ACME MANAGER

Going Down?



Ok I will admit, I used to like Arsene Wenger, he could annoy Ferguson , his teams played with style and panache, He even won things, but like the american economy he is a busted flush.
I don't know whether his recent rant against man city and their spending power, has anything to do with the fact that Arsenals owners built a soulless stadium , flats know one can afford to buy and tighter transfer budget restrictions than simon cowells trousers.
His holier than thou attitude to players pay is not due to any morals but restrictions on his yearly budget.
The recent three fold increase in Adebayors' wages , can only be down to the fact that Arsenal will fall even further, without the services of their most influential players and the famous wage cap that Arsenal never fail to mention.

This is also the man who was the first to field an all foreign first eleven, So when he accuses city of the demise of football as we know it, maybe he should look to his self and the recent purchase of flash in the pan Arshavin . Two words spring to mind "Toto" and " schillaci" . The italian who took Italia 90 by storm, whose career plummeted faster than Eddie the Eagle attached to a piano.
It's like the old pantomime joke: wheres my career? Its behind you!

Green eyed monster

Well football has died according to football commentators at the moment and who is the murderer?
Manchester City and their billionaire owners bid for Kaka. Lets get this straight, football has never died or will die. yes its changed out of recognition and footballers are now getting paid (sic) amounts of money .
Who are we to dictate how the Arabs spend their money, its not debt, its not a loan taken out on the ground ,its not borrowed money.
Man Utd went from the most profitable club in the world to being in debt because of their new owners not having the money to buy the club ( funded entirley by the banks) , liverpool were bought out and currently cant afford to build their new stadium.
I was against shinawatra and his ill gotten gains, but all this money is funded by private investors ,with no bank debt at all, so for the moment city fans can just enjoy the ride and let the green eyed monsters who started all this, look on from their debt ridden clubs...

Team Dis-united Kingdom

Lets get straight to the point can you tell me who won the last Olypmic football tournament in Athens? ,
didn't think so...
With The british teams clamour to have a football Team GB in the Olympics some relevant issues have been forgotten,

Is the Olympic tournament an important competition?

The fact that most football fans cant reel of the names of the winners should answer that. Out-with Brazil, Argentina and some African countries no one is interested or excited by this tournament. Olympics should be the pinnacle of a sport.
An under 23, with 3 over age players is not the summit of football excellence.

Britain should have an Olympic football team !

The Scottish, Welsh and N.Irish F.A are all against it , only the English FA is for a team. This makes 3 out of 4 British FAs against and the last time I looked Britain was a democracy. Sebastian Coe has said "this deal is done and dusted"..Well excuse me ,The sheer arrogance of the man ignoring the rest of Britain.

The Home Nations wont be amalgamated !

yes and who said this ,Sepp Blatter, The man of a thousand faces. The fact is other countries and Fifa officials resent the fact that the home nations have a pemanent place in F.I.F.A . The most outspoken being Jack Warner from concacaf , and why do we have our seat at the top table? After the war F.I.F.A was bankrupt and the home nations arranged international games and donated money to save F.I.F.A and as a mark of gratitude for their help and place in the origins of modern football Scotland ,England and Wales were given one out of eight vice-presidents role on a permanent basis .

Dont be miserable its a one off

Football should not be at the Olympics, It may be a hard concept to understand but football fans do want to watch other sports and sometimes we think there is too much football. Quantity does not equate quality. Football dominates the media for 99% of the time, couldn't we have two weeks without football. If I was an Athlete I would be slightly peeved at the attention the football team is getting at the moment and we still have 4 years to go. This issue will magnify as we approach 2012 and I expect significant fallout from the issues raised .

you wont believe your eyes

Bayern Munichs over the top Kit Launch ...

Somebody else for f@#k sake

With the Scottish premier league starting Saturday ,lets hope the "other " teams outside the old firm put on a good challenge, wouldn't it be refreshing for someone from out-with the big two to win the league,
This can happen at an unlikely place ..Falkirk, If Falkirk can beat rangers, and there is no better time, that would inspire other teams to have a go at rangers and Celtic, the signs have been there with teams winning or drawing against the old firm more frequently ,

As a teenager in the eighties it was Aberdeen and Dundee utd who provided stern opposition . I believe there are many teams in the SPL who can give Rangers and Celtic a good game,
Dundee Utd are my tip to upset the odds , Craig levein will be using the injustice felt playing the old firm last season and has acquired a great striker with the sublime name Prince Bauben , Hearts seemed to have found a manager who talks a good game, lets hope he can deliver,
My focus will be in that small town Falkirk where the football giant Rangers could fall to "David" yogi Hughes(manager of Falkirk) .. Heres hoping for some upsets !

P.S the same could be said about the EPL...

Shame on you

Well looks like there is two English men connected with football at Euro 2008, Webb the referee and Steve Mclaren.
How can Mclaren have even accepted the job for Radio five Live when he failed to qualify with England , at least the main culprits, the players, are doing something productive with their time, Rooney got married and Ferdinand is in Africa helping with his fooball foundation .

Mclaren who was quoted as saying " none of the Croatian fans have bought me a drink they should be thanking me"

Im sure a few England fans could think of a what to do with a pint of beer if they met Steve Mclaren.
This reminds me of when the tactical genius that is Bertie Vogts also failed even more spectacularly with my beloved Scotland, only for me to find out he was commenting for German TV at the World Cup, I was watching a game and you could imagine my thoughts when I spotted the grinning Bertie Vogts in the crowd and spluttered my coffee over the carpet,.
and I quote Berti vogts before the World Cup "Scotland will go to the World Cup, we will not be in the stands eating hotdogs and drinking Coca Cola"......

I rest my case.

Hang your heads in shame Messrs Vogts and Mclaren. Its like sticking two fingers up to the fans.

Just when you thought all hope was gone

Has a bright light ignited in the English Premier Greed league,

Could this be the start of a philanthropic era... well its a start.

Aston Villas owner Randy Learner has donated this years shirt sponsorship to Acorns Childrens hospice in Birmingham which will boost the charitys publicity,
The Charity will not receive money directly, but will gain in the media attention this will attract. Randy learner is seen by those in the football world as one of the few chairman in the EPL who has a genuine love of football .

Some cynics have said this years sponsorship is due to the fact that, last years sponsor, an internet betting company would not be allowed to be marketed in the American sector and that, Aston Villa were struggling to find a sponsor at the bargain price (by Premiership standards) of 2 million pounds. Lets take it at face value and applaud Aston Villa and wish the childrens charity a boost in funds this year

Acorns Childrens Hospice website

Best Chant of the Season

which colour suits me darling...


goes to Manchester City Fans to the tune of Pink Floyd "The Wall"

"we dont need no Phil Scolari......We dont need no false control.....HEY..THAKSIN..Leave our Sven alone"

Which I think you will agree scans perfectly.


The worst, from Rangers fans to the tune of "heads shoulders, knees and toes"

"Nakamura ate my dog , he sliced, he diced it .. he put it in a wok.."

first its Koreans who ate the dogs (well 10% ,according to statistics) and a Wok is Chinese.....
Maybe something about a whale would have been funnier...

Whats good for the goose....

Can we take the recent criticism of Glasgow Rangers tactics in the UEFA cup seriously, especially from Italy, the home of the "cattenaccio" . The Italian Manager blasted rangers tactics saying that , rangers played for penalties.
Indeed Messi of Barcelona also called it "anti- football" . Walter Smith has stuck with the 4-1-4-1 which have seen Rangers keep many clean sheets during their Euro campaign and have played with a maturity which sometimes lacks in Scottish teams in Europe.
On another matter concerning Rangers fixture pile up, this is a combination of unforseen circumstances, although the least the SPL could do was cancel the Rangers v Dundee utd game . Celtics cry of not extending the season to "protect the leagues integrity" is nothing more than "protecting Celtics interest" and when is the last time Rangers and Celtic cared about the Scottish games reputation, They would rather play in the EPL .
The SPL is not a seperate entity it is made up of the member clubs, in essence judge and jury so whats good for the goose.....

"give me the Scottish game for Chri#ssakes"

Watch this clasic clip from the eighties of the scottish television programme "Sportscene" turn up the volume when the veteran Archie Mcpherson speaks to his producer on "the phone", And thats not a bad shot from the bowling....

Caarrrrazy Chairmen

Man City fans and Manchester Evening News have started SAVE SVEN CAMPAIGN. whether or not you agree with Svens appointment in the first place, what fans must do, is stop the Autocratic style of the new chairman who has had no previous connection with City ,

Me personally, get rid of the Chairman... who cant make this weeks game, due to dealing with the corruption case in Thailand,

you can find the link HERE

Plank, As, Thick, A.....

Wood , wood everywhere (fill in your own joke here).
Who says money does not equate style.
Phil Neville , son of Neville Neville and brother of Gary Neville and husband to Julie Neville , invite you to peruse their grand home ,yours for 4m quid.
Note the wrought iron gates with "P" and "J" so that the happy couple dont forget whose house it is.
Why not change it to " Ne VIlle "..ged it ... ged it!

click here to take a tour of the Manor

Art

Southampton unveiled the new statue of
"Mr Southampton" Ted Bates after the original statue was taken down , just a week after fans complained about the statues proportions and the fact that it looked like Jimmy Krankie!



judge for yourself
Fandabidozi ?

American English

Now that the furore over the "39th" EPL game has died down, perhaps we could take a few lessons from our American cousins.

Salary Capping. If it can work in the leading capitalist country in the world, it can work in the premiership. Does paying higher wages mean a higher quality of football. The wages have spiraled out of control ,take for instance Michael Owen arriving at cheltenham in his helicopter. This is a man who has lived on ONE goal 10 years ago, to justify his weekly wages of 103,000 pound a week. AAH! I here you cry... " look at his England record". The trouble is England dont pay his wages. The average player in the premier was paid 13,000 pounds a week in 2006 this was excluding bonuses etc, which can add 60-70 %.

Every new TV Contract, the EPL announces the fans will benefit in lower ticket prices, but the fans are not turning up to games now, only the top 4 can fill their grounds, football fans under 30 are not used to going to games, preferring to watch "the Game" down the pub. The only people who gain are the players. Average players are getting fantastic wages which do not match their skill level. If the Premiership is so full of talent, how many English players are sought by other leading leagues around the world?... The reasons being, lack of technical ability and over -inflated wages and fees.

The Premiership in England will collapse and nearly did until Roman Abramovich came in and distorted the market once again, after the intial buzz of the EPL died off.
Roman Abramovich, when taking over Chelsea mentioned to UEFA officials that he wanted to copy American sports , in eventually making Chelsea a franchise club in a European league. Wake Up or lose your Game!.

Money for old rope

You have to feel for the modern day footballer.Once they have finished their illustrious careers,bringing joy and entertainment to countless millions you would think they would be happy to put their feet up and open a pub or a laundrette (in Frannie lee's case).But no they are then forced to bring their knowledge of the beautiful game to our small screens,radios etc.... .

The days of listening to one commentator;Coleman,Butler,Jones trying to capture the drama of the game with a sense of gravitas are long gone.Nowadays much of my time is spent shouting at the TV as the 'expert' once again informs me that "the lad has hit it and its gone in" If stating the bleeding obvious wasn't enough they then continue to underline the fact that footballers (past -post 1970 and present) arent able to string together a simple sentence.Maybe its my pedantry or choice of career but there is nothing wrong in using the past simple.

The likes of Warren Barton-what did he achieve in the game? giving his twopenneth on the failings of goalkeepers and strikers makes one reach for the remote or the cat! However his fellow former wombles such as Robbie Earle and Effan Okoku do a fine job and much as it pains me as an Englishman the Scots seem to produce some fairly erudite and knowledgable pundits.

All I want is for someone to give me a bit more insight into what a player does beyond what I can see on the screen.

Simpler times

The recent Manchester derby not only gave the city a chance to commermorate and remember sadly departed heroes but it also provided a reminder to those who are older than 20 what it was like to watch a football game without sponsors names on shirts.I wasnt around 50 years ago but i can certainly remember the days of pre advertising.Seeing United and City battle it out in their simple kit certainly created a feeling of nostalgia of a time when football wasn't about money and fleecing the fans.

Real Heroes

in this day and age of highly paid mercenaries otherwise know as "top flight footballers" , It was with great joy that I came over an article of a footballer who put principles above anything else, his name was Matthias Sindelar an Austrian who refused to play for Hitlers combined German and Austrian Team and who was part of the Austrian wonder team in the early thirties who destroyed the superpowers of European football at the time Scotland, 5-0 (who had never been beaten on the continent) .
This lead to a run of games , hammering Germany 6-0 and 5-0, France 4-0 . hungary 8-2, etcetera. the run only coming to and end 3 years later against the Czech Republic, read the fascinating article below

Matthias Sindelar Article

Who says politics and football dont mix!

Good Guy gone

The year for Scottish football ended on a sad note with the sudden death of Motherwell Captain Phil O' Donnell(35) , the former Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday player was the consummate professional and regarded by players and Journalists as on of the games nice guys, He died as a result of heart failure a post mortem revealed.
My personal memory of him was the Classic Scottish cup Final between Dundee Utd and Motherwell, in 1991, before the game the media were reporting that it would not be a good game without the old firm, but along with the fans and the players, made it one of the best games in the history of the Scottish Cup Motherwell wnning 4-3, with the young Phil O 'Donnell playing a blinder and scoring the winning goal, in his first season with Motherwell alongside the legendary Davie Cooper,

Davie Cooper also died over ten years ago at the age of 39 , Phil O Donnell leaves a wife and four Children, Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

Seasons Greetings

Net Fishing

About 13 years ago I entered my first internet cafe with a more technical minded friend , having no idea what the internet was and the thought of going to a cafe and playing on a computer was an idea , " that will never take off ". My very first search on the net , I thought was obscure .....Japanese football , I delighted at reading the exotic names Yokohama Marinos , Nagoya Grampus Eight.




Well, I have rediscovered the joys of searching obscure leagues around the world and some of the great names for teams . Step forward the Trinidad and Tobago National league , teams like , Defence Force , Joe Public. or the coolest name at the moment in the Kiribati league, Christmas FC . Of course playing out of Christmas island, or there is the Zanzibar Leagues' Sharp Boys,

I highly recommend this pastime ..Go on think of a country and get clicking.