Roiling football blather

[IdleRich]

OK, so it looks as though it's decided that the world's best player is going to stay with the world's best team. Biggest non-story ever I guess. Meanwhile in other news Joey Barton has released a statement on coming out of jail:

"The first day's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in, hand you your uniform and force you to pose for the photographer while loads of fat, tattooed skinheads shout abuse at you. That's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it. That's when it hits home. That's when you realise you've signed for Newcastle."

 

[tom pr]

thing with ronaldo is that for all madrid's huffing and puffing they never actually made a bid, and i don't know if they were ever going to pay that much money for someone who'll miss the first two months of the season. i reckon they just wanted to unsettle him so they'll get him slightly cheaper next summer - not like they need him now.

van der vaart for seven million though, how'd that happen?

 

[IdleRich]

"thing with ronaldo is that for all madrid's huffing and puffing they never actually made a bid, and i don't know if they were ever going to pay that much money for someone who'll miss the first two months of the season. i reckon they just wanted to unsettle him so they'll get him slightly cheaper next summer - not like they need him now."

Dunno, I'm pretty sure they wanted him badly (when they started making the noises it wasn't clear that he would miss any time at all) and they've fucked up by showing so much interest which may have merely had the result of unsettling Robinho who was unhappy to be a makeweight. If he goes and that Dutch bloke is seriously injured then they could have problems. Next year, he might go there but who is to say that they won't fail just as spectacularly then?

 

[Slothrop]

Meanwhile in other news Joey Barton has released a statement on coming out of jail:

Ha ha, I just nicked that for use elsewhere.

As a Newcastle fan I'm looking forward to the new season with a mix of excitement and barely concealed terror, tbh.

 

[IdleRich]

"Ha ha, I just nicked that for use elsewhere."

Well it was completely obvious but it made me smile a little.

"As a Newcastle fan I'm looking forward to the new season with a mix of excitement and barely concealed terror, tbh"

Looks as though there is some confusion relating to the new signings right?

 

[mos dan]

is it worth starting an 08-09 season thread or is this one just going to rumble on? i don't really care. importantly:

afc wimbledon won their first game in the blue square south 4-1 away to newport. bring on the blue square premier!

 

[crackerjack]

afc wimbledon won their first game in the blue square south 4-1 away to newport. bring on the blue square premier!

On Sat night I told a mate from Milton keynes that he couldn't possibly support MK Dons as they were created by an act of theft. He asked why did I care, since I've nothing to do with Wimbledon. I said, you don't have to be Jewish to object to the Holocaust. For some reason, he thought that a spurious, tasteless argument and said I had 'lost'.

On the non-league tip, my hometown team got a very creditable 1-1 away draw in their first ever conference match, despite being the only team in history ever to sack their manager because he got them promoted. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/16/4?gusrc=rss&feed=football

 

[IdleRich]

So Arsenal take on FC Twente tonight with a large number of injuries and thus an extremely inexperienced side. Be a terrible shame if they go out before the tournament has even started....

 

[hucks]

So Arsenal take on FC Twente tonight with a large number of injuries and thus an extremely inexperienced side. Be a terrible shame if they go out before the tournament has even started....

Likewise Liverpool. Except that, as a result, Man U and Chelsea would get even more money, as the English TV rights would be shared between fewer clubs. That's what happened in Scotland. Celtic are rich now cos Rangers screwed up. Crazy.

Edit: Just noticed that there is a forum member called Lev Yashin. How cool is that?

 

[IdleRich]

"Edit: Just noticed that there is a forum member called Lev Yashin. How cool is that?"

Yeah, saw that. Thought I might be able to draw his opinions by bringing the footie thread to the top.

 

[mos dan]

On Sat night I told a mate from Milton keynes that he couldn't possibly support MK Dons as they were created by an act of theft. He asked why did I care, since I've nothing to do with Wimbledon. I said, you don't have to be Jewish to object to the Holocaust. For some reason, he thought that a spurious, tasteless argument and said I had 'lost'.

hah good work nonetheless. afc fans are in the odd position of having the sympathy of almost everyone, everywhere... with the exception of a few who think us a bit sanctimonious or self-righteous (wouldn't you be if you had your club STOLEN?). but either way it's a strange turnaround from being held in more contempt than most clubs in the country in the 80s and 90s.. "i'd rather watch them on teletext" i think that c*nt lineker once said.

anyway i went to the first home game of the season on tuesday - 2700 people crammed in to the kingsmeadow terraces, better atmosphere than there had been with 60000 in the emirates for the emirates cup, seriously. and after bombarding the thurrock goal for 84 minutes we finally pulled it back from 1-0 to 1-1 (they had never deserved their early lead). then on 88 minutes we got a winner! two games, two wins... bring on the blue sq premier!

 

[crackerjack]

hah good work nonetheless. afc fans are in the odd position of having the sympathy of almost everyone, everywhere... with the exception of a few who think us a bit sanctimonious or self-righteous (wouldn't you be if you had your club STOLEN?). but either way it's a strange turnaround from being held in more contempt than most clubs in the country in the 80s and 90s.. "i'd rather watch them on teletext" i think that c*nt lineker once said.

Wimbledon fans will always have my sympathy. They're the only club fleeced even more blatantly than my own http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_and_hove_albion#The_fight_for_a_stadium
Brighton's wasn't a case of club theft so much as ground theft (although they were very nearly tantamount to the same thing). It's something I couldn't wish on anyone, except Palace fans. And United, obviously. And Leeds.

 

[mos dan]

Wimbledon fans will always have my sympathy. They're the only club fleeced even more blatantly than my own http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_and_hove_albion#The_fight_for_a_stadium
Brighton's wasn't a case of club theft so much as ground theft (although they were very nearly tantamount to the same thing). It's something I couldn't wish on anyone, except Palace fans. And United, obviously. And Leeds.

i think we also have a shared passion in our hatred of the scum in red and blue. still vividly remember the year we beat them 4-0 in the prem (at selhurt, obviously!) to help send them down, that was so magic we sung about it for years afterwards.

i was shocked when a palace fan told me recently their main rivals were brighton! genuinely shocked. i'd never realised that palace fandom went on south through croydon and kinda met brighton fandom somewhere around three bridges, or whatever that train station's called.

if you're brighton, let me ask: how do fans deal with the homophobic chants? you guys are unique in having to deal with that? and how do the homophobic blokey blokes in the brighton crowd deal with it? and are gay fans welcome at the ground? just interested

 

[mos dan]

(at selhurt, obviously!)

freudian slip lol

 

[crackerjack]

i think we also have a shared passion in our hatred of the scum in red and blue. still vividly remember the year we beat them 4-0 in the prem (at selhurt, obviously!) to help send them down, that was so magic we sung about it for years afterwards

Brighton still sing about the 3-0 win on Boxing day, 1979. It was our first season in the top flight, Palace were being dubbed the 'team of the 80s' (still makes me smile), we won 3-0, transforming both our season (we didn't go down) and theirs (they fell out of the top 6 and were never the team of anything again).

i was shocked when a palace fan told me recently their main rivals were brighton! genuinely shocked. i'd never realised that palace fandom went on south through croydon and kinda met brighton fandom somewhere around three bridges, or whatever that train station's called.

We got there first. Locality is no substitute for history.

if you're brighton, let me ask: how do fans deal with the homophobic chants? you guys are unique in having to deal with that? and how do the homophobic blokey blokes in the brighton crowd deal with it? and are gay fans welcome at the ground? just interested

Respond in kind where possible (I was charmed to discover gillingham is 'a town full of pikeys' last year), roll with the punches where not. I went to a game at Carlisle just before we were promoted in 2001 when their fans started the usual gay chants. Brighton responded with 'the poofs are going up, the poofs are going up'. They'd only go so far with that though - 2nd time they came back with the gay chants, Brighton just snarled and shouted.

 

[crackerjack]

I saw this on what turned out to be Sky News last night and assumed it was a sketch show. He's only been there a month



Is this a sign of serious self-esteem issues?

 

[IdleRich]

So, I didn't watch any of the football at the weekend but I'm guessing that Chelsea looked pretty good? Anyone got any thoughts on what was on display?

 

[crackerjack]

So, I didn't watch any of the football at the weekend but I'm guessing that Chelsea looked pretty good? Anyone got any thoughts on what was on display?

Looked like a case of as you were: Arse look pretty but lack penetration, Liverpool, especially away, are too dependent on one of two special players; Utd lack their overwhelming flair when CR doesn't play (Campbell looked good for a starter - he could be a handy sub). The only difference is Chelsea, who looked very slick and very confident.

Edit: and Newcastle look to have made at least one shrewd signing.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo.../2304639/Jonas-Gutierrez-joins-Newcastle.html

 

[mistersloane]

www.fanchants.com

 

[IdleRich]

This is a weird looking transfer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/20/arsenal.manchesterunited

"Mikaël Silvestre, the long-serving Manchester United defender, is on the verge of foregoing a testimonial season at Old Trafford to become the club's first player to be sold to Arsenal for 34 years."

Is it seriously going to happen?