Football 2011-2012

[pink_triangle]

Rio's had a very poor season IMO. He's been awful on a lot of occassions. And I agree that Gerrard shouldn't be captain, because I don't think he should be in the 1st team. I think Hart should have been the Captain, with Parker/Barry as vice. No other centrally positioned player was guaranteed a start. If it is down to the JT case though, I don't think either should have gone. I think they're both closing on past it, and Hodgson could have made a statement that this tournament was about the future.

[eFestivals]

Yeah. Rio isn't happy. Not happy at all.

all he's doing is proving how thick as pigshit he is.

Woy announced a squad, and the covering players who'd be called up if needed. Care to show me where Rio's name is on that list?

[eFestivals]

hodgson is bringing in players who will ultimately fail him, reason: they didn't perform when he was their manager at liverpool, same will happen again.

except of course few of those players were even at Liverpool when Woy was.

[pink_triangle]

Bellamy annouced himself in the olympics squad, think that will probably rule out Giggs. Suspect the other 2 will be Beckham (disgracefully in my opinion) and Stephen Fletcher.

[kaosmark2]

I think Rio had a very poor start to the season but a very good second half of the season, I dont think there has been a better English centre back in 2012. I think the crock argument that many have come out with is rubbish, 30 premiership apperances stands up with lescott (33), Terry (31), Jagielka (29), Jones (29). I think Fergie said something about him not being fit enough but English success isnt his priority!

Agree that Hart should have been captain, the only 2 I would consider undropable available for the first game are him and Cole and while captaicny cant improve a teams chances, picking cole could have made things worse!

[pink_triangle]

Instead of Beckham I would take foster, scholes, carrick, Rio, woodgate, wright phillips, crouch, bent and some of those names I don't rate highly. If I had a good think could probably come up with.50 names as Beckham plays in a championship standard side and isn't even the best player. To me picking Beckham is the equivalent of bringing Henman out of retirement and sticking him in the tennis because he is a nice English gentleman. If your going to have a side in the Olympics pick the best who make the criteria.

[kaosmark2]

Instead of Beckham I would take foster, scholes, carrick, Rio, woodgate, wright phillips, crouch, bent and some of those names I don't rate highly. If I had a good think could probably come up with.50 names as Beckham plays in a championship standard side and isn't even the best player. To me picking Beckham is the equivalent of bringing Henman out of retirement and sticking him in the tennis because he is a nice English gentleman. If your going to have a side in the Olympics pick the best who make the criteria.

[eFestivals]

So ... The Bluebirds are becoming the redbirds. Whatever next in the pursuit of money?

Football is on such dodgy ground. In any normal times, over half of the people who attend a match in a season don't attend any matches the following season. If this recession - or stupid money-chasing ideas such as Cardiff are doing - puts a extra slide onto that then the money in football could slip away exceedingly fast.

[eFestivals]

Something I read the other day suggested that Fat Frank will now be in Pearce's team as one of the over 23s, because he's not gone to the Euros.

And talking of the Euros, England are now rated as the 4th best team in Europe, after Spain, Germany, and Holland ... which will no doubt be shown as a joke when we lose the first match to France.

[The Nal]

Whatever next in the pursuit of money?

[eFestivals]

Anfield to be redeveloped and renamed "The Air China Anfield Stadium".

No joke.

that's bad - dreadful in fact - but it's par for the course nowadays. Old Trafford will be the Old Tesco before too long, too. Even the likes of Aldershit have long been into the stadium renaming lark (not that anyone uses it).

The thing with Cardiff is something completely new, a complete re-brand of the club to fit with the (this week's ) current owners. They announced it before, about a month ago, but then backed away from doing it, saying they wouldn't after all (I presume because of fan protests).

It's a sale of a club's history for something transient - because while I know nothing about the current owners, here's betting they won't hang around for anything longer than the previous three did. Which means that when they go, everything about the club will need to be changed yet again.

While a club's owner might see it only as a business, that's not what it is. If an owner bites the hand the feeds it then the only way is going to be downwards in the long term.

[kaosmark2]

It's absolutely ridiculous. If Newcastle changed their colours I wouldn't consider buying any new shirts, and would be put off going to matches (although I only attend one or two each season anyway). I can't imagine many Cardiff fans are happy about this.

And of course, if every owner decided that red was the most profitable colour, there wouldn't end up being any distinctive features between different home kits apart from the branding....

On the driving fans away, have others noticed how yearly club memberships are increasingly compulsory in order to buy any match tickets? It's not just a priority thing any more, I have to pay £25 for a club membership just to have the chance of getting tickets for unpopular away games, or the right to buy for home games. It certainly puts me off as an extra hoop I have to jump through.

[the_hedge]

I really hope the whole thing implodes, fuckin hate how football is at the moment. The money flying around is disgusting.

[thetime]

I really hope the whole thing implodes, fuckin hate how football is at the moment. The money flying around is disgusting.

[The Nal]

On the driving fans away, have others noticed how yearly club memberships are increasingly compulsory in order to buy any match tickets? It's not just a priority thing any more, I have to pay £25 for a club membership just to have the chance of getting tickets for unpopular away games, or the right to buy for home games. It certainly puts me off as an extra hoop I have to jump through.

[eFestivals]

... Pisspot ...

Now renamed the Capital One Pisspot, of course.

To all you fuckers who just loved calling it the Carling Cup, it's the feckin' League Cup, alright?

Get the bleeding name right, and wipe the value from that sponsorship.

[The Nal]

Zidane still has it!

So does Butragueno. Saw him last year in some charity match. Not bad for nearly 50.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psaNwKH1GZQ

[LondonTom]

But people love beer advertising at football

The next step is going be the names of clubs being changed to suit owners and sponsorship. I think they have pretty much done everything else so far?

[thetime]

I was quite interested in how many clubs have changed colours of there home strip and there have been a few. Perhaps the change is getting more column inches becuase we are in the hype age. Even man utd have changed colours from the newton heath age, and the great leeds side of the 70s changed to white to think like real madrid.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/29/knowledge-managers-changed-club-colours

So its not a new craze.

[eFestivals]

The next step is going be the names of clubs being changed to suit owners and sponsorship. I think they have pretty much done everything else so far?

Manchester Citylink FC

Manchester United Parcels FC

Norwich Union City FC

Aston Martin Villa FC

Liverpool Victoria Insurance FC

Bristol Street Motors City FC

Chelsea High Street FC

West Hamburgers FC

Swan Vestas Sea City

Jump Leeds Online FC

etc, etc, etc.

[eFestivals]

So its not a new craze.

it is to do it to publicise the owner's business. It's another part of football that is being sold which wasn't sold before.

Does any of this extra money improve anything about football? Nope. But what it has done - despite all that extra money from new sources - is make the cost of a ticket more and not less.

The 'customer' not only gets absolutely nothing for it, he's actually being charged extra to be subjected to extra advertising - and that's beyond everything that's sane.

[kaosmark2]

I was offered a Utd season ticket last year but declined. Apart from living in Dublin, I would've had to buy a ticket for every non league game (CL, FA, Pisspot) and either go to the game or offload the tickets.

[LondonTom]

Aston Martin Villa FC

[thetime]

Wait until they start moving clubs hundreds of miles to please the owners like USA...oh wait they have.

Edited June 7, 2012 by thetime

[The Nal]

Irish fans "welcoming" the English team.

Edited June 7, 2012 by The Nal