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there's a frog in my snake oil
Woo, sweet goal from Lennon just now (helped by Baird being a bit hapless, but we'll take it ). Whole Spurs midfield is roaring along at the mo. (And little Len probably comes under 'most improved', despite Parker totally stepping up. That one-two for Bale's goal against QPR showed off a more 'team' side to his play that's been evident in recent games).

If anything Mod's probably in the sparsest run of form out of any of 'em . A Jan signing of a solid 'bigger' striker like Damio, and some luck on defensive injuries, and we'd look like a very classy outfit indeed
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The People's Republic of Clogher
Interesting fact - Chris Baird's parents thought about giving him the middle name 'Hapless' but changed their mind standing at the Christening font.

Christopher Championship Class Baird is a bit classier. They thought.
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there's a frog in my snake oil
Holy sh*t-in-my-pants. I totally cursed us. That was our most torrid half of football this season, no doubt. Fulham totally spanked us all over the park. Miracle they didn't equalise (23 strikes at goal all told). I could be wrong, but I think at one point about 6 of their players kicked the ball at about 8 of ours huddled in the goal mouth (coz that's where they'd pushed us), for about a minute. And in the middle of it all Kyle Walker seemed to scuttle around with the ball in his hands, like Gollum hiding the ring.

Baird also took a classy free kick. Surreal.



The transfer window's about to open and, while there's no reason for there to be any big business done, there's already a couple of deals that look to have been done. Well, close enough for them to be talked about, anyway.

Gary Cahill will move to Chelsea, if he can bring himself to accept what Chelsea are offering to pay him.

Henry to Arsenal. Sounds like a bad idea to me. I've not looked at Arsenal's fixtures and I hope that he's just cover, but with the Africa Cup of Nations coming up, I'd think he's guaranteed some game time. The only thing that might save his (and Arsenal's) blushes is the state of defending this year in the Premier League.

What are you expecting/hoping to see in the transfer window? What do you think of the season so far?

I'm still teasing Arsenal friends by telling them (as pompously and knowingly as possible for maximum irritation) that if Wenger had taken my advice at the end of the season (yep, that's right, he should listen to ME! ) Ba and Parker would be Gunners and the whole team would be a lot better off. Hell, they might even still be living with the false hope of winning the league. If Football Manager has taught me anything, it's that I'm the greatest manager who's ever lived.

What about the talk of Darren Bent to Liverpool? Personally, I'd stick with Andy Carroll (and if you want to see inflation at work, think about how much Ł35m sounded when they bought him eleven months ago and how much more it sounds now) and change the way the team plays, so he's the focus. With Suarez out for (currently) 9 games, that's 9 starts to prove he's worth the shirt. If he can't do it, sell him in the summer and write it off as a mistake.

I like Darren Bent and, were it not for the Ł35m they'd spent on Carroll, I'd say he was perfect for Liverpool atm. With the amount of chances they miss, either he'd be raking in the goals or, when he's out of form or having a bad day, they'd be no worse off than they are now, IMO.

United will do nothing, I'm sure. We really need midfielders and a proper right back. A first choice one that doesn't break every 3 games would be great and I'd also like to see us look at someone like Leighton Baines, a good left back who adds to the attack, puts in crosses and will give Evra competition for his place.

Not sure what's happening with Pogba and Morrison. I can only think of three reasons they've not played over Christmas (given the opposition.) They're not good enough, Fergie wants them to know that when he plays them, it's because he thinks they're good enough and not just because we need bodies in midfield or, finally, as they can leave for very little in the summer (and haven't signed a new contract) he's trying to kill interest in them. It's probably none of those things or a combination of all of them. Whatever the case, I'd like to know.

City look as if they'll spend again this January. Mancini has already said that they need another midfielder and this was before an African Cup Of Nations that the Ivory Coast will be hoping lasts until late February. There's talk of Pato coming in. Personally I don't think it'll happen, at least, not in January. Not unless they get a very good deal on a player they were already looking at. Now that Ancelotti has gone to PSG, Pato to PSG could be a goer for January.



Rooney and United have already come out to deny it, but there's backpage stories in tomorrows papers which say that United are ready to sell Rooney. While I don't want him to go, am I crazy for really not caring? Last time there was talk of him leaving I didn't think it'd be good, but again, wasn't overly concerned. Now, I'm concerned even less. I wouldn't necessarily want to see him go in this transfer window, but with the money we'd get and the wages, we could get players (or just one player) who we really need. We could really do with getting rid of the Glazers, though.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Fergie thinks that Rooney has pee'd on the proverbial chips once too often but the squad is thin enough as it is for anything to happen this transfer window. Probably.

Still, the Ginja Ninja is coming back at the grand old age of 57! That'll ward off the advancing Citeh.

In other news - Norn Iron have appointed an enthusiastic man-manager by the name of O'Neill who's been making a name for himself coaching unheralded players into reaching heights hitherto thought to be beyond them. Sadly, it's Michael not Martin.

OK, a young coach seemed to be working for Wales until Gary Speed's sad death but Speed played most of his career at the highest level and was held in high esteem by almost everyone. Michael O'Neill played for Hibs.

We shall see. It's got to be am improvement over Worthy and seeing as the only other two interviewed were Dowie and the new manager of some ragtag bunch of semi-pros in Australia, Jim 'Elmer Fudd' Magilton I can see why O'Neill was chosen.

Dave Jones was mentioned - I'd have gone for him, but only after swallowing my pride and approaching Lawrie Sanchez.



Firstly, before anything else, am I the only one who doesn't think it's brilliant that Scholes has returned? Embarrassing, that's what I call it. I know Fergie says there's no value in the market, especially in January, but is there really not one midfielder available for, say Ł5m-Ł7m and upto Ł40k a week, who isn't better than a 37 year old Paul Scholes who looked poor for most of the last two seasons, hasn't played football since the last 15 minutes at the end of the CL final and retired in the summer? No one? Is our scouting network so focused on young potential 15 year olds that we can't find one who could do a job? Even if he comes back in, plays and scores in every game until the end of the season, it's still embarrassing that United have done this. I'm now leaning even more towards the "Fergie's trying to keep Morrison and Pogba underwraps to lessen interest in them" theory of mine. Of course, it could be that he doesn't trust them (yet) but thinks they'll play next season, season after but, surely they're a better bet than Scholes, otherwise why are they still at United and why are we trying to extent their contracts?

I was also depressed by how obvious it is that almost half of the first team now, would've only been squad players2 or 3 years ago. Of course, that's the way things go sometimes, players age and/or don't recover from injury, but it indicates either how little money we have or how blind/bias Fergie has become. Whilst the latter is believable, surely it's the former.

Another "was I the only one" (sorry about this) but wasn't it obvious that United would sit back, get sloppy and allow City back in the game? The only surprise for me was that it happened so quickly. If you only thought about football through the medium of 'pundit' you'd have thought City were in for a reversal of the 6-1. I'd also suggest that these guys should play Football Manager, as it might open their thinking a little bit. At the very least, Gareth Southgate might've been aware that, if you have the players and are a man down, a 5-2-2 with wingbacks, playing on the counter is a very good option. Maybe it's the lack of use of wingbacks in English football (and the prominence of 4-4-2 during his time playing and managing) that's the reason he's not aware of something so obvious?

Rio has become especially guilty of slack play over the last season or two, and I liked Phil Jones giving as good as he got when Rio tried to blame him for his blind pass which gave the ball away... Again..., but the midfield were playing balls that made it look as if they were training City players to intercept. Lots of telegraphed, floated passes/crosses, flicks and backheels. I can only think that the reason Fergie chews so hard is because otherwise he'd have no teeth left from grinding them. Training this week should concentrate on controling the ball. That's it. Next week maybe they can move onto passing.

BTW, for those who don't know, we won.

I'm afraid I know nothing about Michael O'Neill, other than it's the name of one of my friends uncles. But as he's not phoned me telling me his uncle is the new manager of Norn Iron, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not him. Though why you've gone for him when Steve Bruce has just become available I'll never know. BTW, Steve Bruce to QPR? Unless they've got someone else in mind, I can only think of Mark Hughes as the highest profile, but willing to take QPR with money, manager available.

As far as employed PL managers go, I can only see Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert as options and I think both would rather stay where they are (both geographically and table position) than risk QPR. That said, I think both, especially Paul Lambert, would be excellent choices for that club.



The People's Republic of Clogher
People are praising the Scholes decision? You've gotta stop visiting Man U fan sites mate - Pravda would be more reliable.

The guy was a wonderful, wonderful player in his day but he'd been on the slide for 3 or 4 years before retiring last season. How many important league games will he play? I was going to say very few but lord knows what's in Fergie's head.

He's still better than Gibson, although I'd say that all three retired pros (four if you count Townsend) in the ITV studio yesterday are still better than Gibson, including 74 year old Monkey Heed.

With Henry back at Arsenal it seems to be something of a fad.

The word on the street (well, the Guardian podcast anyway ) is that Henry has declined dramatically from his final season first time around at Arsenal and even from his 'will this do?' Barca days. Of course, he might just be tailoring his game to fit the lowly MLS (where even Robbie Keane can score, and he's nearly 50!) but he's a 34 year old who's pace was once a major asset to his game and has been in declining physical form since his late 20s.

Still better than Chamakh though.



Of course, he might just be tailoring his game to fit the lowly MLS (where even Robbie Keane can score, and he's nearly 50!)
This made my day. :-D Thank you!



In what was a complete surprise to absolutely no one, Messi picked up the Ballon d'Or. I know he's the best, but I'd still have Ronaldo over him.

Anyway, just in case you've not seen them, here's a link to FIFA's three best goals of the year.
http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskas...512/index.html

Great team goal for Messi's, and I think the little dink over the keeper is what gets him in the top three, but am I alone in thinking he scored better individual goals last year?

No surprise with this one, either, but I'm completely happy to see it there. What I'm sure Gary Neville would call a PS3 goal. He's going to be in the same team as Messi, for Christ's sake!?!?

Was the 2012 Goal Of The Year scored this weekend?



It reminds me a bit of the Giggs goal. Not as good, of course, but that's not to take anything away from it.

&feature=fvst

Just for your viewing pleasure here's, probably, the most famous goal scored by the greatest of the modern day strikers.




The People's Republic of Clogher
Ronaldo better than Tommy Tynan? A plague on both your houses!

Saw him at one of last season's Grand Prix and he really is a big lad now he's stopped playing.

Talking of supersized footballers, Colin Clarke had the biggest arse (no jokes about Neil Warnock here.... Poor Colin ) I've ever seen on a football pitch. He made Kevin Davies look like Kylie.

Now there's a disturbing thought...



Are you talking about the Brazilian GP (I think it was) when his son said he was bored and asked when they were going home before the GP had even begun? Cracked me up.

Anyone (outside of France) seen this? I'm afraid I wasn't aware of it at all, but it's classic Cantona.

Cantona presidency bid 'a PR stunt'
Former Manchester United star Eric Cantona's apparent desire to run in this year's presidential election in France was a publicity stunt to raise awareness of the plight of the poor in France.

The former United striker placed an advert in newspaper Liberation asking for signatures from the 500 elected officials he would need to start a bid.

Cantona claimed he had sent a letter to French mayors describing himself as an "engaged citizen" and asking for their support, the left-leaning newspaper said.

But the newspaper's deputy editor Paul Quinio told a French TV channel that it was all a move to publicise the French housing crisis, which affects 10 million people in the country.

"He isn't looking for signatures to be a candidate for the presidency, but to pass on the message of the Abbé Pierre foundation in support of better housing policy, and to make housing, which is a priority for French people, a priority for the presidential candidates," said Quinio.

Cantona's letter had referred to the serious social problems facing France.

"This engagement obliges me to speak, more earnestly than usual, but also with a keen sense of my responsibility, at a time when our country faces difficult choices which will be decisive for its future," said the letter, quoted in Liberation.

In his letter, Cantona also denounced the limited opportunities for young people in France and social injustices which were "too numerous, too violent, too systematic", the newspaper said.

It is not the first time Cantona, who earned large sums as a footballer from sponsorship by brands like L'Oreal and Nike, has tried to draw public attention to social inequality.

In December 2010, he called on French savers to stage a nationwide bank run by withdrawing their money from financial institutions because of their role in triggering the global financial crisis.

Panned by the media as a flop, almost no one in France heeded the much-hyped call.
Reuters
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/100120...-pr-stunt.html



Hey, Brod. You have a friend.
Aye, I welcome him with open arms. It's good to see us hang with the top 4 again, even though I don't think we'll make CL this season. Oh my gawd, imagine if prime Henry and Van Persie played in the same team. I hope to God that Mr. Glass doesn't get hmself injured again.



In what was a complete surprise to absolutely no one, Messi picked up the Ballon d'Or. I know he's the best, but I'd still have Ronaldo over him.
I don't know. Messi can't really carry a team. There's a big difference in performance when he plays for Barcelona and when he plays for the Argentinian national team. When he plays for Argentina, he's not surrounded by players who really feel what the other is going to do and the almost automatic way of playing isn't present and his performance is affected by that very much.

I know a bit of that is due to his position, but you'd expect an all-time great like him to do better than that when playing for his national squad. And then I reminisce of a guy like Zidane, who always outshined his
team mates and truly carried his national squad to brilliant performances. Ever since he left, France has been utter garbage. And that is what world-class is about to me: not only being top notch yourself, but also enabling your team mates to play on that higher level.

Personally, I'd have given it to Iniesta. Guy is a master of subtleties and Spain wouldn't of won the WC without him. I know that was last year, but w/e.



This is the big decision with the Ballon d'Or. You either pick the best player (which is what they've done for the last 3 years) or you pick the most important player. Usually they pick 'the best player' which is why defensive players hardly ever win. The team you play for also has an effect, as does how you/your team performs in a WC/EC year.

I'd pick Ronaldo over Messi because I believe in the team. To get the best out of him you have to play Messi and make him the most important player in the team for him to perform at his best. This is what Pep has done and it's why Messi isn't rested. Ronaldo may make the team about him, but you don't have to. You can drop or rest him without lessening his performance the next time he plays. He's also a far more direct player, which is how I like teams to play. That probably comes from being both English and a United fan.

I'm not sure that you can compare how much Messi and Zidane raised the game of their respective national teams, in respect of their club team because Zidane was the best player in a team of stars, whereas Messi is the main man with a team built around him. Pep's lucky that those other great players are prepared to play second fiddle (in terms of priority) to Messi as other players may've decided to go and shine elsewhere. There again, I suppose that when you're winning almost every competition you enter, it's a lot easier. Plus many of them came through together and have been with the club for most of their lives, so there's that emotional tie, too.



The People's Republic of Clogher
From F365. Priceless.



EDIT - If there's still anyone in the dark as to why Warnock gets called 'Colin' by myself and others, an anagram of his name is Colin W@nker. Nuff said.



Six Nations - England to seek help from Gary Neville
New England coach Stuart Lancaster has asked former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville to help inspire his team for the Six Nations.

Lancaster wants the former defender-turned-TV-pundit, to give his team a speech about what it means to represent England on the international stage.

Neville won 85 caps during his England career, and Lancaster feels that he can help restore the reputation of the squad that was left in tatters after a rugby World Cup campaign that was disastrous both on and off the pitch.

Neville is one of a number of people who Lancaster has asked to speak at the team's training camp in Leeds.

England cricket managing director Hugh Morris, British Cycling’s performance director, Dave Brailsford, England rugby league players Jamie Peacock and Kevin Sinfield, and Simon Brown, a former army corporal who was shot in the face while serving in Iraq, have also all been asked to speak.

“These people know all about what it means to represent their country, what it means to fight for their country,” Lancaster said in explaining his decision.

"We want to create a sense of what a privileged place it is to be in elite sport. Cycling and cricket have clearly done something well, haven’t they?”
Eurosport
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/170120...y-neville.html



The People's Republic of Clogher
Good Lord, I don't see Gurreh fitting in well with all those egg-chasers...

I bought my stepdad The Neviller's autobiography for Christmas. He says it's decent enough.

For a footballer's scribblings, anyway.