Football is boring when the same teams always win

Ben. You'll get very good odds then. Good Luck.

Really? I can see Schalke going through.

I remember watching Dortmund win that Champs Lge final, lead by the wiley central defender Matthias Sammer ( a ranga ) mind you. I read a piece recently were i think Villareal, Sevilla, Athletico Madrid and Valencia all put to La Liga Officials their validity in the competition since they cannot win it. One could suggest that be the case in most leagues in Europe. Schalke 04 will be terminated soon Mike, and that will leave Man Utd vs Barca same as a few years back and the same result will be Barca. Will you be walking away Mike or will you blindly follow the rest of us.

id rather the top teams play rather the champions of some hack league. but i do agree with distributing tv money, the top clubs get heaps of money through other means like private owners, merch blah blah blah so its not like it'll be the end of their world.

Nothing to do with football. It was a soccer brawl.

I think Messi was 9 when he went to the Barcelona football academy.

Hey you stole my article idea Friar Tuck. I wrote of this topic recently in an article they called "Does the EPL need a salary cap". That's alright, I'll let you off this once. Yes it's the monopolising effect of capitalism and we are seeing the great homogenization. The Champions League is still a little open but yes it too is becoming narrow. We will NEVER see Porto or Monaco etc win this comp again. So I suppose Shalka will now win it just to mock me. Two team apparoach has its arguments, but for me it is becoming dull. But interesting how such places as Argentina seem to mix it up. River Plate and Boca Jnrs are the two giants but they dont win all the time. I wonder why?

I don't have a problems with bandwagon jumpers People watch sports for entertainment Often people fall in love with the game or a club by being inspired by a great skillful play from a player or they watch the match as a neutral and then fall in love with the way they play the game etc. It's make sense that clubs with top players are more likely to produce these emotions of inspiration and awe then clubs in a lower divisions. I may be from a local area of a club that I don't support. however when that club becomes successful and people are ranting and raving about how great that club is. I may watch a few games out of curiosity and then I get if I liked it I get hooked. Similarly, a person who never watches the EPL before. They decided to watch an EPL game on TV involving Manchester United and then saw Rooney scored a magical goal which made him fall in love with the game and therefore he starts supporting Man U. Would that be jumping on the bandwagon of success? Perhaps, but I don't see that as a bad thing As long as once you jump on the bandwagon, you don't jump off again when things get bad.

Easy way to solve part of the problem. Take Europe back to what it used to be. European Cup (Champions League) for champions only. But of course they would make less money off it which renders that point null. If UEFA were serious they would legislate on tv money being distributed more fairly. Barca/Real in La Liga, Old Firm in Scotland, and even the old Sky match bonuses (when there was a News Limited conflict of interest between Sky and Manyoo).

Rob Thanks for your info... I kind knew in Europe they start young... What amazed me about this kid is he lives over eight hours drive from the CC... further according to the article GA had himself and his staff to watch this boy play... so there is no guess work in this appointment... Now either the Mariner coaching staff just happen to be there or the Mariners have trusted scouts all over the country to report on talented kids ... again the '''Centre of Excellence"" is spreading is web... Finally the Mariners alone I think have academy teams from I think U 10 to U 16, then the youth league kicks in... so if we find a talented kid we have a Mariner team for him... I wonder how good this Walter Boyd is ... given he will play with the academy U 15 unseen for a while is my guess...

Tuckerman. More important issues press. Football hooligans in the Northern Territory. http://www.abc.net.au/sport/football/video/ I didn't even no they had a league but fortunately hooligans came to my rescue to advise me of one.

Bet you'd get sick of the bandwagoners.

Don't think I'd ever get bored seeing my team win the league every season.

MF, 14 may be young in this country, but let me tell you that we are a long way behind a heap of other countries in this regard. For example, let me explain how the youth development system works at Grêmio FBPA, the team of my heart, from Porto Alegre, Brazil: Kids join the football school at age 5-6 (they call it "Escolinha" or little school), where they play for fun and learn technique through play and a small amount of instruction. By the age of 10, these kids are already being streamed into "potential" and "enjoyment" groups. The kids in the enjoyment group continue in the football school, and receive technical training, but not at the same level as the kids in the "potential" group. Also, by grouping all the more talented kids together, the standard of the group rises, meaning the level of play increases. Commensurate with this, coaching becomes more focused and intense. Of course, the kids in the enjoyment group are still monitored by the coaches of the more advanced group, in order to spot kids they may have missed, or who were "late bloomers", as it were. Then, by age 12, another separation occurs, and those kept are trained even more intensely, and are playing in local city or state competitions (and sometimes international comps, usually in neighbouring countries like Uruguay, Argentina or Paraguay). These kids are then moved through the age ranks, weeding out those who do not possess the right attitude, or whose abilities plateau, etc, until by the age of 15 or so they are moved up to the "categoria da base" (base category), which forms the pool from which Grêmio chooses/draws players for the professional ranks. At this point, the kids are competing with players from across the country who are either invited to trial with Grêmio or who apply to trial in the hope of securing a place in the club's elite academy, which has produced players like Ronaldinho, Anderson (Man U), Lucas (Liverpool), and others. Oh, and I might add that all of the kids in the Grêmio escolinha are encouraged to attend school (its a condition of their continued involvement in the football academy up to at least 15 yrs of age), and this continues throughout their development as players. So, in terms of bringing players in at the age of 14 - this is revolutionary in Australia, and a fabulous initiative, but it's not really "farken young" as you suggest. that said, this is another area that CCM are setting benchmarks for the A-League, and it looks to me like they are setting themselves up very well. Thanks for breaking into the debate with this interesting news! :) In a side note, and I've commented on this elsewhere, certainly in Queensland there are a lot of high schools with Schools of Excellence for Football, which means kids from 12-17 get to take football as a subject and train each day, which is vital to the development of their touch and skill. Of course, this is a school initiative, supported by the Qld govt, not an A-League club organising it, so it's not the same thing. But it does show that football is beginning to be taken very seriously around the traps.

Mike sorry to break into your topic but hot off the Mariners press... Interesting signing by the Mariners.... a 14 year old boy from the bush put into our U 15 academy side... from the Mudgee Guardian ...the caption under his photo in the paper says .. SKY’S THE LIMIT: Mudgee Wolves junior Walter Boyd, 14, has been selected as part of the Central Coast Mariners’ Youth Academy squad after a string of standout performances for the Western Panthers FC in the NSW Super Youth League. Our centre of excellence (COE) is going to get the nations best young players .... maybe another Musty who knows but at 14 .... Farking 14 is young to identify a talent ... http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/news/local/sport/ Walter coasts to top DEAN BENSON 13 Apr, 2011 08:36 AM Mudgee football fans may not have to wait long to see a local product in the A-Leagu e. Wolves’ junior Walter Boyd was named in the Central Coast Mariners under-15s Academy Squad for Western New South Wales recently. Former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold headed the massive talent-scouting mission alongside his Mariners staff and coaches from the Western Panthers academy. Some eye-catching performances for the Western Panthers brought Walter to the attention of the Mariners’ staff and his selection was confirmed two weeks ago. Players in the academy now have the chance to break into the Mariners’ National Youth League (NYL) squad over the coming seasons. “I found out a couple of weeks ago and I was pretty excited when I found out,” Walter said of his selection. “[Playing in the NYL] is something I definitely want to do.” The boys train once a fortnight as part of the Western Panthers academy squad and members of the Mariners’ staff are on hand to run their eyes over the talent. That added pressure gets the best out of the players, Walter said. “It makes me more motivated, really [knowing the coaches are watching] and I know I need to perform well.” The squad has been to Mariners’ head quarters at Tuggerah recently for an intense small-sided games session to develop their footwork. Mariners youth development co-ordinator Damien Brown takes control of the sessions and Walter rated the experience highly. “They are really good fields there [at Tuggerah] and Damien definitely knows what he’s talking about,” he said. The other fortnightly sessions are usually held at Orange for the Western NSW squad. This used to be somewhat of a burden for Walter due to the heavy travel schedule. But to show how committed he is to the cause, the 14-year-old now boards at the Kinros Wolaroi School in Orange. Problem solved. “It’s easier now because a lot of the training is in Orange,” he said. However, Walter’s father Graham still isn’t convinced about the balance between football and academics.

"It is a bit sad. I don’t really follow anyone, but I’ll cheer for people over a campaign, but would never call myself a “fan”. I like watching Arsenal play on their day," I agree, especially the line-up they had a season or two ago with all the teenagers... Brillant! "but I’ll probably not follow anyone till I actually go to England, then I’ll rust-on." Fair enough and a wise decision. I'm a believer that you only become a rusted-on fan for a reason. Perhaps best not to live anywhere near Chelsea then... You wouldn't wanna catch an obsession!

"However, I don’t think that’s so much a bandwagon thing, more that the large proportion of English who migrated to Australia in the late 50s through to early 70s came from there, or at least departed from there." This is true, and as a result there does appear to be a disproportionately large amount of Newcastle Fans in Australia. Plus Newcastle is a big place to only have one major Football team, so if you're from the area, you support the team!

Perhaps a better indication of how competitive a league is, rather than who wins it, is the points difference between top and bottom clubs. Tony Pulumbo's recent article on TWG has the following info: :: England: Manchester United 69 points, Wigan 31 (-38) :: Spain: Barcelona 84, Almeria 26 (-58) :: Italy: AC Milan 68, Bari 21 (-47) :: Germany: Borussia Dortmund 66, Borussia Moenchengladbach 26 (-40) :: France : Lille 58, Avignon 15 (-45) According to this the EPL is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe. In any case, only boring people get bored.

equalisation WITHIN the league is fine. but the cap is getting us slaughtered in asia. maybe ease up some loan/short term deals during asia or have a full time higher soft cap like the NBA where you CAN go over the limit but for every dollar over the cap you give a dollar to ffa who redistribute it to the other teams under the cap.

Paddy, being a Black Cats supporter, I despise seeing all those Newcastle shirts around. However, I don't think that's so much a bandwagon thing, more that the large proportion of English who migrated to Australia in the late 50s through to early 70s came from there, or at least departed from there. Where I grew up, there are many, many Newcastle people. I do agree on the Leeds shirts, along with Chelsea and ugghhh Man United - bandwagon. Me? I'm Sunderland because it annoys my brother-in-law ;)