money killing football

[willywombat]

Depressing isn't it? I saw an item on the news today about Lionel Messi's earnings topping $40 million for the year, now I'm not suggesting he should have to get the bus home after a game but I remember laughing behind my hand when my Dad used to tell a story about waiting for the no.11 after a match in the 40's when a cheer went up in the queue. Turns out one of the Villa heroes of the day , ( he never could remember exactly who it was), was getting the bus home too and as he had played so well they let him go to the front of the queue!

[bones.]

Image rights for players.
Shirt sales, at least 2 every season, (or half a season for us) having to pay extra for a PL badge. Different font letters for European games.
Players being signed on big money, then players being transferred to lower the wage bill, playing youngsters not beacuse they are good enough, but because they are cheaper. Shipping out players on loan to cut down on the wage bill. Stephen Ireland.
Approved list of sponsors.
Club Wembley.
Changing the club badge on a regular basis.
Being known as AVFC.
Club paving stones.
Seat exchange non refundable booking fees.
Setanta/ESPN/BSKYB
Being asked to leave your season ticket seat because you are now a pensioner.
Category 1 matches, or category A.
being sponsored by E-ON
Soccer AM
changing from four divisions called 1, 2, 3 and 4.
opta stats
4th place
6th place
"Champions League" final between 2 teams that have finished 4th.
Qatar.

oh, and Gerard Houllier.

being asked to leave your season ticket seat because it is now part of a block required for corporate entertaining.
being told to sit down.
seats in general
reduced allocation and higer prices for travelling supporters.
fanfares.
plastic soulless bowl shaped stadiums.
celebrity fans.
brands.
villa wine gums !!
reserve games masquerading as the FA Cup
tickets weeks in advance.
booking fees.
booing at half time.
early kick offs.
late kick offs.
first consideration in every situation being the profit or loss about to be made.
the europa league
chelsea
manchester city
richard keys etc.....................

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

George Carey
W E Sawyer
Edwin Belin
Vladimir Kosma Zworykin
Philo Taylor Farnsworth
John Logie Baird
........all bastards and all culpable.

If we must have TV and have football on it, get rid of Sky, ESPN, Murdoch and his sons, Le Tissier, Phil Thompson, McLintock, Merson, get rid of the BBC,  Lineker, Hanson, Lawrenson Crooks, Southgate, Strachan, in fact every bloody so called expert and pundit, Clive bloody Tydesley, in fact most of the bloody commentators, that boring bloke who does the sport on Midlands Today, and while your at it any fan who has ever got on to give their opinion because the TV have never asked me what I think even though my mate got on when Doug was stepping down just because he happened to be going to the ticket office when the TV was there for his twice yearly visit to Villa Park, talk about a bloody travesty! Im there every week !
Fergies a right twat but I wouldnt mind if all the managers were like that and stopped talking to the TV, I dont need to hear from any of them going on about how bloody good the character of their team is but its the refs fault, game at a time, every match is massive, blah blah blah.

If we must have any football on TV, sod the money the game can get used to living without it again. Show a game or two a week and put Motty in charge of the lot it.
 

[richard moore]

On Sunday, I had the choice of watching a football match between two soulless football teams, one which lost whatever little soul it had years ago (Chelsea) and the other which is fast in the process of doing so (Manchester City). The latter with a team on the pitch, many of which I will wager will not be there next season or at least not in the first team and which oozes mediocrity from every pore despite spending squillions on players to date....and the LV Rugby Union Cup Final between Gloucester and Newcastle.
 
Guess which I opted for

[wombat]

No Waggon Wheels
No packets of Fish and Chips
The bovril comes with a lid on it.... a lid! Jeeeezsus!
Nobody pisses themselves because it's too hard to get to the bog anymore.
You never see a player chuck his guts up after 25 minutes
Or a player with man tits for that matter, except Richard Dunne and he was the first since Steve Sims.
The pitch is like a bowling green, that's not conducive to Derby County esque goal mouth scrambles where a club footed Cascarino scores the winner.

I honestly miss all of the above. 40k a week and they spending half their time jacking off into a web cam. It's a mixed up world.

Bar implementing a wage cap or NFL style draft the monopoly will just continue.

[Clampy]

Tickets weeks in advance is a good one. Tickets for Albion away have been on sale a week and it's not until the end of April.

Oh and our National Press getting all upset because poor Rio did'nt get a phone call telling him he's not captain for the Wales game, even though he's bloody injured anyway. 

[*shellac*]

Sky 4

[darren woolley]

Money has killed football it's took the soul out of it we need to stop this thinking that Sky is the Golden Chalice and the Champions League is the promise land then we can get back to being normal.

[Dave Cooper please]

My faith in football was completely restored last Tuesday.
Stourbridge 4-3 Leamington
Injury time winner, a terrace melee, chicken curry and chips (£2), a proper ground, excellent beer on the way there and back.
Marvellous, I almost wanted to give them more money on the way out (almost!).

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Then............



   
Now.............



Bollocks, all complete and utter bollocks.

[Chris Smith]

I remeber when it was all fields round here.

[dave.woodhall]

My faith in football was completely restored last Tuesday.
Stourbridge 4-3 Leamington
Injury time winner, a terrace melee, chicken curry and chips (£2), a proper ground, excellent beer on the way there and back.
Marvellous, I almost wanted to give them more money on the way out (almost!).

Same here. Except for that "give them more money" nonsense, obviously.

[bones.]

Im standing on a terrace behind the goal to watch Exeter play Swindon next week ,under floodlights with a bunch of nutters, and Ill end the evening telling my daughter and her mates what it used to be like at the Villa for the millionth time.

[AV1874]

No Waggon Wheels
No packets of Fish and Chips
The bovril comes with a lid on it.... a lid! Jeeeezsus!
Nobody pisses themselves because it's too hard to get to the bog anymore.
You never see a player chuck his guts up after 25 minutes
Or a player with man tits for that matter, except Richard Dunne and he was the first since Steve Sims.
The pitch is like a bowling green, that's not conducive to Derby County esque goal mouth scrambles where a club footed Cascarino scores the winner.

I honestly miss all of the above. 40k a week and they spending half their time jacking off into a web cam. It's a mixed up world.

Bar implementing a wage cap or NFL style draft the monopoly will just continue.

Which is one of the reasons I keep refereeing, I get to referee real football instead of watching the billion dollar babies run around in their nappy kits.

[JUAN PABLO]

I remeber when it was all fields round here.

I knew that was you in the front of that VP pic ;-)