Football

[Stromboli1]

bye bye Barca.

[Stromboli1]

UCL semi-final draw:

 

Real Madrid x Man City

Atletico Madrid x Bayern Munich

[Michael*]

No awkward date with Pep for Man City just yet, then. It's the best available draw from City's perspective, but to be fair, it's probably the best draw for Real Madrid too. I can't imagine that they would have relished facing Bayern or, considering their recent dogfights, Atletico over two legs either.

[Stromboli1]

Anyone but Real Madrid.

[Michael*]

La Liga being blown wide open again might give City a slight advantage there, perhaps subject to what happens over the next fortnight or so and whether or not Madrid are still fighting on two fronts.

 

You have to wonder what Guardiola would do if Bayern reached the Champions League final and met a City team incapable of finishing in the Premier League top four. Play himself in goal, probably.

[Stromboli1]

bye bye Villa.

[Syria]

I think City has a good chance against Real. They seem very strong lately and they played great at Chelsea on Saturday. They are no Wolfsburg anyway, it's gonna be a lot more difficult for Real imo.

Also wtf is Barca doing!?

[Stromboli1]

Barca had the La Liga title on lock until a week ago. 

 

If Tottenham wins today they'll only be 5 points back of LC. LC's last 4 games on their schedule are brutal. 

[Michael*]

This Barca side looks to be out on its feet at the moment. Not a bad performance by any means, but when there's fatigue in the legs, the cutting edge up front is always the first thing to disappear. Now it's anybody's league, really. I don't see any of the three contenders winning all five remaining matches.

 

I expect Roy Hodgson would have been following the latest chapter of the Jamie Vardy 'fairytale' with a modicum of concern. Apart from anything else, we’ve already got that angle covered in the England squad with Wayne Rooney.

 

When players stop diving, cheating and appealing for decisions that, like Vardy, they're well aware they don’t deserve, criticise referees by all means. Between that and lovely old Robbie Savage, a national broadcaster no less, advising Norwich's players to intimidate and make the most of every contact to try and wangle a penalty after the referee (correctly) awarded one to us in the first half, it really goes to show what impossible jobs the likes of Jon Moss have these days.

[Stromboli1]

Tottenham won, it's now a 5 point lead for Leicester City. I still think Tottenham wins the EPL if they win out.

 

Leicester has Swansea, @ManU, Everton, and @Chelsea left.

 

Tottenham has West Brom, @Chelsea, Southampton, and @Newcastle left.

[Michael*]

The Spurs forward line will get all the plaudits after that mauling, but seriously, how did Alderweireld not make the Player of the Year shortlist?

[Stromboli1]

Well it looks like Barca broke out of their funk.

[Frederick]

So presumably we'll be renaming this thread Frederick's Sky Bet Championship Emporium imminently?  

[Syria]

Suarez is on fire! Some of those penalties were given way too easy tho

[Michael*]

On 21/04/2016 at 9:53 PM, Frederick said:

So presumably we'll be renaming this thread Frederick's Sky Bet Championship Emporium imminently?  

 

If it's all the same Fred, I'll hedge for a few more weeks on the potential new thread title, as I could still find myself inhabiting that particular Emporium by then.

 

I've probably seen about a dozen promotions and relegations while following my club, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that football supporters will forgive a multitude of quality-related sins. But when a player admits that he wasn’t really that committed and, by extension, not that bothered about results, it doesn't just speak volumes about their lack of pride or ambition in their own job, it's also an insult to the folks who pay north of £40 to watch it every other week. That the likes of Lescott seem unable or unwilling to grasp such things only goes to show how detached from reality they must be. Hopefully, Villa now put a decent coach in place (i.e. not Eric Black), boot out the big time charlies who've been stealing a wage, promote the best of the youngsters and acquire a few decent summer signings.

[Frederick]

22 hours ago, Michael* said:

 

If it's all the same Fred, I'll hedge for a few more weeks on the potential new thread title, as I could still find myself inhabiting that particular Emporium by then.

 

I've probably seen about a dozen promotions and relegations while following my club, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that football supporters will forgive a multitude of quality-related sins. But when a player admits that he wasn’t really that committed and, by extension, not that bothered about results, it doesn't just speak volumes about their lack of pride or ambition in their own job, it's also an insult to the folks who pay north of £40 to watch it every other week. That the likes of Lescott seem unable or unwilling to grasp such things only goes to show how detached from reality they must be. Hopefully, Villa now put a decent coach in place (i.e. not Eric Black), boot out the big time charlies who've been stealing a wage, promote the best of the youngsters and acquire a few decent summer signings.

 

Maybe, like West Indian cricket in the late 90s, there should be serious suggestions put forward about just altogether stopping operations for a few years, at least until Randy's tarot card reader can negotiate a safe sale with the next wacky with a wallet. Then, after a stringent parole hearing, we can perhaps slowly reintegrate ourselves back into the sporting community. Like Aldershot.  

[Stromboli1]

LC has the title on lock. I can't believe everything has gone their way this year. 

[Michael*]

It wouldn’t be Spurs without that trademark Spursy element, although in fairness, it was never really theirs to lose. I'd be lying if I said I cared for Leicester's style of play or some of the characters in their squad, but ultimately, when it's down to you to seize the points and you do it more than everyone else, you're the champions and deserving of everything that brings.

[Michael*]

Tuned in last night as a neutral hoping for a good game. Not quite sure how City pulled it off, but they managed to isolate Aguero, concede the midfield and look vulnerable on the break, all at the same time. That certainly takes some doing.

[Michael*]

For four consecutive seasons now, we've walked the exact same path. Start the season calamitously, the manager is sacked, a new one parachutes in and, by hook or by crook, drags us to safety. At various points along the way we look completely doomed, obituaries are written and then torn up when we pull away from danger at the eleventh hour. Unfortunately for many of us, this club is infectious, rarely through quality but through passion and effort, bravery and stubbornness. One of these days, we might actually get it together and become a half decent, stable Premier League side, like I vaguely remember us being for about half an hour at the start of the decade. Perhaps if we're really lucky, we'll look back on next season's campaign and recall just how bloody uneventful it all was.