[quote=“The Puke”]it is indeed and I wouldn’t expect trap to even try it in a training match…But we are fucked if he thinks we are going to get to South Africa with a midfield consisting tow of the following:
Liam Miller
Glen Whelan
Darren Potter
Keith Andrews
you might get away with one of them but not two of them…Hopefully Steven Reid won’t be out for the season…[/quote]
Speaking off Stephen Reid I’m surprised there hasnt been more of a fuss from Blackburn over the injury he picked up playing for Ireland. He was clearly hampered by an injury against Montenegro but played the entire 90 mins. He goes back to Blackburn and is ruled out of the rest of the season. Blackburn are completely screwed without him in midfield. I dont think he will ever be right unfortunately. We will have to build a team without him.
In fairness to Trapp I would say he thought Stephen Reid was a vital player for him and the system he is using. The 4 you mentioned above arent even capable of being half decent defensive midfielders. I cant see how Andy Reid could be any worse of a defensive midfielder than either of them. Anyway as long as we scrape by Georgia in the next game. We will be nicely placed. Bulgaria seem in meltdown mode
Shakhtar have just beaten Spurs 2-0 so that’s a bit of cash for the weekend for me. I was watching some of it and I’d know a lot of the Shakhtar players from being in the same CL group as Celtic twice in recent years. They were pretty poor in truth, but it’s still pre-season for them.
Redknapp’s team selection and the performance that followed were both shambolic. Gomes was hilarious for the first goal - came out for the cross, missed it, yer man nodded it in and Gomes went down holding his face pretending he was hurt. Jadson got a quality second goal but the defending was shocking. Lewandowski, the bald Pole midfielder, and Jadson were a class above anything on the park.
Harry’s grubby house of cards will end in tears eventually. Bringing back Chimbonda just so himself and Willie McKay can make a few quid was disgraceful. That spiv Redknapp will deserve everything he gets.
They are best chums and are always stroking each other. McKay is on his last legs though. He only churned Chimbonda during the window, I believe he is on his way to being skint.
With just 512 of the continent’s finest also-rans left, it’s squeaky bum time in Euro Vase, with fry as small as NEC Nijmegen, Metalist Kharkiv and Tottenham Hotspur anxious to extricate themselves from a competition that, like smack addiction and Scientology, is easy to get into but difficult to escape. But like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, who “crawled through a river of sh1t and came out clean” Tottenham are two goals down from their first leg defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk and can see the light at the end of that filthy sewage pipe they’re slithering through. Which is not to say their manager 'Arry Redknapp 'asn’t been toeing the party line by pretending 'e wants to win tonight’s encounter. Because 'e 'as.
“It would be great for the players if we could pull off a win and we’ll be doing our best to do that,” said 'Arry, who will be doing his best to do that by fielding a team comprised of his wife Sandra, five slalom poles, Pascal Chimbonda and a four-man wall of training mannequins. Still, at least Spurs have made the gesture of acknowledging these recessionary times and throwing open the doors of White Hart Lane for tonight’s game to anyone dumb enough to stump up GBP33.
Meanwhile on the plastic pitch at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, in a match that may well have ended by the time today’s Fiver hit your inbox, Aston Villa will be aiming to confirm their exit from this year’s Euro Vase by resting all their big name players and fielding the first 11 supporters to arrive at the ground. “Unconvincing platitude about our fringe players being more than capable,” said Martin O’Neill, by way of explanation.
Next season, of course, there won’t be any Euro Vase, as the old tournament is being replaced by one that promises to be almost identical, except slightly more tedious. “Marketing … broadcast rights … sponsor … logo … new brand identity,” read the Uefa press release in which the new tournament’s format was revealed. “Oh… and fans and football,” it added, by way of an afterthought, except without the mention of fans.
Milan have crashed out, they were 2-0 up on the night but Bremen came back to draw on the night and go through on away goals. Claudio Pizarro scored twice.
Harry Kewell was among the scorers as Galatasaray won 4-3 on the night and on aggregate against Bordeaux.
The brilliant Craig Bellamy scored twice for Manchester City, as they went through with a 2-1 victory over FC Kobenhavn.
Shahktar equalised late on at White Hart Lane to knock Spurs out.
I was on CSKA at 4/6, and backed them outright at 20s a good while ago. They’ll swat Spuds aside with a minimum of fuss I should think. I was told to back Werder outright at 40s yesterday but didn’t
Villa want to concentrate on coming in the top 4. Spurs want to concentrate on the Carling Cup final/not getting relegated.
The lads on Football Weekly were pretty much sounding the death knell for the Uefa Cup yesterday (and not just because it’s changing name) but I think a cursory look through the goal scorers/creators from last night shows that teams from the continent seem to take it as seriously as ever. Spurs fielded Frazier Campbell and some lad called Obika up front, Villa had guys like Salifou playing. Around Europe however, you could have seen Pirlo, Pato, Pizarro (stretching it a bit, I know), Gilardino, Ben Arfa, Rothen, Luyindula, Zhirkov, Love, Di Natale, Marchena, Del Horno, Cavenaghi and the great Harry Kewell.
Not a bad line-up for a dead competition.
Entry should be voluntary. If Spurs don’t want to play let some other team apply for it.
Same goes for the FA Cup. Throw it open to any team from Europe who’d care to take the place of fucking Reading or some other team that doesn’t give a shit about it that season and let them have the chance to win a trophy.
[quote=“north county corncrake;133556][QUOTE=Thrawneen”]Villa want to concentrate on coming in the top 4. Spurs want to concentrate on the Carling Cup final/not getting relegated.
QUOTE]
but why get to this round & then go out, why not get knocked out in the 1st round?[/quote]
id say because its the sort of thing you can end up making your way into the final handy enough if you get a bit of luck and without trying too hard, like the fa or carling cup.
Plod away its not important and secondary but if you get a sniff of a final go for it then
[quote=“HBV*;133561][quote=north county corncrake”]
id say because its the sort of thing you can end up making your way into the final handy enough if you get a bit of luck and without trying too hard, like the fa or carling cup.
Plod away its not important and secondary but if you get a sniff of a final go for it then[/quote]
