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Non Euro 2004 Football

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ONLY NICE THINGS

00:36 / 02.11.04

Wigan beat bastard Leeds 2-0... go six points clear... 16 unbeaten games... Sax ejaculates in trousers...

And, as Alan Mahon turns in a twinkle-toed performance, the moral is once again _always employ people who used to play for Tranmere_. We may not be good, but we are immune carriers...

Mind you, second with a game in hand, and an embarrassment of strikers (I think I am developing an obsession with Chris Dagnall).

On higher matters - this is now officically Man U's worst start to the season since, like, forever - worst in the Premiership's history? It seems that, with the exception of Gary Neville, the "golden generation" have either left, faded or faded and left. How can they pull it together? Buy another striker?

00:40 / 02.11.04

Get rid of Ferguson, it's the only way.

nedrichards is confused

13:47 / 02.11.04

Buy a central midfielder who isn't Kleberson or Djemba-Djemba. Teams with good central midfileders always look good in the premiership. Thus Butt, Scholes and Keane (at peak) drove United to success in the late 90s, Viera, Petit, Edu, Gilberto (2 Brazilians, always worthwhile) for Arsenal in the early 00's and the upcoming axis of Makalele, Lampard and Parker will for Chelsea. Even Liverpool look class with Gerrard and Alonso.

An old Keane and a depressed looking Scholes won't cut it. I mean you could make a convincing case that Bolton have a better central midfield than united at the moment with Speed and Okotcha looking silk and steel.

Building from the back is important and all but in the premiership you won't win unless you can get hold of the ball in midfield and disrupt the other teams ball there.

nedrichards is confused

13:49 / 02.11.04

Also check out this quote from Benitez. Asked who Liverpool were looking at to bolster the front line after Cisse's injury he replied: "Someone good and cheap". Class.

ONLY NICE THINGS

14:14 / 02.11.04

Dude, given the trouble Houllier had finding players with even one of those qualities (any amount of money for Frodo Kippe is to much money for Frodo Kippe), this seems like a good bit of focus...

Meanwhile, are Leeds about to be bought? I confess I was quite shocked when I saw just how bare the cupboard was for them - the squad they fielded against Wigan was actually worth significantly *less* than Wigan's side, although admittedly part of that is due to a pretty tasty youth team setup. V. wierd to think that they were second in the Premiership not so very long ago...

15:09 / 02.11.04

Leeds looked doomed, all the sales saved them from vanishing, but not much else. Let's not forget though that Wigan are one of the wealthiest non-premiership teams around.

Wish someone would inject a few billion into Forest and actually buy us our own stadium - we are more likely to be doomed than anyone else I think what with the only assets we hold being the team....sigh.

15:28 / 02.11.04

Rush has been ruled out of the running for the Wales Job, apparently they interviewed him, but no-one could understand a word he said.

So who should Wales and Scotland be looking to for inspiration?

20:04 / 02.11.04

Not fucking Walter Smith.

Here's a clue. It's easy to look good as Rangers manager. I can conceive myself taking Rangers to a top two posish in Scotland, despite absolute lack of SFA coaching credentials - incidentally, McLeish isn't very good either - but you soon see the real quality (or lack thereof) when someone goes to manage, say, Everton.

Speaking of - I'd kill for Moyes. But I'd do the same for Strachan.

20:18 / 02.11.04

I hope Strachan gets it, he is smart, funny and entertaining, and a good manager.

nedrichards is confused

19:59 / 03.11.04

Djimi Traore and Igor Biscan, at the time you seemed like needless extravagances, now, sweet now you are gods amongst men. That's Depor 0 - Liverpool 1. That's level top of the group now, from the look of it one win from the next two games will send us through.

Yaysome!

12:53 / 13.11.04

Not really a football fan, myself, but this goes much deeper than football.

Wrexham, my local side, could well be playing their last game today. It all centres round a property developer, who basically appears to want the ground they play on to develop, well, property.

Which doesn't involve one of Wales' oldest and proudest clubs. It's a tale that's been told many times before, across Britain, I know; but I'm finding it all unbelievably depressing.

Arian Chiles is writing about it in today's Independent, and a lot more on the issue can be found on the unofficial Wrexham FC noticeboard here

Goodness Gracious Meme

16:22 / 21.11.04

It's a real shame about Wrexham, there'll be quite a few more clubs in those straights...

On other news, watching Middlesborough at the weekend and against Lazio a while ago; Stuart Dowling is a bit tasty, isn't he? Speed, astonishing control and head for a young player.

How long do we think 'Boro will be able to stave off Man U? Really enjoying watching them this season...

Oh, and bouncing back from an appalling (wrestling)match and defeat at Ipswich:

Leeds United 6 - QPR(!!) 1

Wooooo-haaaah

nedrichards is confused

15:45 / 22.11.04

Dowling? Downing surely? Although the woodwork crossover...

Goodness Gracious Meme

22:04 / 22.11.04

meh. typo.

He's hardly wooden, is he?

Goodness Gracious Meme

00:49 / 29.11.04

MADRID, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o was the target of apparent racial abuse from opposition fans during his side's 2-1 victory over Getafe in Madrid on Saturday.

The African Player of the Year, who was greeted with monkey noises from around 50 of Getafe's supporters every time he touched the ball during the Primera Liga match, said he preferred not to comment about the incidents.

Getafe's Romanian striker Gica Craioveanu, however, was critical of the fans' reaction.

'I don't agree with this sort of behaviour,' he told reporters after the game. 'I wouldn't have liked to have been in Eto'o's shoes and I would have felt really bad about it.'

But Craioveanu's team mate Nano felt the abuse was not racially motivated.

'They weren't shouting at Eto'o because they are racist, it was just because they wanted to annoy him,' he said

Goodness Gracious Meme

00:53 / 29.11.04

Oh, and can we club together and help Bolton pay to get Diouf's saliva ducts removed?

What an arse.

(Though I did find Alan Shearer's condemnation on MOTP rather smug and po-faced but I'm prepared to admit bias on this.)

01:46 / 29.11.04

Spitting someone in the face is the lowest of the low actions. Most sportsmen would rather be punched in the face than spat in the face. What is Senegal coming to?

I noticed that the fact that Diouf spat someone in the face wasn't mentioned until almost the end of the article. It's like it was too shameful to even mention.

18:20 / 19.12.04

Haus!

6-1!

Wow, I guess Little was pretty gutted at that one. I just saw it on the front page of the Sport paper when I went to Jacksons, and I'm amazed. They went through 3 keepers aswell didn't they?

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:40 / 13.01.05

Not a finest hour. These things always happen - I remember getting tonked 5-1 at Derby when it looked like automatic promotion to The Premiership might be on.

Meanwhile, wingers. It looks like Martin Jol might be aiming to buy Andy Reid from Notts Forest *and* Wayne Routledge from Crystal Palace. Is this a statement of tricky wing-play-based intent?

nedrichards is confused

10:05 / 13.01.05

Not since the capture of Etherington have Spurs looked so little and wing based. Surely some mistake though, best little striker in the country - Defoe; things wings most often used for - setting up headers for big tall strikers. Errr...

ONLY NICE THINGS

10:18 / 13.01.05

What is Senegal coming to?

Is this a quote? Only I don't think the entire nation of Senegal launched a Deep Impact loogie at Arjan de Zeeuw, killing thousands...

11:21 / 13.01.05

Haus, it's NOTTM Forest, not Notts.

Andy Reid is the only creative player that Forest have at the moment (although Marlon king looks like he could do something given the chance) - he's better than that bald chap that scored two against Everton.

ONLY NICE THINGS

11:25 / 13.01.05

Actually, it's Nott'm, pronounced "Nottingham".

12:47 / 13.01.05

Andy Reid also plays anywhere in Midfield. He has been a left winger for a lot of his time at the City Ground, but has also been central, behind the front two (every amatur footballers phrase when asked what position they'd like to play) right wing and in a free role (which he has proved to be fantastic at).

Last season he scored something like 12 goals, and set up at least 70% of any others scored. This season, well, pretty much the same routine. Not that this will mean that he'll be great in the premiership (just look at Prutton at Southampton - he was a great player at Forest) but could be a great success (Jenas at Newcastle).

ONLY NICE THINGS

12:52 / 13.01.05

Prutton was a funny one, wasn't he? One minute he's al England prospect-tastic, the next he is, as you say, playing for Southampton, and not well. Maybe Michael Dawson should think about stopping at the City Ground...

14:43 / 13.01.05

Dawson's amazingly clumsy for a centre back - I think that a lot of the lower division refs give him a massive benefit of the doubt and let him get away with a lot because everyone says he is so good. He'll be a Bramble in the premiership. Prutton still should be an England contender, he is a fantastic player, and a very funny and very intelligent young man, but at southhampton he just doesn't seem like he's even in the team half the time... He should come home.

07:13 / 19.03.05

Getting close to the end of the season, time to start saying who will win stuff and go down.

I predict Forest die horribly and end up playing football in the Ryman league with Wimbledon, or something.

It's all too painful - at least I'm not on the goal text sevice at the moment - beep beep - oh we just charged you ten pence to tell you that someone has scored against you agian...

14:41 / 19.03.05

Oh, I did that last year on the train and we took a 3-zip rousting at Motherwell.

Then I couldn't figure how to stop it, until I next got on a train with the ad & details. 3 weeks of misery.

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:29 / 18.04.05

Well, Barbelith favourite Michael Dawson apparently had a great match in the Spurs back line this weekend. Meanwhile, Benitez must be wondering whether he can arrange to play Juventus every week. It's looking like his best chance of taking Liverpool into the Champions League next season is by winning the damn thing. Which, considering how much he's achieved while Alonso and Morientes, on paper arguably the best players at the club, may not be as insane a prospect as all right-thinking people would judge it.

However, right now I'm all about the Tranmere. It looks, despite the traditional end-of-season drop in form, like a play-off place is probably on the cards - bit disappointing in some ways, but not bad. More worryingly, will Tranmere actually have a team with which to compete? Tyrone Loran (classy defensive midfielder) released after injuries limited his starts to two this season, Simon Haworth facing possibly the end of his career after a broken leg (a real shame - Haworth is a lovely player in the lower leagues and seems like a thoroughly nice chap) and, getting ridiculous, Calvin Zola has had his permit to work revoked and can only get it back if he gets a visa by returning to the Democratic Repulic of Congo, from which his family fled in fear of their lives. Foreign Office advice is not to travel to the Congo if at all avoidable, unless, it seems, you are a promising young striker for Merseyside's third team.

nedrichards is confused

09:04 / 18.04.05

But he's so good in CM!

Haus, sadly Morientes is cup tied for the remainder of the Champions League or else I really go think we'd have a very strong chance of actually winning the damn thing. Which would be gr8. Clearly.

20:14 / 19.04.05

If Forest lose their next game, they are down. How do I feel about this? Well, a) I prepared for relegation about three months ago, and b) if Forest had won their last how ever many games rather than choose to play dire football, then we wouldn't be heading for the 3rd division. Where we belong. On current form.

00:27 / 20.04.05

that's all nice, but what matters is that palace overcome southampton and claw their way past an infuriatingly resurgent baggies.

can't see it happening, but...

will andy johnson look for a premiership club next season, to keep his england dreams alive? even though he has 'vowed to stay loyal to palace'... any bets on who might snaffle him - blackburn? they need some goals...

09:48 / 20.04.05

Everton, they have what 3 aging strikers - or is campbell on a permanent move? Anyway, he would fit in there, as they can play around him quite well.

Interesting that Palace have won the most penalties in the premiership this season, and that Johnson has won more penalties than the next team combined. (he's won 8 or 10 of palaces 12, Bolton as a team have won 6). He was fantastic in CM 98/99 or 99/00! Erm, yeah.

The bottom is going to be great this year, four into three make for excitment, and with what 3 points between all of them?

lonely as a cloud...

09:55 / 20.04.05

Everton are apparently after Robbie Keane, but I could see them going after Johnson if they can't get him. Plus, I doubt there's anything much Johnson can do to boost his England chances while Sven is in charge, unless Rooney, Defoe, Owen and Heskey are all injured at the same time...just imagine an England line-up with Johnson and Crouch as strikers...

11:32 / 20.04.05

I think that Sven should play them in a friendly, if for nothing just to see what the rest of the world make of the man-fowel and the 10 stone penalty king.

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