English Football Thread! 2007-2008 Season

To be fair, it wasn't that unlikely this time around. ;)

And thus the Man Utd v Chelsea final moves ever closer :(

It's becoming more likely that a team like Barnsley or Bristol will get to the final.

I wouldn't normally say this, but I hope that it is a Chelsea-United final just so the Premiership gets an extra UEFA Cup place. I might end up relying on that for another season of UEFA Cup football when Sod's Law means Liverpool finish 4th ahead of Everton.

I give you Inter Milan, the Spain/England of the European Cup! Often favoured, always failing when it matters! :D

Why can't Inter qualify for the FA Cup every now and then? :(

Rafael Benitez is the greatest manager on the planet at European football. What is it about the domestic scene that he just doesn't get?

Hmm 0-0 isn't amazing, but we stopped them getting an away goal at least. Even a score draw will get us through now (easier said than done to win or score draw at the San Siro of course). We've got every chance anyway but it'll be tough. And the performance was much better from Saturday at least.

I think Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea are looking good anyway.

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

And the performance was much better from Saturday at least.

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It would have been hard not to have been much better.

The only British team with a massive amount to do is Celtic, but then it was always going to be a massive task. Shame Man U equalised :(

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Originally Posted by blim

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

And the performance was much better from Saturday at least.

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It would have been hard not to have been much better.
(

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Maybe, but it was much better, it was a good performance, and that's wht I wanted to see ahead of two important league games between now and the second leg! Now try and take your chances guys!

Argh, Ade. A goal with the last kick of the game would have been perfect. Now we've got a really tough task at the San Siro ahead of us. I suppose it could have been much, much worse, and I'm pleased with the way we contained Milan, but it's hard not to be disappointed when the game was there for the taking.

It's back to the title race at the weekend. At last, a real competition for us to concern ourselves with! :greenie:

United are pretty much guarenteed 3 points at the weekend unless we pull of something pretty smurfing fantastic. :kaocry2:

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Originally Posted by Jess

United are pretty much guarenteed 3 points at the weekend unless we pull of something pretty smurfing fantastic. :kaocry2:

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I'd sympathise with Newcastle's plight but well....your posts on here have put paid to that ;) - as well that post by whoever with the 'Newcastle are the closest to a force for good because they (amongst other things) have English players' :rolleyes2

If by some miracle you get something off Man Utd we'd be grateful though! :D

To be fair, if The Toon do manage to get something out of the United game, it'll be a strong argument in their favour for being a force for good. Anyway, as long as we handle Birmingham it won't matter all that much. Hopefully our good showing against Milan will have restored our confidence and we can go out and do our job on Saturday.

I just can't trust us to keep winning in the league. That 2005-2007 version of Arsenal is still lurking somewhere I tell you! :(

We are a force for good. A force for good who are headed to the relegation zone over the next couple of weeks if we're not careful. :weep:

Manchester United are the team that I'd love to beat this season after the last game against them (except Sunderland, ofcourse!). "If we beat them I WOULD LOVE IT." :laugh:

Everton 8 - 1 SK Brann. Oh yes.

Fiorentina here we come!

Forza Viola. :)

*launches a barrage of random swear words about the place*

I just give up, I just can't see this ending well for us :(

I was so excited when Birmingham went 1-0 up. :jess:

That tackle on Eduardo was a compelete disgrace by the way. That wanker Taylor has put him out for god knows how long.

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Originally Posted by Jess

I was so excited when Birmingham went 1-0 up. :jess:

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Do you want United to win the league? Because if you do, there's a game on in a bit that should be right up your alley. They're playing a team of hapless nobodies, so it ought to be a goalfest. :)

But seriously, if the zebras don't take something from this game, this will be one of the worst footballing weekends in ages. A potentially career ending injury is bad enough, but without even the consolation of the victory, and with a thoroughly evil cup final coming up tomorrow, there's not a single bright spot to be taken from this round of games.

I'm lost for words...

Why?

Why Arsenal, why...?

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

That tackle on Eduardo was a compelete disgrace by the way. That wanker Taylor has put him out for god knows how long.

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Reports say there was nothing malicious in it, it was just bad timing in the tackle. From what I understand, there was more malice in most of the tackles made by Arsenal against Nani recently.

Nobody intends to injure like that and you shouldn't take it out on the tackler unless it was a tackle that should never have been made at all - eg. the player doesn't have the ball, or it involved a foot to the face, etc. etc. - You know, the ones where it's more abuse than tackle.

Good to see McFadden get a couple - I have him in my fantasy team despite being against Arsenal this week, and always knew he'd do well regardless... he's cheap too. :D

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

That tackle on Eduardo was a compelete disgrace by the way. That wanker Taylor has put him out for god knows how long.

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Reports say there was nothing malicious in it, it was just bad timing in the tackle. From what I understand, there was more malice in most of the tackles made by Arsenal against Nani recently.

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Where do these reports come from? MUTV?

I'm with you, my Arsenal brothers. I'm with you. Let us gather and pray for a barcodes (it's a better name than zebras, Cz) victory. The title must not go back to Old Trafford.

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Originally Posted by Cz

there's not a single bright spot to be taken from this round of games.

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Elven hat trick.

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

Reports say there was nothing malicious in it, it was just bad timing in the tackle. From what I understand, there was more malice in most of the tackles made by Arsenal against Nani recently.

Nobody intends to injure like that and you shouldn't take it out on the tackler unless it was a tackle that should never have been made at all - eg. the player doesn't have the ball, or it involved a foot to the face, etc. etc. - You know, the ones where it's more abuse than tackle.

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True for the most part, but Taylor's intent doesn't change the fact that the tackle caused a horrific injury that might well force Eduardo out of the sport for good. If you can't criticise a player for that, what can you criticise him for? Wenger's implication that Taylor should be banned for life is absurd, and I'd like to think it was just a remark made in the heat of the moment. But players should be suspended, reprimanded, and fined for dangerous challenges, malicious or not. A tackle like Taylor's might be described as clumsy, but if the result of his clumsiness is that some guy goes home with half a fibula, then you've got to call it gross incompetence, and that's perfectly reasonable grounds for severe disciplinary action as far as I'm concerned.

The only upside of this is that it's bound to see the FA inititate a proper crackdown on these sorts of challenges, which have been particularly prevelant this season. I wouldn't be surprised if they made an example out of Taylor and gave him an extended ban, and brought in harsher punishments for these sorts of tackles in the future. Without such action, I doubt it'll be very long before we see our next broken leg.

EDIT: I already used barcodes in an earlier post, and I thought I'd mix it up a bit. And while I can't say I was happy about Fernandalf's hat-trick, Aliadiere's bitch-slap sounds like it might be good for a giggle, so I suppose that's a very, very, very, very small consolation.

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

That tackle on Eduardo was a compelete disgrace by the way. That wanker Taylor has put him out for god knows how long.

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Reports say there was nothing malicious in it, it was just bad timing in the tackle. From what I understand, there was more malice in most of the tackles made by Arsenal against Nani recently.

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Where do these reports come from? MUTV?

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BBC and Sky, including people who have seen the tackle from all angles.

But I suppose everyone at Sky and BBC is out to get you :rolleyes2 Seriously, are you actually so ignorant as to think that Talor has a hidden agenda against Eduardo? Do you think he gets his jollies off injuring players? Pull the other one. Feel free to be angry, but don't be a fool.

It's terrible when players get such injuries. It's even worse when players, managers or fans abuse the situation by trying to get players "banned from football", accusing people of being malicious for a tackle to get the ball just one week after their own players were kicking players who were getting up off the ground - without the ball.

Everyone knows Sky is pro-United.

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Originally Posted by Bob

Do you think he gets his jollies off injuring players?

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Yes. Yes sir I do.

Sorry Bob but on occassion some, nasty, players do look to injure another player (Roy Keane for example).

That said it did not look to me like Taylor was trying to hurt Eduardo, however as i have seen no replays i can only go on my initial reaction.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Everyone knows Sky is pro-United

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I've always seen it as a "the grass is greener..." deal. Most United fans I know accuse Sky of being bias towards Chelsea. I'm told BBC is pro-Liverpool. I can only guess that Setanta is pro-Arsenal? I dunno.

BBC aren't pro Liverpool! :lol: They always put us last on MotD. I'd say ITV is pro-Liverpool though. They always show our CL games ahead of Chelsea's. :love:

I don't think any group are really pro-anyone, although I do think individuals can be.

Setanta have Manu Petit doing half time analysis, so obviously they're pro-beauty. :heart:

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Originally Posted by Cz

Setanta have Manu Petit doing half time analysis, so obviously they're pro-beauty. :heart:

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A petit Manchester United fan?
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...o/nikki031.jpg
I'd pay to watch that.

Nah, if they were pro-beauty they would blot out Rooneys face!

Sexier. :heart:

http://www.sporting-heroes.net/files...81108_GH_L.jpg

Or http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/a...NT_367655a.jpg

damn how do you make it show the picture?

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

BBC aren't pro Liverpool! :lol: They always put us last on MotD.

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Yeah, only when they're playing Everton. It's not like Hansen or Lawrenson prefer Liverpool or anything, is it? Or that up until about the 24th set of preditions, Lawrenson hadn't predicted Liverpool to lose a single Premier League game.

:mad2:

We started off so well, too. We fall asleep for one minute and it's over. I know there is 45 minutes left any everything, but as soon as we concede we fall to :skull::skull::skull::skull:.

I wish we could have 11 James Milners. :heart:

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Originally Posted by Heath

Yeah, only when they're playing Everton. It's not like Hansen or Lawrenson prefer Liverpool or anything, is it? Or that up until about the 24th set of preditions, Lawrenson hadn't predicted Liverpool to lose a single Premier League game.

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Well, be fair, nobody likes Everton. Hansen is a Manchester United supporter, as it happens. And as heart-warming as Lawro predicting us to win is, it's not enough to make me want to watch MotD anymore.

Now let's all bash Jess.

Time for Jess rant!

What a joke. Keegan, your logic is smurfing awful. Let's start with Joey Barton - he has been awful in every single game he has played this season but you decide to start him yet again. Not only this, it takes you until we are 3-0 down to realise he is playing :skull::skull::skull::skull: and what do you do? Bring on Andrew Carroll! Now, to be fair to Andy - he did well to get an assist. But look at our bench for striker replacements: Shola Ameobi, lol; Andy Carroll who has next to no premiership experience whatsosmurfingever and Keegan decides the best time to give him experience is whilst playing Manchester United! GOOD CHOICE, MATE. Okay, so Andy Carroll has strength - but so does Mark Viduka, who is perfectly fit to play and also has PREMIERSHIP EXPERIENCE. Moving on to N'Zogbia... in defence. He. does. not. play. there. Understand!? Enrique isn't the best defender in the world but he's certainly a better left back then N'Zogbia. lol at 4 yellow cards. lol at dire defending. lol at 10 matches without a win. :mad2:

On a positive note; lolololololol at Andy Carroll's height in comparison to the rest of the short-arses on our team. :jess:

and smurf it. I want Arsenal to win the league. I feel disgusting and dirty. :kaocry2:

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Originally Posted by Jess

and smurf it. I want Arsenal to win the league. I feel disgusting and dirty. :kaocry2:

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*shakes his head* Bitterness is a terrible reasoning. It's not United's fault that Keegan leaves himself open.

HAHA Take that Gallas that is what you get for leaving Chelsea!

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

*shakes his head* Bitterness is a terrible reasoning. It's not United's fault that Keegan leaves himself open.

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Nooooooobooooooody looooooooves yooooooou! :jess:

Football Thread Posters Against United.

Hehe, go go United :p Almost there to replace the Gunners' spot!

Although I feel bad for Eduardo, I hope he recovers quickly.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

*shakes his head* Bitterness is a terrible reasoning. It's not United's fault that Keegan leaves himself open.

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Nooooooobooooooody looooooooves yooooooou! :jess:

Football Thread Posters Against United.

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This is why I think British people are the most bitter people in the world. Where I'm from, winners are admired. There's also the mentality that whoever beats you better be the winners of the league, because the only thing worse than being beaten by a winner is being beaten by a loser, making you worse than the second best team. You only ever accept losing to those you simply can't beat. If you can't beat them, they better be the best, or else it just means you're even worse.

But oh well. Bitter Britain has still won more rugby world cups in the last decade or two than we have, so maybe it'll pay off for the football side one day, too.

We don't hate you because you win. We hate you because you're smug gits about it.

Nobody hated the all-conquering Liverpool team of the 70's and 80's. Everybody hated us after 2005 because we wouldn't shut up about it.

Also, thanks for the advice on winning a football World Cup, New Zealand man! Allow me to return the favour: Don't lose to the Solomon Islands in qualifying next time. :kiss:

I've never hated Liverpool! I just pretend to because you support them, Paul. :kiss:

Everybody has a reason to dislike Manchester United. :jess:

You don't need a reason to hate people.
Especially when their Manchester United.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

We don't hate you because you win. We hate you because you're smug gits about it.

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Also, this is very true. I don't hate Ronaldo because he is good and scores goals. I hate him because he is a wanker. :jess:

I would say I do not think Taylor should be 'banned for life' or anything like that. That's a ludicrous thing to suggest. But it's still a tackle that makes me angry.

And Psychotic, your "We don't hate you because you win. We hate you because you're smug gits about it" line makes me want to bury all our prior differences ;)

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

We don't hate you because you win. We hate you because you're smug gits about it.

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I'm not smug. :( We've only won one Premiership since I started supporting them. And... I just don't really get smug about it. I'm not British. xD

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Also, thanks for the advice on winning a football World Cup, New Zealand man! Allow me to return the favour: Don't lose to the Solomon Islands in qualifying next time. :kiss:

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...huh? Where did that come from? I never expect us to win a football world cup, ever. I'm just proud of the ones that are actually able to do well enough to play in the Premiership, or even the SPL. I think there are... two of them, total. And I [img]http://home.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/heart.gif[/img] them for it. :) Got a soft spot for Blackburn because of that, too. :p

Or maybe that's why you think I'm smug. Because I don't get into the "hate every other team in the world" thing. The only teams I dislike are Middlesbrough (always whining at every opportunity in my experiences, although it's generally moreso their manager than their club), Arsenal (although I don't dislike them as much as I did when they had the likes of Cole, Reyes, Henry, Lehmann and co frontlining for them - now they have a bit more integrity, although I really don't like what happened with Nani last week) and Chelsea (the whole "nothing but a squad made up of a Russian man's billions" dealio). I don't dislike Liverpool so much as I dislike Rafa.

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Originally Posted by Jess

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

We don't hate you because you win. We hate you because you're smug gits about it.

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Also, this is very true. I don't hate Ronaldo because he is good and scores goals. I hate him because he is a wanker. :jess:

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QFT

And i hate Man Urine cos they started to kill football, Chelsea et al pretty much had to follow suit.

I'll stick to the lower leagues.

EDIT: Bob, you chastise Middlesborough for whining, i've just watched Southgate post match talking abou the sending off and he did not point out that Mascherano was just as culpable and if Aliadierre deserved a red then surely Masch did too.

In my experiences. ;) I think Southgate is the only manager I've known that has kicked up a fuss almost every time we face them. He never seems to accept defeat. That's a good trait in a manager - so long as the defeat hasn't already happened.

BoB, you support Man Ure. Surely having a go at another manager for 'kicking up a fuss' is the pot calling the kettle black. If there's one manager who's renowned for kicking up a fuss, it's Alex Ferguson.

I find Southgate to be a very intelligent, articulate manager, who generally does exactly the opposite of what you say. I've never heard him attack the ref or blame him for a loss (cf. Ferguson) and he's pretty phoilosophical in defeat. Oh, and he's pretty funny as well (see his comments on the idea of deciding draws with penalties/ anything he says about Newcastle.

Football fandom is tribal. Maybe it's because the game's been going for well over a century, and so there's lots of history to draw upon, or maybe there's just something in the genes of football fans that makes them stupid and violent. Either way, people feel an incredibly strong allegiance to their team, so much so that many, if not most, would rather see their club succeed than their national side. What's more, football's a sport that seems to generate a lot of hate. Grudges exist in other sports, but I'm not sure there are any quite like the animosity between Celtic and Rangers. Football hooliganism has surely resulted in more deaths than fan violence in any other sport. Even among ordinary fans, it creates a lot of genuine anger. People think of other teams as "the enemy" rather than as a bunch of guys making a living wearing different colour kits.

And the thing is, that's a large part of what makes it fun. The Premier League isn't like the Olympics - a competition to determine the most technically skilled or athletically gifted - it's much more than that. It's a drama, with its own personalities and stories, and its own cast of heroes and villains. Part of this is down to the fact that the game is so unpredictable, sometimes even unfair. Unlike in the majority of other sports, the best team in football doesn't always win, and who doesn't hate losing to a last minute goal when you've dominated the entire match? Things like that are why football elicits such a powerful emotional reaction from fans. That's why it's so bloody fantastic when you give those Spurs/Chelsea/United scum what they deserve, and so utterly heartbreaking when they do the same to you. The dramatic aspect makes it so much more than just a game. I'd break out the famous Shankly quote on this subject, but he's a Liverpool hero, and boy do I hate those guys. :mad:

I think that goes at least some way to explaining why football fans all hate each other so much, and why we all find it so hard to admit defeat. For what it's worth, BoB, I'll admit to you that United were clearly the best team in the league last year, and deservedly won the title. In fact, I'd say you're the best team in the league this year too, and that at this stage in the season we're a little fortunate to be top of the table. However, I'm only admitting this to you because you're one of the reasonable ones. Every other Man. United fan I know can go to hell, and take their lousy, cheating team with them. Maybe if you came to London and met some Arsenal fans you'd feel the same about us.

I suppose it's all the long-term wankers that ruin it for everyone by doing their best to antagonise the others. In short, the English ruined it for everyone. ;)

I can understand it a lot more when I consider that I used to like Liverpool a lot more before I discovered how certain fans will take every opportunity for a potshot. For example, Marty, my brother-in-law who happens to be a New Zealander, is a lot less... hardcore for a Liverpool fan than Psychotic, which is what made me like them a fair bit in the first place.

And for what it's worth, I think Arsenal deserve to be on par with United at the moment (which they pretty much are), both teams have been playing very attractive, consistent football.

When I said you, BoB, I meant the general you in reference to Man United fans. Believe you me I've put up with their shenanigans for many, many years. And I've seen Man United win title after title - I also want them to lose so that I can see something different.

Cz hits the nail slap bang on the head. We don't hate other nations who beat us in the Olympics. We do in football because that's what football's all about! It's the beautiful game!

Yeah, hate is such a beautiful thing. :D

I haven't really got to the whole hating thing yet, just general dislike.

The English aren't the only ones who hold grudges and have rivalries in football, BoB. It's all over the world! Perhaps you should see The Real Football Factories International, because most of the countries that Danny Dyer visits in the documentary are even worse than us. :jess:

So, erm...any thoughts on Spurs' successful feat against Chelsea?

There was a game today? :greenie:

It's bloody annoying. Of course it means there's one less UEFA Cup spot in the Premiership which means Liverpool might fail at qualifying for Europe after all, but more likely I know that Everton'll fail to qualify for Europe as a result. Bloody Spurs.

As usual the Everton fans are thinking practically in these scenarios XD

I think you did us down a little Cz, we may yet fall apart and wind up finishing ten points or something behind Man Utd, but we've done very well this season to be in this position we're in at the moment. Especially considering none of us even thought we'd still be in the title race come March. It's not really good fortune (Saturday certainly wasn't!), we've just punched above our weight up to now. But certainly we may have to hope Man Utd don't go on a 11 game winning run now :)

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Originally Posted by Hazzard

So, erm...any thoughts on Spurs' successful feat against Chelsea?

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I'd rather not talk about it.... :(

Been away this weekend so fail, just want to note a few things:

Towns is hilarious and won this thread destroying the daft Arsenal fans and their dumb overreactions

If Eduardo manages to come back from that injury I don't care if he is a filthy Arsenal-for life, diving, cheating, somehow qualifying and playing for the French national team Thierry Henry lookalike, he'll be my strike partner for Paulo Wanchope for the rest of all time. What a badass he is. Coming out all "I WILL BE BACK!" Love him and hope he makes a full recovery.

We're losing to Everton and it sucks!

But I can take comfort in the fact we'll never, ever be as shiet as Newcastle. :heart:

Yeah I'm sure you wouldn't have been seething seeing one of your players get his leg broken by a tackle some people said barely deserved a yellow. You may say we have players like Eboue and were kicking out at Man Utd players last week, but no-one tries to defend someone like him and everyone slagged us off for what happened there. Now it's happened to us, people defend the perpetrator. I know he didn't men to break his leg, but it's still a bad tackle to make and still maddening to lose a player like that. But as usual, divng and petulance is seen as worse than dangerous tackling in this country. So everyone slags off Gallas instead for *gasp* being a bit of a fool. If you want childish strops, how about Ferguson never talking to the BBC. You think Wenger and Arsenal have the mononoply on being childish? Reading stupid comments like yours is why we are pissed off.

Still, thanks again for beating Man Utd twice anyway.

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Originally Posted by DK

But I can take comfort in the fact we'll never, ever be as shiet as Newcastle. :heart:

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You'll go to hell! :kaocry:

Don't like seeing that sort of thing happen to anyone but it was clear to anyone with a working pair of eyes that saw the incident that it was nowhere near being malicious or on purpose. And I applauded Wengers decision to come out and take back his comments when he was still emotional about the incident as well. Fair enough it sucks ass to happen especially when you're carrying as many injuries as Arsenal are, but blaming Taylor for it is ridiculous.

Take THAT, Man City. Try and qualify for Europe will you?

The FA are complete and utter prats. Boro appealed against Jeremie Aliadiere's three match ban for a light slap (a retaliation to Javier Mascherano's face grab, which went unpunished - no surprise, he's a Big Four player), and the ban has now been increased to four games because apparently our appeal was "frivolous"!

Pretty much everyone says he shouldn't have been sent off or, at the very least, Mascherano should also have faced punishment. It was hardly violent conduct. And an appeal is judged as frivolous? Chelsea launched an appeal over a straight red for Essien recently. That was rejected, but wasn't deemed as frivolous. It's a joke.

Wankers.

Everyone knows I'm a Liverpool fan, and I'd say Mascherano is possibly my favourite player and even I agree that's ridiculous.

I think they have problems with certain players. Rooney, for example, would get a red for pretty much anything for quite some time, although he's been lucky to avoid them for a while now. Meanwhile, Vidic gets away with murder. Likewise, you foul Ronaldo and you'll get a yellow (sooner or later), meanwhile Evra gets the nastiest ankle-targeted tackles on a constant basis but I've only ever seen one person carded for them. I'm shocked Evra's not been injured, personally, but eh. But yeah, I reckon the FA/referees just don't like certain individuals.

Have to admit that I agree with you entirely. It's one hell of a slap in the face to get a further ban for supposedly being 'frivolous' which it blatantly wasn't. Hope it doesn't affect you too much (unless of course, you play Everton any time soon!), because it's ridiculous like you said.

Oh baby yes yes YES! :jess:

Thank you, Arsenal. Next time try and do us a favour by beating Villa =/

ugh ugh ugh. Typical of us to throw away a clean sheet and a point in the last minutes. :mad2:

We are, quite simply, screwed :(

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

We are, quite simply, screwed :(

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Hey, don't worry. You should be happy with the draw result, it's much better than 1-0 anyway :p

Saturday was like watching every bad Arsenal performance from the past two seasons rolled into one. We need to get our momentum back very, very quickly if we want to hold on to the top spot.

I guess the one good thing is Man Utd are not playing this weekend, so if we do win we go four points clear for the time being. Of course, that requires us to actually win the game. And Man Utd's next league game (the weekend after next) is Derby I think - oh dear!

Well isn't that just like us. Can't put a foot right in the league lately, and now we go and knock out AC Milan. I hope this doesn't mean we're going to lose to Wigan now on Sunday or something. But go Arsenal!

well done Arsenal. Tis a shame Celtic couldn't put a better performance on though against Barca (I'll gloss over the mighty Brentford losing 4-1 to Bury :( )

Haha, Man UTD vs Arsenal again? >_>

I shall not be happy if that happens :( - the draw is not until Friday week (the 14th) anyway.

I've realised now out fixture list in late March/early April now reads as follows:
Chelsea (A)
Bolton (A)
CL Quarter Final 1st leg
Liverpool (H)
CL Quarter Final 2nd Leg
Man Utd (A)

Bugger. And that's even allowing for how we do against Wigan and Middlesbrough before then!

Oh yes. That was it. That was it.

We needed to get a big result to set ourselves right after the past couple of weeks, and they don't come much bigger than this. Now can somebody please, please knock Liverpool or Chelsea out? We see enough of those guys as it is, without having to play them in Europe as well.

To be honest if we did have an English team in the next round, I'd rather have Liverpool or Chelsea than Man Utd at the moment. Even with Liverpool's CL ability. I don't want to face Man Utd more than once more this season, and have to endure endless 'lolz 4-0' comments.

They're both going through probably anyway so don't get your hopes up Cz!

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Originally Posted by Cz

Now can somebody please, please knock Liverpool or Chelsea out?

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Do your own dirty work. Come to Anfield and knock us out this instant young man!

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

To be honest if we did have an English team in the next round, I'd rather have Liverpool or Chelsea than Man Utd at the moment. Even with Liverpool's CL ability. I don't want to face Man Utd more than once more this season, and have to endure endless 'lolz 4-0' comments.

They're both going through probably anyway so don't get your hopes up Cz!

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Unfortunately, there will be two 'Man Utd vs Aresenal' matches coming up soon >_> The match from BPL and the match from CL

:x

There goes my Real Madrid prediction :(

Two hat tricks in three games. Signing of the season. Oh I had forgotten what it felt like to have a world class striker on our books. :love:

Four goals also gives a good goal difference boost.

It's alright, we play Sunderland on Sunday so that should give us time to get our goal difference sorted :p

I am not looking forward to Saturday. :(

What's the general feeling among Toon fans? Is there a genuine fear you could go down?

There is a genuine fear lurking, but I think we are just trying to pretend it's not there. :jess:

Well two of the relegation places look set (Derby and Fulham) so at least there's only one left for the most part.

I'd like Schalke 04 to do well in the CL this year (unless we draw them of course XD), they seem so unglamorous I have a soft spot for them.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Two hat tricks in three games. Signing of the season. Oh I had forgotten what it felt like to have a world class striker on our books. :love:

Four goals also gives a good goal difference boost.

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Still seems to struggle when against top teams, though. Or maybe that's just Rafa rotating him out of those games. Dunno if you saw Martin Tyler's analysis of his PL goals, but against the top ten it includes 1 against Chelsea, 2 against Pompy and (now) 3 against West Ham. Aside from that, they're all against bottom half opposition... to be honest, though, I think once he settles he'll score regularly against the top half.

Glorious. Looks like we've got ourselves a cup final. :)

Robbed by the referee. Not of a win, but of a draw. There was no way that was a red card - the other guy tripped on Scrabble's face! Very harsh. Felt we deserved a draw for sure in that game and am really gutted. Nothing against Pompy, though, they defended very well. I'm just really pissed off at the decision, which wasn't their fault in any way (and obviously any team would take it!).

You were pretty unfortunate not to get that early penalty at the other end too, so you probably could make a case for having been robbed of a win. Not that I'm complaining, of course...

Who can complain apart from Manchester united fans? :D

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

Robbed by the referee. Not of a win, but of a draw. There was no way that was a red card - the other guy tripped on Scrabble's face! Very harsh. Felt we deserved a draw for sure in that game and am really gutted. Nothing against Pompy, though, they defended very well. I'm just really pissed off at the decision, which wasn't their fault in any way (and obviously any team would take it!).

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True, also Man Utd has had wasted a lot of chances to score. Something is very odd nowadays :o

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Who can complain apart from Manchester united fans?

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I'm a fan, but I don't complain a lot! Although, Man Utd was unlucky but a win is a win as an eye for an eye, so kudos to port!

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Originally Posted by Demon Dude

Who can complain apart from Manchester united fans? :D

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I can. Because it means that there will only be 1 UEFA Cup spot via the Premier League now. I don't see Pompey finishing in the top 5 and I've slightly worried Everton won't finish there either. And while the chances are we'll have a non-Premiership contender in the UEFA Cup, which would be a nice change - it means that in a season where there were more realistic challengers for European places than of recent seasons, there'll be the smallest number of them possible to make Europe. Here's hoping for Everton 4th and Villa 5th for my amusement. Though I must confess, after such a poor performance against CL quality opposition (Fiorentina would've been in the CL if not for their 15 point match-fixing deduction last season), I do wonder if Everton are quite ready for that extra step. Though I do think we're at least good enough to come 3rd in a group and end up in the UEFA Cup anyway.

BARNSLEY!!!

Oh Heath, stop with all the misery already and savour the FA Cup Magic. :love:

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Originally Posted by Cz

Oh Heath, stop with all the misery already and savour the FA Cup Magic. :love:

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Oh trust me, I was watching the game and was hoping that they'd hold on and absolutely love the fact they've won. :love:

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Originally Posted by Cz

Oh Heath, stop with all the misery already and savour the FA Cup Magic. :love:

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Don't get too happy, George my friend. Barnsley will kill you if you have to face them!

edit: or not...apparently you're out already. I blame the beer and Daniel Towns for my confusion!

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Originally Posted by Jess

ahahahaha what the hell?! That was unexpected. :jess:

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I got sunshine

On a cloudy day

When it's cold outside

I've got the month of

May

I guess you'd say

What can make me feel this way?

:jess:

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Originally Posted by Demon Dude

Liverpool 1 Barnsley 2.... xD Win.

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Barnsley 1 Chelsea 0.... xD Win.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon :cool:

Have I entered Bizarro FA Cup World or something? What the hell happened today? How on earth did Man Utd lose that match earlier?! Not that I'm complaining, we're actually going to have someone different win the bloody thing this year.

Now to watch Arsenal go from beating Milan to struggling against Wigan tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Now to watch Arsenal go from beating Milan to struggling against Wigan tomorrow.

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If this happens, I will cook and eat my own hands. Wigan wouldn't dare spoil this weekend...would they?

I didn't realise it was this season they were going to start playing the Semis at Wembley. It's a crappy idea if you ask me, but I suppose with the way the cup's gone this year it's a nice chance for some smaller teams to play in the stadium. I still think it diminishes the prestige of the venue though.

With most of the teams anyone cares about out of the cup, a lot of fans are going to have to choose someone to root for in the rest of the competition. I'm backing Portsmouth, because of all the old Arsenal connections. How about the rest of you?

I don't mind now really, so long as it's not Cardiff. Never been too fond of their fans. I'd like Bristol Rovers to join the likes of Crystal Palace (1976), Plymouth (1984), Chesterfield (1997) and Wycombe (2001) in the past in being a third tier side to make the semis at least.

I also don't like them playing the semis at Wembley, it's more fun when they're played at regular neutral venues I find. Though in recent years it was always just Villa Park and Old Trafford anyway. But Wembley should be for the final only I think. Still, I know Barnsley won't mind.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who'll be happy with anyone but Cardiff. I suppose it's nice to have someone left in the competition to dislike, especially when they're (hopefully) not a threat. Anyone else would be a great winner; I just find things are a lot more interesting when you've got someone to cheer for. And if that someone is Kanu, then even better. :thumb:

I'd like either Barnsley or Bristol Rovers to win it. I don't have any connection to them really, but Rovers are the lowest placed team and are thus my underdogs to root for and Barnsley played fantastically today and fully deserved their win. To beat both Liverpool and Chelsea is a great achievement and the best of luck to them.

Bristol Rovers would be the first team outside the top two flights to make the final if they did it I believe (though Spurs in 1901 won the FA Cup as a Southern League side). That would be something special. But I suspect West Brom will have too much for them.

:O

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

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Originally Posted by Jess

ahahahaha what the hell?! That was unexpected. :jess:

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I got sunshine

On a cloudy day

When it's cold outside

I've got the month of

May

I guess you'd say

What can make me feel this way?

:jess:

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Oh, Paul. :weep:

And with Cardiff currently 2-0 up, could the 2008 FA Cup be getting even more barmy?

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Originally Posted by Cz

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Now to watch Arsenal go from beating Milan to struggling against Wigan tomorrow.

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If this happens, I will cook and eat my own hands. Wigan wouldn't dare spoil this weekend...would they?

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You'd better get a cooking pot at this rate! I did warn you... :(

Any recipe ideas? :(

The best pun I can come up with is a handwich.

Also, Cardiff = Robbie Fowler.

Fowler > Kanu.

So there!

It'd make a handy snack in football stands, that's for sure!

Hope Bristol Rovers win today. 2-1 at the moment. Though if they do, I'll be conflicted as who to support between them and Barnsley. Joleon Lescott's brother plays for Rovers as well, so there's another reason to support them.

Cz, don't take this the wrong way, but stop making predictions. Now.

:mad2:

But perhaps I'm being too hasty, after all Man Utd have a tricky match next week...against Derby! And all we have to do now to win the league is pretty much win all our games this month and the next. Winning at Stamford Bridge AND Old Trafford should be a cinch after all!

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

The best pun I can come up with is a handwich.

Also, Cardiff = Robbie Fowler.

Fowler > Kanu.

So there!

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Kanu, Lauren, Sol Campbell and Tony Adams. And Cardiff have always been jerks, Fowler or no Fowler.

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Cz, don't take this the wrong way, but stop making predictions. Now.

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It wasn't so much a prediction as a threat, but OK. :(

P.S. Typing with your nose is hard.

And now England are the first country to ever have four teams in the quarter finals of the CL. 14 goals in his last 13 games for Mr. F. Torres. :love:

Yeah, but as I always point out, they had three teams in the semis last year and look what happened. Either way, let's see what the draw brings.

Please get 3 points on Monday. Please. :weep:

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Yeah, but as I always point out, they had three teams in the semis last year and look what happened. Either way, let's see what the draw brings.

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True, but the quality of teams outside of England are poorer than they were last season, while the Premierships clubs have only gotten stronger. I wouldn't be surprised to see an all english final.

As for Fernando Torres, he is just world class. Although it pains me to say it, you can forget Adebayor, Tevez, or whoever, he is the best striker in the premiership at the moment.

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Originally Posted by Rocket Edge

Quote:

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Yeah, but as I always point out, they had three teams in the semis last year and look what happened. Either way, let's see what the draw brings.

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True, but the quality of teams outside of England are poorer than they were last season, while the Premierships clubs have only gotten stronger. I wouldn't be surprised to see an all english final.

As for Fernando Torres, he is just world class. Although it pains me to say it, you can forget Adebayor, Tevez, or whoever, he is the best striker in the premiership at the moment.

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Tevez? Adebayor? Pah. Ronaldo! Now there's a "striker".

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

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Originally Posted by Rocket Edge

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Yeah, but as I always point out, they had three teams in the semis last year and look what happened. Either way, let's see what the draw brings.

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True, but the quality of teams outside of England are poorer than they were last season, while the Premierships clubs have only gotten stronger. I wouldn't be surprised to see an all english final.

As for Fernando Torres, he is just world class. Although it pains me to say it, you can forget Adebayor, Tevez, or whoever, he is the best striker in the premiership at the moment.

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Tevez? Adebayor? Pah. Ronaldo! Now there's a "striker".

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I made sure not to mention Ronny. Differant class. :aimkiss:

Brad Freidel owns Question of Sport :love:

We're in desperate need of a turnaround in form, and what happens? Chelsea and Man Utd both get to play Derby at this point! And Chelsea stuff them 6-1. We needed that sort of confidence boost :( - by the time we play Derby it'll be the end of April and probably too late! XD
EDIT:

Everton out :(
But Spurs out too :)

My heart weeps :(

It's a shame to see Everton go out, but I've got to say that it was worth it for the other thing. Not even the evil Dimitar Berbatov could help them slither their way to a European trophy. :up:

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Originally Posted by charliepanayi

Everton out :(
But Spurs out too :)

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Spurs out :(
But Everton out too :)

The results certainly went our way tonight, with Boro, Derby and Birmingham all losing. :jess:

United 4 Title! :D

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Originally Posted by Jess

The results certainly went our way tonight, with Boro, Derby and Birmingham all losing. :jess:

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Boro drew :p

Sky Sports live score centre lied to me. :(

Who U Reckons Going 2 Be Top Scorer This Season?

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Originally Posted by lord of odin

Who U Reckons Going 2 Be Top Scorer This Season?

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Ronaldo, unfortunately.

Champions League Quarter Final Draw
Arsenal v Liverpool
AS Roma v Man Utd
Schalke 04 v FC Barcelona
Fenerbahce v Chelsea

Champions League Semi Final Draw
Arsenal/Liverpool v Fenerbahce/Chelsea
Schalke/Barcelona v AS Roma/Man Utd

Oh no.

Eh. Hoping we won't have to face Barcelona, I think they're the biggest threat to us out of the lot. Roma shouldn't be a problem, but we'll see how it goes. Not personally keen on an all-English final, but if it has to be then it has to be. Either way, hope we win. Duh. xD

Could've ended up with an Everton-Spurs UEFA Cup quarter final had the penalty shoot-outs gone the right way.

Also, Arsenal, I'm counting on you to beat Liverpool 3 games on the run. We all want to see Everton in the CL next season, right? ... If only for the probable comedic value. :(

I'm OK with getting Liverpool, it'll be tough and playing them three games in a row will be annoying, but we'll give it our best shot. We have a fighting chance anyway. We know their form in Europe, but this is less a European game and more a two-legged Premiership tie. Fingers crossed.

I'd still rather beat them in the league, but let's see if we're still in the title race by the start of April first!

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

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Originally Posted by Cz

Now can somebody please, please knock Liverpool or Chelsea out?

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Do your own dirty work. Come to Anfield and knock us out this instant young man!

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Hey Cz why do you always have to take me so literally? :(

Arsenal will beat us in the league game for sure. As for the Champions League, they will definitely find us a tough nut to crack. I think the psychological aspect of Liverpool's European prowess will be a real bonus. I'm also glad that the second leg of the tie will be at Anfield. It was the case when we managed to dump Chelsea out both times, so here's hoping.

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Originally Posted by Heath

We all want to see Everton in the CL next season, right?

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You're not messing up our UEFA coefficient again after all of Liverpool's hard work you rotten bluenoses.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Heath

We all want to see Everton in the CL next season, right?

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I'm sorry. The more televised Steven Gerrard the better! :heart:

Since no-one else has yet taken the opportunity to mercliessly mock the donkeys that are Arsenal, I'll get the ball rolling.

To hell with this. I didn't go through six months of hope to see this happen. I'll see you all in 2008/2009.

We can always win the CL I guess...HA!

Arsenal to beat Barca in the final, anyone?

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Heath

We all want to see Everton in the CL next season, right?

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You're not messing up our UEFA coefficient again after all of Liverpool's hard work you rotten bluenoses.

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Up until the Fiorentina game we had the best one of the best records in Europe this season. So y'know.

Ugh, Everton!

That's one trophy for Rangers this season, three more to go. :D

Back to the English football...

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Originally Posted by Jess

Ugh, Everton!

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We've lost every single Premiership game we've played at Craven Cottage and I, for one, didn't expect it to change today. Everton could be made up of the best players in the world and - somehow - we'd still get beaten by Fulham away from home.

I'm very glad you did lose. Our next three league games are United, Everton and Arsenal. The only one I think we'll get something from is the derby, and that'll be a draw because Everton will throw eleven men behind the ball. Well, they'll probably have one corner and score from it...

Optimism is for losers. :(

Am I too late???

Go Blackburn =)

/suicide

edit: Oh, actually scratch that for the time being. :jess:

edit2: I'll settle for that!

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

I'm very glad you did lose. Our next three league games are United, Everton and Arsenal. The only one I think we'll get something from is the derby, and that'll be a draw because Everton will throw eleven men behind the ball. Well, they'll probably have one corner and score from it...

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And it would be a deserved win too.

Everton deserve nothing but a nice stint in the Championship.

http://loonybob.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk...mascherano.gif

Many thanks to Rye, she's awesome. [img]http://home.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/heart.gif[/img]

I hope Arsenal catch up again.

Pfft, Rye. She has a crush on Djibril Cisse so who cares what she has to say? :p I'm not even making that up just to be WACKY or CRAZY, either. You can get her out here to this thread and she'll admit to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Pfft, Rye. She has a crush on Djibril Cisse so who cares what she has to say? :p I'm not even making that up just to be WACKY or CRAZY, either. You can get her out here to this thread and she'll admit to it.

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I do, I like his crazy hair. Have you ever seen his bum? It's quite nice.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...igsmilelol.png

Clearly Dennis Rodman is the way to go. He's like Cissé, but with no Liverpool connections whatsoever!

In other news, goodbye title challenge. :(

Wasn't half a disappointing result for us yesterday. In all honesty, the only way I see Everton finishing 4th is by beating Liverpool on Sunday. Though for all my talk of Champion's League football, I'd be happy with a 5th place finish in all honesty.

I could kiss Didier Drogba on his big horse shaped face for that. Or just give him some saltlick and fine quality hay, whichever he would prefer

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Originally Posted by Heath

Wasn't half a disappointing result for us yesterday. In all honesty, the only way I see Everton finishing 4th is by beating Liverpool on Sunday. Though for all my talk of Champion's League football, I'd be happy with a 5th place finish in all honesty.

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The Sunday Times football section has claimed you'll beat us by one point, after we apparently draw to you, lose to Arsenal, draw at home to Blackburn and draw away to Spurs. Go figure!