OTT 54 - Yes, we bought 85 players, and no we won't get punished

great article ...

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...-fa-cup-english-football-future-b2753168.html

Why Crystal Palace’s FA Cup triumph provides hope for the future of English football

 

Shudddderrrr…

Some context here. Many, many moons ago (2003?), just as the vBulletin software and interface had become the default for message boards on the interwebs, I was a mod on US based Liverpool forums where the redoubtable @bayred was a member. We also had a US based Scouser who was pretty much a rather poor excuse for a human being and used to take serious delight in trolling and being generally nasty. To burgeoning US Liverpool fans in particular.

As far as he was concerned, US based fans, because they hadn’t grown up with LFC from the cradle were Johnny-Come-Latelys, Arrivistes and so forth and none of their opinions mattered and were always up for ridicule and bullying. Unless those Americans were people of whom he approved. (Newsflash! That was about 3 people).

More than a few Americans who were dipping their toes in Liverpool and PL waters for the first time were bullied off by him and a his cadre of about 2-3 others. I know of about 5, 6, 7 who moved on to become Chelsea and United fans. Maybe they were fickle, but they would have been LFC fans had they been left alone.

Our friend had many contacts with the people who ran/owned the forums and also had that Scouse thing going on that we should have been honored to have an authentic Scouse voice on these newbie forums. Even though there were other Scousers there also, more than a few who lived on Merseyside.

His opinions were…out there, to say the least. El-Hadji-Diouf was the greatest player in the world, Salif Diao was world class and would get into any team; so also Le Tallec. Ghana of the 50s and 60s were the greatest football team of all time, ever. Because he once met a Ghanaian who told him so. And most importantly, Rafa Benitez was a shit manager, that Paul Jewell was the only manager working in football then who had the right to be LFC manager. Even after Istanbul and Athens. He started a thread called “3 Points For Wigan” which was updated constantly over the space of however many years that every Wigan win and draw was worth waaaay more than any Benitez win or draw. And so on and on with this incredible bullshit, all the while bullying newbie Americans particularly and anyone in general who didn’t agree with his views. Because he was Scouse, you know and he knew football, you know.

There were politics at play, but eventually we red carded him, banned him forever and deleted all his content. On the Mods’ Board for years afterwards we used to celebrate [UserName] Freedom Day. But as they say, there’s no cure for being a c.unt.

 

I'm 99% sure I know exactly who you're talking about. speke and delay may remember also?

he was an obnoxious bastard. his screen name eludes me for a moment but it'll come back to me - I'll PM you to confirm it's the same guy.

 

Screen name hint: An LFC great from the late 1940's.

 

hmm ... not the poster I had in mind. different boards I guess.

 

I have to think that 20 years ago there were a good many message boards around and likely more than a few posters who would match up with Samarkand's description too.

 

I was the head mod/head admin, full privileges and I really blame myself hugely for allowing that f.ucking idiot to run amok as he did. I was handcuffed to a (perhaps large) extent by politics, but this guy was truly toxic.

His politics were probably Derek Hatton, but his personality was Scouse Andrew Tate/Stephen Miller, disliking or being deeply suspicious of all who weren’t born Scouse and then using his Scouse-ness as a very large stick to beat all others.

 

A bunch of us used to frequent the 'soccernet' board back when. It was unmoderated and man what a nightmare that was at times, the wild west of the internet.

 

Yeah, the theory behind unmoderated boards was the Adam Smith unseen hand of the market. People would keep other people in check, enforced common standards by the weight of the majority. I’ve never seen unmoderated boards or social media or anything work, ever.

 

Handling situations like that was why they had you on that big money contract.

 

United are shite.

 

Haha! Shame that!

 

They now sit one point above Spurs in 16th after 37 games, simply breathtaking levels of mediocrity considering the rosters of these clubs. The squads aren't great, but, really, this level of performance is quite an achievement.

 

Well, there was that, I’ll admit.

Plus don’t underestimate the power of being a mod. You actually rule the universe, people bow down to you before breakfast and they honor your every word. At times I lose the run of myself here, thinking I still matter, but then remember, I’m not a mod. Life could be so good.

 

I read that if one or two of the 3 relegated teams had been a little better in head-to-heads vs MU, it'd be MU going down this year.

can't believe they are not only staying up but could even be in next year's CL.

 

Haaland at Dortmund was a much different player, almost a 9.5 or a 10 while also tonking in the goals. He linked up well, put in crosses, tackled, etc.

When we won the (Covid) PL, despite our definite superiority, the word on City was that they didn’t have an out and out 9 which is why they didn’t put in a better challenge. They had a lot of players who could score, but no player whose only job it was to score. And that’s how Guardiola has treated Haaland. That he’s not doing his job, his only job, if he’s not shooting on goal. His job is not to pass, make dummy runs or anything other than shoot for the net. Which has to be boring, eventually.

Plus there’s now a strong rumor that he’s Suarezing his way to Barca for £135m, that Barca have somehow put together a package.

 

that would make my day.

although how TF Barca can afford soap for the showers these days is an ongoing mystery.

 

Flat track bully.

 

I’m desperate for Utd to lose tomorrow but for Spurs not to win. How do we make that happen?

 

Remember during our Covid season PL win? When more than a few were calling for the season to be cancelled and declared null and void? I remain hopeful that this option will be implemented in this season’s Europa League.

 

if MU and Spurs treat everyone to the kind of brain-rot football we've come to expect from them .... could happen. send all 22 off for bringing the game into disrepute.