4117 réponses à ce sujet

[OBakaSama]

There seems to be an element of a high risk strategy in having a strong starting eleven because, as you point out, if those players get injured and the team doesn't have the depth in the squad whatever aspirations that team had may just evaporate.

Currently glad that The Iron Gerbil hasn't made his debut for MOTD yet. In that respect I am hoping a team gets him in as manager just to avoid that sort of screen time....

Perhaps. But then....I'm not entirely sure whether the manager at Tottenham has a lot of say about the comings and goings at the club; and Levy is a peculiar operator. I'd forgotten about the Jol incident.... At least Modric didn't leave on the last day of the transfer window which at least avoids something like the Berbatov situation. Given how he went to Man Utd it is surprising that he didn't get that much game time as well...

I read somewhere that Nani was prepared to have his wages cut to stay at Old Trafford. Might have been what I still call 'Ceefax' (force of habit). Under Ferguson's tutelage though it seems odd for any player to become too....complacent and arrogant (?) of their ability and form. As for moving him on...he wouldn't be the only one who hasn't quite lived up to expectations, though Nani probably has better games than others who have been there a while. Might even be something like a Mancini-esque tactic....

Sounds like Dembele would be a good fit for that role. Though Ferguson had stated that he had concluded his transfer dealings. I guess this will be one we'll be keeping an eye on.

*Cough* I'd fallen asleep by then..... Wonder if Hughton plans to have Bassong and Turner in the middle of defence.

Man City were somewhat lucky last season, but they did enough to win the title. They haven't really strengthened much so far and that may prove costly when it comes to league performance, though the players they already have is impressive. Reminds me of Chelsea in the early Abramovich days and Mourinho wanting two teams; Man City's squad has that two teams feel to it. But that match was strange for both teams as far as I'm concerned; Liverpool had a good chance to win it and one daft backwards pass undid all that work....

League Cup games it seems like today. Now expecting Norwich to lose against the team that got censored the last time I mentioned them.....

[BadExamp1e]

So now, apparently Manchester City are interested in scooping up Theo Walcott for 12mil.

Arsenal should let him go.

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

Arsenal turned second class by those sells ... Any significant transfers in the English league, worthy of express in a single post?

[Druss99]

I don't think there was anything massively significant, Arian. All the major business was already done.

And the transfer window "slamming shut" yesterday was just bizarre, why the hell couldn't Spurs or Man City not do their business earlier? With City it almost seems like showing off on the day everyone is watching transfers "Hey, hey look we are a big team, look at our moneys!" Spurs...bloody hell, all that just to basically go sideways? They didn't really address any of the problems in their squad and just replaced players with arguably inferior players and created an issue where none existed before with their keepers.

QPR have signed 25 players in a year and are way, way, way over the FFP limit on wages alone.

Liverpool LMAO. Going back to the strong starting 11/weak squad point, Everton or Liverpool? Who's strongest in those regards now? I'd pick Everton on both I think.

The Iron Gerbil made his debut, what the hell is up with his neck? He should be forced to wear turtle neck jumpers or scarves, I was trying to eat. He was as bad as I feared, no insight at all and some attempts to pat himself on the back.

Nani is staying then, he could start tomorrow with Young out or he could be benched with Giggs on the left. I'd like to see him fulfil his potential at United, on his day he is our biggest attacking threat, it's just his off days are about as useful as a bag of bruised peckers.

Norwich unlucky with penalties two weeks in a row, they really could have won it today, they had the penalty not given, the chances at the end and Friedel's fantastic save from Snodgrass. Unlucky not to get 3 points, you must be hoping that doesn't become a theme Obaka. I thought Huddlestone was unlucky to get sent off.

Have you tried the PES demo, Obaka? There's a second one out now, it's almost a different game and alot better. It flows much better for the most part, bits of slow down though but Valencia doing his stop/start thing on a fullback and leaving him for dead is a thing of beauty. It impressed me so much that I pre-ordered through GAME to get the United steelcase box(I know I'm sad but I was pre-ordering anyway, honest...) The CPU still seems to cheat via messing with your control of your players rather than just being better than you but atleast it doesn't score every time now. Also rather perversely you can do an elaborate step over, roulette, flicky thing that last several seconds with a minor flick of LB and the right stick, but doing a single step over while running requires an awkward quarter circle(fireball movement) flick of the rick stick in the corresponding direction. I found that an odd and awkward choice.

Modifié par Druss99, 01 septembre 2012 - 11:45 .

[OBakaSama]

I still think Everton will do well this season dispite the loss to West Brom, who are playing pretty well themselves I might add. Certainly will be an interesting season as it usually is, though certainly unexpected in certain ways.

As for The Iron Gerbil....well....OK, Alan Hansen isn't the most fun to listen to but for The Iron Gerbil to be there in his place? *Urgh* I agree it was pretty much as I feared, and I was tempted to skip MOTD as soon as I found out he was the pundit last night. Would have wrote sooner but still felt something in my stomach.....

Norwich were a touch unlucky with the penalty claim, but then they also do get away with a few themselves which sort of evens out that claim really. I may support the team but not blind to the judgements (usually). I think Huddlestone's sending off was harsh as well. I can see why but it looked to me that both players were sliding in to get a 50-50 ball.

Had a go at the first demo, which played OK. Probably not enough to warrant a purchase (especially with impending time constraints), though for some reason the controls felt different to me having been away from the series for quite a few games. Though I never felt the game played right with the 360 controller though to be honest; triggers don't sit well with me for games like that. The triggers only feel natural when playing shooters or racing games for me; anything else it just feels odd. May check that out some time when I hook up to XBox Live again.

Andy Carroll seemed to have a good game for West Ham before getting injured. That's a bit of a blow to say the least.

[Druss99]

Indeed, I wouldn't be overly surprsed if Everton are challenging for top 4 honours in Febuary/March time. West Brom and Swansea have been the surprise packages of the season.

I think next week I'm going for the Sky Plus trick, either record it or pause it at the start and do something else so that I can fast forward any Iron Gerbil bits. Believe it or not The Copper Rat is actually worse, he makes his pundit colleagues worse by shouting over them and distratcting them from ther point.

Ah the old "these things even themselves out". I was somewhat confused by it all because I was under the impression that Huddlestone had joined Fulham or Norwich on deadline day. That Kane fella that Norwich got is very highly thought of apparently. He could do with being a bit bigger, redder and more machine-like though. I thought they were both going for the ball fairly, Huddlestone just knicked it and then their momentum took them into each other.

I got really fed up with the first demo after a while, it started really getting on my nerves, but I've found the second one to be most fun I've had with a football game since the PS2 days. It's hard to describe whats different, maybe it's just because you can be United and everyone feels accurate, even Rooney, he feels like he should be alot better, loses the ball alot, but if you give him a chance he will finish it. I agree on the pad, I do prefer the Xbox pad 99% of the time but I think PES is the only game I'd prefer on a PS pad. I didn't think I'd be buying another football game again, especially this generation, but I'm looking forward to it now.

Indeed, haven't seen how long he's out for though. Liverpool could use him right about now, they could use a plan B against Arsenal.

Arian, will be pleased with Podolski's first goal for Arsenal.

[OBakaSama]

Giving where the teams finished last season I think Everton will give it a good go at breaking back into the top again. Chelsea has strengthened a fair bit though, as mentioned before, they now seem over reliant upon Torres being injury free and finding consistent good form. I'd be surprised if they don't strengthen in the January window.

I may just stick to MOTD2, assuming The Iron Gerbil doesn't get used there. But if The Copper Rat is worse.....glad I don't have Sky for that reason alone....

Yep, that old chestnut but I would like to think it's used a bit more fairly. I'm not entirely sure about Tottenham this season, but the feeling I get is that they won't be able to do as well as last season. Norwich....well....it may well be a tough season ahead given how we've started.

I can't remember whether I gave the FIFA demo a try, though I do feel that Pro Evo played well enough. Seems a bit more complicated, with possible cues from the Wii version?

Just seen that Rodgers is apparently regretting letting Carroll go out on loan as he doesn't have a replacement. Perhaps he should have thought of that before letting him go out on loan. Or is that too sensible? Mind you, keeping Carroll about will depend on how Rodgers will have Liverpool play tactically. Can he use Carroll effectively enough? Carroll doesn't seem like the sort of player that he can really use, which is why he wanted him gone early in the window but Carroll didn't want to go. Rather amusing to see that Liverpool really wanted Dempsey but messed that all up as well.

Yep. Will be interesting to see whether Wenger has done it again and got a team that is capable of staying in the top four. All these years despite whatever sales they've had to make or whoever leaves he has managed to keep Arsenal at the top of the league. No trophies but consistent in the league over a season.

Just looking at the scores today that result against Southampton for Man Utd suggests a bit of a nervy game.

[Druss99]

I think this is Evertons best chance in years too, Spurs going sideways, question marks over Arsenal and Chelsea, Liverpool being Liverpool, Newcastle maybe stuttering a bit after a good season. Even us and City haven't looked in top gear yet. If Everton can stay injury free then there's a chance there.

Oh he is undeniably worse. Must...Not...Rant...

Indeed, but there are worse teams than Norwich in the division too. I think it could be a case of trying to keep the head above water until January then seeing what's needed in the window. Second season blues. Huddlestone has had his red card rescinded too.

I think the FIFA demo isn't out until next week. I'm not sure, my mate has the Wii version but I've never actually played it, he seems unimpressed. I'm probably going to cancel my pre-order actually given the revelations about Master League this year, it now contains magic boots and various ways to boost your players' stats. Every single player in the game starts with generic black boots and you get rewarded certain boots like Nike Mercurial(I may have made those up) or Adidas Predator and they give different boosts to different stats. That just put me right off, I want a football game, not Barbie dress up. It affects the CPU too so you could be playing a Stoke team all armed with magical boots and playing like a team of Messi's. So if there's no way to turn this off I'm cancelling the pre-order and getting a United top instead. Bollocks to that. Sad too, because it's the best gameplay they have had in years.

It's a loan too, it's not like they even got any money for him that they could spend on a replacement. Such an odd decision. I think if Rodgers can only play with a 4-3-3 in that certain system and his transfer targets seem mostly to be limited to players he's formerly worked with like £25m on Allen and Borini, yet offering pennies for Dempsey, doesn't that indicate he is a very, very limited manager? Did you read the "open letter"? I laughed hard.

Most fans would be happy enough with that, but it seems success breeds unrealistic demands.

Indeed, it really didn't look like it was going to be our day until RVP got his second. Southampton were the better team until Scholes and Nani came on, Nani gave us actual width on the left, stretching Southampton right across the pitch and giving Scholes room to pull the strings, Carrick got much better too with the space. Before then Welbeck was out left and coming inside all the time thus hardly any space in the middle playing right into Southampton's hands. Kagawa had a poor game. I'd a fiver on an RVP hattrick.

Michael Owen is signing for Stoke it seems. Hopefully he can stay fit, he never played for our reserves between his long absences from the first team so I dunno how the hell he was match fit at all.

[OBakaSama]

In certain ways the league this year looks open again. I thought Wigan were a cert to go down after escaping relegation so many times (it feels like that anyway), and with certain players leaving it seemed that was the end of them; and then they go and play quite well. I think for Norwich it is a case of making it to January and seeing if we can strengthen the squad then; I would think the same for QPR but the amount of players they've had in is a bit ridiculous, and they don't seem to be doing any better for it either.

Hm...that sounds a bit....with the boots and stuff....er....odd decision to make. Almost sounds like one of those game breaking changes a developer can make to a game.

Ah....the open letter. For some reason I'm sure that some supporters would be quite pleased with such a move if not the content of such a thing. But then there are those who aren't really satisfied unless the club does exactly as they want.

Success does do funny things to the mentality of supporters. Case in point would be supporters of a certain club who live on past glories.....

I liked watching van Persie score those goals; they were pretty sweet overall. Then there was the saved penalty to make sure it wasn't all that brilliant as it were. Looking sharp does van Persie anyway.

Be interesting to see how Owen plays when he does get the chance. Not entirely sure whether he would really suit Stoke's style of play myself, but then....I don't bother analysing anything so what would I know.....

I think it's right that Huddlestone successfully appealed that red card; it did look harsh considering the circumstances.

Seems that Berbatov has apparently made comments about his last season at Man Utd....

[Druss99]

Yeah, it looks like it could be a very good season. Even at the bottom I'm having a hard time picking three to go down, I'm thinking maybe Southampton +2 but I'm not even sure about that. Can QPR even add anymore players? Surely they are near the 25 man limit and won't be able to sell players so soon after signing them. I read they actually signed 25 players in a year, dunno if any of those have left again.

If there's no anouncement by the end of today one way or the other I'm just cancellng. I no longer take chances with games, £40 is a bit much for less than ideal products. It's a mad decision though, my mate described it as something you'd expect on a facebook game. I can only imagine that they are planning on charging people to buy the boots if they can't unlock them. It's clearly product placement too. Shame as after the second demo I was really looking forward to it.

The sad part is that about 50% of Liverpool fans I know are level headed and rational about the whole thing. The problem is the lunatics and mental drama queens seem to drown out everyone else, they aren't all nuts, it just seems that way. Things like this http://www.football3...tion-leadership do not help one bit, although I was in tears laughing lol. I don't know where to even start with it...

Haha see above, not to mention a vast number of United fans too. Reminds me of the stupidity of MUST.

I do not understand people refusing to blast penalties. Just f*cking belt the damn thing, especially when you have a shot as hard as Van Persies. Great hattrick though, dunno how long its been since we scored from a corner actually.

He might fit in at Stoke you know, just hanging around the box waiting for a chance to drop to him. Then again he will leave them short of a large man running around until knackered and replaced by another large man to run around until knackered.

Can't really blame Berbatov to be honest, it was one thing when Tevez did it just to justify his behaviour. But Berbatov seemed to be a pro throughout and if Sir Alex kept telling him he was needed and then never playing him after him finishing top scorer then I can understand why he would be annoyed. He's still a b*tch for moaning to the press about it though lol.

[OBakaSama]

To me it looks intriguing throughout the table. There are always expectations about certain teams due to signings or new managers, some achieve and some have yet to show why that move was made. I shall do my customary sitting on the (now cushioned) fence regarding such matters.

QPR seems to have almost abused their financial situation; at least it can be portrayed that way. The amount they have spent isn't obscene as such, but just their turnover of players seems ridiculous. It seems to be a short term strategy with no long term one in place. Also brings to mind the apparent proposal of a FFP in the league as well. The way UEFA's FFP is supposed to work really only applies to clubs who want the success which comes with playing in Europe, but doesn't prevent clubs like QPR from domestic success (should such a thing occur for them) if they forego European competition (something I'm sure I've mentioned before on this thread); and even Man City are aware of the possible implications of spending beyond the imposed limit (though not their means). Be interesting to see how many clubs will back such a move for the league though.

Rarely do I dish out full price for games now-a-days. Maybe a collectors edition here and there, but that's pretty much it now. And even then they usually drop in price really quickly; only promo codes are really relevant for day one purchases and most of the time they aren't really essentials.

Well....the minority often have a louder voice for whatever reason, and it's true of even the supporters of the club. Though I still end up making that all encompassing judgement upon them. At least it seems funny every now and then. Personally I don't really see what rights supporters' trusts seem to think they have when making demands of the club they are supposed to support. It's all very odd to me.... I guess that's a part of fandom I don't really understand. But then....like with many things I consider myself a consumer or customer rather than a fan. Being a fan seems to diminish one's sense of relevance to the business.

Belting penalties. For some reason that reminds me of Gareth Southgate's penalty from way back when. I think he was questioned why he didn't just belt it as well.

Does Owen still possess that turn of pace required for playing off the shoulder of the last defender would be my question. After all, we know that he can't really play that way as effectively as we would like to see him play. Then there are questions about match fitness and stuff. Starting to see why he formed a pretty decent partnership with Heskey playing that big man role; it suits his playing style (when not injured). I guess that's the other thing Stoke will have to be careful about: managing Owen's physical condition.

A bit unfortunate that it came out in the press really. And then there's the Viola situation as well at the moment. I can understand their stance, but for some reason it almost seems petty. I'm not sure why I feel that way regarding that.

[Druss99]

That's the first demo, Modjo. The second one has club teams and plays much better. FIFA demo is out tomorrow I think. Neymar is great for dribbling, I found him easier to dribble with than Ronaldo and Messi, probably the standard of defender though. My pre-order is officially cancelled, can't justify £40 on a Barbie dress up simulator masquerading as a football game. I'd pay full price for a Collectors Edition of a game I'm looking forward to but I'm struggling to look forward to most games these days. Halo 4 L.E. I'll happily pay full price to get on day one, but can't see anything else until next year at the earliest.

I haven't seen any talk of what the sanctions for domestic FFP are going to be. I read somewhere that last season QPR's wages were 183% of their turnover and look at what they've done since then.

Yeah I don't understand the demands either, MUST are the same they once released a statement demanding we spend £100m because we had the Ronaldo money and apparently £25m a year to spend. This I believe was right after we reached the CL final, they had no idea what to spend this money on and didn't care that Sir Alex was happy with the squad at the time, they demanded we throw £100m away because someone else was spending big. This groups seem to often be run by idiots. Did you read Rafa's comments? Brilliant.

If you hit it hard enough, the keeper has no time to react so I don't get chipping it or trying to pass it in.

I don't think Owen has the pace anymore, in the games he played for us he seemed to be playing alot deeper and rarely on the shoulder, maybe that was a tactical thing but I'm doubtful.

Fiorentina sound like spurned lovers, it's a bit comical really.

Rooney is doing the rounds with interviews to promote his latest autobiography(seriously!), no one seems to be calling him on his statement about what happened when he demanded a transfer and got a huge contract. He seems to be implying he said something other than what he actually said at the time.

Modifié par Druss99, 10 septembre 2012 - 07:43 .

[OBakaSama]

Few games really grab my interest now-a-days as studies take over. Certainly not games which are really involving like RPGs; I'm not sure whether I'll have the time for those. At the moment I'm more likely to just get a game which is just a simple pick up and put down type. I suppose a FIFA or Pro Evo would do the trick; play one match and stop. Not too convinced on getting them due to budget. Trying to find as many excuses I can to not play at the moment, such is life.

I read that QPR's wage turnover is ridiculous as well; the one I saw placed it over 100% but less than 183%. Still daft though, but since FFP really only applies to clubs seeking European football it wouldn't bother a club like QPR. Even without a domestic FFP though they still need a plan to somehow address that imbalance if they can establish themselves in the upper echelons of the league. Otherwise FFP will apply to them and all that expenditure has really bought them little recognition as a brand.

On that note about FFP, you see the news regarding UEFA witholding prize money from certain clubs? It looks encouraging that they will see it through to its logical conclusion.

It's the supporters owning the club mentality I think, even though they may have no financial stake in the club like a shareholder. I think I vaguely remember those claims about having a lot of money and the club weren't spending it. Money shouldn't be spent for the sake of it. Did notice the Benitez thing. Deary me.....

Indeed. But it seems so simple though.

That Owen was given the number 7 shirt sort eluded to the possibility that he wouldn't be used as a striker at Man Utd when he signed. Little did we know, or was it expected? that he wouldn't really get to play. Wasn't he drafted in for his experience? Or was that just for the brochure?

Be worrying if it turned into a lovers' spat.....

Another autobiography? Who buys these things? Oh well....

[Druss99]

Thank god international break is over, though I did laugh at England's midfield, again.

There's a FIFA demo out now too but it's a bit pants, especially when compared to this years PES. Got Sleeping Dogs for £24 so that's PES out the window. You can probably pick PES up in a month or two for around £20 anyway the way game prices seem to be dropping after release now.

If FFP comes into the league then they are screwed anyway. Mark Hughes is on SSN right now, he looks like he has aged about 25 years. Something tells me that QPR will be up for sale again in a year or two and this whole thing will have been a giant waste of money and time.

I found that a strange one though, isn't that a bit counter productive? Those teams could be relying on the prize money to pay the debts. Plus the teams FFP is supposed to be targetting like the sugar daddy clubs probably won't have debts.

Supporters often think they manage the club too and that they know more than the manager.

We have had strikers wearing it before, I think it was partly to placate Owen because we weren't paying him as much as he wanted. I think he was drafted in to help train youngsters to finish, add experience upfront, talk about horses with Sir Alex, make brochures and he was probably expected to play more than he did.

I think it's a one sided lovers spat already...

I've no idea, I've never met anyone who's claimed to have read one to be honest.

Fletcher is back in the squad tomorrow too, this brightened my already mildly bright day.

Modifié par Druss99, 14 septembre 2012 - 04:28 .

[OBakaSama]

I missed the international matches. Though judging from the shouting from downstairs I took it that England were a bit rubbish....

The amount of money required to break into the upper echelons is astronomical. I would have my doubts about anyone thinking they can deliver on such a 'promise' when taking over a club unless they are nearly there. For a team like QPR it seems like a ridiculous thing to claim. The lack of European football even if they can dominate the league would prevent further expansion.

Hm....that's a point, though I guess UEFA could claim that they have had three (?) years to better prepare their financial accountability.

Ah yes....the God complex so to speak.

I'm sure Owen probably had expected to play more. Interesting to see him come on as a sub for Stoke by replacing Crouch. Maybe he will get a run of games after getting match fit.

Maybe even 'lovers' is the wrong word; seems unrequited by the looks of things.

Sort of missed MOTD (fell asleep again). Did Fletcher play? I know that Man Utd and Arsenal had won rather convincingly with Chelsea and Man City not particularly doing well. Also I would have hoped Norwich would have beaten West Ham at Carrow Road. Perhaps having been in the Premier League for one season my expectations were raised. It goes to show that it will be a long season following that result.

And of course there's been the update on Hillsborough. How bad were the police in that whole debacle?

[Druss99]

I didn't see any of the England games, just the NI ones. From what I hear playing Gerrard and Lampard brought the same problems as it always has, only Gerrard shows for the ball from defence, they both want to go forwards, they shoot too much, neither really know how to play the position without two others covering for them. As I said though I didn't see the games and thats just what I was told, having seen them in the past I chose to believe it. I also didn't manage to see any matches tonight.

Yeah, Man City were nowhere near it, it required not one but two sugar daddy owners spending astronomical sums to get where they are. QPR may have come along too late to manage it and despite their turnover/expenditure ratio they haven't exactly spent the same kind of money.

I suppose so, it just seems a strange policy to me "Don't have money? Can't make money, sell your players to a bigger club." It seems counter productive, but I can see why they are punishing teams.

I give it a month until Owen is injured, he really can't be anywhere near match fit. When did he last play? I'd guess 5 months ago and as a sub.

Fletcher was in the squad but not on the bench. I think West Ham will be a hard team to beat for alot of teams with Allardyce incharge. At an early season guess I'd imagine Reading and Southampton to go straight back down, Reading were dire on Sunday, they looked really lacking in quality.

I've tried to avoid reading too much about it to be honest because I've a feeling I'm going to get beat over the head with it up to and after the match on Sunday. It does sound fairly shocking though.

Did you read The Iron Gerbil's weekend comments about the England job and AVB? Delusional isn't even the word. For some reason F365 deleted all the comments on the article.

[OBakaSama]

I missed all the internationals and can't remember the results. For some reason I don't think I've missed a great deal.

For all their expenditure I'm not sure the QPR project will get them very far. Their transfer strategy is too short term. Man City on the other hand at least seem to be building for the future. I'm sure QPR were chuffed to see themselves 1-0 up against Tottenham (before going on to lose the game anyway).

Yeah, will have to see how that all goes. Maybe there's a shady person hanging around offering loans for a reasonable interest rate.....

Twice as a sub for Stoke so far, is it? Not injured yet. Will he actually get to start is the question, because I recall reading that he was brought in to start games for them. Again, will have to see.

Norwich aren't doing too well either. Certainly not on good form, and the lack of cutting edge this season is worrying. Friend of mine says they've changed their playing style (haven't seen them play enough to make that judgement myself so I'll have to trust him on that as he attends home games), and we had plenty of attacking intent last season. Apparently that's been curbed this season so far. Still maybe we can still string a decent run together.

Shocking indeed considering the repercussions of what has occurred. Also good to see that today's match between Liverpool and Man Utd wasn't spoiled by a bunch of questionable idiotically minded bunch of individuals. Sounded like a rather nervous game for Man Utd as well with Liverpool playing well.

*Urgh* The Iron Gerbil. I can't believe it. I also can't believe that I managed to sit through the entirety of MOTD with him as a pundit.....probably just as well I was working on my laptop at the time and didn't pay much attention when no football was on the TV screen....

[Druss99]

I don't think you have, bloody internationals.

Yeah, I don't see it ending too well for QPR. I suspect they might become a bit of a manager merry go round too.

I wasn't aware he played at all, Stoke often go beneath my notice for some reason I can't quite fathom.

I suppose thats to be expected with a new manager. It seems scoring is going to be somewhat of an issue and now that lad Kane is out for a month.

I barely even got to see the match, I was dealing with a "crisis" that I've been dealing with all week. But from what I saw we were a bit sh*t, Giggs and Nani especially so. Much better last night though in the league cup, Rooney was excellent playing in attacking midfield, best he's played in ages. Fletcher's first start and 90 minutes in 10 months, Andersons second start in 10 months and Cleverley's first goal. Not bad. Two young centrebacks did well too.

I still can't believe no one ever calls The Iron Gerbil on this stuff, as soon as I saw him on MotD I more or less lost interest.

Terry has been found guilty, this is going to run for a while. Fair play to the FA though. Liverpool fans are demanding an 8 game ban, will Chelsea react the same way as they did?

[OBakaSama]

For some reason I sort of get the feeling that Chelsea will handle it more sensibly than Liverpool, though that's not to say they won't appeal should Terry be banned for that length of time. It almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would be found guilty by the FA given their different criteria; and Terry knew that as well it would seem considering his decision to retire from international duty. I can't really agree with the Liverpool fans for calling for an eight game ban though, as Suarez was deemed to have repeatedly used racist language.

Oh....Bob's position being unsafe. Er....it was safe when they were struggling at the foot of the Premier League; but it's not while they are in a play-off position in the Championship. Will someone care to explain to me the logic of that?

[Druss99]

There's an article on F365, I think they gave up in the comments section pointing out that Suarez got 8 games for repeatedly using it and Terry only used it once. I think it was a foregone conclusion, he like Suarez admitted to saying it but gave odd reasons, I read at one point he said it sarcastically. Yeah, retiring from international duty was jumping before he was pushed.

I was going to bring that up but really didn't even know where to start with it. It's completely backwards, sacking him now that the team is doing well? The fans want him gone, but what difference will it make with Venky's incharge?

[OBakaSama]

From what little I've read about Bob it seems that Blackburn supporters managed to get him removed and got Venky's to listen by using the only method owners will listen to: by withdrawing their monetary support for the club. Apparently it seems that seats were fairly empty at the stadium. So they got their way in the end by doing something about it. Problem is, as you point out Druss, is that it is still Venky's in charge. However, since they appointed that global position thing person things certainly took a serious turn.

It seems that Bob actually resigned and not sacked. Doesn't quite all gel with what I've read though about being set targets and stuff....

Now hoping that The Iron Gerbil isn't on MOTD tomorrow night.

[Druss99]

The way he has clung onto the job as if determined to get the big pay off for them sacking him makes me think that he has some plan for huge compensation, his statement about the position being untenable seems to be setting that up. I imagine his angle is claiming the board undermined him with this Shebby Singh guy, which in fairness is true with the way he has handled things. Be interesting to see what they do next and I'm expecting another disaster.

The target seemed to be 16 points which he didn't achieve, but they were third so the board didn't sack him or wouldn't comment on sacking him or give him public support. I'm confused by it too but I'd imagine that whole thing combined with the comments about Morten Gamst Pedersen and Kean being sacked if he lost three games in a row is what he is going to use as a case for constructive dismissal. Though I'm not sure if that's the right term in this case.

I actually couldn't stand Alan Hansen last night, he took too much smug delight in the United - Spurs and Norwich - Liverpool results and his calls for Suarez penalties, maybe Suarez should dive less. Ashley Young has the same problem now and caused it himself too, where's the campaign to get him more penalties?

I saw an interesting question on SSN during the Chelsea pre-game press conference. Di Matteo was asked "You have a club policy of lifetime bans for fans caught using racially abusive language at Stamford Bridge, does that extend to players and staff?" To say the following few moments were uncomfortable was an understatement.

After yesterdays game, for the first time since they came up I'm starting to fear for Norwich.

[OBakaSama]

Haven't really followed Serie A in many a year. Barely follow the Premier League at the moment to be honest being absolutely physically shattered after a long week. Still keep up to date as much as I can though.

Hm....let's see. Yep, Norwich look as if they're in real trouble this season. Real tough season ahead as we knew it would be, but would have hoped we could have built upon last season's successes. Also....it's all rather confusing with what's happening between Lambert and Norwich with them suing each other. I had always thought that Lambert quit to join Aston Villa, so....what info are we supporters missing out on? All very strange to me.

On that note, Aston Villa don't really seem to be doing that much better even with Lambert in charge at the moment. Maybe their fortunes will change as the season progresses, but if if doesn't then it might seem as if Lambert at Norwich was one of those situations where the relationship was mutually beneficial; and breaking up that working relationship would be detrimental to both parties. Still waiting to see if that is true though.

Man Utd got a good win over Newcastle I believe.

The furore over Ashley Cole's use of Twitter on the FA. Er....riiight.

What am I missing?