Fulham Broadway

HAHAHA, like it ''that Man you bloke''. Bobby Charlton, destroyer of Germany 1966 Nearly all that Zola/Gullit/Vialli era compatriots are in some form of management now, just hope the pikeys dont get on his back too soon.....

Biggest experiment inhistory, you cant beat a big bang http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7604293.stm

His boyhood dream, always a Liverpool fan, oh dear, join a long list of fellow victims ..... http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=856155

To my mind he is neither hungry, nor that interested. The £6 million a year till 2012 ensures a contract pay off when the inevitable demise/non qualification occurs. England dont need a bloke whose prime motivation is adding to his £20 million art collection, nor a hapless Mcclown who'd rather be Dutch. England need passion, and that doesnt come from fat cats - I dont know -gave up with England a few years ago -Holloway ? even Keegan, at leat theyd have a bit of soul - but I agree the established usual suspects need to be culled.

Fookin' ell http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-spo...mers/article.do

To my mind early all the England players are mediocre when you take them out of the multi-national Premiership. This is down to foreign skill masking their average ability, and they're playing for England, including the manager with tens of millions of pounds in their back pockets , no national incentive, knowing their club wage packet is far more important. If England are to improve there needs to be a removal of dead wood from the FA downwards replaced with hungry young players who have something to prove.

I suppose they've always been a feeder club for players, why not coaching staff as well ? Unfortunately, there isnt one top flight manager that isnt a cunt sometimes, and Zola will be no different -flying in the face of his natural ''Mr Nice guy'' persona. If he gets the job, it'll be interesting to see how he handles some of the more 'colourful characters' down at E 13.

Its either; all part of a grand plan, he will get them relegated, or... In reality this is a pisser. Eastenders are not forgiving and will get on his back with a few bad results or if he shakes hands with a few ex Chels colleagues. Some WHam sites are already saying they dont want the ''Chelsea scum''

The good news amongst all the doom and gloom is the reporting (Mail/Express) that Mikel will be back against Man City and Drogba is set to return........

I know, its a fucking disgrace. Can see the headlines now - ''Chelsea Legend takes Charge of Caravan Club''

If it is, it should be in the Olympics. Definitely add to its appeal. Been watching some of the Paralympics -some of them aren't that disabled if you ask me. I might go in for them, my knee is still playing up. Easy way to get a gold I reckon.

I havent seen any coverage of the consortiums spokesperson saying they will buy Ronaldo etc and it sounds childish -good luck to them though. With Essien out, the 'bruising' of Robinho will go down to Mikel. (thats if Hughes dares to play him) Wheres Boulahrouz when you need him ?

He's a marketing man . From Umbro to Chelsea it has been his remit to promote the ''brand''. It shows how football has changed when a marketing executive accepts a Champions League medal from Platini. Wouldnt be the least surprised if some dumb arab oil billionaire at Middle Eastlands offers him twice what Abramovich is paying him to promote ''Brand Man City''.

David Gill has hinted that they'd accept that kind of money for Ronaldo -the Glazers definitely would - but I think a lot of the ''they're going to buy this and that player'' is just the similar bowlocks that was aired by the media when Abramovich took over. Its good, as someone else pointed out, that it takes the pressure of CFC (even though Liverpool and ManUtd have been bigger spenders all along) -and I cant think of a club that I'd prefer this to happen to. Maybe Everton would be funny. I wish them luck, apart from Saturday, and it definitely raises the bar in terms of spending power....

Lets put these new moneyed upstarts in their place, they've ruined the game donchaknow. Dont forget, dont drive to the game. Every time you fill up your car, you're contributing to their transfer kitty......

Quite funny to see him knocked on his arse. About time -never been a boxer so arrogant....

Any other profession he'd be banned for life. Just another example of where money is prioritised over any morals.

Zola is now far and away the favourite !

They aint short of a few bob thats for sure, transfer fees wont be much of an object....

It would have been his agent that persuaded the gangsta rap bwoy for all the dosh.

Remember reading an article about this awhile back. The owner had long been a Hoffenheim fan ? , and ploughed millions of Euros into the club, and that one of the biggest obstacles he couldnt overcome was the lack of fans and atmosphere, something you just cant manufacture no matter how rich the clubs are....

Leaves the biscuit magnates West Ham assortment; http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...utd/7596106.stm

Good article in the Times today - They'll only miss us once we've gone What is it that Guinness advert proclaims? "All good things come to those who wait". Well the Footballing Authorities may not have to wait too much longer until their transition of the game is complete. To rid the game of the bad and populate it only with the good. No more rowdy behaviour, no more rebels of society daring to stand up and make their feelings known, no more problems. Their ideals consist of fans turning up every week, queuing to gain entry in an orderly fashion, having booked their tickets 3 months in advance. Entering the stadium and taking their seats, rising only to applaud goals where they dance along to carefully selected music over the PA, before clearing up their litter and disappearing into the countryside until the following weekend. No hassle, no passion, no noise. "They'll only miss us once we've gone" As the game I know and love becomes more diluted by the passing year, I often wonder just when the breaking point will come. When will those authorised with sanitising our game realise the error of their ways? Or can they not actually see that they are breaking the very foundations of what has made this sport a success? Pound signs blur their vision, seen all too often in every walk of life. Greed takes over, people want more. They've exhausted the Premier League "brand" and now have visions of taking it further afield; the infamous "Game 39". Translated to you and me, meaning they have milked pretty much every penny they can from the "consumers" in this country, and now want to tap into the pockets of those football hungry consumers overseas. All in the name of expanding the pockets of the shareholders, players and governing bodies of our sport. Our sport, not theirs. If I rewind 7 or 8 years; I'm leaving the house on a matchday and making my way to Anfield. There was no need to ring around in the morning; I'd just turn up and walk into one of two or three pubs around the ground, and would bump into people I knew. You knew where everyone would drink, and had done for years. The same faces, the people that made this club what it is. I can pop my head into those same pubs now, and I wouldn't recognise a soul. Those long standing supporters have now all but disappeared, replaced by families from all over, decked out in official replica sportswear and taking pictures of anything that moves. There's a smaller crowd of us left and tend to keep out of the way. We don't conform. Those areas around the ground have now been taken over by the new brigade, while the old guard retreat to pastures further afield. Year after year, more and more people are dropping away. There's still a hardcore of a few hundred that travel everywhere. There's still thousands that go to every home game just like they always have. But it's becoming harder and harder for these people to carry on. Supporters being replaced by consumers. Participants being replaced by spectators. Just how much higher can the bar be raised by the controlling bodies before they've pushed away everyone that gave the game it's appeal in the first place? What happens when the passion disappears for good? You can't manufacture passion, no matter how hard some clubs try. They have mascots running up and down the touchline trying to encourage the fans. At Bolton they play "I feel good" when they score, with two young lads running the length of the pitch with big flags. Music played after goals is now commonplace, as if fans don't know how to celebrate a goal by themselves. Is it because they realise the passion is dead and are trying to hang onto a small semblence of it? Or is it aimed at manufacturing a friendly atmosphere to suit their agenda? Manufactured support; I can't think of anything worse. Handing out those clappers seems to be the next step this season, with the whole of St.Andrews clapping along with them before their opening game. This in a ground that used to be known as one of the most passionate and hostile in football; now transformed into a childrens play ground with everybody doing as they are told. Sat down and singing what the club want them to sing, and clapping when they want them to clap. So sad. Ticket prices on the increase there every season, and a ground I now refuse to visit. £40 for an away ticket some 4 years ago. No thanks. It doesn't take a genius to work out why they barely fill half of that ground any more. Newcastle had their lowest league attendance for nearly a decade at the weekend, with cash turnstiles in operation, entry for £10 if you bought a replica shirt and other such promotions, but still had thousands of empty seats. Manchester United have been contacting everybody on their mailing lists trying to push season ticket sales again this summer. Whereas Old Trafford used to be like Fort Knox when it came to getting in, they're now closer to resembling one of the happy hour bars in Benidorm, with teenagers stood outside handing out cards with promotional offers to encourage trade. What was once a closed shop, is now opening it's doors and trying to drag people in off the streets. Is the football bubble about to burst? I hope so. On Monday night, Portsmouth's most famous fan, the bell ringer with the blue hair, or less commonly known as "John", was approached by the ground staff at Fratton Park and asked to keep the noise down. I'm sure it's not only me that's absolutely staggered by that. Asked to stop ringing his bell and keep the noise down, in a football ground! The mind boggles. But it's another notch on the many that have been made previously, in slowly sanitising the way we support our teams. We are told we're not allowed to stand up as it's unsafe; yet rugby sides play in exactly the same stadia and those rules don't apply. Apparently it's safe for rugby fans to stand in those same seated areas, but not football fans (the reasons for that I could write a book on, and will address again). It's madness. They're also allowed to drink in their seats while watching the game. I know of a fan that was facing a 3 year football banning after peering over the exits at White Hart Lane to catch a goal he'd missed when coming down early at half time. He'd walked down the steps, was handed a pint by a friend, and heard the roar from the stands. He went halfway back up the steps to see what had happened, when two officers arrested him for consuming alcohol in view of the playing surface. It defies belief. But I'm told we're different. As our friend from Portsmouth has pointed out this week; would this sort of discrimination be accepted anywhere else, or by anyone else, but football fans? I was on a final warning in my old season ticket seat for foul and abusive language. I was reported by fellow fans for swearing, and risked losing my season ticket. Now in that seat, I was reserved, very reserved. It was on the halfway line and not a noise was made all season by anyone. They were spectators, I'm a participant, or like to be. I want to go to the game and let off some steam. I go to work to pay the bills, put a roof over the family heads, and to enjoy myself during my time off. I choose to do that at the football, something I've grown up with. It's always been a part of who I am. But in that seat, I had to control myself and just sit and watch the game, conforming to those around me for over 7 years. I must have sworn a handful of times in that entire period, when telling the referee where to go or some other trivial slip of the tongue. Yet I faced losing my season ticket and not being able to support my side over it. I was one swear word away from walking away from the game for good. If this was in a family enclosure I'd understand. I know when swearing is unacceptable, and in my view, a football ground is one of those places where it fits. When I go to the match, I want to stand with fellow fans, my friends. I want to participate in the game, I want to support the side. I want to shout and I want to sing. I want to do the things that made me fall in love with the game and going to the match. But one by one, the authorities are trying to take all those things out of our game. To have us sat in silence, only singing when they want us to sing, and singing the songs they want us to sing. Blaring music over the PA system we are supposed to dance along to. We're unable to create an atmosphere ourselves it seems. For the future, see American sports for how it will go. Club issue foam hands can already be seen, dancing girls have been tried, the list goes on. Keep sanitising; you'll soon be wondering where it all went wrong, when the very people that made this game what it is, have all long since disappeared. There's not many of us left. Soon there will be none. Enjoy modern football. Enjoy scratching your heads in some plush office arguing with each other about who's to blame when the crowds start to stay away. I'll be long past the caring stage. You'll have brought it upon yourselves and destroyed a game loved by millions in the process. I hope it's worth it. Paul Jones

One of the few clubs where the fans have stuck with the team through thin and thin. Half the so called Chels fans would drop their allegiance like a hat if the form was anything like the Tynesiders. Loads of geordies refused to renew their season tickets after Bartons reinstatement. They get my respect for that. To me they have passion - ok they're generally fat shirtless beer monsters - but there can never be enough pressure on the board and manager from the fans in any club, they deserve all the stick if not performing...

Fergusons face spontaneously combusting on Sky Sport News as Man City pip them for CL would be worth videoing.