Village Idiot

The infamous Núria Bermúdez, current wife of Dani Güiza. She claims to have fucked from Guti to Beckham, yes. She was sort of a trash celeb in Spain a few years ago (now she's a football agent, with FIFA license and all).

It has surfaced that the Spanish FA is investigating several footballers for betting in games they were involved in. No names or games have been revealed yet.

Real Madrid has announced today the release of a lingerie line. http://www.marca.com/2009/12/01/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1259695269.html If I can get that bird, I'll pretend that I'm Real for life.

Ok, that didn't last.

Kanu pulls one back, pity it's a bit late.

Ferguson prefers to give experience to his young forwards I guess.

Do you mean Manish or the Football League Show? Please Toon fans, tell me you don't have some idiot mascot like those. And please not a fat guy dressed as a magpie.

I don't dislike Chelsea, I actually sort of dug them in the pre-Abramovich times (Zola is one of my favorite players), and we have a story of fierce ties with them in the Champion's League, and always look forward to meeting them again. Plus some of their players (Drogba, Lampard, Essien, Joe Cole...) are just too brilliant. I have got over the whole them buying the league, I guess that's the way things work nowadays.

You aren't that good!

Anything can happen in a knockout competition, but yes, whoever emerges from the Barça/Sevilla/Valencia corner of the bracket will be big favorite to win the whole thing.

The Cup draw has been quite mental, Barça and Sevilla is going to be a cracking tie. The winner has then to play either Valencia or Depor. That's two of the big favorites out by quarter finals. http://www.marca.com/2009/12/01/futbol/copa_rey/1259670063.html

Newcastle signing somebody who was great two seasons ago, will probably want high wages, and is now pushing his late 20s... where have I seen that before? It would be mint if he recaptured a part of his old form, but every time I see him for Blackburn he doesn't seem to completely care at all.

Got 75,000 points by clicking around the midlands for most of the time (only knew SJP and Cardiff...)

Kaká got hype points for his transfer, I guess. Same with Zlatan, although he still was instrumental in a team that swept the Serie A. Villa and Forlán were probably hurt by so many Spanish-based players dominating the table (Spanish journalists were more likely to vote for them).

As said, if your team doesn't do well in the Champion's League (or the EC/WC), or you can coast on your previous fame, you have no chance to shoot up the table. And I rate Villa greatly myself, but that's how those awards go.

Reach the later stages of the Champion's League. That's all there is to the Ballon d'Or lately, really.

Must say I was secretly rooting for Xavi, a Spanish player hasn't won this since Luís Suárez in the 1960s. Maybe if we go all the way in the World Cup...

Talk about a surprise. Anyway, here's the full list, utterly predictable in its first spots: 1 MESSI (473) 2 C. Ronaldo (233) 3 Xavi (170) 4 Iniesta (149) 5 Etoo (75) 6 Kaká (58) 7 Ibrahimovic (50) 8 Rooney (35) 9 Drogba (33) 10 Gerrard (32) 11 F. Torres (22) 12 Cesc (13) 13 Dzeko (12) 14 Giggs (11) 15 Henry (9) 16 Casillas, Luis Fabiano y Vidic (8) 19 Forlán (7) 20 Gourcouff (6) 21 Arshavin, Julio César y Lampard (5) 24 Maicon (4) 25 Diego (3) 26 Terry y Villa (2) 28 Ribéry y Yaya Touré (1)

It is true he use to say " I was the best paid scout in the world" Bobby did really well but after Cruiff he is very hard to follow. Nunns the chairman at the time get lots of abuse from cruiff lover media and when Van Gaal is available at the time the world best Manager because of his AJAX team he snapped him up. Bobby also decline a chance to manage us just after Keegan left that year by staying true to his contract. I always ask my self what would happen had Bobby followed Keegan.... That's the gist of it really. He was guilty of not being Cruyff. Most of the press and lot of the fans (not all by a long shot, though), were pretty pissed at the way he was fired and attacked Nuñez through his new manager. I have to say that I wasn't in love with his football style, but the results were there and he signed Ronaldo afterall. But he always took it very gentlemanly, and only was guilty of landing in Barça's bench at a bad time. Will add that president Nuñez was a long time admirer of Robson and had tried several times to have him on our bench, but always found the same response: Robson always honours his contracts (Terry Venables came to Barça in 1984 under Robson's recommendation, for example).

One question, all of you lot that have read his bio. What does he say about his times in Barcelona? I had a conversation/argument this morning with another Barça fan about how he was treated in his time here, and really wanted to know what the man himself thought of us. Barça TV aired an interview with him last week, recorded last year, have to see if I can get hold of it when I go to Spain this Christmas.

It's a shame I'm just about too young to remember them days, would have been great. I doubt we're gonna get back there again any time soon. The way the game is now we'd need a shitload of cash and even then it wouldn't really be the same. To be honest, not sure how the current cash madness is sustainable mid or long term. I think you'll have a shot if you get good ownership.

Honestly, you were damn f***ing sexy in 1995-1996, while I had to put up with Eskurza, Sánchez Jara, Kodro, Popescu, Jordi Cruyff... Cruyff totally lost the plot in his late years. He was undermined by the board, though. You'll get there again. The relegation will hopefully be a purging experience and allow you a blank slate after the instability of these past years (need to get sold, too).

to think: in the beginning of this decade we could've gone on their forums and they would have been jealous of us. Fortunes change quickly. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/2050221.stm Dodged a bullet I think. He was never the same after the 2002 WC. But yeah, I won't pretend being a Barça fan isn't pretty swell... the early 2000s are considered the lowest point in our recent history, and the lowest we did was finish 6th... You were better in your two title challenges under Keegan, though.

That's probably true. But he doesn't have Ronaldo's strength, sadly.

The one where he actually only take on two players ? Messi and Ronaldinho have scored better goals than that in recent seasons for barca. But he is pulled by the shirt, unstabilised, loses shooting angle... and every time he gets on with the ball, starts again and makes the best of it to get the goal. I loved that drive he had. Messi and Ronaldinho would have given up.