Eagle Owl

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/transfer-news/Liverpool-Joe-Cole-opens-door-to-swap-deal-involving-Eden-Hazard-of-Lille-article834081.html It's nice to see that things are going well for Joey. Makes you wish they would keep the title in northern France.

For Pete's sake, put some ice in that good old Stetson. Anyone who thought it was going to be an easy game today was simply completely carried away. Leverkusen away is a tough match for almost any club in the world, especially one in crisis. I'm not happy with the result, but don't go jumping about, kicking our club legends while they're already down. We will rise again, no question about it. What has happened to patience? It seems non-existent in today's society... Liverpool at home, some fresh faces on the pitch, good atmosphere in the stands and through to the next round is what this team needs more than anything. I really wish that will be the case. It'll be a tough rest-of-the-week for AVB... I hope he's learning from his mistakes.

Pat Nevin shared some good thoughts on the official website today. I recommend taking a look.

Those figures are not really comparable, since the managers before AVB had a team to work with where most players were in the prime of their careers. This isn't the case right now, where some key figures are getting older and the young ones are not ready to challenge the big boys in the league. It'll take time, we need to be patient.e. typo

Right now, I think stating anything other than being one of the pack would be foolish. Critical matches have been lost against clubs with less success than Chelsea in recent years, while City and United seem to be lightyears ahead. Especially City, that is.The situation can change rapidly, though, and I believe Chelsea will be back soon enough.

I made a little comparison between top sides' age structures in the Premier League. It's based entirely on the starting line ups this past weekend, which is why Spurs aren't featured. Average age of a starting player: CFC 28 MUFC 27,6 LFC 27,5 NUFC 25,9 AFC/MCFC 24,9 Even though ManU and and Liverpool aren't far behind, it's quite clear that we fielded the oldest team. Even though City have been spending like crazy and I'm by no means a fan of their transfer policy, you have to give them credit for thinking young. Mancini has showed in these last months that he's finally capable of doing that and being successful at the same time, which is something other clubs could learn from. Arsenal have also improved immensely after a slow start, with a team as young as City's. Newcastle are also up there in the top three with a young team, while Chelsea and ManU have been struggling (considering the depth and standard of both squads) with an average age much older. Therefore one could definetely argue that Chelsea need to give the younger lads more of a chance to prove themselves on the pitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5lT3ALGwJ8&feature=related

A great documentary to watch, even if you have no interest in US "soccer" whatsoever. It gives a peek at what life was like at a football club that was way ahead of its time. Leaves you wondering how big the sport actually could have gotten in the States.

I'll have to agree with Six Times, it's a mess. I still want to believe that AVB is the man for the job, which we all knew wasn't going to be anything less than massive. To be honest, if he can prove himself in the other competitions this year (FA Cup, Beer Cup and the UCL), I won't be too disappointed. It's pretty much inevitable for any club to have an underachieving season, and quite clearly this is ours. On the positive side is though that the main problems are found in the defense, which are completely fixable. Many players are lacking in self confidence and the balance just isn't there, but I firmly believe this will take a turn for the better at some point.

Thank you for a quick response, loz!

I actually have a ticket related question myself. Usually when buying something on the Internet, the service provider asks for two names: the one the product is aimed for (in this case the person buying the ticket) and the name of the card holder. I noticed this wasn't the case on the official website. Since it's really hard to get a credit card in Finland only 20 years old, I used my father's, paying him the price in cash instead. Will this be a problem, since the card I used is with a different name than the ticket itself? I don't think it will be, but it creeps me out that it could be. We have the same surname anyway, and it has never been a problem anywhere else. We live in different addresses, so I didn't think of putting his name on there either...

They finished only four points ahead of Seattle, but 14 points ahead of the third placed team RSL.Edit. Oh, and 48 goals scored and only 28 against them in 34 matches.

The MLS Cup is played tomorrow on 20 November (or actually on Monday morning at 2 AM GMT). I tend to follow the league a bit due to a general interest in the glorious nation of the United States of America, so I guess a topic about the final is appropriate here as well. The final is held in different cities from year to year, and this time it's back in Carson, CA, which is basically a suburb to Los Angeles. The venue is the home pitch of Los Angeles Galaxy, the team that takes on Houston Dynamo in this interesting match up. The Galaxy is probably the best known MLS team, largely due to David Beckham being their big star alongside US star international Landon Donovan and Ireland's Robbie Keane. During the regular season (which is obviously a build up for the playoffs, typical to North American pro sports) they topped the league all year long finishing first, while the Dynamo finished 5th, so it goes without saying that the Galaxians are the favourites to win the championship. Personally, I'd like to see Galaxy take it. It would be nice to see Beckham getting something concrete out of his time in the US, and overall they play a decent attacking football with by far the best defence in the league.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7rbKc9Kr8k&feature=related

Now you're just out of line.

I watched her today on Letterman, so it was the first name that came to mind. Personally my obsession would be about Kristen Stewart, though.

I wouldn't call it an impossible dream, just an unlikely one. Hoping to marry Katie Holmes is an impossible dream one ought to give up before going insane.

It's apparently £10 for adults. I'm sure many Shed Enders have visited, so what's your opinion? Is it worth a tenner? With the tour included one pays £18.I'll be spending three nights and four days alone in London in 1,5 week, so I was hoping to see all the stuff you really can't when traveling in a group. The museum would be pretty cool, as well as the stadium tour. Do I need to book in advance, or can I just show up a bit before the tour is set to begin?

Accepting injustice is giving up, which is something I don't recommend anyone to do.

Probably because life is about dreaming of something better, unless you're living the perfect life. Sadly, that isn't the case with most of us.I think it's quite unlikely for terraces to return (it's stupid, but what can you do?), but allowing people to stand in certain sections shouldn't be impossible. It's absolutely ridiculous how strict some clubs are regarding that. I've heard people going to Charlton games and almost immediately been told to sit down or go elsewhere when standing up. Absolute nonsense. It's funny though that stading isn't a problem in most stadia around the world, but for some reason it has been made the devil himself in England.

Quoting myself...Managed to get enough days off. Now it's down to securing a ticket for the Beer Cup game and getting cheap flights. Ecstatic!

What's your team called? We should arrange a friendly!