Premiership champions, Manchester United, runners up, Arsenal, relegated, Derby, Sunderland, Fulham.

FA Cup Winners, Manchester City, runners up Totenham, Semi Finalists Manchester United, West ham United.

European Cup Winners, Chelsea, Runners up AC Milan, semi finalists, Manchester United, Barcelona.

I'm only doing the big three, as my knowledge of the lower leagues is'nt that great these days.

YOUR TURN. ( Gary, and John)

Agree on Prem 1 and 2. Derby, Wigan, Bolton

FA Cup Arsenal, RU No idea. Stephen, you do know West Ham and City were playing last night in the cup??

EC - Man U RU - Real

Dallas won't be in the Superbowl.

BK

Hi Bill,

...and my team the Fins (the shame, I know) - have now absorbed a substantial number of the Dallas staff into the Miami organisation.

Good thing??

After my other team in BB the Mets meltdown at the end of last season, I'm having a bad time with my teams.

Except the Hammers of course.

Gary

Premiership champions, Manchester United, runners up, Chelsea, relegated, Derby, Wigan, Fulham.

West Ham (6th)

FA Cup Winners, Chelsea, runners up Manchester United, Semi Finalists Arsenal, Manchester City.

European Cup Winners, Manchester United, Runners up Chelsea.

Premiership - Arsenal - runners up Man Ure

Relegated - Derby, Sunderland, Fulham

FA Cup - Man Ure

Champions League - Liverpool

I can possibly help with this delusion, Andy.

get away from me! I've read Goffman

At least he did not say Liverpool would win the league. On their day, Liverpool can beat any club. However, those days are few and far between.

We've only got five!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-LDK93d2GbY

Most of those were obtained when you had Liverpool based players, managers and owners. They even sacked Heighway and brought in Spaniards to run the Academy.

Quite right John - to hell with those foreign devils..... and in this list I include; Rush, Daglish, Whelan, Hansen, Souness, Beglin, Toshack, Cohen, Lawrence (even the flying pig was a foreigner!), St John, Yeats, Grobbelaar, Johnston, Lawrenson , Nicol, Macdonald, Hysen, Cormack, Heighway (ironically born in Dublin), Leishman, Jones (Joey), Houghton, Wark and Molby.
Worthless bastards to a man. Just think what we might have achieved without them
(I've also heard an ugly rumour that Shankly was in fact not born in Bootle).

I'll leave you to the tender mercies of the Scientologists then.

How highly do you rate Torres. He seems like the real deal to me, damn you.

Very!
I don't understand why he is "rested" so much however - he looks a fit and robust type who should be able to play every match.
On the subject of Scientology and mental health I read a very amusing quote from Golf commentator David Feherty (recovering alcoholic and depressive) about Tom Cruise (looney Scientologist)

"Tom Cruise says there's no such thing as depression, that you can get better with physical exercise. Well, maybe he's right—beating the shit out of Tom Cruise would be physical all right, and it would f---in' cheer me up, and a whole lot of other people."

I did not argue that Liverpool had too many British players. Ever since the Football League started teams have always included a large number of players from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The first professional team to win the FA Cup (Blackburn Rovers in 1884) included four players from Scotland: John Inglis, Jimmy Douglas, Fergie Suter, and Hugh McIntyre. The rest of the team were local lads.

The first Football League title was won by Preston North End in the 1888-89 season. The team included 5 Scotsmen: George Drummond, John Graham, John Gordon, Jimmy Ross, Samuel Thompson and Robert Mills-Roberts was born in Wales. The rest were from England (three out of the five had been born in Preston).

Shankly was of course from Scotland and brought in several key players from his home country. However, he believed in developing players from the local community. So did the managers who followed Shankly. Liverpool has always been a community-minded club. Heighway was doing a good job with the youngsters, but Rafael Benitez wanted the academy run by Spanish coaches. Even the young boys are imported from Spain. What happens to this set-up when Benitez loses his job? Will they have to replace him with another Spanish coach?

Of course I didn't think you were talking about those foreigners
Liverpool is a community minded club but it is also a top club in world football. Just as in the 1960's and 1970's top clubs had to draw players from all over the British Isles they now have to do so from a global catchment if they wish to compete.

You are quite within your rights to get all nostalgic for some golden age when players were always drawn from the communities they represented, but this really was never the case amongst the game's elite.

Shankly's message to Liverpool players was that "you play for them" (them meaning the fans). What the fans wish to see is success. Managers of Liverpool will stand or fall on whether they bring this succes. Nationality just isn't an issue.
Adelante a la victoria
Andres

In 1886 WBA was considered to be the best team in England. Seven members of the team that reached the 1886 FA Cup Final still worked at Salter's Spring Factory in West Bromwich (WBA had originally been formed as the Salter's works team). This included Bob Roberts, Charlie Perry, George Woodhall, George Timmins, Ezra Horton, George Bell, and Harry Bell. All eleven players were born within a six-mile radius of West Bromwich. At the time the town had a population of 56,000 people. Six members of the team also went onto play for England.

Ten of the West Ham team that won the 1965 European Cup Winners Cup were born in London. The goalkeeper, Jim Standen, had been born in Worcester.

It does appear that you are older than I was first led to believe.
I was of course referring to 'elite clubs' in my last post. The baggies of 1886 and the hammers of 1965 (or indeed of any other time) hardly fit such a category.

Personally I regret the passing of mob football

Incidentally how many of these are Spanish in your considered opinion?
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/youth/

Ahhh, the good old days, still a,little before my time - but much celebrated in my part of the world The Lisbon Lions. Apparently some of these lads were born near Celtic Park.

Hitler a Cowboy fan?

The Superbowl is between the undefeated New England Pats and the two touchdown underdog New Jersey Giants.

A lot was riding on the Dallas Cowboys however, especially when they were 13-3, but losing to the arch rival Philadelphia Eagles, and then in the first round of the playoffs.

The Cowboy's failures are still reverbating around the league however, as this scene from Hitler's bunker clearly indicates.

BK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

I'll take the Jersey Giants in the big game, and the 14 points.

BK

Hi Bill, believe it or not the Hitler spoof I'm fairly sure was originally done for the Sheffield United/West Ham promotion/relegation fight last year. Something John and I both enjoyed..albeit at the end.

Thought Romo was a little green in the game. Audibling too often, getting frustrated and confusing his linemen at vital moments.

Anyway the big Tuna is now heading the Miami Cowboys. Did the Jimmy Johnston experience teach Huizenga nothing.

Would like the North Rochester Giants to win, if only to preserve the perfect season for Shula and his charges.

Gary

According to the BBC website US Presidential candidate Barack Obama has been a supporter of West Ham ever since a visit to London five years ago.

So he doesn't know much about football either then?

From three months ago. Prem, pretty good, FA Cup, well, honestly, who didn't foresee a Portsmouth Cardiff final, European cup, three out of four semi finalists, just hope I've predicted the wrong winners.

Poor on the FA Cup and West Ham but could be right about the rest.

As you can see I did not predict anything for Arsenal. It did not surprise me at all that they crumbled under pressure. They lacked leadership (Gallas must be the worst captain in the Premiership) and experienced players when the going got tough.

Not too bad. Completely wrong about the FA Cup and West could only finish 10th. But got the premiership and the European Cup right. I thought in both cases Manchester United deserved their victories.

John wins this years NOSTRADAMUS award.

What prize has Andy won? What do you expect from a Liverpool supporter.



I hope everybody noticed that the two teams last night included four players from the West Ham Academy. Maybe, that is where Liverpool and Arsenal are going wrong.

Andy wins a DVD of Liverpools last trip to Old Trafford, otherwise known as Mascherano meltdown.