This is the blog for the supporters of the beautiful game. Here you can share your hopes, predictions and more or less your learned opinions. Sticking it to the opposition is not only permitted, it is encouraged. Try and be civil if possible. As for the people who want to post entries about other sports, do it at your own risk. At best you will be ignored.
Football-Fussball-Futeball-Soccer
Posted on November 14, 2008 – 12:17 pm
134 Comments
Ok, let’s start the predictions. I do not see that that the teams that were top 4 at the end of the last season will be any different next May. The order may be different but this is not sure either.
ManU did not make much noise on the transfer market so far but they have a quality squad so another big name striker will be a “just-in-case” addition.
Chelsea did not spend as much money as they ususally do but there is not much left to buy in this world anymore. (A perfect example of their sick mentality is a defender they bought in January ‘08 for close to 10 million pounds, did not play him at all and now they may be selling him to Juve for a half of the price they had paid). Then there is a Gene Hackman factor. All his succeses came in tournament-style competions. Let’s see how he will be able to insipre his over-priced primadonnas for the Bolton away in December.
Liverpool made the biggest splash and, according to romours, they would like to buy everybody that could not get on board of the Chelsea bus but they do not have enough money. They got rid of Peter Crouch and got Robbie Keane – why would Keane be able to do something that Crouch could not, given a chance, is beyond me.
And now Arsenal. We lost some players and the biggest void was left by Flamini. Can we challenge for the first? Computer says no but, if we can stay healthy, I think yes. And do not forget, this will be the year of Eboueeeeeeeeee. He will make a difference (call me for the name of my supplier).
Other than that, the Scum will finish 6th at the very best, Newcastle will fight an up-hill relegation battle and we will all have a great time watching it all unfold.
Ok, so we have a week now of preseson football under our belts. Some teams look good and some teams look like, well I dont need to say it. This is the preseason for the players but also the preseason for the officials. And trust me the officials look like sh#t too.
Here are my predictions for the the leagues top 5
1 Man U
2 Arsenal
3 Chelsea
4 Aston Villa / City
5 Liverpool
1. Rushden & Diamonds
2. Mansfield Town
3. Ebbsfleet United
4. Burton Albion
5. Torquay United
6. Cambridge United
UP THE FLEET
Commendable of you Jools for this learned analysis of the coming season.You may be right that Eboueeeeeeeee! may actually be able to keep the ball below row’G’ but I fear that Adebyore may be shooting just wide where last season the ball was curling just inside the post.
The Poacher could also be right regarding the refereeing(yes.it has had a rather noticeable aroma to it) and the new “respect”policy and yellow cards for dissent and such(are you listening J.Terry,W.Rooney,and other noted “referees”?).but what’s with that #4 pick?I’m not sure that City will be in the top 10,but the Villans ahead of the Vermin? But of course this is why they play and we watch and scream and shout and generally take the piss.
“Gentlmen,Kick Your Footballs!”
I can see Villa challenging for the 4th, especially if they keep Barry. City will go down the tube when Prime Minister will not be able to finally come with hard cash to pay for the purchase of the club.
Spurs
Manu U
Chelsea
Liverpool
villa
Arsenal
JJ are you delusional or just stupid, oh wait stupid it is. The Spurs will be lucky to finish 8th.
From the Guardian
The final qualifying round of Big Cup begins tonight, and the Fiver can barely disguise its total and absolute contemp[Fiver is thrashed soundly with stick by The Man] ... barely contain its excitement and glee. And neither can Arsene Wenger, who reckons tonight’s match between his Arsenal Youth XI and Steve McClaren’s Twente Managed By Steve McClaren is “the biggest game of the season” – a season that has yet to start, you’ll note – because progress will guarantee the club a £12m windfall. The sport’s No1 aesthete banging on about the bottom line: that football has come to this. Gotta love what Big Cup brings ya!
More Spurs news…
Spurs will have £3m change once they’ve sold Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United for £28m and nabbed Andrei Arshavin. You do the mathematics.
CANADA’S TEAM Against Jamaica
1 | Greg Sutton | G | Hamilton, ON | CAN / Toronto FC
2 | Daniel Imhof | D/M | Smithers, BC | GER / VfL Bochum
3 | Mike Klukowski | D | Oshawa, ON | BEL / Club Brugge KV
4 | Kevin McKenna | D | Calgary, AB | GER / 1. FC Köln
5 | Adrian Serioux | D/M| Scarborough, ON | USA / FC Dallas
6 | Julian de Guzman | M | Scarborough, ON | ESP / Deportivo La Coruna
7 | Paul Stalteri | D/M | Brampton, ON | ENG / Tottenham Hotspur
8 | Jim Brennan | D | East York, ON | CAN / Toronto FC
9 | Tomasz Radzinski | M/F | Toronto, ON | GRE / Skoda Xanthi
10 | Ali Gerba | F | Montréal, QC | ENG / Milton Keynes Dons FC
11 | Richard Hastings | D | Vancouver, BC | SCO / Inverness CT
12 | Issey Nakajima-Farran | M | Calgary, AB | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
13 | Atiba Hutchinson | M | Brampton, ON | DEN / F.C. København
14 | Dwayne De Rosario | M/F | Scarborough, ON | USA / Houston Dynamo
15 | Patrice Bernier | M | Brossard, QC | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
16 | Rob Friend | F | Kelowna, BC | GER / Borussia Mönchengladbach
17 | Iain Hume | F | Brampton, ON | ENG / Barnsley FC
18 | Pat Onstad | G | Vancouver, BC | USA / Houston Dynamo
JJ, Spurs have a chance to win the Premiership next season, about as big as Leafs to win the Stanley Cup. I understand it is painful to look at your team from that perspective but this is the reality. Live with it.
Ramos made a few chnages so you will probably finish comfortably 6th (behind Villa) and focus on Carling Cup, provided you manage to keep Berbatov. If he’s gone like Keane, who will be scoring the goals for you, Dumb and Dumber… I mean Bent and Bentley? Be serious. You have a decent midfield but what about the depth in this position? The same goes for defense – how many games, you think, will King and Woodgate play TOGETHER? I am sure it occured to you that after Robinson is gone your first keeper duo has exatly zero experience playing in the Premiership.
All this will contibute to an interesting season, but remeber, Carling Cup beckons.
I do not disagree with your analasys. However if Bent’s preseason form is not a mirrage then he can certainly make up for Keane. Berbatov…it depends upon who we replace him with….yes the middle of our defence…if both are healthy all season, which neither have been, then my spurs have a shot at the top 4 but if both spend substantial time in the sick room then 6th may be the best we can hope for.
I think Chelsea is the weak link in the top 4 right now burt that may chage if KAKA makes it over…Liverpool has not done mush in the offseason to improve their team but they seem to squeek into the top group…mainly be beating the teams they should….
Arsenal, well Wenger knows how topick youngsters so I never discount them…
Man united…top four to say the least but they have some injury concerns early on that they will have to deal with…..
Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov is currently in Manchester to undergo a medical before joining Manchester United in deal worth £28 million. (Daily Mail 15:25 BST).
If this goes through, it will change everything and could start an avalanche of signings
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I always remember my time working at Walthamstow dogs. I picked up glasses at the track. It was my first job and I was so happy to be getting a wage for the first time. It’s a real shame to see it go as it means so much to the area” – David Beckham has many faults, but he appears to be the last professional footballer to have at some point had a proper job, and for that he has our everlasting respect.
Canada TV Coverage
Thanks for your recent e-mail. Rogers Sportsnet will be airing the 2010 World Cup South Africa Qualifying Match featuring Jamaica vs. Canada on Wednesday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT, live on Sportsnet West and Pacific for viewers with all Sportsnet channels. The match will also air in tape-delay on Sportsnet East and Ontario at 11 p.m. ET, on Sportsnet West at 11 p.m. MT and on Sportsnet Pacific at 8 p.m. PT.
Sincerely,
Matthew Lamb
Audience Relations
At 11 pm on a school day I am usually long gone so Matthew Lamb from Audience Relations can….......
NO we have it live at 730pm but not on sports net ontario
After Day One….
It was a quite remarkable first day of the 2008/2009 Premiership. All the games that we watched were exciting, provided entertaining football and a decent amount of nice goals. Even Chelsea played the way football is supposed to be played – to entertain as much as to win. They looked impressive but we will see how they will look like against an opposition more demanding that Portsmouth who played like injury-depleted TFC. The indications that something is rotten in Harry’s kingdom were obvious to anybody who watched the two games Pompey played against ManU earlier this month. If nothing is done and quickly, it will be a long season at Fratton Park.
In comparison, Newcastle looked like a million bucks. I am on record somewhere above here saying that they would be fighting for their Premiership life. Well, if they can continue the way they played against ManU, they will be serious contender for UEFA spot and we will be subjected to this whole Kevin the Messiah nonsense. But the again, Man City started last season with 3 straight wins…
Liverpool and Arsenal got their 3 points but there are still a few things to work out in there. I was impressed with Nasri and Denilson but EE27 will have to work on his shooting in the Year of Eboue and Adebayor was absolutely dreadful when he kept trying the same move on the WBA defense and every time it resulted in an embarrassing situation. Liverpool? I did not see anything wrong with Xabi Alonso.
In a move that is not bound to revolutionize the game as we know it, the other North London team started the first game with their best striker on the bench – with predictable results.
Kudos to Blackburn and Hull.
Yes a disapointing start for my spurs to say the least. The Berbatov distration must be dealt with sooner rather than later in order for London’s best team to get on track.
London’s best team – you mean QPR?
Spurs arer holding open try out for the striker position…meet at Saraurin Park Saturday at 11am to test your luck…
We will try to be there either on Friday at 5:30 or Saturday at 9:00 as there are Premiership games being played on Saturday starting at 10:00 and that includes your sorry excuse for a team.
Well fellows, tonight is a very important night for Canadian Football. We play Jaimaca and if you ask any Canadian fan it is a must win. I will be at the game tonight so those of you who wish to watch it on the telly you can do so at the Diz on Sportsnet West or left coast.
Go Canada
!
Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has turned down a move to local rivals Manchester City at the last minute, with Arsenal now poised to sign the 31-year-old. (Various)
That would be something, wouldn’t? It does not happen very often that a player moves between these two teams. Nothing wrong with some added depth on defense. I would like Wenger to sign Michael Johnson from Man City and Huntelaar. I am dreaming…
On TV this weekend
There is no early game on Saturday (Chris, you wil be able to sleep a little longer). Liverpool and Boro are at 10 and Arsenal at Fulham at 12:30. Sportsnet has not announced yet what they will be showing, if anything. There is no other game really worth mentioning, other than Newcastle and Bolton. On Sunday there is Chelsea at Wigan (who cares?) at 8:30 and Man City and West Ham at 11. Man U goes to Portsmouth on Monday, kick off at 3:00.
TFC will play New England at home. Sportsnet will show the game live at 7:30. Unless they pull out another stunt like last night when they did not show Canada’s qualifier live on their West segment. JJ, you should send an email to Mathew ‘Sacrificial’ Lamb to tell him what audience thinks about his relations.
Thanks Jools!
I will be sure to have a hearty breakfast waiting for you boys when you arrive. Perhaps a six course tasting menu? Not!
Cheers
Sportsnet will show on Saturday at 10 am The Scum against Sunderland. What a waste of tv time.
Canada vs. Honduras will be shown live at 8 p.m. ET on Sportsnet East and Ontario, on a three-hour tape delay on SN West, and a six-hour (?) tape delay on SN Pacific. No word yet on whether there will be any live streaming on their website.
I will bring my jersey for you to wear….
The same day we have Chivas playing at BMO Field at 4 pm
A footy double header on the 6th
My Spurs move up one spot this week despite loosing….Arsenal droped far….
It is called creative accounting
After week 2….
We have two teams with six points. Liverool somehow managed to get two wins through some opportunistic, meaning lucky, plays and taking advantage of rare sloppy defending by their opponents. They obviously do not deserve to be in such position but as Clint said to Gene in “Unforgiven”, just before killing him, “Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it”.
Speaking of Gene Hackman, Chelsea were quick to return to their old winning ways: they got an early lead through a beautiful free kick by Art, struggled visibly against an energetic Wigan side, and then, as some politically correct idiot put it in The Star, “successfully took the sting out of the second half”, meaning they bored the audience to death with their uninspired play.
.
Arsenal, losing three points very early in the campaign, was brutal. Denilson did not look like the savior Arsene Wenger had deemed him to be. Most of his passes were going astray so bad that it was not funny anymore. Gunners had one legitimate scoring chance when Ade hit a post with his header. Everything else can be mercifully described as speculative, ambitious and optimistic, meaning ****. Fabregas needs to be back soon and healthy for the whole season if Arsenal is to play any positive role in it.
Man U got all three points at Pompey in a quite interesting game and they were the ones supplying the interesting parts (if Fletcher continues his scoring pace he will have to start learning Spanish come next July). Harry Redknapp seemed to have all the answers after England’s game against the Czechs but it does not look like he is close to resolve problems of his own making. Yes, they played better than last week but doing otherwise would be next to impossible. Their offense is criminal and they will not score a lot of goals shooting from way outside the box.
The Great Expectations FC again kept their best striker on the bench so he can be fit to play for Man U, Barca, Fenerbahce or who cares. In the process they surrendered three points at home to the team that absorbed some of their off-season rejects and JR does not look anymore like a genius he is supposed to be. He may soon join Martin Jol on the list of former White Hart Lane bosses.
And the there was Man City against West Ham with 10 minutes of added time like if we did not suffer enough already. The goals were nice, though, and Stephen Ireland was the MOTM.
The Berbatov saga is tearing apart my Spurs at the moment. It now looks as if they will keep him on the reserve squad which could be when he leaves on a free transfer in two years. Until Berbatov resigns himself to play for Spurs or Man U vcan meet the price demands my spurs will not win a game.
Hopefully he will will be glued to the reserves bench permanently and, as your prediction will come true, that sorry bunch will be relegated to make room for Sheffield United in their Big Lime colours
Wednesday Evening….
08:00 PM ET CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SOCCER ON CBC: Nicaragua at Canada (Montreal Impact)
CBC-Bold, cbcsports.
Well Montreal won last night, very nice goal but a 1-0 lead may not be enough. The only good news for montreal when they travel to central america is that the game will be in Honduras, not Nicaragua becasue threre is not a fifa approved stadium available….so the home field advantage maybe limited….
hampions League Draw
THE POTS ARE LIKE THIS
POT ONE: Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Lyon, Jose Mourinho’s Internazionale (to give them their full official name), Real Madrid.
POT TWO: Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, Villareal, Roma, Porto, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon, Juventus.
POT THREE: Marseille, Zenit St Petersburg, Steaua Bucharest, Panathinaikos, Bordeaux, Celtic, Basel, Fenerbahce.
POT FOUR: Shakhtar Donetsk, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Dynamo Kiev, CFR Cluj, AaB Aalborg, Anorthosis, Borisov Automobile and Tractor Electrical Equipment.
More draw action…..
They’re now holding the Club Defender of the Year award. They’re wasting my time, I tells ya. John Terry wins it! Hahahahahahahahaha. Oddly, when he comes up to collect the award, Ricardo Carvalho isn’t right by his side holding his hand and guiding him through it.
Here are the groups
THE GROUPS (final pot; this is the way it is)
A: CHELSEA, Roma, Bordeaux, Cluj.
B: Internazionale, Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis.
C: Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk.
D: LIVERPOOL, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille, Atletico Madrid.
E (for Easiest): MANCHESTER UNITED, Villarreal, CELTIC, Aalborg.
F: Lyon, Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, Fiorentina.
G: ARSENAL, Porto, Fenerbahce, Dynamo Kiev.
H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Borisov Automobile and Tractor Electrical Equipment.
I’ve been asked by our our esteemed,but ultimately naively misguided colleague,Jools”Gooner”Kyslowski(this name sounds made up like from a movie if you ask me) to write an update of his weekly blog about the EPL.This became necessary as he is visiting Poland.When asked why?he responded with the standard “to see my parents and friends” then his normally beady eyes began shifting back and forth in their sockets and at one point I thought f**k me his head is going to explode.He then proceeded to mumble something about supervising repairs to the National Stadium in beautiful downtown Warsaw,(for the 2012 Euro tournament)or drawing,qùartering and flaying some wayward Ukranians.The RRO staff think there may be some sort of kickback scheme involved but will have to await the analysis of the ongoing short-wave radio broadcasts to be certain.Stay tuned
This weekends matches actually begin Fri. with the 2:30PM broadcast of the UEFA Super Cup between Manchester Utd. and Zenit St.Petersburg on Fox Sports World Canada
Saturday’s EPL matches begin with the 9:45AM showing of Everton and the disappointing Portsmouth on Setanta.RSO at 10AM has West Ham and the Black Eyed Rovers.Arsenal v Newcastle shows up at 12:45PM on Setanta followed later in the day with same day coverage of Bolton v West Brom and Hull City v Wigan.
The day will end with a 10:30PM kickoff between TFC and Chivas
on RSO from LaLaland.
Sundays 11AM match on theScore has Aston Villans clashing with the other reds from Liverpool.Setanta has Sunderland and Man.City at 12:30PM
Sunday also has Tottenham Chelsea….830am
I have tried to post a link ti an artivcle in the guardian but it will not take. In anycase if you go to the gaurdian, click football then type in Hislop in the search engin there is a article which focusses on TFC….
Excellent report Red.
Any sentences already written for the weekend’s papers featuring the words “Dimitar” “Berbatov” “Manchester” and “United” or “Robinho” and “Chelsea” have now had the word “not” hastily inserted into them
From the Fiver
I have not made it to the site of the National Stadium yet but I will try. However, I watched the beautiful display of Man U versus Nadir on Friday. Well done, Scholsie “The Hand Of God 2”.
Lee, how about kicking the ball this coming Saturday morning? Send me an email or leave me a phone message. I will show you all the new stuff I am learning here :-))
Liverpool against Atletico Madrid should be a beauty.
See you guys soon
Well What a weekend in the premiership, and I am talking off the pitch. HRFC were purchased by Arab investors, Berbatraitor is now with Sir Alex Cheaten’ ******* United, Robinho now at HRFC (I wonder what the fiver will all them now) Spurs pick up another corat butr not a striker, (defender) (defender is an oxymoron we speaking of my spurs)...lots to discuss….
CANADA
Lars Hirschfeld | G | Edmonton, AB | ROM / CFR Cluj
Pat Onstad | G | Vancouver, BC | USA / Houston Dynamo
Greg Sutton | G | Hamilton, ON | CAN / Toronto FC
Patrice Bernier | M | Brossard, QC | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
Jim Brennan | D | East York, ON | CAN / Toronto FC
Julian de Guzman | M | Scarborough, ON | ESP / Deportivo La Coruna
Dwayne De Rosario | M/F | Scarborough, ON | USA / Houston Dynamo
Rob Friend | F | Kelowna, BC | GER / Borussia Mönchengladbach
Ali Gerba | F | Montréal, QC | ENG / Milton Keynes Dons FC
Richard Hastings | D | Vancouver, BC | SCO / Inverness CT
Iain Hume | F | Brampton, ON | ENG / Barnsley FC
Atiba Hutchinson | M | Brampton, ON | DEN / F.C. København
Daniel Imhof | D/M | Smithers, BC | GER / VfL Bochum
Dejan Jakovic | D | Etobicoke, ON | CRO / Red Star Belgrade
Ante Jazic | D | Bedford, NS | USA / Los Angeles Galaxy
Mike Klukowski | D | Oshawa, ON | BEL / Club Brugge KV
Kevin McKenna | D | Calgary, AB | GER / 1. FC Köln
Issey Nakajima-Farran | M | Calgary, AB | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
Olivier Occean | F | Brossard, QC | NOR / Lillestrøm S.K.
Tomasz Radzinski | M/F | Toronto, ON | GRE / Skoda Xanthi
Adrian Serioux | D/M| Scarborough, ON | USA / FC Dallas
Paul Stalteri | D/M | Brampton, ON | ENG / Tottenham Hotspur
Here is the schedule
Group C
Atlante FC (MEX)
CD Olímpia (HON)
Joe Public FC (TRI)
Montreal Impact (CAN)
Home Team Listed First (All times Eastern)
17 Sept Montreal – Joe Public FC (TBD)
18 Sept Atlante – CD Olímpia (10p)
24 Sept Joe Public FC – CD Olímpia (8p)
24 Sept Montreal – Atlante (TBD)
30 Sept Atlante – Joe Public FC (8p)
02 Oct CD Olímpia – Montreal (10p)
08 Oct Joe Public FC – Montreal (8p)
08 Oct CD Olímpia – Atlante (10p)
21 Oct Montreal – CD Olímpia (TBD)
21 Oct Joe Public FC – Atlante (8p)
28 Oct CD Olímpia – Joe Public FC (8p)
28 Oct Atlante – Montreal (10p)
This was in Brunts article…Globe today
Declan Hill’s book The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime, published this week and already stirring up loads of controversy around the world, is part true-crime potboiler, part spy thriller, part academic discourse and part journey of personal discovery.
So it transpires Spurs were the club Newcastle were trying to offload Michael Owen on. They’re still going to be interested come the January transfer window, unless Darren Bent scores 30 goals before Christmas, of course.
So it is Bye, Bye World Cup again and that’s after only 2 games. I do not know how Dale Mitchell got the job of coaching the senior national team after last year’s disaster at U20. It is convenient to put the blame on an early Radzinski injury but this only shows how bad this team is. And where was DeRosario the whole game?
I agree, at times Canada played a creative and effective kind of football but I say bring back Harte who coached Canada to there moderate Gold Cup success last summer…
As per BBC “Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has been ruled out for ‘several months’ after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament, the club has announced.”
That’s a big blow to Chelski and they will not be able to buy anyone until January to replace him as Mikel is not is the same league as Essien yet.
Robbie Keane became the 6th Liverpool player to have his home broken into…I thought Everton fans were not allowed across the Mersey….
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“A lot of dark-skinned people live there. So naturally the crime rate is higher than anywhere else. It’s not nice to be a robbery victim. So I suggest that Roman doesn’t walk but drives around that area” – in advising Roman Pavlyuchenko about his new environs, Serhiy Rebrov adds another reason why he won’t be welcome back at Tottenham.
Now that the cosmic order has been restored and England is again the top footballing nation this side of Alpha Centauri, we will be able to watch the Heroes of Zagreb perform their domestic chores (obviously Theo Walcott will come in 58th minute to replace Eboueeeeeee).
Saturday the 13th will start at 7:45 (Chris, please, pay attention) with a bang of sorts when walking-wounded will fight it out at Anfield. Then Arsenal goes to Blackburn at 10 and will try to escape without too much damage. (I have no clue what will be on Sportsnet at 10 because their Interactive TV Schedule drove me to drink even before my usual time). At 12:30 we will have a very tasty meal when Nouveaux-Riche FC will be hosting “Old Money†FC. How much would you pay to see Robinho score an own goal? After all this excitement we will have the required downer in the shape of TFC vs. Columbus Crow at 3:30.
On Sunday we have only one game: another early morning clash of the titans – Stoke and Everton. We will do like Saha and skip it altogether. However JJ is the designated volunteer to suffer through the Monday match up of Villa visiting The Scum.
A reason for celebration on Monday
Captain Ledley King is set to make his 200th Premier League appearance for Tottenham.
200 Appearances over 8000 matches….quite the accomplishment….
That’s why he plays for Spuds….
Our Pro Line picks for Sep16-17
lvp@mar – lvp
amad@psv – psv
spor@brc – brc
shak@bas – shak
int@pana – int
brdx@che – che
arl@kiev – arl
fene@prt – prt
fio@lyon – lyon
mun@stea – mun
aalb@cel – cel
vil@mnu – mnu
zent@juv – zent
I have the ticket. If you can’t find me on the 18th you’ll know why…
After week 4…
So “Old Money” FC brought Nouveau Riche FC back to earth. Robinho had a very fake celebration after his nice free kick. The spat between Cech and Terry after this goal was also heart-warming. And then everything went back to normal and even Fat Frank had a quite decent game. There is a lot of room for improvement at Man City, to put it mildly. BTW, the sheiks were apparently thinking they were buying the other Manchester team. That would be too good to be true but I will enjoy this one for a few moments.
The other Manchester team got smacked by Liverpool who played their best game of the season and did not seem to be bothered by the absence of Gerrard and Torres. Berba The Preacher had a few good moments but then disappeared with the rest of the team.
Last season Adebayor had a hat-trick in both games against Derby and we know what happened to them. If I were Blackburn fan, I would start to worry.
Newcastle. My early prediction may still come true as there is no big rush to buy or manage this team. Maybe John Carver could be tempted by a coaching come-back?
I saved the best news for last. Great Expectations FC managed to amass 1 (one) point from four games, scoring 4 goals in the process. The latest one was a fine deflection off a calf of the 16.6 mil man who tried to do his best to avoid being hit by the ball. And the Villa’s winner proves beyond any doubt that the ghost of Paul Robinson still resides in North London.
hi guys
......I just moved in from UK and i cant find any football( thts wht they call soccer in UK) following here in canada…...i live in Surrey bc …and even the cable doesnot show the coverage!!.....do u guys have a place where u go to watch matches…i have to watch em online and it sucks there…any ideas
!!
!
CHEERS
well i didnt win the pot this week, BUT I CAME IN SECOND!
Damn Cowboys!
Sid you need Rogers sports net and the Score…and then pay 15$ for Setanta
I am now a hull city fan…
JJ, it is called Gatineau now but at least you will be able to regain some respect.
We decided to skip the early morning game between Sunderland and Boro this coming Saturday (I hope nobody will tell Roy Keane). We will gather at 10 for Liverpool and Stoke followed by Arsenal at Bolton. We will also skip West Brom vs Villa at 7 am on Sunday and you can talk about this all you want. The game of the week is at 9 on Sunday with ManU visiting Chelski and we will be able to switch to ManCity vs Pompey afterwards.
TFC will be in Kansas at 8 pm on Saturday, for those who plan to be still aware of their surroundings by then.
Spurs Win….Spurs Win…. Spurs Win…...
Yeah, it’s their 3rd win since getting the League Cup. Congrats
Its the start of a run which will see them at the top of the table…
The only thing they would be able to do on the top of the table is dance….naked…. And I would rather be blind…
Interesting quote from bbc southern counties radio during Ebbsfleet United game.
“Tottenham is guaranteed not to lose today, due to the fact that they are not playing. Good news for Spurs fans.”
After week 5….
Let me start with a quote from the ESPNSoccernet website: “Spurs. Ha ha ha. That is all I was intending to write about another mind-numbingly dull performance from Juande Ramos’ sorry shower, but then I was politely reminded of my contractual obligation to hit the word count in order to be remunerated for this. So, allow me to elaborate. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”.
Enough said. On the bright side, Louis Saha came on as the substitute in 46th minute for Everton against Gatineau FC and managed to complete the match without an ambulance needing to be involved. Well done, Louis.
Liverpool had 19 corner kicks against Stoke. ManU had 7 yellow cards all for themselves. Portsmouth already allowed 12 goals in 5 games, the worst in the league. Numbers like that must command a big deal of respect.
Arsenal managed 15 miutes of high tempo football and after hitting a post twice and the net twice, decided that there was no reason to get overly tired and opted to let Bolton run the circles around them. This will not do againts better teams.
I cannot figure out ManCity yet but this guy Wright-Phillips sure looks like a great acquisition… Do not tell me this is the same SWP who never played for Chelski…
Arsenal’s newly flawed, ambiguous and deeply sinister manager is expected to field one of the youngest sides in the club’s history, with Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Gavin Hoyte, Emmanuel Frimpong, Tom Daley and CBeebies characters the Rubbadubbas all expected to play
JJ, good manners require to put quotation marks around a text written by somebody else and indicate the source
Sorry the Guardian…
I do not no whether to laugh or to cry see below
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The fans sing, yell, and stand up and applaud. They don’t even need goals” – Roman Pavlyuchenko is to the Tottenham manor born.
And they will not get any…
Another quote of the day from Roman P. – “(...) when there is a week’s gap between games, training is serious. I barely survived it when I’d just arrived. I looked at my watch and saw that the training session had gone on for exactly two hours! Then another half an hour in the gym. Two and a half hours. Can you imagine that?
“I trained like never in my life before. The weights started to get to me, and I stopped and said to the trainer, ‘I can’t do this’. That’s how they work – I’m shocked. I thought it would be a lot easier.”
With hard workers like that, no wonder you guys are ****.
Yes…I can say nothing.
But I can, it is so much fun…
Q: What’s the difference between Spurs and a triangle:
A: A triangle has three points.
It (MONTREAL)knows full well that it faces a stiff challenge when it hosts Mexican club Atlante FC on Wednesday in the CONCACAF Champions League (CBC Bold, CBCSports.ca, 8 p.m. ET).
This should divert the anti-Spurs talk by some who use this BLOG
For Jools
7:43pm: The number of conscientious objectors among the Toon Army is huge if the rows and rows of empty seats in St James’ Park is anything to go by. “I have been gazing at that Spurs team and wondering what shape it’s going to play,” confides Alan Cooper. “How silly of me – they’re obviously not going to have any shape
It’s not anti-spurs talk, it’s just news coverage…
JJ, you should be happy that we are paying attention to this sorry bunch at all
Discussion page full of ‘da Bears, Soccer page full of Looney Toons, do you see a pattern here?
The Guardian on the MBM have the game listed as Shambles A vs Shambles B
Funny ManU song:
http://www.bgdserv.com/dizzy/Man’NitedSong.mp3
The Link does not work…
Should have known better. URLs dont like apostropes.
This works: http://www.bgdserv.com/dizzy/ManNitedSong.mp3
Obviously working to hard. Brain is fried.
I ripped the wrong track. Although that one was a funny poem.
Here’s the right ManU song. DOH!!
http://www.bgdserv.com/dizzy/ManNitedSong.wma
Good column about Spurs
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=575720&sec=england&root=england&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&cc=5901
I can not argue with that article…they must rid themselves of the frenchman…
The impact tied a good Mexican team last night, I think they are Canada’s team. There next game:
Olimpia, which beat Joe Public 3-1 on Wednesday night, will host the Impact on Oct. 1 (CBC bold, CBCsports.ca, 10 p.m. ET).
They are the Hondorian Team….
Apparently it was the B team from Mexico but still a decent result
On TV this weekend
We will start early on Saturday with Everton – Liverpool derby at 7:45 followed by ManU – Bolton at 10 (Sportsnet will be showing Stoke – Chelski game, if anyone is really interested) and Arsenal – Hull at 12:30. Then we have TFC at 3:30.
On Sunday there is Portsmouth – Spuds at 8:30 and Wigan – ManCity at 11.
MAke sure the brothers grim are aware….
JJ, you have their phone numbers so be useful, for once
I have made the request…if you guys happen to see them this afternoon bring it up…
I will drop there for a quick drink shortly so I will remind them
After week 6….
Even though only disappointing one red card was shown in the Liverpool derby, 21 percent of all goals were scored from the spot. The worst call was certainly the one for ManU, like if they really needed additional help to beat Bolton at home. And maybe they did need it. Who knows, otherwise there could have been two big upsets after Arsenal deservedly lost at home to Gatineau FC, allowing 3rd goal of the season from a set-piece play. I may be wrong but I find it worrying.
On the bright side, The Great Expectations FC is still one point short of a triangle and I hope that the Gatineau FC will continue their North London form this coming week. Nouveau Riche FC lost to a team that in total cost less than Robinho himself. That’s also encouraging.
Only three games on Setanta this wekend:
Saturday Sunderland – Arsenal at 10 and Blackburn – ManU at 12:30
Sunady Man City – Liverpool at 10:00
Spurs tie! Spurs Tie!...Spurs advance to the group stages in UEFA small trophy…
I was mercifully spared this miserable spectacle but let me quote from the BBC post-game review: “(...) for all their possession, Tottenham were every inch a side lacking in belief, their total lack of flair or inspiration in the final third ensuring Wisla keeper barely had a save to make in a dour first half.” Ths stuff Champions are made of.
Hey they advance…we all can’t count on cheaten’ refs to get us through…
Nothing like the Lions to make Kyle Orton look like Peyton Manning.
Hey Bears, dont knock Orton! he’s the best qb your boys have had in a long time! he played a great game, and yes the lions SUCK! But how about that pittsburg win last nite? Roethlisberger through this 20 yard pass with guys dangling from him, they were pounding the **** outta him and he was just brushing these 300 lb guys off of him. apparently he has a shoulder injury too! anybody know the details of that injury?
this is the soccer Blog. American Football comments are not welcome. Please see my comments on the proper place for them
loyalist swine!
After week 7…
My prayers have been answered and Gatineau FC made sure that Spurs now have the worst start in almost a century. I am sure that was reason they hired JR for. In 2 weeks they will be battling mighty Stoke in the epic clash of the bottom-feeders.
Newcastle managed to put 3 points between themselves and Great Expectations FC coming from behind against Everton. What happens to Moyes’ boys? They are not very far from the relegation line.
ManU got their usual help from the referee on their first goal against Blackburn when they managed to manhandle the opposing keeper so Wes Brown could head in. Chelsea apparently destroyed Villa even though they were lacking a few expensive bodies. Fat Frank seems to enjoy his game this season. Liverpool was another team to show the Nouveau Riche FC that a bunch of over-priced Brazilians do not necessarily make a good team. Arsenal struggled again against a team entrenched in their last third of the field and got a good disallowed like if they had any to spare.
UEFA DRAW
Group A: Schalke 04, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Racing Santander, FC Twente.
Group B: Benfica, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin, Metalist Kharkiv.
Group C: Sevilla, VfB Stuttgart, Sampdoria, Partizan Belgrade, Standard Liege.
Group D: Tottenham Hotspur, Spartak Moscow, Udinese, Dinamo Zagreb, NEC Nijmegen.
Group E: AC Milan, Heerenveen, SC Braga, Portsmouth, Vfl Wolfsburg.
Group F: Hamburg, Ajax, Slavia Prague, Aston Villa, MSK Zilina.
Group G: Valencia, Club Brugge, Rosenborg, FC Copenhagen, St Etienne.
Group H: CSKA Moscow, Deportivo La Coruna, Feyenoord, Nancy, Lech Poznan.
I just wanted to make one comment about the CONCOCAF Champions League. Two A league teams lead there respective groups (there are only four groups) and only one MLS team has a chance of advancing (Houston). So much for MLS being the top league in our area….
JJ, help is coming to you miserable team and you will be able to get some needed strike force. According to a news release ‘Tottenham have announced a ‘’football and commercial development’’ partnership with American club San Jose Earthquakes.’ Huckerby, anyone?
Well now that the preseason is over for my spurs they will start the season with a string of wins…
Now that we know that England will be going to South Africa, we can safely return to our weekly footballing routine. We start on Saturday on Setanta with Boro and Chelsea at 7:45, followed by Liverpool and Wigan and Manu U vs West Brom. I do not know what will be on Sportsnet, hopefully Arsenal and Everton, but more probably Villa vs Pompey. If it is the latter, we could follow the Gunners on ArseTV on Duff’s laptop. On Sunday Hull plays West Ham at 10 (Setanta) and then the six point game we are all waiting for – Stoke vs Spuds at 11 (Score). And on Monday there is Newcastle vs Man City at 3:00, for those who care.
The first match of the new season takes place Sunday on the score…The Spurs, Englands Team as they are know across the pond, take on Stoke…zcome to the Diz and cheer on My Spurs…and Your Spurs….
Hey JJ,
With all the attention being paid to the spectacular train wreck that is Newcastle United, how come more attention isn’t being paid to an equally ugly scene in London? Tottenham Hotspur are off to the worst start in club history following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. The spurs have only managed a single point from their first four games. To put this in perspective, that’s two less than Premiership newcomers Stoke City, eight less than hated rivals Arsenal and nine less than league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool. Is it time to hit the panic button?
Jimmy James has had every reason to be excited with their off-season moves. Coming off an 11th-place finish during the 2007-2008 season, Tottenham added Luka Modric, Giovanni Dos Santos, Gomes and Roman Pavlyuchenko. Liverpool poached Robbie Keane in a transfer saga that resulted in a lot of hurt feelings. Dimitar Berbatov left for greener pastures at Old Trafford, and all Totteham got in return was several million pounds and Frazier Campbell on a year-long loan deal.
JJ, if you subtract 30 goals from an 11th place finish, should it equal just a single point through the first month of the season?
Math has never been my strong suit, but I’m pretty sure there is something besides the departures of Keane and Berbatov affecting this squad.
Let’s take a look at the squad then. Perhaps there are some weak spots.
A Brazilian international goalkeeper who kept loads of clean sheets at PSV Eindhoven should give the defense plenty of confidence. But oh, Jonathan Woodgate is in that back four. Huge red flag there. Readers of the Spanish sport magazine Marca voted him the worst signing of the 21st century back in 2007. I’m just surprised that his hamstrings haven’t exploded yet. Darren Bent. Don’t get me wrong, he’s capable, but he’s no Berbatov. Even so it’s not anything like going from say…Eric Cantona to Ali Dia. Ramos is the reason behind the recent success at Sevilla, so we’ll give him a free pass for now. The depth at Tottenham is the reason fans should be worried. Who will fill in if a starter goes down for an extended spell? What about cup competitions? This squad is alarmingly thin.
I will be happy to avoid relegation this year….or better yet next year….
After week 8…
Great Expectations FC looks like a permanent fixture at the bottom of the Premiership pile. It is almost not funny anymore, almost. All the players are firmly behind JR. But even if they will finally start playing for him are they really as good as they look on paper? If you think of it, money received for Berba covered what was spent on Bentley and Roman the Councilor and between them they managed to score two goals, one in League Cup and one in UEFA.
Big “five”, including Gatineau FC, won their games, even though both Liverpool and Arsenal had to come from behind. How come this Zaki guy ended up in Wigan? Is it possible that all the other scouts totally misjudged him? Or will be back to earth once the weather will be comparable to the Moscow climate?
Rob Styles gave another controversial penalty and Nouveau Riche FC was lucky to win at Newcastle. And then there were three goalless draws…
Make that “draw at Newcastle”
When you read Arsenal’s goalscoring statistics in all competitions for the current campaign, you would assume that Arsenal would be riding high, and not the shambolic defensive mess they actually are. Their defensive malaise has yet to be fully exposed due to the generally low calibre of teams the club has so-far faced this season. For a title-challenging team, it’s been a dream start fixture-wise, but patchy performances on the pitch prove that Arsenal are no nearer to fulfilling their lofty ambitions.
Are the Spurs really that bad that Jools has to criticize his own team….What is the Gatineau FC fight Song and I need a jersey….
JJ,
family_jools is not the same person as jools so do not get confused. And by the way I totally agree with his opinion that Arsenal defense will need a lot of improvement when they start playing quality teams
Regardless of which jools my statement now becomes Gospel…
In the Premiership this weekend
There will be time change in UK on Saturday night so there was some confusion about starting times. Anyway, we got it all sorted out and here it comes: we start at 7 am on Saturday (whose bright idea was it?) with ManU visiting Everton followed by West Brom and Hull and Blackburn vs Boro. On Sunday, Liverpool goes to Chelski at 9:30, Arsenal will be at West Ham at noon (on The Score) and Portsmouth will play Fulham at 1 pm. I hope the early NFL games will be crappy.
Life is beautiful…
According to the BBC website “Tottenham Hotspur have sacked coach Juande Ramos, along with sporting director Damien Comolli.
Spurs have also parted company with first team coaches Gus Poyet and Marcos Alvarez, following the team’s long string of poor results.”
Apprently they will be talking to Harry about the vacancy. That’s really desperate considering Pompey’s results this season
Well…we win…bring on Arse-anal
THERE IS A NEW IOSS. ITS TITLED THE GREAT DEBATE AND IS BETWEEN FABIO AND JOSE….VERY FUNNY EXCEPT FOR THE SPURS COMMENTS…
Maradona manageing Argentina…What’s next Ginola in Tottenham…
‘Arry for Prime Minister….a typical Spurs Arse-anal game….this time it was the spurs to score to late goals to tie….may God is a Spurs fan after all but he just does not like the Spanish….
This just makes me wanna sing
“CHEER UP MARADONNA”
“OH WHAT CAN IT MEAN”
“TO BE THE”
“FAT COACHING *******”
“OF A”
“SHITE FOOTBALL TEAM”
SPURS ONLY 8 POINTS, out of Europe and Euro Vase Glory next season….we are not on the bottom…
Arry’s Otspurs win again