Right, this is it. It's been an emotional journey and we have made fun of a lot of people who deserve it, whilst suffered Forest's heartbreak together. But today marks my last weekly blog. For both my readers I know this will be a sad moment, although I'm sure everyone else will be glad to have less spam on their walls on a Sunday night.
The reason for such a drastic decision comes after being made online sports editor for Redbrick, most probably the finest student newspaper about (in my unbiased opinion). This great priviledge will take up the number of hours needed to keep you all entertained every Sunday evening, so unfortunately, the blog had to give way.
However, there is no need to mourn Sporting Underachiever just yet. During holidays, such as reading week in a few weeks time, I will try my best to bring out a one-off edition. Moreover, the weekly contest between the Tipster and the Selly Oak Tramp will continue and I still can't wait to see who comes out on top of our season predictions (more on that later).
And as for the spam? Well, you can probably expect me to keep on putting stuff on Facebook, but it will pretty much all be Redbrick related (also, feel free to check out my brief interview with the women's rugby captain on the newspaper's website).
Ideally, I would have liked to have gone out on a bang, but due to being at home most of the weekend for unavoidable committments and an already growing amount of reading, it has been more difficult than I thought. And add into the fact that I only bought Fifa 12 today. Still, I hope you enjoy my thoughts and ramblings for the last time in my permanent Sunday slot.
Que pasa Carlos?
Carlos Tevez said his quotes after the Bayern Munich match, where he admitted to not coming on, were misquoted. Well, he didn't actually say that, because his English isn't good enough. His adviser, Kia Picanto, or whatever his name is, had to tell us. So maybe when Carlitos was told by Roberto Mancini to go on to the pitch, he had no idea what he was telling him. And maybe when Carlos said he hated Manchester and wanted to leave, he was misquoted again. I suppose that's all plausible. And in other news, Sepp Blatter really wants to reform Fifa and Arsenal win the Premier League.
Adios big Dilley
We can all remember the infamous, "the bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey." So in a week where Ashes hero Graham Dilley died, it's only right to re-live another bit of commentary magic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh4iF_Si_2E
Carragher doesn't know the meaning of cheating
Apparently, having a foreign coach is 'cheating.' This the supposed wisdom from Jamie Carragher, who had no qualms returning from international retirement at the last World Cup under a certain Italian manager. It's funny, because at cricket, England are the dominant force in the longest form of the game and are led by a Zimbabwean. India are led by a South African and in recent years Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have had foreign coaches. So if Andy Flower being coach of England is cheating, then I hope we continue to cheat. It's about time we dominated a sport.
And speaking of cheating, the trial of the Pakistanis accused of match-fixing began this week. I would never want to second-guess a verdict, but if you saw the video evidence last year then they are going to need a stunning lawyor to get an acquittal. Now that is cheating.
Rooney see red
I get slated every time I tell people that Wayne Rooney should not go to the Euros, but I think, for once, that I've been proved right. I hope he's banned for three matches and Fabio Capello doesn't take him to the tournament. What we don't need is a circus about when he will get back into the team, who he will replace, what formation will bring the best out of him etc. Take Welbeck, Agbonlahor, Defoe, Bent and pick one or two out of those.
Also, isn't it slightly coincidental that the surge of betting on a red card for that Motherwell game came from loads of people from Liverpool. Where's Rooney from again? (I don't generally think there is a betting scam here, but these days anything is possible).
Rugby hell
I hate the French... pricks.
Muzza on fire
Andy Murray beat Rafa Nadal in three sets, which included a bagel in the final set. He only lost four points in that set as well. Am I only the one who thinks back to Wimbledon where he was a set up and blew it? So don't expect to see me putting any of my money on him to win a Grand Slam next year. Novak Djokovic on the other hand...
Season predos
Let's have a look whose predictions are looking a decent shout so far this season.
Premier League winner:JL: Man U
FK: Man U
RA: Man U
Current result: Umm, you guessed it
Rest of top 4:JL: Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool
FK: Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal
RA: Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal
Current result: Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle (I'm sorry what?)
Relegated teams:JL: Norwich, Wigan, Swansea
FK: Norwich, Wigan, Swansea
RA: Norwich, Wigan, Swansea
Current result: Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton
Top goal-scorer:JL: Rooney
FK: Rooney
RA: Rooney
Current result: Wazza
Number of Fernando Torres goals:JL: 10
FK: 15
RA: 10
Current result: 2
Number of Mario Balotelli goals:JL: 12
FK: 10
RA: 6
Current result: 2
Number of Emile Heskey goals:JL: 4
FK: 1
RA: 3
Current result: 1
Number of games Arsenal let a lead slip:JL: 6
FK: 4
RA: 6
Current result: 1
Norwich overall goal-difference:JL: -15
FK: -28
RA: -21
Current result: -3
First managerial casualty:JL: Alex McLeish
FK: Neil Warnock (JL - hope he's right)
RA: Steve Kean
Current result - Nobody
FA Cup winner:JL: Spurs
FK: Chelsea
RA: Chelsea
Current result - No idea
League Cup winner:JL: Liverpool
FK: Man U
RA: Man City
Current result - all three are still in
Champions League winner:JL: Real Madrid
FK: Barcelona
RA: Barcelona
Current result - Both have started well
Europa League winner:JL: PSG
FK: Liverpool (JL - should be docked a point for being ignorant)
RA: Sevilla
Current result - Not looking good for Fraser here...
Top 2 in Championship:JL: West Ham, Leicester
FK: West Ham, Leicester
RA: West Ham, Leicester
Current result: Southampton, Middlesbrough
Forest overall position:JL: 5th
FK: 5th
RA: 4th
Current result: Umm... 21st
Forest top scorer:JL: Lewis McGugan
FK: Marcus Tudgay
RA: Robbie Findley
Current result: Ishmael Miller with 3
Dele Adebola goals:JL: 3
FK: 1
RA: 3
Current result: 0
Nathan Tyson goals:JL: 10 (I'm relying on him playing 30 games otherwise this will be wrong)
FK: 4
RA: 2
Current result: 0
League 1 winner:JL: Huddersfield
FK: Carlisle (JL - who were beaten 3-0 at home by Notts County. Fraser should definitely be docked a point now)
RA: Huddersfield
Current result: Charlton
League 2 winner:JL: Shrewsbury
FK: Northampton
RA: Crawley
Current result: Southend
Blue Square Prem winner:JL: Luton
FK: Cambridge (JL - Cramp would be happy)
RA: Luton
Current result: Wrexham
And on that bombshell
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Fulham-boss-Martin-Jol-has-fined-HIMSELF-over-Chelsea-Carling-Cup-penalty-kick-row-EXCLUSIVE-article808141.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEUS5xLTPoQ
And two stories which sum everything up:http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_7225914,00.html?utm_source=twitterfeed_Football_twitter&utm_medium=twitter
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-goal-linetechnology
Sunday 9 October 2011
Sunday 2 October 2011
Adios Schteeve
Well, who could have seen that happening? I mean, as if Newcastle are third and unbeaten. After a lull last week we have exploded with player tantrums, players being whipped and a lot of people on their way out. For cutting edge reaction (it's my blog I can say what I want), let us enjoy this week's blog before more seminars tomorrow.
Touch of a Bramble
Far be it for me to incriminate myself on the internet (ignoring the obvious cringeworthy photos which are on my Facebook profile), but it surprising to hear about the allegations surrounding Titus Bramble when he has been unable to get near an opposing striker for the past 10 years, never mind a woman on the run.
Here's hoping that everybody's second favourite footballer after Emile Heskey is not guilty of the allegations and can go back to shore up Sunderland's defence soon.
I will not play
£200,00 a week Carlos Tevez refuses to go on to the pitch against Bayern Munich. Shock! Horror! How dare he! What a disgrace! This has never happened before, right? Wrong. Let's break the whole story down for a minute here.
Ok, first of all it's probably right that I should say that Tevez has clearly incriminated himself already and whatever he says we all know his excuses are bollocks. But was this really as big a deal as we all say it was? It's not like footballers ever skip matches so they don't get cup-tied, and it's not like footballers ever say their head isn't in the right place before a match, then a week later go somewhere else (Mascherano).
And didn't one of the greatest, and most liked, footballers of all time refuse to play once? Yes, that's right, Paul Scholes said that and although he apologised afterwards, because nobody knew about it he got away from it. Like with all things, Tevez's crime was being caught.
Also, in the last stretches of Tevez's defence (and just to make it clear, I think he was totally wrong), is what he did any worse than the footballers who cheat on their (sometimes pregnant) wives or with their sister-in-law?
And out of all the lazy footballers there are, at least Tevez has put his all in for his clubs and delivered.
That aside, he needs to get lost now. There may have a massive over-reaction to Tevez's defiance, but it is clear he should just buy his contract out and leave. That's if he can be bothered to actually get on to a plane.
Ahh yeah!
Forest might be doing rubbish, but a middle three of Morgan, Mcgugan and Miller = mmm.
Speaking of Forest, the Wally and the Chairman have departed. Now being somebody who hates getting birthday cards early and not being able to open them for a few days, I had a cheeky check of Sky Bet to see who was favourite to take over the best job in football (after being a presenter on Sky Sports News)
Speaking of SSN (courtesy of Dick Ayling)
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3847901/Steve-Joness-fling-with-Georgie-Thompson.html
Anyway, going back to Forest, I was surprised to see that Martin O'Neill was 6/1 favourite, yet was 5/1 to become the next Manchester City manager, 4/1 to become the next Everton manager, 4/1 favourite to become the next Liverpool manager, 12/1 to become next Tottenham manager, 9/1 to become next England manager, 8/1 to become next Manchester United manager and 16/1 to become next Arsenal manager. Funnily enough, Schteeve is 16/1 to become the next Manchester City manager.
Personally, there is only one man I want to see take the job. Now a month or so ago I started the Bring Back Adebola campaign due to our lack of goals, but since Ishmael Miller has been banging them in, I think we should bring back Pele as a player/manager and use the two beasts to batter every other team into submission.
Come back Adebola!
Warneing: Sportsmen who are losing my respect
Shane Warne and Liz Hurley announced their engagement this week. Looks like Shane has gone from giving it a rip to being whipped.
Big Mac
I must admit I've been a bit disappointed with Rory McIlroy recently as he has become a bit of a big time. Now I'm one of those people who thinks professional sportsmen deserve the pay they get, even footballers, as they are the ones who put in the effort and make the sacrifices to win trophies and bring the money into the game.
But when Rory burst on to the scene he was brilliant with his attacking play and his baby-face. Now that he is a bit older, he still has the golf game, but his life is dominated by other activities. It seems every week he is either watching Manchester United, or flying by his helicopter to watch a big fight.
It doesn't help when he tweets at BBC commentator Jay Townsend: "Shut up ... you’re a commentator and a failed golfer, your opinion means nothing!"
Watching him dump his long-term girlfriend and moving on to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki didn't help my opinion of him, but just reading this made me want to chunder. Come on Rory, you're better than this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/15090275.stm
Flop(ianski) of the week
Hola Carlos, now pack your bags. Speaking about pack your bags, adios Schteeve, but next time you manage in England please speak normally.
Also, chin up Warnock
Hall of Lame
Combining Tevez and Forest, I can still remember the last time a player at the City Ground went on strike. Remember Pierre Van Hooijdonk? So incensed was he that Forest didn't strengthen their squad after winning promotion to the Premier League that he went on strike. It seems people have been complaining about Forest's spending for a long time now
Weekly contest: Tipster v. Selly Oak Tramp
There has been a lot of interest this week, with both contenders eagerly awaiting news of their predictions. Well, let the waiting end...
How many points will be scored in the England v. Scotland match?
Tipster: 42
Tramp: 36
Result: 28
And the one we all want to know...
What will be the score in the Tottenham v. Arsenal match?
Tipster: 2-2
Tramp: 3-2 Tottenham
Result: 2-1 Tottenham
Bloody hell what sort of a rubbish Tipster do we have here? I apologise as the Selly Oak Tramp storms into a 7-3 lead. Is it really worth doing this week's predictions? Of course.
The week ahead
How many goals will there be in the Montenegro v. England match?
Tipster: 3
Tramp: 1
And the one we all want to know...
Who will the Ireland v. Wales clash? And by how many points?
Tipster: Wales, 7 points
Tramp: Ireland, 3 points
The week ahead
Carlos Tevez goes to play golf, but gets turned away... oh wait.
Fred Goodwin replaces Mark Arthur as Forest chief executive.
England stuff Montenegro at football and we declare that the team will win the Euros.
Quotes of the week
Steve McClaren, 28th September - "Something drastic has to be done because we can't carry on like this."
Neil Warnock on Carlos Tevez - "the sooner he leaves the country the better". I'd rather have Tevez
Joel Lamy (3 weeks ago) - The best thing about these tournaments is picking a minnow side who you want to do well. Out of all the teams I can see, I am going to root for Tonga for the simple reason that I want them to beat France.
Joel Lamy (2 weeks ago) - In other news, the team I have decided to lend my support to, Tonga, lost 25-20 to Canada. Just as long as they beat France.
Pixie Lott - "It's all about tonight" (anyone who was at my house on Saturday would understand!)
And on that bombshell...
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-United-fans-taunt-City-over-Carlos-Tevez-s-antics-using-giant-city-centre-billboard-article806586.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter - surprisingly decent banter from United
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yiqoeh5D2o - Ladotelli stirkes again (courtesy of Dick Ayling)
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/70860/ - that's commitment for you
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3847574/Manchester-United-Krispy-Kreme-keeper-David-de-Gea-should-be-in-custardy.html - is he secretly a jew?
Touch of a Bramble
Far be it for me to incriminate myself on the internet (ignoring the obvious cringeworthy photos which are on my Facebook profile), but it surprising to hear about the allegations surrounding Titus Bramble when he has been unable to get near an opposing striker for the past 10 years, never mind a woman on the run.
Here's hoping that everybody's second favourite footballer after Emile Heskey is not guilty of the allegations and can go back to shore up Sunderland's defence soon.
I will not play
£200,00 a week Carlos Tevez refuses to go on to the pitch against Bayern Munich. Shock! Horror! How dare he! What a disgrace! This has never happened before, right? Wrong. Let's break the whole story down for a minute here.
Ok, first of all it's probably right that I should say that Tevez has clearly incriminated himself already and whatever he says we all know his excuses are bollocks. But was this really as big a deal as we all say it was? It's not like footballers ever skip matches so they don't get cup-tied, and it's not like footballers ever say their head isn't in the right place before a match, then a week later go somewhere else (Mascherano).
And didn't one of the greatest, and most liked, footballers of all time refuse to play once? Yes, that's right, Paul Scholes said that and although he apologised afterwards, because nobody knew about it he got away from it. Like with all things, Tevez's crime was being caught.
Also, in the last stretches of Tevez's defence (and just to make it clear, I think he was totally wrong), is what he did any worse than the footballers who cheat on their (sometimes pregnant) wives or with their sister-in-law?
And out of all the lazy footballers there are, at least Tevez has put his all in for his clubs and delivered.
That aside, he needs to get lost now. There may have a massive over-reaction to Tevez's defiance, but it is clear he should just buy his contract out and leave. That's if he can be bothered to actually get on to a plane.
Ahh yeah!
Forest might be doing rubbish, but a middle three of Morgan, Mcgugan and Miller = mmm.
Speaking of Forest, the Wally and the Chairman have departed. Now being somebody who hates getting birthday cards early and not being able to open them for a few days, I had a cheeky check of Sky Bet to see who was favourite to take over the best job in football (after being a presenter on Sky Sports News)
Speaking of SSN (courtesy of Dick Ayling)
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3847901/Steve-Joness-fling-with-Georgie-Thompson.html
Anyway, going back to Forest, I was surprised to see that Martin O'Neill was 6/1 favourite, yet was 5/1 to become the next Manchester City manager, 4/1 to become the next Everton manager, 4/1 favourite to become the next Liverpool manager, 12/1 to become next Tottenham manager, 9/1 to become next England manager, 8/1 to become next Manchester United manager and 16/1 to become next Arsenal manager. Funnily enough, Schteeve is 16/1 to become the next Manchester City manager.
Personally, there is only one man I want to see take the job. Now a month or so ago I started the Bring Back Adebola campaign due to our lack of goals, but since Ishmael Miller has been banging them in, I think we should bring back Pele as a player/manager and use the two beasts to batter every other team into submission.
Come back Adebola!
Warneing: Sportsmen who are losing my respect
Shane Warne and Liz Hurley announced their engagement this week. Looks like Shane has gone from giving it a rip to being whipped.
Big Mac
I must admit I've been a bit disappointed with Rory McIlroy recently as he has become a bit of a big time. Now I'm one of those people who thinks professional sportsmen deserve the pay they get, even footballers, as they are the ones who put in the effort and make the sacrifices to win trophies and bring the money into the game.
But when Rory burst on to the scene he was brilliant with his attacking play and his baby-face. Now that he is a bit older, he still has the golf game, but his life is dominated by other activities. It seems every week he is either watching Manchester United, or flying by his helicopter to watch a big fight.
It doesn't help when he tweets at BBC commentator Jay Townsend: "Shut up ... you’re a commentator and a failed golfer, your opinion means nothing!"
Watching him dump his long-term girlfriend and moving on to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki didn't help my opinion of him, but just reading this made me want to chunder. Come on Rory, you're better than this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/15090275.stm
Flop(ianski) of the week
Hola Carlos, now pack your bags. Speaking about pack your bags, adios Schteeve, but next time you manage in England please speak normally.
Also, chin up Warnock
Hall of Lame
Combining Tevez and Forest, I can still remember the last time a player at the City Ground went on strike. Remember Pierre Van Hooijdonk? So incensed was he that Forest didn't strengthen their squad after winning promotion to the Premier League that he went on strike. It seems people have been complaining about Forest's spending for a long time now
Weekly contest: Tipster v. Selly Oak Tramp
There has been a lot of interest this week, with both contenders eagerly awaiting news of their predictions. Well, let the waiting end...
How many points will be scored in the England v. Scotland match?
Tipster: 42
Tramp: 36
Result: 28
And the one we all want to know...
What will be the score in the Tottenham v. Arsenal match?
Tipster: 2-2
Tramp: 3-2 Tottenham
Result: 2-1 Tottenham
Bloody hell what sort of a rubbish Tipster do we have here? I apologise as the Selly Oak Tramp storms into a 7-3 lead. Is it really worth doing this week's predictions? Of course.
The week ahead
How many goals will there be in the Montenegro v. England match?
Tipster: 3
Tramp: 1
And the one we all want to know...
Who will the Ireland v. Wales clash? And by how many points?
Tipster: Wales, 7 points
Tramp: Ireland, 3 points
The week ahead
Carlos Tevez goes to play golf, but gets turned away... oh wait.
Fred Goodwin replaces Mark Arthur as Forest chief executive.
England stuff Montenegro at football and we declare that the team will win the Euros.
Quotes of the week
Steve McClaren, 28th September - "Something drastic has to be done because we can't carry on like this."
Neil Warnock on Carlos Tevez - "the sooner he leaves the country the better". I'd rather have Tevez
Joel Lamy (3 weeks ago) - The best thing about these tournaments is picking a minnow side who you want to do well. Out of all the teams I can see, I am going to root for Tonga for the simple reason that I want them to beat France.
Joel Lamy (2 weeks ago) - In other news, the team I have decided to lend my support to, Tonga, lost 25-20 to Canada. Just as long as they beat France.
Pixie Lott - "It's all about tonight" (anyone who was at my house on Saturday would understand!)
And on that bombshell...
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-United-fans-taunt-City-over-Carlos-Tevez-s-antics-using-giant-city-centre-billboard-article806586.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter - surprisingly decent banter from United
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yiqoeh5D2o - Ladotelli stirkes again (courtesy of Dick Ayling)
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/70860/ - that's commitment for you
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3847574/Manchester-United-Krispy-Kreme-keeper-David-de-Gea-should-be-in-custardy.html - is he secretly a jew?
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