Football Focus

[Sandperson]

I thought the white shirt with no sponsorship looked very smart the other night....apropo of nothing.

[Jah Lush]

Keef Wrote:

>

> I'm no fan of the club, but it is nice to see Joe

> Cole back, and playing some great stuff too. Has

> to be good for England!

I'm huge a fan of Joe Cole. Think he's a terrific player. Love to see him play more in the hole behind the forward(s), which I think he will under Ancellotti's diamond formation and hopefully for England too. It's definitely his most natural position. If only he played for Spurs. :'(

[mockney piers]

". I do however feel that he is a very stubborn man, and will cut off his nose to spite his face at times."

you've just described your archetypical Spanish male there, so no shock really.

Loving the lady, is that ms perry or does everyone look the same these days?

Quids, sorry if the game the other night gave you your cold, but you realise you now have no choice but to go to every home game, and don't be washing those lucky pants neither.

[Sandperson]

A good game all in all. We were a lot more impressive than I thought we might be and deserved a point but not complaining about the result it was going to be one goal either way. A couple of dodgy decisions by the ref but swings and roundabouts really. Hopefully this will give us a bit of confidence for the next few games!

[Keef]

Was good to see Drogba get fouled, and the ref waving it away. Boy who cried wolf one too many times.

[????]

...back to the drawing board for us, all over them by all accounts

[Mick Mac]

And Celtic are garbage....but you all knew that.

Quids - you feeling any more positive about "Arsenal - nah" winning the title?

[????]

Mick - i'm going to bite. I think I publicly changed my views on Arsenal's chances back in early September (as you know) and indeed have them at 7ish which suggests I did too. I hope they do it too as Chelsea are up there with 'Wall and Spuds in my old school hatred of other teams, and my old man supported Arsenal.

Now....talk us through that other certainty...RIP.....*runsaway

[Mick Mac]

Oooohhh.

You are so defensive. And can't take a bit of ribbing. Fancy resorting to that low blow.

[matthew123]

Title is quite open this season but Arsenal will have their inevitable injury problems to slow them down such is the price of having a team stacked with the physically weak.

Watched some of the Arsenal game last night, and Wolves have obviously narrowed their pitch to make up for having a shite manager, but why don't they go the whole hog and water log it as well?

[Mick Mac]

Wolves have obviously narrowed their pitch to make up for having a shite manager

And what can Liverpool do to make up for having a shite manager?

I was thinking the other day that Steve Nicol could be the answer as Rafa's replacement? Successful in the US and a Liverpool man from the successful days (long time ago now..)

[matthew123]

No Mick, Tony Mowbray is your Manager not ours! ;-)

As for Steve Nicol, every ex-teammate has an anecdote about him being a dimwit so that is a non runner.

[????]

Success in the US probably equates to "Got Dulwich Under 11s to the Semi-final of Southwark and Lewisham Cup" on your CV

[matthew123]

If LA Galazy win the MLS Playoffs prepare for an American reporter to ask David Beckham, 'What is it like to be World Champions..'

[Mick Mac]

I have it on very good authority that Stevie boy is on his way to Anfield, right now, with a banner that says "My management mantra has always been - throw caution to the wind".

Or there's always Kevin Keegan.

[matthew123]

Mick, you are jumping on the media frenzied bandwagon if you think Liverpool are going to dispense with Rafa Benitez mid-season. Be interesting to see line-up tomorrow night but I suspect it will be very attack minded - expect to see some quality football especially from the back! If you like a bet put it on Liverpool to hit between 4 and 7 goals (don't forget my 6/7 goal Hull prediction before you chuckle!)

[kpc]

If you like a bet, the draw at 4/1 looks good. Blues are no pushovers, have a conceded less goals than Liverpool (Johnson has been superb at the heart of defence) and will undoubtedly set out a defensive 4-5-1 with Carsley replacing Ferguson. Five of the last six league fixtures have been draws (from memory) and Rafa has never beaten Birmingham in the Premiership. Now back to reality.

[matthew123]

Well let's hope Rafa treats it like a Cup match then ;-)

I think the win you are referring to included the memorable diving header by Harry Kewell at the Kop end in a game that Robbie Savage gave the Blues the lead after about 2 mins?

[Atila Reincarnate]

Not usually known foir my support or love of Fergusmoan, but he did have a point about the free kick, which never should have been given (as usual Cashley Hole making a prick of himself), and goal shouldn't have stood, but if the boot had've been on the other foot, namley had this been played at Old Trafford and had it been Man Ure rather than Chavski at home, we all know what the out come would have been.

As for The Arsenal, nice result 2nd in the table with a long way to go in the season. Not bad for a side filled with the "phsyically weak" eh Matthew123. I like reading educated and fully rounded post like yours, they make me smile.

[Keef]

Arsenal playing good Arsenal football, but you must admit, there are questions over their staying powwer over the season.

Will be cheering for them towards the end of the season though, as I'd rather they be champs than ManU/Chelsea. Alas, Liverpool will not be in the chase.

[Sandperson]

Chelsea all the way this year. They are a class act and the two people you don't want to start getting on form, Ballack and Deco, are having great seasons so far.

We were three bad decisions away from a 1-0 win but as Atila says, if it had been the other way round then there'd have been no compliants.

[Atila Reincarnate]

I think that refs should be held accountable for their errors, the powers that be are quick to admonish managers for speaking out against poor refereeing decisions, as they have every right to, but are slow to acknowledge that refs can have poor games which do influence the outcome of a game. Refs are human, and I accept we all make mistakes, but I think there is a real case for reviewing their performances especially as they are now professionals, allegedly.

[kpc]

matthew123 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well let's hope Rafa treats it like a Cup match

> then ;-)

>

> I think the win you are referring to included the

> memorable diving header by Harry Kewell at the Kop

> end in a game that Robbie Savage gave the Blues

> the lead after about 2 mins?

I'll be honest, I can't remember who scored. Seem to be forgetting too much recently as it's only 4 draws in the past 6 league fixtures - we won both games that season - apologies. Hope you weren't referring to the 7-0 when you say Rafa should treat it like a Cup match.

[Mick Mac]

Keef Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Arsenal playing good Arsenal football, but you

> must admit, there are questions over their staying

> powwer over the season.

>

I'm hoping Arsenal will have more staying power this season - they could drop a gear and still win most matches. Even the Invincibles did not play the quality of football they play at the moment.

I think Song is the best replacement to date for Vierra and he, Arshavin, Fabregas and Vaermalen will be a very strong spine for the whole season.

[Sandperson]

I have to agree Keef, I should have qualified my Chelsea prediction with the caveat that they are going to be pushed hard by a quality looking Arsenal side if they stay on track. They've come back from a shaky start to be real contenders. I just think that Chelsea are more likely to grind out the results if their backs are against the wall.