Predictions (Week 29)

A few good games this week West Ham V Man U obviously, can't see us winning 4-0 again but Man U's defensive problems and our attacking options give every chance of a few goals (at both ends), a bit annoyed today when an Arsenal fan came up to me and said "come on the Hammers" we'll win for us not to help his lot :(
West Brom v Liverpool is interesting because of Roy Hodgson, be nice for Roy if he can put one over on them :)
Made these predictions a couple of weeks ago and not so confident of a Wolves win after Kevin Doyle's injury which could de-rail Wolves recent impressive form.

Saturday
West Ham v Man Utd 2-1
Birmingham v Bolton 1-0
Everton v Aston Villa 2-0
Newcastle v Wolves 0-1
Stoke v Chelsea 1-1
West Brom v Liverpool 1-0
Wigan v Tottenham 1-0
Arsenal v Blackburn 2-1
Sunday
Fulham v Blackpool 2-2
Man City v Sunderland 3-0

Challenge scores - Lee 8 Longy 7 Draws 3

Mike Ashley

This guy seems to be disliked by everyone including me, but I've just read how much of his own money he's put into Newcastle and you have to wonder why the Geordie's still don't like the bloke?
Yes he was the man who fired Chris Hughton after he did a decent job getting Newcastle back into the premier league and mid table this season which stunk, after also getting rid of Sam Allardyce who was possibly their best managerial appointment since Bobby Robson. Also it's rumoured his sports company pay minimum wage to it's employee's with the Thatcherist option of "if you don't like it fuck off".
But his one redeeming factor is he's given Newcastle £140 million in interest free loans since taking over which considering they were in deep shit when he took over has probably kept them afloat, so if I was a Toon fan I might give the guy a break? despite the fact that he's a big fat cockney cunt :)

England

Probably enough shown by the new(ish) players in the 2 games this week to feel there is something to look forward to for England fans.
And possibly time to say "thank you and goodbye" to a few of those players who have let us down in the past, Parker, Wilshere and Young have showed that Gerrard, Lampard and Barry wouldn't really be missed and I'm sure with a few games together Cahill and Jagielka would be as good as Terry and Ferdinand.
Ashley Cole still edges Leighton Baines, Rooney (on form) is better than the rest but all the other positions are up for grabs.
Darren Bent is the nearest thing we have to another Michael Owen so should be given a run, Andy Carroll is promising but probably needs another full season.
I still think we need to find a right back as Glenn Johnson still only looks good going forward and rubbish as a defender which has been the story since he was at West Ham!

Legend

Paulo Di Canio.
I Stole this quote about his goal at Old Trafford when Barthez tried to bluff him into believing he was offside, classic stuff :)
"He tried to distract me but I was cleverer than him. I finished with the ball in the net and then the referee can say 'sorry Paolo offside' if he wants. I scored and then waited to see."
Di Canio's stream of consciousness as he recalled the goal that secured a 1-0 victory is rivalled only by his memories of the celebrations that followed - with 9,000 away fans delirious in the away end.
"The celebration was amazing. 9,000 people, 9,000 people! The celebration was incredible. The emotion as I ran to the corner flag was I felt in my body that a million West Ham fans were there on the pitch. In this moment, I felt like people all around the world were with me. I felt like a warrior that had no fear of dying. This is the perfect moment to die. Nothing can be better than this. The adrenalin rush through my veins, around my body was something else. This was the defining moment of my life. It was incredible, I didn't feel anything bad. No pain, no bad thoughts. It was like I was invincible. You know what I mean?"

WTF

What the fuck does WTF mean?

OK probably my own fault for not checking but I had planned my Saturday around watching F1 qualifying followed by an afternoon of watching the England v Wales game, so I turn on the TV and find that it ain't on telly :(
Yes it's on Sky which I don't have and have no plans to ever have 'cos I'm not giving money to Murdoch but it's an England qualifier why on earth should it be restricted to the prawn sandwich munching rich people and not the commoners who are the real football supporters?
Also pissed off that I turned down free rail and match tickets up to Manchester to go and watch Southend at Stockport from a mate who couldn't go because England were playing today :(

This will be the second time in this competition that the England game isn't even being shown as highlights tonight after most people missed the earlier qualifier away to Switzerland which was a great result but none of my footie mates saw the game so it doesn't even rate a mention when you get into an England debate.

Something I always think about when the Sky problem comes up is boxing, back in the days when all the big bouts were on terrestrial telly even your granny could tell you who the best British boxers were and who was the heavyweight champion, nowadays even Boxing fans have to think hard about it.
David Haye must dream of the adulation given to the likes of Frank Bruno in the old days, despite getting himself on multiple chat shows most people don't realise he's a world champion?
The Sky money may be great for football but if this is a growing trend the public are going to lose interest.

Must Have Missed That

I like Mark Noble but has he never read the news? asked about the weekends game he lavished praise on Wayne Bridge and said that he expected Wayne to get a call from "Mr Capello", in a week that Capello just re-instated John Terry as the England captain I can't really see that happening.

Going Down?

8 Games to go and only 8 points separate the bottom 12, and only 6 points between Sunderland in 9th and the drop zone.
As a Hammer I should have been pissed off that Wigan Stoke and Wolves won while we dropped 2 points at the Spuds, but it brings teams like Villa and Newcastle back into the mix so it's not such a bad thing.
This is entertainment :)

09 Sunderland 30 -4 38
10 Stoke 30 -2 37
11 Newcastle 30 -1 36
12 Fulham 30 0 35
13 Blackburn 30 -12 33
14 Aston Villa 30 -14 33
15 Blackpool 30 -15 33
16 West Brom 30 -15 33
17 West Ham 30 -13 32
18 Wolves 30 -14 32
19 Birmingham 29 -13 31
20 Wigan 30 -22 30

Arrivederci Millwall

Nick Perry's 1990 play about a Millwall fan and his mates going to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, The main character Billy has just lost his brother in the Falklands so is out for revenge.
Not a classic, but watchable because it brings back memories of the era :)
It's out on DVD soon and is being sold as the play that inspired "the football factory" which isn't a great recommendation!! although the best character in that was also called Billy.

Thanks to "keepsonburnin" for uploading this

Fergie Banned

Predictions (Week 28)

Back to league action after the cups and Europe.
The Hammers go to White Hart Lane and only supreme optimism and blind faith makes me go for an away win :)
Man U and Arsenal have difficult games which might make Sundays Chelsea City game a bit more important?
.. and hopefully someone's taking the beachball to Sunderland :)

Saturday
Tottenham v West Ham 1-2
Aston Villa v Wolves 2-1
Blackburn v Blackpool 2-0
Man Utd v Bolton 2-1
Stoke v Newcastle 1-0
West Brom v Arsenal 1-1
Wigan v Birmingham 0-0
Everton v Fulham 1-0
Sunday
Sunderland v Liverpool 1-1
Chelsea v Man City 2-0

Jens Lehmann

Arsenal's very slight chance of winning anything this season took another hit today with the news that Almunia is the only fit goalkeeper and they are trying to get Jens Lehmann out of retirement as back up?
He looks a bit like Charlton Heston who played Moses so maybe Wenger thinks he'll lead them to the promised land, or more likely the red (and white) sea will part as another goal goes in.

Gloomy Sunday

Well that's the FA Cup over for another season, I know we've still got a few games to go which might be of interest to some? but that's killed it for me :(
A good game spoiled as usual by the ref who managed to get most things wrong, Stoke's opener should have been a free kick to West Ham, West Ham's equaliser should have been a free kick to Stoke, the penalty should have just been a booking for Etherington's dive, the free kick awarded for Stoke's 2nd goal was unlucky but probably right although it would never be given against the likes of Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool etc, and 2 penalties not given? Huth's handball was blatant and Walters wrestling down Tomkins was the most obvious penalty you'll ever see?
Apart from that Stoke played reasonably well in their normal way, the Hammers had an off day missing Demba Ba who was left out for some reason? and Piquionne's injury after Huth's crunching tackle is a worry.

The Semi Draw:
Bolton v Stoke
Man U v Man C or Reading

ITV Coverage

It's bad enough having to put up with the likes of Adrian Chiles and serial twat Andy Townsend plus the huge pile of adverts during every FA Cup game covered on ITV this season, but the thing that is seriously pissing me off is those KIA adverts twice every break with Keith, Ian and Andy.
I just keep praying we'll see the irratating threesome wrapped around a tree in their crap Korean car one day :)

That Time Of Year Again

Time to wheel this old classic here for it's yearly outing :)

ARSENAL FC - End of Season Dinner Dance

Starters
Egg on Face
Seasoned Hash
Frogs legs (past their best)
Spanish Surprise (well beaten)

Main course
Humble Pie
Chump Chops
French (has) Beans
Manager's Beef (not rare)
Catch of the Day - (gutted)

Dessert
Sour Grapes (may be hard to swallow)
Fruitless Tarts
Raspberry Fools
Hard Cheese

Drinks
Bitter
Little Spirit
French Whine
Cabernet Empty 2011
Champagne - sorry none ordered
STRICTLY NO DOUBLES OR TREBLES

Drinks should be consumed from glasses as there will be no cups this year.

General Stuff

The FA Cup quarter finals this weekend with the Hammers in with a good shout of the Semi's providing Avram doesn't suddenly decide to rest everyone to concentrate on the league?
A couple of under performing teams play at Old Trafford, Man City could be the last team "giant killed" this season and Bolton and Brum make up the numbers.

Saturday
Birmingham v Bolton 12:45pm
Man Utd v Arsenal 5:15pm
Sunday
Stoke v West Ham 2pm
Man City v Reading 4:45pm

Europe this week saw Arsenal totally played off the park by Barcelona, who ended up having to score an own goal to make a game of it.
Very mild "sympathy" over the silly sending off which ruined what slim hopes Arsenal had, although the lack of Arsenal's 2 best players, Walcott who was injured and Arshavin who was left on the bench for most of the game? meant they were very unlikely to score for themselves.
Tottenham continue to impress in this competition although outplayed by Milan in the second leg they should have had 2 penalties, I'm not sure what the point of the extra officials are when the guy standing ten feet from Crouch failed to see the Milan defender trying to swap shirts in the first half and Seedorf's blatant handball was totally missed?
I'd like to see Tottenham v Barcelona in the next round, can't help thinking that Lennon and Bale running with the ball would cause Barcelona a lot more problems than Arsenal managed in 2 games, although Messi would turn Dawson inside out at will.

Local stuff - "jailbird" Ryan Hall scored twice for Southend on Tuesday as a parting gift? before this weeks appeal against his 20 week sentence.

Bailed

Just been reading the story of what happened on the night Ryan Hall was charged, leading to his 20 week jail sentence.
As it has turned out he was granted bail on Friday pending appeal so got to play yesterday, although Southend lost 2-1 :(
After Southend's Christmas party in mid December Hall, full Back Sean Clohessy and another un-named player were leaving when "the victim" came up to them and racially abused Hall, then during the argument he punched Hall fracturing his jaw, Hall went back inside the club and came out with a bottle (the offensive weapon) and Hall and Clohessy punched the guy and then Hall kicked him when he went down, the bottle was not used.
The victim refused to make a statement to police, so Hall was convicted on CCTV evidence.
As far as I know Clohessy wasn't charged?
The appeal is on Thursday against the length of the sentence, which seems harsh if this version of events is true.

I Wonder

I just spent 10 minutes putting all my future predictions in the BBC websites predicter program and this is what the end of season table will look like :)
Of course I have been known to get a few wrong.

Predictions (Week 27)

Bonus game this week with the re-arranged Birmingham Everton game on Wednesday.
Big game of the weekend probably Man Utd's trip to Anfield although I doubt there will be many goals, Chelsea go to the seaside which could be a great game.
Will West Ham shoot themselves in the foot after last weeks great win by dropping points to Stoke? they should take a leaf out of Birmingham's books by bringing extra advertising hoardings within 3 foot of the pitch to stop Delap's throw-ins :)

Saturday
Birmingham v West Brom 1-1
Arsenal v Sunderland 3-0
Bolton v Aston Villa 2-2
Fulham v Blackburn 2-1
Newcastle v Everton 1-2
West Ham v Stoke 3-2
Man City v Wigan 3-1
Sunday
Liverpool v Man Utd 0-1
Wolves v Tottenham 2-2
Monday
Blackpool v Chelsea 1-2
Wednesday
Everton v Birmingham 2-1
----------------------------

The Lee v Longy Challenge
Current scores - Lee 7, Longy 7, Draws 2
Total Points Won - Lee 122, Longy 115

Week 11 (Part 1) 4-9
Week 11 (Part 2) 7-4
Week 12 2-1
Week 13 2-5
Week 14 6-11
Week 15 12-11
Week 16 7-7
Week 17 1-1
Week 18 13-11
Week 19 16-11
Week 20 11-13
Week 21 8-9
Week 22 10-7
Week 23 6-7
Week 24 11-1
Week 25 Not Done
Week 26 6-7

Player Jailed

Southend's Ryan Hall was put away this morning for 20 weeks for affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
He has been one of Southend's best players over the last few months so will be missed as they try for the play-offs.
Did he deserve to be put away? probably but I read stories of after nightclub brawls and knife fights every week in the local paper which usually result in fines, cautions or community service orders, I don't know the full details of what he actually did and it might have been much worse than it sounded? but I think they have made an example of him.
In a week that has seen Ashley Cole shooting a Chelsea staff member and Wayne Rooney's on field assault on a Wigan player it does show that Premier league footballers seem to have a different set of rules, maybe both of them should have been keeping Hall company for a few weeks instead of playing the other night.

Giggs

He made his debut for Man Utd 20 years ago today and he's still a great player today.
So the term "Legend" is probably justified :)
Only Arsenal fans won't want to remember that goal in the Cup semi back in 99 which is still one of the greatest ever scored.
I'm old enough to remember watching him in one of those Schoolboy matches from Wembley that they used to show on telly in the Eighties when he was called Ryan Wilson and was England's captain!!.
His decision to turn his back on his father's name and country probably cost him his and us a chance of World cup glory, as for so many years England have struggled to find a decent left winger and surely he would have made one hell of a difference?
But he was born in Wales so we shouldn't really complain.
Still think it's great that a player can spend his whole career with one club which harks back to the old days and just doesn't seem to happen now despite all that badge kissing from players who are only loyal till another club offer a few quid more.

Keep It Up Energy?

Before Viagra there was Dextrosol :)
For "Keep it up energy" you can tell by the look on his face it must work, I'm not sure he's thinking about football though :)

Best of the ads from the 1961 mags.

Back In The Old Days

Picked these six mags up at a boot sale at the weekend for £4 which is a bit of a mark up on the cover price (9/- for the 6 or 45p in current money), but I think they were well worth it :)
A whole different world back then, one thing that stands out with these it that players and clubs from all four divisions feature equally in the stories and pictures which doesn't happen too often in current magazines (and on this blog :( ..), anyway I shall be posting some of the best stuff soon, enjoy :)

The Top End

After Chelsea's shock win over Man Utd it's got a little bit closer.
Realistically only 5 teams in with a shout of "Champions?" league football next season, and probably only 2 to stand a chance of the title.
For me it's still Man U's to lose and the only questions are can Chelsea get up to 2nd? and will Tottenham catch Man City for 4th.

1 Man Utd 28 +35 60
2 Arsenal 27 +30 56
3 Man City 28 +19 50
4 Chelsea 27 +25 48
5 Tottenham 27 +7 47

Relegation

Only ten games to go and only Man Utd are safe!
My pre-season predictions were Blackpool, Wigan and Sunderland and they are all still in with a shout, Sunderland would need a disastrous run-in but as I hate Steve Bruce with a passion I'm hoping :)
Hopefully my three favourite managers (Holloway, McCarthy and McLeish) can stay up but not at the expense of the Hammers.
I'd settle for Wigan, West Brom and Blackburn now?

Pick any 3 from these (Played - Goal Diff - Points)
06 Liverpool 28 +1 39
07 Bolton 28 +1 37
08 Sunderland 28 -2 37
09 Newcastle 28 +4 36
10 Stoke 28 -3 34
11 Everton 27 -1 33
12 Aston Villa 28 -12 33
13 Fulham 28 0 32
14 Blackburn 28 -11 32
15 Blackpool 28 -13 32
16 Birmingham 26 -10 30
17 West Brom 28 -17 29
18 Wolves 28 -15 28
19 West Ham 28 -16 28
20 Wigan 28 -22 27