Scottish football doesn’t start til next week, I think.
But you will be able to see Celtic give Arsenal a good spanking.
DYSWIDT? 
You mean, cheer for one team and then move and cheer for another team in the same league? Certainly not :eek: My second-team loyalty has changed a number of times, but it’s only changed to reflect the different country I’m living in (so now it’s Bohs, when I lived in the States it was DC United, etc.) - but once I pick a team in a league that’s it, they are my team for that country, even if I move to another part of the same country. And Celtic will always mean more to me than any of them anyway.
Oh, and as Twisty noted, the Scottish league starts on the 9th.
For the couple of fellow yids on this loop and of interest to the gooners (get someone to read it to you), this article is very entertaining (and it’s not written by a front wheel)
http://www.football365.com/You_Say_We_say/Jon_Nicholson/index.shtml
For the couple of fellow yids on this loop and of interest to the gooners (get someone to read it to you), this article is very entertaining (and it’s not written by a front wheel)
http://www.football365.com/You_Say_We_say/Jon_Nicholson/story_75487.shtml
According to my sources:cool: Scottish League Cup football is starting tomorrow. So there:)
V
Man, I know they’re only friendlies, but Manchester United is looking scary-good so far. It doesn’t even look like they’re pushing that hard.
And Ruud van Nistelrooy deserves some consideration as the best striker in the world right now. His goal last night against Juve? Wow. (Dare I say it? Yes: van Basten-esque.)
I’ve already read that column, and it’s the usual anti-Arsenal drivel from John Nicholson. He (like you, owlstretchingtime) never misses a chance to slag off Arsenal.
He claims that Arsenal’s side has no depth and that they have no hope of finishing above mid-table this season. WTF? This season we still have the same team that won the FA Cup last season, and just fell short of winning the league. No flurry of new signings (other than Lehmann), but no major departures, either. Admittedly, I had hoped we’d sign a new centre-half, but to say this one weakness is a sign of no depth throughout the squad is ridiculous (and there’s still hope that Senderos will prove himself, and that maybe Cygan will improve).
Besides, it’s silly to be drawing conclusions before a ball is kicked next season.
If you want a more balanced view (on the same website, actually) see Andy Gray’s column:
http://www.football365.co.uk/You_Say_We_say/Andy_Gray_Column/story_75580.shtml
I actually thought it was partly wishful thinking too. However I think he does have a point and I can’t see the nike-pikeys doing that well this year.
Owl’s prediction:
Man U
Chelsea
Liverpool
Newcastle
AFC
with anyone from Spurs, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, etc making up the numbers.
To go down:
Portsmuff
Bolton
Leicester
with Leeds having a very edgy season.
I went to my first game at WHL for this season, and we lost 2-0. We played some lovely stuff and still lost. I shouldn’t really expect anything else.
Another week, another striker. Looks like Freddie Kanoute is en route for £3.5 milliom plus Etherington (valued at £1 million). Seems like a lot of money again . . .?
Spurs 0 PSV 2 – what was the team, Owl ? I’m guessing Robbie Keane played a deeper role behind the line but can’t find info online . . . I see their second goal came after 88 mins and as we were pressing for an equaliser. It’s okay . . .
In other news, the uppity Jocks are at it again:
Celtic chief condemns ‘cartel’
“Desmond, the biggest investor at Celtic Park, is arguing that Premiership clubs acted illegally when they voted unanimously to reject any application from Celtic and Rangers to join England’s top flight. “
- As I understand it, the issue isn’t even in the hands of the Premier League, it’s a matter for FIFA. But Desmond must know the coup, presumably it’s what he sees as a good tactical move . . . What I don’t quite understand is his rationale on why his team should gain automatic admission into not just another country’s top league, but one of the two richest leagues in the world ?
What say ye ruadh and crew, isn’t this just accelerating the dark forces of British hegemony/cultural imperialism over the Celtic heartlands , etc. . . 
?
Still mulling over my predictions. . . .tricky this season, very tricky . . .
LC;- Spurs team
Spurs (4-4-2):- Keller; Carr, Perry, Gardner, Taricco; Davies (sub Ricketts, 38), Redknapp (Capt) (sub Marney, 75), Anderton (sub Bunjevcevic, 46), Acimovic (sub Poyet, 61); Keane, Postiga
Subs not used:- Burch; Kelly; Jackson; Slabber
playing 4-4-2. and my worst suspicions about our midfield were bourne out. We were overrun by the PSV midfield and it does not bode well. Hopefully Kanoute wasn’t the last signing.
As regards the sweaties: They should stay where they are. There is no justification for including them in the English League, none whatsoever.
And the last thing we need in a league with Man City, Birmingham, Man utd, Leeds, Spurs, wolves and Portsmouth is another two firms with something to prove.
It’s obviously a non-starter. We can dream, though.
I’m not sure it is a complete non-starter, money has a habit of talking in these matters, and the Old Firm would certainly be commercially attractive, at least at first, perhaps less so once the novelty had worn off.
The question I would like answered is why the fans of the two weedgie clubs (and maybe the Hibbies and jambos) would want to play in the English League. What’s the appeal for them?
They wouldn’t win it (at least not with the monotonous regularity of North of The Border), European football couldn’t be taken for granted and they would have to make some horrific trips (Saints and Pompey for instance).
believe me, Middlesbrough on a wet monday evening is nothing to be envious about!
We wouldn’t win it with the squad we have now, but playing in the EPL would enable us to attract better players and within a few years we certainly could compete. That’s really the only reason I’ve come around to supporting the idea - it’s just too depressing seeing us linked with player after player and knowing there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell they’d want to go to the SPL.
I still can’t see the point of this though. GRFC and GCFC with EPL cash would certainly be able to compete in the market place with most EPL clubs (all bar Man U and Chelsea probably).
However what is the attraction in beating Bolton, for instance? Surely there is more enjoyment in beating Aberdeen/ Dundee etc, clubs that you have a history and genuine rivalry with?
THis is why I can’t see a real European League taking off (especially if it is in effect a closed shop).
I would rather see spurs beat (or indeed lose to) Arsenal, Chelsea, etc than Ajax, Rosenborg etc’ or even Real Madrid, Inter etc.
No, there really isn’t much enjoyment in beating most of the SPL clubs. We’ve grown spoiled and don’t expect any less now, so it’s just not very interesting anymore.
And obviously it isn’t the Boltons we have in mind, any more than it’s the Rosenborgs we have in mind when we dream of the Champions League.
I went to one of the St Johnstone vs. Rangers games last season. On a wet Wednesday. In the middle of winter, actually, I think it was April (which, as far as I’m concerned, is the middle of winter up there). I have no idea how people watch a load of second-rate old geezers and spotty kids pantomiming around for 90 minutes, let alone season after season.
Rangers had Flo, then, and the Italian with the big cock but it was still supreme shite.
It really has to drain your enthusiasm after a time – not the big cock, obviously.
And they repeat this nonsense at least four times a season . . .
But the reality is that there are more Boltons than Man Us. You need something to make the Bolton’s, Southamptons etc interesting - ie you need to have some history with them, some rivalry, even if only with a specific player.
Frankly; watching the Spurs/Leicester game would bore the pants off the non-committed, so quite why you would want to swop for this, I don’t know. I really don’t.
Also there’s the money to think of, Chelsea are charging us £50 for away fans - this is bad enough but Birmingham want £45 for god’s sake.
Too right, ruadh. We over at Aberdeen FC are destined to see our Centennial Season go by without a prayer of challenging the Old Firm, contrary to some of the Dons’ wildly rash predictions a couple of years ago. We’ll be lucky indeed to finish in the top six.
OST, for the first few seasons simply the novelty of looking for our name in the EPL table should be enough to overcome the tedium of having to play the likes of Southampton. And I’m sure rivalries will develop, although I’m afraid the strongest ones will be with those teams whose fans take the most umbrage with our Part-Time Provo contingent.
But, really, I don’t want to overstate how much the idea of interesting domestic football comes into it. Fundamentally our desire to join the EPL is to do with making us competitive in Europe again. If we could do that while remaining in the SPL I’d be more than happy to stay there.
DUKE:
How would other sweaty footie fans feel about the old firm going off to England - surely it would debase the remaining competition to an unacceptable level - what would be the point of winning “the best of the rest”?
Also why can’t the likes of Aberdeen win something? Surely they get good enough crowds to pay reasonable wages? I realise the league may be out, but surely the cups are a reasonable aspiration?