Sir Alex:
Wayne:
"You like football, don't you?"
"I want to play for that club"
"Manchester United?"
"No! I don't like it!"
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Friday, 22 October 2010
Sir Alex and Wayne Rooney Come To A Decision...
Sir Alex:
Wayne:
"You like football, don't you?"
"I want to play for that club"
"Manchester United?"
"No! I don't like it!"
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Send The Big Man On
I know this probably won't be read in South Africa...
Given that we're hearing that Fabio Capello is thinking of choosing between Defoe and Heskey as the 2nd striker against Algeria, here are some facts that might be of interest:
Heskey: 7 international goals (4 in friendlies) in 10 years. 57 caps. Scored in 12% of games played.
Defoe: 11 international goals (5 in friendlies) in 6 years. 40 caps. Scored in 27% of games played.
Crouch: 21 international goals (11 in friendlies) in 4 years. 38 caps. Scored in 55% of games played.
So Peter Crouch is twice as likely to score as Defoe and 4.5 times more likely than Heskey.
The argument given against Crouch is that he hasn't scored against any "big" teams. OK - Defoe scored against Holland in a friendly last year, but Crouch has scored against Greece, Uruguay, Croatia, Mexico - teams that are in the current World Cup.
My Capello, you would be mad not to make Peter Crouch your first choice striker to support Rooney up-front. Why else did you give him the number 9 shirt?
Given that we're hearing that Fabio Capello is thinking of choosing between Defoe and Heskey as the 2nd striker against Algeria, here are some facts that might be of interest:
Heskey: 7 international goals (4 in friendlies) in 10 years. 57 caps. Scored in 12% of games played.
Defoe: 11 international goals (5 in friendlies) in 6 years. 40 caps. Scored in 27% of games played.
Crouch: 21 international goals (11 in friendlies) in 4 years. 38 caps. Scored in 55% of games played.
So Peter Crouch is twice as likely to score as Defoe and 4.5 times more likely than Heskey.
The argument given against Crouch is that he hasn't scored against any "big" teams. OK - Defoe scored against Holland in a friendly last year, but Crouch has scored against Greece, Uruguay, Croatia, Mexico - teams that are in the current World Cup.
My Capello, you would be mad not to make Peter Crouch your first choice striker to support Rooney up-front. Why else did you give him the number 9 shirt?
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Getting Something Off My Chest
Do bear with me...
Dear ITV,Thank you for letting me vent. Normal programming will follow shortly...
I logged onto your World Cup website this morning to see the headline "No excuse for blunder - Wilson". I assumed that Bob Wilson had been criticising the ridiculous error which meant that I, and thousands of other HD viewers, had missed England's opening goal of the World Cup.
But no. It was all about Robert Green. Your website contains lots of chat about Robert's blunder, but none about your own.
On your website you say "Green howler denies England" - where is the "ITV howler denies England fans" story? And "Capello rues Green error"? How about "Chiles rues error in moving to second-rate broadcaster"?
Adrian Chiles apologised for "a brief interruption in coverage" without acknowledging that ITV had failed to show us the most important part of the game, from an England fan's point of view. In fact, he was off-hand, rather than sincerely apologetic. There was no captioned apology, no apology from the commentators. It was, all round, a completely shoddy and amateurish mistake.
I say "amateurish" because I would have thought that a professional broadcasting organisation would have learned from its mistake when this happened in that Everton match last year.
Football fans have, for years, put up with ITV's presenters and pundits being second-rate, dull, uninformative and lacking in charisma. Now it seems we also have to put up with your engineers sabotaging huge matches.
If the BBC had done what you did last night, the national newspapers (especially the rabid Murdoch press) would be up in arms, demanding an end to the TV licence and de-construction of the Beeb. But this ridiculous blunder just gets ignored.
I have copied my MP into this message. Maybe there is something Parliament could to to stop ITV showing major football matches in the future? Possibly by passing a law to give the BBC sole rights to all England football and cricket coverage?
I'll be watching the next match (should you bother to provide pictures) with the sound off, listening to the BBC Five Live commentary.
ITV - you really are rubbish!
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Thanks Olé
Today we heard the sad news that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is to retire from football.
OK, so he's only a footballer, and he hasn't died or anything, and to be honest, I didn't think it would have much of an effect on me. But Ole has been one of the most important figures in the revival of Manchester United's fortunes since the inception of the Premier League.
If nothing else, he will always be remembered by Red Devils fans for that goal, scored at the Camp Nou stadium in 1999 which (rather fortuitously, let's be honest) brought the European Cup back to Old Trafford.
I'm not an emotional person, but I did shed a tear that night. And I've got a lump in my throat knowing that never again will the 'baby-faced assassin' come on with 12 minutes to go and score four goals. OK, so it was against a relegation-bound Notts Forest, but still. Genius.
It's going to be difficult finding someone to fill the number 20 shirt. Thank you for the entertainment, Ole.
OK, so he's only a footballer, and he hasn't died or anything, and to be honest, I didn't think it would have much of an effect on me. But Ole has been one of the most important figures in the revival of Manchester United's fortunes since the inception of the Premier League.
If nothing else, he will always be remembered by Red Devils fans for that goal, scored at the Camp Nou stadium in 1999 which (rather fortuitously, let's be honest) brought the European Cup back to Old Trafford.
I'm not an emotional person, but I did shed a tear that night. And I've got a lump in my throat knowing that never again will the 'baby-faced assassin' come on with 12 minutes to go and score four goals. OK, so it was against a relegation-bound Notts Forest, but still. Genius.
It's going to be difficult finding someone to fill the number 20 shirt. Thank you for the entertainment, Ole.
Friday, 13 July 2007
What's Under The Sheet?
The news about David Beckham moving to Los Angeles to play for the LA Galaxy team reminds me of something that I meant to post about some time ago, but never did.
Go and read the story now, then come back here.
You'll notice that the headline says that Beckham is to be "unveiled" by LA Galaxy. This is a verb which is used in respect to any footballer who is about to start playing for a new team. Why "unveiled" though? Mr Beckham and his footballing ilk do often make odd fashion choices, but I've never seen any of them wearing a veil.
Usually, you "unveil" something because it's been hidden for some time. The object to be disclosed is obfusctated by a large piece of fabric (ususally red silk, though blue velvet curtains with gold trim are acceptable). A ceremony is performed to build up a sense of tension and expectation and then... in a sweeping gesture... the object of desire is revealed to all those gathered; accompanied by gasps of surprise, astonished murmurings and blinding flashes from paparazzi cameras.
Yet, in football transfers, there is usually a prolonged stream of rumours preceding the transfer and the deal is done, and publicised, days before the player makes his first appearance at the new team's ground or board-room. So the press-call and announcement is never a real suprise - just a confirmation that the deal has been done and the player's chauffeur has managed to find the place without getting lost or killed.
Journalists should probably try to come up with some new words to replace "unveil". As I am kind and lovely, I will provide some good and bad examples for their guidance.
Good: show-off; make public; publicise; divulge; display; exhibit; parade; present.
Bad: unmask; uncover; reveal; unroll; unfurl; expose; flourish; demonstrate; unshroud.
I thank you.
Go and read the story now, then come back here.
You'll notice that the headline says that Beckham is to be "unveiled" by LA Galaxy. This is a verb which is used in respect to any footballer who is about to start playing for a new team. Why "unveiled" though? Mr Beckham and his footballing ilk do often make odd fashion choices, but I've never seen any of them wearing a veil.
Usually, you "unveil" something because it's been hidden for some time. The object to be disclosed is obfusctated by a large piece of fabric (ususally red silk, though blue velvet curtains with gold trim are acceptable). A ceremony is performed to build up a sense of tension and expectation and then... in a sweeping gesture... the object of desire is revealed to all those gathered; accompanied by gasps of surprise, astonished murmurings and blinding flashes from paparazzi cameras.
Yet, in football transfers, there is usually a prolonged stream of rumours preceding the transfer and the deal is done, and publicised, days before the player makes his first appearance at the new team's ground or board-room. So the press-call and announcement is never a real suprise - just a confirmation that the deal has been done and the player's chauffeur has managed to find the place without getting lost or killed.
Journalists should probably try to come up with some new words to replace "unveil". As I am kind and lovely, I will provide some good and bad examples for their guidance.
Good: show-off; make public; publicise; divulge; display; exhibit; parade; present.
Bad: unmask; uncover; reveal; unroll; unfurl; expose; flourish; demonstrate; unshroud.
I thank you.
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
Bereft
What are we going to do today? What are we going to do tomorrow?
I'm talking about the football, of course. For the first time since 9th June, there's no World Cup footie on the telly!
But I've got into a routine (go to work; talk about yesterday's matches with the guys; sneak into the break room to watch as much of the afternoon match as possible; go home; have tea; watch the evening game; go to bed; repeat) and for the next 2 days I will feel a little lost. I guess that my Lovely Young Wife and I will have to catch up on all the stuff we've been saving up on Sky+ for the past 3 weeks. She's got about 12 hours of Eastenders to trawl through. And we've still got to catch the last episode of Prison Break and the last couple of Lost.
[Does my life revolve around TV? Yes. It does. It has done since c. 1975 and it will do for a long, long time to come.]
OK, so we only need to wait until 4pm on Friday and it all starts up again with Germany v. Argentina. 2 days of Quarter-Final action. Then there's another break until Tuesday and Wednesday (Semi-Finals). Then another break until next weekend: The Runners-Up match and the Final.
By which time excitement will either be at a hysterical fever pitch (if England manage to get that far) or the country will be plunged into a pall of gloom (er, let's face it, this is the more realistic outcome).
Though heaven knows how we're going to cope when it's finally finished. What will we do for the long six weeks until the football season proper starts up again?
I'm talking about the football, of course. For the first time since 9th June, there's no World Cup footie on the telly!
But I've got into a routine (go to work; talk about yesterday's matches with the guys; sneak into the break room to watch as much of the afternoon match as possible; go home; have tea; watch the evening game; go to bed; repeat) and for the next 2 days I will feel a little lost. I guess that my Lovely Young Wife and I will have to catch up on all the stuff we've been saving up on Sky+ for the past 3 weeks. She's got about 12 hours of Eastenders to trawl through. And we've still got to catch the last episode of Prison Break and the last couple of Lost.
[Does my life revolve around TV? Yes. It does. It has done since c. 1975 and it will do for a long, long time to come.]
OK, so we only need to wait until 4pm on Friday and it all starts up again with Germany v. Argentina. 2 days of Quarter-Final action. Then there's another break until Tuesday and Wednesday (Semi-Finals). Then another break until next weekend: The Runners-Up match and the Final.
By which time excitement will either be at a hysterical fever pitch (if England manage to get that far) or the country will be plunged into a pall of gloom (er, let's face it, this is the more realistic outcome).
Though heaven knows how we're going to cope when it's finally finished. What will we do for the long six weeks until the football season proper starts up again?
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Braaaazil
The sight of Brazil's portly, lethargic, what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here?, buck-toothed striker in the game with Croatia gave My Lovely Young Wife and I some food for thought yesterday.
Was his lardy disposition caused by eating too many burgers? And if so, were they sold by a sinister looking clown called Ronaldo McDonaldinho?
Was his lardy disposition caused by eating too many burgers? And if so, were they sold by a sinister looking clown called Ronaldo McDonaldinho?
Tuesday, 18 April 2006
Easter Weak End
Four days off work. Yippee!
So why do I feel as knackered now as I did on Thursday? Let's examine the evidence...
Thursday evening: off to Kent to spend the evening with Jon and Martin at the pub quiz. We came 2nd! I drank 3 whole pints of beer (count them) and that's enough to get me pissed nowadays.
Friday: Stayed over at Martin and Tracey's in the very dark and quiet village of Kilndown and spent the day larking about with them, their kids Wills and Hattie, and with Jon & Lin and their new arrival, Emma.
[OK - she's not that new; she's a year old: but it's taken us FAR too long to get down there for a visit.]
Friday night: back in time to watch Sunderland hand the league champonship to Chelsea by holding United to a 0-0 draw. Bloody Mackems!
Saturday: Up early (ish) for a bike ride. 14 miles to Staines and back. But I did stop for an ice-cream at Penton Hook lock. Then back to do my accounts and get showered before The Wife's parents arrived for dinner.
Sunday: Nothing to do. A long lie-in. Spoiled by a support call from work at 6am. Balls! Then lunch at The Castle.
Sunday afternoon: a long drive in the countryside. It's official - I'm now an old man. My trilby and sticky-out ears are on order from Saga.
Monday: Up early (ish) again for another long bike ride. 23 miles this time, to Kingston and back. Walking like John Wayne for the rest of the day. Then round to mater and pater's for a spot of luncheon. Then back home to spend too much time updating the family-tree again.
Today: back to work. Bum!
So why do I feel as knackered now as I did on Thursday? Let's examine the evidence...
Thursday evening: off to Kent to spend the evening with Jon and Martin at the pub quiz. We came 2nd! I drank 3 whole pints of beer (count them) and that's enough to get me pissed nowadays.
Friday: Stayed over at Martin and Tracey's in the very dark and quiet village of Kilndown and spent the day larking about with them, their kids Wills and Hattie, and with Jon & Lin and their new arrival, Emma.
[OK - she's not that new; she's a year old: but it's taken us FAR too long to get down there for a visit.]
Friday night: back in time to watch Sunderland hand the league champonship to Chelsea by holding United to a 0-0 draw. Bloody Mackems!
Saturday: Up early (ish) for a bike ride. 14 miles to Staines and back. But I did stop for an ice-cream at Penton Hook lock. Then back to do my accounts and get showered before The Wife's parents arrived for dinner.
Sunday: Nothing to do. A long lie-in. Spoiled by a support call from work at 6am. Balls! Then lunch at The Castle.
Sunday afternoon: a long drive in the countryside. It's official - I'm now an old man. My trilby and sticky-out ears are on order from Saga.
Monday: Up early (ish) again for another long bike ride. 23 miles this time, to Kingston and back. Walking like John Wayne for the rest of the day. Then round to mater and pater's for a spot of luncheon. Then back home to spend too much time updating the family-tree again.
Today: back to work. Bum!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)