Wednesday Football Thread (post Transfer Roundup)
So I actually paid no attention to transfer deadline day, although something about Tottenham being desperate to sign Louis Saha crept through, and a couple of tweets to do with an attempt to sign Kaka. Even when trying to avoid being sent down Harry's got time for wheeling and dealing.
City lose at Goodison to a single goal, with the real story being that a man hancuffed himself to the goalposts late in the first half in protest at his daughter not being hired by Ryanair. A well targeted demonstration that. Mancini says that he underestimated Everton and he didn't prepare the team properly.
United take advantage with two penalties to beat Stoke, with Ben Amos managing a clean sheet on his debut. Pulis seems to have been unhappy with the penalty decisions (aren't managers always?). Chelsea look to be out of the title race and continue to post large losses, although reduced slightly from last year. Problems for FFP? Not if you believe SwissRamble.
West Ham, Cardiff and Southampton all drop points at the top of the Championship, with Birmingham's 4-0 win leaving them closing in, while Crystal Palace sign two Ryman League players - defender Michael Chambers from Dulwich Hamlet and league top scorer Kwesi Appiah from Margate.
In League Two, Southend come off second best in the top of the table clash with Swindon, losing 4-1.
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was that the actual reason that guy tied himself to the post?
jfc
Protesting about your daughter going to work for Ryanair
That I could understand
It's some sort of recruitment scam, I think.
It's not clear from Googling if it's actually Ryannair or a 3rd party using their name.
Can't believe Kwesi Appiah has got a move to Palace
he was at Kettering last season and looked out of his depth.
I was expecting him to go somewhere
pretty much any striker at our level that scores at his rate (33 in 35) will usually get snapped up. 30 month deal apparently.
He only cost
He only cost us £50k, so hardly a massive gamble. We took the chance of Ian Wright of Greenwich Borough, when every other club said he was rubbish and turned him down. I like little punts like this, some will work, some obviously won't.
The defender from Dulwich Hamlet is only 17 and very highly rated
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2059587/Manchester-United-lead-chase-Dulwich-Hamlets-Michael-Chambers.html
So hopefully a bit of a coup.
50k?
That's probably paid for roughly of Margate's wage bill this season then. :(
Pulis and his sour face
He reckons the penalties were dubious and probably only given because of the actual real life conspiracy of referees cheating at Old Trafford. One was a clumsy crop and the other was blatantly pulling a player back. Stoke were awful last night. Slow, ugly and daunted.
WOLVES SIGN BASSONG ON LOAN.
Nothing else happened of note with regards to Wolves last night. Nothing at all. Move along.
bassong who left newcastle for a bigger club not so long ago
We got £10million for him
Can't complain too much
Without wanting to sound patronising
I thought Wolves were a bit unlucky to lose by such a wide margin last night. They certainly looka lot better team than they did last season.
But hey, 3 points, the shirehorse scored and no horrible, horrible racism, a good match all round.
Nah, we deserved it.
First half was very equal, but second half was abysmal.
My only consolation is that we're currently still only a point from safety, but our recent form (something like six draws in nine games) makes me worry about relegation seriously for the first time this season.
There are way moer than three teams shitter than Wolves this season
both by form, style and playing staff, over a 38 game season it should show through.
People seem to keep saying this...
And while it is true that there are a lot of shit teams that we should be better than, we simply aren't at the moment. For parts of each match, usually even a whole 45 mins, we put in a good performance but it rarely seems to happen for a full game.We had great 10 mins at the end of the newcastle and Swansea games, a great first half against the Villa but then for the rest of the game we seem dire. Whether its the players or the management Im not sure
^
I've seen Wolves 3 times this season. Swansea, Newcastle and Liverpool last night. Every time it has seemed like the players have only just realised that there is a goal for them to shoot at in the dying stages of the match.
The thing that's worrying fans this season, more than usual, is this lack of drive.
Last season at least we played pretty well even if kept losing, as a lot of that was down to luck. This season our results are worse and we're not even putting in the kinds of shows that make me think results must, surely, come our way again.
We had a really good February/March last season when O'Hara arrived, and for a couple of weeks we even topped the form table. That's what saved us. O'Hara's due back for Saturday, and once again the next two months are going to define our season.
Shitting myself, I am.
Not to be fatalistic, proslo
but I have a bad feeling about Wolves' survival prospects this season. Wigan look dead certs, but Wolves look next most likely for the drop to me.
I would have vehemently disagreed until last week.
Recent performances have made me, for the first time since promotion, feel that relegation is more likely than not. I still think we're a better side on paper than Wigan, Bolton, Blackburn, Norwich, Swansea, and WBA, but that means shit all when we've only managed four wins all season.
I only learned yesterday that you've farmed Gueduariola out, or however you spell it
to Forest of all people. What do you make of that?
He doesn't do a lot really...
He usually has a couple of shots from 35 yards and gets booked for a dodgy tackle....
I liked him when he first arrived because he looked like he had a bit of flair about him.
Problem is, he's a terrible tackler, spends most of the game sprinting box-to-box without actually doing anything, losing possession if he gets the ball with a misplaced pass or tripping over his own feet, and if he's in the opposition half he's going to always go for the 30-yard shot rather than the simple pass.
A luxury at this level, but I think in the Championship he'll get away with a lot of those and boss games. Could be a good signing for Forest.
I see
he always looked like he had a bit more creativity about him than the rest of your midfield, but that's MOTD highlights for you.
He's basically a Championship-level version of Frimpong.
His nickname in Algeria is 'the Bull'. Worth a punt at the time, but didn't develop like we'd hoped.
This football season is making me sad
I don't think Forest have had a great 'window'.
Nice to see Arsenal buying a young, unproven, technically gifted attacking midfielder with a dodgy injury history. Turn up for the books that one.
saw people writing in the bbc live feed calling it a *genius signing*
That raised a chuckle
.
He's gotta be better than Arshavin though
Were Chelsea ever in the title race?
Southend got turned over. Been coming for a while sadly.
No, but Sky Sports announced it yesterday after the Everton game.
Apparently moving out from 50/1 to 66/1 on Skybet for the title now means you're officially "out of the title race".
Presumably at 50/1 Sky consider you in the race.
not only were the two united penos definitely penalties
they had another cert turned down and a 'seem em given' also turned down. dominated the game completely, with Stoke making the mistake of trying to play football. kenwyne jones was dreadful, as were the rest of the team bar Wilkinson, who was probably MOTM in his position of second keeper.
Though Evans, Carrick, and Scholes were all very impressive last night.
Whilst Scholes coming out of retirement has been laughed at my many, and is an obvious cover-up for our lack of finances, he can play as well as he did last night and against Liverpool and is well worth keeping on.
i don't think it is a cover up for lack of finances though
insofar as we've continued to spend pretty heavily. i genuinely think that Fergie sees Anderson and Cleverley as a sufficient 1-2 partnership, and Carrick and Fletcher as suitable back-ups, and Pogba and Petrucci as possible replacements for the latter two (if you consider his press conferences). If Cleverley hadn't picked up an injury we wouldn't have got Scholes back.
Yeah, suppose so.
I just think it was a good move, that's been justified. And I love him.
As much as I hate United (though no more than most Premiership teams)
You have to admire their resilience.
They've got about 95% of their first 14 out and yet they're still the best team in the country. Pretty insane...
The league table, form table and my fully-functioning eyes all disagree.
I think we should rename transfer deadline day
"Croatian mates" day henceforth
we had a poll on this yesterday
it was a Split decision
Straight red
You can argue long and hard that it's not a contact sport any more, but the fact is you can't do that in the modern game and expect to get away with it.
the player storms straight down the tunnel whilst his manager looks on, despondent
this isn't the first time he's been sent off for this kind of thing.
What do people reckon to Sordell, then?
Assuming the registration has been cleared...a bit of Tottenham timekeeping on this one, me thinks.
Happy with our business, tbh. Though we really could have done with another defensive-minded player.
Good deal.
I've only seen him in a couple of U21s but he's looked very tidy for them. The next Jermaine Defoe??
He doesn't know how to install Football Manager on a Mac
get over it.
Watford got their first win in about 2 months yesterday
without him in the team. Read into that what you will.
scholes has been great since his return
that's all i have to say today.
yeah I especially liked it when he gave the ball away for both of City's goals in the 3-2
yeah, he wasn't on the pitch for city's first
thats how badly he played
haha
couldn't be bothered to check the facts!
City fan?
nah mate, just randomly targetted and badly sourced trolling
He's a calming influence, and remains United's best (fit) passer in midfield.
Course, as soon as he came out of retirement the journalists already started writing their end-of-season pieces declaring it another act of genius from Ferguson. He'll have a negligible impact on United finishing 1st or 2nd, which i guess is about as much a part as Anderson will play.
Not that i blame United fans for getting giddy. It's nice to see him back, and even if he just has an impact behind the scenes and nothing more it'd still have proved worthwhile, but i don't think he should be above criticism just because he was a great player 5-10 years ago. When he's poor it's only fair he gets murdered the same as certain others do when they are.
So far, for me, he's just proven an extra body and not a lot more. He's given away a goal against City when his job would've specifically been to shore things up in the middle of the park, tapped one in from five yards against one of the worst defensive sides in England, played an hour as United got rinsed at Anfield, and has narrowly escaped a second booking against a terrible Stoke side at home. Michael Carrick could've done most of that.
JT is on trial after the Euros finish
so this is the end of Rio's england career then?
Because he's shit now?
Or because there's no way he will co-exist with JT?
not mutually exclusive
you could probably add 'because he's ready for the knacker's yard' to that list
Pretty happy with our business
We needed to strengthen up front and in defence, and sadly cos of Faurlin's injury, centre mid. We've done that, buying substantially better than what we've got.
Dead chuffed with Onouha most. Top signing
We'll possibly look like this on Saturday (don't think Diakite will be back from ACoN)
Kenny
Young Onouha Ferdinand Taiwoo
SWP Barton Buzsaky Traore
Zamora Cisse
Hmm, I think we can stay up now
Traore ont wing?
Put Macheda there, then you're talking.
Traore was pretty #decent on left wing for us before he went to ACON
Taiwo's a poor player.
Looked quite good for Marseille for a couple of years, but they couldn't get him out of Milan quick enough. Will set up/get you a goal or two, but he can't defend for toffee.
Djibril Cisse might be a canny buy. He seems to struggle in leagues where defenders try stopping the opposition from scoring, but bags shedloads elsewhere, so he should be alright in the Premier League now. He'll certainly do better than his 1-a-season in Serie A. Again, it seems Lazio can't quite believe their luck.
Zamora and Onuoha are good signings.
how do you rate he's a poor player
based off less than 6 months when you initially say he was good for Marseille for a couple of years?
I'm not looking forward to our game with QPR tonight. Still a bit confused as to why we didn't bring anyone in in the window bar a 2 month loan which, although a good bit of business, has no real long term prospects
Lazio were playing him as a left winger, they got what they deserved
And I don't really think QPR are in a place where *not being quite good enough for AC Milan* is something to be sniffed at
bit weird
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16829241
They probably just missed the deadline...
so Spurs have given him the money to settle his contract, and can now sign him as an unattached player. Spurs get a replacement for Bassong, Blackburn get some cash for a player on the scrapheap, he gets a new club. Seems win all round.
It's weird that they'd choose to sign someone who's had two career-threatening injuries in as many years and who was saying quite recently that he wanted to go back to New Zealand to play or even retire, sure.
Some pretty ambitious signings for Spurs then
it's a pair of strange signings
I can't really understand Nelsen seeing as Spurs' existing centre backs don't really have a glittering injury record, and it's not like he provides much missed experience, whereas Saha is absolutely baffling in every way.
they're both short term, squad-filling emergency only players
bearing in mind we're changing managers in the summer, don't need/couldn't get anyone to improve our first team and have let quite a few players go.
I hope.
They have to have been brought in as they won't complain about being back-up options.
yeah the players themselves haven't got much to lose either
they either play well and stay another year to wind down their careers or relax for a few months while sorting out another club for next season.
Why are you so sure you'll be changing your manager?
Have we more or less resigned ourselves to two years of Harry leading England, and won't this depend on how his trial goes?
Even if he's not going to get that job (and i personally don't think he will now) do you think he'll leave Spurs anyway, or will that depend on whether they finish 3rd or, say, 5th?
Also, who's likely to replace him? David Moyes is the fans choice, right?
even if he doesn't go to england (he will)
Levy wouldn't be willing to stump up cash now for signings until he knows one way or another.
I reckon we'll try and get mourinho, come close but get laughed at, then go for capello, fail, then go for moyes or benitez and not have enough time to reshape the team before the season starts.
The FA steered well clear of taking Venables back for his less than
respectable back room dealings. Do we really think they wont do the same again?
Capello's retiring, no?
Can't see him taking any job that doesn't just give him a few wheelbarrows of cash in return for not having to do much.
He's obviously going to get the England job, you idiot
Not sure.
He's not really achieved much/anything.
He's facing a stretch of porridge.
He's approaching pension-age.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he wormed out of his trial on health grounds, and even if not, i'd rather the manager of our national football team wasn't a criminal.
I'd give it to a good, young, tactically astute coach, and not a wheeler dealer who's admitted he can't read or write, personally, were it my call.
I've just written off the best part of £100 and spent a further £60 booking a flight back from Amsterdam a day earlier than my original plan so I don't miss the Utd Liverpool match next weekend
Last minute Suarez winner, absolutely nailed on.
Lad
*Idiot
You know they have televisions in Holland?
Plus a whole host of shit Irish pubs in Amsterdam
where you can watch the game and drink pints of Boddingtons for €6.
I'd booked my train back for when the match was on
I'd have recorded it and avoided the score but I'm going to a Brand New gig that evening as well so it wasn't possible. I'm just really irritated that I didn't check the fixtures before booking.
I should be able to sell the original train ticket I think so it's not as much of a loss as it could've been.
I really thought that spurs were going to buy Zigic on the back of his 4 goals and seven minute hat-trick...
The lad was only on the pitch 70 mins, though plenty of time to empty Elland Road - best fans in the country bar none.
oh btw op It was Leeds 1 - 4 Birmingham
Liverpool sign Teixara then
supposed to be alright isnt he?
had a cracking 2009 season on the way to the world series.
A couple of things that made me laugh last night:-
Mancini not even trying to hide his arrogance at his "I thought Everton would be easier to beat"..
And Noel Gallagher referring to AVB as the David Brent of the premiership.
re: Terry
Why wait until after the Euro final?
Surely the Quarters would be sufficient
Optimistic
so there is some football tonight
O'NEIL VS. LAMBERT - BATTLE OF THE CELTS
who ya got?
All five games are hard to call, really, but...
Villa 1 QPR 2
Bolton 1 Arsenal 1
Sunderland 1 Norwich 1
Fulham 2 West Brom 0
Blackburn 1 Newcastle 2
I'd be happy with those scorelines
but even happier if Bolton lost rather than drew.
who's on TV tonight?
sunderland vs norwich
YEAH TV
Villa will mutilate QPR.
Well, not mutilate, but I really can't see QPR winning that one.
You'd be a fool to put money on Newcastle tonight
(I have to say this so we win)
quietly confident we'll get a result tonight.
Really quiet.
In fact so quiet it's silent.
Grayson AXED
Warnock surely in? A match made in heaven...
Grayson's sacking is fucking harsh in my book.
OK, Leeds have had a couple of bad defeats this season but I'm not really sure where in the table they think they ought to be.
Unless I'm hugely wrong and they have massive wage bill, they're a club that came up the season before last and needs to re-establish itself in this division and come to terms with the fact they don't have the resources to compete as they once did.
Grayson seems to have done a decent job at club that has struggled with poor managerial appointments and a rubbish board. I wouldn't be at all shocked to see a Forest-style crash with the new man.
lol
-
we're some of the lowest spenders in this division.
obviously grayson can't be blamed for that, and the major problem with the club is ken bates.
however, our squad really should be finishing top 6 at least. we haven't had anything resembling a solid (or even frequent) back 4 for two years, and I genuinely believe a new manager could give us a push for promotion.
would've made far more sense to do this two months ago, though...
warnock would actually be a very good manager for us if we're hoping to get promotion, but ferguson aside I can't think of any managers our fans have given more stick to.
let's have mick mccarthy sacked in the next few hours... would be my number one choice by a mile.
Terry should be axed for the Euros shouldn't he?
I mean it's been fine the last couple of months 'cos England haven't played but I can't think of another company or public sector organisation where a senior public figure facing criminal charges for racist abuse wouldn't be suspended pending the outcome...
No.
Fair answer, assuming it'd still be the case for a different player for a different club.
I guess actualy I'm not sure if I think a player/public figure SHOULD be suspended pending the outcome of a trial but I do think a lesser player/a public figure in a comparative field would likely be suspended in these circumstances.
I mean personally I think Terry should be axed for the Euros anyway. We aren't going to win it and, given that I don't think he's *that* much better than the other centre-back options now, I'd rather we picked players who'd be around in a couple of years' time to gain experience...
The FA have treated other players from other clubs the same way
and Terry is still miles better than every other CB option for England. I'm not convinced his star has really fallen; people have been claiming that for about four years now.
I'm sure someone of your dialectic powers could argue this point with more substance DK
not a dig - genuinely want to hear how you could disagree...
Two words: Steven Gerrard.
No matter how much anyone tries to use semantics to argue around it, 'suspending' Terry from international football before his charges are resolved one way or another IS treating him as guilty until proven innocent.
I've no real time for a comparison to other public figures- we already know that being a footballer isn't the same as being a politician or civil servant.
Palace vs Brighton
The segregation and police presence was way over the top last night.
Palace fans were kept in instead of Brighton, and Palace fans weren’t allowed to go to Norwood Junction, but instead forced to Selhurst where the train service is nowhere near as good.
This met Palace fans when attempting to leave towards Norwood Junction. Brighton fans were allowed through as they were on the other side.
http://i.imgur.com/VKWzL.jpg
It was like the 1980’s
BBC SPORT HAS CHANGED
It's quite Factory Recordsesque
this is weird
i keep clicking my bbc sport bookmark when i already have it open
Shame on LUFC.
Sacking one of thier own. His crims - winning promotion and establishing them as a solid mid-table Championship club.
* crims = crime
street slang, bra.
half fair.
"establishing us a solid mid-table club" could've been achieved by anyone with our squad though. avram, dowie, jewell all would've managed it.
Steady on, not sure about Dowie.
AFCoN bores...
is there any realistic chance of Equatorial Guinea beating Ivory Coast?
Yaya Toure's going to be there all the way until the Final, right?
My Ivorian friends are a bit worried about a clash of egos
seems to be the elephant in the room
:D
Unlikely
especially as it's in the much smaller stadium, so they won't have the intimidating home crowd atmosphere thet might have had in the smaller stadium.
don't worry, we've got Big Dave now
Read somewhere yesterday that...
Pizarro's made the most assists in Serie A in 3 of the last 4 seasons!?!
City fans seem to be suggesting that he's the final piece in Mancini's jigsaw; the deep-lying playmaker, the Regista. Load of old bollocks if you ask me. We wouldn't have signed him were it not for the FFP regulations.
liberal use of big.
Imagine him, Silva, Nasri, Aguero and Dzeko go for a group hug after Dzeko manages to not get in the way of one of the others scoring. Edin'll look like a child snatcher.
I think the only reason why Aguero hasn't strangled Dzeko to death yet is because he can't reach
really not sure what to think.
on the one hand, grayson has been in charge of leeds united in the best period of my leeds united supporting life, in terms of me actually understanding the game and knowing what's happening etc. will never forgot some of the results we achieved in the FA Cup, and the season we went up.
on the other hand, it can only be a good thing for the club, both in the short and long term. we somehow have a very real chance of making the playoffs (3 points off), and i can think of any number of managers who could strengthen the defence and have us make a very realistic push.
in terms of the timing, i'm not sure. 12 hours after the transfer window closes is a bit worrying/fishy, as it suggests our best players (the few we have left) would leave without him, and it could do some serious damage to our morale. On the other hand, there are widespread reports he'd lost the dressing room months ago after the whole o'brien thing, some saying that was the reason for howson's departure.
In terms of the candidates, I think most of the favourites i'd be happy with. Neil Warnock probably isn't enough of a yes man for Bates, but he'd do a very good job. Would kill for Mick McCarthy.
Heart over my head, purely in terms of personality and suitability for this club, Strachan would be brilliant - though his recent record less so. I'd be confident that he'd be one of the few managers able to convince Snodgrass to stay in the summer. Last time we went with sentimentality it didn't work out as badly as people remember, as McAllister signed more great players in his time at leeds than grayson did with 3 times as long.
If we get billy davies, it'll edge Ken Bates alongside Ridsdale in the worst things that have ever happened to the club.
Has Hasselbaink got all his coaching badges yet?
I think Davies, along with Warnock, has the best chance of getting you up.
But he is obviously a cunt. So swings and roundabouts.
but then again it is Leeds
so horses for courses
fa
fa
Fair point, that should have said.
Computer went mental.
Sing it, Bertie
thats lovely!
Wilshere out for the season.
Still, the Europa League's where it's at now anyway.
at least we know who the not fully fit player in the England squad will be already.
So we can start the interminable debates and column inches early!
i can see cleverley getting injured again too
and scholes somehow making into the squad.
i don't think Cleverley would be in the squad anyway, tbh.
I reckon if he'd played all season he'd have definitely made it.
As it stands, even if he gets fit, it might be a bit too late for him...
are Cambridge United any good?
Harrison Dunk aside, that is?
Might go next week to see the all-important FA VASE THIRD ROUND. About time I took an interest in what is, for most of the year, my local team.
Fredi Veseli's agent has said the player left City for United because...
he felt he "wasn't progressing at a club chasing titles and major trophies".
Interesting.
Presumably he means chasing
rather than winning.
£12k a week, apparently.
from £450 a week.
Bet he can't believe his luck. Had his bags packed and everything once he knew City had cancelled his deal, now he's 9th choice centre-half at The Biggest Club In The World.
hm, source?
hm, source?
Kinda wish the Terry thing had just be done with today.
There's absolutely no way I'm going to avoid stupid Daily Mail articles on him for six fucking months.
Why is it being dragged out?
Is it really 'cos of the Euros or just a procedural thing? Surely it's in everyone's interests to get it over and done with...
Report I read said Ron Gourlay (Chelsea's Chief Exec) had requested the adjournment
and a fairly long adjournment is really that unusual ... I don't think there's anything too sinister about it from either the club's or court's end. The club can only benefit from it (if Terry is found guilty and is to be banned by the FA, better for them in July than in February) while it makes no difference to Terry as individual, so it makes sense that they would push for it.
Urgh, *ISN'T really that unusual
Yeah - I certainly didn't think there was anything sinister.
I just wasn't sure who'd want it to be dragged out. But that does make sense.
Cheeky gets:
http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10335~2596765,00.html
missed a trick there
should be organising a Nazi-style shirt burning in a public square in Cardiff.
Man, I had the weirdest dream last night
that we'd got rid of Bassong and Pavlyuchenko and replaced them with Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha. lolwtf
Arry knows, man
Bassong - gifted but unpredictable
Nelson - out n out defender. LEADER of men
Pav - utter turdo
Saha - when fit,one of the classier strikers in the PL. Will suit spurs nicely with a few cameos here and there
Ryan Nelson should be in game of thrones
you wouldn't fuck about with him.
Fair analysis of Bassong and Pavlyuchenko
but Saha and Nelsen are 33 and 34 respectively, and neither has had a good game all season - Nelsen because he hasn't even been fit. It's all very well talking about Harry's ability to get the most out of a player, but these two are, in all probability, passed it.
I'm quite worried about our defensive situation now, actually. Gallas injured and, at 34, can't really be counted on to be anything but; Ledley always injured; Nelsen on his way back from a long-term injury, and also a long way the wrong side of 30. That leaves us with only Dawson - who himself has just returned from a long-term injury - and Kaboul. Even cover from other positions is lacking - Corluka gone, Huddlestone injured, Walker our only recognised right-back. That just leaves Livermore, who Harry seems to have a worrying amount of faith in. We're one bad pitch away from being fucked :(
Oh actually, we have Khumalo as well
Keep forgetting about him, for some reason...... Can't be any worse than Bassong, anyway.
Saha
is absolutely awful. All of his promise vanished during his spell at United. Apparently some of the other players were unimpressed with his unprofessionalism as well. Doesn't try hard in training, turns up late for away trips.
he isn't awful at all, just a massive confidence striker
which Spurs already have enough of.
and he's 33
pretty weird signing
Well it's now transpired
that Pavlyuchenko threatened to sit out the rest of his contract - which expires next summer - if he wasn't allowed a move this window, so Levy's hand was forced there, and then I suppose it was just a matter of who was available to replace him, so maybe not as strange as it seemed at first.
I know what you mean
but I can't help but think that a confidence striker who rarely has any confidence is an awful purchase. Maybe Redknapp is planning on rotating strikers based on who's feeling good about themselves.
Saha arrives for training at his new club
http://i43.tinypic.com/2vki7pd.jpg
:D
The Egyptian top flight witnessed a massive game in the title race on Wednesday as second-placed Al Ahly travelled to Al Masry, who after winning the match 3-1 jumped into 4th.
The result however was overshadowed by incredibly shocking scenes at the full time whistle as hundreds (possible thousands) of home fans stormed the pitch and began assaulting Al Ahly players and on-site security officials.
Leaving aside the urgent question of why hundreds of Al Masry fans were able to easily burst onto the pitch, matters quickly spiralled out of control as the visitors were chased down the tunnel after their defeat.
A nasty game of cat and mouse was captured on TV as the Al Ahly squad literally ran for cover whilst Al Masry fans tried to clobber them with punches and kicks. While most of the players seemed to escape down the tunnel in the nick of time, a handful of Al Ahly coaches and subs seemed to get embroiled in the chaos.
Pockets of violence between fans and officials then sprouted around the pitch, whilst a huge crowd of home fans tried to force their way into the changing rooms.
Post match reports have suggested that Al Masry may be denied the win by the Egyptian FA as punishment for the horrific post-match scenes.
Watch the Al Masry fans storm the pitch to attack Al Ahly here.
***
UPDATE: Distressing reports continue to leak out of Egypt, where it has now been confirmed that tens of fans have been killed and many many more injured in the post match violence.
Latest reports suggest that 28 fans died in the melee, while 100s may have been injured too.
Horrific quotes from Al Ahly players have also reached the wires.
Mohamed Abou-Treika: “The security forces left us, they did not protect us. One fan has just died in the dressing room in front of me.”
Mohamed Barakat: “People have died, we are seeing corpses now. There are no security forces or army personnel to protect us. It is our fault because we played that match. The authorities are afraid to cancel the league because they just care about money, they do not care about the lives of people.”
http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/footbrawl-al-masry-fans-storm-the-pitch-in-their-hundreds-to-fight-with-al-ahly-players/
50+ confirmed.
Is no-one really reporting this live because they don't really have anything concrete to say?
It's seems pretty drastic, with the estimations seem to be increasing by dozens every five minutes.
it only happened an hour or so ago, i think.
now being reported that fans at another stadium have started setting fires due to the games cancellation. difficult to sift through the facts, i guess.
jfc.
73...
what the hell were these scumbags carrying, machetes?
supposedly a lot of knives.
So you're not too far off.
Decent Arsenal line-up tonight
Will probably lose now that I've said that.
decent banter on Gillette soccer special
hopefully
we'll do the inverse of Arsenal at the weekend now
an absolute blooter
from fraizer campbell. great to see him back playing football after his long spell out.
yerrrr
those are my favourite type of shots. I hope he keeps scoring!
class cross for that goal too
class move. from Sunderland!!!!1
Quality second goal for Sunderland too
Warnock's in absolutely terrible form
Feels like Arsenal could've had 13 already
alex mcleish must be one of the worst premier league appointments in recent times
pretty special villa own goal
nice to see Frazer Campbell do something...
after three-and-a-half years of sitting on his arse or being injured.
Decided against a QPR/Newcastle double, so would quite appreciate Villa or Blackburn sneaking a point or better.
Yeeeeeeeeees!
Our U19s are beating Liverpool's in the NextGen.
We've done it!
We're into the semis!
hanging on by the skin of our teeth here
I think i hate theo walcott so much that i actually want AOE to complete eclipse him in every way, just in the next few months,
and become arsenal's greatest ever signing and catapult them into the dizzy heights of 5th place.
AOE seems like a nice lad
not really sure who he is tbh
Delighted for Djibs.
Kop hero for the 2006 final.
Frodsham salutes him.
also
might start to feel a bit guilty if our embarrassment of city triggers their meltdown in the league. was hoping they'd see it through and get it won but it looks like the roar of the kop has struck fear into them.
if they finish second and trophyless this season, goodbye roberto hello jose.
-
https://twitter.com/#!/The_National/status/164823084543651840
As much as I love them, it makes perfect sense for the National to be Fulham fans.
Blimey
Would've taken a point before the game, disappointed after going 2-0 up, but then relieved given the Villa onslaught.
Great start for Cisse, great strike. Maybe it's because I haven't seen a proper striker in so long (Warnock loved a one up top target man) but his movement and touch was wonderful.
Villa should've had a penalty
This is fucking depressing to watch
barely deserve to draw. Against Bolton.
Huh?
Depressing not to be winning, but deserve to be.
Deserve to be winning, that is
Nah
they've bossed us for the past half hour.
We've had the possession but it's meant pretty much fuck all.
When did our midfield become so fucking bad
Thing is, individually Arteta, Ramsey and Song are good enough
But there needs to be a Fabregas type player in there really to give it that edge. Guess Wilshere will provide that next season.
good enough for what?
Arsenal have slaughtered Bolton
but I know that depression all too well- Chelsea have 'slaughtered' pretty much everyone they've played this season to no fucking avail.
At least Foy has refused to give Bolton an absolutely nailed-on penalty, eh.
eh?
you've hit the woodwork twice. quite a good game. Both sides could've won it. We performed a lot better second half.
meterssacker's face just got destroyed.
Arsenal are 7th
Wow.
Hey, remember this:
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4302963#r6255604
no.
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4302963#r6255684
:''''''''''')
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4302963#r6255544
*Can't see them finishing above 6th.*
^^^^^^ pretty astute ^^^^^^
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4302963#r6255518
It'd be really great if Newcastle finished 4th.
Cheers.
Arsenal's last four games -
L, L, L, D
can't wait for their March collapse
Sunderland might overtake them yet.
now half their team are united players again
who knows!
i wouldn't be terribly surprised if that happens to be honest.
Obertan, Carroll and Gibson scoring in the same two days
Looks like the Mayans were right.
So, like, why exactly can't Newcastle finish fourth?
Has anyone said they can't?
I mean, I'm fairly confident they won't, but not that they *can't*.
All season people have been talking about the league position as being false, and something that will be 'corrected' now.
Almost as if the idea of them actually challenging for fourth is as likely as Duncan Edwards rising from the dead to help solve United's injury crisis.
Because if it happens the world will end.
squad not big enough
Newcastle were fucking awful
At least we played well against Fulham in the 1st half. Was even worse than the QPR game. side note: yay we won.
Didn't mean to this, didn't see it.
Is it true Perch was good?
He was ok, but we were defending for the rest of the game after the first goal
Simpson made another good off the line clearance, colo was great as always. Blackburn were very wasteful. Don't understand the tactical substitution of perch on for ben arfa though, invited them on really.
who is norwich's number 6?
CLOSE CAMPBELL DOWN FFS
Bradley Johnson I believe
we sucked today, I'm going to blame it on TV, or something
someone get Martin O'Neil to say 'enthusiasm' again...
He looks about fucking 12
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/393952_334434659930218_260216390685379_1035403_96278510_n.jpg
pocketmouse is currently getting his picture tattooed
across her face
Latest player to out those giving them twitter based racist abuse...
Dijbril Cisse.
But it was Lazio fans, so is anything really likely to happen as a result of it? Idk. He gave them a nice bit of Italian swearing in return anyway.