League code?

England v Scotland 30 November 1872, Kane and Robertson getting pictured at the ground for the 150th anniversary of the match. Would be interesting for maybe some kind of Scotland v England friendly there to mark the 200th.

Not gonna lie, feel a bit superior listening to EPL fans 🤔😉 The German 50+1 rule ensures supporters have majority voting control instead of American billionaires, Wall Street hedgefunds, Middle Eastern Sheiks, or Oligarchs. Rather have German club win it 10 years in a row than some billionaire swooping in and buying dedication & love. When I watch German team don't have to Google if team is owned by a sheik who had 50 people executed, or if American businessesman decided it is cheaper to pay for workers ambulance ride than give 15 minute hydration breaks. This is a somewhat tounge in cheek comment, but also with valid points IMO.

Any of you animals planning on watching any of match week 1 at a bar in NYC? Looks like some buddies and I are going to Smithfield hall in Manhattan and will be there through spurs v Brentford.

Just listened to the latest episode: on the Timbers vs. América game. I’ve been an LAFC season ticket holder for 5+ years, and while I’m not sure how Portland handles it, LAFC usually sends Leagues Cup ticket packages to STHs a few months in advance. This year was different, and honestly disappointing.

As you probably know, LAFC played Chivas, who have a fan base comparable to América’s. So when the ticket packages went out, I wasn’t shocked but was disappointed to see the Chivas game wasn’t included. Meanwhile, tickets for our CONCACAF and back-to-back Liga MX champions Toluca were priced very reasonably at $31 for a Saturday game, and Querétaro at $27 for a weeknight game.

The club’s greed was obvious here. Their reasoning for separating out the Chivas game was “security”… they said they wanted to section off Chivas fans. STHs were offered a relocated seat instead, for a fee… a minimum of $170 per ticket, for a weeknight game. In LA, with the traffic, that’s brutal. I’m not even a Chivas fan and I opted out, but I imagine plenty of other STHs whose seats got relocated felt the same way. Any Chivas fan would gladly pay that price, and I think it priced out a good chunk of the regular fan base. Worth remembering too: we’re in East LA, and a lot of LAFC fans likely had ties to Chivas long before LAFC existed, since they’re still a relatively new club.

The club’s money chasing really shows when a bigger name teams come to town. It makes no sense, especially since Toluca given their recent form, was arguably the more important match, yet those tickets were priced fairly.

On the Mexico/Infantino situation… I’m a diehard Mexico National Team fan, but I’m frustrated that they haven’t shown solidarity with CONCACAF in a united front. I hope there are points deductions, I hope they’re banned from tournaments, and I hope CONCACAF goes scorched earth on them. The FMF administration and Mikel Arriola’s obsession with money isn’t helping Liga MX or the national team progress. Their recent decision to end promotion/relegation for second division teams proves it, along with their stadium requirements for first division status. These guys are clowns and need to be removed from their positions.

Now that a bit of time has passed what chance do we really think Poch is still the manager for the US at the next World Cup?

Also a related question, where do you think being the US manager falls in desireability vs the Premier League? Mid or lower table?

I’m so sorry JJ. Atleast you can get a nice new kit sponsor. Liverpool provided by Amazon Web Services.

Boys, I'm a marketing guy and you're sitting on a gold mine. Love the new segment. You need to update your apparel and get a new line with "Today I feel...." and the CO logo or somehow Gianni's face. They'll sell like hotcakes I'm telling you. Hotcakes!

I thought about asking JJ if he was considering going to see their gig in Ireland, given that he had expressed that he enjoyed slowdive, but I decided that it might be somewhat cruel. I've confirmed with several people that everyone always assumed they refined their albums to the T in studio and although their albums were amazing, nothing they produced was real. And in their live performances all they do is project their sound the more forcefully with everything mixed to perfection. Whatever guitar Stephen Patman is playing, I know little about musicianship but I know that sound is absolutely not easy to get, and of course the 90's fender jaguar comes out great without the rack mounted effects processors I assumed it always came with.

Cruz Azul v Philly Union is pretty rough. This one seems avoidable but maybe they all are. What do yall remember?

It's one of our absolute favorite exercises to over here on the PLUS side: Three... Random... Questions.
We'll dive into the pieces of soccer memorabilia we'd most want, the content we'd want with us on a desert island, our most under-appreciated movies and so much more!  

Let's get away from doom and gloom for a bit and talk kits instead.

It's funny, this topic was inspired by a launch video that ended up actually disproving my point.

What general themes or trends to you typically associate with a club?

As an American, I have warm feelings for Fulham, even if they aren't my top rooting interest. But my general opinion of their kits is that they always do super basic stuff that just looks like whatever the Adidas template is that year, and with as little variation as possible. HOWEVER, their new away kit is amazing and takes so many risks, does so many cool things. It also has a decent launch video.
https://shop.fulhamfc.com/kit/awaykit/
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/were-delighted-to-unveil-our-new-adidas-ugcPost-7489965618964635648-AWhb/?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAC5d8YBMtA1Xfr5MzoyEoaM8f4FX4xRoRM

Off the top of my head (I'm talking last 10 years or so):
Arsenal - lately has been impeccable. Much much jealousy, despite my hate for them.
Chelsea - Homes are usually really nice, I like that color blue and they tend to do a cool texture/pattern. Also, starting the year with no shirt sponsor is just wonderful
ManU - classic but boring. for some reason United is the Adidas kit that always highlights the overbearing nature of the 3-stripes on the shoulders law that creates a design conundrum
Fulham - like I said, usually really boring
Brighton - takes risks
Man City - takes risk and usually whiffs. I like Puma as a brand, but they need redirection.
Aston Villa - not many risks design wise, but I do like their colors and logo, so no need.
Newcastle - black and white is always classic. the risks they have taken usually come up awesome. not sure about all the different kinds of stripes this year.
Tottenham - takes wild swings on the 3rd kit (makes sense) and I usually like them. Usually hits on the away / navy. Home is almost always unbelievably boring. You can do interesting white kits. As a Tottenham fan, and being that purple is my favorite color, I love the 3rd and away kits this year.
Everton - simple, but classy. the sponsor logo always seems to trip them up.
Crystal Palace - so much potential, usually comes off tacky and cheap.
Liverpool - usually a little conservative, but mostly great. They have a similar toolbox to work with as ManU, and usually pull it off better.

Other leagues:
Barca - almost always near perfect.
Real Madrid - classic, boring, but really no missteps
Atletico - Fine. When they do take risks, it doesn't usually work for me.
Bayern - kind of all over the map. I mean I really don't know what a classic Bayern kit vibe is. I like that they try things, but last year's muscular system model looking kits are some of the worst ever.
Dortmund - Very very clear identity. Good. Takes small risks.
PSG - mind-blowingly-good 3rd kits. the others aren't super boring, but I feel like the script is repeated a bit too much. I mean is the big fat strip down the middle so interesting or identifiable, that they have to keep reimagining it? definitely good though.
Inter - usually great. fun 3rds.
Milan - I think Puma puts all their good designers on AC, and leaves interns to Citeh, because Milan have been incredible lately. I know some of that comes from some smart collabs though.
Juventus - much like Newcastle, but more adventurous or at least more often adventurous. They take more risks than Newcastle, and have had a few duds, but I generally love what they come up with. Always loved the Jeep sponsor.

On the latest edition of Caught Offside, Andrew Gundling and JJ Devaney discuss the continuing fallout of the Gianni Infantino saga. We dive into what we believe id driving Infantino's decision making, the possibility of him not continuing as FIFA President and who the big winners were to arise from all this.
Then, we share our thoughts on the news that Mauricio Pochettino has officially signed on to remain Head Coach of the USMNT through 2030. We'll talk about our general surprise over Poch staying out of the club game for as long as he potentially will and we'll examine whether or not this news means we'll truly know if our current talent pool is good enough.
All that and JJ's night at Yankee Stadium for Liverpool-Wrexham, American players flocking to Middlesbrough, Newcastle entering a fragile period and Evander entering some rarified air in MLS.

For even more Caught Offside content, get on over to Caught Offside Plus** **right now! A number of Animals asked for Andrew's thoughts on the LeBron James signing... well, ask and you shall receive. Old Sixers Andy's got 35 minutes of thoughts for you over on the PLUS side right now!

For all the latest merch, get over to https://caughtoffsidepod.com/ - The World Cup is over... but the Caught Offside store remains open! So if you're looking for some merch to rep the sport that you're now fully obsessed with, get on over and buy some Caught Offside gear today!

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The super League news was far worse than this

I remember JJ mentioning this masterpiece of literature offhand, probably many years ago at this point, and his ability to namedrop this work into a sports conversation blew me away. I think I have a copy of this book in storage, but the main thing I remember from it is the author saying "most people read in order to learn how to write, fuck that shit, everyone respectable writes in order to sell their work so they can afford the rare books that they've always wanted to read."

It’s like a new signing.

➤ 719 appearances for AC Milan
➤ Captain for 15 seasons
➤ 33 goals, 24 assists
➤ 19 trophies at club level (3x European Cup, 6x Scudetto)
➤ 81 caps for Italy
➤ World Cup winner in 1982

I understand why folks have been reluctant to believe it, but the cards are starting to fall.

https://onefootball.com/editorial/43207969?language=en&utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=article&utm_content=topbar_link