Football Special

[batman]

Finally a match in the African Cup of Nations that was worth watching .... Ivory Coast v Egypt. Most of the games I have watched have been poor to say the least but this was exciting and showed that the best of the African teams can actually play. Cameroon looked good in their match too. The final should be worth a look on Sunday.

Bats.

[orpheum]

Originally Posted by batman Doesn't that remind you of something else .... the play-offs! Bats.

The plays off were introduced to bring more excitement into the lower divisions.Prior to the play offfs you could find anywhere up to half the division with nothing to play for by Easter.This meant lower gates and little interest.Nowdays there are only a few teams heading into the climax of a season wherethey have no interest in promotion or relegation.So i do not think that it is quite the same as what the premier league clubs are proposing.

[Harbottle]

Originally Posted by batman Apparently Cappello gave James a right bollocking from the touchline about this during the match. According to one of the TV pundits Cappello hates the 'big hoof' upfield and encourages his keepers to distribute the ball constructively. Bats.

I think I prefer the good old hump it up the pitch rather than all that endless passing it across the back line rubbish. I saw little difference from the "Wally with the Brolly" except old Crapello is milking the FA dry. The usual tedious England I thought, better in the second half but it could scarcely have been worse.

[David Brent]

Originally Posted by batman All the current Premier League clubs have apparently given this idea the green light and it is due to be introduced in the 2010-2011 season. Bats.

For donkey's years now Premier club managers have been complaining of too many fixtures in a season.
Now there is a proposal for an extra game and for it to be played thousands of miles away.
I cannot imagine the Chinese turning out in droves to watch Middlesborough v. Birmingham or the American's going potty over Derby v. Bolton.

The Premier League is already shown live on television around the world to over 200 countries.
Why do you need to actually play a league fixture overseas?

Absolutely ridiculous.

Dave.

[Fellwanderer]

Originally Posted by David Brent Why do you need to actually play a league fixture overseas?

Because the bean counters know there are people stupid enough to pay for it.

I just hope they fall flat on their faces.

[Harbottle]

Originally Posted by David Brent For donkey's years now Premier club managers have been complaining of too many fixtures in a season. Now there is a proposal for an extra game and for it to be played thousands of miles away. I cannot imagine the Chinese turning out in droves to watch Middlesborough v. Birmingham or the American's going potty over Derby v. Bolton. The Premier League is already shown live on television around the world to over 200 countries. Why do you need to actually play a league fixture overseas? Absolutely ridiculous. Dave.

The greed of the Premiership knows no bounds.

[smiffy]

Originally Posted by Harbottle The greed of the Premiership knows no bounds.

I totally agree with you Harbottle, unfortunately the game we once knew is no more .The line between Sport and Business has become blurred to the point of non existence.
I was at a Sportsmans dinner last night to raise funds for a local youth team, to enable them to take part in a tournament in Germany .
Our table was virtually a 50/50 split between Man United and City fans,who were in total agreement about one thing ,we are fed up of being ripped off .
I heard something I thought I would never hear , A Utd fan saying (and meaning it ) he was not renewing his season ticket next season .
The foreign investment in our clubs plus Sky and premier league investment ,has resulted in us being able to watch some of the best players in the world playing in england ,but at what cost ?
We now have a different breed of player ( in the premiership ) who is vastly overpaid,totally over rated in most cases ,and seem to have an obsession with celebrity girlfriends and designer lifestyles.
It is quite a contrast to some of the stories being told with regard to the Busby babes this week ,who were in many peoples opinions the greatest team of their era.They travelled to training on the bus,didn't see signing autographs as a chore, and the girls they married made homes for them to raise families without a thought of celebrity status.They were not unique in this because that was how it was in those times ,wouldn't it be nice to see a return to old fashioned values.

[David Brent]

Originally Posted by smiffy I totally agree with you Harbottle, unfortunately the game we once knew is no more .The line between Sport and Business has become blurred to the point of non existence. I was at a Sportsmans dinner last night to raise funds for a local youth team, to enable them to take part in a tournament in Germany . Our table was virtually a 50/50 split between Man United and City fans,who were in total agreement about one thing ,we are fed up of being ripped off . I heard something I thought I would never hear , A Utd fan saying (and meaning it ) he was not renewing his season ticket next season . The foreign investment in our clubs plus Sky and premier league investment ,has resulted in us being able to watch some of the best players in the world playing in england ,but at what cost ? We now have a different breed of player ( in the premiership ) who is vastly overpaid,totally over rated in most cases ,and seem to have an obsession with celebrity girlfriends and designer lifestyles. It is quite a contrast to some of the stories being told with regard to the Busby babes this week ,who were in many peoples opinions the greatest team of their era.They travelled to training on the bus,didn't see signing autographs as a chore, and the girls they married made homes for them to raise families without a thought of celebrity status.They were not unique in this because that was how it was in those times ,wouldn't it be nice to see a return to old fashioned values.

Quite right Smiffy.

I saw a doco on the Busby Babes where Jimmy Saville was interviewed.
He said that in all the years the Busby Babes visited the Manchester nightclubs there was never a hint of trouble. They were always surrounded by eager girls but the young players were gentlemen, quiet and well behaved. He added that the players would always leave the dances early to prepare for training next day.
If they didn't they probably would have got some stick from their landladies.

Those certainly were the days.

Dave.

[David Brent]

Originally Posted by Harbottle The greed of the Premiership knows no bounds.

Why cannot the Premier League hierarchy put some of their huge wads of money into a scheme to ensure that tickets to games do not become overpriced? If the Premier League loses it's home fan base then the heart and soul will be ripped from the game.

If many fans are priced out of going to see their football teams play then it is quite conceivable that in the future Premier games will be played to half empty stadiums. This has already happened in recent FA Cup ties.

The day might not be too far away where the television rights and coverage are viewed as being more important than having full grounds.

Already kick-off times and playing days are decided by the television companies.

The real fans will not take much more.
The Premier League should put much more back into the game.

Dave.

[orpheum]

Originally Posted by David Brent Why cannot the Premier League hierarchy put some of their huge wads of money into a scheme to ensure that tickets to games do not become overpriced? If the Premier League loses it's home fan base then the heart and soul will be ripped from the game. If many fans are priced out of going to see their football teams play then it is quite conceivable that in the future Premier games will be played to half empty stadiums. This has already happened in recent FA Cup ties. The day might not be too far away where the television rights and coverage are viewed as being more important than having full grounds. Already kick-off times and playing days are decided by the television companies. The real fans will not take much more. The Premier League should put much more back into the game. Dave.

Where the logic of your arguement falls down slightly is the fact that we are in a period of groundbuilding and ground expansion the like of which has not been experienced since all of the major clubs contsructed their grounds 100 years ago.7 of the Premiereship clubs are in new grounds with Everton and Liverpool to follow.\many of the others eg Pompey have plans in the pipeline.These are ventures not entered into lightly and without some reassurance as to the likely return.Furthermore next year the tv rights are up for renegotiation again.How many billions this time.I have never known season tickets to go down in price!

[DB7]

If the Premier League don't do it, within the next 5 years the top clubs will do it themselves. Didn't Man Utd slip off to Dubai for an exhibitiobn game only a few weeks ago?

It's also a bit rich of UEFA and FIFA to whinge about maintaining traditions given the one body introduced the Champions Leagiue (and continue to frig about with its format) and did untold damage to the prestige of the UEFA Cup and CW Cup, and the other lot damaged the FA Cup by demanding Utd attend some mickey mouse event.

[batman]

I agree with Smiffy that the game we all grew up loving is no more. It is an entertainment industry these days and the fans are just a faceless ticket buying commodity. The actual quality of football means little to the likes of the Glazers (although I have to say that Roman does appear to take an interest in the on field stuff) who IMHO just want to make a quick buck. I also agree with DB7 about the damage done to cup competitions ... the Champions League is a long winded farce and the UEFA Cup produces more boring matches than I care to think about. As for the poor old FA Cup, I reckon it's days are numbered in it's current form. We can't have those blessed amateurs gate crashing the big boys party!

Bats.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by David Brent Quite right Smiffy. I saw a doco on the Busby Babes where Jimmy Saville was interviewed. He said that in all the years the Busby Babes visited the Manchester nightclubs there was never a hint of trouble. They were always surrounded by eager girls but the young players were gentlemen, quiet and well behaved. He added that the players would always leave the dances early to prepare for training next day. If they didn't they probably would have got some stick from their landladies. Those certainly were the days. Dave.

Ferenc Puskas

I supported the Northern Premier League side South Liverpool as a youngster until it folded. We played at Holly Park, Garston.

Bankfield House, a charity used to hold an annual football event there to raise funds. In May 1967 they organised a side to play against a team captained by Liverpool F C's Billy Liddell. The organiser, Brian Taylor, 'tongue in cheek' invited Ferenc Puskas to join the opposing side. Puskas sent him a telegram back "All I wait is you send me plane ticket."
So on an evening in May, the great Ferenc Puskas arrived at a non- league ground which held only a few thousand, wearing an Army Greycoat and carrying his football gear to raise money for a Liverpool Charity. He asked for nothing except his travel tickets.
They raised what would be the equivalent today of £20,000.

Freddy

[penfold]

Originally Posted by David Brent Quite right Smiffy. I saw a doco on the Busby Babes where Jimmy Saville was interviewed. He said that in all the years the Busby Babes visited the Manchester nightclubs there was never a hint of trouble. They were always surrounded by eager girls but the young players were gentlemen, quiet and well behaved. He added that the players would always leave the dances early to prepare for training next day. If they didn't they probably would have got some stick from their landladies. Those certainly were the days. Dave.

Well, up to a point......you had top-class players on a maximum wage, immense crowds paying their hard-earned (In hard times) to stand in stadia that were actually deathtraps, and pitches that resembled No Mans Land at times.......so, you have to ask yourselves....

WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY GO??????????

I may be wrong, but in real terms, the Football clubs probably made more money back then, at the expense of the crowds (as now) but those great players too.....

[Marky B]

Are the players wages in reflection of their talent or their lifestyle.
There is just too much football. Saturday,3.00pm start,all over by 5.00pm - fine,but nearly everyday of the week.
Ta Ta
Marky B