I don't think accusations towards Marseille would stand.

This ain't Bernard Tapie's team anymore (once upon a time, a little before Marseille won the Champions Cup, Marseille bought a couple of oponents of a lesser ranked team, to make sure Marseille players wouldn't be exhausted or saddened by an unexpected loss - but a defender, Jacques Glassman, said he wouldn't take that money, and so on and so forth, it took a while for Marseille to get rid of Tapie).

Lyon...
Well, they won the French title seven times in a row, in all fairness I assume.
Now, it's been a while since they got anything to brag about.
Last year's manager has been sacked, the new one is in his first year of coaching, there's money involved when you play the champions league, and Lyon is no longer the biggest budget in France, since Qatar took over at PSG - while noone took over at Montpellier, who lead with a goalscorer I hadn't heard of three months ago, Olivier Giroud, on a budget that would seem ridiculous.
I'd accept the idea of a cheat here - considering the president's pride (he sacked the manager, he promoted a brand new one), and considering Gomis's previous European game two weeks ago, which I saw, and, boy, he was so poor...

I haven't seen any image of this game; I'd like to.

On the other hand...
Zagreb had lost 4-0 to Ajax and 6-2 to Real...
This is not the best team you'll see this year...

Marseille's winner was a beauty, defenders and keeper tried to prevent it but couldn't.

Bertrand, I look forward to next summer when I can wallow in Engllish misery as France pick our unsubtle midfield apart

So do I.

It would mean we have more than two consistent forward going players.

youre the dark horses of the tournament. Youll avoid Spain til the final by winning the group. I dont think youll win it all though, i reckon the Germans will do it, and they deserve it after the way theyve focused on their young players since the wonderful Germany 1 - 5 England 10 years ago (man that makes me feel old)

It was a pleasant read til you wrote that you didn't think France would win.
As a young boy who saw a drug addict goalkeeper smash a good bloke's face in the semis in 1982 and walk away with it, it might be as odd too to wish Germany the best.
They've had a brilliant team since they waved Ballack bye bye, and I wish they grab the title (Netherlands were too horrid in the World Cup, so I'll pout).

In 1998, I couldn't figure France winning.
Before the first game, I used to go through the stages, thinking: ok, they'll go through that one, get over the next trap, and reach the semis... All of a sudden, it was a stupid unetterable hope they'll reach the finals... but I wouldn't even dare making any bet (apart from wishing striker Dugarry - how he was loathed in here, that year, you'll be surprised - to become the tournament top scorer, with 5 goals scored, including an own goal).

Perhaps England...
Well...
Forget it, it's England.

France remind me of Mario Balotelli: obviously very good but prone to self destruct in the most spectacular of ways. As opposed to say Italy, who are as boring when they implode as when they succeed.

I tip Germany to win the Euros. I don't think they're as good as Spain but possibly more consistent and less likely to get caught by a sucker punch. I've not seen any of Holland's games since the World Cup final but the quality of their squad makes them obvious contenders, too.

I quite like how, since the World Cup, England's chances in the Euros have been played down by our media. Even with everyone fit and playing well there seems to be a broad consensus that our squad simply isn't good enough to win it. To me, they're neither as bad as some of their fiercest critics would have us believe, or as good as the few rose tinted fans that're left, still insist. Personally I'd be happy if we get to the Semis, which I think is the most we can reasonably expect. We still seem like only half a side, with a majority of our once key players either past their best (Lampard, Cole, Terry, Gerrard, Ferdinand) or unpredictable (Rooney). What's left are some potentially very good young players (Richards (if Capello even selects him), Jones, Young, Sturridge, Baines) who likely won't reach their full potential until maybe the next World Cup - without even then being serious world beaters. Of the rest, only Scott Parker seems at the peek of his abilities right now, but even he lacks real big game experience.

i'm definitley excited by Wiltshire, Jones, Sturridge, Walcott (although i dont know why), and Rooney can't be written off. I'm even still a fan of Gerrard although we'll wait to see how he returns from injury. Ashley Young on his day and i seem to be the only person who really really really like James Milner?

I agree about Wiltshire and Jones. I do wonder about Walcott, though. He's definitely improved this season but I just don't think he'll ever be the player we once hoped he'd become (he reminds me of Joe Cole, in that sense).

Rooney can't be written off, you're right, but I do think his temperament remains a problem. His skill and workrate is unquestionable but there's always that feeling that when the pressure's most on him, he crumbles and loses his temper. And while it's a controversial thing to say, I do think England play better without him. The problem is that we really don't have any other truly world class forwards waiting to replace him (or even work alongside him) right now. The fact that Darren Bent is even considered shows just how bad things are in that department.

true, but i think with Welbeck and Sturridge playing better and better i doubt he'll be on the radar for long. Same goes for Defoe and Crouch etc. I'll be really supprised (and dissapointed) if they ever play for England again

Two young talented players popping up at the same time, feeding off each other's progress, that'd be a good thing.

I haven't seen many games with Welbeck, and find Sturridge quite good.

So far Sturridge seems to be a victim of Andres Villas Boas having to constantly shuffle his team to try and find the best partnership to get Torres scoring again. It's obvious AVB would rather ditch Torres and use Sturridge in a more settled formation but I imagine part of AVB's contract was to ensure Torres got back to form.

...which will never happen, let's face it.

Go Falcons!

Go Ravens!!

poor raiders..

(oh wait, wrong futbol ;) )

Mercy please

"bitch about shit that's pissing you off"

http://sonicyouth.com/gossip/showpos...postcount=1528

so, Patrice Evra.
My initial instinct is to call him a liar, as he has previous history (i think 2 other unfounded accusations have been logged by him over the years) and no one else heard the incident.
But to be honest it doesn't matter if no one else heard it and it doesn't matter what Evra's history is. if Suarez used racist language he deserves an 8 match ban.
I just hope similiar punishments are issued to John Terry by the FA if he is also found guilty.

But do i believe Suarez is racist? No.
But i have no idea why i think that, except for my prior feelings about Evra

An insidious, racist in itself precedent has been set by black players bearing childish grudges (niggers, if you're racist, according to Guardianistas.). Knowing the current political climate i.e the social cancer known as political correctness, they'll bullshit and play the race card in the hope decent white players get banned, giving the team they play for shorter odds of winning a match in the future. It's that simple. The black players, or niggers (banned for 8 matches!) should be banned themselves for disreputable, twisted, corruption of the F.A rules and for sullying the characters of reputable players with cowardly lies.

It looks like Suarez was found guilty of using racist language which, you're right, doesn't necessarily make him a racist but then why use such terms if you aren't? As far as I know, Suarez has admitted calling Evra a 'negrito', but claims it isn't in itself a racist word, although I fail to see how he could use it against an opposition member in a positive sense. But then Evra is also supposed to have said something racist to Suarez, so it seems that both are as guilty as one another.

The Terry incident seems less complicated - assuming Ferdinand's claims are true - but the repercussions look likely to be far greater. If he's found guilty he'll almost inevitably be stripped of his England captaincy and may even be barred from representing England altogether. That's no great loss as far as I'm concerned but obviously a big deal for Terry. It might also affect his captaincy at Chelsea. Will Sturridge, etc, accept being captained by a convicted racist? Will they even accept him as a teammate? I know some of Terry's sponsors are already distancing themselves from him and if that extends to club sponsors his place at Chelsea could be really problematic.

Terry's been acting like he's above any kind of criticism for ages now but his team has always defended him because of his 'Mr Chelsea' tag. He even talks about one day wanting to manage them. But if Ferdinand's accusations are found to be true he may find no way back from this one.

By being so pro-active in its stance against racism, the FA have to be seen to be tough on those found guilty of it. I only hope that because of its seriousness, players don't start throwing false allegations around in a bid to get key opposition players banned.

the difference with Terry's case is that its now a criminal one. And the amount of evidence seems to be staggering (as opposed to one man's accusation in the Suarez case)
So on top of any Criminal Charge brought against Terry he would have to receive a similiar if not greater charge by the FA.

The CPS wouldn't bring charges if they weren't 100% they would get a conviction, however i read that the maximum penalty for the crime is a few thousand quid fine (when you earn Terry's money he wont be bothered about that). The FA need to impose a similiar length ban and fine on top of stripping his captaincy

It's only become a criminal case because Anton Ferdinand has dug himself into such a deep, gaping hole over the issue by opportunistically, insidiously and grudgingly playing the race card against a far superior white player from a far superior club, who was beating Anton's team at the time, that he's had to play along with his cowardly bullshit out of a sheer desperate act to deflect the fact he fraudulently used and abused the current political climate, that's obscenely obsessed with political correctness, to keep his integrity intact, sacrificing an innocent person's integrity in the process. It's Anton Ferdinand who has commited the criminal act.

i think its clear for everyone to see who called who a black cunt

This is a time when a player like El Hadj Diouf can tell opponents on the pitch he's gonna rape their kids and simply get earmarked as 'a bit of a bad boy'. So in a way, KIS is right: Terry is likely to be a victim of the FA's arguably disproportionate paranoia about racism, but Terry isn't stupid; he knows that he works in that environment and has even been pro-active in promoting it. Personally I don't think Terry is any more racist than most other footballers but his job, especially as England captain, makes him a figurehead for the English game and all that it's meant to stand for - which currently includes a having a zero tolerance on any racist action. Terry has never hesitated in supporting the 'Kick it Out' campaign in the past so has to be prepared to suffer the consequences when his actions work against it.

SUNDERLAND!

that was the best last minute goal ive seen since Andres Iniesta for Barca against Chelsea in 2009. I was out of my seat.

How stupid are you feeling? With 316 yards and an average of 31 yards a pass, and Denver-franchise post-season passer rating record of 126.4 in a team with quite a storied QB history, I'd say Tebow finally proved himself enough eh?

As if the five fourth quarter come-from-behind wins, three overtime wins weren't enough he went and set NFL record setting OT playoff win in 11 seconds ;)

Denver's secret, the NFL's best rush combined with superhuman stamina, those guys are simply incredible athletes, their strategy is to win by attrition, just keep hanging and hanging until the other team runs out of gas, and it works. All those rushing drive and rushing drive beat up the opposing defense, and further since Tebow himself can either scramble and run for 20 yards himself or scramble and get off a decent pass, the opposing defense has to literally watch EVERY single option including the QB, something perhaps only matched by the scrambling of Tony Romo (when he is playing as "good Romo" that is)..

Denver didn't win my magic or miracles, it was by their unique talent.

Broncos came through where the equally and surprisingly talented Lions couldn't, Lions mistake, not capitalizing on their turnover possessions and some clutch choking on defense. Watch out for them next season yo, they will be like the OKC Thunder in the NBA, coming from the bottom to the top in a few seasons

Could have done with a 2nd to be honest but not too bad

Fucking bollocks. So thats clyne, zaha, and scanell off to the prem then.

As has been talked about before. Any team struggling to make their way outside of the top Prem ones (and really only Man City and Chelsea) find it impossible to sustain a team because the moment they land a decent player or even manager, the big names just offer them silly contracts. Until a contract means what it says, it'll just carry on. They should make it so that no player can play for another club for the duration of their contract so long as the team they're signed for fulfills its side of that contract. What's the point in a team like Leeds or West Ham offering long term contracts to a potential star player when the moment a rich club notices them, they simply move on?

Only benefit of getting them on a longterm contract is the selling club can up the price

Yeah. I just wish some rule could be made that stopped the richest clubs using any teams below them as simple feeder clubs.

Anyway, big rumours that Mourinho will leave Real Madrid and return to the Prem next season. But where to? Man City? Chelsea????

I have a funny feeling he will come to Spurs; Harry leaves to be England boss and Jose comes in his place. I dont want that to happen unless he's learned a few lessons from the Madrid experience (i.e. let your players play and dont force them to be rigid and defensive as a first resort).

Hmm, hadn't thought of that option. I just wonder if they could afford the probably massive transfer budget he'd demand and, as you say, the style of football would definitely change. I'm not a Spurs fan but have to admit they've played the most attractive football I've seen so far this season. But ultimately, I just don't think they have enough money. Man City could obviously afford him and Mancini's future may depend on winning the Prem. Chelsea would be ideal, considering AVB's less than brilliant season so far, but would Mourinho and Abramovich ever bury the hatchet? Man Utd is an even more obvious contender and Mourinho's perhaps the only manager out there with the arrogance to take over from Fergie, but it looks like he's staying put for the next few seasons. The only other one is Liverpool but I'm not sure that even they have enough money or are able to see through the whole King Kenny thing enough to want to replace him.

Well the FA would doubtless have to buy him out of his contract which would cost a fair amount (something the FA seems happy to do no matter what the cost), plus the board would use the arrival of Mourinho as something to convince Bale Modric and RVDV of their ambition. Why would our best players leave if a) We're in the champions league next season which we should be and b) we have a big name manager coming in. Not losing Bale and Modric over the summer is more important than signing any new players and getting Jose Mourinho in might be what swings it for them both to stay.

Although he's now at PSG, I can't see Ancelotti being there more than a season and he'd be a great replacement for Redknapp, assuming he leaves. Also, David Moyes, who I rate really highly and who surely can't stay at Everton that much longer.

Ii'd read it would be city unless they win the prem this year but spurs are a good shout. arsenal should be loooking for a new manager in my opinion

City definitely looks the most likely. But the more I think about it, the more possible a Mourinho move to Spurs starts to sound. He wants to return to the prem. Man U has Ferguson until he resigns or dies and it's unlikely the board would choose him anyway, same with Arsenal's board if Wenger goes. He supposedly dislikes Liverpool as a club and hell never return to Chelsea. So if City carry on with Mancini, that only realistically leaves Spurs. But I still don't think they're wealthy enough for him. I think he will return to the prem, but only when he knows the Man City job is his.

a lot of criticism over De Gea at the moment but i think you have to look at the utd defense too. The 2 goals at the weekend were pretty shocking. No Defender even attempted to jump to get a head on the corner for Agger's and Kuyt had so much space it's unbelievable!
For so long they've relied on Ferdinand and Vidic, now they're playing Smalling (who is a very good prospect but does not have enough experience for me) and Johnny Evans who is shocking whever he plays
De Gea isn't exactly filling anyone with confidence but i think the whole utd defense needs to pick it up

Totally agree. At this stage De Gea has to be seen as a massive lapse of judgement on Fergie's part but you're right, the defence in front of him is shocking. Smalling and Jones look like they'll get there soon enough but I don't rate Evra that highly and, as you say, Evans is simply dreadful. Ferdinand is clearly coming to the end of his career but Vidic's injury has been a massive loss. Although, with the amount of red cards referees have been showing for the barest hint of a tackle, you have to wonder if he would've stayed on the pitch long enough to make a difference.

transfer deadline day!

pretty lacklustre so far though...

The only real intrigue seems to be whether Tevez will still be a Man City player come tomorrow

Cissé at QPR thanks to Mark Hughes who's always done quite well.
That looks good.