The Football Thread 2009/10

[Adam Pollard]

Done my yearly 'What games will I be going to this season'. Took 1 hour 30 mins.

I manually typed in EVERY Leeds and Yeovil fixture into the calendar on my phone, that took a while!

Over the past few seasons I've not really planned ahead too much when it comes to deciding when I'm going to go to Leeds games - the most recent trip I made to Elland Road was conceived just four days before the game, whilst looking at the fixtures for the weekend when watching Leeds at Leyton Orient on a Tuesday night it suddenly dawned on me that on that weekend Yeovil's home game was on the Friday night. Hating empty Saturday's, I decided "strawberry float it, let's do this."

Probably one of the most foolish things I've done to be fair; since I did that trip on my own for the first time, it's proven to myself that it's a piece of piss, and thus I have NO EXCUSES for not driving there on me own more often!

For the most part, Yeovil home games are definates, unless they clash with a Leeds fixture I'm likely to do. At least with this season's reduced Season Ticket price (£240), it doesn't matter so much financially if I do miss more games than usual; since promotion to the Football League I've missed just three league games at Huish Park. Three missed home games in six seasons ain't bad going!

Anyway, deffo Leeds fixtures:

Wycombe A (15th Aug)
Charlton H (3rd Oct)
Norwich H (17th Oct) - miss Yeovil v Carlisle
Yeovil H (31 Oct)
Swindon A (14 Nov)
Huddersfield H (5 Dec)
Southampton H (19 Dec)
Exeter A (16 Jan)
Southampton A (13 Mar)
Norwich A (27 Mar)
Yeovil A (5 Apr)
Charlton A (1 May)

That's how it stands at the moment anyway, before everybody starts switching dates. I'd go to Bristol Rovers again to watch Leeds, but it clashes with Yeovil's home game against Brighton, and thus an UNMISSABLE chance to air some more abuse at Russell Slade.

[Nook29]

I need to be on the Arsenal list.

[St Nick]

Done my yearly 'What games will I be going to this season'. Took 1 hour 30 mins.

I manually typed in EVERY Leeds and Yeovil fixture into the calendar on my phone, that took a while!

Over the past few seasons I've not really planned ahead too much when it comes to deciding when I'm going to go to Leeds games - the most recent trip I made to Elland Road was conceived just four days before the game, whilst looking at the fixtures for the weekend when watching Leeds at Leyton Orient on a Tuesday night it suddenly dawned on me that on that weekend Yeovil's home game was on the Friday night. Hating empty Saturday's, I decided "strawberry float it, let's do this."

Probably one of the most foolish things I've done to be fair; since I did that trip on my own for the first time, it's proven to myself that it's a piece of piss, and thus I have NO EXCUSES for not driving there on me own more often!

For the most part, Yeovil home games are definates, unless they clash with a Leeds fixture I'm likely to do. At least with this season's reduced Season Ticket price (£240), it doesn't matter so much financially if I do miss more games than usual; since promotion to the Football League I've missed just three league games at Huish Park. Three missed home games in six seasons ain't bad going!

Anyway, deffo Leeds fixtures:

Wycombe A (15th Aug)
Charlton H (3rd Oct)
Norwich H (17th Oct) - miss Yeovil v Carlisle
Yeovil H (31 Oct)
Swindon A (14 Nov)
Huddersfield H (5 Dec)
Southampton H (19 Dec)
Exeter A (16 Jan)
Southampton A (13 Mar)
Norwich A (27 Mar)
Yeovil A (5 Apr)
Charlton A (1 May)

That's how it stands at the moment anyway, before everybody starts switching dates. I'd go to Bristol Rovers again to watch Leeds, but it clashes with Yeovil's home game against Brighton, and thus an UNMISSABLE chance to air some more abuse at Russell Slade.

What do you do with Leeds/Yeovil games? I mean do you sit in the home end for both..or the away end for both? Or the end Yeovil are in etc?

Coventry home games are definite for me (unless I'm playing) but with my season ticket being only £140 (student price) also means I can afford to miss games when I'm playing. A little disappointed with the lack of MK games that I can get to this season, but hopefully some dates may change or I'll have a few games called off meaning I can get to a few more.

So, so happy that both Cov v Newcastle games are on weekdays - especially the away game, can't wait to go there.

[Red Devil]

Villa's shite.

[Red Devil]

So are all 6 of Iraq's defenders.

[The People's ElboReformat]

About strawberry floating time.

[bear]

After my initial joke comment about Ferguson signing Owen, I have decided its actually a sensible idea. If we look at what he did with old Henrik who was pretty much retired, you have to think he can probably get Owen scoring again. He is free, he wont cost much and give him the chance to play Champions League football in the North and he will snap your arm off. It has to be worth a gamble.

Would be a good replacement for Tevez, not like for like in everything they do, but I can see Owen getting important goals like Tevez did...

I wouldn't touch either of them, but wouldn't Ruud VN be a better bet in the ageing goal scorer on the cheap stakes.

Would you not go for Owen because of his injuries?

Yes to RvN (I've been wondering if it's possible he'd return, only...) but what about his falling out with Fergie? And didn't he leave because he didn't like being left out of the first team?

Man Utd should have insisted upon the 80mill for ronaldo we also get a striker free sneijder or Rvn or for a cut price Robben

I would have taken £75m and Higuain, which would have meant we could have used the rest of the funds to get a top class winger (NOT Valencia) and a decent centre midfielder, maybe have negotiated a plan to get van der Vaart or Sneijder if the Dutch exodus is going to happen at Madrid and exercise our buy back clause on Rossi. Two top quality strikers, a great winger and a great centre midfielder for the future with about £30-£40m left.

Are you really valuing Higuain at just £5 million?

[Is this it?]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 043277.stm

Drogba banned for four European games!

Probably justified punishment tbh.

[Parksey]

The fixtures list is a bit of a reality check for all Boro and Newcastle fans, I'd bet. You scan the list looking for big games and none hit you (obviously, that'll change once the season gets underway and you know who you're competing with). I hope this attitude doesn't affect the players though - there are no immediate glamour fixtures outside the two Newcastle ones, perhaps, but even games at home to Doncaster will prove a test in what can be a tough league to get out of.

We can't play as if we don't belong in this division - our performances and points total last year prove we do - and it's not our God given right to get promoted.

However, chances are, this IS the best season to get promoted. We still carry a little bit of PL clout and have an appearance of a big fish in a small pond (relatively speaking, and this will also apply to Newcastle as well). We'll have a bit more money than most of the other clubs, due to the PL fallout and parachute payments, as well as selling our big hitters. However, this effect may only last for a season at best - if we have a mediocre season in the championship then we are suddenly not a dormant PL team but just your average Championship one. We need to get promoted while we still have a whiff of the Premier League about us and are still one of the top two or three clubs in the league (Christ, I haven't said that for a while).

We're favourites only on reputation, mind, and it's ultimately difficult to ascertain how we'll do at this point in time. We've signed no players and sold none on, so I have no idea who'll even line up against Sheffield United. The Blades are surely going to be promotions rivals if we're up there, having narrowly missed a place in the PL in the play off final. They've arguably got more wind under their sails as far as promotion goes, with a squad used to the Championship and who are equipped for another good shot at going one better than last season. As far as Boro are concerned, we're favourites simply by virtue of being a relegated Premier League team, and I have no idea how our team will adapt to the very different style of the Championship.

As a fan, it's an odd experience. I can definitely remember us playing in the second tier of English football before (both in 1998 and in the early 90s under Lennie Lawrence, which formed my formative years as a Boro fan), but this is a bit different. It feels a little alien and odd, to not be noting when we play Man Utd at home, for example.

It feels odd, but not wholly bad, however. I'm not putting unnecessary gloss on relegation, but it does have a refreshing aura around it. We'll get to play different teams and I'll get to travel to different grounds (price put me off in the PL, but there are a few Championship teams like Sheff Utd, Doncaster et al, only about an hour or so away and who will, hopefully, not charge £30 for a ticket).

I didn't really enjoy the PL last year, and that's not just down to Boro's woeful season. The whole league was lethargic, with teams like Villa ultimately not really threatening the Big Four, and teams like us, Newcastle and Hull losing week in, week out and never trying to get out of the bottom lot. As far as quality goes, the league was as poor as I can remember - especially the bottom half of the table, where everyone just kept losing. It was a pain getting relegated, but dropping from the worst PL I can remember made it even worse.

I'll miss the Premier League, but I'm also looking forward to the Championship in a way. Obviously, I still want our visit there to be as short as possible, as I suppose most fans can overlook one season in a lower division and if we get stuck here things will be different. It's a bittersweet pill, but I no longer have to be wholly bothered by the devilish soap opera that spurns from the minds and mouths of fans of the Big Four. It's a bit of a reality check, as getting relegated actually gives you something to moan about, rather than calling for Rafa's head after he only loses two games in the entire season.

I won't get people begrudging us our league status and looking down on us for having the nerve to be a mid-table PL side for over a decade - in fact, we'll be one of the top dogs and the team will, hopefully, reward our fans will more home wins this season. Instead, I'll be talking on here with members who I've never really mixed with due to the league differences. It'll be nice to have other fans looking down on us for a change. It'll broaden my footballing horizons somewhat, as I confess to not really following the Championship outside the promotion pushes for a few years. It'll be a little unusual watching match highlights at 9:25 on Sunday morning instead of Saturday night, but I'll get used to it.

Of course, I'll miss us being in the Premier League, but I won't miss the league itself that much, to be honest. I'm not trying to make our relegation seem like a blessing in disguise as it's not - and the plight of clubs like Leeds and Charlton suggest this can only be the tip of a much bigger iceberg - but at least this league promises something different. Last season we did have our survival to play for, but the past few years we've never really went for anything, instead just languished in mid-table. Hopefully, this season, we'll be counting the points towards promotion and all the feverish excitement it brings. I won't miss the PL's greedy obsession with money either, though I will miss the money it pumps into my club.

So, in short, (yes, in short), relegation's an odd pill to swallow and leaves me with a rather conflicting set of emotions. I miss the league we've left, but it was a league that was a little tiring at times, with 15 of the teams having little to play for come Spring. It's a bit jarring to read the fixture list, but it offers something a little different than what we've become used to.

My feelings may all change once the league settles down and I can tell if we're going to be pushing for promotion, play-offs or simply not to implode, but for now relegation feels both naughty and nice.






End communication.

[darksideby182]

up the gooners , big game 29th of aug lets hope an early win against them dirty mancs

[Adam Pollard]

What do you do with Leeds/Yeovil games? I mean do you sit in the home end for both..or the away end for both? Or the end Yeovil are in etc?

Done the home ends for all three of the games between the sides I've got to; missed the Huish Park encounter last season as I was at Reading.

It would just be too strawberry floating weird watching from the away section of either Elland Road or Huish Park. Especially seeing as Elland Road is one of the grounds where away fans are poked in the corner.

Seeing as I've already paid for the game at Yeovil, might as well just stick to the same routine this time around.

The fixture list is lending itself alright to doing new grounds though - do Wycombe with Leeds on August 18th, and then Exeter with Yeovil on the following Tuesdsay, which leaves just Norwich as the recognised grounds to visit

[<]:^D]

Spain's tactics in that game

[St Nick]

Pollard - Yeah, I wouldn't bother going to stadium:mk if I were you...you'd just have to witness another 3-0/3-2 defeat anyway.

[Saint of Killers]

and exercise our buy back clause on Rossi.

Expired a while ago according to his people.

[Scotticus Erroticus]

Feeling a bit lonely there sw26?

[DeckardRunner]

Boro

You have a better chance of promotion than us this season. It's already starting to look as if our season is about to implode already. No friendly's arranged, No manager and effectivly no chairman. And now who's name pops back in the headlines - Freddie strawberry floating Shepherd. Fair enough if someone takes us over we might be out of the woods with the debts but it seems more likely to get even more strawberry floated up, considering how crap we've spent money I'm surprised we hadn't been thrown in a big green bin marked 'leeds' sometime sooner. I have a feeling we might end up midtable, what with the way our squad will get decimated.

What really narks me is players like Martins, Beye and Duff coming out and saying they want to stay, which is peachey till you look at how much they strawberry floating earn. we've got a championship standard left winger on 65,000 a week

[Spindash]

Barcelona look set to complete a deal that will see them sign Robinho on loan from Manchester City for one season with a view to making the move permanent next year, Catalan television are reporting...

*is doubtful*

Manchester City has scotched press reports emanating from Spain regarding Robinho.

One Spanish TV station has claimed that the Brazilian striker is set to join Barcelona on loan.

City’s Chief Executive Garry Cook has told mcfc.co.uk, "The story is completely without foundation. Robinho has always been a highly valued member of our team and that continues to be the case. Reports suggesting he will leave the football club, either on loan or on a permanent deal, are absolutely untrue."

The idea of him going out on loan.

[Jango]

After my initial joke comment about Ferguson signing Owen, I have decided its actually a sensible idea. If we look at what he did with old Henrik who was pretty much retired, you have to think he can probably get Owen scoring again. He is free, he wont cost much and give him the chance to play Champions League football in the North and he will snap your arm off. It has to be worth a gamble.

Would be a good replacement for Tevez, not like for like in everything they do, but I can see Owen getting important goals like Tevez did...

I wouldn't touch either of them, but wouldn't Ruud VN be a better bet in the ageing goal scorer on the cheap stakes.

Would you not go for Owen because of his injuries?

Yes to RvN (I've been wondering if it's possible he'd return, only...) but what about his falling out with Fergie? And didn't he leave because he didn't like being left out of the first team?

Man Utd should have insisted upon the 80mill for ronaldo we also get a striker free sneijder or Rvn or for a cut price Robben

I would have taken £75m and Higuain, which would have meant we could have used the rest of the funds to get a top class winger (NOT Valencia) and a decent centre midfielder, maybe have negotiated a plan to get van der Vaart or Sneijder if the Dutch exodus is going to happen at Madrid and exercise our buy back clause on Rossi. Two top quality strikers, a great winger and a great centre midfielder for the future with about £30-£40m left.

Are you really valuing Higuain at just £5 million?

Given that Real were willing to do anything for Ronaldo, including paying £80m, I don't think it would be too ridiculous an offer if United had submitted that as a counter-proposal, I think both parties would have been happy with it, especially if Madrid are going to get Villa.

And boo-urns at us not being able to get Rossi back. I always thought the guy would be a guaranteed goal machine and that's kind of just what we need.

[JV]

Boro

You have a better chance of promotion than us this season. It's already starting to look as if our season is about to implode already. No friendly's arranged, No manager and effectivly no chairman. And now who's name pops back in the headlines - Freddie strawberry floating Shepherd. Fair enough if someone takes us over we might be out of the woods with the debts but it seems more likely to get even more strawberry floated up, considering how crap we've spent money I'm surprised we hadn't been thrown in a big green bin marked 'leeds' sometime sooner. I have a feeling we might end up midtable, what with the way our squad will get decimated.

What really narks me is players like Martins, Beye and Duff coming out and saying they want to stay, which is peachey till you look at how much they strawberry floating earn. we've got a championship standard left winger on 65,000 a week

You boys will do alright. I think with you and 'boro down there it's going to be very difficult for anyone else to grab an automatic place.

I'm gutted about Mowbray leaving the baggies. The thing always was that given a bit of money he would have built an absolutely monstrous squad. As it is, our chairman never loosens those purse strings any more than he needs to. This is great in a sense, as it means we always have enough to survive relegation. This is gooseberry fool, however, has it almost always means relegation is inevitable. Given that bit more quality up front to do justice to the mid-field and we would have been alight last year. That's gone now anyway. This year will be tough down in the second tier, and I think our boinging days up and down the Premier may be gone. No idea who is in mind for the mangers job now, either.

[jambot]

A long, considered and balanced piece onthe outlook for his beloved hometown team, Boro

You're gooseberry fool AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!