Re: The Football Thread 2014/15

by JGK Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:12 pm

In case I'm not the only one who can't see Dello's link:

The Football Thread 2014/15 - Page 19 GERRARD%20HEAT%20MAP

by Merlin Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:48 pm

Dello wrote:Steven Gerrard's heat map from today's game:

Bloody funny!
And fair do's to the scum ... they played the scousers off their own park.
Now maybe that cock Rodgers will adopt some humility and stop crowing on about
how Liverpool "belong" in the top four.
Twat.

by G.Wood Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:25 pm

Grouse effort by Aus to get a draw against the world champs and coulda/shoulda beaten them if their finihing matched their general play

by JGK Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:59 am

That was some goal!

by WideWally Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:48 pm

Cristiano Ronaldo scores 5 goals as Real Madrid win 9 - 1.

by LeFromage Mon Apr 06, 2015 3:18 am

Minnow basher.

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:34 am

Rob Green snuffs out the brief prospect that we might actually get a title race...

by Brass Monkey Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:44 am

City are snuffing that out themselves. 2-1 down at United anyways

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:56 am

It's not City who are the main challengers any more... Chelsea still have United and Arsenal to play. Arsenal in particular look odds on to win out from here, but they need Chelsea to drop points in two other games as well as those two. Which is unlikely, even though they have the look of a Grand National horse stumbling over the last fence 20 lengths clear but with nothing left in the tank.

Next season's title race to be between United and Arsenal, at this rate...

by Brass Monkey Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:08 am

You're most likely right - alls I know is that Cobblers lost again

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:11 am

At least you're free from any Conference worries this season I suppose...

by Brass Monkey Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:36 am

Yeah definitely... And at least we're not getting smashed 4-1... City have looked dire!

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:54 am

Still a bit of hope for Liverpool to cling onto. City's last couple of months has been relegation form. At best they will get a banana-skin qualifying tie in August.

by LeFromage Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:54 am

City have shot their wad. Their brief moment as a "big club" has come and gone.

All their outfield players have gotten old together - Aguero is the only one under 29 - and they can't just spunk a load of dodgy arab money up the wall again to rebuild the squad as financial fair play won't allow it. They've strutted around like they're a big deal for a couple of seasons, but they haven't improved their off-field revenue streams significantly.

Throw in the fact that they've also got zero home grown players and the reality is they're going to have to rebuild with cheap English tat - Yaya Toure replaced by Tom Cleverley. That kind of thing.

Game over, dickheads.

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:59 am

Gary Neville says they need to go out there and challenge FFP, i.e. spend and say "OK then, what are you going to do to us", presumably with the European Courts as a last resort.

Their transfer business the last few years has been abysmal. Overspending on mediocre players pushing 30, leaving Aguero as their only real saleable asset (well, Hart maybe but keepers never fetch the real big money). They might get £60m for Aguero from Real or Barca but that won't fund a new squad - just two average 29-year-old centre-backs or holding midfielders from the French league on recent evidence.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have become the masters of extracting value and selling players on for a profit. Abramovich doesn't have quite the financial muscle of old but they have the foundations there to sustain success, other than the overdue new ground.

by LeFromage Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:05 am

Chelsea have absolutely cracked the FFP - albeit by being cynical, talent-crushing bastards.

They've spent years buying up some really promising youngsters with the sole intention of fattening them up and selling them on at a big profit - at no point are they considered for selection.

They've dropped a couple of bollocks, though. Kevin De Bruyne is top banana and they've should've kept him and cashed in on Oscar instead. And I'm sure they'd rather have Lukaku leading the line in these final games than Loic Remy or Didier Drogba's granddad.

by skully Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:10 am

How does FFP work?

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:27 am

The established big clubs agree to stop any new-money upstarts threatening their status by spending more than they earn... the potential penalties have yet to be really tested but so far have amounted to restrictions on Champions League squad size etc.

by skully Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:57 am

Cheers beams.

by beamer Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:03 am

Of course, the "official" reasoning is that it's to stop clubs taking on unmanageable debts and going the same way as Leeds and Portsmouth, but the reality is it's just a self-serving measure from the teams who would rather not have to worry about losing their Champions League spot to a Middle East-bankrolled new rival. If Sheikh Mansour and co. aren't bored or disillusioned with it all yet, surely they will be looking for ways round it.

There's a separate FFP regime being applied in the lower leagues over here which seems to be more harshly applied. Forest are under transfer embargo and potentially facing writing off next season before it's started.

by LeFromage Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:23 am

And QPR, if they're relegated, face an enormous fine - £50m plus - from the football league when they fall under their jurisdiction again, for being a financial basket case.

Which would in no way be hilarious. Harry Redknapp's legacy is spending clubs into bankruptcy, so it'll be interesting to see if he can add another notch on his bedpost.

by WideWally Mon Apr 27, 2015 12:19 am

3 - 0

by WideWally Thu May 07, 2015 6:24 am

Messi

Messi

by skully Thu May 07, 2015 6:58 am

What a player!! Shocked

by beamer Thu May 07, 2015 7:00 am

The MSN reach Nelson, 111 goals between them this season...

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