Rock the Crossbar: February 2007

England get new chariot driver

Some clips from Ireland's historic 43-13 thumping of England on Saturday Anthems Action

That Carling Cup Final...

Wow, what a game. John Terry dead, Abou Diaby breaks hurts foot in the same incident, young Theo scores a cracker, Drogba scores a great header and one questionable goal. Oh and apparently there was some incident at the end. Overall - we deserved it but Chelsea, and particularly Cech won it, he is some keeper. But in terms of football, the youngest team ever were terrific but you dont take your chances, you dont win. Still I think barring the last few minutes that this team proved themselves great and proved Wenger a great manager. Drogba however took home the spoils.

JOHN TERRY goes to heaven (or hell)

HANDBAGS

And something good.. England take notice.

United v Lille

This is a very good recap (7 mins) of this game including an interview with Sir Alex and a good look at the 2 football incidents and the near walk out. For me Lille deserve to play 2 gmaes behind closed doors - and thats without taking into account their awful handling of the crowd in scenes that could have been Hillsbroughesque.

And for the rest of us

Never ceases to make me laugh - United goalkeeper Massimo Taibi shows us how its done. ANother fantastic Fergie buy - 4 or 5 million i think he paid for this.

One for Johnno

Just to show my impartialness - here is a moment of Jens that I can see why leads him to be hated by non Arsenal fans (and occasionally Arsenal fans).

Funny Stuff

Burkeys hated 10

10) Yakubu Big diving cheat who got a very unfair penalty against us a couple of weeks ago - gave me great pleasure to see him fluff 2 in the Cup this week.

9) Robbie Savage Just in general but also for getting Gilberto sent off unfairly this year - got his just desserts a week later and broke his leg. I hope his hair falls out.

8) Robbie Earle Sick of listening to this twat on FSC. Arsenal play too intricate a football for him, then he goes two faced and moans that when we are direct it doesnt suit us - he takes one of these 2 lines every time he talks about us while heaping on praise when we suddenly score.

7) Paul Jewell Sick of listening to this muppet - yes Wigan played well for one game but the facts are they are 17th cos they are crap week in and week out. Heskey fell over as fast as he could when Flamini brushed him, no penalty and no points for you Wigan. I didn't hear Jewell correct the referee when Adebayor's goal was wrongly ruled out for offside.

6) Joey Barton What a cock he is. Shocking tackle last week on Mendes, subtle enough to avoid a red but the FA should have give him a 5 game ban for it - he is a constant twat and the best City has - says it all about them.

5) Mike Reilly He had to be here, gave Yakubu a horror pen and Senderos an unfair red in the same game - used to set up Ruud every year at Old Trafford with his whistle and then point to the spot.

4) Martin Jol The big jawed Dutch twat isnt so smug these days. Hammered by Arsenal's kids in the Cup semi, beaten by everyone who plays them now and sinking fast. Would be delighted to see the mouthy git sacked this year after wasting a fortune on players and producing nothing.

3) Ashley Cole Best news all year seeing this twat carried off after tripping on the ball. Cliche is as good as he ever was and we got Gallas in exchange who when fit is worth 3 Coles. The Cashley one nearly crashed his car when he heard the derisory offer we gave him of 55k a week.... TWAT!!!

2) Cristiano Ronaldo Would be top but he has helped my fantasy team just enough in Yahoo. The man is born to cheat, be it in the World Cup or as he falls over at the slightest glance, or none at all. Has won too many favours from refs this year who should be running over to red card him and kick him every time he 'falls' over.

1) Jose Maurinho On the way out with Chelsea and somehow portrayed as a hero to his club by the press. Lets not forget this man is a complete lying sod who is devoid of seeing things correctly. I hope he is sacked and leaves in disgrace. Hero to his club, he has already tried to get out of there twice!!! Thinks he has done wonders at Chelsea where has had all the worlds cash to spend and only built a thin squad which is going to get caught out before the season is done.

UPDATE I would like to add an eleventh entry - the entire Blackburn set up - they played for a 0-0 draw from the first kick today. Whats the point? I hope we beat them in the replay, I am sure Wenger is about to moan about it and quite rightly so. Clubs like this wonder they cant fill stadiums.

Arsenal in "lack of class" crisis.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. If I did use a thousand words to describe Messrs Henry and Lehmann I think I would just use "Horrible Bastards" 500 times each. I wonder if Henry reprimanded Lehman for wasting time after the match?

Superbowl bollox

Okay so i watched the Superbowl last week, all 16 hours of it and what a load of bollox. I like American Football, know the game fairly well so am somewhat knowledgeable. I have a problem though with the Superbowl. How does what is in an essence, the final of a tournament and league end up playing second fiddle to the hype that surrounds it. Imagine if the World Cup was all about the 45 minutes of Half Time, or the ads that punctuate every few minutes of the game. Dont get me started on that crap which was the pre-game. I would much rather watch pundits bore me with their views than see weird looking badly dressed Floridans bounce around like they are in a circus - what does have to do with Football? Trim out all the crap and get back to it being a sports final. Its torture to sit through this crap every year. American sports fans are their own breed.

Beckham and MLS

Okay so its been announced in DC that Goldenballs will play in DC for the Galaxy on August 9th, I can hardly contain my excitement....

However - right now its a ticket you can only get by being a SEASON ticketholder. Yes sign up for all the DC united games and you can get the privilege of watching speedy, dribbling, ultimate superstar Beckham play LIVE as you sit there with your hot dog and Bud. I had to laugh. Regular tickets go on sale July and I will happily sit out the MLS and pick up my ticket then. Beckham in a schedule which is so badly set up with business before football will play several away games after his arrival, only Dallas wont see him after he arrives. LA will play most of the first half of the season at home. Business before soccer.. as always. Incidentally - this league which claims it wont repeat the NASL horrors of signing over the hill players at inflated rates has recently tried and failed to sign Ronaldo (New York) and ZINEDINE ZIDANE!! (Chicago). This league is in good hands.

England V Spain

Cracking good read this from Sarah Winterburn, the only decent bird pundit i know. PHILLIP NEVILLE (again!!), Lefty Lampard, Crouch in a 4-5-1... I despair. We wont be going to Euro 2008. http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_1899167,00.html

Croke Park Is Ireland's Common Ground

Here is an article i read today in the Washington Post - pretty interesting stuff if you care for English and Irish sports and a bit of history. John thoughts? Are you for or against Croke opening up to non-GAA sports? By Michael Moynihan Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, February 6, 2007; Page E03 DUBLIN -- When the British army wanted to strike back at those fighting for Ireland's independence in 1920, there was one obvious target: Croke Park, a ramshackle sports venue on the north side of Dublin and focus for the national sports of Gaelic football and hurling. On what became known as Bloody Sunday, soldiers fired on the crowd watching a Gaelic football game, killing several spectators and one player. Visit Croke Park now and it's a superb stadium that seats 82,000 people, a sleek emblem of Ireland's economic growth with luxurious corporate boxes and convention facilities. But one of its towering stands is still named after Michael Hogan, the young footballer killed on the field in 1920. Croke Park is a facility that routinely hosts the indigenous games of Gaelic football and hurling, but when rugby and soccer matches are played in the coming weeks and months, it will serve as a reminder of how far Ireland has come. (AP File Photo) Ireland's Native Sports Gaelic Football Field: Rectangular, larger than a soccer field, with H-shaped goals at each end. Players: 15 per team. Ball: Round, smaller than a soccer ball and larger than a volleyball. Object: Propel ball through the goal. One point is scored for putting the ball over the crossbar, three for balls that go under. Other Equipment: None. Special Rules: Players cannot throw the ball but can advance the ball by dribbling with the hand or foot, punting the ball or using a "hand pass." In a hand pass, the player strikes the ball with the side of his fist. Hurling Field: Same as Gaelic football. Players: 15 per team. Ball: Known as a "sliothar," it's made of leather and 2.5 inches in diameter. Stick: Players carry a "hurley," a wooden stick that curves out at the end. Goalkeepers' sticks are bigger. Object: Send the ball through the goal, scoring one point for balls over the crossbar and three for under it. Other Equipment: Players wear helmets but no padding. Special Rules: Players can strike the ball in the air or on the ground, and may pick the ball up with the stick and carry it in hand for up to four steps. Players also can run while balancing the ball on their stick. Save & Share Article What's This? DiggGoogle del.icio.usYahoo! RedditFacebook Croke Park always has been more than just a sporting arena. That fact will be underlined once again in the coming weeks, when rugby and soccer matches are played there for the first time. The constitution of the Gaelic Athletic Association, which owns Croke Park and administers the indigenous games of Gaelic football and hurling, had forbidden rugby and soccer at its facilities since its founding in 1884. But when it was announced in 2000 that the home of Ireland's national rugby and soccer teams, Dublin's Lansdowne Road, would have to be closed for refurbishment, some suggested Croke Park bend its rules. The debate that ensued soon became a touchstone of Irish cultural life: You were either for or against, and your values could be extrapolated from your position. The debate focused initially on whether the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) should open its biggest stadium to the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union, the governing bodies for soccer and rugby, while Lansdowne Road was being rebuilt. Those who wanted Croke Park opened pointed out that the Irish government had funded its development to the tune of 60 million euros ($77.6 million). Since the stadium had been funded publicly, they said, it should be open to all. Those who opposed the opening of Croke Park maintained that the GAA was an amateur sporting organization confined to one small island, while rugby and soccer in Ireland were outposts of international professional sport. Croke Park had hosted other sports since the 1970s, including boxing and American football, but some viewed soccer and rugby as direct competition to the native sports that called the grounds home. They also asked why the GAA was being pressured after having the foresight to develop its own facilities. The rugby and soccer associations said that if Croke Park would not host their teams, they would have to go to England to find stadiums large enough to host their international contests. On and on it went. You were a narrow-minded backwoodsman if you were opposed to opening Croke Park; if you were in favor, you were sabotaging Irish culture. The debate raged until April 2005, when the GAA, to the surprise of many, decided to allow international rugby and soccer matches to be played in Croke Park while Lansdowne Road was being redeveloped. The first rugby match -- a Six Nations contest against France -- is scheduled for Sunday, and the first soccer game -- a Euro 2008 qualifier vs. Wales -- will be played on March 24. One man played a large role in the resolution of the issue. When Sean Kelly was appointed GAA president in 2003, there had already been two years of squabbling on the topic within the GAA and without. "Inclusivity was the key word," Kelly said. "In modern Ireland every organization has to be inclusive, and the GAA is no exception. It's a form of maturity, of advancement, that you can see people not by their differences but by what you have in common. Welcoming people is the way to sum it up." He was guided by the changes in Irish society as a whole. Prosperity has transformed the country's demographics: When Muhammad Ali came to Dublin to fight in 1972 (in Croke Park, coincidentally), he asked where the black people hung out. "There aren't any," was the reply. Today's Ireland has a significant black presence in all the major towns. The number of Polish immigrants in Ireland is greater than the population of the country's third-largest city. Kelly felt the GAA would have to reflect the new realities of modern Ireland, although he also was conscious not to abandon older values. Croke Park is a facility that routinely hosts the indigenous games of Gaelic football and hurling, but when rugby and soccer matches are played in the coming weeks and months, it will serve as a reminder of how far Ireland has come. (AP File Photo) Ireland's Native Sports Gaelic Football Field: Rectangular, larger than a soccer field, with H-shaped goals at each end. Players: 15 per team. Ball: Round, smaller than a soccer ball and larger than a volleyball. Object: Propel ball through the goal. One point is scored for putting the ball over the crossbar, three for balls that go under. Other Equipment: None. Special Rules: Players cannot throw the ball but can advance the ball by dribbling with the hand or foot, punting the ball or using a "hand pass." In a hand pass, the player strikes the ball with the side of his fist. Hurling Field: Same as Gaelic football. Players: 15 per team. Ball: Known as a "sliothar," it's made of leather and 2.5 inches in diameter. Stick: Players carry a "hurley," a wooden stick that curves out at the end. Goalkeepers' sticks are bigger. Object: Send the ball through the goal, scoring one point for balls over the crossbar and three for under it. Other Equipment: Players wear helmets but no padding. Special Rules: Players can strike the ball in the air or on the ground, and may pick the ball up with the stick and carry it in hand for up to four steps. Players also can run while balancing the ball on their stick. Save & Share Article What's This? DiggGoogle del.icio.usYahoo! RedditFacebook "Helping your neighbors is an old Irish custom, after all," Kelly said. "I remember at one meeting about Croke Park a man said, 'If your neighbor's house burned down and you had a spare room, wouldn't you give him the room while he was having his house rebuilt?' " Kelly worked hard to get the GAA to combine old hospitality with an awareness of the new realities. The idea that Ireland's rugby and soccer fans would have to go to England to follow their teams was intrinsically unpalatable, Kelly said, but he was also motivated by common sense: "That would have been an immense cost to the economy, it would have been a major drain on the fans, but the prestige and image of the country would also have been affected badly." His pragmatic patriotism paid off. When Kelly finally won the vote to open Croke Park at the GAA's National Congress almost two years ago, the decision led every news broadcast and newspaper front page. "At the end of the day the GAA would have suffered a backlash" if Croke Park had not been opened, Kelly said. "The situation wasn't our fault, but we were the only people who could help." The aid offered by the GAA impressed many, particularly those from the Unionist tradition in Northern Ireland, who identify culturally with rugby and soccer rather than the GAA and its sports. "I think there's been a transformation in attitudes towards the GAA because of the decision, though," Kelly said. "In Northern Ireland, I've met many people from the Unionist tradition who've thanked me for it, saying it was a major step forward. When we did that, it gave a lot of people in the North the courage to cross over themselves and shake hands." Even with the historic games in view, there may be choppy waters ahead. The Irish rugby team trained in Croke Park last week, and Michael Greenan, chairman of the Ulster Council of the GAA, weighed in with a final broadside: "We have not been sold a pup but a whole litter. [The national rugby team] will have five training sessions before a match. Would any county get five sessions in Croke Park before a match? Not a chance. They are training more often in Croke Park than any of our counties would get to play there in a year." For his part, Irish rugby team captain Brian O'Driscoll -- a self-confessed GAA fan -- was gracious about the venue. "The passion and the history behind [Croke Park], it might not be so well known by the countries who come and play, but there is so much of it at Croke Park," O'Driscoll said last week. "A lot of the boys will have gone there and seen the fanaticism of the hurling and Gaelic football for sure. There is an aura about the place and we just feel we are incredibly fortunate to be allowed to play there. "It's an honor and we just feel, hopefully, it will give us that little extra element, and we don't want to let the GAA down for granting us the opportunity to play in one of the best stadiums in the world." There are legitimate worries. The GAA fears Lansdowne's zoning difficulties may keep rugby and soccer in Croke Park for longer than anticipated; the IRFU and FAI are keen to get back to their own stadium as soon as possible. However, on Feb. 24, Ireland's rugby team will play England at Croke Park. The fact that the two teams will listen to "God Save the Queen" on the same field where Mick Hogan was shot by British soldiers will serve as a reminder of how far Ireland has come. Michael Moynihan is a staff writer for the Irish Examiner.

This is AWESOME!

I haven't been able to contain myself this morning...I mean, how many breakaway goals against Honduras and tap-ins against fantastic MLS opponents do I have to see to reaffirm my stance that LANDON DONOVAN is the greatest player on the planet! Really, the thought that comes to mind is this: George Best who? I don't know what brilliant soccer/football fan took the time to put together this amazing highlight reel - in high def no less - but I would just like to thank him/her profusely. Fantastic effort! Go USA! (Note: this b.s. never gets old.)

Scummy club breaks rules again

Yes again, Liverpool have cheated in football to gain something that they didnt deserve. This time they have signed Javier Mascherano - despite a FIFA rule stating he couldnt play for a third club this season. THey harrassed FIFA enough through the media to get FIFA to back down. Its a pattern with Liverpool who were too poor to finish in the top 4 recently yet got UEFA to let them into the CHampions League anyway by re-writing the rules to suit them. It doesnt stop there, Derby County were fined in the 1970s for having shirt sponsors (they were the first English club to do so). The FA fined them but when Liverpool did it second, no-one fined them. Oh well, thats life - they have lost their big buyout and will now be bought by a second rate bidder who isnt in the worlds 10 richest list and they were smashed in both cups conceding 9 goals at home in the process.

Rock the Crossbar

Tuesday, February 27

England get new chariot driver

Monday, February 26

That Carling Cup Final...

Friday, February 23

United v Lille

Thursday, February 22

And for the rest of us

Wednesday, February 21

One for Johnno

Friday, February 16

Burkeys hated 10

Sunday, February 11

Arsenal in "lack of class" crisis.

Wednesday, February 7

Superbowl bollox

Beckham and MLS

England V Spain

Tuesday, February 6

Croke Park Is Ireland's Common Ground

Sunday, February 4

This is AWESOME!

Thursday, February 1

Scummy club breaks rules again

About

Contributors

Footy Links

Previous

Archives