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rechitski kinzhal
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Does the title of this thread refer to me, or to football in general, or people who follow football?
I ask because it seems to me there is so much nonsense surrounding football that is now turned into some kind of fiesta, whereas I am only interested in 22 people kicking a lump of leather around a field!
It seems we now have an annual (or six-monthly) jamboree where football fans and journalists and TV are getting all excited about whether any players are going to change clubs. Sky TV and the BBC both having dedicated reporters at each Premier League club in case one of them sign a fantastic world class player from Madagascar or Paraguay that no-one has actually heard of, yet all the commentators and fans pretend they know him, and start waxing lyrical about his qualities, even though they couldn't even place Burkino Faso or Belarus on a world map, let alone talk in depth about the qualities of one of their central midfielders. Yesterday TalkSport was a constant diatribe of the latest Turkmenistani right winger, or Nicaraguan goalkeeper that might (and never actually did) sign for Burnley, Leicester or Hull City. And BBC had a transfer night special, which I didn't care to watch as I knew they would be discussing the merits of the Cambodian right back, currently on loan at a Slovenian 2nd division club, who is rumoured to be talking to Crystal Palace. And so many football fans, most particularly followers of Premier League clubs, seem to find this entertainment - probably the highlight of their year so far.
Furthermore, the FA Cup has really lost all the allure it had when I was a boy - the days when we were glued in front of the black and white TV from 11.30 until 6.00pm on F A Cup final day are gone ..... clubs often put out a second string side, and if the daggers were to play Burnley away in the third round there would only be a crowd of 3,500 - so how have they managed to "sex up" the draw ..... not that I watch it now, I got turned off by constantly being told I should be excited watching Trevor Brooking pulling black balls out of a bag (is he still doing it - I bet the answer is "yes"?). Champions League draw is the same.
And the World Cup and European Championships - for goodness sake, we all know that England could put on a successful World Cup tomorrow if it had to, so could Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Holland ...... but they have to spend years of planning, with many countries spending tens of millions of pounds in a futile attempt to be awarded the competition which a few million in back-handers to the Committee has already been decided will be played in 50 degree heat in a racist and homophobic, terrorist supporting alcohol free state the size of Basingstoke. And yet the country gets behind the flag waving, poster bellowing cities of Plymouth and Hull who spend their entire Council Tax budget in a doomed PR exercise. Just being in a city (both here and abroad) and seeing everywhere massive hoardings proclaiming "Merthyr Tydfil - World Cup host city candidate" makes me cringe with embarrassment. And when the actual draw for the competition is made, it is yet another jamboree.
Does anyone else feel as I?
Build it and they will come!
Do any of these people actually like football?
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Mike the Dagger
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Highly accurate rant as usual Eb.

I was particularly amused to find that the "deadline" expired at 11pm last night (cue live pictures of "Big Ben" chiming 11) only to discover when I woke up this morning that several deals, including our own Rhys Murphy moving to Oldham, had happened long after this.

Sky are apparently campaigning for "transfer deadline day" to become a national holiday on which everyone has to wear yellow or be shot as a traitor to football.

And don't get me started on Qatar being awarded the World Cup, to which the right solution is the top 10 to 16 countries in the world (the real ones, not the ones in the FIFA rankings) declare UDi and set up a new organisation and a new world cup competition to run football and make the current corrupt bunch of idiots irrelevant.
rebeldagger
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I couldn't agree more, it's the reason as to why I started to support the Daggers over 10 years ago now, just got completely fed up with all the balls (pardon the pun) from the premier league.

There could be many reasons as to why this is, I'm not old enough to remember the time before the premier league, yet I don't know if it is the 'premier league' it self that can be blamed here. Moreover I feel it's Sky, I feel they have taken the soul out of the game with all the money that it's washed with. How can the likes of you or I relate to some one whom earns more in a week then we would in 2-3 years? and if you can't relate to the players, how can you relate to the club?

Unfortunately there is no real answer to this issue, you can't introduce a salary cap, unless it's done across the board and that seems very unlikely.
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ARNU
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Its a class thing.

Gradually the working class roots of the game have been diminished and the corporations and commercial enterprises have taken over.All the affluent middle classes quaffing their Pimms and eating croissants for breakfast love all that razzamatazz.

Can you imagine footy in the 60's if grounds had had boxes you could hire for £500 a game.There wouldn't have been a flat cap in sight,and the prawn sandwiches would have gone to waste.
Bollix to Shampoo, it's real poo we want !
Don Beech 3
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Bit harsh on Brooking although he did start doing it after the great days of Graham Kelly & Birt Millchip.

Transfer Deadline Day, so impressed that Sky(Bet) would waste their time with a petition for it to be bank holiday also as MtD has said they showed Big Ben for the window to be shut and then all the late deals including one of our own went through.
Lcbdagger
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Agree with most of that but it will be difficult to put together correct 'Rankings' of teams while we have the geographical qualification matches for big tournaments... a Columbia or similar will always do well as they generally (Brazil and Argentina) aside have more teams they will win against in a calendar year than many European teams... at the same time, they don't have any Gibraltars or San Marino's who are probably worth almost no ranking points when you beat them.

Japan could go unbeaten in an Asian group for a few years in between World Cups and we know they aren't world's best team but they would need to get ranking points to show their unbeaten run...

Not certain what a better way is to do this unless we just say 'If you're not Brazil or Argentina you get no points in a ranking table unless you are European'.
DaggerSince92
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rechitski kinzhal wrote:Does the title of this thread refer to me, or to football in general, or people who follow football?
I ask because it seems to me there is so much nonsense surrounding football that is now turned into some kind of fiesta, whereas I am only interested in 22 people kicking a lump of leather around a field!
It seems we now have an annual (or six-monthly) jamboree where football fans and journalists and TV are getting all excited about whether any players are going to change clubs. Sky TV and the BBC both having dedicated reporters at each Premier League club in case one of them sign a fantastic world class player from Madagascar or Paraguay that no-one has actually heard of, yet all the commentators and fans pretend they know him, and start waxing lyrical about his qualities, even though they couldn't even place Burkino Faso or Belarus on a world map, let alone talk in depth about the qualities of one of their central midfielders. Yesterday TalkSport was a constant diatribe of the latest Turkmenistani right winger, or Nicaraguan goalkeeper that might (and never actually did) sign for Burnley, Leicester or Hull City. And BBC had a transfer night special, which I didn't care to watch as I knew they would be discussing the merits of the Cambodian right back, currently on loan at a Slovenian 2nd division club, who is rumoured to be talking to Crystal Palace. And so many football fans, most particularly followers of Premier League clubs, seem to find this entertainment - probably the highlight of their year so far.
Furthermore, the FA Cup has really lost all the allure it had when I was a boy - the days when we were glued in front of the black and white TV from 11.30 until 6.00pm on F A Cup final day are gone ..... clubs often put out a second string side, and if the daggers were to play Burnley away in the third round there would only be a crowd of 3,500 - so how have they managed to "sex up" the draw ..... not that I watch it now, I got turned off by constantly being told I should be excited watching Trevor Brooking pulling black balls out of a bag (is he still doing it - I bet the answer is "yes"?). Champions League draw is the same.
And the World Cup and European Championships - for goodness sake, we all know that England could put on a successful World Cup tomorrow if it had to, so could Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Holland ...... but they have to spend years of planning, with many countries spending tens of millions of pounds in a futile attempt to be awarded the competition which a few million in back-handers to the Committee has already been decided will be played in 50 degree heat in a racist and homophobic, terrorist supporting alcohol free state the size of Basingstoke. And yet the country gets behind the flag waving, poster bellowing cities of Plymouth and Hull who spend their entire Council Tax budget in a doomed PR exercise. Just being in a city (both here and abroad) and seeing everywhere massive hoardings proclaiming "Merthyr Tydfil - World Cup host city candidate" makes me cringe with embarrassment. And when the actual draw for the competition is made, it is yet another jamboree.
Does anyone else feel as I?
Build it and they will come!
Do any of these people actually like football?



Has the wife just left you or something mate?
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Mike the Dagger
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Lcbdagger wrote:Agree with most of that but it will be difficult to put together correct 'Rankings' of teams while we have the geographical qualification matches for big tournaments... a Columbia or similar will always do well as they generally (Brazil and Argentina) aside have more teams they will win against in a calendar year than many European teams... at the same time, they don't have any Gibraltars or San Marino's who are probably worth almost no ranking points when you beat them.

Japan could go unbeaten in an Asian group for a few years in between World Cups and we know they aren't world's best team but they would need to get ranking points to show their unbeaten run...

Not certain what a better way is to do this unless we just say 'If you're not Brazil or Argentina you get no points in a ranking table unless you are European'.
That's not really the point I was trying to make though. Trouble is that the votes that keep Blatter and his crew's noses in the trough come from all the fringe assosiations, while the real power houses in world football end up dangling a bit as a result. The Qatar decision was so left field that and obviously influenced by something other than working in the game of football's best interest that it is time to call time on the men in charge and work out a better way of running the biggest sport in the world.

If you have ever had the misfortune to visit Qatar (I have) it is unthinkable that it might be a suitable venue for a major world event like the World Cup for a dozen reasons not least of which is it's shocking human rights record. To compound that by trying to tell the world that holding it in July would be ok is just bonkers, it defies any kind of common sense.

The following is taken from the Qatar tourism site... yes there is one!

The best time to visit Qatar is between October and April, when the temperature dips. The coolest months are December, January and February. The high temperatures (touching 50°C in July-August) coupled with a 90% humidity restricts outdoor activities during summer, but there is still plenty to do within many of Qatar’s well-fitted indoor facilities.
Lcbdagger
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Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:17 pm

Mike the Dagger wrote:
Lcbdagger wrote:Agree with most of that but it will be difficult to put together correct 'Rankings' of teams while we have the geographical qualification matches for big tournaments... a Columbia or similar will always do well as they generally (Brazil and Argentina) aside have more teams they will win against in a calendar year than many European teams... at the same time, they don't have any Gibraltars or San Marino's who are probably worth almost no ranking points when you beat them.

Japan could go unbeaten in an Asian group for a few years in between World Cups and we know they aren't world's best team but they would need to get ranking points to show their unbeaten run...

Not certain what a better way is to do this unless we just say 'If you're not Brazil or Argentina you get no points in a ranking table unless you are European'.
That's not really the point I was trying to make though. Trouble is that the votes that keep Blatter and his crew's noses in the trough come from all the fringe assosiations, while the real power houses in world football end up dangling a bit as a result. The Qatar decision was so left field that and obviously influenced by something other than working in the game of football's best interest that it is time to call time on the men in charge and work out a better way of running the biggest sport in the world.

If you have ever had the misfortune to visit Qatar (I have) it is unthinkable that it might be a suitable venue for a major world event like the World Cup for a dozen reasons not least of which is it's shocking human rights record. To compound that by trying to tell the world that holding it in July would be ok is just bonkers, it defies any kind of common sense.

The following is taken from the Qatar tourism site... yes there is one!

The best time to visit Qatar is between October and April, when the temperature dips. The coolest months are December, January and February. The high temperatures (touching 50°C in July-August) coupled with a 90% humidity restricts outdoor activities during summer, but there is still plenty to do within many of Qatar’s well-fitted indoor facilities.
No doubt, but then UEFA need the balls to move away from FIFA... it's surely not FIFA's job to only appeal to European countries?
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Mike the Dagger
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Lcbdagger wrote:
No doubt, but then UEFA need the balls to move away from FIFA... it's surely not FIFA's job to only appeal to European countries?
Also not my point. It is definitely FIFA's role to ensure the spread of the sport, but its the tail wagging the dog when sucking up to the likes of Trinidad and Tobago and Qatar means that the real powerhouses of the sport (Western Europe and South America) get marginalised.

You think Sepp Blatter is the best man to be running the world's biggest sport?
Lcbdagger
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Mike the Dagger wrote:
Lcbdagger wrote:
No doubt, but then UEFA need the balls to move away from FIFA... it's surely not FIFA's job to only appeal to European countries?
Also not my point. It is definitely FIFA's role to ensure the spread of the sport, but its the tail wagging the dog when sucking up to the likes of Trinidad and Tobago and Qatar means that the real powerhouses of the sport (Western Europe and South America) get marginalised.

You think Sepp Blatter is the best man to be running the world's biggest sport?
Not at all mate, but it's much like talking about elections in what we perceive to be corrupt countires... if Blatter has an election and he gets enough non European votes to make our voices irrelevant, you either play along and complain or you get out

We can't see him win, moan about if but carry on going to WC or other tournaments that FIFA run
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Mike the Dagger
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Lcbdagger wrote:
Mike the Dagger wrote:
Lcbdagger wrote:
No doubt, but then UEFA need the balls to move away from FIFA... it's surely not FIFA's job to only appeal to European countries?
Also not my point. It is definitely FIFA's role to ensure the spread of the sport, but its the tail wagging the dog when sucking up to the likes of Trinidad and Tobago and Qatar means that the real powerhouses of the sport (Western Europe and South America) get marginalised.

You think Sepp Blatter is the best man to be running the world's biggest sport?
Not at all mate, but it's much like talking about elections in what we perceive to be corrupt countires... if Blatter has an election and he gets enough non European votes to make our voices irrelevant, you either play along and complain or you get out

We can't see him win, moan about if but carry on going to WC or other tournaments that FIFA run
Now that was exactly my point!
Last edited by Mike the Dagger on Tue Feb 03, 2015 5:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lcbdagger
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I am personally no fan at all... the Qatar issue is a complete farce, especially as it even brought in arguments with the IOC around the Winter Olympics being staged that year... at that point we should have given the whole thing the heave ho... but you need a principled person to lead a revolt who will then follow through regardless of whether it proverbially goes t*ts up
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