Strange.
I’ve just checked it and I get there OK.
Looks like you have to be logged in to view it. Good to see you, Chez - haven’t seen you posting in a while, though it’s possible I’ve just been hanging around in the wrong forums.
Have to say a point away at Spurs is a good one, particularly considering the red card (which I felt was justified, even as a Red - the second yellow looked a bit like one of those oh-so-innocent-trying-to-get-out-of-the-way-but-not-quite-managing-it fouls that could easily have been deliberate. And of course the first challenge could easily have been a straight red). I like Jonathan Pearce’s commentary normally (I only saw the highlights of the game on MOTD2), but I thought it was disgraceful how he implied the referee had ruined the game with the red card (that old chestnut, one that should have withered and died a long time ago. Yes, no-one likes to see red cards (except the opposing fans, of course) but if the offence(s) merit(s) it then that is the rule and the player and team must take their punishment). I also couldn’t believe that the studio pundits were convinced he didn’t deserve it, and not only that, thought that he had played well. It looked to me from the highlights that Bale ran rings around Rafael all afternoon, though presumably Lee Dixon had the benefit of watching the whole game. However, I can’t help but be suspicious that he was just impressed with how close Rafael got to Bale compared to what he would have managed :).
I thought Spurs ran rings around us for most of the game in general, and Phelan’s post-match claim that United edged it rang very hollow with me. Still, a good point as I say and a result I would not be displeased with, particularly as it maintained our unbeaten run. Those odd points are going to come in very handy in May, obviously.
OK, try the 4th post down on this one. The layout isn’t so good but the message remains the same.
Thanks - I haven’t posted much during the past year for one reason or another, which is a shame really because I have had much to celebrate.
You might recall I’m a lifelong Blackpool supporter - enough said, I think. Looking forward to nipping down to the local sports bar to watch us play you on Tuesday 25 January (the game is on ESPN). Your unbeaten run could well bite the dust at Bloomfield Road.
On the other hand, we might just get battered.
I must admit that your tangerine-ness had momentarily slipped my mind. I assume now that your lack of posting has chiefly been down to you wandering the earth in a semi-comatose, dream-like state, not wanting to look too closely at anything in case you find your self waking up from a wonderful dream :).
I suspect one could get pretty good odds on our run coming to an end at Bloomfield Road, but I definitely wouldn’t rule it out.
Well, our story has been all over the back pages for five months now so further comment from me is probably unnecessary.
It’s true I’ve experienced some great moments, not least beating Liverpool last week in a game we fully deserved to win. That said, it was the worst Liverpool team I think I’ve ever seen.
Wembley last May was truly amazing. I’ve never seen so much tangerine in one place before and, as for the game itself, I felt we were always going to win.
One comment about Ian Holloway. If the mark of a good coach is to coax largely unsung players to produce performances beyond anything they have achieved previously then he currently has no equal in the game. Some of his interviews make me cringe a little but then nobody is perfect.
I do feel that the division lacks a bit of quality this season. With respect to your sensibilities, for Manchester United to be in such a strong position without having played all that well for much of the campaign is probably testament to this. However the entertainment quotient has risen to more than compensate.
Here’s to 17th place or better via 4-3-3. 
Darren Bent: £24m transfer to Aston Villa.
Why?
Do you mean “why do Villa want him?” or “why is Bent going to Villa?”? Bent is a proven goalscorer, exactly what Villa are missing at the moment, and strikers are going for silly money these days. Even at Tottenham, where he was considered a failure, he got plenty of goals with a limited number of starts. I hate to say it, but given that Villa are under real threat of relegation, it may not be a bad bit of business. As to why Bent is going, given that Sunderland are pushing for a place in Europe and Villa aren’t, I guess money is the motivation.
I think it was more the “Why is he going to Villa”. He currently has more goals than their current four strikers put together IIRC and they could definitely do with a proven striker.
I’m happy to read this from a red, because I had the same feeling watching the highlights. I found it utterly ridiculous that Pierce apperantly feels that it is the refs job to make sure the game is entertaining instead of following the rules, and he didn’t do it once but a bunch of times.
About the game, I thought the Spurs did seem to have had the best chances and most of the play. I wouldn’t say they ran circles around United, but they seemed the more likely to win; not sure what game Phelan was watching.
It was so expensive because the price includes the Heart-ectomy that all players seem to undergo before their arrival at Villa Park these days.
Allow me to be the first to say it (at least in this thread) - Villa are much too good to go down (chuckles evilly).
Holloway’s interviews are his primary skill - he easily surpasses even Redknapp for entertainment value, and that’s quite an achievement.
Totally agree with your second point, as you may have seen from my posts earlier in the thread - but I also agree that it has been a good antidote for the accusations that surfaced a couple of years ago along the lines of “the Premier League is too boring, it contains three or four good teams and the rest are also-rans”. That is most certainly not the case now - OK, probably only a few teams have a chance of actually winning the league, but I think the chances of a minnow taking points off a big gun are much higher than they were, and that is a good thing.
Is anyone, like me, enjoying transfer deadline day? And specifically Liverpool’s reported dealings (nothing has been signed yet incidentally but the reports are coming thick and fast so one assumes that there is some substance to them).
Torres going for £50m is a pretty good piece of business if it comes through - bought for £20m and has demonstrably not been at £50m worth of form recently, so well cashed in, if they manage it.
However, then spending £35m of this on Andy Carroll from Newcastle is hilarious. This is a man who is reportedly currently injured because he drank to many Jagerbombs (Jagermeister shots mixed with Red Bull if you’re not aware) and fell off his bar stool. A man who had legal trouble at the start of the year and, as a consequence, was told by a court that he had to live with his club captain. He’s 23 years old and he has some talent but David Villa only went for £34m earlier this year. You could get several top class European players for £35m.
I say this as someone with no axe to grind (I support Carlisle United who will not be troubling the Premier League - ever). But well done Liverpool for making a day, usually hyped to the hilt but bereft of excitement, actually entertaining this year.
Now…if only I could find a woman to explain to me the offside rule…
I guess the answer now is because Darren Bent is worth significantly more than 48% of Fernando Torres.
50 million quid. Christ Chelsea are dumb. For a player who spends whole lengths of each season out of the game either with injury or lack of form. It’s making me feel damned old remembering Trevor Francis.
Seems like Chicharito is doing an impressive job of living up to the hype. Where would United be without him?
Torres = £50m
Carroll = £35m and he’s currently injured
Somehow £24m for Darren Bent makes sense given he has already won one game for Villa already.
I see Blackpool managed to keep hold of Adam as well. He may be gone in the summer but it give the Tangerines a much better chance of staying up for another season.
Another Fiver reader, eh? I believe the correct way to say it is that apparently Torres is worth 2.1 Bents.
I think Liverpool have come out really well, not taking into account the actual expenditures. Carroll is good, and Suarez should do really well playing next to him. I just think about how he played when he was partnered with Cavani for Uruguay, and Diego Forlan in the hole, during the World Cup. Granted, you’d think there are more pressing needs than another striker for £35m, but hey, it’s John Henry’s money.
Am I correct to assume they’ll play 442?
Carroll-Suarez
Maxi/Cole-Gerrard-Meireles-Kuyt
Back 4
Reina
I think that’s actually a pretty solid starting XI. The defenders aren’t the best, but should be enough to see them through the upswing and finish the season near a Europa League spot. The depth is missing, too, but they’ll have to worry about it in the summer.
It’ll be interesting to see Chelsea and how they’ll play Drogba, Torres, and Anelka. If they play all three, then they’ll be relying really strongly on the midfielders to do a good job, and they’ll have to sacrifice either creativity or wing play. Drogba can play in a partnership, but I don’t think Torres has ever really excelled as anything but a lone striker. If it’s a move for the future, then it’s probably good for Chelsea, but I don’t think they’ll get a great immediate benefit.
Of course, the 2 clubs that believe in their youth policies most and have had the most stability over the years are sitting 1 & 2 and saw little need to buy (or value in the market).
What’s Fiver? I’ll read anything I get my hands on!
It’s a daily email sent by the Guardian around 5pm (British time) with news and snark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fiver
A couple weeks ago, after Bent was sold to Villa, they were comparing other players in terms of Bent based on how much they cost. It seemed, at the time, he was too expensive, but in the new terms of Andy Carroll, he looks like a bargin.
Ohhhh - if it is free I will have to sign up. Thanks!
If you’re at all interested in them, they also do weekly rugby union and cricket ones (The Breakdown and The Spin respectively).