Feanor wrote:I don't think it's immoral for Kaka to want to stay at Milan where he's comfortable and settled rather than take more money to move to Manchester. He's not a publicly owned company with stockholders to answer to.
I was being hypberbolic for the purpose of making a point. Nobody should judge anyone who works for a living, even if that living is as an athlete, on the basis of the worker's decisions regarding his livelihood. It's no more "immoral" for a footballer to leave one employer for the next than it is for a plumber or accountant.
Personally, I think that the transfer would've been great for football. Milan is a world power already, and will remain so if only through Berlusconi's machinations.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
That transfer fee has to be more than what Milan gets in attendance and TV revenues?
Supposedly several Italian teams are struggling, with attendance down even before the economy tanked in the last few months.
If Berlusconi really wanted to sell Kaka, could the player have stopped it? He could not show up but what's he going to do, go back and play in Brazil for a fraction of what he was making?
It must be a cultural thing, a player pledging loyalty to a club and not going to a rival to his former club. Certainly not something you see in US team sports.
In other news I hear that the weekly match programme at Anfield is to be renamed;
"Another f***in Draw"
Can I also just say, I know the media tries to paint him as a player who's not getting a fair shake, but Robbie Keane has to be one of the worst transfers of the season. He's was f***in useless AGAIN - and this playing in his 'preferred' position up front with a partner. I would rather we flogged him back to Tottenham in exchange for Gary Coleman/Jermaine Defoe - then again I'm not sure Robbie would be keen on playing in the Championship next season.
Would City like to 'ruin' football by buying him off us? Please, please, please? No. Ah...Kaka instead then.
Macca00 wrote:In other news I hear that the weekly match programme at Anfield is to be renamed;
"Another f***in Draw"
Can I also just say, I know the media tries to paint him as a player who's not getting a fair shake, but Robbie Keane has to be one of the worst transfers of the season. He's was f***in useless AGAIN - and this playing in his 'preferred' position up front with a partner. I would rather we flogged him back to Tottenham in exchange for Gary Coleman/Jermaine Defoe - then again I'm not sure Robbie would be keen on playing in the Championship next season.
Would City like to 'ruin' football by buying him off us? Please, please, please? No. Ah...Kaka instead then.
If he had gone for tea in the 5th minute and never returned he would've had exactly the same impact on the game. Totally f***in worthless! And Skrtel made a fine argument for Rafa as to why they absolutely can't let Agger get away.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
wco81 wrote:That transfer fee has to be more than what Milan gets in attendance and TV revenues?
Supposedly several Italian teams are struggling, with attendance down even before the economy tanked in the last few months.
If Berlusconi really wanted to sell Kaka, could the player have stopped it? He could not show up but what's he going to do, go back and play in Brazil for a fraction of what he was making?
It must be a cultural thing, a player pledging loyalty to a club and not going to a rival to his former club. Certainly not something you see in US team sports.
All off now anyway. Berlusconi might be ringing it out about them not needing the money, but they've not won a domestic trophy in 3 years (despite Juve being in Serie B for one of them) and they aren't going anywhere next year. They'd have been better off selling Kaka and spending the wonga on a decent team.
As for City, I'm also not bothered. I'd rather we spent the money on Bellamy, De Jong, Given, Arshavin and Santa Cruz than banged a huge amount on Kaka...he's for next year.
Still, City must be the only team in the universe who could cock up having infinite money......Typical City
"The players come from all over the world, the money from deep underneath the Persian Gulf, but, as another, older City poster campaign put it, this is their city. They may now exist in the global spotlight, but they intend to keep it that way."
I like the Cahill guy. He's impressed me the last 3 times I've seen him play. I know I'm late to the party, but I don't usually watch the Mersyside teams.
fsquid wrote:I like the Cahill guy. He's impressed me the last 3 times I've seen him play. I know I'm late to the party, but I don't usually watch the Mersyside teams.
It pains me to say so, but I don't think I've ever seen a game with him where he didn't have some significant impact. Whether for Australia or the Toffees he always does something to contribute.
Dave, 14m for Craig Bellamy? Kaka is, by that standard, worth at least 100.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
fsquid wrote:I like the Cahill guy. He's impressed me the last 3 times I've seen him play. I know I'm late to the party, but I don't usually watch the Mersyside teams.
It pains me to say so, but I don't think I've ever seen a game with him where he didn't have some significant impact. Whether for Australia or the Toffees he always does something to contribute.
Dave, 14m for Craig Bellamy? Kaka is, by that standard, worth at least 100.
Mebbe, but not 500k a week as well
I think Bellamy is our little bit of devilment that's required...so long as he doesn't go mistaking other people's heads for golf balls. It may also be that he's a temporary measure until the 'galactico' hunt recommences in summer.
Opinion is very divided on the City websites..been likened to your worst beer-goggles nightmare
"I went to bed with her and she looked like Kaka, and I woke up with Craig Bellamy"..in a metaphorical sense.
"The players come from all over the world, the money from deep underneath the Persian Gulf, but, as another, older City poster campaign put it, this is their city. They may now exist in the global spotlight, but they intend to keep it that way."
davet010 wrote:
All off now anyway. Berlusconi might be ringing it out about them not needing the money, but they've not won a domestic trophy in 3 years (despite Juve being in Serie B for one of them) and they aren't going anywhere next year. They'd have been better off selling Kaka and spending the wonga on a decent team.
Do trophies bring prize money? Or increased attendance and higher ratings?
davet010 wrote:
All off now anyway. Berlusconi might be ringing it out about them not needing the money, but they've not won a domestic trophy in 3 years (despite Juve being in Serie B for one of them) and they aren't going anywhere next year. They'd have been better off selling Kaka and spending the wonga on a decent team.
Do trophies bring prize money? Or increased attendance and higher ratings?
Yes, yes and yes.
Estimated earnings for winning the CL are about £50m, and I presume that there is a prize for winning Serie A, but I'm not sure how much it is.
AC Milan's current average attendance is 58k in a stadium that holds 80k
Ratings is a little more difficult, as from memory the clubs in the Italian league negotiate their own contracts now for TV etc.
"The players come from all over the world, the money from deep underneath the Persian Gulf, but, as another, older City poster campaign put it, this is their city. They may now exist in the global spotlight, but they intend to keep it that way."
Nice to see City aren't the only crisis club - still, I'd rather we were going for Kaka than Jermaine Defoe.
"The players come from all over the world, the money from deep underneath the Persian Gulf, but, as another, older City poster campaign put it, this is their city. They may now exist in the global spotlight, but they intend to keep it that way."
Interestingly enough, it now appears that the media latest assault on City's transfer dealings, the legendary 'You Could Sign De Jong for £2m in summer rather than £18m now' is a load of bollocks.
Simply put, it was reported on Dec 18 that De Jong had signed a new long term deal with Hamburg....in which there was no release clause.
Another quality piece of journalism.
"The players come from all over the world, the money from deep underneath the Persian Gulf, but, as another, older City poster campaign put it, this is their city. They may now exist in the global spotlight, but they intend to keep it that way."
As an avid and passionate life long supporter of Manchester City football club and with strong ties to the media world, I have spent much of my time reading various articles published on City, Kaka, the Arab owners and the Premier League.
I had expected jealousy. I had expected negativity. What I hadn't expected was the magnitude of the jealousy and negativity; the bitterness and borderline hatred towards this community club, a family club, our club.
I can't fathom how such transfers as Manchester United signing a hot prospect at 17 years old, none which of us have ever heard of for £15m can elude the critics, while we sign the experienced Bellamy for £12m and we have inflated the market and ruined football.
Kaka has hit the headlines on a daily basis since the story of his record breaking transfer was leaked by Milan or Redknapp or whoever else is hoping for us to fall flat on our face.
Kaka is a footballing icon; he is to football what Marilyn Monroe is to the red carpet or Shakespeare to writing. Imagine getting Monroe to pose for your magazine or Shakespeare to write a series of novels for your publisher. One-hundred-million pounds, there is no doubt that it is a lot of money- but what price would you pay for one of the worlds best? £100m seems pretty fair to me.
To the media, bringing Kaka to the Premier League wasn't a good thing, it wouldn't make it better to watch or fathers and sons quiver at the sight of a football hero. It would ruin everything, Kaka moving to City was like 'Hello' magazine doing an exclusive Monroe photo shoot. The hypocritical chairman at various football clubs would tell them that the transfer was completely rediculous while slamming price tags as high as £15m on Wilson Palacios. According to the hacks and critics, this transfer would degrade and ruin football forever.
The deal falls through. With all those articles published and comments made about us ruining football, surely not signing him has now saved football? No, of course it hasnt. Manchester City 'failed', they couldn't stand up to the big boys. The Telegraph wrote in their hateful article 'Send in the Clowns': 'Manchester`s little-regarded other team is now a laughing-stock throughout the world'.
It is clear to see that no-one wants us to succeed. We are alone in all of this.
The sky four monopoly seems to be encouraged and supported by the press and it seems that the world agrees. With news that the FA is suddenly holding a meeting to discuss foreign owners, transfer and wage caps, it has transpired that Manchester City will not even be represented.
With the endless slaughter of Manchester City in the press I am sure a trip to Tenerife is a welcome break for the players. Meanwhile we suffering fans have to dodge the proverbial slander in every paper under the sun- including the Sun.
The bad press is here to stay and in recent weeks I have noticed a change in City fans. The egotistical aspirations of being too good for this player and that player have gone. It is time for the bickering to stop. It is time for City to get serious and for us to get behind Mark Hughes and the team. We are the fans with 'Pride in Battle', long suffering fans who will fight to the end. It is now the time to stand up and be counted, there is no more room for negativity at this club- unless you want to join the Telegraph.
So too has the mood changed in the changing rooms: 'Because everything has gone crazy outside the camp it has pulled us all together,' Richard Dunne stated on the club's official website.
Hughes even said during the Kaka saga: 'There's a lot of negativity around what we do... We will use the negativity that has been used by others as a strength.' And we will.
The tide has turned, the media attacks have brought us together not pulled us apart. We are stronger than ever.
"The players come from all over the world, the money from deep underneath the Persian Gulf, but, as another, older City poster campaign put it, this is their city. They may now exist in the global spotlight, but they intend to keep it that way."
davet010 wrote:Upson or Parker for me - in fact, someone on the City boards suggested buying Upson and Parker for £50m, thereby saving West Ham, in exchange for the Hammers changing the logo on their chests to 'Thank You Man City' for a season
I thought that must have been what we had on our shirts today when I saw us run out. Presumably our sponsors for today were yet another of our owner's oil companies. Anyway, if you had signed Parker, far from ruining football, you'd have saved my Saturday afternoon.
For those that have Gol TV, they're getting back the Brazilian Championship this year. They're starting with the Paulista in the spring (including Ronaldo w/Corinthians), and then going with the National Championship for the rest of the year. Should be fun viewing.
The funny thing about all this is if Man City finally manages to break into and crush the top four it'll be accomplished in exactly the same way that City fans have been moaning about for years and years in respect to ManU and the rest of them. Personally I love seeing underdogs break though and beat the big guys but with City the constant self-victimization makes them a bit hard to root for. Must have something to do with sharing a city with you know who.
