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generaltrout

Listed below are comments made by generaltrout between Friday, 12th June 2009 and Wednesday, 11th November 2009.

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Phil McNulty Q&A 6:05pm on 11 Nov 2009 I think that like a lot of Villa fans I share your concern with the lack of creativity in our midfield. However I hope that too much is not being pinned on Downing's return from injury. In any case relying on him to provide the creative spark at Middlesborough never seemed to work as well as when he was left wide. Perhaps a better bet is for Downing to take Ash Young place on the wing and move Young inside where he has always looked to run when given the option. His final ball has never been as consistent as Milner, and I hope Downing's will prove to be, so letting him roam and find the positions he thinks he can be most effective in, may reintroduce saw of the dynamism which he filled last season with and has sadly lacked this year.
Football helping our Armed Forces heroes 3:43pm on 11 Nov 2009 Probably the best blog on the BBC Sport site, another good read.
Interesting to hear Phil draw the comparison between lfe in the services and professional sport. Not sure how much of that translates to some of the prima donnas in the Premiership though.
In support of comment #14, it is a wider issue about how the memory of people seems to dim with every passing year, but if anything the Help for Heroes charity should help to keep the very real and overwhelming sacrifice that servicemen and women make across the globe in people's minds. A proper charity highlighting a very important issue will always draw support from real football fans.
Can Blazevic work his magic for Bosnia? 1:04pm on 10 Nov 2009 I think that Bosnia have a real chance of upsetting Portugal. They have been scoring plenty of goals in qualifying, are full of confidence and like a lot of the sides from the Balkans (Macedonia, Albania, Serbia) tend to play together, and for each other.
As much as FIFA have tried to fix it so that all the big sides make SA I honestly believe that the WC will be better for the likes of Bosnia making the Finals. Pretty sure they do not have the outstanding quality that Boban, Prosinecki and company brought to Croatia but they would be a welcome addition to the competition in 2010.
Hiddink's Russian revolution still on track 12:30pm on 13 Oct 2009 Seeding the playoffs is a disgrace not because it has been done to give the big sides the best chance of qualifying, but because it was only clarified once it became obvious that Portugal, France etc would be in trouble. If everyone knew the rules at the start of qualifying then they would have no cause for complaint. If you bought a ticket for a raffle, got drawn first and then found out that the first prize was going to be given to the twenty third ticket drawn you would be justifiably annoyed. Changing the rules halfway through a competition is, I am afraid, cheating.

The qualification process is an accurate reflection of which teams deserve to go to the Finals. Over the course of 8/10 group games a side should be able to demonstrate that they are good enough to qualify. If Portugal, France or Russia have not got the points to get through automatically it is wrong to seed the playoff draw to give them an 'easier' game. Nobody shed any tears for England not qualifying for Euro 2008 (and rightly so) and the tournament never suffered because of it.

Money talks.
Maradona singing in the rain 6:01pm on 12 Oct 2009 I honestly believe that Uruguay will roll Argentina over at home and they stand a real chance of missing out altogether which saddens me as Messi et al would grace a WC. However, if they ain't got the points to qualify they do not deserve to go. The way that the European qualifiers have been fudged to suit France, Portugal etc is a case in point. Qualifiers are an accurate reflection of how well a team is performing. Shed no tears for Argentina if they crash out.
Having said all that I think that if they do qualify they will oust Diego and appoint someone with half an idea about management making them credible challengers.
Final point, how undignified was Maradona's belly flop? Footballing legend rolling around in puddles like a hippo?
If only Capello would let himself go for once........
Carl Baker and Stockport - an example to us all 7:31pm on 15 Sep 2009 The best thing that I have read on the BBC website in ages. It deserves to be read by a much wider audience than this. A proper football story that reaffirms the reason that a lot of us love the game that at the top level has ceased to be.
Stockport County FC, Gary Ablett, the fans and most of all Carl and Mike Baker's family should be very proud.
Misfiring Australia consider their options 1:45pm on 23 Jul 2009 A bit bemused by the panic in the Aussie camp. No real need for it in my opinion. Like Chappell and Bichel, I agree that they need to perservere with Johnson, and perhaps if Clark was brought back for Hauritz he may be able to take the role of leader of the attack that Johnson has not been able to.
First test is not so long ago and we do not need to be discounting the Aussies just yet.
No fear about Bell warranting a recall. I actually believe that he will bat well the rest of this series and England will continue to score well off the Oz attack. More concerned about the bowling. Broad not looking penetrative enough and Anderson as ever so reliant on the conditions to take wickets. No Fred no England attack.
Edgbaston pitch to be slow run fest as both sides feast on under peforming bowlers. Draw. England to be one up with two to play.
De Villiers: Misunderstood or liability? 5:33pm on 02 Jul 2009 This is an interesting angle on the guy.
Perhaps because of the way he was appointed he might be damned to be seen as a nothing more than a passenger when SA win and the cause whenever SA lose. Neither of which is fair. His achievements and results would suggest that he is a better coach than he is being given credit.
However his comments this week make any balanced debate about his reputation fairly redundant in the northen hemisphere especially, as his stupid remarks about Burger have painted him as nothing more than a misguided fool.
It is a pity because he seems to be able to offer something to the Boks and judging by the comments of his players he seems to be well respected.
An interesting read.
Lions v South Africa: Key battles 1:25pm on 20 Jun 2009 I know that of all the positions on the pitch wingers are most removed from the ferocious collisions in which this game will be won and lost, but I feel wholeheartedly that Monye may be found wanting defensively.
What price Ugo committing himself too early and Habana scorching 60 yards to score?
Hope I am wrong but I think that the Lions lose out wide in comparison.
8-10 points to SA.
Final trial for Lions Test contenders 4:52pm on 12 Jun 2009 I share some of the concerns about Monye on the wing being defensively suspect and was pondering Kearney. I believe that his sound defence and ability under the high ball would make him secure however neither he nor Bowe has the lightning pace to cope with Habana/Ndungane (who has?) so would be hesitant in that respect. Wish Geech would start Byrne at FB on Saturday and give Kearney the opportunity to play in a back three with Bowe and Byrne (guaranteed starters).
Otherwise Bryn's team seems accurate enough for me.

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