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Minilad

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He doesn't seem to be on as often these days. He was very good in the past but now seems to think it is about him. BBC are better than Sky Radio

I heard him a few weeks ago and had to turn off. Constant moaning about this and that. Drove me mad. Sky radio is, I am presuming you mean TalkSport, absolute rubbish in pretty much every aspect
 

DarloRich

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I heard him a few weeks ago and had to turn off. Constant moaning about this and that. Drove me mad. Sky radio is, I am presuming you mean TalkSport, absolute rubbish in pretty much every aspect

indeed - however he doesn't drive me as mad as Steve Claridge. Knows nowt, and I mean absolutely nowt, about football despite having being a bang average player at the top level for many years.
 

DarloRich

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Ex small heath. What do you expect. See also Gobby Cabbage aka Robbie Savage

I don't actively dislike Robbie Savage. He seems to be confused as to how and knows he was lucky that he did have a career as a footballer and behaves on the radio as if, at any moment, someone will come along and accuse him of being an imposer and drag him off the air! He is also honest, expect where his Welsh mate Hughesie is concerned.
 

Kite159

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Who would have expected Liverpool to have won 5-0 away to Porto last night?

Certainly deserving of a bravo, now don't collapse in the 2nd leg
 

DarloRich

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Claridge is an absolute tool. Doesn't have a good word to say about us. Which is just as well, as he's the worst striker I've ever seen in Claret and Amber. And I saw John McGinlay

I have to turn the radio off when he appears. I am filled with rage otherwise. Ruins a Sunday afternoon that does.
 

Butts

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Who would have expected Liverpool to have won 5-0 away to Porto last night?

Certainly deserving of a bravo, now don't collapse in the 2nd leg

How can they lose to Swansea and West Brom then turn in a performance like that ?

Not to mention outclassing the Champions Elect City !!
 

Butts

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The Premier League is dreadful garbage. I’ve not watched MOTD regularly for about ten years.

Each to their own, at least you get the highlights (assuming there are any) of each match and don't have to sit through a "snore draw" live.
 

AlterEgo

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I was in full agreement with this... but then last May happened!

The PL has declined so far in quality and entertainment value. 1995-2002 was probably the absolute height of the PL, when it was the best league in the world.

Now, like most football, it’s emasculated and desperate for relevance. There are literally hundreds of things wrong with the game these days which make it less watchable than it used to be. Here are a few:

Diving
Video refereeing
Statisticians and scientists
No stanchions in the goal any more
Too much money
Too few home-grown players
Pitches like snooker tables
All-seater stadia
Overall quality of play
Ticket prices
SKY!
Inanimate crowds
Badge kissers
The current offside law
Too much protection for goalkeepers
Laws regarding dangerous play are too soft
Lack of player respect for referees
Player power
Foreign money
FA Cup semis at Wembley
Lack of hard tackling
Disgusting chants and social media trolling
A complete lack of appreciation of artistry
Too many minute’s silences
Minute’s applauses
Black armbands worn too often
Poppies on shirts
Socks worn above the knee
No mud
Chequered “custom” goal nets
Desperate PR stunts for social relevance
 

AlterEgo

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Of all the above, by the way, the first thing I’d change is to rip out all the identical goals in every pitch and make every club install the apparatus they had in 1992. A time where you could tell which ground was on telly just from looking at the net and stanchions. I’d happily take a quiz!
 

61653 HTAFC

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The PL has declined so far in quality and entertainment value. 1995-2002 was probably the absolute height of the PL, when it was the best league in the world.

Now, like most football, it’s emasculated and desperate for relevance. There are literally hundreds of things wrong with the game these days which make it less watchable than it used to be. Here are a few:

Diving
Video refereeing
Statisticians and scientists
No stanchions in the goal any more
Too much money
Too few home-grown players
Pitches like snooker tables
All-seater stadia
Overall quality of play
Ticket prices
SKY!
Inanimate crowds
Badge kissers
The current offside law
Too much protection for goalkeepers
Laws regarding dangerous play are too soft
Lack of player respect for referees
Player power
Foreign money
FA Cup semis at Wembley
Lack of hard tackling
Disgusting chants and social media trolling
A complete lack of appreciation of artistry
Too many minute’s silences
Minute’s applauses
Black armbands worn too often
Poppies on shirts
Socks worn above the knee
No mud
Chequered “custom” goal nets
Desperate PR stunts for social relevance
I agree with most of what you've said, but with a few qualms...

The period outlined was largely dominated by one team. In recent years the title race has usually been competitive (this season notwithstanding) with at least 2 sides having the possibility of claiming top spot at the start of April. Compared with most European leagues where you have just one or two teams that are a different class to the rest.

The whole "Best League In The World" label is pointless anyway: I don't care how entertaining the Serbian (or wherever) Premier League is because the team I support isn't involved.
 

AlterEgo

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The period outlined was largely dominated by one team. In recent years the title race has usually been competitive (this season notwithstanding) with at least 2 sides having the possibility of claiming top spot at the start of April.

In my view this is due to an overall decline in quality, especially at the top.

Leicester City winning the league was wonderful, and a Good Thing, but it did serve to illustrate how weak the league as a whole has become.
 

Tetchytyke

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In my view this is due to an overall decline in quality, especially at the top.

I don't think the drop in quality is at the top, it's in the middle and at the bottom. Burnley, in 7th, are almost as close to the relegation places (10 points) as they are to Arsenal in 6th (9 points).

The consequence is that the battle at the top gets duller, because any dropped points are disastrous as they're so unlikely to get dropped. Man City have 5 more points after 27 games than the Arsenal Invincible side. Its because there is so much dross to steamroller.
 

61653 HTAFC

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In my view this is due to an overall decline in quality, especially at the top.

Leicester City winning the league was wonderful, and a Good Thing, but it did serve to illustrate how weak the league as a whole has become.

So when Newton Heath were dominating it was high quality, but when someone breaks that glass ceiling (even temporarily) it shows a lack of quality? Yes, the bigger sides weren't great that year which allowed Leicester to make history, but the league as a spectacle actually benefitted from that lack of quality from the established "bigger" sides.

Crooks, yes, though with two FA Cups he has some calibre. Lawrenson has won everything under the sun, he's earned the right.

Claridge? A League Cup? Haway.

I'm not sure achievement as a player automatically qualifies someone as a pundit. Gary Neville has loads of medals but is still as dull as ditchwater on camera. On the other hand Pat Nevin is one of the most intelligent pundits around, even though his playing c.v. isn't quite so impressive.
 

fowler9

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In my view this is due to an overall decline in quality, especially at the top.

Hmmm, yeah, 5 English Premier League teams in the last 16 of the Champions league? Do you think football in general must have reduced in quality.

Another thing that interested me last night on ITV was Roy Keane saying that back when he played in the Champions League it was only the champions the played in it. I seem to recall when Manchester United won the Treble they didn't go in to the Champions League as Champions.
 

AlterEgo

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Hmmm, yeah, 5 English Premier League teams in the last 16 of the Champions league? Do you think football in general must have reduced in quality.

No, just the Premier League. I don’t know about the other leagues.

5 PL teams in the last 16 in a single season tells us very little.
 

roversfan2001

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Hmmm, yeah, 5 English Premier League teams in the last 16 of the Champions league? Do you think football in general must have reduced in quality.

Another thing that interested me last night on ITV was Roy Keane saying that back when he played in the Champions League it was only the champions the played in it. I seem to recall when Manchester United won the Treble they didn't go in to the Champions League as Champions.
Up until the mid 90s it was it was actually the Champions League, if you ask me then it should still be that way. Something about a team who finished below 3 (or more) teams in their own country potentially being crowned 'Champions of Europe' doesn't make much sense to me.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Up until the mid 90s it was it was actually the Champions League, if you ask me then it should still be that way. Something about a team who finished below 3 (or more) teams in their own country potentially being crowned 'Champions of Europe' doesn't make much sense to me.

The TV monies internationally available will always override the logic of the football supporter.
 

roversfan2001

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The TV monies internationally available will always override the logic of the football supporter.
Indeed, that's the sad way football has gone in recent times. A part of me is strangely happy we're in the third tier now, where the money is a lot less abundant than in the Premier League, it's almost "proper football".
 

fowler9

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No, just the Premier League. I don’t know about the other leagues.

5 PL teams in the last 16 in a single season tells us very little.
Depends what you mean. If 5 English teams are in the last 16 of the Champions League the quality isn't that bad. My team, Liverpool, beat the unbeaten Portuguese league leaders 5-0 at their own place last night. I would say the standard is pretty high given how poor parts of our team are or are said to be.
Up until the mid 90s it was it was actually the Champions League, if you ask me then it should still be that way. Something about a team who finished below 3 (or more) teams in their own country potentially being crowned 'Champions of Europe' doesn't make much sense to me.
I agree. Kind of why I found it cheeky Roy Keane claiming when he played in the Champions League it was only the Champions.
 

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