DuD Posted January 6, 2010 Posted January 6, 2010 Neil Clement has retired today (at 31) after a fooking age long struggle with a knee problem He's been part of West Brom for 10 years now.. such a shame. He intends to stay on with us as backroom staff (physio/sports science), so (even though he won't read this) best of luck and thanks for the past decade
Emerald Emblem Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 So former Arsenal Midfielder Patrick Viera has moved to Man City from Inter Milan on a 6 month deal with prospects of extending it. So what will this mean for Man City's Midfield do we think?
Gizmo Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Headline: "Viera To City" SubHeadline: "French midfielder moves to Manchester for an undisclosed fee and a mobility scooter"
Ramar Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) Spelling Patrick Vieira's name wrong should be a crime against humanity. Best of luck to Paddy, except when they play us. In other news, what the hell is going on in this country. Just watched Sky Sports News and games are being called off like no tomorrow. They had pictures of Craven Cottage, there is barely any snow on the ground and it's off.. What the hell. If our game tomorrow is off, I'll be angry. (Unless more snow falls tonight and actually makes travelling impossible). Edited January 8, 2010 by Ramar
Happenstance Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Togo footballers shot in ambush Gunmen have fired on a bus carrying Togo's football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola wounding several players, competition officials say. They say robbers shot at the bus in Congo, near the Angolan border. There are reports of serious injuries. The Africa Cup of Nations is due to start on Sunday. Togo's first game is to be played on Monday in the oil-rich territory of Cabinda, where rebels have been fighting for independence. The identities of the wounded players are not known. The Togolese team includes Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa's Moustapha Saliphou. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8449319.stm
Fierce_LiNk Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Spelling Patrick Vieira's name wrong should be a crime against humanity. Best of luck to Paddy, except when they play us. In other news, what the hell is going on in this country. Just watched Sky Sports News and games are being called off like no tomorrow. They had pictures of Craven Cottage, there is barely any snow on the ground and it's off.. What the hell. If our game tomorrow is off, I'll be angry. (Unless more snow falls tonight and actually makes travelling impossible). Because we're a nation of safety obsessed whingers. (I got rid of the health part, because as a whole we're too fat to even remotely deserve the health bit ) I was surprised to see that Vieira made the move. I thought it might have just been newspaper talk. But, fair play, it's good to see him back in the Premier League. I miss the old Keane and Vieira rivalries. So, Owen Coyle has taken over at Bolton now. I'm still undecided if I think it's a good move for him or not. Really, I would have prefered for him to see the season out at Burnley, where he has started. He's done a good job so far, and I would've liked to have seen him finish. Saying that, Bolton are two points behind Burnley with 2 games in hand.
Platty Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8449319.stm Shocking. Raises serious security question doesn't it with the world cup round the corner. Yes I know it was no where near south africa but still England vs USA has gotta be of security concern. Hope all the players are going to be ok, very shocking news. To be fair why the hell was they staying in a place like the congo anyway?
Gizmo Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 It happened in Angola, the host country, didn't it?
Platty Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 It happened in Angola, the host country, didn't it? It happened on the border of Cabinda (provenance of Angola who are trying to become independent) and DR Congo. Apparently the team had been staying and training in DR Congo which I always thought was a dodge place to be anyway.
Emerald Emblem Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 That is what I call a lucky Escape for the gunners today, 1 point salvaged from a game, we should have been beaten by Everton.
Retro_Link Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8449319.stmDid I hear correctly on the radio that two of the Toga players have now died, along with the coach driver. AWEFUL news!! Edited January 9, 2010 by Retro_Link
spirited away Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I'm glad the Pool-Spurs game was called of. Lennon should be fit for the replay, and hopefully be able to get the better of Insua. It's getting really tight for fourth; I see it as between us (Spurs), Liverpool and City - should be interesting.
Happenstance Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Did I hear correctly on the radio that two of the Toga players have now died, along with the coach driver. AWEFUL news!! This morning I had heard it was the driver, reserve keeper and two members of staff but that could have changed by now
Fierce_LiNk Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 This morning I had heard it was the driver, reserve keeper and two members of staff but that could have changed by now I heard it was pretty much that, although the reserve keeper bit is news to me. But, bluddy hell, this is an awful situation. The game against Birmingham could have gone either way. We absolutely battered them in the first half, then they go one nil up from a corner. I don't know what happened in the second half, but they had more of a go at us and we just couldn't respond. We were lucky in the end to get the point, especially when Fletcher got himself sent off at the end. We need to take tips from Birmingham. They can defend. At the moment, we just can't. If it weren't for Tommy K, we would probably have lost by about 2 goals today. Our defending this season has been bluddy awful. Sooner Rio and Vidic are back in defence, the better.
flameboy Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) One thing about this whole thing is I think the connection to the world cup is kinda far fetched. I'm not saying it isn't awful and that yes South Africa does have its problems there should be some concerns BUT congo is a totally different kettle of fish. I'm sure the World Cup will have a much higher level of security than for ANC. With Togo rightfully pulling out reckon the ANC is gonna have to be cancelled which is a shame for african football as its a cracking tournament. Seems to be conflicting reports over whose died as well: BBC reporting as An assistant coach, press officer and driver were killed. Two players were shot and injured in Friday's attack however also heard that the reserve keeper has died as well?! EDIT BBC does say: "The goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale Dodo, one of my best friends, was shot in the stomach and was flown to South Africa to undergo an operation to save his life. so guessing he has sadly passed away since that was written. Edited January 9, 2010 by flameboy
Fierce_LiNk Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 One thing about this whole thing is I think the connection to the world cup is kinda far fetched. I'm not saying it isn't awful and that yes South Africa does have its problems there should be some concerns BUT congo is a totally different kettle of fish. I'm sure the World Cup will have a much higher level of security than for ANC. With Togo rightfully pulling out reckon the ANC is gonna have to be cancelled which is a shame for african football as its a cracking tournament. Seems to be conflicting reports over whose died as well: BBC reporting as however also heard that the reserve keeper has died as well?! Yeah, this doesn't mean that there will be problems when the World Cup comes around. But, I think one issue it does raise is how security will be enforced when the World Cup does start. If something like this did happen in the opening few days of the World Cup, would they call the whole thing off? What measures will they go to, to ensure that nothing like this can potentially happen? I don't think there was any warning of this happening, so it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Is there still a threat to the security of players at the moment? If there is, then the ACoN should be called off. If they can't guarantee the safety of players, staff or fans, it has to be called off.
flameboy Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Yeah, this doesn't mean that there will be problems when the World Cup comes around. But, I think one issue it does raise is how security will be enforced when the World Cup does start. If something like this did happen in the opening few days of the World Cup, would they call the whole thing off? What measures will they go to, to ensure that nothing like this can potentially happen? I don't think there was any warning of this happening, so it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Is there still a threat to the security of players at the moment? If there is, then the ACoN should be called off. If they can't guarantee the safety of players, staff or fans, it has to be called off. I think there is a lot of history of violence and insurgency in Congo so its hardly surprising (again doesn't make it any less tragic) South Africa is a lot wealthier country (yes with extreme poverty though) I feel their security would be significantly better than that of Angolan borders.
Fierce_LiNk Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) I think there is a lot of history of violence and insurgency in Congo so its hardly surprising (again doesn't make it any less tragic) South Africa is a lot wealthier country (yes with extreme poverty though) I feel their security would be significantly better than that of Angolan borders. I know there's a lot of history there, but I mean was there any warning of the danger the team were facing when they were travelling? Or, was it really an ambush? In that first link Happenstance posted, it said that they were shot by robbers. I just find that bit odd. They must have been targeted beforehand? Just makes me think "why them?" My knowledge of the extent of the violence there isn't great, so maybe there's a reason why Togo were singled out in particular. Edited January 9, 2010 by Fierce_LiNk
Happenstance Posted January 10, 2010 Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Apparently no teams were supposed to be travelling by coach but by plane instead and the Togo team didnt tell anyone of the change in their plans. EDIT: Well looks like Togo are taking part in the end http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8450421.stm Edited January 10, 2010 by Happenstance
Ramar Posted January 10, 2010 Posted January 10, 2010 I can some up our performance with one word: shocking. The players just weren't up for the conditions. If you saw the post match interviews Everton's Osman talked about how much fun he had playing in the bad weather, I highly doubt you'll see any of our lads say the same. We need decent wingers, yesterday we had absolutely no width which put our fullbacks under a lot of pressure, especially Traore. The lad had no cover and was marking Landon Donovan, who on is debut was out to impress and to be fair was quite a handful. I also hope Arsene opens his pocket and gets a striker in, Arshavin can't do it alone up front and Eduardo is far too hit or miss. It was most definitely the coldest game I've been too, I had fiver layers on and was still shivering.
Ramar Posted January 12, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 FAO: Molly Arsenal v Bolton - Wednesday 20th January 7:45pm KO. Thank god that doesn't clash with anything else, though it does mean we play twice in 3 days. Which will be odd and interesting at the same time. In other news, I'm going to Stoke away in the Cup and got myself tickets for the Liverpool home game.
Fresh Posted January 12, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 Found this nice little tool that I'm sure some of you ave seen before tucked away on the BBC news site. Quite fun and a good read.
Molly Posted January 12, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 FAO: Molly Arsenal v Bolton - Wednesday 20th January 7:45pm KO. Thank god that doesn't clash with anything else, though it does mean we play twice in 3 days. Which will be odd and interesting at the same time. Thank you for letting me know. That's the day after my assessment centre, rubbish timing. I'll have to talk to my friends and see.
Happenstance Posted January 13, 2010 Posted January 13, 2010 Well Liverpool have announced that theyve signed Rodriguez, apparently on a free transfer which if true is great.
spirited away Posted January 13, 2010 Posted January 13, 2010 Liverpool please play like this against us on Wednesday.
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