Tackles, balls and Seaman - The footie thread

[Jim]

I would just like to point out that Sky Sports choice of broadcasting for today is nothing short of digusting. Manchester United vs. Charlton over the biggest game for Spurs in the last fifteen years?! Sure, it's a fucking kick in the teeth the the Arsenal game is being shown as well, seeing as the battle for fourth place isn't even in their hands, but I guess that last game at Highbury and all.

But I couldn't believe it on Friday when I found out that they were showing United Charlton. I considered it a foregone conclusion that it would be the Arsenal and the Spurs game that Sky Sports were showing. Why the fucking show the Charlton game? What, the race for second place (second is nowhere, it really is) that means fuck all and is pretty much decided? United or Liverpool, whoever has to qualify for the champions league next season will find it a fucking walk in the park. It means nothing. Or... Is it because it is Curbishly's last game in charge? So fucking what. What has he ever done with any substance, besides being another overrated 'young' English manager.

So now what... I have to watch the fucking Gillete show to possibly [hear] the Spurs come fourth? I was absoloutly gutted.

Of course, that isn't to take anything away from the Gillete Soccer... Sunday? Special, I guess. Many a time I've gotten home at three, flicked over and ended up keeping the show on for the full hour and fifty ish minutes. It's fantastic.

But, still. I'm fucking pissed.

[Judge Dredd]

I would just like to point out that Sky Sports choice of broadcasting for today is nothing short of digusting. Manchester United vs. Charlton over the biggest game for Spurs in the last fifteen years?!

Maybe they knew that several Spurs players would go down with food poisoning, thus putting the game in doubt.

[Jim]

Seven, apparantly. But the team that started is stronger than the team that beat Bolton last week...............

[Judge Dredd]

What's that noise in N17?

Spurs choking.

The Arsenal in the Champions League, even if they get stuffed 27-0 by Barcelona.

[Jim]

Fuck off.

I'm going wait until I find out who had food poisoning (Michael Carrick was obvioulsy one of them) before I say anything.

I'm fucking gutted.

[Judge Dredd]

Fuck off.

I'm going wait until I find out who had food poisoning (Michael Carrick was obvioulsy one of them) before I say anything.

I'm fucking gutted.

No.

YOU fuck off.

At the end of the season you have qualified for the UEFA Cup and the mighty Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League.

[Jamie]

Arsenal will beat Barcelona, of that there is little doubt. Barcelona are the better team, but i'd stake my entire personal fortune (about 35p currently) on an Arsenal victory

Are you serious?! What have Arsenal going for them on a European level except Henry and Fabregas? Very little from where I'm standin, and just look at Barcelona's squad, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, Puyol, Marquez, Messi (if he's back), Guily, Van Bommel, Iniesta, Laarson, to name but a few. Now, knowing football an Arsenal victory isn't completely of the cards, but it looks highly unlikely.

..and despite all that Arsenal will win, and fairly comfortably

What are you basing this on? Have you even seen Barcelona play this season? They are the best team in Europe by a country mile.

[Judge Dredd]

^ 90 minutes (at least) of sexy football.

It can go either way.

[Izzy]

Arsenal will beat Barcelona, of that there is little doubt. Barcelona are the better team, but i'd stake my entire personal fortune (about 35p currently) on an Arsenal victory

Are you serious?! What have Arsenal going for them on a European level except Henry and Fabregas? Very little from where I'm standin, and just look at Barcelona's squad, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, Puyol, Marquez, Messi (if he's back), Guily, Van Bommel, Iniesta, Laarson, to name but a few. Now, knowing football an Arsenal victory isn't completely of the cards, but it looks highly unlikely.

..and despite all that Arsenal will win, and fairly comfortably

What are you basing this on? Have you even seen Barcelona play this season? They are the best team in Europe by a country mile.

Have u seen Arsenal play? The team always comes up with the goods when it really counts - and Henry is the worlds best player, he can get a goal in a game without any clear cut chances

..and this is coming from a guy who is PRAYING Arsenal lose - but i give them the respect that they do deserve

Barca have done well this season but this is a final, not a league - form goes out the window.

Every one said Real Madrid would deal with Arsenal too....

Either way it will be a good game, and i'm only giving my prediction

[Izzy]

Well done Liverpool, with their best ever Premiership points tally, up two places from last season and yet another phenomenal run, 11 straight wins - we'll be second next season

Tribute to the quality at the top end of the table that 82 points only gets 3rd

Overall a fairly decent premiership, though still so many teams that exist just to take up space - what does a Charlton fan expect from a season?

[Jamie]

Have u seen Arsenal play? The team always comes up with the goods when it really counts - and Henry is the worlds best player, he can get a goal in a game without any clear cut chances

..and this is coming from a guy who is PRAYING Arsenal lose - but i give them the respect that they do deserve

Barca have done well this season but this is a final, not a league - form goes out the window.

Every one said Real Madrid would deal with Arsenal too....

Either way it will be a good game, and i'm only giving my prediction

I have indeed seen Arsenal play and all I see is a team that's a shadow of it's former self, I never thought I'd give him this much credit but Arsenal just aren't the team they were without Viera, sure they have Henry who is a great player without a doubt but he's not a leader in my books, and certainly not the best in the world, and one player can't carry an entire team for too long. Now I will give them due credit for getting into the Champo's League final, but let's remember they scraped some of those games.
And not only has Barca done well this season, but in my books and in many other people's they have been the best team in Europe, without a doubt. And as for the victory against Real, I was expecting that, Real have been similar to Arsenal this year as far as league form goes, a team with a reputation for greatness being a complete embarassment to themselves.

And I can appreciate you giving your opinion but I just can't see where you are getting the idea that Arsenal will beat Barcelona of all people comfortably.

[Judge Dredd]

^ The Arsenal enjoy being underdogs.

Just look at today.

Team spirit can defeat individual brilliance, and that will be a major factor in Paris.

[Danny Top Hat]

Yeah this has been a great season, barring Chelsea's dominance. ?Liverpool have been awesome, and two of the promoted teams (West Ham and Wigan) have been in the top half of the table for most of the season! ?Spurs gave it a proper go this year and played some really good football along the way, but lost 4th place right at the end to

Arsenal

What a wonderful way to say goodbye to Highbury, the second greatest stadium ever to be constructed by human hands.  Soon we shall move into the greatest, but before that we've got the small matter of the Champions League Final to attend to.

[Judge Dredd]

Form is temporary, Class is permanent.

The Arsenal are in the Champions League, Spurs are not.

Full respect to Wigan today, they haven't laid down against us in any of the four fixtures between the 2 sides this season.

A fitting finale to the greatest stadium I have ever had the pleasure to watch football in.

[Izzy]

I feel really bad for Spurs, they did deserve 4th spot

However, i think this is a blessing in disguise for them - an Arsenal CL win would then have actively taken their place away

- if ur gonna lose Champions league football far better for it to be the result of a Spurs poor performance, than an unjustified theft due to absurd rules

I can only imagine how it would feel to have a season's hard work taken away by UEFA

[Izzy]

And I can appreciate you giving your opinion but I just can't see where you are getting the idea that Arsenal will beat Barcelona of all people comfortably.

By comfortable i dont mean a demolison job - i mean they will will, and deserve to win overall - that kind of comfortable

...not the Chelsea vs Accrington Stanley 'comfortable' victory or the any team vs Sunderland 'comfortable' victory

I'm gonna say 2-1, with Arsenal going 2 goals clear at one point

I still very much remember the Chelsea v Barcelona game the other year where Barcelona where expected to devestate and where actually soundly thrashed because they had no idea how to play the off side trap and pushed the defence too far up the pitch - arrogant football

But hey, no matter the result i'll be smiling - Arsenal lose - horrah! Arsenal win - then i am revealed as the all knowing football god

[Judge Dredd]

I feel really bad for Spurs, they did deserve 4th spot

No they didn't.

They got less points, less wins, scored less goals and conceded more than The Arsenal.

They got what they deserved over 38 games.

5th.

[Danny Top Hat]

Tottenham deserved it, they just didn't get the luck.  I'm thrilled that the last day at Highbury went so well - it's great for our chances of keeping Henry and it'll put us in high spirits for the final.

[Judge Dredd]

Tottenham deserved it, they just didn't get the luck.

They outplayed The Arsenal at the Lane and at Highbury and didn't take their chances.

They deserve what they got.

[Jim]

My immediate prediction for next season is that it will be much closer up at the top. Both Liverpool and Manchester United have given very good accounts of themselves over the last few weeks (Chelsea and Sunderland asside...) and, while I doubt that either will be able to match Chelsea's brutal consistancy, I can see them both having a much better go of it than they did this season. Next season is going to be much harder for Chelsea.

I would like to say that we can challenge for fourth again, but as Henry said earlier Arsenal lost something like 12 games; they should have been out of the race for fourth long ago. The only reason that we were even in contention for a Champions League place in the first place is because of Arsenal's loss of form.

I think that, as far as transfers go, this is going to be a hugely important season in North London... Arsenal cannot afford to lose Henry, he's too important in far more aspects than that he's the (second...) best player in the world. We need to buy at least one quality full back and we could do with another decent striker, another big man, especialy if Mido leaves. I'll be devestated if he does.

I'm still not ready to talk about today. Maybe tommorow. My current theory is that Arsene Wenger had our team poisoned. Come on!, if you don't at least entertain the idea then you're naive.....................................

As for you... Grow up.