canary cherub

My nap this week is   Bayern Munich  v  Kaiserslauten  (home win)   Best of luck one and all [Y]  

I''m staying in Portugal this week   Sporting Lisbon  v  Pacos Ferreira  (home win)   Best of luck Leeds and all you PUPs [*]  

FC Porto let me down last week by not bothering to turn up for a Portuguese cup game, but I expect normal service to be resumed on Saturday so my selection is   FC Porto  v  Maritimo  (home win)   Best of luck everyone [Y]

[quote user="canary cherub "] I''m off to Portugal who have their League Cup this weekend.  It''s different from ours in that it only includes the sides in the top division.  [/quote] NO it isn''t, it''s the quarter final so naturally mostly top division sides are left in, oh wake up dopey [:$][:D]  

I''m off to Portugal who have their League Cup this weekend.  It''s different from ours in that it only includes the sides in the top division.  There are a couple of decent looking picks there and mine is   FC Porto  v  Nacional  (home win)   Nacional are only 6 places below Porto but there are 17 points between them.  Not hard to see why - Nacional have scored 14 goals all season while Porto have 32.

From snowy Britain to snowy Belgium, my selection is   Anderlecht  v  Lierse  (home win)   Should it be postponed I''ll settle for Man U v Sunderland (home)   Happy Christmas to you all, and GOOD LUCK everyone [<:o)]  

The Barmy Army at the Ashes have a song for Graham Swann to the tune of "Love will tear us apart" - I thought we could adapt it for Holty:   "Holt, Holt will tear you apart again" [:D]  

Yes I was there.  I was 15 and it was the first away game I''d ever been to.  I was on one of the special trains and learned to play 3 card brag en route.  Some of us had a really good feeling about the game although no one else gave us a prayer.  63,000 packed in all standing, the atmosphere was fantastic.  It was only 8 years since the 59 Cup run and it was like reliving it all over again.  We were in 7th heaven, had to pinch ourselves.  Wonderful memories. A friend swears that Bryceland played a key role by taking out Nobby Stiles in the first five minutes, kicking him squarely in the privates while the ref wasn''t looking, but I don''t remember that.  Don Heath was a bit like Gossy in the sense that apart from that glory moment he was a pretty average player.  Ron Saunders got rid of him soon after he arrived (about 18 months later as I recall).  

Mark Chapman on 5Live phone in has just said "If the cameras weren''t there it would have been abandoned by now.  If this is how much power television has it''s turning football into a farce."   He also said "The last time I saw a look like that on Keane''s face, Patrick Vieira had just gone straight through him with both feet" [:D]  

Thanks largely to the weather, this could be the most international set of picks we''ve ever had - Cyprus, Portugal, Turkey, France, Italy and Spain.  Best of luck one and all - and many happy returns to Leeds Canary [^]  

A trip to France for me this week   St Etienne  v  Arles  (home win)   St Etienne are currently 7th in a tight league, 6 points off top spot while Arles are propping up the table   Best of luck everyone [Y]   PS.  Nutty, any chance you could put up next week''s thread a day early, to give people heading off before Christmas a chance to post their selections?  

Great interview Hucks.   Worthy''s comments mirror with uncanny accuracy my own take on the situation at the time, particularly the Steve Howard scenario.  As Worthy implies, putting in such a laughably embarrassing bid told him in no uncertain terms that the board were trying to force him out by frustrating him to the point where he would walk away.     He didn''t and he was 100% right not to, after what he had achieved since his arrival.  He took us from the Championship trap door to a playoff final in 18 months, and promotion to the Premiership 2 years after that, with precious little backing from anyone on the board except Mr Skipper.  It was the board''s responsibility to either back him or sack him, and for much too long they did neither. 

I''m off to Belgium too but my selection is   Standard Liege  v  St Truiden  (home win)   Very best of luck Hughesy and all you PUPs [*]  

No snow in Italy I trust, so my selection is   AC Milan  v  Brescia  (home win)   Very best of luck Kathy and all you PUPs  [Y]  

[quote user="Shyster"]Borussia Dortmund should beat Borussia Mönchengladbach at home if their form and League positions are anything to go by. Best of luck, Cosmic Twin. [/quote]   I quite liked the look of this one but thought "no, too unpredictable, it''s a local derby"!! [:$] oops  

[quote user="shefcanary"] For years on this Board people have been crying out for a true local millionaire to invest in the club, and the only high profile one living nearby never saw reason to give a penny, neither in sponsorship, kind let alone hard cash.  A real missed PR trick from Mr Bootiful but there again he was a recluse supposedly (but loved having his face on the box?).  Contradiction or what.  Obviously not a football fan! Would it have been any different if the club''s nickname had been The Turkey''s?  God that would have been unbearable.  Instead we have two other millionaires on the board - a chicken peddler and the nations favourite Poultry chef.  The club has gone to the birds anyway without any booty from Mr Matthews! [/quote] During the darkest days of the Chase Out campaign following Martin O''Neill''s departure, some fans (it may have been NCISA and/or Roy Blower) wrote to Bernard Matthews appealing for financial help.  They received a letter from his secretary saying "Mr Matthews has asked me to inform you that he has no interest in football".  

Some tempting fixtures in the lower leagues and FA Cup but the weather forecast could intervene   so I''m off to Belgium   Anderlecht  v  Charleroi  (home win)   Best of luck Cosmic and all you PUPs [*]    

My selection this week comes from the Czech Republic   Sparta Prague  v  Ceske Budejovice  (home win)   Best of luck Mr Wazzock and all you PUPs  [*]    

I''m starting to wonder if the new Prem rule that all clubs have to pick from a squad of 25 has levelled the playing field more than anyone expected?  Very interesting if so.  

I''m following Sid to Portugal but my selection is   Benfica  v  Naval  (home win)   Very best of luck Broadslim and all you PUPs [Y]  

If I did Angel, I wouldn''t have disclosed it - very unprofessional.  

I have now had sight of correspondence with Suffolk police which clarifies the reasons for the change of date.   Firstly, it was not the police who wanted the game switched from its original date, Saturday 23rd April.  The police would have been happy with a 12 noon kickoff on Saturday but ITFC did not want this.   It was therefore switched to Friday 22nd because Sunday 23rd was not possible due to Bank Holiday Monday fixtures.  It was then changed to Thursday 21st for two reasons:   i)   To avoid substantial extra policing costs of a bank holiday fixture, which were not felt to be appropriate in the current economic climate.  Although ITFC pays for policing in and around the ground itself, costs of policing elsewhere in the town come out of the public purse.   ii)   Several letters had been received from faith groups expressing concern about a local derby being played on Good Friday in view of the potential for hooliganism.   Hope that''s clear.  

It''s the FA Cup this weekend and my selection is   Carlisle  v  Tipton Town  (home win)   Best of luck Fellas and all you PUPs [Y]  

What awful news, let''s hope he can beat it. I loved his Saturday morning show on 5Live, it makes you realise how bizarre it really is to be a football fan.  Back in the late 90s he had a Sunday show.  It was when mobile phones first began to be widely used, and he used to ask people watching park football to phone in and give a commentary or interview the players, it was hilarious as they often didn''t even know the names of the teams let alone the players.  One guy approached a player after the game, got the name of his team then asked him who the opposition was: "Haven''t got a clue mate" was the reply.  Classic.  He doesn''t like Norwich and has made no secret of it, but don''t hold it against him.  He''s a Millwall fan, and for Millwall fans, to be "not liked" is a badge of honour.  So I take it as a compliment.  

As I understand it, the game was originally scheduled for Saturday at 3pm, then it was moved to Friday at 1.15pm and now it''s been moved again. Whatever the reason, I''m all in favour.  I''m old enough to remember local derbies on midweek evenings and the atmosphere was absolutely second to none. Not only that, if it passes off with no serious trouble it makes it more likely that derby games will be played at the scheduled kickoff time in future.  Let''s just hope that the idiots (from both clubs) who turn out on these occasions will realise what''s at stake and behave themselves.