October 2nd, 2008
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The Offside Rules goes to Grassroot Soccer event against Hollywood United [The Offside Rules]
Zimbabwe Olympic Committee helps out country’s Homeless World Cup team by donating kits, balls, and training aids. [ZBC News]
Theme of Dimitar Berbatov’s first goal celebration yesterday? Embarrassment [Daily Express]
Maradona’s daughter carrying Kun Aguero’s kid in her belly [Goal.com]
MLS doesn’t follow FIFA calendar because the powers that be are isolationist by nature [Dave's Football Blog]
Dean Ashton is really Mr. Glass from Unbreakable [Guardian]
And, finally:
10 (well, 12) teams who were too good to go down, but did anyway [Telegraph]
Written by Darkvader on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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The 2ºleg UEFA games are in play tonight with the winners qualifying
for the mini-league stages. Here is a quick resume of results & scorers.
SALZBURG 0 - SEVILLA 2, a formality that Sevilla rammed home
with two goals from KANOUTE ( 36th min & 57th min). Sevilla
as expected go onto the mini-league
A 2nd min goal by RACING DE SANTANDER player EDU BEDIA
was enough to defeat HONKA & give the Spaniards the 0-1 win &
qualification for the mini-league.
DEPORTIVO 2 (Colotto 36th & 76th min) - BRANN BERGEN 0
PENALTIES : 3-2
Historical comeback by Deportivo to take the tie in penalties & go on
to the mini-league stage. Magical night at A Coruña.
VALENCIA 2 (Del Horno 81st min; Villa 92th min penalty -
MARITIMO 1 (Marcinho 39th min). Valencia as expected qualify for
the mini-league
Great night for Spanish Football in UEFA as all 4 teams go through!
Written by STRIKER on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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Aalborg 0-3 Manchester United
A goal for Wayne Rooney, two for Dimitar Berbatov, thank you very much. Let’s all just forget about that weak draw with Villareal, shall we? I think it’s safe to assume that Celtic are going to be eliminated at the group stage, as per usual, and based on this performance Aalborg really aren’t much of a threat, so no worries until the knockout rounds start. Now United just need to get things sorted out in the Premiership.
Liverpool 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
Well, Robbie Keane scored his first goal for Liverpool. And his goal celebration looks just as stupid as it did when he was at Spurs. I think Jamie Carragher needs to sit him down and have a word with him. Or, you know, just take a look at Steven Gerrard, celebrating his 100th goal in a Liverpool shirt. The knee-slide is always a classic. (Thank god he’s stopped that back-patting thing he was doing for a while.)
Arsenal 4-0 Porto
Blah blah beautiful football blabbity blah talented youngsters blah blah blee. Y’all know it’s only a matter of time before Van Persie is broken again.
Cluj 0-0 Chelsea
Is it bad for me to be disappointed that Didier Drogba isn’t more seriously injured? Probably, yes. Anyway, yay Cluj! Long may you inspire bad vampire-related puns in the sports media.
Group A
Cluj 0-0 Chelsea
Bordeaux 1-3 Roma
Group B
Anorthosis Famagusta 3-1 Panathinaikos
Inter 1-1 Werder Bremen
Group C
Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Barcelona
Group D
Liverpool 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Marseille
Group E
Aalborg 0-3 Manchester United
Villareal 1-0 Celtic
Group F
Fiorentina 0-0 Steaua Bucharest
Bayern Munich 1-1 Lyon
Group G
Arsenal 4-0 Porto
Fenerbahce 0-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Group H
Zenit St. Petersburg 1-2 Real Madrid
Bate Borisov 2-2 Juventus
Written by Jen on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Champions League and Liverpool and manchester united.
When Mathieu Flamini left Arsenal we all knew it would be hard to replace him. He was only a first team regular in his last season in an Arsenal shirt but what a first team regular he was.
He was one of Arsenal’s best players last season and was a big factor in Fabregas playing so well. The two complimented each other and I firmly believed that they could have emulated the partnership of Vieira and Petit or been even better.
Since leaving Arsenal he has endured a slow start to his Milan career being on the bench more often than playing. You could say that he may regret leaving the Arsenal and is following the route of many who believe the grass is greener on the other side.
One thing is for sure, I think Arsenal miss him. Despite the controversial manner of his departure I still wish deep down that he was still an Arsenal player.
I mean no disrespect to the players we have but it’s obvious that we are lacking in the midfield area. It’s obvious that Arsene Wenger thought so too, after all, we have now found out that he put bids in for Alonso, Toure and Inler.
Le Boss seems to have put his faith in Denilson after the failed attempts to boost the midfield area. I like Denilson but despite his undoubted quality he is inconsistent with his performances. That is expected with his young age and lack of experience.
Diaby is the player a lot of Gooners would like to see given a chance in the middle with Cesc but we have more chance of seeing Spurs win the league! I rate him highly but Diaby is constantly on the treatment table. He has been likened to Vieira but Vieira he is not. He only looks like Paddy, he doesn’t play like him.
Song is a player I’d like to see given a chance. He seems our toughest tackler and can do the dirty work allowing Cesc to weave his magic. Le Boss seems undecided on where Song should play though. Is he a defender or a midfielder? Arsenal.com say he is a defender so that gives an indication on where Arsene thinks he should play.
The midfield seems to be doing an Okay job at present but I think its really just papering over the cracks. We have not really faced a side of note and we have lost two games. I worry a little about when we face the midfield of Chelsea and Manchester United. With Flamini in the side I’d have no worries.
I’m not doubting that we have quality in the midfield but I still feel we are lightweight since the departure of Flamini. Le Boss thinks so too…………
I think we can cope short-term without Flamini but we need another player added there in January. Denilson, Diaby and Song are potentially very good players and need time. At their age they have plenty of that! But I still feel that they need someone else to help guide them through this stage of their career other than the veteran Cesc Fabregas.
Keep it Goonerish……………
Written by Wrighty7 on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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I had an interesting comment on my blog yesterday and I’d like to hear my fellow Gooners views.
I wrote about Ian Wright having a little pop at Gooners for leaving the Emirates early and I must say I totally agree with him. So did the most part of the comments.
I hope you don’t mind me using the comment Jonnie.
“Good post Wrighty7,
Something struck me while reading your post. Is the club letting you down?
Since day one, the stadium has emptied early be it a good or bad result on the night. The fans pay hard earned money to go to the Emirates.
Apart from fan demographics, is the club engaging properly with the Police, Transport for London and London Underground in a collaborative way to allow fans to stay until the death?
In my opinion, AW is more than capable of delegating this to his assistants to address this issue in a more effective manner as it does affect the team.Could IASA/Red Action or other bring this to the table?
Jonnie.”
What do you, my fellow Gooners think? Are the club letting us down on these issues?
Keep it Goonerish…………
Written by Wrighty7 on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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On yer Bikey Wolves. Andre scored Reading’s second Wednesday night.It’s Thursday and that that means the Colaship roundup is very late.. Or is it? There were games on Wednesday, so I held back. Get ready… It’s the double whammy edition of the Coca Cola Championship roundup. Lets take a look at the Saturday AND Wednesday behind us. All in one big bumper roundup. Lets go…..
Lets kick it off with league leaders Wolves…Have the wheels finally fallen off? Unlikely, but a nice win on Saturday (2-0 over Bristol City) was followed up Wednesday eve with a 3 nil defeat at home to Reading. Reading have now won 3 of their last 4 and scored plenty of goals during that spell, fifteen! Which is why they were kind enough to send Norwich Leroy Lita yesterday morning. Thanks Reading! Coppell’s men have moved into third place and just 3 points behind Bongo FC. Plymouth continue on a good run. They took 3 points on Saturday at home to Forest and drew 2-2 Wednesday night away to Bristol City. Before Wednesday, Plymouth had won three on the spin. They are up to 12th in the table.
Burnley followed up their win at home to Preston on Saturday with another 3 points midweek, coming from behind twice to beat Watford 3-2 at Turf Moor. Burnley are now fourth and must be experiencing the mother of all nose bleeds. They visit Reading on Saturday where normal service will be resumed and the cotton swabs will be put away. Â That inevitable drubbing is followed by a visit from Bongo FC. Still…Nice to be fourth at least once this season eh Burnley?
Crystal Palace seem to be slowly improving. They followed Saturday’s draw against the ’scum’ with 3 points on Wednesday at home to Charlton. Neil Warnock’s side have moved out of the bottom 3.
Talking of the ’scum’, lets give them a brief mention. They stuffed Barnsley 3-0 midweek. Well done bitches.
Charlton seem to be in lots of trouble this term. Alan Pardew made it very clear at the start of the season that he was VERY unhappy with the fire sale at the Valley during the summer. The lack of new signings and the departure of several key players appears to have hit Charlton with a hammer. They have taken just 4 points from the last 18.
The weeks big movers are Sheffield Wednesday. They have won three of the last 5 with the only defeat coming away to Reading when they conceded 6! They must have taken that on the chin as they have nabbed 7 of the last 9 available points and sit in 5th place, one spot above cross town rivals Sheffield United. That doesn’t happen often and I am sure they will be enjoying it! Wednesday visit Plymouth on Saturday before United make the short ride across town for the ’steel’ derby. Grrrr…The ‘STEEL’ derby! Sounds like they should meet at the fountain in town for a rumble instead.
Lets stick with the ’steel’ derby a moment (GRRRRR) . The blades have also had a good week. They beat Watford at Bramall Lane before taking the points from Doncaster last night. Lets face it, that’s probably 3 of the easiest points (except Barnsley) they will play for this season.
Well ok..Lets get to Norwich. Where do we begin..Things were looking up after the win over Sheffield United but we went to Barnsley and played like a bunch of blind school girls. We must have sacrificed a lamb or a small child before the game as we left with an undeserved point and I am grateful for that. BUT the gods were certainly not looking down upon us on Wednesday night as we fell 2-0 at an empty St Mary’s. Southampton fans should be ashamed of themselves. Just 14,000 (including the away fans AND apparently that number included season ticket holders who did not show!) were in attendance and that is AWFUL. Norwich appeared to be having the better of the opening exchanges (according to BBC Norfolk) but a Jordan Robertson thunderbolt from the blue left us trailing at half time. Then we can give the ref a round of applause for his superb performance in the second half, giving a penalty to the saints for a ‘foul’ at the edge of the box. The Southampton lad clearly dives into the box after he has pushed the ball away from the goal and Stefanovic, who pulls out of the challenge making minimal contact. Not to mention that three Norwich players are behind the ball anyway so there was no chance of a scoring opportunity. Game, set and match. Goodnight sweetheart. Referee Mr. Beeby should be kicking himself when he looks at the replay, but he wont as all refs think they are right ALL of the time and they are all PRICKS. To top this, he sent Stefanovic off with a straight red card (below) but refused to say why! He did it in the heat of the moment after Dejan threw the ball to the ground and that is no reason to produce a straight red.  Still,  you have to take your chances and we had many to take before the ridiculous red.
Derby come to Carrow Road on Saturday and three points are a must. We will be buoyed by recent good home performances and the arrival of Leroy Lita from Reading. He should start alongside Sibierski and I will be excited to see how that goes. BUT…Pizza Hut star and Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has recalled Jonathon Grounds from his loan. Add the 2 game suspension that Stefanovic has received along with injuries to John Kennedy and Gary Doherty and we are left with nada, nichts, nein, nonka. NO center backs. Still Derby are toot and I will keep my fingers crossed for our front men to have a good day!
Finally Forest remain rooted to the bottom after 5 defeats and a draw in their last 6 games. Manager Colin Calderwood must be feeling the heat from the boardroom and he will need to turn the situation on it’s arse soon. He spent the cash in the summer, signed Robert Earnshaw and Andy Cole and now he must get his side to perform. Cole has played just 3 times and Earnshaw has scored just 2 in 9 games. He is a proven net banger at this level so maybe he is not being given the chance to prove it!
Click here for the full Championship table.
Another fizzing update next week.
-Bigus.
Written by Darkvader on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bigus Dickus and a lita of goals please and coca cola championship and dark forest and poopy refs and runners and riders.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba suffered suspected knee ligament damage in the Champions League goalless draw with Romanian side CFR Cluj on Wednesday.
Drogba, who has just returned from knee injury, left the stadium on crutches and is set to have a scan on Thursday.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari also said John Terry and Alex suffered knocks in the game.
But he said Ashley Cole will be fit for the weekend after missing the game against Cluj with a back problem.
Chelsea, who are already missing injury victims Joe Cole, Deco, Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho, face in-form Aston Villa at home in the Premier League on Sunday.
Scolari said: “I don’t know now what the possibilities I have for Sunday are, maybe after Thursday I have a chance to say something more.
“I didn’t see the challenge on Drogba. Injuries come in training and on the pitch. This is normal for players.”
BBC 5 Live’s Simon Brotherton was in Romania and believed the injuries would test a Chelsea squad which was smaller than previous seasons.
“Injuries are starting to mount up,” he said.
“Drogba was stretchered off with ligament damage, Ashely Cole was left out with lower back pain, John Terry was holding his back by the end of the game and they were already without Deco, Essien, Carvalho and Joe Cole.
“The squad, smaller this season, may well be stretched and we’re only just into October.”
Brazilian coach Scolari was not too disappointed with the result against a side making their debut in the group stages of the Champions League.
“We didn’t play well, but one point is better than zero points,” he added.
“They beat Roma, they are confident, they’re playing at home and they wanted to show to the people they are very good.
“Cluj were confident, they wanted to prove something. Maybe they will have a problem in their next game because they ran for 95 minutes.”
“We knew this and we prepared but we missed one or two times in front of goal.
“But in the end I am happy with one point because Didier is out, Terry for 15 minutes played with problems, Alex played 15 minutes with problems.”
Written by Darkvader on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Latest News and Season '08-09.
IT IS several centuries since visitors to Transylvania routinely ran the risk of a slow death by skewering at the hands of Vlad the Impaler but Chelsea certainly did not escape unscathed last night. An already uncomfortable trip to the home of Dracula was tainted by an apparently serious leg injury suffered by Didier Drogba on an evening when Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side failed to score for the first time under the Brazilian’s charge.
Drained of imagination and incision, Chelsea were reminded that they are mortal after all and it required a superlative late one-handed save from Petr Cech to deny Alvaro Pereira what would have been a richly deserved winner.
Chelsea were forced to endure the sound of “Glory, Glory, Man United” blaring out of the Cluj public address system in the preamble to kick-off but singularly failed to punish their hosts for that little joke during an opening period spent largely on the back foot.
With Ashley Cole having been ruled out with back pain, Wayne Bridge was offered a rare outing at left-back. Worryingly for England, Cole’s complaint could be bad news for Fabio Capello as Scolari’s staff now consider him a doubt for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Scolari likes his full-backs to push up and overlap at every opportunity but this tactic looked somewhat risky in the face of Cluj’s quickfire counter-attacking.
Certainly Sebastian Dubarbier and Juan Culio delighted in exploiting the resultant space and cleverly supporting Yssouf Kone, deployed as a lone striker by Maurizio Trombetta, Cluj’s Italian coach. Deployed wide on the left, Culio, whose two goals undid Roma away last month, demonstrated just why the Argentinian is known as “Emperor Culio” in Transylvania and seemed to relish detecting weaknesses in Jose Bosingwa’s defensive game.
Studded with South American players, the Romanian champions were positionally fluid and boasted some wonderful changes of pace but, nonetheless, tended to come unstuck whenever Kone came into John Terry’s orbit. He found the England centre-half a tough marker and even when the centre-forward did manage to unleash a shot it veered off target thanks to Terry’s astute closing down.
Equally well-shadowed but not quite as well fed, Drogba was seeing rather less of the ball than normal. He was not alone as Cluj dominated possession and might have taken the lead when Dubarbier’s chipped pass bisected Terry and Alex but Eugen Trica failed to provide the finish.
Scolari’s unbeaten record as Chelsea’s manager looked in peril and, by way of adding insult to injury, Cluj, a club apparently stranded in the third tier of Romanian football only seven seasons ago, were endeavouring to outdo Chelsea at their own, overlapping full-back game. Suddenly Pereira, the Cluj left-back, was running at Bosingwa with real menace, escaping the Portuguese international’s attentions before hitting a shot which whizzed just wide of the far post.
With Terry also required to whisk the ball off Kone’s toes in the area, Scolari probably found the half-time whistle a relief.
The Brazilian must have been grateful that Cluj’s approach play was not matched by their finishing but would surely have been concerned by not only Drogba’s penchant for collapsing to the ground far too easily but the minimal impact of both Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou.
The latter failed to appear for the second half, his place going to Nicolas Anelka who pushed up alongside Drogba as Chelsea switched to a 4-4-2 formation.
Anelka’s smart pass swiftly provided Frank Lampard with a close-range chance but Andre de Sousa’s block nullified the threat.
Clearly missing the injured Joe Cole and Deco, Chelsea’s attacks had hitherto failed to provide Lampard much scope for such trademark late bursts into the area but any optimism offered by Anelka’s arrival was soon diluted when Drogba suffered a serious looking injury.
Just as the striker looked poised to tap home Malouda’s fine cross from close range, De Sousa steamed in with a powerful tackle. Drogba’s leg seemed to catch in the turf, twisting and buckling beneath him before he was carried off in evident agony.
Although Franco di Santo nearly scored with his first touch after replacing Malouda, Trica too went mighty close for Cluj before Cech’s save prevented a historic home victory.
CFR 1907 Cluj: Stancioiu, Tony, Souza, Cadu, Pereira, Culio, Muresan, Dani, Dubarbier, Yssouf Kone, Trica (Didi 88). Subs not used: Nuno Claro, Panin, Hugo Alcantara, Deac, Emmanuel Kone, Ruiz. Booked: Pereira, Dani.
CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Bridge, Mikel, Kalou (Anelka 46), Ballack, Lampard, Malouda (Di Santo 74), Drogba (Belletti 57). Subs not used: Hilario, Ivanovic, Ferreira, Stoch.
Booked: Alex, Anelka.
Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany).
Written by Darkvader on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Champions League 08-09 and Results.
The captain - John Terry looks fitter and fresher than ever. You can’t help but think that those scenes from Moscow of Terry sat on the floor, head in hands, followed by a walk through the entire Manchester United squad trying their hardest not to grin, will only act as the most stubborn determination for not just the skipper but the entire squad. If ever there was a leader ideally fit to guide his side to the biggest prize in European football then here he is.
The manager - Mr. Scolari looks to have once again embodied everything that Chelsea stand for. Watching the West Londoners, the only other time the side has maybe looked more impressive was in the Jose Mourinho era. Scolari has come in and clearly defined the role of each player in his side. Not only does he command massive respect, but the gaffer that once got banned for breaking the nose of an opposition coach, carries just as big a presence but without the arrogance of Mourinho, winning him more fans with the neutrals. He also happens top have won the biggest prize in football, the World Cup and doesn’t run down the touch line telling opposition fans to be quiet.
The new men - Chelsea’s signings during the summer were both clever and important. In Jose Bosingwa, Chelsea now have the right back equivalent of Ashley Cole, a full back that can bomb forward but also has the handy knack of being able to defend. Important because in a lot of big European games sides are reluctant to send waves of players forward to create a sporting equivalent of D-Day, hence the full backs getting forward is crucial. What more can be said about Deco? The signing of the Portuguese maestro was branded by some as a waste, those who said that his best days at Barca were long gone clearly haven’t been watching the opening days of this season. Deco is just as influential in the side as Claude Makelele was, the difference is he is arguably the best creative midfielder currently in the Premiership.
The old men - Hanging on to Frank Lampard was a master stroke on the part of whoever decided to give him the terms he desired in his extended contract. The loss of Lampard’s mother last season seems to have spurned the East Londoner on. The way that Deco and Lampard so easily switch between roles in the Chelsea midfield is a pleasure to watch, when one goes zig the other goes zag. There are few other teams in Europe that can boast a midfield pairing as impressive. John Terry’s central defensive partner also has a big part to play, the beauty of having Carvalho next to Terry in the middle of defence is that you have effectively two loud and big individuals at the back of the team, I think most would agree that when you watch Chelsea this year they don’t look like they’ll ever leak a goal.
The keeper - Petr Cech is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world. All is well and good if you have the best 10 players at your exposal in front of the keeper but it’s the man between the sticks that more than often decides whether a team wins or loses a game. Cech embodies all the skills a keeper should possess; presence, skill, agility and reliability among others. The rest of the team know they can rely on him if they have a rare defensive lapse, furthermore the defence knows that if they hear a shout of ‘keeper’ from behind them then they know some 6 foot plus Czech bloke is about to batter them in the back of the head.
The coaches - The loss of Steve Clarke to West Ham was a massive blow for the West London outfit, Clarke was a massive person at the club, of that there is no doubt. His replacement, former skipper Ray Wilkins, is another Chelsea master stroke. Wilkins is one of the most intelligent people in the game, although a pundit for a long time, anyone that watched him on Sky Sports or any other channel couldn’t help but nod in agreement when he would decipher a situation that the other pundits would make look like the Davinci Code. He is no stranger to the big game, he also played in other European leagues, hence Wilkins has an under standing of the way other European teams are likely to set up and play, something money can’t physically buy.
The fans and stadium - I’m not sure what it is but there must be some sort of magical spell over Stamford Bridge. There is no reason why the fortress like atmosphere of 80 something unbeaten games in the Premiership can’t transfer itself to European occasions. Only the likes of Barcelona have entered the territory of Chelsea and come away with any pluses in recent years. Furthermore the same gritty determination that John Terry will be displaying this year will be evident on the part of the fans. There were a lot of Chelsea fans in Russia who saw their team lose, this will only spur them on to get right behind the side whoever they meet on their European adventure this season. I’m fairly sure that ‘Blue is the colour’ will be sung louder than ever before.
Blues star set for Villa return
Blues midfielder Joe Cole is hoping to recover from injury in time to make his return against Aston Villa on Sunday
Cole was forced to miss last week’s comfortable 4-0 Carling Cup victory at Portsmouth with a thigh injury which also ruled him out of the 2-0 win at Stoke last weekend.
The England star failed to overcome the problem for Chelsea’s Champions League clash against CLR Cluj in Romania in midweek but is reportedly making good progress and hopeful of being back in the squad for the visit of Villa to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
His midfield colleague Deco looks unlikely to feature again though as he continues his recovery from a similar injury while his Portugal teammate Ricardo Carvalho is still at least a fortnight away from returning from a knee injury.
There is some good news for boss Luiz Felipe Scolari though, with striker Salomon Kalou back in the squad for the European clash against Cluj after shaking off the ankle problem that forced him to be substituted at half-time at Stoke
Written by Jackson Ng Ghim Pheng True Blue Chelsea Fan on October 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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The Offside Rules goes to Grassroot Soccer event against Hollywood United [The Offside Rules]
