But they still lost home and away to Liverpool.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=5 4051790

Here is how the Big Four compare in head-to-head Premiership action this season:

Team  GD  PTS

LFC    7   14

Arsl    -1   9

Mank  -2   5

Chs    -4   4

It's tough pill to swallow but two more goals to convert draws to wins and LFC would have won.  It's the first time a team have only lost twice (Spurs and Middlesbrough of all people) and not won the Prem League.  And of course despite the mancs winning the league they never beat Livepool, and in fact were well beaten by them with their so-called player of the year being red carded twice.

So it's been a great year, and it augers well for next year.

Meanwhile, I've just sent off my application to become an Official Barcelona Supporter.

http://www.newsfortruefcbfans.com/  (Big download)

Iechyd da! John
19:08 24/05/2009 BST

Go get 'em Barca!!  I will be watching the game tonight on 8 hour delay, so I'll be staying out of this thread once the match begins.

Note to Jk3:  Send the accountants home--this is one match, no away goal rule today, the team that scores the most goals wins.  An even score means two overtime periods of 15 minutes, and if that doesn't do it, spot kicks will.  Go Barca!

At least it wasn't nil-nil.

Hahaha!!  I called, but Fergie didn't have anyone willing to step up and process my order.

"We started the game brightly. We were confident and we could have been in front," Ferguson said. "We had the ball but didn't use it very well. ... We defended fantastically all season but they were two shoddy goals.

"We didn't play as well as we can, but they are a good team. We have to give them credit. Xavi (Hernandez) and (Andres) Iniesta can keep the ball all night. They made it very difficult."

1.  The move by Et'o to embarrass Vidic was not "shoddy".  Leaving Messi unmarked for a header in front of goal was shoddy.

2. Xavi and Iniesta "can keep the ball all night" if no one bothers to pressure them, like in the 2009 CL Final, for example.

Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.

-jk3

(Alfred Lord Tennyson)

Darn it...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8071284.stm

Here is a photo of me I never posted after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.  There I was minding my own business, when suddenly a few guys from Ghana pleaded with me that they had too many injuries and they needed me to join their roster.  I couldn't say no, but I never thought I would score the winning goal with a bit of real quality . . .  Here's the proof:

That wasn't Photoshop, my friend.  Look again.

So, today I heard the first four teams to qualify for the 2010 Men's World Cup, besides South Africa which has an automatic berth as host country: <drum roll>Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Australia</dr>.  Credit to the Aussies, who were the last team to qualify in '06 and amoung the first to qualify in 2010.

Not sure how other nations faired today, but the U.S. rebounded from a dismal performance at Costa Rica Wednesday to defeat a good team from Honduras today in Chicago.  I was dismayed by some of the poor play in the first half, but the first ten minutes of the second half showed me we can play tough and possess with quality.  I have yet to watch the rest of the 2nd half, but apparently we got the result we needed to keep us on track for a visit "Over There" in SA next year.  "Cause the Yanks are Coming! The Yanks are Coming! The Drum's rum tumming everywhere!"

Johnnie get your gun, get you gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun, you're a Son-of-a-Gun,
Hoist the flag and let her fly
Like true heros do or die
Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit,
Soldiers to the ranks from the towns and the tanks,
Make your Mother proud of you and to Liberty be true.

Chorus:
Over There, Over There
Send the word, send the word,
Over There
That the Yanks are coming,
The Yanks are coming,
The drums rum tumming everywhere
So prepare,
Say a Prayer
Send the word,
Send the word to beware
We'll be over, we're coming over.
And we won't be back till it's over over there!

Copyright © 1917 by Leo. Feist, Inc., New York

Gotta be Sami's.  What a palace!

Manchester United have performed an incredible about-turn on Cristiano Ronaldo    by accepting a world record £80m bid from Real Madrid for the Portuguese    winger.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd /5503288/Manchester-United-accept-80m-bid-for-Cristiano-Ronaldo-from-R eal-Madrid.html

I think they pay for goal scoring ability.

I's pick Stevie over Ronaldo if I was building a 2009 all-star team.  Tommy Smith gave his top five on ESPN two days ago, and I thought he was all wet. 5. Rooney 4. Inietsa 3. Kaka 2. Ronaldo 1. Messi.  The midfield drives the team.

Whoa ho... US 1 - 0 ITL

But, a long way to go.

1-1 Rossi for the Azuri.  A left foot cracker.

I wonder why the Mancs sold him to Villareal.

Iechyd da! John
20:46 15/06/2009 BST

2-1 for Italy.  de Rossi.  Not the best of goals but it beat the clumsy defender and outstretched Howard…

About 15 min to go.

Iechyd da! John
21:00 15/06/2009 BST

I thought the U S play was pitiful in the second half.

Only consolation is two Italian goals were scored by somebody 'born in the USA'.