The Football Thread

[victor meldrew]

Originally Posted by Meini Again

Lens and Blues both standing on a sapling across the quicksand.
Anything can happen.

Hammers nearer the bank, and might make a lucky leap...or not.

I am wondering if the drop is what the three incompetents want, given the lack of investment in January. The rent will be halved and should 50k plus still turn up more money for them to pillage from the club.

[tsunamiSD]

The new Los Angeles Football Club has started play, and in their (finally) first home game (after 6 away games). First home game was awaiting the finish of their new $350 million soccer-specific stadium. It is called the 'Banc of California' Stadium, has a capacity of 22,000. Talk about a soccer palace...

LA Times - Banc of California Stadium raising the bar for soccer-specific venues

LA Football Club info on Stadium

[buttsie]

Originally Posted by victor meldrew

I am wondering if the drop is what the three incompetents want, given the lack of investment in January. The rent will be halved and should 50k plus still turn up more money for them to pillage from the club.

Dropping down is never as bad as staying rooted to the bottom half of the EPL
where you play dire 4-5-1 football and win bugger all games every season.

Sunderland look like they are paying the price for so many mediocre years in the EPL
League one at the 1st try - bizarre


West Hams real problem is as soon as they find players that make them more than a lower half survivor the bigger clubs buy/bribe them to leave.

The best you can expect is one of seasons before the inevitable drop
and then you pray for survival


Looking at the games remaining

Huddersfield facing 3 in the top 6 who have something to play for
are probably finished points wise even with Arsenals dire away form

The 2 6 point Swansea v Southampton/Stoke City games will tell the tale

[pierrelm]

Originally Posted by buttsie

West Hams real problem is as soon as they find players that make them more than a lower half survivor the bigger clubs buy/bribe them to leave.

and it's slowly killing competitive domestic football; we've come to something when the two Manchester clubs, and to a lesser extent Chelsea (at least at the moment, but they appear to be declining), can simply sign whoever they fancy?

Even so-called 'big' clubs - by that I'll use the well-worn cliche to capture clubs with genuine title aspirations: Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool now have a genuine problem retaining their best players.

Potch sounds as if he ready to move on from Spurs - at the optimum time for building, it looks like they will soon have lost three of their best back four, with Walker having gone last season and two more edging toward the exit. It doesn't help when wages are held down and the the gormless Levy mentions that he trousers £6m a season.
Eriksen sounds as if his feet are starting to itch and I suspect if Kane sustains his goalscoring then he'll be gone, with Dele to follow as soon as the right offer comes in. Then what? Mid table mediocrity and a revolving door to the home dressing room, I suspect.

The talk of Salah this season has nearly been as much about when he'll leave Merseyside; Arsenal are now a feeder club for the elite; even the once una$$ailable Chelski look vulnerable - if Hazard were more consistent, he'd be at Madrid already.

Clubs like West Ham have no chance and no sympathy from me, at least - they trawl the lower divisions to pick up talent - they act in precisely the same way as the obscene wage payers higher up the table, just on a reduced scale.
The problem is that when clubs uproot and aspire to the really big time, by moving to outsize stadia (I won't call them 'grounds' - I like 'grounds') they attract the brand loyalty customer fanbase who don't have more than a surface understanding of the club traditions and trade in the joy of trudging to a near meaningless wet Tuesday evening League Cup tie as a part of this old-fashioned devotion for the chance to attract the sort of 'customer' who will buy yet another replica shirt and fork out an inflated price to sit quietly in a comfy seat every other week. Football has new priorities these days. It's not football, and it's certainly not the supporters.

Spurs are currently quietly alienateing a considerable number of their traditional long term supporters by the eye-watering season-ticket price hike, an apparently deliberate helpful seat allocation for groups who have had favourite spots together over the years and a calculated, commercial-driven near complete disregard for those who have followed the club for decades. Like West Ham, they are looking to contemptuously shed their traditional support and attract a 'better class' of supporter. That might be difficult if they playing staff and manager show the same loyalty to the club as the club do to the fans.

Mod£rn Football? More than ever, an increasingly meaningless, mercenary merry-go-round.

[victor meldrew]

Originally Posted by pierrelm

Clubs like West Ham have no chance and no sympathy from me, at least - they trawl the lower divisions to pick up talent - they act in precisely the same way as the obscene wage payers higher up the table, just on a reduced scale.
The problem is that when clubs uproot and aspire to the really big time, by moving to outsize stadia (I won't call them 'grounds' - I like 'grounds') they attract the brand loyalty customer fanbase who don't have more than a surface understanding of the club traditions and trade in the joy of trudging to a near meaningless wet Tuesday evening League Cup tie as a part of this old-fashioned devotion for the chance to attract the sort of 'customer' who will buy yet another replica shirt and fork out an inflated price to sit quietly in a comfy seat every other week. Football has new priorities these days. It's not football, and it's certainly not the supporters.

Mod£rn Football? More than ever, an increasingly meaningless, mercenary merry-go-round.

We are not even spending these days, as a few were off loaded in January as well as some loaned out and who will more than likely be sold this summer. It explains, well to me anyway, why we are struggling now as injuries have taken toll and we do not have adequate replacements.
Our "Owners" seem more interested in supporting there businesses rather than moving the club forward as the money rolls in but seems to vanish come transfer time as we buy lower league, has been's and loanee's because they wont buy anyone of note or in some instances sick notes. Lady Brady has more interest outside the club rather than within and it was her goal to oversee the move to Stratford and was handsomely rewarded to boot.
We no longer have a ground or a stadium we play football at a country owned athletics track.
The alienation of our support has been well documented all I will add is empty seats were supposed to be made available via a lottery draw for those souls who wanted to attend, judging by the number of empty seats at each game it appears the faithful are done and dusted and off to pastures new. Two lads at the pub are not renewing next season and have applied to Posh for season tickets.
Its just a shame for us that Sullivan could not rent the Millennium, for if he had, Cardiff would now have our problems.
Finally, for me West ham has always been about meeting family and friends as well as enjoying an afternoon out. You learn early that life is not a bed of roses and you might win the odd cup or two but the title and major European competition is little more than a pipe dream, all we ask is you put in a shift, but those days are long gone.

[Sandi Anderson]

Lpool 1-0

[buttsie]

Originally Posted by LV Gas

Lpool 1-0

After what Roma did to Barcelona Liverpool put the tie out of Romas reach when going ahead 2-1
2 late goals to Roma just make it appear close

1st leg Liverpool 5 Roma 2
2nd leg Roma 4 Liverpool 2

7-6


Interesting that Salah was sold so Roma wouldnt break the FFP rules

[Old Jud]

Well done Liverpool. I might be a United supporter, but I hope Liverpool win the cup and wipe the smug grins off the Madrid mob who think the trophy is in the bank before a ball's been kicked.

[mungy]

Originally Posted by Old Jud

Well done Liverpool. I might be a United supporter, but I hope Liverpool win the cup and wipe the smug grins off the Madrid mob who think the trophy is in the bank before a ball's been kicked.

While I in the other hand hope that Liverpool loose by many many goals. Just like I would expect any Liverpool supporter would feel if we were in the same position.

[Old Jud]

Originally Posted by mungy

While I in the other hand hope that Liverpool loose by many many goals. Just like I would expect any Liverpool supporter would feel if we were in the same position.

Fair comment. I just do not like the arrogance of Real Madrid, since when have we been the 'feeder club' for them?
F*ck em, I hope Liverpool turn them over. But if I had to place a bet then it would be on Real Madrid to win.