Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

budgetmeansbudget wrote:Spare a thought for DFM, I know he had resigned himself after the weekend, but it isn't nice when it eventually happens for real.

I'd resigned myself a month ago, if I'm honest. As it happens the draw at Villa that I thought would prove critical, turns out to matter not a jot, given that Sunderland would beat Bayern Munich on current form.

Spare a thought for all those Newcastle fans who got Allardyce sacked. They got rid of the man who never gets relegated, and have since been relegated themselves twice. You usually get what you deserve in football. Probably fitting that it was Allardyce who sent them down, and I feel sure that he will have enjoyed that more than anyone.

It tickles me that all the talk up here, atm, is of how Benitez might stay. Pft... chortle, chortle. Rumours abound of £5M a year contracts, and unlimited spending power........

funny then, that Rafa's missus phoned me up at the weekend to ask if I had anybody living behind my bins who could help him pack..... apparently he doesn't know one end of a suitcase from the other

Durhamfootman wrote: Spare a thought for all those Newcastle fans who got Allardyce sacked. They got rid of the man who never gets relegated, and have since been relegated themselves twice. You usually get what you deserve in football. Probably fitting that it was Allardyce who sent them down, and I feel sure that he will have enjoyed that more than anyone.

I respect Newcastle fans for not tolerating the utter dire sh*te that Big Sam serves up to his fans on a regular basis. If I was paying £1000 for a season ticket, I rather lose attempting to win, then scrapping into 17th playing Wimbledon 1989 style rubbish.

Durhamfootman wrote:Spare a thought for all those Newcastle fans who got Allardyce sacked. They got rid of the man who never gets relegated, and have since been relegated themselves twice. You usually get what you deserve in football. Probably fitting that it was Allardyce who sent them down, and I feel sure that he will have enjoyed that more than anyone.

I guess they think of themselves more than a club that avoids relegation each year, which is all Allardyce will ever provide.

Trouble is right now it just seems like a terrible irony.

I found it amusing that Alan Shearer came out and said that the club hadn't learnt from the mistakes made when they last went down in 2009. It's like he forgot that he presided over their dismal finish to that season.

Can't do worse than go back to Hughton which they did last time, although his position is secure at Brighton right now.

Personally I think the ironic thing is that Allerdyce gets widely accepted as this anti-relegation guru, but he knows exactly when to leave a club. Newcastle before Allerdyce came had maintained about 5 years where they challenged (and qualified) for either the Champions League, or failing that, qualified for the UEFA Cup. The only exception was the year that Bobby (legend) Robson left and Souness had a massive hole to fill.

Sam was given money at Newcastle and spunked it on rubbish. Bringing in a 5 stone overweight Viduka on 80 grand a week, the bloke couldnt run anymore..... or bringing in Alan Smith on a (for then) huge wage and paying 7 million for him, despite him having his leg smashed at United and not really being able to move anymore. He was that slow they had to play him in midfield instead of up top. Allerdyce spent the money and essentially destroyed a team that had managed to maintain a degree of success for a long period.

He got sacked, but he had sowed the seeds of the following year relegation by leaving a terrible team with several old crappy players on mega money...... didnt he also pay through the nose for Joey Barton, a player well known going through personal issues, who was on 80k a week as well?

In fact, people always also talk of his Blackburn dismissal as being unfair, but it was a similar situation there. That team had done really well under Mark Hughes and were European contenders, Big Sam came in and brought loads of over price grandads on big money, they started to drop down, and it was left with the fans a year after blaming Steve Keen when he got no money to do anything with the appalling squad he was left with.

I still to this day hate Blackburn fans for the way they blamed Steve Keen for everything. The fact he nearly kept Blackburn up is a bonus, he did a fantastic job in the face of a lot of crap

Flores leaves Watford. As far as I can understand, at the end of the year he had a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave Watford, its believed if he kept them up. He said on Wednesday that he was yet to decide on a contract extension, and has now enacted the break clause to leave.

I take it, in real terms, Flores is leaving for a better job? Got to be favourite for the Everton role now? However he did infer in a recent interview that he would be leaving England, so who knows.

Valencia apparently.

Gingerfinch wrote:Valencia apparently.

Makes sense. Its an interesting job considering Peter Lim smashed down 131 million Euro's on players last year, so Flores might get a mega budget to build a squad.

Old Trafford being evacuated.

Another Man Utd game delayed - This time at home.

Parts of the stadium evacuated.

45 minute delay. Swansea v Man City will still kick off at 3pm.

A suspect package was discovered in the stands.

Man City have scored already.

Match abandoned, bloody typical when we're live on the box.