Colinjb

Our philosophy of only signing better then we have has been a little frustrating, it has led to us chasing a quality over quantity (shudder....) approach that has left us looking a little exposed at the back. We are still on the look out though, and every player we have bought recently (with the possible exception of Dickson and in the short time he has been here Rodriguez) has been able to settle in quickly and impress.

He will comfortably score more then 20.

It's great that we managed to get through our horrible first few fixtures and not get cut adrift.

I would let Gazzaniga have another game personally but letting Boruc get some match practice could help him. Team: ----------------- Rodriguez ------------------ Mayuka ----------------------------- Do Prado ----------------- Chaplow -------------------- ------- Ward-Prowse ------- Cork ------------- Shaw ------ Fonte ----- Seaborne -- Richardson --------------- Boruc/Gazza -------------------

Oh god, Kevin Miller. I remember his debut well. Away to Burnley, received word of someone new starting in goal, I believe Bart was injured and Paul Smith was in poor form or something. Received the team sheet in the directors area and had no idea who the guy was. Thanks to the atmosphere behind the scenes we lost all track of time and missed the first few minutes.... and our goal. He looked ok, the game finished 1-1. The abiding memory of the night, sitting directly behind the dugouts and hearing Burley repeatedly scream "Kenwyne!! Pull your f**king finger out!!!!"

Yeah, they need to get off their high horses on this one, all credit for them supporting their man, but how the f**k were we meant to know about it?

Incorrect

Sorry, my house just turned into a crater. I'll get back to you.

The footballing equivalent of DRS in F1? An artificial construct? How about Mulitball? 10 men for the winning side? It goes too far. The show is the game. the playoffs as an example do not apply as they are the individual teams competing. Anything where the teams become intertwined becomes murky and open to corruption.

I point you to my post above. It is a corruption of competion.

The definition Michael Laudrup is disputing is 'Match Fixing.' I grant him, paying to win is not match fixing, it is however an attempt to raise the performance level of a team. That is an attempt to influence results outside of normal boundaries. That is a corruption of competition. It should not be allowed. As someone who profited from such arrangements, I would not expect Mr Laudrup to oppose it.

Because the benefit is not simply their own. That is a corruption of competition.

No, there isn't, but the effect it would have, to maybe destabilise the opposition who know that another club is under duress or spurs their competitors on beyond their normal means at their detriment and for the gain of the third party..... It is against the philiosophy of two teams fighting for their own pride and achievement. It turns clubs and players into other team's b*tches.

No, because despite the prize he is operating purely for the best interest of his own team and self. There is no implication of detrimental effect for someone else outside of his own sides' destiny.

Hey, the theory allows the possibility.

Then their is no integrity left in professional sport. How would you feel if Portsmouth offered Saints players money to win a game?

So, Newcastle in the final game of the season offer a 70k prize to each Swansea player to beat Aston Villa and ensure they finish in 10th. This would ensure they finish 10th rather then 11th and give their club a greater amount of money then the payments they would give to the Swansea players. It is at best Vulgar. At worst could be used to influence a club at risk of relegation and oblivion. It is a further corruption of the game, of sport in general. People who should have no right to influencing sporting contests other then their own chirping in for selfish gains.

So, it's ok to put extra outside influence in the form of financial incentive onto it? A league is based on the idea that all games have a bearing at the end. All games have an equal impact. Mentally of course, based on the circumstances no, that will never be an even thing, relegation battles, chasing champions league spots will play a factor. But trying to influence it further outside of the pressure of circumstance is utterly wrong. It just serves to warp the sporting nature of the events. It is morally wrong.

In regards to my perception of sport as an ideal, its abhorrent. You are right, these thing need to be taken in context, I feel you went a little beyond the needs of this debate for your example though.

Completely dissagree. A win bonus is a set standard, a constant. For other teams to chip in in an attempt to sway results is wrong, utterly wrong. It is something that could be imposed or offered at any time and would effect the mentality of all players unfairly in the context of other games occuring. Why should a game at an end of a season (compared to say one in the middle) have any different bearing for the players based on the financial offering of a team with something to gain now the context is known? It's a complete insult to the integrity of the game.

Yeah, Innit.

At least it didn't put you into a ditch. :s Alternator failure struck me in an old diesel while running..... managed to drive it home thankfully. It was an old car without power steering and ABS though, could get away with it, if it was Petrol you would have been stranded there and then.

As implied above, the coaches will have had an entire week to evaluate them alongside each other. If the staff that have foreseen our two division rise feel he is ready in comparison to a man they have worked with for two years, he's ready.

Went to do my travelling expense form today. Opened up the work iPhone, typed in postcode one, went to postcode two..... Enter. The destinations which would have flawlessly worked on Google maps came through wrong, the distance was wrong. I could no longer trust my work phone. Turned to my personal S3, opened Google maps.... worked flawlessly. All hand recorded mileages and checked ones matched. How many other people will begin to doubt they can trust their previously flawless Apple devices, all because they became (more) arrogant?

It is an attempt to sway a game by a team not directly competing. It's abhorrent.