YankeeinMadrid

Baz: Basically once the whole story of him going to Cameroon because of the accident surfaced, the writing was on the wall. This was some famous Villa spin/hiding info/censorship...etc. This happened around the same time that the club decided to keep Cuellar's knee op a secret for nearly a month until it was leaked to the press by someone not related to the club.

Would be a shame really. Why can't you go into details on something being 'hidden' by the club, that doesn't make sense as if it's hidden, no one except Randy and the management would know about it! Just some whispers about something not being quite right about his injuries and the way they were reported to the press in an almost cryptic way + his sudden departure home. Nothing concrete or JFK conspiracy....it just smells bad so keep it in mind. Remember when I posted this about Makoun back in May? Everyone jumped on me and couldn't accept that he might be done here. He's finding it hard to get into the Olympiakos side as Valverde seems to favor his ex la-liga players.

Gabby hattrick like 3 years ago would be nice...

Any sage advice for a first timer?

"Okay, I love shiny plastic shit as much as the next guy, but can we just stop all of this Steve Jobs fawning? Lots of important people have died recently, and Jobs would not be at the top of that list. Yes, Apple stuff is super shiny. My MBP is great. So is my iPhone. So is my iPod. Lots of creative people were involved in designing those, not just Jobs. However, Jobs was notably opposed to philanthropy. And he callously exploited and poisoned poor workers around the world. And he was anti-union. And he had terrible taste in turtlenecks. And I could go on. His goal was to make money. Period. And he made a lot of it. I "paid tribute" to Jobs when I bought his shit. So did you. Do I like that shit? Again, yes. But I love lots of products. So do you. So does everyone. They help us not think about the other soul-crushing aspects of our lives. But despite what all the nauseating Apple ads said over the years, owning Apple stuff never made you more creative or a member of some counter-cultural elite. When you cut through all the bullshit, Jobs's stuff just had rounder edges and fewer software issues. That's great. But Jobs wasn't Jesus (or even Fred Shuttlesworth). Jesus wouldn't use child labor. Jesus wouldn't wear ugly turtlenecks. And Jesus wouldn't make you pay extra for phone technical support. Okay? So let's all just get some perspective and chill - the - **** - out about Steve Jobs." Not my words...but it's how I feel about it.

Romanzo Criminale just started on SkyArts a couple nights ago. After one episode it looks really good. Anyone else see it?

6.5 weeks to go!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Luisa Baldini?

Why on Earth is Hutton starting football matches? It's obvious that he's either really shit or very unfit (this is what I believe it is). Play Herd (our motm before we signed Hutton) Play Beye You don't play someone who is clearly unfit if you want to win the match. Collins: why, why, why does he keep playing those 40 yard hollywood balls? Bannan is 5ft5 and he ain't gonna win a Collins hoof in the air. I blame the coaching. If a player continously (75%+ of the time) loses the ball when he plays those long passes, YOU TELL HIM TO STOP DOING IT!!!!! Why is he allowed to keep attempting those passes? It's just so wasteful...especially since we struggle to keep possession.

I feel like I owe him a card apologizing for thinking and saying he was shit last season. The man is a beast! Hope he keeps it up!

Cliff notes or a quick summary of this thread por favor!

He looks pretty mediocre so far for Scotland...

A friend of mine who is an Olympiacos fan just told me: "Makoun is going through medical tests tomorrow morning and then they will announce the deal. It's a one-year loan deal but there will definitely be a future transfer fee anywhere between 3-4 million euros. They are saying that Olympiacos will cover 100% of the player's contract for this year. I was really surprised that McLeish let him go." Not really a big deal IF we bring someone else in. Otherwise no need to loan him out...

Nov 5, 2006: Villa 2-Blackburn 0. 30,089 attendance. Today's attendance of 30,776 was the lowest prem league attendance in nearly 5 years.

30,776 attendance. Same fixture last year: 38,965. Ouch! That's tons of lost revenue.

Prediction: Jets 12-4

I think even the Giants ballboy is injured. Terrible luck with all the injuries. It's probably the one thing I hate about the NFL.

JETS!

This---Ireland probably doesn't even score when he plays FIFA. A bit unlucky not to get a goal, but seemed aloof.

Cuellar 10!! He was at the match today on his 30th bday...so much for all the talk about him leaving, eh?

I don't wanna hate on Bannan, but I might be leaning towards saying he might not be good enough. Still WAY too early to say for sure though.

Just got back from VP- Tactics were bad from AMC the first hour. We basically played with 4 cbs, because Herd and Lichaj weren't allowed to go past midfield. No width made Albrighton predictable. Ireland looked aloof. I think he's a VERY poor man's Zidane...his technique is great but at times it looks like he's lazy. Hereford's GK had the match of his life. Did anyone notice Hereford brought on a player shorter than Bannan on 90 minutes?? Guzan- 6 Didn't have anything to do. Heard Hereford fans chanting "you're just a crap Brad Friedel" harsh-but funny as hell! Herd- 6 Dunne- 7 Very calm, cool and collected back there Clark- 7 See above Lichaj-8 Strong defending and confident going forward. Before the goal he had a great shot saved by Hereford's Iker Casillas! USA!USA!USA! I wish they'd play him at RB! Makoun- 5 first half 7 2nd half. He seemed a bit lazy 1st half, turned it up later on tbf Bannan- 7 Very good match...I think he's got great technique, but he's not quite ready yet. Ireland-7? The guy probably can't even score in FIFA!! Casillas (Hereford's) denied him 3 times and he had a better 2nd half than first Albrighton- 6 Meh....sooooooooooo predictable going forward, a bunch of poor crosses, better in 2nd. N'Zogbia- 6 He still doesn't seem 100% fit to me. Bent- 6 Lots of hustle, but frustrated by lack of service. Subs- Weimann-8 You can tell he's got great technique and tons of potential. Unlucky not to have scored. Fonz- 7 Right place, right time for the goal...Glad he played up front and not on the wing!! Beye-8 (for the 10 mins he played!) Heard lots of stick "he's on 55k million billion dollars a week....he's shit...etc" but he put in a great cross in that was nodded down for Fonz to score. The guy is a good player, just hasn't been given a proper chance (LB vs Vienna---yes he should have done better on that cross...but cut him some slack, out of position!) 21k and change attendance....better than what I expected tbf. Not a great match, but a good result! Lichaj for president!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get in!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Raúl...and am considering naming my first born after him. I guess Schalke don't have CL this year, but can't see Blackburn paying a transfer fee (5m ?) plus paying him 45-50k p/w. Him and Salgado, who is starting to look his age, are good friends. So are their wives and kids... If Villa weren't broke...

Half decent debut...

Thanks for the tips guys. We've found one that we like and want to make an offer, but there is a problem. Before they will communicate the offer to the owner the estate agent wants us to come to their office and provide them with: ID, Bank info to prove we are in work and our earnings, an official letter from mortgage lender with approval AND bank details showing that we have the deposit money in our account. All of this before being "allowed" to make our offer. Is this standard or is the estate agent taking the Michael? I've already provided them with a letter from our financial advisor with approval from a mortgage lender and asking any estate agent to ask the advisor any additional questions, should they be necessary. The agent insists that we must physically go to the office with all of this info, or our offer can't be communicated to the seller. Really strange or standard procedure here? Some buyers market!!