As the most stupid of Mancs keep banging on about.

Of course, the fact that he's been seen swearing at refs on about 500 occasions, the ban clearly wasn't just for swearing.

The ban was because he went out of his way and swore directly into a television camera. (And it has just occurred to me that Rooney isn't the only player to get done for swearing at the camera - Didier Drogba has too. But I think most CFC fans saw it that Didier was just saying what needed to be said about Ovrebo. That ban didn't mean a thing to us because the damage had already been done. And our stupid board did nothing but took all the punishment UEFA threw at us.)

But yeah, continue to whine about it every time you see anyone else ever in football caught swearing while they're at a football stadium. It's not tedious at all.

Calm down dear. I was merely pointing out that there is a precendent from the FA for banning someone caught blatantly swearing. Whether they follow up or not is another matter.

And as for the laughable assertion that Drogba was banned "just" for swearing
I think he was banned more for the fact he was hinting, non-too subtlely that the ref was corrupt, something which is a massive no-no as far as governing bodies are concerned.

But the precedent was for Rooney going out of his way to swear straight to the camera. He'd just scored a hat trick, so he "celebrated" by swearing straight into the camera, where the sound was picked up.

You mancs want to apply that every time you lip-read someone else swearing. Which seeing that this is English football, it's all the time.

Yeah, I accept the point about Drogba's ban being mainly (and possibly totally) for the abuse of Ovrebo. I'd kind of forgotten those events. I see red as soon as I think about that night.

Swearing isnt the problem. Its "foul and abusive language", with the emphasis on the "..and abusive". Lots of players cant complete a sentence without a "fu**in" in it. There's a huge difference between that and calling a player a "c**t". Arguably deliberately swearing down a camera is abusive to the watcher, although I thought Rooney's ban was harsh.

The biggest problem though with a crackdown on foul and abusive language is the prevalence of foreign speaking players. It would be difficult for most refs to implement a crackdown if the abuse is in a foreign language as with Suarez and Evra.

When have El Real ever worried about how players fit? Like when del Bosque asked for centre-backs and got Big Ronaldo.

I presume the other German you're thinking of is Sami Khedira. He plays a bit deeper.

Sahin, no?

I too don't get why Real want Modric, they couldn't possibly fit him and Alonso together in a 'two', whilst Ozil seems to be the man that plays in the hole. I thought they'd have been after a 'destroyer' in the middle, not a playmaker. I know it's all about depth and no manager seems to have a 'best XI' these days, but somebody will play the majority of minutes and I can't see it being Modric.

Nobody has had any problem with foul and abusive language up until now. Ever since the Bridge/Terry fallout Terry has clearly received masses of foul and abusive language and no one cared. Beckham received masses of foul and abusive language after Argentina and no one cared.

I refuse to believe that all the journos and ex pros who have spoken of their dismay at the language were only hearing about it for the first time this week. It's just when someone is on TV or speaking on record with a journo they just seem to inhabit a bizarro world where they think they'll set off a bomb if they speak the truth and accept what it's like in the "football workplace".

My theory is possibly that it is a working class v middle class clash behind this. Anybody in the working class who grow up loving and playing football will know what goes on and be immune to it. Someone who lead a pretty sheltered middle class upbringing and maybe started following football after Sky TV and the PL might be shocked by it (but even then, WTF have they been watching all this time?).

It is kind of like when a dad takes their kid to work and asks everyone to not swear around him. Someone else will point out that the little git will speak language 10 times worse with his friends and everyone will know that's true. I don't know, that was my experience but maybe other people lived massively different lives to the one I had.

Sahin, the forgotten man. He's Turkish, incidentally, but quite probably one that Madrid will try to move on.
I don't see where Modric fits with them, but that's a side-issue when it comes to a dick-swinging competition which that club try to get involved in every bloody summer.

I thought when he said 'from Germany' he meant the Bundesliga, I imagine he means German on second reading.

It would be nice if they signed him with the intention of building the midfield around him, but I imagine he'd end up being an option that won't play against Barca.

Who else are Madrid after? I would have thought they'd have been in the market for a strong midfielder, a right back and probably another striker. Is Higuain on his way out?

Could have been that, I suppose. Whichever - not a biggy.


Modric apart, I've not heard much about players they're after bringing in, more about those they want shut of. And those are Sahin, Carvalho and Gago. And if they do get Modric, I reckon you could add Kaka on to that list.

I did mean Sahin, thanks.
Has he actually played for Madrid or not? Decent signing for an English team if he were to leave Madrid?

And what do we think of the Carroll back to Newcastle stories? Is it just Newcastle trying to act big time or is there some seriousness to it all?

And Liverpoo linked to Joe Allen as well apparently. £10M quid bid being mooted.

I'm sure he did play a handful of games, but he was injured early in the season and struggled to force his way back in. He's a classy player and would be a good signing for anybody, English or not. I can't see there'd be a shortage of suitors for him.

Swansea. Jonathan de Guzman and Michu for less than the cost of half a Gylfi Sigurdsson represents fantastic business.

Michu looks like he could be a fantasy football gem if he continues his scoring in the Premier League.

Yes, but ssssshhhhhhhhh. We don't want everyone knowing that.