Village Idiot

To be honest I loved the old Serie A tie-breaker system. There was talk of implementing it in Spain after Barcelona won the 1994 league on head-to-head record (that was probably one of the most cracking league finishes ever, by the way), but was rubbished. Why did Italy abandon it? To be more like the other major leagues?

Real Madrid midfielder Gago's agent has come out and said his client wants out in order to realize his World Cup hopes. He is pretty pish and should be nowhere Real's or Argentina's starting XI, so I hope he stays there because Pellegrini still seems to play him from time to time.

Actually, I think it's fairer when it's only over the 3-6 games like group matches. That way it's more about which of either team was better than the other instead of which one managed to slip the most past the team finishing last. Full 38 game schedules are different and more down to consistency. La Liga uses head to head. It makes games between relegation candidates and title contenders much spicier. It's pretty common to say that winning the head to head is worth an extra point.

When he played in La Liga, I remember a commentator saying he was a relative latecomer to playing football, coming from a track & field background. Would explain his problems with the ball.

I have contributed something.

Seems I was right!

Thought he was canny then. I also have vague memories of Bramble making something ridiculous on the run up of the save...

Was Steve Harper in goal many many moons ago in a CL game against Juventus at SJP? I remember the Newcastle keeper making a killer save on the late stages of the game and me thinking "that's their #2?".

I shouldn't be posting this kind of stuff but... http://www.lfc-endofseasonparty.com/

I think a "Newcastle get promoted with record points, win the Premiership when they come up, then go and win the Chamions League the following year" thread should be first. That would you relegated to League 1, then.

Oh boy, there was this Liverpool fan I know blabbing on how "it would be an embarassment if Barça went out in the group stages" after we lost to Kazan at home. Can't wait to meet him this weekend

Motta, Eto'o, Quaresma... it's like us from 2004

Motta's never been a better player for us than today. Hope we keep that up in the second half.

I'm in a meeting and keeping the computer open to watch the live commentary while I pretend to take notes. What are my odds on getting caught? (Get the fuck btw)

It's quite funny how all the press seems to mention Eto'o, Mourinho and even Figo because of their Barcelona pasts, but absolutely nobody says anything about Thiago Motta

Where would he go though? ManCity might get an opening if they don't get Champion's League this year, but can't see anything else becoming available that wouldn't be a step down from Everton (can't see him going to Liverpool)

I think it's still early to sack Benítez. They have had a bad injury crisis these last weeks anyway. I think he will keep the post as long as they don't fall too far from 4th place. They may part ways on the summer though.

Most of the teams are performing as expected, and the ones who aren't have reasons for not to sack their managers (Benítez still has credit from the past seasons, West Ham can't afford to pay the cleaning lady least sack Zola).

Reminds me of all the silly shit yanks came out with after 9/11, like that campaign to change the title of the "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" movie.

Wouldn't expect him to drop down a division, though.

I have a meeting during the Barça-Inter game. It's probably for my own good.

I think that's awesome, to be honest. I suppose the relief/joy everytime the ball is cleared makes it worth it, but I've seen us concede late too often to like it I don't know, when I think of all the games more indented in my memory, most of them are hard-fought scrappy wins, rather than thomping somebody 6-1. For example, from last season I remember the Chelsea away game much more than destroying Madrid at their place (not that it wasn't delightful!).

I love it how he is first choice at Stoke even though he has no legs and it's like having 10 men on the pitch.

Can I pitch in? - Gary Lineker, the first footballing idol I had. Was heartbroken when Cruyff let him go. - People telling me that I looked like Bernd Schuster - The 1982 World Cup. I was 4 years old, but still remember the feeling of the eyes of the world suddenly being peeled at us. - Thinking Paul Gascoigne was the best player of the world. I think that's the first image I have of a Newcastle player. - The years of the "Jai Alai" when playing a Basque team was like shooting a ball against a concrete wall, Real Sociedad almost going unbeaten the year they won. - The "botifarra" (Catalan sausage) sandwiches at half time during matches when my father took me to the Stadium. Probably liked those more than the football. - Footballers wearing moustaches (like "Tarzán" Migueli, who was also fat and the best defender we had) - José Ramón Alexanko scoring a magnificient header in the dying instants of the 1988 Cup final. - Julio Salinas, the clumsiest striker I have ever seen. He was shit. He was slow. My grandmather in a wheelchair was more comfortable on the ball, in her sleep. But he would score 10+ goals every season, and most of them would be completely laughable: tripping with the ball, deflecting off his ass, bouncing off his head... but he would score them. - When football was ugly: footballers were often fat and unkempt, managers wore tracksuits, there was no posh branding of teams or ellaborate marketing efforts, no high-tech gizmos on TV broadcasts... - A great quote from a Barça sporting director "Just give me money to sign forwards, we'll get the defenders from a construction site"

I think that's awesome, to be honest.