Huffy Flounce

1.) When I see Keeper of Dreams, I think of Orson Scott Card.

2.) You have not experienced Reng until you have read him in the original English.

I might have to seek that out! Cheers Mal!

No problem, Dalty. Enjoy your vacation!

The Swollen Goiter of God wrote:You have not experienced Reng until you have read him in the original English.

If it ain't King James, it ain't Reng.

There's a forum associated with the football manager game I play where the users can talk about the game or any other topic they want. Currently, there's a huge uproar in the Bundesliga thread due to some of the obscene sums being paid out by English clubs for even mediocre players.

For example, Leicester City is said to have just spent about €10 million to sign striker Shinji Okazaki from FSV Mainz 05. Okay, in the past two seasons the guy scored 12 goals in 32 games and 15 goals in 33 games for Mainz, respectively, but in his three years with Stuttgart before that he had scored a total 10 goals in 63 games. He might be able to maintain his current level in the Premier League, but it was my impression that he simply fit well into the system played by Mainz and that the performance he put on display there won't necessarily translate well to other teams.

The bigger point I'm trying to make here is that Leicester, who finished 14th in the Premiership this past season, are able to spend what would be a ridiculous amount of money for most Bundesliga clubs, even for those that consistently place among the top teams - all thanks to the new lucrative TV rights deal in England. In the short run, of course, this puts money into the pockets of clubs in other European countries as well, as English clubs go on a European shopping spree. In the long run, though, the players signed by Premier League clubs will most likely also receive massive salaries as compared with most of their counterparts on the Continent. Hence the uproar - it seems that in the long run it will become nigh impossible for clubs from other countries to sign these players because even if they can afford the signing fee, they most likely won't be able to afford paying them the same types of salaries.

Mal Shot First wrote:Leicter City is said to have just spent about €10 million to sign striker Shinji Okazaki from FSV Mainz 05.

Is "Leicter" some sort of soccer nickname for "Leicester"?

Simple typo. You can see it spelled correctly in the final paragraph. I've fixed it now, Mr. Smartypants.

I wasn't being a smartypants. I saw it spelled the way I normally see it spelled in the final paragraph, but it was without the "City." I genuinely thought it might be some kind of abbreviation/alternate spelling for it.

When I was younger, I thought "Leicester" was pronounced something like "laɪ̯-kɛs-tə(r)." Whenever I'd hear people saying it aloud, I'd think they were saying "Lester," and I wouldn't make the connection. I thought the way you had written it might be a pet way to write it to better indicate--for people outside the UK, I mean--how it should be pronounced.

Why not just spell it "Lester" if you're trying to make it clear? Beats me. I'm not President of Comin' up with Team Nicknames. It sounds like "Lester" to me. It might not sound like that to others.

It's probably the reason I misspelled it the first time. I was just thinking of the pronunciation and wasn't paying attention to the spelling.

Speaking of typos, I just noticed I wrote "allowed" where I meant "aloud."

English is tricky that way.

However in Spain the clubs are subsidised by stealth. And they have a massively low rate of tax for people on the sums of money top class footballers are on. Same in Italy. Lower salary but higher take home pay in those leagues.

Swings / Roundabouts.

I am actually looking forward to the US/Germany womens world cup game tonight.

Is it the Quarters or the Semi now?

Semis.

Hoping to get a U.S.-England final, although unfortunately it will finish before I get over to Ol' Blighty.

Everyone loves a good semi.

Rough way for the Lionesses to lose.

I made mention of a lioness just the other day.

It wasn't in this thread. It was in "It's Not Alabama This Time, Ladies and Gentlemen!"

Everyone loves a 'Downfall' parody. As a Liverpool fan this makes me chuckle.

http://youtu.be/iyPgXYLdTW4

I am a Liverpool fan and I genuinely cannot describe what just happened in the UEFA cup.

Unbelievable.

Crazy Kloppo, eh?