On 2/7/2024 at 5:42 AM, caulfield12 said:

https://global.espn.com/football/story/_/id/39378413/whats-gone-wrong-manchester-united-glazer-ownership

Feels like the Glazers almost perfectly mirror Reinsdorf and family as EPL owners...

I think we are closer to Tottenham.  Both in how cheap Levy is and also his arrogance.  Like Reinsdorf, Levy truly believes that he knows how to win trophies the right way.  They haven't won a trophy since 2008.  Man United do spend money, they just spend it really poorly.  But they have won trophies.    Tottenham have done decently this season but it remains to be seen if they will actually spend the necessary money to compete.  They definitely have that money after selling Harry Kane for over 100 million pounds.  If they sit on their hands and don’t add, they will not be in the Top 4 hunt next year.

 

To be honest, Arsenal are what the White Sox should be striving to be.  And they have delivered on the promise that they have shown after a long rebuild whereas the White Sox failed to do that.  But than again, Arsenal, unlike the White Sox, hired an incredible manager and have spent money smartly.  A good one to one comparison is the comparison between the 22-23 Arsenal season and the 21' White Sox season.  In 22-23, Arsenal surprised everyone by challenging Man City for the premier league title.  While they ultimately were overtaken in the final weeks of the season, they did make the Champions League for the first time in seven years which is the equivalent of making the playoffs.  Had they just stood pat, I’m not sure they would be in the top 4 this year, let alone in the title race.  Instead, they spent over 250 million pounds in the transfer window, including breaking the English transfer record by buying Declan Rice for 115 million pounds.  Essentially, they got Bryce Harper when he was available.  Because of this investment, they are in with a shout of the title and will be in the top 4 once again.

 

The White Sox simply didn’t make the necessary investment in that offseason to improve upon 2021.  I don’t know what the equivalent of Declan Rice was in the free agent market but they made luxury additions without addressing real needs.  In that way, there are similarities between United’s transfer window this past year and the White Sox.  United spent money, but they spent it really poorly.

Edited March 13, 20242 yr by Colome's Hat

13 minutes ago, T R U said:

Soccer is the worst thing ever, no one should do anything like they do.

It has literally eclipsed baseball for popularity in the US, especially amongst the youth.  Globally, the Premier League is the most popular sports league in the world.

I am in favor of relegation but it would require the Minor Leagues to be independent of Major League clubs.  Having said that, it would be  game changer and for the better.  It would for every team to be a buyer at the trade deadline.  For example, the White Sox would have been forced to be buyers this past year to avoid relegation.  I do think a loan system would be helpful in baseball.  I think it would allow for players who might be ready for the major leagues but don't necessarily have a space on the roster to get meaningful apperances.  It could also allow for the teams to fill short term needs buy literally acquiring a rental.

2 minutes ago, Colome's Hat said:

It has literally eclipsed baseball for popularity in the US, especially amongst the youth.  Globally, the Premier League is the most popular sports league in the world.

Feel like ive been hearing this for 20 years, its the go to response for the soccer lovers. The best athletes in this country don't play soccer, and they never will.

4 minutes ago, T R U said:

Feel like ive been hearing this for 20 years, its the go to response for the soccer lovers. The best athletes in this country don't play soccer, and they never will.

So the USWNT team don't count?  They are literally some of the most succesful athletes this country has.  We don't have the youth academy systems that other countries have.  But this comment is grossly ignorant.  Bukayo Saka and Kevin De Bruyne are some of the most popular athletes in the world.   I guarantee you that they have more popularity world wide than Juan Soto.  

7 minutes ago, Colome's Hat said:

So the USWNT team don't count?  They are literally some of the most succesful athletes this country has.  We don't have the youth academy systems that other countries have.  But this comment is grossly ignorant.  Bukayo Saka and Kevin De Bruyne are some of the most popular athletes in the world.   I guarantee you that they have more popularity world wide than Juan Soto.  

Literally never heard of anyone you just named. So ive made my point.

Also, womens soccer? really. You could find high school boys teams that would wipe the pitch with the USWNT. Don't get me wrong, they are the best in their field but when I said the best athletes in this country, obviously I was talking about males.

24 minutes ago, T R U said:

Literally never heard of anyone you just named. So ive made my point.

Also, womens soccer? really. You could find high school boys teams that would wipe the pitch with the USWNT. Don't get me wrong, they are the best in their field but when I said the best athletes in this country, obviously I was talking about males.

Again, proving my point that this was a completely ignorant statement.  You aren't' the barometer for popularity when it comes to athletes.  As far as what is in bold, this just might be the most ignorant and sexist statement I've ever read.  You clearly know nothing about soccer if you were to say something like this but also, it's also just completely sexist.  I actually wouldn't be surprised to see some of the best women's high school teams wipe the floor with the USMNT.

Expand the playoffs to sixteen teams with only those teams getting a share of the playoff revenue and a greater share of the national TV deal. Relegation by revenue. 

 

1 hour ago, Colome's Hat said:

Again, proving my point that this was a completely ignorant statement.  You aren't' the barometer for popularity when it comes to athletes.  As far as what is in bold, this just might be the most ignorant and sexist statement I've ever read.  You clearly know nothing about soccer if you were to say something like this but also, it's also just completely sexist.  I actually wouldn't be surprised to see some of the best women's high school teams wipe the floor with the USMNT.

Nothing I said was sexist. It wasn't meant to be degrading to women, there are plenty of great athletes that are women.

 

19 minutes ago, T R U said:

Nothing I said was sexist. It wasn't meant to be degrading to women, there are plenty of great athletes that are women.

Hmmm.  So why did you specify boys team?  You are obviously implying that male athletes are superior to female athletes.  

Nottingham Forest is the EPL team I think of when trying to slot the Sox. One of the oldest teams, had a solid stretch a long time ago.

One of the bottom teams in the league, likely to stay there for quite some time or be relegated. 

23 minutes ago, Colome's Hat said:

 

Hmmm.  So why did you specify boys team?  You are obviously implying that male athletes are superior to female athletes.  

In high level athletics, male athletes ARE superior to female athletes. Not because "women aren't good" but because males are just bigger, stronger, and faster by nature. If this wasn't the case, they wouldn't be segregated into women's and men's athletics.

So again, please don't confuse this with "every male is better than every female" because that's not what I am saying. My original statement was in reference to the best athletes in this country in men's sports not choosing soccer, sorry for not clarifying.

18 minutes ago, T R U said:

In high level athletics, male athletes ARE superior to female athletes. Not because "women aren't good" but because males are just bigger, stronger, and faster by nature. If this wasn't the case, they wouldn't be segregated into women's and men's athletics.

So again, please don't confuse this with "every male is better than every female" because that's not what I am saying. My original statement was in reference to the best athletes in this country in men's sports not choosing soccer, sorry for not clarifying.

Did you ever hear of Billie Jean King?  She literally proved this false.

2 minutes ago, Colome's Hat said:

Did you ever hear of Billie Jean King?  She literally proved this false.

How? Bobby Riggs was 55, beat the world's number one player Margaret Court 6-1, 6-2 before the Billy Jean King match, that I believe included he had to defend the doubles lines out, and the allegations that the match was rigged, pun somewhat intended.

https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9695268/outside-lines-story-causes-some-view-battle-sexes-match-differently-not-all

Then you have the more recent example of Serena Williams getting destroyed after issuing her challenge.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-the-williams-sisters-vs-karsten-braasch-the-world-no-203-destroyed-serena-williams-venus-williams-battle-sexes

Quote

"Men's tennis and women's tennis are two completely different sports. Andy Murray would beat me 6:0 6:0 in 5 to 6 minutes. They serve harder, they hit harder... "

- Serena Williams