A Quiet Sunday

The only Prem match is Villa vs Liverpool while St. Mirren host Celtic in the SPL. Come join us for this exciting match

Saturday is Back!

Fed up with the Friday-Tuesday international break? Never fear, LOBers - your Saturday morning is back! We start early with Sunderland v. ManYoo at 8:45am followed by the regularly scheduled kickoffs at 11am including Arsenal hosting Reading and Leeds at Ipswich. Finally - it's Everton v. Stoke in the late one.

Footie Trivia of the Week

It's Trivia time, chaps! Haven't done one of these recently, have we? So - we've just finished an interminably long World Cup qualifier break. Let's recap with this one:

"Name the following teams listed by their nicknames:"

1. "The Desert Foxes"
2. "The Red Devils" (not Manchester United, ta very much!)
3. "The Dragons"
4. "The Coffee Growers"
5. "The Elephants"
6. "The Checkered Ones"
7. "The Pharaohs"
8. "The Eagle Owls"
9. "The Pirate Ship"
10. "The All Whites"

Good luck, lads!

Happy 40th Birthday, Houses of the Holy!

Spare a moment today to celebrate the 40th birthday of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy" album, originally released March 28, 1973, by cranking "The Song Remains the Same" up to 11.

Showdown at the Azteca!

It's the biggest match in Concacaf qualifying - Mexico hosting the US in the cauldron like atmosphere of the Stadio Azteca. If Jurgen Klinsmann's men can't get up for this one, they don't have a pulse. Bottom line - we need to survive and get a point tonight. The match starts at 10pm on ESPN.

A Huge Day in International Footer

I'm so pumped about tomorrow's day of World Cup qualifiers that I've cleared my desk of work and am  posting this thread early to encourage plenty of banter before the matches start tomorrow afternoon. I'm on Spring Break tomorrow, so it's all about the Beautiful Game for me. I hope you'll join me for some epic blogging.

The Road to Rio Continues....

World Cup qualifiers continue today with a full slate of European fixtures this afternoon and in the Concacaf zone later this evening. England have some shooting practice away to San Marino ahead of their vital fixture at Montenegro on Tuesday. Later on in the day, the U.S. meet Costa Rica at 10pm.

Unfortunately, I'm out for the day, hosting a couple of former high school students who are going to be in town for the weekend. I'd appreciate some text updates if you're going to be around today. Come on, England!

You Be the Gaffer!

England head into two very different qualifiers in the next five days. Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm EST they face tiny San Marino away. That's followed on Tuesday afternoon by perhaps the toughest hurdle of this qualifying campaign - at home to Montenegro, who've looked a bit tasty in qualifying so far. So - given the squad below, who would you pick for these matches?

Goalkeepers: Ben Foster, Joe Hart, Fraser Forster. 
Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Stephen Caulker, Glen Johnson, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker.
Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Leon Osman, Scott Parker, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.
Strikers: Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck.

I'll go first - against San Marino, it's "release the hounds" mode with a 3-4-3 formation:

Hart, Walker, Cahill, Caulker, Baines (pushed up into midfield and given license to bomb on), Cleverboy, Gerrard, Theo, Roon, Welbeck, Sturridge.

Against Montenegro at Wemberley, it's a wee bit more cautious, with a traditional 4-4-2:

Hart, Walker, Cahill, Caulker, Baines, Carrick, Cleverboy, Gerrard, Theo, Roon, Welbeck.

Your thoughts, gentlemen?

John Oliver to Host The Daily Show

British comedian John Oliver is set to take over the desk at The Daily Show this summer while Jon Stewart is off directing his first feature film. Oliver has been a regular contributor to the show for the past eight years and has his own podcast The Bugle with fellow Brit comic Andy Zaltzman, which you should check out if you haven't before. Your thoughts, gents?

JOHNNY HATES JAZZ- Magnetized

THE ALBUM IS FINISHED!!!
A true Lakenheath Old Boy has put the finishing touches to Johnny Hates Jazz's newest album 'Magnetized'. I am sure that all us on LOB want to wish a fellow Lakenheather all the best and support him as much as we can.
Feel free to visit the following websites

BookFace

Johnny Hates Jazz | Facebook

Pledge and pre order the new album...no pressure.. just visit

http://www.pledgemusic.com/johnnyhatesjazz


Listen to their newest single 'Magnetized'

http://www.jango.com/stations/318059840/tunein?l=0


COME ON JOHNNYS!!!!!!

GOING, OWEN, GONE

News out of England today that Michael Owen has announced that he will retire from football at the end of the season. I feel cheated about his career. He played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City(sort of). He also played 89 times for the Three Lions scoring FORTY goals! So, why do I feel cheated. I just think there could have been so much more. I think the turning point of his career was actually leaving Liverpool for Spain. He was no more than a bit part in Madrid and to makes things worse, Liverpool went on to win the Champions League the year he left. He should have stayed at Anfield and been a pain in my butt for years! Who will ever forget his goal for England against Argentina? Who will ever forget his hat-trick in Munich? Even his last second goal for United against Citeh in a 4-3 derby win. He was passed it by then but I always thought that he could have been one of the best ever. I fear Rooney's career is heading down the same road as wee Mikey!


Your thoughts gentlemen?

UWS

RIP: Frank Thornton (1921-2013)

I'm a day late to this tribute, but I thought we should mark the passing of an icon. From 1973 to 1985, Frank Thornton, who died at age 92 this week, played the floorwalker Captain Peacock on the classic British sitcom "Are You Being Served?" I have to admit that it was never one of my favorites, and its camp and corny humor was soon superseded by newer, edgier comedies such as "The Young Ones." I always found it amusing that the suits at PBS viewed it as high-brow British humor. Still - for much of the time that we were in Britain, it was part of the firmament - and Frank was the heart and soul of the show. RIP Frank.

More information about Frank's career here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/18/frank-thornton

You Be the Judge...

AEK Athens midfielder Georgios Katsidis has been banned for life from the Greek national side after having apparently celebrated a goal at the weekend with the Nazi straight arm salute picture above. Katsidis, who is also under pressure from being shopped by his club, immediately went to Twitter - the last vestige of guilty footballers - to plead his innocence and ignorance of the meaning of the salute. What say you, LOBers - is it possible that Katsidis is stupid enough not to know that he was doing a Nazi salute or should be thrown to the wolves?

See more coverage here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/17/giorgos-katidis-banned-life-nazi-salute_n_2895619.html

The Struggle Continues

The struggle at top and bottom of the Premiership continues today, starting with Sunderland v Norwich and ending with Wigan v. Newcastle. In between we've got Chelski and Spurs trying to continue their challenge for Champions League slots. Join me for the usual LOB coverage.

A Busy Day in English Footer

It's another busy, busy day in English footer. Just as the weather seems to be turning toward spring here in WNY, we're turning the corner into the final lap of the season with ten matches left in the Premiership and nine left in the Championship. We start early, as usual, with another police-assisted kick-off between Leeds and neighbors Huddersfield at 8:30 EST. Everton and Citeh kick off a few minutes later on ESPN2. Then we have the usual 3pm GMT kick-offs (at 11am EST) including another match-up between ideological bedfellows Swansea and Arsenal. Finally, United have a bit of shooting practice against hapless and managerless Reading in the late one at 1:30pm EST. Join me for a busy day.

Champions League Final Stage Draw

Well, I didn't make it up at 7am this morning, but the Champions League final stages draw was made nonetheless. Here 'tis:

Malaga v. Dortmund
Real v. Gala

PSG v. Barca
Bayern v. Juve

This means that the two Spanish giants will miss each other until the final setting up the mouthwatering possibility of an El Classico Final in May.

Here's the Europa League quarter-final draw:

Chelski v. Rubin Kazan
Spurs v. Basel
Fener v. Lazio
Benfica v. Newcastle

That looks like safe passage for Chelski and Spurs unless they bollocks it up but I reckon that the Toon are in trouble with Benfica. Your thoughts, gents?

Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg

There are three matches involving BL teams. Inter vs Spurs kicks off at 2 PM while Newcastle vs Anzhi and Chelsea vs Steau Bucharest kicks off at 4:05 PM. All three teams have an excellent chance of advancing to the quarters.

Stranger Things Have Happened in Football....

Arsenal fans won't exactly be lining up at the betting shops to put their dosh down on the Gunners this afternoon as their side go up against a very tasty Bayern side with a two goal deficit from the home leg. Yet...you never know. Tune in from 3:45 pm onward as the last English club in the Champions League tries to achieve the unimaginable.

Who Will Be Celebrating This Evening?

It's another big evening in the Champions League. The big match features Barcelona, teetering on the edge of elimination after succumbing 2-0 in Milan a couple of weeks back, hosting AC in the Nou Camp. In the other CL fixture tonight Schalke host Galatasaray after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul. Along with those, we've got a handful of Championship fixtures, including Mighty Leeds at home to Posh. Join me from around 3:45 pm EST.

RIP: Tony Gubba (1943-2013)

UWS alerted me to the sad news that one of our beloved commentators from our youth - Tony Gubba - has died at the age of 69. As of early last year, he had overtaken Barry Davies as the third longest football commentator after John Motson and Gerald Sinstadt. I've got loads of warm memories of Tony on Sportsnight, Grandstand and, of course, Match of the Day. He'll be missed.

Spring Forward on a Super Soccer Sunday

We have some of everything today. Two FA Cup quarterfinals, two PL matches, and an Ediburgh Derby. We conclude with Man United vs Chelsea.

Happy Birthday, WHR!

Please help me wish WHR - our intrepid LOB attorney - many happy returns today on his birthday. Looking good, Johnno!

Odds and Sods Saturday

We're at that juncture in the season when every weekend features a grab bag of matches. We start with the Cup quarter-final clash between Everton and Wigan. Then there are the regularly scheduled Premiership and Championship matches. Then we round off the day with Barnsley being fed to the lions at Man Citeh. Join me for all the random footie action this morning, lads.

Can You Call Yourself a Soccer Fan if You Don't Support MLS?

I'm picking up from a thread that UWS emailed earlier today, which I thought deserved to be aired on our forum here at the LOB. Alexi "Big Red" Lalas raised a provocative argument and challenge on his Twitter feed and in Roger Bennett's ESPN column this week: as he put it, "If you live in the U.S., can you call yourself a "soccer fan" even if you don't support MLS?"

In theory, I'd have to instinctively say "no." In practice, however, since I moved away from Boston in 2000 after being thoroughly in the "Midnight Riders" fan culture surrounding the New England Revolution for its first four years of operation, it's become increasingly difficult for me to follow the MLS with any real enthusiasm. Indeed, having made a pledge to myself that I was going to pay more attentions to the Revs and the league this season, I was chastened last Sunday to find that I had missed opening day again!

Of the soccer experts that regularly contribute to this blog, only Gooner71 is a season-ticket holder at an MLS club (DC United), largely because RFK is a mere Metro ride away. I believe that Someone Said regularly goes to Columbus Crew matches. Others may go once in a while. So, what say you, LOBers. How do you stand with MLS in its 16th year of operation? It has certainly contributed to the infrastructure that we now take advantage of; however, do we value it as much as we should?

Here's a link to Roger Bennett's article that UWS sent along via email: http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/relegationzone/id/728?cc=5901

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 28 Update

It's time to check in on our PPP game standings before we get into another bewildering round of English domestic football at the weekend. The top of the table has shifted since we last looked at it, largely because of one Luis Suarez who now sits atop the Golden Boot standings with 21 league goals. That means the Nocito boys are dominating affairs, unseating MUR from the top. Here are the current standings:

1. Thomas - 29 points
2. Man United Rules - 26 pts
3. Matthew - 25 pts
- United We Stand - 25 pts
5. West Ham Rising - 19 pts
6. Someone Said - 16 pts
7. AZ Kicker - 11 pts
- Chelskilad - 11 pts
9. Blue Devil - 9 pts
- Gooner71 - 9 pts
11. Simon Burke - 8 pts
12. Red Devil FCK1 - 7 pts

Maybe United Should Have Tried This...?

After yesterday's shocking red card decision by the Turkish referee in the United v. Real match, you'll forgive me if I have a good laugh at this Lebanese ref's expense as the aggrieved side takes off after him in hot pursuit after a controversial caution. Enjoy!

The Whole World is Watching!

That is according to Jose "The Special One" The BBC already have the build up going for the big match at this website  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/21666137

 Some of the people are commenting don't seem to agree with Jose

Andrew Webb: "I won't be watching the United v Real match, i be at another big game tonight - Leicester v Leeds."

Mike Evans: "Why would I be watching Man Utd against Real Madrid? Forest are at home to Ipswich tonight."

I think Our Bob will have an eye on the match at the Walkers!

I am supposed to have a faculty meeting today but I am hoping to get out of it.... fingers crossed

COME ON MAN U

COME ON MAN U

COME ON MAN U

Join me

UWS

The Sweeney!

I've just noticed that the new film version of "The Sweeney," based on the classic 70s cop show with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman has opened in select cinemas in the US. It stars a bevy of British action star talent ably led by Ray Winstone, Damien Lewis, Ben Drew and Hayley Atwell (for a bit of crumpet). Look out for it at a theater near you or - in my case - wait six months for it on Netflix. Enjoy!

The North London Derby

Only one Premier League match today... quite a big one though!!!
Will Spurs solidify their spot in the top four or will Arsenal close the gap. If Spurs win, there will be a massive SEVEN point gap if the Arse win it will be ONE!
Join me for the big un

UWS

No One Likes Us...We Don't Care!

Leeds v. Millwall - it's a fixture that always has the FA's knickers is a big twist - and of course it's got a ridiculously early kick-off at 7:30 am EST this morning. Join me for the early bird festivities. For all you late risers, there's the usual 10 am EST kick-offs including a rare Saturday afternoon outing for ManYoo against Norwich and then Wigan v. Liverpool in the late one. Join me for all the LOB fun.