The Blue Card, Sinbin, IFAB & The slow march towards Americanism

[Ragatino]

Alreet bonny lads and lasses, how we all deeing?

Been a while since I had a right good old moan about something. 'Ave not really been posting much at all the moment.

Mostly because things are going pretty much alright IMO. The club is slowly getting sorted out top to bottom. The Board are decent genuine people. We're getting good communication from the club and even NUFC TV's content has improved dramatically.

All pretty rosy in the B&W garden right now, long may the stability continue.

What is grinding my gears right now are the external forces. The decisions made by 'rule makers and governing bodies' make my blood boil.

We're beaten the PSR/FFP schtick to death over and over. It's clear that the other clubs conspire against us with the support of the EPL management to ensure that we'll have to do everything the hard way. However, nothing will stop us, we'll just have to take the long way round to get to the top of the mountain.

What I want to moan about is all this garbage around a 'blue card/SinBin' nonsense.

As with VAR, the sales pitch was 'we're sorting out the issues around bad decisions in the game'. Being a cynical Capitalist & knowing the kind of money hungry vultures sat in shaded backroom offices who hold the levers of power within UEFA, FIFA, EPL & IFAB etc I took a step back and began to think more laterally as to their actual 'want'.

We as fans know full well these clowns don't give a damn about us, Match kicks offs shifted to milk the TV money regardless of whether it's possible for away fans to get home etc. The simply don't even factor in the fans in any decision what so ever, if you think they do, please take a step out side and introduce your heed to the brick wall several dozen times and then come back in and join the conversation 'clear heeded'!

So, sat in on airport departure club lounge or another my focus went away to what they really want.

The answer, as always - Money & how do they milk more money from the sport.

US football has more stoppages than a 3rd rate boxer, an advertisers dream. Every 2-3 mins there is another commercial break, picture in picture ads and endless sponsorships - saturation.

They want to access the global sports market but the world doesn't give a toss about the NFL or the NBA. It's just not sport, it's entertainment. A vehicle to cynically sell advertisements.

The beautiful game is looked at with those greedy eyes, however, due to the free flowing nature of the sport there is no opportunity to 'Cut to Ad breaks.'

Enter the 'sinbin/blue card'. This will offer yet more stoppages to the game and combine with VAR stoppages offers the opportunity for the introduction of more ad breaks in the broadcasting.

Utterly destroying the intensity and pressure of the game.

All meetings and discussion between members of IFAB, UEFA or FIFA should be open public hearings.

What's everyone's take on this garbage proposition & my paranoid conspiratorial thoughts?

[Jammy89]

That is a genuienly horrible way to look at it. . . yet totally brilliant and plausible.

THink you could well be spot on Rag.

Although - I do think some other clubs are beginning to come round to the fact we're not the enemy, they've realised that if we can't break into the top with out money they'll stand no chance.

[ex_pat_magpie]

That is a genuienly horrible way to look at it. . . yet totally brilliant and plausible.

THink you could well be spot on Rag.
Although - I do think some other clubs are beginning to come round to the fact we're not the enemy, they've realised that if we can't break into the top with out money they'll stand no chance.

That's true Jammy, but is only the "former" "so called big six" that the Prem seem to be wanting to look after. After all historically those six have built up the biggest power by way of income from sponsorship the the powers that be in the Prem have sat back and not really bothered until now.

Unfortunately from them, the likes of us, Villa, WHA,and Brighton have genuinely clawed our way and are gradually breaking into the "cartel"

Last couple of seasons Chelski have come adrift and Spuds looking likely along with Manure being the next two. As long as us four and others on the fringe can keep the pressure up it will get both better and fairer.

[Zippity]

You're spot on as usual, Raga.

It's all about money now. The people in charge don't give a single, shiny sh!te about the game -they're only interested in lining their own pockets and making sure it stays that way.

[Ragatino]

That's true Jammy, but is only the "former" "so called big six" that the Prem seem to be wanting to look after. After all historically those six have built up the biggest power by way of income from sponsorship the the powers that be in the Prem have sat back and not really bothered until now.

Unfortunately from them, the likes of us, Villa, WHA,and Brighton have genuinely clawed our way and are gradually breaking into the "cartel"

Last couple of seasons Chelski have come adrift and Spuds looking likely along with Manure being the next two. As long as us four and others on the fringe can keep the pressure up it will get both better and fairer.

Aye Jammy some of the other 14 are starting to smell to coffee and that we are not the evil empire, at least, not quite yet. City are city, no one brought any rule changes to bare against them on their way up nor Chelsea.

Delighted to see Chelsea and Man U squandering fortunes and hitting the FFP limits, unable to spend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJEphwnabqg - here is Wor 'Manad's full interview in Jeddah last week where she mentioned 'A coach who didn't even want to come to work' - too classy to actually name the loser, however Cabbage's mates in the MSM still called her worse than $hite for pointing the finger and the unprofessional fat clown. What a joke.

In her interview she talks about how the EPL is damaging it's ability to grow with the financial restrictions of PSR/FFP & she is right. Not only that but it is clearly 'Anti-competitive' - as you mention Pat - Creating a Cartel. Unacceptable and actually illegal in Britain. If someone put a nice law suit in against the Prem for the PSG/FFP rules it would cause a right stink. win or lose!

IF clubs have owners with mean they should be able to spend. The operating costs/OPEX (operational expenditure, wages etc) of each club should be inline with their revenue I agree but to says that businesses in the same group can't invest in one another is insane.

I literally have one business that loses money every single year & not just a little bit of money. However, it is the marketing tool by which I get the name of other companies out to the market here in the Middle East.

So the rest of the businesses invest in the 'loss' making company so it breaks even and the guys get their salaries. If I didn't do this it would have gone under during Covid. Well.. almost the whole thing went under during that pile of pi$$ lol

[Magzer]

There's always a method in the madness of those people.

[toptoon]

Good post Rag.

I also worry about sporting integrity in our game and think there is a possibility that they could kill the goose laying the golden eggs.
One idea could be to set up a regulatory body with the job of maintaining sporting integrity in football (a bit like Oftel that regulated the British Telecom monopoly in the UK). It could be made up of real football people (former players, eg) but it would need power to curtail the clubs (that’s the hard part).

[Ragatino]

Fans need to be involved with the Regulator to ensure that the fundamentals.

2 halve of 45 mins. Yellow & red cards etc are protected.

If the core fundamentals of the game are changes it will not be the same sport.

If the Obese Western Atlantic people want to create 'Soccer' with 4 quarters and all manner of stoppages, swapping players in and out like all their other boring marketing events masquerading as sports then I say go for it!

However, Football is football AND WE WILL DEFEND IT'S INTEGRITY TO OUR DYING BREATH!