"In a utopia you want to win matches by several goals and by playing a wonderful brand of football. But that's utopia."
As TDH watched Man City's second goal fly in tonight, the sound of Eoin Campbell, manager of The Trader in EC1, bellowing "COME ON CITAAAEEEHHHYYY" could clearly be heard even from 9,000 miles away.
And rightfully so. Psycho's Psyde were on fire, dominating Charlton from the off. The only problem was that Darius Vassell couldn't hit the proverbial cow's arse until the 79th minute. Joey Barton wasn't much better - powerful shot, yes; accurate, no. The final proof came when he had to put back his own penalty miss.
It's rare to see a Premiership side defend with flair, but City did so for long stretches, even if they were led by the Phantom of the Opera. The other main pleasure was seeing Phil Dowd shrug his shoulders like the owner of a New York appetizing shop after every decision. "Okay, so it's $24.99 a pound for Nova this week - whaddya want, my kids gotta eat, too, ya know...."
Sven was in attendance, and he must take note of this match. There were three present and former England strikers on show at The Valley: Bent, Cole and Vassell. Guess who was the worst of the bunch, by far? Darius must not go to Deutschland. It would be a crime.
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Some readers of TDH will be familiar with the lottery game called Keno. Now there's a new lottery game, and it's called Keano. Where he stops, nobody knows. With interest now coming from Madrid, Big Sam has been reduced to saying, well, if Keane wants to stay in the North of England, Bolton has to be his top choice.
Correct, Sam! Bolton are indeed top of the non-Mancunian Northern table, after Wigan's loss at the wigend. But hmm, will it be Bolton or Real Madrid? Surely, Big Sam's putting just a bit too much stock in Roy's eccentricity....
Yep, there might even be the hint of a coaching role at the Bernabeu, with rumors flying that Wanderley won't last another 24 hours. That'll leave the Brazilian free to coach the Luxembourg national squad. Hey, if Arsene can coach Arsenal, why not Luxemburgo for Luxembourg? Makes sense to TDH.
And rightfully so. Psycho's Psyde were on fire, dominating Charlton from the off. The only problem was that Darius Vassell couldn't hit the proverbial cow's arse until the 79th minute. Joey Barton wasn't much better - powerful shot, yes; accurate, no. The final proof came when he had to put back his own penalty miss.
It's rare to see a Premiership side defend with flair, but City did so for long stretches, even if they were led by the Phantom of the Opera. The other main pleasure was seeing Phil Dowd shrug his shoulders like the owner of a New York appetizing shop after every decision. "Okay, so it's $24.99 a pound for Nova this week - whaddya want, my kids gotta eat, too, ya know...."
Sven was in attendance, and he must take note of this match. There were three present and former England strikers on show at The Valley: Bent, Cole and Vassell. Guess who was the worst of the bunch, by far? Darius must not go to Deutschland. It would be a crime.
---
Some readers of TDH will be familiar with the lottery game called Keno. Now there's a new lottery game, and it's called Keano. Where he stops, nobody knows. With interest now coming from Madrid, Big Sam has been reduced to saying, well, if Keane wants to stay in the North of England, Bolton has to be his top choice.
Correct, Sam! Bolton are indeed top of the non-Mancunian Northern table, after Wigan's loss at the wigend. But hmm, will it be Bolton or Real Madrid? Surely, Big Sam's putting just a bit too much stock in Roy's eccentricity....
Yep, there might even be the hint of a coaching role at the Bernabeu, with rumors flying that Wanderley won't last another 24 hours. That'll leave the Brazilian free to coach the Luxembourg national squad. Hey, if Arsene can coach Arsenal, why not Luxemburgo for Luxembourg? Makes sense to TDH.
posted by Daniel Altman at 5:43 PM
3 Comments:
Very prescient. Wandering Vanderlei has indeed been given the white boot. but I think this team is now just a new Titanic - very expensive and nicely appointed, but destined to sink.
There needs to be a full clear out. Only Beckham and possibly Ronaldo are worth their salaries. Everyone else needs to go, and they need to buy hungry players, and not in the Ronaldo sense of the word. The best Real lineup I ever was built around Redondo and Hierro. They need more characters like that, strong and consistent, because these talented lightweights they're trying to build around now just aren't reliable.
You're not seriously suggesting that Madrid dump Robinho, are you?
Looking at la plantilla, I think there are other guys who should probably stay. Julio Baptista's got to be fairly low on the payroll, and he's a bull of a player. Casillas could be good for another 15 years. Mejia is young and promising. And my guess is that Woody's not costing them too much, either. Beckham's earning his money this year, but it sure would be strange to keep him and dump Zizou, eh?
You're right about the basic point, though. It used to be that players wore the white shirt with outward modesty and inner pride. There was a singularity of purpose about the team, and a desire to uphold a higher standard. They played for each other, not for themselves. It will take more than a new coach to bring that attitude back.
yeah I suppose I threw the baby-faced Pele out with the bathwater there. But I watched half of the Getafe match. Zizou was very poor. He still looks the part for France, but in a white shirt he just looks demoralised.
Fully cede that Casillas is a top keeper, though. Woody is always going sweat blood for the cause, and I rate Guti pretty highly as well. Well I rate just about everyone in the squad, but many desperately need a change of scenery. I would actually love it if Raul came to Milan (I still dream of a Raul-Sheva partnership. In 2000, it would have been an all-time great).
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