brummie

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.

He has caused every defence, including ours, he has played against problems. A bit like Heskey but better in my opinion. When does Heskey ever create problems for defences? When he plays for England apparently. If you watched us week in, week you. you'd find that hard to believe. He's normally nowhere near the opposition defence, for a start, he's laying the ball off just past the halfway line. Or falling over.

He has caused every defence, including ours, he has played against problems. A bit like Heskey but better in my opinion. When does Heskey ever create problems for defences?

I love James Collins. Him and Dunne 10m the pair. What an uncharacteristically good piece of business that was by Martin.

There's a poll on the Guardian site http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poll/2010/feb/11/left-back-england-world-cup One of the options appears to be James Milner. WTF?

That documentary on the Cosmos is class btw. Definitely worth a watch. Yeah, it brought back a lot of memories. Things I had forgotten. I was a little kid in the late 70s and the film is a useful reminder to those who were not around at the time (either too young or in Europe) what a huge star Georgio Chinaglia was. As a kid, I didn't know Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Best or Alberto or any of the other stars that had come to retire on a big fat paycheck from a hole in the ground. Chinaglia was the player that we all emulated on the playground. Sure, the US media was a 24-hour Pele circus, but on the playground Chinaglia was king. Really. "Once In A Lifetime" - yes, seek it out. Great documentary, and Chinaglia comes across as an absolute penis in it. The man had an ego the size of a house. A really big house.

Warnock has been absolutely superb for us this season. If he doesn't go to South Africa, I'm tupping Wayne Bridge's Mrs up the wrong 'un whilst i write this.

Very similar to that of Milner at Blackburn last month.

No it isnt. Talks have broken down about settling out of court thats all. It is worse than that. They've not filed for administration, they can do, but if the winding up petition gets heard before the administration petition does, they're fucked. They need to provide proof of funding, or at least very strong hope, to have any chance of getting an administration application through, lest of all on the same day as a winding up petition (which is very, very rare) Portsmouth are very, very close to ceasing to exist. I understand why people think it won't happen / the parties will see sense / compromise will prevail, but football clubs are just businesses, average sized ones, and businesses the size of Portsmouth FC go under every day. HMRC have no special case of benevolence to football clubs, and nobody in the football community is going to step in and save them. If anything good can come of this, it will be that the game finally gets a fucking gigantic wake-up call and realises that things can not go on like this.

That post is a bit like saying you've exchanged texts and emails with Angelina Jolie, then met up for a coffee, and tonight you've just been for dinner with her, and she's whispered in your ear as you were leaving that next time she sees you, she wants to clamber atop you, however, you're also thinking of tupping Sonia from Eastenders in the meantime.

If Portsmouth's results are scratched, then it is a stroke of luck for those lucky fucking redscousers. Quelle surprise. That's the first rule of football. Whatever happens, Liverpool are fucking lucky.

City have not beaten a half decent side for ages. Man City have beaten: Portsmouth, Blackburn, Wolves, Stoke, Sunderland, Chelsea, West Ham, Fulham, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Wolves, Blackburn. Spurs have beaten: Fulham, West Ham, Blackburn, City, Everton, Portsmouth, Burnley, Birmingham, West Ham, Liverpool. We've beaten: Fulham, Stoke, Man United, Hull, Bolton, Chelsea, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Fulham, Liverpool We do demonstrably better against the Sky Four sides and the teams we are competing with for a place in the top four, but then we massively underperform against the weaker teams. The whole league is full of inconsistency, and Liverpool will take fourth place, with depressing predictability.

Shit game tonight. Two teams who really don't look good enough to bother the top four. Watch Liverpool take fourth.

Paul McGrath my lord. Paul Mcgrath....... It's your round, my Lord, it's your round. McGrath is the most naturally talented footballer I've ever seen play with any regularity (nb - I use the term naturally talented for a reason). He was just awesome Search youtube for paul mcgrath italy for an example. That's the best defensive performance I've ever seen.

I can't help think that with us facing Palace and not Wolves - which would have the 'derby' factor, well, at least for them - we've got an awfully good chance of getting at least to the final this year. I can also see Stoke sticking it up Man City and Spurs coming unstuck tomorrow.

Walcott should have as much chance of going to the World Cup as Dean Windass.