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apw
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Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 1355
Location: London, England
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 Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 01:00 Post subject: |
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| mistral wrote: | | apw wrote: | | Apparently he (Ashley Cole) commited his sins whilst on club duty, whereas John Terry did it in his own time. |
Even if it was on club duty, I doubt it was in 'working (training/playing) hours', so on that basis alone, it really shouldn't be any of Chelsea's business. As for the size of the fine, that's just nonsensical, and Cole (repellent as he is) should stand his ground and contest it in the courts if the club don't back down. |
I'm not saying i agree, but that was the reasons i heard given
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mistral
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Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 16:32 Post subject: |
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| apw wrote: | | (WRT Ashley Cole's problems) I'm not saying i agree, but that was the reasons i heard given. |
Fair enough. 
Moving on to last night's football, England are probably going to have pick things up quite a bit if they want to get to the semis in South Africa. John Terry, Jermain Defoe, SWP and Peter Crouch all impressed me, but many of the others, esp. Walcott, Brown, Baines and Barry didn't.
JT still played like a captain, Defoe showed a great deal of energy and commitment, whilst SWP and Crouch always seem to save their best performances for when they're playing for England. The flipside was that Walcott looked tired from the start, Brown and Baines both seemed a bit shocked by how good the Egyptians were and Barry was just ineffectual IMO. He (Barry) really seems to have lost a lot of his fire and enthusiasm since he moved to Manchester City. |
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mistral
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Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 16:19 Post subject: |
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| Last August, mistral wrote: | | badgerboy wrote: | | Perhaps we can add a pre-season prediction to our musings this year. The likely 23 man World Cup squad before a ball is kicked in anger ... |
Well, FWIW, here's mine.
1. David James
2. Robert Green
3. Ben Foster
4. Ashley Cole
5. Rio Ferdinand
6. Glen Johnson
7. Joleon Lescott
8. John Terry
9. Ledley King
10. Wayne Bridge
11. David Beckham
12. Michael Carrick
13. Gareth Barry
14. Owen Hargreaves
15. Theo Walcott
16. Frank Lampard
17. Steven Gerrard
18. Shaun Wright-Phillips
19. Ashley Young
20. Jack Wilshere
21. Wayne Rooney
22. Jermain Defoe
23. Emile Heskey |
I'm doing a Fantasy World Cup competition on another forum, and my squad picks had changed in the following manner by the time that we had to submit our lists last week.
1. David James
2. Robert Green
3. Joe Hart
4. Rio Ferdinand
5. Ashley Cole
6. John Terry
7. Wes Brown
8. Joleon Lescott
9. Matthew Upson
10. Glen Johnson
11. Frank Lampard
12. Steven Gerrard
13. David Beckham
14. James Milner
15. Stewart Downing
16. Gareth Barry
17. Shaun Wright Phillips
18. Michael Carrick
19. Theo Walcott
20. Jermain Defoe
21. Peter Crouch
22. Wayne Rooney
23. Emile Heskey
I've made six changes to my picks since last summer.
Ben Foster ... Joe Hart
Foster has had a pretty miserable season at Manchester United, whilst Hart's loan move from Manchester City to Birmingham has been really rather successful. I'm hoping that Mr. Capello thinks that it's gone well enough to take Hart to South Africa.
Wayne Bridge ... Matthew Upson
Sadly, I don't think that there is any realistic chance that Bridge's personal issues with JT will get resolved in the next couple of months, so I've picked Upson as his defensive replacement.
Ashley Young ... Stewart Downing
Overall, Downing has just impressed me rather more this season than Young has.
Jack Wilshere ... Peter Crouch
Although he's a cracking player, I do fear that Wilshere's loan move from Arsenal to Bolton has come a bit too late in the day to give him any chance of getting to this World Cup. 
| Last August, mistral wrote: | | I'm also gambling that Ledley King and Owen Hargreaves get their injuries sorted out in the next 9 months. |
Ledley King & Owen Hargreaves ... Wes Brown & James Milner
Sadly, it seems that I was a bit too optimistic about how long it would take for them to recover from their respective injuries. Now we just have to hope that Wes Brown's broken metatarsal doesn't keep him out as well!
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Incidentally, the other (there are six of us playing) squad picks were as follows;
All of us; David James, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch. Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick.
5 of us; Matthew Upson, David Beckham, Joleon Lescott and Joe Hart.
4 of us; James Milner, Stewart Downing, Shaun Wright Phillips, Theo Walcott, Robert Green, Emile Heskey, Glen Johnson and Wes Brown.
3 of us; Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole and Ben Foster.
2 of us; Ashley Young, Wayne Bridge and Aaron Lennon.
Singles; Micah Richards, Stephen Warnock, Gary Neville, Ledley King and Carlton Cole.
Our picks as the starters in the first game against the USA were as follows;
All of us; John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney
5 of us; David James, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard
4 of us; Michael Carrick, Peter Crouch and Ashley Cole
2 of us; Matthew Upson, Sean Wright Phillips, James Milner, Wes Brown and Theo Walcott.
Singles; Ashley Young, Gary Neville, Joleon Lescott, Ledley King, Micah Richards, Wayne Bridge, David Beckham, Jermain Defoe, Ben Foster, Joe Cole and Aaron Lennon
... and as for the captain in that game, the other five have all gone for Rio Ferdinand, whilst I've gone for Steven Gerrard!  |
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badgerboy
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5416
Location: Buckingham, England
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| Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 18:32 Post subject: |
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Good work mistral - though I know I picked Jack Rodwell back then (you praised me for it soon after) and I don't see his name in your totals...
My original list
| badgerboy wrote: | 1. David James
2. Robert Green
3. Ben Foster
4. Glen Johnson
5. Micah Richards
6. Rio Ferdinand
7. John Terry
8. Matthew Upson
9. Jack Rodwell
10 Ashley Cole
11. Wayne Bridge
12. David Beckham
13. Theo Walcott
14. Gareth Barry
15. Frank Lampard
16. Steven Gerrard
17. Michael Carrick
18. Joe Cole
19. Ashley Young
20. Wayne Rooney
21. Emile Heskey
22. Jermain Defoe
23. Gabriel Agbonlahor
I'm sure this is a bit of a hybrid between a bit of my own "wishful thinking" - I'm not so sure Capello will end up picking either Young or Agbonlahor for example (let alone both) & stuff like the picking of Beckham that I'm not sure I'd do but it seems certain Capello will. |
I'd agree that it surely has to be Hart now rather than Foster.
Of my original 8 defenders Bridge is out while Rodwell is looking very dodgy indeed & Richards not much better. Not that Rodwell's done badly at Everton I just don't see Capello bringing in any new faces unless forced to by injuries.
I guess the 7 defenders you have make sense - though I'd like an alternative to Lescott (Jagielka maybe if he stays fit until the end of the season) & I still think you need a second left back (looking like Warnock or Baines) in for Bridge. Let's hope Ashley Cole is fit & stays that way for the whole tournament. Probably the same could be said for the rest of the first choice defence too...
Looking at my other picks - I'm even more confident now than in August that Agbonlahor & Ashley Young are unlikely to feature. I think either would have to have shown they are a better option than those more regularly tried & they probably haven't even shown they are as good an option. I'd exchange those names now for Crouch & James Milner - both on your list.
The only other name on my list that isn't on your new one is Joe Cole - who obviously needs games but I'd still like to see involved.
Given the extra defender on my list I think I'm looking at two names on your list (Downing & Wright-Phillips) fighting with one on mine (Joe Cole) for just one spot. Ideally I'd like it to be those 3 plus Beckham fighting for two but then I still don't know who I'd leave out... |
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mistral
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Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 15:33 Post subject: |
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| badgerboy wrote: | | Good work mistral - though I know I picked Jack Rodwell back then (you praised me for it soon after) and I don't see his name in your totals ... |
Much as I'd like to see Rodwell going to South Africa, I just can't see Capello picking him this time around. |
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Thunder_PT
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Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 1324
Location: Braga, Portugal
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 23:24 Post subject: |
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| How many of your lists would include Zamora now? |
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mistral
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Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 00:33 Post subject: |
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| Thunder_PT wrote: | | How many of your lists would include Zamora now? |
Mine wouldn't to be honest. He's still a very inconsistent player, but he is improving pretty quickly. |
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mistral
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Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 13:54 Post subject: |
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| mistral wrote: | | Thunder_PT wrote: | | How many of your lists would include Zamora now? |
Mine wouldn't to be honest. He's still a very inconsistent player, but he is improving pretty quickly. |
With Jermain Defoe out 'for a few weeks' after getting hamstring troubles this morning in training, I think it would be fair to say that Zamora's chances of getting to South Africa have improved by quite a bit.
Another wild card is Owen Hargreaves who might well be able to get into the squad if he can play half a dozen games or so by the end of the season. |
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mistral
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Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 15:03 Post subject: |
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UK TV schedule for the group games.
===========================
All times are in BST.
June 11 1500: South Africa v Mexico (Soccer City, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 11 1930: Uruguay v France (Cape Town) - BBC
June 12 1230: South Korea v Greece (Port Elizabeth) - ITV
June 12 1500: Argentina v Nigeria (Ellis Park, Johannesburg) - BBC
June 12 1930: England v US (Rustenburg) - ITV
June 13 1230: Algeria v Slovenia (Polokwane) - BBC
June 13 1500: Serbia v Ghana (Pretoria) - ITV
June 13 1930: Germany v Australia (Durban) - ITV
June 14 1230: Holland v Denmark (Soccer City, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 14 1500: Japan v Cameroon (Bloemfontein) - BBC
June 14 1930: Italy v Paraguay (Cape Town) - BBC
June 15 1230: New Zealand v Slovakia (Rustenburg) - BBC
June 15 1500: Ivory Coast v Portugal (Port Elizabeth) - ITV
June 15 1930: Brazil v North Korea (Ellis Park, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 16 1230: Honduras v Chile (Nelspruit) - ITV
June 16 1500: Spain v Switzerland (Durban) - BBC
June 16 1930: South Africa v Uruguay (Pretoria) - BBC
June 17 1230: Argentina v South Korea (Soccer City, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 17 1500: Greece v Nigeria (Bloemfontein) - BBC
June 17 1930: France v Mexico (Polokwane) - BBC
June 18 1230: Germany v Serbia (Port Elizabeth) - BBC
June 18 1500: Slovenia v US (Ellis Park, Johannesburg) - BBC
June 18 1930: England v Algeria (Cape Town) - ITV
June 19 1230: Holland v Japan (Durban) - ITV
June 19 1500: Ghana v Australia (Rustenburg) - BBC
June 19 1930: Cameroon v Denmark (Pretoria) - ITV
June 20 1230: Slovakia v Paraguay (Bloemfontein) - BBC
June 20 1500: Italy v New Zealand (Nelspruit) - ITV
June 20 1930: Brazil v Ivory Coast (Soccer City, Johannesburg) - BBC
June 21 1230: Portugal v North Korea (Cape Town) - BBC
June 21 1500: Chile v Switzerland (Port Elizabeth) - BBC
June 21 1930: Spain v Honduras (Ellis Park, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 22 1500: Mexico v Uruguay (Rustenburg) - ITV
June 22 1500: France v South Africa (Bloemfontein) - ITV
June 22 1930: Nigeria v South Korea (Durban) - BBC
June 22 1930: Greece v Argentina (Polokwane) - BBC
June 23 1500: Slovenia v England (Port Elizabeth) - BBC
June 23 1500: US v Algeria (Pretoria) - BBC
June 23 1930: Australia v Serbia (Nelspruit) - ITV
June 23 1930: Ghana v Germany (Soccer City, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 24 1500: Slovakia v Italy (Ellis Park, Johannesburg) - ITV
June 24 1500: Paraguay v New Zealand (Polokwane) - ITV
June 24 1930: Denmark v Japan (Rustenburg) - BBC
June 24 1930: Cameroon v Holland (Cape Town) - BBC
June 25 1500: Portugal v Brazil (Durban) - BBC
June 25 1500: North Korea v Ivory Coast (Nelspruit) - BBC
June 25 1930: Chile v Spain (Pretoria) - ITV
June 25 1930: Switzerland v Honduras (Bloemfontein) - ITV
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8582840.stm
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Fingers crossed that Rooney will be fit enough to play in the tournament; he's beginning to look both rather tired and fragile recently. |
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mistral
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Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 16:12 Post subject: |
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Euro12 qualifying fixture schedule
=========================
2010
Friday 3 September, England v Bulgaria
Tuesday 7 September, Switzerland v England
Tuesday 12 October, England v Montenegro
2011
Saturday 26 March, Wales v England
Saturday 4 June, England v Switzerland
Friday 2 September, Bulgaria v England
Tuesday 6 September, England v Wales
Friday 7 October, Montenegro v England |
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drvasko98
Joined: 08 Sep 2006
Posts: 740
Location: Bulgaria, Veliko Turnovo and Sofia
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 16:21 Post subject: |
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Interesting  Most games will be played in Friday and Tuesday. I miss this news |
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mistral
Senior Member
Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 16:30 Post subject: |
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| drvasko98 wrote: | | Interesting Most games will be played in Friday and Tuesday. I miss this news |
That's not hard ... the schedule was only released by the English FA about an hour ago! |
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badgerboy
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5416
Location: Buckingham, England
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 17:33 Post subject: |
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Hmmm. It seems I was wrong about there being few games on the Friday. I hate it when football administrators are stupid enough to prove me wrong!
I guess the home team gets to choose whether to play Friday or Saturday & set the kick-off time (surely they don't use a random draw for that too?) so the biggest surprise for me would be England's home game with Bulgaria being on the Friday rather than the Saturday. |
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mistral
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Posts: 1589
Location: SW London
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badgerboy
Senior Member
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5416
Location: Buckingham, England
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 14:26 Post subject: |
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England's defensive situation is worrying.
I don't think there's a single defensive outfield player (at least not a key one) who hasn't had injury problems and/or suffered worrying loss of form at some point during the season.
Possibly - excluding Wayne Rooney's irritating habit of limping off early in recent games - the most worrying situation is now the holding midfield role.
Gareth Barry looks in danger of missing out entirely and Owen Hargreaves - who most pundits seem to see as ideal first choice (even ahead of Barry) has just come back after over a year out. I guess the next options are Carrick (out of form) or going back to the old (& failed) chestnut of playing Lampard & Gerrard together in Central Midfield. I suppose Scott Parker could be a wild card choice.
And potentially calling Carragher back seems a bit of a damning indictment on the other back-up candidates at Centre Back. 2 years ago he'd have been an obvious choice but his form this year has been shaky to say the least. I'd rather see a gamble taken on Michael Dawson - or Ferdinand & Terry both staying fit enough to make Ledley King a viable option. I'd also have thought Matthew Upson had done enough to get in. |
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