Epl 2014/5

[OwlsFan]

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.

[Eminence Grise]

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.

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

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

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.

[BonnieShels]

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".

[Closed Account 2]

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.

[BonnieShels]

That's almost not funny...

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

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.

[Stuttgart88]

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.

[BonnieShels]

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.

[Charlie Darwin]

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.

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

[Stuttgart88]

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.

[Charlie Darwin]

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

[DannyInvincible]

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.

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

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

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

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

[DannyInvincible]

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

[Eminence Grise]

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.

[DannyInvincible]

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

'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

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

[ArdeeBhoy]

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

[DannyInvincible]

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.

[Charlie Darwin]

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.