[Nige™]

Originally Posted by Joel

I just saw the position you were in when Kean was the manager and the position you are in now... The grass is always greener on the other side, hey Nige?

We were in a false position. We were playing poorly but picked up results and key decisions went our way in some games. Against Leicester at 1-1 they had a goal wrongly ruled out, then we went and got a lucky goal against the run of play. We'd only played a few games anyway and a few wins can see you high up. The problem we have now is that we have a shite squad plus a couple of exceptions with injuries to big players making a world of difference.

Anyone could see that Kean was a joke. He should never have been appointed, but when he nearly took us down from being mid-table and we survived on the last day, it was celebrated like we'd won the league despite talk of Champions League. He got the pay rise and extended contract even after the relegation form that almost saw us down. At the start of last season we all knew we were doomed and he took us down. As much as other fans and Kean's mates on Sky who share the same agent back him up, his results & nothing else were inexcusable. Tactically he was clueless. He didn't have all the players on board and he was out of his depth.

Sacking him was the right move but the problem we had was bringing in a good manager. Who would want to work for Venky's? Berg said it himself earlier in the year. He's inherited a shit squad with no pace or width whatsoever. The players we have are either inexperienced or the wrong side of 30 and there's no real depth in the positions we need. Kean brought in Murphy & Etuhu who can't tackle for shit, don't press and get bypassed so easily. Our only other central midfielder is Jason Lowe. He came in yesterday but after playing all last year at right back for some reason under Kean, he looks lost when he plays.

The damage Kean's signings, training methods etc have done is going to take us a while to put right. We went from being one of the fittest teams in the Premiership to one of the worst within about six months. Whoever came in had a massive job on their hands trying to turn us around and the club went with the safe option of a manager who they didn't need to pay compensation for and wouldn't command a big salary.

[Henry Hill]

Originally Posted by DwayneAustin

Too good.

[Kiz]

little piece from guillem:

Spanish football about to implode

For many people Spanish football is the epitome of how the game should be played. Many experts are citing Barcelona as the greatest team in the history of the game and talking about the Spanish national side in the same breath and with the same reverence as that shown to the Brazilian 1970 World Cup winners. Today there are no fewer than 45 players plying their trade on British pitches, 30 of them in the Premiership. But that doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story.

The fact is that Spanish football is on the very edge of imploding. There are three reasons for this. Money, money and money. At the moment there are no fewer that 16 La Liga first division clubs that are on the verge of bankrupcy now that the Government wants back the 700 millione euros they owe the tax man!

Players, managers, coaches and suppliers are not being paid on time. With Spain in the deepest recession it has ever been in, something’s got to give. Until such time as La Liga realise that allowing the clubs to negotiate their own television rights is unacceptable then the inevitable conclusion is that the domestic competition, as we know it, will die.

Last year Manchester City received £60,602,289 from television when they won the Premiership. Wolves who finished bottom got £39,084,461 a ratio of 1.55 to 1. Of the £640 million in the kitty for La Liga, Barca and Real scooped up 50 % while Valencia who finished third got £40 million and the rest of the league had to battle for what crumbs were left on the table. The ratio there amounted to 14 to 1. Shameful!

But you know what, the big fishes don't want to help the domestic league survive because they are already planning for a new Champions League competition with 64 teams. Things will change dramatically in the next few years

sad how this is still able to continue, and from the sounds of it, get even worse.

[Renegade™]

It really is just a Sunny SPL, without the fair TV deals.

[Cookie Monster]

Didn't know where to put this:

Uefa confirms Euro 2020 to be staged in various cities across Europe

[DwayneAustin]

Platini gone mad with power. Stupid idea imo.

[Chain Gang Soldier]

too Short of a timespan to do it over IMO. Will involve a hell of a lot of travelling for teams as well. Pointless as fuck

[JOAL.com]

yes but for high school graduate in europe for the summer to find themselves, this is the ideal solution!

[Samoon]

What a ridiculous idea. It's pointless.

[Nige™]

If people thought Uefa gave a fuck about the fans, this is the day that was put to bed. The cost of travelling inbetween countries for one tournament is ridiculous. Fortunately for the Uefa diplomats & sponsors with the over allocated tickets they get, their private planes can take them to the games they want to go to, those being the semis & final.