leffe186

Really hoping we score twenty.

Oh referee. How shit was that?

Shows the way to beat these teams. Just do them down the wings, and be patient.

Unlucky.

It's still the best. I'd be happy with Land Of Hope And Glory tbh.

Eww. That Scotland team is not good.

I dunno. So much anger around England! I had no choice about being a Spurs fan as I grew up in the area and my Dad took me, and I had no choice about being an England fan as I grew up in England. Arsehole Spurs managers (not that there were many of those), and arsehole Spurs players (plenty of those) - and idiot chairmen/owners - didn't stop me supporting Spurs, and the same won't stop me supporting England. I don't think I've ever had unrealistic expectations of England, and I only occasionally get angry about the team - for example, the wasting of my favourite players - Glenn Hoddle, and eventually Chris Waddle. We have had basic cultural and structural problems that have left us with a bit of a shortfall on technically adept players, and a line-up that changes every game, so I can't feel too disappointed about our performances. We do about par, for our talent. I think it would be absolutely fantastic if we won the World Cup. I don't feel threatened/irritated by the influx of part-time supporters around the big tournaments - apart from any hooligan, racist pricks - in contrast, I actually used to like the feeling of togetherness. I used to work with a massive Arsenal fan - really good guy, we used to play footy together - and I remember jumping up and down and hugging him when Sol scored that (disallowed) header against Argentina. I've had some ace times watching England in the pub, or at home. England World Cup win versus Spurs League win? Spurs every time. England World Cup win versus Spurs cup win? That's closer, but I've had the luxury of several Spurs cup wins in my time supporting them. At least if England win the World Cup, more people can share in it.

I don't care. I don't believe you.

20 miles apparently Edit: That seems to be the tube route. About 6 miles really. was just about to say! They're not too far away, you could walk it in an hour.

There may already be cracks in the NextGen. The quarter finals were supposed to be televised on Eurosport but I believe that they all disappeared from the schedule. Certainly ours did. Might be nothing, but we'll see. The domestic youth competitions have been considerably less bitty this year, and I like the fact that there are more regular matches at U16, U18 and U21 level. The main complication for many clubs is the loan system (meaning the better youth products are actually somewhere else) and, ironically, the NextGen games. When you combine that with the overage player rule (we played against Darren Fletcher and Almunia/Fabianski, for example) the team's composition will certainly be bitty, but that's inevitable for these age groups. I think that the FA have done a pretty good job, at least at our level.

Fellaini misses our game through suspension. I can live with that.

http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-National-Team/2013/03/US-MNT-to-Host-Belgium-on-May-29.aspx Mint. Except that my wife - who actually writes about and researches soccer - will be in the UK at the same time. She's pissed. I get to go though

Anybody know of a site that shows the current suspensions in the Europa? Not getting any luck from UEFA/transfermarkt etc.

Sounds like you're feeling the same as me when we got Lyon and Inter. Tough as all get out, but felt like the real deal. At this stage I reckon it's anybody's - just look at your tie against Anzhi. Willian gets injured early on, then they get a red, then Anita (?) gets away with one, then a late goal. We get a last minute goal against Lyon to go through, then the farce in Milan. Chelsea could so easily have gone out by now. Fine margins. Happy with Basel, just a bit pissed that we're away second leg yet again. I like that people are calling them easy, when they knocked out Zenit, with ten men for a large chunk of the game. It's the quarter-finals of the Europa - everyone is good, apart from the refs. Just please, please, play Lloris FFS.

Never in doubt.

This fucking ref. Ah well. Going to be a fun last 15 .

True, but we're also without a few others tonight. Most crucially, Lennon, so we have almost no width in midfield/up front. Next season I expect us to have Townsend in the squad, and to pick up another forward capable of playing wide.

Well we'd better start playing now.

He just fell over .

If I followed that I would be out of action before half time. The Shola of drinking. Honestly, I feel so old when I read posts like that. I've become a massive lightweight.

Would Watford getting promoted affect the number of loan players (from Udinese, primarily) they could field? Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere.

As long as we don't let in an early goal, too. I remember the last time we played Inter at the San Siro. I still fancy us to score one goal - maybe from a corner - which would surely be enough.

433 like the Liverpool match, or 442 like at the beginning of the season? God knows. As long as we don't get a silly red card.

Really? Ferdinand will be 35 this year, and has had considerable issues with injuries. Cahill is 27. Not that I think that Ferdinand should necessarily be dropped, just that the "building for the future" argument would surely be the obvious reason why he might be dropped.

We're all right, honestly. We're neither as bad as people (and some media) say, or as good as the media (and some people) say. We're not as good as Spain, but we should be better than San Marino and Montenegro. The problem is, people like Dawson and Parker have actually played pretty well recently. I can understand the call-up from a "rewarding good form" perspective, but I just don't think they should be playing from a "building a squad" perspective. They're not technically good enough to play at the top level unless they are part of a well-drilled team, and I don't think we're that. Are there not younger alternatives available? Maybe not tbh. That's it, there aren't really any stand out alternatives. I look at that squad and think 'average'. At least on the international stage. It's unfortunate. I mean, I look at the Spurs players there (Dawson, Walker, Parker, Lennon, Defoe) and every one has had mixed reviews from Spurs fans over the last couple of seasons. Every one has had a few people say they're not good enough for a Top 4 team (rightly or wrongly). The last three are not long back from injuries too. I wouldn't say that any of them are credited with good footballing brains either, which seems to be the real problem with English players. That puts a lot of onus on the Coach to build a system that can use their strengths, which has got to be hard in the time he has.