Bloody Football!

[robertlouis]

Blimey! Rafa's back. At Stamford Bridge!


Where are you Sammi???

[Stavros]

Surely the irony of this appointment is that for all his success at Anfield, it was the relationship with the owners of the club that undermined his position? Liverpool were not a particularly good team then or now, but managed some spectacular results when it mattered -he never won the Premier League with this club. He now has less than a year in which to maintain Chelsea's position in Europe, with a squad that has talent but not much discipline, and an owner who can do what he wants, when he wants. The chatter, for what that's worth, is that Guardiola is not interested in Chelsea -if he is even interested in a UK club it must be Arsenal, and that would be an ingriguing appointment, given the view some perceptive United fans have, that Ferguson is most likley to be replaced by Solskjaer when the time comes.

But will Torres score on a regular basis? Will David Beckham finish his footballing career at Stamford Bridge? And weren't all these decisions supposed to be vetted by John Terry?

[SammiValentine]

Surely the irony of this appointment is that for all his success at Anfield, it was the relationship with the owners of the club that undermined his position? Liverpool were not a particularly good team then or now, but managed some spectacular results when it mattered -he never won the Premier League with this club. He now has less than a year in which to maintain Chelsea's position in Europe, with a squad that has talent but not much discipline, and an owner who can do what he wants, when he wants. The chatter, for what that's worth, is that Guardiola is not interested in Chelsea -if he is even interested in a UK club it must be Arsenal, and that would be an ingriguing appointment, given the view some perceptive United fans have, that Ferguson is most likley to be replaced by Solskjaer when the time comes.

But will Torres score on a regular basis? Will David Beckham finish his footballing career at Stamford Bridge? And weren't all these decisions supposed to be vetted by John Terry?

I will refrain from calling you an idiot but the liverpool team of 08/09 that came 2nd in prem, got the most points in our history, scored most goals in a season for us, beat real madrid, inter milan (home and away), beat man utd 4-1 away etc etc............ was an extremely good team. He turned a mid table side into european cup winners + top4 consistants. Your a mental if you think liverpool was not a good team under his reign.

[SammiValentine]

Blimey! Rafa's back. At Stamford Bridge!


Where are you Sammi???

gutted but cant blame the fella. He was patient and we didnt ask him back, he would of walked over broken glass to come back to anfield. Maybe this is partly to wind up Ian Ayre - I would like to think so

In a fantasy world I hope he does well, then at the end of the season sacked chelsea off and came home

Like i have said in a previous post the premier league has been less of a force without mourhino and rafa. I also said I expected rafa to be back (I was hoping liverpool) and mourhinio at man city by next season.

[Stavros]

I will refrain from calling you an idiot but the liverpool team of 08/09 that came 2nd in prem, got the most points in our history, scored most goals in a season for us, beat real madrid, inter milan (home and away), beat man utd 4-1 away etc etc............ was an extremely good team. He turned a mid table side into european cup winners + top4 consistants. Your a mental if you think liverpool was not a good team under his reign.

But Liverpool have never won the Premier League title, and last won the old First Division title in 1990; ok so they were better than I suggested, but who remembers the runners up?

[SammiValentine]

But Liverpool have never won the Premier League title, and last won the old First Division title in 1990; ok so they were better than I suggested, but who remembers the runners up?

Have not won the league but you only need to look at what we have won since 2000 to see that "not a particuarly good team" is a really, really silly comment It only rings true for the last couple of seasons and even when so poor we still get into domestic finals and a uefa semi.

Chelsea fans certainly remember Mr Benetiz regardless of him winning the prem or not. He was the man who stopped Mourhinos best (2005 and 2007) from getting to a champions league final, with a team of underdogs -over two legs.

[Stavros]

Have not won the league but you only need to look at what we have won since 2000 to see that "not a particuarly good team" is a really, really silly comment It only rings true for the last couple of seasons and even when so poor we still get into domestic finals and a uefa semi.

Chelsea fans certainly remember Mr Benetiz regardless of him winning the prem or not. He was the man who stopped Mourhinos best (2005 and 2007) from getting to a champions league final, with a team of underdogs -over two legs.

Ok Sammi I concede, it was a comment made without much reflection; the truth is I can't recall that many Liverpool games under Benitez other than the astonishing night in Istanbul, one of the most memorable. My recollection of his last phase in charge does not shine much either; this could be because I am forgetting a lot of things these days (I went to the shops without my wallet yesterday, for example) or the 'halo effect' -I recalll so many outstanding games from Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s that their more recent performances seem below par by comparison, which may not be fair.

I therefore concede you are right, and that I was wrong.

[robertlouis]

More unsavoury moments in the Premiership over the weekend. Disgraceful antisemitic chants and worse from West Ham fans at Spurs and the constant booing - and worse again - of Benitez' first game in charge of Chelsea.

Taking the Spurs' game first, yes, it's possible that some of the people making the obscene remarks don't fully understand the seriousness of what they're saying, but the holocaust should never be trivialised like that. And of course, Spurs fans, whether Jewish or Gentile, wear the "Yid" label like a perverse badge of pride, but let's hope that the FA's recently found balls mean that they will deal as harshly as possible and through the courts with those responsible.

As for Chelsea, well, apart from those who are old enough to remember the thin and pre-Abramovich times, they've always seemed to reflect the nastiness of their club and, sadly, some of their stars - Messrs Terry and Cole stand out, but there have been others, like Jody Morris too. What was particularly sad yesterday was that their prolonged booing drowned out an attempt at decency, a minute's applause for the great Dave Sexton, the man who managed them brilliantly in the 70s.

Abramovich was there to witness it all. He fired De Matteo, he appointed Benitez, he's hired and fired nine other managers in his ten years as owner. Watching and listening to that disgrace yesterday, it would take a hard man - which he undoubtedly is - not to turn around, take his money out, see the club go to the wall and then tell those ungrateful and graceless bastards - *ahem*, I'll get to the fans in a minute - and tell them to fuck off with their nastiness and pettily short memories.

What goes on on the park can be beautiful and breathtaking, but sadly all too often what emanates from the terraces is brutish, vile, and hurtful. A reflection of Call Me Dave's "Big Society", perhaps.

Football stinks.

[Stavros]

To which one would have to add the vicious attack on Spurs fans in Rome by AS Roma fans (not Lazio), part of an under-current of 'paramilitary' "football supporters" in Europe. It is an odd fact of history that Spurs initially gained their Jewish following because East End Jews found it easier to travel on the railway to White Hart Lane, yet Arsenal has had roughly an equal proportion of Jewish fans, and one of the most fervent admirers of Manchester City, author Colin Shindler is Jewish. I think the use of the word 'Yid' is offensive in most contexts,regarless of what some Jews call each other be it in jest or anger. Here is an interesting article on this topic.
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/footbal...football-fans/

[robertlouis]

Coming from a city (Glasgow) where religion and football affiliation and idnetity have for generations been poisonously intertwined, I find the relatively recent public highlighting of Tottenham fans' complex identification with Judaism very interesting.

That said, when I first moved south, my football ground of choice was the Boleyn Ground, simply because West Ham in the 80s seemed to play a very watchable style of football, under the likes of purist managers like Ron Greenwood and John Lyall. There was always an undercurrent of hostility when London rivals visited, but in those days the real vitriol seemed to be reserved for Chelsea, because of their more upmarket fans by comparison with West Ham's east end working class roots. But I never heard the kind of thing that's spewed out on the terraces these days.

Having also lived in a number of cities on the European mainland in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, fan enmity was generally low-key, except when Ajax played Feyenoord, or Liege vs Anderlecht. But the Dutch fans loathe the Germans - hangover from the war.