Looks like Killie's home form in the SPL continues.

 

Couldn't happen to a better group of cunts. 

 

45:11 GOAL - Richard Offiong

Kilmarnock 0 - Hamilton 1

 

Tousy first half, 5 bookings!

Is there a funnier sight in football than an irate Michael Ballack? 

 

 

You've got to laugh.

 

 

 

Only one "champion" in the final.

 

They'll probably both be current season "Champions" by the Final.

Just seen the pen claims. None of them were stonewallers and I don't think they had a good claim for any of them.

Just seen the pen claims. None of them were stonewallers and I don't think they had a good claim for any of them.

 

I think the handball one was.

 

Still.  Ha ha.

I don't think it was. It looked more like his side just under the armpit. the ref had a pretty good view of it too.

 

Is he not meaning the Pique one? Hit his hand and the ref was on the other side of him at the time.

I think it is ridiculous people are talking conspiracy theories when abidal got sent off for hee haw.

 

Oooft!

It has been reported that internet death threats had been made against the Norwegian official and that he had been "smuggled out of the country" under police escort and advised to change hotels.

 

"Following media reports claiming threats have been made against the referee of last night's game, Chelsea Football Club would like to make clear that it condemns any form of threat against players, officials or supporters," the club said in a statement.

 

"If provided with proper evidence Chelsea will take the strongest action against any season ticket holders or members who have participated in this activity.

 

"Everybody connected with Chelsea is very disappointed with the events of last night. However we would stress that we have received no evidence that Chelsea fans are involved in any of the alleged threats reported."

 

"As a result of these reports we have also been in contact with the police who likewise had not received any complaints."

 

Chelsea fans were upset Ovrebo did not award them a penalty, despite several strong appeals, during the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge that sent Barcelona into the final on the away goals rule.

 

Several players, notably striker Didier Drogba, remonstrated furiously with the referee after the tie, which was settled by Andres Iniesta's stoppage-time goal.

 

Swedish referee Anders Frisk retired after he and his family received death threats following his dismissal of Drogba against the same opponents in the 2005 Champions League.

 

Ovrebo told Aftenposten that he had been informed by UEFA not to make any comment on the furore.

 

"Because of the circumstances after the match, Uefa has asked me not to comment to the press," Ovrebo said.

 

Former international referee Graham Poll commented: "This morning he's being smuggled out of our country under police escort - this is a referee of a football match. That is a disgrace.

 

"When he booked in a hotel they had to change the hotel he was staying at because of the fear that maybe fans would find him."

 

 

Thats just ridiculous. It sounded like he had a bad game, but bloody hell, its not like he was an SPL referee Anyway, I think its shocking anyone should receive death threats for a sport! I mind the English ref getting plenty of death threats from Poles after he wrongly awarded Austria a penalty last summer.

 

Anyway, caught the last half of the Hamburg-Bremen game. Very entertaining! Was it Shaktar that won the other tie?

yes shaktar won.

 

Was it 2-1

As bad as the referee seemed to play, it was quite funny watching Jamie Redknapp arguing with Graeme Souness whilst greeting his eyes oot that there's not going to be an all english final again this year.

http://boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tno=551&fid=256&sty=2&act=1&mid=2126098382&page=1

I was going to watch the tim game in The Halt bar on Woodlands, walked past it earlier today and saw some dodgy characters that looked like casuals, so thought better of it. Turns out, at full time, about 30 odd folk had a brawl, bottles flying everywhere outside, police came along with a helicopter monitering the situation! 

 

From the BBC

 

Police have appealed for witnesses after a large street brawl involving rival football fans in Glasgow.

 

It is understood about 100 Airdrie and Partick Thistle fans clashed in Arlington Street in the west end of the city at about 1420 BST on Saturday.

 

A 38-year-old man suffered a serious head injury but did not make a formal complaint to police.

 

Officers are checking CCTV and speaking to local businesses in a bid to identify those involved.

 

Sgt Marian Maclean, from the Violence Reduction Directorate task force at Strathclyde Police, said: "We would specifically like to hear from any eye witnesses, those who may have taken any mobile phone or digital camera images of the disturbance, or owners of business premises with CCTV which may have captured images."

one nil to the dippers after 2 mins v West Ham. Stevie Me with the goal.  Thought this could have been a tough game for them, but obviously not... 

Two nil, Gerard scoring the rebound of his own penalty.

 

Then, perhaps the most embarrassing moment of the season... Carragher made a cunt of it on the edge of his box (he'll get his mates to batter someone for it later), and Di Michele takes it away from him and into the area, dummies as if to shoot and Reina sits on his arse and as di Michele goes to go round him he just kind of falls over. Then claims for a penalty despite no one being anywhere near him. Clown.

Two nil, Gerard scoring the rebound of his own penalty.

 

Then, perhaps the most embarrassing moment of the season... Carragher made a cunt of it on the edge of his box (he'll get his mates to batter someone for it later), and Di Michele takes it away from him and into the area, dummies as if to shoot and Reina sits on his arse and as di Michele goes to go round him he just kind of falls over. Then claims for a penalty despite no one being anywhere near him. Clown.

 

I think we went down because he took his touch a little too far.

 

If he'd got up sharpish he wouldn't have been booked.

Couldn't believe the di michele miss! Absolutely shocking.

Couldn't believe the di michele miss! Absolutely shocking.

 

Could have changed everything as well. Hey ho...

Arsenal have been a joy to watch today. Tearing Chelsea apart. Too little too late though.

And just like that it's 1-0 Chelsea.

yeah, cracking first half. Stuffing knocked out of Arsenal as soon as they went behind.

And just like that it's 1-0 Chelsea.

 

add another. Fine finish by Anelka.  I reckon there may be a fair bit of pressure on Wenger to sign some big names this summer.  The money's there and he has to put his morals (as noble as they are) to one side so his side has a realistic chance of silverware next season.  There are grumblings amongst the Arsenal support supposedly about his position (craziness, in my opinion, but that's modern day football for you isn't it?) and if he chooses not to spend this summer they'll only increase.  I hate to say it as he is clearly a magnificent manager and coach, but he is in danger of undoing his "legend" status if they continue on the path they are.  In saying that, a major bonus for him would be van Persie staying fit for a whole season and getting rid of that waste of space Adebayor.

Manchester derby was bizarre yesterday. Didn't have that derby feel to it at all, but it was great to see Tevez score. I'd love him to stay next season, but I fear that there is little chance of it. Just carried on far too long. Rumour is that he maybe going to Liverpool 

 

The Arsenal - Chelsea game was a great game to watch. Some really well taken goals and played at a lightening pace! I really think they need to get rid of Adebayor. Doesn't seem to do anything for the team and certainly is not the striker they needed to step up to the plate post Henry.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/may/11/premier-league-relegation-battle

 

Relegation hyperbole reaches a new level of massiveness

 

The end-of-season must-win football drama is too massive for the English language to manage

 

 

 

This is the time of the year when football adopts the language of WWE wrestling, when every day is Judgment Day, when you switch on the TV to watch a bit of live football and find yourself witness to some of the most significant events in the history of western civilisation.

 

Scarcely had we recovered from the Scandal of Stamford Bridge, which was so scandalous the ref had to be moved to a new hotel (possibly a Travelodge, not for his own safety but because it is the Uefa-sanctioned punishment for underperforming. Want shampoo? You ain't got it), than it was time for Drama in the Docklands, commentator Ian Darke's label for the League One play-off between Millwall and Leeds at the New Den.

 

Darke, veteran of countless big fight nights, speaks this language fluently, but I am not so sure about James Richardson on Setanta, who has dubbed today Must-win Monday, a reference to the channel's live coverage tonight of Newcastle-Middlesbrough.

 

As the last six matches for both teams have been described as "must-wins", this did seem to be underselling the cataclysmic once-in-a-lifetime mustwinningness of the evening.

 

It is, of course, a "massive match", as I am sure James is aware, but then so are most of the games involving teams at the bottom of the table at this time of the year, so I was grateful to Setanta pundit Kevin Gallacher for rather neatly distinguishing tonight's clash from all those other "massive" matches by declaring it a "massive massive" match.

 

Under Fifa rules, two massives is the maximum number permitted to be applied to any game, although I believe Sky reserve the right to deploy the three massive option for the Championship play-off final.

 

I was wondering if there was a reference in popular culture James could have employed to encapsulate the massive mustwinningness of tonight's game, but beyond the old blues song Stormy Monday, I was struggling. Short of borrowing Monday Night Raw from the world of pro wrestling, we may be stuck with Must-win Monday.

 

To help us understand the dimensions of tonight's encounter in the north-east, Setanta's Friday Football Show had a report from regional station Real Radio, where Malcolm Macdonald hosts a phone-in show called The Legends, a local-radio term for anybody who played more than half-a-dozen games for the local club.

 

It looked an entertaining show, and it was instructive to see how outspoken the Legends were compared with the mealy mouths on TV. Bernie Slaven, ex-Middlesbrough, summed up the state of play in the north-east perfectly ("They say this is a hot-bed of football. It's more like the sickbed of football") while a caller to Micky Horswill, representing Sunderland, cheerfully described Craig Gordon as "a bag of spanners". I am not sure what he meant, but it is the kind of muscular invective you rarely hear on Match Of The Day, for instance.

 

Supermac, himself, was uncompromising on the subject of Joey Barton: "It doesn't do the dressing room any good when you bring a convict into it," he said, "I wouldn't want one in the studios here where I work."

 

If hyperbole is not your thing, however, how about bathos, my favourite figure of speech? Looks like bath, sounds like one of The Three Musketeers, what is not to like?

 

My guaranteed destination for bathos is Transworld Sport on Sky, as in: "Berlin, one of the world's most captivating cities. While Berlin's architecture and open-air spaces reflect a city at peace with itself, the German capital's history is more turbulent. Captured by Soviet forces at the end of the second world war, the city was split into West and East Berlin by the allies. In 1961, amid the tensions between the two sides, the Soviet-controlled East built the Berlin Wall, a 140-kilometre structure that would divide the city for the next 28 years.

 

"Twenty years after the wall came down, battle lines are once again being drawn ... ", wait for it, " ... as the final four of European basketball's top club competition come to town."

 

I am a bit of a collector of Transworld Sport intros, which is a game you can join in with at home, even creating your own. An intro to tonight's match, for instance, might go something like: "As international capitalism goes into meltdown bringing with it the threat of widespread civil unrest, and the swine flu pandemic threatens the health of millions, Steven Taylor faces a late fitness test for Newcastle."

 

Not, you understand, that I am in any way underestimating the massiveness of the evening.