Euro 2008 (Official LOL Vidic Thread)

[Kickflip_Burrito]

Arsenal v Manchester United

Tonight.

Predictions?

[TakeWarning]

Arsenal to come out with all guns blazing and lose 2-1. I just hope this game isn't as boring as both of last week's.

[poorquality]

2-2 tonight I reckon.

[mph4ever]

1 or 2 nil to manu

[Happy]

7-6 to Arsenal.

[Dave de Sylvia]

lol that's the end of that then

[mph4ever]

how to shut 70,000 north londoners up in 10 minutes

[Happy]

That was great.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Almunia for England!

[Happy]

I was just about to say that.

[mph4ever]

thats what souness said, as a scotsman of course

sit back, soak it up a little, hit them on the break, could get a few more here

[Dave de Sylvia]

Souness is great. "Arsenal are a tippy-tappy side."

edit: Gibbs withdrawn- poor kid :(

[mph4ever]

wenger should be substituted

[Dave de Sylvia]

referee should be substituted

[Iai]

When the ref pulled his cards out I honestly thought he was about to book Fabregas for diving. That tackle was brilliant. Bottom line.

[Happy]

Shame isn't it. Oh well, kinda like the Spurs game.

[Iai]

Heurelho Gomes must be really gutted that he'll miss the Champions League final.

[mph4ever]

When the ref pulled his cards out I honestly thought he was about to book Fabregas for diving. That tackle was brilliant. Bottom line.


and the fifa refs panel said they won't even accept an appeal

[Happy]

Heurelho Gomes must be really gutted that he'll miss the Champions League final.

Boro must be really gutted they'll miss the Premiership next year...

[Iai]

It really does suck, though, that the decisions in Utd's favour have been just that - decisions that have benefited the whole team. With this sending off, Utd had the game won anyway, and absolutely nobody will suffer apart from Fletcher himself. And yet, people will still say it's just karma.

It's good that Scholes is still there - somebody who has the experience of going through this will benefit Fletch immensely.

[poorquality]

Poor decision, but that's not the worst part, since when could you not appeal a red card "because it wasn't a case of mistaken identity" what the hell?

Commentators on ITV made a good point (shocking I know), that if Fletch had punched Fabregas off the ball the FA would be all over it tomorrow with a suspension etc, but you can't appeal a wrongful red card....bullpoop.

EDIT: I'm going to let that filter stay, it's genius.

[mph4ever]

ferguson seems to think its all up to the world class referee to make a change, so we'll see

[Dave de Sylvia]

It really does suck, though, that the decisions in Utd's favour have been just that - decisions that have benefited the whole team. With this sending off, Utd had the game won anyway, and absolutely nobody will suffer apart from Fletcher himself. And yet, people will still say it's just karma.

It's good that Scholes is still there - somebody who has the experience of going through this will benefit Fletch immensely.
He could always give Roy Keane a buzz as well. That'd be a fun convo.

I'm sure this won't be the end of it. Ferguson has so much clout in Europe, there's at least a chance he'll get them to reconsider. And, honestly, it's ridiculous that the most important football competition in the world has no system in place to consider appeals against cards.

Fletcher's been magnificent these past few weeks; him and Anderson in the middle are exactly what you need to win every time Carrick blasts it out for a throw-in under no pressure at all. I probably wouldn't care if it had been Carrick that got his marching orders- Scholes is a better player in the same role.

[TakeWarning]

Carrick offers much more defensive protection than Scholes. And he can tackle, even though he doesn't.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Come on the Chels.

[Kickflip_Burrito]

Time Wenger realised that his youth project has been a waste of time (for the most part) and should start getting some top class players to replace the crap that hasn't developed.

As for tonight, I got a feeling Chelsea will nick it but I'll be rooting for Barca as a United-Barca final would be wanking material.

[Pastorius]

lolololol Chelscum. Have that Terry, second biggest twat in football.

[Iai]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Look at Chelsea surrounding the ref like little bitches! The ref looking really bored as he booked Drogba 5 minutes after the final whistle, lol. This is the best thing I've seen since the Zidane headbutt.

C'mon Barca - Man U, cannot wait.

[Iai]

Ballack following the ref halfway down the pitch screaming in his face too, that was like Dracula Keown vs. Van Nistelrooy. F*ck me, how dignified does Darren Fletcher look now?

[benfan]

Ref was a joke.

[Happy]

Its a disgrace! A ****ing disgrace!

[Dave de Sylvia]

That was unbelievable.

I'm delighted with the result, don't get me wrong, but there is no way in hell Barcelona deserved to win that match. They were not the better team over the two legs and they benefited from what has to be classed as one of the worst displays by a referee at the top level in history. Absolutely shameful.

[Pastorius]

It's funny as hell. Taking out your frustrations on the ref because you let in a goal that cost you the champion's league final ftw

[Happy]

Careful, you might get us yellow carded.

Pasta: that was not why they were protesting, you'd have to be blind to miss that handball.

[benfan]

Not really that funny, and im not even a Chelsea fan. More money to made with a European team in the final though and thats the bottom line.

[Dave de Sylvia]

I think the Barca players figured out fairly early that they could take their chances in defence because the referee was never going to make the big decision and give a penalty.

[Pastorius]

Careful, you might get us yellow carded.

Pasta: that was not why they were protesting, you'd have to be blind to miss that handball.

yeah because they'd be protesting like that if it was still 1-0

they were protesting with such gusto because they were desperately frustrated at having let a goal in and were projecting their disappointment into anger

i personally don't think it was a hand ball, he had his back turned and didn't have his arm particularly extended

[Happy]

Have to say I partly agree with Jamie Redknapp's view that a referee from the Norweigan tippeligaen shouldn't be refereeing a game at that pace.

[benfan]

He had his arm in the air, and it blocked a shot which was on target. Anywhere else in world, if a defender had his arm raised in the box it would be a penalty.

[Interstate]

Lol @ Chelsea.

[Happy]

It was the most blatant handball since Scholes' attempt at goalkeeping a while back.

[Pastorius]

it wasn't that raised, and you see those go both ways all the time

[Iai]

It was blasted at him full-pelt from about 5 yards away and hit him in the armpit. They've been given in the past, but in no way was it 'blatant'.

[benfan]

Not when the ref has made 3 fck ups already. Blatant penalty. Chelsea have done Man U a favour though with both Barca full backs out for the next game.

[Iai]

Also, Chelsea can't complain after the ref managed to somehow give an even softer red card than the Fletcher one last night, in their favour.

[poorquality]

Chelsea should of had 2-3 penalties.

Abidal should never have been sent off.

Swings and roundabouts.

Wonder if Chelsea regret not going for a second and taking Drogba off, while Barca had to keep fighting. Shocking referee though.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Well it hit him just above the elbow. I think that one was contentious, but there were at least three other clear penalties they were denied. The referee was just a bottler- he wasn't prepared to make the big calls, and the one time he did he got it wrong.

edit: but Abidal should have been sent off when he pulled down Drogba in the first half, so there was some justice there, but nowhere else

[Pastorius]

Not when the ref has made 3 fck ups already. Blatant penalty. Chelsea have done Man U a favour though with both Barca full backs out for the next game.

since when should previous events in the game make any difference to any particular decision

i saw no way he could possibly have gotten out of the way, he wasn't deliberately using his arm to block, could have been given but not blatant and i would consider it harsh were it awarded

plus yeah, i don't see anyone complaining about the awful red card

[Iai]

C'mon Pasta, you and me against the world

I was watching it on Shanghai G-Sports so I can't really comment on any of the other penalty claims but I never would have given that handball in a millions years.

[Happy]

It was blasted at him full-pelt from about 5 yards away and hit him in the armpit. They've been given in the past, but in no way was it 'blatant'.

I'm not talking about that one, the one before that where Anelka was practically through until Piqué stopped the ball with an extended hand.

[Pastorius]

that wasn't the one they were all pissing their pants over though

[Iai]

I'm not talking about that one, the one before that where Anelka was practically through until Piqué stopped the ball with an extended hand.
Oh, okay. Didn't see it in that case.

[benfan]

Bearing in mind he should of been sent off earlier for the pull on Drogba.

[Happy]

I'd be pissing my pants if my team had 4 penalty appeals turned down. Tonight's referee was awful, you have to admit. I don't support Chelsea and I would have preferred Barca to go through but they didn't deserve it at all and it was down to luck.

[Iai]

Oh yeah, the ref was incompetent, he just didn't seem particularly biased. There were a couple of cheap kicks on Messi that people got away with that I spotted, a couple of Chelsea dives they got away with, at least one dangerous freekick given to them for nothing, stuff like that.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Please tell me I wasn't the only one who saw Drogba lean into the camera and shout "this is a ****ing disgrace!"

[Happy]

On the other hand maybe Barca could've had some penalty appeals turned down if they had actually made it into the box at all.


Splat: you're not alone, I posted it lol

[Pastorius]

I'd be pissing my pants if my team had 4 penalty appeals turned down. Tonight's referee was awful, you have to admit. I don't support Chelsea and I would have preferred Barca to go through but they didn't deserve it at all and it was down to luck.

Yes he was awful, I do admit that. But it's not like he hated Chelsea, he was just awful.

Not like the ref yesterday, who was slobbing all over United's knobs

[FuzzyDuck]

Well, Chelsea might have missed all their penalties! In the end, despite the referee, Chelsea couldn't see the game out against a ten man team which does not speak well for them. Over the two legs I think Barcelona were the better football team, though they need to learn how to defend.

[Iai]

http://i39.tinypic.com/2a7a3qv.jpg

[poorquality]

Please tell me I wasn't the only one who saw Drogba lean into the camera and shout "this is a ****ing disgrace!"

Genius, and it was replayed on sky again too :)`

[FuzzyDuck]

Please tell me I wasn't the only one who saw Drogba lean into the camera and shout "this is a ****ing disgrace!"

Haha, and Sky managed to accidentally replay it after the ad break and had to apologise profusely! Total Ron Atkinson moment.

[benfan]

Yeah lol at Drogba. What are the F.A gonna do to him? Ban him? If i earned that much id just say 'Yeah that fine ill just stay home in my mansion'

[Happy]

Not like the ref yesterday, who was slobbing all over United's knobs

I do agree on that.

Well, Chelsea might have missed all their penalties! In the end, despite the referee, Chelsea couldn't see the game out against a ten man team which does not speak well for them. Over the two legs I think Barcelona were the better football team, though they need to learn how to defend.

Barca had one shot on goal the entire night and that was Iniesta's goal. They may have had more possession but it was clear that Chelsea were more concerned about shutting them out completely. I remember seeing on a few occassions at least 8 Chelsea players behind the ball while Barca were on the attack.

[Dave de Sylvia]

ahh, it was on Sky? I was worried for a second that ITV may have cut it off right before something important happens. Actually, now that I think of it, ITV probably would have ended the broadcast right before Iniesta scored.

[Happy]

Also, I was surprised that Drogba managed to get those words out so quickly. During his interview he spoke like a complete ****ing retard.

Which he probably is.

[Dave de Sylvia]

From a United perspective, it's unfortunate that Abidal and Alves will miss the final. I mean, surely the covering players in the Barca squad can't be any worse than those two. Luckily Gerard Pique should be worth a couple of goals on his own.

[Iai]

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_5290492,00.html

One for Happy here.

[Happy]

I hate Alves, I don't know what it is about him, I just can't stand him.


The former Manchester United man told Sky Sports 2: "To be fair the ball touched my hand but I didn't want to touch it.

pfft, sounds like a paedophile's defence.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Off-topic, but somebody pulled this gem from a Michael Jackson message board a couple of weeks ago:

"It is amazing how everytime Michael is mentioned in the media with regards to music, his back catalog gets a boost in sales. Which tells me that there are a ton of new/young folks out there who are still learning about who Michael really is. He keeps touching the new generations."

[Txus]

**** chelsea

VAMOOOS BARÇA

[Pastorius]

handball has to be deliberate right?

[Dave de Sylvia]

No, if it denies the other team an opportunity to score then it's handball.

I'm surprised Ballack hasn't copped more flak for the Barcelona goal. I mean, Essien fluffed his kick, but Ballack's attempted block on Iniesta was one of the most brutal attempts to stop a shot since Almunia against United all those hours ago.

[talk show host]

http://i39.tinypic.com/2a7a3qv.jpg

hahaha

Barcelona didn't deserve that at all and Alves was ****ing rubbish, but ahaha Chelsea.

[sgrevs]

Can't wait to hear what Randy says about all this.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Here's my most overriding emotion following that match:

No, Didier: you are the ****ing disgrace.

Drogba should never play for Chelsea again. I have hated the cunt for a long time and his performance this morning was a disgrace in every aspect and he is a disgrace to the club.

Ballack's behaviour was also disgraceful. But Drogba cannot represent Chelsea F. C. any longer if we are to be a self-respecting club.

1. Abidal shouldn't have got a red. 2. The hand-ball against Gerard Piqué should have resulted in a penalty. 3. Ballack should have tried to block Iniesta's goal like John Terry blocks shots, with his full body on the line, presenting the biggest target possible. He may have blocked it. But he didn't. And we lost.

Barcelona looked a shadow of the team that destroyed Real Madrid on Saturday.

[TakeWarning]

I just had to post this

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/6783/balalckthief.gif

[Dave de Sylvia]

Oh my God.

[mph4ever]

fletcher looks like a saint now, manu look like they respect the respect campaign.

come on the toffess, sicken the cunts

[Pastorius]

Fletcher does indeed look like an absolute gent. To be honest, he looked like a gent in the first place, never had any beef with Fletcher, one of the few United players I like.

[mph4ever]

thats very gracious of you

are you going to tune into the chumps league final? arsenal and chelsea, skysports at the weekend?

[Pastorius]

Yeah probably, though I think it's more a case of what manager can motivate them the most in that case.

[mph4ever]

i suppose chelsea will be saving themselves for having a go at the referee at wembley, arsenal will once again be saving themselves for next season

[Dave de Sylvia]

Anyone watching Shaktar and Kiev? 10 minutes from going to ET.

[Pastorius]

Here are a list of Manchester United players I have little to no beef with:

Darren Fletcher
Ryan Giggs
Daniel Welbeck
Paul Skills
Carlos Tevez
Park Ji Sung

[mph4ever]

Anyone watching Shaktar and Kiev? 10 minutes from going to ET.

put the mockers on it

see any more players for the premiership. ilsinho took the goal well

[Cesar21]

I'm glad Barcelona won albeit in a horrible way. Still I believe they are the better team and they have what it takes to beat Man-U. 100 GS, 28GA in the Spanish league, that's sick.

[mph4ever]

Here are a list of Manchester United players I have little to no beef with:

Darren Fletcher
Ryan Giggs
Daniel Welbeck
Paul Skills
Carlos Tevez
Park Ji Sung

what about vidic, john o'shea and the like?

and gary neville, what could you possibly have against him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NElSXLJJKc

[Pastorius]

Nah, Vidic is a bit of a dick. Great defender, bit of a dick though. Any good defender should be slightly on the dick side though.

John O'Shea I don't like because me and my United supporting mate always argue about who's better, O'Shea or Mascherano. Plus John O'Gay is just too easy.

Gery Neville can eat his own moustache as far as I'm concerned, and I hope he chokes on it and turns into Phil.

[Happy]

I'm glad Barcelona won albeit in a horrible way. Still I believe they are the better team and they have what it takes to beat Man-U. 100 GS, 28GA in the Spanish league, that's sick.

There's a massive gulf between Barca and the rest of the league, hence the 100 GS.

If anything Chelsea have shown that they're not the best team in the world and they're not even the best team in the EPL!

[mph4ever]

i don't believe that anyone at chelsea accepts that there was a conspiracy against them apart from drogba, ballack, malouda and maybe one or two others. nor did the referee head the ball into the back of the net for barca.

barca got a late equaliser and won on the away goals rule, sort of like most people expected after chelsea failed to score or play football at camp nou

[mph4ever]

i wonder how many ex world class players are going to be offered to man city for silly amounts

[Happy]

They'll be like the crap version of AC Milan.

[mph4ever]

hahaha, probably most of the milan team are going there for a well paid swan song

apart from maldini, he has too much soul

[mph4ever]

i suppose if they do this in 10 years time then rooney will be way up the list. frank is at the end of his average career so i don't expect his rating will change

http://www.goal.com/en/news/2274/goalcoms-top-50-english-players/2009/05/08/1253027/goalcoms-top-50-english-players-frank-lampard-39

[Dave de Sylvia]

http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt274/pnugent3/DROGBASHOCKINGNEWS.jpg

[mph4ever]

perhaps they realise that they are past it

like so many other chelsea based fantasies

c'mon everton. blue for life

[TakeWarning]

Here's a fun fact: Frank Lampard's IQ is higher than 150, making him smarter than 99.9% of the general population.

[mph4ever]

Here's a fun fact: Frank Lampard's IQ is higher than 150, making him smarter than 99.9% of the general population.


so hes a intelligent cunt then

[RandyfromPennywise]

Eh I wouldn't read too much in to that. Not sure where you got that figure of "150" from, but from what I have read and been able to find about the subject, all that is publicly known is that he performed exceptionally well on an in-house IQ test at Chelsea.

Is Arshavin going to play on Sunday? Seriously need to get this info for my fantasy team in the next few hours!

Seeing as United have two matches this week I have been flirting with the idea of getting the Roon in, but chances are that he'll get rested against Wigan... Reckon I might put Valencia in though.

[mph4ever]

i'd say arshavin has to play. arsenal will take it very seriously against chelsea and against manu since they have a point to prove that their team are not as bad as manu made them look. they'll want to end the season putting down a marker for next season

[StooTwo]

Rangers 1 Celtic 0 ^_^

[mph4ever]

zola's west ham 2 liverpool out if title race nil

drogbas leaving chelsea

[Dave de Sylvia]

BBC's matchday feed is usually far more entertaining than Setanta's featured match. Today is no exception.

1649: MISSED PENALTY (John Utaka, Portsmouth)
You will struggle to see a more embarrassing penalty this season. It was a ludicrously harsh decision anyway, Kanu's cross hitting Keith Andrews' left hand and Mike Riley pointing to the spot. Utaka clearly thought it wasn't, so he spanked it miles over and a little bit wide for good measure. Woeful.
Penalty

1648: PENALTY TO PORTSMOUTH

[Happy]

Man Everton v Tottenham was a great game to watch :|

[Pastorius]

zola's west ham 2 liverpool out if title race nil

drogbas leaving chelsea

1 outta 2 ain't bad

[mph4ever]

so far so bad

setanta commentator says "everyone else knows the premiership is over but no one has told benitez or his liverpool team"

[Pastorius]

i suppose our only hope is man city (ha!) and arsenal (HA!)

[mph4ever]

don't give up on hull, they are in more of a fight than anyone

boro for the win, send ego shearer and his band of idiots down for a while. love to see them drop to league one

[Dave de Sylvia]

Looks like everybody's favourite demented lunatic Andre Bikey's been at it again. Sensational.

[talk show host]

I can't help but love him

[TakeWarning]

Man Everton v Tottenham was a great game to watch :|

Yeah awful game, baffling decision to put Hutton on the right wing, midfield looked a bit lacklustre without Palacios(poor guy).

[poorquality]

4 more points needed, chance to win the title against Arsenal, would be a sweet way to end it.

[Dave de Sylvia]

That's awful about Palacios :(

“The lad had heard from his family at about one in the morning what had happened, and his brothers I believe have identified the body,” Redknapp was quoted as saying by Setanta Sports.

“But he sat around the hotel lobby with his case packed until 7am because he didn’t want to wake me.

“I’m amazed with him. But we organised for him to be driven back to London so he could get a flight home.

[mph4ever]

4 more points needed, chance to win the title against Arsenal, would be a sweet way to end it.

qft

[Txus]

the Barca vs. Villareal game is getting intense.

[Happy]

I feel so sorry for Palacios, his family even paid the ransom for his brother's return.

[StooTwo]

Yeah I heard that ^

[TakeWarning]

This is only two weeks after Jermain Defoe's brother was shot dead aswell.

[RandyfromPennywise]

We beat Arsenal 1-4 last night. I didn't really care. Guess I'm finding it hard to support a team where I don't rate/blatantly hate half the side... Cole, Drogba, Malouda, Mikel. I am pretty disgusted that the club didn't react strongly to Drogba's behaviour.

[TakeWarning]

Well, you could always start supporting Spurs.....

Tottenham - it's kinda like purgatory

[2muchket!]

Well lads am just about to go into town to get the coach up to Newcastle to attend the most important derby game probably in the last 12 years.

OWAYYYY THE BORO !

[benfan]

TOON ARMY!

Hopefully its a good game and not a boring **** fest like most of Newcastles games have been this season.

[Happy]

This is only two weeks after Jermain Defoe's brother was shot dead aswell.

Nah, he had his head kicked in. Not surprising though, I've been to Leytonstone and its a shithole.

[poorquality]

So Fletcher and Abidal's appeals are rejected.

Load of rubbish, you can't appeal a wrongful red card in the biggest club cup competition. They'd be quick to ban either player from the final if something had happened that the ref missed in the game, yet they won't consider an appeal if the referee gets it wrong. Travesty of a system.

[Pastorius]

Up the Boro, stick it to Shearer's goon army.

[Dave de Sylvia]

So Fletcher and Abidal's appeals are rejected.

Load of rubbish, you can't appeal a wrongful red card in the biggest club cup competition. They'd be quick to ban either player from the final if something had happened that the ref missed in the game, yet they won't consider an appeal if the referee gets it wrong. Travesty of a system.
At least Fergie has no excuse to shank Park again.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Really good first half at St. James' Park. That Emnes lad looks very lively up front for Boro and he really should have put them 2-1. Owen's looking good too, and Viduka seems to be pulling off the right pass at least once in every 10 attempts, which is an improvement.

[Pastorius]

It was on a plate for that Emnes fella, finished it with typical Boro aplomb.

[Iai]

Hope the second half carries on like the first - since Newcastle scored we're undoubtedly been the better side. Not sure why King was chosen to replace Alves rather than Aliadiere but okay.

[Dave de Sylvia]

I'd say the first half was fairly even. Newcastle still look a mess in defence, which has probably exaggerated Boro's share of the action.

First part of the second half's been as good as the first, cracking game.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Boro down, Hull fall into the relegation zone.

[Iai]

****ing shitting bastard twatting geordie cunts

[Iai]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

So what's this Championship thing like then?

[benfan]

Get in the Toon.

Really happy, just need another win ideally to be safe.

[Pastorius]

eat my dick shearer

[Dave de Sylvia]

Yeah I think 37 points will be enough to stay up this year.

[2muchket!]

This isn't being a bitter smoggie but for 77 minutes the whole noise in St Doyles park was made by about 2,500 smoggie singing their hearts out.

Best supporters in the world my ****ing arse. Geordie ****ing wankers.

[benfan]

This is being a bitter smoggie

Cool.

Seriously though, i dont wanna see any of the 3 go down (newcastle, boro, sunderland) i enjoy the derbies.

[Kickflip_Burrito]

NOOOOOO!

If Newcastle stay up after a complete disaster of a season, my faith in the Premier League will never be so low.

[TakeWarning]

I ****ing hate Newcastle. I'll be sad to see Boro go down.

[Iai]

Hull to beat Bolton, C'MON

[Happy]

I hope so, Phil Brown is a nice man.

[Pastorius]

I hope so, Phil Brown is a nice man.

oooooooooooooooh phil

nice man phil ooooooooh phil

[Kickflip_Burrito]

From 4th in the Premiership to 18th. What a drop.

Ever since that stupid 'pep-talk' on the pitch..... :lol:

[Happy]

oooooooooooooooh phil

nice man phil ooooooooh phil

Shearer or Brown?

[Pastorius]

Shearer or Brown?

Yeah fair point.

[2muchket!]

hull to beat bolton, c'mon


123

[RandyfromPennywise]

Dukes looked good last night, back to lead the line in to the semis in South Africa. Come on big V Bomber.

So, like, I haven't checked this or anything, but Hull are on 34 points. If my memory is correct, they were on like 20 after like 10 games. So they've scored less than 15 points in more than 25 matches?

I'm glad Rovers are staying up, they are my second team.

Boro... ah dear.

With all due respect to supporters of both clubs (Newcastle and Boro), they are both pretty terrible teams.

If Boro go down, I'd have Downing at Chelsea. He's way better than Kalou or Malouda in an attacking sense, and seems like far less a twat than most of our squad.

Newcastle are just such a nothing team. They have no stars, they have 100 nobody, nothing players. They don't deserve to stay up, I think that's fair to say. If it was some recently-promoted team who'd had their exact same season with their exact squad, no one would give a sod and would say that they deserve to go down. Because they get big crowds and have some sort of history apparently and Alan Shearer is their gaffer, it seems like they've earnt themselves some sympathy or summin'. I hope Duffer goes to a good club if they go down. And Dukes too. We need him in good form for 2010.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Duff is probably on his way back to Blackburn if Newcastle go down. If they stay up, he's a good lad and will probably see out his contract, but I really wish he wouldn't. I don't know what it is about Newcastle (in both football and rugby), but it seems to be the place players go to collect a mass of career-threatening injuries.

Hull have one win in 21 matches, if I remember correctly.

[talk show host]

A Simon Church - Shane Long strike force

:|

[Dave de Sylvia]

Who is Simon Church and why isn't the ginger playing?

[talk show host]

Some Welsh kid, and i've no idea. The not really scoring thing probably doesn't help, but of all the games for Coppell to experiment...

[Iai]

Allow me to introduce you to Marvin Emnes.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Some Welsh kid, and i've no idea. The not really scoring thing probably doesn't help, but of all the games for Coppell to experiment...
I don't think he understands how important this is. It's not about Reading winning promotion anymore. It's about saving the entire world from another year of Sheffield United.

Incidentally, what's this Jay Tabb lad like? He's been in a few Ireland squads in the past but I've never seen him play.

[talk show host]

I
Incidentally, what's this Jay Tabb lad like? He's been in a few Ireland squads in the past but I've never seen him play.

I honestly don't know, this is only the second time i've seen him. He took a while to break into the side, but that seems to happen with everyone for Reading.

Need a goal soon! Looking decent so far, though.

[talk show host]

well bugger

do away goals count in the playoffs? or will any draw force extra time?

[Dave de Sylvia]

Away goals don't count, but now you need 3 anyway hahaha

[Spiney_Norman]

lol Reading
My housemate supports them, he's incredibly pissed off right now :D

[TakeWarning]

Steve Coppell has quit as Reading manager just hours after their play-off defeat to Burnley.

The Royals were beaten 2-0 at home by Burnley in the second-leg of the Championship play-off semi-final on Tuesday which gave The Clarets a 3-0 win on aggregate.

Coppell has now ended his near six-year reign in charge of the club, who he guided to the Premier League in 2006 for the fist time in their history.

A statement to the club's official website confirmed Coppell's resignation.
"Following our exit from the play-offs, I feel it's the best thing, for both the
club and myself, for me to leave," he said.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Reading manager and would like to thank everyone connected to the club for the support I have received."

Chairman Sir John Madejski admitted he was sad to see Coppell leave.

"I am very disappointed to confirm that Steve has decided to step aside as our manager, but I respect his wishes," added Madejski.

"I would like to thank Steve sincerely for everything he has done for Reading over the last five and a half years, which has been the most successful period in the Club's history."

Madejski and Coppell will hold a joint press conference at 11am on Wednesday at Madejski Stadium.

He'll be hard to replace.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Aw, I like Steve, and I really think he would have been able to rebuild the team after the inevitable exodus :( I wonder if Madejski will offload the club now.

[talk show host]

Gutted, but it was inevitable. He'd have probably left if Reading had been promoted too.

And Madejski's been trying to offload the club for ages now, though he's apparently quite choosy. I'm dreading any exodus because Reading will plummet if he doesn't replace them - and he probably won't.

[mph4ever]

cut down in the prime of his football career. a manu legend. always seems to accept this destiny with such dignity. seems like the lesson of his hoped for return from the knee injury has taught him to accept things for what they are. good bloke all round

[Pastorius]

lol

[Happy]

How lucky are Man U?

[Dave de Sylvia]

lol
lol

[mph4ever]

lol rangers dickheads that they are

[Pastorius]

there goes the ****ing title

[mph4ever]

there goes the ****ing title
its not totally over. arsenal could get a result on saturday and it could go down to the last day battle with a team that are finghting and don't give a damn



duck! low flying pig alert

[Dave de Sylvia]

I hope Hull beat us on the last day and stay up. Phil Brown's probably my third favourite manager after Fergie and Moyesy.

[Pastorius]

i'm glad you're joking because that would have been simply the most patronising response imaginable

[mph4ever]

but of course dave is saying that with the expectation that we will win on saturday

should be a great game at the hawthorns regardless

[Pastorius]

such cunts

[Dave de Sylvia]

but of course dave is saying that with the expectation that we will win on saturday

should be a great game at the hawthorns regardless
don't need to win on saturday XD

[mph4ever]

but if we lost it would make the hull game thrilling

[mph4ever]

benitez finally admits that liverpool are a two man team

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/9572524

[Smokey D]

Why do Irish people like Man U so much?

[mph4ever]

Why do Irish people like Man U so much?


some do, some don't.

they like liverpool and arsenal just as much, liverpool probably more if you remove the kids that have been supporting for the last ten years. those teams have always had a strong irish contingent, national players who were integral parts of the teams that were the best

[Happy]

The real answer is because there is no good football in Ireland.

[benfan]

So Millwall through to the play off final. Leeds really underperformed last night, they always choke when the big matches roll around.

[Happy]

I think the Millwall fans will go nuts when they see how many chairs there are to throw at Wembley.

[Pastorius]

benitez finally admits that liverpool are a two man team

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/9572524

i did not see that

[Iai]

I think the Millwall fans will go nuts when they see how many chairs there are to throw at Wembley.
lolol

Pretty disgraceful for Leeds though, they should have pissed the league with that squad.

[mph4ever]

The real answer is because there is no good football in Ireland.
yeah, club wise they can't even get a paint company to sponsor it. although as an organisation at grass roots level it is fairly together. and for a country of such other sporting prowess and low population we never fail to impress against england so we can solace from that

i did not see that
well he does suggest that if the two of them had been fit then liverpool would have won the league by now so the reason they didn't is because they weren't fit so the impliaction is that liverpool cannot win the league without the two of them, a two man team

[Pastorius]

Well it would be retarded to suggest that they wouldn't have done better without 2 of the best players in the world

[mph4ever]

probably in their positions they are the two best

[Firecracker]

I hope man u lose to arsenal today
wigan way should have beaten them midweek.

[TakeWarning]

I hope Man U thrash Arsenal 7-0, with Scholesy scoring all seven goals.

[Happy]

Face it, they're going to win.

[mph4ever]

stand up for the champions

[Dave de Sylvia]

Just Boro's luck that Villa's strikers would pick this week to actually score a goal.

[Pastorius]

is it sad that i'm trying to take consolation in the fact that unied didn't win the title with a win

[Happy]

yes.

[Pastorius]

well **** em, the age of united is coming to an end, scholes, giggles, van der sar, and most importantly fergie will all be off soon

long live the scouse!

[Dave de Sylvia]

Schwarzer has been incredible today- goalkeeper of the season by a long way. Newkie looking very likely to go down now, Hull might nick a win at Bolton, and Spurs are staying in the Europa battle just, thanks to what sounds like a completely needless Micah Richards foul in the box.

[Happy]

I can't believe how good we've been at home these last few games.

[2muchket!]

Bye bye premiership.

See you lot in a few season's time hopefully without southy.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Gareth's a good lad. Championship might be just the learning curve he needs. You can get rid of dead weight like Downing and hopefully keep Johnson, who's a far superior player and doesn't appear to believe his own hype. It's just a pity for everybody involved that Portsmouth are safe for another season- maybe next year!

[Pastorius]

The Gareth Southgate school of interviews

"Well we lost 8-0 but I've got the full support of the board and the lads did their hardest"

[2muchket!]

Oh aye hopefully we'll keep jinky (johnson) but I'm resigned to losing Tunc, Downing, Huth and Poggy.

[Dave de Sylvia]

I wouldn't be too worried about losing any of them. A season in the Championship will give you the chance to keep bringing up good academy players, anyway.

[2muchket!]

True true.

Am sure if we come at fergie's door next season he'll let us have a few of your youngsters on-loan.

[Iai]

Wenger too, Southgate and him are fairly good friends iirc.

I'm a little worried that Downing and Alves have probably seen their values plummet with their injuries.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Well nobody is going to buy Alves anyway. Downing will sell lots of t-shirts so you're looking at a good 10 million there even with injuries.

[2muchket!]

With alves I think we were always going to sell him at a loss.

Downing I reckon we'll get £15m for hopefully.

[Iai]

Hah. I wouldn't even buy Downing merchandise.

There are pretty strong rumours that Benfica and Heerenveen have already enquired about Alves.

[Dave de Sylvia]

With alves I think we were always going to sell him at a loss.

Downing I reckon we'll get £15m for hopefully.
I think you'll have a really hard time selling him at all. Spain is probably your best option- we know Juande Ramos has a penchant for strikers who don't know where the goal is.

I doubt Heerenveen could afford to pay anything close to the fee they were paid. If Boro have been paying in installments, they might be able to send him back and cancel the remaining 6 million or so.

[Pastorius]

lol 15mil for downing

[mph4ever]

west browm win tomorrow and they are in the thick of it

it would also give a true reflection of the gap between manu and scouse scum

[2muchket!]

lol 15mil for downing

not even funny mate

[Dave de Sylvia]

lol 15mil for downing

arry will pay it

[2muchket!]

exactly

wouldn't mind seeing him at at top 4 club like. Wish the lad all the best.

[mph4ever]

hes a good player. probably a good squad player at manu, even chelsea. liverpool would ruin him, and hes not french enough for arsenal

a great move for him would be everton or villa but they won't pay that much

[Happy]

I don't want him at Spurs.

[Pastorius]

if liverpool sign downing i'll resign

[Dave de Sylvia]

If Downing signs for Liverpool, I'll resign. He's nowhere near good enough for a top 4 side, but he might slot in well at Fulham or somebody.

[Iai]

I think you'll have a really hard time selling him at all. Spain is probably your best option- we know Juande Ramos has a penchant for strikers who don't know where the goal is.

I doubt Heerenveen could afford to pay anything close to the fee they were paid. If Boro have been paying in installments, they might be able to send him back and cancel the remaining 6 million or so.
Well he has something like 10 caps for Brazil, so he's still rated in Portugal by proxy. £4m was the fee mentioned in the Benfica rumours. That Heerenveen deal is exactly what I was thinking, so maybe £4m is the remaining fee?

Downing would be great at Fulham, but let's be honest - Hodgson is way too smart and crafty to spend more than £5m on him. Spurs are the only side between the relegation zone and Arsenal who'd buy him, let's be honest - teams like Stoke and Portsmouth don't have the resources, and managers like Bruce and Hodgson (and probably Moyes) won't spend that. Other than Spurs I could only imagine Villa as a destination for him.

[2muchket!]

And they already have ashley young so I can't see it happening.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Realistically, the only two managers daft enough to match his inflated asking price are Harry Redknapp (he buys everyone, especially when he has a perfectly good player in that position already) and whoever is in charge of Newcastle at any given moment, and that would probably be one treason too far.

From what I've heard, Villa don't have a lot of money to spend this summer, at least not as much as they did last year. Even so, O'Neill will probably look to make a bid on McGeady, who'll cost half of what Downing does and who he's already worked with for several years. Plus he has Champion's League experience.

[mph4ever]

if liverpool sign downing i'll resign

another jermaine or harry or the like is not required

[Pastorius]

If we take Pennant back then I'll resign. I'm hoping we sign David Silva over the summer.

[Dave de Sylvia]

My mate lives in Valencia and said he's seen David Silva playing with kids in the park.

I'm going to leave it that vague.

[mph4ever]

still think liverpool need to focus more on defence than attack for new players

upfront maybe sell ngog, kuyt and babel and bring in someone like trez. thing is they will have to buy the next undiscovered one because the sales will probably only allow them to bring back crouch

[Pastorius]

Babel is going I reckon, Kuyt will fetch some good dollar so I wouldn't mind him going as long as we bought attack with him. Can't win the league with Torres and.....no-one else up front. If his price tag wasn't so ridiculously huge I would love it if Tevez came to Anfield.

In defence I think we're OK, left back is sorted, Agger is fit again now so I expect him to fill one centre back role, Carragher ain't going nowhere for a few seasons. Right back is fine too.

[mph4ever]

i just think they need a leader in defence that will take over from carragher eventually.

i could see tevez at liverpool. and liverpool wining the league next year and doing the champs league too. they are really getting into that sort of shape

[Pastorius]

If Fergie doesn't sign Tevez (likely I think, they're stacked in attack without him) I think he'll go to Italy. They'll be willing to pay an inflated price tag over there.

We do need a Carragher replacement but I don't think next season is the time to do it.

[Dave de Sylvia]

As far as I know, Tevez has ruled out leaving England. But I think he'll re-sign at United eventually.

[Pastorius]

I hope not, and I think unless Fergie can guarantee him a lot more games he'll leave. Though you never know, there's something in that chewing gum that gives the Scot magic powers

[mph4ever]

glad to see fulham doing so well

[Iai]

Tevez is basically saying to anybody that will listen that he wants to stay in Cheshire because his family love it there.

Which is another way of saying, 'sign me or I'm going to Liverpool or City'.

[mph4ever]

ferguson won't pay over the odds. hes still waiting for berbatov to pay back

[Happy]

He could sell Berba back to us for £60m

[mph4ever]

too cheap for harry

[Dave de Sylvia]

Tevez is basically saying to anybody that will listen that he wants to stay in Cheshire because his family love it there.

Which is another way of saying, 'sign me or I'm going to Liverpool or City'.
Either that or: "please don't send me to Liverpool or City".

[Pastorius]

Nah dude, anyone who wanted to stay wouldn't rock the boat like he has.

[Happy]

I think he should move to Spurs.

[Dave de Sylvia]

I think he should move to Manchester United.

[Pastorius]

Like Spurs can afford Tevez. I reckon his owners are gonna slap a 25m minimum asking price.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Well they reckon his contract may not be entirely legal, in Europe at at least. It's fine once he is willing to go along with it, but from what I understand he would be within his rights to walk away whenever he wants.

[Pastorius]

Well I daresay he can afford the best lawyers in the world to find a loophole.

[Dave de Sylvia]

One of United's lawyers is the guy who fought the Bosman case (and won). The issue is probably whether Tevez wants to walk away from the contract, and whether he values United over his relationship with the Indian bloke that owns him.

[Pastorius]

Gotta love the man who owns your career. I really do hope he comes to Liverpool though, and it does make some sense. Lots of spanish speakers, spanish speaking manager, your national captain on the same team, plenty of reasons to go scouse.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Not to mention the prospect of sitting on a completely different bench!

[Pastorius]

I wish we had enough strikers to put Tevez on the bench

[Dave de Sylvia]

You have Torres and Gerrard. Benitez doesn't play anyone else unless you are winning at least 3-0.

[Pastorius]

oh i don't know, he played lucas enough ****ing times this season

[mph4ever]

11 times probably

[2muchket!]

That's 11 times too many.

[Happy]

Like Spurs can afford Tevez. I reckon his owners are gonna slap a 25m minimum asking price.

They can, look how much they spent in January. Harry wants Bent, Pavyluchenko, Bentley and Dos Santos out as far as I know to raise money.

[cmb1888]

Can somebody please make Celtic score? If my boyfriend doesn't stop shouting at the TV soon, I may well kill him.