kni Posted December 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Absolutely stunned at the choice of Qatar. A country 1/7th the size of Scotland with a population of 1.6m, June temperatures in the 40s and absolutely no football heritage. Total joke. FIFA are so out of touch with the every day football fan it's frightening. The only legacy being left by that choice is the one in Blatter and his cronies bank accounts. Scandalous. In pure footballing terms the least deserving country has won both votes. Really? You are as naive as the British bid team. How do you think international business operates? Corruption is the norm rather than the exception, especially in the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia and Arab countries. If you do not pay the "commission", you do not get the business. It's the same with football agents who take £millions out of the game. Qatar, like Russia, was way in front from the first vote. And it's just not cash in private bank accounts. I bet the Russian ladies who "entertained' the FIFA team were stunning. The videos would have been worth a few votes. Putin was so confident, he didn't turn up to lobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collins Out! Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 The Qatar decision is a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blutarsky Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 The Qatar decision is a joke. could spell the end of international soccer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck snort Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Really? You are as naive as the British bid team. How do you think international business operates? Corruption is the norm rather than the exception, especially in the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia and Arab countries. If you do not pay the "commission", you do not get the business. It's the same with football agents who take £millions out of the game. Qatar, like Russia, was way in front from the first vote. And it's just not cash in private bank accounts. I bet the Russian ladies who "entertained' the FIFA team were stunning. The videos would have been worth a few votes. Putin was so confident, he didn't turn up to lobby! Stunned was probably the wrong word to use because I know exactly how they got the vote. Blatter's speech telling losers to take the decision gracefully was so transparent. Basically go home and don't bother investigating corruption. I'd expect the opposite to happen and for the English media to go into overdrive. It may partly be driven by sour grapes but if it rids the game of the crooks in charge it can only be a plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meister Jag Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 (edited) could spell the end of international soccer. Fair point but outside of the top flight - probably ten teams, the rest are all just making up the numbers. In this respect the World Cup isn't the spectacle that it once was. I personally couldn't get into it the last one and felt that it had lost a lot of its magic with some European teams looking distinctly jaded. Okay, we know they're pro-footballers but the sad fact is that some players don't look at playing for their country as being the ultimate accolade and some were clearly more focused on getting on with their close-season beach holidays. And talking of Engerland... In terms of England not winning, I'm not fussed and looked upon the whole fiasco as being another attempt to divert attention away from more pressing political issues. Had England's bid won, cue national rejoicing, suggestions that the trophy was already in the bag (1966 and all that!) and as much positive press as needed to wet a Tory spin doctors knickers. Sorry to be so cynical and still trying to work out WTF Prince Wills was doing? Does he actually know what a fuc*** football is for? Angry rant over. But funny to see how badly wrong the press corps got Putin's absence. What are these guys being paid for and what a lot of p**h they talked about having insider info' that suggested the Russian bid was floundering. That bit alone was quite funny. Edited December 2, 2010 by Meister Jag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Stunned was probably the wrong word to use because I know exactly how they got the vote. Blatter's speech telling losers to take the decision gracefully was so transparent. Basically go home and don't bother investigating corruption. I'd expect the opposite to happen and for the English media to go into overdrive. It may partly be driven by sour grapes but if it rids the game of the crooks in charge it can only be a plus. Can't say I've being paying much attention to all this but I could see England's grievance being more relevant if the voting had been closer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 You'd think someone had died the way that the english media are going on. Still, it gave the BBC an opportunity to show some of the 1966 game again Yes, but imagine if they had won the right to stage it in 2018. We'd have had 8 years of the english media prattling on and making us sick of every stage by stage blow of 'progress' and whatever other countless pointless mindnumbing 'news' stories they would attached to it and would have trotted out. A few days of their tearstained conspiracy drivel pales into insignificance as to what we could have been subjected to had they been awarded 2018. As for Qatar getting 2022- yep, that one IS a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrantB Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Anyone with a shread of sympathy for England should read THIS in the English Currant Bun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonjag Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Anyone with a shread of sympathy for England should read THIS in the English Currant Bun. Sour grapes? It is now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jags365 Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 'E' is fantastic. I would have been quite happy to try and get a wee jaunt down for some WC games but after reading that...GIRUY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1876Jag Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Sorry to be so cynical and still trying to work out WTF Prince Wills was doing? Does he actually know what a fuc*** football is for? Prince William is president of the FA - I also believe he is an Aston Villa supporter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrantB Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Some more gems for your amusement... Harry Redknapp Terry Venables Boo Hoo. Dry yer eyes!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) I watched the ceremony on the Russia Today channel. While we were waiting for the decision they ran films of a wee Russian boy playing keepy-uppy with ballerinas from the Bolshoi etc.! Of course, once the announcement was made, I had to switch over to the BBC to watch their doom and gloom, funereal wake. It's a sin to gloat but sometimes it is just so enjoyable. Of course they played the 1966 footage - will the sprockets on that film ever wear out? Trust England to go to FIFA and tell them that England should get the world cup because, a) their league set-up is the best in the world. they invented football so they have a better right than others to stage the competition. c) they are just so organised, insinuating that other countries aren't. d) they already have all the stadiums built, as if that's better than other countries who said they'll build new ones. Pompous and arrogant as ever: and they still can't see why the votes went against them! Edited December 3, 2010 by Milo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrantB Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 I watched the ceremony on the Russia Today channel. While we were waiting for the decision they ran films of a wee Russian boy playing keepy-uppy with ballerinas from the Bolshoi etc.! Of course, once the announcement was made, I had to switch over to the BBC to watch their doom and gloom, funereal wake. It's a sin to gloat but sometimes it is just so enjoyable. Of course they played the 1966 footage - will the sprockets on that film ever wear out? Trust England to go to FIFA and tell them that England should get the world cup because, a) their league set-up is the best in the world. they invented football so they have a better right than others to stage the competition. c) they are just so organised, insinuating that other countries aren't. d) they already have all the stadiums built, as if that's better than other countries who said they'll build new ones. Pompous and arrogant as ever: and they still can't see why the votes went against them! Brilliant! Point A: La Liga is the best league in the world no matter what Sky want to tell you. Point B: We could also lay claim to that one. Point C: Are England really more organised than the likes of the Dutch? I doubt it. Point D: Last time I looked, stadium MK was nowhere near being ready. They already have SOME stadia ready but to claim all is a lie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blutarsky Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Fair point but outside of the top flight - probably ten teams, the rest are all just making up the numbers. In this respect the World Cup isn't the spectacle that it once was. the beginning of the end for me was italia 90. with one or two exceptions, SA was a duffer and the actions and legacy of debt left by FIFA is highly objectionable. the notion that stadiums in qatar will be air-conditioned to counter the 40C outside temperature is absolutely risible. sure, there is a large arab population that surrounds qatar but there is no footbal culture or history, a fact reflected in the size of the crowds. as for cameron, what a spectacular show of political naivety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Some more gems for your amusement... Harry Redknapp Terry Venables Boo Hoo. Dry yer eyes!!! Just took this random quote from 'Arry. And there always seems to be a bit of anti-English feeling among certain sections of FIFA, almost as if we are paying for the fact that we gave the game to the rest of the world. That's like suggesting the RAC & AA have an institutionalised dislike of Germans for inventing the motor car as we know it. Maybe a country accredited for giving the game to the rest of the world shouldn't have adopted such a condescending attitude when declining to take part in the first three World Cups. Got a feeling that the FA have been playing catch up with FIFA ever since. BTW I keep hearing and reading England had the best technical bid. I take that to involve infrastructure. Undoubtedly got the stadia and probably training facilities etc but I'd certainly question transport. I know little about the transport system in Russia but doubt it can be as atrocious as UK road and rail networks, which in turn is light years behind that of Belgium/Netherlands. Maybe some of those FIFA wallahs decide to make their own way to inspect the various proposed venues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted December 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) A friend of mine has blogged that the Financial Times' Roger Blitz wrote his report on the result at 1.57, an hour and a half before Blatter took the stage in Geneva. Here is a link to a screenshot of the FT piece - http://www.crashbang.../12/Blitz2.jpg Edited December 3, 2010 by kni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberteeb Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 I wanted England to win the bid purely because I would have gone to plenty of group games in the north of England (assuming I still live in Glasgow in 2018). However the reaction is ridiculous. There would be no legacy left in England, there will be in Russia, England already have a fully functioning footballing system in place in terms of facilities, academies, clubs, stadiums and fans (despite the fact the English players they produce are largely sub-standard). In comparison Russia will have to build new stadiums and facilities and it will also improve the transport infrastructure of the country as well and open up something of an unknown world (remember you still need to apply for a visa to get there). So in those terms Russia wins. The Spannish/Portugese and Dutch/Belgian bids both got more votes. They have equally as good infrastructure in place as England, it is clear FIFA wanted to leave a legacy, that’s fair enough. There was no conspiracy, England just didn’t have that great a bid, the fact that almost everything is in place is an irrelevance, the World Cup is 8 years away. Who is more likely to through money at world class facilities, the impoverished public spend cutting Tories or Russia? As for England ‘living and breathing football’ and all that rubbish, so do all the other European bids. And as much as the racism issue in Russia is abhorrent, doesn’t the crowd problems that still flare up in England counter that from a FIFA perspective? Their bid just wasn’t the best, Plymouth, Milton Keynes, Sunderland…do me a favour. As for 2022, I thought Australia would be a shoe in for it, new market, try to improve the following of soccer, etc. But football is the most popular sport in the Middle East, there are far more people in the middle east to convert/make money out of than there is in Australia. From a selfish point of view Qatar gives us better times to watch games than if it was in Aus (I was down under for the 2006 world cup and it was a nightmare trying to watch the games). The temperature issue is being taken care of with the air conditioned stadiums, and the heat in Qatar is a dry one, it’ll be better playing in 45 degrees in Qatar than 35 degrees in a humid country. People don’t internally combust in that heat, yes it is warm, stay in the shade, don’t sprint from your hotel to the ground, nobody is going to die. Whilst Qatar is tiny it is within a stones throw of other populous Gulf states, people can base themselves there, people can travel from there. And Qatar has promised to parachute in their stadiums to Africa, now how good must that look in FIFAs book? In short, England’s bid wasn’t the best for 2018, Russia fully deserve it. Qatar might be a bit of an odd choice at first glance but at the end of the day they are the richest country per head of population, they will throw billions at this to make it work, it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Was there not, supposedly, a gentleman's agreement in place whereby Germany would back England's bid for the 1996 Euros in return for England backing Germany's bid for the 2006 World Cup? What happened? England put in a rival bid to host the 2006 World Cup! Is it any wonder that people are against them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 open up something of an unknown world (remember you still need to apply for a visa to get there). England isn't so open either, citizens of more than half the countries which competed in WC2010 need to apply for a visa to visit the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watson Towers Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) I had wanted England to win it; but I was absolutely delighted almost immediately after they didn't! It's amazing how they can't see how that righteous sense of arrogant expectation over Johnny foreigner just puts people off them. Reminds me of their team at WC2010: clearly the best there, then a sense of amazement when they get fkd! By the way, have you seen the distances in Russsia? Going between any two grounds is AT LEAST a 24 can journey. Bring that on... Edited December 3, 2010 by Watson Towers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blutarsky Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) Qatar might be a bit of an odd choice at first glance but at the end of the day they are the richest country per head of population, they will throw billions at this to make it work, it will work. it's an odd choice period. it won't work when murdoch's media dynasty goes up against fifa with a world club championship to go head to head with the world cup. but that, my friend, is inevitable when the business of football becomes business and not football. Edited December 3, 2010 by John Blutarsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted December 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 There would have been a legacy if England had won. It would have ensured that new stadia were build (or expanded) in Plymouth, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Bristol and London (Tottenham/Hackney). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted December 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Here's an interesting article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11908445 Cost of bid to councils Sunderland: £421,584.80 Bristol: £363,000 Birmingham: £353,048 Leeds: £272,829.92 Newcastle: £208,990.90 Manchester: £144,750 Plymouth: £136,000 Milton Keynes: £130,000 Liverpool: £94,662 London: £60,000 Sheffield/Nottingham: no reply Total spend: £2,184,865.62 Why did London and Liverpool contribute so little? I have heard that the bidding costs put off Middlesborough and Derby whose stadia can be expanded easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruchillnomore Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Best bit of bullshit was Sepp Blatters attempt to rub their noses even further by stating that football originated in China . I really cant stand the man as he epitomises all that is wrong with those that run fotball but in fairness England deserve all they get wish they would dry their eyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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