YankeeToon

So it'll be: Given Nobby Taylor Bramble Hunty Dyer Butt Parker Duff Sibi Martins Could be worse. A little worried that Taylor may not be at his full but is being played anyway through lack of options in the back. Didn't he sit out training yesterday? At least Carr's out, though.

If Keane's taking under-performing Irishmen, we should see if he wants Carr as well...

Emre got a new car?

Maybe he didn't feel Campbell would sufficiently embiggen the squad...

Agree. He might as well have been the only player on the pitch to be honest. Thing is, do we even have an attacking partner to pair him with? Emre's mystery groin injury will probably flair up again... Parker-Pattison! If Emre's "FA groin racism problem hearing" keeps him out, I'd imagine we'll use Parker-Dyer, with Sib partnering Martins up front. God knows what we'll do if any of them winds up unavailable...

FSC coverage starts with the quarterfinals

Bastards. I figured they didn't televise the Zulte games because everyone expected a rout. Guess they just don't think anyone wants to see us.

Sigh. Forget his countless good games and productivity, one game like this PROVES he is shit. Same doesn't apply to the likes of Martins and N'Zogbia etc though... Come on, GeJon, use ya head! That's DIFFERENT, for reasons which aren't readily apparent at the moment but are surely sound and convincing arguments...

You forgot "Martins will leave," "Luque will remain," and "Plagues of locusts will descend upon SJP, devouring all..."

Should've know we were doomed, then...

perhaps because including corners milner probably had 20 opportunities to put a decent cross in today and failed to do it once??? or perhaps our manager is s*** and cant see that with that kind of crossing style of play we have no chance when we are playing the likes of Martins and Dyer upfront Its up to the manager to tell the players how to play In the 2nd half we were still playing the same style of play and its Roeder fault for that you're right, roeder clearly told milner to never beat the first man with a cross, and put crap corners in. FFS!!! Perhaps not, but he's got a point that playing wide and relying on crosses does us no good with Dyer and Martins up front. They don't have the height to get on the end, even when they actually get a decent cross in to begin with. If we're going to put together an effective attack with those two, we need to build up our passing game and work on springing them forward through the middle.

To be fair, the FA & linesman haven't said that he hit Lampard, they're saying that he attempted to hit Lampard. Still might not be true, but doesn't necessarily conflict w/ Lampard saying he wasn't hit. Pedantic, yes. Liars, maybe?

I'll go in on that, too. I really like that one.

Dancing a merry jig?

7 yellows and 3 reds... wow...

Aslan from Narnia, tbh...

Lens 2-1 Jemaa again

Lens 1 - Panawhatever 0 Jemaa(?) Edit: Lens 1 - Panawhatchamacallit 1 Salpingidis 65'

Agreed. I just can't imagine where spurs and Blackburn came from. Most odd. If by "big boys", we mean last season's top 6 of Chelsea, Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal, Spurs & Blackburn... Now what part of that is so hard to understand? Apparently, it's the "last season's top 6" part...

not really strange. I remember in that leaked dosier from chelsea last year which had specific instructions to go after boumsong. Just managers telling players to go after the weakest link. Beat me to it! Great minds, etc...

Not really THAT strange... weakest link, n'all

Aww, they changed it! Shocking revisionist history!

Hard to make a decision either way, I'd reckon. One player's word against another. Can't see how you can find him guilty based on that. No impartial witnesses and apparently conflicting stories, but the FA has to look tough on racism, so they won't want to say he's innocent, either. Maybe they'll try some kind of halfway measure, like censuring him for unprofessional behavior without specifically answering whether it was a racist comment. Either way, it's unsettled him nicely at a time we really could have used him. (I don't believe for a minute that he's actually injured, just being kept out of the spotlight until the FA ruling.)

I agree.He looks like a rugby player.But there is nothing he could do about it. Yeah, I know. I doubt he'd be wearing it if he had a choice. Still makes me laugh when I see him, though.

I can't see him leaving after playing so little for us, he seems like an honest guy who would want to earn his wages and repay our faith in him. Also, we will have quite an exciting attacking team with everyone available again, I bet he's looking forward to playing with Martins. Yeah, he's a little trooper alright. He won't want to leave a club he has no inherent feelings for. At the very least, some lingering sense of debt to the club that paid to rebuild his knee from scratch should make him play ONE full season here...