Where Is Everyone?

Golly it's quiet today, barely a mouse has stirred so far and it's gone 14.00 on a Bank Holiday. The cars are all sleeping, their owners nowhere to be seen. I guess everyone did their Bank Holiday Fun thing yesterday. Not a lot on the football front as we enter yet another break - the second one this season and we're only 3 or 4 games in. Farcical.

Rumour - and probably nothing more, but you never know - has it that AW is looking, still, to bring in both Chamakh and Vieira before tonight's transfer deadline. At least he's not in the queue to sign Pompey's comedy goalkeeper who may well by on his way to Spurs along with 'Arry's other Pompey favourites. Good move? Not for James, I wouldn't have thought. Gomes is out atm but I'd reckon he'd be the number one when he's fit and it makes no sense for James to bench-warm in a World Cup season - especially when it's the last World Cup he's realistically likely to play in.

Can I be bothered to head off down the pub, I wonder?

Dizzee Rascal: Surprisingly Popular With Old People

Despite the absence even of radio at yesterday's camp-fest (we did have wind-up lights, though, which were truly great) I did learn that we'd managed to throw the game at the home of the Manchester Red Devils. C'est la vie, we'll recover. Life's to be enjoyed and enjoy it we have been lucky enough to be doing, whatever the football results.



I've a very fine tiredness creeping over me, so will do the "proper job" in the morning.

Take care, y'all.

Let's Get Rolling

So, we're in Group H in the Champions League proper, along with AZ, Olympiacos and Standard Liege. On paper this looks like a pretty good draw for us, and to be fair I fully expect for it to prove to be that in practice. This'll be good not only for our progress through the CL but in the premiership as well.

I see Lawro is hedging his bets and predicting a draw between us and the Manchester Red Devils. I'd never even considered this option for some reason, and maybe he's got a point. But I don't think he's right, 2-1 to us or a gritty 1-0 to the home team IMHO.

I'll be in the middle of a quite-possibly-very-muddy field for the match, so it'll FiveLiveTastic, just the way it should be.

Whatever happens in the football, have a great weekend.

It's All Beyond Me

Hmmm. "Eduardo Cheat" seems to be the story of the day, relagating the appalling scenes at West Ham vs Millwall to, well, nowhere really. Indeed, apart from 'Arry suggesting "the teams should be kept apart" in future, there's little or nothing about the whole disgrace anywhere. The ref didn't have much choice on the night really - whilst you'd think 3 pitch invasions is at least 2 pitch invasions more than it should have taken to abandon the game, what would have happened if he *had* called it off? I'd like to see West Ham booted out of the Carling Cup for this season and both teams banned for next year's. Won't happen of course, it's far more likely Eduardo will be extradited or something.

The draw for the Champions League is today. More later, perhaps, when we know who we've got. Meanwhile it's back to EBay. Oh, and tea.

Hoop-La

Gordon's House Of Grey Despair is horrid, truly horrid :(

Quick prediction for tonight: 3 - 1.

On with the game :)

UPDATE: At half-time it's 1 - 0, so I'm on target whichever way you read my prediction ;) It was meant to be 3 - 1 on the night, btw. EE27 is having a blinder, I have to say. Penalty? Yup, keeper's thigh clipped E9's right ankle. I daresay E9 is a tad conscious of knocks to that part of his anatomy.

FULL-TIME UPDATE: Well there you go, I got it right! EE27 certainly deserved his goal and all round it wasn't too shoddy at all.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Dole Office day today. What an appallingly depressing place the "Job Centre Plus" is, the grey filth of the outside of the building extends to every aspect of the inside of the place, the staff included. I dread going there, I really do.

So this is Gordon's Britain? He's dragged us back to the worst days of the 70s - racial violence, strikes, unemployment - and has done nothing to deal with the issues beyond keeping alive the PC/Box Ticking/Spin New Labour mentality that means no one can talk about what's actually going on. Brilliant. For a lot of us, a three-day working week is purely aspirational. A couple of generations of Britons are now in danger of ending up on the scrap heap.

Is anything else missing? Ah, yes, football violence. Err, sorry, that's back too. Hardly surprising really, and not at all surprising that it should be a West Ham vs Millwall match that reintroduces this further sign of social ill-ease.

Outside, it's raining. As it should be: the sky is crying.

Ooops ;)

So it's two defeats in three for those perennial "it's our year" scallies from the Pool. Even at this early stage that can't be good - you'd expect United to recover from that sort of start, but Liverpool? Mind you, there's some interesting games coming up over the next few weeks so things are going to swap around a bit, that's for sure.

In other news, Sol Campbell appears on the verge of joining the Sven revolution at League Two Notts County. Good luck to him. There's nothing more I can find about Callum Davenport, his condition still appears to be "serious but stable" and this stage there is, fairly obviously I suppose, no indication as to whether he'll ever be able to play again. Good luck to him, too.

Time for tea? Yes, I think so.

UPDATE

Sol's got himself a *five year* contract with Notts County! Golly!

Another Monday

Another Monday. Another week. Bring it on.

Best wishes to a couple of West Ham players who're in the news today and probably wish they weren't: Callum Davenport, who's in a stable condition in hospital having been very seriously injured in a stabbing and Dean Ashton, who's retired from the game through injury. Let's hope today marks the start of brighter times for both of them.

Yesterday's football provided neither surprises nor entertainment, and I don't suppose Liverpool vs Villa this evening will be much of a pleasure, either. Tomorrow sees a pretty full Carling Cup schedule, and Wednesday has us pitted against those Glasgow Hoops again.

Back to the job searching for me. Then maybe a beer.

Pub, I Hear You Calling Me...

A great result yesterday, and, despite a couple of wobbly moments, a good performance too. 10 goals in 2 games is very fine, though the manner in which the two we've let in got in there leaves a niggling cause for concern. Another centre back would really be nice. Still, let's not be picky, this is a season for positivity IMHO.

The Boss having now realised that even Harley Davidsons need to be given petrol from time to time this morning's chugabout went fine until her side panel fell off on the A4174. I spent the journey back with the thing stuffed down the front of my jacket, somewhat uncomfortable and restrictive, I have to say. Probably my punishment for making fun of Tig's marrow and ginger tarmac.

We're off now to the boozer for a couple of swift ones before roast lamb and a peek at Fulham vs Chelsea, which has a bit of potential for fun.

Weekend, We Welcome You

The weekend's here again, and with it the sun. Add in a home game against Portsmouth (and at a proper kick-off time, too) and we've got the makings of a good couple of days. Not that I want to risk counting chickens, etc, but if we've going to win owt this season then we really should *expect* to beat the likes of Portsmouth, especially given the parlous state they find themselves in atm.

I have to admit I've something of a soft-spot for Portsmouth and their fantastic fans, and I'd love the team to stay in the Premiership but I've no desire for today to provide them with anything other than nil points and a lesson in playing groovy football.

I wonder if I can wrangle a visit to the pub for the early game today, whatever it is? Somehow I doubt it...

UPDATE

Seems like there is no early game unless you count Scottish football. Let's not, eh?

A Glimpse Outside Suggests There Must Be A Cricket Match On

Grey and wet outside here in Brizzle today. The gloom returns after a couple of really rather lovely days of sunshine and breakfast in the garden. Today is rather more bacon-sarnie-at-roadside-cafe. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, of course.

So, United are once again having an iffy start to a season. The papers appear to be making much of the "United are crap without Ronaldo" line, which I have to say I don't agree with in general. However, Ronaldo *was* good at shafting "little" teams. You'd have expected him to have had a couple last night, and it's that they'll miss about him, IMHO. For me, he always went missing in the "big" games. *If* United are going to struggle against the minnows in a way they haven't for a few years then this could, indeed, be an interesting season.

My tip to keep Liverpool out of the top four this year, the Scum From The Lane, got themself a good result against Hull. St Totteringham's Day may be late this year but it *will* turn up and without the aid of food poisoning, I believe.

Another interview today. I'm not sure this suggests the market's finally picking up, or merely shows that the IT area I had been confining myself to is still dead but that there's life outside, where I'm now looking. Time for another cuppa, I think.

Half A Good Job Done

Last night's 2-0 win at Parkhead is probably a rather better result than we're going to get credit for, not least as the goals themselves - a "fluke" deflection and an own goal - were made for "lucky" rather than "plucky" headlines. No matter, the result stands and we're well set up for the return at the Grove.

I've got a "telephone interview" in a couple of minutes, so I'm off to ensure I've a fresh cuppa to hand.

It's Way Too Quiet

Maybe it's just that the school holidays are on, but it's quite eerily quiet here today. The papers are near silent too, not least on the football front where they don't even seem to have had the energy to make anything up. Perhaps I should just return to bed and see if tomorrow's any brighter?

That, of course, would mean missing tonight's "Battle Of Britian" clash with the Glasgow Hoops so perhaps I'll put the sleep off until after another visit to the Queen's Head. Perhaps more after the game, or maybe the update to the utterly gripping article on overdrive pedals in anticipation of which I daresay you've been gripping the edge of your seat all these months...

Amazing What A Good Win Will Do

Feels like I've awoken from an over-long slumber. Sadly it would appear Gordon Brown is in fact real and not merely a nightmare as I'd hoped. But you can't have it all. Just for now a 6-1 win and the promise of a fridge full of beer will do very nicely indeed.

More on the morrow.