[Bruvva]

Messi has shit hair to distract people from his dodgy tax dealings and all round ego-mania.

You've heard about the coke incident I assume?

[The Deadly]

Messi is whiter than white. I don't believe he'd do anything bad. He looks too innocent.

[Bruvva]

So, according to the Guardian football podcast, a portmanteau of "suarridge" has been created for Suarez and Sturridge.

Trying to think of one for united players...Wellbeck, Anderson, Nani, Kagawa, Evra, Rooney, Smalling.....

Nope, can't see how that might work..at all....

*childish giggle*

[chrysostom]

Wilshere gets blasted for having a poor grasp of articulation.

Is it just my allegiance to Arsenal that sees complete sense in his point that players shouldn't represent a national team which they have no cultural/family allegiance to?

I'd have loved to have Arteta in our midfield for the last 2/3 years, but it doesn't quite feel right to me to have someone play for our national team by sole virtue of scraping through the qualifying criteria.

[The Deadly]

If a player is of exceptional quality and is eligible to play for England then it's a no brainer. They have to be made available for England at all costs. The young lad at Manchester United who is the subject of debate might be of the required quality to play for England one day and should be looked after and groomed by the FA. Take advantage of the rules as they are now and think about the future of our national side.

[Yudster]

I have tried, I really have, but I can't bring myself to care one way or the other. If the rules say its ok, I don't see why he shouldn't, but international football is so dreary anyway, it won't make a lot of difference to that.

[chrysostom]

If a player is of exceptional quality and is eligible to play for England then it's a no brainer. They have to be made available for England at all costs. The young lad at Manchester United who is the subject of debate might be of the required quality to play for England one day and should be looked after and groomed by the FA. Take advantage of the rules as they are now and think about the future of our national side.

1 game.

All this, after an 18 year old plays 1 game.

Not to mention that he'd have to go through the ages of 18-23 without playing any international football - without the guarantee of being in our starting line up.

I don't like our international team that much, but the idea of a player representing England either because he's not good enough to represent his cultural/birth country, or because it'll make him more commercially viable belittles the spirit of international football.

Anyhow, I've been given a free ticket to the match tonight, so I'll be bored off my pants there tonight...

[Bruvva]

Problem with Januzaj is that due to the peculiarities of the UK, he would actually qualify for ALL of the home nations. It's why there's an agreement that none of England, Scotland, Wales, N Ireland get players this way. Plus, y'know, 45 minutes of being half decent is no real basis to pick someone.

And Chrys is right, players shouldn't play for a country where they have no connection. Spain are in the process of "signing" someone who's already played two friendlies for Brazil, that shouldn't be allowed at all. If you move to a country and become naturalised, then fair enough but to just up and play for a different country, that's a bit off.

And I'm with Yuds, international football's shit. And usually followed by inbred weirdos from the less pleasant backwaters of England. Part of me wants England to fail to qualify so I can actually enjoy the world cup this time round.

[The Deadly]

If a player is of exceptional quality and is eligible to play for England then it's a no brainer. They have to be made available for England at all costs. The young lad at Manchester United who is the subject of debate might be of the required quality to play for England one day and should be looked after and groomed by the FA. Take advantage of the rules as they are now and think about the future of our national side.

1 game.

All this, after an 18 year old plays 1 game.

Not to mention that he'd have to go through the ages of 18-23 without playing any international football - without the guarantee of being in our starting line up.

I don't like our international team that much, but the idea of a player representing England either because he's not good enough to represent his cultural/birth country, or because it'll make him more commercially viable belittles the spirit of international football.

Anyhow, I've been given a free ticket to the match tonight, so I'll be bored off my pants there tonight...

Oh you're absolutely correct about Januzaj in respect of the FA throwing all their weight behind him and hailing him as the saviour of English football but my point was a broader one regarding other young foreign players who I feel should be groomed and monitored by the FA. If we can pick up a few potential world class talents at a very young age who are eligable to play for England then I have no issue with it. I have a massive problem with the FA though and have no faith in them to do anything right. Their new scheme includes big roles for Danny Mills and Glenn Hoddle. Danny Mills has an influence over the future of English football and that worries me.
In an ideal scenario I hope Arsene Wenger has it in him to take over the England team when he leaves Arsenal and is given free reign to change what he likes about our youth set up and first team. His mind is what we need at the level we are at now. Roy Hodgson is completely uninspiring and safe and nothing will change with him at the helm. He is a puppet of the FA and England will stay at the same level we are now for years to come with him in charge.

[The Deadly]

Of course with Wenger in charge of the England team there is the risk of our players dropping off little bit physically in the second half.

[Bruvva]

After the gid following Andros Townsend's performance t'other night, someone posted a guide to young England players which I have to say is pretty much spot on :

1] Make unexpected appearance against low-ranking opposition at home
2] Enthusiastically run around doing a semi-decent job while commentators note that he has performed well on his debut
3] Smack home a goal, instantly elevating all that had gone before to unheard of levels of excellence
4] Turn in a few more vigorous if barely effective performances against mid table WC qualifying fodder
5] Turn nose up at U21s and when pressured to play, roll around like you are too good to belong. Afterwards complain about being jaded and needing to focus on your club
6] Finally meet a top ranking international side and after 5 minutes of running around all busy, get found out and shepherded down the wing for the rest of the game
7] Have limitations totally ignored by the press who start agitating for a move to a 'top 4 club' (regardless if Spurs are in the top 4 at that time)
8] Move to Man City for an obscene amount of cash and end up sitting beside Rodwell on the bench all sulky, occasionally pissing and moaning to anyone who will listen that all you want to do is play

[chrysostom]

From inside the stadium, Townsend looked poor.

Kept losing the ball or checking back onto his left which slowed the play down - must have looked different on TV!

[Bruvva]

He was ok on Friday, fine tonight. It's just the giddyness of the press that annoys me.

On the plus side for tonight, best I've seen England play for an age.

Downside, Lampard. * hell he's shit.

[The Deadly]

He was ok on Friday, fine tonight. It's just the giddyness of the press that annoys me.

On the plus side for tonight, best I've seen England play for an age.

Downside, Lampard. * hell he's shit.

Good thing for Townsend is at least he'll have something nice to read about himself as he's sitting on the Spurs bench in the coming weeks.
In all seriousness I hope he is the next great English talent and lives up to the hype. We are long overdue a new world class talent so good luck to the lad.

[chrysostom]

I feel bad, the amount that people are overhyping his ability will just lead to too much expectations - leading to an inflated sense of disappointment if he performs averagely*.

*this can be used when the English public & media react to any young player playing well**

**even though I still maintain that Townsend lost the ball too often

[Bruvva]

This thing lost my post yesterday, damn it.

Anyway,good win for Arsenal, Liverpool grab a point when not playing well at all, appalling refereeing all round at Chelsea and Southampton damage their European chances by only managing a draw at mid-table strugglers United.

Anyway, this needs more attention, charming behaviour from Ince :

"The Blackpool Gazette printed 10,000 Paul Ince masks for Blackpool's game against Wigan Athletic so fans could "show their support" as he began his five‑match ban from setting foot in the stadium on match days.

Ince has done a fine job, but the idea should have been scrapped as soon as the Football Association released its full written findings into his disciplinary hearing and a picture emerged that would fit snugly into one of those police documentaries about what happens when testosterone mixes with stupidity at chucking-out time on the Golden Mile.

It is an enlightening read, starting off with Ince being sent from the dugout in a match at Bournemouth, having accidentally struck a spectator when he threw a water bottle in frustration. After waiting for the referee in the tunnel and demanding to see the fourth official, Mark Pottage – "Where's your busy * of a fourth?" – various witnesses recount him "violently" shoving Pottage in the chest, two‑handed, into a wall. As stewards bundled him away, his "eyes were bulging" and he could be repeatedly heard shouting: "I'll knock you * out, you *." All this, by the way, after Blackpool had actually won 2-1 and were top of the Championship.

Apologies for the swearing, by the way. It is this newspaper's policy not to use asterisks and hopefully that doesn't offend the man himself. Ince, you see, told the hearing "everyone who knows me will vouch the c-word is a word I do not use nor accept being used by any of my players, staff or friends". Even better, Ince said he "felt intimidated" when he saw Pottage approaching. Alex Rae, his assistant, pointed out that Pottage was "6ft 2in or 3in tall". Ince, he said, was "shocked and intimidated".

Unfortunately for Ince, there is not a referee, linesman or fourth official out there with previous when it comes to bashing up managers. Ince, on the other hand, has now had six disciplinary cases in four years and, if this was Sunday league, he would probably be banned sine die.

No public apology from Blackpool though, just a tribute from the local newspaper and a statement from the club that they "acknowledge" the ban and will try to make sure it "does not affect our short- or long-term objectives". That's the spirit."

[Yudster]

Sums up a lot of what's wrong with our football dominated culture.

[chrysostom]

Arsenal being 5 points clear at the top of the league seems to make me more nervous than anything else, but we're playing some wonderful stuff and the moment

[The Deadly]

Arsenal being 5 points clear at the top of the league seems to make me more nervous than anything else, but we're playing some wonderful stuff and the moment

Little bit wonderful stuff?

[Bruvva]

Arsenal being 5 points clear at the top of the league seems to make me more nervous than anything else, but we're playing some wonderful stuff and the moment

Yeah, I keep thinking "it probably won't last" and all the pundits are saying "it probably won't last". I am beginning to change my mind though, Chelsea and City seem to be inconsistent and I don't think anyone else really has the quality or consistency to sustain a challenge. They were very impressive on Saturday although if I'm to be hyper critical, a more clinical team (or at least one with more about them in the middle of the park) than Liverpool may well have come away with a draw there so Arsenal are far from the finished article. If (and it's a reasonably sized "if") Arsenal go out of the CL at the group stages (and that's more than possible, two away games at Napoli and Dortmund are not easy and if teams are level on points then the results against Marseille will be discarded) then I do think that would move them into being favourites for the league due to having less games to play for the rest of the season.

That said, they'll probably confound me and beat Dortmund tonight!

As for Liverpool, drop the 3-5-2 and buy a new central midfielder plox...if that happens, 4th's a possibility.

[chrysostom]

We'd be lumbered with the bloody Europa League if we finished 3rd. Urgh.

[The Deadly]

On the plus side you could have a nice away day somewhere in Slovenia!

[Bruvva]

Europa league's ace, teams you've never seen before, places you have to look up on the map to see where the hell your team are playing. It's all good fun. Besides, Arsenal'd play the kids in it anyway.

[The Deadly]

Whatever Aaron Ramsey is putting in his water I want some of it. The guy is unstoppable at the moment.

[Bruvva]

That said, they'll probably confound me and beat Dortmund tonight!

Heh. Really should have gone to bookies with that hunch.