Football: International Break-Up

[kairparavel]

So the linked article down below explains but it's disingenuous to blame Indian tv directly or either team. "However, the Liverpool Echo understands the Premier League approached Brighton with a view to moving the fixture to Sunday, initially around the possibility of the game being picked up by an international broadcaster.

Star Sports in India were the only broadcasters who bit, the match kicking off at 6pm Indian Summer Time.

Once the Premier League learned that Sky Sports and BT Sport were not interested in screening the match, they could have moved the game back to a traditional 3pm Saturday kick-off - but the fact Star Sports want to show it in India means the game will kick off at 1.30pm on Sunday."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/laughable-reason-brighton-vs-everton-11345626

[Rorshach]

That makes more sense.

I would hazard a guess that the intended recipient of that message is the PL - not the teams (who we know doesn’t have any say in when the match is played) or the channel, as they were offered the rights. The PL have, however, decided to make things difficult for the travelling fans, as I can imagine the trip Liverpool-Brighton isn’t too easy to make early Sunday.

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 hour ago, kairparavel said:

So the linked article down below explains but it's disingenuous to blame Indian tv directly or either team. "However, the Liverpool Echo understands the Premier League approached Brighton with a view to moving the fixture to Sunday, initially around the possibility of the game being picked up by an international broadcaster.

I don't think they blame the Indian TV station. The way I understand it, they attack the EPL for selling out the interests of the fan for a fistful of Dollars (or in this case Rupees). The ruppees bit was just to stress out that the EPL is more interested in listening to an Indian boradcaster, than to the domestic fans who spend their WE traveling to support their team. I wouldn't really call the Everton supporters racist based on that banner.

 

[kairparavel]

1 minute ago, Notone said:

I don't think they blame the Indian TV station. The way I understand it, they attack the EPL for selling out the interests of the fan for a fistful of Dollars (or in this case Rupees). The ruppees bit was just to stress out that the EPL is more interested in listening to an Indian boradcaster, than to the domestic fans who spend their WE traveling to support their team. I wouldn't really call the Everton supporters racist based on that banner.

 

Fair points. But the Mirror and Liverpool article basically state 'because Indian tv' instead of 'greedy PL'. Not great all around.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Source credibility. I don't know the Everton fans involved making the banner (or the Everton fan scene in general), however I'd take tabloid articles with more than a grain of salt when it comes to reporting about football fans. Somehow xenophobic football fans protesting Indian TV makes a way cooler story than fans protesting EPL.

 

[polishgenius]

I'm not really sure what xenophobia has to do with it. There's no indication whatsoever that the fans- or either paper- are having a go at Indian TV in any way.

[Calibandar]

On 14-10-2017 at 11:11 AM, Notone said:

In Portugal being an not unimportant part. I remember Dost from his Bundesliga days, he was a good striker, but hardly world class (at least not in terms of producing those displays on a weekly basis). So he hardly is in the same league as his great predecessors like Nistelrooy.

 

Dost is no van Nistelrooy, but certainly a much better striker than Vincent Janssen, which was my point.

Anyway, on to Liverpool vs United, seemed to me to be a game in which neither side really wanted, or dared to win.

I think Mourinho actually has a point for once in his post-match interview when he said that he kept waiting for Klopp to make an offensive change all game long, and it didn't happen. Both sides could have done more, but the truth is that United were happy for a draw, even came for a draw by the looks of Mourinho's line-up and tactics, and Liverpool were both unable to penetrate United, and unwilling to really commit to an offensive tactic at Anfield.

In other news, surprised that Chelsea allowed themselves this miss against Crystal Palace, yet unsurprised by the fact that Arsenal already looks like it will be competing for nothing at all this year, even though it's early days. Likely to finish 6th.

[Mark Antony]

Milan derby a million times more exciting than Liverpool/United. Serie A in general has been great this season. 

Love it when Suso scores 

[Philokles]

Fair to say Icardi's relationship with the Inter ultras has improved. He was brilliant tonight. A little fortunate that the last minute penalty was given against Rodriguez for his hat-trick though.

[Jordan La Cabra]

36 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Milan derby a million times more exciting than Liverpool/United. Serie A in general has been great this season. 

Love it when Suso scores 

Didn't see the game but that result leaves AC sitting tenth. Montella's walking on very thin ice right about now.

[mormont]

On 10/14/2017 at 5:42 PM, JordanJH1993 said:

My irrelevant comment was in response to this irrelevant comment of yours, which looked to me like you were 'moderating' me, as if you thought I was condoning or at least accepting the sectarian abuse that Lennon received. Something I pointed out on multiple occasions that I absolutely did not.

First, when I or any other moderator intend to moderate someone, we make that perfectly clear: you will not be in any doubt. Any personal opinions we express in the normal course of discussion should not be mistaken for that.

Second, my comment was in response to this idea that Lennon is a 'divisive' figure, as part of which you cited the sectarian death threats he's received. Now, I absolutely believe that you don't condone death threats or abuse, and that you don't intend to excuse them in any way. But, when you start in with this 'divisive figure' narrative, that absolutely has the effect of doing so.

We see it all the time. 'Oh, it's awful that Anita Sarkeesian gets all this abuse, and I condemn it of course, but she is such a divisive figure. She says the most controversial things.' Substitute Sarkeesian for Lennon or any one of a thousand other 'divisive' figures, almost always minorities of one type or another: the narrative is always the same. Don't rock the boat. If you do, you're making yourself a legitimate target. These death threats could have been avoided if you'd kept your head down. So really, it's partly your own fault, for being so divisive.

That's a view I will challenge anywhere and everywhere I see it. Sorry.

 

Moving on to Everton, I am genuinely wondering if Rooney has some sort of clause or if the owners are insisting that he play. Koeman is a big enough manager and experienced enough not to be blinded by a reputation, surely?

[Calibandar]

13 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Milan derby a million times more exciting than Liverpool/United. Serie A in general has been great this season. 

Love it when Suso scores 

Remarkable isn't it. Seems to be a result of there being 4 really good teams in Napoli, Juventus, Lazio and Inter. Inter has Icardi who is really on fire this season, Lazio has Immobile, Juve has Dybala and Napoli has Insigne, Mertens, Callejon and Hamsik.

[Consigliere]

14 hours ago, JordanJH1993 said:

Didn't see the game but that result leaves AC sitting tenth. Montella's walking on very thin ice right about now.

They should have sacked him during the international break. If Milan want to compete at the top then they need someone better than a mid-table manager.

[Jordan La Cabra]

5 hours ago, mormont said:

First, when I or any other moderator intend to moderate someone, we make that perfectly clear: you will not be in any doubt. Any personal opinions we express in the normal course of discussion should not be mistaken for that.

Second, my comment was in response to this idea that Lennon is a 'divisive' figure, as part of which you cited the sectarian death threats he's received. Now, I absolutely believe that you don't condone death threats or abuse, and that you don't intend to excuse them in any way. But, when you start in with this 'divisive figure' narrative, that absolutely has the effect of doing so.

We see it all the time. 'Oh, it's awful that Anita Sarkeesian gets all this abuse, and I condemn it of course, but she is such a divisive figure. She says the most controversial things.' Substitute Sarkeesian for Lennon or any one of a thousand other 'divisive' figures, almost always minorities of one type or another: the narrative is always the same. Don't rock the boat. If you do, you're making yourself a legitimate target. These death threats could have been avoided if you'd kept your head down. So really, it's partly your own fault, for being so divisive.

That's a view I will challenge anywhere and everywhere I see it. Sorry.

Prior to talking about Lennon, we discussed Allardyce. You have problems with him as a person and as a manager that I do not share. Therefore, Big Sam is a 'divisive figure'. Our opinions on him are divided; you don't like him, I do. Moyes is divisive, so is Mackay.

Take everything related to sectarian abuse away from Lennon and he is a divisive figure. He isn't just a divisive figure due to him being a Northern Irish Catholic. You will say that I made it look like he is only divisive because of the sectarian abuse he received, as it was involved in the story I told Notone, but that isn't what I meant. Take all that away, and you will still find people that will like him and dislike him based on other things, like many managers. 

The reason I brought up the death threats he received was that we were discussing him as a candidate for the Scotland job, and I though, had the SFA looked at him as a candidate, they might have considered the abuse he received before as a reason not to pursue him. Not through the SFA being a sectarian organisation, but because they may think that some of those people that sent him death threats are loyalists or Rangers fans that might rise and start doing it again if he was given the Scotland job. Perhaps giving him a high profile job like that would put him at risk again. Maybe I'm wrong.

It was your comment when you said in relation to his death threats not having anything to do with his personality, that instead they were to do with 'him being a NI Catholic and always attracting death threats from some thugs as a result' that irked me.

In no way do I think that he is a 'special kind of NI Catholic' and deserved the death threats, absolutely not. When I made the point that we currently have Catholics in our team and our manager is Catholic, I wasn't trying to make it out as if 'and they didn't get any death threats, so Lennon must have done something to deserve it'; my point was that with the way you put it, you made it sound like NI is an ultra sectarian country and can't see the national team have any Catholics in it without sending them death threats. Like if we aren't Catholic, we are all just like those sectarian thugs you mentioned. Which cannot be further from the truth.

For some reason, these sectarian thugs conjured a reason to send Lennon undeserved death threats. Those thugs are a minority in my country, and the majority of the people here didn't care that Lennon was a Catholic playing for NI, just as they haven't for Pat McCourt, Connor McLaughlin, Michael O'Neill etc. 

I won't have us all tarred with the same brush as the prejudiced minority of sectarian thugs that live in Northern Ireland.

[Consigliere]

Richarlison will face no action as the review panel has determined that he is not guilty of simulation.

[ljkeane]

1 hour ago, Consigliere said:

Richarlison will face no action as the review panel has determined that he is not guilty of simulation.

He was never going to given there was contact. Whether or not you think it’s a penalty it’s not the kind of thing that’s going to get retrospective punishment.

ETA: On the news that comes as a surprise to nobody front Mike Ashley’s put Newcastle up for sale.

[Jordan La Cabra]

World Cup Play-Offs:

Northern Ireland v Switzerland

Croatia v Greece

Denmark v Republic of Ireland

Sweden v Italy

I'll take that, as an NI fan. Switzerland are a strong team, but I was wanting us to avoid Italy and Croatia.

Not a bad draw for either Irish side.

[Winterfell is Burning]

Italy x Sweden should be interesting.

[Philokles]

Italy and Croatia have more talent than the Swiss, but both have been rather shambolic this qualifying. In a way they would have been better draws as you can see where Northern Ireland would have an edge but Switzerland probably have just as cohesive a unit as you but with greater quality. Only Belgium, Germany and Spain picked up more points than them. They were unlucky Portugal played very well too, as they picked up the most points possible for a non-qualifier. Denmark really was the ideal seed to be drawn against.

[Jordan La Cabra]

Denmark was the one I was hoping for.

I really can't see where we would have stood a chance against Italy. We really are short of ideas when going forwards. And while I know the Swiss conceded less goals than Italy in the groups, generally Italy are considered one of the best defensive units in world football.

Last November we played Croatia at home and got pasted 3-0 in a friendly. I know neither team was full strength, but it still said enough about the gulf between us.