The weight of expectation on Chamberlain is bewildering
Considering I often complain about the crowd getting on players' backs, this might seem perverse,
but the cheering for Chamberlain is ridiculous and unhelpful to the other players.
While the game was still going on with Arsenal on the attack, Chamberlain went over to the bench to
get ready to come on.
Being young and enthusiastic Jack Wilshere will be itching to play football again.
The enthusiasm to get back out there on the pitch is all well and good but he must not rush his
return to action because he could suffer repercussions in the future. Deadly serious
repercussions.
Of course he want's to play for England this summer.
Scotland on the road again. At stake a place in Euro 2012, a boozed up tour of Poland and Ukraine
with all the fun and futile expectation that goes with a major championship.
Some observations on Manchester United's 4-0 win over Aston Villa, along with a bit of gushing
over Paul Scholes ...
Paul Scholes
> Tackling an unappreciated asset of Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes, the scruffy, half-blind, asthmatic messiah brought down to Old Trafford in January
to aid an ailing Manchester United side or already ailed according to some back then has shown
that, despite its negative connotations, it's never so bad to act desperately.
1. Beating Liverpool is always brilliant. Knocking them out of the FA Cup is great. Destroying
all the good feeling and positivity that came with Kenny Dalglish's appointment is even better.
Although I'm frustrated we didn't totally destroy them today. We dominated the game entirely, as
you would expect for a side with an extra man for an hour, but just weren't clinical enough in the
box.
Sobering times for Liverpool fans – a season ago, we were celebrating how Kenny Dalglish, with
the mantle of Messiah, seemed to effortlessly restore us back to form, after Woy's charges suffered
5 defeats in the last 8 league matches. But before you bring out the white robe and sandals for the
King, even after the victory at Ewood Park this week, Liverpool's run of 6 defeats in 9 is
comparable to Hodgson's record, which means for 2 seasons in a row, we've been talking –
sacrilegiously – about the infamous 1954 season, the last time Liverpool were relegated (and 1 of
only 3 occasions it has happened).
Kevin Keegan expresses some views about Newcastle United, Andy Carroll, the Liverpool game and Mike
Ashley. Ex-Toon manager and twice Messiah Kevin Keegan has been giving Alan Pardew and Mike Ashley
some grief over the weekend. First of all, KK was critical about the 'over-friendliness' shown to
Andy Carroll by his former team-mates on the [.
Liverpool's interim messiah Kenny Dalglish has vowed that the club will do their damnedest to
bring in a 'headline' signing over the course of the next week or so, though the chances of said
signing being Ajax forward Luis Suarez are looking increasingly remote.
Three games into his miraculous return to Liverpool, "King" Kenny Dalgish is yet to taste
victory. His record stands at two defeats and one draw and, but for the clumsiness of Tim Howard in
giving away a stonewall penalty yesterday, it might well be three losses on the trot.
For those who thought the Scot's biggest asset in being appointed was the ability to give the
players and Anfield faithful a lift thus ensuring a short-team bounce in results the past week has
truly been a reality check.
OK, so lose the honey do list and find time tomorrow to park your butt on the couch, blinker out
all other distractions and settle down for the following belters...Man Utd vs Spurs and the
Merseyside Derby, Liverpool vs Everton.
Should be two cracking games. Man Utd vs Spurs pits two teams who are doing well, while
Liverpool vs Everton is a battle of the also rans.
Football seems to have a hold on those involved that many of us don't experience in our working
lives. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that I've been daydreaming about my retirement
since about second year at school.
Football managers are different. They just keep going and going.
Wow, even after a frustrating game against Manchester United and Berbatov proving that he is as
opportunistic as strikers come, nothing brought me more pleasure than seeing Kenny Dalglish back in
the dug-out once more. After some 20 years, it is a surreal experience even if it was on
television.
Welcome to Offbeat Wednesday... our weekly special! In the jovial spirit of the
week, let's start with Alvaro Negredo's wedding which took place on Christmas Eve.
The Sevilla striker married the mother of Aitana, his ten-month old daughter in
his  hometown.
Wow, this is extremely heartwarming stuff! We told you last night that
Maurine from the Brazil National Women's team made a personal vow to bring home
the Pan American gold medal because it was her late dad's wish (he passed away on Sunday). Well,
Dad must've been watching from above because Maurine scored the only goal in their
1-0 victory over Mexico last night!
With Lionel Messi having a hard time finding some free time in his busy schedule, the
Argentinean playmaker/goal-scorer, still managed to meet with some school children in Spain.
Talking to the children, Messi went on to talk about how he started to play football "Because
he loved it".
I have yet to see surmountable evidence that Lionel Messi is one of us. His ability to do
whatever the heck he wants on the pitch can only really be rivaled by "El Diego" himself. So when
our friends at SoccerPro (soccer shop) sent us a styling long sleeve FC Barcelona jersey with the
"Messiah's" name on the back, possibilities seemed endless.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Someone (me) once said (just now, for real) that American soccer is a
question in search of a question mark. But who asked that question, and what other punctuation
might it contain? To find out, we deployed two brilliant young sportswriters, the latest in
electronic-communications technology, and the copy-paste function.
Last night's game vs. Costa Rica was interesting for a couple of reasons. The US played a very
attractive, attacking style of soccer (just as Klinsmann is wanting to implement), and bossed the
opening 30 or so minutes, and also dominated other stretched of the match. Landon Donovan missed
what should have been a for sure goal, and the US did have a couple of other chances but couldn't
score.
Recently I tweeted out asking what you think is wrong with MLS. I got a plethora of responses. Some
were well thought out and some simply ranted and moaned without being realistic. I thought I'd
address some of the more thought out ones. Number one on my list was a follow up to my previous
thoughts on Jurgen Klinsmann.
The UW-Oshkosh men's soccer team gave up just five goals in its first 23 matches of the
season.
NCAA Division III power Messiah (Penn.) nearly matched that in 90 minutes Friday.
The third-ranked Falcons scored twice in the opening half hour, then added two in 74 seconds in
the final four minutes as they secured a 4-1 victory over the fifth-ranked Titans in a national
semifinal at the Blossom Complex in San Antonio.
UW-Oshkosh takes aim at its first NCAA Division III men's soccer national championship this
weekend in San Antonio, part of an impressive final four semifinalists.
The unbeaten Titans, ranked fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll,
have allowed just five goals and posted 18 shutouts this season.
I shall not comment on the 2-0 loss to the Filipinos, since I wasn't there in the first place due
to the work.
At this point of time that whenever a result like this that would caused a massive outcry, a name
would always come to the picture and hailed him as the one and only hope for Singapore football.
 Between the din bouncing off the walls of the Irish Mile's basement, and the sound of Jesus
weeping, one could barely hear the Philadelphia Union somehow manage to sneak away from Dallas with
a point. It was friend and fellow PUT blogsmith Jon Marks' birthday, and the Mile's
soccer-friendly bomb shelter was full of South Jersey SoB's yelling at the flatscreens, fueled by
a rare combination of rage, Guiness, and vanilla cake.
The New York Red Bulls gave their most convincing performance of this young season, recording a
massive away win over the Columbus Crew by the score of 4-1. Yes, the Red Bulls dared to be massive
on the road, with Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper scoring a brace apiece and rookie goalkeeper Ryan
Meara putting in a near perfect, Man Of The Match (in my opinion) performance.
As you may have gathered I am a stubborn and grumpy individual at times, personally I am not a fan
of what Christmas has become over time, I am not remotely religious either, other than a few
moments when I believed Dennis Bergkamp to be the messiah (no offence intended to all those of you
with a religion other than the Church of Bergkamp).
Former Newcastle United player and twice manager Kevin Keegan tips a top 6 finish for the club this
season. Kevin Keegan has, as part of his punditry, tipped Newcastle for a top 6 finish, although he
does qualify that a bit. Thrice Messiah Keegan said: "Long may their good start continue. "The
results for Newcastle [.
Some people out there make me laugh harder than when I'm watching Harry Redknapp having a twitching
fit when S*urs are losing.
Many said Arsene Wenger needed to add to the squad and 'spend some fucking money' or Arsenal would
free fall into the Orpington and Bromley Division 5 Sunday league in no time.
Heman Gurung amends his spot kickMost people had undoubtedly believed that Nepal U16 can go
and win the title single handedly owing to the home advantage cum the long preparation for this
championship. But the shocking defeat by the Indian means that our young team had to play at 1300
hrs rather than 1530.
There is a well-known saying in American sport, often offered in support of coaches far more
embattled than Kenny Dalglish at this stage of his second honeymoon.
It says that you can't make chicken salad out of chicken****. Dalglish may well consider his
situation desperate enough to employ this coarse but vivid phrase when he sits down with owner John
W Henry.
Sutton United will always be introduced as the team who knocked Coventry out in the Third Round
of FA Cup in 1989. For non-league clubs, it was a giant-killing escapade towers above all other
results and achievements;Â The promotions which have been ground out over a whole season, or
worked on for years, the spectacle of the play-offs, the hurt of relegations, or the relief of
close escapes, all become smudged like old newspaper ink by the pressing thumb of time, yet over
two decades on the Coventry result remains fresh on page of history; the Sutton club shop still
doing a trade in DVDs of the finest hour and a half in their long history.
This piece was going to be headlined "Ashley needs big appointment to appease Newcastle fans," But
given the news filtering through this morning I think my new one is far more accurate.
Make no mistake Hughton's departure was not at the behest of the fans, who have been accused in the
past of allowing their hearts to rule their heads when it comes to whoever the latest 'messiah'
is.
