Wake up you footy fans!!!

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:23 am

And me too! That's what I was saying.

I really, really, really want Arse to beat Chelsea tomorrow a) cos we're beating Villa comfortably and even if Arse win their two games in hand, they will still be 5 points behind us, b) because there's still gotta be some hope of closing the gap on Chelsea and c) because I'm the only person just about who's made Henry FF captain this week. It was a gamble, as was spending all that money on him. So tomorrow, SLL, I'm with you, big time.

Most people have Rooney as captain, and of course he's scored. At least I have him too, but NEEEED Henry to go one further.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:40 am

Otis Westinghouse wrote:I really, really, really want Arse to beat Chelsea tomorrow

We'll stuff 'em.

Seriously, I think it'll be a draw. I'm gonna miss the match. My brother is just back from a year in Kuwait, so we're going up to my father's place to see him.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:45 am

I'll settle for 2-2 with Lampard and Henry both delivering x 2!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:14 am

Fucking Villa. I hate their blandness with a passion. Would love to see them relegated.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:54 pm

Good on 'em. Astonishing day for unexpected results! Eveton! West Ham!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:29 pm

Jackson Monk · Post by **Jackson Monk** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:52 pm

Mid season prediction time.

Final Prem:

1 Chelsea
2 Liverpool
3 Man Utd
4 Bolton
5 Arsenal
6 Tottenham
7 Newcastle
8 Middlesbrough
9 Man City
10 West Ham
11 Wigan
12 Blackburn
13 Fulham
14 Aston Villa
15 Everton
16 West Brom
17 Charlton
18 Portsmouth
19 Birmingham
20 Sunderland

Top Scorer: Michael Owen
FA Cup: Chelsea
League Cup: Man Utd
Champs League: AC Milan
Championship: Reading
Div 1: Swansea
Div 2:Northampton
World Cup: England

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:08 pm

OK, I'll give it a go...

Final Prem:

1 Chelsea
2 Man Utd
3 Liverpool
4 Newcastle
5 Bolton
6 Arsenal
7 Tottenham
8 Man City
9 Wigan
10 Middlesbrough
11 Fulham
12 West Ham
13 Blackburn
14 Charlton
15 Everton
16 Birmingham
17 West Brom
18 Portsmouth
19 Aston Villa (please)
20 Sunderland

Top Scorer: Thierry Henry
FA Cup: Man Utd
League Cup: Arsenal
Champs League: Juventus
Championship: Sheffield United
Div 1: God, I don't know - Brentford?
Div 2: Carlisle (for Misha)
World Cup: Brazil

verena · Post by **verena** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:15 pm

Did Arse win their match on Sunday ? (the French player Petit was all for them, he thinks they are good guys).

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:20 pm

verena wrote:Did Arse win their match on Sunday ? (the French player Petit was all for them, he thinks they are good guys).

No, they lost 0-2 to Chelsea.

verena · Post by **verena** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:41 pm

I don't mind. I was for Chelsea.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:43 pm

verena wrote:I don't mind. I was for Chelsea.

Who is your club in France, assuming you have one? PSG?

verena · Post by **verena** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:55 pm

I don't have one really, I am not such a footie, just an occasional couch potatoe who doesn't even know the rules.

Only I keep an eye on the "Equipe de France", and I like to watch them together with other people because it's fun, especially when my younger sister is there, her comments are a knees up, so much better than TV.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:00 pm

verena wrote:I don't have one really, I am not such a footie, just an occasional couch potatoe who doesn't even know the rules.

Only I keep an eye on the "Equipe de France", and I like to watch them together with other people because it's fun, especially when my younger sister is there, her comments are a knees up, so much better than TV.

My wife was in Paris when you won the World Cup in '98. She watched the final on the big screen at Hotel de Ville then went to the open-top bus parade on the Champs Elysées. She wasn't even much of a footy fan, but got caught up in the excitement of it. Zidane's still her favorite player.

verena · Post by **verena** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:33 pm

That's it. I got caught in Germany where I was sent for the summer vacations during highschool. Dortmund against the Bayern (led by "Kaiser" Franz). Thrilling.
I soon lost interest because the French team was too hopeless, and then I was busy. It came back in 1998, during the semi finals, because the Chairman of the multinational I was working for had organised a special projection

(for those stupids like me who worked late). I was a total workalcoholic but I figured it was important and I attended.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:59 pm

Well I gambled my life on Henry getting a hat-trick, and even a 1-1 was beyond them. Shame he hit the post, and bigger shame what sounded like a 100% legit goal (didn't see highlights) was disallowed, cos it might have changed the outcome. But Arse ain't up to it this season. Loss of Vieira is hitting them harder than ours of Keano, I would say. So I'm suffering badly on the fantasy and real fronts as a result. If only I hadn't sold Terry, I'd be c. 30 points ahead of where I am!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:30 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Shame he hit the post, and bigger shame what sounded like a 100% legit goal (didn't see highlights) was disallowed, cos it might have changed the outcome.

I'd like someone to explain how Henry could be considered not interfering with play, when he was moving toward (not away) from goal. Surely Cech had to cheat to Henry's side, thereby leaving a larger opening for Van Persie's shot. The "passive attacker" offside rule is a convoluted mess.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 7:00 pm

Can't comment as I didn't see it, but I take the word of the Radio 5 commentators, the view of everyone on 606 and I think the BBC too, not just Wenger's view! Yes, it can be fiendish. Oh well, we live and learn...

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:57 am

Some great Boxing Day matches. I went with my Arsenal fan brother down to Nevada Smith's - a big footy pub in Manhattan - yesterday morning to have a few pints and watch a few games on the big screen. If any of you are in New York and looking for a place to watch a game, Nevada's is it. A few free Guinnesses from the bartender, very very good meat pies and a great atmosphere.

Charlton-Arse was a snooze. Liverpool-Newcastle was very exciting, but however much I dislike Bowyer, he did not deserve to be sent off. It should have been a yellow card for Bowyer, a yellow (debtatable red) for Crouch, and a yellow card for Gerrard for his grab to the throat of one of the Newcastle players. It's interesting that Essien's "horror tackle' on Hamann gets played over and over again, yet Gerrard's actions go completely unmentioned. The pro-Liverpool media bias is sickening.

Chelsea-Fulham was very nervy, but what a class goal from Crespo. There were plenty of Blues at Nevada's (as well as a few Fulham), and they all went nuts when that goal went in.

How many handballs did the refs miss yesterday? I counted at least five - one on Cygan in the Arse match, two in the Chelsea-Fulham match, one on Solano in Liverpool-Barcodes, and another in the Villa match.

We also met a very nice group of Villa fans, including one lovely lass who was so passionate that you could hear her shouts in the men's room at the back of the pub. Who knew Villa could inspire such passion?

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:40 am

Well they're the biggest club from England's second biggest city... A colleague at work is a female Villa-loving Brummie. She asked me if I was watching the MU v Villa game in the pub, and fortunately for her I wasn't. Greenie on Radio 5 said Bowyer's tackle was an abolute shocker and, as with the same fixture last year, totally deserved to be sent off. Milan Baros had the grace to admit he handled the ball before scoring. Liverpool sounded on cracking form in the first half. I was listening to it all in a gastroenteritic blur from my bed - wish I'd been at Nevada's!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:50 am

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Greenie on Radio 5 said Bowyer's tackle was an abolute shocker and, as with the same fixture last year, totally deserved to be sent off. Milan Baros had the grace to admit he handled the ball before scoring. Liverpool sounded on cracking form in the first half. I was listening to it all in a gastroenteritic blur from my bed - wish I'd been at Nevada's!

I watched the replays of Bowyer's tackle and I think that in real time it looked worse than it was. His reputation precedes him, to be sure, so the referee is not going to cut him any slack. I can't stand him, but the red card was not deserved IMO.

That Baros handball was as clear as day, as were all the others. I must say that the quality of refereeing this season has been abysmal. 'Pool did look very very dangerous, but the Newcastle back line is so weak that I think our local youth soccer 11 could put a few past them.

Hope you're feeling better now. A touch of the flu or just too much to eat? When you make it to Manhattan I'll buy you a few pints at Nevada's.

http://www.grahamecurtis.com/nevadasmiths/main.html

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:04 pm

It's going around town. Our youngest was suffering on the 22nd, OK a day later. I was fine until after breakfast yesterday and then my insides collapsed. I think it must have been gastroenteritis as that's typically short-lived and develops in stages. There was a TV adaptation of Hardy's Under The Greenwood Tree filmed on my home isle of Jersey on the telly that I was dying to see, but I was in bed having shivering spasms and puking.

Would enjoy following in the footsteps of Paddy Crerand, Arthur Albiston, Dwight Yorke, Trevor Brooking et al, though sadly Simon Le Bon has been there too! Unfortunately if I do make it to NY, it may be after the season.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:07 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Would enjoy following in the footsteps of Paddy Crerand, Arthur Albiston, Dwight Yorke, Trevor Brooking et al, though sadly Simon Le Bon has been there too! Unfortunately if I do make it to NY, it may be after the season.

That's alright. It's a World Cup year! Proprietor is a ManU fan.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:16 pm

Now there's a thought, getting hammered in NY, watching a game at 10 am, arms around the proprietor crying into our Guinness over how much we adore the one and only.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:21 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Now there's a thought, getting hammered in NY, watching a game at 10 am, arms around the proprietor crying into our Guinness over how much we adore the one and only.

Must say it's the earliest pint I've ever had - clocking in at around 9:30AM.