I think England will bounce back a bit from their thrashing by the Springboks. Obviously I do not think they will win but I cannot see them losing by 36 points again (as much as I would like them to.) It's a big test for Martin Johnson's ability to motivate his players; to have to play the All Blacks after suffering last week's hammering is pretty tough. I don't think any of them will expect they can win the game so if he can encourage them sufficiently to work hard and keep the margin within 20 points he will have done well. The All Blacks are yet to concede a try on tour so far and I see nothing in the England attack to suggest this will change. England will stay in the hunt early with a few penalty goals but the All Blacks will run away with it like they always do; 34-9
The Wallabies have their toughest task of the tour against Wales. For me, Wales are the strongest Northern Hemisphere side at the moment. They showed a tremendous amount of determination against the All Blacks and they are always fired up in front of their home crowd. I always knew the All Blacks would come back in the second half last week, Wales were never going to be able to keep up the intensity for the full 80 minutes but they really played some good rugby throughout the match (the Haka stand off was pretty good too.) Before this round of tests, Wales will have backed themselves to win at least one of their matches against the tri-nations sides and they will definitely fancy their chances against Australia. The France v Australia game was not televised here so I did not get to see it but from what I read the Wallabies were a little fortunate to win with Skrela missing so many shots at goal. Having said that I also believe they put on a solid performance in the second half which is not something they managed to do when it counted in the Bledisloe tests this year. They seem to have managed to keep the momentum up for the full 80 on this tour and that will be essential to a victory against Wales. The Welsh pack are not as daunting as some of the other northern hemisphere packs so I think the Wallabies should really look to impose themselves in the forwards to further prove they are a pack of substance. Phil Waugh will be looking for a big game to show he is still a world class openside. Both sides like to play open rugby so look for the backs to get plenty of ball. I really think Wales can win a close encounter but if Australia defend the way they have on tour so far then I can see them still being in it with 20 to go and if they are, they will win. Wallabies by 7
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Put that in the papers
Well what a fantastic day Saturday turned out to be. There really is nothing quite like beating the English and the Wallabies really put on a fine display of test match rugby to do so comprehensively. As you know, certain members of the rugby press over here spent the entire week building up to the match vilifying the Australian scrum and Al Baxter in particular. Baxter and his pack can leave England with their heads held high after not just competing with the England scrum, but outplaying them entirely. They won 2 tightheads and forced 3 scrum penalties; Andrew Sheridan was forced off injured and Phil Vickery was pedestrian.
The rugby press in England should be eating up large slices of humble pie this week but have largely shown no contrition for their pathetic pre-game attacks on the Australian forwards. The one-eyed monster that is Times columnist Stephen Jones, who was the author of the worst comments during the week, could barely bring himself to credit the Wallabies with the win. Even in one of the 2 sentences he devoted to acknowledging Australia’s win, he prefixed it by saying the Wallabies were the weakest of the 3 teams in this year’s tri-nations. Given that South Africa secured the wooden spoon with still 2 games to play, and Australia were only 4 points short in the final test match of winning the competition, the comment is inaccurate to say the least. While he begrudgingly states that by the end, Australia were comfortable up front, he spends more time suggesting the officials didn’t have a clue about refereeing the scrum and goes on to say that Australia actually had a “scrummaging escape.”
None of this really comes as any real surprise. All the column inches printed pre game just made the win even more satisfying. The continued petulance of Stephen Jones since then just shows what a narrow-minded fool he really is.
The articles in the English papers obviously focus on England’s performance rather than Australia’s, which is to be expected; but not all of the writers feel the need to make things personal. David Hands, who is also a Times rugby correspondent, offers a good analogy of the match without the petty comments about the Wallaby team. Robert Kitson in The Guardian does the same. Kitson does however suggest that the England front row were due to be served “a colossal helping of humble pie,” which I feel is a poor comment to make. Andrew Sheridan had actually stated during the week that he respected the Australian scrum and knew they had improved from the World Cup quarter final loss and he didn’t expect to dominate in the same way. It’s the journos that should be eating their words Robert, not Sheridan.
Of course it doesn’t really matter to me what the journalists say about the game over here. There are some who will never give Australia credit for their rugby exploits, no matter what they did. The Wallabies could win the next world cup without conceding a single point along the way and it still wouldn’t be good enough. All that matters is what happens on the pitch and what happened on the pitch on Saturday was fantastic. We’ve suffered at the hands of the English plenty of times, especially at Twickenham, which is one of the reasons to savour victory even more. 5th time lucky for Dad; it make the whole trip worthwhile I’m sure.
The rugby press in England should be eating up large slices of humble pie this week but have largely shown no contrition for their pathetic pre-game attacks on the Australian forwards. The one-eyed monster that is Times columnist Stephen Jones, who was the author of the worst comments during the week, could barely bring himself to credit the Wallabies with the win. Even in one of the 2 sentences he devoted to acknowledging Australia’s win, he prefixed it by saying the Wallabies were the weakest of the 3 teams in this year’s tri-nations. Given that South Africa secured the wooden spoon with still 2 games to play, and Australia were only 4 points short in the final test match of winning the competition, the comment is inaccurate to say the least. While he begrudgingly states that by the end, Australia were comfortable up front, he spends more time suggesting the officials didn’t have a clue about refereeing the scrum and goes on to say that Australia actually had a “scrummaging escape.”
None of this really comes as any real surprise. All the column inches printed pre game just made the win even more satisfying. The continued petulance of Stephen Jones since then just shows what a narrow-minded fool he really is.
The articles in the English papers obviously focus on England’s performance rather than Australia’s, which is to be expected; but not all of the writers feel the need to make things personal. David Hands, who is also a Times rugby correspondent, offers a good analogy of the match without the petty comments about the Wallaby team. Robert Kitson in The Guardian does the same. Kitson does however suggest that the England front row were due to be served “a colossal helping of humble pie,” which I feel is a poor comment to make. Andrew Sheridan had actually stated during the week that he respected the Australian scrum and knew they had improved from the World Cup quarter final loss and he didn’t expect to dominate in the same way. It’s the journos that should be eating their words Robert, not Sheridan.
Of course it doesn’t really matter to me what the journalists say about the game over here. There are some who will never give Australia credit for their rugby exploits, no matter what they did. The Wallabies could win the next world cup without conceding a single point along the way and it still wouldn’t be good enough. All that matters is what happens on the pitch and what happened on the pitch on Saturday was fantastic. We’ve suffered at the hands of the English plenty of times, especially at Twickenham, which is one of the reasons to savour victory even more. 5th time lucky for Dad; it make the whole trip worthwhile I’m sure.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Carling Cup fourth round.
Off to The Lane tonight to see defending Carling Cup champions Tottenham Hotspur take on Liverpool, who are currently second in the Premier League on goal difference.
Liverpool came to White Hart Lane last Sunday and left with no points after Spurs came from a goal down to win 2-1 in stoppage time. It will be a different story tonight as I think both managers will rest some first teamers though I think Rafa will rest more than Harry. Liverpool think they are chasing a title and so this is one cup they aren't all that interested in. Spurs on the other hand probably won't be qualifying for Europe through the league again this season and so will see the Carling Cup as their best opportunity to do so. Plus, they will be keen to defend the trophy they won this year in February.
Gerrard and Keane won't play for Liverpool but Torres will and he is always dangerous. Spurs are on a great run since Harry came on board but it has to end eventually. I'm not saying it's going to be tonight but it wouldn't surprise me if it does. I'm still going to tip Spurs but I'm going to say 2-1 after extra time.
Come on you Spurs
Liverpool came to White Hart Lane last Sunday and left with no points after Spurs came from a goal down to win 2-1 in stoppage time. It will be a different story tonight as I think both managers will rest some first teamers though I think Rafa will rest more than Harry. Liverpool think they are chasing a title and so this is one cup they aren't all that interested in. Spurs on the other hand probably won't be qualifying for Europe through the league again this season and so will see the Carling Cup as their best opportunity to do so. Plus, they will be keen to defend the trophy they won this year in February.
Gerrard and Keane won't play for Liverpool but Torres will and he is always dangerous. Spurs are on a great run since Harry came on board but it has to end eventually. I'm not saying it's going to be tonight but it wouldn't surprise me if it does. I'm still going to tip Spurs but I'm going to say 2-1 after extra time.
Come on you Spurs
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Communication Breakdown
I'm leaving London in a month's time so there is little time left for me to complain about the tube. I have said once before on this blog that it shouldn't really be used to rant about how bad the tube is and that hasn't been the case. I actually think that once you have lived in London for long enough, you stop bothering to complain about the tube. I have come to regard it as actually quite reliable of late; I don't know whether that is because it is reliable or whether my standards have just fallen. But really it's not that bad and one doesn't bother to complain about it any more because it's not going to achieve anything and will essentially just be a waste of energy.
What does bother me enough to have once complained, but now just to be bothered by and not complain; is the trivial things that seem to wreak havoc on the system. I appreciate that things go wrong and things break down, especially with such ageing infrastructure; but it's the lacklustre response by London Underground staff to many of these situtions that annoys.
Yesterday morning (Monday, everyone's favourite day) the station nearest my office was completely shut because of 'faulty communications equipment.' So essentially the station staffs' walkie-talkies had flat batteries and this is enough to shut down an entire station serving 3 of the busiest lines on the network. What on earth did they do before they had radios?
Like I said though, I'm not complaining.
What does bother me enough to have once complained, but now just to be bothered by and not complain; is the trivial things that seem to wreak havoc on the system. I appreciate that things go wrong and things break down, especially with such ageing infrastructure; but it's the lacklustre response by London Underground staff to many of these situtions that annoys.
Yesterday morning (Monday, everyone's favourite day) the station nearest my office was completely shut because of 'faulty communications equipment.' So essentially the station staffs' walkie-talkies had flat batteries and this is enough to shut down an entire station serving 3 of the busiest lines on the network. What on earth did they do before they had radios?
Like I said though, I'm not complaining.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Death and Taxes
So the latest budget has been announced and the main points the papers headlined were an increase on taxes on alcohol and cars. Fairly standard commodities that are easy to tax because they are relatively inelastic.
The taxes are of little concern to me really; I do not drive a car, and I am financially secure enough to afford paying an extra 4p on the pints that I drink. What bothers me really is the bullshit that goes along with tax increases like this.
The supposed reason behind increasing taxes on alcohol is to combat binge drinking. It is utterly ludicrous to suggest that increasing the price of alcohol by little more than 1% is going to curb Britain’s alcohol problem. It is not going to make an ounce of difference; people who drink excessively are going to continue to do so, they are just going to pay another 4p per pint to do it. The government know this and that is why they are imposing a tax. That’s all fine; the government need to raise revenue to run the country. What I can’t stand is that we are expected to swallow the nonsense that goes along with it. You’re not increasing taxes to curb binge drinking; you’re raising revenue in an effective manner. I know it; you know it; stop treating me like a fool by trying to say otherwise.
It’s the same thing with the car tax. A tax imposed on “the highest polluting cars,” which essentially means cars with big engines. What cars do we see most often that have big engines? Range Rovers etc. Who drives Range Rovers? Wealthy people do. Can wealthy people afford to pay an extra tax? Yes of course they can. The problem with this whole carbon emissions rubbish is that it just gives the government an excuse to tax us more and pretend they are trying to help the environment. Rubbish! It’s just an easy way to disguise more taxes.
Death and Taxes are the only 2 sure things in life. So tax us, just stop feeding me so much bullshit. It tastes awful.
The taxes are of little concern to me really; I do not drive a car, and I am financially secure enough to afford paying an extra 4p on the pints that I drink. What bothers me really is the bullshit that goes along with tax increases like this.
The supposed reason behind increasing taxes on alcohol is to combat binge drinking. It is utterly ludicrous to suggest that increasing the price of alcohol by little more than 1% is going to curb Britain’s alcohol problem. It is not going to make an ounce of difference; people who drink excessively are going to continue to do so, they are just going to pay another 4p per pint to do it. The government know this and that is why they are imposing a tax. That’s all fine; the government need to raise revenue to run the country. What I can’t stand is that we are expected to swallow the nonsense that goes along with it. You’re not increasing taxes to curb binge drinking; you’re raising revenue in an effective manner. I know it; you know it; stop treating me like a fool by trying to say otherwise.
It’s the same thing with the car tax. A tax imposed on “the highest polluting cars,” which essentially means cars with big engines. What cars do we see most often that have big engines? Range Rovers etc. Who drives Range Rovers? Wealthy people do. Can wealthy people afford to pay an extra tax? Yes of course they can. The problem with this whole carbon emissions rubbish is that it just gives the government an excuse to tax us more and pretend they are trying to help the environment. Rubbish! It’s just an easy way to disguise more taxes.
Death and Taxes are the only 2 sure things in life. So tax us, just stop feeding me so much bullshit. It tastes awful.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Of all the newspapers in print and online; I think that The Guardian has the best coverage for football. Each Wednesday online they have a segment called ‘The Knowledge’ whereby people email in quirky questions about football and readers and Guardian writers themselves attempt to answer them for next week’s edition.
Today’s knowledge had an excerpt form and archived edition where someone had noticed during a match between Wales and Russia, that the letters that made up the abbreviated names of each team in the top corner of the broadcast, spelled WALRUS. He wondered what other names of aquatic mammals could be created from the abbreviations of football teams.
One suggestion was that Belgium and Uganda would produce the name BELUGA; which the writer of the article stated was a species of white whale, famed for its tasty eggs. This is obviously not true and while I am certainly the type of pedant who will point out small mistakes in things; I am not the kind of person who writes to newspapers to point out these mistakes (because that would require effort and I would probably tire of doing it half way through) This time however I just couldn’t resist and sent the following email.
Hello
I just thought I would be a pedant and inform you of an error you made in The Knowledge today 12th March.
You said that the Beluga is a species of white whale best known for its rather tasty eggs. Beluga Caviar eggs actually come from the Beluga Sturgeon which is a large freshwater fish. It is entirely unrelated to the Beluga whale, which is in fact a mammal, and therefore does not lay eggs at all, but gives birth to live young.
Great site though; Guardian Unlimited Football is by far the best football news site around
Cheers
I was rather chuffed to receive a reply shortly afterwards as follows
Hi there
Thanks for your Beluga-based email. It's a pretty shocking error, which slipped through twice as that section of this week's Knowledge is drawnfrom the archive. I've tweaked it to put minds at rest. Not least mine.
Cheers
Today’s knowledge had an excerpt form and archived edition where someone had noticed during a match between Wales and Russia, that the letters that made up the abbreviated names of each team in the top corner of the broadcast, spelled WALRUS. He wondered what other names of aquatic mammals could be created from the abbreviations of football teams.
One suggestion was that Belgium and Uganda would produce the name BELUGA; which the writer of the article stated was a species of white whale, famed for its tasty eggs. This is obviously not true and while I am certainly the type of pedant who will point out small mistakes in things; I am not the kind of person who writes to newspapers to point out these mistakes (because that would require effort and I would probably tire of doing it half way through) This time however I just couldn’t resist and sent the following email.
Hello
I just thought I would be a pedant and inform you of an error you made in The Knowledge today 12th March.
You said that the Beluga is a species of white whale best known for its rather tasty eggs. Beluga Caviar eggs actually come from the Beluga Sturgeon which is a large freshwater fish. It is entirely unrelated to the Beluga whale, which is in fact a mammal, and therefore does not lay eggs at all, but gives birth to live young.
Great site though; Guardian Unlimited Football is by far the best football news site around
Cheers
I was rather chuffed to receive a reply shortly afterwards as follows
Hi there
Thanks for your Beluga-based email. It's a pretty shocking error, which slipped through twice as that section of this week's Knowledge is drawnfrom the archive. I've tweaked it to put minds at rest. Not least mine.
Cheers
Monday, March 03, 2008
Where do we go now?
Rolly had another poker tournament at his place on Saturday night; it was a good evening. I won the last one we had there, though I knew the other players would be a little wiser and cleverer this time around.
I decided my drink for the evening was going to be Jack Daniels. I don’t drink lager very much at all these days so a six pack was out and whiskey also seems like a more appropriate drink for playing cards. We also broke out a few Cuban cigars, brought all the way back from Havana by Rolly a couple of months ago.
It seems like a pretty standard stereotype, blokes, poker, cigars and whiskey! But there’s the problem; poker and alcohol don’t mix. Or at least I should say poker and alcohol don’t mix if you have any designs on winning the tournament.
I played very well at the start and was very soon the early chip leader; however as the level of Jack Daniels remaining in the bottle decreased, so did my chip stack. In the end, after 2 of the most ridiculous raises you could expect to see made, my chip stack had gone, and so had all my Jack Daniels. They were bets I wouldn’t have made if I was sober, but I did because I threw caution to the wind and hoped for the best; which is often a symptom of having had a few.
And so I was banished to Playstation land but it wasn’t really a big deal. If the buy in was more than £20 then it might have been a different story and all that matters really is that is was fun.
My hangover on Sunday was not nearly as bad as it should have been given that I had consumed an entire bottle of Jack Daniels the night before. In fact, a fry up managed to sort me out pretty quickly.
Sunday didn’t promise much; that was until Josh swapped his Wii with his brother in law’s Xbox 360. More importantly though was that the Xbox came with Guitar Hero II. There was only one song on here that I was interested in playing: Sweet Child of Mine. So many times have I played air guitar to that song, here was finally a chance to press some buttons on a guitar shaped Xbox controller which will, if done correctly, sound like I am playing the lead guitar on that song! One step closer to reality than air guitar.
I’m hooked!
I decided my drink for the evening was going to be Jack Daniels. I don’t drink lager very much at all these days so a six pack was out and whiskey also seems like a more appropriate drink for playing cards. We also broke out a few Cuban cigars, brought all the way back from Havana by Rolly a couple of months ago.
It seems like a pretty standard stereotype, blokes, poker, cigars and whiskey! But there’s the problem; poker and alcohol don’t mix. Or at least I should say poker and alcohol don’t mix if you have any designs on winning the tournament.
I played very well at the start and was very soon the early chip leader; however as the level of Jack Daniels remaining in the bottle decreased, so did my chip stack. In the end, after 2 of the most ridiculous raises you could expect to see made, my chip stack had gone, and so had all my Jack Daniels. They were bets I wouldn’t have made if I was sober, but I did because I threw caution to the wind and hoped for the best; which is often a symptom of having had a few.
And so I was banished to Playstation land but it wasn’t really a big deal. If the buy in was more than £20 then it might have been a different story and all that matters really is that is was fun.
My hangover on Sunday was not nearly as bad as it should have been given that I had consumed an entire bottle of Jack Daniels the night before. In fact, a fry up managed to sort me out pretty quickly.
Sunday didn’t promise much; that was until Josh swapped his Wii with his brother in law’s Xbox 360. More importantly though was that the Xbox came with Guitar Hero II. There was only one song on here that I was interested in playing: Sweet Child of Mine. So many times have I played air guitar to that song, here was finally a chance to press some buttons on a guitar shaped Xbox controller which will, if done correctly, sound like I am playing the lead guitar on that song! One step closer to reality than air guitar.
I’m hooked!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?
I can. Well I certainly could last night.
I am not usually one for celebrities; in fact, I despise the whole celebrity culture, especially in Britain these days where people are celebrities for the sake of celebrity.
I was once walking along Bond Street and checking out a girl walking in the other direction; then realising that the person she was walking with was Kate Moss. I guess that rated a mention to my friends but more because I was checking out Kate Moss’s friend and not Kate herself.
This time though I got pretty excited. Last night training in my gym, The Third Space, was none other than The Rock himself. This I thought was pretty cool. He’s deceptively big that fellow. I say deceptively because from a short distance away I thought that he didn’t look as big as he does on television; but once up close, you can tell he’s a pretty big unit. I didn’t actually see him do that much; he did a few chin ups and a couple of other light sets but spent a fair bit of time walking around the gym. Maybe he was warming up a bit and didn’t get cracking until after I left.
The Third Space is definitely one of the top gyms in London. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to go to the gym and exercise when you have a fantastic facility like that to go to. I’m sure The Rock is just passing through London; he has a new movie out which must be premiering here soon; he’s also going to be on Soccer AM on Saturday. But the guy has to work out and it’s pretty easy to see why he would come to TTS to do that. He’s pretty athletic, I wouldn’t mind looking like that myself; can’t see that happening though but it’s good to have goals hahaha.
My flatmates were all pretty excited about the spotting. One of them works for a gossip magazine so she is always interested in things like that. My workmates on the other hand were less impressed as unfortunately they needed an explanation of who The Rock is. I'm sure, much like a prop recounting stories of tries they have scored, the truth in this tale will be bent slightly as time goes on. Eventually I'll be telling people how I trained with The Rock at the gym; spotting him on the bench press, talking about correct technique etc.
I would like to qualify all this by saying I have no interest in WWE; I think it’s stupid and watched by people with low intelligence.
The Rock is still pretty cool though.
I am not usually one for celebrities; in fact, I despise the whole celebrity culture, especially in Britain these days where people are celebrities for the sake of celebrity.
I was once walking along Bond Street and checking out a girl walking in the other direction; then realising that the person she was walking with was Kate Moss. I guess that rated a mention to my friends but more because I was checking out Kate Moss’s friend and not Kate herself.
This time though I got pretty excited. Last night training in my gym, The Third Space, was none other than The Rock himself. This I thought was pretty cool. He’s deceptively big that fellow. I say deceptively because from a short distance away I thought that he didn’t look as big as he does on television; but once up close, you can tell he’s a pretty big unit. I didn’t actually see him do that much; he did a few chin ups and a couple of other light sets but spent a fair bit of time walking around the gym. Maybe he was warming up a bit and didn’t get cracking until after I left.
The Third Space is definitely one of the top gyms in London. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to go to the gym and exercise when you have a fantastic facility like that to go to. I’m sure The Rock is just passing through London; he has a new movie out which must be premiering here soon; he’s also going to be on Soccer AM on Saturday. But the guy has to work out and it’s pretty easy to see why he would come to TTS to do that. He’s pretty athletic, I wouldn’t mind looking like that myself; can’t see that happening though but it’s good to have goals hahaha.
My flatmates were all pretty excited about the spotting. One of them works for a gossip magazine so she is always interested in things like that. My workmates on the other hand were less impressed as unfortunately they needed an explanation of who The Rock is. I'm sure, much like a prop recounting stories of tries they have scored, the truth in this tale will be bent slightly as time goes on. Eventually I'll be telling people how I trained with The Rock at the gym; spotting him on the bench press, talking about correct technique etc.
I would like to qualify all this by saying I have no interest in WWE; I think it’s stupid and watched by people with low intelligence.
The Rock is still pretty cool though.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Still Buzzing
It's Tuesday and I'm still feeling good about the result on Sunday. I'm not just high all the time like I was yesterday but all I need to do is think about the match and I'm there again.
It really was just amazing to be at the match. One of the best experiences I can certainly say that. The emotions that football can stir inside you are fantastic.
It's pleasing to read most of the reports agree that Spurs deserved to win and Chelsea (scum) were sore losers. I'm sure this will be a huge confidence boost for the players and they will go on to have a strong finish to the season. They are still in the UEFA Cup and I really think they will fancy their chances of winning that. It will be tough though as they face PSV next week in the last 16 and they are top of the Dutch league. Bayern Munich who are leading the Bundesliga; as well as the next 3 teams in that league are all still in the competition so Spurs are going to have to defeat some tough opposition if they are to go all the way. They have shown though in 2008 that they have what it takes to beat the top teams and they have every chance of lifting another cup this year.
Come on you Spurs
It really was just amazing to be at the match. One of the best experiences I can certainly say that. The emotions that football can stir inside you are fantastic.
It's pleasing to read most of the reports agree that Spurs deserved to win and Chelsea (scum) were sore losers. I'm sure this will be a huge confidence boost for the players and they will go on to have a strong finish to the season. They are still in the UEFA Cup and I really think they will fancy their chances of winning that. It will be tough though as they face PSV next week in the last 16 and they are top of the Dutch league. Bayern Munich who are leading the Bundesliga; as well as the next 3 teams in that league are all still in the competition so Spurs are going to have to defeat some tough opposition if they are to go all the way. They have shown though in 2008 that they have what it takes to beat the top teams and they have every chance of lifting another cup this year.
Come on you Spurs
Monday, February 25, 2008
Come on you Spurs!
Well; it was magnificent
Being at Wembley for the Cup final on Sunday was certainly one of the best experiences I have ever had, I was so fortunate to have obtained tickets for the game.
Football is about emotion and nothing else can generate so many different emotions in you like a football can. When the final whistle finally went yesterday for me it was a euphoric mixture of elation and relief; it was such a rush. I’ve never hugged so many complete strangers before.
Our seats we good enough, hell I would have sat anywhere. We were in the Spurs end, in the corner in front section but in the second from last row of the front section. So we had a decent view of the pitch though the second tier of seats was just over our head and I much prefer to be out in the open so you can see all around the stadium. In any case, we had tickets and that meant we had a lot of jealous friends.
The Spurs fans were brilliant, so much noise, so many songs, so much enthusiasm. Chelsea fans, who are the scum of the earth, were pretty pathetic. We hardly heard a peep from them the whole game and the Spurs fans certainly let Chelsea know we thought their support was not very good.
Spurs started brightly and were the better team of the first half. They had plenty of chances on goal and really should have taken the lead. But as can often happen when you don’t capitalise on your possession; the opposition took the lead. Spurs had already given away 2 free kicks just outside their own box and the third one they gave away gave Chelsea the lead. Robinson lined up his wall and then for some reason stood behind it instead of to his left and Drogba found the net. Robinson should have positioned himself better and he really should have made the save.
It stayed 1-0 until half time and the disappointment was starting to sift in; Spurs had dominated most of the possession but Chelsea were in the lead. Chelsea, who are the scum of the earth; are difficult to break down and often don’t relinquish the lead once they have taken it. They play negative football, trying to squeeze the life out of the game. Spurs weren’t out of it and as long as they kept their heads up they had every chance of getting a goal.
Juande Ramos is proving to be a master tactician. With his previous club Seville, he won 5 out of 5 cup finals. His half time chat obviously worked as Spurs took the game to Chelsea again in the second half. He soon made a substitution which changed Spurs’s shape a little; it gave them more room to attack and exploited Chelsea’s weaknesses. Spurs continued to play the better football and were rewarded after 70mins when Wayne Bridge handled the ball in the penalty area. The linesman spotted it and signalled to the ref who awarded the penalty. Berbatov stepped up to take the kick, in front of the Tottenham fans, most of whom were openly praying for it to go in. Spurs fans have been desperate for a trophy for so long and here was the chance to get back into the game; this was pressure! Berbatov though is coolness personified. He took a slow run up, waited for the keeper to go one way and stroked the ball into the other side of the net. In the circumstances, it was the best penalty I have ever seen taken. I am getting goose bumps thinking about it now.
Spurs were back in it and they deserved to be. Come on You Spurs! The Spurs fans raised the decibels, while the Chelsea fans (who are the scum of the earth) hardly said a word. It was pretty tense, I can’t tell you how nervous I was. Spurs had a chance to win it on 80 mins when Zokora was clean through, he shot straight at Cech and then blazed the rebound over the bar, it should have been 2-1 and how we wished it was Berbatov in on goal instead of our holding midfielder. Cech kept Chelsea in it with 2 more smart saves before it ended up 1-1 at full time.
So 30 mins of extra time was to be played. I wasn’t sure my heart was up to it! After 3 minutes though Spurs made the breakthrough. A free kick was floated in and Woodgate went up for it, Cech came off his line and punched the ball but managed only to punch it straight into Woodgate’s face; it hit him and went into the net. It was fortunate but it was no more than Spurs deserved. It was the go ahead goal and it was pandemonium in the Spurs end. The next 30 mins were utterly, utterly excruciating, the longest half hour of my life, I just wanted the game to end! Spurs just had to hold on and the cup was ours. Chelsea finally started to play football and threw everything they had at Spurs; but Spurs repelled everything. Robinson justified his inclusion in the team when he made a smart save to deny Kalou an equaliser right at the death. He hadn’t really had much to do in the game but he pulled it out when it mattered. They played 2 and a half minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first period of extra time and then at the end of the second period of extra time, when we thought it was going to be over; they played another three and a half minutes of stoppage time. This is the equivalent of 10 and a half minutes in a normal half!! It took years off my life.
The whistle finally went and I won’t experience a high like that many times in my life. It was just an amazing moment for Spurs and all the fans who have waited 9 years since Spurs’s last trophy, yet come so close in that time.
Some of the Chelsea players (who are the scum of the earth) argued with the referee after the whistle and their attitude to losing was a disgrace. They have received widespread condemnation in the press for being bad losers and their poor sportsmanship in general. Chelsea are scum, their fans are scum, they are scum.
It has been widely agreed that Spurs deserved to win; that they showed more determination and tried to play better football than their opponents. Ramos has been praised for his tactics especially in the second half to bring Spurs back into the game. Spurs thoroughly deserved the trophy; it may not be regarded as prestigious as the FA cup but Spurs had to beat Manchester City in the quarter final, Arsenal in the semi final and Chelsea in the final so it certainly hasn’t been easy.
It was amazing to be there and be a part of it; it’s something I will never forget. I have been on a high ever since and I still am (can’t you tell?)
Come on you Spurs!
Being at Wembley for the Cup final on Sunday was certainly one of the best experiences I have ever had, I was so fortunate to have obtained tickets for the game.
Football is about emotion and nothing else can generate so many different emotions in you like a football can. When the final whistle finally went yesterday for me it was a euphoric mixture of elation and relief; it was such a rush. I’ve never hugged so many complete strangers before.
Our seats we good enough, hell I would have sat anywhere. We were in the Spurs end, in the corner in front section but in the second from last row of the front section. So we had a decent view of the pitch though the second tier of seats was just over our head and I much prefer to be out in the open so you can see all around the stadium. In any case, we had tickets and that meant we had a lot of jealous friends.
The Spurs fans were brilliant, so much noise, so many songs, so much enthusiasm. Chelsea fans, who are the scum of the earth, were pretty pathetic. We hardly heard a peep from them the whole game and the Spurs fans certainly let Chelsea know we thought their support was not very good.
Spurs started brightly and were the better team of the first half. They had plenty of chances on goal and really should have taken the lead. But as can often happen when you don’t capitalise on your possession; the opposition took the lead. Spurs had already given away 2 free kicks just outside their own box and the third one they gave away gave Chelsea the lead. Robinson lined up his wall and then for some reason stood behind it instead of to his left and Drogba found the net. Robinson should have positioned himself better and he really should have made the save.
It stayed 1-0 until half time and the disappointment was starting to sift in; Spurs had dominated most of the possession but Chelsea were in the lead. Chelsea, who are the scum of the earth; are difficult to break down and often don’t relinquish the lead once they have taken it. They play negative football, trying to squeeze the life out of the game. Spurs weren’t out of it and as long as they kept their heads up they had every chance of getting a goal.
Juande Ramos is proving to be a master tactician. With his previous club Seville, he won 5 out of 5 cup finals. His half time chat obviously worked as Spurs took the game to Chelsea again in the second half. He soon made a substitution which changed Spurs’s shape a little; it gave them more room to attack and exploited Chelsea’s weaknesses. Spurs continued to play the better football and were rewarded after 70mins when Wayne Bridge handled the ball in the penalty area. The linesman spotted it and signalled to the ref who awarded the penalty. Berbatov stepped up to take the kick, in front of the Tottenham fans, most of whom were openly praying for it to go in. Spurs fans have been desperate for a trophy for so long and here was the chance to get back into the game; this was pressure! Berbatov though is coolness personified. He took a slow run up, waited for the keeper to go one way and stroked the ball into the other side of the net. In the circumstances, it was the best penalty I have ever seen taken. I am getting goose bumps thinking about it now.
Spurs were back in it and they deserved to be. Come on You Spurs! The Spurs fans raised the decibels, while the Chelsea fans (who are the scum of the earth) hardly said a word. It was pretty tense, I can’t tell you how nervous I was. Spurs had a chance to win it on 80 mins when Zokora was clean through, he shot straight at Cech and then blazed the rebound over the bar, it should have been 2-1 and how we wished it was Berbatov in on goal instead of our holding midfielder. Cech kept Chelsea in it with 2 more smart saves before it ended up 1-1 at full time.
So 30 mins of extra time was to be played. I wasn’t sure my heart was up to it! After 3 minutes though Spurs made the breakthrough. A free kick was floated in and Woodgate went up for it, Cech came off his line and punched the ball but managed only to punch it straight into Woodgate’s face; it hit him and went into the net. It was fortunate but it was no more than Spurs deserved. It was the go ahead goal and it was pandemonium in the Spurs end. The next 30 mins were utterly, utterly excruciating, the longest half hour of my life, I just wanted the game to end! Spurs just had to hold on and the cup was ours. Chelsea finally started to play football and threw everything they had at Spurs; but Spurs repelled everything. Robinson justified his inclusion in the team when he made a smart save to deny Kalou an equaliser right at the death. He hadn’t really had much to do in the game but he pulled it out when it mattered. They played 2 and a half minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first period of extra time and then at the end of the second period of extra time, when we thought it was going to be over; they played another three and a half minutes of stoppage time. This is the equivalent of 10 and a half minutes in a normal half!! It took years off my life.
The whistle finally went and I won’t experience a high like that many times in my life. It was just an amazing moment for Spurs and all the fans who have waited 9 years since Spurs’s last trophy, yet come so close in that time.
Some of the Chelsea players (who are the scum of the earth) argued with the referee after the whistle and their attitude to losing was a disgrace. They have received widespread condemnation in the press for being bad losers and their poor sportsmanship in general. Chelsea are scum, their fans are scum, they are scum.
It has been widely agreed that Spurs deserved to win; that they showed more determination and tried to play better football than their opponents. Ramos has been praised for his tactics especially in the second half to bring Spurs back into the game. Spurs thoroughly deserved the trophy; it may not be regarded as prestigious as the FA cup but Spurs had to beat Manchester City in the quarter final, Arsenal in the semi final and Chelsea in the final so it certainly hasn’t been easy.
It was amazing to be there and be a part of it; it’s something I will never forget. I have been on a high ever since and I still am (can’t you tell?)
Come on you Spurs!
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