Has football peaked?

Well there we have it........an interesting season although it did not live up to my expectations as a United supporter.

Peter Crouch..........England material and an alterative if we are a goal down with ten minutes to go. Actually this is not a bad shout. When did Sven have a Plan B?

I have seen a lot of Southampton this season - I work just outside the city and have done a few "prawn sandwich" games at St Mary's.

The first game I watched this year was the Saints v Fulham game and Crouch is skilfull with a great first touch......... and that is from someone who criticised Dwight Yorke for his first touch (Oooh matron) after 2000 when he seemed to stop caring but before that he was first class.

I put Kamara in my Fantasy League team back in Janaury and although it was not a complete disater if I'd gone for Crouch I could have won my league rather than coming a close second - he said trying to establish some footballing credentials!

The boy Owen! I'm aware that I have called him a one trick pony who had forgotten the trick.......but he might sign for United. The song repertoire will get even smaller.

We've been told that songs like "If you all hate Scousers.....etc" may offend Rooney

I'd promise not to sing that song ever again if Stevie Gerard signs for United.... Oh well!

Have fun

Chris

I though footie was quite good last season, finishing with nice Owen hat-trick/David James blooper. Commiserations to PNE etc etc - as often, team wasting time winning more points in leagues doesn't win play-off.

Ladies' Euro-whatsits start on BBC2 tellie next Sunday evening.

"as often, team wasting time winning more points in leagues doesn't win play-off"

Indeed just like last year.

A lifelong hatred prevents me offering commiserations to PNE. However, there right back is brilliant and we should buy him using some of our Prem Millions.

Matthew

quote:

Originally posted by notMatthew:
However, there right back is brilliant and we should buy him using some of our Prem Millions.

Celtic fans are hoping that some of those premiership millions will be sent on re-signing John Fatson.

As said before, I feel Mr Beckham could well spend a few of his last career season's (UK) at Upton Park, where his true heart lies.



Fritz Von As an East Londoner you'll be truly welcomed Becks, innit

Highlights of last season?

WBA's amazing escape on the last day.

Liverpool's heroic 2nd half against AC.

Southampton's Chairman, Rupert Lowe finally getting what he's long deserved. Relegation.

David Moyes dragging Everton minus the 'golden child' to a Champions League spot


The lows?
Chelsea's stroll to the title with no challenge coming from either ManU or Arsenal. Two teams left to scrap for bragging rights over a cup that one team felt was beneath them a few years back and another who parked the team bus in front of their goal and waited for a penalty shoot-out to decide the match.

Doesn't bode well for next seasons challenge to Chelsea does it?

Should that thug Rio Ferdinand be allowed ever to play for England again? Take his "off field" antics over the last few days only: his fourth driving ban; fighting with (and, thankfully, getting a well deserved thrashing from) a gangster in a Scandinavian nightclub; and trashing hotel rooms on a stag do in Herts? And that's just what's leaked to the press.

What sort of example does that set for any young lad?

Oh, and he's a drug cheat, of course.

Graham (Scottish, for my sins)

Hew could well learn from his younger bruvver daan at our Mat's gaff


Ashley Cole has just been hit with a £100,000 fine, Mourhino £ 200,000, & The Club Chelsrea (for tapping up) £300,000 + 3 Points; which is a good punishment (pity it's not suspended, innit)

Sorry silly me, Suspendedf of course, that's what yer hgets fer hanging around with and idolising HM Gutter press journo's instead od sodding them off and treating them as the vulture scum that they really are, innit.

Fritz von Gettin the facts right at last

They've stirred up a Hornets nest with these tapping up charges. It's been going on for a long time and all the top clubs indulge in it. Fergie uses the England squads to get his players to sell ManU to the likes of Rooney etc, as one example. How many of the Arsenal kids were enticed from the smaller foreign clubs to join them? All that whiter than white crap from Fergie and Wenger didn't stop Chelsea from winning the title, that they had forgotten about whilst having their own petty squabbles and i don't think it'll make much difference next year. Probably given Chelsea something extra to fight for.
BTW i'm no Chelsea fan either.
Stoke City rule! C'mon the Stoke!

It will only make a difference if the point deductions are implimented 'NOW', after an appeal the fines will probably get watered down too. You're quite correct in what you say about it going on forever, people drink drive every day too and although that'a a harsh comparison the only way to stop them putting others selfishly at risk is by cutting their licence, or locking them up, innit.

Graham

quote:

Oh, and he's a drug cheat, of course

In what way exactly? The hair samples that he provided proved that he had not taken any prohibited drugs. He just forgot to show up for a test because he had other things on his mind. Have you never forgotten to do something?

The trauma argument was ignored by the FA. If I had a phone call to say that my wife had been hospitalised there is no way I would wait around to pee in a bottle. Moving home is a traumatic event - exceeded only by family bereavement and relationship break up. Yet the London tabloid press mocked it.

Rio's "punishment" should have been proportionate and precedent should have been followed - but the FA's "impartial" tribunal decided to make an example of someone high profile. I also wonder what the ban would have been if David Dein's position within the FA was not what it is.

I should say that have a fundemental problem with the concept that failure to take a test is the equivalent of failing a test. Where is the natural justice it that? There should be a requirement of culpable failure.

Clearly that concept is right for example in a driving incident when someone wilfully refuses to take a test to establish blood alcohol levels when the police are in constant attendance to enforce it.

If the sports testing procedures were robust enough to positively prevent an innocent omission I could perhaps buy in to it - but they are not.

As a side issue - why are so many substances that are not illegal on the list of prohibited substances? It is only recently that caffeine above a proscribed level has been removed from the list. The nasal spray that I use because I get hay fever is apparantly unlawful in football - true I perform better using it as I don't sneeze as much - but really!

If something is illegal worldwide or is dangerous of course it should be banned but I think that things have gone too far the other way.

I hope that Chelsea and Ashley Cole do take things further. I know how I would react to being fined more than a month's wages for talking to a possible alternative employer? I feel another Bosman-type ruling in the offing, what the FA have done may accord with their rules but in reality is untenable - in the absence of a perverse court decision!

Chris

PS Graham I also disagreed with the rest of your post! I am assuming however that your reference to "well deservered thrashing" was a misplaced attempt at humour

Chris

He failed to take the test. That's a fail. If he were an athlete, he'd have received an automatic two-year ban. If sportsmen and women are simply permitted to "forget" to pee in the bottle, you might as well abandon random testing.

Please explain your "trauma" theory. He doesn't have a wife, let alone one who was hospitalised, as far as I know. His first 'phone call was to a haematologist and then he went shopping, for goodness sake.

As to his "well deserved thrashing", no humour intended. That's what he got from the Swedish gangster with whom he had the fight. He just seems to have picked on someone able to stand up for himself on this occasion - unlike the photograher that he and two other thugs went for a few weeks ago. I believe that Ferdinand's advice to his cohorts on that occasion was to the effect that they should jump on his head and kill him.

He really sounds like a delightful chap.

G

Points deducted should have been 12 - retrospectively ...

Had pleasure of seeing Stoke beat my lot at Wembley ('Blue is the colour' Esso-paraffin advert time..) in 1972 - when Chelsea pulled one back, some tealeaf half-inched my programme when I stood up to cheer.

Have just recycled 2 empty Macallan bottles, which from November 2004 (when full) with cheapest Naim electronics I'm convinced help Kelski stop the usual 2 for a season.

It's all over now B. Blue(s), and some new superstitions/obsessions doubtless will emerge in next season. Still keep insulating-tape covering up Ferguson name on a tellie though.

Tapping up.

Fines.

Sven anyone???

quote:

Moving home is a traumatic event - exceeded only by family bereavement and relationship break up. Yet the London tabloid press mocked it.

The clubs organise house moves and just about evrything else so the players can be left to concentrate on the playing side of things, or forgetting to turn up for drug tests...

Thought some of the England women did alright last night some of the time - nice last couple of minutes in 3-2 Euro win. Sweden-Denmark seem much better at ladies' football so far.

I wonder if Upton Park will be used in the 2012 Olympic games ?

quote:

I wonder if Upton Park will be used in the 2012 Olympic games?

Do West Ham fans normally refer to the ground as Upton Park or The Boleyn Ground?

As a side issue - I work near Southampton and I do go to see them if United are playing away and the game is not on TV. Much as I'd like the ground to be referred to as the New Dell - it isn't.

I just call it St Mary's. No-one I know refers to it as the Friends Provident Stadium.

Is ground sponsorship worth it for the sponsors

Chris

Upton Park

I can't believe that EUFA have let Liverpool into the Champions League for next season! What happened to "Rules is rules"?

They had the chance to qualify for next season but failed to get in the top four. The FA had the chance to "prefer" Liverpool as Champions to the 4th placed team but chose not to do so.

There had been a collective decision the no country should have more than 4 teams in the competition and UEFA should have stuck to that.

When this was previously considered by UEFA they had proposed to legislate that the competition winners automatically took preference to the lowest qualifying team of the relevant country if the winners would otherwise miss out. The FA's however wanted to reserve that decision to themselves rather than accept the automatic ruling.

The Spanish FA took a view when Real Madrid won the Champions League but finished outside of Spain's qualification positions. On that occasion fourth-placed Real Zaragoza were relegated to the UEFA Cup. Our FA were weak in comparison.

OK - I appreciate that very few people thought that Liverpool would actually win (and all credit to them), but (with the benefit of hindsight I admit)it would have been better for football if the FA had made it clear that 4th place in the Premiership did not mean automatic access into the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

Although I do agree that the Champions League winners should automatically qualify (and that the FA should have accepted that the winner's qualification was at the expense of the lowest league qualifer), changing the rule at this stage and letting Liverpool in now is fundementally wrong.

It is wrong because it sets a precedent for knee jerk reaction rule change - wait until the Spanish or the Italian FAs have something to complain about.

It is wrong for the competition - 5 teams from one strong footballing country will distort the competition. It will probably mean that Liverpool get through at least one round so another team must miss out. The further they go the worse it gets. There are very few teams that can actually win the competition and allowing 5 big country teams means that in the absence of a bizarre result the smaller teams will miss out at first and then the medium teams.

UEFA have had to modify the rules. Should Liverpool get to the group stages they apparently don't have protection from being grouped with other English clubs whereas teams from all other nations will.

However they are seeded!! So they could face Everton in the third qualifying round, but not United, and could be in a group with Chelsea, but not Arsenal. That must impact on the Premiership team thay are potentially grouped with and changes the character of the competition when other coutries are competing with different rules.

Allowing Liverpool to compete also potentially affects the income received by the other Premiership teams should they all qualify for the group stage - the pot won't get bigger.

It's arguably wrong for Liverpool as it means they will now probably have to cancel friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and Cologne. If successful in the first qualifying round, they will probably also have to cancel a pre-season tour of Japan.

As they start the competition so early how will it afect the team performance toward the end of next season and how will it affect the Liverpool players who are then going to the Wortld Cup if they do go far in the competition? Will Sven phone Stevie Gerrard and suggest a move to Chelsea would be in England's best interests?

It is wrong for the Premiership. Over 25% of the Premiership's teams will be competing in a different quasi-league competition. We could argue the relative merits of the two "leagues", but what does it augur for the future of domestic and European football?

Rant over

Chris

Can you imagine the civil war that will occur in Liverpool if they meet Everton in the 3rd round of qualification.

It would be a total injustice to Everton if they have to face Liverpool, lose, and then fail to get into the Champions League group stages.

I'm sure Everton would prefer to meet one of the lesser teams with a better chance of qualification, than meet a Premiership team like Liverpool.

I agree with your view on the Spanish situation, I bet Real Zaragoza must be livid with todays decision.

Liverpool may be Champions of Europe, which is a bit of a joke considering they were 37 points behind Chelsea and only finished above Bolton on goal difference, they effectively won the trophy with 3 consecutive draws. And yes the goal against Chelsea wasn't!!!! but hey that's football.

My rant is over as well.

Regards
Clive

Can't Wait

I as a football/Chelsea supporter am glad that Liverpool rightly are 'sort of' back in 'Champions' League, despite their having to play up to 3 rounds commencing in about a month.

I agree with point made about 25% of 'Premiership' teams now being in 'Ch.Lg.'. IMO only Champions of each European League/previous year's winners should be in it - the old 'Eropean Cup', in fact. I therefore do not believe my team should have been in it on their 3 previous apperances. Whether it is a 'League' or knock-out home-&-away - either/both or neither - with 'one off' final is debatable also.

It would be very unfair for e.g. Everton (all season thinking that they were as league 4th-placed team entitles to go into qualification-rounds with 3rd placed team etc) to be denied, especially coincidentally by Merseyside 'Ch.Lg.' winners.

I enjoyed the final, (Liverpool getting stuffed but coming back...) but do feel guilty as Chelsea supporter for the money they've been given, as I feel that there is really more to football etc than wasting cash. Money money money - ah well, hopefully England Ladies might get goals if they play well again this evening.

As a Liverpool fan I'm obviously delighted that we're back in the CL next season. As for the issue of should they/shouldn't they be in it should have been clarified by UEFA when several years ago when the issue came up in Spain.

I'm not sure if you saw but the FA had an article on thier own website in May this year (it was originally published 10 March 2004) that said this:

quote:

The road to Europe

By Jerry Newman. Wednesday, 10 March 2004.

With the season about to reach its conclusion, we clear-up for you how the European places are awarded.
The Champions League

Number of places available: 4

Eligibility

The UEFA Champions League is open to each national association's domestic champions, as well as clubs who finish just behind them in the domestic championship table.

The number of clubs that can be entered by an association and their entry point in the competition depends on the association's position in UEFA's coefficient ranking list.

Who’s in?

The top two Premiership sides will qualify for the competition automatically, while the third and fourth placed teams will enter initially into the qualification rounds, as Chelsea and Newcastle United did this season.

What if?

Should Arsenal or Chelsea win the Champions League, they will automatically qualify for next season's competition but England will not gain an extra Champions League place, even if they finish outside of the top four in the Premiership.

In that scenario the fourth-placed team in the Premiership will play in next season's UEFA Cup.

When this was brought to thier attention they claimed it was not actually policy, but just an article they published on thier own site??

Quite frankly this whole sage made the FA look like a bunch of amatuers (as usual). The only thing they did correctly was make sure they had a decision before the outcome happened.

Being cynical I'm wondering what would have happened if it had been Bolton in 4th place and Man Utd in 5th and still in the CL, the whole thing was intendified because of it being Liverpool and Everton and the circumstances 20 years ago.

So Liverpool don't want Gerrard - I'm not surprised.

Nobody wants to be a one man team!

Actually they are not that good and "lucky" and "crap" in equal measure could figure in virtually every sentence used to described their progress in the Champions League last year.

Actually I didn't watch the final so it didn't really happen !!!!

Chris