You are getting a little paranoid now ,Norway. Suggesting that the fixture lists were drawn up to ensure Swans' would be relegated is totally unfounded. Every team plays each other twice,and that's it. Now if the Swans' had to play the top 6 teams on, say, four occasions,and no other team was expected to do likewise,then you would have a legitimate grievance,but really,your insinuation is just over the top.
Not paranoid Vetch, just throwing it out there thats all Of course its a possibility the fixture computer throws up a difficult run in by chance that is the most likely outcome. I will however throw a few things out there that may make you consider my thoughts on this to hold some,if very little water ! The whole premier league thing is about spending obscene amounts of money and creating Theatre for the masses, throwing cash around and signing superstar players from all over the world is all part of it,that in turn feeds the media,feeds the WAG culture and feeds the must have expensive things culture. Its like a game of russian roulette in terms of what the clubs are doing to compete, we are one of the few to operate at a profit while nearly every other club in the top 3 divisions is losing money hand over fist. IMO all this prem money is not about making the clubs cash rich and making them sound financially run buisnesses its about being reckless and adding drama,making relelgation games a straight 100m shoot out every season is nothing short of fantastic TV. Small unfashionable clubs like Swansea are fine as long as there arnt too many of them, a small ugly duckling can be tolorated in the prem league and viewed as the David V goliath story, problem starts when you get too many of these teams !! The global audience dont want to see the likes of Swansea,Norwich,Southampton, Reading,Wigan and Stoke, soon to be joined by the likes of Cardiff,Watford and Hull !! clubs like these dilute the product . Swansea are not buying into the prem league dream either, they are being frugal and spending wisely,not paying out stupid money and re investing in infrastructure. The fact they are doing all this and winning games is nothing short of remarkable but that never gets mentioned . The premier league product is all about spending the money and providing the product, if somebody comes in and goes against all that then it can easily set a precident, if no teams spend major cash and instead scout and coach their own talent then tthe game here starts losing its star value! While all the exposure is fantastic for us, lets remember that small teams being well run and financially secure go against everything that the prem league is about, its about greed ! Think of the COC Final we played in Feb, what do you think the sponsers thought about that ?? well, the proof of that pudding was in the eating! all the empty seats were from the sponsers section of the ground, that game was probably a big dissapointment for Capital one. Its no different in the prem league, small teams do not keep the sponsers/customers happy its that simple! Sure one or two seasons is fine, there is a novalty value to be had. Swansea has bucked the trend slightly in terms of its brand of football being popular with many Dutch,Scandinavian,Spanish and S.Korean . We add value to the premier league in that respect. But lets make no mistake the ideal prem league would prefer big teams like Leeds,Wolves,Sheff wed etc as they have bigger followings= more subsriptions=more money rather than have a small team who's following is small and nobody outside of UK has heard about. Its all about protecting the product and watering it down with games between Wigan v Watford or Reading V Swansea is not the best way to sell the game worldwide .
Good God, Norway, you need to lighten up a bit. I was merely pointing out that Brendan loved the city, loved the area etc etc and the next week he was off. It's not impossible that Laudrup will do the same. I do make "insightful and constructive" comments on this forum. You've probably missed them as they are concise rather than the 10,000 word ramblings that you post. Anyway, despite being deeply hurt, you are still my favourite poster.
Intresting that you spend alot of time mocking people for being"negative" then post similar yourself,why is this ? snide comments are fine mate but your starting to come across as bit of a stealth WUM You do indeed make "insightful and constructive" comments but only when you post as Mr guilible... Merely pointing out that Brenden loved the city and then he left? well i think we all know this dont we, so whats the point? lets make no mistake Laudrup will indeed do the same one day, though he hasnt professed undying love for the club and city as Brenden martinez did. Yes he may be off sooner rather than later but please try and keep your cheap shots for a time when they may be of use
I won't "derail" your thread with more tittle-tattle. Actually I was lying when I said you were my favourite poster. You only come in at number 5 behind Vetch, Knackered, Ivor and Dragon (not necessarily in that order).
NJ - a bit over-delicate there, I read aswan's post as tongue-in-cheek, which I'm sure is the tone it was meant. It IS kind of funny (now) that previous managers have said that sort of thing before and worth pointing out if only to raise a knowing smile. We're all happy and not taking cheap shots at our own team, or each other, for the last week, let's not start it up again. Back on point - Can't wait to see what his agent uncovers.... This raises the question though....who's our head scout now and what's he up to?
Nolkfolk, i agree but the guy has plenty to say when myself or Ivor for example post something objective. then its all about "here come the negative comments " etc,etc So i post something objective and get blamed for being negative by aswan then post something positive to see aswan being negative!! i dont mind his sarcastic nature and toungue in cheek style but being a total hypocrite is something that i cant stand. Saying things just to get a rise,all be it in a subtle manner is ok with me, but then dont expect to get away with it 100% of the time and be prepared to take a retort when it occours As i said its ok for him to post as Mr gulible and take the piss but when he carries a number of different accounts then its impossible to take everything he says at face value I like the guy but i think his sarcasm was not really needed at a time when some of us are trying to focus on the positive aspects of Swansea city. Forget being delicate, nothing to do with that, its more about the constantly changing principles of certain posters, the opposite is always true when it suite them .
I can see where you are coming from in Post 22,Norway,but the conspiracy would have to be so great to gerimander the fixtures of so many lesser Clubs,that it would not be possible. Clearly,matches between the so called big Clubs is more seductive to the TV crowd,but there is a changing of the guard in the P.L. and smaller Clubs are coming on board. I think that's a move in the right direction. Next season I would love to see Man.Utd.,Chelsea,and Liverpool in a basement dog fight.
I think you are being rather harsh on aswan and Dai,Norway. I was under the impression that it's differences of opinion/making observations,etc.,that make a Forum such as this so attractive. Do we always need someone to bash on here?
very good article you posted Norway. be interesting to see what sort of squad ML can mould now that he has been in the job for a year and he get rid of more of the old and bring in the players he wants. to find another chico or michu will be difficult with the money that is available so an interesting off season to be had me thinks
Could the fixtures have been loaded? well of course they could have, but have they? I'm not so sure, but you had better believe that those in positions of power across the seven bridge, have never played any game with an honest deck or hand, so what Norway states, is far from implausible, matter of fact cheating is rife in all sport, and our English neighbours are not the equitable sportsmen they like to project, just look at the fuss they kicked up when we hammered them fairly in the six Nations, and it wouldn't surprise me at all, if little old Swansea is getting up their little aristocratic pompous noses, but long may it continue, I wouldn't rule anything out when it comes to an Englishman!................. PS: Stop picking on my mate aswan, Norway, and stop being a bully!............
With respect, your totally missing the point, by all means make observations but dont make a certain observation on a monday(for example) and change it completely on a tuesday just for devilment. its not about what people beleive to be true its about saying the opposite just to get a rise, stealth wumming to put a finer point on it. As you know Vetch i have always upheld difference of opinion, if somebody beleives different or has a different view thats great, Aswan enjoys sarcastic comments and i enjoy them too sometimes,even when directed my way! but how about sometimes posters try and stick to the article and dont try and be a clever **** all the time ?? People moan about content and debate and difference of opinon being respected,well, its a 2 way street. How about a bit of respect for the guys that take the time to type an article and just want to talk exclusively about football? This is exactly where this forum falls down for me, normally(on the old606) i would delete idiotic comments on the forum so topic would always be bang on, now all we get are flippent remarks with the odd sensible comment before people such as yourself start talking about the big picture of "opinion/making observations that make a forum such as this so attractive" really? no, what makes forums like this attractive is people being objective and constructive in debate not coming on and saying the world is flat when we all know its not!! Onto topic now. Vetch my post 22 was just an idea of why things could be that way, i agree that it would be very difficult to make it stick but i do beleive that many people higher up the food chain would prefer the premier league to not be watered down with smaller well run clubs that play within their means . Its often the case that the small club never gets the rub with referee's for example. Now i dont beleive a conspiracy on this but i can see why some people moan about bias towars the bigger clubs,we only have to look at the PFA nominations and the england call up rate for smaller clubs to see that wheather you like it or not there isnt a level playing field in terms of recongnition for the smaller teams, is it such a streach to stack the fixture cards against them as well ?
NJ - while I believe the TV companies and the PL will have a hand in adjusting the fixtures so that we have some tasty ties throughout the year and maybe more so at the end of the season they cannot control it 100% and pick on the little guy. I don't even believe 50%. There are too many parameters. There was an article on the BBC about it (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2009/06/secrets_of_the_fixture_compute.html). They have to look at local rivalries (e.g. don't have Liverpool and Everton playing each Manchester club on the same day), transport (will it be gridlocked if you have City and Utd playing at home on the same day?), policing (e.g. Fulham and Chelsea won't play at home on the same day), ground shares, special requests by clubs, etc, etc. Once all those are taken into account the computer program figures it all out and then yes a few tweaks will be done to maximise TV revenues and the global commercialness of the PL. And yes, a lot of people may have predicted little old Swansea to be in the mire and the tail end fixtures would make good TV viewing. As it happens we've once again dispelled that myth and can continue on to be a stable mid-table PL team. Next season will be different. What I am sure about is that next season we'll have a Sunday 11:30am kick off against Cardiff for both television reasons and to minimise the amount of booze the meatheads can drink before the game. No what was the original article about. Oh yes Spanish players. Let's sign them up on the cheap and get next season off to a flyer.
This is all getting rather out of hand. The bottom line as far as I am concerned is that this Forum shouldn't be taken quite so seriously. Just because someone has an alternative viewpoint,doesn't make it wrong,and to openly criticise and pick on individuals is what gangs do,and I don't think that's right. So,some tolerance will make this venue more amenable.
Master - so what your saying is there is already a fair amount of manipulation of the fixtures sysytem. If its easy to program all those parameters then its easy to add other ingredients into the mix. Im not saying this is happening im just throwing it out there really, we have talked about the injustice of the smaller clubs and how things dont seem to go their way sometimes, im sure people will begin to look beyond in form england players being snubbed because they play for an unfashionable club,players ommitted from the PFA nominations because they play for unfashionable clubs, dodgy decisions never going the way of the small clubs , there is some foundation to build this idea on if your that way inclined
Listen mate please get it right, its nothing to do with difference of opinion !1 havent you read the posts ?? Im already past it, but your the one jumping into it and relighting the fire ! keep your trap out of it and stop trying to interveine when it aint your remit, i dont dis agree with your thoughts on fairness , they are bang on but your getting a bit confused as to awhat the issue is here and your going off half cocked
Plenty of ammo here for a conspiracy theory. What's the explanation when Swans' get a dodgy decision in their favour then? And it does happen.
Why are you so aggressive Norway? Is it because someone is questioning you? I have read the posts and most are down to paranoia and a desire to have a go at people. Perhaps you need to take a long hard look at your posts before having a go at me.
