Angry Fans
He casts his eye over your comments and gives his own critical analysis of the
goings on throughout the world of football. You may agree with him or then again
you may not. This week Liam was it a red card for Lampard; Free bus pass for Scolari;
Can Utd do the quadruple; Where are all the anti-Glazers now; Bosingwa is shameful
and should have seen red; The Big Five not so big now Everton and Spurs; Do away
with the window now; Jenas to Inter a mistake for Redknapp; Spurs double wammy;
Lucky escape for Arsenal; Charlie Insomnia; Given is right to go..
The Letter
of the Week goes to Luke O’Shea, Dublin. Get in touch with your postal address
and our wonderful prize will be winging its way to you.
OK Liam. No sitting on the fence. Red card for Lampard or not?
Not. Hope that clears everything up.
LIAM, have you ever seen anything as extraordinary as Bosingwa placing his studs in the middle of Benayoun’s back in front of the Kop and right under the eyes of the linesman. How was that not a red card?
Post the Lampard sending-off, I think what we had here was a textbook example of officialdom thinking that two wrongs make a right. Either that or, a bit like the rest of us, they simply thought they were hallucinating.
THAT was the weekend that Manchester United won their third consecutive league title that was. They will beat Liverpool at Old Trafford in March and coast into the title by April. Can they do the quadruple? I really hope not, it will just add to their already bloated army of plastic fans.
Always nice to hear from a Liverpool fan. Have a red card to match the colour of your face.
THE Glazer’s take-over of Old Trafford doesn’t look such a bad idea now does it? Unparalleled success and clearly top of the pile in the Premier League and Europe. Where are all the “Yanks Out” and “Men in Black now? Presumably watching FC United in the seventh tier of English football.
NOT much to smile about in the current climate, but isn’t there something really funny about Andrei Arshavin, the Russian, not being able to retreat from North London because of the snow. He only needs a furry hat, a balalaika, wolves howling in the background and Lara from Dr Zhivago on his arms to make the scene complete.
How very true. Meanwhile, a green in the face Robbie Keane is weeping into his Guinness and barely able to touch his coddle while, in a corner of the pub, a pig is curled up in front of a turf fire while a bearded man with a banjo mutilates 'Danny Boy' accompanied by the soul-piercing scream of the banshee. Hey Dec, let's collaborate on a novel!
DO you remember a few years ago that there was a “Big Five” who were going to break away and form a “super league?” They were United, Liverpool, Arsenal . . . Everton and Tottenham. Well, the last two wouldn’t be counted in any such discussion now. Neither would Manchester City. I doubt that Chelsea would make the cut with the way they’re heading. Aston Villa might. For all these clubs' aspirations, there are only three real powerhouses in English football.
Not to worry, good old QPR will be along to shake 'em up any decade now.
CAN we not do away with this annual nonsense about the transfer window? It allows rich clubs to rape the smaller clubs, generates profits for agents, and generally destabilises the game. As someone said on Sky at the weekend . . . if I was a Wigan supporter I might have paid for my season ticket in the reasonable expectation that I am going to watch Wilson Palacios all season. Why can’t we have a transfer window which lasts only for the summer, or introduce a rule which says that a player can’t turn out for two clubs in the same season. They do that for the Champions League, and the FA Cup.
WHY should the transfer window be extended? Why do clubs and agents and players leave everything until the last minute? It’s a negotiating ploy and it carries risk. Some you win, some you lose. Tough.
DOES the snow prevent fax machines from working? Or is it that strange business about “the medical” that might delay transfer business. Surely there are doctors everywhere who are available so that players can cough twice?
All this talk about opening or closing the transfer window is a bit academic, no? Another year or two of recession and nobody, not even Man City, will be able to do anything more meaningful than a spot of window shopping.
IF, as rumoured, Jermaine Jenas goes to Inter Milan and Mourinho turns him into an outstanding player then Harry Redknapp’s going to look silly I think. Capello likes Jenas, and he was a regular performer under Martin Jol and Ramos. I can’t understand what Redknapp has against him.
A lot of ifs there, Disgruntled. (Can I call you "Disgruntled"? You're a Spurs man so, obviously, yes I can).
JUST how was Robbie Keane “travelling down to London” yesterday? Skis? Toboggan? Snow shoes?
Be pony and trap, begob. (See previous answer).
ONLY Spurs could sell two strikers -- Defoe and Keane -- and then be forced to buy them back again. Who next? Bring back the G-Men, Gilzean and Greaves I say. Oh and Cliff Jones on the wing to deliver some decent crosses.
Not forgetting big Martin Chivers, eh?
DID you know that if a club enters administration the players' wages cannot be renegotiated down? Unlike in any other business. Even under administration a club must meet all obligations to players in full otherwise, under league rules, it will not be allowed to play its fixtures. Football has become a conspiracy of the players and money men against the fans. We should stop handing them our cash.
The revoloution starts here! (Not).
SO, if Arsenal “can’t afford” Andrei Arshavin then I think we’ve had a lucky escape. The boy’s got trouble written all over him, looks lightweight, and Arsène Wenger was clearly sceptical about him in the summer. I don’t see that anything has changed since then.
Arshavin may blow cold but anyone who can also blow as hot as he did in the Euros should be a worthy addition to any team.
I RECKON Joe Kinnear’s description of Charles N’Zogbia as “Insomnia” was just part of a cunning plan to get rid of a player he didn’t fancy. And it could really catch on . . . Didier Doghouse, Michael Bollock, Saloman Clueless. How’s that for starters?
Will get back to you when I've come up with whatever is the opposite of Art Deco.
NEWCASTLE fans might not like this, but Shay Given has made the right move to go to Manchester City which, for all its failings on the field at the moment is at least a team with some ambition. He has been a fantastic and loyal servant on Tyneside and deserves a better showcase for his talents. He’s been consistently one of the best three keepers over the last decade behind a defence that leaks like a sieve. Good luck to the lad from Donegal. He deserves it.
Newcastle to Man City? Can't quite get the words "frying pan" and "fire" out of my mind but have our Letter Of The Week prize anyway for a deserved testimonial.
