t'premier leeg.

[topbin]

Fucking hell, I think people are talking a lot of shite about this. Fair enough if it was a league game, but what's the problem with him trying a fun piece of skill out in a pre-season friendly?

A week or so ago Yossi Benayoun scored a ridiculous flick in a friendly, everyone was creaming themselves about it. It was just as 'disrespectful' as whatever Balotelli tried, it just went in.

[Tommy]

A week or so ago Yossi Benayoun scored a ridiculous flick in a friendly

[gazurtoids]

Nah, that's not the point. The ends don't justify the means. Ballotelli's effort was wrong because there were better options (shooting without pirouetting, passing to Dzeko). Benayoun's flicks were speculative efforts while on the run; there weren't a host of simpler options and the goal was not already at his mercy. That's the difference.

[topbin]

Nah, that's not the point. The ends don't justify the means. Ballotelli's effort was wrong because there were better options (shooting without pirouetting, passing to Dzeko). Benayoun's flicks were speculative efforts while on the run; there weren't a host of simpler options and the goal was not already at his mercy. That's the difference.

But it's a friendly game. There's nothing at stake. The fans have gone to watch some of the best footballers in the world play football. If I was there, I'd much rather have seen him fluff an audacious backheel than simply slip it past the keeper.
It's not like Balotelli needs to score to get some confidence, Christ knows he has enough of that.

Scoring goals clearly isn't the objective of those games - teamwork, fitness and entertaining are.
He can make that pass to Dzeko 100 times out of 100, why bother practicing it?

As for Mancini's comments after the game, he should be ashamed of himself.

[AndyPaul]

But it's a friendly game. There's nothing at stake. The fans have gone to watch some of the best footballers in the world play football. If I was there, I'd much rather have seen him fluff an audacious backheel than simply slip it past the keeper.
It's not like Balotelli needs to score to get some confidence, Christ knows he has enough of that.

Scoring goals clearly isn't the objective of those games - teamwork, fitness and entertaining are.
He can make that pass to Dzeko 100 times out of 100, why bother practicing it?

As for Mancini's comments after the game, he should be ashamed of himself.

I think the fact that as soon as he did it he was booed, his team mates were furious, he was then booed off as his pissed off manager subbed him and then threw a childish strop may have prooved that pretty much everyone there thought he was a complete cock.

I don't think many of those booing fans thought much if the effort.

[eric olthwaite]

Nah, that's not the point. The ends don't justify the means. Ballotelli's effort was wrong because there were better options (shooting without pirouetting, passing to Dzeko). Benayoun's flicks were speculative efforts while on the run; there weren't a host of simpler options and the goal was not already at his mercy. That's the difference.

But it's a friendly game. There's nothing at stake. The fans have gone to watch some of the best footballers in the world play football. If I was there, I'd much rather have seen him fluff an audacious backheel than simply slip it past the keeper.
It's not like Balotelli needs to score to get some confidence, Christ knows he has enough of that.

Scoring goals clearly isn't the objective of those games - teamwork, fitness and entertaining are.
He can make that pass to Dzeko 100 times out of 100, why bother practicing it?

As for Mancini's comments after the game, he should be ashamed of himself.

This is just wrong. If you support a shit minor team, and a great big famous team plays you in a friendly, you want them to play the game. Not fuck about and take the piss.

[Fax Man]

In defence of Balotelli, I wonder if he thought he was offside. That seems to be what he says to Mancini when he comes off and it would explain why he didn't put any effort into the back heel which was nowhere near on target.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oytEUmlkHo

[Mustafaster]

Nah, that's not the point. The ends don't justify the means. Ballotelli's effort was wrong because there were better options (shooting without pirouetting, passing to Dzeko). Benayoun's flicks were speculative efforts while on the run; there weren't a host of simpler options and the goal was not already at his mercy. That's the difference.

But it's a friendly game. There's nothing at stake. The fans have gone to watch some of the best footballers in the world play football. If I was there, I'd much rather have seen him fluff an audacious backheel than simply slip it past the keeper.
It's not like Balotelli needs to score to get some confidence, Christ knows he has enough of that.

Scoring goals clearly isn't the objective of those games - teamwork, fitness and entertaining are.
He can make that pass to Dzeko 100 times out of 100, why bother practicing it?

As for Mancini's comments after the game, he should be ashamed of himself.

This is just wrong. If you support a shit minor team, and a great big famous team plays you in a friendly, you want them to play the game. Not fuck about and take the piss.

Even worse if that " great big famous team" is Citeh.

[the flying pig]

man citeh sign aguero for a £40m fee and about £200k a week wages

to add to their existing complement of strikers [approx reported fee; approx reported wage]:

tevez [well over £20m, over £200k/week];
dzeko [£27m, £100k/week];
balotelli [£22m, £100k/week];
adebayor [a little over £20m, £160k/week]
bellamy [£14m, £90k/week]
santa cruz [etc]


so their strikers will be earning the best part of £1m a week in wages, £50m a year.

looks like the FFP compliance programme is going really well then.

this does have something of the flavour of an awful footballing [quality players in their prime kicking their heels on t'bench] and more obviously monetary waste.

[The Gentleman Thug]

man citeh sign aguero for a £40m fee and about £200k a week wages

to add to their existing complement of strikers [approx reported fee; approx reported wage]:

tevez [well over £20m, over £200k/week];
dzeko [£27m, £100k/week];
balotelli [£22m, £100k/week];
adebayor [a little over £20m, £160k/week]
bellamy [£14m, £90k/week]
santa cruz [etc]


so their strikers will be earning the best part of £1m a week in wages, £50m a year.

looks like the FFP compliance programme is going really well then.

this does have something of the flavour of an awful footballing [quality players in their prime kicking their heels on t'bench] and more obviously monetary waste.

Adebayor's not on £160K a week is he? Fuck the PL and all who support her. Let's never go back there.

I think I hate Man City more than Man Utd now.

[MightyWhite]

The Premier League will surely eat itself sooner rather than later.

[Mustafaster]

The Premier League will surely eat itself sooner rather than later.

We wish.
£lite football is a vanity project for the super rich.

"Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has reported a 77% jump in second-quarter profit, thanks to higher energy prices.
Shell's profit for the three months to June came in at $8bn (4.9bn) on a current cost of supplies basis, up from $4.5bn in the same period last year."
8 billion dollars profit in 3 fuckin months! And RDS is a middling sized energy company. Footballers' wages don't even register in the petty cash.

[moscowhite]

We may as well include this here: Blackburn Rovers advertise Venky's chicken in India.

I'm no chef, but if grown men are crossing themselves before tasting your drumsticks, you're not cooking them right.

[Tommy]

That's one relegation spot sorted already.

[topbin]

That's one relegation spot sorted already.

Aye. I got 5-1 on them being relegated this season, it's already shortened to 3-1.

Reckon Villa have a good chance of going down too, took them 37 games to be safe and they've sold arguably their two best players. You can still get on them at 18-1.

[the flying pig]

We may as well include this here: Blackburn Rovers advertise Venky's chicken in India.

I'm no chef, but if grown men are crossing themselves before tasting your drumsticks, you're not cooking them right.

pff. as if robbo or dunny would sit back politely whilst team-mates helped themselves to tasty chicken

[Fax Man]

If anyone hasn't read Simon Kuper's piece in The Blizzard issue one yet, I highly recommend it. Here's a key part, which is perfect for this thread...

Banks fold, but almost every tin-pot British football club has survived the Depression, the Second World War, recessions, appalling managers and corrupt chairmen. If football clubs really did collapse under their debts, there would now be almost no football clubs left.
The reason: they are too beloved to go bust. Creditors dare not push them under. No bank manager or tax collector wants to say, “Portsmouth is closing. I’m turning off the lights.” Luckily, society can keep football going fairly cheaply. Contrary to popular opinion, football is not big business. This is a titchy little industry. The total revenues of the whole European professional market in the 2008-09 season were €15.7bn (about £13bn). Tesco’s revenues for 2010 were £57bn.

Kuper's piece is basically saying if you think fees & wages and money in football in general is crazy, that's nothing. If anything, they're only going to get bigger whatever the financial climate.

[the flying pig]

If anyone hasn't read Simon Kuper's piece in The Blizzard issue one yet, I highly recommend it. Here's a key part, which is perfect for this thread...

Banks fold, but almost every tin-pot British football club has survived the Depression, the Second World War, recessions, appalling managers and corrupt chairmen. If football clubs really did collapse under their debts, there would now be almost no football clubs left.
The reason: they are too beloved to go bust. Creditors dare not push them under. No bank manager or tax collector wants to say, “Portsmouth is closing. I’m turning off the lights.” Luckily, society can keep football going fairly cheaply. Contrary to popular opinion, football is not big business. This is a titchy little industry. The total revenues of the whole European professional market in the 2008-09 season were €15.7bn (about £13bn). Tesco’s revenues for 2010 were £57bn.

Kuper's piece is basically saying if you think fees & wages and money in football in general is crazy, that's nothing. If anything, they're only going to get bigger whatever the financial climate.

aye. i made the same point back in feb, mind.

http://www.thesquareball.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=104036#p104036

[Tommy]

Reckon Villa have a good chance of going down too, took them 37 games to be safe and they've sold arguably their two best players. You can still get on them at 18-1.

Nah, I don't see it. Even without Downing and Young they have a good side, especially with the addition of N'Zogbia. Bannan, Albrighton, Delph, Makoun and Agbonlahor are all good players and they don't really have any truly awful players in the squad.

QPR and Blackburn seem like the most likely candidates and this might even be the year that Wigan's luck runs out. I think Wolves, Norwich and Swansea will survive though.

[MightyWhite]

I suspect Villa will be ok, mainly due to the fact they have a very good striker (Bent) and a not-awful defence. Their midfield is pretty wank now though.