The Isle of Man.
:sick:
The Isle of Man.
:sick:
The Bundesliga spend will go up soon when their big TV deal kicks in too.
With all due respect, who outside Germany actually watches the Bundesliga? And when I say watch it, I don't mean Bayern v Dortmund. There are millions in Asia who wank themselves dry over Burnley v Stoke.
The highlight show is brilliant.
I'll have you know I watched Dortmund v Mainz last weekend!!!!......
...for about 10 minutes until I realized it was just a replay and not the live version.
If other leagues than the Premier league had been smart enough from the start and heavily invested on the foreign market as well, they might be just as big in Asia as the Premier league. That said, The Premier league has the colonial history (not that it's necessarily a positive thing, but in this case it means there's maybe more to relate to than say with Bundesliga) and language going for it. It's a bit like getting new things to the market. The product doesn't have to be a superior one, but if you beat everyone else to the market most of your customers will stay with you even if there's a similar new product that might even be slightly better.
edit: @jim
@Pen
i think what you're alluding to with colonial ties and what have you makes a lot of sense. I'd imagine La Liga is the most watched league in Latin American, considering just about every Latin person I know is either a Barca, Real, or recently, Atleti supporter.
The competitiveness at the very top I', more than happy to concede, but the style of play which in the case of the Premier league is more aggressive and fast paced I think comes back to the point about familiarity as 'quality' (if we pretend it's somehow measurable) is just as good in La Liga or Bundesliga. I prefer the Premier League over the others too btw.
And going back to the competitiveness argument. Had La Liga gone the same way since the nineties as the Premier league I don't think we'd be in the current situation now. It was very even and competitive 'til Rijkaards Barcelona or so.
As long as we can agree that Serie A is shit I'm happy.
I'm really looking forward to a decade of domination by RasenBallsport Leipzig personally
He's barely looked like a footballer here which is a shame. Agree with you that he looked the part but he doesn't seem capable.
You have to persevere with some of these big money Southampton signings.
He genuinely can't be any worse than some of the spastics who regularly get a game for United.
I would tend to agree but there are reports he's been laughably bad in training and if he's behind fellimania then there's probably some truth.
He wouldn't be the first good player to mysteriously down tools on Mourinho's watch.
It's probably worth sticking anyone Mourinho wants rid of into a holding pen and just waiting for him to leave. Binning De Bruyne after a fortnight should see him forever banned from running the transfers wherever he is.
*loan to Everton*
I'm sure Mendes has some chancers he can chuck our way for eleventy billion
Even 'LvG' got bored of Morgan Schneiderlin, and he ought to have been right up his bollocks defensive street.
I never thought Schneiderlin was bad when he played. Certainly wouldn't do any worse than Fellaini as a shut-the-game-down late sub.
Just get Obi Mikel in and let it be.
Mourinho can't be blamed for this one, Schneiderlin has been dogshit for us since day one.
So why does Fellaini still get game time?
Probably mate yeah.
Can't get my head round Schneiderlin not doing well at United. Maybe he isn't good when the pressure is on at a big club or maybe he's the sort of player who needs to play every week with a settled team to get the best from him.
He was comfortably our best footballer for three seasons. Only one who came close was Alderwireld.
Will be fuming if he goes to Everton or WBA and we don't make an offer.
Literally can't be worse than Fellaini.
I think it's the Pochettino factor. He seems to have a talent for taking players (that fit his system) and making them play above themselves. Danny Rose was a joke a couple of seasons back, now he's one of the best full backs about. Even Kyle bloody Walker looks decent.
Don't think that'd stay the case if Chelsea or United brought them in.
Also, what a signing Kante was. Not even because he's been particularly great for Chelsea, but because it has completely ruined Leicester. Huth and Morgan are being completely shown up without him infront of them mopping up.
If you look at teams top of the league in 2016 there is a bit of a common denominator and I don't mean Robert Huth has pissed in the shower at both clubs.
Man City should get Schweinsteiger.
Last European club my arse.
Draxler certain to leave in Jan, left out of the squad.
I don't see Arsenal buying him, Wenger will be like he spent £25-£30mill on Sanchez and Ozil's new deal already and they are like new signing etc etc - all this crap he comes out with.
I fancy Bayern will go for him
The two Dundalk lads are official at Preston. Anyone here know much about the club and how they're fixed out wide and at centre half?
Think they're good enough for that step up?
Hard to know. They both looked decent in the European games this year (that's what got them the international call-ups) but it's still a small sample size. Depends on what the club have already really. Like Towell was the standout player the previous season and is better than Horgan, he just chose completely the wrong club to go to in Brighton. If Preston are weak in the areas then at least they'll get a look and take it from there.
Didn't 'AVB' leave Russia to be with his family? What a wanker.
All the low rent functioning alcoholics in Russia didn't allow him to stand out as much as he wanted.
The Mail sez that Carlos Tevez will earn £615000 a week in China. If that is even remotely true then 1) lol; 2) the Russian and Turkish leagues will never get a half-decent import ever again; and 3) it could be a game-changer as far as declining big names are concerned. When Graziano Pelle was offered half that it basically looked like that was their ceiling, and that he was the best person they could convince to take it; but, if they are willing to spend literally anything, why would somebody like Wayne Rooney not give it a punt? At the very least it would be worth a nine month detour on your way to wheezing around the StubHub Center.
You could imagine Rooney getting twice what Tevez can get away with, if he's as big a brand as it seems. (Maybe Tevez is huge in South America though?)
I don't know what to make of the Oscar case. In a way it seems as good idea to do it now, at 25, as at the end of a career. Go there for a couple years, earn an obscene amount, then come back in your prime and focus on actual football again.
At what point do wages become so big that we regularly hear of footballers donating at least a portion of them? Beckham at PSG (100%) is the only case I know of.
I think you could survive a season, as people do season-long injuries; but three years? Between the crap coaching/facilities/teammates/opposition, your development would surely grind to a dead halt (and probably even regress), meaning twenty-eight year old Oscar will likely worse than his current self. Then, if he does come back in 2019/20, nobody decent and/or wealthy will want him, so then why take an eighty per cent pay cut to play for Bordeaux?
Play one season in China. Hooves up, forget football. Job done.
The Oscar transfer (and the whole China business in general) stinks of high level corruption. No game is going to be changed by a player of his level going there, what are all those other South American wasters up to out there? And as for the likes of Rooney, maybe it sounds a bit simple, but doesn't there come a point when enough is enough? I can see the attraction of living in LA after a life led in Bootle (although they come back), less so Chinese Industrial Centre 4817, even if they do give you your own city to live in. It's just a rich vein for the career parasites to exploit.
Whilst I understand the larger point you are making... have you been to Shanghai? A "Chinese Industrial Centre 4817", it is not. A footballing hotbed, I will give you - but there won't be any discernible lesser quality of life for someone like Oscar going to live in Shanghai.
http://cdn.ek.aero/english/images/Sh...33-2364302.jpg
For the government, sporting achievement is a way to get recognition as a proper country. To get kids interested in the sport they need some decent players/coaches. The money is bonkers but that's because they build 90% of the things on Earth out there and it's corrupt as balls.