Another Drive4show 'Anything goes' thread

[dynamark]

First topic message reminder :

He came across very poor as did fellow lib Clegg with his constant sniping at the Brexit issue.
Good riddance to both.Libs may well be a non entity now.
Tories have to proceed with caution now and build up some confidence again.

Our fire guy at work is telling us today that they really should have gone for a full evacuation at an early stage but that runs right against all previous policy putting residents and fire staff in potentially greater danger.In Blackadder terms it would have been going 'over the top'

[super_realist]

Didn't Alonso run someone over then dodge a prison sentence.  Maybe he wouldn't be the most popular pick for the national team?

Something you'll never have to worry about doing Mac. I'll keep an eye out for you in Haymarket bus stops.

[raycastleunited]

I should also add that Kyle Walker was outstanding at QPR in the Championship a few years ago. He really stood out. That is a true test, because playing for QPR usually has the effect of making great players rubbish.

As a fan also I feel I must point out that it also makes good, adequate and merely poor players rubbish also!

Except goalies. We seem to get a good stock of them periodically.

Must be the extra practise they get

I've never thought of this before, but you're right we seem to have had more than our fair share of decent keepers down the years. However, even then we manage to fock it up. Lee Camp was fantastic and on the verge of an England call up, but was thrown out of the club after chatting up Briatore's missus. Then we had Julio Cesar, arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, sitting on the bench in the Championship

[raycastleunited]

Didn't Alonso run someone over then dodge a prison sentence.  Maybe he wouldn't be the most popular pick for the national team?

Are you talking about the racing driver?

[Roller_Coaster]

Didn't Alonso run someone over then dodge a prison sentence.  Maybe he wouldn't be the most popular pick for the national team?

Are you talking about the racing driver?

He was offered an alternative to time inside. A stint at McLaren.

[McLaren]

The chelsea right back.

But good one from roller anyways.

[McLaren]

Super

What do you reckon, is Neymar worth £195m?

[navyblueshorts]

Super

What do you reckon, is Neymar worth £195m?

Clearly not, but PSG apparently have an owner who doesn't care about money, wants a vanity signing and Barca have a €220m buyout clause.

[super_realist]

Of course he isn't Mac.

On the other hand though, he's foreign and capable of settling in a country other than the one he's born in, so in that respect he's got an advantage over every English player (not literally every English player before someone makes a plankish comment) ever has.

[beninho]

I will admit now that Dele Alli would not go for a world record transfer fee if sold. Though I do think his value has risen to well over 100m in line with the ridiculous transfer fees.

[super_realist]

I sincerely doubt it, and the reason is that he'd only be bought by a British club as British players are too soft to go abroad and foreign clubs (the ones with these sort of funds and desire to spend 100m) don't generally want British players.

[beninho]

The thing is psg are rich, but really nothing special. No real history or major success. Signing Neymar doesnt make them anything special. They are so far behind, real madrid, Barcelona, Manchester united, liverpool, munich, juventus. Its such a backwards step for neymar though not in financial terms.

[pedro]

PSG has reached the CL QFs 4 of the last 5 seasons. Wouldn't say that's 'far behind' any teams.

[super_realist]

PSG has reached the CL QFs 4 of the last 5 seasons. Wouldn't say that's 'far behind' any teams.

Better than any English team for sure.

By the way, aren't all these ridiculous transfer fees contrary to the UEFA Fair play policy?

How are PSG behind Liverpool or Man United? What have either of those teams done in Europe lately? At least PSG have won their division. Have Man United or Liverpool?

[beninho]

Club stature is not based on a few successful seasons and rich owners. Its why chelsea and man city lag behind liverpool, united and arsenal. Though just my opinion. Everyone will have their own views.

[beninho]

And psg may have had sone good seasons in the champions league, they are still less successful then chelsea, liverpoool and united.

[pedro]

Its why chelsea and man city lag behind liverpool, united and arsenal.

And Leeds United?

[super_realist]

Who cares about ancient success when comparing current teams?

The point is that Neymar going to PSG is certainly no worse than going to Chelsea, and arguably better than going to Liverpool or Man United. Do you think Neymar gives a toss that Man United last won the Champions League whilst he was probably still wearing nappies?

You'll be telling me that PSG aren't as good as Forest, Villa and Celtic next.

Football fans put far too much stall on ancient history. Do you think anyone at Man City cares about Burnley, Everton or Stoke's history? Of course not, so why care about Liverpool's ancient Champions League win in 2004 or when ever or Man United's last win.

Obsession with history is part of the reason that England are so bad internationally too.

[SmithersJones]

Obsession with history is part of the reason that England are so bad internationally too.

And that doesn't just apply to football/sport.

[pedro]

Smithers
Thought the same

[McLaren]

Super

Man utd won the champions league in 2008 and reached the final in 09 and 11. They also reached the QF in 2014. Are you also forgetting they are currently the Europa league champions. That is more European success than PSG have ever had.

[beninho]

Who cares about ancient success when comparing current teams?

The point is that Neymar going to PSG is certainly no worse than going to Chelsea, and arguably better than going to Liverpool or Man United. Do you think Neymar gives a toss that Man United last won the Champions League whilst he was probably still wearing nappies?

You'll be telling me that PSG aren't as good as Forest, Villa and Celtic next.

Football fans put far too much stall on ancient history. Do you think anyone at Man City cares about Burnley, Everton or Stoke's history? Of course not, so why care about Liverpool's ancient Champions League win in 2004 or when ever or Man United's last win.

Obsession with history is part of the reason that England are so bad internationally too.

1- stature of a club is based on many things, including past success. But if you only want to look at current success, psg aren't even the best team in france.

2- joining psg is certainly no worse then joining chelsea, thats true, but I haven't said it is,I haven't said its better or worse than joinning Liverpool or united. I think they are bigger clubs, and united are probably better. It is a step back from Barcelona though. I

3- no I wont, that would be daft. I would argue celtic are a bigger club though.

4- football is as much about history as it is current day, if you are a fan, we know your not, you enjoy and embrace the history of your club and tge game. I recall games from years ago that I attended and watched. I would expect most football fans to agree. Vlubs are built on history.

5- history of football has no impaxt on englands international performance, as its similar in most football countries. Thats a nonsense statement. Brazil still obsess over the 1950 something world cup they lost to Uruguay. Munich have a museam, as does Barcelona. Both very interesting if you are a fan of football.

[super_realist]

Yes, it's a step back from Barcelona, but so would joining Man United, Chelsea or certainly Liverpool. Liverpool especially are only big due to heritage and certainly not any recent achievement, finance or stadium.

Celtic bigger than PSG? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Let's look at finance shall we?

We are talking about why Neymar would want to move to PSG (other than it being financial) and history has NOTHING to do with it. Can you imagine if Liverpool or Celtic offered the same money. Would he move? Not a chance. PSG are much more of a pull than toss losers like Liverpool.

To clarify my point on history, I'm talking about England obsessing over where they think they ought to currently be based on their history in 1990 and 1996. They have this ridiculous assumption that because they've been to two semi finals that this is the level they ought to be at every tournament. Nothing could be further from the truth and it is this false opinion that they are a top team and that they should be getting to this level which is their undoing.
No other country thinks they have this right to be considered a top team when they ought to be realising they are makeweight.

[beninho]

1 - agree, all woukd be a step back. But just had that liverpool are valued higher then psg and have a bigger stadium. Sone general football knowledge for you.
2- its more then finances, though if it is, both manc clubs, arsenal, liverpool, tottenham, are all valued higher then psg, so are they bigger clubs?
3-it seems that ge wants to move to get out of messis shadow, Brazilians have a history of success in the balon dor, he is supposedly under pressure to do the same. Its a pointless arguement on whether he would have joined another club for the same money, as its a complete unknown.
4- I honestly cannot recall anyone expecting success based on previous performance fir england, in fact it seems to be a real lack of enthusiasm and belief in the national team. But believe what you want.

[super_realist]

Come one Beninho, after all the debacles in the last half dozen tournaments England have always been heard to say stuff like "We should be beating teams like USA, Sweden and Iceland" Why? Based on what? They've failed more regularly then they've had success so this QF/SF expectation is more ridiculous than expecting to prevail against teams they consider lesser.

I don't blame Neymar for leaving Barcelona, he was always number 3 there and so wanted to play in a team which makes big signings and which reaches latter stages of the Champions League. I can't see him doing that in Britain not to mention the teams not being glamourous. English teams have been crud in that regards lately whilst the league is laughably over-rated. (probably better than France though)

As for finance you know very well I was talking about you saying that Celtic were a bigger team. In what way are Celtic a bigger team? More cod Oirish fans who do nothing for the club in terms of support and finance?

[beninho]

He wouldn't cone to england, he wouldn't get the 650k pw and no one would pay the fee. And its a much better league then ligue 1, he wouldnt score 40 goals a season here. Psg will likely win the league, after Monaco have sold the best players, without neymar anyway.

[super_realist]

Of course he wouldn't come to England. Why would you if you're a top player with more money than Bill Gates?

Why wouldn't an English club pay his requested salary? You've just told me English clubs have more money than PSG.

Goes to show how bad a league it is in England when people would rather go to France.

[Be_the_ball]

Come one Beninho, after all the debacles in the last half dozen tournaments England have always been heard to say stuff like "We should be beating teams like USA, Sweden and Iceland" Why? Based on what? They've failed more regularly then they've had success so this QF/SF expectation is more ridiculous than expecting to prevail against teams they consider lesser.

I don't blame Neymar for leaving Barcelona, he was always number 3 there and so wanted to play in a team which makes big signings and which reaches latter stages of the Champions League. I can't see him doing that in Britain not to mention the teams not being glamourous. English teams have been crud in that regards lately whilst the league is laughably over-rated. (probably better than France though)

As for finance you know very well I was talking about you saying that Celtic were a bigger team. In what way are Celtic a bigger team? More cod Oirish fans who do nothing for the club in terms of support and finance?

They're not Irish fans Super, they're Scottish, you can keep them along with the shinners and bible bashers in NI. Only scrotes that wear tracksuits over here support Celtic. You can have them too.

[beninho]

Of course he wouldn't come to England. Why would you if you're a top player with more money than Bill Gates?

Why wouldn't an English club pay his requested salary? You've just told me English clubs have more money than PSG.

Goes to show how bad a league it is in England when people would rather go to France.

I cant help but feed the troll, with basically no football knowledge.....

English teams are not bankrolled by the Qataris, who need to show some sort of PR due to the county being blockaded in the middle east. They have the world cup in a number of years and need some sort of public face.

If Manchester United, Chelsea, Man City had activated the release clause, he would have probably joined them. But they are stupid, but not that stupid to spend 190m on one player in cash up front.

He has not chosen Paris over any other team except Barcelona, if anything it shows how bad the Spanish league is?

[Diggers]

If the French league is so appealing, why is all the young French talent leaving in droves, mostly to the Premiership?
Fair play to Neymar, he's probably doubled his earnings. Money is clearly a big driver here, he basically is a company and I'd imagine many people were involved in the decision. I'd say from a footballing perspective, if he is after a Ballon D'or and Champions League medals, it's a massive gamble. He is quality and will improve an already good side, but there are better sides in Europe. Be interesting to see how the English clubs go this year, I think probably a lot better but time will tell.
If Neymar ends up just winning domestic trophies in France it will be a massive mistake footballing wise, it is not a big league, not in terms of prestige or global tv viewing, which the Premiership most definitely is, regardless of the quality of the teams at any given time.

[JAS]

So...what has happened to the UEFA financial Fair play ethos. Have the Qatari owners of PSG bought the right to bury it somewhere unfindable? How can you justify 200m on one player plus wages on top for him and the rest of the squad when your average home gate is 45000. That's less than Rangers Ffs!! Unless of course the Gullible Parisians are willing to pay 500 euros a time to get in and munch loadsa PSG branded pies and bovril for the same again.

[pedro]

JAS, somebody read your post. It seems to be a Nay-mar..

[wiretapper]

The move is about Neymar the brand, not Neymar the player.

[beninho]

Read that the Qataris are looking to give Neymar £200m to be a world cup 2022 brand ambassador, he would then pay that to the Spanish FA and buy out his contract making him free to join PSG. That would be a farce, and PSG would deserve to be banned from Uefa competitions. They have previously tried to claim a 170m sponsorship deal with the Qatar tourist board, which uefa found to be dodgy.

I suppose there will be a bit of an exodus from PSG to cover some costs. Aurier is being linked with Man Utd, and Barca have the money for Verrati now. They have a few high earners they will need to get rid of.

[Diggers]

Love a person as a brand. The Apprentice greatest moment, Stuart Baggs the Brand. "I'm not a one trick pony, I'm a field of ponies."
Or something like that anyway.

[beninho]

RIP Stuart Baggs

[wiretapper]

In true 'Anything goes' style I'm going to veer well off topic to say that I saw Dunkirk in the IMAX on Monday and thought it was fantastic.

However it should be noted that I have a strong interest in WWII and therefore my opinion may not be completely objective.

Anyway on the massive IMAX screen and the sounds (jeez the sounds) it was an immersive experience the likes of which I haven't witnessed before.

5 stars

[pedro]

The transfer has gotten so much attention that I think it'll go down the drain. Don't think they can find a way for Nay-mar to pay the 200m release fee "himself", without it violating UEFA FFP or EU competition or tax law, regardless of how much money the Qataris cough up with. Obviously it's not black and white but should it come to a court ruling they will definitely look at the spirit/intention of the rules/law when weighing the case.

[Roller_Coaster]

Harking back to the Lewis Hamilton knob or not bit a while ago. I thought his "Valteri, give me a crack at the ferraris and if I can't do it you can have your place back" before doing exactly that (and losing points) offered some evidence that he's not a petulant spoiled brat (or whatever exactly was being levelled at him) but rather grown up and having integrity not often seen in the upper echelons of professional sport.

Apologies for the needlessly long sentence!

[navyblueshorts]

Of course he wouldn't come to England. Why would you if you're a top player with more money than Bill Gates?

Why wouldn't an English club pay his requested salary? You've just told me English clubs have more money than PSG.

Goes to show how bad a league it is in England when people would rather go to France.

I cant help but feed the troll, with basically no football knowledge.....

English teams are not bankrolled by the Qataris, who need to show some sort of PR due to the county being blockaded in the middle east. They have the world cup in a number of years and need some sort of public face.

If Manchester United, Chelsea, Man City had activated the release clause, he would have probably joined them. But they are stupid, but not that stupid to spend 190m on one player in cash up front.

He has not chosen Paris over any other team except Barcelona, if anything it shows how bad the Spanish league is?

Because the rest are so expert and have all the inside knowledge as a result of having played/coached at the highest levels and/or actually know all the players we pontificate about? No? Thought not...

[navyblueshorts]

Harking back to the Lewis Hamilton knob or not bit a while ago. I thought his "Valteri, give me a crack at the ferraris and if I can't do it you can have your place back" before doing exactly that (and losing points) offered some evidence that he's not a petulant spoiled brat (or whatever exactly was being levelled at him) but rather grown up and having integrity not often seen in the upper echelons of professional sport.

Apologies for the needlessly long sentence!

Yep, was some decent behaviour from Hamilton. A one off? Maybe he's finally growing up a little - had to happen some time, surely. One Swallow does not a Summer make, though...

[beninho]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/aug/03/neymar-fee-psg-barcelona-transfer-record-distorted-market

Interesting article.

[Roller_Coaster]

Ta ben.

Did recall Ronaldo (£85m) was close to doubling previous record paid for Zidane (£47m) - and at least that one seems to have been Relatively (?!?) worth it for Real, getting what would be one of the best players in the world (and for him to be at that level for a considerable amount of time).

Not so sure on Neymar being at or even possibly making it to that high a level as a player.

[Diggers]

One thing seems certain, that is despite being paid a kings ransom, Neymar will still have forgotten to pay some of his taxes.

[super_realist]

Of course he wouldn't come to England. Why would you if you're a top player with more money than Bill Gates?

Why wouldn't an English club pay his requested salary? You've just told me English clubs have more money than PSG.

Goes to show how bad a league it is in England when people would rather go to France.

I cant help but feed the troll, with basically no football knowledge.....

English teams are not bankrolled by the Qataris, who need to show some sort of PR due to the county being blockaded in the middle east. They have the world cup in a number of years and need some sort of public face.

If Manchester United, Chelsea, Man City had activated the release clause, he would have probably joined them. But they are stupid, but not that stupid to spend 190m on one player in cash up front.

He has not chosen Paris over any other team except Barcelona, if anything it shows how bad the Spanish league is?

That makes no sense at all Ben. Neymar wants to be seen as a top player. He's in the shadow of Messi and Suarez at Barcelona. If as you keep telling me, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United are bigger and have more money than PSG, you have to ask why he didn't go to any of those teams?

Chelsea are bankrolled by one of the richest men in the world and Man City by a UAE billionaire. Hardly blown out of the water by Qatar are they? You keep telling me they're richer clubs. Qatar weren't blockaded by their neighbours when they had Ibrahimovic or Beckham were they?

You say they aren't stupid enough to spend 190 on one player, but then you expect one of them to spend 100 on Delle Alli very soon? Can't have it both ways.

Because the rest are so expert and have all the inside knowledge as a result of having played/coached at the highest levels and/or actually know all the players we pontificate about? No? Thought not...

Quite Navy, I'm not sure why certain posters seem to think they are an authority on football, when they are no better than an armchair observer. Being a "fan" of a team doesn't give you special insight.

[beninho]

So as far as most people are aware, psg are the only club that have made a move and are stupid rnough to spend 189m on neymar. He hasn't joined a British club because they haven't been in for him at his buyout clause. I dare say united, chelsea and city could spend the money. I am not remotely surprised that they haven't.

Whoever Barcelona show in interedt in now, his value has just doubled.

[navyblueshorts]

One thing seems certain, that is despite being paid a kings ransom, Neymar will still have forgotten to pay some of his taxes.

Indeed. Little shyster.

[super_realist]

So as far as most people are aware, psg are the only club that have made a move and are stupid rnough to spend 189m on neymar.  He hasn't joined a British club because they haven't been in for him at his buyout clause.  I dare say united, chelsea and city could spend the money. I am not remotely surprised that they haven't.

Whoever Barcelona show in interedt in now, his value has just doubled.

But a British club wouldn't be stupid if they spent £100m on Delle Alli?

You're nothing if not inconsistent Ben.

[beninho]

I think the money being spent is incredibly stupid. I am starting to dislike football. My point on dele alli is his valuation in todays market, is now in excess of 100m. All these fees are ridiculous.

[Davie]

I fully expect Delli Belli to go to Real or Barca in the next 12 months for £100m plus. Bookmark this thread so you can apologize when it happens

[beninho]

I dont disagree with you davie. I think Barcelona will tedt the water,, I see leaks already saying messi wants him. I would also say that alli for 100/110 within 12 months is better deal than neymar at 198. I also dont think there is a hope he would go to psg. Only a big spanish club.

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