Well, what a difference a day makes.

Emotionally we've gone from disappointed and disillusioned to euphoric over the result of one game. Beating Blackburn 7-1 was the sort of result we needed to awaken our supporters.

Arsenal played the sort of football that we all love to watch and for once the end result substantiated the level of our overall performance.

To anyone who follows the beautiful game, Anelka's move to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua did not make sense. What is even more interesting is Anelka's recent revelation that he snubbed PSG and a chance to re-unite with former coach Carlo Ancelotti for a little known Chinnese team.

So Newcastle's new signing Papiss Demba Cisse and fellow Senegalese team mate Demba Ba netted goals for the Magpies in their 2-1 home win over Aston Villa yesterday. However, whats funny is that the same two players could not do the same for Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations.

And this is interesting because African players have a tendency to perform well for their clubs, but when it comes to their national sides, it is a different story.

When I haven't written on this site for a while, I very often end up using the excuse that "real life got in the way". Well it doesn't get much more real life than the passing of a fellow Red [...] Read the original post on eighteensixtyfive

And we are back...

Since the last post, I have found a new job and gotten twins so there has been a lot to do. In between changing diapers and walking a baby-carriage, I have found a moment to update the dear readers of this blog.

Lets start with the national team. Since beating the Netherlands to make it to the Euro 2012 endgame, we have been absolutely piss awful.

It was all just an excuse to see R.R. Drenthe's hair up close, I swear to ya! January transfer madness came and went in England and it was ... as mild as a game of "Marble Madness." (insert groan here.) Unless you're a person who spends 99 percent of his waking hours playing "Football Manager," it's tough to get revved up for David Pizzaro moving on loan from Roma to Manchester City.

I bet Bob Bradley had not anticipated this when he took over as coach of the Pharaohs last year. Needless to say, it is very sad what happened in Egypt earlier this week.

A league match pitting rivals Al-Masry and Al-Ahly at Port Said turned tragic when 73 fans were killed when violence broke out after Al-Masry 3-1 win.

Sylvie van der Vaart is getting her very own Barbie doll. Mattel will be releasing a series of Barbies, which will include one to look exactly like Sylvie... if she was only about 12 inches tall and made of plastic.
Mattel took it so seriously the worked with Sylvie's personal stylist and the doll comes complete with minature 11 carat diamond ring and fakelashes.

Is this a cursed season for Manchester United? From the word ‘go', injuries and illness have torn through the side, and while injuries can't be looked upon as an excuse for some of the poor and surprising results that have occurred this season or the exits from the Carling Cup, FA Cup, and most disappointingly, [.

The defending NBA champions are heating up. On Monday night, they went out on the road and destroyed the Phoenix Suns. However, the Suns did have an excuse: they were without future Hall of Famer Steve Nash.

The Mavs led 96-70 heading into the fourth quarter before cruising to a 122-99 victory.

FC Barcelona could have handed over the Liga title to Real Madrid unofficially after drawing away at 17th placed Villareal. The lead at the top of the summit is seven points which could be too much for our boys to climb. Already with a very depleted side, we weren't helped by Guardiola's decision making all night.

It wasn't pretty. Hell, it was downright hideous. But it's a win, one that puts us in the fifth-round draw. Hey, that's good enough for this guy.

A united front

I guess we should have expected this. All the hype, all the controversy it simply overstated what was bound to be on display at Loftus Road on Saturday.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that the club's 8-2 defeat away to Manchester United five months ago will have no impact on their preparation for this Sunday's rematch at the Emirates while skipper Robin van Persie strongly feels otherwise.

Speaking to the club's website ahead of United's trip to North London, Wenger explained that no matter what, his side cannot reverse the disaster that occurred in Manchester last August and hence, they must look at Sunday's match as a new opportunity altogether.

It's not, you understand, that I resent my regular Tuesday column being held to an as yet unspecified day. It's that, if it is held, it's for a better reason than that obscene excuse of a game of pointy-ball college football I had the misfortune to catch in a desolate

From the outside looking in, everything seems to be fine in Gunner land. King Henry comes back to save the day with a late winner against Leeds in a 1-0 victory and Arsenal hosts Aston Villa in the next round of the FA Cup.

However, after reading between the lines, I wasn't too thrilled with Arsene Wenger's pre-game "motivational speech" to the fans, players, owners, and sponsors.

Well Florent Malouda is doing his best to keep in favour with the manager isn't he!. After reports of AVB's cull at the club of the older players coming to the end of their contracts, Florent Malouda has spoken of the situation here and that fact that we should be winning things year in, year out.

Many fans were hoping for early activity from the Gunners in the transfer market, especially to bolster the defence, but things have largely been quiet. Given that Ferguson had to go back to Paul Scholes and Chelsea are taking so long over the Cahill deal, one can assume this is going to be, at best, a tricky month for football business.

There seems to be just a hint of excuse in what Alan Pardew has said today, about the last few games Newcastle have played. Alan Pardew hint of excuses today from Alan Newcastle have played Norwich, Swansea and West Brom in the last three games, and have had a disappointing return of only one single point from those games.

Former Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes has attacked a "witch hunt" against Luis Suarez after he was banned for racially abusing another player.
The Liverpool striker was banned by the FA for eight games for using "insulting words" in reference to Manchester United defender Patrice Evra's colour.

Isn't it funny how different people see different things? I know opposing managers will see one incident in very different ways. For one it was a penalty, for the other his defender just got a touch of the ball.

But I'm genuinely curious as to how Alex McLeish thinks Arsenal players 'conned' Alan Hutton into getting sent off the other night.

Match report Video and highlights -

There was nothing more important than taking three points last night. A good performance is always welcome, but winning after playing some way below par is also welcome. Winning after playing some way below par and very late in the game against a team managed by Alex McLeish, is more welcome than Johnny Beer and Fred Rum around my house.

Cultural differences no excuse for Suarez comments Carlisle

Professional Footballers' Association chairman Clarke Carlisle says cultural or language differences are no excuse for the comments for which Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been banned.

View the full story here: BBC

A news article on 2011-12-21 14:55:43 from: BBC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Everyone has an excuse when it comes to losing in FIFA 12. I reckon my shameless excuse is blaming the superhuman AI, particularly in FUT. But, you know, whatever.

Danny Sturridge took a much different route when explaining his dismissal from the Chelsea FIFA 12 pro player tournament, an event we posted video of a few weeks back.

Found Kicking Around in Copacabana: The Kings of Convenience

The Kings of Convenience, one of our most beloved bands, have been touring South America these past few weeks. Their latest stop was Brazil, more specifically Rio de Janeiro.

Liverpool's Luis Suarez has been charged by the FA today for 'an alleged gesture made towards the Fulham fans' at the end of Monday night's defeat at Craven cottage. I may be clutching at straws here but I think this could (indirectly) turn out to be a positive thing for both Suarez and the club.

So, whats the excuse this week? There were no red cards, no forced changes due to injury, no dodgy refereeing decisions.....oh wait. How could I forget the now mandatory shocking decision? Can we not go one week in the A-League without a referee getting a call completely wrong? Archie Thompson, through on goal, clearly brought down

After speaking to World Football Daily prior to the Liverpool game I was back on the radio yesterday speaking of another defeat, questions about our manager and what I think we need to do from now on to turn things round.
Check it out here.
(Related stories here - (On the Radio before the game) - (Match report - Liverpool) (Excuse me AVB - I have a right to be anxious)
What do you think?

Two small pieces of news before we get on with the Player Of The Year discussion:
*Steve Nicol turned down the Rapids interview request. There was some talk about him being uncomfortable with the environment here, but all along I thought getting Nicol out of Boston, where he's been for 13 years, would be a long shot.

Enrique Tiredness no excuse

Jose Enrique insists playing twice in 48 hours can be no excuse if Liverpool are knocked out of the Carling Cup by Chelsea.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-11-28 15:53:57 from: Sky Sports

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Enrique: Quick turnaround no excuse against Chelsea

"We can still win there and will try to get that win," said the Liverpool defender

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-11-28 15:23:27 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Windswept Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor flaps his arms and generates a powerful wind tunnel allowing team-mate Benoit Assou Ekotto to put his afro to the test. OK, you rumbled us: this is a spurious excuse to showcase the Spurs left-back's increasingly spectacular hair. OTP has only just noticed Assou Ekotto's odd boots combo.

I'm starting to think I'm missing out on something. Is there a big party that everyone goes to? Something exciting on the telly? Or perhaps it's a free goodie bag for the first 10,000 on to the tube?

It's an age old moan but I am going to go on about it again. Just what is people's (I'm refusing to call them fans) excuse for leaving Arsenal games at the Emirates early?

Thomas Vermaelen was the villain turned hero last night when he scored at both ends of the pitch to ensure Arsenal earned a point form their fixture against Fulham. The draw means that the Gunners remain in position 6 in the EPL table.

However, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger had other reasons as to why his side performed the way they did.

Absolutely pathetic.

Dothraki Ballack

Miserable stuff. Just terrible across the board. It seems to go from bad to worse every day around these parts, and if you're looking for excuses I'm fresh out. There really isn't any excuse that would work though, it's just a damn fact that our squad are playing like a pub team.

After a few weeks off due to international breaks and facing sides nobody really cares about—or ones we simply find too distasteful to bother talking to—Tea and Crumpets decided it was about time to shake off the rust, so we headed out for a bite and a chat with Graham MacAree of We Ain't Got No History, one of the more approachable Chelsea sorts out there and also our boss.

By Chris Wright

Excuse me mate, mind taking a picture of me and Javier Mascherano?

Via Reddit (One thousand apologies for nicking the joke!)

It's worth noting that Sepp Blatter is now 75 and could very well be in the process of losing what little capacity for thought he had in the first place. Which isn't really an excuse, but it at least explains his devolution. And stance on the concept of racism in football. Which is sort of a non-concept and if it does exist, can be solved "with a handshake".

By Chris Wright

UEFA have just announced the seeding of the 16 teams that will be plucked from the perspex goldfish bowls of doom in Kiev on December 2nd, and they look a little bit like this...

Top seeds: Spain, Holland, Poland, Ukraine

Second seeds: Germany, England, Russia, Italy

Third seeds: Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Sweden

Fourth seeds: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland

Lawdamussy.

Carlos Tevez has once again missed training with Manchester City; hardly the words to conjure up sympathy within the ranks of football supporters. ‘How could anyone be depressed on a million a month?' '£198,000 a week. Depressing times indeed' said disgruntled readers on the Daily Mirror's website.

Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez has said Luis Suarez will play no part in today's friendly against Italy after he suffered a knock during his four goal starring role in the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying 4-0 win over Chile on Saturday.
"Suarez took a knock against Chile and is not in the best shape," Tabarez said on the eve of the game.