Media Stories, Rumours and Gossip

[chiswickblue]

For a moment I thought that was written by William "Fatty" Faulkes.

[Sciatika]

"Will Faulks is a football writer based in Madrid...."

[chara]

1 hour ago, Sciatika said:

"Will Faulks is a football writer based in Madrid...."

"Chara is a CFCnet "writer" based in the Rocky Mountains"

As such I am able to watch Chelsea games and contribute (?) to Chelsea game and "affairs" discussions but being so far from the epicenter I am always somewhat behind and short of the real facts and rely on the many varied and knowledgeable reports and opinions of members, some of whom I have been relying on, and trust, for a long time.

Based in Madrid would suggest a slightly but not by much better insight and the offering is really just an opinion piece masquerading as informed comment,

Minor media buffoonery.

The Spanish "kiss" tsunami has taken the oxygen, as they say, out of much of the football discussion of late...a thing of shame and inappropriate behaviour but a foolish moment that has bearing on deeper social issues and not something that is focused on the game itself...not to trivialise the issue and one that needs to be addressed. (perhaps our Madrid based "friend" should be looking and commenting on that scenario.

Which brings me to my "agenda"...the complete lack of Media and Football Establishment interest in Deangate and the admission of a matchday official that he deliberately ignored an obvious and clear result changing incident for reasons of his own. Beyond Buffoonery..in the field of criminal work responsibility behaviour.

"A kiss is just a kiss" (With my above observations)" but robbery is criminal!

[thevelourfog]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/05/youth-academies-premier-league-clubs-revenue-stream

If you want to laugh at the Guardian, the "only Arsenal" bit is funny/infuriatingly ill informed.

Some considerations for the author ...

Reece James is Chelsea's captain.

Phil Foden has won more titles with his boyhood club than I care to count.

Arsenal flogged Folarin Balogun this summer to fund their transfers.

Nketiah is, as another Guardian story on their football page points out in its headline ffs, a Chelsea youth product.

Otherwise, great article. How do these people get jobs?

[chara]

20 minutes ago, thevelourfog said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/05/youth-academies-premier-league-clubs-revenue-stream

If you want to laugh at the Guardian, the "only Arsenal" bit is funny/infuriatingly ill informed.

Some considerations for the author ...

Reece James is Chelsea's captain.

Phil Foden has won more titles with his boyhood club than I care to count.

Arsenal flogged Folarin Balogun this summer to fund their transfers.

Nketiah is, as another Guardian story on their football page points out in its headline ffs, a Chelsea youth product.

Otherwise, great article. How do these people get jobs?

Buffoonery Graduates employ Buffoonery Graduates.....it's a self perpetuating industry!

[east lower]

2 hours ago, chara said:

Buffoonery Graduates employ Buffoonery Graduates.....it's a self perpetuating industry!

Surround yourself with dopes and occasional achievers, if you've got anything about you it makes you look exceptional. 

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by east lower
Slightly tongue in cheek

[thevelourfog]

Seems to emanate from The Athletic, but lots of stories now that the Infinite Athlete deal has not got the go ahead and we've been pitching to the PIF-owned Riyadh Air for sponsorship.

Apparently the company that owns Infinite Athlete is itself part owned by another company that part owns City Group. All this is pretty unpleasantly incestuous and pretty dangerous for the sport's integrity imo.

[Sleeping Dave]

Paul Pogba caught in a drugs test. He’s tested positive for testosterone. 

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy eh? Here’s hoping his career is over now. 

[Ham]

On 06/09/2023 at 20:19, thevelourfog said:

Seems to emanate from The Athletic, but lots of stories now that the Infinite Athlete deal has not got the go ahead and we've been pitching to the PIF-owned Riyadh Air for sponsorship.

Apparently the company that owns Infinite Athlete is itself part owned by another company that part owns City Group. All this is pretty unpleasantly incestuous and pretty dangerous for the sport's integrity imo.

I read that Infinite Athlete was almost approved but it's only for one year, after which they become sleeve sponsors.

Riyadh Air on a longer term deal thereafter. 

[east lower]

4 hours ago, Sleeping Dave said:

Paul Pogba caught in a drugs test. He’s tested positive for testosterone. 

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy eh? Here’s hoping his career is over now. 

I can’t help but think that it’s rather too convenient for Juventus?

[Mark Kelly]

1 minute ago, east lower said:

I can’t help but think that it’s rather too convenient for Juventus?

Having seen him play he definitely hasn't got a surfeit of Testosterone. 

[east lower]

30 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Having seen him play he definitely hasn't got a surfeit of Testosterone. 

The last thing you’d do if you hadn’t played for as long as he’d not done, would be to start messing with banned substances. Especially as he’s getting paid a full salary for being sat on the treatment table. Doesn’t make any sense, nothing in it for him to do so.

Whereas Juventus have lots to not lose, should he get ‘discovered’.

Edited September 11, 2023 by east lower

[xceleryx]

3 hours ago, east lower said:

The last thing you’d do if you hadn’t played for as long as he’d not done, would be to start messing with banned substances. Especially as he’s getting paid a full salary for being sat on the treatment table. Doesn’t make any sense, nothing in it for him to do so.

Whereas Juventus have lots to not lose, should he get ‘discovered’.

Yes and no. Could've also used something to help aid or fast track his recovery, given how long he'd been out for and the several injuries he has had. I imagine barely playing since returning to Juve has been pretty frustrating on his behalf. 

For Juve this could potentially dig them out of like €30m worth of his remaining contract if indeed guilty. 

To think the club could've just paid Dybala, but opted to sign an already injury riddled Pogba and an over the hill Di Maria instead. 

[kev61]

On 06/09/2023 at 14:45, chara said:

"Chara is a CFCnet "writer" based in the Rocky Mountains"

As such I am able to watch Chelsea games and contribute (?) to Chelsea game and "affairs" discussions but being so far from the epicenter I am always somewhat behind and short of the real facts and rely on the many varied and knowledgeable reports and opinions of members, some of whom I have been relying on, and trust, for a long time.

Based in Madrid would suggest a slightly but not by much better insight and the offering is really just an opinion piece masquerading as informed comment,

Minor media buffoonery.

The Spanish "kiss" tsunami has taken the oxygen, as they say, out of much of the football discussion of late...a thing of shame and inappropriate behaviour but a foolish moment that has bearing on deeper social issues and not something that is focused on the game itself...not to trivialise the issue and one that needs to be addressed. (perhaps our Madrid based "friend" should be looking and commenting on that scenario.

Which brings me to my "agenda"...the complete lack of Media and Football Establishment interest in Deangate and the admission of a matchday official that he deliberately ignored an obvious and clear result changing incident for reasons of his own. Beyond Buffoonery..in the field of criminal work responsibility behaviour.

"A kiss is just a kiss" (With my above observations)" but robbery is criminal!

The "spanish kiss" has become the Spanish inquisition. 

He was  wrong in what he did but I don't get the outcry - completely ott.

 

[east lower]

3 hours ago, kev61 said:

The "spanish kiss" has become the Spanish inquisition. 

He was  wrong in what he did but I don't get the outcry - completely ott.

 

I’m with you on this one, inappropriate and unnecessary but possibly a man caught up in a joyous moment?  A heartfelt public apology (assuming there was nothing else at play) and some humility ought to have been enough. Not in today’s world though.

4 hours ago, xceleryx said:

For Juve this could potentially dig them out of like €30m worth of his remaining contract if indeed guilty. 

And this is the bit that makes it smelly - It’s not as if Juventus don’t have a past blighted with some major misdemeanours (being PC there) plus they’re not the healthiest in financial terms.

[Bones]

6 minutes ago, east lower said:

I’m with you on this one, inappropriate and unnecessary but possibly a man caught up in a joyous moment?  A heartfelt public apology (assuming there was nothing else at play) and some humility ought to have been enough. Not in today’s world though.

And this is the bit that makes it smelly - It’s not as if Juventus don’t have a past blighted with some major misdemeanours (being PC there) plus they’re not the healthiest in financial terms.

Yes, as I understand they knew each other since school days or something. Also she did seem quite happy with everyhing in the moment and then started protesting after a while.

[Bones]

https://www.premierleague.com/news/3676840?fbclid=IwAR1zQ9uJDyOxHnZjUFy3biT6FMwtXxq3jJOxolJJJpGreKlWKFfsaYZ_AiY_aem_AdZYJDEOH-o06kXx4kq6HK_NxLvkYr6hUH-8W6ilxKBOovWU9CnbG5UAOe3Tx_bDwtw
 

Great article. We’ve been good, but need to sort out issues on the left both in attack and defence.

[thevelourfog]

2 hours ago, east lower said:

I’m with you on this one, inappropriate and unnecessary but possibly a man caught up in a joyous moment?  A heartfelt public apology (assuming there was nothing else at play) and some humility ought to have been enough. Not in today’s world though.

We'll never know, given he never made the heartfelt public apology ... I don't think an apology really counts if it comes after labelling anyone who criticised you as an "idiot" and essentially issuing a false statement on behalf of the player. Humility clearly isn't something Rubiales can do. The guy appealed go have all Spanish club and national sides suspended from UEFA competitions in the hope it meant he couldn't be sanctioned by FIFA! 

I have some sympathy in that, let's face it, homoerotic displays of affection are not at all unusual in men's football and a kiss in that setting wouldn't have raised any eyebrow. But in the broader context of what has been happening in Spanish women's football ... Nah. Just don't kiss or touch women unless you're really sure they're okay with it, and be prepared to have people not take your apology very seriously if it comes after insulting people and trying to burn other people's careers down first.

[east lower]

3 hours ago, Bones said:

Yes, as I understand they knew each other since school days or something. Also she did seem quite happy with everyhing in the moment and then started protesting after a while.

I am not sure of the relationship, but you would suspect there was something different as he did not do the same with any of the other players.

1 hour ago, thevelourfog said:

We'll never know, given he never made the heartfelt public apology ... I don't think an apology really counts if it comes after labelling anyone who criticised you as an "idiot" and essentially issuing a false statement on behalf of the player. Humility clearly isn't something Rubiales can do. The guy appealed go have all Spanish club and national sides suspended from UEFA competitions in the hope it meant he couldn't be sanctioned by FIFA! 

I have some sympathy in that, let's face it, homoerotic displays of affection are not at all unusual in men's football and a kiss in that setting wouldn't have raised any eyebrow. But in the broader context of what has been happening in Spanish women's football ... Nah. Just don't kiss or touch women unless you're really sure they're okay with it, and be prepared to have people not take your apology very seriously if it comes after insulting people and trying to burn other people's careers down first.

Once the proverbial had hit the fan and all the 'groups' and parties had thrown in their ten-pence worth's his position hardened and he probably went into 'survival-mode'.

Another thing that I am not aware of is what a kiss on the lips means in Spanish culture - British culture is reasonably well known ala the 'discussion' around David Beckham kissing his own daughter on the lips. Is Spanish culture the same?

Heck, at some games in the past and in the heat of a crucial goal being scored or the win - you've grabbed  the person next to you or they've grabbed you and back-slapped/given a hug. Gender didn't come into it, just the joy of the moment - no kissing though.

Personally I'd not kiss anyone other than my partner/spouse on the lips - just not comfortable with it in any other scenario.

Edited September 12, 2023 by east lower

[thevelourfog]

47 minutes ago, east lower said:

Once the proverbial had hit the fan and all the 'groups' and parties had thrown in their ten-pence worth's his position hardened and he probably went into 'survival-mode'.

And I imagine many people would do the same, and I'd have some sympathy. My point was just that we didn't see any humility or heartfelt apology. We saw an attack, an insincere apology when the attack didn't work, and then some utterly incredible salting-the-Earth attacks thereafter.

I think you're right as well as that culture is important, it gives context. From what a Spanish friend has told me, a kiss on the lips isn't particularly common outside of intimate relationships. And I think the context of what has happened in Spanish women's football (Ignacio Quereda, the coach of about 27 years, being accused of multiple forms of abuse and the RFEF taking no action, the more recent difficulties with Vilda) means anyone with any sense or humility would be much more careful. That context will certainly (and reasonably, imo) have influenced how the women in the team responded.

I just can't see Rubiales as a tragic hero of any kind. I don't think it would be fair to be casting him as a sex pest or something along those lines, but his behaviour and responses have been, imo, ignorant and entitled beyond an initial flash of "survival mode" instincts. I think it's impossible to stress just how self-serving his behaviour was ... Imagine being Hermoso and seeing a statement you've apparently written being shared with the press, or one of the employees at the clubs who'd be utterly f**ked if UEFA had agreed to suspend the Spanish federation!

[RDCW]

4 hours ago, thevelourfog said:

And I imagine many people would do the same, and I'd have some sympathy. My point was just that we didn't see any humility or heartfelt apology. We saw an attack, an insincere apology when the attack didn't work, and then some utterly incredible salting-the-Earth attacks thereafter.

I think you're right as well as that culture is important, it gives context. From what a Spanish friend has told me, a kiss on the lips isn't particularly common outside of intimate relationships. And I think the context of what has happened in Spanish women's football (Ignacio Quereda, the coach of about 27 years, being accused of multiple forms of abuse and the RFEF taking no action, the more recent difficulties with Vilda) means anyone with any sense or humility would be much more careful. That context will certainly (and reasonably, imo) have influenced how the women in the team responded.

I just can't see Rubiales as a tragic hero of any kind. I don't think it would be fair to be casting him as a sex pest or something along those lines, but his behaviour and responses have been, imo, ignorant and entitled beyond an initial flash of "survival mode" instincts. I think it's impossible to stress just how self-serving his behaviour was ... Imagine being Hermoso and seeing a statement you've apparently written being shared with the press, or one of the employees at the clubs who'd be utterly f**ked if UEFA had agreed to suspend the Spanish federation!

I think you've got that just about right. The kiss was not necessarily the act of a sex pest, but it was certainly inappropriate, potentially humiliating and, although I'm not buying the delayed sense of outrage on the part of the victim, the fact is that he had no right to do it without explicit (or very definite implicit) consent. The crotch grab gives us additional insight into the man's character. I don't know anyone who would do something like that in a moment like that, let alone someone who is supposedly an experienced administrator, even a statesman, and head of the Spanish FA. He doesn't have a leg to stand on.

[chara]

14 minutes ago, RDCW said:

I think you've got that just about right. The kiss was not necessarily the act of a sex pest, but it was certainly inappropriate, potentially humiliating and, although I'm not buying the delayed sense of outrage on the part of the victim, the fact is that he had no right to do it without explicit (or very definite implicit) consent. The crotch grab gives us additional insight into the man's character. I don't know anyone who would do something like that in a moment like that, let alone someone who is supposedly an experienced administrator, even a statesman, and head of the Spanish FA. He doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Along with others a very grounded adult response to the "incident".

Unfortunately I have met people who would do the crotch gesture but at that level of administration it makes one question the suitability for such a level of professional responsibility, 

[Dwmh]

14 hours ago, east lower said:

I’m with you on this one, inappropriate and unnecessary but possibly a man caught up in a joyous moment?  A heartfelt public apology (assuming there was nothing else at play) and some humility ought to have been enough. Not in today’s world though.

I would be with you but...   if a Male FA official wats to attach his ego to Spanish women's football he has to play by different rules.  Male football is (mostly based on historical support, a large fan base of supporters who turn up at matches, and a large fan base who watch games week after week.  Outside Saudi it is funded by fans.
Women's football still gets most of its money from new investors who are hoping for growth in support looking into the future.  Historic patterns don't exist, rather all is about how the investor/marketers want to create the image.  The rules of the game are quite different.  (He could have kissed Eva if she had been physio to a male team  and nothing said.)

[kev61]

20 hours ago, east lower said:

 possibly a man caught up in a joyous moment? 

Exactly.Surely there has to be more to it.I wouldn't mind if a male or female smacked me on the lips after such a momentous occasion....unless it was notts forest manager!.

[east lower]

9 hours ago, Dwmh said:

I would be with you but...   if a Male FA official wats to attach his ego to Spanish women's football he has to play by different rules.  Male football is (mostly based on historical support, a large fan base of supporters who turn up at matches, and a large fan base who watch games week after week.  Outside Saudi it is funded by fans.
Women's football still gets most of its money from new investors who are hoping for growth in support looking into the future.  Historic patterns don't exist, rather all is about how the investor/marketers want to create the image.  The rules of the game are quite different.  (He could have kissed Eva if she had been physio to a male team  and nothing said.)

Rubiales has been quoted over the last 48hrs (on my phone and am not tech-savvy enough to find and link the article) saying that he’d have acted similarly if it had been the men’s team in the same winning scenario. Which would make me lean towards the culture aspect I mentioned in an earlier post.

I think that his action was questioned as inappropriate soon after it occurred but personally I’m not into witch-hunts for someone’s actions that may be well-intentioned but poorly thought out. Should he be reprimanded - of course he should, should he be removed from office - perhaps. Should he be prosecuted - never, for what occurred, again assuming that there was no other intention on his part than to celebrate.

3 hours ago, kev61 said:

Exactly.Surely there has to be more to it.I wouldn't mind if a male or female smacked me on the lips after such a momentous occasion....unless it was notts forest manager!.

I barely kiss the Mrs these days, not because she’s not attractive or because I don’t adore her, but because I’ve become less tactile in that way over the close on 40 years we’ve been together.  Hold her hand walking to and from a game - yep. Perhaps the Spanish chap is at the opposite end of my scale - need to keep him away from the wife maybe!

The Forest manager has a proper footie manager face, unlike the new highly coiffured male-model types emerging. I’d like to say that they’re all hair-product and moisturiser rather than talent, but there’s a good few proving that wrong.

Edited September 13, 2023 by east lower