I'm really just hating everything about it. Take our club - in one way I'm sickened by the lack of ambition by the club. But then I stop for a minute and think "well, what's the point? What would we be able to achieve with investment? Finish 8th? Whoop-de-doo". When all you can do is hope for a sugar daddy, surely football has lost all of its' identity? Something needs to be done but won't. There are too many dinosaurs, much like politicians, who only see their own interests at the top of the game. The threat to football is gaming and eSports. It's considerably more entertaining and there will be a seismic shift in interest as the current batch of 11-21 year olds get older. The interest in the game is waning in the UK, the US has no chance of ever catching on (lazy country, already has four bigger sports and is the home of eSports). China's a bit like the US, give it a few years and their eSports leagues will be bigger than the Chinese PL. Japan much the same. I'm not saying football will die, but the current megabucks will definitely, eventually, stop. http://uk.businessinsider.com/nfl-r...more-than-traditional-sports-2017-9?r=US&IR=T
Where was his complaining a few years back? Although I'm glad someone senior has said something, I'd rather they actually properly did something about it. The irony of it coming from Arsene the year after he finally finished outside the top 4, shortly after a rubbish defeat to Swansea, shouldn't be lost on anyone. However, it's a big club moaning, so it carries more weight (again, irony). FFP is a fcking disgrace, but it's FIFA, so just add it to the list with the bribery scandal and they'll file it under "Dont Give A ****, What Are You Gonna Do About It". They're sleepwalking to implosion. Look at the Chinese - instantly recognised the issues, instantly fixed them. The powers want China to have a good national team, they put that first. PL? Don't make me ****ing laugh. Thing is the PL is on its way to implosion. Just like how they ****ed the FA, some European Super League conglomerate will **** them up. And they cannot see it, like the FA couldnt see it. Same with anyone in a position of power - couldn't give a **** about competitiveness, smaller clubs or grass roots - as long as BT/Sky pay a shedload of cash, they get a bit richer.
You could argue that money has always corrupted top division football - at least since 1919 when nouveau riche Arsenal, who had finished 5th, were somehow promoted instead of the 3rd and 4th clubs (Barnsley and ?). One things for sure is that pro football has lost its soul. Everyone in the game is in thrall to money, it's awash with sharks, spivs, gravytrainers and narcissists. And the higher you go up the chain, the worse it is. The problem is much greater for clubs outside of the 'glamourous' big cities where all the uber-rich get to spend their honestly-earned millions. Can you imagine a club like Ipswich Town competing at the very top for 10 consecutive years like they did until 1982? Of course, Leicester did the unthinkable 2 years ago. A similar-sized city to Newcastle, without our support base but growing faster. But clubs need billions to win regularly and only when a club wins regularly does it grow internationally. Man U and Liverpool are huge internationally because they both dominated over long periods. Chelsea now have massive international support for the same reason. Man C fans are appearing globally now too. It really just comes down to money. Money buys success and power and people just love that combination.
More like deluded Arsenal fans thinking they are entitled to success despite being one rung down the ladder from the (super)elite clubs. Hard to bear, but welcome to the club.
If they are one rung down we are hanging off the bottom of the ladder. I am not sure how to resolve the problem though. FFP is a good idea in principle but is stacked against clubs who want to try and break into the elite. I read somewhere that value of City has gone from 160million when they were first bought to over 900million today. Their turnover is now over 400million a year. So while the owners have ploughed in fortunes on players and facilities they have also established the long term viability of the club. If FFP had been properly enforced I dont think they would have been able to do that. The owners at City have grown the club and established world class facilities. They should be commended for that. Its owners like ours who should be penalised for using the club as a vehicle for his main business and actually overseeing a decline in our status rather than an improvement.
Your totally wrong. We ARE th ladder and get stepped on every week. Seriously though Man City generate more money in the loan fees and wage savings per annum on the players they loan out than we do entirely. They Have something like 65 players out on loan or at affiliated clubs. Many of them players would walk into to lower premier league sides. Arsenal cannot complain either. They have spent mega money compared to most premier league teams. Ashley’s inability to speculate to accumulate has meant that we have stagnated at the same or lower level/value since he took over by asset stripping and under investment. We have spent less money in the ten years he has been here than Man City have in the last 12 months. Football is totally about money now and it really is boring as hell. When managers like Rafa setup to not lose to gain a point it means that Man City will either win (most likely) or draw but never lose every game. That is what is happening now. Teams are not having a go at the big six out of sheet desperation for that extra point towards the magic 38.
I keep harping on about it but severely restrict the loan system and that will go a long way to addressing the current inequalities. If Chelsea, Citeh etc even including ourselves were not allowed to loan out more than a handful of players then there would be a much fairer distribution of players especially younger players. It’s not the only step that would be required but, in my view, it would have a significant impact towards creating a more balanced and more even playing field.
This is for me the simplest, most viable option. There is NOTHING to stop the league saying "right, 10 loans max." It doesn't contravene any kind of ethics or human rights laws which can apply to non-national players, it doesn't interfere with earnings or salary capping. Who's benefiting from the additional 55 loans City are doing, outside of City? Nobody. Those players could all be available and employed for affordable sums. Wealth would be inevitably spread. ****ing ridiculous its not even being mentioned. Well, not ridiculous, but goes to show how corrupt everything is.
Plain and simple the 1992 virus. I've joined endless protest groups to support them in protecting lower league clubs from the virus that has infested the pampers league club. I've always said the day my team becomes a Premier club is the day i will stop watching them play. My friends know i'm serious and if supporters across the country took the same mentality we would stop feeding what has become the middle class game. I could go on but will save you the pain
It’s not gonna change one bit unfortunately. I felt like a real fan again when we were in the championship last year. Done loads of away games, drank even more cans, see loads of new places and felt like I got my mojo back. Fast forward to this year and I feel nothing more than a customer and quite frankly cannot be arsed anymore as there isn’t a level playing field anymore. This time last year I’d done 7 away days. This season...1.
