2008-09 Football Thread - The Second Half [Archive] - Page 3

Lord Blackadder

Feb 24, 2009, 10:32 AM

This is supposed to be a discussion about Football, not attacks on particular clubs.

Excellent advice...

Why? because they show you how boring dutch football really is? :cool: Wake me up when PSV, Ajax or Feyenoord come back from the 70's / 80's unless you class the Russian Railways Cup as good :eek:

For anyone interested out there, the Aussie football/soccer league's grand final is on this Saturday 28th (the A-League).

I did hear about that, though I'm not sure I could get it here in the states (they do show some A-League, so perhaps). Unfortunately I'll be traveling that day.

I have heard that the A-League is a very well-run league for being as new as it is - but I'm sad to hear that the Wellington Phoenix are going to be booted out of the league since they are from New Zealand...in the MLS we have one team from Canada and will probably add one more in the next few years.

Robbie Fowler is down there as well now...there were rumors he might come to MLS but given the choice I'd probably go to Oz too. :D

Silencio

Feb 24, 2009, 12:15 PM

I see all the hate for Man Utd here as just pure jealousy imho. European champions, English champions and world club champions and looking good this season, must really taste bitter for you all ;)

Don't take the bait.

I normally don't like rooting for the big teams in any sport, but I have followed Man Utd since about 1992 (thanks to being a big New Order and Manchester music nerd, though I could have always followed Rob Gretton's lead and supported City!). So now I guess I know what it feels like to be a NY Yankees fan: even though they have loads of die-hard fans they're still seen disdainfully as the frontrunner's favorite.

Jaffa Cake

Feb 24, 2009, 12:41 PM

Melbourne Victory get the thumbs up from me, having as they do a former Tiger in their ranks.

How is 'Super' Danny Allsopp getting on down under, i-ash?

Blue Velvet

Feb 24, 2009, 01:01 PM

Predictions for tonight's and Wednesday's Champions League matches involving English clubs:

Arsenal v Roma 1-1
Inter Milan v Man Utd 2-1
Chelsea v Juventus 1-1
Real Madrid v Liverpool 2-0

Thread-specific bonus predictions:

FA Cup 5th round replay: Hull v Sheff Utd 1-0
Premier League: Hull v Blackburn 2-1

Before anyone laughs, I'll remind them of my uncanny skills in making predictions in the 2004 World Cup thread. ;)

Mitthrawnuruodo

Feb 24, 2009, 01:10 PM

^^Ok, I'll bite:

Arsenal v Roma 2-0
Inter Milan v Man Utd 1-0
Chelsea v Juventus 1-0
Real Madrid v Liverpool 3-1

Lord Blackadder

Feb 24, 2009, 01:13 PM

Predictions for tonight's and Wednesday's Champions League matches involving English clubs:

Pretty much all of those make me happy except the Liverpool result. :(

Real have been playing poorly but grinding out results, and I think we can beat them. Benitez must now be seeing the Champions League (once again) as his best (only?) chance for silverware. Liverpool will push hard to get that away goal in the first game, then park the bus at home.

I find predicting CL results to be really hard, because league form doesn't always seem to mean much.

Arsenal v Roma 1-0
Inter v Man Utd 3-2
Chelsea v Juventus 2-1
Real Madrid v Liverpool 1-1

Silencio

Feb 24, 2009, 01:52 PM

Arsenal v Roma 2-0
Inter Milan v Man Utd 1-0
Chelsea v Juventus 0-0
Real Madrid v Liverpool 1-1

Jaffa Cake

Feb 24, 2009, 02:09 PM

I'll go with...

Arsenal v Roma 1-1
Inter Milan v Man Utd 1-1
Chelsea v Juventus 0-1
Real Madrid v Liverpool 0-1

I'm thinking we'll see a series of cagey performances, no one's going to want to make any mistakes in the first leg matches. What I'd like to see though are the English sides who are taking on Italian outfits playing a high tempo game and hopefully that will give them the edge.

Anyway, onto more important stuff...

FA Cup 5th round replay: Hull v Sheff Utd: 2-1 aet
Premier League: Hull v Blackburn 1-1

We need to start winning. I officially consider us to be in a relegation fight and as such my loins are girded for the battle ahead.

159503

As you can see, I've a couple of spare pairs if anyone wants to join me. :)

Silencio

Feb 24, 2009, 02:42 PM

0-0 Inter / Man U at the half. I just realized it's on ESPN2 and I'm working at home, so I'll watch the second. Looks like Man U failed to capitalized on a lot of opportunities in the first...

Lord Blackadder

Feb 24, 2009, 02:49 PM

I've been watching...the Inter defense has been horrible. Julio Cesar has single-handedly kept Inter in the game with some nice saves. It looks like Mourinho is making a change in defense as soon as the second half gets under way.

EDIT: Good game. Man Utd should have scored early on, but Inter pushed hard in the second half. You'd have to say the result is better for Inter, but Fergie will fancy his chances in the second leg...still, he is facing Mourinho here.

Man of the Match: Julio Cesar.

Silencio

Feb 24, 2009, 03:47 PM

Man of the Match: Julio Cesar.

No doubt about it. Some good saves but also a lot of "in the right place at the right time", as he was on a C. Ronaldo header in the first half and that last free kick at the end of stoppage time.

Coming in I thought Inter would win so I suppose I'm pleased with the result.

pachyderm

Feb 24, 2009, 03:48 PM

Of course, rivalries aren't always reciprocated. While some are as intense on both sides (the Old Firm or Arsenal and Spurs, for example) there are plenty of instances where one club will feel an intense rivalry with another club, whose supporters couldn't give two hoots about the other.

Manchester United supporters – and I'm happy to be corrected by garybUK if I'm mistaken – would consider Manchester City (local rivals), Liverpool (they're the two most successful clubs in the country and aren't that far apart geographically either), and historically Leeds United as their most bitter rivals.

From your point of view pachyderm, who would you consider to be Wendesday's key rivals – aside from Sheffield United, of course?

Leeds. Then maybe Barnsley...;) Then to an even lesser degree Donny Rovers...

What I was getting at was more of a "backhanded" compliment to Manyure. Being that they are so good everyone wants to beat them. ;)

Jaffa Cake

Feb 24, 2009, 03:53 PM

Meanwhile, Coventry City have knocked out Blackburn Rovers in their FA Cup Fifth round replay. Hopefully Rovers won't take their frustrations out on us this Sunday...

MacsRgr8

Feb 24, 2009, 03:54 PM

Why? because they show you how boring dutch football really is? :cool: Wake me up when PSV, Ajax or Feyenoord come back from the 70's / 80's unless you class the Russian Railways Cup as good :eek:

I see all the hate for Man Utd here as just pure jealousy imho. European champions, English champions and world club champions and looking good this season, must really taste bitter for you all ;)

Dutch football is crap to watch. I don't really support a club over here, and ever since I went to Highbury in the 70's when I lived in Slough as a kid, I have been an Arsenal supporter.
Problem is that if you can't watch Arsenal play, you loose touch... And that's why I am so happy now I got Sport1. :)

I have a lot of respect for Man Utd. Many great football players who are NOT irritating play there too. The likes of Scholes, Giggs etc. are players I enjoy to watch (except against Arsenal... :p), but Ronaldo gets on my nerves. And let's be honest most non-Man Utd supporters agree he is a tad arrogant, and dives too much... :rolleyes:
And no, that's not jealousy.

The same can be said of someone like Figo. Good player, of course! But so irritating... come on.

1-0 against AS Roma! :)

i-ash

Feb 24, 2009, 08:34 PM

.... I have heard that the A-League is a very well-run league for being as new as it is - but I'm sad to hear that the Wellington Phoenix are going to be booted out of the league since they are from New Zealand...in the MLS we have one team from Canada and will probably add one more in the next few years.

Robbie Fowler is down there as well now...there were rumors he might come to MLS but given the choice I'd probably go to Oz too. :D

Wellington being booted out is news to me... According to http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4809858a6488.html they are staying till 2011?

What is the MLS like in terms of quality & support from fans? An ex-Melbourne Victory player (Fred) now plays for Washington DC I think.

Robbie Flower signed on with new club North Queensland Fury... Might be a bit of a shock for him climate/temperature-wise.

Melbourne Victory get the thumbs up from me, having as they do a former Tiger in their ranks.

How is 'Super' Danny Allsopp getting on down under, i-ash?

Danny is a champ, first in the league this year for goals scored. Here's hoping he can bury Adelaide with 1 or 2 this weekend. :)

Lord Blackadder

Feb 24, 2009, 09:24 PM

Wellington being booted out is news to me... According to http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4809858a6488.html they are staying till 2011?

That's what I meant - if I'm not mistaken they are leaving the league involuntarily?

What is the MLS like in terms of quality & support from fans? An ex-Melbourne Victory player (Fred) now plays for Washington DC I think.

It's hard to compare to the A-League since I haven't seen much A-League football. Some pundits try to compare MLS to the English leagues and, depending who you talk to, they will say MLS teams are the equivalent of anything from League Two teams to the bottom of the Prem... which is nonsense. We have to forge our own identity.

Both quality and support are improving with each season. I think a long-term goal of the MLS is to become a feeder league for some of the big European leagues. We'll never have a Serie A or Premiership in the States, but we might be able to someday develop something more like the Dutch league or Ligue 1. I think the US has a lot of untapped potential

MLS squads always suffer from a lack of depth and many of the best players are "retirees" from better leagues. But there are also a growing number of younger prospects. Moving to the US is attractive enough that we may be able to attract better players as tome goes on and the league improves.

One of the interesting aspects of the MLS is that latino immigrants make up a significant block of MLS supporters - football is much more in their blood than your average Americans and I think they make a big contribution to growing the league support.

Fuzzy14

Feb 25, 2009, 03:34 AM

It's hard to compare to the A-League since I haven't seen much A-League football. Some pundits try to compare MLS to the English leagues and, depending who you talk to, they will say MLS teams are the equivalent of anything from League Two teams to the bottom of the Prem... which is nonsense. We have to forge our own identity.

We (SPL) get that too, I would say the Old Firm are about mid-to lower EPL table and the rest are Championship and FL Division 1 material.

Both quality and support are improving with each season. I think a long-term goal of the MLS is to become a feeder league for some of the big European leagues.

We've seen a lot of clubs in Europe forge ties with other teams, Scottish examples are Hearts with Lithuanian players (due to ownership) and Airdrie with Spanish players due to Steve Archibald. Maybe a European team will take a MLS team under their wing? Rangers in particular have had more of their fair share of American players.

The strange state of Scottish football means that many of our reserve teams are better than the teams in lower divisions, so it looks like Celtic are going to try and enter a 'B' team (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/7905786.stm) in our league division 3. Not sure how that would work with league cup and promotion.:confused:

MLS squads always suffer from a lack of depth and many of the best players are "retirees" from better leagues.

There is a phrase used around these parts where we refer to teams like that (Kilmarnock FC in particular) as Dad's Army (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dads_Army)!:D

Blimey! We're top of the league! How did that happen?

pachyderm

Feb 25, 2009, 06:00 AM

Wellington being booted out is news to me... According to http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4809858a6488.html they are staying till 2011?

What is the MLS like in terms of quality & support from fans? An ex-Melbourne Victory player (Fred) now plays for Washington DC I think.

Robbie Flower signed on with new club North Queensland Fury... Might be a bit of a shock for him climate/temperature-wise.

Danny is a champ, first in the league this year for goals scored. Here's hoping he can bury Adelaide with 1 or 2 this weekend. :)

espn36O has a lot of A League football. From what I've seen it is OK football. But I cannot make myself watch...

...
It's hard to compare to the A-League since I haven't seen much A-League football. Some pundits try to compare MLS to the English leagues and, depending who you talk to, they will say MLS teams are the equivalent of anything from League Two teams to the bottom of the Prem... which is nonsense. We have to forge our own identity.

Both quality and support are improving with each season. I think a long-term goal of the MLS is to become a feeder league for some of the big European leagues. We'll never have a Serie A or Premiership in the States, but we might be able to someday develop something more like the Dutch league or Ligue 1. I think the US has a lot of untapped potential

MLS squads always suffer from a lack of depth and many of the best players are "retirees" from better leagues. But there are also a growing number of younger prospects. Moving to the US is attractive enough that we may be able to attract better players as tome goes on and the league improves.

One of the interesting aspects of the MLS is that latino immigrants make up a significant block of MLS supporters - football is much more in their blood than your average Americans and I think they make a big contribution to growing the league support.

Pretty good grasp of the MLS. Compared to A league I think maybe we are a step below in quality. I can't stomach much of the MLS either by the way. But I do watch.

There was an article on soccernet.com about the make up of a crowd at any given MLS match and the make up of the teams on the field. Stark contrast. A great deal of the fans were Latino but that didn't translate on to the pitch.

We (SPL) get that too, I would say the Old Firm are about mid-to lower EPL table and the rest are Championship and FL Division 1 material.

We've seen a lot of clubs in Europe forge ties with other teams, Scottish examples are Hearts with Lithuanian players (due to ownership) and Airdrie with Spanish players due to Steve Archibald. Maybe a European team will take a MLS team under their wing? Rangers in particular have had more of their fair share of American players.

The strange state of Scottish football means that many of our reserve teams are better than the teams in lower divisions, so it looks like Celtic are going to try and enter a 'B' team (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/7905786.stm) in our league division 3. Not sure how that would work with league cup and promotion.:confused:

There is a phrase used around these parts where we refer to teams like that (Kilmarnock FC in particular) as Dad's Army (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dads_Army)!:D

Blimey! We're top of the league! How did that happen?

Look out for Dumbarton... ;)

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 10:05 AM

We (SPL) get that too, I would say the Old Firm are about mid-to lower EPL table and the rest are Championship and FL Division 1 material.

Yeah, I always hear people comparing the Old Firm to Premiership teams - it's an inevitable comparison but a meaningless one. Each league is different. I think it makes a little more sense with the Old Firm though, because they play in Europe and so they do come up against a variety of top teams including Premier League sides..

Maybe a European team will take a MLS team under their wing? Rangers in particular have had more of their fair share of American players.

Chivas USA is already an offshoot of Mexican team Chivas de Guadalajara, so it's happened before. In fact, this fall there was a story that Barcelona (yes THAT Barcelona) was hooking up with a Miami-based owner of a Bolivian team to possibly start an MLS franchise in Florida. Florida has been a tough market for football in America (two teams have already been formed and failed), but with a big club like Barca behind it (and, dare I say, perhaps a retiring-from-Europe TH14?), it might work. Lots of Latinos in Florida, though, baseball is a bigger sport down there. But who knows?

Pretty good grasp of the MLS. Compared to A league I think maybe we are a step below in quality. I can't stomach much of the MLS either by the way. But I do watch.

Last season I watched and attended as many games as I could, and followed Columbus very closely. From my perspective, Columbus and Chicago play good football by any standard. Period. Any football fan would have to admit that. It might not be top division football, but it is satisfying to watch for any but the most demanding fan. Several other teams such as Houston, DC United, New York, and Chivas USA can produce great performances on the day. Other teams are a further step down. LA is crap, with or without Landon & Becks (and it isn't completely their fault).

The soccer-specific stadiums are making a HUGE difference IMHO. because they create a football-exclusive space which is really helpful in forging the teams' identities in the public mind. Columbus has the first one to be built on US soil, and even though it won't blow you away visually it makes the game better for the fans.

Jaffa Cake

Feb 25, 2009, 01:28 PM

Danny is a champ, first in the league this year for goals scored. Here's hoping he can bury Adelaide with 1 or 2 this weekend. :)Good stuff, nice to see that he's doing well. :)

Maybe a European team will take a MLS team under their wing?There's been a bit of interest in teams lower down than the MLS, for one thing I know Crystal Palace have a team over in Baltimore that they ship some of their kids out to.

Having teams from Europe or elsewhere in the Americas heavily backing MLS teams could prove to be a double edged sword, though. Certainly, the US outfits would benefit from the exposure, loaned youth players and the like, but there's also the risk that strong links might dilute the League's and the team's identities.

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 02:11 PM

Chelsea ahead and had looked to be bossing the game, but Juve have shown signs of life in the last few minutes. I haven't seen Drogba dive yet, but it's still early in the game. :D

Having teams from Europe or elsewhere in the Americas heavily backing MLS teams could prove to be a double edged sword, though. Certainly, the US outfits would benefit from the exposure, loaned youth players and the like, but there's also the risk that strong links might dilute the League's and the team's identities.

There's certainly truth to that - but there are also big benefits to be gained. Look at CFR Cluj - a team somewhat similar in size with an MLS team. I read somewhere during their CL run that they had signed some sort of partnership with a Spanish or Portuguese club, and this arrangement gave them access to players that helped them to a decent run in the Champions' league.

MacsRgr8

Feb 25, 2009, 03:01 PM

Chelsea ahead and had looked to be bossing the game, but Juve have shown signs of life in the last few minutes. I haven;t seen Drogba dive yet, but it's still early in the game. :D

Just done so.. early in the 2nd half... ;)

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 03:02 PM

I was just about to edit my post to reflect that. HUGE dive from the Ivorian. :D

MacsRgr8

Feb 25, 2009, 03:05 PM

LOL

Good game to watch without it being a classic. Wouldn't surprise me to see a goal from Juve, though.

I always like to see Del Piero playing. Though I do hope Chelsea win!

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 03:25 PM

...and another massive Drogba dive. Fortunately the ref wasn't fooled. Chelsea look to have this one wrapped up unless there are some late heroics though.

According to the live text updates, Ryan Babel is shockingly average once again after coming on to replace Torres. Bayern are simply crushing Sporting Lisbon.

MacsRgr8

Feb 25, 2009, 03:38 PM

Tnx to my new Sport1 subscription I can see all the games at once! :)
Trouble is, how da hell, do you do that.... haha.

Even more fun: I can watch every game with either Dutch commentary (boring..) or "their source" commentary...
Tonight:
Chelsea - Juventus: English (GREAT!!)
Sprt. Port - Bay. Munchen: German (FUN!!)
R. Madrid - Liverpool: Spanish (no idea...)
.. etc

Well done Liverpool!
And Chelsea.

BTW.. only Man Utd haven't won.... :p

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 03:45 PM

Jaffa Cake

Feb 25, 2009, 03:49 PM

So out of the four for me it's one right result guessed, and one perfectly predicted score. That still means I'm much acer than Mark Lawrenson, though.

xUKHCx

Feb 25, 2009, 03:50 PM

The only score I correctly predicted was the Arsenal-Roma match...well, that's better than nothing I guess...;)

Liverpool gets a crucial away goal. Even against Real Madrid Benitez must fancy his chances at Anfield in the second leg. It's hilarious, not only that the goal scorer was little Yossi Benayoun, but that he scored it with his head. :D

Little fact*: Liverpool haven't lost if they have won the first leg. Although I hate stats like this because they always have to turn at some point.

*(thanks to sky sports)

The ref was a little whistle happy but Madrid were also a little fall over happy too.

Good game and brilliant result. Good to keep a clean sheet and for Benayoun to score was brilliant.

Alonso was pretty close with another long range shot.

Torres possible injury again, ankle this time.

MacsRgr8

Feb 25, 2009, 03:55 PM

So out of the four for me it's one right result guessed, and one perfectly predicted score. That still means I'm much acer than Mark Lawrenson, though.

You should give BBC a call...! :)

Mitthrawnuruodo

Feb 25, 2009, 03:57 PM

Arsenal v Roma 2-0
Inter Milan v Man Utd 1-0
Chelsea v Juventus 1-0
Real Madrid v Liverpool 3-1Ok, 5 out of 8 isn't too bad... :p

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 03:57 PM

Little fact*: Liverpool haven't lost if they have won the first leg. Although I hate stats like this because they always have to turn at some point.

Hopefully not just yet...;)

Good game and brilliant result. Good to keep a clean sheet and for Benayoun to score was brilliant.

Most of the pundits go on about how Kuyt and Benayoun are not the material that silverware is won with, but both work very hard and Benayoun, while not a powerful player, has a solid shot and is good with the ball at his feet. Based on the performances I have seen this season though, Liverpool need Gerrard, Torres and Alonso if they are going to win anything. They are easily the most creative players in the squad.

Torres possible injury again, ankle this time.

****. :(

Watching the Liverpool match now and Alonso did indeed test Casillas with a spectacular long range effort - could have been the goal of the round.

pachyderm

Feb 25, 2009, 06:14 PM

Yeah, I always hear people comparing the Old Firm to Premiership teams - it's an inevitable comparison but a meaningless one. Each league is different. I think it makes a little more sense with the Old Firm though, because they play in Europe and so they do come up against a variety of top teams including Premier League sides..

Chivas USA is already an offshoot of Mexican team Chivas de Guadalajara, so it's happened before. In fact, this fall there was a story that Barcelona (yes THAT Barcelona) was hooking up with a Miami-based owner of a Bolivian team to possibly start an MLS franchise in Florida. Florida has been a tough market for football in America (two teams have already been formed and failed), but with a big club like Barca behind it (and, dare I say, perhaps a retiring-from-Europe TH14?), it might work. Lots of Latinos in Florida, though, baseball is a bigger sport down there. But who knows?

Last season I watched and attended as many games as I could, and followed Columbus very closely. From my perspective, Columbus and Chicago play good football by any standard. Period. Any football fan would have to admit that. It might not be top division football, but it is satisfying to watch for any but the most demanding fan. Several other teams such as Houston, DC United, New York, and Chivas USA can produce great performances on the day. Other teams are a further step down. LA is crap, with or without Landon & Becks (and it isn't completely their fault).

The soccer-specific stadiums are making a HUGE difference IMHO. because they create a football-exclusive space which is really helpful in forging the teams' identities in the public mind. Columbus has the first one to be built on US soil, and even though it won't blow you away visually it makes the game better for the fans.

Agreed. I love the Crew home stadium by the by. And I love me some Crew football. My only problem with the MLS is the tendency to get into a "ping pongy" style of play. And, so sorry, all of the teams get into it from time to time.

The A League has hideous unies and stupid team names. But their brand of football isn't bad.

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 07:46 PM

Agreed. I love the Crew home stadium by the by. And I love me some Crew football. My only problem with the MLS is the tendency to get into a "ping pongy" style of play. And, so sorry, all of the teams get into it from time to time.

True - and I put it down mostly to lack of depth. In the case of the Crew, I saw a few games where we were missing key players like Schelotto, Ekpo, Robbie Rogers and Chad Marshall. Columbus has a deepish team by MLS standards but without the usual starting XI the standard of play worsens noticeably.

The A League has hideous unies and stupid team names. But their brand of football isn't bad.

What I have seen has been pretty good so far, It will be interesting to see how the league grows.

pachyderm

Feb 25, 2009, 08:18 PM

True - and I put it down mostly to lack of depth. In the case of the Crew, I saw a few games where we were missing key players like Schelotto, Ekpo, Robbie Rogers and Chad Marshall. Columbus has a deepish team by MLS standards but without the usual starting XI the standard of play worsens noticeably.

What I have seen has been pretty good so far, It will be interesting to see how the league grows.

i think we're the same person.

pachyderm :apple: Crew, Wednesday, Spurs. ;)
Lord Blackadder :apple: Crew, Spurs... Wednesday? :D

Lord Blackadder

Feb 25, 2009, 08:37 PM

Jaffa Cake

Feb 26, 2009, 01:42 AM

LOL. I haven't pledged support to a lower division English team yet...It's got to be Accrington Stanley surely? :D

pachyderm

Feb 26, 2009, 05:52 AM

LOL. I haven't pledged support to a lower division English team yet, though Liverpool are my top division team.

Speaking of Spurs though, it is interesting to note that the two most recent Spurs ex-managers (Jol and Ramos) are doing quite well at their respective clubs in Europe - at clubs that are bigger than Tottenham In fact both Jol and Ramos are fighting for league titles at the moment...I wonder if Spurs fans are perhaps seeing that as a sign that at least some of Spurs' problems lie more with the organization than the managers?

It's got to be Accrington Stanley surely? :D

LOL.

And yes I think we are starting to smell the rats... If you ever go to bigsoccer.com or spurscommunity.com there is/has been some real soul serching and the answers/harsh realities are coming to light. ;)

Thankfully for me Wednesday has new management and seem to be moving in the right direction. :D

Queso

Feb 26, 2009, 09:29 AM

Finally I can stop checking the County Supporters Boards every 20 minutes or so :D

Link (http://www.seagulls.co.uk/page/Latest/0,,10433~1570746,00.html)

aloofman

Feb 26, 2009, 10:42 AM

Speaking of Spurs though, it is interesting to note that the two most recent Spurs ex-managers (Jol and Ramos) are doing quite well at their respective clubs in Europe - at clubs that are bigger than Tottenham In fact both Jol and Ramos are fighting for league titles at the moment...I wonder if Spurs fans are perhaps seeing that as a sign that at least some of Spurs' problems lie more with the organization than the managers?

The fact that they had to fire Ramos was the best indicator of it. Did the same guy who helped turn them around last season get dumber in the offseason? No, but at some point he lost the players and had to be replaced.

I think it's been pretty obvious that they haven't done much to shore up their defense, and that selling their two starting strikers at the same time was pretty stupid. Is it pathetic if I find myself clinging to the hope that a Carling Cup win on Sunday would salvage the season? :rolleyes:

Lord Blackadder

Feb 26, 2009, 11:34 AM

The fact that they had to fire Ramos was the best indicator of it. Did the same guy who helped turn them around last season get dumber in the offseason? No, but at some point he lost the players and had to be replaced.

It's true that once the dressing room is lost, it's nearly impossible to get it back. In that sense Spurs had little choice but to replace Ramos - even if he wasn't really part of the rot.

It's got to be Accrington Stanley surely? :D

I'm strongly tempted. :p

Jaffa Cake

Feb 26, 2009, 04:26 PM

We may have been a little fortunate there. :o

Lord Blackadder

Feb 26, 2009, 05:39 PM

Well, every team hopes for its share of luck...

Looks like Man City are through to the next round of their European adventure,

Jaffa Cake

Feb 26, 2009, 06:06 PM

Well, every team hopes for its share of luck...Indeed, and we've had a frustrating number of important decisions go against us recently. However, from my vantage point at least the ball didn't seem to cross the line for their first so we got off with that one. It has to be said though that Barmby was fantastic tonight, hopefully we'll see more of the same from him against Blackburn on Sunday.

Incredibly*, City have never got this far in the FA Cup in my lifetime – the last time we made the Sixth Round was way back in 1971, a good five years before I was born. Blimey. :o

* Actually, thinking about it it's not that incredible. :p

Lord Blackadder

Feb 26, 2009, 10:19 PM

I'm just watching the rebroadcast of the Man City - FC Copenhagen tie and my word, the pitch looks awful at the City of Manchester stadium.

EDIT: I watched the highlights of the Hull-Sheffield match this morning - the ball certainly does not appear to fully cross the line on the "own goal", and it looks like Sheffield should have had a penalty on that kick-out by Zayatte. Bad calls by the refs - but that's football. In the course of a season that luck will cut both ways....

xUKHCx

Feb 28, 2009, 10:58 AM

Save for a last minute goal almost a perfect result for Man Utd this weekend.

Liverpool now drop to 3rd and Chelsea up to 2nd. Man Utd now almost have the league wrapped up.

Sounds like Liverpool were lucky only to concede 2. Not good enough.

Arsenal failed to score in the 4th consecutive game, first time in 15 years.

Only 2 points above Everton who are picking up their pace.

Off to check the teams final run in.

Massive 3 points for Middlesborough, might just be enough to save them.

MacsRgr8

Feb 28, 2009, 10:59 AM

Another 0-0 @ the Emirates... :mad:

Hmm.. was so happy to be able to watch PL football live, and have seen a couple of Arsenal games now, but it's getting frustrating...

Gotta watch out we don't slip further down.. instead of looking @ 4th place... :(

Queso

Feb 28, 2009, 10:59 AM

I'll settle for a point there. By all accounts they were all over us. :)

pachyderm

Feb 28, 2009, 11:00 AM

Burnley 2 - 4 Sheffield Wednesday
19' 1 Marcus Tudgay
53' Chris McCann 1
69' 2 Marcus Tudgay
79' 3 Leon Clarke
82' 4 Leon Clarke
85' Chris Eagles 2

Sheff Wed 13-9-13

GOALS
12 Tudgay
8 Clarke
3 Esajas
3 Watson
2 Sodje
2 Spurr
2 McAllister
1 Small
1 Burton
1 McMahon
1 Slusarski
1 Potter
1 Jeffers
1 Johnson
1 Buxton

Attendance: 12,449

MacsRgr8

Feb 28, 2009, 11:01 AM

Who would've believed Chelsea would have taken over Liverpool...

Man Ure are laughing!

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 11:04 AM

To be fair, it was the linesman who signalled that we should be awarded the goal. But the referee didn't have the best of games.

It was all a bit surreal - we celebrated but it didn't feel like a proper goal, if you know what I mean. There was extra controversy because they showed a replay on the big screen and they're not supposed to do that for contentious stuff. Apparently the operator didn't realise there was a question about the decision, but quickly switched off the replay when he did realise. :p

The entire away end stood up and turned to their right and watched the replay in total silence, before erupting in synchronized fury. Cripes.

'Are you Wednesday in disguise?' we sang. They wish they were as good as pachyderm's boys. :p

Lord Blackadder

Feb 28, 2009, 11:04 AM

I watched the Arsenal game. Fulham pinged the ball around like, well, Arsenal for long spells, and had several very good chances to score. Schwarzer had an excellent game - saving two sure goals from RVP.

Man Utd are just in a different league from the rest, I can't possibly see them not winning the league even if they lose three matches in the run-in...

...gutted by the Liverpool result. Game, set and match for the season, in case there was any doubt - with the added indignity of losing second spot to Chelsea.

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 11:15 AM

We could really have done with Liverpool winning that one. Sort it out, your Lordship. :o

MacsRgr8

Feb 28, 2009, 11:16 AM

I agree Man Utd are unstoppable ATM.
And the rest have already dropped too much points. I don't see either Liverpool or Chelsea win every single match for the rest of the season, so it seems a walk in the park for Ferguson's side.

OllyW

Feb 28, 2009, 11:22 AM

...gutted by the Liverpool result. Game, set and match for the season, in case there was any doubt - with the added indignity of losing second spot to Chelsea.

At least Xabi Alonso managed to grab another goal from in his own half. :D

Nieval

Feb 28, 2009, 11:25 AM

I will give Rafa this, i always thought he'd be undone by one of his tactical "mess around with my formation" decisions but never for the life of me did i think he'd be outsmarted despite fielding a full-squad.

And i see no one's willing to mention the obvious regarding liverpool selling a certain you-know-who.

Lord Blackadder

Feb 28, 2009, 11:25 AM

We could really have done with Liverpool winning that one. Sort it out, your Lordship. :o

If someone will buy me a ticket to the Middle East I'll travel around and pitch the club to every oil sheik I can find. :D:rolleyes:

I agree Man Utd are unstoppable ATM.
And the rest have already dropped too much points. I don't see either Liverpool or Chelsea win every single match for the rest of the season, so it seems a walk in the park for Ferguson's side.

United would have to get one point out of their next three games, and Liverpool/Chelsea would have to win three on the bounce. Not going to happen. When's the last time United have dropped that many points in a row.

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 11:31 AM

At least Xabi Alonso managed to grab another goal from in his own half. :DHeh – tap in. :D

160086

If someone will buy me a ticket to the Middle East I'll travel around and pitch the club to every oil sheik I can find. :D:rolleyes:It's a pity your ancestors blew the Blackadder family fortune, otherwise you could have bought the club yourself. Now that would be a cunning plan...

You'll just have to find a billionaire in the States instead. Chop chop! :p

Lord Blackadder

Feb 28, 2009, 11:41 AM

You'll just have to find a billionaire in the States instead. Chop chop! :p

Buying a football club is about as wise an idea as dung for dinner...besides, I would wear my Liverpool kit at the press conference and people would call me the next Mike Ashley. :eek::rolleyes:

I would suggest Randy Lerner but he's taken.

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 11:49 AM

I would suggest Randy Lerner but he's taken.I've done a bit of research and found a likely candidate for you. He's loaded, American and is normally seen in a sharp suit so I doubt you'll see him parading about in a football shirt...

160089

MacsRgr8

Feb 28, 2009, 11:56 AM

Buying a football club is about as wise an idea as dung for dinner....

Baldrick never seemed to mind...

Lord Blackadder

Feb 28, 2009, 12:19 PM

He's loaded, American and is normally seen in a sharp suit so I doubt you'll see him parading about in a football shirt...

Loaded, but not in the financial sense...

Baldrick never seemed to mind...

Even Baldrick would be disgusted with Liverpool's performance today, and he likes dung for dinner.

pachyderm

Feb 28, 2009, 02:38 PM

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 02:49 PM

any of y ou lot going to be onine when spurs and man yure play tomorrow?Most likely not – our game against Blackburn Rovers kicks off at 12.30, so it'll only finish at <quick mental arithmetic> 2.20ish if you include injury time and stuff. I think we might be off to Miss Jaffa Cake's Ma and Pa's.

I'm sure we're all hoping for a Tottenham victory, given the bitterness and jealousy we all harbour towards Manchester United... ;)

Speaking of finals, congratulations to i-ash after his Melbourne Victory ran out 1-0 winners over Adelaide United in the A-League Grand Final. Mind, Danny Allsopp did get sent off in the process.

160098

There he is look, trudging off... :o

MacsRgr8

Feb 28, 2009, 03:09 PM

I'm sure we're all hoping for a Tottenham victory, given the bitterness and jealousy we all harbour towards Manchester United... ;)

haha... what you want to hear from a Gunner...?
We want Tottenham to win...? :confused:

But, TBO... I truly don't want Man Utd to be able to gloat about winning 4 trophies this season... :eek::o

If I'm bored, I'll watch it.. but I'll probably find something to do... :p

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 03:15 PM

haha... what you want to hear from a Gunner...?
We want Tottenham to win...? :confused:

But, TBO... I truly don't want Man Utd to be able to gloat about winning 4 trophies this season... :eek::oBlimey. Tomorrow's likely to be the worst day ever for Arsenal fans such as yourself.

Probably best just to pretend it isn't happening or something.

Lord Blackadder

Feb 28, 2009, 03:15 PM

Ideally it will be a victory for Spurs via a dodgy penalty decision that gets Vidic sent off for handball in the box with Rooney subsequently seeing a second yellow for dissent after an earlier booking. :D

Is Rob Styles doing this match?:p

MacsRgr8

Feb 28, 2009, 03:20 PM

Probably best just to pretend it isn't happening or something.

I can't hear you!

Buried my head in sand

pachyderm

Feb 28, 2009, 05:27 PM

Most likely not – our game against Blackburn Rovers kicks off at 12.30, so it'll only finish at <quick mental arithmetic> 2.20ish if you include injury time and stuff. I think we might be off to Miss Jaffa Cake's Ma and Pa's.

I'm sure we're all hoping for a Tottenham victory, given the bitterness and jealousy we all harbour towards Manchester United... ;)

Speaking of finals, congratulations to i-ash after his Melbourne Victory ran out 1-0 winners over Adelaide United in the A-League Grand Final. Mind, Danny Allsopp did get sent off in the process.

160098

There he is look, trudging off... :o

I couldhave seen this live on espn36O... could have...
ugly kit by the by...:rolleyes:

Jaffa Cake

Feb 28, 2009, 06:21 PM

ugly kit by the by...:rolleyes:It looks a bit rugby leagueish if you ask me. This can't be a good thing...

Jaffa Cake

Mar 1, 2009, 04:19 AM

160177

I've been waiting for you, Allardyce. We meet again, at last.

The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

A must win, this one.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 1, 2009, 07:21 AM

Lunchtime kick offs are rubbish. :mad:

pachyderm

Mar 1, 2009, 07:25 AM

Lunchtime kick offs are rubbish. :mad:

oh aye...

Coffee and Birmingham V Pids(Sheffield United) live on espn36O right now...

pachyderm

Mar 1, 2009, 10:05 AM

good match so far....

Lord Blackadder

Mar 1, 2009, 10:29 AM

The Carling Cup final sounds dull so far.

12-20th place on the table is very, very tight. The Aston Villa-Stoke match is full of excitement though. I just watched Stoke score a pair of goals in less than ten minutes to equalize!

EDIT: In other, shocking, news Man Utd win again. Who could have guessed that outcome? Yawn. :rolleyes: At least it wasn't a rout.

EDIT2: Just saw the Highlights of the West Ham-Man City match, and Man City's third kit looks ghastly.

MacsRgr8

Mar 1, 2009, 01:21 PM

Right.. I went out all day, and got home around 6-ish CET.

Zapped through the channels, and... you guessed it... saw that the Carling Cup final didn't have a winner after 90 mins. That figured: Man Utd - Tottenham.... duh. :p

Couldn't keep my eyes away from the penalty shootout.

Title nr. 1 for Man Utd.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 1, 2009, 01:35 PM

Title nr. 1 for Man Utd.

Two actually, they already won the World Club Championship. They will win the FA Cup and the Premier League with ease, making for another domestic treble.

If Mourinho can shock Utd at Old Trafford it would be the coup of the season. Even if United go through though, I'm still banking on Barcelona to win the CL.

Queso

Mar 1, 2009, 01:39 PM

It looks like the fight for the post-Trust County is on. Two consortia have now come forward, one led by our former MD Mark Maguire, who a lot of people are blaming for the current mess. The other one is headed up by former Club Director Lord Snape, who was recently accused of House of Lords corruption (although the police are not following up on the accusations and he's suing the newspaper as a result).

Nice to see the County soap opera continuing. I'm so glad I don't follow a normal club. :rolleyes:

Jaffa Cake

Mar 1, 2009, 01:44 PM

Hopefully this slender Cup Final defeat will demoralise Spurs a bit and they'll have a rubbish spell in the League for a bit. Yes, that'll do the trick. :)

As for us, there were some bizarre scenes of crowd-based buffoonery at the KC today. I was a bit surprised when Geovanni was substituted, but even more amazed by the reaction. There was some of the loudest booing and jeering I've ever seen at a City match (at least, not that's been directed at the opposition) and frankly it was quite, quite embarrassing. This was then followed by five minutes or so of singing our Geo, Geo song – it's a pity those doing so couldn't divert their energies into getting behind the players who actually were on the pitch at the time. Honestly...

~County stuff~Good to see that only proper footballing people with no dodgy connections are involved, then. :rolleyes:

Lord Blackadder

Mar 1, 2009, 01:55 PM

I've been angry at substitution decisions before, but you're right - you should be supporting the players on the pitch first and foremost. Geovanni is a great player, but he's only one of 11.

That's the beauty of the MLS - the squads are so shallow you don't have too many tactical decisions to make...you play your best XI till someone gets hurt or tired. :D

Queso

Mar 1, 2009, 01:58 PM

Good to see that only proper footballing people with no dodgy connections are involved, then. :rolleyes:
I'm not saying a word.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 1, 2009, 02:09 PM

I've been angry at substitution decisions before, but you're right - you should be supporting the players on the pitch first and foremost.We're in a proper scrap now, so it's important everyone pulls together and that goes as much for supporters as it does for players and staff. It's incredibly frustrating hearing totally clueless comments in the stands from folk who clearly have no idea what they're going on about – the only negative thing I'd say about this season so far is that we seem to have attracted a large number of no-nowts since the 24th of May last year. A number of them on the message boards and radio phone ins are actually demanding Brown's sacking, and there are more than a few who want the Chairman out too. Incredible.

Geovanni is a great player, but he's only one of 11.Indeed he is, but he hasn't found the net since November and didn't have an especially great game today. Brown is naturally standing by his decision, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/7917866.stm) but I suspect we haven't heard the last of this.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 1, 2009, 02:34 PM

...the only negative thing I'd say about this season so far is that we seem to have attracted a large number of no-nowts since the 24th of May last year. A number of them on the message boards and radio phone ins are actually demanding Brown's sacking, and there are more than a few who want the Chairman out too. Incredible.

This is the biggest problem with football as I see it - fans and club executives demand instant and constant success or else. It's gotten to the point at some clubs that a manager could win his league and still lose his job over questions of style of play. It's ludicrous. In that sense I'm glad to see Middlesbrough's owner stick by his manager.

Oddly enough, with the manager's position being so ridiculously high-pressure, it seems like boards of directors are increasingly willing to gamble on young managers like Paul Ince and Roy Keane (and almost Alan Shearer) who should perhaps be plying their trade in the lowr divisions for awhile before trying their hand at the premier league.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 1, 2009, 03:37 PM

...it seems like boards of directors are increasingly willing to gamble on young managers like Paul Ince and Roy KeaneOf course, Ince did cut his teeth in the lower leagues with Macclesfield and MK Dons – mind, he only had a couple of years worth of experience at that level before moving to the top flight with Blackburn. But it seems a lot of boards prefer a 'big name' appointment over a lesser known but eminently better qualified manager.

I'm hoping that Nigel Clough does well at Derby County, one reason being that I think he's gone about management the right way insofar as he served a lengthy 'apprenticeship' in non-League with Burton Albion.

pachyderm

Mar 1, 2009, 04:23 PM

Two actually, they already won the World Club Championship. They will win the FA Cup and the Premier League with ease, making for another domestic treble.

If Mourinho can shock Utd at Old Trafford it would be the coup of the season. Even if United go through though, I'm still banking on Barcelona to win the CL.

Great match tho...

Lord Blackadder

Mar 1, 2009, 05:14 PM

Great match tho...

Perhaps, but the Inter Milan-Roma match was better. I watched almost the entire match (caught it halfway through the first half), and it was a thriller Roma led 2-0 at the half, and Mourinho's men clawed there way back to a 3-3 draw. John Arne Riise scored a nice individual goal.

Speaking of ex-Liverpool players scoring, Andriy Voronin is lighting up the Bundesliga at the moment, and making comments that he should be recalled to Anfield. I'm not so sure. Scoring goals against the likes of Borussia Moenchengladbach is one thing, but putting them away against Man United is something else.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 1, 2009, 05:37 PM

garybUK

Mar 2, 2009, 04:10 AM

Heh – apparently, Manchester United have Apple to thank for their Cup win today. Well, sort of. :p

According to Sky Sports News, just before the shoot out United's goalkeeping coach showed custodian Ben Foster video clips of Tottenham's likely penalty takers on his iPod. Foster therefore had a reminder of where his opponents were liable to try and place their efforts.

So, there you go. ;)

Hahah yeah saw that. rubbish game but important result in the end and foster is looking better and better! :D And with Liverpool loosing to Borough were in a good position, the only one i fear is the Champ League.

pachyderm

Mar 2, 2009, 05:48 AM

Heh – apparently, Manchester United have Apple to thank for their Cup win today. Well, sort of. :p

According to Sky Sports News, just before the shoot out United's goalkeeping coach showed custodian Ben Foster video clips of Tottenham's likely penalty takers on his iPod. Foster therefore had a reminder of where his opponents were liable to try and place their efforts.

So, there you go. ;)

smacks of illegal or unsporting behavior IMO....:rolleyes:

Fuzzy14

Mar 2, 2009, 06:52 AM

smacks of illegal or unsporting behavior IMO....:rolleyes:

When since has research been unsporting or illegal? Many football teams regularly sit and watch videos of their opposition (although this is the first time I've seen it during a match!) I suspect the iPod did nothing to further the technical knowledge of the keeper and was maybe just to stop him thinking about the shootout. Footballers (and golfers) have many weird superstitions, sometimes it's better to remove the brain from the equation. :rolleyes:

Jaffa Cake

Mar 2, 2009, 06:57 AM

smacks of illegal or unsporting behavior IMO....:rolleyes:Why? All goalkeepers study opposition penalty takers before matches, knowing if a certain player is likely to shoot to a particular side makes it more likely that you're going to make the save. They also will study opposition corners and free kicks in great detail too – any slight edge this knowledge can give you could be the difference between a win and a loss.

Foster having a quick refresher on the coach's iPod before the shootout is no different from reading a list on a notepad, or a team being shown clips on a screen in the dressing room at half-time.

(although this is the first time I've seen it during a match!)Really, it wasn't during the match as such, but in the break between the match ending and the shoot out starting. Had he had the iPod in the goal with him and was flicking through clips once he saw which player was stepping up against him them that might have been a bit dodgy though.

Mind, I've seen players called over the the touchline to be shown stuff on pads before, so I suppose it's only a matter of time before some manager does the same with a laptop or something. :p

garybUK

Mar 2, 2009, 08:45 AM

And the reds go marching ON! ON! ON! :D

Lord Blackadder

Mar 2, 2009, 09:56 AM

Foster having a quick refresher on the coach's iPod before the shootout is no different from reading a list on a notepad, or a team being shown clips on a screen in the dressing room at half-time.

I agree, it's not unsportsmanlike. Although I would like to know how much it helped...

And the reds go marching ON! ON! ON! :D

That's the first time I've heard Man U called "the reds"...unless you've switched support? ;)

It is a bit lame that 3 of the "big 4" teams (and 4 four of the top 5 if you count Villa's claret) use red as the major component of their home kit. Not only that, but the secondary color for all three is white. We need a little variety at the top. Unless red is just a lucky color in the Prem...

Jaffa Cake

Mar 2, 2009, 10:43 AM

We need a little variety at the top. Unless red is just a lucky color in the Prem...We're working on it. One step at a time. ;)

There have been quite a few surveys and bits of research done to suggest that teams who wear red generally enjoy more success. The thinking is that it's a more 'aggressive' colour, so those wearing it have a more competitive mindset. I suppose too that a bright red shirt is in certain situations more visible than a dark blue one.

Actually, the last one of these surveys I read suggested that the least successful colour to wear is yellow, or some hue there of. That would mean of course that we're not doing ourselves any favours with amber – but then again, yellow shirts haven't exactly done the Brazilian national team any harm over the years, have they? ;)

Silencio

Mar 2, 2009, 11:22 AM

Actually, the last one of these surveys I read suggested that the least successful colour to wear is yellow, or some hue there of. That would mean of course that we're not doing ourselves any favours with amber – but then again, yellow shirts haven't exactly done the Brazilian national team any harm over the years, have they? ;)

Maybe Brazil would have won three or four more World Cups if they had only worn red shirts. :D

Lord Blackadder

Mar 2, 2009, 11:41 AM

There have been quite a few surveys and bits of research done to suggest that teams who wear red generally enjoy more success.

...Except for Middlesbrough apparently (last weekend's victory over a useless Liverpool, who wore grey, notwithstanding :().

Actually, the last one of these surveys I read suggested that the least successful colour to wear is yellow, or some hue there of. That would mean of course that we're not doing ourselves any favours with amber – but then again, yellow shirts haven't exactly done the Brazilian national team any harm over the years, have they? ;)

Yes, you can hardly call yellow unlucky for Brazil. Unless, as Silencio says, it's held even them back a bit...

Yellow (home kit) didn't hurt Columbus in their march to the MLS Cup title last season either. I do seem to remember that the superstitious Spaniards had a national anxiety attack whenever they donned their "unlucky" yellow jerseys in the Euros - unlucky, that is, until they beat Russia 3-0 in them.

Funny that yellow is unlucky in Spain - Perhaps they should rethink having yellow be one of the colors in the Spanish flag? :rolleyes:

Jaffa Cake

Mar 2, 2009, 12:00 PM

With the Spanish though, was it the case that they felt the colour yellow itself is unlucky, or was it actually the yellow shirts that were the issue? Had they had a particularly bad run of results wearing them or suffered a particularly humiliating defeat?

Lord Blackadder

Mar 2, 2009, 12:02 PM

Based on what I read, yellow has been an unlucky color in Spain for 400 years - which does make it seem odd they would choose that color for their away kit (but, as I said, it is one of the national colors, so it makes sense in that regard).

I think the shirts were considered unlucky purely because of their color. I'm curious as to what previous national away kit has looked like in Spain - have they avoided using yellow before?

EDIT: Answered my own question after a little Googling. Apparently Spain's traditional away kit is a bad-luck-dodging white color.

XIII

Mar 2, 2009, 12:26 PM

I agree, it's not unsportsmanlike. Although I would like to know how much it helped...

That's the first time I've heard Man U called "the reds"...unless you've switched support? ;)

It is a bit lame that 3 of the "big 4" teams (and 4 four of the top 5 if you count Villa's claret) use red as the major component of their home kit. Not only that, but the secondary color for all three is white. We need a little variety at the top. Unless red is just a lucky color in the Prem...

Secondary colour for Arsenal is yellow.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 2, 2009, 12:29 PM

That's true. And last year Chelsea had that nasty day-glo yellow kit. They didn't win anything with it, but that's John Terry's fault. :D

Jaffa Cake

Mar 2, 2009, 01:26 PM

Ah, but it takes a special kind of team to pull off wearing amberish hues effectively. ;)

I actually find the history of how club colours have developed quite interesting – certainly, it's quite cool when a team has a story behind why they wear particular designs. Arsenal would be a good example – there's the old story (whether it's totally true or not is another matter) that Herbert Chapman was inspired to change to the famous red-with-white sleeve design after seeing a chap wearing a red tank top over a white long-sleeve shirt. It's little things like that that help add to the uniqueness of each club, if you ask me.

As for us, I've no idea why we started wearing black and amber stripes – it seems though that the 'Tigers' nickname was inspired by the colours, not the other way around.

Out of interest your Lordship – given that they're relatively new clubs by footballing standards, is there any particular logic behind the colours the MLS teams wear? Do they tally up with their city's other sporting teams, reflect State flags or some such, or are they just what Adidas reckon look good? :p

EDIT: On the subject of club colours, we're watching Oldham taking on dirty, dirty Leeds – and Oldham are playing in a one-off all-pink kit, to raise money for a local breast cancer charity. Deano's on the bench, I'm really hoping he comes on wearing that. :D

Lord Blackadder

Mar 2, 2009, 01:52 PM

Good question. Red Bull New York's name, kit and colors are nothing more than a walking billboard for the nasty energy drink. I know that Chivas USA's kit resembles that of their "parent" club in Mexico. Real Salt lake's away jersey bears a slight resemblance to Real Madrid's home jersey - but RSL's home jersey rather hilariously uses the Barcelona colors (slaps forehead). :eek:

As for my own Columbus, the history of the name, crest and kit reflects both the youth of the league, the town the team is located in, and American sports conventions. The name was the result of a newspaper poll, and was chosen to reflect the fact that Columbus (and Ohio in general) is a classic blue-collar area, with a lot of agriculture and manufacturing. The crest and kit were designed by Adidas, so while the yellow jersey is a hallmark of Columbus football today, it was created without any special meaning (no other major sports team in Ohio uses those colors).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v439/danthearcheologist/Random%20Stuff/guillermo_barros_schelotto_isiphoto.jpg

The most classic thing about out star players' appearance is not the kit, but the classic mullet hairdo. I was so disappointed when he finally cut it. :D

EDIT: On the subject of club colours, we're watching Oldham taking on dirty, dirty Leeds – and Oldham are playing in a one-off all-pink kit, to raise money for a local breast cancer charity. Deano's on the bench, I'm really hoping he comes on wearing that. :D

That would be brilliant! Reminds me of Palermo's pink kit - you gotta be a man to step on to the pitch in that.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 2, 2009, 02:05 PM

That would be brilliant! Reminds me of Palermo's pink kit - you gotta be a man to step on to the pitch in that.On that note, quite a few English teams wore pink in their early years – Everton and West Ham being a couple of examples. Back in Victorian times, salmon hues were seen as being quite a manly colour what with them being a tint of red. It's only later that the 'pink for girls, blue for boys' notion came about.

Juventus used to play in pink as well, but in the early 20th Century changed to their now famous black and white stripes to emulate leading football power house Notts County...

pachyderm

Mar 3, 2009, 06:05 AM

soccernet.com/Foster/ipod (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=624158&sec=england&cc=5901)

Soccernet - "The Football Association have revealed they will take no action against Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster after he used an iPod to watch Spurs taking penalties before Sunday's Carling Cup final penalty shootout.

Empics
Ben Foster: Shootout controversy
The 25-year-old confirmed he watched a spot-kick taken by Jamie O'Hara in the UEFA Cup defeat to PSV Eindhoven last season - and then saved his penalty at Wembley.

In that game, O'Hara fired a shot to the left of the goalkeeper and on Sunday he sent Tottenham's first penalty the same way and Foster saved.

The idea of using an iPod as a tactical aid is new and not against the laws of the game. It brings into question a loophole in FIFA's regulations with regards to the use of technology and it is possible they could now move to tighten up their rules.

An FA spokesman said: "What happened was not against the rules so we will not be investigating the matter further."..."

_________________________________________

footballshirtculture.com - "The FA has revealed a new version of its iconic ‘Three Lions’ Crest – the visual identity of The FA and England teams. The new design takes its inspiration from the 1948-49 Crest.

The iconic ‘Three Lions’ Crest has been refreshed to give greater visual standout in today’s digital environment.

It draws directly from the significant heritage the Crest embodies – namely the College of Arms version commissioned by The FA in 1948. It is the first time in seven years The FA has made changes to its Crest.

It includes redrawn Three Lions, more authentic-looking Tudor roses and a new colourway for the England Crest – lighter blue – to differentiate it from the previous version and enhance its on-shirt presence.

The England Senior Team will wear the Crest for the first time on 28 March in the match against Slovakia at Wembley Stadium.

Extensive research was conducted by The FA with different groups before the design changes were undertaken in-house. The aim was to establish what ‘The FA’ and ‘England’ represent in people’s lives, and to gain a greater insight into the sense of national identity the ‘Three Lions’ can deliver.

http://www.footballshirtculture.com/images/stories/new-england-crest.jpg

The FA’s Group Commercial Director, Jonathan Hill, commented: “We have taken great care in updating The FA’s ‘Three Lions’ Crest.

"The new designs have been modernised for today’s digital world, whilst also ensuring that they reflect the rich heritage and traditions of the Crest - particularly the 1948-49 version.”

The single-lion emblem was first adopted by Henry II when he became King of England in 1154. It was added to by Richard I (The Lion-heart) who added a second, and then third lion by the end of his reign in 1199.

However it was not until 1872, nine years after The FA was established, that the Crest featured in an England game, adorning the players’ shirts in the world’s first international match, between England and Scotland in Glasgow."

Jaffa Cake

Mar 3, 2009, 06:35 AM

I've not liked the 'England' name bar since it was added, and I'm not keen on this unnecessary rebrand. The blue is too pale, it needs to be a navy blue. It's a bit wishy washy rather than imposing.

I think there are more important things the FA need to address before messing around with the crest – how about ensuring that the talents of the youngsters who may one day wear it are better nurtured by improving facilities and raising coaching standards?

Queso

Mar 3, 2009, 06:56 AM

OllyW

Mar 3, 2009, 07:06 AM

Ah, but it takes a special kind of team to pull off wearing amberish hues effectively. ;)

I know, our current form is almost as bad as yours. :D

Fuzzy14

Mar 3, 2009, 07:07 AM

Extensive research was conducted by The FA with different groups before the design changes were undertaken in-house. The aim was to establish what ‘The FA’ and ‘England’ represent in people’s lives, and to gain a greater insight into the sense of national identity the ‘Three Lions’ can deliver.

Blah blah blah blah blah. I don't see any difference. How much money has this pointless rebranding exercise cost grass roots football?

However it was not until 1872, nine years after The FA was established, that the Crest featured in an England game, adorning the players’ shirts in the world’s first international match, between England and Scotland in Glasgow."

It was held at a cricket ground not far from where I'm currently sitting. The Scotland team was basically Queens Park FC (http://www.queensparkfc.co.uk/), indeed they even played in QP strips! Of course, Scotland famously won the match 0-0. Linky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_v_England_(1872))

I prefer one lion to three:D

Lord Blackadder

Mar 3, 2009, 09:47 AM

I've not liked the 'England' name bar since it was added, and I'm not keen on this unnecessary rebrand. The blue is too pale, it needs to be a navy blue. It's a bit wishy washy rather than imposing.

I agree. And why, if the kit incorporates the three lions (and also the cross of St. George), is it necessary to write "England" on it? :rolleyes:

Then again, I'm not surprised. I've never heard an Englishman express satisfaction over satisfaction over the way the FA does its job.

R.Youden

Mar 3, 2009, 01:26 PM

Just found this on the internet taken from the BBC boards:

My name is Trevor Trumpet.

I used to say that what I don’t know about football you could fit on a postage stamp. But as most people seem to send their letters by e-mail these days, I always say now that what I don’t know about football you could fit on a microchip.

In recognition of the fact that I know so much about the game, all my friends used to call me Clever Trevor. Now they have raised the bar and call me Jose, as they say that I’m also quite a special one. It’s nice when people compliment you like that.

Anyway, I was gutted that we lost to Blackburn. We definitely deserved to win that game after hammering them 0-0 in the first half hour. We pummeled them from start to finish. We must have had a dozen corners. Maybe twelve. I don't know - I'm guessing. But only two teams were ever in that game – and we were one of them. If they hadn’t scored twice, we would have won.

The bloke who sits next to me said he thought we underestimated Blackburn – and that’s why Phil Brown put out a weakened team. But I don’t think we underestimated them – they just turned out to be a lot better than we thought.

Pity Geovanni missed that chance when he found himself unmarked in the box early on in the game. Geo is deadly ten times out of ten in those situations, but that wasn’t one of them.

I still don’t understand why Brownie didn’t bring Daniel Cousin on much earlier, though. We were losing 2-0, and as I see it, when you’ve got a fresh pair of legs up your sleeve, you’ve got to chance your arm.

But even though Brownie decided to take Geovanni off, and Dean Marney decided to take Gamst-Pedersen’s nadgers off, I wouldn't say we lost the game, so much as just ran out of time to get an equaliser.

By the way, that was quite a good strike by Marney, I thought. People always say that if Dean Marney had shot John Lennon, he’d still be alive today, but yesterday I think he proved them all wrong. He’s really quite the dead ball expert, after all. Although I do think he should apologise to Mrs. Gamst-Pedersen for putting his foot where no man's hand should go.

Anyway, even though we look as raw as a steak tartare at the moment, we’re still thirteenth in the Premier League, and apart from being in the top ten, you really can’t do better than that. We’ve still got a lot to look forward to. FA Cup Quarter Final coming up next. And football matches don’t come any bigger than FA Cup Quarter Finals. Except for FA Cup Semi-Finals, of course.

I’m not bothered about triumph and glory every week. I just love being in the Premier League. As far as I’m concerned, we could lose every game we played – just so long as we didn’t get relegated at the end of the season.

I just hope it doesn’t come down to us having to beat Manchester United on the last day of the season to stay up. Manchester United are the English Champions, European Champions, and World Champions. Which makes them at least as good as Blackburn
in my book.

The way they’re playing, it looks like no one can beat them, but the game will come when somebody scores more than Manchester United - and that might just be the game they lose.

Anyway, on to more immediate business, and Fulham in less than forty eight hours. I just hope Brownie puts out a team with some decent players in it this time. I’ve been a butcher for nearly forty years, and I know mince when I see it. And believe me, Kevin Kilbane is mince.

Not Michael Turner, though. If Michael Turner was French, he wouldn’t be called Michael Turner. He would be called Filet Mignon – which is French for Top Gaffer. As a footballer, Michael Turner is the finished article – and he’ll only improve with time.

As most of our best performances have come in London this season, playing another London side could be an omen. But I don't believe in omens.

I believe in Amens. I only say that because one of my customers asked me today what's the difference between Phil Brown and God. I said I didn't know, so he told me that God doesn't think he's Phil Brown.

I asked him how he knew, but he said he was only kidding. I'm not very good at getting subtle humour like that, see. It usually goes straight over my head. It's a bit like lobbing Boaz Myhill, I suppose.

Anyway, whatever Brownie tries these days, it just doesn’t seem to be working. Come to think of it, neither am I.

So I guess it’s back to the drawing board for him. And back to the chopping board for me.

Speaking words of wisdom.

Trevor.

Pure genius.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 4, 2009, 10:43 AM

I did the fixture calculator thingy on the BBC website (that's actually a lot of work to fill out if you do all the fixtures :rolleyes:) and this was my end-of-season result:

1. Man Utd 91pts
2. Chelsea 83
3. Liverpool 83
4. Aston Villa 77
5. Arsenal 72

13. Hull City 42
14. Stoke 41

18. Middlebrough 35
19. Newcastle 31
20. West Brom 25

I have Portsmouth at 35 pts, surviving on goal difference, and Liverpool losing 1-0 to Spurs on the last day with a 90th minute goal from one Robbie Keane. :o

EDIT: Newcastle have scored on United...so much for that goalkeeping world record - though it was more down to Vidic than van der Sar. But to concede to Newcastle?

garybUK

Mar 4, 2009, 03:50 PM

EDIT: Newcastle have scored on United...so much for that goalkeeping world record - though it was more down to Vidic than van der Sar. But to concede to Newcastle?

We did beat the record ya know :P and doesn't matter 2-1, 7 points ahead with a goal in hand..... i'd say were in a good position. :o

Jaffa Cake

Mar 4, 2009, 03:54 PM

We did beat the record ya know :P and doesn't matter 2-1, 7 points ahead with a goal in hand..... i'd say were in a good position. :oAnd let's just consider a bit of Manchester United aceness – on loan Red Devil Manucho looks to have clinched us an injury time winner at Fulham. We've just got to defend these last few moments...

EDIT: And three points it is! In your face, Lawrenson! :p

Lord Blackadder

Mar 4, 2009, 04:07 PM

We did beat the record ya know :P and doesn't matter 2-1, 7 points ahead with a goal in hand..... i'd say were in a good position. :o

The league and European record, not the world record IIRC. It's a small point though. But I have to say, I would put the record down to United's defense (particularly Vidic) rather than van der Sar himself. While he is a keeper of undoubted quality, he has less to do than most keepers in the league. Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Shay Given and Mark Schwartzer are all top keepers who make a lot more tough saves on a daily basis. Again, the quality of the back four plays a role in this - but during the majority of van der Sar's "record" run he simply stood around and watched his team win games.

Good result for Hull, though I have to admit I wanted to see Clint Dempsey score (as I do every time Fulham plays). Good game in goal for Matt Duke to deny my fellow countryman on a few occasions.

EDIT: I thought it was over, but Hull steal a winner! The footballing gods forgot that Manucho was out on loan and sent a little of the Man Utd fortune to Hull. Well done Tigers!

Jaffa Cake

Mar 4, 2009, 04:17 PM

Good job we did win tonight, otherwise that would probably have been it for our title challenge. :p

In all seriousness though, just as important as the win is the clean sheet. A good team performance and it will hopefully help with the key thing I think we've lacked of late – confidence.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 4, 2009, 04:21 PM

Don't worry, I think you are still well on course to win "Best Premier League season for a Hull side" at a trot. :D

Jaffa Cake

Mar 4, 2009, 04:24 PM

Don't worry, I think you are still well on course to win "Best Premier League season for a Hull side" at a trot. :DThe gaffer and the boys are delighted to hear it. :)

160839

Blue Velvet

Mar 4, 2009, 04:27 PM

Good job we did win tonight, otherwise that would probably have been it for our title challenge. :p

Pleased for teh Jaffas and teh Tiger Army. :)

What do you think of the charge I've read elsewhere that the slide in Hull's fortunes and morale was worsened as a result of Phil Brown's bollocking in public, keeping the team out on the pitch at halftime while away at Man. City?

I'm not entirely sure it was the best example of man-management, myself. In retrospect, possibly better to throw some boots or teacups in the dressing-room, as per Ferguson's hairdryer.

MacsRgr8

Mar 4, 2009, 04:32 PM

Man City did us a favour! :)

I remember when I went to see Arsenal play Man City @ Highbury a few years ago, the Man City fans started signing "If you hate Man Utd clap your hands, if you hate Man Utd clap your hands..... etc", and they got every living sole in the stadium clapping their hands..! Brilliant :D

Jaffa Cake

Mar 4, 2009, 04:47 PM

What do you think of the charge I've read elsewhere that the slide in Hull's fortunes and morale was worsened as a result of Phil Brown's bollocking in public, keeping the team out on the pitch at halftime while away at Man. City?Opinion differs on this. Personally, I don't think it had the adverse effect some have claimed.

As I said in my previous post, a key thing we've missed is the confidence we had during the opening spell of the season. Really, I think you can trace it back to the home defeat to Chelsea when we were comfortably outplayed by an easily better side. Aside from a slightly fortuitous result against Middlesbrough, we hadn't won in the League at all since – until tonight.

I don't think that talk worsened things, to be honest. Losing arguably our best striker in January and not bringing in an effective replacement has damaged us much more. The fact that we've played a midfielder – squeaky voiced antipodean Richard Garcia – up front in the last couple of matches is an indication that we're lacking in this particular area.

I think it's also worth noting that a lot of teams seriously under estimated us in the early part of the season and we were able to surprise a couple of them, but when they've played us for the second time they've been wiser to us.

Still, we've played Newcastle three times already this season and haven't lost yet – we've recorded two wins and a draw – and they're up next. Roar. :)

EDIT: Phil Brown has just been on the radio, saying that he stands by all his decisions – and the Prozone stats prove it. :p

Lord Blackadder

Mar 4, 2009, 04:54 PM

EDIT: Phil Brown has just been on the radio, saying that he stands by all his decisions – and the Prozone stats prove it. :p

Did ProZone tell him to have the halftime talk on the pitch? :D

Jaffa Cake

Mar 4, 2009, 05:06 PM

Did ProZone tell him to have the halftime talk on the pitch? :DNo, he was trialling the new ProMoan software on that occasion. He'd already tried GroZone when he grew that little goatee last autumn but overall he wasn't too keen on it.

But if it had of been ProZone that led him to take that half time action, then his decision would have been entirely justified. You don't argue with the Gaffer's ProZone, you see. :D

In fact, I've seen Phil Brown's ProZone stats and was very impressed by the sheer number of meaningless statistics on show. Whatever you want to prove, the ProZone stats will prove it. :cool:

Lord Blackadder

Mar 4, 2009, 05:13 PM

I think Rafa uses ProMoan as well. :D

I wonder if it records the records of managers with facial hair v.s. clean-shaven gaffers.

R.Youden

Mar 4, 2009, 06:00 PM

just on my way back from the Fulham game. Wow, what a game. We dominated from start to finish of injury time. Manucho did more in 10 minutes than Cousan did in the whole game. Bring on Newcastle in 10 days. Up the tigers...

Markleshark

Mar 5, 2009, 01:11 AM

Well, I went to Newcastle - United game last night (had to sit nice and quiet in with the Geordies) and I tell ya what, Newcastle played really well. Hull have quite the task if that Newcastle team turns up, which of course, I'm sure they wont.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 5, 2009, 01:30 AM

Excellent stuff, R. :)

How have you found getting tickets in general - I know you were concerned at the start of the season that you might miss out due to sheer demand?

OllyW

Mar 5, 2009, 05:44 AM

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were involved in a furious half-time tunnel bust-up with Newcastle defender Steven Taylor during Manchester United's 2-1 win at St James' Park. One United player said Taylor was a "useless defender", to which he replied "at least I am not ugly"

I wonder which of the United players that was aimed at? :D

pachyderm

Mar 5, 2009, 05:49 AM

I wonder which of the United players that was aimed at? :D

he he he......

rooney = when football hooligans inbreed...

Fuzzy14

Mar 5, 2009, 06:49 AM

Oh balls, lost a last minute goal last night to knock us off the top.:(
Clydesdale Bank Premier League Table
Wednesday, 4 March 2009 21:44 UK
P GD PTS
1 Celtic 28 35 63
2 Rangers 28 37 60

Ashley Cole arrested (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7925963.stm)for a bit of drunken disorderly (allegedly)

Nieval

Mar 5, 2009, 06:53 AM

he he he......

rooney = when football hooligans inbreed...

Imagine what they'll look like down the road. Not a good thing for future generations of football fans... Damn that bloody evolution...

R.Youden

Mar 5, 2009, 07:08 AM

Excellent stuff, R. :)

How have you found getting tickets in general - I know you were concerned at the start of the season that you might miss out due to sheer demand?

I partake is the "home membership" scheme which guarantees me 10 home games this season. I had to pay £40 for the privilege. So far I have seen:

Home:

Fulham
Wigan
Middlesbrough
Aston Villa
Newcastle (FA Cup)
Arsenal
Blackburn

Away:

Fulham

To come....

Home:

Newcastle
Portsmouth
Stoke
Man Utd

and hopefully the FA Cup game away at Arsenal

so not too bad really. Living near London means I would have liked to get to more of the London based away games and Fulham was best chance, especially as it was an evening game so not as many people travel down from Hull.

Hopefully that win can push us on to ensure our survival for the rest of the season.

SactoGuy18

Mar 5, 2009, 07:10 AM

R.Youden

Mar 5, 2009, 07:24 AM

I had to laugh out really loud over this. In American football, the large coaching staff on college and NFL teams do a LOT of film analysis and run very sophisticated statistical analysis of every opposing player tendencies. The is the legacy of the legendary Paul Brown, the first coach of the Cleveland Browns NFL team and was the first to use movie films to study how other teams played.

I'm actually kind of surprised association football teams in Europe don't have coaching staffs that do the same thing....

Oh we do. There is a very popular suite of tools calledProZone (http://www.prozonesports.com/) as used by Hull City AFC, and now Real Madrid (whoever they are?)

Lord Blackadder

Mar 5, 2009, 10:19 AM

Real Madrid (whoever they are?)

Oh, I know! They're the team that loses to Liverpool at Anfield, allowing the Reds to progress in the Champions League. :D

R.Youden

Mar 5, 2009, 12:09 PM

Oh, I know! They're the team that loses to Liverpool at Anfield, allowing the Reds to progress in the Champions League. :D

Oh THEM, I mean who can't get at least a point at Anfield (and maybe three if it was not for a big 4 ref!)

Jaffa Cake

Mar 5, 2009, 12:25 PM

Leeds United famously changed their kit to all white in an attempt to emulate Real Madrid. No one was fooled.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 5, 2009, 01:40 PM

^ That made me LOL Jaffa. Real Leeds...:D

The very notion that you could make a comparison between the Galacticos and, well, Leeds...:rolleyes:

Oh THEM, I mean who can't get at least a point at Anfield (and maybe three if it was not for a big 4 ref!)

"Fortress Anfield" has certainly been breached this season. If I had to choose one single reason for Liverpool not winning the title this season, it would be the six draws at home. Turn most of those into wins and we are there or thereabouts. You can probably say the same about Chelsea (5 draws). United are 10-1-0 at home, and that's the story of the league in a nutshell.

R.Youden

Mar 5, 2009, 02:24 PM

Before the Fuham game there was a song on the P.A. along the lines of Fulham being better than Barcelona and Real Madrid, anyone know anything about that, it was so stupid!

xUKHCx

Mar 5, 2009, 02:34 PM

Before the Fuham game there was a song on the P.A. along the lines of Fulham being better than Barcelona and Real Madrid, anyone know anything about that, it was so stupid!

Colin and the Cottagers - We're not Real Madrid

We're not Real Madrid, we're not Barcelona, we are Fulham, Al Fayed's the owner. This is London calling, we are FFC, we've got three points, you've got none ha-ha-ha he-he, ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha, he-he

Source (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/tranmere-rovers/tranmere-rovers-news/2000/12/18/fulham-3-tranmere-rovers-1-100252-88337/)

pachyderm

Mar 5, 2009, 03:33 PM

Leeds United famously changed their kit to all white in an attempt to emulate Real Madrid. No one was fooled.

l**ds are slickers...

Lord Blackadder

Mar 5, 2009, 03:56 PM

We're not Real Madrid, we're not Barcelona, we are Fulham, Al Fayed's the owner. This is London calling, we are FFC, we've got three points, you've got none ha-ha-ha he-he, ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha, he-he

That's hilarious! :D

pachyderm

Mar 5, 2009, 06:23 PM

12 Hull City................. 8 8 12 32
13 Tottenham Hotspur 8 7 12 31

xUKHCx

Mar 7, 2009, 11:51 AM

And that ladies and gentlemen is yet more proof that Tevez >>>>> Rooney.

garybUK

Mar 7, 2009, 11:57 AM

And that ladies and gentlemen is yet more proof that Tevez >>>>> Rooney.

Hahahahah yeh right

Lord Blackadder

Mar 7, 2009, 12:09 PM

Rooney is an excellent striker, international quality. But then again, so is Tevez.

I think the English overrate Rooney a bit sometimes.

xUKHCx

Mar 7, 2009, 12:14 PM

Hahahahah yeh right

Do you think Rooney is better than Tevez?

Rooney is an excellent striker, international quality. But then again, so is Tevez.

I think the English overrate Rooney a bit sometimes.

A bit, listening to commentators when ever Rooney gets the ball they all go gaga. He is good, he works hard but as a striker it is often in the wrong areas. The crowd loves it when he goes mental trying to get the ball back (usually after he has lost it) and runs around like a fool. He is good but in terms of quality Tevez is easily a cut above. It is just a shame that Manchester is in England. If it was in any other country Rooney would be the bench warmer.

garybUK

Mar 7, 2009, 12:28 PM

And that goal is why Rooney is one of if not THE best player England has.

xUKHCx

Mar 7, 2009, 12:41 PM

And that goal is why Rooney is one of if not THE best player England has.

Keeper should've done better, good strike but nothing wholly impressive. Also are we forgetting how Rooney missed from 3 yards earlier. Best Player, no. Best striker probably.

Don't get me wrong he is good but there is just so so much hype around him that is simply not true. If Tevez was given half the opportunity Rooney has I think everyone would see things differently. When Rooney is on form he is very good.

garybUK

Mar 7, 2009, 12:44 PM

Hahah did you see Rooney go with Dempsey? Yank don't wanna mess with a lad from L'pool.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 7, 2009, 12:54 PM

He is good, he works hard but as a striker it is often in the wrong areas.

The is kind of the same criticism I'd level against Gerrard - I think he roams around too much at times.

The crowd loves it when he goes mental trying to get the ball back (usually after he has lost it) and runs around like a fool. He is good but in terms of quality Tevez is easily a cut above. It is just a shame that Manchester is in England. If it was in any other country Rooney would be the bench warmer.

If you compare Rooney to other top international strikers I think he's not quite at the level of the best. Like you said, his mental game is a bit suspect, and positioning can be problematic. He has the skills though.

But given the choice, I'd be starting Tevez. He works just as hard but is not as hot-headed.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 7, 2009, 01:31 PM

Markleshark

Mar 7, 2009, 01:35 PM

Lord Blackadder

Mar 7, 2009, 01:39 PM

Sounds exciting! Six goals and a red card...

Jaffa Cake

Mar 7, 2009, 02:12 PM

It was Bridlington Town, Mark - they've got a couple of former City trainees who 'weren't big enough' so it was nice to see how they are doing.

At a guess, the attendence must have been only about 120, quite the contrast to Old Trafford earlier in the season. Mind, it's a close run thing as to which set of home supporters made the most noise... ;)

R.Youden

Mar 7, 2009, 02:14 PM

Jaffa Cake

Mar 7, 2009, 02:58 PM

pachyderm

Mar 7, 2009, 08:11 PM

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
5' 0 - 1 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

Sheff Wed 13-9-15

GOALS
12 Tudgay
8 Clarke
3 Esajas
3 Watson
3 McAllister
2 Sodje
2 Spurr
1 Small
1 Burton
1 McMahon
1 Slusarski
1 Potter
1 Jeffers
1 Johnson
1 Buxton

Attendance:23,703

On the bright side....

http://www.footballshirtculture.com/images/stories/sheffield-wednesday-puma.jpg

Footballshirtculture.com - "Sheffield Wednesday announced a major new partnership with global sportswear giants PUMA, who will provide the club's playing kit for the next six years.

Having supplied the club's playing kit during the Premier League days of the 1990s, PUMA will once again provide all official Wednesday playing and training wear from this summer right through until 2015.

The partnership sees Sheffield Wednesday resume an excellent relationship with one of the world's leading manufacturers of sports teamwear with design work already underway on Sheffield Wednesday's home kit for the 2009/10 season.

Sheffield Wednesday chairman, Lee Strafford, said: "I am delighted that we have been able to secure a deal with PUMA to supply all official kits and training wear for the next six years.

"Having one of the biggest and best sportswear manufacturers in the world on board with Sheffield Wednesday again marks a partnership of real magnitude and PUMA is a brand we are proud to be associated with.

"Our partnership with the Children's Hospital means that the first Sheffield Wednesday PUMA kits that go on sale will have the hospital's logo emblazoned across them. I think that bringing the brands of the Children's Hospital, PUMA and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club together is something we can all be very excited about."

"PUMA are keen to provide our supporters with the high quality products they deserve. We have listened to fans' feedback and we know the priority is to give supporters the quality of product that they demand."

Richard Callaway, PUMA UK Head of Sport concludes: "As we embark upon a six season Technical Kit partnership with Sheffield Wednesday, we are thrilled to be working with the club. This will give PUMA great exposure within South Yorkshire; and with great Kit and good service we will be an excellent partner for the club.""

OllyW

Mar 8, 2009, 05:36 AM

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
5' 0 - 1 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

<Snip>

On the bright side....

What do you mean "On the bright side", it's a bloody great result for Wolves. :D

pachyderm

Mar 8, 2009, 06:42 AM

What do you mean "On the bright side", it's a bloody great result for Wolves. :D

good point... :D

R.Youden

Mar 8, 2009, 07:02 AM

Frank Belt - he converted a penalty - and Ashley Allenson. Was Nathan Hotte on our books for a while as well?

And yes, we are North Ferriby's feeder team. Good to see the wonderfully named Brewster Frizzell has a new home. :)

Looking through the Bridlington Town first team they have a lot of former Tigers:

Tim Hotte (Joint Manager) - Former player
Gary Allanson (Joint Manager) - Current Hull City youth coach
Tom Nicholson (Goalkeeper) - Former Hull City Youth
Nathan Hotte (Defender / Striker) - Former Hull City Youth
Frank Belt (Defender) - Former Hull City
Sam Sharman (Utility) - Former Hull City (and Sheffield Wednesday)
Gareth Slater (Defender) - Former Hull City
Liam Cattermole (Defender) - Former Hull City
Aaron Allanson (Midfielder) - Former Hull City Youth
Ash Allanson (Midfielder) - Former Hull City Youth and Hull City Coach
Mally Osindeinde (Striker / Winger) - Former Hull City
Mike Thompson (Defender) - Former Hull City Youth

Almost put out a full team there......

Jaffa Cake

Mar 8, 2009, 02:08 PM

Sheffield Wednesday announced a major new partnership with global sportswear giants PUMA, who will provide the club's playing kit for the next six years.Hmm... I can't say I'm all that keen on Puma's current offerings, to be honest. Still, I suppose a six-year deal is none too shoddy and Puma do have a bit of recent history with Wednesday...

A thumbs up for the charity link, too.

pachyderm

Mar 9, 2009, 05:39 AM

Well, we got to see some quality finishing this afternoon as well - City weren't in action so we went to see one of our local non-league sides instead. They scored six, had another two disallowed, there was a sending off and the mascot gave us a lollipop. Not bad for £6 admission. :p

That sounds like a great time. ;)

Hmm... I can't say I'm all that keen on Puma's current offerings, to be honest. Still, I suppose a six-year deal is none too shoddy and Puma do have a bit of recent history with Wednesday...

A thumbs up for the charity link, too.

I do like some of the Puma stuff and I DON"T like the Lotto stuff we have been getting. So I'm pleased. The charity end is just icing on the cake. I think there is a small chance that some of the profit from the sale of replicas and what not will now be going to the Children's Hospital as well. But don't quote me on that.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 9, 2009, 02:09 PM

Hmm, looks like Becks is set to buy an MLS team now (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7933407.stm)...it will be another west coast club though.

Could we see a player/owner situation here? :D

Jaffa Cake

Mar 10, 2009, 03:27 AM

Blimey... some news just in - Bridlington Town's managerial team have handed in their resignations! :eek:

R.Youden

Mar 10, 2009, 04:22 AM

Blimey... some news just in - Bridlington Town's managerial team have handed in their resignations! :eek:

Maybe they could get Terry Dolan in, or if they want to take a 1-0 lead and then defend for the rest of the game, Peter Taylor.........

Lord Blackadder

Mar 10, 2009, 05:33 PM

Well, Liverpool have laid down a marker in the Champions League with that victory...good to see that Torres & Gerrard were both fit and on form.

EDIT: Currently watching the replay of the Chelsea - Juve match. What a goal for Juve! Incredible assist by Trezeguet!

EDIT2: Chelsea got a deserved victory, but Juve's first goal was by far the best.

MacsRgr8

Mar 10, 2009, 05:36 PM

Congrats to Liverpool and Chelsea.

Our turn tomorrow.... and it won't be easy...

BTW.. Bayern: WTF?!?!? :eek:

Lord Blackadder

Mar 10, 2009, 11:35 PM

Oh, and after seeing the highlights I have to make three comments on the Liverpool game (which was on Setanta, so I didn't see it :():

- Torres looks to have fouled the defender on the first goal.

- The handball was not a handball.

- Liverpool would have crushed Real anyway.

Mitthrawnuruodo

Mar 11, 2009, 02:12 AM

- Torres looks to have fouled the defender on the first goal.

- The handball was not a handball.

- Liverpool would have crushed Real anyway.I totally agree on all three, and I saw the game. The ref was s***.

You could add: Pepe got an early yellow card for mouthing off at the ref about the goal, but NOT on the second worse tackle of the game (worse was Gerrard who did get a yellow card for sliding in 30 cm behind the ball after a 20 metre takling, hitting Ramos'(?) legs (who luckily jumped up a bit to prevent the foot from being stuck in the ground and quite possibly just snapping off). :rolleyes:

Highlight of the match: The Real fan flying an Everton scarf towards the end of the game... :D

és:

Mar 11, 2009, 02:15 AM

[QUOTE=Lord Blackadder;7249861]

- Torres looks to have fouled the defender on the first goal.
/QUOTE]

I certainly don't agree with that.

xUKHCx

Mar 11, 2009, 06:04 AM

For the first time in ages I have successfully recorded a sporting event to watch at a later time and not found out the result in the between time.

I went to the cinema yesterday (have to pre book in mid February and forgot to look at the football schedule) and so had to miss out on watching it totally live. Although I just watched it this morning as if it were live.

Brilliant game. I don't agree it was a foul by Torres for the first goal but definitely agree it was never a penalty.

As much as I have slated Dossena it was good to see him getting a goal. Spearing is making a good progression to the main team.

Shame about Chelsea though :p

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 11:06 AM

I certainly don't agree with that.

Brilliant game. I don't agree it was a foul by Torres for the first goal but definitely agree it was never a penalty.

I don't think it was an obvious call, mind you - but there was contact, though I think Pepe tried to make the most of it. Perhaps if Pepe had tried to stay on his feet the ref would have called it...

I'm taking the day off to watch the Man United - Inter tie today. I hope this will be half as good as the hype!

Silencio

Mar 11, 2009, 04:48 PM

I'm taking the day off to watch the Man United - Inter tie today. I hope this will be half as good as the hype!

Solid 2-0 win for Man Utd. Coming in I had a feeling Vidic would find the goal, and he did within the first five minutes.

Inter had some good chances but Ibrahimovic blew a couple of headers and Adriano nearly made a tough shot but hit the post instead.

Julio Cesar looked like the only player for Inter to show up in this whole series. Could have easily been 4 or 5 goals for Man Utd today if not for some very nice saves.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 04:53 PM

Bah, humbug. :(

Inter gave up after the second goal, lost their composure. It was an interesting tie for about three minutes.

garybUK

Mar 11, 2009, 06:07 PM

So the last 8 are:

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Porto & Villarreal

Again dominated by English clubs which can only say good things about the Premier League.

Who's betting they 'totally randomly' draw us against L'Pool :P

Jaffa Cake

Mar 11, 2009, 07:00 PM

Again dominated by English clubs which can only say good things about the Premier League.Given that the four same clubs have been our representatives in the Champions League for years (along with Everton in 2005-06 after Liverpool's European win the previous season), it doesn't say many good things about the Premier League so far as competitiveness is concerned.

garybUK

Mar 11, 2009, 07:02 PM

Given that the four same clubs have been our representatives in the Champions League for years (along with Everton in 2005-06 after Liverpool's European win the previous season), it doesn't say many good things about the Premier League so far as competitiveness is concerned.

They all won games to get there and got there on merit.... what else do you want them to do?

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 07:13 PM

Who's betting they 'totally randomly' draw us against L'Pool :P

United will get Porto or Villareal, which is basically a bye to the semis.

...it doesn't say many good things about the Premier League so far as competitiveness is concerned.

Being a Liverpool supporter, I'm torn. Liverpool hasn't won a league title in quite a while, but they've had a lock on Champions League football for years. Even while I support Liverpool I also find myself cheering on Aston Villa's attempt to break the "big four" hegemony (especially since it doesn't risk my own team's place in the table :o).

The Premier League will be a contest between the big four for the foreseeable future, even if Aston Villa nips in there for a season or two. In that sense the Premier League is a league of four. Good times - if you support one of the big four. For everyone else, you can only hope for a consistent mid-table finish, perhaps a cup run or two and the remote possibility of a UEFA cup (or Europa cup or whatever).

daneoni

Mar 11, 2009, 07:14 PM

Arsenal just through by the skin of their teeth. Kind of a dreary match, it was more like two subpar teams grinding it out for the spot and the luckier not better side snatched it

Either Barca or Man U will win it...probably Man U due to a better defense

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 07:22 PM

Either Barca or Man U will win it...probably Man U due to a better defense

I thought the same, but Barca have come off the boil a bit, and United are still winning.

But I would not rule the other three English clubs out yet. Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are all finding better form these days, even if Man United is the logical choice on paper.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 11, 2009, 07:25 PM

They all won games to get there and got there on merit.... what else do you want them to do?My point is that the 'big four' enjoy a domestic dominance funded by their perennial adventures in the Champions League – it gives them a financial muscle the rest of the teams in the division can't match.

The Premier League isn't a competitive league in so far as the title is concerned – year in year out you can predict quite comfortably that the same four teams will occupy the top four places in the table. They do so due to the calibre of their players, attracted by the twin carrots of wages that few outside the 'big four' can compete with and the almost certain guarantee of playing in the Champions League.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 07:29 PM

They do so due to the calibre of their players, attracted by the twin carrots of wages that few outside the 'big four' can compete with and the almost certain guarantee of playing in the Champions League.

Witness Man City's attempts to buy every top player out there - no title, no Champions League...no thanks.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 11, 2009, 07:38 PM

Witness Man City's attempts to buy every top player out there - no title, no Champions League...no thanks.There's also the fact that during the January transfer window the blue half of Manchester weren't that far away from the relegation places – come the end of January they were tenth, but only five points clear and fifteen points short of fifth place and Europa League qualification – and twenty points behind fourth place.

If you're a top player, you want to go to a club who you know will be playing in Europe next season – especially as at the end of the next campaign the World Cup takes place. As you say your Lordship, City can offer a hefty wage packet but then again you're not exactly going to be struggling to make ends meet if you go to Arsenal or Real Madrid instead are you? The difference is, you know with almost complete certainty that those clubs are going to be playing in top European competition next season.

swiftaw

Mar 11, 2009, 07:54 PM

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 08:00 PM

Why don't they just have a European FA Cup, every team in the top division of every league in a knockout cup. That way, everyone gets a shot. :)

Fixture congestion. That, and it would never end.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 11, 2009, 08:03 PM

Can someone explain to me why UEFA doesn't grant the UEFA Cup winner entry into the following season's Champions League? It seems like such an obvious idea. They're a Champion, so they deserve it, plus it immediately would improve the profile of the UEFA Cup.In recent years we've seen the likes of Millwall, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth all compete in the UEFA Cup. Can you imagine if a team such as one of these actually won the UEFA Cup and got into the Champions League the following season? It's enough to bring Platini out in a cold sweat...

The Champions League is to all extents and purposes a more or less closed off cash cow for Europe's biggest clubs. The power ultimately lies with them and there's no way they'd be happy to let teams outside of their cosy little club get their snouts in the trough alongside them. It's also why we'll never see the winners of the FA Cup getting a Champions League place... imagine a lesser Premier League club or – heavens forbid! – a non-Premier League club winning it and claiming the Champions League spot. You can almost hear the teeth grinding and hand wringing now...

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 08:09 PM

In recent years we've seen the likes of Millwall, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth all compete in the UEFA Cup. Can you imagine if a team such as one of these actually won the UEFA Cup and got into the Champions League the following season? It's enough to bring Platini out in a cold sweat...

Aston Villa getting in would have the same effect. I think UEFA doesn't mind giving the Premier League four Champions League spots - as long as it's Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd that fill them. Once another team break into the club, UEFA will start whining.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 11, 2009, 08:24 PM

I think the occasional Champions League adventure for the likes of Villa and Everton isn't too big a problem for UEFA once in a while, but ultimately what concerns them is TV revenue and exposure. This is why the system is set up so it ensures the nations who get the most entrants into the Champions League are also the nations with the largest TV audiences – their sponsors and advertisers pay good money for their brands to be paraded before as many watching eyes as possible.

But Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are good box office, and their continued involvement alongside the other European heavyweights keep folk watching.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 08:47 PM

But Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are good box office, and their continued involvement alongside the other European heavyweights keep folk watching.

Well, it's business as usual this year, as all four are through to the last 8 once again...and the odds are pretty good that it could be an all-England final once again.

What a league the English Premiership is - shame about the national side. :D;)

It reminds me about Major League Baseball...we invented the game, and yet once we come up with a World Baseball Classic, all these other countries start beating us...not fair. :o

Blue Velvet

Mar 11, 2009, 09:23 PM

How Soccer is Ruining America (http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1329)

Any sport that limits you to using your feet, with the occasional bang of the head, has something very wrong with it. Indeed, soccer is a liberal’s dream of tragedy: It creates an egalitarian playing field by rigorously enforcing a uniform disability.

Everyone knows that soccer is a foreign invasion, but few people know exactly what is wrong with that. More than having to do with its origin, soccer is a European sport because it is all about death and despair. Americans would never invent a sport where the better you get the less you score.

;)

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 09:29 PM

;)

Thanks a lot BV...I'm already mad enough from that damned PRSI thread, now you have to dig up someone else to help ruin my day. :(

Idiot. Idiot Idiot Idiot. What an arrogant *******.

Blue Velvet

Mar 11, 2009, 09:37 PM

Idiot. Idiot Idiot Idiot. What an arrogant *******.

I think it's a little bit tongue in cheek. ;)

That is my one way of protesting the rise of this pitiful sport. Nonetheless, I must say that my kids and I come home from a soccer game a very happy family.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 11, 2009, 09:42 PM

Yeah, I read it. :D

American soccer fans tend to be very defensive, so I won't apologize. :cool:

Jaffa Cake

Mar 12, 2009, 05:22 AM

Those damn pinko commie soccerballers! I think we can safely blame them for most – if not all – of America's ills. Sort it out, your Lordship. ;)

Blimey... he's criticising the sport because we don't get to use our opposable thumbs, obviously he's never seen Mr M Riley (West Yorkshire) using his to dole out his red cards. :p

...soccer mimics the paradigmatic feminine experience of childbirth more than the masculine business of destroying your opponent with insurmountable power.

Clearly, he's never seen Deano play...

pachyderm

Mar 12, 2009, 05:57 AM

How Soccer is Ruining America (http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1329)

;)

He he he... funny stuff.

Fuzzy14

Mar 12, 2009, 08:01 AM

It's also why we'll never see the winners of the FA Cup getting a Champions League place... imagine a lesser Premier League club or – heavens forbid! – a non-Premier League club winning it and claiming the Champions League spot.

as happened in Scotland last year with Queen of the South (OK they didn't win but they got the UEFA cup place as Rangers had already bagged a CL place.)

It reminds me about Major League Baseball...we invented the game *, and yet once we come up with a World Baseball Classic, all these other countries start beating us...not fair. :o

* it was invented by the French and brought to America by Brits and Irish.
Good to see you now invite other countries to share your 'world series' :p

My point is that the 'big four' enjoy a domestic dominance funded by their perennial adventures in the Champions League – it gives them a financial muscle the rest of the teams in the division can't match.

Wise words, it's exactly the problem we've got up here with a duopoly bagging the CL spots every year, the resultant cash makes it more likely to qualify the following year. The likes of Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and of course the mighty 'Frew (http://www.renfrewfc.co.uk/) don't have a look in.

garybUK

Mar 12, 2009, 09:03 AM

Oh dear looks like Mourinho could be in a spot of bother! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7939501.stm

Jaffa Cake

Mar 12, 2009, 09:48 AM

If this is true, it'll be the only time anyone from Inter managed to hit the target that evening...

Lord Blackadder

Mar 12, 2009, 10:59 AM

Those damn pinko commie soccerballers! I think we can safely blame them for most – if not all – of America's ills. Sort it out, your Lordship. ;)

I'll get right on it. :D

* it was invented by the French and brought to America by Brits and Irish. Good to see you now invite other countries to share your 'world series' :p

I knew someone was going to bring that up. True of course, but the game as it exists today is an American sport.

We still only allow MLB teams to compete in the world series; it remains a domestic league except for the odd Canadian team. The World Baseball Classic is designed to be a World Cup of Baseball, if you will. I think it's a good idea, but as yet Americans aren't paying much attention to it, since we aren't winning. :rolleyes:

Fuzzy14

Mar 12, 2009, 05:27 PM

I don't know if it's true or not, I found it on Wikipedia :rolleyes: while trying to find some evidence to link it to cricket!

By the way, first trophy in Scotland up for grabs this weekend.
Co-Operative Insurance Cup Final - Rangers v Celtic
Venue: Hampden Park Date: Sunday, 15 March Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Coverage: Sportscene, BBC One Scotland, Sportsound, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Sport website.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 12, 2009, 05:31 PM

By the way Fuzzy, I'm liking the 'tar. ;)

Fuzzy14

Mar 13, 2009, 07:55 AM

Cheers. It's only for a short time while I'm doing rather well in my works predictor (http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/predictor/)league. There is an aray of Scottish strips you can nick, but I liked the man in black!

Jaffa Cake

Mar 13, 2009, 03:31 PM

Heh – I've just taken a look at those little kit chappies, I love stuff like that. No English version that I can see, though – boo!

xUKHCx

Mar 14, 2009, 07:08 AM

Heh – I've just taken a look at those little kit chappies, I love stuff like that. No English version that I can see, though – boo!

Surely with a little PhotoShop you can make a Hull version.

Lucas for Alonso = Man Utd win. :o

Jaffa Cake

Mar 14, 2009, 07:15 AM

Surely with a little PhotoShop you can make a Hull version.What can I say, I'm lazy. :p

Besides, I don't want my Jaffatar™ getting jealous...

Anyway, I'm setting off to the match in ten minutes. Well, to the pub beforehand but you know what I mean. Newcastle have been bigging this game up as being a 'cup final' for them, so hopefully we can send them packing with their tails between their legs.

xUKHCx

Mar 14, 2009, 09:51 AM

Dundee is pretty close

162294 vs. 162295

Anyway, I'm setting off to the match in ten minutes. Well, to the pub beforehand but you know what I mean. Newcastle have been bigging this game up as being a 'cup final' for them, so hopefully we can send them packing with their tails between their legs.

Good luck. Routing for a Hull win.

Lucas for Alonso = Man Utd win. :o

Boy did I get that wrong. Liverpool dominated the entire game. When Man Utd had a decent spell of possession nothing much came of it.

Second time Vidic has been sent off this season against Liverpool.

Dossena finding his position in the premier league? Hopefully so.

pachyderm

Mar 14, 2009, 11:37 AM

By the way Fuzzy, I'm liking the 'tar. ;)

Cheers. It's only for a short time while I'm doing rather well in my works predictor (http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/predictor/)league. There is an aray of Scottish strips you can nick, but I liked the man in black!

I like that little guy as well. he'd be a good emoticon. ;)

And him too... http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/predictor/images/players/kilmarnock_player.gif looks a little like the Wednesday...

And I've joined your game fuzzy. how do I get in a league? DumbartonPachyderm. ;)

gauchogolfer

Mar 14, 2009, 12:31 PM

It's good to see Arsenal handle their business against an inferior opponent like they should. 4-0 over Blackburn is about right. Nice to see Arshavin and Eboue get a couple as well.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 14, 2009, 12:34 PM

So, a draw. Does Newcastle's cup final go to extra time or a replay? :confused:

pivo6

Mar 14, 2009, 12:38 PM

Fulham win away from home for the first time this season!

xUKHCx

Mar 14, 2009, 12:55 PM

It's good to see Arsenal handle their business against an inferior opponent like they should. 4-0 over Blackburn is about right. Nice to see Arshavin and Eboue get a couple as well.

Arshavin's first was an own goal according to the reports I read. Also he was wearing gloves? It is a lovely day in London today (well at least 17 miles out of it where I am) and no one needed gloves let alone someone from Russian. :confused:

So, a draw. Does Newcastle's cup final go to extra time or a replay? :confused:

From what I hear it sounds like you did well to come away with a draw, is this fair?

Fulham win away from home for the first time this season!

Fulham over the past season or so are becoming a team I am following, not that I actually like Johnson, and it is good to see what Hodgson has done there.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 14, 2009, 01:07 PM

We were all over them for the first half hour or so but then it all petered out a bit. Really, we should have won - Newcastle were comically poor for spells. Ah well, it's another point in the right direction.

On the subject of gloves, we had a glove-wearer on the pitch today too. Bernard Mendy was sporting a pair of woolen black and amber gloves - the sort you can buy from the club shop for £3.99 - but we'll excuse him this on the grounds that he's quite, quite mad.

swiftaw

Mar 14, 2009, 01:11 PM

So Jaffa, traveling to the Wigan game next weekend?

Jaffa Cake

Mar 14, 2009, 01:16 PM

So Jaffa, traveling to the Wigan game next weekend?Unfortunately not. We had it pencilled in, but it been moved to the Sunday lunchtime caused us a few problems.

It is on the telly though, so at least we can watch the boys put five past you and we can see how you like it. ;)

pivo6

Mar 14, 2009, 01:18 PM

......Fulham over the past season or so are becoming a team I am following, not that I actually like Johnson, and it is good to see what Hodgson has done there.

It's such an improvement over Sanchez, especially the defense.

Arshavin's goal was an own goal. I was switching between the Arsenal game and the Sunderland v Wigan game. BTW I know that Wigan's support isn't very good, but I could count the number of supporters on two hands who made the trip.

swiftaw

Mar 14, 2009, 01:21 PM

Unfortunately not. We had it pencilled in, but it been moved to the Sunday lunchtime caused us a few problems.

It is on the telly though, so at least we can watch the boys put five past you and we can see how you like it. ;)

I week or so ago I'd have said that was possible, but we seemed to have found our form again today so I fancy our chances next weekend. It's not on TB here (at least not on the channels I get) so I'll be glued to the BBC website for text updates.

xUKHCx

Mar 14, 2009, 01:27 PM

It's such an improvement over Sanchez, especially the defense.

This season has been a huge improvement and they have almost under the radar worked their way into a good position.

BTW I know that Wigan's support isn't very good, but I could count the number of supporters on two hands who made the trip.

Talking about bad support. Throughout the Man Utd - Liverpool game you could almost constantly hear the Liverpool fans and towards the end the amount of red seats around the stadium was quite shocking really.

pivo6

Mar 14, 2009, 01:33 PM

This season has been a huge improvement and they have almost under the radar worked their way into a good position.

Talking about bad support. Throughout the Man Utd - Liverpool game you could almost constantly hear the Liverpool fans and towards the end the amount of red seats around the stadium was quite shocking really.

Well, isn't it a long trip back to London for those fans? ;) Looks like mid table is what Fulham will achieve, which is about as good as it will get.

Silencio

Mar 14, 2009, 03:55 PM

Talking about bad support. Throughout the Man Utd - Liverpool game you could almost constantly hear the Liverpool fans and towards the end the amount of red seats around the stadium was quite shocking really.

There was obviously very little to cheer about for Man Utd supporters today. I had a feeling they wouldn't win today judging by the Champions League performances of both teams last week, but I didn't quite expect the beatdown that Liverpool administered today.

The race is still on...

és:

Mar 14, 2009, 04:23 PM

There was obviously very little to cheer about for Man Utd supporters today. I had a feeling they wouldn't win today judging by the Champions League performances of both teams last week, but I didn't quite expect the beatdown that Liverpool administered today.

The race is still on...

I'm not sure if the race is still on or not, to be honest. United are overwhelming favorites. If we can get three points from Villa next Sunday then I think we stand a small chance as United will still have Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, the Derby with City and Spurs to come. Liverpool will have just Arsenal and Spurs. Add to that the tricky away ties at boro', Fulham (who have taken loads of points off top team this year) and Sunderland (shut up shot), then there is some hope that we might be able to do something. It it firmly in their hands, though.

Fuzzy14

Mar 14, 2009, 05:26 PM

And I've joined your game fuzzy. how do I get in a league? DumbartonPachyderm. ;)

Well it's a bit late in the season but I've set up a Macrumors league, details below for whoever wants to join. I've got quite a lead!

Managed to watch Hib v Hearts today (ended 1-0), very enjoyable. Sending offs, fights. Very much like the Old Firm, talking of which looking forward to tomorrows final. :D

Mods, I mucked up the attachment. Please merge posts.

pachyderm

Mar 14, 2009, 06:05 PM

Well it's a bit late in the season but I've set up a Macrumors league, details below for whoever wants to join. I've got quite a lead!

Managed to watch Hib v Hearts today (ended 1-0), very enjoyable. Sending offs, fights. Very much like the Old Firm, talking of which looking forward to tomorrows final. :D

Mods, I mucked up the attachment. Please merge posts.

i'm in!

Lord Blackadder

Mar 14, 2009, 09:25 PM

Holy ****!

I've been on the road all day, and after 800 miles of driving, I logged on to the BBC with real fear for the result...but this is a shocking turn of events! I would never have predicted that scoreline (going either way) in a hundred years! 4 goals for Liverpool, Vidic sent off again, a penalty given against United at Old Trafford...is this some sort of early April Fools prank? :eek: ;)

With that said, it's still effectively a seven point gap in the league, and United will come back strong. But even if we don't win anything this season we've done well, completing the double over Chelsea and Man Utd. That's no small achievement (and it makes all those draws at Anfield even more vexing).

And we are still well poised in the Champions League. United still have to be considered the favorites...but it's looking increasingly like Liverpool and Man Utd will meet again, in Europe. Should be good!

The pundits say the referee did well - your thoughts? based on the match report he was kept busy...

pachyderm

Mar 15, 2009, 08:16 AM

xUKHCx

Mar 15, 2009, 08:24 AM

The pundits say the referee did well - your thoughts? based on the match report he was kept busy...

While there were two penalties and a sending off the ref was not the focus of the game or indeed the after match analysis. He did a stunning job and got pretty much everything right in my opinion.

Blue Velvet

Mar 15, 2009, 08:29 AM

With that said, it's still effectively a seven point gap in the league

And we are still well poised in the Champions League.

There's still more than one team still in both of these things. ;)

MacsRgr8

Mar 15, 2009, 01:01 PM

Sweet weekend! :)

Lord Blackadder

Mar 15, 2009, 10:58 PM

While there were two penalties and a sending off the ref was not the focus of the game or indeed the after match analysis. He did a stunning job and got pretty much everything right in my opinion.

It's good to hear that, since usually the ref gets a lot of criticism after a high-profile match like this. I read that Alex Ferguson claimed after the match that United were the better side...and they said Rafa was cracking up...:eek::rolleyes::D

There's still more than one team still in both of these things. ;)

:D

True, and Hiddink seems to be making things happen. Last years' result in the Champions' League should be a big motivator in Europe...Chelsea will want to avenge themselves on United. Drogba is on form at the moment and (perhaps more importantly) Essien is back, so I expect them to be strong.

The closer the race at the top, the better. It's still not close enough, because of that pesky game in hand nonsense, but if Chelsea and Liverpool keep winning, United will be constantly under pressure not to slip up.

Re: Champions League: As much as I love the Premier league, I'm hoping that the semifinals are not all-English. I was sure that at least one of the Italian teams would have survived, but the English big four are all through...Sepp Blatter will be apoplectic!

Fuzzy14

Mar 16, 2009, 08:03 AM

Sweet weekend! :)

Not for me!

The Scottish League Cup is a Mickey Mouse cup anyway (unless you win it! :rolleyes:)

Que comments like 'lets us concentrate on the league'....

Jaffa Cake

Mar 16, 2009, 04:24 PM

Que comments like 'lets us concentrate on the league'....Arsene Wenger will probably be saying something similar tomorrow night. :p

Anyway, Deano's back from Oldham after new Latics boss Joe Royle terminated his loan. Thing is, Deano isn't allowed to play for us (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/7946618.stm) for the rest of the season due to his registration still being with Oldham. Or something.

So, it looks like we'll have to find him a little job or something. Ball boy for when Stoke visit would be good.

Fuzzy14

Mar 16, 2009, 06:19 PM

Assume he can't play because technically he is moving clubs outside of the transfer window, but surely if his loan contract has been terminated by the other party then he should be able to play, otherwise the FA are in breach of the European laws on human rights on the right to work. Or something.:confused:

Although Hull (or Oldham) will be paying him a salary he will be missing out on win bonuses etc. This troubles me slightly, if Oldham didn't want him they should have bitten the bullet to so speak and kept him on their books. Their bad.

BTW it may not have been clear that my tongue was in my cheek when talking about the league cups. Alright, removing the European place has taken some of the shine off it, but still you can't do the treble without one! No sour grapes here.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 16, 2009, 06:26 PM

As I understand it, if there's a recall clause in the loan deal then the registration remains with the parent club – if not then the registration is in the hands of the other club for the period of time specified.

Although Oldham don't want him, he's still technically their player until May or whenever, so unless the FA grant an exemption to the rules (which they're not liable to do for us) he can't play.

Although Hull (or Oldham) will be paying him a salary he will be missing out on win bonuses etc.He won't be missing out on too many of those with us at the moment. :o

pivo6

Mar 16, 2009, 07:52 PM

I saw the West Ham v West Brom earlier today, and it certainly was not an endorsement for the Premier League or for football at any level.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 16, 2009, 08:02 PM

I saw the West Ham v West Brom earlier today, and it certainly was not an endorsement for the Premier League or for football at any level.

This is the game I need to cite the next time I get into an argument where someone blathers on about how crap the MLS is. :D

pivo6

Mar 16, 2009, 09:53 PM

This is the game I need to cite the next time I get into an argument where someone blathers on about how crap the MLS is. :D

The MLS is crap!;) It's hard to fathom that West Ham is fighting for a European place with the way they played.

Lord Blackadder

Mar 16, 2009, 10:12 PM

The MLS is crap!;)

Oh yeah? You should have seen that West Ham - West Brom match ()....:D

[QUOTE=pivo6;7286404]It's hard to fathom that West Ham is fighting for a European place with the way they played.

I'm surprised they are in 7th...Zola has proved some of the doubters wrong, perhaps, but they are nowhere near Aston Villa or Everton.

xUKHCx

Mar 17, 2009, 04:39 AM

I saw the West Ham v West Brom earlier today, and it certainly was not an endorsement for the Premier League or for football at any level.

I went to the pub to watch it as it is Setanta (boo) and what a dire match it was, such a waste of time. Literally nothing of any note happened in the game. I pity the reporters who had to write about that piece of rubbish.

West Brom got plenty of action in and behind the defenders but their strikers are absolutely rubbish and could finish.

West Ham are fielding a non ideal team and without a big man up front (Cole) the formation and the style of play doesn't really work. They missed him yesterday. The were some good performances by some of the new and upcoming players. Thry have reached the magical 40 points that all of the managers are touting to avoid relegation (not that they were even in that battle anyway). Having made an out of court settlement with Sheffield Utd (according to reports anywhere from £10-25million*) with only the FA and Premier League hearing to come they are looking solid for finishing well and moving on next year.

*Even if it was as high as £25million it is cheap as they stayed in the Premiership and will have had at least 3 seasons out of it and not forgetting the higher price thier players can be sold for.

Hopefully Sheffield Utd will falter in the play offs or come up and get humiliated.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 17, 2009, 08:51 AM

xUKHCx

Mar 17, 2009, 08:57 AM

Arsenal are coming back on form at the moment so I fear it will be a lot tougher than previous. That said you can always play the physical game and <french accent>kick them off the park</french accent>. They aren't terribly good at that. Although that said, it is a dangerous game considering:

Mr M Riley (West Yorkshire).

Bloody Setanta.

Jaffa Cake

Mar 17, 2009, 09:02 AM

The last time he referred us I really lost my temper with him. :o

I won't repeat what I called him, otherwise you'll have to show me a red card...

xUKHCx

Mar 17, 2009, 09:29 AM

The profanity filter should take care of it :D I know how frustrating it is. I have a particular loathing for Rob Styles.

Almunia is out injured thanks to that horrific tackle by Diouf.

edit: Neil Warnock is looking at legal action against West Ham. He lost his job because his team was relegated. His team was relegated because they played poorly. They played poorly because he did a bad job. He is truely a cock. Having lived in Sheffield over the course of the majority of this I reserve particular loathing for this fellow as well. He thinks he is the big man and deserves a job in the premiership.

pivo6

Mar 17, 2009, 12:01 PM

MacsRgr8

Mar 17, 2009, 02:20 PM

You know something, I had a bit of confidence about tonight's cup tie against Arsenal. Certainly, the odds are against us and the Gunners will (as ever) prove a very stern test, but we've nothing to lose or fear. Let's go there, get in their faces and see if we can get anything out of the match. We've shown alreday this season we can upset them, so let's give it our best shot.

However, I've just seen which referee we've been assigned – my arch nemesis Mr M Riley (West Yorkshire) has been designated as our match official. Bugger. :(

Anyone fancy a wager on which of our players he'll send off tonight? My shiny Pound is on City skipper Ian Ashbee...

Makes me think about a few seasons back when we had the trouble of keeping all 11 players on the pitch... one way or another, we got so many red cards back then.

Will be a tester tonight.
We seem to be in form, and Villa is failing, but let's see if we can keep up the good run against an "underdog".
This is the only real chance at a trophy this season.

.... no hard feelings, Jaffa Cake :p