brummie

What I don't really understand - and this is about ALL football fans, not Newcastle fans - is why supporters go so happily into "self flagellation" mode, turning on each other, pointing the finger, "you're a kneejerker", "you're a happy clapper", "you're not the right sort of supporter" - basically, all these things boil down to "you don't agree with me, so there's clearly something wrong with you". Someone made a point further up this thread about what do people expect from fans the way the game is these days, and they're absolutely fucking bang on the money. It strikes me that now, when agents constantly agitate for moves for their players, when clubs shaft supporters left, right and centre, but expect unquestioned support back, when the needs of Sky and Murdoch's pernicious empire outrank all other concerns, when players spout loyalty one day then, lured by money, walk away with as much concern as you or I would exhibit when choosing Starbucks ahead of Costa (something which we see even from "born and bred" fan players nowadays), when we're asked to pay the highest ticket prices in Europe but to shut up, sit down, and don't cause any nuisance, when we're asked to keep on coming week after week despite our clubs - often big, historic clubs - having absolutely ZERO chance of winning the league, when the concept of "building" something is pointless as as soon as you get a decent player, along will come Man City or some other bunch of classless fucking arrivistes waving their money to take your player at will, well, when you have all that, it strikes me that there is easily enough to moan about to make complaining about other supporters a bit low rent. Incidentally, what on earth is "impatient" in the context of football, and more so in the context of a club who have won the square root of fuck all for decades now? It sounds to me like one of those new "suits all purposes" insults that gets thrown at football supporters by idiotic columnists (cretins like Rod Liddle) - stop being so impatient, shut up, pay for your season ticket and keep the bandwagon rolling. After all, what right do you have to expect something back in return?

Rio-Cocker is a shit player. He lacks football intelligence: passes to late and his passing skills are a disgrace. He tends to give the ball away in bad positions, or looses the ball when the team is in counterattack, either through a shit pass or because he runs with the ball too long. I'll sum him up in six words for you Tenacious tackler, shit footballer, can't pass.

I *love* Tommy, I wish we'd taken him back. Also got a fair bit of that Brumme German hybrid accent left. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/9404086.stm Interview clip halfway down. Quality.

Unhappy.

Making the EL a two leg knockout competition would be brilliant. I'd watch Liverpool or Everton or whoever regardless if I thought there was really something to play for in these matches. The EL format seems to be built on an idea that the TV money will be maximised. This is clearly not happening, as the figures involved are miniscule prior to the last 8 or so, but the way UEFA see it as some sort of junior CL from which teams aspire to graduate is rooted in a fantasy world. I'm probably ranting, but I fucking hate everyone involved in football these days. FIFA with their corrupt apparatchiks, UEFA with their fucking cluelessness and hypocrisy (176 quid CL final tickets, FFS), the Premier League and their kowtowing to whoever shows them the money, the clubs for their disgusting financial recklessness and self interest, the players for their stomach churning lack of loyalty and misplaced sense of entitlement, the money grabbing, parasitic agents, the whole fucking lot of it. Even non league potential heroes are absolute cunts *looks at Crawley* these days. Football really is like the banking industry. They fuck us over, cream it in, give the very least they can get away with, and we just carry on supporting it, grinning like a bunch of witless morons who will put up with anything.

One of the names mentioned was Villa, they have less chance than us of reaching Europe. I'd also add that I can't believe any player on the planet really aspires to playing in the Europa League. "Oooh, the glamour, I get to play against FC Titwank (Albania) on a Thursday night in front of 21,000". Don't get me wrong, they should do, but managers, directors and (largely) fans don't give a s*** about it these days, it is hard to believe the players do. Don't diss FC Titwank, they have won the Albanian league 39 times in a row. I think players see the EL as a shopping window. I genuinely don't. I appreciate that it is hard for a Barcelona fan to get their head around this (*wink*) but you have to experience the Europa League as a fan to fully understand the sheer, crashing, depressing pointlessness of it. Most decent players don't even play in it - we used to give the likes of Isaiah Osbourne and Moustafa Salifou a run out in it, and we're hardly Arsenal when it comes to squad rotation. it's since they brought in the stupid league element. was much better with a 2-legged knockout. They should have just left it as the UEFA Cup, both in format and name. Even the league stages aren't a proper "league", as you don't play each of the other teams both home and away. It really is pointless. Such a shame. You do since it turned into Europa League. No you don't. Yes you do. I watched all of Rosenborgs games this season. Post retracted. It is still fucking pointless, though.

One of the names mentioned was Villa, they have less chance than us of reaching Europe. I'd also add that I can't believe any player on the planet really aspires to playing in the Europa League. "Oooh, the glamour, I get to play against FC Titwank (Albania) on a Thursday night in front of 21,000". Don't get me wrong, they should do, but managers, directors and (largely) fans don't give a s*** about it these days, it is hard to believe the players do. Don't diss FC Titwank, they have won the Albanian league 39 times in a row. I think players see the EL as a shopping window. I genuinely don't. I appreciate that it is hard for a Barcelona fan to get their head around this (*wink*) but you have to experience the Europa League as a fan to fully understand the sheer, crashing, depressing pointlessness of it. Most decent players don't even play in it - we used to give the likes of Isaiah Osbourne and Moustafa Salifou a run out in it, and we're hardly Arsenal when it comes to squad rotation. UEFA as much as anyone to blame for the sorry state of the competition. Just make it straight two leg knock out FFS. Really, really annoys me. I'd say UEFA are absolutely entirely to blame. I agree on the knock out thing. Mind you, I'm a traditionalist, I loathe all this "Champions" League bollocks, which includes teams who finished fourth in their league, and till last year, Liverpool, who haven't been domestic "Champions" for two entire decades. The whole thing is a depressing charade trotted out for television networks, and symbolises everything which is wrong with the modern game. The predictability of it all just renders it entirely meaningless. There really is a limit to how many times I want to watch Chelsea - Barcelona or Man United - Roma before i throw the telly out of the window.

One of the names mentioned was Villa, they have less chance than us of reaching Europe. I'd also add that I can't believe any player on the planet really aspires to playing in the Europa League. "Oooh, the glamour, I get to play against FC Titwank (Albania) on a Thursday night in front of 21,000". Don't get me wrong, they should do, but managers, directors and (largely) fans don't give a s*** about it these days, it is hard to believe the players do. Don't diss FC Titwank, they have won the Albanian league 39 times in a row. I think players see the EL as a shopping window. I genuinely don't. I appreciate that it is hard for a Barcelona fan to get their head around this (*wink*) but you have to experience the Europa League as a fan to fully understand the sheer, crashing, depressing pointlessness of it. Most decent players don't even play in it - we used to give the likes of Isaiah Osbourne and Moustafa Salifou a run out in it, and we're hardly Arsenal when it comes to squad rotation. it's since they brought in the stupid league element. was much better with a 2-legged knockout. They should have just left it as the UEFA Cup, both in format and name. Even the league stages aren't a proper "league", as you don't play each of the other teams both home and away. It really is pointless. Such a shame.

One of the names mentioned was Villa, they have less chance than us of reaching Europe. I'd also add that I can't believe any player on the planet really aspires to playing in the Europa League. "Oooh, the glamour, I get to play against FC Titwank (Albania) on a Thursday night in front of 21,000". Don't get me wrong, they should do, but managers, directors and (largely) fans don't give a s*** about it these days, it is hard to believe the players do. Don't diss FC Titwank, they have won the Albanian league 39 times in a row. I think players see the EL as a shopping window. I genuinely don't. I appreciate that it is hard for a Barcelona fan to get their head around this (*wink*) but you have to experience the Europa League as a fan to fully understand the sheer, crashing, depressing pointlessness of it. Most decent players don't even play in it - we used to give the likes of Isaiah Osbourne and Moustafa Salifou a run out in it, and we're hardly Arsenal when it comes to squad rotation.

£35k That's €2m-ish a year, isn't it? If those are net wages (always get confused if PL wages are net or gross) Real Madrid's and Barça's starting left backs aren't on much more. (Marcelo's reportedly on €2m net/year, Abidal reportedly on €2,5m net/year). Wages over here are quoted net. Same as in Spain then. LB isn't a big ticket position unless you're Ashley Cole and crash your car if you're only paid 50k, so I don't think José Enrique can't get significantly more. See post above.

Sorry, I meant gross, like the rest of us plebs (possibly the only thing they have in common with us). Before tax. Tis late. Beers taken. Etc etc.

£35k That's €2m-ish a year, isn't it? If those are net wages (always get confused if PL wages are net or gross) Real Madrid's and Barça's starting left backs aren't on much more. (Marcelo's reportedly on €2m net/year, Abidal reportedly on €2,5m net/year). Wages over here are quoted net.

One of the names mentioned was Villa, they have less chance than us of reaching Europe. I'd also add that I can't believe any player on the planet really aspires to playing in the Europa League. "Oooh, the glamour, I get to play against FC Titwank (Albania) on a Thursday night in front of 21,000". Don't get me wrong, they should do, but managers, directors and (largely) fans don't give a shit about it these days, it is hard to believe the players do.

It was interesting to see Arsenal win tonight, but absolutely nothing will take the shine off, or outclass, Spurs' magnificent win over Milan last night.

Oh, and Mike Parry is a cunt.

The only way in which i could imagine Alan Brazil making a positive contribution to breakfast in any way shape or form would be if a family of hungry lions were tucking into his lifeless, bloated corpse. Early in the day. His constant references to people at *insert name of wanky corporate body here* "really looking after us" the night before / slavering about expensive golf courses he's played at / witless fellating of the City and all it stands for when they get that shitheap from Barclays Capital on to do the financial news / persistent belief that calling Ronnie Irani "Chicken" is amusing all make me want to pull my fucking ears off. Ronnie Irani - I would say he's the most desperately unintelligent person I've ever heard on the radio, but Darren Gough makes him look like Stephen Fry by comparison.

I was pissed, so were my housemates who were egging me on, it was a wind up, "go on, ring Night Owls, make some shit up!" - that kind of thing.

The insidious American term "assist" which has crept into the game over the last ten years.

He was very soothing with me when I rang up in 1988 to tell him I had moved to the city as a student ("From your accent, I can tell you're not from the north east, am I right?") and had been placed in a house in Jesmond with five predatory homosexual students who were making my life hell. I was exceptionally drunk.

Anyone spotted this beauty yet? http://rideyourpimp.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ireland_51.jpg

Ah, thank you. Bizarrely, I was going to say "And i bet the Boro "legend" is Bernie Slaven".

This "legends" thing - I've no idea what it is. I presume it's a radio show, but the only radio show i ever remember listening to when I lived up there was Night Owls with Alan Robson, so I assume it wasn't around then, I take it the premise is that a "legend" of each club represents said club in an on-air discussion which makes Darren Gough and Adrian Durham on Tawk Spawt sound like Frost / Nixon. Is this correct? If so, who is this Micky Horseshit character, and under which criteria does he qualify as a "legend"? Oh, hang on, the only other Legends thing I can remember about the north east was a bar down by Monument Metro, but that was the late 80s, so I assume it is nothing to do with that.

He's a very good player coming forward, he reminds me of John Gidman (obscure reference), but he's highly questionable defensively.

All clubs are selling clubs at some point, which is why the term is a nonsense. Man United when Real Madrid come looking for Ronaldo? Off he goes. Spurs with Berbatov when Man United come? Off he goes. Any club in the top flight when Man City come and start waving insane money at their best players? Off they go.

he wouldn't have done that in the Prem Wayne Routledge is the dictionary definition of "really good in the Championship, nothing like good enough in the top flight"