacy big time
On May 20 2026 18:10 sharkie wrote: Nagelsmann credibility and likabilty went a steep downwards trajectory after the Euros. He was so different 2 years ago it's insane.
He is so blatantly dishonest, it's kind of shocking. At this point I am looking more forward to the drama and not the actual tournament that will most definitely come if 1. Neuer does a blooper 2. Germany can't score for shit since Undav isn't playing 3. Germanys defense sucks ass because of some weird rotations 4. Germany will exit in the Ro16 or ealier
In Neuers defense, this does not seem like it was his idea. He seems kinda just pressured into an impossible situation by Nagelsmann, Bayern management /honoraries and the media. And this will possibly tarnish his legacy big time
Huh, why would Neuer not be able to just say "no"? That is his own decision.
I generally like Nagelsmann and can even understand the Undav topic to a degree but the GK situation is ridiculous. Neuer is not even that good anymore (Bayern reaally needs to start actually fixing the succession) and he gets worse/makes more mistakes every year (which is only logical) and I say this as a Bayern fan. If I was Baumann I would be fuming about the way this has been handled recently.
On May 20 2026 18:10 sharkie wrote: Nagelsmann credibility and likabilty went a steep downwards trajectory after the Euros. He was so different 2 years ago it's insane.
He is so blatantly dishonest, it's kind of shocking. At this point I am looking more forward to the drama and not the actual tournament that will most definitely come if 1. Neuer does a blooper 2. Germany can't score for shit since Undav isn't playing 3. Germanys defense sucks ass because of some weird rotations 4. Germany will exit in the Ro16 or ealier
In Neuers defense, this does not seem like it was his idea. He seems kinda just pressured into an impossible situation by Nagelsmann, Bayern management /honoraries and the media. And this will possibly tarnish his legacy big time
Huh, why would Neuer not be able to just say "no"? That is his own decision.
I generally like Nagelsmann and can even understand the Undav topic to a degree but the GK situation is ridiculous. Neuer is not even that good anymore (Bayern reaally needs to start actually fixing the succession) and he gets worse/makes more mistakes every year (which is only logical) and I say this as a Bayern fan. If I was Baumann I would be fuming about the way this has been handled recently.
Well, I mean he did say "no" multiple times over the last year didn't he? My guess is, it has something to do with his contract extension (weird timing right?) and most definitely with Hoeneß and Rummenigge.
IMO The only advantage I see Neuer having over Baumann is his aura. It's fucking Manuel Neuer. You don't simply score against Neuer.
On May 20 2026 18:10 sharkie wrote: Nagelsmann credibility and likabilty went a steep downwards trajectory after the Euros. He was so different 2 years ago it's insane.
He is so blatantly dishonest, it's kind of shocking. At this point I am looking more forward to the drama and not the actual tournament that will most definitely come if 1. Neuer does a blooper 2. Germany can't score for shit since Undav isn't playing 3. Germanys defense sucks ass because of some weird rotations 4. Germany will exit in the Ro16 or ealier
In Neuers defense, this does not seem like it was his idea. He seems kinda just pressured into an impossible situation by Nagelsmann, Bayern management /honoraries and the media. And this will possibly tarnish his legacy big time
Huh, why would Neuer not be able to just say "no"? That is his own decision.
I generally like Nagelsmann and can even understand the Undav topic to a degree but the GK situation is ridiculous. Neuer is not even that good anymore (Bayern reaally needs to start actually fixing the succession) and he gets worse/makes more mistakes every year (which is only logical) and I say this as a Bayern fan. If I was Baumann I would be fuming about the way this has been handled recently.
Well, I mean he did say "no" multiple times over the last year didn't he? My guess is, it has something to do with his contract extension (weird timing right?) and most definitely with Hoeneß and Rummenigge.
IMO The only advantage I see Neuer having over Baumann is his aura. It's fucking Manuel Neuer. You don't simply score against Neuer.
Unless you’re PSG and basically score with every shot on target in a first leg where they put in 5 goals
Facetiousness aside, I don’t think Neuer returning is a particular problem in and of itself. He’s got legend status and is still generally performing well.
The problem is potentially parachuting him in just for the World Cup, that can’t be particularly good for morale and it creates some problems for Nageslman elsewhere.
If your established number one who’s generally performed pretty well makes an error, that happens (unless it’s a bad keeper who’s keeping out a good one), and people are generally OK with that. For all he’s not massively elite at club level, Jordan Pickford has come up clutch for England on many occasions, if he makes a mistake people aren’t going to slaughter Tuchel for picking him. However this flips if you potentially drop your guy to bring a 40 year old back from international exile, if that guy fucks up there’s a target on your head as you’ve gone out of your way to bring him in
EPT
