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Let's All Laugh At Newcastle
I would just like to take this opportunity to laugh at Newcastle fans who actually believed that Ashley would come in and spend his own money and also for those fans that stood outside SJP with their 'Special K' boxes because I am a Newcastle fan and I was ridiculed on this site when I said that this would all happen. In your faces and I'm not surprised this happened.
Andrew Hope
...It's like PJ being blinded in Byker Grove all over again - geordies crying everywhere.
When will the madness end?!
Matt, E.London
...Now that Keegan the messiah of Newcastle has done a bunk....does this now mean it's the second going?
Chris McInerney, Cambridge
We Remember It Well
I wrote in to the mailbox in January after seeing all the Geordies flocking to a certain sports shop, owned by a certain chairman, to tell them to stop being so stupid, for buying, by the armful, t-shirts with Keegan's name splattered all over the front, lapping up black and white flags, amended with Keegan's name plastered all over them. And since then, pub windows with "working in a Keegan wonderland" posters all over them, people parading all over the town centre, with black and white shirts with King Kev 1 on the back, just because the stupid club shop have them hanging in the window, and even though said people probably already have that exact same shirt hanging in the wardrobe at home, so another £45.00 down the drain.
Geordies, please, please stop doing this. Stop putting all your faith in one man, just because he happens to turn up on your doorstep. First it was Shearer, then Owen, then Keegan. And what has it ever won you? Let this be a lesson to you. Please.
David
At Least They're Not Ashley
So people think that people like Abu Dhabi United and Abramovich are bad for the game? They might be fuelling the rise of player power, and extortionate transfer fees etc. but at least they're not Mike frigging Ashley. I thought it was laughable when he appointed Keegan but it turns out that was the best thing he's done for the club. The super-owners with limitless pockets or huge structured loans might not be local lads with roots at their club but they - with the exception of the Hicks and Gillet - seem to know how to run it at least. After appointing Keegan, Mike Ashley appoints Dennis Wise to undermine Keegan, allows Milner to be sold without any replacement lined up (maybe this Nacho guy is the bees knees in fairness), downs pints with his grinning brown-nosers like he's desperate to be one of the lads while they're watching their threadbare team get thumped, and then decides to sack the manager a day after the transfer window closes. What an absolute bell end.
A lot of people thought Keegan was going to jump ship when the going got tough like he always does, but I don't think anyone holds him responsible now. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who hopes Dennis Wise turns out to be as shit as we all suspect he is (sorry Newcastle fans, but it'd serve Ashley right).
William O'Doherty
Disgusted Of Newcastle
Well I personally think this news is disgusting. I will not be spending another penny to watch a game whilst Mike Ashley remains the owner of Newcastle United. I'm shocked!
My son is a Man U fan and I will be accompanying him to watch a team who have a board in charge who understand what their fans want and listen to them.
I will remain a die hard Newcastle United fan, but can not bare the heart ache any longer. When Ashley goes, I shall return, like a lot of other fans.
Jemma Berry
Forget Keegan...
.....has Kenyon been sacked yet ?
Gary Zeelie
Seven Days
August 27th: 3 game unbeaten start to the season, new signings settling in well, good football being played, optimistic that with a couple more signings this could be a decent season.
September 2nd: Milner gone, "3 or 4" signings proposed pre-Milner end up being 2, hammered at Arsenal, manager sacked/quit, morale completely vanished.
A week truly is a long time in football.
Kris Garthwaite, depressed Toon fan, Darlington
The Only Way You Can Make An Impact
An open question to everyone writing in to moan about the death of football, no more loyalty, too much money in the game, mercenary players etc etc: Will you be tearing up your season ticket? Phoning Sky to cancel? Ignoring Match of the Day on Saturday nights? This is pretty much the only way you can have an impact - by withdrawing your financial support. If you've 'fallen out of love with the game' then this shouldn't be much of a sacrifice? If not, though, you're clearly full of shit, so stop annoying us all with the same drivel year after year.
Reasons to be cheerful (or at least not so theatrically despondent): Last year we had an all-English Champions' League, a 4-point gap from 1st to 3rd in the League, a non-top-4 side winning the FA Cup, and Spurs and Newcastle going hilariously balls-up yet again. The best footballing side in the country beat the cash-laden bully boys at the last second before pipping them to the Champs' League. Along with Arsenal, United served up some of the most sumptuous football ever seen on this island. The England setup got the shakedown it needed and we still had a fantastic Euro 2008 without them. We watch the likes of Torres, Ronaldo, Fabregas and Deco every week, and for the first time, the list of top, top quality footballers extends most of the way down the top league. And now we get to watch as City skyrocket like a brilliant firework, before exploding like a drum of overpriced oil around February (you heard it hear first). This season's going to be fantastic, and you all know you'll be watching every second, and fuelling the beast as you do it. So quit the bitching, for everyone's sake.
Ben 'glass half full' Jones
Seen It All Before?
Does anyone else remember when, on deadline day, a middle-of-the-road team, dwarfed by their bigger bully-boy city rivals, were taken over by a billionaire consortium? I'll give you a clue: That same club caused shockwaves throughout the Premier League by signing two South Americans, widely regarded as amongst the best players in the world, supposedly snatching them from under the noses of the Big 4.
Yes, you guessed it, that club was none other than the 'Appy 'Ammers. Back then there were cries of "the beginning of the big 5", "move over Roman" and "call it a day and get back on the whisky Redface". At the time, I almost had a heart-attack. And I was only 34.
Fast forward two years and those South Americans are now safely tucked up at Old Trafford and Anfield, that consortium has tightened its purse stings since the Magnusson was eggsterminated and the club is heading fast towards mid-table oblivion.
The last laugh was from the clubs who have, for decades now, dominated the English game.
To City fans - enjoy it whilst it lasts but get ready for the wet fish.
To the rest - get real. It takes years of time, effort, luck and support to build a dynasty.
Not cold cash.
David "BJ" Powell
Note; the final line of the mail we actually received read 'Not cold gash'. We took a flyer and assumed you meant money, not a chilly front bottom - Mailbox Compiler
F.E.A.R
For fans of many other clubs (United excepted) there was always something loveable about Citeh. Few clubs in the world could put their fans through such agony down the years and yet those fans simply laughed at themselves. Like when Liverpool thumped them 7 nil at Anfield and the biggest cheer of the night was from the Citeh fans when the ball bounced off Steve Staunton for their only corner kick. When Alan Ball was manager in 96 and his team were leaking goals he was interviewed by the local rag. "We were playing an evening fixture so I rang my secretary and asked her what time we kicked off. Every ten minutes, she replied." Priceless.
Peter Reid said that managing Citeh was like trying to nail a jelly to the floorboards. Then there was the exasperated fan who when 3 nil down at half time threw his season ticket onto the pitch in disgust and walked out. Only for Citeh to mail it back to him 3 weeks later.
Now Citeh are plutocrats and all bling-bling I fear they'll lose all of that. Their adversity and misfortune was their badge of honour. Maybe that's why they filled Maine Rd for every match in the old third division. Now, like Chelsea, they'll buy success. But lose their soul in doing so. They won't be loveable anymore. Pity.
Ray, Dublin
Skeptic
Just wondering Chris, do you really believe that Spurs never gave United permission to talk to Berbatov but they went ahead with a medical anyway? Come on. Surely you realise this is just the sort of b***ocks that the red-tops love to spout (and quite a few other papers). I don't for one second think United are whiter than white (Real?) but for them to pick a player up at the airport when he's meant to be on his way to Eastlands, in the managers' car no less, in front of the world's press.....give your head a shake.
Barry Vernon
Liverpool = Screwed
I think I'm the same as a lot of Liverpool supporters in thinking that we're completely screwed with the City takeover. I thought it was hilarious when I found out Chelsea had missed out on Robinho and United had to pay £6M more than they wanted for Berbatov. But now things have settled down it looks bloody awful for Liverpool. Looking at the short term, City look like a serious threat to us and perhaps Arsenal for a top 4 finish. They have an impressive starting XI with a defence of Dunne, Richards, Zabaletta, Kompany, Ben Haim, midfield of Elano, Petrov, Wright-Phillips, Johnson, Ireland and forwards including Jo, Robinho and Benjani. I'm not a city fan so I'm sure I;ve missed some out but you could put together a very good team from that. With Ericssons' purchases having had a year to bed in plus the new signings City look formidable.
But even if City don't manage it this season, they can bring in a whole new squad (and maybe manager) next summer to push for Champions League qualification. Chelsea are still bankrolled by a multibillionaire who will no doubt relish the competition and provide funds to take on the City owners. Utd have an outstanding squad already and a stadium capacity, corporate boxes and commercial deals to still compete and Arsenal also have a great revenue generating stadium to fund them. What do Liverpool have?? 2 feuding owners who can't sell without the permission of the other, an incompetent chairman in Rick Parry and no development on the stadium front. I would really love for this shareholders initiative to work with the fans buying the club but this is so unlikely and even if it did happen, they wouldn't have the funds in place to compete with the other "Big 5". Sadly, I think our only hope is if DIC come in and buy us out - this season.. It seems that Hicks and Gillett will have to refinance again in January when the loan period ends again and I really hope this signals the end of their disastrous ownership. If Liverpool can hang onto a top 4 finish and get the investment then maybe we can keep up with the others.
But why didn't Moores and Parry sell up to DIC first time round?
Moores has been criticised for selling to the Americans because they offered more but was this really the case? Perhaps I'm being naive but Moores seemed genuinely gutted to be selling up, agonising over the sale and upset with what has subsequently happened. At the time, they criticised DIC for pressuring them to accept the offer and for taking ages over the due diligence. Maybe it was just the money but maybe Moores thought they weren't going to hold the interests of the club in high regard. This is irrelevant now though. It seems the only way to challenge for trophies is to have a super rich owner, whether they have good intentions or not. Dark times.
Mark G Holleran
'The Prem Is Now The NASL'
It has to be said that the Premiership is now, if not in the immediate future, the new North American Soccer league. The NASL had players of such quality like Pele, Cruyff and Beckenbauer and as a result, the high average attendances to go with it.
The NASL had many problems that led to its demise, but the notable ones were 1) Not enough home-grown talent to go around the league 2) the lack of true "soccer" owners 3) the awarding of the 1986 World Cup to Mexico and not the United States. Hmmm...
While the "new" and continued money that is pouring into the Premiership will be argued as a good thing, it has to be noted that at some point a ceiling will be hit. And when that ceiling is touched, leagues like Seria A and La Liga will pick up. And as a greatre threat, the Bundesliga will start showcasing its financial muscle, as it already has high attendance averages and low ticket prices, all within an economy that traditionally is quite stable and high producing.
Look, without going into the sentimental aspect of the English game being ruined, we should start looking into the concerns of Platini and UEFA. Maybe his point is that football is being taken away, even from the clubs in England. When a player like Robinho decides in less than 10 hours that he no longer wants to go to Chelsea but instead to a team he probably knows nothing about, then there are issues.
Believe me, the Premeirship is like the Housing Bubble. It will come and one day burst. And quite frankly, it will burst well before Abromovich's death or departure from Cheslea, well before Capello's ridiculously high wages run dry, and well before Frank Lampard signs another five year extension on his current deal. It may even come the day England is not awarded the 2018 World Cup!
The FA and the Premiership are seeing and living in the present. What they need is someone who can plan for the future and see that this will all end horribly.
Mark - Canada
One Missing From The 'Losers' Section Of W&L
The Young English Footballer
The quality of young players in the premier league top four is undisputed, and it's been a source of disquiet for many a year that almost none of the are English. The very best young English players no longer aim for the top four - they make their names at "lesser" clubs with the hopes of moving onwards and upwards later in their careers - Joe Cole is a perfect example. Up until yesterday there were three clubs in the premier league whose contingent of young and talented English players marked them out as the main suppliers of talent for the English football team for years to come - Aston Villa, Everton & Manchester City - outside the top four.
With the purchase of Manchester City by Abu Dhabi (yes they are now owned by a country) the likes of Michael Johnson, Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Micah Richards & Michael Ball (not young I know but hey you get the idea) must all already be wondering how many games they will get for the team after the January transfer window's arrival of what will no doubt be some of the best talent in world football.
With the pending arrival of this talent and the subsequent squeezing out of young English players, will come the realisation that the best of what talent England has to offer must now lower their sights even further down the premier league table...and the three best "English" teams become two...and ultimately less English players playing European football.
The future for Manchester City has never looked better...but the future of the English football team has never looked more bleak.
Kevin Southam
A Disillusioned Toffee
As an Everton fan I stayed up late last night tracking the transfers new in hope of some last minute excitement, some indication that our indifferent start to the season could be turning a corner, that we might maintain our position as one of the clubs attempting to break up the top 4. As the dust settled on transfer deadline day and I awoke this morning to read we had smashed our club record transfer fee to bring in Fellaini I was left with mixed feelings.
Since Jacobsen arrived, we have secured the signings of Castillo, Saha and Fellaini, as well as Carlo Nash. The latter being the only Englishmen among them. In recent years we have stood apart from the buying trends of many clubs by bringing in some home-grown talent, the likes of Lescott, Banies, Johnson and Jagielka, but now it seems that these types of signing are either unaffordable or not good enough.
I'd say its been a source of pride for most Evertonians that we have been as successful as any club outside the top four can expect to be while retaining an English core. But the premiership is now so flush with money even outside the top four that it almost feels like the managers are just like the man on the street picking their ultimate fantasy football team.
We might have lost 3-0 to Portsmouth fielding 8 Englishmen but I don't think that's as much down to bad form as anything else, but in the Premier League there's no time to sit out your bad patches, it's all about instant success. The strangest thing of all, is I was initially elated that Moyes had finally made a big signing, but to be honest who had heard of Fellaini before yesterday? Ok, so now the media have picked up on his stats and there are reasons to believe he's good, but is he any better than Jose Baxter or Jack Rodwell? Even if he isn't will he simply play ahead of them in order to justify his price tag?
After the initial euphoria of the closure of the transfer window has passed, I found myself agreeing with Blatter's 6+5 rule, not because I disagree with foreign players, but that the open market is turning the premier league into a rich man's playground, rather than what it ought to be, the breeding ground for England's best footballers. Every fan wants their club to win things, but a sincere football follower should surely be concerned by the wider issues in the game. In the time I have supported Everton we have won only the FA cup in 1995, but if we go on to win things only because we get new investment and buy our way to a trophy, it won't be half as satisfying as if we'd done it with our own youth academy talent. The two things go hand in hand. I'm not taking a side swipe at Wenger or Arsenal either, at least he applies his coaching talents to make his young foreign stars into the players they become.
The Premier League's decadence is detrimental to the spirit of football and it will inevitably turn fans off. I for one, am beginning to wonder if I should be taking more of an interest in the Championship. At least it can be called a competition.
Vincent Afnán-Murray, London (A disillusioned Everton and football fan)
In Defence Of Elmander
And so the Bolton hating returns. I realise we're not the most attractive/popular team around, and we are so often the easy targets. How can you claim a worst buy of the transfer window. Elmander has played 2 games (come on, at this stage of the season Liverpool are title contenders and Spurs are getting relegated, with Bolton ahead of Man U), and scored 1 goal. Not a bad start. For Toulouse he played 58 games, scoring 22 goals. At Brondby he scored 22 in 58. The two seasons before that he scored 19 in 50 games. For the national side he has scored 11 in 38, and 12 in 28 for the Under 21s.
In your article(the Transfer Window Awards) you say "Yes, that's more than Chelsea paid for Deco" So what? There were at least 19 players bought this summer for more than the money that was spent on Deco. Deco was cheap because Barca wanted rid of him, whereas Toulouse wanted to keep Elmander so the price went up.
"Bolton stumped up for a striker who has only been a qualified success in Denmark and France" The history books are full of players who have had limited success outside of England and then gone onto the light up our league. Thierry Henry anyone? Ok Elmander isn't going to be as good as Henry but he hardly lit up France(20 goals in over 100 games) and Italy and we all know what happened when he got here
"He might have scored on his debut but that was against a poor Stoke side suffering from stagefright" You can only beat what is put in front of you, and having scored against Stoke surely he must be better than some of Stokes new signings, who, as you say, didn't perform.
"He's hardly the seat-filler that Bolton need, is he?" What Bolton needed was someone to score goals, someone who will take the chances we make. Elmander has shown that he is a goal scorer. After Anelka left we were desperately short upfront and only just stayed up. Megson has done a good job in finding a cheap(yes, cheap, for premiership standards at least) striker who will hopefully be able to bang them in. No player that we can afford would fill the seats at the Reebok. If we had a good manager and started to play Arsenal-esque football while always winning, then maybe the plastic fans would come back, but thats not going to happen, especially with alot of the fans being hurt by the actions of the club in the last 12 months. We are in a football rich area of the country, with 3 of the richest clubs in the world within about 40 miles of us, with a manager none of the fans would have picked. Its not hard to see why the fans are staying away, and a signing isn't going to change that.
Chris(Surely Everton spending £15million on a player who hasn't even played is worse?), BWFC
Then And Now...
Then
Pies, Flared pants, scarves around wrists, side burns, Ronnie Radford, FA Cup day Mastermind, no big 3,4,5, Ricki Villa, Sportsnight, Kick off, 3PM, World of Sport, Joe Jordans teeth,mud, heavy ball, keepers in green, perms, Nottm Forest, scratchy radio commentaries in far away places, archie gemmil,Home Internationals, Bobby Stokes,stuart hall.
Now
Leveraged buy-outs, rich arabs, super sunday, andy gray, Robinho, berbatov, points deducted for administration, Prawns, executive super platinum red letter day out experiences - £350, agents, ronaldo,England team, WAGS, punditry, big 4, rogue owners, meta tarsles, Bosnan.
Maybe its my age, but im starting to look favourably to non-league, sept 1 2008, the watershed, the day they broke footy for me.
Fox Mulder, LFC,Uranus (age 41)
A Little Known Fact...
A friend of mine knew some bloke who said he was once Robinho's milkman and he told me this little nugget of information. Apparently, Robinho used to sit on his dad's shoulders at Maine Road every other Saturday cheering on the blue half of Manchester and that is the reason that he signed for City. He also has a picture of Marc Vivien Foe (with angel's wings and a lion's mane) shaking hands with Francis Lee tattooed on his back.
Guy Broster, Liverpool
