2016 - 2017 Football Thread - Page 259

On May 16 2017 21:10 Redox wrote:
DAZN is awesome. It is exactly what I always wanted from TV online. Great news that they have rights next to Sky which is way too expensive.

And I always thought it was bs how much money the public broadcasters spend on football and other sports. Among other areas where they also waste money of course.

On May 16 2017 21:36 mahrgell wrote:
Uhm... this does not mean, that you can watch all games if you have DAZN... Sky still holds the right to most of them and DAZN will only get some smaller share.

And given that ZDF/ARD are always available via stream, I have no clue how this would improve anything even for those without TV

PS: Of course, semifinals/finals will have to be available for free again, but this will be done via Sky Sports News HD.

On May 16 2017 19:31 mahrgell wrote:
According to French media Aubamon has been offered 50kk €/y salary by Tianjin Quanjian.

But I guess he values his lifestyle too much to accept it. Also I doubt this would be the ideal choice for his sons school "career".

On May 16 2017 04:05 RvB wrote:
Just wanted to share this vid. It's my local FC celebrating the league win with the fans (I'm there somehwere).
+ Show Spoiler +
A little bit of backstory: I live in a small village (20k) in NL and we have 2 big amateur football clubs. I've played and am a huge fan of one of them (IJsselmeervogels). We're the most succesful amateur FC in Dutch football by far wih 68 titles. Anyway we won the league last saturday for the first time in years. Some of you probably know me as a big Ajax fan but I love IJsselmeervogels way more. This is almost as big as Ajax winning the Europa League for me.

Sunil Gulati has run unopposed in his three campaigns for U.S. Soccer Federation president, but if he decides to seek reelection next year, he might have competition.

Steven Gans, a Boston attorney with myriad connections to the soccer community over several decades, told The Post on Monday that he has begun exploring a run for American soccer’s most powerful position.

“What I am hearing is a lot of unhappiness and people want change,” he said. “I agree that change is good, not for its own sake, but especially in this case when the leadership has some question marks about it.”

Gans, 56, said he will solicit feedback from the soccer community before deciding whether to run, but at the moment, he said he’s leaning toward launching a formal campaign.

“This is America, and it’s amazing to me that such a big position, no one has ever run against Sunil,” Gans said. “There needs to be a challenger. He hasn’t demonstrated such a great track record. I don’t think the direction at the pro and youth level is so great. There are a lot of disenchanted people out there.”

Gans faces a daunting task. Gulati, 57, has served in the upper levels of USSF leadership since 2000, won his first presidential race in 2006 and, in 2013, was elected to the executive committee of FIFA, the sport’s international governing body.

He is at the forefront of the campaign for the United States, partnering with Mexico and Canada, to host the 2026 World Cup. Barring unexpected complications, FIFA will award the competition next summer to North America for the first time since the 1994 tournament in the United States.

Gulati — who, under new USSF guidelines, is allowed to serve one more term — has not announced his plans. Many in soccer circles, though, expect him to run again. He did not want to comment for this story.

The next election will take place at the federation’s annual general meeting in February in Orlando.

The presidency of the nonprofit organization is an unpaid position. Secretary General Dan Flynn, a salaried employee, runs day-to-day and business operations from the federation’s Chicago headquarters. Gulati lives in New York and is a senior lecturer in economics at Columbia University.

Gulati’s critics, including Gans, point to fractures in youth soccer and Jurgen Klinsmann’s high-priced tenure as coach of the men’s national team, one that ended in his firing in November with two years left on his contract and jeopardized the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. About 2 1/2 years into the job, Klinsmann received a contract extension through the 2018 World Cup before his team even participated in the 2014 tournament.

“The Klinsmann fiasco is just one example of bad judgment,” Gans said. “It’s a nonprofit organization; it’s cost them millions of dollars.”

Gans acknowledges the improved financial state of the USSF under Gulati’s leadership, but, he added, “Has he used those resources well?”

“I’ll give Sunil his due: He is a very bright guy and has his strengths,” Gans said. “But I’ve known him for 26 years, and I know his strengths and I know his foibles. I don’t think he is well-rounded in the game, quite frankly. A lot of good things have happened, for sure, but part of it is just the inexorable force about how great this sport is and how it’s finally clicking in this country. You have to be a custodian; there’s a public trust in a role like this.”

Gans also cites transparency as a major issue at the USSF. “People who contact me and urged me to run are frustrated,” he said. “They feel like it’s their governing body and they know nothing” about its inner workings.

On May 17 2017 13:15 sharkie wrote:
west brom was Arsenal's last hope for top4!

On May 17 2017 16:55 sharkie wrote:
Well the passion is also disappearing from the game. Football has become more and more robotic. So building excitement is also difficult.

Also teams like Real, Barca, Bayern dominate way too much

On May 17 2017 14:30 evilfatsh1t wrote:
a bit early for this but i notice that every passing year this thread gets about half as many posts as it did the year before. a bit concerning since this time we even consolidated the cl thread into this and it still got only about half as many posts.
football in tl is dying

On May 17 2017 18:06 RvB wrote:
Might have more to do with activity on TL in general instead of football. Not sure though.