Loopy Perez

The boring fart and desperado, the Real Madrid president Florentino Perez keeps harping on about the now confined to the antiques room, the debunked Super League concept. According to Perez, the youth of today like repetition, Liverpool to play Real Madrid six to eight times a season, the Super League format, now that’s bloody boring. Perez craves a bigger slice of football’s money cake to cover Real Madrid’s debts, that’s the reason for the continued gripes, choke on that. Perez has become rather repetitive, shut up, callarse la boca, adios Perez.

A Brexit Parish

It is interesting to highlight the Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, beating the Brexit drum on its inception. Quote Parish “We have the best of everything, we can do what we want”, reference to the transfer market. As it transpires, Brexit does bugger all in helping clubs the stature of Palace, to have an eagle eye on purchasing players in the lower divisions abroad, but problems hit home for Parish.

A no entry at Premiership level for players, a raft of problems reared its Brexit head. A points system has been introduced for players based on any international recognition, historical value, alongside other mitigating factors. To hit the desired points mark, and entry into the Premiership becomes easier. An inserted added bonus for the government on any transfers, hidden to a degree, transactions, who said Boris Johnson was a conniving silly billy? The Football Association have also jumped on board, no surprise there then. Parish has now seen the light of day, praise the Lord, add some manure to those pre-Brexit sweet smelling roses, the need to relax those Brexit transfer rules and the eagles will fly.

A Saintly Academy

The opening of the Manchester City Academy, come training complex in 2014 was met with a vibrant quote “The vision is for youth development and sustainability”. City’s director of football is the former red rose of Blackburn Rovers winger, Mr Jellybeans, the stilts, Jason Wilcox. The fundamental end game of football academies is to produce young players to progress to first team action, this is the priority, the concept, City have blown that theory apart, forget the window dressing.

Sustainability has been met, but does that bring satisfaction? That’s questionable. During the summer transfer window Southampton Football Club raided the City Academy and splashed 40 million pounds on four of the City graduates, Gavin Bazunu, Romeo Lavia, Sam Edozie and Juan Larios, household names, no, perhaps we shall see later, no progression to the City first team.

Can this be a strengthening of the Premiership opposition or is it to weaken the opposition, 40 million pounds to pay for Haaland’s wages, is that right? The end game, do Southampton have a limited scouting network? Phil Foden is the only player of note to progress to first team level over a seven year span, numbers wise that’s dire, put that on your jellybeans Wilcox. Are City’s accreditations all mumbo jumbo? To highlight the problem at City is the young player Carlton Cole, a prolific goal scorer at youth level who was given opportunities with City’s first team only for Guardiola to pull the plug on Cole, to the substitute’s bench. Of the opinion that Cole should be playing regular first team football, so is Carlton’s progress now being hindered? Clubs like City go and splash the cash on the finished article from abroad, that’s the reality, Haaland at forty five million pounds a year salary, no contest.

The Art of the Deal

According to the Daily Mail’s head honcho writer, Gary Lineker’s salary of 1.35 million pounds a year should not be criticised, nonsense of course, but being on a hefty salary himself of 400,000 a year, to engineer a position for oneself to avoid criticism if questioned. It falls in line with the DM’s writer’s views for a non regulation in football akin to the no parrot on the shoulder to reign in those excessive wages. That’s the art of the deal, to fall in line with Linekar’s pay masters, the BBC, trumped.

It has to be said that Linekar’s hosting qualities have enriched and sustained the Match of the Day programme, alongside maintaining the historical value of the programme, but so did Sue Barker’s hosting of the ‘Question of Sport’ quiz programme, but Sue’s no WOKE accomplice. There can be a reason behind an attempted hidden reason, to follow. Lineker has a tendency to connect in a veiled mask to the wokey woes, freedom of speech, why not, it is all part of falling in line with the BBC to sustain one’s position and to massage the ego. The Beeb’s alignment to the mentioned, the twinned badge, Lineker and the BBC, therein lies the answer to Gary’s packet of the day, titled ‘The Art of the Deal’.

Shooting Stars

The Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has returned to the Football Column following on from a second swipe at a manger, the former Magpie’s manager Steve Bruce has now joined forces with Jurgen Klopp who was on the butt end of Eddie’s unsavouriness, Howe needs to back up his speak with facts, not shooting stars ringing around one’s mass. Over to you Eddie, quote time “I seen players that wanted to be coached and wanted help, I always believed the Newcastle squad I inherited was full of good players”.

In defence of Steve Bruce, who was working with no key to a limited transfer kitty, alongside the owner Mike Ashley who offered no support. Bruce performed his duties in a professional manner alongside sustaining the club’s Premiership status. Howe has walked into a totally different environment at Newcastle, a money environment with supportive owners, it’s a bad look when a manager questions another manager’s work ethics. What ever happened to Eddie Howe, the before nice boy image from the South Coast holiday resort of Bournemouth, missing the sun Eddie, fly those magpie droppings, splat.

A Ronaldo Crisis?

The Football Column always endeavours to offer a different opinion, a different take, the Manero does not subscribe in its entirety to the Cristiano Ronaldo criticism. The start point, pre-season, step into my office Cristiano, the Ten Hag “You scored twenty four goals last season, the main man come forward, game time to follow for the 2022-23 season”. The paragraphed to suggest words spoken by Ten Hag to Ronaldo, to be given assurances, promises, did this. Have substance, perhaps not.

Time to delve into the details, the Portuguese have been involved on ten occasions this season with no constant desire by the United manager to play Ronaldo, reasons known to Ten Hag, football reasons, questionable. The print out, Ten Hag for his part on the 2^nd October, the Dutchman has Ronaldo as an unused substitute v Manchester City and a United pummelling six to three, but no sign of Ronaldo, what are the reasons for that, a forty five minute Ronaldo appearance would have increased the United goal threat and taken some of the sting on why he had not used Ronaldo, words to the effect “I have too much respect for Cristiano to bring him on late as a substitute in a game”.

Two weeks plus later on the 19^th October, United entertained Tottenham Hotspur and cruised to a two to nil victory with Ten Hag deciding to use the substitute Ronaldo in the eighty ninth minute, the Ron seen the light of day and refused ten Hag’s bullshit and exited early doors down the tunnel. This came on the back of the manager’s comments v Manchester City. On the 10^th November v Aston Villa, Ronaldo was made captain, three differing takes from the Dutchman, to take the p_ _s.

Out of the woodwork they came, Neville and Rooney at the forefront, former team mates who need friends, jealousy is normally the driving force. The Ron questioned the club’s dated facilities and a no meeting with the Glaziers on one’s arrival pre-season, but the Macintosh Men (Glaziers) will feed off the Ronaldo merchandise power, they will appear at that meeting, the incoming commercial CR7 club revenues. It can be said that United could now be playing in the Championship without Ronaldo’s 2021-22 goal plunge. Cristiano is no angel, but who is? He felt the need to tell his side of the story, it also has a sub-plot to manoeuvre a move out of the club. Ronaldo should have kept his council on the manager Ten Hag. The Ronaldo legacy will endure, not this United debacle, the legacy CR7.

The 2022 World Cup

Due to publication timescales, an overview of the World Cup will feature in January 2023’s edition articles, into flashback mode, cameras and reporting permitted? Qatar 2022.