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Posted: |
Feb 19, 2013 - 10:08 AM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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In looking at the Championship table, I see recent top flight teams Birmingham in 17th place. This is the team that won the Carling Cup against Arsenal but still managed to be relegated that same year. There's also Bolton, who continue to sink after being positively dreadful in the Premier League last year. I think there's more excitement in seeing if your side stays out of relegation than if they have a chance to win the league. There isn't much parity in the Premier League, is there. Over the past twenty years the winners have been Manchester City last year, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and that odd season when Blackburn shocked the fooking world by winning promotion a couple years before and then the whole damn league. The "Alan Shearer is God" season, was it not? Managed by the fearless Kenny Dalglish. I'm learning and I may torture myself by admitting that I really like Blackburn. I "connect" with them. "We reach."
The fearless and unintelligible Kenny Dalgleish!
All correct, and it's a sobering thought that the last English manager to win the league was (a) before the Premier League started, and (b) Leeds United's, in 1992.
TG
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Yes, the mighty Barcelona will need to score 3 goals without reply to advance, or win the game 2-0 and maybe go-through via a penalty shoot-out. If the Italians score an away goal, things become even tougher.
Bayern Munich are looking the hot favourites now and are repeating what Man Utd are doing in the EPL, namely making up for a major disappointment last year by making sure they win it this year.
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Had to go to our historic Tottenham game the other night. Not for the football, but the momentous occasion of the 20th anniversary of Bobby Moore's death at 51.
Quite an emotional night, with his three grandchildren together coming out onto the pitch with the matchball wearing his strip with number 6 - two of whom never met him and one that was only 1 year old when he died.
As for the football, even with no striker (only Adebayor, which doesnt count) they battered us and without performance of the season from Juskaleinen, it wouldve/couldve/shouldve been 8.
At 2-2 all I could see coming was a spurs winner. So I left with ten minutes to go - we persistently left the same player (Caulker) totally unmarked at three corners in a row and kept handing gareth bale free kicks - he wasnt going to miss all night.
Got to car, turned on the radio and Bale had just got the winner. Not really a shock considering we kept closing his right foot down when he's left footed. He just knocks it past on his left and bang. You may recall earlier in the season we even let Glen Johnson come back on his right foot to score.
If this is Sam Allardyce organisation, there are 11 people who arent listening to him.
On current form, we are probably among the worst four teams in the league.
Emotional night though, sod the score and the football.
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Its a bit like wimbledon tennis Jim. Some lower teams have a lot of luck and huge semi-final matches to get to the final, then have nothing left in the tank/no more tricks up their sleeve. There is an obsession in this country that the "glamour of the FA Cup" and "little minnows doing well and knocking out the big guns" - but truth is, if a minnow gets to the final nobody except fans of that team is much interested and the final becomes a bit of a non-event.
Usually minnows who see off a Premier League giant do the decent thing and play crap in the next round!
People with better memories than mine may correct me but you have to go back a lot of years to find a winner that was a proper minnow - '73 (ask TG!!); West ham beating Arsenal in 80 from a division down, and Wimbledon beating Liverpool. In fairly recent memory I recall Millwall getting there being a division down and being a bit shown up on the day.
We had it only this week with Swansea and Bradford getting to the final of the league cup.
Because it was Bradford I never watched it. They lost by 4 or 5, I cant remember.
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Tg, early home kick off at the weekend for you... could be tough one, theyre playing well away.
Hammers have dirty stoke thugs, without that animal Robert Huth.
They will still bully us, kick us, play american football at set pieces, elbow us in the face and still mug us off for the winning goal, while the ref waves play on.
Hammers in freefall, giving hope and inspiring performances from Villa and Wigan and Southampton. 5 weeks from now with no further points odds of 10-1 west ham relegated could look like a bet people wished theyd taken.
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Posted: |
Feb 28, 2013 - 1:07 PM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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Tg, early home kick off at the weekend for you... could be tough one, theyre playing well away.
Hammers have dirty stoke thugs, without that animal Robert Huth.
They will still bully us, kick us, play american football at set pieces, elbow us in the face and still mug us off for the winning goal, while the ref waves play on.
Hammers in freefall, giving hope and inspiring performances from Villa and Wigan and Southampton. 5 weeks from now with no further points odds of 10-1 west ham relegated could look like a bet people wished theyd taken.
That's the spirit! Never say die.
As for Mi'wa' - four Ls in the name and they don't pronounce any of them - you'll have seen that moron abusing Diouf racially - as if there wasn't enough to have a go at without the colour of his skin - but it's not the occasional braindead Millwaller that's the problem It's the lack of proper stewarding at The Den that allows the group action. The club needs to be hit where it hurts - their pockets. We've had our share of trouble amongst Leeds fans, and it'll continue, because fans are people and a small proportion of any group of people are nutters (see elsewhere on these pages  ) but at least our club doesn't turn a blind eye to it.
And please don't mention 1973 - I still get flashbacks.
TG
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Oooh United v Ronaldo part two on normal telly tonight! Great.
Amazingly since my last post the Hammers mugged Stoke for a change.
Bought us some time with 3 points.
However that whingeing twat Pulis still claimed they were hard done by after a ball hit a defender's arm from one yard away. Yet he failed to mention about the previous 192 games where they fouled people to get a winner. If Stoke (and their thuggery) is finally putting them in decline, no one will be happier than me!
Suarez looking exceptional Thomas and Kev. Some of his football is sublime.
Even though we're looking at a 3 way vote split with Van persie, methinks Bale has already won Player of the year because of the hype.
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To re-quote Ferguson from earlier in the season "the player could have been killed" 
He was up to his old tricks earlier in the day, trying to put pressure on the referee.
I wonder if it back-fired on him with a F U from the ref?
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Sat down to enjoy last night's ManU v Ronaldo game, went a bit sour when the Mancs scored, I got a bit bored and went and made a cup of tea.
and found a biscuit or two.
Got back to discover 1-1 and a very satisfying and enjoyable last third of the game.
It was only at the end I realised Nani had been sent off and they were playing with ten - you just dont like to see luck like that, do you??
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Clearly the ref, fifa, Roy Keane and me thought it was a sending off.
Yeah, thomas, the press and fergie lackeys going pro-man utd like normal.
Any foot up at shoulder height gets you into dodgy territory. Its one thing to keep your eye on a dropping ball, but when you run half the length of your half without looking around you gotta expect that someone else might be there too. Wholly intentional? No. Dangerously high and with a severe possibility of injuring someone? I think so.
Concentrating on the ball or not, if you put your foot up that high and get it wrong, you have to take the consequences.
I contemplated an english triple bet tonight - Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle.
I say contemplated because I have doubts. Newcastle might be spawny - with a 0-1 - but equally could be taken apart by Anzhi.
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I contemplated an english triple bet tonight - Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle.
I say contemplated because I have doubts. Newcastle might be spawny - with a 0-1 - but equally could be taken apart by Anzhi.
The battle of Anzhi-0 was a nil-nil.
and chelsea lost.
So glad I did not put that bet on.
Tottenham thrashed a very ordinary Inter 3-0 last night.
Would have been 5 more if that greedy little shit Defoe had learned one vital thing in all his years as a footballer.
to pass the ball.
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