Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the win over Southend (finally). CONGRATS this time go to Chippy; well done, mate! Also, a big welcome back to DaveMcD - has it really been a year? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 TT 31 10 3 15 4 5 10 0 30 186 5735 185 216 +1 02 Geezer 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3005 188 204 na 03 Loz 31 7 3 15 4 10 0 0 0 121 5303 171 202 -1 04 Ossie13 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4552 175 201 na 05 Chippy 25 10 5 15 2 5 0 0 50 218 4384 175 200 +2 06 Waldron 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3077 181 198 na 07 TeaBarBoy 24 8 4 15 0 15 0 0 15 165 4107 171 195 +1 08 Butch 31 8 4 15 4 10 5 0 0 146 5060 163 194 +0 09 Crystalballs 30 7 4 15 2 5 0 0 0 128 4923 164 194 +0 10 NickW 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3861 168 191 na 11 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 12 Coombsie 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3997 160 185 na 13 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 14 MadMac 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3186 152 173 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Goose 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2734 152 170 na 17 Derek Dove 29 7 2 15 4 5 0 0 0 106 3959 137 166 +0 18 Dave Madden 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1990 153 166 na 19 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 20 Dan Harkin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 147 160 na 21 Kalpit Vora 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1213 152 160 na 22 John Gruyff 09 8 4 15 4 5 5 0 0 141 1214 135 144 +2 23 DaveMcD 01 8 4 15 2 10 0 0 0 143 143 143 144 na 24 Ruh Buh Juh 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 663 133 138 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 8 02 Chippy 4 03 TeaBarBoy 3 04 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 Waldron 2 05 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Crystalballs 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 Tim W 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 310* Waldron – Man Utd (a, epl) 02 295 NickW – Hull (a, epl) 03 283 TeaBarBoy – Cluj (h, cl) 04 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 05 270 Ossie13 – Bolton (a, epl) TT – Bolton (a, epl) 06 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 07 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 08 261 TeaBarBoy – Everton (a, epl) TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 09 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 10 255 TT – Cluj (h, cl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the loss to Man Utd. CONGRATS this time go to Waldron; you nailed it, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 TT 30 11 5 0 4 0 0 0 15 171 5549 185 215 +1 02 Geezer 16 10 6 0 2 0 0 5 0 163 3005 188 204 +0 03 Loz 30 11 5 0 2 0 0 10 15 183 5182 173 203 +2 04 Ossie13 26 11 7 0 2 0 0 5 60 243 4552 175 201 +4 05 Chippy 24 10 6 0 4 0 0 0 0 156 4166 174 198 +1 06 Waldron 17 11 7 30 0 0 0 20 80 310 3077 181 198 +9 07 Butch 30 11 6 0 2 0 0 0 15 183 4914 164 194 +2 08 Crystalballs 29 11 6 0 2 0 0 10 30 208 4795 165 194 +2 09 TeaBarBoy 23 11 5 0 4 0 0 0 15 171 3942 171 194 +1 10 NickW 23 11 5 0 4 0 0 0 15 171 3861 168 191 +1 11 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 12 Coombsie 25 11 6 0 4 0 0 5 15 186 3997 160 185 +2 13 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 14 MadMac 21 10 4 15 2 0 0 15 0 168 3186 152 173 +2 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Goose 18 10 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 148 2734 152 170 +1 17 Derek Dove 28 10 5 0 2 0 0 10 0 158 3853 138 166 +2 18 Dave Madden 13 10 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 158 1990 153 166 +1 19 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 20 Dan Harkin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 147 160 na 21 Kalpit Vora 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1213 152 160 na 22 John Gruyff 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1073 134 142 na 23 Ruh Buh Juh 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 663 133 138 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 8 02 Chippy 3 TeaBarBoy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 Waldron 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Crystalballs 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 Tim W 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 310* Waldron – Man Utd (a, epl) 02 295 NickW – Hull (a, epl) 03 283 TeaBarBoy – Cluj (h, cl) 04 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 05 270 Ossie13 – Bolton (a, epl) TT – Bolton (a, epl) 06 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 07 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 08 261 TeaBarBoy – Everton (a, epl) TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 09 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 10 255 TT – Cluj (h, cl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

I'm disappointed by what I've seen of Felipao, BUT I think sacking him now would be bad because: 1. A new man would require more "bedding in", and 2. A new man would not be able to add his own players anyway. Having said this, if it were to happen, it MUST be a good man manager, and he must be able to command the respect of the players from day one. Sven would tick both boxes BUT would he be long term? Because I never wanted Jose to leave, this down turn in our fortunes is hitting quite hard. I do not mean to harp on about "bringing Jose back" for I know it would never happen, BUT I was half expecting this to happen to us. I mean, we've not become a bad side over night, BUT we most definitely are sliding outside that top echelon. I heartily agree with the post about Felipao having an almost impossible task of getting the same (bar 2) set of players to play a totally different way because I've said this many times before. I believe we will continue to struggle to play this new way with the current players at his disposal. They simply do not have the requisite attributes. Our players are not fluent on the ball (or off it) bar a few exceptions. IF Felipao really is going to be hampered by the lack of new signings, then (1) Roman is a fool for expecting the impossible, and (2) Felipao better think about reverting to Jose/Grant's football philosophy to play to the players' strengths. It is one thing to pass a lesser side off the pitch, quite another when we play the bigger sides. The early season form was not so impressive in hind site. The really impressive result was beating Villa. Apart from that, fluid movement and more interplay leading to goals scored against weak opposition was what happened, not some magical metamorphosis to entertaining world beaters. I feel for Felipao, and to a certain extent, Deco. I've already mention Felipao being hampered, but Deco must be wondering what he can do when there is a lack of intelligent movement up front in the attacking third or quarter. But Felipao is not free of responsibility here. Call it naivety or bedding in but I am concerned that he is not plugging the gaps in our defense OR working on more variation in attacks. The other thing is the urgency and fighting spirit lost from our game. These three elements lead to support for the call of his head and are areas he must address immediately if he is going to get any support from Chelsea fans. Can he do it? Time will tell. All in all, I've said it before and will say it again, I think Roman and co must have some conviction and stick with their signing for now. What THEY have to ALSO do is to SUPPORT him in the transfer market for WE NEED options up front. They cannot expect miracles and sack Felipao when he fails to deliver. Surely, we can at least use the 12 million from Bridge's transfer (what a waste if we cannot). I'm all for youth myself, BUT I am having problems visualizing anyone outside Di Santo being able to do anything. Maybe Stoch but that's about it in terms of attacking options. I think we're fine in defense from a player perspective but Felipao needs to work on the tactics. But we cannot RELY on them; just give them significantly more playing time. What about giving Bosingwa a run up front and slotting Ivanovic in at right back (same thing with Bridgey on the let before he was disappointingly transferred)? Maybe he's tried in practice; who knows! But something needs to change. The frustrating thing is I am not seeing any change or attempt to change anywhere. We seem to be hitting our heads against the wall and hoping we finally see the light, while hoping the bleeding will be minimal. Cheers, Butch

I've posted before about the infusion of speed/attacking talent so I won't go on about that here. What I'm most worried about is the lack of passion/urgency/leadership on the pitch. I don't understand this. Players off form, yes. But not this. Somehow, the players are not playing for each other; they're not pulling in the same direction. And, as has been mentioned, there is no clear cut game plan. The only thing I can see is that there is more attempt to pass the ball; yet, not effectively. We soaked up a lot of pressure in that first half, which United dominated on possession and us only sustaining some for short periods, but when we did have the ball, we tried to counter with some short slick passing which LOOKED promising without amounting to anything. And I think the main reason for that was Drogba - he cut a forlorn figure up front and was very frustrated AND frustrating. That limited the options for the pass from midfield and resulted in a lot of forced poor passing decisions. Tactics wise, at no point did we target Evans in their center of defense. That should have been one of our key avenues - using Drogba to try and intimidate the young defender into making mistakes (a la Senderos) that could be taken advantage of by Deco or Lampard. Giggs in the middle? He was my MoM to be honest and I think it speaks volumes about our tactical limitations at the moment that we could not quickly nullify him despite our midfield riches. As a matter of fact, we allowed him to nullify us in large part. The second and third goals I put down to poor defending and simply "giving up". This simply is not on, but I am still more concerned about our attacking. We've played all of the other so-called big four now and we've scored 1 goal and conceded 6, losing to all of them. This is a BIG concern. If we can't score, we always put the pressure on the defense to not concede, yet our play is more open now than it used to be and thus by design we are more susceptible to conceding. So, we're neither here nor there. To get ourselves back to "something", "anything" really, we need some leadership on the pitch. JT is not commanding the defense well enough. Lampard is not exerting his influence in midfield. And up front, I've lost faith in Didier. I think he plays for himself, while with JT and Lamps, I don't think they are entirely happy about something; I just don't know what it is. I think we've been knockedoff our high horse and the players are struggling to come to terms with that. Maybe we just don't have enough hunger, which allied to a seemingly "lackadaisical" management style is a recipe for disaster. For along with a loss of form, we've also lost that never-say-die single-mindedness about winning games. This is not a knee-jerk reaction. I am wondering where improvement will come from, honestly. Cheers, Butch

My question is: if Arnesen is so great, why can't he uncover OUR OWN Messi? Have we even come close? Cheers, Butch

Didn't see it as complaining to the press. He's been "attacked" and he's defended himself. Cheers, Butch

He is limited by what is available to him. I say it would be ludicrous for us not to support him with one more "attacking" signing to "replace" Robinho and then sack him when he can't win us silverware. Selling SWP and not getting in a suitable replacement was "stupid" to say the least and put LFS at a disadvantage. I say "stupid" with particular reference to how we allowed Robinho to be snatched away from our grasp as that was a signing that would have allowed LFS to set the team up to play how HE wanted, and we'd all have a better idea of what the "Scolari way" was and if it would work out or not. I've said it already and I'll say it again, Scolari expects this team to play rather differently to how they've played in the past 3-4 years, and I think he's running into some difficulty because of it. This team does not contain players that are suited. Our players are part of the "battling" Chelsea, not the "pass the other side off the pitch" Chelsea. We don't have enough quick thinkers on the pitch. I think that is why Scolari feels Deco is vital to HIS Chelsea, despite his not so stellar form. He has to be given time, and support in the transfer market. Cheers, Butch

If you think about it, he does have a point. Unlikely as it may be, our goals dried up when Malouda was out injured. A naturally left-footed left winger gives you true width, not an inclination to bring it inside on the favored foot. One of our problems is we are not able to stretch the defense, making it easier for them to crowd us out in front of their goal. Ash has lost some of his attacking threat since Malouda's been out as he has no one in front of him to hold up the ball and interplay with him. Notice that when he gets the ball now, he has an awful lot to do, and he really isn't a winger. Deco, who plays predominantly right of midfield does well with Bosingwa and so the right back is still able, to a certain extent, to manouver further up the pitch more consistently, although the nice crosses have dried out a bit, but on the left Ash is a bit isolated. So, yes, I do believe Malouda is an important player for us as it stands now. But he has not been in very good form and we do need him to step up. When he does play, regardless of his form, I think we look more fluid and that helps Anelka. Cheers, Butch

Can't believe I'm saying this but I rather think we need Malouda on the left wing (if he is over his hammie, that is). Cheers, Butch

Whatever for? He looks like he'll play forever. Cheers, Butch

Ditto to Brit's post. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the home draw with Southend in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, which means we have a replay next week after the match at Old Trafford. CONGRATS this time go to TeaBarBoy and TT; well done, mates! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 TT 29 10 4 0 4 0 0 10 50 196 5378 185 214 +1 02 Geezer 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2842 189 204 na 03 Loz 29 10 4 0 6 0 0 5 30 169 4999 172 201 +0 04 Ossie13 25 8 3 0 2 0 0 10 0 118 4309 172 197 -2 05 Chippy 23 9 3 0 4 0 10 5 15 146 4010 174 197 -1 06 TeaBarBoy 22 8 5 0 4 0 10 10 50 196 3771 171 193 +2 07 Butch 29 9 4 0 4 0 0 5 15 146 4731 163 192 +0 08 Crystalballs 28 7 3 0 4 0 5 5 0 106 4587 164 192 -1 09 NickW 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3690 168 190 na 10 Waldron 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2767 173 189 na 11 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 12 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 13 Coombsie 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3811 159 183 na 14 MadMac 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3018 151 171 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Goose 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2586 152 169 na 17 Dave Madden 12 7 2 0 10 0 0 5 0 85 1832 153 165 -5 18 Derek Dove 27 8 3 0 4 0 0 5 0 111 3695 137 164 +0 19 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 20 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 na 21 Dan Harkin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 147 160 na 22 Kalpit Vora 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1213 152 160 na 23 John Gruyff 08 7 1 0 4 0 0 10 0 86 1073 134 142 -6 24 Ruh Buh Juh 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 663 133 138 na 25 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 8 02 Chippy 3 TeaBarBoy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Crystalballs 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 Tim W 1 Waldron 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 295* NickW – Hull (a, epl) 02 283 TeaBarBoy – Cluj (h, cl) 03 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 04 270 Ossie13 – Bolton (a, epl) TT – Bolton (a, epl) 05 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 06 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 07 261 TeaBarBoy – Everton (a, epl) TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 08 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 09 255 TT – Cluj (h, cl) 10 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Ai-yai-yai-yai-yai :D ...don't know what to say... Cheers, Butch

I think in the global football arena, marketing is important. So from that perspective, I believe Kenyon has done some good for us. Having said that, I don't believe it is more important than football itself. I do believe what you say, Star, and thanks for sharing your views. As time goes on, my frustrations mirror yours, because we're not looking good at the moment. I still hope upon hope that Scolari is allowed to turn us around. I do believe in him as a football coach and it is high time we got back some stability. What I do hope for is for the men above him to stop "meddling". I still believe Jose would have us dominating if he had complete control over the footballing side of the club but that he didn't and in the end he couldn't stand it. Give Scolari a fair chance; let him sign his own players in January to rejuvenate the squad and our chances. And if he's not able to win anything this season, so be it. Give him another season to do his thing with his own players and his own philosophy. NO MORE MEDDLING! Cheers, Butch

Most impressive: Ash, Nic, and Bosingwa Ash has been extremely consistent this season. He has hardly put a foot wrong. On this form, I can see why we went after him. He is better than Bridgey when he plays like this - tenacious in defense and provides energy going up the left flank. Nic, I guess for his goals. Despite not quite fitting in in other areas, I still feel he is giving us something different this season, and his goals have been priceless. As for Bosingwa, he's gone off the boil in recent games but he has been one of the buys of the season (in the EPL, not just Chelsea). Special shout to Mikel. Most disappointing: JT, Ballack and Kalou Worryingly, JT has been caught out time and again and he just can't seem to put it together. Ballack is a ghost of his former self under Grant - no weapons at all, just running around doing nothing. As for Kalou, he is totally, totally useless. Under Jose, he was so promising, but this year we've needed him to step up and he hasn't. I'm a little bewildered about Deco. Sounds like a lot of people were expecting loads from him. I wasn't really, but maybe his early form raised some expectations. Cheers, Butch

Hi Mod, Yes, they are. There are 4 mini-tournaments: (1) the regular season BPL, (2) the Winners' Circle, (3) the Top Scores competition, and (4) the Long-term Predictions competition. Then, all of these together make up the BPL at the end. At the end of the season, I will basically post 5 tables: 1 each for each of the mini-tournaments, and 1 for the final BPL standings. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the draw at Fulham. CONGRATS this time go to Crystalballs; well done, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 TT 28 9 4 0 0 0 0 10 0 140 5182 185 213 -1 02 Geezer 15 9 3 15 4 0 0 0 0 131 2842 189 204 -4 03 Loz 28 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 130 4830 173 201 +0 04 Ossie13 24 9 4 0 0 0 0 10 0 140 4191 175 199 +0 05 Chippy 22 9 4 0 0 5 10 0 15 160 3864 176 198 +1 06 Crystalballs 27 9 4 15 2 0 0 15 50 208 4481 166 193 +3 07 Butch 28 9 4 0 2 0 5 0 0 133 4585 164 192 +0 08 TeaBarBoy 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3575 170 191 na 09 NickW 22 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 3690 168 190 -1 10 Waldron 16 8 3 15 2 0 10 15 30 178 2767 173 189 +1 11 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 12 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 13 Coombsie 24 8 3 15 2 0 0 10 0 133 3811 159 183 +0 14 MadMac 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3018 151 171 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Dave Madden 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1747 159 170 na 17 Goose 17 9 4 0 0 5 0 0 0 135 2586 152 169 +0 18 Derek Dove 26 9 4 0 2 5 0 10 0 143 3584 138 164 +1 19 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 20 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 na 21 Dan Harkin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 147 160 na 22 Kalpit Vora 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1213 152 160 na 23 John Gruyff 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 987 141 148 na 24 Ruh Buh Juh 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 663 133 138 na 25 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 7 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 TeaBarBoy 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Crystalballs 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 Tim W 1 Waldron 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 295* NickW – Hull (a, epl) 02 283 TeaBarBoy – Cluj (h, cl) 03 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 04 270 Ossie13 – Bolton (a, epl) TT – Bolton (a, epl) 05 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 06 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 07 261 TeaBarBoy – Everton (a, epl) TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 08 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 09 255 TT – Cluj (h, cl) 10 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here were the latest BPL standings after we beat W.B.A. at home in the league. CONGRATS went to TT; well did, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 TT 27 10 5 15 4 10 10 15 50 246 5042 187 214 +4 02 Geezer 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2711 194 208 na 03 Loz 27 8 4 30 0 5 0 10 0 165 4700 174 201 +1 04 Ossie13 23 10 4 30 0 10 0 10 15 205 4051 176 199 +2 05 Chippy 21 10 5 15 2 10 0 10 0 183 3704 176 197 +1 06 Butch 27 10 5 15 2 10 0 15 0 188 4452 165 192 +2 07 TeaBarBoy 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3575 170 191 na 08 NickW 21 10 5 30 0 0 0 15 30 225 3570 170 191 +4 09 Crystalballs 26 10 4 30 0 5 0 10 0 185 4273 164 190 +1 10 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 11 Waldron 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2589 173 188 na 12 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 13 Coombsie 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3678 160 183 na 14 MadMac 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3018 151 171 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Dave Madden 11 10 5 15 6 10 0 15 0 184 1747 159 170 +4 17 Goose 16 10 4 15 4 10 0 10 0 171 2451 153 169 +2 18 Derek Dove 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3441 138 163 na 19 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 20 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 na 21 Dan Harkin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 147 160 na 22 Kalpit Vora 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1213 152 160 na 23 John Gruyff 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 987 141 148 na 24 Ruh Buh Juh 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 663 133 138 na 25 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 7 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 TeaBarBoy 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 Tim W 1 Waldron 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 295* NickW – Hull (a, epl) 02 283 TeaBarBoy – Cluj (h, cl) 03 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 04 270 Ossie13 – Bolton (a, epl) TT – Bolton (a, epl) 05 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 06 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 07 261 TeaBarBoy – Everton (a, epl) TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 08 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 09 255 TT – Cluj (h, cl) 10 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here were the latest BPL standings after our goal less away draw at Everton; CONGRATS went to TeaBarBoy. Well done, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe Sc TG Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 TT 26 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 4796 184 210 -1 02 Geezer 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2711 194 208 na 03 Loz 26 10 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 136 4535 174 200 -1 04 Ossie13 22 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 3846 175 197 +0 05 Chippy 20 10 3 0 4 0 0 5 0 131 3521 176 196 -1 06 TeaBarBoy 21 11 7 0 4 0 0 5 80 261 3575 170 191 +5 07 Butch 26 10 4 0 2 0 0 5 0 143 4264 164 190 +0 08 Crystalballs 25 11 5 0 6 0 0 0 30 184 4088 164 189 +2 09 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 10 Waldron 15 11 6 15 2 0 0 5 45 233 2589 173 188 +6 11 NickW 20 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 3345 167 187 +0 12 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 13 Coombsie 23 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 3678 160 183 +0 14 MadMac 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3018 151 171 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Goose 15 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 2280 152 167 +1 17 Dave Madden 10 10 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 136 1563 156 166 -2 18 Derek Dove 25 10 5 0 6 0 0 0 0 144 3441 138 163 +2 19 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 20 Olisa Joshua 01 11 4 0 4 0 0 0 15 161 161 161 162 na 21 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 na 22 Dan Harkin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 147 160 na 23 Kalpit Vora 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1213 152 160 na 24 John Gruyff 07 9 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 116 987 141 148 -3 25 Ruh Buh Juh 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 663 133 138 na 26 Dadi 01 10 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 136 136 136 137 na 27 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 6 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 TeaBarBoy 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 Tim W 1 Waldron 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 295* NickW – Hull (a, epl) 02 283 TeaBarBoy – Cluj (h, cl) 03 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 04 270 Ossie13 – Bolton (a, epl) TT – Bolton (a, epl) 05 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 06 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 07 261 TeaBarBoy – Everton (a, epl) TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 08 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 09 255 TT – Cluj (h, cl) 10 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, As we fast approach the New Year, we also fast approach the deadline for submission of your Long-term Predictions. Has our recent form changed your mind about our chances of silverware? Has Nic's blazing start to the season helped form your opinion that he, rather than Frank, will be our top scorer? Well, get your predictions in before December 31st to be eligible for points! So far, these are the predictors who have sent in their Long-term predictions: ethicalstrategy, mikeo, kalpit vora, liam smith, ruh buh juh, butch, waldron, johan gruyff, chippy and ossie13. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!! Cheers, Butch (PS> And PLEASE, may our form improve!)

Mate, just wanted to lend your sentiments my support. I never wanted him to leave, and I'd take him back with open arms. I never wanted "pretty football" at the expense of winning, a debate while Jose was at the helm. We had a "persona" in our play back then, something we lack now - we look like the bloody Arse with less cutting edge. Anyway, my post is borne purely out of frustration as opposed to out of harboring any real hopes of Jose returning, certainly not anytime soon. But I will certainly defend Jose to the hilt. I believe it went t*ts up mostly from other peoples' meddling as opposed to anything Jose did. Just look at Inter sitting pretty atop the Calcio Series A and us stumbling along in an EPL just crying out for someone to take it by the scruff of the neck. It's not THAT difficult to spot quality and I always find it difficult to accept that we "let him go". Cheers, Butch

Sorry I'm a bit late with my two cents worth but I do feel you make some valid points, Just, and deserve a response to your questions. I think Dorset actually summed up my feelings on your two questions. I stand by my views on the JT tackle, that it was reckless but not a red card offense. If he had broken Osman's legs, I would most definitely feel for the player, but in the context of this particular challenge I did not feel at any point that was going to be the outcome. If Carragher had tackled Lampard like that, I would be baying for his blood like any decent Chelsea fan would have, BUT if were honest I would still have viewed it as a reckless challenge, but for a 50:50 ball that was there to be won. I'm not a completely biased Chelsea fan, and there are a lot of things I don't like about our players when I see them doing them. There have been many challenges by our players in the past when I would just be a bit shocked to see happen due to the dangerous nature and I would be the first to admit this. However, again, this was not one of those. My point about these challenges happening all the time was not to say that because other players get away with murder, JT also should. My point is that this was not an over-the-top tackle. I am absolutely against those without question. Where I disagree with you is that this tackle was one of those. Cheers, Butch

Thanks. Potential leg breaker? Well, there are potential leg breakers all over the place in the EPL. Our players have been on the receiving end of a fair few, many of which go completely unpunished. I truly did not see the intent there. But I did say it was reckless, and thus irresponsible to his team mates, keeping in mind he did leave it to the interpretation of the referee. And I do believe Osman milked it to get him sent off. So I stand by what I said initially. Cheers, Butch

I disagree about JT's tackle being clearly a sending off offense. I felt that it deserved a yellow card and a stern talking to but nothing more. Having said that, for a captain, it was an irresponsible thing to do, that far up the pitch, to put such a decision at the mercy of the referee. I can't say this enough - the standard of refereeing in England is absolutely atrocious. Apart from Howard Webb, nobody knows what they're doing out there. But even before JT's sending off, the writing was on the wall. Apart from Ash's pile driver very early on in the match, we didn't look particularly menacing. A lot of nice passes and movement, but no penetration. That seems to be par for the course for Scolari's Chelsea. I choose to be positive for once, however, and say that all things considered, it was a valuable point. Considering the teams around us are not doing much better, we have to just hang in there, do our best, and keep ourselves in it. There will be more dropped points; of that I am certain. We do need to improve and get back to our winning ways. Anelka's done well so far in terms of goals scored, BUT for me Drogba is our number one striker and he needs to start every game. Whether Scolari wants to also play Anelka in a front two pairing or not should be a secondary choice. I think Drogba fits in MUCH better to the way Scolari wants us to play. It's not over; far from it. Chins up! Cheers, Butch

I really think he could be our "new Zola". Of course, who knows how he would settle into the EPL, but he has all the raw attributes. Cheers, Butch