Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.........

My good god we're shit at dealing with the white stuff!!!!!!!
Only two games survived the 'big freeze' this weekend, Blackburn took on West Ham and Sunderland faced Bolton.
They would forgive me if I was to say that they are not the most mouthwatering of offerings i'm sure, but the early saturday kick off at the stadium of light was a good battle between two of the leagues in-form sides.
It was not the most pleasing on the eye but in the freezing conditions blood was running freely here as they set about the game producing good defending from both sides.
The deadlock was broken on 32mins as Welbeck's diving header after a mistake from the bolton keeper found the net and put the home side ahead.
Bolton rallied and there were chances galore late on as they looked to spoil the party for Steve Bruces' side.
The win pushed Sunderland above thier opponents into sixth as their run of good form continued into the christmas period......
The other game didn't offer much more for the fans either but a little rest-bite for under fire manager of the moment Avram Grant aka Baron Greenback (for those who remember Dangermouse)
The home side under caretaker management after the disgraceful sacking of big Sam on monday, were looking for their fourth win on the trot against the leagues bottom club, themselves yet to win on their travels this season.
Blackburn took the lead on 51 mins as the fourth choice hammers keeper saved well from Nelson but the defender stuck out a boot and poked it home for the opener.
West Ham had gone close just before half time and they pushed on in the second half and levelled through Stanislas on 78 mins who latched onto the inspirational Parker's deflected pass and he dispatched a cool finish to level up the match.
Half chances followed for both sides but neither could find the finishing touch to earn all three points.
Tonight the spotlight falls over the City of Manchester Stadium as Manchester City host Everton.
The home side could top the league at christmas with a win, something not managed by a city side since 1929.
This obviously wouldn't go down well with any of the fans across the country as the blue half of manchester are rapidly replacing their red rivals as one of the most hated teams in the division, due to the influx of cash from the sheik.
Everton arrive with a good record at the home of city but without their star player, Mikel Arteta i can only see one outcome in this one and it will end up with city sitting top of the tree this christmas day......

Should liverpool follow Newcastle??????

Last week newcastle sacked their manager chris hughton, crazy as it was/is, the timing was right in respect to getting pardew in, give him time to assess the shit from the smooth within his squad before the transfer merry-go-round starts in january.
This leads me to ask the question.....should liverpool follow suit with Roy Hodgson?????
Liverpool fans world wide only wish one thing from their illustrious club.....league triumph.....obviuosly european and domestic cups do keep the fans going but what they all essentially crave, and rightly so for such a historic club is winning the domestic league.
A tally of 18 titles is immense to say the least but the fact they havent won one since 1989-1990 season will still burn deeply in any of the red faithful.
this tally as impressive as it is was finally equalled by their fiercest rivals two seasons ago when manchester united took the crown and put themselves on 18.
This is as impressive from the men from old trafford but what will hurt the liverpool fans is that this season their rivals are looking more likely to overtake their own record, something that liverpool fans wont swallow easily i can tell you.
the defeat against newcastle on saturday was the latest disappointing away day for the reds, newcastle showed the spirit that their now departed manager hughton had instilled in his squad, and no doubt dedicated this victory to him in the wake of him taking the long walk alone.
in all honesty they rarely struggled against a recently rejuvinated liverpool side, but for a dirk kuyt equaliser which the visitors barely deserved the reds didnt threaten to much as their stars looked lost and truly inept against the magpies bubbling team ethics, of which liverpool have none for comparison.
this leads me back to my initial question.....should the new reds owners take the plunge and show Roy the door?
I am beginning to side with the view of yes, the statistics do not lie, only two wins in 24 away games, fair enough not all 24 were conducted by Hodgson but they have showed no improvement on this record since his arrival in the summer.
an improvement from the opening six games is evident which buoyed liverpool supporters until now, with the promise of gaining momentum from the wins they had inflicted on chelsea and villa, but the answers simply are not there when the serious questions are being asked.
Torres looks like a man who cannot decide what his own future holds, and maybe he is regretting his decision to stay? i am not sure?
If liverpool were to sell their prize asset, they would not re-coup the £50 million he was worth at the end of last season, as he is still struggling for form, yes he shows flashes but the all round game isnt there due to lack of belief and through no fault of his own but also lack of service.
The return of their captain fantastic could well be a blessing for Hodgson as i think anymore poor showings will result in his departure, sooner rather than later.
I think now would be a good time to let Roy go if this is in the thinking, with managers such as Martin O'Neil and Frank Rijkaard currently out of work there are options for the NESV group for appointing his successor.
the same as the newcastle post, it would give the new man chance to decide between the true dross and the undoubted quality that the liverpool squad possesses in near equal amounts, and this is one of the reasons they are in the form and predicament they find themselves in.
But in a season such as the one we have this year, they are not as adrift as they should and surely would be if this had been another year.
I still believe they are capable of reaching the top four, due to the bizarre season it has been with more teams taking points off of each other up there but they will have to sort out their away day blues if they want to finish anywhere near there, because if they do not and the yo-yo form continues then we may see them finishing out of the top 8......

Alan Pardew......you brave brave man......

Is he crazy or what???!!!
managers galore have openly told him he is, but you cant blame him for taking the job, a way to get back into management at the top level, but none the less he's got a huge task ahead of him.
how will the game pan out tom? home to liverpool, as i said in a previous post, the enigma of mike ashley was nowhere to be seen when pardew was unveiled to the public yesterday, and i cant blame him because there would've been scenes mirroring the student protests had he bothered to turn up.
pardew tried to put on a brave front, answering the inevitable questions about the club, the previous manager and his untimely departure, but it was to me so transparent that it is quite clear pardews relationship with the members of ashleys board had a huge bearing on the situation.
a staggering five and a half year deal was agreed, when ashley wouldnt even give hughton an extension till the end of the season!!
this may show that the club is severely unstable and pardew may well have insisted on the lenght in case of the club being sold in the near future, and therefore giving him a bit of a fall back by having the contract in place, if the new owners were to think he wasnt the right man in charge??
or am i being a bit harsh on the man? i dont know but he has always seemed to have a pretty hefty pay off from all of his previous clubs, but this could also be seen as very clever from his side i suppose....
he has already admitted the players have voiced their opinions about the sacking of hughton, and it doesnt take a genius to work out it wasnt a welcomed decision, so this is the start of the huge task that lies ahead for him.
to make things worse they welcome a re-juvinated liverpool to st james' park, their away form not being the best but recent games they seem to be getting it nearer to being right, will the newcastle players galvanise and put up a fight, maybe in support of hughton, and maybe to stamp their claim for a position under the new manager, or will they revolt and roll over?????
we will all find out late tomorrow evening......
i predict a liverpool victory 1-3........we shall see.....
can go without a couple of predictions for the two big games this weekend though.....
tottenham vs chelsea........3-1 spurs in this one, if ivanovic plays in the middle with terry, gareth bale will murder ferriera down the left and consequently spurs will find the gaps to put them to the sword.
and last game of the weekend is manchester united against arseanl, as it stands before any kick off this is a top of the table clash, united putting the only unbeaten record in the country on the line against arsene wengers boys, ill go for a 3-1 to the home side, old trafford is a fortress and i cant see it changing on monday.....

am i completely missing something?????????

now i would like to think im fairly inteligent, up with whats going on, honest but fair in views etc but correct me if i am wrong here, newcastle sacked chris hughton, for a manager with more experience, someone who will take them to the next level, a more established man at the helm............i know he was in the shortlist created by the bookies almost immediately after the news about hughton, but i think i speak for every geordie here, and i am not one myself, but seriously, has ashley lost the fucking plot???!!!!
now im not gonna start a angry mob styled attack on the soon to be new appointment, but surely everyone is in some kind of agreement that alan pardew is not the man newcastle were hoping to have in charge???!!!!
being listed next to such names as martin o'neil, martin jol, and even frank rijkaard at times as laughable as that last name is, i think even the most optimistic magpie couldnt see the great barcelona manager arriving in the north east.
but even out of that list, last night it emerged that jol had left ajax and i for one expected to see him brandishing a black and white scarf in acceptance of the job, but this morning showed that ALAN PARDEW yes you read that right, out of the choices on 'offer' i dont think he would've picked himself out of the short list!!!!!!
now, i think pardew is a great manager, he laid the foundations at reading, which steve coppell has taken most of the credit for, yes he obviously deserves some of it but no-one remembers what pardew did beforehand, then onto west ham, he got them back into the top flight, under extreme pressure from the loyal hammers fans, i think unfairly dismissed, and he popped up at southampton, a club given 15pts deduction for the administration saga, and without the deduction they would have been promoted, a great achievement none the less.
ask any of the fans of these three clubs and they'kl tell you how good he is, and what good he created at their clubs, but given the situation at newcastle, what will newcastle gain from his appointment????
tha fans are angry as shit at the sacking of hughton, their anger will of course be aimed at mike ashley......when he chooses to show his face again, i can assure you it wont be against liverpool saturday!!!!!!!!!
alan pardew will do a good job, but he'll get a luke warm reception when he is unveiled and it'll be no fault of his own, he is obviously confident enough or he wouldn't be taking the job, but with games coming up against liverpool, birmingham, man city, spurs, wigan, and west ham, pardew is gonna have a baptism of fire in the piping hot seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
there are rumours of a complete walk out at the game saturday to which in my opinion would be so disrespectful to the new man, it simply cant happen but with the appointment on the verge of being made it will be an interesting event on saturday.....................

sad day for newcastle.......again

yesterday saw the unforseeable sacking of chris hughton as newcastle manager, now i am not a magpies fan but surely the world has gone mad tis time? and by mad i mean mike ashley.
hughton, took over at st james' in the aftermath of the team falling into the second stage of english football, he stepped in and steadied the ship to begin with, and then took the team back into the premier league at the first attempt, which is rarely done and a huge task i can tell ya.
so enter the top flight, given no money to spend by the owner, hughton battled on and got his team to produce some outstanding results given the resources he had at his disposal.
they beat arsenal at the emirites, they drew away at chelsea, they hammered their local rivals sunderland 5-1 in the derby, not enough? clearly not.
obviously i dont know the ins and outs of it all but sitting 11th in the league with 19 points on the board,im assuming most geordies would be more than happy to finish 17th this season, their goal must have been at the start of the season just to survive and then push on next season once consolidated in the league they do deserve to be in.
sometimes they have been guilty of thinking they are a bigger club than they are, at times living on the past glories and ignoring the present problems, but then what club doesnt do that??
11 more points and the magical '40' for safety in the top league would have been in the bag, something they are capable of achieving by the end of feb im sure of it, possibly not now?
the only way i can see it panning out is that ashley must have someone lined up, give the new guy (probably martin jol) a month to assess the squad he has, and then approach the owner in january with his shopping list, i can see these being good reasons for doing it now, if that is the case of course.
jol last night resigned as ajax boss after claiming the pressure put on the team was to great and the team were not able to live up to expectations........so what does he expect to get from the newcastle fans?????
i really do rate him as a manager, did brilliantly at spurs, proven in germany, done ok in the dutch league all of a more recent time, and now probably into the premier league again, sure, given time and money he'll do a good job but he isnt fucking god, he isnt going to be able to deliver the league like newcastle teams of old, simply not going to happen, so what will????? who fucking knows, this departure was a shock but nothing is deemed shocking in football so the script is written, and good chuffing luck to the next manager whoever it may be, because their gonna need it thats for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the special one.....and im not talking about mourinho!!!!!!!!

the build up was grand, the fixture speaks for itself, possibly the two biggest teams in world football, going head to head, barcelona one point behind real madrid in la liga, madrid now with jose 'the special one' mourinho at the helm, the expectation sintilating, barca with messi versus madrid with ronaldo......
madrid having spent 300 million euro's on such stars as ronaldo, alonso, ozil, di maria, benzema, carvalho and add into that the already present higuian, casillas, ramos, and you have los galactico's as they have time and time been labelled, probably the biggest in-flux of stars since the likes of figo, van nistelrooy, and the magical zidane, result in the real camp is belief that they are now the biggest club side once again for all to fear, and on top of that they have now aquired the services of undoubtedly the best manager on the planet in mourinho.
surely the calculation for success and this season they have defended like any jose team does, but twinned with the attacking flair of the predisessors such of zidane etc.
they have swept aside almost everyone and went into this game on top of the league and in fine form on the back of the 4-0 drubbing of ajax in europes elite competition.
barcelona, with the quality we all know about in the form of messi, adde into the mix such players like xavi, iniesta, pedro, puyol, dani alves and the new edition david villa and everyone knew we had a real game on our hands.
real and jose were doing all the talking in the build up and rightly so as their form has been impecable, barca and pep guardiola keeping quiet and getting on with preparations.....and the resulting game was stunning.
i hope everyone on earth watched this because i cannot find enough praise for the men from the nou camp, the word dominance does not do them justice, i watched them destroy almeria a week ago 8-0 and the gulf there was evident, but here we are talking about real madrid, one of the worlds greatest clubs, once again rising back to past greatness, and the gulf was still as stark as the previous match.
barca got on the ball from the first minute and racked up a possession of 78% in the first half, and even that statistic doesnt show the ease at which they tore los blancos apart.
only six minutes in the sublime messi tried an audatious chip from an angle which bounced beck off of the post and cleared, but the nou camp faithful only had to wait another three mins as iniesta conjured up a telling splitting pass to xavi, he miss controlled but cooly finished past casillas to put barca one goal to the good.
the next ten minutes were truely irresistable from barca, real trying to get close but never within a sniff of the classy midfield three of xavi, iniesta and messi.
barcelona put together twenty plus passes together at ease with the crowd 'ole' at every completed transaction, this was football being played the right way and everybody should be a barcelona fan after watching this, at the end of the 20 plus passes, pedro was bundled off of the ball but the referee waved play on as xavi looked further that the five yard pass and hit a inch perfect fourty yard pearler out to david villa on the far flank, the new arrival took a touch and beat ramos before firing across the six yard box, to who? pedro of all people, who had just been pole-axed out on the touch line, no rolling around but he had gotten straight up and got on the end of the cross to put barca two up with quality to spare......a scary thought for anyone in the champions league draw for finishing second in their group, no-one will want to face this side i can assure you.
real threatened but very sparse, di maria forced a save from valdes but the home side emphatically bossed it still, where was ronaldo? the contrast between himself, the £80 million world record signing and messi, the fuck knows how many ££££'s worth of argentinian you'd get for your money was so distant as mush as the two teams themselves.
messi started the second half in the same vein, a magical run from the magician set up villa but casillas saved well from the spaniard, the signs were there and two goals in three minutes from villa added a more realistic touch to the scoreline, representing the dominance of the home side over their closest rivals.
both goals were brilliantly set up by messi unsurprisingly, both moves were simple but devistatingly effective as the score reached 4-0 and the amusing chants from the stands of 'you're gonna be on the dole mourinho' and 'come off the bench jose' as the 'not so special today one' sat glum faced in the dug out, painfully watching his team being dismantled by a far superior side.
barca now cruising took their foot off the gas but madrid rarely threatened, but when barca saw an opening they still had the quality to punish a poor madrid with a fith in the 90th minute with jeffren getting it after a cross from bojan as the two substitutes combined.
ramos summed up the entire game for madrid as he was sent off seconds from the end.
summing it up.....words cant describe it.........300million real madrid taken apart by a meagre 80million worth of barcelona signings in contrast in that time.
no less than eight of the barcelona team had come through the ranks at some level which only shows the depth of quality at the club and how they breed the type of players that football should be known for.....
out of the two sides i have always favoured barca personally from days of van basten etc and on this showing they would have converted even some real madrid fans to support the enemy.....

holy cow what a weekend........again!!!!!

every weekend i think its been good but no more than the one we've just witnessed!!!!!!
a weekned where every.....yes EVERY premier league team managed to hit the onion bag at least once....and yes that even includes the haphazzard west ham in this stat!!!!!!!!!!
amazing i know!!!!!!!!!
this is the first time ever in the history of the premier league where each team has netted and a record 41 goals in total over the weekends fixtures.
is this a sign of times changing in englands top flight???
frankly.....no.....with scores like 7-1 it only shows the true difference in class between the top top temas and the teams trying to close the gap, a few bizarre results thrown in for good measure of course but the gulf in class shows over the 38 games.....
the illustrious berbatov.......the enigma of brilliance....the lazy fucker.......but still very capable of brilliant football, perhaps this is the reason why he looks so unfased by any game and seeming ease he chooses when or if at all he wants to produce, five goals for the talented bulgarian this week, after not scoring in 9 games, as manchester united put a dismal blackburn to the sword, then took out their bollocks and chopped them off aswell.
it could easily have been double figures in this game, united hit seven and wayne rooney was not even amongst the scorers, blackburn woke up to get a consolation but they didnt even deserve that, on a performance like this a championship side would've given them a pasting. big sam would have been fuming i can tell ya.
united went top, over taking an arsenal team who had earlier in the day gone to villa park and got a vital three points in the race for the title.
arsenal went two goals to the good, much deserved before the villa got a goal back allbeit through slightly dubious offside involving carew, the big man was seemingly blocking fabianski's view of the strike from clark as it flew past carews earhole into the corner.
arsenal then stepped up a gear to make sure they didnt let another two goal lead slip, chamahk got the third and it was pretty much all over until villa got a second and asked quetions of wengers men, in truth they were not in danger and wilshire rounded off the result with a neat finish to make it 2-4 an the 90th min.
manchester city went to stoke looking to hold onto the coat-tails and looked to have managed a great away win until a last gasp etterington goal snatched a point for a fighting stoke side, much to the disgust of mancini who must still be bemused at his teams lack of victories with so much talent in the side, and in turn putting his position back under the spotlight.......
at the other end it was a battle of relegations proportions.....west ham hosted wigan and it looked like the most un-appealing game that would follow.....quite the contrary, west ham looked sharp and adventurous with the return of scott parker giving the home side a back bone, which they have had none so far this season.
the hammers stormed into a three goal lead and even the fans weren't recognising the team they were watching, because it certainly didnt look like west ham!!!!!
wigan got their own consolation but did little to please their followers in an awful display.
west brom took their fans to goodison park to face david moyes' everton, a team who has struggled to come to terms with injuries yet again this season and after their defence had leaked two goals, the aussie goal scoring sensation tim cahill got on the sheet to give evertonians hope, until his partner in crime arteta was dismissed for violent conduct you sensed that the comeback wasn't going to materialize this time, subsequently the baggies got two more and confirmed the toffees were getting nothing to cheer about this weekend, fantastic away win but once again a poor performance from the losing side.
a couple of draws up next, fulham hosted birmingham, a mark hughes inspired fulham is yet to show up to any game as yet and he must still be fuming at his dismissal from city as he watches them make the same mistakes they did with him in charge, birmingham went ahead but fail to make their chances count as fulham were trying but getting nowhere, then dempsey popped up with another important strike to get the london club another valuable point.
the other draw on saturday was bolton at home to blackpool, the vice-versa side of the season, ian holloway is undoubtedly the character in the camp as he is the most animated coach around and with the results they've managed this year already you cant knock him one bit for his approach......just score one more than them.
in this game they were unfortunate to only get a point as they went two goals up at bolton where many teams come unstuck, more illustrious ones than blackpool with all due respect.
but bolton showed why the are in the heights of the division by battling back and pulling a couple of goals out when it was needed most, and dealt the blow to a blackpool side who had deserved all three points.
the last game on saturday was wolves against sunderland at molineux and what a corker it was!
the home side went ahead and kept a good sunderland side at bay until the black cats struck twice in quick succession to look like they were heading for a comeback for their battling manager bruce.
wolves had other ideas and looked to outfight sunderland in the last five mins as the wrath of their own manager would've singed the ears had they not done so, they hit the net twice more and ran out winners in another corking game.
sunday rolled in and the turn of chelsea at newcastle. the magpies have had some amazing results but they themselves have had a yo-yo season results wise so everyone was wondering what side would turn up, as were the travellind chelsea fans as they were hoping their recent form took an up turn.
they could be forgiven to have been expecting the same old story of late as alex's backpass split the ground between his goalkeeper cech and.......no-one, the keeper left hopeless as carroll chased down and tapped into the empty net.
chelsea rallied and to be honest battered their northern counterparts and got back into it on the stroke of half time through wonderful footwork from kalou.
the blues flew out of the blocks in the second half and no-one could deny them of expecting all 3 points as they had two goals chalked off and many chances they would normally be sticking away. newcastle held on and cheleas are now wobbling, but mark my words, in the coming two-three weeks they will absolutely hammer someone.
last up and by no means last was the mouth watering tottenham against liverpool.
spurs had had an amazing week which they were looking to finish off in style whilst the reds were trying to keep their up and down season back on the track....again.
both teams started well with attacking line-up's and chances were not long coming, lennon gave the awful konchesky an afternoon to forget, not once did the liverpool left back get within 5 yards of the flying winger as he crossed for modric to volley into reina's arms.
torres still not hundred percent was showing real class with flicks out of the top of top drawers but his striking partners not firing the bullets.
jamie carragher blocked a certain goal from defoe from six yards and liverpool fans were thinking this could be their day. and the visitors got the break through but not from one of the many attacking players on view but from skrtel!!! his header bounced back off of ngog and the defender showed great reactions to poke the ball home three mins from half time.
the imminent half time talk from harry and once again it worked, what does that man say????!!!!
spurs looked to have the bit between their teeth again and went at liverpool, the reds were now ruing the glaring miss from maxi on the stroke of half time as spurs pushed and pushed.
goal line clearances and missed chances came thick and fast and then david ngog heard a call saing 'who isnt good enough to play for liverpool' he duely put his hand up ala fabregas last week and spurs got the pen, defoe stepped up to miss, he has now missed three of his last four pens.
spurs kept on knocking and modric who was tottenhams best player skipped past three or four liverpool players and passed the ball accross the six yard line, every defenders nightmare, and skrtel had to do something, unfortunately for him it rolled into the net and let spurs back in.
liverpool kept going and chances were at both ends as torres was put through but seemed low on confidence as he took an extra touch instead of dispatching a trademark torres finish.
last chance saloon now and spurs were doing all the pressing, and a ball played straight through the middle, flicked on by crouch and lennon ghosted in past the dismal konchesky and controlled well and kept his calm to give spurs the three points.
the game of the season so far, attacking football from both teams, full of incident and not a red card or bad tackle in sight, everything a game of football should be........

so is anyone gonna stand up and be counted????

this is surely the stragest premier league season, most certainly in recent years, for no one team wanting to grab hold of the league and take it under their spell and make inroads into taking charge.
every weekend one of the 'top 6' teams drops points and on these occassions none of the other teams really have taken advantage, to the point where liverpool and villa are still close enough if the teams above them keep slipping up, and that is according to the illustrious mr wenger!!!
so here is my run down of the contenders:
arsenal......great footballing side and the most attractive team in the league, but still have the same problems which they've had since henry etc left, dodgy keeper in comparisson to chelsea, man united, man city, liverpool, no real steel in the middle of midfield, they have fabregas yes, world class but he cant work his magic if he hasnt got someone kicking the shizer out of the oppossition and handing him the ball, and the central defenders cant even begin to be compared to the famous five under george graham's reign......verdict....3rd
chelsea.......so good early season, hammering teams out of sight, now, lost three out of four and 'crisis' is being bounded about.....you gotta be fucking kidding me right? topped their champions league group with maximum points, albeit an easy group, top of the prem, and still got essien, lampard, terry, etc etc to return, they have had 60 odd shots on goal in last two games, someones gonna get a pasting soon and the last couple of games will be forgotten.......verdict.......2nd
man city..........massive promise just not got the consistency, they will win the league, just not this year, so many class players, so many ego's aswell though, they'll probably implode before they settle, can see change of manager before they do but they'll have a say somewhere.....verdict......5th
man united.........unbeaten this season in the league, not playing well whilst doing that, rooney well off the boil but the heat will return and he will fire sooner rather than later, the berb wont go anywhere and will once again pair up with rooney and they'll be the difference, hernandes will fill any void left and scholes is still reminding us what england fans are missing.......verdict.......1st
spurs.........massive achievment already this season, why cant they win it? if one of the above dont take charge then spurs can be in the mix, only thing that will go against them is the champions league/premiership week, harry is yet to really deal with it and hasnt found either rotation or plan b that works, but he will, so unpredictable, but so brilliant at times to, got second best squad behind city...........verdict...........4th
liverpool...............poor start and still capable of stringing a run together which could see them challenge, unlikely as it is, but capable, as are any of the above, a good run will obviously heavilly depend on gerrard and torres and possibly could go either way depending on january transfers but on showing so far...........verdict.........6th
agree?????? be interesting to hear some of your predictions??????

the next quick point is about real madrid in champions league this week, cruised to 4-0 away day victory against ajax and 'allegedly' purposedly got two men sent off to wipe the disciplinery slate clean.......
of course they deny any wrong doing and it is an arguement which cant be won by either side, they didnt break any rules, therefor they have 'played' the system as far as i can see, if it wasnt jose 'the special one' mourinho then there wouldnt have been as much fuss im sure, im not saying it was right because in the name of sporting behaviour its fucking disgusting, but having not broken any rule uefa cant really do alt, genius from jose????? is he the best about??????

goals goals goals.........

yup thats rite goals galore in the premier league this weekend!!!!! and none for the reigning champions......what is going on this season????!!!
ill start with the game of the weekend being at the emirites as the north london derby rolled into town, spurs going to their rivals having not won there since 1993 where arsenal fielded a weakened side ahead of the cup final those many moons ago........
and today those glory days seem a million miles away for the miserable gooners.
2-0 up at half time they played tottenham off the park and could've been further out of sight had they taken their chances as spurs were lacklustre and to be honest pretty appauling, i feared for them.
i dunno what the fuck harry said at half time but fuck me it worked, spurs flew out the blocks and the illustrious gareth bale got them back into it four mins after the break with a delightful first touch ahead of a sublime finish with the outside of the boot, dunno if he can use his right but if he has risen from obscurity just using his left then i aint gonna argue, van der vart was superb and layed it on perfectly, how he is only worth 8 million i will never know!
then things got worse, spurs leveled through the little dutch maestro as fabregas put his hand up as he must have heard a question come from the crowd...."who wants to join barcelona"......he duely put his hand up and conceded a penalty, van der vart subsequently obliged and spurs were gonna take some stopping.
a poor finish from an arsenal centre back not even good enough to remember his name, from an accute cross from walcott, only to head over from 6 yards and it looked destined to end up square.
a silly free kick conceded from arsenal point of view was perfectly delivered once again from the influential van der vart and kaboul glanced a header sweetly inside the far post and the delirium began.......
wenger outfoxed by harry? players stood up to be counted? master stroke 'throwing' a striker on with the possibility of getting put out of sight? i dunno, made a cracking game for the neutral though, the most entertaining part being wenger furiously throwing his water bottle at the floor and the tidal wave of liquid still in the bottle spraying up into his face, brought me a giggle
spurs real title contenders? i think so, not only on this huge result but in a truely bizarre season they could spring the suprise and this time round i really belive they have the players to sustain it, as long as the champions league hangovers dont ruin it for them.
as for champions.......chelsea, three defeats on the bounce and really deplited, threw everyting and more at birmingham, but fot the immediate world class-ness of foster in their goal it would have ended 1-5, they got their goal and clung like fuck to it and with alot of help from their number one they fully deserved the 1-0, chelsea crisis? possibly, they just are a shadow of the team that flew out of the blocks at the season openers, now they are truely struggling.
man city finally got going on sunday as they faced a tough fulham side with their ex-boss hughes at the helm but in all honesty they were on cruise control and put a poor side to the sword with ease.
their manchester neighbours carried on hteir own annoying form, not playing well, struggling against wigan until the visitors went down to 10, then 9, only then the red devils showed ease, sign of champions?
liverpool 'hammered' west ham in what i called the 'sack race', surely a team that bad, one that made david ngog and maxi look world class can only be going one direction and that isnt up, how long can they stick with avram grant? they really do not have anything, and were the worst team i've seen in the premier league for some time, can only be bleak for the loyal supporters on this and many other showings this season.
bolton carried on their unbelievable for as they stuck 5 past a much rejuvinated newcastle side who on this occassion looked well out of their depth, carroll weighed in with his goal but they looked a poor team compared to the team that demolished sunderland and turned arsenal over, yo-yo form but i think will show enough over the season.......
harry for england........??????

the strange season continues...............

yup footie fans everywhere are all bemused by the bizarre season in the premier league, and it continued this weekend just gone with once again some fucking crazy results from top to bottom of the table.
the most freak result of the weekend saw a much weakened chelsea beaten at home for the first time for seemilngly decades by sunderland who since being put to the very sharp sword by their neighbours newcastle have had a rejuvinated series of results and performances.
the score......0-3.....not good for any chelsea fan, but a warming feeling for everyone else of course, their heaviest defeat for seven, yes seven years at home, and lets be honest it could've been a fuck sight worse if it wasn't for the world class cech in goal, denying sunderland on more than one occasion, evenm before the visitors took the lead, super sunday for the black cats indeed.
on this showing the reigning champions are going to find it hard to lift themselves with the deplited team having to field such big money flops as ramires and zhirkov.......£18million quid a piece.......and expensive dog shit.
ancelotti really has his work cut out to get these drab replacements up to scratch.
spurs, the yo-yo form side at the minute got off to a flyer against blackbur, storming into a 4-0 lead with another gareth bale inspired performance which instantly reminded everyone how they dispatched of inter milan so comfotably a couple of weeks ago.
not to mention a missed penalty in there to, blackburn rallied and pulled it back to 4-2 but in all honesty tottenham had taken their foot so far off the pedal they could have been biting their own toenails, another reminder that harry 'the 2nd hand car dealer' rednapp is going to get it right......again.
manchaster united went to villa in the early kick off on saturday and struggled to get out of bed as the home side dominated the proceedings with consumate ease, fergies men just do not look the strenght they once were and i think other teams feel they most definately have a chance if they dare attack and take their chances and vill did just that.
houllier has got them going since coming in after the debacle of the o'neil sacking/exit, he has breathed new life into what was threatening to be a faultering season, he has given young players the chance to impress and they have re-paid his faith with some sterling performances and in this game at 2-0 to the good with ten minutes remaining i dont think anyone saw a united comeback.
but come back they did and managed to emerge from a poor performance with a battling point with two late goals which has now become their trademanrk since the champions league final against bayern those many years ago, sign of a title winning side? playing poorly but still not losing? perhaps, but i just dont see it, although they are now unbeaten in 22 games and with rooney to return they will only get stronger and with only arsenal seemingly the only team who has any kind of form could push each other close.
arsenal went to everton, and in many recent years a place where they have struggled to battle the toffee men but on this occassion they match the fight and got the three points with a couple of great moves and a couple of even better finishes. three points pushed the gooners up to second and into a position where i can see them pushing on and going top in the near future and possibly could be the team to overhaul in the long run.
so eyes onto liverpool.....great win against chelsea saw them rise the table quickly, possibly to soon? results would back this up as they then drew at wigan after dominating the first half but not taking the chances, and now a comprehensive defeat away to a stoke side that bullied and completely out-played liverpool and deserved the win all ends up as the reds only managed one meaningful shot on goal, where as stoke looked dangerous with every attack.
west ham travel to anfield thus saturday for what i think called be dubbed 'the sack race' on sunday morning, avram grant supposidly on the brink but being backed by the chairman vs woy the boy hodgson who is in the same boat, albeit sinking a bit quicker under the pressure cooker of the liverpool fans.......
could it be that clear cut? i think so, liverpool have a run of games, including the last two where im sure supporters would have been expecting all three points, and the next few would offer the same dangling carrott.
we will see monday as the imminent axe falls on one of these managers.......mark my words.
spurs go to arsenal........massive game this, the promise against the already promised, many seasons.
i predict spurs will go at arsenal and at home i dont think arsenal have quite got the mind set right when teams are attacking and dont just sit back, so boldly ill predict arsenal 1-2 spurs
birmingham v chelsea........chelsea struggling, birmingham high off of a bore draw at manchester city, ill go for a 2-1 home win.
liverpool against west ham..............3-1, surely liverpool cant miss another opportunity to close the gap on their close rivals..............
monday morning will tell us if i know fuck all or are just hopeful

another good mid-week showing

so here we are at the end of another mid-week programme in the premier league......
to start, the biggest game of the week, the manchester derby..........all the build up was tense, excitement ran rife around the city with the sky blue's sensing something in the air that they could put down a benchmark by beating their neighbours and throw the gauntlet down.............outcome 0-0.
city were so defensive it was untrue and if i was the italian in charge id be worried about being shown the door before to long, they have the strongest squad in the league, the 'biggest stars' and of course the biggest wage bill, but as for the performance last night obismal, united were by far the better side and they didnt even get going.
the lazy fucker berbatov chose this wasnt his type of game and only showed an overhead kick for his non-effort, scholes once again reminded every england supporter what they are missing by running the show but united were unable to capitalise, overall 0-0 summed this one up im afraid.............
chelsea at home to a stuttering fulham side once again showed why they are favourites, not playing well but dominating the londoners who only rallied late on, the reason i have said many times already behind chelsea being so good was essien, but even i cant defend the stupid fucking decision to lunge in two footed on 94 mins, twat.
arsenal scored early on against lowly wolves but they really tested the gooners in the second half, with fabianski, yes fabianski, you heard me, making some truely world class saves to keep arsenal in front and as wolves pushed forward looking for the equaliser chamakh got his 2nd of the game and killed to challenge off completely.
arsenal have been critisised in recent years for not winning games like this and as a result play themselves out of title contention, maybe different this year? only time will tell, i think they still struggle with the more physical sides so cant see them close enough this year.
tottenham hosted sunderland, both teams ravaged by injury and it did show unfortunately for both sides, spurs just never really got going in truth and sunderland missed darren bent up top, the little dutch maestro van der vart came up trumps for spurs to pull a point out of the game and tottenham did have chances to win the game and maybe a team that boasted defoe would've capitalised on this, sunderland battled out for a point and a much deserved one from their point of view.
the geordie massive welcomed blackburn to st james' and didnt forsee the outcome after their exploits against arsenal at the weekend. they managed to level through the england bound carroll but to lose out in the later stages to a jason roberts winner, the flash point in the game unsuprisingly came from joey barton.
say what you like and it would all probably be true, barton squares up to pedersen and delivered a right hook to the stomach which one david haye or audley harrison would be happy about getting through this coming weekend, the decision......referee did not see it but all cameras were pointing as they always do nowdays and the prosecution will lap up the evidence once again.
villa faced blackpool....but not as we know it. the hillarious and much agitated ian holloway made none less than ten, yup ten changes to his starting eleven, an end to end match with goals dotted throughout finally ended up 3-2 to the home side and now holloway finds himself in the same position as mick mccarthy did last season for fielding a 'weakened' side against man utd, the f.a will probe his decision, much to his disgust, and i agree with him, if he as the manager feels it is needed to change this amount of personel then as the manager he should be able to make the decision without it being challenged.
liverpool had the chance to climb further up the table on their rescue mission of the season, or thats how it was being portrayed by taking on wigan side languishing in the very position liverpool found themselves a couple of weeks ago. an early fernando torres goal made the result look inevitable at the end of the first half, then meireles came off at half time and liverpool seemed to stop dead in their tracks.
wigan came out and battered at the liverpool goal for probably 35 of the 45 mins.
they equalised and kept going, pinning liverpool in, both teams had a goal chalked off for offside and both decisions were tight but the right ones, then as it seemed a stalemate captain fantastic gerrard was put through pretty much one-on-one and instead of taking a touch then beating the keeper for some reason he took the shot on first time and the ball came back off of the underside of the bar and that was the last chance for either team. a draw was most definately the right result as no team really showed enough throughout to deserve the three points.
the game of the night was at upton park as the battle of the 'w' commenced, west ham took on west brom in an end to end match with flashes of brilliance from both teams. kieran dyer shone for the hammers as they played some truely lovely football that wouldnt have been out of place coming from the emerites.
west ham went behind then were pulled a goal back and then went infront only to see their hard work shattered as they conceded on 70mins ish and the two teams had to settle for a point a piece.
either side could well have won this and a point was not really what either team needed but a point gained is better than none at the bottom.
so the three bottom sides all begin with the letter 'w'.....an omen? will it be those that go at the end of the 38 games? long way to go and at the moment eveyone is still well capable of beating everyone.......

a brillient weekend for the premier league..................

what a weekend!!!
a brilliant advert for the english league and yet another reminder that it is the best league in the world.....
defeats for three of the top 6 teams in the form of arsenal, chelsea and tottenham respectively.
arsenal, fresh off of a away day defeat to shakhtar donetsk in the champions league arsene whinger's team took on a seemingly re-juvinated newcastle at the emirates, many would have foreseen a comfortable home win in this one but the truth was in all honesty that the might of th gunners were out-fought and the usual class and indeed beautiful fluent football the reds normally ooze just wasn't present in this blood and thunder meeting where unfortunately for the gooner army they were once again beaten by a team who were physically stronger and got nothing less that they deserved for their efforts.
the yo-yo life of one andy carrol has been much documented in the past and more recent weeks but no-one can argue against the form of the young englishman.
stirling performances against many teams already under his belt this season has rewarded carrol with rave reviews and an imminent call up for the national squad, and i cannot think of any reason why he shouldnt be included.
arsenal didnt really have a response to the battling geordie's, yes wallcott hit the bar and they did have chances but you cant take away the performance from hughtons team in a week where his job was reportidly under threat, then they hit five past there north-east rivals and now an away win at the emirates, not such a bad week eh?!
spurs.....magnificent win mid-week against the european champions and due celebrations for a team who does deserve it, but once again they found out that incorporating the elite europen competition and elite league is hard to balance.
welcoming the champion league champions to white hart lane one minute then a grim away fixture at the un-inspiring reebok in stark contrast did look like a stumbling block but ths spurs fans must have been wondering where the team had gone from tuesday night as they trailed 3-0 to bolton who with all due respect shouldn't be causing such ripplies against the quality of a side like tottenham.
a rallying call started by hutton with a sublime curling shot with his 'standing foot' certainly got bolton wondering, then arguably the goal of the weekend by pavlyuchenko, as it dropped out of the air even the most optimistic of fans wouldnt have expected the russian to show the perfect technique to volley hard and perfectly from such a tight angle and suddenly bolton were on the ropes and spurs were back in, but once again the tottenham defence leaked a fourth and the wind was taken out the sails.
so can spurs get the balance right? if anyone can sort it then the 2nd hand car dealer extraodinair redknapp is the man who can put his hand up the puppeteering spurs backside to orchestrate what is needed. time will tell but the fact spurs are even being mentioned as possible title contenders/deciders has got to be enough for tottenham fans for the time being?!
chelsea.....as mentioned in a previous blog i predicted a chelsea victory here, liverpools form and belief was at an all-time low slightly buoyed by the super-sub gerrard in mid-weeks europa league outing, surely the chelsea super-show would roll into town and roll back out in fashion as they have most of this season already....
not the case....instead their talisman drogba was strangely on the bench? supposidly due to a virus? how true we will never know, but if he is fit enough to be on the bench then surely he could have started such a showcase fixture?
no essien, lampard and now the drog on the bench? liverpool fans must now have been sensing the drops of blood leaking out of a depleated stamford bridge side, and that was exactly what panned out.
torres being the main predator on this occassion as he has been so often against chelsea.
the reds flew out of the blocks and early doors got ahead through torres after the 'workhorse' kuyt chipped a delightful ball through to the spaniard, one that captain fantastic or indeed the much missed alonso would have been proud of and el nino duely dispatched into the net passed the on-rushing cech.
chelsea never looked at the races without drogba and the defense had a pretty easy time of it. then a slip just inside his own half from ramires let in meireles who fed torres on the left and as he turned towards goal and one on one with alex everybody in the crowd knew what was coming, just would it come off?
on this occassion it did, he skipped inside and made a yard where he unleashed a curling right foor strike which left cech stranded as it crashed into the side netting putting liverpool two goals up.
the murcurial matador was back.....and football fans everywhere have missed the brillance as is when other top players are off form like rooney and berbatov to name a couple.
chelsea then woke up after the substitution of drogba at half time and suddenly the reds looked more nervous, reina made a point blank save from malouda and then minutes later he let a shot squirm under him to bounce back off the bar into the path of drogba who looked just as shocked as everyone when carragher somehow got his body between drogba and the ball and a dead cert goal.
storm weathered as it turned out and cech himself made a world class svae as kuyt nearly got himself on the scoresheet for his efforts.
but tim ticked down and liverpool cut chelsea's lead over manchester united to just two points.
championship wide open again? who knows, but after this weekend it just shows how wide open the league has become again which can only be good for the genuine football fan.

chelsea....the real deal in europe this time???

chelsea, you either love them or hate them.
either way you cant argue the form they have been in this year, sweeping aside the so called lesser sides at the start of the season scoring plenty of goals in the process, then they faced manchester city, their first real test everyone said, and yes they got beat, and quite comfotably to.
but since then they have gone from strength to strength squeezing tight results out of teams without playing well for the whole 90mins in games, and i do think it is due to the form of their two big players in my book, and maybe the obviuos two? i dont know?
drogba......somewhat of an enigma? big, strong, powerful, scores goals, creates goals, always a handful, yes at times he can be a tempremental prick but then what 'big game' players aren't at times??!!
the guy shoulders alot of the pressure to finish off the sometimes breathtaking moves that chelsea create on a scarily regular basis, but he does always come up with 20 goals in a premiership season, and must be one of the most consistant strikers in the league on stats i would imagine, playing up front with the evergreen 'incredible sulk' the infamous nic anelka, they provide so many options for the 'fat' frank lampard and kalou who often provides them with their service, but with the drog, he also has the ability to give the opposition the run around by himself and also score the goals resulting from himself, granted that doesnt happen much but he is still capable of it.
love him or hate him, he is top top drawer.
the next reason and i think main reason is essien....the complete footballer with the engine that would put a steam train to shame.
nasty, dirty streak yes but that isnt without commitment, the dynamic midfielder epitomises everything that should be right about football, he passes, tackles, scores spectacular goals and makes average players i.e lampard look world class, hence fat frank struggles so badly for form in the england side and is always over shadowed by steve gerrard, englands closest answer to essien for many peoples money.
when essien is missing so is the fight and physical threat of chelsea, they get overrun and out fought, but when he is at the centre of it they are practically unbeatable, and this weekend they go to anfield looking to continue their great early season form.
normally anfield would pose a tricky obstacle but at present the reds are in a fluctuating run, draws, wins and defeats scattered in every week, the feeling on merseyside this week is that of hope rather than optimism like it would normally be in the run up to such a huge game.
i predict a score draw which on paper would appear a good result for both, given the two teams are part of the supposed 'big 6' as it now is, but in reality chelsea would see a point as two dropped given the form of their opponents.
league champions? very possibly, they have the makings of champions in the domestic league.
european champions? jury is still out for me, great results early competition, already through to knock out stages with two games to spare, but when the chips go down i dont think they have enough to compete with the true giants such as real madrid, barca, and probably manchester utd and inter thrown in.
just think the class doesnt stem deep enough for this chelsea side, i dont know whats missing for them, if i did id be in ancelotti's shoes, albeit they'd be a bit big.
chelsea to do the double this year is a sure fire bet, but only premier league and domestic cup in my own un-compromising opinion.......anyone dis-agree??

Gareth Bale......just how good is he??!!

a young welsh footballer playing at left back for southampton, two years after his debut tottenham snapped him up to bolster their starting eleven, last season bale played 23 times for spurs and was on the winning side on not a single occassion!!!! now a year on, the wheeler dealer harry rednapp had to put full faith in the young welsh player by putting him just off the striker during an injury crisis, this seemed to be a stroke of genius allbeit forced by the much loved rednapp. brilliant displays followed playing in a what was thought to be unorthodox position for the long time left beck, but still the performances were there for all to see as he filled the attacking gaps with apparent ease.
now spurs being in the top flight of european football, the champions league, finshing fourth in the league last year in order to do so, he is now arguably the main focus of the entire team! stark contrast to the laughable fun of games spurs and bale had endured the previous season when he was involved....
so it begs the question...what the fuck has changed ??!!! is it brilliance on the part of harry? is it the rejuvinated hunger from bale himself or is it just a pure unadulterated rise of one of the stars of the present and future we are all witnessing in front of our eyes?
my statement is this.....gareth bale is in the top three wingers in the world, yup i said the whole blue and green land that we inhabit....the FUCKING WORLD.
in my opinion and course everyone has theirs, but in my opinion he is only in the company of such players like the demented duck aka ronaldo, not the fat buck tooth brazilian but the portugese master, he is now starting to hit the heights that madrid payed the seemingly crazy £80 million squidlies for in the summer of last year to see, and of course theres no prizes for guessing the identity of one little argentinian magician who for me rates above them both, but on recent showings only just above.
has the world gone crazy? for me no.
two weeks ago bale's tottenham team were four goals down to inter milan in milans back yard, inter being the european champions, allbeit at the hands of 'the special one' who has since moved to pastures new but the quality team still remains, so we had it, 4-0 down away from home against rafael benitez of liverpool fame/shame's italians, they were being completely outplayed, outfought, out manouvered the lot, a complete lesson in europes elite competition, then enter mr bale, he grasped his team and lacklustre teammates by the scruff ofthe neck and proceeded to score three goals to pull spurs within reach of an amazing turn around, it didnt quite materialise but the showing given by bale earned him rave reviews, and rightly so.
was it a one off?
aparrently not, last night i watched and witnessed a performance of attacking flare rarely seen at white hart lane since the mecurial david ginola just without the girlie fucking locks.
bale was up against maicon, a worldly established right back and widely thought of as one of the best in the world, well last night bale ghosted past this 'master' four, five, six mabye more i coulnt keep count the amount of times he raped him time and time again like the right back wasnt even there.
and much like his opposite aaron lennon who did have just as much joy on the other flank but with one major difference, bale can actually deliver a final ball without shitting himself with excitement.
no matter how small a part he plays, everything seemed to go through bale, and everyone looks to him to lift the team, which can only be testiment to him for returning to the spurs first team and actually breaking the voodoo of the defeats by smashing his own best form and to put tottenham into the eyes of the watching world.......

referees eh....who would be one?!

another weekend passed and another spotlight on the man in black and unfortunately for the masses we are not talking about the legendary Johnny Cash......the venue : Old Trafford, the victim, Mr Gomes the tottenham goalkeeper, the man in the middle Mark Clattengurg? dunno if thats the right spelling but either way he is under the spotlight!
the impressive but ultimately annoying potugese winger Nani, who has declared himself 'one of the best' today, danced into the spurs penalty area and took a 9.0 dive in the box, seemingly handling the ball as he tumbled, the keeper, Gomes assumes the ref will/had blown his whistle for seeing the blatant handball by the winger picks the ball up and places it for what he thought would be a free kick and a long punt downfield to put his team back on the attack and looking for the equaliser they had battled for 85 mins to get, but to gomes' and indeed everyone in the stadium and probable millions watching on tv worldwide, as he backs off to take his run up, the cheeky little git in a united shirt seemingly braking the rules puts the ball in an un guarded net???!!!
what the fuck was going on?!!! i dont think anyone in the world really knew and instantly all eyes filtered to the man in black who's arm movements indicated that nani was right to play on and tuck away his arrogant attempt!!
how? why? what was going on here?!?
as to the rules regarding this no-one was to sure, spurs players swarmed round the ref almost dragging him off into the tunnel for the imminent kicking they thought he should deserve, but no, the goal stood and united ran out 2-0 victors and spurs fans left ruing yet anothe refereeing decision go against them at old trafford....
the referee's statement was this......i did not blow for a free kick as the keeper had possesion, therefore nani was well within his rights to play the ball as soon as he had no hands on the ball thus making it  perfeclty legal goal....or words to that effect anyways.......more fool gomes
yet perfectly legal and well within the rules, should this kind of goal be allowed to stand in the spirit of the game??
i really dont know, if my team had scored a goal like this id have been patting the striker on the back for being on his toes, if my team conceded one like it then id be fuming, so what is it? right or wrong?
how the fuck should i know? i am a fan like the rest of us, yet another example of why we do it to ourselves i suppose eh? to make a discussion out of anything that makes us fume?
you be the judge....

calm after the storm

here we are, the storm of the liverpool saga seemingly passing with every day that passes, they finally got a result they can push on from and  possibly start climbing up the division, although when you actually analize the season that liverpool have had thus far it is not actually the disaster/crisis that the world wide media would have you believe......why is this???
well if you look at the league, yes it looks bad and of course the league doesnt lie, they have simply not been good enough on several occasions but when you delve deeper and look at the games where they have lost points it appears not quite a disaster.....first game against arsenal, leading 1-0 until the depths of injury time and reina throws the ball in his own net....2points lost there but still a credible point against one of their top 6 rivals, next up a 3-0 defeat to manchester city, simply not up to scratch and deservidly punished for a below par performance, but again against one of their top 6 rivals, another result that wouldnt look out of context in any season, a 3-2 defeat to their closet rivals in manchester united, 2-0 down, pulled back to 2-2 only for the brilliance of berbatov to punish lacklustre defending, but again one of their rivals, 1-0 home win against west brom, yes they should be punishing teams like this a bit more harshly but a spirited west brom side kept it down to a single goal, away defeat to their neighbours everton 2-0 is not a result any reds fan will ever want to see but as we all know derby games can go either way and form would totally go out of the window, but this time both teams had no form so it was grit and determination that would win it, and unfortunately for the red army it wasnt them showing any of it hence the scoreline, but again a game and result which wouldnt look out of place if it was another season or indeed not after the series of results that liverpool have had, a 2-2 draw at sunderland looked quite a good away point as the reds came twice from behind to draw level but really were out fought again which for liverpool fans is a rare and indeed a disgusting state of affairs, none the less still a credible point as im sure will show when the other big 6 go there. granted the home result against newly promoted blackpool stands head and shoulders above the rest, defeated at home in front of their fanatical fans in another under-par performance from one of the leagues top sides, and duely punished by the spirited premiership minnows. yes a huge shock not only to liverpool fans but fans of football in general.
the reds finally got back on track this sunday with a overall good performance against blacburn, who usually offer a physical game and ariel attacking but none of this really materialised and the reds ran out 2-1 winners when in truth it could've been many more. their talisman fernando torres put his poor performances behind him and put in a very encouraging shift and got his goal for his efforts which ended up being the winner.
so when you look at these results only really the blackpool result stands out as a complete shock, yes liverpool and a team of their stature should have more points 9 games into the season but all i am saying is maybe the media circus which surrounds big clubs in 'crisis' maybe adds to the feeling rather than looking at all the factors........

now i am seriously baffled???!!!!

last time out i talked about the bizarre court case involving hicks, gillett, and the liverpool board in order to sort out the antics of the americans in relation to the unfair and now breach of contract confirmed sacking of board members.
the judge ruled that the chairman was singly responsible for the make up of the board as he was employed to be by hicks, gillett and the bank rbs.
this should have granted liverpool football club the freedom to sell the club and end the charade which has gone on far to long now......
or so we thought......this morning i wake and switch on the tv anticipating an announcement from the liverpool board confirming the new owners and all would have been well up in merseyside.....but true to form the crazy ass american clowns have now not only managed to get an order to prevent the sale of the club temporarily, but now have the bollocks to turn the tide and are in the process of suing rbs, the liverpool board for in excess of $1.6 billion yes BILLION for damages???!!!!
shocked? no.
dumbfounded? yes.
what IS going on? have i completely missed something here? all was so well and good and now not only will the debt not be paid in time i.e friday 15th oct, but now they are trying to sue on top of this??!! sorry to sound so harsh and no offence to americans but these to have surely lost the plot no??!!!
well as it happens, many people over here in the u.k were saying, how can a court in texas have juristdiction over the pond? answer is they dont. but what they do have is the power to stop any u.s company/consortium/individual from buying the club if they are  registered as trading in the u.s.
pretty clever, even for the pre-emptive yanks, the injunction however is only temporary so you think it is only a matter of time.
but it could be enough time to force the liverpool board to accept another offer from a non u.s company i.e peter lim, the singaporian business man with cash to burn?! is that what hicks and gillett want? truely they shouldnt have a choice but as two members of a 5 man board they do have a vote each, but against everyone else on the board, and everyone in the city of liverpool, and now alot of people around the world who just enjoy football and have liverpool as one of the great clubs.
it clear that hicks and gillett want to regain as much of their money as possible, and who wouldnt? but the fact is, when bought the club liverpool were concrete top four, in the champions league, two finals in 4 years, and were obviously alot more desirable to buyers and the price would have obviously been higher, now as the economic climate has had a worldwide down spiral everyone has felt the demise of something depreciate in value, which is exactly what the value of the club has done. what doesnt help their cause to get their money back is this, the club is now in the bottom 3, in europes 2nd competition, and in total disarray behind the scenes so there is no way someone will pay over the odds for something that at tops can only be worth 350million in todays market, taking on a debt which has grown considerably since they took to the helm.

these are worrying times for football, and with the biggest club in english history liverpool going through the mill, i can only see the worlds most famous club manchester united next on the chopping block of american greed

what the hell is going on???!!!

now i am a big a football fan as you will find, but still i grow icreasingly baffled by the politics that has entered the game over here in england.

one of our biggest clubs, and one of the biggest clubs in the world liverpool are on the verge of going into administration???!!!! what the fuck is going on??!!

two yanks in gillett and hicks somehow find it ok to hire a board to broker a deal to sell the club, 5 people on this board in order to not have a split vote, then when the three people voting for a sale say yes, in turn going against the other two voters of hicks and gillett they try to sack them for not agreeing with them??!!!

in no other walk of life would you ever be able to get away with such blind-minded ball-shit because you didnt get your own way, it stands to reason why millions of liverpool fans are against anything the two americans do, and by turning the much loved club into a farcical circus they cannot be suprised with the dark reception these comments and actions receive.

yes there are other offers on the table if the stories are true and to be believed, yes some of them are worth more money but surely with the deadline of friday for the debt (which hicks and gillett can only be held responsible for) will be called and the company which owns liverpool, kop holdings will be placed into administration, this would surely de-value the club further????!!!!

as a football fan i cant even imagine a club of this size going into administration but it is a stark reality this week and it sadens me to come to this conclusion....and i dont want to offend anyone......Americans just dont get football....and only when the premier league stop them from buying clubs with money that they have to borrow, and not money they actually have then this will not stop and the clubs that are owned through companies and not fanatic millionaires will we see an end to the death of our modern game.

it is not a game of monopoly, it is passion filled game of beauty so unless you understand the rammafications of your ignorant decissions with our beautiful clubs has on the paying public who finance the club from the streets with their hard earned cash watching in this case their beloved team struggle under the pressure of the ownership battle/farce now taking effect onto the pitch which is dis-heartnening to see to say the least, so message to the hicks and gilletts of this world.......leave now and forever hold your peace, leave that beautiful club and leave it with dignity, thats if there is any left.............

clean sweep for the english???!!!!

yes it is true!!!! all english teams have been triumphant this week in the european competitions.....even rangers!!!!
so tonight its liverpool travelling to holland to play fc utrect, and man city host juventus in a mouthwatering tie!!
my veiw for the liverpool game is this, torres plays should = liverpool win, although i think roy hodgson since joining liverpool is gradually finding out the pressures of managing one of the most succesful sides in england, he is starting to play more and more defensive in fear that they may be beaten and he will have to take responsibility for the short falls, tonight though i totally expect liverpool to win and pretty comfortably at that, i say torres to finally hit form and joe cole to star in a reds 3-1 victory.
man city host the european giants juventus at eastlands, this being city's big test against a mixture of age and experience in the italian team, there will be doubts over team selection as mancini is somehow in the same mindset as hodgson whereas he is playing 'spoil' football, although chelsea never moaned and groaned when they were winning 1-0 every week under jose 'the special one' were they??!!
i do expect city with home advantage to run out winners but the italians will give them a game and if city do not get their advantage in early the crowd may turn on mancini and the team, ill go for a tight 2-1 home win for the sky blues.
ill leave you with this final thought......the haggis isnt actually scottish......so does that mean sir alex isnt actually god????

are english teams good enough???

I watched a bit of the champions league games last night including the arsenal, chelsea, real madrid, ac milan, and it really got me thinking.....are the english teams as good as we here in england believe they are?
the four teams in there from england : chelsea (champions of england) beaten last time in the final but for debatable decisions by the referee and a united side that took full advantage of the situation, manchester united (runners up) beat chelsea in that final but should they have won more european cups whilst under the control of sir alex??? arsenal (beaten finalists vs barca) play the most attractive football apart from barca, have the best young side in the world but do they have the muscle? and this year a new entity....spurs. the unknown team from england in this years competition, which i think can only help themas they prepare for their 1st home game in the biggest cup competition arguably in the world......fc twente have made huge in-roads over the last year since steve maclaren took the reigns and guided them to the title and instilled belief into their players that is still blatently evident and so close to the surface that they will test spurs tonight but in my opinion i think spurs in front of thier own fans will beat them fairly comfortably 3-1 as twent are not the strongest at the back and in europe top strikers will punish this, ruiz up top will test the spurs backline and will pose the biggest threat and i wouldnt be suprised if we saw him in the premiership in the near future either!!
as for united, they travel to the mighty valencia to take on the team sitting above barca and real madrid at the top of the prem in spain, even without the now world renownd david villa putting the ball in the net for them.
united are conceding goals and have let 2 goals in on to many occasions for sir alex or the united faithful to be happy with, but with this in mind i predict a scoreline of 2-1 to the spanish league leaders, no scholes, no rooney
 and ferdinand back but with a dodgy back i dont think they'll be able to hold off valencia in their own back yard.
so bottom line is......sir alex......nearly 20 years at the helm for united.....2 european cups......should he have won more given the time and money he has had and the calibre of players that have graced the pitch for united over these years? i am not questioning his record domestically because this cant be questioned, but as a football fan and being english i just feel he should have steered them to more european success????
is this a fair point???

why do we do it??!!

as this is my first ever post i shall keep it short, sweet and to the point......i walkedinto work on monday, as i do every(well most) mondays, to the unpresidented barrage of abuse that comes as part and parcel of supporting a football club.My team had not only failed to win but struggled to secure a measley point from without sounding to harsh, a lower club than that of ourselves.......or so we think.
we think this because no matter what club you may support/follow, the fact of the matter is is that club is the best club in the world to each and every individual, blind to the fact that there are other teams considerably better or have more financial clout than yours, yet your club remains strong and proudly in your heart and for the vast majority of football fans will remain till death do you part.
results, managers, leagues and cups come and go, but you remain strong and instilled in the belief that your club will once again be great or suprise you and surpass your every expectations.....or we can all hope at least.

so i pose this question to you all.....why do we stay so loyal and faithful to our teams yet survive the constant barrage of abuse, knowing all well and good that you have no bearing on any results anytime anywhere!!!!!

ill leave it at that for now....responses will be greatly received and guesses at which team is mine will also be interesting :)