Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

yuppie wrote:Im guessing some of these clubs are so heavily in debt that they had to push for this, and indeed they still might keep going with it.

This plan seems rushed with no start date or anything. Just as soon as possible. Perhaps this is their final attempt to rectify their financial miss management. Perhaps we might see them now do a Rangers.....

This is interesting

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/spor ... ntino.html

It wouldn't surprise me either.

Hartlepool promoted back into the football league, winning a penalty shoot out, after Torquay's keeper scored a very late equaliser in normal time

Aidan will be pleased

Effective immediately, the away goal rule will now no longer apply in UEFA competitions. If the tie is level, it will go to extra time and penalties.

Great story doing the rounds about Blackburn's Ben Brereton. At the start of the year he did a "meet the squad" story in a local Blackburn paper where they were asked to give a silly fact about themselves; Brereton's was that he thought he could technically play for Chile, as his mother was born there, a fact previously unknown. A game scout for the PC game Football Manager local to Blackburn caught the interview in his local paper and decided to change Brereton's nationality to half-Chilean on the game.

A few days later after the game was updated, some random Chilean social media guy managing them on the game was trawling through a list of players he could pick and found Brereton. Being a bit surprised he did research and found the exact same article where the player confirmed his mother was Chilean and that the player had been considered a very good prospect (for instance was a tournament top goal scorer for England Under-19s) and he decided to release a social media awareness campaign in Chile about the unknown, undiscovered half-Chilean playing in English football.

They released the story on SM on Friday night. The following day Brereton scored and assisted a goal v Preston North End, and over the weekend the story blew up in Chile. Within days all the papers were running features on the lad and calling the national team manager to pick him. Brereton started getting his own Instagram suddenly flooding with Chilean flags and comments in Spanish begging him to switch allegiances.

In the end, the Chile National Team selected him for the Copa America and he accepted to go out and play. He came off the bench the other day v Argentina and within seconds nutmeged ex-city centre back Otamendi. He started the next game and fired in the only game of the game, then assisted the Chile equaliser v Uruguay, turning a lot of heads on the way.

Weird how some things work out. I guess Yuppie might be a bit miffed... think he was rubbish for Notts Forest. He's even rebranded him name.... He's now Ben Brereton Diaz... sounds a little sexier.

Lot of time for Ben.

He got played out of position and then had to be sold to keep us under FFP. One academy player every year so we can afford the wages of 3 Jorge Mendes player every season whose performances are generally worse than the players they are replacing. If they even play a game.

When at forest he never set the world alight but he did his job and the view was that he would mature later as a player. I think he left at about 18 years old and had already played a few seasons. He was a first team regular when he left.

From memory he started poorly at Blackburn and they were not best pleased as he cost 7 million but the last 18 months he has developed more. Still only young I think many at Forest reckon he will come into his own later. A bit like Bamford maybe.

Good luck to him, And what an experience for him

Anyone wondering why Barcelona are in such incredible debt might do well to look at the recently leaked contract with Lionel Messi and look no further.

4 years for 555 million Euros.... roughly 2.3 million euros per week. Its almost defies belief that he was on it, but Barcelona have started legal proceedings against the leak and apologised for it, so I guess this must be true.

Its literally 4-5 times the wage people thought he was on. And his 500k a week he was believed to be on was already the 2nd highest wage ever believed to be paid.

Messi is ridiculously brilliant - but is any player worth 550 million for 4 years?

Technically Messi is now out of contract. Been a week since Barcelona said he was ready to sign, and nothing. Wonder if in a weeks time he will be in a City or PSG shirt? Mind you, if his wage demands are like the above, he will be lucky to find a job outside some crazy dubai millionaire dragging him out there for 5 million a game.

ah, but have Barca been paying his taxes as well..... because he doesn't seem to think he has to... or his dad doesn't, or something... "not me guvnor, I just play football"

Can Barcelona afford to sack koeman.....i mean put him on garden leave.

And Coutinho played last night which some are saying activated another payment to liverpool....

What I cannot understand is why teams hire people on insanely long and expensive deals, when the managers never justify them. Koeman probably would have accepted a prestigious job like Barcelona for a packet of peanuts and 10 quid a game, why the hell did Barcelona give him a three year contract for 5 million a year???

Its like Ole. Hes 5 games away from being under pressure for the sack, and you offer him a 17 million quid deal. He's only ever done anything at MOLDE! HE should be offerin to manage united for free.

And what always happens? You get sacked after a year and get paid 15-20 million for failing.

Andre-Villas Boas has made himself a multi-millionaire by accepting long deals and being sacked instantly from them. Why would anyonee offer him anyting but a season long deal?

Neil Warnock leaves Middlesbrough by mutual consent


perhaps he thinks he's in with a shout of managing Newcastle

When I moved to Brussels 5 years ago, I didn't think the club round the corner I adopted would become anything. I liked the vibe, old fashioned, great support. Empty stadium apart from the hardcore...was love at first sight.

Currently 5 points clear at the top of the Belgian Premier Division....

Been a crazy journey under Mazzu. A miracle season.

Dante Vanzier lives near the Union ground and is always in my local since moving to the club.

Nice kid....crossing all my fingers and toes he gets a first cap tonight for the Belgian team.

Good luck to him i he gets his chance.