Exiled in Texas

What does that involve? Officials going to the next Man Utd games with contemplative expressions, turning to each other and going "Hmm.... I think he's onto something, you know..."? :-[

I love how Fergie thinks that a "strong referee" is one that favours Man U. In fact he got a strong referee who was willing to make the ballsie call to award a Penalty which would probably decide the game. He says he want's an unbiased referee, and then trys to bias the process, and the referee, to call the game in his favour. The FA/PL needs to act on his outburst and suspect him for a couple of games - he has a suspended sentance hanging over him too from previous outbursts.

Karma's a Bitch!!! Maybe the Ref last night was working on the principle that Rooney wasn't playing because he was suspended so therefore there was no-one for Luiz to foul. haha - at least Chelsea had the sense to take off Luiz when it was getting frantic and he had a yellow. Bet Fergie wishes he had thought of that with Vidic. Karma

Nice Giggs article. Giggsy would never have booted the owl!!

What's the difference between saying "I didn't see the incident, and I didn't see the full extent of the incident". Either way, the referee is saying that he didn't have enough information available to make the same decision he would have made had he known more. I'd like to see referees have 24 window to review any incidents and then say "My on-field ruling was given based on the view of the incident that I had, but had I been able to base my decision on the additional information available to me, I would have acted differently". Which is the same as saying "i didn't see it......FA over to you"

The Keeper Gordon seems over priced, and has been benched a lot recently.

MA: We only offer five and half year deals MA: Six and a Half ..... no problem

It's all about Heroes and Villans. Americans already have their Heroes and Villans for the sports that they know. They have favourite teams, fav players, teams they hate and players they hate. Thats true for their football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf and Nascar. That's what makes any sport interesting. There is a reason why NFL Fantasy Football has increased interest and viewership in NFL games not featuring "your team". It's because you now have a rooting interest. Same for footy fans elsewhere in the world. We have invested in our own rooting interests. That's why it's hard to watch any sport that doesn't feature teams that you know, or without players that you know. It's not necessarily about the quality of the game, but what level of attachment you have to the teams/players. If you could take any NFL game - remove all team logos, players names and personal commentry.....it would not be anywhere near as interesting as the same game played by real teams/players etc. Sport pays you back based on the amount of time/effort/loyalty that you have invested in a team/game. Without that connection to the game you are missing out on the emotion that makes a sport anything more than a bunch of people running around in a muddy field. And that means football too - whichever flavour is your personal cup of tea.

Perhaps they will start offering contracts with Barca UK FC....located in Surrey? No reason why they could not offer contracts to promising players from either country.

What were they called before? A pass.

Could be the perfect back up for our strikers.....good enough to score goals, but happy enough just to be involved in the first team and get some sub run-outs without demanding a transfer for lack of playing time.

Aliadiere would just be here as insurance. Insurance in case Best's hammy is really harped, and incase we loose another striker. Nothing wrong with insurance.

Have you all learned nothing....

Ouch - Literacy and rate

I participate in a referee discussion group that often disects incidents from a LOTG perpective. So the question was raised about "the tackle" and the first response was My response was two fold... First - Had the same tackle been made by Paul "we know he cannot tackle-cheeky scamp" Scholes then would you feel the same? Second - (going back to LOTG) it's a 50-50 ball with both players approaching the ball head on "collision course". Player 1 gets to the ball slightly ahead of player 2 and wins all ball. BUT his momentum carries him through into player 2. Does the fact that he wins all ball, negate the contact? Or is it deemed reckless play because he only won the ball because he failed to control his forward progress into the opposition? Still not sure on the tackle.....if I had seen that tackle in my youth/Recreation games then I think I would have produced a Yellow Card for the foul. But that is because with kids playing "it's all about player safety" both real and perceived, and letting that one go in at U16B game would only invite retaliation at the next tackle opportunity. In premier league games - the standard of play and expectations of the players regarding physical play is different so I'm still unsure if that was reckless or not.

Northumberland Police have today launched a betting scandal inquiry after the alleged injury to Leon Best was caused by teammate Steve Harper, after several large bets were placed regarding Leon Best finishing as newcastle's top scorer. A spokesperson for Northumberland Police said their enquiry was not related to Interpols review of Rosicky's actions, and that they were very happy with Rosicky's performance at St James's Park. [/joke]

Anyone for a game of blow-football?

Justice for the"X" is my thing :'( Doesn't beat my effort :D

love the body language of the two Arsenal players in that photo.

What a screamer of a goal from Tiote!!! What a way to complete the comeback and grab a point. Stunning strike!!

Cool......off to watch ESPN3

It's not really a case of Brit's slagging off Americans as plastic sports fans, and certainly not when it comes to supporting their own sports. Yeah, a bit about how someone suggests following a different team to pick a winner, but the issue is with all Band Wagoners, rather than with any specific country. For anyone starting out following a new sport/league - there has to be a "way in" something that draws you to a specific team. For most people who don't have a personal introduction from someone already attached to a team, the "way in" is through the media coverage. What teams are winning, on TV, getting talked about etc. So most people who start out following someone are only exposed to the top teams. Who would start following La Liga and pick Gejon, Hercules or Zaragoza? Or Serie A and pick Lecce, Catania or Chievo? No offense to any of those teams - if you live there then you probably love them, but they get very small exposure outside of their local markets. So while you may decide not to be a bandwagon fan and pick Barca/Real or Inter/Milan you might well pick a team with "character" such as Roma, Napoli, Lazio or Villareal, Valencia or Espanyol as you see/hear about them more. The thing about plastic fans (imo) is that they have shallow roots that cannot/do not survive droughts and they jump to the next team on the up. Devon based Man U fans who remember Gordon McQueen or Garry Birtles....then fine. But people who were fans of one team and then jumped to whoever is Premier league champion.....That's the true issue.

Same for the TX Rangers.....never in a milion years saw them making the World Series, let alone winning it. Play-offs YES but getting into the WS...NO way. Edit - and I go to Ranger games for entertainment not for any passion. Just not my game. Prefer soccer and hockey.

Highly doubtful that anyone would value Carroll at 35M in the summer. So instead of selling him for £35M we sell him for £20-25 (or somesuch). Is that really good business sense to "loan" Carroll for 4 months for £10-15M?

I'm always amazed how people say that they were born/raised as a XXXXX fan, but they they say that they are now fans of this other team. I know part of it is due to relocation in such a large country (and schedules where your team may only play another team every 3-4 years), so they switch to the local team. Only a few teams seem to have transcendent fans that stick with their team through thick and thin. I think the "cult" teams are Green Bay Packers, Red Sox, the Cubs (although that's almost for comedy sake) and maybe the Steelers.