*Official* English Football Season 2005-06

[Craig]

Almost all total testes. Your best bet is to buy The Observer on a Sunday. They have a "tales from the tabs" section where they report all the alleged comings, goings & stayings according to our esteemed red-tops, many of which are self-contradictory.

WRT Arsenal's over-reliance on foreigners, I agree it isn't ideal, but some of the anti-arguments are borderline racist. They're redolent of the "coming over here, taking our jobs" sorta crap that commonwealth immigrants faced on their arrival in the 50s & 60s. Wenger's only loyalty should be to Arsenal; he has no de facto duty to assist the English national team.

As an immigrant to the UK yourself I would imagine you would understand this point better than most; just suppose that your boss was constantly berated from rival bosses in your industry (whatever it is) for employing a New Zealander when there are Scottish men who could do the job too. Is it any wonder if he got a bit testy occasionally when he constantly has to defend an employee whose only flaw is his passport? If one can do the job (be it footballer or whatever it is you do) one's nationality should be an irrelevance.

I agree with what you said and as you know the team I support has the majority of players who's first language is Spanish rather then Italian, but I think a British club should have little more then two injury prone Englishmen (or be it they come from Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland since they apparent count as Brits) in their squad. Not just token players but those who are good enough to hold their own in the starting line-up - like Campbell and Cole are when fit.

 

[superkingdave]

Ill join in the Warnock hatred, word cannot express how much of a pillock the guy is

 

[luckyeddie]

Ah, but next Saturday they come to "fortress" Ricoh...

Ah, new sponsored football grounds.

The silliest one is Leicester - The Walkers Stadium, henceforth known as the Theatre of Crisps

 

[Loony BoB]

As an immigrant to the UK yourself I would imagine you would understand this point better than most; just suppose that your boss was constantly berated from rival bosses in your industry (whatever it is) for employing a New Zealander when there are Scottish men who could do the job too. Is it any wonder if he got a bit testy occasionally when he constantly has to defend an employee whose only flaw is his passport? If one can do the job (be it footballer or whatever it is you do) one's nationality should be an irrelevance.

I'm here through ancestry. If I was a highly talented football player, for all I know I'd be eligible for England before I even arrived - depends on how far they go back (my granddad was British). I'm an immigrant, yes, but I'm not here on a working visa or anything, I'm here because I'm quarter Brit, so to say I've "taken a Scotsman's job off him" is a bit much.

Also, in the area I grew up in, racism was practically non-existant - my group of friends in NZ consisted of people from England, South Africa, America, Canada, Germany, Poland, Vietnam, Samoa, Tonga, Brazil, Croatia, China, Japan... only a few were actually NZ European. Racism to me is one of the most stupid things in the world. I'm not saying Arsenal are a bunch of foreigners so shouldn't be allowed in. Hell, I love Man Utd and they have foreign players too. I don't care. However. What I do care is how many positions they take up in an English Premiership team. I think that an English team should at the very least be quarter English, let alone having at least one English player in every game they play, which Arsenal still isn't able to do. Because it's basically saying that they aren't an English team. It's not about the stealing of jobs, it's about a team called "Arsenal" which is part of the "English Premiership" which has no players from England and no players from Arsenal. I don't care what race they are of, I care that the team is actually some kind of representation of it's namesake.

 

[luckyeddie]

I might have missed something but where did this hate of Warnock and Sheffield United come from? Or is mainly Warnock?

Just Warnock. The man is slime.

 

[luckyeddie]

I'm here through ancestry. If I was a highly talented football player, for all I know I'd be eligible for England before I even arrived - depends on how far they go back (my granddad was British). I'm an immigrant, yes, but I'm not here on a working visa or anything, I'm here because I'm quarter Brit, so to say I've "taken a Scotsman's job off him" is a bit much.

If you're good enough, grandad'll do.

If you're rubbish - well, there's always Nothingham Florists down the road.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I'm here through ancestry. If I was a highly talented football player, for all I know I'd be eligible for England before I even arrived - depends on how far they go back (my granddad was British). I'm an immigrant, yes, but I'm not here on a working visa or anything, I'm here because I'm quarter Brit, so to say I've "taken a Scotsman's job off him" is a bit much.

Also, in the area I grew up in, racism was practically non-existant - my group of friends in NZ consisted of people from England, South Africa, America, Canada, Germany, Poland, Vietnam, Samoa, Tonga, Brazil, Croatia, China, Japan... only a few were actually NZ European. Racism to me is one of the most stupid things in the world. I'm not saying Arsenal are a bunch of foreigners so shouldn't be allowed in. Hell, I love Man Utd and they have foreign players too. I don't care. However. What I do care is how many positions they take up in an English Premiership team. I think that an English team should at the very least be quarter English, let alone having at least one English player in every game they play, which Arsenal still isn't able to do. Because it's basically saying that they aren't an English team. It's not about the stealing of jobs, it's about a team called "Arsenal" which is part of the "English Premiership" which has no players from England and no players from Arsenal. I don't care what race they are of, I care that the team is actually some kind of representation of it's namesake.

Just to be crystal clear, I wasn't accusing you of stealing a Scotsman's job! I was just drawing the obvious analogy. I think you realise this, but I don't want you to think I was having a pop so I thought I'd state it explicitly.

& like I said, the situation isn't ideal. The fact that we put out an all non-English qualified XI is a shame, but, to be fair, if Cole & Campbell were fit they'd have started, I'm sure.

A lot of it boils to to simple ecomonics too. Arsenal do not have the turnover of Man U or Liverpool & we don't have a Chelski-style bottomless pit of cash either. Wenger has made us punch above our weight performance-wise for a decade now & a lot of that is due to buying foreign players who are simply better than their English-qualified bretheren available for a similar price. Thierry Henry, a 22 year old World Cup winner when we signed him, cost £10.5 million; Theo Walcott, a 16 year old with exactly a dozen first team games, could end up costing £12 million. Hopefully when we move to the new stadium we'll be on more of an equal footing with Liverpool & Man U at least.

 

[marc71178]

Great result considering the season your team has been having, a shout at aiming for a good top 10 performance in the Championshi[?

Yes, and before the seaon I'd have settled for staying up.

Adams has done a superb job, it started when he convinced McSheffrey to sign a new contract, he's been a star.

 

[marc71178]

If I was a programmer, I'd have written it into the code that he gets sacked as soon as the game starts and can't find gainful employment anywhere else.

I'd buy that game!!!

 

[Tom Halsey]

Well United going okay at the moment.

 

[simmy]

United could have won 12-0 today.

 

[Loony BoB]

First Man U game I didn't see all of this year (well, of the ones shown on Sky / BBC), because of the Aus vs SA ODI. I did flick around between overs etc. though, and managed to see both goals and a lot of opportunities by Saha / Rooney / Ronaldo, too, though. Glad for yet another win.

 

[Matteh]

Ah, new sponsored football grounds.

The silliest one is Leicester - The Walkers Stadium, henceforth known as the Theatre of Crisps

Surely the 'Baseball ground/park/whatever it was' is/was the worst name ever for a football ground? =/

 

[luckyeddie]

Surely the 'Baseball ground/park/whatever it was' is/was the worst name ever for a football ground? =/

Time to educate the great unwashed again...

 

[Tom Halsey]

Yeah United absolutely murdered Newcastle and really should have buried them.

I'm slightly surprised at Ruud's continued stay on the bench.

I think it could be punishment for when, late in the Liverpool cup-tie, Ruud didn't chase a couple of balls which he may have been able to retrieve. Ferguson went absolutely mental. That's my theory anyway.

 

[aussie]

only saw highlights but it seems as if Man U hammered a Owenless Newcastle which is good. Maintaining 2nd place for the remaineder of the season will be good enough for me.

Also Gerrard mistake looks so similar to the one in Euro 2004

 

[Loony BoB]

Either that or Saha said he was going to leave (he's apparently been directly quoted as saying he feared Saha might leave if he was both in form and still being left on the bench). How many years does Saha have, and how many does Ruud have? I imagine if he had to choose, he'd keep the younger one and share the striker position between those two and Rossi.

 

[Matteh]

Time to educate the great unwashed again...

you understand my point though surely regardless of the history?

 

[Craig]

Just to be crystal clear, I wasn't accusing you of stealing a Scotsman's job! I was just drawing the obvious analogy. I think you realise this, but I don't want you to think I was having a pop so I thought I'd state it explicitly.

& like I said, the situation isn't ideal. The fact that we put out an all non-English qualified XI is a shame, but, to be fair, if Cole & Campbell were fit they'd have started, I'm sure.

A lot of it boils to to simple ecomonics too. Arsenal do not have the turnover of Man U or Liverpool & we don't have a Chelski-style bottomless pit of cash either. Wenger has made us punch above our weight performance-wise for a decade now & a lot of that is due to buying foreign players who are simply better than their English-qualified bretheren available for a similar price. Thierry Henry, a 22 year old World Cup winner when we signed him, cost £10.5 million; Theo Walcott, a 16 year old with exactly a dozen first team games, could end up costing £12 million. Hopefully when we move to the new stadium we'll be on more of an equal footing with Liverpool & Man U at least.

Whilst you make good points and I agree with, do you believe that English players are over-priced?

For example it cost Chelsea Shaun Wright-Phillips £21m when that is at least £6 or 7 millon too much, yet a player from somewhere else wouldn't be as expensive in transfer fee and possible wages? Dean Ashton costing West Ham £7.25m giving Norwich a £4m profit when they signed him when there was no way he was/is worth that amount.

Agree or not?

 

[BoyBrumby]

Whilst you make good points and I agree with, do you believe that English players are over-priced?

For example it cost Chelsea Shaun Wright-Phillips £21m when that is at least £6 or 7 millon too much, yet a player from somewhere else wouldn't be as expensive in transfer fee and possible wages? Dean Ashton costing West Ham £7.25m giving Norwich a £4m profit when they signed him when there was no way he was/is worth that amount.

Agree or not?

Yep. I don't think there's any question they are.

A leviathan like Chelski doesn't help either. A club finds out they're interested in one of their players & the price goes up by £5-6 million!