Is ManYoo the New Chelski?

ManYoo have just won the Premiership but they're not wasting any time during the "close season." The Glazers have just laid out a cool £50 million for their long sought-after Owen Hargreaves plus two Portugeezers Nani and Anderson to keep Skippy company in the dressing room. Good move, Dave? And who's the most nervous player in the camp now? My money's on Michael Carrick.

Your thoughts, gents?

A Big Week of Games

Some big games are going to be played over this weekend. England's friendly with Brazil is not really one of them.
The STAT DOCTOR DAHLGREN: Could you please tell me what results do I want to see happen from Group E on Saturday?
Russia vs Andorra
Macedonia vs Israel
Estonia vs Croatia

Political Thread of the Week

Right then, it's Memorial Day and time to talk about Iraq War funding - anyone else dismayed by the utter cave-in by the Democratic Party leadership last week? Or was it smart politics on their part?

To my mind Kucinich was right when he suggested that there was no reason to even put forward legislation on the matter. It's a no-win situation for the Dems.

What do you reckon, lads?

HE'S BACK!!

He has been in form for Real and England need help. A good move or a backward move.

Your thoughts???

U.S. Gold Cup Squad

Newly-installed U.S. gaffer Bob Bradley has announced his squad for the Gold Cup tournament coming up and - as predicted - it looks as if he'll take the A-team to the Gold Cup and a B-team to the Copa America. I reckon if they're serious about improving U.S. footie, they should do it the other way 'round. Your thoughts on the squad, lads?

I Am No Nostradamus!

Well, it's time to take stock of those predictions that we all made back in August. When it comes to mine, it's not pretty:

Premiership Champions - Liverpool (Hah!)

Runners Up - Arsenal (Not even close!)

Champions League Qualifiers - Chelsea and Spurs (!)

Relegated Teams: Watford, Sheffield United and Fulham
(Well, two out of three ain't bad.)

Top Scorer - Jermaine Defoe (Spurs) (Nope, it was Drogs)

Promoted from Coke - Southhampton, West Brom, and Leeds (!) (The saddest comment.)

Champion's League Winners - Barcelona (Didn't even make the quarters.)

Carling Cup Winners - Spurs (Try Chelski)

F.A. Cup Winners - ManYoo (Reasonably close but beaten in the Final.)

How did the rest of you lot do?

Champions League Final Live!

Well, well, well. It all comes down to this - Liverpool vs. AC Milan. We've all been here before - in 2005 it came down to penalties. It may do so again but few are predicting another 3-3 draw. Let's be honest - neither side should be there by rights and it will likely be a bore on the scale of last weekend's FA Cup Final. Still, with precious little footie on the telly these days, I shall be watching and will look forward to the pleasure of your company.

Political Thread of the Week

Dave won't like it, but in the spirit of widening the discussion on the LOB, I'm going to start a new series of posts on some of the big political topics of the day. Today - immigration. Washington has been abuzz with talk about the immigration bill that was passed by the House on Friday, which was widely perceived in the press to be a "compromise" (read: no one particularly likes it).

Now I can't claim to have read the bloody thing, but from what I've read in the Times, it seems to tighten up certain areas such as green card eligibility for relatives of citizens and veers away from "family reunification," which has been the policy for some time. At the same time, conservatives are bellyaching about it opening a path to "amnesty."

My two cents - as you can imagine, I'm way outside the mainstream political spectrum on this and most issues. I'm always been in favor of open borders. To those who fear illegal immigration, I would ask them to look at the conditions in Mexico and Central America. If you don't want illegal immigration, work toward social justice in those areas.

Your thoughts, gents?

Sophia Loren's Indecent Proposal

It's worth having a look at the Serie B results today, lads, if only because former Italian starlet Sophia Loren - now 72 - has promised to strip naked on RAI tv if her beloved Napoli win their last three matches and capture promotion to Serie A for next season. The question is - do we really want to see that? Have a look at La Loren in her prime and make your own decision.

ManYoo vs. Chelski Live!

It's the first Cup Final at the new Wembley and I'm here manning the LOB. This day always conjures up great memories for me of a time when the whole day was taken up with the trappings of a footie festival. It's a bit different these days. Ironically, the popularity of the game in the U.S. today has meant that it's no longer offered for free but is now a PPV event hosted by those gangsters at Setanta. So, I'm happy enough blogging and listening to Five Live. And perhaps you'll join me to see which of the big boys will be hoisted the trophy in about two hours time.

The Managerial Merry-Go-Round

It's been all change in the Premiership since the season ended last weekend. Let's look at the managerial balance sheet:

At Bolton - Big Sam's out and little Sammy Lee's in; I wouldn't be surprised if Bolton struggled next season.

At Newcastle - Glenn Roeder's out and Big Sam's in; Allardyce's first move was to dump five players including four defenders - big surprise!

At Sheffield Utd. - The evil Neil Warnock is out; no news on a replacement quite yet, but chances are he'll be spending some time in court this summer.

And at Citeh, poor old Psycho has lost one of his jobs; will he hang on to his U-21 position with England?

Any comments on those moves, lads?

Scientology in the UK

Scientology has finally come to the UK this week as the place is positively buzzing about a BBC "Panorama" piece that was aired Tuesday night. I'm attaching a clip that shows presenter John Sweeney butting heads with several Tom Cruise lookalikes.

Footie Trivia Question of the Week

I'm about to settle in to watch the UEFA Cup final between Sevilla and Espanyol at Hampden Park. If Sevilla win today, they'll claim the trophy for the second time. However...

"Which five clubs have won the UEFA Cup (not including the Fairs Cup) three times each?"

Good luck, lads!

Republican Presidential Debate #2

We'll get another chance to rate the GOP candidates tonight as they appear on Fox News at 9 p.m. I'll be teaching tonight, so I'll drop in later after I scrutinize the taped proceedings, but feel free to blog live if you're watching.

Rethinking LOB

It's been a year since we started this humble blog and as the footie season is wrapping up this next week, it seemed like as good a time as any to try and reflect on the successes and failures of this novel form of communication. I've enjoyed every minute of chatting with all of you; yet, at the same time I've been disappointed that we haven't been able to get more FJHS and LHS alums involved. Now, a lot of that has to do with people being busy and perhaps corresponding with grade school buddies isn't a priority; at the same time, I'm aware that the LOB has dwindled in participation in recent weeks, so I'm open to any suggestions that you might have for improving it.

For example, is there too much footie? It's been suggested to me that we might be missing out on some individuals who used to participate in email threads because we're so footie dominated. I don't apologize for the focus because I've always seen LOB as a democratic forum and people should feel free to post on any topic.

Is the tenor of the discussions driving people away? That's a hard one to assess, but again it's been suggested that this might be happening. It's incredibly hard to locate that fine line between reasonable, civil discourse and OTT and I'm sure that I've been guilty of plenty of offenses. Still, I would encourage all participants to keep it good-natured and remember that we're all mates, right?

That's it from me. I'm determined to keep the LOB flag flying and I look forward to your comments. Cheers!

Decision Day

So, D-Day has arrived in the Premiership. Everything at the top has been decided(YES!!!), but all the drama is at the bottom.
All three teams in danger of the drop have it all in their own hands to survive.
If West Ham do the business and get a point, they survive.
If Wigan get a win, they will be ahead of Sheffield United and no matter what West Ham do, they will survive.
The Blades have to get a home draw and they will survive.
I hope I have some company.

Great Python Moments, Volume Two

Another Python favorite of mine - "Hilter in England." I love the bit where "Hilter" is going full tilt into his speech from the balcony and then they pan back to show that the audience is made up of about three people. Graham Chapman playing "Bon Ribentrop" as the plant in the crowd - "He's right, you know." Classic. Enjoy!

Chelski vs. ManYoo Live!

Two weeks ago, this looked to be the "Mother of All Premiership title matches." Sadly - well, at least for neutrals - that's not the way it all panned out. So, Fergie will come in to Stamford Bridge with a third-string side and we'll have to wait ten days for a true match-up in the Cup Final. If you're around and following the match this afternoon, however, drop in for a cuppa, eh?

Should the Hammers Be Docked Points?

At the risk of provoking the ire of our resident Hammer, Sir Trevor Brooking Musing, let me toss out the topic that's been percolating around the footie world this week. Let me be clear - I'm with the Hammers and nothing would make me happier than seeing Neil Warnock and his bloody Blades in the Coke next season (Wigan would be fine too), but...really....in all fairness....

Goals I Remember, Volume Eight

A goal from a happier time for Yorkshire's finest from Peter "Hot Shot" Lorimer against Palace. Pick that one out!

Footie Trivia Question of the Week

"Which one of the following managers is the odd one out - and why?"

* Sir Alex Ferguson
* Jose Mourinho
* Arsene Wenger
* Martin Jol
* Steve Coppell
* Mark Hughes
* Stuart Pearce

WE'VE GOT OUR TROPHY BACK!!!

A big thank you to The Arse for getting it done today.
A very deserved Championship for United. They have been the best team all season.
Ninth Premier League Title in 14 years. A total of 16 times being Champions of England. Only two behind The Pool.
You're thoughts?

We've got our trophy back, we've got our trophy back, we've got our trophy, we've got OUR TROPHY BACK!!!!!

Come on You Hammers!

Well, the season's officially over for my Leeds boys, but that doesn't mean that there is football of interest this weekend. I'm settling in to follow the crucial West Ham vs. Bolton match.

And of course Dave will be watching the top of the table clash between Chelsea and Arsenal tomorrow.

It's Official

Leeds United have been relegated!!!
Leeds have gone into administration therefore are docked TEN points!! They will end the season at the bottom of the table.
A smart move. They will not have a ten point deduction to start next season.
League One Champions next season???

Republican Presidential Debate

After last week's first debate, it's the GOP's turn tonight. It'll be the first chance to see ten of these ghouls facing off. Who wants to bomb Iran? Who wants to strip us of all Constitutional rights? Who's been diddling the interns in the back room? We'll soon see. It's live on MSNBC with "Hardball's" Chris Matthews moderating. Join me for the festivities.

AC Milan vs. Manchester United Live!

We've already got one red team from England through to the final, can United make it two today? Let's hope so - AC Milan don't even deserve to be in the competition, to my mind.
Here are the line-ups:
AC Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Jankulovski, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Ambrosini, Kaka, Inzaghi.
Subs: Kalac, Cafu, Gilardino, Favalli, Bonera, Serginho, Brocchi.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Brown, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Rooney.
Subs: Kuszczak, Ferdinand, Saha, Smith, Solskjaer, Richardson, Eagles.

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

Liverpool vs. Chelski Live!

Chelski are in the driving seat having won without conceding an away goal last week. Here are the sides for today's Champions League semi final clash:

Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise, Pennant, Gerrard, Mascherano, Zenden, Kuyt, Crouch.
Subs: Padelli, Arbeloa, Hyypia, Fowler, Gonzalez, Alonso, Bellamy.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Essien, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Makelele, Lampard, Joe Cole, Drogba, Kalou.
Subs: Cudicini, Boulahrouz, Geremi, Robben, Bridge, Diarra, Wright-Phillips.

Referee: Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain)

It's an electric atmosphere - it's ESPN2 live - join me, eh?

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day, comrades! As usual while cowards shrink and traitors snear, we'll keep the Red Flag flying here on the LOB.

And speaking of red teams, I'm be cheering on the Red Devils against the Red Menace of corruption and match fixing that is AC Milan this afternoon.

Hope you'll join me for all the May Day festivities!