Is the Ukraine the Place for Euro-2012?
I have just read this article about the Ukraine on the BBC.
England will be playing their three qualifying group matches for Euro-2012 in the Ukraine, although not anywhere near where Yulia Ymoshrenko is imprisoned. The Times also reports bomb explosions in the city.
I think that it could be a bit of a difficult trip for England and especially their supporters.
Remember too, that the patron saint of the Ukraine is Saint Andrew.
Talk about a baptism of fire for England’s new manager. Fire must be fought with fire! Even if only it the of the metaphorical sort! So the England team should contain the two English heroes of the Nou Camp; Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard. And of course Stuart Pearce must be on the touchline! Even if he’s just number two in name to some overpriced so-called man with the right experience!
Pep Gardiola Would be Mad to go to Chelsea
Pep Guardiola is possibly stepping down at Barcelona to take a rest from football according to reports, like this this one in the Guardian.
Whatever he does in the future, he would be mad to go to Chelsea. But he probably knows that, so they would pay an enormous price to get him. Especially, as they’d probably fire him in a few months.
Championship Clubs Agree Fair Play Rules
The Championship clubs have agreed a set of fair-play rules to ensure that a club can’t do a QPR and buy themselves promotion. It is reported here in the Independent.
We should be told which were the three Championship clubs that voted against the implementation of the rules.
Any ideas?
On the 26th April, The Times said the three clubs were Reading, Southampton and Leicester City. All are owned by very rich individuals.
The Goodyear Blimp Over the Balls Pond Road
I took this picture, as I came back from getting my paper this morning.
If looked to me, that the Goodyear Blimp was flying along the Balls Pond Road toward Highbury Corner for the Arsenal Chelsea match at lunchtime. I’m not sure about the flying rules for airships, but if the pilot was in the left hand seat, he could have been flying just to the north of the road. That would be standard procedure in a fixed wing aircraft, when flying visually.
The Goodyear Blimp Over The Balls Pond Road
I see the blimp is down to be over the London Marathon tomorrow.
Beccles Station and the Start of the Construction of the Loop
On the way to football at Ipswich, I went via Beccles station, to see how the loop is progressing.
As you can see, there hasn’t been much done yet.
I hope that they improve the station as well as the track. I was there just after a very rainy morning and there was only one dry place to sit; a small patch of low concrete wall. Passengers started turning up about half-an-hour before the train and a couple were quite a bit older than me. There wasn’t even a pub or a cafe nearby.
I’ve been to quite a few unmanned stations in East Anglia, but Beccles must surely be one of the worst, if not the worst!
Another Non-Video Referee Blunder
The Chelsea Spurs match yesterday was ruined by the fact that football doesn’t have a video referee, who would have not given Chelsea’s second goal. It’s here in the Guardian.
The ghost goal probably didn’t affect the result, but who’s to know.
On the other hand, Harry Redknapp’s handling of his players and team cast further doubt on his being given the England job. But his biggest failing, seems to be that he lacks any smidgen of good luck.
Worse To Be Late Than Racist
According to this article in the Guardian, Manchester City have been fined €30,000 by UEFA for returning to the field late for the second half of their match against Sporting Lisbon.
This compares with a fine of just €20,000 for Porto for racially abusing Manchester City’s black players.
The logic of this defies me and I suspect every other person in the UK, be they a football fan or not. To take a simple example.
Does this mean if my bus is on time, I can’t racially abuse the driver, but if it is late, I can? Or is it the other way round? Not that we do this in London or in fact anywhere in the UK, even if the bus driver is a UEFA official doing a job on the side.
Everton’s Cup Odds Have Just Shortened
Liverpool might still win their game tonight against Blackburn, but to have a second goalkeeper sent off in a week or so is careless.
Everton must be looking up for the FA Cup at the weekend.
Has Harry Blown It?
It would appear that Harry Redknapp hasn’t been having the best of luck with getting Spurs into next year’s Champions League.
So perhaps Stuart Pearce will get the job of England manager after all. At present Redknapp is still favourite with the bookies and Pearce is third after Roy Hodgson.
I wouldn’t rule out Roy Hodgson, especially as like me he is a Leo pig. We come with built-in luck.
What’s Going Wrong With Scottish Football?
Reading all of the stories last night about Scottish football, it appears to be digging itself a big hole.
Apparently, the Scottish Premier League is set up that all changes need an 11-1 majority, to protect the interests of Celtic and Rangers. The other clubs want this changed to a 9-3 vote. The manifestations of this are well set out in this reasoned article from the Herald.
The article ends with this statement.
The Old Firm, and the rest of the SPL clubs, have a responsibility to do what is right for the game. Where is the consensus? Who is prepared to act radically, instead of just talking about it?
If Scotland wants to have a viable football competition, the powers that be must act decisively, radically and quick. One solution, that I would not countenance at any price is Rangers and Celtic playing in the English leagues. They must keep their sectarianism north of the border.
To make matter worse for Scottish football, the driver of the Motherwell team coach managed to get it stuck under a bridge, as is reported here.
I do also wonder whether the rise of Scottish rugby teams like Edinburgh are turning fans against football and its never ending troubles. Fanslike nothing better than a winner.
The Anonymous Widower 