Rodney Marsh Sacked, Football Questions

OK, questions for anyone who might have answers. Liverpool beat Watford to book their place in the Worthless Cup (or whatever it's called now) final. Who's your favourite sponsor? I'd have to say Milk closely followed by Rumbelows.

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of seeing Liverpool on Sky Sports now after 13 consecutive games? Why buy a season ticket when you can just watch all Liverpool games on Sky?

Why has Rodney Marsh (football pundit legend not cricket legend) been sacked? What exact comments did he make on "You're On Sky Sports" last night (Monday 24th Jan)?

Is El Hadji Diouf a cheat or just clever after diving as if he had fallen when attempting the first stage of the triple jump? Should video replays be introduced to stop this? Should the FA use the evidence post match to punish players for such actions?

Anyone with any answers or opinions for the above 8 questions, please enlighten me.

Possible Regrets, Norwich Comeback, Ill

I went into Huddersfield last night and am regretting not doing what I should have done which is the first time i've felt like this for a while but i'm kinda used to it. I didn't feel very well towards the end of the night (not drink related though not helped by the drink either i magine) which is a partial excuse and don't feel a lot better now. This may be due to not getting to sleep until 5:30 which was 4 hours after I got home. It was a good night in general though and nice to see Rob and Ann for the first time this year.

Huddersfield won with 2 goals from new loan signing Luke Beckett and the bottom 5 in the Premiership also won except Norwich who should be pleased with a point after drawing 4-4 against Middlesborough even though they were 4-1 down after 78 minutes.

I've added a bouncebackability petition to my links as it's a useful word and should be added to the dictionary. It's a bit odd but there you go - no obligation to sign it by the way.

Off to bed soon so I'm hopefully fit for another busy day at work.

Romance Update

No, it's not kiss and tell. Just thought it was worth giving Burnley a mention for beating Liverpool on Tuesday night. They deserved it and the own goal that clinched it was hilarious. Last night saw no shocks and as Man Utd were leading I went to the pub and watched the end there and only let my concentration on the conversation slip once :-) Work is busy trying to get accounts done for people's tax returns. Winds reached 85mph near here last night but no damage was done apart from finding a pot plant rolling around next to my car this morning.

Who is the King of Spain

The England cricket team played well today and beat South Africa to take a 2-1 lead in the series. I was somewhat curious however by the Spanish flag in the English 'Barmy Army' section of the crowd which read 'GILO IS OUR KING'. 'Gilo' is obviously referring to Ashley Giles, currently England's top spinner (open for debate) who plays county cricket for Warwickshire. Then, as if prompted by my thoughts, Sky Sports revealed the reasoning behind the slogan on the flag.

Warwickshire made 1000 limited edition Ashley Giles mugs last summer which stated on the side "ASHLEY GILES, KING OF SPIN". Unfortuneately whilst at the printers (or however they produce mugs) there was some sort of mix-up and all the mugs came back with the slogan "ASHLEY GILES, KING OF SPAIN"! So next time you see a Spanish flag at an England cricket match you'll know why.

Man In White Suit and Ladies Football

On Friday I was in Halifax with Sarah, Kate, JJ and Amanda and had enough alcohol to make me happy again. We ended up in Jumpin Jaks. There is an old guy in a white suit every Friday night in Jumpin Jaks who dances on the stage all night long and hugs all the younger women which some of them enjoy and others don't. He shook my hand and told me it was his 70th birthday, then when he told the DJ he got champagne and a huge cheer so a big happy birthday to Gordon (like he's going to read this).

Yesterday after Liverpool vs Man Utd. I went for a walk with Rosie but this was less eventful than normal as it was not a "Rosie Walk". Still enjoyable though. I then watched Arsenal lose to Bolton and hand Chelsea their first title for 50 years. Well almost, they are now 10 points ahead with 15 games to play.

Today when I got up it was nice and sunny so I decided it was time for a reality check and so it was time to get back to grass roots football, and who better to watch than Rosie playing for Hebden Royd Ladies. However the weather forecast was wrong and it rained quite a lot (though nowhere near as heavily as New Year's Day). This was my first experience of watching ladies football and I was sceptical when I saw there were no linesmen for the game (video replays definitely not appropriate). The match had an average attendance of 8 which is quite sad and must be demoralising for those playing - having hardly anyone watching or shouting support especially as this was a cup match with the home team favourite to win. Despite the lack of support, they did win 7-1 and outclassed Hemsworth Miners throughout. The pitch was a real quagmire with no grass present on an estimated 30% of the pitch. The team did very well and I won't rule out going again sometime. They were more entertaining than Bradford Park Avenue anyway and it was good to see what real football is like again.

The Wind Of Change

ntree11
Originally uploaded by beansport88.

It's been very windy recently. Two ridge tiles blew off our next door neighbours roof and landed on top of our dorma window last Friday. At the weekend Canterbury Cricket Ground's famous Lime Tree (pictured) was blown down. The cricket ground was built around the tree in 1847 and the tree was over 200 years old but was dying and becoming very weak. Kent have a different type of stump problem now though working out what to do with the remains of it.

More sad news was announced this week that Charlie has left boy band Busted resulting in the split of hugely popular band. I went to a Malaysian Barbeque restaurant last Friday with most of the Halifax people I still know that were around. This was in Sowerby Bridge and on my only other visit to Sowerby Bridge on the way home I remember hearing Steps had split up. That was Boxing Day 2000 I think. Hmmm the weird things you remember.

Another change i'm getting used to is being back to work after the enjoyable Christmas break. So that's the sad changes. The only good change I can think of at the time of writing is that Carmella played by Natalie Blair is back in Neighbours.

FA Cup 3rd Round Romance

This is probably my favourite weekend of the football season where the minnows go up against the big teams. It was a terrible weekend for Manchester as City lost to League 1 Oldham Athletic and United drew 0-0 with Exeter City of the Conference at Old Trafford. This was the shock of the round and maybe now Sir Alex Ferguson will learn that playing his 2nd reserve team against lower ranked opposition is not such a good idea. They now look very silly and have to travel to Exeter for a game against a team 93 places below the in the league. It serves them right in my opinion. It's also the second consecutive 0-0 draw at Old Trafford after the unjust draw with Spurs on Tuesday.

Other giant-killers included the regulars, Yeovil Town and Sheffield United, along with West Ham United (but they were favourites to beat Norwich anyway (sorry Buckers!)). Scunthorpe came close to upsetting Chelsea after taking the lead as did Stoke with Arsenal but the Premiership top two came out on top in the end. Sadly, it was not to be for outskirts of West London side Yeading who lost 2-0 to Newcastle. They did however put up a good fight and in the first half it was difficult to tell which side was 135 rungs above the other in the laegue ladder but quality showed through in the end.

Hmmm a 135 rung ladder. Sounds a bit unsafe unless it's attached to a crane or building or something.

Anyway hopefully the replays will provide more shocks as that is what the roance of the cup is ll about.

Cardiff had a bad day in the Women's FA Cup. Their teams lost 3-4 to Chelsea (who beat Ruth's football team earlier in the season)and 4-5 to Millwall and former top ladies team Doncaster Belles lost 1-9 to Birmingham. Ouch!

The Great Video Replay Debate

carrollDT
Originally uploaded by beansport88.

After this incident on Tuesday, the question was raised again on the subject of the use of video replays in football (soccer).

The referee and his assistant both failed to give this as a goal as Pedro Mendes of Spurs was robbed of a special moment and Roy Carroll's blushes were saved.

My personal opinion is that video evidence should be introduced as soon as possible, but if this is the case the technology needs to be reliable and not stop the flow of the game.

The next question though is to what extent it should be introduced. Sheffield United's second goal today in the giant-killing of Aston Villa was very offside and the turning point in the game. However linesmen need some responsibility so maybe only offside goals could be looked at.

But this seems rather unfeasible, therefore I think offside should be at the total discretion of the linesman though I do feel the referee should discuss tight, important decisions with his assistant more often.

As for video evidence, it is time it was introduced for the goal line incidents like the one shown here. Other famous occasions where incorrect decisions have been incorrect include the 1966 World Cup Final (that Russian linesman) and the 1997 FA Cup semi-final where Chesterfield were robbed of the chance to be in the final.

I also feel it should be introduced for penalty decisions however how this could be implemented without disrupting the flow of the game I don't know.

Any ideas or thoughts on the subject please post a comment and join the great debate.

Work Happenings

The guy I mentioned in my last post is ok now. One of the cleaners has disappeared. A laptop and a mobile phone have gone missing (2+2=4). Also yesterday a client was on the phone saying she had found a human head in a bin bag in the canal next to her farm. A man has been arrested in the last hour on suspicion of murder.

We also had our contracts amended. I quote, "The internet may not be accessed for personl use." "Personal e-mails may be sent/received". I see, so we can send e-mails to our mates all day but can't even use the internet to look at the latest cricket score at lunchtime. We'll see tomorrow if anyone obeys it.

I'll do a post on the hotly debated subject of video replays in football when I get time. Bet you all can't wait!

Back to Work

First day back at work and we had some excitement. Someone who is diabetic had dangerously low sugar levels and almost passed out so an ambulance had to be called to inject him with glucose. I think he was ok afterwards but went home soon after.

Last night we didn't come last in the quiz again after another good music round and Bill's immense knowledge of everything. I recorded the PDC (Sky) (proper) darts world final and watched it when I got home to see Phil "The Power" Taylor surge to his 12th world title. Most dominant sportsman ever? Probably. Greatest sportsman ever? I suppose the argument "It's darts" would come into it and there are more energy exerting sports but for sheer skill and dominance he has to be 2nd to none.

The Start of 2005

The fireworks in London were very impressive which may have been to try to boost the 2012 London Olympic bid. I was feeling quite odd by now and so didn't drink any more or speak much or even move much. It was bedtime soon enough though and I was fine by the morning.

I then nipped home to change and find out what was happening later and returned to Rosie's house for a walk. Most of the people from the night before went and it was a nice walk along real paths. I think we were on the top of Norland Moor when the sky blackened. On the way back we got very wet. Very very very very very wet. At least my hair was dry thanks to my woolly hat. I don't think it would have been much wetter if we'd have jumped in the canal (though maybe dirtier and colder). I went home after the walk and my hair soaked when I stopped for petrol as it rained even more than before. Cars were stopping on the side of the dual carriageway as they couldn't see where they were going. It was quite dangerous really and would probably have been less so if people had just kept driving but slower.

Huddersfield lost, I dried off and normal service will soon be resumed - back to work on Tuesday, and most people heading south again for uni/work/home. Thanks for the hospitality and good party Rosie.

Happy new year everyone!

The End of 2004

Tuesday saw my first visit to The Acapulco night club in Halifax. I didn't think it was as bad as people have said but it did look like a place which could get a bit drunken on a busier night. It was a Tuesday and it was the only night club open. The website's front page is not anything like what is inside the club and further into the website was this amazing offer "BYE YOU XMAS OR NEW YEARS TICKETS AND THIS WILL ENTITLE YOU TO FREE ENTRY ALL JAN/FEB" I think someone had had toomany of their cheap spirits before writing this!

Wednesday was a quick couple of drinks at the pub with Ed, Rosie, and Ruth who came to Halifax for new year. After the pub we went back to Rosie's and played Cranium. A lot. Went home at four o'clock to continue my run of very late nights.

Thursday was quiet but I couldn't sleep very well. I got up early on Friday to go shopping and bought a new suit. It was the new year party at Rosie's house with lots of people there. It was good and I was drinking punch quite freely (though not all of it being my fault (cheers Bill)). We counted down the new year after holding a 2 minute silence for the tsunami victims in Asia and Africa and then it was no longer 2004.