Comments on: Soccer Match-Fixing Probe Reveals 680 “Suspect” Results

By: jagsfan1

jagsfan1 — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:10:25 +0000

ANOTHER reason soccer is a joke and not a real sport.

By: jbriaz

jbriaz — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:57:58 +0000

Somehow this is Bud Selig’s fault, and baseball sucks.

/TBL’d

By: A.P.

A.P. — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:48:08 +0000

hopefully Suarez is implicated and he gets banned forever.

By: knifeyspoony

knifeyspoony — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:22:32 +0000

IMO the best match fixer is the manager. Mancini yesterday comes to mind

another guy in the book kind of addresses that as well – a manager can’t tangibly put goals on the board or take them away, so paying one isn’t considered a worthwhile investment. there’s an anecdote about how fixers once bribed a ref, who wound up awarding two dubious penalties to the team they wanted to win…only for the team to screw them both up. it’s just far easier and more logical for these guys to pay off players, especially the ones that play closest to the goal.

I should probably say that it’s a really interesting book.

By: sctrojans

sctrojans — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:13:53 +0000

Oh god, what? I hated Moss on the team in 2007, didn’t really like their offense. Can’t imagine how I’d feel now.

Better than Branch

I like Lloyd, but the concerns about him getting open are valid.

Lloyd is average. Not many appealing free agent options. Hartline may make the most sense

By: Wide Word of Sport (?)

Wide Word of Sport (?) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:10:56 +0000

They better not sign him. First reaction upon reading his name was him fixing games by intentionally running wrong routes

That was a joke… though he might be the best WR. I like Lloyd, but the concerns about him getting open are valid.

Honestly wouldn’t mind bringing Moss back either

Oh god, what? I hated Moss on the team in 2007, didn’t really like their offense. Can’t imagine how I’d feel now.

By: sctrojans

sctrojans — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:09:46 +0000

That’s the fine line Babar. Losing the game without being obvious

By: sctrojans

sctrojans — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:09:07 +0000

Titus Young might be the best WR on the Patriots in 2013

They better not sign him. First reaction upon reading his name was him fixing games by intentionally running wrong routes

Lloyd is so much better than him anyway. I like Cordarrelle Patterson for the Pats. Maybe Goodwin in the middle rds. Honestly wouldn’t mind bringing Moss back either

By: Babar 2.0

Babar 2.0 — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:07:10 +0000

It just seems so hard to guarantee by just “an abnormal number of bad passes”…in basketball it seems a lot easier (7 TOs and a 2-13 day, plus you are 1/5th of the workforce.

Just seems like a dicey agreement in soccer. You don’t want to disappoint the people paying you money to fix a match.

By: sctrojans

sctrojans — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:03:58 +0000

Anyone can “fix” a match, regardless of position. Certain guys can do it easier obviously, but a proper fixing is done with nuance, so a midfielder who makes an abnormal number of bad passes or heavy first touches works too. Granted this doesn’t affect a loss as directly as Pepe Reina yesterday

IMO the best match fixer is the manager. Mancini yesterday comes to mind

By: Babar 2.0

Babar 2.0 — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:03:31 +0000

Thanks for the response Knifey’s Poon

By: knifeyspoony

knifeyspoony — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:35:35 +0000

Is match fixing generally done by the keeper? I can’t imagine it’s that easy to do from another position.

I read Declan Hill’s book, and most of the people he talked to said that they target goalkeepers first, then strikers and defenders; the closer to the goal someone plays, the easier it is to for them to affect the outcome one way or another.

By: Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:34:09 +0000

In the top leagues that is. Here's a list of all the stadiums used in the Championship in the last decade (second tier in England).

By: Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:30:12 +0000

If you have under 20k it’s difficult to compete financially. If you have between 20 and 40 you can stay afloat financially. If you have above 60 you can be a financial juggernaut.

By: Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:27:48 +0000

(35k+ is big maybe?)

35k is medium in soccer. Madrid is 85k and Barcelona is 99k.

By: Wide Word of Sport (?)

Wide Word of Sport (?) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:25:25 +0000

Doing some research… looks like in England, about half the teams in the 2nd division have a 30,000+ stadium, and a few in the third league.

/pretty sure I’m the only one that cares

By: Wide Word of Sport (?)

Wide Word of Sport (?) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:20:24 +0000

Exactly, it’s not as though the world is littered with stadiums where they can congregate.

How many good-sized football stadiums (35k+ is big maybe?) are there in the world? I’m guessing there’s about 40-ish NFL/MLS stadiums, and maybe 70-ish NCAAF stadiums in the US. Do all clubs have big stadiums in the 1st leagues in most countries? 2nd leagues?

By: Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:18:26 +0000

Also the best thing about it, presuming it’s true, is that the keeper was bribed to let in goals yet Liverpool only managed to score one. Rafa you genius.

By: Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:13:26 +0000

Definitely need to update/revise the post now that the UK media is running with the Debrecen story. Granted the Europol press conference gave the timeframe that precludes it being the Besiktas game …

By: tedkerwin

tedkerwin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:12:37 +0000

This type of story just makes getting sports gambling legalized in places other than Vegas more difficult.