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We Don't Have His Number, But...
Dear Football 365,
Please tell Joan Laporta to F**k Off.
That is all.
Ciarán, Cork Gooner
Dowie The Puppet Master
After having a good laugh at the fact that SSN's main headline was 'Shearer says he can keep Newcastle up' (what else was he going to say?), I watched the highlights of the press conference. Iain Dowie said that he and his staff would be taking charge of training and motivating the players so Shearer would 'have more time to focus on picking the side'. My question is, how long does it take to pick a team? I would suggest something in the region of ten minutes to be honest. Is it just me that suspects that Dowie, the experienced manager, is the one really in charge, and Shearer is just there to take the hero praise if they stay up and make Mike Ashley look like he cares about the fans? Think about it. Usually, it takes a few days for a new manager to appoint his assistant, whereas in this instance, Dowie just appeared as part of the package. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Dowie's appointment was made by Ashley, rather than Shearer himself.
Chris, SAFC
The English? Arrogant? Say It Ain't So
"Should the World Cup have the number of teams reduced from 32?" - Tom Fitzgerald
This is such an arrogant, English thing to suggest. Reduce the amount of teams at the World Cup so the so called bigger nations don't have to play against smaller nations who have earned the right to be a part of the competion just as much as you have. It could be argued that smaller nations have worked harder to reach the competion then the bigger ones considering the lack of resources at their disposal.
As a Welshman, the chance of seeing my country at a World Cup finals is something I could only dream about. After this week's results its something I won't be able to dream about for at least another 4 years, chances are it will be more like 40. Reducing the amount of teams eligable for the competion would see my dream of following Wales to the World Cup disappear forever. Some of you English fans may take qualification for granted (after Euro 2008, maybe not) and resent having to travel to places like Kazakstan and Ukraine in what you may view as the simple formaility of qualifying for the World Cup. For Wales every one of these games is vital if we ever want to reach a World Cup.
Also, it wouldn't be in your country's best interests to reduce the amount of teams in the World Cup because chances are you'll find yourself going out in the group stages instead of the standard Quarter Final stage you usually limp out at. You claim to be one of the bigger nations but England's record compared to Brazil, Germany, Italy etc is pathetic. Truth is, you've only won 1 more trophy in your history as Wales have in there's.
David Ferris
Scum
So to sum up the responses to Paul Burnside on why people hate Newcastle;
- We have had 4 managers this season that aren't very good
- Our fans turn up despite the fact we're s**t
- Alan Shearer is a boring pundit
- Some obese fans take their shirts off occasionally at matches.
Blimey you're right. We are absolute scum. Would relegation be enough or should we burn St James Park to the ground as well?
Kris (referred to Newcastle in the collective to annoy that guy in 'our' morning mailbox) Garthwaite, Darlo
...I am not one for ever sticking up for the Barcodes. Alan Shearer's appointment has brought me unbridled joy and laughter. However I had to take issue, or else simply congratulate Jamie Mangan in yesterday's mailbox.
365 give that man a bottle of vintage Krug please for an email full of delightful wondrous irony. So let me get this straight. We have a Spuds fan writing in to condemn another club for:
1. Having a delusional fan-base who continue to tell the whole world what a 'big club' they are, despite the facts showing otherwise.
2. Having an inept chairman who sacked an over-achieving manager in disgraceful fashion, despite steering them to their best-ever finishing position in the Premier League.
3. Being in a relegation dog-fight despite the amount of silly cash they have been throwing around for years
4. Proclaiming the dawn of a new era every time a new 'messiah' is brought to the club ('David Bentley will be The star of the future, Zokora turned down Arsenal and Brazil don't you know, Darren Bent is going to propel us to 4th, Taarabt will be better than Zidane etc, Juande Ramos is the most promising manager in Europe bla bla)
Arsenal ain't perfect but you won't catch me criticizing United for over-charging their fans or Boro for playing dross like Aliadiere.
Thanks for making me laugh Jamie Mangan.
Stewie '4th place sucks' Griffin
...Jamie, being in cold weather doesn't mean you will catch a cold. A cold is a contagious viral disease that is spread by contact with existing sufferers.
I learnt that from my zero years at medical school.
Alistair Eaton
When I Was A Child, Running In The Night...
Wayne Rooney: "The last time they won the league I was only a child."
And you will still be one at the end of the season, when Liverpool win it again.
Tony Wilson
More On The Minutes Silence
To stop Lolly soiling himself in his fury, here's what actually happened, from an eye witness. The whole thing started when some - and I mean about ten - Ukrainians started chanting with ten or so seconds of the silence to go, which provoked a small contingent of the England fans to boo. Essentially they were booing the Ukrainians' lack of respect for the silence: certainly ironic and brainless, but definitely not callous. Previously the silence had been almost perfectly observed - and the vast majority of the boos came after the ref blew his whistle.
Even the handful of Ukrainians have an excuse. While the FA went to great lengths to explain what the silence was about, there was no announcement in Ukrainian, leaving 5% of the crowd in the dark. They might not be totally innocent - it's pretty obvious when there's a minute's silence going on - but the whole thing was unbelievably minor in terms of the numbers involved and the sentiment behind it.
William O'Doherty
Cutting Through The Treacle
With apologies for attempting to barge in on a thrilling mailbox full of "England are rubbish" v "England aren't rubbish" bonhomie, can i just say well done to Northern Ireland for two great results against Poland and Slovenia?
And well done in particular to Warren Feeney, who ran around like Dirk Kuyt on speed for the entirety of both games, as well as scoring two crucial goals (the second of which was pretty tremendous, and would have made Andy Gray proud). he might not always look the most composed, but the level of effort he put in was extraordinary, albeit that all of the other players were hugely committed as well.
Poland and Slovenia may not be giants of world football, but the former are regular attendees at big tournaments (and we ran them ragged), and the latter look like a very decent outfit (who admittedly completely outplayed us in the first half yesterday).
Nice to see our wee country not having to rely solely on Mr Healy for all of our goals, and just wait until he starts scoring again too...
Paul "Temporarily Optimistic" Higginson, a Northern Irish corner of London
Another Nostradamus
Some time ago, following the furore that surrounded Keegan's second departure as manager of Newcastle United, I wrote an article for a local football magazine, in which I drew a parallel between the level of media activity at St James' Park and the corresponding amount of anti-Newcastle vitriol in phone-ins, forums and letters pages across the land. Every time Sky Sports News sets up outside Shearer's bar, the floodgates open and Newcastle United becomes the pariah of the Premiership once more.
Now we all know that the reason for this is quite simply that nobody likes to see someone else's team hogging the limelight; the old green- eyed monster stirs and pen is put to paper with indignation. And long may it continue - I like the fact that happenings at my club can cause such irritation to fans of other teams that they feel compelled to vent their anger in tirades about how horrid and deluded the people of Tyneside are.
I wrote the article some time after Keegan had left, when things had calmed down again and nobody cared enough about Newcastle to write.
However, I did give the following warning.
"But you watch... when we are in the news again the detractors will be clacking at their keys and the anti-toon tidal wave (or tsoonami, if you will) will roar into action once more."
It's a great feeling being proved right.
Joe Young
Actually It's 23, But Carry On...
Looking forward to summer 2010 and an England team playing in the World Cup finals, it got me thinking who would be the 22 players Don Fabio will take with him on his jaunt to South Africa.
It appears that James, Johnson, A.Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Lampard, Barry, Carrick, Gerrard, Walcott, J.Cole, Rooney, Heskey and Crouch are dead certs to travel. Two more keepers (from Foster, Carson or Green) and a third choice out-and-out striker (C.Cole or Agbonlahor appear to be the two favourites at present) will have to be taken along for the ride as cover. I would expect the squad would have to have back ups for the two full back positions (Richards or Young on the right and Baines or Bridge as cover for Cashley). A minimum of 1 additional centre half is needed if Richards is taken along, or two would be needed if not (Upson or King seem the likely candidates). So far that is 20 places accounted for and only 2 seats left on the plane. Assuming Hargreaves returns to full fitness I would expect him to get a place due to his flexibility in what positions he can play, and the fact that before he was injured he was one of the most consistent England performers.
Therefore my question is who will get the final berth? Beckham, A.Young, Lennon, SWP, or Downing would seem to be heading the pack at the moment, but is there a dark horse out there that can come up on the rails and nick the final spot?
MARK T (Surely Jon Nic won't give the place to Kevin "fat arse" Davies) London
Internationals: Not The Pinnacle
From reading Phillip Cornwall's article about International football I still don't think he's really justified his claim that it is still the pinnacle of the game. Yes the rarity of the World Cup still makes it the most sought after trophy but is this reason enough to claim that International footy is the pinnacle of the game. If the Carling Cup was contested every six years would this suddenly become the pinncale of the game? - I don't mean that seriously but more as a facetious comment before the endless emails about the history of the World Cup come flying in. -
Surely the quality of football on offer is more of a justifictaion of what exactly is the best the sport can offer. When international football was first introduced, aside from the inter country rivalry and honour of represting your country, I'm pretty sure the big lure was to have the very best players playing together in fantasy football style dream teams. Nowadays we get much closer to that in the Champions League.
Phillip Cornwall sees the unfamiliarity of the players and the rarity of them clicking as a team as something of a positive but I can only see it as a negative. This is especially so when so many people are paying a lot of money to be entertained when they go to Wembley and abroad. There was a time when seeing international football was all about seeing the best players line up alongide similar geniuses of a similar skill level. Now you get this when you watch The Champions League. The only thing that the Champions League doesn't have is a long enough history and a less frequent schedule. For everything else it is easily the current pinnacle of the sport because players like Ronaldo, Gerrard, Lampard, Kaka are familiar enough with their team mates to perform at the full capability of their amazing skills. Something which we so rarely see nowadays on the international scene.
Sean Kelly
Cheating Saints
I firstly would like to start off by offering my deepest sympathy to the fans of Southampton football club - having suffered similar mismanagement problems many times over Risdale /Krasner /Mckenzie and currently Bates- as a leeds fan - I know exactly what your going through - however - what your club is doing is blatant cheating .
Leeds /Luton / Rotherham and Bournemouth all have been punished by the football league for flouting stringent financial regulations and as such have been punished with a deduction in points - just because the directors at Southampton are slightly more financially savy ( bearing in mind your current plight the last sentence seems to be an oxymoron) you may manage to get away with it.
It has to be blanket rule for all and Southampton are no exception - take your broken wings and learn to fly again.
Rob ( And they said I could not fir a Mr Mr lyric into my letter ) Christopher
...The way that Southampton have tried to manipulate their way out of a 10 point deduction is criminal and they should be hit harder with a more apt punishment,maybe the 30 point penalty that Luton got.
Football has got to sort its problems out as we do not want to many seasons to kick off with several clubs on minus points playing catch up as this make a mockery of that division as there is no chance of relegation.
Yours in Football,
Paul James
The Plight Of Luton
As it's the time for the traditionally slow Friday morning mailbox, I hope you allow a small space to fit in a little email about Luton Town. As you are no doubt all aware, the current board who have finally brought stability, transparency and a long-term survival plan, were punished at the start of the season for the misdemeanors of others, and were docked a total of 30 points (to add to the 10 the season before) by the FA and Football League, prior to a ball being kicked in the 08/09 season.
My original intention was to go on another 'tirade' against the injustice of the treatment of my club and fellow fans, particularly in light of double standards and measures that have reared their head in the last few days (Southampton possibly avoiding a 10 point deduction for administration; Chester and Bournemouth having help to pay player fees...; Mawhinney stating, "Could we lose a club? Yes, we could. Am I expecting to lose a club? I don't know because they don't tell us what their finances are" - surely it's his job as administrator to ensure he knows for the 'good of the game'?!), but I won't(!). Instead, whatever your thoughts of Luton as a club, I hope many of you will take at least a passing interest in the fortunes of an underdog this weekend in a season where very little has gone right.
Despite the occasional weekend of results that continue to keep the dream alive, even I must admit that it looks as though we will be leaving the Football League at the end of the season (barring any clubs going out of business, which I wouldn't wish on anyone). However, this Sunday will see the beautiful irony of Luton Town playing against the in-form League One Scunthorpe in the final of the Football League's self-named trophy competition, at the spiritual home of the FA. Looking past the disgusting decision to present Lord Mawhinney to the manager and players before kick off (listen out for the reception he will get), Luton may be bowing out shortly after taking their largest ever crowd to a game, and the largest crowd from a single club to ever to be represented at the new Wembley.
I will be proud to be among the 40,000 Luton fans there on Sunday, and hope those dignitaries present from the governing bodies feel even a modicum of shame / embarrassment when they see the passion of the club they seem to have done their very best to destroy, presuming they've finished their lunch by then.
Many thanks, as always...
Nick (we'll never die) Stafford, LTFC
Franco's Grace
It's probably something we all expected to be the case having gotten to see Gianfranco in the Premier League for such a long time during his playing career, but thought it was worth mentioning the grace and class with which he has accepted the injury situation with Carlton Cole. He continues to do himself and the game, a great deal of credit.
As a true Chelsea legend, I hope to see him come home one day, once he has cut his managerial teeth with West Ham.
Robert Shorey
Like Rain On Your Wedding Day
Can I introduce Jamie Mangan, TFC to the concept of irony.
A Spurs fan deriding the Toon supporters for whistling in the wind about still being a "big club". Fantastic. Jamie, did you really think it through before you wrote that line?
58,000 capacity my arse.
Robin Smith, Gooner, London
F365 Hates The Argies
As piss-poor a result as it was, why did your report on Argentinas thrashing by Bolivia fail to make mention of the humongous altitude factor?
I'm really just curious- does the spectre of '86 still haunt English perceptions of Argentina, and particularly of their greatest ever player? Was this just an oversight, or a reflection of the England-Argentina football rivalry?
Would the altitude have been mentioned if this happened to Brazil, or would reports have focussed on Robinho looking a bit off the pace?
Andrew, Ireland
Lennon Has Issues
In response to Steve Mills, I feel I have to point out that I frequently run for the tube in heels (yes, I am a girl) and I never wave my arms around in the ridiculous manner that Aaron Lennon does. Mr Mills is correct that a lot of women do flap, but they don't seem to windmill to the same extent as Lennon, who clearly has issues.
Jo (I stand by the fact that they are yoda arms - seriously - look on youtube) W, London.
