It'll be interesting seeing what he does in the transfer window. Not just players coming in. El Symbols knows most about Bayern's individual players and how they're set up but Pep's bound to sacrifice at least one big name as he tries to stamp his identity on the club. I think Robben might go. He's the one midfielder there that I really can't see fitting into a stereotypical Guardiola set up.

good call. i wonder if he'll try to lure away any of his old players

Something that's interesting about that, I think, is that if you look at both teams over the last coupje of seasons, I'm not convinced Barcelona have necessarily been better than Bayern and where I think we've already seen the best of this Barcelona team, I still think Bayern can get better. And we shouldn't forget that under Heynckes last season they finished ahead of Pep's Barcelona in the CL. And Barcelona never even won La Liga that season. On paper, based on recent form, anyway, this is a bit of a step backwards for Bayern.

I AM FUCKING PISSED OFF

fucking comcast (cable co.) dropped goltv (channel) which carries the bundesliga

so that it could show the channel that carries la liga matches

FUCK THEM

i was looking forward to the restart of the matches this saturday

Major bummer. Although in the UK we have to make do with a weekly highlights show (and wading through the online press). There's still a stigma towards the Bundesliga here, and German football in general. At least Pep now going there will now hopefully challenge that. It shouldn't take that for it to start to be taken seriously but that's England, I suppose.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21064709

Sigh. Obviously it would be below him to actually apologise for it.

I fecking love Suarez. Who else would have the nerve to actually admit to being a cheat? He's actually right about the English press as well. Gerrard and Michael Owen dived (in the game that launched him to stardom no less) and the press never gives them shit.

This

Cos I'm biased Phil Neville did after his HORRENDOUS dive against Liverpool.

Fair enough. And did his manager come out against him afterwards? No. Cos Phil Neville may be a little rat faced boy. But at least he's English right? Apart from The Guardian and some people in The Telegraph the UK football press is useless.

well i cancelled my cable which is saving me some 50 bucks a months in various fees, so at least that's one good consequence of this shituation.

only problem is where to catch the games this weekend. OH FUCK. will i have to turn to piracy and shitty video streams narrated in german, interrupted at random times by commercials? fuck my life! (first world problems-- yeah)

luckily the fox website streams all the champions league matches so maybe we'll see a german team ride to victory-- w00t! (though i fear juventus & man u)



yeah but you have your love of west ham to keep you entertained


funny thing though, bayern beat pep's ex-team in the CL last year, ha ha ha.

--

ANYWAY, SUAREZ:

it seems to me that he wasn't scolded so much for actually diving than from admitting to his hilarious crimes in a public forum. hilarious crimes which indeed ruin the game, but are nevertheless hilarious. as are his big rabbit teeth. but yea-- scolded from breaking the code of omerta, not for cheating

Um yes he did. He stated how he gave him a massive bollocking about it at halftime and was embarrased by it. And again, yes he did get slated by the press by it.

Hmm. Fair enough, maybe im just too cynical.

Anyway, people seem to think Spurs will beat Man U this weekend. But these people are wrong, because we will lose. Heavily.

Chelsea are apparently due for another snub, this time by Klopp, if they try to get him. Abramovich is now supposed to be looking at Moyes as one of his 'plan B' options. I'd be seriously surprised (and disappointed) if he ends up going there. Chelsea really could be in the shit, especially as Real are also rumoured to be looking at Benitez if, as expected, Mourinho leaves at the end of the season.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-a-plan-B.html

At this rate, there may be just one man left in the frame ...

hA! watched the bayern game in a german-language stream (looked better than the cable transmission actually). i don't understand a word of german but i kept hearing "GARdiola... GARdiola... GARdiola..."
it was a dull match against a shit team but still nice to see robben return from injury.

next, dortmund-bremen... i hear klopp said/will say no to the oligarch? if true, thank fuck for that!

---

ps-- hey, look! chelsea-man city battle it out in the seas!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-St-Barts.html



o, wait. wrong petrodollar prince...

If Sven showed up at Chelsea i would wet myself with happiness.

Haha, totally. Abramovich should admit defeat and appoint himself as the next manager. Then he can sack himself mid season.

Why do the commentators on the Bundesliga highlights show always spoil it by revealing there will be a goal before it is actually scored? Pricks.

It drives me mad when they do that on the Championship highlights show. Although, speaking of pricks, Steve Claridge manages to make that show unwatchable anyway. We live in times of shit punditry.

Villa 1 -0 Bradford City

It looks like theyre gonna wipe the floor with them. I hope they win the cup, i like Lambert and imagine if Stilyan Petrov joined them at Wembley to lift the cup? That'd be REAL pathos and emotion in sport, unlike some people

Some good stuff from Gary Neville last night, again. They should give him his own show. He gets VERY apologetic when criticising Man U players "Im not just sitting here in me ivory tower, ive been there" but he's clearly taken a few hours to prepare his analysis rather than a few minutes.

and now for the good news, Colin Murray is no longer hosting Match of the Day 2!!! YEEEEEES!!! (Sorry for linking to The Sun...)

I don't think he's that bad!

The fucker's just EVERYWHERE. Clearly a sincere fan, but id prefer to have Gaby Logan or James Richardson (i dreamed a dream...).

Mark "Chappers" Chapman isnt much better, he's just as prone to talking like a radio DJ - Its the same reason Jonathan Pearce was an awesome commentator for Capital FM when i was growing up but when you introduce pictures he becomes too intrusive.

there doesnt appear to be any honour in being a radio commentator any more, they all want to be on TV. Five Live has 3 or 4 absolutely fantastic commentators.

1 -1 didnt see that coming. Bullet Header, he was far too strong for the defender

Thank fuck the BBC have seen sense and given Colin Murray the boot. Even his radio stuff is unlistenable. They need to go further though, and get rid of Shearer at MotD, as well as showing the door to Robbie Savage on 606.

I must be the only person who really doesn't like James Richardson. He was great in the 80s on that Football Italia programme but since then I've started to find him insufferably smug. It must be me though, cos everyone I know seems to think he's great.

And yeah, the BBC should break the bank and poach Gary Neville from Sky. Best pundit by a long way.

ITV needs a major shake up, too. How Andy Townsend is still allowed to commentate is a total mystery to me. Is he even capable of saying a sentence without mentioning a player's "engine"? Useless cunt.

Hear Hear

Do you listen to the Guardian's football weekly podcast? Richardson's great on that, gives everyone else ample time to speak and chimes in when a subject he knows alot about (i.e. Serie A) comes up.

Savage on Five Live is dreadful, the worst of the worst. He never discusses tactics because he doesnt understand them, he uses the "Ive been a player so i know" arguement whenever someone disagrees with him (see this weeks 606) and he loves the sound of his own voice. He's the absolute bottom of the barrel.

To be honest, it's that podcast that I'm basing my dislike of him on. I just find him so smug. The only bit of that podcast I really like is when Sid Lowe comes on. The rest of it just seems to be Richardson trying to appear as uninterested as possible. Like I say, maybe it's just me. There's certainly no doubting he knows his stuff and he's a million times less annoying than that Gab Marcotti on the Times podcast. The only podcast I really like these days is The Football Ramble.

Would I be jumping the gun in saying that West Ham aren't gonna come back to win this now?:o

Sullivan's face in my avatar about sums it up.

So UEFA have now officially decided to fuck up the best tournament in football.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...continent-uefa

Just a little Hazard-Ballboy spinoff...

http://www.mousebreaker.com/games/do...llboy/playgame

I know they were talking about it but didn't think they'd actually go through with it.

My one word opinion-silly.

oh, i saw that hazard footage now, that fucking ballboy deserved more than just one kick. the shit some people do to get their 15 minutes!

---

speaking of fuck ups, and the uefa, what do you guys think of this?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle7866445/

in theory, i agree, in practice, i don't know enough

Don't be hating on the Black Lions, we ain't been deep in the Africas Cup for 30 years, but don't trip, we got this ;)

I tend to agree with you. My instinct is that it should be scrapped but I've heard strong arguments both for and against.

@ suchfriends - i haven't been following the african cup. when is the final? i might try to catch that if it's not over yet.

@ demonrail - i thought you liked hazard! if i'm not mistaken, you had recommended that i try to watch him play. but yes, he's the oligarch's cattle and hence your enemy, right?

I think the Final February 10. Unfortunately last night Ethiopia got tossed up by Burkina Faso. So its a MUST WIN against Nigeria and even then, we need Zambia to lose or draw. Either way we're just happy to be here with a young, under-experienced squad and we will be rising in African football soon come ;)

In all seriousness I do, a lot.

@ suchfriends-- oh it's in the group phase! okay. the best ethiopian player i've seen in recent times actually plays for the czech republic, ha ha (well some dude w/ a very ethiopian name).

anyway hm i should sniff around this tournament, they have it up on espn3...

Burkina Faso are freakin awesome! Where the fuck did they come from? I didn't even know there was a country called Burkina Faso. I think Ethiopia can beat Nigeria even though they won't be favourites and Zambia, while better than their position maybe suggests, will struggle against Burkina. Of the countries still trying to qualify, I'm most hoping it's Ethiopia, for the tournament overall, though, I really want the Ivory Coast to win it. But I have to say I'm loving Burkina Faso, wherever the fuck it is.

El Symbols, if you can, watch either Ethiopa's or Zambia's games on Tuesday. Guaranteed epics, I think.