Mayor Steve

Where are we in the table now?

Psycho as a player, psycho as a manager.

Would be nice but me thinks no chance.

Can't argue with success. He must be doing something right.

An absolute beauty of a strike.

If not MON then King Kev with Big Al as assistant manager.

I certainly hope the next thread I start doesn't turn into a foreign policy debate like this one.

Ah the American way > the right way. Hey look there's that funny country Iraq, they don't want to follow our ways, let's bomb the fuck out of them. The premier league better watch themselves 98294[/snapback] There is no need to get nasty. I didn't say it was the right way, just one way. 98431[/snapback] Take no notice, he's Australian 98435[/snapback] Not that you would know it at the moment, this place seems more and more like the 52nd state ot the good old US of A everyday. 98966[/snapback] I take it you mean the 51st state as there are only 50. Unless you are counting Australia as 51 and England as 52.

Maybe because of Mario Lemeiux. I don't know. I have always supported the professional teams from Pittsburgh, PA. Except for baseball where the Yankees come first ahead of the Pirates.

Hang in there with the Penguins. They will turn it around next season. They are my favorite team as well. As far as relegation and promotion, I always felt that it would make sports leagues in the States more interesting if it was implemented. If a salary cap wouldn't work, how would you fell about setting a limit on how much a club could spend on transfer fees? This would be net amounts so if the limit was say 10 million for example and you bought a player for 9 million but sold someone on your squad for 3 million you would still have 4 million in cap room.

Ah the American way > the right way. Hey look there's that funny country Iraq, they don't want to follow our ways, let's bomb the fuck out of them. The premier league better watch themselves 98294[/snapback] There is no need to get nasty. I didn't say it was the right way, just one way.

I don't see how the EPL couldn't have a salary cap for each club. What the EPL does should have no bearing on the leagues in other countries and I don't see how it would violate any labor laws, of course my knowledege of European labor law is next to zero. It could be implemented just like major league baseball if your first team salaries are over a certain limit, you pay a luxury tax that is distributed to all the other teams that are at or under the cap. Simple enough really. I don't know food for thought.

I wanted to get some views on a salary cap idea. As you may or may not know in all the major sports in the States teams have to work under a salary cap. If they go over a certain limit in the collective salaries of all the first team players, the team is penalized in the form of paying the league a luxury tax as is the situation in major league baseball. For many years running my team the Yankees have had to pay this luxury tax. Other sports like the NFL I'm not sure exactly what the penalty is for going over the salary cap but it may be as drastic as not being able to field a team. My point in bringing this up is do you think something like this should be implemented in the EPL? The goal with this system is to have parity in the league so that teams like our next round FA Cup opponent can't get all the best players by simply paying them huge amounts in salary. Another question, what would you feel about simply eliminating the ability of a team to buy another player. Again, as you may or may not know, in all the major sports in the States this is not permitted. The Boston Celtics for example could simply ask the Cleveland Cavaliers can we buy LeBron James for $50 million? Other players would have to be involved in a trade bewteen the teams it can't simply be cash only for a player. The only time you could get a player without trading other players from your team is if a player's contract has expired and they are a free agent. But you would then have to watch how much "cap room" you have before signing someone to a huge contract because you may not be able to afford other players and field a decent team. Let me know your thoughts on these items and whether or not the EPL would improve if these changes were implemented.

Do you really think Nike's objective is to have a positive effect on the game? I think they are just trying to sell more shoes.

Thanks

Speaking of the draw, what time will it be tomorrow?

Home draw would do for me too. Doesn't matter who we play as long as we are home.

Back to the topic at hand, I agree Zoggy is a quality player. Worked his socks off today and it was great to see.

He may have been out of position at times but thank God he scored. He booked our ticket to the next round. Way to go Mr. Bling Bling

So many questions and very few answers I'm afraid. But look on the bright side, at least the Steelers are in the Super Bowl.

Lets hope we don't play Mansfield's reserve side.

If only KK would come back. My Christmas would be complete. "Walking in a Keegan Wonderland"

We don't need him if he doesn't want to come here. Use the money to buy LBM and Anelka. He can go back to Liverpool for all I care.