FA Cup 2010/11 - still featuring FC United, AFC Wimbledon and Charlton Athletic

for at least 45 more minutes - Ebbsfleet 2-1 Wimbledon at half-time

you're going to be editing this thread-title with wild glee aren't you

Just hedging my bets - got a feeling this could be your year

I love that this is on Fox Soccer Channel btw

on it now

aha - Ricky Shakes! One of Dom's better failed memes

hahahaha awesome!

it's a cruel game

they nearly won it! would have been 90+4 and 90+5

so strange to be watching afc on my phone, glad to see they haven't been shallow enough to try to make themselves look good just cos they're on the telly! still, great fucking cross for the goal just then. also I dunno if anyone else noticed the crowd shot with the extremely fat man, he is a bit of an afc legend, goes by the name of Salad, has 'salad' tattooed on his arms and every home game has a load of little kids in tracksuits run to get him burgers, maltesers etc. I was probably more thrilled at his appearance than anything else before the 94th min.

there's some good football on display here, the real difference between this and the higher leagues is that those at the top can run and run and run and run for 90 minutes, and keep better shape

ok and the finishing, lol

wimbledon's problem this season has been a very obvious over-reliance on the right flank, their midfield and forward lines are quite flat much of the time and they struggle to penetrate. but we def can keep a few of our current players in the first team if we do go up in the next couple of years

why did this wellard player not start, he has class

also guilty lolz @ 'A Blackman'

also looooool @ the referee there

wellard only really looks class when everyone else has played a full game and cant really run, he's pretty talented and has a nice range of passing but he is incerdibly timid and is v easily bullied out of a game. lol referee and lol yussuff

actually yeah there is something of an aristocratic air about wellard, like he doesn't want to get his shorts dirty and why can't they leave me alone as I *perform* the artes of footeballe

LOL

poor, poor, poor ebbsfleet

AFC nipping round the back afterwards to key Ebbsfleet's cars

yeah thats shitty for them.

oh well. two nice goals.

and fuck off fash!

Congrats to AFCW.

Crawley keeping the non-league end up tonight - 1-1 against Swindon

yeah coz they're so gonna be non-league next season

we have a faller

Dave Boyle, Markleby, Alun Armstrong, Uncle Bulgaria, Madame Cholet: your boys took one hell of a beating.

Oh boy that was pretty bad. Wimbledon midfield totally absent, no aggression anywhere on the pitch. Also remarkably miniature officials. Anyway, well done Stevenage.

Also: good chorus of 'andy townsend is a wanker' at half time, and chiles ate at least two curly wurlys during the first half

Watching Brighton v FC United on a Chinese stream with the sound turned off, while listening to Man Utd v Blackburn on Five Live. A bit confusing.

Got to wonder about the size of the chinese market for a game like that

That curly wurly nugget is top, thanks. Also love the little stand behind the goal that is the height of a man.

YEEESSSSSS!!!!!

Missed it - any good?

Somewhat against the run of play - it'd been mostly one-way traffic, but Brighton have looked rattled since the goal and their fans booed them off at half-time (the only sound they made in the entire half). I'll say this now, so it doesn't look like sour grapes if the result goes the wrong way, but Brighton and/or Sussex police have been utter cunts over the ticketing for this match. They gave Woking an allocation of about 1,500 last time, but only gave FC United less than 900 (all in the usual away section miles from the pitch) despite repeated requests for more tickets. The other end of their ground is almost completely empty - they could easily have been given United double or even three time what they gave. Apparently police advice was that it was a top category hooliganism threat, which is just insane nonsence. You couldn't even get tickets in the home section even if you lived in Brighton, became a member of Brighton, bought tickets for another Brighton match, and then tried to get one for this game (I know several people who tried this).

Their ground looks horrible too.

Brighton getting closer and closer to an equaliser...

Gah! Down to ten men

Shit. 1-1. Can they hold on for the draw?

off the line!

taricco- bollox of the highest order, even before this

into injury time...

!

amazing stuff

oh my god

! what now

haha anyone watching the itv draw

MAN U v LIVERPOOL

!!!!

Oh, and Spurs v Charlton in the ILX derby game (assuming Charlton get past Luton)

we won't

ok maybe we will

lol

man u v liverpool is a fix. yeah this may sound paranoid but it's also true

they always fix the draw

Noel Gallagher is incorruptible and has killed many a man in duel to defend his honour.

I didn't know Noel was doing this! Would've watched that for sure. If only there was a way of finding out what he made of it all.

It was amusing seeing the Leicester-supporting Kasabian bloke pull out 'Leicester City' and then Gallagher pulling out City.

I'm pretty happy with United v Liverpool. I kind of look on the FA Cup to provide a bit of colour and variety to the season, so on the whole I prefer seeing United drawn away to teams they don't normally play. Failing that, I'd rather it was a big game, and it doesn't get much bigger than this. The worst thing would have been yet another game against Spurs or Villa or Middlesbrough.

I'm relatively happy with FC United / Brighton v Portsmouth. The downside is that Brighton will be more motivated in the replay (probably) for some kind of south coast derby. The upside is that I might actually be able to get a ticket if FC get there (if I can find the time / money to get up to Bury and back without completely shirking childcare duties).

Leyton Orient             8 - 2    Droylsden
Chorley (pen 77)                   Kilheeney (6)
Tehoue (89, 99, 107)               Brown (54)
M'Poku (93)
McGleish (97, 108, 119)

must've been a helluva pre-extra time team talk from the Droylsden manager.

Tonight....The Big One. Unfortunately, with both clubs' league games having been postponed in the interim, FC United have several players missing tonight due to suspension (who would have been back if the other games had taken place) and Gus Poyet is talking about fielding his strongest team (instead of the expected reserves) as they are all well-rested. The match should be going ahead, despite the weather, as ESPN have paid for a gigantic heated tent to cover the pitch. I think FC's record crowd of just over 6,000 is going to get beaten tonight.

we'll be doing well to get to the finish here - very slippery round the edges

gah, horrible time to concede

Exactly what I was going to say - if they could have just held on for five more seconds...

1-0 down at half-time would be doable, 2-0 looks very unlikely. I just hope they can get a goal.

Revenge for the 83 final is assured

Gordon Smith came on as a sub?

That penalty hitting the post was very costly. Ironically, they looked far more outclassed in the game at the Withdean, which was largely made up of Brighton pressure and FC scoring from about their only shot. Tonight Brighton looked better, but the game wasn't as one-sided (although FC still hardly managed any shots on target).

Jamie Smith came on as a sub, to the commentators' delight

Not the Jamie Smith that I know (and sometime frequenter of these parts), otherwise it could have tipped the balance in United's favour

still featuring Charlton Athletic

a measure of my work-baffled reclusive mindstate: I knew this was Thursday's only match a couple of days ago, but by today? Pft.

anyway bring on you spurs

Just wanna get in early and point out that I couldn't give a flying one if we get dumped out of this today.

RIP Chippy Vela.

Chamakh stops and turns back in mid attack. Christ.

Arsenal are playing like it's a testimonial, Leeds are treating it like a cup final.

Alex Bruce pressing the bell to stop the Bendybus.

How do Arsenal fans feel about Rosicky? Underachiever? Would have been great if not for injury? Will still come good? Doing just fine thank you?

Been so-so since he came out of rehab.

I'd sell him unless he picks up the slack, but Wenger is not one to give up on a project, as we know.

Arsenal have only lost one home FA cup game in the Wenger era. To Leeds.

Tomas is a helluvaplayer, muh lord. He has a close control and vision that most clubs would wee themselves over. Terrific, hard working player too. But post-injury he doesn't have the stamina to play at the top, top level anymore and can't really make the runs into the box that made him stand out as Freddie's replacement - he has scored, what, 1 goal since his return?

Sell him but give him a standing ovation in games he comes back for type of player.

Was that Southgate saying that "this Arsenal side" might be a bit tired because of their four games during Christmas?

Will score.

Mehnilson, fucking dunderhead.

!

Leeds 1-0 up at the Emirates. Penalty.

there's an FA cup thread for that

?

Oh Arsene bringing on the 'proper' players. "I'm only on 'cos you're shit" etc

Although Arsenal have been okay tbf

Don't think any of this job lot of Project players are threatening the first team.

We don't need Cesc to come on, we need a forward who can shoot without trying to dribble it past five players.

lol I click on the football league thread then must have dragged back a page on my touchpad and thought you were posting on the wrong thread.
xp to ailsa
(innocuous & irrationally angering touchpad function btw)

What a save that was!

Did Gibbs just rub his face like Hodgson?

Quick sub him by mutual consent.
My dislike of Leeds is leaving me unable to enjoy this as much as I feel I should be. Feo to the rescue.

Can't understand how Denilson is even in the country, let alone the squad.

lmao chanting coming through beautifully there

RIP Chippy Vela.

Resurrected!!

Well done to Wenger for cup-tying him just before offering him out on loan. Well done.

I mean what the fuck.

Hadn't thought of that. Not too clever no. He could come to LFC tho, we're only be in the Cup until tmrw.

fuck off, never

oh whoops soz thought he'd given the pen

Bendtner offside before Feo fouled?

ok now fuck off

Penalty again?

Can't be offside after a penalty challenge.

Wee soft one after it.

Filthy cheating useless foreign cheating filthy Arsenal etc.

Good decision.

Should be red card, no?

lol refs

1-1, Cesc

Not sure he actually denied the scoring opportunity, Feo still had the chance, so pen no red maybe.

Phil Dowd was supposed to be the fourth official.

the penalty was a penalty, the one that wasn't wasn't

Did Drury just call Fabregas "quarterback"?

the gooner fans theye cut to throughout this match have p much been the most irritating i can ever recall

Bendtner is a world-class number nine, iirc.

Leeds could've lost about 5-1 after all that

the gooner fans theye cut to throughout this match have p much been the most irritating i can ever recall

― r|t|c, Saturday, 8 January 2011 14:37 (4 minutes ago)

just wanna qtft

bloke in the hat and bomber jacket wasnt noodle vague was it? just checking.

yeah i thought the same.

bendy had a shockah, maybe it is time.

itv coverage of the penalty shouts was horrible.

enjoyed that game to the extent I forgot I'm programmed to want both teams to lose

fa cup weekend coming to the boil nicely before tomorrow's all-time greatest-day-of-ilx-football

see matt derbyshire is nonchalantly stroking them in now "got no strikers" birmingham finally give him a chance. better try replace him with a hard working clogger like kenny miller quicksmart.

plz refer to matt derbyshire only as 'the english killer'

damn did I miss myself on tv?

tomorrow's all-time greatest-day-of-ilx-football

'Super Sunday', I believe the phrase is

kyle walker scores on his debut for villa against former club sheffield utd, and doesn't celebrate. like this kid.

I have a sinking feeling that Villa are now going to try to park the bus for the next 80 minutes.

was about to say "oh kylewalkerpaws" but kudos to him

BAH

fucking hell "hope" the Birmingham fans are leaving early and stealthily

bbc london reporting morten gamst pedersen is gonna chop off all his hair on monday

disturbing news imo

Anon via text: "Kyle Walker 'slotting home' does absolutely no justice to his goal. He jinked past three Sheff Utd players on a run from the half way line before wrong footing the goalkeeper."

FUCKING FUCK BAAAAHH FUCK YOU ARRY

at last Milijas has demonstrated his famous cunting ability

That is a slightly flowery interpretation, to be honest. He was helped out by plenty of deferential backing away from Ertl and co.

and we've sportingly let Donny back in. Any result but a draw tbh lads

lol Donny 2-1. O'Driscoll in

Have you got a stream of Wolves? The Milijas cunter sounds impressive.

nah there's no stream I don't think. will have to check out ITV god help me

was wondering this morning why I hadn't got my shit together to go, cd have got a bus to Donny from here I think

Stoke 1-1 Cardiff, I bet that's...well, a massive load of cunts, really.

Shearer on Foreign TV unshaven, clearly flu'd out of his mind, providing much better analysis than he does on MOTD every week.

The poor guy's so feverish he's halluciniating professional obligations.

come on blackburn, knock us out of this bollocks already

YAHHHH BARNARD YAHHHHH

Graeme Murty's doing co-comm on 5LiveSportsXtra - he's a solid pundit, but I kind of wish he'd stop referring to Saints as "us". I'm pretty sure he's been released...

1620: I haven't mentioned it much (at all) but it's entertaining fare between Blackburn and QPR - and it's the Championship side who are edging things both in terms of play and chances in that one.

lolwut. complete opposite of the dull game i've been listening to

Lee Hughes brace looks to be sending Sunderland oot...

couldn't happen to a nicer guy

JUNIOR TOILETT HURRAH! now blow up ref and let's all go the fuck home.

result would complete the full decade of qpr not winning a match in the fa cup btw

^^^what the fuck lol

and I thought we were shit in the cup

Jan 17, 2001 FA Cup Replay
QPR 2 (0) - 1 (1) (AET) Luton
Kiwomya 90 Kiwomya 112
Mansell 1

QPR: Miklosko, Darlington, Baraclough, Plummer (Kiwomya, 35 ) , Carlisle, Perry, Rose, Connolly (Ngonge, 68) , Langley, Koejoe (Wardley, 90), Crouch Subs not used: Harper,Morrow

what a shit line-up, guess carlisle made something of himself away from the pitch

For fuck's sake Wolves somebody kick it in our own fucking net and let's fuck off home you idiots

god I love third round day

magic of the cup amirite

fucking brilliant goal by villa

oh it's a day for the fans alright

omg burton

2-0 up, and our fans have busted out "Premier League, you're having a laugh". By the sounds of things, they're doing it in Yorkshire accents.

Burton are my current FM2010 team, absolutely delighted for them

For fuck's sake Wolves somebody kick it in our own fucking net and let's fuck off home you idiots

I think this was meant for the Interior Life of Mick McCarthy thread, yeah?

Villa's goal was tidy as fuck, yeah.

MAN, Lee Hughes SLAUGHTERED Sunderland eh?

he ran 'em down and buggered off outta there like a true pro

Gus Poyet for Chelsea? Except no, hands off. Only Pompey I suppose, but still.

Gary Johnson was on Sky the other day saying that he promised the chairman ..."100 goals this season...didn't say what end mind." He wasn't joking! Hope Tracer enjoyed it.

BBC interviewer to Lee Hughes: "Have you been on the other end of it, have you been the giant who was killed before?"

*sigh*

Magic of the Cup Alert!

Seriously!

yay for beardy dude

nukey gonna win heartbreakingly obv

ESPN: "We apologise for the break in transmission and will resume as soon as possible"

Meh.

Fox Soccer Channel have cut to an advert saying they're "raising the standard for televised soccer", because the satellite feed has cut out.

Down to ten men. Cupset on the cards.

Toon down to 10 lol. Stupid off the deck tackle, even if he didn't hurt the player - Craig Burley quite happy to defend it - p sure he was sent off for similar.

tackle looked MUCH worse than it was

Not sure what I think of the red - it was either a disgraceful lunge or a great tackle

it was reminiscent of thierry henry's famous yellow card vs everton - a massive, ridiculous-looking lunge - except he took the ball, unclear how heavily he took the legs but it was unnecessary

let's hope for some liquid football from phil airey

haha what the hell was that?!

recklessness can be a red card offence irrespective of taking the ball or not iirc

worst-finished one-on-one of 2010/11, decided

peter 'fail' wynn

Newcastle playing the type of stuff we all want to see from them

Ashley probably thinking he could have done with this result under Houghton so he could have sacked him straight after and avoided some hassle.

Give them some hope.....then SNATCH it away.

naïve from the higher-division club there

^^^looooooooooool

Ant and Dec, Cheryl Cole, Billy Elliot, Jimmy Nail, Steve Cram, Bryan Ferry, Gazza, Sting, Robson Greene, Sid the Sexist, Tony Blair, Alan Shearer, Jackie Milburn, Michael-from-the-garage, Mark Knopfler... your boys etc etc.

GREAT goal (both of them rly)

, Michael-from-the-garage

hahahahaha

some stevenage player gets smacked
http://yfrog.com/n27jxz

Sporting Toon fan or local lad with a personal grievance?

Dude's carrying a red and white scarf, so guessing the latter.

Paul Peschisolido's accent!

Milijas with a veritable cunter, yeah.

Dalglish endearing himself to Liverpool fans by immediately dropping Konchesky and playing 4-4-2 with Kuyt and Torres. That United team looks very strong though, not far off their best XI on current form.

           Reina
 Kelly Skrtel Agger Aurelio
Meireles Lucas Gerrard Maxi
        Kuyt Torres

defence refurbished entirely, Kuyt as second striker, Meireles still out wide

assuming itv have Gerrard/Meireles' positions right, naive of me

         Reina
Kelly  Skrtel  Agger  Aurelio
       Lucas   Meireles
Kuyt       Gerrard      Maxi
            Torres

looks p familiar

lols at ITV not showing it as 4-2-3-1.

that game is going to be shit and you all know it

Imagine if there's zonal marking!

Can see it being a straight and relatively unexciting 2-0 victory for United really.

lj otm but i can't sleep so

lol Ferguson: "I didn't expect to see it, he's been out the game so long. Obviously Liverpool see it as the way forward and well ... it's their club"

someone find me a good stream of the real fucken match

veetle4lj

he said the real match

lol pen

lol Man Utd penalty after 30 seconds, Agger takes down Berbatov.

looked like a pen to me

great start, soft as fuck

Giggs, 1-0

shit football match

wait giggs?!

next bergkamp will get in a plane

Looked a penalty to me, but I'm not Jim Beglin. The time between tackle and Berba going down was minimal, even in slow motion, no idea where he's getting this slow reaction time from.

United fans - dudes you must love Howard Webb so much.

also a hoy hoy you tossbag I can find a Utd-Pool stream in my fucken sleep, which match do you think I want to watch, plz engage brain

haha that was meant to sound comically disgruntled rather than hurtful

I love you all. Really. Now someone find me a stream to the match involving the team I support.

Berb taking a step as he loses his balance != diving. Beglin's full of shit.

"Liverpool Win Dis Match" is currently trending on Twitter. Their fans really don't make it easy for themselves, la.

Is it not streaming on the ITV website, or are they that nob?

wait is the charlton match on ITV

fucks sake

here you go

*explodes*

Spurs are playing a midfielder I've never even heard of, who is this Townsend bloke?

he's a left-winger, clearly gonna end up a bit like...his opposite number

maybe he can score his only spurs goal past charlton too!

right winger. he was supposed to be on loan for the whole season at ipswich but got sent back early.

is he playing on the left today?

oh well the bbc fuckwit described matt fry as a striker so i guess he could be goalkeeper for all i know

Would assume Kranjcar's on the left given there's no Bale.

another thing: the schedulers are going to pay for this when I kick them in the balls

Nice agricultural central midfield we've got there though, Redknapp obviously anticipating a proper cup tie.

supporters unfurled a banner before kick-off which read 'Scousers rule and don't you forget it'

never forget

succumb to irritation, turn on utd-pool, pool look really good for about a minute then stevie g cunts it miles over

git

What odds have Paddy Power got on Dalglish quitting at HT?

Tyldesley getting very irate about Glen Johnson having the temerity to miss a game in favour of attending the birth of his child.

Is it his wife's or his girlfriend's?

lol @ Clive asking Beglin if he was there to see his kids being born, Beglin just not answering at all and the ensuing awkward attempts to bring the topic to a natural conclusion

xp!

red card here

HAHAHAHA!

! Stevie off

sorry but lol

Stevie G sent off! megalolz. clown.

Gerrard deserved that.

Fuck off Beglin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucYDhOV3WqY

Christ, Jim Beglin's insufferable wrt reinterpretation of rules to allow him to have a moan.

red was my instinct, changed my mind on seeing the replay

Actually, could have ended that sentence at insufferable, tbh.

The penalty was soft, but the Gerrard 'challenge' was as clear a red as you'll see. He doesn't get a special dispensation just because of who he is.

pretty shocking tackle, anyone w/ two eyes disputing that is smooth rong

Both feet off the ground flying in at an angle with clear potential to go two-footed onto an ankle - straight red, no messing.

"Not that sort of player"

Said George Boateng.

He doesn't get a special dispensation just because of who he is.

on the field that is, amirite

haven't found a stream. ended up skyping my other half for 25 minutes. what is football anyway, just a silly thing

mind you a SPURS-CHARLTON stream for the 2nd half would be APPRECIATED

I thought you'd got the boot? Don't think there are any streams btw, the only one I saw is audio-only.

I thought you'd got the boot?

wtf

no

if i referred to a 'dumping' the other day, it was that of phil parkinson

god

No, it's not that, I've gone and got you mixed up with Roy Keane again

haha

no streams for spurs

Astonished they didn't score there

Right, what might go wrong second half?

Torres scores, pulls up his shirt in celebration to reveal a Man City strip.

Maybe ITV will show the second half of Charlton since the "English Superclasico" finished early.

stevie g PROVOKED by PONCY TACKLE-SHIRKING FOREIGNERS - not that sort of player

so mereilles being a pussy foreigner enraged gerrard to the point that he had to get sent off, to 'show his team how it's done'?

lol exactly xp

Think Howard Webb will be disappointed he didn't smash in the rebound from Evans' header at the end there.

not poncy like big sam cooking up a pie in his "daniel aga"

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50722000/jpg/_50722137_010976321-1.jpg

Beglin was basically saying "I suppose by the letter of the law that is definitely a straight red on any day no matter what, but to me he should just have given him a yellow card for no reason at all" before, and all.

How's the little ilf derby going anyway?

townsend scores on his debut!

football is stupid and lame anyway

modric comes on at halftime and spurs score 2 within 15 minutes

make that 3

hooray

man u look like scoring with every attack, won't be remotely surprised if pool nick an equaliser

Beglin's really struggling to remain impartial here eh. Man U are "going down easy" while Liverpool are "winning free kicks". Suggesting that when the rules are clearly against Liverpool the ref should just ignore them.

Man U making a real slog out of beating ten men who've been struggling all season.

I've got the delight of Berwick "Wee" Rangers vs Celtic to follow. Super Sunday indeed.

oooh, jonjo shelvey might come on! will increase my interest in today's proceedings 50x

Why not spend your time thinking up a new thread title?

'ismael klata's team are also out of the fa cup 2010/11'

Utd not really making the most of their two man advantage tbh.

Hi Louis!

-_-

God this is exciting...it feels like we're actually passing the ball and playing with a bit of verve.

Very encouraging stuff

if you don't keep jonjo shelvey in your team for the rest of the season, I will be sad

I only realised he was a Charlton fella when the commentator said it....he looks alright in the little I've seen him.

Oh united almost scored there.

football is stupid and lame anyway

Gerrard gets sent off the pitch and the first thing he does is delurk on ilx

And a heart palpitating goalmouth scramble

Liverpool look like they're hanging on for dear life here.

http://www.quora.com/Is-Howard-Webb-a-Manchester-United-fan?srid=Izd

'Andros Townsend' and 'Jonjo Shelvey' currently trending worldwide btw.

that long ball from Shelvey that went for a goalkick might be the single worst pass I've ever seen

how spurs doing? quick summary? ta

ps

peno soft but giveable, red card a red and still surprised it was given, liverpool look solid besides but no attack, does that tally?

big sam and southgate agree that it was foreign meirelles's fault at half time

'Andros Townsend' and 'Jonjo Shelvey' currently trending worldwide btw

Also 'Howard Webb MBE'

Darragh - by all accounts, shite for first half, Modric comes on, transforms game, 3-0 up within 15mins of the break.

's ok on summary, lazy me went to bbc

xp ta

Townsend goal apparently a 20-yard ripper.

according to txt updates, the lad townsend is involved anyway.

lol shelvey

Also 'Howard Webb MBE'

that'll Manchester's Best Employee - I just got texted that from a scouse mate

The last 15 minutes or so we've struggled, but I'll take a 1-0 at Old Trafford with some promising moments.

promising that he'll haul a not-bothered torres off, iyam

Liverpool should just give up and sell Torres for as much as possible and use the money to buy Andy Carroll and a winger/creative midfielder.

All Kenny needs is the money to bring in four or five players imho.

I've become pretty resigned to thinking this is his last six months at Liverpool. He won't want to be without Champions League for much longer..

shelvey's 50-yard free-kick pretty much sums up both the clubs he's played for

liverpool with a pair of wingers and andy carroll would be a cl qualifying team again, yeah. really solid defence/centre

1533: GOAL Chelsea 1-0 Ipswich (Kalou)

kalou is the most boring player in the world y/y

yyyyyy

any mediocre central player pushed out wide is.

1534: GOAL Chelsea 2-0 Ipswich (Sturridge)

wait, who?

it's going over the line anyway but Salomon Kalou makes sure from point-blank range

this is the most perfect evocation of kalou's career I have ever seen

wonder if City will complete today's dull-as-fuck quadruple mauling of the minnows

(mind you, can't complain after last night)

i've caught results but only half-looked tbh

draw on now with some of our brave boys innit

we remember what ye did to cork yis cunts

spurs away to fulham

yes, kalou is the most boring player in the world

bolton wigan

everton chelsea

soton man utd

enjoying 'LEEDS UNTIED' on ITV's cup draw ticker thing

Nice for Leeds to get a home draw vs Huddersfield.

Birmingham v Coventry

this is going to be brilliantly shit, want to watch

It's the magic of the FA Cup...h8 the itv comic book-style graphics.

http://i.imgur.com/bOlTO.png

Even if all the premiership sides survive their replays that'll be five more going out in the fourth round = good chance of some little lads making it to the semis or final again this year

Loads of positives from that. Agger and Lucas immense, tried to build from the back. Kenny had balls to take Torres off.

one huge bonus with having dalglish in charge is that it will force torres to shit or get off the pot, no more playing fans vs hodgson

LOL

“I want to apologise to the managers because I actually dived. I was trying to win the penalty.

“I am not the sort of player to do it, but I own up to it and apologise. It is something I don’t want to see in my game.”

Really easy way to sort that out.

good performance. never a penalty, no contact whatsoever and given they had ten men played quite well. babel needs to start ahead of maxi imo, enjoyed shelvey absolutely raking somebody in the man u right back area towards the end.

"I am not the sort of player to do it," says Ickle Feo, giggling like he's Tony Adams namedropping Beatles' lyrics.

oh my

He's apologising for falling over when there's TV evidence that a dude pulled him back by the arm?

ok this is a pretty good game

also, Walcott's talking about the one that wasn't given

can we stop talking about Arsenal now please

Oh, fair enough. Are you watching the finely-poised blood and thunder traditional cup tie or the pointless massacre?

what do you think

here's a clue: one of them doesn't have any online streams, and is as you say anything but a good game

I can only imagine the kind of half asleep, smug grunts that have greeted Chelsea's last five goals.

ok this is now boring too, gonna have a nap

Looking forward to the birth of Tottenham Beckham.

1650: Breaking news: David and Victoria Beckham are expecting their fourth child in the summer.

news u can use from BBC's FA Cup text update

aaaand one more

From Conor, NI, on text: "If Ryan Babel concentrated on his football as much as he concentrates on making up textspeak 'smh' he wouldn't have to 'shh' (shake his head)!"

That Beckham post seemed to be the catalyst for the BBC liveblog descending into some new depth of daft mong shit.

Leicester have just strung together a 25 pass spell of possession, and then scored a tap in off Hart flapping the ball up in the air at the end of it.

1728: Really strange one from Joe Hart, that. He had a chance to make up for his initial mistake, but seemed to almost pull out of the challenge with Andy King. He did hold his hands up straight away to apologise to his team-mates, which was a nice touch.

Like, what? You got these massive gaps with nothing noteworthy posted but you got time to make a big deal out of a guy who made a mistake doing the sheepish raised hand thing?

http://i55.tinypic.com/dq3yp5.gif
I saw this at the time and rewound it to check if I'd seen what I thought I'd seen. Not sure if ITV zoomed in on him on purpose or just got unlucky.

11 people arrested at OT?

What am I looking at xp? (apols, jumpy .gif on this thing, also distracted by Shearer on the right)

Think he's shouting BOO-URNS

Don't get that.

They're chanting "Munich"

Haha.

Their maws will be proud.

woah have we covered the stevenage player getting punched by a pitch invader at the end of the newcastle match?

Aye.

I was just upset at the pardew revolution taking such an early setback tbh

lol Derby

Torquay vs Crawley probably not the money spinner either would've dreamed of for a 4th round tie. Aw.

But there was still enough time for one more heroic act.
Dean Howell laid a low left-wing corner into the path of Argentine Torres who showed all the deftness of touch of his namesake Fernando, to slot in from 20 yards

could do with Fernando taking after his namesake Sergio tbh

Man C v Leicester 2 is shaping up like flipping dynamite by the way.

Man City goals: Two goals in 77 seconds and City have stamped their class all over this match. First Patrick Vieira has the simple task of tapping in after David Silva's shot from Pablo Zabaleta's cut-back is only half cleared off the line...
Goooooooaaaaaaaaal
and then Adam Johnson strides on to David Silva's pass behind a ridiculously high Leicester defensive line to slam home City's third of the night. Leicester looking understandably shell-shocked.

# can we reach consensus on what ten songs best define the aesthetic of 90s popular music [Started by ich bin ein ilxor (deej) in January 2011, last updated 5 minutes ago by Rejoice that you weren't eaten (chap) on I Love Music] 77 new answers

some quality goalkeeping there

So glad someone finally actually saved one of Tevez' moron penalties.

s

not sure it should get an 's' - I favour zed-apostrophe myself

The debate about whether or not Tevez warrants a z apostrophe or an extra s will doubtless rage on in the coming weeks, but one thing is certain - Carlos Tevez is a fine footballer, but he takes penalties like a fucking cunt.

What a fabulously effete cunter.

Lovely from Nasri there. Peter Drury even more annoying than Clive Tydlesley some how.

Arsenal should be 4 up by now really. They're murdering Leeds here.

Jesus!!! 3 great goals, that was the best of the lot.

boom shakalaka!

blimey

we are all leeds now

Sagna is just getting ridiculously far forward in the last 5 mins leaving Arsenal 2 vs 2 at the back. You're winning mate, be a bit more cautious.

http://i55.tinypic.com/1zbguhi.gif

That is practically perfect.

According to Andy Townshend Cesc has the ball literally stuck to his feet. He hasn't.

he's such a good player though, I take him for granted a bit

Everton/Chelsea game has a really nice flow to it so far (30 mins in) Only one really good chance each so far tho'. Anelka 1-on-1 saved by Howard, and Rodwell 1-on-1 saved by Cech.

Terry at fault, nice to see

ffs

Hooray for Orient. It's the romance of the cupset.

oh Cov I love you so much right now

man, zigic is terrible

Ferguson's picked a very weakened team, Southampton could be in luck.

Can Crawley hold on to join Brighton as Sussex dominates the FA Cup?

SEAGULLS!!!!!!!!

Crawley have missed 2! penalties and now have a man sent off?

They'll be dancing in the streets of Gatwick Airport

lol Everybody Hates Crawley.

Proper cup tie that by the sound of it tho.

BOOM

I am NOT going to think about how many things can go wrong because that half was amazing. Actually properly outplaying United (not their first team but fuck up yeah?), quality goal ("riding his luck"? Fuck up Tyldesley). I honestly don't believe I've ever seen us play better.

BOOM

― Cars and Freedom (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 29 January 2011 18:01 (14 minutes ago)

Think Saints Man Yoo has the 'honour' of being the least informative Guardian liveblog yet.

BOOM

that it came from Michael Owen makes it all the worse

P

such ceaseless cuntery.

the tolerance of child-flogging

bestiality as a pastime

spears flung up crotches

vice

gordon brown's collected flatulence 2007-2009

forced to tie one's own children to the railway line

pelted with conkers until senseless

conniption

the eating of toads

such ceaseless cuntery

perfluoric acid filtering down urethral catheter

Ah, the romance of the cup lives on, I'm off to the pub...

the belgian congo

flung from a helicopter

married to one's own preserved turd

Performance, not result. Still proud. Chaplow was immense. Adkins has got a plan, and it really looks very nice indeed.

btw all those posts were about birmingham city

Almunia, Eboue, Squillaci, Koscielny, Gibbs, Denilson, Diaby, Nasri, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh

Who's that in goal?

such a shame that even though we offered him to every team in europe for free (supposedly), he is still here

That entire line up makes me nervous.

well thats because you are a big girl

no keysy

Can I still say "tippy tappy horse cunt" in the post-keysy world?

we have a fake keysy twitter for that son

am mollified re: birmingham by the fact that all 3 of their goals were excellent (really) and that they put marlon king to the sword; evils, lesser of, etc

Waddle's abuse of the English language is the best thing about this game.

Is Bendtner really getting credited for that goal? O.G surely.

rip nasri

Bendtner lacking in "compfy dumps", according to Waddle.

same old arsenal, always clothes-lining

twatter, on so many levels

should have been gots, ended up with squiggle being a dick

Same old Squiller, always fucking shit.

that was some leo messi shit from... whoever that was (foreign commentary innit)

Good thing Arsene still has 24 hours to not sign a CB.

if only he was at a club which had a policy of trusting young players to make the step up from the reserves

http://www.wsc.co.uk/images/stories/wscdaily/icon_weng1.jpg

No spare studios at the Amirites for ESPN?

Richard Keys snuck in and smashed it.

Arsenal with Almunia in goal conceded from a set piece, NOSTALGIA

Lee snuck in and smashed it.

I should have been a hashtag rapper, BBC LIVEBLOG

lol @ rosicky with his strop on.

Arzil need a pelanty if they want to avoid a replay.

PELANTY!

fuck off is that only a yellow. more of a goalscoring chance than the clothesline

LOL

o wait not a pelanty

that showed me

football is increasingly becoming about the snuffing of underdog dreams, h8 u all

I wouldn't have given a pelanty either but fair play to Clattenberg for not noticing Bendy's diving shitness.

was talking abt the hudderfield fk just after

pelanty wasn't rly a pelanty, when in doot, cheat yer wee oot

propor mint win leek for the arzil

love the sound of lower-league hopes getting asphyxiated in the last ten minutes

hey at least Citeh don't have any stone cold killers in their team. Well, convicted ones anyway.

:D

lol @ anybody thinking this draw is anything but fixed btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCXdlxZ5RiM

Tomichenko on Twitter: "Great fourth goal by Fulham, but IF (BIG IF) Spurs get a goal about 10 mins into 2nd half they have the talent to win this game, just saying!"

hahahahahaha

IF (BIG IF) Fulham's entire back four is carried away on a river of Michael Dawson's tears we could be looking at another amazing Spurs comeback here!

no spurs DVD shop yet?

http://i.imgur.com/jBWgZ.jpg

looool

i predict a Man City v Chelsea final (going to pens)

read that as penis, tried to extrapolate joke, failed.

Why didn't Chelsea & Everton play on Wednesday, so the winners could play the fifth round today?

personally i thought not a penalty at all, wtf the commenators getting all riled at it

He last few minutes were some good fun.

woof.

never bank chelsea on penalties

oh chelseapaws

Ashley Cole will have known that he would not want to have missed that penalty. Still, one thing is certain.

Surprised Cole missed but Anelka was a certainty not to score. Was anybody in the country surprised that he didn't score?

Stoke winning, Scumingham winning, jesus this competition

pretty sure even Nults' instinctive response would be something in the region of "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" xxp

All we need now is ManU to score a winner in the 98th after being played off the park to set the seal.

chelsea's 7th shootout defeat in a row confirms that bellend on the bbc text coverage

Bebe starting for Utd against Crawley. Should be fun.

finally found his level.

what's this knights of the round table bullshit music man u play now

god and tyldsley...fuck off already

The presence of Bebe adds an extra dimension to this game imo - another chance to decide if he's actually genuinely fucking shite awful of whether he's the rough diamond waiting to be shaped or whether he's actually what he's looked like so far: a not bad footballer who'd be comfortable playing a league or so above Crawley.

Bebe > Gibson tbh

having The Sun logo slapped on Crawley shirts makes it a lot harder to root for them

dunno what they get from Gibson that they wouldn't get from a spring-powered boot sitting about 25 yards from the goal.

Pass just before the goal was Xavi-esque from Gibson

having The Sun logo slapped on Crawley shirts makes it a lot harder to root for them

― idgi fridays (blueski), Saturday, February 19, 2011 5:25 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yeah! The option of rooting for Man Utd or The Sun. Talk about Sophie's Choice.

would watch a Sophie's Choice in which the decision is based on which child she has the least hatred for.

no one likes Crawley anyway, they're the ManU of non-league iirc

anyone see gibson's goal for ireland a few weeks back?

A spring-operated boot that could do that in any way regularly > most utd centre mids

Gibson has actually been Utd's best player, not that that says much

bham stoke and everton already in the last eight. some excellent quarter finals ahead to be sure.

As a Brentford fan, it's good to see David Hunt doing his thing at Old Trafford, where his thing is 'yeah those long throws look nifty but nothing came of the first hundred attempts so...'.

No, Everton only made it to the last 16 today

Chief football writer Phil McNulty at Old Trafford: "Tempting fate - and a wonder goal here - but Manchester United's Bebe looks a very ordinary player. Old Trafford woken from its slumbers as David Hunt wastes Crawley's best chance."

Bebe has just been sort of anonymous. Obertan on the other hand, has been actively terrible.

didn't realise, ismael. still i imagine everton will dispatch reading.

shame that fulham and bolton are playing each other: they'd both add spice to the 6th round.

plucky Man Utd in the last 8 now too

Well, that was entertaining. I don't know what on earth Crawley were thinking of right at the end: they're already beyond the 4 minutes of injury time and have a free-kick near the halfway line, but instead of launching it into the box, they just argue about who's going to take it for about 30 seconds until the referee gives up and blows his whistle.

no one likes Crawley anyway, they're the ManU of non-league iirc

The ManC of non-league, I think you'll find

That was fairly baffling alright. Keeper was placing it like a conversion attempt

FA CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW

Stoke City v West Ham/Burnley
Man City/Aston Villa v Everton/Reading
Birmingham City v Fulham/Bolton
Man Utd v Leyton Orient/Arsenal

Ties to be played 12/13 March.

bobby z!

um, what happened to all the little clubs? Thought we were in line for a patronising final this year

3/8 ain't bad. (potentially).

fat chance

Finding it hard not to support the Mighty O's.

We no longer like Tehoue-houe

took a risk resting chesney in favour of his green understudy, and they've paid for it.

Ha, I was actually saying 'it's Arsenal, I can't believe they'll get to 90 minutes without fucking up somehow' about thirty seconds before the equaliser

Hurrah for the Mighty O's. Every time the camera cut to Barry Hearn after the match he was doing that fist-pumping celebration - he must have been at it for five whole minutes.

Considered opinion based on the incontrovertible evidence gleaned by the statistically significant number of 2 games - there isn't much difference talent wise between being a 'B' teamer at one of the 2 best clubs in England/Europe and being a starter in a Div 1 or Non -League team. I've decided to ignore the thrashings Birmingham and Stoke handed out as they ruin this well thought out thesis.

Def no difference between Almunia and a Sunday league goalkeeper (or Rosicky, King, Woodgate, Hargreaves etc. with people in wheelchairs)

The Utd team for today is hilarious. 7 defenders!

VDS, Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Fabio, Brown, O'Shea, Gibson, Rooney, Hernandez.

lol I thought you were just listing the 7 defenders and I was about to type "Ok I'll give you Ronney but Hernandez is no right back."

Fuck me this is the most defensive line-up I've ever seen and it doesn't even have Fletcher in it.

This has been pretty much crap thus far.

So apparently Giggs and Scholes are the only 2 Utd midfielders who know how to pass the ball.
Oh, but that was nice.

Rooney does something useful/good. Lovely flighted pass.

STV are showing some made-for-TV movie instead of this game. I kind of admire the stubborn contrarianism.

saw the last half hour of birminghma-bolton, was good fun. hope bolton win the whole thing

I know I can be a bit off a hoof-ball snob, but the 1st half of Bham-Bolton was fucking dire.

Phil McNulty's HT snapshot from Old Trafford: "Sir Alex Ferguson will be satisfied with how a reshuffled Manchester United team has coped and lead at half-time. Arsenal must find some snap from somewhere otherwise they will be concentrating on the Premier League - although one or two signs of a response as the interval approached."

Valencia :DDDDDD

Ah Valencia. no longer broken. Feels like he's been away for years rather than 6 months.

xp

fuuuuck

That was sweet football. Good save VdS

that save alone means utd deserve to win

also that goal doesn't hurt their chances

That was AWFUL from Gibbs.

yup.

typically shit goal from repugnant fat cunt rooney

5Live before the game Mark Lawrenson was laying into Clichy's performance vs Barca, as if it's easy to play against Messi/Villa/Pedro/Alves.

How come Chamakh doesn't seem to feature much anymore, or have I got that wrong? Tho' tbf Van Injury IS better than him so fair enough he starts.

clichy was really shit against barcelona tho

gibbs is a youngun at least and should improve

maybe he'll score some headers again when valencia is back

― Jlloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken (ken c), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 18:09 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Clichy has been the best LB at any club in the country this season. 1 shit game (against those guys!) and everyone is hating again.

Chamakh has been struggling for form since December, thats why RVP and Bendtner have overtaken him for a place.

nostrakencus

Denilson needs to be shot from a cannon back to Brazil. Just bring on Ramsey ffs.

denilson is a bit of a nothing player tho without the strength and aggression of other unimaginative brazilian midfielders

he shifts it around neatly enough and gets about to no great effect

rooney ambling around in the left wing back position

Rooney actually looks happier defending. He's like "at least this I still know how to do"
Crap that was almost a beauty.

there was 1 season when he was terrific (07/08 i think) and i've been clinging to that to defend him but there comes a time when you just have to admit that a guy is not good enough.

Nicely done Jack!

nice goal against chelsea the other week tho xp

Can't work out whether United have been really rather good or Arsenal have been absolutely fucking hopeless, but think it might be both.

Reluctantly beginning to accept that Wilshere is as good as Sam says he is.

Pete you did say Utd should play a defensive line up if they wanted to win.

Edwin VDS absolutely fantastic today

^^^

ya i think y'nahtid have mostly been as crap as a team of fullbacks ought to be, but vds has been first rate

Is that Utd fans singing "one more year"? If so is it directed towards Ryan Giggs or are they mocking Arsenal as in next year will be our year?

Who have Arsenal got in the league next?

City, I think

West Brom, oh as the commentators just said.

Maybe Chelsea have got City. Someone has.

Who they lost 3-2 at home to I think.
xp

Yeah Chelsea/City at SB

For a team of full backs playing in third gear and with a Champions League tie coming up, United have looked pretty comfortable and incisive on the break.

Yeah, we've got City. We'll lose because im not going.

How appropriate that they mention Stoke over footage of an Arsenal player getting stretchered off. Hope that's not as bad as it looks.

You know what I fucking hate? Andy Townsend has just done it the same way many others have and said that if Arsenal played un-"beautiful football" that they'd come back and win this, like it would automatically changed everything if we started hoofing it.

what happened to Djourou?

I think "one more year" is probably a plea for VDS to change his mind about retiring.

Love this "pull my finger" image the BBC are using.
http://static.bbc.co.uk/homepage/ic/mediazone/strap/www/image/p00flxhr_640_215.jpg

For a team of full backs playing in third gear and with a Champions League tie coming up, United have looked pretty comfortable and incisive on the break.

― isn't house rubbish and Pete W mental (Pete W), Saturday, 12 March 2011 18:59 (1 minute ago) Bookmark

yeah but the biggest team in the land playing p much an entire home match on the break isn't a cause for great encomium

Djourou fell awkwardly I think. Shoulder injury.

That says more about Arsenal then it does United.

Andy Townsend talking bollox as per. Giving praise to Fergie cos the players have played 2 diff systems today with "no real complaints" What's he expect them to do? Walk off in a huff?

no doubt xp

but everyone knows arsenal are flaky and have been shit vs good teams since they won the 'big 4' league in 06/07 (iirc)

Ha that was lousy from Rooney.

Scholes is so so dirty.

Can we go 1 fucking game when it comes to the end of seasons when we don't have a player or two get injured? Wtf is wrong with our training regime?

nakh we beat city and chelsea this season.

scholes deserving a red there and forever.

btw Sam re Djourou
1900: Johan Djourou was on the floor, having slid in on Javier Hernandez, when Bacary Sagna ran into his arm and popped it out of its socket. He is being given oxygen as he is stretchered off.

Scholes now just intentionally trying to injure potential title rivals?

try finding your record vs top 4, big cl ties in the last four years xxp

What a fucking lucky idiot Scholes is. Horrible fella.

Why is that not a second yellow?

scholes is a fucking cunt

vds rightly motm but almunia has been dope as well

"contradiction that is paul scholes"

no, the horrible fucking cuntflap that is paul scholes.

Otm

there's no contradiction between being a great player and a cunt

Hang haven't we been "down the stratch" for the last 3 weeks when Arsenal have actually gained ground on Utd so don't why Townsend thinks Utd are getting stronger

stretch not stratch obv

went out of 3 cups in pretty demoralising ways and lost a bunch of essential players tho

Rooney actually played well in this game

arsenal are the best fair-weather team because you always get the sugar rush of autumn souring into acrimony, you can tentatively share the first while fully embracing the lulz of the second

― intercrüral (nakhchivan), Monday, 13 September 2010 14:52 (5 months ago)

still hoping they win the title but don't rate their resilience, comebacks vs barca and wenger's relentless optimism notwithstanding

they still have that air of a mouthy little kid psyching themselves up for a fight they will eventually shirk

Whoever succeeds Wenger will spend £50m on Buffon, Gary Cahill, Mascherano and Darren Bent, Arsenal will win the quadruple, and everyone will feel jolly silly about the lost decade.

Extremely pleased to see Valencia back. He didn't look too far off the pace either.

Yeah, very welcome return given Nani's injury. I was amazed at how well United played on the break today - the three goals they didn't score (if you can remember what I mean) would have been fantastic.

Djourou out for the season - dislocated shoulder

scholes is a fucking cunt

^ this.

This was a corking game for pub punditry - Arsenal looking pretty to no effect, Man Utd looking like scoring every time they broke, Scholes being a cnut, van der Sar being awes, one OMFG DID HE JUST DO THAT from lolmunia.

Scholes is suspended for two games anyway - ten yellow cards

he's made in his manager's image, that one

scholes has been fucking shit for years, embarrasing himself. what a total dickhead. "oh he's such a tedious boring cunt he has no flash cars or attitude, he loves a tackle"...fuck off

glad to see some long overdue dismantling of "little ginger fella" and his ill deserved rep as some kind of down to earth hero, he's a dirtbag.

eh he's not been shit, but his tackling is an embarrassment to officiating and his 'nice guy' image that must be kept intact at all costs.

i only caught the last ten mins of that and his passing was devastating tbf

an occasional hollywood pass doesn't mean he's been good...it's the exeption rather than the rule for him to play well these dasy, and man u fans on here have said the same.

Local Garda, your constant invective against Scholes, Rooney and pretty much any Utd player is becoming kind of tiresome. Saying Scholes has been "fucking shit for years" is simply exposing your ignorance. I seem to remember you ranting about how Van De Sar was overrated in the last few weeks as well.

he's their best option by some distance in attacking mid- he's still their most consistent midfielder on the ball, and i wouldn't hold a lack of legs against him at 43.

playing with michael carrick must be a fairly soul-destroying experience after years in front of keane let's not forget.

you could say the same for me NN (eh i think you have done recently!), but tbf i hold quite a lot of residual affection for most of utd's 90's team, coming from a utd-supporting band of siblings.

for neutrals (or even not-so-neutrals) it's just fair to say that this utd team are very hard to watch/like- the fact that they enjoy so much special treatment from FA/Media/Refs/opposition can't even be offset against the entertainment that they provide, unlike in the period from 1993 until say 2002/3?

man united's defence is brilliant, beyond that the fact is it's an average and aging side galvanised into better results by a good manager and a culture of winning. scholes can't hack it at a high level anymore, evidenced by the likes of lucas having owned him in 3/4 of the last outings versus each other.

but far be it from me to prevent fans reacting to criticism of their club- particularly from LG- he's got more karma to balance out there than utd have with refs imo :)

even 4 years ago or so man u were dicking teams 3-0 in first 20 mins. far cry from that these days, and scholes and giggs are praised like some kind of saints for any and every remotely good piece of play these days. the gaps between their montages become shorter and shorter.

x-post...i can criticise liverpool's senior players cos they're not some tedious football v de p in my mind, whatever about reacting to other people making incorrect criticisms of them. i'm not denying scholes was a great player, but nobody ever, EVER says when him or giggs have a shit game, and they've had plenty in the last 5 or let's face it, 8 years. giggs had a 3-5 year dip that's long forgotten.

old record from me here, but that's just not true for giggs imo- his use of the ball has improved beyond recognition since his renaissance in the past few years.

xp!

and xxp it was a fucking 7 year dip if it was a day

I dunno LG, your primary problem seems to be with the way the media presents these players. Yeah the Sky brigade go over board about Scholes and Giggs, but they are by no means shit and are still playing at an admirable level for their age. Like darragh said, Scholes came on today and played a few superb passes.

scholes is still pretty impressive for a 36 yr old imo, but if they had an ounce of invention in the rest of that midfield he'd be a 15 game a season player by now

he's by far my favourite english player but he's a disgrace, TOTALLY obviously knows what he's doing

and yeah the praise for his unpretentious 'duh boss i just play football, no frills with me' shtick is itself rather pretentious at this point

there are loads of high level players who keep a low profile off the pitch, it's only in the context of england nt players that it stands out

Again, the way Scholes is portrayed by the media is not his doing

x-post otm...it's beyond it even being man u, i hate mausoleum polishing in music or anything else. it's bbc too, not just sky.

it is indeed admirable they've had long careers but there is a wealth of bullshit about these guys.

x-post people who have their life long love affairs with ferguson don't impress me cos he has zero class as a manger anyway, he is clearly a brilliant manager but he's an awful human being.

plus scholes "keeping a low profile" is what exactly...being an "english player" stereotype. what's wrong with a player driving a fancy car? nothing. maybe he's just ultra tedious.

lol manger

man minger

Anyway, i don't think any Utd fan is happy with the way the team is playing these days. It's undoubtedly the most uninspiring side since the Kleberson/Djemba Djemba era. I'm still clinging to the hope that the addition of a creative midfielder in the summer will galvanize what is a pretty good set of players in the other areas of the pitch.

i like youse guys and everything but if you so much as look at modric i'm sbanning every utd fan here

Feeder club

well when we buy carrick back from ye who'll be laughing then eh?

scholes can't hack it at a high level anymore, evidenced by the likes of lucas having owned him in 3/4 of the last outings versus each other.
― I see what this is (Local Garda), Saturday, 12 March 2011 23:42 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

String of medals vs v selective sample calls bullshit.

He's still getting games for a team who are still winning trophies. He's not some sentimental passenger - Fergie has a notable history of discarding very good players once their usefulness falls off. Scholes featuring regularly under a good, ruthless, successful manager says his inclusion still benefits the team. His tackling is as shite as it ever was and his passing is almost as good as ever. He doesn't cover the same ground or make the same (or as many) late runs into the box but he's intelligent enough a footballer that he's successfully adjusted his game to suit his fitness/stamina (shite tackling aside).
That he's somehow to be maligned for not getting on the front pages of papers is fucking mental - it's fair enough to rail against the pundits who list that as some sort of virtue but his playboy creds/lack of really have fuck all to do with his football, and I think that's a good thing.
I agree that the constant praise of him and Giggs for still playing at the ripe old age of 92 is annoying crap but that's not their fault. If they're good enough that they still warrant a place it's a testament to their abilities (and also a damning indictment of the string of very well paid reserves who can't dislodge them + worse indictment of the rest of the Big Teams who can't get near them when it counts).
I've been drinking a lot and I think I lost most of my point there but I'll submit whatever the fuck this is anyway.

Scholes featuring regularly under a good, ruthless, successful manager says his inclusion still benefits the team.

i agree with you in the specific, but don't think that the statement is true. this is a manager that has played a near-useless rooney all season, picks the lamentable carrick for years now and persisted with barthe and plenty of other passengers over the years. he's not sentimental, but he's stubborn to the point of fecklessness, and not a perfect judge of player 100% of the time.

eh the rest of what you said is all sound enough imo

'barthe'- the '' key isn't working either btw

I think we need a thread trying to understand Carrick. Like, he is an essential player in a team that will most likely win the league and won the CL etc. but he doesn't really do anything? And they look shit with him in? But he's important some how?

That would be a useful thread, because I've been trying all season to work out why Celtic work better with Joe Ledley despite having fuck all idea what he actually does that other people don't.

Scholes is a bawbag, but still the only English player to make my top 20 2000s players. onimo's drunken garbling is mostly spot on, but Darragh's point about Fergie is a good one. It's still a rare player who gets my admiration despite having plenty of reasons (dirty bawbaggery, mostly) to hate him.

Well who is a perfect judge of a player 100% of the time anyway. Picking Rooney nearly all season looks to be paying off at the end of it.

At least Ramsey is back...

people who have their life long love affairs with ferguson don't impress me cos he has zero class as a manger anyway, he is clearly a brilliant manager but he's an awful human being

I don't feel I've got a handle on Ferguson as a human being tbh - there are enough stories about him helping out lesser managers behind the scenes, spending time at no-hopers' testimonials, etc when he's really long beyond having to bother with that crap. Balance against Rock of Gibraltar and vendetta against the bbc if you like I suppose.

More I feel that he's just switched on all the time, which would make anyone seem like a prick after a while, unless they're a nurse or a primary school teacher or something. Where does what you do stop and who you are begin I guess.

Man I have come across plenty of nurses and primary school teachers who were pricks.

I used to work with a guy who was a mate of Alex Ferguson from zillions of years ago when they played football together as youngsters, couldn't stop saying nice things about him - I know generally he's back up here a lot at charity events and the like, was back up doing stuff at his old school a couple of weeks. I think he, like anyone, has examples in his long career that make him look like a prick, but he's mostly just, y'know, there.

He started the interview well, but gave up half way through and couldn't even be bothered to delete the text off the page:

arshavin.eu: Andrey, what's going on with Arsenal?
AA: Arsenal have lost today.

Went to the Liverpool-Utd Youth Cup quarter final at Anfield this afternoon. Utd won 3-2. Both teams ended up with 9 men. Raheem Sterling is an absolute gem. Utd's number 6 is the new Paul Scholes - for all the wrong reasons. Great atmosphere, about 10,000 on the Kop, and a few hundred Utd fans, one of which lit a flare. United's youth team as hateful as their 1st team.

The Pogba sending off was a new one for me

I think Carrick WAS a very important player for United for the first couple of seasons after he signed from Spurs - most of their attacks started with him, could get in between midfielders and break up attacks then spray long passes out to bombing wingers. But he's got worse and worse since then and Fletcher's much more essential to the team now.

Scholes can still make amazing passes from deep, he did it a couple of times on Saturday when he wasn't fouling people. But I get the feeling he's still getting loads of games because Fergie has never adequately replaced him. Obviously he's a dirty cunt as well but so were a lot of great players. He was getting a load of criticism from ITV on Saturday, it wasn't as much of a whitewash as it sometimes can be when Scholes plays.

If Stoke get to the final they'll be in Europe. Seriously, is Europe ready for Rory Delap?

Fletcher has been crap this season as well unfortunately.

The whole "Scholes is a dirty bastard who just gets away with it because people indulge him and think he didn't mean it, they think he's just constantly misjudging tackles" thing seems about ten years out of date, to be honest. I thought pretty much everyone accepted that it's deliberate, including referees - he gets booked all the time.

he gets booked once per game all the time, subtle difference.

I struggle to think of a player who's gotten away with a higher ratio of bookable offences over a career

Robbie Savage

that was, honest to god, the only other contender

Straight red contenders include terry, carragher, vidic from the past decade. Prob missing someone.

I struggle to think of a player who's gotten away with a higher ratio of bookable offences over a career

Davie Weir's having a good go at upping his ratio in the latter stages of his career. Certain hacks up here seem to make a habit of excusing him on the grounds that he's old and slow, but if it's just that he's not fit or fast enough to catch up with his opponent legally, he should retire, or just stop kicking people.

ach be serious, rangers players don't count.

Tru dat. But Weary Dave's kind of extra-ridiculous. Madjid Bougherra used to be the same (had several varieties of the "it's Bougherra's birthday but there's no point getting him anything, he's only allowed one card a year" joke texted to me) but refs seem to be unwilling or unable to ignore him now. Weir, on the other hand, still gets to kick people.

I struggle to think of a player who's gotten away with a higher ratio of bookable offences over a career

Shearer.

Great shout. "don't punish me for kicking someone in the face or else I'll retire" "oh, OK, then, no punishment for you then". Fuck off.

Googling to find out more about that, it seems Neil Lennon defended him at the time during his hearing and said he didn't think he did it on purpose, which is slightly at odds with the line peddled by "leading" "pundit" Richard Gough last week, that Lennon probably deserved a kick in the face because Shearer's Not That Kind Of Player and Neil Lennon deserves what's coming to him at all times.

But that's slightly off-topic. Shearer's still a dirty wee bawbag though.

shearer straddles the yellow/red amnesty divide like a behemoth

Remember when uriah rennie was plagued for sending shearer off for repeated fouling?

'persistent use of the elbow'

Saw it live. Told the cunt about five times, even after booking him.