2007/2008 European football thread

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by bababui

Well said. I'm not sure that the EU is being consistent. Why would they attack Microsoft yet allow this similiar situation in football to go on??

I think the key is the freedom of employees to practice their trade. Parity rules, salary caps, trade restrictions etc serves to restrice the freedom of footballers to play for whomever they feel like playing for.

Microsoft may monopolise the market, but they don't literally prevent IT people from working for other companies in the same ways that a salary cap might.

As for most legal matters, it's mostly semantics. Bosman showed that the EU is fond of not restricting footballers rights, so can't imagine them installing free market restrictions on footballers (more than they currently do) to try to create competitiveness and parity in European football. Shame, but the law.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by bababui

Did you actually read my post?? Last season saw some parity in the league. This year won't.

I'm willing to bet the Bundesliga is as popular this year as last year, regardless of how good Bayern Munich is. Last year might have been an aberration for Bayern Munich, but it certainly wasn't an aberration for the league's popularity. Every Bundesliga season from 2001-2002 through 2005-2006 set a new attendance mark, each topping the previous. Bayern Munich won the title in three of those five seasons. Their dominance certainly doesn't seem to hurt the league, just like the dominance of the big four EPL teams hasn't hurt English football and the spending power of Barcelona and Real Madrid hasn't hurt Spanish football.

[ukhotstove]

It's not just football though, you look at every sport and it's dominated by one or two teams or maybe three or four at most.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by mlyons

just like the dominance of the big four EPL teams hasn't hurt English football.

This weird, though. You're right, but you shouldn't be. Everybody I talk to about football, even fans of one of the big four like myself, is increasingly annoyed at the lack of parity in the EPL - and wider English football.

Gone are the days, when Derby and Forest and almost Ipswich and Everton and blah blah blah could win the league. Those are the days we grew up in where it was conceivable at the start of the season that your team could have a miracle and win the league. With the relatively recent advent of the Big Four, this is no longer the case, and I think that does hurt English football.

However, you're spot on. Attendances are tops, shirt sales are just as great, Skysports subscriptions, Premiership plus. Everybody is buying football produce more and more, yet the central product imo isn't as good.

Makes me sad. (Unless Liverpool win it, in which case, screw you all, smaller clubs!!)

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by edrooney

I'm totally preparing for them over-spending on him. He hasn't done anything of any worth, other than get injured, for 2 years. At his best, he was one of the best midfielders in Europe, with a phenomenal scoring record for the Arse, but that was a while ago.

Expect them to pay between 6m and 8m, with wages around 60k pw.

Well, I was wrong. The price was £3m transfer, with £60pw wages. So I was right about the wages. That'll equate to approx. another £3m pa for the duration of the contract.

Meh. Not a disaster. If he can stay clear of injuries, and get anywhere close to his form of 2-3 years ago, then that's a fine player they'll have. If they've given him any more than 2 years, though, that may be a mistake.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by edrooney

This weird, though. You're right, but you shouldn't be. Everybody I talk to about football, even fans of one of the big four like myself, is increasingly annoyed at the lack of parity in the EPL - and wider English football.

Everybody likes parity in principle. It fits our democratic ideals of fairness and seems like it should lead to more exciting races and individual matches. It doesn't always do that in reality, though. Disparity brings about a couple of things that are really the essence of sport: seeing superstars play together and collectively raise their game (Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo would never have worn the same kit if Manchester United hadn't been able to drop in excess of 50 million pounds to secure their services) and seeing an underdog topple a mighty giant (like Getafe humiliating Barcelona in the Copa del Rey last season).

Disparity might make outcomes more predictable, but it also makes them more meaningful.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by edrooney

Well, I was wrong. The price was £3m transfer, with £60pw wages. So I was right about the wages. That'll equate to approx. another £3m pa for the duration of the contract.

Meh. Not a disaster. If he can stay clear of injuries, and get anywhere close to his form of 2-3 years ago, then that's a fine player they'll have. If they've given him any more than 2 years, though, that may be a mistake.

West Ham could be the team to watch, not playing wise but train wreck wise. Ljunberg can spit his dummy out with the best and they already have Bowyer and Bellamy and they also want Bowyers best friend Dyer

We could actually have the first mass brawl in football that only involves one team

[ukhotstove]

Is it me or wouldn't the simple thing be for West Ham and Joorabchian to show all their contracts to a judge and for him to decide which contract stands up in a court of law, if it's West Ham then Man Utd and West Ham agree a fee for Tevez, if it's Joorabchian then Man Utd can't sign him because the EPL say a third party can't own a player and then they kick West Ham out of the Prem because they lied and cheated yet again.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6911723.stm

[Fallschirmjager]

Its really easy to figure out actualy

Thanks to the Champions League growing so large and the UEFA Cup and not Inter Toto Cup

In all leagues you have something to play for for the top 1/3 to 1/4 teams

I know certain people in this thread have said they dont like the CL growing so large and dont like the UEFA Cup
But I think it has saved many many teams from bankruptcy by keeping fans interested all season long
And then of course you have promotion and relegation battles

Man U had the title won going away last year, but races for CL and UEFA Cup spots keep attendance strong in the later part of the season as teams battled for those spots
Without that...who knows where attendance would be at?

[zoraster]

Originally Posted by Muppetus Galacticus

Well then show me when this will happen. What is the timeline to get this going? Who has already signed up for it? Is it a FIFA or UEFA competition? What will happen to the Champions League? How will domestic leagues be restructured? I want facts via links here not opinion. TIA.

I love this paragraph. In demanding UKHS gives you actual examples you’ve quoted one yourself I’m guessing you are not old enough to have been interested in football politics back when the EPL and ECL were formed, but they were both classic examples of UKHS’s point in action.

The Media Partners led breakaway was allowed to reach a very advanced stage by the clubs, going as far as having a founders club agreement sent out which would have become legally binding had a dozen chairmen applied their signature and deposited their money. That is how close we came to the formation of the EFL.

Here is the timeline to demonstrate just how the clubs held the gun to UEFA’s head. In July the founders agreement was sent out to the prospective clubs. Throughout August the document (marked strictly private and confidential by-the-by) was leaked to numerous hacks, including twice to yours truly which is why I’m so familiar with this story. This put the breakaway in the public domain, ensuring UEFA knew about it, and the October 31st deadline. UEFA entered panic mode and on Tuesday 6th October they announced the creation of the modern ECL, tripling the money on offer, dramatically increasing the number of matches, and increasing the number of entrants from each league.

In case you still want to dismiss this as coincidence Johansson went on the record that day saying that “Media Partners was an alarm call” and “we accept the reality that big clubs demands have to be met”. To the passing eye of the public it might all seem like aimless talk, but these plans are normally very serious and the existing authorities have the option of caving to demands and maintaining some influence, or becoming an irrelevance. UEFA caved and still control the big European competition. The Football League stood firm, saw the top flight resign en masse, and are now an increasingly irrelevant body in English football.

[bababui]

It didnt take Bayern long to score its first goal..by the guy with the missing chromosomes Frank Ribery. I hadnt realized they also signed one of the Altintops. I think they have every good player in the Bundesliga.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by bababui

It didnt take Bayern long to score its first goal..by the guy with the missing chromosomes Frank Ribery. I hadnt realized they also signed one of the Altintops. I think they have every good player in the Bundesliga.

Missing chromosomes? He was in a car accident as a child.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by mlyons

Missing chromosomes? He was in a car accident as a child.

Its not the scars..its the general appearance.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by bababui

Its not the scars..its the general appearance.

Yeah, they kinda had to reconstruct his face.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by mlyons

Yeah, they kinda had to reconstruct his face.

The butchers!!!

[Fallschirmjager]

I encourage all the readers of this thread to read this thread by our friend Bababui and sign up a team

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=151547

Its pretty easy to do and the more teams we have the more fun it is for everyone

[zoraster]

I only play the one competition each season and my other leagues on the official site are continuing this season. If you do re-launch last seasons league the RedRavens are there and ready to defend our title, otherwise I’ll be retiring from the OOTP league as the undefeated champ


So it looks like Mido's move to Birmingham has fallen through. It says a lot about his attitude that wage demands have seemingly killed the move despite them offering him a hefty sum. The guy barely kicked a ball last season, his career has been in pretty much constant freefall since he left Ajax, and he is now fifth choice at best at Spurs. Clearly he is happy kicking his heels in the reserves.

[edrooney]

Eeshk. Threadkill.

So, Mido to Sunderland for £6m. Ha ha ha ha. He'll have to lose weight to get on the end of all those Keiran Richarson crosses. Or at least go to a parallel dimension where Richardson can actually cross the ball.

Given the type of player they're signing in Sunderland, they must have been gutted to miss out on Titus Bramble and getting the unholy trifecta this summer.

[Fallschirmjager]

For those that keep up with American soccer, Freddy Adu agreed to terms with Benfica for the upcoming season
2.2 million dollar transfer

2.2 million dollars D.C. United lost out on due to their incredibly stupid trade of him last year

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

For those that keep up with American soccer, Freddy Adu agreed to terms with Benfica for the upcoming season
2.2 million dollar transfer

2.2 million dollars D.C. United lost out on due to their incredibly stupid trade of him last year

MLS transfer rules mean only a quarter of that goes to his team; the rest goes to the league as a whole. So DC United only makes about $400,000 less on the transfer than Real Salt Lake does, and got a "major allocation" (which they can use on some other big player) out of it. Real Salt Lake is hurt by this more than anyone.