I like to think of myself as a Liverpool fan. Probably only because … I was 10 years when Hillsborough happened Live on TV.
I’ve watched the Rooney goal that the O.P mentions. However, in my view, there is not enough evidence to doubt the instinct and intelligence of Wayne Rooney as an attacker on this one.
Still, the 4 - 0 Remontada of Liverpool vs Barcelona… No. To this day, I do not buy it.
I believe that there might have been a time when sponsors like Adidas, Nike, Puma(?) called the shots on what individual players could and could not do. By now, I’m pretty sure that’s a thing of the past.
Aren’t we hearing of betting markets being worth trillions of dollars nowadays?
Where does the most money for any game that’s being played in the middle of a raging pandemic in front of an empty stadium come from… if not from thousands of people betting $5 on a multi-fold bet where the carrot nearly gets detached from the stick… until Bilbao puts 4 past Betis for a clean sheet where the latter enjoyed most of the possession, and a significantly superior passing accuracy, while only managing one shot on target somehow… and most significantly, 0 card shown for 24 fouls!
I’m pretty sure that nowadays, the bookies call the shots. From how many cards, corners, throw-ins, free-kicks, goal-kicks, goals, to half-time/full-time exoticism, first player booked, player to be booked…
Every ‘market’ that a bookie offers is a line where they’ve made sure they have a way of turning a profit. Otherwise, they’d simply not offer it. If we see a lot of games where bet365 offers ‘Red card in match’ in Spain and Italy, but not in Germany… that’s because bet365 has made sure that they have a way of calling for a red card or not … in a timely fashion, contrary to what the ‘Bigger Fool’ market has told bet365 they believe will happen.
The joke has always been on the punters. Is it at all a coincidence that the first two Champions League games of the day end 5 solid minutes clear of the start of all the rest? Or does that give to punters the illusion that they have enough ‘thinking’ time to book their next multi-fold bet of the day?