Well, the away leg is upon us. Redknapp is at least smart enough to realize that the UEFA Cup is something we don't need on our plates at the moment. We also don't need 6 games in 17 days, but what is a team to do, sometimes clustered fixtures happen.
Spurs are resting or not even bringing these players to Ukraine:
Modric
Woodgate
Cudicini
Lennon
Palacios
These players are injured:
O'Hara
King
Defoe
Cup Tied Players:
Corluka
Keane
Pavlyuchenko
Holy shit. Even if Harry wanted to bring guys with him, there isn't many to choose from. As of 1:30ish EST, I have no idea what our starting 11 will look like, other than slotting in Dawson, Chimbonda (haha), Gomes, Frazier and Bent. After the US vs Mexico game where Gio ran wild for 72 odd minutes, I wonder if he'll be traveling to Ukraine to get some time. I hope he does just so it shuts up all the Spurs fans who think Gio was a waste buy. Does he fit the Comolli signing guide, yes. Is he full of talent, of course. I just hope Spurs make a horrible mistake and sell Gio.
If Spurs can get a draw out of this match, I'll be happy because I think we could push past Shakhtar at the Lane.
Starting 11:
--------------------Gomes-----------------
Gunter---Dawson----Huddlestone----Chimbonda
Bentley----Parrot(1st Start)--Jenas[C]--Zokora---Gio
-------------------Campbell------------------
Subs:
Bostock
Bent
EDIT: Starting 11 is very alright. Don't have word on all the subs as of right now. The pitch apparently is horrible and I don't have a Feed for the game yet, still have the Udinese game on, which is now at 2-2! Updates to follow.
EDIT 2: Half-time. 0-0 still. I actually went out to get some food during the first half, which shows how much emphasis I'm putting on this match. Looking foward to our league play more than anything now, which nearly all Spurs fans are the same. Dario Srna plays for Donetsk, forgot about that.
Fun trivia question during Half Time: Who is the most famous player to come through Donetsk?
A: Sergei Rebrov. Yikes.
I also cannot forget about our American Sports here. Only 8 more minutes until the NBA Trade Deadline is over. So far the Cavs have been linked with quite a few players, but most notably Shaq. Unreal stuff right there. I'm on the fence about if I want us to make a move. I think it's imperative, however I don't want the chemistry to be broken up, or lose Wally.
69': Bent comes on for Gio. Bentley moves to the left, Campbell moves over to the right side. Still running a 4-5-1. Hopefully we can get some magic out of Bent and score on a counter. Donetsk pushes up a lot and hopefully we can catch them off guard.
78': Goal for Donetsk. They brought on a sub and within 10 seconds the sub scores. All the fault is put on Gomes for sure. Completely out of place for the ball. Gomes came out and was in complete no-man's land and tried to punch the ball away, even though he was at least 2 yards away from ever touching it. Unreal. He's tried to give this away by throwing the ball to a defender who was 23 yards out. Now Gomes is down and about to be carted off by the stretcher. Unbelievable how fast this guy has fallen from grace after being with PSV.
88': Just as John Bostock is about to come on Donetsk scores their second. Bad defending by the back 4 as Jadsen (sp?) puts the ball across the body of Gomes. Bostock comes on for Parratt, who looked fantastic today. Hopefully he'll continue to impress. I was going to do a write up about how a 1-0 lead going back to WHL wouldn't be to bad, but having to score 3 is going to be nearly impossible, especially on our form all year. Well, nice to get this out of the way and focus strictly on league play.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
UEFA Cup Feb. 18 2009
Plenty of games going on today.
18:00 Dynamo Kyiv ? - ? Valencia
18:15 Zenit St. Petersburg ? - ? Stuttgart
18:30 Olympiakos Piraeus ? - ? Saint-Etienne
20:00 Aston Villa ? - ? CSKA Moscow
20:35 Werder Bremen ? - ? AC Milan
20:45 Bordeaux ? - ? Galatasaray
20:45 NEC Nijmegen ? - ? Hamburger SV
20:45 Paris S.G. ? - ? Wolfsburg
20:45 Sampdoria ? - ? Metalist Kharkiv
21:00 Aalborg BK ? - ? Deportivo La Coruna
21:45 Braga ? - ? Standard Liege
Predictions of winners are bolded.
This soccer/football tournament is comparable to the NIT Invitational for College Basketball. While the UEFA Champions League is the biggest clubs in the world (sorry AC Milan), the UEFA Cup still have some of the larger teams however these are more of the "second tier" of club teams in Europe. I'm hoping that Olympiakos beats St. Etienne, just because Comolli works for Eteinne. Villa-CSKA should be a really good game. And it'd be incredible to see Werder Bremen beat AC Milan. Hopefully Hugo Almeida can put 2 away and finish off Milan, but most likely not. Last but not least, Hamburger SV should have an easy time with NEC Nijmegen. Spurs played them last year without much troubles, and Hamburger should do the same. Not to mention Martin Jol is in charge over there in Germany with two quality fowards (Mladen Petric, Ivica Olic).
Spurs playing tomorrow against Shakhtar Donetsk. Game is away and Redknapp is talking about not having Luka travel with the club due to hurting his ankle. With Keane, Corluka, and nearly the rest of the club ineligible to play due to Cup ties, we can all but kiss UEFA Cup done. Having Darren Bent up top alone is bad, but factor in that there isn't anyone to command in midfield (except Lennon who doesn't have an end product) and there really isn't a need to watch this match if you don't have to. At least with the defense we should be okay, maybe. Ledley is out. But the way Dawson has played we shouldn't need Ledders. I'll for sure be watching just to see how the reserve squad plays, who knows maybe Zokora will go crazy and score a brace. Haha, just kidding.
18:00 Dynamo Kyiv ? - ? Valencia
18:15 Zenit St. Petersburg ? - ? Stuttgart
18:30 Olympiakos Piraeus ? - ? Saint-Etienne
20:00 Aston Villa ? - ? CSKA Moscow
20:35 Werder Bremen ? - ? AC Milan
20:45 Bordeaux ? - ? Galatasaray
20:45 NEC Nijmegen ? - ? Hamburger SV
20:45 Paris S.G. ? - ? Wolfsburg
20:45 Sampdoria ? - ? Metalist Kharkiv
21:00 Aalborg BK ? - ? Deportivo La Coruna
21:45 Braga ? - ? Standard Liege
Predictions of winners are bolded.
This soccer/football tournament is comparable to the NIT Invitational for College Basketball. While the UEFA Champions League is the biggest clubs in the world (sorry AC Milan), the UEFA Cup still have some of the larger teams however these are more of the "second tier" of club teams in Europe. I'm hoping that Olympiakos beats St. Etienne, just because Comolli works for Eteinne. Villa-CSKA should be a really good game. And it'd be incredible to see Werder Bremen beat AC Milan. Hopefully Hugo Almeida can put 2 away and finish off Milan, but most likely not. Last but not least, Hamburger SV should have an easy time with NEC Nijmegen. Spurs played them last year without much troubles, and Hamburger should do the same. Not to mention Martin Jol is in charge over there in Germany with two quality fowards (Mladen Petric, Ivica Olic).
Spurs playing tomorrow against Shakhtar Donetsk. Game is away and Redknapp is talking about not having Luka travel with the club due to hurting his ankle. With Keane, Corluka, and nearly the rest of the club ineligible to play due to Cup ties, we can all but kiss UEFA Cup done. Having Darren Bent up top alone is bad, but factor in that there isn't anyone to command in midfield (except Lennon who doesn't have an end product) and there really isn't a need to watch this match if you don't have to. At least with the defense we should be okay, maybe. Ledley is out. But the way Dawson has played we shouldn't need Ledders. I'll for sure be watching just to see how the reserve squad plays, who knows maybe Zokora will go crazy and score a brace. Haha, just kidding.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Dunk Contest Equals Lame
Rudy Fernandez was screwed. His first dunk was incredible. Behind the back pass off the backboard and slammed into the net. That received a 42. Dwight Howard bounces a basketball on the court and receives a 100 score. Sure Sprite and the NBA are going to cater towards the bigger NBA star in Howard, but the voters seriously cannot sit there and say Fernandez's dunk was worse than Howard's. Oh, wait, that won't happen because Dwight still has their heads around his waist.
Everyone's prop dunk used a teammate or another player of some sort. Smith tried an awesome from the stands pass that didn't work out. Rudy got Gasol to pass off the back of the backboard for Rudy to slam it in, which took 9 tries. During the first 8 the voters talked all kinds of shit on Rudy about how they could make that dunk. Yeah, go for it you fat asses. I'll give a pass to Larry Nance because he isn't that kind of person to gloat or talk down on a player, at least not on National TV. The 9th time he nailed the dunk, which should have scored at least a 46, regardless of attempts.
I completely understand the dunk contest was rigged and geared towards Dwight Howard. C'mon, a phone booth and 12 foot hoop? The retarded analyst who would sound like Carlos Mencia (who is the worst human on the planet)? Was all of this necessary David Stern?
And that brings me to another point. David Stern looked completely bored during Rudy's dunks. You should be excited that Rudy was voted in this contest, not by the American/Canadian Contingent, rather everyone that voted from Spain.
Earth to the NBA and Sprite, if you want to become huge in the global market, it'd probably help to push Rudy during this contest. Not to say they aren't already huge globally, but it still wouldn't hurt to try.
It was a really nice touch by Rudy to wear the Fernando Martin jersey during his dunk last night. Fernando was the first Spanish player to play in the NBA, with Portland. Martin was also killed in a car accident at age 28, eerily similar to one of my favorite NBA players, Drazen Petrovic. Drazen was also brought into the league by Portland and is credited as starting the influx of European players into the league. Sadly enough, Drazen was killed in a car accident at age 28.
Hopefully I'll be able to see Rudy play in March when the come to Cleveland.
Everyone's prop dunk used a teammate or another player of some sort. Smith tried an awesome from the stands pass that didn't work out. Rudy got Gasol to pass off the back of the backboard for Rudy to slam it in, which took 9 tries. During the first 8 the voters talked all kinds of shit on Rudy about how they could make that dunk. Yeah, go for it you fat asses. I'll give a pass to Larry Nance because he isn't that kind of person to gloat or talk down on a player, at least not on National TV. The 9th time he nailed the dunk, which should have scored at least a 46, regardless of attempts.
I completely understand the dunk contest was rigged and geared towards Dwight Howard. C'mon, a phone booth and 12 foot hoop? The retarded analyst who would sound like Carlos Mencia (who is the worst human on the planet)? Was all of this necessary David Stern?
And that brings me to another point. David Stern looked completely bored during Rudy's dunks. You should be excited that Rudy was voted in this contest, not by the American/Canadian Contingent, rather everyone that voted from Spain.
Earth to the NBA and Sprite, if you want to become huge in the global market, it'd probably help to push Rudy during this contest. Not to say they aren't already huge globally, but it still wouldn't hurt to try.
It was a really nice touch by Rudy to wear the Fernando Martin jersey during his dunk last night. Fernando was the first Spanish player to play in the NBA, with Portland. Martin was also killed in a car accident at age 28, eerily similar to one of my favorite NBA players, Drazen Petrovic. Drazen was also brought into the league by Portland and is credited as starting the influx of European players into the league. Sadly enough, Drazen was killed in a car accident at age 28.
Hopefully I'll be able to see Rudy play in March when the come to Cleveland.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Update
So I haven't updated in nearly a week. Between work and school, I barely have time to do anything...especially update a blog. I owe John from the UK a package, it's basically waiting to get shipped out, hopefully I'll have time do that within the coming week. Luckily, there isn't much to blog about in the card world right now, but I'll talk about a few topics:
1. Topps Mayo. Why would anyone buy a set of cards that is based off a condiment? Honestly, that alone makes me never want to touch the crap. Not to mention that it was completely false advertised. Great job!
2. A-Rod. hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Although, it scares me that since he is named, MLB is going to become nothing anymore in the public's eye. If A-Rod got caught, nobody is untouchable. I believe that's how the sport should be, but man, the black eye that sport will have for the next few decades could be a monumental disaster.
1. Topps Mayo. Why would anyone buy a set of cards that is based off a condiment? Honestly, that alone makes me never want to touch the crap. Not to mention that it was completely false advertised. Great job!
2. A-Rod. hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Although, it scares me that since he is named, MLB is going to become nothing anymore in the public's eye. If A-Rod got caught, nobody is untouchable. I believe that's how the sport should be, but man, the black eye that sport will have for the next few decades could be a monumental disaster.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Last Minute Transfers
Today is officially the last day for Euro soccer to transfer players amongst teams.
I'll be live blogging as the events go down, mostly about Tottenham.
So far we're linked back with Robbie Keane. This is after the whole "tapping up" nonsense Rafa said we did. Spurs weren't the one tapping up Robbie, Rafa, you were a few months ago.
Also linked to Quaresma of Inter. Weird pairing. Mourinho would want Jenas if we were selling, which Jenas to Inter is about as odd as any transfer window could ever be.
Talk about selling Darren Bent. His goal scoring has been inconsistent, but when broken down over the season, the ratio of goals scored to games played is solid. Not many people are big on Bent, but he's in the wrong system at Spurs, not his fault. To me, this is reminiscent of fans not liking Defoe, even though he was decent for us behind Keane-Berbatov. Moment we sold Defoe and Keane and Berbs left, everyone was crying to get JD back at Spurs. So we did, and now look how that is turning out.
Also, Arshavin is still in the news. I'm getting really tired of the Russian.
EDIT: 2:30pm:
Robbie Keane is once again going to be wearing the Lilywhite and Blue. Unreal. Not even 6 months at the boyhood dream club and it's deemed a massive failure. Guranteed this will be an undisclosed transfer fee.
All we need now is to sign Mido from 'Boro and we'll have our lovely striking squad from 2005-2006. Man what I'd give for Edgar Davids back. Hopefully Palacios will be our new Davids, then our midfield might actually be able to perform. Although why Redknapp loves Zokora is beyond me. Wish he rated him highly when he was still at Pompey, could have sold him off for a nice few million.
Quaresma ends up at Chelsea. This will be a fun end run for Chelsea. A moody player is all they need, especially one who is very much off and on. I'd gladly bet this turns into a Sheva type outcome, but with attitude.
More to come!
I'll be live blogging as the events go down, mostly about Tottenham.
So far we're linked back with Robbie Keane. This is after the whole "tapping up" nonsense Rafa said we did. Spurs weren't the one tapping up Robbie, Rafa, you were a few months ago.
Also linked to Quaresma of Inter. Weird pairing. Mourinho would want Jenas if we were selling, which Jenas to Inter is about as odd as any transfer window could ever be.
Talk about selling Darren Bent. His goal scoring has been inconsistent, but when broken down over the season, the ratio of goals scored to games played is solid. Not many people are big on Bent, but he's in the wrong system at Spurs, not his fault. To me, this is reminiscent of fans not liking Defoe, even though he was decent for us behind Keane-Berbatov. Moment we sold Defoe and Keane and Berbs left, everyone was crying to get JD back at Spurs. So we did, and now look how that is turning out.
Also, Arshavin is still in the news. I'm getting really tired of the Russian.
EDIT: 2:30pm:
Robbie Keane is once again going to be wearing the Lilywhite and Blue. Unreal. Not even 6 months at the boyhood dream club and it's deemed a massive failure. Guranteed this will be an undisclosed transfer fee.
All we need now is to sign Mido from 'Boro and we'll have our lovely striking squad from 2005-2006. Man what I'd give for Edgar Davids back. Hopefully Palacios will be our new Davids, then our midfield might actually be able to perform. Although why Redknapp loves Zokora is beyond me. Wish he rated him highly when he was still at Pompey, could have sold him off for a nice few million.
Quaresma ends up at Chelsea. This will be a fun end run for Chelsea. A moody player is all they need, especially one who is very much off and on. I'd gladly bet this turns into a Sheva type outcome, but with attitude.
More to come!
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