Makin' it Rain in the EPL

photo by goldenrail	via PhotoRee

Random thoughts on transfer activity and more, from the blog's muse, Ed.  He's always interesting, if not too accurate in his assessments:

• What to make of Spurs four-nil loss to the Cottagers in the FA Cup?  Nothing.  It’s the FA cup and Spurs needed out.

• Would have liked to see Dempsey get out of Fulham if for no other reason than a change might be fun for him and for fans.

• Spurs £35MM for Guiseppe Rossi wasn’t accepted.  Wish they could’ve gotten in the mix for Carroll.  They could have unloaded Crouch and Pav for something – maybe enough to make up for the cost.

• Charlie Adam would have been good for Liverpool.  He might have been better for Spurs.  Where, you ask?   How about where Wilson Palacios plays?  Those cross field passes to Bale and Lennon would make Spurs tough to stop.  And to hear it was missed by minutes.  What could have been . . . . .

Me Neither

photo by Nesster	via PhotoRee

Not much to say tonight, as I made the mistake of visiting a city where the wind chill is measured in the single digits, ice and snow cover the ground, and my fingers are basically too numb to type.  I'm not entirely sure why people, some of whom I even respect, would choose to live here....  But enough complaining, and to each his own.  Now, on with the show:

Pienaar to Spurs: It was a busy day in the transfer market, with Steven Pienaar shunning Chelsea to join cross-town rivals Tottenham Hotspur.  A year or two this story would have been unthinkable: who would dare join Spurs in the face of interest from Chelsea?  The fact that Pienaar did so tells the tale of how much things have changed between the two London sides in the past eighteen months.  Uncle Harry now holds the whip hand in London town, and there's nothing the Dapper Don can do about it.  Frankly, I can't figure out why Spurs want Pienaar -- a decent player, mind you, but aren't they already covered in midfield, and shouldn't they be more focused on bolstering their defense?  In any event, it'll make Correspondent Ed laugh, so we'll go with it and move onto the next piece of news, which also comes from the transfer market.

Letter from a Football Nut

 Columnist Ed, on One of His Better Days 
photo by Sister72	via PhotoRee

Columnist Ed is back, this time with a letter he claims to have burgled from the office of the EPL Chairman:

LETTER FROM A DISTURBED FAN

Sir David Richards

Chairman, English Premier League

Dear Sir Richards:

I am writing because I am interested in a position in your league.  I am not interested in a position in management, or as a coach, or as an assistant coach.  I am especially disinterested in anything to do with taking care of the pitch – I don’t even like to mow my own lawn!  Instead, I am interested in playing soccer for one of your teams in front of thousands of adoring fans.  From what I can tell, this seems like a fun way to make a living, and I understand the pay is quite generous. 

I have a few conditions, however, that you need to know about.  First, I don’t like to run.  At all.  One time I was being chased by a hoard of hungry, wild dogs that were frothing at the mouth and the best I could muster was a light jog.  But hey, does anyone really like to run?  I mean, I’ve seen that guy Drogba play and I can GUARANTEE you that he doesn’t like to run.  I’ve also heard no one on Liverpool likes to run.  Is that true?  Is running a requirement of being a player?  Would Liverpool be a good fit?  How about Fulham? 

Second, I’m extremely ticklish.  Even the sight of something ticklish makes me laugh.  Once I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw someone scratch their own armpit!  I also laugh whenever I read or see the name “Pienaar.”  Sometimes I just like to say it to have a giggle.  Pienaar.  Hah!!  (See?)  So I don’t think I can play on a team with anyone that has a funny name.  I heard that there’s a guy on Manchester City named “Ya Ya”, so if that’s true – which I doubt – I definitely can’t play for them.  I also heard there used to be a guy in your league named Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.  I can barely stand up when I hear that.  If he and Pienaar (Hah!) and Ya Ya were all on my team I’d probably pee my pants.  Could you imagine Ya Ya passing to Pienaar (hah!) passing to Jan Vennegor of Hessilink passing to me – and I’m just standing there on the pitch peeing my pants and laughing?