quote:

"He's a loving useless chav. Did gently caress all at Palace last season and he's another loving friend of the family on the team we don't need."

Blue Screen Error posted:

This charming bellend is now banned from Carrow Road for life after saying that on twitter about our new signing James Vaughan.

Pundit and ex-pro Mark Bright had a proper meltdown about it on Twitter, deciding that all Norwich fans must be racist and telling them not to follow him, and then blocking Dion Dublin, Darren Huckerby, Jake Humphrey and Stephen Fry.

lol americans posted:

The guessing game begins anew as the Premier League prepares to raise the curtain: Will it be new boys Norwich, or struggling Wigan? Can Swansea stay up or will they be forced right back down the ladder?

Every season, the final three teams at the foot of the Premier League table are sent down to the second division. They in turn are replaced by the top three teams from the Football Championship. It’s a system called “promotion and relegation,” and there’s nothing close to it in American sport. It's as if the winners of the Bowl Championship Series got to replace the Cleveland Browns or your local high school champions got to displace Syracuse.

Fans love it because it gives even lousy teams something to fight for. TV programmers love it, too. It gives dead teams meaningful games. Those second division clubs love it as well because each year, they imagine they can be the ones going up. And, fair enough, in a simpler time before massive wages and transfers, before the need for big, expensive stadiums and infrastructure, and before the games became the world’s entertainment, it was fine enough.

Today, it’s killing the sport.

Relegation functions like a lottery. It rewards teams in lower divisions who go on spending binges and punishes top-tier teams that act with restraint. Clubs are now being forced to choose between building a stadium or buying players; between gambling on a quick jump to the top - and the massive payout, estimated at $150 million that awaits them - or slowly developing talent and risking falling off the radar.

The system has contributed to an already out of control wage and transfer market that has even the most successful clubs bleeding revenue. Now, with more foreign ownership coming into the sport - and a lot of longing looks at the wildly successful leagues in the United States - there is an urge to do something about it.

In comparison to the free-for-all that is world soccer, American sports owners have it relatively easy. They have a system with salary caps, get generous subsidies from cities to build stadiums, and no matter how few games they win aren’t at risk of getting kicked out of the NFL. The best owners use that stability to build solid teams and as a result, in every sport save one, the USA boasts the best professional sports leagues in the world.

In comparison, a club that has to spend money to replace a stadium in England or Italy - and thus cannot afford what has become a hothouse transfer market - might find themselves suddenly unable to compete. Major clubs across the globe have suffered: River Plate, one of the biggest clubs in Argentina just went down for the first time in its history and will take a massive financial hit. In recent years, clubs as storied as Portsmouth, Southampton, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Cardiff have all struggled to survive in the depths.

While the Premier League tries to soften the blow for relegated teams by handing out so-called “parachute payments” - the three teams share about $80 million over four years - the upfront costs remain staggering. This season, Blackpool, West Ham and Birmingham can expect to lose around $48 million each - a figure that increases each year as the parachute payments are withdrawn to around $70 million per season. Many teams barely survive the revenue losses and some argue that the parachute payments actually make the pain worse over the long term bay masking the financial problems.

Last year’s relegated teams are indeed in trouble. West Ham’s owners said last season that their books were among “the worst in English football;” Birmingham are currently holding a fire sale of their players in an effort just to keep the doors open. Blackpool is the best of the three but has still had to sell off some of its key players. These clubs are not outliers - they’ve become commonplace casualties of an antique system.

It’s not just about money. The modern Premier League brings a club worldwide visibility, with some 600 million people in over 200 countries watching the games each weekend. That brings sponsors, investors and better players - all of whom want a share in the spotlight. Without that spotlight, there’s no incentive for stakeholders at many levels to get involved. And the dirty secret of minor-league sports is this: They never can make the leap to the big-time.

Think of it this way: Would you rather watch the Peoria Chiefs, or the Chicago Cubs? You know the answer if you live outside of Peoria’s city limits. The same holds true for every major sport across the world. Like it or not, some of the small clubs are never going to be big-time no matter what division they are in. It makes a lot more sense to play the sport in places where the fans are - not where one wishes the fans were.

The solution is obvious: Eliminate promotion and relegation and create a fixed league. Argentina was moving to do just that with a radical rethinking of their league structure that would create a single tier divided along geographic lines. If it sounds familiar, well, it should: It’s modeled, in part, on how the NFL divides up its conferences and divisions.

Yes, there’s no denying the thrills of watching a team claw for survival. It’s a grim fun, but a visceral one. That doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for the sport. Right now, a lot of money and time that could be spent on developing domestic talent is being tossed away on overseas long-shots. Facilities are falling into disrepair and communities - and the businesses that depend on football for survival - are being whipsawed on a yearly basis.

And whether or not the fans like it, the abandonment of promotion and relegation is coming sooner than later. A European Superleague, breaking free of FIFA’s incompetence and UEFA’s oversight, is already on the horizon. With it will come a salary cap, player unions, “cost certainty” - and some of the greatest soccer in the world.

See, soccer fans overseas may hate to admit it, but Americans know a lot about running successful sports leagues. And they’re buying into the leagues. Sooner than you think, that Premier League will look a lot like the NFL. And it will be better for it.

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I don'think that's beyond dispute, if this particular allegation happens to be untrue then we should pursue it.

There's only one thing worse than rascist abuse and that's a false accusation of racsict abuse.

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If Evra is making this up, he should be charged as guilty as the people who are racist. Making up racist allegations is as serious as racism itself as it makes it even more difficult to eradicate from society.

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If Suarez isn't found guilty then Evra should be charged with racism for falsely playing the race card purely because his opponent is of a different race.

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I think Suarez should counter and say it was Evra who was racist. Make him taste his own medicine the ****.

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Too much of this racist claims nowadays! It goes way over the top. Comedians might as well pack the bags. What ever Suarez said to Evra would probably be true. That's why it hurts!
Evra can say what he wants to Suarez though. That's ok is it?
The worlds gone mad.

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Wow, Evra. You're pathetic.

I haaate it when people use the race card.

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Intentionally making false accusations of racism could be interpreted as a form of racism in itself, so if this turns out to be Evra telling porkies, he needs punished.

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Suarez is abit like a son. You hope to god that it is not true, and even if you have a slight doubt in the back of your mind, you will fiercly defend him.

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I would like to add another guy has lost his life today. Another soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. It's so sad and tragic that Gary speed has gone and I still can't.get my.head around it but equally as an ex squaddie myself a young soldier gas lost his life. The famous footballer is headline news , the young soldier is small news probably a few lines in tomorrow paper might mention his name

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Sickening thing is that Gary Speed got applause by 20,000 people and a load of celebrities coming out to say how great he was. He chose to die.

The soldier was protecting more than 20,000 people; much more. He will have no-one famous saying how great he was. He chose to protect, and died.

I find it absolutely appalling how Gary Speed's death is being reported. "He was found hanged; no one will know what happened". This is utter crap. "He committed suicide. No-one has any idea why." The media is painting this just like they would a heart attack or a fatal accident. No-one is reporting on it and asking hard questions. I find it troubling.

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If you read in the paper one unnamed solider (or named but you have no idea who he is) has died, and then turn over to find someone famous who you liked died, which are you going to be more upset about?" ...... The soldier killed for me. I can relate to the soldier far more than I can Gary speed. I've worn the same uniform as the soldier and I too have been on operations and lost brothers serving. I love and watch football and I can see from the outside Gary speed was a decent man. but I've never idolised the man. he never played for city or England. A normal guy that is killed serving his country deserves EQUAL respect on the same day a likable ex footballer dies. its just a bit more of a shock to you because you have seen him play and seen him on the t.v and its like , bloody hell Gary speed is dead? I'm shocked, so sad. where as the soldier you have never heard of. your right he did sign up and knew the risks but no,one signs up to go to war, obviously they know there is,a chance it may happen. Our forces are at war but because its not happening in our country its not always massive news. Esp as so many have fallen in afghan and its been going on some time now people like you think oh well thats another one gone. Then turn the paper over.

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If you did see, as I did, a match in which the refereeing was of an extraordinarily low level, you have to decide if this was because the referee was grossly incompetent, or because he was biased. I do not find this too hard to judge, because I cannot believe that a professional referee can make mistakes on such a huge scale, and in such a lopsided manner, by error. Yes, a part time ref in the Conference can – I have seen it – but at this level, no. I don’t think it is possible. If you do think it can happen, well, again, you have your view, and I have mine. But I would say that such a view must cast into doubt the whole basis on which PGMOL works – for to suggest that a pro ref can be this awful through errors is to say that the whole basis of professional refereeing must be questioned in England.

You will see from this that my view is that this was a particularly awful event for the ref, and that I find it hard to believe that he was simply having a bad day. In which case the only explanation is that someone somewhere has persuaded the ref to fix the match. Of course I have no proof, there is no “smoking gun”. Proof is merely offered where match after match after match produces odd decision making against certain clubs and in favour of another. Here I am looking at one game only, and I believe something has gone wrong. I give only my opinion, not assertions.

But to follow my opinion through, where does it lead?

If the match was in some way “influenced” who would be doing that influencing? Surely not Norwich, who are too small a club to be involved in such things. Indeed if we suggest that a club like Norwich would be involved in match fixing then we suggest any club could be – and that every match is open to match fixing. Norwich have no chance of a finish in the Euro places, and no chance of relegation, so it all seems too unlikely.

So who then?

Presumably clubs that wanted to ensure Arsenal were hampered in their attempt to secure third position in the league. That would suggest Tottenham, Newcastle, and Chelsea. It doesn’t suggest that any of them have been attempting to fix referees all season but it does suggest that one of them might have thought it worth enhancing their chances now.

If you think that is all too unlikely then fine – but I do suggest you might consider: was it a fairly refereed match, or was it a badly refereed match – and if the latter, why.

There was much that I saw that was wrong. The tackle by Hoolahan (sorry I don’t know the exact spelling, my apologies) on Coquelin seconds after he came on, was utterly awful. Not just a bad tackle, but one of such intent that it deserved serious action from the ref. One full back had just been carried off, and here we have an immediate awful foul on his replacement. The intent was, I believe, clear. Watch out mate, we’ll get you as well – that was the intention behind that, and I believe a ref has a duty to stamp out such actions.

There were the numerous penalty appeals. As I say I have only seen them in real time, but certainly a couple looked sure fire penalties to me. And there was that dreadful occasion when a Norwich player went down holding his head, had two trainers on, would not go off the pitch, and then eventually, having gone off, sprinted from the goal round the pitch to the halfway line to come back on. Now, I don’t know if you have had a serious head injury in a game that has left you lying on the floor for a couple of minutes. Sadly I have, and I can tell you that the chance of getting up and running like that, after any real head injury is about zero. This was clearly an example of simulation – and the ref did… nothing.

I could go on, but it would be boring, and the ref review will do a much better job. But for me, and I stress this is my personal view having just watched the match in the stadium, it was clear to the players from the off that there was something wrong, and so the frustration and tension built up as they knew that every nudge and push would go unpunished. I think for many of the team it was a novel experience to see such lopsided refereeing.

If I am right, what should Arsenal do? Carry on regardless, knowing that there is a chance that any match can be fixed? Should Arsenal get involved in what seems to be quite a widespread activity? I think neither, and I hope that the club will be gathering evidence to give to the Premier League about what is going on, and will point out the integrity of the league is at issue here and suggest that unless action is taken they will make their views public.

If you believe the match was played fair and square under the rules, or that we just happened to have a ref who was having a singular off day, then ok that’s your view. But as I think back to the game I have just seen, it is not mine.

crappledan posted:

lmao

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I’ve been following the saga of AFC versus the world for the last few years.

The more I see, (e.g Lineker turning on Wenger on MOTD for no apparent reason),
the more I suspect a giant Masonic network controlling football, with tentacles everywhere.

I imagine there are people on the Arsenal board who are subtly against the club.

Watching Murdoch writhe in the Leveson Enquiry, I am convinced that there is at least a reasonable chance of the game being up for this lot…..

…it would be good to think Wenger can come out the other side, and get a fair crack at implementing his project.

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Marcus: Any well informed adult, especially at my age, would have some idea of the influence the Masons can have on any business, it`s a kind of silent mafia. So, whilst there is no proof of such allegations it is more than possible some person or persons is instrumental in moving the chessmen to their advantage. I can well imagine every member of the Arsenal board to be a Mason, especially ex public school. You will never stop it, it`s a code of life, but they can be exposed which will drive them underground for a while.

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When you look at one game in isolation, you “don’t get the conspiracy stuff.” There’s been so much accumulated evidence on UA here for years that point to the probability of conspiracy. There is no smoking gun (yet) to clinch the case (as in the phone hacking scandal). But there are so many events, too many events that cannot be explained by coincidence or chronic ineptitude. So what’s left, then?

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At the end of the match, at handshake time, Lambeth extends his hand as he gives Taylor a nice thanking nod and knowing smile. Have a look for yourselves. Yes, it’s circumstantial, but it does not feel appropriate for just a draw. Why would Lambeth even go to the ref line to shake hands and show thanks to THAT so-called ref (Taylor) on this day when his side (Norwich) should have won (according to some Norwich commentators here) but for the refshite?
Yes, of course I’m angry, but do managers customarily even go to the refs after a match and shake their hands? I don’t know, but customarily, isn’t that post-match handshake with the refs a captains and top players-only thing?

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Abramovich is bribing refs and has been for ages. How else can you explain the semi final goal against Tottenham? How can you explain the 2 offside goals against Wigan. The Lampard goal against Gomes which was not over the line? The game in this country is completely bent and it’s Chelsea who have been getting all the decisions. Very easy for Abramovich to walk into the changing and leave a stash of cash. Italy went that way and it is clear that we have as well.

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Do you recall whether last season Sagna was stomped (the three times) at Birmingham or Sunderland? I think it was one of the two, and, more important, I think that this Taylor was the 4th official and the ref (I think Peter Walton) had let it go. I’ll try to search this out, but that horrific treatment made me feel that Sagna was a marked man and, indeed, a match or two later he struck back at someone and was carded. I feel that there’s been a war on Sagna and it’s high time someone gets called out for the repeated assaults! This is not the only one – there’s at least three and he deserves our massive acknowledgment and support – plus he’s a world class fullback and loves our team. Where is the love back? Petition!

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If the stamp is seen as deliberate then I think AFC need to prosecute it as GBH in court. Sadly I think the politics of the boardroom lacks the integrity to defend the players’ interests.

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official we have become like the rest.. didn't think it could get any darker than the days of those two dickheads..

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I actually feel sick. And after faking a sickie off work as well

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That's it.
See you in a few decades guys, we'll never be the same again

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gently caress off. This isn't the club I know.

We've become Chelsea. Get your plastic flags out lads, this is the way its gonna be.

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This is dreadful. Can't believe it. If he's been sacked the owners could rue the day.

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A dark day for the club...the final nail in the coffin of 'the liverpool way.'

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Joke club.

c*nts running it want to get the loving house in order before placing blame.

Build a dynasty on no foundations. gently caress off, clueless twats.

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yanks out

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Makes me sick all this Norwich Celtic crap. First of all they hate the English they mock the deaths of our armed forces and are as bad as the taliban and the religion that is pushing forward the new revolution in the middle east/northern africa. The IRA were murderers and we cannot be friends with murderers.

Babby Thatcher posted:

do you remember the Blackburn plastics? in Cornwall they emerged in about February of their title winning season and had entirely disappeared (mainly to Newcastle, lmao) by 1997. One of them is a professional footballer now

stickyfngrdboy posted:

Strawman posted:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578006700850207498.html

The typical reaction when North
Americans buy a team is that they will bring deep
pockets, a commercial expertise and a disciplined
and professional management approach to clubs
that have had little of it—and that all of this will
translate to more wins.

rats off to ya posted:

but he's right?

marcadia posted:

@bendtnerb52 you know you can be an awesome talent yea? Please ignore what people say, take to people like David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Ryan Giggs who all have doubters at one point in their careers but forged ahead by simply training harder, analyzing their games and keeping focused. God loves you Bendtner.

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The aesthetes entertainment-versus-points-argument - used to condemn Hughton - is a recalibration of zero.

Oft-repeated, it has become a de-facto urban truth. I do not see the "negativity" and "boring" football and/or tactics that many solipsistically finger-type themselves into a frenzy over.

The football that I see has a maturity, a solidity, a repeatable consistency about it, blended with commitment, bouncebackability and an increasing desire to retain possession, gravitate carefully and purposefully into the final third. This is counterpointed with an awareness of the structural danger of possession turnover in weak areas and well-drilled opposition with pre-meditated counter-attack ploys.

There is an increasing tendency throughout the top division to focus on greater defensive discipline and - perhaps via resource inequality - many sides specialise (if not exclusively, then predominantly) on sharp counters from solid platforms. With many offering similar tactical formations - and controlled fluidity in certain areas - negation (rather then negativity) is prevalent.

Exposure to decades of Italian football - and a schooling in the Dutch way - simply cannot allow me to characterise our current play as a negative. Wet Wednesday's in Stockport were - and no doubt still are - infinitely worse in every aspect. Sepia-tinted views of relatively recent memory have distorted the views of arrivistes who expect FIFA 14 fluidity, which has never existed.