| Return Create A Forum - Home | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Love God Only | |
| https://lovegodonly.createaforum.com | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| ***************************************************** | |
| Return to: Sports | |
| ***************************************************** | |
| #Post#: 13645-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Oh, Xi! | |
| By: paralambano Date: January 3, 2017, 8:56 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| So, Arsene Wenger could be right. The Chinese might be trying to | |
| move a whole league of footballers out of Europe into the | |
| fatherland: | |
| http://qz.com/627311/chinas-soccer-teams-spent-430-million-buying-new-players-t… | |
| http://qz.com/627311/chinas-soccer-teams-spent-430-million-buying-new-players-t… | |
| which is in part okay by me since younger players then take | |
| their spots :). CR7 has said this: | |
| http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/3030169/real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-… | |
| http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/3030169/real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-… | |
| and you know, there are still half-filled stadiums there with | |
| the game sub-par so far by Euro standards: | |
| http://qz.com/803380/chinas-soccer-fans-are-protesting-in-the-streets-after-the… | |
| http://qz.com/803380/chinas-soccer-fans-are-protesting-in-the-streets-after-the… | |
| so, it can never always be just about $$ I suppose. | |
| para . . . . | |
| #Post#: 13646-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: Kerry Date: January 3, 2017, 7:54 pm | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| I found the references money amusing. | |
| Fans� anger was focused on Cai Zhenhua, the head of the Chinese | |
| football association, who took office in 2014. The association | |
| chose Gao Hongbo, the current national team coach, and in 2016 | |
| paid him from 800,000 yuan to one million yuan ($120,000 to | |
| $150,000), 41 times (link in Chinese) of that of Ayman Hakeem, | |
| coach of the Syrian team, Chinese news outlets report. | |
| All that money without any delivered results! And: | |
| Chinese fans interviewed by LeTV, an online news station, said | |
| the soccer team�s performance was so bad they wanted their money | |
| back. �How can you do this to us? I demand a refund,� a man | |
| wearing a red-scarf with five yellow stars and �China� printed | |
| on it shouted to the camera. | |
| This is very amusing. I guess his theory was if you put down | |
| cash to buy tickets, you deserve to see your team win. | |
| Similarly if you pay someone an outrageous sum, you can be sure | |
| he'll deliver results? | |
| Chinese soccer teams have spent hundreds of millions of dollars | |
| luring foreign players to China�s Super League. But the national | |
| team is made up entirely of Chinese players, who lost to the | |
| war-torn country after Mahmoud Al-Mawas made a second-half goal | |
| in the 54th minute. | |
| I'm not sure the average Chinese physique is ideally suited for | |
| football. I'm also not sure spending all that money to attract | |
| talent from other countries will pan out. | |
| #Post#: 13650-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: paralambano Date: January 4, 2017, 8:48 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Kerry - | |
| [quote]I found the references money amusing. [/quote] | |
| Ya. I found the comparison with prostitution odd and oddly | |
| amusing. I hope that it's not a common metaphor there :-[. | |
| [quote]I'm not sure the average Chinese physique is ideally | |
| suited for football.[/quote] | |
| I'd have to say they are well-suited when they have a low center | |
| of gravity and can be acrobatic. They can still have tall | |
| strikers (see Chinese basketball team) in the box. | |
| [quote]I'm also not sure spending all that money to attract | |
| talent from other countries will pan out. | |
| [/quote] | |
| It could be that it's like Pokemon Go. All the rage at the | |
| moment then . . . . | |
| The thing is that for many, it's a question of national pride | |
| and I doubt that the Chinese are lacking this motivator and | |
| money. In order to have a decent national team, you need decent | |
| national footballers. One way of getting decent national | |
| footballers is to have a decent national league. Canada has none | |
| professionally. This is why we go nowhere when it comes to this | |
| hugely popular sport. Our kids learn the sport coached by their | |
| teachers and parents (soccer moms) and some go on into the few | |
| academies there are and then what? There's nowhere for them to | |
| play here where they can earn what others do in national | |
| leagues. It's seen as a kid's game here by many - - a game in | |
| some part for girls where they won't get hurt as they do in | |
| other sports not a real man's sport like hockey. Moms like it | |
| for their kids male and female because they think it's safer | |
| (when it actually isn't later). There's no expert | |
| infrastructure. Jason de Vos (appointed Director of Development) | |
| hopes to change this here. This is the slower route and it could | |
| have been started way earlier in Canada. | |
| The Chinese are trying to speed this process by learning the | |
| game by osmosis bringing in managers and players from abroad to | |
| mix with their nationals. They do it simply because they can | |
| now. And this is an expeditious way of improving when one has | |
| the money to do it. They'll learn a lot from the experience of | |
| some of the best in the world in a short time however short or | |
| long it takes for them to genuinely compete for the World Cup. | |
| The latest Euro "casualty"? Zenit-St. Petersburg's Axel Witsel | |
| who rejected an offer from one of the most storied clubs in | |
| world football and one of the top five Champions League | |
| contenders perenially - Serie A's Juventus FC in the beauty of | |
| Turin for a four-year deal in China. His reason? There was an | |
| offer he just couldn't turn down for his family. | |
| para . . . . | |
| #Post#: 13658-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: Kerry Date: January 5, 2017, 3:59 pm | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| I find it that amount of money spent on foreign talent almost | |
| appalling considering China's massive problem with capital | |
| flight -- they don't think that $430 million is going to stay in | |
| China, do they? | |
| From the BBC | |
| http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04mnsjk: | |
| [quote]We're looking at the growing pressures on China's | |
| economy. More than three quarters of a trillion dollars leached | |
| overseas last year, despite the government's best efforts to | |
| limit capital flight. A new year and new government rules, but | |
| can the central bank stop faith dwindling in the world's second | |
| biggest economy? And should they even be trying? We hear from a | |
| Chinese money-smuggler, ordinary citizens concerned about | |
| corruption, and from the BBC's Asia-Pacific regional editor, | |
| Celia Hatton, who believes there's mounting anxiety about the | |
| capital flight problem in Beijing. [/quote] | |
| Half a billion here, half a billion there, and pretty soon it | |
| adds up to real money. | |
| I suppose the massive sums spent on their military may also be | |
| to impress the President? Surely, that provides some jobs; | |
| but it's also creating international tension. Whatever other | |
| countries thought about China in the past, they did not see | |
| China as a huge military threat. The result may be another arms | |
| race in the region -- a lot of money being spent on arms when it | |
| could have been better spent. | |
| The Chinese government seems out of control. Their spending | |
| on building new housing was a disaster with new cities being | |
| built where no one lives. Now their latest project is spending | |
| $361 billion on renewable energy. | |
| http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-energy-renewables-idUSKBN14P06P | |
| [quote]China will plow 2.5 trillion yuan ($361 billion) into | |
| renewable power generation by 2020, the country's energy agency | |
| said on Thursday, as the world's largest energy market continues | |
| to shift away from dirty coal power towards cleaner fuels. | |
| The investment will create over 13 million jobs in the sector, | |
| the National Energy Administration (NEA) said in a blueprint | |
| document that lays out its plan to develop the nation's energy | |
| sector during the five-year 2016 to 2020 period. | |
| The NEA said installed renewable power capacity including wind, | |
| hydro, solar and nuclear power will contribute to about half of | |
| new electricity generation by 2020. | |
| The agency did not disclose more details on where the funds, | |
| which equate to about $72 billion each year, would be spent. | |
| Still, the investment reflects Beijing's continued focus on | |
| curbing the use of fossil fuels, which have fostered the | |
| country's economic growth over the past decade, as it ramps up | |
| its war on pollution.[/quote] | |
| What took so long anyway? The amount of money spent on coal | |
| from Australia? My estimate is it used to be about $12 billion | |
| but it's been falling. This new plan to curb the use of coal | |
| should reduce that even further; and the Australian government | |
| which banked so much on its trade with China will feel the | |
| pinch. There you go though -- next time, don't let the Yanks | |
| build a military base in your country! | |
| Is President Xi thinking ahead more than five or ten years? | |
| Suppose they do create 13 million new jobs creating all kinds of | |
| new energy facilities? What happens when they've build | |
| everything they can use? Will they need to find a new Five | |
| Year Plan to create another wave of jobs? | |
| I remain skeptical about it all. | |
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Stadium | |
| [quote]The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 | |
| Summer Olympics and Paralympics and will be used again in the | |
| 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is currently | |
| mostly unused, after having been unsuccessfully suggested as the | |
| permanent headquarters of the Beijing soccer team.[/quote] | |
| Another $400 million down the tubes. | |
| [quote]On its first anniversary, 8 August 2009, the stadium | |
| hosted a performance of the opera Turandot, and the 2009 | |
| Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Super Cup) final, the traditional | |
| curtain raiser to the Italian football league season. In August | |
| 2011, the Bird's Nest once again hosted the Supercoppa Italiana, | |
| the stadium's second in three years, and also in 2012. | |
| The Beijing Guo�an football club was scheduled to play at the | |
| stadium, but later backed out of their agreement, citing the | |
| embarrassment of using an 80,000+ seat venue for games that | |
| routinely draw only slightly more than 10,000. | |
| In July 2010, the stadium hosted a friendly football match | |
| between Football League Championship team Birmingham City and | |
| Beijing Guoan as a part of Birmingham's pre-season trip to | |
| China, homeland of the club's owner Carson Yeung. Birmingham | |
| City recorded a 1�0 victory in the game. | |
| Arsenal and Manchester City played each other in the inaugural | |
| �China Cup�, a one-off match in Beijing�s played on 27 July | |
| 2012. Manchester City won the match with a score of 2�0. | |
| The Stadium was also used for the China PR national football | |
| team international matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |
| qualifiers, however Team Dragon hasn't played any matches since | |
| the opening of the stadium. | |
| On 25 July 2016 Manchester City were scheduled to meet | |
| Manchester United as part of the 2016 International Champions | |
| Cup. However the game was cancelled due to heavy rain soaking | |
| the pitch, poor pitch conditions due to fungus and the pitch | |
| being relaid with turf.[/quote] | |
| #Post#: 13659-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: paralambano Date: January 6, 2017, 8:37 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Kerry - | |
| [quote]I find it that amount of money spent on foreign talent | |
| almost appalling considering China's massive problem with | |
| capital flight -- they don't think that $430 million is going to | |
| stay in China, do they? | |
| [/quote] | |
| They're enriching clubs off-shore by transfer fees. In return | |
| they get worldwide interest in their league and a learning | |
| experience by way of elite athletes and management in country. | |
| The end-game might be worldwide television broadcast money. | |
| [quote]Half a billion here, half a billion there, and pretty | |
| soon it adds up to real money. | |
| I suppose the massive sums spent on their military may also be | |
| to impress the President? Surely, that provides some jobs; | |
| but it's also creating international tension. Whatever other | |
| countries thought about China in the past, they did not see | |
| China as a huge military threat. The result may be another arms | |
| race in the region -- a lot of money being spent on arms when it | |
| could have been better spent.]I suppose the massive sums spent | |
| on their military may also be to impress the President? | |
| Surely, that provides some jobs; but it's also creating | |
| international tension. Whatever other countries thought about | |
| China in the past, they did not see China as a huge military | |
| threat. The result may be another arms race in the region -- a | |
| lot of money being spent on arms when it could have been better | |
| spent.[/quote] | |
| I say spend it on healthy things. It's a drop in the bucket | |
| compared to the arms race. | |
| [quote]Another $400 million down the tubes.[/quote] | |
| The world ought to build a permanent site or at least co-host | |
| these games. Elite athletes can do well just about anywhere | |
| except for poor conditions. | |
| para . . . . | |
| #Post#: 13664-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: Kerry Date: January 6, 2017, 5:21 pm | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| [quote author=paralambano link=topic=1150.msg13659#msg13659 | |
| date=1483713442] | |
| Kerry - | |
| They're enriching clubs off-shore by transfer fees. In return | |
| they get worldwide interest in their league and a learning | |
| experience by way of elite athletes and management in country. | |
| The end-game might be worldwide television broadcast | |
| money.[/quote]They could also be setting themselves up for | |
| failure and scorn. Importing good players may improve things | |
| to a degree; but they can't import an entire team. As you | |
| know, how a good player performs often depends on his teammates. | |
| Renaldo said he's not interested in a Chinese deal. | |
| http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/3030169/real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-… | |
| [quote]I say spend it on healthy things. It's a drop in the | |
| bucket compared to the arms race.[/quote] | |
| Ah, but half a billion here and half a billion there. China | |
| already faces a severe problem since so many rich Chinese want | |
| to get their money out of China. Some are also plotting to | |
| make sure their children can be US citizens by sending pregnant | |
| women to the US to give birth -- mostly to California. | |
| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/01/china-us-birth-tourism_n_7187180.html | |
| I don't see China spending money to import sports figures as | |
| healthy. I also don't see it as healthy for the US to spend | |
| money importing educated people to do jobs because they say | |
| there aren't enough Americans to do them. Nor is it healthy | |
| or wise for the UK to be importing so many health care | |
| professionals. If your country has a problem with talent or | |
| skill, the solution isn't to buy people from other countries. | |
| PM May in the UK realized this and said she hopes the UK is able | |
| to train enough doctors by 2025 to be self-sufficient. I would | |
| say there is a serious problem in American schools too if | |
| somehow India is able to produce people where we can't. | |
| #Post#: 13666-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: paralambano Date: January 7, 2017, 8:39 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Kerry - | |
| [quote]They could also be setting themselves up for failure and | |
| scorn.[/quote] | |
| There's always an element of risk in every perceived worthwhile | |
| endeavour. Nothing ventured; nothing gained. | |
| [quote]Importing good players may improve things to a degree; | |
| but they can't import an entire team.[/quote] | |
| True, but you don't need a whole team imported for progress and | |
| success. Look at what Zlatan's arrival at Manchester United FC, | |
| Barcelona's Pedro, Belgium's Eden Hazard and Brazil/Spain's | |
| Diego Costa have meant for Chelsea FC. The list goes on and on. | |
| A single player can make a key difference to a team's overall | |
| success in terms of boosting a club's morale and desire to play | |
| better. This ought not to be discounted off-hand. Some say it's | |
| Leo with Barca; others say it's Iniesta who contributes more to | |
| team cohesiveness. | |
| [quote]As you know, how a good player performs often depends on | |
| his teammates. [/quote] | |
| Indeed. But we're discussing introducing good players to a | |
| lesser league. Look at what Sebastiano Giovinco has done with | |
| Toronto FC. This tiny footballer (Atom Ant) on loan from | |
| Juventus FC in short order became the MLS's MVP in North | |
| America. He helped catapult TFC into the finals of the MLS Cup | |
| this year. And not only Seba but USMNT's Jozy Altidore And | |
| Michael Bradley (Bob's son) among others. Sure, it's a team | |
| sport but poorer teams are comprised of poorer skills. | |
| [quote]Renaldo said he's not interested in a Chinese deal. | |
| http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/3030169/real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-… | |
| Indeed. I had given a link in either this or Bradley's thread | |
| mentioning this. Not that the Chinese could not learn from him. | |
| My understanding is that he's the world's most popular sports | |
| figure. I'm not about to hit the like, like, like!! button on | |
| that information ;). | |
| [quote]Ah, but half a billion here and half a billion there. | |
| China already faces a severe problem since so many rich Chinese | |
| want to get their money out of China. Some are also plotting | |
| to make sure their children can be US citizens by sending | |
| pregnant women to the US to give birth -- mostly to California. | |
| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/01/china-us-birth-tourism_n_7187180.html[… | |
| Better spent on health-related matters than an arms race. | |
| especially, if it's private money. Better to sport, sport, sport | |
| than to war, war, war. | |
| [quote]I don't see China spending money to import sports figures | |
| as healthy.[/quote] | |
| Indeed it is. Kids want to emulate their sports heroes. I spent | |
| endless hours keeping active playing ball-hockey in the streets | |
| when I was a lad. Why? I wanted to be like Yvan Cournoyer of the | |
| Montreal Canadiens. I played house league and high school | |
| soccer. So, I didn't become an athlete. I became a | |
| pseudo-intellectual and a question-mark for professors. The | |
| government in China is investing in programs to keep their kids | |
| active at least. | |
| Second, networking is the number one way to gain knowledge and | |
| skills. Look at what Guus Hiddink brought to Australia's | |
| Socceroos. FC Barcelona's later successes can be directly traced | |
| back to Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff at Ajax in the | |
| Netherlands. Isolation inevitably leads to poverty and failure. | |
| Look at the top EPL clubs all coached by foreigners. Jurgen | |
| Klopp (love that Jurgen) has overhauled Liverpool's style of | |
| play making them a real contender this year. Look at the foreign | |
| coaches hired by national teams. Why are they hired? Because the | |
| hiring country wants their expertise. Look at the number one | |
| watched sports league worldwide, the EPL with all its foreign | |
| players there. Its success has increased dramatically since | |
| their arrival in numbers there. | |
| [quote]If your country has a problem with talent or skill, the | |
| solution isn't to buy people from other countries.[/quote] | |
| For footy, indeed it is. Up to a point. If you don't know how to | |
| play it and if you can afford it, you go out to find the best | |
| you can wherever they are and bring them in to teach you what | |
| they know by management and players. This is the quickest way to | |
| progress and success. When you have learned your lessons well, | |
| you can slow the importation. Still, keep an eye on the network. | |
| Knowledge is power. Most successful clubs do it. | |
| para . . . . | |
| #Post#: 13671-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: Kerry Date: January 9, 2017, 5:53 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| [quote author=paralambano link=topic=1150.msg13666#msg13666 | |
| date=1483799950] | |
| Kerry - | |
| There's always an element of risk in every perceived worthwhile | |
| endeavour. Nothing ventured; nothing gained.[/quote] | |
| I don't see the point in taking risks just to hold a record; but | |
| then many people do -- just look at all the crazy things they do | |
| trying into the Guinness Book of World Records. Things with | |
| that organization have gotten so bizarre and trivial, I don't | |
| consider them that serious now. | |
| [quote]True, but you don't need a whole team imported for | |
| progress and success. Look at what Zlatan's arrival at | |
| Manchester United FC, Barcelona's Pedro, Belgium's Eden Hazard | |
| and Brazil/Spain's Diego Costa have meant for Chelsea FC. The | |
| list goes on and on. A single player can make a key difference | |
| to a team's overall success in terms of boosting a club's morale | |
| and desire to play better. This ought not to be discounted | |
| off-hand. Some say it's Leo with Barca; others say it's Iniesta | |
| who contributes more to team cohesiveness.[/quote]I don't think | |
| the owners have much of a clue about this. You could have a | |
| top-rate guy in one club who seems uninspired if transferred; on | |
| the other hand, you could have a diamond in the rough player on | |
| a team rated mediocre who might really hit it off on a new team | |
| and rise to spectacular heights. | |
| [quote]Indeed. But we're discussing introducing good players to | |
| a lesser league. Look at what Sebastiano Giovinco has done with | |
| Toronto FC. This tiny footballer (Atom Ant) on loan from | |
| Juventus FC in short order became the MLS's MVP in North | |
| America. He helped catapult TFC into the finals of the MLS Cup | |
| this year. And not only Seba but USMNT's Jozy Altidore And | |
| Michael Bradley (Bob's son) among others. Sure, it's a team | |
| sport but poorer teams are comprised of poorer skills.[/quote]It | |
| also could be a lack of esprit de corps, a lack of joie de vivre | |
| when playing as a team. | |
| [quote]Indeed. I had given a link in either this or Bradley's | |
| thread mentioning this. Not that the Chinese could not learn | |
| from him. My understanding is that he's the world's most popular | |
| sports figure. I'm not about to hit the like, like, like!! | |
| button on that information ;).[/quote]Yes, I seem to recall you | |
| mentioning it. I just checked this out. | |
| Lionel Messi already earns around �50,000-a-day, so it�s not | |
| like he�s lacking for cash. | |
| But if Hebei China Fortune get their way then Messi is going to | |
| be earning an absolute Quinton Fortune. | |
| The Chinese Super League club, currently managed by Manuel | |
| Pellegrini, are willing to pay Messi �100million-a-year, | |
| according to Goal. | |
| He would be offered a five-year contract to leave Barcelona | |
| meaning he�d take home �500mil if he sees out his time in China. | |
| His rumoured buyout clause of �250m is unlikely to put off a | |
| club that briefly made Ezequiel Lavezzi the highest paid player | |
| in the world. | |
| Hebei finished a disappointing 7th in the Chinese Super League | |
| last season, despite being able to call upon Lavezzi, Stephane | |
| Mbia and Gervinho. | |
| But that�s nothing the signing of Messi couldn�t fix. | |
| After all, if Obafemi Martins can still score goals in China | |
| we�re sure Messi would get on okay. | |
| I think he'd be miserable. | |
| [quote]Better spent on health-related matters than an arms race. | |
| especially, if it's private money. Better to sport, sport, sport | |
| than to war, war, war.[/quote]If the rest of the world didn't | |
| have military forces, China could just send people to kidnap the | |
| players they want. | |
| [quote]Indeed it is. Kids want to emulate their sports heroes. I | |
| spent endless hours keeping active playing ball-hockey in the | |
| streets when I was a lad. Why? I wanted to be like Yvan | |
| Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens. I played house league and | |
| high school soccer. So, I didn't become an athlete. I became a | |
| pseudo-intellectual and a question-mark for professors. The | |
| government in China is investing in programs to keep their kids | |
| active at least. | |
| Second, networking is the number one way to gain knowledge and | |
| skills. Look at what Guus Hiddink brought to Australia's | |
| Socceroos. FC Barcelona's later successes can be directly traced | |
| back to Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff at Ajax in the | |
| Netherlands. Isolation inevitably leads to poverty and failure. | |
| Look at the top EPL clubs all coached by foreigners. Jurgen | |
| Klopp (love that Jurgen) has overhauled Liverpool's style of | |
| play making them a real contender this year. Look at the foreign | |
| coaches hired by national teams. Why are they hired? Because the | |
| hiring country wants their expertise. Look at the number one | |
| watched sports league worldwide, the EPL with all its foreign | |
| players there. Its success has increased dramatically since | |
| their arrival in numbers there.[/quote]And somebody thought they | |
| wanted Bob Bradley. . . . | |
| [quote]For footy, indeed it is. Up to a point. If you don't know | |
| how to play it and if you can afford it, you go out to find the | |
| best you can wherever they are and bring them in to teach you | |
| what they know by management and players. This is the quickest | |
| way to progress and success. When you have learned your lessons | |
| well, you can slow the importation. Still, keep an eye on the | |
| network. Knowledge is power. Most successful clubs do | |
| it.[/quote]If you want intelligent children, don't think about | |
| marriage -- go find some bright children to adopt. | |
| #Post#: 13673-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: paralambano Date: January 9, 2017, 12:27 pm | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Kerry - | |
| [quote]I don't see the point in taking risks just to hold a | |
| record; but then many people do -- just look at all the crazy | |
| things they do trying into the Guinness Book of World Records. | |
| Things with that organization have gotten so bizarre and | |
| trivial, I don't consider them that serious now. [/quote] | |
| The key is in the idea that the Chinese want to build football | |
| clubs that will be around for a hundred years as they are | |
| elsewhere. Part of the enjoyment of it I suppose is the ride to | |
| goals - - the endeavour itself. I doubt that most Chinese | |
| futbolistas believe that they can build a WC winning team in so | |
| short a time. Their ambitions are probably outstripping their | |
| abilities for now. Still, stranger things happen. Patience, | |
| China. You probably know all about this quality already. | |
| [quote]I don't think the owners have much of a clue about this. | |
| You could have a top-rate guy in one club who seems uninspired | |
| if transferred; on the other hand, you could have a diamond in | |
| the rough player on a team rated mediocre who might really hit | |
| it off on a new team and rise to spectacular heights. [/quote] | |
| I think they do know since they have been sporting for some time | |
| now. They just might not be as expert at it in soccer and so | |
| have still to rely on foreign experts to sniff out these things | |
| for them. Sometimes an outsider sees things insiders don't. | |
| [quote]It also could be a lack of esprit de corps, a lack of | |
| joie de vivre when playing as a team. | |
| [/quote] | |
| Indeed. There are many variables at work sometimes. This | |
| sometimes happens to great teams when they have won | |
| consistently. FC Barca has been terrible lately. Apparently, a | |
| lack of effort in the midfield. Their "style" of play, putting | |
| other teams on their dizzying midfield carousel has eroded. | |
| Enrique is now approaching the hot-seat. | |
| By the way, congratulations to ex-Wolfsburg's Julian Draxler. He | |
| got to play immediately with his new club Paris Saint-Germain | |
| this weekend at Parc des Princes and scored their seventh and | |
| final goal against Bastia. Look out on Valentine's Day, Barca. | |
| [quote]Yes, I seem to recall you mentioning it. I just checked | |
| this out. | |
| Lionel Messi already earns around �50,000-a-day, so it�s not | |
| like he�s lacking for cash. | |
| But if Hebei China Fortune get their way then Messi is going to | |
| be earning an absolute Quinton Fortune. | |
| The Chinese Super League club, currently managed by Manuel | |
| Pellegrini, are willing to pay Messi �100million-a-year, | |
| according to Goal. | |
| He would be offered a five-year contract to leave Barcelona | |
| meaning he�d take home �500mil if he sees out his time in China. | |
| His rumoured buyout clause of �250m is unlikely to put off a | |
| club that briefly made Ezequiel Lavezzi the highest paid player | |
| in the world. | |
| Hebei finished a disappointing 7th in the Chinese Super League | |
| last season, despite being able to call upon Lavezzi, Stephane | |
| Mbia and Gervinho. | |
| But that�s nothing the signing of Messi couldn�t fix. | |
| After all, if Obafemi Martins can still score goals in China | |
| we�re sure Messi would get on okay. | |
| I think he'd be miserable. | |
| [/quote] | |
| I agree. Messi has mentioned that he might want to retire if not | |
| a Barca (been with Barca since he was thirteen I believe) then | |
| at Newell's Old Boys in his hometown of Rosario, Sante Fe, | |
| Argentina. | |
| Here's Leo salvaging a point for Barca on Sunday. The effusive | |
| commentator at 43s in is Thomas Rongen, scout for the USMNT who | |
| incidentally played with the great footballer and mastermind, | |
| Johan Cruyff (Dutchmen): | |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8rIlgelMT0 | |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8rIlgelMT0 | |
| By the way, what a humble and beloved players' coach Manuel | |
| Pellegrini is. His players were sad to see him leave Manchester | |
| City FC last year. | |
| [quote]If the rest of the world didn't have military forces, | |
| China could just send people to kidnap the players they want. | |
| [/quote] | |
| They'd still have to pay them good money since so many of them | |
| can get lazy quickly. | |
| [quote]And somebody thought they wanted Bob Bradley. . . | |
| .[/quote] | |
| I still do if Canada doesn't want this foreigner. He's closer to | |
| the culture here and has some success internationally. His son | |
| plays for Toronto FC and what's wrong with Toronto as a place to | |
| live but for the cold in winter? We train down south anyway. I | |
| mean, we brought in Benito Floro from Spain and how did that | |
| work out for us? We're out of the WC Russia 2018. Not in the | |
| HEX. We still have a hockey and US gridiron mentality here. Very | |
| few have ever even heard of Floro or possibly much less care. | |
| Hey, but I do try in my little way when I can . . . . ;) | |
| [quote]If you want intelligent children, don't think about | |
| marriage -- go find some bright children to adopt.[/quote] | |
| First you have to ensure that that line of progenitors is | |
| intelligent. Give them the best teachers first, then have them | |
| procreate. | |
| para . . . . | |
| #Post#: 13681-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: Oh, Xi! | |
| By: Kerry Date: January 12, 2017, 8:38 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| [quote author=paralambano link=topic=1150.msg13673#msg13673 | |
| date=1483986436] | |
| Kerry - | |
| The key is in the idea that the Chinese want to build football | |
| clubs that will be around for a hundred years as they are | |
| elsewhere. Part of the enjoyment of it I suppose is the ride to | |
| goals - - the endeavour itself. I doubt that most Chinese | |
| futbolistas believe that they can build a WC winning team in so | |
| short a time. Their ambitions are probably outstripping their | |
| abilities for now. Still, stranger things happen. Patience, | |
| China. You probably know all about this quality already.[/quote] | |
| I found that statement strange myself. Has anyone ever set up a | |
| sports club with the goal it will be around only twenty or so | |
| years? "Why don't we have a team and build an expensive | |
| stadium to prove to the world we can do it. Then after twenty | |
| years of demonstrating our success, we'll say it's enough and go | |
| on to something else." | |
| [quote]I think they do know since they have been sporting for | |
| some time now. They just might not be as expert at it in soccer | |
| and so have still to rely on foreign experts to sniff out these | |
| things for them. Sometimes an outsider sees things insiders | |
| don't.[/quote] | |
| I don't think the Europeans or Americans know that much than the | |
| Chinese really. They seem to rely on money, spending wild sums | |
| on the people with past track records hoping they'll perform for | |
| them as well as they performed for others. If things start to | |
| go wrong, the owners fire them and try somebody else. | |
| [quote]Indeed. There are many variables at work sometimes. This | |
| sometimes happens to great teams when they have won | |
| consistently. FC Barca has been terrible lately. Apparently, a | |
| lack of effort in the midfield. Their "style" of play, putting | |
| other teams on their dizzying midfield carousel has eroded. | |
| Enrique is now approaching the hot-seat. | |
| By the way, congratulations to ex-Wolfsburg's Julian Draxler. He | |
| got to play immediately with his new club Paris Saint-Germain | |
| this weekend at Parc des Princes and scored their seventh and | |
| final goal against Bastia. Look out on Valentine's Day, | |
| Barca.[/quote]As Xavier Hernandez exits to go to Qatar to make | |
| tons of money. If I played on a team and one of my teammates | |
| did that, I'd feel demoralized and maybe a little helpless or | |
| resentful. In the end though, I'd tell myself, "Better off | |
| without him." I don't think allowing players to keep playing | |
| for the team they're quitting is a good idea. | |
| [quote]I agree. Messi has mentioned that he might want to retire | |
| if not a Barca (been with Barca since he was thirteen I believe) | |
| then at Newell's Old Boys in his hometown of Rosario, Sante Fe, | |
| Argentina. | |
| Here's Leo salvaging a point for Barca on Sunday. The effusive | |
| commentator at 43s in is Thomas Rongen, scout for the USMNT who | |
| incidentally played with the great footballer and mastermind, | |
| Johan Cruyff (Dutchmen):[/quote] | |
| Where did the Qatar ads go? | |
| [quote]By the way, what a humble and beloved players' coach | |
| Manuel Pellegrini is. His players were sad to see him leave | |
| Manchester City FC last year.[/quote]I wonder if that mattered | |
| to him? | |
| [quote]They'd still have to pay them good money since so many of | |
| them can get lazy quickly.[/quote] | |
| The amount of money is relative. China could just threaten to | |
| put them in internment camps if they underperformed. | |
| [quote]First you have to ensure that that line of progenitors is | |
| intelligent. Give them the best teachers first, then have them | |
| procreate.[/quote]Two superbright people are not apt to have | |
| children as bright as themselves. Nor are two extremely dumb | |
| parents apt to have children as dumb as they are. The children | |
| of of extremely intelligent people are apt to be brighter than | |
| average but not as bright as their parents. This is because of | |
| the regression to the mean. | |
| ***************************************************** | |
| Next Page |