Finally the Celtic board saw sense and got rid of Tony Mowbray. He was put up with for a long time by some fans whilst others just did not bother going to Celtic Park to watch the team play. Probably in protest to the fact he turned us into the defensively leaky West Brom outfit he led to relegation in the English Premier League.
Neil Lennon, now at the managerial helm at paradise, kicked off his reign with a pleasing 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock. The goals coming via a Robbie Keane brace and Scott Brown effort.
After the blood bath at St Mirren on wednesday night gone, any positive result would have been accepted with open arms by the Bhoys today. Long live the reign of Lennie, thats if the board don't find a cheaper waged manager. C'est la vie on Mowbrays era now it is time to look onward to a successful end to the Celts season.
In other football news, Arsenal drew with Birmingham 1-1, Nasri scoring for the Gunners and Kevin Phillips scoring a late stoppage time equiliser. Chelsea beat Aston Villa 7-1 with Lampard getting 4. Its amazing what Christine Bleakley can do to your form.
Showing posts with label celtic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celtic. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Sportsocracy - 22nd edition - Ch ch changes
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Sportsocracy - 8th Edition - The Celtic Tour - Part 2
The tunnel was dark, the hair on my neck was standing up and the feeling was electric. I got goose bumps as I started to think about the players that had walked out of this very tunnel in recent years. Lubomir Moravcik, Paul Lambert, Chris Sutton, Tom Boyd, Henrik Larsson and the like.
I strolled out near the dugout where legend after legend has sat. I looked around the astounding ground and then took a deep breath. This was paradise and I was pitch side with the consecrated turf a matter of a few small feet away from me.
The grass blowing in the slight breeze, the emerald green pitch it was that flat and well looked after it looked like a billiard table. The white outline of the pitch was bright as though it was applied that very day. It was a good feeling knowing this pitch was the SPL champions territory.
A sly pigeon scathed the sky above Celtic Park, I watched it as it swooped over and around the stadium, over the pitch and then it disappeared from sight above the stanchion of the Jock Stein Stand. I was drawn to the thousands of seats and the layout of the inside of the stadium.
Its beauty like no other, yet silent, tranquil at this very moment with me knowing very well come match day this place was a fortress far from serenity with an army of green and white hooped fans willing to cheer their team to the very last second, until the very last breath. This is the definition of what football fanaticism is.
The comfort of the Celtic dugout gave me a feeling of fulfilment, a feeling as if I was a child again. To see what the manager see's to even grace the Celtic bench was pure exhilaration. Every step I took here I knew I was etching another milestone on my short life.
After Soaking in the view from the dugout It was time to then briskly move onwards towards the "fancy" seats up in the stand behind the dugout. The tour group scaled the steps up to no other than Billy Connolly's match day seat.
It was absoloutely astonishing to see the "Big Yins" seat. One of the all time great comedians, in my eyes the best stand up comedian ever and I was stood next to his seat. The windswept and interesting character that is Billy Connolly had this seat attributed to him by Fergus McCann on the 3rd of August 1996.
A couple of rows up from Billy Connolly's seat was Rod Stewarts settling spot. Rod, a music legend, is well known for his love of football and as facts go he also has a premier standard football pitch next to his house. He is a regular visitor to paradise to watch the hoops play.
In the rock star style Rods chair was broke, 'typical' but ironic as some would presume of the rock star "Throw your TV from your hotel window" stereotype. My focus did not wane as I tried not to become dis-illusioned with this surrealist moment inside Celtic Park.
Moving away from Rods seat, we climbed a shade higher up the stairs until we reached an opening and a set of steps back down into the depths of the background of Celtic Park. We followed a slight corridor towards another room on entry it looked like a small home cinema.
Around six rows of dark green chairs each row with ten or so seats. With a big screen around 6 foot by 5 foot and small entertainment system below it. Spaced around the room on the walls to my amazement was shirt upon shirt from masses of Celtic legends.
Each shirt framed in polished authentic mahogany and shimmering finely glistened glass. What a spectacle this was, again I was in awe and disbelief, framed shirts from generations of legends ranging from the consummate Billy McNeill to the goal scoring machine Henrik Larsson to the temperamental Italian Paulo Di Canio and 'Champagne' Charlie Nicholas. The wow factor was overwhelming.
I sat in the front row of seats, just a matter of a couple of feet away from Henrik Larssons shirt hanging on the wall. I chose my seat wisely so I could soak up the monumental moment of being sat in this room. Then the lights dimmed as the tour guide played a short video about Celtic and its history.
The show was a historic Celtic timeline showing video clips and images from 1888 to present day. The short entertaining documentary covered everything Celtic from Brother Walfrid finding the club to the days when 100,000 people attending old firm matches was a regular thing.
The entertaining video covered the days when Jock Stein held the managerial reigns at Parkhead, to the dark days when Rangers ruled year after year, then the act of god in 1997 Wim Jansen stopped the rot and won the title which stopped Rangers gaining ten titles in a row.
In this same squad Wim Jansen had a player which was signed from Feyenoord for £650,000, a dreadlocked Swedish unknown striker, his name Henrik Larsson. The video presentation went on through the Martin O'Neill years the triple, the UEFA Cup Final and to present day events at the club.
Then finally the conclusion of the video meant the conclusion of the tour. It was then time to take any last photographs in this memorable room, afterwards we followed our tour guide out of the room and back to the club reception area situated just inside the main entrance.
We gave our farewells and that officially concluded the tour itself. Back outside the ground in the cold but fresh Glasgow air, I said to myself what a day to remember. I will never forget this moment for so many reasons, a pure un-forgettable tour full of cherishable moments.
I strolled out near the dugout where legend after legend has sat. I looked around the astounding ground and then took a deep breath. This was paradise and I was pitch side with the consecrated turf a matter of a few small feet away from me.
The grass blowing in the slight breeze, the emerald green pitch it was that flat and well looked after it looked like a billiard table. The white outline of the pitch was bright as though it was applied that very day. It was a good feeling knowing this pitch was the SPL champions territory.
A sly pigeon scathed the sky above Celtic Park, I watched it as it swooped over and around the stadium, over the pitch and then it disappeared from sight above the stanchion of the Jock Stein Stand. I was drawn to the thousands of seats and the layout of the inside of the stadium.
Its beauty like no other, yet silent, tranquil at this very moment with me knowing very well come match day this place was a fortress far from serenity with an army of green and white hooped fans willing to cheer their team to the very last second, until the very last breath. This is the definition of what football fanaticism is.
The comfort of the Celtic dugout gave me a feeling of fulfilment, a feeling as if I was a child again. To see what the manager see's to even grace the Celtic bench was pure exhilaration. Every step I took here I knew I was etching another milestone on my short life.
After Soaking in the view from the dugout It was time to then briskly move onwards towards the "fancy" seats up in the stand behind the dugout. The tour group scaled the steps up to no other than Billy Connolly's match day seat.
It was absoloutely astonishing to see the "Big Yins" seat. One of the all time great comedians, in my eyes the best stand up comedian ever and I was stood next to his seat. The windswept and interesting character that is Billy Connolly had this seat attributed to him by Fergus McCann on the 3rd of August 1996.
A couple of rows up from Billy Connolly's seat was Rod Stewarts settling spot. Rod, a music legend, is well known for his love of football and as facts go he also has a premier standard football pitch next to his house. He is a regular visitor to paradise to watch the hoops play.
In the rock star style Rods chair was broke, 'typical' but ironic as some would presume of the rock star "Throw your TV from your hotel window" stereotype. My focus did not wane as I tried not to become dis-illusioned with this surrealist moment inside Celtic Park.
Moving away from Rods seat, we climbed a shade higher up the stairs until we reached an opening and a set of steps back down into the depths of the background of Celtic Park. We followed a slight corridor towards another room on entry it looked like a small home cinema.
Around six rows of dark green chairs each row with ten or so seats. With a big screen around 6 foot by 5 foot and small entertainment system below it. Spaced around the room on the walls to my amazement was shirt upon shirt from masses of Celtic legends.
Each shirt framed in polished authentic mahogany and shimmering finely glistened glass. What a spectacle this was, again I was in awe and disbelief, framed shirts from generations of legends ranging from the consummate Billy McNeill to the goal scoring machine Henrik Larsson to the temperamental Italian Paulo Di Canio and 'Champagne' Charlie Nicholas. The wow factor was overwhelming.
I sat in the front row of seats, just a matter of a couple of feet away from Henrik Larssons shirt hanging on the wall. I chose my seat wisely so I could soak up the monumental moment of being sat in this room. Then the lights dimmed as the tour guide played a short video about Celtic and its history.
The show was a historic Celtic timeline showing video clips and images from 1888 to present day. The short entertaining documentary covered everything Celtic from Brother Walfrid finding the club to the days when 100,000 people attending old firm matches was a regular thing.
The entertaining video covered the days when Jock Stein held the managerial reigns at Parkhead, to the dark days when Rangers ruled year after year, then the act of god in 1997 Wim Jansen stopped the rot and won the title which stopped Rangers gaining ten titles in a row.
In this same squad Wim Jansen had a player which was signed from Feyenoord for £650,000, a dreadlocked Swedish unknown striker, his name Henrik Larsson. The video presentation went on through the Martin O'Neill years the triple, the UEFA Cup Final and to present day events at the club.
Then finally the conclusion of the video meant the conclusion of the tour. It was then time to take any last photographs in this memorable room, afterwards we followed our tour guide out of the room and back to the club reception area situated just inside the main entrance.
We gave our farewells and that officially concluded the tour itself. Back outside the ground in the cold but fresh Glasgow air, I said to myself what a day to remember. I will never forget this moment for so many reasons, a pure un-forgettable tour full of cherishable moments.
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Sportsocracy - 8th Edition - Back from Glasgow Celtic Tour Edition - Part 1
Since the 10th of April I have been away in Bonny Scotland, as the Clichéd saying goes. I think the tourist board should take note of this one "Scotland - It’s more than bonny and it has the Clyde".
Scotland is brilliant place to stay in, the people are more than welcome and the pound shops have souvenirs worth buying. Glasgow was my habitat for my trip away and the architecture is astounding mainly thanks to Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Glasgow’s historic 'mr art nouveau' had imagineered some of Glasgow’s most beautiful buildings. One of relevance possibly being the stylistic hotel looking building situated off Renfrew Street which now has a Tesco lying in its base. This structure in particular is a visually eye opening building which catches the eye and gives you the definition of what Mackintosh was all about.
Charles Rennie may have had some great architecture ideas but he did not put down the blue prints for Celtic Park. The Paradise ground tour experience was well worth the money paid. The tour all kicked off outside the Celtic Superstore when our tour guide greeted us.
A group of no more than 15 of us then followed our guide and mazed our way through the small car park, which the statue of Celtic founder, Brother Walfrid watches over until we got to the main reception entrance and entered history.
It was a milestone in my short life as this was the first time I have graced behind the scenes at Celtic Park, and my first time back in Celtic Park since I watched Celtic run out 2-0 winners against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in November 2006.
As we entered the building the group was initially led to a side room on the left with a small corridor which looked so fancy it could have been the inside of a palace. The walls of all covered with a shining ebony coloured timber with a pulchritudinous varnished wooden door.
Then as these doors opened a sightful boardroom-wooden table and chairs faced me and then to my left a small bronze statue of Brother Walfrids head and shoulders on a marble plinth and I then glazed to my right and history shone in my face.
The epitome of excellence gleaming and shining in the natural light of the room. Silverware, trophy after trophy in a cabinet the length of a double decker bus. The glimmer of Celtic success was breathtaking.
I soaked up the moment of seeing the 1967 European cup with my own eyes for the first time. The most historic and important piece in the whole Celtic cabinet. The light twinkled off its curved silver contours, a piece raised high in the air by 'Cesar' himself.
The trophy which Billy McNeill held aloft in Lisbon was sat inches from my gaze, a moment to treasure. The cabinet had a range of pieces stemming from the first trophy won to present day accomplishments.
Present day trophies included Japanese internationalist, Shunsuke Nakamuras PFA player of the season award (06/07) to Gordon Strachans manager of the year award (06/07) as well as the swoop of last seasons 06/07 trophies.
After this visioning of Celtics victorious history we went onwards to a corridor off he end of the room. In the dead centre of this corridor was a glass case with the late Phil O’Donnell’s Motherwell and Celtic shirt.
To the right encased in a glass cabinet was legendary Celtic goalkeeper John Thompson’s shirt, who died tragically in an old firm game. Then towards the far left end and the way out of the room was a special edition shirt encapsulating a cup competition which all that where involved had a colour on the shirt.
On exiting this room we headed onwards and towards the nitty gritty, the inside heart of Celtic Park. The place in which the finely tuned athletic machines prepare for battle, where matches are tactically won and mid-match encouragement is given, the changing rooms.
At first glance the dressing room was quite compact with a variable mixture of cases of sports drinks and Lucozade placed around the room. A bench made its way round the square outer edge of the room in front of the lockers.
The room was only about 20ft by 20ft to my estimation but you got the idea of closeness and team ethic that courses from the manager through to the Celtic squad. I was in awe and dis-belief with the match shirts hung up on display in front of the lockers, Georgios Samaras, Shunsuke Nakamura and Jan Vennegoor Of Hesselink.
The tour guide insisted we take a look inside a few of the lockers and I obliged in doing so. It was a bit surreal as I delved into lockers of some of Scottish football and the world’s biggest footballing icons.
Every Locker looked different. To ponder a few, Nakamuras was full of Adidas sports items, Jean Joel Perrier Doumbe’s locker was set perfect, some lockers had not much in at all but chewing gum packets.
After a few photographs of the changing facilities we moved onwards following the guide towards the pitch. We walked passed a big sign on the wall, "Celtic jerseys are not for second best...It won’t shrink to fit an inferior player". A quote from the legendary Jock Stein reminding us of the high standards of professionalism at Celtic Park.
Onward we passed this sign and we went through a small side door and into the tunnel. The tunnel which hundreds of Celtic players have walked through before matches.
To Be Continued
Scotland is brilliant place to stay in, the people are more than welcome and the pound shops have souvenirs worth buying. Glasgow was my habitat for my trip away and the architecture is astounding mainly thanks to Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Glasgow’s historic 'mr art nouveau' had imagineered some of Glasgow’s most beautiful buildings. One of relevance possibly being the stylistic hotel looking building situated off Renfrew Street which now has a Tesco lying in its base. This structure in particular is a visually eye opening building which catches the eye and gives you the definition of what Mackintosh was all about.
Charles Rennie may have had some great architecture ideas but he did not put down the blue prints for Celtic Park. The Paradise ground tour experience was well worth the money paid. The tour all kicked off outside the Celtic Superstore when our tour guide greeted us.
A group of no more than 15 of us then followed our guide and mazed our way through the small car park, which the statue of Celtic founder, Brother Walfrid watches over until we got to the main reception entrance and entered history.
It was a milestone in my short life as this was the first time I have graced behind the scenes at Celtic Park, and my first time back in Celtic Park since I watched Celtic run out 2-0 winners against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in November 2006.
As we entered the building the group was initially led to a side room on the left with a small corridor which looked so fancy it could have been the inside of a palace. The walls of all covered with a shining ebony coloured timber with a pulchritudinous varnished wooden door.
Then as these doors opened a sightful boardroom-wooden table and chairs faced me and then to my left a small bronze statue of Brother Walfrids head and shoulders on a marble plinth and I then glazed to my right and history shone in my face.
The epitome of excellence gleaming and shining in the natural light of the room. Silverware, trophy after trophy in a cabinet the length of a double decker bus. The glimmer of Celtic success was breathtaking.
I soaked up the moment of seeing the 1967 European cup with my own eyes for the first time. The most historic and important piece in the whole Celtic cabinet. The light twinkled off its curved silver contours, a piece raised high in the air by 'Cesar' himself.
The trophy which Billy McNeill held aloft in Lisbon was sat inches from my gaze, a moment to treasure. The cabinet had a range of pieces stemming from the first trophy won to present day accomplishments.
Present day trophies included Japanese internationalist, Shunsuke Nakamuras PFA player of the season award (06/07) to Gordon Strachans manager of the year award (06/07) as well as the swoop of last seasons 06/07 trophies.
After this visioning of Celtics victorious history we went onwards to a corridor off he end of the room. In the dead centre of this corridor was a glass case with the late Phil O’Donnell’s Motherwell and Celtic shirt.
To the right encased in a glass cabinet was legendary Celtic goalkeeper John Thompson’s shirt, who died tragically in an old firm game. Then towards the far left end and the way out of the room was a special edition shirt encapsulating a cup competition which all that where involved had a colour on the shirt.
On exiting this room we headed onwards and towards the nitty gritty, the inside heart of Celtic Park. The place in which the finely tuned athletic machines prepare for battle, where matches are tactically won and mid-match encouragement is given, the changing rooms.
At first glance the dressing room was quite compact with a variable mixture of cases of sports drinks and Lucozade placed around the room. A bench made its way round the square outer edge of the room in front of the lockers.
The room was only about 20ft by 20ft to my estimation but you got the idea of closeness and team ethic that courses from the manager through to the Celtic squad. I was in awe and dis-belief with the match shirts hung up on display in front of the lockers, Georgios Samaras, Shunsuke Nakamura and Jan Vennegoor Of Hesselink.
The tour guide insisted we take a look inside a few of the lockers and I obliged in doing so. It was a bit surreal as I delved into lockers of some of Scottish football and the world’s biggest footballing icons.
Every Locker looked different. To ponder a few, Nakamuras was full of Adidas sports items, Jean Joel Perrier Doumbe’s locker was set perfect, some lockers had not much in at all but chewing gum packets.
After a few photographs of the changing facilities we moved onwards following the guide towards the pitch. We walked passed a big sign on the wall, "Celtic jerseys are not for second best...It won’t shrink to fit an inferior player". A quote from the legendary Jock Stein reminding us of the high standards of professionalism at Celtic Park.
Onward we passed this sign and we went through a small side door and into the tunnel. The tunnel which hundreds of Celtic players have walked through before matches.
To Be Continued
Monday, 17 March 2008
Sportsocracy - 4th Edition - Premiership football fixtures going global and other sports issues.
Sportsocracy - 4th Edition - Premiership football fixtures going global and other sports issues.
What money spinning encounter this could be. An extra possible league fixture for all premiership clubs to play, which would be situated on foreign soil, on a continent with the right facilities to accomodate a football match.
This could mean you get a match e.g. Fulham versus Middlesbrough - I hear you echo - what an encounter to see the premiership brand expand to foreign territory, anyways to be honest hardcore fulham and boro fans will be irate and undeniably "pissed off" that they will have to spend astronomical amounts (pending if easyjet is available and where the match is situated), to go abroad to see a match which they could have gladly gone to on home soil for a small price of the fee which they would have to pay to go abroad to watch it. Again its great for the 'bigwigs'the people in charge and its not fair on the real fans who pay week in week out to watch their team play home and away in england.
All premiership clubs eventually agreed it was a good idea, strangely some of them changing their minds and all it took was a bit of a nudge (a wedge of a couple of million each). Other than that is seems preposterous that this could go ahead, again I think its a fairytale story and a total irrational and un-imaginable idea or dispicable proportions.
For once im glad that Sepp Blatter has said something reasonable but brilliantly rash, he promised if this goes ahead it will have effects upon the English FAs bid for any world cups or major footballing events. Go Sepp, what a venemous volley to the idea he gave. All in all he is right for saying this because domestic league football and its fixtures should stay in the country it has always played its domestic football in.
If fixtures start moving around everywhere it would get silly, football would break down, the core society of fans would lose interest and eventually it would look nothing more than a smorgaasboard of premiership fixtures thrown across the globe on a Harlem Globetrotters type tour on a footballing scale of 20 clubs.
Sponsors would also be rubbing their hands together and the media would also think what a great idea lets plug it, mainly because of possible TV rights deals.
I sincerely hope that this idea does not get took seriously because if it does football would start to crumble and go on a downward spiral and lose the trust of the solid, home foundational, support.
On other football levels what a weekend for English FA cup football. The semi-finalists consist of 3 championship sides : - West Bromwich Albion, Barnsley, Cardiff City and the only premiership opposition left, the Harry Redknapp led Portsmouth. Barnsley and Cardiff gave the most shocking results of the weekend with Barnsley dispatching World Class opposition in Chelsea with a single Odejayi goal and Cardiff giving Middlesbrough a 2 nil thumping.
In the weekends SPL ties, Aberdeen nearly upset Celtic fans, when they led Celtic right upto the 91st minute. Celtic looked likely that they could be dumped out of the only cup competition they are left in. With 2 minutes added onto the 90, celtic needed a miracle, possibly one straight from the gods, ironically it was possibly from greek uber-god, Zeus himself.
The miracle came When substitute greek internationalist Giorgios Samaras arrived in the opposing box in the right channel and played a perfectly timed ball into the defensively filled aberdeen 8 yards box. It was then left upto Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to powerfully slide the ball home to set up the replay at Celtic Park, 1-1 draw. To be a Celtic fan nowadays requires a good healthy heart, and the only team that requires a GP check up before watching a match.
The replay is tuesday 18th of March, roll on, roll on, lets hope its another Celtic masterclass, god we need one.
As for the Kopites, tuesday evening was a special one as they celebrated a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro due to a finely struck long range effort from Fernando Torres, to seal the two legged tie at 3-0 on aggregate to the reds. Four british teams are now in the quarter finals of the champions league. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool make up the English quartet, with Barcelona, Fenerbache, Roma, and Schalke 04 in the mixing pot as well, the quarter finals are going to be electric.
The champions league this time around will surely see another english team in the final or will it whats your views?
Monday, 31 December 2007
SPORTSOCRACY - 1st Edition - Transfer Window
~ SPORTSOCRACY ~
Welcome, this blog has been created as a nest for the freedom of speech alongside the continuous ongoing world of sport.
Well what the hell is Sportsocracy? a word which was devised by myself and it is a hybrid of two obvious words : -
Sport - An individual or group competitive activity involving physical exertion or skill, governed by rules, and sometimes engaged in professionally.
Democracy - The right to a form of government in which power is invested in the people as a whole, usually exercised on their behalf by elected representatives. Includes freedom of speech.
(Definitions from Encarta online)
Add the two together - Sport + Democracy = Sportsocracy - and created is a world in which we can talk about sport in any manner we please. Freedom of speech with the spoken words of sport.
First topic of discussion - The football transfer window
With the January transfer window due to open in a matter of hours, and football being more money driven than it has ever been before, is it time a new process could be put in place similar to that of the NBA basketball draft system where the worse off teams get the first choices of a selection of draft players who make themselves/or their club makes them available to the transfer draft, also accounted could be swap deals.
For example - John Smiths* contract has ended with Whatever FC, he is now a free agent therefore that would make him out of contract and available for the draft system. This could apply to players who are in contract but want to leave the club they are at so the rules could be changed so a player can buy himself out of his contract after reasonable discussion with his club and therefore his name could then be put in the draft as per a conclusion of the discussion with the clubs hierarchy. (* John Smith is not a real player and is used for example purposes only)
This system could work but it would cut out transfer fees, meaning players wages could rise again and cut out agents when discussing overall transfer fees, which would mean they would push the players wage demands alot higher so the agents still get a cutback which will still be a profit.
For example right now as it stands - If John Smith moves to Real Madrid for 20 million euros/ pounds (or the currency of your choice), he is then subjected to all the usual scenarios club tour before hand, medical etc then a contract is discussed and john smith gets ££££'s per week, possibly above £50,000 a week for a top professional and pushing the £100,000 barrier then he is released to the hungry hounds for questioning as he is unveiled as the next big thing. His old club reaps nearly the entirety of the transfer fee and sits on a pretty pot of close to 20 million quid; obviously the agents involved take a cut also.
Not a bad days profit for his old club, especially if he cost sweet FA and came through the youth system. A positive for his old club yes, they have an instant margin above other clubs as cash in football breaks or makes you. The more cash you have as a club the more doors open for you to buy the better players and offer substantially large wages and bonuses. If you are a freshly promoted side up to the top division in your country, who spends little to gain profit, barriers are already in your way you cannot offer the higher wages or bonus's but you can offer top flight football and a possible below top division level average salary, but that’s were the book shuts unless a player really wants to come to your club, for example Roy Keane’s ambition to finish his playing career at Celtic, loyalty comes into consideration.
The draft could be the next step for football, it could save football and make it ever more interesting, well its got to be better than Platini wanting to rule out the slide tackle, he should be focussing his eyes on simulation (diving) and the introduction of goal line referees/ goal line technology whatever the preference with an added look over the current offside rule to improve it. For example post-draft if it happened - If Manchester United win the English Premier League title in 2009, the following season the 3 clubs coming up from the championship get first choice on the draft of players and the top gets the last pick. The draft system favours the underdogs and in the long run this could make football more appealing to the masses and giving teams a better chance and more of a competitive edge.
Its simple if your fed up of the same old top 3 or 4 clubs every season finishing in the top 3 or 4 places, the draft system could be very appealing. Another example is the SPL (Scottish premier league) - It has been dominated over the past few decades by Celtic and Rangers, this year Scottish football has come to the forefront with Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen still being in European competitions going into the new year, as well as the national team playing some absolute brilliant football possibly down to the inclusion of the ruling that three Scottish under 21 players have to be included in all league starting line ups. This has brought to the forefront some brilliant exuberant talent, Scott Brown (Celtic), Charlie Adam (Rangers), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Zander Diamond (Aberdeen), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian). This even though this is a good formula for the Scottish international game, on a league level it is still Celtic and Rangers who are dominating the league, the draft system would be perfect for Scottish football.
The draft system definitely has its positives and its negatives, but its the money spinners in football who will not want this to happen. If FIFA chose this system to go worldwide you could imagine the possible mutiny of some of the bigger clubs. In this case the possible worst case scenario for FIFA could happen, the G14 clubs (no its not that Simon Cowell managed quartet, it is all of Europe’s top clubs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G14) could formulate their own Master League, a super league consisting of nearly all of Europe’s major clubs, that is possibly the most important negative argument against the "Draft system".
Any comments will be gladly appreciated.
Welcome, this blog has been created as a nest for the freedom of speech alongside the continuous ongoing world of sport.
Well what the hell is Sportsocracy? a word which was devised by myself and it is a hybrid of two obvious words : -
Sport - An individual or group competitive activity involving physical exertion or skill, governed by rules, and sometimes engaged in professionally.
Democracy - The right to a form of government in which power is invested in the people as a whole, usually exercised on their behalf by elected representatives. Includes freedom of speech.
(Definitions from Encarta online)
Add the two together - Sport + Democracy = Sportsocracy - and created is a world in which we can talk about sport in any manner we please. Freedom of speech with the spoken words of sport.
First topic of discussion - The football transfer window
With the January transfer window due to open in a matter of hours, and football being more money driven than it has ever been before, is it time a new process could be put in place similar to that of the NBA basketball draft system where the worse off teams get the first choices of a selection of draft players who make themselves/or their club makes them available to the transfer draft, also accounted could be swap deals.
For example - John Smiths* contract has ended with Whatever FC, he is now a free agent therefore that would make him out of contract and available for the draft system. This could apply to players who are in contract but want to leave the club they are at so the rules could be changed so a player can buy himself out of his contract after reasonable discussion with his club and therefore his name could then be put in the draft as per a conclusion of the discussion with the clubs hierarchy. (* John Smith is not a real player and is used for example purposes only)
This system could work but it would cut out transfer fees, meaning players wages could rise again and cut out agents when discussing overall transfer fees, which would mean they would push the players wage demands alot higher so the agents still get a cutback which will still be a profit.
For example right now as it stands - If John Smith moves to Real Madrid for 20 million euros/ pounds (or the currency of your choice), he is then subjected to all the usual scenarios club tour before hand, medical etc then a contract is discussed and john smith gets ££££'s per week, possibly above £50,000 a week for a top professional and pushing the £100,000 barrier then he is released to the hungry hounds for questioning as he is unveiled as the next big thing. His old club reaps nearly the entirety of the transfer fee and sits on a pretty pot of close to 20 million quid; obviously the agents involved take a cut also.
Not a bad days profit for his old club, especially if he cost sweet FA and came through the youth system. A positive for his old club yes, they have an instant margin above other clubs as cash in football breaks or makes you. The more cash you have as a club the more doors open for you to buy the better players and offer substantially large wages and bonuses. If you are a freshly promoted side up to the top division in your country, who spends little to gain profit, barriers are already in your way you cannot offer the higher wages or bonus's but you can offer top flight football and a possible below top division level average salary, but that’s were the book shuts unless a player really wants to come to your club, for example Roy Keane’s ambition to finish his playing career at Celtic, loyalty comes into consideration.
The draft could be the next step for football, it could save football and make it ever more interesting, well its got to be better than Platini wanting to rule out the slide tackle, he should be focussing his eyes on simulation (diving) and the introduction of goal line referees/ goal line technology whatever the preference with an added look over the current offside rule to improve it. For example post-draft if it happened - If Manchester United win the English Premier League title in 2009, the following season the 3 clubs coming up from the championship get first choice on the draft of players and the top gets the last pick. The draft system favours the underdogs and in the long run this could make football more appealing to the masses and giving teams a better chance and more of a competitive edge.
Its simple if your fed up of the same old top 3 or 4 clubs every season finishing in the top 3 or 4 places, the draft system could be very appealing. Another example is the SPL (Scottish premier league) - It has been dominated over the past few decades by Celtic and Rangers, this year Scottish football has come to the forefront with Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen still being in European competitions going into the new year, as well as the national team playing some absolute brilliant football possibly down to the inclusion of the ruling that three Scottish under 21 players have to be included in all league starting line ups. This has brought to the forefront some brilliant exuberant talent, Scott Brown (Celtic), Charlie Adam (Rangers), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Zander Diamond (Aberdeen), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian). This even though this is a good formula for the Scottish international game, on a league level it is still Celtic and Rangers who are dominating the league, the draft system would be perfect for Scottish football.
The draft system definitely has its positives and its negatives, but its the money spinners in football who will not want this to happen. If FIFA chose this system to go worldwide you could imagine the possible mutiny of some of the bigger clubs. In this case the possible worst case scenario for FIFA could happen, the G14 clubs (no its not that Simon Cowell managed quartet, it is all of Europe’s top clubs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G14) could formulate their own Master League, a super league consisting of nearly all of Europe’s major clubs, that is possibly the most important negative argument against the "Draft system".
Any comments will be gladly appreciated.
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