brummie

There were some rumours that the FA might reinstate Southampton in the FA Cup if Portsmouth go bust, probably because they've already sold the TV rights to the game. Southampton? Christ, talk about being kicked when you're down.

1. What fans ? They can't even fill their tiny shitty stadium for PL games, we get double their numbers in the division below. For me they've done nothing to help their club. 2., 3. & 4. Couldn't give a shit really. That's a really parochial, fuck-you-jack approach to fans of another club, the sort of shit you'd expect to hear from Tim Lovejoy or any other of the witless Sky media tarts who have no concept of what it is like to support an unfashionable club. Who gives a fuck if they fill their stadium or if it is a tip or not? They're fans like you and me are, and through no fault of their own their club is going to shit. I don't see the relevance of your attendances to Portsmouth's situation, either. It'd be interesting to see how many tickets they'd have had to sell to overcome 131m pounds spaffed on wages by their clueless owner and CEO over three years. Incidentally, it is quite depressing to hear that from the fan of another club which has also felt the downside of a clueless owner of late.

Porstmouth going bust would be a pisser on several counts. 1. The fans seeing their club disappear. Not good. 2. Fucking Liverpool benefitting most from the points thing. 3. Us losing the three points we've had off them. 4. Birmingham City getting a bye to the FAC Semi Finals, us doubtless drawing them, and the M40 looking like the road to Bagdhad in the first gulf war.

Incidentally, I reckon it'll be 1-1 on 90 mins, us having taken our eye off the ball and let them in with a late equaliser. I fucking hope not. I don't want to be freezing my tits off the other side of Birmingham for any longer than I have to.

Youth team product, wide player. Set up the first goal against Brighton, but got injured straight after, think he's back now. Just heard that Petrov has got a virus, so won't be playing, so that makes the Sidwell option more likely (*gulp*). I hope Delph plays. He was great against Man United until he got taken off (inexplicably), and it is always good to see Delfouneso get a chance.

I think he'll take it seriously, but he's got to rest quite a few of them, they looked shagged on Sunday. Agbonlahor looked like he'd picked up a knock, Young was limping for the last 10 minutes, and Milner looks shagged. This wouldn't surprise me. Guzan Beye - Curtis Davies - Dunne - Luke Young Downing - Sidwell - Delph - Albrighton (if he's back from injury) Carew - Delfouneso.

Just shocking that really, for a team as good as they are, with one of the bnest managers around. Those fans don't deserve that team. Except the attendance was 38,709, and there were 2000 empty seats in the Burnley end. For a 2 o'c Sunday live tv match against a shite team, in a spell of 3 matches in 8 days, two at home and one at Wembley, just over 1000 empty home seats including a batch of 500 or so in the lower left Holte where you can't actually see the pitch and don't even go on sale unless people are desperate is hardly the stuff of eternal shame.

Who is this plastic faced cunt in the purple shirt?

There's a bloke on the current series of Coach Trip who, facially, looks just like Routledge.

and brummie always laid into Reo-Coker as well which I didn't think was 100% warranted. Maybe it takes relegation and spending 6ok a week on other teams cast-offs to appreciate players values with a level head. I appreciate you all want him to do well, but honestly, trust me, he's fucking shite. You think Milner's crosses hit the first man all the time, at least he tried to get a cross in, Routledge is useless, if he can't knock it past the defender and beat him for pace, he hasn't got a fucking clue. What's more, he's got a dreadful attitude, slouches around doing nothing and hiding from the ball. When Marlon signed for you, I was quite honest in saying I tohught he'd do well at that level. Routledge won't though. He's not good enough. Sorry. As for NRC, can't pass three yards, blissfully unaware of the game going on around him, runs into brick walls. Has the first touch of a rapist. Routledge is worse, though. hmm Ah, there you go. My mistake.

A few years ago, Thierry Henry did EXACTLY the same thing against us. See if you can guess who said this at the time:

As I said, I hope it works out for him. Perhaps Hughton is getting the confidence to return in a way MON couldn't (and he has a tendency to decide he doesn't rate players as soon as he's signed them - Shorey, for example), but from what I saw of him he was really, really poor. Off on a tangent, talking of players we shipped out too early, Peter Whittingham is one I think was a mistake for us. He'll end up somewhere good soon enough.

Nope, I said he was - based on what I saw - shit, and that's going on his substitute appearances, and reserve outings (i used to, but not so much now, pop down to watch the reserves as I work a stone's throw from both the ground, and Bescot where we used to play our reserve matches for a spell). I've no idea if he'll do it for you at that level, but on a 3.5 year deal and you almost certainly going up, 2.5 of those years are going to be at a higher level. So you're saying we'll be so shit in his last year here that we'll be relegated in January already? I think you know what I'm saying, you cheeky scampster, you!

Nope, I said he was - based on what I saw - shit, and that's going on his substitute appearances, and reserve outings (i used to, but not so much now, pop down to watch the reserves as I work a stone's throw from both the ground, and Bescot where we used to play our reserve matches for a spell). I've no idea if he'll do it for you at that level, but on a 3.5 year deal and you almost certainly going up, 2.5 of those years are going to be at a higher level. Incidentally, I have no agenda with Routledge, I wish him all the best, so I'm just stating my opinion, with no malice intended towards him. Just as I was when I suggetsed Harewood would do a job in the championship, and that there was a decent player there somewhere.

He also never mentioned some of the ridiculous offside decisions given against us by the same linesman, and the failure to spot Alan Lee elbowing Stephen Warnock in the face. He's funny, Neil Warnock, but he really is a daft twat at times.

That was a question on 'Eggheads' this week. That should go in the pet hates thread. That fucking program. The way they can never just ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION. Q: Which is the fastest animal on the planet? EH: 'Well, some might say it is the leopard, which after all has a top speed of 50 mph, whereas others might say it is the tiger, which it isn't as its flat paws preclude fast movement, therefore I will say it is the cheetah" *smug facial expression*

That was a question on 'Eggheads' this week.

It is the FA Cup which has a hoodoo over us. Won it seven times, but not since 1957. Since then we've won five league cups, a championship and a European Cup, but just the one FA Cup final (which I eradicated from my mind before I'd even left the stadium). On the law of averages, surely it can't evade us for much longer? Surely eventually we must win it? Even when there were four balls left in the draw today, and we had a one in three chance of getting Birmingham - which would be perfectly poised for us to bollocks it up - things went for us. We've even beaten Chelsea once this season. In fact, of the PL sides left in it, we haven't lost to any of them this season. I'm trying my best to convince myself.

Except he hasn't. How much better should we be doing? A top four ever-present in three years? It doesn't happen that way, sadly. This was a cup tie, anything can happen. Ask Man United. Or Arsenal. Or Liverpool. well what is the exact figure, cos from football podcast's i've been reading it's pretty close villa we're a mid-table team before o'neill came, fine they've improved but that's a lot of money in anyone's view 80m or so - ie 20m a season over four seasons. It' s a lot of money, but it isn't 200m. And we were not a mid table team when he arrived - if you look at the state of the squad he inherited from DOL, it was bound for relegation the next season - no questions, To go from there to where we are now in four years, and how strong the squad looks now, it is about as much progress as you could expect him to make.

I have to say, and this is said against the background of one final appearance in 53 years, that I really, really feel this is our year. So many conspiring factors - three of the big four out, Man United style easy (well, ish) draws every round so far, and we're a decent cup team. I thought exactly the same thing as you today. As soon as Petrov scored, I started exploring prices for us to win it. I'm aware the above is largely irrational, but hey ho, that's football innit

Except he hasn't. How much better should we be doing? A top four ever-present in three years? It doesn't happen that way, sadly. This was a cup tie, anything can happen. Ask Man United. Or Arsenal. Or Liverpool.

Both.

We played Milwall at home in an FA Youth Cup match this week. 150 Milwall fans turned up, kicked off in a pub before the match, left two people glassed (racially motivated, apparently), and lots more were nicked after the match, cruising the streets of Aston "paki bashing" (to use a vile term I thought had died in the 1980s) For a fucking Youth Cup match.

Oh dear. Football still got the odd neanderthal, I see. http://i49.tinypic.com/5d191z.jpg

They talk about the lustre of the Cup being diminished due to everything being about the league etc etc, but for my money, ITV's FUCKING SHIT coverage of it is the factor which most makes me want to go and do some gardening or wash the car instead. Last night in the Man City - Stoke game, "We're aware that both teams are called City, and apologise to Stoke in advance, Stoke who have as much right as anyone to the term City". How manganimous of you to allow a team who were founder members of the Football League, and are the second oldest league club in the world, to be referred to as "City". Or you would think so, as they spent the next 90 minutes referring to Man City as "City". Wankers.