Does anyone know whether there is a draw for each round of the knock-out stage of the Champions League or if it uses the World Snooker format favoured for the UEFA Cup? UEFA.com wasn’t particularly enlightening on the subject.
I’m pretty sure the surviving names go in the hat at the conclusion of each round of games. The beeb also isn’t conclusive but I’d have thought they’d lay the page out very differently if the draw was like the snooker:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/fixtures/default.stm
Are you sure about the way the UEFA CUp is drawn - I thought it was also drawn at the conclusion of each round of games - the snooker is like the Wimbledow draw, right ?
If so . . . I’m surprised.
Them there foxes…It looks serious. (not possible to link, telegraph site requires registration). Glad to see none of the ex-spurs involved (freund released without charge). At least dogging doesn’t hurt anyone.
Soccer stars accused of sex assault
Six Leicester City footballers are due in court today following allegations of sexual assault on three women in the Spanish resort of La Manga.
Matt Elliott, Keith Gillespie, Lilian Nalis, Paul Dickov, Frank Sinclair and James Scowcroft were kept in custody overnight following a day-long court hearing yesterday in nearby Cartagena.
The players were set to “vigorously contest” all allegations against them, said Leicester City in a statement on their official website.
The club said it was treating the situation with “the utmost seriousness” and would be launching its own internal investigation.
“We have spoken with our players and they wish to make it clear that they will vigorously contest all charges and allegations made against them,” the statement said.
“Our immediate next step is to bring home all our players as soon as is practically possible.”
Two other players, Nikos Dabizas and Danny Coyne, were “provisionally released” following yesterday’s hearing and were driven away in the back of an estate car, hiding beneath coats from the media scrum gathered outside the court.
A ninth player, Steffan Freund, who had also been arrested in relation to the allegations, had earlier been released from the court without charge.
Referring to Dabizas, Coyne and Freund, the club’s chief executive, Tim Davies, said in the statement: "We are pleased that three of our players have been cleared of improper conduct.
“They are now free to leave Spain and will be returning to England as soon as is possible.”
Shame one of them is Paul Dickov, couldn’t happen to a nicer chap . . .
The Cashburton Grovellers secure their deal and a week later, guess what . . .
“Manchester United are considering expanding Old Trafford by a further 7,500 seats to a 75,000-capacity”
You see more sophisticated bickering in the playground. Thank goodness Tottenham are above all that . . . [sub]cough[/sub]
It has been pointed out to me that once again freund has failed to score.
These weekends with no football are getting a bit much. I may have to accompany the wife to the shops tomorrow. This will include shoe shops. I will be expected to have opinions on shoes. This is cruel and unusual punishment.
I’m being lured to sunny Egham, though the game of the day is at (creepy) Crawley where a top of the (Doc Martins Premier) table fight between the top side (the aforementioned creeps) and Steve Claridge’s second-placed Weymouth should see a crowd of 2,000 plus.
Egham are our bogey team, by the way. Though I do sense a gritty encounter . . .
I used to fucking hate shopping in Putney High St - too much friggin traffic and pollution. Kingston’s better for you, I’d have thought . . .
You can’t buy Manolo Blahniks in Kingston Dahling! There’s no Prada or D&G either. It has to be the West End. Actually it’s not too bad as I get to hang around the lingerie department perving away. It’s all on expenses anyway, so there’s no point in going to top shop.
On the subject of perving…Three leicester players have been banged up, not sure which three yet.
In this picture frank Sinclair is trying to disguise his identity. He hasn’t quite got the hang of it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3534827.stm
It’s Gilespie, Dikov and Sinclair that have been remanded in custody - could be for days, could be for months. (and if guilty - years natch).
Spanish nicks aren’t very nice apparently. Probably have better porridge though.
Owl - who has only secondhand knowledge of Spanish jails.
“years” for ‘sexual agression’ – you’re getting excited again, Owl; I’d think we’re talking about a grope or two, here.
I thought Sinclair was hiding from the rain in that photo ?
Anyway, this is the Leicester photo from this week that made me laugh.
See thing thing is, with yer actual spanish judicial system, they can keep the people in jug until the case comes up (they can do that here too, but don’t very often). That can take years.
It’s still a catholic country too.
Thats Birmingham and 'Boro, pal. buzz Matron immediatly.
Put me down ! Put me down ! He used to be at Leicester and he’s wearing blueeeeeeee. Leave me alone . . . . Matron won’t like this . . . .
Just hearing that Spain don’t have specific charges like ‘Rape’, it all comes under the generic heading of ‘sexual aggression’ - hence I’m starting to feel it’s not the fact that Spain is predominately Catholic that matters, it’s that it practises Roman Law as opposed to Common Law.
Still, they aren’t charged with anything. Investigations continue . . .
Whatever the legal system one universal truth is that rich people get good lawyers. Good lawyers get guilty rich people off.
They should be out soon then.
(apparently what happened was dickov propositioned them, they said “nein” so he went to get his mates.)
Owl - suprisingly cynical.
I’m just gutted that Robbie Savage left Leicester… a few months in HMP La Manga and he’d be walking like Ted Drake…
Black Adder… I think.
So they were in Spain but decided to sexually aggravate some German women. This doesn’t quite add upp, I call shenanigans!
Hot of the press for the pub on a Friday night. Excuse the bad taste:
Paul Dickov bursts into a German tourists bedroom in La Manga:
“Cmon luv,do you fancy it?”
German Tourist: " Nein !! "
Dickov: " Hang on then and I’ll get the lads"
- I’m gone: Egham here I come! Have a good weekend . . .
ah, twas a great weekend 
folgensiefolgen bwahahahahahahahahaha.
I find the idea of Robbie Savage in prison strangely appealing…He’d be very popular.
Am I torturing myself with false hope here?: If Man Utd and the Woolwich Wanderers both get to the FA cup final then the UEFA place would go to the league - ie sixth place?
You will appreciate that there is a considerable leap of faith here, but if Birmingham can be fifth, then the world’s gone quite quite mad.
Well, all things being well, I think we can make 7th or 8th, largely on the basis that, with Defoe, being injury free and having had 16 days to work on that defence, we should be more consistent than say Charlton, Villa, Brum and even Liverpool.
Interesting to learn that Defoe has had eight shots in his three games, all of them on target and four of them being goals.
Heroic afternoon on Saturday on an allotment somewhere off the M25; a 2 – 0 win against a team and town time forgot. They gave the lack of evolution away when the goalkeeper kept hanging from his crossbar.
Egham is certainly one of the spookier towns in the Isthmian League Div Two (South), and, believe me, that’s saying something . . .
Meanwhile back at Creepy Crawley the top of the table match with Claridge’s Weymouth was delayed by 15 mins. because of crowd congestion; a record breaking 4,522 turned up to see the home side see of Weymouth 2 – 1.
There were 162 at Egham, not all of the entirely human.
5-1 and could have been more. I’m a happy bunny - particularly as i honestly thought we’d lose that one.
Just checked the odds on Arsenal going unbeaten in the league this season and the important ones are (roughly) as follows (odds are decimal):
Beaten by Spurs: 19
Beaten by Man Utd: 4.3
Beaten by Liverpool: 10.4
Unbeaten all season: 4.5
That Spurs one strikes me as a bit tasty - given that you guys have been scoring goals like they’re going out of fashion and the fact that you’ll probably be more up for the game than us.