Is this the death knell for competition in football?

[Zakov]

Great find there Rony, that scouser has it spot on.

 

[rhizome17]

This is a suggestion for all of those people who reveal their lack of knowledge regarding the history of the game in England, in particular those Arsenal and United fans who exist under the myth (like pede says) that their clubs have 'earnt' their positions and are somehow mutually exclusive from the money money money issue:

PLEASE have a read of this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beautiful-Game-Searching-Soul-Football/dp/0224064363

I started reading it a couple of days ago and have found it difficult to put down. I am about halfway through and from those chapters I think many Arsenal fans will learn many unpleasant truths regarding the means by which the club has become 'successful' in a financial sense. I had completely forgotten about the whole bonds issue (as it isn't my club, I never paid too much attention to the financial ins and outs of others) and I think for those of us who suport their clubs from afar it is all too easy to get caught up in the mythology of ourt clubs history and avoid the cold hard truth.

I have discovered a whole new sense of loathing for the characters like Martin Edwards and David Dein as a result of reading this book. The manner in which they manipulated their way to the top and manipulated their way to personal gain from the loyalty of fans makes the whole Abramovich and Abu Dhabi takeovers look like the height of moral behaviour.

Seriously.

 

[Yossarian]

The thing with American sports Yoss, is their draft transfer system.

That's a good point you raise that I completely overlooked, bro.


The draft can often be a crapshoot, but generally, it does its intended function of rebuilding and reinvigorating a team pretty well. Soccer leagues overseas have their respective academies, so maybe a national soccer developmental program that pooled all the country's talents together that all the teams contributed to equally would be created? Then the kids would graduate from that program at the age of 17 and be eligible for a draft? Or they could just retain their own developmental institutions and have a league wide fixed amount that they could spend on their youth academies..?.....I'm confused, so I'll just stfu now, man.

 

[Yossarian]

some excellent reads in regards to that Liverpool fan's awesome post that Rony shared, Mikey's very eloquent retraction and restatement post and itsbeenpickedup's impressively elucidating post aswell.....good sh!t.

 

[Yossarian]

The J. League manages a rather good mix of parity and capitalism.

No, they can't be corporate if they want to join the J. League. A lot of JFL (tier 3) clubs are that way though.

To get promoted to J2 you have to be a non-corporate club, a J. League associate member, and finish in the top four of the JFL.

Nah, J. League was created to make football less corporate and more accessible.

Teams all have ties to "hometown" areas now. Most of the names, despite their weirdness to Western ears, have a connection with the area. For instance, Kashima Antlers. Kashima literally means "deer island", so it makes sense.

The JFA's masterplan for the J. League is to have 100 teams spread over five levels (Which would be called J1-J5) all throughout Japan. This is called the "Hundred Year Plan".

...I should really be a football writer.

Edit: This is the current J. Lg table
1. Nagoya Grampus 42
2. Kashima Antlers 41 (+19)
3. Urawa Reds 41 (+14)
4. Oita Trinita 41 (+9)
5. Kawasaki Frontale 40
-----
12. Vissel Kobe 30
13. Albirex Niigata 29
14. Shimizu S-Pulse 28
15. Yokohama F. Marinos 26 (-1)
16. Júbilo Iwata 26 (-5)

16th being the relegation playoff spot. 17 and 18 go down, JEF United Ichihara-Chiba and Consadole Sapporo have been set adrift. JEF are the only Japanese club to have never suffered a relegation, so it's a pretty big deal.

That's pretty exciting

bwhhurhurhur..... VINTAGE Bobby right thurr, man....gotta love the absurd amount of knowledge that he's got on all sorts of random and rather obscure sh!t.

 

[Help?]

J-league is fixed

 

[Bobby]

J-league is fixed

There have been some head scratching moments, including an infamous thrice-taken penalty...

 

[rony31]

This is a suggestion for all of those people who reveal their lack of knowledge regarding the history of the game in England, in particular those Arsenal and United fans who exist under the myth (like pede says) that their clubs have 'earnt' their positions and are somehow mutually exclusive from the money money money issue:

PLEASE have a read of this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beautiful-Game-Searching-Soul-Football/dp/0224064363

I started reading it a couple of days ago and have found it difficult to put down. I am about halfway through and from those chapters I think many Arsenal fans will learn many unpleasant truths regarding the means by which the club has become 'successful' in a financial sense. I had completely forgotten about the whole bonds issue (as it isn't my club, I never paid too much attention to the financial ins and outs of others) and I think for those of us who suport their clubs from afar it is all too easy to get caught up in the mythology of ourt clubs history and avoid the cold hard truth.

I have discovered a whole new sense of loathing for the characters like Martin Edwards and David Dein as a result of reading this book. The manner in which they manipulated their way to the top and manipulated their way to personal gain from the loyalty of fans makes the whole Abramovich and Abu Dhabi takeovers look like the height of moral behaviour.

Seriously.

Sounds good, just saw it on Chapters.ca for $33... if I find it cheaper I'll get it for sure

 

[rhizome17]

Sounds good, just saw it on Chapters.ca for $33... if I find it cheaper I'll get it for sure

pm me your address and find out cost of shipping from NZ to Canada and I can send it when finished... most likely cheaper than buying it if you only have to worry about shipping... one city fan to another....

 

[rony31]

Nah don't even worry about it Aaron, I'm gonna hit the book store one of these days and grab a bunch anyway, I'll probably grab a few footy books to keep me busy for a bit. Thanks for the offer though

Edit: actually just got it for only $14

 

[Hans]

I don't have any problem with City being bought by some Arab billionaire, that's life, that's their luck. Like someone said here before, sometimes it's not about the money, there will always be that "human" side of football. What's City gonna do anyway ? Sign the top 250 footballers into their squad ? Yes, they can do it if money is the only factor, but it is impossible.

And oh yeah, Syaz is now City's biggest fan...

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Awww, how adorable. The teams that have been oppressing mid-to-lower level clubs for decades suddenly don't think it's fair when other teams have more money.


I hope you don't have to resort to forming a cohesive team and raising home-grown talent and making intelligent transfers....

I'm a little late to this thread, and I'll be hopping right back out, but seriously.

I don't care if one club buys the 100 best players in the world, the game is played on the pitch, not on the lineup card. Football won't be ruined when a club blows a billion dollars in a season and finishes 5th, the club will be.