Well that’s the title decided. It goes to the nomadic south london club, who stormed away in the league, but suffered a recent hiccup when it looked like the title might be going to west London instead. However class won through.
Yes - AFC Wimbledon have won the Combined Counties League and are promoted to (I think) the Ryman. I haven’t got my head around this league pyramid thing yet.
I was out in Wimbledon last night, and the town was full of people in AFC shirts, scarves etc. It was a marvellous sight, especially as Franchise FC were relegated in the same week.
I also had the misfortune of watching Man City at White Hart Lane, which is quite possibly the biggest waste of 90 minutes that I have yet to experience. Roll on next year.
In fairness, I think his Pie eating was well underway before the arsenal goal.
Incredibly overrated, and yet the rumor mill has him poised for a big money move to Man U.
I can’t stop thinking that he’s going to head down the Gazza* route to self destruction if he stays at Everton.
He needs a firm managerial hand if he is to develop into a decent player and i’ve a feeling that he won’t get that at Everton. Similarly the club knows he could go to a bigger club and get paid more if they’re not careful - so are bound to treat him with kid gloves rather than the kick in the arse he’ll need.
*What will be the Scouse version of “Fog on the Tyne”? Answers on a Postcard to Simon Cowell.
Oh, the ignominy. Challenging Birmingham and Charlton for fourth and losing was not the height of our ambition at the beginning of the season.
I’m afraid that Houllier is simply not tactically or strategically sophisticated enough, and he is being found out every other week these days. Even average managers need only spend a couple of hours studying Liverpool’s play to work out that putting a midfielder here and here when you lose the ball will utterly disrupt the impatient, rushed counter-attacking game he has instilled. The endless triangles are now straight lines, and we’re failing maths badly.
Phillipe Mexes of Auxerre is now on the grapevine, as well as the usual nods towards the north. I think his last act might be to sign Djibbril Cisse, but I cannot but wonder why the board would allow a departing manager to spend so frivolously.
I was listening to 606 last night, and there were some VERY unhappy mickeys on the phone.
They all said more or less what Mr Meat has said.
I would add that i have seen how easy it is to take a club from “big 5” status to also-rans. It takes: Boardroom incompetence and unrest, poor management, poor (but costly) transfer dealings and a failure to address problems when they arise.
I have seen it in London and I think I am seeing it in Liverpool.
If I werea bin-dipper I would want houlier out as soon as possible (certainly from the moment that 4th place was no longer possible) and to get in a manager that can deal with underperforming players - Martin O’Neil is the obvious choice.
How much do you want for Gerrard? (assuming he wouldn’t mind playing in the Nationwide?)
In other news, Germany invades Poland - said all this about Houllier three months ago.
The only point for me is that 30+ points behind the Champs doesn’t equal 4th place, it equals mid-table medicority. By definition. But I’m repeating myself.
Echo Owl about the game at the Lane yesterday; utter boredom.
Me & my dad unsuccessfully tried to get tickets for that semi-final. Some mates weren’t so lucky. I remember our school trip to Alton Towers 2 days later was a sombre affair. Someone burned a Sun newspaper after its unsympathetic allegations - it has never sold well in Liverpool ever since.
RIP Roy Hamilton, aged 34, my school friend Stuart’s dad.
The trully galling thing (well actually one of many) about Hillsbrough is that pretty much no one was that suprised by it.
Spurs had played there a few years before in a semi (Vs Wolves) and pretty much the same happened. No one died but there were some quite badly hurt people around. It followed the same pattern as 1986, crowds outside the ground, but the kick off not delayed, poor stewarding funnelling too many people into the central pen. Also the reaction of the police was the same in that they didn’t realise that people were being hurt and refused to react.
If they had learned from that then 1986 would never have happened.
Many supporters of other teams had similar experiences in west Yorkshire too.
Oh dear, what the hell was Inmanieri thinking? I always thought that when faced with 10 man opposition, the generally accepted substitution is a fit and fresh midfield runner who puts them under even more pressure - Joe Cole would have fit the bill.
Veron looked like the poncey teen being found out in a big boys game, Jimmy Floyd Facialexpression was shooting at goal from near the touchline and that Huth non-entity made Igor Biscan look like Platini.
More fitting still, the aggrieved Monaco player should be allowed a free punch in the gob without penalty. I hope the supporters of Chelsea’s next Premiership opponents let him know how unpopular such antics are here.