The 39th Game

[DesBremner]

Something I thought I would never type

Mick Quinn talks sense............
 
"Money raised from 39th game should to grassroots football"

if you haven't signed the @savegrassroots campaign...............sign now

Link here
www.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/66835

The trouble is that still pre-supposes that Game 39 goes ahead... which I think would be disastrous.

No thanks.

The savegrass roots campaign is completely independent of the 39th game idea


The e-petition has been running for sometime and should (IMHO) be supported by every football supporter in the country

http://www.savegrassroots.co.uk/

[cdbearsfan]

Ah sorry, didn't bother to click the link as the Mick Quinn quote you provided above made me assume it was linked to the 39th (or is it 38th now?) game.

Apologies.

EDITED to add: now signed.

[fbriai]

I'm all in favour of supporting grass-roots football and that looks like a worthwhile initiative.

The problem I have with Mick Quinn's suggestion is that the Premier League already have more than enough money to support grass-roots football properly. They don't need a 39th game to be able to do so.

[cdbearsfan]

Regarding the replays debate. If you did do away with them then wouldn't a lot of non-league/lower league teams seek to switch the venue to maximise receipts in the one-off game?

I thought that they changed the rules a few years ago to stop this.

I think the only way it would change is if the police deemed a stadium unsuitable. Not sure in those circumstances whether they would be allowed to switch to the away venue or would have to play at a nearby ground.

[Lucky Eddie]

"The potential impact on the value of season tickets, which would see fans of half the Premier League clubs missing out on a home match, could be enormous.
"Inevitably some of the fixtures to be moved will be either local derbies or other high-profile fixtures.
"The FSF is against the proposals as they have been reported, and will be consulting with Premier League fans' groups and individuals to formulate an appropriate response."

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/fans-group-oppose-overseas-premier-league-match-plans#FRBpWmB0zyfqw2dg.99

[cdbearsfan]

I remember watching us on the telly in the Asian Cup. Crowd was about 2% Villa and 1% Blackburn (none of them looked Oriental so I'm guessing they'd all flown over or were ex-pats), about 90% Chelsea fans and the rest fans of Man U/Arsenal, etc, who wanted Chelsea to lose.

If they have to do it, just send over the Sky Four-Six clubs and have them play each other. Fans in Beijing have no interest in watching Villa, Newcastle or Everton, let alone Stoke or Leicester.

[CJ]

Scudamore and his cronies absolutely beggar belief. Having had his 39th game nonsense blown out of the water he comes back with an even more ridiculous idea of having one of the existing fixtures played elsewhere. It's a pity fans can't get together and organise a mass boycott of one weekend's fixtures to show him what it means when you want to pursue the foreign TV buck at the expense of real fans. What with this and the likelihood of an enforced winter break to accommodate the corrupt Qatar 2022 World Cup bid, people running the game now have completely lost touch with reality. This, allied with the the iron law of oligarchy for the top 4 clubs, Sky dictating when games are played, players wages sprawling out of control for even average players, the downgrading of the most historic cup competition in the world, all combine to make me fucking hate everything about modern football. I sometimes wish I wasn't hooked on Villa so I could just walk away

[PeterWithesShin]

Rather than scrap replays, bring back unlimited replays!

[The Laughing Policeman]

Statement from the Football Supporters Federation.    FSF

[Comrade Blitz]

If they have to do it, just send over the Sky Four-Six clubs and have them play each other. Fans in Beijing have no interest in watching Villa, Newcastle or Everton, let alone Stoke or Leicester.

I agree - however, If this crap is just a way to entice more foreign billionaires to buy (and invest in) BPL clubs, they'll have to send the clubs that potentially can be bought as well.

Maybe clubs can tick a "preferred continent" box on the travel form.

[simon ward 50]

Statement from the Football Supporters Federation.    FSF

I applaud the statement but  I don't think Scudamore and his pals at Sky give a damn!

[PeterWithesShin]

Even forgetting all the obvious reasons for being against an extra game, how can they make the extra game fair?

Team A plays Chavski and gets twatted.
Team B gets Burnley and wins.

Team B stays up by 2 points. That's not going to cause any problems is it.

[The Laughing Policeman]

This isn't about the 39th game anymore.  They want to play one of the 'normal' 38 games abroad now.

[PeterWithesShin]

That will teach me not to have bothered looking at what they were proposing this time round. It's still a shit idea though.

[cdbearsfan]

Yeah, it's still shit. You still have the scenario whereby Team A plays Man U at home and gets a credible draw, Team B plays Man U at "home" in Beijing in front of 80,000 Man U fans, Team A stays up by a point.

If they have to do it, top four or six clubs, each plays two games abroad so losing one home and one away game.

Or an even better idea... just forget the whole thing.

Part of me wonders if this is a smokescreen and they are going to slip in something slightly less controversial while everyone is arguing about the 38/9th game.