2009-10 Football Thread – The Second Half

[Lord Blackadder]

I followed a bit of the text commentary for the match. It was certainly a derby, every bit as nasty as the Liverpool/Everton match where Kyrgiakos got sent off and Fellaini was injured. Tackles all over the place.

Good to see Edu getting a game, he's very much on the fringes of the national squad but he's always there or thereabouts.

Increasing talk/rumors about Rafa leaving...if Rafa doesn't get a sizeable transfer budget I would be surprised if he stays. And I can't see where the money would come from.

Taken together, that means Torres may have played his last game for us.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Don't take this the wrong way Jaffa, but I'm thinking maybe it would be better if Hull doesn't get the bounce back promition to the Premiership. With the current financial state of the club, perhaps it's best to save throwing the money away trying to get straight back up (a la Leeds?) and like you said build a long term, cheap, young squad.

No, things need to be got in order before stuff like promotion can be thought of. The team against Wigan had a bit of a 'next season' feel about it, and it was good to see three kids (two teenagers and a 21-year old) acquitting themselves well. The DW seems to be an agreeable Stadium for Cullen – he made his senior debut there earlier this season in the FA Cup, and yesterday chalked up his first senior start and goal at the same venue too.

There's a fair bit of uncertainty about next season – we don't know who we'll be forced to get shut of this summer, whether we can bring anyone in, who our manager will be or if we're going to end up starting the new campaign with a points deduction. But I'm looking forward to next season. I'm not an adherent to the Sky propagated view that insists that we're currently in The Best League In The World™ – I actually prefer the Championship as a good, competitive division. Having seen the Premier League and all it's member clubs at close quarters for the past two years it's easy to see beyond Sky's breathless glitz and it's actually a rather tawdry little product. There are few things about it I'll actually miss.

I now expect to be struck down by an Andy Gray-derived thunderbolt

Increasing talk/rumors about Rafa leaving...if Rafa doesn't get a sizeable transfer budget I would be surprised if he stays. And I can't see where the money would come from.

He's apparently cancelled a couple of meetings with the club top brass to discuss his future, Juventus are reckoned to be sniffing...

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The same pundits who call the Premier league the best in the world also bemoan the fact that teams outside the top four play longball. They are also the same pundits who go on to praise the top four's ability to "win ugly" right after complaining that the Boltons and Blackburns play ugly football.

If you flip-flop enough on your "analysis", does that make you eternally, penetratingly insightful? Or just a blowhard?

My current favorite standard comment in reaction to some great piece of footballing skill, usually by a Spanish, Italian, or South American player/team: "Yeah, but could they do that on a cold, rainy night away at <northern English club>?"

 

[OllyW]

I now expect to be struck down by an Andy Gray-derived thunderbolt

Not exactly a thunderbolt but it made my day.

 

[daneoni]

Looks like Romanski is ready to pinch Torres for a cool £70m...chicken change really

Am i the only one who has wondered what a Fabregas/Torres (Villa) combo would be like.

Same for the spanish duo Xabi/Fabregas and dutch duo Babel/Van Persie. Oh well, at least we're getting another striker in summer: Chamakh. All thats left is to get rid of/replace Rosicky, Fabianksi, Bendtner, Denilson (maybe even Almunia) & Silvestre

Alas Wenger only has £30m to spend apparently.

As for tonight's match i wish both teams could lose but i'll settle for a draw.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Not exactly a thunderbolt but it made my day.

Oh no, with a chance like that, he has to make the net work harder!


Fizzoid and Jaffa, hopefully come August

On tough games; Sheffield Wednesday v Crystal Palace had some 'tasty' high tackles.

Benitez - apparently not getting on with Torres.

Cheers,
OW

 

[Fizzoid]

Fizzoid and Jaffa, hopefully come August

On tough games; Sheffield Wednesday v Crystal Palace had some 'tasty' high tackles.



Cheers,
OW

Yeah, our keeper took a high tackle to the face. Luckily he was alright, although to be fair it didn't seem intentional. We ended up with 2 players bandaged from head wounds and Leon Clarke (the goalscoring muppet) kicked the advertising hoardings while celebrating his goal and broke his toe!
And to put more of a sad end on it, there was trouble after the game ended as both sets of fans invaded the pitch

 

[MacsRgr8]

Spurs ahead @ Man City.
Surprise to me....

So, could we have 3 London clubs in the CL next season??

 

[daneoni]

Just goes to show city are mostly a one man team. Tottenham deserve it.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Just goes to show city are mostly a one man team. Tottenham deserve it.

Hate to admit it... but yep, I agree.
I wonder how our ex-players (Adebayor, Toure, Viera) feel....

EDIT:
They've done it. 3 London clubs in the CL.. wow

I'm heading off to the Emirates coming Sunday for our last one against Fulham. Can't wait!!!

 

[daneoni]

I'd like to say we'll beat Fulham but to be honest, i'm not confident. We've been absolute ***** in last 4-5 games? and Fulham are a team that have reached reached a European final so there's some confidence flowing there.

Arsene has work to do in the summer.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Just goes to show city are mostly a one man team.

Don't worry, they've got all summer to buy another ten.

They've done it. 3 London clubs in the CL.. wow

London of course has never produced a European Cup/Champions League winning club...

Has any other city ever provided the competition with three clubs in a single season – assuming of course the fourth placed London club make it through qualifying? I can't think of one off of the top of my head.

 

[Fuzzy14]

I can't actually think of any European city with more than 2 teams in their top flight league (Partick Thistle in the 1990s excepted)

I'm sure somebody will correct me.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I can't actually think of any European city with more than 2 teams in their top flight league (Partick Thistle in the 1990s excepted)

Off the top of my head Stockholm is home to AIK, Djurgården and Hammarby, Moscow has Dynamo, Lokomotiv, CSKA and Spartak in the Russian top flight. Both are eclipsed by London's five clubs.

Of course, Sweden doesn't have three Champions League spots available so they're a moot point.

 

[Fuzzy14]

Smart arse

 

[Queso]

Ho ho ho. Have to laugh at City. Now if the League give our new owners the all clear next week at least the end of the season would have brought a smile to my face.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Smart arse

Aye, that'll be me.

Athens has three as well – AEK, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. Istanbul too?

 

[Fuzzy14]

I was thinking too obvious, Spanish, French, German, Italian.

I've noted a lot of doom and gloom about here in the last week. If at the start of the season we said there would be a breakthrough to separate the 'big four' in the EPL and the league going down to the last weekend, would we not have been happy?

And score from SPL tonight, Motherwell 6-6 Hibernian. Didn't have that in my Predictor!

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I've noted a lot of doom and gloom about here in the last week...

The Mighty Tigers are relegated, Fizzoid and pachyderm's Wednesday have suffered the same fate, as has Queso's Stockport County who have also had a turgid season off the field.

Meanwhile XIII, MacsRgr8, and daneoni are lamenting another trophy-free season for the Gunners, while – worst of all – you're stuck in Middlesbrough.

Really, it's been a bit of a rubbish season for many of us.

 

[Fuzzy14]

And to cap it all off.....

I have made a major mistake with the dates of my holiday on the south coast of England to coincide with England's first 3 games of the World Cup. Unbearable.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

And to cap it all off....

You've probably got your holiday clothing sorted already, but if not here's a suggestion...

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Ho ho ho. Have to laugh at City. Now if the League give our new owners the all clear next week at least the end of the season would have brought a smile to my face.

If they keep the cash tap flowing, it's City who will be having the last laugh.

Really, it's been a bit of a rubbish season for many of us.

I second that.

 

[swiftaw]

The Mighty Tigers are relegated, Fizzoid and pachyderm's Wednesday have suffered the same fate, as has Queso's Stockport County who have also had a turgid season off the field.

Meanwhile XIII, MacsRgr8, and daneoni are lamenting another trophy-free season for the Gunners, while – worst of all – you're stuck in Middlesbrough.

Really, it's been a bit of a rubbish season for many of us.

At least my latics survived.

 

[Silencio]

If there were any Chelsea supporters amongst us regulars, then I guess it could be said that someone here had a good year. (As long as they can manage to beat Wigan this weekend and Pompey in the FA Cup final.)

Oh well, at least we won the Carling Cup and the Reserves League crown.

As for Citeh: I'm so pleased that Spurs beat them to the last Champions League spot. I would expect Mancini will spend the untold riches at his disposal more wisely than Mark Hughes did, but he will still have to convince the top players to come to a club that doesn't have the history and won't be playing in the Champions League next season.

Now if only the Latics could get a result at Stamford Bridge...

 

[Jaffa Cake]

At least my latics survived.

I'll add an addendum to my previous post.

...and swiftaw must accept the terrible fact that Wigan Athletic play music after they score goals.

Disgraceful behaviour, swiftaw. Sort it out. Not even the very nice pie made up for it.