FOOTBALL: Season 2006/07 Discussion Thread

Dio · Post by **Dio** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:45 pm 0

Yeah. Call back when it goes over half the first team, whingey-boy.

rockwaldo · Post by **rockwaldo** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:06 pm 0

Sickboy wrote:Good day, that. Turning over Spurs away gives us a perky little run-up to that terrifying-looking game against Bolton at Anfield...

Heard Mourinho griping about injuries on the radio, earlier. Fair enough from Steve Coppell or Ade Boothroyd, but Mourinho.

bloody Spurs. Sounds like quite an even game.

Zoot · Post by **Zoot** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:24 am 0

I love hearing Mourinho whinging about injuries. He's only got about ten trillion rubles available every week.

I mean, how much did Wright-Phillipscost, and he doesn't get a game? Ha!

Sickboy · Post by **Sickboy** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:38 am 0

Painful for me to admit, but United look pretty deadly at the moment.

Obviously, I don't want 'em to get closer to Liverpool's league-wins record, but another Utd title might just be worth it for the looks on Mourinho's/Abramovich's faces.

Hilarious on MOTD last night, seeing Mourinho sulking like a fucking toddler, bemoaning defensive shitness, wailing about how his "leader of men" JT is out, stomping his little feet about Joe Cole's injury dragging on... Exactly the kind of character and leadership his team could do without at the moment.

Sing when you're winning, indeed...

And did anyone see the size of the mascot kid who came out with Frank Lampard? I thought Shaun Wright-Phillips was finally getting a game.
Keep an eye out on MOTD 2...

Dio · Post by **Dio** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:01 pm 0

Bloody hell. Mourinho in name and shame shocker. He's either a bloody clever psychologist or there's a train wreck coming.

Flabio · Post by **Flabio** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:02 pm 0

He does have a point, they're all highly pricey world class players and they're playing like ass.

I guess he's saying shape up or I'm shipping you out. Window opens tomorrow, and it's not like he doesn't have the cash to chuck them all out and buy replacements...

TheDuke · Post by **TheDuke** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:14 pm 0

Chelsea would be so fucked without Drogba...as for SWP it was a silly move for him. England potential one minute, near permanent bench-warmer the next. All that money and a utterly no-depth squad for it. Like I've seen mentioned somewhere: "Chelsea aren't a big club, they're just a rich club".

Never liked Mourinho anyway. No offence Jose, but Howard bloody Wilkinson could go to Chelsea and win the title with all that money.

I wonder how "special" he'd be if he took charge of a club with somewhat lesser funds, where he'd have to get the most out of his squad...I'm not Man U's biggest fan (Norwich through and through, me

), but like Sickboy said I just want to see their faces if Man U win the title. Odds-on Jose gets his P45? Hell, there's always the Intertoto cup if things get really desperate!

Zen-Chan · Post by **Zen-Chan** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:25 pm 0

TheDuke wrote: I wonder how "special" he'd be if he took charge of a club with somewhat lesser funds, where he'd have to get the most out of his squad...

Like when he won the UEFA cup and Champions League in successive seasons with Porto with a team that only contained one true star player (Deco)?

TheDuke · Post by **TheDuke** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:54 pm 0

Fair point with Porto ZC, and I partly agree with you, but there was far more to that Porto side than just Deco. Like Ferriera and Carvalho? And several other Portuguese internationals? Portugal aren't exactly a poor international side are they?

PaulEMoz · Post by **PaulEMoz** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:28 pm 0

I watched Match of the Day last night, and went into it gutted at our result. Having seen it, I think that might be the unluckiest 3-0 defeat I've ever seen, at leaast for us. The first goal was a shit, reboundy-scuff job. The second, at which point we should have been at least 2-1 up if we'd been any good, actually went in by rebounding off the Everton player after he'd been tackled. And the third came from a free-kick which was given as the result of a dive, and courtesy of another flukey, mishit shot.

So although I'm disappointed at getting no points, I feel a lot better about it than I did previously!

Sickboy · Post by **Sickboy** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:52 pm 0

TheDuke wrote:"Chelsea aren't a big club, they're just a rich club".

The thing about Chelsea is, their profile and (limited) football success has come from money. With clubs like Liverpool and Utd, their profile and money has come from football success.

Think of Liverpool as Helen Mirren, Utd as Judi Dench.

Chelsea are Paris Cunting Hilton.

Any non-Chelsea supporting football fan with a shred of soul should be desperate to see them fail.

Zen-Chan · Post by **Zen-Chan** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:55 pm 0

But Liverpool are just . . . pish

I'll come back to this topic tomorrow with a more considered comeback

Felonious Feline · Post by **Felonious Feline** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 5:50 pm 0

Sickboy wrote:Any non-Chelsea supporting football fan with a shred of soul should be desperate to see them fail.

As a Liverpool fan, if you'd have asked me 5 years ago who my most hated teams were it would've been Man U & Everton, and Man U were absolutely unshakeable in their position as most hated.

Now in a game between Man U and Chelsea, I would lean towards Man U (as long as someone belted Ronaldo)...and I never ever thought I'd say that.

Football would've died for me if we lost in the Champions League semi to them 2 years ago. But that showed that when the spirit is there, money doesn't always win out.

No small toffees for feast tonight
Kopites party with Turkish delight
Jose? Sir Alex? London Press?
All choking on sweet success
Money not love is your drive
BUT TELL US CAN YOU COUNT TO 5?

Dio · Post by **Dio** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:01 pm 0

I can't quite fit that to 'I Can't Drive 55' by Sammy Hagar...

Sickboy · Post by **Sickboy** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:33 pm 0

All very partisan this, obviously, and sure, a lot of clubs have decent spending power. But they've built themselves up through their on-pitch success - stretching way back to an age when spending power was largely irrelevant.

Before Abramovich, Chelsea were a mediocre side who operated mainly as a Saturday afternoon distraction for certain West Londoners. Now, they're just as soulless, but a bit of success has lent them a tiresome, media-inflated swagger (remember the fans' fiver-waving?). Like I say, what football fan wouldn't want to see that fall on its flabby arse?

Actually, forget the Paris Hilton thing. They're more like a surly, slobbish teenager who's been idly ambling through life until his mum (the board) divorces clueless old dad (Ken Bates) and remarries a rich fella (Abramovich).

Surly teen buys all the most expensive clothes and toys and cars and spreads cygnet pate on his toast and uses his old house as an ashtray until the clothes and toys and cars suddenly stop working properly. Then he has a big tantrum (Mourinho, yesterday/today), chucks all his clothes and toys and cars out of his pram/bedroom and storms out when rich dad refuses to buy him any more. Mum blames her new man for over-indulging and spoiling him, their relationship breaks down, mum has to sell the house, everything crumbles, they get relegated (Chelsea, not his mum)...

Hope springs, etc.