Roiling football blather

[version]

This thing unfolding in Spain is pretty mad.

For those unaware, the head of the Spanish FA grabbed and kissed one of the players after Spain won the Women's World Cup and is refusing to resign despite huge public pressure and various figures in Spanish football publicly criticising him.

The Spanish FA have now threatened to leave UEFA, potentially removing all Spanish teams from European competitions, if anyone removes him and his mother has locked herself in a church and said she's going on hunger strike until people leave her son alone.

 

[IdleRich]

I've seen this of course but not been following it properly. I know the team said they refuse to play until he gets fired.

The bit I don't get is this

The Spanish FA have now threatened to leave UEFA, potentially removing all Spanish teams from European competitions, if anyone removes him

So the SFA are backing him? And using the team (who want him out) as a bargaining chip against their wishes?

Or am I misreading it...?

 

[IdleRich]

Clip showing Neymar playing in the Asian CL apparently - it looks as it may even be a step down from Ligue 1

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That first one is extraordinary, it reminds me of when I assembled a team to play in the SANZA league in Finsbury Park on a Tuesday. Had a bunch of players in the team who hadn't really played before and in the first game they just didn't close the striker, let him approach until he shot and scored. I was tearing my hair out... surprised to see the same tactic used against Neymar... doesn't work v him either strangely enough.

 

[version]

"This isn't a Saudi league match. Neymar is yet to play a Saudi league game. This is a clip from a charity match that took place in Brazil 5 years ago and is being used to mock the supposed standard of the Saudi League. Please see link below."

 

[IdleRich]

Hence I said apparently, was definitely suspicious... I mean it's not being used to mock SA cos it's against Mumbai but there is some sort of implied "these are the sorts of teams he'll play now if not one if the actual team" - it doesn't really make sense but that hardly matters...

 

[IdleRich]

I get you, but I don't agree. You look at that goal and it's mostly first touch then Messi playing a ridiculous pass with three defenders on him and a fourth closing in. He could have passed to one of the two slightly behind him, but they were in more or less the same position as him with a bunch of defenders and the keeper in front of them and little chance of scoring.

I've seen this goal from another angle now. I see what you mean. I have to admit I didn't even see Messi's final pass... or worse, I must have seen it, but from that angle on the small screen I didn't even understand it properly, never mind appreciate it. So I gotta hold my hand up and say that shamefully I hadn't even noticed how good it was cos I was too stupid.

That's pretty bad that I was sort of moaning about the move cos due to my own limitations I hadn't even seen the good bit.

Maybe I should stop commenting on football... sorry Leo and Versh...

 

[version]

Barca spent around 3m in the transfer window and have managed to get Gundogan, Cancelo, Joao Felix, Romeu and Inigo Martinez.

 

[version]

I never thought I'd follow MLS, but Messi playing in Miami is the most exciting thing in football for me at the moment. It's like dropping Muhammad Ali into the Yorkshire boxing circuit.

 

[IdleRich]

It's got me kinda following it... at least checking the results anyhow, if not watching the games.

A lot of people took the piss out of 'plastic' fans who switched channels or left the stadium when Messi was subbed off, but I kinda get where they were coming from... though I reckon they'd have been more pissed off of he got injured in the dying moments of a game that was already won. I mean surely they can understand that even if you only watch to see Messi play then it makes sense to rest him at times to maximize his overall game minutes.

I suppose there were people who bought tickets to that game only and weren't thinking long term but even so...

 

[IdleRich]

I find something interesting about both the Saudi league and MLS splurging so much money and the question of how it will develop... is there any way that that strategy can lead to strength in depth? Maaaaybeee if more people start playing I guess but that seems optimistic.

 

[IdleRich]

One thing I see a lot now is Americans claiming that if football had the same status as NBA, NFL in North America etc then the US would dominate football cos they simply produce better athletes. Gotta say I'm not convinced, it looks to me as though you got more chance of Europe catching up in basketball than US catching up in football... I mean I think several of the best basketball players in the world right now are European but, correct me if I'm wrong, maybe I'm forgetting someone - as far as I know the US has never produced a single world class football player.

 

[version]

I find something interesting about both the Saudi league and MLS splurging so much money and the question of how it will develop... is there any way that that strategy can lead to strength in depth? Maaaaybeee if more people start playing I guess but that seems optimistic.

It's just Saudi doing that. The only high profile signings in MLS have been the three Barca players to Miami. I wouldn't be surprised if those three playing there legitimises the league for more players in Europe though, even if they are at "retirement age".

 

[entertainment]

How do you reckon the Saudi league level is compared to MLS? I've yet to watch a game in either one.

 

[version]

People say it's worse, but I haven't seen enough of either to judge.

 

[IdleRich]

It's just Saudi doing that. The only high profile signings in MLS have been the three Barca players to Miami. I wouldn't be surprised if those three playing there legitimises the league for more players in Europe though, even if they are at "retirement age".

Well, maybe this year, but over the last few years it has been grabbing aging stars. I'm not necessarily criticising that by the way. To me it makes sense to get some big names to add some glamour, and, who knows, maybe playing with or possibly even against Rooney or Ibrahimovic etc does help the development of young players. So, if the balance of big players and younger players learning is right and it makes it more fun to watch then why not.

To me it looks like Saudi is doing what MLS was doing a few years ago, perhaps it's following the same path and will reach the same place. Though the difference is infinite money, maybe Saudi league won't need to change, they can just throw more money at the problem and this will in fact hinder their development and mean they don't reach the next stage.

You know like, er, think it was G Nev moaning about the Saudi lesgue, do you think he had a point? I don't really, to me the league is still weak enough that going there will be seen as showing a lack of footballing ambition and so football as a whole needn't worry. If however it gets strong enough that players can make a football decision to go there then the league has presumably become strong enough that the problem has solved itself.

I didn't explain that very well I'm afraid.


But yeah, the Miami thing is a bit different; of course Messi is all the headlines but I think there is something amazing about rebuilding a small section of THAT Barca side as they have... it's not just Messi, it's Busquets to Messi which adds an extra dimension.

But that said, I don't understand the paycap thing and the way that they are allowed to ignore it for Messi. He is on about 50m a year which is astronomical - almost unheard of until recently - it just doesn't feel that way cos other salaries are even crazier.

 

[version]

The Saudi thing's different. They've outspent every league in Europe bar the PL this window. This isn't the usual thing of a few older stars heading out there. They've been going after everyone, coaches too.

 

[version]

The draw of having players like Messi, Busquets and Alba in MLS is also the influence they have on getting kids into the sport and broadening the talent pool. I saw someone say this about Haaland and Norway the other night too. Apparently they've never really had a genuine star like that and there are City shirts everywhere, kids wanting to be him. He might improve Norwegian football by virtue of simply having existed.

 

[Murphy]

Xi

Rogan

PEP

 

[IdleRich]

The Saudi thing's different. They've outspent every league in Europe bar the PL this window. This isn't the usual thing of a few older stars heading out there. They've been going after everyone, coaches too.

It seems to be a kind of opposite approach to buying City or PSG and using them to win a foreign league. But isn't it just what MLS and North American Soccer League have done before but with way more money. Also what China seemed to be going for more recently?

 

[IdleRich]

The draw of having players like Messi, Busquets and Alba in MLS is also the influence they have on getting kids into the sport and widening the talent pool. I saw someone say this about Haaland and Norway the other night too. Apparently they've never really had a genuine star like that and there are City shirts everywhere, kids wanting to be him. He might improve Norwegian football by virtue of simply having existed.

I reckon that definitely happens, like that guy Mhikitarian or however you spell it, ab icon in Armenia in the same way, also happened with some African stars I think.