Sporting4ever

Yeah, when I read that one, i nearly fell out of the chair. "...deserves to be in the Champions League year-on-year...". :lol:

Actually, the champions from Belgium, Greece and the Czech Republic need to play on two qualifying rounds before getting on the groups stage.

22,5... It's roughly 20 million pounds. I'd tend to agree, especially since Veloso's contract wasn't renegotiated, so it appears he's the next canditate to leave, not Moutinho. If Moutinho goes, it'll be for the release fee, while that probably won't happen with Veloso. But I cannot say for sure, since we have an election next month, so anything is possible, really...

Pretty much. The diffusers help a bunch too, since they give a boost of roughly half a second per lap, and a lot of teams didn't start the season with them, and are doing a lot of catch-up now. And yeah, Button is a good driver, better than Massa, Hamilton and pretty much everyone. I'd say Kimmi is the closest to him in the circuit at the moment, and it was nice to see Ferrari up there again. And it turns out that the speed boost and easier overtaking didn't come into play, since the top cars all had them, so once again, the grid defined the outcome, no surprises in the pit stops.

Well, 5 coaches in one season (or was it 4?), most of their big guns mis-used or performing badly, in all honesty, it's surprising it took them until the last fixture to go down.

I think there were 2 spots where takeovers were possible, but have since dissapeared, because the drag caused by the leading car on the front car as been greatly reduced, and the speed boost the trailing car got because of the reduced air friction from beeing behind another car is virtually gone. The new regs probably will mean that cars with no diffusers just might be vulnerable enough to be overtaken. I certainly hope so, Monaco has been boring due to this. Of course, the crashes and highly tactical races are still exciting, but they lack the appeal of the races back in the 90s...

I'm quite interested to see just how much difference the difffusers will make in this race. Since the changes in aerodynamics were meant to make overtakings easier, cars with diffusers won't be as easy to overtake.

Any regulation that says that there's a budget cap, but only if you want it, leads to 2 sets of rules. If they want to limit spending, this is not the way to do it. I agree with regards to the civil suit, it would always fail, but that's just a propaganda thing by ferrari, I think. Likewise, I also agree with limited spending, but not like this.

Don't know if you read the link I posted earlier, but it says basically that. They're not opposed to a budget cap, they're opposed to 2 different sets of rules beeing applied. It's not the cap, it's the fact that it's optional, and that teams that go for it have a different set of rules to go by, and tech advantages the other teams don't. So, like I said, imagine the same beeing applied to football. If your budget is bellow X, you can play with 12 players. Doesn't seem so fair now, does it? Of course, without knowing exactly what the tech advantages would be a direct comparison like this is impossible, but it does give you the general idea. And don't forget, a lot of people see this as a temper tantrum from ferrari, but they forget that toyota, red bull, toro rosso and renault are also against this rule, and renault have already said that they won't be in the next season. That leaves 2 engine manufacturers, bmw and mercedes, which is probably not enough for the whole teams.

A limit on spending IS a good idea, but properly implemented, not creating 2 set of rules for those that can and those that can't. And in football, how would you apply it?? Teams under the cap would play with 12, or start with a goal in the net already?

I do. Would he be able to do at the PL what he does here, meaning be an influential part of his team? I don't know. His advantage is beeing a workhorse, running the full 90 minutes, retrieving possessions, bringing the ball up the pitch, etc. But could he perform at the same level in a completely different League, with a different level of intensity? I don't know... I think so, but can't say for sure.

You also need a bigger squad, imo. Alternatives are what kept Everton away this season, plagued by injuries, forced to play with different tactics. And that means not selling a lot more than it means buying. With shity sure to make a summer fest, I think it's very important to keep a powerful enough squad to stand up to them, and maintain an Europe position next year. Not to mention, of course, having a decent Euro run next season as well. And with international games starting as soon as July, you CANNOT have a repeat of last year, with last minute purchases that will most likely not be available for Europe. Miguel Veloso is very likely to leave this year, and he's a very powerful DM. Although his release fee is €30M, he's gonna go for way less, I expect, and I'd rather see him in Everton than shity. As for a winger, Nani had a poor year, and few chances to prove himself. I think SAF might consider a loan, and since he and Veloso are very good friends, playing together since the youth teams, getting them together would be a very good deal for Everton.

If you have your mind out of the gutter, yes

We recently started a similar tournament, called the League Cup, also with the only the top 2 league clubs playing in it. It is about money, but since we only have 16 teams in our league, 30 games per season leave a bit of room for another competition, unlike you guys, that have tons of games every year.

Same. But it's gonna be though, I think. The teams that go out of the 3rd CL qualifying go into the last Europa League qualifying round, and the teams that go out on the CL 4th round get into the Europa League groups stage, so there's gonna be quite an interesting mix of teams in there. I'd like Sporting going to the CL groups, but since in the 4th qualifier we can be pitted against the likes of Milan, Real, Chelsea and everyone else not getting direct access to groups, I'm not too thrilled about our chances...

Yes, I can. 1st, it's the same report again, since he hasn't spoken since that last time, 2nd, I heard what he said, it's on the other post: I think I've said it enough here that I don't mind him leaving, we can get a replacement fast enough, altough it's easier to replace Veloso, João going isn't a severe blow. Nevertheless, the way newsies keep pouding on this dead horse is amazing. Papers here had him as garanteed to leave at least 4 different times, and quite a few other players too. If he leaves, he leaves, and if he stays, he stays. I'm not worried either way, I just remember what you guys went through last summer, and I don't want to see you get all fired up because the newsies keep fanning the flames on this. But don't worry, if solid info comes out, I'll let you guys know

That's not the point. The point is, if they want to create a budget cap, make it a limit for everyone. If they want to create a tech limit, (like nascar and others) do it for everyone. This 2 rule system is not only much more contrevertial, it's nigh impossible to enforce properly. So if FIA allow for these loopholes to exist, they should try and fix them, not create the possibilities for more loopholes to form and be exploited. You mentioned optional systems, and then there's the tech lingo that allowed this dissipator crisis, so to, it's quite simple, create regulations that limit what they want to limit, because more gaps and divisions won't help.

My guess is that the greedy people at the F.A. thought..."add another cup means more money for us, hmmmm" and BOOM! you have another cup. You have the FA Cup, which, I believe is open to all clubs that belong to the FA, and the Carling Cup, which is only for the top 2 leagues.

And two of them weren't playing

I don't have a subconscious (or any other type) desire to sink my teeth into anything of that colour...

Every time I look at them, I think of smurfs...

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/05/14/...-piero-ferrari/ I think this article reflects Ferrari's ideas regarding this new regulation... I don't think it's Bernie or Max's fault, but doing things without consulting with the teams, and without their approval, is wrong. And, since the teams have the ability to decide whether they'll participate or not, and that their presence is important, it stands to reason that they should be a part of the process. As things are now, half the teams have come out against this new regulation, and if Ferrari and Renault do indeed go through, I don't see the others backing down either.

It's not a question of excitement or not. If Ferrari, Renault and Toyota bail out, that leaves BMW and Mercedes as engine manufacturers. IF they go, what engines are they gonna use? Besides, right now, half the teams are poised to force the issue, Ferrari is already considering joining the Le Mans circuit. And if those teams, or the entire FOTA (formula 1 Teams Association) desides to create a championship of their own, or join another, even if teams take over for the ones that left, you're gonna have a lot less engines, plus it's gonna make a lot less money, both in advertising and TV rights, not to mention the new competition arrising from whereever those teams go to.

They're not capping the budgets. They're giving tech boosts to the teams that stay under 40 million. That's creating w sets of regulations. And Renault have gone public also saying that they will not join next year if the new regulations go into effect. If Bernie pushes, and those teams don't back down, how interesting is gonna be to have an F1 without BMW, Renault of Ferrari?

Well, when there's nothing to talk about, they still have to talk about something...