Juliet is naked and here at last

I picked up a copy yesterday at lunch, and so far, it's a return to form. For me, Nick's best when he's sending up the male obsessive as he did in Fever Pitch and High Fidelity. I'm only 50 some pages in, but so far it's a cracker. Join me.

Champions League - Gameday 2!

The Champions League is back this afternoon with a second slate of matches:

Debrecen v Lyon
Fiorentina v Liverpool
Barcelona v Dynamo Kiev
Rubin Kazan v Inter Milan
Rangers v Sevilla
Unirea Urziceni v VfB Stuttgart
AZ v Standard Liege
Arsenal v Olympiacos

What's Going on at Upton Park?

Citeh's 3-1 win over West Ham this afternoon leaves the Hammers mired in the relegation zone with a mere four points from seven matches. What's going on? I really thought that West Ham might push on a bit from last season under Gianfranco Zola, but it's been a desperate start.

Your thoughts, gents?

Fall Premiership Footie

I'm in Cleveland this weekend, so I won't be around this morning but I look forward to reading your comments on today's matches later. Cheers!

Who Should Get Into the R&R Hall of Fame?

As we're heading to Cleveland this weekend, I was interested that the nominees for this year's admission to the Hall of Fame were announced yesterday. So which five of this lot would you give the nod to this time around:


1. ABBA
2. The Chantels
3. Darlene Love
4. Donna Summer
5. Genesis
6. Jimmy Cliff
7. KISS
8. Laura Nyro
9. LL Cool J
10. Red Hot Chili Peppers
11. The Hollies
12. The Stooges

I'm going with the five that are currently residing on my iPod - Donna Summer, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, KISS and The Stooges. What about you?

Great Footer Websites

Our intrepid Old Trafford correspondent UWS forwarded on to me an articled that has ranked the Top 25 Football-related Websites. Some such as Football 365 and Soccernet are old favorites but there are a number of new ones that I'll be investigating. Cut and paste the following link for the full article from the Torygraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/6198609/Top-25-football-websites.html

Carling Cup Third Round Live!

It's Carling Cup time again and the big boys have joined the party. My eye will be firmly fixed on Elland Road where my Leeds boys take on the old enemy from Anfield. It feels like the 70s again.

I'll be popping in and out of meetings and classes all day but I'll look forward to the pleasure of your company.

Sunday's Premiership Matches

Anybody out there for the big matches today? Man U and Man City has the Gooner and his Dad up unspeakably early. Join us.

Saturday Morning's Alright for Footie

Hurrah - the early morning footie is back! We've got the usual full slate of Premier League, SPL, Championship, L1 and L2 footie on docket this morning. It all gets started in a few moments with Burnley and Sunderland from Turf Moor. Join me, won't you?

Ade Gets a Ban!

Something tells me that a certain someone in Scotia, NY is celebrating just a wee bit today with the news that Money Citeh's Emmanuel Adebayor has picked up a three-game ban for that stamp on RVP last weekend. How about you Gooners on the list - are you satisfied with the outcome?

Champions League - Gameday 1!

The Champions League is back with the first matchday in group play today. If you're lucky enough to be at home today, you can get all the coverage on FSC from 2:30; if you're like me, you'll be peeking at it between meetings.

Join me for all the action from 2:45 pm onward.

RIP Patrick Swayze 1952-2009

Patrick Swayze - Chippendale
by tressage

Patrick Swayze's untimely death today at the age of 57 gives me the opportunity to once again enjoy and share one of my favorite SNL skits. Enjoy the clip, rent "Roadhouse" tonight and raise a toast to Patrick. He will be missed.

Back to the Prem

After a highly satisfying international break, we're back to the regular Saturday Premier League routine, with two of the most intriguing fixtures yet in this early season. At 10 a.m. ESPN2 is favoring us with Arsenal visiting Mad Citeh (t.m. S. Dahlgren) and at 12:30 p.m., FSC is showing ManYoo visiting the flying Spurs.

Join me for all the action!

Leeds at Southend Live!

It's been eight wins on the trot for the boys in white so far this season. Can they put the Shrimpers in the net and claim a seventh straight win to take the top of the league? Join me this afternoon from 2:45 pm to find out.

Come on, you Whites!

England vs. Croatia Live!

It's another big day of WC 2010 qualifiers, but my mind is firmly set on the big one - England vs. Croatia from Wembley. Croatian metal maniac Slavan Bilic has been shooting his mouth off all week; join me from 3 pm onward to see the Three Lions stick a sock in it.

Come on England!

The Manager: The Rock and Roll Years

The Guardian and Football Weekly contributor Barney Ronay has started an excellent video series called "The Manager." Check out his first episode about the giants of the British game - Busby, Shankley and Stein:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2009/sep/08/the-manager-football-barney-ronay

Whither CONCACAF?

After last night's CONCACAF WC 2010 qualifiers, the group is delicately poised as such:

1. Honduras - Played 7 13 pts (+7 GD)
2. USA - Played 7 13 pts (+4 GD)
3. Mexico - Played 7 12 pts (+2 GD)
4. Costa Rica - Played 12 pts (-3 GD)

Given that the fourth placed team will play off against the fifth placed CONMEBOL team (likely Argentina) it's about time to asksome serious questions about how this will all play out - e.g., who's going to miss out on automatic qualification.

In my estimation the U.S.'s run-in (T&T away, Honduras away, CR at home) is slightly harder than Mexico's (Honduras at home, El Salvador at home, T&T away). If I had to guess, though, I'd say both sides will gain 7 more points from those; I fancy Honduras to take points off both Mexico and us, in other words. That would mean that the U.S. would end up with 20 pts, Mexico with 19 points, Honduras with 18 points and Costa Rica with 18 points. That is, it's going to be mighty tight and might come down to goal difference.

What say you, lads?

Another Big Day!

It's another day packed with footie highlights, including a full schedule of L1 fixtures at 10 a.m., WC 2010 qualifiers throughout the afternoon and an England friendly against Slovenia to warm up for Wednesday's big clash at Wembley with Croatia. I've got the family visiting this weekend, so I'll be in and out throughout the day. Enjoy the matches, lads!

Transfer Deadline Day!

It's deadline day for transfer in European footie, with the transfer window closing in a matter of minutes at 5 pm GMT. Of course, I'm on pins and needles, looking to see if some Premier League club will scoop up Jermaine Beckford. I'm still hoping that we'll have him until the end of the season, at which point we'll be a Championship level side and will be happy to see him off to a big club on a free.

What other moves are you lot watching?

Follow the transfer news by cutting and pasting the following:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1210374/TRANSFER-DEADLINE-DAY-Follow-latest-football-deals-window-slams-shut.html