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[OBakaSama]

What would Abramovich do? Hm....could make that a cover version....

Wonder if anyone placed a bet on that.

Yeah. I had a Japanese Megadrive back in the day and never got round to playing some of the RPGs released for it. Had a very peculiar experience with Streets of Rage. Having removed the cartridge lock I could play UK games. Friend brought his Streets of Rage round to play and the text came out as Japanese. It led me to think that the English versions also had Japanese text on them which wouldn't help when playing an RPG....

Well...relatively Man City are doing better with the investments they have made than Liverpool's. I suppose it depends how strong their mandate to win the league is. Realistically I would have thought challenging for it this season would be very good. However it looks like they might fall a little short of that with the ways are going at the moment. Managers have it tough in a way as they're easier to dispose of than players. Players seemingly usually get away with poor performances scott free; managers not so much.

Making it all the stranger. Would almost think he had some rivalry with Pedersen...

Indeed. I was thinking survival's theirs to win! But it doesn't have the same ring to it.....

Read he played well, though it's almost expected coming from Valencia. At least the goals are coming from midfield in the strikers' absence as it were. Wasn't it mentioned that Owen is considered to be pivotal during the run-in? Or am I imagining that?....

[Druss99]

Fire the manager? It seems to be how he approaches most problems.

I was tempted to do an accumulator but it would have included Orton winning so I'm glad I didn't. I'd have gone for a Bryan win too.

How did you end up with a Japanese one? There was an awful lot of Japanese games in rental stores around here. Not sure where they all came from, though I suppose the obvious answer is Japan...I just assumed it would cost more to import them for rental than use European versions. Maybe I'm mistaken there.

Man City have also invested alot more, what did their strikeforce alone cost? Agreed, it seems you can collectively be as crap as you want and the manager will be the only one punished. Joey Barton said the other week that QPR's players are playing for their futures(or careers) when that really isn't true. If they got released after relegation they will turn up somewhere else. The worst that would happen is they get sold to a team in a lower league(which they can refuse to agree to anyway). The manager and employees of the club however might not be so lucky and could end up actually unemployed.

He probably learned it from his captain in training and Suarez...and Adam....and Downing.... Poor guy is just trying to fit in.

No, its just not catchphrase material.

Was it Sir Alex who said Owen will produce a big goal somewhere before the end of the season? Apparently he is helping the young strikers and is acting like a coach. His contract is up in the summer and I wouldn't be surprised to see him signed for another year because he seems happy enough to fill in when required without making a fuss or moaning too much. I'd personally prefer a replacement for Berbatov if/when he goes, nothing against Owen but he can't get a run in the team so he can't find form and if he isn't scoring then he isn't much use.

Barca are through, I didn't see much of the match but I got the impression there was some controversy.

[OBakaSama]

"How does one respond to a crisis?" "Fire the manager."

Probably just as well you didn't then.

Got it as a gift from an uncle in Hong Kong. Twas my first console, and got a couple of games while there on holiday. Rental? Hm...don't recall many doing rental here. Still, sounded like a nice option to have. I'm also guessing that importing back then was a lot easier. I remember a lot of adverts for companies that sold things through this thing called 'mail order' (remember that?) and prices were only about £30 I remember. By comparison it wasn't that expensive. Also think that customs and whatnot were less strict. Related to the Megadrive, I remember the first FIFA game on that. Funny, I recall that there was a choose your ref option which consisted of choosing how proficient he was (one of the options being blind); and the ability to shove the ref (yep, onscreen ref) if you intend to...er...make a wayward tackle (especially when playing two-player co-op).

In terms of employment there is a huge imbalance when it comes to football clubs that it seems a bit weird when thought about. If employees do lose their jobs, do the players then have to pitch in? I think I recall that when Alan Curbishley was at Charlton he even had to mow the pitch as the club was that poor. Be interesting to see whether players would do that stuff.

Oh, come on, Druss. We all know that Gerrard doesn't dive.

Oh well....I'll just stick to the 'it's theirs to lose!' then.

I get the impression that it was him who mentioned that. Would be interesting to see if Owen is kept for, essentially, coaching purposes; Owen was great in his day (sort of sad to think of certain players as past it) and perhaps his influence will rub off on the younger players. I'm of the mind that if Henry had been around at Arsenal a little bit longer before leaving for Barcelona then perhaps Walcott might be a slightly different player (one can hope anyway).

I heard there were two penalties; perhaps that might something to do with it. To only score one in open play.....hm....well...haven't seen the match so that doubt might be misplaced. But with two penalties it doesn't sound as if it was the all conquering game that some would have made it out to be.

[Druss99]

Mail...order? What a quaint notion. I recall ordering Shenmue 2 and I think Project Gotham Racing via mail order but thats all I can remember using it. The only ads I can remember were always Neo Geo ones which I always wanted but couldn't afford. I remember that in FIFA, I also remember picking the USA alot and seeing players like Bing Gordon. My mate had it despite the fact he hated football, I was convinced his game was haunted because every time I borrowed it strange things happened. I liked the other isometric one that came out where players had special powers like the French Cantona rip off guy could hit crazy banana shots and there was a guy who hit the ball so hard it would go on fire. I can't recall its name though.

I suppose it depends on the players. I suspect you'd be more likely to find players chipping in in the lower leagues. I somehow can't see a Tevez or Ashley Cole doing it. I can see Ballotelli mowing the grass, simply because someone left the ride on lawnmower unattended and he just jumped on.

Ah that old classic, I think we can assume Gerrard had a word with him after that game.

Owen would need to be working a bit harder with Welbeck on his finishing, his overall play has generally been good but he seems to constantly be off balance or something when trying to finish, He seems a wee bit awkward when clean through and could have had alot more goals. Done well for a young lad though.

Alot of bizarre refereeing decisions at the weekend I don't even know where to start, but linesmen are getting a rough time of it with offside decisions. Liverpool should really have had two keepers sent off last night I thought, it would have also been hilarious as a nice bonus.

The whole Balotelli thing is getting out of hand, they draw 3-3 with him scoring twice and he gets the blame, then he somehow gets the blame for them losing against Arsenal, despite Arsenal dominating. I don't think the tackle everyone is going on about is all that bad either, the ball was bouncing up and to me it looks like he went for it and got it horribly wrong, I don't think he meant to catch Song. He is a severe idiot but he's also only 20, he just hasn't grown up yet and people seem to expect way too much of him. Should they not be blaming Tevez? When did Dzeko or Aguero last produce?

[OBakaSama]

Got most of my Megadrive games through mail order back in the day. Even had to use these things called....'postal orders'. We had a local store that actually sold imported games but they were quite expensive. Still a nice option to have though. Can't remember many isometric games back then; but then with my hazy memory....

I was sort of expecting the old fashioned grass cutters..... Still...one of those driven lawnmowers...er....I think I would stay far away from that pitch.

Of course he did. Gerrard's a well honest bloke after all.

Yeah...he had his chances against Wigan, who played really well it seemed. Certainly adds some spice to the proceedings anyway. Read an article where Owen mentions that he's been struggling with his hamstrings since the age of 19? If it's true then his career could have been so much more. A shame.

Bizarre doesn't even cover it. Wigan were pretty much robbed against Chelsea. Certainly the Easter fixtures gave us a lot of shoddy decisions. Liverpool were lucky to have Jones still on the pitch, though I can see why some think a yellow card and a penalty would have sufficed. Liverpool drawing again would have been funny.

As for Balotelli....in that game against Arsenal I think he was way too reckless. His first looked pretty bad to me, but it's interesting that one of the officials did see it (hence no retrospective punishment) which means that it was deemed a good tackle that did not merit any attention let alone punishment. That apparent judgement is somewhat disturbing. It does seem that he is being made a scapegoat for Man City's current, apparent, demise. Seems too convenient and unfair to him. Not really sure whether Mancini can really handle Balotelli in a way that will work; personally uncertain whether Mancini's comments to the media will be good for Balotelli. Tevez perhaps should shoulder a fair bit of blame considering how many games he had missed through going AWOL. Had he been a professional then perhaps Man City wouldn't be in their current position.

Interesting to see the first casualty of Liverpool's poor league season with Comolli parting with mutual consent. So....is Dalglish still considered to be the man for the job when they get a new director of football in (after all Comolli was apparently deemed to be the wrong person for that role)?

Oh...chuffed to see Norwich gain four points in the games against Everton and Tottenham. Certainly exceeded my expectations there. Would still like to see us beat Liverpool in the last game of the season.

[Druss99]

It may have been called something like Fever Pitch Soccer but I can't really remember, my memory is probably making it much better than it really was. Ah postal orders, rustic. My mate still uses them to pay his sky bill and won't accept that it costs him a hell of alot more than it should by doing that.

Yip, Wigan played well but that defeat has been coming. United haven't been on form in a long time and we have somehow just been scraping by, even the big wins were less than convincing. Rooney was finally subbed for playing crap, he has been doing so for ages and its about time Sir Alex subbed him to get the message across. Owen has been picking up constant injuries like that for aslong as I can remember.

I thought Jones was more of a red card than Doni, he clearly meant to foul Yakubu in the box while he was the last man. Doni actually attempted to play the ball. How the hell we got that penalty against QPR is a mystery too.

The first one to me still looks like he went for the ball and got it horribly wrong. I've done the exact same thing in the past with a bouncing ball, maybe he did mean to do it but to me it looked like an attempt to get the ball. I don't get the FA's decision at all, they seem to have just made up a rule and a precedent that no one else is adhering to.

Dalglish said they were his signings too, so shouldn't he be gone aswell? Will they trust him with more money? Dalglish continued his lovely interview technique even when Liverpool won. Odd timing too, you'd think they would wait until the end of the season.

Norwich seem to have found form again after a slight slump. Impressive season no matter how it ends now.

[OBakaSama]

Bills are usually all Direct Debit now as far as I'm concerned. Some companies even give a discount for paying that way I think.

Man Utd need to kick on from that game against Wigan. Still five points at the top of the table...the title is theirs to lose! *Cough* Some of the players will have to pick up their form to see them through to the end of the season. With Ferguson in charge though it's difficult to see them imploding like other teams have done in the past.

It was that barge to knock....who was it going for the ball? I forget....the attacker aside to prevent them getting to the ball. If they had got to the ball it would have highly been likely (unless they skied it) that a goal would have followed. What's the word they use? 'Cynical'?

Hm...I can see that perspective, so it is possible that that was what Balotelli's intention at the time. But then....would a referee take into account any previous so to speak? In terms of fairness I suppose any incident should be reviewed on its own merit, but...well...we saw Suarez losing out on a penalty claim due to reputation according to commentary at the time. But even disregarding intention, as we can never know on the field of play (or even in real life but I digress), it was still a challenge that for whatever reason was deemed insignificant by the officials.

That's the thing. It seems, in a sense, that Comolli is being blamed for Liverpool's shortcomings this season. Though...in a sense given his position as director of football and the wider responsibilities that entails (like youth development I would assume) then it probably doesn't look too good. Just wondering if it's Comolli who held the purse strings with regards to transfers. Does Dalglish mean that he wanted those players and Comolli was the one who negotiated the transfer fee (which has never really been that impressive), or that Dalglish do the negotiations himself? Both would allow those players to be 'his signings'. A touch vague. I would presume Dalglish identified who he wanted and Comolli in his role as director of football (after all they are supposed to be an assistant of sorts to the manager, at least over here) did the contract negotiations. We shall never know.... His interview technique remains undiminished and seems to be refined all the time. What would happen if Liverpool won the FA Cup?

Pretty glad. Norwich have worked hard this season. Now safe and sound it will be a worry as we contend with second season syndrome next season. We've been pretty consistent in our play I'd like to think.

[Druss99]

Bills are the bane of my existance. Well bills and people taking up the entire footpath so they can stop for a yap causing you to have to either walk in traffic or through mud.

The problem is we have had to kick on for a few months now and don't seem to have done it. At times we look like we might, with certain players playing well at times, usually Valencia, Scholes, De Gea and Evans but as a team we have rarely played well at all since our flying start to the season. It's been a strange year and we seem to be in a bit of transition. I have to say I was wrong about Scholes, I was expecting the player who finished last season rather than the one who started it. He is just a stop gap though and we do need either someone to step up in there or to bring someone in. Rene Mulenstene has been claiming Sir Alex is interested in Eden Hazard but he has made claims before that were nothing but smoke and mirrors.

I think it was Yakubu who was barged, though I'd call it more of a deliberate pull but its apples and oranges, a deliberate foul in the box to prevent an empty net opportunity to me is more of a red card than a genuine attempt to play the ball.

Was Balotelli booked for it? For some reason I'm under the impression he was but I'm not sure. I think theres been more debatable incidents this season and that one is only a major talking point because it was Balotelli. Chelsea appealing Ivanovic's ban is kind of hilarious.

I was under the impression Dalglish identified the targets and then Comolli did all the negotiations from what was said. Comolli overpaid but Dalglish is the one who picked out the disapointing players. It's not a set up I'd particularly care for, I don't think I've seen it work in England at all. United's set up is a bit different, Sir Alex identifies with the scouts which players to go for and how much they are worth to us then David Gill goes and gets the negotiations done I believe. I think most clubs work with something similar, Comolli seems to have the role of a chairman of chief executive with more say in target selection, I think. I've just gone and bloody confused myself here lol. I thought I knew what he did until I tried putting it into words.

I believe we may be needing a favour from Norwich this weekend. Wink wink. Unfortunately I think its on Sky at the same time as the FA Cup semi final, so I won't get to become a Canary for two hours.

Enjoying the game in the Championship tonight, top of the table battle between Southampton and Reading. It's just gone 2-1 to Reading. I was about to say its all Southampton with Reading looking dangerous on the break when they broke and scored. Ricky Lambert looks like a Grant Holt-esque handful, are they leading a rebirth of the big lumbering striker?

[OBakaSama]

Some pedestrians are annoying. There's plenty of space but they just have to have the path for themselves....very strange.....people like that should be beaned....

Yeah, read about Hazard. The position is still creative midfield really. Just wonder if they'll try to get Sneijder again or is that firmly over. Scholes is doing well after his sabbatical though it has to be said. A slightly shaky start but has improved since.

Yeah, however it's sliced or diced it was deliberate.

No, that's what irks me a bit; Balotelli got off free on that challenge and was deemed fine by the officials. FA can't dish out any retrospective punishment because an official saw it as the subsequent reports indicate. He got sent off for two later bookable offences.

That is how I would assume the director of football works over here as you suggest: manager identifies target, director negotiates. I would have also thought that they would have been responsible for the scouting network as well. Anyway....Tottenham got rid of that structure when The Iron Gerbil went there.

Norwich are at home, and Man City aren't as impressive away. Truthfully I would be expecting a draw. Mind you, Lambert does have the team go out and try and win; so....a bit of luck and you'll never know.

The big lumbering striker...I'm wondering if that's the same as the traditional English centre forward now.

[OBakaSama]

Well...that didn't go well for Norwich in the final 20 minutes or so..... As much as I dislike Blanka as a person after all his shenanigans I would have to state that he was hard done by to be booked; he got trodden on, fell, and booked for his troubles. Given the way Tevez can play it certainly raises a lot of what ifs for supporters and others alike.

What is it with Merseyside derbies that it's almost guaranteed that Liverpool win? Is it that Everton just can't raise their game enough to face their derby rivals no matter how good their form is? Or that Liverpool can up their game to incomprehensible levels to beat Everton on these occasions?

[Druss99]

Beaned? You're really embracing the old school mentality with beaning people, postal orders and mail order.

I think wages, age and transfer fee have ruled Sniejder out but you never know.

Oh, I thought he was booked and thats why nothing else happened, I didn't follow it too closely. That is...odd.

Yet The Iron Gerbil keeps trying to make out its all Levi's doing when they sign someone, apparently Levi went over his head to sign Van Der Vaart. Theres alot of overlap there and the Comolli role seems unnecessary if you have a good chairman it seems. The Iron Gerbil is possibly just trying to get his excuses in for when he bankrupts Spurs too.

Thats more or less what it is. The Heskey role except they actually score goals and often control the ball.

How much does Blanka owe Bennet after that? He looked a bit suspect there with that back pass, then he stopped chasing and being beaten in the air by Blanka for his second goal. Norwich had plenty of chances but seemed to just stop defending for most of the second half. It wasn't a 6-1 game really. Strange one.

No idea, some teams have a hoodoo over other teams like that. That result sickened me.

Berbatov is back on the bench today, I hope he atleast gets some minutes, to me he is exactly what we need.

Another player has suffered a heart attack, can't recall his name off the top of my head but a Serie B player died during a match.

Edit: On the Tevez dive, at first glance the way he threw himself to the ground looked very much like a dive so I can see why he was booked. It was only with replays that I could see him getting stamped on. Its kind of his own fault for going down as dramatically as he did. Young just "won" us another penalty, he was caught but looked like he went down too easy again. Kind of sickening when its your own team diving.

Modifié par Druss99, 15 avril 2012 - 03:12 .

[OBakaSama]

Well....I have been getting rather nostalgic in other parts of my life of late.....maybe I'm just starting to feel old......*grumble*

I would also guess it depends how well Man Utd have their finances sorted out. Buying a player is just one part of the financial burden (as it always has been but less of a penalty so to speak) with the FFP coming in.

Yeah, that's probably why the reaction is greater as a result. Had Balotelli been booked the debate would have been it should have been a red rather than a yellow.

At any club there's a need for someone to watch the purse strings. Just look at what happened to Leeds when they didn't have someone doing that. Portsmouth are probably a more convoluted situation; tempted to use the words 'asset stripping' given what happened there. But....yeah, The Iron Gerbil's apparent record of leaving clubs and those clubs' financial situations afterwards doesn't bode well.

The pundits didn't think it was a 6-1 game either. Heard from those who went to the game that Norwich had a couple of shots hit the woodwork, and that they played fairly well until those last 20 minutes or so. Strange in that sense I suppose. As for Tevez's booking, I thought he dived as well until the replays. Does that make us unnecessarily harsh on referees when it comes to making decisions?

Now if only we can cast a spell on Liverpool or something.....

Looks like Berbatov got some time on the pitch. Looks like a good win for Utd as well keeping a buffer of five points between themselves and Man City. Tense times.

Yeah, Livorno player called Piermario Morosini according to the news. Always a shame when something like that happens. Apparently Italy have a screening plan in place as well. But the thing about a police car blocking the ambulance from access.....what was going on there?

[Druss99]

That must be awkward with your famously hazy memory.

I think FFP-wise we are ok because we make a ton of money, not sure if I'm misunderstanding it but you can spend what you make from what I gather, so we are ok. Its wether the Glazers hand over the cash or not and if Sir Alex thinks he is worth it.

Comolli did the opposite of watch the purse strings it seems.

Yeah, I think people blame the ref after the replays, if we can't see it when it happens I don't know how we expect the ref to get it right every time when he has alot more to watch and other players running infront of him. Sometimes its a horrendous mistake but it happens, most of them are only human. Tevez did himself by spinning around and making that big a deal out of it when the defender did catch him but barely moved.

I remember hearing about a team that hired a witch or Native American Chief or something to lift a curse from their ground that was alledgedly put on them by gypsies. I can't recall who it was.

Rooney was awful today again and blunted most of our attacks in the second half, he just kept giving the ball away. Was a much better performance though for most of the game. Raphael on form makes a big difference I think. Squeaky bum time.

Spurs took a bit of a hammering, The Iron Gerbil continues his England audition.

Didn't hear that about the police car. I think Mancini said they test more in Italy too.

[OBakaSama]

Indeed.

From what I remember owners are allowed to put in a certain amount of money each season which does not work as a loan. I think it's to somehow navigate around the problems that arose for Portsmouth. If the owner puts in that money then it's the club's, not a loan to the club. Portsmouth is still repaying their former owner due to that situation. That might provide limited financial aid to a club like Man City who have incredibly wealthy owners with a club who (probably) don't generate enough wealth of their own to be financially viable. Still irks me when Man City are referred to as the 'richest club in the world' or something similar seeing that hardly any of that wealth is actually self-generated.

Be interesting to see who takes up that position at Liverpool seeing the names mentioned like Cruyff (I think).

With goal line technology seemingly on the horizon, how long will clubs and other bodies push FIFA to trial video replays or something similar? UEFA introduced those goal line assistants as a compromise in the Europa League, didn't they? Or maybe allow the fourth official to actually take an active role as a video consultant; flagging certain incidents to the main referee and allowing them to be the final judge on the matter. It won't eliminate some of the controversy of certain incidents, those will always exist, as even after umpteen replays we aren't any clearer at times; but it should at least make certain decisions earlier. Like....if someone goes down in the box and the referee blows the whistle. Play has to stop anyway, so that time could be used to review any additional evidence to help in that decision. I guess the first step would be for when the game is stopped. I can't see decisions being made while in play as it were; that would be too disruptive. Would also like to suggest that referees be given the power to give retrospective judgements. Anyway....I'm sure it didn't help Blanka's case the way he went down.

Wow....I guess stranger things have happened....starting to wonder if an ancient Indian burial ground is involved there.....

Sometimes I wonder if the player's hair has anything to do with their form. For some reason I still think Adebayor was a better player when he had that long hair at Arsenal, and then lost it after he had that haircut. With Rooney....it's that graft or whatever he got. I wonder if that's an excuse a manager can use for why they lost the game.....

Heard (couldn't be bothered to watch) that the game was pretty full of bad decisions. And The Iron Gerbil's audition is coming along. A few more games to go until the end of the season to finish that audition.

People had to break into the police car to remove it according to this; that sounded....very, very strange. And the BBC article suggested that checks were brought in 30 years ago for the young people which has helped to reduce incidents. Even with those checks tragedies still happen.

[Druss99]

I think its £30m the owners can pump into the club plus whatever money the club itself generates. Which helps to keep the established elite at the top. I think its more to navigate around teams like City, PSG, Chelsea and the like basically buying success. I get the impression UEFA don't really consider clubs like Portsmouth but I suppose further up the food chain it will stop things like Abramovich asking Chelsea for his money back.

I think Cruyff turned them down. They would need to sort it soon with the transfer window opening not too far away.

Have they ever revealed what those 5th officials do? I think the video replays could only practically be used for things like the ball crossing the line. If they use it for anything else then they could stand there all day and still not come to a decision. How many incidents are still debateable despite seeing it from 16 different angles at ultra slow motion? Retrospective judgements should be brought in though, it would help cut out diving. The only thing is as Gary Neville just said as I typed that is what about things like the Tevez incident at the weekend, are they going to go back and let him take the penalty? He also just showed a clip of Gerrard diving then called him as honest as they come. He said if you go back and ban players for diving is going to end up in anarchy.

Wish I could remember the exact story but I think it was on SSN and mediawatch a few years ago.

Torres is returning to something resembling form now that his hair is growing back too. I'm not sure if Rooney is knackered or he has done something off the pitch again thats distracting him like that whole thing last year or if he just is interested and is off in the summer. But he looks like he has lost alot of pace and keeps just giving the ball back to the other team recently, he is what blunts most of our attacks. Hernandez is useless because the ball never gets through to him, it tends to stop at Rooney. Welbeck has to come back deep and out wide to get into the game. I think we need an attacking midfielder or someone to play behind the striker and push Rooney back up top next season or drop him for a while.

Didn't see it myself either so I can't really comment but Spurs fans seem to be losing patience with The Iron Gerbil and his schtick.

That is very odd indeed. Sad thing is that theres always going to be incidents like that, people aren't machines and with thousands of players playing every week then sooner or later it will happen.

[OBakaSama]

That's also true. In a way the new FFP rules are...a meritocratic as it were. It favours the established upper echelon of clubs as they have earned their status to an extent; I still expect Man City to have some difficulty myself.

Well, it looks like they've switched targets now. If they don't get anyone in before the next transfer window, then maybe Dalglish will be responsible for the transfers. Should supporters be afraid? Hm....

I always thought they were there in case an injury occurs to one of the others. I think there was a recent(ish) case where they had to be called into action. But yeah, replays can be controversial and indecisive even after different angles are considered and multiple viewings; that won't change and keeps the bit where supporters will argue and debate all day long. As for retrospective judgements and punishment (though I don't think it should be limited to punishment) it would help to cut certain aspects out of the game, mainly diving. While giving a penalty after a game has finished would be daft, what should be available is for the referee to correct the decision and withdraw the sanction they dished out during the game; I have in mind Blanka's incident of getting booked even though he was legitimately fouled. That, in my mind, would be as fair as it could be. While it might be chaotic at first, it would probably settle down after a while. Certainly wouldn't expect such a thing to be introduced mid-season; more like a set date for its implementation.

Forgot about Torres' hair. The mystery deepens. A combination of a bad haircut and the lack of Kinder eggs for him then? Whatever may be occupying Rooney's attention there have been no rumblings so far in the press.

The Iron Gerbil's audition for the England job isn't complete yet; may be some convincing displays for the FA to make a definitive decision either way.... But it does seem they are laying into the referee for that loss with Adebayor being quite critical (to say the least) about the decisions.

I suppose what makes it even more tragic for any sportsperson to die like that is that...well...I would expect because they are atheletes they would be in better health than...well...me for starters. For them to develop a fatal condition while being physically healthy for the most part just seems at odds with my perception of health and fitness. Would also probably extend that thought to the ordinary person as well in that respect.

By the way, see the articles after Liverpool beat Everton? I'm thinking of the one where Dalglish admits that if something like the Suarez situation comes about again he would handle it differently. Couldn't see the bit where websites state that Dalglish claims he was wrong in his handling of the sitution though.

[Druss99]

Yeah that was the claim leveled against it when it was first anounced. It depends on what happens with the investigation into City basically sponsoring themselves for £400m.

Should anyone expecting a phonecall from Dalglish be worried?

I mean the guys behind the goal line, I'm not sure what they are called so just called them 5th officials. Yeah rescinding cards would be beneficial but they already do that on occassion, well they used to. Haven't heard of it happening in a while so I'm not sure if it was officially stopped or its just not been called for. Not sure what circumstances are required for it either.

He wasn't the the same player when he stopped looking like a teenage girl. Now he is beginning to look like a girl again and his form is returning. Haven't heard anything about Rooney either, he has been playing crap for a while but still scoring goals. Sir Alex seems to getting fed up with him. Wouldn't be surprised to see Berbatov start against Everton. If we are replacing Berbatov I'd love to see Van Persie brought in but thats overly wishful thinking.

Well The Iron Gerbil has certainly mastered the embarrassing cup exit and bizarre tactical decisions seemingly pandering to players instead of picking the best team to win the match and telling them to get on with it. Not sure how the ref contributed to Chelseas other 4 goals.

Sometimes heart problems are genetic aren't they? Maybe the pressure of being a professional athlete has something to do with it too. I think being physically fit just lowers your chances it doesn't stop them, with thousands of players its going to happen somewhere or other. It's just strange theres two high profile ones so close together coupled with the Petrov situation it looks like it's happening all the time rather than being a very rare thing.

I saw the headline but was too sickened by the idea that either Gerrard/Suarez or Terry/Cole will be winning the FA Cup to read the story. By handling it differently he could mean they would have worn Suarez masks instead of tshirts.

Wigan played well tonight. I felt sorry for Vermaelen though, he kept making runs forward from centreback to get into the box and provide an aireal threat for crosses that just never came. His forlorn jogs back to defence were the story of the game for me. Wigan have found some form and I'd expect Moses to be the most sought after PL player by a "bigger" team in the summer, along with Dempsey.

Edit: Just saw the Spurs - Chelsea highlights. That was a very dodgy second goal, it was a foul by Terry and it didn't look anywhere near over the line. Drogba's goal was a ******, it reminded me a bit of Gianluca Viali many years ago for Juventus in the UEFA Cup Final. Lampard's was a ****** too.

It seems the FA Cup Final is going to be at 5.15pm this year. That just seems wrong.

Modifié par Druss99, 16 avril 2012 - 10:34 .

[OBakaSama]

That Man City sponsorship deal came about after they consulted with certain official bodies if memory serves. I would anticipate that any investigation into that will have no effect upon them in the way of sanctions. Still dodgy mind you.

I would say 'yes', though I'm sure there are other reasons to use that answer as well....

Oh...them! Gotcha. Mind you, even with them there they still miss things; only human and all that. Just wondering about cards being rescinded and how much the referee has input; currently it seems to be a purely FA thing. Club complains or makes a request, investigation, conclusion. Giving the referee to review their own decisions might change that process somewhat. And it's likely there haven't been many successful cases of late, though there has been enough attempts.

'Teenage girl'? *Heh* Now wondering if make-up will help his form..... Also, wishful thinking takes up many an hour for a supporter. I'm sure a comment about Liverpool can be made there.... (but that might be a bit on the harsh side....or maybe not.....)

The Iron Gerbil is venerated for such things; should come as no surprise. Heard that those goals were crackers. Though when decisions go that badly wrong it does take a good manager and group of players to overcome the demoralising effect they could have.

Some heart conditions are, yes. It's just that...well...the whole being healthy thing to avoid certain conditions; then find out people who are (professional) athletes succumbing to these conditions...sort of...I don't know, motivationally draining? I suppose rather than 'avoid' 'lessen the chances of' is more accurate, but still.... Certainly the conditions of late have been close together which probably gives that sense of doom a bit more oomph.

That would be creepy.... But yeah, Dalglish doesn't state how he would handle things differently only that he would. Could mean he'll throw sweet potatoes into the crowd for all we know....

Imagine Wigan being able to sustain that sort of form they've been showing over the last few games. Reminds me...Liverpool losing to Wigan and QPR. If they had to play Wolves during that little run what were the chances they would lose to them as well? Dempsey is looking in mighty fine form this season. I also wonder why Fulham go American for up front positions; they had McBride there before Dempsey if memory serves. Makes me wonder if it's a conscious choice of theirs. Moses was tipped to be a good player even when he was at...Swansea? I think Martinez managed him there at the time. Needs a good coach and manager to get him to fulfill his potential.

Read that there are only to be three trains running from Liverpool to London on that day. Not going to be helpful. Also not sure how often such commuters are effected (it seems to be suggested that such commuters are routinely effected). I saw that maximum exposure was cited by the FA; so I'm sure television has a hand in there as well.

[Druss99]

I thought there was a bit of uproar and investigation into it. Platini was making comments at one point.

There's been cases before of refs looking at decisions again after the match and rescinding the cards themselves but I haven't heard of it happening in a while. Now they seem to ask the ref if he saw it and thats the end of things.

Once he gets back to the full on headband wearing tom boy look then he will be banging in goals again. Strange guy is Fernando.

Spurs scored right after the ghost goal and had plenty of time. By some accounts it was his bizarre tactics that cost them in the final 20 minutes or so. Moving Bale from the left wing seems to nulify him and Modric.

I guess with some people its just going to happen regardless. It can be disheartening to see it happening to professional athletes but they are only human at the end of the day and just as susceptable as the rest of us to defects and plain bad luck. The best you can do is be as healthy as possible and hope for the best.

Yeah, given Dalglish's attitude so far I suspect he probably means he would have gone even more offensive.

It's happened a few times before where teams don't start playing until they are almost relegated then they return to form again the next season. West Brom under Bryan Robson are the chief example I think. Fulham also had Eddie Johnson, Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra and a couple of other Americans I think. Maybe they just have very good scouts over there? Seems to have been going on for a while anyway. I think Moses was at Crystal Palace, he is only 21 so I'm not sure if he was anywhere before that. Though he does look closer to 40 than 20.

Yeah and no trains back up north after the game at all. Why did they change the date again? It clashed with the CL final or not?

Hoping for a Bayern win tonight against Real Madrid.

Edit: You can vote for the best goal, match, celebration and pick your team of the last 20 years in the PL. Unsurprisingly my team ended up with 10 United players and Tony Adams. http://www.premierle...20-seasons.html

Modifié par Druss99, 17 avril 2012 - 05:41 .

[OBakaSama]

Must have missed that myself; should be interesting to see what happens if there is a formal investigation (even if it does become a damp squib).

That does ring a bell now you mention it; can't remember when something like that last occurred either. I know teams might go over their last performance, do you think referees do anything like that?

I now feel tempted to question his dress sense....

Bizarre tactics from the tactical genius that is The Iron Gerbil? That is shocking beyond words.

That sounds rather fatalistic there, Druss, but I see your point (doesn't lessen the worry much). I suppose I'd better get into some form of shape....

More offensive than sweet potatoes. Hm....there's only one option then: the durian.

Ah...you're right, Moses was at Crystal Palace before going to Wigan. Must be getting confused with someone else. Some people just don't look their age; a lot of people I know got my age wrong. Even had to be IDed at one point for buying a DVD at HMV back in the day; if memory serves I was 23 at the time. On that note...Roger Milla is supposed to be older than his stated age. (Never really understood why some people report their ages to be less than what it really is, especially if you're already beyond a certain age.)

I only saw the FA citing something about maximum exposure. Champions League final is on the 19th May; when was the FA Cup final originally planned for? A poor choice of planning for sure.

You got the Bayern win, Druss. Should make an interesting second leg.

Also...Chelsea won at Stamford Bridge. Be a tense affair for their second leg. Reminds me...on the red button this morning the article headline read 'Di Matteo looking for perfect legs'.....hm......

My memory doesn't stretch back that far.... Always remember Adams to be an awesome defender, though don't remember anything but the impression he left.

We're now starting to see the results of almost a season's worth of competition as we're seeing which teams have gained promotion (Reading into the Premier League and Charlton into the Championship I believe). So...for the other teams with something to play for it's that time of the year again.

[Druss99]

I might have imagined it but I could swear there was talk of that at one point.

I think refs probably do, I know theres an assessor at every game or atleast there used to be, so I'd assume they go over things with them about the game and their decisions.

Thats one offensive item of food.

I always looked older with going bald and all. Wasn't Roger Milla like 36 already when he played in his last World Cup?

FA Cup final is usually the Saturday after the league finishes. So thats the 19th of May and the mystery is solved. They moved it forward because of the CL final and its clashed with rail network upgrades.

Bayern - Chelsea final? What were the odds on that?

I suppose we need to know his definition of perfect legs.

I didn't want an all United 11 so I opted for Adams instead of Bruce. He was a good player and a great leader by all accounts.

Indeed, for most teams now every game for the rest of the season is massive. Collapse now and everything you've worked for will fall apart.

[OBakaSama]

I think we might see more scrutiny once the actual rules do come into force. The Man City sponsorship deal is just....well....in terms of proper business it just seems rather unsound.

I do recall referees being monitored, and sometimes the commentator mentions it (at least in the past), though I wonder if this assessor merely just ticks things off a sheet, or sits down with the referee and tells him what they could do better.

Tis indeed. Personally I would like to be able to carry one in a shopping bag, and should I ever need to fight someone off I can just claim "I used my shopping to hit them". Very much a like it hate it sort of fruit (it's like Marmite in that sense) as some people can't stand the smell, and it does smell. As I recall from an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? it is universally banned from being allowed on planes.

I get the impression he was 40; debuted at 36 or 38 I think. Still, if you can play at that level who can grumble?

Always made more sense for the FA Cup to be the last game of the domestic season; the accumulation of it. To move it...well...understandable I guess, but feels odd when the season has yet to finish. And to make it a late kick-off as well for maximum exposure....I can see why again, but....travel arrangements were certainly not on the agenda for the FA.

It would be funny if both Spanish teams didn't make it and that is the final. Not sure of what sort of game to expect though.

More the journalist than di Matteo to be fair, though....well....you can see the implication. I take it that the gameplan that was formulated worked for them then in that game against Barcelona. As I heard from someone it involved a lot of falling over by Drogba...

Did Shearer captain England after Adams? I'm under the impression that the team still looked to Adams for leadership rather than Shearer back in the day.

Agreed. Looking at the table now, Bolton have two games in hand which means they might potentially have an additional six points. Always unsure about that line of thought though as it could give a false sense of security.

Modifié par OBakaSama, 19 avril 2012 - 04:35 .

[Aerevane]

A final without a Spanish club? Finally - I truly hope so! Although they should kick out all clubs that have such heavy debts as Barcelona and Real.

[Kimosabe]

Aerevane wrote...

A final without a Spanish club? Finally - I truly hope so! Although they should kick out all clubs that have such heavy debts as Barcelona and Real.

I hope it too but I don't see it happening any time soon.
Both Barca and Real might have lost their away games buy they aren't going to lose their home games and they only need a single goal to cancel out the scores.

The EUFA does have a plan in motion to deny clubs with huge debts from the European leagues but they never going to go through with it since that would mean exactly that; they will have to decline Barcelona and Real Madrid (among others) from competing in the Champions League

[OBakaSama]

With respect to a prospective all Spanish final in the Champions League I'm pretty sure countries other than England felt the same about an all English final from years back. It's probably just the way the game has shifted and changed over time. As for their possible home scores Real only need a 1-0 win to go through due to their away goal; should Bayern score at the Bernabeu then Real have to win by two goals. By contrast Barcelona need to win their match by two goals no matter what Chelsea manage.

We're still waiting to see whether or not UEFA will indeed actually follow through with the sanction of expulsion from European competition (or UEFA competition) if a club does not meet their new Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations when in force. I would guess that the regulations are worded as such that the 'big' clubs can have debt just that from a certain point onward they should not incrue more via certain avenues (like wage expenditure). If 'debt' is understood in a strict manner then I would hazard to guess that UEFA can forget about holding any competition whatsoever as I have my doubts that there is a football club that has no debt; in that they can forget about television revenue brought in by their competitions.