Daily Archives: May 8, 2010

Match Of The Week: Blackpool 2-1 Nottingham Forest

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City Ground 25 Sept 85
“From up on the north-western coast of England has come one of the surprise stories of the season. Very few people would have anticipated Blackpool surging into the Championship play-off places this season, but Ian Holloway’s team have managed it while other clubs with bigger ambitions such as Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town have struggled. Even though Holloway tends to divide opinion, few would deny his achievement in taking a club with an average home crowd of just over 8,000 – the second lowest in the division after Scunthorpe United – to the brink of a place in the Premier League. Blackpool’s geography means that a Premier League place may mean more to them than most – derby matches against Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers as well as matches against the four massive clubs from Liverpool and Manchester would lay in wait if they can negotiate their way through the play-offs.” (twohundredpercent)

The Thursday Preview: Blackpool Vs Nottingham Forest
“Speaking as a fan of a club that’s just been relegated, I am more than relieved to see the back of this season. It’s been an utterly forgettable campaign; one so full of misery that I’m physically struggling to muster the enthusiasm to log on to the messageboards and the like these days. What little interest I had left for 2009/2010 was effectively killed off by David Conn.” (thetwounfortunates)

Blackpool 2-1 Nottingham Forest – Video Highlights and Recap – Championship – 8 May 2010
“The English Championship began its promotion playoffs with the a first leg match between Blackpool and Nottingham Forest on Saturday, May 8, 2010. It should be a very competitive and fierce match with a chance to play in the Premier League on the line. Blackpool would host the first leg while Nottingham Forest is hosting the second in the midweek.” (The 90th Minute)

Watching PSG-Valenciennes with Lilian Thuram

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“I was in Paris this week, and got to catch up with Lilian Thuram, who we hosted here at Duke last fall. He invited me to attend a PSG match with him at the Parc des Princes, and I of course jumped at the opportunity. The police have been heavily cracking down on some fan organizations at PSG, but they seemed spirited as ever, with the Boulogne Kop on one end, and Auteuil and the Paname United Colors on the other.” (Soccer Politics), (Lilian Thuram), (Soccer Politics – Lilian Thuram Visit)

World Cup Moments: Eusebio In ‘66

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Eusebio
“In doing the Portuguese history I popped across this video of Eusebio in his prime – the prime of his prime, even – running rampant all over England in ‘66, and it needs a spotlight. In a word: peerless. Nine goals led the tournament and earned him a wax statue at Madame Tussaud’s tells part of the story, but the gap of quality between he and those around him – Pele was quite injured – was simply staggering: bursting by defenders as though they weren’t really there; running full lengths of the half before stopping on a dime and cutting into the box; hitting balls with the ferocity of an angry jackhammer.” (World Cup Blog)

The Case Against The Play-Offs

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“Depending on which levels of football you follow, you may not have noticed that we’re in the middle of play-off season. The Championship Play-Offs begin tomorrow as Nottingham Forest travel to Bloomfield Road, and the make up of the League One and Two Play-Offs this season will be decided tomorrow afternoon. As far as non-league is concerned, Oxford United and York City are selling tickets for their Wembley final a week on Sunday, and this Sunday, Fleetwood Town, and Bath City host Alfreton Town and Woking respectively for the right to play in the Blue Square Premier next season. Below the Blue Square the Play-Offs are already over, and the winners are already planning next season’s campaign at a new level. But while the Play-Offs produce money for the club and excitement for television and the neutrals – are the Play-Offs all they are cracked up to be? Are the Play-Offs even fair?” (twohundredpercent)

French artistry prevails in the Guadalajara heat

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“France entered the 1986 World Cup in Mexico as newly crowned European Champions having annexed the title on home soil two years earlier. Michel Platini inspired his country to victory in that tournament and was still the heartbeat of a side desperate to bounce back from their harrowing penalty shoot-out loss to West Germany at Spain ‘82. France also included ace defender Manuel Amoros, Alain Giresse and renowned shot-stopper Joel Bats in their 1986 squad.” (Danger Here)

Managers get a major role in Premier League plot

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“The Premier League’s most exciting ever season will end this Sunday. Well, that’s what I heard on the BBC and Sky during the weekend. They have had less to say about it being three of the same old big four swapping places at the top of the table. As a close contest it had more to do with the inconsistency and obvious flaws of the top teams than the excellence of their football. And the sub-plot of teams competing to get their snouts in the fourth place of the Champions League trough has been taking place 16 points distant from the top – hardly an advert for competitive balance.” (WSC)