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eenfish asked: Thoughts on Man City and Man United bombing out of Europa while Chelsea sign in the Champions League?

         Joe Hart nearly provided the dramatic finishing touch for Man City

In the case of Manchester United, it was always going to be rough after the first leg. Three away goals is a big hurdle to climb, and even if Bilbao had lost 1-2, the Spaniards would have still gone through. It would have been interesting to see United turn the tie though, as it would have silenced all the cynics who claim that the “big clubs” don’t care about the Europa League, which I don’t buy. United simply ran into a Bilbao team which not only beat them, but technically, tactically, and comprehensively outclassed them over two legs. Fairplay to Bilbao and their manager Marcelo Bielsa.

As for City, when United crashed out in Spain, the writing was really on the wall, although their elimination was less gut-wrenching. Sporting scored their first on a brilliant free-kick, but after they got the second, City did real well to get back three. Joe Hart nearly had a moment for the ages at the end. His header was eye-widening and as far as drama goes, that would have been tops this season. You would have thought that Manchester City, who flattened Porto at home, although some claim that the scoreline flattered the hosts, who have been able to close the tie out at Eastlands. Overall, the real loser here might just be the Europa League, as both Manchester teams’ presence added that bit of luster that was needed for the competition.

But while everyone took those two results as an indication of the Premier League’s “decline” in quality, the great irony is that the lowest placed English team at this stage in European competition has actually gone through, and have a great chance of heading to the semis. Figure that! To say that Chelsea played with a sense of freedom would be an understatement, but it just shows, once again, how much psychology plays into sports. The players were clearly up for it, the “old guard” clearly saw that their reputation was at stake, they thought they were good enough to turn the tide, and they responded accordingly. I was no fan of the AVB sacking, and I’m still not, but Chelsea did not look capable of that result two weeks ago. Even David Luiz showed his best. To think that Chelsea actually held Cavani, Lavezzi, and Hamsik scoreless, and can now work their way to a potential rematch of the 2009 semi-final against Barca, in which, make no mistake, they were absolutely and undeniably cheated, is incredible…But that’s football.

sir-psycho-sexyy asked: You speak a lot of sense in the whole Suarez/Evra situation. I agreed with everything you said. Although it doesn really matter because nothing will change the fact that Luis Suarez is now known as The Racist

It’s a sad thing too, it’s really a sad thing. Kenny Dalglish said it best, wrong man at the wrong time. The ironic thing about this is that if Suarez had done two moves differently, he’d be shown in a better light. By that I mean this.

If Suarez had never come out and said what’d he referred to Evra as, and had shaken Evra’s hand, as opposed to coming out and saying without trepidation (or fear) the words he used with Evra before he was even tried, and not shaking the hand of Evra, a man he clearly does not respect, everyone would forgive him right now. But to me, if anything, it MIGHT (mind you this is all speculation) just show Suarez’ conviction.

The last thing I want to be is biased. And, in all honesty, when Evra first made claims, I was ready to condemn Suarez. To me, there’s no reason for any person to cry racism for nothing. But after hearing the details of the matter, I immediately threw the case out in my mind, simply because, with the evidence at hand, there’s no way to prove he was outright being racist.

In a nutshell, that’s the problem with it all. Suarez may have been found to be “unreliable,” confusing, and self-contradicting (all terms which are subjective) but there is still no proof of racist intent, which there needs to be especially when he uses a word that is not, in essence, racist. Again, “Innocent until proven guilty,” that’s how justice works. He hasn’t really been proven guilty. The whole situation is just a mess.

liverp00lfc asked: Why are you ashamed of Liverpool FC?

Their stance is fake. It’s a number of statements forced simply to please a self-righteous media who will now stupidly (and predictably) believe that a matter of racism, which they have relentlessly written and spoken about as a matter of the most importance, is over now that Liverpool have “done the right thing” and apologized. Mind you, the apology only has to deal with a handshake, but now writers all across the country will be writing about the situation as “the aftermath,” the effects it has on the club’s image (which has been exaggerated in the first place), and condemning Kenny Dalglish. Why? Because it’s all a show.

It’s all about, “let’s all get on Luis Suarez so we can show we’re against racism.” Nevermind the fact that the man was never PROVEN guilty, nevermind the fact that he was suspended for using “abusive language” while Patrice Evra, in a conversation spoken in Spanish, used language that would be FAR more abusive in all Spanish speaking cultures, nevermind that Suarez was written about as racist even before facts were divulged (which contradicts the English’s OWN perpetuated notion of ‘innocent until proven guilty’), nevermind the fact that a man’s career and name and standing in society has been tarnished on a TRIVIAL matter (i.e. one person, and one person alone heard him abusive Evra; Evra himself). It’s all about, “let’s show the world, we’re not like Sepp Blatter, we don’t tolerate racism.”

But here’s the most condescending part. For a situation which was so vigorously discussed, everyone will feel like the job is done. A sense of victory has now fallen on many, because Liverpool finally submitted. But what has been done? Have people been educated? Do people understand that to say a racist remark, is not racist, but to have the ignorance that leads to judge someone based on their color is? Do people understand, like John Barnes said, that there really is no such thing as race? That it’s just a notion created to justify prejudices of the English’s ancestors? If the answer depends on what could have been learned from the all writers who so aggressively attacked this story over the past few months, the answer is a plain no, and will continue to be a no in the future. Why? Because the witch hunt is complete and the show is now over. It is truly a mockery of the REAL campaign against racism.

As a “Black” man and a Liverpool fan, Today I’m just ashamed and disgusted.