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'."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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/
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
This one seems to hit the right notes
The Daily Fortnight : Derby County close gap on Man Utd to just 66 points
Monday, May 19, 2008
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)
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)
Friday, May 16, 2008
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.
Glad it's the weekend.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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.
CCTV footage of Glasgow Rangers fans rampage
Awful, awful scenes. No excuse for it.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
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.
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.
"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.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
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.
"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.
Friday, May 02, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Website promotion & other stuff
Have signed up to this thing called The Publicity Wheel which seems a decent way to promote your site (If it takes off). You basically get credit for including stuff like this :
and this :
The Publicity Wheel - Winner in News and Media
and in return they flash your link onto numerous other sites around the world. Mainly doing it as an investigation into Search Engine Optimisation. I'm discovering that internet marketing is a pretty big game and there's lots to it, I am quite surprised how many readers are clicking the Google ads up top there. I didn't think much of it when I signed up to it and I removed it for a time 'cause it kept flashing banners for The Sun (Don't buy it) but it is quite an impressive system (speaking from a technical point of view).
and this :
The Publicity Wheel - Winner in News and Media
and in return they flash your link onto numerous other sites around the world. Mainly doing it as an investigation into Search Engine Optimisation. I'm discovering that internet marketing is a pretty big game and there's lots to it, I am quite surprised how many readers are clicking the Google ads up top there. I didn't think much of it when I signed up to it and I removed it for a time 'cause it kept flashing banners for The Sun (Don't buy it) but it is quite an impressive system (speaking from a technical point of view).
Monday, April 28, 2008
The unstoppable forces takes on the spent force?
Well not quite...most of us trooped out of Goodison pretty miserable on Sunday. We'd twice been ahead only to be pegged back. Instead of 6 points with a much superior goal difference we were a mere 3 points ahead of the Villa with tougher games to play.
That was certainly a glass half empty attitude. Everton had looked dead and buried in recent weeks, the pundits were saying we'd hit the wall. Villa on the other hand were in stunning form having scored 15 goals in their last three games. I reckon any Evertonian would have taken a point before kick-off. I have to admit I didn't think Everton had that in them. It's just a shame that their performance didn't quite carry them over the line. If Villa beat us at the line then so bet it...it's worth bearing in mind that they've played about 15 games less than us this season. Yes that's the price of success but the facts remain. It's also worth bearing in mind that in any other year Everton would be enjoying an end-of-season cruise already guaranteed a UEFA place from an unused cup slot. It was a day of what ifs but at the end of it Everton are now almost certain to be playing European football again next year. Portsmouth haven't applied for the Intertoto so for Everton to come away empty handed Pompey would have to win their next two games then lose the FA Cup final with Villa also slip past Everton. Some blues seem to lament the end of season dip...it's very dissappointing but we shouldn't let it sour what's been a brilliant, brilliant season.
On Saturday we popped along to the last game of the Waterloo season....this was always going to be a toughie against Otley, a team who needed to win to be crowned champions. It proved a fairly easy win for the Yorkshire side but Waterloo played pretty well and pushed them all the way for their win. When you consider that Otley finised hust ahead of Manchester, a team Waterloo did the double over you perhaps get a sense of the topsy-turvy season 'loo have had.
That was certainly a glass half empty attitude. Everton had looked dead and buried in recent weeks, the pundits were saying we'd hit the wall. Villa on the other hand were in stunning form having scored 15 goals in their last three games. I reckon any Evertonian would have taken a point before kick-off. I have to admit I didn't think Everton had that in them. It's just a shame that their performance didn't quite carry them over the line. If Villa beat us at the line then so bet it...it's worth bearing in mind that they've played about 15 games less than us this season. Yes that's the price of success but the facts remain. It's also worth bearing in mind that in any other year Everton would be enjoying an end-of-season cruise already guaranteed a UEFA place from an unused cup slot. It was a day of what ifs but at the end of it Everton are now almost certain to be playing European football again next year. Portsmouth haven't applied for the Intertoto so for Everton to come away empty handed Pompey would have to win their next two games then lose the FA Cup final with Villa also slip past Everton. Some blues seem to lament the end of season dip...it's very dissappointing but we shouldn't let it sour what's been a brilliant, brilliant season.
On Saturday we popped along to the last game of the Waterloo season....this was always going to be a toughie against Otley, a team who needed to win to be crowned champions. It proved a fairly easy win for the Yorkshire side but Waterloo played pretty well and pushed them all the way for their win. When you consider that Otley finised hust ahead of Manchester, a team Waterloo did the double over you perhaps get a sense of the topsy-turvy season 'loo have had.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Jewell tight-lipped over Carsley
Jewell tight-lipped over Carsley
Not happy about that...Surely Cars is worth another year at least. He's been immense, he just needs someone to take a bit of the pressure off him so he isn't our lynchpin week in, week out. I can't say enough good tihngs about Lee Carsley...he's everything you'd want in a player and since he was given the anchor roll atthe start ofthe 2004 season he's basically been indespensible. Add to that the fact that everyone at the club seems to love him to bits it'd be very sad to see him leave.
Derby County manager Paul Jewell said he will not be commenting on speculation linking him with a move for Everton's Lee Carsley.
The 34-year-old former Rams midfielder has been widely tipped for a return to Pride Park this summer.
However Jewell told BBC Radio Derby: "It would be unwise and unfair to comment on players from other teams."
Carsley is out of contract with the Goodison Park club at the end of the current season.
Not happy about that...Surely Cars is worth another year at least. He's been immense, he just needs someone to take a bit of the pressure off him so he isn't our lynchpin week in, week out. I can't say enough good tihngs about Lee Carsley...he's everything you'd want in a player and since he was given the anchor roll atthe start ofthe 2004 season he's basically been indespensible. Add to that the fact that everyone at the club seems to love him to bits it'd be very sad to see him leave.
My kind of liverpool site
Not saying anything about last night...it was a hell of an own goal but I still fancy them to go through.
http://www.liverpool-kop.com/ - "Rejecting biased media hype and fawning 'blind faith' fandom".
For a long time I've noted how truly embaressing it must be for the decent, calm measured rednose when the stereotypical super-red wannabe is all over the media. At long last a site reflecting that silent element (you notice I held back on saying majority ;) ).
http://www.liverpool-kop.com/ - "Rejecting biased media hype and fawning 'blind faith' fandom".
For a long time I've noted how truly embaressing it must be for the decent, calm measured rednose when the stereotypical super-red wannabe is all over the media. At long last a site reflecting that silent element (you notice I held back on saying majority ;) ).
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Since you've been gone
So while we were in the far east playing the occidental tourist Everton rapidly look to be running out steam. A ropey win against Derby and a draw against Birmingham show how the season has cuaght up with us. The Chelsea game is slightly irrelavent, they are form team in the league and probably our only chance was to catch them on an off day becasue of the utterly pathetic scheduling of the game. Sky demanding a title challenger play two games in 4 days is utterly ridiculous.
The sheer number of games and the small number of frontline players has caught up with us in a big way whilst the likes of Portsmouth and most notable Aston Villa hit form just at the right time.
This weekend's game will be vital in securing the UEFA place. I do think if we lose the Intertoto is probably the best we can hope for. According to the official Everton webiste site "If Everton finish fourth - we would qualify for the Champions League UNLESS an English side wins the Champions League and finishes outside the top four. We would then play in the Uefa Cup.
If Everton finish fifth - we would qualify for the Uefa Cup regardless of any other scenario.
If Everton finish sixth - we would play in the Intertoto Cup UNLESS the FA decide Cardiff City can't have one of England's Uefa Cup places AND Portsmouth finish fifth. We would then play in the Uefa Cup.
If Cardiff ARE permitted to take one of England's spots, then we would play in the Intertoto Cup.
If Everton finish seventh - we would play in the Intertoto ONLY IF the FA decide Cardiff City can't have one of England's Uefa Cup places AND Portsmouth finish fifth.
IF the FA decide Cardiff CAN have one of England's places, there would be only one Uefa Cup place from the league - awarded to the team finishing fifth. The Intertoto Cup place would then go to the highest-placed applicants who haven't qualified by other means. Everton, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur have applied for the Intertoto Cup. Spurs have qualified already through the Carling Cup. Portsmouth have not applied.
Therefore, if Portsmouth finish sixth and Everton seventh, Everton would qualify for the Intertoto Cup. If Aston Villa, Blackburn or Man City finished sixth and Everton seventh, Everton would NOT qualify for the Intertoto Cup.
There is also a possibility an English side could qualify for the Uefa Cup via Uefa's Fair Play league. England are currently one of several nations who could be awarded an additional Uefa Cup place, with Everton well-placed in the Premier League disciplinary standings. Full details of this situation are yet to be clarified by Uefa."
In other news we've finally signed up Steven Pienaar for a pretty paultry £2m and Dan Gosling is close to making his debut.
The sheer number of games and the small number of frontline players has caught up with us in a big way whilst the likes of Portsmouth and most notable Aston Villa hit form just at the right time.
This weekend's game will be vital in securing the UEFA place. I do think if we lose the Intertoto is probably the best we can hope for. According to the official Everton webiste site "If Everton finish fourth - we would qualify for the Champions League UNLESS an English side wins the Champions League and finishes outside the top four. We would then play in the Uefa Cup.
If Everton finish fifth - we would qualify for the Uefa Cup regardless of any other scenario.
If Everton finish sixth - we would play in the Intertoto Cup UNLESS the FA decide Cardiff City can't have one of England's Uefa Cup places AND Portsmouth finish fifth. We would then play in the Uefa Cup.
If Cardiff ARE permitted to take one of England's spots, then we would play in the Intertoto Cup.
If Everton finish seventh - we would play in the Intertoto ONLY IF the FA decide Cardiff City can't have one of England's Uefa Cup places AND Portsmouth finish fifth.
IF the FA decide Cardiff CAN have one of England's places, there would be only one Uefa Cup place from the league - awarded to the team finishing fifth. The Intertoto Cup place would then go to the highest-placed applicants who haven't qualified by other means. Everton, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur have applied for the Intertoto Cup. Spurs have qualified already through the Carling Cup. Portsmouth have not applied.
Therefore, if Portsmouth finish sixth and Everton seventh, Everton would qualify for the Intertoto Cup. If Aston Villa, Blackburn or Man City finished sixth and Everton seventh, Everton would NOT qualify for the Intertoto Cup.
There is also a possibility an English side could qualify for the Uefa Cup via Uefa's Fair Play league. England are currently one of several nations who could be awarded an additional Uefa Cup place, with Everton well-placed in the Premier League disciplinary standings. Full details of this situation are yet to be clarified by Uefa."
In other news we've finally signed up Steven Pienaar for a pretty paultry £2m and Dan Gosling is close to making his debut.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Big in Japan
Well it has to be said that was a GREAT holiday. As dear old Mark Tapley would say "There's no credit in being jolly". A 3am start and a 15 hour trip was pretty daunting but ultimately the exhaustion after a journey that long effectively dealt with any potential jet-lag (how's that for looking on the bright side). We arrived in Tokyo at 7:30am the next day and were met by my old university mate Dave...he should us round and basically kept us awake for the first day nosing round Tokyo so that by the time we slipped into a blissful coma our body clocks were totally adjusted (Apparently we slept through a big earthquake on the first night).
Loved Tokyo to bits...neon, beer, ramen, sashimi, cherry blossom, karaoke, Tokyoites picnicing or strutting their stuff in the park. Really can't say a bad word about the place. So grateful to Dave & Elly for looking after us.
From there we went up to Nikko...that was ace, have done a lot of templing over the curse of my travels and that was definitely up there with those real "Oh wow" moments...also me and Anne and a random Japanese girl got our sone-to-be legendary three wise monkeys picture there so it can't be bad.
From there we did a mad transit over to Kyoto....the Shinkansen bullet trains are every bit as impressive as you imagine they are going to be (and thanks to the JR Pass you can basically just jump onboard with impunity). Kyoto's main problem is that there's just so much to fit in there. Think we got a good feel for the place in the time we were there though. Saw the famous Zen garden and the beautiful golden pagoda (in between conveyor belt sushi & beer sessions). After a quick visit to the impressive Himeji Castle we went to Nara for some tramping round in the woods and some sunbathing (and to see the awesome Todai-Ji temple with it's stonkingly big Buddha) and then a rain soaked Ise before heading back to Tokyo for more food, beer and karaoke with Dave & Elly. Brilliant trip all round.
Loved Tokyo to bits...neon, beer, ramen, sashimi, cherry blossom, karaoke, Tokyoites picnicing or strutting their stuff in the park. Really can't say a bad word about the place. So grateful to Dave & Elly for looking after us.
From there we went up to Nikko...that was ace, have done a lot of templing over the curse of my travels and that was definitely up there with those real "Oh wow" moments...also me and Anne and a random Japanese girl got our sone-to-be legendary three wise monkeys picture there so it can't be bad.
From there we did a mad transit over to Kyoto....the Shinkansen bullet trains are every bit as impressive as you imagine they are going to be (and thanks to the JR Pass you can basically just jump onboard with impunity). Kyoto's main problem is that there's just so much to fit in there. Think we got a good feel for the place in the time we were there though. Saw the famous Zen garden and the beautiful golden pagoda (in between conveyor belt sushi & beer sessions). After a quick visit to the impressive Himeji Castle we went to Nara for some tramping round in the woods and some sunbathing (and to see the awesome Todai-Ji temple with it's stonkingly big Buddha) and then a rain soaked Ise before heading back to Tokyo for more food, beer and karaoke with Dave & Elly. Brilliant trip all round.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Konichiwa
In Tokyo at the moment...loving it (although the rain is a little Belguim-esque). The place definitely has the "wow factor" as well as a brilliantly benign, friendly "Ah factor".
Chuffed Everton won....goold old Leon.
身らﾃに地も背水と戸に幹巣地味氏らも野印と羅身地町製三井問いのいんこらちすし!
(Random japanese keypressing just for the hell of it)
Chuffed Everton won....goold old Leon.
身らﾃに地も背水と戸に幹巣地味氏らも野印と羅身地町製三井問いのいんこらちすし!
(Random japanese keypressing just for the hell of it)
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Oh, not again
Waterloo Rugby Club look at moving ground
Can my sports clubs just stop leaving their beautiful traditional old homes please....is it too much too ask. First Everton ditch our wonderful old stadium for some souless-modern logistical nightmare out in the sticks....Now Waterloo are looking to move. In Waterloo's case it's a bit more understandable. Blundellsands is prime, prime real-estate and the club isn't exactly awash with cash. I just hope they move somewhere easy to get to.
Can my sports clubs just stop leaving their beautiful traditional old homes please....is it too much too ask. First Everton ditch our wonderful old stadium for some souless-modern logistical nightmare out in the sticks....Now Waterloo are looking to move. In Waterloo's case it's a bit more understandable. Blundellsands is prime, prime real-estate and the club isn't exactly awash with cash. I just hope they move somewhere easy to get to.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Google bomb with a purpose
For no apparent reason I thought it'd be worthwhile put up this link to a site that explains exactly who is a Jew. ;)
Loved this story over at my favourite SEO company : Lycos and Excite to make bid to buy Yahoo. Google and Microsoft merge
Loved this story over at my favourite SEO company : Lycos and Excite to make bid to buy Yahoo. Google and Microsoft merge
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