Football Focus

[oggy1953]

As a totally unbiased Spurs fan, of course West Ham should have had points deducted, Actualy rivalry aside i do believe that should have happened as there must have been somthing wrong to be fined ??5m. didnt know about the Bury saga, this just makes the whole Tevez affair stink even more.

[agentskj]

QPR all the way for me been supporting since i was knee high

 

Sam

[BoD]

Anyone else thinking that Benitez's statement saying that he guarantees fourth place was, at best, unwise.

 

 

[oggy1953]

Benitez unwise ? OH YES, OH YES, Pompey 2 Liverpool 0 and Fulham beat Manure utd 3 - 0 And SPURS Won at Blackburn, only need the Arsenal to lose at home to Hull to make it a Perfect day ..

[dseagull]

And they laughed when I said Zamora for England when he was scoring regularly for Brighton....

 

Go on Fabio. You know it makes sense. What a player.

[oggy1953]

And they laughed when I said Zamora for England when he was scoring regularly for Brighton....

 

Go on Fabio. You know it makes sense. What a player.

[

Zamora never got a fair chance at Tottenham, so good luck to him, England ? Give him a chance..

[dseagull]

Frustrating thing is, Hoddle knew all about him. Pretty sure he had a Season ticket for Brighton - every time Albion were playing and Spurs werent, he would be there watching. He certainly didn't get a fair crack of the whip, so it's nice to see him doing well.

[gwrrob]

I'll be hearing next that Mark Hughes is being sacked. Being sixth in the league and in the Carling cup semi isn't good enough.Like Chelsea they [the club] lack class....

[BoD]

I'll be hearing next that Mark Hughes is being sacked

 

7 o'clock tonight isn't it?

[oggy1953]

7 o'clock tonight isn't it?

 

 

Yeah about then, what a joke, but with all the money city have got Hughes, i'm afraid, isnt high profile enough. I can see city copying Chelsea, sack a manager every year untill they win every game with style, which is never gonna happen to ANY team.

[BoD]

It's happened. As expected.

[Mucky Duck]

I'll be hearing next that Mark Hughes is being sacked. Being sixth in the league and in the Carling cup semi isn't good enough.Like Chelsea they [the club] lack class....

 

Like Chelsea, it (the club) lacks class? I'm getting a bit cheesed-off with comments like this. Manchester City is a great club with sound heritage. Whilst not having the same success that its red neighbours have deservedly enjoyed in the recent past ??“ and having to endure that club's obsession with the Sky Blue's failure to win a trophy ??“ Man City fans are as loyal as you will ever find and until last season it was many fans' 'second club'.

 

OK, the Shiniwatra saga was not too savoury but that's in the past but it still didn't prevent the club from being well-liked, maybe because it was still not a genuine threat. Man City has suddenly become the most hated in the league because a very rich company decided to pump a ridiculous amount of money into it in order to challenge the very dull and monotonous quadropoly the Premiership has endured for far too long. The problem lies with football itself so unless the rules are changed for all, the phenomenon (which I'd rather didn't exist) will continue. As for those pointing the finger at clubs like Man City for bringing too much money to the game, would they desert their own beloved club should it be purchased by a similarly rich buyer? I think not.

 

Furthermore, I'm not happy about Mark Hughes being sacked before being given a fair chance but again this is a modern football problem, not a phenomenon restricted to the richest teams. Unfortunately, instant gratification counts in all walks of life these days and you can bet that now even a manager of Fergie's stature wouldn't get the generous length of time he was allowed in the past to develop his team into winners.

[reevesthecat]

I agree with Duck ,hughes could/should have had more time he brought in alot of players who need to gel and learn to work as a team great teams don't click into place overnight.

However as a liverpool fan benitez has to go he has had more than enough time and everytime he opens his gob to say we are turning a corner we lose.

I think I will start supporting blackpool at least it's down the road and those players are proud and fight for the shirt.

mark

[oggy1953]

We all feel like giving up on our team when the going gets tough, but we dont, and going through bad times makes you appreciate the good times. i should know, try being a Spurs fan.

[Red Devil]

Like Chelsea, it (the club) lacks class? I'm getting a bit cheesed-off with comments like this. Manchester City is a great club with sound heritage. Whilst not having the same success that its red neighbours have deservedly enjoyed in the recent past ??“ and having to endure that club's obsession with the Sky Blue's failure to win a trophy ??“ Man City fans are as loyal as you will ever find and until last season it was many fans' 'second club'.

 

OK, the Shiniwatra saga was not too savoury but that's in the past but it still didn't prevent the club from being well-liked, maybe because it was still not a genuine threat. Man City has suddenly become the most hated in the league because a very rich company decided to pump a ridiculous amount of money into it in order to challenge the very dull and monotonous quadropoly the Premiership has endured for far too long. The problem lies with football itself so unless the rules are changed for all, the phenomenon (which I'd rather didn't exist) will continue. As for those pointing the finger at clubs like Man City for bringing too much money to the game, would they desert their own beloved club should it be purchased by a similarly rich buyer? I think not.

 

Furthermore, I'm not happy about Mark Hughes being sacked before being given a fair chance but again this is a modern football problem, not a phenomenon restricted to the richest teams. Unfortunately, instant gratification counts in all walks of life these days and you can bet that now even a manager of Fergie's stature wouldn't get the generous length of time he was allowed in the past to develop his team into winners.

 

 

Good post, couple of points, I really don't think that Utd fans are 'obsessed' with the lack of silverware at Maine Rd/ COMS any more than city fans are obsessed with the fact that O.T. is in the borough of Trafford etc, it's just another thing to take the mick with.

 

However, the way City (the club and management) have handled Hughes departure are at best embarrasing and classless at worse, step forward Mr Gary Cook, (he of the Kaka has bottled it quote) he was asked, by all accounts, directly by Hughes on Saturday morning 'am I getting the sack?' to which he wouldn't answer, for City to then have his replacement and his the new assistant manager sit in the directors box (within yards of Hughes's wife) on Saturday afternoon for the Sunderland game is tactless in the extreme.

 

If all the rumours are to be believed Mr Cook may be on borrowed time, his supposed replacement? One Mr Peter Kenyon, well he couldn't be more despised over the other side of the city, so perhaps he will pitch up at the 'project'.

 

Regarding class, perhaps this said to me by another of my 'red' bretheren is something like the truth,

 

'well Chelsea wanted to be the Manchester United of the south, so perhaps City are trying to be the Chelsea of the north'

 

Ah well, we're playing pretty averagely at the moment, but hey, look on the brightside we could have Mr Benitez as our manager, guarantee fourth place, what in, is the question?

[S.A.C Martin]

I think the whole Hughes saga is a sorry indictment to the way football is done from the top downwards.

 

The winner of the Premier league gets around ??30 million.

 

The winner of the Championship gets around ??3 million.

 

The winner of League One gets around ??300,000.

 

The difference between the prize money of the 21st place in the football league (1st in the championship) and the top of the Premier league is the direct contributor to why the Premier league is no longer competitive sport. Only four or five competing to win the overall league and less than eight teams expected to duke it out for the european places, while everyone else remains relegation fodder?

 

Instant gratification and greed, sadly.

 

I've enjoyed seeing Charlton in league one far more than I did seeing us struggle in that last year in the top division and then again in the championship. The lower you go, the more it becomes about the football than the money surrounding it.

[gordon s]

Enjoyed the West Ham v Chelsea game yesterday, but the Chelsea penalty was a farce. First, it was a very iffy decision to say the least, but what on earth were the retakes about? I could understand it if Green saved them, but he was beaten each time. It's no different to allowing a team advantage. Yes, players were inside the 12 yard box, but they were not directly impacting play and Lampard scored each time.

 

Would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Green saved one. Would he still have ordered a retake?

 

[Steve K]

Although I know what you mean about the money situation, Simon, it's (sadly) an inescapable fact of life these days. However, I would dispute that the Premier League is as uncompetitive as you suggest, not this season at least. OK, so the title will probably be won by one of the top 3 as they currently stand, but individual matches are becoming very hard to predict, mainly because no one team is playing consistently good football.

 

Regarding class, perhaps this said to me by another of my 'red' bretheren is something like the truth,

 

'well Chelsea wanted to be the Manchester United of the south, so perhaps City are trying to be the Chelsea of the north'

I hate to disappoint, but I think Reds fans are being a bit self-centred in thinking that Chelsea are trying to be the Manchester United of anything. They're just trying, like any other team, to do as well as possible. Before Abramovich turned up with his money, the title was stitched up between Manchester United and Arsenal, so at least it's been a three (or even four) horse race since then.

 

Obviously, as a Chelsea fan, I'm biased*, but this "no class" accusation is starting to get a bit old. It seems to mainly revolve around accusations of "buying the title", as if Chelsea were relegation fodder before the money arrived. They weren't - they were in and aroung the top 6 for a few years beforehand. Probably the resentment is because Chelsea tried to "buy the title" but, unlike Liverpool, Newcastle and even Leeds before them, they dared to succeed.

 

Even though I started supporting Chelsea before the big money arrived, I can't be hypocritical: I won't complain about Man City's money, because anyone can see this year that there's more to success than merely throwing money at the squad. As and when City do win a title, I'll be genuinely happy, if only because the Top 4 will have become a Top 6, adding to the unpredictability of the league.

 

 

*... and yes, it was a dodgy penalty yesterday, although we could have had 1 in the first half. I'm glad for Zola that his team are starting to play much better, though. Top player, and top bloke.

[Red Devil]

I hate to disappoint, but I think Reds fans are being a bit self-centred in thinking that Chelsea are trying to be the Manchester United of anything.

 

Peter Kenyon, after taking up his position with Chelsea FC, I believe that was his quote, and unfortunately Chelsea have acted in a somewhat classless way in recent years, for instance which club is serving a transfer ban for the way in which it handled one of its' recent transfers (albeit suspended at the moment)?

 

Which clubs chief executive said ???The winner of the Premier League will come from a small bunch of one.??? prior to not winning the league?

 

I can go on and on, but to all intents and purposes Chelsea have acted like the 'I'm considerably richer than you' character and it has got up many fans noses, probably in the same way that armchair Utd fans get up other peoples noses (says he Utd fan, first home game season 73/4, when we were in the second division, ex lmtb k stand, ex season ticket g stand, veteran of numerous european campaigns including getting deported from Turkey in 93/4, who now does less than 10 games a season!)

[BoD]

and unfortunately Chelsea have acted in a somewhat classless way in recent years

So they did achieve their ambition of becoming the Man Utd of the south then.

[Red Devil]

So they did achieve their ambition of becoming the Man Utd of the south then.

 

nah, they've never won the european cup, the treble, won the title 3 yearson the bounce twice, etc, just a small club in fulham

[Steve K]

... for instance which club is serving a transfer ban for the way in which it handled one of its' recent transfers (albeit suspended at the moment)?

On the Kakuta incident, I get the impression that Chelsea are being made an example of for doing something which a lot of big clubs, here and elsewhere, have been getting away with for a long time now. Time will tell, I guess, but I reckon that the two-window transfer ban was meant as a warning shot to all clubs, and that it will be reduced to one window (maybe suspended) on appeal.

 

As for Peter Kenyon, he's a bit of a bigmouth, but one idiot does not make a club (I hope!).

[Red Devil]

On the Kakuta incident, I get the impression that Chelsea are being made an example of for doing something which a lot of big clubs, here and elsewhere, have been getting away with for a long time now. Time will tell, I guess, but I reckon that the two-window transfer ban was meant as a warning shot to all clubs, and that it will be reduced to one window (maybe suspended) on appeal.

 

As for Peter Kenyon, he's a bit of a bigmouth, but one idiot does not make a club (I hope!).

 

Chelsea ignored ban warning over Ga?«l Kakuta, says former Lens chief

By Telegraph staff 04 Sep 2009

 

 

Senior Chelsea officials were warned that signing Ga?«l Kakuta would lead to a Fifa transfer ban, but pressed ahead regardless.

 

That's according to Fran?§ois Collado, the now-retired former general manager at Lens, who met Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and Sporting Director Frank Arnesen to discuss the sale of the player.

 

Collado set out Lens' terms, but Chelsea immediately rejected the proposed fee and lodged a counter-offer Collado describes as "ridiculous".

 

Callado insists Chelsea mistakenly believed that football's governing body could do nothing to stop them signing the player because his pre-contract agreement with Lens was not legally binding.

 

"The contract was rubber-stamped by the French league and French football federation," Collado said.

 

"But Chelsea took him and played in a tournament with all their reserves, even without international clearance.

 

"When I met with Kenyon and Arnesen at Chelsea I took the contract. I told Kenyon, 'You're risking a fine and a transfer ban'. I explained the Fifa rules to him.

 

"Kenyon spoke with Arnesen and he said they were sure of their intentions. We said this is what we want and they said no way.

 

"They proposed a ridiculous fee. I said I'll leave you and if you're sure then I'll go to Fifa and we'll see if you're not sanctioned. They said there would be no need for another meeting."

 

Chelsea reportedly offered ??870,000, but Callado said. "It was considerably less than that. They were convinced they were right: Chelsea didn't imagine Lens could stop a club like Chelsea from recruiting players.

 

"But that ban is only the application of the laws we told Chelsea very well would come."

 

 

 

 

http://www.telegraph....ens-chief.html

 

 

Hmmm,

Ashley Cole,

John Obi Mikkel,

Arnesen from spurs,

3 off the top of my head that were acrimonious at some stage

Have Chelsea not had a warning in the very recent past about their transfer dealings, they may well have been made an example of, but they do seem to be able to find a lot more trouble than most clubs. Don't get me wrong no one is whiter than white but Chelsea do seem to be developing a habit.

[Steve K]

Thank goodness Man United are above any kind of dodgy dealings.

[AndrewC]

Begs the question then del - why the fine then?

 

 

A couple of things the 'media' neglected to mention and still fail to mention.

 

1: it was WHU that contacted the league for further clarification around M and T. It was not 'discovered' by Liverpool. There was no restriction around owning third party players. The problem was in the wording of the agreement that allowed MSI to recall the players with no notice period. The fine was for the way the FA, PL, and WHU handled the paperwork. It was a fine for procedure and not around either player's eligibility. That doesn't make a snappy headline though, does it?

 

2:The tribunal was made up of 1 selected by WHU, 1 selected by SU, and one independent. The findings to say the least are farcical. A further review by both the FA and PL basically rubbished the whole thing and stated that at no time after the changes to the contract wording was WHU in the wrong regarding the playing of Tevez. The fact too that Kia was allowed to testify even though he was marked as a hostile witness due to MSI failing to gain control of WHU was missed by the tribunal as well.

 

3: If not for the auditors demanding the closing of the books and a settlement in order to manage the financial problems of the Icelandic ownership, WHU were prepared to use the second FA+PL review to force the European Court of sport (or what ever its called this week) to look again at the procedural failings of the tribunal.