Football Rumours Archive September 07 2008

 

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Since when did this transfer rumours section become a debate on 'how many zeros are in a billion' or 'where does the foreign money come from' ?!? Back to some rumours. Expect Wenger to reprise a potential bid for either Barry or Alonso in January, as they would be mere weeks away from no longer being champions league cup tied. A potential merry go round of players may occur where Barry gets his move to Liverpool paving the way for Arsene to get his dream pairing of Alonso and Fabregas. There is an outside chance that a bid for Mbia would be the contingency plan, but given this player is 22 it could be more of a purchase with a more experienced midfielder. Watch this space. . Generic Gooner.
  A quick maths lesson for you all regarding this 'how big is a billion' that has been haunting these pages for the last few days. The whole world less the USA uses the following formula:

A Million has 6 zeros
A Billion has 12 zeros (bi = 2 ie twice as many)
A Trillion has 18 zeros (tri = 3 ie three times as many)
A Quadrillion has 24 zeros (quad = 4 ie 4 times as many)

And so on and so forth.So A Dodecarillion would have 20 times as many zeros as a million (Do–Deca 2 x 10). The Americans have a billion as 9 zeros, then a trillion at 12. ie from a billion onwards they always have three less zeros than everyone else.
  Gus poyet will be the next newcastle boss get your money on him
  "in other news. congrats Man City, your a great club and itll be nice too see another team in the north challenging for silverware. i don't usually agree with foreign investment but it can only make our league stronger and push the teams around them into better ones."

It usually takes a fan of a big club to think another big club (supposedly) will improve a division by adding to the handful of big clubs who'll be lording it over everyone else. And how will having a club with an ocean's worth of money, who'll be in a position to cherry–pick – via wealth – the best, the good and the promising from almost anywhere on Earth – 'push' the teams into being better ones? Unless, you mean having Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and FeederClub spend way over the odds to compete? And the rest? Considered the almost farcical imbalance of having a handful of monoliths loom above a group of the newly–promoted and mid–table clubs, outbidding, outbuying and outplaying them on an almost seasonal basis? The few dwarfing the many with bank accounts the size of the Moon? All hail your unique conception of a new, improved Premier League!

And to the Man City fan who, apparently, looks forward to us all sitting ourselves at the newly–acquired financial power of his 'giant' club, well, there may be some damaged underwear come the day his expensive 'superstars' work the charm (if they all turn up, that is), but it's not xenophobia that fuels the ire of those who criticise your club. It didn't matter if it was Arab, Russian or American money that surged into Man City, what rankled was the utter need to remove any competitiveness or sport by spending the way to success. To leap the queue in one single, money–fuelled bound. Chelsea was one thing – a wallet–wielding parody of a glamour club – and they're tolerated to an extent. Just. Barely.

But here's Manchester City, to outspend even Chelsea, to 'collect' players rather than build a team, which would take time and patience to do. But this is money, and you don't need time and patience. Mark Hughes came out with a recent remark which made me smile bitterly in which he said with surprise that 'agents didn't talk to me when I was at Blackburn, but I can't get them off my phone now'. Blimey, Sherlock, exercise your deductive powers and try to work out why that's happened.

One money–ploughing Premiership overlord is just about enough to live with. To have another which makes it look like a ramshackle corner shop in comparison, and, if its plans are any proof, to reduce football to just buying players and waiting for glory to come, without building, without nurturing, to remove the satisfaction of seeing a team flourish through care and skill (remember that?), threatens to turn the sport into a cartoon (if it hasn't become that already).

I'm a supporter of a club that's spent many years underachieving, crawling instead of running, reaching a certain level and stopping right there, but we're actually improving and growing, for which I'm thankful. Secretly, though, I always wanted someone highly–monied to buy us, however, in the light of Man City's newfound wealth, I'm now thinking differently and I'm quite comfortable with the 'improving and growing' bit. Getting to be proud of it, in fact. Better that than to turn into a strange sort of fattened, money–rich pig of a club that intends to keep the trough all to itself.

Yeah, football is money, but at what point will people be tired of hearing that it is and demand it be something else that's purer and better, and not something that's cynical, shallow and empty?
  To the arsenal fan who wants arsene wenger out. your sick!! AW is doing your club a massive favour, he has made arsenal a team respected and admired throughout the world with beautiful football being played. yes he hasn't won anything for 3 years, but the guy is a genius. why don't you support man united if your so desperate for success.

I love liverpool and i understand my fellow liverpool brothers pain in the modern day regarding all these billionaires coming in. However i see it as a positive thing, football as well as the world is changing, i'm getting a bit sick of the whole top 4 and welcome man city to the race. I wait for the day when all the premiership teams are owned by billionaires then we can have a level playing field and then the prowess of the players and the managers will be the main difference of who will win or lose.

Liverman
  I posted this on the comments section, but all the action and seems to be on the rumours page. A rant is a rant, but. . A rumours form that has become a sucsession of crowing and counter crowing about the wealth of owners and the billions, trillions, squillions that will be spent/ lavished on their team when their white knight rides over the hill is a worrying thing and sad, sad indictment of the state of football. It's a sadder reflection of the world that we live in. How did these people get so much money? It's not because they are talented, exceptional business brains. But simply by taking it from you, me and everyone else and we let them get away with it. Ask the average person in the UAE about oil wealth and they'll ask you what oil wealth as they have never seen a penny of it. Mind you after Shinawatra was was deemed acceptable, depite leading a despotic regime that makes Mugabe seem almost reasonable, what are we to expect. Yes people wake up. They've got everything else. Sport is next. Football is gone, it no longer belongs to you or me. Cricket is going. Rugy? Table tennis? The Olympics where does it stop. And if I sound like the guy at the end of Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers, it's because it is too late.
  Many people have said on this forum that money is killing football in England – it isn't. It is only killing the Premiership. I admit I love watching Champions League matches, the level of talent on display is sometimes breathtaking and at a much higher standard than is seen even in international football. However I am a Grimsby Town fan – my club has tried to live within its means (which is why I am glad to see teams that don't – like Leeds get substantial points deductions) and the few thousand who turn up each week get to see a good honest game of football without breaking the bank. I live near Cambridge so don't get up to Grimsby as often as I should – instead I go and support our local teams. We are lucky we have two in the Blue Square Premiership (Cambridge United & Histon) – both teams provide a fantastic afternoon's entertainment, you can stand to watch, the players clearly appreciate the support and are getting paid similar amounts to the people watching (Histon being semi–pro will be paid substantially less).

Rather than whingeing because you support a Premiership club other than Man City and therefore haven't been given a stupid amount of money vote with your feet. Find your local non–league team (or lower league) and try watching them – you won't see many fancy step–overs and Cruyff turns but you won't see much diving and play acting either.

I hope that we will soon see a European league (ideally two or three divisions with promotion and relegation with the ten wealthiest English clubs in). That will be mainly watched by a global TV audience and will be where the silly money is, the rest of us can watch an English football league pyramid where the clubs are part of the local community and are funded primarily by gate receipts.
  To everybody saying that David Moyes will be going to Newcastle think again. .there is no way that Moyes will put up with anybody else making the football decisions at the club,Moyes will be sighning his new contract within the next month after agreeing a transfer budget for January approx £20m where he intends to bring in a playmaker and a striker.

COYB in moyes we trust!
  Ruud gullit for ipswich magilton losers 3 more home ?
  I am a lover of the game, a kopite, but one that moved to N.America almost 20 years ago. I do not have a rumour just a piece of news that is actually weeks old already over here and something that can be interpreted in different ways but may support the idea that Hicks is fighting to find the money to meet his financial obligations regarding LFC. Quietly he has made it known in NHL circles that his Dallas Stars would be available for purchase.

My 2 cents worth on the purchase of MCFC is possibly against the flow on this site. I share a lot of the worries about where the game is being taken but really the genie was out of the bottle a long time ago. The City fan who is indignant about the negativity written about the new owners is right to point out that it is just the same as with Chelsea, mind we are simply repeating sentiments that were raised when the Russian arrived and changed the premiership.

We cannot turn the clock back to when there was seemingly more parity between clubs. The reality is that MCFC will be able to challenge the top 4 and that is a good thing. My concern is that there will not be 20 mega rich owners that can enrich the competition in the Premiership. The divide will increase to isolate those teams that have obscene amounts of money to spend.

A bigger impact will be on leagues like the French and German. They already struggle to compete with English Clubs and the bigger Italian and Spanish teams. Question is whether the game can survive the changes these mega rich owners will bring with them. I think it will but will the game be better for it I am not sure.

Respect to all you true fans – keep the faith!

Cdnkopite
  Did anyone really believe Wenger wouldn't sign a centre mid? Arsene has played it very sly and is preparing a swoop for Ghana's 27 year old centre mid captain Stephen Appiah, who is now a free agent after leaving Fenerbace. That would be why Wenger did not seal Gokan Inler in the transfer window. Everton, Pompy and West Ham are also reportedly interested but lets be honest now, he's going to choose Arsenal. Did anyone read about Fabregas saying a move to City would be suicide? Hahah nice one Cesc! That should take City down a couple of pegs. City are now also reportedly interested in Buffon, to add to the list containing C. Ronaldo, Messi, Torres and Fabregas. Very funny, possibly the funniest thing to happen in world football for years.

Thanks for reading,
Wenger4Life
  At then end of the season when wee gordon leaves celtic and tony mowbary is the celtic manager he will bring back deek riordan as it is in the contract remember the name big pat
  

 
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