Butch

The EPL is always the priority for me. However, I do agree somewhat with the original post that I am desperate to win the CL at some point. I am still hugely disappointed we didn't do it with Jose at the helm as I felt we were well-equipped. This season, I don't believe we are as well-equipped; we're stuttering along and don't have enough "weapons" up top. If we do it, we'll be relying a lot on Didier and he is not on form. While I would be happy to win the trophy, despite it of course being designed heavily on money rather than prestige, my priority is the players. I've grown to love this group of players, despite some of the "less savory" characters, and would be ecstatic to see the likes of JT and Lamps hoisting the trophy above their heads. Cheers, Butch

I was going to say maybe Joe doesn't keep the ball well enough, but then again neither does Deco (at least not so far). Malouda's been a bit rubbish for me, BUT I wonder if our slump has coincided with his unavailability. He does provide an outlet on the left, and I think it also helps get Ash higher up the pitch. As I said before, lately Ash has been having trouble getting up, partly because he doesn't have someone ahead of him to (a) distract defenders, (b) drop back when he bombs forward, and © hold the ball and allow him to get into position. Since Malouda's been out, we're very "right heavy". Cheers, Butch

The conundrums of a football manager. On the face of it, Luiz Felipe Scolari has arguable inherited a wonderful squad of players. "Anyone could manage THAT lot to success", some would say. And if our early season form was anything to go by, maybe they had a point. However, fast forward to the present and it doesn't seem to be quite that easy. For you see, with the wonderful squad, Scolari also inherited a few headaches. In the main, this is still Jose's squad, as far as I am concerned. Most of the players here today were signed by the "Special One" himself. But Jose's team played a certain way - more abut compactness and directness - while Scolari is trying to play a different way with essentially the same backbone. Do the players have the right attributes to play this "new" way? Questionable. The squad is also middle heavy. You look at the likes of Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Mikel and Deco, not to mention Joe Cole, and you can see any manager would have a tough time accommodating them all, especially in a formation that attempts to have width high up the pitch, i.e. more than 1 or 2 "forwards". The alternative? A narrow 4-4-2 diamond. But as far as I am concerned, when we've done that, we've looked a man short up the left. When Ashley has the ball, he's far too deep to be able to really provide width in threatening positions. I see this as being the case more often than not. On the right side, Bosingwa (and importantly his understanding with Deco) tends to cover well; yet, you can see that in important matches with teams that have tactical nous, both full backs have problems providing us width and attacking threat. Still, while Kalou and Malouda are rubbish, while Anelka scores and must start, and now that Drogba is available to wreak havoc as we know he can (he's very suited to the EPL), it i easy to see Nic and Drogs must both start. As such, rather than playing the Jose 4-3-3, we should play the 4-4-2 diamond instead. And in this formation, it really comes down to a battle between Joe and Deco for the tip of the diamond as far as I am concerned. With neither setting the EPL alight, the competition should do them good. Thoughts? Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the disappointing home draw against the Hammers. CONGRATS this time go to Johan Gruff; 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 25 11 6 0 4 5 0 0 45 216 4650 186 211 +2 02 Geezer 14 11 5 0 4 5 0 0 15 176 2711 194 208 +0 03 Loz 25 10 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 158 4399 176 201 +0 04 Ossie13 21 11 6 0 2 0 0 0 30 198 3700 176 197 +2 05 Chippy 19 11 4 0 2 0 0 0 15 163 3390 178 197 +0 06 Butch 25 11 4 0 2 0 0 0 15 163 4121 165 190 +1 07 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 08 Crystalballs 24 10 6 0 4 0 0 0 0 156 3904 163 187 +1 09 NickW 19 11 4 0 4 5 0 0 15 166 3199 168 187 +0 10 TeaBarBoy 20 11 5 0 2 5 0 0 15 178 3314 166 186 +2 11 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 12 Coombsie 22 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 140 3532 161 183 +0 13 Waldron 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2356 168 182 na 14 MadMac 20 9 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 115 3018 151 171 -1 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Dave Madden 09 9 3 0 4 5 10 0 0 131 1427 159 168 -2 17 Goose 14 10 4 0 4 5 0 0 0 141 2134 152 166 +0 18 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 19 Derek Dove 24 10 4 0 4 5 0 5 0 146 3297 137 161 +1 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 06 11 6 0 0 0 10 0 65 245 871 145 151 +21 24 Ruh Buh Juh 05 10 3 0 4 5 0 0 0 131 663 133 138 +1 25 Taiwo 01 10 3 0 2 5 0 0 0 133 133 133 134 na 26 M Orekoya 01 10 3 0 4 5 0 0 0 131 131 131 132 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 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 1 J Gruyff 1 NickW 1 TeaBarBoy 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 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

Done, apologies TBB! Cheers, Butch

I'd have hoped the upper management did their homework and were convinced Scolari was the man for the job BEFORE they hired him and not expecting to make this assessment 4 months into the job! From this perspective, yes, the manager must be given the support to bring in his own players. Clearly, Scolari has made an impact on the way we play. We are much more pleasing on the eye and our goals total has been impressive. However, it is also clear we aren't playing as well as we should and Scolari has cut a frustrated figure at the sidelines during this time as well. I am certain he knows what is wrong but he's having some problems rectifying it. I think the personnel he has may be limited to a certain extent. I tend to agree with injuries to key personnel holding us back. Yes, with Essien and Carvalho back in the squad I think we'd be more solid for certain, at least in a defensive way. But I also believe we are missing an attacking player to "unlock" defenses, while I am as yet unconvinced of Drogba's long-term future. He is looking more and more selfish, and less and less a team player. His quality means he will always be able to come up with a flash of brilliance, but his attitude may mean he will be of limited value to us in the long term. So I strongly believe Ambramovich needs to support Scolari in the transfer market, and I really hope he decides to strengthen in January for we're 1 or 2 short of a serious contender for the CL in particular, but also for the EPL (especially when Man Utd go on their run). Cheers, Butch

Aaaarrggghhhh...mistakes all round. Apologies to all! I'll give TeaBarBoy his points - that was an oversight; but what I mean by no extra points was my submission that he was the first to get ALL correct, which is in itself an incorrect observation! Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the home win over the Rumanian double champs takes us into the next round of the Champions League. CONGRATS this time go 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 24 11 6 15 0 5 10 10 45 255 4434 185 209 +4 02 Geezer 13 10 6 30 0 0 10 15 15 230 2535 195 208 +4 03 Loz 24 10 5 15 2 0 0 10 0 173 4241 177 201 +1 04 Chippy 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3227 179 197 na 05 Ossie13 20 10 5 15 0 5 0 10 0 180 3502 175 195 +1 06 Butch 24 11 5 15 0 0 5 10 15 205 3958 165 189 +3 07 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 08 NickW 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3033 169 187 na 09 Crystalballs 23 10 4 15 2 5 0 5 0 163 3748 163 186 +1 10 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 11 TeaBarBoy 19 11 7 15 2 5 0 5 80 283 3136 165 184 +7 12 Coombsie 21 10 5 15 2 0 0 5 0 168 3392 162 183 +2 13 Waldron 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2356 168 182 na 14 MadMac 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2903 153 172 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Dave Madden 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1296 162 170 na 17 Goose 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1993 153 166 na 18 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 19 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 na 20 Derek Dove 23 9 4 15 2 0 0 15 0 158 3151 137 160 +2 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 Ruh Buh Juh 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 532 133 137 na 24 Ayodele K 01 9 2 15 0 0 0 5 0 130 130 130 131 na 25 John Gruyff 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 626 125 130 na 26 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 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 1 NickW 1 TeaBarBoy 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 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

Hi Chippy, I gave you one of the scorers, and now I've gone in and given you the other. Sorry about that! Cheers, Butch

David Villa would be somewhere atop my list of strikers/forwards I'd like to see at Chelsea. However, I am a little uncertain he would fit into Scolari's apparently favored 1-striker formation. I certainly don't think he could do the Drogba role, and highly likely would be worse at it than Anelka is. But in a narrow 4-4-2 with bombing full backs and the need for more creativity to unlock a packed middle, I think he would do well, particularly in conjunction with a mobile striker like Anelka, or even picking up crumbs from Drogba's efforts. The supposedly dire financial position of Valencia makes this possible, and for me, worth checking out. Failing that, and provided Drogba stays, which in all likelihood he will, then I think we should be looking at someone to come in and do the job in the Malouda/Kalou wide forward role because I think they have been rubbish and I believe it is playing a part in our frustrations in the big matches against quality defenses. The question though is who. These players are not usually available anyway, but even moreso in January. I have to tell you I do like the look of Arshavin, much moreso than Love. Cheers, Butch

At the moment (last few matches) or of the current squad? If of the moment, it must be Anelka for his goals (not much else). Close second would be Bosingwa and Ash for differing reasons - Bosingwa for his his attacking threat and crosses, while Ash has been solid on the left. The likes of Lamps and JT, even Cech, are all well below par (particularly the latter two). I'm actually quite surprised how sloppy JT and Petr have been of late. If of our current squad, well, I'd have to say Lamps and JT (difficult to pick between the two though I'm leaning towards the former as always), closely followed by Carvalho and Cech. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, [Note: Apologies to Ossie13; I didn't give him his 5 points for predicting Deco's goal - acrobatics and all - which gives him joint top score with TT for the match and bumps up his bonus points. This also means NickW and Derek Dove get extra bonus points as well for moving up to 2nd and 3rd for the match, respectively.] [Note2: Apologies also to Chippy for not counting his correct predictions for goal scorers.] [Note3: This all stems from my frustration at not being able to make any headways in my plan to conquer the BPL; but I'll be back! ] Here are the latest BPL standings after the win over Bolton at our happy hunting ground. CONGRATS this time go to Ossie13 and TT, who also moves back to the top of the BPL; 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 23 11 5 30 0 5 0 10 65 270 4179 182 205 +5 02 Geezer 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2305 192 204 na 03 Loz 23 9 3 30 0 5 0 10 0 165 4068 177 200 +1 04 Chippy 18 10 5 15 0 10 0 5 0 180 3227 179 197 +1 05 Ossie13 19 11 5 30 0 5 0 10 65 270 3322 175 194 +6 06 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 07 NickW 18 9 5 30 0 5 5 10 30 220 3033 169 187 +5 08 Butch 23 11 4 15 2 0 0 5 15 183 3753 163 186 +2 09 Crystalballs 22 9 4 30 0 5 0 10 0 175 3585 163 185 +2 10 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 11 Waldron 14 10 5 0 2 5 0 5 0 158 2356 168 182 +0 12 Coombsie 20 10 3 30 0 0 0 10 0 170 3224 161 181 +1 13 TeaBarBoy 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2853 159 177 na 14 MadMac 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2903 153 172 na 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Dave Madden 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1296 162 170 na 17 Goose 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1993 153 166 na 18 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 19 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 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 Derek Dove 22 10 4 30 0 5 0 10 15 200 2993 136 158 +4 23 Ruh Buh Juh 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 532 133 137 na 24 John Gruyff 05 10 2 15 2 0 0 5 0 138 626 125 130 +4 25 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na 26 Obinna M 01 9 0 15 2 5 0 10 0 118 118 118 119 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners' Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 6 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 Ossie13 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 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) 02 275 Tim W - Blackburn (a, epl) TT - Stoke (a, epl) 03 270 Ossie13 (Bolton (a, epl) TT - Bolton (a, epl) 04 266 Goose - Portsmouth (h, epl) 05 265 Chippy - W.B.A. (a, epl) 06 261 TT - Sunderland (h, epl) 07 260 Geezer - Liverpool (h, epl) 08 254 Mod - Middlesbrough (a, epl) 09 253 Loz - Bordeaux (a, cl) 10 250 Adekunle S - Aston Villa (h, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

I'm a Jose fan, always have been, always will be. I was openly distraught when we parted ways. However, under the circumstances, I felt Scolari was one of the best "real" replacements and I was happy enough with his signing. I won't deny it; I am not entirely happy with our situation as it stands, for many of the same reasons as have been talked about (playing perspective; I have no qualms with Roman). Yet, I feel that any calls for a change of manager are way too early. Scolari has come in and done a very decent job. I felt he was going to need some time to bed into the EPL, and while we got off to a good start, I now feel that our recent results are not too surprising. He has made us a more entertaining team in general (just think about the interplay between Deco and Bosingwa), with a game that is more pleasing on the eye, yet that has come at a price. We are rather one dimensional, and anybody can see that stopping our full backs tends to make us much less effective. In part, I feel this is down to some important injuries, e.g. to Drogba, Essien and Joe Cole; you might even argue Deco. I also feel it is because our forwards are not pulling their weight. Anelka has been scoring, BUT he tends to go missing in the big games and is rather ineffective in general. But the biggest culprits for me are Kalou, and in particular, Malouda who is simply rubbish as far as I am concerned. I think Scolari knew we needed someone extra up top, and thus our chasing of Robinho, and we all know how much better we'd be with him in the team. So from that perspective, I trust the manager knows the issues. In defense, I feel it is a case of frustration, injuries and loss of form. Of course, Cech and JT are not on top of their games. Not exactly sure what it is, but I feel it may actually come from them being exposed much more often now that we don't have Maka and Essien. Our midfield is much more attacking minded and less disciplined. Mikel is still learning his trade, and while I believe he has potential, he is not shielding the defense very well. You add to that Deco's brilliant defensive abilities and Bosingwa's and Ashley's propensity to bomb forward and you can just see we our underbelly is more open. Basically, I don't think we have the right balance. In Jose's days, we were too defensive. Now, dare I say it, we're too offensive. Thus, against lowly sides, we knock the stuffing out of them, but against the good sides, our weaknesses get exploited. The returns of Carvalho and Essien will help, but Scolari also needs to strike some sort of balance in our tactics to help protect our defense and offer Cech a better shield. So, it is no time to panic. We need to be realistic. In some ways, considering our injuries, we've done better than expected. No other side could take the hits we've taken and still remained at or near the top. And I don't believe we're too far away from being a side that will win the EPL. It is the CL I am more worried about. I don't think we have the right attributes to win it, one of the big concerns being our performances in penalty shoot outs (if we get there). Considering our performances so far against the big teams, a pairing with the likes of Barca in the next round would absolutely knock the stuffing out of me. We need to get that balance back. I believe Scolari is learning and will get us there eventually. Just let's hope that is sooner than later. Cheers, Butch

I don't even recall us signing Malouda, period. We got some winger dude who can't cross, can't shoot and can't get past his man. To be honest, I wish we signed Malouda. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after another disappointing home loss. CONGRATS this time go to Ossie13; well done, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe TG Sc Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Geezer 12 10 4 0 2 0 0 5 0 143 2305 192 204 -4 02 TT 22 9 4 0 0 0 0 10 0 140 3909 178 200 +0 03 Loz 22 9 3 0 2 0 5 5 0 128 3903 177 199 -2 04 Chippy 17 10 4 0 0 0 0 5 15 160 3047 179 196 +0 05 Ossie13 18 10 4 0 2 0 10 15 50 213 3052 170 188 +4 06 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 07 Tim W 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2075 173 185 na 08 Butch 22 10 4 0 0 0 0 5 15 160 3570 162 184 +1 09 Crystalballs 21 9 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 115 3410 162 183 -2 10 NickW 17 9 3 0 2 0 5 10 0 133 2813 165 182 -2 11 Waldron 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2198 169 182 na 12 Coombsie 19 9 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 138 3054 161 180 +0 13 TeaBarBoy 18 8 3 0 2 0 0 5 0 113 2853 159 177 -1 14 MadMac 19 9 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 115 2903 153 172 -1 15 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 16 Dave Madden 08 9 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 135 1296 162 170 -3 17 Goose 13 10 3 0 2 0 0 10 0 138 1993 153 166 -1 18 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 19 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 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 Derek Dove 21 10 4 0 2 0 5 10 30 183 2793 133 154 +3 23 Ruh Buh Juh 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 532 133 137 na 24 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na 25 John Gruyff 04 8 3 0 2 0 0 5 0 113 488 122 126 na 26 Kayode Joseph 01 7 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 85 85 85 86 na 27 Wale 01 8 1 0 2 0 5 0 0 93 93 93 94 na 28 Charlie 01 5 1 0 4 0 5 0 0 61 61 61 62 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 5 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 1 NickW 1 Ossie13 1 Tim W 1 Waldron 1 ------------------------------ *Record = 13 wins – Loz (07/08) -------------------------------------------------------------- BPL Top-10 Scores 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------- 01 295* NickW – Hull (a, epl) 02 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 03 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 04 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 05 261 TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 06 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 07 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) 08 253 Loz – Bordeaux (a, cl) 09 250 Adekunle S – Aston Villa (h, epl) 10 245 Chippy – Stoke (a, epl) Mod – Bordeaux (h, cl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Malouda for his left peg. Cheers, Butch

A double dose of Messi and Huntelaar, in that order of priority, would make us pretty darned unbeatable, and for a long time. Messi is currently the most exciting player in world football. Cheers, Butch

Sympathy? No. But I will always remember his time at Chelsea fondly. Cheers, Butch (I am also very hesitant to completely believe our take on events leading up to his departure. Grain of salt and all that.)

Technically, we drew with Burnley, but it did feel like a loss and we did get knocked out so point taken. However, let's see how we do against Arsenal at home and then we can discuss this. I'm feeling underwhelmed but we're not doing too badly. We're certainly short a Robinho from being just about unbeatable. Cheers, Butch

Individually, we're not playing to our potential, but inter-individual play has been improved by Scolari. And we are the best in the league in certain key areas, for example our full backs are playing better than any other set of full backs, and our midfield is not doing badly. And one key thing, we're not conceding any goals. Our "team defense" is good. Verdict? "Over-dramatic, sir!" Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after the 1-1 draw at Bordeaux leaves our qualification for the second stage of the CL still in the balance. CONGRATS this time go to Loz; well done, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe TG Sc Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Geezer 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2162 197 208 na 02 Loz 21 11 6 0 2 5 5 10 65 253 3775 180 201 +5 03 TT 21 10 6 0 0 0 0 5 0 165 3769 179 200 +0 04 Chippy 16 9 5 0 2 0 0 5 0 143 2887 180 196 -2 05 Mod 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2602 173 188 na 06 Crystalballs 20 9 4 0 2 0 0 5 0 133 3295 165 185 +0 07 Tim W 12 10 6 0 4 0 0 5 0 161 2075 173 185 +0 08 Ossie13 17 9 5 0 2 0 0 5 0 143 2839 167 184 -1 09 NickW 16 10 6 0 2 5 0 5 15 183 2680 168 184 +3 10 Butch 21 9 4 0 0 0 5 10 0 145 3410 162 183 +0 11 Waldron 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2198 169 182 na 12 Coombsie 18 10 6 30 0 5 0 5 30 230 2916 162 180 +5 13 TeaBarBoy 17 10 3 0 0 0 10 10 0 150 2740 161 178 +0 14 MadMac 18 10 4 0 0 0 0 10 0 150 2788 155 173 +1 15 Dave Madden 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1161 166 173 na 16 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 17 Goose 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1855 155 167 na 18 Singablue 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 786 157 162 na 19 EthicalStrategy 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 317 159 161 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 Benedict Morgan 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 158 158 159 na 23 Derek Dove 20 9 4 0 2 5 0 5 0 138 2610 131 151 +2 24 Ruh Buh Juh 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 532 133 137 na 25 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na 26 John Gruyff 03 10 4 0 2 5 0 10 0 153 375 125 128 na 27 Alabi Sunday 01 8 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 83 83 83 84 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 5 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Loz 2 Mod 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 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) 02 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 03 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 04 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 05 261 TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 06 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 07 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) 08 253 Loz – Bordeaux (a, cl) 09 250 Adekunle S – Aston Villa (h, epl) 10 245 Chippy – Stoke (a, epl) Mod – Bordeaux (h, cl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Here are the latest BPL standings after we were held to a goalless draw at home against Newcastle; a bit of a worrying trend this. CONGRATS this time go to Chippy, once again; well done, mate! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch’s Prediction League Regular Season Standings 2008-2009 The Shedend Forums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Gp St Sb FS Pe TG Sc Pr Bo To Cu Av Rt Ch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Geezer 11 10 6 0 4 0 0 0 0 156 2162 197 208 -3 02 TT 20 10 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 154 3604 180 200 -1 03 Chippy 15 11 6 0 6 0 0 0 65 229 2744 183 198 +4 04 Loz 20 10 5 0 6 0 0 0 0 144 3522 176 196 -1 05 Mod 15 9 4 0 6 0 0 0 0 124 2602 173 188 -3 06 Crystalballs 19 9 4 0 6 0 0 0 0 124 3162 166 185 -2 07 Ossie13 16 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 2696 169 185 +0 08 Tim W 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1914 174 185 na 09 Butch 20 11 5 0 4 0 0 0 30 186 3265 163 183 +2 10 Waldron 13 8 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 106 2198 169 182 -4 11 NickW 15 9 4 0 10 0 0 0 0 120 2497 166 181 -3 12 TeaBarBoy 16 9 3 0 8 0 0 0 0 112 2590 162 178 -2 13 Coombsie 17 10 5 0 8 0 0 0 0 142 2686 158 175 +0 14 Dave Madden 07 11 6 0 8 0 0 0 45 207 1161 166 173 +8 15 MadMac 17 10 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 136 2638 155 172 +0 16 Ali Luke 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 171 171 172 na 17 Adekunle S 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 504 168 171 na 18 Goose 12 10 5 0 6 0 0 0 0 144 1855 155 167 +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 10 4 0 6 0 0 0 0 134 1213 152 160 -1 23 Benedict Morgan 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 158 158 159 na 24 Derek Dove 19 8 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 116 2472 130 149 +0 25 Ruh Buh Juh 04 9 4 0 6 0 0 0 0 124 532 133 137 -2 26 Mike O 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 256 128 130 na 27 John Gruyff 02 10 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 146 222 111 113 na 28 Graham 01 9 3 0 8 0 0 0 0 112 112 112 113 na -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ BPL Winners’ Circle 2008-9 ------------------------------ 01 TT 5 02 Chippy 3 03 Geezer 2 Mod 2 04 Adekunle S 1 Butch 1 Coombsie 1 Goose 1 Loz 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) 02 275 Tim W – Blackburn (a, epl) TT – Stoke (a, epl) 03 266 Goose – Portsmouth (h, epl) 04 265 Chippy – W.B.A. (a, epl) 05 261 TT – Sunderland (h, epl) 06 260 Geezer – Liverpool (h, epl) 07 254 Mod – Middlesbrough (a, epl) 08 250 Adekunle S – Aston Villa (h, epl) 09 245 Chippy – Stoke (a, epl) Mod – Bordeaux (h, cl) 10 241 Loz – Man City (a, epl) -------------------------------------------------------------- *New Record Cheers, Butch

I do believe it was a Kenyon appointment, probably with input from senior players such as JT and Lamps. And while I don't believe Scolari had anything to do with it directly, he was most definitely consulted as to the idea and I am certain the response was positive. Cheers, Butch

If memory serves me correctly, we beat Newcastle in a penalty shoot out in a pre-season tournament in Malaysia a few years ago (Jose's first season?). Having said that, I totally agree that our performance on penalties is abysmal. I think there is no doubt that our players are affected by this lack of penalty wins and the longer it continues, the bigger a mental obstacle it becomes. A side with no PK know how, no matter how good, is unlikely to win a cup competition, and that includes the Champions League. If Scolari and Co. are not doing anything to remedy this behind close doors, it is unlikely we will win the Big One. Cheers, Butch

Dear Friends, Just a quick reminder that the table will be trimmed for the first time once I talley all the scores for the 20th match. After 20 matches predicted by the most active participants, the least active have to maintain 10% of the number of games predicted by the most active to remain in the table (2/20, 3/30, 4/40, etc...). Of course, predictors will be reinstated in the most current table when they predict for a match, until of course they once again don't meet the criteria for minimum number of games predicted. If this seems overly complicated, in practice this means that all of you who have predicted just once so far will be removed from the updated standings for the next match, which is #20. This is just to make things a little more manageable for me, and keeps the table current. This does NOT mean you are removed forever or that you have to begin from scratch again (although some of you may want that ). So, for those of you who have predicted just once so far, get your predictions in for the next match to stay in the table! Cheers, Butch