World Forums

We had a grade 6 earthquake here a few days ago. That was fun.

Leeds are going to League 1, unless a last-day miracle occurs in the Championship

From CL semi-finalists to third tier football in 6 years. Impressive

3rd division, I love it.

Many of their fans are scum and their club is a joke.

Alan Ball -- first player to wear white boots

Sam Allardyce has stepped down as manager of Bolton with immediate effect. Good luck to him.

United are now on the verge of a 9th premiership title. Surely this will be Fergie's best yet considering Chelsea's domination. The article below is excellent. I love the reference to Dolly Parton at the end, priceless.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...page_id=19 51

21:34pm 28th April 2007

Ian Ridley

Mourinho might win but still end up a loser

If Old Trafford is the theatre of dreams, Stamford Bridge these days resembles more often a theatre of the absurd.
Take this description of that genre, from the Oxford Companion to English Literature: ‘It often leaves the observer baffled in the face of disjointed, meaningless or repetitious dialogues and incomprehensible behaviour.’
Recognise anybody or anything in that?
While Manchester United staged a passion play last week against Milan, an epic, lyrical performance with a dramatic denouement encompassing Wayne Rooney’s winning grand gesture, Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final against Liverpool was an altogether more spartan production, its dialogue crass, its action knockabout.
You can’t help thinking if Roman Abramovich is wondering whether he bought the wrong club, no matter Chelsea’s handy-for-Harrods location.
Sometimes — just sometimes — you have to feel for Jose Mourinho, despite his whingeing about penalties, real or imagined, and his spats with rivals.
"You ain’t got no history," sang Liverpool’s fans, brought up on stirring European nights that entitle them to sing that they’ve won it five times — and they are right.
Mourinho has had instantly to create history through trophies. Not for him the luxury of developing players and teams, or patience from boards and supporters.
Chelsea wanted it and they wanted it now.

He has been the right man for that job, a man who has brought a winning mentality to perennial overpraised losers.
Now Chelsea are a relentless machine, grinding out results and defying logic. It has its moments but rarely is it beautiful.
Against Liverpool, it was bump and grind, lump it up to the dominating leading man, Didier Drogba, and see what develops.
And if it hadn’t have been so grim, it would have been amusing to see Rafa Benitez responding by bringing on Peter Crouch to check if Liverpool’s big man was better than Chelsea’s. (He wasn’t).
Two Iberian coaches, with exotic overseas talents at their disposal going Route One while a British manager and his largely domestic team show them how to ally slick passing and movement with physical commitment?
Sir Alex Ferguson does have history and how well he has absorbed Manchester United’s before enhancing it. Winning is not enough.
Winning with grace and style, with a flourish, is the demand and he has delivered year upon year, now as excitingly as ever did Sir Matt Busby. Special talents are allowed to flourish within the framework of an industrious team.
Meanwhile, at the Bridge, Abramovich watched his hero Andriy Shevchenko rendered virtually redundant by Mourinho’s tactics, then substituted. The Russian has had the winning.
Watching United and Cristiano Ronaldo tripping the light fantastic, seeing the plaudits they have received while his unloved team yomp on, he will surely want the winning with style some day soon.
The dilemma is that to lose Mourinho may be to lose the winning habit. After all, Real Madrid, where he would be welcomed, have tired of their galacticos and now just want to get back to the accumulation of trophies.
And when he returns to Anfield this week, Abramovich will see again how you can’t buy love, as Liverpool’s most famous sons sang.
The stadium will roar, in need of no encouragement from an over-excited public address system or hired tenor to sing the club anthem. (Blue is the Colour or You’ll Never Walk Alone? Tough choice).
Liverpool will not have to issue flags to its supporters as do Chelsea — who actually banned Norwich City fans taking them into Stamford Bridge earlier this season — to create atmosphere.
While Mourinho may have the last laugh by sneaking through to the final and United may yet fall in the San Siro, you sense he is struggling to understand why the admiration for his achievements and team will not be as warm as for more cavalier winners.

Dolly Parton once remarked that it cost her a lot of money to look that cheap. Within Chelsea you suspect they would like something a little more glamorous for their investment, though.

!!! Wenger & Henry probably on their way out, if not, Anelka should be back to Arsenal....!!!

Arsenal has to do something because all the talk now is about Liverpool, Chelsea & Man U.

I doubt Wenger or Henry will leave.

Wenger has recently said that the change of stadium has cost them points this season and he's a big fan of winning without spending a fortune therefore not likely to go to Real Madrid or some such place.

Henry recently signed a new contract and Arsenal would be worse off if they agreed to sell him. He's been out for a lot of the season which has obviously affected Arsenal and their ability to compete.

Well, it will depend from the Mr Dein the vice president of Arsenal and the Américain Stan Kroenke.If he doesn't purchase Arsenal He might leave and Wenger will do the same with Henry....Like I said "probably"
Another thing, Dein' son is Henry lawyer....

ps : my sources are close to be reliable...

Dein and Henry live next door to each other, if I'm not mistaken one is Godfather to the others child.

He still won't leave the gooners though.

Premiership... Anything's left to buy? Arsenal is the last decent piece left, I guess. The rest isn't worth the bother, unless sold at receivership price.

Leeds United is going for nothing. Well, not exactly nothing because whoever gets it must clear its debts.
But a good businesman with patience stands to make good money in the long term by helping the club get back on its feet.

As well as Arsenal and to a MUCH lesser extent Leeds attractive clubs still not being taken advantage of are Man City, the toon and the Toffees from the PL.

And a few from the lower divisions.

Old dirty Leeds United...Not just dirty of course, they could play football pretty well. And rough.

But somehow I've always compared them to Philadelphia Flyers in the 70-s.

Bremner, Giles, Lorimer, Hunter, Jack Charlton...Those were the days when they competed against Manchester United and Liverpool.

Must be a bitter pill to swallow for Old Vinnie.

dammit...

What happened, Pabs? Don't tell me you were rooting for Jose Abraminho.

indeed I was.

I didn't really care who won, though I think Liverpool deserved it. They should have won in normal time, or extra-time when they had a goal disallowed.

Leo, you are right of course. Leeds WERE genuinely a good team in the 1970s, but I can't like or even respect them. They certainly are not our equals, as their fans would have you believe.

Relegation to the third tier a bitter pill for their fans to swallow? Nice, as long as the pill contains cyanide

Pabs

Don't tell me you like Drogba and Lampard, the most unplaymaker player in the history of England:)

I'm glad Chelsea's out. I don't like KGB money buying influence in Britain. Not to mention that Morinho's football is a sheer bore to watch.

oh great...

word has it that Roma Ultras are making the trip north to Milan....

I wish these pretenders would just fu(k off once and for all

indeed I do, Leo

I've liked him since he used to be known as Frank Lampard Jr.

No shame in losing the way they did.

No shame?

They played and behaved like a cowardly cunts.

The dippers showed what the shirt is worth, what history and tradition is worth.

I've had the mother of all shit days and Chavski losing was the one bright spot. Every one of them can fuck the fuck off.

I'm not going to become a Liverpool bandwagoner all of a sudden and certainly I find few if any things exciting about their game, but you cannot help respecting their history, tradition and fans, who're simply fantastic.

Chelsea of Vialli and Zola I could enjoy and respect. This present Chelsea team I don't really hate, simply am glad every time they fail the big test, because it proves every time that class, heart and dedication are worth more in football than whatever bucket of money Russkies carry with them to London.

Plus, I don't like little napoleons/morinhos.

I didn't care who won last night but both these teams bore me. Last night was 90 minutes of very dull nothing. Two continental coaches playing lots of long balls!

I hope United wins tonight and wins in Athens too for the sake of good attractive football, and so that we don't hear Liverpool fans boast about 6 European Cups. That will be too unbearable. If Milan win tonight I'll be supporting them in the final.

As for Mourinho, he only has himself to blame. He spends so much time slagging off the opposition managers and players that there is no wonder people want to beat him, not to mention that he loses sight of his main objectives and his focus. Just deserts.
His comments this week about Cronaldo's education, parents and upbringing were classless and stupid. I hope that will be extra incentive for the lad in the FA Cup final.

I'm not going to become a Liverpool bandwagoner all of a sudden and certainly I find few if any things exciting about their game, but you cannot help respecting their history, tradition and fans, who're simply fantastic.

Chelsea of Vialli and Zola I could enjoy and respect. This present Chelsea team I don't really hate, simply am glad every time they fail the big test, because it proves every time that class, heart and dedication are worth more in football than whatever bucket of money Russkies carry with them to London.

I couldn't agree more.

I think that is the sentiment of most concerning Chelsea. As a famous Liverpool lyric once sang, money can't buy you love. Apparently, it can't buy the the CL either. For over a decade, Inter has had the best team on paper. Moratti has spent millions upon millions on some of the most famous players in the world. He only gets the scudetto after embroiling Juve in the calciopoli scandal and watering down the rest of Serie A. Now he is looking to buy more players to win the CL. Inter will not win the scudetto or the CL next year. Chelsea is no better.

Peyman A wrote:Uefa have decided to hold a 3rd and 4th place play-off in the Champions League at the new Wembley on Saturday 19 May 2007.
They're calling it the F.A Cup Final.
All Manchester United and Chelsea fans are welcome to attend

hehehe

There was some talk on tv recently that these American owners of British clubs could try to "marry the league and the entertainment industry". In much the same way they do with in US pro sports to improve prfitability. Would you guys welcome change? I don't. I think there is nothing wrong with the way footie leagues in Europe are run. (Except for the coruption scandals in Italy of course) I don't want to see hot dogs, fire works, mascots, cheer leaders etc. coming into matches.

Chelsea drew 1-1 with Arsenal so now Manchester United is Premier champions for the 9th time.

Congrats to Man U fans.

Let me tag along with Brother Bineaz,

Complimenti per Manchester United. Some may say that winning a league title is worthless but those of us who know what it takes, know that it is a great accomplishment.

Thanks guys I am certainly happy.

Mancherter City's MIcheal Ball will serve a 3 match suspension for stomping on Man U's Christiano Ronaldo.

Asia's football boss has launched a stinging attack on Manchester United because of their planned tour of Asia during July. July is apparently when the leagues most important matches are played and he does not want the English champions presence to divert attention for the local league. Too bad about the harsh words, but if they are not wanted they should not go. Asia's loss anyway.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 15,00.html

Congrat's on a great season, fellas

1 more to go.

Thank you Falc, Bineaz and Pabs Good to see some people still realise the importance of winning the domestic championship

Earlier Question of mine (about the Union Jack/ St Geroge Flag) still hasn't been answered. Ali ? Mark ? Peyman ?

perhaps having to do with the Home Nations tournament being popular at the time ?

SCATHING !!!

be as it may, but he does have a point. The atmosphere at Anfield was electric because of the crowd, not the game itself. Both United vs Milan ties were much more exciting.

Madrid legend slams Benitez and Mourinho

Former World Cup-winner Jorge Valdano has fiercely criticised the style of football produced by Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez, claiming it stems from their failure to find success as players.

The Argentinian, a legend at Real Madrid where he played, coached and was most recently sporting director, has criticised Chelsea boss Mourinho and Liverpool counterpart Benitez following the uninspiring Champions League semi-final tie between the English sides.

'Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion - and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a s*** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art. It's not: it's a s*** hanging from a stick,' he wrote in Spanish newspaper Marca.

'Chelsea and Liverpool are the clearest, most exaggerated example of the way football is going: very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct.

'But, a short pass? No. A feint? No. A change of pace? No. A one-two? A nutmeg? A backheel? Don't be ridiculous. None of that. The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semi-final neutralised any creative licence, any moments of exquisite skill.'

Despite his father's status in the game as a former Portugal goalkeeper, Mourinho never played professionally and instead focused his sights on a coaching future while Benitez also only achieved success by working his way up the coaching structure, having failed to make an appearance in the Primera Liga.

Valdano believes that has led to a degree of cynicism as managers.

'The lives of Mourinho and Benitez have crossed in a world that is ever more scrutinised and exposed by the media, which is why they look at each other with such distrust.

'But they have two things in common: a previously denied, hitherto unsatisfied hunger for glory, and a desire to have everything under control.

'Both of those things stem from one key factor: neither Mourinho nor Benitez made it as a player. That has made them channel all their vanity into coaching.

'Those who did not have the talent to make it as players do not believe in the talent of players, they do not believe in the ability to improvise in order to win football matches. In short, Benitez and Mourinho are exactly the kind of coaches that Benitez and Mourinho would have needed to have made it as players.'