The myth of Pep Fraudiola

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Not really. By that time they'd declined a bit, hence Chelsea knocking them out of the Champions League.

At their peak they beat Real 5-0 at Camp Nou.

Ok.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

Ok.

Was an incredible effort by Mou's Madrid nqat.

might be nice if you all supported the cardies?

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

Shit innit. Even the champions league is boring as f***. Processional group stages with no tension in any game, because you can lose 3 games and still go through, followed by the same 3 teams making the semis every year.

You have Madrid the other night with a team full of stars and Bale, Asensio and Kovacic,( James out on loan)on the bench, among others. Then you look at the team of next tier players Juve was trying to combat them with, Juve, one of the great clubs, really have little chance. Barca able to keep £120 million Dembele an unused substitute. These guys should be out competing for other teams against the likes of Barca and Real.

Just to expand look at the Monaco team who briefly existed last year. Young exciting team who threatened to provide an ongoing threat if they were kept together. Mbappe is playing second/third fiddle to the ego twins of Cavani and Neymar. Bakayoko is sitting on the bench for an average Chelsea team, Bernardo Silva is a back up player for City, Mendy has played like 4 games. Or Dortmund and how they have been systematically removed as a threat.

Closed shop at the top because of the financial disparity, makes for shit football and makes the achievements of those privileged clubs count for less. The Pl has about 12 clubs fighting against relegation with no hope of giving the big boys a game. Someone tweeted me today that Mourinho now has the highest win percentage of any Utd manager ever. Utd in second despite looking crap for much of the season. Modern football is shit.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

You have Madrid the other night with a team full of stars and Bale, Asensio and Kovacic,( James out on loan)on the bench, among others. Then you look at the team of next tier players Juve was trying to combat them with, Juve, one of the great clubs, really have little chance. Barca able to keep £120 million Dembele an unused substitute. These guys should be out competing for other teams against the likes of Barca and Real.

Closed shop at the top because of the financial disparity, makes for shit football and makes the achievements of those privileged clubs count for less. The Pl has about 12 clubs fighting against relegation with no hope of giving the big boys a game. Someone tweeted me today that Mourinho now has the highest win percentage of any Utd manager ever. Utd in second despite looking crap for much of the season. Modern football is shit.

Absolute fact.

Hope the rumours of imminent wage caps for clubs is true.

Originally Posted by dunk

Absolute fact.

Hope the rumours of imminent wage caps for clubs is true.

Wouldn't that just favour those who already have the means to pay higher wages?

Originally Posted by dunk

Absolute fact.

Hope the rumours of imminent wage caps for clubs is true.

Don't see how football can find a way back to some form of competitive parity. Don't want to take the american route where everything is transient but the true flavour of European competitions has been destroyed gradually since the Bosman ruling and the big clubs learning how to exploit their revenue streams as ruthlessly as they now do.

Originally Posted by Chris Quayd

Wouldn't that just favour those who already have the means to pay higher wages?

Hope so.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Don't see how football can find a way back to some form of competitive parity. Don't want to take the american route where everything is transient but the true flavour of European competitions has been destroyed gradually since the Bosman ruling and the big clubs learning how to exploit their revenue streams as ruthlessly as they now do.

Once clubs began to understand how to exploit their commercial potential football was always going to be £#%&!ed

Before that football clubs were simply run as football clubs and therefore most of their revenue came from how many they could get through the turnstiles
This kept football to a large extent organic and competitive especially when gate receipts were shared

Amazing to think at a club like Utd the percentage of total revenue generated by the rank and file fans is tiny these days
No wonder the club treat our hardcore support as if they are irrelevant because from a balance sheet point of view they are

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

Once clubs began to understand how to exploit their commercial potential football was always going to be f***ed

Before that football clubs were simply run as football clubs and therefore most of their revenue came from how many they could get through the turnstiles
This kept football to a large extent organic and competitive especially when gate receipts were shared

Amazing to think at a club like Utd the percentage of total revenue generated by the rank and file fan is tiny these days
No wonder the club treat our hardcore support as if they are irrelevant because from a balance sheet point of view they are

Wasn't it some bloke on the Arsenal board who said they would make more money just having individual cameras in the stadium and they could sell the seats world wide

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

Once clubs began to understand how to exploit their commercial potential football was always going to be f***ed

Before that football clubs were simply run as football clubs and therefore most of their revenue came from how many they could get through the turnstiles

Amazing to think at a club like Utd the percentage of total revenue generated by the rank and file fan is tiny these days
No wonder the club treat our hardcore support as if they are irrelevant because from a balance sheet point of view they are

Decoration for the stadium.

It is also why the argument that clubs like Utd generate their own money against outside investment has less weight than in previous times. Match day revenue, prize winnings, minimal commercial interests, if that is the main source of income then complaining about someone like Jack Walker has more impact, he is disrupting the competitive balance and creating shortcuts.

Oil money against commercial and corporate entities like Utd/Barca/Real is less clear.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

You have Madrid the other night with a team full of stars and Bale, Asensio and Kovacic,( James out on loan)on the bench, among others. Then you look at the team of next tier players Juve was trying to combat them with, Juve, one of the great clubs, really have little chance. Barca able to keep £120 million Dembele an unused substitute. These guys should be out competing for other teams against the likes of Barca and Real.

Just to expand look at the Monaco team who briefly existed last year. Young exciting team who threatened to provide an ongoing threat if they were kept together. Mbappe is playing second/third fiddle to the ego twins of Cavani and Neymar. Bakayoko is sitting on the bench for an average Chelsea team, Bernardo Silva is a back up player for City, Mendy has played like 4 games. Or Dortmund and how they have been systematically removed as a threat.

Closed shop at the top because of the financial disparity, makes for shit football and makes the achievements of those privileged clubs count for less. The Pl has about 12 clubs fighting against relegation with no hope of giving the big boys a game. Someone tweeted me today that Mourinho now has the highest win percentage of any Utd manager ever. Utd in second despite looking crap for much of the season. Modern football is shit.

Yep. It's boring af. The sport at the top level is a corrupt joke.

And United are an awful example of it. A marketing company that throws money at problems without any idea where it's going as a football club. Does know how to get sponsors though tbf

Originally Posted by Tiberian

You have Madrid the other night with a team full of stars and Bale, Asensio and Kovacic,( James out on loan)on the bench, among others. Then you look at the team of next tier players Juve was trying to combat them with, Juve, one of the great clubs, really have little chance. Barca able to keep £120 million Dembele an unused substitute. These guys should be out competing for other teams against the likes of Barca and Real.

Just to expand look at the Monaco team who briefly existed last year. Young exciting team who threatened to provide an ongoing threat if they were kept together. Mbappe is playing second/third fiddle to the ego twins of Cavani and Neymar. Bakayoko is sitting on the bench for an average Chelsea team, Bernardo Silva is a back up player for City, Mendy has played like 4 games. Or Dortmund and how they have been systematically removed as a threat.

Closed shop at the top because of the financial disparity, makes for shit football and makes the achievements of those privileged clubs count for less. The Pl has about 12 clubs fighting against relegation with no hope of giving the big boys a game. Someone tweeted me today that Mourinho now has the highest win percentage of any Utd manager ever. Utd in second despite looking crap for much of the season. Modern football is shit.

Competition being ruined in many of the big leagues too. Bundesliga a non event these days; French league largely the same; the Atleti freak aside Spanish football is dull because it's the same two, often without a proper race. Napoli have given it a go but same old Juve in Italy. It's just all so dull; how can we be in early April and yet there's almost no interest in domestic football anywhere.

The Prem feels the one that should consistently have an intriguing title race, but for some reason we've had a different side running away with it for the last few years. At least it's more difficult to predict each summer and you always feel it could be better next time

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Bundesliga a non event these days

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Love the Bundi.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Competition being ruined in many of the big leagues too. Bundesliga a non event these days; French league largely the same; the Atleti freak aside Spanish football is dull because it's the same two, often without a proper race. Napoli have given it a go but same old Juve in Italy. It's just all so dull; how can we be in early April and yet there's almost no interest in domestic football anywhere.

The Prem feels the one that should consistently have an intriguing title race, but for some reason we've had a different side running away with it for the last few years. At least it's more difficult to predict each summer and you always feel it could be better next time

Messi and Ronaldo and their rivalry has kept this discussion out of the mainstream. Sports media don't want to tell the world that they are watching a poor era of the sport even with these 2 titans. If it continues as it is when they retire, game could have a few problems.

Pl had the potential but if Chelsea are backing away from spending then it will be an easy road for Utd and City.

Originally Posted by waynes ear's

Where's the love the Bundi quote from?

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Where's the love the Bundi quote from?

the other game thread on saturday ffs*

[SIZE="1"]*heavily edited to suit my agenda

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Messi and Ronaldo and their rivalry has kept this discussion out of the mainstream. Sports media don't want to tell the world that they are watching a poor era of the sport even with these 2 titans. If it continues as it is when they retire, game could have a few problems.

Pl had the potential but if Chelsea are backing away from spending then it will be an easy road for Utd and City.

There's probably a touch of the rose tints about the way we look at the past. I'm sure other fans would argue that United's dominance for much of Fergie's reign wasn't that interesting for everyone else and today's Premier League is more fun.

We're also probably a little bitter underneath all this. But the influence of money does feel greater than ever. Other leagues more affected though. We should at least be grateful that the separation in English football is mainly between six and the rest, rather than one and the rest. If Spurs buy well in the summer and Wenger goes, it's an interesting prospect again. I worry about Klopp next year too.

Originally Posted by waynes ear's

the other game thread on saturday ffs*

[SIZE="1"]*heavily edited to suit my agenda

Can't bloody move for agendas on here atm.

Champions League group stages are pretty much pish. Can't be long before we have a European Super League..