As a new day dawns for Man City’s away record, the moon makes a surprising appearance at the close of their match against the Toffees.
The FA will surely punish Barton for his excess of cheek on the pitch.
Paul Canniff
The club that is sponsored by a state airline has offered El Jefe Wenger a job for life.
I trust Jean Paul Gaultier will do a splendid job in turning out the commandante’s dress uniform.
Paul Canniff
We may be only six games into the new season but already the results give us cause to consider the fate of the EPL’s likely lads:
Tottenham
After a dizzying year under Martin Jol that nearly took the Yid Army into the Champions League — with the high of a classic derby against the poilus of Highbury and the low of the final day botulism run — fans were expecting much more at White Hart Lane. Over the summer Tottenham kept Davids and acquired Berbatov but lost Carrick to Manchester United. And the result? 17th in the table, including a right shellacking at the hands of the Scouse. Two wins in hand could in theory take them back up but their form (no away wins, GD -6) isn’t encouraging.
Wigan
Dave Whelan’s boys burst onto the scene with an opening day nail-biter against Chelsea and kept their form to finish midway in the table in their first year of promotion. Their start this year was much less flashy and one wonders what impact the sales of Nathan Ellington and Jimmy Bullard may have had.
Reading
The new Wigan. Their disciplined drive through the Championship has barely faltered, especially when they recently held the Red Devils to a draw at the Madejski Stadium.
Aston Villa
This season’s Cinderella tale, without question. After a player uprising and the humiliating departure of gaffer David O’Leary, there was genuine doubt over the future of Birmingham’s last outpost in top-flight football. But with the arrival of Martin O’Neill and the club’s purchase by financier Randy Lerner, the Villans have escaped the clutches of both the sheriffs and the Grim Reaper. Their current form is encouraging, going undefeated thus far.
Paul Canniff
Mid-way through the group stage, here is how the English sides rank, first on points and then goal difference:
Interestingly, all of the English clubs are top of their respective groups.
Paul Canniff
The Times Online reports that Everton’s Tim Cahill owns a Bugatti Veyron 16.4. Is it about time he shows up on Top Gear? Auto Trader reports,
The whole country’s gone Bugatti crazy. There are now two Veyrons in the country. And I got to sit in one of them this week. Seriously. I got to sit in it. In the drivers’ seat.
Aaaanyway… the other 253mph Veyron has been spotted in Manchester - being driven by WAG Rebekah Greenhill.
The girlfriend of Everton player Tim Cahill parked the £800,000 car in a busy Manchester street, and came back to find it surrounded by a crowd of admiring petrolheads.
Anyway, who else owns what? And who else’s girlfriend has been seen trying to park it?
Mike C.
“People who behave in an unsporting fashion should be excluded from the game,” Uefa director of communications William Gaillard told BBC Five Live.
“They have no place in the game. This is what most fans of football want.”
There is a Maple Lions derby on Sunday with Damian’s Magpies up against my Toffees. Newcastle will not want to lose in quick succession to Merseyside clubs, while Everton will want to shake off a couple of iffy performances (first against Wigan in the Prem, then Posh in Carling Cup play). Should be a good game - on Fox Sports World Canada on Sunday.
Everton are watching the fitness of center back Joseph Yobo who will be key in trying to keep tabs on Martins. Joe’s had some back problems in recent weeks. Weir will be in if Yobo can’t make it, with Stubbsy definitely out with a knee.
I wouldn’t consider Harper as necessarily a weakness, at least from what I could see in the Liverpool game. Damian may feel otherwise. Kuyt’s goal was a good one and tough to do anything about and Roeder was clearly right regarding Alonso’s specky drive, if Harper doesn’t slip it is simply a loss of possession by Liverpool.
For Newcastle, Babayaro is out but Bramble is back and Ameobi is facing a late fitness test for a hip injury.
We’ll see the 4-5-1 from Moyes again with Andy Johnson ranging free up front. Arteta, Cahill, Osman, Carsley and Neville in midfield. I would rather see Nuno Valente at left back than Gary Naysmith. Valente had a great World Cup run with Portugal but he’s had a few months rest now so get him in there. Yobo appears to be Everton’s only injury question-mark, but I’d much rather see him in there with Lescott.
Mike C.
The Beeb reveals in a Panorama documentary two alleged incidents of payments by agents to football managers.
Newell drew notoriety earlier as the first manager to make public claims about illegal payments. The timing of the Panorama program is interesting in light of the upcoming Stevens report on transfer payments.
Update: The FA is launching a probe into the allegations in the Panorama documentary.
Paul Canniff
Stambridge United, which plays way down the ladder in the Baliston Essex Olympian League, signed a sponsorship deal to advertise a book called The Referee’s a W*nker on its jerseys. Needless to say, the referees - and the league - didn’t like it much.
Damian P.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You are currently browsing the Maple Lions weblog archives for September, 2006.
Bad Behavior has blocked 74 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Comments(1)
