Ignore him old chap - start as you mean to go on! Owl - 16 years and counting, never missed a home game (thankfully the babies weren’t born on saturdays!).
Given the time differences she may even be asleep whilst the game is on, or do they show them on a delay?
In other news Inter have been hit with a £132000 fine, next 6 games to be played behind closed doors (2 of those are probationary)
For those who didn’t see the Arsenal/Blackburn game, after van Persie had scored the second of his wondergoals, Blackburn skipper Andy Todd, son of former Derby and England great Colin Todd, elbowed the talented young Dutchman in the face. Shame on you. May you reflect on the complete lack of grace you demonstrated by your let’s-put-skillful-johnny-foreigner-in-his-place-and-show-a-bit-of-the-bulldog-spirit whether the boffins in the video room at Lancaster Gate (are they still based there?) punish you or not.
In other news, what a glorious game at Anfield, Pool v Spurs. A game played in the right spirit with Swedes and Spaniards showing how the influence of Continental players extends not just to quality passes and quality goals but to a sporting attitude, which might be punctuated by occasional dives but isn’t blighted by moronic “macho”.
Beside the FA Cup game (and I agree with roger about Todd) in the states we got Portsmouth v Brum and Narrich v Palace. The first game was pretty ridiculously bad, the second was very entertaining. Toward the end of the season the bottom of the table clashes are often the most entertaining. The highlights for Pool-Spurs did look good, too bad we didn’t get it. Blackburn’s style is horseshit, but it will keep them up, plus Brad Friedel has been playing great. I was also offended by Robbie Savage (surprise) after he stuck his studs in Fabergas’ knee and then going over to the supine and chastising him for…faking it? What a twat.
I saw the Bin dippers v Spurs game on a moody sattelite. We were definately the second bestteam on the park - and can count ourselves lucky with the draw.
Saints appear to be in self-destruct mode, losing to Villa (Villa?!).
It was sad to see an FA cup semi half empty - but was was the FA thinking setting a midday kickoff in wales for teams from South Lonon and Lancashire? What’s wrong with Elland Road or Villa Park? Also what’s wrong with 3pm? It’s not like Blackburn or Plumstead have a reputation for trouble.
We have West Brom on Wednesday - that could be a fairly competitive match (and we will be full for it).
A gracious concession, owl, but all four were absolute wonder goals and “we had nobody to blame but ourselves”, to finish the sentence as banally as I possibly can.
I believe the Turing test will first be passed in a post-football match interview. Link key words in the question to standard phrases and sprinkle “very difficult” and “very important” around liberally, and a blinfolded Garth Crooks will not be able to tell the difference from the computer, Rafa Bentiez or Sven Goran Eriksson. Perhaps we could try it here in this very thread! I’ll start the code:
if INPUTSTREAM = "How AND Game" then OUTPUTSTREAM = "***any guesses?***"
elseif INPUTSTREAM = "Referee" then ...
It looks like the only way into the CL next season is to win the thing this season. If that were to happen, I might have to take a few days off work to go back to Liverpool and personally and insufferably gloat at every Everton fan I know. Oh my, that would be sweet.
As I understand it even winning it wouldn’t guarantee you a place, but it would open up the possibility of the football league requesting that you be entered instead of the 4th place finisher.
What a stinking week for Newcastle! Even with quality players teams just implode sometimes, and this is what appears to be happening. I caught the second half of the FA cup semi on the TV and ManU were handing out a lesson in the sweet science of football. The mancs can really wallop teams when the mood takes them, don’t know if its because Newcastle were ceding the midfield and letting them play or if Rooney and Co just said f-it, lets put on a show.
Hope they’ll have calmed down by Wednesday, as we’re playing them.
Just for a change i’ll actually be rooting for the Mancs in that one. Not that I have anything against Everton, it’s just that Bolton need you to drop points if we’re going to catch you.
Less the ‘possibility’ and more the default arrangement, as Real Madrid did to Real Zaragoza a few years ago. I understand that the League would really have to have a compelling reason to withold that request since winning the thing is clearly a greater achievement than attaining fourth place.
If the issue comes up, then you will deserve it. Beating Chelsea over two legs would be no mean feat, not to mention overcoming whichever team is the other finalist.
But it would be gutting for the 4th placed finisher to be denied the place. The recriminations would go on for years.
If it were Everton, I’m fairly sure we could keep them going for decades. 
Newcastle seem to be a team in melt down, with no busines, football or moral compass.
They are spending money they surely can’t have a la Leeds in a hope to get onto the next level - which certainly won’t be this year. (For instance; Dyer’s nickname in football is “sixty clicks” as that’s what he gets paid every week - no one else would pay anything close to that, and if £210,000 is six weeks BASIC wages for bowyer - that puts him on over £2m pa with appearance money etc). These sums don’t add up. (Thet also doubled Carr’s money when he joined - and we’re not poor payers)
Also the team appears to be completely in thrall to the over-powerful Shearer, and as such the manager is undermined before he starts.
I have a softish spot for the Toon as I went to university then (when they were seriously crap) and used to go and watch them with around 10,000 other hardy sould (we were the only ones not wearing t-shirts in the middle of a Newcastle winter), but they are shaping up to be Leeds MK II
Bloody hell, owl, must be the days of the guy with the elongated neck, Terry Hibbitt, whose brother Ken played for Wolves. Skipper Bobby Moncur?
Edman’s goal v 'pool (well worth a look):
http://www.samarskite.com/samarskite/articles/eric_edman/eric_edman.wmv
Get it while you can - they don’t last!
Not quite as far out or as hard struck as that one, but still pretty nice from MLS this weekend:
Blimey!
Wonder how much the new, lighter balls have to do with these types of goal? That type of prodigious movement’s surely fairly recent?
…after watching video of his elbow. He can consider himself a lucky boy if he gets just the minimum of three matches. Elbows aimed at faces can permanently maim, ending careers through their psychological as well as physical effects.
Not entirely unpredictably, but still sadly, his manager Mark Hughes has joined Todd in regurgitating the accidental mantra. Could it be he’s suffering from a touch of Wengeritis after shaking hands with the myopic Frenchman after the match (did they have the roof closed as well? germs spread more easily that way)?
Reflecting on the use of the word ‘vile’ to describe the tackles employed by some members of his team against the likes of van Persie and Vieira, Sparky was in philosophical mood: “It [the use of the word vile to describe his players, not their conduct] was totally out of order, but that kind of thing only seems to happen when we play southern teams. We have adopted an identical approach to games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton this season and they have said nothing.”
So, Mark, are you saying that it’s the fault of those southern namby-pambies and those even nambier pambies from over the Channel?
“But it’s a different matter when we face the likes of Chelsea or Arsenal and the mud has stuck. [Bingo!] I have told my players to keep doing what they have been doing. If it means creating a siege mentality, then so be it.”
And if it means your captain being handed an eight match ban, then Amen to that too.
Bad result last night OaOW. It sounded like Niemi was standing on his head from the radio commentary. Everton are a real long-shot to beat the Mancs tonight though, I’d be very happy with a draw.
I was there and I still don’t know how we didn’t get 3 points. Bolton completely dominated the 1st half, and missed several good chances in the 2nd half. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
Couldn’t believe it when people started leaving with 5 mins to go. Bolton chasing a first ever European qualification (possibly even Champion’s League), the game stands at 1 - 1, Bolton are camped in front of Southhampton’s goal, and people were leaving!