It’s all going to be alright. It is. We’re winning games. Scoring actual honest-to-goodness goals.
Unfortunately, we’re also very nearly broke. The two lads McKinlay and Summerbee who signed on on a non-contract basis at the start of the season (ie only getting paid expenses, no actual wages per se) got a 1 month contract and now a 3 month contract. Of course, in an ideal world, some of the players would take a pay cut, but in the real world there isn’t a cat in hell’s chance of that happening.
The really refreshing thing is that Micky Adams doesn’t give a flying toss about the lack of cash. He likes having a stronger side than he’d expected, and everything else is the board’s problem. There’s a good team spirit.
Another win yesterday! That’s five on the trot in the league, six if you include the league cup.
<a taste of the Second Division >
I ventured out to darkest Essex to enjoy the delights of Layer Road, Colchester, which is unfeasibly difficult to get to (being a good few miles from one of the town’s numerous rail stations). What an awful ground; all of the way fans cramped into half of one stand while the opposite end was nearly deserted. A dull first half where Colchester huffed and puffed and Oldham ran round in circles rather than controlling the game led into a much more exciting second half when the referee decided he was bored.
One red for what would have been a horrendous tackle by our captain Clint Hill - had it actually connected with anyone [two footed, off the ground - sadly the referee failed to note that (a) he played the ball successfully and (b) the opposing player arrived about three hours later]. The resulting melee saw the referee and linesmen huddle to decide how best to even the sides up, sending of the Colchester captain for some random reason (apparently they may not be able to appeal as the club video camera was broken). Clyde Wijnhard raced thirty yards to get involved and was lucky to stay on too.
Fortunately we had Wayne Andrews’ cracking shot on the turn (absolute scorcher, it was) to give us the lead and Aussie giant Les Pogliacomi in goal handed is victory by with a brilliant stop right at the death. Lovely sunny day, bizarrely young and attractive bus driver back to Colchester station (she looked about seventeen, nothing like the usual sullen Jabbas in London) and the news that my fantasy footie team had a decent Saturday too.
Excellent Crusoe - You must be getting giddy with it all !
I also have a few intriguing fixtures this season as it seems (I fell a little out of touch) several leagues have been regionally re-arranged. Thus the mighty **Hornets ** (of Horsham, for those not keeping up) will now be able to gift me my ultimate away …game in the badlands of Bromley (ie. across 2 miles of suburbia) – I’m also tentatively considering serious away days to the likes of downtown Tooting, South Croydon and Croydon (that must be some derby game!) as well as to the sunny, upland slopes of Staines and…'ello, 'ello, The Metropolitan Police (home ground not as yet located). Sarf London has all-of-a-sudden become my footballing lobster. The Hornets are currently a fairly promising seventh in something called ‘Division One South’. I promise to keep you all updated…
On another plane; an unfortunate miss when it seemed, given the laws of physics, a goal was the only possible conclusion means Tottenham may now begin their inevitable and ever-so-slow slide to near middle table mediocrity. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope, nee expect, a top six finish…I’m just not banking on it. Still blighted by too many injuries…where’s God when you need him… Casdave – What’s the inside news on Harte – lots of stories of sections of the Leeds crowd arguing amongst themselves and not a few booing him. Think he got roasted again yesterday…
BTW, Furguson only 10/1 to be the first Premiership manager to go…but not getting my readies.
Nice news for me and Crusoe.
Div 1 - Micky Adams, Leicester City
Div 2 - Iain Dowie, Oldham Athletic
Div 3 - Denis Smith, Wrexham
Conference - Gary Johnson, Yeovil Town
It really might actually be going to be alright. Of course, however pleased I feel it still turns out to be small beer, as I live with a devotee of the First Church of Arsene Wenger.
Yes, now Oldham are definitely cursed. We have some nasty injury problems - six first-choice players injured at the moment - and suspensions coming up. I’m wary of the cup tie against Derby this week and the league match against Swindon at the weekend, especially as the latter have an old boy up front - our ex-players have a nasty habit of scoring against us.
Hah!
For tomorrow’s cup tie against Sheff Weds, we have Matty Elliott, Billy McKinlay, Brian Deane, Gerry Taggart and Nicky Summerbee injured. And Paul Dickov and Frank Sinclair are suspended. We always have horrendous injury problems. It’s the Leicester Way.
Mind you, Frank Sinclair being unavailable is GOOD news.
Well, tomorrow we have the return leg of our UEFA Cup tie with FC Suduva. I just hope that away goal they scored in the first leg doesn’t come back to haunt us - if they put away 7 against us we’re f**ked
I do hope we get a convincing victory though … and that the huns do poorly in their own UEFA game. It’ll be good psychological preparation for the Old Firm game on Sunday … about which (need I say) I am shitting bricks …
Woo. Good results for me and Tansu last night. Yet another sterling performance by Clint “I Am A God In Human Form” Hill (I hope his three match ban from Saturday doesn’t hurt us much), another goal from Clyde Wijnhard (10 games, 10 goals - please sign a contract!) - that’s seven wins on the trot now.
Roll on the overpriced, Ruddock-ballasted Swindon on Saturday.
A vintage Leicester cup competition performance. Leave it until the last possible moment to equalise, then get it sewn up early on in extra time. Not good for the nerves. Not good at all.
Joys? Not likely. My nerves are still shredded. Apparently we owned the first half, but Derby came back into it in the second and could have won it easily then, but for a superb shot-stopping performance from our reserve keeper. Extra time was all Derby with the exception of the winning goal and even their keeper being sent off didn’t slow them.
And the sad thing is I’m even envious of that…Clinging on to sixth place with a few tricky little encounters on the immediate horizon. Still, too early to doubt the Chairman’s view that we’ll be in the Champions League next season
In reality, we’re 22-25 points away from safety. Last season was wonderful in so much as every single team was either looking for a place in Europe or battling to stay clear of the relegation zone until after Easter – no in betweens. Some how I think we’ll avoid both in the end. Again. Why is it always so heart-stopping…
Anyway, glad things are on the ‘up’ for so many…not many people know this but Edwina and John were hard at it when Tottenham last…nevermind…
Well done to the BBC for showing it - what an excellent game. Exciting, end-to-end stuff for the neutral (or semi-neutral; one more goal for Celtic would have been nice). Some questions:
01 What do Celtic do when Larsson retires?
02 When did Chris Sutton become such a cheating diver?
03 How are Rangers at the top?
04 Momo Sylla. Why?
Another win for Oldham at the weekend – eight on the trot is apparently our best run for 26 years – and we’re top of the Second Division, with a winnable cup tie away at West Ham. I’m still predicting a major collapse though – of our back three, two now face three match bans (that’s four red cards in ten games) and one is injured. QPR away suddenly seems a very dangerous game.
No Huns in Europe.
There’ll be no Huns in europe.
No Huns in Eurrrrrrrrrrope.
There’ll be no huns in Europe.
Anyway, I was at the game. To answer your questions Crusoe
Hopefully, either we get another brilliant striker from somewhere, or Sean Maloney steps up his game. he’s a class player.
ah now, the Hun defenders were all over him for the game. not his best performance, and I don’t know why he was dropped back to midfield when we could have just brought on Fernandez.
Masonic Referees and David Murray’s J. Edgar Hoover-like big book of blackmail photographs. Did I mention they’re £52 million in debt?
Momo is a great forward. He’s shite in defence. Its a case of necessity unfortunately. We were missing Mjallby in the center, so Bobo had to drop in and with Agathe not at full fitness after his injury Scylla was our only option. When we get a proper right full we can let Scylla concentrate on what he can actually do well, cross the ball and get on the end of crosses from the left.
the game was brilliant. Of course the papers aren’t going to say anything about the Nazi salutes or the Monkey chanting directed at Balde by the Forces of Darkness, but thats Scottish football for you.
I thought it was excellent. Celtic definitely had the measure of the game but a draw wasn’t a travesty (inasmuch as there was no blatantly terrible refereeing and Rangers did deserve goals) from the neutral’s point of view. I have to disagree about Suttoin; sure the Rangers defenders were physical with him – but no more so than the Celtic ones – but it seemed that any time anyone made the slightest contact he would hurl himself to the ground.
It was getting stupid towards the end alright. Sutton and Agathe did go down a little easily. Michael Ross (number 21 for rangers) was filthy. at one stage I thought he was playing ring a ring a rosie with Suttons neck.
that said, it wasn’t a particularly dirty game.
I loved it. it was my first old firm game. The atmosphere was incredible.
I’m happy with the result, one point behind is still better than 4 points, but due to a nightmare game from Rab Douglas in goal cost us the league lead.
A great performance from Celtic.
BTW, speaking of who will replace Larsson, how old is Super Clyde?
I was there allright, Crusoe, and I’m a lot less content with the result than Twisty was. The fact that a Rangers side that poor still manages to get three goals past us is worrying stuff indeed. What’s going to happen when we actually meet a decent team?
I would have a not-fully-fit Agathe before Sylla any day - at least Agathe has pace, I can’t even work out exactly what Sylla is supposed to be good at. But I really think that’s a position we need to be looking for someone else to fill anyway. And I certainly would have had Stephen Crainey on instead of Ulrik Laursen, who seems to get worse every time he plays. And, finally, please God let Hedman recover from his injury soon - 'nuff said there.
To make matters worse I didn’t even have the consolation of a good result from my local club, Bohemians, who lost a cup semi-final to Shamrock Rovers yesterday. This was a huge upset, as Bohs are 10 points clear at the top of the league and Rovers are in a relegation battle.
And three cheers for the muppets in the FAI who scheduled this semi (which incidentally featured the two bitterest rivals in League of Ireland football) to conflict with the Celtic-Rangers game… :mad:
I thought Laursen was okay. Not as attention-grabbing as Balde, but not bad. Hartson … well, I’m sure some clubs have need of a striker with the turning-circle and pace of a bus, but I can’t think of any right now. I was impressed (as always) with Larsson, and Maloney looked promising, but the BBC commentators–someone and Pat Nevin–had it spot on when they talked about Celtic’s strengths as pace, power and brute force. Not without flair, of course, but Celtic looked more ‘up for it’ than Rangers physically.
