Football 2010-2011

[eFestivals]

Talking of new managers, the shots now have Dean Holsworth, with Kevin Dillon having left the club on Monday.

I know Holsworth has been kicking around as a manger for a few years but have no idea of his record. Anyone know?

I'm guessing that a part of Dillon leaving was the Marvin Morgan twitter affair ("I hope you all die" to the fans ) - somewhere in the background there's likely to be a director who backed the club's biggest ever player spend, and I'm guessing that director had to blame the manager to save his own face for that spend who noone would buy off them after he was transfer listed. Morgan has gone to Rushden on a months loan so he ain't getting sold this window, and he'll be back in a few weeks.

[TheGayTent]

lol - I'm taking that as you seeing my words as an insult to WHU. All I'm doing is saying what I saw, which I made clear was only the second half.

[TheGayTent]

Talking of new managers, the shots now have Dean Holsworth, with Kevin Dillon having left the club on Monday.

I know Holsworth has been kicking around as a manger for a few years but have no idea of his record. Anyone know?

I'm guessing that a part of Dillon leaving was the Marvin Morgan twitter affair ("I hope you all die" to the fans ) - somewhere in the background there's likely to be a director who backed the club's biggest ever player spend, and I'm guessing that director had to blame the manager to save his own face for that spend who noone would buy off them after he was transfer listed. Morgan has gone to Rushden on a months loan so he ain't getting sold this window, and he'll be back in a few weeks.

[The Nal]

I'm guessing that a part of Dillon leaving was the Marvin Morgan twitter affair ("I hope you all die" to the fans )

[worm]

"Disputable issues" does necessarily mean law and in football terms, esp with fouls, much is subjective, was the contact with Berbatov, enough to be classed as a foul?

Edited January 12, 2011 by worm

[worm]

p.s. Good luck Gaytent.

[Steve P]

WHere's the tache gone

[eFestivals]

With only one goal in it at most in any part of the game (that's both halves) I never felt that one side or other was totally dominant and were assured of a result - anyone who watches football knows that is rarely the case.

I agree with that - but all the same the momentum was with Brum early in the 2nd half. Most people would, I reckon, have said they were most likely to get the result until WHU scored against the run of play.

Er exactly. So just because Birmingham scored one goal, they never looked particularly threatening - demonstrated by their lack of chances created. Brum had possession, but possession is useless if you don't create scoring opportunities.

except of course that moments before they scored they had a shot (or header?) cleared off the line. That chance and the goal they scored were the two best-taken chances of the 2nd half (and they had at least one more decent chance too).

As for chances - The BBC has shots 8-6 to West Ham, The Sun says 13-8 to West Ham. Corners even at 7-7. Though of course West Ham were lucky because Birmingham ran them ragged...

if WHU were as dominant as you've said in the 1st half then that explains those stats.

When it was all square in the 2nd half, Brum were running you ragged as well as you being down to ten men. At that point it looked like if anyone would win the tie it would be Brum.

West Ham got lucky wih a soft goal about as much as Brum got lucky with good saves and poor finishing...

WHU got lucky with scoring 2 soft goals! The first was tho at least a decent shot (which is more than Cole managed), but quite how it got thru that non-existent gap I don't know.

[eFestivals]

Lindsey Dawn Mackensie and missing sitters at Wembley springs to mind.

Did a decent job at Weymouth though from memory? Or was it Newport County? Somewhere on the coast anyway!

He's just left Newport County, and I've just read that he got them promoted last season (to BS Prem).

But he's been kicking around as a manager for quite a while longer than that I think.

[eFestivals]

Explain that please!

oh Marvin, Marvin, what have you done? Bet you ain't so 'marvelous' now, are you?

"Like to thank the fans who booed me off the pitch. Where's that going to get you! I hope you all die."

Bye Marvin, it's been good.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aldershot-town/8241900/Aldershot-discipline-striker-Marvin-Morgan-after-I-hope-you-all-die-Twitter-message-to-fans.html

http://www.theshots.co.uk/news/Aldershot50504.ink

[The Nal]

[TheGayTent]

I agree with that - but all the same the momentum was with Brum early in the 2nd half. Most people would, I reckon, have said they were most likely to get the result until WHU scored against the run of play.

[eFestivals]

What a tit.

Yep.

And I understand the booing too - he looks half asleep even when he is scoring, not something he's been doing much of this season.

The shots transfer listed him, and also tried to do a player swap with him for one of Crewe's players - both got nowhere. As the club's biggest ever signing (at the huge amount of £50k ), I reckon someone at the club is feeling very foolish.

[lharris92]

methinks the debating about last nights semi should be put to a hold and we should look forward to the one tonight

[TheGayTent]

He's just left Newport County, and I've just read that he got them promoted last season (to BS Prem).

But he's been kicking around as a manager for quite a while longer than that I think.

[TheGayTent]

methinks the debating about last nights semi should be put to a hold and we should look forward to the one tonight

[lharris92]

Come on Arsenal.

[eFestivals]

Football matches are very rarely completely one sided - particularly games between very evenly matched sides. Which is why you often hear people state that teams need to make the most of their dominance - as the liklihood is that at some point the momentum of the match will sway, and the other side will make the most of their period of play.

As such Birmingham rarely had the opportunity to make the most of their possession because they rarely created a chance to do so...I realise much of what I am saying is repetition but it doesn't seem to be striking home...

evenly matched sides, yep - with both having major problems at getting the ball in the net.

Fact is that in the 2nd half Brum had the better chances. In fact they had chances - something WHU were very short of.

So the maximum amount of chances you think they created was three? Three chances? I don't think that's many in anyone's book, you often see three chances in a minute...Three chances created in 45 minutes does not equate to 'running a team ragged'

I think they had 4 decent chances, but I can't be sure. They defo had 3.

And yes, they were running you ragged for a time - your guys couldn't get and keep the ball.

When you did get the ball you got lucky due to Foster's cock-up, and that knocked the stuffing out of them. Without that bit of luck running your way, I could easily see4 the result going the other way.

Ragged again! Birmingham equalised prior to the sending off. So, from what you said, Birmingham created two chances in over half an hour against 10 men. Which very much sounds like Birmingham ran West Ham United ragged? Hmm.

Brum a shit team - they're not Utd or Arsenal.

But the fact is that they were also playing a shit team. Within that context, fo4r a period of the match, they were very much looking like the team who'd come out on top, if any team was going to. After all, for WHU to score needed them to gewt and keep the ball, something they were having difficulty doing.

The first goal was a good move. Noble did well with his run that caught Birmingham on the hop and their players out of position. It was a fine shot. Clearly a gap was in existence...

The shot was good, and there was a gap. But if you've seen the TV pictures, you'll have seen that the gap was very minimal, and the ball only got thru those two players cos a Brum player was part-blocking Foster's view.

I can't agree with ping-pong around the box and the ball finally breaking by chance to someone's feet as "a good move" tho.

You slate Cole yet he stuck to the golden rule - the rule that at least one Birmingham player failed to adhere to in the 2nd half - funnily enough Birmingham didn't score when they failed to adhere to the golden rule. Funny how you mention Cole but not any of the Birmingham players that had efforts...

Was Cole's goal a shit goal or not?

You got very lucky. 99 times out of 100 that wouldn't have been a goal.

Brum had better shots than that. The reason that you scored was cos Foster was crap, and for no other reason.

If Cole hadn't scored that goal, the chances are that Brum would have continued to dominate. They lost heart as a result of that goal.

[eFestivals]

Don't think so. Am sure his first job was as a player manager round my way at a real low club and that wasn't long ago.

just read that he was manager at a Ryman team (redbridge was it? I've forgotten already) before Newport, and did well there. It didn't say he was player/manager tho.

[ampersand]

f**k sake, it was 2-1 to west ham. end of story!

is it ipswich v arsenal or is it arsenal reserves? either way, ipswich do them!

[TheGayTent]

personally i'd rather they lost on the off chance that WHU make it to the final, then they have a slightly better chance of winning

[lharris92]

I'd always rather be the underdog.

Edited January 12, 2011 by lharris92

[The Nal]

true but i think if arsenal get into the final they will play a very strong team, as they have been trophy-less in 6 years.... anyway i wouldn't care if we get into the final, because its a cup final (west ham), and well after the fa cup against liverpool in 06 i hope we can clinch it this time, but we have to get past a birmingham team who hardly lose at home

[TheGayTent]

evenly matched sides, yep - with both having major problems at getting the ball in the net.

Fact is that in the 2nd half Brum had the better chances. In fact they had chances - something WHU were very short of.

I think they had 4 decent chances, but I can't be sure. They defo had 3.

And yes, they were running you ragged for a time - your guys couldn't get and keep the ball.

When you did get the ball you got lucky due to Foster's cock-up, and that knocked the stuffing out of them. Without that bit of luck running your way, I could easily see4 the result going the other way.

Brum a shit team - they're not Utd or Arsenal.

But the fact is that they were also playing a shit team. Within that context, fo4r a period of the match, they were very much looking like the team who'd come out on top, if any team was going to. After all, for WHU to score needed them to gewt and keep the ball, something they were having difficulty doing.

The shot was good, and there was a gap. But if you've seen the TV pictures, you'll have seen that the gap was very minimal, and the ball only got thru those two players cos a Brum player was part-blocking Foster's view.

I can't agree with ping-pong around the box and the ball finally breaking by chance to someone's feet as "a good move" tho.

Was Cole's goal a shit goal or not?

You got very lucky. 99 times out of 100 that wouldn't have been a goal.

Brum had better shots than that. The reason that you scored was cos Foster was crap, and for no other reason.

If Cole hadn't scored that goal, the chances are that Brum would have continued to dominate. They lost heart as a result of that goal.

[eFestivals]

Why do you keep insisting that West Ham were lucky because Birmingham had more chances in the second half than West Ham? Unless of course you state that Birmingham were lucky not to be out of the game by half time?

I'm saying - just this and nothing more - that WHU were lucky to win because they scored a shit goal that would not be a goal on a hundred+ other occasions.

Without that bit of luck running in WHU's favour it's hugely unlikely that WHU would have won.

C'mon - it's not that difficult to grasp, surely?

Similarly, despite Foster's ricket, the perfectly weighted pass from Parker to Spector, and his ball that picked out Cole was a good move. It opened up Birmingham in a way that Birmingham failed to do to West Ham in the whole 90 mins - including over half an hour with an extra man.

yep, it was an excellent move.

But however excellent it was, it counts for nothing unless a goal is scored from it. And a goal WAS scored from it - but the goal was a fluke due to Foster's cock-up. Hence me saying it was a lucky win.

As for the gap for Noble's goal - was it a small gap or was it non-existent?

well, it obviously existed else it couldn't have gone in. But I'm not sure I've ever seen a goal scored thru a gap so small before.

Check the TV footage - you'll get where I'm coming from.