[Archived] Blatter

[thenodrog]

The Prem as we all know is simply a procession for the big clubs to grab a share of the ludicrously named Champions league kitty. Attendances are in decline, viewing figure are down and Blatter speaks the complete truth in his criticism of the structure of the Prem. (I only hope that he is including all the other euro leagues in his criticism). Most sports have found that a handicapping system helps retain spectator interest yet our press (the ones that I have read) seem happy to ridicule his suggestions. Why is this cos something needs top be done pdq? Surely the very fact that Arsene Whinger, the old RFW and the Poison dwarf at Chelsea are against it is verification of the worth of his suggestions? Well they would be wouldn't they? In typically biased fashion the stupid Daily Mail only canvassed the opinions of those 3 anyway!

[USABlue]

The Prem as we all know is simply a procession for the big clubs to grab a share of the ludicrously named Champions league kitty.  Attendances are in decline, viewing figure are down and Blatter speaks the complete truth in his criticism of the structure of the Prem.  (I only hope that he is including all the other euro leagues in his criticism).  Most sports have found that a handicapping system helps retain spectator interest yet our press (the ones that I have read) seem happy to ridicule his suggestions.  Why is this cos something needs top be done pdq?  Surely the very fact that Arsene Whinger, the old RFW and the Poison dwarf at Chelsea are against it is verification of the worth of his suggestions?  Well they would be wouldn't they?  In typically biased fashion the stupid Daily Mail only canvassed the opinions of those 3 anyway!

353389[/snapback]

Blatter speaks horse pucky. No he is not including all other Euro teams, you know it and I know it. Why did he not just come out and say Chelsea and Abramovich, There is some truth in what he says but the anti anything English pillock has only come out with this because of Chelsea. My feelings anyway. Nothing was ever said when the huge Europeans were throwing silly money around, the Barca's the Reals the Milan clubs. No he waits until an English club has a very wealthy benefactor then decides it's not good.

He is an idiot, his comments about Rooney are out of order and will only serve to draw attention of the officials. Buggar Rooney and his passion, Blatter if you really give a ###### get a handle on your foreign fancy pants divers and cheaters, you won't though will you. What odds Rooney to be suspended, quickly, in next summers tournament.

Sven or no Sven I have a warm fuzzy feeling that my tenner from Eddie can be spent already because of this prat, I have no doubt in my mind FIFA are already working on England's demise.

I can not remember the last time we went out of a major tournament without some form of officiating help to the opposition.

This hypocrite needs to be gone. Why not reduce the monies for the Champions league if he is so worried, spread it around the EUFA cup a bit, even things up, level the field. IF the Champions league was more prestiguiousrather than a financial windfall perhaps it would help, teams would not be so happy to dole out the dosh if it was for prestige alone.

No, UEFA and FIFA have in a way created this monster but now the English teams are looking good it all of a sudden is a problem.

As far as balance, salary caps for teams, the only way it will be done. But as Blatters states, that's basically illegal I suppose in the EU.

[BlueMonday]

Blatter speaks the complete truth in his criticism of the structure of the Prem.  (I only hope that he is including all the other euro leagues in his criticism). 

353389[/snapback]

Don't disagree with the post TND. Problem is I think he IS just criticising the EPL. He is far to quick to comment on any and all matters concerning English football. We are almost an obsession for him.

Fact is, most proffessional leagues in the world have a limited domination by financially powerful teams. As head of World football, he should direct his criticism at the"global problem".

I don't trust the man.

[Fife Rover]

As far as balance, salary caps for teams, the only way it will be done.  But as Blatters states, that's basically illegal I suppose in the EU.

353395[/snapback]

The Rugby League already has a salary cap for all it's players, so it cant be illegal.

[Alex Rover]

Blatter is a fool. If we ignore him he might go away.

[Hasta]

Unfortunately he won't go away for a while. Another of his garbage-riddled spouts was when he suggested that lowly teams in the Premiership play weakened sides against the top clubs ( link ).

West Brom obviously had their reserves out today to beat Arsenal.

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Blatter is an overpromoted buffoon whose background is in Ice Hockey and the Swiss tourist industry rather than in football.

Surprisingly though, I think Blatter got things right in the interview he gave to the Financial Times last week when he publicly criticised what he called "semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed players on £100,000 a week holding clubs to ransom until they get, say £120,000 a week."

"More often than not, these players are guided in their endeavours by unsavoury agents whose income is a percentage of the deal they cut for their client," he said. "It is simply insane for any player to earn 6 million-8 million pounds a year when the annual budget of even a club competing in Europe may be less than half that."

I was pleased that Blatter seemed able to differentiate between the Jack Walker situation at Ewood Park in the 1990's when we had a lifelong Rovers fan buying his hometown club as a benefactor - and the completely different situation at Stamford Bridge where a foreign businessman with no previous affinity to Chelsea, has bought the club for his own selfish reasons.

Abramovich first looked at buying Man United and Spurs, before settling on Chelsea.

Blatter singled out the emergence of "individuals with little or no history of interest in the game, who have come into football as a means of serving some hidden agenda. Having set foot in the sport seemingly out of nowhere, they proceed to throw pornographic amounts of money at it," he said.

Blatter said that the current "misguided, wild-west style of capitalism threatens to suffocate the game."

"What we are faced with today is a football society of haves and have nots," he said. "This cannot be good for the future of our game. We cannot sit back and see greed rule the football world."

In another apparent reference to Chelsea, Blatter said it was no surprise that the game has recently suffered from a drop in attendance. He said, "What is interesting about a league whose champions can be predicted with confidence after about five games?"

"Unlimited cash has given certain club owners the ability to control the global game by splashing unimaginable sums on a small group of elite players," Blatter said. "More than ever before, the majority is fighting with spears, while the greedy few have the financial equivalent of nuclear warheads."

Blatter also lamented practices that "at best expose the ugly side of club football and, at worst, threaten its very existence."

He described as "slavery" the system whereby agents purchase the commercial rights to young players, and then cash in when they are sold to clubs.

"Such transactions fall well short of minimum standards of decency," Blatter said.

I also agreed with Blatter when he criticised Wayne Rooney for his disgraceful behaviour in Spain, when he threw the black armband on the floor. He said the United striker deserved a "clip around the ear".

Blatter first worked for the Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, before becoming General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. In 1981 he became General Secretary of FIFA and in 1998 he was elected FIFA president in a victory over UEFA President Lennart Johansson which was marked with controversy.

There have been rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, culminating in accusations of bribery made by the Somali FA member Farra Ado, who claimed he had an offer of $100,000 to vote for Blatter.

Sepp was re-elected president in 2002, but questions about his integrity remain unanswered.

Blatter's personal desire to see the World Cup hosted in Africa came to fruition last year when it was announced, after a secret ballot of FIFA's 24 executives, that South Africa will host the 2010 tournament. But some people felt that Blatter, as president, should have remained more impartial about the venue, rather than openly coming out in favour of the African bid.

Blatter enjoys tampering with the rules in football. The "silver goal" replaced the "golden goal" rule in extra time of matches. Then there was his ludicrous suggestion last year that all draws in competive football should be scrapped and penalties played to settle all matches.

"Every game should have a winner," Blatter said. "When you play cards or any other game, there's always a winner and a loser. We should have the courage to introduce a final decision in every game of football."

Blatter also tried to compare football to opera, when he said that spectators should avoid drinking prior to a match and should be encouraged to clap instead of cheer!

Perhaps he should have stuck to ice hockey....

Edited October 16, 2005 by Anti Euro Smiths Fan

[FourLaneBlue]

Unfortunately he won't go away for a while. Another of his garbage-riddled spouts was when he suggested that lowly teams in the Premiership play weakened sides against the top clubs ( link ).

West Brom obviously had their reserves out today to beat Arsenal.

353481[/snapback]

That very same West Brom did play a weakened team away to Chelsea however. Not that I blame them.

[Shaddy]

The Rugby League already has a salary cap for all it's players, so it cant be illegal.

353412[/snapback]

In Australia anyway, it is illegal. It is an illegal restraint of trade. However, as it is generally considered to be to the benefit of the game, all the clubs hold to a tacit agreement not to challenge it.

It the Australian NRL, that tacit agreement has held together for, I believe, more than half a decade. And that despite one club (unfortunately the club that I've supported most of my life, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), quite rightly being fined and stripped of 37 points (whilst leading the competition comfortably, and being on a 10+ game winning streak) for cheating the cap.

Whilst I can't be proud that they cheated the cap, I can be proud that they didn't take the legal action that might have averted the huge fine, but set-back the game for many years.

[dave birch]

Shaddy, I'm not so sure about your comments.

I have the feeling that the salary cap is legal. Can't quite put my finger on it but fairly sure. Don't the AFL have a similar thing.

The cap does have a great effect in equalising the comp, it makes for some interesting and exciting results.

[American]

As a Libertarian, I've always looked (justified?) at a salary cap this way: Without all the other clubs in the league, there would be no Man Uniteds and no Chelseas. If only the teams that could afford it played each other, they'd be playing more matches against each other in a season than Rangers and Celtic do!

As for Australia, no one forces the Rugby players to play in that league, do they? They can go to other countries and play...

[Ozz]

Is it true Sepp Blatters wife is called Fanny?

[neekoy]

Blatter is a clown, when Man U and Arsenal were cleaning up he sat quiet, while all of a sudden he is jumping Chelsea's throat is beyond me.

Milan has been buying Serie A titles for twenty years, Madrid ten, now Chelsea two. If anything Chelsea domination appears to have dented Arsenal and Man U. The league looks a lot tighter this year.

I am crossing my fingers and toes for Arse and Pool to finish outside the top four

[Ronin]

I know it's on a different scale, and being that the league is crap (looking at it from the outside atleast) but if ol' Blatter harps on about the EPL with all the big bucks and only a handful of dominating sides, what about the Scottish PL, he never mentions that league? Two dominate teams clean up every season against sides unable to compete against their financial clout. Hearts with their Lithuanian backers is a God send, and Rangers being absolutely poo too, for adding a bit of competitiveness to the league this season, but ultimately Hearts could end up being a Scottish Chelsea, as strange as that may sound

[Cocker]

Off he goes again - click

[modes98]

Off he goes again - click

'modern slavery'

Yes Sepp because they are forced to sign these long contracts worth millions of pounds. The guy should get a grip!

[Bing]

It's an absolutely vulgar comparison and Blatter should apologise immediately.

[BRFC1995]

all the people at the top in football blatter, platini, barwick, have one thing in common they are idiots! world cup in near third world country, what a blinding decision, no goal line technology as long as he's in power as platini said and of course McClown! Blatter is a fan of brown envelopes so what are the chances madrid put somthing in the post for him?

Edited July 10, 2008 by BRFC1995

[Sandiway Blue]

With regards to the salary cap,i think in rugby league it revolves around the TEAMS salary budget rather than an INDIVIDUAL persons salary,therefore it isn`t a restraint of trade (if anybody knows for definite please correct me!).

If this is the case then surely it can be implemented in football?

[Majiball]

Sepp should put his madrid shirt on, he is a muppet they all are I thought Platini being a footballer would help but he's just as bad.

Whats the first thing they all do in the morning, I bet they smoke ganjua or something. KEEP YOUR BIG FAT MOUTH SHUT SEPP you are the head of world football, act like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PAFELL]

It's an absolutely vulgar comparison and Blatter should apologise immediately.

I agree, slaves were whipped and cruelly treated etc - footballers are paid huge amounts of dosh - idolised etc etc. They can rip up, ignore or buy out their own contracts.

[hawkiiz]

no wonder he backs ronaldo to move to madrid.

sepp is a honoured member or real madrid ffs!!!

link:

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/r...ber+real+madrid

Edited July 10, 2008 by hawkiiz

[grizfoot]

Sepp Blatter is just a grade A tool it baffles me how he's still in a job to be honest with some of the ridiculous comments he comes out with.

[Ninjathunder]

The last paragraph is far more important than anything else he said in the article. He can moan all he likes about Ronaldo. Who cares? I'll put up with drivel like that if it ensures there's no 39th game.

[awhom111]

So what does Sepp think of the MLS, where teams can trade players to other teams across the country (or to Canada), without their consent?