J’accuse! by Walter Broeckx
The EPL is maybe the best league in the World for now.
The FA and the PL organization can be proud of that. The best footballers of the world come to England to play games at maybe the highest level in the world. Week in week out you can see teams, like Arsenal, playing breathtaking football and giving shows that all over the world attracts large audiences.
TV money comes in from all over the world. The teams profit from that money to attract the best players. You could say that your bread is baked for a long time.
BUT, it won’t last my dear friends of the FA and the EPL. No, it will stop in a few years time. And the reason is that no one wants to see what we saw again yesterday. Another violent attack, this time on a 19 year old young player who was considered one of the greatest talents of the EPL and Welsh football for the next 10 years.
People all over the world hate the sight of such incidents. People who like watching the EPL all over the world like to see it because of the good football that is played by the better teams. And when we see such an incident we go to the bathroom to throw up our meal and when we come back we switch channels and go to the Spanish La Liga or even the boring Italian league. You know why ?
Because in those leagues you have refs that act like refs. You have refs who punish thugs who come on the field with the purpose to kick other players off the field. I think it was at the beginning of the previous season when coaches from teams that had to play Barcelona instructed their players to get stuck in with Messi and kick him around as ‘he didn’t like it’.
And the Spanish Liga told their refs to act and to look at it and punish those players who tried to kick the best players off the field. And with success. Messi felt protected and could show his skills to the world much to the delight of the audiences all over the world. If I can I always look at the games he plays in just because he is such a great player.
And what does the FA do after the 3rd player in 5 years being kicked to pieces from Arsenal? Have they ever spoken loud about the coaches that openly say they going to kick the players or Arsenal because they don’t like it? Have they said to the refs : you must try to protect the technical players and send those thugs out of the field?
Even in Belgium, and the Belgium FA is a total mess, they did the only thing that can be done and gave one player a 15 games ban after such an incident this season. And what will the FA do? Just like Martin Taylor give him a 3 games ban? That is just 1 game more than Song will get for a laughable yellow card in that same game. If it wouldn’t be sad I would have a laugh with it, but it is to sad to laugh.
Even worse, what do the FA do hours after the incident? They call that same player who just might have ended a promising career and give him the 3 lions shirt for the first time. Has the FA any decency left?
Even in Germany they have an unwritten rule that when a players gets a red card in the Bundesliga and they have an international game they don’t call him up to let the players know they do not tolerate it and to give the player a punishment for bringing disgrace to the German football.
I can only with great sadness say that the moral standards in Germany are higher than in England. And I feel very sorry to say this because I really love England and the English people.
I also would like to say that is the FA that is responsible for the refs. And if the refs fail in protecting the players and this is one of the main tasks you have as a ref: protect the players from injury. The refs can’t do this properly as we just have seen once again. I know accidents happen sometimes but not 3 times in 5 years. And certainly not with always the same team as victims.
So not only the ref who is guilty but also the FA and the EPL organization is guilty for not being able to stop this violent conduct on the field towards a skilful team.
It maybe Shawcross who broke Ramsey’s leg but he is only the instrument from managers that instruct players to kick the Arsenal players out off the field without the FA doing something about it.
So I accuse not only Shawcross but also the managers who are proud of their approach of The Arsenal, but also the FA for not doing anything about it.
You will lose audience and people will go and see to the Spanish league or the Bundesliga or the Italian league. Money will stop coming in and you will end up with a league full of Shawcrosses and Martin Taylors and no one outside England will look after it.
Why do you think England hasn’t won anything in international football for 40 years? Just look at what you are allowing to happen on your fields and you will see the answer.
I accuse you – the FA – of being culpable of the breaking of Ramsey’s leg.
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BEST COMMENT OF FEBRUARY ON UNTOLD
The only thing more dangerous than stupid people are partially-educated people (with internet connections).
Submitted by Tim, when speaking about Le Grove
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NO COMMENT
“Arsène Wenger can never say that I wanted to leave,” Adebayor told the French television channel Canal Plus. “It was because Arsène didn’t want me any more. “The most annoying thing about the whole story is when people say I wanted to leave for the money. If I had really wanted to, I would have left two years ago for the money and gone to Milan or Barcelona.
“I read that it was me who was the troublemaker in the changing room. That’s unbelievable. If one player can say that I, Emmanuel Adebayor, spoke badly to anyone in the changing rooms then I’d honestly like to know who it is. It has never happened in my life.”
Mr Adebayor said of his activities last September when he ran half the pitch to taunt the Arsenal fans in a match in Manchester: “I shouldn’t have done that but we are all human.”
He declined to comment on the situation in which he was found guilty of violent conduct attacking and assaulting Robin van Persie.
Elsewhere, and at other times…
The media’s encouragement of lesser players to kick more skillful players – a historical review.
The days when football journalists could write, entertain and make us laugh (a true newspaper report about Arsenal in the 1930s)
Predictions for the rest of the season: see how we are doing so far as we approach the start of the new golden era.
The Untold commentary immediately after the end of the Stoke game
EPL owes more money than the rest of Euro football combined.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/audio/2010/mar/01/football-weekly-podcast-chelsea-bridge
Rafa Honigstein’s take on the weekends events.
You are veri right Merlin on the 2 footed tackle. But now these days when the player who is attacked manages to jump up the refs don’t even give the foul. And the instructions are clear on this: hit him or not it is always a foul because it is always dangerous.
Armin, please send some of your story’s to Tony. Don’t be affraid for your English. I think Tony will have no problem with that. And if you are not sure how to put, even write it in other languages that you know (German ? or so ? ) I could help Tony on that if necessary.
I really enjoy the things you tell us. I really do.
Some managers and the so call pundits does not like AW and they can do anything to destroy the Man and his work. They were all intimidated by his achievement.It is unfortunate that England is the mother of football and thesame time they are the people that are trying to destroy the game.No where in the world you will see a career destroyer getting a support apart from England.If Rooney were the vicitum, will Alex give support to Show.?
If you watched that Holland vs Italy where Van Persie got injured by Chelliani, it is an open verdict as to whether it is a malicious tackle or 50:50 ball.
Van Persie was running at speed and CHelliani slided in with a one-foot lunge – got ball and man simulataneously.
Now, watch it in slow motion, and you can see Chelliani cocked his leg, i.e. pull it back slightly, and then lunged his foot forward.
If you are standing, and performed this kind of action, it is called stumping, i.e. in martial art, drive your knee with full force downwards.
What Shawcross did is in a horizontal position, scything his leg forward, and like in martial art, a roundhouse kick committed with the full body force, plus momentum generated by a speeding 200-lb body, leg accelerating, and the impact force is great..maybe as much as 500-lb force (as calculated in History Channel “Human Weapon” for kicks by expert), the point of contact on any part of Ramsey’s leg will result in massive damage.
Imagine Shawcross’ shin-pad applying 500 lb force onto Ramsey’s leg.
Even if there is no intention to hurt, but by going in with such great force in a 50:50 ball situation, I can safely conclude that the real intention is physical intimidation, to get the lick in first. I will of course not same the actual word as it may lead to a litigation suit.
LIke Chelliani’s tackle on Van Persie, of course, there is no malice in it, just a man game, accident does happen, it is regrettably, and one Arsenal and two ex-Arsenal players crippled by the same player is just a coincidence.
Go away Adebayor ,you made your choice and sold yourself for a few extra pieces of Arab silver so when Man.City don,t finish in 4th place with no silverware to show for their huge outlay, dream about your days at Arsenal ,they,re gone forever?
Walter I ll be happy to, if you promise you ll shoot for me next time you are on Emirates
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