Source: (consider it)
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Thread: The beautiful game - the boys are back
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by rolyn: The entertainment value of tomorrow's Final will depend quite a lot on the Ronaldo's form, and how much attention the French team have to lend it.
As it turned out, Ronaldo's form was "prone." And the French had no idea how to handle Portugal without Ronaldo.
-------------------- "We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
With some sort of apology for the Euro-centric point of view, Proper Football™ returned this weekend! And about time too.
What are your predictions for the new season?
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
Ipswich Town to rise towards the top of the Championship but narrowly fail to get promoted.
Again.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
We could formalise this a little bit: - Top four, in order.
- The three to be relegated (in no specific order)
- FA Cup winners
- Champions' League winner
- Sack race winner (Premier League only)
What do you think?
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Imaginary Friend: What are your predictions for the new season?
After last year's win, pluck will struggle to stay out of relegation I fear. Hype will return to the top of the table. Hope will not do as well as last season, dropping from second down to mid table I think. Greed to finish a close second, moving up from last season's third slot. Quality football will get a Champions League place this season but not much more.
And no, those terms are not code for any particular teams.
I watched part of the Man U Bournemouth game last week, heard Ibra had "found his utopia" and promptly
I do enjoy the football but the other stuff that goes on is turning me off.
Like everybody else, loved when the Foxes won last season but 20+ years of hearing "Manchester United" or "Liverpool" or "Chelsea" or "Manchester City" or "Arsenal" invoked as if they were the most important things in the world has turned me off the EPL. I will follow the results and keep tabs on Liverpool proceedings but the rest of it I just can't stand anymore.
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
Why?
Chelsea have re-signed a player who was a liability in the Premiership and confirmed that in the 2014 World Cup as part of the Brazil team beaten 7-1 by Germany.
What has possessed them to spend £34 million on a 29 year old defender who can't defend? I know they have more money than sense, but I didn't realise it was that much money and that little sense. PSG can't believe their luck!
-------------------- "He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Yeah, from a footballing point of view, it's a bit of an odd one. But Chelsea are desperate for another centre half, and we were having trouble recruiting any of our other targets. The more weird part is that various reputable people are reporting the neither club were very keen on the idea, but David and his agent pushed it because he was keen to return to London. I can't blame him!
From a supporter's point of view (at least, from this supporter's point of view!) it's a brilliant signing. Stuff happens when David is on the field, at both ends. There will be considerably fewer dull moments at Stamford Bridge because of this signing, and I think that's great.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
So, my Swedish team, Långholmen FC clinched the Stockholm Division 5 Mellar title yesterday afternoon with a convincing 1-3 away win over title rivals Boo FF. A much-needed antidote to Chelsea's dismal, dismal performance at the Emirates.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
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Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
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Posted
MLS supporters shield (best regular season record) is down to Sunday's games. All my Colorado Rapids have to do is beat last place Houston in Denver and we win. Last to best in one season, and all anyone will talk about is the NFL Broncos.
-------------------- "I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
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Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
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Posted
I was wrong about the opponent and location (at Portland, actually,) and the Rapids suffered a 1-0 loss, leaving them in second place. On to the playoffs.
At least Dallas won the West, meaning that since they had already clinched a spot in the CONCACAF Champion's League through winning the US Open Cup, the top finisher in the West spot goes to the Rapids. So there's also that to look forward to.
-------------------- "I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
DC United beat Fake City 3-1 yesterday, and we're on the way to the playoffs. I'm sure another agonising defeat to the other New York team is just around the corner...
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
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Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
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Posted
At the risk of revealing myself to be the dirty bandwagon jumper that I am...
My bad, one more week before the playoffs. My Rapids are two points behind Dallas, so we need to beat Houston in Denver (that part was right) and hope for a Dallas loss.
-------------------- "I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Imaginary Friend: DC United beat Fake City 3-1 yesterday, and we're on the way to the playoffs. I'm sure another agonising defeat to the other New York team is just around the corner...
Didn't quite work out that way.
Playoff game report - TFC on a cold Wednesday night in front of 21K, smallest crowd of the season but almost completely made up of the long time faithful. Loud, smokey, and boisterous ending in a glorious 3-1 win. Team played with more commitment then I've ever seen - heck, Giovinco had more tackles then he had almost the whole of the season.
Onto play the Man City B team tomorrow night. Two teams who think offence first. First leg matches tend to be low scoring affairs but TFC didn't approach it that way in the Voyageurs (Canadian Cup).
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
These days people seem to be taking offense at so many things and are so intolerant of other views that I found it quite refreshing to read this story about A German Team that not only was able to take a joke, but joined in on it!
I kind of want one of those scarves myself--and I'm a Kaiserslautern fan!
-------------------- "We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
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Posted
The Rapids are through on another gritty ugly grind it out with hard tackles and win 1-0 victory over L.A. It actually took penalties, since it was a two-leg tie, but that's when it pays to have the greatest American goalie of all time on your team. On to the Conference Finals!
-------------------- "I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
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Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
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Posted
Big match on the international front tonight, as the USA hosts Mexico in the first game of the Hexagonal WC qualification tournament. Both teams are likely to end up in Russia in 2018, but you don't want to drop games at home, especially to a rival.
In North America, we have a tradition of "CONCACAF Gamesmanship." Fans and confederations go out of their way to make road trips as difficult as possible for the visiting team, from the moment they show up in country until the end of the game. Crappy hotels, fans blocking bus access to stadiums, nasty and personal chanting, the whole nine yards. It's why road trips against relatively middling teams like Guatemala and Honduras can be beasts.
For years, we in the USA pretended that we were above this. Until they realized that we should always schedule games against Mexico in cities with smallish Mexican populations, to ensure true home field advantage. So it's become a tradition to play this one in Columbus, Ohio, where the USA has a string of 2-0 wins over Mexico. It's known as "Dos a Zero".
Given tensions in the country at this moment, I would accept Dos a Uno (2-1) this time around.
-------------------- "I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
...Cue jokes about Mexicans curling one around the American wall...
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
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Posted
Yeah, that wasn't quite the 2-1 I was hoping for. Now I just hope Tim Howard's injury won't keep him out against Seattle next week.
-------------------- "I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
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Timothy the Obscure
Mostly Friendly
# 292
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Posted
And Klinsmann's outa here--about time. I'd be happy with Arena or Bradley coming back, though I think we have a lot of good coaches in the US. I think Caleb Porter would be a good choice, though I want to keep him in Portland for a while...
-------------------- When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. - C. P. Snow
Posts: 6114 | From: PDX | Registered: May 2001
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
Playoff football, eh?
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Og: Thread Killer: Playoff football, eh?
Do you mean playoff football where they don't know the correct dimensions for the field?
-------------------- "We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
Yes, the rumour has it the Montreal Impact staff gave the dimensions in metres and the Big Owe staff put it down in yards - it was down like that for 5 days but as nobody looked at the field from on high, it didn't get noticed until the ref paced it off. Complete farce.
BUT, that game was well...woof. 61K, loud as stink, astro turf out of the early 90's playing right into Montreal's speed demon ways. Go up 3-0, TFC look dead and buried and then...boom...tactical adjustment pulls IMFC's 3 DM's out of shape and 2 away goals.
Now TFC have to win at home but that is certainly better then having to score 4.
I look forward to minus 3 with the wind off the lake freezing my butt off with 36K other people - should be great fun.
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
Never been in a stadium where the concrete sections bounced before.
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Would that I had found the schedule yesterday - 5-0 not something Spurs find everyday!
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Sir Kevin: Would that I had found the schedule yesterday - 5-0 not something Spurs find everyday!
From what I saw Swansea were lucky to get nil. Spurs could have had ten and the match should have been stopped as "no contest" after an hour.
-------------------- "He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Odd that the Spurs fan pipes up this week, not last.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
I'm onto of the world! Looking forward to taking over first place in the league this weekend.
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
How has the club of Sir Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton come so low?
OK, they are iconic figures and Charlton the first that comes to mind amongst a whole crop of gifted players, many of whom were cut down very early, but the sense of entitlement that grew under Sir Alex Ferguson (a great man in many other ways) and which was typified by Roy Keane's behaviour towards referees has found a new peak (or plumbed new depths) under Jose Mourinho's latest outburst.
I'll be supporting the Redshite against them from now on, something I thought I'd never do.
-------------------- "He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Oh come on. Surely you can't support Liverpool against anybody??!!
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Imaginary Friend: Oh come on. Surely you can't support Liverpool against anybody??!!
That's what I always thought, but right now I do. I don't feel good about it you understand, rather like the Neil Hamilton v Mohammed Fayed court case from years ago.
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
I presume you were still wishing good things on Wolves yesterday though?
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Imaginary Friend: I presume you were still wishing good things on Wolves yesterday though?
I was and I am still congratulating them! Congratulations to Lincoln City and Sutton United on beating league opposition rated far higher.
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
God willing I shan't be missing any more winning four-nil Spurs matches due to faults in the television schedules!
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
There's about a foot of snow outside right now. The new season starts in less then a month. These two things are kinda hard to keep in balance.
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
I have nothing to say here that could be printed in a family website that could be printed here!
What if my Tottenham side showed up in their snappy white and blue uniforms but refused to play? Did they flush the match down the drain? Did they take bribes?
I was looking forward to another win, like the high-scoring ones I missed.
My beer stein of choice which was my favourite and held two pints was relegated to a 12-ounce glass bearing the figure of Donald Duck!z
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Leicester have sacked Claudio Ranieri. I guess it was kinda inevitable, but I find it quite sad all the same. Last year was a glorious fluke. Leicester should probably be in the relegation scrap, so this season has just been regression to the mean. And he gets the boot for it. Poor guy.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Dunno if we've been numerically eliminated from first place or not....
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Still twelve games to go, so there's 36 points to play for. Our lead is currently 10 points, so it's certainly not mathematically certain.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
How about Son's hat trick yesterday?
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Am I the only Premier League supporter here who has seen the gorgeous and exciting new stadium nearing completion at White Hart Lane? There are all sorts of interactive features on the web site.
The multi-purpose tour de force is nearing completion and should be all sorted before the end of next year. I want a flat down the road apiece!
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Well, the FA Cup semi final between Tottenham and Chelsea was a game and a half. In London parlance, we mugged them right off!
Matić with an archetypal "thunderbastard" to win the game, and the Spurs end emptying with ten minutes still to play were glorious sights to behold! Well worth catching the highlights, if you can.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
Last season, in early March it was announced that if Leeds failed to make the play offs then season tickets would be refunded.
Form a nice queue at ElLand Road.
-------------------- Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Imaginary Friend: Well, the FA Cup semi final between Tottenham and Chelsea was a game and a half.
Not so fast! Let's see if you're still smirking on Sunday!
-------------------- If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Well, there is a mathematical probability of exactly zero that you'll be ahead of us by the end of Sunday, so I think I'll be alright.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
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Posted
A great final north London derby at White Hart Lane. We now have an insurmountable lead over Arse&all, and when you look at a combined league from the last two seasons, Spurs have been far and away consistently the best team in the Premiership.
-------------------- I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it. Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile
Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Do they give out a trophy for that?
It's kinda odd how, as Tottenham climb to ascendancy in North London, they are also taking over the Gooners' habits of defining meaningless metrics by which they prove they are the best. No more 'fourth place trophy' for Arsenal, but apparently Spurs have won the 'consistently the best over two seasons' cup.
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
...And Tottenham have Spursed it up again.
In fairness, it was a bit late this year, but did anyone ever seriously doubt that it was coming at some point?
-------------------- "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Ariston
Insane Unicorn
# 10894
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Posted
It's an oddly satisfying and unexpected thing to see the counter reset.
-------------------- “Therefore, let it be explained that nowhere are the proprieties quite so strictly enforced as in men’s colleges that invite young women guests, especially over-night visitors in the fraternity houses.” Emily Post, 1937.
Posts: 6849 | From: The People's Republic of Balcones | Registered: Jan 2006
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
I was too bust gloating elsewhere, that I forgot about this thread. Watch out, Huddersfield Town are coming.
I hope they change the away shirt for next season, there's no evidence of any being worn round here.
-------------------- Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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