Epl 2014/5

Although I am more interested in the Championship, I thought I had better start a thread as the wall to wall coverage had begun. Apparently it is huge news that Suarez sent his former manager a text wishing Liverpool all the best for the new season. I would have thought it would have been news if he didn't.

Champions: Man City
2nd/4th Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd
Relegated: Burnley, QPR and usually one existing goes down: Palace although there are a lot of other mediocre sides.

Championship - up for grabs. Awash with recent ex-Premiership sides that never made it back: Birmingham/Blackburn/Bolton/Wigan/Middlesbrough/Reading/Wolves to name but a few. If you don't bounce back the first year, it gets a lot harder.

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Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Apparently it is huge news that Suarez sent his former manager a text wishing Liverpool all the best for the new season. I would have thought it would have been news if he didn't.

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Something like a 'man bites dog' headline, you mean?:bigsmile:

Why the hell are Man Utd fans getting so worked up about Nani's wages being paid in full during his loan spell in Lisbon? I would be more concerned about the fact that they are still tapping up players and encouraging them to revolt so they can force a transfer through, like what happened with Marcos Rojo; and Eric Dier at Tottenham.

If I was a Man Utd fan I wouldn't give two s**ts about "tapping up". United are still not quite at the Bayern Munich level of "tapping up".

Talking of Bayern "tapping up" did you see this:

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/...hirt-save-time

Apparently Bayern are trying to take legal action because of the article.

That's almost not funny...

The downfall of Serie A is really something else.

Liverpool sell Luis Suarez for 65m. Mario Balotelli is set to sign for Liverpool for 16m? What kind of way is this to run a football club? Liverpool are guaranteed to make a profit of at least double that. If Rodgers does a better job of nurturing his talent than Allegri, Seedorf and Inzaghi - he could well end up leaving Liverpool for upwards of 40m.

Who else in Milan's squad would command a fee anywhere near 16m?

Serie A is like a graveyard for top footballers now - Robinho, Kaka, Vidic, Evra. Even the standard of young footballers Milan are signing are rubbish! Pablo Armero wasn't good enough for West Ham and now he's signing for Milan! Who next? Julien Faubert?

It's sad when Ashley Cole looks like one of the best Serie A signings of the summer. I just hope that Juve can at least keep Pogba and Vidal; but even if they do, that will just make the League even more un-competitive than it already is.

Italian football has been mismanaged beyond belief. Cronyism and corruption are only the start of it. Grounds are generally awful municipally owned multi-purpose venues devoid of any atmosphere. In an era when sale of overseas TV rights makes an enormous difference there's very little in the Italian product that stacks up well with the English, German and Spanish leagues.

I attempted on several occasions last year to watch some Serie A and my word it is a tough watch. People complain about the LOI or Scotland but most games in Italy feel like reserve matches.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

If Rodgers does a better job of nurturing his talent than Allegri, Seedorf and Inzaghi - he could well end up leaving Liverpool for upwards of 40m.

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Or Mourinho, or Mancini. The manager who can get the best out of Balotelli will be the biggest genius on the planet.

His pivotal role in that Aguerro goal against QPR is often overlooked.

Brilliant talent but Conor Sammon would have done a far better job against Costa Rica and Uruguay in June.

Part of me thinks that this is Liverpool's way of seizing the global media initiative and showing them as a club on the up and United as a club in decline. All the "scousers" in Sandymount, Singapore and Sacramento will like this one.

Don't be silly, Stutts, Singapore and Sacramento aren't in Liverpool.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

Liverpool sell Luis Suarez for 65m. Mario Balotelli is set to sign for Liverpool for 16m? What kind of way is this to run a football club? Liverpool are guaranteed to make a profit of at least double that. If Rodgers does a better job of nurturing his talent than Allegri, Seedorf and Inzaghi - he could well end up leaving Liverpool for upwards of 40m.

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Balotelli is a shrewd money-ball signing: " Buy players with personal problems at a discount; then help them deal with their problems."

http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-30528548.html

Harry Redknapp - Everyone is racist, bigoted, sexist and homophobic; leave Malky alone.

Redknapp's clearly a bit of a dolt too then. That the League Managers' Association attempted to defend Mackay's exchanges as "friendly text message banter" is simply extraordinary: http://www.theguardian.com/football/...rs-association

Releasing a statement using ‘banter’ as a defence is enough to say that the writer isn’t up to their job. But has anybody seen the messages, though? I don’t think any media outlet has published them. Britain tends to be a bit more strait-laced than we are when it comes to taking offense, so it can be hard to gauge how bad they were. Now, what Mackay texted may be so vile it’s unrepeatable, in which case he deserves everything coming to him. But, without wishing to trivialise things, it may equally be that the texts are glib, ill-judged and capable of causing offence without any being intended – in which case he should be damned for his stupidity, but not vilified. Hell, if I were presented with a record of all my mails and texts (and even posts here!) I’d have to confess that a few would be dodgy enough.

The Daily Mail published the messages exchanged between Mackay and Iain Moody, although I'm not 100 per cent sure which were the three incriminating ones sent by Mackay: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...statement.html

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Originally Posted by Daily Mail

'Fkn chinkys. Fk it. There's enough dogs in Cardiff for us all to go around.'
On the arrival of South Korean international Kim Bo-Kyung

'Go on, fat Phil. Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers'
On football agent Phil Smith

'He's a snake, a gay snake. Not to be trusted'
On an official of another club

'Not many white faces amongst that lot but worth considering.'
On a list of potential signings

'I hope she's looking after your needs. I bet you'd love a bounce on her falsies.'
On a player's female agent

A picture entitled Black Monopoly (where every square was a "Go to Jail" square)
Sent to members of Cardiff's staff

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The initial LMA statement on his behalf stated that Mackay specifically denied having sent homophobic or sexist messages, so perhaps those with racist/anti-Semitic content were his.

The Daily Mail published some responses from those concerned here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...-followed.html

Hmm, The Daily Fail make Mackay & Redknapp look like Franciscan monks by comparison, when it comes to double standards.

Why are Cardiff City so bothered and seemingly determined to tarnish Mackay's name when he no longer has anything to do with them? They reported Mackay to the FA for misconduct months after he was dismissed and then a selection of incriminating text messages get leaked as Mackay looks a dead cert to take the Crystal Palace job. They've also been very vocal about the inappropriate nature of the LMA's original statement. I highly doubt it's because they're benevolent moral crusaders... Is it Vincent Tan's way of getting some sort of revenge on Mackay for Cardiff's relegation and the alleged over-spending? Tan seems to be an utterly poisonous figure. If I was a cynic, I'd guess that Mackay's apology to Tan and the dropping of his legal claim for wrongful dismissal back in May was as a consequence of a threat from Tan to reveal something incriminating if legal action was pursued.

Whilst the content of those three messages (out of 10,000) to which he has admitted sending is pretty damning and indefensible, Mackay seems like an otherwise decent man whose become victim of a nasty and malicious smear campaign.

It's not cynical Danny, it's what happened. Mackay dropped his lawsuit and apologised in order to keep the texts and emails from being released to the media. Tan apparently said he'd keep them to himself as long as Mackay told the FA about them (I don't know exactly why) and when he didn't, he reported them to the FA, and somehow it got out to the media. Mackay has spent the last few months trying to get an injunction to stop them being published.

Those messages cross the line alright. Nothing glib or inadvertently offensive them at all. Mackay will find it hard to rebuild his reputation. Tan isn't coming up smelling of roses either though: if I get you right, CD, he seems to have held out the threat of exposure (blackmail by any other word) to force Mackay to drop a lawsuit. What's that old saying - revenge is a dish best served cold?

Haha, it hasn't finished EG. Convenient the timing here, hours after Mackay apologised for the texts that were leaked out, more have emerged. Mackay apparently referred to Tan as a chink, and Moody makes reference to Mackay being a racist: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...Tan-chink.html

A week later came another illuminating exchange, offering what appears to be a startling observation about Mackay. At the time, Mackay was concerned that a player they were pursuing had been linked with a rival club. He relayed his feelings to Moody, who replied: ‘He told me he had an offer to go there but will never accept because the manager is a racist. Thankfully he hasn’t met you.’

Harry Redknapp?

Also, on what planet is it acceptable to blow off steam by referring to people as "chinks" and "*******"?

Hmm, I'll maybe retract that "decent man" hunch for now...

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Mackay apparently referred to Tan as a chink

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The most ignorant form of racism; if one must be racist, must they further humiliate themselves and be such a lunkhead so as to be geographically inaccurate and unaware of which ethnic group they're actually trying to insult?

I doubt it's Redknapp as they were never in the same division so wouldn't be competing for players like that, but I don't think you could speculate who it is since a) even if we knew the player, we wouldn't know who the other club is and b) there are probably a few racist managers around.

Who sends that kind of banter as a text message though? Fair enuff if it was said with mates and all but actually sending it off as texts, that takes a little more thought. A little more mind!

You'd never get racist or antii-Semetic content in GAA texts or social media :) What was that idiot thinking?

I wonder how the Mackay texts got into the public realm?

What annoys me most about this episode is that these two are among the younger guys on the circuit. Football can't be expected to rid itself of old dinosaurs who grew up in a less enlightened time but Mackay is in his 40s. He's younger than me I think. Nobody my age finds this stuff even borderline acceptable anymore. Mackay needs to sit down with The Duke of Edinburgh for a lesson on contemporary political correctness.

The Daily Mail (Sportsmail) broke the news of the exchanges as an "exclusive" and claim to have been involved in "months of investigation": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...e-Cardiff.html

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Originally Posted by Daily Mail

After months of investigation, Sportsmail can reveal the details of two letters sent to the FA outlining explicit and offensive texts.

These messages came to light after a dawn raid on Moody’s south London home in March this year, as part of Cardiff’s £750,000 investigation into eight controversial transfers.

They engaged London law firm Mishcon de Reya, whose investigators obtained a search order from the High Court to enter Moody’s house in Balham, seizing work computers and phones and taking electronic imagery of evidence.

They were investigating alleged wrongdoing related to one of these transfers.

Around 70,000 text messages and 100,000 emails were allegedly recovered, including the text and email exchanges that form the basis of letters sent to the FA by Mishcon de Reya, on behalf of Cardiff.

Under FA rules, Cardiff are required to report any matters which may constitute ‘aggravated misconduct’.

The letters to the FA make reference to the following alleged offensive communications between Moody, Mackay and others:

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Although Cardiff deny having had anything to do with the exchanges becoming public, the Daily Mail must have had an insider at either the club or FA leaking info.

To me the most disappointing thing about the EPL this season was the sale by Southampton of half of their promising side and the departure of their manager. Is this how it is to continue to go. The ambition of the medium sized clubs is purely to survive in the EPL and feed the bigger clubs? Southampton had a chance to kick on and perhaps compete for a CL spot or at worst a Europa league position. Instead they decided to sell the crown jewels and once again dwell among the also-rans. Perhaps that's why they sent the reserve side out in the FA Cup quarter final: to preserve their assets. Unless you have the backing of a billionaire, it looks as if there is no hope for the medium sized clubs. The days of Forest and Villa winning leagues and European Cups are well and truly gone if that is to be the attitude.

Now when is that Azerbaijani billionaire going to complete his take-over of the Owls?

They did have a billionaire owner but he died. His daughter is in charge now and the club seems to be run by a cabale of dodgy spivs and misfits. My recollection is that they had huge debts from their earlier EPL days and some of these sales are a result of previous over exuberance. However, their academy seems very strong and they will always be a selling club. It has always been thus, except that instead of the big buyers being Italy, the biggest buyer now is the EPL - outside of Spain of course. The days of Forest and Villa winning European Cups is long gone anyway. Even Ajax is a non-entity in today's market.

Some criticise FFP as being the cause of this behaviour, but without FFP you get more clubs like Southampton going bust.

I don't think anybody knows how FFP will play out but I think there's a reasonably good chance it will help lower teams out rather than slamming the door shut. It should, at the very least, stop so many clubs from dicing with death, and for the teams who can no longer look forward to being taken over by a benefactor, hopefully it will encourage more innovation on the still massively undervalued commercial side of football.

MK Dons did well to avoid a cup upset last night.

Can someone explain to me how Man Utd are allowed to spend, potentially, a combined £150m on Rojo, Di Maria and Falcao in the space of a few weeks?

Do the financial fair play rules apply to PSG but not to English clubs?

I'd love to know where the money is coming from because - apart from the new players - there is barely any sell on value in any players at that club apart from Rooney, and that is dwindling fast.

Falcao looks like a loan move, so dial the price of that way back. New sponsorships agreements have also injected a lot of cash in the club in the last few months.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

Can someone explain to me how Man Utd are allowed to spend, potentially, a combined £150m on Rojo, Di Maria and Falcao in the space of a few weeks?

Do the financial fair play rules apply to PSG but not to English clubs?

I'd love to know where the money is coming from because - apart from the new players - there is barely any sell on value in any players at that club apart from Rooney, and that is dwindling fast.

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Man City got sanctioned too.

United still can cover the FFP regulations from existing cash flow despite their high debt service costs. This debt was not related to any investment in infrastructure so the servicing counts fully towards their FFP number.

Falcao is indeed a loan move but as a loan move any fee paid to Monaco must be accounted for in one years's accounting period. But, the FFP breakeven assessment is carried out on a 3 year rolling basis, so any affect on the current season's finances can be blended into the previous two seasons or future seasons.

Even if a player cost 50 million (say) the impact on any season's expenditure column is probably only 10million as a player's transfer cost is amortised on a straight line basis over the life of his contract. Wages obviously impact things too, of course.

So Rojo and DiMaria's transfer costs don't hit the bottom line immediately, and the annual impact can be offset by past and future' years' results because of the 3 year rolling effect. So, without looking at Man United's accounts my guess is they have enough of a cushion from the last two years, plus they can take a bit of time to offload high wage costs and sell players.

Remember also that their commercial income is rising.

Falcao's going to cost £6 million for the season, presumably his wages...

There are reports that the first year of Falcao's deal is a loan expressly because of FFP, and a much larger long term deal has been agreed to make him an official Manchester United player in 2015.

Aye, £51 million !!!

So almost £60m all-in when you factor in agent payments, etc. His wages alone will be £10m a year.

This year is a bargain then...