Macca

Group 1 replays from the last 2 weekends

Is there a chance that someone can post up that Max Gawn onslaught through the square virtuoso? As it was happening I was muttering out loud 'What the hell is going on?!!!' A bloke built like Max isn't supposed to play like that. It was impossibly brilliant I'm not sure I've ever seen a greater team-lifting effort. You couldn't help but be inspired if you were a fellow player Amongst numerous other highlights that was my standout moment. Set the standard and we were never going to lose from that moment

Awesome!!

Yeah, you too Gorg along with anyone else here having a dabble! Got 'Ahead Start' & 'Mr Tee Kay' up early so a good start at least! And if all goes well tonight as well (as well as Richmond having a bit of an off night) we might just salute. The line is a bit skinny but it's nice to know that the bookies are giving us a bit of kudos!

So we can put a full stop on the whole idea ... 3 days later it's done & dusted (3 Days of the Condor football style ... replace the battle for the oil with a Super League and all it's up front money) The other factor was that there were so many other stories attached to the main story. Millions of fans traumatised only to be put at ease as if it never happened And even though the guts of the story lasted less than 3 days, there will be books written about the super-mini saga. A lot happened in a very short space of time Juventus refuse to concede or give up on the idea ... they are carrying €385m of debt as of June 30 2020 but they do have large revenues. But that revenue is also dependant on Champions League income and they are currently lying 4th on the Serie A table (2pts ahead of Napoli & 4 points ahead of Lazio) Nervous times ahead for Juve So that large injection of cash bankrolled by JP Morgan in the failed SL venture would have been more than handy Real Madrid are carrying a debt of €354m, Barca €488m, United £455m & Spurs £604m Of course, that debt can be managed with large income streams but because of Covid, the debts have increased a great deal due to the loss of income from the crowds that can't attend the games The big clubs have been hit hard where as the smaller clubs that are more dependant on Broadcast money are getting by as the broadcast money has kept flowing

lol Could easily have happened that way GV although I was imagining that the SL players would have been allowed to play in World Cups but maybe not the domestic or Champions League for the Super League teams (or players) So being a theatre-watcher with big time soccer I was half-hoping the league got going just to see whether it could work or not ... plus, West Ham could have actually been able to win something! (the ulterior motive) The SL games could have been taken all over the world including here in Oz 18 regular season games with crossover finals would mean that the teams would only meet a maximum of 3 times. And each game would have been a big match-up. Allowing for derbies here's how I would have broken up the 12 teams (season 1 with 4 other 'big' teams to be added to each group) Group A: Spurs, Gunners, Chelsea, Real, Atletico, Barca Group B: United, City, Reds, Milan, Inter, Juve Or, all the teams from England could be in the same group with all the Italian & Spanish teams in the other group But a season with the SL clubs only playing a minimum of 18 games is way less than half the amount of games that the teams play now However, each of the teams could have played another 10 games against each team in the opposite group (bringing the regular season up to 28 games) Again, all potential big match-ups. The issue with dead rubbers in the last part of the season would still remain though. Despite the strength of the teams there would still be 2 wooden-spooners. But they (the SL hierarchy) were almost certainly banking on the teams playing in the domestic leagues as well (settled through the courts?) ... another 38 games plus all the cups But would the SL clubs play full strength teams in the domestic leagues? ... far too many engagements for that to happen The whole concept was full of holes

Each-Way Best (Saturday) Randwick R7 No.10 Savatiano 8.00/2.40 Drawn ideally to get into a good position just off the speed. Then it's up to Hugh Bowman

There's a lot that we don't and will probably never know GV Apparently there were law suits taken out against UEFA & FIFA to stop them from banning players on the same day that the story broke ... if that's true then the announcement was probably planned to the day But it was a shambles right from the start ... quite amateurish all things considered. For instance, the group could have appeased the fans somehow. If anything, the announcement alienated fans. Out of touch? But reading about the levels of debt that Real Madrid, Juventus and a couple of others are carrying, it might have just been a desperate move and a shot in the dark

There's also a bit of talk around that the whole concept (Super League) was leaked prematurely ... but not purposely Thus the shoddy PR & marketing.

The big clubs will continue to push for a more lucrative deal with regards to the Champions League. Re participation and more $$$$'s But it's hard to see 'guaranteed' involvement ... maybe some sort of compromised arrangement could be forthcoming down the track

The back down might put paid to any future leagues of this type. Germany has a 51% rule which restricts the ownership doing as it pleases (which partly explains why Bayern & Dortmund weren't part of the breakaway group) Other countries might now follow suit with the 51% rule. Google will help explain that rule further. Not a foolproof measure but it wouldn't hurt But as stated in earlier posts, I had doubts that it would go ahead anyway. Fan power wins out At least the Arsenal management had the good grace to apologise but the clubs involved have lost some goodwill Anyway, that was a whirlwind few days!

Good points DJ They've created a monster with all these billionaire owners And just on that, if the super league is a going concern, get ready for more billionaires buying up more clubs and then wanting to enter the fray When there are huge profits to be made, they might start queueing up!

The realities of life tells me the rich get richer and not much can be done to stop it It's not a defeatist attitude either ... it's like death & taxes. But inevitable outcomes based on extreme amounts of money can't be ignored. Or fought against most of the time Football/Soccer will balance itself out if the league goes ahead. The game won't be destroyed and the fans are already being screwed over anyway so that part of it won't change. Watch them get on board to support their own team ... it will happen These billionaire owners will get what they want (more money) by cutting themselves off from the lesser lights. Business decisions such as these are made every day of the week To be honest I don't really have a vested interest nor does this sort of stuff get me outraged. My interest in sport extends to be able to watch the best versus the best so a super league delivers that interest. But not with a lot of passion!

Although the greed already exists anyway Col ... for years we've been noting the spending spree along with the gouging of pricing for attendees (as well as a need to have pay TV to watch etc etc) The big clubs with their rich ownership have been practising this sort of behavior for decades The new league (if it goes ahead) is just an extension of greedy practises Soccer allows it's own clubs to be owned by greedy rich billionaires and then is outraged by greedy rich billionaires acting like greedy rich billionaires! Stands to reason that a super league was inevitable ... and a little club like Leipzig with its well connected ownership (Redbull) will want a seat at the table By the way, I'm more so siding with the practicalities of inevitable outcomes not the billionaire owners ... I'm quite surprised that this sort of league hasn't happened earlier. It was first mooted over 2 decades ago. Not convinced it will get off the ground though as it may just be an ambit claim But we're seeing capitalism with a capital C at work!

Big news hey DJ! Looks like the people behind the idea are all-in but the backlash already has been full-on Threats of reprisals and bans dominate the news. But a number of other sports have their own version of a 'Super League' so what this new group is proposing isn't really groundbreaking - although that's the perception (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, NRL & AFL are good examples) Interesting that the head honchos of the proposed new league are the current presidents of Real Madrid & Juventus But Soccer/Football is entrenched with its own leagues, European Cups, Champions League, World Cups etc etc so this league would be a huge intrusion. And $Billions of dollars are at stake so the fight will be dirty. In fact, there's talk that the new league with it's 15 teams (with 5 other invited/qualified teams) could generate $5.6Billion to start things off. 2 groups of 10 clubs is the rumoured structure Banking giant JP Morgan will be financing the new league with the $5.6Billion+ The Financial Review has a comprehensive article on the whole proceedings Copy & Paste ... European Super League Explained: teams, formats, winners and losers

I trust the team to be able to win against most of the other teams ... but the Tigers, Port, Eagles & Doggies are still ahead of us right now from a technical viewpoint (proven big time talent) That can change of course but until it does I don't expect the team to be able to win against the elite teams. Not yet anyway ... compete well, yes. That is expected. We can beat Sydney & Brisbane But if we catch any of those other 4 aforementioned teams on an off day (whilst bringing our best) then we can win. But all things being equal, winning against the best teams remains a goal In a nutshell we're good enough to win 14+ games and I'm confident that will happen. 16 or 17 wins (or more) and a guaranteed top 4 spot is a tad unrealistic. Not impossible but we'll need a few big scalps to get to those lofty levels Richmond will be a big big test and they'll be wanting to put us back in our box. We've seen snippets of a steely resolve but that mindset needs to run at close to 100% ... game by game for the whole season Teams on their way up can often hit a wall and if that happens to us we'll need to redress quickly. Again, there's enough talent on the list to make quick readjustments. The overall coaching is much better too And the doubts about our forward line have been dispelled. Suddenly, we have to find a way to fit them all in

The value/each-way tip can garner more interest ... mainly because there are a number of ways of including the pick in all sorts of different bets For instance, I also had Sword of Mercy in a place multi with Beau Rossa (win) along with 'Good and Proper' & 'Finance Tycoon' ... ironically it was Beau Rossa where I missed. Not to worry though, that's racing! And if a value tip runs a place only one can get money back with certain betting agencies A couple of weeks ago I couldn't find a value tip so went with 'Agreeable' (it won) but to get a return it's win only as the place dividend was too low ... including a shortie like that in an exotic bet doesn't add a lot of value either But I had a more than decent day yesterday so no complaints

Yeah we can bring the best bet up again in the Spring although I'm still all in with regards to the Brisbane & Adelaide carnivals (as well as the overseas Group racing) The racing never stops as far as I'm concerned (with a high interest in the Group racing ... for instance, Eduardo & Nature Strip are both running in the Doomben 10,000) But the overseas racing in our off-season is fantastic. And the Racing channel & Sky often cover the big races I've got the racing right up there with the MFC, the Aussies in Test cricket & the NFL

I loaded up on the $6 in the end! Gotta love those bonus bets when they deliver the goods Got Sword of Mercy going in the double so fingers crossed Beau Rossa unlucky ... from the audio coverage it got out late and that was costly. In front before and after the line?

But didn't you know? What we say directly effects the club!!!! They hang on our every word Hawks (Win) Tigers (A possible win but the odds aren't great) North (Win) Sydney (Win and we announce ourselves) 4 weeks at a time!

Good luck with that Gorg Randwick now a Good4 with only a light amount of rain forecast (0 - 1mm) I've got our 2 (Hungry Heart & Sword of Mercy) in a double & Beau Rossa & Steinem (Morp R7) in another double. The latter 2 should just win!

I got on last night ... again, the odds are quite enticing for what I regard as being a very good sprinter Sword of Mercy was only a length off winning an Oakleigh Plate

The big issue is if the track is worse than a Soft5 or if it rains on the day But as previously stated I'm using bonus bets so the risk is diminished (somewhat!)

Hungry Heart is a true stayer with a terrific finishing burst ... over the odds in my view The others either may not get the distance or are unproven in Australia Scroll up to the replay of the Vinery Stud Stakes and let me know what you think Gorg I will be most surprised if it doesn't get into the finish although the horse does like good conditions and there is a bit of rain forecast I've taken the early odds with some bonus bets

Best Bet Saturday Randwick R5 No.3 Hungry Heart 5.50/1.80