FOOTBALL!

[John Mc]

Liverpool takeover talk again I'm afraid.

I've just read that of the £60m the Thai Prime Minister is investing, only £40m will go to the club and the other £20 million will go to existing shareholders (including David Moores of course). £40 million isn't all that much and you could probably only buy 3 real top quality players with it. Even ignoring the human rights aspects it doesn't seem to be a good deal for club but it certainly is for the existing shareholders.

[Tommy BOO]

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.................................. RIP Telford United 1872-2004
............................................................
Really really sad news. It's heartbreaking to see a club with so long traditions to go out of business. 132 years... I feel sorry for their fans, I wonder how does it feel like when there's suddenly no club to support.
"Needed a 6 figure sum to rescue them" - nothing for most Premiership clubs. Unfortunately I fear that they will be the first of many. Football is in a mess, I blame the big investors and companies that put millions and millions of pounds into football... but only to support the biggest three clubs in the Premier League.

Here are two interesting links:

The official Telford United website. The press statement can be read on the first page.

Clubs In Crisis website. Very interesting, check it out, especially the 'club list' on the left hand side.

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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[John M]

That would be awful, what do you do if the club you support doesn't exist anymore? Usually the supporters get together and set up a new team of their own, I think that's what Aldershots supporters did when they went bust.

I'm always amazed by the amount of money it costs to run football clubs, even non-league one's. In Britain at the moment theres a documentary series on TV called "Football Diaries" and part of it has been following non league team Weymouth. They play in a league two down from the Conference and it said that during last summer they spent £100,000 just on wages, sorting out the dressing rooms and all the other costs needed to keep the club running. £100,000! How the fuck do you spent £100,000 in 3 months at a non league club?

There was an article in "Private Eye" last month about Fulham, they're in a similar position to Telford but on a much bigger scale. They're totally reliant on Al Fayed's money and are something like £100 million in debt. If he ever gets into trouble or decides he's had enough of pumping money into the club then they could be in serious trouble.

[Tommy BOO]

If Barnsley FC went bust, at least I could never ever support any other club. I suppose it's too hard to imagine though, football has quite a big role in my life after all. I would probably lose my interest in all football for a long time. Later I could perhaps start to support some new club that rises from the ashes, but there's no way that I could start to support some club that already exists. You just can't change your favourite club like Kinkster did. ( casual slander )

John M... are you John Mc who just couldn't be arsed to log in, or are you someone else?
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[John Mc]

John M is indeed my alter ego on another PC which doesn't log me in automatically for some reason.

[Tommy BOO]

Crystal Palace have just beaten West Ham 1-0 in the Division One Playoffs Final. The only goal of the game was scored on 62nd minute of the game by one of my biggest footballing heroes of all time, Neil Shipperley. Not the most spectacular goal of his career, but definitely the most important one.
Good luck in the Premier League.

Neil Shipperley on the beautiful green grass of Oakwell
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Tommy BOO]

Division Two playoffs final was played earlier today...

Bristol City 0 - 1 Brighton & Hove Albion
0-1 Leon Knight 84 pen.

I feel a bit sorry for Bristol City actually, especially for their manager Danny Wilson who would have deserved a promotion this season (even though he left Barnsley and joined the arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday a couple of seasons ago) However, Brighton were impressive as well this season, so I wish them all the best in Division One next season!
Division Three playoffs final tomorrow...
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[Tommy BOO]

Also, some interesting friendly matches were played today...

Estonia 2 - 2 Denmark
Iceland 2 - 3 Japan
Scotland 4 - 1 Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia 0 - 4 Italy
Wales 1 - 0 Canada

Only 12 days left until EURO 2004 kicks off!
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[chuddy]

Brighton fans are fucking ace. I m well chuffed they got promoted.

We organised this red card protest at our last game of the season against Brighton which ultimately got rid of our twatty ex chairmen and publicised the problems at Wrexham AFC. Not only did the Brighton fans take full part in this protest, but put some of our apathetic/deluded supporters to shame with the level of their support. Loads of our fans invaded the pitch to clap the away end in appreciation after the game had finished. A genuinely touching moment.

They put up this massive 'Fans United Save Wrexham' banner for us at the game yesterday. You could clearly see it on the sky coverage. Going to the touble to do this on their day out and given that they have enough ground troubles of their own was amazing.

[Tommy BOO]

Division Three playoffs final

Huddersfield 0 - 0 Mansfield
Huddersfield win 4-1 on penalties.

Congratulations for Huddersfield as well...
The next season should be interesting for Barnsley at least, lots of local derbies - Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford, Doncaster, Hull and Huddersfield all visiting Oakwell.

Other 'news'... Claudio Ranieri, the Chelsea manager, has been sacked by Roman Abrahimovich then. Not a good decision in my opinion, Ranieri would have deserved another season at least. Abrahimovich gave him A LOT of money to spend indeed, but you can't build a good team with money only, it needs more time. I hope that he will regret this decision next season, I can't stand that man anymore - he's destroying the game with his filthy money.
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"Tommy Boo has played a pivotal role in my life. I've looked up to him since I was a kid and he has inspired every note of music I have ever written. The man is a fucking genius" -BC

[John Mc]

I feel a bit sorry for Claudio, he's done a good job at Chelsea. I'm not sure how many of the signing last summer were his idea, in the matches that mattered he usually reverted to most of the players he had pre-Abramovich. He shouldn't struggle to find a new job though and the £6 million payoff will help to cushion the blow.

Here's an article by ex-FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly about the Liverpool Thai situation:

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/comment/story.jsp?story=526609

[Kris]

What in the flying fuck are Sheffield United playing at??????

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/accrington_stanley/3765541.stm

A not best pleased Kinkster
xx
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"fashioned by the blade of a world that doesn't care,
feeling so removed, drifting thru stealing air then...
pause and think about it, try to move and shift the pain, but it's there you feel it kicking and you scream and feel alive."

[Melz]

My vote for Euro 2004 anthem:

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/35/
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"It's too beautiful to stay inside..."

[Tommy Tynans Lovechild]

chuddy - agree about brighton fans. absolute gobshites at home but a top larf to travel wiv n their campaigns have been ace (fave moment being staging a mass kickaround at toys r us car park the day it was meant to open on the site of the old goldstone). i'm chuffed they've gone up to. yer wrexham petition made its way onto pasotie (pafc messageboard) and i would trust a few of us have now signed it. i liked carlos edwards last season, very jinxy.

football is in a terrible state but there's alot of self infliction - bristol city have gambled a few million on getting promoted in the last 4 seasons but now look in a well dodgy state. however the chairmen chucked the money out in good faith and if he hadn't their fans would've been on his back - sure a chairman has to be the prudent one but fans have to accept the financial limitations of a club too, not put so much pressure on the clubs to spend and just live with the fact that if you want a stable club, it can't splash out. sure its easy for me to say this when we've risen from 90th in the FL to the first division in 3 n a bit years (whilst only spending £90k on players) but i hope i don't lay into our board for being prudent when mid-table beckons for the next few seasons.

ps - used to like danny wilson but him n tinnion haven't half spouted some shite this season, also as i have to say his city side (who i've seen about 15 times in the last 2 years when not watching pafc) were dull as dishwater to watch.

[John Mc]

Everyone's been promoted without having to do anything, isn't rebranding great:

League gets revamp

The Football League has changed the name of Division One to The Championship for next season.

In addition, Divisions Two and Three will be re-titled League One and League Two as part of the rebranding.

League chairman Sir Brian Mawhinney said: "The Championship' is a term steeped in the history of the League.

"Reclaiming it for our leading clubs will place a new enhanced emphasis on its status at the pinnacle of our competition," he added.

Mawhinney added: "Not only is it a gateway to the Premiership, it is one of Europe's leading league competitions, in terms of the standard of football being played, the high quality of stadia and the numbers of supporters attending."