Financial Fair Play – Still Crazy After All These Years

I have spoken/ranted on this topic before – FFP makes NCAA enforcement seem equitable and reasonable.  The people who “watchdog” over things are basically the same type of shitmonkey who took all those bribes to put a World Cup in the middle of a fucking desert.  With slave labour just DYING to make those stadia happen.

It’s topical again, because Man City are looking at (barring a successful appeal) a 2-year European ban.  Which is basically a “we are going to blow y’all up because we don’t like gate-crashers at our old money party.”  The hoots and hollers are coming from Liverpool supporters (all over Norway!), imagining back-to-back-to-back free rides to the Premiership title.

I am pissed off, despite the bone this throws Everton’s way.  The Toffees – 2nd best side in the League since Marco Silva’s sacking – would now be able to qualify for Shempions League (h/t DonT) by finishing this season in 5th.  Europa qualification might reach all the way down to 8th position.  My Blues could surely use the revenue and exposure.  But NOT at the expense of Lesser Footy cinching the noose even tighter around their closed shop.

You get two Sabado fixtures, both shite.  Burnley head to St. Mary’s in a battle of bottom feeders (7:30, NBCSN), while the assdick Kopites try to dodge a Norwich City banana skin (12:30, NBC).  I have given up any hope for a loss, until the Shite head to Goodison this Spring.  We can’t stop them winning the Prem, but we CAN keep them from matching Arsenal’s “Invincibles.”

Seriously, those Gooners were pretty damned special.

Lots of Championship action at 10:00, including Litre’s Mighty Whities home to Barnsley.  I reckoned it would be the streaming option (ESPN+), but that’s Luton Town at Boro.  Bummer.

What am I gonna watch?  Comintern FC (Union Berlin) hosting the aspirins (9:30, FS…Deportes only??)  YOU ASSHOLES.  Oh wait, my cable gets that channel now.  HUZZAH!!  I enjoy watching Lesser Footy en espanol.  Es bueno.  Germany’s Bundesliga has a bukkake of competitors for the crown this season.  Very enjoyable, plus you can laugh at how Jurgen Klinsmann imploded with Berlin’s capitalist pig-dog side (Hertha, who could even slip into relegation danger).

No great Eye-Tie action until 2:30, when Roma take on Atalanta (ESPN+), but it’s fun to gamble on anyway.  Poor SPAL.  🙁

Sunday is a bit better, with NBCSN double-dipping into Spurs/Villa (9:00) and those now-quite-vincible Gooners taking on the Barcodes (11:30).  Can we dub this the “Classic British Dentistry” Derby?  And don’t sleep on Newcastle still maybe going down.  ALL of the 11th-20th ranked squadrons in the Table are realistic relegation candidates.  Arsenal are in 10th only by goal differential…but one presumes they are safe.

Fun bit of trivia – 13 of the 20 Premiership clubs have been outside the top division in the past decade (including one side – Leicester – with a championship trophy in that same time period).  Yep, that’s the modern-traditional “Big Six” (aka, the “Sky Five” plus Man City)…and plucky Everton.