Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Pure Genius
Labels: bad puns, jermaine jenas, soccer, Tottenham Hotspur
:: Posted by pete @ Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Stuff Happens
Contrary to rumours, we've not travelled so far west as to fall off the edge of the earth. But, there has been a brief hiatus whilst the writer, editor and proprietor had another drink. Regular stuff (but not margaritas) will return sometime.
Meanwhile, Younes Kaboul lost his shirt, but saved Tottenham's blushes on the night the famous North London side celebrated 125 years of glory (tm).
Is it enough to save beleagured coach Martin Jol?
On the one hand, Jol has led the club to it's best ever Premier League finishes, to a UEFA Cup quarter-final, cup semi-finals and has the confidence of the players and most of the fans. On the other, Tottenham spent £40m to improve the squad over the summer yet sit 18th, which seems unlikely to dramatically improve in October as the club face Liverpool and Newcastle (both away) in their next two matches, Jol has lost the confidence of the board and the defence is a joke.
Replacing Jol seems a no-brainer (to the board) if a suitable candidate is available. But with Ramos of Valencia and Mourinho apparently uninterested, there is no immediate candidate. So, Jol will probably survive another few weeks.
Jol:
"...But my family are all in the Marines and a commander never leaves his troops. If he does that he's lost. I kept my head cool."
Late result, FA Cup 2nd round replay: Hitchin Town 5, Haverhill Rovers 0. Up the Canaries!
Labels: Martin Jol, soccer, Tottenham Hotspur
Monday, September 24, 2007
Yawn, It's Monday
Camp Nou or is it Nou Camp? To be turned into a urinal or tread worn tire.
"Samples of earth taken by Russians who planted a flag on the seabed below the North Pole last month show beyond doubt the Arctic is Russian, its natural resources ministry said..." Might as well go further and annex Alaska on the basis that Siberia was once linked to it.
Baseball news: Washington Nationals play last game at RFK. Check back in April in case the building schedule on the new digs slips. Meanwhile, the cynics weigh in against the club's hitherto parsimony. Misschatter was serving mojitos.
iPod-olatry
"Driftwood" - Sickoakes
"It's Not My Cross to Bear" - The Allman Brothers' Band
"Untitled" - HIM
"Exit Right" - Eleventh Dream Day
"The Long Narrow Road" - John Surman
"You Were Right" - Built to Spill
"Side Netting" - Telstar Ponies
"Lachrymae Antiquae" (John Dowland) - Kronos Quartet
"Improv - Some Pussyfooting" - King Crimson
"Polynomial C" - Aphex Twin
"Down by the River" - Low/Dirty Three
"I Get My Kicks for You" - June of 44
"Pipeline/Kill Time" - Sonic Youth
"Nomanisisland" - Subtle
Labels: baseball, daily bollocks, soccer, un convention of the law of the sea
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Enjoy Your Pizza
Battle between EU Industry and Trade Commissioners over lowering the cost of energy-efficient light bulbs. German protecting his own industry at the expense of consumers and energy efficiency.
Bush pr0n
Another internet 10th anniversary. Yawn. Teh bloggers.
...the medium has radically changed publishing and communication. But not everyone is convinced ...For the blogging tribe, it's more like time to get out the red pencil, and dispute the premise of the anniversary itself.
Props to the Tottenham Massive.
Another football cardiac arrest? As Sevilla holds funeral for Puerta.
Rock Parque
Rubbish food: food rubbish.
iPodolatory
"Just Me and Phil" - Jah Wobble
"Dánarfregnir Og Jarðarfarir" - Sigur Rós
"Soot" - Sam Shalabi
"Cuban" - Sebadoh
"Worlds Melt Away" - Rothko
"Cadriopo" - Stereolab
"Buffalo606 - The Morning After" - Kid 606
"The Individual" - Spiritualized
"81" - The Marquis De Tren And Bonny Billy
"Knife Attack" - Timesbold
"Team Handed" - Mogwai
"Larks Tongue in Aspic Part One" - King Crimson
"Milkman" - Aphex Twin
"Threnody of Souls in Torment" - The Robert Fripp String Quartet
Labels: Barnstaple, daily bollocks, EU, food, football, internet, iPod, pr0n, Rock Park, soccer, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur, web content
Monday, August 27, 2007
We Know Where You Live Howard Webb
Opiniated football report follows.
Let's review Law 12 of Association Football:
A direct free kick is ... awarded to the opposing team if a player ... :
* handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
...
A penalty kick is awarded if any of the above is committed by a player inside his own penalty area, irrespective of the position of the ball, provided it is in play.
Penalty dude. We're coming to get your guide dog.
On the positive side, Tottenham defended well for most of the game. There was only the occasional panic; much-maligned 'Keeper Paul Robinson had to make one outstanding save and only had one misjudgment that the Donut can remember. Anthony Gardiner - blimey - was strong, solid and hardly beaten. The patched up defence kept Spurs in the game.
Ricardo Rocha gave the odd heart flutter, but no costly mistakes (except in front of the Man U goal). Gareth Bale made several good runs down the left flank, but when presented with golden opportunity to put in a killer ball across the goal in the dying minutes he cut it back straight to a defender.
Dmitar Berbatov looked disinterested or frustrated for 87 minutes, then nearly turned the game with three pieces of sublime skill. The goals will come.
The midfield held firm in front of the back four. Yet, distribution was irratic throughout.
A good performance, but Man U (for once) were there for the taking - no Rooney, no Ronaldo, no bite in front of goal. Can it help coach Martin Jol avoid the sack? In the long run, probably not. It's Champions League or bust. What purpose would that serve?
Jol's guided the team to consecutive fifth place finishes. He's restored European football to White Hart Lane, helped attract great talent like Berbatov and Bale to the team and has the faith of the fans. This is a work in progress. I don't expect Champions' League football next year. Tottenham need to build for the long haul; assemble a better squad and develop younger talent. Jol's a vital part of the development.
Hot-Spur: Anthony Gardner (for once not the Cardiac Kid)
Tottering Clotspur: Ricardo Rocha (two misses: Row Z volley and free header wide from a corner)
Labels: Martin Jol, soccer, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The Day the Sky Disappeared
To go along with the Summer that Never Was, the Day the Sky Disappeared.
Never mind Arsenal's sniff of homo-eroticism, what about Cesc Fabregas's child-like qualities: "When I scored my first goal ... I went home and celebrated by drinking a Coca-Cola and eating a Kinder Egg"
Sweeties and fizzy drinks tonight!
Any Mail Merge experts out there? Our whizzy top-of-the-range network uses Word 97. The following pops up when I try to mail merge.
A Kinder Egg and Coke for solutions that work.
Heard of Second Life? Try First Life. Marina Hyde on our internet fixation. (Hooray for the web.)
Crazy, fun-loving, friend of Fidel: Hugo Chavez puts the clock back 30 minutes. (Some might say he's moved the clock back three decades.)
Labels: daily bollocks, internet, soccer, summer, web ads
Friday, August 24, 2007
I'm 100% Behind You ... (Pushing You Out the Door)
Oh shit. Tottenham Hotspur coach Martin Jol has received the kiss of death.
"Martin has my 100% support and I'd like the fans to understand that they need to take the last few days in the context of what we think has been significant progress over the last six years," [club Chairman Daniel] Levy said.
Well, that's that then. Spurs travel to Old Trafford for the annual 4-0 defeat to Manchester United. What, you expect Man U to avoid victory four games on the trot?
Gerry Adams airport hell. Yes, that Gerry Adams.
To quote a commenter: "I love post-mortems. The recurring death of English football is particularly entertaining."
More Steve "Steve" McLaren news:
"McClaren now has the worst record of any England manager after a dozen fixtures. It would have been folly for him to look full of good cheer when his side had just lost at home to an improvised Germany line-up but he hardly seemed traumatised."
Bused home via sunny Bideford.
iPod-olatory
"Exhausted" - Joseph Arthur
"Sim Gishel" - Autreche
"Foreign Hotel Garden" - Papa M
"Crest" - Tortoise
"Walk All Over You" - Mark Kozalek
"Valerie" - Broadcast
"Tomorrow is Already Here" - Stereolab
"First There was Jazz 2" - Wibutee
"Cody" - Mogwai
Labels: aviation security, Bideford, Gerry Adams, iPod, Martin Jol, North Devon, soccer, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Headless Chickens
Paul Robinson makes a horlicks of a Schneider cross as England lose 2-1 in a miserable "friendly" to the hated Germans. Steve "Steve" McLaren has completed a year as England coach in which time the "golden generation" has produced a succession of mediocre performances and equally mediocre results. At least he's not Sven Goran Eriksson. Sven is currently riding high in first place in the Premier League - but it won't last. Hopefully, McLaren won't last too much longer either. Hire Martin O'Neill, for f&cks sake. Oh, and Team Beckham was on the pitch.
Firefox is teh suxor and users are thieves.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael "Ron Mexico" Vick in deeper dog poo-poo.
Funny road signs are very funny.
Google offers a calendar - well, I never.
New toilets in the pipeline, no pun intended.
Egg boxes are banned in craft lessons as they might cause salmonella.
Everyday more than 2 million people read the Daily Hate. How would a limp wristed, liberal fare reading the tabloid?
iPod-ology
"What are You?" - Matt Sweeney & Bonnie "Prince" Billy
"Hallucinex" - Stereolab
"Dark FX" - Mouse on Mars
"Accused of Stealing" - The Delagados
"F-Train" - Squarepusher
"Jungle Jim" - Rodan
Rock Parquet
Labels: Barnstaple, Devon, football, iPod, North Devon, Rock Park, soccer, sport