English Managers Whinging again.

After reading this interview with Alan Curbishley, it really had me annoyed. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sick of English managers moaning about an English manager not being given a chance with the national team. Did the F.A. not just do that? Steve McClaren is English the last time I checked, and he made a laughing stock out of the national team. What about, Graham Taylor, Glenn Hoddle, Terry Venables? They didn't exactly perform miracles when they had there stints in charge. In fact, the only decent manager that England have had recently is, wait for it, of course, a foreigner.

• Sven qualified for 3 major tournaments as top of each qualification group and in those tournaments he got to the quarter finals each time. They were quite unlucky in all of them too, only going out to Brazil in 2002 via a freak/genius goal (you decide) from Ronaldinho, and in 2004 and 2006 they were knocked out on penalties by Portugal.

• Sven achieved the highest point percentage in Major Tournament Matches of all time for an England manager

• He managed to reach the quarter final in three consecutive tournaments, no other European country achieved this during this period
  

• He improved England's FIFA World ranking from 17th place (Jan 2001) to 5th place (July 2006).

And all that from a foreign manager? Why on earth, with precedents like that, are people moaning about a foreign appointment? Alan Curbishley is worried that there will never be another English manager, maybe that's because he's worried that Capello is actually going to win a trophy as English manager and make the public realise that the English managers of the national team in recent times have been below standard. Why should the F.A. give a job that requires a world class manager to a manager with only domestic credentials? Redknapp, Curbishley, Allardyce, has anybody from Spain or Italy or Brazil heard of these people?

Curbs will argue that the reason they can't appoint an Englishman is because there's no Englishman managing a really top team in England? Well, that's not the F.A's fault Alan. I think he needs to realise that there's a reason the top teams don't appoint English managers, and it's the same reason that the F.A. has decided to do likewise.

Grand Slam Sunday

So, the top two teams in the Premiership have opened up a slight gap in the table. Wins for Man United and Arsenal yesterday result in a reality check for Liverpool and Chelsea, that it will probably be a two-horse race for the title this season. Fergie always says that the Christmas period is so crucial for a team with title-winning aspirations.


So, here's the fixtures for the top 4 teams (well, I include Liverpool here, even though Man City actually make up the final team in the top 4 at the moment, amazingly, they are the only team in Scotland or England to have maintained a 100% home record this far in to the season. I'm still waiting for the day that the implode and start free-falling down the table. Manchester City in the Champion's league is surely inconceiveable).

Arsenal

Saturday 22nd December, Tottenham (H)

Wednesday 26th December, Portsmouth (A)

Saturday 29th December, Everton (A)

Tuesday 1st January, West Ham (H)

Chelsea

Sunday 23rd December, Blackburn (A)

Wednesday 26th December, Aston Villa (H)

Saturday 29th December, Newcastle (H)

Tuesday 1st January, Fulham (A)

Manchester United

Sunday 23rd December, Everton (H)

Wednesday 26th December, Sunderland (A)

Saturday 29th December, West Ham (A)

Tuesday 1st January, Birmingham (H)

Liverpool

Saturday 22nd December, Portsmouth (H)

Wednesday 26th December, Derby (A)

Sunday 30th December, Man City (A)

Wednesday 2nd January, Wigan (H)

The only fixture amongst all of them is Arsenal v Tottenham, and to lesser extent, Sunderland v Man United, but that's for Roy Keane -related reasons, not footballing ones. I can't wait for the Christmas football, 'tis a glorious time of the year.

Sky spinning headlines

Right, so scratch Rangers from the list below and replace them with Lyon. Still really wouldn't fancy being a second seed!!

Was reading an article this morning on Harry Redknapp's opinion of the new England boss Fabio Capello. It was very interesting reading with Redknapp saying that England don't need a top coach, amongst other things. But the headline read "Pompey boss unhappy with foreign appointment", and in the same interview, there's a quote from Harry which reads "I'm not unhappy with this appointment". Go figure!

Second v First

In previous years, managers of Champion's league teams have said that not a lot of worry goes in to whether their teams finish in 1st or 2nd in their Champion's league groups because you will end up playing a great team in the next round no matter where you finish. But this year, being a second seed for the draw for the next round seems to be a very big handicap. Here's the groups as they stand. It's not looking good for Arsenal if they should finish 2nd which is quite likely, seeing as how they need Slavia Prague to take points off Sevilla.

If results go as expected tonight then the seedings for the next round will be as follows:

Pot 1		Pot 2
Real Madrid		Olympiakos
Chelsea		Schalke
Milan		Celtic
Porto		Liverpool
Man United		Roma
Sevilla		Arsenal
Barcelona		Rangers
Inter		Fenerbahce

Man United's possible 2nd round opponents:

Olympiakos, Schalke, Celtic, Rangers, Fenerbahce.


Chelsea's possible 2nd round opponents:

Olympiakos, Roma, Celtic, Rangers, Fenerbahce.


Liverpool's possible 2nd round opponents:

Real Madrid, AC Milan, Sevilla, Barcelona, Inter Milan.


Arsenal's possible 2nd round opponents:
Real Madrid, AC Milan, Porto, Barcelona, Inter Milan.


It's quite clear that Man United and Chelsea are firmly better off than Liverpool and Arsenal (bearing in mind I'm presuming Arsenal will finish second). I might put a bet on Arsenal and Liverpool not to make the quarter finals, although as I've said previously, do the complete opposite of what I say, so while I go down to put that bet on, you all go down and put a bet on an Arsenal Liverpool final and take a photo of yourself dancing around with all your winnings and send the photo in to me. Can't wait.

England Manager

There's no 'right man' for the job is there? If they appoint a foreigner, there'll be people moaning that an Englishman wasn't given the job, however there's clearly no Englishman qualified enough to take the job, so if an Englishman is appointed then there'll be people moaning that the manager isn't good enough. Whoever takes the job will be mad to do so. It's an impossible job. The English fans will expect to win the next World Cup, simple as. Personally, I don't think the FA should rest until Mourinho takes the job. Offer him more money, keep annoying him outside his gaff, kidnap his children, whatever it takes. Brian Barwick comes across as a muppet. Look at him there, doesn't know what's going on.

Hatton beaten by Mayweather

So I stayed up late last night to watch the fight. Actually, I was in bed by 11 O'Clock but I had the 'aul alarm organised for half 3 in the morning. Now, I don't claim to know much about boxing, but the referee really did seem to ruin the fight. He just wouldn't leave the fighters be. I don't know much about what's kosher and what's not in the ring, but after the fight, Mayweather and the referee posed for photos with arms around each other and big smiles. Is that cool? It doesn't seem cool.


Hatton seemed really annoyed with himself that he didn't stick to his gameplan and he lost the run of himself a little bit. Felt a bit sorry for him really, especially having to lose graciously to that twat Mayweather.

Great weekend for Man United in the Premiership. Easy peasy against Derby at home, here's the highlights.....



And Arsenal finally losing is such a bonus. 1 point in it. It's shaping up to be an absolutely cracking Christmas.

Andy Gray is so annoying. I'd love to write an Andy Gray/Jamie Redknapp quotes book. It would really highlight how moronic/idiotic they both are.

Bad, and completely wrong again.

I'm terrible at predicting football results. Anyone who reads this, if they're going for a gamble, read carefully what I predict will happen, and then run away and do completely the opposite. Mark Viduka first goalscorer? Seriously? He's a fat idiot, how could he ever score against Arsenal. Although to be fair to me I wasn't too far off with the scoreline, I had a 2-2 and it ended up being a 1-1. Adebayor's goal was sensational. When he started at Arsenal he just looked like a beanpole but he's really shaping up to be a great player for them. Bit of a mixture between Terry Henry and Wanker Kanu.

Awesome.

I'll be watching the Ricky Hatton fight tomorrow night. I've no idea about boxing but I just want Hatton to beat the shit out of Mayweather. I haven't disliked a man as much as I dislike him since I first laid eyes on Drogba. Now, some may notice a theme embedded in my hatred towards people. Drogba, Mayweather, Ashley Cole. I just like to say, I'm most certainly not a racist. I hate Jose Mourinho and Neil Warnock as well.

Not bad, but completely wrong.

Well, I was wrong about the result last night. However, both teams did get through in the end. I think that if Shakhtar were beating Benfica 2 or 3 nil at half time then the Milan Celtic match might have turned out differently.

News reports are suggesting that Ronaldinho could be on his way to Chelsea.
Even though Ronaldinho has porked up recently in a familiar fashion to his compatriot Ronaldo, the prospect of this transfer does worry me, and even though Chelsea's tactic is usually to kick the ball as much as possible at Didier Drogba, Ronaldinho could absolutely run the show in that team because everybody else is so bland.

Tip: Mark Viduka first goalscorer tonight. The lazy fat twat.

Filthy I-Talians

If it's a draw tonight between AC Milan and Celtic then Milan qualify as top and Celtic qualify as second regardless of what happens in the other match between Shakhtar and Benfica. Usually in a game like this the odds for a draw would be about 3/1 or 7/2. Needless to say, this is not the case tonight, the odds for a draw tonight are Evens. Remember back in Euro 2004 when the only way the Sweden and Denmark match could finish with both teams qualifying was in a 2-2 draw? No prizes for guessing the result in that one. Tonight is going to be a draw.

Man United 2 - 0 Fulham

Ronaldo sorted Fulham out last night with 2 well taken goals. He really should have a hat-trick when he was brought down for what should have been a penalty but actually resulted in a yellow card for diving, and he should definitely have got a hat-trick about 5 minutes later when he was put clean through only to hit his shot straight at Uncle Niemi.

Seems like the title race is going to be quite the close one this year. Arsenal are still edging it, although they've a tricky fixture away to Newcastle tomorrow night. I know Newcastle are playing shite at the moment but it's going to come together one of these days, I'm gonna predict a 2-2 draw in this one.

Terry Venables for Ireland....nice one. Best manager we'll have had since Big Jack.

English for England

So the debate rages on. Should England go with a foreign import or go with an English manager to lead the team to the next World Cup? The argument is that the the representation that an international team sends in to an international match should all be of that nationality. This is an honourable sentiment, however, if England were allowed to pick Kaka or Messi for the starting eleven, you could be certain sure that they would do so, obviously, because they are better than any of the English players available. For managers, the FA are allowed to pick a foreign manager. So why should they pick an inferior manager when they are allowed to select a better manager, who cares if they're foreign. This game is about winning isn't it? Let's face it, there's not a lot of top quality English managers around is there? The FA should be seeking to employ the best manager who is likely to agree terms and, preferably, currently unemployed, to avoid any complications or payoff fees. There is one man that springs to mind who fits the above description. Jose Mourinho. Why bother with anyone else?