Blatter, Slavery and Contracts.

Mitch Connor

Ok, I don't really want to get it to the offensive comments made by Blatter and the implication of his comments. I'm also fed up reading about, and pointing out his hypocrisy or lack of impartiality, so this post isn't really about that, but about his broader point (one which he has argued against....)

In England, once a player signs a contract they are tied to that club for the length of that contract, regardless of what they want beyond that, which is what we are currently seeing with Man United and Ronaldo. In the 'real' world, a person can leave their place of employment with a months notice, basically, but this right is not afforded to footballers. In Ronaldo's case, if United don't want to sell him, he has to stay for at least another 2 years, at which point he could opt to buy out his contract - but that is his only 'out', nothing else. Now, I have always argued that football is different to normal business and it should be treated as such. Contracts and rules in football should be respected and left as they are despite dubious legality in normal circumstances. However, I do see the other side of the coin. Regardless of the contract a player signs, if they are not happy at the club they really should not be made to stay, as it is keeping someone against their will. They may have signed a new contract but things do change.

So, is there a workable solution that would not destroy football? If player were allowed to move with a months notice, the transfer system would die a very quick death. No doubt about that. However, the money that would have been used for transfers would then be used for wages and signing on fee's, so it is only of benefit to the player, not the clubs. In fact, many smaller clubs could possibly fold as a result of not being able to develop and then sell on players for profit that keeps the clubs running. There would be no change, imo, to the hierarchy of football as it would still be the richest clubs that would be able to afford the best players, and it would then be easier for them to 'nick' players from smaller clubs cause no one could do anything to stop a player from moving.

The above leads me to the same old conclusion that football needs to be different to the 'real' world in order for it to survive. However, is there another way?

I was thinking FIFA could force an adoption of the Spanish rule of players, all players, having a minimum release fee clause in their contract. This way the player retains more legal control over their future. They may be contracted to the club for another 5 years, but if someone bids their release fee, they are free to move, their current club can not stop it. It would also protect the clubs in that you would still have contracts and player value - a guarantee the player can not leave unless someone bids a value you have decided is fair for the player previously.

Thoughts?

therecklessone

I find Blatter's language deeply distasteful to be honest, I'm not sure of many slaves who earn £130k a week.

I also find it disturbing that Blatter is choosing to speak on this case, when there are countless cases of players at lower levels of the football hierarchy who could do with his help.

The current contract system provides some protection to footballers, as a four year contract provides guaranteed income in the event of long term injury. Apply standard employment law and you could face a situation where players work on 6 month contracts, and a serious injury just before contract renewal could see said player without work for months on end.

Your goalkeeper is having a mare of a season? No problem! Toss him aside at the end of his short term contract, it won't cost you a bean!

The likes of CR7 will always attract interest from the bigger clubs, and will always realise his earning potential, but what about some poor sham in the Belgian 2nd division?

I'd support the minimum release clause though.

Fratton Fred

therecklessone wrote: »

I find Blatter's language deeply distasteful to be honest, I'm not sure of many slaves who earn £130k a week.

Max Mosley

they are not tied to a club, the player can leave if they like but the club holds their registration so they can't play for anyone else. They negotiate long deals for lots of money, then moan about them.

this is just more distasteful whinging from a sport whose key personalities are getting more and more out of touch with reality.

PDN

If these over-payed ill-educated morons don't want to be slaves then no-one is forcing them to sign a contract.

They're happy to sign a long term contract that gives them more money, then they want to walk away from the contract when it suits them. Do these prima donnas think they are so special that normal rules and laws don't apply to them?

Mitch Connor

PDN wrote: »

Do these prima donnas think they are so special that normal rules and laws don't apply to them?

But normal rules and laws DON'T apply to them, they can't leave their current employer for a new one with only a months notice.

PHB

You can't have it both ways. Short term contracts means that you have to be willing to accept massive pay cuts when you're form drops/you are injuried. Long term contracts means you get a set fee, but less movement.

If the current contract structure breaks down, it'll in the end result in a huge loss of wages for the majority of footballers, but for the select few, it'll be incredibly profitable. As far as I'm aware, the PFA are aware of this and support a sort of middle road.

Fratton Fred

Tauren wrote: »

But normal rules and laws DON'T apply to them, they can't leave their current employer for a new one with only a months notice.

Yes they can. They can go off and get a job in Mcdonalds if they like, they just can't play pro football.

dr.bollocko

Its just a pity that that portugese hair dresser has tossed Man U, the press, and the fans around so much that I cant even remember the last time he took a kick of a ball in a Man Utd shirt. Oh. No. Wait. I do now.
I just hate that the business element is completely overshadowing his actual playing ability. The pompous side of his self-loving personality has overshadowed anything else and I just want rid at this stage. Remembering that he was closer to Nani when we signed him and he owes his skills to a dedicated Utd training.
And that Blatter is a tosser, simple as. Sticking his nose in where it doesnt belong has been his MO for as long as I can remember.
Outrageous insulting comments really.

Charlie

This is all bullshine coming from Blatter's gob. Contracts, inherently protect the player more than the club. It gives the player a GUARANTEED income for x amount of years, regardless of performance or injury.

If Liverpool miss out on champions league football next year it will hurt their coffers seriously. However, Stevie G will still pick up his bumper pay packet. In any other industry, it wouldn't be uncommon for the employer to make cutbacks because of the lost revenue.

Also, how many times do we hear of a player kicking up a fuss because they want an extra year or two on their new deal? Isn't this what Lampard is doing with Chelsea at the moment, he wants 5 years on his new deal. Yet people will still defend a players right to bail early on a contract because he is 'unhappy' at a club.

Let these prima donas live a life where they are working just to barely make a mortgage payment, and where they can't afford to take their family away on holiday. Then we will see if they are still '"unhappy" with their fat contract.

I think the only time this whole 'X player is unhappy' should hold any weight is if they are being badly treated by the club and or manager, or if they are sitting on the bench every week. Then I can see a merit to letting said players leave the club even if the club want to keep them. But this nonsense about it 'being my dream to play for Leeds no em actually Man United sorry I meant Real Madrid doesn't was with me.

DSB

Blatter is far too biased and bitter a man to be left in charge of ANYTHING. There is no way his position should be tenable after his constant comments of this nature. The man is a disgrace to the sport.

jesus_thats_gre

Blatter and Platini defo have some sort of vendetta against the PL. I always suspected it but some of the stuff lately has been absurd.

leninbenjamin

DSB wrote: »

Blatter is far too biased and bitter a man to be left in charge of ANYTHING. There is no way his position should be tenable after his constant comments of this nature. The man is a disgrace to the sport.

the comments are one thing. the allegations of corruption are another. how that man has never had an investigation into his personal finances i will never know. it's as clear as day what his priorities are and where his loyalties lie.

OhNoYouDidn't

Regardless of Blatter being used by Real Madrid to intervene on their behalf, he is a fan after all, and the fact he should have stayed out of it, he has a point.

Footballers are treated differently to the every other industry and I'm astonished no player has ever taken a case for his right to hand in notice and find a new employer. Blatter is just repeating FIFA policy, clubs have too much power here and I guarantee they will lose it - the Webster case is the start of this process.

But I am also fully aware that players are trying to have their cake and eat it too - they demand long and secure contracts but they want to be able to walk away on a whim. Nothing infuriates me more than a player three months into a 5 year contract wanting away, but for some players circumstances change.

Fratton Fred

leninbenjamin wrote: »

the comments are one thing. the allegations of corruption are another. how that man has never had an investigation into his personal finances i will never know. it's as clear as day what his priorities are and where his loyalties lie.

The trouble is, there is no one to regulate FIFA. the only people who can really insist on an investigation are the other directors, most of whom are on the take as well. it is a governing body that is out of control, what it needs is for someone to make a challenge, a rival organisation. I think this is what FIFA and EUFA are scared of, because the way the English Premier is getting richer and richer, there could be a day when they say stuff you, we don;t want to play by your rules.

Imagine if the English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch and Portugese FAs got together, with say Brazil and Argentina and refused to take part in he world cup and held their own tournament.

leninbenjamin

Fratton Fred wrote: »

The trouble is, there is no one to regulate FIFA. the only people who can really insist on an investigation are the other directors, most of whom are on the take as well. it is a governing body that is out of control, what it needs is for someone to make a challenge, a rival organisation. I think this is what FIFA and EUFA are scared of, because the way the English Premier is getting richer and richer, there could be a day when they say stuff you, we don;t want to play by your rules.

Imagine if the English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch and Portugese FAs got together, with say Brazil and Argentina and refused to take part in he world cup and held their own tournament.

whom Blatter can fire. there was an internal investigation launched before in 2002 which Batter put an end to before it got off the ground.

found this today. it's the site of the BBC journo Andrew Jennings who's written books and made documentaries on the levels of corruption in the higher levels of football.

one of the documentaries can be seen here. really ****ty quality though.

d'ya know, reading all this crap has revealed why the world cup would go to a nation like SA. easier to get away with touting and laundering.

MuPpItJoCkEy

A player should be able to get his long term contract or 4/5 years or short term. In general, that's what all the negociating is suppose to be about in the first place until all parties concerned reach an agreement.

What clubs should do is to introduce a basic salary. If the player stays the duration of the contract, he then gets the bumper extras which would equal to the values of what they get now. Then you will have players staying on at their clubs so they can get their bonus, clubs will have their players until the end.

Dues Bellator

as i said in a thread i started a while ago sepp blatter is trying ruin english football, and as for that other eejit platini he sould really keep his mouth shut, chelsea and man utd cheated there way to the final of the cl, give me a break utd had one of the hardest run ins and still won it.

Guy:Incognito

Tauren wrote: »

Ok, I don't really want to get it to the offensive comments made by Blatter and the implication of his comments. I'm also fed up reading about, and pointing out his hypocrisy or lack of impartiality, so this post isn't really about that, but about his broader point (one which he has argued against....)

In England, once a player signs a contract they are tied to that club for the length of that contract, regardless of what they want beyond that, which is what we are currently seeing with Man United and Ronaldo. In the 'real' world, a person can leave their place of employment with a months notice, basically, but this right is not afforded to footballers. In Ronaldo's case, if United don't want to sell him, he has to stay for at least another 2 years, at which point he could opt to buy out his contract - but that is his only 'out', nothing else. Now, I have always argued that football is different to normal business and it should be treated as such. Contracts and rules in football should be respected and left as they are despite dubious legality in normal circumstances. However, I do see the other side of the coin. Regardless of the contract a player signs, if they are not happy at the club they really should not be made to stay, as it is keeping someone against their will. They may have signed a new contract but things do change.

So, is there a workable solution that would not destroy football? If player were allowed to move with a months notice, the transfer system would die a very quick death. No doubt about that. However, the money that would have been used for transfers would then be used for wages and signing on fee's, so it is only of benefit to the player, not the clubs. In fact, many smaller clubs could possibly fold as a result of not being able to develop and then sell on players for profit that keeps the clubs running. There would be no change, imo, to the hierarchy of football as it would still be the richest clubs that would be able to afford the best players, and it would then be easier for them to 'nick' players from smaller clubs cause no one could do anything to stop a player from moving.

The above leads me to the same old conclusion that football needs to be different to the 'real' world in order for it to survive. However, is there another way?

I was thinking FIFA could force an adoption of the Spanish rule of players, all players, having a minimum release fee clause in their contract. This way the player retains more legal control over their future. They may be contracted to the club for another 5 years, but if someone bids their release fee, they are free to move, their current club can not stop it. It would also protect the clubs in that you would still have contracts and player value - a guarantee the player can not leave unless someone bids a value you have decided is fair for the player previously.

Thoughts?

It can't be compared to a normal job because clubs have to spend smillions of pounds to sign the players. They have to have some sort of protection for the money they are outlaying. If your company paid €10m to your old job to get you, I'd expect you to have to sign a fairly binding agreement.

The alternative is a draft system where players are traded for free( in which case the wages thread will become a popular one because players will start earnign much more)

FatherTed

It is strange that Ronaldo supposedly wants to join Real Madrid and he hasnt handed in a transfer request.

Dues Bellator

FatherTed wrote: »

It is strange that Ronaldo supposedly wants to join Real Madrid and he hasnt handed in a transfer request.

hes not stupid if he hands in a transfer request he,ll lose money on the deal.

mayordenis

the thing about this is he can leave his current employer but they are trying to buy his registration not his employmeny contract - which utd will never have to sell.

bottom line - blatter,platini and all of Fifa, and UEFA
are totally scandalous.

Man utd. should knife ronaldo.

Dues Bellator

mayordenis wrote: »

the thing about this is he can leave his current employer but they are trying to buy his registration not his employmeny contract - which utd will never have to sell.

bottom line - blatter,platini and all of Fifa, and UEFA
are totally scandalous.

Man utd. should knife ronaldo.

jeez knife ronadlo thats a bit strong isnt it, he did score a goal in the cl final , missed 1 in fairness but a great player and we got our moneys worth out of him, let him pzz off now and be a small fish in a big pond, he,ll be forgoten about in a few months ruud van who.

gixerfixer

Blatter is a tw*t but on this occasion i have to agree with him.Yeah footballers are getting payed stupid amounts of money but so what.The lad wants to leave the club he is currently playing for and join his boyhood heros.FFS he owes Man U nothing whatsoever.Won them the league and European cup almost single handedly last year and yet some Man U fans are bitter about him wanting to fulfill his dreams.Pathetic.I'd imagine if the roles where reversed here people would be looking at blatters comments in a totally different light.Funny that isnt it.:)

Mitch Connor

gixerfixer wrote: »

Blatter is a tw*t but on this occasion i have to agree with him.Yeah footballers are getting payed stupid amounts of money but so what.The lad wants to leave the club he is currently playing for and join his boyhood heros.FFS he owes Man U nothing whatsoever.Won them the league and European cup almost single handedly last year and yet some Man U fans are bitter about him wanting to fulfill his dreams.Pathetic.I'd imagine if the roles where reversed here people would be looking at blatters comments in a totally different light.Funny that isnt it.:)

utter rubbish.

United fans aren't annoyed with him because he wants to join Real. If he had come out after the Champions League and said "I have won all I can here and I would like a new challange, I would like to go to Spain to test myself in a new league and environment", he would have gone with my blessing at least, and I suspect the blessing of the majority of United fans. It is the way he has strung this out for so long, lied to us and disrespected the club and the fans that has pissed United fans off.

gixerfixer

Tauren wrote: »

utter rubbish.

United fans aren't annoyed with him because he wants to join Real. If he had come out after the Champions League and said "I have won all I can here and I would like a new challange, I would like to go to Spain to test myself in a new league and environment", he would have gone with my blessing at least, and I suspect the blessing of the majority of United fans. It is the way he has strung this out for so long, lied to us and disrespected the club and the fans that has pissed United fans off.

The guy like nearly every kid in Spain or Portugal loves Real Madrid.Now maybe thats hard for you to see and fair enough then but it's a fact of life.Anyways why the aggresion with the utter rubbish comment?

Mr Alan

gixerfixer wrote: »

The guy like nearly every kid in Spain or Portugal loves Real Madrid.Now maybe thats hard for you to see and fair enough then but it's a fact of life.Anyways why the aggresion with the utter rubbish comment?

I'm gonna go with, because it was utter rubbish?

Ronaldo has acted awfully throughout the whole affair. He knows Reals interest for the last 2 years, he signed a new contract with Utd last year. The guy is just a greedy egomaniac imo.

I dont think him wanting to go to Real is ANYTHING to do with them being his boyhood team etc etc(were they even?).....I think its to do with the fact that they may give him 200k a week, he'll probably be a world record transfer, he'll probably get more recognition as the best player in the world, and he'll become a bigger "star".

again, just my opinion.

Mitch Connor

gixerfixer wrote: »

The guy like nearly every kid in Spain or Portugal loves Real Madrid.Now maybe thats hard for you to see and fair enough then but it's a fact of life.Anyways why the aggresion with the utter rubbish comment?

did you read past the 'utter rubbish', cause your reply would indicate that you did not.

Dues Bellator

Tauren wrote: »

utter rubbish.

United fans aren't annoyed with him because he wants to join Real. If he had come out after the Champions League and said "I have won all I can here and I would like a new challange, I would like to go to Spain to test myself in a new league and environment", he would have gone with my blessing at least, and I suspect the blessing of the majority of United fans. It is the way he has strung this out for so long, lied to us and disrespected the club and the fans that has pissed United fans off.

here here totally agree

gixerfixer

Ah well as ya say it's all about opinions and thats all fair enough.All i'll say is good luck to the lad and he'll be missed in the league:P

Charlie

gixerfixer wrote: »

Ah well as ya say it's all about opinions and thats all fair enough.All i'll say is good luck to the lad and he'll be missed in the league:P

As a Newcastle fan, I can safely say we won't miss him. Please god Real take hi off United, as an opening day pasting is not preferable.

Fratton Fred

I've no sympathy fot united or their fnas, but in this case I do empathyse with them. Ronaldo is a class player but a class twat imho. as far as I can see, he has shagged all the whores in nanchester and now wants frsh totty,

he will not be as good without Ronney but Manure will not miss him in the slighest.

If he wants to go and make himself even more unpopular them great, but yo try and make out it is a hardship is amazing to me. Man U made him and I hope he reralises that sooner rather than later.

Helix

how many people who posted in this thread saw the actual interview?

blatter wasnt asked about ronaldo UNTIL he had made all the comments about contracts and that he thought players should be able to leave if unhappy

sky just spun the absolute bollix out of it, and somehow managed to make people think that the entire interview was about ronaldo. it wasnt.

Dues Bellator

charlie mchugh wrote: »

As a Newcastle fan, I can safely say we won't miss him. Please god Real take hi off United, as an opening day pasting is not preferable.

im a man u fan and yes i know were playing newcastle on the opening day, but someting tells me that the days of newcastle getting a pasteing off the top 4 are over.we got flashes of it last season, newkie has the most potent attacking force outside the top 2 never mind the top 4, i really hope you lads do well this season.as long as you dont get pts off us, best a luck mate.

Aquos76

Pele has his say on things

Pele believes Cristiano Ronaldo should stay loyal to Man Utd.

Pele insists Cristiano Ronaldo should forget about moving to Real Madrid and honour his Manchester United contract.

The Brazil legend also dismissed Fifa president Sepp Blatter's claim that there is "modern slavery" in football and Ronaldo should be free to move.

Pele, in Stoke for a charity match for the Gordon Banks Foundation, said: "You are a slave if you work without a contract or you don't get paid.

"If you have a contract then in any job you have to finish the contract."

Pele added: "I think that when he finishes his contract, then he should be free to go wherever he wants to go."

Ronaldo has four years left on his Old Trafford contract and is currently recovering from ankle surgery which will rule him out of the start of nexts season

link

BaZmO*

Helix wrote: »

how many people who posted in this thread saw the actual interview?

blatter wasnt asked about ronaldo UNTIL he had made all the comments about contracts and that he thought players should be able to leave if unhappy

sky just spun the absolute bollix out of it, and somehow managed to make people think that the entire interview was about ronaldo. it wasnt.

Exactly, I was just saying the same to some friends yesterday. The Sky reporter was outside Old Trafford almost in tears about Ronaldo's plight. You'd swear Ronaldo was in shackles in the basement the way he was going on.

And as for Blatter, as much of a fool that he is, he was just making the point that the Bosman rule was supposed to make the movement of players easier and it hasn't, it has made players in some cases like modern day slaves. He was being flippant when he made the comments, just like when he said that MI5 & MI6 told him about Utd.'s latest plans with regards to playing League Cup matches on foreign shores.

Sky just made a meal out of the whole thing.

Charlie

almanu wrote: »

im a man u fan and yes i know were playing newcastle on the opening day, but someting tells me that the days of newcastle getting a pasteing off the top 4 are over.we got flashes of it last season, newkie has the most potent attacking force outside the top 2 never mind the top 4, i really hope you lads do well this season.as long as you dont get pts off us, best a luck mate.

Cheers for that mate. As a Toon fan, I have taken some stick on these boards fro the past 6 months. It's nice to see someone, who isn't a fan, have a bit of faith in Keegan and what he is trying to do with us.

Yeah I think (touch wood) we have left behind the 5 nil drubbing days, but there is something about Ronaldo against us, that means I will still be glad to see the back of him, no matter how well we are playing.

Mr Alan

almanu wrote: »

we got flashes of it last season, newkie has the most potent attacking force outside the top 2 never mind the top 4

you must be taking the mick?

Arsenal? Livepool? Spurs? Villa? Everton?

Charlie

Mr Alan wrote: »

you must be taking the mick?

Arsenal? Livepool? Spurs? Villa? Everton?

I would put our strikeforce ahead of Villa's and Everton's, Liverpool's isn't really comparable because they tend to play lone man. We are probably a shade behind Arsenal's, and I would put Spurs top of the lot with Berba and Keane.

Helix

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I would put our strikeforce ahead of Villa's

that must be why you scored so many more goals than us last season then, yeah?

oh hang on, thats right, we scored almost double what you did

Charlie

Helix wrote: »

that must be why you scored so many more goals than us last season then, yeah?

oh hang on, thats right, we scored almost double what you did

Stats could prove that me mother was me father.

Take into account that Owen was injured for a large spell, Oba on African Nations duty, and Viduka well, was just his usual self in terms of fitness. Cap it all of with the fact that for half the season we were managed by the most negative manager in the history of the Premier League, and who nearly coached all footballing ability and flair out of our attacking players.

Keegan, once he bedded in his system, showed how awesome our strike force can be. Just as recklessone about that faithful day at White Hart Lane :rolleyes:

Helix

charlie mchugh wrote: »

Stats could prove that me mother was me father.

Take into account that Owen was injured for a large spell, Oba on African Nations duty, and Viduka well, was just his usual self in terms of fitness. Cap it all of with the fact that for half the season we were managed by the most negative manager in the history of the Premier League, and who nearly coached all footballing ability and flair out of our attacking players.

Keegan, once he bedded in his system, showed how awesome our strike force can be. Just as recklessone about that faithful day at White Hart Lane :rolleyes:

erm, im pretty sure that stats are the only thing that matter in terms of judging which team has the most potent attacking threat. it can ONLY be based on how many times the ball hit the back of the net

Denis Irwin

I seriously recomend this book to any football fan. Some of the sh*te Blatter has gotten up to before and during his Presidency is unreal. This book is written by the same journalist who made the Panorama investigation into corruption within FIFA and who is now barred (on the orders of Blatter) from all official FIFA events.

Mr Alan

I know this lad is not very popular with Utd fans but i think even they will agree with his latest article.

Brian Reade wrote:

Amnesty International claims there are more slaves in the world today then at any time in history.

About 27million of them. Locked up in shocking conditions, working every waking hour, paid nothing, abused, controlled by violence and killed for the slightest rebellion.

Prior to Wednesday, the world had avoided classifying slaves as men earning £120,000 a week, owning a fleet of Bentleys and mansions, who are indulged like Roman emperors for spending a couple of hours a day kicking a ball around.

Until that landmark anti-slavery speech from Sepp Blatter. Or Kunta Kinte as he must now be known.

The modern footballer is a slave, says Blatter. The man is right, says Ronaldo.

And football becomes an even more ridiculous parody of the pursuit professionalised to give the British working class man some entertainment after clocking-off on a Saturday lunch-time.

I've pointed out so many times how Blatter is an utter buffoon that I almost begrudge him my contempt. But not quite. How offensive to descendants of slaves is his analogy?

Why did the FIFA boss argue the complete opposite in February when a court ruled in the Andy Webster case that a player could leave his club after serving a certain amount of his contract? How can a man trying to bring in legislation banning big clubs from playing foreigners argue that a Portuguese player should move to Spain?

Why, with Blatter, is a cause only worth fighting when it works against the English?

How many times has this honorary member of Real Madrid taken sides in a dispute against the Bernabeu club run by his close friend Snr Calderon?

If Blatter is seriously arguing footballers should be treated like other employees, let's test the logic.

Put them on probation, whereby if they're not up to scratch, they're sacked after six months.

Give them annual assessments which determine their wages, limited sick pay when they're injured and written warnings when they don't perform, meaning they can be sacked on a whim.

Ban signing-on fees, loyalty payments and agents negotiating with a boss. Give them sub-inflationary pay rises with no bonuses and make them pay for their own chips in the canteen.

But most of all put them on a month's notice, to be served by either party.

Then extend the same conditions to those who pay their wages. The fans. I've just forked out £1,300 for two season tickets.

My club sent me a glossy brochure bearing pictures of the star players, inferring that THEY were what I was getting for my money. But how do I know they'll be there next season if they're allowed to walk out next week? Imagine paying nine months in advance for a film starring Tom Cruise, then hearing he wasn't in it. You'd get your money back.

So let's give season ticket holders the right to serve a month's notice on their club, and on Sky Sports and Setanta, if they're unhappy with performances. If Ronaldo sails his slave ship to Spain, why not allow every fan who bought a replica shirt bearing his name a refund?

Wouldn't happen would it, because the football industry would collapse. The deal with fans is that you lay down your cash up-front with no rights or get-out clause.

That's why the only football people in chains are the millions of fans who keep the Ronaldos and Blatters living in obscene luxury in a world detached from reality. We are slaves bound by birthright to a club which owns our hearts and minds. We can't walk away and they know it. So they screw us for all they can get.

Remember that before opening your mouth again Mr Kinte. Or can I call you Kunta?

Charlie

Helix wrote: »

erm, im pretty sure that stats are the only thing that matter in terms of judging which team has the most potent attacking threat. it can ONLY be based on how many times the ball hit the back of the net

Yes, but stats ignore all the points that I made about injuries, coaching setup, and international duty.

Tell me this then; If Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez all got injured tomorrow, and were out for the entire 08/09 season, and Villa therefore scored more goals in that season than United, would it mean that for the 09/10 season that Villa would have a more potent attack force than United?

I really don't feel like i'm being biased, and I really do think that the Combo of Owen/Martins/Viduka is more potent that Carew/Gabi+Harewood or Maloney

Denis Irwin

Mr Alan wrote: »

I know this lad is not very popular with Utd fans but i think even they will agree with his latest article.

Good article. Where did you get it ?

Helix

charlie mchugh wrote: »

Tell me this then; If Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez all got injured tomorrow, and were out for the entire 08/09 season, and Villa therefore scored more goals in that season than United, would it mean that for the 09/10 season that Villa would have a more potent attack force than United?

well that would depend who scored the most in the 09/10 season wouldnt it

you also fail to factor in that our top scorer only had 13, and missed quite a few games during the season. yet we knocked in 71 league goals. our attack force isnt 3 players, its the entire squad, something newcastle cant come close to

Mr Alan

Denis Irwin wrote: »

Good article. Where did you get it ?

Brian Reade writes for the mirror, scouse journalist.

DSB

Putting Newcastle in the same bracket as Villa in anything is a bit of a joke to be honest. Except maybe fanbase. Polar opposites as clubs tbh. And Villa will consistently score more goals with lesser named players than Newcastle. Newcastle's strikeforce may be bigger named but they've never performed, coupled with an absolutely woeful defence, thats why Newcastle have been consistently poor, not just last season but in general really.

therecklessone

Can someone explain to me how a discussion of Blatter's football contract=slavery has become a discussion on which 2nd tier English side has the better strikeforce?

k thx bye.

Livvie

Termination of a contract should surely be a mutual thing, otherwise there's no point in having contracts, and if that were the case, football would be in chaos.

What would the reaction be if the situation were reversed, and United were trying to get rid of Ronaldo, but he didn't want to go?

beolight

what about that poor sidwell bloke locked up in chains at stamford bridge for the last year with no way to spend his 50k a week

poor blighter

bet you roman would have an interesting view on slavery