Angry fans
There’s criticism of Paul Scholes for his headless chicken performance in Rome and the problems this might cause at Old Trafford tonight; worries about the depths of United’s squad; more on the anti-Match of the Day bandwagon; an explanation of why Martin O’Neill is the perfect manager for Ireland; praise for the prolific Drogba; a strong defence of Wenger and debate about Niall Quinn’s generorist to Sunderland supporters stranded in Cardiff
Letter of the week goes to Tony Baker for wondering why Arsenal and Chelsea should have been so heavily fined for the Carling Cup shennanigans. Prize on the way Tony.
SPANISH and Italian police crack heads first, and ask questions later. It’s one of the immutable laws of football . . . like the law of the ex, who always scores against his old club (Kanoute anyone?); the fact that Brazilian goalkeepers are dodgy; and only foreign players wear gloves in the Premiership.
ONCE again the police create horrific problems for travelling United fans. For Rome read Lens. Will UEFA do anything about it? Not a chance.
I READ that UEFA are to investigate the events of last Wednesday night. What will they do then? Absolutely nothing. Football supporters don’t seem to have the same human rights as everyone else.
I HOPE those Chelsea supporters going to Valencia on Tuesday are packing crash helmets along with their sun block and three-quarter length chinos.
WHEN was the last time visiting football fans were bludgeoned by British police? Riot police in full battle gear standing among away fans is obviously central to creating a hostile atmosphere, something that even UEFA are finally recognising.
People shouldn’t have their skulls cracked for watching the beautiful game. Can you imagine the reaction if a British policeman was shown on TV indiscriminately whacking the face off a Spanish football supporter. ‘Excessive force’ it’s called.
Angry fans, indeed, and who can blame them? I’ve been to enough football matches around the world to know that not all supporters are angels but I have also seen enough riot police in action to know that these boys can often lead the field in the thuggery stakes. The clue may be in the word ‘riot’ — they’re hardly sent into the field for their peacemaking skills. But like all our correspondents, I think pigs — the other kind — will fly before anyone holds the uniformed yobbos to account.
How predictable was it that Totti would be involved in getting a player sent off? I can’t decide who’s worse. Him or Deco.
Red card, Red Devil. The man of whom you should be asking questions is Paul Scholes. Bad first touch, poor passing, reckless tackles — as distinct from the late ones which are usually the only flaw in his game. What the hell was wrong with him in Rome?
THREE years ago United had problems with a referee when they played Porto. Three years later and Herbert Fandel is still at it.
Lose the game, blame the ref. Yellow card for being so predictable.
UNITED’S bench in midweek included Chris Eagles and Dong Fangzhou. Now that Larsson’s gone we’re down to the bones. One more injury or suspension and we’re in deep s**t.
I think you might already be in the deep stuff without Mr Scholes for the return leg.
SO Eamon Dunphy says that Match of the Day is “banal, semi-literate and a cartoon world where everyone talks like Lineker and says nothing. I don’t normally agree with the motor mouth but on this occasion he’s bang on the mark..
FORGET about Lineker on Match of the Day. Surely the real problem is Alan Shearer. Has there ever been a TV pundit with less insight, and who is more dull in his delivery.
I detect this MOTD backlash all over the place. Am I the only viewer left who actually thinks that Hansen is good. (Deafening silence). Oh, alright then.
IS MARTIN O’ Neill trying to turn Aston Villa into Watford Mark II? They draw lots of games, don’t win many. He’s already got Ashley Young for a disproportionately high fee; now he’s after Marlon King. What next? Jay Demerit and Darius Henderson?
“Draw lots of games, don’t win many”. Hmm. No wonder so many thought he’d be perfect for the Irish job.
DROGBA has got 30 goals in 49 appearances for Chelsea. That’s some scoring rate. Yet people are still saying Ronaldo should be Footballer of the Year.
Fair point. And what if a Drogba goal against Man U should prove to be pivotal in turning the championship on its head? Watch this space.
I LIKED Arsene Wenger’s cynical comment that he was going to set up a direct debit arrangement with the FA to settle the many disciplinary fines they levy on him.
Perhaps I’m alone in thinking that the €140,000 sums extracted from Arsenal and Chelsea were completely over the top and simply an attempt to swell the organisation’s coffers. The Carling Cup was one of the best tournaments in recent years and was certainly more interesting than the FA Cup has been to date.
The final was competitive and full of good football. What happened at the end was simply “handbags” and no harm was done. The subsequent disciplinary action against Wenger is petty and pompous.
Letter of the week prize-winner for services to common sense (which, as ye all know, is the sense which is anything but common in football governing circles).
SO Arsenal and Chelsea get fined for “not controlling their players” (despite both managers running on to the pitch to try to control them) while Tottenham are absolved of blame for allowing a drunken idiot on the pitch to attack a player. Can anyone explain that one to me?
Yes, the drunken idiot was trying to attack Frank Lampard.
HOW about a shout for David James, much maligned, but overtaking David Seaman’s record for clean sheets in the Premiership?
Hurray! (There’s your shout for Jamesy. Happy now?)
JUST why do teams like Watford, for whom draws simply aren’t enough, set themselves out to only get one point from a game. It’s a sure-fire route back to the Championship, which is where they are going.
Meanwhile West Ham and Charlton are showing some fight at last. United against West Ham could still be a fascinating final game of the season — United to win the title, West Ham, to stay in the Premiership.
Oh no. I can already see the Hollywood-style ‘death or glory’ Sky build-up. Any chance we could fast-forward to the match?
WAS amused to hear the story about Niall Quinn who paid £12,000 to get Sunderland fans back from Cardiff by taxi after their EasyJet flight had been cancelled because they were raucously singing ‘Niall Quinn’s Disco Pants’. Could he, like, do the same for us the next time we play in Dublin, if we sing nicely?
THE people who should have had their fares home paid for by Niall Quinn were the rest of the passengers who had their flight cancelled because of the antics of a load of p***ed-up football fans.
Quite. The least Niall could have is done bought the airline and, Monsignor Horan-style, built a new airport within walking distance of the Stadium of Light. Typical chairman — the fans always come last.
