“Lawro” caught cheating?…And this week’s predictions…

From Thursdy’s (Feb 28th) B.B.C. Football website…

HOW DID LAWRO DO LAST WEEKEND?

Lawro’s predictions
Birmingham 2-1 Arsenal
Blackburn 2-1 Bolton
Fulham 1-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-0 Middlesbrough
Man City 1-0 Everton
Newcastle 0-2 Man Utd
Portsmouth 2-0 Sunderland
Reading 1-2 Aston Villa
Wigan 2-0 Derby
Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea (Carling Cup final)

Actual results 
Birmingham 2-2 Arsenal

Blackburn 4-1 Bolton

Fulham 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 3-2 Middlesbrough

Man City 0-2 Everton

Newcastle 1-5 Man Utd

Portsmouth 1-0 Sunderland

Reading 1-2 Aston Villa

Wigan 2-0 Derby

Tottenham 1-0 Chelsea (Carling Cup final)

Lawro got SEVEN results right and TWO perfect scores.

*************************************************************

WRONG!!
What is going on here?…In last week’s predictions Lawro wrote the following…

“Reading could do with a win. 

They remind me a little of Sheffield United last season in that they have become ultra reliant on their home form. 

However, I think the Royals have more quality that the Blades did last season. I think they will be OK in terms of Premier League survival. 

Villa have vastly improved and are enjoying a fine season but I’m going with Reading to win this one. 

Verdict: Reading win: 2-1 


The prediction above has been changed to read “Reading 1-2 Aston Villa” when in fact the original said “Reading 2-1 Aston Villa” and was backed up by his comments above. The actual result was Reading 1 – 2 Aston Villa…Shamefully I had predicted a draw…

Sorry, Lawro, but this sort of propoganda is not acceptable. You predicted a Reading win, you were wrong and therefore did not get “seven results right and two perfect scores”. It was six and one, respectively. I just thought people should know about the kind of man I’m up against…

********************************************************

This week’s Predictions…
“Lawro” v Claret & Light Blue – March 1st/2nd

Standings…Lawro 6 (with 1 correct score)
Claret & Light Blue 5 (with 0)…

Arsenal v Aston Villa – Lawro: draw, 1-1 / C & LB: home win, 2-1
BlueNoses v Spurs – Lawro; draw, 1-1 / C & LB: draw, 1-1
Derby v Sunderland – Lawro: away win: 1-2 / C & LB: draw, 1-1
Fulham v Man U – Lawro: away win, 0-2 / C & LB: away win, 0-3
Man City v Wigan – Lawro: home win, 2-0 / C & LB: home win, 2-0
M’bro’ v Reading – Lawro: home win, 1-0 / C & LB: draw, 0-0
Newcastle v B’burn – Lawro: draw, 2-2 / C & LB: home win, 2-0
West Ham v Chelsea – Lawro: away win, 0-2 / C & LB: away win, 1-2
Bolton v Liverpool – Lawro: away win, 0-2 / C & LB: away win, 0-2
Everton v P’mouth – Lawro: draw, 0-0 / C & LB: home win, 2-0

Setanta Sports – ya gotta laff…

“Arsenal are some 17 points clear now of Liverpool, but Liverpool do have a game in hand.”…

 – Setanta Sports “analysis”.

Sounds to me as if Liverpool fan and Setanta Sprats’ V.P. of Operations (U.S.A.), Shane O’Rourke, is still on the medications…

The “Next Villa ‘Keeper” Debate…

“Carson has made crucial saves (and the odd cock-up)…”

B44 Tommy writes…

To me the problem with Carson is not so much “cock up” as a a complete lack of “crucial saves”. Top 8 keeper? Who’s better? Here’s my list in no particular order.
Cech, James, Van De Sar, Friedel, Given, Hanneman, James, Howard, Green, Reyna, Jaskelinan, even Schwarzer.

***************************************

“Stained Glass in The Trinity” comments…

A good goal keeper can win you games. Not once this season can I say that about Carson. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I haven’t seen him make a really good save apart from the one against Newcastle when we had already scored 4.

He should have saved the free kick against Reading, fortunately that didn’t matter but he should also have easily saved the free kick at Fulham when it did.

I’d still have him though as I think he could get better. His kicking is good and he does talk to his defence. But he isn’t worth the £10 million muted, maybe half that or less.

**************************************

B44 Tommy adds…

Spot on, I wouldn’t mind him either but he’s not worth anywhere near 10 mill. I’m hopeful the young American will be the man. They seem to produce good keepers in Friedal, Hannaman and Kasey Keller.

*****************************************

Claret & Light Blue says…

Points taken – good ones. Stained Glass is correct – “a good keeper can win you games”..I would add, “a poor or average keeper can lose you games”. Yes, he should have saved the Fulham free-kick which cost us a point, but he has not cost us many other points, has given some solid, “error-free” performances, and has numerous good aspects to his game, as pointed out by “Stained Glass”. He is a decent keeper, aged 22, and, according to O’Neil, has a great attitude and will get much better as a result. At the same time, we are a decent team, including many youngsters, with a superb team spirit and attitude and we will get better. Sounds like the two could go hand-in-hand?…
Admittedly, the price is high but does that really concern us? Really? If he turns out to be a bad buy what does it mean to us? An extra fiver on the season ticket, 25p on the curry sauce?..Besides, what are the alternatives – forget Sorenson and Taylor and don’t pin your hopes on the American just yet..As pointed out by B44 Tom, Brad Guzan is the latest in a increasingly long-line of good keepers from the U.S. – a position that they excel at whilst the rest of their team remains fairly average…It’s been a long time since English goalies were regarded as the best in the world hasn’t it?…
Guzan is very good indeed. He won the best keeper award last season and recently made his international debut. If Martin can get him – the money has been agreed but it’s a work permit issue – then that might be our answer but unless the permit is an absolute “gimme”, as they say, then I have to go with Carson, who I have to emphasise is just 22. O’Neil clearly thinks highly of him and he could well develop into a great Villa goalie and an international goalkeeper of some standing…Lots of speculation obviously but that’s part of the Game…
Tom lists the keepers he believes are better than Carson – strangely he lists James twice which is particularly ironic as this prat was an absolute disgrace during his last spell as England’s keeper (how soon we forget his inept flapping at cross after cross after cross – I can vividly remember pleading that he never plays for England again). Obviously he has performed well of late but how often? I have not seen Portsmouth very much this season. Rednapp talks up all his players as if they should be a World XI…
Anyway the other keepers on Tom’s list are all arguably better than Carson at this point, although I personally wouldn’t put Schwarzer or Howard above him. That leaves the obvious Cech, Van de Saar, and probably Reina as my top three. The others – James, Green, Friedel, Given (who gets plenty of practice), Hanemann, and Jaskelinaan are in the second tier, along with Carson. So it’s a top ten, not eight – who’s counting? Carson is one of the youngest on the list, although it’s hard to believe that Cech is still only 25! (Is that right? – “cech his papers, comrade”)
I say that unless there is a clearly better alternative, he is our best option and we try to get him…and then hire Jim Cumbes to coach him!…
It’s all very interesting…Claret & Light Blue and remembering Geoff Sidebottom…

Is this Robbie “please take my photo” Keane of Tottenham Hotspur?

Yer man after celebrating the League Cup victory? I much prefer this pose than the ridiculous theatrics he displays when he scores a goal, don’t you?

A beautiful thing…

Background…Until the recent constrution work, Villa Park was the only ground in Britain to have functioning stained glass windows proudly displayed at the back of one of the stands – The Trinity Road Stand. They had been there since the 1920’s. Criminally they were apparently accidentally destroyed during the construcion…One Villa fan had been particularly upset with this sequence of events but now he has writtten in with some most encouraging news…

“Here’s something of interest, I’m not sure where it is going up but I’d guess at the back of the Holte End….” Sincerely, “Stained Galss in the Trinity”

http://www.mymosaicworkshop.co.uk/society/features/Aston%20Villa.html

Claret & Light Blue replies:
Dear “Stained Glass in the Trinity”,
Thanks for your contribution – a very important one indeed. The only negative is that the originals were destroyed in the first place – one of Doug Eliis’ most unpardonable sins…

A masterpiece in its simplicity…

By far the best thing ever produced by the BlueNose Fans or their team…
To the tune of “Oh when the Saints go marching in”…

“Oh when the beans,
 Come out the tin,
 Oh when the beans come out the tin,
 You put the bread in the toaster, 
Oh when the beans come out the tin.”…
Sung by the BlueNose hordes at West Ham recently…

Reader’s Whines – coming soon…

Hopefully this category will soon be flowing with comments from all corners…It’s surely just a matter of time before fans of The Arse start to turn on Wenger once again…Or perhaps it will be those loveable Scallywags who follow the Redc Scouse, who will soon have little to play for this season…May be it will be The Pensioners of S.W.6. who will want to have a dig because they realise that the trophy cabinet will be empty this year…And of course the windswept Geordies are only a couple of more bad results away from realising, not for the first time, that Keegan is not the messiah…Whoever it is, I look forward to their contributions and rants…

Claret & Light Blue and thinking it’s time for a pint…

Good stuff from The Holte End

…even if my mate Austin W. of Erdington, Birmingham can’t see the match!

Quotes, announcements, and chants…(Feb 26, ‘08)

Quotes of the Game

“I’m happy with my language progress – the only difficulty when I tour Premier League matches is that different people talk to me in different accents – and sometimes I can hardly understand a word!”
England manager Fabio Capello speaking after a trip to Newcastle…probably.

“Even my missus could have seen that and she wasn’t at the game.”
Leicester manager, Ian Holloway, bemoans a penalty decision during Leicester’s 2-0 defeat to Coventry.

“The only decisions I’m making at the moment are whether I have tea, coffee, toast or cornflakes in the morning.”
Sam Allardyce needs to get back into football sharpish.

“The referee was punching the air when they scored.”
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock has a pop at referee Richard Beeby, accusing him of playing on until Bristol City equalised.

“People will say they cannot understand how we can lose to Barnsley and then beat Inter Milan.”
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. He’s not wrong.

“I wouldn’t put my house on it. I’ve worked too hard over 35 years to get a house.”
Celtic boss Gordon Strachan on the chances of beating Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

“It is a lot harder when you are 4-1 down than when you are 4-1 up.”
The most obvious observation of all time – by Kevin Keegan afer the thrashing by Man Utd.

*****************************************
Stadium Announcement of the Week

”Unfortunately there’s an unidentified blockage in the West Stand toilets, please hold till you get home.”
At half time, Cheltenham v Hartlepool.

****************************

Chants of the Fans…

“We’ll race you back to London!”
Arsenal fans to United supporters during their 4-0 fifth round defeat at Old Trafford

“S*** ground, no fans!”
…Barnsley fans at Anfield in the FA Cup.

“Lawro” takes an early lead…

In our first week of head-to-head predictions the B.B.C.’s Mark Lawrensen narrowly edged out yours truly over the weekend’s ten fixtures – nine Premiership matches and the League Cup Final…

In the leage matches we actually tied with 5 games correctly predicted and 4 wrong, and “Lawro” also got one score correct in the Wigan v Derby match – 2-0…Then in the League Cup Final “Lawro was correct with his Tottenham selection as my Chelsea pick failed miseably…

So after one week, it’s Lawro 6, Claret and Light Blue 5 – that seems like it’s the best week he’s had for ages, maybe he heard, incorrectly, that I was after his job!…