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| photo by @boetter | via PhotoRee |
Correspondent Ed is back, imparting upon us his dangerous, naive and uninformed opinions. Make of them what you will:
NOTES AND ASIDES (Blackpool)
1. Blackpool Loses to Southamton 2 to 0 in FA Cup. Well, Coach Hollaway says that Blackpool couldn’t win the FA Cup anyhow, so he benched his starters in favor of the youngsters and all but fell on his sword in the FA cup. This one’s a tough one, but I have to agree in part with the Coach. While I think they could have won the FA cup, the team doesn’t have the depth to do so while simultaneously putting forth the effort required into staying up in the EPL. The team must out-hustle their opponents every week to win, and cutting down the number of games is not necessarily a bad thing for them. That said, the FA cup is probably the only cup they have a shot at, so leaving early just isn’t much fun.
2. Interest in Charlie Adam. Apparently both Aston Villa and Birmingham have expressed interest (2.5 million pounds of interest by the Villans, and 2MM for Birmingham) in Blackpool captain Charlie Adam, but both offers have been rejected. Adam was purchased by Blackpool for 500K pounds, and currently has 18 months left on his contract. When questioned, Coach Holloway has stated that while the team would not be interested in dealing him to lower level teams, he has spoken with Adam and would feel obliged to consider offers from top six teams for the right price. It’s tempting to review the best fit for Charlie for these teams, but also a bit cynical. While it may be true that the bottom clubs are somewhat like the junior varsity squads, sometimes it’s better not to think about it. Let’s face it, there’s really only one league in the world that has it right when it comes to fairness and parity, and that’s the National Football League. But its salary cap is impossible on an international level so it’s hard to even dream . . .
NOTES AND ASIDES (Spurs)
1. Spurs Crush Charlton Athletic 3 to 0. Coach Harry apparently does think Spurs have a shot at the FA Cup, and he couldn’t help himself from sending in Luka Modric to get the team’s engine humming. I would prefer to see Luka sit out the FA and focus on the Champions League and the EPL, but hey, I do what Uncle Harry says I should do.
2. David Bentley to Birmingham City. Word is that Bentley may end up in Birmingham in an effort to replace potential departee Sebastian Larsson. Bentley is a quality player, but his desire to depart is understandable in light of how deep he is in the rotation. Uncle Harry has (rightfully) opted for speed on the outside, and Bentley doesn’t have enough of it. Bentley does have, however, good ball skills and creativity – both of which Birmingham could use. Despite some awful tweets from his spouse, Spurs fans should hold no grudge if he departs.
Notes and Asides (Miscellany)
1. Howard Webb. Not unlike Fernando Torres, Wayne Rooney, and Stephen Gerard , Howard Webb hasn't been able to recover from what I thought was a poor showing in the World Cup. I have been disappointed with him all season, and his display in the United vs. Liverpool match was another step down. He was woefully out of position for the first PK (kudos to Fox Sports Channel for picking that up in the post game), and did a poor job throughout the game. We love that bald head of yours, Howie, but we need you to find the mojo again.
2. Liverpool. It’s getting painful to watch these guys. I’m not sure if they could go much lower than they are, and it’s especially bad timing as their number of league titles will likely be overtaken by United in league titles as well. As American football coach Bill Parcells has said, “you are what your record says you are.” It’s time for Liverpool to acknowledge this truth and move some players – even those that might seem indispensible (you know you’ve been thinking it, Liverpool fans).
3. The FA Cup. I’m still smarting from the loss of the Wimbledon Wombles some time ago, so the FA cup has lost a bit of it’s charm to me. I should add that Liverpool v. United has no place for me in the Cup. What it’s about, I think, is watching Chelsea play at places like Yeovil Town (Go Glovers!), or Arsenal play at places like Sheffield Wednesday. The intensity and fun the lower-tiered players and fans have with these games is immeasurable, and hey, any team named after the day of the week they used to play cricket will always get high marks from me.
4. Twitter Me. So due to tiresome and incessant requests of the Boss Man, farlieonfootie, I’m now on Twitter as @FOFcorrespEd, or something like that. I’m not really sure how to use Twitter at this point, and am wondering whether this is – like working for this blog – a top ten worst decision for 2011. We’ll see. Right now I’m still trying to come up with something majestic for my first tweet, something in the realm of MTV’s playing Video Killed the Radio Star to kick it all off. The problem is that I’m a man of limited gravitas, so to speak, so all I keep thinking is: “Seriously, this ice cream sandwich is so good I’m going to try to marry it.” And “That rug really tied the room together.” Just remember, those that aim low almost always meet expectations.
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This is farlieonfootie for January 12.
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