Champions League 2003/2004

[Fastshow]

Only a fool would consider them done this year.

Thanks for adding substance to my quote, Vinny.

Christ, what a treat, TTP's two Rhodes Scholars both coming back from their Uxbridge-set adventures on the same day........... must have been sharing the same Kenmar bus.

 

[dazza]

Got this from the Spurs BBC messageboard:

"CHOOSE ARSENAL. CHOOSE OVERBEARING ARROGANCE. CHOOSE SYSTEMATIC DIRTY PLAY AND CALL IT "COMPETITIVENESS". CHOOSE THE MOST STAGED, CONTRIVED, UP-YOUR-OWN-ARSES GOAL CELEBRATIONS EVER WITNESSED. CHOOSE HAVING THE UGLIEST MAN ON EARTH AS YOUR CENTRE-BACK AND THE SECOND UGLIEST AS YOUR MANAGER. CHOOSE WINNING TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ELEVEN SEASONS AND ACTING LIKE YOU'VE WON SEVEN IN NINE. CHOOSE DRAWING 99% OF YOUR FANBASE FROM THE RANKS OF THE SUBURBAN ENGLISH MIDDLE CLASSES. CHOOSE PATRICK VIEIRA WHINGING ABOUT HAVING TO PLAY TOO MUCH FOOTBALL EVEN THOUGH HE GETS TEN GAMES' REST EVERY SEASON DUE TO SUSPENSIONS. CHOOSE PAYING £9 MILLION FOR FRANCIS JEFFERS. CHOOSE BEING "THE BANK OF ENGLAND CLUB". CHOOSE DENNIS BERGKAMP AND HIS CAREFULLY-TIMED ELBOWS INTO THE SIDE OF THE HEAD. CHOOSE DELIBERATELY DISRESPECTING AND BELITTLING THE OTHER TEAM BY PLAYING KEEPY-UPPY IN THEIR HALF WITH A FEW MINUTES TO GO. CHOOSE FORCING MERCHANDISE VENDORS OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE THEY MIGHT DEPRIVE YOU OF A COUPLE OF HUNDRED QUID ON MATCH DAYS. CHOOSE FANCYING YOURSELVES AS BETTER THAN REAL MADRID, THEN HAVING AUXERRE RUN RINGS AROUND YOU AT HOME. CHOOSE SOL CAMPBELL CONTINUALLY TRIPPING OVER HIMSELF. CHOOSE TURNING THE SPORTS SECTION OF THE OBSERVER INTO A GUNNERS FANZINE. CHOOSE GETTING AWAY WITH LIGHT OR DELAYED PUNISHMENTS AT FA DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS BECAUSE YOU'VE HAD EVERY POSSIBLE STRING PULLED BY DAVID DEIN. CHOOSE A PERSECUTION COMPLEX NONETHELESS AND NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT IT. CHOOSE GAMESMANSHIP. CHOOSE EMBARRASSING YOURSELVES IN A RENAULT "VA-VA-VOOM" AD AND THEN DISGRACING YOURSELVES FURTHER AT THE WORLD CUP FINALS. CHOOSE DAVID SEAMAN AND HIS PUBLIC MID-LIFE CRISIS. CHOOSE WATCHING AN OPPONENT MISS A LAST-MINUTE PENALTY AGAINST YOU, THEN RUNNING AFTER HIM AND JEERING HIM. CHOOSE GEORGE GRAHAM GRINDING HIS WAY TO THE DULLEST CHAMPIONSHIP WIN OF ALL TIME. CHOOSE STEPPING FORWARD IN A FOUR-MAN LINE WITH YOUR RIGHT HANDS ALL RAISED IN THE AIR, THEN SCREAMING ABUSE AT THE LINESMAN WHEN HE HAS THE AUDACITY TO KEEP HIS FLAG DOWN. CHOOSE TO SEE YOURSELVES AS ONE OF THE GIANTS OF CONTINENTAL FOOTBALL WHEN YOU'VE NEVER EVEN REACHED A EUROPEAN CUP SEMI-FINAL IN YOUR ENTIRE HISTORY. AND WONT THIS YEAR EITHER! CHOOSE PICKING RAY PARLOUR FOR OVER A DECADE. CHOOSE HAVING THE QUIETEST STADIUM IN THE WORLD ("THE LIBRARY") AS YOUR HOME GROUND, AND THEN HAVING THE CHEEK TO SLAG THE BLUES ABOUT THEIR FANS. CHOOSE HAVING NICK HORNBY AS THE MOUTHPIECE OF YOUR SUPPORTERS. CHOOSE MAKING UMPTEEN LISTS OF REASONS WHY ARSENAL ARE SO GREAT, AND THEN ADMITTING YOU DIDN'T BOTHER FOLLOWING THEM FOR A FEW YEARS IN THE 1980S WHEN THEY WERE GETTING SH!TE RESULTS. CHOOSE TONY ADAMS COMING OUT WITH HIS USUAL DREARY "I AM A RECOVERING ADDICT" SPIEL EVERY TIME A PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALLER BLOTS HIS COPY-BOOK. CHOOSE PRETENDING THAT FIVE OR SIX YEARS OF PLAYING IN A WATCHABLE FASHION MAKES UP FOR INFLICTING OVER A CENTURY OF ULTRA-DEFENSIVE DOGSHITE ON ENGLISH FOOTBALL WATCHERS. CHOOSE IGOR STEPANOVS, NELSON VIVAS, KANU, PASCAL CYGAN, DAVOR SUKER, GILLES GRIMANDI, DAVID GRONDIN, REMI GARDE, KABA DIAWARA, JUNICHI INAMOTO, JEREMIE ALIADIERE, OLEG LUZHNY, LUIS BOA MORTE, RICHARD WRIGHT, STEFAN MALZ, CHRISTOPHER WREH, AND ALL THE OTHER TURKEYS THAT NOBODY EVER MENTIONS WHEN CREAMING THEMSELVES ABOUT HOW GREAT WENGER IS IN THE TRANSFER MARKET. CHOOSE 58 RED CARDS IN SEVEN YEARS. CHOOSE LYING TO THE MEDIA THAT YOU DIDN'T SEE A SINGLE ONE OF THE INCIDENTS THAT CAUSED ALL THESE RED CARDS. CHOOSE BEING A BUNCH OF SMUG, SELF-REGARDING W@/KERS WHO ARE WELL ON THEIR WAY TO BEING EVEN MORE UNPOPULAR THAN MAN U IN LESS THAN HALF THE TIME. CHOOSE ARSENAL

 

[termatofylakas]

Milan just got shite kicked all over the field today...Cafu the man who supposedly was brought in to help them repeat was just horrible today and Dida sucked like usual...it looks like Chelsea will take it if they play the way they did in the second half yesterday

 

[Skip]

AC Milan's bed shitting

WTF!!?

I can't believe what just happened.

Regs, looks like I'm going to have to change my avatar up soon.

 

[zenga]

FT Deportivo (Spa) 4 - 0 AC Milan (Ita)

FT Lyon (Fra) 2 - 2 FC Porto (Por)


Semi is believe not 100 % sure.

Chelsea v Monaco
Deport v Porto

All the BIG teams OUT!!!!!

 

[Regs]

Didn't Porto win the "b" cup last year?

If so, what an astounding last 12 months for them!!!!!

~Regs.

 

[Walks]

Is it possible to hate a team more than Arsenal ??

Didn't Porto win the "b" cup last year?

Incredibly enough, they also half their squad competing at the 3 m Springboard event at the next Olympic games

Cnuts the lot of 'em ........

 

[BlazeArmy]

Re: Blaze

Cantona's alive ya daft sod!

I'm aware of that. He lives outside Marseilles I believe.
i have a Cantona (hmmm, how do i say this without sounding gay) action figure(that didn't work) that is in the grey away strip from a few years back. We call it the ghost.

 

[steve1234]

nice recovery

blaze I will see you one of these upcoming thursday nights, maybe you should put ghost in the back of the net for luck.

 

[Vinny]

Chelsea are never going to have this type or opportunity in the Champions League again with all these 'big clubs' out ... it will be nice with some other English side winning the Champions League in recent times besides ManUtd ....


we'll see what 'Mr England' has to say about this though because he knows everything about European football since hes living there/from there or whatever .. the dumb prick

 

[steve1234]

Uncanny resemblence

Is it just me or could these two have been seperated at birth.

 

[Captain Shamrock]

What's more disturbing, Steve, is the fact I haven't met you to give you the money. And of course the fact that you have a naked picture of the lad who resembles the coach......

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Unlucky, Kreskin......

AC will be in the final, they're simply too good for either Porto or Lyon. An AC-Arsenal final would be a footballing extravaganza.

Yes, they might be too good for Porto or Lyon, but apparently not for Deportivo...... Quite an amazing Champions League this year. It's all about angles.......

 

[BlazeArmy]

Re: nice recovery

blaze I will see you one of these upcoming thursday nights, maybe you should put ghost in the back of the net for luck.

Cheer Steve. Unfortunately I'm not playing the Ladner over-whatever the hell it is league anymore. The team i played for folded or actuallly went to play in the over 40 leage and poor old me not being 30 yet , will be playing in the RRSL on thursdays this year.

 

[steve1234]

Captain.

A guy who resembles the coach, come on it's all relative.

 

[Walks]

Just tracking the Monaco / Chelski game through Soccernet.

1-1 at half.

3-1 Monaco with 3 minutes of injury time to be played.

Incidentally, Zikos was sent off in the 53rd minute for Monaco and they've since responded by banging in two with 10 men .......

Vinny I'm sure is well pleased. Mind you, I heard he was a Millwall supporter now

 

[Vinny]

typical bloody chelsea - since that win at Highbury they have been shite. all 3 goals from Monaco could have easily been prevented. i hope damien duff is back in form for the 2nd leg to give them some chance of coming back to win ... scott parker was by far the worst buy for claudio ranieri


lets just hope those stories about the possible new president of Real Madrid are true - that he wants Beckham out. chelsea have been struggling on the right side all season

 

[Fastshow]

Wow, based on that cutting-edge and insightful commentary, poor old Vinny might have a future working for ITV. I hear they're hiring..........

Atkinson's racist soccer jibe

By Patrick Sawer, Evening Standard

22 April 2004

Black footballers and race campaigners today reacted with anger and dismay at racist comments by Ron Atkinson, one of the game's best-known pundits.

Atkinson, 65, resigned from ITV Sport last night after calling Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly a "f***ing lazy thick n*****" following Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The comments came in what Atkinson assumed was an off-air conversation with fellow commentator Clive Tyldesley. But several countries in the Middle East, including Egypt and Dubai, were still receiving the ITV feed and relayed the comments in full.



Atkinson offered his immediate resignation, saying: "I made a stupid mistake which I regret left me no option but to resign. I can't believe I did it. It was just a moment of stupidity."

The comments surprised many in football, since Atkinson was widely regarded as having contributed to the progress of black players in an era when casual racism was rife. Former Chelsea and Celtic star Paul Elliott today spoke of his shock at Atkinson's words. He said: "I think it's inexcusable, even more so considering he has made such a positive contribution to development of black players in the Seventies."

Elliott said the last time he saw Atkinson was, ironically, at an anti-racist "Kick It Out" event four months ago celebrating 10 years of work to stamp out bigotry in football. However, Elliott added that despite his "distinguished record", Atkinson's decision to resign was correct because racism is still present in the game.

Piara Powar, the Kick It Out director, said he was not surprised the commentator had quit. "It is always disappointing to hear someone of his stature make that type of comment. I have to say, regardless of his record, that sort of terminology is just simply out of bounds." However, Mr Powar stressed that it was important to acknowledge that Atkinson had a good record of working with black players during his time as manager of Aston Villa.

A spokeswoman for the Commission for Racial Equality said: "It is disappointing that someone in a position such as his should make those comments, but he has resigned - he has done the right thing."

Atkinson also writes a weekly football column for The Guardian. In a statement, the newspaper said: "We take this matter extremely seriously and will be talking to Ron Atkinson at the earliest opportunity."

The former Premiership manager, whose contract with ITV was worth £200,000 a year, was full of remorse. He was insistent that his track record, particularly in introducing black players while manager at West Bromwich Albion, proved that he was not racist. At a time when fans threw bananas at black players and the National Front recruited on the terraces, Atkinson signed Brendan Batson, Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis, saying: "They could be yellow or purple and have two heads as long as they can play."

Today Batson, now deputy director of the players' union the PFA, said: "I am very disappointed that someone who was at the forefront of allowing blacks to prove themselves in football could make a remark like that, but you cannot say those sorts of things."

A spokesman for ITV Sport said there was little option but to accept Atkinson's resignation, adding: "It was a regrettable lapse by a respected and experienced broadcaster."

Had he said, 'That black French twat Claude Makele is a diving cheat,' every football-lover in the world would have agreed.........

 

[Fastshow]

If anyone can think of two more overrated players plying their questionable trade in top-flight football than Jesper Gronkaer and Joe Cole please send your suggestions through to: Mr. R. Abromovich, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, Chelsea. I'm sure he'll buy them immediately.

Any post sent through to C. Rainieri will be returned, 'addressee unknown'.

What a shower of shite. Had it, Lampard tired, whoops, there it goes..... At least it's still possible for Joe Cole to live up to his 'next Gazza' tag though I shouldn't have thought anyone as rubbish as him could even get kaylied and spunk all his wonga on hookers and coke the way Gazza could with such panache.

Can't wait to watch the Monaco-Porto final, should be a classic......

 

[Vinny]

chelsea definitly shite the bed being 2-0 up. gronkjaer's goal was almost like the last match of the season v liverpool ... a lucky curler, for a winger he doesnt use his speed ever, they say he can run 100m in 10s or something, doesnt seem like it. Lampard played bloody awful besides his goal ..... but hes keeping up his shitty play in Europe. thats probably it for Ranieri .... i doubt chelsea will have that easy of a shot at the Champions League ever again.