Roiling football blather

IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
That's insane - I'd love to see some kind of crackdown on sponsors' power. We shouldn't have to hear stories about people having to remove clothing that has the wrong manufacturer's name on it.
 
Bangpuss

Bangpuss

Well-known member
So FIFA has demanded that beer is sold at all games in the Brazilian World Cup, but chooses a country -- Qatar -- where alcohol is illegal to host the next one.

Although 'chooses' may be a misleading term. 'was bribed into choosing' is probably more accurate.
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
i think the olympics sponsorship concessions are going to lead to pretty crazy crackdowns this summer on anything 'unofficial'. the corporate interest is so heavy it's impossible to see past it.
 
Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
The thing that's really annoying about this sort of stuff is how pointless it all feels. I mean, you're running an event which is basically a bunch of football matches. You're going to make god knows how much money from broadcasting rights, let alone ticket sales and other merchandising, and yet still you need to suck corporate balls to get more money for it.

It just makes FIFA look like an advertising agency rather than a sporting organisation.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"So FIFA has demanded that beer is sold at all games in the Brazilian World Cup, but chooses a country -- Qatar -- where alcohol is illegal to host the next one."
Click to expand...
Well, they obviously feel they can override the law in Brazil, why not in Qatar too?
 
D

don_quixote

Trent End
by the way, supporting the worst team in the country is pretty fun at the moment. i literally do not think there is a team we could turn up and beat right now. except ipswich.
 
Ulala

Ulala

Awkward Woodward
don_quixote said:
by the way, supporting the worst team in the country is pretty fun at the moment. i literally do not think there is a team we could turn up and beat right now. except ipswich.
Click to expand...

As an Ipswich native (though not much of a fan), this pains me slightly, but it is true. Fuck knows how Paul Jewell still has a job. Secretive millionaire and shirt sponsor (and hence presumably megalomaniac) Marcus Evans is showing remarkable tolerance, given that Roy Keane was sacked for much less.

Even the previously prolific scourge of Champo defences, Michael Chopra, has gone shit since signing. (Though gambling addiction might not help, admittedly.)

On another tip - Cahill to Chelsea, eh? When England's Brave Gigantic Racist hangs up his boots, Cahill and Luiz is surely a defence to have even the best strikers quaking, innit. What the hell is AVB thinking, and selling Alex, too? I mean, Gary Cahill? Really? You could have had Chris Samba for the same money.
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
that miss of the season from the American guy Forest have got was pretty spectacular. Took real skill to get it over the bar from there.

i'm quite enjoying Wednesday's improbable run of good form, hoping for a promotion behind Charlton. Still can't see them ever getting into the Premiership again, so might as well (in gloryhunting mode, or rather complete disgust at the way Wednesday was ground down from a club with realistic prospects of honours in the 90s, while playing excellent football from time to time) switch my allegiance fully to Swansea, since they play football I would actually pay to watch more than anything else. I'm just hoping they don't do a Blackpool and implode whilst still playing nice football - surely they'll have learned from that, cos the two teams are pretty similar in some ways...

meanwhile at RM an outbreak of sanity:

After the match, the Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho, said Pepe had played well for the team, but warned he would be punished if it was found he had deliberately stamped on Messi. "I haven't seen it, but obviously if it is deliberate he will be punished," Mourinho said. "What I can say is that he did a great job for the team."

But the usually pro-Madrid newspaper Marca went further, suggesting Pepe's long disciplinary record calls into question whether he should remain at the club.
 
Last edited:
hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
baboon2004 said:
Still can't see them ever getting into the Premiership again, so might as well switch my allegiance fully to Swansea, since they play football I would actually pay to watch more than anything else. I'm just hoping they don't do a Blackpool and implode whilst still playing nice football - surely they'll have learned from that, cos the two teams are pretty similar in some ways...
[/I]
Click to expand...

The only parallel with Blackpool is that they just got promoted and are doing well. Blackpool had no idea how to defend and were managed by an idiot.

I think Swansea's sexy football reputation may be a bit overstated, tho. They've been involved in more nil nils than any other side in the divsion. They keep possession wonderfully, but don't always do anything with it. Leon Brittan has the best passing stats in the division and has only created 4 chances all season. A bit like Spain, possession is the best form of defence for them.

(To be honest I've not actually seen much of them this season. I watched them v QPR which was a terrible game and Man U which was pretty dull also. )

None of which is to suggest that what they've achieved has been anything other than fantastic this season. Any promoted side in the top half of the table in January has done incredibly well (although, y'know, ninth is better than tenth). I just worry that following Barca, and cos as a footballing culture we've been so poor at passing for so long, we'll end up making a fetish of possession stats, and passing the ball in neat triangles across the back is as boring as any Pulissian/ Delappian long ball onslaught.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Some good goals here but to me it's more noteworthy for the way he (Alan Shearer) describes the first goal as "Typical Alan Shearer".

 
e/y

e/y

Well-known member
really disappointing performance from us in the first half, a bit better in the second. fully deserved win for Utd :(

the booing was uncalled for.
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Was that an intentional head-stamp from Balotelli? I'd not watched it til just now, and from the angle I saw, I'd say it's very unconvincing. The Peter Crouch thing is way worse. Balotelli shoulda been sent off as I think he meant to do some damage, but as to an intentional head-stamp...I dont' see it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top