Euro 2008 wallchart

Found one!!!!!!!!!! Kudos to those nice chaps over at World Cup Blog.

I've got my Euro 2008 wallchart downloaded, now it feels like there's a tournament about to happen!

Let's hope for a bit of BBQ weather.

Who the f*cking hell are you........no seriously.

Czech Republic apologise after Lithuania/Latvia mix-up

"CZECH bosses issued an apology to Lithuania last night - after mistaking them for bitter Baltic rivals Latvia.

Ahead of their friendly in Prague on Tuesday the hosts played the national anthem of Latvia.

Fizzing Lithuanians were further angered when they discovered the official match programme contained a picture of the Latvia squad and the national flag of their rival country. In keeping with a bad night the visitors lost the match 2-0.

Czech FA chiefs, who will be doing their upmost to avoid further howlers when Scotland visit tomorrow night, sent an apology to the Lithuanian Embassy in Prague.

A statement read: "We apologise to Lithuania for these errors."

That really is fantastic....I mean it'd bad enough just getting the wrong national anthem but getting the entirety of the match preparation wrong really does take the biscuit.

The Euros

So...the long 14-day football drought continues. It's been over one days since the football season finished and all we have between now and the start of the European Championships is numerous friendlies and warm-up games. However will we cope?!?!?!?!?!?

The home nations not being in it is a bit of a pain, it was so forlorn in 1994 with just the Irish to follow. This time we haven't even got that. The big debate for us all what nation we are going to follow. The best way to get through it is to pick a nation to support. I am going with the Netherlands as they are ace (although their hyper-tough group means it could be a short tournament for me). A lot of Evertonians are going Portugese for the summer, this is due mainly to do with Manny Fernandes and Nuno Valente. Utd fans are doing the same because of young Christiano Ronaldo.

A lot of the RojoMierda types around here are going for Spain and there is the odd Italy, France and Croatia popping up. All in all it'll still be good but at the back of your mind it still niggles how England ballsed up such a guilt edged chance to get the finals.

Brief musical interlude

If you have some time on your hands it might be worth you popping over to check out my mate's band : xfm : Joyce. If you like them here's their website : Joyce

In other music related news my cousin Michael's band The Little Hydes played for the the Queen last week...well played as in they were there as a backdrop to her walking into the new Liverpool One complex. They didn't even allow them to have microphones in case they decided to do something predictably rock n' roll and self-promoting and shout at her as she went past.

Euro 2008 Fixture list

2008 European Championships Fixtures

NOTE : All kick-off times are one hour ahead of British Summer Time.

Final tournament schedule

Saturday 7 June 2008
1 Grp A Switzerland 18:00 Czech Republic Basel - St. Jakob-Park
2 Grp A Portugal 20:45 Turkey Geneva - Stade de Genève

Sunday 8 June 2008
3 Grp B Austria 18:00 Croatia Vienna - Ernst Happel
4 Grp B Germany 20:45 Poland Klagenfurt - Wörthersee

Monday 9 June 2008
5 Grp C Romania 18:00 France Zurich - Letzigrund
6 Grp C Netherlands 20:45 Italy Berne - Stade de Suisse

Tuesday 10 June 2008
7 Grp D Spain 18:00 Russia Innsbruck - Tivoli Neu
8 Grp D Greece 20:45 Sweden Salzburg - EM Stadion Wals-Siezenheim

Wednesday 11 June 2008
9 Grp A Czech Republic 18:00 Portugal Geneva - Stade de Genève
10 Grp A Switzerland 20:45 Turkey Basel - St. Jakob-Park

Thursday 12 June 2008
11 Grp B Croatia 18:00 Germany Klagenfurt - Wörthersee
12 Grp B Austria 20:45 Poland Vienna - Ernst Happel

Friday 13 June 2008
13 Grp C Italy 18:00 Romania Zurich - Letzigrund
14 Grp C Netherlands 20:45 France Berne - Stade de Suisse

Saturday 14 June 2008
15 Grp D Sweden 18:00 Spain Innsbruck - Tivoli Neu
16 Grp D Greece 20:45 Russia Salzburg - EM Stadion Wals-Siezenheim

Sunday 15 June 2008
17 Grp A Switzerland 20:45 Portugal Basel - St. Jakob-Park
18 Grp A Turkey 20:45 Czech Republic Geneva - Stade de Genève

Monday 16 June 2008
19 Grp B Poland 20:45 Croatia Klagenfurt - Wörthersee
20 Grp B Austria 20:45 Germany Vienna - Ernst Happel

Tuesday 17 June 2008
21 Grp C Netherlands 20:45 Romania Berne - Stade de Suisse
22 Grp C France 20:45 Italy Zurich - Letzigrund

Wednesday 18 June 2008
23 Grp D Greece 20:45 Spain Salzburg - EM Stadion Wals-Siezenheim
24 Grp D Russia 20:45 Sweden Innsbruck - Tivoli Neu

Thursday 19 June 2008
25 QF Winner Grp A 20:45 Runner-up Grp B Basel - St. Jakob-Park

Friday 20 June 2008
26 QF Winner Grp B 20:45 Runner-up Grp A Vienna - Ernst Happel

Saturday 21 June 2008
27 QF Winner Grp C 20:45 Runner-up Grp D Basel - St. Jakob-Park

Sunday 22 June 2008
28 QF Winner Grp D 20:45 Runner-up Grp C Vienna - Ernst Happel

Wednesday 25 June 2008
29 SF Winner #25 20:45 Winner #26 Basel - St. Jakob-Park

Thursday 26 June 2008
30 SF Winner #27 20:45 Winner #28 Vienna - Ernst Happel

Sunday 29 June 2008
31 F Winner #29 20:45 Winner #30 Vienna - Ernst Happel

My mate Nigel REALLY loves footy

(even though he's an Aston Villa fan)

:P

My mate Nigel Boyle is currently on telly having a doomed relationship with a football!!!! (It's okay though, he's the face of the ITV Euro 2008 football adverts)



Watch ITV's Euro 2008 football ad here

Well done Nige

my 2nd least favourite Scottish team edge past my least favourite Scottish team

Dundee Utd 0-1 Celtic, Aberdeen 2-0 Rangers

No offense to Auld Firm fans but it'd be great if someone else could win it up there for once.

Hoever many congratulations to Celtic for pipping Rangers to the title...tremendous effort in the latter stages. Commiserations to Rangers but ultimately their legs gave way.

After suffering on the last day in the past you can't really begurdge Celtic their day.

Hail, Hail...

That one's for Tommy Burns.

Man Utd win in dramatic shoot-out

Champions League Final : Man Utd win in dramatic shoot-out

First and foremost I'm gutted for John Terry...remeniscent of Beckham missing for England on that dodgy pitch.



Awful, awful way to lose any game.

Great game, thoroughly enjoyable. Utd could arguably have been out of site in the first half but Chelsea took them to the cleaners in the 2nd. The win means Everton get one and a half million quid out of Utd's recent successes to I'm happy but seeing JT distraught like that was pretty heart-breaking. My mate Mark McCarthy has already opened the champagne and my other mate Andy Speakman is actually out in the Moscow so God knows what sort of night he's going to have. The season is almost over now...just the play-off finals and then a long hard two weeks before the Euros start. Whatever will we do?

Ode to joy

So here we are gearing up for the Champions League final...the BBC are going nuts about it being the first all English final. If I were a none-footy fan I'd be getting pretty bored of it by now....fortunately I'm lapping it up.

My only real fear is a repeat of that diabolical FA Cup final from a year ago. God that was appalling. Saturday's final was everything a cup final should be. Let's face it, most years the cup final is an after-thought. This year it was the be all and end all for Portsmouth and Cardiff. The weather helped as it wasn't as hot as it normally is and ultimately it was a pretty enjoyable afternoon. Tonight if both teams go for it it will be brilliant but can you really see that happening? Let's hope for an early goal.

Have to say if Makelele's training ground tackle on Ashley Cole is anything to go by there will be no shortage of commitment from the sides. Anyway, here's hoping for some footy tonight.

Joey Barton to be released just in time for the football season

Wow, it's amazing the timing of this. Call me cynical but it's amazing what you can do with an expensive lawyer.

Joey Barton is jailed for assault

"Premier League footballer Joey Barton has been jailed for assault and affray.

Barton, 25, was captured on CCTV in Liverpool on 27 December 2007 punching one man 20 times before an attack which left a teenage boy with broken teeth.

The Newcastle and England midfielder, from Widnes, admitted the charges last month but reporting restrictions were only lifted on Tuesday.

Sentencing him to six months in jail, Judge Henry Globe QC said it was a 'violent and cowardly act'."

Sports maps

Noticed this cool mapping site whilst, oddly enough, researching the difference between dofollow and nofollow websites.

It's got maps of the various sports teams in various areas

http://billsportsmaps.com/

The Daily Fortnight

Always on the lookout for new satire sites...The Onion is still going strong but theportadowntimes and the theeastterrace are sorely missed.

This one seems to hit the right notes

The Daily Fortnight : Derby County close gap on Man Utd to just 66 points

Carsley leaves Everton :( :( :(

Carlsey and Everton part company

End of an era there and make no mistake about it. Lee "Z-Cars" Carsley was basically the heart of the team for the last 3 years. As far as I can tell everyone at Everton loved him to bits. Him going isn't really a surprise after seeing him getting his ovation and then doing his lap of honour after the Newcastle game. I wish him well, I think he's one of my all-time favourite bluenoses.

Losing characters like him and Thomas Gravesen from the dressing room could be a problem for Everton next season...still onwards and upwards (hopefully)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Absolutely knackered this week after organising a secret surprise barbeque for Anne's birthday...given that we didn't actually have a barbeque until the day before the party it took some doing (you try hiding 50 burger and 60 cans of Cains Lager in a small house without any of the other residents finding out). Also at work Andy Redfern and Andy Donaldson have been down south in meetings all week so we were holding the fort 'til they got back.

Glad it's the weekend.

Glasgow Rangers rampage

Have to say this is pretty shocking. That poor policeman was pretty lucky to get away.

CCTV footage of Glasgow Rangers fans rampage

Awful, awful scenes. No excuse for it.

Everton : The best of the rest

When you win the rain doesn't seem to bother you...it'd been a long season, the odd low but tonnes of highs. We'd all trooped to Goodison in sweltering conditions and we now happily shuffling down Gwladys St in the pouring rain. No-one seemed bothered. Everton had called time on their season with a great performance and ultimately had finished as The Best of the rest. On balance we'd played Newcastle off the park. Only a string of reaction saves from the otherwise dodgy Harper and a stupid penalty had kept us living on our nerves. We'd signed off with style.

The only sour note you can really attribute to the season is that Everton are at a pinnacle here and "The best of the rest" is basically all we can realistically achieve (aside from being in the right place at the right time for freak occurences in the cups). This is a great Everton team, if football was the meritocracy it once was it'd be gaining year on year and getting closing to the financial clout of the top four...instead the Champions League keeps the rich rich and the UEFA Cup keeps the also rans in their place.

Enough pessimism though...Everton did brilliantly this season, that's all the matters.

Everton to sue a japanese dentist.

Oops : Everton threaten to sue Japanese Dental Practice and play into the hands of a gleefully pedantic KEIOC(.net)

EVERTON have been left red-faced after addressing a threatening legal letter intended for campaign group Keep Everton In Our City (Keioc) to a Japanese dental practice.

Lawyers for the Blues sent the correspondence by email to the Keioc website.

But they did not check that they had the right address and sent it to an orthodontist surgery 5,800 miles away.

The news comes as it emerged last night members of Sefton council’s planning committee have formally objected to plans for the club’s new stadium in Kirkby.

In the email the club threatened to sue Keioc over assertions on their website that the Everton fans’ ballot over the stadium move last summer was unfair.

Colin Fitzpatrick, secretary of Keioc, said: “We received a letter from chief exec Keith Wyness via the Keioc email address. It was threatening legal action. It was addressed to keioc.com not keioc.net but we don’t even own the site.

“We complied with their requests on some things but not on others. There has not been any legal action taken – it has only ever been a threat. We are not losing any sleep over it.”

The ECHO checked out the email address and traced it to the dental surgery.

A spokesman for the club last night denied they had issued writs against anyone.

Yesterday Liverpool council deferred a potential objection to the new Everton stadium because Tesco had agreed to slash the retail element of the plan by 25%.

But last night members of Sefton council planning committee unanimously lodged an objection to the scheme.

Waterloo end of term report

Good news from the Waterloo camp in that big Chris O'Callaghan is staying on for another season. It'll be good to see what happens when he's got the full year to make his mark on the club. He certainly calls a spade a spade ‘Shambolic’ Waterloo set for shake-up

"WATERLOO coach Chris O’Callaghan will remain at the club for next season – depaite labelling the first team set-up a ‘shambles’.

The head coach will stay on for a further year, taking total control of senior rugby at the club while insisting mistakes made this last season will not be repeated next term.

“We started far too late last year and the side was no were near prepared for the opening weeks of the season,” he said. “That will not happen this time as we aim to hit the ground running from game one.”

Last season O’Callaghan did not appear on the scene until July and by then, with a large proportion of the squad already signed, he was never in a position to seriously affect recruitment, something which he found difficult to understand.

“I was brought in far too late but this year I have told the board that if they want me to do the job then I have to be in charge, do the recruiting within the budget constraints they have set and be responsible for bringing a coaching team together,” he explained."

In other news The Lancashire squad for the Bill Beaumont Cup this year includes 4 Waterloo players with Jason Duffy appointed county captain. Hooker Peter Ince is also in the starting line-up, while young prop James Jones is on the bench alongside Alex Davies and Jon Nugent.

David Moyes : Manager of the Year

Winner of top award comes out of the blue | The Fink Tank - Times Online

"Dr Henry Stott and Dr Ian Graham have plotted the number of points of each club against the size of their wage bill. From this a clear relationship is shown. The more a club spend, the more points they tend to get, but at the top it takes more extra money to win each point.

There is one serious flaw in this work - the wage bill numbers came from May 2007. This means that the managers of clubs with big summer spends - Manchester United and Manchester City - are flattered by the figures. Fortunately this does not affect the overall result.

The Fink Tank is then able to calculate for each club how many points they should have won given how much they spent. This can be compared with the points each side actually scored. I believe that this is the best measure available of the contribution made by the manager.

Last season the winner was Steve Coppell, of Reading; in 2005-06 it was Paul Jewell, then the Wigan Athletic manager; in 2004-05 David Moyes, of Everton. Arsène Wenger carried off the prize (there isn't a prize, actually, but you know what I mean) in 2003-04 and in its first year Claudio Ranieri was victorious with Chelsea. How did some of these characters fare this year?

Coppell remains an above-the-line manager. In other words he wins more points than the wage bill would lead you to expect. Surprisingly, although Jewell, now of Derby County, was below the line (together with Billy Davies) he wasn't bottom - Derby's wage bill is so small that their paucity of points was almost to be expected.

Sven-Göran Eriksson is above the line too, but this may be because of the money spent by Manchester City that is not recorded by us yet. As ever, he remains an enigma.

Wenger may not be at the top of the table but he shows up above the line again, as he has been every year since we started the calculations.

Roman Abramovich (whose Chelsea side now have a 29 per cent shot at winning the title, up from 11 per cent last week) essentially gets what he pays for. Avram Grant's record was just slightly better than José Mourinho's and this puts him in the middle of the manager table.

The winner of the sixth Fink Tank Manager of the Year? Moyes lifts the trophy and becomes the first manager to win the silverware twice. If he wins it again he can keep it?"

Confirming what us Evertonians have been saying for years. Not sure how accurate this research can be though...Beneathus is in the top half of the table!!!

This week marks the 80th anniversary of Will Ralph "Dixie" Dean reaching 60 league goals in a single season. The original number 9, he's always be the greatest of all time. Footballer, Gentleman, Evertonian.

Euro final musings

I'm sure a cleverer person than me could make something out of the UEFA cup semi final results. Two teams representing the high & low water marks in Everton's recent fortunes ("Bayern Munich" will only ever mean one thing to us blues and Rangers with Walter Smith plus Davie Weir at the helm will provoke mixed memories of a manager with immense dignity struggling with no resources and a poor, poor team) plus two teams that were both beaten at Goodison this year.

It would have been a convenient peg to hang our hats on if Fiorentina and Zenit had got to the final but Zenit V Rangers whould be interesting nontheless.

As for Wednseday...no gloating, no triumphalism. Just relief. I commiserated immediately with my friends and family safe in the knowledge that our lovable neighbours more smug, arrogant element will have nothing to rub our noses in for coming weeks. The rednoses I've spoken to can't say it for fear of accusations of sour grapes but that looks like a good final to miss. Moscow will be a pain in the backside from start to finish. Should be a tremendous final though.