Football 2010-2011

[eFestivals]

Uts are going nowhere anytime soon, not with that squad.

then what does that say of Utd's squad, given that Liverpool under Kenny has outperformed them?

[The Nal]

then what does that say of Utd's squad, given that Liverpool under Kenny has outperformed them?

Edited May 10, 2011 by The Nal

[eFestivals]

Utd have been involved in more competitions and played more games in 2011. Kenny has only had to focus on the league. This is AFTER Utd knocked them out of the FA Cup and they lost in the Europa, under Kenny.

yeah, cos that 8 hours or whatever it was between his appointment and that FA Cup match was spent giving each player a full-on individual coaching session, eh?

The reality probably is that he didn't even pick the team for that day. He certainly had nothing more than a brief chat with the players.

A FAR better indicator is the thrashing you got at Anfield, however much you might like to bury your head in the sand about that.

Also, Utd have qualified for a big game at the end of the month with that squad in case you haven’t noticed.

What seems to have passed you by is the ridiculousness of the comment of yours that I replied to which has got us here. My comment was about laughing at that, and nowt else.

[eFestivals]

Oh, I saw a new TV ad this morning....

Glory Glory Turkish Airlines

it's no good for Beyonce but for Utd it's fine

I have these double standards cos Utd's mine

as the reds go marketing ON ON ON

[The Nal]

A FAR better indicator is the thrashing you got at Anfield, however much you might like to bury your head in the sand about that.

[jammy2211]

Liverpool are the first side to rip our defence apart in ages, Suarez made Hangeland look inept. I don't know how much to make of it, Liverpool look really good and should have some money to throw around in the summer - but at the moment they're playing without any pressure or expectations and it shows. If they keep this confidence going into next season however they'll definitely be 'up there', just a shame being up there means getting ahead of Arsenal , Man City, Man U or Chelsea :/. Spurs will get a decent points total if they don't get Europe either.

Wish UEFA would update the Fair play league, would be nice for Fulham to get back in the Europa .

[The Nal]

Wish UEFA would update the Fair play league, would be nice for Fulham to get back in the Europa .

[eFestivals]

Most of the comments by Utd fans are ridiculous.

corrected for you, and demonstrated again here....

Case and point............

... because what's REALLY ridiculous is all the guff you've spouted about Beyonce's marketing when Utd do all the same things to a FAR greater extent but with your full acceptance.

[eFestivals]

Liverpool are the first side to rip our defence apart in ages, Suarez made Hangeland look inept. I don't know how much to make of it, Liverpool look really good and should have some money to throw around in the summer - but at the moment they're playing without any pressure or expectations and it shows. If they keep this confidence going into next season however they'll definitely be 'up there', just a shame being up there means getting ahead of Arsenal , Man City, Man U or Chelsea :/. Spurs will get a decent points total if they don't get Europe either.

Wish UEFA would update the Fair play league, would be nice for Fulham to get back in the Europa .

I think it was more the case that Fulham made Liverpool look good last night. Fulham were absolutely dreadful in the first 20 minutes / half and hour. They were far better after that.

[the_hedge]

Suarez's movement was awasome last night. The timing of his runs was excellent, real handful. Pity he's a cheating little c*nt!!

Edited May 10, 2011 by the_hedge

[The Nal]

... because what's REALLY ridiculous is all the guff you've spouted about Beyonce's marketing when Utd do all the same things to a FAR greater extent but with your full acceptance.

[Wooderson]

Football club needs money to expand/ to pay wages & debts so it sells branded lunchboxes and overpriced replica shirts.

R&B singer needs money to tour the world/pay wages & debts so she sells branded lunchboxes and overpriced tour shirts.

Zero difference.

To claim that one has a right to whore themselves all over town and one doesnt is a nonsense. A Manyoo themed pencil case and a Beyonce themed pencil case... both are aimed at the experiential/loyalty brigade that buy anything to increase their delusional/worthless bond to their licensee.

Both equally worthless tat. But deffo equal.

[eFestivals]

Man Utd are a football club. They need money to function! I've no issues with any football club marketing themselves. Emirates Stadium makes sense. Liverpool being the first club to wear a sponsor made sense. Everton using Chang and gathering support in Asia makes sense etc etc.

Utd also 500 million in debt in case you've missed that story. Did you not see what happened to Liverpool under those Americans twats?

Beyonce is apparently an "artist", who doesnt need hundreds of millions to function and is not 500 million in debt either. Its a silly comparison.

You're reaching now, bug time. You dont like Man Utd. WE GET IT!!

What I've posted about exploiting commercial opportunities has absolutely naff all to do with what I think about Utd or any other football club, or what I think about unrelated commercial activities. Instead, it has EVERYTHING to do with me commenting on your own double standards.

Because just as you recognise that Beyonce "doesnt need hundreds of millions to function", the exact same thing applies to Utd (or any other football club).

With both it's simply a choice they've made for their own financial benefit. They both need money to function, but neither needs the money from unrelated commercial opportunities to function; the money to function is available from their core activities.

From my personal point of view I'd far rather that none in either 'sport' or the entertainment industry ('sport' is in quotes cos it's really just entertainment too) went in that direction, but if it's regarded as good for one then it's similarly good for the other.

[The Nal]

What I've posted about exploiting commercial opportunities has absolutely naff all to do with what I think about Utd or any other football club, or what I think about unrelated commercial activities. Instead, it has EVERYTHING to do with me commenting on your own double standards.

Because just as you recognise that Beyonce "doesnt need hundreds of millions to function", the exact same thing applies to Utd (or any other football club).

With both it's simply a choice they've made for their own financial benefit. They both need money to function, but neither needs the money from unrelated commercial opportunities to function; the money to function is available from their core activities.

From my personal point of view I'd far rather that none in either 'sport' or the entertainment industry ('sport' is in quotes cos it's really just entertainment too) went in that direction, but if it's regarded as good for one then it's similarly good for the other.

Edited May 10, 2011 by The Nal

[Greeny_Musicchild]

Got my Forest playoff ticket today. f**kING YAAAAASSSS.

[eFestivals]

Similarly, I was referring to the music artists and not footie clubs. Musicians are perfectly capable of having very successful careers without the perfume ranges etc.

Have Man Utd got more successful* due to them and the footie world in general exploiting those opportunities? Nope.

Because everyone is doing it, it ultimately gives none of them an advantage over the others, and the extra money merely gets swallowed in everyone paying higher transfer fees and wages, etc.

* Man Utd have of course got more successful over the time they've been exploiting those commercial opportunities, but I don't - now - put much if any of that greater success down to that. If you do, then you're taking credit away from Fergie. But anyway, I'd say that the average over footie teams which have gone the big commercial exploitation route gets to show that it's had little effect overall on what's happened on the field, it's only effect has been in the money that clubs are able to chuck around in transfer fees and wages.

Would you be happy, or a big fan even, if the Talking Heads were all over TV doing Pepsi ads back in the day? But you’ve no/not as much of a problem with Arsenals stadium being called the Emitares. And thats fair enough. But does that mean, if true, that you have double standards?

I've got the exact same problem with both examples you give, so there's no double standards going on with me.

The reason you've not seen me rant about it - for either musicians* or sport - is because whatever I think changes zilch. I'd simply be regarded as a dinosaur by most if I started down that path, because such things have become such a huge part of the modern world.

* the one I can remember ranting about was that awful Pepsi ad that Duffy did .... but that's related to just how awful that ad and her singing were, rather than the fact of her doing the ad itself.

Beyonce is an awful, awful woman by the way. Its a sad day for music when people dont acknowledge that.

that's a different thing. You're allowed to think her music is awful.

[modey]

The liverpool giddy meter is off the scale again, same as it always is this time of year, sick of hearing every may that next year will be their year

This time last year they were playing well and all the fans were telling me how they will defo be up there next year..same old story..yawn

The fact is they start to play well the same time near the end of the season when there is no pressure and nothing to play for, yes they hammered utd that day, but one game against the champions elect doesn't suddenly make them better, anyone who thinks so is just deluded

[ralph250]

And Liverpool fans are f**king SICK at the moment. All the arrogance, all the "come back when you've won 18", "we're the most successful" etc. Not anymore. Liverpool fans now follow the SECOND most successful team in England. And thats only the start of it. Uts are going nowhere anytime soon, not with that squad. Best centre back in the world, best young striker in the world, best left back in the world and Rooney firing again.

[The Nal]

Because everyone is doing it, it ultimately gives none of them an advantage over the others, and the extra money merely gets swallowed in everyone paying higher transfer fees and wages, etc.

Edited May 10, 2011 by The Nal

[eFestivals]

The liverpool giddy meter is off the scale again, same as it always is this time of year, sick of hearing every may that next year will be their year

This time last year they were playing well and all the fans were telling me how they will defo be up there next year..same old story..yawn

The fact is they start to play well the same time near the end of the season when there is no pressure and nothing to play for, yes they hammered utd that day, but one game against the champions elect doesn't suddenly make them better, anyone who thinks so is just deluded

And of course Man Utd fans didn't do the same thru their nearly 30 years of dreariness (and a spell in Div 2 ), eh?

(still, the advantage of times back then was that few got seen outside the north east. They're a London club now ).

Just as Man Utd eventually found a better place, so will other teams. And there's no team nearer to Utd right now than Liverpool (who are actually surpassing Utd right now), and they've managed that despite tjhem having what most Utd fans have happily berated as one of the worse squads ever.

Sooner of later it's you that will be doing all you're ranting against here, I guarantee. And it might even be from July/Aug this year if Fergie takes the sensible route.

I'm not thinking that the game where they thrashed Utd says much at all. I am thinking that the games against Chelsea, Utd, Shitty and others all combined says a fair bit. They are, very definitely, a club on the up again - and they'll be stronger still next season, while Utd will only manage to sustain their strength at best (as is always the case for the very 'top' teams).

[eFestivals]

True yeah. It escalates alright. But I'd rather that than some sugar daddy coming in Citeh style. At least marketing and having a good business plan is more of an "organic" long term approach.

well of course you think that - it means that "Manchester" Utd can never be challenged by the Manchester team.

The rest of us prefer a competition rather than an already-decided. The only way that can happen is by giving other teams an angle via which they can compete.

Edited May 10, 2011 by eFestivals

[eFestivals]

As Neil says, they do have 1 more point than Utd in Kenny's 16 league games but not sure much can be taken from it. The head to head was at Anfield, and Utd have had to play Chelsea Home and Away in that period, plus more pressure with the championship race and juggling CL runs/FA Cup runs etc.

while it's of course not an completely equal comparison so the point you make is a good one, in the mix with all that is the fact that the first two league games under Kenny can be realistically taken as being not under Kenny, because he had such little time with the team before those.

But of course a full season is a different thing, so we'll have to see how it pans out. But however he's done it, it's defo more than just a 'new manager bounce' that Liverpool have had - they're transformed, and some of that massive improvement will be carried into next season I'm sure.

[jammy2211]

Did that not screw up your league form the that season though?

[The Nal]

But of course a full season is a different thing, so we'll have to see how it pans out. But however he's done it, it's defo more than just a 'new manager bounce' that Liverpool have had - they're transformed, and some of that massive improvement will be carried into next season I'm sure.

[jammy2211]

I think it was more the case that Fulham made Liverpool look good last night. Fulham were absolutely dreadful in the first 20 minutes / half and hour. They were far better after that.