FA Cup thread 2013/14

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Great turn from Januzaj...but then promptly runs it out.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Someone on Redcafe referring to Canas as Malinga. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Great interception from Canas.

Rio is down. :rose:

[Syn]

Someone on Redcafe referring to Canas as Malinga. :haha:

:haha:

He'd definitely chuck the game.

(Ok I'll stop.)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

:lol:

Old Man Rio off injured, Fabio on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

De Guzman giving Buttner's arm a good stomping.

Moyes won't shut up.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Malinga rolling about.

Fabio sent off! :haha:

[Heisenberg]

Fabio sent off? :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Chico booked. So cynical. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

De Guzman off, Vazquez on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Woeful pass from Bony.

[Heisenberg]

Bony! :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man Utd 1-2 Swansea, BONY!!!!!

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Bony. :yippee:

Motes. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Good clearance from Kagawa.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bony you berk.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man Utd 1-2 Swansea, FT! :woohoo:

Moyes. :haha:

Man Utd OUT! :haha:

Laudrup. :bow:

[Heisenberg]

:haha:

[Özil's Panoramic View]

RvC. :haha:

Mancs. :haha:

Motes. :haha:

Laudrup. :bow:

SWAYR. :pal:

[Maestro]

extend mote's contract now please

[Letters]

:haha:

Ah, agent Moyes. With this result you are spoiling us!

:patrice:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He needs to be careful. I'll be cheering them on midweek in the COC. :scarf:

[Marc Overmars]

Fucking hell. :lol:

They are awful. I'll be gutted if we don't beat them next month.

[LDG]

:haha:

Motes :pal:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

FFS Moyes put up some sort of fight.

We want you in for a few years yet.

[Maestro]

:haha:

Ah, agent Moyes. With this result you are spoiling us!

:patrice:

he's baked us a lovely cake, today's result and any other defeats are just icing and toppings. Cake Boss Motes

[Letters]

Cannot believe we lost up there, they are hopeless :doh:

[Maestro]

we ave to beat them next month for sure. it's just psychological but without fergie they are there for the taking.

our team needs a strong dressing down before the game, get their shit together mentally and go out to destroy. they are utter pants right now, one trick muthas ....out wide then cross it.

[GP]

The funniest thing is, there are whole generations of Utd fans who have NO IDEA how to deal with this.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Is it time for another RVP letter? :popcorn:

[Maestro]

has motes come out to explain this latest er ..minor blip

[Ollie the Optimist]

which poster on here spent all summer arguing with cripps that Moyes was the next best thing?

[Syn]

which poster on here spent all summer arguing with cripps that Moyes was the next best thing?

Pretty sure that was letters.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Letters.

:lol: Two of us can't be wrong...

[Syn]

Letters was though.

[Letters]

Letters :lol:

Awlful mod and person.

[Letters]

The funniest thing is, there are whole generations of Utd fans who have NO IDEA how to deal with this.

Michael Western will be crying for 17 gabillion years

Uhuh


:patrice:

[Ollie the Optimist]

does this mean cripps was actually right?

[Ollie the Optimist]

The funniest thing is, there are whole generations of Utd fans who have NO IDEA how to deal with this.

my old neighbour spent all summer gloating and winding me up on twitter/facebook about united having judas, winning the league and how we were failing etc etc.

blocked me. i wonder why :lol: they give it out, cannot take it back. its glorious to see

[Power n Glory]

David Moyes! :lol: Useless fool!

I may his reign of terror continue!

[GP]

my old neighbour spent all summer gloating and winding me up on twitter/facebook about united having judas, winning the league and how we were failing etc etc.

blocked me. i wonder why :lol: they give it out, cannot take it back. its glorious to see

We dem Moyes Boys

[Ollie the Optimist]

We dem Moyes Boys


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTVspy43xxI

[Maestro]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTVspy43xxI

:haha:

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Moyes :haha::haha:

He's on a six year contract as well!! The fools!!


Been reading Redcafe. There's a civil war going on right now between the pro and anti Moyes factions ..... it's amusing to read. :lol:

[Master Splinter]

Motes :haha: :haha:.

It's verging on boring now though.......

Fat Sam :haha: :haha:.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

http://www.redcafe.net/threads/missing-fellaini.381826/#post-14775380

They've cracked.

Got this gem from it though:

http://i.imgur.com/dBYZ9mu.gif

:haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

FA Cup highlights on ITV1 now.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man Utd - Swansea first up.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Where was Man Utd's defence? :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Really was a terrible challenge from Fabio.

Yellow card according to Jim Beglin. :lol:

Bony. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We're all hoping it's not a decline. :haha:

Shut up Strachan.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

http://www.redcafe.net/threads/missing-fellaini.381826/#post-14775380

They've cracked.

Got this gem from it though:

http://i.imgur.com/dBYZ9mu.gif

:haha:

What's even funnier is this post on that thread:


He's not a 30 million player because of his ability but because we were stupid enough to pay that much for him. Kenwright probably has the bank statement confirming the transfer framed in his office.

:haha::haha:

It's funny because he's shit. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Tuesday, 14th January 2014
All kick off times 19:45
Birmingham v Brizzle Rovers
Bournemouth v Burton
Charlton v Oxford Utd
Fulham v Norwich. http://i44.tinypic.com/5bpl5u.png
MK Dons v Wigan
Peterborough v Kidderminster
Plymouth v Port Vale. Come on the Pilgrims. :bow:
Preston v Ipswich
Sheffield Wednesday v Macclesfield
Watford v Brizzle City

Wednesday, 15th January 2014
Man City v Blackburn, 20:10. ITV1

-------------

All the way to pelanties please in the Fulham and Man City games. :lol:

[Master Splinter]

Might brave the Fulham v Norwich game.

Will either be a filthy dirge of a game or a wonderfully messy pubfest.

And Fulham's pensioners should definitely be little bit tired on Saturday. Unless they win tonight and go into the weekend on a high. :(

[Master Splinter]

Fulham: Stekelenburg; Riether, Hangeland, Burn, Richardson; Karagounis, Sidwell; Dejagah, Kasami, Kacaniklic, Bent
Subs: Stockdale, Hughes, Rodallega, Dempsey, Christensen, Tankovic, Dembèlè

Norwich: Bunn; Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Garrido; Fox, Johnson, Snodgrass; Redmond, Josh Murphy, Elmander
Subs: Ruddy, van Wolfswinkel, Fer, Hoolahan, Becchio, Ryan Bennett, Jacob Murphy

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Birmingham: Doyle, Caddis, Mullins, Robinson, Hancox, Burke, Lee, Brown, Ferguson, Novak, Zigic.
Subs: Packwood, Elliott, Reilly, Shinnie, Townsend, Gray, Adams.

Bristol Rovers: Mildenhall, Smith, Parkes, McChrystal, Brown, Norburn, Clarke, Richards, O'Toole, Harrison, Harrold.
Subs: Woodards, Clarkson, Harding, Beardsley, Gough, Lockyer, Keary.

-----------------------

Bournemouth: Allsop, Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels, Pugh, O'Kane, Arter, Ritchie, Pitman, Rantie.
Subs: Surman, Grabban, Jalal, Harte, McQuoid, Fraser, Ward.

Burton Albion: Lyness, Edwards, Diamond, Sharps, McCrory, Buxton, Palmer, Bell, Phillips, McGurk, Kee.
Subs: Siegrist, Hussey, Weir, MacDonald, Knowles, Holness, Harness.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Morrison, Wood, Wiggins, Cook, Cousins, Jackson, Pritchard, Kermorgant, Church.
Subs: Hughes, Evina, Dervite, Green, Harriott, Pope, Pigott.

Oxford Utd: Clarke, Hunt, Raynes, Wright, Newey, Davies, Mullins, Ruffels, Rigg, Constable, Marsh.
Subs: Kitson, Smalley, Williams, Rose, Long, Bevans, O'Dowda.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sheff Wed: Martinez, Palmer, Llera, Loovens, Reda Johnson, Maguire, Semedo, Lee, Helan, Maghoma, Nuhiu.
Subs: Kirkland, Jermaine Johnson, McCabe, Mattock, Corry, McPhail, McKenzie.

Macclesfield: Taylor, Connor, Turnbull, Williams, Andrew, Kay, Boden, Whitaker, Winn, Mackreth, Halls.
Subs: Martin, Bolton, Holroyd, Kissock, Lewis, Branagan, Rowe.

----------------

Watford: Bond, Ekstrand, Angella, Hall, Faraoni, Battocchio, Iriney, McGugan, Anya, Forestieri, Deeney.
Subs: Almunia, Doyley, Murray, Pudil, Fabbrini, Abdi, Nosworthy.

Bristol City: Parish, Osborne, Flint, Fontaine, Moloney, Elliott, Reid, Pack, Bryan, Emmanuel-Thomas, Baldock.
Subs: Fielding, Williams, Cunningham, Carey, Wynter, Wagstaff, Burns.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Snodgrass smacks the woodwork!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 1-0 Burton, Pitman.

Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Macclesfield.

Plymouth 1-0 Port Vale, Gurrieri! :bow:

[Master Splinter]

MK Dons 1-0 Wigan, Luke Chadwick!

http://www.manutdtalk.com/data/squad/91_1311168908x.jpg

:bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

What a beauty.

[Master Splinter]

Fulham 1-0 Norwich, Bent!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Fulham 1-0 Norwich, Bent!

I might need a new stream. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Peterborough 1-0 Kidderminster.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Watford 1-0 Brizzle City, Osborne OG. :doh:

Plymouth 1-1 Port Vale, Hugill. :(

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Plymouth 2-1 Port Vale, Blizzard. :bow:

Fulham 2-0 Norwich, Mick Jagger.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 2-1 Burton, Elphick.

Charlton 0-2 Oxford United, Mullins and Davies. :doh:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Peterborough 1-1 Kidderminster, Gash. :haha:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

2-1 Kidderminster, Byrne.


Gash Byrne.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

1-2, Ed Byrne.

And to the above: Gash Byrne. :haha:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Oops :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Charlton 1-2 Oxford, Morrison.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Oops :lol:

Back now tbf.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Witch!

People are burned at the stake for less than that.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Speaking of those: Preston 0-1 Ipswich, Nouble.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Pelanty to Macclesfield!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sheff Wed 1-1 Macclesfield!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Plymouth 2-2 Port Vale. :(

Fulham 3-0 Norwich, Sidwell.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Preston 1-1 Ipswich, Garner.

2-1, Garner again!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Peterborough 2-2 Kidderminster, Assombalonga pelanty.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Preston 2-2 Ipswich, Eddie McGoldrick.

Peterborugh 2-3 Kidderminster, Lolley!

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Gash Byrne?

Lolley!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Plymouth 2-3 Port Vale. :(

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sheff Wed 2-1 Macclesfield, Maghoma.

[Master Splinter]

Gash Byrne?

Lolley!

Assombalonga?!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

MK Dons 1-1 Wigan, Powell!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Reid missed pelanty for Plymouth. :banghead:

Charlton 2-2 Oxford, Kermorgant!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Birmingham 2-0 Brizzle Rovers, Burke.

Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 Macclesfield, Johnson. :(

Bournemouth 3-1 Burton, Fraser.

How can there be so many goals? :wacko:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Birmingham 3-0 Brizzle Rovers, Burke with his second.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Preston 3-2 Ipswich, Garner hat-trick! :bow:

Bournemouth 4-1 Burton, Pitman pelanty for his second.

[Master Splinter]

Fulham 3-0 Norwich. FT.

Hughton :wave:.

He is awlful.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Yeah, I really don't know how Hughton keeps himself in a job.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 Macclesfield, Llera pelanty. :(

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 4-1 Burton, FT.
Birmingham 3-0 Brizzle Rovers, FT.
Peterborough 2-3 Kidderminster, FT. Durham. :haha:
Charlton 2-2 Oxford, FT. On to a replay there.
Watford 2-0 Brizzle City, FT.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Plymouth 2-3 Port Vale, FT. :(

MK Dons and Wigan on to Extra time.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

MK Dons 1-2 Wigan, Powell with his second!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

MK Dons 1-3 Wigan, Fortune.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

And so the quadruple talk for Citeh begins. :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

And so the quadruple talk for Citeh begins. :lol:

Good news. The more pressure on them the better.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

There is that. Getting a bit annoying that we're just treated as the annoying fly in the room though.

[Marc Overmars]

"Arsenal are there on merit but..."

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Yeah, it's not even "bigger tests to come", given that idea had to be thrown out the window - it's just Man City will power their way through everyone now.

As in, we've had our fun but really we're just like the leaders of a Grand Prix when all the main drivers have already pitted. :lol:

Manchester City: Pantilimon, Richards, Nastasic, Lescott, Clichy, Navas, Garcia, Milner, Fernandinho, Dzeko, Negredo.

Blackeye Rovers: Robinson, Henley, Hanley, Kilgallon, Spurr, Cairney, Lowe, Williamson, Taylor, Marshall, Campbell.

Come on Fat Robbo. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Who is Serji Agaro?

Keane and Dixon in the studio.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Gabriel Clarke in patronising interview style shocker.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Dzeko heads, way over.

Citeh commentary suckfest already. :sick:

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Who'd have thought that a forward pair worth £44m would continue scoring even without their £38m striker.

Makes you think.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Up there with Mourinho's tactical ability to bring Willian and Hazard off the bench.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Dzeko blazes over. :lol:

[milla]

Plymouth 2-3 Port Vale. :(

There is always next decade season. :coffee:

[milla]

Up there with Mourinho's tactical ability to bring Willian and Hazard off the bench.


Who'd have thought that a forward pair worth £44m would continue scoring even without their £38m striker.

Makes you think.

:haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Cairney wins a freekick, should have done better on the counter-attack really.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Marshall's freekick, straight at Pantilimon.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Richards. :lol:

Not sure he was kicked in the head.

[LDG]

Into row dz

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 1-0 Blackburn, Negredo.

[LDG]

Sylar from Heros scores again :(

[LDG]

And again.

2-0

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 2-0 Blackburn, Negredo with his second.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

And back to the snooker.

[Özim]

Negredo has got to be the signing of the summer, turning out to be a snip.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Come on Blackeye.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

King should have made it 2-1.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

How can a corner not be given? :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 3-0 Blackburn, Dzeko.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 4-0 Blackburn, Aguero. :lol: Only just came on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

5-0, Dzeko with his second.

[Özim]

This Man City side never let up, they really put teams to the sword once they have them on the ropes.....probably good for confidence too knocking in goals left right and centre.

[Ollie the Optimist]

This Man City side never let up, they really put teams to the sword once they have them on the ropes.....probably good for confidence too knocking in goals left right and centre.

you do know this is an FA cup replay right? its probably not that good for confidence knowing they are playing tonight because they failed to beat a championship team at the first attempt

[Özim]

you do know this is an FA cup replay right? its probably not that good for confidence knowing they are playing tonight because they failed to beat a championship team at the first attempt

A 5-0 win is always good for confidence regardless of the game.

Scoring goals gives players more confidence.

[Ollie the Optimist]

city beat a championship side at the second attempt. well done them

[Özim]

They haven't just been spanking them in tonight though have they?

[Ollie the Optimist]

They haven't just been spanking them in tonight though have they?

why do you always defend city? yes they've been scoring lots of goals at home, but they keep failing away from home. this time cost hundreds of millions of pounds and people are wanking over them for beating a championship side in a replay.

[Özim]

I made a comment about them putting teams to the sword, they do.

You said it was a replay against a Championship side and doesn't matter.

I said they've been doing it against lots of other teams.

It's not defending them it's stating facts, money is irrelevant from a pure footballing point of view (the way I look at it) they're a ruthless side who score a hatful of goals and generally play great attacking football. Pellegrini is a top manager and obviously there was going to be a settling in period, they are starting win away now however.

My personal opinion is from a pure footballing point of view they set the bar and are the team to beat. Chelsea are too but I don't think we'll see the best of them until next season when Mourinho has his team setup as he wants it.

[Ollie the Optimist]

I made a comment about them putting teams to the sword, they do.

You said it was a replay against a Championship side and doesn't matter.

I said they've been doing it against lots of other teams.

It's not defending them it's stating facts, money is irrelevant from a pure footballing point of view (the way I look at it) they're a ruthless side who score a hatful of goals and generally play great attacking football. Pellegrini is a top manager and obviously there was going to be a settling in period, they are starting win away now however.

My personal opinion is from a pure footballing point of view they set the bar and are the team to beat. Chelsea are too but I don't think we'll see the best of them until next season when Mourinho has his team setup as he wants it.


yeah of course, money is totally irrelevant here. its not like city spent 100's of millions to buy players who can play football like that. nope not in the slightest.

[Özim]

yeah of course, money is totally irrelevant here. its not like city spent 100's of millions to buy players who can play football like that. nope not in the slightest.

I don't really care about the money, it's part and parcel of football nowadays and it's not going to change, you need to accept it and get over it. Based on that we need forget about it and stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get on with it.

It's all relative anyway, sure they have spent a lot but there's always been big clubs with greater resources outspending other clubs, it's just been magnified now due to the bigger transfer fees, Italian sides use to spend a hatful on players in the 90's an won stack loads of trophies.

[Ollie the Optimist]

justifying spending on players like city and chelsea do :lol:

there is no justification. you can only do that when you are backed by oil money, city and chelsea could have stadium debts etc and not care about it because they are bankrolled by so much oil money they can pay them off and spend 100's of millions each season. no other clubs in england can. thats not a level playing field at all. its not even competing with greater resources. who else can spend 25 million on jovetic and not play him? who else can sell a player for 3 million and resign them at 20 million and not care about it.

[Özim]

and?

Maybe we should just get a huge benefactor and join in, will that keep you happy? If not then you need to get over it and move on.

I can't be asked to focus on the money, I prefer to look at how the teams play, we've got plenty of resources ourselves so we're hardly the paupers of the football world.

[Niall_Quinn]

City is a once distinguished now despicable club that has been hijacked by arabs who stole a fortune based on some archaic notion they have a God given right to gather the resources of a nation into their own hands. They have tried to use the proceeds of their immoral activities to buy some sort of respectability in the UK, via ownership of what was once a football club. Because the FA is staffed by weak, greedy and incompetent cowards these arabs have achieved their goals, technically speaking, though surely nobody is really fooled?

Even with the obscene amounts of money they have ploughed into the attempted purchase of titles and trophies they have come up laughably short, beaten by a mediocre Man Utd last season and headed by an Arsenal in transition this year, not to mention a series of humiliations in the Champions League. It really is comedy stuff, like a heavyweight constantly being knocked out by a featherweight - you'd laugh your arse off if that happened but because there so much money in the equation people barely mention just how poorly they have performed comparatively.

Now they have ploughed hundreds of millions more into their efforts and by trail and error have eventually managed to staff almost every place in the squad with high fee/ high salary mercenaries to the extent they are virtually immune from the effects of injuries, suspensions and general fatigue.

If this is achievement of any kind then why not find the next boy scout selling lemonade, whip out your wallet and set up a bigger stand and put the kid out of business then gloat about it? See how it feels to be al-manchester city. Of course some people admire them for this, hard to know why but they do.

[Niall_Quinn]

As for Arsenal, as much as we have all hated it, they run the club as a proper business. There is absolutely no comparison between the two in terms of business practices and the spirit of the game in general. The arabs are trying to buy what we already have, but they'll find their money can't buy everything.

[fakeyank]

City is a once distinguished now despicable club that has been hijacked by arabs who stole a fortune based on some archaic notion they have a God given right to gather the resources of a nation into their own hands. They have tried to use the proceeds of their immoral activities to buy some sort of respectability in the UK, via ownership of what was once a football club. Because the FA is staffed by weak, greedy and incompetent cowards these arabs have achieved their goals, technically speaking, though surely nobody is really fooled?

Even with the obscene amounts of money they have ploughed into the attempted purchase of titles and trophies they have come up laughably short, beaten by a mediocre Man Utd last season and headed by an Arsenal in transition this year, not to mention a series of humiliations in the Champions League. It really is comedy stuff, like a heavyweight constantly being knocked out by a featherweight - you'd laugh your arse off if that happened but because there so much money in the equation people barely mention just how poorly they have performed comparatively.

Now they have ploughed hundreds of millions more into their efforts and by trail and error have eventually managed to staff almost every place in the squad with high fee/ high salary mercenaries to the extent they are virtually immune from the effects of injuries, suspensions and general fatigue.

If this is achievement of any kind then why not find the next boy scout selling lemonade, whip out your wallet and set up a bigger stand and put the kid out of business then gloat about it? See how it feels to be al-manchester city. Of course some people admire them for this, hard to know why but they do.

:gp:

Unfortunately we cant do much about this :(

[Özil's Panoramic View]

City is a once distinguished now despicable club that has been hijacked by arabs who stole a fortune based on some archaic notion they have a God given right to gather the resources of a nation into their own hands. They have tried to use the proceeds of their immoral activities to buy some sort of respectability in the UK, via ownership of what was once a football club. Because the FA is staffed by weak, greedy and incompetent cowards these arabs have achieved their goals, technically speaking, though surely nobody is really fooled?

Even with the obscene amounts of money they have ploughed into the attempted purchase of titles and trophies they have come up laughably short, beaten by a mediocre Man Utd last season and headed by an Arsenal in transition this year, not to mention a series of humiliations in the Champions League. It really is comedy stuff, like a heavyweight constantly being knocked out by a featherweight - you'd laugh your arse off if that happened but because there so much money in the equation people barely mention just how poorly they have performed comparatively.

Now they have ploughed hundreds of millions more into their efforts and by trail and error have eventually managed to staff almost every place in the squad with high fee/ high salary mercenaries to the extent they are virtually immune from the effects of injuries, suspensions and general fatigue.

If this is achievement of any kind then why not find the next boy scout selling lemonade, whip out your wallet and set up a bigger stand and put the kid out of business then gloat about it? See how it feels to be al-manchester city. Of course some people admire them for this, hard to know why but they do.

Well said.

[hobson's choice]

As for Arsenal, as much as we have all hated it, they run the club as a proper business. There is absolutely no comparison between the two in terms of business practices and the spirit of the game in general. The arabs are trying to buy what we already have, but they'll find their money can't buy everything.


The question I always ask people like you. Is how can clubs, like what City used to be, get to our level without some sort off "money ain't a thing" Billionaire coming in and spending big.

It's all well and good to criticize City, Chelsea, PSG, and Monaco. But what's the other option. Small to mid level clubs, simply can't get to title winning levels the old fashion ways anymore, it's not possible.

Southampton are one off the Clubs doing it the "right" way, but best believe their best players at the moment, won't be there in a couple years. They'll be at Liverpool, Chelsea, City, Us, United, etc. Why, because they are gonna get paid more, and have a chance at the title, bigger endorsements, and so on.

The fact is we can sit here and bitch about City, Chelsea, and the likes, but what else are they supposed to do. The problem is not City. Chelsea etc. Is this system we have where only a certain few will ever have a chance at success.

[LDG]

The question I always ask people like you. Is how can clubs, like what City used to be, get to our level without some sort off "money ain't a thing" Billionaire coming in and spending big.

It's all well and good to criticize City, Chelsea, PSG, and Monaco. But what's the other option. Small to mid level clubs, simply can't get to title winning levels the old fashion ways anymore, it's not possible.

Southampton are one off the Clubs doing it the "right" way, but best believe their best players at the moment, won't be there in a couple years. They'll be at Liverpool, Chelsea, City, Us, United, etc. Why, because they are gonna get paid more, and have a chance at the title, bigger endorsements, and so on.

The fact is we can sit here and bitch about City, Chelsea, and the likes, but what else are they supposed to do. The problem is not City. Chelsea etc. Is this system we have where only a certain few will ever have a chance at success.


Get out :lol:

Even gooners are buying into it.

Ther reason we are where we are, is that the people that run our club (like them or loathe them) have made very astute decisions over a long period of time. We breed it. We make it essential that we do things properly, cleverly and with a touch of class.

Any other club in the world could have signed arsene wenger as manager before we did.

Other clubs have not made clever decisions. Just looks at Spurs.

The playing field has never been level, simply because more fans have chosesn to support certian clubs rather than others, but in terms of the top tier or professional football, any club with a good business leader, cultered thinkers, PROPER knowledge of the game throughout their hiarachy cohld have done the same as us.

But you constantly see sides who think that signing Harry Redknapp or Mark Hughes is a good way to run a club. These people are just stupid. It has nothing to do with money at all!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

The question I always ask people like you. Is how can clubs, like what City used to be, get to our level without some sort off "money ain't a thing" Billionaire coming in and spending big.

It's all well and good to criticize City, Chelsea, PSG, and Monaco. But what's the other option. Small to mid level clubs, simply can't get to title winning levels the old fashion ways anymore, it's not possible.

Southampton are one off the Clubs doing it the "right" way, but best believe their best players at the moment, won't be there in a couple years. They'll be at Liverpool, Chelsea, City, Us, United, etc. Why, because they are gonna get paid more, and have a chance at the title, bigger endorsements, and so on.

The fact is we can sit here and bitch about City, Chelsea, and the likes, but what else are they supposed to do. The problem is not City. Chelsea etc. Is this system we have where only a certain few will ever have a chance at success.

What you say might be true (I don't think lamenting of there being no other way is why the owners spend this money personally) however talking about how it's the only way to compete sounds a bit misguided in somehow protecting them when clubs a la Man City and Chelsea do become the institution. Then what? Is it any easier for other clubs to compete with them than it was competing with the other clubs beforehand? I'd say not.

What you say above - it's the only way, really means the death of good management and planning. It's probably also why those lower clubs you mention take on any owner, regardless of what they may eventually want or do with the club (see Cardiff and Hull) start chasing a dream and end up in a far worse state than they were before but it will be justified because they manage to attain some short term success (in this case promotion) and the fans are supposed to be grateful forevermore of those short few seasons of success.

[Özim]

Get out :lol:

Even gooners are buying into it.

Ther reason we are where we are, is that the people that run our club (like them or loathe them) have made very astute decisions over a long period of time. We breed it. We make it essential that we do things properly, cleverly and with a touch of class.

Yes there's that and the fact the Champions League has become a cash cow for the big clubs to get richer and richer, they set the rules and thus increase the gap between themselves and the rest of the clubs, that's how it's been working.

People still make this claim it's fair and a level playing field when it's a well known fact the top clubs basically mould competitions for their financial gain.

[Letters]

:gp:

Unfortunately we cant do much about this :(
So why do you moan your tits off and call Wenger every name under the sun when we finish below them?

[Letters]

People still make this claim it's fair and a level playing field
Do they? Who claims that?

[Özim]

Do they? Who claims that?

Some of the people complaining about oil money.

[LDG]

Some of the people complaining about oil money.

Who?

Nobody. That's who.

[Özim]

Who?

Nobody. That's who.

Did you talk about how unfair it was on other clubs before Chelsea showed up? I doubt it.

[LDG]

Did you talk about how unfair it was on other clubs before Chelsea showed up? I doubt it.

Yes.

Lots of other people did too.

There was report after report of small clubs going under because the TV revenue was not feeding down from the top.

[Özim]

Yes.

Lots of other people did too.

There was report after report of small clubs going under because the TV revenue was not feeding down from the top.

Hard to believe, but even if you did I would suggest you were the exception, I certainly didn't complain about it.

Sure there was stuff in the press but the fans of the bigger clubs really didn't give a toss. It only matters when it affects you.

[Letters]

Get out :lol:

Even gooners are buying into it.

Ther reason we are where we are, is that the people that run our club (like them or loathe them) have made very astute decisions over a long period of time. We breed it. We make it essential that we do things properly, cleverly and with a touch of class.

Any other club in the world could have signed arsene wenger as manager before we did.

Other clubs have not made clever decisions. Just looks at Spurs.

The playing field has never been level, simply because more fans have chosesn to support certian clubs rather than others, but in terms of the top tier or professional football, any club with a good business leader, cultered thinkers, PROPER knowledge of the game throughout their hiarachy cohld have done the same as us.

But you constantly see sides who think that signing Harry Redknapp or Mark Hughes is a good way to run a club. These people are just stupid. It has nothing to do with money at all!
Agree with a lot of that but also have to agree with hobson's choice. Yes, there have always been haves and have nots but the gap between them has increased exponentially in the Sky era with the huge increases in TV money and the CL expanding to keep a little group of teams at the top of each league which is very hard to break into. Without a huge injection of money I don't see how any team can get up there these days. Prudent management isn't enough any more IMO.

[Letters]

Hard to believe, but even if you did I would suggest you were the exception, I certainly didn't complain about it.

Sure there was stuff in the press but the fans of the bigger clubs really didn't give a toss. It only matters when it affects you.

It only matters when the gap between the haves and have nots is so big that the only way of hoping to get up there is to have a huge injection of money.
That has only been so relatively recently in the context of the whole history of football.

[Özim]

Agree with a lot of that but also have to agree with hobson's choice. Yes, there have always been haves and have nots but the gap between them has increased exponentially in the Sky era with the huge increases in TV money and the CL expanding to keep a little group of teams at the top of each league which is very hard to break into. Without a huge injection of money I don't see how any team can get up there these days. Prudent management isn't enough any more IMO.

I agree with you, whilst oil money is unfair, the gap between big clubs and small clubs was growing way before they came along and that was my point really (not that the companies with big benefactors are doing it fairly).

Nowadays though you kinda have to accept that's the way it is, let's face it it's not going to change so you just have to get on with it and compete anyway you can, I think it's possible as we're showing and Man U have for years.

[LDG]

Hard to believe, but even if you did I would suggest you were the exception, I certainly didn't complain about it.

Sure there was stuff in the press but the fans of the bigger clubs really didn't give a toss. It only matters when it affects you.

I wouldn't expect you to care about it, as it's quite obvious you have no affection for football in its purest sense. You're happy to let artificially inseminted clubs like City and Chelsea waltz around.

[Özim]

It only matters when the gap between the haves and have nots is so big that the only way of hoping to get up there is to have a huge injection of money.
That has only been so relatively recently in the context of the whole history of football.

That's true, but I think it was before Chelsea showed up, Leeds tried to do it and did to some extent (then it went wrong for them), Blackburn did it, look at who has won the PL since SKY turned up and who has generally been towards the top, it was mostly the same teams.

[Özim]

I wouldn't expect you to care about it, as it's quite obvious you have no affection for football in its purest sense. You're happy to let artificially inseminted clubs like City and Chelsea waltz around.

No I'm realistic enough to realise it's not going to change (otherwise it would have by now), you seem to live up in the clouds where you think if you complain about it and belittle their achievements it will make the slightest bit of difference. It won't.

At some point you just have to accept it is what it is and get on with it, I'm not interested in the financial side, I'm interested in what happens on the pitch and how we develop our squad.

[Letters]

No I'm realistic enough to realise it's not going to change (otherwise it would have by now), you seem to live up in the clouds where you think if you complain about it and belittle their achievements it will make the slightest bit of difference. It won't.
No, it won't. But I'm not going to coo over what a good side they are.
Give me a billion quid and I'll build you a good side.

It's possible to compete to an extent but we will need to be lucky with injuries to sustain this challenge. Clubs like City and Chelsea can throw enough money around to build such big squads that injuries aren't really a factor. If your striker gets injured you can just pull enough £30m signing off the bench. For all our resources we can't do that.
Utd competed only because of the brilliance of Fergie - and they have plenty of money too of course. Without him...well, struggling would be pushing it but Spurs are above them, that's all you need to say about that.

It is just the way it is though and until any sensible measures are put in place to stop clubs living beyond their means and distribute the money through the game more evenly (something none of the top clubs will want as it will affect them most), that's the way it'll always be.

[GP]

I just downloaded Angry Birds.

Paid 30 quid to unlock all the levels.

I'm ever so good at Angry Birds.

[Letters]

I just downloaded Angry Birds.

Paid 30 quid to unlock all the levels.

I'm ever so good at Angry Birds.
Did I tell you about that time I bought a degree off the internet?
I'm ever so clever, me.

[GP]

Did I tell you about that time I bought a degree off the internet?
I'm ever so clever, me.

Well there's just no other way to get a degree these days.

[Özim]

No, it won't. But I'm not going to coo over what a good side they are.
Give me a billion quid and I'll build you a good side.

It's possible to compete to an extent but we will need to be lucky with injuries to sustain this challenge. Clubs like City and Chelsea can throw enough money around to build such big squads that injuries aren't really a factor. If your striker gets injured you can just pull enough £30m signing off the bench. For all our resources we can't do that.
Utd competed only because of the brilliance of Fergie - and they have plenty of money too of course. Without him...well, struggling would be pushing it but Spurs are above them, that's all you need to say about that.

It is just the way it is though and until any sensible measures are put in place to stop clubs living beyond their means and distribute the money through the game more evenly (something none of the top clubs will want as it will affect them most), that's the way it'll always be.

But from a purely football point of view they are a good side, they do play good football and win a lot of games, that's not solely down to money it takes good management as well otherwise any Tom, Dick or Harry would win with them and they don't. Let's not forget we use to play football like this and win (and did in the FA Cup against Spurs interestingly).

I think it's possible, IMO we have filled our squad with a lot of players who are very susceptible to injuries which doesn't help our cause, we also don't seem to be proactive enough, if we don't sign a striker this January it will be an example of this (though I hope we do and that things have changed).

I don't think you need 30 million pound signings on your bench, if you're clever you can pick up quality players for much less (Negredo being one example), it's not as simple as going out and spending 40 million on someone all the time, whilst it's great if you can there are other ways to skin a cat.

[Özim]

I just downloaded Angry Birds.

Paid 30 quid to unlock all the levels.

I'm ever so good at Angry Birds.

Well no because you haven't completed all the levels, what a strange analogy.

[Letters]

Well no because you haven't completed all the levels, what a strange analogy.
A better analogy would be getting through Candy Crush by buying boosters for every level to make it much easier.

[Letters]

But from a purely football point of view they are a good side, they do play good football and win a lot of games, that's not solely down to money it takes good management as well otherwise any Tom, Dick or Harry would win with them and they don't.
OK. And how do you get a top manager?
HINT: Big salary...

[GP]

Only losers play candy crush

[LDG]

No I'm realistic enough to realise it's not going to change (otherwise it would have by now), you seem to live up in the clouds where you think if you complain about it and belittle their achievements it will make the slightest bit of difference. It won't.

At some point you just have to accept it is what it is and get on with it, I'm not interested in the financial side, I'm interested in what happens on the pitch and how we develop our squad.

I'm not living up in the clouds at all. All I'm saying, quite rightly, is that any achievement is shallow, given that it is akin to steroids in athletics.

Yes, there has never been a level playing field, but at least we kicked ourselves up the table by playing football, and earnt our rewards that way, rather than having the money first and then buying the rewards.

I do accept that it is part of the game. I don't have to agree with it. And I can certainly complain about it if I feel it is corrupt (which it is). But I actually take pleasure in the fact that we're giving them a run for their money (pardon the pun), without those luxurys. Ultimately, we will never win though, because we can't have 100 million quids worth of strikers sat on the bench....

You can praise their achievements in that respect if you wish, but I think that's pretty shallow in itself.

[Özim]

A better analogy would be getting through Candy Crush by buying boosters for every level to make it much easier.

That's a better one yes, although you could argue that you're buying boosters because clubs before that were already cheating, you just found a better way of cheating.

[Özim]

OK. And how do you get a top manager?
HINT: Big salary...

Yes but aren't you highlighting the point here, without an injection of money you have no hope of every bridging the gap.

[Letters]

Yes but aren't you highlighting the point here, without an injection of money you have no hope of every bridging the gap.
That is one of my points, you just said it wasn't solely down to the money but it is. It all comes back to the money one way or another.

[Özim]

I'm not living up in the clouds at all. All I'm saying, quite rightly, is that any achievement is shallow, given that it is akin to steroids in athletics.

Yes, there has never been a level playing field, but at least we kicked ourselves up the table by playing football, and earnt our rewards that way, rather than having the money first and then buying the rewards.

I do accept that it is part of the game. I don't have to agree with it. And I can certainly complain about it if I feel it is corrupt (which it is). But I actually take pleasure in the fact that we're giving them a run for their money (pardon the pun), without those luxurys. Ultimately, we will never win though, because we can't have 100 million quids worth of strikers sat on the bench....

You can praise their achievements in that respect if you wish, but I think that's pretty shallow in itself.

I'd liken it to someone taking steroids because they wanted to beat the people who were winning using better equipment only available to them.

To an extent yes we did, but we've had plenty of influence on how the game should be run being in the group of large clubs who made the decisions.

You can complain about it of course, but ultimately it won't really belittle their achievements because history will only show how successful they have been not how much monety they've spent. You'll also find most of the people you see talking about them still praise their achievements because they look at it from the point of view of what's happening on the pitch, which is the way I prefer to look at it.

[Özim]

That is one of my points, you just said it wasn't solely down to the money but it is. It all comes back to the money one way or another.

When I said it wasn't solely about money, what I meant was that you can't just given someone x amount and then expect them to win, the person you employ still needs to be very good at what they are doing, I appreciate top managers do cost money, although theoretically it's possible to find managers to do a job who aren't as high profile, Di Matteo at Chelsea (though he didn't last long).

[Letters]

You'll also find most of the people you see talking about them still praise their achievements because they look at it from the point of view of what's happening on the pitch, which is the way I prefer to look at it.
Most pundits do seem to praise them, it's true. I find it baffling tbh.
I don't regard them winning the league, or any other trophy, as an 'achievement'.
Whatever the history books may say we all know how they're doing what they're doing and they deserve zero credit.
Any decent book wouldn't just be a list of records, it would provide some context and therefore mention the money anyway.

[LDG]

They're listening :o

:ninja:

http://news.arseblog.com/2014/01/fox-success-on-our-own-terms-remains-arsenal-aim/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

[fakeyank]

So why do you moan your tits off and call Wenger every name under the sun when we finish below them?

Because there are some obvious things which he hasnt done in past seasons. 'Things' which wouldnt have cost a dime most of the times or even if they did, it wouldnt have been something that'd have killed us as a club. I have mentioned these before and I'll give a quick highlight:
- Playing players in their best positions. Ex: Diaby on left, Eduardo and Bendtner on the wings, Kos on the right etc
- Working on the defense. In particular, dead ball situations. We have drastically improved this season but lets not forget 7 seasons of horror
- Investing a lot of time and effort into crocks and AW's love childs. Ex: Diaby, Rosicky, Almunia
- Not investing the extra 1 or 2 million quid on a player that wouldve changed our team from challengers to champions. Ex: Alonso, Schwarzer
- Waiting pretty much every transfer window till the last minute to buy players and then give the usual excuses "Waiting period", "It takes a player six months to get used to English conditions"
- Not keeping a hold of experienced players. Yes, they might have lost that extra pace on the field but what they can offer in the dressing room is priceless. Ex: Lauren, Gilberto, Vieira, Pires and very soon, likely to be Sagna.

Like NQ had said, these mega rich clubs are failing too despite their huge investments. Its up to us to make sure we grab any and every opportunity we get to capitalize on their weaknesses. If we do not sign a striker this window, that'd be one of those opportunities I'm talking about. And no, I am not putting forward unrealistic names like Reuss and Costa. Let's just get Berba to have a sure fire and decent backup. Let's not fuck up our very good position in the league. Do I think AW will do anything about it? Highly unlikely...

[hobson's choice]

What you say might be true (I don't think lamenting of there being no other way is why the owners spend this money personally) however talking about how it's the only way to compete sounds a bit misguided in somehow protecting them when clubs a la Man City and Chelsea do become the institution. Then what? Is it any easier for other clubs to compete with them than it was competing with the other clubs beforehand? I'd say not.

What you say above - it's the only way, really means the death of good management and planning. It's probably also why those lower clubs you mention take on any owner, regardless of what they may eventually want or do with the club (see Cardiff and Hull) start chasing a dream and end up in a far worse state than they were before but it will be justified because they manage to attain some short term success (in this case promotion) and the fans are supposed to be grateful forevermore of those short few seasons of success.

A good example is Sevilla. they've done it the "right" way, and they've had some success, even got very close to winning a title. Look at them now, just another mid table team battling for scraps. Because every season they have to sell their best players, or possibly lose a manager to a bigger and better job. They have a good academy, good scouting network. but it's hard to consistently produce good players from your academy. And in this day, no matter how good your scouting is, it ain't easy getting diamonds in the rough, like they used to.

A huge cash injection is the only way for small clubs with big dreams, because cash is the only way you can retain quality. You can plan, hire a great manager, have a great academy. But what does mean when Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Liverpool, United come calling.

Is not about being able to buy, it's about being able to retain , that's what big cash gets you. Which is what small clubs can't do

[hobson's choice]

Get out :lol:

Even gooners are buying into it.

Ther reason we are where we are, is that the people that run our club (like them or loathe them) have made very astute decisions over a long period of time. We breed it. We make it essential that we do things properly, cleverly and with a touch of class.

Any other club in the world could have signed arsene wenger as manager before we did.

Other clubs have not made clever decisions. Just looks at Spurs.

The playing field has never been level, simply because more fans have chosesn to support certian clubs rather than others, but in terms of the top tier or professional football, any club with a good business leader, cultered thinkers, PROPER knowledge of the game throughout their hiarachy cohld have done the same as us.

But you constantly see sides who think that signing Harry Redknapp or Mark Hughes is a good way to run a club. These people are just stupid. It has nothing to do with money at all!


What are you smoking, and can I get some of that please. I understand where you are coming from, but it's just not reality.

[Niall_Quinn]

A good example is Sevilla. they've done it the "right" way, and they've had some success, even got very close to winning a title. Look at them now, just another mid table team battling for scraps. Because every season they have to sell their best players, or possibly lose a manager to a bigger and better job. They have a good academy, good scouting network. but it's hard to consistently produce good players from your academy. And in this day, no matter how good your scouting is, it ain't easy getting diamonds in the rough, like they used to.

A huge cash injection is the only way for small clubs with big dreams, because cash is the only way you can retain quality. You can plan, hire a great manager, have a great academy. But what does mean when Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Liverpool, United come calling.

Is not about being able to buy, it's about being able to retain , that's what big cash gets you. Which is what small clubs can't do

FFP was meant to help, but the games is run by crooks. A start would be to get rid of the crooks and introduce some sort of a system that penalises clubs who run up huge losses whilst having huge wage bills. Current FFP locks the bigger clubs to the top and locks the smaller clubs out, should be the other way around. Get the corruption that apparently doesn't exist out of the game.

[Niall_Quinn]

And have proper tests for club ownership, look at city's last two owners. Human rights abusers, given a free pass because they have loads of cash. Same with the thieving oligarchs. Get these bastards out of the game.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

A good example is Sevilla. they've done it the "right" way, and they've had some success, even got very close to winning a title. Look at them now, just another mid table team battling for scraps. Because every season they have to sell their best players, or possibly lose a manager to a bigger and better job. They have a good academy, good scouting network. but it's hard to consistently produce good players from your academy. And in this day, no matter how good your scouting is, it ain't easy getting diamonds in the rough, like they used to.

A huge cash injection is the only way for small clubs with big dreams, because cash is the only way you can retain quality. You can plan, hire a great manager, have a great academy. But what does mean when Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Liverpool, United come calling.

Is not about being able to buy, it's about being able to retain , that's what big cash gets you. Which is what small clubs can't do

Sevilla are like many other La Liga clubs that ran their club pretty poorly and racking up a huge debt in the process - it doesn't help that they had a now proven crook like Del Nido as their president for many years. Sure they could be better helped if Barcelona and Real Madrid were willing to have a more favourable TV rights model but some of the clubs you are referring don't help themselves - Valencia are another. Started building a new stadium without having the finances in place which is just absolutely boneheaded.

It's also not really accurate that Sevilla had a good scouting network or in the sense that they brought through numerous young players - of course there is the Puerta tragedy and Jesus Navas recently being sold but most of their players from that era you mentioned were bought from elsewhere (Luis Fabiano, Kanoute, Javi Navarro for instance). You could perhaps include Dani Alves given he was fairly young when they signed him.

In direct countering to what you say: what about teams like Getafe, or most pertinently Malaga? Teams that sought out the wonderful model to follow of Man City and it looked great for a while but they got the wrong owners from the Middle East, they got an owner that quickly realised how much he had to spend in order to even come slightly close to winning anything, lost interest, the club subsequently get suspended from European competition due to not being able to support themselves away from having that previous investment and have now lost a huge amount of talent they had before due to following that path.

Poor old Getafe thought they had brought in a multi-billionaire owner but they hadn't, he never existed! :lol:

Ultimately a lot of it comes back to the financial parachutes that would arrive from a better TV deal but I don't think you can just point to a club and say this is why they need to give in, sell out and let an owner flash with them money. Like anything else, there is still risk attached, even if it might take some time to show itself.

[Özim]

And have proper tests for club ownership, look at city's last two owners. Human rights abusers, given a free pass because they have loads of cash. Same with the thieving oligarchs. Get these bastards out of the game.

Football is a business, when someone sells a business they don't have to do anything like that, why would they in football? At the end of the day the clubs are privately own and thus they can be sold to whoever the owner(s) want.

If you had a business and someone offered you 3 million for it but had a great track record and was a nice guy and some businessman with a more questionnable past offered you 6 million would you sell to the guy who was nicer?

[Niall_Quinn]

Football is a business, when someone sells a business they don't have to do anything like that, why would they in football? At the end of the day the clubs are privately own and thus they can be sold to whoever the owner(s) want.

If you had a business and someone offered you 3 million for it but had a great track record and was a nice guy and some businessman with a more questionnable past offered you 6 million would you sell to the guy who was nicer?

So it's right that bankrupts can't run a business but human rights abusers and slave traffickers can? The only standard should be financial?

[Özim]

So it's right that bankrupts can't run a business but human rights abusers and slave traffickers can? The only standard should be financial?

I didn't say it's right, but that's the way it works in the real world yes.

[PGFC]

Sevilla are like many other La Liga clubs that ran their club pretty poorly and racking up a huge debt in the process - it doesn't help that they had a now proven crook like Del Nido as their president for many years. Sure they could be better helped if Barcelona and Real Madrid were willing to have a more favourable TV rights model but some of the clubs you are referring don't help themselves - Valencia are another. Started building a new stadium without having the finances in place which is just absolutely boneheaded.

It's also not really accurate that Sevilla had a good scouting network or in the sense that they brought through numerous young players - of course there is the Puerta tragedy and Jesus Navas recently being sold but most of their players from that era you mentioned were bought from elsewhere (Luis Fabiano, Kanoute, Javi Navarro for instance). You could perhaps include Dani Alves given he was fairly young when they signed him.

In direct countering to what you say: what about teams like Getafe, or most pertinently Malaga? Teams that sought out the wonderful model to follow of Man City and it looked great for a while but they got the wrong owners from the Middle East, they got an owner that quickly realised how much he had to spend in order to even come slightly close to winning anything, lost interest, the club subsequently get suspended from European competition due to not being able to support themselves away from having that previous investment and have now lost a huge amount of talent they had before due to following that path.

Poor old Getafe thought they had brought in a multi-billionaire owner but they hadn't, he never existed! :lol:

Ultimately a lot of it comes back to the financial parachutes that would arrive from a better TV deal but I don't think you can just point to a club and say this is why they need to give in, sell out and let an owner flash with them money. Like anything else, there is still risk attached, even if it might take some time to show itself.

I hope we don't get them in the next round of the FA Cup :good:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

:lol:

Well, Coventry are another example I suppose. If we have a replay it'll be in Northampton. :rolleyes:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

FA Cup Fourth Round

Friday, 24th January
Arsenal v Coventry, 19:45 http://i44.tinypic.com/5bpl5u.png
Nottm Forest v Preston, 20:00

Saturday, 25th January
Bournemouth v Liverpool, 12:45 ITV1
Birmingham v Swansea, 15:00
Bolton v Cardiff, 15:00
Huddersfield v Charlton, 15:00
Man City v Watford, 15:00
Port Vale v Brighton, 15:00
Rochdale v Sheff Wed, 15:00
Southampton v Yeovil, 15:00
Southend v Hull, 15:00
Sunderland v Kidderminster, 15:00
Wigan v Crystal Palace, 15:00
Stevenage v Everton, 17:30 http://i44.tinypic.com/5bpl5u.png

Sunday, 26th January
Sheff Utd v Fulham, 13:00 http://i44.tinypic.com/5bpl5u.png
Chelsea v Stoke, 15:30 ITV1

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Nottm Forest: Darlow, Jara, Halford, Collins, Lichaj, Majewski, Vaughan, Reid, Mackie, Cox, Paterson.
Subs: Harding, Moussi, Henderson, Lascelles, Derbyshire, De Vries, Abdoun.

Preston: Rudd, Wiseman, Clarke, Wright, Buchanan, Brownhill, Welsh, Kilkenny, Humphrey, Garner, Gallagher.
Subs: Stuckmann, Keane, Laird, Beavon, Holmes, King, Hume.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Still 0-0. :sleep:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Still 0-0. :sleep:

Thanks for the updates.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[GP]

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

[Munchies]

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

Awful song.

Also,

Andy Gray is back commentating for BT tomorrow, the Everton game.

[Niall_Quinn]

Awful song.

Also,

Andy Gray is back commentating for BT tomorrow, the Everton game.

Excellent, I'll probably watch that then. Still the best commentator, although I didn't much like the way he treated that bimbo cunt who worked with him.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Richard Keys?

[Munchies]

Richard Keys?

:haha:

Good one.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth: Camp, Francis, Elphick, Ward, Daniels, Ritchie, O'Kane, Arter, Pugh, Surman, Grabban.
Subs: Allsop, Cook, Pitman, Harte, MacDonald, Fraser, Rantie.

Liverpool: Brad Jones, Kelly, Toure, Skrtel, Cissokho, Moses, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge.
Subs: Alberto, Aspas, Mignolet, Sterling, Ibe, Flanagan, Sama.

Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

ITV's programme on in ten minutes.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Well it's obvious to see who ITV want to win :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Dixon, Keane and 'Arry in the studio. :(

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Well it's obvious to see who ITV want to win :lol:

ITV listening to Mourinho.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sturridge gets a kicking.

Bournemouth have played well so far apparently.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Liverpool have played less games than Bournemouth? Almost as though Bournemouth are in a bigger league or something.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

You know you're watching a game from a pub team ground when you can hear only a few claps.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool, Moses!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ritchie's hair. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Surman with a great chance, Kolo deflects it over.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Henderson. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Chance for Arter, tame shot really.

[Özim]

Good defending by Bournemouth there not to trying and tackle Suarez in the box, you touch him and he goes down like he's been shot.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 0-1 Liverpool, HT.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Any semblance of impartiality from ITV out the window. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Skrtel flings himself at it Big Man style.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Stevie Me booked.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool, Sturridge.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Some kid has fallen asleep. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City: Pantilimon, Richards, Demichelis, Lescott, Kolarov, Jesus Navas, Toure, Rodwell, Lopes, Dzeko, Aguero.
Subs: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Clichy, Fernandinho, Nastasic, Jovetic.

Watford: Bond, Angella, Ekstrand, Pudil, Doyley, Battocchio, Murray, Faraoni, Anya, Deeney, Forestieri.
Subs: Almunia, Ranegie, Fabbrini, Abdi, Cassetti, Hoban, O'Nien.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Not this time Sturridge...and falls on his face.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bolton: Lonergan, Baptiste, Knight, Mills, Ream, Spearing, Medo, Eagles, Danns, Lee, Craig Davies.
Subs: Bogdan, Hall, Moritz, Pratley, Vela, White, Odelusi.

Cardiff: Marshall, Theophile-Catherine, Hudson, Turner, McNaughton, Eikrem, Mason, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Kim, Cornelius.
Subs: Daehli, Caulker, Medel, Campbell, Noone, Lewis, John.

Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire)

--------------------------------

Birmingham: Doyle, Caddis, Packwood, Robinson, Hancox, Burke, Lee, Brown, Ferguson, Novak, Rusnak.
Subs: Mullins, Howard, Lovenkrands, Reilly, Adeyemi, Townsend, Gray.

Swansea: Tremmel, Tiendalli, Chico, Williams, Taylor, Amat, Britton, Hernandez, Lamah, Pozuelo, Vazquez.
Subs: Bony, Cornell, Routledge, Richards, Lucas, Ben Davies, Donnelly.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Suarez does some defending.

[Özim]

Suarez :lol:

Sh*t effort.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sturridge goes for the outside of his boot and now falls in to the crowd. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sunderland: Ustari, Celustka, Roberge, Diakite, Vergini, Larsson, Cattermole, Ba, Giaccherini, Altidore, Mavrias.
Subs: Watmore, Ki, Gardner, Pickford, Colback, O'Shea, Borini.

Kidderminster: Lewis, Lee Vaughan, Gowling, Demetriou, Jackman, Johnson, Dyer, Storer, Morgan-Smith, Byrne, Gash.
Subs: Ladapo, Aloi, Dunkley, Malbon, Angus, Gittings, Nathan Vaughan.

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)

---------------------------

Southend: Bentley, Thompson, Phillips, Prosser, Coker, Atkinson, Leonard, Timlin, Hurst, Corr, Straker.
Subs: Paul Smith, Laird, Eastwood, Clifford, Payne, Gomis, Woodrow.

Hull: Harper, Rosenior, McShane, Faye, Figueroa, Boyd, Meyler, Quinn, Sagbo, Graham, Fryatt.
Subs: McGregor, Bruce, Davies, Koren, Brady, Livermore, Elmohamady.

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Wigan: Al Habsi, Perch, Boyce, Barnett, Beausejour, Watson, McArthur, McManaman, Espinoza, McClean, Maynard.
Subs: Crainey, Nicholls, Gomez, Powell, Redmond, Fortune.

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Mariappa, McCarthy, Delaney, Parr, Puncheon, O'Keefe, Guedioura, Bannan, Chamakh, Jerome.
Subs: Campana, Gayle, Wilbraham, Williams, Moxey, Price, Boateng.

Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Rochdale: Lillis, Bennett, Eastham, O'Connell, Done, Vincenti, Allen, Lund, Rose, Henderson, Hogan.
Subs: Rafferty, Donnelly, Hery, Thomson, Camps, Cummins, Bunney.

Sheff Wed: Martinez, Palmer, Onyewu, Loovens, Mattock, Maguire, Lee, Semedo, Maghoma, Nuhiu, Lavery.
Subs: Kirkland, Jermaine Johnson, Coke, McCabe, Helan, McPhail, Llera.

Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Good dive Pitman.

Awlful shot before then too.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool, FT.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Port Vale: Neal, Grimmer, Robertson, Davis, Taylor, Myrie-Williams, Lines, Griffith, Loft, Pope, Tomlin.
Subs: Yates, Dodds, Johnson, Shuker, Williamson, Birchall, Hugill.

Brighton: Brezovan, Calderon, Dunk, Upson, Chicksen, Ince, March, Forster-Caskey, Agustien, Orlandi, Obika.
Subs: Saltor, Greer, Andrews, Ankergren, Ward, Ulloa, LuaLua.

Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire)

Come on Brighton, avenge Plymouth's defeat.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Embarrassing loss.

Oh wait...

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Cork, Schneiderlin, Do Prado, Rodriguez, Lallana.
Subs: Fonte, Steven Davis, Chambers, Gazzaniga, Isgrove, Reed, Gallagher.

Yeovil: Stech, Ayling, Duffy, Webster, McAllister, Grant, Edwards, Lundstram, Ralls, Hayter, Miller.
Subs: Dawson, Upson, Foley, Moore, Dunn, Nana Ofori-Twumasi, Morgan.

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sunderland 1-0 Kidderminster, Mavrias. :(

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Birmingham 1-0 Swansea, Novak!

Keeping himself busy after going out to Stan.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Watford have held out for longer at the Etihad than we did. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City 0-1 Watford, Forestieri!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Southampton 1-0 Yeovil, Do Prado.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Claridge would be "surprised" if City didn't go on to win.

Expert analysis.

[Syn]

Man City 0-1 Watford, Forestieri!

I want to believe.

[Munchies]

Come on Watford :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Forestieri could have made it 0-2. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Port Vale 0-1 Brighton, Rohan Ince.

Port Vale. :haha:

Robbie Williams. :haha:

Man City 0-2 WATFORD, DEENEY!! :haha:

[GP]

It won't last...

[McNamara That Ghost...]

0-3 coming up?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Wigan 1-0 Palace, Watson! :bow:

[Munchies]

:haha:

YES!!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Port Vale 1-1 Brighton, Robertson.

[Syn]

Man City 0-2 WATFORD, DEENEY!! :haha:

I really, really want to believe.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I really, really want to believe.

Hope it happens. The way they were talking about Man City on Soccer Saturday was embarrassing in its fawning.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Port Vale 1-2 Brighton, March!

[Syn]

Shame Bellerin isn't playing today.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Watford hit the post!