Ed. Note - Any editorial rant that invokes the name of Thor’s Hammer is ok by me. Here’s Geoff Wessel with a good old fashioned venting of his spleen…
Well well well, lookie who’s back in England, trying to further destroy anything remotely exciting about club football.
Oh yes, once again Swingin’ Sepp Blatter, FIFA President Extraordinaire, is swingin’ the mighty Sepp Hammer like it was Mjolnir itself. As if meddling in the FA’s business during the Rio Ferdinand affair wasn’t enough, Blatter is now pushing, again, for the English Premier League to drop from 20 to 16 teams, AS WELL AS limiting the number of domestic ties played per season. Thus also cutting into the FA and League (Carling, whatever) Cups, in case you were keeping score.
Bringing his meddlesome self before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair is just the latest in what is becoming a very long string of incidents of Blatter sticking his nose into English football’s business. We all know about his very hands-on involvement in Riogate. However, one has to wonder if Blatter knows anything beyond his own sphere of influence. Like when he calls for a unified British league consisting of Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland — at a time when, politically, the urge and need for these nations to be governmentally and culturally autonomous has not only been stronger, but more likely than ever before in history!
Or pushing through the need to have every game end in penalty shootouts. Mr. Blatter may not be aware, but the FA Cup predates FIFA’s very existence by almost 30 years. For Blatter to wonder why there are replays in cases of a draw is sheer ignorance of the very history of the game. Besides which, does anyone find penalty shootouts exciting in the LEAST? Compare the Golden Goal win of South Korea over Italy in the 2002 World Cup; the silver goal that sent FC Porto over Celtic to win the UEFA Cup; and the penalty shootout between AC Milan and Juventus in the dull turgid and ultimately gawdawful 2003 Champions League Final. Hmmm…I wonder which games I’d rather be reminiscing about. Penalty shootouts are for hockey, and if Blatter thinks these are exciting parts of a game, then he can join the NHL.
Blatter’s “special interest” in the English game is going to be the ruin of it. His flaming preference for international friendlies that amount to, well, sod all are going to kill the excitement, history and tradition of club football. Why must Mark Viduka be penalized for being loyal to those what PAY HIS WAGES at a time when Leeds United needs him most? Why did Marc-Vivien Foe have to die over a Mickey Mouse international tournament nobody cared about in the end?
Much is the vitriol I should be transferring to this editorial about Blatter. But in the end, I can boil it down to this - BLATTER MUST GO. He must be removed from FIFA if the game is to survive well beyond the 21st century. Because at this point, his rampant ego is going to smother it.
—
But as I rally against one overbloated egotistical arse, let us all give a fond middle-fingered farewell to another, who finally called full-time today.
Yes, Master Bates has left Chelski. After 22 years of hardline raging egotism, mismanagement in the name of both club and country (Who ran the Wembley restoration project into the ground? THAT’S RIGHT!), and ultimately achieving Sod All as far as league titles, Ken Bates has left the club he paid 1-quid to become chairman of. Well, he got what he paid for, that’s for certain.
Good riddance to bad rubbish I say.
— Geoff
7 Responses to “Suffering from overactive Blatters, and quitting Master Bates”
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March 3rd, 2004 at 10:21 am
Well Geoff,
I dont think Blatter said anything wrong whiles in England. He made some good points and for the benefit of the league we hope some of this points are put into place.
I cant see one person that likes the guy but one thing for sure. Is all politics but as the FA/PFA all knows we need a big change in the game before too late.
From the FT to the sun I cant see one paper or reporter that was against the issues he put across.
Change is good and will benefit the whole of England not just Arsenal
March 3rd, 2004 at 11:19 am
I don’t think it would be a bad idea to cut the league to 18 teams but I’d leave the FA Cup alone. There’s so much tradition there that FIFA really don’t understand.
Blatter should really be concerning himself with all the meaningless competitions and international friendlies being organized. I hear for eample that the world club championship is to be started up again to be played in January. What’s the point?
March 3rd, 2004 at 12:04 pm
Good Points
I hope the league is cut too. One days soon
With the FA cup all he said was for replays to be cut which Mr Wenger mentioned some time ago.
The league cup is something the big clubs like Arsenal are not interest in. Maybe a place in the Championship league for the winners.
There are problems which needs to be fix. As the 72 managers in England and Wales mention something have to go. They are all complaining but doing nothing so I dont see anything wrong with comments.
As for the International games itself, Let made it known Fifa like the UN is a league of nations and to blame someone is easy said and done. A good article in the Express of all papers said it.
The nations in Fifa are not help each. Some of the friendlies are a big joke but who do you blame.
March 3rd, 2004 at 12:10 pm
Good Points
I hope the league is cut too. One days soon
With the FA cup all he said was for replays to be cut which Mr Wenger mentioned some time ago.
The league cup is something the big clubs like Arsenal are not interest in. Maybe a place in the Championship league for the winners.
There are problems which needs to be fix. As the 72 managers in England and Wales mention something have to go. They are all complaining but doing nothing so I dont see anything wrong with comments.
As for the International games itself, Let made it known Fifa like the UN is a league of nations and to blame someone is easy said and done. A good article in the Express of all papers said it.
The nations in Fifa are not helping each other. Some of the friendlies are a big joke true but who do you blame. Not only Fifa but the countries making money. A source of funds if you asked the FA.
March 3rd, 2004 at 2:50 pm
I agree that blatter is a meddling twit who cheated his way to another term in office. just one thing though, i actually think the world club championship is a good competiion, its the only time that the winning clubs from different confederations get to play each other. there are way too many friendlies tho, and imo they achieve nothing.
March 3rd, 2004 at 4:02 pm
Guys let try and have a debate here once with facts and not all these unproven chats. I believe is good to have a good debate here as adults but sometimes I wish people come up with facts instead jumping the gun or pointing fingers at someone. One thing first football is not all about Arsenal but also what you don?t see or hear. The world of football is politics and if you don?t understand that then support Arsenal but stop the fiction stories
I know the whole so-called football world cant stand Sepp Blatter but voted for him. I hope you all remember the Blatter/Issa Hayatou saga. I don?t agree with one thing this guy had done for football but then Blatter gets a landslide vote, ?310 votes with only 59 against? to me this indicates a high level of corruption at the heart of football. The equitable manner in which Fifa distributes the annual funds to the various football associations is not going down well with some of the “powers”. There are those who believe that the amounts to be given to associations should not be equal, but should be based on their perceived “stature and contributions”. That is why they wanted Issa Hayatou, so as to make him a toothless bulldog, and then later blame Africa for his incompetence.
Please Blatter or not football is corrupt and Hayatou would have been a puppet for the Uefa President.
March 3rd, 2004 at 5:20 pm
I could add my own analysis to the Sepp Blatter fiasco, but I think Dale Johnson of Soccernet sums it all up best.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=293117&cc=5901