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Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:16 am
by webberg
Paul, some home truths in your post.

Good article in The Times today about who "owns" football.

The thrust is that managers clearly don't own the game and that whinging about the FA cup and other "distractions" should be regarded as a petty and irrelevant moan.

Equally, the article says, clubs don't own the game, nor the sponsors, nor TV. It says that players and fans "own" the game.

Not entirely sure I agree that this groups owns the game or indeed that the game is owned by anybody.

The club owners want to make a profit.
The sponsors want exposure.
Managers want a good reputation so that they become more valuable
Players are probably with the managers
TV companies want to sell advertising and if football dipped in popularity, we'd see the rise of Strictly Mud Wrestling
Fans complain about everything but are blinded by loyalty (to what?)

Pretty unholy melting pot really.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:40 am
by plummy
Not sure I've ever posted in this thread as although I am a keen watcher of football I'm a neutral re supporting any one team.
I agree with what you say Webberg an especially the blinded by loyalty. The Mail reporter once described it as "biased to the point of imbecility" and I think he nailed that precisely. Fans couldn't give a damn if the decision is wrong if it goes in there favour but are enraged to the point self-detonation if something goes against them.
Any opposing player having the audacity to take a corner if subjected to vile, hatred abuse from the "fans" around the corner spot but if he is sold to that club the week after is then lauded as the new saviour if taking another corner from the same spot the week after!!
I've often wondered if one player complained to the Health & Safety Executive about having to do his "job of work" in a pool of someone else's spit whether they could actually do something about it. Watching football in HD and close up can be a pretty disgusting sight now

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:13 pm
by Paul Victory
I was browsing the internet just now and I came across an amazing stat that just doesn't seem like it could be true. Emmanuel Adebayor, the Tottenham striker, is 6 feet 3 inches tall (1.91 meters) but only weighs 161 pounds (73 kg), which would make him LWT!

Can this possibly be true? :shock:

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:07 pm
by strider77
Hi Paul, I can believe it, footballers have nothing to them-works out as a BMI of 20-supposedly heathy

Take a look at Peter Crouch-2.03m ( 6ft 7") and 75 kg, thats a BMI of 18 !!! :shock:

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:48 pm
by webberg
Footballer stats are quite amazing. Rooney who looks like a chunky monkey has a body fat percentage somewhere around 6%!

For some really outstanding numbers though look at ski jumpers.

They are all tall and very skinny. This Olympics has set a minimum BMI for the male jumpers at 18.2 because many of them are below this!

The concern was that a jumper with no muscle mass cannot handle the stresses of landing and have bad crashes. Therefore the minimum standard should help reduce injuries.

One of the Finnish jumpers had to gain about 5 kgs in the two weeks pre the weigh in to make weight!

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:29 pm
by strider77
Paul, you must have been pleased with the home game vs Dnipro, some lovely football :D

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:41 pm
by Paul Victory
strider77 wrote:Paul, you must have been pleased with the home game vs Dnipro, some lovely football :D
Primary feeling was one of relief. I'm going over to Alvor on March 19th, the day before the Benfica - Tottenham game in Estadio da Luz. I've been trying to source tickets as it would be a great opportunity to visit a famous stadium and watch my favourite team in action.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:32 pm
by redshell

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 8:28 am
by strider77
That's priceless Michelle :lol:

When asked by a reporter Arsene said " I did not see it " :lol:

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:34 pm
by webberg
A new record EPL weekend for goals but have we learnt much?

Who's your money on for champions?

My personal opinion is that Chelski will win because City have too many games in hand that they "must" win and frankly I see them as a group of individuals who can't or won't play as a team when it matters.

Only if Chelski or City slip up will Liverpool get an opportunity.

After that I would go for Arsenal simply because, poor as they are, Spurs/Everton/Mancs have no form or momentum to get to Arsenal.

To go down?

Fulham, Cardiff.

Probably Sunderland.

Sadly my teams' fortunes have pretty much run their course and we've come up short of being a top 6 outfit. Hopefully we will not sell any of our better players and instead buy a couple so that we can be competitive next season.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:59 pm
by strider77
Regarding the Premier League, I am going to go out on a limb and say Liverpool.

They are not in the Champion's league, both Chelski and Man City have to go to Anfield and I believe Liverpool could win all their remaining 8 games.

I do not believe the other two will win them all and Man City may only get a draw at draw specialists Everton as well as finding it hard to get a result at Anfield. Chelsea stand the best chance, if the happy one can conjure the same magic at Anfield as at the Etihad, however it only needs Terry to get injured and it changes the dynamic.

Just my opinion time will tell.

As for our dear old Saints, I agree, we are safe and have been for a few weeks now but the season has sputtered a bit after the first dozen games when we surprised everyone I think :D

I agree, Fulham and Cardiff have gone, to join them controversial......Swansea !

I do have concerns over our crown jewels, I think Ricky will go and hopefully we can keep the youngsters for another season :wink:

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 5:30 pm
by webberg
Don't mind Ricky going somewhere else because he owes us nothing and his recent form has been erratic. I think he could easily do a couple of seasons in the Championship getting somebody promoted (Reading?).

There is a lot of discussion about "the project" at Saints. The aim is to be a European qualifying team next season. To do that we need to keep our young stars and not sell them on. That was what MP signed on for.

Now though I have doubts about MP and his "one tactical system fits all" approach. I also wonder if a young player can resist the lure of big money whilst "the project" is still short of its target?

Time will tell.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 4:11 pm
by Paul Victory
Dramatic day in the Championship today. Injury time winner for Brighton to clinch a play off spot and injury time equaliser for Birmingham to avoid relegation. I imagine wolfmiester is feeling rather relieved.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 8:47 am
by Wolfmiester
An amazing afternoon for Blue Noses Paul. Couldn't get anymore dramatic. Just hope for a quick sale now!

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 5:27 pm
by Paul Victory
I know there are a couple of Southampton fans on here, so I just have to say, you must feel like you're through the looking glass right now. Fair play to you (as we would say in Ireland). I think it would be great if you could make it into the Champions League next season. It would prove that the takeover of football by big money is not yet a fait accompli.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:23 pm
by Paul Victory
Paul Victory wrote:I know there are a couple of Southampton fans on here, so I just have to say, you must feel like you're through the looking glass right now. Fair play to you (as we would say in Ireland). I think it would be great if you could make it into the Champions League next season. It would prove that the takeover of football by big money is not yet a fait accompli.
Another great performance by Southampton today. I'd love to hear from some of the Southampton fans on here (I know who you are :lol: :fswink: ) about how you are feeling right now. And PLEASE, none of this rubbish about how many points you are from safety. :lol:

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 9:09 pm
by Paul Victory
Gutted Spurs fan. Wish I could feel happy for Leicester, but it's too raw right now. Chelsea are a disgrace - John Terry has managed to create a poisonous atmosphere in that club. Total thug - will be glad to see the back of him.

Rant over! :roll:

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:56 am
by plummy
Really happy for Leicester. Claudio Ranieri was treated really badly by Chelsea and everyone knows it but he kept his thoughts to himself and got one with being a quiet, respectable team/man manager. He's shown that a great team atmosphere and working as a true collective can outshine individual prima-donna talent which is where most of the other big teams have fallen over this year.
Even the Chelsea fans wanted him to win - in fact apart from the Spurs fans and the die-hard other team fans I think there is pretty much universal respect and admiration for their achievement.
Do I think they'll win it again next year though - no. That said they may have a bit of a bigger war-chest for an extra couple of players so I can see them happily mid table

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 9:41 am
by Paul Victory
Plummy, while remaining very disappointed with the Tottenham's challenge fizzled out, I applaud Leicester's achievement in winning the league against all the odds and Ranieri's role in that achievement. It's a great underdog story and my only regret is that it happened in the season when Tottenham may have had their best (and possibly only) chance of winning the league during my lifetime (apart from the tine they won it when I was 8 years old, which was 5 years before I started supporting them).

However, I think the support shown by Chelsea fans last night for Ranieri had very little to do with Leicester winning the league and everything to do with stopping Tottenham from winning it. Not that I expect any better from football fans - it seems to bring out the worst in a large proportion of fans who often seem to get more enjoyment out of seeing other sides fail than they do from seeing their own side win.

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 7:16 pm
by Wolfmiester
Ooh, and it doesn't get any better today for Spurs fans ...

Re: Football thoughts

Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 7:19 pm
by Paul Victory
Wolfmiester wrote:Ooh, and it doesn't get any better today for Spurs fans ...
Go ahead, rub it in... :evil: