Randomness thread, part two.

[rong]

That was awful. Tram selection was wrong from the start and left it far too long to bring on anyone who could pose a threat. Relying on Newcastle now.

[OngBonga]

It's easy to win when you spend boatloads of money trying.

Indeed. Today's line-ups...

Man Utd...
GK - David de Gea - £17.8m
D - Phil Jones - £16.5m
D - Rio Ferdinand - £30m
D - Chris Smalling - £8m
D - Patrice Evra - £5.5m
M - Nani - £21m
M - Michael Carrick - £18.6m
M - Paul Scholes - free
M - Park Ji-Sung - £4m
M - Ryan Giggs - free
A - Wayne Rooney - £25.6m

subs - Ben Amos (free), Dimitar Berbatov (£30.75m), Javier Hernández (£6m), Ashley Young (£20m), Danny Welbeck (free), Rafael (£3m), Antonio Valencia (£16m)

Total value - £222.75m

Man City -
GK - Joe Hart - £1.5m
D - Pablo Zabaleta - £6.5m
D - Joleon Lescott - £22m
D - Vincent Kompany - £6m
D - Gaël Clichy - £7m
M - Gareth Barry - £12m
M - Yaya Touré - £24m
M - Samir Nasri - £25m
A - David Silva - £24m
A - Carlos Tévez - £25.5m
A - Sergio Agüero - £38m

subs - Costel Pantilimon (loan), Micah Richards (free), James Milner (£24m), Edin Džeko (£27m), Aleksandar Kolarov (£16m), Nigel de Jong (£18m), Mario Balotelli (£18m)

Man City total - £294.5m

Both clubs have spent a bucketload of money on the players for the game today. Man City have certainly spent more on this team than Man Utd have on theirs, but that's because Man Utd have a much better youth system and did not have to pay for Giggs or Scholes. To pay for players of this quality, this would cost £50-£60m easy.

Man Utd fans can't accuse Man City of buying the title, since it's what Man Utd have been doing for the last two decades. I take nothing away from Sir Alex, he's a world class manager and has spent his money very wisely, and deserves the success he has had, but he couldn't have done it without spending big.

[rong]

You need to look at net spend to make that argument and it paints a completely different picture.

[rong]

Here is the Premier League table alternate top 10, by net spend, for figures over the past five seasons, from 2007/08 to 2011/12.
Manchester City: £430.77 million
Chelsea: £159.7 million
Liverpool: £99.25 million
Sunderland: £57.6 million
Tottenham Hotspur: £49.4 million
Manchester United: £47.25 million
Swansea City: £8.25 million
Everton: £5 million
Newcastle United: -£30.25 million
Arsenal: -£31.3 million
The immediate standout conclusion from this table is just how far ahead Manchester City are above everybody else, with Sheikh Mansour's wealth putting Roman Abramovich in the shade, yet this is the price of propelling a mid-table Premier League club to battling it out at the summit of the Premier League.

[rong]

Fyi I copied all of that and the last paragraph by accident.

[OngBonga]

You need to look at net spend to make that argument and it paints a completely different picture.

Sure, there's definitely truth in this, but the last two decades have been vastly different for both teams. Man Utd have had one manager and have spent this time at the very top, while Man City, I don't know how many managers they've had since Sir Alex came to Utd, but they've played in three different divisions during this time. It's obviously going to cost more money to turn City into a force than to maintain Utd as one, because the infrastructure is already in place at Utd.

My point is... of course it takes money to build a winning team. Man Utd didn't do it on a tight budget.

[Monty3038]

Sometimes people paint hexagonal patterns on their balls and have people kick them yelling 'FUTBOL!'

Otherwise known as Americans like me don't care or get the soccer shit. Even though I played for 3 years.

[OngBonga]

I don't get golf. I enjoy playing it, but as a spectator sport? It might be a bit better if everyone was allowed to shout when they're teeing off, like when a goalie runs up to take a goal kick and they all go "wwwwwoooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAA AAAAAAAA YOU FAT BASTARD" as he runs and kicks it. And half naked girls holding scorecards. Then golf would be fun to watch.

Goal kick - You fat bastard

[Jack Sawyer]

Sometimes people paint hexagonal patterns on their balls and have people kick them yelling 'FUTBOL!'

Otherwise known as Americans like me don't care or get the soccer shit. Even though I played for 3 years.

The main thing about soccer is that it's easy. The barrier of entry into soccer is much lower than, say, american football. All you need is two goalposts, a field between them, and a ball with hexagonal patterns on it (or coconuts).

There are very few rules as well, with the only one is that your hands are not allowed to touch the ball. (you may also not run behind the last defender without the ball, and you should mind your tackling). That's it. Clear, simple, beautiful.

That is why it's a hit around the world like that.

[bode]

we already have a soccer thread, post accordingly

http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...ck-180983.html

[Ash256]

It's easy to win when you spend boatloads of money trying.

Yeah but fuck that stupid bitterness. As if Utd haven't spent bumloads of cash. The fact is Utd were absolutely shocking last night. Not a single shot on target. We even scored one against Barca ffs.

[Jack Sawyer]

Be all you can be. You want something? Go get it.

[boost]

For an ant, gravity is as trivial as surface tension is to us-- and surface tension is as crucial a force to an ant as gravity is to us.

[daven]

The main thing about soccer is that it's easy. The barrier of entry into soccer is much lower than, say, american football. All you need is two goalposts, a field between them, and a ball with hexagonal patterns on it (or coconuts).

There are very few rules as well, with the only one is that your hands are not allowed to touch the ball. (you may also not run behind the last defender without the ball, and you should mind your tackling). That's it. Clear, simple, beautiful.

That is why it's a hit around the world like that.

quoting the wise man fmft

three of us travellers on the road had an hour ++ game of football as afternoon faded to dusk at about 4000m asl in bolivia with a bunch of kids who lived in one of the poorer areas of that country... try that with pretty much any other sport and see what happens. FWIW, the gringo all-stars got pretty much absolutely killed by the favella-rockets... i blame the absence of any grass on the pitch and the fact the allstars were far less fit/talented/acclimatised/etc than the local 6-14 year olds...

[OngBonga]

If gravity is trivial to an ant, how come they die when I stamp on them?

[rong]

And how come they don't float in the air?

[a500lbgorilla]

And if surface tension is trivial to us, how come bubbles are so god damn splendid?

[kiwiMark]

They do when it's sexytime!

Stamping implies you're exerting force of your own, you should drop a rock on them instead.

Answering posts in reverse order because I can. ETA: Damn you rilla.

[OngBonga]

Stamping implies you're exerting force of your own, you should drop a rock on them instead.

Good point, I'll jump on them instead.

[eugmac]

still have to exert vertical force to get into the air. have somebody drop you instead.

[Hawk]

No, because he's actually trying to help the ants. He's fighting gravity by jumping, but damn if it doesn't win every time!

[JKDS]

I like a spider analogy better. Spiders can fucking walk on water man! JESUS SPIDERS. Defying gravity with surface tension bs all day erry day. What do ants do? Ants dont do jack, not compared to the mother fucking Holy Shit Spiders.

[OngBonga]

I reckon if I threw an ant into a neutron star it would appreciate gravity a little more.

[kiwiMark]

I put my money on its opinion remaining wholly unchanged.

[OngBonga]

I would be happy to bet up to £20 if we could devise a way in which we can measure the ant's appreciation of gravity, and also find a suitable neutron star which I am able to approach safely. Can we make this happen?

[d0zer]

"kiwiMark has a reputation beyond repute"

"OngBonga has a little shameless behaviour in his past"

[a500lbgorilla]

I put my money on its opinion remaining wholly unchanged.

This is a man who understands ants.

[boost]

Safety mania bursts clown's bubbles - Telegraph

Insurance companies are not impressed by surface tension. They also are powered by the lost joy of countless children.

[kiwiMark]

"kiwiMark has a reputation beyond repute"

"OngBonga has a little shameless behaviour in his past"

You'll always be my jewel in the rough.

[BooG690]

My co-clown's name was Bubbles.

[boost]

My co-clown's name was Bubbles.

I thought this was the case, but wasn't sure.

Anyways, how is Korea? What is your average weekly bulgagi consumption in cubic millimeters?

[BooG690]

Blake Boston AKA Scumbag Steve "Scumbag Steve Overture" - YouTube

Scumbag Steve came out with a music video. Hysterical.

[OngBonga]

"kiwiMark has a reputation beyond repute"

"OngBonga has a little shameless behaviour in his past"

"a little" is being kind. I don't get negged nearly as much as I used to, you guys are losing your touch.

[d0zer]

"a little" is being kind. I don't get negged nearly as much as I used to, you guys are losing your touch.

I think my approach of just calling you a cunt is better anyway...

[OngBonga]

I think my approach of just calling you a cunt is better anyway...

I think the way to wind me up is to not be so obvious about it.

[surviva316]

Sooooo I finished my thesis last night.

First chance to brag about it what with traveling back from NYC late last night and all.

[kiwiMark]

I'm gonna need you to spin that by Monday.

[surviva316]

I'm gonna need you to spin that by Monday.

Sure thing.

[d0zer]

[surviva316]

Blake Boston AKA Scumbag Steve "Scumbag Steve Overture" - YouTube

Scumbag Steve came out with a music video. Hysterical.

The fact that Scumbag Steve's now in on the joke somehow ruins the meme for me. Like it makes him less of a scumbag...

[d0zer]

I guess it would be more funny if he was constantly raging butthurt on the internet than being in on the joke, but I never found the meme to be particularly great to begin with.

[wufwugy]

[givememyleg]

[Jack Sawyer]

[Lukie]

Krokodil: The drug that eats junkies - Europe - World - The Independent

Pretty awful read. Not quite as horrifying as an image search of 'krokodil' (nsfw obviously)

[wufwugy]

That breaks my heart

[rong]

Yup depressing read. News quarantine is further down.

[bikes]

Honestly.. How great of a movie was The Avengers??!?!?!? It had everything I wanted in a superhero movie.

[boost]

probably gonna go see it this week. I am excited.

[birdman417]

Maybe I should go see it just to figure out why the hell they need Black Widow and that other assassin, oh yeah "Hawkeye" (thanks google). Other than the gratuitous Scarlett Johanssen in leather shots, of course.