Wasn’t it made 90 minutes rather than miles to ensure that excessive travel times didn’t interfere too much with school?
Possible, but as some youth coaches point out using time has its own problems too - a club near an airport has pretty much free reign, where a club in a large city with traffic problems might struggle to get kids from the other side of town. I’ve heard Manchester United and West Ham used as examples of both cases.
There’s also a rule in the SPL that clubs have to have two under-21s on their squad for each game (I may be missing some of the minutiae of the rule, but that’s the gist of it). I think this is a classic example of a rule that’s meant to be helpful actually ending up doing more harm - the boys have to be kept at the club but they mostly end up warming the bench while they could be out getting experience on loan somewhere else. This doesn’t help them, it doesn’t help us and it sure as hell isn’t helping the Scottish national team.
I’m not happy at all with Celtic this season. Sure we’ve won all our league games (though we’re 0-0 against Motherwell as I type), but we’ve been absolutely dire to watch in most of them. Won’t even talk about the Champions League debacle except to say, we deserved it.
We bought three players over the summer: a reliable goalkeeper which we really needed; a very promising creative midfielder which we desperately needed, and an OK left-sided defender which we really don’t need that much. Guess which is the one of the three who is getting a regular game.
Larsson, Lambert and Lennon are all having nightmares on a regular basis this season. Sutton, Agathe and Mjallby have been consistently underperforming as well. Guppy, the one I was trashing all last season, has been the only Celtic player to really impress me so far.
We’ll probably still win the league because the huns are even shiter than we are, but it’s really not much consolation.
OTOH my local club (Bohemians) are doing rather well …
Oh Owlypooo
As are Newcastle.
Where did Spurs finish last year ?
…and Leeds ?
…and who will be placed the higher at the end of the season ?
How on earth can you criticise a club for having an experienced manager when you support a club that is run by Eileen Drewery’s unseen hand 
So far Leeds are having an odd season, which oddly enough is normal.
This month we have Scum, the Toon, and Boring to play, should give a good indication of how things will run for us.
And we’ve just lost to Motherwell 
christ, we were terrible. We really need Hedman and Crainey playing.
3-2 win to my lot tonight. Unconvincing from the sound of it, but it wasn’t our strongest team. At least our strikers are finally clicking - hopefully Wijnhard and Killen can live up to the promise they showed at earlier, bigger clubs.
And Agathe and Larsson not, by the sounds of it.
Oh how the mighty have fallen …
I don’t know what to say about Scottish football really…it’s a pretty sad time. My last experience was in about April/May: St Johnston at home to Rangers – T-A Flo was about the only player on the pitch who looked good enough for the Premiership to me. But that’s based on just 90 minutes viewing, so not an overly sound basis for forming opinions. Just a dismal, dismal affair…
Having said that, the Welsh are on a roll and they’ve got nothing in the way of facilities either…
This is hysterical
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/2248895.stm
“Tottenham boss Glenn Hoddle has been named the Barclaycard Manager of the Month for August.”
Anyway, we’ve got the ‘Cottages’ this evening (what no Redknapp ?). I was thinking that if we beat this shower and then win on Saturday, Tottenham would have been top of the Premiership for 2 ½ weeks. That’s even funnier than Hoddle getting the award…
Coldie – Is that your lot in mid-table. They’re in the UEFA Cup this season ?
http://sports.yahoo.com/m/world/dutch/
BTW, Stand by yer beds…here’s my home town team: The mighty Hornets of Horsham – you’ll note the web site is run by a chap by the name of big hairy goat. Supporting this team made me the man I am today…
http://www.horshamfc.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm?page=/contacts/contacts.htm
Terry Vegetables is the most over rated coach in football, and we Spurs fans should know. We get Keane and you get Anderton (watch this space, its a done deal, he failed the medical but willl be fit by Christmas). Hmmm…I know which one I’d rather be parading around the pitch in a white shirt.
Good luck with Barmby and Anderton. Maybe Terry Fenwick could be lured out of retirement.
Goddle is doing pretty darned well as far as I am concerned. I would take us to be on a par with Leeds, at least, in May
Are Spurs looking defensively sound this season? I’m gambling on more Spurs players than I’d normally be happy with in my fantasy league teams. I did have Gardner but I’m not sure just how close he is to being first-choice, so I’ve put in Dean Richards. Simon Davies has been an automatic pick in midfield for me in all three leagues I’ve entered.
I think the defence is maturing into something reasonably formidable. The best news is, of course, that a considerably more potent attack takes some of the pressure off the defence as the opposition can’t always push the extra manpower up. And the midfield is also stronger… so the defence should, in theory, be under less pressure as well as having better cover from midfield.
Oh! I forgot. Is Bunjevcevic playing in midfield, because a lot of the fantasy leagues list him as a defender?
I’m with Jonathan Chance. I opened this thread thinking, “Dammit, my beloved Atlanta Falcons lost in overtime to the Packers at Lambeau!”
Please ignore.
Good calls CRUSOE. Tony Gardiner is close to an automatic choice with Richards, King, Ziege and CArr in a 3-5-1-2 formation. He’s immense (in all senses of the word; he’s about 6’4")
Simon DAvies is the most exciting young talent in the league and Man Utd are already sniffing around…(Need a new Giggs)
He’s played largely as a holding defensive midfielder. Whether he’ll play now that the “Football Genius” aka Freund is fit is another matter. We need someone who can cover for our attacking midfield.
I’ll stick with Richards then. I wondered if Bunjevcevic would get a couple of assists but I’d rather have a first-choice defender who’s known for getting the odd goal than a second-choice midfielder who isn’t. I’ve always been a fan of Davies, even prior to Spurs, and along with Duff, Dunn and Maccarone he’s in all of my teams.
My locals, Arsenal, are looking better and better. Shame they’re all French.
My home team, Lincoln City, are 4th in Div 3. Extraordinary, since they finshed 22nd last season (93 places behind Arsenal).
Go Alien:
Do you live in Woolwich then?
Ho ho ho, fine joke, Owly.
The old ones are the good ones.