2012 EPL Thread

[Adam Wrong]

He's got a 50mill release clause

[Rob]

Lol Cory your support of Arsenal amazes me to no end because your solution to all of their problems is "SPEND LOADS AND LOADS OF MONEY OR YOU'LL LOSE MY SUPPORT"

[Cory]

When you have loads and loads of money to
Spend (all reports say we had 50 mill available for transfer) and we've not replaced Song or RVP I think the object of staying a top 4 team is to spend.

I think when Spurs brings in and spends more money kn talent it makes our club look even more like a business and less a competitive team

[Ian "Wolfie" Trumps]

Lol Cory your support of Arsenal amazes me to no end because your solution to all of their problems is "SPEND LOADS AND LOADS OF MONEY OR YOU'LL LOSE MY SUPPORT"

Yep lol

[Cory]

Thank you Carzola

and Ian you can't complain, Man U does what I've been begging Arsenal to do. You guys got RVP just for the fuck of it and replaced The aging midfield with Kagawa and De Gea/Young/Valencia over past few seasons.

When you sold Ronaldo Fergie didn't just sit on that money and never reinvest it, the fans would have been wild not to spend money that's there to fill a void.

[Cory]

I hope RVP tears his acl at some point this evening.

[Jennifer]

Personal dislike of players or not, I think it's a bit much to wish an injury on somebody, especially something as debilitating as a ligament tear. I think Ronaldo is a smug prat, for example, but that doesn't mean I'm crossing my fingers for him to break his leg. Sport's too fickle for that kind of thing.

...And this is speaking as a Spurs fan, who has had every reason to dislike Van Persie for quite some time.

[Rob.B]

I hope RVP tears his acl at some point this evening.

I couldn't help but laugh that he scored a hat trick after you posted this.

[Cory]

It was before....I posted it after what disgusting act I just watched.

WHY COULDNT WE JUST SELL HIM TO JUVENTUS!

[Ian "Wolfie" Trumps]

and Ian you can't complain, Man U does what I've been begging Arsenal to do. You guys got RVP just for the fuck of it and replaced The aging midfield with Kagawa and De Gea/Young/Valencia over past few seasons.

When you sold Ronaldo Fergie didn't just sit on that money and never reinvest it, the fans would have been wild not to spend money that's there to fill a void.

There is a massive difference in the money we had for Ronald vs. RVP first and foremost. Secondly, United have always had a good policy of young players coming through the ranks to play for the club. Thirdly, I was laughing more at your comment about finding another team when times were hard.

The teams I support in any sport have a certain special meaning to me whether it be where I was born, where I lived for 4 years (Chicago based teams) or teams I have worked at (DC United). I wouldn't throw in the towel on any of these teams. Football fans in the UK specifically probably because of the amount of teams are fickle about specifically foreign supporters choosing a team to support for in some cases not a lot of reasons other than them being popular. Foreign fans are therefore tagged as being fairweather fans a lot of the time and lets be honest...how many kids in Japan have selected to support Tramere Rovers. Your comment exemplifies to me and if on a public forum of loads of football fans their isnt a real emotional bond between you and Arsenal.

I cannot express to you enough the amount of shit I get in the UK for being a United fan because despite my roots and how long I have suppported them because I have a Southern sounding accent I am tarred with the same brush as a lot of fairweather fans until I explain my roots. Even I would not classify myself as a massive United fan compared to people I have met or people who follow other clubs.

I saw sometime ago you mentioning liking Spurs I think it was...that is just unacceptable in terms of footballing allegiance. Following on from this the comment about changing teams if they continued the way they did?

I will always tip my hat to you in terms of knoweledge of football in the UK and your knowledge of worldwide football you buck a lot of trends, but you got Rob on here, Adam on here speaking about two smaller market clubs specifically I'd say Rob more than Adam as Palace are all a small market club. Never would either of these two lads dream of stopping supporting their boys WHATEVER is thrown at them. That is a massive culture you will have to understand which doesn't transcend to American sports as much...particularly younger fans. I can remember being in the 90s living in Virginia and the kid in the family I was staying with supported the Cowboys despite the fact DC was 40 minutes away and his family were avid Redskins fans. It blew my mind he would sit there and try and talk 10 year old boy smack to me about the Cowboys being great when he had ZERO affiliation with them and hadn't even visited Texas. His Dad told me he was a massive Cowboys fan...and I should respect it. I laughed and said not in a million years because he also liked the Broncos and a variety of colleges for no apparent reason either.

It's a very British thing. When the chips are down you support your club through the good and bad times. You might get pissed off, you might wanna smash your head into the wall or disagree with something, but you never say you LIKE one of their rivals or threaten to change support of a team.

TWO BIGGEST NO NOS

That was my point. I absolutely cannot stand what the Glaziers did to Man Utd and when FC United was formed a load of fans went and followed them, I wish FC United all the best and was even looking into investing in them at one stage for financial gains, but if you ask me which team I support I would always say Manchester United, even with casual trips in the last few seasons to see Exeter play with my mates.

I am off the soap box now lol, but thats what I found amusing about Rob's post. He is right. His club have fuck all money, play in the 2nd tier and will never be close to one of the top 4 teams in terms of finances, but you cut that lad open and he is Palace through and through.

[Jennifer]

Extremely well said, Sir Ian.

I mean, I don't even have a particularly close affiliation to my own club, but then, I'm from Jersey, which by default doesn't have any professional teams. But when I got into football, my dad passed on his club to me and I've been Tottenham through and through ever since. When we were 2 points from 9 games a few seasons ago, I wasn't sat around saying "I think I'm going to quit Spurs", in spite of the high level of banter I was getting about it. They're my team, and being a fan is about supporting that team when you're doing badly, as well as when you're doing good. (And believe me it's frustrating as hell how often Spurs choke when the chips are down)

--

As a semi-related thing, it's the distinction between me saying that I like Barcelona and I support Barcelona. I don't support Barca, I follow them (though my dad likes Real Madrid so I do root for them just to be a bit contrary, lol). I like watching Barcelona play and I like seeing them do well. That doesn't mean they're 'my' team. I'm gutted when Spurs draw to Norwich and West Brom. If Barcelona lost to... I dunno, Zaragoza? Don't care, I have no real affiliation with them. I guess I'm belabouring the point, but y'know...

Long story short, loving that post, Ian.

[Cory]

Yeah, you finally got me right in a way. You used to give me shit about saying I enjoy watching other teams, but I tried my best to explain in Canada I kinda just picked a team and ran with it. I caught onto Arsenal about half way through their undefeatables season because I thought the way Bergkamp and Henry played was unbelievable, and thus became a fan.

I have no personal knott, family routes/history, or hell even been to a game. (I've only actually been to a Man U and Newcastle game respectively while I was training there a few years ago). I dont know aside from playing the Fifa games what its like to support a small level club and or local team (MK Dons for the win) and I base all my knowledge on well, almost a decade of loving the sport, especially the Premier League from a far.

I guess my passion for the Philadelphia Eagles (another team I latched onto, but more popular here in North America) resembles passion for teams in the UK. Id never cheer against the eagles, no matter how many times we fail in the playoffs. I'd never think about ditching them when the times are tough or anything and this discussion more and more makes me hate where I live and how there's ZERO professional teams for me to get behind.

That being said, I can say "me find a new team" didnt have any weight(i think ive said it 2-3 times on these boards over the last two seasons), I'll always been a Arsenal fan, and always cheer for the newly promoted teams as well to upset the big dogs much like Southhampton today. I dont think it gets any tougher for an EPL fan than an Arsenal fan at the moment, even coming off a loss not only sitting on shit tonnes of cash that we DIDNT use to replace Song/Jenkinson, seeing our manager be turned from one of the most competitive coaches in the prem to a pure "yes man" to Ivan the terrible, and watching our club sell our best player...maybe the best player in the Prem to our rivals and watch him save Man U from a horribly deserving loss.

But fair post and its true. I hardly consider myself a fair weather fan, always only cheer for Arsenal, but its the lack fo having anything really connected to the club that makes me feel at any time after their HORRIBLE management that  I can move on, yet never will and endure the frustrations of any fan that travels to the Emirates every other week.

[Rob]

Yes and as I said to everyone when we were almost folded up 2 years ago, whenever anyone asked who I would support, I would not support another team. To be honest, if Palace had been folded down, I would've stopped watching club football because I have no interest in or support for any other club. Obviously I have a soft spot for Crawley and Bournemouth but I will bleed Palace and sing Glad All Over even when losing 3-0 (after many experiences of this)

Fair enough be critical of your club because nobody will ever be completely happy with their team, that's why I love football tohugh. The amount of emotion I've put into this sport and club, I am so heavily invested in it that I could never dream of flat-out not supporting a team anymore.

But I guess some fans are different to others, personally I grew up several miles away from Selhurst Park and I have loved the team for 16 years now, whereas for you football isn't something you are bought up on so the deep emotional value isn't completely there.

[Duckman]

My team have no money.  In fact my team actually died a few months ago, 140 plus years of history down the shitter and became a 'new co.' That ALL came about because the people in charge spent and spent and spent and used tax loop holes and spent and spent.  They took on horrendous amounts of debt to buy players and give mid level players over the top wages. 

Then the whole bubble burst.  The world as they knew it came crashing down around them.  We lost everything.  All our best players.  Dumped down the leagues.  The laughing stock of Scottish football.  A transfer ban until fucking 2014!

Then again we still get 50,000 plus fans at home every week even though we're now in the 3rd division of the Scottish League.  Which is about as low as you can get without actually fucking your dog.

In other words, money isn't the be all and end all.  I would take a well run club bringing through good young players and having the ability to sign TOP players (Podolski and Carzola are fucking awesome footballers) when the time is right.

Unfortunately with Chelsea and City the trend is now to buy big and win the league.

Just remember what happened to Rangers because when that buy big mentality goes tits up, the effects are like a fucking nuke going off and the aftershocks throughout the community and the economy that relies on that club are felt for years to come.

It sucks that Arsenal aren't winning trophies but it could be a fuck load worse.

Oh and I still support and watch Rangers.  It just really, really fucking hurts.  But I'll stick with them, cause we're Rangers and we don't do walking away.

Peace

Duckman

[Dorling]

The whole Rangers thing is an unfortunate sign of the times Sam.

Remember when Rangers actually had BIG players playing for them like Laudrup, Gascoigne, the De Boers, Amoruso etc?

How does a team go bankrupt paying the wages of Steven Davies and Sone Aluko?

Bad times all round.