For obvious reasons I haven’t taken much notice of this

[Sir C]

‘Cup final’ in which we find ourselves, but as I understand it:

1. It’s being played in Azerbaijan, about as far from the home of both finalists as you can get and still be in, ahem, Europe.
2. Flights are extremely limited and expensive.
3. There is some question about the Azerbaijani’s welcome for one of our players because politics.
4. Each club is being issued 6,000 tickets in a stadium which holds 68,000

If these reports are accurate, would it not be reasonable to expect both The Arsenal and Chelsea to advise UEFA to poke their tinpot final up their bottoms?

[Pokster]

‘Cup final’ in which we find ourselves, but as I understand it:

1. It’s being played in Azerbaijan, about as far from the home of both finalists as you can get and still be in, ahem, Europe.
2. Flights are extremely limited and expensive.
3. There is some question about the Azerbaijani’s welcome for one of our players because politics.
4. Each club is being issued 6,000 tickets in a stadium which holds 68,000

If these reports are accurate, would it not be reasonable to expect both The Arsenal and Chelsea to advise UEFA to poke their tinpot final up there bottoms?

Why would we do that when IF we win we make about £50m extra ....and since when do clubs give a **** about their fans?

[redgunamo]

Right. And anyway, everyone agreed to this years ago.

Why would we do that when IF we win we make about £50m extra ....and since when do clubs give a **** about their fans?

[Sir C]

Why would we do that when IF we win we make about £50m extra ....and since when do clubs give a **** about their fans?

Perhaps some things ought to be considered more important than money.

[Pokster]

Perhaps some things ought to be considered more important than money.

We are talking about football clubs, who seem to have 1 intention only, and that is to get as much money as possible no matter what it takes

[redgunamo]

#WengerOut

We are talking about football clubs, who seem to have 1 intention only, and that is to get as much money as possible no matter what it takes

[redgunamo]

Yes. Odd though that people only ever have that particular insight when it's football, don't they. I mean, nobody ever says it about the Festival, do they. Or Bowmore. And I've never heard of anybody mentioning it to the Amex people or the Lincoln Motor Company.

Indeed, mine own wife and daughters have found a delightful little cafe somewhere about, who, in their infinite sense of goodwill and generosity of spirit, will let you have an espresso for just €15. Yet your wise words there simply didn't seem to occur to anyone who was present.

As I say, very odd.

Perhaps some things ought to be considered more important than money.

[Sir C]

Yes. Odd though that people only ever have that particular insight when it's football, don't they. I mean, nobody ever says it about the Festival, do they. Or Bowmore. And I've never heard of anybody mentioning it to the Amex people or the Lincoln Motor Company.

Indeed, mine own wife and daughters have found a delightful little cafe somewhere about, who, in their infinite sense of goodwill and generosity of spirit, will let you have an espresso for just €15. Yet your wise words there simply didn't seem to occur to anyone who was present.

As I say, very odd.

I have no problem with pricing the product at the market rate but this seems to me to be deliberately excluding the supporters of the competing clubs, which will surely prove counter-productive when the TV audience is disappointed by the lack of atmosphere on display, and ceases to cough quite so enthusastically for the product?

And holidn ithe final in a country which cannot guarantee the safety of one of our players because of his nationality is just mind-boggling.

[redgunamo]

Oh, that's all irrelevant nowadays, I'm afraid. The game has so many alternative revenue streams that no-one cares about the atmosphere at the ground. Even if they just fill the place up with global sportswear, hotel chain and airline marketing company junketeers on a sort of busman's holiday, that'll do.

Maybe the developments passed us by but the fact is that hardly anybody actually watches football matches on television anymore, yet interest in and information about, even involvement in said games has apparently never been higher.

You can sit down in front of your Panasonic TV in your Nike socks and follow it on Twitter at the same time and bet on the outcome on your iphone while checking for decent car insurance deals on your Sony laptop and sipping a Heineken or a Pepsi, paying for your pizza delivery with your Mastercard, watching a movie on Netflix. The fact is, you are contributing to Mesut Özil's wages whether you can actually be bothered to watch him aimlessly, pointlessly stroll about the pitch or not. Football is merely the honey pot that attracts all the money.

I have no problem with pricing the product at the market rate but this seems to me to be deliberately excluding the supporters of the competing clubs, which will surely prove counter-productive when the TV audience is disappointed by the lack of atmosphere on display, and ceases to cough quite so enthusastically for the product?

And holidn ithe final in a country which cannot guarantee the safety of one of our players because of his nationality is just mind-boggling.

[7sisters]

I’ve just learned that Chelsea are playing games in the US at the moment. Not sure how long they’re out there but it seems a bit of an odd move before a final.