Monday, May 16, 2011

Rants from a Stark Raving Football Lunatic

photo by u2canreedvia PhotoRee
  • Something I proved to myself this weekend: it's possible in one day to fully visit two Orlando theme parks, account for all major rides, and still manage to fit in two complete football games (via DVR, at night's end). It's possible, but not advisable.
  • Quick Question: How is it that Sir Alex gets charged by the FA for praising Howard Webb pre-game last week, yet Harry Redknapp does the same thing and no one says a peep. Double standard anyone?
  • Liverpool remind me of a classy team up front paired with a defense which should be playing U-18 football. Flanagan and Spearing may have a future in the league, but it's not tomorrow. Meanwhile, Luis Suarez looks like the real deal (albeit a deal with an extra large set of teeth), while Andy Carroll looks just like what he is: a real work in progress.
  • So, umm, now that Fernando Torres broke his duck a couple of weeks ago, and there's no pressure on the Spaniard, he's going to have a great game against Newcastle, right? Lots of goals pouring in, right? Not exactly. Torres with another "o-fer" against the Geordies, and Chelsea -- despite six home wins in a row -- betraying the problems which bedevil the side, hidden underneath an avalanche of points picked up against the 80 pound weaklings of the league.
  • The more I see of Sandro play for Spurs the more I like him. I wonder if Harry likes him enough to let Luka Modric go this summer. Only time will tell....
  • I wonder if certain players ever regret leaving their prior team to join their present one. I'm thinking in particular of Steven Pienaar and James Milner. Both players seem a distant memory of the player they used to be. Milner may have won a trophy at City, but he's lost a starting role and about three-quarters of his game. Pienaar finds himself in a similar boat, albeit without the trophy. He used to be the man who made the Toffees tick. Now he's an afterthought.
  • Why did I trade Darren Bent from my fantasy team this weekend? WHY?
  • What a finish for Wigan and West Ham. Charles N'Zogbia's goal to beat Rob Green made me think three things: One, the goal was all N'Zogbia. He might as well have been playing West Ham by himself; Two, Wayne Bridge is so yesterday. He was totally exposed by N'Zogbia as a defender who's looking at his best days in the rear view mirror, much like his former partner (in more ways than one) John Terry; And Three, Rob Green is one of England's best? Really? Are you sure? They should be pushing him to retire, instead of worrying that he might do so....
  • Full credit to the 22,000 fans in the cold and wet crowd at the DW on Sunday. They may have been quiet when their team was getting thumped in the first half, but they willed their team back into the game in the second 45, creating a final 25 minutes of end-to-end heart-thumping action, which culminated in N'Zogbia's remarkable game winner with less than ten seconds of stoppage time remaining.
  • In addition to bailing out Roberto Martinez, the Frenchman's goal bailed out Mike Dean, as well. Dean -- once again -- managed to blow another major call, neglecting to notice when Connor Sammon was held up at gunpoint, robbed, and beaten to within an inch of his life in a clear red card scenario, having beaten the final West Ham defender with a little over five minutes to play. Dean's miscue caused Wigan to play against one more man than they deserved to as they pushed for the late winner. How many more calls does Dean need to miss before he's reffing West Ham again -- in the Championship?
  • So, West Ham got relegated. That's right, the team with the journalists' Player of the Year. Which brings me a final question or two: what game exactly are the writers watching, or maybe more importantly: what are they smoking?? Imagine where West Ham might have finished without the "influence" of Parker..... Probably last, which is eactly where they'll finish with him. I can't recall a less impressive Player of the Year. Whadda joke.
This is farlieonfootie for May 16.

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