Football 2011/2012

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

The new season starts here:

First news that Billy Davies has been sacked at Forest, and his replacement is already lined up.  It's Schteeve McLaren!

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Bollocks - Alex McLeish has resigned as manager of Bummingham Shitty.

Looks like he's going to Villa.

FUCK! Can we have McLaren instead?

[ziggy starbucks]

sky sports 2 are currently broadcasting a polo match

[rudi]

Twio managers famed for their attractive football, there. I think Forest have the better of the two, mind...

[rjd2]

For those who are interested England v Spain u21's coming up soon, should be a cracking match.

[the midnight watch baboon]

I think our first choice u21s would beat our senior team these days. (putting Wilshere, Henderson, Gus Caesar etc into U-21line up)

[Subtle Mocking]

I don't know why we didn't take more of the U21s to the World Cup. Walcott was a massive omission.

[The Duck Man]

Agreed, especially seeing as they took Shaun Wright-Fucking-Phillips. Not that any of the press would have agreed with you at the time, mind. They rumbling on about how Walcott didn't deserve it, and it was decisive work from Capello. Had he selected Adam Johnson I might have agreed, but no, SWFP. The other stupid decision was not selecting Michael Dawson from the start, but instead making our way through a series of geriatrics.

Mind you, even if we had done all that, I don't think we'd have made it any further, we were just rotten that tournament.

Although having said that, had we edged past the USA to top the group, we'd have faced Ghana and then Uruguay. Both notionally winnable.

[Subtle Mocking]

I would've been much happier with being eliminated after taking a chance giving a few young players a huge opportunity, as opposed to getting eliminated with the same team that have failed for the last 8 fucking years.

You're right about SW-P. There's obviously something wrong with a team when Ashley Cole seems to be the only one who's bothered about any of it.

[buttgammon]

To be fair to SWP, he's too tired from all of his extra-curricular political activities to play football. Who could play ninety minutes without feeling it a bit having attended an Eric Hobsbawn lecture the day before the match?

[rjd2]

I don't know why we didn't take more of the U21s to the World Cup. Walcott was a massive omission.

For the previous season he had been very hit and miss really. Most of Arsenal fans were calling for his head, its doubtful that he would made much difference really.

[The Tourist]

Agreed, especially seeing as they took Shaun Wright-Fucking-Phillips. Not that any of the press would have agreed with you at the time, mind. They rumbling on about how Walcott didn't deserve it, and it was decisive work from Capello. Had he selected Adam Johnson I might have agreed, but no, SWFP. The other stupid decision was not selecting Michael Dawson from the start, but instead making our way through a series of geriatrics.

I'm not a big Wright-Phillips fan, but I think he does offer more defensively than the other options on the right, and that was probably in Capello's thinking, especially given Glen Johnson's tendency to switch off. I still would've taken Adam Johnson, though. I can make no excuses for the central defensive merry-go-round fuck-up, however.

The new thread is exciting, by the way, like when all the new kits come out, and Aston Villa are hot on Arsenal's heels for top spot of a reset league table.

[Subtle Mocking]

There's every chance that Arsenal could be out of the CL this season. Liverpool are a threat also.

Agreed on the kits also. It's such a small thing but I still get excited for them. With that in mind, the new Barcelona and Man United kits are bloody awful, and Bolton continue to lead the Premier League with their consistently bad kits.

[thehungerartist]

Villa fans turned their noses up at McClaren and Benitez so it'll be amusing if they end up with McLeish. I hope he goes there and fucks them up good-style.

[jimmy jazz]

There's every chance that Arsenal could be out of the CL this season.

Somebody has said this every year since the Invincibles and they always finish top four. It's no less likely this year if they can get their defense settled and replace whoever leaves.

EDIT: I'd have Javi Martinez over Henderson if I were a Liverpool fan any day. What a classy player.

[Ted-Maul]

Here's next seasons (Premier League) kits -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1375998/PREMIER-LEAGUE-NEW-KIT-SPECIAL-The-strips-2011-12.html#ixzz1P5wDQK11

Evertons is typically boring traditional and not like those other poncey teams with their designs and new-fangled technologies. Boltons is absolutely hideous though.

[Subtle Mocking]

The only shirt on that page I like, and that's an unofficial one that'll never be used because of the white and navy Tottenham parallels.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Villa fans turned their noses up at McClaren and Benitez so it'll be amusing if they end up with McLeish. I hope he goes there and fucks them up good-style.

We didn't "turn our noses" up at Benitez at all.  Apparently, he wanted a massive transfer budget.

And McLaren isn't good enough.  The fact that he's having to go to Forest demonstrates that.

Having dug around a bit more, the McLeish talk is coming from newspaper speculation and punters on betfair.  The rags have got it in for the Villa board because they don't get much in the way of inside information from the club.

[chand]

I don't know why we didn't take more of the U21s to the World Cup. Walcott was a massive omission.

Strange, I appear to have wandered into last summer's thread by mistake. Help!

[The Tourist]

That red and black Man City away kit is nice. City always seem to have nice shirts these days. Some of the others are a bit nineties looking though, with the horrible fading patterns on them. I don't know why manufacturers think that's a good idea.

Good result for the under-21s. They struggled a bit early on, but got themselves back into it, and certainly weren't overrun by Spain. They could use more creativity in the final third, but hopefully we'll see that against sides who don't keep the ball as well as the Spanish.

[Subtle Mocking]

That red and black Man City away kit is nice. City always seem to have nice shirts these days. Some of the others are a bit nineties looking though, with the horrible fading patterns on them. I don't know why manufacturers think that's a good idea.

Umbro are making some really nice-looking kits recently. Nike seem to have run out of ideas completely. What the fuck is that collar about on the United home shirt?

[koeman]

And McLaren isn't good enough.  The fact that he's having to go to Forest demonstrates that.

I really hope you get McLeish after that comment.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

I really hope you get McLeish after that comment.

Ha, sorry - I sounded like a Sky 4 fan there. 

I meant that he's had to find a club in the Championship.

I'd rather have McLaren than McLeish any day; but I think he'll need to prove himself out of the Premier League limelight.

[koeman]

OK, I take it back. I like Villa, and I hope you don't get McLeish. He's gash.

[boki]

Chelsea putting hoops on their shirt when they're gonna be playing QPR in the league for the first time in over a decade - is that some kind of sports-sartorial equivalent of a winking emoticon?

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Love that Sunderland shirt, classy as fuck innit. That Chelsea away one is so laughably bad I'd probably buy it if I was a fan, it'll be cult in future.

[The Masked Unit]

Did anyone else used to spend loads of time designing football kits for imaginary teams when they were young? Is it one of those things like making pause-mix tapes which you assume only you did, but in later life found everyone did it?

[buttgammon]

Not really...

The real football geeks like myself used to simulate the FA Cup draw using lots of tiny paper strips and a big bowl before playing the more interesting ties with Subbuteo.

[rudi]

Yeah to 'gammon, no to TMU YOU BLOODY WEIRDO (as a child).

[rjd2]

Nostalgia time?


I wasn't the only person who read Match on a weekly basis and used to get annoyed if my local  newsagent ran out of stock before I got my cum stained mitts on it?