While the red card would have come as a bit of a surprise to most, in all fairness to Messi, "violent outburst at the end of a cup final against Bilbao" was the only thing missing from his Maradona tribute tryptich.

Arriverderci to his Franklyness. He furrowed his brow, mistakenly barked his commands in pitch perfect Latin instead of English and German, held mostly fruitless grudges and obsessed over Declan Rice to levels that would have had any average citizen sent to an asylum; but still, an enjoyable tenure overall. Chelsea definitely have shades of being the big bucks version of latter day Wenger era Arsenal, good for a monthly slap around of some lesser light team and a cup run or two, but softies at their core. Tuchel obviously infinitely more credentialed, but not exactly a day at the beach, so combined with the club's penchant for scummy antics, I predict the whispery media briefings against him begin in about a week or two.    

On 25/01/2021 at 12:48 PM, Frederick said:

Arriverderci to his Franklyness. He furrowed his brow, mistakenly barked his commands in pitch perfect Latin instead of English and German, held mostly fruitless grudges and obsessed over Declan Rice to levels that would have had any average citizen sent to an asylum; but still, an enjoyable tenure overall. Chelsea definitely have shades of being the big bucks version of latter day Wenger era Arsenal, good for a monthly slap around of some lesser light team and a cup run or two, but softies at their core. Tuchel obviously infinitely more credentialed, but not exactly a day at the beach, so combined with the club's penchant for scummy antics, I predict the whispery media briefings against him begin in about a week or two.    

 

Classic "surprising but not really surprising" scenario. People saying Lampard was the embodiment of Chelsea (which is a bit harsh), although I suspect he only took the job because he believed that the transfer embargo would offer some cushioning, if not a completely free hit, in his first season at the club. This year, it was only to be expected that he'd be judged by Abramovich's usual standards and clearly, shuffling all those new players together proved too much for a man with few managerial achievements ("this one time in the Championship I beat Marcelo Bielsa" doesn't count) to his name.

 

As for Tuchel, while Newcastle fans will be incredulous that Roman has nabbed someone off their next manager wishlist, I should think that the British media will have a very understated, rational response to an overhyped Englishman being replaced by a successful German with a top class track record.

Good to see some Will Grigg drama on January deadline day again, get in the Netflix cameras before the price ends up pipping Neymar's!

On 2/1/2021 at 8:26 PM, Frederick said:

Good to see some Will Grigg drama on January deadline day again, get in the Netflix cameras before the price ends up pipping Neymar's!

 

Highlight of the season so far for me along with the exit of Graham, although unfortunately Danny's aspirations of finding first team football may have been knackered by the cancellation of the Northern League.

 

Still though, the stage is surely set now for a Grigg-Graham Netflix spin-off series, perhaps even a feature-length buddy comedy adventure.

Speaking of cringe comedy box sets, there's nothing like another delightful episode of "Newcastle" to help get us all through the lockdown.

On 11/10/2015 at 3:56 PM, Frederick said:

Moyes' next few jobs: Celtic, Scotland, West Brom, Indian Super League.

Obviously I meant to say PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern and Man City.

On 2/21/2021 at 2:09 PM, Frederick said:

Obviously I meant to say PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern and Man City.

 

The first goal for J-Lingz in roughly 12,000 games, almost certainly guaranteeing his unconditional inclusion in England squads for at least the next four years.

Sampaoli for Marseille? "Out of the frying pan, into the fire" springs to mind, for all concerned.

On 11/10/2015 at 3:56 PM, Frederick said:

Moyes' next few jobs: Celtic, Scotland, West Brom, Indian Super League.

"No, my child, you misread the prophecy. I speak not of Moyes, but Lambert."

15 hours ago, Frederick said:

"No, my child, you misread the prophecy. I speak not of Moyes, but Lambert."

 

Couldn't have seen Lambert overseeing an Old Farm derby anytime soon unless the FA Cup draw were to oblige him, perhaps playing for goalless draws in Old Firm games will appeal instead.

 

Evidently, Old Royston squandered the last real money invested by Ipswich's ownership in the early 2010s, ever since then the club has been allowed to slowly go to seed. Micky Mac was the thin paper over the cracks that held things together for a while, but presumably there was only so much League One stodge the fans could take before patience snapped.

Death, taxes, #CW9.

Pizza Cups are obviously of secondary importance, but it's a lot nicer to win them than lose them and we know from experience that losing can never be a guarantee of getting heads cleared for a promotion push. Commiserations to Tranmere who I thought were perhaps the real winners as an overachieving side from League Two, we seem to have found a knack for not playing particularly well and getting results.

1 hour ago, Michael* said:

Pizza Cups are obviously of secondary importance, but it's a lot nicer to win them than lose them and we know from experience that losing can never be a guarantee of getting heads cleared for a promotion push. Commiserations to Tranmere who I thought were perhaps the real winners as an overachieving side from League Two, we seem to have found a knack for not playing particularly well and getting results.

Congratulations, Michael! Truly an oven ready performance from LJ's lads and hey, at least we can say we got battered by the eventual winners! 

On 3/15/2021 at 3:44 PM, Frederick said:

Congratulations, Michael! Truly an oven ready performance from LJ's lads and hey, at least we can say we got battered by the eventual winners! 

 

Much obliged, Fred. I thought the game itself was a bit like watching the Premier League at half the speed, particularly with Grant Leadbitter moving around the midfield more slowly than the statue of Bob Stokoe outside our ground, but equally the assist from McGeady was worthy of winning anything.

 

They do say though, that winning becomes a habit and I will admit to having more faith in the consistency of this side than in Jack Ross's. Admittedly that's putting a microscope on our last 10-15 games compared to a full season, but the hope is that we might have finally turned a corner.

My original plan was to come up with a few different conclusions for the weekend's football, but there's really only one that matters. Alisson's moustache is truly awe inspiring.

On 4/4/2021 at 12:13 PM, Michael* said:

My original plan was to come up with a few different conclusions for the weekend's football, but there's really only one that matters. Alisson's moustache is truly awe inspiring.

Looks like a pretty boy actor seeking credibility by playing a racist cop in a miserable little film that's a big hit at Sundance but which fails to gain Oscar traction (incidentally, such a film would be more entertaining than anything said or written about the iNjUsTiCe of dear wittle Trenty Boo not making the England squad).

Fair to say the lucky 'tache didn't have the desired effect in midweek. Heavy metal football was made to look more like stoner doom by Real Madrid, with even the much maligned Vinicius thrashing away like Sunset Strip in the eighties.

 

I wouldn't consider the tie to be over just yet, though. Despite their ropey form as of late, one can never quite count out Liverpool at Anfield.

On 3/20/2021 at 7:51 PM, Michael* said:

They do say though, that winning becomes a habit and I will admit to having more faith in the consistency of this side than in Jack Ross's.

 

Well, the less said about this one, the better. We have a few weeks to get over it, solve some issues and find some form to hopefully take into the play-offs.

Watching the same dozen or so teams play each other four times a year in a league where competition is negligible sounds like the sort of thing that would get very dull, very quickly. Spare a thought for Scottish football fans then, I suppose.