The official 2011/12 nPower Championship thread

[moomba]

We've loaned Abdul Razak and Gui Assulin to Brighton. Will be interesting to see how they go.

 

[lionel_luthor]

Neil Warnock has just been appointed manager of Leeds United

Pretty rapt with this move, although fear we may have to wait till next season to be promoted.

Hope Cuddly Ken gives Warnock funds to buy players over the summer.

 

[sainter]

Not that many P*mpey fans even bother to log on these days.

It's feels like yesterday when they were in the premiership and everybody fell in love with them because their fans sang during a loss. Now they barely get 10k.

While I'm at it, when a team goes into administration twice within a couple of seasons the deduction should be more than 10 points!

Apart from that, I wish them all the best!

 

[year of the roo]

Not that many P*mpey fans even bother to log on these days.

It's feels like yesterday when they were in the premiership and everybody fell in love with them because their fans sang during a loss. Now they barely get 10k.

While I'm at it, when a team goes into administration twice within a couple of seasons the deduction should be more than 10 points!

Apart from that, I wish them all the best!

Why would you want to kill off one of the only team's your side has a meaningful rivalry with? Because that is exactly what forcing further sanctions upon them will do.

 

[sainter]

Fair point.

I've been pretty consistent about wanting to see them suffer without actually dying. It's one of those bitter rivalries that has been exacerbated by the lack of matches between the two clubs.

I still think a 15 point deduction rather than 10 points might have been more fitting. Didn't your club receive a 15 point penalty a few years ago?

Look at what happened to poor Luton after their 30 point deduction.

 

[moomba]

The thing I don't get with Pompey, they still have players that would be on decent money, why didn't they get rid of them in the summer (or the January window last) when it became obvious they couldn't afford them.

It might lead to relegation by getting rid of the likes of Kanu, Lawrence, Ben Haim, Mokoena, Benjani, but surely getting them off the wage bill was the more important thing to do.

 

[sainter]

HT Barnsley 0 - 0 Portsmouth

HT Crystal Palace 2 - 0 Watford

HT Ipswich T. 1 - 0 Cardiff C.

HT Leeds U. 0 - 1 Doncaster R.

HT Nottingham F. 0 - 0 Coventry C.

HT Peterborough U. 1 - 0 Bristol C.

HT Southampton 1 - 0 Derby County

We've dominated the match so it's a real concern that we haven't scored a second or third goal. As it stands we're 2 points clear on top of the league having played 2 extra games. Conceding an equaliser would be a disaster.

 

[sainter]

The thing I don't get with Pompey, they still have players that would be on decent money, why didn't they get rid of them in the summer (or the January window last) when it became obvious they couldn't afford them.

It might lead to relegation by getting rid of the likes of Kanu, Lawrence, Ben Haim, Mokoena, Benjani, but surely getting them off the wage bill was the more important thing to do.

Exactly!

I know when we were a financial rabble a few seasons ago we brought in a couple of Dutch coaches and were forced to play a team of kids. It ended up getting us relegated but we didn't have any other choice.

You'd also have to seriously question the managements (lack of) due dilligence. Since Mandaric left they've been owned by a serious of financial basket cases.

 

[camsmith]

Must say I was relieve to learn its only 10 points... Drew 0-0 today. Will be interested to see if fans stage another sit in again Leeds next week.

 

[sainter]

Must say I was relieve to learn its only 10 points... Drew 0-0 today, will be interested to see if fans stage another sit in..

It's only 60 mins in and you're a man down after Kitson received his marching orders.

Saints have scored a second goal against the run of play. Top of the league!

 

[sainter]

Adam Lallana makes it 3-0!

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

Ban foreign ownership. English game would be better off without it.

 

[moomba]

Ban foreign ownership. English game would be better off without it.

Not sure what the nationality of owners has to do with it.

Dozens and dozens of incompetent British owners have played their part in destroying many clubs.

 

[sainter]

Ban foreign ownership. English game would be better off without it.

No, clubs just need to do their due dilligence and make sure they aren't being taken over by a financial basketcase. English owners can go broke too!

Our club has been transformed for the better the moment we were purchased by Liebherr Family.

Saints up 4-0! Japanese striker Tadanari Lee scores his first goal for the club. We've got a ridiculous amount of scoring options with Lambert, Lallana, Sharp, Lee, Connolly, Barnard and Guly. I'm not as convinced about the players at the other end of the field though!

 

[sainter]

FEBRUARY 18

FT Barnsley 2 - 0 Portsmouth (Pompey had 10 men for 50 minutes)

FT Crystal Palace 4 - 0 Watford (Better than league position suggests)

FT Ipswich T. 3 - 0 Cardiff C. (Cardiff fluff chance to remain 3 points off top)

FT Leeds U. 3 - 2 Doncaster R. (Leeds come back from 2-0 down!)

FT Nottingham F. 2 - 0 Coventry C. (Coventry are awful)

FT Peterborough U. 3 - 0 Bristol C. (Bristol not much better)

FT Southampton 4 - 0 Derby County (Top of the league)

TABLE

1 Southampton 32 59
2 West Ham United 30 57

3 Reading 31 54
4 Cardiff City 32 53
5 Blackpool 31 52
6 Birmingham 30 51

7 Hull City 30 50
8 Middlesbrough 30 50
9 Brighton 31 49
10 Burnley 32 47
11 Leeds United 31 45
12 Crystal Palace 31 43
13 Leicester City 31 42
14 Barnsley 31 42
15 Derby County 31 42
16 Ipswich Town 31 40
17 Watford 32 40
18 Peterborough United 31 37
19 Millwall 31 31
20 Bristol City 32 31
21 Nottingham Forest 31 28

22 Portsmouth 31 25
23 Coventry City 32 25
24 Doncaster Rovers 29 24

Off to watch Sunderland vs Arsenal. Good night all.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

Not sure what the nationality of owners has to do with it.

Dozens and dozens of incompetent British owners have played their part in destroying many clubs.

Fans can hold British owners to a greater accountability is the point.

We've been there, done that.

It's all the foreign ownership thats created such a gulf in English football between the haves and have nots.

Your club has become a play toy for rich foreigners because of this as have most of the top 5-6 teams in the country.

These top clubs wont have to worry so much about shonky foreign owners because there's always some other rich twat who'll buy them even if they are in massive debt.

Foreign ownership for teams outside that exclusive few teams is a dangerous thing for clubs because they can put the club into debt then just walk away from it too easily.

 

[moomba]

You need to get the whole foreign/British thing out of your head. It's pure xenophobia.

There are good foreign owners, and bad foreign owners.

There are good British owners, and bad British owners.

If you want to create rules about equality, then by all means suggest some, but they should apply to all clubs, no matter where their owner was born.

As for being a foreign owners play toy, try and educate yourself about what our owner has brought to the club, the community, and what he is hoping to get out of the club.

Why do foreign owners have "play toys", yet British owners don't? More than a whiff of xenophobia, and a few opinions in this debate that Suarez would be proud of.

 

[sainter]

Fans can hold British owners to a greater accountability is the point.

We've been there, done that.

It's all the foreign ownership thats created such a gulf in English football between the haves and have nots.

Your club has become a play toy for rich foreigners because of this as have most of the top 5-6 teams in the country.

These top clubs wont have to worry so much about shonky foreign owners because there's always some other rich twat who'll buy them even if they are in massive debt.

Foreign ownership for teams outside that exclusive few teams is a dangerous thing for clubs because they can put the club into debt then just walk away from it too easily.

Saints knocked back the opportunity to be purchased by the English owned SISA Group that are currently hated by Coventry fans, to accept an offer by a Swiss-German billionaire.

I don't want to sound like a broken record but it's about doing your due dilligence. Teams such as Portsmouth, Birmingham and even Manchester City have suffered on account of being bought by shady characters, not because they are 'foreign'. The FA could help things by actually enforcing the Fit and Proper Persons Test!

 

[sainter]

BTW, you can point to Darlington as an example of a club destroyed because of mismanagement by an English owner.

Moomba's right on this one.

Ideally all clubs would have the AFL/Barcelona type model of being owned by the members but that's never going to happen.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

You need to get the whole foreign/British thing out of your head. It's pure xenophobia.

No, it's wathcing the English game over 30 years become a boring shitfest.

There are good foreign owners, and bad foreign owners.

There are good British owners, and bad British owners.

As I said before, it's easier for fans to take action to rid the club of British owners than it is foreign owners if they are ruining the club.

If you want to create rules about equality, then by all means suggest some, but they should apply to all clubs, no matter where their owner was born.

There will never be any equality gained from the EPL. Absolute parasites run it and they don't give a flying **** about the Football League.

One look at the blackmail bullshit they pulled with the youth academy changes proves that.

As for being a foreign owners play toy, try and educate yourself about what our owner has brought to the club, the community, and what he is hoping to get out of the club.

Excuse my cynicism here.

He went out and bought one of the biggest clubs in England.

If it was less about big noting oneself and the limelight and more about making a difference to a community and a club on the brink then there are a multitude of more apprpriate clubs he could have purchased.

Why do foreign owners have "play toys", yet British owners don't? More than a whiff of xenophobia, and a few opinions in this debate that Suarez would be proud of.

What bollocks.

A great deal of British owners followed the cubs they back, are local businessmen or have had an affiliation with the club in their lifetime.

Just a tad of ivory tower going on there.

 

[moomba]

No, it's wathcing the English game over 30 years become a boring shitfest.

I wouldn't call the English game a boring shitfest, still the most watched in the word I believe so it must have something going for it. And even it was, is that because of foreign owners? Don't think so.

As I said before, it's easier for fans to take action to rid the club of British owners than it is foreign owners if they are ruining the club.

That's not actually the case.

There will never be any equality gained from the EPL. Absolute parasites run it and they don't give a flying **** about the Football League.

One look at the blackmail bullshit they pulled with the youth academy changes proves that.

Excuse my cynicism here.

He went out and bought one of the biggest clubs in England.

If it was less about big noting oneself and the limelight and more about making a difference to a community and a club on the brink then there are a multitude of more apprpriate clubs he could have purchased.

Right, so you do know nothing about why he chose Man City? Don't comment about us anymore thanks.

What bollocks.

A great deal of British owners followed the cubs they back, are local businessmen or have had an affiliation with the club in their lifetime.

Just a tad of ivory tower going on there.

Good for the few of them that do own teams they support, I'm sure we'd all do the same if we had the opportunty. Doesn't mean they'll do a good job though. Ask me who has done more for City, Peter Swales or Sheikh Mansour? Who did more for Southampon, Rupert Lowe or Marcus Liebher? How has being owned by a fan of the club helped Rangers?

Fact remains that a number of British owners are in the game for the same reason as foreign owners. Money, prestige, opportunity.

Some of them are good owners, some of them are not. Why bring nationality into a debate that has nothing to do with nationality?

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

BTW, you can point to Darlington as an example of a club destroyed because of mismanagement by an English owner.

Moomba's right on this one.

Ideally all clubs would have the AFL/Barcelona type model of being owned by the members but that's never going to happen.

Portsmouth is a bigger mess than Darlington.

Darlington were a small club who were struggling financially long before Reynolds came along.

 

[moomba]

Portsmouth is a bigger mess than Darlington.

Darlington were a small club who were struggling financially long before Reynolds came along.

Portsmouth were in administration before they got rescued by a foreigner.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

I wouldn't call the English game a boring shitfest, still the most watched in the word I believe so it must have something going for it. And even it was, is that because of foreign owners? Don't think so.

You means its watched by all the millions upon millions of plastic fans that support the same 3-4 clubs that sit atop the table every year?

4 teams have won the title since it's inception. In my books that equals a dull, dull league.

Ah yeah it is because of ridiculous foreign money.

What English owners can match their spending power?

Please enlighten me.

That's not actually the case.

Yeah it is, we have been there and achieved it.

Right, so you do know nothing about why he chose Man City? Don't comment about us anymore thanks.

He wanted an EPL club so he could have a dick measuring contest with Dubai.

No point deying that wasn't a factor.

Good for the few of them that do own teams they support, I'm sure we'd all do the same if we had the opportunty. Doesn't mean they'll do a good job though. Ask me who has done more for City, Peter Swales or Sheikh Mansour? Who did more for Southampon, Rupert Lowe or Marcus Liebher? How has being owned by a fan of the club helped Rangers?

Good or bad job, most have the clubs best interests at heart. Fans dont always make the best administrators, but successful businessmen can also turn clubs into souless money making marketing machines.

If all those people had the money the Sheikh and Liebher had who's to say they couldn't have done more for their clubs.

Your Sheikh might be good for your club, but don't pretend him and his ilk are good for the rest of the leagues.

Fact remains that a number of British owners are in the game for the same reason as foreign owners. Money, prestige, opportunity.

Absolutely, and the game of football in England is never better off for those types of people.

Some of them are good owners, some of them are not. Why bring nationality into a debate that has nothing to do with nationality?

Because nationality is a factor when it comes to insanely ridiculous amounts of money being thrown at players which over inflates English football player prices.

And it's not being paid out by English owners.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

Portsmouth were in administration before they got rescued by a foreigner.

They have been in administration twice in the last 2 years at the hands of foreign owners.