the footy thread

[Voodoo Billy]

Too right, 'from the heavens to the bottom of the sea'.

[Dr Cheese]

lucky tonight.

Fucking hell, we'd be better off with Laurel and Hardy in defence!

[5times]

That Toure is a liability. I don't know why all the youngsters jump around and sing his name.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjLrjrLWlrw[/youtube]

[Dr Cheese]

God Almighty that looks like Hell on Earth!

Kids eh, bless 'em.

[5times]

I went there back in the '90's with my mates. We'd get drunk and keep going 'mad fer it' a la Liam Gallagher, thinking it was funny.

[Stuart]

As a City fan I'm saying Chelsea or Liverpool will win the league, we've too many tough away games.

[5times]

Be nice to see Liverpool first and City second, just to wind up the Utd fans even more.

What do you think of City's chances of winning Ol' Big Ears?

[Voodoo Billy]

If Liverpool fail to win a Champions League place from here Brenda should go.

[Voodoo Billy]

What do you think of City's chances of winning Ol' Big Ears?

Gary Lineker is up for grabs?

[5times]

F.A cup predictions:

I expect Liverpool, City and Everton to progress. Hopefully the City and Everton games will go to replays.


I still love the FA cup. I used to long for Liverpool to reach the final in the years between 1977-1986. I'd have happily given up a couple of those leagues to win the FA cup. Those semi final defeats to Arsenal and the mancs were heartbreaking to the young 5times listening to the commentary on the radio, pacing up and down and shouting at the walls. Especially the '85 defeat against the mancs as I actually went to that match. Never have I hated Atkinson, Robson, et al as much as that night.

[Dr Cheese]

It's all a bit ho-hum now though isn't it. When I was a kid I remember the TV build up for the final would start about mid-morning, they'd have cameras on the team buses and everything, it really was a special event. These days no-one seems to give much of a shite any more.

[5times]

The build up used to be fantastic. I used to envy crappy teams like Ipswich, Coventry, Man Utd, etc, because they were in the F.A cup final. You used to be gutted when your team got knocked out of the cup. Now, I don't think I'd be too bothered if Arsenal win on Sunday. 4th or above is everything now.

The last cup final I truly got excited about was '86. '89 wasn't the same because of what had just happened. '92 against Sunderland was crap. It had gone then.

The worst thing they ever did was playing the semi finals at Wembley. That is so stupid. Part of the magic of the cup was the semi final at a neutral venue.

[Dr Cheese]

For teams in the Prem, mid-table or lower, the be all and end all is staying in the Prem, all the others are more concerned about finishing as high up as possible due to the money it now generates. For a lot of teams the cup competitions just seem to be an inconvenient pain in the arse, apart from the Holy Grail of the Champions League of course.

[Voodoo Billy]

FA cup day was the highlight of the football year, I think the obsession that the media (Murdoch's Sky especially) have with the Premier and Champions Leagues have to a large degree cheapened the value of the cup. It's incredible the levels to which the game in manipulated by the media these days, changing time slots to suit broadcasters, even the transfer deadline day is a bloody circus being orchestrated by that clown Jim White on Sky. And since when was second in the league more of an achievement than actually winning the FA cup, even third and fourth are lauded as some holy grail (not bitter, honest!) whilst the FA cup is viewed as a sideshow. It's all a media-led con we've all bought into, the start of each season is seen as either managing to stay up from season to season or managing to qualify for a competition whose final is almost 22 months away. Doing away with the old European Cup, UEFA and Cup Winners Cups started all this shite.
Maybe the FA cup winners should be given a Champions League place as well but that's not really the point as winning it should stand as a huge achievement on its own.

Sorry, rant over.

[5times]

It's right. Finishing 2nd in the league is now more important than winning the FA cup which is ridiculous. 2nd, 3rd, or 4th now means champions league money, better players and more chance of success down the line, whereas the cup is just seen as a distraction. I would give the cup winners a champions league place and balls to the team that comes fourth. Or bring back the old format of European cup for the champions, UEFA cup for the runners-up and 3rd and 4th, and the old cup winners cup. Miles better.