The beautiful game

[RUDD]

What a mess football is in.

 

The national team threaten to go on strike or boycot the Turkey game because one of their over paid number failed to take a drugs test.

 

A Leeds united footballer has been arrested on rape charges.

 

Most nationwide division one two and three clubs are on the verge of bankruptcy while certain premiership clubs squander millions.

 

The reaction of the Arsenal players live on TV was a disgrace when they were having a go at Mr Van Pistol Dick or whatever his name is.

 

These overpaid young footballers are supposed to be role models for our children yet they act like a bunch of hooligans.

 

Is it any wonder that English football has a bad reputation.

[nigelnibbles]

quite agree, and whilst were at it why not salary cap ALL teams, NO ONE deserves £50,000 a week for kicking a round leather footbal around, its an obscene amount to pay in wages when there is so much poverty in the world. That would cut the prima donna stars down a peg or two.

[Paul_D]

Whilst there may be some argument for the players threatening to 'strike'. If they do go ahead and put themselves first before their country I hope the F.A. makes an example of them all and never lets them play for England again, albeit this means the team will have to rebuild from scratch.

[bitsbobs]

Paul_D:

albeit this means the team will have to rebuild from scratch.

Not a problem. Plenty of excellent lower division players that would put the most of the current team to shame.

[Ziffy]

i'm curious to know whether all the hype is because of who the player is (Rio Ferdinand), or for whom he plays for?

 

As for their pay, so what, they play a sport which is more dangerous than Boxing, They can have their career cut short within seconds of stepping onto a pitch.

 

Football is a very passionate game, Ok the Arsenal players over reacted during the game at Old Trafford, But in a game with as much history as that, tempers were going to be frayed.

[Ziffy]

bitsbobs:

bitsbobs:

albeit this means the team will have to rebuild from scratch.

Not a problem. Plenty of excellent lower division players that would put the most of the current team to shame.

you are kidding right?

 

Name 1 defender that could take the place of John Terry, Wayne Bridge, Glen Johnson, from the lower leagues, Now take a midfielder to replace Frank Lampard, another to replace Scholes, Stephen Gerrard, Joe Cole, David Beckham, now replace Micheal Owen, Emile Heskey, Let not forget David James.

[Alan Taylor]

RUDD:

What a mess football is in.

I don't usually get involved in football things as I have no interest in the game.

 

I saw the report on the news and the way it was presented it seems that the player forgot and apointment, don't we all?

 

Did the FA contact the man or was it a case of he never turned up, dummy out of the pram.

To ban a man without giving him the chance to take a drugs test a day or so later seems to me a bit childish.

 

The way I am looking at it, it seems to me that the FA are bringing the game into disrepute, not the player.

 

Saying that the player was buying time as he had drugs in his system is bull, hair samples can prove that drugs have been used weeks after they were taken.

 

As I said, no interest in football so this is unbiased on my part.

 

Alan(nl)

[Scott]

Ziffy:

they play a sport which is more dangerous than Boxing,

Yeah right.

 

 

Scott.

[hembo]

. i like football but it seems to be taking over all coverage of sport. the reason why ferdinand was dropped was the potential banana skin which may have occured if england had qualified. ie turkey would be well within there rights to say england played a man who had missed a drugs test and would most probably succeed in getting england thrown out. however for the players to threaten strike action let them ; because they will be sued by t.v; sponsers; fifa et al when they realise this they will tow the line.

on the subject of massive wages ; i dont think the players have the brains and responsibility to handle it.

[davidP]

Football (ie FIFA, UEFA etc) have signed up to the world drug testing program. In that program missing a drug test is almost as bad as coming up positive. Footballers don't have to remember much, but if he (or his club) can't remember something so important and potentially career-ending then I'm afraid he gets what he deserves. And let's remember that the footballers testing regime is nothing like what athletes or swimmers go through - it's not exactly rigourous.

I would question whether the testers attempted to contact/find him on the day, and I suspect that because of this and because he did a negative test 36 hours later he'll get away with a warning or slap-on-the-wrist fine. The FA were in a no win situation however. Let him play and risk getting the team disqualified for fielding an ineligable player, or not play him and get vilified in the press. I can't believe they didn't contact FIFA or UEFA to ask advice, and I think they've done the right thing. At least we can claim to still have a little bit of sporting honour!

 

Let's turn it round. Let's suppose that Turkey win and then are found to have played a man who was later found to be playing under similar circumstances. You can almost feel the sense of righteous indignation that The Sun and The Daily Mail would generate!