aka Dus

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I'm a lot more ok with having a few established players injured in the stand than a pool of mediocre players struggling on the pitch, if we're talking short term problems.

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And good luck to him, all the best. But he has no place at a club trying to win a league and a CL.

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Surely he could get some kind of deal to play abroad. Not that there would be a queue but bound to be able make a living somewhere.

What happened?

Hasn't this fit and proper person been on a few FA committees in the past too?

He's desperate to get back playing after 2½ years away and at his age probably feels he can't miss any more, so it was probably blind selfishness more than anything. Was badly advised for sure.

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So I saw the first half hour or so of United Passions today. It actually has a really good cast - Depardieu, Tim Roth, Sam Neill. But it's obviously laughable. And the English are made out to be absurd bad guys. A bit like that Mel Gibson movie about the American War of Independence but more blatant.

I don't think that's what Cymrococh said.

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Bayern also have the advantage of being the only major club in a region of massive companies with massive wealth. You want to see the secret of Bayern's success, check the sponsor page on their website.

Then, this is what FSG is up against. The IPIC Bernebeau for a couple hundred million I suppose: Real Madrid have agreed a long-term strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) which it expects will strengthen the club’s status as the world’s richest and also help fund a planned stadium overhaul. Both parties have agreed not to divulge the length or the value of the deal, IPIC said. The agreement includes setting up Real museums and expanding the club’s global footprint of football schools, as well as creating content for digital-media platforms, IPIC, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, said on their website on Tuesday. “The commercial arrangements will enable Real Madrid to meet one of its most fundamental future challenges, to convert the [bernabéu] stadium into the best sporting venue in the world,” it added. Real became the first football club to amass annual revenues of more than €500m (£394m) in the 2011-12 season and the president Florentino Pérez announced last month that income had surged to €604m in 2013-14. Last year the European champions agreed a five-year shirt sponsorship deal with the Dubai-based airline Emirates which Spanish media reported was worth €30m a season. Real have chosen a design led by the German architect GMP for the remodelling of the Bernabéu, which was opened in the 1950s and holds just over 80,000 spectators, at an estimated cost of €400m. The club hopes the work, which would see a striking new roof and exterior added to the structure and include a hotel and a shopping centre, can be completed by 2017. However, a Madrid court has thrown the plans into doubt by ruling that a deal between Real and the Madrid council, which would allow land adjacent to the stadium to be incorporated into the project, should be suspended because the European Commission is examining it for possible illegal state aid. Spanish media have speculated that IPIC may buy the naming rights for the revamped arena and Pérez said the deal announced on Tuesday marked “the start of a long journey and the beginning of a strong partnership”. “It will no doubt prove to be vital for meeting one of our biggest challenges: turning the Santiago Bernabéu stadium into one of the best stadiums in the world, into a unique architectural landmark for the city of Madrid and a symbol of innovation for our country,” Pérez, a construction magnate, said. “As of today, IPIC will become a key partner that shares our values and will help us promote and strengthen the Real Madrid brand throughout every continent. “From now on, as one of our most important sponsors, they will be instrumental in carrying out a series of crucial projects for Real Madrid’s future.”

A problem every club in the PL has is that it seems to be becoming a real thing that everyone's dream is to end up playing for Barcelona/Real Madrid. Not just players from below a certain latitude either. It's probably a bit faddish but it's more of a thing than it was. The only proper solution is to win leagues and european cups, and to create an alternative centre of power, as Bayern are doing.

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Very unfortunate analogy all right.

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