*Official* English Football Season 2008-2009

[GIMH]

3-1 for Liverpool in the end, the big news is that Chelsea only managed a zero zero tie against those transylvanian folks, causing a bit of a stir so they are

 

[grecian]

Oh, Spurs fans on phone-ins are just the funniest thing. One was just advocating sacking Ramos and bringing in El Tel

 

[roseboy64]

Sucky for Shaktar that.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Oh, Spurs fans on phone-ins are just the funniest thing. One was just advocating sacking Ramos and bringing in El Tel

After what they were apparently chanting at Sol on Sunday, they deserve everything they get. No footballer should ever have to hear what Campbell heard from the Spurs fans no matter what he's done, they were an utter disgrace, and I hope they get relegated more than I already did. Embarrassment to English football.

 

[Dark Hunter]

Awesome to see Anorthosis Famagusta down Panathinaikos 3-1. Thats both the big Greek sides they've knocked over now, and they could very well be looking at the Uefa cup, not bad for a side who started at the very first qualification stage.

 

[Kira]

Damned Steven Gerrard ruined my 2-1 prediction lol But it was worth it with a free kick like that

 

[TT Boy]

Oh, Spurs fans on phone-ins are just the funniest thing. One was just advocating sacking Ramos and bringing in El Tel

There on my TV tonight and what’s more it’s on at a reasonable time (9.30pm).
I take it Spurs (worst start in 53 years) are still gelling, Shaggy Alfresco (?)

 

[sledger]

Need a decent striker ITBT.

 

[TT Boy]

Need a decent striker ITBT.

But they have over 30 millions pound worth of 'talent' upfront...

 

[sledger]

But they have over 30 millions pound worth of 'talent' upfront...

Yeah, can never understand why anyone would opt for Darren Bent over Defoe tbh, certainly Defoe has his faults and is by no means an absolute world beater, but he could have done a very solid job for Spurs, whereas everything I've seen of Darren Bent suggests to me that he isn't capable of playing at the highlest level in any capacity. Oh well, Spurs loss is Pompey's gain I suppose.

 

[Tom Halsey]

After what they were apparently chanting at Sol on Sunday, they deserve everything they get. No footballer should ever have to hear what Campbell heard from the Spurs fans no matter what he's done, they were an utter disgrace, and I hope they get relegated more than I already did. Embarrassment to English football.

Tbf, every club is as bad as each other, obviously you have a point, but in reality Spurs are no worse than anyone else. There was a (borderline) racist chant about Adebayor doing the rounds at OT not so long ago, luckily it seems not to have caught on, I suppose we'll have to wait for the next time we play Arsenal to see. Not even sure it's entirely original, either.

EDIT: Nope, I'm reinforcing your point here tbf, it's origin was apparently Spurs fans according to a google search.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Tbf, every club is as bad as each other, obviously you have a point, but in reality Spurs are no worse than anyone else. There was a racist chant about Adebayor doing the rounds at OT not so long ago, luckily it seems not to have caught on, I suppose we'll have to wait for the next time we play Arsenal to see. Not even sure it's entirely original, either.

EDIT: Nope, I'm reinforcing your point here tbf, it's origin was apparently Spurs fans according to a google search.

I don't buy into the "every club is as bad as each other" idea personally. I've been to about 50 matches at Fratton Park over the space of ten years and never once heard a racial insult. I've heard some vaguely unsavoury stuff like "you dirty foreign bastards", but that's not even that offensive, it's just stupid. Even though it wasn't racial in nature, what the Spurs fans were chanting at Campbell is unforgivable. It was personal - tormenting a man about the club he used to play for is one thing, but about his mental state or his ***uality is quite another.

A club's fans are only as badly behaved as they allow themselves to become. Pompey used to have an extremely violent and unsavoury element that has been all but stamped out - it is possible to weed out those who shouldn't be allowed to be there, and any club who doesn't make every effort to do so is doing a disservice to both themselves and the game in general. The reason countries like Spain are so bad when it comes to crowd behaviour is because back in the 70s and 80s when English football was very progressive when it came to black players, Spanish football - and Italian, for that matter - stood still and allowed the few black players there to be persecuted without seeing it as a big deal.

Personally, what makes the matter even more of a bitter pill to swallow for me is the nature of Campbell himself as a player - as a man who always, always gives 100% for his club and who did so for his country for over a decade, he deserves far better in the twilight of his career than to be treated as if he has done something to deserve the abuse he got. Any decent Spurs fans out there should be utterly ashamed of the actions of their cohorts, and anyone involved with Pompey or Campbell himself has every right to feel highly aggrieved. I'm glad Redknapp spoke out against it publicly the other day, and I hope Spurs are made an example of. Personally, I'd like to see their fans banned from Fratton Park for a season or two, but that wouldn't be much of a punishment for them, more of a respite for us.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Yeah, can never understand why anyone would opt for Darren Bent over Defoe tbh, certainly Defoe has his faults and is by no means an absolute world beater, but he could have done a very solid job for Spurs, whereas everything I've seen of Darren Bent suggests to me that he isn't capable of playing at the highlest level in any capacity. Oh well, Spurs loss is Pompey's gain I suppose.

Without a doubt. Defoe is a class, class player. Give him games and he'll prove it - would put a decent sum of money on him being the top English scorer in the Premiership this season.

 

[Tom Halsey]

A club's fans are only as badly behaved as they allow themselves to become. Pompey used to have an extremely violent and unsavoury element that has been all but stamped out - it is possible to weed out those who shouldn't be allowed to be there, and any club who doesn't make every effort to do so is doing a disservice to both themselves and the game in general. The reason countries like Spain are so bad when it comes to crowd behaviour is because back in the 70s and 80s when English football was very progressive when it came to black players, Spanish football - and Italian, for that matter - stood still and allowed the few black players there to be persecuted without seeing it as a big deal.

I agree with large amounts of your post, but tbf I feel Tottenham supporters have also improved a lot. I do feel most clubs' fans these days are on roughly the same level - far better than what they tended to be like in the 70s and 80s, though still not having eradicated all signs of idiocy. FWIW, this includes Portsmouth - I remember there being a large riot involving Portsmouth and Southampton fans a few years ago, have a feeling that was after Portsmouth had been promoted into the Premiership too, though don't quote me on that. Just as Tottenham fans are occasionally still idiots (Sunday), so are Portsmouth fans, as well as fans from every other club IMO.

EDIT: Also, just seen the lyrics of the song on another forum... assuming the lyrics are correct, it's not nice at all, the game could definitely do without songs like that. However, far worse has been sung before, with no punishment at all... it's a difficult one. On the one hand, songs like this could definitely be done without, on the other, any harsh punishment would reek of double standards IMO, and the only punishments I can see do not discriminate between those decent fans and the idiots.

 

[sledger]

See the points of both here, the behaviour of some fans is absolutely disgraceful and everything possible should be done to stamp out this sort of thing.

But as Halsey says, everywhere you go in life there will be idiots, not just in football crowds, it's just that with so much media exposure the idiotic chants/whatever from football matches always make it into the public eye.

 

[sledger]

Without a doubt. Defoe is a class, class player. Give him games and he'll prove it - would put a decent sum of money on him being the top English scorer in the Premiership this season.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised at all to be honest, if he's started as he means to go on then he will have a great season.

I'd say he isn't perfect, and for him to become a true world class player he would need to improve several aspects of his game, such as his chances/goals conversion rate, as imo he can be a bit wasteful from time to time. But he's the kind of player you can expect with some confidence to score 15+ goals a season without a second thought, wouldn't mind seeing him in an England shirt tbh, very useful player indeed imo.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I agree with large amounts of your post, but tbf I feel Tottenham supporters have also improved a lot. I do feel most clubs' fans these days are on roughly the same level - far better than what they tended to be like in the 70s and 80s, though still not having eradicated all signs of idiocy. FWIW, this includes Portsmouth - I remember there being a large riot involving Portsmouth and Southampton fans a few years ago, have a feeling that was after Portsmouth had been promoted into the Premiership too, though don't quote me on that. Just as Tottenham fans are occasionally still idiots (Sunday), so are Portsmouth fans, as well as fans from every other club IMO.

EDIT: Also, just seen the lyrics of the song on another forum... assuming the lyrics are correct, it's not nice at all, the game could definitely do without songs like that. However, far worse has been sung before, with no punishment at all... it's a difficult one. On the one hand, songs like this could definitely be done without, on the other, any harsh punishment would reek of double standards IMO, and the only punishments I can see do not discriminate between those decent fans and the idiots.

Yeah, I see your point. As I mentioned, we don't have a stellar history ourselves when it comes to the behaviour of fans - however, the only incidents in recent years involving our fans have been in games against Southampton, in which case the the blame lay with both sets of fans as they both started rioting. However, in these instances, numerous arrests were made, indicating that the troublemakers had been punished accordingly. The problem that I have with this scenario is that unlike instances when violence actually occurs, people who merely chant obscene things go largely unpunished. I suppose like you say, it's just one of those things - every walk of life has its idiots.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised at all to be honest, if he's started as he means to go on then he will have a great season.

I'd say he isn't perfect, and for him to become a true world class player he would need to improve several aspects of his game, such as his chances/goals conversion rate, as imo he can be a bit wasteful from time to time. But he's the kind of player you can expect with some confidence to score 15+ goals a season without a second thought, wouldn't mind seeing him in an England shirt tbh, very useful player indeed imo.

Yeah, he does waste the odd chance. Needs to work on his composure a bit, I think. However, one aspect of his game which seems to have stepped up since he joined Pompey is the amount of work he does outside the area. He's always been someone who was active outside the area, by no means a lazy player, but this season he seems to be really hurting teams whenever he gets the ball. Glad I've got him in my Fantasy team.

 

[Tom Halsey]

As far as Defoe is concerned, if United were in need of a fast striker, I'd gladly take him, think he'd score a lot of goals IMO.

 

[Barney Rubble]

As far as Defoe is concerned, if United were in need of a fast striker, I'd gladly take him, think he'd score a lot of goals IMO.

It'll be about five years before you guys are in need of a striker, fast or otherwise. Ridiculous amount of attacking talent you have. However, if I were you I'd be slightly worried about your defence - you'll need some investment over the next three years or so if you're going to maintain any kind of strength in depth. Evans looks promising, but distinctly skinny and perhaps could prove too lightweight for Premiership football in the long run - any other defensive prospects on the horizon? Selling Piqué was a strange one, he seemed talented.