4117 réponses à ce sujet

[Kimosabe]

Druss99 wrote...
Resting your best players with a bigger game coming up seems to come back to bite managers in the ass an awful lot. That is tight at the top in The Netherlands, I haven't seen a title race that tight in a long time.

It always does, good players have to play otherwise they will get frustrated. It sounds childish but in a lot of cases it works this way. The Eredivisie is a good example of that; AZ always plays with the same people, the entire season long, and they are 1st. Teams like PSV and Twente rotate their players and they are a lot less constant in their matches and lose games because of it
It is promising to be a real good end of the season. And I just noticed: Those scores are updated with the results of this weekend, so if you want to follow the race for the championship here just look at that picture.

Btw, I corrected your post. It's The Netherlands, not Holland..

Modifié par Kimosabe0, 25 mars 2012 - 07:57 .

[OBakaSama]

We over here have a tendency to call it The Netherlands 'Holland' for some reason; not sure about others though. I find myself self-correcting on such things at times, though I've been picky about my name growing up as so many people get it wrong.

The issue with resting your best players is you need a decent enough squad to cover for their absences. While it makes sense for consistency I would wonder how fit the players are to play every game of the season. I noticed that Norwich looked rather tired in their match against Newcastle; though not an excuse to absolve them of a loss it was noticeable in their performance. And of course playing your best players or the same players together consistently will also, or should, do wonders for team work.

At first I didn't see why the goal was disallowed, but after the replay Suarez did make the ball cross the line via the use of a hand (or two). I am now at the point where I have to wonder if Dalglish is truly delusional or he is still defending his players at all costs. He would have been better off learning from Wenger and stating he didn't see it. Cracking win for Wigan which suddenly has added more impetus to the relegation battle, more than there was before that game. Also amusing to hear that Wigan had never won at Anfield before and to do so in such a match....

Holt scored a nice goal with that lob over the keeper to head the ball in for the goal. Reminds me of the earlier Pro Evo games on the PS2 (on the name thing calling a PlayStation 'PS1' or just 'PS' just doesn't look right to me....). Then he goes and gets sent off for two bookable offences. At least he's on the pitch more than Cisse is for QPR; goodness knows why he can't turn it down a notch. Almost makes his contribution to the team somewhat redundant.

Has Barton ever made himself endearable on Twitter? Seems to me he's staying true to form. If we ignore it enough maybe it'll go away. Or the next contract he has to sign has a no Twitter clause in it.... I can see some clubs doing that for some reason.

You have a big game against Fulham tonight. A win will put some distance between Man Utd and Man City. Was rather amused that Man City couldn't beat Stoke. Crouch's goal aside, Yaya Toure's wasn't bad either despite the deflection.

The Iron Gerbil's current claim is that they can beat Arsenal to third place I think. Two places lower than what he reckoned a short while ago.

Oh, and Hoddle for England?

[Druss99]

My city has three different names depending on who you ask. From now on The Netherlands will be known as Frank to me. Saves confusion. I spent an entire year of school letting our CDT teacher call me Kevin, he kept sending reports to our form teacher about Kevin being a bit of a bollocks, it went on for about 6 months until she went to ask him and discovered that I was the elusive Kevin. He still didn't catch on that my name wasn't Kevin...

Even teams with good strength in depth seem to fall foul of the resting problem. How many times has it happened to United over the years? I think the players coming in see it as an easy game because the top players are being rested for it and then they end up taking the opposition lightly. It's a very delicate balance.

I saw the handball right away and was confused as to why someone claimed it was harsh on Soccer Saturday and that it must have been a foul by Skrtel. It looked an obvious handball to me. Dalglish is something of a PR disaster, will be interesting to see if they give him much to spend in the summer. The relegation battle is becoming fascinating. I thought I heard something about it being Liverpools worst run since the 1950's, Kenny is breaking all new ground.

I go for PS1. Hhmmm not sure I get the PES reference, I'm getting a vague memory of being able to flick it over defenders heads but it rarely ever happening. Norwich have scored the most headed goals this season I think, its a novel way to add to the total. For a man who has had two broken legs Cisse is a bit a reckless towards other players. That challenge could have ended rather badly.

I think some clubs have completely banned Twitter, I think the PL should ban it to stop this nonsense with players getting in bother over it. Barton hasn't realised that he has followers because they want to hear his words of wisdom, its because they want to see him making a fool of himself....again.

Yaya Toure must be up for player of the season, there was some power behind that strike before the deflection. Fulham are a decent team so if we are lacklustre again we may well get our pants pulled down.

Hoddle for England? Where's that come from?

[OBakaSama]

*Heh* Tis funny when such a thing happens. Saw something similar happen the other week. Those of us who knew were somewhat bemused/amused by it all.

That's one possible scenario. In that case it's the players coming in with the wrong approach, or even attitude, against the opposition. I also guess it depends on how many changes are made for such a game. Wholesale changes would probably suggest that sort of mentality, though just a couple might be different. Depends on the team I guess and how large the squad is and other such factors.

I think I blinked at the time. It would be interesting to see how much in the way of funds Dalglish will get; assuming he is at the helm. It's just his recent investments have been somewhat questionable.

Certain goals were easier to score in earlier games in the series from what I remember. I do recall scoring a few like that, but I have to admit since the game left the PS2 it seems to have lost its way and I haven't returned to it since.

True about Cisse as well. I do wonder if he goes in like that because of what he has been through. I've heard a two footed tackle as being described as a coward's challenge, and given what he has been through could it have affected his play? That is, is it a way that protects him in some perverse way?

Wise of them to ban Twitter use really. Wasn't Ferdinand banned from using it earlier?

Yaya Toure is a good player, and that was a thunderous shot on goal; which seemed like the keeper could have kept out if it wasn't for the deflection. They seemed a different team in his absence. I know a lot of people purr over Silva, but for me it's Yaya Toure who provides the impetus for that Man City team.

Read it on the SkySports website. Apparently Hoddle stated he'd be willing to take on the role in a caretaker capacity. Why not just stick with Pearce in that case? Hoddle would be an interesting choice though to say the least.

[Druss99]

I suppose when teams rotate and win you don't take much notice of it so maybe we are just picking up on when it goes wrong and thinking its a terrible plan. It's rare for United to rest Rooney if he is on form unless its a Carling Cup match these days I've noticed. Probably speaks more about a lack of creative cover though.

Dalglish could be blaming the whole thing on Comolli behind closed doors and we will see him get the boot. Suppose it all depends on how the Americans understand it all and who's advice they take.

I remember the majority of my goals having a right footed striker playing on the left of the front two cutting inside and shooting into the far corner. I also had a habit of shooting straight from corners. I miss the magic of PES but I can't see it ever being recaptured.

I'm not sure how it would protect him but I see your point, he is a strange dude to begin with so its hard to say what he is thinking. I always found diving in like that hurt me more than anyone else, I twinged my back a couple of times doing that, going in with one foot always gave me more control.

I think Ferdinand might have been banned but I thought I heard of him back on it recently. There was a manager who charged his players £1000 a letter if they wanted to post on twitter but I can't remember who it was now.

Silva is a great player but without Toure the rest of the midfield is a bit static lacking pace, power and movement. Toure is hard to deal with bursting forwards with all his speed and strength. He offers so much going forwards and defensively.

So basically he just wants a big pay day. I don't see the point in replacing Pearce with another caretaker either. I don't envy the FA at all.

Apparently United have never lost a monday night game in the PL. This statement may haunt me later...

[OBakaSama]

I think quite a few fans were screaming out for a creative midfielder to be brought into the club during the transfer windows. Nothing came of it though. And then Scholes comes out of retirement as well...sort of hard to think why that had to be the case without some bad connotations from that. Cue comments from Vieira and Ferguson's counter comments.

Well....I recall you mentioning Comolli's signings at Tottenham, and if he is still in charge of all that while at Liverpool....looks true to form.

Goodness knows how much time I spent on that series back in the day. Get the perfect team in Master League and then....see if I could average a goal every 10 minutes on the highest difficulty level. Fun times.

To dive in like that takes training, like how wrestlers learn to take bumps. Maybe it's training for a post-football career in professional wrestling....

I remember that Twitter is supposed to have a limit to its tweets. So each tweet carries a maximum amount in terms of a fine. Hm....wonder what sort of contracts (pay) these players using Twitter are on.... I can imagine Balotelli ignoring it and just continuing Twittering away....

Indeed. He's also one of the few who has that winning mentality. Remember his comments that they had to have a squad who believed in winning or something similar when he shortly arrived; it was a fairly critical comment to make of his teammates at the time.

That's probably about right. Though Hoddle is the only manager I can think of who was relieved of the position for non-footballing reasons. Also...wonder who the FA are really considering for the position.

They're still 1-0 up at the time of writing. It's looking good.

[Druss99]

The lack of a creative midfielder was apparent again tonight. It seems we are trying to play Rooney in that roll but too often lately he hasn't looked good enough. We really scraped through that one tonight, I was sweating for the last 10 minutes because we got very very sloppy, constantly giving the ball away. For the most part Fulham were pinned back but Valencia looked our only big threat, its difficult though when a team defends well like Fulham did. 3 points are 3 points and Evans played well once again. Also I like Matt Le Tissier commentating, its refreshing.

I'm not sure if Comolli can also take credit for signing Bale and Modric mind you...

Same here, although I seem to recall my goal was scoring astronomical goal totals with individual players on the highest difficulty. Slowly building your team from the donkeys you start out with and a few cheap Japanese and South Korean players was the stuff dreams were made of and a bloody nightmare for the first few matches.

Oddly now that I think about it I've never witnessed tackling training, possibly because I come from the Paul Scholes school of tackling.

I think the team fining per letter was in the lower leagues or one of the promoted teams this season. I can see Balotelli putting the cash in the disk drive thinking thats how he pays his fine.

I think he is one of their only players thats won the league before.

I'd love it if the FA went foreign again, it would be comedy gold in the media.

[OBakaSama]

Sounds like Rooney is in one of those runs of forms at the moment then. Heard there was a rather contentious decision not to give a penalty to Fulham. Still, as you say, three points is three points. Should set up an interesting derby at this rate, especially with every other team claiming they need to win all their games or something similar.

Couldn't we just suggest that he got lucky rather than any skill on his part? I'd accept luck.

Oh, indeed. Always fun though even on the hardest difficulties. I think I managed to get the AI down a certain amount and didn't really struggle that much during the first couple of seasons or so. If memory serves I think that midfielder you start with (Cellini?) is usually the last player I replace as his stats aren't too bad.

The Paul Scholes school of tackling. You reckon he was there when he retired?

That would be a novel way to use cash. Actually, maybe you should patent the idea. On the other hand maybe one of those CD cards crossed with a credit card....

Hm...that's probably true. Can't think of any of the others having much in the way of league silverware.

"FA betrays a nation!" Or what other sort of headline might come from that?

[Druss99]

Rooney is consistantly scoring but playing mostly below average, he keeps giving the ball away, not spotting others being clean through and stalling our attacks. I think he needs to be pushed up front and someone else takes over that creative role for next season, Rooney is too inconsistant. Be interesting to see who we replace Berbatov with because Sir Alex prefers to have a rotation of 4 strikers. Aye it was contentious, when first viewing it I wasn't sure what happened but suspected it was a foul in the box, replays confirmed that Carrick didn't play the ball, it was awkward but it should have been a penalty.

I think in reality it probably was luck. Buy enough raffle tickets and your number will come up sooner or later.

Didn't they admit a few years ago that the AI fixed alot of games? Cellini was the defensive midfielder wasn't he? I think I kept one of the centrebacks until last as he always did a decent job when I had to use him in emergencies and kept scoring from corners(when I wasn't attempting to bend them straight in).

If he was then we haven't seen the results of it yet, well unless Cisse was a student. I'd an either or problem with tackling, it was either dangerous to my team or the other team.

Maybe Kolo Toure and Cliche with Arsenal? I'm doubtful. Possibly De Jong with Ajax. Does Hargreaves count? Dzeko? I'm clutching at straws to prove my own point wrong lol.

"Is this what our veterans fought for?" They could go ultra drastic with it.

Torres has been playing well lately I've noticed but is getting absolutely no service. Looks almost back to his best.

[OBakaSama]

Been so long that I've seen Berbatov play I've forgotten what he can with a ball. Same goes to Owen as well. I can't remember how much space Berbatov needs but I think he may have been able to play that sort of creative role, but then....he's probably leaving at the end of the season isn't he? As for the penalty, you take the decisions where and when you can. I know my team got lucky on a few occasions.

At least someone got lucky. So....when will he get lucky at Liverpool? Hm.....

I believe so. Certainly read about it but I have to admit I can't remember it. Maybe my skills back in the day obliterated the AI that I didn't notice. The apparent fact that some goals were scripted suggested it was closer to professional wrestling than football. Hm...maybe that's what's missing from some of the wrestling games.....

The way Cisse has been tackling that may explain things. For some reason, the tackling comment reminds of me of Big Mick saying something like sending out his players to break legs in jest after one match.

Kolo Toure has a few league titles, 'only' one Premier League title; didn't realise that he's been around that long....and even Clichy has a Premier League title as well. Been a bit barren for both of them after that season though. De Jong has got some silverware. Hargreaves had more success while at Bayern than Man Utd, and it isn't shabby really. Dzeko has a league title to his name.

"FA betrays veterans! AGAIN!" We need short, punchy headlines.

Read that Torres played really well. Also read this article about his poor form of late which is an interesting read. If it's true then I'd wonder whether he will get over it in due time; or is that really it for him. Those goals he scored the other day must surely help his mental state.

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

UEFA championship matches ...

Tonight: AC Milan vs Barcelona. Don't miss it: 22:15 (?)
Also Olympique Marseille vs Bayern München.

[Druss99]

I fancy Bayern to win the CL as outsiders. Two away goals tonight against Marseille sets them up nicely for the second leg.

Looks like Berbatov is indeed going. Indeed, we've seen these kind of decisions deciding the league title before.

Hhmmm who signed the Spanish fullback who's name is escaping me? He's done fairly well for the most part, I think he may have already been there though.

Thats not a bad idea actually for a wrestling game. I haven't played even a half decent one since Wrestlemania 2000 on the N64. I do recall an awful lot of late goals to win games but I suspect most sports games are scripted to a degree, FIFA definately is and the NHL games are to a degree.

How you are missed Big Mick...

Ok, I think we just proved that I was wrong lol. Also we forgot Tevez and Ballotelli. Maybe Pizarro too.

Nailed it! Now we just need them to hire a foreigner and the comedy will ensue.

Interesting article. Torres has played very well in his last two starts that I've watched, he has worked hard and looks up for the fight, he's just had next to no service with Chelsea's formation. I believe with service he will start finding the net again.

[OBakaSama]

Have to admit I haven't been that gripped by the Champions League this season. I strongly suspect that other commitments making me miss all terrestial broadcasts don't help. What I noticed from a report I read concerning the AC Milan-Barcelona match ending in 0-0 is that Barcelona will go through. No ifs or buts; they will go through. What if....AC manage to beat Barcelona? I know that Barcelona is accepted as the greatest team ever to have existed in this plane of existence or any other in any period of history from the beginning to the end of time, but....let's just let that match play out first, eh? Should be an interesting second half as it were.

Who is it from Man City suggesting that Man Utd get treated favourably with referee decisions? Anyway, it probably is true to an extent that Man Utd do get the lucky decisions, possibly more than their fair share; though that wasn't what was interesting about the comment. It was more that big teams get those decisions. And since the comment comes from Man City personnel what does that imply? Are they suggesting they don't get those decisions with the further implication they are *gasp* not a big team? Is that what they meant? (Yep, I'm ignoring the whole taken out of context thing as it's funnier this way.)

Er....Arbeloa?

Didn't play many wrestling games prior to the PS2's Smackdown series. I liked the first one with the Royal Rumble as that allowed eight characters on screen, though body models were shoddy. Would have liked to see Yukes take advantage of the extra graphical power the current gen offers to get more bodies on screen myself. And the placement of controls were better back then as well. In terms of control, prefer Pro Evo's to FIFA's. Having played so much Pro Evo back on the PS2 any other control layout just doesn't feel right. Triggers never felt right for me for Pro Evo in this gen.

Yeah....*cue sentimental music*

I think Yaya Toure is the only recent winner of a league title, most of the others won theirs a while ago. Tevez being a recent one I suppose but...Tevez and pep talk? Be lucky if he just talks I think.

Hmm...better get the popcorn ready I guess when the end of the season approaches.

Torres probably needs to be made that main player like he was at Liverpool before his poor run of form, the focal point of the side's attack. That way the others would have to search him out to carve out goal scoring chances for the team. But then there's the issue with Drogba as well which I'm sure doesn't help Torres' mindset much.

I now picture the journalist puffing away on a pipe for some reason.... While Torres has played well, he isn't really putting the goals in yet. Until he starts scoring regularly for Chelsea like he did for Liverpool in what seems to be his hey-day, I, for one, would consider him to be still struggling. Either that or he has sneakily become the new Emile Heskey: he doesn't really score goals even though he's a striker but works hard for the team.

I read about that incident. Can anyone imagine a documentary with Balotelli being the focus? Might be worth watching. And with the things he gets up to the producers wouldn't even need a script. Just let Balotelli be Balotelli.

Only heard from a Man Utd supporting friend that it was a contentious decision, didn't see it meself so I won't comment much on it. I might look a fool if I did. Wait a minute....

Oo...that's really good. At first I was looking at the bottom of the pic and thinking 'what am I looking at?' Did they make Pac-Man eat those up?

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

What a boring match. I slept at 70th minutes in front of TV.

[OBakaSama]

Was it a good nap though, Jedi?

[Druss99]

For some reason my CL interest dwindled after the groups...

That would be Viera, Obaka. Good point though lol, City with their small club mentality. Did you see mediawatch giving their take on it the other day? He basically gave the comment then they punished the journalist for printing it by banning him from press conferences. It's a bit on the strange side. Apparently they got a penalty via a dive today and still didn't win...Those 2 dropped points could be massive as could the one point they got via an alledged dive. Chaos theory or something. I also heard that Balotelli and Kolarov had to be pulled apart over a freekick today, not sure if there's anything in it or if its the usual hot air surrounding Balotelli.

No, the Spanish leftback who is still there that they got from Newcastle, Jose Enrique? El Guapo? I could look this up but it involves looking up something Liverpool related and thats against my religion/I'm lazy.

Aye, when I switched to 360 Pes became a bit awkward. FIFA basically copied the control scheme did they not? I can't remember the actual differences. Speaking of WWE, Paddy Power are taking bets on Wrestlemania, bit odd betting on something thats scripted. Surely WWE employees can make a fortune betting on it.

Torres scored one and set up two today I believe. Corner turned?

Tevez pep talk would be amazing. Did Blanka have a quote after fights? I can't remember.

Anyone heard about the Preston controversy? Four of their players revealed todays team and tactics to the opposition in some sort of protest against the manager. Surely they have to be fired and banned by FIFA.

As I've been saying about Dalglish' press conference and interview behaviour for months, this highlights it nicely...

http://www.football3...7169/Mediawatch

[OBakaSama]

I wonder why.....

Yeah, it was Vieira (still funny though). Those two dropped points could prove very costly for them. Man Utd have more to take advantage of now as a result, and I suppose Sunderland would have to be credited for that comeback as well. Probably miss the highlights tonight as I already feel completely shattered at the time of writing. (Probably just as well since Norwich lost today....)

Ah...I think it's Enrique. I get the impression he plays on the wings as well...maybe I'm getting him confused with someone else; Gutierrez probably. No, no idea why....

Can't really bet on Wrestlemania as a sport (it isn't), so I suppose it's like betting on the outcome of the Christmas episode of EastEnders or something. I would assume they're not allowed to in the same way race horse owners aren't allowed to bet on races (at least that's how I understand it).

I've always felt that the triggers for the XBox consoles just aren't the same as shoulder buttons on the PlayStation controllers. I prefer the PlayStation controllers for games which don't need analogue control for those 'buttons', like Pro Evo. I remember the controls from the FIFA demo I played had less intricate controls; like most things were stuck onto the same button. It didn't feel right for some reason and I found it difficult to get into for some reason. So when I need a footy game fix I still go back to my PS2 Pro Evos for that.

Before declaring that let's see if he can follow up that performance with some more goals. Be funny if di Matteo is the man who manages to get Torres firing again. What will Abramovich do then?

Blanka just made noises in his early days (going back to the Street Fighter Alpha series as that predates Street Fighter II story-wise), and...well...sounds about right with respect to Tevez's English....?

Caught a bit on it. Sounds really dodgy to me. Makes a certain section of the Chelsea squad seem professional by comparison.

Well...since I'm just sitting here reading/listening to Dalglish's comments to questions I can chuckle at the whole thing. Unfortunately I have the misfortune of knowing someone like that where I work, and it just isn't funny in that situation.... I'll still chuckle at Dalglish though.

[Druss99]

It's a mystery...

I missed the highlights of that game myself, just caught the end of the Chelsea game, Torres first touch for the goal wasn't great I thought but it was a very confident finish. Di Matteo could be cementing the job for himself and he can look forward to being sacked in the future.

Gutteriez was at one point Argentina's rightback and Newcastles left winger, versatility.

If its not a sport though then I'd imagine theres nothing stopping them from betting on it. It's all very strange to me. The odds are all fairly crap anyway, although Kane is a decent price they won't let him get over Randy Orton at Wrestlemania I wouldn't think. I never thought I'd ever be discussing the odds of WWE.

It took me a while to get used to it but I now much prefer the Xbox controller, it feels more natural in my hands. Although the bumpers can be a bit iffy. Can't beat the old Megadrive 6 button controller for sheer comfort and ease of use.

True. I thought he might have had an after fight quote like Guile's "Go home and be a family man" but wasn't sure.

Indeed, there needs to be a huge punishment, it's not quite match fixing but its very wrong.

He's a very angry man is our Kenneth. I worked with a guy like that once too, he was my boss and I had to be restrained from hitting him once. He was highly weird though he wore the exact same thing every day and even kept a change of clothes in his office which was the exact same combo of green trousers, brown jumper, white shirt and green tie. Strange dude.

[OBakaSama]

*Twilight Zone music cues*

Get a managerial contract, maybe try and do the best job you can, wait to be sacked and get a pay-off. That's what the Chelsea job is amounting to I think. If you're willing to risk your reputation for financial gain then it might not be a bad choice. I wonder how other clubs see that sort of action from a club like Chelsea who seem to fire managers at will. Does it affect their decision to appoint a former manager of theirs like AVB? Or are they suckered in to think that the sacked person is rubbish?

Didn't realise that. He seems to have been at Newcastle for quite a while now, even staying for the Championship stint I think.

Hm....point taken. Highly doubt Kane will be allowed to win over Orton though, even though his character now is a monster allegedly. Orton has put over a few others this year (so to speak) and is probably due a Wrestlemania win; he isn't in the title picture after all which makes a change.

I read that the old Saturn pad is the best for beat 'em ups. Always wondered what that would have felt like. Considering that was my favourite genre I somehow missed getting a Saturn back in the day. For certain games I quite like the PlayStation pad, though I do like the 360 one now as it feels comfortable. I just don't like it when the triggers begin to squeak though.... Remember the original chunky XBox pad? That really filled the hands.

Blanka eventually acquired an ability to speak; he did in Street Fighter II after all. So...Blanka's ability to learn English seems to be greater than Tevez's it would seem....

Agreed. Disagree with the manager all you want, but to essentially assist the opposition like that...that is as low as you can get.

Very strange personnage. While the clothes look fresh....no, not good; still end up thinking whether the man actually changes clothing. Suffice it to say that having to work with people like that is no fun. Will still chuckle at Dalglish though. Anticipating something after that defeat to Newcastle as well now. So...how much will a Carling Cup and possibly an FA Cup justify their very poor performance in the league this season, you think? Come to think of it, when Benitez was still at Liverpool there was quite a 'In Rafa we trust' group at Anfield, though I have yet to hear anything similar for Dalglish.....

[Druss99]

I suppose its like the England job, good for a manager at the end of his career who doesn't mind being dragged through the mud for a massive pay off. I read the figure for the amount Chelsea have spent on managers in the Abramovic era I can't recall what it was but I'm pretty sure it was well over £50m. AVB cost a fair chunk just to hire, nevermind firing him.

I find Orton ridiculously boring. I used to like Kane in his earlier days but he seems to just fill the gaps these days when they need someone to have a short feud with one of the bigger stars until they find something better for them. Like Cena and now Orton. I hear Jericho is leaving again so Punk may be Kane's next short feud.

Yeah the Saturn one is pretty good too, I just felt the Megadrive 6-button one felt better in my hand. There's not much in it to be fair, I'm probably just biased because I played the Megadrive for alot longer, although I still have both.

Seems Tevez is no longer Mancini's number 1 villain and he is looking to Tevez to save City from the terror of Balotelli. I'm not entirely sure whats going on there but they seem to be becoming unstuck. It looks like theres a bit of an implosion going on there.

It will be very interesting to see where this goes. Surely FIFA have to step in here, you just can't let players sabotage their own team it calls the entire sport into question.

The best bit is I heard alot of dodgy decisions went against Liverpool today which should make Kenny all the funnier. Maybe the ref's aren't respecting them again.

The relegation battle is really heating up, it looks like Wolves are almost gone. Wigan are putting up a fight now as are Bolton, I feel its going to go to the last day.

[OBakaSama]

Wonder how all this severance pay figures into their accounts when it comes to Financial Fair Play? It can't be doing them much good if it comes from the club's finances. Actually...never mind, we don't care.

I feel that Orton was probably best during that whole Legend Killer run post-Evolution. Creative always seems a bit...flaky with concluding a story. What happened concerning Ryder and Cena? Where's the follow up? Saw the highlights of Kofi-Jericho, it didn't seem that bad actually. Jericho is supposed to have a couple of dates with Fozzy in the UK, and he's supposedly hanging around longer. We'll have to see. Have no idea who Kane would go up against next; Punk would make some sense though I'm sure there should be some unfinished business with Ryder.

Never got round to using the 6-button Megadrive pad, by that time I had gotten into the SNES (all because Nintendo essentially snatched Street Fighter II away from Sega at the time, or so I recall).

Funny how that has come about really. Dzeko, who had a good start to the season, has become inconsistent. Balotelli is....Balotelli. Aguero is out with a stupid injury; seen two accounts of that: (1) allergic reaction to a foot spray, and (2) injuried himself while using his son's motocross bike (or something similar). I liked the second explanation better. Perhaps the mind games have had more of an affect than they are willing to admit, though who ever does admit losing a mind game?

FIFA ultimately did nothing about Tevez's actions concerning that whole affair. I can't see them doing much in this either. This is FIFA after all....

Perhaps Dalglish is under the impression that the Respect campaign works for the teams exclusively. Anticipating tonight's highlights now. (Half expecting censorship....) I'm also under the impression that Everton fans will be somewhat chuffed with how the league table stands at this moment in time.

I don't think Wolves have much hope now. Big Mick suggested they needed to beat Bolton to stand a chance of avoiding relegation, and they went and lost. They're now adrift of the teams above them, and that just isn't good. Wigan have suddenly discovered something that might get them through, so it will be interesting how that goes.

[Druss99]

It counts as a club expense so I'd imagine it would effect them FFP-wise.

Kane won...strange. Maybe its so long since he won at Wrestlemania they threw him one as a reward for his years of service?

I got the 6-button pad with Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition on the Megadrive I believe. I also remember that game being ridiculously expensive, like £80 or something.

I'm not sure what to make of Mancini saying he doesn't trust Balotelli and then blaming him for the defeat, I don't know if he is trying to inspire him or if he has gone all Iron Gerbil and is offering up a player for blame to save his own skin. Just saw some of the goals from that game on SSN, one of Balotelli's was a ****** and Korolov's was a Druss classic. It made me miss playing with a tear in my eye and a twinkle in my foot. I dunno what happened to Dzeko, he looked to have finally settled earlier in the season. I wouldn't be surprised if Mancini is let go before next season.

Indeed, if it meant no beer at the World Cup though...hell hath no fury like FIFA not being able to sell beer at the World Cup.

My mates an Everton fan and I expect him to be smiling for the first time in years. Not sure if they showed it on MotD but they tried asking Dalglish about Liverpool's lack of form after the match and he just walked away refusing to answer. He hadn't been too surly before that. I didn't see it but apparently Carrol was hurling abuse at him when substituted and Gerrard was ordering him off the pitch when they were deciding who was to go in goal. Steven Gerrard, tactical genius incapable of adhering to tactics. Reina is now suspended for the FA Cup Semi final whenever that is.

Big Mick was right I suspect. They really have no one to blame but themselves at this point, firing Big Mick with no one lined up to replace him was a tad suicidal. I wouldn't even want to try predicting the other two to go down.

I just got offered tickets to the Blackburn - Man United match, unfortunately its tonight, in England and I'm broke. Just my luck.

[OBakaSama]

That will throw Chelsea's finances out of whack then. So...that would mean Abramovich should be careful about the hiring and firing of managers then, as that will hinder his team's ability to compete in Europe; you know, for overspending so UEFA kick them out of European competition and all that.

I could understand that if Kane was booked against a jobber, but against Orton...colour me surprised. What were those odds that were offered again? Had heard that Kane is close to retiring or winding down, so perhaps it might be a way of persuading him to stay on?

Ah...Championship Edition. I recall getting Street Fighter II for the SNES on import. Well....import being a shop in London at the time when game stores sold imports (sort of miss that). Cost £60 at the time and needed the adapter as well. I also miss the days where a region lock was simply a physical lock in the console (like the Japanese Megadrive) which could be removed. *Sigh*

Man City seem to be feeling the strain a fair bit with what's happening at the moment. Mancini could be doing an Iron Gerbil for all we know. With there being some apparent infighting that doesn't help either, though I wonder if that will be explained away like last time as being passionate about winning. Personally I think it would be foolish to let Mancini go; given the time he's had I think he's done fine so far. And if Man City fail to win anything this season he's done even better for Man Utd *cough*

That may spell a bit of trouble....

Much to smile about I reckon for Evertonians. Dalglish's interview seemed restrained from what I recall; there wasn't any real stand out moment as it seemed almost too sensible for the most part. And it wouldn't be the first time Gerrard was baffled by the manager's tactics; I'm certain he has had previous on those. Have to chuckle a fair bit at Carroll's dive. What on earth was he thinking? Heard the suggestion that he was secretly helping Newcastle with that; I remain sceptical about that.

With the exception of Wolves the other teams are really close in terms of points at the moment, so it is tough to call. I wonder if Martinez can again make the escape like last season; though I do have my doubts. There are only so many times that can be done until the inevitable happens.

Being broke is like a permanent state of existence for me; but that situation is a tad harsh considering what you got offered.

[Druss99]

I'd love to see UEFA do it just for the hell of it.

Yeah it was strange indeed. I think he was around 9/2 atleast, maybe more. He was the longest odds of anyone, everyone else was pretty short odds.

Them were the days, there used to be a video shop here that rented Japanese games with the converter cartridge for the Megadrive. Good times, I remember one bizarre Japanese game call Run Ark which my young mind thought was the bees knees.

Yeah, but will the owners see failing to win the league after all that investment as too much of a failure? I would say its mostly problems with the mentality of their players and a few of them being a tad nuts but it will be the manager that gets the blame. Although if they do completely implode it will be hilarious.

I've no idea what Carroll was thinking, I thought maybe he can't use his right foot at all or something. It was blooper reel material. Expect it on a christmas dvd. Of all the times for to do it too, one game he was actually playing well.

That relegation battle must be killing you when you can't say its someones to lose lol. I'm sticking to my prediction of final day drama.

Our strikers don't seem to be playing well at all recently yet we are still winning, its really strange watching United at the minute. I just worry about teams realising that if you stop Valencia then you stop United at the minute, although that involves them then actually stopping him. On current form I think he is the best player in the league, he scored an absolute ****** tonight and set up the second.