Living to fight another day

Premiership Table 13/04/05

Last night's result means Everton are officially, mathematically safe!

It's annoying that we seem to be winding down to our usual in-the-doldrums finish but when you consider how we wrote off the first quarter of the season it makes that run after Christmas all the more impressive (If you think back we were rock bottom of the league for what felt like an eternity!).

LWLLLLLLXWWLWWWXLLLLWWWWXWWLXWWLXX.....

It doesn't actually look that bad but one win in our first 8 games and it all felt pretty dire...Drawing Villareal & Dinamo Bucharest in the europeans was the real disappointment this season. Even by the time 'boro dumped us out the League Cup it felt like a corner had been turned but by then the damage had been done.

The shame is that all the euphoria of last season's fantastic achievment has been allowed to drift from the memory. The media, and perhaps more criminally the bluenoses themselves, barely seem to acknowledge what we did.

Still, The People's Club will abide & prevail.

Intertoto...hmm

English sides set Intertoto fate


Nice trophy! Perfect for wedging back doors open possibly.

almost as bad at the Today League trophy which sits forlornly in the Goodison trophy room and is a talking point on the tour for how shoddy it is. It's a piece of glass mounts on a cheap wooden plynth that was given to use for being champions of the oldest football league in the world. It nestles amongst sumptuously oppulent jade & gold trophies recieved for merely popping over to play friendlies in Thailand & Malaysia.

No accounting for taste I suppose.

Blackheath R.C.

Blackheath R.C.: "[to eliminate hacking would] do away with all the courage and pluck from the game, and I will be bound over to bring over a lot of Frenchmen who would beat you with a week’s practice."

This is one of my favourite sporting quotes of all time...it's from Francis Maude Campbell, the chairman of Blackheath FC, who attended the first ever meeting of the fledgling Football Association in 1863. Upon hearing they were proposing to outlaw the deliberate kicking of an opponent he promptly walked out making the above statement.

Everton played out a fairly tame Nil-niller with Charlton at the Valley enlivened mainly by Richard Wright's criminal misreading of a bouncing ball that lead to him sprinting towards his own goal and swatting the ball off the goal line at the last moment. The lad isn't doing himself any favours.

We spent the afternoon at Waterloo. It was a fairly miserable day until we got there when the sun came out and it turned from 'freezing' to merely 'bracing'. It turned out to be a fairly comprehensive win against a slightly rude Harrogate side (two fairly un-nescessary fights)...couple of really good tries went in just in front of us.

Our horses in the National did absolutely nothing but didn't end up in the big glue factory in the sky.

Spent yesterday DIYing and doing a tiny bit of gardening...it was a windy weekend and it's blown a blackbirds nest (complete with eggs) from one of the trees which is a bit sad.

Beat that f##cking boro and win the cup tomorrow

I thought at the time the Basel fans having that banner accross their stadium in the first leg was a touch classless...and they were playing against a team who's fans are some of the most classless around...who did I want to lose least.

In fairness last week Basel were great and did everything right apart from going in serch of a third goal in their home leg. Boro's supporters actually turned up last night (24,521) as opposed to ringing the ticket office and asking what channel the game is on.

Now we all know what a tremendous comeback it was...3-0 down including an away goal. 60 odd minutes to get 4 goals...subs coming off the bench to hit 30 yard screamers, out of favour strikers popping up with a 91st minute winnner...amazing drama. All I could think about it that tune ('Pappa needs a brand new Pig bag' apparently) they play for the fans after each goal. It makes me never want to see them score a goal ever again. It's just so embarressing they way they all just wait until the DJ fires up the tune allowing them to clap sing along to it (it being an instrumental), I think it's a personal thing but I just find it appalling.

It actually makes me want to never see their team score a goal again. The same goes for Bolton ('Amarillo' & 'I feel good'), Wigan ('Tom Hark'), Norwich ('Samba De Janiero') etc etc. I mean when things are flat and the team need the fans to give them a lift I can almost understand things like the Sheffield Wed band attempting to get people going but after the team have scored? Surely you don't need prompting. I hate the way the fans decide to behave like trained seals at the moment when they should be swept away in the joy of the moment. That "Easy, Easy" thing annoys me too.

Anyway that's my impressions from last night...fabulous, gripping, dramatic, monumental comeback (arguably more impressive than the rednoses last year) and all I can worry about is that awful tune.

random-rugby

random-rugby

New all encompassing rugby forum. Looks decent.

Everton 2-2 Sunderland

Everton 2-2 Sunderland

The worry is that Everton might be heading happily towards their end of term party...there was a definite Kerplunky 'Own-clothes' sort of feeling about the game at thw weekend. We were rubbish from start to finish...the only shocking thing is that we somehow managed to score two goals. It has to be said that Sunderland were a team of cart-horses...just very tall. Everton just played into their hands time and time again. Ultimately it seemed like they wanted it more.

I hope it's not the case that Everton are winding down...It annoys me when they keep you living on your nerves for most of the season then when you can finally afford to sit back and enjoy it for once they just stroll round and get spanked. Ah well...rather be in our position than Sunderland, Portsmouth, Birmingham & West Brom's. It is just crippling when you are down there. I remember the 1998 season when we stayed up on goal difference after the final game of the season. Truly nightmarish stuff...the one two seasons ago wasn't much better either, we were lucky Leeds were so abject.

Mid-table obscurity has long been the dream but I'm hoping we have something to enjoy between now and the end of the season.

Rugby Union Nat Lge2 Table

Rugby Union Nat Lge2 Table

1 Moseley 23 21 0 2 693 356 17 101
2 Waterloo 23 19 2 2 711 338 16 96
3 Esher 23 16 1 6 642 362 14 80

Waterloo promoted after a stunning 41-7 win away at Esher....WOW! Congratulations to Phil Winstanley, Ian Aitchison, Freeman Payne & everyone at St Anthony's.



Any chance of one final push for the title?

evertonfc.com :::: APRIL FOOL

evertonfc.com :::: APRIL FOOL

Some friends of ours actually fell for this year's official website April Fool!

Shame on you Carmel & Damian!

SB

Viruses *cough*

Ironic that the last entry I did should be entitled Virus because for the past few days I’ve been lying in bed with a temperature of 1800 degrees C (although feeling like 0 kelvin). I’ve also been coughing up a seemingly inexhaustible production run of a new adhesive product I simply call “Green Tac” (Patent Pending). Ugh!

It’s not like me to be off work but I’ve spent most of the week aching, coughing, shivering and sweating in equal measures. On Tuesday, just as I was beginning to feel rough, I found out the weekly 5-a-side footy game was cancelled due to a general strike by government workers and I’ve never been so glad. I have to say that in the absence of Sky Sports or Internet Broadband being off work is pretty dull. It is shocking how bad the telly. Celebrity Pet Swap Antique Academy Challenge or endless low grade American sitcoms. Joy. Anyway enough of my moaning.

Everton play Sunderland tomorrow…they could be relegated (Sunderland I mean not Everton!). Not nice to see….then again you know Everton, if ever you need a result it seems Goodison is the place to get it (perversely we never seem to respect team’s long unbeaten records). Sunderland are a bit disappointing…The Mackems I know personally would go to see their team if they ended up in the Newcastle & District Division 6 amateur reserve team’s second XIs league. It’s been a shame to see the Stadium of Light barely half full all year. I know it’s a big ground for a club of their size but it was full not so long ago. Where are all those band-wagon jumpers when their club’s really needed them? I suppose it’s easy enough to criticise them but you’ve got to remember that their team hasn’t won a home game all season. Still I remember going up to the Stadium of Light and being amazed at how fickle their fans were. They were up in something like 3rd in the Premiership when we beat them 5-0 at Goodison and two months later they’d not won a game in the interim…it was 1-1 and they were booing Peter Reid as he stood up to give his team instructions. Then again I suppose I should climb off my high-horse, it was getting a bit hairy for Moyes for a while this season. Back when we just couldn’t win and were rock bottom of the Premiership there were people calling for Moyes to go. It was only ever the odd person moaning but there was a few. I always thought it was a false position and besides these empty vessels never elaborated on step two in their masterplan for success. Funny that! ”Step One : Get rid of the manager” is always fairly well mapped out but “Step Two : And replace him with xxxxxx” is always less well defined. Anyway with 43 points we can afford to take things as they come. Europe is still a possibility (although it’ll be difficult to see us overhauling both Bolton and Blackburn) but ultimately it’s Que Sera Sera.

Waterloo are away at Esher…a game that’s been looming on the horizon for a while but recent results mean that a bonus point win for the men in green, red & white would mean promotion with 3 games to spare, I don’t suspect that will happen, Esher are a very good team, but it goes to show how close ‘loo are now. Still a bonus point win for the Londoners and the lead is back down to 6. Mosely just seem to roll on and on and barring a truly awful turn round in form will be worthy champions.

Anyway enough sportyness (especially considering just walking round the garden is tiring me out at present). My friends Tina and Tony are off to Peru to walk the Inca trail this week…I am fundamentally jealous but we should be there before too long.

Viruses

Just making a note of these for future reference.

Adware remover :

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1

Virus remover :

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

Virus scanner :

http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10503939.html?tag=lst-0-2

Firewall :

http://www.myzips.com/download/Zone-Alarm.phtml

Just another game

Liverpool 3-1 Everton

Just another game? Yeah, right...I hate losing to them. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it! On Saturday as soon as I heard the news about Arteta not being fit I had a bit of a sinking feeling but somehow when Gerrard, their number 08 for the day, got himself sent off I just knew it'd be there day (Anne thinks I am lunatic but I've been a blue long enough to be able to read the signs when it comes to those jammy gets).

It was an annoying getting beat by 10 men especially given the "Gerrard, 9 donkeys and a giraffe" jokes there are doing the rounds I was particularly gutted for Phil Neville who really doesn't deserve to be on -1 career goals for Everton. At the end of the day sucker punches either side of half time meant it was never going to be our day. Their 2nd goal really did expose our veteran defenders' shortcomings. The ref had no choice with either of the red cards though surely it wasn't that bad a game to warrant the host of yellows...apparently this fixture has generated more yellows than any other in the history of the Premiership. Looking at the statistics you'd think it'd be a bloodbath.

Nope we've been screwed over many a time (Handball-Henchoz, Hutchison's 'back header' being chalked off for no reason, the ref allowing McCallister to calmly move the ball forward 10 yards from that freekick *shudder*, Cadamarteri's collar somehow becoming detached as he fell to ground for no reason in the penalty area when clean through and that's just the recent ones) but this wasn't one of them...Sunderland next week.

With the cloud of a derby defeat hanging over me the perfect way to unwind was to spend a nice sunny afternoon watching the rugby...didn't happen. We'd just arrived and about to start our first pint when the rain started and I assured everyone it would only be on for 5 minutes but 80 minutes later it was still throwing it down. Still after a slow start to the game Waterloo hit their stride against a really tenacious Wharfedale side who scored the try of the match despite having a scrum half who must have weight less than 9 stone. From the moment 'loo mauled over (complete with some pretty hardcore exchanges between the respective forwards right in front of us) for the first of 3 quick tries it looked like we could hold them off. Towards the end we sheltered from the rain in the pavilion and chatted to a really nice chap who turned out to be, the number 8, Nijke Tchakoute's father-in-law and afterwards we spent the 'third half' chatting to some nice gents from up at Grassington (where Upper Wharfedale are from) and talked about pubs, beer & rugby.

So apart from the crippling anxiety & annoyance generated by the footy and the constant rain during the rugby not a bad day. When we got home checked the teletext and found out Esher had got beat which puts Waterloo 11 points clear with 4 to play (Waterloo's next game is at Esher so fingers crossed).

Echo match report

Kember freed & George Cross for Iraq bomb hero

BBC NEWS World Middle East British Iraq hostage Kember freed

Gallantry

Nice to hear some halfway decent news from Iraq. Whatever you think about the war (and, for the record, it's obvious how fundamentally flawed and fundamentally wrong the whole thing was from the start) the people who've been sent out there deserve recognition. People are all too quick to seize upon lurid pictures of rogue troopers (regardless of whether they are taken in context or even genuine).

All that gallantry and humanity makes my worrying about the forthcoming derby fairly shallow but let's face it come tomorrow my stomach will be in knots. At least we have played ourselves into a position where we are desperate for the points...It'd be annoying if that lot where there first team to do the double over us, especially considering that since the last time we played them we've only dropped 8 points out of the last 33.

WWWWXWWLXWW isn't that bad a run of league form is it? Especially when you consider it came after LWLLLLLLXWWLWWWXLLLL. What an odd, odd season we are having.

Tomorrow I'll go for updates on Sky Sports (far too gut churning listening on the radio) then some consolatory or celebratory drinks watching 'loo.

Hmm

Colm, an Irish blue I know has posted this picture on the forum.



I assume any Welsh officials looking at this would state that each and every one of the Ireland players is standing on the field of play.

The East Terrace has a different slant on the game :

The East Terrace - For the Rugby Football enthusiast

We interrupt this public affairs program in order to bring you a football game

England beat India to tie series

Tremendous stuff from England this morning. With their captain, vice captain, two seamers and their first choice spinner all sitting at home injured Flintoff's second string skittled India out this morning.

England doing the job, sun shining and TMS on the radio! Who could ask for more. Especially when they actually delayed "Yesterday in Parliament" to continue coverage of the match. Special mentions go to the usual suspects (Flintoff, The Hogster etc etc) but Anderson & Udal deserve special mentions and it was great for little Monty. He dropped an absolute skier from Doni which could have been key but three balls later the same batsman loft one to him again and he redeemed himself much to the delight of the rest of the team (He seems a really popular lad). Ironically in the end the match finish just before Yesterday in Parliament was due!

Sara's Musings

Sara's Musings

This Everton blog has a countdown to the world cup...I don't know how to insert it into mine but click the link to check how long it is to the off.

Also in an "It's a small world" sort of moment it's turn out that Sara is a mate of Diana, a friend of ours who runs the Everton North American Supporters Club.

SB

Tough day at the cricket

Tough day

Third Test, Mumbai, day four (stumps):
England 400 & 191 v India 279 & 18-1

England have ground out a decent lead going into the final day at the Wankhede Stadium (*snigger*). The need another 9 wickets to draw the series and are defending a lead of 295 runs.



The name of a the venue for the match (second only to the Wankdorf stadium in Bern) allows me a priceless opportunity to swear without adding to my burgeoning Lent swearbox. Not doing too bad so far but the jar is slowly building up. As predicted the match is proving tricky but I'm generally remembering to go with "We don't care what the red side say, what the hell do we care" as opposed to the real words. The brummies in front of us are enjoying my inability to join in with the banter but at the end of the Villa game the wife of the couple, Ann, gave me a pound of the jar as penance for their contributions.

Ireland

Here is secret footage from last week of the Ireland team donning hard hats and getting in some last minute training whilst the the workmen demolished Lansdowne Road :

The weekend

St Patrick's night was fun enough but I've got a feeling it meant that at 12:45 the next morning the Everton fans going the game weren't as vociferous as they'd usually be.

It was a unusually flat feeling 4-1 victory for Everton...pretty dull stuff in truth. We were passing it about well and they were pacey up-front which was causing nerves even at 3-1.

The Villa fans had a good sense of fun singing "We've got an honest bunch of lads" as a reference to their managers excuse mongering.

Had a quick couple of pints in the Black Horse afterwards and got home in time for the 2nd half ot the rugby. Ireland are improving because they only needed two dodgy tries to beat England this time....Keep up the good work lads.

As I type England are battling India's wagging tail in the final test...it's going fairly well for the lads but they have to win to square the series. Fingers crossed.

Another comfortable win for 'loo but it actually means we lose ground on the other's 'cause we didn't get a 4th try and therefore no bonus point.

Fonzie

Fonz will ALWAYS be the ultimate in cool.

The ISO accept that he represents the bench mark for the internationally agreed standard on coolness levels. He clocks in at 1 Fonzie (this being the point of absolute coolness which nothing can exceed). The rest of us have levels measured in the millifonzies.

Alternatively there is a radical movement using the Daniel O'Donnel scale. A recent article pulished in the journal 'Cool & Coolness' details a scale that starts at 0 DO'Ds (the theoretical point at which there is a complete absense of cool) and rises up from there...the controversial theory behind this is that even Fonz could be more cool....for example if The Fonz started going to Everton games then the theory goes that he'd obviously be more cool...this would cause scientists using the millifonzie scale to have to recalibrate their scale whereas the DO'D scale would be okay.

When this topic is debated at ISO meetings supporters of Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli simply raise their thumbs and going 'Eyyyyyyyyyy'. The DO'D supporters have no counter-argument.

The best one day match ever?

SA shatter record to beat Aussies

Two world record run totals and a one wicket win with two balls to spare......no too bad.