2013-14 Football ("Soccer") Thread
- Thread starter Mr_Stiffy
- Start date
- Status
Pure class from United. I see the blue noses struggled through a weak group. Bitters.
Sir Alex plays Kagawa in the right position for 45 minutes against Norwich - Kagawa scores hat trick in 4-0 drubbing.
Moyes plays Kagawa in the right position - Kagawa helps set up goal in 5-0 slaughter.
Anyone would think there was wisdom in playing players in their preferred position!
Moyes plays Kagawa in the right position - Kagawa helps set up goal in 5-0 slaughter.
Anyone would think there was wisdom in playing players in their preferred position!
Now that makes too much sense.
WEEK 13...............................
Saturday, November 30
Aston Villa
10:00 AM (ET)
Sunderland
Everton
10:00 AM (ET)
Stoke City
Norwich City
10:00 AM (ET)
Crystal Palace
West Ham
10:00 AM (ET)
Fulham
Cardiff City
10:00 AM (ET)
Arsenal
Newcastle
12:30 PM (ET)
West Brom
Sunday, December 1
Tottenham
7:00 AM (ET)
Man United
Hull City
9:05 AM (ET)
Liverpool
Man City
11:10 AM (ET)
Swansea City
Chelsea
11:10 AM (ET)
Southampton
USA TIMES.
Saturday, November 30
Aston Villa
10:00 AM (ET)
Sunderland
Everton
10:00 AM (ET)
Stoke City
Norwich City
10:00 AM (ET)
Crystal Palace
West Ham
10:00 AM (ET)
Fulham
Cardiff City
10:00 AM (ET)
Arsenal
Newcastle
12:30 PM (ET)
West Brom
Sunday, December 1
Tottenham
7:00 AM (ET)
Man United
Hull City
9:05 AM (ET)
Liverpool
Man City
11:10 AM (ET)
Swansea City
Chelsea
11:10 AM (ET)
Southampton
USA TIMES.
Cool your jets. There's still the fun of Spurs (probably) losing to Tromso and Swansea spluttering and wheezing their way over the line against Valenica tonight. Maybe.
Those two late equalizers against - who? Lokomotiv Bulimia? Slovia Totoslag? - in their last two games really put nonsensical undue pressure on the Swans. Beating Valencia over there, all they had to practically was hold their nerve in the two games against the minnows at the Liberty and they'd be on 9 points at least with 10 usually enough to guarantee progress from any group of 4 teams, but they barely scraped past St Gallen, and that retard Jonjo (ridiculous name) Shelvey cost them two points against Kuban with his trying to be a glory boy instead of playing keep ball for the last 30 seconds. Still, a point is all they need to qualify against a Valencia team already through, so they should be OK.
Actually, coming through the group should be applauded for Swansea's maiden voyage into modern European football, even if they've gone about it the hard way.
Those two late equalizers against - who? Lokomotiv Bulimia? Slovia Totoslag? - in their last two games really put nonsensical undue pressure on the Swans. Beating Valencia over there, all they had to practically was hold their nerve in the two games against the minnows at the Liberty and they'd be on 9 points at least with 10 usually enough to guarantee progress from any group of 4 teams, but they barely scraped past St Gallen, and that retard Jonjo (ridiculous name) Shelvey cost them two points against Kuban with his trying to be a glory boy instead of playing keep ball for the last 30 seconds. Still, a point is all they need to qualify against a Valencia team already through, so they should be OK.
Actually, coming through the group should be applauded for Swansea's maiden voyage into modern European football, even if they've gone about it the hard way.
tartanterrier
Is somewhere outhere.
As the weekend is nigh,so it's time to see what football matches I'll be watching on the box this weekend :nanner:
Friday.
St.Pauli Vs FC Cologne
Wolfsburg Vs Hamburg
Saturday.
Genoa Vs Torino
Sunday.
Inter Milan Vs Sampdoria
Juventus Vs Udinese
PSG Vs Lyon
Monday.
Fiorentina Vs Verona
Lazio Vs Napoli
Friday.
St.Pauli Vs FC Cologne
Wolfsburg Vs Hamburg
Saturday.
Genoa Vs Torino
Sunday.
Inter Milan Vs Sampdoria
Juventus Vs Udinese
PSG Vs Lyon
Monday.
Fiorentina Vs Verona
Lazio Vs Napoli
I shall be watching the free scoring Spurs lose to the greatest team the Universe has ever seen.
tartanterrier
Is somewhere outhere.
Do you Moyes is better than Fergie now they humped Bayer Neverlusen away this week??
Tbh Man U should get the win here,as Spurs are on a bit of a shaky patch....so there's no pressure.
If any of you lot can't wait for the big draw next Friday,then here's something that might keep you occupied till then....
http://ultra-zone.net/2014-FIFA-World-Cup-Group-Stage-Draws
Have fun!!!
Ligue 1 - Ibrahimovic and Cavani help PSG destroy Lyon
Zlatan Ibrahimovic took his tally of Ligue 1 goals this season to 11 with two penalties to help leaders Paris St Germain thrash Olympique Lyon 4-0 on Sunday.
Strike partner Edinson Cavani put the champions in front after 36 minutes with his 10th league goal of the campaign before Ibrahimovic converted his first penalty with a delightful chip down the middle.
Thiago Silva made it 3-0 following a corner on the hour and the league's top scorer Ibrahimovic completed the rout with seven minutes to go.
PSG have 37 points from 15 games, four clear of second-placed Lille who won 1-0 at Valenciennes on Saturday.
Monaco are third on 32 points while seven-times champions Lyon, who had never previously lost by more than three goals at the Parc des Princes, are 10th on 19 points.
The visitors made a good start and went close to scoring after 27 minutes when Alexandre Lacazette skipped past three opponents and his powerful effort struck the crossbar.
It turned out to be Lyon's only clear-cut chance as PSG coach Laurent Blanc abandoned his team's three-man midfield in favour of two wingers.
"We were in trouble but the coach had the good sense to change our tactics," midfielder Blaise Matuidi told Canal Plus television.
Uruguay striker Cavani put PSG ahead with a subtle header from a Lucas corner.
Five minutes later the forward was fouled in the box by goalkeeper Remi Vercoutre and Ibrahimovic took full advantage with his spot kick.
PSG then completely dominated after the break as they extended their unbeaten streak to 36 games.
Elsewhere, Bordeaux claimed their biggest win of the season with a 4-0 demolition of Ajaccio after a brace from Jussie was added to by Gregory Sertic and Nicolas Maurice-Belay.
Bastia won 2-0 against Evian Thonon Gaillard as Mickael Landreau celebrated equalling fellow goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori's record of 602 top flight matches in France with a clean sheet.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic took his tally of Ligue 1 goals this season to 11 with two penalties to help leaders Paris St Germain thrash Olympique Lyon 4-0 on Sunday.
Strike partner Edinson Cavani put the champions in front after 36 minutes with his 10th league goal of the campaign before Ibrahimovic converted his first penalty with a delightful chip down the middle.
Thiago Silva made it 3-0 following a corner on the hour and the league's top scorer Ibrahimovic completed the rout with seven minutes to go.
PSG have 37 points from 15 games, four clear of second-placed Lille who won 1-0 at Valenciennes on Saturday.
Monaco are third on 32 points while seven-times champions Lyon, who had never previously lost by more than three goals at the Parc des Princes, are 10th on 19 points.
The visitors made a good start and went close to scoring after 27 minutes when Alexandre Lacazette skipped past three opponents and his powerful effort struck the crossbar.
It turned out to be Lyon's only clear-cut chance as PSG coach Laurent Blanc abandoned his team's three-man midfield in favour of two wingers.
"We were in trouble but the coach had the good sense to change our tactics," midfielder Blaise Matuidi told Canal Plus television.
Uruguay striker Cavani put PSG ahead with a subtle header from a Lucas corner.
Five minutes later the forward was fouled in the box by goalkeeper Remi Vercoutre and Ibrahimovic took full advantage with his spot kick.
PSG then completely dominated after the break as they extended their unbeaten streak to 36 games.
Elsewhere, Bordeaux claimed their biggest win of the season with a 4-0 demolition of Ajaccio after a brace from Jussie was added to by Gregory Sertic and Nicolas Maurice-Belay.
Bastia won 2-0 against Evian Thonon Gaillard as Mickael Landreau celebrated equalling fellow goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori's record of 602 top flight matches in France with a clean sheet.
Serie A - Llorente scores late winner as Juve extend lead
Serie A, Juventus Stadium - Juventus 1 (Llorente 90) Udinese 0
Fernando Llorente scored in injury time to give Juventus a 1-0 win against Udinese and extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table to three points.
With Roma only picking up a point at Atalanta earlier in the day, the scene was set for the Italian champions to capitalise on their slip-up.
Yet the Bianconeri looked to be enduring a similar evening to the capital club as they struggled to break down a resilient Udinese defence and find an elusive winner.
Andrea Pirlo was ****** off with an injury early on in the first half and Antonio Conte’s side missed his passing and creativity for the remainder of the game.
However, Llorente popped up in the dying seconds to break Udinese hearts as he got his head onto Stephan Lichtsteiner's shot to divert the ball into the back of the net and give Juve their sixth straight league win.
The home side started the game brightly with Claudio Marchisio doing well to tee up Carlos Tevez on the edge of the box, only for Zeljko Brkic to get a touch to his shot that seemed destined for the top corner.
Just minutes later, Juve were dealt the blow of losing Pirlo to injury following Andrea Lazzari’s challenge. The home side had a more than adequate replacement to bring on in Paul Pogba, however, he struggled to match the heights of some of his recent performances.
Despite losing Pirlo, though, the Bianconeri continued to ******, and Tevez came close once again, only for Danilo to get a vital touch on to divert his effort wide of the post.
As the first half went on Juve saw more and more of the ball, but they struggled to break down Udinese’s defence, being limited to shots from distance.
It was the away side, though, who soon had a chance of their own as Antonio Di Natale tried to chip Gianluigi Buffon after stealing the ball from Leonardo Bonucci. The goalkeeper, however, got his fingertips to the ball and Andrea Barzagli was able to clear off the line.
Udinese took heart from that chance and came out fighting after the break. Buffon was unable to deal with a cross into the box but got back up to make a superb stop to deny a close-range rebound from Di Natale.
Di Natale was soon involved once again as he laid the ball into Andrea Lazzari’s path, with the midfielder firing an effort at goal from distance that led to another fine save from Buffon.
Juventus, who had been struggling to enforce themselves properly on the second half, soon had a flurry of late chances, with Tevez and Fabio Quagliarella both bringing saves out of Brkic, while Llorente had a header cleared off the line by Allan.
Lichtsteiner also saw his long-range strike whistle past the post, and at this point it looked the Bianconeri would have to settle for a point.
Llorente and Juventus would have the last laugh, however, as the striker capitalised on some poor defending from Udinese to head home from just yards out following Lichtsteiner's strike.
Serie A, Juventus Stadium - Juventus 1 (Llorente 90) Udinese 0
Fernando Llorente scored in injury time to give Juventus a 1-0 win against Udinese and extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table to three points.
With Roma only picking up a point at Atalanta earlier in the day, the scene was set for the Italian champions to capitalise on their slip-up.
Yet the Bianconeri looked to be enduring a similar evening to the capital club as they struggled to break down a resilient Udinese defence and find an elusive winner.
Andrea Pirlo was ****** off with an injury early on in the first half and Antonio Conte’s side missed his passing and creativity for the remainder of the game.
However, Llorente popped up in the dying seconds to break Udinese hearts as he got his head onto Stephan Lichtsteiner's shot to divert the ball into the back of the net and give Juve their sixth straight league win.
The home side started the game brightly with Claudio Marchisio doing well to tee up Carlos Tevez on the edge of the box, only for Zeljko Brkic to get a touch to his shot that seemed destined for the top corner.
Just minutes later, Juve were dealt the blow of losing Pirlo to injury following Andrea Lazzari’s challenge. The home side had a more than adequate replacement to bring on in Paul Pogba, however, he struggled to match the heights of some of his recent performances.
Despite losing Pirlo, though, the Bianconeri continued to ******, and Tevez came close once again, only for Danilo to get a vital touch on to divert his effort wide of the post.
As the first half went on Juve saw more and more of the ball, but they struggled to break down Udinese’s defence, being limited to shots from distance.
It was the away side, though, who soon had a chance of their own as Antonio Di Natale tried to chip Gianluigi Buffon after stealing the ball from Leonardo Bonucci. The goalkeeper, however, got his fingertips to the ball and Andrea Barzagli was able to clear off the line.
Udinese took heart from that chance and came out fighting after the break. Buffon was unable to deal with a cross into the box but got back up to make a superb stop to deny a close-range rebound from Di Natale.
Di Natale was soon involved once again as he laid the ball into Andrea Lazzari’s path, with the midfielder firing an effort at goal from distance that led to another fine save from Buffon.
Juventus, who had been struggling to enforce themselves properly on the second half, soon had a flurry of late chances, with Tevez and Fabio Quagliarella both bringing saves out of Brkic, while Llorente had a header cleared off the line by Allan.
Lichtsteiner also saw his long-range strike whistle past the post, and at this point it looked the Bianconeri would have to settle for a point.
Llorente and Juventus would have the last laugh, however, as the striker capitalised on some poor defending from Udinese to head home from just yards out following Lichtsteiner's strike.
Liga - Bilbao shock Barcelona at new San Mames
Liga, San Mames Barria – Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 70) Barcelona 0
Barcelona suffered their second defeat in the space of a week and their first in La Liga for nine months as Iker Muniain’s second half strike proved the difference between the sides.
Although the visitors enjoyed the better of the possession for long periods it was the hosts who carved out the clearer chances, Barcelona managing just two shots on target during the match.
Munian converted Markel Susaeta’s pinpoint cross with 20 minutes of the match remaining before Gaizka Toquero squandered a great chance to double his side’s lead, Pinto pulling off a terrific reaction save.
It is only the second time that Barcelona have failed to score for the second time in 71 league matches and defeat means that they are level on points with Athletico Madrid and only three ahead of great rivals Real Madrid.
Victory means that Bilbao are still unbeaten at their new San Mames home.
Barcelona started brightly and the first decent chance fell to Neymar as Alexis laid it back into his path, Iraizoz pulling off a fingertip save to touch his strike over the bar.
Neymar then crashed a shot against the post only to see the flag raised for offside but the Brazilian then struggled with his footwear, slipping regularly on the slick San Mames surface and he required a change of boots.
Despite Barca dominating possession, it was the home side who carved out the better chances in the opening half and Muniain should have put them ahead when Susaeta’s cross fell to him two yards out but he fluffed his shot straight at Pinto.
Barca started the second half as they did the first and Neymar really ought to have put them ahead from Fabregas’s fine ball but the Brazilian leaned back and fire his shot well over.
And if he had decided to stay on his feet instead of going to ground on the edge of the box only minutes later, he may have put his side level.
Bilbao were not so wasteful: Munian buried his second clear-cut opportunity and although Toquero should have made the game safe, the home side held out for a famous win.
Liga, San Mames Barria – Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 70) Barcelona 0
Barcelona suffered their second defeat in the space of a week and their first in La Liga for nine months as Iker Muniain’s second half strike proved the difference between the sides.
Although the visitors enjoyed the better of the possession for long periods it was the hosts who carved out the clearer chances, Barcelona managing just two shots on target during the match.
Munian converted Markel Susaeta’s pinpoint cross with 20 minutes of the match remaining before Gaizka Toquero squandered a great chance to double his side’s lead, Pinto pulling off a terrific reaction save.
It is only the second time that Barcelona have failed to score for the second time in 71 league matches and defeat means that they are level on points with Athletico Madrid and only three ahead of great rivals Real Madrid.
Victory means that Bilbao are still unbeaten at their new San Mames home.
Barcelona started brightly and the first decent chance fell to Neymar as Alexis laid it back into his path, Iraizoz pulling off a fingertip save to touch his strike over the bar.
Neymar then crashed a shot against the post only to see the flag raised for offside but the Brazilian then struggled with his footwear, slipping regularly on the slick San Mames surface and he required a change of boots.
Despite Barca dominating possession, it was the home side who carved out the better chances in the opening half and Muniain should have put them ahead when Susaeta’s cross fell to him two yards out but he fluffed his shot straight at Pinto.
Barca started the second half as they did the first and Neymar really ought to have put them ahead from Fabregas’s fine ball but the Brazilian leaned back and fire his shot well over.
And if he had decided to stay on his feet instead of going to ground on the edge of the box only minutes later, he may have put his side level.
Bilbao were not so wasteful: Munian buried his second clear-cut opportunity and although Toquero should have made the game safe, the home side held out for a famous win.
Serie A - Balotelli scores as Milan return to winning ways
Serie A, Stadio Angelo Massimino - Catania 1 (Castro 11) Milan 3 (Montolivo 17, Balotelli 62, Kaka 81)
Mario Balotelli and Kaka were on the scoresheet as AC Milan came from behind to beat Catania 3-1.
The duo scored in the second half to give Milan their first Serie A win since October and ease the pressure on boss Massimo Allegri.
Panagiotis Tachtsidis was shown a straight red after Balotelli’s goal for a late challenge on the ex-Manchester City striker.
Ricardo Montolivo had equalised for the visitors after Lucas Castro had given Catania a shock lead.
Milan were without a host of key players including goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, Ignazio Abate, Philippe Mexes, Sulley Muntari and Robinho and it showed as they struggled in the opening stages.
And they fell behind on 12 minutes when Catania’s first ****** led to Castro’s effort from close range hitting Daniele Bonera and looping over the keeper into the net.
That spurred the home side on and Pablo Barrientos went close with a fierce effort from 25 yards that went inches wide.
But Milan equalised on 18 minutes when Urby Emanuelson’s pinpoint cross from the left found an unmarked Montolivo who volleyed the ball past the keeper with ease.
Catania continued to create the better chances though with Tachtsidis’s free-kick appearing to strike Balotelli’s arm but the ref waved play on.
Milan goalkeeper Gabriel then denied Maxi Lopez after racing off his line to block the striker’s sliding shot and minutes later parried Luciano's Monzon’s long-range effort.
The second half began with half chances for both sides with Castro blazing over from distance, while Antonio Nocerino glanced his header wide from Kaka’s free-kick.
Balotelli had a mixed afternoon, summed up by a chance on the hour mark with a free header which he placed wide from six yards out.
But he made amends soon after with a ferocious free-kick from the edge of the box which flew into the bottom left-hand corner.
Balotelli continued to be in the thick of the action as he was tackled by Tachtsidis with a high challenge which led to the Greek midfielder being shown a red card.
Despite being a man down, Catania continued to press and Jaroslav Plasil went close to an equaliser with a curling effort from distance that went narrowly over.
Balotelli should have increased the Rossoneri’s lead when he was clear on goal but he fired his shot straight at the keeper.
Milan, with just three points from their previous five games, sealed victory when Kaka ran into the area and rifled the ball into the roof of the net for his third goal in three games.
The result moves Milan into ninth place while Catania stay rooted to the bottom.
Serie A, Stadio Angelo Massimino - Catania 1 (Castro 11) Milan 3 (Montolivo 17, Balotelli 62, Kaka 81)
Mario Balotelli and Kaka were on the scoresheet as AC Milan came from behind to beat Catania 3-1.
The duo scored in the second half to give Milan their first Serie A win since October and ease the pressure on boss Massimo Allegri.
Panagiotis Tachtsidis was shown a straight red after Balotelli’s goal for a late challenge on the ex-Manchester City striker.
Ricardo Montolivo had equalised for the visitors after Lucas Castro had given Catania a shock lead.
Milan were without a host of key players including goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, Ignazio Abate, Philippe Mexes, Sulley Muntari and Robinho and it showed as they struggled in the opening stages.
And they fell behind on 12 minutes when Catania’s first ****** led to Castro’s effort from close range hitting Daniele Bonera and looping over the keeper into the net.
That spurred the home side on and Pablo Barrientos went close with a fierce effort from 25 yards that went inches wide.
But Milan equalised on 18 minutes when Urby Emanuelson’s pinpoint cross from the left found an unmarked Montolivo who volleyed the ball past the keeper with ease.
Catania continued to create the better chances though with Tachtsidis’s free-kick appearing to strike Balotelli’s arm but the ref waved play on.
Milan goalkeeper Gabriel then denied Maxi Lopez after racing off his line to block the striker’s sliding shot and minutes later parried Luciano's Monzon’s long-range effort.
The second half began with half chances for both sides with Castro blazing over from distance, while Antonio Nocerino glanced his header wide from Kaka’s free-kick.
Balotelli had a mixed afternoon, summed up by a chance on the hour mark with a free header which he placed wide from six yards out.
But he made amends soon after with a ferocious free-kick from the edge of the box which flew into the bottom left-hand corner.
Balotelli continued to be in the thick of the action as he was tackled by Tachtsidis with a high challenge which led to the Greek midfielder being shown a red card.
Despite being a man down, Catania continued to press and Jaroslav Plasil went close to an equaliser with a curling effort from distance that went narrowly over.
Balotelli should have increased the Rossoneri’s lead when he was clear on goal but he fired his shot straight at the keeper.
Milan, with just three points from their previous five games, sealed victory when Kaka ran into the area and rifled the ball into the roof of the net for his third goal in three games.
The result moves Milan into ninth place while Catania stay rooted to the bottom.
That's a really poor result, considering a Real Madrid team without C-Ron crushed Valladolid 4-1 on Saturday. Gaz scored a hat-trick and set the other up for Benzema. That's 9 in 13 for Real now for Bale, fair to say he's settled in OK.
WEEK 14................
Tuesday, December 3
Crystal Palace
3:00 PM (ET)
West Ham
Wednesday, December 4
Sunderland
2:45 PM (ET)
Chelsea
Stoke City
2:45 PM (ET)
Cardiff City
Liverpool
2:45 PM (ET)
Norwich City
Swansea City
2:45 PM (ET)
Newcastle
Arsenal
2:45 PM (ET)
Hull City
Man United
2:45 PM (ET)
Everton
Southampton
2:45 PM (ET)
Aston Villa
West Brom
3:00 PM (ET)
Man City
Fulham
3:00 PM (ET)
Tottenham
USA TIMES.
Tuesday, December 3
Crystal Palace
3:00 PM (ET)
West Ham
Wednesday, December 4
Sunderland
2:45 PM (ET)
Chelsea
Stoke City
2:45 PM (ET)
Cardiff City
Liverpool
2:45 PM (ET)
Norwich City
Swansea City
2:45 PM (ET)
Newcastle
Arsenal
2:45 PM (ET)
Hull City
Man United
2:45 PM (ET)
Everton
Southampton
2:45 PM (ET)
Aston Villa
West Brom
3:00 PM (ET)
Man City
Fulham
3:00 PM (ET)
Tottenham
USA TIMES.
What's this "WEEK 14" stuff? Is this an American thing to care about what week it is? It's a 38 match season, doesn't always last the same number of weeks, some weeks have no matches due to the international break, some weeks (like this one) teams play twice, over Christmas the games come thick and fast, and nobody gives a **** what week it is. There's 13 games gone, the Prem season is roughly a third complete, things are taking shape. That tells you more than what week it is. Even though 2nd-9th is still ridiculously congested so really we still don't have all that many clues who the top, say, four teams that will contest the title are. Except one will probably be Man City if they straighten out their away form, and one would probably be Arsenal if it weren't for the times they've bottled it from a similar position in the past.
Palace v West Ham is the token game tonight - which strongly makes me suspect it will be live on Sky. Who the hell thought this was appealing? It's Tony Pullis brand of football against Big Sam's - and they're basically the same. Seriously, for those of us on this fair isle that might have been tempted, unless you support either team, watch MasterChef instead.
Palace v West Ham is the token game tonight - which strongly makes me suspect it will be live on Sky. Who the hell thought this was appealing? It's Tony Pullis brand of football against Big Sam's - and they're basically the same. Seriously, for those of us on this fair isle that might have been tempted, unless you support either team, watch MasterChef instead.
Totally agree with what you said. Fuck this "Week 12, 13, 14" bollocks. It's not the done thing. Masterchef for me tonight.
Sure, pick on the American,ha,ha. BARCLAYS PREMIERE LEAGUE MATCHDAY it is then. On with the games.
Crystal Palace 1-0 West Ham: Chamakh strike enough
Forward heads in only goal to earn Tony Pulis first win as Palace manager
Was that appealing or appalling ?
Yea, heard Maaterchef is a good show. It's on every ''week'', ooops. I don't know, i'm just laughing my ass off.
"Premiere"? French twat.
Nice.
Fitting really that two terrible teams were separated by a goal from a terrible striker. I thought April Fool's Day had come early. In the words of England's greatest ever goalscorer * Gary Lineker on Twitter : "Good heavens! Chamakh has scored."
I can't comment on the game ; I watch MasterChef for the first half/half-time and the "Blackwater" episode of Game of Thrones for the second.
Every day, in fact. It was a belter today. Adam, the obvious favourite, did a superb turbot on mussels with a creamy fruity curry sauce topped with creamy crab and a crispy potato twirl decorated with jasmine poached AND crispy seaweed. Michel said slightly not seasoned enough, Monica said slightly too salty. He followed with a flour less pistachio cake decorated with pistachio cream cheese and some pistachio crumb and an apple & parsley puree which they said was flawless. Stephen, the confidence-challenged other one, knocked up duck with crispy skin and a side of leg meat wrapped in duck ham with an array of broccoli - chargrilled brocolli, brocolli and parmesan puree, and a broccoli ketchup to cut through the rich fatty duck, and a red **** sauce. The said the main portion of duckmeat was ever so slightly overdone although I don't think you'd notice with the sauce. He followed with a cylinder of light vanilla cheesecaked rolled in freezedried strawberry crumb with deconstructed biscuit base, slices of strawberry, strawberry compote and macerated strawberries, which again the judges couldn't fault. Based on that each had only made a tiny error, they were ****** to put both through to the final. I guarantee the winner of tomorrow's semi won't be anywhere near as good as either of these lads, so it was the right call. Any result other than Adam winning will make me cry. It's better than the Premier League, easy.
* You will note that I say "greatest goalscorer" which is a subtle difference from record goalscorer. While it's true Sir Bobby notched one more than my hero, he played 26 times more often than Lineker in amassing his 49, whereas Gary managed to score his 48 goals in 80 games playing for an England team that were pretty mediocre for most of the time he played for them, and Charlton played when England were one of the two best teams in the world, an era when it was not unknown for England to win 4-0 in Rome and we would beat teams like the USA 10-0 or Switzerland 8-1 - Charlton scored a hat trick in that one. Plus, Gary scored ten goals in two World Cups.
Thinking about that last one... I'd like to see Wayne Rooney score 10 goals in World Cups. In fact, I'd rather like to see him just to score 1 in a World Cup, for a start.
- Status
Similar threads
