timeEd32

It's not a load of nonsense, man. You all have gone mad. It's a bad tackle that has caused a bad injury. Fine. This is understood. People's legs are broken on the pitch all of the time. We can increase the penalties for bad tackles within football. This is acceptable It's the same as charging a racing car pilot with murder because he made a bad move that led to a deadly accident. This would be madness. Football is not the same as walking on the street, and there are inherent risks when you walk on the pitch. You don't call the police after every incident. That is literal insanity. The only way police could get involved is if there is an incident that is far separated from what is part of football. De Jong's tackle was not that. The game itself is "policed" by the referee, and the sport by the FA. They should deal severely with intended acts of violence which cause serious injury. When they fail in their duties to do so, there is no reason why the victims should not turn to common law to obtain justice and recompense for loss of earnings/investment etc. If this does go legal then it will be the fault of a very dodgy referee and an incompetent FA to deal with it properly in house. I'm also fairly sure that if a F1 driver made a deliberate move that put another driver in hospital or worse then he wouldn't be racing for a long time. The key is the intent behind the move, if De Jong and Ben Arfa were going for a 50:50 and their legs got caught together then its an accident. Mark Webbers impression of Superman in a car earlier this season was an accident. However, De Jong went in to put Ben Arfa out of this particular game either mentally or physically. We've all been in games where the manager has said to rough up the keeper, or 'keep the little quick un quiet'. He went too far in this, it was a deliberate act and he should be punished. Yes, but you could never prove intent on a tackle unless the player admitted it. Err... isn't that what the process of law and the judiciary is for ? To decide if there was intent. Do you also think murder, theft, fraud etc can not be proven unless the perpetrator admits guilt ? If it hadn't been for a very dodgy referee and an incompetent and ignorant football association it could have been concluded already. Deciding if there was intent and handing down punishment is the job of the FA (and FIFA). Tackling is part of the game. Should he have been punished - sent off, suspended, and possibly fined? Yes, yes, and yes. The FA and FIFA need to do a much better job of policing their game. Does he belong in jail? Of course not. Jail ? Are you kidding ? No one's talking about jail. It's about justice and compensation for a pre-meditated act of violence which has left a brilliant young footballer with a serious injury. De Jong earns millions a year. He is employed by billionaires. He commited an act of violence which should be punished accordingly. Sadly the referee in question and the governing body (FA) have chosen to turn a blind eye to this rather than address the problem and confront a club owned by the type of people they now pander to, i.e. billionaires who think they are above the law. If they are too weak to act then it should be taken to a higher jurisdiction. You were talking about taking legal action to seek damages which is fine, but those saying it is a criminal act/should be reported to police, etc. are basically saying he should be tried for assault (actual bodily harm or whatever it's called over there). That's completely ridiculous. Also you don't know it was pre-meditated and no one could ever prove it was. Not defending De Jong by the way - think he's a thug and I think he probably enjoys injuring opposing players. It's his version of scoring a goal.

Yes. Most teams play God Bless America on Sunday's and significant days throughout the season.

This is more true for the NBA, NFL, and NHL. Because there is no salary cap and players generally aren't full developed when drafted (many are taken straight out of high school) it takes longer for MLB teams to see the reward for losing.

I really don't know much about Baseball but I assume its similar to the NFL franchise wise? i.e. you can't actually be relegated? Correct, no relegation in any American sport. The major difference between the two is the NFL has a salary cap while MLB does not.

(Full disclosure - I love the Yankees more than most things in life) They have consistently had the second highest payroll in baseball since Henry took over. Let's not make them out to be some magical ballclub that competes with the Yankees on a yearly basis solely on youth development and shrewd trades. They had a solid core in place when Henry took over with arguably the greatest pitcher ever and one of the best hitters in baseball amongst others. NESN, the regional sports network which they own the majority of, had already been created and moved to basic cable which was the beginning of it becoming the cash cow it is today. They are also the only baseball team in New England (5.5 states to themselves), so they naturally exploded once they became successful. Even though Boston is a four-sport city, it has always been a baseball town even in the down years. Their best move was going out on a limb and hiring the youngest General Manager in baseball history. Theo Epstein and his team were ahead of most of the league in accepting and using the new baseball stats (sabermetrics). I'm assuming by "developed stadium" you mean the addition of the Monster Seats, the right field picnic seating, some suites, and standing room. Good ideas for sure, but they were created out of pure necessity due to the age/size of Fenway Park. There was also a completely different expectation when they took over the Red Sox. They hadn't won since 1918; the fans were desperate to beat the Yankees and win the World Series, but they expected something to go wrong (much like Newcastle fans). The Liverpool fans will be expecting trophies from the moment they step in. Don't get me wrong, Henry and his team have been great for the Red Sox. They have done everything they needed to do and more, but taking over at Liverpool will be a different beast entirely.

Henry has been good for the Red Sox, but I think you're overstating it a bit.

It's not a load of nonsense, man. You all have gone mad. It's a bad tackle that has caused a bad injury. Fine. This is understood. People's legs are broken on the pitch all of the time. We can increase the penalties for bad tackles within football. This is acceptable It's the same as charging a racing car pilot with murder because he made a bad move that led to a deadly accident. This would be madness. Football is not the same as walking on the street, and there are inherent risks when you walk on the pitch. You don't call the police after every incident. That is literal insanity. The only way police could get involved is if there is an incident that is far separated from what is part of football. De Jong's tackle was not that. The game itself is "policed" by the referee, and the sport by the FA. They should deal severely with intended acts of violence which cause serious injury. When they fail in their duties to do so, there is no reason why the victims should not turn to common law to obtain justice and recompense for loss of earnings/investment etc. If this does go legal then it will be the fault of a very dodgy referee and an incompetent FA to deal with it properly in house. I'm also fairly sure that if a F1 driver made a deliberate move that put another driver in hospital or worse then he wouldn't be racing for a long time. The key is the intent behind the move, if De Jong and Ben Arfa were going for a 50:50 and their legs got caught together then its an accident. Mark Webbers impression of Superman in a car earlier this season was an accident. However, De Jong went in to put Ben Arfa out of this particular game either mentally or physically. We've all been in games where the manager has said to rough up the keeper, or 'keep the little quick un quiet'. He went too far in this, it was a deliberate act and he should be punished. Yes, but you could never prove intent on a tackle unless the player admitted it. Err... isn't that what the process of law and the judiciary is for ? To decide if there was intent. Do you also think murder, theft, fraud etc can not be proven unless the perpetrator admits guilt ? If it hadn't been for a very dodgy referee and an incompetent and ignorant football association it could have been concluded already. Deciding if there was intent and handing down punishment is the job of the FA (and FIFA). Tackling is part of the game. Should he have been punished - sent off, suspended, and possibly fined? Yes, yes, and yes. The FA and FIFA need to do a much better job of policing their game. Does he belong in jail? Of course not.

It's not a load of nonsense, man. You all have gone mad. It's a bad tackle that has caused a bad injury. Fine. This is understood. People's legs are broken on the pitch all of the time. We can increase the penalties for bad tackles within football. This is acceptable It's the same as charging a racing car pilot with murder because he made a bad move that led to a deadly accident. This would be madness. Football is not the same as walking on the street, and there are inherent risks when you walk on the pitch. You don't call the police after every incident. That is literal insanity. The only way police could get involved is if there is an incident that is far separated from what is part of football. De Jong's tackle was not that. The game itself is "policed" by the referee, and the sport by the FA. They should deal severely with intended acts of violence which cause serious injury. When they fail in their duties to do so, there is no reason why the victims should not turn to common law to obtain justice and recompense for loss of earnings/investment etc. If this does go legal then it will be the fault of a very dodgy referee and an incompetent FA to deal with it properly in house. I'm also fairly sure that if a F1 driver made a deliberate move that put another driver in hospital or worse then he wouldn't be racing for a long time. The key is the intent behind the move, if De Jong and Ben Arfa were going for a 50:50 and their legs got caught together then its an accident. Mark Webbers impression of Superman in a car earlier this season was an accident. However, De Jong went in to put Ben Arfa out of this particular game either mentally or physically. We've all been in games where the manager has said to rough up the keeper, or 'keep the little quick un quiet'. He went too far in this, it was a deliberate act and he should be punished. Yes, but you could never prove intent on a tackle unless the player admitted it.

As if I didn't hate them enough. Fuck off John Henry.

It's not a load of nonsense, man. You all have gone mad. It's a bad tackle that has caused a bad injury. Fine. This is understood. People's legs are broken on the pitch all of the time. We can increase the penalties for bad tackles within football. This is acceptable It's the same as charging a racing car pilot with murder because he made a bad move that led to a deadly accident. This would be madness. Football is not the same as walking on the street, and there are inherent risks when you walk on the pitch. You don't call the police after every incident. That is literal insanity. The only way police could get involved is if there is an incident that is far separated from what is part of football. De Jong's tackle was not that. Spot on.

I know it sucks for those who have made travel plans, but good news for those of us in the USA. Liverpool and Wigan games will likely be on FSC and WBA on FSC+.

It's unbelievable that he doesn't start.

Nah, don't worry. They will be dreaming of Europe League Thursday nights a year or two from now.

What does this even mean? What statistics say we would win that game 2 out of 3 times? We didn't play better overall. We played better in the first half (but created next to nothing) and they outplayed us in the second half. Even without the poor substitutions we probably would have lost or at least settled for a point. The horrible subs were the nail in the coffin.

because its f***ing sam allerdyce Yeah, hate him too. Care a hell of a lot more about our safety though.

Should be back well before. They have three matches that week, plus CL before and after. Doubt he will play.

Why are people upset about Blackburn? No way they are going down. Don't need Blackpool getting more points.

Almunia is a pathetic keeper.

If the bank takes over and doesn't find a buyer by January, will they start asset stripping (sell Torres/Gerrard, etc.)?

Didn't people say he was fast? I mentioned this in the match thread, but the times I've seen him it looks like he's running in mud. The body parts are moving, but he's just not going anywhere.

Just before the Mackem game Yup...does that change anything for anyone?

Holy shit!!!! Where are you going in NJ?

I've never seen him in the reserves, but the times I've seen Vuckic he hasn't done a single thing that has impressed me. Didn't people say he's fast? Always looks like he's running in mud.

Jonas looks terrible after seeing Ben Arfa. Night and day.

That was some of the sloppiest shit I've ever seen.