The Football.....

[SpokeyDokey]

You see, I agree with their not being had off by their owners; the TV deal coming in means that the money handed over by the supporters to Premier league clubs is neither here nor there.

But then they dress it up with stuff like this, in The Guardian:

Today felt like a flag had been planted, and maybe things will never be the same again. I expected sadness but there was mainly stoic pride. The Kop, defiantly mute for an hour, roused itself with trademark angry majesty on 75 minutes and cheered the faithful home. Never so literally.

Come on, chaps, you walked out of a football match a few minutes early, you didn't witness the Second Coming (or your team chucking away a two goal lead).

Standard media speak for all things Kop - a club that is enshrouded by memories of yesteryear and mawkish sentimentality. If someone's Staffy dies it's time to break out the black arm bands.

Quite why the media pander to it is beyond me - even a couple of weeks ago the media were pitching LFC vs MUFC as the 'biggest club game on the planet'. What a load of rollocks. The nodding dogs in the Northern biased punditry teams were salivating at the prospect and fervently agreeing. Risible.

Saying that - I do get where the fans were coming from yesterday. Ticket prices are absurd for 90 minutes of entertainment. Ditto for the prices charged for food/drink/programmes at the grounds.

The big negative I have about the game is the astronomical amount of money that ends up in the clubs, managers and players pockets and the continual screwing every last drop out of the fans - oops, sorry I forgot they are now customers according to LFC's owners. Whether by the clubs themselves or Sky/BT it is a constant round of how much more can we take out of the game.

So, not my favourite club, but good for them (notwithstanding the Guardians overly sentimental prose).

 

[SpokeyDokey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35514454

So, canny Leicester expecting offers for Vardy in the summer.

 

[Lilliburlero]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35514454

So, canny Leicester expecting offers for Vardy in the summer.

No Vardy = no party

 

[SpokeyDokey]

No Vardy = no party

Have LCFC agreed a new contract with Mahrez (imo a bigger talent than Vardey)?

Would've thought they would have him nailed down with some bloated terms with which to cash in.

 

[simon.r]

About this time last year I was on a train going to Spurs away and got chatting to a 70 year old LCFC fan who said he was going to as many away games as possible this (last) season as the next time we were in the Premiership he'd probably be dead!

This time next week I'll be at The Emirates (I hate it when football grounds are named after a sponsor, symptomatic of all that is wrong with the modern game - I digress) and if we can take a point there I think I'll finally believe that this could be our season.

I am, literally, in a state of mild shock.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

About this time last year I was on a train going to Spurs away and got chatting to a 70 year old LCFC fan who said he was going to as many away games as possible this (last) season as the next time we were in the Premiership he'd probably be dead!

This time next week I'll be at The Emirates (I hate it when football grounds are named after a sponsor, symptomatic of all that is wrong with the modern game - I digress) and if we can take a point there I think I'll finally believe that this could be our season.

I am, literally, in a state of mild shock.

The general consensus on the Chelsea boards is that if our last match of the season is with you and a result in your favour pips you to the post over Arsenal - then we would rather lose.

 

[Andrew_P]

Looks like Palace have to reverted to type, starting to look for where the 6-9 points are going to come from to remain safe...

Almost a month on and now 9 points off the first relegation spot..

 

[Lilliburlero]

Have LCFC agreed a new contract with Mahrez (imo a bigger talent than Vardey)?

Would've thought they would have him nailed down with some bloated terms with which to cash in.

He`ll be gone in the Summer. The big boys will come knocking and take him away from us

£30+ million?.... We cant turn that down i`m afraid.

 

[Smokin Joe]

He`ll be gone in the Summer. The big boys will come knocking and take him away from us

£30+ million?.... We cant turn that down i`m afraid.

Come the summer, it may well be YOU who are the big boys.

 

[Roadhump]

He`ll be gone in the Summer. The big boys will come knocking and take him away from us

£30+ million?.... We cant turn that down i`m afraid.

If you win the league, which I hope you do, or get into the CL, he may well decide to stick around, and the money you get from TV and CL qualification should make it possible for you to resist offers, but there is always the attraction of bright lights and high profile I suppose.

 

[Roadhump]

You see, I agree with their not being had off by their owners; the TV deal coming in means that the money handed over by the supporters to Premier league clubs is neither here nor there.

But then they dress it up with stuff like this, in The Guardian:

Today felt like a flag had been planted, and maybe things will never be the same again. I expected sadness but there was mainly stoic pride. The Kop, defiantly mute for an hour, roused itself with trademark angry majesty on 75 minutes and cheered the faithful home. Never so literally.

Come on, chaps, you walked out of a football match a few minutes early, you didn't witness the Second Coming (or your team chucking away a two goal lead).

Yes, typical of their deluded cult like thinking and sense of entitlement, often perpetuated by the media. Even some of my rednose mates are embarrassed by that type of thing.

 

[Dec66]

Saying that - I do get where the fans were coming from yesterday. Ticket prices are absurd for 90 minutes of entertainment. Ditto for the prices charged for food/drink/programmes at the grounds.

And that, my dears, is all that the modern-day football supporter of a Premier League club is; window dressing and sounds effects, to sell the "product" on television to "emerging markets".

Turn up, buy some rubbish in the club shop, eat an overpriced sausage roll, drink overpriced warm pish, sing your songs, then feck off out of it as soon a possible after the final whistle.

It's one reason I stopped going, the other being that I stopped caring. The last game I went to was a couple of seasons ago when we played QPR at Loftus Road on a dark and wet winter Sunday afternoon, a 0-0 draw of such stultifying dullness that I spent most of the second half importuning Julio Cesar from behind his goal.

So, yes, I'm all for a spot of protest action. Not so keen on having faux poignancy attached, though.

 

[Dec66]

If you win the league, which I hope you do, or get into the CL, he may well decide to stick around, and the money you get from TV and CL qualification should make it possible for you to resist offers, but there is always the attraction of bright lights and high profile I suppose.

If I were the Leicester City board and Manchester City, for example, came knocking with £30m, I'd remind them what they paid for Raheem Sterling and invite them to put £30m on top of that.

Then I'd probably still tell them to do one.

 

[Roadhump]

And that, my dears, is all that the modern-day football supporter of a Premier League club is; window dressing and sounds effects, to sell the "product" on television to "emerging markets".

Turn up, buy some rubbish in the club shop, eat an overpriced sausage roll, drink overpriced warm pish, sing your songs, then feck off out of it as soon a possible after the final whistle.

It's one reason I stopped going, the other being that I stopped caring. The last game I went to was a couple of seasons ago when we played QPR at Loftus Road on a dark and wet winter Sunday afternoon, a 0-0 draw of such stultifying dullness that I spent most of the second half importuning Julio Cesar from behind his goal.

So, yes, I'm all for a spot of protest action. Not so keen on having faux poignancy attached, though.

That is a fair summary of the world of modern football. My ST cost just under £600 this season, a snip compared to many other clubs, but still a fair chunk of a holiday for me and my Mrs who tolerates it because I have always done it, since before we met over 30 years ago. Sometimes I have thought of ditching it, I even did once or twice only to go back after a season once, and half a season the next time. Going to the match is a very big part of my social life and I have to remind myself of that and that I was coming here before the game was hijacked, which makes me feel a little better about knowing I am contributing to and perpetuating the greed machine by continuing to do so.

Have to say though, we don't buy merchandise and never eat or drink inside the ground, why would you pay £4.50 for 500ml of gnat's pee when you can get it for £2 a pint in the pubs round the ground? Then again that's another reason the suits don't give a toss about the likes of us traditional types.

 

[Andrew_P]

If you look beyond the top 5-6 well established large capacity clubs the revenues from match day are relatively low compared to TV money in 2014-15 season Palace bought in 10m match day and 64m TV against £100m Arsenal and 108m Man U and 71 million Chelsea I know some of that is capacity but not all of it can be. I think Liverpool was around 50m so they are lagging in the fleecing supporters stakes..