Football Focus

[Ted Max]

Anyone think Russia will need a new coach, soon?

[Keef]

Think you could be right there Ted!

Sean and Ladygooner, settle down. You did very well, and are looking great, but it's a bit early on to be getting hopeful yet surely. Also, whilst you were great last night, lets not forget that you've not had a "great" start to the season, in that you've had to grind out results (not that that is a bad thing, so long as you get the points) in games were you looked the worse side... Please don't get me wrong, I'm not at all anti Arsenal, but your lot do seem to get very ahead of themselves when they have a couple of good results.

You should try supporting Liverpool for a couple of seasons, and you'll soon learn not to expect too much however promising things look!

As for Jose, I'm genuinely gutted to see him go. There were things that would annoy me about him, in that he could never take his hat off to a team and say fair play, you beat us (Barca & Liverpool), but he was a character, and always good value. I love Rafa, but he's not that sort of person. Whilst Ferguson and the French version Wenger are just dull.

I'd say Jol and O'Neil are the best characters left. Can't stand Moyles, or "Big Sam"!

[mockney piers]

Harry's still good for not being one of the 'we gave ourselves a mountain to climb but at the end of the day...' brigade.

Best of the last couple of decades? I reckon Strachan edges Keegan, humour over bonkersness.

[Keef]

Strachan was great when he was at Coventry, Keegan only great for the famous "I'd love it if we beat them" outburst. Forgot about 'arry, and yes he's cool.

Always liked Paul Jewel (sp?) until last season when he started moaning about stuff after every game. He started off with some good points, but then got in to the habit, and was moaning about things that he was the only person in the world to have seen.

Used to like Warnock, but really disappointed with the way he slagged of Rafa, and is still holding a grudge. Hope he takes over Crystal Palace so he can get promoted and then taste relegation again!

[mockney piers]

I suppose Keegan was better known for his punditry, but yes, it was probably for *that* quote.

Anyway, some Keegan classics

"They're the second best team in the world and there's no higher praise than that."

"If I had a blank piece of paper there'd be five names on it"

"England have the best fans in the world and Scotland's fans are second to none."

"You can't do better than go away from home and get a draw."

"I don't think there's anyone bigger or smaller than Maradona."

"The 33 or 34 year olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the next World Cup comes around, if they're not careful."

"I know what is around the corner - I just don't know where the corner is."

"Chile have three options : they could win or they could lose."

"He's using his strength and that is his strength, his strength."

"Gary always weighed up his options especially when he had no choice."

"The tide is very much in our court now."

Thanks goes to Peter Gable who provided me with a list that included some of the above plus the following gems ...

"One of his strengths is not heading."

"He can't speak Turkey, but you can tell he's delighted."

"There'll be no siestas in Madrid tonight."

"England can end the millennium as it started - as the greatest football nation in the world."

"They compare Steve McManaman to Steve Heighway and he's nothing like him, but I can see why - it's because he's a bit different.."

"In some ways, cramp is worse than having a broken leg."

"Despite his white boots, he has real pace..."

"That would have been a goal if it wasn't saved."

"Goalkeepers aren't born today until they're in their late 2Os or 3Os."

"The substitute is about to come on - he's a player who was left out of the starting line-up today."

"The ref was vertically 15 yards away."

"It's like a toaster, the ref's shirt pocket. Every time there's a tackle, up pops a yellow card "

"There are two schools of thought on the way the rest of this half is going to develop; everybody's got their own opinion..."

"I'd love to be a mole on the wall in the Liverpool dressing room at half-time."

"The game has gone rather scrappy as both sides realise they could win this match or lose it."

"I'm not disappointed - just disappointed."

"I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the same today, except that it's totally different."

"A tremendous strike which hit the defender full on the arm - and it nearly came off."

"The good news for Nigeria is that they're two-nil down very early in the game."

"That decision, for me, was almost certainly definitely wrong."

[SimonM]

>>Used to like Warnock, but really disappointed with the way he slagged of Rafa, and is still holding a grudge>You should try supporting Liverpool for a couple of seasons, and you'll soon learn not to expect too much however promising things look!<<

(Need an emoticon for a grim, hollow laugh here...). Sheffield United supporters have invented and now tip their flat 'ats to an entity known as "Perversegod", an evil, malicious being who delights in wrecking things for the team and its long-suffering but admirably stoical supporters at the last minute in most original and unexpected ways. The final-day relegation last season was child's play to her...Clearly she has a sibling at Liverpool.

James Beatty, who used to play for someone-or-other and scored about 2 goals in 80-odd games for them, has now scored 6 in six league games for us. Perversegod will no doubt ensure some Premier outfit will now snaffle him in January...

[Annasfield]

Another Keegan faux pas......

"There's only one team that are going to win this now" I'm sure you remember the rest. Ah, France 98 - oh to be 18 again.

I personally will miss Jose in the Prem and think it is such a shame. Talk of melons and waffling about eggs an omelettes*. Who else is going to do that for us? He was bonkers and such a bad loser it was laughable.

*I reckon his last statement was a dig at Abramovich - I originally heard it as there were no good eggs (players available), but I think he meant they are available but he can't access them due to funds. Good plug for Waitrose though.

[mockney piers]

I was going to say something about long-suffering fans, but Simon got there first, and under the circumstances I shall tiptoe quietly away ....... sorry again

[SimonM]

>> sorry again:D<

We now go to away games playing 2 or even 3 men up front under Bryan Robson.....so far with limited success but it is making life (and games!) interesting. Defence is still crap though....

[Ted Max]

Warnock to Hearts would be hugely entertaining. And he'd last about five minutes.

[Keef]

Yeah I'm not sure I can see that working out... Are Hearts still owned by that mental Lithuanian who sacked everyone last year?

Beatty was good at Southampton, but rubbish for Everton (bless him). Maybe he just likes white and red strips... Oh dear, Sunderland might take him off your hands in the window...

[SimonM]

>>Warnock to Hearts would be hugely entertaining. And he'd last about five minutes.<<

Well 5 minutes is about par for the course with Hearts managers these days....

What would be entertaining in a throughly gruesome way would be Denis Wise getting the sack at Leeds and then Bates offering Colin the Elland Road job (Bates did offer Warnock the Chelsea manager's job many years ago so it's not that outlandish an idea...) :))

[SeanMacGabhann]

gold, I tell you, gold

[Jah Lush]

So Jose Mourinho has bolted from the Blues. Am I the only person here who isn't surprised? He's been at loggerheads with Roman Abramovich for the past 18 months and has been undermined in the transfer market in having players he plainly didn't want (see Shevchenko) by the likes of Ambromovich himself and the Director of Youth development Frank Arnesen and once Avram Grant was appointed as Director of Football the writing was on the wall.

Injuries to one or two key players hasn't helped (Lampard and Drogba) and following a poor start to the season and the criticism that came with it from the boardroom can only have exacerbated his decision by "mutual consent."

However, he's obviously a top coach and his record speaks for itself and his personality will be sorely missed in the Premiership. Certainly, he was an arrogant, self opinionated, bad loser but I found him highly amusing and at times forthright in his views.

So, who's next for the hotseat at Chelski?

[Keef]

One name being banded about is Mr Sven!!!

I'm not sure anyone in the world was surprised Jah. They're saying he'll walk away with around ?25m, and he'll be able to pick his next job after a couple of months holiday, and a bit of comedt TV work, so not bad really. Good on him I say. Never really had a problem with him, my main problem with Chelski has been the "fans" that have come out of the wood work. I remember one particular girl in the pub with her boyfriend. He was obviously a fan, but she had the shirt on, and gave us sh!t for the whole 90 minutes (they beat Liverpool), really really in our faces. I've never wanted to punch a girl in the face before that moment.

Saw her again when they played Liverpool in the Champs League... Much better evening.

[Jah Lush]

Nothing worse than glory seeking fans whether they are new supporters of Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal. Arseholes who know f**k all about the game.

[DaveR]

"Where were you when you were sh*t?"

[Keef]

I always remember an Arsenal fan shouting that to the Chelski lot in the CPT after the Carling Cup final... Bloody funny!

[DaveR]

A v. popular chant for visiting fans at Craven Cottage

[citizenED]

Mourinho for Spurs, Jah?

[Ladygooner]

Are there any Chelsea fans in East Dulwich? If so, lets hear your views.

[Annasfield]

No, but there's now a Manure fan lurking round these parts..... ::o

[Keef]

There are loads of Chelski fans around ED, but I doubt any of the ones I know of would read this!

Anna, have you seen the table footie thread, how about it?

[Annasfield]

Yep - I'm up for that!

[Jah Lush]

citizenED Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Mourinho for Spurs, Jah?

I don't think so. I'm very happy with Martin Jol thanks.

I went to the match last night. It was a good work out for some of the fringe players and others coming back from injury. Darren Bent, I have to say is a long way from justifying his price tag. Afraid I don't rate him much. Jermaine Defoe on the other hand came on late in the second half and showed what quality he is by scoring two cracking goals, the first with practically his first touch.

A match that I would say was a good morale booster for the weekend's game against Bolton, but I expect Keane and Berbatov to start upfront in that one.