OzzieMandias

Nope, just ban people who use religion to cause trouble. Surely asking for the assistance of God is an attempt to cheat? Even if a blatant appeal for divine assistance does not contravene the laws of the game, it's certainly mixing football and religion.

Those players who make a sign of the cross when they come on the field -- ban the bastards!

always get the impression with that that it's become vicious in an attempt to legitimise itself, as stupid as that sounds southampton - pompey the same, like they're out to prove how much they hate each other instead of actually wanting to win a football match & bragging rights Hmm. Yeah, maybe. I don't know much about the south coast one, but I've lived in north London. There I think loyalties are somehow a bit more diffuse just because of the kind of place it is. In Newcastle, pretty much everyone is black and white. In north London, people come from all over the shop, and football rivalries become less visible in the multiculti confusion. But they're serious games.

At least with Scholes playing there'll be one Manc on the park.

Sporting - Benfica has a something of a class struggle element to it, but also a vaguely trad vs supposedly cool sort of vibe, too.

Remember thinking David Dunn was going to be the next big thing after that. Was a fucking awful game. IIRC they missed a pen late in normal time but missed and it went to ET which made it even worse. Yeah, I dimly recall something of the sort. It was a truly shite game, memorable only for depressing things, which I've obviously tried not to think about much since.

Man Utd = twats Man City = cunts Come on you twats!

It probably doesn't make it into the top 3 derbies in Britain, nevermind the world. What would you say the top 3 in Britain are? 1. Old Firm 2. Tyne and Wear 3. ???? I know must of us would put our derby above the Old Firm derby and so would I, but for the fact that the old firm derbies are the only real bearing on who wins a trophy in Sctoland. Arse vs Spurs is pretty serious.

What's that about? Well there was a scare about an injury he had, but he managed to shake it off.

I've got bad memories of mid-November midweek games against Blackburn. Crap League Cup game in 1998, went right through dreary extra time, us eventually losing on pens. Shearer missed one of them. As his shot went wide, some guy behind me let out a deep sigh and said, "What's happening with this team?" There was a kind of hopeless atmosphere. Complete opposite of right now, in other words. Time to banish that particular ghost. I used to have a sort of grudging respect for Allardyce but now I just think he's a cunt. Never liked Blackburn. Feel well up for it. And I'm guessing our current run has some legs in it yet. In short: Optimism! Howay the lads!

And nothing for the rest of the world? I might be wrong but I don't know another place where religion influences professional football to the degree it does in Glasgow. Get back to me when you've figured out the difference between religion and politics.

In the last few days there have been at least half a dozen stories or blog items praising Andy Carroll on the Guardian. This is the latest: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/nov/09/andy-carroll-newcastle-england

Yep. Highly confused fuss, at that.

And nothing for the rest of the world?

What a load of bilge. a) It's not even a majority of Celtic supporters doing this. Just a few people with a banner. b) What's "religion" got to do with it? Anyway, I don't agree with what the banner says, but I'm quite attached to the notion of free speech.

Joey Barton's thinly veiled "pick me" plea: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/nov/08/joey-barton-fabio-capello-andy-carroll

Guardian poll: Should Capello pick Carroll for England? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poll/2010/nov/08/andy-carroll-england-fabio-capello Currently 83.1% say yes.

Fair comment.

Great point about the celebration. You cant buy passion like the Big Sho. You just know how much it means to him. The opposite, as you correctly point out, of Balotelli.

Can't see he's done much wrong for about 18 months now. The current direction has us at fifth in the Premier League. We've got a great young manager, a team that looks ready to die for the cause, and some very promising up-and-coming players. It could all be so very much worse, and to me it feels better at the moment than it has done since, well... since the retirement of Bobby, probably. If Ashley was to take all the flack for relegation, he should get at least some of the credit for how well we've bounced back from it.

They're like the polar opposite of us at the moment. Big-name full-of-shit manager, overpriced mercenaries, negative tactics... I can't imagine any of their players celebrating with the heart of Shola after putting one in past the mackems.

Man U and Arsenal have also made their contribution, tbf. I wonder whether the "big four" is breaking up, or simply being reconfigured. It'll take a new shape once these new UEFA financial rules settle in, and then it won't even be possible a club to buy themselves in the way City are currently doing.

I'm not having that.Liam Gallagher supports them. Another black mark against them.