And in response, on behalf of the English, I'd like to say we still won the Six Nations, so up yours!
I'm a short-sighted, unthinking patriot as much as the next man but this England rugby team plays with such a lack of brio that yesterday, I found myself not unhappy when Ireland beat us. ION. Arsenal are still Arsenal. Man Utd are still Man Utd.
No, we absolutely deserved to lose. Our heart wasn't in it, and we didn't play anything like our best. Basically, we were crap. We could get away with it against Scotland, but not against Ireland.
FFS. Hit the woodwork three times, have three shots cleared off the line and have three penalty appeals turned down. Has God himself ordained that we'll be in the play-offs?
Woo, Man.Utd won with a late goal against Bolton yesterday. We're still top, but Arsenal aren't far behind. Also, when did Man.City get so good? Didn't expect to see that they were third.
Well, both Wisconsin teams are out of March Madness (Wisconsin and Marquette). My only consolation is that Ohio State got knocked out too, which kinda makes up for it a bit.
And so, it all begins again. I think Red Bull should do us all a favour and cut Vettel's radio as soon as he crosses the finish line/ qualifies in pole...
Huddersfield Town 3-0 Notts County. Scored 3, could have had 6 or 7 at least. 13 shots on target tells its own story. Absolutely excellent today. Dominated from first to last, got the ball down and played. Scott Arfield in the middle had his best game in blue and white. Benik Afobe set up two and could have had a hat-trick himself. Jordan Rhodes was clinical to get to 20 for the season (again). Now 4 points clear of 3rd and still have an outside shout of the title.
I like all three of those teams Butler is amazing though, as is Purdue. They're my two favorite colleges I wish Jimmer Fredette didn't get knocked out either. Kemba Walker is my favorite player in college basketball though, so hopefully either UConn or Butler wins it all. My money is honestly on UConn though... I don't think VCU will hold up against Butler. Hopefully...
I definitely didn't have VCU lol. But Butler honestly wasn't unexpected from me. I've watched them improve all season and recover from losing Gordon Hayward, so I'm happy they're there. I had Wisconsin and Purdue though taking the place of Butler and VCU. Wishful thinking on the Purdue end, and logical thinking on the Wisconsin end. Sadly/happily, both ways of thinking failed me
I'm all the way in Aus so I'm a NRL girl doggies all the way! c: And for soccer - Real Madrid, for sure. ;D
After last night's late drama (Bournemouth nicking an equaliser in the third minute of injury time after being 3-1 down to Peterborough), Town find all the pressure is back on as we head over the Pennines to the Wirral for the clash with Tranmere Rovers. A win will open a 6-point gap over Peterborough with the Posh visiting the Galpharm next week. Town could, with 6 points in these two fixtures, knock Peterborough out of the chase for automatic promotion. But today's a tough task. Tranmere will work hard and battle for everything. Town will have to be sharp and up for the fight to take the three points from Prenton Park. Alex Smithies is definitely out, but Gary Naysmith could be back and Antony Kay will be looking to get back into the matchday 18 after being left out against Notts County. Other than that, it should be the same side who convincingly dispatched County 3-0 in Sunday's televised clash. TTID.
Trying to decide what London 2012 tickets to apply for, but it's hard. I can't believe the Olympics will be here in just over a year!
Tranmere Rovers 0-2 Huddersfield Town. Hard fought, gutsy win. This was all about team spirit and being up for the fight, and by heck we were today. Goals from Arsenal loanee Benik Afobe and substitute Lee Novak gave Town a third win on the spin at Prenton Park - and the third by a 2-0 scoreline! Southampton unfortunately won, so they're still in touch with Town, 5 points adrift in 3rd. It really is nervewracking up at the top. As an aside, Town have accumulated 41 points in 19 games. That's phenomenal.
All depends on Southampton and how they do in their games in hand. They have 3 tough ones, starting with Charlton on Tuesday. If Charlton nick something, the pressure will really be on. Town face Peterborough next week in a crucial top-of-the-table clash which will shape the destiny of the season. Worst case scenario is play-offs, but those would be tricky as always. I hate the things. Such a massive lottery. Failed in them last season and to do the same this would be heartbreaking.
Paul Ince sacked by Notts County. Cue talk about racism (conveniently overlooking the fact that Ince had lost 8 of his last 9 games, Notts hadn't scored in 5, and were only 2 points above the drop zone).
Ince is no doubt a poor manager and deserves the boot. (Tremendous player mind). Understandable that it should prompt a wider discussion though (even if it's not quite that discussion) . I think that leaves Chris Powell as the only black manager amid 92...About a quarter of all players are black.
It does indeed leave Powell as the only black manager. Although in the women's game, England manager Hope Powell (curious coincidence with the name) is also black and she holds the top job. It has been mooted that black players seem to have less of a desire to make it as managers and coaches. I think this may actually have some truth in it. I heard that of 40-odd applicants for a managerial post in League Two this season, none came from an ethnic minority background. However, it isn't like black players haven't gone on to be good managers. Leroy Rosenior got Torquay promoted to League One a few years back; Chris Houghton took Newcastle back into the Premier League and is one of the first names mentioned when a managerial post becomes available; Keith Alexander did sterling work at the minnows at the bottom end of the Football League for many years before he sadly passed away. However in a few years we'll probably see a few more. I can see Chris Powell becoming a very good manager. I can see Sol Campbell going into management and making a good job of it. Once Ince gets over his delusions he could be a decent manager (though he could go the Bryan Robson way in management). Of Town's current crop I can see Lee Peltier being a very good coach or manager in 15 years or so. I don't think that race is the issue so much as it's the quality of the candidates at the moment. Most fans couldn't care less if their manager was white, black, green, had tentacles, or even had six legs so long as he (or even she) was up to the task.
