Football - To Russia with Löw

[Ran]

17 minutes ago, Whiskeyjack said:

Okay cool, I'm on it.

Thanks Ran.

Edit - Actually, hmmm - I can't see the World Cup forum.  I know previously it was a subforum of Entertainment.  Is it in a different place now?

Should be fixed now.

[Whiskeyjack]

1 minute ago, Ran said:

Should be fixed now.

Yep, I see it now.  Thanks!

[Whiskeyjack]

Post here to get a team to support - WORLD CUP LETS GOOOOOOO

[Consigliere]

5 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Replays and two-legged ties in domestic cups will be on the way out, which helps big clubs but hurts small clubs.  

If you mean financially, the FA have also confirmed that they will be more than doubling the FA Cup prize fund from 2018/2019 season and mention that this increase will benefit all participating clubs at every stage.

[ljkeane]

I didn't have too much to do this morning so I thought I'd check to see if Fekir had signed yet and got sucked into a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  First Lyon 'categorically deny' false information in the media about his transfer to Liverpool, then they have to say that because they're publicly traded or something so the deal's still on, then he's failed his medical, no wait he hasn't failed his medical. It's all a bit much. I think I prefer it when you hear a rumour about a player signing and 20 minutes later his wife's posting a video of him flying into Liverpool.

Anyway in non Liverpool news Kane's signed a new 6 year deal for Spurs, and they seem to have revised their wage structure too as he's apparently on £200,000 a week. That's good news for them all round I think, obviously Kane's a key player for them but their wage structure was starting to look like an issue. Also Leicester have signed Jonny Evans for £3.5 million which is a bit of a steal.

[Iskaral Pust]

9 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

If you mean financially, the FA have also confirmed that they will be more than doubling the FA Cup prize fund from 2018/2019 season and mention that this increase will benefit all participating clubs at every stage.

That will help, but small clubs will have fewer potential match days against big clubs.  For fourth tier or non-league clubs, sharing in gate receipts for a match at a PL stadium would be a huge windfall.  And playing in one of those stadia is a big personal incentive for players at those clubs.  These don’t happen often, but they’re a big windfall and motivator when they do.  The expanded prize fund increases the average financial benefit but probably does not replace the reduced upside opportunity. 

It’s a pity for them to have fewer of those opportunities, but that’s the reality of keeping two domestic cups. 

[Iskaral Pust]

2 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

Anyway in non Liverpool news Kane's signed a new 6 year deal for Spurs, and they seem to have revised their wage structure too as he's apparently on £200,000 a week. That's good news for them all round I think, obviously Kane's a key player for them but their wage structure was starting to look like an issue. Also Leicester have signed Jonny Evans for £3.5 million which is a bit of a steal.

Yeah, good news for Kane and Spurs.  Their self-imposed austerity always seemed a bit exaggerated.  Spurs’ recent revenue isn’t that much lower than Liverpool’s, but their wage bill really is.  And Spurs saved a lot by developing some home-grown talent, and they have a new stadium to boost revenue, plus regular CL appearances now.  It would have been a shame to see this team broken up for want of competitive wages.

Deloitte report

 

[Consigliere]

1 minute ago, Iskaral Pust said:

That will help, but small clubs will have fewer potential match days against big clubs.  For fourth tier or non-league clubs, sharing in gate receipts for a match at a PL stadium would be a huge windfall.  And playing in one of those stadia is a big personal incentive for players at those clubs.  These don’t happen often, but they’re a big windfall and motivator when they do.  The expanded prize fund increases the average financial benefit but probably does not replace the reduced upside opportunity. 

It’s a pity for them to have fewer of those opportunities, but that’s the reality of keeping two domestic cups. 

A lower league side securing that lucrative replay at one of the major venues benefits just the one club and that club may have to wait years to get that opportunity again whereas this increase in prize money benefits all the lower league sides long term. A guaranteed increase for everyone every season is better than hoping to win the replay lottery once in a blue moon.

[Iskaral Pust]

Just now, Consigliere said:

A lower league side securing that lucrative replay at one of the major venues benefits just the one club and that club may have to wait years to get that opportunity again whereas this increase in prize money benefits all the lower league sides long term. A guaranteed increase for everyone every season is better than hoping to win the replay lottery once in a blue moon.

I agree.  The average will be higher but less upside skew or upside tail.  But incentives are funny: usually the presence of upside skew/tail makes people more excited about a competition (fans and competitors).  This is why tournament prizes usually have a significant upper skew. 

For small clubs with no chance of winning the cup, getting a match against one of the top 6 in their big stadium is basically their tournament victory.  And now they’ll have fewer chances at that, even though their average participation payoff will be higher. 

[AncalagonTheBlack]

13 hours ago, ljkeane said:

I didn't have too much to do this morning so I thought I'd check to see if Fekir had signed yet and got sucked into a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  First Lyon 'categorically deny' false information in the media about his transfer to Liverpool, then they have to say that because they're publicly traded or something so the deal's still on, then he's failed his medical, no wait he hasn't failed his medical. It's all a bit much. I think I prefer it when you hear a rumour about a player signing and 20 minutes later his wife's posting a video of him flying into Liverpool.

oh it's not over yet

 

Quote

Robin Bairner‏Verified account @RBairner

#Fekir's move to Liverpool has been delayed until today to allow Lyon to consider the deal in their 2018-19 accouting figures, RMC reports. #LFC

11:00 PM - 8 Jun 2018

 

 

 

 

[ljkeane]

Or perhaps there's problems with his medical and Liverpool are rethinking as per reports in some papers but James Pearce is saying they did ask for a second opinion on his knee but he ultimately passed. It seems likes he's done an interview in a Liverpool kit anyway but then it doesn't look like they're going to seal the deal pre World Cup now. It's all very strange.

I give up.

[polishgenius]

I'm guessing he's just realised he's better than that.

[Meera of Tarth]

On 6/5/2018 at 12:48 PM, baxus said:

The problem with this is that nowadays you don't really need to provide evidence for such a claim.

This could really hurt Guardiola's reputation without any evidence ever being produced. It could easily turn into Guardiola having to prove he's not racist rather than Toure having to prove he is.

 

On 6/5/2018 at 8:45 PM, Dolorous Gabe said:

Yaya is outspoken and not always in a good way.

I think most of this is just bitterness about not being used as frequently as he thinks he should have been since Pep arrived at City. But anyone could see that he was incapable of keeping up with the pace anymore. That started a long time ago. He could get away with it for a while because he still has amazing technical ability and strength.

Even in Yaya's prime there were people who felt he didn't put enough effort into defensive duties and put his teammates under pressure because of it. It seems pretty clear to me that that is by far the likeliest reason Pep wouldn't be keen on using him too often. Pep has always preferred quick-minded technical players who put in the team effort required in his system.

I think it is likely pettiness on Yaya's part (a trait he is often associated with) that has led to these comments. Same as his petty reaction to Aubameyang winning African PotY a couple years ago. He has been an extraordinary footballer but he is incredibly petty.

A little bit offtopic right now, but I'd like to add that I personally don't think that Pep Guardiola has racist problems. Of course, far it be to claim that I know the whole truth behind this topic, but I agree with both of you with the points you made; that the whole thing is probably related to sportive issues...