Dr Spectrum

If they wanted to play for Nigeria, they would have said no when they were called up for England squads as I believe Anichebe did...

but they can be called up by another country if they have not played for England's first team They can, yes, but why are they bothering? How many players are going to turn down the chance to play for England one day just to play against Uganda? thats what i thought, but my (aston villa fan) mate said he's a bit thick Well Agbonlahor was named in that top 50 English players thingy a little while back and I'm of the opinion Onuoha has the ability to play for the England first team if he could get someone to sellatape his knee back together, I'm sure niether of them will accept the callup. Better not do anyway - Last player we had fook off to the Cup of Nations ended up winning it, got delayed by the Victory celebrations, fell out with Keegan as a result, never got back in the side and was sold for a fraction of his worth. Not a fan!

but they can be called up by another country if they have not played for England's first team They can, yes, but why are they bothering? How many players are going to turn down the chance to play for England one day just to play against Uganda?

Huh. Onuoha and Agbonlahor are England players

Distin is walking anyway. Samaras will be off home (Not got the bottle to play in theis league unfortunately) Barton could end up at Newcastle, Everton, Villa Corradi is fucking shite and will be off to Italy to play for someone shite. Richards to Chelsea. Isaksson to anyone that will give him a game (And he'll be ace) Trabelsi to disappear to someone with a fat wallet Beasley back to PSV altho no-one will notice Vassel to whoever gets promoted (not Birmingham) Dunne to whoever makes a silly offer of far more than he's worth. Happy days :'( PS: I thought Liverpool have signed Mascherano permemantly from MSI, thats the reason there's no Premier League charge for them for playing him... Has Trabelsi been any good for you lot? Yes. Played out of position on the right wing for most of the season (odd game at Right Wing Back) but he's fucking class, and there has been no sign of his dodgy knee/heart. If you're wondering about whether or not you missed the boat last summer, well yeah, you did. I'm sure he'll be off in the summer tho, he signed a 1+2 year contract and I can't see him taking up the option to stay (if he has a choice). I can see him at Portsmouth.

Distin is walking anyway. Samaras will be off home (Not got the bottle to play in theis league unfortunately) Barton could end up at Newcastle, Everton, Villa Corradi is fucking shite and will be off to Italy to play for someone shite. Richards to Chelsea. Isaksson to anyone that will give him a game (And he'll be ace) Trabelsi to disappear to someone with a fat wallet Beasley back to PSV altho no-one will notice Vassel to whoever gets promoted (not Birmingham) Dunne to whoever makes a silly offer of far more than he's worth. Happy days :'( PS: I thought Liverpool have signed Mascherano permemantly from MSI, thats the reason there's no Premier League charge for them for playing him...

Liverpool are not going to get relegated you know.. Niether are Charlton :'(

...not really. He's not scored a Premiership goal against someone other than Aston Villa since February 2, 2006 (Souness' last game). Mind you, we are shit and he's barely had a shot all season. He was pretty good last season alongside Andy Cole tho but I think that had more to do with Cole - who I also think would be a pretty good shout for most underrated player. Most have a bit of a downer on him because of this "needs 5 chances" reputation but I reckon he's a pretty good footballer.

Carragher suffers because of his apparent versatilty - spent far too long playing at Full Back (Where he was pretty shite IMO) and he's got this can-play-anywhere tag. Shame, I think he's quality as a centre half but he seems to be getting in England squads as a jack of all trades type and being given fill in roles at full back and in midfield for some nonsensical reason. I'm firmly in the Terry is shite for England camp - certainly doesn't deserve to be in the team IMO (would have gladly fucked him off for Ledley King after Euro2004 but now his knee has gone all gimpy). I dont see why Ferdinand and Carragher shouldn't be the first choice pairing on a trial basis - Carragher has been as good as anyone at centre half for the past couple of years and Ferdinand has never let England down.

Eh? Most of their young players are nothing special. If you can manage to bring even one single player through from the academy to first team regular, then that must surely be considered a success. I don't even think you need that - Even if you shift the players who don't quite make it - We got decent money for the likes of Bradley Wright-Phillips and Lee Croft - the Academy pays for itself and you've lost nothing. The multiple England internationals are a bonus

I think any player who gets cheered by the opposition whenever they get injured or fuck up must qualify - I'd have to say Gary Neville. Not only is he a bit of a twat, but he's also been rediculously succesful despite having no obvious talent (In the eyes of the biased). Liverpool fans gave him plenty the other day, and one of the highlights of my time supporting City was when we did them in the derby - Spent the first half hour booing the life out of him - until he fucked up and gifted the Goat a goal, spent the next half hour cheering his every touch and chanting his name, happier times

How is the coefficient remaining high a good thing? Yeah, you have a chance of nicking the last UEFA spot but as long as there are 4 champions league places the big 4 are going to get in again and again and again......and again...and thats just going to mean they're continually getting their transfer budgets subsidised by the rediculous money they get for competing, keeping them way ahead of everyone in real terms. If English clubs got beat and the coefficient comes down - Fair enough you might be watching a lot more of the Bill instead of Belgian policemen - but suddenly these 4 teams with rediculous budgets are competing for 3 pots of gold - its going to end in tears for one of them (Manure? ) and they'll have to sell players or gamble Leeds style (Whoops!) and happy days - everyone is one rung closer to the top of the ladder. I'd love to see that coeffecient - rot away - 3 could become 2 and 2 could become 1 - and it will be a whole lot easier to get up there once you're on an even keel financially and long european campaigns tend to hinder league campaigns...its the only way anyone other than the current top 4 are even going to win owt. So, in summary, come on the Lille.

The final countdown... 3) Ryan Giggs. Not saying he's bad (he's not, he's good) but he's been made out to be some sort of living legend over the past couple of days but to me he's not been that great for a long, long time. He's not played like Krustiano Ronaldo has this season for more than 10 years and the defining "magic" moment was getting onto 8 years ago now and in the mean time he's not been owt special(Even getting booed off at the Swamp on a regular basis a few years back). Good player who plays for a great team for a long time does not a great player make. 2) Wayne Rooney Not scored in the champions league since September 28, 2004. Goal tally this season totally shown up by the far more effective Ronaldo. Nice skills, can be spectacular but is far too quiet far too often for a player of such reputation. 1) Nemanja Vidic Great (I mean, great) in the air but once the ball drops below head height? SHITE. Especially when dragged out wide left into the space behind Evra. Totally exposed time and time again by Bellamy yesterday, jammy cunt got away with this time (Unlike when exposed by Ireland in the derby for Trabelsi to score or by Sheringham for Reo-Coker) Special non-bitter - non-Manure award goes to: Tim Cahill. I don't know why they don't just play him upfront. Shite midfielder in almost every way - cant pass, cant tackle, is a bit of a cunt, but he can make a run, jump really high and can head a ball - so he's a star? Sums up the overly TV/Highlight based nature of the modern game when such a limited player can do so well for himself just on the basis of nicking the odd goal. Glad Arteta is starting to score a load too cos he's a miles better player and deserves a lot more kudos.

We're going down

West Ham, Wigan comfortably in mid table? Newcastle, Reading, in a relegation dog fight? I read a lot of forums for a lot of different clubs and he is held in the same regard everywhere (Most consider it a good omen if he predicts they will lose because he's always wrong). I'm sure the BBC only employ him for a laugh.

I don't understand it...who is he referring to as "monkeys"? And who is "Mowgli"? Is it about Stephen Pressley and the Hearts fans who backed him?

IMO getting rid of Beckham is one of the few things McClaren has done right. Perhaps he was wrong to right him off totally and axe him from contention even for squads but he had to get him out of the team. I'm very surprised and disappointed as to how little it has taken for McClaren to backtrack. Firstly, the apparent man in waiting Lennon has yet to get a start on the right hand side (Memory serves he's played Gerrard on the right, 532, and SWP), and secondly, I've seen 2 of the 3 games Beckham has played in since his glorious comeback. First one was no more than alright (Altho he did score), second one he did absolutely fuck all and was very lucky to not be on the losing side - Didn't see the game last night but I understand he played well. I know McClaren is under pressure after some shite results/performances but he is doing himself no favours with this display of spinelessness (I really doubt that's a word!). He should be challenging him to be doing a WHOLE LOT more than he has done - not chatting shite about bouncing back, and he certainly shouldn't be saying he's putting him under pressure. He's done absolutely fuck all compared to some of the other players fighting to get an England shirt and the man you axed him for hasn't had a chance? The England manager has to make tough decisions and stick by them, not almost make tough decisions then backtrack as soon as things go wrong. Getting rid of Beckham was the right desicion IMO - but he has to do more than that (Get rid of Lampard) if he wants this side to start playing and winning. But some people don't like it and they would rather have all the big names in the England side? Sven mark 2 might as well get "I'm a shite spineless smirky cunt" tattooed across his forehead...

City got Arsenal/Blackburn away... Theres always next year :'(

Me too. The BBC team is woeful...its all too posh/boring - apart from the barely literate Ian Wright. Motson/Lawrenson annoy the fuck out of me. I know some people have trouble with prononciation but FFS Motty, its "Rooney" not "ROOOOOOONEEEEEYYYYYYY!!!!!!!". Chanel 5 team, maybe not the best in terms of analysis and whatnot but I'm not fussed about that. What matters to me is that they're fun. Colin Murray is the best football presenter on TV IMO. I think Watching him and Pat Nevin having a laugh is much more enjoyable than Lineker/Hansen/Shearer or Keys/Redknapp... John Barnes is shit tho.

Southerner thru and thru? He's from Liverpool...spent his entire playing career in the North West, and has already "managed" up here too... The detestable bit is bang on tho IMO

New Liam Brady. Not sure about the hair transplant tho.

Freddy Mercury to the rescue... Pretty ropey really. Obvious gulf in the ability of the two sets of players but considering our tactics are basically pass it to Trabelsi and hope for the best...We passed the ball well in the main but I don't think we've been particularly convincing in terms of creating chances but into the hat for the 1/4 finals, cant complain much (Plymouth at home please). ...and Ireland makes it 3...Pick that one the fuck out!!

Paul Simpson.

Great way to stand by your manager. Stand by him? I've wanted the c*** out for months. He's a f****** s**** manager, he doesn't care about my club and is a t***. He's just lucky he has this persona from his playing days that spares him from the widespread national critism he deserves. PS: Ole, Ole, indeed. Dont understand how you can call him a c*** or a t*** though. Fair enough he may not be a good enough manager but does seem like a top bloke. p.s you lot would be winning now if you had midooooooo I dont like because of a number of things: 1. He's shite. 2. Cares about England more than he cares about "this football club" 3. Not positive enough about City players unless they're in contention for England 4. Far too positive about oppostion players (Especially English players) and managers (Even that Scottish twat and his Forces of Darkness) And I don't think Mido would have made too much difference. We still wouldn't be creating chances unless Trabelsi gets it. Altho he might have done a bit more defending that corner which Hansen was going on about there. And I might have been even more pissed off if I had to read SuperMidoMan11's contribution to the match thread on a City forum

I'd sack Pearce in a flash...and our next manager is currently sat in the dugout next to him