Weekend Football Thread.
With all the talk of next week's MOST IMPORTANT GAME EVER it's easy to forget there are some other quite tasty games this weekend, with the races for the top four and survival still up in the air.
Quite looking forward to Chelsea v QPR, to be honest. With Chelsea having had the highest of highs midweek, and QPR really needing a win, plus it being a derby, it could be a bit tasty.
Think Arsenal will beat a Stoke side with nothing to play for, Newcastle should have too much for Wigan, and i fancy we might see another couple of away wins at least.
Everton 1 Fulham 0
Stoke 1 Arsenal 2
Sunderland 1 Bolton 2
Swansea 2 Wolves 1
West Brom 1 Villa 1
Wigan 1 Newcastle 2
Norwich 1 Liverpool 2
Chelsea 3 QPR 2
Spurs 2 Blackburn 2
Other fixtures of note include the last day of the Championship proper, a pretty pointless Auld Firm derby, Lille v PSG, Udinese v Lazio, and two huge Eredivisie games in Feyenoord v AZ & Twente v Ajax.
Predictions, thoughts, bets, bants...
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BASH THE BOOKIE (Week 10).
Current pot: +£412.96
Another baddun last weekend, losing around £32. Think that's about four on the bounce. Wounded. Ending the season with a bag of sand in the pot is but a pipedream.
1) Middlesborough, Exeter, Milan - £4 (£82.50)
2) West Ham, Cheltenham, Ajax - £10 (£70.88)
3) Barnet, Stuttgart, Feyenoord - £3 (£72.76)
west ham, chelenham and ajax came in
cheers kik
really fancied the 3rd one to come in, too.
thought Stuttgart might get a result at Bayern, given they've already lost the Bundesliga and have just made it through to the CL final.
how much did you win?
chelsea have no defenders
shaun wright phillips is gonna run riot
might just ignore all footy until monday night
think am going to the thistle game before norwich on tv
nice
Predicting (hoping) this is the weekend Newcastle's string runs out
we can't hope to take points off them at home in the form they're in and if anybody's going to put a stop to them, Martinez's scalp-taking bloodied warriors are the ones you'd put wild money on.
Everton 1 Fulham 1
Stoke 1 Arsenal 0
Sunderland 2 Bolton 2
Swansea 3 Wolves 1
West Brom 1 Villa 1
Wigan 3 Newcastle 2
Norwich 2 Liverpool 1
Chelsea 3 QPR 3 (bookings each)
Spurs 2 Blackburn 1
*sending offs each
still so nervous
predicting would be futile. Heart says draw, head says home win. Sad face.
Whisper it quietly, but...
I reckon we can take Blackburn.
are you happy about getting Martinez as your manager soon
My aim pre-season was to finish top 10 in the DiS fantasy football league
I am currently 9th after being 2nd for ages after getting a bit drunk and forgetting to do my team as much as I should. Oops.
BUT I have just massacred my team using my wild card which I had saved, and have 10 out of 11 players playing two games this week. And they are all players that could do the business. Fingers crossed it works out. If it does, I could shoot back up to 4th or 5th, if not, I could be fucked.
Come on lads, do the business.
has the championship always ended a week earlier than the rest of the football league or is this cos of the fa cup final being next week?
not sure how i feel about any of this
confused
Think it's 'cos of the cup final.
we need to beat watford and cardiff need to lose to palace
for us to get in the play-offs. can't see it happening personally, but you never know in the championship. we'll beat watford, but i reckon a draw at selhurst park.
I think Cardiff will lose...
but we will only manage a draw. That would be typically Boro.
Peterborough v Derby today.
Though with neither team battling for a play off or against relegation there is only thing to play for - PRIDE!
I think Derby will batter us.
Darren Ferguson has dismissed rumours he's interested in going to Wolves. I can't see it happening myself but I can't help feeling a bit worried though.
Neil Warnock 'not Eminem' shock
http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/leeds-unveil-their-201213-kit-with-a-neil-warnockeminem-inspired-video/
Two questions bug me about Leeds.
a) Why the shitting fuck do they think a team in its second season in the division finishing mid-table (perhaps even top half) is a disappointing season?
b) Unless there's oodles of investment in transfers and player wages round the corner that I don't know about, what possible reason do they have for expecting promotion next season?
I'm not saying promotion is impossible - Warnock's a manager who can get mid-table Championship players to over-perform and perhaps he'll do so again. But there are at least ten teams with more reason to expect to go up next season than Leeds have.
The whole club seems to suffer from a collective delusion they're the side they were ten years ago. They're not. They're a mid-table Championship club with mid-table Championship players and paying (I think - might be wrong on this) mid-table Championship wages. Frankly it reminds me of us (Bristol City) at the start of this season when our manager and board were making noises about promotion whilst slashing costs at every corner and signing free transfers and players from the lower leagues.
Leeds could finish anywhere between fifth or twentieth next season and neither extreme would particularly surprise me. But surely nobody outside the club would have them anywhere near promotion favourites?
Here endeth my rant.
Liverpool supporters of the second tier innit
complete delusion based upon glorious past. Forest are quite similar although not quite as bad (not that I know fucking ANYTHING about etc.)
Frankly given how much of an utter shyster Bates is they'll be lucky to stay in the Championship in the short term. Can easily see a slide back into League 1 with their finances- it isn't as easy to coast in that division as it used to be. And good riddance frankly- I'm not a United fan but the way they are set up now they really are a comically horrible club.
Also should say
it's not all that absurd for a recently promoted Champ team to expect a second promotion push- the difference between the top of League 1 and most of the second tier is pretty slim and there's been a fair tradition over the last decade of recently promoted clubs keeping up the momentum, or clubs that struggled for most of the season suddenly turning it on and getting into the play-offs. It's what makes it such an exciting division, and if Blackpool, Southampton and Reading can do it then technically there's no reason Leeds can't.
Oh yeah - I'm not saying it's impossible for Leeds to go up.
I just don't understand why they think it's a likelihood, or a failure if they don't. The thing I suspect with all the clubs you mentioned is that teams like Blackpool, Southampton etc. would have been pleasantly surprised to have done so well. I don't blame any supporters for being optimistic in a league as random as the Championship. It's more the combination of conviction that they should be walking with the table with little evidence to back it up that bugs me.
as a leeds fan i need to say
we arnt all delusional simpletons who want a fight.
cheers
General reply not just to you but all these Leeds posts.
But I think 'entitlement' is such a bullshit argument, that can be levelled at any and every big club - it's just one that suits whoever is using it as a stick to beat a side, that for whatever their own prejudices it can fit nicely in. Liverpool, and to an extent Leeds are the obvious current examples because for both teams, the levels of success don't quite match to the levels of success the fans expect - do its obvious to see right now. But look at any club.
Whose sets of fans aren't 'entitled'? There are protests at the ownership of man utd despite being the most successful club in England under them, and there'd be riots all over Essex should they ever drop out of the top 4, let alone be relegated. Likewise with Chelsea, and they've only come to expect success for ten years - there are even the occasional murmurings from fans of City when they lose the odd game, when the majority of their fans haven't known success in their lifetimes. I needn't even waste time mentioning the behaviour of Arsenal fans. Look how, even Blackburn and Villa fans have behaved at times this season - are they 'entitled'? Or Newcastle the season they got relegated. It's not just a premier league thing - look at other teams in the championship, you only need to look at domgourley's posts on here to see 'entitlement' from Forest.
-------------------
In terms of leeds, I don't think we have a 'right' to be playing top flight football, as - youre right - many of our fans do, and feel that we should be going up just because we're Leeds. But the current problems with our squad are just so obvious and fixable there are some very tangible signs that were more than capable of promotion.
For example, a little bit of investment - not by any means an unreasonable amount - could give us the extra push towards the top 6, or honestly even the top 2. In terms of current personnel, we have the spine of a decent side - the top scorer from last season, a strike who's up there with the top scores this season, a capable goalkeeper, the most experienced promotion manager in the championship, one talented centre mid player in Clayton, and that's without mentioning our best player, and one is clearly top 10 prem standard in Snodgrass. We have some good defensive prospects in Tom Lees, and the more senior players such as Alex Bruce have been known to have the odd superhuman defensive display There's just no consistency at the back, and our organisation at the back under Grayson at times can be compared to Arsenal's ineptitude.
That's our current personnel. In terms of people who have left, our homegrown captain left to be the 'iniesta' of Norwich, one of the most talented players we had, Gradel, was sold too. We got a ton for Delph a couple of years ago. Decent players like Johnson and Beckford left. Where has this money gone? I'm not suggesting we spend beyond our means, but if the books are balanced are we just spend the money we've made in a few key areas, we would vastly, vastly improve.
It's not even like were not spending anything - Bates is spending money on totally frivolous things like a five star hotel and nightclub in Beeston, something that just makes zero sense.
Another of the reasons that our fans are unhappy is that we're not even meeting the standards set in league 1 and our first season in the championship. Apart from the two relegation seasons, weve actually had very decent ratio of wins, and we're actually used to winning, generally, on a week by week basis. Generally up there near the playoffs every season since we went down, apart from the two relegation seasons. We just finished 14th and have recorded our 11th home defeat of the season, a new record - this is 7 places lower than last season, and I think our fans have a lot of reasons to be disappointment.
Tl;dr summary -
* entitlement is a criticism that could be levelled at virtually any football club.
* the reasons for our fans disappointment is nothing to do with 'entitlement' right now anyway.
They always do it us Saints fans
ANOTHER final game of the season nail biter!
Can't believe they had to put it on TV as well.
This is gonna be torture
if you don't win this
my god will you have unearned promotion
True enough...
but on the other hand if we finish with 85/86 points and +35 goal difference and don't go up I'll retain some right to be pissed off.
That's true
100 points is the new 85, tbf.
quite fancy Bolton to beat a tired looking Sunderland
Everton 2 Fulham 1
Stoke 0 Arsenal 2
Sunderland 1 Bolton 2
Swansea 1 Wolves 0
West Brom 1 Villa 2
Wigan 1 Newcastle 2
Norwich 2 Liverpool 1
Chelsea 2 QPR 1
Spurs 3 Blackburn 0
Last game of the season today
Dorch v Bromley. They are pretty much safe and we are up for a top ten finish. A horrible game is on the cards. Can't wait.
wilshere possibly out for the start of the season
sure we've all heard the nasty and quite probably untrue whispers about...
"a long-term injured, international midfielder from a top four side".
probably bollocks, but i could think of four possibles.
gotta be careful what we say.
i hope he recovers from his injury asap. great player.
what's this? pm me.
unless you're trolling.
I imagine it involves drugs
At a stretch, an affair with the manager's wife.
Savage seems to be the most nervous man in the ground
as only the man who was standing next to Keown at Leeds can be.
Nigel Adkins <3
Who else would use the phrase "KPIs" in a pre-match interview and sound so enthusiastic about it?
Lyon's new kit is in 3D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYyveBnIo-w
A FOOTBALL KIT IN 3D. For goodness sake.
Oh, it's their third choice kit. But even so.
shame the scummers have such a routine fixture. Hammers will probably only draw anyway
Soccer Saturday's not covering the Championship games, then
Mancini says they're not favourites for the title even if they go top
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17878892
Unless he's heard all the "mind games" stuff, seen United's last two results and thinks whatever Vieira's been doing is working so gone for it route one.
common sense, surely?
after the derby we play two sides who need results, they play two sides who have nothing to play for.
Newcastle away's a tougher game than Swansea at home.
QPR (who might need a result) will be tougher than Sunderland (already safe, can't get in Europe, a team made up of United fans).
If City beat United AND Newcastle, then they should be favourites, but not before. Not going to happen, though.
The two teams that have this weekend conceded ten between them
RAG CONSPIRACY.
You don't have to be KiK to think that City will probably drop points at Newcastle.
Huge game for Lewes today
Gotta win and hope Wealdstone or Bury lose. Cant lose the hometown affiliation to Saints either so some serious nerves there... BIG DAY
Thank fuck for that
:D
Merson comparing Chelsea to the A Team :D
Expendables, more like.
God-awful first 45 for us there
Speaks volumes about Cov's season that we're still convincingly ahead
I feel for Coventry
trying to play nice stuff with toddlers is a thankless task.
-
http://tinyurl.com/c62vcep
Pro tip: Gabby holding up a photo of her dad where he supposedly looks like Savage would have been funnier if we could see it
Now that our season is officially over, I can enjoy the weekend's football fully.
I'm even willing to put my support behind West Brom this afternoon...
I really don't think Reading or Southampton will struggle next season.
Whoever wins the play-offs might, but those two are already better than the likes of Aston Villa and QPR.
Wham would do fine
nestle comfortably in the lower to mid reaches of the table like inoperable bowel cancer in the fashion of every Allardyce side ever.
Never thought i'd say this, but...
i wouldn't mind another season of Holloway if the only other alternatives are West Ham, Birmingham, Cardiff, or possibly Boro.
They'd go right back down again, but at least it'd be fun hearing all the pundits comparing them to Brazil when they're 4-1 down every other week.
The way Villa are going
They won't be playing Reading or Southampton next year
PREMIER LEAGUE
that Adam Banana's not a bad player.
could probably do it in the big league, a.k.a Andrew Surname.
we're signing Marko Marin, apparently.
It's just dawned on me what a shit manager McLeish must be...
He finished 3rd with Rangers...
Rangers are currently 11 points clear of 3rd, despite having 10 deducted.
Jason Puncheon :')
Did you see the thing in the MEN
with the map of 'where United and City's fans are really from'?
Showed it pretty much half and half with the west being more red and the south being blue. I think it's mad how much of an issue it is for some mancs, the geography of their support.
Unrelated, but they just announced it was a record attendance at St Mary's and it got a huge cheer. The commentators were saying how great it was. But I'm more of the view of "where were you lot last year?". Is that unreasonable? Like when Crawley took more to United than they get at home. I think it's the epitome of fairweather.
yes we did
Our average attendance last year was 23,000
in League One.
Cheers
I'm not questioning your support.
But aren't the new 10,000 a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies who are gonna be pushing up your ticket prices with their extra demand, now that they wanna see Wayne Rooney at their ground?
Well yeah, but:
football fans in "being more interested in seeing Wayne Rooney than Dagenham and Redbridge" shocker.
Have to agree.
There isn't a club in the land whose crowds wouldn't dip on relegation. Even ours did, despite the "City were packed out in Division Two" spiel. Arsenal fans go home if they're 0-1 down, ffs. They'd get about 15,000 if they were ever relegated.
I don't think it's supporters merely wanting to see better players. I'm sure most support their side irrespective of performances or results, but the dip in quality is rarely reflected in the price. It's about £40 to watch Leeds, for instance. If these clubs cut prices when they go down, i suspect they'd get much bigger gates.
fair.
not that i'm in any position to talk,
but that's wrong about arsenal. the crowd that went to games would change drastically yes, but it wouldn't dip that low.
It's not really an issue.
More just friendly japes.
They're mostly from outside of the Manchester boundaries, we're mostly from Stockport. Both nonsense, of course, though surveys prove there might be grains of truth to both.
As long as you go to games, it shouldn't really matter if you live 5, 20 or 100 miles from the ground itself.
Also, commentators getting eggy about pitch invasions and streakers:
fuck off.
Yay!
A Micah Richards!
In meaningless end-of-season fixture news, for the first time in living memory, Bristol City didn't put a keeper on the bench.
Our keeper got injured.
Ricky Lambert in the Prem :''''')
*Rickie :(
Get him on the plane.
i'd like a blackpool-cardiff final.
me too i think
i'd want birmingham to go up but that means marlon king
The Saints are going up! :D
Surreal game - we never really got out of first gear and stuck four on them. Puncheon's attempts at chasing it down :') A point at Boro last week and we'd have been champions. Weird.
Commiserations to Coventry - my local team for three years so I feel a bit gutted for them. Nothing broke for them today but they should be proud of the fight they put up.
Southampton are going up are they?
Oh wow, Marko Marin confirmed already.
Guess the club must have thought the story was gonna leak. Not gonna lie and say I know him inside out, but the three or four times I've seen him play a full 90 in the last few years, he has always stood out. If we're honest, Chelsea are going to struggle to sign the best of the best, what with most summer deals already well under way and so many question marks over us for next season (never mind FFP), but these are the sort of signings that made us great when Roman first arrived so it's exciting. Some width would be nice, too.
QPR tomorrow is gonna be interesting. On paper, we should murder QPR. But with them desperate for points, us definitely knackered and perhaps liable to be hungover and there now being a genuine two-way emnity between fans and players alike, it may not be so straightforward.
Pleased for Southampton.
yeah not seen Marin much but I hear he's fantastic
I think we'll probably beat QPR, but not by much. One goal, maybe in extra time.
much... much
much of a muchness it seems
He's a good player.
Very tricky, low centre of balance, good close control, can score and make goals from nothing, and can play across the midfield.
Not too dissimilar from Juan Mata, really. Like Mata he's quite inconsistant. Maybe not in terms of stats (thought you could argue that for Theo Walcott), but in that he either has excellent games, or is completely anonymous. Litle inbetween.
Any idea of a fee? Think he was in the last year of his deal.
Consensus on the Chelsea forum I use is £8m.
Could be that one guy on a dodgy German website made that up and everyone is merely parrotting him though. From what I know of him, it's a very good sensible sort of signing- young, able to play across the midfield (albeit in advanced positions), inexpensive, not likely to rock the boat or cause disruption, not too much lost if he doesn't make the grade ... Superstar signings are nice and all, but I'll take 5 or 6 of these type of signings over 1 or 2 megabucks sexy names any day.
Harru loves him
Make of that what you will.
i bought him in football manager
he has world class technical skill, apparently
always injured though
ALWAYS
Congrats to Southampton.
Well deserved. Been a class above all season
Blackpool/Birmingham play off final please.
they're playing eachother in the semi unfortunately
Arse!
-
Everton 1 Fulham 0
Stoke 1 Arsenal 1
Sunderland 1 Bolton 1
Swansea 3 Wolves 1
West Brom 1 Villa 1
Wigan 0 Newcastle 1
Norwich 1 Liverpool 2
Chelsea 4 QPR 1
Spurs 1 Blackburn 0
Well played Southampton.
Never truly bought into the south-coast rivalry between them and Brighton so I'm not too bitter. That is except for one of your players claiming to have won the title last year ; )
That was Billy Sharp, wasn't it?
He wasn't even there at the time!
2-0 down already
:D
Make that 3
At least its making sure there is no reason at all for Connor to be given the job full time
Here was me banking on the
Release of pressure from being relegated leading to a little upturn in form.
Well...
We have scored 2
PETER CROUCH
Craig Gordon's playing
where's he been hiding for the past five years?
on top of a pile of money
with many beautiful ladies
anyone want to pay 9m for him?
we could do with our money back.
is the misconception that The Britannia's a difficult place to play based purely on the fact that Arsenal are shit tehre?
Yesss
mon the Latics
Following today's matches on the bbc live ticker thing
just refreshed it and there were 4 goals in the space of a minute. jesus shit.
Come on you Saints
Awesome. Wish I could have been there to invade the pitch, but commuting from China would have been hard, let alone getting a ticket.
Promotion once again is dedicated to that big bear in the sky, Marcus.
Big up to NC + NA - I've never felt so optimistic about my football club!
Bolton winning; Wigan winning
Come on Sandwell Town
this is what we want
all we need now is Woy's lot sinking Villa
fucks sake.
Come on Wimbledon and Crawley.
wolves-swansea is match of the season, isn't it?
nope.
At the rate Wigan are going it won't be match of the day
What on earth is happening in Wales
And the DW
Wolves are defo
Going down.
15 goals in the first 40 mins so far in the Premier League...
MOTD already looking good.
Wigan are murdering Newcastle, by the sounds of it.
They're such little shits, Wigan, aren't they? :D Gotta like 'em for it.
Murdering is putting it nicely
Everything they're hitting is beating Krul :(
putting 70 grand on it finishing 4-5 toon
money in the bank
two quid would get you 250
says my brother who has just put that bet on
blimey.
that's a LOT of money, mate.
hope it pays off for you.
i used to think they were a blight on the premier league
NOT ANYMORE
jesus
Wigan never have it this easy.
I'm predicting Newcastle get a couple of early goals second half, add a third late on, and Wigan have to hang on like their lives depend on it.
That bit of time back then when Newcastle were considered contenders for the Champions League...
...that was nice. Wigan absolutely tearing us apart. The players look like they've literally shat themselves.
Got to love Martinez.
what the hell
conor sammon still won't score
sunderland leading
fuck off
Kevin Davies <3
ignoring the fact that he gave away the free kick for their goal
stream frozen on a picture of ryo's face
anyone with a working one pm me please
Hutton :-s
seen a couple of tweets proclaiming him a hero as well
what an embarrassing club
like there's a single club in the world that don't have fans who'd say the same
^this is going to get loads of 'thises', isn't it?
fairly obvious what was meant.
i don't know what was meant sorry
no worries
just went on the bbc football site for the first time since the premiership games kicked off
wigan are winning 4-0
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK !? :D :D
deperately want Spurs to get a CL place AND for Wigan to stay up...
What an absolutely mad set of games
Imagining sitting at the Hawthorns and checking the other results on your phone
Fucking McCleish, what a killjoy.
4-4
Don't believe it.
It's going to cost me a couple of hundred quid as well. Come on Swansea.
The only team I don't mind losing 4-0 to is probably Wigan
just because it's fucking mental :D
Seriously though,
a ludicrous display.
People who: dive in the box when they have a clear shot at goal
cheers yossi
*Agent Yossi
Graham Alexander scores an injury time equaliser for Preston in his final league game
A couple of seasons ago he fronted a safe sex awareness campaign at Burnley
which amounted to people handing out condoms outside the ground which came in a wrapper showing Grezza and his thousand-yard stare. I've yet to find a more effective form of birth control
Our tilt at breaking Fulham's record is over thanks to that :(
I WANT THE UNIVERSE
We will of course equal Fulham's record by mauling Hartlepool next week. But what's the point of 101 points when it could have been 103? I'm going to go and have a cry now
Jesus Christ, we actually could finish 4th
Leyton Orient seemingly staying up too, which is nice
Conversely though, if we screw up completely tomorrow and QPR get something
then Villa will look in REAL trouble
oh wednesday
you're not good for my health!
great result.
looks like its arsenal and chelsea in the CL spots then
away at Chelsea then home to City in next two games. Spurs are spurs.
really hope MK Dons go up again.
despite all the "franchise" bullshit, they're a really good side.
Macclesfield relegated :(
Thoroughly deserved, though. Doubt we'll bounce back either, especially if we don't get rid of Horton. He never was great with transfers and we'll probably sell the better players (Diagne, Hewitt, Draper, Wedgbury) for whatever price, so they'll need replacing.
Bet Rance still wants to build a new, similarly-sized stadium down the road
instead of paying money for players.
So Huddersfield sacked Lee Clark in mid-February
when they were fourth, four points off the top two, as "we still have an opportunity to achieve promotion and we have made this change with this in mind".
Huddersfield are now fifth, twelve points off the top two.
grats to Swindon
and Shrewsbury even though it would've been funny to see them lose another play-offs.
Swindon fan on here how many do you reckon you'll be bringing to vp next week?
Cheers Wigan :)
Cheers Stoke :)))))
No mention of this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17880383
Sounds like he's off if Spurs aren't in the Champions League next year.
Sounds like he'll do what he's bloody well told
Hope we don't sign him.
I'd like to think we've come too far to resort to that sort of football now, and i could think of countless players i'd rather us spend £30m on.
If he wants to play champions league
he should play like a champions league quality player and then he might.
You know how we all scoffed we John Terry said he wasn't "that kind of player"?
Just seen this. He might be a kind of player, but he was right tbf.
Career appearances: 534
Career red cards: 4
Career red cards for violent conduct: 1
Red cards per appearance: 0.0075
Red cards for violent conduct per appearance: 0.0019
DenialKelly
WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON! WE'RE PREMIER LEAGUE!!
Shame we're not champions but I wont lose too much sleep over that. Jose Fonte baby's run leading up to that first goal was pure class. Just seen the post match interviews and I think Nigel was about to cry. Love him!! 3 seasons: 1 Cup, 2 promotions can't say better than that.
Norwich did well to get those points on the board.
A win or two less and they'd be in real trouble now.
Gonna be 2 wins in 12 after this.
They really are awful.
thanks mate
the fact most of our team is injured means fuck all right
or that, you're relying on chaos theory
we don't have anything to play for anymore, we've had an amazing season etc. etc.
Hmmmm.
Anyway, let's just reflect on those goals - both superb finishes from Suarez. He has his critics, mostly for matters away from then pitch, but there is no denying he is a world-class footballer.
Yes there is.
Cheers.
Yeah, it's a quote from the BBC live feed.
Cheers, DiS.
I have never seen a player so obviously skilled
with so little end product. You think from watching him he's just bitterly unlucky- and fair enough his assistants are Downing, Henderson and co- but you can't be as unlucky as he is with such consistency.
Also from the BBC live feed?
nah
that top notch asinine punditry is all mine.
You see, I'm not going to slag him off
or say he's shit, or even that he isn't word-class. Just thought it was funny that the BBC guy thinks he undeniably is.
I don't think he's ever been criticised for his off-the-pitch conduct
All of the diving, being a gigantic racist, handling that Ghana shot on the line (and the subsequent celebrations), biting that bloke in Holland, waving imaginary cards, giving Fulham's fans the finger and his hopelessly profligate finishing all happened and continue to happen on the pitch. Off it he seems pretty sound.
Barnet and Hereford turn on the style just in time for the end of the season
Ridiculous stuff.
For sale: A 3rd place finish
Bargain price due to no current takers.
Is the pig choking?
8stepstoperfection and brethren may be about to shove a season's worth of taunting back down my throat :/
Nigel Adkins is the creepiest manager this side of Steve Evans
It's a weird kind of sexless, Uncanny Valley-type vibe
Oi, acknowledge the longest post I've ever made
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4338225#r6725172
Not going to lie to you,
I really couldn't be bothered ploughing through it all, sorry.
I did
Wished I hadn't.
NAH YOU'RE ALRIGHT NESTOR. I don't think there's anything I really disagree with in there- talking about which club has the biggest set of nobheads for fans is a bit of a pointless argument. But the fact your owner keeps selling off your best players tells me you aren't going anywhere but downwards as it stands.
I love how people are talking about Suarez being a shit finisher further up the pitch.
What's that on your face, chaps? Think it's a bit of egg actually.
Weh-ho.
When/where/whom?
I only remember people saying he wasn't world-class.
Not sure a hat-trick against Norwich disproves that, champ.
Ah, right.
Steved said so. Fair do's.
He's quite a talented player. No doubt about that. Not one of the best in the league, though. Probably on a par with an Adebayor or a Dzeko, as in, will get you a dozen or so goals a season, show some nice touches, but ultimately be a good way behind the likes of Aguero, Rooney, van Persie, etc. For £23m, i'd expect a bit more, personally.
Oh yeah, one game
That's everyone well told.
;-D
This one game against to an utterly unarsed and untalented Norwich sure proves me wrong. On the same level as claiming Aaron Wilbraham is a Premiership standard player because he's scored a few goals this season.
Nice to see he scored a few today
Shame he didn't score any of the eleven he took last time we played Norwich. For what it's worth I think Suarez is an absurdly talented player but he simply doesn't take enough of the chances he gets. Even with the ban(s) eleven Premier League goals for the season isn't a particularly good return from the amount of chances he gets.
it's in our hands now
just one more game to go. relegated wycombe won't be a pushover (they might play with a bit more freedom as a result), but I believe we can win. it will be a nervous 90 minutes that's for sure!
fantastic stuff from stevenage. that luke freeman looks some player.
you are so damn lucky they're already down
they gave us a hell of a game, and it looks like they pushed notts c all the way too
still a trifle miffed at today's geriatric fairytale. what can you do but :') I guess
has anyone even got the definition of world-class down to pat yet?
PAT.
and.......there it is.
Lovely as it is that Chester FC have secured back to back promotions,
part of me does wonder whether an open-top bus parade to celebrate winning the Evo-stik Premier League is a bit much:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-17881919
awful miss there by Gago
anyone watching this?
Roma just scored a good goal
Now that was a tremendous goal.
did it take a deflection?
Don't think so.
Good game this. Loving the Roma fans booing their team for only being 4 points off a Champion's League spot. That's high standards.
They're like the Arsenal fans of Serie A?
Suarez is such a weasely little bastard.
Also: dear old Norwich looked knackered today. Oh well. Nearly there.
so that was franco di santo's annual wondergoal
Possibly the best goal i've seen this season
sublime
barely a backlift, pinpoint
so good.
But, you know....FUCKING WIGAN FFS.
definitely a better strike than suarez's
past a better goalkeeper, more precision - won't get 1/50 the hype
the fact that it's Di Santo counts against him,
but he knew what he was doing
Off to throw myself in front of a train after watching that bbc city/utd ad
christ.
please
Napalm Death on the other ad though!
\m/
:D
and I thought Lineker was being a bit sarcastic about the whole BIGGEST GAME IN THE WORLD EVER thing; wasn't he?
I would like to think so
I am a bit excited about it though. It's totally going to be boring as isn't it
:D
it was amazing. I hope the prankster behind it ramps it up with some Merzbow next.
I tweeted "Lineker slagging off Napalm Death"
and I got nine retweets including one by Robin Ince. This must be what being in One Direction feels like.
the next goal of the month music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOhpkxi-lOc&feature=related
and there was me hoping for this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx_Zh2NoeYY
do you reckon anyone like _genuinely_ hopes for that music
They've shot their bolt, though
Nobody seems to have noticed, but on the MOTD2 trail for the last few weeks they've been putting non-fitting novelty hits - The Floral Dance last week. Napalm Death on there was meant entirely for lols at the music.
did lawrenson just call kevin davies a big puss?
i hope he did
those first two suarez strikes were sublime.
all three!
best hat trick i can think of apart from that bergkamp one maybe
The second in Bergkamp's was a lucky deflection off a keeper twenty yards out of his goal
dean windass against derby then
ronaldo vs united
plus the ronaldinho one.
for the quality of strikes maybe vaz te too
watched ronaldo vs united after i posted this
it's rubbish
i dont actually remember it
i remember his performance being incredible in that first half though.
ronaldinho was definitely great. definitely.
Loves that Di Canio one
Watching Stoke is an ordeal.
If I was a linesman,
I'd love to be able to tell Wenger, "I didn't see it."
I guarantee all those fans mimicking Wenger panic bought petrol.
alan hutton you are fucking abysmal
please cancel your contract
Hehehehe
that handball
could have been so costly, the stupid prick. god i actually hate him
terrible player
he's great when he plays for scotland
and before his big injury/drug bust. otherwise I agree
Nah, he was terrible for Spurs even before that
Absolutely zero technique.
well, I still maintain he's really good for Scotland
or at least puts the effort in he doesn't elsewhere
he puts the effort in
he's just clueless. I'd be less harsh if he was just a tryer who doesn't have the quality, but his moments of stupidity and his generally nasty streak means he's just vile.
There's the referee's view?
Wtf? :')
:D
The last one emanated from his crotch
Someone get a rope round Gary next time he considers something like that
Definite air of encroaching senility to MOTD these days
Southampton boss just mentioned Sun Tzu's Art of War
I would like them to lose this game but they aren't going to
Cov end the game with about seven teenagers on the pitch
wasn't good
PARDEW OUT
DK, Ibzo etc.
Watch out if you're heading down to the Bridge today. The QPR Twitfam are about, could be serious trouble.
http://yfrog.com/mmccowfj
:')
Heading out in a mo. Hate early games so much.
jesus.
hahahahaha
saw this flag in their end, couldn't believe my eyes. twitfam :')
nani out for the derby
Superb
ffs
looked like he was really hungry and playing well after coming back.
this would be like us making a big deal of Adam Johnson being out.
he wouldn't be in your strongest XI. fact.
another 36 hours of this sort of stuff
*gets the popcorn and a comfy seat*
36 hours nothing
its going to extend right through the week!
;-D
To be honest, there seems to be surprisingly little needle between the supporters of both clubs about the game. I think both sets of supporters are just too nervous.
I've not read a newspaper or watched any punditry for the last week, knowing the bullshit spin they'd put on every little thing. Haven't missed it at all. Just like this thread has been better off from being derby hype bullshit free.
We seem to have been being treated recently, we had THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAME EVER (Chelsea parking the bus against a tired, low Barca), THE BEST GAME EVER (take your pick), THE BEST HATTRICK EVER (Suarez), now on Monday we'll have THE BIGGEST PREMIER LEAGUE GAME EVER. So, so much bullshit.
Gotta be honest, i don't see it as such a huge game. Our season won't be defined on whether we beat United or not. It's already our best season in about 35 years.
yeah but you know there's gonna be some heavy controversial decision
and then it will start all over again
wouldn't surprise me.
but i'm going to rise above it for the time being and put my faith in the officials.
anyway, more interestingly...both of today's games should be interesting, despite them both being top six sides at home to relegation fodder.
the old firm however
wait there's an old firm today?
t'is quite obviously true.
Ferguson said something similar recently.
i'll take your opinion over his, though, pal.
thanks for clearing it up.
his playing stats when fit dont seem to back that up.
as entertaining as the football was yesterday
with all its goals and surprising moments and that... why? Why was Swansea/Wolves 4-4? Why did Wigan beat newcastle 4-0? mental. fun though
that Wolves/Swansea game really wasn't great
all the goals were basically total cock-ups and there was a very strange atmosphere in the stadium, which I suppose makes sense given neither side were playing for anything and nobody knew what the fuck was going on.
By the way, today could be the last Old Firm for a while...
Please... PLEASE
also, yesterday me and my pal got into the partick thistle game for free
because some old dude thought we were under 16 :/
great header charlie mulgrew
hopefully the last game between these two teams
for forever
Amazing game/result!
Incredible banner work from the green brigade:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/549389_360179560705745_100001411111977_1026798_1530316353_n.jpg
Shocked they got the spelling right.
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE ELECT
FERNANDO "GOAL MACHINE" TORRES
If I could only get the thought their ruthlessness is fired up by Anton Ferdinand's presence out of my mind
4-0 up
You thinkchelsea would refrain from booing ferdinand
CASSANO!
What's with the amount of ridiculous open goal misses in recent times?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PabhzGFNT_4
Good one Nando
Can't really begrudge him that.
Torres hattrick?
shitting christ
Clint Hill have a paddy
about that goal <3
great to see sam hutchinson back in football
after his injury troubles and subsequent retirement.
yep, just going to post this
always a talented player; best of luck to him now he's back
great scoreline.
if they have to win (or draw) to stay up, yes, it will be.
obviously.
Stat of the day
Cisse has now scored or been sent-off in every game he has played for QPR since arriving from Lazio in January.
Cisse has played six games for QPR, scored in four and been sent off in the other two
More interestingly
if Blackburn win 17th to 19th will be level on points and separated by five goals.
Can Blackburn not win please
Ok, now to have a so far excellent weekend of football
ruined. Not going to watch the match so just going to leave my obligatory 'fuck off Spurs' here.
Italian football's really brilliant again.
It'll have overtaken the Premier League within a year or two, if it hasn't already.
been watching it a bit more regularly this year
all the matches i've watched have been highly entertaining.
There's nowt to celebrate about Juve being back anywhere near the top.
Conte.
Del Piero (occasionally, 'til the summer anyway).
Cracking new 'intimate' English-style ground.
Good football.
Watched that game in a pub full of chelsea fans
Many of the comments i overheard were grim and depressing
impossible for Blackburn to win this one.
:'D
Brought Torres and Lampard into my fantasy team this week.
Decided to go with fat Frank as captain D: Didn't even get an assist.
harry playing bale on the right
still.
it really is a beggar's belief
He was on the right for like 2 minutes, calm down
over the line or not, that sort of play really doesn't deserve a goal.
Sandrugggggghhhhhh
Danny Rose has been a bit rubs
Hopefully Gio will come on for him at half-time and Bale will drop to left-back :))))))
Is Howard Webb a good referee?
I'm obviously blinkered with today's game (and the Man utd game), so need someone elses opinion - did he do a good job today?
he's alright mate
[",]
youwouldsaythat
QPR are utterly dreadful.
Sorry LLB and the like, but Jesus H. Christ. Mildly irked that Cisse got a goal despite it's futility, because even as a supporter of the opposition he was offensively bad.
didn't realise that they got one.
I left after 83 minutes to beat the tube rush.
Couldn't understand why there was only 2 minutes of stoppage time during the first half. Mata was down for longer and the QPR fans kept hold of the ball for a while. Should have been about 4 I reckon?
Meh, doesn't really matter.
Guess Webb just felt sorry for QPR.
That's the feeling I have with Webb.
It's almost as if he wants to bring other teams back into the game when they don't deserve it.
The amount of free kicks we should have had was an absolute joke. Need to watch it again later though.
Poor Gio :(
huge deflection.
he'll probably get an MBE or something.
:D Never change.
That's a stunning free-kick.
i just knew kik would've already written a disparaging comment about that free-kick :)
This game would be exhibit A in the premier league
not being anywhere near the best league in the world anymore.
Two teams with a lot to play for looking uninterested and just generally lacking in talent, that free kick aside. Spurs being in the top 4 :')
Mmm
We utterly dominated possession, but really, the win was almost coincidental. What's the point in having all of the ball if it doesn't lead to goals? Not the way football should be played.
I bet
nobody ever makes sweeping judgements about La Liga or the Bundesliga based on one game. I've now heard that line four times this weekend.
ive been saying this for about or 5 months,
and as the season has gone on it's only proved my point further - newcastle, and wigan's mental 180 being the two exceptions.
I think if you wanted a decent game to summarise my argument, this game would be a good point. You'll get games of low quality in every league, but it's very rare you'll get a team fighting for 4th playing a side wanting to stay up, with both looking utterly useless.
aye
If it wasn't for us, Newcastle, post-March Latics and Swansealona this league would be a total waste
Think it's pretty normal for a side who get to the end of April desperately fighting to stay up
to look more than utterly useless.
This is always such a boring discussion/argument and I can't help but mentally place a little black mark next to the name of anyone who tries to get it going. So many different (usually) arbitrary measures of how good a league is, so incredibly unlikely that anyone with a job and/or life watches enough football from enough leagues to make anything like an informed call on it. Slightly tickles me that 99% of people making the argument that the Premier League is nowhere near the best league in the world now implicitly suggest that it what as at same past juncture- as if there weren't people falling over themselves to say the Premier League was over-rated two, three, four etc years ago.
For what it's worth, FIFA thinks the Premier League is among the best in the world, and very, very close to being the best in the world. Think I'll go with them.
Fucking hell!
How short is Steve Kean?
Woefully...
It seems like Blackburn's plan to frustrate Spurs
depended on Spurs being a better team than they currently are.
Uniao Leiria only had 8 players starting because of strikes/resignations over unpaid wages.
http://twitpic.com/9fa9mr
They only lost 4-0.
jose dominguez is their manager haha
been off the grid this weekend
Some surprising results in the Prem eh..
Hereford spank Crawley 3-0 away, we concede in the 94th minute and draw 1-1 against Crewe.. we had 1 foot in League 1 for a moment there. Still, there is a glimmer of hope we could make it, although Southend are in with a shout as well.
Crawley have lost their way of late
Reckon it's between us now. I suspect you'll sneak it but who knows. At least we've definitely got the Payoffs to look forward to regardless.
true
I don't fancy us away at Hereford though, if we are in the playoffs I hope we get Crewe, I should be able to make the away tie if we do. Be great either way
We know what you are, we know what you aaaaaaaare. Luis Suarez. We know what you are.
Yep, we know you're one of the deadliest players in the league, mate. Keep going.
PS. In all seriousness, are there any Norwich fans here? If so, why were you singing all the anti-Liverpool United songs yesterday? We definitely don't have a rivalry, and I was aware of no fan beef. Up until yesterday of course. Hope they get relegated next year.
Well they have as much chance of relegation as Liverpool next season
I guess
its not an anti-liverpool united song
its an anti-racism song
I endorse this reading
NCFCxFAN
YAWN
https://twitter.com/#!/OptaJoe/status/196663452155121664
Great stat, great player.
Harry must be gutted
http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/NewsAndFeatures/2012/statement-roy-hodgson-300412.aspx
Wow
So much for all the tabloids with their weeks of insider insight on how it'd either be Redknapp or Pearce.
Roy is the only manager they've approached
Doesn't say West Brom is the only club they've approached.
phew
thats gerrard out of the squad at least
sounds like they're making him a patsy.
Harry knows he'd be out on his arse when England don't make it past the group stage, so stick Roy in, let him get the flack, Redknapp gets a nice 4-year deal when he's sacked.
i've got a lot of time for the term "patsy"
i prefer a flan.
Don't do it, Roy.
can i just say...
i'll be delighted if Hodgson gets the job. bloody delighted.
i might even support England this summer.
i mean...
he'll get destroyed by the press eventually, probably within a year, but it'd be nice to have a national team manager to be proud of for the short-term.
Lets take bets on at what stage we get the first violent face rub
I reckon when we go 2-0 down in the friendly against Norway next month.
Bloody hell
FA in doing the right thing shock?!
Be kinda hilarious if he turned it down! I hope he doesn't though. Of all the candidates, he is the type of person England need as boss right now.
Builds from the back, gets best out of people, works with what he has. I'd almost be tempted to watch England play again.
Almost.
Doing the right thing in, in all probability, interviewing more than one candidate?
Why are people reading so much into this?
I don't understand why you're losing your shit.
We all admit Harry's done a reasonable job taking Spurs from 18th to 6th.
I dunno
Probably just that 'Arrys been in court. And his team have had near-relegation form for 3 months solid. And he's pretty inept tactically. And the FA said they're not interviewing anybody else...
Sort of suggest Hodgson may be in with a shout I'd say.
Question: would you rather he stay or go?
Hodgson is the only manager the FA have approached, is what they've said
Would you like them to approach Harry right now? While we're still in the middle of a fight for Champions League qualification? Yeah, I'm sure Daniel Levy and co would love that. Go ahead, David Bernstein - knock yourself out.
I really don't care that much
But I don't see how you can just dismiss this as a non-story.
Because it probably is
When the FA replaced Sven, they spoke to all four of Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren, Alan Curbishley and Martin O'Neill. Obviously only one of them got the job. Stuart Pearce is already established within the FA and will have been spoken to on numerous occasions, if not explicitly about succeeding Capello; Harry Redknapp is tied to a club still with plenty to play for between now and the end of the season. Alan Pardew too, if you want to consider him a contender. The FA aren't going to be granted permission to speak to either of the latter two before the season is over, are they, but at the same time, why wait to speak to Hodgson when things are already running so tight? At the very least, you'd except the FA to want to interview everyone on their shortlist; the idea they'd appoint anyone without doing so just doesn't ring true.
Roy is a year younger than Fabio and Harry
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE.
I don't want Roy to take it
I like him too much
The Sun sports desk must be sharpening their knives already
poor bastard
This is the worst possible news.
Really excited for the summer. Feels like someone's just told me it's going to rain throughout June and July.
Gutted.
Who do you think...
would be the best (realistic) choice for the job, and with them in charge what's the best you think England could hope for this summer?
anyone.
you don't realise what he does to your team, to your tactics, to your shape and style - until he manages your team.
jesus. help us.
would the odd Cup have masked that?
Makes most of them quite successful? I can live with that.
Yeah they should give it to Kenny
Remember, never work with kids, animals or racists.
fuck yourself.
Kenny Dalglish has won more major honours than I even care to remember.
Roy Hodgson has not only won zero, he's also been relegated.
There's always next year
I don't think i can face the inevitable stressed/depressed
shots of Hodgson in Ukraine this summer :(
Enjoying hearing Liverpool supporter say Roy failed at the only big club he's managed.
Complete bollocks. He got them to a UEFA Cup Final and they finished well ahead of City neighbours Milan during his second season there, only losing out on the Serie A title to excellent Juve and Parma sides.
you're on serious form today
Roan reckons it could be a compo issue.
Levy would be demanding a packet to let us have Redknapp.
But surely, SURELY you'd then wonder why West Brom wouldn't be doing the same?
Oh that's right. It's because they realise that steady, mid-table, play-for-a-point-away managers are ten-a-penny.
...because his contract's up next month?
Dan Roan talks out of his arse, though, we shouldn't forget that.
Kenny Sansom talks sense.
NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT.
Drunken, woman-beating cunt is Kenny Sansom.
Mate of mine is a copper in the borough Sansom lives in and has nicked him three times in the last year.
There's some karmic poetry in this
Harry openly touts for taking over England job; England job becomes free; Spurs' form crashes through the floor; a couple of hours after their first win in ages the FA reveal they're talking to someone else about the position.
triffic end to the Betis/Atletico game.
Barca getting away with it early doors at Rayo.
I don't think Hodgson's right for this
A manager who refuses to set expectations has no place managing a side whose fans have very high and often unrealistic expectations as he's proved before. Added that to the fact his previous international experience consists of doing quite well with Switzerland 18 years ago, 2 nondescript years managing football titans the United Arab Emirates and the unwanted honour of being Finland's least successful manager of the last decade.
Well if you want successful international experience
You're not left with many candidates.
True
But there's a difference between picking someone with no international record and someone with a mediocre one. Admittedly he wasn't working with teams expected to do great things, but if you plump for someone who did an alright job somewhere you end up with Steve Mclaren.
I think that might be EXACTLY what England needs tbh
Why?
because as a group they could do with someone straight-talking and sensible
that said, they probably won't listen to him, and so they continue to be hilariously redundant
roy hodgsons a great manager
and he's got experience at international level. but I think if he took it, he'd fail, and I don't know why
Because he's a dour bastard who'd crack at the first sign of dissent within the media
So probably about 2 days after being appointed.
anyone would fail.
anyone.
Exactly, irrespective of who got the job they'd be facing a media - and many fans - who
have completely unrealistic expectations about how England are likely to achieve.
It's going to be a perfect storm of discontent with Woy though
His flat refusal to set expectations is going to drive the press into overdrive after a few goalless draws with Andorra and Luxembourg.
you people really hammer this one into the ground.
is it really so unbelievable that players of the quality of Rooney etc could be part of a successful team? Greece won the Euros before with a team of workhorses.
a proper manager, big players not bottling it, and you'd have evry chance of winning, or at least contesting the final of a tournament. making yourselves out to be rank outsiders is pretty amusing.
Plus
So many countries in Europe has at least made an European Championship final, even with expectations etc it's still amazing England haven't managed that.
greece was an exception
aside from Rooney, how many other truly world class players do England have? The majority of the team are solid players but nothing more. Danny Welbeck and Danny Sturridge might both be on the plane for example
Denmark in 1992?
Yes they had some very good players, but their win was a major surprise still, the Denmark team of the 80s was a lot better. And Czech Republic making the final in 1996 even.
they hosted it though didn't they?
No, 1992 was in Sweden
well, that's almost home-field advantage
the two cross-over alot
thats what I think it is
id have gone with chris houghton
obvious contender for trappa's job
when that comes around again after the 2014 world cup
Proof gathering that Fernando Torres' hat-trick was really an elaborate illusion, possibly involving mirrors and puppets
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2012/4/29/1335709052469/Fernando-Torres-celebrate-006.jpg
ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL
Hodgson got the England job then?
No
But we just need something to fill the lull between today and the game tomorrow.
Oh, okay.
Can you wake me if anything interesting happens.
I think he's be a great appointment
and would make England a slightly more likeable team
A very enjoyable day out.
QPR really poor and their support left in droves after twenty minutes. Lightweights on and off the pitch.
Slap up meal after. Few drinks. Lubbly jubbly.
i dont think Roy is a great choice
but there probably arent any better options. I think why Hodgson will fail though is the same reasons he failed at Liverpool. He needs a lot of time to drill home his tactics and he doesnt have that with England. His training is notoriously boring and the divas at Liverpool didnt like it so i dont see how this England team are gonna be game for it. At the world cup there was a lot of talk of boredom and an unhappy camp. I dont think Roy's training methods or man management are gonna be enough to get this side playing or 'up for it'. Even though Harry would get found out tactically i think he would bring a decent amount of team spirit in a short time and just let the players do what they want basically, which might be just what they need.
Why's everyone decided Harry has no tactical nous?
It's because he told Roman Pavlyuchenko to run about a bit, isn't it? He's been managing in the top flight of English football for almost 20 years, ffs.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE
i guess another advantage Roy has
is he would probably pick a beteter squad than Harry.
An England side i would actually support...
Manager: Woy
_______________Hart______________
Richards_Jagielka_Lescott_Baines
_________Parker___Barry__________
A.Johnson_____Cleverly_______AOC
_____________Crouch______________
(Yes, i said Crouch).
actually...
get Parker out. Dunno what i was thinking. Stick one of the Swansea lads in there.
Grant Holt on the bench. and Matt Phillips. and Kevin Phillips.
GRANT HOLT
if he was picked I would want him to do well, not that he would play
number two english goalscorer behind Rooney this season, isn't he?
i genuinely think
that Crouch has to go if England are serious about winning. no matter how good a defender you are when you've got someone 6 foot 7 against you who knows how to play, you'll struggle
cleverley is injured again
he needs a solid six months before he should be in the england team, even squad.
we've done shitloads of potential line-ups. the one we end up with will be much less inventive than any of them.
I really hope Hodgson gets it.
I think the national team should primarily be likeable, which he is. Success counts for little if personality-wise the team is awful.
In short, Bullard for England.
this seems a good time to re-affirm my
MICK MCCARTHY FOR ENGLAND petition
Fuck it
let's just send the Wolves first 11 out there
Might be a bit tricky as half of them will be playing Ireland's matches this summer too.
looking forward to his commentary on the bbc this summer
hope he reminds everyone of his heroic exploits with Ireland every few seconds again
Cisse :')
Barca's implosion continues.
They're probably already done for the season
Not surprising if they can't be arsed now in La Liga.
yep, I'm braindead as usual
try and bring it for one last show in the Copa final to say goodbye
but otherwise they're probably spent. it's been an intense few years.
Odd to think
that was the last proper Premier League Saturday of the season. (I know Arsenal-Norwich is next Saturday, but really, who cares?)
me!
although I'm not really sure why we're playing on fa cup day rather than on Sunday like everyone else
TV Money I suspect. Either way, I'm not working so BRING IT ON
I dunno
It's not on ESPN (nine and a half hours of final build-up!) Liverpool-Chelsea was moved for TV before the Cup worked out the way it did and then Arsenal-Norwich was scheduled for the same time regardless.
oh, its not on sky either
totally confused then
if the cup final can't have a weekend to itself
(with hour upon hour of build up, talk of the team suits and playing of the songs they've recorded) then it should at least be the only match of the day
The FA said it would be
then let Sky move Liverpool-Chelsea over. God knows what Arsenal are playing at.
This weekend would have been sooooooooo much better if Tottenham would have lost.
kyle walker's voice
FUCKING BBC BASTARDS
It said on iplayer that MOTD started at 10:30 tonight - I've missed the cunting Chelsea QPR highlights.
Cunts!!
I want you to imagine the kind of Sunday league team which allows Fernando Torres to score a hat trick.
That is what you missed.
:*/
I just wanted to re-live it !
Two things...
1) Colin Murray talking about Stoke's promotion in 2006/7 and Pulis agreeing - it was two years later.
2) The whole MOTD2 team scoffing at people suggesting Stoke are cloggers by using Crouch's wondergoal as proof to the contrary.
Words escape me.
In before...
ACTUALLY IT WAS 2007/8. Apologies. I was apoplectic at the Pulis circle jerk. I'm sorry everyone.
FWIW
Probably would take Crouch to the Euros. If Woy gets the job then I wouldn't be surprised if he did.
no mention of the scenes in the udinese-lazio match earlier?
absolutely mental.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwQIpRBWCY
go to about a minute. the music covers a phantom whistle by someone in the crowd. lazio go mental for about 10 minutes, man sent off, another booked, players pushing the referee. put back on the centre circle at one point only for it to be booted away :')
bloody facists