So seriously - who needs FIFA (and UEFA) and why?

[Slim]

No other war can be compared to the first or even the second world wars, as we liberated ALL OF EUROPE from Hitler ect....its that simple.
If it wasn't for them brave soldiers then some of us wouldn't be here today so the Poppy stance is different from any other imo.

Was afraid the post would be TL;DR

The poppy appeal is for service men and women who are injured, and families for those who have died.
This is not just the first and second world wars. It was created after the first world was and does ramp up close to armistice day / remembrance day.

The poppy appeal helps current soldiers and their families as well as those from wars in the past.

The armed services are not political - the politicians are. The armed services have no say (other than operational) about who they fight. It's worth saying again, the armed services are not political.

Dameerto breaks the story of the year, Politicians are Political, details at 6.

[ronk]

Sandro Rosell becomes the second big club boss to threaten a breakaway. The writing is on the wall Mr Platini. You do not call the shots anymore.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... tions.html

FIFA and UEFA should pay players' wages during international tournaments, according to Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.

The Catalan giants provide the majority of the Spain team and Rosell wants does not reckon his club should be paying for the privilege.

The proposal was one of several suggested by Rosell at a conference in Doha - the Barca chief also wants to cut the number of teams in the top European Leagues and expand the Champions League.

He also warned UEFA that the major clubs could break away if certain demands were not met.

On the payment of players during World Cups and European Championships, he said: 'This is what we are discussing with both institutions (for the governing bodies to pay).
'That could happen in the near future because we don't think it's fair that we pay the salaries and they use our players and they get income using our players. This is something that has to be treated very seriously.

'We hope they will hear what we want to tell them.'

Like the Premier League, La Liga in Spain and Italy's Serie A have 20 teams but Rosell said: 'The objective of reducing from 20 to 16 teams is to give more space to our players.

'Then once the dates are liberated, these dates are not for the (national) federations. The dates are for the clubs to organise friendly games or to increase the European competitions.'

Rosell said UEFA needs to address calls by the European Club Association (ECA) for a bigger Champions League to create more revenue.

'We want to have the Champions League under the umbrella of UEFA, but we also want UEFA to hear our demands, what the European Club Association is asking,' he said.

'We are asking for more revenue. We are asking for governance, transparency, insurance.

'We would like to have a Champions League with more teams. That means, one day we can play a Barcelona v Manchester United Champions League game on Saturday or Sunday.'

Premier League teams have fiercely resisted previous attempts to cut numbers but Rosell said the lure of an enlarged Champions League could be decisive.

'We have to convince the Premier League to reduce to 16 teams as well,' he said.

UEFA's agreement with the ECA expires in 2014 and Rosell warned the clubs could go it alone unless the governing body accepts the demands.

'If not then ECA is entitled to organise their own champions competition by themselves,' he said.

Rosell said the ECA's current memorandum of understanding with UEFA was valid until 2014, with a new agreement under discussion.

'If this (a new MoU) doesn't happen, then the worst case scenario is that we will go away from UEFA.'

That article is so badly written as to be almost unreadable. It's just rambling gobbledygook.

[ross.mcfc]

35 times since WW2 has England played a fixture around this time. This is the first time you've sought to wear a poppy. Why? What's different this time that's made it sooooo important? The comments and furore I've read and listened to have been...well... Embarrassing. Could it be that this issue has been brewed in an attempt to deflect criticism from an accused racist captain? I say yes. And you've been duped.

Just a foreigners perspective. Take it with a dash of salt.

This.

The English FA are one of four FA's that can review and change the laws of the game. They never seemed bothered before say losing out on a world cup bid. They knew fine well it would not be allowed, it was simply a bitter bit of points scoring which is amusing since they were screaming like little bitches just before the bid failed at the BBC for correctly highlighting what a joke the whole process was.

It was embarrassing saga that was used by politicians to deflect off any real news like say the economy being screwed and countries going against the wall. Poppy fascism was rife last week. If you want to wear one. Go ahead. No problems with it all. If you dont, No problem with that either. It's an individual choice but you cant go around forcing it on other countries the way the FA did. Where do you draw the line? A minutes silence before the up and coming Ireland friendly in Dublin for those killed in Bloody Sunday?

It makes my blood boil when I see politicians every year with there poppies getting even bigger every time they appear on tv at this time of year going on about respect to soldiers. You can argue the rights and wrongs of the wars we have been in since WW2 all you like but these are the same politicians that sent soldiers to a war they will never win, underpaid, under equipped and then thrown on the scrapheap once they are done with them. The rate of suicide amongst ex soldiers is much higher than any other occupation. You only have to look at the story at the weekend about the cuts to soldiers who have been wounded at war. Hypocrites every single one of them. They read out the soldiers names who are killed every week at PMQ's and say they will never be forgotten but an hour later cant even remember their names.

Poppygate was just another example of politicians using memorial day as an excuse to further whip the masses into a fury to agree there own ideologies. The Human Rights Act last month and now this. 'Johhny Foreigner telling us English what to do, How dare they. Better of without them'.

It was a national embarrassment that the media ran with this story and sucked it up like a bunch of cum loving sluts.

Rant over. Back to the original posters point. FIFA and UEFA. Who needs them? Well the English FA for starters. Would probably go bust without World Cup and Euro Championship money. Wembley has to be paid for which is why even friendlies are not allowed to be played anywhere bar there. It would be turned into a Tescos overnight if you pulled out of UEFA/FIFA. I am sure the clubs including City LOVE the CL cash. In fact if the riches given out for the CL were not on offer I very much doubt out current owners would be interested in us at the moment.

Both organisations have massive faults, but they are a bit like democracy. A terrible system but can you think of a better idea? The last thing would want for football is it to be ran by the G14. A European Super League without relegation where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer might float some people boat but not mine.

It's nice to be back.

[ross.mcfc]

No other war can be compared to the first or even the second world wars, as we liberated ALL OF EUROPE from Hitler ect....its that simple.
If it wasn't for them brave soldiers then some of us wouldn't be here today so the Poppy stance is different from any other imo.

Not all of Europe. I think you will find Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Ireland were all relatively safe. He had no interest in invading any of these countries or the UK and France until we got correctly got involved. In fact we were quite happy for him to have Austria and the Czech Republic and you could argue that if we had stepped in then instead of turning a blind eye to it and nipped it in the bud nice and early the whole thing could have been avoided. Countries in our Axis were keen to a bit of invading themselves. Ask Antti who probably still has his rifle in the cupboard just incase.

You also cant put the first and second world wars together. Whilst WW2 was a just and brave act can you tell me what WW1 was about? This was no good verses evil. Just a bunch of jumped up countries desperate to show the other one who had the best army. Tens of millions of people all over Europe died for no reason what so ever. The most senseless war there will hopefully ever be.

If it wasn't for them brave soldiers then some of us wouldn't be here today so the Poppy stance is different from any other imo.

There is no way of knowing that. Who knows how long the Nazi rule would have lasted. All empires as we British know eventually crumble. Contingency plans were in place and our own royals were preparing to serve under Hitler if the shit had hit the fan. We would certainly not all be speaking German as some would like us to think. Hitler was not really interested in the UK. His plans for the UK are well documented and it would have been similar to British Rule in the Commonwealth. Our trains would have ran on time too!

If the poppy was all about WW2 and ALL who died on either side then I doubt this would ever be an issue. But it's not.

[john@staustell]

Not all of Europe. I think you will find Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Ireland were all relatively safe. .

"Safe"? Now there's a subject for debate if ever there was one!!

[Slim]

Well Franco's civil war only killed what, half a million? Safe. Portugal and Ireland had the benefit of having a country between them and the nazi's, Sweden were coerced/bullied into providing steel in the same way Romania provided oil and Switzerland while pretending to be neutral provided troops to the nazi's and had the brilliant idea to keep allied pilots there until the end of the war, but they weren't exactly prisoners, they could leave and all they had to do was cross the alps with no supplies.

[john@staustell]

Well Franco's civil war only killed what, half a million? Safe. Portugal and Ireland had the benefit of having a country between them and the nazi's, Sweden were coerced/bullied into providing steel in the same way Romania provided oil and Switzerland while pretending to be neutral provided troops to the nazi's and had the brilliant idea to keep allied pilots there until the end of the war, but they weren't exactly prisoners, they could leave and all they had to do was cross the alps with no supplies.

I was thinking more along the lines of Spain and Portugal being very similar ideologically to Germany, therefore unlikely to be needed to be threatened. Hitler wanted to station a division in Spain to attack Gib, but Franco kept putting him off, and played quite a successful game really, politically, even if his economics and humanity left a bit to be desired.

Incidentally it didn't start out as 'Franco's War' Slim. A coalition of the centre-right /conservative/church/army/landowners/businessmen/royalists/carlists rebelled against the left-wing anarchist/communist/Stalinist/separatist elements who had hijacked the centre-left government and were rapidly implementing horrific anarchist policies. Franco emerged as a single leader mostly after the deaths of Sanjurjo and Mola, in separate plane crashes, and the capture and execution of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the real leader of the (tiny) far right, in Republican-held Alicante. It was a much more successful way to win a war than a vast committee of disagreeing ideologists. Unfortunately of course Franco then turned out to be a raving Fascist of the first order, not noted for reconciliation after the war!

Here's a 'what if' for you:

If the extreme left had somehow managed to win the war (unlikely with their military and unity deficiencies), and therefore Spain had a Stalinist government, then the Germans would've steamed through Spain just after France. Gib would have fallen and therefore the whole Med. So did a right-wing Spain aid/contribute to the allied victory?

[Ted Hughes]

People think these countries could have lived next door to Hitler in the long term & everything would have been ok ?

Jesus.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

Before getting rid of them, we would have to answer the question of how would you stop a replacement organisation becoming just like them.

Another organization WILL happen in the future imo, and when it does, the powers will be given to the clubs and not some fuckign brown envelope receiving old FARTS who know fuckall about football ( Sepp Blatter )

I want this to happen so badly.

You want the power in football in the hands of the likes of Filth, Madrid, Milan, Arsenal and Bayern?
With nobody to rein them in?
Wow. I can't think of anything worse.
We certainly wouldn't be playing Champions League football now if it was left to these clubs.

This business of clubs wanting cash from countries using players is no surprise. Fifa's pot of money from International football is the one honeypot the clubs have failed to get their greedy hands on. Clubs DO benefit from international call ups already by the increased value of the player, as his reputation is enhanced by international competition.

The clubs must be kept away from the power and money as much as possible.