The Football.....

[SpokeyDokey]

What a fantastic goalkeeping display by City's "dodgy keeper" Cabbellerro this afternoon in the penalty shoot out to win the League Cup!!

Having said that, Mignolet went the right way for every City penalty and almost kept a couple out, he was Liverpool's man of the match in normal play and kept them in it. Sterling ran him a close second for the Liverpool MOTM award, he stunk the place out and nearly lost City the game. One consolation for Liverpool is that they must still be laughing all the way to the bank after getting £50M for the self obsessed waster.

I thought LFC deserved the match tbh - much hungrier in the closing stages of normal time and all of extra time.

Sterling was way over-priced imo.

 

[Roadhump]

I thought LFC deserved the match tbh - much hungrier in the closing stages of normal time and all of extra time.

Sterling was way over-priced imo.

I sort of agree with you about the merits of each side today. I thought Liverpool worked their nuts off but City had more class. However, they seemed a bit complacent and if Liverpool had snatched it, they couldn't have complained. It would have been more a case of City losing than Liverpool winning though because they really should have made more of their chances. Sterling was woeful, why he wasn't hooked is beyond me, but then what do I know?

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Spuds fans must be pretty excited about their match tomorrow night.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Spuds fans must be pretty excited about their match tomorrow night.

Let us hope we can do Leicester a big favour. Spurs are the one team I fear most at the moment, the Hammers will need to roll their sleeves up and dig in to get a result.

 

[Dec66]

Everton, this season, have played much better than they did tonight and lost.

Which either shows that they have learned to win ugly, or that Aston Villa are utterly rank and deserve to go down.

Imagine what Everton could do with a bit of investment.

 

[MarkF]

Needing a win to move into the play offs Bradford lost at home 1-2 to bottom club Colchester, who hadn't won a game of football for t.w.e.n.t.y matches, not since beating, er.......................Bradford.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Everton, this season, have played much better than they did tonight and lost.

Which either shows that they have learned to win ugly, or that Aston Villa are utterly rank and deserve to go down.

Imagine what Everton could do with a bit of investment.

Villa are doomed.

 

[Dec66]

Villa are doomed.

"Everton vs. Aston Villa, the most played top-flight fixture in the English game"... Is a soundbite you won't be hearing from the commentator on MotD next season.

Shame, really. There's a lot of stuff going very wrong at that club.

 

[Roadhump]

Everton, this season, have played much better than they did tonight and lost.

Which either shows that they have learned to win ugly, or that Aston Villa are utterly rank and deserve to go down.

Imagine what Everton could do with a bit of investment.

I thought the Toffees looked a bit complacent last night, as if because it was "only Villa" the win was guaranteed, but as many have said we rarely needed to get out os second gear, even though Joel made a couple of good saves, Villa looked devoid of spirit and rarely troubled us.

Good to see fewer goals are being conceded now, maybe no coincidence that has coincided with the emergence of Joel in goal, and Stones being rested after his shaky period.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

What's the view on here re the (resurrected again) proposed European breakaway league?

 

[Smokin Joe]

What's the view on here re the (resurrected again) proposed European breakaway league?

If they want to go let them, on the understanding that if they ever want to come back they start below the top five tiers and work their way up.

 

[Roadhump]

What's the view on here re the (resurrected again) proposed European breakaway league?

Pure and simply greed!! A means of exploiting the people's sport for its profit potential, and destroying our traditions in the process.

Probably will happen in some form (perhaps the CL is already an example of that) one day, you only have to look at how devalued the F.A. Cup has become and the revamping of European competitions to see how money shapes the game, and not necessarily for the better. I personally guess most football fans would be more than happy with their own domestic leagues as they are, or were, 20 odd years ago (1st, 2nd, 3rd 4th divisions), their domestic cup competitions and the 3 knock out Euro competitions, but there's not enough money in that for the greedy exploiters of the game.

 

[User482]

Villa are doomed.

As a Hammer I'm sure you'll recall relegation seasons where the players quite obviously didn't give a toss: I empathise with Villa fans...

 

[Smokin Joe]

As a Hammer I'm sure you'll recall relegation seasons where the players quite obviously didn't give a toss: I empathise with Villa fans...

Avram Grant's spell in charge comes to mind. Nothing worse than paying good money to see a bunch of mercenaries who are just going through the motions.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My biggest downer on the 'breakaway' is that as a supporter of one of the clubs involved I would lose all the friendly rivalries I have with fans of quite a few clubs who would not be involved.

Whilst it is always great to come up against top Euro teams in the CL it doesn't have the same emotional involvement as getting stuck into the Gooners or Spuds.

A thumbs down for me.