Cancelling this season's Premier League

[chrismpw]

This crisis has exposed professional football for what is: A seedy, grubby, corrupt, money grabbing business and nothing else. It has given us fans and the general public alike an opportunity to pause and reflect to see how they really behave, where their priorities lie and what they actually stand for. It is 100% crystal clear their overriding, primary concern is money. It has also clearly demonstrated how the Premier League and SKY TV have changed and ruined the game beyond all recognition. It is clearly corrupt to a degree I never thought possible. The business plan is to make as much money as possible by monetizing the armchair fans. Hence the urgent need for the two ‘History Clubs’: Liverpool and United to be successful at any cost. The more successful they are the more subscriptions SKY can sell and the more they can pay the Premier League for the rights to broadcast the product. For them it is a virtuous circle that generates profits for both organisations in perpetuity. It is knowingly aided and abetted by the media in general and in particular the newspaper media who are blatantly chasing sales and clicks in an effort to survive as their industry disappears at the rate of knots. Hence the total bias to the two ‘History Clubs’ for the exact same reasons. Hence, both the newspaper and TV media are filled with so called journalists who support these teams or ‘pundits’ who are ex players of these teams. The propaganda is churned out and delivered on a scale that would make Goebbels truly proud. One of Goebbels more famous quotes is “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” Change only one word and you have “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which football can play.”

It is only when you look back with the luxury of time you can see what lengths both of these organisations have gone to in an effort to achieve their aims and goals. SKY TV only employs pundits that toe the party line. Dissent is not tolerated in any way. If any pundit dares to go off message they are replaced and never seen again. It’s the same with the match referees and officials that are controlled by PGMOL and run in almost total secrecy. How many times do we see the two ‘History Clubs’ getting all of the big decisions in virtually all of the games they play and the exact opposite happens to any club that may dare to challenge the status quo? Manchester City winning the domestic treble last season and the title two years in a row is genuinely their worst nightmare come true. Therefore it has to be stopped at any cost. How can this done? By the blatant and totally corrupt implementation of VAR. The VAR decisions given to Liverpool this season are off the scale. The corruption is genuinely blatant. However, if you have the press and media in your pocket to repeatedly deny any such charge you can get away with it. The only two clubs not to comply with the ruling to have TV screens in the stadium are… The two ‘History Clubs’. Coincidence? I think not. There is no genuine reason why both grounds could not be fitted with TV screens. Every other Premiership ground has them fitted so where is the problem? Why did PGMOL instruct the referees NOT to consult and use the pitch side monitors on VAR decisions when virtually every other country in the world where professional football is played actually encourage the referees to use them? To ensure that any decision made that favours the ‘History Clubs’ cannot be overturned. Coincidence? I think not.

This crisis has totally exposed them for what they are. For me, football used to be my escape. Attend a game for a few hours every two weeks and have the chance to forget about work, home, domesticity and all of life’s hassles. That has been taken away by going to a game that you almost certainly know the outcome before you even leave home. Kick off times changed and manipulated to suit viewing times in the far east and Asia with no concern whatsoever for the normal match going fans. All to sell the product and increase revenues and profits. Fixtures constantly changed to suit SKY and their money making machine, again with no concern of the match going fan.

The world is reeling from a global pandemic, thousands of people are dying on a daily basis and thousands more are yet to die. But all they want to do is finish the season for the sake of money and nothing else. They want to play games behind closed doors with no fans present to keep the gravy train running. I can honestly say that if they do, I will not watch a single match on TV regardless who is playing. It is sickening. But once again, the newspapers and the media normalize it. They make such abhorrent and grotesque suggestions acceptable and OK when they are plainly not. Once again the press and the media are knowingly and willingly being played like a piano.

This crisis has shown football up for what it is. It has delivered a degree of transparency never seen before. It has totally exposed them and the genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Hopefully, some good will come of this, however, I sincerely doubt it. Football has sold its soul to devil and unfortunately I feel we are a long way past the point of no return.

Totally agree.

Consider changing the sanitised phrase "making money" with the more accurate "collecting money" and see how any business looks in an even worse light. It illustrates the fact that the money is moving towards them and begs the question - from whom?

(nobody makes money unless the nation bank prints it - this is generally considered a bad idea)

 

[daza_1973]

Watching the desperation of various football institutions, broadcasters and clubs with (insignificant in the light of things) pots to lose is akin to Dustin Hoffman's autistic savant character Ray in 'Rain man'
Continuously going over and over trying to decipher the Abbot and Costello 'Whos on first base gag' thinking somewhere there is a solution to their greedy and selfish aims.

 

[JLW]

This crisis has exposed professional football for what is: A seedy, grubby, corrupt, money grabbing business and nothing else. It has given us fans and the general public alike an opportunity to pause and reflect to see how they really behave, where their priorities lie and what they actually stand for. It is 100% crystal clear their overriding, primary concern is money. It has also clearly demonstrated how the Premier League and SKY TV have changed and ruined the game beyond all recognition. It is clearly corrupt to a degree I never thought possible. The business plan is to make as much money as possible by monetizing the armchair fans. Hence the urgent need for the two ‘History Clubs’: Liverpool and United to be successful at any cost. The more successful they are the more subscriptions SKY can sell and the more they can pay the Premier League for the rights to broadcast the product. For them it is a virtuous circle that generates profits for both organisations in perpetuity. It is knowingly aided and abetted by the media in general and in particular the newspaper media who are blatantly chasing sales and clicks in an effort to survive as their industry disappears at the rate of knots. Hence the total bias to the two ‘History Clubs’ for the exact same reasons. Hence, both the newspaper and TV media are filled with so called journalists who support these teams or ‘pundits’ who are ex players of these teams. The propaganda is churned out and delivered on a scale that would make Goebbels truly proud. One of Goebbels more famous quotes is “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” Change only one word and you have “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which football can play.”

It is only when you look back with the luxury of time you can see what lengths both of these organisations have gone to in an effort to achieve their aims and goals. SKY TV only employs pundits that toe the party line. Dissent is not tolerated in any way. If any pundit dares to go off message they are replaced and never seen again. It’s the same with the match referees and officials that are controlled by PGMOL and run in almost total secrecy. How many times do we see the two ‘History Clubs’ getting all of the big decisions in virtually all of the games they play and the exact opposite happens to any club that may dare to challenge the status quo? Manchester City winning the domestic treble last season and the title two years in a row is genuinely their worst nightmare come true. Therefore it has to be stopped at any cost. How can this done? By the blatant and totally corrupt implementation of VAR. The VAR decisions given to Liverpool this season are off the scale. The corruption is genuinely blatant. However, if you have the press and media in your pocket to repeatedly deny any such charge you can get away with it. The only two clubs not to comply with the ruling to have TV screens in the stadium are… The two ‘History Clubs’. Coincidence? I think not. There is no genuine reason why both grounds could not be fitted with TV screens. Every other Premiership ground has them fitted so where is the problem? Why did PGMOL instruct the referees NOT to consult and use the pitch side monitors on VAR decisions when virtually every other country in the world where professional football is played actually encourage the referees to use them? To ensure that any decision made that favours the ‘History Clubs’ cannot be overturned. Coincidence? I think not.

This crisis has totally exposed them for what they are. For me, football used to be my escape. Attend a game for a few hours every two weeks and have the chance to forget about work, home, domesticity and all of life’s hassles. That has been taken away by going to a game that you almost certainly know the outcome before you even leave home. Kick off times changed and manipulated to suit viewing times in the far east and Asia with no concern whatsoever for the normal match going fans. All to sell the product and increase revenues and profits. Fixtures constantly changed to suit SKY and their money making machine, again with no concern of the match going fan.

The world is reeling from a global pandemic, thousands of people are dying on a daily basis and thousands more are yet to die. But all they want to do is finish the season for the sake of money and nothing else. They want to play games behind closed doors with no fans present to keep the gravy train running. I can honestly say that if they do, I will not watch a single match on TV regardless who is playing. It is sickening. But once again, the newspapers and the media normalize it. They make such abhorrent and grotesque suggestions acceptable and OK when they are plainly not. Once again the press and the media are knowingly and willingly being played like a piano.

This crisis has shown football up for what it is. It has delivered a degree of transparency never seen before. It has totally exposed them and the genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Hopefully, some good will come of this, however, I sincerely doubt it. Football has sold its soul to devil and unfortunately I feel we are a long way past the point of no return.

I can’t disagree with any of that and the more I think about football the less I actually care.

 

[Saint Domingo]

This crisis has exposed professional football for what is: A seedy, grubby, corrupt, money grabbing business and nothing else. It has given us fans and the general public alike an opportunity to pause and reflect to see how they really behave, where their priorities lie and what they actually stand for. It is 100% crystal clear their overriding, primary concern is money. It has also clearly demonstrated how the Premier League and SKY TV have changed and ruined the game beyond all recognition. It is clearly corrupt to a degree I never thought possible. The business plan is to make as much money as possible by monetizing the armchair fans. Hence the urgent need for the two ‘History Clubs’: Liverpool and United to be successful at any cost. The more successful they are the more subscriptions SKY can sell and the more they can pay the Premier League for the rights to broadcast the product. For them it is a virtuous circle that generates profits for both organisations in perpetuity. It is knowingly aided and abetted by the media in general and in particular the newspaper media who are blatantly chasing sales and clicks in an effort to survive as their industry disappears at the rate of knots. Hence the total bias to the two ‘History Clubs’ for the exact same reasons. Hence, both the newspaper and TV media are filled with so called journalists who support these teams or ‘pundits’ who are ex players of these teams. The propaganda is churned out and delivered on a scale that would make Goebbels truly proud. One of Goebbels more famous quotes is “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” Change only one word and you have “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which football can play.”

It is only when you look back with the luxury of time you can see what lengths both of these organisations have gone to in an effort to achieve their aims and goals. SKY TV only employs pundits that toe the party line. Dissent is not tolerated in any way. If any pundit dares to go off message they are replaced and never seen again. It’s the same with the match referees and officials that are controlled by PGMOL and run in almost total secrecy. How many times do we see the two ‘History Clubs’ getting all of the big decisions in virtually all of the games they play and the exact opposite happens to any club that may dare to challenge the status quo? Manchester City winning the domestic treble last season and the title two years in a row is genuinely their worst nightmare come true. Therefore it has to be stopped at any cost. How can this done? By the blatant and totally corrupt implementation of VAR. The VAR decisions given to Liverpool this season are off the scale. The corruption is genuinely blatant. However, if you have the press and media in your pocket to repeatedly deny any such charge you can get away with it. The only two clubs not to comply with the ruling to have TV screens in the stadium are… The two ‘History Clubs’. Coincidence? I think not. There is no genuine reason why both grounds could not be fitted with TV screens. Every other Premiership ground has them fitted so where is the problem? Why did PGMOL instruct the referees NOT to consult and use the pitch side monitors on VAR decisions when virtually every other country in the world where professional football is played actually encourage the referees to use them? To ensure that any decision made that favours the ‘History Clubs’ cannot be overturned. Coincidence? I think not.

This crisis has totally exposed them for what they are. For me, football used to be my escape. Attend a game for a few hours every two weeks and have the chance to forget about work, home, domesticity and all of life’s hassles. That has been taken away by going to a game that you almost certainly know the outcome before you even leave home. Kick off times changed and manipulated to suit viewing times in the far east and Asia with no concern whatsoever for the normal match going fans. All to sell the product and increase revenues and profits. Fixtures constantly changed to suit SKY and their money making machine, again with no concern of the match going fan.

The world is reeling from a global pandemic, thousands of people are dying on a daily basis and thousands more are yet to die. But all they want to do is finish the season for the sake of money and nothing else. They want to play games behind closed doors with no fans present to keep the gravy train running. I can honestly say that if they do, I will not watch a single match on TV regardless who is playing. It is sickening. But once again, the newspapers and the media normalize it. They make such abhorrent and grotesque suggestions acceptable and OK when they are plainly not. Once again the press and the media are knowingly and willingly being played like a piano.

This crisis has shown football up for what it is. It has delivered a degree of transparency never seen before. It has totally exposed them and the genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Hopefully, some good will come of this, however, I sincerely doubt it. Football has sold its soul to devil and unfortunately I feel we are a long way past the point of no return.

What has made it worse is that normal fans can now genuinely see the corruption at play yet the media doesn’t care one bit. The Liverpool City game this season was a complete and utter farce beyond any sort of reason yet it was whitewashed immediately after the game by a massive media effort to convince people that they hadn’t just seen blatant penalties over turned, an offside goal given despite a replay proving it was offside being seen, and a player still on the pitch despite committing two red card tackles.

They could stop it all as well, just like every other sport has, mic the referees up so fans and spectators can hear them when they converse with the VAR officials, make it a mandatory process that refs have to check the pitchside monitors and therefore agree with the VARref. Have a third independent party that can take decisions to VAR if neither the ref nor VAR official has seen it on the pitch. Allow clubs to have a number of appeals each game against VAR decisions like in cricket. Rotate referees from Europe in and around the PL allowing our refs to get experience abroad but also to stop corruption. They don’t do any of these things though because they don’t want to.

In the Anfield derby it was 2-1 to them and we had come right back in to the game, deservedly on top, Calvert Lewin gets played in and Van Dijk takes him down from behind. That’s a penalty and Van Dijk is walking atightrope for the rest of the match. The decision doesn’t even go to VAR, based purely on the fact that the ref didn’t want it to. There was a super quick reply played and then the commentary team killed it, until about 5 minutes later when the commentators mentioned that VAR had had a look but nothing doing. Utter utter corruption yet no one cares as long as either Liverpool or United are winning.

It extends further than that also though. Wenger was ran out of his job. He won three FA cups in 5 years and got to a final of a league cup and UEFA cup. The media campaign against him was relentless though. The same with Mourinho who the media got fired from Chelsea a mere half season after he’d won the title. Sarri won the UEFA cup and made the league cup final as well as getting CL yet the media hounded him out as well. Klopp has three seasons at Liverpool winning nothing treating the FA cup like a bit of dirt on his shoe and he’s had nothing but absolute eulogies from the media.

It has become a fixed product, an entire eco system of money from players, agents, owners, bookmakers, media pundits, governing bodies, all who rely on the same outcome, the success of one of two clubs at any given point. If United can’t win then make sure it’s Liverpool and vice versa. It’s starting to filter down into players too which is why we’re seeing more and more hilariously blatant misses from a yard out by south coast clubs against Liverpool, and who can forget that Cardiff defender’s one man show to keep the title alive that year by giving away a penalty deliberately then diving under a ball and heading it away from goal to deny his own team a goal.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Not really having this argument that the expectation on footballers to contribute is unfair.

I think they pay a fair share myself. The money doesn't particularly bother me because I've learned to accept football isn't real life.

But the idea that your average member of the public wouldnt find it obscene for people to earn 6 figures a week while not actually working, is a bit mad. The fact football is shocked at the reaction of the public and politicians shows just how out of touch they are.

In 6 months time football will probably be back and we'll all still be watching. But I dont think football will ever quite be the same again.

 

[Shevin Keedy]

But I dont think football will ever quite be the same again.

In what way do you think that it may change?

 

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Not really having this argument that the expectation on footballers to contribute is unfair.

I think they pay a fair share myself. The money doesn't particularly bother me because I've learned to accept football isn't real life.

But the idea that your average member of the public wouldnt find it obscene for people to earn 6 figures a week while not actually working, is a bit mad. The fact football is shocked at the reaction of the public and politicians shows just how out of touch they are.

In 6 months time football will probably be back and we'll all still be watching. But I dont think football will ever quite be the same again.

I'd be happy for the whole deck of cards to collapse and every club including Everton to be dissolved with it all starting over at grassroots level.

I know I could just go and watch grassroots football now but it wouldn't be quite as dramatic.

 

[Dario Terracotta]

This really. Be it football, a hair cut, or popping to the shops or seeing your family.

So are you in need of one then Roydo mate? lol

 

[ToffeeTim]

In what way do you think that it may change?

The very top end wages could start to fall with a trickle down effect down the levels too.

But I think teams will start being more prudent with finances in case of another crisis.

Plus this break has shown lots of us that theres a heck of a lot more to life than football. I dunno how that will effect things though but it could.

 

[degsy]

In what way do you think that it may change?

Say you've lost your job or on reduced hours, its all died down a bit but the downward side of the curve is still jogging along. There's still no vaccine though, can you afford to financially and even more importantly, healthwise, go and sit cheek and jowl with 40,000 others
That for a start

 

[Shevin Keedy]

Say you've lost your job or on reduced hours, its all died down a bit but the downward side of the curve is still jogging along. There's still no vaccine though, can you afford to financially and even more importantly, healthwise, go and sit cheek and jowl with 40,000 others
That for a start

The Premier League is the glue that binds our society together, I believe that you are not of these shores but if you were you would simply rejoice in breathing in all the joy that glue brings. Please, sniff my glue.

 

[degsy]

The Premier League is the glue that binds our society together, I believe that you are not of these shores but if you were you would simply rejoice in breathing in all the joy that glue brings. Please, sniff my glue.

No, I'm not of these shores now true ( you patronising meff) but if the premier league is the glue that binds society together then we're all 'ked.
(Doesnt matter where anybody lives. World wide pandemic - the clue is in the name)
Because football / the premier league ceased to be about the common man, aka, 95% of society years ago.

If the worst that happens is a zero comes off most players wages, attendances are down and we're still at Goodison in 5 yrs but theres a spade in the ground for BMD we'll have done well.

 

[Shevin Keedy]

No, I'm not of these shores now true ( you patronising meff) but if the premier league is the glue that binds society together then we're all 'ked.
(Doesnt matter where anybody lives. World wide pandemic - the clue is in the name)
Because football / the premier league ceased to be about the common man, aka, 95% of society years ago.

If the worst that happens is a zero comes off most players wages, attendances are down and we're still at Goodison in 5 yrs but theres a spade in the ground for BMD we'll have done well.

Meff?

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

Meff?

Wool

 

[JelavicBrate2]

What has made it worse is that normal fans can now genuinely see the corruption at play yet the media doesn’t care one bit. The Liverpool City game this season was a complete and utter farce beyond any sort of reason yet it was whitewashed immediately after the game by a massive media effort to convince people that they hadn’t just seen blatant penalties over turned, an offside goal given despite a replay proving it was offside being seen, and a player still on the pitch despite committing two red card tackles.

They could stop it all as well, just like every other sport has, mic the referees up so fans and spectators can hear them when they converse with the VAR officials, make it a mandatory process that refs have to check the pitchside monitors and therefore agree with the VARref. Have a third independent party that can take decisions to VAR if neither the ref nor VAR official has seen it on the pitch. Allow clubs to have a number of appeals each game against VAR decisions like in cricket. Rotate referees from Europe in and around the PL allowing our refs to get experience abroad but also to stop corruption. They don’t do any of these things though because they don’t want to.

In the Anfield derby it was 2-1 to them and we had come right back in to the game, deservedly on top, Calvert Lewin gets played in and Van Dijk takes him down from behind. That’s a penalty and Van Dijk is walking atightrope for the rest of the match. The decision doesn’t even go to VAR, based purely on the fact that the ref didn’t want it to. There was a super quick reply played and then the commentary team killed it, until about 5 minutes later when the commentators mentioned that VAR had had a look but nothing doing. Utter utter corruption yet no one cares as long as either Liverpool or United are winning.

It extends further than that also though. Wenger was ran out of his job. He won three FA cups in 5 years and got to a final of a league cup and UEFA cup. The media campaign against him was relentless though. The same with Mourinho who the media got fired from Chelsea a mere half season after he’d won the title. Sarri won the UEFA cup and made the league cup final as well as getting CL yet the media hounded him out as well. Klopp has three seasons at Liverpool winning nothing treating the FA cup like a bit of dirt on his shoe and he’s had nothing but absolute eulogies from the media.

It has become a fixed product, an entire eco system of money from players, agents, owners, bookmakers, media pundits, governing bodies, all who rely on the same outcome, the success of one of two clubs at any given point. If United can’t win then make sure it’s Liverpool and vice versa. It’s starting to filter down into players too which is why we’re seeing more and more hilariously blatant misses from a yard out by south coast clubs against Liverpool, and who can forget that Cardiff defender’s one man show to keep the title alive that year by giving away a penalty deliberately then diving under a ball and heading it away from goal to deny his own team a goal.

Andres Villas Boas made actually the same point before being sacked by Chelsea. It's also interesting when Moyes went to United, teams simply didn't fear them anymore, which is why they lost so many games at home, because in the past Fergie was able to put so much pressure on the referees. Even Pellegrini won a trophy in his last season, ironically against Klopp, yet he was still got rid of, but that was only because of Guardiola. I think Klopp was simply able to get away with it, because of his fake displays of passion on the touchline. The thing is in the past it you kind of expected the big teams to receive favorable decisions, however now it's beyond a joke, VVD handles the ball in the build up to their goal against Wolves, the goal stands. West Ham player does the same thing, however the goal get's disallowed. But I think the corruption goes deeper, in 1 week Liverpool scored 2 goals where the goalkeeper drops a shot into the net.

The first one against MK Dons you could say, ah they're jammy so and so's, however when the Sheffield United goalkeeper does the same thing at the weekend, when they were struggling to score, you do have to say it's more than just a coincidence. Also ex player Danny Ings, who was greeted as a return hero, when they played at Anfield recently, miraculously missed a chance when he was right in front of goal and it was easier to score than to miss. The problem with modern football is it's fundamentally built on maintaining the dominance of certain clubs, it's where they money comes from, it's why UEFA don't really want clubs like Everton to get into the champions league. Look at how many decisions went against us in the 2007/2008 season when we were challenging the RS for the top 4. Also the fixtures are supposed to by a large random, yet you somehow end up with "Derby Days" where you have like 3 derbies on sky sports in 1 day, it's obviously not random.