Big Red Fury

I suppose I failed to mention that minors here also have to provide restitution in the case that they have already received goods of some sort when they want to breach a contract. I don't understand why the player couldn't just repay that money(likely out of Chelsea's pocket) and have all be forgiven.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but from what I understand the player had signed an agreement I think when he was 14 to sign on professional terms when he turned 16. I believe that is a common occurrence in Europe, but anyway he had done that and Chelsea apparently came in and convinced him to not sign that contract, possibly by paying a large sum of money to the player's parents. Lens argued that this amounted to breach of contract and apparently FIFA agreed. The lines become a little blurred for me because in the US minors are allowed to breach contracts in most cases though I'm not sure how that would work in a case like this but I would think that the player would have some recourse for breaching, though the EU might not give minors the same powers.

Rooney was definitely fouled but I wonder what all of your opinions are on penalty calls when the ball is never going to be reached if the player doesn't go down? We've all seen instances in the past when a player just hammers the ball right before coming into contact, which had it been avoided would have seen a goal kick. What do you all make of that?

Started a game with Corby Town after giving them a sheik owner, based on the whole Notts County takeover. Went through Blue Square North and Prem pretty easily. Then finished runner up three consecutive years in League 2, League 1, and the CCC. My first year in the Prem was pretty tough but a favorable end of the season schedule saw us finish 14. The second season we bounced up to 9th and now in the 3rd I am again 9th with 5 games to go. Boro got taken over by a Slovakian billionaire and have finished in the top 4 twice. Man City have also busted the top 4 a few times and Everton and Tottenham each did it once. I'm having a tough time keeping my stars happy though so we'll see how long my success runs for.

Anyone?

Somebody please help me get into this game. Basically no matter who I play with/how many leagues I include, I suck and just in general the game is not fun. There is too much going on and it involves too much effort. I'm not talking like I want to go back to CM 01/02 but even FM 08 is so much more fun because A) it's winnable, and B) you don't have to spend an hour before each game to be successful. I really want to like this game but it's not happening at the moment. Give me some hope!

We tried 4-5-1 once already this tournament and it was an epic fail, we need to use 4-4-2. Conor Casey is worthless, if he never pulls the shirt on again it will be too soon. This tournament taught me two things. One, based on the 225 minutes before the second half(ie. Egypt, Spain, and the first half) and depending on the draw, the US could reasonably make the quarterfinals next year. And two, Michael Bradley is the most important man on the US squad besides Howard and Donovan. No offense to Feilhaber because I thought he played well, but he would have made a world of difference had it been him coming on in the 60whateverth minute instead of Kljestan who is absolutely dire and an MLS player at best.

Anyone one else think Whelan's pre-match comments that it would be a disappointment if Wigan were to beat United were a little questionable and disgusting. Even if you think that, you can't come out and say that it would be a disgrace if the team you own won a match. Wigan continue to be the closest thing to sure points for United every season.

TBF I didn't see that he got the ball, the feed I was watching made it look like he just whiffed and it also made it look like he took at look at Halford before sticking it to him.

One, I want Burnley up. Two, how did Parkin not get sent off for that karate kick to the junk. Unreal. And he almost didn't get a yellow.

For me, he got the ball yes, but it was in the process of going through Fabregas. I think if it was the other way around, no foul, but it did look as though he went through Fabregas to get to the ball.

God bless Ashley Young winning PFA Young Player of the Year. Thankfully he finally scored in 2009 to make it not look as ridiculous. This does set the precedent though that even if Stevie Ireland snaps his leg in half around February next year, he'll still be a lock to win the title.

As soon as that decision went down I said to my United supporting roomie, that's the match then. When you give United a penalty that early in the second half, with the fans roaring them on, and the opponents looking to shut up shop, the match is always going to be over because United is too good of an attacking team to not make things happen if it's just one way traffic. That being said, dodgy penalty, a couple soft ass goals, it was completely disgusting to watch and it only cements my hatred for them more. On the plus side, City wins so wahey!

I know that Liverpool fans don't want to hear this, but the result is probably the best thing that could have happened. They had a pretty solid performance which should buoy them a bit going forward and now all they have to focus on is the league which should help them going forward.

To be fair, they scored in like the second That's true but for me it had more to do with the fact that United was on top and throwing up an unnecessary 5 minutes just gave them the extra motivation needed to push on for the winner. Seeing a big number like that when you are on top of the action is a huge motivator.

5 minutes extra time? So SAF command, so shall it be done.

So...uh...was that just super jump again or does this mean he can fly now...?

That's what I was thinking...pretty sure I remember reading that as well...

Playing as Barnet. Got promoted in the first season behind some super play from on-loan Will Hoskins and John O'Flynn. Tipped to finish last in League one the next year but finished 16th again due to O'Flynn and newly bought Steve De Ridder. I'm starting to really hate the transfer windows. Inevitably I just throw on my tin hat and try like hell to hold onto my best young talent. Devera, Yakubu, Adomah, and Gillet are under almost constant inquiry but I don't want to let any of them go. Just bought in a bunch of dutch talent for my 3rd season, plus Richard Cresswell to play the JFH role of super sub striker.

Best pleased with the result tonight. Aalborg will be a bit tough, but they've been down in the league this year so hopefully we'll catch them off form.

It didn't win because it was Slumdog though. It won because it was a great piece of cinema. You're coming across as a bitter Iron Man/Dark Knight fan and you have to realize that box office results doesn't not equal Oscar. It never has and it never will. That said, only The Dark Knight should deserve any remote mention with the Oscars. I loved Iron Man, I did but it wasn't exactly chocked full of amazing performances. Downey Jr. was awesome in it but was it a better display of acting than Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke did in their specific roles? One can argue, but most would argue not. There's a difference between an Oscar movie and a big Summer action movie. The studios know this and they release their movies accordingly. And I bet you if it's the same nominees for Best Supporting Actor if Ledger was alive, he'd still win it because he was just too good in that role not to be recognized. Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman and Christian Bale were all good in their roles but not on the level Ledger was at as The Joker. If you want to see high-grossing popcorn movies win awards, watch the MTV Movie Awards. The Oscars is different and whining about it because your favorite movie didn't win only makes you sound like a bitter fan who can't recognize reality. And at the end of the critically acclaimed gets you Oscars. One would think that would be fairly obvious by now. I'm not at all a bitter comic book movie fan, but honestly I don't see how Iron Man or TDK weren't better movies from a production standpoint than Slumdog. Was the acting better in Slumdog? Absolutely it was, Downey was serviceable but he wasn't best actor quality and I'm not arguing that. I'm arguing that these movies, Slumdog and Button, didn't deserve to win the cinematic awards. Again both the production awards that I previously mentioned going to Benjamin Button were jokes and the sound mixing award not going to Wall-E was also a joke. My problem with the Oscars in particular is that I see the entire show as being out of touch with the public. If the MTV awards is the award show that best represents the people then so be it, but I certainly don't believe the Oscars does. As far as my original statement about playing a gay or a nazi/jew winning you an Oscar, I didn't say that, Entourage did, but it holds up to be pretty true. *EDIT* Roc you are right, my roommates and I all marked pretty big for Ben Kingsley. Actually we almost unanimously agreed that sans Adrian Brody, that whole lineup was pretty freaking bad ass. Why didn't Slumdog deserve what you call the "cinematic" awards? Are you saying that Iron Man had better cinematography or editing? From a technical standpoint, Slumdog was an incredible film. It's what made it more than just a feel-good love story. You don't even seem to realize what the Oscars are about. The Oscars are about recognizing film as an artistic medium, not about rewarding films that have already made millions (or a billion) dollars. And the bit about playing a Nazi or a Jew winning awards - of course people win awards for playing characters like that. Why? Because most of the people playing those characters aren't Nazis or Jews or Gay or anything like that. It's a lot more challenging for them to make a believable character with an emotional performance than it is for someone like Seth Rogen to play a stoner. And please, the Oscars aren't about pleasing the public. If they were there would be no point in having the awards. Are you going to give sports awards to the player who sells the most jerseys or tickets too? In the US the players who sell the most jerseys are often the players who score the most points or are the best players in the league so your argument is a little flawed there. You never see a player averaging 5.6 ppg and 2.0 rpg selling in in the Top 5 jerseys in the NBA because he has the best looking and most technically sound jumper anyone has seen for 20+ years. *EDIT* Take the sounds and mixing out of Wall-E you literally have NO FUCKING MOVIE. Honestly how is that arguable point? Same with the make up one. Benjamin Button had one person in make up, Hellboy had 95% of the cast in make up. Just from a logical standpoint, neither of those makes any sense.

It didn't win because it was Slumdog though. It won because it was a great piece of cinema. You're coming across as a bitter Iron Man/Dark Knight fan and you have to realize that box office results doesn't not equal Oscar. It never has and it never will. That said, only The Dark Knight should deserve any remote mention with the Oscars. I loved Iron Man, I did but it wasn't exactly chocked full of amazing performances. Downey Jr. was awesome in it but was it a better display of acting than Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke did in their specific roles? One can argue, but most would argue not. There's a difference between an Oscar movie and a big Summer action movie. The studios know this and they release their movies accordingly. And I bet you if it's the same nominees for Best Supporting Actor if Ledger was alive, he'd still win it because he was just too good in that role not to be recognized. Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman and Christian Bale were all good in their roles but not on the level Ledger was at as The Joker. If you want to see high-grossing popcorn movies win awards, watch the MTV Movie Awards. The Oscars is different and whining about it because your favorite movie didn't win only makes you sound like a bitter fan who can't recognize reality. And at the end of the critically acclaimed gets you Oscars. One would think that would be fairly obvious by now. I'm not at all a bitter comic book movie fan, but honestly I don't see how Iron Man or TDK weren't better movies from a production standpoint than Slumdog. Was the acting better in Slumdog? Absolutely it was, Downey was serviceable but he wasn't best actor quality and I'm not arguing that. I'm arguing that these movies, Slumdog and Button, didn't deserve to win the cinematic awards. Again both the production awards that I previously mentioned going to Benjamin Button were jokes and the sound mixing award not going to Wall-E was also a joke. My problem with the Oscars in particular is that I see the entire show as being out of touch with the public. If the MTV awards is the award show that best represents the people then so be it, but I certainly don't believe the Oscars does. As far as my original statement about playing a gay or a nazi/jew winning you an Oscar, I didn't say that, Entourage did, but it holds up to be pretty true. *EDIT* Roc you are right, my roommates and I all marked pretty big for Ben Kingsley. Actually we almost unanimously agreed that sans Adrian Brody, that whole lineup was pretty freaking bad ass.

As I said earlier, Benjamin Button wins two production categories it never should have. Slumdog beats best Wall-E, a movie that was composed almost entirely of fucking sounds, in the sound mixing category. Iron Man and TDK made roughly 1 Trillion dollars this year, I guarantee they blew out most of the other competitors, yet they got shit for awards. Heath Ledger doesn't win Best Supporting if he lives, I know that much. Only in death was he able to win an award for one of the greatest cinematic performances I've ever seen. There's a difference from being acclaimed movies that no one has seen or will see and movies that were seen by millions of people and were almost universally enjoyed. I hate to continue to come back to Iron Man and TDK, but these are the best examples. Both movies were seen by a shit ton of people, both were cinematic masterpieces, and both won fuck all. Contrast that to Slumdog, which won almost every award it was nominated for just because it was Slumdog. That to me, is the definition of Elitism. I'm not anti-Slumdog or Benjamin Button, I've seen and enjoyed both, but where's the love for the movies that crush the box office? Isn't that the sole reason movies exist? EDIT* An in the end of the day, what does being critically acclaimed really get you? How many times have we seen critically acclaimed movies or tv shows that tank and are off the air or out of theaters more quickly than they arrived? Arrested Development won just about every award ever created. You can catch it on your box sets, but you won't see it on TV. Meanwhile The Simpsons have been on for like 20 years. Does that mean the Simpson is a better tv show than Arrested Development? According to the critics no, maybe according to the people it's a different answer.

Once again proven, if you play gay, jew/nazi, opposite gender, or are a foreign film, you WILL win lots of Oscars. Also if the "critics" are on your dick, you stand a good chance of winning a lot as well because the Oscars only follow what has been "critically acclaimed", usually by people out of the touch with 75% of the public. I mean really, Slumdog won about 1243246745 different awards tonight. Benjamin Button beats Hellboy for best makeup? One fucking guy who is old and then gets young versus basically an entire cast of humans made to look unhuman. Absolutely unreal that, as well as beating I believe it was Iron Man and TDK in another one of the production categories. The entire show is elitist to no end.

I thought Smallville was "really fucking gay" until I sat down and watched it during the 4th season and got completely hooked. Got into Seinfeld once I got old enough to enjoy it too.