Euro 2008 (Official Man City LOL Thread)

[Britney Diva]

To Bolton?! My God man!

Sunderland were dire today, particularly at the back. How Liverpool didn't completely stuff them I don't know, but against other sides on the top tier of the Premiership they may be in for a few hidings.

[Frankie]

Coooommmmeeeee on the boro ! :angry:

Fabregas is doing well this season like.

[poorquality]

Anyone watching the Sevilla game? One of the players sort of just, dropped to the floor and lost conciousness with no contact etc...was well worrying to watch...credit to his team mate who reacted so quickly and the physios were on in a flash. He woke up and walked off, and apparently collapsed again in the dressing room. I hope he's ok...no-one likes to see things like that, especially when people have dropped dead on the pitch in the past.

Getafe are down to 9 men also, but are winning 1-0.

[rik]

Ill be so dissapointed if we don't beat boro tomorrow. I think it's a good time to play them, with Yakubu having just left.

I reckon Viduka will get us a goal.

[Frankie]

yakubu was the laziest player ever. He played rubbish the whole of 2007.

Vid's injured I think.

[rik]

I thought he was pretty good, it also bodes well that you have some very key defenders missing.


And i'm pretty sure Viduka will be playing tomorrow. Though you could be right.

[talk show host]

a Martins hat-trick would do nice thanks

[rik]

With Milner setting up all three would do very nice.

[poorquality]

Well Sevilla eventually won 4-1 I think, but that guy who collapsed, well...

Turns out Puerta's condition is very serious and he has a machine giving him assisted ventilation.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11834_2686541,00.html


Probably a blood clot in the brain :/ Terrible.

[Pastorius]

That's bad, always sucks when talented people are brought down in their prime.

But on Liverpool's game, I thought we did meh, alright. It's the sign of a good team though, even when we were missing our main playmaker and captain, we ground out the result. Lovely strike by Sissoko as well. Torres and Voronin weren't quite clicking I thought, Kuyt and Torres work together a lot better. Babel was a bit flat, I'd like to see him coming on for Riise a bit more.

But we won though, which is the main thing.

[rik]

**** sake, so pissed off about that boro match.

In all fairness, it was a good match, but Midos goal was offside. And the fact Viduka scores a ****ing sweet goal in like the 80th minute to make it 2-1 and then for boro to equalise 3 minutes later, seriously made me smash my pint on the floor.

N'zogbia's goal was ridiculously nice aswell.

[Pastorius]

Come on Tottenham, take down those red bastards

Excellent to see Jol starting Huddlestone in their biggest game of the season yet.

[Surtr]

My god.

:(

I'm ashamed to be a United fan...:(

I'm going back to the SPL soon if things don't look up :p

[Pastorius]

What does it take for a referee to give a decision against United?!?!?

I despise that every official in England is scared to call United whenever they give a penalty away.

[poorquality]

The ball clearly hit Brown high on his side and not his arm/hand -_- what does it take for people to stop crying wolf at United over every dicision.

Anywho..

We love you Nani, we do :D

[Britney Diva]

What does it take for a referee to give a decision against United?!?!?

I despise that every official in England is scared to call United whenever they give a penalty away.
And it was so easy for them to sign Tevez :')

United were shocking as usual today. We didn't deserve to win, but neither did Tottenham based on their complete lack of interest in winning. 5 shots on target the entire game.

[Cecillianne]

a draw would've been nice tbh :( Eagles looks like a fag and Robinson looks fat in yellow justsayin. Bale's looking good.

how long would a broken rib and a collapsed lung take to recover? not good if Carra's gonna be out for 2 months or so.

[Britney Diva]

He got a collapsed lung and he still played on? That's commitment :cool: How he's been second choice to Ferdinand all these years I'll never know.

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

Multiple heart attacks in Spain
Collapsed lung, Broken Rib and Broken nose in England
Double leg break in Scotland


What the hell goes on when i'm away.

[Cecillianne]

subbed a little late, he was really struggling to carry on though you couldn't really tell with all the screaming and yelling.

i suppose Ferdinand's a little prettier? :o

[angry armadillo]

Jamie C is ****ing hard. I wouldn't mess with him.

Man U never really deserve and always manage to win which is kind of frustrating

Bale was very good and Berbatov has as sexy touch as ever

[Britney Diva]

Man U never really deserve and always manage to win which is kind of frustrating
We've won one match all season!

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

We've won one match all season!

And the other 3 we had 70+% possession, and created many more chances than the other teams. So I don't know where that guys getting his opinion that we don't deserve to win from.

[Britney Diva]

Probably because we've had 3 shots on target between the 4 games.

[talk show host]

i suppose Ferdinand's a little prettier? :o

you've got to be kidding. ferdinand's pretty damn ugly.

[Frankie]

as is Wes Brown. Ugliest defence in the prem IMO.


I'm content with the draw personally. The geordies came back to draw 2-2 with us last season when we were leading so.

Viduka may have got me points in fantasy prem but he's still a fat git.

[Surtr]

Bah, a win is a win I 'spose.

I just know if we don't pick up the goddamn pace, we're not even close to getting a title this year.

**** come on United, there's no ****ing Glory Glory right now.

[rustysurf84]

I was at the Boro match today, and dear god, despite it being quite ugly at times, the Riverside was electric. I'm totally neutral to both sides, but all 4 of the goals were well-deserved. Of course, Schwaterzer's distribution was miserable, but no matter. The official was just popping cards though, almost to the point that any hard tackled was booked.

Does it seem like its serious injury weekend? The guy in Spain, and there were 2 in the Boro match.

[Pastorius]

Just a little claim to fame, Gareth Bale went to my school! Saw him in my local last week.

And I thought he played very well.

[big80smullet]

Its shaping up to be very interesting season with two of the top five contenders not performing at all and arsenal a bit lacklutre. It could be down to Chelsea and Liverpool this year.

[Cecillianne]

you've got to be kidding. ferdinand's pretty damn ugly.
i am. guess steve and sven are just biased and have no taste.

too early to say, though i hope United will come to regret their poor start. Liverpool hasn't been too consistent in the past, plus Carra's injury could be a problem. Arsenal's dull but producing results.

[Pastorius]

I don't think Carragher is going to be out for too long. Reports say he'll miss the Toulouse match, no word on how long it'll be. Broken rib and a collapsed lung.

[Frankie]

I thought boro played well yesterday.

I'm intrigued also by the way Big Sam's tactics are shaping. I didn't think e would use 4-3-3 at Newcastle but it makes a good use of milner who by all accounts was a striker up until he came to the geordies.

I'm not liking the way southy is chopping changing our right side of midfield. Just play Downing Arca Boateng and Tuncay for a few games and let see how it pans out. Or failing that play Rochemback on the right and play Tuncay up front (he may does this as Aliadere was stretchered off)/

[rik]

I'm intrigued also by the way Big Sam's tactics are shaping. I didn't think e would use 4-3-3 at Newcastle but it makes a good use of milner who by all accounts was a striker up until he came to the geordies.

I'm not too sure about Allardyce using 4-3-3 at the moment, sometimes it lets us play great attacking football, and like you say, shows Milner at his full potential. But other times it leaves our midfield looking so dire and teams playing wide seem to have great ease getting through our midfield.

Also, Viduka is so much better playing in a 4-4-2 up front with another striker, he scored a great goal yesterday, but I must admit I was pissed off when Martins came off for Owen when Viduka had done **** all. Yesterday I was hoping allardyce was going to change to a 4-4-2 at half time.

Also, Smith has been absolutely useless in the past two games playing in midfield, literally the only time I saw him against boro was when he was shouting at officials for no reason.

[The_Passenger]

Does anyone know anything about this racist chanting by the Geordies against Mido? I've heard about it but don't know any details, or even if it's true.

edit: just checked the bbc and apparently it's true, that deserves some kind of punishment, for the fans who did it (if they can be identified) if not the club.

[talk show host]

I haven't heard anything but he looked quite pissed off with them after he scored the goal.

I would've thought a 4-4-2 would better suit Newcastle, the 4-3-3 doesn't really seem to play to the strengths of Owen and Martins surely?

[Frankie]

hahaha Mido's celebration was quality. It was worth a booking.

[talk show host]

Solskjaer's retired

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_2690166,00.html

[Lord Abortion]

Sad day for football, that. United Legend, premiership legend. Truly excellent player, haha, 34...doesn't look a day over 21:p

United's start to the season has been poor, but if you were to look at those fixtures spread out over the season, they would be matches we may have beenexpected to slip up on, alas, gone are the days where you could lose six times and still win the title, it sucks, really.

[Frankie]

Ahh sad to see him retire. I think the chances of Anelka joining Man Utd are quite high.

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, absolute legend and model professional. Will be missed.

Incidentally, my Dad saw Peter Schmeichel in a restaurant in Brugge when he was on holiday. Lucky sod.

Anelka would be alright, but I would prefer Martins, Huntelaar, Berbatov or Alfonso Alves.
I'm sure he'd be good, and if anyone can stop him being such a prima-donna it's Fergie

[Frankie]

Haha boro have reportedly bid 6 million euro's (£9million) for Afonso Alves.

Fergie would sort anelka right out I think. I think Anelka would want Champions league football so if he's getting it I don't see why he'd be such a grumpy twat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/6966707.stm

So thats who Mido was Shushing the geordies when he scored the equaliser. And he got booked for it too !

[sgrevs]

I hope United don't get any new players before the weekend, especially not Berbatov. I like him a lot and he should stay at Spurs because I like them too. He looks heaps like Jared Leto as well, which is good or bad, depending on how you look at it.

Arsenal haven't got a hope this year, they always falter. Liverpool are up there, it will be a tight contest between them, Chelsea and United, and Arsenal, Spurs, and Man City will battle it out for 4th. Will be a very interesting season.

Liverpool 2-0 Toulouse.
My prediction:)

[Britney Diva]

Haha boro have reportedly bid 6 million euro's (£9million) for Afonso Alves.

Fergie would sort anelka right out I think. I think Anelka would want Champions league football so if he's getting it I don't see why he'd be such a grumpy twat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/6966707.stm

So thats who Mido was Shushing the geordies when he scored the equaliser. And he got booked for it too !
haha I wish €6 million worked out at £9 million, but it's the other way round :p

[angry armadillo]

We've won one match all season!yeah im thinking more of last season.

[Dead Star]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6964586.stm

I read abut him collapsing last night. Sad day, he was so young.

[ChodaBoy]

Yea its bad news, you could tell it was serious though. Normally people jog to an 'injured' player, these guys were sprinting. Strange how it just happens though since he was still young, similar to Foe just dropping dead a few years ago.

What were the Newcastle fans chanting at Mido? None of the sites will dare say it

[brensten32]

i think they were saying that he was a bomber or a terrorist

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

I feel well bad for him :( Only 22 years old. No one deserves that, was really bad to watch it happen to him. R.I.P

[Frankie]

Yea its bad news, you could tell it was serious though. Normally people jog to an 'injured' player, these guys were sprinting. Strange how it just happens though since he was still young, similar to Foe just dropping dead a few years ago.

What were the Newcastle fans chanting at Mido? None of the sites will dare say it

Apparently they were calling him a terrorist and such. Ah well shows up the uneducated back ward people that the geordies are really :thumb:

And ha yeah SOP I got a bit mixed up there tar for the correction.

It's quite sad about that Sevilla player also. It was horrible watching him collapse.

[Pinhead13]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6964586.stm

I read abut him collapsing last night. Sad day, he was so young.

WOW, I just saw that on the news.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFc25Hym6q8

[talk show host]

that's really sad

[Pinhead13]

I remember watching a game and a player (I think he was French) hits the grass and dies all of the sudden. Does anybody know what I am talking about? it happened like 3 years ago.

[Britney Diva]

Marc Viven Foe.

[rik]

i think they were saying that he was a bomber or a terrorist
Also something about rhyming Mido with Paedo, which is pretty jokes.

[Pinhead13]

Marc Viven Foe.

Yeah.

[Pastorius]

So a Leicester player collapsed in the dressing room, what's with all the players collapsing, it's so sad.

On a lighter note, Liverpool cruised to victory against a very much flat Toulouse. 4-0 in the end.

[Britney Diva]

Kieron Dyer broke his leg in the first minute of the Carling Cup match at Bristol Rovers. He loves getting injured.

[Pastorius]

I don't rate him that highly anyway really. He seems...lazy at times?

[Britney Diva]

Can you blame him? He hurts himself every time he stands up.

[Pastorius]

Ha ha, I guess not. I would have preferred to see Andy Johnson in the England squad over him though. Johnson may not be the greatest striker in the world, but he's got drive, and he'll harass defenders all game long.

[talk show host]

Yeah, chances are even a mediocre striker is probably going to do a better job y'know playing as a striker than a mediocre midfielder is ever going to do, particularly one who threatens to fall to pieces in a strong wind.

I'm glad to hear Reading obliterated Swansea. I think the striker situation is a bit worrying - none of them have looked at all threatening to far this season. Hopefully Lita will be in good form.

oh, and it's probably time to get rid of Sodje. I honestly don't think he's played a full game yet without getting sent off.

[Britney Diva]

I think a lack of service is Reading's main problem, based on the limited action I've seen this season. Sidwell is sorely missed, and wasted on Chelsea's bench.

[talk show host]

Yeah, it's a bit annoying seeing Sidwell not even make the Chelsea bench when we could really do with him. Hopefully Cisse or Fae will fill a hole but they're both more defensive, and Harper is a bit of a lightweight going forward.

We really need a right winger though. Seol's been crap since about the third game of last season and Little is forever injured, so the only outlet at the moment is Hunt who's hardly the best at crossing the ball.

At least the defense is looking solid though (ignoring Bolton)

[Britney Diva]

Well Hunt's a lefty, no surprise there.

[talk show host]

I worded that wrong, I just meant Hunt is where all our attacks are coming from at the moment.

Maybe he could play on the right though, get Convey back in on the left :D

[big80smullet]

TSH i didnt know you supported reading. Are you from reading? They need to make some serious signings in the summer or they're gonna get raped later on in the season.

[talk show host]

nah, I started following them when I was at uni there.

and that's what everyone said at the start of last season :p

[big80smullet]

well you could do worse than support reading. fulham for example :upset:

[talk show host]

haha yeah :p

Fulham look alright this season though I think, they've just had some bad luck and really shitty decisions go against them.

[sweboy]

Oh mah gawd I'm going to Elfsborg - Valencia tonight. Those spanish snobs are gonna learn not to mess!

[Britney Diva]

lol elf

Drogheda United are bringing a 1-1 to Helsingborg in UEFA qualification tomorrow. Doubt they have much of a chance but I'll be watching anyway.

[Timm]

this might sound like a stupid question but,

why are there three lions on the coat of armor of the FA?
first I thought theyd represent England, Ireland and Scottland but FA is English only isn't it?

:confused:

[Britney Diva]

They don't represent anything. Richard Lionheart just thought it would be cool to tell everyone how great he is by making a three lion herald the national symbol (of England).

[Timm]

oic
something like our fugly eagle

[Pastorius]

It's the national symbol of England, not the FA.

[big80smullet]

Yeah its the national animal. And its three times more awesome than the second choice animal, the badger (that one of the apprentice), therefore its there three times to symbolise that.

[Iai]

Boro are after Samaras now, apparently. We're doing well considering our front line has literally changed completely.

Was fun watching them beat Northampton, considering where I live. :) Also, I lived in Luton for about 18 years, and they battered Sunderland 3-0. Good day all round, really.

[Frankie]

Samaras is terrible. Why make a good signing of Mido and Aliadere who work well together and someone like Tuncay who can also play up front and try and sign samaras ?

Good that Dong-Gook Lee got his first goal for the boro as well.

[rustysurf84]

Yeah, I don't see why Boro would go after Samaras. He was pretty much useless for Man City last year. Does anyone have any more details about Allidllare's injury?

[Iai]

Squad depth, basically. Gook's only good enough to be a sub, Adam Johnson's young and is a natural winger anyway, Tuncay was bought to play as a right winger (**** putting Cattermole or Boateng out there), Euell's getting sold as soon as someone makes a bid, and Aliadiere is injury prone. That leaves Tom Craddock as the only other forward in the squad. We're a team that suffers really badly with injuries anyway....Samaras might only be fourth choice, but I still imagine he'd get games.

He clearly wants another striker, seeing as he made a bid for Alonso Alves.

Edit: confirmed - http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8700_2694691,00.html

[Britney Diva]

Samaras was awful last season but he has a great reputation for scoring goals, which he showed in brief spurts for City.

[ChodaBoy]

PLEASE take him, I will sell him right now for £1. He can score goals, but is so incredibly lazy. He was brought in to be the main goalscorer, and has 11 goals in 58 appearances.

[Frankie]

Yeah I mentioned the Afonso Alves bid a few pages ago, great signing if we can get him. 34 goals in 30 appearances was what was quoted to me in the dutch league.

And yeah the right side situation for middlesbrough is quite frankly a joke. We've had this problem for a fair few years now and it hasn't been addressed by the club which has annoyed me and a lot of other fans. I can see Boateng only lasting a few more seasons and if that is the case then Cattermole is a great replacement who can be quite dangerous going forward as well.

[Surtr]

Yeah its the national animal. And its three times more awesome than the second choice animal, the badger (that one of the apprentice), therefore its there three times to symbolise that.

Haha, you know, it's quite odd that the National Animal doesn't exist naturally here :p

Goddamn Richard the "LION"heart thinking he was cool.

[Frankie]

Quiet you french bastard :mad: !

[Iai]

Cattermole and Boateng are both natural central players, though. Rochemback or Arca would be better on the right than either of those, though I imagine that within 2 seasons Johnson will have taken up that role.

[Frankie]

I'd much prefer to see Arca central tho' along with either Baoteng or Cattermole. Johnson's good but I'd like to see a natural right sider in their.

[rocknrollstar5]

anyone seen the champions league draw yet?
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11945_2695998,00.html

i think that groups A and F are going to be the toughest

[talk show host]

Chelsea got a tough draw there.

[Iai]

GROUP A:
Liverpool (England) Porto (Portugal) Olympique Marseille (France) Besiktas (Turkey)

GROUP B:
Chelsea (England) Valencia (Spain) Schalke 04 (Germany) Rosenborg (Norway)

GROUP C:
Real Madrid (Spain) Werder Bremen (Germany) Lazio (Italy) Olympiakos (Greece)

GROUP D:
AC Milan (Italy) Benfica (Portugal) Celtic (Scotland) Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

GROUP E:
Barcelona (Spain) Olympique Lyon (France) VfB Stuttgart (Germany) Rangers (Scotland)

GROUP F:
Manchester United (England) AS Roma (Italy) Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

GROUP G:
Inter Milan (Italy) PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) CSKA Moscow (Russia) Fenerbahce (Turkey)

GROUP H:
Arsenal (England) Sevilla (Spain) or AEK Athens (Greece) Steaua Bucharest (Romania) Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
I dunno...I agree with Oasis boy. Chelsea might slip up away at Valencia, but they'll cruise the other 5 games.

Most likely shocks look like Marseille, Lisbon, and Celtic.

[Britney Diva]

Groups look more competitive than they have been in recent years. Not sure if I'm imagining it, but it doesn't look like anyone will have an easy ride this year.

[Frankie]

Group G = The Fabled Group of Death.

[lunchforthesky]

Haha good luck with that Rangers. I can see them losing every game.

For some reason Arsenal seem to often get it easy in the group stages and Chelsea often get it the hardest.

All english teams should progress and maybe Celtic but i dunno.

[Timm]

craptastic groups for the german teams =|
meh at least bayern will win the uefa cup :D

[ZapatoDiablo]

meh at least bayern will win the uefa cup
They should be able to own any team in the uefa cup. I wasn't following the Bundesliga last season but I could not believe that they didn't make the champions league for this year.

[The_Passenger]

I don't see any team having a particularly easy time, but of the British clubs Liverpool will porbably have the easiest ride. I can't see Rangers even getting 3rd place.

I don't agree with this seeding thing though, it prevents any group of death worse than the one Rangers are in (like one that had AC, Barcelona, Man U and Bremen for example).

Although it is funny to see teams like Kiev who probably would've been 2nd seed when I first started getting into football in the bottom seed.

[big80smullet]

I personally think arsenal have a pretty easy group. They might lose to sevilla away but the should cruise the rest of the games unless they play spectacularly badly.

[rustysurf84]

I personally think arsenal have a pretty easy group. They might lose to sevilla away but the should cruise the rest of the games unless they play spectacularly badly.

Which, could happen. But, their group is a smooth ride, besides Sevilla obviously.

Poor Rangers, not going to see points at all possibly.


For some reason Arsenal seem to often get it easy in the group stages and Chelsea often get it the hardest.


And in the Knockout stage, last year they drew PSV, which was by far one of the more favorable draws.

[rustysurf84]

I really don't like the whole idea of expanding the Champions League to more diversity, since the big teams from the main countries would just steamroll them anyways. I think the new plan proposed would make the Scottish Champion go all the way through qualifying, along with the 3rd and 4th place teams from England, Italy and such. Talk about a backlog of fixtures early in the season.

[Frankie]

Nah they're on about making the FA cup winners in this country being allowed to go through to the Champions league instead of the 4th placed team.They're doing it to have some different teams in there.

[Frankie]

Predictions for the weekend then lads ? :

Bolton v Everton (1-1)
Fulham v Tottenham (1-3)
Liverpool v Derby (4-0)
Middlesbrough v Birmingham (3-0 Mido hat trick :p)
Newcastle v Wigan (2-0)
Reading v West Ham (2-2)
Man Utd v Sunderland (2-1)
Arsenal v Portsmouth (2-0)
Blackburn v Man City (1-1)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (1-2)

[rik]

Predictions for the weekend then lads ?


Bolton v Everton (1-1)
Fulham v Tottenham (1-3)
Liverpool v Derby (3-0)
Middlesbrough v Birmingham (2-1)
Newcastle v Wigan (2-0)
Reading v West Ham (1-0)
Man Utd v Sunderland (2-0)
Arsenal v Portsmouth (2-1)
Blackburn v Man City (1-1)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (0-2)

Edit: I didn't actually look at any of yours Frankie, very similar predictions though.

[talk show host]

Bolton v Everton 0-1
Fulham v Tottenham 0-2
Liverpool v Derby 2-0
Middlesbrough v Birmingham 1-0
Newcastle v Wigan 2-0
Reading v West Ham 1-0
Man Utd v Sunderland 2-0
Arsenal v Portsmouth 2-1
Blackburn v Man City 2-2
Aston Villa v Chelsea 1-1

[Timm]

uefa cup draw:

* FC Midtylland - FC Lokomotive Moscow
* FC Groningen - AC Florenz
* FK Rabotnicki - Bolton Wanderers
* Sevilla FC / AEK Athen - FC Salzburg
* 1.FC Nürnberg - Rapid Bukarest
* FC Everton - FC Metallurg Kharkiv
* FC Zenith St.Petersburg - Standard Lüttich
* Bayer Leverkusen - UD Leiria
* Villareal - FC Bate Borisov
* FC Sion - Galatasaray
* Atletico Madrid - Kayseri Erciespor
* Girondins Bordeaux - Tampere United
* Panathinaikos - FC Artmedia Bratislava
* AC Sparta Prag - Odense BK
* FC Zürich - FC Empoli
* FC Sochaux - Panionios
* Rapid Wien - RSC Anderlecht
* FC Pacos Ferreira - AZ Alkmaar
* Sampdoria Genau - Aalborg BK
* FC Spartak Moscow - BK Häcken
* Hammarby - SC Braga
* Larissa FC - Blackburn Rovers
* FK Mlada Boleslav - US Palermo
* NK Dinamo Zagreb - Ajax Amsterdam
* Stade Rennes - Lokomotive Soifa
* SK Brann - FC Brügge
* Bayern München - Belenses
* FC Aberdeen - FC Dnipro
* SC Heerenveen - Helsingborgs IF
* FC Toulouse - ZSKA Sofia
* Hamburger SV - Litex Lovech
* FK Sarajevo - FC Basel
* FK Austria Wien - Valerenga IF
* AIK Solna - Hapoel Tel Aviv
* Aris Thessaloniki - Real Saragossa
* FC Dinamo Bukarest - IF Elfsborg
* Tottenham Hotspurs - Anorthisis Famagusta
* RC Lens - FC Kopenhagen
* FC Getafe - FC Twente
* Groclin - Zvezda

nothing interesting in there =/

[The_Passenger]

Weekend predictions

Bolton v Everton 0-1
Fulham v Tottenham 0-3
Liverpool v Derby 3-0
Middlesbrough v Birmingham 1-0
Newcastle v Wigan 2-0
Reading v West Ham 1-1
Man Utd v Sunderland 2-0
Arsenal v Portsmouth 2-1
Blackburn v Man City 2-2
Aston Villa v Chelsea 1-2

Some of this last minute transfer stuff is getting ridiculous. I swear Adriano has been seen in every city in England with a Premier League club today. Same seems to go for Quaresma.

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

Anyone know who Liverpool signed? It's under confirmed transfers on the Beeb website. But I can't find the actual paragraph saying who was bought.

The only (worrying) thing I saw was a rumour they'd snapped up David Villa.

I refuse to believe it without confirmation, but I can't find anything else linking them to a signing other than a 19 year old for their reserves :/ that's not big news.

If it's true, god that's a scary attack, Torres and Villa.

[The_Passenger]

No way has Villa been signed, he won't be eligible for Champions League games.

Fulham have signed Shefki Kuqi, I think they deserved to be laughed at for that one.

[ChodaBoy]

Im just glad that City havent (yet) sold Micah Richards. The worst possible thing a team looking for good future would be selling one of its top players.

[talk show host]

I was hoping Reading would sign Rosenior but it doesn't look like it's going to happen now.

oh, Sky Sports have just said he's signed with Seol going the other way, woo.

[rustysurf84]

Bolton v Everton 1-2
Fulham v Tottenham 0-1
Liverpool v Derby 4-0
Middlesbrough v Birmingham 2-1
Newcastle v Wigan 1-1
Reading v West Ham 2-0
Man Utd v Sunderland 3-1
Arsenal v Portsmouth 1-1
Blackburn v Man City 2-1
Aston Villa v Chelsea 1-3

[big80smullet]

Bolton v Everton 1-2
Fulham v Tottenham 2-1 (being optimistic)
Liverpool v Derby 3-0
Middlesbrough v Birmingham 1-0
Newcastle v Wigan 3-1
Reading v West Ham 5-0 (hoping for a repeat of last year)
Man Utd v Sunderland 1-2 (hoping that the scum continue their winning form)
Arsenal v Portsmouth 0-1 (i hate arsenal. i can hope)
Blackburn v Man City 0-2
Aston Villa v Chelsea 1-3

[big80smullet]

Fulham have signed Shefki Kuqi, I think they deserved to be laughed at for that one.

Its only on loan. They've also got Danny Murphy on loan for the season which is a score for them.

They've bought Stefanovic from pompey for 1m as well. with Papa Bouba Diop going the other way. That sounds to me pretty solid cause diop has been playing absolutely crap for a while now. Its obvious that he didnt want to be at fulham.

[talk show host]

Reading v West Ham 5-0 (hoping for a repeat of last year)


If Shorey plays like he did against them last season that would be perfect. He'll show them he's worth more than 4m.

I'd like to think so anyway.

[big80smullet]

Heh west ham are ghey. the biggest small club on earth.

[Frankie]

If Shorey plays like he did against them last season that would be perfect. He'll show them he's worth more than 4m.

I'd like to think so anyway.

Hasn't Shorey been sold ?

[talk show host]

No, West Ham bid 4m for him but Reading wanted 8m I think (and a replacement).

[Frankie]

Ahhh right my mistake. Boro signed some Egyptian nobody and Gary O'Neil from Pompy. I think he'll be playing O'Neil as a Right Winger. Should be interesting.


****ING GERRIN 2-0.

[Cecillianne]

Liverpool are playing some pretty good football

2-0 Alonso and Babel

edit: ahah 4 - 0 Torres goal, Alonso on a hattrick now.

[talk show host]

ugh it's all going wrong!

[Frankie]

Liverpool demolishing derby. Boro doing very well against Birmingham.

[Britney Diva]

haha this Derby match is hilarious. The Derby players can barely touch the ball without something going wrong. And ****ing Brian Little on Setanta with his idiot comments: "Billy Davis will have learned more about his players today than he ever has."

[Cecillianne]

i feel sort of sorry for Kuyt. 6 goals and none of them his.

[Britney Diva]

Wow, Tottenham are ****ed.

[Cecillianne]

Sunderland's not looking too bad tbqh.

edit: ummmm i hear YNWA at Old Trafford hahah

[Frankie]

Jesus christ really ?

Thats meant to strictly a Liverpool/Celtic thing (theres some debate but I'm GCFC supporter and hate those scruffy scouse bastards)

[Britney Diva]

The song has since gained popularity among the fans of other clubs around the world, including:

* Scotland: Celtic
* England: Ipswich Town
* Bulgaria: CSKA Sofia
* Austria: Rapid Vienna
* Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb
* Netherlands: Ajax, Feyenoord, VVV, FC Twente
* Germany: FC Bayern München, VfB Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, FC St. Pauli, Alemannia Aachen, Mainz 05, Kaiserslautern, and Dynamo Dresden
* Japan: F.C. Tokyo
* Sweden: Helsingborgs IF
* Italy: Genoa, Hellas Verona, AC Milan
* Belgium: Club Brugge, Royal Antwerp, Sint-Truiden and KV Mechelen)

[Frankie]

I still prefer Pigbag meself.

[The_Passenger]

How the hell did Tottenham not win today. They need to get their act together fast if they want to retain 5th place. They still don't look good enough to break the top 4.

Derby and Birmingham were awful by the looks of it today, they also need to do something fast. If Derby don't improve I can seriously see them 'beating' Sunderland's record.

[Dead Star]

Trust me to take Torres out of my Fantasy team this week.

[Surtr]

My fantasy team is doing awful.

Ronaldo and Rooney are out a bit longer, but I really can't see me getting rid of either of 'em, as they're both definitely good players to have..WHEN they're on their game, or even IN a game.

I'm at a complete loss for what to do..:(

[Dead Star]

For the moneys they're both worth you could easily replace them with a player whos not injured and scores just as many points as they do.

[Surtr]

For the moneys they're both worth you could easily replace them with a player whos not injured and scores just as many points as they do.

Mhm, I did some transfers.

I'm keeping them though, for now, 'cause I'm not losing a **** load of points of transfers, just so when they're back, I'd end up transfering them back.

My team's looking slightly brighter now.

My problem's at Midfield really.

[Dead Star]

I always get the transfer bug and waste shitloads of points on them.

But my team is looking absolutely bomb atm.

Hahnemann (Schmeichel)
Finnan, Dunne, Lescott (Granqvist) (Inigmarsson)
Fabregas (c), Barry, Arteta, Sibierski (Wallace)
Anelka, Martins, Torres

tbh is awesome amirite

[Surtr]

For sure man.

I've got Dunne, and I picked up Fabregas and Arteta here.

After tomorrow those'll kick in, and my team may go somewheres.

I had:

Van Der Sar (Jones)
Neville, Hyypia, Shorey, Dunne (c) (Rosenior)
Sidwell, Gerrard, Mullins, Skoko (Ronaldo)
Davies, Cole (Rooney)

I changed it up a fair bit with:

Van Der Sar (Jones)
Neville, Bramble, Shorey, Dunne (c) (Hyypia)
Arteta, Fabregas, Mullins, Smertin (Ronaldo)
Davies, Forssell (Rooney)

[Cecillianne]

refl @ Roman Abromavich scurrying with his tail between his legs.

[brensten32]

http://soccerlens.com/cristiano-ronaldo-hookers-manchester-united/2989/

oh my i just read about ronaldo, nani, and anderson and just lost all the respect i had for them. i wish i never read it.

[Britney Diva]

Um... why?

[Pastorius]

I'm a little bemused as to why hookers are complaining that people paid to have sex with them and just wanted sex.

[Dead Star]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6974969.stm

Best news I've heard today.

[Iai]

http://soccerlens.com/cristiano-ronaldo-hookers-manchester-united/2989/

oh my i just read about ronaldo, nani, and anderson and just lost all the respect i had for them. i wish i never read it.
1) Female escorts =/= hookers, no matter what that story says.

2) Anderson was apparently 'photographed NAKED....except for his boxer shorts!' Well then he wasn't ****ing naked, was he?

3) Party =/= orgy.

4) Ronaldo has been falsely accused of rape by The Sun before, let's not forget - they've got a point to prove, plus this story will let them bring that whole mess up again.

5) If a girl steps forward and says 'we had a party with a star', they'll get paid. If they get coaxed into saying 'we had sex with a star for money', they'll get ten times as much, at least.

6) Neither Nani nor Anderson actually speak English. Are these bilingual escorts? Was somebody hanging around to translate sexual demands? Was Ronaldo watching team-mates he's known a matter of months having sex? Somehow I doubt it.

The story's a bag of ****, hands down.

[Britney Diva]

I can't believe you're DEFENDING this outrageous behaviour!

[talk show host]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6974969.stm

Best news I've heard today.

eh, it's all in the name of progress

[ChodaBoy]

Progressing to 7th place in the table?

P.S. If Heskey scores the winning goal, so many people (including myself) are going to be hiding for a few weeks

[Surtr]

What?

The Ronaldo thing means about as much as it would coming from my sister, as it would from The Sun.

And even if it was true, who the hell cares? Do you actually blame him?

In Fantasy Team news: I've dropped back to 20th, wow.

[Iai]

This is the free fantasy football thing, isn't it? Give me the league details and I'll join.

[talk show host]

65888-21627 is the code

[angry armadillo]

the sun is a load of wank, im a liverpool supporter and i can see this is laughable

[Iai]

Hah, joined and went straight to 5th. Nice one.

[sgrevs]

I think I'm in 4th. On the up chaps, had a good week. Cesc was my captain and I had Berba and Downing.

[Britney Diva]

I've had my captain sent off for the second time. It's getting quite annoying now.

[angry armadillo]

Torres as captain last week and he grabbed me 2 goals :cool:

[rik]

That Fulham match was wicked, their last goal was siiick.


I was watching soccer saturday for all of the 3 o'clock matches. I was getting so pissed off when I heard Owen scored a valid goal but was given offside, and then we shouldv've had a penalty. I thought the match was over until I heard Owen had got the late winner, I went ****ing mental, it would've been bullshit if we hadn't won that.


Also, I have Riise in my fantasy team, who gets a lot of points when he plays, but hasn't started the last two games and didn't feature at all last game. Anyone know if he's going to be starting on the bench for most games from now on?

[Iai]

With Benitez, he'll play. Just not every week.

[angry armadillo]

He will be there for the big games, but when your opponent is someone like derby you want to be giving people like Babel a run out

[Dead Star]

Thats the problem with Liverpool players in your fantasy team.

You never know if theyre going to get played.

[Angry Balled Fists!]

toon toon

[The_Passenger]

He will be there for the big games, but when your opponent is someone like derby you want to be giving people like Babel a run out

What's so bad about him? I think he's looked pretty good so far.

[Minus The Flair]

Made a few changes, 6th atm but this'll put me down. Wondering whether it's a good idea to replace Tevez with Saha though. Once Rooney's back Saha may not get a lot of games, but if he was played he'd definitely get more goals. And then there's the injuries, oh the injuries! Screw it, first place here I come.

Out: Hahnemann, Hargreaves, Santa Cruz, Tevez
In: Schmeichel, Nani, Murphy, Saha

[talk show host]

I swapped Carvalho for Evra and Martins for Torres.

Tevez is on thin ice too :mad:

[Ganondorf]

Yeah I got Tevez aswell but he hasn't done much.

[rocknrollstar5]

give him time, it took him long enough to score a goal at west mah but i think it'l come sooner at utd

[Frankie]

I'm quite pleased with my currrent team. Fabregas has had an excellent start and so has downing. Now all I need is that port swigging smug git ronaldo to stop dicking around and play.

[big80smullet]

Anyone have a video of the weekends fulham v tottenham game? just highlights or goals would be sweet. I can't find it anywhere.

[Frankie]

I want SWP and Downing to play on the wings on saturday with Joe Cole playing centrally as a sort of play maker role. It'll never happen cos McClaren has no tactical skill and is the worst manager in the England and premiership history.

The fact that he recalls Emile Heskey is living prof that he doesn't have a clue what hes doing.

And that the amount of foreigners in our game means English players are becoming non-existent. Unless something is done like a cap on the amount of foreign players in a team we won't have an English national side in 10 years.

Any other thoughts of England fans ?

[angry armadillo]

What's so bad about him? I think he's looked pretty good so far.
no premiership experience so he will get run in, in 'little' games

(as a player i dont rate him at all so far, its another matter and im willing to give him time to adjust to the EPL)



ive already had tevez and got rid of him, he just does not look like he will be scoring goals for man u, they did a big thing about it on match of the day showing how Tevez doesn't lead the line and how Saha immediately comes on and gets behind defenders and its spot on.

[big80smullet]

I want SWP and Downing to play on the wings on saturday with Joe Cole playing centrally as a sort of play maker role. It'll never happen cos McClaren has no tactical skill and is the worst manager in the England and premiership history.

The fact that he recalls Emile Heskey is living prof that he doesn't have a clue what hes doing.

And that the amount of foreigners in our game means English players are becoming non-existent. Unless something is done like a cap on the amount of foreign players in a team we won't have an English national side in 10 years.

Any other thoughts of England fans ?

Louis hamilton was asked what he thought of mclaren "hes a bit crap sven was better"

lol

Yeah mclaren needs a good kick in the face. A trained monkey or a drunk dude from my local could do better. He needs to start picking players for the positions rather than the name on the shirt or the club they play for. He should give defoe a run once in a while, he should make shorey a regular as well. If he put some thought into who he picks then he'd be able to assemble a decent side, he just needs to look to teams that aren't liverpool chelsea or man u. (i would say arsenal to round out the top 4 but they havn't had an english player since francis jeffers)

[Frankie]

Lol theo walcott. Lol

[big80smullet]

Hes overrated and/or useless

[Ganondorf]

Walcott is good. SWP should play IMO.

[Ganondorf]

First XI

James

Neville
Terry
Ferdinand
Cole

SWP
Gerrard
Hargreves
Cole

Rooney
Defoe

Owen is crap now. Crouch scores alot but dosen't make me want to watch.

[Frankie]

He should play SWP if McClaren has any sense. Rather than playing Carrick and Hargreaves why not play Joe Cole as the attacking midfielder and Downing left wing. Downing's played every game and played very well so far. J.Cole has hardly played for chelsea.

I'd like to this for see Saturday this team :

James

Richards
Terry
Ferdinand (even tho' he's played crap but woodgate hasn't been called up)
Cole

SWP
Hargreaves
J.Cole
Downing

Owen
Johnson

[big80smullet]

Shorey!

[Dead Star]

I find it funny how England need to recall all of the "last generation" players now, ie Sol Campbell and Emile Heskey.

[angry armadillo]

Carson.

Richards, Terry, Ferdinand, Shorey

SWP, Hargreaves, Carrick, J. Cole


Crouch, Owen


would be my choice.


maybe if Gerrard was fit, I would take off owen, and play a 4-2-3-1 (kinda like how Man U have Giggs - scholes - Ronaldo all sat behind rooney) with Gerrard behind Crouchy

[Echleon]

Carson.

Richards, Terry, Ferdinand, Shorey

SWP, Hargreaves, Carrick, J. Cole


Crouch, Owen


would be my choice.


maybe if Gerrard was fit, I would take off owen, and play a 4-2-3-1 (kinda like how Man U have Giggs - scholes - Ronaldo all sat behind rooney) with Gerrard behind Crouchy

Crouch is suspeneded for the Israel game I think.

[Pastorius]

God, if Gerrard gets another injection that'll piss me off. It's Israel for gawd's sake, if you have the best league in the world, with still a wide range of English players in it, you shouldn't be injecting cortisone into one player's toe to beat Israel.

And recalling Heskey?

I swear, they must have a box on the England manager's application form that says

Do you have an imagination: Yes or No (tick no if you want the job)

[talk show host]

Apparently it was Owen who wanted Heskey back in. They've got a good record when playing together but it's such a backwards step.

I'd go with

James
Richards, Terry, Ferdinand, Shorey
SWP, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Cole
Owen, Johnson

or if Gerrard isn't fit i'd go with Frankie's team.

[ChodaBoy]

Getting that shot could be one of the worst decisions he ever makes. It only masks the pain, so running around could inflict more damage to the injured spot and he wont know it.

[Pastorius]

Just...it's Israel. Would you rather play him and him maybe miss like 3-4 more games, or just not play him for this one and know he'll be fine for the next one?

[talk show host]

Mclaren doesn't seem to think too far ahead. If he plays against Israel he won't be fit to play against Russia right? I guess he's banking on Lampard being fit for that game.

ah well, have faith guys. i'm sure he knows what he's doing.

http://i3.tinypic.com/4r281nq.jpg

[Frankie]

4-5-1 at home with near full crowd at the riverside against a newly promoted sunderland says different to me. And this was before the debacle of him being england manager.

[rocknrollstar5]

The England team is a lot like Mclarens hair: strong at the back, good up front but dangerously weak in the middle

[The_Passenger]

I don't get McLaren's squad selections. I would've rather seen someone like Matt Derbyshire or Ablonghor get called up than see Heskey recalled, if for no other reason than I dislike how much England are relying on recalled instead instead of calling up younger players. The U-21s had a fairly good tournament, yet very few are being given a chance at senior level.

The whole Gerrard scenario is stupid. I think that England is little better than a 2nd tier international sqaud, but we're still miles ahead of Israel. We don't need Gerrard to beat them, regardless of how good he is. The same goes for Russia, but I suppose they are more of a problem than Israel, so I could understand Gerrard playing in that game better (mind you I still think it would be unnecessary) than against Israel.

[Britney Diva]

Israel aren't a great side, but they grind out results. Somebody like Gerrard in midfield would be ideal, but it's insane that they're even contemplating giving him painkillers.

edit: I'm not opposed to painkillers in general, I'm not a scientologist

[Frankie]

We've got some good youngsters in this country yet they're not been given a chance. Doesn't help with the worst manager in the world tho' :(

[Surtr]

The problem is, it's the manager yes, but it's in large part what the last few England managers have been going out.

The best players don't make the best team.

Sure Gerrard is excellent, but a younger guy, given the right people helping him out and working with him on the field, could create results twice of what Gerrard could produce.

Just my opinion.

[Pastorius]

I think Gerrard is just too damn quick-minded for the England squad. He works much better with Liverpool where his teammates train regularly with him and know how he plays, but so many times he flicks a little ball into the box to no-one, where they could have been running. Lack of movement in the England squad is terrible.

[Britney Diva]

He does that with Liverpool too. Admittedly he does it more with England, but I'd say it's a deficiency on his part rather than being "too quick-minded."

[Pastorius]

....quick minded :angry:

*is Liverpool fan*

Torres is gonna be on every one of those passes this year!

[ChodaBoy]

As a shot off-target!

[Pastorius]

Naaaaaah my boy Fernando will be knocking them in all season. Lovely ball control to take it past the keeper against a RAMPANT Derby.

[angry armadillo]

I knew this was true and I had been saying it to my friends for AGES

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6979674.stm

[Britney Diva]

haha big lads always get that. Niles Quinn suffered from it too, the dreaded "backing in" call.

[angry armadillo]

well generally peter crouch doesnt jump over people he just puts his hands on people shoulders to stop them jumping and he just stands there, which i can see why the referees are blowing for it

i just wish he would stop

[big80smullet]

I don't really like peter crouch but hes a good player. He just gets in the box and annoys the hell out of defenders. I think McClaren should be giving people like Lita and derbyshire and bentley a run against the weaker teams in the pool ie israel, estonia and andorra to see how they go. The under 21 side have had much more success recently than the senior team. He could do worse than to just field them for the next 7-8 years. They wouldn't do well in this euro i imagine but in 4 or 5 years they'd be a pretty solid team.

[Pastorius]

Get Tommy Huddlestone in the team :p

Classic England international team syndrome though, happens to the rugby team as well. The managers pick their favourites when they get appointed to the post, and woe betide anyone who suggests changing the team based on form.

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

It's not just internationally either, domestically Roy Keane is the perfect example of favouritism. He's signed so many ex-united players it's not funny, he's picking people he knows as well from irelands international team. Lets face it, if you were a Sunderland fan wouldn't you be worried about the signings he's made? What's the average age of the squad? 32?

[Pastorius]

Yeah, but Keane is shaping up to be a good manager. He's picking people he knows to be talented and hard working, not just people he knows.

I seriously can't see Roy Keane picking people just because they're his friends.

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

Paul McShane I rate as a solid defender, but Yorke and Cole WERE talented. They've had thier time, and sure Yorke helped them get promoted but he's no longer premiership quality, nor is Cole. Ian Harte also is one of the has beens, they used to be good back when Keane himself played, he's taking risks on players who've had the experience and gone past their best.

I understand as Sunderland there's not much pulling power to top talent around the world, but if you're going to take risks, surely it's better to spend little and try younger players from say the Championship? They might be able to cut it in the prem, if not it would only cost a couple mil. I can't see a bunch of has beens keeping Sunderland up this season :/ Hope he brings in better faces in the January transfer window, 'cos Roy Keane is a legend and I want him to do well.

[Pastorius]

Only a couple of million is your mistake there.

A couple of million is a LOT of money.

[big80smullet]

I think the classic example of this has got to be lawrie sanchez. How many N. Ireland players has he bought? is it six now?

[Pastorius]

I don't respect Lawrie Sanchez though.

[big80smullet]

I dont know about him yet. He did wonders with N.Ireland, but i just feel that hes brought in too many N.Ireland players. TBH he could have probably got some better players for the money he spent, but i think Healy will turn out to be the bargain of the year.

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

Only a couple of million is your mistake there.

A couple of million is a LOT of money.

True, but you can get better talent with the money Keane has already spent on has-beens.

The only signing that looks good so far is Gordon, and he was a transfer record for a GK, but he looks solid.

He spent over 30 mil, you can get very decent players for that sort of money. I just don't get why you'd go for people who've had their best days.

[Britney Diva]

True, but you can get better talent with the money Keane has already spent on has-beens.

The only signing that looks good so far is Gordon, and he was a transfer record for a GK, but he looks solid.

He spent over 30 mil, you can get very decent players for that sort of money. I just don't get why you'd go for people who've had their best days.
But the older players were all free, except for Yorke who cost like 250,000. It's young players like Jones, Chopra, Gordon and Richardson he's spent the money on.

[Wigga Stole My Bike]

But the older players were all free, except for Yorke who cost like 250,000. It's young players like Jones, Chopra, Gordon and Richardson he's spent the money on.

Yeah that's true I guess, but I still think it'd of been better to look at the lower leagues for potential targets rather than the older players who're past it, I half expected him to sign Sheringham before the window was out.

Also he spent like 6 mil on Richardson :/ a Man Utd reject. He didn't do anything for United except boast he played for them in nightclubs.

Chopra I reckon is a good signing aswell as Gordon.

Ah well I can't do anything about his signings, I just hope they avoid relegation.


Speaking of...I agree with whoever it was before who mentioned that no team should get promotion through the playoffs, if you're not good enough to get automatic promotion, you won't last in the premiership....Derby are 5 games in and as good as relegated already

[big80smullet]

I hope they break sunderlands record

[Minus The Flair]

^That'd be impressive.

Gerrard will be starting tomorrow. And so will Robinson. I have a bad feeling about tomorrow, and I'm usually idiotically optimistic.

[Frankie]

You know what. I hope Israel beat us. If they do hopefully McClaren may get the sack. Or is that just wishful thinking.

[Pastorius]

I hope Israel beat you as well. I want McClaren out, and someone who plays on form in. Robinson has shocker half, James has solid half. James has amazing season, Robinson has average season. Robinson gets the spot.

[big80smullet]

I think hes crap and they should get rid of him anyway. England should be walking over israel, not worrying about them. They should be able field the under 21 B's and expect a win. Its not like the players aren't there. Mclaren just doesn't use them to the fullest of their abilities. Its not rocket science to choose a player on position and form rather than history and the club he plays for and whether the manager like him. Simple. Any idiot should be able to assemble an england side. Why can't mclaren do it?

[Cecillianne]

i'm sure it also has to do with the fact that England's superstars have huge egos that he feels obligated to play them. England won't lose. they'll be frightfully dull but they'll grind out a win, or at least a draw. it's Israel!

[Britney Diva]

You're underestimating Israel, they forced two draws from France in World Cup qualifying, and they went on to the final.

[Cecillianne]

yeah Israel can grind out results, i just have a hard time believing that England would actually struggle against them. even without Gerrard and Lampard McClaren would have a number of players to pick from.

[badtaste]

Messi and Tevez are in town! omgomogmomomgomgomgomogm!

Can't wait until Tuesday, Argentina vs Australia at the MCG!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/MCG_stadium.jpg

[ZapatoDiablo]

even without Gerrard and Lampard McClaren would have a number of players to pick from.
Apparently Gerrard will be playing. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=460975&cc=5901 . Hargreaves is out though.

[ChodaBoy]

Messi and Tevez are in town! omgomogmomomgomgomgomogm!

Can't wait until Tuesday, Argentina vs Australia at the MCG!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/MCG_stadium.jpg

That'd be weird, are they putting in extra seats?

And Heskey is starting :confused: BTW, no way is Heskey 29. He has been around for like 500 years

[Britney Diva]

Apparently Gerrard will be playing. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=460975&cc=5901 . Hargreaves is out though.
ugh that is the worst decision ever

[rustysurf84]

England is going to lose, this smells of total disaster. Although, Heskie could be a breath of fresh air for the side, considering him and Owen may partner well. Also, wasn't Gareth Barry supposed to start/play? Gerrard really shouldn't go; poor Liverpool fans. I'm assuming that Ben Haim is playing for Israel?

[badtaste]

That'd be weird, are they putting in extra seats?

And Heskey is starting :confused: BTW, no way is Heskey 29. He has been around for like 500 years

Nah, it's the typical soccer field in an oval arena situation, so there will be a huge gap between the pitch and the seats.

Yeh, i'd thought Heskey be older than that. Isn't he in the team, to provide a big man for Owen to play with?

[The_Passenger]

Yeh, i'd thought Heskey be older than that. Isn't he in the team, to provide a big man for Owen to play with?

I almost got the impression that Heskey is in the team because Owen asked for him to be recalled, and if this is true then McLaren really does need to be removed as soon as possible.

As for Gerrard, even though he is now fit I still don't think he should have been in the squad, as he was injured when it was first announced this would've been the chance for some youngster to step forward and try to prove themselves. England won't have Gerrard forever (although admittedly they will til at least the end of the 2010 WC campaign).

[big80smullet]

I hope australia do well against argentina. We need to show that we aren't one hit wonders.

[Cecillianne]

I almost got the impression that Heskey is in the team because Owen asked for him to be recalled, and if this is true then McLaren really does need to be removed as soon as possible.

i read that off somewhere. it's quite disgusting tbh, Owen hasn't played like, ten games and he's actually asking for someone to suit his needs? McClaren is so hell bent on playing big name players that are kinda broken atm that it's pretty stupid.

[talk show host]

I was watching one of his press conferences yesterday and they asked him who was going to play up front with Owen and he basically said it doesn't matter, the important thing is that Owen is fit (despite hardly playing at all). Way to belittle all the other strikers in the squad! It's so annoying how he always comes out with his 'it's a big game and you need your big players for your big games' bollocks. It hasn't exactly worked in recent years has it Steve?

[Ganondorf]

''Big players for big games'' screams selection on reputation for me, a better moto would be ''GOOD players for big games''.

[rustysurf84]

''Big players for big games'' screams selection on reputation for me, a better moto would be ''GOOD players for big games''.

Oh but come on now, we're talking about England here

[big80smullet]

If he picked good players then he'd have shorey, Wright phillips and nugent in the squad. Besides he needs to play nugent again so frances jeffers gets his 1 goal one game record back to himself

[Dead Star]

****ing diving Lithuanians. :mad:

[Frankie]

If he picked good players then he'd have shorey, Wright phillips and nugent in the squad. Besides he needs to play nugent again so frances jeffers gets his 1 goal one game record back to himself

Nugent's been piss poor at Pompy this season or have you not been watching the prem.

Besides SWP is starting and Shorey played LB against Germany.

1-0 england sound.

[talk show host]

Playing pretty well so far.

[Britney Diva]

Heskey's been the best player on the pitch!

[talk show host]

Pfft we all knew he was what England needed all along.

[Frankie]

He's still a fat lazy bastard who couldn't hit a barn door with a missile launcher

[munky_magik]

****ing diving Lithuanians. :mad:

We had it covered :)

[badtaste]

Haha, nice work from England. Would have been nice if Heskey had scored.

[Dead Star]

We had it covered :)

We should have had McFadden on from the start tbh.

[ChodaBoy]

WTF was up with Barry today? He looked like a lost puppy on the pitch

[Timm]

wales germany 0-2 :cool:

island spain 1-0 :lol: still playing though

[The_Passenger]

WTF was up with Barry today? He looked like a lost puppy on the pitch

You can't have been watching the same game as me.

England were pretty good today, but it was only Israel so I'm not getting carried away. Still, if we play like that again then Russia shouldn't be a problem though.

[Britney Diva]

Yeah I thought Barry did well. Gerrard was invisible though, but you can't really blame him considering his toe is broken.

Quote of the match goes to Mark Lawrenson: "McLaren might consider taking Gerrard off now. He wouldn't want him to pick up a knock on his toe."

Oh really, Mark? Insightful as ever.

[Frankie]

I dislike Lawro and his hate for middlesbrough FC

[ChodaBoy]

Thats just the Sky/BBC mindset of 'if you're not Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal - you aren't any good'

[Britney Diva]

I always thought the Sky/BBC mindset was to never criticise anything, ever?

[Frankie]

No but so called 'experts' have clear bias. e.g. hate all North east clubs that aren't Newcastle.

[Britney Diva]

Heh, well they most of them have played for Man U or Liverpool, so it's not a big surprise. I must say Jamie Redknapp is the dumbest footballer I've ever encountered. I don't know how he managed to maintain a career as a player despite knowing nothing about the game.

[E sharp]

Nice one Owen.

[ChodaBoy]

I always thought the Sky/BBC mindset was to never criticise anything, ever?

Thats only politics, and for the BBC the Royal family too

[rik]

No but so called 'experts' have clear bias. e.g. hate all North east clubs that aren't Newcastle.
No really, for some reason Lawrenson predicts we will somehow lose every game.


As for England today, we played well, but nothing to jizz over as we were only playing Israel. Heskey was surprisingly very good with his link up play, but his finishing was shocking. Micah Richards is looking like a sick player, he's got a very promising career ahead of him.

[Frankie]

No doubt as soon as old man neville is fit again Ricahards will be out of the team.

I mean Neville is a great right back but he's getting on a bit and won't be playing in the next world cup so why not give Richards a run in the team ?