FOOTBALL SEASON 2010/11

[STARBOY]

The Rangers / Celtic thing has been going on in some form since the late 80s - Originally (it seems) more at the bequest of Sky to get a TV deal - at the time the Scottish game was pretty strong and FIFA were making noises against it, so it went flat, of course sine then the Premiership has gone into orbit and the SPL has err struggled (a bad deal with Setanta and poor season in Europe) & now Rangers and Celtic are after the FA gravy train (and who can blame them). FIFAs current argument is if Rangers/Celtic joining the English league is that if a Scottish team do it what's to stop the Dutch joining the German league, the Portugese joining the Spanish, Belgian the French etc and leading to the breakdown of the national leagues. Its different for Wales as these teams (Cardiff, Swansea etc) were part of the of the original league set up (and it was the first league) so there is historical precedence here (similar to Scotland with Berwick Rangers and English team and some other mainland European leagues that take smaller country/State teams ie San Marino, Luxenbourg Andorra etc). Also there's the issue that the English teams would need to vote Rangers and Celtic into the set up thus voting 2 established teams out of it,and that is (as one commentator stated) "turkeys voting for Xmas" -and add to that (and it pains me to say this as we all thought this had stopped) do you want the baggage of the old firm when there are games at Millwall, Spurs, Manchester. Chelsea etc the disgrace of Manchester and the Neil Lennon troubles are not to be repeated (I don't care if it was the Manchester Police that underestimated 100k fans travelling or the fact it was a handful of bigot re Lennon - they are a disgrace and Scotland needs to clean up its act and not visit this on English towns etc (wee rant over lol))

[Phoenix]

Some callers are saying that if a Welsh club (Swansea) can play in the English Premier League why can't Scots clubs like Ranges and Celtic?

Apart from the fact that they have already been knocked back, the problem there is that they would have to start at the bottom like AFC Wimbledon did. This would mean several years of knocking over English minor league outfits. Mind you, they do that most of the time already against the best of the rest in the Scottish Premier League so it would not be a particularly new experience for them. They would probably need to start in some North Eastern leagues, playing against the likes of Blyth Spartans, Ashington, Whitley Bay and Billingham Synthonia Recreation (do they still exist?). The reason Swansea are allowed in is that they have been in since they became one of the original members of League Division Three in 1920. The same applies to Cardiff City, who were not only elected to Division Two for the 1920/21 season but won promotion to Division One in that same season.

[Jonny Whizz]

I really enjoyed watching the Champions League final, with Barcelona showing that they are the best team in Europe right now.

I don't want to rub it in too much for United fans, as my team has also lost a Champions League final in my lifetime and I know how painful it feels, but I am happy that for once Vidic was not able to get away with everything, as he usually does, and that they were outplayed - Barca weren't lucky, they were simply the better team.

However, one positive for most if not all fans was that the previously dodgy Wembley pitch, which has produced a series of dull matches in recent years (particularly in FA Cup finals) and generally hindered quality football, seemed in good shape and Barca were able to play their natural passing game. I thought Man United made a big mistake in leaving out Fletcher, Carrick doesn't have the same stamina and isn't as tough as he is, and Giggs was made to look his age by the magnificent Xavi and Iniesta.

[STARBOY]

I'll ignore the usual comments on Scottish football (heard it before even when our diddy teams like Dundee Utd and Aberdeen were doing pretty well as I recall- lol). But as I've already gone into in my reply just before yours Rangers and Celtic wont join the Premiership and to be honest they aren't that serious re a move to England now (fans may be) - its rolled out every now and then so they get their way with the SPL (ie we'll move if you don't reduce the numbers to 10 in the SPL etc) It was also a condition of the New Welsh league that the Welsh teams that stayed in England could not represent Wales in Europe so they can't compete (or at least represent Wales if they win) the Welsh cup etc so if Swansea win the FA Cup they would I assume represent England - ) The Europa League was set up directly because of the threat of Scots, Dutch, Belgian, Danish etc teams looking to leave FIFA and set up an Atlantic league (which is still a hot topic) I can see that being set up in a few years - already the European champions league can only be won by a handful of teams there is no real competition now only great finals how long till fans get bored with that (ditto the Premiership will Spurs, Liverpool etc be happy only to always finisih 4th etc)

[Digifiend]

To the people who think England were bad losers when they lost out for the world cup finals.
Now you know why.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/30052011/ ... ended.html

Well, that suspension proves that Qatar shouldn't have got the 2022 World Cup. I'd like to see it re-tendered. I thought Australia should've got it - the other candidate was USA if I recall correctly. Blatter isn't innocent though (apparently he knew stuff was going on!), I bet they only cleared him because otherwise there'd be no presidential candidates left!

[STARBOY]

This is an issue re the suspension of an FIFA official in the FIFA elections as opposed to the actual Qatar bid (although I think we may find there will be a link).Mohamed bin Hammam (from Qatar - yeah I know it sounds suspicious already but he was trying to oust Blatter as the Head of FIFA)was suspended as he was suspected (lets be fair he hasnt been found guilty yet ), of bribing Jack Warner (president of the CONCACAF region) to vote against Blatter in the forthcoming FIFA election. This has actually backfired IMHO as now Blatter can stand unopposed for a fourth term in charge of FIFA - The Qatar bid issue is not being looked at at present although if Hammam is found guilty of bribery then it may be an issue and there have been comments on this coming out - I think the FA were right to do this there have been FIFA concerns for years now

[Phoenix]

It was also a condition of the New Welsh league that the Welsh teams that stayed in England could not represent Wales in Europe so they can't compete (or at least represent Wales if they win) the Welsh cup etc

I may be completely wrong, STARBOY, but I seem to remember reading sometime in the last few months that next season applications from Cardiff and Swansea to enter the Welsh Cup will be accepted. Whether they would be allowed to represent Wales in European competition or not is, as you suggest, a different matter.

[STARBOY]

Yeah I think your right on that one Phoenix and I hope Swansea , Cardiff get the chance to compete and if they win represent Wales in Europe (they have good teams) - of course English teams from the English/Welsh border region used to play in the Welsh cup (I imagine that's been stopped now).

[steelclaw]

And Swansea City are now in the premier league after beating Reading.

[Digifiend]

Congratulations to the swans!

[Jonny Whizz]

Yes, they did very well all season, and I'm sure they can do well in the Premier League next season. The likes of Sinclair and Borini are quality players, and they've got a good balance too - solid in defence but also strong going forward.

It's a massive blow to Cardiff, beating beaten to the Premier League by the Swans. I think Cardiff really should have got automatic promotion this year, the signing of Bellamy suggested they would but they had so many other good players at their level - Bothroyd, Burke, Whittingham, Olofinjana, Chopra, Emmanuel-Thomas, Koumas, Ramsey (briefly) etc. I doubt they'll do so well next year, as Burke and Bothroyd have left on free transfers, and I can see the team being broken up. They'll also need to find a good replacement for Dave Jones, because he did an excellent job establishing them as one of the Championship's top teams despite having to sell his star players every year.

[dreamticket]

Yes, they did very well all season, and I'm sure they can do well in the Premier League next season. The likes of Sinclair and Borini are quality players, and they've got a good balance too - solid in defence but also strong going forward.

It's a massive blow to Cardiff, beating beaten to the Premier League by the Swans. I think Cardiff really should have got automatic promotion this year, the signing of Bellamy suggested they would but they had so many other good players at their level - Bothroyd, Burke, Whittingham, Olofinjana, Chopra, Emmanuel-Thomas, Koumas, Ramsey (briefly) etc. I doubt they'll do so well next year, as Burke and Bothroyd have left on free transfers, and I can see the team being broken up. They'll also need to find a good replacement for Dave Jones, because he did an excellent job establishing them as one of the Championship's top teams despite having to sell his star players every year.

I presume Bellamy will be returning to Man City, as I thought he was over there on a free transfer?

[Digifiend]

Yeah, Bellamy was only on loan to Cardiff, so he's back at Eastlands now. There's rumours he could become Cardiff's new player-manager though...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Bell ... te]Bellamy has recently stated that he would like to stay at Cardiff City, his hometown club, beyond his loan spell, to achieve his dream of them one day playing in the Premier League. After Cardiff manager Dave Jones' sacking, Bellamy became a surprise favourite to take over.[/quote]Reference cited: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011 ... ty-manager

[abedi]

I don't think much of Spurs new strip, but I will buy one and maybe I will get used to it.

No sponsor?

Like this does not sponsor football shirt. Really is relatively small. Looks relatively monotonous.

See here the same Tottenham Hotspur shirt. He was particularly enriched.