Blatter, Platini

The sightings of the former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the former French International Michael Platini leaving the Basle Swiss court’s getaway free leaves one reaching for the glass of scotch to numb the senses. A 2 million pound heist on Platini’s part alongside Blatter’s endless years of dirty dealings, the final count, Switzerland’s own, Blatter and the French speaking Swiss, the two protected species, cleared of fraud, political? A cover up? Dark knights running in the night? The main bone of slicing the FIFA cash cow during the proceedings came with a 2 million pounds FIFA fund pot being raided by Blatter to pay for Platini’s advisory work, the pathetically termed ‘gentleman’s agreement’ which did not appear in FIFA’s accounts and no witness in play, no surprise there Cilla, that’s fraud right there my lord, to say that the role leaper (Blatter) was not involved in misappropriation, mismanagement, forgery and fraud of FIFA’s money pot is not plausible, believable? No, absurd to think of any other way, all those around clocking Blatter to rear it’s ugly paper mache head, it’s brazen corruption and it continues today with the current FIFA president Giani Infantino, quote Harold Shand, the Long Good Friday “Is there any justice in this disgusting world”. The initial court proceedings on the gruesome twosome dates back to 2015, solace can be found with their banning from football activities, lucky to escape those darkened cells? Has to be the case my lord ‘the embezzler’s syndrome’.

FIFA’s Bad Cop Routine

FIFA’s continued role as football’s bad cop holds no boundaries with the new cash donkey titled ‘The Club World Cup’ has a 1 billion pound prize fund, FIFA dipping into their heist fund have set aside 368 million pounds, to compare, Manchester City raked in 110 million pounds for winning the 2022-2023 Champions League City will be trying to eclipse that figure, is it a case of the robbers paying the robbers? An added 400 million pounds is earmarked via commercial, as for the remaining 232 million there’s no mention of that feeder route. To go beyond the figures FIFA have stated that any surplus cash will be reinstated into football, will that be the case? FIFA’s red herrings to manipulate to cover up their greed, link to article Oct 2^nd 2024 ‘FIFA’s White Elephants’, abandoned stadiums the Mexican club Leon has been banned from the tournament’s new beginnings on the 14^th June 2025. The reasons cited that Leaon is owned by Grupo Pachuca who also owns CIF. Pachuca who are participating in the tournament, multi-ownership rules to deny club Leon. The replacement club should come from the Concacat Champions Cup variation, but will it? FIFA president, Infantino to sneak in Ai-Nassi FC, Ronaldo’s club? To invite in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo syndrome, that’s the condition, plagued to the watching world.

For Better or Worse?

Manchester City’s Ederson Santana may be heading for the FIFA club World Cup alongside Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez but they enter high on an error strewn list for goalkeepers in the premiership, the days of Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence, Phil Parkes, Neville Southall, and Peter Schmiecal, the list can go on, are long gone, even Leeds United’s Gary Sprake during the 1970’s was lorded. So has there been a downward spiral with the quality of goal keepers since those nostalgia days? Ipswich Town’s Arijanet Muric is top of the error strewn brigade alongside Chelsea’s Sanchez who clearly is not consistent to play regular for Chelsea, but manager Maresca keeps selecting Sanchez, strange indeed. Southampton’s Alex McArthy is not surprisingly on the list, but not Leicester’s Mads Hermansen, strange? Perhaps Hermansen is a more competent keeper, that’s if you’re a stat lover.

The Manchester United riddler Andre Onana alongside City’s Edeson and Newcastle’s Nick Pope are entered as the bundlers, it has to be said that Onana ticks that box on a consistent basis, but can also make outstanding saves, the different moving lenses of goal keepers in profile. What cannot be denied is the GK’s are making more mistakes, expectation levels rise, so does the pressure cooker, hence the mistakes perhaps. The modern day goalkeepers do have more responsibilities to envelope, can the GK’s be termed as sweepers to a degree playing the ball from the back, more touches, higher concentration levels, goalkeepers are told to launch the ball forward only as a second option. Shot stopping is still termed of a high gauge but more goals are being scored to question that stat, perhaps the answer lies with more goals being scored from inside the penalty area which could be the reason behind more goalkeeper errors with less time to react, but that does not dilute the outstanding match winning saves the GK’s make to add to the equation. So where do we draw the line? Is it for the stats to determine that? Time for the jury to sit this one out.