Other clubs' transfers

[Spudil]

Well said. 

[Mr Logic]

I hate Spurs but I hope they hang on to Modric.

 

One of the worst things about the modern game is the attitude that footballers have now re: the Champions League. They think "earning" it now is being signed by a Champions League club rather than earning it by their own team getting there by being one of the best four teams over one season. Modric has some fucking nerve, he's just been in it with Spurs, they drop out of it for one year and he's like a spoilt child, "I want it now now now". Waffling on about Chelsea being a bigger club than Spurs - what an arsehole. Spurs have shown nothing but ambition since he's been at WHL but now he's too good for them?

 

Players like Stewart Downing make me laugh. Who the fuck does he think he is trying to get out of Aston Villa? Villa are one of the biggest ten clubs in the country - that is his level. He's a canny player but now, any player who has a good half a dozen games immediately thinks they have to go running to the "big" clubs begging to be taken on and taken away from minnows like Newcastle, Spurs, Aston Villa, Everton, great historic clubs with massive support who could really punch their weight if these cunts didn't stop clamouring to go and sit on Chelsea's bench. It's like Pienaar last year, just desperate to get away to Spurs from Everton and for what? Three or four Champions League games ffs.

 

People talk about the greed of footballers but for me, this is a much greater annoyance.

 

Wish you'd post more like the above, you can really make a point when you put your mind to it. 

[Pilko]

Good post that, Wullie.

[TRon]

I hate Spurs but I hope they hang on to Modric.

 

One of the worst things about the modern game is the attitude that footballers have now re: the Champions League. They think "earning" it now is being signed by a Champions League club rather than earning it by their own team getting there by being one of the best four teams over one season. Modric has some fucking nerve, he's just been in it with Spurs, they drop out of it for one year and he's like a spoilt child, "I want it now now now". Waffling on about Chelsea being a bigger club than Spurs - what an arsehole. Spurs have shown nothing but ambition since he's been at WHL but now he's too good for them?

 

Players like Stewart Downing make me laugh. Who the fuck does he think he is trying to get out of Aston Villa? Villa are one of the biggest ten clubs in the country - that is his level. He's a canny player but now, any player who has a good half a dozen games immediately thinks they have to go running to the "big" clubs begging to be taken on and taken away from minnows like Newcastle, Spurs, Aston Villa, Everton, great historic clubs with massive support who could really punch their weight if these cunts didn't stop clamouring to go and sit on Chelsea's bench. It's like Pienaar last year, just desperate to get away to Spurs from Everton and for what? Three or four Champions League games ffs.

 

People talk about the greed of footballers but for me, this is a much greater annoyance.

 

Modric is on what...50k at Spurs? They were talking on Talksport about Chelsea tripling his salary if he goes there. I don't care who you are, if you get offered 150k a week instead of 50k you are going to want to go.

[Guest Heneage]

Impatience and the hyperbole of Sky Sports is what has bred these overnight stars.

[Village Idiot]

I hate Spurs but I hope they hang on to Modric.

 

One of the worst things about the modern game is the attitude that footballers have now re: the Champions League. They think "earning" it now is being signed by a Champions League club rather than earning it by their own team getting there by being one of the best four teams over one season. Modric has some f***ing nerve, he's just been in it with Spurs, they drop out of it for one year and he's like a spoilt child, "I want it now now now". Waffling on about Chelsea being a bigger club than Spurs - what an arsehole. Spurs have shown nothing but ambition since he's been at WHL but now he's too good for them?

 

Players like Stewart Downing make me laugh. Who the f*** does he think he is trying to get out of Aston Villa? Villa are one of the biggest ten clubs in the country - that is his level. He's a canny player but now, any player who has a good half a dozen games immediately thinks they have to go running to the "big" clubs begging to be taken on and taken away from minnows like Newcastle, Spurs, Aston Villa, Everton, great historic clubs with massive support who could really punch their weight if these c***s didn't stop clamouring to go and sit on Chelsea's bench. It's like Pienaar last year, just desperate to get away to Spurs from Everton and for what? Three or four Champions League games ffs.

 

People talk about the greed of footballers but for me, this is a much greater annoyance.

 

 

You're right though, the way big clubs cannibalize smaller sides has damaged the sport.

[Turnbull2000]

I've been saying it for ages - the Champions League is spoiling football. I sorely miss the days of the respected UEFA Cup (even the Cup Winners Cup). The prospect of only ever realistically competing for the hugely devalued Europa League is grim.

[Optimistic Nut]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

[Village Idiot]

It's not the CL per se though, the economic windfall isn't actually *that* big. Heck, we *lost* money this season due to the bonuses of actually winning the thing. It's mostly the effects it has on marketing sales and brand exposure (bigger sponsorships, tv viewership...).

[joeyt]

Fellaini wants away from Everton.

 

 

French speaking midfielder, you say?

[Wullie]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

 

It hasn't though, yes the biggest/richest clubs have always signed the best players but with UEFA having created this abundance of Champions League clubs and these clubs needing much bigger squads than they did previously, every player who has a five minute purple patch is now standing outside Stamford Bridge shouting "Pick me, pick me!"

 

Looking back through the 80s before the Premier League arrived (and even the early Premier League years before the CL was extended to include more than the Champions), the variation of the teams at the top is so refreshing. Players knew they could sign for one of so many clubs in the top flight and have a go at European football or even the title, now players know they have to go to a particular group of 4 or 5 clubs for that to be possible.

 

Where once, the shop window for players to be signed by bigger clubs might have been the second division or even the third, now practically the entire Premier League has become a shop window. That is not the way things should be.

[Optimistic Nut]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

 

It hasn't though, yes the biggest/richest clubs have always signed the best players but with UEFA having created this abundance of Champions League clubs and these clubs needing much bigger squads than they did previously, every player who has a five minute purple patch is now standing outside Stamford Bridge shouting "Pick me, pick me!"

 

Looking back through the 80s before the Premier League arrived (and even the early Premier League years before the CL was extended to include more than the Champions), the variation of the teams at the top is so refreshing. Players knew they could sign for one of so many clubs in the top flight and have a go at European football or even the title, now players know they have to go to a particular group of 4 or 5 clubs for that to be possible.

 

Where once, the shop window for players to be signed by bigger clubs might have been the second division or even the third, now practically the entire Premier League has become a shop window. That is not the way things should be.

 

The big 5 during the 80s were Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton & Spurs.

The big 5 now are Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man City...the latter two because of rich owners who have spent their way there (and Spurs & Everton are still in the top 7).

 

[Wullie]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

 

It hasn't though, yes the biggest/richest clubs have always signed the best players but with UEFA having created this abundance of Champions League clubs and these clubs needing much bigger squads than they did previously, every player who has a five minute purple patch is now standing outside Stamford Bridge shouting "Pick me, pick me!"

 

Looking back through the 80s before the Premier League arrived (and even the early Premier League years before the CL was extended to include more than the Champions), the variation of the teams at the top is so refreshing. Players knew they could sign for one of so many clubs in the top flight and have a go at European football or even the title, now players know they have to go to a particular group of 4 or 5 clubs for that to be possible.

 

Where once, the shop window for players to be signed by bigger clubs might have been the second division or even the third, now practically the entire Premier League has become a shop window. That is not the way things should be.

 

The big 5 during the 80s were Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton & Spurs.

The big 5 now are Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man City...the latter two because of rich owners who have spent their way there (and Spurs & Everton are still in the top 7).

 

You're wrong.

 

Ipswich, Watford, Forest, West Brom, Leeds, QPR and Southampton all qualified for Europe during the 80s, not by getting a kicking in the Cup final as is generally the best hope now but via the League. Luton, Derby, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich all also qualified for it via the League but were disqualified because of Heysel. Liverpool at this point had a stranglehold over the title but this was when the UEFA Cup was a major competition.

 

European football was not this magical holy grail that only the elite were entitled to as it is now. It's interesting how rarely players sign for these clubs and say "I want to win titles", all the chatter is about Europe and UEFA have created a monster where Champions League is everything and nobody other than 4 or 5 clubs has a look in.

[Neil]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

 

It hasn't though, yes the biggest/richest clubs have always signed the best players but with UEFA having created this abundance of Champions League clubs and these clubs needing much bigger squads than they did previously, every player who has a five minute purple patch is now standing outside Stamford Bridge shouting "Pick me, pick me!"

 

Looking back through the 80s before the Premier League arrived (and even the early Premier League years before the CL was extended to include more than the Champions), the variation of the teams at the top is so refreshing. Players knew they could sign for one of so many clubs in the top flight and have a go at European football or even the title, now players know they have to go to a particular group of 4 or 5 clubs for that to be possible.

 

Where once, the shop window for players to be signed by bigger clubs might have been the second division or even the third, now practically the entire Premier League has become a shop window. That is not the way things should be.

 

The big 5 during the 80s were Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton & Spurs.

The big 5 now are Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man City...the latter two because of rich owners who have spent their way there (and Spurs & Everton are still in the top 7).

 

You're wrong.

 

Ipswich, Watford, Forest, West Brom, Leeds, QPR and Southampton all qualified in Europe during the 80s. Luton, Derby, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich all also qualified for it via the League but were disqualified because of Heysel. Liverpool at this point had a stranglehold over the title but this was when the UEFA Cup was a major competition.

 

European football was not this magical holy grail that only the elite were entitled to as it is now.

 

I don't really want to talk about the event itself but it's strange to think how different things could have been up until this very day.

[madras]

It was better and more exotic. It's why clubs often get shot attendances for champagne league games.

[Optimistic Nut]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

 

It hasn't though, yes the biggest/richest clubs have always signed the best players but with UEFA having created this abundance of Champions League clubs and these clubs needing much bigger squads than they did previously, every player who has a five minute purple patch is now standing outside Stamford Bridge shouting "Pick me, pick me!"

 

Looking back through the 80s before the Premier League arrived (and even the early Premier League years before the CL was extended to include more than the Champions), the variation of the teams at the top is so refreshing. Players knew they could sign for one of so many clubs in the top flight and have a go at European football or even the title, now players know they have to go to a particular group of 4 or 5 clubs for that to be possible.

 

Where once, the shop window for players to be signed by bigger clubs might have been the second division or even the third, now practically the entire Premier League has become a shop window. That is not the way things should be.

 

The big 5 during the 80s were Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton & Spurs.

The big 5 now are Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man City...the latter two because of rich owners who have spent their way there (and Spurs & Everton are still in the top 7).

 

You're wrong.

 

Ipswich, Watford, Forest, West Brom, Leeds, QPR and Southampton all qualified in Europe during the 80s. Luton, Derby, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich all also qualified for it via the League but were disqualified because of Heysel. Liverpool at this point had a stranglehold over the title but this was when the UEFA Cup was a major competition.

 

European football was not this magical holy grail that only the elite were entitled to as it is now.

 

And recently Millwall, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Bolton, Stoke, Birmingham, etc will have qualified for Europe. I don't get your point. 

[Wullie]

This has been happening since football began though Wullie.

 

Only difference now is the mental fees & wages.

 

It hasn't though, yes the biggest/richest clubs have always signed the best players but with UEFA having created this abundance of Champions League clubs and these clubs needing much bigger squads than they did previously, every player who has a five minute purple patch is now standing outside Stamford Bridge shouting "Pick me, pick me!"

 

Looking back through the 80s before the Premier League arrived (and even the early Premier League years before the CL was extended to include more than the Champions), the variation of the teams at the top is so refreshing. Players knew they could sign for one of so many clubs in the top flight and have a go at European football or even the title, now players know they have to go to a particular group of 4 or 5 clubs for that to be possible.

 

Where once, the shop window for players to be signed by bigger clubs might have been the second division or even the third, now practically the entire Premier League has become a shop window. That is not the way things should be.

 

The big 5 during the 80s were Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton & Spurs.

The big 5 now are Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man City...the latter two because of rich owners who have spent their way there (and Spurs & Everton are still in the top 7).

 

You're wrong.

 

Ipswich, Watford, Forest, West Brom, Leeds, QPR and Southampton all qualified in Europe during the 80s. Luton, Derby, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich all also qualified for it via the League but were disqualified because of Heysel. Liverpool at this point had a stranglehold over the title but this was when the UEFA Cup was a major competition.

 

European football was not this magical holy grail that only the elite were entitled to as it is now.

 

And recently Millwall, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Bolton, Stoke, Birmingham, etc will have qualified for Europe. I don't get your point. 

 

How many of them qualified via their league placing and how many qualified for a competition with any real value to modern players?

 

Only Leeds for the latter, ten years ago, and their pursuit of it eventually ruined them.

 

You can't see my point? Howay man Nut. Just about the only way any clubs other than the ultra rich can qualify for Europe now is getting to a cup final and hoping that the opposition haven't already qualified for it. It's hardly living the dream and it only qualifies you for a tatty competition that a lot of teams actively try and get knocked out of!

[Optimistic Nut]

That's fair enough, but I'd say it's down to the mental money thrown around by Chelsea & Man City that have turned the top 4 into a closed shop. You'll get the occasional them who'll threaten it (Everton, us, Spurs), but it's down to Abramovich and the Sheikhs that have lead to this situation, not UEFA.

[Wullie]

That's fair enough, but I'd say it's down to the mental money thrown around by Chelsea & Man City that have turned the top 4 into a closed shop. You'll get the occasional them who'll threaten it (Everton, us, Spurs), but it's down to Abramovich and the Sheikhs that have lead to this situation, not UEFA.

 

I don't agree, the vast financial benefits for qualification are down to UEFA and that was already creating problems for clubs on the periphery like us and Leeds before Abramovich showed up. Continuously providing the richest clubs in the country with a revenue stream far in excess of everybody else in their respective leagues so that they can then again qualify for that revenue stream again without much difficulty (and forcing those just outside to spend more than they can afford to try and keep up) is hardly something that promotes competition.

[Optimistic Nut]

Man Utd, Arsenal & Liverpool have always been there or thereabouts give or take the occasional bad season though. Liverpool have had their turn to have their transition period, Arsenal may very well be going through theirs shortly, but it still leaves Chelsea, Man City & Man Utd finishing in those top 3.

 

I'd also be interested to know how many of the clubs you listed finished top 4 more than once too, can't imagine many.

[gazza ladra]

Surely, Modric has to go now. Given the shit Barton is getting for his comments, it'd follow that the mere presence of  Modric in the locker room would be far too disruptive for the Spurs management to bear. 

 

I hate the Big Four-or-bust mentality many players have, but Modric staying isn't going to change anything about the state of the game. If he leaves, that's a major blow to Spurs. Good.  I'll still feel disgusted about the way things are, but it'll go down a little easier knowing Tottenham's fans have been given the kiss off by one of their idols.

 

Chelsea are out of our league-- and will be for some time.  Tottenham... without Modric... plus some more decent signings on our part---the Carroll money spent on a striker, and suddenly challenging Spurs for a Euro Cup spot isn't that unrealistic. 

 

Deluded? Fine, I'm OK with that.

[Guest vainsharpdad]

 

Why has Spurs not selling a player been bigger news than, say, us signing one?

 

Saw in the Mirror today that the top five now includes Spurs and Pool

 

By whose measure?

[Dave]

The Premier League's, based on the last few seasons.

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

How can it include spurs AND the scouse?

[Wullie]

Man Utd, Arsenal & Liverpool have always been there or thereabouts give or take the occasional bad season though. Liverpool have had their turn to have their transition period, Arsenal may very well be going through theirs shortly, but it still leaves Chelsea, Man City & Man Utd finishing in those top 3.

 

I'd also be interested to know how many of the clubs you listed finished top 4 more than once too, can't imagine many.

 

That's the point though - there was variation.

 

Interesting the clubs you gave as the big ones in the 80s, discounting Liverpool who were obviously a class apart:

 

Man Utd had finishes of 7th, 11th, 11th during that decade (mainly finished 3rd or 4th)

 

Arsenal had 5th, 10th, 6th, 7th, 7th, 6th place finishes as well as a league title. They played in Europe less than Southampton did.

 

Everton had 19th, 15th, 8th, 7th, 7th, two league titles and then back to 4th and 7th.

 

Spurs had 14th, 10th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 6th as well as a few top 4 finishes mixed in between those.

 

There was no pecking order. There was no European football quarantee (well unless you were at Liverpool). There were many more clubs, players, fans went into each top flight season thinking they could achieve something.

 

This is not the case anymore and has led to a generation of players who play to be signed up by what they see as "bigger clubs" rather than trying to help their own clubs into that bracket.