Football Focus

[Keef]

I think Newcastle will just pick up enough points to keep safe, then spend huge in the summer.

[ladida]

What about Dulwich Hamlet?

[Annasfield]

"Not long back from the Arse, having watched us give Toon a lesson in attacking football. Joey Barton was made to feel very welcome with chants of "you're gonna get fu*ked in the showers" and "you're supposed to be in jail". We also teased the visiting fans with chants of "bring back Sam Allardyce" and ironic chants of "there's only one Kevin Keegan". "

Great place to take your kids then :-S

[atila the gooner]

kids should be tucked up in bed at that time of night, and Barton got everything he deserved What is this excuse for a human being doing on a football pitch? Bang the animal up as he so clearly deserves nothing else!!!

[atila the gooner]

A certian Mr Owen was very disappointing yesterday evening, he did not stop berating the linesmen and the ref until he was rightly booked by a pissed off Mr Riley. He was told god knows how many times to button it, but couldn't do so. It must be frustrating to have gone from warming the bench at Real to joing a mediocre team like Newcastle. Clearly a move based on financial considerations and feck all else.

[Keef]

I feel genuinely sorry for him, he scored pretty much everytime he got a game at Real, but still wasn't glamorous enough to get a starting place. He then got talked in to joining Newcastle by another striker who should have gone to a better club in 96. Now even Keegan feels sorry for him because he's getting no service! I still rate him, but he's the type of forward that needs feeding with decent balls from midfield.

[Jah Lush]

Couldn't agree with you more Keef. If fit and provided with the right service Michael Owen remains a class act on and off the pitch.

[atila the gooner]

If he is as wonderful as you say, why aren't clubs falling over themselves to sign him?

[Jah Lush]

Because unfortunately over the last couple of years he has been injury prone hasn't been fit enough to command a regular place in any starting line-up.

[atila the gooner]

In that case, that would suggest to me that he isn't the player he was and the smart money has stayed away from him.

[Annasfield]

"There's only one Michael Owen....." - Don't you remember France 98??? (Can't believe that was 10 years ago ::o)

If only he stay away from injury, imagine him and Torres up front. There's a lot of LFC supporters that would be mightily pissed off if he ever returned.

[Keef]

I wouldn't, I'd like him back.

[atila the gooner]

Interesting results last night, Chavski and Man Ure wins were expected. Pool losing means they can kiss any hope of winning the title goodbye. City's rubbish away form continued and surprised nobody. Vassell will never be a clinical finisher as long as he's got a hole in his bottom. Evertons result suggests that the bookies giving Spurs 50-1 to finish top 4 is about right. Looks like the men of Everton are more likely, at this stage, to be in ECL next season than Pool.

[Keef]

Penalty in the 90 min? I hope it was deserved. Well I guess Mockney Piers is happy but I am sure Keef and Annasfield must be p@@ssed off!

That was in another thread for some reason Ladygooner. Didn't see it, so can't comment, but I'm getting to the stage when I'm not even surprised.

Don't think Everton will finish above us, there is still a way to go. Would have liked to have seen a bit of transfer action in the window, but the way things are at the pool right now, who knows when we'll next get a player in...

Interesting story here.

Beckham left out of squad, that's just mean, he deserved at least a cameo!

[Annasfield]

Where's that thread Keef?

[Keef]

It was in a non footy related thread.

[Ladygooner]

I wondered where that post had gone!

[????]

"1-0 to the cockney boys".....

*retires from thread chanting

[atila the gooner]

Birmingham 2 v Derby 0

Blackburn 1 v Everton 2

Liverpool 2 v Sunderland 0

Man City 0 v Arsenal 3

Portsmouth 1 v CSKA Fulham 2

Reading 2 v Bolton 1

Tottenham 1 v Man Ure 3

Wigan 0 v West Ham 1

[Jah Lush]

Bye bye Defoe.

I thought Jermain Defoe was very patient in the hope of getting a regular starting slot at Spurs but he will do very well at Portsmouth and score plenty of goals. You can't blame him for leaving as he was not getting enough first team action and not getting into the latest England squad had obviously made up his mind to leave. It's a good move for him and I hope he does well.

What I am a little worried about though is we haven't got enough cover if Berbatov or Keane get injured. Darren Bent (injured at the moment) is just not good enough. He really needs to raise his game. So far he's been a complete waste of money.

[Keef]

Yeah the Bent thing is odd, he has the quality, but hasn't yet shown it... That said, he hasn't really had a chance in the new improved team, and when he was getting on the pitch the whole team were pretty dire, so he wasn't really getting the service.

[Jah Lush]

On the rare occasions Bent did get on he certainly got the service but kept fluffing his lines. When he was at Charlton he played on his own up front most of the time and did very well in a struggling side, well enough for his price tag to rise dramatically but he has a long way to go to justify the fee.

The thinking was that he would work well with Defoe but it just didn't happen for them. I'd have preferred it if Bent had gone rather than Defoe but you certainly wouldn't get anyone willing to shell out the ?16.5 million that we paid for him now. So far he has proved to be a terrible waste of money. I'd love it if he came good but I really can't see it happening for him at Spurs. I hope he proves me wrong though.

[Keef]

Give him time, he's still very young, and I think he has it in him to be a great striker... He's a proper poacher which you don't see enough anymore.

[atila the gooner]

Bent stays and Defoe goes, very, very strange. Still, I don't blame him, he's been screwed around for too long. He's a decent player, I'm sure under 'arry and big Tones wing he will flourish.

[Jah Lush]

Damn right he will. He'll get plenty of games and plenty of goals at Pompey and they'll get a very good return on their investment. I think at ?9.5 million they've got a bargain.