English Football Thread! 2006-2007 Season

[blue phoenix]

Portsmouth have a team to watch.

i did like the look of Liverpool, but their disastrous pre season matches have ,made me think twice, (yes its only pre season- but i thought liverpool had a good chance of 2nd this year, maybe even challenging chelsea)

whos gettin relegated?

im gonna say

Watford
Fulham
Villa/shef Utd/ ?????

not a very accurate prediction but im actually struggling to think of teams to go down

[Loony BoB]

Manchester United stated in a press conference today that they may sign "one or two more players"

Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We may bring in another player."

David Gill said: "As Alex has mentioned, we have the funds there and we want to bring in one or two more players and we're looking at that situation at the moment."

[chrisfffan]

well you need a striker now van the man has gone who would u like to sign? the papers are talking about Torres or do you think you have enough up front? Carrick was a good signing but he’s not a typical Man United midfielder he’s a anchor man with good vision but he’s not very aggressive. I think it’s a good bit of business for Spurs i thought he would go for 10 million at the most, they can sign a few good players with the money.

[Cuchulainn]

Portsmouth have a team to watch.

i did like the look of Liverpool, but their disastrous pre season matches have ,made me think twice, (yes its only pre season- but i thought liverpool had a good chance of 2nd this year, maybe even challenging chelsea)

Like Portsmouth, along with West Ham they're a team I always keep an eye on. Liverpool made crazy signings. Craig Bellamy? What on EARTH did they sign him for? He will not add anything to it. I really did think they would make key season-changing signings (like Kyut) but they went for players who are just as good as present ones, no better. That makes no sense.

Anyway relegation is getting as predictable as the winners nowadays. With the teams that got promoted, two will go straight back down along with a choice struggler.

To the Blackburn fan who behaves like Nikki from Big Brother, suffice to say it took a Manc to steady the reigns there. Enjoy your MAGNIFICENT 6th, it shall be your last.

Mind you Benni McCarthy is a good buy.

[chrisfffan]

Bellamy is a good signing he is a bit of a troublemaker but at Liverpool I think he will come alive and live up to the challenge

[Russielloyd]

To the Blackburn fan who behaves like Nikki from Big Brother, suffice to say it took a Manc to steady the reigns there. Enjoy your MAGNIFICENT 6th, it shall be your last.

Mind you Benni McCarthy is a good buy.

Behaving like Nikki, well i suppose your right, i am arguing over something pointless(manure), you got me on that one.

Anyways, just drop it.

Bellamy, scored 13 league goals in league 27 games, he's the best striker Liverpool got, even if Kyut came in. Infact it's the bargain buy of this season, we could of easily got 10-12 mill from Liverpool, if it wasn't for the clause.

Also, Torres has said that he wanted to stay at A. Madrid about a week ago, so i very much doubt he won't be going anywhere.

[Psychotic]

United during last season's late run of wins...
Keeper: Van der Sar
Defenders: Neville, Ferdinand, Brown/Vidic, Silvestre
Midfield: Ronaldo, O'Shea, Giggs, Park.
Strikers: Rooney, Saha

That's the team that had the success that pushed the gap on Chelsea in a way that wasn't done in the first half of the season.

At the start of this season...

Keeper: Van der Sar
Defenders: Neville, Ferdinand, Brown/Vidic, Heinze
Midfield: Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs/Park.
Strikers: Rooney, Saha

You tell me which looks stronger, last season or this season? This season does indeed look stronger, but you're not factoring things like fatigue (Manchester United went of of the Champions League earlier than the other three English teams) and form into the equation. Success last year does not mean success in the following season. Look at Arsenal's invincibles.
I'm not saying Liverpool don't have a chance, but only a fool writes off Manchester United at any point of the season, let alone before it has even begun.I'm not writing them off. What I'm saying is they need to make a couple of signings if they want to push for the top. Right now they have a good side. A very good side, in fact. But it's lacking something. The weak spot is clearly the midfield quartet - Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, possibly even Tottenham and Newcastle have stronger midfields than that. And what happens if, well, it's more of a when than if, a couple of midfielders get injured? O'Shea and Fletcher get called up for duty? Or what if Rooney and Saha are ruled out for a couple of games? In come Rossi and Solksjaer? Not really the strike partnership of Premiership champions, if you ask me.

Old, but not too old. Look at Teddy Sheringham - that's too old. 40, and a striker! 6 goals in 26 games as a striker last season. Still, they did bag the FA Cup final and UEFA cup spot, so if he's still got it then he's still got it, I suppose.

Giggsy and Scholesy are most certainly not too old, though. Any respectable football fan would know that. Midfielders can generally go on to about 35 or so with ease enough, I'd say.The difference with Teddy and the other two is that pace - the attribute which players lose the fastes as they age - was never a part of his game, whereas Giggs's game was based around his surging runs and dribbling on the left flank, and Scholes's was set up around his undetected runs into the box, both of which will suffer.

Defensive and central midfielders can play at a good level until 35 or so, sure, but wingers and attacking midfielders like Giggs and Scholes? I don't think so. Look at Zidane - yes, he was scintilating in one or two games in the World Cup, but throughout the season with Real Madrid, and indeed against Switzerland and South Korea, he was largely a sulky passenger.
Liverpool made crazy signings. Craig Bellamy? What on EARTH did they sign him for? He will not add anything to it.Craig Bellamy is a proven Premiership goalscorer, notching up a goal every other game last season. Considering that out top goalscorer was Steven Gerrard, I'd say a striker who can find the net is what we need. And at £6m, he's a bargain compared to £8m+ for Andy Johnson.
I really did think they would make key season-changing signings (like Kyut) but they went for players who are just as good as present ones, no better. That makes no sense.Kuyt? Don't rule him out of signing for Liverpool just yet, but sure, he can score a few goals in the Dutch league, but so can Mateja Kezman. If we do sign him I'll be pleased, but there's no guarantee he won't be another Cisse or Morientes - expensive players with incredible records abroad, but couldn't adapt to the Premiership. As for signing players who are no better than the present ones, to me it makes perfect sense. Liverpool now have two decent players in every single position. Fatigue, injuries, lack of form, suspensions - all of these can be devastating if teams don't have the right amount of cover, look at Arsenal's defensive issues last season.

[ff_sweden]

Chelsea-Liverpool, Community shield...............when?

[Russielloyd]

Chelsea-Liverpool, Community shield...............when?

13th August, a week, this Sunday.

[The Devil Man]

Who here is an Arsenal fan?

There must be some Arsenal fans in here, right?

God I love Arsenal. That new stadium looks totally awesome!

[Psychotic]

Sorry, I don't think there are any Arsenal fans at EoFF. :p

[DK]

Edit: Sorry, what? I didn't say anything.

[Russielloyd]

This was days after Roy Keane tried to do an anti-diving campaign with wristbands then he goes and does this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcLmbUQPYzs

One of the reason i don't like manure. Among other things.

[Shoden]

This was days after Roy Keane tried to do an anti-diving campaign with wristbands then he goes and does this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcLmbUQPYzs

One of the reason i don't like manure. Among other things.


Errrr.... Keane doesn't play for Manure anymore, I think it's Celtic. Chelsea are worse divers then Man U, you gotta admit.

[Loony BoB]

Arsenal are the worst divers, but every other club is full of them. It's (sadly) part of football these days.

Keane doesn't play for Celtic or United. He doesn't play. He's retired. He's doing his UEFA courses so he can be a coach/manager.

[Russielloyd]

This was days after Roy Keane tried to do an anti-diving campaign with wristbands then he goes and does this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcLmbUQPYzs

One of the reason i don't like manure. Among other things.


Errrr.... Keane doesn't play for Manure anymore, I think it's Celtic. Chelsea are worse divers then Man U, you gotta admit.

I know he doesn't play for them anymore, infact he's retired now, in just saying people might wonder why it is i hate them so much, that being what got me started hating them and Keane back then.

I know Chelsea do it, though most of it comes from Drogba, that's why i don't like him either.

[ff_sweden]

yes, and what about this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIAqD4dzkLM&search=Roy%20Keane%20Alf%20inge%20

Roy Keane vs Alf Inge Håland

[Loony BoB]

Anyone who complains about diving better not start naming every other player and team but their own, because any fan who says their players don't dive is either ignorant or a liar. Every team has divers - in fact, I'd say the percentage of divers in teams is above 50%, probably more like 80-90% on average. That means almost every player on every team dives. So stop complaining about teams and start complaining about diving in general. Otherwise it's a pointless debate that only makes you a hypocrite (on some level).

Meanwhile, Senna is about to sign for Manchester United.

[Russielloyd]

Most players don't announce in front of newspaper and tv reporters that diving should be a stamp out of the game by wearing wristbands, then blatantly go and do it the following match.

[chrisfffan]

haha chelsea are worse divers than Man U your haveing a laugh! u have the biggest cheat of all at your club and i dont need to name him!

[DK]

No they don't, Chelsea have Drogba and Robben, probably the biggest pair of diving fannies in football at the moment.

[Loony BoB]

haha chelsea are worse divers than Man U your haveing a laugh! u have the biggest cheat of all at your club and i dont need to name him!
Didn't need to look at your location field to know that you're English. :) Get over it.

EDIT: I still say Reyes dives more than anybody else mentioned, but oh well.

[Cuchulainn]

Most players don't announce in front of newspaper and tv reporters that diving should be a stamp out of the game by wearing wristbands, then blatantly go and do it the following match.

You spend more time talking about Man U than Blackburn. You're like a Cathy Bate's obsessed fan. Worry about your own club & get over United. It will do you the world of good.

[Russielloyd]

Most players don't announce in front of newspaper and tv reporters that diving should be a stamp out of the game by wearing wristbands, then blatantly go and do it the following match.

You spend more time talking about Man U than Blackburn. You're like a Cathy Bate's obsessed fan. Worry about your own club & get over United. It will do you the world of good.

I only use it because a mate sent me the link to it on youtube and well i thought i'd showed one of the reasons why i don't like them.

Plus the season hasn't started, no real major signings have been done of recent. Got to talk about something and with it being diving, there's only a few teams that sick out, Chelsea, manure and possibly Arsenal, though Pires has left now but Henry seems to be picking up after him.

[Psychotic]

Every team has divers, sure, but some do it more often than others, and Chelsea and Arsenal are the two names that stick out.

The thing that annoys me about diving is not when the usual suspects like Drogba, Robben, Ronaldo, etc. do it, because I don't expect anything better, but when footballers who seemed to have real integrity, like Henry and Gerrard, do it.

[Russielloyd]

Sometimes it can be misinturpreted (sp) as in some players jump out of the way of a tackle but don't land on ther feet. I mean Steven Reid, was against Bolton i think and one of their players tried to slide tackle him, and Reidy reacted just in time to jump out of the way but didn't land on his feet, though the ref thought he was diving and proceeded to book him. Not saying we don't dive, because Savage does do it from time to time, not with the intent to Ronaldo takes it though.

Personally i don't see Gerrard the diving type, though if your running in the box and someone pushes you and your in that position where your body looks as if it going faster than your legs and struggling to stay on your feet, first instinct is to go down, if you understand where i'm coming from with that.

[Loony BoB]

The only player I can think of that I don't remember diving and would love to see doing such a thing is Terry. He just doesn't seem the diving type... but then, defenders don't get much of a chance.

[DK]

John Terry is a dirty bastard, though. I still love him but yeah.

[Psychotic]

Indeed. Terry doesn't dive, he just handballs it in the area, pushes people in the back, puts his foot high in tackles and stamps on their ankles.

And I love it. Except for when he does it to Luis Garcia.

[Cz]

Everybody cheats, it's as simple as that. Whether it's going down easily to win a free kick, pulling on someone's shirt or whining to the referee, every single player has gone outside the rules at some point. Divers quite rightly come in for a lot of stick, but to act as if the rest of the league are good as gold is unfair. Phil Neville notched up 18 disciplinary points last season - that's ten yellow cards and two reds - simply by not knowing how to freaking tackle, and you don't hear anybody complaining about him. When Robben or Ronaldo dive, on the other hand, it makes the headlines, and people talk about it ruining the sporting atmosphere of the game. They don't seem to realise that it hasn't been sporting for decades.

I'm not trying to let divers off the hook. It's cheating, and needs to be punished more often than it is right now. It upsets me when a player like Thierry Henry tries to break the rules, or when a match is won or lost on a penalty that wasn't. But people seem to think that divers are somehow a minority, and single out individuals as cheats, when in fact they are no worse than the majority of players. Like BoB says, you can't criticise another team for cheating without showing some level of hypocrisy. Unless it's Argentina. :p

[blue phoenix]

haha chelsea are worse divers than Man U your haveing a laugh! u have the biggest cheat of all at your club and i dont need to name him!
Didn't need to look at your location field to know that you're English. :) Get over it.

EDIT: I still say Reyes dives more than anybody else mentioned, but oh well.

yes but reyes is lovable. lol

Everyones used to it from reyes, and he doesnt usually make a big fuss if he doesnt get the decision.

hes still a cheat, but its worse when the cheats blatantly dive then crowd out the referee.

PS- did anyone have the misfortune to watch Liverpool V. Grasshoppers? yawn

[DK]

I wasn't aware being a racist diver qualified you as "loveable" myself.

[chrisfffan]

Indeed. Terry doesn't dive, he just handballs it in the area, pushes people in the back, puts his foot high in tackles and stamps on their ankles.

And I love it. Except for when he does it to Luis Garcia.


u deserve ever bit of bad luck against chelsea! i know its sour grapes but if u was cheated out of a game of such importance, then the other side went on to win it you would know what i mean.

[blue phoenix]

is reyes racist?

was that just not the spanish coach, aragones?

Aragones = arrogant.

lovable was sarcasm.

[Cz]

I wasn't aware being a racist diver qualified you as "loveable" myself.As far as I'm aware, nobody has ever raised serious allegations of racism against José Antonio Reyes. There was an incident in 2004 when Spanish coach Luis Aragones stupidly made racist comments about Thierry Henry to Reyes, in a bizarre attempt to motivate him. However, it was not suggested that José made any such comments himself.

The diving point, of course, has a little more basis in truth. :D

[Psychotic]

u deserve ever bit of bad luck against chelsea! i know its sour grapes but if u was cheated out of a game of such importance, then the other side went on to win it you would know what i mean.That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in football discussion on EoFF.

First of all, the Garcia goal had crossed the line. Watch the videos. However, if you, like Mr. Jose Mourinho, wish to dispute that, then allow me to explain why that the goal was the best outcome for Chelsea.

Do you remember what happened immediately before Luis Garcia's shot? Petr Cech brought down Milan Baros in the area, and the referee played the advantage which lead to the goal. The referee himself admitted that had he not given the goal, he would have sent Cech off and given Liverpool a penalty. Which would you rather have, a goal, or a penalty conceded and 10 men? Yes, that's what I thought.

I'm not even going to touch the implication that stamping on a fellow footballer's ankle is deserved just because of sour grapes.

[Shoden]

u deserve ever bit of bad luck against chelsea! i know its sour grapes but if u was cheated out of a game of such importance, then the other side went on to win it you would know what i mean.That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in football discussion on EoFF.




awwww, man, I got a run in for my money there, I thought I was EoFF's football idiot, =(, well I thought so, well on serious terms I can pretty much agree with you, all in all. My friend went to the St James's Park open day, if I didn't live in South Shields and had a mean of transport I would of gone there. I've only been once in my whole life. =(

[Russielloyd]

First of all, the Garcia goal had crossed the line. Watch the videos

I've seen the replays and even virtual construscted replays, the ball didn't go over the line. The whole ball has to go over the line, which the ball did not do.

Andy Gray has a point, if any player commited a foul, it was Baros.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79FOSVZiiGE

Don't really hate Liverpool or Chelsea, just pointing out the facts here.

[chrisfffan]

i take your point about cech but even so its still bad if it happend to your team you would know what i mean it didnt cross the line and the way it happend was a joke! all the fans jumped up the players jumped up as if they had scored but they hadnt.

[Psychotic]

Baros didn't foul. He got the ball first and he raised his foot when he was a distance from Cech. Watch what Cech does: He spins around with his arms around Baros's waist, grabbing onto him and pulling him down so he can't follow through.

To me, that's across the line. (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=goalchelsea6bn.jpg) And I'd say it's more accurate than a computer simulation.

And even based on the assumption that it was not a goal (The referee said it was) and not a foul (The referee said it was), that still doesn't disguise the fact that Chelsea failed to score in 180 minutes of football against Liverpool, and there's no reason why they deserved to win.

Oh, and you might want to check out another video on there (I'm not going to link it as the comments are filled with bad language from idiots who support both teams, but it's in the related videos and by tommolfc2004) called "Liverpool vs Chelsea Champions League evidence". One computer simulation says one thing, the other says something entirely different.

[ff_sweden]

YAY! AZ ALKMAAR - ARSENAL 0-3
Gilberto Silva (35)
Emmanuel Adebayor (52)
Robin van Persie (penalty 74)

[Russielloyd]

Even that picture says the whole ball didn't cross the line, i don't see the whole perimeter of the ball even past the post, clearly ball wasn't over. Plus the fact that at looking at multiple replay carvalho's foot was behind the ball.

I think the Virtual replay is correct and i think i'm gonna trust Sky Sports analysis and opinion over anybody elses.

[Psychotic]

I do see the whole of the ball over the line, but maybe that's just me. Also why is the Sky virtual replay correct and not the BBC one?

[ff_sweden]

Liverpool...are they gonna play the away match against Maccabi Haifa in Israel?

[Psychotic]

No. UEFA have yet to decide on a venue, but it won't be in Israel.

[ff_sweden]

I don´t understand why Maccabi Haifa are playing in the UEFA Champions league qualification............Israel is in Asia

[Psychotic]

It would not be safe for them to play other Asian teams like Iran, Syria, etc.

[Russielloyd]

I do see the whole of the ball over the line, but maybe that's just me. Also why is the Sky virtual replay correct and not the BBC one?


The BBC show the same as what Sky Sports, there both don't look over the line.

If you were to draw a black line around the ball in the picture, you wouldn't make a full circle.

[DK]

I do see the whole of the ball over the line, but maybe that's just me. Also why is the Sky virtual replay correct and not the BBC one?

Because it disagrees with him, obviously.

[Shoden]

Newcastle vs Villareal, friendly this weekend, it was a bit a dissapointment in the 3-2 defeat to PSV Eindoven, hope these friendlies pump some sense into the squad.

[Cuchulainn]

In regards to the Liverpool Chelsea, it was never a goal, BUT I could care less.

WAYNE GOT SENT OFF AGAIN TODAY. Discuss.

[chrisfffan]

yea and scholes it was only a freindly!

[Russielloyd]

Rooney apparently elbowed a Porto player in the face.

[Cz]

I think the real news is that Man. United managed to get two players sent off and still beat Porto 3-1. I know they're hardly world-beating opposition, but they're still the Portuguese champions, so it's a pretty impressive result.

[DK]

So apparantly we're trying to sign Hatem Trabelsi from Ajax and of Tunisa. One of the best right backs in the world, attacking and a good boss, if injury prone. I'm supposing he'll take over the first choice spot with Danny Mills for cover, or Jihai Sun, but i'd like Sun to be on the pitch playing somewhere else, which he's capable of. And also apparantly Portsmouth want to buy David James off us :D :D D: :D:D: I hope we get a new keeper and offload James finally.

[Shoden]

Villareal 3 Newcastle United 3.

[ff_sweden]

Mainz 5 Liverpool 0

[Shoden]

Mainz 5 Liverpool 0


*boom* headshot. =(, man wth happened? Liverpool cannot get massacred like that.

[Russielloyd]

Mainz 5 Liverpool 0


*boom* headshot. =(, man wth happened? Liverpool cannot get massacred like that.

Well they did, all goals in the second half.

[Psychotic]

Salif Diao and Djimi Traore played. Need I say any more?

[Russielloyd]

Blackburn beat Alemannia Aachen 3-2.

Roberts scoring again, and Pedersen scoring another great goal to add to his collection and McCarthy got off to a superb start scoring on the volley and could of got a hat-trick.

Signs are showing that Roberts and McCarthy will be a great partnership this season.

"The 'RAM' strikeforce!" :D

[chrisfffan]

we lost 1-0 to the msl all stars in america

[blue phoenix]

Villa 0- hannover 0

not inspiring, but not a stampede. also shows Villa are lacking up front, especially with injuries.

PS- im slightly worried about Martin Oneill being trumpeted as a godsend, id rather hang back and see what happens first. i like O Neill, but when people say villa for Champions league in 3 years, i have to wonder.

PSS- is that Jason Roberts? ie ex Wigan- he play for Blackburn? wigan could go down, they didnt play too well at the end, and theyve lost players.

[Russielloyd]

PSS- is that Jason Roberts? ie ex Wigan- he play for Blackburn? wigan could go down, they didnt play too well at the end, and theyve lost players.

It tis indeed Jason Roberts formerly of Wigan Athletic.

[ff_sweden]

William Gallas is tipped to go to Arsenal :p he would be great!

[Cz]

Salif Diao and Djimi Traore played. Need I say any more?I hardly think that qualifies as an excuse. We played Cygan, Almunia and Aliadiere against AZ Alkmaar and still came away with a 3-0 win. Unless you'd like to get into a debate about whose sucky players suck the most, because I'd be glad to take you on in that one. :p

[Psychotic]

Man, the day when Bruno Cheyrou finally has a use, and we've sold him before it happened. Never mind, Le Tallec, Potter, Diao and Traore can hold their own.

Blackburn are playing Mick McCarthy up front?! It's one thing that they've signed Francis Jeffers, but this is ridiculous. :p

[Russielloyd]

Least our strikers can score :p

[Psychotic]

Least ours don't have nice buy out clauses :p

[Psydekick]

Theres a rumour going round we(West Ham) may be getting Sean Wright Phillips on loan, there intrested in Brett Emerton as well though i doubt they will get both (or either):D

[blue phoenix]

anyone here participating in a dreamteam?

[ff_sweden]

yes on http://premier.fantasy-manager.co.uk.

Carrick is injured...............can´t play against Fulham

[Shoden]

Looks like Milner is certainly staying for a while now, the loan to Villa seemed to do him lots of good. Newcastle should loan out more of the not-so-skilled players every so often.

Still 3-3 to Villareal is a good score considering Nickey Butt was the double header hero.

[ff_sweden]

Is Peter Ramage anything good?

[Jess]

God no! :p

Amdy Faye is undergoing his medical with Charlton so will probably be leaving Newcastle very soon. Traore is also undergoing a Charlton medical - so Liverpool won't have to worry about him anymore. :jess:

[Shoden]

Amdy Faye! Yay, he's gone, now we're that little bit more unscrewed, poor Charlton.

[Jess]

Amdy Faye wasn't one of our worst players. He'll probably do Charlton some good. I'd say that Traore is a worse signing. :lol:

Hell, it doesn't matter to me. I want Charlton to do badly! My boyfriend supports them and we've got a bet on concerning them and the upcoming season. :jess:

I'm hoping that we sign Graveson.

[ff_sweden]

Charlton........:hahaha:

Andreas Isaksson is tipped to go From Rennes to Charlton

they should be very happy if he sign for them

he´s one of the best keepers in the world

[Shoden]

I'd make a joke out of that but I gotta make sure there's no Charlton fans around. *ninja*

Ramage aint all that bad, he's better then that sacreligious toon traitor Robbie Elliot. (WHY! DID YOU HAVE TO GO TO THEM!) Where's the room gonna be for Gravesen? Well considering either Parker or Emre are usually injured then so be it there but we got Duffer. Our midfield is pretty good, Parker, Emre, Solano, Duff, Milner and there's more I think but there's formation too, we need to have both Ameobi and Luque up front until we get another striker. There's defence too.

[blue phoenix]

newcastles defence is one of the worst in the premiership. youre lucky you have a decent keeper.

Boumsong, Ramage, ........theyre so bad i cant remember them.

Your midfield is one of the best however. We want Milner back!

[Russielloyd]

Newcastle's midfield just happens to be injury prone as hell though.

[Skogs]

Just another plug before the season starts for the Fantasy Football thread (http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=89582) that's stickied at the top of The Lounge. There is an EoFF League on both Premier Fantasy Manager (http://premier.fantasy-manager.co.uk/) and Fantasy Premier League (http://fantasy.premierleague.com/). See the original post for details. Join up, don't be shy! They're both free!

:cool:

[chrisfffan]

someboady posted that Gallas is going to Arsenal it would be a great signing for them but it wont happen this year i cant see it anyway we seem to be trying everything to keep him even if it means letting him go next year for nothing well it doesnt really matter to us does it?

[Shoden]

Shay Given is more than decent, Man U and Arsenal were chasing him for years, but they stopped needing him around 2003ish. =). Ramage > Boumsong. Newcastle should just buy back Woodgate! He was one of the best defenders the club's had. Luque and Ameobi aren't too bad, they can both score goals, even the midfielders have scored a few times. It's def I'm worrying about because when it comes to teams with bulls for strikers we're screwed, knowing that I dunno how we've beaten Chelsea 2 times at 1-0.

[Loony BoB]

Ronaldo scored two, Ole and Fletcher scored one each in a 4-1 victory over Oxford.

[Psychotic]

So, Charlton have bought Amdy Faye and Djimi Traore on the same day? What the heck was Iain Dowie smoking? :laugh:

[ff_sweden]

Dinamo Zagreb 0 - Arsenal 3
Fabregas 63
Van Persie 64
Fagregas 79
Champions league............

[Loony BoB]

Pretty much what you'd expect when playing against a Croatian side, even if they were champions.

[ff_sweden]

Dinamo Zagreb would beat Oxford

[Loony BoB]

You'd hope so, yeah! Man United wouldn't play the same side they played last night, nor the same formation, should they be playing Champs League qualifiers, though. Heaton (keeper) was playing his first ever game for United after spending previous games in age squads and reserves.

[Psychotic]

It would be nice if, just for once, we could have a nice and easy CL third round qualifying session.

Still, delighted for Mark Gonzalez to score on his full debut, minutes after coming on, after the work permit farce.

Sissoko was fantastic, and Finnan was good too. Pennant, Bellamy and Stevie showed flashes of their talent, but Zenden and Riise looked slightly meh, but that's okay because they're not going to be our first choice left pairing.

[Russielloyd]

A full debut is someone who is in the starting line-up for the first time at thier new club.

[Psychotic]

Still, delighted for Mark Gonzalez to score on his Anfield debut, minutes after coming on, after the work permit farce.

In other news, Pedantic United beat Common Sense Wanderers earlier today.

[Cz]

John Terry has been chosen as the new England captain. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4780745.stm) I'd have taken Gerrard, myself, but there wasn't that much to choose between the two. Terry does a good job as Chelsea skipper, and I'm sure he'll do just as well for England. He's better than Beckham, at any rate.

[ff_sweden]

and Fredrik Ljungberg has been chosen as the new Sweden captain.

i´d taken Tobias Linderoth

[Jess]

I dunno how we've beaten Chelsea 2 times at 1-0.
Because the second time we beat them we were playing their reserve team.


John Terry has been chosen as the new England captain. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4780745.stm) I'd have taken Gerrard, myself, but there wasn't that much to choose between the two. Terry does a good job as Chelsea skipper, and I'm sure he'll do just as well for England. He's better than Beckham, at any rate.
Terry will do a good job but I would have much preferred to see Gerrard as captain. :(

[Russielloyd]

This being the England squad, Terry plays much better than Gerrard does and organises things greatly, imo it was the right choice.

[Loony BoB]

Man United sign up West Brom's Kool Sack keeper, possibly a loan although I'm not sure, and Ben Foster goes on loan to Watford for this season. Whee. Now maybe we can make another midfield signing and, better yet, a striker signing. Torres, please.

[ff_sweden]

and here´s your euro qualification group:
Group E:
England
Israel
Croatia
Estonia
Russia
FYR Macedonia
Andorra

that´s easy......it´ll be between England and Croatia

[charliepanayi]

It is a pretty easy group (one group has France, Italy and Ukraine in it, which is a bit of a nasty one), though Russia now have Guus Hiddink as manager, and Israel can be pretty good sometimes, they didn't qualify for the World Cup but were unbeaten in their qualifying group.

[Shoden]

Newcastle beat Ventspils 1-0 all thanks to a header from the brainless Titus Bramble. They must be embarressed to hell to have hat goal conceded, still it was a kickass goal.

[Psychotic]

And now, Community Shield thoughts. Yeah, it doesn't count for much in the grand scheme of things, but it's always nice to get one over on Chelsea.

It's good to see that we seem to be sharp. Last season we had real issues early on in the season, so much so that if the season had started in October (ie, matches from August and September were discounted) we would've won the league. Hopefully that won't be an issue this time.

Special praise goes to JAR, for his awesome goal, and man-of-the-match Momo Sissoko. It's pointless me praising him after every game, because he always seems to have a really good match.

My suspicions about Chelsea's midfield partnership of Lampard and Ballack were confirmed, and Momo had them both in his pocket until Ballack was injured, and Essien was pushed to the centre, and Chelsea needed him and Diarra to get a foothold in the game. Lampard and Ballack is not the way to go, Jose.

This match really did highlight what strength in depth we have. Today's lineup was Reina, Riise, Agger, Carragher, Finnan, Sissoko, Zenden, Gonzalez, Pennant, Garcia and Crouch, which is a team capable of beating most, if not all teams in the Premiership. But you could easily form another great eleven from players left out: Dudek, Aurelio, Hyypia, Paletta, Kromkamp, Kewell, Alonso, Gerrard, Sinama-Pongolle (or Paul Anderson! :)), Fowler and Bellamy. I love it.

Chelsea, however, seem to lack strength in depth everywhere except midfield. At the back they have Ferreira, Terry, Carvahlo and Bridge, and that's about it. Gallas is surely on the way out, unless Jose and him fix their little spat, and Huth was on the brink of signing for Middlesbrough before failing a medical. It'll be good for them if they can sign Ashley Cole, but don't be surprised if you see Geremi or SWP playing at full-back. Up front their only out-and-out strikers are Drogba, Shevchenko and Kalou, so an injury could really harm them.

[Russielloyd]

Riise goal wasn't exactly brilliant, more of an goal keeping error. Don't think the score line says much, Chelsea will still lift the title at the end of the season.

[ff_sweden]

ROONEY AND SCHOLES BANNED
Manchester United have lost their appeals against the red cards handed out to Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes during the pre-season tournament in Amsterdam.
The United pair were dismissed by Dutch referee Ruud Bossen against Porto and an independent disciplinary commission on Tuesday upheld Bossen’s decision.

Rooney and Scholes will both be banned for three matches against Charlton Athletic, Watford and Tottenham Hotspur, although they will be eligible for the season-opener against Fulham on Sunday.

oh:D

[Jess]

Ashton sidelined until probably Mid-November. :o

[Psychotic]

I find it interesting that there are now six keepers in contention for an England place, and all of them will be getting regular Premiership football, compared to last season three were in the lower leagues and one was a second choice. Robinson at Spurs, Kirkland at Wigan, James at Portsmouth, Carson at Charlton, Foster at Watford and Green at West Ham. I hope one of the younger keepers takes this opportunity and becomes a truly quality keeper, because Robinson isn't good enough for a team that really wants to push for top honours. Interestingly enough, half of them are loanees from either Liverpool or Man United.

[Shoden]

You know, If Given wasn't Irish, It'd be thought by some he could be an England keeper. Robinson isn't all that bad, he's just not in top form most of the time. It's only been once or twice when I've seen him do kickass well at Spurs and England. In more on topic news the scarf waving from Shearer's testemonial is making a comeback for the opener against Wigan on Saturday.

[Psychotic]

I would definitely prefer to see Shay Given in goal than I would Paul Robinson. I know nobody will agree with me on this next one, so save your fingers guys, but I would also prefer to see Steve Finnan at right back than Gary Neville. I'm sure you'll all write it off as Liverpool bias, but I think I'm pretty objective. I'd place Terry, Ferdinand and King above Carra in the pecking order if I were in charge, so there you go. I genuinely can't think of a better right-back in the Premiership than Finnan.

Anywho, about tonight, very nice. Lampard finally remembered how to score deflected goals, just in time for the Premiership season. Great...

Stevie looked lively and deadly, although he did fade out in the second half, and I don't think it was a great idea to wait until the 78th minute to bring him off.

If Man United, or indeed Arsenal, sign Owen Hargreaves, and he performs like that week-in, week-out, then they can definitely challenge Chelsea, because he is the type of player that both teams desperately need.

Stewart Downing looked okay, and rustled up a couple of assists, but he needs to really make a step up if he wants to make that starting spot his own, even if McClaren is madly in love with the guy.

Three of England's back four looked to be in great shape, but Terry looked a bit error-prone, and he was in the Community Shield final. Of course, this will be totally ignored by the media because in their eyes, Terry can do no wrong and he is the best defender ever, with the exception of Bobby Moore. Still, a goal on your debut as captain is fantastic. What I found interesting was how the BBC's pundits were droning on about having a passionate captain and how great it was, but Beckham was every bit as passionate about England as Terry is, and you could see it on his face when he or team-mates scored.

[DK]

I know nobody will agree with me on this next one

You're right, I don't. But I do think he should be next in line, for sure.

Was a great performance today, Rio Ferdinand and Stevie G in particular looked to be very free and very happy. Ashley Cole played great as well, Crouch with two goals, although neither were particularly hard chances, can't complain with that. (Well, Frank Lampard might, but that's about it. Serves him right for not finishing it the first time. I wished the other goal would have been given as an own goal purely to see Frank cry.)

Also agree about Hargreaves, it's good to see him justifying his place in the squad by playing really good football. Downing too, needs to step up yes, but if he does it'd be good for us, and even if he doesn't we have Cole to fill in quite adequately on the left.

Wasn't too sure about Defoe, thought he could have and should have done a little better, but whatever, end of the day it was 4-0.

[Psydekick]

Yay!!!

West Ham have bought Robert Green! They also have signed Sunderland defender George Mcartney

Both are injured and so is Dean Ashton:(

[Jess]

Yay!!!

West Ham have bought Robert Green! They also have signed Sunderland defender George Mcartney

Both are injured and so is Dean Ashton:(
...I'm sorry. :jess:

[Shoden]

Yay!!!

West Ham have bought Robert Green! They also have signed Sunderland defender George Mcartney

Both are injured and so is Dean Ashton:(
...I'm sorry. :jess:

Waste of money.

[chrisfffan]

Robert Green is a good signing

[Shoden]

Robert Green is a good signing

Not him, the... err... How do I think of an appropriate word that can describe people from Sunderland...?... Hmm... Err... Damn, it's hard... I'll just say gasbag.

[Psychotic]

I never thought I'd see the day where barcodes fans mock people for having dodgy defenders.

Liverpool have signed Dirk Kuyt. Surprisingly, he did not want to sign for that massive club Newcastle United. "Newcastle a're <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> and they have as much chance of winning a trophy as my grandma, and she's been dead since '98" he did not go on to say.

I pray he is a Van Nistelrooy and not a Kezman. Oh that crazy Dutch league.

[Shoden]

I never thought I'd see the day where barcodes fans mock people for having dodgy defenders.

Liverpool have signed Dirk Kuyt. Surprisingly, he did not want to sign for that massive club Newcastle United. "Newcastle a're <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> and they have as much chance of winning a trophy as my grandma, and she's been dead since '98" he did not go on to say.

I pray he is a Van Nistelrooy and not a Kezman. Oh that crazy Dutch league.

I was one of the only Newcastle fans to say Kuyt had as much chance of coming as the universe spontaneously imploding on itself. I should of made a bet... My friends called me crazy because I said we wouldn't sign him and doubted him signing.

[Russielloyd]

The guy wants to win trophys, he probably crossed Newcastle off the list straight away :p

[ff_sweden]

Have Newcastle ever won premier league?

[Russielloyd]

Have Newcastle ever won premier league?

No, only 4 teams in 14 years have had the pleasure of doing that.

Blackburn being one of them, i am very proud to say!! :D:D:D

[Psychotic]

I was pleased that Blackburn won the league. I remember them losing 2-1 to us on the final day, but because Man United (wearing black. Yes, I remember little details like that :D) only managed a 1-1 draw at Upton Park (thank you Michael Hughes) Blackburn won. Good times.

[ff_sweden]

yeah, Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer were Great 1994-1995:p

[Psydekick]

indeed, We gave you the title Russieloyd

Now you should be thankful

[Russielloyd]

Yep, the true meaning of Saturdays is back! A day of just watching football.

9am - 12am: Soccer AM (Best thing to wake up to.)
12pm - 6pm: Gillette Soccer Saturday (Enjoy watching them have proper analysis of tteam and opinions i respect.)
6pm - 8:15pm: Sky Sports News (Have on in the background while talking on the net about the football results.)
8:15pm - 10:15: Football First (Watch the full 90 mins of the game of the day from the Premiership.)
10:20pm - 11:50pm (est): Match Of The Day (Watch and record all goals from the evening matches.)
12:00am - 1:30am(est): Football First (Watch extended highlights of Blackburn if they're not game of the day.)


Yes, when it comes to football, i have no life.

[Resha]

Liverpool are wearing the ugliest yellow ever. *shock and horror*

[Jess]

1-1 to Liverpool and Sheffield.

Sheffield should be proud. :jess:

[Russielloyd]

Sheffield United 1 - 1 Liverpool FT

Liverpool's goal wasn't even a penalty, the defender didn't event touch Gerrard.

Sheffield Utd should have had 3 points but liverpool got very lucky.

[Resha]

Gerrard the Diver :D Oh, the end of this'll never be heard.

[Heath]

Go Everton. Not only have we managed to beat the mighty Watford but we even managed two goals in a match!

...

[Psydekick]

Come on West Ham!

wOOt 3-1 against Charlton!:p

[Shoden]

Newcastle 2 Wigan 1 Parker and Ameobi

[Psydekick]

nice to see Shola Ameobi scoring, they could be the surprise package this year newcastle

[Resha]

Sad about the Arsenal game. We totally owned them stats-wise, but they did manage to have 5 shots and come away with a goal, whereas it took us 19 shots. A brilliant debut from Walcott! :D He shows a lot of promise, and his pace was just what our side needed; they all seem so tired and sluggish, especially Henry. I hope Henry gets rested well, soon. He really needs it. :) I was pretty impressed with Djourou at the back, he was brilliant, and gave Hoyte a hand...a foot...whenever he needed it. Hoyte wasn't anything outstanding so far as I saw, but he could become a really solid, dependable player.

Bless Gilberto Silva and his darling little heart! :D I love him so much. He always saves us in this last-minute little thrillers! (Or, sometimes.) I remember this game versus Bolton last season, where he scored in extra-time. Hopefully our next game will be better. Ljungberg was on today, and he's just full of fire-power! I hope this season's better for him than the last was; if today was anything to go by, he's going to create plenty of chances.

Also good news about the attendance! 60, 023! Whoo!

Before I kill myself with optimism and all that jazz, Bolton're beating the Jerks 2 - 0, after only 20 minutes! Now this really does make me happy, even though it's mean-spirited and all. *glee* ^___^ *edit*

[No.78]

LOL FOOTBALL...

sorry.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I liked the matches we had slugging it out with Sheffield United during our two FA Cup triumphs so I'll be rooting for them and their John-Denver-singing fans to avoid relegation this year.

Don't be do disheartened about the draw Resha. We are still quite unfamiliar with this new pitch and we still have a lot of undeveloped talent. This season and possibly next will serve well as for building up an 11 man world class squad most of which will be in their mid 20's by then and we jolly well might pick up a few trophies on the way too

[Russielloyd]

Our defence was absolutely appauling today! Beaten 3-0 by portsmouth and Neill, what a moron is all i can say. It looked like he was playing crap on purpose, i mean he practically gave the first goal away, then goes and get 2 yellow cards and gets sent off. If he's going to play like that, then he can leave now! Then Todd get himself sentoff.

No excuses, we we're pathetic today. There better be a much greater improvement on wednesday at home to Everton.

[Resha]

Don't be do disheartened about the draw Resha. We are still quite unfamiliar with this new pitch and we still have a lot of undeveloped talent. This season and possibly next will serve well as for building up an 11 man world class squad most of which will be in their mid 20's by then and we jolly well might pick up a few trophies on the way too

Oh, I'm not, really! Some performances today showed a lot of promise, and things will get much, much better, I'm convinced. :)

[Psychotic]

Liverpool's goal wasn't even a penalty, the defender didn't event touch Gerrard.

Sheffield Utd should have had 3 points but liverpool got very lucky.I've only seen the incident twice, so my opinion on this may change after MotD, but to me, there was contact, and Stevie himself says there was contact. Morgan clipped Gerrard's heels, causing him to lose balance, and you could see him trying to regain it before tripping over. It's illegal contact in the box, denying a goal scoring opportunity. It's a penalty and a red card. End of.
Gerrard the Diver :D Oh, the end of this'll never be heard.Nice try. :rolleyes2

Anyway, drawing 1-1 with the team that I predict will come 20th, and losing Carra and JAR through injuries is the worst season opener I've witnessed as a Liverpool fan.
and things will get much, much better, I'm convincedIf they don't get better than managing to scrape a 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa, I'd be a very worried Arsenal fan if I were you.

Finally, yay Reading.

[Resha]

There was no contact at all. :roll: Diver~ The tackler's legs went right through Gerrard and he even took a few steps before clearly losing his balance and going down. =_=

[Psychotic]

Oh come on, you can bait me better than that. Perhaps you could throw in a couple of Michael Thomas 1989 references next time.

Unless you're actually being serious, and in which case I'm greatly amused.

[Resha]

...I'm completely serious. O_O There was no contact! Ask anybody!

Ah, that Liverpool. Captained by a diver. :shame: Ah, that Steven Gerrard. Such a great player, diving. Shame on him. :nonono:

[ff_sweden]

yeah, there was no contact

Michael Thomas, yeah "it´s up for grabs now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhnMHdOciag

[Psychotic]

You're cute :laugh: Although you're no Cz.

Ask anybody? OK, I'll ask Rob Styles, Premiership referee who has more training, experience and knowledge of the rules than you or I, and see what he has to say. Over to you, Rob!

"I saw the Sheffield United player come in and there was slight contact with Steven Gerrard"

And I will respond to Michael Thomas how I always do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvMkv1j5goQ

[Russielloyd]

Liverpool's goal wasn't even a penalty, the defender didn't event touch Gerrard.

Sheffield Utd should have had 3 points but liverpool got very lucky.I've only seen the incident twice, so my opinion on this may change after MotD, but to me, there was contact, and Stevie himself says there was contact. Morgan clipped Gerrard's heels, causing him to lose balance, and you could see him trying to regain it before tripping over. It's illegal contact in the box, denying a goal scoring opportunity. It's a penalty and a red card. End of.

No end of. Even fowler said it wasn't a penalty. I've seen the replays, and it wasn't a penalty. Techincally he didn't stop his goal scoring opptunity, Gerrard still got his shot away, scuffed it and went down.

For someone who hasn't seen it yet, don't think you can question that yet.

[Psychotic]

No end of. Even fowler said it wasn't a penalty. I've seen the replays, and it wasn't a penalty. Techincally he didn't stop his goal scoring opptunity, Gerrard still got his shot away, scuffed it and went down.However, without the contact, I think it's fair to assume that Stevie would've unleashed a more goal-threatening shot, and from that position, it could well have gone in.

Also, if you have any links to that Fowler quote, I'd like to read it, as I haven't found anything like that on the football/Liverpool sites that I visit. Thanks.
For someone who hasn't seen it yet, don't think you can question that yet.
I've only seen the incident twice:D

[Russielloyd]

It was said on sky in his interview which i missed but Redknapp said while talking to Keys that "Even Robbie said it wasn't a penalty, which i agree, no way was it a penalty" He said more but that was the jist of it.

For some reason i thought you said "I haven't seen it yet but Gerrard..."

whoops, haha

I just want wednesday to come asap.

[Resha]

There are better judges than Rob Styles! Because Mr. Styles didn't see the close-up of the incident replayed on the telly a bazillion times. (Not that I did, but yeah. Someone out there will have.)

[Psychotic]

Okay, having watched the incident several times (I recorded that moment on MotD :D) I'm now going to give my view.

If anybody claims it's a dive, then they must either have the brainpower of David Beckham, or they're being a terribly witty wind-up merchant.

As for contact, it's impossible to tell. Sometimes it looks like he touches him, and sometimes it does not. I don't think anybody can say with 100% conviction that he did or did not touch him, unless they're superhuman, and claims to the contary will be met with a roll of the eyes. Considering that Rob Styles, who was in a good position, says he saw contact, and as Stevie said he felt contact, I'm going to say that there probably was.

Was it a penalty? Nope. Stevie tripped himself up, and the challenge had absolutely no affect on a goalscoring opportunity. We had some terrible fortune with United players crippling Carra and JAR, so I think we deserved a bit of luck.

[Russielloyd]

Chelsea 1, Man City 0

John Terry.

There's me climbing up the fantasy league table! :d

Chelsea 2-0

Psychotic's favourite player, Frank Lampard with the second and guess what the help with? p

[Cz]

Sucky start to the season for us. Even if we had the better of the play, it doesn't mean anything unless we can actually convert chances into goals. I was hoping to make it to at least September before dropping points to Chelsea and co., but unfortunately we're already being forced to play catch-up.

As for the Liverpool incident; I don't think it was a penalty. My interpretation was that Gerrard dodged the tackle, and in attempting to shoot lost his balance. It's a very difficult one to call, though, and Rob Styles shouldn't be blamed for his decision. What he should be blamed for is giving Neil Warnock something to mouth off about before most of the Premiership even got to kick a ball.

[Psydekick]

I think Lee Bowyer was awesome for West Ham, lets hope his Leeds form comes back:D

[Shoden]

NUFC news: Newcastle United will today move dramatically closer to a £10million swoop for Inter Milan striker Obafemi Martins. Martins' agent Patrick Bastianelli will fly into Newcastle today to hold transfer talks with Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd.

SkySportsNews claimed on Suday that we were in the process of concluding a deal to sell Jean-Alain Boumsong to Juventus.

The Serie B side are said to have agreed a transfer fee of £2.5m. The French World Cup squad member didn't feature for us on Saturday against Wigan.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

Yay. I like Martins

[Russielloyd]

Blackburn have completed the signing of Dutch defender Andre Ooijer from PSV Eindhoven for an undisclosed fee.
The 32-year-old Holland international is a regular in the national side and has joined on a two-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.

Blackburn boss Hughes said: "We have been looking to add to our central defensive options all this summer.

"Ooijer has great experience. He has played at the highest level and will be a real asset for us."

Ooijer, who can also play at right-back, is reported to have cost around £2m.

Great signing for us, please to have got him finally and apparently from what i've heard from PSV supporters and general dutch fans, he's the best Dutch centre back at the moment.

I'll take that :D

[Cuchulainn]

Manchester United 3 Charlton Athletic 0

After a shakey start, we dominated. Great result and great for wee Ole to get one. VERY lucky with Wes Brown's MAD MAD hand ball in the box but then we had one waved away too.

Great start to the season for United, terrible for Liverpool & Chelsea. Early title contenders? We are at our best when the world writes us off.


PS: THANK YOU MIDDLESBROUGH.

[Resha]

Middlesbrough :laugh: <3 Chelski finally meets its Waterloo. :p

I was watching Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb. Scary one. But Walcott sets up yet another goal; missed the Ljungberg goal due to a power failure at Emirates or something. Well, we're through, though. :)

[DK]

I'd be sad for my fantasy football team because chelski lost but it's just too funny that they lost to MIDDLESBOROUGH AHAHAHAH what a bunch of legends <3

[Resha]

They lost to Boro last season too, I remember. :lol: Even despite the fact that two weeks previously we'd trashed Boro 7-0 or something. Ah, so happy. <3

[chrisfffan]

wow we lost haha MIDDLESBOROUGH are our bogey side now! twice they have beaten us

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

Wow, I never knew Benni McCarthy plays for Blackburn until just now.

I would also like to mention how well I think Cristiano Ronaldo has developed since joining the Reds. Extremely confident with the ball at his feet, showing good awareness and good in the air. I now see him as a very mature player, one of the more important members in the Manchester United squad. If I didn't know better I would have guessed he was in his late 20's and he is like what 21 years old now?

[Russielloyd]

He's 21. I watched some of the game, he got some massive jeers. i guess they don't like him down at Charlton.

[Cz]

Much as I hate to say it, Man. United were awesome awesome awesome against Charlton. They could have had six or seven had they been a bit luckier. Chelsea, on the other hand, were really poor defensively without Cech. Looks like we might not be chasing them just yet. :p

[charliepanayi]

You can't judge anything from the first few games, that loss last night could be the kick up the arse Chelsea needed to make sure they don't get too comfortable.

[Psychotic]

Ben Thatcher and Pedro Mendes. Jesus H. Christ. That is all.

[Heath]

Ben Thatcher and Pedro Mendes. Jesus H. Christ. That is all.

He's no Duncan Ferguson.

[Psychotic]

Now what the bloody hell do Man Utd think they're doing? Don't they know they're supposed to be crap in the first half of the season, allowing Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal etc. to build up a lead, and then after Christmas they decide "Oh, fine, we suppose we'd better try to win this Premiership thingy" and go on an incredible run, and claim victory? Silly!

I thought it might be a tough season for the Gunners, and if Walcott can't rescue the current 1-0 defecit against Man City, it will have been a very poor start indeed.

Anyway, after 5 competitive games, I will give my thoughts on Liverpool's season so far.

BAD:
- We've conceded in every game so far. Last season, clean sheets were a hallmark of our team.
- Injuries. Ouch. Carra, Riise, Kewell, Warnock, Sissoko, Paletta....:(
- The new players haven't quite gelled yet, and I don't think we've seen the best of Bellamy and Gonzalez yet.

GOOD:
- Undefeated so far.
- After playing the same amount of Premiership games as Chelsea, we've earned more points. :D
- We avoided the potential banana skin of Maccabi Haifa.
- Daniel Agger has been fantastic. Even if you ignore that goal, which is a candidate for the best I've ever seen from a centre-back, he has looked solid. It's good to know that when Sami finally retires/leaves (I think next season will be his last in a red shirt) our defence will still be strong.
- Peter Crouch. 5 goals in his last 5 games, although 2 were in the England game. And indeed, since December, he's scored 24 goals in 41 appearances for Liverpool and England. Crouchie can't score indeed.

[Cz]

Oh, god dammit. :(

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

sheet

[Resha]

Oh, it's my turn now.

*depression* :(

[DK]

I have only one thing to say:

:cool:

edit: fuck that YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Oh man, that is the result of the season for me already. I don't care what else happens. Except if we get relegated, that would suck. But other than that, uNF. Joey Barton I love you. Filthy Arsenal go die now :D

Edit2: k after watching match of the day I'm even happier because we really should have lost 5-1 or so. I don't know how we managed to luck out on that one. :}

[Heath]

Well, today was a rather big surprise for me. I was going with the typical "oh, White Hart Lane, that's a loss" approach and we actually win the match. And with 10 men for the majority of the game.

Looking forward to the Derby actually, in the way that overly optimistic Evertonians do. Still, maybe with some luck on our side we can extend our unbeaten record to an entire four matches. Wow.

[Psychotic]

I'm posting in this thread to tell you all why Rafael Benitez is the best manager in the Premiership. No, it's not because he's won the Spanish league, or indeed the Champions League.

It is because of his socks. (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/photobucketamazingness/rafafootymaniacnw5.jpg) Legend.

He's making himself very unpopular with Blackburn fans, as, not content with snapping up Bellamy, he is currently attempting to sign Lucas Neill.

It's a good thing Hargreaves won't be signing for Man United, as I was just beginning to like him.

[Neo_Bahamut11]

guess im odd a spurs fan from brum but still i think that we had a werid buy in mido we already bought berbatov and ill be honest our season has bin crap i just want use 2 buy sum top class player in the last night of nagotiations my bet is downing but 2 be honest i dont 2 y we could not have just bought duff i understand he neva wanted 2 go 2 another london club but still im just hoping we dont flop this season

[Old Manus]

I am disgusted with the lack of Swansea City goodness in this thread. :mad2:

[Psydekick]

It is awful isent it Manus:nonono:

West Ham looking at Steed Malbranque, i hope they dont sign him, hes not rly that good

[Resha]

West Ham just signed...Tevez...and...Jesus Christ. (Not literally!) Mascherano.

...o_o

[DK]

West Ham just signed...Tevez...and...Jesus Christ. (Not literally!) Mascherano.

...o_o

Amazing buys for West Ham.

[Psychotic]

There's gotta be something dodgy about that. The fourth Champions League spot is under threat, and there will definitely be a huge fight for the UEFA places, with Tottenham, Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham all looking strong, and I wouldn't rule out Bolton, Newcastle or even Portsmouth making a push.

Good news for Arsenal fans: Reyes and Cygan out, and Baptista in.

[DK]

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid={DBD12D53-8346-431D-A04F-5D0F8664DE80}&newsid=359588

:love:

[Psychotic]

Yeah but your hero Sibierski has gone to the Toon. Oh my, Rossi and Sibierski! Not to mention Ameobi, Un-Luque and Michael "The New Darren Anderton" Owen. Newcastle are truly terrifying!

I'm pleased that neither Arsenal nor Manchester United have managed to sign a gritty defensive midfielder, which makes Mascherano signing for West Ham all the more hilarious.

In other news, the most tedious summer transfer saga has come to an end, with Ashley Cole signing for Chelsea, with William Gallas going the other way. Arsenal were beginning to look a bit sparse on the French front, with the exits of Cygan and Pires.

[DK]

I thought Big Bald Pascal was dutch?

Yes I mourn the loss of Antoine, well I did. I went to the mcfc website to read about his departure and the first thing I saw was "City get Beasley" and I forgot all about the french slaphead :spin:

Edit: Guess not! Who'd have thought it. Although, it should have been obvious really.

Also the whole Ashley Cole thing has only been drawn out so long so that now no one gives a <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> anymore and the Arsenal fans won't harass him.

[Shoden]

Newcastle got Bernard back on a free transfer. Now that's a good deal!!!!
screw Sibi, Rossi and Bernard are a couple of decent guys.

[Resha]

Also the whole Ashley Cole thing has only been drawn out so long so that now no one gives a <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> anymore and the Arsenal fans won't harass him.

Like hell we won't :mad2: Just wait 'till we play Chelski.

[Shoden]

They should of done the deal earlier so Newcastle could of gotten Bridge. =(

[Psychotic]

Newcastle got Bernard back on a free transfer. Now that's a good deal!!!!Yeah, with him and Rossi, I'd say you're looking at second place at least, and definitely a trophy - either UEFA or FA.

[Shoden]

Newcastle got Bernard back on a free transfer. Now that's a good deal!!!!Yeah, with him and Rossi, I'd say you're looking at second place at least, and definitely a trophy - either UEFA or FA.

Newcastle have the worst defence in the EPL though, I don't know why Roeder was dishing out time on Sibi when he should of gotten a high class defender. Bernard is brilliant and all but there could of been more. Boumson is gone but we still got Babayaro and Bramble as the ducks.

[Psychotic]

What the fuck is Andorra's problem? No, really. Throwing 11 men behind the ball...what the heck is the point in that? Damage limitation, somebody might say. No. They lost 5-0. What's the difference in losing 5-0 and 10-0? There isn't one if you're Andorra and going to come bottom of the qualifying league regardless. What they should've done is put every single outfield player on the goal-line with the keeper in front. It would've probably been more effective in achieving their aim, and it would be a lot funnier. Or maybe, just maybe, they could've tried attacking. What have they got to lose? It was obvious they would be thumped anyway.

As for England, how is it that Frank Lampard can be largely anonymous against Andorra of all teams?

Defoe does not convince me, and I'm glad we didn't sign him, as rumours suggested we might.

Speaking of unconvincing, Downing and Richardson. Neither have pace or can beat a man, and the only thing they offer is a left foot. Come back, Joe Cole. Please.

Wes Brown: What is the point? Now, that is a question which could be asked on any given day, however, in this context I am asking why he wasn't taken off for Andy Johnson ASAP, as it's not like Andorra were ever going to pose a threat. Nothing against him as a player, but a second centre back was unnecessary.

Even though we won 5-0, I'm extremely frustrated. It's all Andorra's fault. I say we nuke them, just for kicks.

[chrisfffan]

im not happy or sad that cole has signed for us but i allways think of him as a Arsenal player i cant see him in a chelsea shirt i really cant! and i think if what chelsea has said is true about gallas im happy we got rid of him but it doesnt seem in his character to say them things but you can never tell with people

[Orion Zero]

Even though I live in Hexham I don't support a specific team, I root for many teams like Liverpool, Middlesborough and Newcastle. I don't know much on football, not even much on these teams, it's just an excuse when football talk is situated. I aint a sports fancier.
So i came in this thread to yay the teams and the fans here. I read papers for sports updates so I automatically fail. I just saw this thread and was bored so there's my excuse for posting here. I'm not a football fan, I just back and yay for some teams...............

[Loony BoB]

One does wonder just how Arsenal will get through the home-grown rule at this rate.

[chrisfffan]

haha yea they have got another frenchman now

[Psychotic]

One does wonder just how Arsenal will get through the home-grown rule at this rate.They're going to clone Theo Walcott. Oh, and Manuel Almunia, their Spanish and notably terrible reserve goalkeeper (who you may remember looking dodgy in the CL final) has expressed an ambition to play for England, and when he is eligble for citizenship in two or so years time, he will make himself availiable for selection.

Oh Carlo Cudicini, why won't you do that? :weep:

[DK]

Oh Carlo Cudicini, why won't you do that? :weep:

SERIOUSLY :weep:

[charliepanayi]

Roll up! Roll up! It's the 'guess when Arsenal will actually manage to win a game' competition - place your bets now!

Seeing as it's Man Utd away next week (i.e. almost certainly 0 points for us), I'm starting to wonder if it'll be October at this rate before we win. It's certainly very bewildering and frustrating anyway.

[Cz]

Makes sense, though. Our away record was terrible last season, and until we're familiar with the new ground you could say (if you were stupid) that we're playing nothing but away games.

But yeah, another disappointment for us. Apparently the penalty decision was a contentious one, too. Unless we turn this around right away, there's no way we're going to make the Champion's'es League next year.

Oh, and it looks like some blue team beat some red team.

Bloody Chelsea. :p

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I couldn't care less if we didn't make the Champions League. The cup itself is a joke, UEFA is a joke, the whole system is biased

[charliepanayi]

I couldn't care less if we didn't make the Champions League. The cup itself is a joke, UEFA is a joke, the whole system is biased

Well I DO bloody well care - that said, I'm still not going to panic with regards to getting 4th place just yet. There's still plenty of time to fix that, and Liverpool have gotten off to a fairly rotten start too for instance (and Tottenham have lost three out of four games).

[Cookie]

Haven't seen today's results yet, hope we beat those footless idiots. United to win this year!!!!

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I'm more worried about Portsmouth than Tottenham this year to be honest ;)

[Cookie]

I'm more worried about Portsmouth than Tottenham this year to be honest ;)

Portsmouth are getting much more credit than they deserve. They get a period of success and everyone thinks theyre the new Real Madrid, give it some time and theyll be back in the teens where they belong.

[chrisfffan]

i wonder when the gooners will win at home haha any guesses?

[charliepanayi]

Well our next two games are against promoted teams (Sheffield United and Watford, though the latter isn;t until mid-October) so fingers crossed... XD

[Heath]

Dear Paul,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBySZ6Hg9QE

Much love,
Tom.

Ps. <3 @ Andy Johnson

[Psychotic]

Dear Tom,

I hope your children are born with birth defects.

Much love,
Paul.

Ps. Fuck you Graham Poll.

[Russielloyd]

*tumbleweed*

Thought there'd be a bit more talking in here ahead of the biggest Sunday of the season tomorrow. Going to be a great day of football.

Predictions anyone?

I'm going for a Chelsea win and even though i would prefer Arsenal to win, they're playing poor and not converting the chances they get, so i think manure will win.

As for Blackburn, i'm going for a 2-0 win for them.

[charliepanayi]

Chelsea and Liverpool to draw
Man Utd will probably beat Arsenal, but hopefully we can nick a draw off them or something.

[Cz]

We're going to get absolutely caned. United have always been our toughest opponents, and since they've started so well (and we so poorly) this game will be even more difficult. A draw tomorrow will make me very happy indeed.

[Psychotic]

Chelsea v Liverpool to be the most boring game of all time. We've beaten them twice in a row now, but as Riise (who scored in both those games) is injured, things don't look good, as Aurelio hasn't been convincing at left-back (but he has as a left midfielder) and I doubt Rafa will use Warnock in such a game. Still, it shouldn't matter too much as Chelsea are woefully lacking in width.

[Russielloyd]

Chelsea v Liverpool to be the most boring game of all time. We've beaten them twice in a row now, but as Riise (who scored in both those games) is injured, things don't look good, as Aurelio hasn't been convincing at left-back (but he has as a left midfielder) and I doubt Rafa will use Warnock in such a game. Still, it shouldn't matter too much as Chelsea are woefully lacking in width.

1-0 Chelsea HT
Drogba with 180 degree turn on Carragher and absolutely belted the ball, Reina didn't even react.

[charliepanayi]

Well at least with Liverpool losing I have the consolation now that if Arsenal do lose, we'll have the knowledge that Liverpool are doing almost as dismally as we are.

[Russielloyd]

Arsenal winning 1-0, Adebayor. I know it's been said many a time but Febregas is a little genius. All coming from a Ronaldo error.

FT, Arsenal win 1-0, Pompey are top of the table. HAHA

Anyways, i kinda this result would happen, being it was manure best start to a prem season and Arsenal worst before the match, so it just had to happen.

[Resha]

vwbkrgvbwkrhvbrhkvrwkhf FABREGAS IS A FUCKING GOD. AS IS JENS LEHMANNbweflf3yeifve efjbuy2uef oh my god oh my god YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit: On a saner note; oh my god. :D Well, we deserved to win that one. Owned Manure, we did. I thought it was a bit daft of Fergie to sub off Rooney and Scholes off at the same time -- I didn't understand why he did that, but doubtless he had his reasons. Ahhh. I am so happy. :D

[Russielloyd]

vwbkrgvbwkrhvbrhkvrwkhf FABREGAS IS A smurfING GOD. AS IS JENS LEHMANNbweflf3yeifve efjbuy2uef oh my god oh my god YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


10th place now, don't get too carried away :p

[Resha]

vwbkrgvbwkrhvbrhkvrwkhf FABREGAS IS A smurfING GOD. AS IS JENS LEHMANNbweflf3yeifve efjbuy2uef oh my god oh my god YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


10th place now, don't get too carried away :p

I'm not thinking of the placing. We owned. Manure. At Old Trafford. Without Henry. Without van Persie. Worst start ever to the Premiership. LOL. Owned Ronaldo. Did Fabregas. In midfield. Score. Did Adebayor. AJHEVFVWFH3EFBI AHAHAHAHA :heart: Oh yeah. Made an. Awesome save. DID LEHMANN <3 Better even. Than that stupid penalty save. :D AHAHAHA~

[Russielloyd]

I'm glad your won, i was hoping you won just like any team that comes against manure.

Portmouths top of the league, is what is fun when looking at the league.

[ff_sweden]

yeah, Portsmouth is Awesome right now

Benjani and Sol Campbell ~ Great Signings

and FINALLY, WE WON AGAINST THEM AT OLD TRAFFORD!

[Resha]

:D

I do think Liverpool ought to have won, or at the very least, drawn. Frank Lampard on Gerrard :nonono: Riley mucked up loads, imho.

[charliepanayi]

Great win for Arsenal today (and we deserved it to boot), though there is still a lot of work to do - let's not go now and wind up failing to beat Sheffield United at home next weekend... XD

[Cz]

vwbkrgvbwkrhvbrhkvrwkhf FABREGAS IS A smurfING GOD. AS IS JENS LEHMANNbweflf3yeifve efjbuy2uef oh my god oh my god YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!gubhipugipbhibIKNOWbvdnjosfhaipdogmfjesusSMURFiNGCHRISTohghodbivuYES!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :love:

This will do wonders for our confidence. I can see us really finding our form now, and putting our awful start behind us. Of course, it's still an uphill struggle if we want to make it in to the top four, but just getting our first win is a huge relief. Yay football! :D

[Jess]

Yaayyyyyyyyy, We won away at Upton Park! :jess:

Newcastle 2 - 0 West Ham. And both of the new boys, Duff and Martins scored their first goals for the club. Looks like we're in a bit of trouble for Anfield on Wednesday, though as Harewood slid into Shay Given's chest and he is in hospital. Oh dear! :(

[Heath]

Two stupid mistakes cost Everton two points against Wigan. Quite disappointed, but can't complain about our start to the season.

[Psychotic]

I thought Fabregas was poor until the goal. :p

I'm sorry for misleading you all about Stephen Warnock. I had to do it in case Jose was reading. I hope you can all understand. Oh boy, there goes the title again! (Yeah, I can write us off in September. This is exactly what happened last season!)

[Russielloyd]

We got our first in of the season! @)

Blackburn 4 - 2 Man City

McCarthy 3 in 6 games now, Nonda was great when he came on at the start of the 2nd half, Ooijer had a stinker 1st half, much improved in the 2nd and Gally got his first goal for Blackburn in almost 2 years. Pedersen getting a assist and goal aswell, major points in my fantasy team :)

Blackburn jumped up 8 places into 12th and for 45 mins, Arsenal were in the bottom 3, lolz.

[Cz]

I thought Fabregas was poor until the goal. :p

I'm sorry for misleading you all about Stephen Warnock. I had to do it in case Jose was reading. I hope you can all understand. Oh boy, there goes the title again! (Yeah, I can write us off in September. This is exactly what happened last season!)Pfft, I wrote you off in August. Of last year. Liverpool are a good side at the moment, but you've got about as much chance of winning the title this season as, er...us. If you're looking to get one over United and Chelsea, you'd be better off following Portsmouth.

As for Fabregas, he can be completely anonymous for eighty-nine minutes of the game, but if he spends the remaining sixty seconds winning us the match then I couldn't care less. :p

[Psychotic]

We'll take them both down and dominate once more just as soon as we find cures for Liverpool Striker Syndrome and Liverpool Goalkeeper Syndrome.

So he's like Luis Garcia Jr.?

[Cz]

We'll take them both down and dominate once more just as soon as we find cures for Liverpool Striker Syndrome and Liverpool Goalkeeper Syndrome.What you need is a keeper with a good solid face. That keeps 'em out. As for your striker problem, I can't help you there. It seems that no matter how good a goalscorer you guys sign, once he pulls on a red shirt he becomes an inept, talentless buffoon. Maybe you should speed up the process next time and just sign Francis Jeffers.


So he's like Luis Garcia Jr.?Yes, only more attractive.

[Psychotic]

What you need is a keeper with a good solid face. That keeps 'em out. It worked with Bruce Grobelaar I suppose. Scott Carson ought to do the trick.
As for your striker problem, I can't help you there. It seems that no matter how good a goalscorer you guys sign, once he pulls on a red shirt he becomes an inept, talentless buffoon. Maybe you should speed up the process next time and just sign Francis Jeffers.Ah ha, the crucial word there is "sign". Homegrowns like Fowler and Owen seem to be alright. Trawl the streets of Liverpool for some scouse scallies and put them into the frontlines at once! Alternatively, let's start the de-freezing process on Ian Rush's cryogenic chamber.

So he's like Luis Garcia Jr.?Yes, only more attractive.What's more attractive than a Spanish midget sucking his thumb?

[Cz]

It worked with Bruce Grobelaar I suppose. Scott Carson ought to do the trick.I can't object to that; although I think Scott will end up doing face-blocking for Charlton in the long term.


Ah ha, the crucial word there is "sign". Homegrowns like Fowler and Owen seem to be alright. Trawl the streets of Liverpool for some scouse scallies and put them into the frontlines at once! Alternatively, let's start the de-freezing process on Ian Rush's cryogenic chamber.Come on, man. Give the other teams a chance. It'd take years for any other club to cultivate a moustache as fine as that.


What's more attractive than a Spanish midget sucking his thumb?A barely legal Spanish midget sucking his thumb. :jokey:

[Russielloyd]

So he's like Luis Garcia Jr.?Yes, only more attractive.What's more attractive than a Spanish midget sucking his thumb?[/QUOTE]
An Italian midget sucking his thumb?

[Psychotic]

Did Zola ever suck his thumb?

Oh it's times like this when I regret banning Shoden. Still, I'll hunt down Jess and giggle at her instead. Now Xabi Alonso's last two goals for Liverpool have been from inside his own half. :D

[Jess]

:(

[Russielloyd]

Did Zola ever suck his thumb?

Oh it's times like this when I regret banning Shoden. Still, I'll hunt down Jess and giggle at her instead. Now Xabi Alonso's last two goals for Liverpool have been from inside his own half. :D

To be fair, he wouldn't of scored if Newcastle didn't have a muppet keeper in goals. Also, what did Shoden do?

[Psychotic]

Indeed, but it still took a lot of skill to put it in the bottom corner from there. As for Shoden, he was on his final warning and then made racist comments. If only he'd waited until now to do so.

[Cz]

I'm more than happy with today's results. Our first half was shaky, but to come through and win 3-0 was pretty impressive. On top of that, we ruined Neil Warnock's party, and Spurs got the beating they deserved. :up:

[XandrewX]

I'm happy myself when Arsenal won 3-0 against Sheffield Utd. :D They are getting more fluent passing compared to the start of the season...:)

[Russielloyd]

Another win for Blackburn and a great headed goal by Nonda, which put us in the top 10 now. Middlesbrough were really poor today and Blackburn didn't really need to step out of first gear. Ooijer had a great game and looks like to be finding himself in the premiership and starting to show why we bought him. Savage had a clothes mishap and was standing around shortless at one point which i'm sure will we a laugh to see later on tonight.

Our bad start has now turned into a better start to the season than last season and with Wigan next, we can push on and climb the table.

Just the little matter of making it to the UEFA Cup group stages on Thursday.

[charliepanayi]

Glad to see Arsenal won finally at home today (and was amusing to see Man Utd and Spurs slip up - mind you, can't see us doing much better at Anfield and the Madjeski if we're not careful) - but I see Chelsea have now gone top - I'm left to wonder if they'll vacate that spot at all between now and the end of the season =/

[Cz]

Glad to see Arsenal won finally at home today (and was amusing to see Man Utd and Spurs slip up - mind you, can't see us doing much better at Anfield and the Madjeski if we're not careful) - but I see Chelsea have now gone top - I'm left to wonder if they'll vacate that spot at all between now and the end of the season =/Portsmouth play Bolton tomorrow, and their goal difference is better than Chelsea's. I think they've got a good chance of getting the draw there, so I can Chelsea being deposed as soon as Monday. :D

Great to see Man. Utd stumble at Reading. Couple more of those, please.

[charliepanayi]

Argh I'm so dumb, completely forgot about Portsmouth playing tomorrow >_< - my brain is clearly not functioning tonight, ignore me...

OK, so if Portsmouth don't win, then my statement may at least have a point XD

[XandrewX]

Man Utd lost?How come...:eep: Unexpected...but it's fine with me though...

[charliepanayi]

They didn't lose, they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Reading.

[Cz]

Can somebody please tell me how to pronounce "Kuyt"? The accepted pronunciation seems to be "Kowt" at the moment (a trend which Motson started last week), but that just doesn't seem right to me. After all, nobody talks about Johann Crowf, do they? I've been saying "Kite", but Sky Sports and MotD don't seem to agree with me.

Oh, and my condolences to Dirk if it does turn out to be "Kowt".

EDIT: Holy smurf, Alan Shearer's on my side. :(

[Psychotic]

I've always said it "Koit" because that's how Peter Brackley says it on PES5. :D

I think there's some video on YouTube where he pronounces it himself. I'll hunt it down.

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5XE4b59JfA

[Cz]

Hollish is confusing. :(

[ff_sweden]

Looks like you english people can´t pronounce Kuyt

[DK]

I find it extremely fitting that Osama Bin Laden was an Arsenal fan. That just says all you need to know. :D

[Resha]

I find it extremely fitting that Osama Bin Laden was an Arsenal fan. That just says all you need to know. :D

What, so we're all little Osama bin Ladens!? xD

[Cz]

I find it extremely fitting that Osama Bin Laden was an Arsenal fan. That just says all you need to know. :DYou're just jealous because none of your famous fans managed to deal such horrific damage to western society without being picked up by the United States.

Oh wait, I forgot about Oasis. :D

[The Captain]

Aston Villa has looked pretty good this year. I'd rate them as one of the bigger surprises, especially considering the turmoil the team went through before the season began. That Martin O'Neil is quite an excitable guy too, which I enjoy seeing in a Manager/Coach.

Take care all.

[Cz]

Martin O'Neill has done a magnificent job at Villa so far. Today he managed to take a point from Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which is a big achievement for any team, let alone one that's been as mediocre in recent seasons as Aston Villa. And with Chelsea dropping points, we're left five points off the top spot with a game in hand. Considering the awful start we had, that's a pretty good position.

[charliepanayi]

As happy as I am that Chelsea havn't already left everyone in their dust (like they already had last year at this stage), and that Arsenal are getting some wins together, I still think it's fruitless to hope anyone will seriously challenge Chelsea over the whole season.