look at that... 2 more games and two more roma wins. ok, so one of them was a lucky win with a questionable penalty in the last minutes against cagliari. it was an exciting game: 7 goals, 2 red cards, 3 yellows... and of course, i can say exciting since we won it in the end. roma didn't play all that great against siena but as i said, luck is on our side as when the siena keeper's bad clearance lands perfectly for a nice mancini chip who celebrates by walking on his hands. what a talented boy. want to see another talented boy? take a look at de rossi's goal. oh how i love my roma boys.
there were other games.... fiorentina beat inter one week but then lose against livorno in a tuscan derby. both games are without a luca toni goal! mmmm luca toni got a haircut and he is so damn hot. too bad he had a penalty shot saved against livorno. lucarelli, on the other hand, scores a penalty & another fine goal in that game.
milan go goal crazy & score 5 against treviso and 4 against reggina while only conceeding one. and much to all of our dismay, that includes a pippo hattrick. ewwww.
there was also this little game called il derby d'italia between inter & juventus. it was a great advert for italian football - lots of chances for both sides, lots of attacking play, lots of derby-esque hard fouls. gigi's hair is pretty awful... he should really talk to ibrahimovic who just shaved his head. nedved is up to his usual tricks: falling down every chance he gets & acting like a bus hit him. and the coaches are both in their roman scarves: manicini in his usual light blue lazio & capello sports a roma red one. very interesting. it's just too bad that in the end, inter couldn't at least grab a point when recoba's freekick hit the bar & no one could score the rebound. all we can hope for is bad shrimp at juve's victory dinner.
05 March 2006
week 22 & 23 of serie a
ah milan, what went wrong? you are playing some boring football, all you can do is draw matches (a 0-0 against lazio & a 1-1 versus sampdoria) which gets you no closer to the b*stardi. are you all just missing your paolo a little too much? i know he's beautiful & inspiring & all that but come on....
or are you just as sickened by the usual nonsense that is juventus. fine, i'll give them the win against ascoli but that farce that was the 1-0 against udinese??! just another 3 points for juve.... nedved diving, the other team going down to 10 men, an offside goal that somehow counts.... *sigh*
inter are keeping pace with two wins - both good games by figo. my luca toni scores (mmmm luca toni) in fiorentina's win over lecce.
but the real news is my roma, continuing to win (two 3-0 wins!), even without strikers (6 goals and no strikers!). the first against livorno gives us 2 totti goals & one from taddei and then the 3-0 against parma gives us 2 mancini goals and one from perrotta. there was some nice team play & some pretty passes for the goals. and it is nice to see team spirit amongst the roma boys... taddei going to hug conti on the sidelines, the dancing after the mancini goals, the slapping each other to celebrate goals... well, it's an interesting celebration to say the least.
or are you just as sickened by the usual nonsense that is juventus. fine, i'll give them the win against ascoli but that farce that was the 1-0 against udinese??! just another 3 points for juve.... nedved diving, the other team going down to 10 men, an offside goal that somehow counts.... *sigh*
inter are keeping pace with two wins - both good games by figo. my luca toni scores (mmmm luca toni) in fiorentina's win over lecce.
but the real news is my roma, continuing to win (two 3-0 wins!), even without strikers (6 goals and no strikers!). the first against livorno gives us 2 totti goals & one from taddei and then the 3-0 against parma gives us 2 mancini goals and one from perrotta. there was some nice team play & some pretty passes for the goals. and it is nice to see team spirit amongst the roma boys... taddei going to hug conti on the sidelines, the dancing after the mancini goals, the slapping each other to celebrate goals... well, it's an interesting celebration to say the least.
week 21 & 22 of la liga
let's talk about the basque teams starting with a derby between alaves & real sociedad where alaves' cutie aloisi scored in their 3-1 win. at least sociedad won the following week against mallorca. osasuna also had one win (against sevilla) and one loss (against betis). they haven't been able to keep up the form that saw them tied with barca at the beginning of the season but they should be able to secure a spot in europe next season. that would be especially nice as 3 basque teams are fighting relegation: alaves, sociedad & my bilbao. poor bilbao: for every necessary win against teams like getafe there is a loss against someone like fellow strugglers malaga. and you can see why when there was terrible marking against freekicks & malaga score both their goals from these set pieces.
the cuties of valencia manage 4 points from 2 games to try to keep pace for 2nd. supercutie aimar secures the point against zaragoza & then cutie david villa scores one of the goals of the season against deportivo - he looks up from just past the halfway line & sees the keeper off his line so he takes a shot & scores a beauty.
real madrid are the other team fighting for 2nd place & manage 2 wins in these 2 weeks. there's a hard fought win against celta and then a drumming of espanyol. zizou is the star of the later with a great goal, some great moves & a desperate need of a shave.
but it's the other madrid team who was making headlines with their 2 wins. the first was against deportivo in a very entertaining game. maxi had 2 goals and no one went blind from depor's chartreuse kits (i hope). but the bigger win was the one that came against the mighty barcelona at the nou camp. it must have been that torres got his hair cut - the mullet is gone! rejoice! the fauxhawk is back! - or that atletico madrid just happen to be barca's boogey team. either way, it was a great win. my torres scores not just once but twice & the barca defense looks a mess for both of those and the easy tap in by maxi. now, if only they could produce this type of magic against real madrid.... we all know that is torres's real dream.
the cuties of valencia manage 4 points from 2 games to try to keep pace for 2nd. supercutie aimar secures the point against zaragoza & then cutie david villa scores one of the goals of the season against deportivo - he looks up from just past the halfway line & sees the keeper off his line so he takes a shot & scores a beauty.
real madrid are the other team fighting for 2nd place & manage 2 wins in these 2 weeks. there's a hard fought win against celta and then a drumming of espanyol. zizou is the star of the later with a great goal, some great moves & a desperate need of a shave.
but it's the other madrid team who was making headlines with their 2 wins. the first was against deportivo in a very entertaining game. maxi had 2 goals and no one went blind from depor's chartreuse kits (i hope). but the bigger win was the one that came against the mighty barcelona at the nou camp. it must have been that torres got his hair cut - the mullet is gone! rejoice! the fauxhawk is back! - or that atletico madrid just happen to be barca's boogey team. either way, it was a great win. my torres scores not just once but twice & the barca defense looks a mess for both of those and the easy tap in by maxi. now, if only they could produce this type of magic against real madrid.... we all know that is torres's real dream.
week 24 & 25 of the epl
do i really care about anything other than chelsea beating liverpool AGAIN?
nah, not really but i will mention a few things....
like the very enjoyable game that was blackburn v manyoo. this was the classic with rio's header back to his keeper who wasn't there... and then the jackass having the nerve to scream at van der saar as if it was all his fault. i can't say i was all that surprised when he then received 2 yellows in rapid succession & was out of there. *sniggers*
we also had both spurs & the arse losing their london derbies (against fulham & west ham) but then spurs bounced back and won the derby against charlton. it was a great first half by the spurs boys and charlton didn't really even try to get back in it in the second half.
manyoo bounced back from that blackburn disaster with a 4-2 win against fulham. it was another highly entertaining game with lots of back & forth, lots of goals. there was a lovely ronaldo freekick, a nice header by mcbride & park finally scores for manyoo. the best non-footy bit was chris coleman having fits about an offside goal for manyoo & getting sent to the stands. i love managers who get sent to the stands.
we also had titi scoring his 200th goal & shearer scoring his 201st.....
but what i really want to mention is my boys in blue beating the 'champions of europe' once again... ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
champions my ass.
it was nice to see zola in stands enjoying this game but we were all frustrated with the number of not really offside calls that were called against crespo. he did get on the scoresheet but there was a beauty that should have counted that didn't. blegh. and hello, can someone call robben's mummy and tell her he needs to have a time-out??! what was with his tantrum that was worthy of a 5yr. old? almost as funny as the look on stevie g.'s face at the final whistle. ;-)
nah, not really but i will mention a few things....
like the very enjoyable game that was blackburn v manyoo. this was the classic with rio's header back to his keeper who wasn't there... and then the jackass having the nerve to scream at van der saar as if it was all his fault. i can't say i was all that surprised when he then received 2 yellows in rapid succession & was out of there. *sniggers*
we also had both spurs & the arse losing their london derbies (against fulham & west ham) but then spurs bounced back and won the derby against charlton. it was a great first half by the spurs boys and charlton didn't really even try to get back in it in the second half.
manyoo bounced back from that blackburn disaster with a 4-2 win against fulham. it was another highly entertaining game with lots of back & forth, lots of goals. there was a lovely ronaldo freekick, a nice header by mcbride & park finally scores for manyoo. the best non-footy bit was chris coleman having fits about an offside goal for manyoo & getting sent to the stands. i love managers who get sent to the stands.
we also had titi scoring his 200th goal & shearer scoring his 201st.....
but what i really want to mention is my boys in blue beating the 'champions of europe' once again... ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
champions my ass.
it was nice to see zola in stands enjoying this game but we were all frustrated with the number of not really offside calls that were called against crespo. he did get on the scoresheet but there was a beauty that should have counted that didn't. blegh. and hello, can someone call robben's mummy and tell her he needs to have a time-out??! what was with his tantrum that was worthy of a 5yr. old? almost as funny as the look on stevie g.'s face at the final whistle. ;-)
05 February 2006
f.a. cup
fourth round games
hmmm. whom do we feel worse for? the arse, as cup holders, getting knocked out by bolton? or sunderland, who are having a pitiful season, getting knocked out by lower league brentford?
i'm going with sunderland but they were really nice goals by brentford's campbell so what can you do? the brentford fans went wild at the final whistle - esp. considering it was 1-1 up until the 89th minute - and there was a big happy pitch invasion. ah bless, the magic of the cup.
but you might not want to talk about the "magic" with arsenal right now. or say the b-word. you know, their bogeymen, bolton wanderers. the bolton fans were loving it & i certainly enjoyed their very loud rendition of "same old arsenal, always cheating" and it was a great goal - beautiful pass from gardener for a stelios header.
stupid liverpool manage a win; at least cisse saved off his turdhawk.
the west ham v blackburn game was very entertaining, lots of goals, lots of back & forth. zamora scored twice, and celebrated the second by shooting an arrow. i guess he was on target, eh?
chelsea have to squeeze in a replay after only managing a 1-1 draw against everton. my carlo looked mighty hot in goal but his hotness could not stop mcfadden from scoring. jose was displeased enough to have to stand up and frown at his players. god he's sexy when he does that. and my superfrankie lampard saved the day with a goal... even better, he was shirtless after the final whistle. also of note, glen johnson does exist (and almost gets into a fight with arteta) and i finally figured out the weirdness of robben: he runs with jazz hands. i swear. watch him in the next chelsea game.
manyoo were easy winners against wolves and set up a fantastic 5th round game against liverpool. who says the cup isn't still exciting?
hmmm. whom do we feel worse for? the arse, as cup holders, getting knocked out by bolton? or sunderland, who are having a pitiful season, getting knocked out by lower league brentford?
i'm going with sunderland but they were really nice goals by brentford's campbell so what can you do? the brentford fans went wild at the final whistle - esp. considering it was 1-1 up until the 89th minute - and there was a big happy pitch invasion. ah bless, the magic of the cup.
but you might not want to talk about the "magic" with arsenal right now. or say the b-word. you know, their bogeymen, bolton wanderers. the bolton fans were loving it & i certainly enjoyed their very loud rendition of "same old arsenal, always cheating" and it was a great goal - beautiful pass from gardener for a stelios header.
stupid liverpool manage a win; at least cisse saved off his turdhawk.
the west ham v blackburn game was very entertaining, lots of goals, lots of back & forth. zamora scored twice, and celebrated the second by shooting an arrow. i guess he was on target, eh?
chelsea have to squeeze in a replay after only managing a 1-1 draw against everton. my carlo looked mighty hot in goal but his hotness could not stop mcfadden from scoring. jose was displeased enough to have to stand up and frown at his players. god he's sexy when he does that. and my superfrankie lampard saved the day with a goal... even better, he was shirtless after the final whistle. also of note, glen johnson does exist (and almost gets into a fight with arteta) and i finally figured out the weirdness of robben: he runs with jazz hands. i swear. watch him in the next chelsea game.
manyoo were easy winners against wolves and set up a fantastic 5th round game against liverpool. who says the cup isn't still exciting?
week 23 & 24 of ligue 1
ajaccio get 4 points from 2 games??!! how the hell did that happen? are we in a parallel universe? because not only did my little corsicans win a game, but they beat marseille! to be fair, marseille were having a stinker of a game but ajaccio were up for it and that's what's important. there were a lot of fans there too... maybe if they show up more often, the players will want to give them a show like this every time. the first goal was a gift of a pass from a marseille defender but all the other defenders did just as badly by not being able to get it back & lucas scores. but more importantly, they are actually playing well. then, marseille manage the equalizer right before halftime & there was always the possibility of that being it for ajaccio's luck but surprise, surprise - it only got better. lucas scores again from a perfect pass & all the players look so happy, so surprised to be back in front. even the keeper is saving shots that on any other day, would have gotten marseille back into the game. marseille's defense were shambolic - as noted when ajaccio score their 3rd from a corner. the fans, too, were wildly happy at the final whistle.
the 0-0 away from home against nancy the following week didn't take the shine off the win - especially as we continued to have luck on our side... nancy had 2 good shouts for penalties that the ref waved away. at least they had a cutie, rudlophe, with rockstar hair... but you also have to feel a little sorry for them when it was announced that 45 youth players were forced to shovel the snow off the pitch before kickoff. it really wasn't their day.
that luck continues against rennes... one of the nancy players got red carded and then their coach got so agitated by that, he got himself red carded to the stands as well. but that didn't calm him down. oh no. he proceeded to jump up and down and continue yelling & screaming at his team from the stands. he at least has one moment of happiness: when nancy manage to score the camera goes straight to a shot of him celebrating wildly in his seat. wouldn't it have been a riot to happen to have the seat next to him?
i also enjoyed the nice captain celebrating his goal (and their win) against psg... yes, he ripped off his shirt. what a good boy. no chance of a repeat as their next game was called off due to snow.
the snow meant that champions lyon also had only one game as their match against monaco was postponed. and the one game they did play was against the team of cuties also known as auxerre & it was a 1-1 draw! anytime lyon drop points, that's good news for everyone else. especially for auxerre who are one of the few teams that are fighting near the top of the table for a champions league spot. auxerre were lucky - carew scored for lyon within the first minute & it was wrongly called offside & then diarra really did make it 1-0 right before the half. but auxerre came out fighting in the 2nd half & it paid off eventually when peggy luyindula (quite possibly the best name in football today) meets a perfect pieroni cross (it must be hard to be that cute and talented) in the 89th minute. you can't say that lyon wasn't trying - when they were 1-0 up, a defender came off and fred came on (no braids but no fro either), which is typical lyon attacking football but it didn't work this time. not even the star shaved into the hair of malouda could give lyon that extra sparkle that they needed.
auxerre followed the draw up with a win at home against rennes. pieroni won a penalty & scored & we all win when a hottie is happy.
marseille's luck didn't get any better after their loss in corsica - 0-0 against sochaux at home isn't making anyone happy, hot or not. sochaux had a surprise 4-0 win against st. etienne the week before. well, not that much of a surprise when st.etienne were down to 10 men within the first half. boys: if you push another to the ground, the ref is probably going to send you off. don't look all that shocked when it happens.
bordeaux are doing their best to stay in the running for a place in europe. 2 games, 2 wins. the first was against a 10 man strasbourg (their keeper lets in the winning goal between his legs... ouch!) and the second was a 1-0 against lens. both teams had their chances & the one goal came from a penalty - scored by our victorian hero darcheville. come on, you know that name is straight from a jane austen book.
the one game that monaco played did not see bobo get a start - both he & di vaio had a severe case of bad shrimp so they missed out on the 1-1 draw against lens. i pray, one day, we will see bobo play an almost full game in his new monaco strip.... for jenny's sake. but those old italian strikers should worry - it was monaco's 18 yr old gakpe who scored - on his debut. my only other concern was for the strange lens fans in sombreos & giant sunglasses.... the winter weather has some of us dreaming....
one last mention... how could we not give our sympathy to the metz keeper who gave up an own goal against lille from a ball that bounced into the net off his ass. worst. luck. evah. too bad it wasn't the other way around - that lille keeper is a bit of a cutie.
the 0-0 away from home against nancy the following week didn't take the shine off the win - especially as we continued to have luck on our side... nancy had 2 good shouts for penalties that the ref waved away. at least they had a cutie, rudlophe, with rockstar hair... but you also have to feel a little sorry for them when it was announced that 45 youth players were forced to shovel the snow off the pitch before kickoff. it really wasn't their day.
that luck continues against rennes... one of the nancy players got red carded and then their coach got so agitated by that, he got himself red carded to the stands as well. but that didn't calm him down. oh no. he proceeded to jump up and down and continue yelling & screaming at his team from the stands. he at least has one moment of happiness: when nancy manage to score the camera goes straight to a shot of him celebrating wildly in his seat. wouldn't it have been a riot to happen to have the seat next to him?
i also enjoyed the nice captain celebrating his goal (and their win) against psg... yes, he ripped off his shirt. what a good boy. no chance of a repeat as their next game was called off due to snow.
the snow meant that champions lyon also had only one game as their match against monaco was postponed. and the one game they did play was against the team of cuties also known as auxerre & it was a 1-1 draw! anytime lyon drop points, that's good news for everyone else. especially for auxerre who are one of the few teams that are fighting near the top of the table for a champions league spot. auxerre were lucky - carew scored for lyon within the first minute & it was wrongly called offside & then diarra really did make it 1-0 right before the half. but auxerre came out fighting in the 2nd half & it paid off eventually when peggy luyindula (quite possibly the best name in football today) meets a perfect pieroni cross (it must be hard to be that cute and talented) in the 89th minute. you can't say that lyon wasn't trying - when they were 1-0 up, a defender came off and fred came on (no braids but no fro either), which is typical lyon attacking football but it didn't work this time. not even the star shaved into the hair of malouda could give lyon that extra sparkle that they needed.
auxerre followed the draw up with a win at home against rennes. pieroni won a penalty & scored & we all win when a hottie is happy.
marseille's luck didn't get any better after their loss in corsica - 0-0 against sochaux at home isn't making anyone happy, hot or not. sochaux had a surprise 4-0 win against st. etienne the week before. well, not that much of a surprise when st.etienne were down to 10 men within the first half. boys: if you push another to the ground, the ref is probably going to send you off. don't look all that shocked when it happens.
bordeaux are doing their best to stay in the running for a place in europe. 2 games, 2 wins. the first was against a 10 man strasbourg (their keeper lets in the winning goal between his legs... ouch!) and the second was a 1-0 against lens. both teams had their chances & the one goal came from a penalty - scored by our victorian hero darcheville. come on, you know that name is straight from a jane austen book.
the one game that monaco played did not see bobo get a start - both he & di vaio had a severe case of bad shrimp so they missed out on the 1-1 draw against lens. i pray, one day, we will see bobo play an almost full game in his new monaco strip.... for jenny's sake. but those old italian strikers should worry - it was monaco's 18 yr old gakpe who scored - on his debut. my only other concern was for the strange lens fans in sombreos & giant sunglasses.... the winter weather has some of us dreaming....
one last mention... how could we not give our sympathy to the metz keeper who gave up an own goal against lille from a ball that bounced into the net off his ass. worst. luck. evah. too bad it wasn't the other way around - that lille keeper is a bit of a cutie.
29 January 2006
week 20 of la liga
wow, what a weekend. my bilbao come from behind in the basque derby & manage a point and more impressive than that, atletico madrid actually win!
madrid were away to zaragoza who had many of the early chances and just couldn't finish any of them. so it's heartbreak for them when a perfect pass sets up maxi rodriguez to score and then my supermulleted torres scores a penalty. he should have had a second - his goal was called offside even though it looked level. and when i say supermullet, i mean supermullet. he got a haircut & had the sides shaved & everything. it's a disaster.
shall we also call real betis's season so far a disaster? a high flying valencia was the last team they needed to visit & sure enough, 2 goals by the cutie david villa saw yet another loss for betis. villa looked cute even in the bizarrely bright blue & orange away kit.
i think david lopez of osasuna wants a move to valencia... why else would he highlight his hair like he does? unfortunaely the most he could do for his team was a nice shot that hit the bar. his teammate raul garcia did start the scoring but villareal totally dived their way to their first penalty; at least the second actually looked worthy but still....
there was another questionable penalty in the racing santander v sevilla game. the racing boy in question barely touched the sevilla boy and he went down like pippo inzaghi. yikes.
real madrid almost had a scare against a fiesty cadiz. 6000+ travelling supporters pushed cadiz to a great start - including the first goal early in the 2nd half. but madrid bounced back & after 2 goals via freekicks (including a really nice beckham one) all that was left was a great robinho goal. and his little dance celebrations are so much better solo than when ronaldo is his partner.
there was weirdness in the 2-0 barcelona win over alaves. valdez, our jamie parker wannabe, grabbed hold of the ball right on the edge of the box - his body was outside the line, but he kept the ball just barely in/on the line. the ref gave him a yellow card & alavez got a freekick for a foul. why? if the ref really thought that was handling outside the box i would think valdez would have seen red. and if the ref believed all was good & the ball never crossed the line, why did alavez get a freekick? the only thing more confusing was maxi's shiny shiny blond hair contrasted with a gigantic black headband. it's not a look you see all that often.
finally, we have the basque derby. real sociedad are up for this from the whistle and are 2-0 up from nihat before halftime. the second goal was assisted by a lovely backheel by skouba. but athletic bilbao come back from the break after what must have been a great pep talk: 2 goals by aduriz (one a great header) and they are right back in it. too bad that real scoiedad immediately responded with a goal of their own and once again, bilbao are behind. and that third goal, by skouba assisted by nihat (can you tell who were the stars for sociedad?), was a beauty & worthy of a match winner. but somehow, in true derby drama, bilbao don't give up & manage to score the equalizer in injury time. 6 yellow cards, 6 goals, the 2 basque teams show that even if they are both struggling at the wrong end of the table, there's still some fight left in them both.
madrid were away to zaragoza who had many of the early chances and just couldn't finish any of them. so it's heartbreak for them when a perfect pass sets up maxi rodriguez to score and then my supermulleted torres scores a penalty. he should have had a second - his goal was called offside even though it looked level. and when i say supermullet, i mean supermullet. he got a haircut & had the sides shaved & everything. it's a disaster.
shall we also call real betis's season so far a disaster? a high flying valencia was the last team they needed to visit & sure enough, 2 goals by the cutie david villa saw yet another loss for betis. villa looked cute even in the bizarrely bright blue & orange away kit.
i think david lopez of osasuna wants a move to valencia... why else would he highlight his hair like he does? unfortunaely the most he could do for his team was a nice shot that hit the bar. his teammate raul garcia did start the scoring but villareal totally dived their way to their first penalty; at least the second actually looked worthy but still....
there was another questionable penalty in the racing santander v sevilla game. the racing boy in question barely touched the sevilla boy and he went down like pippo inzaghi. yikes.
real madrid almost had a scare against a fiesty cadiz. 6000+ travelling supporters pushed cadiz to a great start - including the first goal early in the 2nd half. but madrid bounced back & after 2 goals via freekicks (including a really nice beckham one) all that was left was a great robinho goal. and his little dance celebrations are so much better solo than when ronaldo is his partner.
there was weirdness in the 2-0 barcelona win over alaves. valdez, our jamie parker wannabe, grabbed hold of the ball right on the edge of the box - his body was outside the line, but he kept the ball just barely in/on the line. the ref gave him a yellow card & alavez got a freekick for a foul. why? if the ref really thought that was handling outside the box i would think valdez would have seen red. and if the ref believed all was good & the ball never crossed the line, why did alavez get a freekick? the only thing more confusing was maxi's shiny shiny blond hair contrasted with a gigantic black headband. it's not a look you see all that often.
finally, we have the basque derby. real sociedad are up for this from the whistle and are 2-0 up from nihat before halftime. the second goal was assisted by a lovely backheel by skouba. but athletic bilbao come back from the break after what must have been a great pep talk: 2 goals by aduriz (one a great header) and they are right back in it. too bad that real scoiedad immediately responded with a goal of their own and once again, bilbao are behind. and that third goal, by skouba assisted by nihat (can you tell who were the stars for sociedad?), was a beauty & worthy of a match winner. but somehow, in true derby drama, bilbao don't give up & manage to score the equalizer in injury time. 6 yellow cards, 6 goals, the 2 basque teams show that even if they are both struggling at the wrong end of the table, there's still some fight left in them both.
week 21 of serie a
roma play their famous 4-6-0 & not only win again this week, but score 4 goals! maybe this is exactly what we needed all along!
well, not really. i would like to have strikers again one day but hey, no complaints here. not when, even without totti, we manage 4 goals away from home (and only 1 conceeded). i do admit that we were also helped this week by that udinese boy, pinzi, being stupid enough to punch cufre within the first 30 minutes & get himself sent off. i know cufre is no saint but at least i haven't seen him throw any punches... lately. mancini was the star with a penalty (won by a great run by chivu!) & a nice goal in the 2nd half (celebrated with a cute little dance & semi-cartwheel). de rossi had a great header & chivu scored the 2nd penalty (won by mancini). taddei had a good game & the denfense looked fairly solid once again. it feels pretty crazy to be able to revel in some solid roma performances.... i vaguely remmeber this warm fuzzy feeling & it's nice to have it back. the only weird thing... why did the celebrations for both de rossi & chivu's goals consist of knocking those boys down with over-enthusiastic slaps?? is that part of the new team spirit? shouldn't it be less ouchy?
the milan game was a snoozearama even though they won 3-0. i refuse to say anything nice about rubentus b*stardi but i will say that the empoli goal against them was a really lovely freekick. figo had a great freekick as well in inter's 3-0 win over palermo. and isn't his hair a billion times better now that it's calm and flat? i wish someone would let palermo's keeper lupatelli know that those "crazy" sideburns are soooo over.
over like luca toni's (mmmm luca toni) dry spell. fiorentina win 2-0 against messina and who scores both goals? yup, the hottest striker in all of italy. and once again, they are both nice goals. i cannot wait until he's at the world cup scoring nice goals for italy. surely his shirt will come off at some point. oh! go over right now to the treble's myspace page to get a link to a great hottie photo (www.myspace.com/thetreble). three guesses who it involves and the first 2 don't count. ;-)
well, not really. i would like to have strikers again one day but hey, no complaints here. not when, even without totti, we manage 4 goals away from home (and only 1 conceeded). i do admit that we were also helped this week by that udinese boy, pinzi, being stupid enough to punch cufre within the first 30 minutes & get himself sent off. i know cufre is no saint but at least i haven't seen him throw any punches... lately. mancini was the star with a penalty (won by a great run by chivu!) & a nice goal in the 2nd half (celebrated with a cute little dance & semi-cartwheel). de rossi had a great header & chivu scored the 2nd penalty (won by mancini). taddei had a good game & the denfense looked fairly solid once again. it feels pretty crazy to be able to revel in some solid roma performances.... i vaguely remmeber this warm fuzzy feeling & it's nice to have it back. the only weird thing... why did the celebrations for both de rossi & chivu's goals consist of knocking those boys down with over-enthusiastic slaps?? is that part of the new team spirit? shouldn't it be less ouchy?
the milan game was a snoozearama even though they won 3-0. i refuse to say anything nice about rubentus b*stardi but i will say that the empoli goal against them was a really lovely freekick. figo had a great freekick as well in inter's 3-0 win over palermo. and isn't his hair a billion times better now that it's calm and flat? i wish someone would let palermo's keeper lupatelli know that those "crazy" sideburns are soooo over.
over like luca toni's (mmmm luca toni) dry spell. fiorentina win 2-0 against messina and who scores both goals? yup, the hottest striker in all of italy. and once again, they are both nice goals. i cannot wait until he's at the world cup scoring nice goals for italy. surely his shirt will come off at some point. oh! go over right now to the treble's myspace page to get a link to a great hottie photo (www.myspace.com/thetreble). three guesses who it involves and the first 2 don't count. ;-)
week 23 of the epl
so what was the most exciting news here? arsenal losing to everton? manyoo beating liverpool? or chelsea being held to a draw at home against charlton?
oh, i know! it has to be sunderland finally winning a game!!! yup, in a vain attempt to claw their way up the table (not a chance in hell), sunderland actually beat west brom on their travels. yes, the goal kinda bounced off the west brom defender but hey, when you are not winning any games, you'll take what you can get. did i mention they really don't have a prayer for beating the drop? bless.
things aren't really going all that well for newcastle either... they really miss the midget don't they? i know that the blackburn goal was technically a 'hand of god' type of goal but that didn't stop the fans booing the players as they walked off the pitch.
i also feel bad for the spurs fans. was it a billion shots on goal for tottenham & villa's keeper managed to keep them all out?? the look on some of the spurs players' faces was priceless: "how the f*ck did that end 0-0"?
if the refs could get the offside call correct, the london derby between chelsea & charlton wouldn't have ended 1-1. crespo was called offside at least 3 times that could have ended in fantastic scoring opportunities and he was clearly level and/or not offside at all. advantage to the attcker people!!! esp when it's already that close! and you know jose cannot be pleased that we end the second game in a row with 10 men.
speaking of sending offs, wow, little fabregas had a bit of a freak out at the end of that arsenal loss to everton. his throttling of cahill even had his captain titi giving him an earful... at least that's a good captainy thing for titi to do. it's too bad he couldn't get his defense to wake up. beattie slid between 2 defenders to score & should have had a second from a very lame fabregas backpass.
the man city defenders were asleep as well - or still high off that manchester derby win - when they let in those 2 goals against bolton. no one was paying any attention to nolan when he scored off a freekick. oh, and missing man borgetti gets a start & gets himself a goal. good for him.
but we all know the real controversy of the weekend was gary neville and his excessive kissing of his, er, badge. yes, that's a disturbing image, but even i, while i shudder, can see the silly here. rio scores the winning goal & neville celebrates a little too much apparently. now, if you have listened to the show at all, you'll know i have very strong feelings about passion in the modern game and how i feel like the football associations/authorities are trying to take all the passion out of the game. yes, i have a personal interest when it comes to hotties not being able to rip their shirts off in celebration but now we've come to this?? don't kiss the badge of the club that means everything to you (in neville's case)? this is getting ridiculous. not as ridiculous as cisse's hair of course. the turdhawk looks slightly fluffy this week. i can not tell if this is better or worse.
oh, i know! it has to be sunderland finally winning a game!!! yup, in a vain attempt to claw their way up the table (not a chance in hell), sunderland actually beat west brom on their travels. yes, the goal kinda bounced off the west brom defender but hey, when you are not winning any games, you'll take what you can get. did i mention they really don't have a prayer for beating the drop? bless.
things aren't really going all that well for newcastle either... they really miss the midget don't they? i know that the blackburn goal was technically a 'hand of god' type of goal but that didn't stop the fans booing the players as they walked off the pitch.
i also feel bad for the spurs fans. was it a billion shots on goal for tottenham & villa's keeper managed to keep them all out?? the look on some of the spurs players' faces was priceless: "how the f*ck did that end 0-0"?
if the refs could get the offside call correct, the london derby between chelsea & charlton wouldn't have ended 1-1. crespo was called offside at least 3 times that could have ended in fantastic scoring opportunities and he was clearly level and/or not offside at all. advantage to the attcker people!!! esp when it's already that close! and you know jose cannot be pleased that we end the second game in a row with 10 men.
speaking of sending offs, wow, little fabregas had a bit of a freak out at the end of that arsenal loss to everton. his throttling of cahill even had his captain titi giving him an earful... at least that's a good captainy thing for titi to do. it's too bad he couldn't get his defense to wake up. beattie slid between 2 defenders to score & should have had a second from a very lame fabregas backpass.
the man city defenders were asleep as well - or still high off that manchester derby win - when they let in those 2 goals against bolton. no one was paying any attention to nolan when he scored off a freekick. oh, and missing man borgetti gets a start & gets himself a goal. good for him.
but we all know the real controversy of the weekend was gary neville and his excessive kissing of his, er, badge. yes, that's a disturbing image, but even i, while i shudder, can see the silly here. rio scores the winning goal & neville celebrates a little too much apparently. now, if you have listened to the show at all, you'll know i have very strong feelings about passion in the modern game and how i feel like the football associations/authorities are trying to take all the passion out of the game. yes, i have a personal interest when it comes to hotties not being able to rip their shirts off in celebration but now we've come to this?? don't kiss the badge of the club that means everything to you (in neville's case)? this is getting ridiculous. not as ridiculous as cisse's hair of course. the turdhawk looks slightly fluffy this week. i can not tell if this is better or worse.
22 January 2006
week 22 of epl
ok ok. let me sing the praises of titi first & foremost and then you can't accuse me of being biased against the arse.... well, we still all know i am but even i can admit it when they deserve some praise. and let's face it, titi is a hottie. so a hottie getting a hattrick is totally worth mentioning anytime, no matter what team.
so arsenal v middlesbrough. oh dear. poor boro. it really was all arse attack and when they were 4-0 up at half, i wasn't going to blame the boro boys if they didn't want to come back out of the dressing room. so, besides a fabulous hattrick from titi (his first goal was the prettiest of all 7 goals in the game) there was a nice header from senderos. another high point for gunner fans was ashley cole being subbed on - and let's face it, we can all cheer the addition of a cutie. and speaking of cuties... i definitely noticed that fabregas is actually getting better looking. the chopping off of his spanish mullet helped but he seems the maldini type who will be better looking as he gets older. but back to boro... what the hell was going on? in the first half they were just too timid; they really could have closed the arse midfielders/forwards down & stopped some of the shots they were making. and i can't really blame them for being disspirited by the second half.
sunderland were full of spirit when chelsea came to town & things started with a bang for them when jt (!!!) made a mistake & knocked a ball straight to the opposition and sunderland score first. we all know jose won't tolerate another loss so crespo equalized and then robben had the winner. the only problem was that robben was so happy to score the winner, and save them all from jose's wrath, that he celebrated with the fans and got a second yellow and was off. d'oh.
that's nothing compared to the cards (and handbags) flying during the blackburn v bolton game. it was a nasty derby with lots of rough tackles. nakata had 2 yellows within 30 minutes and bolton were down to 10 men. big sam had to leave his spot in the stands and come to the sidelines to scream his bloody head off for the rest of the game. i'm sure he scared the bolton players into keeping the game at 0-0.
big same fashion watch: white shirt, shortish black tie, long black scarf & long black coat(very jose)
poor spurs. i was really rooting for them to beat liverpool. keane missed the perfect chance at the beginning of the 2 nd half and then stupid kewell scoes with his stupid double ponytails, but really, who cares about kewell's hair when there is the disaster that is cisse. holy crap. and i do mean crap because that's exactly what it looks like on top of cisse's head right now. so very awful.
awful could also be the description we give manyoo's defense.... oh what a derby if you're a city fan, a manyoo hater or even just a neutral. it was everything that blackburn-bolton derby wasn't.
i was slightly worried for city when it was announced that david james had a slight injury problem & there wasn't a substitute keeper on the bench... shades of glen johnson in goal for chelsea came to me. but really, it wasn't city's keeper who was all that busy.
the first goal by sinclair was classic stupidity by the manyoo defense who assumed he was offside and they stopped playing. not that smart. the whole defense switches off again for the vassell goal and suddenly you begin to wonder how bad it will be for manyoo! one look at sir alex's face turning a terrible shade of purple confirms this notion. rooney doesn't help matters by getting a yellow for his usual dissent. will that boy ever learn?
it only gets worse for manyoo in the second half - even with their hardman alan smith coming in. the real trouble starts with ronaldo rolling about on the ground after a tackle & being upset that the foul wasn't called. so what does the genius do? he retaliates with a nasty tackle of his own. and gets a red card. big surprise.
needless to say, the manyoo defense is in a complete shambles by the time robbie fowler comes on & he seals it in injury time. cue fans going absolutely wild, esp the ones hugging pearce. i can only imagine the response of the 43 friends & relatives from cork who came over to see city's ireland in his first manchester derby. bless.
so arsenal v middlesbrough. oh dear. poor boro. it really was all arse attack and when they were 4-0 up at half, i wasn't going to blame the boro boys if they didn't want to come back out of the dressing room. so, besides a fabulous hattrick from titi (his first goal was the prettiest of all 7 goals in the game) there was a nice header from senderos. another high point for gunner fans was ashley cole being subbed on - and let's face it, we can all cheer the addition of a cutie. and speaking of cuties... i definitely noticed that fabregas is actually getting better looking. the chopping off of his spanish mullet helped but he seems the maldini type who will be better looking as he gets older. but back to boro... what the hell was going on? in the first half they were just too timid; they really could have closed the arse midfielders/forwards down & stopped some of the shots they were making. and i can't really blame them for being disspirited by the second half.
sunderland were full of spirit when chelsea came to town & things started with a bang for them when jt (!!!) made a mistake & knocked a ball straight to the opposition and sunderland score first. we all know jose won't tolerate another loss so crespo equalized and then robben had the winner. the only problem was that robben was so happy to score the winner, and save them all from jose's wrath, that he celebrated with the fans and got a second yellow and was off. d'oh.
that's nothing compared to the cards (and handbags) flying during the blackburn v bolton game. it was a nasty derby with lots of rough tackles. nakata had 2 yellows within 30 minutes and bolton were down to 10 men. big sam had to leave his spot in the stands and come to the sidelines to scream his bloody head off for the rest of the game. i'm sure he scared the bolton players into keeping the game at 0-0.
big same fashion watch: white shirt, shortish black tie, long black scarf & long black coat(very jose)
poor spurs. i was really rooting for them to beat liverpool. keane missed the perfect chance at the beginning of the 2 nd half and then stupid kewell scoes with his stupid double ponytails, but really, who cares about kewell's hair when there is the disaster that is cisse. holy crap. and i do mean crap because that's exactly what it looks like on top of cisse's head right now. so very awful.
awful could also be the description we give manyoo's defense.... oh what a derby if you're a city fan, a manyoo hater or even just a neutral. it was everything that blackburn-bolton derby wasn't.
i was slightly worried for city when it was announced that david james had a slight injury problem & there wasn't a substitute keeper on the bench... shades of glen johnson in goal for chelsea came to me. but really, it wasn't city's keeper who was all that busy.
the first goal by sinclair was classic stupidity by the manyoo defense who assumed he was offside and they stopped playing. not that smart. the whole defense switches off again for the vassell goal and suddenly you begin to wonder how bad it will be for manyoo! one look at sir alex's face turning a terrible shade of purple confirms this notion. rooney doesn't help matters by getting a yellow for his usual dissent. will that boy ever learn?
it only gets worse for manyoo in the second half - even with their hardman alan smith coming in. the real trouble starts with ronaldo rolling about on the ground after a tackle & being upset that the foul wasn't called. so what does the genius do? he retaliates with a nasty tackle of his own. and gets a red card. big surprise.
needless to say, the manyoo defense is in a complete shambles by the time robbie fowler comes on & he seals it in injury time. cue fans going absolutely wild, esp the ones hugging pearce. i can only imagine the response of the 43 friends & relatives from cork who came over to see city's ireland in his first manchester derby. bless.
week 19 of la liga
yes barcelona are still running away with the title but there were still some good games this past week in spain....
including barca getting a bit of a scare against my bilbao. the basque boys didn't show up to just defend - they actually did some attacking of their own from the start and it paid off. llorente scores for bilbao and bless his little heart: with a yell of "bilbao", he's in tears. this is what the game can be about - not fame & fortune but the love of your team. if you haven't noticed by the choice of most of my teams, i am a hopeless romantic. *sniff* anyways, it was a great pass from yeste, one of my fav players in spain, for that goal. but it's not all over for barca. of course not. after that high point, bilbao's luck changed. there was an accidental handball in the box & barca gets a penalty. and once barca score again, bilbao never look likely to get back in the game. they do manage to frustrate barca - a few sets of handbags towards the end of the game - and deco loses it completely & throws a punch at a bilbao player & is red carded. but let's face it, with a bench like barcelona's, are they really going to worry about his replacement for the next outing?
my other underachievers, atletico madrid, also have a mess of a game. but which was worse: the 1-0 defeat against betis or torres' hair? both teams were pretty pathetic: easy to see why this is not a season to remember for either team full of hopefuls.
real madrid, on the other hand, pick things up & win 4-2 against sevilla mainly due to a zizou hattrick. yup, the old man scores his first hattrick for madrid & he should give a lot of thanks to guti who has really stepped into the captain's role with raul out.
the poor spanish internationals have been dropping like flies: in the valencia win over osasuna we see vincente go down & he's out with an ankle injury for a possible 6 weeks! at least that gives him time to get a haircut. and what happened to mista's hair? he used to be a blond surfer boy & now it looks as if he has dyed his hair red. very strange. but not as strange as the grandma in the stands who celebrates the valencia goals by waving around a bright orange dildo. no, seriously. what the hell goes on in that spanish sun???
we should ask that question of the ref in the racing santander v villareal game. he seems to have it in for racing, who to their credit, still managed to win this 1-0. but they were down to 9 men fairly early in the 2nd half after one boy is straight red carded for touching sorin who goes down like a sack of potatoes & then the captain chalks up 2 yellows and he's off. at least villareal go down to 10 men after their sub, font, gets 2 yellows but the problem is that this wasn't that rough of a game. the ref was just card happy. there was some great goalkeeping from racing - he saved the penalty from that sorin red card & i figure out that it's #35, thomas, who was my racing cutie from last week.
including barca getting a bit of a scare against my bilbao. the basque boys didn't show up to just defend - they actually did some attacking of their own from the start and it paid off. llorente scores for bilbao and bless his little heart: with a yell of "bilbao", he's in tears. this is what the game can be about - not fame & fortune but the love of your team. if you haven't noticed by the choice of most of my teams, i am a hopeless romantic. *sniff* anyways, it was a great pass from yeste, one of my fav players in spain, for that goal. but it's not all over for barca. of course not. after that high point, bilbao's luck changed. there was an accidental handball in the box & barca gets a penalty. and once barca score again, bilbao never look likely to get back in the game. they do manage to frustrate barca - a few sets of handbags towards the end of the game - and deco loses it completely & throws a punch at a bilbao player & is red carded. but let's face it, with a bench like barcelona's, are they really going to worry about his replacement for the next outing?
my other underachievers, atletico madrid, also have a mess of a game. but which was worse: the 1-0 defeat against betis or torres' hair? both teams were pretty pathetic: easy to see why this is not a season to remember for either team full of hopefuls.
real madrid, on the other hand, pick things up & win 4-2 against sevilla mainly due to a zizou hattrick. yup, the old man scores his first hattrick for madrid & he should give a lot of thanks to guti who has really stepped into the captain's role with raul out.
the poor spanish internationals have been dropping like flies: in the valencia win over osasuna we see vincente go down & he's out with an ankle injury for a possible 6 weeks! at least that gives him time to get a haircut. and what happened to mista's hair? he used to be a blond surfer boy & now it looks as if he has dyed his hair red. very strange. but not as strange as the grandma in the stands who celebrates the valencia goals by waving around a bright orange dildo. no, seriously. what the hell goes on in that spanish sun???
we should ask that question of the ref in the racing santander v villareal game. he seems to have it in for racing, who to their credit, still managed to win this 1-0. but they were down to 9 men fairly early in the 2nd half after one boy is straight red carded for touching sorin who goes down like a sack of potatoes & then the captain chalks up 2 yellows and he's off. at least villareal go down to 10 men after their sub, font, gets 2 yellows but the problem is that this wasn't that rough of a game. the ref was just card happy. there was some great goalkeeping from racing - he saved the penalty from that sorin red card & i figure out that it's #35, thomas, who was my racing cutie from last week.
week 22 of ligue 1
ajaccio lose again so i can't really say that i am all that surprised that my little corsicans fired their coach. the problem is that we are not totally hopeless and yet we keep losing. take this match against le mans. we hit the post at least 3 times in the first half alone. we had chances, we were keeping it together at the back but we just couldn't score. and then, in true typical fashion, the other team scores the winner in the dying moments of the game, deep in injury time, with a shot deflected off our own defender. if that just doesn't sum up our season then i don't know what does.
*sigh*
and hello, how much humiliation do we need? why is our poor keeper playing in cotton candy pink?? *cries*
let me distract myself by talking about bobo & his first game with monaco. yes, jenny's new favourite french team gave their new superstar his first start. bobo, the new #36, didn't have a terrible game, he had a few chances, but he didn't exactly light up the match either. oh and monaco lost too. you can't blame that on bobo... their defense was quite a mess for that one goal and it was against bordeaux who is fighting neck & neck with auxerre for the 2nd spot behind lyon.
because, of course, lyon keep on winning. they score 2 past nancy who did have some chances but a team that doesn't finish their few chances against lyon is a team that is going to lose. especially when there are players like fred who are scoring pretty headers for the champions.
fred should watch out because marseille have yet another new bright young thing that everyone is talking about: delfine, a young player from portugal. he's a cutie & he gave a man of the match type of performance against rennes in the 1-0 win at marseille. he was everywhere: saves shots off the line, creating chances for goal (pagis scores off his assist) or almost scoring himself. watch this boy, he has the makings of a star. oh and i don't think i have ever noticed how cute the rennes' keeper is! hottie alert!
i would never call fabien cool of auxerre a hottie but i can attest how fantastic it is that he finally shaved off his hair. he had a balding patch bigger than zizou but then he let the rest grow down to his shoulders. it was pretty horrific. almost as horrific as lens' defense when they gave the ball away for that auxerre goal in the 1-0 win.
and finally, psg try to keep up with the running for the spots in europe with a win against troyes. pauletta scores, as usual, but troyes' ba equalizes and celebrates with some cute hip hop poses before his defense falls asleep & lets psg pass the ball around as if in a training match & it ends as a goal. i don't think there was any dancing in the troyes dressing room after that mess.
*sigh*
and hello, how much humiliation do we need? why is our poor keeper playing in cotton candy pink?? *cries*
let me distract myself by talking about bobo & his first game with monaco. yes, jenny's new favourite french team gave their new superstar his first start. bobo, the new #36, didn't have a terrible game, he had a few chances, but he didn't exactly light up the match either. oh and monaco lost too. you can't blame that on bobo... their defense was quite a mess for that one goal and it was against bordeaux who is fighting neck & neck with auxerre for the 2nd spot behind lyon.
because, of course, lyon keep on winning. they score 2 past nancy who did have some chances but a team that doesn't finish their few chances against lyon is a team that is going to lose. especially when there are players like fred who are scoring pretty headers for the champions.
fred should watch out because marseille have yet another new bright young thing that everyone is talking about: delfine, a young player from portugal. he's a cutie & he gave a man of the match type of performance against rennes in the 1-0 win at marseille. he was everywhere: saves shots off the line, creating chances for goal (pagis scores off his assist) or almost scoring himself. watch this boy, he has the makings of a star. oh and i don't think i have ever noticed how cute the rennes' keeper is! hottie alert!
i would never call fabien cool of auxerre a hottie but i can attest how fantastic it is that he finally shaved off his hair. he had a balding patch bigger than zizou but then he let the rest grow down to his shoulders. it was pretty horrific. almost as horrific as lens' defense when they gave the ball away for that auxerre goal in the 1-0 win.
and finally, psg try to keep up with the running for the spots in europe with a win against troyes. pauletta scores, as usual, but troyes' ba equalizes and celebrates with some cute hip hop poses before his defense falls asleep & lets psg pass the ball around as if in a training match & it ends as a goal. i don't think there was any dancing in the troyes dressing room after that mess.
week 19 & 20 of serie a
i can't believe i am celebrating 2 roma wins within a week. i almost forgot what it felt like to be on a winning streak.... and damn! i like it. no, change that, i f*cking love it.
who needs a striker when you have francesco totti?? maybe getting rid of cassano really was what we needed right now... for once, in a very little time, there doesn't seem to be strife at the club. we have a stable manager and we have a team of players that pretty much get along. dare i say it but we actually have some team spirit and it shows.
it shows when all your strikers are broken but you are still winning games. we score 3 past reggina (at home!) but more importantly, for our morale at least, we score one against milan and that's all that was needed.
i am still bitter about the milan win 2 seasons ago at home when we were neck and neck for the title & our bad performance & loss that day essentially ended our title hopes. and it didn't look good to me when this game started... it was all milan attacks from the get go. but then i noticed something weird.... we had a defense for once! mexes & chivu were actually working together (as i always hoped they would - and there is the added bonus that they are both so damn cute). it was 0-0 at the break but i wasn't as nervous as i usually am. although that changed as soon as the second half started and it was all milan again. but our ridiculously cute defense were still going strong. and totti was having a good game (which is why nesta, for old time's sake, got a yellow for fouling his lost love, totti) and then mancini, the forgotten boy, is subbed on & scores. and we hold on! we never do that!! we held on to a 1-0 lead over milan - even after the super-diving pippo is subbed on to win them a penalty - and suddenly, i'm feeling more positive about my roma than i have in a long, long time.
let's enjoy this while it lasts......
oh, other games happened too...
my luca toni (mmmm luca toni) finally breaks out of his scoring slump with 2 in a win against chievo and then another one in a loss against sampdoria. and dammit, he didn't rip off his shirt with happiness! what the hell is wrong with that boy?
lazio could only manage 2 draws (ha ha!), juve b*stardi at least drop a couple points in a draw against chievo, inter keep on winning and milan bounce back after the roma defeat with a win against ascoli.
but honestly, none of that matters when the sun is shining on my roma. :-)
who needs a striker when you have francesco totti?? maybe getting rid of cassano really was what we needed right now... for once, in a very little time, there doesn't seem to be strife at the club. we have a stable manager and we have a team of players that pretty much get along. dare i say it but we actually have some team spirit and it shows.
it shows when all your strikers are broken but you are still winning games. we score 3 past reggina (at home!) but more importantly, for our morale at least, we score one against milan and that's all that was needed.
i am still bitter about the milan win 2 seasons ago at home when we were neck and neck for the title & our bad performance & loss that day essentially ended our title hopes. and it didn't look good to me when this game started... it was all milan attacks from the get go. but then i noticed something weird.... we had a defense for once! mexes & chivu were actually working together (as i always hoped they would - and there is the added bonus that they are both so damn cute). it was 0-0 at the break but i wasn't as nervous as i usually am. although that changed as soon as the second half started and it was all milan again. but our ridiculously cute defense were still going strong. and totti was having a good game (which is why nesta, for old time's sake, got a yellow for fouling his lost love, totti) and then mancini, the forgotten boy, is subbed on & scores. and we hold on! we never do that!! we held on to a 1-0 lead over milan - even after the super-diving pippo is subbed on to win them a penalty - and suddenly, i'm feeling more positive about my roma than i have in a long, long time.
let's enjoy this while it lasts......
oh, other games happened too...
my luca toni (mmmm luca toni) finally breaks out of his scoring slump with 2 in a win against chievo and then another one in a loss against sampdoria. and dammit, he didn't rip off his shirt with happiness! what the hell is wrong with that boy?
lazio could only manage 2 draws (ha ha!), juve b*stardi at least drop a couple points in a draw against chievo, inter keep on winning and milan bounce back after the roma defeat with a win against ascoli.
but honestly, none of that matters when the sun is shining on my roma. :-)
15 January 2006
f.a. cup
there were some great games in the third round of the f.a. cup.
yes, we had some usual big guns taking care of the minnows (bolton knock 3 past watford, robbie fowler knocks 3 past scunthorpe for man city, & a very hot carlo cudicini lets in a goal against huddersfield but chelsea still win it 2-1) but we also have some unexpected results like the 0-0 between burton albion and man yoo. once again, manyoo puts out a second /third team that can't get the job done against a lower league side. there seemed to be no cohesion in the manyoo midfield, no linking up with the strikers. the fans were not pleased & it wasn't just the chant of "fergie fergie sort it out" that lead me to believe that. but burton were entertaining - esp. the mascot confusion. i researched burton and their official mascot is called billy brewer. so why did a girl come out - all made up & carrying a handbag? was billy in drag??
we also had a fantastic 0-0 game between torquay & birmingham city. the birmingham players did not have any confidence and the torquay players looked as if they were having the times of their lives. that alone should be telling - just think of how happy barcelona always look. the attitude speaks volumes.
even though i will pretend that the next game ended 3-1 to luton, i can still admit that it was another cracker. yes, stupid liverpool won it 5-3 but luton town looked to be heading for a shock win after a couple of great goals & scoring a penalty (right after cisse missed one for the reds). the luton fans were havin a ball too - esp. giving stevie g. hell every time he mispassed a ball:"who are ya? who are ya?". at least kewell did not add any fuel to the fire by only sporting one ponytail... i can imagine the luton fans would have laughed him out of the park if he showed up with his double ponytail 'do. and yes, alonso's goal was nice. i like the boy since he's basque.
and then there's poor spurs. i'm sure going 2-0 up against leicester got everyone in the party mood.... and they were some good goals too. it's too bad the players did start partying too early and forgot to defend. and what a great comeback from the leicester players - esp. scoring the winner in injury time. at least the fulham fans can join in spurs' misery after they were knocked out by leyton orient.
and so onto the fourth round.... ooooh, and what do i see? bolton v arsenal? another chance for big sam to defeat the mighty arse? aaah, the magic of the cup. ;-)
yes, we had some usual big guns taking care of the minnows (bolton knock 3 past watford, robbie fowler knocks 3 past scunthorpe for man city, & a very hot carlo cudicini lets in a goal against huddersfield but chelsea still win it 2-1) but we also have some unexpected results like the 0-0 between burton albion and man yoo. once again, manyoo puts out a second /third team that can't get the job done against a lower league side. there seemed to be no cohesion in the manyoo midfield, no linking up with the strikers. the fans were not pleased & it wasn't just the chant of "fergie fergie sort it out" that lead me to believe that. but burton were entertaining - esp. the mascot confusion. i researched burton and their official mascot is called billy brewer. so why did a girl come out - all made up & carrying a handbag? was billy in drag??
we also had a fantastic 0-0 game between torquay & birmingham city. the birmingham players did not have any confidence and the torquay players looked as if they were having the times of their lives. that alone should be telling - just think of how happy barcelona always look. the attitude speaks volumes.
even though i will pretend that the next game ended 3-1 to luton, i can still admit that it was another cracker. yes, stupid liverpool won it 5-3 but luton town looked to be heading for a shock win after a couple of great goals & scoring a penalty (right after cisse missed one for the reds). the luton fans were havin a ball too - esp. giving stevie g. hell every time he mispassed a ball:"who are ya? who are ya?". at least kewell did not add any fuel to the fire by only sporting one ponytail... i can imagine the luton fans would have laughed him out of the park if he showed up with his double ponytail 'do. and yes, alonso's goal was nice. i like the boy since he's basque.
and then there's poor spurs. i'm sure going 2-0 up against leicester got everyone in the party mood.... and they were some good goals too. it's too bad the players did start partying too early and forgot to defend. and what a great comeback from the leicester players - esp. scoring the winner in injury time. at least the fulham fans can join in spurs' misery after they were knocked out by leyton orient.
and so onto the fourth round.... ooooh, and what do i see? bolton v arsenal? another chance for big sam to defeat the mighty arse? aaah, the magic of the cup. ;-)
11 January 2006
week 18 of serie a
now this is how i like starting the year off - with a roma win. surely that means good luck & happiness for the year for me & my boys..... right? well, i'm allowed to dream.
it wasn't the prettiest win but i'll take it. at least it was a pretty goal by my little doe-eyed aquilani, bless his messy haired heart. (er, not that his heart is hairy. that's just kinda gross to think about.) anyway, as everyone else is broken, or gone (ciao cassano!), totti started up front as our lone striker & i remember why i prefer him as a midfielder. he wouldn't freakin run after any balls. he honestly looked like he couldn't be bothered half the time. not cool. and did anyone else notice one of the treviso players grabbing hold of totti's shirt and as it stretched and stretched (the ref did blow the foul eventually) did you think "wow, i hope that it just gets ripped right off of him?" oh, just me then?
speaking of hotness..... my luca toni (mmmm luca toni) still has not scored! yes, it was his assist for the goal that fiorentina managed against reggina but still, what's up with this slump?? i hope that he gets so excited when he finally does score again that he rips off his..... oh, sorry about that.
i have questions from the juve game: 1. was capello wearing a roma scarf? it was roma colours. 2. does mutu really take himself seriously? 3. why does camoranesi not cut that awful awful ponytail? it's bushier than a horse's tail for f*ckssake. 4. if canna is such a hardman most of the time, why was he falling down like pippo? i don't really need answers to these; i just thought i should put them out there.
milan's defense should be asked some serious questions after letting in 3 at home against parma. maldini must have been pissed, watching from the sidelines. and you know how hot he is when he sits. i wonder if he laughed at nesta's antics as much as i did towards the end of the game. nesta was ushering out a ball, it hadn't quite fully crossed the line for a goalkick, and the parma attacker was right there behind him so nesta got the bright (?) idea of leaning over & blowing on the ball to push it 100% out.
and it worked.
and he got away with it.
welcome to calcio.
it wasn't the prettiest win but i'll take it. at least it was a pretty goal by my little doe-eyed aquilani, bless his messy haired heart. (er, not that his heart is hairy. that's just kinda gross to think about.) anyway, as everyone else is broken, or gone (ciao cassano!), totti started up front as our lone striker & i remember why i prefer him as a midfielder. he wouldn't freakin run after any balls. he honestly looked like he couldn't be bothered half the time. not cool. and did anyone else notice one of the treviso players grabbing hold of totti's shirt and as it stretched and stretched (the ref did blow the foul eventually) did you think "wow, i hope that it just gets ripped right off of him?" oh, just me then?
speaking of hotness..... my luca toni (mmmm luca toni) still has not scored! yes, it was his assist for the goal that fiorentina managed against reggina but still, what's up with this slump?? i hope that he gets so excited when he finally does score again that he rips off his..... oh, sorry about that.
i have questions from the juve game: 1. was capello wearing a roma scarf? it was roma colours. 2. does mutu really take himself seriously? 3. why does camoranesi not cut that awful awful ponytail? it's bushier than a horse's tail for f*ckssake. 4. if canna is such a hardman most of the time, why was he falling down like pippo? i don't really need answers to these; i just thought i should put them out there.
milan's defense should be asked some serious questions after letting in 3 at home against parma. maldini must have been pissed, watching from the sidelines. and you know how hot he is when he sits. i wonder if he laughed at nesta's antics as much as i did towards the end of the game. nesta was ushering out a ball, it hadn't quite fully crossed the line for a goalkick, and the parma attacker was right there behind him so nesta got the bright (?) idea of leaning over & blowing on the ball to push it 100% out.
and it worked.
and he got away with it.
welcome to calcio.
weeks 20 & 21 of ligue 1
oh dear oh dear oh dear.
ajaccio is not having a happy new year. 2 games, 2 losses (2-0 each). let's not talk about it.
monaco, no bobo yet, could only draw at home which won't ease the disappointment of a loss at auxerre in their first game back from the winter break, even though auxerre has been inconsistent as well. my little pieroni started that win on the bench & didn't even get that far in their loss against bordeaux. bordeaux are now ahead of them in the table (2nd while auxerre is 3rd) but i really can't complain. they are the 2 cutest teams in france. either in europe next season works for me. notice i have no title aspirations for them.... as in spain, we all know the eventual winner of the league.
lyon can go down a goal against the once mighty marseille but still come back & win it. they make scoring 4 (past a sorry strasbourg) in their first game back from the break look easy. they have players that exude confidence on the pitch like juninho, wiltord(hattrick hero), govou & coupet while leaving talents like fred & pedretti on the bench. and they have a 14 point lead on their nearest rival. does anyone think they will suddenly lose their way & not win a record 5th title in a row?
oh and back to marseille. at least they still have their french wonder boy, ribery, even though he really should have been sent off against lens. what a strange game. the lens keeper picks up the ball, while it's not in play but outside the box, to prevent a marseille player from taking a quick throw in and the ref red cards him. it was one of the strangest incidents i have seen in awhile. of course all hell breaks lose & the players are all over each other (not in that way! get your minds out of the gutter!) and ribery does some serious pushing & shoving and only gets yellowed. see how far that golden boy rep can get you?
ajaccio is not having a happy new year. 2 games, 2 losses (2-0 each). let's not talk about it.
monaco, no bobo yet, could only draw at home which won't ease the disappointment of a loss at auxerre in their first game back from the winter break, even though auxerre has been inconsistent as well. my little pieroni started that win on the bench & didn't even get that far in their loss against bordeaux. bordeaux are now ahead of them in the table (2nd while auxerre is 3rd) but i really can't complain. they are the 2 cutest teams in france. either in europe next season works for me. notice i have no title aspirations for them.... as in spain, we all know the eventual winner of the league.
lyon can go down a goal against the once mighty marseille but still come back & win it. they make scoring 4 (past a sorry strasbourg) in their first game back from the break look easy. they have players that exude confidence on the pitch like juninho, wiltord(hattrick hero), govou & coupet while leaving talents like fred & pedretti on the bench. and they have a 14 point lead on their nearest rival. does anyone think they will suddenly lose their way & not win a record 5th title in a row?
oh and back to marseille. at least they still have their french wonder boy, ribery, even though he really should have been sent off against lens. what a strange game. the lens keeper picks up the ball, while it's not in play but outside the box, to prevent a marseille player from taking a quick throw in and the ref red cards him. it was one of the strangest incidents i have seen in awhile. of course all hell breaks lose & the players are all over each other (not in that way! get your minds out of the gutter!) and ribery does some serious pushing & shoving and only gets yellowed. see how far that golden boy rep can get you?
week 18 of la liga
let me categorically state right now that i deny anything to do with the outbreak of food poisoning at atletico madrid. besides, we all know i heart torres; i would never wish bad shrimp on him! ;-)
but there was more than just upset tummies happening in spanish football this past week....barcelona took the winter champions title with a win in the catalan derby. the pouring rain didn't put a damper on things, esp. when barca keeper valdez prepared with what had to have been a seriously scary amount of hair gel. no, really, his hair didn't move in the driving rain. it looked exactly the same in minute 90 as it did at the start of the game. now that's impressive. but so were the rest of his team. belletti had a cool fake out shot at goal (too bad the 2nd real shot didn't end up in the net - thanks to espanyol's keeper) & eto'o gave us yet another pretty goal. but espanyol weren't too shabby either. de la pena was everywhere, kameni the keeper did well, the goal from tamudo was good and i discovered a new hottie.... i think it was jarque but it's going to require more, er, research.
the racing santander game (at osasuna) also brought some players to my attention.... one for the wrong reason. i give you, in the proud tradition of skunk boy, hedgehog boy, the scorer of racing's goal, antonito. there is no other way to describe his hairstyle. trust me here. luckily, i was distracted by oriol, also of racing, as a new cutie. it's all cuties or hair freaks in spain, isn't it? anyway, the osasuna freekick was a beauty but they couldn't find a winner & are now 4 points behind barca. i at least hope they can hold on to a CL spot for next year but let's face it, unless the whole barca team gets struck by bad shrimp for a whole month, they are winning this league come may.
real madrid certainly can't catch them with 0-0 draws like the one at villareal. yes, at least the defense kept a clean sheet but where was the attacking spark? it was more of a disappointment for villareal that they couldn't score at home against the former galacticos.
the other madrid side, feeling better than they did midweek, could only manage a 0-0 too. as it was a home game, the fans were none too pleased with this outcome, even if it was against a very hot & very good valencia. and we had yet another battle of bad hairs. torres & his long blond locks versus canizares & his bleached blond mullet. ewww.
but the worst hair of the weekend award might have to go to mallorca's jonas. not only is he sporting a harry kewell special (double ponytails) but his are much longer & highlighted. and just like hedgehog boy, he scores. is their super (goal scoring) power in their locks???
and then there's my bilbao. their defense against deportivo shows exactly why they are struggling at the bottom of the table: first goal conceded was an own goal. not just an own goal but one that 2 different bilbao defenders race to push into their own net. second goal conceded was a freekick that bounced right between the keeper's knees and into the net.
need i say more?
but there was more than just upset tummies happening in spanish football this past week....barcelona took the winter champions title with a win in the catalan derby. the pouring rain didn't put a damper on things, esp. when barca keeper valdez prepared with what had to have been a seriously scary amount of hair gel. no, really, his hair didn't move in the driving rain. it looked exactly the same in minute 90 as it did at the start of the game. now that's impressive. but so were the rest of his team. belletti had a cool fake out shot at goal (too bad the 2nd real shot didn't end up in the net - thanks to espanyol's keeper) & eto'o gave us yet another pretty goal. but espanyol weren't too shabby either. de la pena was everywhere, kameni the keeper did well, the goal from tamudo was good and i discovered a new hottie.... i think it was jarque but it's going to require more, er, research.
the racing santander game (at osasuna) also brought some players to my attention.... one for the wrong reason. i give you, in the proud tradition of skunk boy, hedgehog boy, the scorer of racing's goal, antonito. there is no other way to describe his hairstyle. trust me here. luckily, i was distracted by oriol, also of racing, as a new cutie. it's all cuties or hair freaks in spain, isn't it? anyway, the osasuna freekick was a beauty but they couldn't find a winner & are now 4 points behind barca. i at least hope they can hold on to a CL spot for next year but let's face it, unless the whole barca team gets struck by bad shrimp for a whole month, they are winning this league come may.
real madrid certainly can't catch them with 0-0 draws like the one at villareal. yes, at least the defense kept a clean sheet but where was the attacking spark? it was more of a disappointment for villareal that they couldn't score at home against the former galacticos.
the other madrid side, feeling better than they did midweek, could only manage a 0-0 too. as it was a home game, the fans were none too pleased with this outcome, even if it was against a very hot & very good valencia. and we had yet another battle of bad hairs. torres & his long blond locks versus canizares & his bleached blond mullet. ewww.
but the worst hair of the weekend award might have to go to mallorca's jonas. not only is he sporting a harry kewell special (double ponytails) but his are much longer & highlighted. and just like hedgehog boy, he scores. is their super (goal scoring) power in their locks???
and then there's my bilbao. their defense against deportivo shows exactly why they are struggling at the bottom of the table: first goal conceded was an own goal. not just an own goal but one that 2 different bilbao defenders race to push into their own net. second goal conceded was a freekick that bounced right between the keeper's knees and into the net.
need i say more?
08 January 2006
weeks 18, 19, 20 & 21 of the epl
i know, i know. i am totally cheating by doing all of the holiday fixtures in one entry. i accept that criticism. you're right, i am lazy. well, really, it's more like stupidly busy than lazy. i'd like nothing more than to watch footy all day & then write all about it for your entertainment.
so on to the entertaining....
those jealous ones will say that chelsea was far from entertaining in their 4 wins out of 4 over the holidays. i, of course, am not one of them. i was very entertained by being at stamford bridge when frankie scored against fulham. and come on, you must admit, with our ridiculous defensive mistakes that night, that it was an entertaining game. fulham played well and cech had quite a blackout for that mcbride goal. it was a beauty of a goal by crespo for the winner. the west ham game was another cracker; those hammer fans sure don't like frankie. poor dear was booed the whole game. even his nice goal against them didn't stop the boos. imagine that. west ham equalize right from the 2nd half restart - jose can't be pleased with the lack of concentration there. and then crespo is the hero again - is subbed on in the 2nd half & with his 2nd touch, scores. he actually had so many chances that he sort of turned into a villian - he really should have had a hattrick with the number of misses he had. i hope he practices considering we are about to lose drogba to the african cup.
both manyoo & the arse can only manage 2 wins & 2 draws - one of those draws against each other in a good 0-0 game. i love games that can still be entertaining even without goals to prove doubters wrong. it was not as firey as the last encounters but rooney did try his best to get booked by mouthing off whenever he could. roy would be proud.
spurs actually picked up more points with 3 wins & one loss. mido has at least shaved & defoe is the new keane (coming off the bench & scoring great goals). the most entertaining of the wins was the one against newcastle - and i am not saying that because the midget was off by halftime with a broken foot! i do feel bad for him actually (yes, i did say i feel bad for owen) after the horrible treatment he got from the liverpool fans during the newcastle visit on boxing day. the meanies booed owen's every touch. it's not like he left with harsh words, hating the reds.... come on people, he begged to come back. and these fans cheer every f*cking breathe their precious stevie g takes when he spent the whole summer almost leaving them for chelsea??? that tells me all i need to know about liverpool fans right there. anyway, they won that game, pretty easily, and i had to laugh when a crouch goal was given as an own goal yet again. poor guy. *sniggers* oh and what the hell is going on with cisse's hair??? the colour is all patchy. it looks very wrong. at least their winning streak was stopped by bolton. bolton looked good and in my unbiased opinion (ha!) they deserved the win. and damn! how dirty could those liverpool players be??? just some awful awful tackles and little nudges and dives for freekicks..... they sure showed their ugly face when they had an actual scrap of a game. well, i've only ever thought it was the spanish boys who were the cuties of the team.....
big sam fashion watch: black & white stripey shirt with a too short solid black tie. hmmm. who ate all the christmas pies?
other entertaining games from the holidays:
the wigan v man city shoot out was great fun. not the best defensive display in the world but good back & forth. man city had an awful christmas with 3 losses and only one draw from this period. wigan won 2, lost 2 but are still in the top 6.
everton did the same - 2 & 2 - and unfortunatelky one of those losses was a 4-0 drumming by aston villa. villa looked better than they have in quite some time... even if they got lucky with a handball by baros to get the ball rolling. so to speak. villa will have to be pleased with a 0-0 against arsenal & then a goos win at west brom. they had tons of chances in that game, they just need to have some better finishing and they'll be fighting for europe rather than relegation in no time.
and while we are dreaming, if only spurs could finish ahead of the arse at the end of the season....
so on to the entertaining....
those jealous ones will say that chelsea was far from entertaining in their 4 wins out of 4 over the holidays. i, of course, am not one of them. i was very entertained by being at stamford bridge when frankie scored against fulham. and come on, you must admit, with our ridiculous defensive mistakes that night, that it was an entertaining game. fulham played well and cech had quite a blackout for that mcbride goal. it was a beauty of a goal by crespo for the winner. the west ham game was another cracker; those hammer fans sure don't like frankie. poor dear was booed the whole game. even his nice goal against them didn't stop the boos. imagine that. west ham equalize right from the 2nd half restart - jose can't be pleased with the lack of concentration there. and then crespo is the hero again - is subbed on in the 2nd half & with his 2nd touch, scores. he actually had so many chances that he sort of turned into a villian - he really should have had a hattrick with the number of misses he had. i hope he practices considering we are about to lose drogba to the african cup.
both manyoo & the arse can only manage 2 wins & 2 draws - one of those draws against each other in a good 0-0 game. i love games that can still be entertaining even without goals to prove doubters wrong. it was not as firey as the last encounters but rooney did try his best to get booked by mouthing off whenever he could. roy would be proud.
spurs actually picked up more points with 3 wins & one loss. mido has at least shaved & defoe is the new keane (coming off the bench & scoring great goals). the most entertaining of the wins was the one against newcastle - and i am not saying that because the midget was off by halftime with a broken foot! i do feel bad for him actually (yes, i did say i feel bad for owen) after the horrible treatment he got from the liverpool fans during the newcastle visit on boxing day. the meanies booed owen's every touch. it's not like he left with harsh words, hating the reds.... come on people, he begged to come back. and these fans cheer every f*cking breathe their precious stevie g takes when he spent the whole summer almost leaving them for chelsea??? that tells me all i need to know about liverpool fans right there. anyway, they won that game, pretty easily, and i had to laugh when a crouch goal was given as an own goal yet again. poor guy. *sniggers* oh and what the hell is going on with cisse's hair??? the colour is all patchy. it looks very wrong. at least their winning streak was stopped by bolton. bolton looked good and in my unbiased opinion (ha!) they deserved the win. and damn! how dirty could those liverpool players be??? just some awful awful tackles and little nudges and dives for freekicks..... they sure showed their ugly face when they had an actual scrap of a game. well, i've only ever thought it was the spanish boys who were the cuties of the team.....
big sam fashion watch: black & white stripey shirt with a too short solid black tie. hmmm. who ate all the christmas pies?
other entertaining games from the holidays:
the wigan v man city shoot out was great fun. not the best defensive display in the world but good back & forth. man city had an awful christmas with 3 losses and only one draw from this period. wigan won 2, lost 2 but are still in the top 6.
everton did the same - 2 & 2 - and unfortunatelky one of those losses was a 4-0 drumming by aston villa. villa looked better than they have in quite some time... even if they got lucky with a handball by baros to get the ball rolling. so to speak. villa will have to be pleased with a 0-0 against arsenal & then a goos win at west brom. they had tons of chances in that game, they just need to have some better finishing and they'll be fighting for europe rather than relegation in no time.
and while we are dreaming, if only spurs could finish ahead of the arse at the end of the season....
happy new year
happy world cup year one & all. i know i'm already behind in my entries, but hey, i've been overdosing on holiday cheer & too much footy from the sofa during the break. oh and then there was that little trip to london so i could enjoy some games live.... so what do you really expect from me??? i'm being good.... *grumbles* only because my new "manager" thinks he's the boss of me & can tell me what to do. i guess i do need someone to manage this life of mine....
if you want to hear all about the fun jenny & i had at the chelsea v fulham game on boxing day & the qpr v cardiff city match on 28 dec, go to the treble website (www.thetrebletalk.com) and listen to 01/03/06 show archive. it's a riot. i promise. x
if you want to hear all about the fun jenny & i had at the chelsea v fulham game on boxing day & the qpr v cardiff city match on 28 dec, go to the treble website (www.thetrebletalk.com) and listen to 01/03/06 show archive. it's a riot. i promise. x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)