brummie

How long is Carew out for? He's back tomorrow, I think. The question is how long he'll be back for, he's fragile. We've missed him though, we look lightweight up front at the moment. Incidentally, after Harewood's fuck up at Spurs, as the players came off the pitch, MON appeared to be shouting "That was your fucking fault" at Marlene. I honestly wonder whether he'll play again for us. *crosses fingers and toes*

You can't really judge much from statistics, though. For example, last year, we - it is fair to say - mullered you at your place but you still won. This year, it was closer, with it ending a draw. So last year you took three points from us, this year you took one, but this year you played much better than you did last year (in my opinion, anyway).

I would not be at all surprised if MON tried to bring him back to Villa in January. I wouldn't be massively overjoyed, but I wouldn't be Harewoodly suicidal, either. Talking of which, Harewood threw a wobbler and flounced out of the ground when not picked for the bench even against West Ham. Rumours he'll be off in January. I fucking hope so.

Also, the notion that reducing an away allocation by 300 is going to do anything to stop people standing is frankly ridiculous.

... for you, us and Man United, for persistent standing naughtiness. http://tinyurl.com/2b6qee

Great bit from The Fiver about Bolton:

His position was undermined back in August though. Two games in and they were smashing the panic button with a mallet. Things may have sorted themselves out if they hadn't done that and made it clear he was on borrowed time from the start. I agree with that, except that he deserves to be sacked for his poor work in the transfer window this summer. Everyone knew that his defence needed to be sorted out, and he didn't do it. He spent too much money on the players he brought in, and - with the exception of Bale - he didn't really add anything worthwhile to the club. I also agree with Wullie, but would point out that their transfer set up is a bit of a mess, and it is difficult to know who actually chooses the transfer targets. Watching SSN. Isn't Gary Stevens a total cock? Is he the former Everton fella? If that's him, then yes. No, the other one, the dark haired ex Spuds bloke. Great chant from the England fans at the 86 (??) World Cup - 'There's only two Gary Stevens' Only eclipsed by the Rangers chants for the (schizophrenic) Andy Goram 'There's only two Andy Gorams'.

His position was undermined back in August though. Two games in and they were smashing the panic button with a mallet. Things may have sorted themselves out if they hadn't done that and made it clear he was on borrowed time from the start. I agree with that, except that he deserves to be sacked for his poor work in the transfer window this summer. Everyone knew that his defence needed to be sorted out, and he didn't do it. He spent too much money on the players he brought in, and - with the exception of Bale - he didn't really add anything worthwhile to the club. I also agree with Wullie, but would point out that their transfer set up is a bit of a mess, and it is difficult to know who actually chooses the transfer targets. Watching SSN. Isn't Gary Stevens a total cock?

The last sentence is a load of shit but I agree with the sentiment. 'Liverpool slums' is fucking cringeworthy and I hate it when we sing it? When did we start taking the piss out of people for being poor? Have a look at Tyneside for fuck's sake. It's more in keeping with arsehole southern fans (and I don't include all fans of any club in particular in that, but a fair wedge of some London clubs etc. think their superior to what they perceive as 'the working class North'). Within two minutes of our first home game of the season (against RedScouse), that Liverpool Slums song was heard from the Holte End. Very few things make me cringe quite as much as the sound of that being sung. But then again, football songs aren't really about reality, are they? PS Barton is a decent player, but an absolute fucking mentalist, and I think anyone who doesn't recognise that is doing so on purely partisan lines.

We played Man United last week, and Scholes was the best player on the pitch by far, he just absolutely bossed things. He's underrated if anything.

The state of fucking Berbatov, with his arse in his hands. Whether or not he should be on, there's really no excuse for that.

You can simulate Setanta quite easily. Get the radio commentary on. Find a 20 year old VHS of a Newcastle-Spurs match to put on. Watch it with your eyes squinted to achieve that 'compressed to within an inch of its life' experience. Every 5 minutes, turn the radio off and on briefly for the sound drop-outs. At half time, go down your pub and get the three most fucktarded pissed-up twats to talk absolute bollocks about the match for 15 minutes. Repeat first paragraph. Job's a good 'un.

Wasn't that Paul Kemsley Ashley was sat next to (in the Spurs shirt), who the commentator then said "and Kemsley is here in the ground, apparently".

2sheds - is your username chosen in homage to Arthur 'Two Sheds' Jackson?

They're scum.

Reckon you need to use Super Curtis more? Davies isn't match fit, at least he hasn't been. Although he was about to come on when Styles sent Carson off.

Gerrard is a cunt. He pulled the same trick against us the first game of the season.

Fucking shit. Predictable result, but Man United were awesome today. Scholes is such a fantastc player. Zat Fucking Knight though. Jesus christ. We stood off them from 25 mins in to the game and just invited them to come on to us. It was likle the second half at Spurs all over again. Rob Styles is such a cunt though. Worst ref going.

See my post re catchment areas, it really isn't as simple as that. believe me. Surely by your argument, MK Dons have the most potential of anyone - they've got an enormous catchment area, are between the biggest and second biggest cities in the country, and have relatively few clubs in their immediate area.

What do you mean by this? I'm genuinely interested, by the way, not spoiling for a fight or owt.

Birmingham's potential support is odd. Firstly, they've never had more than the faintest whiff of success. One league cup in, what, 120 years. Secondly, yes, they're in a huge population area, but their support is actually drawn from a relatively small pool. Almost exclusively from the working class, inner city areas of the south side of Birmingham. You won't find any of them from the north of the city. Albion, by comparison, have a pool of latent support across the black country (West Brom, Sandwell, Dudley) which is far bigger. Villa draw a lot of support from north Birmingham and, crucially, have considerably more passive, untapped ('go a few times a year at most') support from the areas around Birmingham and some way down the M5 and M40 corridors. That's why they're always calling us 'out of towners' and to some extent it is true. I'm not one to defend the vile, under-evolved, 6 fingered trolls, but I will admit that they've had quite possibly the worst collection of owners over decades now of any football club - a procession of the unambitious, exploitative or incapable. Their ticket prices are absurd. 45 quid to watch them play Man United and us, and they've been taking the piss on prices for years now. Sullivan and the Golds have a combined worth of 7-800m. They're very, very rich indeed, but their investment has been relatively piddling. Also worth noting is that they have absolutely no history whatsoever, none at all, and they're surrounded by clubs in the west (and east) midlands who have plenty by comparison. Draw a 50 mile radius from the centre of Birmingham and see how many decent sized clubs with a bit of history there are, then look at Blues, and you get an idea of why they're up against it.

You are right. This has been the problem of the England team for most of my life, and Im nudging 40.

Delusions of adequacy, innit. He's done a good job, tbh, but apparently the football is dire to watch.

Bruce knows he is on the way out soon. Most Blues fans I know want shot of him as soon as possible in any case. Funny situation.

Is Diego Swarfega worth a peek? Done well at Atletico the last year or so.