Today's Football

[Kafkaesque]

I see Liverpool and New Balance have made a new shirt - and NB's last Pool one - with PL champions stitched in, which will go on sale for 70£. Just disgusting imho. New Balance could have gone out of their partnership with Liverpool with a great deal of credit and goodwill, had they made it available at a more affordable price; given where we are with Corona-uncertainty in many people's lives and the long wait for Pool fans. Not going to pretend to know whether that goodwill would make any sense compared to how many of these shirts, they'll probably be able to sell, so just a gut feeling opinion.

Not a dig at Pool. It's football in broader terms. I've been finding myself caring less and less about my own team over the last couple of years (and needing to love Mourinho instead of Poch isn't making it any easier!). The greed from clubs and players are getting to me. Maybe I'm just getting older, don't know. I still love football as a competetive sport with people in their prime doing a sport, I love to play myself, and making it near art. But as a fan, I'm falling out of love with the game - fast!

[greenmark]

I see Liverpool and New Balance have made a new shirt - and NB's last Pool one - with PL champions stitched in, which will go on sale for 70£. Just disgusting imho. New Balance could have gone out of their partnership with Liverpool with a great deal of credit and goodwill, had they made it available at a more affordable price; given where we are with Corona-uncertainty in many people's lives and the long wait for Pool fans. Not going to pretend to know whether that goodwill would make any sense compared to how many of these shirts, they'll probably be able to sell, so just a gut feeling opinion.

Not a dig at Pool. It's football in broader terms. I've been finding myself caring less and less about my own team over the last couple of years (and needing to love Mourinho instead of Poch isn't making it any easier!). The greed from clubs and players are getting to me. Maybe I'm just getting older, don't know. I still love football as a competetive sport with people in their prime doing a sport, I love to play myself, and making it near art. But as a fan, I'm falling out of love with the game - fast!

I think price gouging in the Premier League has a long history. My view is its supply and demand. They'd soon reduce the price if no-one buys the products. So "we" as fans are complicit in this process.
The whole EPL environment is a mirror on society.

[Naffman]

I see Liverpool and New Balance have made a new shirt - and NB's last Pool one - with PL champions stitched in, which will go on sale for 70£. Just disgusting imho. New Balance could have gone out of their partnership with Liverpool with a great deal of credit and goodwill, had they made it available at a more affordable price; given where we are with Corona-uncertainty in many people's lives and the long wait for Pool fans. Not going to pretend to know whether that goodwill would make any sense compared to how many of these shirts, they'll probably be able to sell, so just a gut feeling opinion.

Not a dig at Pool. It's football in broader terms. I've been finding myself caring less and less about my own team over the last couple of years (and needing to love Mourinho instead of Poch isn't making it any easier!). The greed from clubs and players are getting to me. Maybe I'm just getting older, don't know. I still love football as a competetive sport with people in their prime doing a sport, I love to play myself, and making it near art. But as a fan, I'm falling out of love with the game - fast!

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Headless Chuck]

I think New Balance take the p generally. I have the metallic brown(!) Porto shirt from a few seasons back; think it was something like €90 four or five years ago.

[Kafkaesque]

I see Liverpool and New Balance have made a new shirt - and NB's last Pool one - with PL champions stitched in, which will go on sale for 70£. Just disgusting imho. New Balance could have gone out of their partnership with Liverpool with a great deal of credit and goodwill, had they made it available at a more affordable price; given where we are with Corona-uncertainty in many people's lives and the long wait for Pool fans. Not going to pretend to know whether that goodwill would make any sense compared to how many of these shirts, they'll probably be able to sell, so just a gut feeling opinion.

Not a dig at Pool. It's football in broader terms. I've been finding myself caring less and less about my own team over the last couple of years (and needing to love Mourinho instead of Poch isn't making it any easier!). The greed from clubs and players are getting to me. Maybe I'm just getting older, don't know. I still love football as a competetive sport with people in their prime doing a sport, I love to play myself, and making it near art. But as a fan, I'm falling out of love with the game - fast!

I think price gouging in the Premier League has a long history. My view is its supply and demand. They'd soon reduce the price if no-one buys the products. So "we" as fans are complicit in this process.
The whole EPL environment is a mirror on society.

It does indeed have a long history. Doesn't make it right. I'm not keen on apathy towards a problem. And even so, supply and demand in its classical form where it's a healthy market mechanism doesn't apply to monopolies. Football clubs aren't quite monopolies, but they're pretty close. Of all the things and brands I buy, it applies that if a price spirals out of control, I'll buy something else or another brand. Only Tottenham Hotspur has had me by the balls, because I can't just shop around. They know this. They exploit this. They just keep squeezing my balls harder. And I've had it. They are national/regional institutions, but they're not respecting this fact (bar some PR stunts).

Not saying they should hand out stuff for free. Make the home shirt (and special one-offs like the current Pool one) available at cost (or very, very close to it), so people of all classes has a reasonable chance. Then go nuts on price gauging on all the other shirts, for all I care, for the people who want to splurge. Make 75% or whatever of match tickets available at much more reasonable prices (and figure out distribution). Go nuts on price gauging for the remainder. Not gonna happen, but would show the soul of football hasn't been lost along the way.

The shirts are just an indication and the last drop. There's been any number of things over recent years. The one that really got to me was Rooney. I'm not into the internet faux outrage thing, but he's really something else. First saying that the public pressure for footballers to help in the face of a pandemic was wrong and footballers should be able to decide for themselves how to spend their money. That's a whole different discussion and he arguably has a point, so I'll leave that be. It's in combination with soon afterwards saying that he didn't want to play and footballers, and their families, were treated as guinea pigs. I'm sorry Wayne, could you repeat that? You want to earn obscene amounts of money from price gauging of "normal" families, decide for yourself how to spend it, and then don't want to actually do your hard labour of playing a game of kickabout when asked to??? So Wayne, you're okay with cheating again and again, with all that entails for family stability? You're okay with sticking your cock into some nasty excuse for a woman and then going home and doing (I'm assuming) to your pregnant wife? Yeah, society and the FA are the ones using your family as guinea pigs, Wayne.

I know Rooney is the worst example, but the silence from his fellow pros when he seemed to take it upon himself to be their spokesman was deafening. So either they also want to continue to stick their cock into nasty holes or they don't want to rock the boat with all the golden eggs. If this is a mirror on society, then God help us all!!!!

[Crazyskier]

I'm thinking BTTS and possibly Martial to score again in the Brighton / Man U match...

CS

[Headless Chuck]

Anybody else feel that goalless draws have become a bit of a collectors item since football returned?

Seems like players might be reluctant to serve up goals for the paying public but will happily do so behind closed doors.

[Trader Pat]

Anybody else feel that goalless draws have become a bit of a collectors item since football returned?

Seems like players might be reluctant to serve up goals for the paying public but will happily do so behind closed doors.

Yeah I've noticed that.

Also the bottom 4-5 in teh premier league are seriously crap! Must be the worst 'vintage' for a good number of years

[LeTiss]

Wigan about to enter administration. 12 point deduction will take them onto 38 points and 4 points adrift of safety

Watch the relegation marklet in Championship go haywire!!

[Archery1969]

Is it just me or did someone know the VAR result 2 mins before the ref did in the Westham v Chelsea game ?

[Trader Pat]

Great being a Liverpool fan right now!

Sitting smugly at the top of the league with the title in the bag while everything else below is still up for grabs

[wearthefoxhat]

Great being a Liverpool fan right now!

Sitting smugly at the top of the league with the title in the bag while everything else below is still up for grabs

I'd like to say the same for my team Leeds!

[Trader Pat]

Great being a Liverpool fan right now!

Sitting smugly at the top of the league with the title in the bag while everything else below is still up for grabs

I'd like to say the same for my team Leeds!

Squeaky bum time!

[Trader Pat]

Liverpool priced at 4.00, City now odds on

What have I missed

[NickH]

Liverpool priced at 4.00, City now odds on

What have I missed

A championship?