as we are reachin the climax of the football season. How's it going for your team?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As we are coming up to the climax of the season here in sunny olde England,
it is a good time to review how one’s teams (club, country, whatever) are
getting on. How’s it been so far, what is realistically left and what if
anything would you change?

So me first:

Club: Tottenham Hotspur:

An unsatisfactory, bitty, disjointed season. When on song we play some
beautiful stuff and look like a serious top four team. Then they decide
it’s time for a little light relief and the performances go down the
plughole. Our FA cup exit to Southampton is the worst display I’ve seen in
years (and I can remember John Pratt).

Glenn Hoddle has yet to prove that he is the man to take the team forward,
and at times seems to have lost the plot as regards team selections and
tactics.

I am also less than impressed with selling our leading scorer and not buying
a replacement leaving us to play a centre half as a centre forward.

Europe is still possible, but I really can’t see it. So all in all another
transitional season with the club rooted in mid table.

We have also had the sideshow of the club’s ownership changing with no clear
indication of where our Chairman sees us going.

I would like to see some serious investment in the team. People I know who
are close to the club tell me that Bobby Zamora is on his way in the summer,
and we will be losing Simon Davies to Devon United (fergie is a big fan, and
sees him as a replacement for Giggs who is on his way too)

A bright spot has been the Woolwich Nomad’s comedy attempts to win a Euro
pot. This is pleasing.

Country:

Ingerland

Apart from the Australian debacle it has been a quiet period for Ingerland
(to give it it’s proper name), A crunch game coming up with Turkey that I am
far from confident about.

I have never been a Sven fan, and think he flatters to deceive. We shall
see come April. If we lose against the Turks then things will be bleak.

2

Oldham Athletic : a season of two halves

Sadly, like Elvis, the good half has left the building.

We started out cruising through the division, with Clyde Wijnhard banging in goals, Clint Hill a rock at the back and chairman Chris Moore feeding in enough money for some good signings.

Now we’re in sight of the playoffs, but the goals have dried up. Clint Hill’s broken leg has relegated him to a spectator, and great white hope Chris Killen has only chipped in with three goals. As fan apathy dominates and the club continues to haemorrage money faster than blood in a Dario Fulci movie, would-be saviour Moore packed up shop last week and announced he was standing down as chairman. Apparently we have enough money to cover losses until the end of the season, and then it’s time for the begging bowl.

Promotion remains somewhat possible, but not on current form and with our current injury problems and horrendous disciplinary records. Goalkeeper Les Pogliacomi has been strongly tipped to take over Nigel Martyn’s reserve shirt at Leeds in the summer, with starlet Fitz Hall certain to leave (current favourite: £1.5m to Southampton) too.

Iain Dowie may precede them all. Not under contract, his abilities have attracted some Premier clubs, and with Leeds and Sunderland shedding managers like there’s no tomorrow (and West Ham not far off), there will be plenty of bigger clubs with more money for him to spend. He’s been visibly angered by the lack of communication from the departing chairman, and doesn’t have the best relationship with elements of the home crowd (who he believes–completely accurately–are too ready to criticise).

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I’m also a Yid.

I doubt if there’s another manager in the Premiership as committed to the cause as is Hoddle, but I fear he doesn’t have the right blend of skills Spurs need.

Finding the right manager, in the right circumstances, for the right club is, IMHO, the most underrated task in football. It’s an art and a science and a lot more besides. IMHO, Hoddle is lacking in crucial area’s for a team like Spurs at this time – the wrong ‘skill set’, if you will.

I’m also very concerned he’s lacking a crucial skill any manager needs at any time, and that’s a really exceptional level of ability at man-management.

Having said that, I understand the importance of reducing the (again underrated) drain on the wage bill by off-loading Sir Les, Rebrov, et al. Counting it all up, Spurs must be £70-£100,000 a week better off. At least. And it’s absolutely vital to be financially (and psychologically) sound at this time – Rebrov hit Spurs very hard (I think this financial year we’re writing off assets of £7-8 million due to him).

So, it’s been a very disappointing second half to the season. Until we’re looking like easy picks for the top six, Spurs will have problems attracting quality and, even more importantly, keeping what we have – Tottenham need regular European football as (just) the first step.

In consequence, I’ll be spending the summer keeping an eye on Steven Carr, who will be resident in my cellar, chained and out of the way of the unmentionable Arsehole Wanker.
On England, don’t get me started. I hear El Tel’s looking for a job …

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Sunderland…

Things can only get better…

(I hope!:))
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I also support Spurs, though the only thing I’ll offer is a line to sum up our season.

“A striker short of Europe.”

It was madness to offload both Rebrov and Les without a replacement.

Also, I don’t think Davies will be going anywhere this summer. Levy would be crucified if he sold him. As for Carr, Spurs wouldn’t sell him to Arsenal while he was still under contract, so he’ll either have to stay (for another year at least) or go elsewhere.

6

6 points behind the Ger’s, but with 2 games in hand.

Just knocked Liverpool out of the UEFA Cup.

In The Semi’s of the Scottish Cup.

Tell all The Ger’s you Know,
That it’s off to the sun that we’ll go,
We’ll be drunk in Seville,
While’t they’re watching The Bill,
and we’re going to do 3 in a row.

7

Aberdeen: 9th out of 12 in the SPL…and that’s not even the worst of it. Our newly-signed manager, Steve Paterson late of Inverness CT, is undergoing treatment for a drinking problem. Insert joke as necessary (not that it’s all that funny, really). We should be able to hang on to our place in the top flight, but European qualification, chances of which looked good at the beginning of the season, now seems years away.

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What Twisty said … except I would never be polite enough about them to call them “Gers” :smiley:

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Oh and Duke, sincere condolences on your managerial woes. Hope he gets some help and gets you guys back on track.

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Blackburn Rovers:
Overall I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done this season. Currently 7th and in with a very good shot at Europe again next season. There’s also the minor feat of being the first team for 3 years to do the double over Arsenal.

Brad Friedel has been incredible between the sticks, I’d go so far as to say he’s the best keeper in Britain this season. The Yorke/Cole partnership may not have been quite what Souey predicted, but they’ve been getting the goals when we’ve needed them, and when you’ve got Duff, Dunn, Flitcroft et al able to score from midfield, your strikers don’t need to be goal machines. Shame about Matt Jansen - he was England material at the end of last season.

There’s a couple of decent youngsters coming through like Jay McEveley too, so as long as we can keep the team together, I’d be hoping for top 5 and a decent stay in Europe next season. Of course therein lies my one worry. If Fergie is willing to splash £30m on donkeys like Rio Ferdinand, how much will he be willing to dole out on class like Damien Duff, especially if Giggs is on his way out?

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AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!! Bolton.

Bloody Bolton - it has come to this.

We did the double once you know.

Thank God I am too old to go away for midweek matches.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers…wandered back in to the play-offs, will just as quickly wander out again. Repeat of the end of the last season.

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Arsenal - pissed away earlier chances to qualify for the knock out stages of the CL and just weren’t good enough at Valencia. The chances to goals ratio has been a worry all season and a stable centre half partnership has yet to emerge. The wobbles continue at the same part of the Premiership programme as in the first half of the season - Blackburn, Everton etc. United are very much on song but hopefully Europe will be enough of a distraction for us to take the title. I’m very worried about Chelsea tonight - they looked good on Saturday and we’ve only had two days to recover from the Everton game.

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owlstretchingtime - What do you know about this kid Jamie Slabber who was on the bench again last night. 18 – 19 year-old striker, not played yet. I suppose we’re so short up front he’s been promoted to the bench but I’m obviously hoping he’s a boy wonder ?

  • Difficult to believe we still have53 professionalson the books. I could cry…
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Thanks, roo’. It worries me that the Dons think he can continue managing without a break. At least the administration seems supportive.

Best of luck to the Bhoys the rest of the season.

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this is all about context. The woolwich nomads have got a staff of 71.

Jamie Slabber is one for the future. He’s been banging them in for the reserves and should have got the chance ahead of Doherty during the recent striker crisis.

He has the pace, but perhaps not yet the strength to be a prospect. He got 10 minutes against Liverpool.

He’s Ok in a neal Fenn, Paul Mahorn, Kieren Toner kind of way - hopefully he’ll go on from here (unlike said lumps). He’s no Rooney sadly. We have another young fellah called Malcolm who looks potentially better (but his agent is Sky Andrews, if you can believe they still let him in the ground)

Blondell is the only non regular with anything serious about him. He really could be something special.

I hear that Davies to United is pretty much a done deal. This makes me very angry.