Ok,so another season of Football comes to an end.! Well done Man City.(not my team).
Commentators say we should sympathies with Steven Gerrard.! Why??
He plays for a team not good enough to win the league although they have seriously overachieved this season,some may say because of his Loyalty to one one club,thats a joke, he was all set for signing for someone else till the local mafia got involved.He should also have been doing time for assaulting the barman in a club,again how can you have a high profile case in your own backyard.Oh well thats it for another season, better luck next time stevey..not.
Agree completely.
Would have been a sad day for the premier league if a team of cheats and divers had won the trophy.
Divers are Gerrard, Sterling, Henderson, Suarez and Sturridge to name a few.
Tony Pulis, who should be manager of the season by the way, fined Cameron Jerome for diving.
Rodgers brings in Tom Daley to train them.
Already a bad season when a scumbag is voted player of the year.
Yaya Toure by far the best player in the prem.
I am not a Man City fan so it is not a case of voting for a player from my own team
Sadly we all have a good idea of who may win the title next year, and it won't be us!!! And if the powers that be had their way the reserve teams of these clubs would be dominating the lower leagues too 'in the interests of the national team'.
Reading an article the other day about Carlisle United in 1974/75 topping the old First Division for a while in the days before money dominated, beating Spurs 1-0 on the opening day. Their forward line was led by ex miners and poultry farmers as opposed to academy coached, gym-toned stars. As one said, "We crawled along this 170 yard coal face, it was boiling hot, and these big fellas were lying on their sides, working away. It made me more determined to get out of it." I doubt we will see it happening again.
I must admit I quite like Liverpool. They do have their fair share of divers but which teams don't? Sadly, along with elbowing, shirt tugging, feigning injury, pushing and shoving, general cheating it has been allowed to become part of our national game.
Such a shame how it's all gone since Sky invented football.
It amuses me how so many of the fans of these big clubs forget where they came from and support this ludicrous idea of a League 3.
The year that Man City started their revival, they beat Gillingham in the League one play off final, on penalties after going two-nil down.
In the semi final, we'd seen off Stoke.
Now, just a few years on, these are calling for basically the demise of lower league football.
As a matter of fact, more fans watch the Football League (live I'm talking about, not armchair fans) on a weekly basis that attend Premiership games.
Luton Town were attracting 10k for a home game in non-league.
Maidstone Utd play in the micky mouse post-it note league and still attract about 2k for a home game.
My point is, it means a lot to these fans of smaller clubs. Football in this country is not all about the Premier League so I hope they leave our league alone.
At one time the bigger clubs used to feed off the talent developed by the smaller clubs. In a way this was a pity as it meant that lower clubs' best talent was poached but on the positive side it meant money going into the pockets of the smaller clubs. Dario Grady was one coach in particular who developed young talent, many of whom went on to play for their national teams.
Nowadays the best talents are creamed off into the academies so the smaller clubs never get to see them until they are discarded. Most of the big clubs are swamped with nationals from other countries. The sum total is that an important revenue stream has now been taken away from clubs in the lower leagues which do not have the benefit of Sky money. Too many long established clubs are now struggling or have faded away altogether thanks to Sky and the Premier League. Hopefully this latest brainwave will be shouted down.
If we want to promote our national team maybe the best way to start is by restricting the number of foreign nationals on clubs' payrolls, and close the loopholes which clubs develop to skate around any restrictions in place, especially those concerning academies.
no different to when Blackburn Rovers bought the title with Jack Walkers millions, or Man Utd or Chelsea
for better or worse, the Mighty Rams are off to Wembley to try to secure promotion to this league, the good news is the millions we get will help secure the club, the bad news is we and the other 2 promoted teams haven't a hope in hell of competing on a level playing field
the only consolation is Hull and Palace have managed it in the past so there is a glimmer of hope, but not much
At one time the bigger clubs used to feed off the talent developed by the smaller clubs. In a way this was a pity as it meant that lower clubs' best talent was poached but on the positive side it meant money going into the pockets of the smaller clubs. Dario Grady was one coach in particular who developed young talent, many of whom went on to play for their national teams.
Nowadays the best talents are creamed off into the academies so the smaller clubs never get to see them until they are discarded. Most of the big clubs are swamped with nationals from other countries. The sum total is that an important revenue stream has now been taken away from clubs in the lower leagues which do not have the benefit of Sky money
If we want to promote our national team maybe the best way to start is by restricting the number of foreign nationals on clubs' payrolls, and close the loopholes which clubs develop to skate around any restrictions in place, especially those concerning academies.
The difference between Man City,Chelski , Man U, a*se,Tottingham everton etc these clubs only invested money that was produced from Bums on seats , marketing etc, not having some rich oil billionairs or int the case of Rovers a billionaire Steel magnate to fund them.
Who are the likes of Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Roman Abramovich, Malcolm Glazer, Stan Kroenke & Co then. The sad truth nowadays is that unless you have a big benefactor you are going to struggle to compete. And with their traditional funding streams from selling their starlets cut off, the minnows of the lower leagues struggle.
Whilst I agree with the comments regarding the premier league the only 2 clubs that have achieved success through billionaires spending big money are Man City and Chelsea. If you believe all you read the Glazers have not put one penny of there own money into Man Utd. Their spending power is based on there fan base. As for silent Stan he has also not spent any money directly on the team. For us to compete with the petro dollar we had to leave Highbury, lose David Dein and move to a 60000 seater stadium. Whilst this massive debt was being repaid the team sufferd. The only reason we spent any of our "war chest" was because we had to but this money has come from sponsorship, a full stadium tv money and the holy grail the champions league. David Dein left the club as he wanted to rent Wembley and invest in the team.
Sorry its long winded but I hope you get my drift.
The point I am trying to make is that all of these clubs have wealthy backers who play an integral part, directly and/or indirectly by providing a sound financial base. This helps to attract players to the club with the prospect of a stable club, attractive training facilities, extensive backroom staff etc. Compared to the lower league clubs where a local businessman runs the club on a shoestring such wealth must seem unimaginable.
Of course a good many of the bigger clubs run on a basis of extensive debt. Whether FPP will curb this remains to be seen.
FFP is what we have based our business model on. If it's not worth the paper it's written on then we will struggle.
We have new kit sponsors this year and sold our sole to emirates airlines but we still cannot generate enough money through sponsorship as MAn Utd do due to there global branding.
We have the most expensive seats in the prem.
We also have a rich Russian but they won't have him on the board. I think he wants to splash the cash but the other don't.
Money doesn't always bring success...look at the spuds..
RB
Ps will know tomorrow if I have a ticket for the FA cup final.
You're right there about money not guaranteeing success. We were unlucky enough to get Sven Goran Eriksson who spent an absolute fortune on geriatric has-beens who were just going through the motions and topping up their pensions before retirement. Some were put on long, lucrative contracts which meant we couldn't get rid of them. What a disaster that man was!!
Good luck with your Cup Final ticket. It's about time Arsene won something!!!
What a team Spurs had in the 1960's. Alan Gilzean was my favourite, but Jimmy Greaves, Cyril Knowles, Alan Mullery, Terry Venables and Pat jennings. Not a non British Isles player among them, nor as I recall in the 1960/61 double winning team.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be, they were a good team to watch.
Now you're talking Frank. I was at White Hart Lane and remember Jimmy Greaves picking the ball up in his own half, waltzing through our defence and putting it in the back of the net. He struck terror every time he got the ball. Similarly Denis Law when playing for Man United. Had they done this nowadays we would never hear the last of them but that was the excitement of football in 'the good old days'.
Ah, memories..................
The justification presented by clubs for all these foreign players was that they would bring on our local talent. The only local talent I have seen being brought on have been the local totty, charmed by their Latin skills.
Apart from that Frank, I would ask you kindly not to mention the 1960/61 Cup Final. And I thought you were my friend!! We were going well until 'Chopper' Chalmers got injured and was left hobbling for the rest of the match. Robbing b*****ds!!! I remember watching it on black and white telly.
OBF, on 1961 Cup Final day I was in mid atlantic, 30ft swell, and drivng rain, up the foremast trying to fit a drive belt on the radar scanner. The skipper kept saying "Sparky you look like a bL**dy budgie up there", and laughing at his own joke! I would have rather been at Wembley I can assure you.
Whitehart lane was the first professional football ground I went to in my late teens, to watch Tottenham late 1950's and 60's when Bill Nicholson was the manager.
The first choice team was Bill Brown, Peter Baker, Ron Henry, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones, John White, Bobby Smith, Les Allen and Terry Dyson.
Occasionally, some of the squad were injured and the
following players appeared in their places : John Hollowbread, Ken Barton,Tony Marchi, Terry Medwin, John Smith and Frank Saul.
Jimmy Greaves, Pat Jennings and Terry Venables, joining after the 1960/61 double winning les
And & Wa remember Jimmy Greaves, who was born in the same year and month as myself, joining Tottenham in 61 after a spell in Italy
When I was in Junior school in Dagenham, which was same school as Alf Ramsey went to, (before my time). I used to play in goal for the school, against at times Jimmy Greaves who went to one of the other local schools.
My first football medal (Dagenham League Winners) was presented to me by Les Allen, at the time a Tottenham and England player
The hotel I worked in before retirement, held a reunion dinner for the England 1966 World Cup winning team. We also use to have most of the premier teams and international teams such as England and Wales stay, we had our own football pitch for them to train on, especially prepared and laid by a Dutch company at a cost at the time of £80,000.
Our other hotel was one of those, you used to see the FA Cup finalists leaving before traveling to Wembley.
Have 'the Lestar' joined the multi millionaire clubs now?
Just seen where the chairman is will to spend 180 million on players.
John
Believe it when you see it........... Personally I doubt it. The current squad has been built up with some shrewd signings costing little by comparison.
Collected my ticket today. Real stroke of luck.
Ex work colleague of the wife is a season ticket holder. He applied for one and was successful however he can't now go. So it's now hidden away.
If we win I might do review ...
RB
Ps...have them spuds gone....1961 blimey we get stick for 8 years...80 million to finish 6th. 1 place lower than last year...
Well done RB! What a pity it is still so difficult to get your hands on a ticket I expect it's the age old problem of tickets going to the 'suits' who have little or no interest in the teams taking part (some of whom sell them at vastly inflated prices - shame on them!!)
If we manage to finish 6th next year we will be making our manager a saint. Spurs sack theirs. I actually thought Sherwood had done a decent job. Nevertheless I find difficulty in feeling sympathy for sacked managers once I see how much compensation they get.
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