Football The 2013 / 2014 Season Thread

[DaGaffer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20974695

Try that then. Pay attention to the final paragraph especially.

Anecdotally, I remember being very surprised by the number of Chelsea shirts I saw in South and central America (where you'd think they'd have enough local quality of their own), even more than United shirts (Real would have been the most popular European shirt I saw though). In Asia it was all United and Liverpool, except in Cambodia, which is a weird Evertonian enclave. In Southern Africa, lots of United, lots of Arsenal. Here in Ireland? United, Liverpool, Celtic and all the little kids wear Barca shirts. Never seen anyone wearing a Chelsea shirt, a few gooners.

 

[Talivar]

So wait, when Scouse and Raven say its a Tiny club its the truth?, then Bodhi says its not and shows some links , then the links are crap?. No offense to anyone but it just looks like personal bias. Especially the way some people cant even spell Chelsea and Mourinho without using to childish versions. I do admire the lengths being taken tho, what if Russia goes to War next week or forced Abromovich to release Chelsea!!! Maybe next week we will also start wars vs Arab states and that will make city lose their owners as well!!
Guaranteed 100% if Liverpool got super rich owners like the Arabs or Russian we would not see Scouse and co here rallying against it

 

[Raven]

So wait, when Scouse and Raven say its a Tiny club its the truth?, then Bodhi says its not and shows some links , then the links are crap?. No offense to anyone but it just looks like personal bias. Especially the way some people cant even spell Chelsea and Mourinho without using to childish versions. I do admire the lengths being taken tho, what if Russia goes to War next week or forced Abromovich to release Chelsea!!! Maybe next week we will also start wars vs Arab states and that will make city lose their owners as well!!
Guaranteed 100% if Liverpool got super rich owners like the Arabs or Russian we would not see Scouse and co here rallying against it

I didn't say it was a tiny club...However, its fanbase is mostly made up of post Abramovich glory hunters.

Whats wrong with calling him Maureen, he is a whining old women at the end of the day.

Random links on the internet don't prove anything. He linked a study that asked 1000 people who they supported basically.

 

[Talivar]

But where is your counter links and argument. And i agree he is annoying like an old woman but you seem to post it with venom whenever u can so it makes it at least seem like you have taken a big dislike to him and that makes your posts come across as bias

 

[soze]

They said that after winning the Champions League the Chelsea fan page on facebook went up by x million users. After BM won it the year after their fan page went up by x million users. Support number are pointless you need to find figures on merchandise sales. Man U can play with the big boys with out needing a sugar daddy because they make so much money. Chelsea don't fill their ground for a CL game so no way they make anywhere near that money so they are a smaller team.

 

[Embattle]

But where is your counter links and argument. And i agree he is annoying like an old woman but you seem to post it with venom whenever u can so it makes it at least seem like you have taken a big dislike to him and that makes your posts come across as bias

Yeah he does, according to him and a few others our fans are somehow unique

They said that after winning the Champions League the Chelsea fan page on facebook went up by x million users. After BM won it the year after their fan page went up by x million users. Support number are pointless you need to find figures on merchandise sales. Man U can play with the big boys with out needing a sugar daddy because they make so much money. Chelsea don't fill their ground for a CL game so no way they make anywhere near that money so they are a smaller team.

http://www.soccerstats.com/attendance.asp?league=england

It isn't the attendance that is the problem, it is the size of our stadium which I hope we hear some more plans about over the summer.

 

[Raven]

Meh. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter. The league is what is important. Once again proving to be the best in the world. Once again going down to the last game. I am oddly finding it hard to dislike city. This season they have just got on with it and also played some great football.

Can't wait for Sunday. Sticking my noise cancelling headphones on and sticking my last bets of the season on and going to enjoy it whoever wins.

 

[Scouse]

Chelsea don't fill their ground for a CL game so no way they make anywhere near that money so they are a smaller team.

Tee hee hee

 

[Raven]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27340856

So it would wreck the English pyramid would it? Well seeing as the English pyramid is totally broken anyway then I cant see that being much of a problem.

 

[Billargh]

How exactly is the English pyramid broken? I think it's a stupid idea anyway, I'd be pissed if I was a hardcore Gateshead fan, get promotion to the Football League only to drop a division so some primadonna kids from 'big teams' can get a bit of practice with barely anyone watching.

 

[Raven]

Well...we have basically no players coming through from the lower leagues and only 23% of game starters in the prem this season were English.

Then look at Spain, look at England and look at Spain again.

It isn't working.

 

[Billargh]

That's more down to the Premier League being the biggest in the world though, all the best players want to come play here, the majority won't be English. You really can't compare our pyramid to the likes of Spain's.

Clubs are to blame too, having kids rotting in reverses or elsewhere on loan instead of giving them a chance.

 

[Raven]

Well would you rather they rotted in reserves or played regular league football?

 

[Billargh]

Obviously I'd rather see them playing regular football, but I think making B teams and banging them in against League 2 sides isn't the answer.

What was wrong with the old reserve leagues anyway? If you're not playing on a weekend match day, you play for the reserves in their league.

Or what about increasing the amount of English/homegrown players Prem teams have to play on a regular basis?

 

[Raven]

Because reserves football isn't really competitive, nobody actually cares who wins or loses. League football on the other hand means everything.

 

[Billargh]

I'm not saying it's the way to go about things, it's just a suggestion.

If I were a supporter of a lower league team though I'd really not want half my games to simply be practice (or stepping stone) for a big teams kids. I can't see many people following their teams B team around the country either, that could certainly drain the life out of a lot of lower league games.

 

[Calaen]

If the premier league clubs left the young players at lower league clubs for a couple of years. Instead of buying them and sticking in the reserves on the off chance they be amazing. We wouldn't need to discuss this stuff.

We have a much deeper football tier system than anyone. So the B league isn't necessary at all. If they want the young lads to get experience, loan them all out, or stop trying to harvest all the talent. Its no surprise all the Southampton lads are successful, they've earned their stripes playing proper football matches!

 

[soze]

TBH the loan system makes these things pointless. Lose the youth leagues and maybe the reserve leagues and then teams will loan out the talent to clubs to get them games anyway. And stopping players being sold before a certain age could help. If they have to be 19 before you buy them means the club that develop the talent actually get paid.

 

[Bahumat]

Ironically all Liverpool fans do is talk about History, no guesses for why that might be

Oh you must be talking about History FC?

 

[Scouse]

Oh you must be talking about History FC?

Oh so bitter that only a few clubs have ones you can have an actual long conversation about

 

[Himse]

I can have a long conversation about any club, just doesn't have to be about past achievements

 

[megadave]

no you cant, most clubs may have been around for hundred odd years but they have no history mate

 

[miri]

Every time I view this thread I hope it has moved on from the same dribbling idiots posting the same puerile bullshit, but alas no.

 

[caLLous]

Yeah, I've had enough of the Chelsea fans too.

 

[miri]

Yeah I agree, @Himse is a right minge.

 

[Himse]

I agree!

 

[soze]

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140509/koscielny-signs-new-long-term-contract

I like that they are signing people early to try to stop more Sagna situations. I would like to see Bac stay but I think he is long gone now. As soon as PSG and City were mentioned he had gone.

 

[Ch3tan]

He's not been good enough this season for them to try for him surely?

 

[ileks]

He's not been good enough this season for them to try for him surely?

He's incredibly consistent to be fair. Rarely puts a fut wrong defensively and has a great right foot. My only criticism is he's a little predictable going forward.

 

[soze]

He's not been good enough this season for them to try for him surely?

Free transfer and I honestly cannot think of a game where defensively he has cost us a point. There is not a right back in the league I would pick over him.