The Mail Bag

Champions League - they're having a laugh!

Comments (33)

Not just us, but Villa, Spurs, Portsmouth and any other team hoping to crack the Sky 4. The prize money and money earned from television etc has now given these clubs even more of an advantage than in recent seasons. Take Liverpool for instance. They "earned" £20million last year from Europe and have spent it on a top class striker. Who are we going to spend our £500,000 on? Just getting past the group stages of the Champions League is now worth the equivalent of a rights issue. Even the likes of Talk Sport are talking about a team to finish "Best of the Rest" because they know no team has a realistic chance of cracking the Sky 4. It irks me when Peter Kenyon has the gall to tell other clubs to put their house in order.

What can we do about it? For a start I am urging every neutral fan not to watch the Champions League on Television. Hit the ratings. Let the missus watch the romantic movie on Film 4 or whatever the BBC has to offer. Read a book. Watch re-runs of Rotterdam. Whatever you do don't watch the Champions League. Ratings go down and the advertisers think twice about paying extortionate sums to get a prime slot. Don't forget they have already dropped one of the group stages through poor ratings, there used to be two group stages, then the knock-out stage.

Also, don't buy a paper the next day either, some of the drivel the sports writers serve up couldn't be more obsequious. Make the money grabbers realise that by getting richer and getting the best players they have made the Premier League less competitive and less of a spectacle. The fight back against the greedy fat cats called the Sky 4 starts here!
Keith Piper, Liverpool     Posted 01/08/2008 at 10:36:30

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Richard Harris
1   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:20:45

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Excellent idea, Keith. I’ve tried to convince people for ages (particularly the ones who always whinge about how unfair the system is and who then follow every game and lap up all the hype !) but it has to be a real targeted boycott. Not just avoiding the Sky hype of the ’Big 4’ and the Champions League but for neutrals to refuse to buy the products advertised during the breaks. And for real fans to take the time to write to the networks, press and companies to say why they are not watching/reading or buying the products. Sounds idealistic ? The power is in our hands....
Andy Hudson
2   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:22:40

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I see where your coming from but your argument has several flaws for me

1) I dont have sky sports so Champions League (and us in the Eufa) is pretty much the only footy I get to watch.

2) If we qualified for the Champions League group stages would you still boycott the matches due to making a stand against the crazy money clubs in the competition would make?

3) Everton fans boycotting the Champions League games is hardly even going to make a dent in the millions of viewers they get every game.

and most importantly...

4) Giving the missus the remote control is a very very very dangerous game!!! It is a common male urge to guard the remote control with dear life. So much so that many of us will actually take the remote control with us at half time of a footy match, else the missus will change channel to ’The Hills’, ’Laguna Beach’, ’Hogan/Brook knows best’, ’Living Lohan’, ’Total Calum Best’, ’Totaly Kerry Katona’ etc etc... cause you know as soon as your back from having a slash she’ll say "well its half time" not understanding how integral to watching footy the half time analysis is to our overall enjoyment of the game... even if it just so we can sit there and disagree with everything Hansen et al come out with.

You have been warned!
Ronan McGinley
3   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:25:51

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Similarly to Keith?s suggestion that we boycotte Champions League football, I hereby beg with all my strength anyone who reads Keith?s absolute nonsense of a posting not to respond in any way. Please let my posting be the only one, this is not to gain attention to my posting but simply a method of persuading Keith to never ever post such rubbish again. If UEFA will drop a whole group stage because of bad ratings then perhaps Keith will drop future paranoid ramblings because of a lack of responses from visitors of this website.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I BEG OF YOU!
Tony Curtain
4   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:33:26

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Great Idea Keith. Spot on!!! You have hit the nail on the Head!!! I will defo take your advice!!
Paul Chisholm
5   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:36:37

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Tony. Pull yourself together.
Noah Ameen
6   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:36:43

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Ronan

Keep taking the tablets mate! Just remember you're subscribing to their future transfer fund.
Noah Ameen
7   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:44:33

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Paul

are you a script writer for Jimmy Tarbrush?
Richard Harris
8   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:41:54

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It’s not just about Evertonians boycotting, as most genuine football fans bemoan the dominance of a few European teams since the advent of Sky (and its European equivalents) and the Champions League. We can either try to do something about it or keep moaning and whinging how unfair it is and how Liverpool get more money than us and get more worldwide exposure. But hey, it’s far easier to accept the ways things are than to try and change the system. Of course knowing our bad luck the system would change at the same time that we win the league and then we’d get only a couple of million for winning the Champion’s League......
Sean Norton
9   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:39:45

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Keith, Whilst I don?t think your idea would ever gain enough support, I do totally agree with what you are saying. The Champions League is basically a European super league and UEFA fix it so the "Big boys" are in it every year and reach a certain stage. What was wrong with the old system whereby you have to actually be a champion to be in the European cup?

What was wrong with playing 2 legs in a tie and if you drew another "big team" in an early round you just got on with it and played them? What was wrong with an even distribution of competition cash?

It?s all about making the "big boys" more and more powerful so they pull further and further away till in the end the formation of a super league benefits everybody. The main 4 in each league will want yet more cash and the prestige of being in the super league and all the other teams will be glad to see the back of them so the league is competitive again. We need to get back to the main aim of football being about winning not about how much money you get for winning.

Chad Schofield
10   Posted 01/08/2008 at 14:53:49

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Ronan,
I find you comments barbaric.


Sorry.

I think this is a good idea, but I just don’t see it taking off really.
James Marshall
11   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:00:15

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Andy wrote, "4) Giving the missus the remote control is a very very very dangerous game!!! It is a common male urge to guard the remote control with dear life. So much so that many of us will actually take the remote control with us at half time of a footy match, else the missus will change channel to ?The Hills?, ?Laguna Beach?, ?Hogan/Brook knows best?, ?Living Lohan?, ?Total Calum Best?, ?Totaly Kerry Katona? etc etc... cause you know as soon as your back from having a slash she?ll say "well its half time" not understanding how integral to watching footy the half time analysis is to our overall enjoyment of the game... even if it just so we can sit there and disagree with everything Hansen et al come out with."

Have you been hiding in my house!?!?
Steve Templeton
12   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:05:58

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I stopped watching them a while partly in protest but mainly because they are invariably very boring.

Unless there is a radical change in the near future then I think the game will be up for us and clubs like Villa, City etc as we cannot hope to compete on such an uneven playing field.
Andy Hudson
13   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:06:47

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Haha its bloody horrible isn’t it James? When Virgin offered me every channel (except sports and movies) for peanuts I was overjoyed at the deal. Unfortunately I feel conned as am now subjected to pretty much any and every reality tv program about god knows who! I’m not even sure my lass even knows who half these people are!

I’m waiting for ’Total Davie Moyes’ though on MTVR... A series following our Davie through his usual pre-season strife’s at the club regarding transfer funds etc.

Noah Ameen
14   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:02:24

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Chad

Tune into the game when they’re about to go out. Enjoy the moment!

We need these clubs to go out of the competition as early as possible

There are supporters of clubs in all the main European leagues who are not going to play in this competition who must feel as we do. Let’s find out.
Patty Beesley
15   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:29:53

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Last paragarph - How are you going to do that Noah - advertise in the paper or maybe do a world tour in your Ark and carry out a survey!!
James Marshall
16   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:35:39

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Andy - Tallula Tequila (or whatever her name is), Age of Love, Flavor Flav looking for a wife, Mark Phillipousis needs a life - I get all of these round my house Andy..

My missus loves celebrity tittle tattle and I get it both barrels mate - I feel your pain!
Andy Hudson
17   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:44:26

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Haha ? yeah, women just go mad for it, James. I?m constantly being updated on what Micha Barton was seen wearing or the latest thing Sienna Miller has done. It's funny though cause I?ve got a mate who came round and saw my girlfriend's copy of Grazia on the table, picked it up, started reading it before admitting it was ?his favourite one?. I think his missus must have broken him, the poor soul!
Andy Hudson
18   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:50:18

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Oh and I hope i’m not ruining the suprise for you James but apparently in the next series of The Hills Heidi and Spencer have got back together... you heard it here 1st lol! ;)
Patty Beesley
19   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:56:13

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James & Andy - Is this a private party or can anyone join in?? I?m not going to comment on what you are saying about celebrity mad wives/partners who steal the remote control to watch a reality show when footy is on. Its completely your own fault... you should have found a girl who was as mad about Everton as you are, or at least footy - now that would have been sensible!!
Andy Hudson
20   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:59:16

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Unfortunately Patty they are few and far between! Especially as I live in Newcastle lol! So my options are:

a) A girlfriend who dislikes football

or

b) A girlfriend who supports Newcastle United

I think we’ll all agree I made the right choice ;)
Noah Ameen
21   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:57:41

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Patty

have you heard of the internet?

It’s a new development that might just catch on!

Do the fans of these clubs have their own websites?
Robert Jones
22   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:47:34

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Now, now don’t take the piss out of his name Patty, you know he’ll use a dove to send the message out
Richard Harris
23   Posted 01/08/2008 at 16:01:07

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Andy Hudson wrote " It?s funny though cause I?ve got a mate who came round and saw my girlfriend?s copy of Grazia on the table, picked it up, started reading it before admitting it was his favourite one.
I think his missus must have broken him, the poor soul! "

That would have been the strap-on that she used on him :0)
Patty Beesley
24   Posted 01/08/2008 at 16:02:30

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Noah, it was meant to be a joke - where?s your Scouse sense of humour!!! You do see the connection between Noah and the Ark?

Andy - right decision made mate!
Dave Wilson
25   Posted 01/08/2008 at 15:56:00

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Last time I watched a CL game some baldy twat was robbing big Dunc of glory, What the fuck are you doing watching it anyway, you should be preparing for our Thursday game - or travelling

Watch the Mancs or the shite ? I’d sooner watch fucken Holby city
Patty Beesley
26   Posted 01/08/2008 at 16:05:06

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Robert - Thanks for giving me a good laugh.
But won?t it be 2 doves? They went in two by two didn?t they?
James Marshall
27   Posted 01/08/2008 at 16:26:47

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I once had a girlfriend who loved football, she turned out to be a complete headcase so I stopped going for women who like footy.

Once bitten....
Barry Kingham
28   Posted 01/08/2008 at 17:11:23

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Dave, I love Holby!
Dave Wilson
29   Posted 01/08/2008 at 19:08:36

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Barry

Fair play to you mate, at least the shite you watch isnt red
Mussa Basshar
30   Posted 01/08/2008 at 16:18:44

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For me all this seems to be gloom and doom for the simple reason that Davey on insisting at such enormous salary is sending the wrong signal to his own players if ever he really had Everton?s interests at heart.

IMHO the basic problem seems to stem from the basic injustice of the western economic system based on interest which ultimately and often imperceptibly and sooner than we realise assumes its inherently usurious nature.

There is more and more a recognition that the traditional banking institution has failed as a responsible self-regulatory component of general economic stability.Hence in our parts of the world and in the UK too moves are being made to launch Ethical Banking based on the Islamic Economic System wherein interest is shunned as inherently evil. HSBC for example now has a department offering such services.

Only yesterday on Radio France a renowned French economics expert was making a plea that banking practices be reviewed and regulated because of the shambles and indebtedness it is causing all round.

So long as The People continue to condone interest based banking,inequity and social injustice will prevail the world over. We need to start saying no,enough is enough.

Let's face it Everton FC borrows to finance new players and Davey+that nearwaste Pip?s odious salaries, then makes European Championship to mainly service these debts. In one word debt + interest means more debt. A vicious circle of effective slavery to the bankers.

The ?Shari?ah? or Ethical Banking as the West calls it despite the zionist media?s mostly villyfying Islam in contrast shuns interest (which BTW turns money into a commodity it certainly is not and only just a means of exchange) as per Prophetic teachings of The Prophets of Islam Mohammed and Jesus as well I might add.

Further the gold parity of money having been eliminated has caused too much power being thrown in the hands of the few banking barons.For more info kindly make Google searches on Aaron Russo and Sen. Ron Paul.

For someone like me of MiddleEastern extraction the imperial urgency of looking at new models does not come from a subjective perspective but is quite a real concern for we ourselves have been at the brunt end of interest based indebtedness post colonialism.

It's only now the majestic beauty of the legacy to the whole of humankind of The Prophetic Econonomic model surfaces upon us.Still the responsibility lies on all our shoulders to make ot prevail on the inherently evil.

Say Payback terms were based on on percentages of actual gate receipts tv ads etc, in other words the bank becomes a partner in the profitability of Everton and a reasonable share profit recycles into the bank launching new club investments and more paybacks.

IMHO Davey should have applied the same model as the previous years with buying only one big name and getting lower division as well as getting the youngsters involved earlier. Who Knows with some adventurousness on his part a la WengArs we might become the ones to be looked up to in the Premier League once again.

PS. Can you imagine the impact of removing your cash from the banking circuit as a mass protest to save the club from these morons?

I plead for the indulgence of all my fellow Evertonian Scouses and everyone of the Evertonian blue persuasion for this rather long expose but I guess it may hopefully bring a different perspective to the issue. Once again sorry I may have bored you. COYB.

Gary Roberts
31   Posted 01/08/2008 at 20:21:32

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Put a group on facebook urging all fans to boycott next years champ league. Obviously i mean the fans of teams who arent in it.
roy coyne
32   Posted 01/08/2008 at 22:58:51

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As Dave has said, I dont allow any of the European games on my telly,the games are nearly always boring,like Skys super Sundays I used to worship Andy Gray Now I hate him hes more red than they are.
Neil Scott
33   Posted 02/08/2008 at 05:46:03

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In answer to the original suggestion the proposed boycott of Sky tv by UK based Evertonians would make not one jot of difference as it is the worldwide following that drives their business model.

And in that wider context we as a group are sadly hugely unrepresented. Over to Bill... again :)

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