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Ripley'sLeftFoot

Listed below are comments made by Ripley'sLeftFoot between Friday, 26th September 2008 and Thursday, 13th August 2009.

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Are you a Match for the BBC? 7:04pm on 13 Aug 2009 League Table

1. Chelsea
2. Man United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Man City
6. Tottenham
7. Aston Villa
8. Everton
9. Blackburn
10. West Ham
11. Sunderland
12. Fulham
13. Wigan
14. Stoke
15. Bolton
16. Wolves
17. Burnley
18. Birmingham
19. Portsmouth
20. Hull

FA Cup: Man United
League Cup: Man City
Champions League: Real Madrid

First Sacking: Paul Hart
Top Goalscorer: Andrei Arshavin
No excuses for Newcastle 6:01pm on 25 May 2009 I agree, Phil. Newcastle deserve relegation because of their terrible management over the last 4/5 years. I maintained at the time that sacking Sir Bobby was the worst thing they could ever possibly do, and their lack of any achievement or even basic merit since then has qualified this view. The unofficial reason for the sacking was that Robson dropped Shearer in place of Patrick Kluivert, who promptly scored, despite them losing 3-2 to Villa. Deliciously ironic that the man who cost him his job was at the helm as they sank.

You can bet your arse that had they not then Newcastle would be the big club they claim to be. Certainly they would be better off then they are now following the Souness-Roeder-Pearson-Allardyce (who should have been given more time, incidentally)-Keegan-Hughton-Kinnear-Shearer ferrace wheel. Bad signings, poor structure and scape goating has doomed them.

I would like to see them back if they get their act together, but otherwise good riddance.
My teams of the season 3:21pm on 18 May 2009 Lets see....

Top Half XI - Manager: Alex Ferguson
Formation: 4-4-2

GK Van Der Sar

DR Zabaleta (Man City)
DC Hangeland (Fulham)
DC Vidic (Man Utd)
DL Ilunga (West Ham)

MR Lennon (Tottenham
CM Gerrard (Liverpool)
CM Cahill (Everton)
LM Young (Aston Villa)

CF Arshavin (Arsenal)
ST Drogba (Chelsea)

Bottom Half XI - Manager: Tony Pulis
Formation: 4-4-2

GK Jaaskelainen

DR G. Johnson (Portsmouth)
DC Nelsen (Blackburn)
DC Turner (Hull)
DL Bassong (Newcastle)

MRC A. Valencia (Wigan)
MC Lawrence (Stoke)
MLC Brunt (West Brom)

RF K. Davies (Bolton)
LF Tuncay (Boro)
ST Jones (Sunderland)
A game of two cliches 11:27pm on 08 Feb 2009 "They're an honest bunch of lads"

Huh? Does great skill come with great dishonesty? I remember this being used a lot to describe the technically poor Watford side who played a bit in 2006/07. Even Boothroyd said it at some point. Is that a less blunt way of saying that the only thing they have going for them is that they're not liars?

"If you'd said before the game that we would have won, I would have taken your hand off"

Bit harsh. I understand it, but it's poorly worded and has connotations of psychotic behaviour.
A game of two cliches 11:48am on 07 Feb 2009 Good point of Lawro's predictions. I wish just once he would say "Oh f___ it!" and just go nuts. Even if it's just on the final day. I remember a few years ago when someone on this board correctly predicted that Liverpool would beat Birmingham 7-1 away in the FA Cup, which is a fair stretch but a redeemed one. I'm pretty sure Lawrensen's prediction would have been 2-0 with a comment on how Birmingham would fight hard, but that Liverpool would have too much class for them.........Gary.
A game of two cliches 11:35am on 07 Feb 2009 "Oh, I love this...

Re: 139

When LeSaux'sLeftFootedHandshake wrote...

"Also, the poor language is annoying."

... I wonder if he'd proofread his own post?

"I know their sportsman and not scholars,"

Sorry, I thoroughly agree with the rest of your post, but couldn't resist pointing that one out ;o)"

***

Yeah, thanks for that. Guess I got stung. Should be "they're sportsman..."

Thank you for your vigilance, Rob. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.
A game of two cliches 11:17am on 07 Feb 2009 As already said, "Give no quarter" or "No quarter will be given, or taken" are military terms used to say "no mercy". It's been used by the British army for hundreds of years. So, it makes sense it being used to describe a football game, albeit a little loosely.

There are a few however that either infuriate me or baffle me. The old adage of "Sick as a parrot" makes no sense whatsoever and I've always wondered it's meaning. Commentators and pundits are getting worse with their poor use of the English language and overused metaphors. Clive "Picking his pocket" Tyldsley being a prime example. Or Jamie Redknapp failing to grasp the meaning of the term "literally". I know their sportsman and not scholars, but they at least should refrain from using words they don't understand. Also, I have yet to come across an 'expert' who understands the meaning of irony. A player scoring against his old club is not 'ironic', nor is a player scoring against a team in sequence after a long goal drought.

Alan Shearer is getting better as a pundit, but he doesn't have any cutting edge or bring up any new points. Also, Martin Keown has nothing interesting to say, Lee Dixon seems to purely be a bringer of bad news while Mark Bright is often incoherent. They've had Graham Murty on Focus a few times and he looks more terrified of the cameras then anything else. Even Graeme Le Saux, a fairly well spoken and intelligent man, contributes little. There's a huge lack of 'experts' saying something new of original. Maybe the BBC could hire Eamonn Dumphy to make things more interesting.

Also, the poor language is annoying. When Leonardo (at the last world cup) speaks fluent English he puts the British born pundits to shame. Somebody sort it out, please?
Popular Horsfield faces his most difficult opponent 12:57pm on 16 Oct 2008 Really, really liked Geoff as a player, and I often based the way I played on him. I remember first unveiling my 'Horsfield 9' West Brom shirt (despite being a Blackburn fan) at an 11-a-side game and scoring 6 goals. Guess I was inspired that day.

Geoff is a real professional, and I'm sure his objective won't be simply to beat this cancer: it'll be to absolutely destroy it. All the best of luck to him, though I doubt he needs it.
The long pursuit of Emile Mpenza 08:49am on 02 Oct 2008 Very good blog. I always enjoy reading about the goings on of the leagues below the Premiership, something which normally only seems to arrive in number form.

Mpenza is a talented player and I remember a couple of seasons back he was the only threat within the Man City team. He only scored 3 times (albeit that he was signed in February), but all three goals won points and his determination was notable, as of course his technical ability and turn of pace. Given time to recover his fitness, he could find a new lease of life.

Fair play to Plymouth and Paul Sturrock also. His policies seem spot on, and who knows how far they will go if they continue to improve as they are. All the best to 'em.
Ashley's short-term gamble 3:09pm on 26 Sep 2008 Baffling appointment. It really shows how bad things have got that nobody else wants to touch the club. Even Terry Venables turned them down, and he was part of the Leeds quagmire of a few years ago. I think, unless he didn't like their offer, the club have made a mistake in not picking up David O'Leary. Sure, it's been a couple of years, but he has a far better knowledge of the Premiership and is ambitious, something he picked up when serving under George Graham.

I'm not going to state that I think Kinnear will fail and that Newcastle are doomed, because I don't know what will happen. I didn't have much faith in Roy Hodgson last season at Fulham and he turned them round. Still, the last thing Newcastle need is another calamity and this is starting to look alot like that. Hope I'm wrong.

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