2011-2012 football thread

[Mugz]

Are Chelsea not playing then?

 

[suburu]

They are but the Toon are already 2 points ahead of them so they only need to beat Stoke to get into top 4.

Chelsea v Arsenal on Sat is a huge match for them, sandwiched in between the Barca games. Even winning the champ league doesnt qualify you for next seasons comp.

 

[Mugz]

Are you sure about that? I would have thought that all champ league winners would automatically be in the next seasons comp. You may be right though, but I'm sure a few years ago an extra team were let in the champ league from the uk because they won it before, or am I thinking of the Europa League?

 

[suburu]

No youre right i checked it, the holders are automatically qualified. If Chelski win the CL and finish outside the top 4, they go into the CL at expense of the 4th place team. That team would then go into the Europa.

UEFA tried to change it in 2006 after Livepool won it but finished 5th. The scousers started crying because Everton finshed 4th the previous year so UEFA made a one-off exception for Liverpool and included 5 English teams. Everton then fucked up their qualification.

Fuck it this just get worse for Spurs by the day. Just hope Barca can actually put the ball in the net next week and knock that lot out.

 

[brimz]

Reckon you will win one of your last two games brimz and send pompey down? based on current performances? Or do Pompey have no hope?

Your fate is sealed mate .

I just hope that your club will be looked after and some stabililty is installed so that one of the Great English Clubs will be able to continue as a going concern .
Pompey are real if you haven't had the experience of Fratton Park in the rain then well you just can't really comment .

My comments about the C/L last night were not directed at anyone but at the whole Bullshit that once was called the European Cup .

I have attended one C/L game this year and only cos a friend had comp. tickets .
It was actually a great game Man U - Basel at O.T

what i was pondering last night was all the working class Chelsea fans ( well the ones left ) that would have had to fork out for the FA semi ( well worth it !! i despise Bagpuss n Levy n all things lilywhite n have for decades sorry suburu .)

Then they got the Barcelona 2 leg game .
I mean thats fukin thousands so what about all the CFC fans that have supported that mob back in the duck pond days that have probably got families now and are on a normal working wage ?

Well it's fukery for them isn't it ?

Sky the saviours of the Beautiful game

 

[Mugz]

Your fate is sealed mate .

I just hope that your club will be looked after and some stabililty is installed so that one of the Great English Clubs will be able to continue as a going concern .
Pompey are real if you haven't had the experience of Fratton Park in the rain then well you just can't really comment .

Pompey are great and I can't help but feel that the drama in the Doncaster game has kind of paved the way for their survival this year, two 90 minute goals to come from behind and win and have hope is how great escapes start. I rememeber a few years ago when it was Matty Taylor scoring the great escape last minute goals that started that great escape.

Two games left though Brimz and you are not safe yet, I will cry if you win on Saturday, I truly believe that Pompey will win the last two games and it will be down to Brizzle City to try and save themselves. I have an inkling that Pompey will stay up on goal difference, think Bristol City will have a 2-2 game on Saturday and then lose the last game of the season letting Pompey escape once again.

I am somewhat biased though.

If Pompey do go down, I can see it being a landslide which will end up with me being able to watch them play Cambridge here in Cambridge in the League, I sincerly hope that doesn't happen though.

 

[brimz]

Fratton Park is just so real i've only been their once in the uncovered away end pissing rain with a few other Thousand WHUFC fans , the travelling mob say no more .

This was back when you had the 6:57 mob
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=6%3A57%20pompey&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCwQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F6.57_Crew&ei=GEaQT7TOIafV4QSW6fz8Aw&usg=AFQjCNG3OaaJQgTm1NHOUOX_HuN8kSS0hQ

It was a shit game shit weather with a violent undecurrent through out Police Escort the whole lot .
It still kicked off .
Come to think of it i have no real idea what i was doing it was my mates idea as Bristol Rovers were away at fukin Grimsby or some shit .

 

[Mugz]

The 6:57 crew and other hooligan gangs are terrible and threatened to ruin such a beautiful game with the hooliganism. Last time I was in Portsmouth there was still 657 graffiti near Fratton Park.

 

[brimz]

i wasn't promoting it mate just was part of that day one i won't forget EVER

Rights so i would love to see Sporting get a result tonight .
've been to the Avalade on a few occasions twice in a week once.
Went to a league game on the Sunday which they won 6-0 the reason was so we could get tickets for the Champions league game v AS Roma which finished 2-2 if i remember the tickets for both games weren't more than 60 euro !!!

I luv the Avalade they have Ultras at both ends of the ground and conduct a fine show what with the 5,000 athletic fans i'm sure it's quite a atmosphere tonight.

Forza Sporting !!

 

[suburu]

@Brimz they've been making me fairly sick these days believe me

I think everyone knows how greedy modern day, Sky football is. FIFA, Champions League, Europa, Premier League, La Liga etc, even the greed that's surrounding the European Championships, with the Ukrainian Hoteliers taking the piss and charging EUR500 for rooms that normally cost EUR50 for one night.

The terrace fan of old has no hope of seeing regular big games. Any Chelsea fan that wanted to see that game had to fork out £900 on a season ticket, just to even qualify for CL ticket, then pay another £80, eat a few prawn sandwiches. But the only thing i heard the Chelsea fans sing last night was "Same old Barca, always cheating" while Drogba fell over about 25 times. Was nice to see Busquets and Barca players crying to the ref about someone feigning injury.

Last year Arsenal made history for being the first club to sell a normal match day ticket for £100. The only top European league that garners respect is the Bundesliga. £175 season tickets, individual matches for £10 to £15. No clubs being forced into administration. Fans can eat, drink, smoke, jump around and act the prick and still get to enjoy a decent game of footy.

 

[Busty St Clare]

Player mangers and a toothless UEFA are just as much to blame. You can look back at the glory days of standing shoulder to shoulder on shitty terraces all you want but higher ticket prices have also created beautiful pitches under any conditions. Look back at some of the games played mid winter at Wembley in the late 80's where they could hardly kick the pill more than 10m without it sticking in knee deep mud. Compare it to Stamford Bridge yesterday with it pissing down with rain yet all the skills were on display on a perfect pitch. This doesn't come cheap and as much as greedy transfer prices and the like are a factor, television viewers who drive the game now will not tolerate a shit spectacle.

 

[suburu]

No excuse for charging what they do and hiking prices like they do. It's a lot deeper than having a nice pitch to play on why the working class fan is alienated. Or why clubs like Portsmouth are on the verge of extinction. A product where money over-rides loyalty and breeds dishonesty.

FIFA, UEFA, Blatter, Rupert Murdoch, American real estate businessmen, Russian billionaire gangsters, Arab Sheiks, Oil tycoons, Chelsea, Argentinian football mercenaries, Wayne Rooney, the list goes on.

At least when you won the European Cup, you became the best team in Europe. Now you win the Champions League, you owe a bank £700 million unless you have a Roman Abramovich or an Arab Sheik type backer. If UEFA are serious about Financial Fair Play then surely teams like Barcelona and Madrid, who are riddled with debt, can't be bankrolled by 'friendly' banks.

 

[Busty St Clare]

There are 92 professional clubs in England, surely there are plenty of cheap seats for the working class watching teams that probably are more relevant and full of home town stars. I can understand you wanting to support the same team as a kid but reality is the EPL is so far removed from the old First division. You can't have it both ways, selling the EPL around the world has bought millions of pounds which in turn has bought the best players. Would you prefer to have a competition like the French Ligue 1 or Scottish
pl that only the English give a shit about? Unfortunately it is supply and demand. If the grounds are selling out then obviously market forces are going to dictate ticket prices. I suppose any band who sells out Wembley Stadium should reserve tickets for little Johnny who loved them before they were famous too?

The only fair play would be a salary cap or some sort of draft but this would only be possible if the Champions League is turned into a proper league competition with clubs breaking away from their respective home unions. It isn't too far fetched to expect a proper break away competition set up from scratch and financed by billionaires. If the wages were high enough you would even see players turning their back on FIFA and the World Cup, especially if player work loads are reduced.

 

[StoneHappyMonday]

There are 92 professional clubs in England, surely there are plenty of cheap seats for the working class watching teams that probably are more relevant and full of home town stars.

No not really. The monopoly capitalism of the PL has filtered down to lower leagues in terms of ridiculous prices and free market transfers that leave very few clubs with a feeling of community anymore.

I can understand you wanting to support the same team as a kid but reality is the EPL is so far removed from the old First division.

Er...I think that's the point.

You can't have it both ways, selling the EPL around the world has bought millions of pounds which in turn has bought the best players. Would you prefer to have a competition like the French Ligue 1 or Scottish
pl that only the English give a shit about?

The 'old' Division 1 had plenty of respect worldwide. Our teams dominated European football way before Sky, creating fan bases around Europe for Liverpool, Man Utd etc. Sky has merely manipulated this, with millions, to the nth degree.

Unfortunately it is supply and demand. If the grounds are selling out then obviously market forces are going to dictate ticket prices.

Not 'obviously' at all. Are you suggesting grounds never sold out before Sky? English football has a long tradition of full grounds. In those days the profits went directly into Directors pockets. All Sky has done is to move the financial generation base away from ticket sales into merchandise and TV rights - and moved the profits away from Directors (hooray) into the pockets of TV moguls (boo) and the players themselves (too far....boo).

Surely there are other alternatives not explored that would redistribute the wealth more evenly and fairly? All Sky has done is to perpetuate an ever increasing wealth gap between 'haves' and 'have nots'.

I suppose any band who sells out Wembley Stadium should reserve tickets for little Johnny who loved them before they were famous too?

The free market is neither inevitable nor 'natural'. Some bands DO still do the occasional small gig at reasonable prices or even play for free. It's how I got to see David Bowie. He was shit.

It isn't too far fetched to expect a proper break away competition set up from scratch and financed by billionaires. If the wages were high enough you would even see players turning their back on FIFA and the World Cup, especially if player work loads are reduced.

I'm willing to bet you may see this sooner than you think. Just not how you think. It isn't too far-fetched to expect a proper break away competition set up from scratch and financed by billionaires....in Asia in the next 20 years. I reckon you've got a lot of looking forward to Shanghei Rangers v Bombay United - how will your inevitable free market monopoly capitalism argument like that?

 

[Busty St Clare]

Best players in the best stadiums all in my prime time? Bring it fucking on

 

[brimz]

surely there are plenty of cheap seats for the working class watching teams

Bless em those working class fans
How many of the top players are from Working Class backgrounds ?
I'd hazard a guess that it's a damn site more than any other social class.

The only fair play would be a salary cap or some sort of draft but this would only be possible if the Champions League is turned into a proper league competition with clubs breaking away from their respective home unions. It isn't too far fetched to expect a proper break away competition set up from scratch and financed by billionaires. If the wages were high enough you would even see players turning their back on FIFA and the World Cup, especially if player work loads are reduced.

Yeah n while were at it lets change the rules and name call it 30/30 soccer or something yeah maybe even have a auction to buy the players.

This season I've been to several Championship games , league 1 & 2 and FA cup ties all of them were a reminder of why i love football .
I also have been to a few bigger games and in all honesty the atmosphere at Ashton Gate on tuesday was better than Man utd in the C/L .

Best players in the best stadiums all in my prime time? Bring it fucking on

When people ask if you like football i just hope that you don't consider yourself a supporter..

 

[Busty St Clare]

I played Heineken Cup Rugby. I don't remember any uncleaned masses in the changing shed fortunately. I watch Association football simply to have an excuse to get out of menial housework or visiting the in laws.

 

[suburu]

Fantastic from Everton today. Utd bottle it, blow a two goal lead and the title! Whiskey Nose thinks Johnny Evans is the best centre half in England.

Can see Citeh giving Wolves a hammering to remember. 9-0. Aguero with 3 hat-tricks and a clean sheet for my fantasy football.

 

[rockstar 69]

Coupon fucked already thanks to man u! Bastardheads

 

[bogman]

sick as a pig, 4 - 2 up and fucked it up.will make next weeks game a bit more interesting.