Wake up you footy fans!!!

[Boy With A Problem]

Vidic Wants Out Of Rainy Manchester
MSN



Nemanja Vidic has rained considerable doubt on his future at Manchester United by revealing that he cannot abide the weather in England's third city.


Speaking to a Russian magazine, Vidic described the population as being as gloomy as the weather itself and said the highlight of Manchester was the train station where people could escape to less rainy destinations.


"I will never stay to live in England, that's for sure," the Serbian told Russian magazine Football Weekly. "You get only a brief glimpse of sunlight before it's all cloudy again. The winters are mild, but in summer the temperatures seldom go higher than 20C. And it rains, rains, rains.


"In future, I would like to test myself in another top league. I'm thinking of Spain. At least there will be no reason to complain about the weather. In England, they say that Manchester is the city of rain. Its main attraction is considered to be the timetable at the railway station, where trains leave for other, less rainy cities."

[mood swung]

I think this is Mostest's problem as well. Lack of sun. Lack of taco trucks.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Someone needs to get Vidic a few Smiths CDs so he begins to understand. Manchester, so much to answer for. Here's hoping there's less rain there for a year or two.

[mood swung]

Sam and fam obviously didn't make the trip to DC.

Nevertheless, fair result. First shut out for us ever in RFK.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Sam and fam obviously didn't make the trip to DC.

Nevertheless, fair result. First shut out for us ever in RFK.

Nah, not after three consecutive home games. I was talking to my boy about possibly going down to DC next year.

[Jackson Monk]

Dear Daniel Levy.

Please, please, please let Man City have Berbatov. I would so laugh out loud at the prospect of Berba not getting his 'dream' move and Fergie not getting his own way yet again.

If Manure can't match the City bid, they shouldn't get him. Simple as.

Ps. Personally I wouldn't give £20 mill for him. Amazingly talented, but he's the laziest, sulkiest big kid I have ever seen on a football pitch. Goes missing all the time and has no respect for the fans. Far more gutted about Keano.

[invisible Pole]

Your wishes not fullfilled, Jackson. Berba to Man United.
Most amazing, however, is Robinho transfer to Manchester City. No offence to Man City, but the guy must be desperate.

[Otis Westinghouse]

It will be interesting to see if Fergie can get an improved attitude out of Berbie. Personally I reckon he keen a) cos he's that sort of player and b) cos he was demotivated at Spurs. Yes, a player should devote themselves to their club, but this is a whole other league, so to speak (well, the Champions LEague is, anyway). I think the combination of one of modern football's most remarkable managers, the drive and the determination of those around him and the resulting potential glory will all have strong benefits. I can see Rooney working well with him - it would be great for Rooney to realise his full potential at MU, as it would at England.

Robinho on Aug 31: "I am only thinking of Chelsea and want to play there." Well it was a fun turn out to a dramatic Aug 31, and within a week MC went from being the new Leeds to being the new Chelsea. I think bringing SWP back was a great move. After last weekend's performance and this, it's hard not to see them pushing for bigger things. Bit more local competition will be fun (as long as they don't beat us both times this season).

[Who Shot Sam?]

It will be interesting to see if Fergie can get an improved attitude out of Berbie. Personally I reckon he keen a) cos he's that sort of player and b) cos he was demotivated at Spurs. Yes, a player should devote themselves to their club, but this is a whole other league, so to speak (well, the Champions LEague is, anyway). I think the combination of one of modern football's most remarkable managers, the drive and the determination of those around him and the resulting potential glory will all have strong benefits. I can see Rooney working well with him - it would be great for Rooney to realise his full potential at MU, as it would at England.

Robinho on Aug 31: "I am only thinking of Chelsea and want to play there." Well it was a fun turn out to a dramatic Aug 31, and within a week MC went from being the new Leeds to being the new Chelsea. I think bringing SWP back was a great move. After last weekend's performance and this, it's hard not to see them pushing for bigger things. Bit more local competition will be fun (as long as they don't beat us both times this season).

There was a funny bit in the Guardian Fiver today about SWP wanting to return to Chelsea where he'd have a greater chance of getting in the team.

Good for City. I hope they enjoy the ride and gird their loins for a whole lotta hate coming their way.

[Jackson Monk]

I think Berba will do very well at Man Utd. He's a class act without doubt. He's also surrounded by world class players and a team that is already established as the best in europe. These things sometimes inexplicably fail to gel (Henry at Barcelona) but i have the feeling that Berbatov is a bit special and Fergie will get a lot out of him. If Berba acts like he has at Spurs, his arse will be hitting the streets of Manchester in no time.

I feel very strongly about the 'demotivation' bit though. As with lots of fans, I spent a lot of cash last year travelling to Spurs with my 11 year old. Berbatov's performances were often nothing short of disgraceful. Whilst other players often failed to deliver, you got the feeling that they were trying hard, but just not good enough (Tainio, Dawson, Kaboul etc). Berbatov showed utter disdain for the fans, his team mates and the club. He strolled around with total disinterest for a lot of matches last season, occasionally raising the energy to have a moan at his team mates. This is why Keane will get a better reception when he returns (from me anyway). He showed a degree of respect for a club/fans who gave him a chance when others were not interested. He always gave 100% and took the time to applaud the fans after every game.

Where were Utd, Madrid and City when Berbatov was showing promise at Leverkusen? Spurs took the chance and paid 12 million on a player few had heard of. I'm not saying he shouldn't have the ambition to play at the very top, but there are ways of doing things and being arrogant towards colleagues and fans and not bothering to chase a half chance for paying customers is not acceptable.

Not that he gives a monkey's toss. He's got his dream and his big wage rise and he's going to be playing 3 card brag on the plane with that other cock, Ronaldo. It will be interesting to see how Fergie manages the egos....they sure are stacking up at Old Trafford!

[Jackson Monk]

Good for City. I hope they enjoy the ride and gird their loins for a whole lotta hate coming their way.

Not sure about that. Depends how they and their fans present themselves. They haven't got Kenyon, Terry and Lampost and they do at least have a history of being a big club . Most people like Man City (Man Utd and scouse fans excepted) and Mark Hughes comes over as a nice guy.

I personally think it will be a lot harder than people think to gate crash the top 4. Mourinho's acheivements, as with Dalglish's at Blackburn in the 90s, have always been underrated. My club have been splashing the cash for years and have only twice come close to a top four finish. However, nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing Man City knock any one of the self-proclaimed 'big four' off their perches...unless my rowdy rabble did the same, and that ain't gonna happen anytime soon!

[Otis Westinghouse]

Needless to say I'm hardly a specialist on the topic, but I think the hardcore Man Utd fan attitude to City is more one of benign local rivalry compared to the sheer hatred reserved for Liverpool. For City fans, beating us twice last seasons was more or less the equivalent of our Prem/Champs double and Sven will forever be revered for it. It was galling, but it didn't stop us. I'd love to see the two teams vying for the top spot, and Spurs for third.

Points taken re Berba and his attitude to the fans and the absence of the bigger clubs in signing him from Leverkusen. Good piece of business for Spurs, and probably a way too high price even if he scores 15 this season. Was there a change of attitude post-Jol or was he equally lazy and disdainful under both? I think he'll look good in a red shirt.

[Jackson Monk]

Re: Berba: I think it all stemmed from last summer when the club refused to sell him to Utd, when he wanted to go. You may recall our traditional opening game debacle at Sunderland, when he was subbed and got the arse with Jol.....who very quickly became a dead man walking. From then on, Berbatov was looking to move. I'm not sure why he didn't move in the January window. Probably because Spurs were in three cups and wouldn't even consider letting him go.

It has been good business, and we have made some big bucks in recent years on the likes of Carrick, Keane and Berbatov (albeit madness to sell to teams we are supposed to be trying to close the gap on). Even the dead wood sales this summer have raised £25 million. I just don't understand why we didn't sort out 2 quality replacement forwards when we knew that they were both on their way. We're left with Bent and an untried Russian, who could be great, but could just as easily be the next Rebrov.

Having said that, it's not all doom andf gloom. Our defence and Midfield looks much more solid and everyone knows we needed to shore things up at the back. If Pavyuchenko clicks, it may not be too bad. Otherwise, I can't see where the goals are going to come from unless Ramos has a cunning plan in which the midfielders finally start to weigh in with a few.

Time will tell.

[ReadyToHearTheWorst]

Meanwhile, in other news, the current troubles @ NUFC may soon be resolved by the lucky winner of this eBay auction:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Newcastle-United- ... 286.c0.m14

[Who Shot Sam?]

moody, the new stadium webcam is up. Watch the massive erection as it happens...

http://www.earthcam.com/clients/redbullarena/

[mood swung]

awesome!!!

[ReadyToHearTheWorst]

Meanwhile, in other news, the current troubles @ NUFC may soon be resolved by the lucky winner of this eBay auction:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Newcastle-United- ... 286.c0.m14

Shame, the auction has been taken down.

For those who missed it, a certain Mike Ashley was selling his football club, starting at £0.01 and with free postage. The joy was in the Q&A, including one from an Arabian Company Director (OK, King), asking if alcohol was served on the premises (and 'is there anything to hunt nearby?'). Other questions included: can my 14 year old son pay in installments?, is there anything in the trophy cabinet?, can we move the ground slightly north, play in Scotland and thereby win something? etc.

However, this facetiousness has been dwarfed by the reality of Kevin "he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy" Keegan walking away from the club, and no doubt landing himself with a hefty financial penalty in the process. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 593683.stm

[mood swung]

That might be Sam on the left.

And, Go Mostest!

[Who Shot Sam?]

It's ridiculous that they had to go to those lengths to disguise their identities.

We got hit by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hannah and my satellite went out for about two hours, so I missed the Cuba game, unfortunately.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Fantastic footy day yesterday. My boy's first game in his first season and he scored all four of his team's goals. He really had a blast - much moreso than t-ball last fall - and seems to have a nose for soccer. Then Chelsea beat the overhyped Man City 3-1 and in the evening we get to see the Red Bulls beat RSL 2-1 at Giants Stadium. Above DC United in the table now.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Well it was fun to see Robinho score against the team he really wanted to play for, and it was a peach of a kick, but City were totally outclassed. As they commented on MOTD, the big difference between Scolari and Mourinho is a more laid-back Brazilian approach to defenders' positions - 'let the boys come up and score if they want to' - as opposed to the more tight-arsed European approach of Jose. Big Fil seems to have got the machine working nicely, and Deco has settled in immediately and knows exactly what his role is. United had a game of two halves, the second being pretty woeful. Chelsea will piss on us next week if we keep that up. Berba was present in the first but then evaporated. Ronaldo is likely to return soon, and clearly we are going to need him.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 614132.stm

If the theory can become practice, our four goal-scoring stars can take on anyone, provided the defence does it's thing. Vidic was very foolish and arguably deserved a red card for his first yellow, so with that and Ronaldo sure to be needing a few games to get fully up to speed, I'm not optimistic for next weekend.

[mood swung]

Go, son of Sam!


I mean... well, you know what I mean.

(Josie is taking a season off, thanks to my laziness, but will be playing hoops at some point).


Looking forward to Thursday!

[Who Shot Sam?]

Go, son of Sam!

No, that's pretty accurate. He is a terror!

[ReadyToHearTheWorst]

Statements overheard in a Newcastle office today:

"Wise is just a hate figure, probably never been to St James' Park, and he wouldn't dare travel North now"

"50000 fans, each not spending their usual £10 on pies & Bovril & beer, is a half million loss. He can't afford many more match days like that." [some good news at last, the health of the region may improve]

"The b@sta@rd wouldn't spend any money!" [a reference to the miserly club owner, who only put up £250M]

"Keegan & Shearer have contacts, they'll buy him out & then we'll see how this club should be run!" [this rose tinted speculation from the most cynical, hard nosed, bloke I've ever met]

"Would there be this anger if it was, e.g., Glenn Roedder who had been 'treated badly' and resigned? Premiership Clubs no longer operate the way Keegan seems to suggest, he's got no complaint." [quiet commentary from a lone, but highly amused, Sunderland fan]

Working from home is never this entertaining ...

[Jackson Monk]

Oh woe is me. Another awful Spurs performance from a side that is destined for a real scrap at the bottom I think.
Last year was poor, but this year is far worse. At least we new it would get better then. I cannot honestly say that this year.