Tally Ho!

photo by PhillipC	via PhotoRee

o We don't know what they're teaching on the training grounds at Cobham, but it certainly appears that, in addition to any footballing lessons they may be learning, Chelsea players could use a crash course in Twitter etiquette. Although the Manchester United players who use Twitter may be in need of a spelling refresher, it's a good thing that swear words are so easy to spell -- first Ashley Cole and now Ryan Bertrand seem to have that part down cold.

o I read an interesting article in the New York Times this week about how certain British-isms are stealthily working their way into "American" English.  Words like "mate" for friend, "ring" for calling someone on a phone, and "flat" for apartment. Pretty soon we'll be talking about donning our kits and putting on our boots before running out onto the pitch. Oh, we're actually doing that already here on this website..... Just another example of how farlieonfootie has always been about setting trends rather than reacting to them....

Super Heroes

Not wanting to be left out, Columnist Randy checks in with some final thoughts on the BPL and the Champions League:

With the Premier and Champions League seasons over and now the summer transfer season upon us, I thought it time to chime in with some random musings:

• How appropriate are QPR’s court jester jersey’s considering they have the biggest clown in the Premier League as their captain: Joey Barton (yes Correspondent Ed, I’m piling on). Barton really has no place in the BPL and as long as QPR keeps him they get what they deserve.

• Now that Chelsea in looking to sign the Hulk, Roman Abramovic has to go after Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. We here at farlieonfootie will keep Black Widow (aka Scarlett Johansson).

• While Didier Drogba was definitely a star in Chelsea’s miraculous Champions League win, the real MVP of their run in my book was Ashley Cole. His play was absolutely brilliant.

• Tottenham Coldspur's stumble into the finish cost them a coveted Champions League spot. It will be interesting to see how many players this will cost them, as players look for Champions League teams (Modric to Man United, anyone?!).

• Arsenal can thank Coldspurs for their Champions League spot. Now they need to get a real defense if they want to compete. Oh, yeah, they also better re-sign RVP. Without him, they will be battling to avoid relegation.

It's Alive

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As if to prove that quantity is better than quality, here's Columnist Ed:

I’m guessing it was from a few inappropriate comments to the boss man about his relegation zone performance in the firm's fantasy league, or maybe it was that time I rubbed the top of his head at the firm holiday party in a crude attempt to make a wish (I don’t know, it just seemed like it would work at the time).  But for whatever the reason, I’ve been put on the Chelsea beat this week, so here are my comments on a team that’s seemed somewhat dysfunctional so far.

It was actually nice to see that Chelsea remember that they are a good team this week in their Champions League game against Valencia.  They looked bigger, stronger, faster, and more skilled than the Spanish side.  Except for Mata who merely looked more skilled.  Mata is an interesting player.  He’s so slow as to be a defensive liability.  He’s also small enough to get shoved around a bit.  However, he gets the most out of what he’s got by being a very creative player on offense.  I can see why he can’t get on the field for Spain, and against good teams I think his skill is not enough.  But he’s a nice player that has added a ton to the Chelsea attack this year.

Having Fernando Torres behind him has definitely changed the tempo of Didier Drogba.  There were many times over the past few years where he semed disinterested in the games he appeared in.  In the game against Valencia, I saw a statistic that nearly put me to the ground.  Drogba had run 3.83km in merely 30 minutes.  I think he went months last year without running that much.  Plus, he sprinted with the ball on a nice fast break, and put one in the net after a nice move in close space.  Drogba hasn’t lost any ability in his age; it’s all a matter of desire with him as far as I can see.  It would be a mistake to get rid of him and keep Torres.  It would be expensive to do what they should do and get rid of Torres to keep Drogba.

Fool's Gold

photo by cogdogblog	via PhotoRee

Herewith, some nuggets of gold after panning through the weeks' activites in the EPL:

• Newboy Luis Suarez' playing style seems straight out of the Carlos Tevez playbook. Although Liverpool skipper Stevie G. believes the Toothsome-one will improve when he adjusts to the speed of the English game, I suggest that it might be more critical for Suarez to do the opposite: slow down and think about what he's doing rather than run around the pitch like a chicken with his head cut off.

• Anyone else think it's strange to be bringing an air-powered rifle to the office?  Apparently not Ashley Cole. Although he reportedly seemed surprised when it discharged into an intern from only a few feet away, perhaps it was due to his shock at hitting the intended target -- a relative rarity for the Chelsea left back this season.

The Magic of the Cup

photo by Matthew Wilkinson	via PhotoRee

Ahh, the magic of the Cup.  Roll up for the Mystery Tour and enjoy some observations on the Tour de Force that is the the 5th Round of the FA Cup:

• First things first.  Why is the Football Association in such a rush to announce the next round that they hold the 6th Round draw prior to all of the games in the 5th  round being completed?  I can understand if there's a replay which needs to be scheduled; fair enough, don't postpone the entire draw until the replay has actually occurred. But why does the FA hold the draw at 4pm GMT, before some of the matches from the PRIOR ROUND -- Arsenal/Leyton Orient and Fulham/Bolton to name two -- have even been played?  

• Is it really necessary to save a couple hours?  Is it impossible to hold the draw at 7pm GMT?  To you college hoops fans out there: Do you ever think -- ever -- that the NCAA would hold its draw and say "Either Michigan or Ohio State will play Butler, but because the Big 10 Championship match is just getting underway we don't know which team Butler will play yet."? It's ridiculous, and speaks to a Football Association that doesn't understand marketing practices or how to run a business. In that regard, I guess it shouldn't be too big a surprise.  And people wonder why the FA Cup is not taken as seriously as it used to be....