Good Old Saturday

The international break is over and we have the treat of a nearly full Premiership fixture list this morning. Added to that, my Leeds boys won 2-1 against PNE last night so I can relax and hopefully watch our relegation rivals lose. Join me?

Footie Trivia Question of the Week

With this week's international's still in mind, here's this week's brain tickler:

"Which two current members of the England squad played at the same time for two different clubs, currently play for the same side and played in both internationals this week?"

Good luck, lads!

MC Rove in Da House!

If you haven't seen this yet, it's worth a peek. It's traitor in chief Karl Rove at last night's radio correspondent's dinner. Earlier this year, Nas proclaimed rap dead - well, it certainly is now! Last's year's worst music video was that corporate scum from Bank of America torturing us with "One;" but this year - give it up for MC Rove - enjoy!

Andorra vs. England Live!

I'll look forward to your company during this afternoon's match, which - I probably don't have to stress - is an absolute must win. But more than the win, England need to show some decent form in order to restore McClaren's reputation.

Come on England!

Whither England?

I drove down to Gville this morning with the 606 podcast ringing in my ears. As predicted, there were hysterical calls for Macca's head and a load of rubbish about the supposed inferiority of English footie. Steady on, lads! We were probably all disappointed by the performance the other night, but a little sanity and reflection is in order. Take a look at the other group tables and you'll notice that Portugal are also third of their group and Italy and Spain are fourth! The idea that England will struggle to qualify is pure rubbish. The toughest games are behind us and after away games against the mighty Andorra and Estonia we run into a string of home matches at the new Wembley against Israel, Russia, Estonia and Croatia. Surely there are enough points there for us to qualify.

Your thoughts, gents?

Lamps Nearly Gets Lamped!

If you haven't seen the footage from the end of the Spurs vs. Chelsea FA Cup replay on Monday, it's worth a look. The attack from the fan is quite extraordinary and after he's wrestled to the ground by stewards, Didier Drogba appears to give him the old Cantona Kung Fu kick. Surely there will be some FA action against Drogs for that. What's your take on the whole fracas?

My Side for Saturday

It's a "must not lose" game for England on Saturday. Given that Israel are apparently to field a slightly weakened side (without Benayoun, e.g.) with only one striker up front, here's my starting eleven:
Robbo
P. Neville
Rio
Woody
Carragher
Hargreaves
Gerrard
Barry
Lennon
AJ
Roon

Your thoughts?

Goals I Remember, Volume Seven

Supermac! The great man unleashes an unstoppable volley during his days at Newcastle. More ecstatic work from Barry Davies. And check out the lovable Toon Army going potty back in the days of open terracing. Enjoy!

F.A. Cup Replay Fever!

It's another cracking afternoon of F.A. Cup footie, with two replays featuring Premiership sides to be settled. I'd hasten to add that the winners of today's replays will be gifted a path into the Final - the first at the new Wembley! - since they have been drawn against Blackburn and Watford respectively. Here are the two fixtures on tap:

Spurs vs. Chelsea
ManYoo vs. Boro

Should be fun - won't you join me?

Football League Debates Shoot-out Plan!

Have these bureaucrats never heard of the MLS! The Football League is apparently considering a plan to introduce a tie-break system for draws in lower league matches involving the dreaded shoot-out, which the MLS finally dumped four years ago. Ironically the reasoning that MLS commissioner Don Garber used to scrap the shoot-out was to allign MLS with world football. What on earth are these pillocks thinking? I think it's a non-starter - how about the rest of you?

Everton vs. Arsenal Live!

We're on Merseyside for today's big match - Everton vs. Arsenal. Arsenal have suffered some major disappointments in the past month, but they bounced back against Villa in mid-week. Join me to see if they can firm up their Champions League slot for next season.

Big Saturday!!

An early start for me.
I will be listening to United play Bolton on ManUtd.com in five minutes and then follow all the big games later on.
After that, I will be clearing my driveway after 18 INCHES OF SNOW!!!

Footie Trivia Question of the Week

Obviously relegation is on my mind quite a bit these days, so this might be an appropriate trivia question for this week. It's a two parter:

1) "Which English club has had the most seasons in the top flight of the game (either old First Division or Premiership)."

2) "Which English club has had the most consecutive seasons in the top flight without being relegated?"

(Bonus points if you can get close to the number of years).

Good luck, lads!

Citeh vs. Chelski Live!

All eyes are on the City of Manchester Stadium this evening as this key make-up fixture kicks off. If Citeh can take anything away from tonight's match, the title race is almost certainly over. If Chelski do the business and humiliate Citeh, who's been in wretched form recently, it might be curtains for Psycho. Will Drogba score again? Will Joey Barton keep his shorts on? Join me to find out, lads - it's live on FSC!

Coca Cola Tuesday!

It's another fizzy weekday in the Championship with a full schedule of fixtures. Having been sucked into a false sense of something like optimism by Leeds United's titanic victory over Luton on Saturday, I'll be avidly watching our trip to Walker Stadium today. Here are the other fixtures:
Coventry v Wolves
Derby v QPR
Leicester v Leeds Utd
Luton Town v Hull City
Norwich v Birmingham
Preston NE v Ipswich
Sheff Weds v Colchester
Southampton v Cardiff City
Southend v Burnley
Sunderland v Stoke City

KEPT APART!!!

Draw for the FA Cup semi-finals:

Blackburn v Chelsea or Tottenham
Watford v Middlesbrough or Manchester United

Ties will be played the weekend of 14 and 15 April 2007

Of course, we still have to get passed Boro but I am very pleased with the draw.

I would love to see a Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United Cup Final.

It has never happened before

A BIG BIG DAY

Of course, my main attention will be on the Riverside this afternoon but it is a big day for our very own GatorBob.
A big day of important fixtures.

Barnsley v Sunderland, 13:30
Cardiff v Norwich, 15:00
Colchester v Coventry, 15:00
Crystal Palace v Leicester, 15:00
Hull v Preston, 15:00
Ipswich v Southend, 15:00
Leeds v Luton, 15:00
QPR v Sheff Wed, 15:00
Stoke v Southampton, 15:00

Could be a GREAT day for Leeds and may it won't.
Hope to have some company. I will be around a little after kick off because of Jonathan's soccer game.

Heads up, the clocks changed tonight but I don't think they do in England. That is why the times for tomorrow's Cup ties are all off.

The QUARTER FINALS and SEMI FINALS

All three English teams kept apart.
Chelsea and Liverpool could meet in the semi final.

Quarter-final draw
AC Milan v Bayern Munich
PSV Eindhoven v LIVERPOOL
Roma v MANCHESTER UNITED
CHELSEA v Valencia

(First legs to be played on 3/4 April and second legs on 10/11 April)

Semi-final draw
CHELSEA or Valencia v PSV Eindhoven or LIVERPOOL
Roma or MANCHESTER UNITED v AC Milan or Bayern Munich

(First legs to be played on 24/25 April and second legs on 1/2 May)

Champions League Round of Sixteen

It's day two of the Champions League Round of Sixteen. English teams had a whale of a time yesterday and let's hope for more today. Here are the fixtures:

AC Milan v Celtic
Arsenal v PSV
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
Man Utd v Lille

I'll be in and out during the afternoon but will check in from time to time with you. Come on you Reds (United and Arsenal)!

A Great Day for the English!

Hurrah! It was a terrific day for Liverpool and Chelsea fans, who will be celebrating into the wee hours after moving on to the Champions League quarterfinals. Liverpool were put under the cosh after a 75th minute strike from ex-Chelski boy Eidur Gudjohnsson, but held their nerve to win on the away goals rule. Chelski saw off those divers from Porto with goals from Robben and a winner from the big Bollocks himself. Incredible! More of the same tomorrow, please.

Footie Trivia Question of the Week

It's been a couple of weeks since the last footie trivia question, so it's high time for a good head scratcher.

"The magazine France Football created the "Ballon d'Or" prize to award the European Footballer of the Year back in 1956. The current holder is Real Madrid's Fabio Cannavaro. Since 1956 there have only been five British footballers awarded the prize. Name them and the year/s that they won."

Best of luck, lads!

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

UP THE 'AMMERS!!!!!!!!


Hope for some company

Saturday At Last!

Another long week over, it's time to settle in for some Premiership delights. Here are today's Premiership fixtures:
Arsenal v Reading
Fulham v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Man Utd
Man City v Wigan
Newcastle v Middlesbrough
Portsmouth v Chelsea
Sheff Utd v Everton
Watford v Charlton

Join me on the LOB, won't you?

NUMBER 700!!!

There are many Manchester United haters out and at least a couple on this blog.
BUT
What are your thoughts on Ryan Giggs?
He has scored in every year of the Premiership and has been a model professional. He is making his 700th appearance in red of United tomorrow at Anfield.
Your thoughts and memories.

Goals I Remember, Part Six

One of my absolute favorites from Fash vs. Liverpool in 1980. The celebration is almost as sweet as the strike. Enjoy!

World Soccer Daily Shake-up!

The geezers at World Soccer Daily announced a major shake-up in the show this week that should be to the liking of United We Stand and his ManYoo ilk. For some time, Nick Geber, the Liverpool fan on the show, has been moonlighting in Vegas doing play-by-play on poker tournaments, much to the consternation of his partner in footie radio, Steven Cohen, the Chelski fan on the show. So, as of next week, he'll be permanently replaced by Howard Rogers, another Brit ex-pat who's a died in the wool Scum fan. They had been trying to secure the services of Georgie Bingham, who had previously worked for Sky in the UK but has just signed papers with ESPN. She'll be a great addition to their line-up, for sure. Finally, Nick and Steven will remain the duo on Fox Football Fone-in, the Tuesday night show on Fox Soccer Channel.