Roiling football blather

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crackerjack

Well-known member
IdleRich said:
Do you reckon that was showboating? I thought he just kind of bottled it - either way it didn't matter in the end and there was the right result. Anyway, I thought you were going to be sulking and watching The Apprentice...
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That didn't quite work out as planned and I got to the pub for the last 25 mins + extra time, during which I managed to get slightly pissed which parly explains whyI was even more potty-mouthed than usual. Partly.

(why do commentators always say that a sending off spoils the game? I love a good sending off to get things going).
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Me and my mate (a Finnish fan of ice hockey, which may explain it) were just agreeing that there's not enough violence in football these days - not the leg-breaking, career-ending kind, but when you can get sent off for little more than a provocative slap on the cheek, the authorities' think-of-the-children protectiveness is way out of control.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"That didn't quite work out as planned and I got to the pub for the last 25 mins + extra time.."
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Couldn't stay away from the footballing spectacle that was certain to unfold eh? Fair enough, I can understand that.

"Me and my mate (a Finnish fan of ice hockey, which may explain it) were just agreeing that there's not enough violence in football these days - not the leg-breaking, career-ending kind, but when you can get sent off for little more than a provocative slap on the cheek, the authorities' think-of-the-children protectiveness is way out of control."
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Well, I pretty much agree with that but I also just like sendings-off (sending-offs?) in general even if they are just for insulting the ref or booting the ball away in frustration for the second time. I think a game where one side finishes with ten and the other nine always has a little more spice.
You always hear the commentator saying "the ref has ruined the game as a spectacle" and (presumably) shake his head but I think - what could be a better spectacle than watching that diving wanker Drogba take ten minutes to exit the field trying to lash out at every United player he passes on the way as the realisation of the magnitude of his cock-up slowly penetrates through the gel and into his brain?
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Anyone else think that Avram Grant has been treated pretty shabbily by Chelsea? His side made up ground on United after the points handicap bequeathed to them by Mourinho and missed out on winning the Champions' League by the thickness of a post only for him to get fired two days later (and find himself branded a loser by classless Mourinho in the press on the weekend).
I read that Abramovich wants to make his club admired as well as feared but surely treating your staff like that isn't the way to go about it.
 
vimothy

vimothy

yurp
Yeah -- funny, though, that they only just lost all three.

And apprently, Mourinho might be coming back. Abramovitch even bought him a £2 million Ferrari half way through the season.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah, read that about the car but apparently he's ruled out returning. I've also heard that Hiddink and Rijkard have turned it down as well - who does that leave, Mark Hughes?
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
IdleRich said:
Yeah, read that about the car but apparently he's ruled out returning. I've also heard that Hiddink and Rijkard have turned it down as well - who does that leave, Mark Hughes?
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I think Hughes could do a good job - he's radically improved both Blackburn and Wales in his time there. I'm not a great believer in the cult of Hiddink and Rijkard's been found out at Barca this year.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
I agree that Hughes could do a good job (given time) but is there really any reason to believe that he will be more successful than Grant in his first season?
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
IdleRich said:
I agree that Hughes could do a good job (given time) but is there really any reason to believe that he will be more successful than Grant in his first season?
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Maybe not, but the real question is whether he would do better than Grant would next season, if left in charge. We can all agree that games won and points earned are the major factor when assessing a manager's performance, but there are others - specifically how much confidence the players have in him and whether he has the ability to renew a team that he simply inherited (Anelka aside, has Grant made a signing yet?).

I don't think Grant's sacking is all down to RA wanting his team to be loved and if shexy football is his aim, Sparky Hughes is unlikely to be in the running.
 
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tom pr

Well-known member
going back to the cl final, it's beyond me how you could think that wasn't a good game, rich. united could have been three up after forty minutes if it weren't for that double save from cech and tevez's miss, then chelsea get a lucky break and completely change the complexion of the tie before half time- go on to dominate and hit the woodwork twice but can't win the game. then in extra time you've got the sending off, terry's wonder header off the line, and then penalties to end it that were a post's width away from going the other way. how's that a bad game in anyone's books?

it was worth a four am flight to moscow, restricted seat and near riot in the airport on the way back (flight back to stansted eventually left at half six russian time), put it that way. even if the wrong team won, at least it wasn't that dickhead ronaldo scoring the winning penalty. that was bad enough in the euros, and i don't even care about the national team.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
I just have a feeling that the new manager (whoever it is) will be halfway through overhauling the side by the end of the next season and will then get the sack as well, to be replaced by another sap who will in turn get fired after one season. Short termism that demands instant results or else is self-defeating - which I find pretty funny.

"going back to the cl final, it's beyond me how you could think that wasn't a good game, rich."
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I wasn't saying that it wasn't a good game, I just don't think it was quite the classic that some people claimed. Fair play there was a lot of incident and the balance of power swung back and forth both of which have to be good things plus there were a couple of amazing moves from United in the first half that deserved goals.
 
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tom pr

Well-known member
IdleRich said:
I wasn't saying that it wasn't a good game, I just don't think it was quite the classic that some people claimed. Fair play there was a lot of incident and the balance of power swung back and forth both of which have to be good things plus there were a couple of amazing moves from United in the first half that deserved goals.
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The break that led to that double save from cech was ridiculous- carvalho decides he's going to try and beat brown (i think) down the left, gets caught out and the ball's on tevez's head within fifteen seconds. I think it's the second best game i've ever been to, after the 4-2 chelsea barcelona.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"The break that led to that double save from cech was ridiculous- carvalho decides he's going to try and beat brown (i think) down the left, gets caught out and the ball's on tevez's head within fifteen seconds."
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Yeah, think it was Rooney though wasn't it? He stopped Carvalho, then took the ball back past him with a bit of disguise and a lot of raw power before landing it on Ronaldo's foot from about fifty yards and Ronaldo in turn layed an inch perfect cross which Tevez got on the end of with a flying header - which, fair play to him, Cech stopped with a great save.
 
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tom pr

Well-known member
IdleRich said:
Yeah, think it was Rooney though wasn't it? He stopped Carvalho, then took the ball back past him with a bit of disguise and a lot of raw power before landing it on Ronaldo's foot from about fifty yards and Ronaldo in turn layed an inch perfect cross which Tevez got on the end of with a flying header - which, fair play to him, Cech stopped with a great save.
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for some reason i thought ricky got tackled and then the ball fell to rooney, but i havent watched highlights so i presume yr right. amazing move though- even when we were on top any time ronaldo got the ball i could hardly bear to look. like mourinho said, the thing that people underestimate about united is what a good counter attacking team they are.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"..so i presume yr right"
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Don't count on that.
Anyway, you're a Chelsea fan right? What do you think of Mourinho slating Grant? I think it's cheap and shows how bitter he is (he's probably still going on about the "ghost goal" as well).
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Interesting that the number of Englishmen has been rising every year since 2002/2003 until last season.
No surprises with this bit

"West Ham showed the most faith in English talent, Arsenal the least
On average, there were only four players available for England duty in each Premier League starting line-up last season.
Arsenal had the lowest number of English starters, averaging 0.34 per match, while West Ham had the highest number, with 6.61."
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mos dan

mos dan

fact music
any thoughts on the england game? i missed it, and i've had a brief match report from tom pr already, but any more?

i watched the goals online today and was aghast by gerrard's goal: did my eyes deceive me, or was that a free-flowing attacking move?!?! surely, SURELY not. please reassure me it was just some kind of anomaly.
 
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