Still not worthy of a thread

[BlazeT44]

12 hours ago, cubaricho said:

The soccer all-star game is always a torrid affair but in other sports (mostly baseball and basketball) it’s quite good. Offers a nice little mid season break for a lot of players too. It also raises the profile for a lot of the fringe-team players so ie: players like ASM would get a run out from us and it helps pull the spotlight our (and his) way a bit. 
 

I wouldn’t be wholly against the concept of it out of hand but it would have to be done the right way for it to be useful/successful. Especially if the $$ it brought in was used for helping out the football pyramid. 

 

The NHL All Star game is boring and a joke. The skills competitions prior to it are mildly entertaining -- such as fastest skater and hardest shot.

 

The NFL All Star game is utter dross. The players hate it and they all use it as a holiday. The game resembles nothing of a NFL game.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by BlazeT44

[Kid Icarus]

6 hours ago, Kanji said:

He’s not winding anybody up. Giving him too much Credit. He’s the old guy in the pub who’s telling people that’s what Americans want in football when none of us do. 

There was a conversation on here not that long ago about how we should adopt parts of American sport and the 'match day experience' in particular. Holt might be a prick and his examples might be ridiculous, but the principle of there being an air of arrogance about what we should 'improve' because there couldn't possibly be anyone who doesn't think what the U.S do is better, is very much true.

 

Disagreeing that it's better was framed as anti-Americanism and arrogance in itself as well.

[54]

6 hours ago, Pata said:

 

Of course but your post read to me like basketball is only played in USA and few Eastern European countries. USA is always the favourite and could send 30 good teams but it's played everywhere and the best players in the world are not only Americans (Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Doncic right now probably in the top 5). There is a basketball WC and it's big in every other country even if USA don't always send the best team. Think you are disrespecting the European club teams a bit too, NBA teams have 52 wins and 13 losses against European teams in the past two decades but are only 16-9 in Europe even if they are glorified pre-season games.

 

American football is it's own thing but I don't think you can compare basketball even to sports like rugby, cricket and baseball which are legit sports in only a handful countries.

 

 

 

I get your point, but cricket it the second most popular sport worldwide behind Football, so feels weird to use that as an example

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

They’d insist on playing the game at Wembo anyway. Be the same issue as England playing Moldova there on a Wednesday night. A fart on for the majority of the country - those who are actually bothered - to attend.

[ponsaelius]

I'm all for dunking on US sports and culture but tbf to basketball it's the one US sport that is genuinely international with high participation globally. The US are miles ahead obviously but have had their noses busted at the Olympics in the past and European basketball is a pretty good standard. 

 

After football it's definitely the most genuinely global team sport - just an extremely distant 2nd place.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by ponsaelius

[Yorkie]

What's wrong with the relegation play-off idea anyway? Anything to increase completion within the division should be seen as a good thing, surely?

[ponsaelius]

7 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I accept some of your points, but cricket is the national sport (both playing and attending) for all the countries in the entire Indian subcontinent - that's a quarter of the world's population.  It is absolutely comparable to basketball's popularity worldwide.

 

To be honest that is kind of akin to saying Go is a worldwide global game because over a billion people in China know it and tens of millions play it.

 

I like cricket but it's not a fundamentally global sport in terms of appeal IMO - its participation is basically a direct overlay of former British colonisation. There just happens to be over a billion people in those 4 countries that resulted from the Raj.

 

Basketball has a more global spread, and even when it's not the most popular sport there is a lot of cases where it is in the top 3-4 sports played in that country or at least has some footing. Cricket by comparison has no footing whatsoever in lots of countries outside of small expat communities. This is similar to football's appeal - although again a distant 2nd place.

[thomas]

8 hours ago, Kanji said:

He’s not winding anybody up. Giving him too much Credit. He’s the old guy in the pub who’s telling people that’s what Americans want in football when none of us do. 

The kind of old guy who starts every other sentence with "you know what the problem with [nationality] is?"

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by thomas

[Chapo]

Heard he wants concussion substitutes every time a player heads the ball. Madness. 

[Pata]

2 hours ago, 54 said:

I get your point, but cricket it the second most popular sport worldwide behind Football, so feels weird to use that as an example

Ponsaelius already said everything but I just don’t see cricket as a global sport like football and basketball are. 

[The College Dropout]

The PL could do with a play-off game. But not for the 3rd relegation spot.

[Optimistic Nut]

1 hour ago, Yorkie said:

What's wrong with the relegation play-off idea anyway? Anything to increase completion within the division should be seen as a good thing, surely?

 

Something like either the losing Championship Play-Off Finalist or the team who finished 3rd if they didn't win promotion, playing 17th place in the Premier League in a promotion/relegation Play-Off away from home as sort of a ,'one last chance to show you're worthy of promotion' match might be good.

[joeyt]

13 hours ago, Kanji said:

“how dare you want all games available to streaming service, you digital age cunt”

 

but what if I’m a Newcastle fan living in a different city and I can’t make the games because im caring for a sick family member. 
 

“find a way to get there or follow online.”

 

*meanwhile some of you stream it illegally.

 

It's to protect our football pyramid's attendances and revenue. I don't think there's any other country in the world with as strong a following all the way down their league structure as here

[Froggy]

There's too many Americans on here now. Was twitching like Harry reading the last few pages.

[Wullie]

Isn't it about time the world's most popular sport started making suggestions to improve the shitty American sports instead of the other way round all the time?

[joeyt]

2 hours ago, Yorkie said:

What's wrong with the relegation play-off idea anyway? Anything to increase completion within the division should be seen as a good thing, surely?

 

What's wrong with the current structure as it is now and has been for numerous decades?

[Kanji]

10 minutes ago, Wullie said:

Isn't it about time the world's most popular sport started making suggestions to improve the shitty American sports instead of the other way round all the time?

 

You should hear how many Americans say "they do this in the Premier league, we should do that too" with a lot of our sports. My friends and yearn for a pyramid in MLS. We wished things werent tipped  exclusively for the top league only. 

 

13 minutes ago, Froggy said:

There's too many Americans on here now. Was twitching like Harry reading the last few pages.

 

There's really not. Some of us have been on here longer than you  

[Yorkie]

16 minutes ago, joeyt said:

What's wrong with the current structure as it is now and has been for numerous decades?

 

"A good idea is a good idea forever," eh?

 

There's nothing 'wrong' with it, but there's an argument that it should adapt to a context which had changed dramatically. Like anything, I just wouldn't close the door to potential improvement, particularly with the league in the current state it's in. Like I said before, anything to increase the amount of competition/reduce the amount of dead rubber matches should be seen as a positive, surely?

 

If you're 19th and six points adrift of 17th with six games left, it's game over. Likewise if you're 15th and six points clear of relegation - marooned in lower mid-table, there's basically nothing to play for.

 

Introduce a relegation play-off for teams finishing 15th-18th and suddenly there's a layer of hope to those at the bottom and jeopardy to those going nowhere. It would make for a far more interesting end to the season and one which is a lot more sensitive to change. 

 

We really shouldn't be averse to change. The Premier League has been going for thirty years and has gradually become less competitive. The last weeks, in particular, are a drama-free procession for the majority of teams. A bit of a shake-up wouldn't hurt at all. 

[Froggy]

4 minutes ago, Kanji said:

There's really not. Some of us have been on here longer than you  

 

Aye and Trump has been on the planet longer than all of us, doesn't mean he's not completely insane.

 

Leave our sport alone.

[Froggy]

3 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Introduce a relegation play-off for teams finishing 15th-18th and suddenly there's a layer of hope to those at the bottom and jeopardy to those going nowhere. It would make for a far more interesting end to the season and one which is a lot more sensitive to change. 

 

Stop it.

[joeyt]

3 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

 

"A good idea is a good idea forever," eh?

 

There's nothing 'wrong' with it; like anything I just wouldn't close the door to potential improvement, particularly with the league in the current state it's in. Like I said before, anything to increase the amount of competition/reduce the amount of dead rubber matches should be seen as a positive, surely?

 

If you're 19th and six points adrift of 17th with six games left, it's game over. Likewise if you're 15th and six points clear of relegation - marooned in lower mid-table, there's basically nothing to play for.

 

Introduce a relegation play-off for teams finishing 15th-18th and suddenly there's a layer of hope to those at the bottom and jeopardy to those going nowhere. It would make for a far more interesting end to the season and one which is a lot more sensitive to change. 

 

We really shouldn't be averse to change. The Premier League has been going for thirty years and has gradually become less competitive. The last weeks, in particular, are a drama-free procession for the majority of teams. A bit of a shake-up wouldn't hurt at all. 

 

If anything I think the last few weeks have shown how competive the division is? We got a draw against Man City and nearly got one against Liverpool

 

Newly promoted Fulham get a draw against Liverpool. Southampton beat Chelsea.

 

Apart from the obvious VAR, our league has had had a great start to the season. Really don't see how any sort of playoffs would improve anything

[Doctor Zaius]

https://www.football365.com/news/opinion-boehly-all-star-comments-fit-the-worst-stereotypes-of-american-owners

 

Decent article on Boehly.

 

I think people get particularly precious about changes to English football because its clear that they're not being implemented for the right reasons. We've already seen the game basically ruined by money. The leagues are uncompetitive and ordinary people are often priced out. There has been huge benefits of the rampant commercialisation of course, but it feels like suggested change are made entirely with the view of making rich people richer without giving a fuck about supporters both here and worldwide. Of course, the horse bolted long ago but it's still a particular sore point to most about how the modern game is so sanitised. English football fans are petrified of American influence. This has been exasperated by the Super league debacle and this 'big six' none sense. Its not suprising that suggestions from an American billionaire are met with vitriol, even if it is unfair. 

 

Also, Boehly really hasnt helped himself. He's been here two minutes and been a part of English football for less than 10 games but he's already saying we should change the entire format of the league. It smacks of arrogance like. Fair enough, make points about the commercial side, but changing the format of the competition itself? Come on, at least get settled in first. You cant be making shouts like that until you've at least got your feet under the table even if they are good ideas, which his certainly wasnt. 

 

Football needs change. The leagues are uncompetitive. The financial disparity is too much and its ridiculously unfair. I'm all for innovation and change but is it going to come from a billionaire only interested in solidifying his club at the top, increasing revenue for his club and making his club more profitable? Doubtful. 

 

 

 

 

[Yorkie]

Just now, Froggy said:

5 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Introduce a relegation play-off for teams finishing 15th-18th and suddenly there's a layer of hope to those at the bottom and jeopardy to those going nowhere. It would make for a far more interesting end to the season and one which is a lot more sensitive to change. 

 

Stop it.

 

What's so wildly unacceptable about this idea, though? Play-offs are hardly incompatible; we've had them for decades. And, maybe even more importantly, there was a time where we didn't have them. They're an indisputable good in the Football League. Therefore a positive change. 

[healthyaddiction]

1 minute ago, Yorkie said:

 

What's so wildly unacceptable about this idea, though? Play-offs are hardly incompatible; we've had them for decades. And, maybe even more importantly, there was a time where we didn't have them. They're an indisputable good in the Football League. Therefore a positive change. 

Am I reading this wrong or would this not mean 5 teams being relegated? 19th + 20th along with the three that lost in the playoffs.

[Yorkie]

1 minute ago, healthyaddiction said:

Am I reading this wrong or would this not mean 5 teams being relegated? 19th + 20th along with the three that lost in the playoffs.

 

Nah I'm saying 19th and 20th go down automatically; 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th battle it out to avoid being the third (and final) relegation club. Basically a bit like a mirror image of the top of the Championship. 

 

I just think having more teams 'in the mix' - more teams trying desperately to keep their heads above water/more teams with a realistic chance of getting their heads above water - would fundamentally mean a greater level/amount of competition. And that's a good thing. 

 

I could be wrong; there could be a reason why it wouldn't work (for instance, a promoted club might 'settle' for a relegation play-off position, knowing they're unlikely to finish higher than 15th).

 

I totally subscribe to "stop trying to ruin the game," I just don't think we should be averse to change, just because stuff like VAR turned out a bag of shite. The game can't just sit in stasis.