A random thread for sport things that don't really warrant a thread of their own

[citoyen]

Here’s hoping.

Indeed. But they've got to play Liverpool next, which could be... interesting.

Not due to face Newcastle until mid-October. Maybe they will have remembered how to play football by then. But I wouldn't bet on it - unless they can buy a whole new team in what's left of the transfer window, they'll be stuck with the same bunch of half-arsed players until January at least. Cristiano Ronaldo was stamping around like a child having a tantrum, seemingly blaming everyone except himself, even though he was massively at fault for giving the ball away cheaply in the build-up to Brentford's first goal.

[Wowbagger]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/aug/14/manchester-city-sun-cream-ban-cancer-charity

That's incredible. Who the fuck do they think they are?

[Cudzoziemiec]

I expect that when commenters say “Manu is a team that needs to win trophies” what they mean is “Manu is a team that expects to win trophies but haven’t quite realised that this involves hard work”.

Manu (M&U?) is a team whose fans expect them to win trophies but haven't quite got used to the idea that every successful team has periods of being unsuccessful. Whether the team themselves expect to win trophies, maybe.

[Wowbagger]

Here’s hoping.

Indeed. But they've got to play Liverpool next, which could be... interesting.

...

Very interesting, but not for reasons which seemed likely a week ago.

[citoyen]

Anderlecht fans behaving badly...
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/oct/14/anderlecht-apologise-to-west-ham-after-fans-light-flares-and-throw-seats

The Anderlecht fans were already present in numbers near the ground by the time I turned up for work on Thursday. When I went out at lunchtime, I saw a large bunch of them sitting outside the pub near the office. They were clearly already a few pints in at 1pm. And the game didn't kick off until 8pm.

I'm amazed any of them were still awake, never mind physically capable of fighting by the time the match started.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Apparently there is a football 'world' cup taking place in Qatar next month.  I did wonder what all that building work was for.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I expect that when commenters say “Manu is a team that needs to win trophies” what they mean is “Manu is a team that expects to win trophies but haven’t quite realised that this involves hard work”.

Manu (M&U?) is a team whose fans expect them to win trophies but haven't quite got used to the idea that every successful team has periods of being unsuccessful. Whether the team themselves expect to win trophies, maybe.

Back in the day when I was interested, I attended the first home match that Ferguson was in charge of.  It was very easy to get tickets back then and despite being penniless students, we could easily afford them. The team had been doing badly for quite a while and we all knew Ferguson would not last long.

[Wowbagger]

I have been to the two Old Traffords, once each for cricket and football. I think the cricket was first, India were the opponents, it was the Monday of the test match (I bunked off college and missed choir), John Edrich scored a century and the ground was nearly empty. It rained.

In the football match, Newcastle were the opponents. Jim Holton was sent off for a foul on Malcolm McDonald. I think Newcastle won 2 - 1 (not sure about that) and it was the season that Manu were relegated to Division 2 (not sure about that either).

[Wowbagger]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/nov/11/chess-shreyas-royal-13-leads-bavarian-open-with-56-as-records-beckon

Some spectacular results for a London junior there.

I love reading Barden's stuff. He's 80 years older than the lad featured in the article, and pretty well every event and British player he mentions further down will at some point have been influenced by him.

[Wowbagger]

I just read in a sportsball report that Newcastle United will be in 3rd place in the Premiership at Christmas. This statement intrigued me since Christmas is still about 7 weeks away. But then I checked and, indeed, apart from two tomorrow, there will be no further fixtures until Boxing Day.

I'm not a fervent follower of football but I don't think they usually do this. Wossgoingon?

[Cudzoziemiec]

I just read in a sportsball report that Newcastle United will be in 3rd place in the Premiership at Christmas. This statement intrigued me since Christmas is still about 7 weeks away. But then I checked and, indeed, apart from two tomorrow, there will be no further fixtures until Boxing Day.

I'm not a fervent follower of football but I don't think they usually do this. Wossgoingon?

A little junket in the Arabian Peninsular.

[Wowbagger]

I just read in a sportsball report that Newcastle United will be in 3rd place in the Premiership at Christmas. This statement intrigued me since Christmas is still about 7 weeks away. But then I checked and, indeed, apart from two tomorrow, there will be no further fixtures until Boxing Day.

I'm not a fervent follower of football but I don't think they usually do this. Wossgoingon?

A little junket in the Arabian Peninsular.

Oh crikey! I'd totally forgotten about that, despite Ian Hislop eviscerating Gary Neville on HIGNFY last week.

[citoyen]

I'm equally amused and irritated by the BBC radio trailers for said junket. I'm happy with it including women's voices - good to acknowledge that football isn't just for boys, especially as it will most likely upset the right-wing media, who no doubt are having a field day with their "woke BBC" headlines.

The trail focuses on the ways people behave whenever a World Cup is on, and the lengths they will go to in order to watch/listen to games. The bit that really gets me is the line about sneakily listening during the kids' nativity.

Two reasons:
a) they're presenting this as if it's a standard part of every World Cup, when in fact it has never been held so close to Christmas before.
b) looking at the schedule, all the midweek 1pm kickoffs will have finished by early December, so the chances of any game actually clashing with a school nativity play are minimal - unless a particular school goes extremely early with their nativity. It shows very poor attention to detail.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Oh. Does this mean they've invented "sneaky football" as a new Christmas must have, just like they invented "elf on the shelf" (wutf?) a few years ago?

[citoyen]

Nah, it's just a shit advert. Probably written by 12-year-olds. </ed reardon mode>

[Wowbagger]

https://youtu.be/tqqQ27sg-Xk

Goal of the season?

[Peter]

Inspiring!

[Cudzoziemiec]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/04/silly-point-or-square-leg-how-well-do-you-know-your-way-around-a-cricket-field

I got 3 out of 15, which is about what I'd expected! 

[Jaded]

I got 4, which I was hugely pleased with. 

[Basil]

8.  And annoyed that it didn't give points for the several positions that I knew but was considered to be a gnat's out.

Brought up by a cricket fanatic mum.

[Wowbagger]

9 according to the scorer, but it was remarkably pernickety. I think I got 13. Mid-off I got totally wrong - I misread off for on, and long on I was out by enough that I would accept it. The other 4, my man was within a couple of paces of their designated position.

[matthew]

10 of 15, I agree with Wow about how sensitive the answers were. I accept fly slip and extra cover but I had point on the circle on the right line and third man and long on on the boundary on the right line.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I didn't even know third man was a cricket position. Can you really play cricket in the sewers of Vienna?

[Peter]

My favourite film!

And the answer is, "Yes!", there's plenty of room, though the pitch is always damp.

[Salvatore]

I didn't even know third man was a cricket position. Can you really play cricket in the sewers of Vienna?

Often just 'third' these days.

11/15